"...okay, so then I headed to the Observatory, and Cela and Theo were already there. You should meet up with us sometimes. I think you'd---..."

LouAnn Purple had been talking a million miles a minute, a trait of her's she'd had since she was old enough to talk. She'd met Jake on the grounds of Hogwarts and both had decided to head to Hogsmeade for a nice little break from school. She'd been telling him all about her visit to the Observatory, when she suddenly glanced up and realized, in her distraction (and probably Jake's, too), they'd taken a wrong turn and ended up...somewhere.

"Erm, Jake...something tells me we're not in Hogsmeade anymore," she mumbled, glancing around at the dark, creepy area they'd wandered into. "Or if we are, this isn't the Hogsmeade I've always been told about. Have you ever been...here...before?" She stopped walking and stood completely still, figuring Jake probably didn't mind their current surroundings as much as she did. He'd probably been here a time or two, she'd assume.

With his hands shoved into his pockets, pink hair falling over his face, Jake tried so very hard to pay attention to LouAnn, but he had the attention span of a gnat, and was kind of focusing on not falling iver (it had been happening alot recently).

But, LouAnn's faltering voice was enough to catch his attention, and the boy glanced up and stopped suddenly. "What in the name of Kazi's licqourice walking stick...?" he muttered, glancing about. "Where...?"

Okay, so apparently he couldn't finish his sentences today. "I... not ever been here..." he murmured, drawing closer to LouAnn without really thinking, his eye catching a movement from further up the alley.

They couldn't be that far, right?

LouAnn stared and stared at Jake, waiting for him to explain exactly where they were and probably start laughing at her for acting like a coward. She wasn't necessarily afraid of the area they were in. She was more or less...concerned. Yes, yes. Concerned, she was. She, and apparently Jake, as well, had never heard of or been to the little area they were now...lost?...in. "You mean, you have no idea...oh..."

Her voice trailed off a little as she realized that the answer to her question was yes, Jake had never been to this little area of wherever-they-were before. She edged a little closer to Jake as he edged a little closer to her, and pretty soon they were shoulder to shoulder---all alone in the dark, creepy alley they'd wandered onto. A shuffling noise just behind her caught her attention, and she whirled around to find absolutely nothing. Nothing but a few trash bins and old boxes of something or another. "What was that?" she asked, her words hurried and her voice shaking a little.

Biting down hard on his lower lip, Jake jumped nearly a foot in the air when LouAnn whirled around. Evil...

"Don't do that," he muttered, being sure to keep his voice down in any case, because... well, Jake was afraid of the dark... pure and simple. And, quite frankly, he was petrified right now. "I dunno what it was," Jake added, his bottom lip trembling, making his thankful for the disguise of the dark. "Maybe if... we turn back... and keep going? Maybe we'll find the main street again... or something," he suggested, hearing his voice wobble. "Can we just get away from here?"

LouAnn nearly jumped a mile high when Jake suddenly jumped and warned her not to...do something or another again. "Do what?" she asked, clearing her throat a few times to hopefully keep her voice from shaking so much the next time she spoke. She glanced over at the Hufflepuff boy next to her, waiting for him to do something to get them out of the mess they'd found themselves in. He looked scared, though. Petrified in fear, even. To be quite honest, LouAnn wasn't feeling very Gryffindor-ish right about now either.

Just up ahead, she saw movement, and a few seconds later a shadowed figure emerged from just behind some trash bins. "Okay, okay...yeah, Jake. Let's get out of here," she said, her voice betraying her and cracking even more than it did before. She grabbed the boy by the hand and pulled him along as she headed back towards the direction they'd come from. Too bad they had to pass by their little vistor on the way out. LouAnn kept her eyes glued to the ground below and made her way in the direction she only hoped was the right one. As she passed by the---whoever it was, the side of her blue jacket swept across his arm. She shivered a little and pulled Jake even faster.

Yummy yummy! Pumpkin pasties were defiantly tasty, that was for sure, no competion what so ever. Jenn reached down into her bag again, walking as she searched through it. If anyone was coming, they would move out of the way. At least, she hoped so.

Of coarse, not looking were you are going does have it's disadvantages when the objects in your way, don't move.

A loud CRASH and a "AH!"could be heard as Jenn came falling down over a trash bin, bag continents spilling out around her. Great. Just great. She started cleaning things up when all of a sudden a fat rat came scuring by. "EEEK!"she cried, jumping up and backing away from the rat. Then it clicked. She looked around, eyes wide. Were in the world was she? This was not like Hogsmeade. It was cold....dark....and wet. And defiantly smelly. EW!

Okay... they were going?

FANTABULOUS!

Jake sped alongside LouAnn and whacked into the bloke who was passing them. "Sorry mate," he muttered, yelping as someone crashed into some buns a little way away. "RUNRUNRUNRUNRUNNNNN LOUANNNN!" he yelled, fearing the monsters that lived under his bed had stalked him to Hogsmeade.

