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Ethan Cutkosky photographed by Edwin J. Ortega for Mood Magazine

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imogenconnolly·:

Imogen held the parchment at a better angle to allow Benito a better look. She doubted that her explanation truly helped him understand the mistake. It was a simple error if you knew what it was you were doing, but it was quite clear that Benito hadn’t a clue when it came to this assignment or any other in arithmancy. Poor Benito seemed blind to the patterns in numbers that Imogen saw so clearly and even with extensive tutoring only managed to barely pass the class. Normally, she might have rested her head against his shoulder and talked him through the problem, as her fingers traced his work. This time, however, her lip quivered and she was afraid to speak for fear her voice would sound watery. She felt terrible as she looked over the assignment, seeing all of the mistakes that had gone unnoticed and feeling as though she had let Benito down.

His hand brushed lightly against her cheek but she didn’t dare look up from the parchment, hoping he wouldn’t see just how bothered she was by the assignment. He was being gracious about it, but that hardly helped her feel any better. If anything, it made her feel worse. “I’m fine.” She answered quickly, sniffing sharply and blinking back any welling tears. Imogen held the parchment out to Benito and managed a soft smile. “But you’re sweet for worrying.” Leaning forward, Imogen pressed a quick kiss to the corner of his lips, hoping that he would leave the subject there and ignore the way her smile so easily faded when she pulled away from him. For a metamorphmagus, she sure had a hard time schooling her expressions and if there was any person in the world who could read her face, it was Benito. “Now, what potion are we working on today?” She murmured, quickly looking at the chalkboard for instructions as she was desperate for any distraction. Imogen hardly expected her trick to work, however, and held her breath waiting for Benito to push her once again on the subject. She wouldn’t likely get out of talking about her recent breakdown so easily. 

“Hiccoughing Solution.” Benito replied, staring hard at Imogen even though she had looked away from him. Honestly, she was being silly for trying to act like everything was normal. Even if she hadn’t scared them both the way she had on Valentines Day, there was still the fact that if he was an expert on anything, it was her. From her favorite flavor of ice cream, to the exact meaning of each of her smile, Benito knew everything there was to know about Imogen. He bit into his bottom lip. She was so obviously lying to him, and he hated it. What could be going on in her head that was so bad she couldn’t even tell him, of all people. Benito remained quiet for a few moments, allowing Professor Slughorn to greet the class before he continued to prod. When the directions for the day were up on the chalkboard, students began rising from their seat to go and collect their ingredients. It was a job that Benito normally volunteered for, but today he didn’t move. 

“I know you’re not fine.” He said finally, his voice low enough that the others around them wouldn’t be able to hear. If she wasn’t being forthcoming with him, he highly doubted that she wanted the other Hufflepuffs to catch wind of anything wrong. “I wish you wouldn’t hide that from me.” He said softly, glancing down at their desk. He didn’t want to try and make this all about him and his feelings, but he couldn’t help but feel a little burned that she wouldn’t tell him. “I--- I can help you, you know. Or I’ll try to, just like always.”

Numbers and Predictions

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imogenconnolly·:

Imogen happily accepted another kiss from Benito, squeezing his hands in hers. “A bath?” She asked with a laugh, not opposed to the idea in the slightest, but curious. “Is this your way of telling me I stink?” She teased, after a second sweet kiss. He was such a tease with these quick kisses, and Imogen might have complained, but oh how she loved the way his eyes looked from this angle, with her forehead resting against his. Despite the romance of the moment, however, she hadn’t been able to resist the chance to tease him, and laughed loudly when he ordered her to stop talking. “Fine, fine!” She agreed quickly, falling back into laughter as he spun her toward the stairs and pulled her along behind him.

The two bounded their way through the castle, up the stairs and through the corridors in their usual way. Her best memories of Hogwarts always seemed to contain the image of the two of them, pulling one another along through the halls off on some new adventure. Imogen couldn’t tell if her lack of breath was from the quick pace or her excitement as they drew closer to Benito’s Valentine’s Day surprise. “I know where we are.” Imogen breathed with a glance to the statue of Boris the Bewildered. “Who gave you the password?” She asked accusingly, though her wide grin gave her away. As a prefect, Imogen had access to the bathroom if she so pleased, though she hadn’t gone very often. It was lonely, and rather strange she thought, to have such a big bathtub all to oneself. Now that she thought about it, however, it seemed like a fairly decent size to share. 

She watched as the door swung open and the sight took her breath away. “Oh Benito” Imogen exclaimed, her hand coming to rest over her mouth as she stepped inside. The once cold, lonely room, had been transformed by candles and flower petals, which Benito had obviously placed specially for her. Her gaze flittered around the room, coming to rest on the tray by the edge of the tub. The single daisy and bottle of wine were simplistic, sweet, and utterly perfect.

