Why did it have to be so difficult to be Garreth? Social anxiety had always been a problem for him, but never had it been more apparent than when he had to make use of services like those offered at the post office. Even purchasing things at the store had been difficult for him in his earlier years. Anything that required interaction with complete strangers had caused him a great deal of anxiety, and while he was getting much better at it, this time was no exception.

This would be the first year's first time mailing anything all by himself, and he didn't really know the process. He saw the Questionnaire on the counter, and figured he'd have to fill one out, but he wasn't sure. And all the different owls! Did he have to choose one? Oh, this was all so confusing! He really wished he had someone there who knew what they were doing to help him through it. Then again, that would be good to have, no matter the situation.

Azura sighed softly as she made her way into the owl post office, usually she would just use her own Owl Snowy, but Snowy was still off with a letter to her grandparents and she wanted to write to her mother, she wanted them to come to Hogsmeade, she could really use her Mom and Dad right now! This mess with Jace had her turned upside out.. and she was losing one of her good friends..

That's what hurt the most.. She thought anyways..

Her purple eyes slowly adjusted to the dimmer light indoors and as they did, her gaze landed on a familiar face! One she had been missing a whole lot lately!

"GARRETH!!! Azura's happy voice was only a second or two behind her hug as she almost tackled her friend!

Oh thank Merlin! "I've missed you!" She said honestly as she smiled up at him, still attached to him. She almost felt like crying! But she didn't, instead she had a happy smile.. one that hadn't been seen for a few weeks.

Garreth wasn't sure what had startled him the most; Azura's sudden outburst, or the loud hooing and wing-flapping that it had caused from the massive horde of owls behind the counter. It took him a second for his flustered brain to piece together that he wasn't being mauled by some kind of owl monster, but had in fact been hugged by one of his best friends. Could he call her that? They hadn't spoken all that much, but she was really lovely, and they had fun. Besides, relatively speaking, the only other student at Hogwarts with whom he had interacted more was probably Rachel. If that didn't make Azura a 'Best Friend', what did?

"Oh, hey! Azura!" he smiled, once his farting brain figured out that that was the appropriate response. "I've missed you too! I'm sorry I haven't left the dorm very much these last couple weeks. I've been working on-" he stopped himself and paused for a moment. Maybe he shouldn't tell her. Maybe she'd laugh at him or something. "Erm, nevermind." he cleared his throat with an awkward nod. "But you, what have you been up to?" he asked, eager to know what his friend had been doing while he was busy working on... well, nevermind.

Of course there was no way for Garreth to know about any of the stuff that had been going on with Azura lately, but despite her bright smile, her eyes looked tired. Of course, he remembered what they looked like when she was happy. With eyes like hers, how could he forget? And whatever she was feeling, or had been feeling lately, it wasn't happiness. "Everything alright?" he asked, a little quieter.

Ohh Goodddddd!! Garreth didn't seem to be bothered by her hugs! She could add him to the "safe to hug" list along with Torie, Jasper and Esme, she always felt she could be herself more around people she could hug, because.. well she was a hugger. It was just that simple.

She pulled back from Garreth and shot him a warm smile, her purple eyes looking up at him happily as he explained where he had been, though her head cocked to the side a bit as he started to say something and then stopped.. "What have you been working on?" She asked him curiously, wondering what had kept him so busy the past couple of weeks, though it seemed like he didn't want to give up the information so quickly..

She sighed softly as he asked what she had been up too.. Losing her friend because of her stupid feelings, THAT was what she had been up too. "Going to classes, losing my duel.. things like that." She said with a bit of a shrug, though..

Garreth seemed like he could see right through her.. Her strain probably showed.. "Not really, but.. It's better now that you are here." She said honestly as she looked up at her friend.

Oh boy. It didn't seem like he was going to get away with just changing the subject the way he did. Whether she'd laugh at him or not, she was going to know now anyway. He knew this, and yet he still tried to postpone the inevitable. He didn't mind the hug at all. In fact, it was rather lovely in addition to it making it easier for him to hide his letter behind his back.

"Erm, well.. I mean, it's nothing." he stammered reluctantly, running the letter through his fingers behind his back, trying to decide whether to show Azura, even though she would find out one way or another. She was too inquisitive to just drop it. She was a Ravenclaw, after all. "It's just.." the poor boy didn't know how to word his answer without seeming weird. "I'm just sending this to, erm.. Well, I'm applying for College, okay?" Merlin, when he said it out loud, even he thought he was being silly. "Well, I'm not really applying, it's not a real application, it's, it's, it's, it's an entrance essay!" he waved the letter in front of his chest and closed his eyes.

"I put a fake name on the application.. I just want to see if I could get in..." he admitted, a little quieter, turning his gaze towards his feet.

But what was that? She wasn't okay? Oh no! His fears confirmed and the letter out in the open now, there was naught to do but give her a hug. After all, she'd proven herself to be quite the hugger. Although Garreth rarely ever got physical when showing affection for his friends, that didn't mean he didn't like to. "What's wrong? Why aren't you alright? Did something happen? Tell me." He frowned at her, forgetting about his silly application.

Azura kept watching Garreth with expectant eyes, she knew he was hiding something and she clasped her hands in front of her and smiled at him. "I'm not leaving until I find out what it is that kept you from us, so you might as well just tell me." She said with a warm smile, "I'm not hungry either so.. you might be looking at me for quite some time until you spit it out." She teased her friend as she pushed her hair behind her ears and adjusted into a more comfortable position..

