Reunited (Dante)

The day before she had been thinking about the past and remembered one of her favourite people ever - Dante. Cece hadn't seen him for... a year, two? That was terrible. And they had sort of lost contact when she left school and he stayed for his last year. Not that she blamed him for that. It was just as much her fault as his. So she was quick to send an owl requesting that they meet up for ice-cream in Diagon Alley. She had a bit of money to spare for ice-cream. Because she may or may not have stolen a few notes from a muggle shop in Camden. She was super super excited about seeing him again! She might have considered him one of her best friends at Hogwarts. Two Slytherin weirdos. They made awesome friends. She just hoped he was the same as he always had been. Weird.

She sighed. She didn't know what to wear. This was the first time she had ever had this problem. Usually, she would chuck anything on - she was all about colours and patterns clashing and big, bold "fashion statements". But this was important. She was going to meet the most attractive person in the world so she wanted to look nice. In the end, she just went with her usual method, deciding that he wouldn't care what she wore. And she looked fine in this weird long skirt and "RECYCLE" top anyway. Glancing at her watch, she realised how late she would be if she didn't rush now.

It was about a twenty minute walk to Diagon Alley, but because she was practically leaping along in excitement it wasn't anywhere near that long. She pushed open the door of the place and had to push through loads of people to get to the queue. Then she saw Dante, a few people ahead. Without thinking about those people, she shoved forward. "DANTE!" she yelled, a huge grin on her face. "DANTE DANTE DANTE!" And she wrapped her arms around his waist in a hug. An awkward hug, because of how much shorter she was than him.

Dante had spent a lot of time in Greece since graduating. Running the family business while doing everything he could to stay out of the limelight. He did off and on think of the one true friend he had during his school years. Someone who found his oddities cool. The first time they met though she had quite frankly, terrified him, even if he hadn't shown it. He was reading over the letter the owl brought a couple times with a smile that lit up his whole face. It spread from ear to ear. Responding he would meet her. He told Sebastian he was going out.

Changing into the outfit Cecelia had given him one time near the end of their school years. During that time he did not fit him. Dressing in the yellow shirt that had a saying with two stick figures. Across it in bold letters it said I got your back. Putting on a pair of ripped jeans that were all the style or fashion when worn with different shirt than his, he threw on the sneakers. His gloves were put on again and he apparated off to diagon alley. He stuck to the side of the street to avoid bumping into people. All he needed was a migraine when he met up with her. Sometime later he entered the ice cream shop. He intended to buy hers when she got here. He just didn't plan to tell her this.

He waited off to the side. Getting weird looks because of short sleeve shirt and form fitting gloves. He had almost slipped into reminiscent daydreaming when he heard an all too familiar voice yelling his name. He turned in time to see her sending people flying in every direction. His entire demeanor seemed to get brigher as he grinned back. "Cecelia! Hey Cece! How have y---OOF!" He said. Eyes wide in shock as he stumbled back a bit when unexpectedly she wrapped her arms around him. Instinctively his own arms went around her. Thankfully fabric was between them but it didn't stop a flickering of past events they shared to bombard him for a moment. Until her third reshouting of his name. Loosening his hold he looked at her.

"How you been Cece? It has been a long time." He said with an easy going smile. Resting the gloved hand upon her back to return the hug. He was not used to it but she was one of the few people he would let do this. She was just that awesome of a friend. "Shall we get the ice cream? It is my treat alright?"

Cecelia. Gosh. That boy. It really must have been a long time. "You better call me Cece from now on!" she warned jokingly, but with a serious edge to her tone. NOBODY called her Cecelia, even Dante. She noticed he didn't seem the happiest about the hug. She had never really hugged him at Hogwarts, she supposed. If it made him uncomfortable, she MUST remember to keep it to happy verbal greetings. "I missed you," she found herself whispering. It had been a long time since she had shown affection for anyone and this was weird. But not awful weird.

She really had missed it, when it had been the two of them, going on adventures and partying hard and chilling together and eating together and being weird together and failing classes terribly. Well, the latter was mainly just her. But Dante had been comforting - not that she needed comfort. From what she knew, he had been in Greece a lot. Cece would really love to be able to visit him all the time but she didn't have money or the wonderful power of apparation. So life sucked. She was wondering if she would be able to take an apparation class somewhere, to make everything easier, but it might be difficult to find one.

