When Sander invited them all over to stay with him for a bit of the summer, Lux's eyes lighted up. She had loved spending time over the Christmas holidays with him and his family, so it would be a lot of fun to do it again. "I am so there, Sander." There was no way that she would refuse an amazing offer like this, especially since he would not be at school with her next term.

This was not the time to think about that and be sad. No. It was not going to be a goodbye, because she would still be seeing loads of Sander. Smiling at her friends, she noticed that there was a ring on Tessa's finger, and she couldn't help pointing at it. "What's that?" Clearly she knew WHAT it was, but... why was it on her LEFT ring finger? Eyebrow raise.

Aaah, Bay was awake now. "Well, I know you are ticklish." She stuck her tongue out at him as he messed with her hair. Part of her felt a little bad for waking him when he was so tired, but really it was good for him to eat and the food would surely be served soon. Besides, he could always sleep more on the train and he didn't seem to mind being woken up.

"I'm not sure when we are going to be eating, but it should be soon. I'm going to throw healthy food in your mouth," she teased knowing how much he disliked it. No, she wouldn't do that for him. It would only be yummy food.

Beaming, she took Toffy out of her pocket and set him down on the table before feeding him a few Pygmy Puff treats. It was a good idea that he got some yummy food too, since he was a good boy. Happily, she petted him as he squeaked.

It'd taken several minutes of debating whether this was a smart idea. Minutes to get up and walk over to the red and gold table, and several more of taking a step back and going back to her table, then backtracking. At the end, the Slytherin willed all the courage she had and hobbled toward the Gryffindor table, scanning it up and down for that one familiar face, and THERE he was. Feeling a whirlwind of tiny bat wings in her stomach, Beverly slowly made her way toward him. He was moving closer to whom she recognized as the Gryffindor Prefect, and that was almost enough to have her turn around and leave.

What if he was busy and she interrupted?

Well. What if she didn't care? She was old and there was no time to be selfless, not that she's ever been, so why start now?

That decided, she picked up her pace a bit and when she stood behind him, she poked the middle of his back, right in between his shoulder blades.

Hi.

Mitchell laughed softly. "Right? Things here are kinda weird. Does that happen all the time?" Just out of curiosity. He'd managed to not tell his mother (not that she would care), but he just wanted to be prepared for next year.

He then poked his plate. "When does the food start?" He was ready for it.

Alex let Sander lead her over to the Gryffindor table where the rest of her friends had already congregated. With her new outlook on things, Alex was ready to enjoy the feast and her friends. Finding a free space, she sat down and said, "Hi everybody". "Looks like the party's at the Gryffindor table."

The first person Alex wanted to address was Lux. "A little bird told me that it was your birthday today. Happy birthday Lux! How does it feel to be a teenager?" It had been so long since Alex had first become a teenager, she had almost forgotten what a big milestone it was.

Looking around she saw poor Bay looking extremely sleepy and tired. "You OK there Bay?", Alex asked. She didn't know whether this was about the old age thing or just Bay's usual need for power naps.

Man, she was missing all the action hiding out at the Ravenclaw table. At that moment, Lux had drawn attention to a brand new ring residing on Tessa's left ring finger. Lux had innocently asked Tessa about it. Alex looked from Tessa to Sander and back again. Unable to help herself, Alex said, "Have you two been holding out on us?" What else had she missed not being at this table?

He didn't die! This was something the newly fifteen year old was proud of. In the start of term he was so sure Hogwarts would be the death of him for sure, but seeing as how he lasted a whole year he saw this school working out, potentially. When he reached the prefect and was a comfortable distance next to her he gave her a faint smile. "Perks of being a hermit." yup. staying in his room and the library most of the term helped loads though he wouldnt share that secret. Then everyone would go to the library and it wouldnt be fun anymore. Yes he found the library fun, problem? "We should make it better then." they should, but how..... He wouldnt let her birthday even been horrible and un Alexa like that would just be cruel and so unlike him to let that fly. "what do you wanna do." with in limits of course she was a prefect and he wasn't prone to trouble or attention anyway so anything within reason of course.




