Edric had never been a fan of large crowds, cramped spaces, loud noise, and giggly, giddy students. He didn't like socializing and most people tended to annoy him. So naturally he left the feast at the Great Hall a little early - only after he was sure his stomach was completely satisfied.

With a piece of bread in his hand, Edric absentmindedly allowed his feet to lead the way. He didn't have to think about the path he was taking; he'd taken it so many times before in the last term.

And he ended up in the wrong place anyway.
Wut.
Edric furrowed his brows as the spot where the duck pond had once been (hence the reason he'd brought some bread), came to view as... a boiler from the depths of hell, brought to the surface to melt away unsuspecting students.

Or. Maybe it was just a lovely hot spring that would come in handy in the upcoming autumn and winter weather. Leave it up to Edric to assume the worst, though. He'd already begun to suspect it was a trap set up by the school to punish wandering students. AKA him.

Well.
Best check it out.
Throwing the piece of bread aside, where a nearby squirrel ran by and took it away, Edric proceeded to pull off his shoes and socks, rolling up the hems of his pants to expose his legs just up to his calves. There was nobody out yet. Maybe he'd luck out and get to hog up the entire spring all to himself? >:]

Sitting by the edge, the boy dipped his feet into the water and sighed softly as the warmth traveled up from his toes to the back of his neck, dulling the boy into a sense of extreme calm and serenity.

Deciding to take a quick stroll after the feast and before heading to bed, Emmanuelle set out in no particular direction. It had been an interesting evening to be sure, what with the sudden train stoppage, the portkeying off the train, the elves at the feast and that one crazy lady yelling about BBQing said elves. All of this added up to one thing for her- her last year of schooling was going to go down in history as one of the craziest. And it was only the first night. She didn't think she could handle much more excitement.

When she had been walking for at least ten minutes, the excitement begin to catch up with her and she found herself in need of a place to sit for a bit until she could gather the energy to head back to the castle. This was when she spotted the hot spring. It confused her a moment because, hadn't there been a duck pond here last year? Did Hogwarts change landscaping every year? Huh, the more you know...

She decided that this new hot spring was just as good as any to take a rest. In fact, it seemed better than most, as she could soak her wary feet and just relax for a bit. So, ignoring the guy who was already there, Em slipped off her heels and stuck her feet into the water. Um... this is nice....

Ella was a bit tired but she needed some fresh air so the third year decided to head out to the grounds for a walk. She followed the familiar path to the duck pond, expecting that not many people would be out and about, and stopped short when she arrived.

NO DUCKS?!

But...but...but why did they take away the duck pond? Frown. Ella loved the duck pond! And EEP. What about that Daichi character?! Wasn't he like obsessed with ducks? And Alec! Alec loved ducks, yeah? He would be sad too. Ells would have to get some ice cream ready for both of them because this was definitely a shock.

Speaking of shocks, there was someone sitting at the edge of the steaming water. Ella narrowed her eyes, immediately recognizing the person. Her ogre! So he was alive and well and hadn't been hurt when the train went all cray cray! Thank Merlin. With a small smile, the blonde walked up next to her evil fairy godfather and sat down quietly, removing her own socks and shoes. She then very slowly dipped her own feet into the water, pleasantly surprised at how nice it felt. "I'm still going to miss the ducks." She admitted after a minute. It wasn't her typical greeting but Ella didn't feel very Ella-ish these days so in that way it was very fitting.

Edric looked up absentmindedly as his one-man party came to an end when a girl randomly appeared into the scene. He should've known it would have been too good to be true that he'd get to spend a whole thirty seconds straight in the lovely company of his own thoughts that usually just revolved around conspiracy theories and his secret love for hedgehogs.

Lost in his own thoughts once again, Edric returned his gaze to the steamy water, not noticing as yet another character arrived into the scene. This time it was a familiar little blonde, the first person ever to make Edric genuinely laugh or smile. He hadn't seen her coming, though, so as she suddenly spoke up and made her presence known, Edric nearly fell face-first into the water in shock.



Sharply turning his head in the direction of the girl, Edric furrowed his brows disapprovingly. "You're going to miss me more after I die from this heart attack," he replied to her comment about missing the ducks.