"It has," she agreed regretfully. "I've been great! Well, sort of. Obviously I dropped out of Hogwarts so now I'm just wandering around the country and wasting my life!" That sounded negative, but really she had fun going everywhere and taking her shoes off in random places. "What about you? How's life as a rich kid wonder child?" she teased.

Without her noticing, they had got quite some way in the queue already so they'd be about to order. And just as she was about to get her purse out from her pocket, Dante was insisting that he would pay. Cece shook her head obstinately. "Not a chance! I have my own money and I can afford my own ice-cream. Don't go all gentlemanly on me, mister!" What a shame it would be if he had grown up too much in their time apart.

Dante looked at her. "Yeah. Yeah. I know." He said with a goofy grin. She tended to be the ONLY one to ever hug him. His own parents stopped that a long time ago. It also happened she was the only one who ever tried to anyways. He looked down at her. "I missed you too. Not that I would ever admit that in open court." He said jokingly.

His hand had not moved from her back at the moment. It felt too nice having his best friend near. Soon he did though. Let her go. "You dropped out? Geez. Was it because of the headmaster?" He asked. He always wondered whether she would. "Or the other Slytherins? They were a nasty bunch." He said. He got it worse from his house mates then the others in school.

He looked at her and smirked. "Don't be stupid Cece. It has nothing to do with being a gentleman. I just owe you one for not coming sooner. After all you can't apparate but I can. Everything to do with making us even." He said. Sticking his tongue out at her. Then started tickling her before looking at the ice cream. "Want to go in for the biggest one together then? Like in fifth year summer break?" He asked with a smile. It was the first time he had tried something other than Gelato.

Cece gasped and playfully punched him in the shoulder. “And there I was, thinking that you loved me!” Loved her. Oops. That wasn't exactly what she’d intended to say. She tried to keep her expression from betraying what she was thinking and carried on smiling, just playing it off nonchalantly. “Are you ashamed of me?” she teased. If Dante wasn’t such a brilliant person who she knew better than she knew herself, she might actually think that. After all, he was too beautiful and nice for his own good, whereas she was just a girl with some hair and a bad attitude.

Oh, she hadn’t realised that he didn’t already know. Well now he did. She shrugged sheepishly. His suggestions were both wrong. “He was annoying, but no. And I could deal with them,” she smiled. Her housemates weren’t so bad once you earned their respect, but she knew that hadn’t been so easy for poor Dante. Those boys had been horrible. “It was during exams, and I got tired of shit, and I realised I didn’t need Hogwarts.”

“Fair enough! As long as we’re even!” she grinned. “And that’s a good point! You can apparate WITH me back to Greece and I can see your awesome place! Damn, apparation is so awesome.” And he had it! So this resumed bestfriendship could work perfectly. Even though they were in different countries. “Yep!” Only then did she notice the top he was wearing. “That’s from me! Christmas present, right? Fifth-year?” It was so cute that he was wearing it. Cece smiled. Aw. Dante. Cutie.

Dante flushed and rubbed his shoulder. Wait what? He glanced at her. "Are you sure it isn't you who grown soft?" He teased lightly. Referencing a few moments prior when she accused him of that in jest as well. Really? How could she make such a slip of the tongue? Did she secretly hold such deep desires? Nah. They were just the best friends and top oddities of the Slytherin house. He got a Slytherin type scowl when she teased him about being ashamed of her. "You are the best thing to be spit out of the Slytherin house. If you weren't and aren't ashamed of me when I am apparently, or was, far more weird than you why on earth would I be ashamed of you?" he asked.

Laughing a moment later and stuck his tongue out at her. "Why would I be ashamed of my partner in crime growing up?" He teased lightly. He looked at the ice cream. Smiling those rare yet true smiles that lit up every inch of his features from head to toe. "Besides. If anyone was someone to be ashamed of a girl who creates fashion her own way and never follows the normal trends, would be the last person someone in my line of work would be ashamed of." Holding up his gloved hands once they finished the awkward hug she alone was allowed to startle him with. "I am more of someone to be ashamed of. This outfit and these gloves? Gloves I never take off no matter what. Seriously Cece you are the best and most odd thing to ever cross paths with me." He said in a joking yet genuine way.

