Forget. Just forget (Cobalt and Lalia)

Cobalt sat at the table in the corner with a single glass and four, unopened, bottles of fire whiskey. He was holding the empty glass in his hand as he stared at the whiskey in front of him.

It was going to help him forget the single biggest mistake of his life.

He slowly opened the first bottle.

He hoped.

Lalia walked into the pub and shuddered a little bit from the cold outside, it was still rather dank in here and she drew her hoodie around herself even more, it was like a blazer with a hood attatched and it was so comfortable.

Wandering over to the bar she ordered a bottle of butterbeer and took a short glacé around the bar before her heart throbbed at the site of a man, obviously troubled and several bottles of alcohol.

Making her way over to him she gestured at the seat in from if him:

"Want some company to go with that drink?"

Cobalt looked up at the woman who had asked to join him and blinked a few times as he took in her obvious beauty. He swallowed a little and tried to give her his usual, thin, smile,

"Of course." he gestured at the seat, "It's never a good thing to drink alone. And you can have some for yourself if you'd like."

Lalia saw him looking at her and she fight back a blush, she sat down at the seat opposite him and she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear as she unzipped her hoodie draping it over the back of her chair, showing her short pencil skirt and rightish White blouse.

"Thank you for the offer but I shall have to decline, have you seen me drunk? Obviously not but still I end up plastered after two shots."

Smiling softly she touched a bottle.

"But this is an awful lot of drink for one man, planning on having others join you?"

Lalia stuck out her hand and smiled softly.

"The names Lalia Richardson, and yours?"

Cobalt couldn't help but look over her body as she got out of her hoodie. He swallowed a little more as he saw her arch her back unintentionally to draped the hoodie over the back of her seat. He smiled a little,

"Well then... how about half a shot?" he teased lightly, "Just to give you a buzz."

He stiffened a little before smiling a little,

"I handle alcohol different to other people." he told her quietly, "I have to try very hard to get drunk."

Cobalt, ignoring his instincts not to shake her hand because of the possibility of contact poison, shook her hand lightly,

"Cobalt Smith." he greeted her, "You might have heard of me... newest DADA professor. I wonder if the curse is still on the job..."

Lalia smiled softly and shook her head even smelling the fire whiskey had made her feel a little woody so to drink it would be a whole different ball game, laughing a little she leant forwards in her seat and looked at the label on the bottle.

"Wow!!! These things are almost 50% proof! I tip my hat to you good sir, for your impeccable drinking talents."

She bobbed a little in her seat to mimic a bow and Lalia sipped at her butterbeer quietly.

"That's true indeed, as we see by the difference in you and me, there was a girl in my year, could drink a whole bottle of that stuff and still pass for sober me well...I'll just shut up now..."

Lalia blushed a little and nodded her head.

"I have heard of you, I hope it isn't, I'd quite like you to stick around."

Cobalt bowed his head jokingly,

"Why thank you Lalia but I fear I can't take all the credit." he winked at her, "I have a little bit of help."

He smiled a little more,

"Don't worry... I used to be a lightweight too." he shrugged, "But then it all changed a few decades back. I changed a few decades back..."

Cobalt raised his first glass to her,

"Well I'd like to stick around too." he winked again, "I'm quite fond of me too."

He downed the shot.

Lalia smiled at Cobalt and hugged her arms under her chest which unbeknownst to her actually revealed more than she would have liked, releasing her grip she traced the rings on the table looking shyly up at Cobalt.

"And who pray tell do I give the rest of the credit to?"

She smirked but then as he got more serious Lalia tilted her head but decided not to push the matter any further, after all she barely knew the man.

"Everyone changes, but not always for the best."

Lalia pulled her tongue out and chuckled:

"When in this conversation did I say I was fond of you?"