He was thinking, full on thinking and his mind was racing with ideas that could happen after the speech and all. He was totally in his element and he ALMOST had the idea he could almost see it coming into focus when he was poked, in the back, between his shoulders. Turning around slowly he couldn't help the smile that came across his face.

Hi Beverly, Hi.

"A bit from from your snake den, huh?" though, he didn't mind, she could stay, in fact he wanted her to. he gave her a smirk as he motioned to the table, Sit with us, Beverly. "sit?" the speech wasnt starting for a bit it seemed so they could mingle and all, yeah? Plus did she know, Lex? "Do you know Lexa? Shes prefect here?" by here he meant Gryffindor, she got that, yeah? Did lex even care to know Beverly? did she? oh well. "And Beverly." he said poking Lex in the shoulder and pointing at the slytherin. Beverly, Lexa. Lexa, Beverly. yes.
Did Beverly sit down yet? he turned to look back over to her and took her hand and lead her to the table so that she had no choice but to it next to him. HE also wasn't letting go of her hand, nope, he kept it to his side and under the table.. Lexa didn't see this did she?

oh well!

Well.

He'd done it.

How he'd done it, he still couldn't grasp, but he managed and thats what mattered, yeah? Yeah.. Coul glanced around, seeing familiar faces and just sat at the end of the table, where he had room and that, vaguely wondering if anyone besides Elodie would miss his presence. Probably no one. Not that he cared much.

He use to. Not so much anymore.

Maybe he was just being grumpy because he was actually distressed and upset about having to leave these halls forever... He wasn't one for showing it though.

He pushed his sad thoughts far from his head and rested it on his folded arms, which happened to be on the table.

Almost comfortable. Definitely not sad looking. Not Coulson Bradshaw.

It was becoming a habit, whenever he smiled at her like that Beverly couldn't help but return it. Shy, but a smile nonetheless. Glancing back at her table, then back at Jeremiah, she shrugged, feeling a bit nervous at being the only snake around.

"They can handle themselves," she said quietly.

Her anxiety was rising and bailing out maybe dragging Jeremiah along with her was a teasing idea. Apparently the Gryffindor had other ideas as he introduced her to the Prefect, took her hand and tugged her toward the table giving her no choice but to sit with him. Hand clammy, she squeezed his, which were hidden under the table. He didn't mind cold, clammy hands did he?

Looking over at the Prefect, Beverly nodded. "Um, she helped a student who'd broken his foot at the lake." She remembered. It'd been fun. Still, she leaned forward to get a look at the Prefect. "Beverly Wayne." There. Introduction down.

Not that it fixed anything. Tilting her head to the side, she whispered so that only Jeremiah could hear. "Do you think they'll mind me here?" Or attack her? She's heard Gryffindors bite.

Sander was glad to have Alex join them. His family here in Hogwarts were now all in one place. Here with him. He laughed when Alex commented on Bay's sleepy look. He leaned over to pat Bay on the shoulder.

"I have a sneaky suspicion that even once we're all young again, Bay will be sleeping as much as he is now. He's gotten too used to sleeping anywhere now," Sander chuckled as he looked at his droopy eyed friend.

Then he noticed Alex glancing down at Tessa's hand. Had she noticed the ring he had given Tessa? Of course she did. Alex was one astute girl. The look she gave him confirmed his suspicions.

"Tessa and I? What did we do? Sander looked innocently at Alex with a twinkle in his eye. He suspected that Alex thought it was an engagement ring. He decided to wait for Tessa to explain everything to both Lux and her.

"well, i hope so since you arent there to protect them and all." cause she was real good at protecting people and all. he knew that. He knew her, more then most people probably did but they we're friends. Close friends... best friends? what, what were they? he hadn't a clue and maybe they should talk about that sometime?