Yup.. the first year wasn't moving..

Nuh uh.. Not even if Jace walked in and kissed her!

A slow blush formed on Azura's cheeks, oookkkayyyy, she would maybe move for that! But that would mean the world was ending, and obviously they were missing the apocalypse if THAT happened. For the demise of the planet would be the only way the half Japanese boy would do such a thing..

Ehhem.. anyways!

And then a slow smile formed on her face as the boy finally spit it out! Applying for college! "Garreth Kenway! Applying for college? Her hands reached up and grasped his.. "Which one? What name did you give! Tell me everything, and of course you will get in! I have no doubts." He was SO smart, of course he would get in! "What made you think of that? Just practicing for when we graduate?" She asked him curiously.. before..

Ohh!

Azura wasn't really use to people hugging HER.. Usually she was the one who hugged and other people had to deal with it, but this.. This was nice. A smile formed on her face for a moment as she hugged him back, before.. Garreth let go and asked her about it..

Ugh..Well..

Now it was her turn to look around and avoid eye contact and stutter a bit. Her eyes flew to the door, sadly.. it didn't seem like the end of the world was happening, so she would have to explain.. "Just.. promise not to laugh at me okay?" She asked him as she fiddled with the edge of her cloak..

A wave of relief washed over Garreth, and his shoulders visibly dropped. He couldn't explain why he had so much difficulty being open with people, or social interaction in general, but Azura's curious and non-judgmental reaction to learning about his silly college plot had immediately put most of his fears to rest.

That went way better than expected!

"Oh, well, erm.. I'm applying for the one in London. I know it's silly, they'll never accept this terrible essay, but this is the only way I can test myself without the results being biased. People go easy on me because I'm so young, but when I fill out a fake application, they don't know that.. They'll give me an honest opinion." he explained calmly, running the letter in his fingers back and forth between his hands. "This'll.. actually be the third college I've applied for. I already sent two letters to a college in Ireland, and one in Cornwall. Used the same name for every application." he continued, but seemed reluctant to reveal the name. Oh gosh, Azura was going to ask again, wasn't she? She was going to find out and it was going to be embarrassing. She didn't laugh at him when he had told her he was applying, but she would laugh at him FOR SURE if she found out the name he had put on his applications.

Thankfully, it appeared that Azura had something to tell him about as well, so he was able to shift the subject onto her again, at least momentarily. She was asking him to promise not to laugh! How ironic. Of course, he could never laugh at her for making a mistake, or doing something that had caused her genuine distress! That would be so mean! He wasn't above teasing a little if she misspoke, or did something funny, but never about something serious.

"Of course I won't laugh! Is everything okay? What happened?" it had to be serious. At least, she looked pretty serious to him. What could possibly have happened?

Azura listened carefully as Garreth told her about applying to college. The boy was smart, she had to give him that. Of course he was smart though, he was in Ravenclaw! She smiled at him and shook her head a little as he said that it was silly. "It's not at all silly Garreth, it's.. brilliant actually." She said as she clasped her hands in front of her and looked up at him. "And of course, they will judge it fairly, and you will also find out what you will need to get into the college of your choice!" He was SO smart.. Gah, sometimes she felt like she belonged in Hufflepuff when she was around her class mates like Garreth, Rachel and Jace..

Perhaps it was her creative side that put her in Ravenclaw.. Whatever it was, she did like it there, but.. she still sometimes felt out of her depth.

"Your third? Wow? Have you heard back from any of them yet?" She asked curiously before she poked him ever so slighty.. "And what was the name hmmm?" She asked again, yup.. she wasn't giving up on getting that name out of him..

Though.. now it was her turn.. and she looked up at him anxiously as he said he wouldn't laugh at her.. "All right, I'll tell you the full story.." She said with a heavy sigh as her shoulders slumped a little and she looked down at the ground.. It still stung to think about. And the silent treatment she had gotten lately from Jace hurt even more.

A few months ago, we had a potions class where we all got mildly poisoned.." She began, "And, after I took the poison, I started to get all warm and slightly loopy, and well, my tongue started to loosen a bit.. First I said how much I liked my friends.. and then.. I said how I liked Jace... someone teased me about it.. and then I said I..loved Jace." She whispered as she looked down at her fingers which were anxiously twisting each other as she tried to get this out!

"And well, after we got the antidote.. Jace.. remembered what I said.. So.. I just came out with it.. Told him that I liked him and.. well.." She bit her lip for a moment. "He doesn't like me back." She shrugged a bit.. "So I ran out of the room and broke my nose cause I was crying and ran into the wall instead of the door." She explained..

"Ever since then, things have been awkward between us and we aren't talking much." And there it was.. her story..

Her sad.. sadddddd story..

Cue sad face.. and her purple eyes were filling with tears.. Fwoopers.. she was such an idiot..

It was such a massive relief for Garreth that Azura was so open to the idea of applying for college so early just to see if he had the mental acuity to put together an essay that would impress the admittance personnel. Azura never ceased to amaze him with how understanding she could be. It was like she could read his mind! Come to think of it, maybe that's exactly what she was up to.. Nah, she wouldn't. Would she? ... Nah. She was just nice.

