OoC: Hey. Ashlie---let me invade. Apologies in advance.

Sigh.

This was impossible. Why was it like this? No matter how hard she tried, even through all this years, it just wouldn't get through her head. Shutting the textbook rashly, the pale girl snarled.

"Bloody History of Magic," was her utterance. "Who needs it anyways?"

Annoyed and frustrated she began patting her robes, her destination had been the water fountain but having seen it crowded from afar she decided that a shady tree was a good enough spot to inflate her brain with nonsensical dates and names.

------

Jose artfully avoided the scary girl by the tree and squinted at the crowd at the water fountain, she recognized several people from a distance by how they looked.

She recognized Mozzie by the unworldly screech in her voice when she became excited.

God bless her. Idly she stood, pushing Rodolfo aside. "Go back. Back I say!"

It was now Ollie’s turn for the flushing. Both cheeks tinged a light pink color as he kept his eyes on the clouds above him, though a teeny, tiny little smile twitched at the corner of his lips for a brief second. No matter how many times anyone would compliment him, Ollie continued to remain utterly modest and easily abashed. Even with the numerous girlfriends he had dated, Ollie would always flush at a compliment in whatever form it came.

Ollie was pretty certain this was a compliment.

“Ehm,” came his reply. For a moment, nothing followed the sound of him clearing his throat and attempting to find words. Was that a compliment? After all, she’d only said she looked at his hair that way. In that… she examined all the colors and the way the sunlight danced off it… Right, right. If it wasn’t a compliment, the girl would have had to have a warped sense of dissing.

Because he could think of no way to reply to that, he merely asked, “You look at my hair?”

Girls liked Ollie’s hair. Mozzie had told him of the intense urges to bat his hair that she fought of. Girlfriends had loved to play with his hair and curl the silky locks round their fingers. He should have been shocked by Roísin’s interest in his hair, he was well aware. Interest in his hair was natural to the XX chromosome.

“Really, you ought to pay more attentions to all colors,” he moved on to say, carrying on their previous conversation. Nobody ever said he was a great small-talk conversationalist. “There’s a lot of colors in the world, if anyone would stop to examine them.” Raising his hand, pointing at the clouds in the sky, he gently nudged her with the arm resting between them. “See that? Can you see the lavender up there? Who would expect to see such a pretty, purple color up there in the middle of the building of thunder storm clouds?”

Maybe, the next time the sun decided to shine, he would have to show her the different colors in the forest and the grass. Teach her to the see the things that weren’t visible to the naked eye – to dig below the surface. Perhaps he could become her art sensei!

---------------------------------------------------------

Only one student in all of Hogwarts had that thick accent.

“Hey! Jose! You get over here!” Mozzie called as she found the short girl off in the distance. Also off in the distance, beneath a tree, looked like the Ice Queen and for that, Mozzie shot Boo a furtive glance, willing her to not notice. Granted, Zazu would never dare come near them, especially with Boo there. Neither girl got along well.

“C’mon now! The pig will follow!”

Er. Maybe. Rodolfo didn’t seem to be the best of behaved pets. What more did one accept from a pig, anyway?

“Right,” said Boo. “I’m leaving, then. Good luck Hugo.” The tiny girl cast a smirk towards Hugo who Mozzie hadn’t seemed to have realized had shown up. With a little saunter in her hips, spirits picked up by the prospect of being able to get a hair cut. A nice cute cut that would keep her adorable looks and put her back into her good mood.

Fortunately for her (or maybe for the Black Widow), Boo turned and sauntered the direction opposite of the tree she sat beneath. For now, there wouldn’t be any vicious words (from Boo) slung round (to the Black Widow). The sixteen year old wasn’t in the mood for any fights, anyway.

Jose stood slapping Rodolfo away as best she could while casting a curious frown at Mozzie. By the looks of it this was yet another impromptu gathering and the amount of students lingering round made her want to go on another eternal hunt for a water fountain if only to have something else to do but to obey Mozzie's evil screeching.

"Okay okay! I'm coming. No need to throw a hissy fit, señorita." Kicking Rodolfo haphazardly, not caring to be accused of animal abuse, Josefina grunted. "Muevete, Rodolfo. I don't have all day."

She should have kept quiet, shouldn't she? Of course she should have! What could he be thinking of her at that moment? She was ought to stop making a fool out of herself, not the opposite! But it was so easy for her to get caught up in him and forget everything else...

