Nice Night for a Swim (Raven Monroe)

Raven Monroe liked to think that nothing slipped out of those sticky little fingers of hers. If there was something going amiss in the castle, she had always been the first one to jump right into the middle of the chaos and draw out a story that was juicier than any tale that anyone had ever tried to spin. She was golden with her quill and even more golden with that body of hers. Yes - Raven Monroe was a force to be reckoned with.

Tonight, she was standing in the doorway of the kitchens munching on an apple that she had managed to procure, happily minding her own business when she caught wind - and by wind, she meant word via the Ravenclaw girls that were walking past her - that Ezio D’Orolione had been acting strangely this year. They had mentioned something about lots of letters and strange talk about his father. Of course, she had been intrigued by the whole thing, knowing full-well that the D’Oroliones were a prominent, Italian, pureblood family with a father that was nearly on top of the social food-chain in Italy. Hardly had something come up that would have tarnished that darling reputation of theirs. And now, it seemed as if the prodigal son had somehow let something slip that wasn’t supposed to. Raven was undoubtedly more curious than she had been in a long time. So - pushing off of the wall, still carrying the apple - Rave made her way through the castle in search of more information regarding the young Mr. D’Orolione.

Walking through the castle’s cooridors, she was hardly paying attention, her mind already meters deep in the cascades of depth that this story could have. Perhaps darling Ezio had somehow managed to piss off the wrong people and was now involved with the mafia. Perhaps his father had some debt that he needed to repay but Ezio was the pivot point of the transaction. Perhaps Mr. D’Orolione was even paying off Ezio to stay quiet about something. The possibilities were endless, but Raven knew one thing - They could all be solved with the same manner of seduction that she got all of her work done.

Lost deep in the recesses of her thoughts, she hardly noticed when she heard footsteps against the ground. At least until she reached the corner of the hallway and saw none other than the youngest D’Orolione boy himself. Raven smiled to herself, knowing that her luck couldn’t have possibly been any better this evening. She was a genius if ever she knew one. Silently, she watched him pace back and forth, not bothering to observe his surroundings. She was suddenly glad that he seemed preoccupied with something, as she was nearly within sight. Her bright hair didn’t lend itself well to concealment. He turned and entered the door that no doubt led to the Room of Requirement without so much as another look in her direction.

Without a second thought, Raven was after him. She knew that she would only have a few seconds before the opening changed back into stone wall and she would be waiting for him to exit. She pressed her palms against the wood and slipped inside, before the swinging doors even had a chance to close all the way. With that, she pressed herself against the back wall of the room, admiring Ezio’s choice in environment. He was undoubtedly a...physical being, just the way that she was.

Stripping his shirt off, she could see the muscles in his back moving with every turn of his body. He was in shape, that much was for certain and Miss Monroe could not draw her eyes away from what she was witnessing. Until he jumped in the water; and she found herself able to be distracted. Merlin, she was itching for a swim in the cool water. Reaching up, she ran her hand through her red hair and then deliberately cleared her throat, those hazel eyes of hers scanning the toned body of the boy in front of her. Droplets of water were practically cascading off of his muscles, causing something in the pit of her stomach to stir with desire. ‘You really should stop meeting school boys like this, Miss Monroe,’ she reminded herself. Just the same, she couldn’t keep her eyes off of the young Italian, ”Ezio, Sugar, you’re going to wear yourself out before you even get to the good stuff.”

Raven reached up and played with some of her red curls, causing them all to cascade down her back with one fatal flip of her hand. She honestly wasn’t all too surprised that Ezio knew her name. When she had still been a dutiful student at Hogwarts, she had heard about a scandal and his family; some muggle man coming in and ripping his family apart by stealing a certain Tiberius' fiancé...especially since the pureblood woman was betrothed to and was slated to marry the late and most certainly great Tiberius D’Orolione. Raven bit down on her lip - remembering the way that she had sent in a story to the Daily Prophet about the scandal when she was just a fourth year, and how it had almost hit front page news. That had been the first time that she had really felt alive - well, at least, alive without use of recreational drugs. But she knew that it had to be more than that; he had to know her from around the castle. It seemed as if news had a way of traveling fast along the corridors of Hogwarts. People were beginning to recognize her in the corridors; point her out, know the game that she was playing. It was frustrating for the young journalist. The more time that passed during the wizard’s cup, however, the more it seemed like people were coming to her with stories that she could write about instead of the other way around. She saw the way that he was looking at her, the way those blue eyes of his seemed to travel up her body, her skin giving an involuntary shiver. What was it about these damn school boys and their ability to make her body ache in the most uncommon of ways?