"I sure hope so. I haven't heard back from any of them yet, but they won't start sending out replies before the start of next month, so it's fine. I'm sure they'll have some way to find out my actual identity. I just hope they look over my essay first.." the nervous boy spoke slowly and deliberately, as if choosing his words carefully. He didn't want to come across like he was pulling some kind of prank, or tricking someone. He just wanted to see if he was good enough. Smart enough.

Of course, she still wanted the name. There was no way to get away with it now, so he figured he may as well spit it out. "Geobald Kitridge." he grumbled. "That's the name I put on the essay, okay? Don't laugh at me, please..." he closed his eyes. He didn't want to see the look on Azura's face as she discovered how pathetic he could be. In all fairness, he had put some thought into the name. Being slightly paranoid, he'd chosen a pseudonym so no one would be able to track the letter back to him in case he'd broken some rule he didn't know about by applying despite his young age, but he'd chosen a name that shared his exact initials. The resemblance to the school's librarian was entirely coincidental... Yeah, definitely. Coincidence, that's it. No connection. Ahem.

But Garreth wouldn't be focusing on his silly little venture with his college applications for much longer. Goodness gracious, Azura was crying! "Oh my gosh, Azura!" he exclaimed at her story. "That's horrible, wha- how- I mean.." the boy stumbled over his words in the confusion and uncertainty. He didn't know what to do, or what to say. Maybe he really wasn't good at making people feel better. Maybe he'd just gotten really lucky up until now? I mean- I- H- How could he not like you back?" he blurted out, genuinely confused. How could someone not like Azura? "It must have been the potion still affecting him somehow." he tried to come up with a plausible explanation.

No way there was someone out there who didn't think Azura was one of the nicest, prettiest, most intelligent, most understanding people to be around in the whole school. No way.

Azura nodded as Garreth spoke about not hearing back yet. Of course, of course.. If he had only just sent them out, it might take awhile to hear back. She gave him a warm smile, trying to ease his nerves a bit. "Well, I really have no idea how these things work, but I'm sure they will ready your essay and give you a truthful answer." She said with a nod as she gently poked him in the side a little. "So what are you going to do if you get in hmm? Please don't leave Hogwarts yet!"

Her purple eyes were wide with fear at that thought, with Jazzy so busy and Jace barely talking to her.. she didn't think she would be able to handle losing Garreth as well! No.. NO She didn't want to think about it.. He had to stay in Hogwarts, he just HAD too.

Mmmm, yes.

She was pulled from her rather rash conclusions when he spoke again about the name that he had put down and she clapped her hands over her mouth to keep the laughter in! Of course!! She should have guessed it was something to do with Mr. Kitridge.. She bit her lip hard trying to not giggle, and she just looked up at him for a few moments, her purple eyes bursting with mirth before she calmed down a little bit.. "I'm sorry Garreth, I tried so hard.. But.. I can totally see why you would have put that down." She said with a nod as she managed to control the fit of laughter that was threatening to burst out of her into just a smile.. with a tiny hint of a giggle.

Though her smile faded as her fellow housemate reacted to her news and she bit her lip as she tried not to cry.. She tried not to cry, thinking that he would agree with her that she was stupid for liking Jace.. but the words that came out of his mouth were anything but what she was expecting..

What?

How could Jace not like her back? She thought that was an obvious answer.. cause it was her. She wasn't special or anything, she just had a weird name and weird colored eyes and probably cared a bit too much about her friends. "Sadly, he still feels this way, so it wasn't the potion." She said softly. "Though, I should have said it was the potion making me feel that way! Then none of this would be happening." She said with a soft sigh.

"But thank you Garreth for thinking that.. maybe next time I'll like you hmm?" She said with a bit of a smile. "At least you'll take it better." and she wouldn't have to lie as hard as she could to get him back to talking to her.

Azura's confidence that Garreth would hear back from the schools he had applied to, and that they would judge his work fairly was a refreshing change of pace from the usual broken record in his head. 'They'll figure you out, it sounded over and over. 'And even if they don't, they'll say your essay was terrible!' Of course, Garreth was rather young, and didn't really expect to be able to impress anyone working with materials at the college level, but he hoped that they would at least give him a fair assessment. He would never get any better if everyone always sugar-coated their judgement of him and his work. Then again, he had no reason to believe that people were indeed doing that. He simply had a feeling, no doubt a result of the boy's over-abundance of modesty.

He nodded as the girl spoke, agreeing with her that there was a good chance come away from the experience with a truthful work evaluation from a college-level professor. In the end, that's really what he was after (even if it would be amazing to get a positive grade).

"Get in?" he looked rather puzzled. It hadn't even really occurred to him that that was even within the realm of possibility. "I'm not going to get in.. I mean, as soon as they found out I'm 11, they'd just withdraw the invitation, so I can't accept anything like that. I just want to know if I COULD get in..." he explained quickly and threw up his hands in a defensive manner. "Besides, I don't think I could ever leave Hogwarts.. I've spent my entire early youth preparing to come here and learn about magic, and I'm in no hurry to get out of here."

"Plus, I've got some really nice friends here that are important to me. More so than any college." he eyed the purple-eyed girl with a sly smirk.

