The Start of Something New (Sept. 16th) Pandora

[Benji Fenwick]

Benji took one last long look in the mirror. He had spent an undetermined amount of time getting himself ready for this little ‘date’. The seventh year recalled a time when he paid this much attention to his looks. At that time he was dating Willa and he woke up every morning and groomed himself, just in case they ran into each other. Now he was preparing to go on a date with a fellow Ravenclaw in his year, Pandora Nott. Well it wasn’t a real date. They were trying to catch the attention of Xenophilius Lovegood, well Pan was in any case.

He was very fond of Pan and was a little excited to get to hang out with her more. Even if it was under a guise, he was sure they would have fun. Grabbing his leather jacket, his old favorite one, he heading out the dorm rubbing at his smooth face. It had taken most of his time getting ready to shave, he had grown quite the beard over the summer. But the mountain man look wouldn’t do for a date so he had shaved and like always it took a bit to get use to the feeling of being hairless. His face felt chilly without its coat.

He posted himself near the entrance to the girls dorm in the common room. Nervously he kept pulling out his comb and smoothing his already smooth hair even more. The girls exiting gave him strange looks, Benji simply nodded to them to nervous to ponder what was on their minds. He wasn’t nervous because he liked Pan in a romantic way, he was nervous because he just liked her. He didn’t want to screw it up and Pan end up not wanting to be friends with him. Wiping the sweat off his hands onto his faded jeans Benji sat up a little straighter. He would not screw this up.

[Pandora Nott]

Pandora was going on a date today! A date that was only happening to catch the attention of Xenophilus Lovegood, but it was still a date. Which is why Pandora was up early in her dorm, musing over her clothes that she had thrown all over her bed. She wasn’t exactly what to wear on this fake date, and she had asked Carolyn’s opinion. However, they had reached the conclusion that neither of them were cut out for dating rather quickly.

So now she was standing in her pajamas, staring at her bed. She had gotten up early so that she wouldn’t be late, she didn’t want to keep Benji waiting. But this was a disaster. She was positive that she was now running behind, since everyone else had already left to go to Hogshead. You could have asked Rita. She frowned, running her hands through her hair. She could have asked Rita, but then she would have to to explain the whole situation and well, that just wasn’t going to happen.

Giving a sigh, she pulled the first dress off from the bed, and went about changing. After all, Benji had said for her to just be herself. She was already pushing her limits with the fact she had again put on makeup, and had actually made an effort on her hair instead of throwing it up. She took a look in the mirror, before grabbing a cardigan and throwing it over her bare shoulders. There, she looked presentable and not frumpy. The day was going to be fine.

Giving one final fluff of her hair, Pandora grabbed her bag and headed down the stairs, not entirely paying attention to where she was going. As such, she ran smack into Benji. She dropped her bad, flustered at her easily avoidable mistake. ”Oh I am so sorry! I didn’t realize you were waiting for me right here. Oh you’ve been waiting forever haven’t you? I knew I was late!”

[Benji Fenwick]

It wasn’t wrong to check out another girl while you were waiting for your date right? Not that he was checking her out and not that it was a real date. But Benji looked anyway, testing to see if he had gotten his mojo back so to speak. Nothing. The girl, probably fifth year or below because he didn’t know her, was a looker for sure; and as he watched her walk past him he felt nothing. His libido was dormant or just plain gone, as of now he wasn’t sure.

Benji turned back to his vigil for Pan when she came down the stairs and collided with him. She didn’t move him, him being larger and stronger, but he reached out to catch her scared she might lose her balance. She didn’t thank goodness he would have felt so bad, but she did drop her bag. He released her and picked it up, handing it over to its owner. “Obviously.” He joked, if she had seen him he doubted she would have run into him. “And you aren’t late at all. I haven’t been here too long.”

He took a step back and appraised his date. “You look lovely.” He said with an approving nod. “Not that you don’t always, but I like the dress.” He added with a grin down at her. Yes Xeno was a lucky guy and Benji would make sure he knew it in the end. For a moment he was unsure of what to do next. Should he take her hand, offer her his arm, drape said appendage around her shoulder. Benji made a face, no holding her that way was a little too intimate. And offering her his arm was too formal, so Benji held out his hand, stuffing the other in his pants pocket. “Shall we?”

