4pm

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I think I could love her~ ... crimson &  clover! The past was alive & well (not to mention somewhat blaring, she had cast a semi-strong Muffliato spell on the door) from the empty classroom upon the fourth floor. Words of love, peace, serenity, even possibly drug allusions had been going off for the past ten minutes. Luckily, no one had been by to give their opinion to the individial behind it all. Adelia Delacroix's week had been absolutely Godric awful & now wanted to find a loophole to get rid of what was going on in her life. Fauna was still not wanting to talk much at all though she could have sworn last nite she heard her wish Addie a 'good night, sleep tight' like they used to. Who knew.

So, she had made the decision after making sure homework was near completion, trucking up all of the records she had in her possession with the headset unplugged, junk food (and some food from the kitchens - bless those house elves), the Union Jack pillow under her bottom & her steampunk goggles over her eyes as she silently jammed to the tunes with her head bouncing. Once the record finished, Addie moved the needle back & began singing along with the oldies again.

Nothing could get her down - not Fauna & her dramallamas, zilch, nada. Nothing.

Outfit

Whenever Fir wanted to find Addie, all he had to do was follow the music. Which, wow, did that sound like a Broadway line or what? Ew.

Sometimes it surprised people to know Fir wasn't a musical person. Or into romantic comedies. When it came to tastes in movies and plays, Fir was a typical hot-blooded male. Go figure.

But he wasn't looking for Addie for a good action film. No, Addie usually provided other things. Like sweets, silliness and tune-age. No make-outs sessions, sadly, but hey everyone in the world couldn't have an outward burning desire to be the gal/guy on Fir's arm. Otherwise Fir's life would get waaaay too complicated. And he'd have to figure out how to persuade all said gals and girls to go along with sharing him. A difficult feat, of course, considering it was after all, Fir.

He figured out where he and Addie were supposed to meet easily enough. All he had to do was check for charms, given the volume that the music ended up being played at. Fir personally didn't see the point in keeping the noise level down, but this was the boy that felt the need to announce his presence visually and verbally wherever he went.

"Adddddddiiiiieeeee," Fir proclaimed loudly as he opened the door and basked in the the rush of obnoxiously loud music. "I brought tunes!"

He held up some of the muggle record he brought to school, which were all pretty much oldies by virtue of being...records. Sill, he had some David Bowie, some Sex Pistols and a little bit of Aerosmith thrown in.

"The hell did you put in anyway?" he asked.

Crimson & Clover was ending once again as the door swung open - Addie  hadn't heard Fir call her name due to it, however when she went to switch over to some 3OS, her ears perked up hear all about it. The needle didn't evenland as her face furrowed into a knit brow & an annoyed shot up eyebrow. "WHAT THE BLEEDIN'..."  she began until she noticed it was only Fir. Just Fir, thank the Friar. "F'yer information, Mr. Righteous Pants: Tommy James & the Shondells, 1968 - hmpf," she responded with a boisterously loud raspberry aimed at him. It was followed by a genuine smile that hadn't been since the train ride back to Hogwarts so if Fir had known her lil' secret before that, he would've likely been shocked.

"Shut the...oh, you are so predictable!" Her wand flicked at the door & shut itself again as her blue eyes looked to see what he had brought. "Where's me 3OS '07 Live? I see Bowie, Tyler & th' Electric Currents (her own brand of naming AC/DC to annoy Fir), but where's Creevs?" she said, thinking of a few things to do to him if he didn't have it. Cor, that sounded dark, she thought momentarily. "Have some good holidays?" she mumbled as the needle went onto the record & the opening rock ballad started playing among the two teens.

She paused a moment & let a heavy sigh. "I s'pose y'heard or saw aboot Faun & I?" If he lied or said no, Addie was sure to stare him down. Even though she had Matty to be there as a boyfriend, Fir would surely understand  - probably as long as she didn't kill him with the 'hippie music' he so often fell asleep upon.

Fir raised an eyebrow and smirked at Addie's outburst. Trust the Hufflepuff to be completely oblivious that the best person in the world just walked through the door. His amusement continued after she realized who Fir was an proceeded to lecture him about good music. Pfft. Addie had good taste, no denying it, but it was slightly marred by her acceptance and appreciation of hippie music.