Edric's expression softened and morphed into one of curiosity and surprise as he looked at the girl he hadn't seen all summer, and who he hadn't seen much of during the last few months of school last term.

She looked WAY older. o_o Like… a tiny little woman or something. Wasn't she supposed to be eight or seven or somewhere around there?! Edric narrowed his eyes, as if suspecting that Ella might've taken a potion that would make her grow older faster. "You've changed." He left it at that.

O_____O

Oh Merlin's beard. WHY was she always doing that, scaring her ogre half to death? She hadn't meant to. She was actually pretty surprised seeing as she hadn't wiggled her eyebrows at him or anything. Biting her lip in an attempt to stop the smile from forming, the third year shrugged her shoulders. Ohhh Edric. Such a Drama King. "I didn't know ogre's had hearts." She said playfully, finally allowing her smile to form fully. She had missed him, the big grump.

And then Edric was studying her as if she'd grown antlers over the summer break or something. She frowned slightly, tucking her hair behind her ears. Was her face doing it again? ...Being a comedian? He wasn't laughing though, so that couldn't be it.

She'd changed? Well...that was normal, yeah? People grow up, get taller, eventually get wrinklier. "I guess I grew a couple of inches taller..." Shrug. No big deal. "I'll be fourteen so I guess it's normal...The growing thing. It's not a bad change...yeah?" Cause now homeboy had Ella feeling all kinds of insecure.

Edric rolled his eyes as Ella mentioned ogres' lack of hearts. There was a crooked half-smile on his face. His fairy godchild was learning his ways; she'd become quite clever. He remembered when she was just sweet and innocent and always surprised. "Good one."

As the girl explained that she'd grown a couple of inches, Edric shrugged. He assumed she would, but she didn't grow up a couple inches. She grew some twelve feet.

And then Ella was reminding him that she would be turning fourteen soon.
Fourteen!?
When in Merlin's beard did Ella get so OLD?! 14! That was just three years younger than him! She was beginning to catch up!

"It's a terrible change," replied Edric almost instantly, not being encouraging at all. "I can't really ruffle your hair or pull your cheeks anymore. You have no cheeks. All the baby fat's gone," went on the awful little ogre boy, obviously not helping Ella at all. He might've been a little bitter that she'd grown up. Like she'd done it on purpose or something. He'd kind of expected her to stay a twelve-year-old forever.

An eye roll, eh? That's all Ella got from her ogre? She thought the heart comment had been pure gold...but she was kinda biased. At least he was smiling, though. That was a good sign. "I know."She said in response to his 'good one', a small smile on her face. She was seriously becoming a mini Edric. How frightening.

Frown. Frown. Frown. A terrible change? It wasn't THAT terrible, was it? Her green eyes went a bit wider as he continued on, commenting on her lack of cheeks. Absently her hands went up to her face, pulling at her own skin to test his theory. MERLIN'S BEARD! He was right! But wait, wasn't the fact that he couldn't pull her cheeks a GOOD thing? She had kinda hated that. But the hair ruffling...surprisingly she didn't want that to stop. "But...you could still ruffle my hair if you wanted...sometimes." Not that she was going to ADMIT that she enjoyed it. Nope. Her lips were sealed. "It doesn't change anything really, my getting bigger. ...Does it?" She asked, clearly worried. He was still her evil fairy godfather and she was still his fairy godchild, yeah?

Anyway..."So um...how was your summer? Did you..." He probably wasn't going to like this but she was too curious NOT to ask. "Did you see Evelyn at all?" Eyebrowsssss.

Edric seemed taken aback as Ella merely gave him a smug 'I know'. Since when was the little one so over-confident?! Merlin. This really was another person. Another person too similar to him, actually.

