Entrance Hall
 

http://www.snitchseeker.com/i/school/entrancehall.png


Welcome to Hogwarts! You enter and leave the castle through two great oak front doors to stand in the majestic Entrance Hall. There are numerous doors and staircases leading off from the hall as well as the four house points hourglasses

Macadrian pulled the heavy oak door shut behind her as she entered the School with Fex in tow behind her, a line of sweat beading up on her brow despite the cool winds from which she'd just stepped out. Glancing around, Macadrian contemplated between popping in the staff room to see if anyone was around, heading straight to her office to begin planning her lessons, or visiting with the Hufflepuffs in their common room to introduce herself. And what to do with Fex?

I really should say hello to my colleagues, but at the same time I'm here to educate those students. But I also have responsibilities to ensure that the Hufflepuff students are getting well adjusted to the School and answer their questions. I don't want them to think I bailed on them because I haven't been present for a few days... but at the same time, I really should set up my office and begin figuring out what I'll assign for homework. But I haven't seen my colleagues in so long, some of the males for over a year, and it would be nice to visit with some fresh faces. And what am I going to do with this goat? I suppose I could just drop him by Fabian's office quickly. Hmmm.

A woman who was known for the ability to make a quick decision with confidence, Macadrian was flustered by her sudden inability to make a simple decision. Unable to choose, Macadrian's brow furrowed in frustration as the tears welled up in her eyes. Had she changed that much? Where was that woman she was last year? Before Belle's School? Before the summer?

He didn't have to walk to far when he spotted a clearly upset Macadrian. "Macadrian, what's wrong?" he asked softly as he strode up to her side and put a comforting arm around her.

Jezz wandered into the entrance hall carrying Ishni. She was kinda tired and not to aware of her surroundings. All of the sudden Ishni jumped off her shoulder and took off running toward the two figures she now saw in front of her. This did not look like a good conversation to interrupt. "Ishni no!" She semi-yelled at the reddish-brown squirrel, attempting to chase him down.

Ishni was sick of being carried around, he wanted to explore, and he smelled someone familiar, someone who smelled funny. Scampering over to the woman who smelled like someone he recognized, Ishni was happy to be free for a moment. For a woodland creature he was slightly unobservant. It wasn't until he was right there that he saw yet another new person that smelled like grass.

As soon as she heard his voice, Macadrian's mood improved considerably. Despite the fact that she'd seen him quite often over the summer, his face was one she never really grew tired of seeing. Well, maybe sometimes but not as often as before. She played down her emotions while leaning into his comforting arm, "Oh Max, I'm fine. Just a bit tired from my travels, I guess. Maybe a bit overwhelmed by how much I have to do, but I'm better being here than anywhere else, especially home alone without any company. I was debating what I should do tonight - work, visit with my Badgers, or pop in to see some colleagues. Any suggestions?" She scratched behind Fex's ears with her free hand as she looked to Max for answers.

"Definitely spend some time with your colleagues," Max said and handed her a clean handkerchief. "That's what I'd do if I were you. Besides, Fabian will be delighted to see you and Fex." He glanced at the goat and grinned.

Macadrian accepted the handkerchief to dab her eyes and her forehead. She smiled a half smile and joked, "Fabian will probably be happier to see the latter than the former. Do you know where he is? I should probably get his goat to him before the man has angina." Macadrian watched as Fex began sniffing the reddish-colored squirrel at Max's feet. Fex was known to eat a lot of things - her research, library books, magazines - usually papergoods. Would he try to eat anything alive? The way he was eyeing that squirrel made Macadrian a bit nervous...

"Staff Room," Max answered and stopped. He was distracted by Macadrian who was staring at a reddish-brown squirrel and then Fex who had his tongue out. Oh, not good. "Fex, no boy," he said as he bent over and picked up the critter. He straightened up and caught a glimpse of Ravenclaw robes. "Is this little guy yours?" he asked Jezz.

Jezz nodded. "I'm sorry he just got away from me. I think he was looking for Mr Masterson, he really likes that guy for some odd reason." She held out her hand for the little guy.

