✧OWLS PT.1✧

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After having denounced her secrets, Aria felt the pressure taken off her shoulders. Part of felt as though Rabastan had indeed started to look at her differently, but instead it was more of a matter of him protecting her.

And while it was sweet, there came a point to him wanting to curse her teammates for being too rough at practice was starting to wane on her.

With the addition of OWLS, Aria seemingly felt stressed, stressed...And more stressed.

It would be a full bloody week, where the entire 5th year would be taking the written portion then proceed to the practical portion in smaller groups.

Luckily they were giving the student body an extra weekend to study and all this and that, and Aria planned to use it to her advantage. Except Thursday night, she had a date planned with Rabastan and she couldn't bloody wait.

Right now however he had come into the room with a distant expression and a loud of packages in hand. "Merlin please tell me that's not Michael trying to be an arse."

"Er...No. I went overboard."

"Raba I thought I said no gifts. And merlin my birthday's in July."

"Duly noted. But after I angered you, perhaps I was slightly drunk with—"

"Your vault number? Gods Raba, I don't need anything." Her perked his lips and it reformed into a pout as he let the parcels down onto the table beside her.

"Well one is a set of replaces for my...Kink, is that what you called my panty ripping?"
"You ripped my favorite pair! What was I meant to call it, it's a kink." He rolled his eyes and pulled up the given packaged that he knew was the panties to start it off with. However when he joined her on the couch she caught his chin in her grasp.

"No. More. Gifts." She spoke, but he simply let out a devious smile. "I cannot promise that, I've always had a subscription to witch's locket..."

"Oh? So your panty kink isn't a new thing?" She wasn't surprised, some of the Ravenclaw lads subscribed to that same magazine for the promiscuous flyer that is delivered each month.

Course Rabastan wouldn't be afraid to order from it.

"And your parents won't be concerned on how much you've spent? Are you sure?"
"You should see what my sister spends...In law I mean. Bellatrix has been limited from purchasing much of anything these days. My brother's finally warned her off."
"What do she usually buy?"
"Trinkets, some legal, mostly not. But honestly love, my vault could do with a bit of spending." She still felt odd in receiving gifts. "But the ring was enough Raba."

"That was Christmas, let's say this is an early birthday present."
"No, this is my birthday present then, nothing else." The witch drove a hard bargain, but he shook his head.

"This and then one more thing—Ah, I already had it picked out...Now, suppose you want panties before anything else." She attempted to hold her stoic expression but he caught her lip begin to quiver.

"Love please, let me pamper you...I ordered all these before I knew about your past, and I cannot imagine how you've actually lived through it all. But not having birthdays or holidays to receive gifts?"
"That's why I don't like holidays Raba, she turned greedy and expected things from the community and from us." It was a reminder that Christian holidays were filled with looting and begging.

"Would you take it as a thank you then?"
"Thank you? For what?" He leaned in, the sound of the packages crinkling only alerted her that he was incoming.

But it was a rather sweet kiss.

"For loving me as you do." He had planned to leave it at that, but her hands encased him once again and refused to let him leave.

And she left one adoring kiss to his nose as well.

"No more stress shopping Rabastan." He hummed but she knew he would find a way to do it again, that being said she undid the boutique feeling and lush silk pouches where the panties were packed in.

And she gawked at the first one.

Of course he would have fine taste, especially for lingerie. So when she held it on up she blushed...All before her hair turned into a beautiful red wine color to share her slight embarrassment.

"I did get an array of colors, blues, and bronzes, silvers, and greens...Blacks."
"Merlin when you said a million panties I would've been fine with just four." She caught him starting to bite his nail as she started to do a count.

"Rabastan there's almost thirty here."
"I'm indecisive. But you also said these were great for Quidditch. See, practical." The thought had gone into her head rather abruptly and there was no room to stop it.

Rabastan had suddenly felt the gravity of a panty being slingshot to his face.

"Charming love. But I'll do my best in not ripping any of these."
"Better not, I think I've found some of my new favorites." He saw how she steered towards the neutral colors of black and silver, he too like the look of them on her.

Having gone through the panties she then found herself looking an odd sort of belt, she soon threw her head back and laughed in recognizing what it was.

"A potion's belt?"
"Sure it'll help this holiday, I can find practical gifts too darling. Though I wouldn't dare try to knit or sow a thing." Aira wasn't familiar with them to know the price, but her fingers brushed up against the imprint on the side.