He couldnt help his smile turning to bit of a smirk as he looked down at the table as she sat down squeezing his hand some cause heh, Beverly. He was use to holding her hands so he didn't even notice them as cold or clammy, they were just her hands. he liked her hands. nothing weird here. Oh also she knew Lex, cool cool it wasnt so so awkward then. he smiled as he looked between the girls, yes yes that was good, be friends an d happy and yes.

"i promise they wont." he said back into her ear, "if they do we can leave and go to your table, k?" he said giving her hand a slight squeeze. he liked holding her hands, has he mentioned that?

"It sounds like Bay... and Sander would come over to see you too, not just me," she clarified, realizing she hadn't separated her sentences as well as she had thought. It had been a long year, and a crazy day! There was still some news she hadn't shared yet... she fiddled with the ring on her finger, but didn't get the chance to say anything... yet!

"Good to hear," Tessa said with a laugh. "Growing up can be difficult- look, I'm an old lady already!" she said with a laugh, holding up her grey strands of hair. Or, at least those that weren't still dyed. "We know you can do it," Tessa agreed. "You just have to believe in yourself," she added with a wink. Goodness she sounded like a wise old Grandma! "That's an excellent back up. But you've got awhile to figure that out- just as long as you have fun doing it!"



"There he is!" Tessa exclaimed, grinning as Bay joined them... and promptly fell asleep once more. She exchanged a slightly worried frown with her friends- but it appeared Lux had a solution to Bay's sleepiness.



Tessa watched as the sadness left Sander's eyes. She didn't want him dwelling on the dark thoughts of the future- at least not right now. There wasn't enough time to be sad and happy at the same time, and she would rather celebrate with her friends than cry with them. She was sure the crying would come later.

She smiled as Sander kissed her hand and gently squeezed his fingers as he interlaced them together. Then, he laughed and she felt the last of the residual sadness fade away. "Tinker bell, huh?" she replied thoughtfully. "Well, I do fly and I wouldn't be opposed to a few sparkles," she said, tapping her cheek thoughtfully. "Just don't go overboard with the sparkles," she warned. "Otherwise, revenge may ensue!"

She laughed softly as Sander invited them all to join them at his house. "I will certainly be there when I have the time," she told him. "After all, I have try-outs this summer. But before they start, I will be there," she assured him. She wouldn't want to miss a moment of spending time with her friends... and Sander of course.



"Hey sleepy head," she teased as Lux woke Bay up. "Welcome to the party," she teased, giggling as he messed up Lux's hair. "Don't tempt me- you know when I throw food, I do it with deadly accuracy- and it typically isn't to the mouth," she reminded him, thinking back to their food fight for Sander's birthday. The top of the head and neck were best- but that wouldn't be appropriate for this feast she figured.



Tessa looked up as Lux finally brought attention to the new ring on her left ring finger. She gave the girl an innocent look, although it was harder to keep when Alex inquired about it also. "This?" she asked, wiggling the finger. "This was just given to me by a certain someone... you guys may have met him..." she turned her head to look at Sander. "What was his name again?" she asked, squinting as if trying to remember. "He's a tall fellow... he's not from Gryffindor house..." she sighed. "Do you guys know who I'm talking about?" she asked, smothering a laugh.

Someone just got up from the place beside her. And now with this open space there, Schuyler had a clear view of Coul sitting a few feet down from where she was. Gosh, COUL, too. Coul was leaving.

She slid down the bench until she squished into him a bit, her arms going around him in a little side hug. Gosh, this boy worked out. She felt like she was hugging a rock. A slightly warmer than usual rock, yes. "Cooouuuul," she drawled. From the brief glance over at him a moment ago, it looked like he was mopey. Or maybe mopey and not trying to be mopey, but really he was mopey. Head on his arms = mopey. And he was completely entitled to feel this way, given that today was the end of term feast.