Fir rolled his eyes once for shutting the door and considered a second time (but didn't when she called him predictable).

"I am so sorry my darling if I'm 'predictable'  but daddy has a limited record selection," Fir said sarcastically. "And my allowance has been on hiatus since I was twelve. But yes, I did nick some Creev and your bloody 30S Live from my housemates."

He tossed the records her way, shaking his head. He liked music as much as the next guy, but Addie was a proper junkie.

"Holiday was boring as all hell," Fir said rolling his eye. "I swear if I have to sit through one more awkward Christmas dinner I'll hex myself."

Thank goodness the next song started and gave a much-needed upgrade to the sound. Rock ballads Fir could do. Half the reason Fir liked 3Os was because you easily get your hands on record that played modern music.

His grin faded a bit when Addie talked about her own family issues. Fir leaned in to give the girl a chaste kiss on the cheek.

"I heard the gist, yeah," he said. "All he more reason to rock out today, Addie-girl."

Heh, she was always amused by the pet names & constant banter between the two of them. Naturally, Fir had his opinions but who was the one to find him the latest music, even the craziest ways to combine the old with the new? A smirk showed up even as Fir had likely no clue as for the real reason - the records came flying her way soon enough. Addie immediately went for the 3OS LIVE, searching all of it for any indication of misuse & only could find fingerprints all over it as well as the record cover dogeared on one corner. "I'm surprised your boy/girl toys didn't attempt to break or burn it. Thanks again & as for that allowance, that's why Grandmere sent you those boots from Paris, Fir," she said with that mischievous look still there on her face.

Bad holidays? Hexing? "Surely the parental unit didn't make you plant a pine tree as a means of a lasting Christmas gift, Godric say it tain't so!" she joked, jabbing her shoulder at his as Addie stood up. The next song was what Addie considered as the wizard version of Queen's "Don't Stop Me Now," which apparently Addie professed to Fir once before that was their 'zombie war fightin' song' forever.

Her body began jumping about, jamming around the room, even as her hair covered over the blue eyes that only moments before seem dismayed. *"Whoa whoa whoa! Sweet baby, won'cha be mineeee!" Addie sang, her eyes looking soon at Fir, grinning happier than what she had in quite some time. "COME...ON....why aren't 'cha jamming for!? Don' make me force you!" she said before going on back into the dance/dj mode she had been in moments before.

---

* - made up 3OS lyrics unless used in later posting of song lyrics

Oh Addie. Bless her heart but she had the hyperactive-ness of a second-year sometime. If Fir hadn't been..well, Fir, he probably wouldn't be able to keep up with her.

"Hey now," he said, feigning hurt. "You make he sounds like I'm some hedonist surrounded by good food, drink and company all day long. And make that sounds like a bad thing. Plus I'll have you know some of my girl/boy toys are meticulous."

So there. That'll show...someone.

"And you can tell your gran that the boots are fabulous and that she has excellent taste," Fir said, sending a wink Addie's way as she put on the new album.

Fir just rolled his eyes when she asked more about home. "Very funny. though I can't decide if that would be better or worse. Naw, it's just the usual. Awkward family dinners for the fail. Best part was cousin time and Flickwick time at new years."

Of course further talk was silenced when Addie predictably put on their 'zombie song.' Fir didn't know where she had gotten this idea from, but he sure as hell wasn't fighting no zombies. And he sure wasn't doing Addie-style dancing.

"You look like a chicken on drugs." he told her, sticking out his tongue.

Tapendra had been having a nice nap. The dream had been nice too; it had involved some nice young ladies in low cut shirts who really wanted to learn about special relativity.

Getting woken up right when they'd gotten to explaining Space-Time and the blonde had crossed her arms was not what he'd been hoping for. He blearing rolled off the couch and hit the floor, landing on Kepler, who announced his annoyance with a loud yowl.

He sat up blearily, yawning and wondering what had woken him up. After a few moments of listening he realised that the music - loud as it was -  sounded familiar. But, Queen? In Hogwarts? Though it didn't sound quite right, like someone trying to imitate them...a bad cover, maybe?

Groaning as he got to his feet, he stumbled off down the stairs to investigate, vaguely aware his attire wasn't the most professional for yelling - or maybe complementing, he wasn't sure - at students in. As he headed down the stairs the music grew louder and louder - that definetly wasn't Queen - and its location became evident.

