“Alright, Zia Piselli or Gracie Slant?”

“Probably Slant…..”

“Say what?  You were literally drooling over the back of Piselli’s head a few weeks ago in Transfiguration and now you’re turning her down for Gracie Slant?  What up Rossi?  Did she knock you back?

“I guess I’m just over her, it’s nothing personal I just prefer Slant.”

“Alright then Gracie Slant or Winona Watson?”

Rossi turned to look at his friend, a devilishly handsome grin plastered across his face as he did so.  Now that was a tough one.  Jamie knew he had gotten Paolo thinking and returned his friends grin with a smirk of his own.  They regularly played silly little games like this and usually with little regard for the girls involved.  More than once they had been overheard in class by unwilling participants and more than once had they been reprimanded by teachers for their childish behaviour.  Regardless, the games continued, such was the nature of young hormonal men.

Rossi folded his arms, staring at his shoes as he contemplated his answer.  Gracie was, well Gracie.  They had a lot in common what with the duelling club and what not but the rules of the game did not account for personality, choices had to be made on looks alone.  Winona was something else in the looks department.  Rumour around school was that she was half veela and when you saw her it wasn’t hard to believe.  She always seemed so cold towards him and his little group however, she never reacted to any of his advances and whenever they were around each other she treated Paolo with a rather cold indifference that irked him.  Shaking his head he proceeded down the corridor, Jamie hot on his heels pushing him for an answer, “Got to choose one man!  You can only have one!” Despite his protestations however, Paolo simply waved him away “I have to go, I’ve got potions work I need to finish.  I’ll see you in the common room tonight and tell you then.”  Not waiting for a reply Paolo picked up his pace, skipping down the marbles staircase towards the dungeons.

Little did Jamie know Winona Watson and Paolo would be spending most of the evening together, though not in the capacity young Rossi would have hoped.  They had been paired together for a potions project, a rather difficult one that would probably require them both to spend the next few nights in each others company.  When the pairings had been announced Paolo knew this was a chance, she couldn’t avoid him forever, tonight he would hit on her and she would have to listen!  There was nowhere to escape to!  He would flash a smile at a group of young Hufflepuff girls before disappearing into the lower levels of the castle.  Spirits were high, not even the cold, damp air of the potions classrooms could dampen them.

A quick glance at his Armani wristwatch told him that he was five minutes late but Paolo shrugged his tardiness off, fashionably late was much more preferable to annoyingly early.  When he reached the classroom that they had agreed to work in Rossi rapped the door a couple of times with his knuckles before pushing open the door.  Sure enough he was late and Winona was preparing everything that they needed for their evenings work without him.  Summoning up his most charming smile he announced himself in that calm, confident manner that was his custom “Apologies for my tardiness, got cornered on my way here by a couple of girls I know” he lied “told them I had a hot date with you and that I couldn’t possibly stand you up.  You’ll be the talk of the Gryfindor common room tonight.”  He finished his monologue with a wink that did not really draw the enthusiastic response he had been expecting.  Was that a grimace? 

She hates me, Paolo thought to himself, his smile still painted upon his face.  It was clear he had a lot of work to do tonight if he was going to turn that "no" into a "yes".  Ever the optimist however Paolo entered the classroom shutting the door behind him and locking it as he did so "Don't want any first years or what not disturbing our.....studies.  Right?"  Good excuse Rossi, first class.

If there was anywhere that Winona despised within the castle walls, it was down in the Potions corridors. It was always damp and not very well lit. She preferred where sun or moon light could actually show. The only time she was down here was for Potions class and that's it. But, the damn professor had to pair her with Hogwarts' infamous womanizer, Paolo Rossi, for a really big Potions project. It was a project that required a couple days worth because of how the potion had to settle. Winona had opted for an empty classroom where she knows no one would bother the stirring potion.

Her hair was tied back with a blue headband, ready for working with all of the ingredients and whatnot. She wore her navy blue sweater that had the Ravenclaw crest, and her Ravenclaw skirt, showing off her long runner legs. If there was any part of her body Winona liked, it would definitely have to be her legs. Navy blue knee high socks adorned her legs and she wore black flats. The uniform was typical for class days and she didn't have time to change. She wanted to do the stupid project and get back to the library.