And then of course, she had to laugh. "Azura, you promised you wouldn't laugh.." She had in fact promised no such thing. It was he who had promised her he wouldn't laugh, but he figured him promising not to laugh at her sort of implied she wouldn't laugh at him either. "I just thought, you know.. I had to come up with a name.. Just took the name of the first male role model that came to my mind." The boy was of course cripplingly embarrassed by the girl's reaction, and he had half a mind to just run away. In fact, if he'd been exposed to the same scenario a few months earlier, he would have. Thankfully, he was getting better at handling social situations, and he knew that running away wasn't going to help. He just had to stand there and take it. Thankfully, it was just Azura. She wasn't judgmental enough to really tease him about it.

Oh no, Azura was so upset! It looked like she was having a hard time holding back tears! What was up with this Jace kid? And poor Azura was just going around being sad about it? This wouldn't do at all. No, Garreth was going to help. He'd fix this. He'd make it better. If nothing else, at least he could be there for his friend. "Well, he has no concept of the mistake he's made." he nodded with a comforting smile. The boy's face was already bright red from having told her about the name he put on his applications, but it got even redder when she responded. What was she saying? What did that mean? Oh, Merlin, poor Garreth was going to have a stroke.

"N- next time? M- e? Like m- m- me?" he stammered after a moment of excruciating silence. "I mean.. I mean, yeah, if you- I mean.." Oh my gosh, what was wrong with him? "I'd- yeah, I'd take it better." Ohmygosh Ohmygosh Ohmygosh Ohmygosh Ohmygosh Ohmygosh Ohmygosh Ohmygosh Ohmygosh Ohmygosh Ohmygosh Ohmygosh Ohmygosh Ohmygosh....

Azura breathed a sigh of relief as Garreth spoke and she smiled at him. "C'mon Garreth, have some faith in yourself, I'm sure you could get it.. and yeah once they find out your age, they might recall the invitation, or.. they might make an exception.. and let you in." She pointed out.. She had no doubt at all that her friend was smart enough to get into college. He WAS a Ravvie after all. He just needed to believe in himself.

Like she did.

"Well, I'm glad to hear that, I would hate to be down yet another friend! I don't know how I would handle you leaving on top of Jazzy being super busy and Jace.." She trailed off, lost in sad thoughts for a moment, when Garreth shot her a smirk and bit her lip and blushed a little..

"I guess, I AM pretty cool.. at times." She said teasingly as she tugged at the ends of her hair a little bit.. She didn't know if he had meant her or not, but she was going to pretend like he did! He most likely meant Rachel and Jace.. and she couldn't blame him there.. They were awesome.. She wasn't even at their level..

*sighs*

"I'm sorry!! I'm sorry!!" Azura said as she pulled her hands down from her face and looked at him with an apologetic look in her purple eyes. "I didn't meant to laugh! I just.. couldn't help it! Forgive me?" She asked as she put her hands up in a gesture of apology! She didn't want to tease him about it, she should have know it would have to do with Mr. Kitridge.. She bit her lip again to keep a giggle in as she looked up at him..

Only to have the smile wiped from her face as he spoke.. "Well, whether he does or not.. I don't even know.. All I know is that I have to lie, and lie hard in order not to lose my friend.. My feelings don't matter.. I just don't want to lose him.." She whispered softly.. She should have never said anything to Jace in the first place..

And then.. Oh Fwoopers!

"No! Garreth! No! I wouldn't do that to you! I mean.. it wouldn't be hard to like you.. but.." Oh Fwoopers.. Azura was almost fluttering around the boy like a panicked butterfly! Flitting this way and that to try and calm down her blushing friend! This was almost like Jazzy and the hug thing!! And she had barely talked to him since!!

"Garreth.. please.. calm down.. I.. can't lose you too!" She whispered as she finally put her hands on his arms.. "See, the idea of me liking someone is horrific isn't it?" She said as she gave him a half smile.. "It's okay.. when I start liking you, I'll never tell you and we can just be friends forever all right?" She said as she looked up at him.. "So no worries okay?"

Please calm down.. pleaseeeeee.. Merlin.. she must have the plague.. apparently even the THOUGHT of liking her liking him sent him into panic mode..

*sigh*

Garreth listened intently to Azura's attempts at making him feel better about his applications, but as soon as she implied there was a possibility that he would actually get into college, he began to snicker. What a thought! College students would have to put up with going to class with a 12 year old boy, fresh out of his first year at Hogwarts. What a show that would be. "I have faith that I'll get a fair assessment, Azura." he chuckled. "Anything beyond that is wishful thinking!" the boy smirked and shook his head. "And even if I did get in, I'd have to tell them I've changed my mind. I won't be leaving Hogwarts." He repeated himself, but it was an important point to make. There was no way he could leave Hogwarts after only one year. In fact, he couldn't even imagine what it would be like to have to leave at the end of his seventh year.

"No, don't worry about me going anywhere. I'm afraid you're stuck with me until graduation." he smirked and nodded vigorously as she admitted that she was pretty cool. "If there's ever a time when you're not 'pretty cool', you must do that in the dorm or something, because I've never seen it." he teased with a chuckle. Azura really was one of his best friends, and the way she supported him and understood what he was going through only strengthened that fact. He wasn't sure if he could call her a 'best friend' to her face. They hadn't talked all that much, but every word they'd exchanged had been more pleasant than the last, and if a stranger had spied them talking, they'd assume they had been friends for many years - at least many considering their youth.

"Yeah, it's okay. I forgive you." he couldn't help but smirk back at the girl. It WAS rather silly, and he knew Azura didn't mean anything by it. He wasn't sure he'd have been able to keep down the laughter if he were in her shoes.

