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Kissing Booth - Vanishing Cabinet - 01-28-2026
![[Image: Kissing-Booth.png]](https://i.postimg.cc/YScZpqWT/Kissing-Booth.png)
The Kissing Booth
Just off the main thoroughfare, where the lights grow warmer and the air smells faintly of sugar and roses, you’ll spot it.
A small wooden booth nestled beneath a canopy of red-and-cream stripes, its carved frame wrapped in garlands of hearts and tiny glowing bulbs that pulse gently, as though the structure's own heartbeat is fluttering in arrhythmic beats. Two cherubs hover above, bows drawn but expressions smug, as if they know exactly how this is going to end.
A polished sign hangs proudly at the front, impossible to miss:
KISSING BOOTH
Kisses – 5 Knuts
No refunds of course. Our booth attendants take their jobs very seriously.
A short line tends to form here, though no one seems to mind the wait. Some people shuffle awkwardly. Others lean into it, grinning far too confidently for anyone buying the “just for fun” excuse. Couples whisper. Friends dare each other forward. Occasionally, someone loses a bet.
Behind the counter, the attendants change things up every so often. Sometimes blowing kisses into the air that float briefly before popping like bubbles, sometimes leaning in just enough to make hearts flutter without fully committing. Anticipation is part of the experience, after all.
Whether you’re here because someone dragged you along, because you lost a bet, or because you’re feeling just brave enough to step forward on your own, well....
Five knuts isn’t much, all things considered.
And really… it’s just a kiss.
Right?
OOC: Welcome to the Kissing Booth! This is an open thread where anyone is welcome to post. The prefect manning this attraction are Benji (of course, who else) and Ruth. If you post in here, they'll be happy to sweep you off your feet. Maybe. Tread carefully.
RE: Kissing Booth - Benji Laurence - 02-14-2026
He was the picture of a gentleman, because who else but Benji would be in charge of the kissing booth? Anyone else would make a sloppy scene of it all, and for such a prestigious, high-profile booth, the boy insisted that only the best attendant would be permitted.
That was him of course. Not only were his kissing skills stellar, but he was incredibly good-looking and could flirt with the best of them. He had a girlfriend, yes, but he had ways to circumvent that little issue.
Would he be cheating on Ruth Elliot? Certainly not. The Hufflepuff didn't have a death wish, but he also had a need for money. His uncle had severed his allowance last term, and he'd had to resort to less legal ways to come about it.
Kissing was certainly not the worst of them.
"Step right up!" Benji called out, sitting on the counter of the booth, rather than behind it. A strawberry sucker hung between his lips, and he winked at the few passersby who shot him curious looks. "Only five knuts for your favorite prefect, and you'll get a kiss of a lifetime!"
Guaranteed. Or maybe ninety percent guaranteed. It would be memorable at least. For them, not for him. He just wanted the cash. He was, technically, supposed to turn it in at the end of the night, and he would. About thirty percent of it. He was the house, and the house took the majority of the winnings.
"How about you?" he grinned, his eyes shining at the next girl that walked by. His sucker shifted to the opposite side of his mouth. "Need a little something to get you through the night? Tough time to be single."
RE: Kissing Booth - Matilda Nordstrom - 02-25-2026
It was stupid. She was in charge of the dance floor, but for some STUPID reason she had been told to walk away. Just because she kept pulling couples apart so they weren’t mauling each other on the dance floor. This was a valentines event, not a burlesque show. See. STUPID!
Tilly would head back after cooling off, and then go right back to her job. She didn’t care what people said.
Being single on the “day of love” (said in a sarcastic voice even in her own head), was honestly the worst.
"Step right up!" She heard the voice of her best friend, calling out to the crowd. "Only five knuts for your favorite prefect, and you'll get a kiss of a lifetime!"
Oh please. Been there, done that, got the badge to prove it. Not that she would ever wear that badge, she would die a very untimely death if that ever happened.
"How about you? Need a little something to get you through the night? Tough time to be single."
Walking through the crowd and up to the booth, Tilly scowled at Benji. He hadn’t been actually talking to her, but a dark haired girl that passed just in front of her, but she was still going to give him shit for the comment.
“Well fuck you very much. Thanks for rubbing it in. What if I don’t want to kiss you. I’ll pay a galleon for Rae instead.” She said, with a sarcastic smile and lifting an eyebrow in question.
RE: Kissing Booth - Ruth Elliot - 02-26-2026
Ruth Anaya would be at the kissing booth, stationed and ready.
