Holidays were only a few days away, and everywhere there was haphazard packing, clothes strewn about, shouting - and that was just the dorm. In the common room it was even worse, both genders mingling, the shriek of girls mingling with the laughter of the boys, jokes, taunts, holiday cheer, all that shite. Anyone who thought that Slytherins were just haughty, arrogant pricks whose powerplays amongst themselves rendered their common room quiet and dangerous had obviously forgotten that, above all, this was a bunch of teenagers and children who hated classes as much as the next student.

Erin didn't care much about the break, since he was staying at school for it. He'd tried to do so the previous year, but he'd lost the fight and ended up at home for weeks with his family. Between his father's mild-mannered apathy, his brother's permanent expression of disgust, his mother's overbearing attention, and his sister's forced cheer, it'd been bloody awful. So par for the course, then, and Erin had to just hope Landis hadn't been able to weasel out of it too. That would be almost as bad as having to go home, being stuck here with the handful of other students that usually stayed only to find out that he'd still end up at Christmas dinner with his brother right down the table.

He wasn't much for Christmas cheer, either, not unless it included free candy. Except for now, that was. For the past half hour he'd been sprawled over a couch near the fire, watching the fruits of his labor with a grin as the students who came in side-by-side through the castle entrance realized, usually about the time that the screeching started, that someone (that would be him) had put enchanted mistletoe over the entrance. The best thing about enchanted mistletoe? It rained down minor jinxes on the ones who disobeyed the old imperative: look up, look over, and then kiss whoever was next to you before the mistletoe turned your nose purple. The only way to avoid it was to come in one by one, and of course his unsuspecting victims had no way of realizing that was necessary.

It'd been fun for a while, but now it was dinner time, and the common room was deserted. All except for Erin, who was too comfortable to move and who knew the way to the kitchens if he got hungry later. So it was quiet, and peaceful after a few nights of laughing sneering taunting teenagers all ready to be out of school.

Kitty lounged on her bed, sprawling out her limbs like a self-centred, indulged feline. It'd been a busy day - tormenting younger students and a whole afternoon of Professor Austerlitz had really taken it out of her. Her patent black heels had been kicked off at the foot of her bed, and a quiet evening nap had been whole-heartedly enjoyed. Sitting up in bed, Kitty exhaled slightly and arched her back, causing it to crack in about three different places. A post-nap stretch was beyond satisfying. Leaning over and gazing at the clock on the wall, she curled her upper lip in disgust. Dinner time was well under way, and she'd hoped that it'd be later so that Kitty could catch-up and gossip with her usual comrades.

Slipping out underneath the sheets, Kitty blinked several times, hoping for some form of energisation. Grabbing a compact from her bedside table, she clicked it open, her spare hand rummaging through her handbag, adeptly applying a layer of thick red lipstick. There was no way she was going into the common room looking like a sleeping child. Without her cosmetics, Kitty looked far younger (and consequently, far less threatening) - not an image that she wished to project.

Sliding her feet into her heels, she ruffled her loose black curls, patting her signature bow to check it was intact and in-place. Satisfied with her appearance, Kitty trotted off down the stairs, hoping that Bellatrix or somebody would be about. She was bored, and the devil made work for idle thumbs. Much to her dismay, the common room was empty, and Kitty rolled her eyes, leaning in the doorway with her eyes darting around the room. The roaring fire was a necessity in the cold December, and Kitty buttoned up her cardigan, keen to keep out the cold. Even if her heart was made of stone, it didn't mean her body had to be as cold.

Taking a few steps towards the inviting fireplace, she immediately caught sight of a relaxed, hunched figure in an armchair, her mouth parting slightly. Peering over slightly with her wickedly narrow eyes, Kitty immediately relaxed and plonked herself down on an armchair opposite.
"Harper," she said formally, giving the boy a nod. "There's me thinking I was all alone." Despite the two merely being acquaintances, Kitty's voice was laced with flirtation. Sometimes, little Miss Li just couldn't help herself with a good-looking boy around.

Erin heard the clattering of Kitty's high heels long before the girl actually appeared, and therefore had plenty of time to make sure he was arranged in the most impudent and careless posture possible when she saw him. But he smiled when she plopped down opposite him, and his own tone, although not flirtatious, was inviting enough as he replied, "Well, you were wrong, weren't you?"