Because LouAnn's hand was tightly clasped around Jake's, she was forced to come to a sudden halt and nearly fell down when Jake ran into that something-or-another. Figure. That's what she called it. She jumped when Jake yelped, then called out to the girl who'd crashed into some bins. "I'd get out if I were you! It's creepy in here!" she said, her voice still shaking. With one last fearful glance at the it Jake had run into, LouAnn dashed out the alleyway and back into the safe, happy streets of Hogsmeade. She ran until she reached the door of Honeyduke's Candy Shop, where she stopped and caught her breath. "I---I need---I need candy," she said. "Come on..."

Jenn's eyes widdened as she started hearing screams....that weren't her own. WHAT WAS GOING ON!? This place was HAUNTED! EEK! She yelped in suprise about the same time as another girl did. Wait...wasn't that Jake with her? What were they doing down here? They looked quite frightened by...something. Jenn looked up, her eyes widdening at the girls suggestion. It's creepy donw here? Nuuuuuu. Really? Of coarse it was! There where RATS here! Ew.

But then, they were gone. Running from....something. What though? Jenn's heart seemed to beat loudly in her chest. What was going on? She jumped and screamed as another rat ran past her. Scooting closer to the wall and trash cans, she closed her eyes. She was terrified of this place. It felt so wierd.....being this scared about a place....but she was. She whimpered pittifully, and wrapped her arms around her legs, pulling out her wand. Whatever it was, wasn't going to get her without a fight....that was if she didn't die of fear first. Her imagination as it was, was already playing games with her, and that made all of it worse. She was....in a way....paralyzed with fear.

Finally, some quiet.

You'd think that living in a castle that big, with acres and acres of open space around it, that a sixth year would be able to find SOME peace and quiet. But no - the castle housed thousands of students and they were in every blasted corner.

At least they weren't here. To THIS alley no one ever came - with good reason. It was spooky to say the least... Shrugging off the ascending shiver in her spine, Rachel sat down just out of sight of the main street, but close enough so that she wasn't too deep inside this creepy place.

Leaning up against the wall and trying to ignore the fact that she was sitting on the very smelly street, she closed her eyes and just thought. About everything.

Because, when it comes down to it, thinking had always been her strongest asset. And when she didn't think - bad things happened.

Walking in Hogsmeade had to be one of the most frustrating things to do. There were other students everywhere as well as witches and wizards and since Reid didn't exactly feel like the hussle and bussle of a busy place right now Hogsmeade was frustrating. Although at least this year he wasn't carrying around a script to get ruined by a puddle!

Spotting an alleyway Reid quickly ducked into it, breathing easily once escaping the crowd of people. Walking along the alley he noted that it was actually quite spooky he soon found himself stopping, sensing a very familiar presence. "Rach?" he asked, looking down and finding the familiar form leaning against the wall.

Rachel's eyes flew open as she heard someone - PLEASE be someone and not someTHING - enter the dark alley. Stiffening, she waited breathlessly until the figure would come closer so that she could see who it was. Her hand nimbly dug around for her wand and she grabbed it tightly, awaiting the moment.

Here they come...

.
Waaaaaaaiiit a minute. That was - "Reid? What... ?" Rachel asked, having jumped as the figure had uttered her name in a VERY familiar voice. Clambering to her feet, the sixth year smiled a small smile at him before tucking her wand back inside her pocket. "What are you doing here?" she completed her sentence, taking a step towards him so that she would be able to see his face.

Reid tensed slightly when Rachel drew her wand, ready to jump out of her way if need be. He relaxed however once she put her wand away, sure that no magical danger was going to come to his person at the moment.

"Escaping the crowds for awhile. That and I find spooky places intriguing." he said, returning her smile with one of his own patented grins. As she stepped closer to him, he fought the urge to take a step back, to limit how close they could come to each other. It wasn't that he didn't want to be near her. More that he did want to be near her but didn't want to make any inappropriate or unwanted gestures.

"What about you? What reason did you have for coming to a place like this?" he asked, waving his arm around in a theatrical fashion before letting it fall limply at his side once more.

Rachel giggled and raised her eyebrows at Reid's answer. "Oh, really? Well then we don't share that particular opinion since I find spooky places just that - spooky," she laughed and eyed the dark alley with slight mistrust. She liked QUIET places - not spooky ones. But when the options were limited she took what she could get.

"Ahhh - now THAT we do share. I needed a quiet place to think and unfortunately, this creepy alley was the only thing that came to mind," the sixth year answered, turning her side to him as she looked around the dark area. She could still here the hustle and bustle of the main street from here but it was like someone had placed a cloth over the alley - muffling all sounds coming from the outside.