Vindictus grinned as the squirrel jumped into his owner's hands. "Well, Mr. Masterson does smell like acorns so that doesn't surprise me." He laughed at his little joke.

Ishni jumped into Jezzabells hands and ran up the arm of her school robe.

Jezz grinned at Professor Vindictus and said. "Sorry to disrupt your conversation. I'll go now. See you on the pitch, you know while Ravenclaws winning this year." With a last smile she turned and walked back the way she came.

Macadrian watched the entire exchange between Max and the young Ravenclaw student without saying word. It didn't even cross her mind to open her mouth and say hello. Boy, that must have seemed unfriendly. Nice job, Mac. You could have at least told the girl how adorable her squirrel was.

As the student walked away, Macadrian shook her head to snap herself out of her mental berating and replied to Max, "I guess we should head to the staff room then. Is it just you and him there or are there other staff members? Would be nice if I could kill two birds with one stone - drop off Fex with Fabian and spend some time with colleagues. I suppose I'll just visit with the Hufflepuffs tomorrow morning and then get started on my lesson plan. Lead the way."

Macadrian adjusted the heavy bag she was carrying into a more comfortable position and set her eyes toward the Staff Room. As her stomach growled loudly, Macadrian muttered somewhat embarassed, "Sorry. Didn't get a chance to eat much since I left from home." Rummaging around in her bag, Macadrian found a flask of pumpkin juice and took a swig. Ahhhh, sweet sugary goodness.

Fabian descended the moving staircase heading back to the staff room, he kept adjusting his tie, hair, ironing shirt and removing dust from his cloak with the use of his wand.

He came to an abrupt halt when he reached the ground floor, he sure wasn't expecting to find Macadrian in school.. yet. Instinctively his right hand slipped into his pockets to make sure the notes were securely hidden and not poking out for attention. "Macadrian!" he chimed, "its so nice to see you again. How was your journey? Well I hope" he moved closer and beamed gingerly at the sight of Fex, "my dear Fex. I sincerely apologize for leaving you by the gate" he bent down to stroke his goat's head, "I'm completely at fault and i do assure that I'll make it up to you".

Macadrian knew it was him before she's even seen his face. The way he carried himself was so distinct that he was impossible to mistake. With wide eyes, she stared at him as he approached. She knew that she'd arrived earlier than she'd previously planned and that he likely wasn't expecting her, but she couldn't stay away from the School any longer than physically necessary.

She greeted him with a bright smile, "Fabian, equally a pleasure to see you. The journey was brief and without incident. Thankfully I had a traveling partner." She laughed lightly and rubbed the top of Fex's nose, then added, "And he only tried to eat my robes twice the whole time!" Macadrian watched as Fabian spoke to Fex like a doting parent. His attachment to this animal still surprised her from time to time, mainly because he always seemed to care more for this creature than he did for most people around him.

After allowing ample time for Fabian to apologize to his goat, Macadrian asked, "How was your journey here? Did you arrive for the opening feast in time?"

Max kept a firm grasp on Macadrian's arm and resisted the urge to slap Fabian silly for showing too much affection for his pet goat. "Let's get to the Staff room so that you can enjoy a relaxing meal, Macadrian," he said and shook his head at the man. "Are you going to join us, Fabian, or are you going to spend time with the goat?"

"My journey was good" he replied, the moment Macadrian's hand shot towards the goat, Fabian pulled his hand away without being too obvious about his reaction. "Pleased to know everything went smoothly. I really don't know how to thank you" though he was almost but glaring at the woman, "I was at a loss of means on how to bring Fex here without leaving post for a day or two. Thank You Macadrian" he smiled at her as gingerly as he could without showing his annoyance with Max. "Fex is good company, forgive him on the robes, he can't help himself. It would be my pleasure to send you a new set of robes the soonest I can".

"Max" he shot a nod in his friend's direction, when did he leave the staff room? Was he expecting Macadrian? He wanted to ask him but decided against. "Well" he sighed, "your probably tired and need some rest" he glanced at the way they were both holding hands, "I'll take Fex over to my office.. I'll see you both at dinner" he took a good hold over Fex's leash and started moving him towards the stairs again.

