Simplicity of Life ((Tiernan))

[Josephine Bowman S7]

((Post takes place at the beginning of the 2001-2002 school year))

Josephine Bowman settled herself down across from her sister on the Hogwarts Express. Well that’s where she had planned to be until her sister looked up at her with raised eyebrows. ”Jo what are you doing?” Brianna asked in as simple a tone as possible, her brown eyes holding a glint of amusement in them. This had been going on all summer. Everywhere that Brianna had gone Josephine was sure to be there with her. She had a hard time getting rid of the girl and Brianna wasn’t at all sure how many times she had blown off her friends to stay with Brianna…not that her friends were the greatest of company, but still it was rather frustrating on more than one level. Right now it was frustrating in the sense that Brianna never got a moment to sit with her friends and talk with them. Sure Josephine was her sister and her best friend, but that didn’t mean she had to be with her every minute of every day.

“What?” Josephine asked in an innocent tone, but she knew it wouldn’t fool her sister. Brianna had been adamant about making sure Jo got out more often, but the truth was that Josephine wasn’t interested in going out without Brianna. There was too much she worried about now and Jo was having a hard time coming to the realization that she wasn’t going to be able to save her sister…not this time anyhow. She just sighed heavily before pulling up from the seat. She mumbled something unintelligible before making her way out of the compartment, leaving her sister to actually talk with some of her friends in Ravenclaw as she made her way down the train, looking for an empty compartment. She wasn’t in the mood to sit with Dakota or Kailyn right yet. They probably hadn’t been too happy with her for ditching them all summer long and she wasn’t in the mood to try to deal with that yet, so she moved into one of the last compartments…it wasn’t empty, but at least she knew the person sitting within it.

“Mind if I join you?” Jo asked as she slid open the door. Her eyes had fallen on the extremely attractive sixth year that Dakota was usually playing like a piano. His name was Tiernan McCoy and he was usually the topic of conversation among most women in Slytherin. He and his friend Merrick Marr were some of the regular Casanova’s, like Drake Manning, Jo thought to herself as she slipped in and shut the door behind her. She nodded at him. “I’m Jo.” It was a simple introduction…but she figured he already knew her. This was oddly enough one of the first times they’d really spoken by themselves, sure they’d all hung out together at one of Dakota’s infamous socials, but that wasn’t nearly as informative as it should’ve been…especially for the people that weren’t Dakota Fox.

[Tiernan McCoy S7]

"Hi there, I'm Tiernan. Me and a friend were going for a drink. Would you care to join us?" Voice was a little high dude. He lowered his voice a little. "Hi, I'm Tiernan." Perfect. Like silk. McCoy sat in his compartment by himself waiting to go to Hogwarts. Anywhere was better than home. "Would you care.... would you like.... might I inquire.... That's dumb." McCoy had no trouble picking up ladies but there was always room for improvement. "Might I ask..." he spoke to the empty room. That sounds like you want to marry her. Be casual. "I was wondering... I was thinking... pondering... considering..." What's wrong? Lost your touch? "No, I haven't lost my touch thank you very much." He pounded his chest in a primeval manner. "Me man, you woman. Let's date." He smiled and laughed out loud. Smooth.

He sat casually on the compartment bench with one of his legs up and resting on the other bench across from him. In his right hand he held a looking glass. McCoy stared into as if it were a person. "Let's breed like muggles." That was just plain cheesy. He smiled into the glass to admire the handsome face smiling back at him. What's that in your teeth? Using his tongue he fished it out and found it to be some toast from breakfast this morning. "Charmed, I'm sure," he told the crumb before tossing it aside. He stared hard and deep into his green eyes. Eyes that anyone could fall for and usually did. His mind drifted to D and the last time they were together. She used him like a dog and she thought that he didn't know. Truth was, he did but he didn't care. Who didn't want to be used by a woman? Maybe Theo but...

Looking at the heavy gaze from his reflection he didn't see the door open until he heard a voice. Looking up quickly, he saw the figure of a fifth year Slytherin. Jo Bowman. He indicated the seat next to him with a nod of his head as he stuffed the looking glass into a pocket. A girl to look at was much better than his own reflection. He straightened his back against the seat so that he could be taller than her and look more commanding. "I'm Tiernan," he responded. He knew who she was and she probably knew who he was but that was nothing wrong with formal introductions. They had seen each other at social events but never really spent any time alone. McCoy smiled to himself. This trip just got a lot better. "It's so nice to be sharing a compartment with a sexy lady. Tell me, do you always seek out hot guys or am I just lucky?"

[Josephine Bowman S7]

Josephine remembered the words of her mother about men not having any tact at all…if she hadn’t remembered what her mother had said after that though she probably would have just laughed at Tiernan right then and there. Instead she just closed her eyes and tried to keep from laughing. Who did he think he was? Cassanova’s tacky brother? She tried not to let on that he was less than perfect in coming up with his pick up lines. “I think in your case you’re just lucky, but I have been known to find those that are decent looking,” Jo said with a hint of amusement in her voice. Maybe he was doing it on purpose…or maybe he really was that bright. It would explain why Dakota had so much fun screwing around with him. He probably didn’t even realize she was using him, but Josephine wasn’t about to be the one to tell him that. She quite liked the idea of him being ignorant on the subject. After all, they always did say that ignorance was bliss. How can he be such a girl magnet with so little brain, Josephine thought to herself with a smirk as she took the seat across from him. Her fancy tight black pants were showing off her curves, as did the tight, black, low-cut blouse. Of course this wasn’t noticeable until after she had slid off her jean jacket and tossed it on the seat beside her. Long black hair fell down around her shoulders, framing her face and setting off her blue eyes. This was why Josephine loved the train ride to Hogwarts…no school robes and the ability to show off whatever God had gifted you with.

After settling she gazed back at Tiernan. He was extremely attractive…not so bright it seemed, but it was hard not to notice the muscles that were hidden beneath his shirt. Josephine tried to clear her throat a bit as she glanced out the window. It was suddenly awkward in the compartment and she wasn’t sure if sitting in there, alone, with Tiernan was such a great idea. However, another part of her was willing her to use her feminine wiles to have some fun. It was almost too tempting, but she knew it would hurt Dakota…if anything could actually hurt Dakota that is. Josephine pursed her lips for a second before she threw caution to the wind and leaned forward, her eyes on his. “So tell me Tiernan, what are you thinking about? You seem so tense right now? Do I make you uncomfortable?” Jo asked in a sweet, yet husky voice as her leg grazed his, her foot deliberately sliding up the inside of his leg in a sensual manner. If Dakota was capable of using men like this than Josephine could as well…though it was probably better to use those tricks on a man you didn’t find attractive or all together dateable.

“You know it is a long train ride and we are alone…” Josephine said as she let the words fade into silence. She was using her sweet, innocent voice now and she was having oh so much fun. She didn’t care if Tiernan was stupid or smart or just stuck on himself, at that moment all she wanted to do was forget about how she had to help her sister. There was far too much she had been missing out on the last summer and she bound and determined to make up for at least some of the boring monotony right now. As long as they were alone she might as well have some fun. Dakota would never find out and if she did what would she do? Ignore her? She seemed to the plenty well on her own anyway, she didn’t really need an excuse, so Jo didn’t care. All that matter was having fun.