Leopard Doesn't Change its Spots, *Lance

[Mona Brogan]

Mona sat cross-legged on one of the hospital beds, casual in a black tank top and jeans, doodling in the margins of what was supposed to be her Charms essay. The nurse had finally stopped hovering over her and had left to complete other business. She sighed and glanced out the window; from this view she could see some of the flying lessons going on in the daylight sun. It was a rare warm day and she had been looking forward to playing with Figaro in the afternoon. Now it looked like she would be stuck here most of the day, if not longer.

She glanced at her arms and rolled her eyes. Covering her arms and part of upper torso were intense leopard-like spots blotting her skin. They were a type of burn (according to the Head Nurse), although on the surface they just looked like weird, blotchy stains.

Mona scowled, running her fingers along her speckled arms. It was all Lance Higgins' fault. How hard was it to pay attention in class, especially Potions when there wasn't even that much teaching? And how idiotic did you have to be to not notice your potion was boiling too hard and then add the sparksprigs? Of course it was going to splatter and hit anything within three feet of the cauldron...mostly the wall and Mona. The girl in front of them had been lucky enough to have been getting more supplies from the storage room.

It hadn't actually hurt as much as one would expect a boiling potion to hurt, but it still pissed Mona off. The nurse wasn't quite sure what to do about it, since the effect of his potion wasn't what they were attempting to do in class. So Mona was "under observation" under any of the ointments and spells the nurse had tried would kick in. Apparently they would heal without any scars, but the nurse wasn't sure how long that would take, which meant Mona could look like a freaky leopard for quite some time. She did get to miss class, but it was also extremely boring and frustrating to be cooped up.

Mona forcefully returned her attention to the essay in front of her, although now she had all the time in the world. Thank you, Lance Higgins. Jerk.

[Lance Higgins]

Considering the Head Nurse in the Hospital Wing was only older than him by at most ten years, Lance had no problem flirting with said Head Nurse. It often earned him an affectionate swat to the back of his head, but it wasn't anything that would hurt Lance. The nurse was used to Lance's antics and couldn't help but be flattered on the occasion. It didn't hurt that Lance was easy on the eyes, especially when she had to strip him down to see where his "spots" were. Since Lance had been so close to his potion when it had erupted (which didn't surprise him....he rarely cared to be a perfectionist in Potions), the potion had burned right through his black school robe and clothes underneath to burn his skin.

The girl hadn't fared much better than Lance. She hadn't gotten nearly as many burns, but she still looked like she had polka dotted skin. She didn't seem too happy either considering how she had immediately started yelling at Lance for his incompetence and whatnot. Whatever. She was just jealous his spots looked better on him than on her.

"Alright Mr. Higgins, I've done all I can for now. You'll have to stay here for observation purposes until we can figure out how to get rid of your spots," the nurse explained as she pulled back his curtain.

"Yes, Ma'am," Lance replied politely, his lips quirking into a flirty smile.

The nurse smiled back and walked to her office to take down records of Lance and Mona's cases.

Lance glanced over at the girl. He was already bored, and he didn't think that homework would cure him.

"What's got your knickers in a twist?" he asked, knowing full well what was bothering her.

[Mona Brogan]

Mona rolled her eyes. "Well, some jackass was fooling around in Potions so his erupted and I'm just a casualty of the war," she replied dryly, without glancing at him, her Irish accent still thick despite several years of attending school in England. He got what he deserved, but really, it just plum wasn't fair that she had to suffer now too. Not to mention, apparently he wanted a conversation. She had successfully avoided people like him for six years only to be foiled by one accident in potions. The only gratification she really got was that his leopard spots were a lot worse than hers. She absently began doodling again, unable to focus on the actual essay. Mona wasn't exactly a great artist, but she was an ace doodler.

[Lance Higgins]

Lance let out a snort as she started complaining and promptly divided his attention to check out his spots. They weren't so bad. He could probably get some sympathy out of his more ardent admirers, and his "friends" of the female population would most likely come visit him to see if he was okay. He wondered if Tony would visit him... No. No thinking of Tony. Distraction. Distraction. Ember would probably find some way to think of the spots as sexy. She had the great ability to turn just about anything into a kink.