He opened the door to the empty classroom with a bang, blinking sleepily at the two students. "If you're going to listen to rock and roll in my tower, would you at least listen to the real Queen?" he asked, taking in the scene as he rubbed one of his temples and yawned.

Addie was in the midst of a poor pop & lock (she knew she needed a professional at it but who knew how to? Fir was hardly to be interested in such things as pop & lock) when she heard Fir babble on about his interpretation of what she looked like. "I'll have YOU know, Firsome, that my dancing skills are not nearly as bad as-"

BANG. The door slammed wide open & Addie instantly stopped the record while her mind added the sound of the needle scratching against the vinyl as it would if she had actually done it. The blue eyes were wide open, that is, until she realized it wasn't Storm, Snark or Austerlitz, but simply Professor Tappy himself. He was grumpy (who wouldn't be if awaken from a nap?) & by his inquiry, he didn't approve of 3OS's album. He wanted Queen, so Queen he'd get. She thumbed through until she found the one that would work (hopefully) - the record started back up as she walked back over to the door, only to shut it & keep the noise down once more.

"Didja forget where y'parked th' TARDIS? 'Cause y'look horrid & sorries on wakin' cha' up!" Addie piped up, giving her own apologies - Fir was on his own for that cause! She smiled at Tappy, hoping he wouldn't go be a sour puss & take points. It was music on a Saturday afternoon & the location wasn't off limits! Maybe he just needed to chillax, eh?

Freddie Mercury's voice was surrounding every crevice in the room, allowing the surroundings to seem a bit more friendlier once again - heck, the song playing was Good Company! How ironically funny, eh? "Would'cha like a licorice wand or some sour candy or any f'tha' matter?" Addie asked, sticking a sour gumball in her mouth, her face soon twisting into the all too familiar scene when a person would be attacked by sour stuff. "Cripes, that's good."

He blinked several times, looking at Adelia with open surprise, looking down at his shirt then at her. Then his face broke into a beaming smile. "My lady, if I had a TARDIS, I'd get better naps," he said jovially. "And it's alright - I needed to get up anyway," he added, leaning on the wall as she turned on Queen.

He considered saying no to the candy, but his sweet tooth won out and he gratefully took one of the licorice wands. He could use the sugar rush anyway - he chewed on the end happily.

"How did you get a record player to work?" he asked, eagerly. "Did someone finally get a magical one working?" He paused, smiling in thought. "Can you play music that's not a record? Like in MP3 format?" he asked, a bit too eagerly - if she knew the TARDIS than she might know mp3s, right? He paused and cleared his throat. "I'm, uh, just curious..."

Addie was amused as the display was all too evident upon her face as she looked to Tappy – what a crook, eh? She felt all important for knowing his style of fads, so naturally, this caused a bit of an ego spell. “Well, dear Doctor, you need to learn to live with music too! After all, a Doctor needs entertainment value, so don’t be such a Fagin, cause this is a fine life!” she spoke up with a goofy grin plastered now upon her face.

The licorice wands were indeed muy delicioso, there was no denying that – after all, only Ignan Storm would deny them, the sourpuss! Addie choked for a moment thinking of Ignan and of course like usual, her grandfather Jimmy. Oy, would she ever find a way to stop thinking about the two and perhaps, just perhaps allow the grandfather to write to him? . . . Not today, she finally thought as Tappy’s words caught her attention once more. Why, this was a vintage record player and well, no! It didn’t play mp3’s! Why would it? Vinyl was a delightful mocha blended drink; mp3’s was a vanilla bean drink, still enjoyable but not nearly as scrumptious for the ears.

“Uh, no~ — it’s a vinyl record player solely, sir….so don’t be expecting anything fancy from the dear ol’ thing! As for being curious, it’s nothing bad, right, Fir?” she said, her eyes looking over to the sudden quiet porcupine hair lad.

Fir was being quite because he was a little overwhelmed by the wave of nerd that had risen in the room. Dear Lord. It was a good thing he loved Addie. Sometimes she was a bit much and the last thing she needed was someone encouraging it. Which was the case now.

