Because the Room of Requirement was now a cost per visit sort of room, Mo and Dora had to relocate their annual birthday gift exchange. Disgruntled Mo was disgruntled, which left choosing a new meeting location up to Dora, who more than rose to the occasion. Mo had never doubted her for a second.

Mo arrived first and retrieved a tea service, bringing it to one of the low tables in the corner. No one else was using the space right now, but it would be nice to have privacy if anyone else suddenly craved tea. Since it was birthday time, Mo also brought a little cake swirled high with icing... and a gift. Obviously. Birthday gift.

Dora was trying to remain calm about the fact that they still had to pay to get into some of the room, but really she was a bit irritated. Why did they still have to pay to get into some places? Places they didn't have to pay to get into last year at that, since that was why she and him had picked the room of requirement. It was ridiculous.

She was going to remain in good spirits though, or try to, for the sake of their gift exchange. Not long after he settled in, she entered the room and looked around a bit, having never even entered this room, but she'd heard things about her new head of house's part of the castle. "I'm glad I can still count on you to bring the cake." She took a seat across from him and placed her gift on the floor to make for table space. "And to save me a galleon." Both of these things.

"You can count on me for lots of things, Isidora Yelena. I would think you'd already know that by now," Mo grinned a bit at the sight of Dora, his mood lightening considerably. No need to sulk over having to pay for other rooms when there was cake and tea and presents in this FREE room. Right?

"Happy birthday, then. Or approximate birthday. Happy sorta birthday. Do you want tea? It's still steeping, but... do you drink it?"

"I do know that, and occasionally I like to appreciate this fact." Dora responded with a slightly bigger grin. "I've decided I'm not going to ruin our day with complaining about still having to pay galleons to enter certain rooms. I'll save that rant for the common room." It needed saying, because once she'd said it the fifth year felt glad to have it off her chest, and to also know she would get to get even more of it off her chest later, even if Mo didn't want to hear it.

She eyed the cake speculatively, mentally guessing flavors, then glancing back up at him. "Happy Sorta Birthday. We've once again survived a teenage year. I huge feat. I drink everything. What kind of tea is it?" She checked out the pot. "Do you want to exchange before or after we do the food?"

It didn't help at all that Dora was complaining about something that was a sore point for Mo as well, and he grimaced at her in response. "I don't like having to pay for the library especially. I mean... we had that fundraiser to buy all the books. D'you think those donors would have contributed if they knew we were going to turn around and get charged for entry? Those were parents, so we're like... paying twice. Or our parents are."

But they were moving on, right? Mo poured them both a cup of tea and even put the knife on the cake plate so Dora could cut her own slice... big as she wanted. "It's a home brew my dad made. Pretty good, if I'm allowed to brag on it. We can eat first. You'll need both hands to hug me out of gratitude."

"I'm not paying for anything, especially the library. That should be free." Dora shot him a stubborn look that she might have picked up from that bestie of hers. "We'll just have to find a way around it til our parents intervene." Because she wasn't paying. Dora was SO tired of having to pay for things that should be free to her, like her education, and if she had to go on a one man strike she would.

But yes, moving on.

Dora inhaled the aroma and took hold of the knife, moving the cake closer so she could cut it. "That's really cool, and worth bragging about. Does he make a lot of his own things?" Wasn't his dad someone famous or notable of sorts? Mo's last name did always ring a bell, but only because of his mother and sister, never for his father. "I'll give you two hugs if this cake is better than last years." She cut out a slice for herself, not too big or small.

"I can't afford to pay every time I visit the library, but I can't afford to buy a book every time we have an assignment that requires research. I'm just going to figure out what other people have, and rely on my sisters or parents to send me books from their personal libraries when required. It's a shame... I actually think the library is one of my favorite places." And now he wasn't going to be able to go there all term.

Mo cut himself a slice of cake as soon as Dora took hers. "He's a Potions Master, so he's good with most plants and how they go together. My mum likes tea, so he's been making his own for ages." It just didn't seem like a big thing to Mo, actually. Didn't all fathers make stuff around the house? It just so happened that his father made potions. And tea. And shampoo, sometimes. "It should be better... the elves are back this term, so I don't have to rely on anyone else."

"I started studying for OWLs over the summer, so I have a lot of the books that I need for it, but I was still hoping to use some of the books that they have here. Ones I haven't got my hands on." She would just end up having her grandmother send her more books as well. "You can borrow whichever of my books that you like, but fair warning I make notes in the margins. And of course it is, you're a Ravenclaw." As was she, it would make her a liar to even think she wasn't going to miss that library.

She listened to Mo thoughtfully, poking her at her cake. "That's cool. Are you any good at potions too?" He was at least decent, she assumed, since he would have had all that expertise and supplies at his disposal from early on. "I could kiss a house elf, I'm so glad they're back." She picked off a piece of the cake with her other hand and ate it.

Dora was an ideal study partner. She was self-sufficient and clever, which meant she wouldn't mooch off him without fair exchange... and a good exchange as well. Mo wasn't opposed to helping those who needed it, but he wasn't fond of helping those who didn't need it. Plus she already had an eye to the future. "I've got a line on some books used by people who took the OWLs last term, so maybe we can just pool our resources. And I don't mind notes in the margins." He liked highlighting quills, so it was a trade.

