He grinned. Wesley was a little clueless, wasn't she?
Oh wait. Why is she sticking her hand out like that?
A little alarmed, Jimbo let her put her hand on his forehead - he even bent down and everything - but then she got all...not happy. Even if she wasn't showing it much, he could tell. Besides, the girl wore her heart on her sleeve. Her emotions weren't that hard to decipher.

It was the Huffie thing, wasn't it? In his experience, Huffies don't like being called Huffies. Then again, he usually called them Huffies when they were already angry at him.


HA! HE WINS! VICTORY! The prefect was on HIS side, not even on that of her fellow housemate. He, the sneaky Slytherin, wins. And "Anastasia", the Huffy Huffie, does NOT. As always, (not really) he is victorious.

Hm? Cry?
Ooh, right, he was crying. Tear, tear.
Taking the hankerchief he wiped at his eyes dramatically. "Thank you for believing in me, Wesley. I was really was worried I would get detention. I've never been in detention." Wow. He never knew he could act so well. Maybe he should take it up.

Hm. Dungbomb gone, but the stink remains. He wasn't sure how he felt about that. But he was evil-y happy that StazHuffie still had to endure the smell. He was really enjoying her anger right now. Served her right for sneaking up on him.

HA! HA! OH MY LORD! No one has EVER taken his side! Not even MONTY! Especially not Monty. This is great, this is fantastic. Someone on his side, what a feeling! He was really going to enjoy this as long as he could. He had to keep Wesley on his side. He liked the idea she had of him. It could be advantageous.

"That's right, Puffle. An invisibility cloak. Or a charm. NO LIES." In her FACE.
Wait. No lies?
Whoa. Maybe this was a bit much. Wesley believed he was a really good boy. Maybe he shouldn't be lying.

Crap. He was starting to get a conscience. Why did it always turn up at the worst of times?
But he knew how to deal with this.

Sticking his hand in his pocket, he took out a handful of candy and began stuffing as much as he could into his mouth. Suffocate the conscience with candy. That was the solution.

Anastasia was stupefied. Was Wesley really going to buy Jimbo's fake cry! Honestly there are no tears coming out of his eyes!

Anastasia was flabbergasted by Jimbo at this point, was he really going to go through all of this just to prevent detention? And even if he didn't get detention..

"With all due respect, but would mind shutting off you're fake act?" Anastasia said in a calm tone.

She wasn't going to stand here and let him get away with this, he was going admit it whether he liked it or not and no matter how mad the smell got Anastasia wasn't planning on moving.

However.. while she was thinking how much she hated Jimbo she couldn't help but think about how tall he was.. After all she only 4'9..
Strangely she kinda liked it.. BUT This was no time to get side tracked about "a boy". Oh man.. now she was thinking about him.. Ew. ewewew NO! stop it!

"You know you threw it! I know you know that you threw that dungbomb at me and you should stop being a brat!!"

Anastasia was quit annoyed now and just wanted this be over with..

Melanie's eyes widened as she heard someone calling her name. Attention deterred from the delicious smell drifting from the kitchen she whirled around to see... "Treyen!" If he wasn't going to say hi and how are you, neither was she. Melanie did offer him a cheery smile, though. She was in a good mood. After all, she didn't mind him interrupting the time she had allotted for nothingness.

At his question, her smile faltered for a moment, because... Well, Melanie honestly couldn't believe he didn't know the answer already. The tournament bracket wasn't exactly too difficult to understand or find out about. Melanie opened her mouth to reply, but ended up clamping it shut as he explained why he thought to ask the question and... blahblahblah. She only half-listened to the rest of what Treyen had to say.

Finally, there was a pause in the conversation. The Captain waited a second or two, just to be sure he was finished this time, before answering. "Yeah, there's a possibility. The winner of the Gryffindor vs. Slytherin game will face Ravenclaw... And then, the winner of that game will earn a spot against us in the Championships."

Go on, Captain, answer, answer.

Then his eyes widened in surprise. Ellie had been right all along? She'd been right about it? Well, that should've been obvious to Treyen, since she was a Ravenclaw and all, but he still wanted the answer to be a negative one. He...didn't know how to deal with the positive side of it.

All color left his face. If there had been any to begin with.

"Oh." The boy turned his eyes away from the Captain and let them settle on the Corridor. He...needed someplace to sit. Like, soon. "Are you...sure?" If the final answer was 'Yes', then Slytherin needed to win this match for sure. And then beat Ravenclaw. Or Gryffindor needed to win, and then beat Ravenclaw. Yes, those were the options. OR Ellie should remain being a Keeper. Yes, totally.

He wasn't looking at her now?

...

Well... Hm.