Nevertheless Roísin had to admit that she did love to see that light shade of red upon his face. It seemed to suit him and enhance that angelic side of him, which she adored so much and that only made her blush even more. Soon enough anyone could fry an egg on her cheeks easily.

Once his reply came, the girl wasn't certain whether she'd have prefered him to remain silent. Well, actually perhaps that would be better for her mental health for she could not figure what his words or his expression said. Did he appreciate her little confession? Did he wonder whether she was insane or not? Probably the later.

"Well, yes," She replied, still whispering. Oh, why couldn't she take her eyes away from him? Surely if she did, it wouldn't make her feel so weak! "When the sun touches it, it reminds me of the golden autumn leaves that fall by my house's doorstep," She admitted. Oh, that craving to touch it and to be sure that it was as real as her eyes told her it was! "It's beautiful."

Once he moved on to their previous subject, Roísin bit her lower lip and forced herself to look up again. "Hmmhmm," She sighed as she tried to block away all of the thoughts that had nothing to do with the colours and obviously failing, for even though she seemed to be achieving her goal for a while, she ended up feeling a warm feeling invading her whole body once she felt him touch her. So warm it was that she was lucky not to shiver.

Ah, it would surely be good to stay like that forever. And she was sure that it would even feel better if she was allowed to stay in his arms until the end of time.

Not a lot of conversation options follow someone admitting that they examine all the colors in your hair. One could follow the vain route and discuss how they too have examined the colours of their own hair, however, Ollie was not the vain sort. Another pathway could be to remain in modest silence, which Ollie often did but greatly hindered the conversation aspect. Though, he supposed, it might be possible to create a conversation that didn't make him sound like a vain creature, which would be fine by him. Either silence or conversation; he liked both and wouldn't so much mind the silence, anyway.

For a few minutes he remained in silence beside the girl. They were an odd pair, he had decided. Not odd for each other, but odd in who they were. He was the heartbreak King (as in, heartbroken, not heartbreaker) who lived in a perpetual daydream and was constantly constructing story ideas in his mind. Rain made him weepy and romance was what he thrived for. Sometimes, his friends called him outdated or jaded.

The girl beside him was unconventional, no matter the world she chose to live in, be it wizarding or muggle. Attire that fit neither world and hair that the sun god itself seemed to have kissed, and hats seemed to be an often donned accessory. Quite often, her face was red and she seemed to be almost out of worldly - or at least not of this time. Maybe they each were born to the incorrect time periods.

This was, perhaps, the reason he felt comfortable laying here beside this Hufflepuff girl that he honestly knew little of. Granted, strangers didn't often move Ollie from his comfort zone (with the sole exception of Mozzie and her friends, for they could terrify anyone), but this moment especially felt comfortable, because he knew Roísin was, like him, an artist, a connoisseur of the finer things in life, and the details of beauty. Perhaps she, too, was a dreamer?

"What's it look like?" he finally asked after many minutes of silence. His voice was soft and quiet, almost a mumur and he felt a certainty that she would hear him. "My hair, I mean. The colors - what kind of colors has it in it?"

What did Roísin see when she looked at his hair?

----------------------------------------------------

"Hissy fit?" scoffed Mozzie, sitting back down beside Tristan and glancing over Inez and Quentin. "No one's throwing a hissy fit - you're just moving too slow for my fast paced life." Her tease was left with a grin and she tugged on her leg warmers before zipping up her hooded jacket.

"Geeeze, it's getting chilly," she muttered as darker clouds rolled in through the sky, their ominous threat growing more and more suspicious. Another rain storm. Alas. This time, they'd be inside, though! Hurrah, hurrah!

Pushing Rodolfo further along, Josefina joined the crowd reluctantly. It was only when her nose was tickled by the scent of an impending rain that she smiled. "Tormenta!" She exclaimed next to Mozzie (missing her ear by less than an inch--on purpose) with a wicked smile. "I wonder if El Diablo would like another little expedition..."

Raising a thick brow she thought about what she had just said outloud. Perhaps it was best to be quiet. Were the fangirls within earshot?

-----

Ending her search for those hard sour candies, Zazu threw her head back and cursed loudly. She'd fail her exams for sure if she didn't do something about her inability to absorb history. Casting a sideways glance at the party at the fountain she spotted that familiar ever present male youth.

Brows furrowing in deep thought, she contemplated her faith. Surely, Storme wouldn't mind helping a fellow student--no?

"Knowing him he'd torture me to the ends of time and earth," she muttered flipping pointlessly through pages. "And flash that stupidly handsome crooked smile and say 'Her majesty is asking favors from a peasant?' yadda yadda stupid pretty face."