He heaved himself out of the pool and she felt herself sharply inhale in response, ”You know, the good part.”

Yes, Raven Monroe most certainly knew who she was dealing with, especially with that dark and brooding look in his eyes. There was something about the D’orolione men that made an impact on her. Perhaps it was the fact that they were so dead set on their ways that tempted her so. She wanted dirt of them - desperately needed at this point. Nothing had been in the papers about them since Ez’s brother’s death and she was convinced that she was going to be the one to rectify that situation. After all, didn’t all pureblood families want a certain amount of publicity? ”I surely don’t know what you’re talking about,”

Raven raised both of her eyebrows at the young boy that was before her. It wasn’t uncommon for people to be wary of her when she first began courting them, but they eventually warmed up to the idea. It was hard not to when Raven was...well, the master of seduction in her own right.

Better than our English counterparts: She made a mental note to remember this one, seeing as it was one of the first actually interesting things that Ezio had said. It was something that she could use to pad her story about him, when she finally had a story that needed to be padded. Raven leaned forwards so that she would have a view of his facial features, knowing that they were the window to everyone’s inner thoughts. Most people weren’t very trained with controlling their emotions and far too often then let their facial features betray them. Although she didn’t know if this was the case with young Ezio, she wasn’t willing to let it go without a try. She also noted that he had affirmed his relationship with Mikael Erixon, something that she would probably have to look into later. If he didn’t give her enough information, she was going to go to Mikael with some...unresolved questions. That was the way that Raven worked; if at first she didn’t succeed, she would go right along and try to to exploit the boy from another direction.

His next sentence caught her quite off guard; she hadn’t been expecting him to be so adamant about his brother and the state of conversation surrounding him. It seemed as if the young Italian most certainly had reservations about bringing him into the conversation, which was unfortunate, because he would have been a good jumping off point for the conversations that they were about to have. Raven assumed that whatever he was hiding had to have something to do with trying to live up to his father’s expectations that he had once held for his brother, ”Sorry-”

Raven was happy to be in the water, happier than she had originally thought she would be. The water cascading off of ever curve of her body was a welcome feeling against her skin. For a moment, her mind wandered, wandered off to a place where it probably shouldn’t have. She missed Bryant Xavier. As much as she swore she would never think such childish things about a mate, she was having the strangest sensation right then.

She reached up and began playing with her red hair, trying to get some of it to dry by ringing it out, but her mind was still racing. Bryant was gentle and kind, he was a pain in her ass most of the time, but when it came right down to it, he was probably the only stable this in her life...or at least he had been the only stable thing in her life. Now she had no choice but to give up the life that she had once been living...unless of course, she could find a suitable alternative in the near future. Things would be strange when she was forced to take all of her things from the loft that they had once rented together.

Biting down on her lip, Raven was suddenly overcome with an urge to go and burn the painting that had betrayed her. Merlin, she could have still had her life! But that painting had destroyed all of that. Blinking a few times and ringing out her red curls one last time, Raven focused back on Ezio, pushing all thoughts of her messed up personal life to the back of her mind.

Raven raised both of her eyebrows as he said that he told his friends quite a lot. Perhaps she was barking up the wrong tree: If Ezio told his friends everything about his life, she probably should have started there instead of coming straight to the stony Ravenclaw Italian boy, ”Honesty is the best policy, don’t you think?” She asked, running her fingertips up her arms and dragging some of the water droplets along with her. It was chilly when her shoulders were outside of the water, and she was trying her best not to shiver. Shivering was not attractive in her mind. If she was going to win the young Italian stallion over, she was going to step up her game, that much was certain. Or at least that was what she thought. Barely paying attention to the movements to her side, she hadn’t realized that young Ezio had gotten so close. That is, until she felt his strong arms around her back, pulling her instantaneously closer. Raven immediately felt herself warm against his skin and looked up at him, her hazel eyes sparkling with delight. This was shaping up to be a more interesting night than she had even suspected it would be, ”Trust me, sweetheart, I’ve been with more than enough women for the both of us. For such an amateur you certainly have -” He was pressing his lips into her skin and for a moment, Raven could do nothing but close her eyes and slip into the moment.

At least until she remembered that she had a very important job to be doing and didn’t have time to fool around with another school-boy. She had a story to get and she would be damned if Ezio thought that she was going to leave here without answers, ”So that’s the infamous D’Orolione secret?” She leaned back so that she could look up at him, regaining her edge as if she had never lost it. She was nearly a half-foot shorter than him and could easily press her lips to his sternum, running her teeth softly over the skin, ”There’s got to be more to it than that, sugar. What’re all the packages from daddy?” She breathed, her voice as sticky as molasses on a hot summer’s day.

