With A Tinge of Scarlet

"Derrick... I think he tried to sell me Firewhiskey last year."

Keith rubbed the back of his neck and chuckled uncomfortably, eyes darting around the room in a desperate attempt to settle on anything that wasn't Teddy's eyes. "Oh man, really?" He asked. "That's uh...wow, that's pretty bad. I had no idea he was doing anything like that."

Teddy had changed dramatically upon Derrick's interruption. Before she had been off balance, nervous, and blushing - but now she was in charge, focused, and quite obviously steering Keith towards a conversation he didn't want to have.

Unfortunately, though Keith could see through her sudden change of demeanor, he couldn't figure out a way to deflect it. The words that usually came so easily seemed to be suddenly stopped up, and he was not liking it.

"Man, Firewhiskey. That's uh, pretty heavy stuff. He shouldn't be getting into stuff like that at his age," Keith said, ignoring the fact that he had been selling Firewhiskey only a few months into his first year at Hogwarts. (And sleeping droughts, but that was beside the point.) "I should talk to him about that, probably."

Teddy had figured it out for herself, and all she wanted now was for Keith to break that barrier and admit it. Typically, Teddy would have simply thrown the armchair down, pinned Keith against it, and demanded he tell her the answers to all of her questions. However, her nerve failed her when she was dealing with a boy she might have admired for the past year or two. A boy who had grown significantly taller over the summer.

But she was still considering pinning him down too.

He offered to speak to him and sh smiled. "But you're a prefect. You wouldn't want the professors to think you are an accomplice, right? I can talk to him, he used to like me, it'll be fine. Besides, prefects typically try to keep their noses clean right?" She smirked a little, knowing this would agitate the boy who had marked himself a rebel from his first year. "Stay away from trouble, cut down on fun. How many Head Boys were involved with people like Derrick anyway?"

"Ugh, don't even remind me about the prefect thing," Keith said, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "It's ridiculous! I didn't ask the position, I didn't want it. I mean, don't get me wrong, I'm glad that the teachers are finally realizing how awesome a guy I am but really, responsibility and authority aren't really my style. You know?"

He smiled and leaned back in his chair, anxiety fading from his face and tone as he did what he did bast - grabbed tight to a tangent and ran with it. "And don't even get mes started about the other prefects. There are gonna be power struggles up the wazoo with that lot, let me tell you, because the Head Girl - Liesl, you know her? She's part take charge go-getter and part controlling B****, and the others are just pretty much incompetent idiots who don't like the idea of a fourth year bossing them around. It's ridiculous. The whole things is ridiculous. I should publish a manifesto or something."

It was a little disconcerting- the volume and sincerity of all Keith proceeded to say. It almost made Teddy halt her entire search into Keith's dealings, simply to enjoy this elusive casual conversation, a type of social contact Teddy rarely enjoyed the benefits of. She had to get a handle on herself though. She would not be the most reputable news reporter by the time she was twenty four if she could not get a handle on herself in such a low pressure situation as this.

"Sounds rough," she said, her mind carefully scrolling through the options before her. She shook her head, buying herself some time with small talk. "People are idiots, and kids with power are the worst." Then it clicked. She laughed. "If I were stuck as prefect, I'd cause the other prefects hell. Take all the safety of having permission to be out late and be places you are otherwise not allowed and allow trouble to sprout under their nose."

Ah yes. Keith was much more comfortable with this line of discussion. No pointed questions, no obvious suspicions. Just two Fourth Years hanging out, talking about how one of them got unlucky enough to be given power he neither wanted nor deserved.

"If I were stuck as prefect, I'd cause the other prefects hell."

Sometimes terrible things happen in Hogwarts. One informed person with good intentions can be the difference between lives saved and lives lost.

Keith's smile flickered for the briefest half-moment before returning.

"Take all the safety of having permission to be out late and be places you are otherwise not allowed and allow trouble to sprout under their nose."