The room was set up, a cauldron in the middle of the empty room. Herbs surrounded it as well as a couple of candles to lighten the mood. Vials of liquid were next to the herbs and she was setting the last detail down. "There..." She said, standing upright, wiping her hands on her skirt. A tiny golden watch was on her dainty wrist and she checked the time. "This... Ugh, he's late!" She said, frustration thickening her voice. Winona despised Paolo. There were many rumors around that he was a womanizer, and Winona had just opted to think they were true. He was a cocky student, and he was President of the Dueling Club... Winona had strived for that spot and she worked really hard. "Damnit," she muttered. Just as she muttered that, she heard a voice.

“Apologies for my tardiness, got cornered on my way here by a couple of girls I know... told them I had a hot date with you and that I couldn’t possibly stand you up.  You’ll be the talk of the Gryfindor common room tonight.”

Winona spun around and was face to face with the attractive, cocky, nuisance of a boy: Paulo.

"You're disgusting," she muttered rolling her eyes. "This is just an assigned project.. If you even know the meaning of the word assigned. I'd rather not do this with you."

"Don't want any first years or what not disturbing our.....studies.  Right?"

Winona crossed her arms over her chest and she rose an eyebrow. "Are you serious? Look, let's just finish this project, so I can get on to ignoring you."

The atmosphere was frosty before Paolo had even gotten his feet across the threshold of the classroom but he did not let Winona’s scolding remarks dampen his spirits.  Smiling he removed his long black Hogwarts school robes, hanging them over a wooden chair that had been pushed into the corner.  Having come straight from class Paolo had not had the time to change into anything more casual than his school attire but he attempted to tone it down before they started by rolling up his white shirt sleeves over his black school jumper and loosening the top button on his shirt, knocking the tie down an inch as he did so.  When he felt suitably relaxed he replied to Winona’s earlier statement “Disgusting, that seems harsh and sure I know why we are here, look I’m just as annoyed as you are” he lied “I agree let’s just get started and we will see where we are by the end of the evening.”  Paolo needed to buy himself some time, he wasn’t going to win this one over with a blitzkrieg of fanciful words, play it cool and be smooth, that’s what your good at, he found himself saying to himself.

Of course Rossi had no idea as to the extent of Winona’s dislike for him, had he known he might have been put of this pursuit of his for it was surely a futile effort.  It was true he could be a bit of a womaniser at times, he had had a string of girlfriends in the past but in fairness he was going through a dry spell at the moment.  As for the duelling presidency, well he could hardly be blamed for that surely?  Anyways he was the better fighter of the two, if there was one thing Paolo loved more than girls it was duelling and he would fight anyone who tried to take that little silver and blue badge away from him, Winona or no Winona. 

Straightening his tie he moved over to the table standing opposite her as he gazed down at the ingredients and equipment cluttering the desk.  “Alright so we have a list of potions that we need to concoct and we have to turn in a report on each one of them right?  Why don’t we start at the top and just work our way down.  Let’s make the Draught of Living Death first and see where that leaves us.”  It was a rather complex potion to brew but they had learned about it in class numerous times and with the natural talent that he himself possessed and Winona’s studious nature he was sure they could pull it off if they concentrated.  Perhaps this was a good way to get in with her, Paolo found himself thinking.  She was a known bookworm, if she could see that he too was a rather skilled student she might see him in a new light!  “Pass me that knife would you, I’ll cut up the sopophorous beans.”  Assuming Winona gave him the dagger, Paolo got down to extracting as much juice as he could from the beans, allowing the young Ravenclaw girl to do her own thing. 

A rather awkward silence fell over the room, though Paolo assumed this was how Winona wanted to spend the evening, the young Gryfindor gave her two minutes of peace and quiet before he found himself unable to be silent anymore “So, Winona, why don’t you tell me a little bit about yourself to pass the time?  Dating anyone at the minute?”  He took his eyes of the chopping board to hazard a brief glance at the young girl, his eyebrow raised slightly in silent anticipation for her answer.