"Dinner? You've lost your mind mate - cards. She's going to eat while we play," Max called out at Fabian's retreating back. Shaking his head, he turned his attention back to Macadrian. "Shall we go to the Staff Room?"

"Ah! Cards!" he called over his shoulder, completely forgetting why he was coming down here in the first place. To head back to staff room for a game or two, "I'll be right back down once I settle Fex. I doubt other staff would want him chewing on their robes"

Macadrian pretended not to notice that Fabian withdrew his hand as hers drew near his, albeit unintentionally. And what was with the look?! She just got here so what could she have possibly done this time? And she'd brought him his goat out of concern for both of them, but he still looked unhappy. The man never ceases to amaze me with his odd unpredictability. I really need to read his numbers for the year sooner rather than later.

Speaking cordially but without much emotion, "New robes are not needed, but thank you for offering, Fabian. I suspect it was my own fault for carrying in my pocket the sweets Max bought me in Diagon Alley. If I'd stowed them properly, he probably wouldn't have bothered with my robes."

Macadrian observed the interchange between Max and Fabian and found Fabian's behavior odd, though Max did not seem to detect the slight change in Fabian's demeanor. As Fabian walked away, Macadrian turned to Max and inquired quietly, "Did Fabian seem a bit... strange, to you? Oh, and can we stop in the kitchens before heading to the staff room so I can get some food? Unless you have food in there for the card game already."

"He's been acting strange since . . . well, let's just say I'm getting sick and tired of it," Max said quietly as they walked to the Staff Room. "There is a plate of food waiting for you, and if you need any more, I'll get it for you."

With a small frown on her face, Macadrian thought she knew when Fabian's oddities had begun and it made her feel rather guilty. She sighed heavily, "I'm sorry it has been affecting you too..."

When Max explained that food was already settled, Macadrian smiled gratefully and replied, "Oh Max, you do think of everything, don't you? Always know how to take care of the things I need! I'm more grateful than you know for your assistance, especially now. Let's go play some cards, shall we?" And with her hand resting on his forearm, Macadrian lead the way to the Staff Room.

Tasha practically tumbled down the stars as she tried to stop at the top. As she reached the bottom step, she glanced round the corridor... Great Hall... Classroom... Broom Cupboard! She ran towards the door and yanked it open.

continued from broom cupboard post...
 

Oh, this is stupid... She thought as the clunking of the bucket on the stairs echoed round her. Pulling her wand out and pointing it at the bucket, She said "Wingardium Leviosa!" The bucket raised up and she continued her journey u the stirs, the cupboard door still open.

Ludo walked quietly back into the castle. He always enjoyed visitis to Hogsmede but now it was back to education. But first things first, he needed to go to the Library.

He checked that he still had the book and headed for the grand staircase.

He stepped into the entrance hall with her "Well i dont think ill try out this year but i do love it. I play all the time at home i just want to get some more practice in."

Jinx Moon walked to the Entrance hall with a top hat. She set the hat on the ground.

Jinx Moon had long black hair. Her eyes are green and around the outsid of the green is black. Her skin is pale and soft and she had full red lips which are covered by black lipstick. Jinx had a black skirt on with a black top with fishnet sleaves and a ring for the middle finger attached to each sleave. She aslo had on a studded choker. Her shoes were black silk ballet shoes.

After stretching, Jinx had begun to twirl and dance. She was so graceful she danced with ease. She was hoping to earn some money.

James wlked by Jinx and put three galeons in the hat.

Miranda listened as the gryffindor spoke.
Oh well yes i guess some more practice is always good" she thought about the reason why she was still a bit fuzzy in the head. She smiled, she could se the stairs leading to the commonroom. She sighed sweet warm bed here i come...

"I hope im not keeping you from anything important" Miranda grimaced as they kept on walking

"No its fine i was just on my way up to meet one of my friends but they can wait. What was i supposed to do leave you in the hall?" he laughed.