"What do you mean, Azura? Of course your feelings matter!" the smirk vanished and was replaced by a look of concern and worry. "Why do you think he would take it so badly if he knew you.. like him, and not because of some potion?" Jace was a mature boy for his age, as were most of the Ravenclaw gang, and Azura especially. Surely, the two of them had to be able to work this out. At least Garreth had faith in them. "Maybe he doesn't like you back, as silly as that is, but you won't lose your friend. I'm sure the two of you can work it out!" he tried to bring an element of logic into the whole situation, but he also knew that scenarios like this were often based more on emotion than logic.

Of course, logic had nothing to do with his reaction to the prospect of Azura liking him the way she liked Jace. Oh Merlin, just running over those words in his head made him blush even more. 'It wouldn't be hard to like you' Merlin, Merlin, Merlin, what was he supposed to say? Garreth was only ever able to talk to pretty girls by sort of 'phasing out' that aspect of their character. By sort of 'forgetting' that they were indeed pretty girls. Thinking about Azura liking him forced him to face the facts and he began to stumble over his words and blush profusely.

"No, d- don't worry, It's fine." the boy croaked. "The idea of you liking- I mean, being liked by you is- I'm saying that- I-" Wow, Garreth. Why did you have to be such a bumbling idiot sometimes? "It's not horrific, it's- In fact, it's-" Okay, he obviously wasn't getting through that sentence in one piece, so maybe it was for the best that he just drop it and try to address something else she said instead. "No, please don't keep it to yourself, I'd like to know." Woah! He actually got through a complete sentence! AMAZING! Even though that one sentence was even more embarrassing to get through than the first one had been.

What a doofus.

"No worries." he spoke in a more reassuring tone than her panicked 'no worries' had been spoken. While she had meant 'No worries, I won't tell you if I like you', he had meant 'No worries, what you said did not offend me or make me want to abandon you.' It was a lot of information to leave down to the tone of his voice, but then again, tone can convey a lot. He was still blushing really badly, but as long as he didn't have to actually speak, he was calm enough. The few moments of silence he had after getting through that last sentence were enough for him to gather his thoughts and calm down - at least a little bit.

Azura smiled widely as Garreth spoke, "I'll be happily stuck with you until graduation and hopefully after." She couldn't even imagine what it would be like to graduate and move onto university.. she knew it was going to be sad to leave her friends and Hogwarts, despite all the crazy stuff that had happened this year and probably would still happen.. This place was sort of becoming home. And she knew the attachments she made here would last a lifetime.. Especially with Garreth, he really seemed to just.. get her. It was a fun feeling.

She giggled a little as he spoke again. "Well, I'm pretty cool even when I'm sleeping I suppose." She teased him back and she grinned.. Though, she was grateful he hadn't seen her be super clumsy, like when she had fallen and hit her head and saw stars in charms, while covered in paint.. or the time when she had Carpe Retractum'd a rock straight into her face.. Or being hit by a glob of seaweed and getting knocked over.. Yeahhhhh..

Whoops?

"Oh good! I really am sorry Garreth.. I just.. couldn't help it." She said as she tugged at her hair a little as he smirked at her.. She playfully stuck her tongue out at him and grinned a little before the topic moved back to her feelings.

She sighed a little, her face turning downcast as she bit her lip and tugged on her hair more.. The black mass was just brushed and left hanging in waves down her back today, so had a strand in her hand and was anxiously playing with the ends as they spoke. "That's exactly the point Garreth! I need to make then not matter so we can be friends again." She said with a soft sigh, "I need to walk right up to him, look him in the eyes and tell him that I don't care if he doesn't like me back." Her free hand rubbed at her head a little.. "That's the only way we can be friends again.. I know it." Her feelings needed to not matter, she needed to tell the best lie she could, in order to save his friendship..

Stupid feelings.. ruining everything!

And then here they were again, ruining this!! Just the idea of potential feelings.. Though if she were honest with herself, liking Garreth would not be hard at all.. Jace had edged out Garreth ever so slightly in her heart just because of their moment at Floreans, when he had leaned in close and looked into her eyes.. That.. moment which had meant all the world to her and nothing to Jace.. and sealed things.. but.. it didn't mean that..

GAHHHHHHHH Why was she doing this? Even IF she DID start to like Garreth.. ugh.. he would't like her back and she would be in the same bloody mess as she was now.. though with someone she cared for much deeper.

She fluttered around her friend as he started to speak.. and she stilled for a moment as he finally managed to get out.. that it wouldn't Be horrific to be liked by her..

"Really?" She was under the impression that it was the worst thing ever according to Jace..and then his next line had the tiny Ravenclaw smiling.. probably wider than she had since the potion incident.. "All right then.. I'll tell you." She said softly as she did the only thing she could right now..

Uhhuh..

She hugged him, she moved forward and put her arms around him and hugged him tightly. "Thank you." She whispered softly.. Because, for the first time in the past months.. he had made her feel like everything she had been going through, was okay. And it would be okay..