And the weird thing? She REALLY liked it. "So how have you been? Haven't seen you since the maze incident," she asked, turning her green-grey eyes back onto his.

... Oh, dear Merlin.

"I'm guessing that you've never been to a real haunted house then. But hey sometimes spooky places can be too much for certain people. At least you aren't terrified to go into them." Reid smirked slightly, seeing the mistrust she had towards the alley. Poor alley. It wasn't it's fault that it looked scary.

"Thinking. That's what you do best isn't it? Or at least you always liked to think." Reid recalled. Rachel wasn't that much of a reckless person, she always seemed to think things through. He admired that though, that she wasn't just someone who did things on the spur of the moment.

"Honestly? Confused." he told her honestly. Her actions confused him a lot on their own but add in his own thoughts and Reid's mind was one big confused mess. That and his classes also sometimes confused him, at least studying for them did. He was never good at studying. "Other than that I've been good though. You?" he asked with real interest.

"If I HAVE to, I will. But out of free will - no way. There's a reason I'm not in Gryffindor, you know," Rachel retorted, shuddering at the mere thought of a REAL haunted house. She didn't know much about ghosts outside Hogwarts - were they all friendly? Or were they all creepy? WHY didn't she know this? After six years in the wizarding world, she still felt like a muggle sometimes.

Ugh - Note to self: GO STUDY GHOSTS!

She couldn't help but blink as Reid repeated her thoughts out loud. Last year, he had done that so many times it had stopped affecting her but after all this time... A huge smile crept onto her face and as hard as she might, she couldn't tone it down. Oh, how embarrassing. "I still enjoy thinking," she answered, her huge grin not only visible to people in China but also audible in her voice.

She was officially pathetic. But then again... Again, she raised her eyes to meet his and almost squealed with happiness as nothing happened. Or, more accurately, her chest didn't hurt like it did for all those months - it didn't hurt. It didn't ache. Not. One. Bit.

!!!

"Con... fused?" she asked, slightly puzzled herself. What type of answer was that? At least he had elaborated. "I've been fine... Doing the usual school things," she replied, pointedly avoiding any mention of her family. "Oh - did you know that I'm the new Ravenclaw beater?" she added with a large smirk and jumped into a beating stance, her arms raised and holding an imaginary bat - which she swung, full force, and missed Reid's nose by about an inch.

"Oops - sorry."

"It's an adrenaline rush though. To be in a place that's actually haunted or has the presence of evil about it. Because you have no control over what'll happen to you. I think it's cool to sink to that level where you act purely on instinct, having no real control on your emotions or actions." Of course he was weird like that and Rachel wasn't weird.

"Wha?" Reid asked not really sure what he'd done to deserve that smile of hers. Sure he was glad that he had but he didn't know why. Which added to his confusion. Everything to do with Rachel was confusing recently since he didn't know why she was reacting the way she was. At least apparently she could look at him without hurting. Right? "Does it still hurt?" Reid unconsciously blurted out, wishing he hadn't the minute he asked.

"Yep. Confused. I think it's a perfectly legitimate answer really." he said, nodding to emphasize his thoughts on being correct. Sure it might be somewhat strange to say that he'd been confused but it was still correct and in line with the parameters of her question. Therefore confused was a legitimate answer. Plus just saying that he'd been confused was easier than explaining why he was confused. At least at the moment it was anyway.

"Congrats Rach," Reid said, smiling down at her, truly happy that she was a beater. "I'll make sure to watch the matches where Ravenclaw plays." To make sure you don't get hurt. To him her being a beater was putting herself in danger, but still it made her happy so he'd go and cheer for her like the good... friend? he was.

Reid blinked slightly in complete and utter shock. Rachel had nearly hit him. He blinked again, letting the thought sink in. She could have broken his nose. Which would be PAINFUL and so not good for his career. Of course if Rachel did it he'd forgive her and deal with it but still. She nearly HIT HIM. Maybe I should have taken that step backwards before.

"It's fine. Really."

"Well, whatever makes you happy, Reid," Rachel replied with a small smirk. He was SO cute... It's no wonder last year happened. They were perfectly balanced - enough similarities so that they can share everything with each other yet just enough differences so that they won't get bored.

Stupid Sienna Spring-Cleaning. . . . Eh? Come on - you HAVE to have something better than THAT up your sleeve!

"What does?" she asked, so happy she didn't have idea what he meant. Oh wait - last time they had strolled in Hogsmeade together she had broken her ankle and as a result had sported VERY impressive bruises for quite a while. Surely he didn't think THAT still hurt, did he? Odd.

Laughing at his defensive manner, the sixth year raised her arms in surrender. "Fine, fine - I never said it wasn't legitimate," she laughed as she lowered her hands, flicking a stray hair out of her face as she chuckled at his expression.

