Smooth Criminal {Open}

Ben climbed up the stairs of the Astronomy Tower and slipped into the shadows. Luckily the moon wasn't out tonight which allowed for the darkness to envelope him completely. He had figured Catalina would be up here, he hoped that she was. It seemed like he could hardly go a day without her. Now he had gone to the point where breaking into Hogwarts grounds was quite normal. After an hour of waiting, he figured that she wasn't going to show tonight. Must have sent an owl that he missed. He sighed, rather disappointed.

A shriek knocked Ben back into reality. He whirled around waiting for somebody to come up the stairs. The light was something he was not expecting. It was near equivalent to looking straight into the sun, something he hadn't seen in nearly a hundred years. The effect was quite powerful. He groaned and covered his eyes, turning away. White lights flashed different colors even after he closed his eyes. "Yeah, someone's here. You mind? Thanks." He shook the effects off as the light disappeared. Slowly his vision returned to him and he could see who was in front of him. A student, not Catalina but still a beautiful Ravenclaw. "No it's fine. I was waiting for someone. I just, sorry."

"No, you're not intruding at all. I'm the one whose intruding." Ben smiled briefly. He noticed her shiver. Must have been colder than he thought up here. He took his jacket off and offered it to the Ravenclaw."Here. Take it. You need it more than I do."he stiffened when she realized he wasn't supposed to be up there. She didn't look like the type to run screaming in terror. So that was a good thing. Well you could never tell the screamers apart actually. "No. I'm not." Ben replied cautiously. "If you want. I can leave."

Ben studied her for a second when she refused his offer. He chuckled when she said that he might need it. For some reason, he highly doubted that. Ben moved cautiously and draped it over her shoulders, ignoring her refusal. "No trust me. I won't be needing it." He smiled and walked back to where he first stood. His gaze turned from her to the sky. "Here for the stars?"

He raised an eyebrow at her question. Quietly, he debated whether or not to tell her his real intentions. Well so far she hadn't threatened to call any teachers. That was a good sign. She seemed to have accepted his presence up here and she had answered truthfully. It seemed only fair that he returned the favor. "I was waiting for someone. But I don't think she's showing up tonight." Not to mention she didn't carry that sour scent of fear. "Do you have a name?"

Ben nodded in reply to her thanks, he could feel her slight anger. Well he was stubborn and sometimes it did get him in trouble. "You're welcome." He studied her before turning back to study the stars. He'd never bothered to look at them until he met Catalina. Now they were quote an interesting subject.

"Yes, this is the best place to see them." Ben's gray eyes flashed briefly to meet hers. She had a similar love for astronomy, much like Catalina's. "Interesting what you see up there when you take the time." He sighed and seated himself on the railing of the tower.

There was an almost disappointed sound behind her oh. As if she was hoping for a little more. That, Ben was not willing to give to her. "A very high fall, isn't it? That's why this tower is meant for looking up." For a brief second, he wondered what it would be like to jump from the tower. Feel the air rushing by him. It wouldn't kill him of course.

"Lux. Unique name." He repeated softly. "I'm Benjamin." He smiled, deciding against sharing his last name. "It's very nice to meet you Miss Levesque." Ben held his hand out for her.

Ben let one leg hang over the railing while he hugged the other one to his chest. As Lux talked, he looked up at the sky, hadn't changed in the last century. He could still remember looking up at the same sky with Alice, her laughter as they picked out their child's name. His throat closed in a familiar pang of sorrow. He shook his head as if to get the thoughts out and turned his attention back to Lux. "I think it's more out of greed than passion. We're more consumed by our greed to understand everything than our passion to enjoy something. Perhaps that's why man finds anything unexplainable interesting."

He smiled at her reference to da Vinci. "How true. I've never been much of a flier myself though. Actually, come to think of it, I don't think I've ever taken to the skies." He found it unusual that he was suddenly so chatty. By now he usually would have found an excuse to leave. Maybe it was Catalina, she had brought about so much change. He no longer felt strange meeting new people. "Of course, this is the Astronomy Tower."

"Light and Lux. I can see the similarity." Ben grinned jokingly. He grasped her hand in a light handshake, the warmth of her skin briefly warming his. "The power that names hold. I suppose that just summed me up pretty nicely." He could tell she could feel the obvious coldness of his skin and he broke the handshake off. "No really. I'm just naturally cold." Because I have become Death Ben thought bitterly.