“Oh my love” Imogen said, leaning her head against his shoulder as he wrapped an arm around her waist. She stood for a moment enjoying his nearness and taking in the surprise. “It’s perfect, thank you.”

Benito’s father, for all of his flaws, had been a romantic man. On the days they got along, he and his mother were quiet theatrical in their displays of affection. Deep kisses in the morning, and dancing in the night. Benito had always wanted what they had, without all of the bad. He seemed to have found that within Imogen. It was moments like these that he thought about as he fell asleep at night. The feeling of her head resting on his shoulder, and the gentle sound of her voice as it whispered of love. Imogen was the only person Benito had ever chosen for himself, except for Bennet, maybe. To put a smile on her face for any reason was blessing enough, but especially today. 

“Do you like it?” He asked, even though he knew that she did. He looked over it all, smiling even wider. He took a step forward, and the arm that was around her waist slid away so he could grab her by the hand. He tugged her gently towards the water, squeezing her hand gently with every step. He leaned down, and with his free hand he grabbed the bottle of wine. It was open already, because he had a sip while he decorated the room. He held it out to her, “Would you like a drink?” 

Letting go of her hand, he reached for the bottom of his shirt and tugged it up his body. “The water should be hot still, I charmed it before I left here.” It had been quite the struggle getting all of this done in time to meet Imogen in time to set up Ted’s Valentines Day surprise. He could barely believe he had managed to accomplish it. 

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ncdezhdas·:

Oh, so he wanted to test her. That was a dangerous game to play, especially considering how she was already on edge due to the attacks, and thought as to what Grindelwald’s next move would be. The last thing she needed at the moment was the most infuriating of the Hufflepuffs meaninglessly bothering her. She had much more important things to do. Not that she’d intended to at the moment, but she wasn’t going to let that be known. 

Once again, Nadezhda rolled her eyes when he laughed, his voice just as piercing and absolutely annoying as nails running down a chalkboard. Benito Ortiz seemed to be the personification of it. “Move any closer and you’ll regret it.” Her incident a few years ago was known around the school. Typically, it caused others to refrain from crossing her, but apparently, Benito wasn’t intimidated. It was almost amusing, how tough he seemed to think he was. “If it’s not already clear, I’d rather not be subject to your aggravating tendencies. It’d be better for the sanity of both of us if you just-” She paused to wave her hand the other way. “Move along.” 

For someone who so seemed to detest the very idea of speaking to him, Nadezhda seemed to have completely forgotten that it was she who spoke to him first. His hands rolled into tightly clenched fists and his arms remained crossed in front of his chest. Benito was certain that everyone besides his friends knew to stay clear from him, simply because he wasn’t very pleasant to be around. He thought there was an unspoken deal of mutual silence in place between him and the other houses-- but most especially the Slytherins. 

The tone of her voice and the anger within made him immediately want to take another step closer to her. He, like the rest of his family, had always suffered from a particularly bad temper. It would be so easy to engage her further, just a single step forward. However, he had heard the stories about her same as anyone else, and he couldn’t quite decide that she was worth his time. Besides, he still had plans to go up to the Divination classroom to go over his tea leaves and horoscope with the professor. It was important that he be mellow during these times, according to Professor Vablatsky, anyways. Benito took a breath and forced himself to lower his arms. He glanced over her shoulder at the empty hallway behind her, and then roughly took a step forward. Though he was leaving, he could not help but to check his shoulder roughly against her as he passed by. He rolled his eyes as he stepped away from her. Who did she think she was, telling him to move along? He shook his head. As he turned the corner, his thoughts drifted away from that annoying interaction and over towards his upcoming appointment. Thinking about the crystal balls was much more calming than stewing over a stupid Slytherin.

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imogenconnolly·:

There was something comfortably familiar about Benito’s hand in Imogen’s, their fingers laced together so perfectly it was as if they were designed for the other. She gave his hand a light squeeze as she made her way into the Potions classroom, a silent thank you for kind gesture of holding the door for her. Benito had always held the door for her, for as long as she could remember. It was a simple gesture, but sweet, and it was not lost on Imogen even if it had become routine. Sometimes she might even stop to press a quick kiss to his cheek, but considering his sour mood and the crowd of students getting ready for class, she elected to skip it today.