[Pandora Nott]

While she had admitted it to anyone, Pandora was a bit nervous. This was her first real sort of date, even if it wasn’t a real date. She didn’t know what she was supposed to do. Did she hold his hand? What if she had to kiss him? She did not want to kiss him. Not that she thought it would be unpleasant, but it just seemed like too much. They were only pretending to go on a date and kissing would make it too real. And it would possibly make things very, very weird. Then again, Benji knew best so she supposed if she had to, she could at least manage to hold his hand. That wasn’t so strange after all.

However it was due to this train of thought that she hadn’t been paying attention to where she was going and had walked straight into Benji. She gave him a grin, as he picked up her bag and handed it to her. ”I was just thinking. I know, that’s a dangerous thing to do sometimes,” she said giving a small laugh. Everyone knew that she spent more time in her head than she did in the real world, so it really wasn’t a lie. She had gotten into plenty of unfortunate situations while wondering around the castle with her head in the clouds. ”I’m glad I didn’t make you wait too long.”

She gave him another smile as he stepped back and nodded at her. She was glad this dress was the correct choice of attire for a date, fake or real. Perhaps she wasn’t going to be terrible at dating. ”You look very nice as well. Although your beard is gone!” she noted. Was that a rule she didn’t know about? Did guys have to shave beards for dates? Maybe dating was a lot more complicated than it seemed. She was almost lost in her thoughts again when he extended his hand towards her. ”Oh, yes. To Hogsmeade I suppose then?” she asked, taking his hand gently. It wasn’t as weird as she thought it would be, which was a relief. ”Where do you want to go first?”

[Benji Fenwick]

Benji gave a customary fond smile to his ‘date’. She really was very cute, and completely innocent, and he was becoming more endeared to her every day. “With you thinking can be very dangerous. You get lost up here.” He said teasingly, tapping her forehead lightly. He gave her another smile so she would know he was joking. He didn’t want any misconceptions; Pan was not always so quick on the uptake. Benji suspected this came from years of living in her own world and not paying much attention to social interactions. Well she would be getting some lessons today. The boy laughed inwardly. Noone would ever guess that he would be teaching someone anything about dating and social norms. Yet here he was.

Rubbing his face he felt a spike of nerves. “Do you not like it?” he asked. She had said he looked nice, not exactly what he was going for but he would take it. But she seemed surprised he had shaved and he wasn’t sure if she was displeased or not. See he was pants at the whole dating thing. But for her he would do his best not to let himself get down on himself. He made a conscious effort to relax. “I figured I should look my best if we want to make X jealous.” He said quietly, leading her out of the dorm by the hand.

He set a leisurely pace through the halls, descending the many flights of stairs with ease. More than one person gave him looks of surprise and he was sure Pandora got a few looks of her own. They were, both of them, not known for their extensive dating habits. He wondered if word would get back to Arnie, and whether or not he would be angry Benji hadn’t told him of this new development himself. Then again Benji hadn’t told him anything lately. Shaking these thoughts from his head he turned to his companion and smirked. “I believe, I could be wrong, but I believe to have the most enjoyable dating experience possible it is best to do what the lady wishes.” His father had told him this much. Happy wife happy life. That was his moto, and it had worked for him for some twenty years so who was Benji to question it. “So, what do you want to do Pan. We can do whatever you want it’s your day.” He said stopping them on the stone steps outside the school and looking down at her expectantly.

[Pandora Nott]

Pandora gave a laugh as Benji tapped her forehead. She had grown fond of people teasing her for ability to be completely out of it. For the first couple of years, Carolyn had been her only real friend. She had been the only one to ever actually talk to Pandora and try to pull her head out of the clouds. Now, however, she had strong group of friends and enjoyed their banter. She really should pay more attention to the real world at times.

As Benji rubbed his face, Pandora instantly felt bad. Had she something wrong? ”No! I do like it! I was just surprised.” she replied. Benji was an attractive person, with or without his beard. Just not the kind of person Pandora was romantically interested in. He was too level-headed for her. As he started to lead her out, she nodded along with his words. ”You do know best, Benji. I think you like good either way.”

As they walked down the stairs, hand in hand, Pandora was well aware of the looks the duo received. It had sort of been mutually understood that they weren’t going to tell a lot of people that this wasn’t a real date, although Pandora wondered if she should have told Carolyn so that she could help her figure out how to pretend to date somebody. It was still strange, though, to get looks from people she didn’t really know.