Erin was not always so pleasant to everyone. There were, in fact, many in his house that Erin considered extreme annoyances. And it was true that Kitty could be loud and obnoxious snitty, generally when she was trying to rule the common room, but it was also true that while they were only acquaintances, they'd been so since first year, and the fact that she still appeared to like seeing him was reason enough for Erin to be pleased when they talked. Of course, she'd tried bringing him under her thumb a few times, but Erin's penchant for remaining completely uninterested in gossip and student intrigue had worked in his favor as it'd taken away the strings she liked to pull in her victims, and he'd remained deeply unaffected by her attitude. This flirtatiousness was fairly recent; Erin used to ignore it much like he ignored her attempts at intimidation. Recently, though, he'd noticed how very pretty Kitty was. Well, he wasn't blind. And he'd had more opportunities at kissing lately, which had done a bit for his attention in regards to things like this; his recent experiences had been what'd given him the idea for the mistletoe.

"Not going to dinner?"

"Evidently..." she replied quietly, crossing one leg over the other and leaning back in the tall, comfortable armchair. Her eyes rested on his for a moment, before intentionally looking towards the fire, a hand carelessly running through her loosely-curled black locks. Despite being one of the most flamboyant girls in Slytherin, she quite enjoyed the peace and quiet inside the common room - no cowering junior girls, no abrasive boys and no form of social threat. It was silent, except for the crackle of the fireplace.

Kitty had always respected Erin; he was one of the few people she'd needed to intimidate, and even when she was around, he didn't seem afraid of her. Too many people left Kitty's rule unquestioned, and although she was determined to keep in the monarchy of Hogwarts, a few challenges would be appreciated. Like most Slytherin girls, Kitty loved a little competition. Erin had never been involved in the social game of snakes and ladders that was a daily even in Kitty's life; he was detached from it, and she couldn't help but find it refreshing.

She slowly shook her head in response to his question, her eyes falling on his once more as she lifted one shoulder femininely.
"A long sleep seemed far more appealing," she replied, her voice quiet and still somewhat tired. "What's your excuse?"

"What's your excuse?"
 
Erin debated, for a long moment, whether to tell her what he'd really been doing or not. " 'M not hungry," he said, and then, after coming to the conclusion that Slytherin girls - especially Kitty - liked a little wickedness as long as it wasn't directed at them, he nodded pointedly towards the wall which lay between the common room and the rest of the castle. His eyes were on the little sprig of mistletoe and a smirk was on his lips as he said casually, "And I was enjoying the holiday entertainment."
 
There - let her decide whether he'd been the one to actually hang the mistletoe or not. Although, with that smirk on his face, the answer was probably pretty obvious. Of course, if she'd been one of its victims, he'd never have admitted to it, but since she'd been sleeping... well, it was hardly a prank if no one else knew he'd done it, right?

Her eyes furtively moved to the sprig of mistletoe and she rolled her eyes, a smirk painted on her wicked little face.
"You boys and your pranks," she almost whispered, amused at how many people Erin must've caught out with his little practical joke. It was always fun to see somebody who was silently comical - the type of person that wasn't the centre of attention all the time with a plethora of jokes and punchlines. They were the type of people that provided an edge of entertainment with rare moments of pure genius. This, was one of those moments.

"I never had you down as a silent prankster," she giggled coquettishly, a lithe and delicate hand resting femininely on her collar bone. She knew all the right movements and all the right subtle things to say when flirting with attractive boys. Hufflepuff boys were far too twee for a girl like Kitty, Gryffindors far too brazen and bold. Ravenclaws were charming but a little haughty - the Slytherin boy was just right. Arrogantly charming, and ambitiously cunning. Kitty had always wanted a boy that provided a match to her own underhand tactics, someone that would make her step-up her game.

"Would it be foolish of me to walk under that mistletoe then?" she asked. Slipping off her heels and bringing her knees up to her chest, her delicate features were warmed by the glow of the fireplace and Kitty raised an eyebrow. Erin Harper was quite the looker these days.

Oh, yes, "we boys." There was that peculiar mix of charm and patronization in her words, the hook and bait of many teenage girls. Erin wasn't any less susceptible to it than many teenage boys, either.
 