"Oh," Miranda was feeling a bit dumb when he said that his friends were waiting for him, taking up his time. But she wasnt going to be able to get to her commonroom without help. Chagrinned she said "Well yes you could have, but im so grateful you didnt" she chuckled

OOC: of to the kitchen levels? hehe

Celandine skated after Garret and detoured down the moving staircase, risking that she possibly could get down there fast on her glisseo shoes.

It had been fast.

Cela skidded to a stop and looked around.

Garret was ashamed to admit that he had lost the race to a girl... so just before he rounded the corner into the entrance hall, he slowed his pace to a swagger, stuffed his hands in his pockets and tossed his head a bit so his hair fell over his eyes.

Then he ambled into the entrance hall slowly, "Nobody would ever call me ungentlemanly," he called to Cela as he approached her, "Consider that the one and only time I'll ever let you win."

ooc: gotta go!
 

"I'll keep that in mind." Celandine agreed, "But maybe next time you can charm your shoes and try sliding down the bannisters on the moving staircase too." She grinned at him and tugged his arm, "Come on the trees are waiting!"

Garret found her enthusiasm contagious, and he allowed himself to be dragged along outdoors. The wind was a bit chilly, but he was quite warm under his uniform and robes. And if they got a bit cold later, climbing trees would soon warm them up again.

"'S'not like they're going anywhere!" he laughed as they stepped outside.

OOC: okay, PM me when you reply wherever... I've got some tutorial prep to do as well! Eek!

Macadrian had her shawl wrapped around her shoulders and a peppermint imp in her mouth. As she reached the entrance hall from the staircase, she contemplated whether she should make a stop in the kitchens before heading out, but decided against it. Her candies would sustain her for a short walk. Hopefully.

Using all her weight to pull open the heavy doors, Macadrian stepped through them and exited onto the grounds.

Freya had been following Carracio, the entire time she had kept a good ten feet between the two of them. She looked around the Entrance Hall, her vision was still blurring up a bit, but she wasn't quite as dizzy. Hopefully she would remain that way. Freya looked up from the floor and noticed that Carracio was examining his hands, they looked very red, and were probably painful. She caught up a little bit and spoke up, "Sir? Are you alright?" She eyed his hands again, as well as the mark on his head, "I didn't think anyone could burn worse than me until just now."

Freya continued to make her way through the room, for a moment sliding her hand against the wall next to her to help with balance. "But couldn't that be hazardous?" Freya asked him after thinking for a moment, sounding more like she would if she lived at home, her normal worried self. "What if the new potion has a toxic effect?...All I use is SPF95 lotion." 'Well, that's all fine and dandy, Freya. But he's not exactly you.'

"How did you know what ingredients to use in the first place?" Freya asked, once again her curiousity beating her. 'Must be some harsh condition for others to be involved with it.' "Sorry if I get on your nerves, I speak before I think a lot." 'That and I just can't help myself.' "I'm sure you have moments where you find yourself speaking before a thought even comes to your mind?" Freya shook her head slightly, her head still hurt...a lot.

"I had... at one time. I still do occasionally, if I become over-emotional. As for what ingredients to use, that's what potions lessons are for." He smirked to her as he made his way into the main hallways.

ooc: posting first floor corridors next

Helena stepped into the Entrance Hall from the Great Hall, not paying to much attention to where she was going. It was a wonder she didn't run into anybody. She didn't know exactly where she would end up, but Helena made went in the first door she saw, nonetheless, happy to find it unlocked.

(continued in classroom 11)

Jose walked out of the great hall and looked around for Hellena. He saw her enter this room so he followed her. He was wondering where Hellena was going.

"Yes please, I think I like the hufflepuff table" he smiled she sure looked pritty, he thought to himself. "Well let's go and have something to eat"

Helena smiled, her pale pink lips forming a perfect semi-circle. She blinked slowly once in reassurance before stepping into the Great Hall.

(ooc: please post first at the HP table :D)

"WOOHOO!" Garret shouted as he slid through the open doors and into the brightly lit entrance hall. He coughed from the cold and bent over, panting as he regained his breath. Cela may be a girl, but she was a good sport and he had been wanting a good friend to do all this stuff with for ages now!