She nodded along with Benji’s words, coming to a stop next to him on the steps outside. ”Ok, well. I really like the Three Broomsticks! Also the sweet shop.”

[Benji Fenwick]

Benji gave a relieved smile. He rubbed at his face again; glad she wasn’t disappointed he had gotten rid of all his facial hair for the occasion. Personally he thought he looked better clean shaven, some people shared his sentiments. He flinched. No he wouldn’t do that to himself today. Pandora thought he looked good either way and oddly he felt ridiculously pleased about this. “Thanks Pan, I think you look good either way too. With all this,” he gestured to her person in general. Her pretty dress, and combed hair, and slight make-up. “Or just normal you. Either way you are a beautiful person inside and out and don’t forget it. Don’t let anyone tell you different.”


Okay that had gotten a little heavier than he intended so to lighten the mood again he touched her nose with his finger and smiled. He just wanted her to know that she was worth it, she deserved the best, and to never settle for less. Pan was such a sweet albeit naïve girl and he cared for her. Not in that way, but in the way he wanted the bets for her. And he didn’t want anyone taking advantage of her; he would do anything to keep that from happening. The world needed people like her, especially now, they were so few and far between. Hence why he had agreed to this whole fake dating thing. To show her she should never settle for anything less than everything.

“Then we have more in common!” he exclaimed, turning onto the high street in Hogsmead. The place was positively teeming with people. “I also like the sweet shop, and Zonko’s but we don’t have to go there today.” I don’t have anyone to prank with anyway. He thought sardonically, his mind wandering to Arnie, wondering what he would be doing today now that Dorcas was gone. No, he would not do that either. He would have a good day, he would show Pan a great time and that was that. “How about we stop and have a butterbeer first?” he said leading them into the Three Broomsticks and shouldering his way to the bar.

[Pandora Nott]

She couldn’t help but let a blush cross her face when Benji complimented her. While she didn’t see him as more than a friend, she wasn’t used to getting compliments and it was nice. She never paid attention to what people thought of her throughout the years. While she still didn’t care, a bit of attention from a boy wasn’t so bad. She was going to have to talk this over with Carolyn, though. Maybe her best friend would be able to help her process her thoughts on dating, and X, in general a little better.

As he poked her nose, she stuck her tongue out at him. She wished she had become friends with him sooner than the past year. He was a lovely person, and he such a good attitude about everything. Not to mention, he was smart. He hardly ever studied and she was incredibly jealous of his ability to get fantastic marks without spending hours looking at a book. Not that she disliked studying, but it must be nice to have a little more free time.

As they walked through Hogsmeade, she gave a laugh, ”I’m glad we do! This date is going to be a lot of fun. Thank you, Benji.” She happily followed him down the street, nodding as he spoke about Honeydukes and Zonkos. She hadn’t gone into Zonkos much, but she was sure it would be fun. She bounced along after him as he led her into the three broomsticks, wiggling up next to the bar after him.

”So where should we go after this? I’d like to go to Zonko’s if you want to go!” She exclaimed, as she accepted a butterbeer from the bar keep.

[Benji Fenwick]

The seventh year thought his housemate was being ridiculously cute as she blushed and stuck out her tongue. Yes, X was very lucky. Benji smiled a brilliant smile, it felt strange on his face; he couldn’t remember the last time he had been so excited about something. But he was excited about this ‘date’. It had been a while since he had just had fun.

“Yea, who would have guessed me and you with stuff in common?” He commented. They were very different people all around, yet their friendship seemed to work. It worked well enough to pull off this little stunt. He tried to ignore the looks as they walked through Hogsmead. And he thought of Arnie again. He hoped they didn’t run into each other, and if they did Benji hoped Dorcas was visiting his friend, or the other bloke was with friends.


“I hope its loads fun; I need a bit of fun. And don’t mention it; really no one would believe you anyway.” He joked, sending her a grin. But really no one would believe them except maybe their closest friends. What a shock that would be for Carolyn and Arnie. Benji lead his friend over to a table not yet surrounded by people, pulled out her chair for her and then took his own seat. “Yea we can go to Zonko’s if you fancy.” He looked away thinking of the good times him and Arnie had had there. “Then we can hit up the sweet shop. And then,” he lowered his voice so not to be overheard. “we should go to where Xeno like to go, you know make sure he sees us. Do you know where he likes to spend his weekends?”