Her ramblings continued even as she stood up and used the textbook to dust the back of her skirt, trying to make sure she at least looked respectable. There were so many people around. But it would rain soon and he'd have to pass by the tree to go to the castle, no?

Perfect, she'd just linger behind the tree trunk and ambush him before anyone noticed.

Of course, it didn't occur to Zazu Donovan that her sinister plan had so many holes in it that it was resembling a piece of swiss cheese. That must have been due to the fact that Zazu wasn't particularly fond of swiss cheese.

It seemed that even though both herself and him were silent, she was far from actually hearing the sound of silence, for her heart had yet not ceased to beat loudly and rapidly. Thump, thump, thump. That's all she'd hear again and again in a constant melody, punctuated by the sound of his even breathing and her own quick one, that seemed to slow down slightly as each minuted ticked by though it never reached its normal speed.

The reason for her slower breathing was not that she was starting to get calmer or more comfortable around him or anything of the sort. Quite on the contrary. The reason for it was actually that she was growing accostumed with the idea of him thinking she was insane for saying such things and acting in such a way.

Why she was still trying to get him, Roísin didn't know for it was obviously a hopeless case. After all, why would Ollie, a boy with so many fangirls, a boy with so many qualities chose her? A girl who was absurdly shy and had far too few friends since she'd rather spend her life in her own tiny little world full of diferent tones and shapes?

Hearing his silence, the Hufflepuff girl was certain that he knew it and something told her that he was probably working a way to get away from her without hurting her feelings. Always sweet, that was her Ollie. Perhaps she'd better just do him a favour and get up and walk away herself. That way he wouldn't feel bad, right? No matter if she ended up crying, she was used to it.

However, it seemed like she did not need to get up for he spoke again and his words light up a flame of hope within her chest. The question could be quite tricky for she did not know how to explain such beauty that was beyond any words, but, for once, Roísin did not care.

"It's impossible to tell," She answered, a smile on her lips as she too looked up at the sky. "It changes a lot. Sometimes it's as bright as the sun and sometimes as dark as wet sand and it never has just one colour or one tone, there are always many, so many that I don't think that anyone could capture them all. Even in a photograph."

OoC: Sorry, sorrrrrrry! Grounded...

Inez tilted her head to the side with a confused look. What in Merlin's beard was she talking about..? Oh, oh wait.. It was totally coming to her! Oop, no. It's gone. "Oh, zip!" she told her, confident that that was the correct answer. It almost came automatically. "Well at least that's what I've heard goes through my head! Or was it zot...." She trailed off for a moment, the thought seriously troubling her for a short while. Finally there was a shrug and she continued. "I don't get it though. What does a zipper have to do with my noggen..?" She asked with a small giggle and tapping her head a couple times with her pointer finger.

Quentin didn't say anything, but raised an amused eyebrow. She got that kind of thing a lot sometimes, but it was always comforting to know that it wouldn't usually bother her... As long as she stayed her usual Inez self.

He looked over at Boo again and gave a small smile and nodded. Polite thing to do.. Yeah?

Nezzy, however, was off in her own little world by now staring at her bag. She looked at it in different directions then set it down again. "I still have my bag!" She said, scrunching her brows together and placing her hands on her lips.

Thank you Captain Obvious. "Uhh... I'm sorry?" He ran his fingers through his hair again before adding, "Do you wanna put it back in a bit 'Nez?" When he got a nod he gave a short, "'Kay".

His attention was soon back on Mozzie. She was still starring at him... Awkwardly he gave her a random smile, not knowing what else to do.

=================================================

A pout made it's way on Inez's face as Boo sauntered off. That was so short! In and out. But the bitter look couldn't last too long. "Oh hiya Hugo!!!" She said with a big wave as though he was yards away.

But then another person came. "Oooo hi Jose!" And after that she was totally lost. There was a pig! She thought her pug was cool but a pig was freaking awesome. It just blowed her mind. Whoa. But she was just overly confused now which made her bored... Sigh.

Quentin nodded his hellos to Jose and Hugo. Gah why did his friends have to be so... liked by everyone? Okay, not everyone. His eyes wandered to Zazu. She wasn't a big fan of most of them. That being-- excluding Tristan. Yet another fan girl! Though different.

Before he knew it, the confused and getting bored Inez bumped into his side. He glanced down at her and shot her a smile as she leaned in and gave a worried look up at the sky. Gently, he set an arm around her slim shoulders.