It was the only place to be when your boyfriend signed himself up to prostitute his lips to an entire castle. She'd love to know his plan. How would the boy reasonably survive the night? What would he do if a bloke came looking for a smooch with cold, hard knuts and expectations? Forget all that, what would he do when a girl like Kaitlyn walked over and took a kiss, then ended up over the ravine?
Was that what he wanted? For her to become a murderer at fifteen? She would oblige if she had to, and certainly wouldn't lose sleep, but there were easier ways to separate himself from her than Azkaban.
After a quick stopover at the tunnel of love to help out with a problem she'd heard about, Rae marched her way to the kissing booth.
"Step right up! Only five knuts for your favorite prefect, and you'll get a kiss of a lifetime!"
There was her loverboy with a deathwish. Rae walked over just as a dark-haired girl timidly made her approach. Rae stepped ahead of her, taking Benji firmly by the face. The Slytherin sank her teeth into the stick of his sucker and tugging it from his mouth. She popped it into her mouth instead, then moved around the booth to take her seat next to him. As it turned out, the poor girl no longer wanted to try her luck.
Rae couldn't imagine why. His lips and her wand were perfectly free now.
Pity.
"Next time, get blueberry," she told her partner offhandedly. Strawberry was a fine flavour, but there was a damn table full of chocolate-covered strawberries, and variety was the spice of life. "Mmmm," she continued, relishing the commandeered sweet.
“Well fuck you very much. Thanks for rubbing it in. What if I don’t want to kiss you."
"You'd be a smart girl."
"I’ll pay a galleon for Rae instead.”
Oh? An easy grin slipped into place. "Sorry, Tills. My lips are only as free as Benji decides his are looking to be." Her gaze was on Matilda, but her words were for the Hufflepuff she sat shoulder to shoulder with (in spirit). The moment he kissed someone, Rae was going to town on the Ravenclaw chaser who'd propositioned her on the walk over.
The choice was very much his.
RE: Kissing Booth - Benji Laurence - 02-26-2026
What if she didn't want to kiss him? Well. Benji had evidence that that wasn't exactly true. She hadn't uttered even a fraction of a protest that day in the forest when he'd snogged her. In fact, she'd said it was pretty good.
"Not my fault you can't keep a bloke, Ging," Benji said brightly, the sucker shifting to the other side of his mouth as he grinned. Matilda Nordstrom seemed to always be mad about some guy - whether she had one or not - and he failed to see how his encouraging comments of paid love had anything to do with that. "Maybe you shouldn't keep picking such shit guys."
He was...probably gonna catch hell for that comment. But what else was new? Ging was always annoyed with him these days. Probably caught him giving her nutter cousin a strange look or two.
His sucker suddenly left his mouth as his girlfriend brought her lips dangerously close to his. His eyes followed hers, willingly relinquishing the treat in the hopes he'd be met with something sultrier for his acquiesce. Tsk. There she went, without so much as a peck. "It's all for the better, pretty. You'd owe me five knuts if you went any further."
Blueberry it was then, next time.
"I’ll pay a galleon for Rae instead.”
She'd what now?
"Sorry, Tills. My lips are only as free as Benji decides his are looking to be."
"Just trying to earn a living here, ladies," he said easily, holding his hands up in defense. "Times are tough. You've seen the economy. I have a castle to maintain." Or a candy addiction, especially now that his girlfriend had stolen his.
His eyes flicked back to Matilda. If she tried to kiss his girlfriend, she may be the first girl he ever had to lay a violent hand on.
Or...maybe it wouldn't be the worst thing to see.
"Make it two galleons and maybe we can work something out."
RE: Kissing Booth - Matilda Nordstrom - 02-27-2026
"Not my fault you can't keep a bloke, Ging," Her blue eyes burned, they may be best friends but in her current lovelorn state, she wasn’t below beating him upside the head with a plastic heart decoration. "Maybe you shouldn't keep picking such shit guys."
Yep. He was going to die tonight. It was a shame really. ”I don’t know Benji, I wouldn’t say all the boys I’ve snogged are…. Hmmm… wait…. Yep,” she snapped her fingers, smiling. ”I think you’re right, every last one has been total shit. It’s a shame really, maybe one day a real man will show up and sweep me off my feet. Or Rae. I’d take her.”
"Sorry, Tills. My lips are only as free as Benji decides his are looking to be."
Another shame. This really wasn’t her night at all.
"Just trying to earn a living here, ladies," Benji said defensively. "Times are tough. You've seen the economy. I have a castle to maintain."
