"Yeah, well, she doesn't get stuck actually taking the tests or doing the homework," muttered Brant rolling his eyes. "I'd be enthusiastic too if I didn't have to study for anything."

Raquel rolled her eyes. "Cheer up, you have a party to get to," she said to Brant. "When does it start anyway?" She looked at Vince. "You said it was after curfew, right?"

Vince nodded. "Around ten," he said.

"I have a feeling I'll probably be leaving early," muttered Vianna with a yawn. "We have class tomorrow and Merlin, the Slytherins are unbearable! The girls try to act friendly 'cause I'm Victor's sister and the guys remind me of my own brothers. It's disturbing."

"They're really not so bad, Vi, you just gotta give 'em a chance," said Vince. But of course, it's not like any of the girls reminded him of his sister and he never had a problem with people kissing-up to him, so it's not like he really understood her frustration.

Raquel shrugged. "Last party I went to was alright," she said recalling that one night she had gone.

"Yeah," said Brant chuckling as he remembered which party that had been. "You didn't hold back, did you, Rae? Dancing with what? Three guys at once, I remembering seeing."

She shrugged. "I didn't bother to take count," she replied rolling her eyes.

Vince's eyes widened. "Wait-- what? You did what?" It wasn't the first time he heard about Raquel attending the party, but it was definitely a lot easier to pay attention when he wasn't busy and focused on being angry at her and avoiding her. "How come I never heard about that--"

"Actually, Iggy told yo--" Vianna started, but Vince cut her off.

"What were you doing dancing with-- what was that, again? Three guys? At the same time?!"

Raquel's eyes widened. She didn't think Vince would react at all let alone so emotionally. "I-- well, yeah," she said still rather surprised with the way he had gone off. "It was that night, I think, when you and Vi started talking again. You were still avoiding me like a disease but I finally forced you to go and talk to Vianna because you had started sitting with the Slytherins, remember? So, I left you two alone and went to the party. I mean, I was still really bummed about everything that had happened. I figured I would take Victor's and Iggy's advice and just have some fun."

"Victor?!" Vince's eyebrows raised, a billion things going through his head at once. "Victor told you to go to that-- he-- my br--" He was halfway off his seat when Vianna pulled him back down with a harsh pull of the arm.

"Vince!" she hissed, giving him a stern look. "What's gotten into you!? Relax! I'm sure Victor didn't actually mean for Rae to go and dance with the Slytherin boys -- and either way, you've got to be fair, she's not your girlfriend anymore. You can't get mad about things like this," she said calmly, her hand resting on her brother's arm.

Ava and Adam merely watched them with wide eyes; Adam looked shocked, Ava looked positively worried.

Raquel, unlike the Others, looked rather amused. She bit back her smile and just rubbed her Victor's arm lightly. "I had no idea this bothered you so much, Vince. You hadn't talked to me in days. But, I mean, what else was I supposed to do? Dance by myself? I wasn't going to stand there looking awkward. I just wanted to have a bit of fun."

Brant looked positively thrilled with Vince though. He had a grin plastered on his face though he said nothing. He continued to eat in silence grinning giddily.

Vince wasn't nearly half as amused as the other two, though. He turned to Raquel with a frown and replied, "So we don't talk for a couple of days and the first thing you decide to do is go and have a dance off with whatever Slytherin bloke comes your way?" he said rather accusingly. He knew deep down he probably wasn't being fair, but he hadn't had a snog in weeks and it didn't seem fair Raquel should be having the time of her life while he had his head buried in books trying to distract himself from all that had been going on during that time.

Vianna turned away to stare blankly at her plate, wishing and hoping dearly that things weren't about to turn ugly. Ava wanted to ask her 'aunt' what was going on, but was afraid of speaking and opted best to remain silent until Vince's temper had gone back to normal.

"Vince," she said sternly now, "you're hardly being fair. Come on, you and I had just broken up. Everything had gotten all screwy lately and I was still trying to get over things and plus there was school and homework to worry about. I just wanted things to get back to normal. So, what if I danced with a couple of guys? I was blowing off some steam, Vince. It's not like anything else happened. It was harmless dancing. You shouldn't care any more either. You broke up with me, remember?"

"Guys, guys," said Brant not wanting another argument to start up. Far from what he was hoping would happen. "So what? She danced with a few guys and had her fun," he told Vince and then turned to Raquel. "He's being jealous, Rae. Big deal. I say we fix this now."

"And how do you suggest we do that?" she asked. "I'm not going to listen to him because he's not my boyfriend any more. And it's not my fault."

"Not what I was getting at," said Brant. "Vince is obviously feeling a bit . . . repressed," he explained. "You get your fun and he gets stuck into studying all day and night. So, to fix this, you should snog him because then he gets his fix, you get yours and everyone is happy again! Alright?"

Vianna couldn't help but laugh lightly at Brant's solution. She turned to the other two and hoped they would perhaps consider his suggestion; she grimaced as she saw the expression on her brother's face, though. "Whatever. She's right, she's not my girlfriend, I shouldn't care. I don't care," he said simply, then turning back to Raquel. "You go do whatever you want, Rae. Dance with the whole school if you wish, I'm staying out of it."

