Callum had been dating Maeve now for about a month, and it had been a surprisingly pleasant experience as far as relationships went. She was good looking, pureblooded, and she was older than him. Dating an older, more experienced woman definitely had done good things to his reputation with the guys. Besides, she let him feel her up. That was aces. How could a guy argue with boobs? Really, even if she did get on his nerves, all it took for him to stop being agitated was remembering that small fact.

But, since they apparently were an item now, he was having to step up his game a little bit to keep her interested. Once his family was aware that it was a regular thing, him and Maeve, his mother had been sending little tokens for him to give to her, and naturally Callum had been taking all of the credit for it. This idea, though, had been all his own.

It was cold outside, Callum knew that. He knew this because first off, it was December. And secondly, there was a thick layer of snow on the ground. Still, the snow could be terrible romantic, and he had never made out with a girl in the snow, so this seemed like the perfect idea. Callum had planned a picnic for them, and had even learned a spell to use to keep them warm without melting the snow. That way she wouldn't have to worry about her face getting red or being restricted by so many layers of clothing. (Obviously the latter was his biggest concern in all of this.)

The picnic was rather simple. He'd gotten a basket and had nicked a few things from the kitchens. (It wasn't really stealing, though. The elves had been more than happy to fill the basket with all kinds of goodies. They had even provided a large thermos full of hot chocolate and marshmallows.) There was something about a picnic in the snow that seemed romantic to him. Mostly because it wasn't very common. So Callum had spread a thick blanket on the ground, and set up the basket in the middle of it. He pulled two mugs, and put down some plates.

He had owled Maeve earlier, asking her to meet him out on the grounds, telling her the exact spot. Callum had everything ready, including that little bubble of warmth that wouldn't melt the snow. He saw her coming, and stood up, waving with a smile. "Surprise!" he called out, motioning at the spread he'd made on the snow. He approached her, taking her hand to lead her over. Callum sat down on the blanket, and waited on her to sit across from him. "I thought I'd try to do something special for you."

Maeve was a contented woman. Even though her classes were more boring than she could imagine, causing her to utilize her nail file way more often than she thought was healthy for such an instrument, she had something to look forward too. Her budding relationship with Callum Knight easily made her happy and the fact that her family approved of such a match was bonus. In fact, once her father learned of the romance between the two, he had immediately owled her and extolled the virtues of a potential union between the Whitmans and Knights, two respected, pure wizarding families. Even her mother, who was slightly more shrewed about such matters, had mentioned that even if Maeve eventually decided that she did not wish to be with the Knight boy, she could at least end the romance on positive terms, so as to give Carys a shot at being matched with him. Apparently Eloise Whitman thought older men were more attractive. And, she thought her daughter should aspire to such lofty ideals like attaining the favor of a man who was her age or older.

Maeve's only care was that Callum was pure and that he treated her like a princess. And so far, with all of his little thoughtful gifts and doting attentions, he was meeting her minimum requirement.

Today he had enticed her to meet him outside in the bitter cold, which Maeve would have refused to do if it had been any other person besides her current love interest or those she absolutely adored (who were few and far between these days). She dressed in her best warm clothing, with everything from tights to a fashionable wool sweater and a fur lined coat. But nothing could keep her outfit from being accessorized with pink cheeks from the cool breeze.

She approached his designated spot slowly, making her way carefully through the snow and thankful for the path that he had already made before her. She was bundled up with her hands delved deeply into her coat pockets. She only took one out to accept his hand as she got close enough to him. She looked from him to the laid out picnic he had before them and she could do nothing but flash him her sweetest smile. "Oh....Callum....you shouldn't have...." With a bit of a smirk, she shook her head at how sweet it really was of him to do it. "Really....with it being so cold out, you shouldn't have. But I love it."

She settled down opposite him, curling her legs underneath her and was surprised that she wasn't really all that cold now that she was with him. Her eyes settled on his face and all she could manage now was what was sure to be a goofy grin. "Awww.....it is special. Thank you."