"Yeah, well, you won't be so 'happily' stuck with me after seven years of putting up with my shenanigans." Garreth teased. Seven years was a long time, and a lot could happen over the course of a single student's stay at Hogwarts. He wondered for a moment if he'd still be the same person at the end of it all. It scared him a little to think that the little boy that he was now would one day no longer exist. He'd be replaced with an older, more mature, more learned and hopefully experienced version of himself. He wondered what it would be like to become a completely different person. In a weird way, the thought frightened him, but comforted him at the same time. After all, if he didn't change at all over the course of his seven years at Hogwarts, what was the point of going at all? Getting to know all the wonderful people he'd met so far had already made him far more social, and he wasn't having any trouble keeping up with the academic side of things. As far as he could tell, he was well on his way to becoming that older boy.

"You know, Azura, I have a feeling that you might just be cool in general." he returned her grin. It seemed like the obvious conclusion to come to. Even if Azura could be a little clumsy, and had the worst luck of anyone Garreth had ever met, she was still one of his best friends, and a wonderful person. In fact, Garreth wasn't sure if she'd be as cool if she wasn't clumsy and unlucky. A clumsy step there and a tumble there only added to her strength of character, and if he was honest... It was rather endearing.

Despite his best efforts to smile, the first year had trouble keeping it up when his friend was feeling so down. It physically hurt the boy to see her like this. "Oh, Azura.." he began, pausing a moment to think. What could he say or do to make it better? Was there anything he could do at all to help? "Your feelings are always going to matter... I don't think Jace would want you to brush your emotions under the rug on his account." Was this helping? Probably not? Stupid, stupid, stupid. "The best thing you can do is to just be open about the way you feel so you won't make each other so uncomfortable. That way, you can still be friends. He needs to know you still want to be his friend even though he doesn't like you that way." Garreth had no idea where all of this was coming from, but it just seemed like the sensible thing to do. Of course, poor little Garreth had never had a girlfriend, as he was a tad young to be thinking about that sort of thing - even though he had noticed that he was becoming increasingly nervous around girls these days - but if he had one, he would have no idea how to talk to her. Hence, it came as a surprise to him that he had any advice at all for Azura on matters like this.

And then came the hug. "Yeah.. Yeah, of course. Of course that wouldn't be horrific." he spoke with a little more confidence, wrapping his arms around the girl in response to her hug. He had often been described as quite the wordsmith, but of course, when it came to talking to girls, and especially one as pretty as Azura, he just drew a blank. How did all these older boys do it? They just walked right up to girls and started talking to them. Were they all in Gryffindor? Surely, they had to be. How else could they be brave enough? Garreth certainly wasn't.

"You're welcome, Azura." he murmured back. Somehow, he got the feeling that he'd helped. At least a little.

Azura stuck her tongue out at Garreth as he spoke and teased her slightly.. "How do you know that hmm? I might just like you more and more as the years go by, so when it's time for us to graduate, I'll be heartbroken to leave you." She said with a smile. "Honestly, it's probably ME that you will be tired off..or.. maybe waiting in the Hospital wing for me." She let out a small giggle as she said that. Merlin knows how many times she would be frequenting that place.. She had already been there twice this year..

And had 6 broken noses.. Could she charm her nose? Just put a protective spell on that? She was going to seriously look into that!

She grinned at his words and just shrugged a little At least SOMEOME thought she was cool.. Okay.. no people did like her.. she had just felt down about herself lately because of the whole Jace thing! "Thank you Garreth, I appreciate it, you are pretty cool yourself, you know that?" She was pretty sure he wouldn't believe her.. but he was! Who else would sit here and listen to her and try to give her advice about Jace? And NOT think she was stupid? Yeah.. not many people.

Though her cousin HAD listened, she had been grateful for that. And he offered to beat Jace up for her, much like Brady had. Her family and friends were so sweet and she was lucky to have them, she hoped she could get Jace back.. though.. HE was the most important.

She looked up at Garreth as he spoke her purple eyes rather sad. "He might not want me to, but I think that is how things are going to have to be for now.. I'm just going to have to somehow relax about him and be his friend again.. and.. eventually I'll be able to get over him.." She hoped.. "I'm going to let him know I want to be his friend again.. liking him came as a surprise to me too!" She had thought she had liked Jazzy for the longest time..

Gotta love surprise real feelings.. NOT

Azura smiled as Garreth hugged her back and she leaned her head on his chest for a moment as he spoke.. At least GARRETH didn't think her liking him would be horrific, you hear that heart? Huh.. huhhhhhh..

NOOOOO.. it had to like the impossible one..

Meh.. She was so done with her heart right now.

She pulled back from him and smiled warmly up at him.. "Thank you.. for cheering me up and helping me feel better."

"I doubt it." Garreth grinned back at the girl with a shake of his head. "I think that as the weeks turn to months and the months to years, you'll get to know me better, and you'll realize what you've gotten yourself into!" he chuckled heartily. Of course, he was kidding, but meant it at the same time. He often did worry that as people got to know him better, they would begin to dislike him. As he opened up to people, and became more relaxed around them, he tended to speak in a different tone, move differently, use different words. He had a way of being for strangers, and a way of being for friends, and he worried that the transition between the two would be off-putting for some. Azura didn't seem to even have noticed the transition so far, to Garreth's great relief, but he was certain that if she looked back on the way he was when they first met, she would see how his confidence had improved, and how he spoke to her differently than he would to a student he'd never met before.

"I wouldn't worry so much about tiring me off." He smiled sincerely. "It takes a lot for me to get tired of someone I really like, and quite frankly, Azura, I even if I do have to pick you up at the hospital wing every morning before class, I'll just be glad to have someone to walk with."