His best friend. His ally. One of the few who knew his secret. His gift. His curse. The reason behind the gloves he never removed. He listened to her as she spoke. Rubbing his arm a bit. "Heh. I know. You were a slytherin fire. You soon became the respected and the outcast. The popular yet the oddity. I was surprised when you wanted to be friends with me. The oddity outcast but outcasts stick together. No matter what right?" he said with a goofy grin.

"Yes. We'll be even." he bought the largest ice cream of the one they got together that time in school. "Here. We are even and reliving one of the best days of my life." He said teasingly. Leading the way to a table and set down the huge bowl, spoons and looked at her. "Yeah. It was too huge then. Yet you gave it to me. Fifth year. It about swallowed me. It is one of my favorite shirts. It fits now." He looked at her. Making a face. "You want to see that stuffy place? Sure. Whatever. It could use a Cece flair." He said in a joking way.

"After ice cream I could take you there?" He said. She pretty much steam rolled him. How could he say no even if he had wanted to? Secretly. Very deep down. He didn't want to say no. He smiled at her. "So basically the plan is ice cream, goof off here, then take Cece to Greece." He said teasingly.

It looked like he had noticed. Cece turned red. She didn't want to give an impression like that, when they were nothing but best friends. Best friends shouldn't even think about stuff like that anyway, a tiny little slip of the tongue shouldn't mean anything. Well she wasn't the best conventional best friend anyway. Still. That in mind, she didn't mention it, even subtly like he had. "Soft? Me? No, I'm hard as nails!" she insisted. "Aw, you're the sweetest thing!" She wasn't one for nice mushy little speeches but that was just too cute for words. And Dante was the exception to everything.

"Not just growing up - you're still my partner in crime!" Except it had become much more rare that they committed any crime. It hadn't been at all rare back then. She had many, many memories of boring as hell detentions. That didn't seem so long ago. It was hard to believe that it had been seven or eight years since they became best friends in the first couple of days of school. "I don't TRY and dress like a weirdo," she pointed out. "I'm just way too lazy to keep up with trends!" More sweetness. She beamed at him. Oh, the gloves. Poor Dante. Or maybe he was lucky. She couldn't decide. She was lucky, that she was special enough to know his secret. He knew all about her dysfunctional life though. Odd? "Good odd? Is that a compliment?" She stuck her tongue out.

That was a pretty accurate description of her Hogwarts life. Except she wasn't that popular, really. Widely-known would be a better term. And that was only because she scared her peers and wasn't afraid to give someone a good smack around the face if they really deserved it. "Definitely," Cece confirmed.

"Let's do it," she smirked. Luckily, she was crazily hungry right now and was certain she could eat loads and loads. And get their money's worth. Hehe. "Yeah well I'm not so great at guessing clothing sizes!" she exclaimed in defence. "But I'm glad you like it." It hadn't been cheap, after all, and it had used up a large portion of the small amount of money her father had given her back a couple of years ago. Dante was worth it. And he had always been treating her. It would have been wrong not to give something back.

Greece! She was actually seriously going to Greece, where Dante lived! "Yes!" she beamed. "I bet it isn't so bad - you're probably just tired of it after a while." Cece laughed. "Yeah, I bet I'll make it way more awesome! But I bet its super awesome already!"

Dante looked at her and rubbed the back of his head. Grinning and laughed a bit at her insisting of being hard as nails. Poking her cheek with a gloved hand and smirked. "Funny you don't feel like you have troll skin." He teased lightly. Flushing and looked away. "Lies. Whoever told you that is in need of some serious help." He said in a flustered tone. He looked at her and laughed. "Good to hear that." He looked at her with a big grin. "Those were some of the good parts of my school terms." He admitted. He tilted his head to the side. "As a fashion expert I would have to say weird doesn't fit. You are definitely one of a kind." He said with a light easy going tone. He rubbed his gloves as their ice cream was melting. Eating some of it. Listening to her talking. "I guess?" He said in a questioning way. He looked out the window. Continuing to eat his ice cream. He shrugged a bit. "I also was not easy to shop for because I didn't actually fit proper sizes. I guess." He said with a laugh. "It is one of my greatest treasures." He admitted in a mutter. Looking elsewhere then back at her. "Alright. Alright. We shall." He said with a laugh. "Not really. I honestly enjoyed when we stay wherever you were staying more." he admitted.