"It's coooold! And Mozzie says it's gonna rain!" A disgusted look crossed her face. "Yuck."

ooc: SORRY! >.< *hides face* ... LOL. But guess what ... It's RAINING OUTSIDE! xD [/random]

Grace had absolutely no idea what was going on around her. She only knew that she was surrounded by people and she was at the water fountain. There was too much chatter around her and she didn't know where to concentrate. Ack. The girl was lost in her own crowd.

That was when she heard Inez mention rain. Rain? Throwing a glance up at the high Heavens, the girl nodded. Yup. Mozzie was right. It was going to rain. Although she loved the rain, she was in no mood to get wet again. After last night, she was sure the rain had tampered with her brain in some way ... not that it was normal to begin with, but it had gone crazier. Therefore, Grace was now planning on avoiding the rain in general. Especially avoiding it when Taylor was around.

The rain did things to her. It was unhealthy.

"If it rains, I am going in." She said aloud to nobody in particular.

ooc: As for me. School. 'Nuff said. D: Oh. And I apologize if I'm at the wrong place. I couldn't read everything.

And Hugo is hot. LOLOL. Just as I imagined him. :p Georgie Porgie. Eeek.

Georgie lifted her head from the book she had been reading for about... 2 hours?! She looked at her watch with wide eyes and groaned. It seemed that she had fallen asleep while she was reading the History of Magic book. Bleh. She quickly passed her hand over it to remove the 'stain' which she convinced herself was sweat. It was hot and dark inside the girl's dorm anyway. Hehe. She stood up from the bed and stretched as she proceeded down the Common Room and beyond to look for the others.

Finally reaching the water fountain, she recognized several faces and a few new additions. It was the posse of cool kids. Muaha! "Guuuys!" She bounced over to them with a wide grin on her face. She stopped just a few inches from them and smirked up at the sky, wrapping her own arms around her. "Hmm. Inez is right," she commented, just as she heard the girl speak. "It's getting cold out. And I was just about to ask you what you guys were doing here," she giggled. "Oh! Oh! Josieee!" Josie was just the way she liked to pronounce it as she waved vigorously at the girl and her pet. "And where does Boo think she's going?" She pouted, moving over to Mozzie and looked around. Hmph. Well? She was missing a lot of things for falling asleep while studying.

Eek. And there was Hugo again, whom she timidly waved to, or rather wiggled her fingers over to. Heehee.

Cleo glanced sideways. Someone was making a terrible noise nearby. Her eyes flickered around, and eventually landed on a girl, sitting under a tree. She seemed to be in some distress. Eeeep. She was cursing and sort of...flailing. Maybe she was having a fit. Okay, okay, okay. What was she supposed to do if a student was having a fit?

AAAAAAH.

Oh. She seemed...almost alright. She was dusting her behind with a book, so surely that was a good sign. Cleo decided to leave her alone, but she chanced flashing a small smile at the girl. She looked rather lonely...

Hugo was perching on the edge of the fountain. Most of the kids including Storme were chattering, but he just sort of sat there. Staring at the water. And tried not to be eaten or pushed in by Mozzie. But it appeared she hadn't ACUALLY noticed him. Which was a good thing in a way, becuaes it meant she couldn't threaten to make him feel her 'wrath'. Or whatever it was. He noticed Boo wander off, and waved. "See ya Boo." He liked Boo. She didn't scare him, and she seemed nice enough.

Now there was the person he'd been waiting to see. Hugo sat up straight, and almost fell into the fountain. Pushing a strand of honey coloured hair aside, he grinned at Georgie. Eeee. She was just way too cute when she did that little finger waggle. He waggled his fingers back, and resisted the urge to waggle his eyebrows too.

For Ollie, he never believed that a photograph could ever capture all the colors, even from the dullest of objects. An array of colors existed in everything he looked at and the possibility of catching every tone, every hue, every light reflection was absolutely impossible. Only eyes, he believed, could catch every little color, if one so trained themselves to search it out. No matter how many paintings he did, how many photos he took, he could only catch the rainbows with his own memory, and unfortunately, he knew that even paled in comparison to the real thing. With that thought in mind, he wondered if, years and years from now, he’d still be able to remember Roisin’s hair, and the way the golden sunlight danced upon it and the way the red was so vibrant and bright, and those lighter hues and the darker tones and the way the gold and red mingled to make that gorgeous color.

A nod was his answered, and a few murmured words. “Photography steals the glory.”