The two took their seats, Imogen pulling her book bag into her lap and pulling her hair over her shoulder, away from where it had gotten caught under the strap. Truth be told, she had only half-listened to Benito’s rant on their way here and turned to take a closer look at his Arithmancy assignment. “Let me look.” She hummed, her finger tracing the lines of his equations as she quickly skimmed over them. It didn’t take her long to realize his mistake. “You’ve forgotten a step. Once you determine a potential outcome, you have to then factor in the probability it will occur. Your maths aren’t wrong, they’re just incomplete.” There was no way that Benito’s calculations could be wrong, Imogen always read over his homework to be sure it was correct. For some reason, however, she’d made a mistake. “I’m so sorry, love, I don’t know how I missed that. I must have been distracted.”

If it weren’t for Imogen, Benito would not have ever signed up for a class as difficult as Arithmancy. She hadn’t forced him to, nor had she even asked him, but in third year when the time came to choose their electives, he had happily done so. He had been thirteen, after all, and he had wanted nothing more than to spend all of his time with Imogen. He still wanted to spend all of his time with Imogen, but it was more annoying now that they had made it to N.E.W.T’s and he truly didn’t understand a single thing the Professor would lecture about. He rested his elbow on the table and looked in Imogen’s direction, half-watching her face with a dreamy look and half-staring at his crumpled parchment in clear disdain. He wasn’t surprised to hear he had forgotten a step. “I’m surprised it’s only a single step.” He murmured scornfully. Imogen normally checked over his work, but with how bad he was in the subject, he didn’t blame her for not catching a mistake or two. 

Benito scooted his seat in her direction, peering over the edge of the parchment, wondering if he might be able to pick out the spot of error on his own. Two seconds later, he knew that he could not. Imogen didn’t offer an explanation as to where he had gone wrong, but that was fine. He would rather forget about the assignment entirely, seeing as he knew he wouldn’t come any closer to understanding. He turned away from the parchment and rested his eyes on Imogen’s face. He lifted a hand, brushing the back of his knuckles against her cheek. “Don’t apologize, my love, it’s only one assignment.” He dropped his hands, but his eyes remained on her. “Since you brought it up, I’ve been meaning to ask. You’ve seemed distracted for…” Since Valentines Day, truthfully. “…awhile now. Are you alright?” It felt strange not to know entirely what was going on in Imogen’s mind.

Numbers and Predictions

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imogenconnolly·:

Imogen’s hands slid from Benito’s shoulders to run the length of his arms as if she could warm him against the chill of the winter breeze. She shared his laughter as her nose brushed his and she had to stop herself from kissing him once again. It took considerable effort as she would have been content to stand here and kiss him for the rest of the night. “I’m always right.” She teased Benito, her words colored with soft giggles. Of course she was joking, as the two usually were with one another, and she loved teasing him. Grinning as he pulled away from her, Imogen allowed him to tug her in the direction of the castle once more. The sudden loss of his nearness had her shivering, her steps quickening to keep close to him as she was in equal parts eager to return to castle, as well as see his surprise for her. Benito’s surprises were always thoughtful, often romantic, and never overly elaborate. It was the simple things in life that Imogen appreciated most. She didn’t need fancy gifts or dates to be happy. Time with Benito, shared laughter, and soft caresses were more than enough for her. Small objects like shiny pebbles or loose buttons that he slid into her palm were precious gifts that all of the wealth in the world could never purchase. The tokens of his love were priceless to her, but she treasured him most of all. 

Benito held open the door for her with his usual theatrics, and Imogen laughter echoed through the Entrance Hall. “Thank you, kind sir.” She said back, giving her best curtsey in return. It was honestly terrible, and quite wobbly as she didn’t center her weight properly, her giggles only making it harder to steady herself. The fact that she didn’t trip out of it was a miracle, a credit to her natural grace, and Imogen made her way through the doorway ahead of Benito. As soon as she was through, however, she spun on her heel and held her hands out to him, walking backwards and waiting for him to catch up to her. “Are you going to tell me where we’re going? Or is that a surprise too?” She asked, excitement evident in her voice. “Am I going up the stairs? Down? Neither?” She bombarded him with questions, glancing about her as if the path would make itself known to her on its own. 

Imogen was not a patient girl, especially when it came to the excitement of surprises. The way Benito dragged out his reveal of her Valentine’s Day surprise was delicious torture, but she truly was eager to know what it was. “Come on, Benito.” She bounced impatiently. “You’re doing this on purpose.” Imogen accused, narrowing her brows and wrinkling her nose at him. “You know I can’t stand the suspense!” 