As Ella, her confidence now a little weakened, assured the ogre boy that he could continue to ruffle her hair, Edric shrugged. Of course, he was going to continue doing it. But, seeing as Ella actually kind of enjoyed it, he would be evil and leave her in doubt. "We'll see." As the girl then went on to ask if her getting bigger changed anything, Edric looked off into space absentmindedly. "Well. Yes, it obviously does. You're not a child anymore," he explained, then returning his gaze to the girl. "But, change doesn't always have to be bad. I can finally teach you how to do that ice cream trick from last term," he said with a half-smile, referring to the time he'd transfigured a bowl into ice cream just to cheer up Ella one day they were at the Great Hall. He'd told her she'd have to wait until her fifth year, but seeing as he was graduating this term, he'd have to give away his tricks now.

And then the summer questions.
Edric knew this would be coming. For reasons unknown to him, humanity made a habit of wanting to know everyone else's summer, like this was some special time where people took trips to the moon and took rides on the Loch Ness monster.

Ella was specific, though. She wanted to know about Evelyn. Edric narrowed his brown eyes at her. At least one thing hadn't changed: Ella was still as curious now as she had been at twelve. "See her? No. She's in Scottland now so I think the chances of seeing her again are slim," he replied simply, crushing any hope Ella could have ever had for Edrilyn. What he didn't mention though, was the letters he'd written the girl and the 'swimming lessons' they'd shared on Evs's last day at Hogwarts. It would make Ella too giddy and curious, so he'd keep all the juicy information to himself. Evil ogre.

But by mentioning summer and Evelyn and reminding Edric of the last few weeks of the term before, Ella had sort of dug her own grave, as Edric now asked, "What about you? Did you see that boy you were snogging last term?" Yeah, Edric was good at bringing up topics delicately.

So Edric was clearly as surprised by Ella's change in behavior as he was with her change in appearance. It made the third year smile a little, seeing how shocked he was about the whole thing. Had he really not expected to rub off on her in some way? Edric clearly didn't realize how important he was to little Edrica, that much was very clear to her.

We'll see? Meh. That wasn't the response she wanted. He was only teasing though, right? Because if he didn't continue the hair ruffling, how was Ella meant to know the Grinch cared about her at all? Frown. He really was a meany, that ogre of hers. Yes...HERS. Hmph. "I know. I hate not being a kid." But he already knew that, yeah? She had made that very clear last term. O___O WAIT! OGRESAYWHATABOUTICECREAM?! Ella turned to face Edric, a WIDE smile on her face. "You really mean it!?!" She asked excitedly, bouncing a little. It was as if Ella was 12 again, if only for a minute. But wait...best not to be TOO excited. The ogre might decide to change his mind. Play it cool, Ella. Cool as a cucumber. "I mean...*cough* That would be really nice."

REALLY? Edric was such a downer. Just because Evelyn was in Scotland didn't mean they'd never see each other again! Maybe they'd be one of those epic romances where the couples found each other later in life and got married and adopted their fairy godchildren and lived happily ever after! Meep! "You could...write her, y'know. Just saying." And if he wanted Edrilyn to live up to its AWESOME potential, he definitely would.

O___o OHMERLIN'SBEARD. Blush. Ella frowned before deciding she'd give Edric a taste of his own medicine. "Actually I did...and we..." DRAMATIC PAUSE TIME. Let's just let the big old ogre's mind run wild with possibilities for a minute or two. Mwahaha. ..."Talked. He's coming back for fifth term, actually. He's pretty excited about it." And Ella was too, if she was being completely honest. Mostly because Logan had been her first friend at Hogwarts. And that's all they were now, friends. JUST FRIENDS.

Pssshhh.
Edric didn't believe Ella as she complained about hating not being a kid. She seemed to be adapting to adulthood fairly well to him. Hmph. But, as if to prove the ogre wrong, Ella suddenly began to bounce around excitedly like the twelve-year-old he had met. Huh. Maybe she wasn't THAT old after all. Though she was still old. It wouldn't be long until she got older than him.

"Yeah, and if you play your cards right I might teach you how to specify the charm which flavour to make your ice cream," added the Gryffindor, his eyebrows raising as if this was some super sensitive, top-secret information he was sharing with her.

And then Ella was suggesting that Edric write to Evelyn. Oh, if she knew. "I suppose I could try that," lied the boy, as if he hadn't already. But he didn't like attention, specially when it came to his own personal business. So. He'd rain on Edrilyn fans' parade by not giving out any top secret information.