[Pandora Nott]

Pandora gave a small laugh at Benji's remark. While they had very little in common, at least so it seemed, she supposed he was right. They were an odd duo out adventuring in Hogsmeade today, not the kind of people who seemed like they would be on a date together. But Pandora had come to love Benji, in a way that she loved all her friends. He was a good person, and she was quite keen on learning more about him during their little dating adventure.

Taking a sip of her butterbeer, she raised an eyebrow at his comments. No one would believe her? About what? She was unsure of what Benji was trying to get at, but she shrugged it off. She was more concerned about having a good date and making sure he had a good time as well. He had seemed so bummed this past couple weeks, it was making Pandora rather worried for the bloke.

She followed Benji to the table, setting her butterbeer down and nodded as he talked, and then scrunched her nose, "Zonko's and the sweet shop sound nice. But I don't know where he goes in Hogsmeade. Maybe the Shrieking Shack? I've never followed him here before."

She settled back in her chair, before giving a sigh, "Benji...are you ok?"

[Benji Fenwick]

Benji bowed his dark head, hiding a smile. Pan had let something slip and he didn’t think she even realized it. She had said that she had never followed X here before. Implying she had followed him somewhere before. And she said she wasn’t a stalker. Benji chuckled at his little inside joke. Nah Pandora wasn’t a stalker; she was just a girl with a crush. He himself had followed Mary McDonald around for months in third year. That was until she caught him at it. He lost his nerve and took to avoiding her instead.


He shook his head, taking a sip from the warm drink and looking around. “Not the Shrieking Shack love. That place is where couples go for some…alone time usually.” Benji winked at her, like he was letting her in on a big secret. Though it wasn’t much a secret at all, he thought everyone knew that. Besides he didn’t think Xeno would hang out there much.

“Maybe the Hogs head.” That was a strange place, just like Xenophilius Lovegood. Perhaps the boy enjoyed the quiet, smell of goats, opposed to the cheerful Three Broomstickes. Again Benji felt awfully remiss, six years in a dorm with the other boy and he was completely at a loss to what the boy did other than eat, sleep, and shower. Benji reared back, forcing a smile on his surprised face and holding his mug with both hands. “Yea, yea I’m grand, I’m here with you after all. Even if you are using me.” He teased. “Why do you ask?” Jeesh he shouldn’t have asked that.

[Pandora Nott]

Pandora was a tad dissapointed that Xenophilius wasn't here. Then again, there was the possibility that he didn't even come to Hogsmeade. The plan the two of them had formulated wouldn't do much good if the boy she was trying to make jealous wasn't even around. Of course, word could always get back to him. Benji did share a dorm with the boy, perhaps he would simply mention it to Xenophilius if they didn't find him wandering around Hogsmeade today.

But at Benji's words, Pandora's eyes went wide. Alone time? "Oh...oh!" she exclaimed, as his words finally processed in her brain. No, he probably wouldn't be there. And if he was, well, Pandora didn't really want to consider what that meant for her. After all, she hadn't actually considered the possibility that Xenophilius might already have a girlfriend. She was going to have to do some further research about his relationship status on her own time.

Pandora gave a small nod, "Yes, the Hogs Head would be a good place to check." She had never been there before, but she knew it had a reputation for being ordinary. Which was something that Xenophilius definitely was. She gave Benji a small smile at his teasing jab, her concern for the boy still eating at her insides. "You just seem sad, that's all. You and Arnie don't seem to be the same, and you just don't seem to be yourself. And as your friend I am concerned for you." She took a sip of her drink, watching Benji carefully. If she was going to be spending time with him, she wanted to make sure he was going to be alright.

[Benji Fenwick]

It was always fun to watch the emotions play about on Pan’s face; she was one of those expressive people. He loved to watch her, sometimes just reading or studying, not in the creepy way, just in the way that he was starting to notice her. And she was so simple in so many ways, she wasn’t half as strange as people thought, and Benji had found a real fondness for the girl opposite him. She was special.


Entertaining too, especially watching as realization dawned about the Shack, it was amusing. He hid expertly behind his mug to cover his little smile, nodding to her next words. “We can check there after the sweet shop and Zonko’s. Maybe we can get a deck of Exploding Snap to pass the time while we wait him out. If worse comes to worse and we don’t run into him then I’ll just be sure to talk ‘us’ up really big.”