Cela let out a little shriek as she slid on her glisseo shoes, past Garret and directly into the door to the Great Hall. She bounced off and landed on her back, giggling hysterically and not at all concerned about bumps or bruises.

"Ooohh I forgot I had brakes." She hauled herself to her knees and tried to catch her breath but it was a little hard between giggles. "Time to refuel." Celandine announced after a moment, reaching into her pocket and pulling out a somewhat battered looking paper bag. She reached inside it and rummaged around a bit before withdrawing a handful of candy, which she promptly shoved in her mouth. Still on her knees, she offered the bag to Garret with a grin.

"You can have some if you promise not to tell my brother it has real sugar in it!"

Garret watched her whiz past him, laughing unabashedly as she landed gracelessly on her behind. He bounded over to where she now sat in front of the Great Hall and joined her on the floor, sitting cross legged as he reached for the colourful... mesmerizing contents of her bag of sweets.

"I promise as long as you promise not to tell anyone you levitated me today." he grinned at her as he unwrapped a sweet. He probably shouldn't be eating sweets with real sugar in them, not with his braces still on and his mum putting him on probation.

"I promise; but why does it matter?" Celandine asked curiously between mouthfuls, "Is it a Hufflepuff thing or a boy thing?" She peered at him, "How come you have metal on your teeth? It looks kind of cool; like robot teeth."

She shoved another handful of candy in her mouth with a blissful expression on her face. Really it wasn't the smartest of locations to be stuffing her face with sugar; at least in her own commons or the girls bathroom, Nicholai wouldn't have a chance of finding out. She turned her gaze on Garret thoughtfully; hehe. She could always blame the Hufflepuff. Nico would totally believe that.

"Do you really want to slide down the moving staircase with me Garret? You aren't just joking are you because I really want to do it!" Cela looked at him imploringly, a small sugary gleam beginning to take shape in her eyes.

Garret bared his teeth at her to show off the metal, "Me mum's idea of a punishment, I guess, she said it's me own fault for not takin' care of me teeth so she got me the muggle remedy instead of just charming me teeth right."

He pushed himself to his feet and brushed his now sticky hands off on his robes, "Yeh, why would I joke about slidin' down stairs, ya know wot I mean?"

"Well, muggles are awesome. And the metal is all shiny and stuff. So its neat." Celandine said earnestly.

"Good!" Cela enthused, reaching her hand out for Garret to help her up, while she stuffed the remaining lollies back in her pocket. "Lets go now then; unless you aren't up to it!" She challenged.

Garret looked down at her outstretched hand haughtily, "Me, not up to slidin' down some stairs? HAH!" He grabbed her hand and hauled her none-too-gently to her feet, "Says the girl in the prissy outfit." he pointed to her skirt, a mocking all over his face,

Cela let out a slight eeeep! as Garret hauled her to her feet and she slid a little on her shoes before righting herself. She looked down at her skirt in consternation. "What? Skirts are great! You can spin and they go all puffy around you and it keeps you cool and you can carry stuff in it." She smoothed down her uniform skirt and made a slight face at Garret, "Don't think it would suit you though." She spinned around in illustration. "Anyway; if your up to it lets do it!" She grinned at him and took off toward the moving staircase, skating on her glisseo shoesies as quickly as she could.

Casting his blue eyes heavenward as she prattled on about girly nonsense, Garret wondered again why he couldn't find a boy at Hogwarts who wanted to slide down staircases and climb trees. Were they all pansies or just in hiding? "Girls in skirts shouldn't run around," he called as he followed her to the staircase, "You could fall and scrape your knees," he sneered, "girls don't like that, do they?"

"Nowhere in particular." Evolette said with a shrug, sliding her arm through his as they walked out out of the Great Hall. "I was sure that I was about to fall asleep sitting there." she confessed with a delicate yawn.

"Thank you again for my present, I really do love it." she added, clutching the black box in her hand. "Funny though, I had not pinned you as a present person." smirking, she brushed her hair off of her shoulder and shrugged, "Maybe I was wrong."