Ella EDRICA had learned too well.
As the girl teased her evil fairy godfather by creating dramatic pauses, Edric's face lost all colour. Of COURSE, like the Negative Nancy that he was, Edric immediately began to assume the worst. Had Ella snogged that boy again?! And--and--oh Merlin, who knows what else those two overgrown diaper-wearing babies had done!

Edric did not approve.
That boy, whoever he was, was obviously a bad influence on not-so-little Ella. Why? Who knows. Like a jealous, over-protective parent he just simply didn't like the kid, even if he'd never even met him.

But then Ella interrupted Edric's thoughts of the perfect kidnapping of little boys who kissed little Ellas, as the girl continued her sentence. She and the boy had just talked. Edric shot Ella a look. I see what you did there, Bishop.

"He's coming here? To Hogwarts?" asked Edric, suddenly excited at the chance of seeing the boy in person. It would make tormenting and bullying him a lot easier. But… fifth term. Would that be Ella's fifth term? Or was the boy starting his fifth term? Which made him like two years older than Ella. And gave Eddy one more reason to disapprove. "Will I get to meet this… nice, young boy?"

If Ella's eyes looked like they were SHINING with excitement, that's because they WERE. If there was anything that could make Ella more Ella-ish, it was the thought of ice cream. Delicious and wonderful ice cream. She did her best to reign in her bounciness, focused on what the ogre was saying. Wait! There was a way to specify a flavor? WOAH. That was seriously amazing. "You can do that? I mean...yeah, course you can. Pleaseeee tell me. I need to know." Like NEED to know. And soon, yeah? Not at the end of term before he left her forever everyone went home for the summer.

Ella raised her eyebrows, studying Edric carefully. He wasn't telling her something, this much she was sure of. Wouldn't he usually tell her to mind her business or something? Hmm...Curious. Veryyyy curious. "You should try that. She's your friend. You should always keep in touch with your friends." And your future wives...AND YOUR FAIRY GODCHILD!

So Ells was getting better at this being an ogre thing but she was absolutely horrible at dealing with the aftermath. Like Edric's face right now? He was literally as white as a ghost. The third year really hoped he wasn't going to pass out or anything...because she simply COULD NOT give her ogre CPR. ICK. He'd say something soon, yeah? Not just look at her like she had been violated in some way?

O__O MEEP. That look? That was a SCARY look. Did Edric practice those kind of looks in the mirror or something? Maybe Ells should start practicing too. That might be helpful. She shot HIM her most innocent look, adding in puppy dog eyes for good measure. Innocent, she was. Totally innocent.

"Yes, here to Hogwarts." She confirmed, nodding her head. And WHY did Edric seem so excited? This wasn't good. "No, thank Merlin." She added, referring to Edric meeting Logan. She didn't want her ogre to kill the boy or anything! "He's coming MY fifth year and you'll be..." Gone. Frown. "Besides, he's not the boy I like anyway." EEP! WORD VOMIT. WHYYYYY?

As Ella grew more and more excited by the second at the mere thought of ice cream, Edric grew more smug. "Patience, grasshopper. You'll know all the tricks soon enough," he assured her. He couldn't go and give her all his tricks right away. What would he be left to bribe her with?

The boy ignored the curious, raised-eyebrowed looks Ella kept giving him. He could tell she knew something was up - even younger, Ella had never been dull - but he said nothing. Nope. Not a word. When Ella advised him to keep in touch with friends, Edric merely nodded. He was more interested in their other topic of conversation.

Edric tried his best not to look too pleased when Ella confirmed that her loverboy was, indeed, coming to Hogwarts. However, he was not able to hide his heartbreak at the news that this would be taking place after he'd graduated.
Drats.

BUT THEN.
'Besides, he's not the boy I like anyway.'


OHMYGOSH Ella was even worse than Edric had originally thought! Not only did she go around kissing boys, but she kissed even the boys she didn't like! If that's the way she treated boys she had no feelings for, he didn't want to imagine the things she did with boys she did like.