Oh sure Fir knew Dr. Who. What muggle raised British kid didn't? But Fir didn't watch the show. He had better things to do with his time. 'Sides with friends like Addie, h could just get a summary whenever he needed it.

"Magic?" he offered sarcastically when the professor asked how the record player got working. "MP3 players however, are a bust. I smuggled my cousins in second year. Not pretty, I tell you what."

Sometimes he really thought the professor was a Muggle that had been smuggled into the wizarding world and given a quick condensed history and breakdown of how everything worked. He seemed a little...clueless. Well except when he thought he was snogging Georgina. Then that cluelessness wore off real fast.

Tapendra gave Fir an almost unreadable look, one that said I remember about the snogging, Cuween, and you'd better remember that I remember. Also, what the hell is your hair made of?  Then it dissolved into a disappointed grunt and what might have been a slight pout, but he was 32 and a Professor and was therefore incapable of pouting. It had to be something else.

"Damn. There was supposed to be someone working on a recording charm," he said, with a sigh. He looked at the record player again, clearly quite curious; he really hadn't known they had these working. He still had records at home...old stuff, of course, from the mid 80s at best. He wouldn't be able to play Lady Gaga.

How annoying.

"Where did you get it, Delacriox?" he asked, politely. "It's rather dull, not being able to listen to music while I'm working." His smile twisted, wryly. "Contrary to popular belief, math without music puts me right to sleep."

Fir deserved a big shiny gold star for correctly guessing that Addie didn't need encouragement, but she was oblivious to it as she listened to the male conversations that were fouling the mood of Queen at the moment. She snickered momentarily when Fir mentioned the mp3 incident; but then, of course, Trishna had to ask how she got the record player.

Okay, maybe it was a little more than what met the eye? Of course! "It's like I said, sir, it's a record player, buuuut my Uncle Francis modified some of it where I think it can do more. If I didn't know any better, I'd say he's a wiz & don't just mean the Muggle term." Call it premonition, but she was spot on about it. "God bless Lily St. Cyr?" she murmed randomly as Bohemian Rhapsody started playing, causing her to sway her body back & forth as Addie cast a playful glance over towards Fir - she really thought he (along with Quinn & a few others) brought a big difference in climate to Hogwarts.

"Say, Fir, dahhhhling? Are y'doin' anything f'Valentine's? Like glittering & glitzing the school?" she began, leaning forward to whisper for his ears only, "Like the naughty boy you are? Or do you & Quinn low on your glitz?" She pulled back, nomming soon on a licorce wand as her eyes twinkled mischief, looking soon back to Tappy.

"What 'bout 'choo, professor? Wha'cha going t'do? I think...I think Matty said he was gon' get us t'do something?"

Fir knew the look the professor was giving him. Maybe not enough to pick apart all the little details, but he was used to getting looks wherever he went. It was one of the few downsides to being so stunningly attractive and amazing in everything.

So Fir did what he always did when he was given one of 'those looks.' He just grinned and waggled his eyebrows playfully. Oh how cute was he? Waaaay cuter than Professor Science, that was for sure.

"The concept's not the difficult," Fir said with a shrug when Addie talked about the record player. "All a record player needs to do is spin the record around and keep the needle on track. That's easy to do with magic. Muggles make kiddie record players you can handcrank."

Every once in awhile, Fir let people see that there was actually a brain underneath all that hair. If it affected him and if he wanted it, he'd actually consider learning or even (gasp!) cracking a book.

Luckily Addie was soon distracting him again from silly things like learning.

"Addie darling, I always glitter and glitz up the school," Fir scoffed. "Of course I will turn it up for Valentine's Day. I will be going to the ball with someone gorgeous on either arm and will dazzle and charm all onlookers, as is my way."

He snagged another licorice wand while they were talking, scowling at Cuween. Sometimes he wondered if Georgiana picked her flings specifically because she knew it would annoy him.

"I don't suppose your uncle does... commissions, Delacroix?" he asked after a moment. "Could use something to make that classroom more cheerful."

He regarded them as they spoke of Valentines; his eyes looking up at the ceiling briefly. That was going to suck, he had a feeling. It had been an annoying holiday in his school years and with people like Cuween running about it was going to be Chaotic.

He considered Fir description of his effect on the ball and grunted. "So you'll be dressing as a disco ball?"