Melanie really wished she could read Treyen's mind sometimes. "Yes, I'm positive." she replied confidently, with a little nod. "Why?" She was confused, clearly. After all, they had already faced Ravenclaw. The 'claws had to change seekers last time, but still; it shouldn't be too bad if they were to face them again, considering the progress of the game before their seeker crashed into the stands. Yet the mention that they may possibly be going against Ravenclaw once again left Treyen staring down the corridor, drained of color. Strange boy. Melanie really hoped he wasn’t ill.

Whaaat?! NOOOOOOO!

Or, hmmm, yes, whatever.

"Oh." Again. He was feeling very talkative after such news, indeed. So, Ellie had actually been right. Okay. He was more than ready to head to the Common Room or something when his Captain asked him 'Why?'. And he, pretty much froze.

Treyen knew the reason, he just didn't know why said reason was there. And Arya was wrong, no matter what. His eyes flickered from Melanie to the Corridor, as if making sure no one could be...listening. Yes, we're being paranoid now. "I...," he started to say, and then straightened himself up, he is a Lockhart, and Lockharts are strong people, no? Well, not all. "Don't take this the wrong way...," like what she'd done with the Jake situation, "...as much as I seriously want Ellie to win, I just don't want to play against her," and he could go on, and on, but he noticed he didn't word the sentence right, "Ravenclaw!" he exclaimed, eyes widening a bit once more, "I meant to say...Ravenclaw."

Yes, not Ellie. Just Ravenclaw. Gilderoy's former House.

Oh, and yes, he was blushing, but let's pretend it was hard to see with...all that Corridor lighting.

Eirian had been pacing up and down the kitchen corridor for some time, hoping that her love would emerge from the Hufflepuff Common Room - or perhaps appear with the intentions of returning to it - and run into her. They had to talk... She had to come clean. There were reasons beyond cold feet that kept her from marrying him like she had planned to, and he deserved to know why. But poor Thiago... She had lied to him so many times. There was no way that he would stay with her once she told him everything... Eirian had walked up to the kitchens as an engaged girl, and she only expected to return to her own Common Room in the dungeons as a single lady.

"Is this how it ends?" she asked herself, eyes watering. It would be... Wouldn't it?

Thiago tossed a small, colored, woven ball that the kids on the streets of Rio sold as he walked back toward his common room, catching it easily, up and down, repeatedly. He was in a good mood. The days were getting warmer and warmer and it wouldn't be long before spring, and he had everything he wanted... no, needed- just... not exactly in the way he foresaw things unfolding. Still, life was good. And it got far, far better when he reached the last set of steps and saw his love at the bottom of them. He took them with a carefree grin, taking her hand at the bottom and leaning into kiss her- And his face halted an inch from hers when he saw the look in her eyes. He pulled back immediately and took her other hand as well. "Querida, que e isso?" He said, falling into his mother tongue- he spoke without thinking and remembering to speak English, so instinctual was this. For Eiri never wore her heart on her sleeve.

Dear Merlin, there he was. Now that he was there, Eirian was positive that she didn't know herself; she didn't want him to be here. Not now... Not when she had made up her mind to come clean. That grin was what killed her, though, as Thiago came down the stairs and leaned in to kiss her. With a guilty grimace, she waited for his lips to meet hers and for the regret to well in her stomach. But, as his eyes met hers, he must have seen that very look. He pulled away and asked of her expression in Portuguese, which her mind turned over, making it English and then Portuguese again. What language did she even think in anymore? It was just a mess these days... just like her. "Guilt," Eiri answered softly. "It is guilt... So much of it..." Taking a deep breath, she bit her lower lip and continued. "I... I have to confess to things... I have kept so much from you."

Thiago arched his eyebrow. He didn't say anything for a very long time. He had known. Not what her secrets were, but that she had them. He felt his mind still as he tried to place what emotion was burgeoning inside of him. It took him a while until he realized. It was fear. Nothing but fear, and it climbed up his chest and into his throat and tightened the corners of his mouth almost imperceptibly. He nodded finally, and pulled her down next to him as he sat on the step. "Alright. I'll listen to all you have to say. And in the end, it'll all be okay, I promise." He kissed her forehead, and smiled, holding her hands.

So, Treyen wanted Ravenclaw to win Game 5, because this girl he was friends with was on the team. Melanie got that.

But he didn't want to play against... who? His friend, or Ravenclaw? Treyen did say it was Ravenclaw... But, this once, Melanie wasn't entirely sure she believed him. She may not have caught sight of the blush coloring his cheeks, but the Captain would have to have been partially blind not to take notice of the way his eyes widened as he realized what he said... Melanie's (slightly flawed) logic told he he'd just said something he didn't want to say. As to why Treyen didn't want to admit that he didn't want to play against the Ravenclaw girl...? Melanie hadn't the faintest idea.