"What?!" Disbelief. "There are more boys?! Do you even talk to girls anymore?" Now Edric was thinking of Ella as some boy addict or something.

Grasshopper? Ells did her best not to roll her eyes. The man knew how to create ice cream, for Merlin's sake! She couldn't exactly afford to get on his bad side. "Alright, Yoda. I'll try and be patient." She said with a small smile, looking out at the water again.

So...to say Ella was completely upset with herself for BLABBING that she liked someone would be a MASSIVE understatement. The third year felt like a complete idiot for mentioning it, especially knowing how Edric had taken the news about Logan on the train. She was in for it now, wasn't she? EEP. And her ogre right now? He looked completely freaked out. Alright...she could do this. She could show him he had NOTHING to worry about, yeah? Deep breath and...

"There aren't more boys, Edric. There is one boy that I like. Well...liked. I don't know. And it's not like I kissed him or anything. I haven't so don't worry too much, alright?" Shrug. It was complicated "And yes, of course I talk to girls. My best friends are girls...well besides you, of course." He was an ogre. So she talked to those too. So there.

Edric was too horrified to even smile at Ella's 'Yoda' comment. It would've been clever at another time, but it was completely dismissed now. The Gryffindor's head was elsewhere - he was already thinking of potions he'd read about in books that helped with unhealthy addictions. He'd have to spike Ella's pumpkin juice with one of 'em one day, to rescue her from her unhealthy habits of kissing every boy that happened to cross her path.

But then Ella went on to explain that she only liked one boy. That she hadn't kissed him and that her best friends were girls. Except for him, of course.

Hmph.
Eddy didn't seem TOO relieved, though at least the colour had returned to his face and he didn't look like a St. Mungo's runaway anymore.

Casually, Edric glanced away at the hot spring waters and, faking innocent curiosity, asked, "So what's this new boy's name anyway?" AGE, HOUSE, HEIGHT, WEIGHT, HAIR COLOR, EYE COLOR, BIRTHDATE, EVERYTHING?

Edric looked...freakishly like her Dad had when she explained that she liked someone. She supposed this was because they both wanted to keep her away from boys that might hurt her but it still weirded her out. The small blonde did her best to look innocent, hoping this would help her case a little. Not that she WASN'T innocent. She actually hadn't done anything wrong. She knew Edric too well, though. Knew his twisted ogre mind was probably swirling with crazy scenarios. Poor twisted Edric. He needed to eat more ice cream.

The calm cool demeanor? It wasn't fooling Ella. She looked at the older boy curiously, eyebrows raised, wondering what he was playing at. She couldn't exactly lie to him, though. She was rubbish at lying. Besides, she didn't lie to her friends...or her ogre. "His name is Harvey." She said quietly, fumbling with her hands. "He's a fourth year Ravenclaw." Because she knew those questions were coming too. "And no, you cannot drown him in the hot spring." Because he was probably thinking about that too, yeah?

Edric could tell Ella wasn't buying his act, and for that reason he was pleasantly surprised to find the little girl giving him all the information he wanted. Geez. Was he THAT predictable? Hm. He'd lost his mysterious ways, it seems.

Harvey? Sounds more like a pet pygmy puff's name. He couldn't imagine this mystery boy being very brave with that kind of a name.
Fourth year? Going for little girls, HUH!? Creep.
Ravenclaw? Hmph. Some bookworm nerd. Figures. It takes more than just brains to take care of a lady, though.

This is the way Edric's mind worked at that moment. In 2.5 seconds, he'd already made up 3748375 flaws for a boy he didn't even yet know.

"Drown him?!" Edric laughed a cold, wicked laugh. "I'd never do that. Invite him for a swim, yes, but never drown him." Harvey would just accidentally drown on his own during that swim. Eddy would have nothing to do with that… accident.

Edric was being really quiet. Too quiet, perhaps. What was he thinking in the brain of his, anyway? Whatever it was, it couldn't be good. Ella frowned, continuing to look out at the water. She was waiting for whatever negative comment was about to come out of her ogre's mouth, knowing it was only a matter of time.