Tia wandered into the entrance hall and sighed she hated being alone where were all of her friends and why was facing leaving Hogwarts so tough

Penny walked into the Great Hall reading her letter agian and not paying any attention to where she was going on walked right into someone. She fell backwards. "Oh Jeez. I am sorry." she said standing up.

Tia smiled at the girl and said "Hey no harm done right?"

"None, here how about you?" Penny asked the girl. She could not believe that she had done that.

Tia smiled and "No damage done here either, My name is Tia Ivanov and yours is?"

Penny smiled back at the girl. "I am Penny Smith. Nice to meet you." she said. She thought for a second. "Again I am sorry. I should have been watching where I was going." she said.

Tia smiled and said "Nice to meet you Penny and do not worry about it I sometimes do the same when i am not looking where I am going"

Penny sighed in relief. "Now I don't feel to bad." she said with a giggle.

Tia smiled and said "So how have you found this term so far Penny"

"Ah.." she thought, "interesting." That what really the only work that Penny could think of. Cause it most certinly has been.

Tia nodded and said "It certainly has been interesting"

"By far." Penny agreed with a smile. "Mine started on the train." she told the girl. "How about yours?" she asked.

"I wish I could sleep." Nicholai admitted ruefully, giving her arm a squeeze. He nodded and looked down at the box, "I'm not, really. But Evolette you are such a good friend to me and I've been so caught up with my own... whatever you want to call it." Nico shrugged, "Not that I'm trying to buy you off or anything. And I expect you are rarely wrong."

"Please don't tell me that you aren't sleeping at all." she said, clinging tighter to his arm, "Because then I won't be able to sleep, and instead stay awake wondering if you are okay." she whined a little to make it sound more like she cared about her own sleeping habits more than his, but she knew he would see through that very quickly.

She nodded, "I supposed I am never wrong." she agreed with a haughty sniff, tossing him a smirk.

"I sleep with artifical aid." Nicholai shrugged, "Dreamless sleep potion." The dreamless part being the most important aspect of that. He grinned at her whining tone, "Well then we will just have to keep each other company at night then, won't we?"

"You never fail to cheer me up either, Evolette."

Evolette nodded, she should have used one of those when she had had those sad dreams about Hugo, but now that they were best friends again, she was positive that they would go away.

"Oh yes, good times in the common room." She added, wagging her eyebrows at him with a chuckle. "Hmm, then I guess my job is done. I can't have a depressed partner in crime now can I?"

"Of course not." Nicholai nodded in agreement and squeezed her arm gladly, "Let's go for a walk." Nicholai turned Evolette and led her toward the stairs.

Evolette turned as he directed her towards the stairs, tucking a few loose curls behind her ear, her blue eyes found him again, "So, tell me, how is everything in Nicholai land? Besides the obvious." she added almost under her breath.

Tia smiled at Penny and said "Well for sure mine is interesting cause i wasn't well at the beginning of term so i missed the train and had to make my own way up to school"

Camira walked over to the entrance hall and waited. This is where they were all supposed to be meeting up, right? She hoped that's what her owl had said. She kind of didn't remember now. Oh well. She would see in a few minutes.

Anna headed down from the Common Room to the ground floor, clutching in her hand the clue Astrid had given her. She hoped Astrid would be able to make it, as well, but the young Gryffindor wasn't too sure if her busy schedule would allow her to meet up with the rest of the treasure hunt gang. Anna rounded the corner and stepped into the entrance hall, looking around for any other group members. Maybe she was the first to arrive...oh, no. Wait. There's Camira. Anna headed over to the Slytherin girl. "Hey, Camira," Anna greeted. "It's just us so far, I guess."

Camira looked up at a voice greeting her. It was Anna. Good, maybe that meant the rest of the group would be along soon. She didn't have all day. "Yep, it looks that way. I hope everyone found their clues. Though I think it's quite obvious what the clue is. At least the one that Tia found." Where was the girl, by the way?