Just us.

"Your a bit of a romantic, aren't you?" He felt proud of himself for that one, having rose an inch as she continued through the countless packages. All involving she found herself adoring, so perhaps he did know her as much as he claimed.

However the bath kit...Was surely going to be put to good use.

*

Rabastan had been rather surprised in Aria demanding him for a date, and thus he brushed off his prefect meetings to a younger prefect and allowed his little bird to blindfold him with one of his ties and tried to remain silent when she led him through the halls.

Surely his bird wasn't crazy enough to drop him down the stairs, right?

"Merlin love, I promise I don't have a clue as to where we're going. No need to walk in circles." "We're not, it's just far." He chuckled, his hands squeezing the likes of her before stopping abruptly.

Making Rabastan hunch over his little bird with a bit of struggled laughter. "Tell me, did we almost fall to our deaths?"
"Raba we're fine! Such a bloody worry wort...Now no peaking until I take it off." He nodded his head, following her pull into a room though he couldn't make out where the hell they were.

But he did feel the warmth the room brought, however he felt rather suspicious when Aria had left his side and her footsteps echoed across the room.

Yet she was simply readying the date, lighting the candles, and setting them up with an enchantment before returning to Rabastan in completely different attire.

A towel robe.

"Smells rather nice."
"Look at you, using your senses and all that." She said, leaning up towards him and unknotting the tie before putting it beside her on the rack.

"A...Ari?"
"You're always the one making dates, and flying with Ghost and lunch on the island is getting repetitive."
"Not at all, but this...Darling." His voice turned husk as he realized what she intended for tonight.

"Is the door locked?" She smiled up and nodded her head, suppose that was the beauty of the prefect bathroom.
"I've never bothered coming in here before, but if you were to join Ari. I could find myself coming here more often." He said all while she was unbuttoning his dress shirt.

"Eager?"
"Nah, I'll go wait in the bath. We'll see who's eager then." Rabastan had been caught completely off guard, instead she walked a few steps forward before letting her robe fall to the floor.

Allowing him to catch the entire view of her backside as she took the dip into the beautiful bath. She had dipped fully, submerging herself before rising up where her breasts were just about visible for him to see.

"Won't you join me love?... Sure it's warm, but I want you." Her voice was even, and though it started as a question for him to join it subtly turned into a demand.

Something that caused his chest to pound with excitement.

Shrugging off his clothes and stepping out his give trousers her followed her into the heated bath. Which resembled more of a pool with how deep the step was and how Aria looked as though she was on her tippy toes, and instead of letting her strain herself. He came over and held her up while he took to standing in the water.

"How long were you plotting this darling?"
"For a week, though you supplied the better bubbles." She began to giggle, turning to look at how the movement of their bodies started to conjure up more.

Collecting two palms full of soap did she blow the likes of it into his face before letting out an even bigger set of laughter, so much so that he had to hold her tighter or else she would've fallen back.

"I see why your family calls you bubbles now."
"Are you kidding, look how adorable they are...It's just this little ball of soap, and then they float up and away." With soap still in his face he attempted to clear it away before kissing her, but Aria seemingly did not care.

Rabastan standing to hold her up gave her the height advantage just a tad, but it was enough to hold the likeness of her full body with the aid of the water making her weightless.

Not that she weighted much to begin with anyway.

However what he couldn't enough of was Aria running her hands through his curls, and yank them back for her to have full reign as to where the kiss was going.

And it was pure bliss.

"I was planning that we spend a bit of time in here...And then I've brought a bit of a picnic for later." He hummed in agreement, taking the moment to soak in the evening that she's managed for the both of them, and thus he found himself setting the both of them at the underwater bench.

Aria had leaned her elbows against the stone border, finding tranquility with Rabastan's company and the warm water. Leaving him to assume that she did this often to make this a date, and she agreed.

"I do like baths, but I never trusted Harper or Lowe to not do something if I relaxed in the one we shared."
"Well from here on I'll join you, just to make sure that nothing happens...You could slip you know, it's very dangerous." She snorted at his attempt of masking the demand of doing this again.

"After OWLS."
"After OWLS and after my planned date I've prepared..." Eyeing in suspicion caused her to push herself from where she was leaning and smirk.