Cobalt tried to keep his attention on Lalia's face but the way she hugged herself made her breasts stand out more and he was a straight male, so his attentiond drifted south for a little while. He coughed a little and looked away,

"Sorry but it's kind of personal..." he smiled weakly, "I hope you understand."

He smiled weakly at her,

"I just changed." he shrugged, "Not for the better and not for the worse. I was just... different."

Cobalt grinned cheekily,

"Well I guessed you were." he winked, "I'm pretty likable."

Lalia noted the cough and looked down at her breasts, they were fine she didn't know what he was coughing about, deciding that Cobalt may just have a cold Lalia left that well alone, as did she with Cobalts answer to her question.

"Of course I understand, it's not custom to spill your heart to a near stranger you meet at a pub now is it?"

She friendly smiled at Cobalt and drank the rest of her butterbeer, it was nice to unwind, meet someone new, there was nothing she liked better.

"Well that is where you fall down my dear, guessing doesn't always pay off now does it?"

Deciding that she should start a new topic Lalia asked rather dreamily:

"Why are there rings on this table?"

Cobalt chuckled weakly and held up one of the bottles of firewhiskey,

"Actually it is if you finish one of these." he shrugged, "For anyone other than me apparently. And a glass or two for you right?"

He smiled a little more,

"Oh but there must be something about me..." he looked around the bar, "Or maybe I'm just the only person who doesn't look like he'll stab you. Shady bar after all. Odd when it's so close to a school."

Cobalt raised an eyebrow before smirking and raising his hand for the barkeeper,

"Let's ask!" he decided playfully, "Bar keep! Bar keep!"

Lalia laughed softly and nodded her head, indeed it would seem that she had been caught out by Cobalt, smiling she sipped a little more of her butterbeer and sat back to watch him drink, it was nice and warm in here.

"You got me...I guess when you're drunk it is easier to give secrets away, another reason I don't tend to do it."

Smirking softly Lalia shook her head and placed her tankard on the table, directly over a ring.

"Actually Cobalt, I came over to you because I was worried you were going to drink yourself to liver failure. And the fact that you looked like you needed a conversation...maybe you looked attractive too."

Lalia winked but she suddenly felt her courage slipping away, however she did want to know so she let Cobalt continue:

"Okay then."

Cobalt finished another glass of firewhiskey without even blinking. He frowned a little,

"I really need to pick a drink that tastes good..." he muttered to himself before grinning, "Well I'm glad I don't have that problem at least! If I want to go around telling embaressing stories, I want to be able to stop myself before the really bad bits."

He nodded at her first and second reasons,

"That's very kind of you but I'm made of tough stuff. The conversation is greatly appreciated, talking to a pretty woman is a great joy." he winked at her, "Thanks Lalia, you're extremely attractive too."

The bar keeper walked over and grunted at Cobalt,

"Yes good sir, the lady here..." he gestured at Lalia, "Was wondering why there are rings on the table?"

The bar keeper glared at him before walking away, muttering swear words under his breath at him. Cobalt smiled widely at Lalia and held his arms out wide,

"I guess it's just a mystery!"

Lalia smiled softly at Cobalt she could understand why he would want to drink something that would make him drunk simply for that purpose but she wanted to drink something that actually tasted nice, letting her mind wander she mused:

"You could always try vodka, you can mix it with stuff so it tastes nicer but still get as plastered as you would do without."

Ducking her blushing head a little Lalia traced her finger around another stain on the table, this one looking more like blood than drink.

"Well thank you Cobalt, you'd be one of the first to say so..."

A little bit shy when the barkeep came over she hung her head when he started to swear and lope off, biting her lip she looked at the taBle and whispered:

"I only mentioned it because you can just fix it with a simple spell so...there's no cause for having them ."

Cobalt frowned a little before shrugging,

"I guess I could..." he paused a little before chuckling, "I doubt I'll have the time to mix any... when I want to forget with a binge I don't usually have a great deal of warning."