Erin grinned at her, but there was a tinge of sheepishness to it. "Usually I'm not," he admitted. "But this was too good to resist."  Erin was, it had to be said, not usually known for his subtlety. In fact, there were plenty who would decribe him as down-right crass. It was just his luck pretty Kitty happened to come along now, and see him lounging on the sofa surveying his work like a king surveying his kingdom. One of his better moments, he thought.         
 
"Would it be foolish of me to walk under that mistletoe then?"                      
 
Erin could be plenty oblivious, but fortunately he wasn't that dim. Her legs pulled up, the fire lighting her features, and Kitty Li watching him like a cat - or a snake. Erin swallowed, but played it off with his casual, "Won't work unless you go under it with someone. So -" A grand sweeping gesture towards the doorway, and the tilt of his head to the side, "Be my guest."

Kitty innocently played with a lock of jet-black hair, twirling it around a slender index finger. Erin Harper had always been a boy that Miss Li had found inexplicably attractive, yet the two had never really shared a proepr conversation.
"Don't try and fool me," she giggled, biting her bottom lip. "I bet you're just as wicked as all the rest." Although she doubted that Erin was as immature and prank-orientated as the other boys in their year, Kitty couldn't help but flirtatiously tease him.

"Oh, Erin," she said, dramatically pulling a shocked face in jest. "I wouldn't walk under there with just anyone. I don't know if you've heard, but I aren't that type of girl." Giving another giggle, she raised her legs further up to get more comfortable on the armchair.

In all honesty, she usually posessed the sheer brazen boldness to approach a boy and instantly fall all over him, reeling him in with her wickedly flirtatious ways. Her dating philosophy was pulling them along till the last minute, and feigning a distinct sense of disinterest in order to hook their attraction. It worked every time, like a charm.

"Don't try and fool me. I bet you're just as wicked as all the rest."

Giggling was something Erin had never really learned how to deal with. It always threw him off guard. So now, when he said, "Uh - more," it did not come out nearly as suave as he hoped. In fact it sounded almost quizzical, as if Erin wasn't really sure about it himself. There was a lilt in his voice like he was asking a question, a side-effect of not knowing where Kitty was going with this. Giggling was so unclear.

Although he was immediately aware of this lack of suave manliness, Erin despaired internally but had no idea what to say to save it. He wasn't that accustomed to flirting, and so instead of adding something like, "But why don't you find out for yourself?" he cleared his throat and looked over at the fire instead. Wasn't his fault he'd been distracted enough not to watch his tone... (Distracted by what? At a guess, the pretty girl staring at him with fire flickering over her features and a sly smirk on her little mouth. Slytherin girls were brilliant, gorgeous, absolutely scorching hot, but intimidating.)

He rallied magnificently for her next comment, though. Whether deliberately or not, she seemed to have misinterpreted his words - he'd meant that she could walk under it by herself and be entirely safe, but of course she'd turned it into more than that. Erin raised his eyebrows. "Not the type of girl to go under it alone?" he asked with a smirk, a little faux innocent twist to his words to imply that it was only an innocent question, really, that he was just asking for clarification instead of being, as Kitty would have said, wicked. "I only meant that you'd be safe as long as you passed under it alone, but I guess you were thinking of something else completely...." He shrugged, with that same false innocence that was usually pretty convincing - except for now, when he wasn't trying very hard to be.

Erin seemed a little apprehensive in his reponse, and Kitty twisted her mouth in thought. There was a reason why she was attracted to all the male companions of Maeve; your Edmunds, your Dracons, your Leons. Erin would one day be in their league of charm and mature sophistication, but for now, Kitty realised that he was just a fifth year Slytherin like her. On the flipside however, he was impossibly attractive and maybe a little naivety was what Kitty needed right now. Somebody to tease, somebody to play with...

Like a cat reeling in the mouse, Kitty crossed one leg over the other, reclining back on the armchair. Spreading her slender arms out, her toes toyed with one of her displaced high heels on the floor, her eyes never leaving Erin's. Oh, what a fantastic coincidence to be caught alone with Harper.
"I'd never be seen underneath a sprig of mistletoe without a suitor, Erin," she spoke quietly, rolling her eyes femininely. "I shouldn't be left alone, defenceless and vulnerable." Fluttering her eyelashes theatrically, she let out a light burst of laughter at her own dramatics; she was an addict for all things cosmic and glamorous and Hollywood-esque.