Imogen was right. She could hardly bare the suspense involved with waiting for a surprise, and he most definitely knew it. He chuckled to himself. That was certainly a big reason why he found so much joy in surprising her. Seeing the excitement build up inside of her, followed by her smile at seeing the grand reveal was practically a drug to him, and one that he could not imagine giving up. He had enjoyed doing this for years, and he planned to continue enjoying this for as long as she would let him. And if he had anything to say about, that day would be very far away. His head tilted slightly to the side, and he smiled in her direction. She was so cute, walking backwards with her hands held out like that. If she didn’t quit it soon, he wasn’t sure he would be able to get all the way up to the Prefect’s bathroom without stopping for a very happy distraction. 

He quickened his pace, extending his hands as well so that his fingertips could brush against hers. He linked their hands together and tugged her towards him. He kissed her quickly, and with an intensity only reserved for her. “We’re going to take a bath.” He answered lightly. He kissed her again, more softly this time. “Up the stairs.” He directed. He rested his forehead against hers for another second, before pulling away swiftly. “No more talking!” He ordered, an excited grin replacing the soft smile on his face. The Grand Staircase loomed behind Imogen, and still holding her hand, he whirled her around to face it. He was growing impatient as well, ready to begin the night. So, without further ado, he tugged her along. 

He was quick in his movement, taking that awkward pace that rested on the spectrum somewhere between a walk and a run. He had managed to get intelligence as to the password for the Prefect’s bathroom. He was neither a Prefect, nor was he a Quidditch Captain, but with the right attitude, he could always find a way in. He was slightly winded when they finally made it to the correct floor. “Almost there.” He said happily, continuing to drag her along. Before long, the pair of them found themselves standing outside the hidden entryway. With a quick proud look in Imogen’s direction, Benito uttered the secret phrase. A doorway revealed itself, and with an almost childlike excitement, Benito brandished it open. Inside was the pool-like bathtub infamous among the students, but more interestingly were the decorations surrounding it. Candles rested along the ground, baking the room in a warm and romantic golden yellow glow. Flower petals were strung along the floor with no particular care as to where they landed. And just near the edge of the tub was a tray with a single daisy flower, and a bottle of wine that he had bribed an older Ravenclaw to give to him. “Happy Valentines Day, mamas.” He whispered, sliding an arm around her waist.

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Ethan Cutkosky & Sammi Hanratty at the Shameless 100 party - June 9th.

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Numbers and Predictions

WHO: Benito Ortiz and Imogen Connolly WHEN: Tuesday, February 21st, 1978. 10:26AM.  WHERE: The Potions Classroom

Benito held the door aloft for Imogen, as he did every time they walked through a doorway together. Around his right shoulder was the strap of a bookbag, which fell to rest just around his thigh. Clutched in his right hand (which was also holding the doorknob) was a crumbled up piece of parchment. In his left hand, his fingers were intertwined with Imogen’s in a light and casual show of affection. Potions class was beginning, and the sixth year Ravenclaw and Hufflepuffs that attended the class were slowly filing in. Benito headed in the direction of their usual table-- on the far left of the room, near to the back, but not quite. 

“I told you that assignment was bullshit.” Benito said grumpily, dropping down onto his stool. His bookbag fell into a heap onto the ground, and he dropped the crumpled parchment into the middle of their table. Letting go of Imogen’s hand, he unraveled it, and held it out for her to see -- again. “A fucking D?!” He said, shaking his head. He’d complained about his grade the entire walk from their early morning Arithmancy class to their mid-morning Potions class. “Dreadful!” He held it out further, this time for her to read. “Are my maths really dreadful?”

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Ethan Cutkosky at the Shameless 100 party - June 9th.

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mm-mckinnon:

Marlene had a right laugh at that. The attempt at a quip reminded Marlene of her cousins, younger boys that were always trying to fight her, but could never seemed to get past their usual insults. Something about her hair, or her deep voice, maybe about how dumb they thought she was, but the joke was on them when they found themselves hung up by their shoestrings, long before Marlene could control her magic. Something her had always been a fighter, never one to lie down and take what the world through at her, but to beat it. 

This encounter was hardly a fight, more Marlene getting a rise out of somebody who already seemed on edge. Had it been a friend, she probably would have offered a cigarette, maybe split a joint she had rolled earlier, help him ease whatever was making him this way, but alas Benito was no true friend of hers.

“Right, right, how silly of me to assume anybody wants to touch your knickers.” Marlene smirked slightly, bringing the cigarette to her lips once more, taking a long, deep drag until her lungs burned a bit, strained by the lack of oxygen. Slowly she exhaled, the surprising chuckle that rolled over lips causing the smoke to putter out in small puffs. Marlene really did amuse herself more than anybody else, she was certain.