He gave her and incredulous look,

"Are you kidding me?" he shook his head, "What are the people around you blind? You're a drop dead stunner! Well their loss... my gain. I get to see such a beautiful woman blushing from even my bad attempts at compliments."

Cobalt reached over the table and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder,

"I know Lalia, you just wanted to help." he glared in the bar keeper's general direction, "Some people just don't want to be helped."

Lalia looked at Cobalt a little worried she didn't want him to be drinking so much, she picked up on the fact that he needed to forget something but it was none of her business, however she would try to help him out now.

"Hey, hey...I know it's not any of my business Cobalt...but if you ever feel like that again, please come and find me, I wouldn't like you drinking alone. You could get hurt."

Biting her lip Lalia ducked her head again hiding behind her bottle and trying to keep herself away from Cobalt, but as she leant down there was a definate glimpse of cleavage on show, not that Lalia noticed.

"Oh come now, there are prettier people, and it's always the prettiest people that get noticed."

Lalia rested her head on Cobalts hand and kissed it softly, before with wide eyes she realised what she had done.

"Uh sorry! I didn't mean to..."

Cobalt paused a little before looking at Lalia critically as she made the offer. After a few seconds he saw nothing but truth in the statement and he smiled at her,

"Thank you..." he thought about rejecting the offer before smiling, "I think I'd like that."

He swallowed the sudden lump in his throat when he caught a glimpse of her cleavage,

"I never said you were pretty. Pretty people are like graffiti, you can't help but notice them. But you..." he winked at her, "I said you were beautiful. That means that you're fine art and it take some special people to truly appreciate your beauty."

Cobalt blinked in surprise when Lalia kissed his hand but made no move to take his hand away. He smiled,

"Don't worry about it." he stroked her cheek lightly, "Not often I get a kiss from such a beauty."

Lalias breath caught in her throat when for a moment it seemed liked Cobalt was going to reject her offer but she smiled happily when he accepted it and she clapped her hands happily, glad that she would get a chance to see Cobalt again.

"I appreciate that, after all, it means I get to see more of you."

A large happy smile fixed itself to her lips as Lalia looked around to see if the bartender had any other staff on, groaning when he didn't she looked at her now empty butterbeer glass.

"I'm too scared to ask for another drink..."

Lalia blushed and ducked her head again as Cobalt continued to compliment her, blushing she waved her hand in dismissal of his comments before it was her turn to be surprised.

"Really Cobalt? I thought that you'd bs quite popular up at the school, ah but then again if you were you wouldn't be here now so I suppose I'm happy the women at Hogwarts are blind."

Seeing her obvious joy at having accepted her offer, Cobalt was instantly glad that he had accepted the offer as seeing her that happy caused him to smile as well. He chuckled lightly,

"The pleasure is all mine Lalia." he told her firmly before winking at her, "When we meet again I will have the pleasure of being in the company of a beauty such as yourself again. A rare event that should be deeply treasured."

Cobalt tapped his glass with his wand, making another for Lalia,

"Well... you could always just help me with what I'm drinking." he suggested with a light smile, "One glass can't hurt can it?"

He shook his head a little and sighed slightly,

"Well at the school... well I'm a bit mean." he admitted quietly, "I'm afraid most women at the school are either afraid of me... or students who think I'm 'dreamy'. Believe me Lalia, you're the most beautiful woman to be showing any form of interest in me."

When Lalia heard Cobalt chuckle she blushed again it was such a nice sound that she couldn't help but laugh with him at just how silly she had been after all she didn't know why she was getting so attatched to Cobalt they'd only just met but...

"Oh my," she blushed "You really do flatter me Cobalt, if you keep this up I might get used to it and you wouldn't want that."

Smiling happily Lalia took the glass that Cobalt offered her and bit her lip wavering between having another drink and being good. With a firm nod she took one of the bottles and poured herself a little shot.

"On your own head be it...when I get silly please do ignore me and don't let it put you off."