Again, the boy blushed a little. "Oh, well, I don't know about COOL, I don't know if I'd go that far, but I don't know, I can be, like, alright sometimes." he smiled and looked down at his feet. "Certainly not in your league, I mean..." he looked back up at her, twiddling his thumbs behind his back. He wasn't sure, but this was probably the first time in his life that a person around his age had actually described him as 'cool'. His parents always praised him for his intellect, and the friends he had made so far all said he was nice, but if he wasn't mistaken, Azura had just now, in the Hogsmeade Post Office, been the first person to ever call him 'cool'.

In perfect honesty, he didn't really know what to say to that. Should he tell her? Nah, that would just make him sound even more like a loser. Maybe later.

Instead, he listened intently to what she had to say about this boy problem of hers. He agreed with her for the most part, believing the best solution to just try to be friends and let it go, but not lie about it. "Yeah, do that! Just don't put on some kind of facade and lie about your feelings. Tell him you want to work through it. You have seven years to go of seeing this boy darn near every day.. Don't put yourself in a situation where you hurt every time you see him." Of course, the boy wasn't exactly speaking from experience, but he did read a lot, and everything he read, he remembered.

How do you hug girls? Is there some kind of protocol? An etiquette? Some code of chivalry to uphold? In most cases, Garreth had some piece of literature stored somewhere in the back of his mind that he could go to for answers when difficult situations arose, but in this case, he was drawing a blank. He just had to wing it. A fat load of good all that reading had done him.

"Y- You're welcome, Azura." he stammered slightly, but managed to recover before it got too bad. "Anytime you need to talk, you know you can come to me and I'll always try to help."

Azura looked up at Garreth and she put her hands on her hips as he spoke. "Garreth Kenway." She said as she looked at him.."Are you doubting my friendship and even possible future liking of you?" She asked him. He better not be! If there was one thing to be said about the purple eyed little Ravvie, it was that she loved her friends.. more than anything! And she thought the world of each and every one of them!

To have someone doubt that.. well it didn't make her feel good! Teasing or not!
"Never, ever doubt how I feel about you all right? You are one of my good friends, maybe even my best friend! So.. no more of that! I will like you now and I will like you when we are old and gray.. " She said with a nod at him. She meant it too!

At his next words though.. she blushed and bit her lip a little.. Even if he had to pick her up in the hospital wing every morning.. "Thanks Garreth, I feel much better now." She said with a warm smile as she looked up at him happily.

"I have a league?" She looked at him with one eyebrow raised.. How did she had a league? And why was he out of it? "Oh please.. We are equally cool.. I mean sure you aren't part fairy veela.. and your family isn't charmed with purple eyes for the rest of eternity.. but.. still, we are both cool!" She said with a giggle at him.

She listened to Garreth as he spoke and she nodded solemnly.. "I'll do whatever it takes to get his friendship back..And I'll tell him the truth.. That I'm sorry.. and I want to be his friend.. cause I don't want to let go of him." She could handle being around him every day.. if only to see his smile.. Seeing him smile would be enough for her..

Azura smiled as he pulled back from their hug..

"Well, it's nice to know you don't go on the "do not hug" list." She said with a soft tease up at him.. "And I know.. the same goes for me all right? I'm always here for you."

"Of course not, Azura." Garreth shook his head vigorously in response to his friend's question. "I'd never do that, but-" Oh, so now they were just putting it out there like that? Possible future of 'liking' him? Did she mean like liking him? Nah, probably not. Or did she? Oh gosh, he was blushing again. And just when his face had started to cool down again. "I'm sorry, I won't ever doubt your feelings again." he gave her an appreciative nod. He worried that she might come to regret saying those things to him, like he worried that she would come to know him better and learn that he wasn't as cool as she seemed to think, but her words, and those of Rachel, were beginning to take root in his mind. Maybe he was somewhat likable.

"I don't mind. Besides, going to the hospital wing every morning would probably be good for me. At least I won't have a heart attack from all the stress." He teased. He did indeed have a lot on his mind. The school work was causing no problems at all, but as the routines of school life began to click into place, he found he had this terrible habit of overloading himself with additional work. Some of it was extracurricular activity he'd gathered from the professors, but most of it was from higher-grade textbooks he'd borrowed from older students.

"Of course you have a league! Everybody's got a league!" the first year explained enthusiastically. "Your league is here." he gestured with his right hand, holding it horizontally in front of Azura's face. "And my league is around here somewhere." he added, his hand dropping at least a foot. "What with the purple eye charm and the adorable clumsiness, that should be obvious to everyone, shouldn't it?" he smirked.

"Whatever you decide to do, Azura, I'm here if you need to talk." he nodded to her. "And you don't have to worry about me and the do not hug list. Keep my name as far away from there as possible."

Azura nodded as Garreth as he spoke to her.

"No Buts! Okay? You are my friend and always will be!" She said with a warm smile up at him, grinning at him a little as he blushed.. She wasn't sure what she could do to let him know that her feelings weren't changing.. But at the moment she didn't have any clue..

A random thought popped into her head, but she pushed it aside.. This wasn't the apocalypse after all.

She smiled warmly at him as he spoke. "You do to much.. And it's only our first year! Things are going to get more stressful as time goes on.. So, try and pace yourself all right?" She asked as she she gently rubbed his arm. She worried about him sometimes. She knew he tended to take a lot on.. Hence why she had barely seen him these past couple of months..