Still. Sad day was sad.

She was here, yes she was. The end of term feast. Lana had been looking forward to this for a while - she liked feasts. It was fun to see everyone in the Great Hall at once. All the tables full and all the students and professors talking and stuff. It was just so COOL.

The soon-to-be second year skipped down one side of the Gryffindor table, searching for someone she knew and could sit by. So far, no luck. But she kept looking.

Ohh and she wasn't alone.

Abbi looked up and smiled when Lux whom she had expected to see head to the yellows, headed over to the red's instead. Maybe Donny was driving her crazy too? or Elodie? Come to think of it most of those badgers were beyond crazy. Heh thank goodness she wasn't one of them.

"Hey gurl! You excited for the food?" Smiley wiley face. Would you look at that? Lex had arrived. WOOT WOOT.

The twelve year old smiled as usual and loudly greeted the older girl in return. "Hey Lex!" Her smile shortly turned away when Abbi noted that the fifth year was a oldie too, along with Lucas and Bart and so many now. She'd be okay, Abbi was sure. Magic fixed EVERYTHING. Didn't it?

Summer. WAS THAT EVEN A QUESTION? LIKE REALLY?

"DUH! Can't wait for summer. Means home, get to see Coco, Mommy, EVERYONE. AND! AND! It means my birthday is coming up soon and guess how old I'll be?" The woes of the oldies were forgotten once more and Abbi was beaming from ear to ear. "What you got planned this summer?" She asked kind of curious. Lex ALWAYS did interesting things that Abbi, oddly, looked up to at times.

As Alex joined the group, Lux sent her a wave and a smile. "Thank you, Alex. It really feels the same as ever, but I am happy to be 13 now." She was no longer one of the little kids, she was in the same grouping as most of her friends!

And it looked like she was not the only one who had noticed the ring on Tessa's finger. Hmmm.

Nodding at everything Tessa said to her, she could not get past the bling on her ring finger. "Are you engaged now?" She had to ask that. HAD TO. That was where engagement rings went.

Was she going to be the Maid of Honour at their wedding?

Was Abbi seriously asking her that? Giving her Lion friend a funny look, Lux laughed. Silly Abbi was silly. "Of COURSE I am excited for the food." It was a feast, and there would be lots of things for her to eat here. What was there to NOT be excited about.

Looking down the table, Lux had a sudden thought... "Do you know there Lucas is?" Sometimes it was not easy for her to track her best friend down, and it really did not help that they were in different Houses.

Uh.

This was also unexpected. Hugs?

Coul turned his head a little and was greeted with the sight of Schuyler. He shouldn't be too surprised, yeah? She seemed like a hugger. He lifted his own arm and put it around her as well, giving her a little squeeze of a hug and a half hearted smile. That full on grin that he'd wanted to give her was a little lacking. Oops. "Hey Schuyler." So okay. Two people would miss him. He could deal with that.

"Weird, isn't it?"

She wasn't the protecting kind, not when she was an elderly and could hardly move, but it was nice that Jeremiah thought her capable of it. Well...she HAS commented on zapping elves and kicking people's butts for him, so she supposed that was her protective side..? Eh, it didn't matter. She did, though, notice that smirk of his and had to bite on the inside of her cheek to keep from smiling like an idiot.

Multi-colored eyes brightened when he said they'd leave if the lions got snappy. He was SO nice like that it made her feel all warm and fuzzy inside. She liked that feeling. It was nice. But it sounded like something an overly happy Hufflepuff would say. Ugh, ugh. What were you doing to her, Jeremiah?

"Slytherins are nice." Glancing back at her table, she added, "I don't think we bite." Not that she knew of. DID they bite? Should SHE start practicing? She turned her attention back on the Gryffindor. "I made something for you, by the way. It's in the dorms, though." And that had been her excuse to come over here. To tell him that. Good excuse was good.