Nancy was slowly walking up from the Dungeons a smile spread across her face. Finally the weird face paint from her last History of Magic-lesson was gone and she had changed as well. Ew. The whole digging thing had just been sooo useless, but apart from that it had also been totally gross. Fossils? They had been supposed to be digging for fossils? Not even anything interesting like the treasure or something. Sigh.

Almost bumping into someone Nancy made a weird movement that sort of looked like it belonged into some dance-performance, she managed to avoid to actually run into the someone. Looking up Nancy realized that the certain someone was "Camira!" Nancy's smile widened at the sight of the older Slytherin.

Will entered the entrance hall. Ah, this must be a treasure thing. he thought, a bit relieved. He and Camira had never quite finished their conversation about the fact that she -- unless he misinterpreted her - maybe had feelings for him, and so he was a little nervous that this meeting was about that. In fact, to ensure that it wasn't a one on one meeting, Will had even asked little Seymour to join then in entrance hall, too. He knew it probably wasn't the most manly thing to do, but talk about things like feelings made him all twitchy. Especially around pretty girls. Pretty and DANGEROUS girls with dark arts pasts like Camira? Yipes. But apparently he'd lucked out and wouldn't have to talk about squishy mushy feeling stuff. Treasure, that was more his speed.

"Hullo, Camira... everyone... what's going on?" he asked, eyebrow raised in what he hoped was a cool yet nonchalant pose.

Oh sure. He came to talk about treasure, but when she had tried to talk to him that one time, he'd disappeared. She sighed, remembering how she'd waited for a half an hour. Stupid. "Mr. Jones", she said, giving him a curt nod. "We're waiting for the other house reps to arrive, after which I believe we'll be sharing our clues", she said evenly, before turning to Nancy.

"Hey! You should definitely stick around, by the way. This is about the treasure, and since you helped search for it, you know..." And, that way she'd have a Slythie to talk to that wasn't Will. Since she apparently repulsed him so much that he had to run away from her.

"Dang." Penny said. If she would have missed the train she would not have been here.

Uhoh. 'Mister Jones.' He was in trooooouble.

He walked over to Camira and spoke to her in a low tone. "Thank you for inviting me along to this... and... er.. I'm sorry. About the other day. I was a jerk." There. Pop always said that saying 'I'm Sorry and I was a Jerk' was just one of those things that a Man's Gotta Do whenever a woman was mad at him. Even if you haven't the faintest clue what she's mad about, always immediately admit culpability and apologize, and you can head off a lot of hassle, that was the wisdom Officer Jones had passed on to his only son, and he took it to heart.

"Forgive me?" he said, giving her his very best Cruppy Dog eyes.

She sighed and pretended to look at her nails. Should she forgive him? What he did was a big deal, to her anyways. Finally, she looked up at him. "No", she said simply. She felt guilty. She'd never been mean to Will before, but she couldn't keep doing this. Letting guys get away with whatever they wanted because she was afraid to lose their company. "You're here because I thought it would be unfair not to notify you, seeing as you were the original discoverer, that is it."

Looking back and forth between the guy who had just arrived and Camira Nancy had to suppress a sigh. She so sucked at keeping track of all of Camira's boy problems, she should probably write them down somewhere...talking about boy problems, what had happened to Dominic? Meh, okay, she needed to wait for that question to be answered since this obviously definitely wasn't the time to ask Camira about it. Which meant, wait.

Beaming at Camira Nancy said, "Great! So, whom are we waiting for?" Yes, yes, yes! She was able to be of use again! Her feet felt like she couldn't suppress the bouncing for too long anymore. Glancing around the entrance hall in anticipation Nancy waited for Camira's answer.

Oh. Nancy was talking to her. "Uh, well, probably the other 2/3 of the Gryffindor trio", she said, giving Anna a smirk, "and Kaika and Dominic, and Cela and Barry, I believe. And Tia, since she has the map." She was pretty sure that was everyone. If not, then the other people coming were obviously not important, because Camira didn't remember them.