She laughed at him as he said she had a league and then scoffed slightly as he spoke about where she was and where he was!

"Garreeethhhhh." She said as she shook her head.. "There is no leagues!! And you are most certainly not below me!!" She said as she raised his lower hand up to where it was equal to where he said hers was.. "That is where you are too then!" She said with a nod.

"Thank you.. I'll keep that in mind.." She said with a warm smile..

Garreth had of course been kidding about Azura coming to dislike him as the years went by, but as any good psychologist will tell you, there is often a slight hint of truth behind every silly joke and sarcastic remark. Garreth didn't think he had meant it when he said it, but he found that hearing Azura so vehemently deny even the slightest possibility that she'd begin to dislike him relieved a worry he didn't really know was present to begin with. "Alright, alright, if you say so." he grinned with a nod of his head. He couldn't really help from smiling at this point.

More stressful? Oh Merlin, really? "Well, that's why I have to take on a lot of extra work now while it's not so busy!" He reasoned. "Besides, if I get used to the stress early, it won't be so jarring when it starts getting bad later." Not a great reason to put oneself through undue stress, but Garreth couldn't imagine going to Hogwarts and not taking full advantage of everything it had to offer. He'd feel terrible if he graduated and found that he had wasted even a single second of his seven-year stay.

"I'm pretty sure there are leagues, Azura, and you're way up here." he teased her, taking her hand and raising it another foot into the air. "You can't even see my league from all the way up there!" he continued with a wide grin, hoping Azura understood that at this point, he exaggerating maybe just a little bit.

No more words were really necessary on the subject of talking and sharing and hugging. Instead, he returned her smile, becoming warm and sincere, as opposed to sarcastic and silly.

Azura smiled at Garreth as he spoke to her. and she nodded her head. "I say so.. so there." She said with a warm smile as she looked at him and smiled. She wasn't sure what she could do to convince him of her feelings.. but.. She would try just about anything over the coming years..

Azura looked at Garreth as he spoke with a bit of a frown on her face. "Well, I suppose so.. But Garreth.. don't you want to have fun here? Play around, make mistakes.. get messy?" She asked him. What was the point of studying and working so hard that you forgot to actually enjoy where you were?"Sure.. studying is great.. but you need to balance that with other things..Like hanging out with me!" She said with a grin.. Part of her was glad she was a more creative Ravvie.. Her music was super enjoyable!

Azura giggled hard as Garreth took her hand and moved it up about a foot and she shook her head.. "Garreth Kenway you silly boy! I can see you just fine! And perhaps I do have a league or something.. You aren't out of mine! It's not like I'm rich or anything! I'm not even a Princess like Rachel..' Azura wasn't even fully sure Rachel WAS a princess.. but.. if she was.. SHE had a league.. and it was somewhere around the vicinity of the ceiling if that WAS the case. "My mom's just a Healer and My Dad works for the ministry.. We have a nice house.. But it's not like a mansion though..

OHHHHH.. But my grandparents DO have a mansion in the South of France.. so there's that." Also one in California, and a manor just outside of London.. something about her Grandpa being a Duke?

Whoops?

"Alright, I believe you!" Garreth chuckled in response to Azura's persistence. Whether he was consciously aware of it or not, it really did make him feel better to hear her say the words. His - albeit irrational - worry about his friends starting to dislike him were intrinsically linked with his self-esteem issues, and one would not be fixed without the other.

The first-year thought for a moment about Azura's words, frowning as she implied he'd have to choose between getting the most academic value out of his school year or the most fun. To him, it had never really been a choice that he had to make. It had always seemed like the certain decision to focus on school work and get as much done as possible, learn as much as he could.. but now that he'd made friends and was actually not a social outcast, it suddenly became a much more difficult choice to make. Was there some balance that he could work with? Or would that simply mean he couldn't get the most out of either areas of focus, and would simply waste his entire stay at Hogwarts trying to cover all his bases? Merlin, why did it have to be so hard to be Garreth Kenway?

"I- Yeah, I guess, I do want to have fun, andGet messy as you put it." he shrugged. "There's few things on this earth that I crave more than an adventure.. But I feel like if I don't make the most of my schooling here, I'll live to regret it. That's what dad is always talking about." The boy couldn't help but smirk as she mentioned hanging out with her being an option. "Well, either way, I'm sure I could find a moment here and there to hang out with you." he shot her a smile before his gaze trailed down to his feet again.

He raised an eyebrow and looked back up at her as she began describing her rather well-off family to him. Working for the Ministry, a mansion in the south of France? How distinguished. "Well, I'm pretty sure that just proves that there are leagues, and that yours is well above mine." he smirked slyly. "Your grandparents have a mansion in the South of France, Azura. My grandparents live in a 1-bedroom apartment in GRIMSBY" he laughed, knowing full well the less-than-prosperous reputation of his hometown.

Kay didn't want to send any letters at this point in time. She and her father and students from the Muggle part of her life communicated by emails pretty much. She was just curious about the amount of owls kept here because of all the hooting she had heard as she was passing by. She drew her her cloak tighter around her then headed into the building which may be a tad warmer.

Her eyes widened slightly in surprise as she turned on the spot. There were so many owls here! Had there always been this much when she was a student at Hogwarts and visited here? Kay stepped closer to a tiny Scops owls. "You lot are so cute!'' Awwww!