She'd done her hardest to stall this. But once she'd crept out of hiding and written her Memory Book entry, Alice had come to the conclusion that she'd regret it forevermore if she didn't make an appearance at her table at all during her very last feast at Hogwarts.

So here she was.

It was weird to think about how she'd taken a seat in this very spot as a curious eleven year old without a care in the world, save for how loud her stomach was growling. And now she was here, seven years later, and it felt like she was carrying the weight of the world on her shoulders. Graduating should have felt like freedom, an escape from endless homework and classes and the stress of being a teenager. Exciting. But so, so terrifying.

Looking around without saying a word to anyone, Alice stayed silent.

This was it. And it was going to be harder than she thought.

Sander grinned when Lux immediately said yes to spending part of her summer vacation there at his family home. "I'm glad you'll be able to come. This time I plan to take everyone sightseeing around Norway. I want you to show why I believe Norway is one of the most beautiful countries in the world," Sander excitedly told Lux and the others.

He now had another chance to see his best friends again.....most especially Tessa. He turned to look lovingly at his girlfriend.



He grinned when Tessa agreed into being transformed into Tinker Bell. He laughed when she mentioned the sparkles.

"But Tessa, Sparkles will look great on you. I could then see you even if you were a mile away. You'd be sparkling brightly," Sander teased Tessa knowing that even without sparkles, he would still be able to tell her apart from everyone else. Her beauty and plain Tessa-ness, if there ever was a word, made her stand out among the rest.

Then talk turned to the ring that she was wearing on her finger. Sander remained silent as she gave everyone hints as to who may have given that special ring to her. It was obvious but Sander decided to play along with her.

"Hmmm...he's not a Gryffindor? He's tall? Oh wait why are you looking at me?" Sander asked innocently before breaking into a wide grin. He held Tessa's hand with hers and told his friends.

"Yes I gave this ring to Tessa, and no Lux, this isn't an engagement...but it's close to being one. This is a promise ring and it means that I promise to be faithful to her and to love her for always," Sander shared the reasons to everyone.

"We're too young to get married right now. I still have a career to pursue and Tessa, still has another year in school before pursuing her own career. But I hope to replace this promise ring with an engagement one, sometime in the near future," Sander turned to look at Tessa when he said those last words.

He leaned over to kiss her gently on the forehead before turning to face his friends. "I know I don't really need to ask, but do I have everyone's blessing?" He wanted his friends to share in both Tessa and his happiness.

There was something else Sander wanted to share with his friends. Great news! But he was waiting for the right time to tell them. Half sticking out of his jacket pocket was a letter bearing the insignia of Dynamo Msk, the top Professional Ice Hockey team in Europe.

Of course this feast was gonna be sad, but it seemed extra so now considering there apparently still hadn't been a cure yet. Not that this meant she was giving up on there ever being one, but she would've preferred it to happen before now. LONG before now. Penelope was SO tired of using so many potions and spells to keep herself looking like she was supposed to. She wasn't supposed to have to use this much stuff when she was only 17. Seriously.

So yeah, she was extra moody when she entered the Great Hall tonight. But here she was nonetheless, a medium-sized box in hand. She'd lost track of how many cookies she'd made earlier due to her mood, so there were more than she usually had as a graduating gift thing, but it was for Alice - who was a Gryffindor - so more was better anyway.

And there was Alice now. Good.

Penelope went over and sat across from her, sliding the box in front of the seventh year.

"Hope you like them." She was good at making cookies now though, so Alice should like them. And now would be the time to say things about her graduating and missing her, but Penelope couldn't quite bring herself to say it all. At least not yet. "Congrats on being the top Chaser." Yep, Quidditch seemed like a better topic for now.

Tessa giggled at Lux's question. "No, it's not," she told her friends, shaking her head. "I am definitely not ready for that, and we have agreed that we are not ready for that... yet," she said, shooting a smile to Sander. "But, someday... who knows what will happen," she replied mysteriously.