"A casualty, huh? No wonder you look like you got dragged from the grave," he replied, a charming yet mocking smile tugging at his lips.

Lance shifted around on his bed so that he could lean more comfortably against his upright pillow. The Infirmary beds weren't the comfiest, but it was a small price to pay for not paying attention.

[Mona Brogan]

Mona tucked a strand of blonde hair behind her ears. "What a charming boy. I can see why the ladies hang off of you like the leeches they are," Mona replied with another eye roll. She was sick of hearing stories about Lance Higgins from the shallow girls throughout the entire school, even the more sensible Ravenclaws who apparently became senseless in the presence of the other sex. Mona couldn't see the strong appeal, frankly. Yes, he was handsome but there were plenty like him in the world and good lucks didn't mean anything. Girls called him charming, but all Mona saw was a sleazy attempt to get some tail. Plus he did dumb things like explode his potion.

[Lance Higgins]

"At least the girls I play with know what they're getting themselves into. I'm honest about what I want. Only the idiots think they can change me," he explained, his smile turning slightly predatory. Honestly, many a girl saw his promiscuity and thought she would be the girl to settle him down. They were clueless. Lance had never been easily lead astray. Even his mother had not been able to change him.

"And at least I'm nice enough to leave them alone once they realize that I won't change for them. I don't delude them into thinking they still have a chance," he added, tilting his head. "Do you honestly care what happens to the less intelligent portion of your sex?" he asked. Mona Brogan struck Lance as the type of girl who abhorred the self-obsessed girls in the school.

[Mona Brogan]

He sounded so self-righteous, Mona wanted to hex warts all on of his interesting parts. Unfortunately, the nurse, in all her infinite wisdom, had removed their wands to prevent them from trying to cure themselves. Still, he raised a valid point with his last comment. "Good point," Mona acknowledged fairly. She really didn't care about the shallow, shrieking girls; they misrepresented the gender and allowed men like Higgins to grow overly big egos. "But I'd still like to think they'd be better off without you," she added, her voice more accusatory again. She hoped that one day he fell in love with someone completely different who actually did change him.

Mona sighed softly, looking at her "essay" but mostly doodles. She didn't want to be here, arguing with him and pretending to write an essay she didn't care about. They had already missed lunch and Mona hadn't eaten much breakfast, due to a reading assignment that she was supposed to have done a week ago. "Wanna get out of here and find some food?" she asked, glancing thoughtfully at the door. She still kind of hated Lance, but if they caught, she wouldn't be alone. And maybe one of his girls would see him all covered in spots and assume he had some terribly contagious disease....One could only hope.

[Lance Higgins]

"Most likely. Then again, some say that it takes a few heartbreaks to find the one. Someone's gotta be the heartbreaker," he retorted, his eyebrow arching. "And I'm more than happy to play that role."

Lance plumped his pillow and settled back into his relaxed sprawl. The Infirmary food was never quite on par with the food in the Great Hall for some strange reason. He blamed it on the health food requirement for patients. The idea of sticking around for lunch in the Infirmary wasn't too appealing. His spots didn't really bother him. If you had confidence, people thought twice about not saying something nice about you.

"Sure, why not," Lance replied with a casual shrug. He swung his legs over the bed and slipped his trainers back on

[Mona Brogan]

"How kind of you," Mona murmured to herself mostly. His logic actually made sense in a twisted, perverted way, but it was also somewhat revolting. She hopped off her bed, setting her essay aside, and paused at the door to glance down the corridor. The school halls were deserted, as everyone was in class and anyone with a free period (or skipping) were probably outside. Mona would be. The nurse wouldn't be back for some time and there weren't any teachers wandering the halls.