Shifting lightly, he sat up a little, lifting his back from the grass and propping his forearms along the ground, bent at the elbow, holding himself up. Cautiously, he peeked out the corner of his eyes, to glance at her hair. The wild mess of untamed curls cascaded everywhere, and looked like licking flames spread round her head in an array of colors. What feeble light existed (so little it was as the clouds rolled in and covered it; large threatening clouds of grey were slowly but surely filling the sky, promising rain in a few hours at most) washed over her and unfortunately, it wasn’t much like it’d been earlier. In fact, the sunlight was almost a silver, with the way the clouds reflected it, though a weak silver quite unlike the strong glow of moon and stars.

How was it possible for such colors to exist in such a small palette? Though certainly, with so much hair it wasn’t SO small, but for golds and reds and auburns and dark reds and almost orange and orange-red and all the such to co-exist so naturally alongside each other, as though they were made for that very curl, befuddled him and amazed him.

It was a few minutes before Ollie realized his gazing at her hair was probably becoming creepy. Tearing his eyes away, they past over hers for a brief moment and he paused, just the briefest of seconds, noticing for the first time their array of colors. What was it with this girl and the most improbable color combinations. Were they grey? Or green? The color was murky, though not in an ugly manner, but a confusing blend that wasn’t quite green and not quite grey. Tippping his head, he contemplated them as he turned to look away.

Were his cheeks pink? Why did he feel so warm? Was he actually flushing? All he’d done was… gazed at her. Ag!

She would probably think him some sort of creeper.

While she waited for his reply, Roísin did nothing but keep looking at the mainly grey sky, which was proving itself to be a hard task. After all, all she wanted to do was to shift her eyes so that they'd stare into his and she could dive into that brown ocean and never come back again. If she could, she'd live in them until the end of time for they provided all the oxygen that she needed to breathe. Whenever she couldn't see them, it was if someone was strangling her. And to have him so near and not looking at them... Well, let's just say it was exceptionally painful.

And there was one more thing that was painful: the wait for his reply. She had no idea whatsoever of what might be going on on that mind of his and oh, how she longed to know!

However, it seemed that once she received an answer, his words did not tell her a thing about his thoughts. Not his thoughts about her at least. "I guess," She whispered loudly. "But how else can someone record an image? Memories fade and for as talented as an artist may be, one can never capture as much detail as a photograph," She sighed, closing her eyes as the following words came out of her lips, now even in a lower tone of voice. "There's nothing like the real thing. If only it could last forever."

If only that moment could last forever...

Slowly, Roísin opened her eyes, only to find Ollie staring at her. Staring at her in such a way that she felt as if he could see right through her, as if he could grasp the true essence of her soul. Ah, those eyes of his were so sweet, so gentle, so beautiful. They were perfect.

At once, she opened her rosed lips slightly as her cheeks returned to that shade they loved to achieve whenever he was around and one of her hands twiched slightly, for it, just like her, yearned to touch his cheek and see if it felt just as smooth as it looked. Still, something told her it did, or perhaps even more than what she imagined. Wasn't he her angel after all? And weren't angels the most gentle of beings? Surely Ollie wouldn't be an exception.

Ah, how good it felt to be the object of Ollie's attention. It was a dream come true, the most amazing dream one could ever have. It was more enchanting than a gorgeous painting or the most heartfelt song. Sadly, every dream has to end. And on Rosie's case, it ended when he looked away from her. Or at least that part of her dream, for the fact that she was next to him with no-one else nearby was an even bigger dream.

"What are you thinking of?," She whispered, before she could stop the words from flowing.

Ooc: Cuz I just beeen bad.

"No You are not, I have an Umberalla," He grinned, opening it and putting it up her.

He had an Umberalla. Oh Yes. Taylor was prepared for it. The moment, He noticed the slight drizzle from teh RavenClaw Tower, He wanted to go in the rain again. The cold was gone and Taylor was read for another trip round the grounds if it rained and He had noticed Grace sitting by the Water Fountain.

So the tiny Barin cells in his head suggested: Umberalla.

OoC: Sorry for such a long wait for a reply. Note to self: KEEP UP WITH OWN RP BETTER! Haha.

Why couldn’t Mozzie and her friends understand the beautiful simplicity of this? Of silence and all the wonders it held. In the far off distance was the song of late-summer insects, singing for whatever their miniscule hearts desired. Through the trees, the wind whistled, a song so soft that if either of them whispered, they might not hear it. Even the grass had a sound of its own, if you listened closely enough. Naturally, of course, all of the sounds worked to the tune of the backdrop of waves lapping over each other in the lake. The sloshing noise had a wonderful lament, of time passed and memories forgotten and scenes untold but of the water itself. Oh, if nature could talk, the stories it could tell, of years and years, generations, memories both seen and forgotten and tales so private they were locked away in minds.