Squirm. That laugh? That was like a super villain laugh! Ursula and Cruella Deville had NOTHING on Edric. Ella frowned, finally facing him again. "That's not nice, Edric." Did Harvey even know how to swim? EEP. Ella needed to find this out, yeah? And warn him to stay away from large bodies of water while Edric was still at Hogwarts. That would be wise. "You don't have to worry about him, anyway. He doen't even like me back." And she couldn't help but sound a little hurt when she revealed this, even though she was trying really hard not to.

"It's not nice to invite a guy for a swim?" asked Edric, raising an eyebrow at Ella. It's as if he had spilled all his thoughts out to her. Somehow the girl just knew him too well. "I thought it was friendly behaviour."

But then Ella was sharing some information that Edric hadn't even thought about. Of course. He'd just been assuming all this time that all little boys were chasing after his fairy godchild, what with her new… ways, and all. But there was always that possibility. Precisely the boy she liked, might not like her back.

The Gryffindor's mock-innocent expression faded as his brows furrowed, watching as Ella seemed to shrink beside him, looking and sounding rather hurt by the fact that this Harvey git didn't like her back.

"He's an idiot," muttered Edric without really thinking. Then he realized he probably wasn't being very helpful. "I mean… does he know that you like him?" Which honestly, was more than any foolish little Ravenclaw boy deserved. Ella wasn't just pretty, she was smart and clever and had an amazing sense of humour. Was this kid blind?

Ella shook her head, frowning at Edric. "Not the kind of swim you meant, Edric." And he knew that she knew what he was thinking, yeah? She was HIS fairy godchild, after all. You don't hang out with an ogre and not learn his ways. You just don't.

An idiot... Funny Edric had picked that word to use. Ella even let out a half-hearted laugh, recalling what she'd said to Harvey over the summer. "Yes, he knows. I mean he didn't at first but I told him...this summer." And she'd ruined everything, yeah? Because now they weren't even really friends. "Actually, I called him an idiot." She admitted, her green eyes growing a little wider as the memory popped into her head. "I think I said, 'I like YOU, you idiot.'" Surprising, huh? Not very Ella-ish of her, was it? "His only response was to ask me how long I had felt that way." Frown. And then it was like it had never happened, at least that's how Harvey was playing it. Stupid boys.

Edric flashed Ella a guilty smile as the girl called him out on his ogre ways. Fine. Guess Harvey wouldn't be accompanying him to any swims in the deep parts of the lake near where the Giant Squid lived. Sadly.

The boy was a little surprised, though, when Ella laughed at his lack of friendliness toward the Harvey character. He feared she'd get upset with him, but instead the girl went on to explain that when she'd confessed her feelings for Mr. Idiot, she had used the word herself. Edric's eyebrows shot so far high on his forehead, they got lost in his hair. Ella calling someone an idiot? Yeah, he never saw THAT one coming. Perhaps it was time to give her her certificate for graduating from ogre school with honors.

"That's it?" asked Edric, raising only one eyebrow this time as Ella explained what Harvey's answer had been to her confession. "He didn't bother to at least make a legitimate response?" he asked indignantly, unaware that he might've been pushing the subject a little too much. Obviously this wasn't a pleasant topic for Ella. But Edric was too consumed in his own indignation and disbelief.

"Does he know you at all?" asked Edric, still looking surprised. "Has he ever heard your jokes? Seen you wiggle your eyebrows? Has he ever seen you devour a bowl of ice cream like a champ? Or bravely fight back when a dozen hungry lions chased after you?" The boy could go on and on forever, but stopped there. Obviously, this Harvey character couldn't have known Ella very well. If he did, he wouldn't have been able to stay away after she confessed her feelings. Didn't he realize what a lucky 'idiot' he was?

Anyway. Ella didn't deserve this.
So to cheer up his fairy godchild, Edric did what he did best: torment her. So after a pause, one of his hands flew up to the girl's smooth blonde hair and ruined it completely. Good thing that she was still short, despite having grown, it made her head such an easy target. "If you don't start cheering up soon I'm not going to give you any of my ice cream-related secrets."

Wow.