Make sure this is used for the right reasons.

Keith forced a laugh and rubbed the back of his neck. "No, I had...I had the same ideas. I'm uh...planning something actually but I dunno maybe..." He paused, frowned, and looked up at Teddy with renewed distrust. "Wait a minute. You're little miss reporter. I really shouldn't be talking to you about any...completely legitimate plans I may have made."

Smooth Keith. Super smooth.

((With my playby change for her, I'm also making other changes with Teddy. She's going to fall into a rougher crowd, get in trouble, cut her hair, pierce her nose, etc. Just for you information. =) ))

He had some... ideas. And Teddy found her interest was piqued, not only for the possible information on Spice, but because her rebellious spirit had been a-stirring lately. The change had begun to take shape from her last letter from home. Her sister Merry's wedding was in a few weeks and Teddy had to come. There was one problem- no one had told her Merry was even engaged.

Teddy wanted to make a gran entrance for the wedding. It'd be nice to be unrecognized by her family. And if they got a few letters from Hogwarts alerting them of detentions and dropped grades, that'd be good too.

He suddenly derailed himself and a look of disappointment crossed her face. "Aw, come on," she said. "I didn't judge you for being a prefect- shouldn't I be offered the same grace? Do you see any pens or notepads on me?" There were four pens in her right pocket and her notepad was in the back pocket of her jeans. This wasn't important though.

((Sounds good))

Keith's frown deepened as Teddy pleaded her case. He wasn't sure how sincere she was being with all this. And though she may not have had any pens or notebooks in her hand she could easily write down whatever he told her later. He should keep his vaguely-defined plans to himself, and if she was really interested she would prove it later.

On the other hand...was he afraid of her? Secrecy was important, but Keith had never been one to bow to authority if his plans ever got out. It was pretty common knowledge around the school that about thirty percent of everything that went wrong was his fault one way or another, and he made no attempt to hide that. He had served his fair share of detentions and hadn't ever exactly been shy when it came to bragging about his various escapades.

"Look..." he said finally. "Being a Prefect is power. It's leverage. I can use that leverage to enforce the rules and make sure everyone stays on the straight and narrow...or I can use it to do what I want. If you were in my position, what would you do?"

He spoke and she legitimately gave it some thought. What would she do? She wasn't close enough with anyone to offer the benefits to them, but she would probably use the benefits to get people close to her. She would trade forgiveness for crimes for a few secrets. She would cozy up to the professors and be nosy enough to be favored by them. She would let herself off, let off the people she liked, and be rigid and unmoving with the rules for everyone else.

She paused. "I'd enjoy my time. I'd enforce the rules, and I'd live it up with my friends," she said, omitting the fact that she had no friends currently at hand to live it up with.

An look of disappointment flashed over Keith's face for the barest fraction of a moment before he managed to cover it with a blank, neutral mask. Such a startlingly typical answer.

He wasn't even sure if what he was feeling was disappointment, because he hadn't really had any expectations for Teddy - but maybe he had. Maybe he had at least thought that she'd be smart enough to tell him what he wanted to hear. And maybe that boring answer was hiding a much more vibrant, devious personality, but playing it safe with an answer like that...didn't bode very well for her, in his mind.

"Alright," he said with a shrug. "If that's your idea of a good time, more power to you."

Something about the flicker on Keith's face and the bland response had given, and the noncommittal shrug of indifference... something about it all just rubbed Teddy the wrong way. A pink flush crept up into her face, not of embarrassment, but of emotion and she tried to fight it down. He was unsuspicious, she appeared nonthreatening, and this was the proper way to go about things. But Teddy hated being undervalued, underestimated, and that was what the shrug, flicker, and comment equated to her.

Her eyes narrowed on him. "What do you mean by that?" There was a strange strain and bite to her words. She wanted the truth, even if it was that he thought her a watered down pansy poser- at least it gave her something to disprove.