Lalia looked softly at Cobalt and placed her hand over his on the table, she didn't want to think about him ever being mean but everyone was sometime or other.

"I'm just happy I'm seeing the nice Cobalt and I'll pretend he's just for me."

Cobalt smiled a bit more at seeing her, cute, blush. The colouring of her cheeks was very cute to him and he chuckled more when she laughed with him,

"Why wouldn't I want that?" he asked with a smile before winking at her, "For you to get used to it you'd have to hang around me more. And that's a good thing in my book."

He smiled faintly as he poured himself another drink,

"You know... I don't think I will ignore you." he raised an eyebrow, "I don't think it's possible for me to ignore you. Beauty such as yours... well it's very hard to ignore. And if you make some silly comments? Well that'll just be cute."

Cobalt's smile grew a little as he held her hand, softly making circles on the back of her hand with his thumb,

"The nice Cobalt is pretty much just for you." he admitted a little sadly, "Two girls I have as apprentices but I still have to be firm with them. With you I can be as nice as I want."

Lalia looked at Cobalt with her head tilted to one side and her eyes travelled down to the table then back up to his eyes as if she was diverting them away from Cobalt so that he wouldn't see just how much she liked getting complimented like this.

"Because then I'll get a big head and big heads aren't attractive are they? Neither are big egos so I'll stay clear of getting too confident."

With a soft smile Lalia gripped the drink in her hand and raised it to her lips giving Cobalt a wink before sipping it and coughing with the alcohol in it and the kick that she definately hadn't been expecting.

"Wow! I forgot how strong that was. But thank you Cobalt, I don't think that anyone would pay attention to me when I start babbling on about converse for owls."

Lalia moved her hand on top of Cobalts and squeezed it as she threaded her fingers with his own.

Cobalt frowned a little when she looked down, thinking that he'd made her uncomfortable. When she looked back up however he smiled faintly and stroked her cheek gently with one hand,

"You won't get a big head or a big ego." he smiled a little more as he stroked her cheek gently, "The fact that you're worried about that tells me it's unlikely to happen."

He tried to be encouraging but couldn't hold back the massive grin at seeing her spluttering at the alcohol. Drinking his own without even blinking, he smiled at her,

"Don't worry about it." he winked at her, "It was cute."

Cobalt raised an eyebrow,

"Converse as in... the shoes?" he asked before tutting, "No no no... owls are not allowed to get cool shoes when I'm not allowed to get them!"

Lalia blushed as she felt Cobalt stroking her cheek and she nuzzled her head into his hand softly wanting him to remain there and not to move his hand from her skin, not remove his touch from hers.

"Well, if you think so Cobalt, I guess that you're the expert here not me so I'll go with whatever you say."

Flushed with embarrassment Lalia ducked her head and looked away from Cobalt, trying to change the topic of conversation from her being 'cute' she asked:

"So, moving on from that embarrassing display, how old are you Cobalt?"

Lalia had been wondering this for some tone and had pinned him at around the late 20's early 30's but had no idea if she was right or not. Widening her eyes a little she giggled waving her hand in the air.

"Why can't you have them?"

He felt her cheeks heat up slightly as she blushed due to him stroking her cheek. When she began to nuzzle her cheek into his hand however, Cobalt smiled and obligingly stroked her cheek lightly with his thumb,

"I'm hardly an expert darling." he told her with the same, small, smile, "I just know beauty when I see it and you have inner beauty as well as outer beauty."

When she ducked her head, Cobalt still hand his hand on her cheek so with her movement it moved up into her soft and silky hair. Idly, he began to play with it,

"I'm 34." he told her simply before chuckling, "Not embaressed about my age at all so you really shouldn't have been nervous about asking. How old are you, if you don't mind me asking?"

He chuckled before faking a pout,

"Because I'm 34." he shook his head, "Who ever heard of a 34 year old wearing converse and not being a rock star?"