Those were the exact words Terry would use to describe Hogwarts. It was amazing, beyond what he imagined. He knew what people meant when they said it was impressive, the place was huge, he could easily get lost down one of the corridors. It wasn't intimidating though, it was fascinating.

He had spent the last couple of hours simply loosing himself in the grounds. He'd liked the Lake, it was full of life and he kept his eyes firmly planted on the water to spot any movement within. He failed but he would try again another day. The next place he had stopped was the Whomping Willow. He didn't stay for long, the boy found the tree to be quite worrying, it could lash out at any second, much unlike any other tree he had ever come across.

The next stop on his exploration of the grounds was here, the Springs. It felt calming, peaceful, the atmosphere was gentle enough to clear your mind of all worries and send you to sleep. Terry really could as he sat down on the ground and wiggled his toes which he had removed from his shoes. He bent his knees up and rested his chin on them, looking out across the springs to the other side. It was an unusual sight in a school, he hadn't heard if anything similar being in any other institute.

The twelve year old smiled to himself as he watched the World go by. It was quiet but he hoped for some company soon.

Raised eyebrows. That's what the guilty ogre received in response to his smile. Ells would have her eye on him, and NO, NOT in a spy sort of way. She'd just be making sure her evil fairy godfather tried to take any sort of revenge on a certain Ravenclaw boy.

Woah. Who knew someone's eyebrows could travel that far up? Was this skill specific to ogres or could all beings master such things. The third year fought the urge to try it out right then and there, deciding to focus on the conversation instead.

Nod.Nod.Nod. Yup. That was it. And Edric seemed...really mad, yeah? Ella wasn't sure she completely understood why. You'd think Harvey had told Edric he didn't like HIM. Ella frowned, looking down. "Nope. He didn't. And then his mate came over and he acted as if nothing ever happened...which was...wrong, I guess." And Ella just couldn't pretend when it came to her feelings. Hadn't Edric talked to her about that once, the not caring so much? He had definitely been right. Feelings were the worst.

A-HA. So Edric really did care about her. AND he clearly noticed how awesome his little fairy godchild was, yeah? Too bad Ells couldn't sit around and gloat about this. She didn't even blush, a first for her where compliments were concerned. And yes, she was taking all of those things as positives. "He knows me really well, actually. I guess that's why it bothers me so much." Frown. "We were friends and now we're...not." Not anything at all, really.

O_____o

Edric always knew just what to do. The blonde couldn't help but smile a little, flatting out her hair as she turned to her ogre. "Thanks, Edric...and I knew you'd do it again eventually." The hair ruffling thing, of course. As for the ice cream secrets, Ella raised her eyebrows a bit. "You have to tell me. I'll try and cheer up, promise. Just don't disappear so much, yeah? That'll help...and I know it's not your fault when you do...I just miss you sometimes." Yeah, yeah. It was true. She missed the Grinch occasionally. And she would have hugged him too, but she knew he didn't like it, so she settled with a nudge instead.

This was the life. Being at Hogwarts was her haven! Don't get her wrong, she loved her home and her family, but she was able to be a completely different person when she was at Hogwarts and it made her happy. Very happy. She walked around for quite a while before she found someone she knew and a grin the size of a...very massive grin stretched across her face and she semi-squealed. "Terryyyyy!" She called happily and ran over to him. She was tempted to give him a massive hug but didn't want to seem...weird.

His eyes had begun to close as the peacefulness got to him. It was so relaxing and Terry had hardly got any sleep, he was so excited about exploring the castle. The soft noise of running water, the muffled voices in the distance and the cool breeze through the trees, he felt like he was dreaming already. It was the type of thing he would dream about, other than the usual pre-teen boy stuff. His head pressed deeper into his knees as his eyes completely shut.

..............

Who was that?!

His eyes flung open immediately as he got to his feet and glanced around. Someones shouted his name, he was sure of it. It was far too real to have been the dream. That was when he saw her, Bliss, very close by and rushing straight over to him. The huge beam on her face made him reflect it back. She'd been a good friend to him and he was glad he had her there.

"Hi Bliss. I was about to fall asleep there," he chuckled, almost jokingly but he knew it was the truth. *