For Ollie, it was easy to become lost in this world of nature’s songs, those that so few people paid heed to. He had to make up for the lack of listeners, he felt. Because of loud, ignorant people, like Mozzie and Boo and Inez and Georgie and even daft Grace, for Taylor and Hugo and everyone who listened only to the voices of themselves and their friends, Ollie had to listen with such intensity, so that nature would never be discouraged and give up.

After all, what kind of world would be one in which silence was existent? What kind of world would be one in which the lack of noise was truly uncomfortable for quiet, shy Ollie?

No, no, he much preferred silence to the superficial bustle of Mozzie and her friends.

So deep in concentration was Ollie, that when Roísin asked him what he was thinking, he truly lost everything he had just thought. All the thoughts and contemplations of silence and the songs wiped from his mind, for being put on the spot like this terribly lost him.

What had he been thinking?

Ironically, Ollie was now in a state of awkward silence – the kind which existed so little in his world. For a few minutes, he searched his mind, trying to find the thoughts he’d just lost. Finally, he lay back into the grass, a small but crooked smile finding its way to his mouth.

“Funny,” he mused softly. “That I was so deep in thought I nearly missed your question and yet, upon being asked, I seem unable to recall whatever musing had me under such a captivating spell.” A light chuckle followed and he folded one arm over his stomach and allowed the other to curl beneath his head as he watched twilight displace the day. “Queer, isn’t it? How that works? If you listen, though, in silence, you can hear nature talking. One day, maybe, I’ll understand what it’s saying; I’ll learn the secrets that the wind whispers and the stories that the water tells and I’ll understand the song that the bugs sing.”

Amusing, wasn’t it, that the thoughts Ollie had lost returned to him as soon as he’d given up on trying to think of them.

Did he dare ask her, though? In such a light, buoyant mood, Ollie dared. “What’s going on within your head, Miss Roísin?”

-------------------------------------------

One careful brow arched over Mozzie’s eyes as she surveyed Josefina. Had the girl honestly requested an… did she say “expedition”? with Nolan? Blinking, she tipped her head, before a curious smile crossed her face. “Nollie cakes might be busy with us but…” Slowly, Mozzie’s grin puckered into a smirk. “Perhaps we’ll spare him some time for Jose the horse?”

Short attention span turning back to Inez, Mozzie shrugged within her oversized hoodie (had it one time been Nollie’s? She could no longer remember). “Not sure when the rain will come,” she emphasized. “Though I’ll wager no longer than an hour. Half an hour minimum.” Suddenly, she was itching to play in the rain again. Perhaps Nolan and Jose would join her! Maybe she could ask Boo… would Tristan come? maybe even Quentin?

When Grace had appeared, though, Mozzie had no idea and let out a shocked cry as the quiet girl spoke up.

“Holy surgar sticks,” she swore, hand over her rapidly pounding heart. “Where in the world did you come from?!”

A dark chuckle was emitted from a particularly silent Gryffindor, who’s lips formed a smirk as his gaze fell upon Mozzie. “Well, see? When a man and a woman love each other… though they don’t necessarily have to be in love…” His smirk grew into a full fledge grin, for the briefest of seconds, as he watched Mozzie’s brows arch into her messy fringe and her lips part in a nearly perfect “o”. Whether she was shocked that he’d said that, or she was shocked that he’d said that, he wasn’t for certain, but the humor of the situation was enough to allow a husky laugh out.

“She’s been here for a little bit,” he explained, glancing over at Grace. Had he really been the only one to notice her come in? How perceptive were the others…?

“Chocoballs,” Mozzie muttered, shaking her head. “Not my fault she slips in like a flipping ghost.” Shaking her head a few more times, she turned back to Georgie, shrugging and waving at the same time. “Took you long enough to make it out here,” she told the girl, before catching that twinkling little wave to Hugo. For a brief moment, Mozzie’s eyes narrowed in a glower and her lips took on the shape of a puckered pout, but quickly, she wiped it away. Fortunately for Hugo, she hadn’t caught his wave back or her eyes would surely have shot daggers at him.