Callum grinned when Maeve seemed to be perfectly enamored with the little picnic he had set up. "The cold isn't a problem," he reassured her. "I learned a new spell that keeps us warm. Can't you tell?" If she couldn't tell, then that would mean he hadn't done the spell quite right. Though, he wasn't cold. Then again, if he had never set the spell up correctly to begin with, then he could have gotten accustomed to the cold by now which would explain why he didn't feel cold.

She agreed it was special, and thanked him. Callum leaned forward to press a kiss to her cheek, grinning all the while. He had done something right, and this time, he had done it on his own. Excellent! That meant he was finally getting the hang of this whole dating thing and showing someone you cared. It was different with someone older than him who required the proper amount of wooing. This was good experience, a great way for him to learn to give pointers to his little brothers when they needed them.

Callum opened the thermos, and poured her a mug of hot chocolate, adding a little caramel drizzle before handing it over. "I wasn't sure if you preferred coffee or coacoa, but I thought that with a girl, you can never go wrong with chocolate."

"I also wasn't sure what kind of food you liked. I got a little bit of everything. I tried to go with stuff that was winter-appropriate. Since we're outside in the snow, it's hardly worth it to be eating summery treats, is it?" Callum was aware, after the words spilled out of his mouth, that he was rambling a little bit. It wasn't like him to be nervous or to ramble, but he had stopped thinkig of Maeve as just another conquest. (Oh, she certainly was a conquest, but she was also more than that.) Either way, he was trying really hard not to screw things up by being a complete and total pig, and it wasn't a simple task for the Slytherin boy. Anyone would know that.

"Are you looking forward to the holidays?" he asked. Callum knew that he wasn't. Holidays he was forced to go to these stupid adult, pureblood parties that he had no interest in going to. His parents tried to set him up with every girl close to his age, and for some reason they never were interested. Although, his parents knew now that he was seeing Maeve, and had no problems. Perhaps they wouldn't try to marry him off since he was finally dating someone that met their standards. (At least, he assumed she did, since they had not complained.)

"Bravo," she said to him with a little clap of her hands. It was debatable whether it was meant to tease him as she had said it with such sweetness that he might not even notice. It was hardly a secret that Maeve was a high maintainence girl. And most of the guys she had been linked to before could probably attest to the fact that she routinely would bust their chops and tease them mercilessly.

But she liked Callum. Probably more than she would ever admit openly. His attentions (not to be confused with his intentions which she was fully aware of) towards her were quite adorable and tugged at her sentimental side. Perhaps she was getting old.

That thought send shivers down her spine because she hated to think of herself as old. But, luckily, she had her mother's genes. Her mother was a gorgeous older woman. And Maeve was certain that she would be as well.

"Cocoa is fine," she assured him, accepting the mug that he offered. She had held it with her bare hands, feeling the added warmth as it touched her skin. "And I do like chocolate," she admitted with raised brows, as if indicating to him a subtle hint at future gifts he might want to get for her.

She turned her attention to the food that he had brought, carefully inspecting it for her tastes. As he rambled on, she smiled demurely, again noting how adorable he was in this particular moment. Was this how Callum Knight acted when he had an object of affection? All of Hogwarts should bow down and thank her for taming him.

To silence his rambling, she leaned over and placed a quick kiss on his lips. She would have lingered longer, but she didn't want this to turn out to a make out session just yet. They should at least talk for a while and show some decorum, right?

Settling back, she addressed his question about the holidays. "Well, I don't mind the holidays. My parents do quite a bit of entertaining." Her eyes widened as if she came up with the most brilliant idea imaginable.  "I'll tell my mother to make sure your family gets invited to them all. That way we can see each other lots over the vacation."

Callum understood the expression, and filed away the information accordingly. Next time he had a chance, he would order Maeve some nice, gourmet, designer chocolates. Magic chocolates could do some amazing things. They were expensive, but with his parent's pocketbook to use to buy gifts for the pretty little pureblooded girl, it didn't really matter, now did it?