"Do I get to know?" He took a solid shake of his head, holding himself back as she started to pout. "Not even a hint?" And she was met with the same silent response, he didn't trust his voice not to betray him if he spoke in that very moment.

Her pout did things to the Slytherin that his Silver tongue could not be held accounted for.

"I don't like surprises."
"And what do you call being blindfolded and led here? I'd sure count that as a surprise." 

Check and mate.

Rabastan was surely starting to manage to hold his own against her wit, and it was relatively easy if he left no room for a clap back. And thus, she smiled in retaliation.

He was learning her humor.

"I was learning about the merfolk the other day, trying to compare it with the muggle version of mermaids...Do you know what I found?" She question, a ready tease just waiting to be used and so he decided to play along.

Especially if he had her undivided attention as he clearly had.

"What did you find love?" There was no further comment in response to his question as she sunk down underneath the bubbles and resurfaced with her lips just a mere half-inch away from his.

"That mermaids pray on sailors with a kiss...That would ultimately let them breathe underwater." She whispered, and Rabastan attempted to swallow the frog in his throat as he continued to lean forward to brush his lips to hers...Yet Aria continued to descend back the way she came and returned underneath the bubbles.

Causing him to do the same—It was then that she kissed him, underwater and a stream of oxygen bubbles that caused Aria to choke with laughter.

Having to shoot up back to the surface did she grace his ears with laughter. Especially as her hands were back onto his shoulders like in previous moments, something about her being so open and bare was precious to him and he truly adored what she had planned.

And after a quick wash and a naughty tussle, the two found themselves in their towel robes on a blanket with the dinner that Aria had ordered.

"Planned this all out did you?"
"I did, though I asked McNair if he could grab a pair of clothes and your towel. Earned me a few teases but I'd say it was definitely worth it." A satisfied smile found itself on Rabastan's face as he went to go and refill her glass with butterbeer.

Unfortunately this was the true calm before the storm, as from there on Aria hadn't wasted a breath that wasn't asking a question or mumbling a definition under her breath.

It was hard to remember how the days prior Rabastan had taken a bath with her, but there was no way to pry her from the textbooks.

One of which is torn and battered.

"Let me buy your textbooks next semester love."
"Absolutely not...Besides, the school gives me funds for them." Rabastan hadn't realized that there might be other students who couldn't afford the likes of each book for each class.

Rabastan had opened his mouth, but that alerted Aria that he was going to speak once again and thus she pushed her finger to his mouth. "Shh, I'm reading."

"Yes. I think you've done enough for the entire class. Merlin love, I doubt the exams will be that bad." She blinked towards him, asked a question that McGonagal had warned would be on the practical—And when he proceeded to get it wrong, he started to feel the slight panic that she was letting off right and there.

And by Monday afternoon, Rabastan had worked up a complete reschedule as to what he needed to study for in the coming days. Especially after the Charm's written and practical had caused unnecessary stress.

Sweet Merlin, Aria was right.

"I hope I did myself justice on the cheering charm, though I kept to the three biggest features and a sort of cause and effect if it's been done too much...I didn't have enough to reread it." Rabastan moaned in damnation, a headache was already starting to form. But he couldn't be mad at his lil bird, she had been the one to warn him that OWLS were meant to destroy the test-taker, he was the one who didn't believe her.

"You rarely need to go back and re-edit darling, how was your levitation? I think I did rather well on it." And so he humored her and discussed what they thought would be on the following examinations.

But it was the following week when Aria had been on her way for a walk, all in an effort to join Lily and Snape in a final potion's review. Especially since she couldn't fathom being another reason for Rabastan's headaches, and thus she called on his mates to let him enjoy the afternoon instead of be stuck seeing her panic.

However nothing could've prepared her for what was happening out before her, the marauders were taunting Snape—Not at all a new in any regard, nor was Lily's defense of this situation. So Aria simply plucked her wand from her belt and pointed it up towards the floating lad.

Hoping to defuse her friend's shouting orders, and once she came into the circle of arguing Gryffindors she shared the same unamused distaste as Lily.

"Twenty points from Gryffindor for acting like bloody barbarians, now should I even bother asking what—" While Aria was in a tangent on the behavior of the Marauders, Lily took the opportunity to help her friend to his feet.

But he scrambled away from her offered aid. "Get off me! I don't need help from a filthy mudblood like you!" It was as if time had evidently stopped as Aria stopped rant and was on course for another—Had she not seen Lily's reaction to such a title.