"And, you guys will be there, of course," she assured her friends with a wink. Not that she had any plans yet. Goodness, that was a lot to think about. She was just going to worry about this summer- that was at the forefront of her mind.



Tessa wrinkled her nose. She was all for color, but sparkles were a bit much for her... especially the amount Tinkerbell usually was associated with. "You would say that to anything I would wear," she pointed out, raising an eyebrow. Therefore, hardly a valid argument when trying to convince her to wear it. "But thank you," she added with a wink.

She smiled as Sander went along with her dodging of the question, and looked down at the ring with a warm smile when he placed his hand with her own. She nodded in agreement with his words and felt a flutter in her stomach as he talked about the future. Their future. Something so exciting to think about.

She laughed softly at his question and looked around. She did care about her friend's opinions, but at the same time, if they had been opposed to their relationship, they probably would have said something at the start.

Lux thought that the idea of going sightseeing around Norway was awesome. "That sounds wonderful, Sander. I can't wait to see the sights." The last time she had been there, she had not seen much of the country; summer was a perfect time for them to explore.

So they weren't getting married after all? And what on earth is a promise ring? Listening to Sander explain it, the concept seemed to be both interesting and romantic. Their relationship had reached the next level, but had not advanced to the point where they were getting married.

Curiously, she continued to look at the ring on Tessa's finger. "That's wonderful, I am glad that there will be a wedding I can go to." At some point in the future when they were older and had careers sorted. "It's a really pretty ring."

Penelope learning how to bake a couple summers ago was really the BEST thing, because she loved her former Seeker's cookies just as much as Kurumi's. "Thanks, Shark Bait." A lot. Merlin knew Truebridge took forever giving her speech every year, and being old and frail and wrinkly would only make her slower. These would do good to keep her satisfied until then, even if she didn't have much of an appetite at the moment.

Smiling at the mention of the leaderboard, Alice opened up the box of cookies. "Thanks. Best thing that's happened all year. I don't get up there often, y'know?" Especially due to switching around positions a lot, but at least she finally got that recognition she so desperately craved.

"Have you got any plans for summer?" She bit into a cookie just as she asked the question, and though she was speaking, the lioness seemed a bit distracted. Her eyes were wandering around the hall, and they landed on the Slytherin table after a while. Was that Dora and West..... with Olly?

Ouch. The next whole year was going to be like that, yeah? Alice felt sort of hurt watching them and wanted to be there too, but it was probably best to get used to being replaced now, she supposed. At least she was over here with Penelope. Shark Bait liked her. Mhm.

[

Alex smiled when Tessa teased about the origin of her ring. She was joking because everyone knew the deal. The ring better have been from Sander. Alex went along with the game. Looking at the ring, she said, "It's beautiful". "Whoever this mysterious man is, he has good taste."




Sander explained that he and Tessa weren't engaged, but very committed to each other. Awwwww, that was so sweet and it couldn't happen to two nicer people. "I'm so very happy for both of you", Alex said. She had called this one fom the very beginning.

When Sander asked for his friends' blessing, Alex was surprised. "You know twin, it doesn't matter what any of us think. As long as you two love each other, that's all that matters. For the record though, I approve.". Alex laughed at he thought that her opinion mattered in this case.

His laugh brought a smile to her face, why? Simple. In all the crazy he still managed a healthy sense of humour. That was the funny thing about all this. If you didn't learn to laugh you'd go mad, like she was going right now. It was one thing to be old for the term but now it was over and she still had sever joint pain rolling in and out.

Lex tilted her head from one side to the next, trying to think the best answer. Did this happen every year. "Yeah." It was somewhat common knowledge once you'd been here long enough. "We're lucky enough no one died. That makes this year a success." And that was saying a lot.

"Food starts after that lady there in the middle gives her speech." She said, a finger pointed toward the staff table where she assumed the former red head would be sitting.