Raven laughed loudly at the boy as he said that he wasn’t a complete amateur. He might not have been the least experienced person she had ever met, but she could tell from his physical reactions that he wasn’t exactly the most experienced human being that she had ever been close with. However, the words that he spoke did send a shiver straight down the inside of her spine, spreading through her body like wildfire. It finally found it’s landing point in the pit of her stomach, feeding it like a flame. The red-haired beauty was powered by sexual chemistry and eroticism, ”We can change that.” She breathed into his ear, her lips brushing over the soft skin there.

It was only when Raven heard the words coming from his mouth that she realized this one wouldn’t be as difficult as she had initially thought. He was eager to be pleased and eager to spill his secrets when something happened that was...pleasurable. Keeping her place next to his collarbone, she smirked into his warm skin, feeling quite satisfactory with the job that she had done so far, ”I would have never guessed.” Raven said, leaning back so that she could catch another glimpse of his face, ”The old Monsieur D’Orolione: The Iron Fist.” Now that was a quote that was already prepped and primed for the papers. She could twist it in so many directions provided he gave up more information. She could talk about how he possibly abused his son in order to keep a firm hand. She nodded along with her internal thoughts, however, from Ezio’s point of view, it probably looked as if she was completely and utterly absorbed in everything that he was currently saying.

However, as she realized what he was saying, she realized that he was probably not telling the truth. Raven had developed a rare gift over the years; she could tell when someone was fudging the truth around her. It proved to be an excellent attribute when it came to her column. But she knew better than to push too hard when it came to Ezio. If he was going to talk, it would be at the hands of the pleasure inducing hormones that she kept releasing into his body, not by the poking and prodding of a red-haired reporter. He was tense, something that she disliked feeling; it made her feel as if she was losing him in that moment. Smiling up at him, she used this opportunity to duck under his arm and move so that she was behind him, her fingertips running across his shoulder blades and then down his spine. She could see almost every muscle in his body, rippling upon her touch, ”Oh sweet, sweet, Ezio.” She breathed, pressing her lips to his back momentarily before moving her hands across his skin, trying to massage away some of the tensity that he was holding, ”We’re way past your brother now. Although -” She stopped, making sure that her point was understood, ”If you cooperate this time, I’ll make sure that we meet...again.” She breathed, her voice oozing with seduction and sugar. Sometimes she firmly believed that she was undeniable, even to herself.

Being behind Ezio was a definite point of power, Raven could keep her expressions hidden while asking the questions and she didn’t have to worry about him reading her every movement. Smiling slightly to herself, she tried to keep her eyes on the prize. This wasn’t about sexual gratification, just yet. This was about getting the answers...and then perhaps indulging herself if she saw it fit.

If she wanted to know more about Ezio, perhaps the best way to do so was to find out about his father; after all, the apple never fell too far from the tree. And she could always write a story about Master D’Orolione as opposed to his son. Either way, if she drew any information out of the boy that was now wrapped around her fingers, she was going to be happy, ”Can’t say that I’ve had the pleasure of meeting daddy dear. Your mum, Aldora - yes - countless times. Why? Want to invite me to meet the parents already?” Raven cooed as she pressed her fingertips into his back, moving the muscles around so that they could relax themselves. She could almost feel him beginning to melt around her, but there was still something holding him back.

Curious, indeed. It seemed as if Ezio had figured out her little scheme, and yet, here he was still playing along with the game. it was almost as if she was too much to resist for the poor young Ravenclaw, ”That’s exactly what I intend to do. I’ve found myself to be quite the bargaining chip.” She raised both of her perfectly arched eye-brows in interest. The boy had no idea that he was playing with fire, and she knew that he wouldn’t realize it until it was too late, ”Answers, love. Answers,” Raven breathed as she watched his eyes. She could almost see the gears turning in that silly little head of his, blue eyes reflecting his inner struggle. Raven had a way about her; she knew it to be true, sometimes she found herself doing things for the sake of doing them. But now? Now she wanted answers. And she wasn’t going to stop - or perhaps she wasn’t going to give in - until she got some from the young D’Orolione heir.

Smiling more to herself, she grabbed his hand in hers and pulled him to the edge of the pool, where she got out of the water and began to ring out her red hair. It was then that she saw the lounge on the other side of the room and grinned even wider. ’Ah the Room of Requirement,’ It always had exactly what she needed, ”Tell me more about your dad.” She demanded, not bothering to dry herself off as she crossed to the lounge and stretched herself out on the soft, almost towel-like, fabric, ”Do you get along? Are you more like him or your mum?”