They made it to the kitchens without any mishaps, mostly by Mona ignoring Higgins, and she politely requested some food from the house elves. She always felt bad for them and hated the way they were treated, but as the purebloods told her over and over, there was nothing to be done. They apparently liked slavery. Mona didn't understand, but always tried to be kind to them.

As the elves brought dishes full of food, she gestured. "Pick your poison, Higgins," she said, selecting her own lunch and scratching her spots mindlessly. They were beginning to itch.

((sorry, it's not great...))

[Lance Higgins]

Higgins wasn't at all surprised that the halls were deserted at this time of the day. The students had to be idiots to wander the halls when they were supposed to be in class. It was the most likely place to get caught. Considering they were Infirmary patients, Lance doubted they would get in much trouble for sneaking out for some food. Lance had seen sick professors sneak out of the Infirmary so that they could get better food from the kitchens. The professors dealt lesser punishments when it came to Infirmary patients... as long as they got back to the Infirmary on the double.

Lance didn't hesitate when the house elves came forward to see what he wanted. It didn't hurt to indulge a little. Lance wasn't a pureblood, and he definitely didn't have a lot of money to throw around. House elves belonged to the wishful thinking chapter of his life story. House elves enjoyed their servitude when they weren't treated bad, and Hogwarts definitely didn't treat them bad.

His own spots were beginning to itch. Without thinking he lifted his shirt up just enough so that he could scratch his well-muscled abdomen. He sat down on top of one of the tables, his feet resting on the bench.

"You know, at least my potion only hit us. You could have had more infuriating Slytherins to deal with," he explained.

[Mona Brogan]

"I'm fairly certain that if there were other Slytherins hit, they would be devouring each other, so actually try harder next time, I could use the entertainment," Mona commented, thinking disdainfully of most of the Slytherins in her year. It would be entertaining and she wouldn't be forced to interact with any of them. And even if for some reason they decided not to lash out at each other, she still wouldn't have to really bother with them. By now people were used to Mona hanging in the background and preferring not to talk. At least she hadn't gotten stuck with some Hufflepuffs who wanted to make friends and socialize and apologize endlessly. Even if they left her out, she still wouldn't be able to stand the atmosphere. No, if she had to be sent to the Hospital Wing, she'd rather it be by herself. No idiots to deal with, no one to blame but herself, and then she'd sneak out and do whatever she wanted anyway.

[Lance Higgins]

"Devouring... nah, that's practically incest in the Slytherin house. Most of us are purebloods, so we have to make sure we don't have inbred babies," Lance replied in the most casual manner possible. As if talking about incest and inbred babies were a normal thing to talk about. And, yes, he knew that she didn't mean devouring in that sense... but it had presented Lance with a rather perverted picture.

"So what are you going to devour?" he asked, glancing around at the house elves. Maybe if he watched what they were cooking up, he might be able to guess.

[Mona Brogan]

"Yes, rather odd that everyone's worried about being pureblood but no one's worried about having children with their cousins," Mona mentioned. She was a Muggleborn and very proud of it; she was just as good at magic as anyone in her year, so that had to mean something. The last time someone had bullied her younger sister about it, he had ended up incapacitated for a little while, long enough for him to learn his lesson.

Mona shrugged at his next question. "Probably just a sandwich," she said tonelessly. Nothing interesting. After a moment however, she quietly asked a nearby elf if there happened to be any shrimp she could have. Figaro would appreciate the snack later.

[Lance Higgins]

Lance smirked. "Everyone knows pureblood families aren't as pureblooded as they say they are. Otherwise they would all be deformed from inbreeding," he replied. He didn't care who heard him express his opinion about the old pureblood families. They acted like they were better than him, and yet they had no idea when Lance was pickpocketing them. If they couldn't even detect a thief, then they weren't as powerful as they thought they were. Lance could worm his way out of any situation without having to use his family as an excuse.

The house elves soon came with their food. Lance wasn't at all surprised by their quickness; house elves were efficient workers. He had asked for a turkey sandwich with a side of crisps. Simple enough. His goblet contained Hogwart's standard pumpkin juice.