“Boo’s off to find someone to cut her hair,” Tristan explained as he stretched, back muscles flexing as he raised his arms above his head and let his long legs extend out before him again. For people who didn’t look where they were walking, Stormy was a risk factor. Mozzie had taken many spills because of his legs, before. “She’s in a pessimistic mood, so you guys will want to watch out.”

As many of them had learned, Boo became very mean and short (hehe, no pun intended) when in a bad mood. In such a mood, she made even the Black Widow look nice.

Speaking of who, out of the corner of his eye, Tristan spotted Zazu hanging back. She seemed to appear anxious and for that moment, he could not fathom why. Heh. A small smirk crossed his lips, which easily could have been directed towards his friends.

A moment later, his eyes widened and he pulled back, in a rare moment lacking his cool and collected exterior, nearly falling backwards into the fountain as Taylor, who too had been hovering, opened an umbrella, nearly hitting the tall Gryffindor backward.

”MERLIN’S CHOCOLATE FROGS!” yelped Mozzie, spooked yet again by another subtle and overlooked entrance. Who actually carried umbrellas around like that, anyway? A better question begging answer was who actually opened them without warning?

“Try not to kill us, ‘kay, Taylor?” she muttered, heart rapidly racing against her ribs again.

Charms really wasn't one of Mellie's favorite subjects. She found it a bit dull compared to Potions or Care of Magical Creatures, perhaps. So the Hufflepuff was struggling a bit to keep her attention where it rightfully belonged.

That's how the fifth year came to notice that she was no longer alone.

Gaping at Aaron (whose name she still didn't know!), Mellie wondered how long he'd been there. Surely he wasn't there when she'd sat down; that would be terribly humiliating. No, she was quite sure he'd just recently taken a seat next to her.
Now, Mellie was wondering why.

Just ignore him, Mellie told herself, scrambling to regain composure. It was a bit difficult for her to look away, his eyes had this strange ability to hold her's...

But that was quite beside the point. Mellie needed to continue her reading and act as if this strange, mysterious guy wasn't looking at her. Stalking her, basically.

...

Obviously, it wasn't going to work. After a few minutes of trying to concentrate, Mellie realized this. She shut her book and glanced up, feeling shy. "Um, hi," she mumbled, lifting her eyes to Aaron's again.

"Was there something you needed?" A familiar blush seemed to be creeping up her cheeks...

OoC: Eeeeeeeeep!!!! A dark chuckle. A husky laugh. Tristan! -squeeeeee!- I can hear it and... -wheezes-

Inez found herself looking up at the sky again, though this time with more of a glare than before, and sinking more into Quentin's side making herself look smaller and smaller. Stupid rain. Based on what Mozzie was saying, it didn't sound to her like there was a lot of time left.. Or was there? Either way, it was coming! Here to destroy her happiness. Somehow she had always thought it was out to get her. With all it's wetness and dark, dreary clouds and the funny smells and dangerous looking lights in the sky. Terrible--all of it!

With a heavy sigh she looked at Mozzie again and was suddenly struck with curiosity. How did she know all that?? Weren't you only supposed to know when it was gonna rain when it actually did? "Whooooa Mozzie! That transfiguration is really working out for you!"

Even Quentin was a little lost with that one... He hadn't been paying a great deal of attention though... But he thought Mozzie had been talking about the rain.. Ah well.

"Oh hi Grace!!" Inez waved, still remaining close to Quentin's warmer than it not being there side. She smiled brightly. "Ooo I'll go in with you too if it rains! 'Kay?"

But as Tristan spoke, she was once again confused. She looked at him and then glanced at everyone else with expectant eyes, as waiting for a reaction. That way she could join... Gah Tristan was just so random sometimes!

A soft snigger from Quentin was soon joined by Inez's little teddy bear kind of giggle. But it slowly became more and more quiet as, for some reason, her eyes went down to Tristan's outstreched legs. He did that a lot-- she had noted. Maybe noted because she dropped her beloved drink because of those long legs that just so happened to be a hazard to anything walking or crawling on this earth. There should be warning signals for those things! Warning you to not carry a perfectly good drink within the premises. Still a bit bitter Inez?

Placing a hand on her hip she said, "Put those away Tristan Storme!" She looked rather serious. At least for Inez. Or maybe just proud?

Quentin bit his cheek to keep the short chuckle that threatened to escape from coming out. It was odd though... 'Nez wouldn't usually say something like that unless she was in a more... surley sort of mood. She didn't seemed to be perfectly fine today. Happy as usual....

"Hey Georgie.." he said softly. It kept the smirk or chuckle or anything else from showing of coming out. Teehee.