Benji nodded, yes this sounded like the most plausible plan. Unless Pandora wanted to go on a man hunt for him. Benji would do that if that’s what she wanted. What he would not do, was talk about Arnie. “Yea yea everything is grand. People just grow; things happen. Besides I’m here with you now and that’s all I’m worried about.” There, how could she argue with that?

 

[Pandora Nott]

This whole situation still hardly made sense to Pandora. But she had learned long ago that she simply needed to trust her friends. They had yet to steer her wrong. If pretending to date Benji was the best way to get another boy to notice her, than so be it. Benji was going to talk her up to his roommate, which would hopefully peek Xenophilius' interest. Of course, when she had written home to her mother about the fact she had a crush on a boy the advice had been to simply approach Xeno and talk to him and ask him to Hogsmeade.

But Benji's advice required less confrontation about feelings, and so Pandora was going to try this first. Even if it was a little odd. Thankfully, Benji's plan for the day seemed positively enjoyable, even if they didn't run into X. "I have a good feeling about the sweet shop. After all, who doesn't love sweets? I mean, I don't know if he actually likes sweets. But I like them," she said, letting her thoughts trail off for a few moments before continuing. "And I love Exploding Snap! And I appreciate this, you are the best Benji."

However, it was obvious he was avoiding her question. His words made sense, people did change after all, but they had been best friends since first year. And while Carolyn had grown and changed, Pandora still considered her to be her best friend. After all, Pandora had grown and changed as well. They had done it together, and been through so much. But Benji wasn't giving a straight answer, so she smiled and nodded. "Alrighty, if you say so. But if you ever need to talk..." 

[Benji Fenwick]

How positively deprived was he that he got all warm and fuzzy when Pandora said that he was the best? Benji sipped at his drink to hide his ridiculous smile from his date. It was just a wee compliment. From a girl he felt strong affection for but knew would never truly love in that way. It shouldn’t have felt so nice. He was so flustered he wasn’t able to say anything in response.

Then she was telling him that if he ever needed to talk…And he just couldn’t deal. “Thanks I’ll keep that in mind.” He mumbled, finishing off his drink. “Alright, sweets it is.” The boy said standing and making his way to the bar, he was then suddenly and expectantly frozen to the spot only a few paces away from where his date still sat. Dorcas. He had never entertained the possibility that she would be here, he hadn’t thought of her much at all really. The less he thought about his best mate the less he thought about his ex-best mate’s girlfriend.

“Hey Benji-you’re a sight for sore eyes!”

Benji gave a tight grin. “Dorcas, ho-how are you?” jeesh there he went again. But Doe, who had always been pleasant to him, took his stuttering in stride and kindly inquired about how busy he had been lately. Dazedly Benji followed her to the bar where stupidly he tried asking about her and her beau, though he never really got the blokes name out. They were good of course; they were all in love like he used to be. 

“Good good.” Benji intoned looking to Pan and wondering what she was making of all this. Then Doe asked about the very girl he had been glancing at frequently since meeting up with the recently graduated Gryffindor. “Yea same house.” He said another glance at Pan, then he added, sounding more interested in the blonde than he really was. “She is really great.” Benji wasn’t quite sure why he was playing it up.

“What else do you two have planned for today?”

Doe asked trying to be friendly he knew but mostly just throwing him off his game. ‘X.’ the boy thought at once. He was only here for Pan, who was after Xenophilius. But he couldn’t tell her that. “Just hanging around the village.” And knowing he didn’t sound very convincing he added as way of distraction. “I was just coming to see if I could snag a few drinks to take with us.” There it was the truth.

”I can help with that.”

Curse her for being ever helpful! Benji watched her as she made her way to a table in the corner and then his heart stopped; speed up into overdrive, then jumped in his throat. He felt that need for fight or flight because there she was, Willa, with him. 

He hated him. Benji didn't want anything from Sirius Black. Belatedly he looked to Pandora; this was supposed to be her day and he would not ruin it by doing what he did last time. Soon though Doe was back, handing him a box of butterbeers and saying.

“Please go easier on him.”

Benji could not meet her eye. “Thanks.” He said making haste to his date, he had to get out of here; they had to get out of here. “I’ve got us some to go, ready for that candy?” he asked hoping beyond hope that she didn’t want to stick around.