"How dare you! She was trying to help you ungrateful git!" Aria roared, holding onto her friends shoulder in an attempt to back away from the scene.

But Severus was on a warpath as he sneered to look at Aria with just as much distaste as the rest. "A freak and a mudblood...Thinking you're above the rest now that you've gotten Lestrange's attention. But does he know that—" Aria had simply had enough, and Sirius wished he had a camera as he watched in front row, this nerdy little Ravenclaw throw the perfect ringer straight to the hooked nose of Severus Snape.

"I've been called much worse than a freak, Snape." Aria spit, running a hand to soothe her knuckles she returned back to Lily. All in route to the Gryffindor common rooms.

But of course Rabastan and his lads were just down the hall, and it was clear that it was her. His protective nature went haywire once spotting the pure redness and patched bruising happening on her right knuckle, and thus he approached the two gals.

Clear suspicion on the crying mudblood, but his concern laid with his girlfriend. And she simply shook his head. "Raba I'll see you after dinner..."
"Ari wait, what's—"
"Raba please...You wouldn't understand." It felt like they were facing that a lot lately.

You wouldn't understand.

And he surely had bloody enough, hadn't she been the one to preach being honest with one another?

"Aria, surely I can understand if you would just share with me what happened, or why you're hand is—" With the girls stopping once again, Lily simply squeezed her friend's hand and offered kind smile. "It's fine Ari."

Thus leaving Aria with Rabastan and two concerned looking Slytherin cronies off behind her.

"Love what's—"
"Your roommate is what...Not you lot. Snape." Rabastan had turned rather surprised at how dark his little kitten's voice had been, but it hadn't really given him much of an explanation as to why her hand was shaking, or why she looked so close to tears.

Freak.

Perhaps it hadn't hurt in the moment, and not by Snape. But the word itself suddenly brought layers of taunts that the wizards before had thrown her way.

Making her hair suddenly turn into a vibrate shade of grey, all in favor of the trust she wanted to believe she had in Rabastan—And he proved it as well, having come closer and pulling her robes' hood over her head to hide her locks.

Though it was already caught by McNair and Avery, staring wildly at the sight before them.

"Love, let me see your hand."
"It's fine, I'll put some sap on it later...I need to make sure Lily's okay." Rabastan sighed, how would his bird put everyone else in front of her own well being.

"But I need to make sure you're alright before you try and help someone else love, tell me what's happened."
"You wouldn't understand." She ushered again, her eyes burning as she was starting to feel her hair's trickling to blue.

But it gave Rabastan a clear, visible, representation as to how she was combatting her emotions. And overwhelmed was surely one of the many.

"Try me."
She attempted to shake her head, but his eyes softened as his hand rested just against her cheek in an attempt to say that he was here...Without verbally stating it.

Especially when his mates were ideally by.

"He called her a mudblood." The word sounded strange from her lips, but McNair sucked in a breath as this was surely was going to end badly on either side.

But Rabastan had learned quite a few tells on Aria's expression, and she hadn't been telling the full truth. "And your hand?"
"I socked him in the nose." Avery snickered, causing Rabastan to cast a very stern glare just over his shoulder.

"Ari—"
"It's fine. I've told you, can I go now?" He shook his head, standing his ground entirely.

"You're not being honest kitten." And it was only confirmed when he caught her gritting her teeth, but running on pure adrenaline from her throbbing fist and the urge of comforting Lily.

There was no room for patience on Rabastan's end.

"You want honest? What the bloody fuck are you gonna tell me to make what he called me disappear...Because the lot of you called me freak loads of times."

"Kitten..." He breathed, realizing the loss of temper was nerves.

It was her defense.

"No! And it doesn't amount a change when we started sleeping together. That doesn't just go away." She finished, prying off his hands before hurrying away. Her hood still covering the likes of her shifting hair.

"Aria!" He shouted after, all in an attempt to follow her and try and calm her down. But the quick 'piss off' caused McNair to hold his mate back.

"I can't leave her that fired up."
"And you're gonna get the same reaction Snape got the way you're headed mate, let her check on her friend. Calm down, and she'll talk to you later." Rabastan groaned at his mate's attempt in bringing him to stop running after him, not that he cared what it looked like.

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Date Posted: 05-29-2020

Time: 9:07

Words: 3760