His brows flew up when she leaned forward to kiss him. Callum was more than ready to give her more than just a kiss when she pulled away. He had to fight the urge to pout. Callum liked kissing Maeve, and he most certainly liked to kiss her for extended periods of time. "I'm sure my family would love that. Though, it would be wise to advise your parents to exclude my other siblings. Harold and Darren are complete nightmares, and Blake is ruining our name with every day of his existence. And naturally my sister is too young for such entertainment."

"My family could invite yours over, too. Maybe we could find time to slip away from everyone, too. You know how adults are when they get together..." He waggled his eyebrows at her with a grin. Yes, Callum Knight was a pig, and yes, he was fully aware of it. And if he had his way, they would be making out in the snow in roughly five or ten minutes. The picnic was all a facade, of course. To mask his true intentions. To make out and feel her up in the snow. Something he hadn't had a chance to do with any other girl yet.

Reaching into the basket, he pulled out something to nibble on. "So what do you want for Christmas?" he asked. "Have you given it any thought? I need some ideas on what sort of pretty little things to buy you... I know you like jewelry, and chocolates... Anything other ideas you can give me?"

Maeve knew about Callum's siblings, mainly because with the exception of Blake, they were in Slytherin House. What he said about Harold and Darren was quite true but Maeve was surprised by Callum's comments regarding his brother, Blake. He seemed like such a nice boy, but then again, her sister seemed like such a nice girl. That was what being a Ravenclaw did--disguised the true nature of a person. Maeve would defer to Callum's judgement about Blake. Maeve thought Callum's younger sister was simply adorable. To exclude her would be a disappointment. "Oh....but Aglaia should come. I would love to see her in an adorable outfit....the sweetest little princess. She can keep Maxen company," Maeve said of her younger brother, who had a habit of getting bored at family events and causing trouble.

Any talk of family seemed to fall away as soon as Callum mentioned slipping away to be alone. The look on his face only solidified the kind of thoughts that he was having about any private moments that they might find themselves in. Maeve was not born yesterday and though she looked (and sometimes acted) like the equivalent of a Muggle sorority girl, she was well aware of what kind of thinking dominated Callum's mind. Mirroring his grin, Maeve reached out to ever so gingerly graze the tips of her fingers over the back of his hand. "Yes, we could," she simply stated.

She was tempted to lean in to kiss him again, but since he insisted on talking instead, she indulged him. In truth, she hadn't thought at all about what she wanted for Christmas until he had asked. Usually, no matter what her parents gave her she was happy with, mostly because it was always something expensive and decadent. Also a truth regarding her relationship with Callum was that she did not expect anything from him in terms of material gifts, primarily because she knew most school boys had a limited budget. Still, the fact that he tried to spoil her because he thought it was necessary. Who was she to stifle his ego?

"I'm sure whatever you get for me I will like, Callum." Her expression was quite earnest and she leaned closer to him, her face mere inches from his. "I'll just be happy if we're together during the holidays."

Callum shrugged. "But if they bring Aggles, then the rest of my brothers will want to come. They're obnoxious. But whatever you want. If you want her to go, then who am I to argue?" Anything that Maeve wanted, he would be content to give her. She was an attractive, pureblood witch after all, and he had been raised to treat them a very certain way.

If Callum was aware, though, that she would rather kiss him than talk, he would have been more than happy to oblige. He was trying to be more of a gentleman though. If he let her think all he wanted out of her was to make out and paw at her, she might lose interest. Losing interest would make him very sad. It wasn't easy to snag an older witch and keep her interested so he was trying his damnedest to play the part of the perfect boyfriend. Gifts, compliments, attention, everything... And any demand she had, was met. No matter how trivial or ridiculous others might find it.

"Well, I promise we'll be together- even if I have to sneak out of my house and over to yours." He leaned forward and kissed her, sweetly, surprisingly gentle considering his usual behavior. "Or we can sneak you into mine," he added with a grin. "I don't think my Da' would get too upset if he caught a girl in my room... He'd be proud, I'm sure. And you're the type of girl that they want me to bring home anyway."