Tilly laughed at the insanity.
"Make it two galleons and maybe we can work something out."
Tilly’s eyebrows shot so high they nearly disappeared into her hairline. Two galleons? The audacity was almost impressive. It was a steep price to pay just to see the look on Benji’s face if she actually followed through, but it was tempting. Very, very tempting.
"Two galleons?" She shot a look at Rae, then back to the Hufflepuff who was clearly suffering from delusions. Specifically, thinking that he would survive pimping out his girlfriend.
"Careful, Benji. I don't think your profits will cover the cost of a funeral," she teased leaning against the side of the booth, crossing her arms.
"Tell you what, I'll give you 2 galleons to switch me places. Go run the dance floor where you can swing Rae around for awhile and I might actually get a snog. It’s been over a year, I’m due. But Rae, if you decide to actually sell those kisses for a galleon, let me know. I'll start a tab."
RE: Kissing Booth - Ruth Elliot - 03-02-2026
They were at it again.
Rae was used to it by now. When they were of the mind to, Benji and Tilly fought like cats and dogs. They were a bit like Evander and Adira when you left them alone too long, their emotional intelligence flowing along the same wavebands when they really got fired up. What they were nipping and teasing about this time was anyone's guess, and Rae didn't reckon she was too pressed to find out. Very seldom—if ever—was it anything worth rousing her curiosity. She was sure they both had things going on, but when they got together, it only ever seemed to be mundane squabbles.
The Slytherin was content to look out at the decorated grounds while they went at it...until...
"It's all for the better, pretty. You'd owe me five knuts if you went any further."
Well, that certainly earned the boy a raise of her brows. The day she owed Benji Henry, even a mouldy crumb for a kiss, was the day she'd finally bury him in real life. She was already stretched to her limits, being the most understanding girlfriend in the entire world, but she drew the line at having to pay for something she was barely getting anymore in the first place. It would be time to pack it in then.
"Just trying to earn a living here, ladies. Times are tough. You've seen the economy. I have a castle to maintain."
Huh. He was trying to die. Again, Benji was taking the hard—and likely painful—way. All he'd had to do was ask. She would mourn him appropriately, get her father to buy her plenty of black fabric, and have it made by that seamstress over in Mayfair. Would he appreciate her eulogy this time? Likely not. Benji was a typical boy who didn't appreciate anything.
"Careful, Benji. I don't think your profits will cover the cost of a funeral."
"She's right, you know." Rae said, rising from her seat to position herself on her boyfriend's lap. "What little profits you'd be bold enough to make would be stuffed down your throat until you choked." She pulled the sucker from her mouth, then kissed him. "And if you lived, I suppose I'd have to see if I had any knuts or sickles of my own to spare." She kissed him again. "Never galleons." Despite the way the pair threw the values around, Rae understood value and wouldn't waste any on murder.
"No, thank you," she replied to Matilda's offer. "I can't get kisses if I'm busy making sure kids aren't reproducing on the dance floor. Here, I've got a free pass and a boy with a death wish."
She twisted to face the Gryffindor.
"It's been a year because you're picky. Plenty of willing boys roaming the halls, day in and day out. If you're scared to jump back on the horse, just say so. I'd offered to help, but you insisted you were in love." She pulled Benji's face close, her hands massaging his cheeks as she returned her attention to him. She squashed his face in.
Squish squish squish.
"Go ahead and charge me." He said she'd owe him, yeah?
RE: Kissing Booth - Benji Laurence - 03-03-2026
”I think you’re right, every last one has been total shit. It’s a shame really, maybe one day a real man will show up and sweep me off my feet..”
Benji crossed his fingers for Matilda, his eyes never leaving hers as he pursed his lips together in amusement. "We'll see." Did he doubt Matilda could snag herself a good guy? Not really, but he'd also never really been invested in the matter. There were plenty of guys waltzing around here, eager for a snog - easy or not.
Whether Matilda lumped him in with the 'shit guys' or not - and it seemed she did - made no matter to Benji. They'd kissed, once. And though there had been opportunities for more, Matilda was busy entertaining every creepy older bloke that had looked her way. It was no skin off his back. His best friend could do whatever she wanted, but he wouldn't claim any fault in it.
"Careful, Benji. I don't think your profits will cover the cost of a funeral."
"What little profits you'd be bold enough to make would be stuffed down your throat until you choked."