He tried his own cake, grunting his approval of the flavor. Good cake, that. "I'm fair at Potions. Vivi was really good at them, actually, but she has a different kind of brain than the rest of us. And I wouldn't go kissing any house elves, or they'll leave again." Mo grinned. She owed him a hug too. Or two hugs. Couple of hugs. The cake was way better.

Dora nodded her head and picked off another piece of the cake again, "Sure. And we can work on practicals together too, if you're up for it." She was mostly speaking of dueling, but if he was wanting a partner for other classes, she wouldn't mind helping.

"Vivi was cool." Truth. The cake was good too, even if Dora wasn't the biggest eater of sweets as she had been in the past, she could still appreciate the cake. "I'll have you know, Marcus Orion." She ate another piece of her cake, a glint of humor in her hazel eyes. "That I'm a fantastic kisser. Those elves would never leave again if I snogged them." But all of her snogs were taken, so the elves would never know her lips. Even if they weren't taken.

"You just want to hex me again," Mo mused, although it didn't bother him... he sorta wanted to hex her again too. Actually. There weren't a lot of people that Mo felt completely comfortable dueling without any holds barred, but Dora was high on the list. Plus she'd given him antlers last term.

She got an eyeful for praising Vivi, although he didn't disagree on that point either. "Didn't need to know that about you, Isidora Yelena. Lots of stuff I don't want to know about you, but your snogging is top of the list." She got a grin, though. "I don't doubt you... I just think the elves aren't your type. Y'know? No Slytherin angsting."

"That doesn't count as a duel since it was just for experimental purposes." She twirled a strand of hair around her finger thoughtfully. Them all standing still to receive the horns also didn't make it a duel either, though it sure did help to figure out things for duels. Things she wanted to find out by dueling a few of her friends before their exams came around.

A grin matching Mo's spread across her face. "There are a lot of things you'll find out about me that you didn't want to know, Marcus Orion. I thought you would have assumed my snogging was good though." You know, cause it was. "They're not. Not enough Slytherin, and height.... and other things." There was a cheeky twinkle in her eyes. More things he didn't want to know about her.

"I used that spell when I dueled Cambridge later in the term, actually. She still totally knocked me unconscious, but it had her falling all over herself trying to keep her balance. It's a good spell." He paused to sip his tea and remember fondly the moments before Alexa Cambridge had bloodied his face.

"I found a spell to turn someone into a giant canary. Are you interested?" If anyone would be, it was Dora. As for the rest, he managed to blush darkly... in spite of his forced expression of nonchalance. "Don't be speciest, Dora. House elves are people too." Pause pause pause. "Okay, no they aren't. But they're... they have feelings. And they're very attractive to other house elves."

He scalded his mouth pooooooooooouring the rest of the tea down his throat. "P-presents?"

"It seems to be more effective on the smaller students." She noted thoughtfully, poking her cake and watching him sip his tea. "Even if it doesn't completely stop fiery Gryffindors like Alexa." That child would probably keep going even if her head had antlers and her feet were made of stone.

Dora pulled her tea closer, eyebrows raising in interest. "Of course I am. Have you tried it yet?" That would be most effective in a duel, or even just as another threat. Hm. "I'm sure they find each other attractive, and I like my own well enough. And the Hogwarts ones." She didn't know where they were going with this anymore, but it was kind of funny.

"Sure." She sipped her tea much more carefully than he had. "I'll take mine first while you recover from you tea."

"Haven't tried it yet," Mo shook his head. He'd been sorely tempted several times, but he was loathe to try out a new spell without practicing it first, AND he wasn't keen on punishing people with magic. Especially by Transfiguring them. Dueling and practicals were a different kettle, and he would try the spell out there first.

"I'm recovered, by the way," Mo insisted, although his face was still a bit pink. He handed over the wrapped box anyway, hoping these blind stabs he took at figuring out Dora were valid. It seemed to him that Dora was the hardest of his friends to shop for, but maybe that was because she was the most complex. This year, he'd gone with several of those Ellsberry hair-color wands that let you change some or all of your hair to any shade you wanted, as well as some of the more eclectic nail polishes he thought she might find amusing: paisley, pinstripe in Ravenclaw shades, and a few other oddball choices. "Happy birthday."

"We should find someone to try it out on." Paaaause. "Someone that we don't like all that much. A first year maybe." They were always eager to have spells cast on them, right? She hadn't been, but this new generation seemed to be that way. She would just have to look around and see who would be up for it.

He did look mostly recovered, so Dora supposed he could have his gift now too. She took another sip of her tea before pushing it away in exchange for her gift. His gift took some working to get with her already holding her own, but she managed to hand it over without dropping anything or making a mess. "Happy Birthday to you to." He was equally difficult to shop for, as Mo was just different from all of her other friends. But she had managed to find a gold origami necklace and two worn but well preserved books this go round, part while she was out in muggle London.

She carefully tore into her gift the minute she handed his over, not waiting to see his reaction, more eager to see what he'd picked out for her. And the young teen wasn't disappointed because Ellsberry products. "Ellsberry is my favorite, did you know?" He knew now. Dora made a bit of space on the table for her gifts to admire them properly, and mentally make future plans of using them. It was a moment before she looked back at him to see if he liked the gifts she'd gotten him.