"I'm sure you planned this meeting secretly," she teased, playing with a lock of her dark brown hair, her narrow eyes frowning a little. That wicked little smirk appeared on her face, her eyebrows arched slyly. "Waiting around to corner me when I'm isolated and without alliance," she joked. If anything, Kitty was the one to do the trapping of a boy she liked; Erin had never really floated onto her radar. Until that eve, that is.

Erin may not have been skilled at flirting, or the subtle manipulations of girlhood, but he had carefully isolated himself from the social intrigue of Hogwarts, a job much more difficult than it sounded when surrounded by his viciously curious Slytherin cohorts. Sure, he occasionally fell off the wagon – being chased down and kissed by Eli Park came to mind, an incident which was still making the rumor rounds – but for the most part he managed well. He couldn’t do that without having developed some sort of defense against most low-grade manipulation… and he had, after all, stayed off Kitty’s radar until now, ducking her occasional effort in his early years with the blissful obliviousness of a boy who couldn’t care less how pretty a girl was. He was well aware that his difficulty now was due to the fact that he was no longer oblivious to her charms. Unfortunately, he was pretty sure she knew that too. She was eyeing him with the sort of look that made him want to look away again, or possibly flush.

Erin did neither, but made himself stare back.

It was a lot easier after her next comment, "I'd never be seen underneath a sprig of mistletoe without a suitor, Erin. I shouldn't be left alone, defenseless and vulnerable."

What a load! Erin had a knee-jerk reaction to the word “suitor,” developed during his childhood by repeated mentions of the word by his mum who had a particularly Pureblood glint in her eye as she steered little Erin towards his female cousins. He snorted, the familiar disdain relaxing the line of his shoulders as he slouched on the couch.  “Yeah, right,” he said, and now it was much easier to tease her, to be amused and not willing to let her get away with such dramatics. “As if anyone would call you defenseless. No need for a suitor to sashay with you under that sprig.”  Kitty was about as defenseless as a viper. Although Erin was sure she WOULD prefer a bloke for each arm, everywhere she went.

"I'm sure you planned this meeting secretly. Waiting around to corner me when I'm isolated and without alliance…"

“While I can’t say isolated and without alliance isn’t how I prefer anyone –” Much easier to beat them up that way – “This was definitely unexpected. Although…” He shrugged, then glanced up at her and grinned, a slow easy stretch of lips and blue eyes that showcased just about the extent of his charm. “I suppose it’s good you’re here to appreciate my genius.”

"You caught me out," she said, rolling her eyes and smirking. Kitty hardly hid her behaviour from Hogwarts; the social torture of inferiors and the scathing remarks in the corridors. It was a rare moment when Kitty was without Maeve, Neely or Bellatrix. They were all Queen Bees in their own right, but nobody truly had control of the hive - not yet anyway. Kitty had already set those cogs in motion. "I can be somewhat, aggresive when I want to be." The ambiguity in her voice was laced with flirtation. Kitty had it down to a fine art; a flutter of the eyelashes, and then the broken heart. It was a perfect method.

"It's not your genius that I'm appreciating right now, Harper" she added, raising an eyebrow and slipping her feet back into the high heels that rested in front of the armchair. Looking him up and down for a fleeting second, Kitty glanced into the fire that still burnt as brightly as ever. Kitty hadn't ever had a proper boyfriend, and she'd never really been into boys her own age - they were usually older, smarter, cleverer. Kitty found that charm and sophistication were limited traits in fifteen and sixteen year old boys. Most seventh years hardly met her stringent standards.

Kitty, however, was willing to make an exception. Getting to her feet, her height immediately gained a few inches from the gargantuan heels on the end of her tiny feet. She took a few steps towards the sprig, standing underneath it and gazing up. With one hand on her hip, she raised her top lip in confusion.
"Doesn't look charmed to me," she replied, raising a shoulder to signal her disillusion. "How do I know it works?" Kitty gave him a coy smile that didn't reveal too much. She had him, hook, line and sinker.