Simon & Philippa's Date

Philippa didn’t know who signed her up for the blind date fiasco but whoever it was must have thought it hilarious. Oh yes, hilariously funny -- let’s pick on the strange Hufflepuff because she’s not like anyone else. She wants to be left alone on Valentine’s Day like every other singleton. Apparently subliminal messages didn’t work anymore and Philippa fund herself walking into Hogsmeade, feeling oddly nervous about the whole affair. She wasn’t used to the whole ‘dating’ thing – she was fifteen for Christ’s sakes! She was quite happy in class. She didn’t need the affection so many other girls her age required to go on with life. It would be nice, yes, but it wasn’t what Pippa sought. Well, it wasn’t at the top of her lists of things she needed. It was quite low down...four or so.

Pippa giggled aloud at this thought and hurried to cover her mouth, her cheeks flushing pink with embarrassment. She stepped up onto the porch of Madam Puddifoot’s and opened the door. The gaudiness wasn’t what she was prepared for. Pippa blinked in surprise and let the door slam behind her. She looked about herself and saw a waiter playing with a flower arrangement. Sucking in a breath, Pippa walked over to the waiter. She tapped him on the shoulder and the man turned. He smiled at her and Pippa returned the sentiment shyly. She opened her mouth to speak but he took her hand. He gestured to a table near some widows and he lead Pippa over. He pulled the chair out for her and she sat down in it.

Then the waiter disappeared, mumbling something about getting her a drink. Philippa smiled slightly and leaned forward to pluck the reserved sign off of the table. She looked it over and touched the frills in one corner. Pippa giggled again and read the sign. Simon McLaggen was her date – whoever he was. Philippa pursed her lips. He had to be older than her. She didn’t recall hearing of him at all. Still, that was probably part of the surprise.

The waiter returned with a teapot and some cups. He set a cup down in front of Pippa and poured her some tea. He set the sugar bowls down as well as small jug of milk and left the teapot before scooting away back to his flowers. “Oh! Thank-you!” Pippa called as he disappeared out of sight. She shook her head, smiling. What a strange man.

*

Simon had signed up for the blind date thing, of course. His quest to impress his father was still going. It was an ongoing, life-long thing and he was still unsure whether or not he would ever succeed. Still, it did not stop him from trying. He was still trying to manage in Quidditch, still trying to prove he had the smarts his father hadn't had, and was still trying to luck out with the ladies.

Too bad good luck was a foreign concept to his life.

Still, he had dressed nicely for the occasion. A nice white button up shirt, black slacks, a dark vest, his dad's watch on his wrist. He had done his hair as usual- he had no idea how to do it any other way- and had decided to use his dorm mate's cologne. Too bad his dorm mate had found it funny to put a protective charm on the cologne so if anyone but him used it, it would smell less like 'Irresistible' and more along the lines of 'Burning garbage.'

He had tried every charm he knew and had tried covering it up with a mix of mint, berry, and musky colognes and now he just smelled like a torrid of smells. He walked towards the shop with a sense of impending doom, hoping maybe the windy walk there may help to at least take the edge off the swirling multitudes of stenches. But the wind seemed to had died down right before he had left.

Lucky him.

He slipped inside and caught the arm of a waiter. "I'm here for the blind date. Simon McLaggen." The waiter turned to look at him and got a look on his face of disgust. He srunched his nose and said in a nasally voice the suggested he was breathing soley through his mouth. "Follow me." Simon obliged and was led to the table where he was set to meet his doom date.

The girl was pretty. That much Simon knew. He also knew her to be a Hufflepuff, a year younger than him. He did extensive research on the females of Hogwarts. He also knew she was sort of... different. But maybe that just meant she would be more willing for a relationship, which was all he needed to prove to his dad he wasn't worthless. He smiled as he sat. "Hello. I'm Simon." He smiled warmly at her.

Upon being left at the table by her lonesome, Philippa began to imagine what her date would be like. She couldn’t help but think the worst first but then her mental image got progressively better as she added sugar and milk to her tea. She placed her teaspoon into the hot liquid and began to stir, idly wondering when he would arrive. Shoes were always a good sign. They told you a lot about a person. Pippa didn’t know what her shoes said about her but she hoped it was something positive and quite, well, nice. She hoped his shoes were nice. He hoped he wasn’t awful to look at, as horrid as that sounded. She didn’t want to feel awkward around someone who looked less attractive than the backend of a donkey. Pippa felt bad about her train of thought but she understood why she was thinking it.

The clinking of the porcelain against the mug ceased when Pippa removed it from the mug and she put it down on her napkin. She picked the cup up and brought it to her lips, her eyes straying to the door to see if anyone had come in. They hadn’t. Pippa sighed and put her cup down on the saucer. She reached forward and picked up one of the biscuits that sat in a basket, helping form the centrepiece. She bit the custard cream and smiled to herself, happy to find that it was still moist. She was sure the humidity would have dried it up. Evidently it didn’t ad for that, Pippa was glad.

When her date appeared, he introduced himself, a warm smile gracing his thin lips. Philippa stood and returned the smile, beaming at him in response and sticking his hand out for him to shake. “I’m Philippa...well, Pippa. You-” Pippa frowned slightly and sniffed the air around Simon. “Not to be rude but...you weren’t attacked by a skunk on the way here were you?” Pippa took her hand away and turned back to the table. She plucked one of the flowers out of the centrepiece and she took her wand from her pocket. She mumbled a spell and cast it on the flower before handing it to Simon. “It’ll help with the smell,” she promised. In theory, unless the smell really was that pungent, the rose would create a layer around the boy and make him smell like roses.