"Oh, you'd better. I will never talk to you again if you won't," she replied playfully, half kidding and half not joking at all as she poked him lightly in the chest. She would LOVE for Reid to be there when she played Quidditch. . . That way, even if she played like a 4 year old, she would know that at least SOMEBODY didn't hate her. Other than the team winning on her expense of course.

Well, at least she hoped he wouldn't. First thing to remember when you want people to support you: don't act beater and swing yourself into their faces.

"Saying that could be dangerous you know." Reid remarked. Whatever makes you happy, were not words to use in some situations. After all various people had different things that made them happy. Lucky for Rachel though he wouldn't actually act on those words and do whatever would make him happy. But then he knew Rachel wouldn't have thought of what somebody could make of those innocent words people used in everyday conversation. It was part of what made them work. They thought of different things but had enough in common that they simply seemed to make up for what the other lacked while what they did have in common was the part where they blended.

Instead of answering he simply gestured between the two of them. Not sure why he wanted an answer. Maybe to reassure himself that he hadn't hurt her too badly. That they could get past the Sienna thing.

"If whether or not you talk to me is on the line then I'll definitely be there to cheer for you." Reid said, shuddering imperceptibly at the half serious threat. Not being able to speak to Rachel was hell. Therefore no game was going to make him go through that hell again. No Siree. "Just maybe not if your team starts to win against Slytherin. Then ya know I may just cheer for Slytherin." After all as much as he still loved Rachel he should show some house loyalty. If they versed Ravenclaw of course since there was a chance that they wouldn't.

"Dangerous? How so? I wouldn't say it unless-" Rachel began, and then almost choked as the word she wanted to say next didn't really want to be uttered.

Eyes widening in surprise, she looked down for a second to get her bearings. This was it - without talking to Livvy, without consulting her uncle, without care for what would happen next - it was time. "Unless I trusted you," she completed her sentence, smiling slightly as she raised her line of vision to his eyes.

Take. A. DEEEEEEEP. Breath.

"Does that answer your question?" she added a few seconds later, having only just realised what he had meant. Of course he would ask that - she had been acting awfully strange... Sad, happy, sad, happy - but not anymore. She had made her decision.

Ahh - Quidditch. The perfect tension breaker. "Deal. You come to ALL my games, and if we're against Slytherin then you can cheer for whichever team you please..." the sixth year nodded with a giggle and a wink.

Suddenly, the games didn't seem so scary.

She trusts me? When she said that the world stopped for a moment before starting again. The smile that was always reserved for Rachel broke out on his face. He was happy. Happier than he had been since the beginning of the Summer.

"Yeah it answers my question." Reid said, meeting her eyes, not looking away for one instant. "But um I have another question if it's ok to ask." Reid continued, nervously running his hand through his hair. Unsure of why he was going to ask her, but knowing that he wanted an answer.

Cute was the only word that came to mind when Rachel giggled and winked like that. His heart warmed slightly knowing that he did that for her. That he could at least get her to a stage where she would act like this. "Deal." Reid agreed in all seriousness, but sporting a small smile of his own.

"I thought it might..." Rachel added softly, with a MASSIVE smile on her face as she gazed up at Reid. Her Reid. Ooooh, that sounded - and felt - very nice. Yep, she was going to like this.

Although if he repeated last summer she would lose it. Seriously.

"Ask away," she replied, leaning back on her ankles as she waited for his question. She was kind of curious really - Reid always had the most interesting questions... They weren't always timed best, but they were certainly interesting. Plus, nothing could get her down at this point - he was coming to Quidditch, they had just made up and even the alley seemed brighter than before.

Nope, nothing could get her down.

The look she was giving him was awfully possessive. Almost as if she owned him or something. Which to be honest she did. Not completely obviously but she owned his heart anyway. Plus along with the possessive looking look Reid would be blind not to see that Rachel looked both happy and relaxed.

Ohh he could ask YAY. "Umm... well see I've been wondering...why um you kissed me in the maze that day. Not that there was anything wrong with you kissing me. Nothing wrong with it at all. Just um yeah..." he trailed off, looking down with a slight blush on his cheeks. Hopefully she didn't find it weird that he asked her that or that he even thought so much about it that he would question her over it.

And he NEVER disappoints.

Rachel bit her lip and looked down at Reid's shoes, hesitant. That was a... complicated question. One that wasn't easy to answer. It was at least thirty seconds before she began moving. Ever so slowly, she lifted her head and - rising on the balls of her feet - gave Reid yet another kiss.

Only this one wasn't on his cheek. Smiling, she pulled away and lowered herself back down - never breaking eye contact. "I don't know why... I guess I kind of like you, Mr. Hemingway," she stated with a small smirk and innocent eyes. "Did it bother you?" she added in an angelic tone, clasping her hands behind her back as she awaited his answer.