Lex nearly snorted. "I wouldn't call those perks. How many friends have you made this term hiding out in the library--books don't count, they don't talk back and have a tendency to swallow people whole." Whether figuratively or not. Just don't trust them. They seemed harmless until you sat down with one for too long. Next thing you know it's morning and you can't even remember falling asleep or where you are. "But I suppose they've done you some justice on the merit that you aren't aged." So yeah, maybe books and solitary life were good for something. It did seem awfully boring though.

As touching as it was that he was trying to make the night before her 16th better than this miserable mess, she couldn't do more than shrug. "Only thing I'd like right about now is a few Healers walking in saying they'd got the cure I need." Wouldn't that just be grand? She'd be the happiest Gryffindor at the feast. [b]"Barring that, I don't see what my brittle bones would allow me to do.

Oh and introductions now? Lex would say hi in a moment, for now she was sizing up the Slytherin. She remembered her and noted the hand holding. Hello, he was sitting next to her, she was entitled to notice.



By the sounds of it, the jittery girl remembered her too. Who said this aging thing got in the way of everything? Pfft. Lex leaned a bit forward too, mirroring the girl, mostly because she wanted to be sure she heard the name right the first time. Repetition wasn't her favourite thing. "Alexa Cambridge but you can call me Lex, most everyone else does." No need to go using the whole thing when you considered such circumstances.

And she was off whispering. "That's awfully rude." You don't come to the lion table and decide to keep conversations to yourself. "But I suppose it's fine. I don't reckon it's me you want to talk to in the first place." And a knowing look between the two of them but Lex wouldn't say anything. Girly could sit there as long as she wanted. Judging by the sudden Puffer/Claw invasion, she would assume this was a free for all of sorts.



At least one bright smile. That was good. Made this whole thing less of a dread for her. Even if her house was crumpling at the seams from all the old that was going around there were still some among them who could brush it all--clearly, not a wrinkle in sight the lucky duck--and maintain the rawr.

Was 'duh' even an answer? It wasn't a word, had no meaning and couldn't be--stopit Lex. The age had been getting to her thought process lately. Just last week she'd been grumbling about students wearing their socks above their ankles, which made no sense mind you but neither did this aging. "Hmmm...let's see....You're a second year...summer birthday...I'd say you'll be a full fledge teenager, yeah? 13?" Like her. Her age changed to go with her year. "Mine's tomorrow. Can you guess how old I'll be?" Hint, it was somewhere over 60.

Lex grinned a bit at Abbi's questions because of course she had plans, she always did. "Gonna sneak into a Ministry course with my bestfriend, then we're gonna give ourselves a little tour. Outside of that, I'll do whatever I want as it comes to mind." It would be epic.



THERE she was.

"Took your own time in getting here, didn't you Cap'n?" It was meant to be a joke but there was a hint of something else in there too, like having Lex search the castle and not find her (granted she might not have been looking in all the right places) then having her sit here waiting more. Last few moments together and Alice wasted some of them playing a game of hide and seek she didn't remember consenting to.

This feast was weird, it made her feel weird. The last time she felt like this, she was 11 and was losing possibly the only person in Hogwarts who'd have cared if she got eaten by a man eating plant. Now she was losing Alice and it didn't really hit her until the big end of term feast that well...it ended things quite plainly. "Course you know I'll be all kinds of offended if you never owl me. Howlers are cheap, I can afford to send you a few." Looking pass Alice she gave a smile and a wave to Penelope before focusing on her again. "And this is the last night I can invade your bed. It's happening and we can all cram on there. Me, you, Atole and Felix....okay?" No wasn't an option here.

She was talking and he was kinda listening except he was too busy admiring the fact that she had ONE held his hand in public and TWO actually sat down with him. So he was sitting there, grinning like an idiot as he looked down at the table taking side glances at her.

Heh, hi.