"Eeeeeek!" squeeled Inez with a big, startled jump. "Tayloooor!"

How long was it going to take her to notice his presence? Observant Hufflepuff prefect? Not so much. Maybe he could give her some help, to notice that he was sitting beside her? So, yeah, maybe he could give her some help.

Or maybe not.

A low chuckle escape from him, the moment Aaron saw the look on Prefect Bruns' face. He wasn't scary, was he? He was bored, thus, he only was only playing around, and it wasn't his fault, that Melissa happened to be the first person he saw. Okay, that was a lie, for Aaron had seen a lot of people around the Lake that day--Melissa just happened to be the most, um, appealing one to him. Cough.

She didn't seem to be on the mood to talk to him, though. Was Mrs. Hufflepuff prefect giving him the cold shoulder? Hmpf. He frowned at her; giving him the cold shoulder wasn't very polite. Then again, what did he know about manners? He was the one pretty much stalking her, right now.

What he was not expecting was that his particular frown, would quickly vanish from his face, the moment that her eyes held his. And that blush spreading across her cheeks, was certainly not helping him.

"Not really", He replied, a little hoarsely. Clearing his throat, Aaron went on, "Not having much luck with charms, aren't you, sweerheart?". Oookaayy. Clearing his throat had certainly not been much of a help, considering that his voice was almost as hoarse at it had been just seconds ago. Yes, to his enormous surprise Melissa Bruns had that effect on him. He could already feel his cheeks getting hot...

Look away. Look away now! A voice in his head warned him.

And so he did.

What is he laughing about?! Mellie wondered, annoyed. Though the Hufflepuff felt a bit embarrassed about the whole situation, she didn't think she'd done anything too awkward or humiliating. Definitely nothing that should cause the boy's laughter or teasing.
Aaron had to be the most confusing, irritating person she'd ever met... well, met wasn't really even the right word; he still hadn't properly introduced himself.

If you didn't want anything, why did you even come over here? the fifth year wanted to ask. But that just seemed too rude. Not that he really deserved her politeness...
Instead, Mellie pretty much just continued to stare. Sweetheart?

"I'm fine," she mumbled. "Just distracted. I'd be able to read if you left me alone," Mellie added quietly. Her cheeks were burning. Why did social situations always make her feel so embarrassed??

And now the boy was looking away, avoiding her gaze for some reason. Maybe he's bored now, and wants to leave... the Prefect mused. But part of her (a very small part, mind you) was hoping he wouldn't go.

Wow. This prefect had clearly no sense of humour. Then again, Prefects weren't exactly the funnier people around--more like the most boring crowd. Besides, girls weren't exactly normal; all their mood swings, giggles, and gossip were pretty typical of them.

And apparently, having no sense of humour wasn't the only thing that characterized Melissa Bruns. She was rude, too. Aaron arched an eyebrow at her. "Manners, Melissa", he replied easily, still staring at his hands. It was so much easier to talk to her, when not looking directly at her. "Aren't Prefects supposed to be the ones setting a good example on the rest of the students, Ms. Bruns? Because If I'm right --And I'm pretty sure that I am-- I don't think that rudeness can be count as setting a good example", peeking to see her reaction as a smirk started to play around the corners of his pale lips, he went on, "Besides, I thought that Hufflepuffs were supposed to be the nice and polite ones". Aaron sighed, faking disappointment, "I guess I was wrong"

Aaron Dawking was starting to have fun. Taunting the Hufflepuff prefect was so easy, much easier than he had expected.

Taunting her might become one of his hobbies. Heheh.

"Who?" She repeated dumbly, brown eyes blinking to help her cause. Next to her, Rodolfo was busy sniffling and pawing the earth. Josefina rolled her eyes and tried to resist all urges to turn her pet pig into breakfast in the afternoon.

"I told you. My name is Josefina. Not this horse person."

And why was everyone talking at once? Josefina was getting a headache.

Aiiii.

Adrianna stumbled out of her bed. She apparently had decided to take a nap in the middle of day. "Whose idea was that?" She asked groggily, and than realized that indeed, it had been hers. And now, she was talking to herself, in an empty dormitory. Shaking her head, hoping to clear her mind, she walked into the trunk that laid at the foot of her bed.

Muttering curses to herself as she rubbed her toe, she walked out of the girls dormitory and down into the Ravenclaw common room. Why had she gone and taken a nap? Had she been that tired earlier? And what was she doing before? The girl couldn't remember for some odd reason.