This was terrible. The tension in the room was thicker then the fog that would sometimes cover Hogwarts in a thick blanket. Being around him made Winona on edge, and she hated being in situations like this. If anything, she really just wanted to give him a real good beating on the dueling stage. Ignoring anything he was doing with his clothes and the way he fidgeted in her peripheral vision, she had finally laid everything out.

“Disgusting, that seems harsh and sure I know why we are here, look I’m just as annoyed as you are..I agree let’s just get started and we will see where we are by the end of the evening.”

Was he for real? Winona easily saw through his lie. But, she was going to be the bigger person in the room and swallow her pride and words for just a couple hours. What she really ached for was to hang with Atticus or Elian... They would never let Paulo talk to her like that. She was truly grateful for her friends because if it were just her, Paulo would be in a lot of pain and she would probably have hexes affecting her left and right. They were both really good duelers but Winnie needed to exceed his skills.

"Yea, okay. Let's get started," she agreed, her voice thick with the poison of annoyance. "I would like to at least be halfway with our list by 9 o'clock," she said, glancing at her watch. The night was inching into about 6 p.m. now. Three hours should be a decent amount of time for them to do 3 potions.

“Alright so we have a list of potions that we need to concoct and we have to turn in a report on each one of them right?  Why don’t we start at the top and just work our way down.  Let’s make the Draught of Living Death first and see where that leaves us.”

"That.. sounds about right," she said, quite surprised he actually listened in class. "I can write the essays on half of them, and you can do the other half. It's just what's fair," she said, trying not to emphasize the word fair. Why did him being President of the Dueling Club bother her?

“Pass me that knife would you, I’ll cut up the sopophorous beans.”

Winona rose an eyebrow. Could she trust him with a knife, let alone trust him to cut the beans the right way? But, she had to give him credit to know the sopophorus beans were a key ingredient. "Umm... Sure," she said, reaching behind her and handing it to him. She watched as he squeezed the juice from the beans, another key move in this potion. "Wow.. Nicely done," she said. What was he getting at? It wasn't like he ever did this stuff in class... Winona began to pour the various liquids in the cauldron in the specified order, stirring it the exact number of times and whatnot.

As they work next to each other, silence filled the room replacing tension quickly. His voice was like a butter knife slicing through butter smoothly, slicing through the silence. So, Winona, why don’t you tell me a little bit about yourself to pass the time?  Dating anyone at the minute?”

Winona stopped and she looked down as what she was doing. "I'll tell you about myself, but the answer to that question is under construction at the moment," she said softly. Some of her little bangs had came out of her ponytail and into her eyes. The sharp blues of her irises peeked up at him. She smirked and continued. "Well, I'm Half Veela," she whispered, concentrating on her actions. "I am Ravenclaw and my name is Winona," she said, standing upright, hand on her hip. Blowing her bangs away from her view, she rose an eyebrow. "Anything else you would like to know? Remember, Curiosity killed the cat. And lions are nothing but big cats," she said, referencing his Gryffindor loyalty.

"I would like to at least be halfway with our list by 9 o'clock"

Wow, she really does hate me, Paolo thought to himself as he chanced a quick glance at his wristwatch.  She was either extremely optimistic about her potions expertise or she was actually willing to jeopardise her grades so that she could get away from him as soon as possible if she thought this could be halfway completed by 21:00.  Nodding his head solemnly Paolo muttered more to himself than to Winona as he began gathering up the sopophorus beans, positioning them on the chopping board as he awaited the knife “As her highness commands…..”  He gave a similar reaction when she suggested they should split the burden of composing the written reports as it was the “fair” thing to do.  As if Paolo had intended on cooking up potions and high tailing it out of there, Winona sure had a poor opinion of him, it irked him slightly but he was careful not to let her winging dampen his mood.  “Yeah sure, half and half, you can tick of the ones you want to write up and I’ll take what’s left.”

Winona’s hesitation in passing him the knife was perplexing, what on earth did she think he was going to do with it?  He matched her own cynical expression with a frown of his own; Rossi was a couple of seconds away from clicking his fingers before Watson eventually passed him the utensil rendering the gesture needless.  Just as well, he thought to himself in hindsight, that wouldn’t have gone down well.  He muttered a thank-you and then set up getting to work, slicing the beans into quarters before using the flat of the blade to squeeze as much juice out of them as possible.