Vianna's eyes widened. "Wait-- no, this wasn't supposed to turn out like this!" she exclaimed, frowning at her brother and Raquel. Her brother's jealousy obviously meant he still had feelings for Raquel, but if he seriously let go of those feelings then there would be nothing left of what they once had, and there went Vianna's dreams of seeing the two getting back together. "You guys are being really unfair, y'know! And not to me or to Iggy or to Ava, but to each other. You both know very well what you want but you keep pushing yourselves farther away from it, just do what you really, really want!"

"Talk to your brother," said Raquel she picked her things up. It seemed she was getting ready to leave. "He's the one making things difficult! If he just asked or said what was on his mind, then fine. I would listen. But no, he gets all mad at me and doesn't even explain himself properly. I'm not a damned mind reader. If he doesn't say what he means, then how the hell am I supposed to know what he wants?" She wiped a small tear from her eye. "I'll see you guys later." And without another word, she left.

"Dammit!" said Brant kicking Vince in the shins. "What the hell did you have to go and make her upset for? She probably would have agreed too if you hadn't been so stubborn." He glanced at Raquel's now empty seat. "And you do care. Don't start telling lies. You care and she cares. Vianna's right. Just do what you both want so this madness between you and her can stop."

"OW-- What the hell got into you?!" Vince exclaimed, shooting Brant a glare as the boy nearly knocked him off his seat with that kick. As if that wasn't bad enough, now Ava had burst into hysterical cries and began throwing pieces of bread at him, accusing him of having made 'mummy' cry.

Vianna sighed and shook her head. "Come. You and I need to have a serious talk before you see Rae again," she said, getting up to her feet and pulling her brother along.

Vince didn't complain; if anything, he actually wanted to be away from the new enemies he had just made in less than half a second. But before he could leave, he turned to Adam, "Watch over Ava, will you?" he asked him. Being Raquel's Other, he didn't feel it was safe to ask Walter for the favour instead. Adam nodded and busied himself trying to calm the outraged Ava out.

And now Brant was left to deal with the Others while Vianna went off with Vince to talk to him about whatever it may be. "Well," he said looking from Adam to Walter and then to Ava. "This has been fun, but I think I'm going to get ready for the party." He frowned slightly. "I suppose all three of you can come up to the common room and hang out there." He shrugged and stood up.

Adam nodded and turned to Ava. "C'mon," he said, getting up and waiting for the girl to join him. Ava stood up grudgingly, sniffling slightly.

"Why do Mum and Dad always fight, Uncle Iggy?" asked Ava as she followed the group out of the Great Hall. "You and Auntie Vi always made it seem like they actually liked each other..."

Walter followed the two Others and Brant in silence.

"Well, they do like each other," said Brant slowly trying to figure out a way to explain things to her. "You see, mummy and daddy are just going through a phase. They're being stubborn. For some reason, I don't know why, they just can't admit they like each other. It's like mummy wants daddy to say it first and daddy wants mummy to say it first but neither of them will ever say it first so, it's hard." He looked at Ava wondering if this had made any sense to her at all.

But Ava merely stared back at Brant with blank eyes and her brows furrowed. She clearly hadn't understood a word. "Where'd mummy go?" she asked after a moment of silence where she tried understanding what Brant had just said, but still understanding none of it.

"I don't know," said Brant. "That is a very good question. A very good question, indeed." He looked around. "Maybe she went to the common room? Come on, let's have a look." Though he figured if that had been the case, she would be in the girls' dormitory and therefore Brant would be unable to look himself. Though he could send Ava to check.

So, he led the others all the way up to the Gryffindor common room where he gave the password and ushered them all inside. "Go check up those stairs for mummy," he instructed Ava and gestured toward the staircase leading towards the girls' rooms.

Ava glanced in the direction that Brant signaled to and nodded. "Okay. I'll be right back," she muttered, heading over to the stairs and up to the girls' dormitories. She poked her head through the door and glanced around the dark room cautiously - it was mostly empty as most girls were still down at the Great Hall. "Mummy?" Ava called out, squinting her eyes for any signs of Raquel.

Raquel was lying on her bed with her face down in the pillow. Though at the sound of her name, she immediately looked up and around at Ava. It was clear she had been crying. But she quickly tried to fix herself up. She wiped her tears away and sniffled slightly. "Oh, Ava," she said smiling at her weakly. "Come in, come in." She patted the bed and picked up a tissue so she could blow her nose.

ooc: Well, I am for the night. Byyyye!

Ava's eyes widened at the sight of Raquel. She immediately ran over to join the girl, reaching her bed in less than a second. "MUMMY!" she squealed, tackling Raquel down. She then pulled back and her forehead creased as she noticed the redness of Raquel's watery eyes. Ava's own eyes glimmered now. "No! Why're you crying?! Is it because of what Dad said?!" she asked, looking both worried and horrified.

ooc: Byee!

Raquel shook her head quickly. Obviously Ava was right on the money, but she didn't want to put Vince at fault. "No, it has nothing to do with what daddy said," she said. "Don't blame him. It's just mummy. Okay?"