Ooof. It was a gang-up then, was it? A villain in the flesh for wanting to make a coin. "I don't think -" He was cut off, her lips encapsulating his with a sweet kiss. Ahh. He knew he'd picked this booth for a reason. He smiled against her kiss, all her words floating in one ear and out the other. Yes, yes. He would die. Blah blah blah. With his girlfriend on his lap, pouring her affection on him, how could he die anything but a happy man? His hand fell to her knee, brushing along her smooth skin.
"It's been a year because you're picky. Plenty of willing boys roaming the halls, day in and day out. If you're scared to jump back on the horse, just say so. I'd offered to help, but you insisted you were in love."
His face was being smooshed, but he didn't move his eyes off the curly-haired devil. What were they all talking about again?
"Go ahead and charge me."
"Sorry Ging," he muttered, taking his own kiss from Rae. "Booth's occupied."
RE: Kissing Booth - Matilda Nordstrom - 03-03-2026
Watching her two best friends being aggressively affectionate was both adorable and frustrating. Much like their relationship. Were they on? Maybe off? In Tilly’s eyes, they were never off. Even when they were OFF-OFF she knew they would still be ON soon after. It was just as confusing in her head as it was in real life.
As long as Tilly was a bridesmaid she didn’t care what happened. And the dress color better not be orange. Shiver
"She's right, you know. What little profits you'd be bold enough to make would be stuffed down your throat until you choked."
“See, I CAN be smart. Mark this day on your calendar folks!” She said in a sarcastic voice full of joy.
Tilly loved having smart friends. It benefited her greatly on many occasions. What she didn’t like was when her smart friends used their brain powers against her.
In this case Rae.
"It's been a year because you're picky. Plenty of willing boys roaming the halls, day in and day out. If you're scared to jump back on the horse, just say so. I'd offered to help, but you insisted you were in love."
Because she was in love. Until her heart was broken. Rae was right, because of course she was. Yes, she was scared. She was also heartbroken, crushed, hurt, sad and really fucking lonely. When your future is laid out in front of you, then cracked in half, it was hard to ‘jump back on the horse’ as Rae put it.
Looking at Rae, irritation in her eyes, Tilly crossed her arms over her chest and told Rae, “It’s really annoying when you’re right and shove it in my face. Go be happy somewhere else, this booth is reserved for awkwardness and bad decisions.”
Was she acting like a petulant child, sure. Did she care? No.
And then they were kissing, because they were back ON again apparently. "Sorry Ging, Booth's occupied."
Averting her eyes, because the last thing she wanted to witness was them snogging. Again. Tilly turned her back and walked away. “Fine, have fun making no money. I HATE YOU BOTH!” Walking away, determined not to be the third wheel yet again, Tilly went searching for something to keep her occupied, since it wouldn’t be snogging.
RE: Kissing Booth - Ruth Elliot - 03-06-2026
Contrary to most, Rae didn't actually think her relationship with Benji was complicated or convoluted. They loved each other, they had nasty tempers that flared, and they were brutally honest and unafraid to walk away from each other to avoid murder. They had big feelings for each other, and when those big feelings exploded, so did they.
When all that was over, they went right back to their baseline of problematically entangled affection and a concerning level of possessiveness that showed no signs of letting up.
It was fine.
"Sorry Ging, booth's occupied."
Mmm, that it was. Rae had begun to condition herself to reach less, to indulge less and to entertain any such thoughts less, but it was nearly Valentine's Day. If there was one event that allowed some loosening of restraints, surely it was this one. When morning came, she'd go back to being a pillar of puritanical propriety, the kind she knew would make her father 'proud'. The very thought annoyed her, but she wasn't doing it for him. Rae was doing it because it was what Benji needed, and she wasn't always selfish.
She also wasn't immune to the sting of rejection, even when she understood why.
This was safe, low-intensity fun she could get behind, even if Matilda couldn't. The poor girl was getting herself worked up about...Merlin only knew what.
“It’s really annoying when you’re right and shove it in my face. Go be happy somewhere else, this booth is reserved for awkwardness and bad decisions.”
Hmmmm? Tilly's words brushed against her ears before going on their way. The Slytherin's attentions were all for the boy whose kisses had grown more deliberate. Her lips readily met his, escalating beyond the first gentle pecks.
"Lighten up, Tilly," Rae muttered between kisses, finding it harder and harder to focus on her friend and her inexplicably growing frustration. Had something happened while she wasn't paying attention? She supposed she'd never know now, nor did she think she wanted to. There was always something going on at Hogwarts. She'd get the information later.
“Fine, have fun making no money. I HATE YOU BOTH!”
Hm? What was that?
She'd have to ask her friend later.