 "Wow.. Nicely done"

Rossi smirked before gathering up the juice into one of the empty glass vials Winona had left on the desk.  Just because he rarely applied himself in class didn’t mean he wasn’t a skilled student in his own right.  True, he often relied upon his natural ability but oftentimes this was more than enough to outshine even the brighter bookworms.  When Paolo did apply himself he was often at the top of the class, though you would likely only see this amount of concentrated effort in Professor Storm’s defence class, maybe also up in the Transfiguration classroom.  “You’re easily pleased Ms Watson.” He said as he passed her the vial, watching her closely as she poured it into the potion whilst following the stirring instructions detailed in the propped open textbook.

Well, I'm Half Veela, I am Ravenclaw and my name is Winona.  Anything else you would like to know? Remember, Curiosity killed the cat. And lions are nothing but big cats"

Was she mocking him with her answers?  Her name was Winona, really, what type of reply was that.  A flash of frustration appeared momentarily across the young Gryfindors brow which he hastened to cover, pretending to wipe away a bead of sweat before smiling at her jibe pertaining to cats and their curiosity.  He could tell she enjoyed annoying him but Paolo wouldn’t give her the satisfaction of letting it get to him.  Instead Rossi replied in his customary composed manner “Ah, referencing my house crest I see, very clever but alas I would not consider myself a lion.  If my being were to be encapsulated within an animal, I figure I would be a dragon, perhaps a Hungarian Horntail.  Dragons are sophisticated, elegant and dangerous, like me….”  He finished with a smirk “and you Winona Watson, what would you be?  You strike me more as a canary than an eagle, albeit a canary with a veela’s short temper.”  He swept his long dark fringe away from his face as his smirk widened "If your other dates don't work out you can always be my canary.  We could write a very captivating love story you and I."

"As her highness commands…..”

Winona felt her jaw clench. It was taking her so much will power and self control not to whip out her wand and duel him right here. It was odd for Winnie to be in such an angry mood, but it really all depended on who she was around. And well, she wasn't around much at the moment. Relaxing her jaw, she rolled her eyes... Resorting to attitude and irking him would be the best option to get on his nerves. A duel wasn't really in the cards for her anytime soon, though she was always eager to accept a challenge and show her skill. "Can we go through the evening without you being so... sarcastic?" She asked, her fingers running through her ponytail and then back down to her work.

“Yeah sure, half and half, you can tick of the ones you want to write up and I’ll take what’s left.”

"Sounds. Good." She said, concentrating on what she was doing. "I'll take Felix Felicis, Amortentia, annnddd Polyjuice Potion. The others are pretty easy so you should have no problem," she said, whispered as her eyes was eyeing her measurements carefully. She was bent over, elbows on the table, eye carefully making sure there wasn't too much or too little of vital ingredients. Winnie was the grade A student. Despite her lower like for Potions, she wanted a good grade on this project despite the snake she was paired with. She inhaled some, before letting out a small sigh, her blue eyes looking at him from behind her bangs. "Is that okay?" Her long fingers took the vial from him and she poured the contents into the cauldron, the clear liquid now black and smoking with a thick black smoke. Good. "Now we just let it settle," she said, shrugging one shoulder and biting her lip.


“You’re easily pleased Ms Watson.”

Winona stood upright, raising an eyebrow. Her lips turned into a smile, a smile suppressing a wave of giggles. Too late, they broke through. Giggling, she set down the measuring spoons and held her stomach, her other hand brushing back her bangs. "So much formality.. Who knew you of all people could be such a gentleman, Paolo," she said, her giggles trailing off. With an irking wink, she smirked. "Just call me Winona. But don't call me Winnie, you're not there yet," she warned some.

Her eyes caught the tiny flash of frustration across his face. That pleased her. Now that she had stepped over the line, it was time for her to at least be somewhat nice to him. Her smile widened as she leaned her hip against the table, letting the black concoction bubble with it's toil and trouble.