"Perhaps we can talk our parents into letting one of us spend the night with the other? I know they would never let us share a room... But perhaps if they don't disapprove of our relationship, they won't be totally against it. I'm sure Aggles would love it if you came over. She likes you a lot. You're a very good influence on her, too. She needs to see how a proper pureblood lady behaves. There are so many in our house who are just... inferior."

Maeve's lips curled into a slight pout. "But Aglaia is so sweet, Callum. I adore her. I feel as though your little sister is my own." But Callum did have a point about his brothers. With the exception of Blake, they were nothing like Callum as far as manners were concerned. "Maybe you'll get lucky and they'll have plans of their own this summer," Maeve suggested hopefully. In the five years that Carys had spent various summers at the homes of classmates she had become friends with. Some of them were muggles, so Maeve hardly approved. But she had since learned not to care a smidge about what Carys did these days.

As Callum vowed that they would get to spend time together, even resorting to sneaking out, Maeve laughed lightly and pressed a little kiss to his cheek. "You are so sweet. Always thinking of everything, too." She was evil stoking his ego like that, but surely he didn't mind. "I'm sure once my parents meet you, they will like you as much as I like you."

Maeve scooted closer to Callum and wrapped her arms around his midsection, pressing herself to his frame. She was going to comment on what he said about Aglaia needing a good influence and how certain members of his family were inferior, but she opted against it. Instead, she tilted her face up and trailed a few soft kisses along Callum's jaw. She found his mouth and pressed hers to it, initiating a kiss  intended to silence any further conversation.

Who was Callum to argue with a beautiful girl? As Maeve hugged him and started to kiss his face, he grinned. Then she found his lips and he was more than happy to oblige her with what she was after. (Hoping she was willing to oblige him as well. You could never wish for too much, he had learned. And perhaps she was feeling generous today? He had been awfully romantic and romance tended to lead to more physical things. At least, it had in his experience.)

Conversation was forgotten (not that Callum realized that was Maeve's intention) entirely as he focused on kissing her. It was always awkward for Callum- the kissing part. Not because he didn't enjoy it, but because often times his brain didn't really shut up and let him enjoy it. The Slytherin was far too focused on making sure that he was doing right and making sure that Maeve enjoyed it and that he wasn't pushing too far... If things were going to be more than some innocent making out, he always let her initiate. In the past, with other girlfriends, he'd never worried. But the fact she was older (and thus more experienced) made him nervous.

Callum pulled away from her and tucked a piece of stray hair behind her ear, grinning like a buffoon. (Kissing Maeve always made him grin like a buffoon.) "You really are something, you know that?" he breathed before kissing her again. "Those other girls sure as hell don't compare to you." And they really didn't. She was smart, powerful, and definitely more than willing to take what she wanted. And even though she could put on the perfect act of being lady like, there was a side of her that seemed more edgy and dangerous. Callum rather liked that side. Especially since she still let him feel like he was in charge of everything and the one calling all the shots. (And yes, there was a small part in the back of his mind that let him know that she really was the one wearing the pants.)

Maeve was enjoying the little romantic outing with Callum and especially more now that they were being affectionate with each other. So often, she felt like being that close to him on a regular basis in school was such a taboo, even though they were both pureblood and there was nothing to be ashamed of regarding their pairing. Well, maybe there were the little whispers about how she was the older woman being with someone younger, but those could usually be silenced with one scowl from her.

Now, Maeve was focused on silencing all of Callum's words with her kisses, which he seemed to eagerly return. She brought her hands up to cup his face, continuing to kiss him in a manner that bordered on respectable and polite but also teasing. Her tongue slipped past his lips and began a gentle probing of his mouth.

When he pulled away, her hands dropped to his chest and she allowed her fingertips to play with the buttons on his shirt. His flattery of her definitely hit its mark as a demure smile befell her lips before he reclaimed them in another kiss. She was about to scoot closer to him so that the natural progression would be to deepen the kiss from there, but his next words gave her pause. Because she could, she decided to toy with him a bit and quietly demanded, "What other girls, exactly?"

Because, of course, she was of the mind that when a person was with her, no other girls existed. Now all Callum needed to do was confirm as much.