"Oh." Will said, looking rather crushed. Which is how he felt. He really liked Camira, and now apparently she hated him. At least she hadn't cursed him, that he knew of. He looked down at the ground and shuffled his feet, uncomfortable. " M'kay, yeah. I am sorry though. Really." He couldn't look at her. Why were girls so complicated with all their feelings and stuff, and smelling all pretty and soft and wanting to know if you liked them or liiiiked-them liked them and all, and wanting to actually oh-Merlin-no TALK about it? It made his stomach all flip-floppy and he felt torn and confused.

Better to focus on treasure. He slunk away from Camira and leaned on a wall to listen to what the group was saying, trying to ignore the fact that his heart felt like it had been dropped into the bottom of his guts.

Seymour bounced into the entrance hall and made a beeline for Will, grinning ear to ear. This is when the action would start happening. If clues had been found, they could properly start their quest--battling off dragons and demons and whatnot. Woot.

"Sire!" he squeaked, skidding to a halt and beginning to bounce on the spot. "Sire, what's going on? Have we found clues? Are we getting ready to start trying to find the treasure? Are we plotting a way to destroy the giant fanged flying puffskein you fought at the beginning of term that might be guarding the treasure?" he asked, eyes huge. He took a breath and actually looked at his surroundings for a moment, his grin fading slightly. "What's wrong, sire? You look... disheartened. Upset." Had that horrible Anna person taken the treasure already? Were they... too late?

Oh God. He looked like a kid who's puppy had just been killed in front of him. She bit her lip to keep from saying anything, mainly forgiving him, becauseshe really wanted to.

She watched him walk away from her, and it was horrible. She felt like...ugh, she couldn't even describe it. "When is everyone coming? I have things to do", she said loudly, wanting nothing more than to leave right now. And she'd have to put up with seeing Dominic. This was going to be a hell of a day.

She turned and took another look at Will and sighed. She couldn't believe she was going to do this. She walked over to him, face expressionless. "Look, I know you're sorry. I...it's fine, ok. Just...it was rude, letting me wait for you to come back. I could have been doing homework or something. You should have just told me you didn't like me and that would have been that. It wouldn't have been a big deal." Okay, she was lying. Of course it would have been a big deal. Whatever, he didn't need to know that.

And that was when she realized Seymour was there. Great. Just great. Could she disappear now?

"I... I'm fine." he said, trying his best to not look like someone just snapped his wand. "I'm not sure what all is going on around here yet, though-- I barely got here mys--"

He hung his head. Ok, she was right that it was rude. And he needed her on his side, especially in this treasure hunt... He glanced up, giving her his most pathetically endearing expression. "I know. You're right." Ah, every woman's favorite phrase. "Except... I do like you. I just-- er... could we talk about this later, privately?" his ears were bright red and his cheeks flushed with embarrassment. "It's kind of awkward... in front of everyone...."

Nodding as Camira listed the people that were still expected to come Nancy went them through again in her head, trying to put faces to the names. Kaika was the one from the Whomping Willow, right? The one Camira was talking to about Dominic. The Gryffies were obvious, who didn't know them? But who were Bar-

The was the moment some cute little Slytherin boy bounced up to them all hyper about the upcoming treasure hunt. Grinning at the boy Nancy said, "Hey!" He was weird somehow, though. Cute but weird. Who was he calling "sire"? And above all, why was he doing that? Huh?

Tia smiled and said "Hey not that i mind i loved the journey i had it was so much fun"

Seymour looked from Camira to Will and back, blinking slightly. What exactly was going on? Were they talking about the treasure, or something else? His grin faded completely and turned into a very worried expression. "Sire? Forgive me, sire, but you don't look... fine. Is there anything I can do to help?"

He looked over his shoulder and turned around quickly, bowing deeply to whoever that was-- he didn't recognize her. Giving a limp wave as he straightened, he turned back to Will, still ridiculously concerned.

Penny smile. "That is all that counts then, huh." she said.

Tia smiled and said "Yeah it is Penny"

Will shook his head at Seymour. "No, nothing you can do. But thanks." he smiled at the boy and shrugged a little as if to say Camira's the only one who can help here...

"Lets see, I met up with my best friend from my last schol on the train. I had not seen him in almost 2 years." Penny told Tia.

Tia smiled and said "That must have been pretty good for you Penny"