“Ah, referencing my house crest I see, very clever but alas I would not consider myself a lion.  If my being were to be encapsulated within an animal, I figure I would be a dragon, perhaps a Hungarian Horntail.  Dragons are sophisticated, elegant and dangerous, like me….” Ugh, what a cocky smirk. Winona rolled her eyes, crossing her arms under her chest. “and you Winona Watson, what would you be?  You strike me more as a canary than an eagle, albeit a canary with a veela’s short temper.”

The Veela remark he just made caused some pink to fly into Winnie's cheeks.. So what Veela had short tempers, she was fine at controlling hers. "I am not any sort of bird," she said, forcing the words out. What she really wanted to do was kick his ass, but the last thing she needed was detention for maiming a student. Winona was really a friendly girl, with a good heart. It was boys like this and bullies like this who drove her to be upset and rude. "And if I was, I would be something much more noble than a flying lizard," she said, smirking.

"If your other dates don't work out you can always be my canary.  We could write a very captivating love story you and I."

That was it. Winona's cheeks grew a rosy red, her eyes just staring at him. He was so smug and Winona really just wanted to wipe that look of his ugly attractive face. She walked towards him, standing a few inches away. Her hands gently went through his hair and she pinched his cheek gently. "There will never be a love story betwixt you and I. And I would rather be a dung beetle, than to be your caged canary," she said, her voice firm. Turning around, she walked back to look at the cauldron.

I'll take Felix Felicis, Amortentia, annnddd Polyjuice Potion. The others are pretty easy so you should have no problem, Is that okay?"

“Whatever, I don’t really care, to be honest I seriously doubt the professor expects two grade 6’s to successfully concoct amorentia and felix felicis, the latter of which is an extremely difficult task even for highly skilled professional potion brewers.  Professor Di Luca will be looking to see if we know where we go wrong and if we know how to rectify the mistakes that we do make.  If you want an “A” the written work is where the marks will be, if you do successfully brew either of those potions before nine this evening you should quit class and apply for a job down at St Mungo’s because your talents are wasted here.” Paolo finished with a matter of fact shrug of the shoulders as he took out some plain parchment and writing utensils from his brown, leather school satchel.  Popping them on to a corner of the desk he began scribbling some short hand notes with regards to the concoction bubbling in the cauldron.

"So much formality.. Who knew you of all people could be such a gentleman, Paolo,"

The young Gryfindor would smirk slightly at her comments regarding his eligibility to be a gentleman, Winona really did not understand; in fact know, anything, about Paolo if she doubted his gentleman credentials.  Sure he had a rather long list of lovers but that didn’t mean he wasn’t up there with regards to manners.  “You really don’t know anything about me Winona, so you’re wholly unqualified to determine whether or not I am a gentleman.”  Rossi’s eyes remained firmly locked upon his notes as he spoke, as if the effort to look at her was simply too much for him.  Really, was Winona Watson worth all of this trouble?  Sure Jaime always gawked at her and spoke about her physical attractiveness but she had a personality like a wet towel.  She was all study and no fun and she had a superiority complex around her that Paolo had begun to dislike.  Probably all that vela blood pumping through her veins that sort always thought themselves to be above the rest but Rossi had made an important realisation this evening, looks weren’t everything.

Winona’s playful pinch at his cheek caused the young man to “tut” with annoyance as he hastened to put some distance between her grip and his face.  “Watch it Watson!”  Paolo’s eyes narrowed as a rather cold and serious expression replaced his usual playfulness.  When he replied there was more than a hint of annoyance in his tone and this time the Gryfindor did little to hide it.  “You know” he started “for someone who is so judgmental of other people you should take some time to reflect upon your own shortcomings.  You’re rude and unfriendly.  I’ve always tried to be nice to you and you treat me with cold indifference and there’s no reason for it.  This is the first time you and I have even spoken for more than ten minutes, so what’s the problem Watson?  What is it about me that you find so annoying?  Just spit it out early so we can get rid of this tension and focus on the potions because just now I am growing tired of dancing around eggshells with you.  If you don’t want to be my friend that’s fine but just say so instead of shooting me nasty looks and making rude comments.”  Without waiting for an answer the Gryfindor boy retook his seat and began scribbling furiously upon the parchment, muttering something inaudible to himself as he did so.