It was no secret that Benito chose to keep himself away from most of the students of Hogwarts, preferring to focus on the few students who were apart of his house. Even his own fellow Hufflepuffs didn’t quite understand his aversion to the other houses, but in his opinion, Marlene McKinnon summed it right up. She represented everything he hated about Gryffindor: the pride, the brashness, the entire fucking lack of self-control that everyone else chose to nicely label as bravery. Everyone liked to talk about how the Gryffindors were such a noble house, but Benito thought them egotistical and conceited. The Ravenclaws were no better. Many of them were one snide comment away from being a snob, and he just couldn’t understand the elitist attitude most of them seemed to have. It was quite obvious why he didn’t associate with Slytherins. It left Hufflepuff as the only people in the school he could even hope to get along with. 

Just as quickly as he had reared up for a challenge, he could find himself deflating. Jesus, he didn’t have time for this stupidity. He just wanted to find Ludovic Bagman so he could get what he was searching for. He scowled at Marlene, and at the smoking cigarette in her hand. 

“I can’t stand you, McKinnon.” He grabbed at the strap of his bookbag roughly, pulling it up his shoulders. Sidestepping around her, Benito sent her one last scowl before bounding off. He’d give it another five minutes of searching for Bagman before he would give up. At least now, he didn’t have to be around any infuriating Gryffindors. 

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ncdezhdas:

Oh, so he wanted to test her. That was a dangerous game to play, especially considering how she was already on edge due to the attacks, and thought as to what Grindelwald’s next move would be. The last thing she needed at the moment was the most infuriating of the Hufflepuffs meaninglessly bothering her. She had much more important things to do. Not that she’d intended to at the moment, but she wasn’t going to let that be known. 

Once again, Nadezhda rolled her eyes when he laughed, his voice just as piercing and absolutely annoying as nails running down a chalkboard. Benito Ortiz seemed to be the personification of it. “Move any closer and you’ll regret it.” Her incident a few years ago was known around the school. Typically, it caused others to refrain from crossing her, but apparently, Benito wasn’t intimidated. It was almost amusing, how tough he seemed to think he was. “If it’s not already clear, I’d rather not be subject to your aggravating tendencies. It’d be better for the sanity of both of us if you just-” She paused to wave her hand the other way. “Move along.” 

Benito wanted to laugh in Nadezhda Burke’s face. Did she think that she was scary? Oh sure, he wasn’t denying that she could probably best him in a duel. Sometimes, it felt like the Slytherins were trained to fight to the death from an early age. Benito was an average dueler, but something told him that he wouldn’t win in a fight. Whatever, fine. There was no shame in that. However, even knowing this, he did not feel scared. Benito had been getting on the nerves of stronger people since he was a young child, and he wasn’t going to get scared now. What he lacked in dueling strength and skill, he made up for in speed. Hell, he had managed to escape the end of a muggle gun, and bullets were much faster than spells. If Nadezhda dared to try something stupid, he would be gone in the blink of an eye. He was a thief by both nature and trade, and no self-respecting thief would allow themselves to get caught with so many places to run. 

He stepped closer, “I moved closer.” He cocked an eyebrow, “And would you just look, I don’t regret it.” He’d heard about the things Nadezhda could do, but she wouldn’t find him an easy target. He stood seemingly relaxed, but he was ready to dart away at a moments notice. “I would have never even stopped here if you hadn’t opened your big, stupid trap, hijo de puta.” He sneered, “But you did, so now you have to deal with that. I don’t let people like you tell me what to do.”

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bennet-zonko:

When his friend laughed, Bennet laughed too. The four of them had been friends for so long that they had begun to feel like a bit of a family. Benito especially was now and always would be Bennet’s best friend and brother. They had been through far too much with one another together for him to think any other way. Whatever Benito was going through now they would eventually get through. “You want to elaborate there, buddy?” he asked, the grin not falling from his face in spite of the edge of concern that laced itself in his tone. 

Though their daily dispositions sat at opposite ends of a spectrum, Bennet and Benito were a lot more a like than most people understood. They had a shared spirit of mischief, though Bennet used his skill for good, whereas Benito used his for personal gain. Benito needed Bennet. Benito tended to wallow in his emotions, whether they be anger, despair, joy, anxious. When he was around Bennet, Benito found it easier to let things go. Laughing, smiling, and all of those good things were made easier by the presence of his best friend. Even talking about Imogen was not as upsetting as it could be, if it weren’t for the goofy looking smile on Bennet’s face. “She had a moment,” He said, his eyebrows stitching together. He wasn’t sure how else to word it. “It was like-- it was like she was scared of the water, entirely out of nowhere.” He closed his eyes. “Fue un rollo. I told you, it was weird.”