She frowned slightly as she cast a thoughtful look at Treyen, staring at him and trying to think of something helpful to say for a moment, before opening her mouth to reply. "Treyen, you make an awesome keeper. That didn't change when we played Ravenclaw in the last game and I'm sure it won't if we end up facing them in the Championships. Believe in your own skills and try not to let yourself get worked up." she finished, a soft smile replacing her frown.

Oh Merlin. The silence... His blank look... It was murder. Why was he so quiet? Why wasn't he saying anything? What could he possibly be thinking!? Thiago never thought bad of her. He never second-guessed her, never saw the evil in her soul that she focused on so often. But... Was he judging her now? It seemed as if an eternity passed until he spoke again, and Eiri nearly imploded with relief. At least he talked! As long as he talked... "Thank you," she whispered, eyes watering as bile gathered in the back of her throat. "I hate myself," Eirian whispered. "I hate myself for being so... So..."

Was there even a word for that? She couldn't think of one in English. No one had taught her how to say that... Not here, anyway. And she couldn't bear to mutter it in Portuguese... that would make it seem all the more real. "I cheated on you, Thiago." There it was... Great. He was all but gone now. "With Jayce. Twice... I really did not have my head on straight either time. I... If you know what I mean..." Gulp... "But that does not excuse anything. It was over the summer... right after my grandmother died. I was not thinking straight, and Jayce was there and... And I still love you! But I know very well that I cannot expect you to forgive me or love me or marry me... I do not really want to get married! I just want you to know because you deserve to know how wretched I am. You deserve to have a chance to escape."

It's funny how when a catalyst enters your world, your mind, a few seconds before imploding, takes logical and proactive steps, protecting your well-being. Thiago contemplated that, as his hands removed themselves from Eiri's. He didn't want to hurt her, and he couldn't account for what he'd do. He almost laughed aloud at that though, but honestly, he didn't feel like laughing. He felt his knees come up and his arms wrap around his legs, as if this barrier would keep the information from anything except the most logical part of his mind. He rested his chin on his knees and looked at the girl, looked at her hard. Merlin, but she was beautiful. She would always be beautiful. It wasn't a consolation.

"I wish..." He sighed, and cut off the sentence there. He felt tears sting his eyes. That was unexpected- he always had to cope with rage. With his swinging, painful temper.. but it wouldn't come. He needed it, because maybe then he could hide behind it. But everywhere he called on that rage he found despair. "I wish I could hate you." He said, hating how his voice sounded, how you could hear the tears in it. He swallowed, steadying it. "And I wish that I could call you the most horrible names... and I wish I could be angry, and throw everything that reminds me of you away, and bring up all of your flaws, and I wish..." He looked up. "I wish I hadn't trusted you. I wish I hadn't come to this godforsaken country where everyone is afraid to feel. I wish... I wish you loved me." He felt bitterness creep into his tone. "I always felt I was living on borrowed time, you know. I always knew that one day you'd realize that a dona like you has no business with a street rat like me. I should have understood that when you left Brasil... that would be the day. I should have let you go, Eiri, because merlin knows I'm not good enough for you." He felt the tears coming again, and he talked with more force to keep them at bay. "And now you've found yourself someone of your stature, and you threw me away, and you probably laughed that I was naive enough to want to marry you. I guess it's funny to you that sitting here even now, you are the only one I want to be with because it's only ever been you. It is funny, when you think about it. Pathetic, really." He knew he was rambling, but he couldn't find the reins on his mouth in the tumult. He finally found them, and fell silent. And a single tear rolled down his cheek as he watched her, the only one he could ever contemplate loving. "I should hate you. I want to hate you. Dammit, Eiri, why won't you let me hate you?"

He had every right to be upset. He had every reason to cry and hate her and say mean things. But... But by Merlin! She couldn't stand anything he was saying! She hated it all! Eirian could feel every hair on her body standing on edge. She could hear her teeth grinding together and feel her fists clenching on their own accord. She could sense every change in her body, including the heartbeat in her ears which seemed to be picking up speed. She was going to explode. She was going to bloody explode!

"Oh my God," she laughed quietly, voice steeped in that old Brazilian accent she had almost taught herself to get rid of for those who were a bit hard of hearing. "Oh my bloody God!" Blood rushed to her cheeks as her voice rose in volume and pitch. "Thiago, what the hell!? Hate me! Loathe me! I deserve it! Call me names and leave me! You are above me.. so much above me! If you think for one second that this is about you being from the streets, you do not know me! I am a lot of things, but I am not an elitist and I am not a snob! For Merlin's sake, Jayce is a dirt poor boy without a father! His mother abandoned him and honestly, she does not do anything to support them even now that they are together. If you think there is a leap between his social status and yours, you are severely wrong. And if you think that it matters to me, you are beyond severely wrong!" With a wail, she began crying, tears coursing down her cheeks as she continued to yell. "You are so much better than me, Thi! So much better! And I love you! I love you so much! I have never laughed at you... I have always adored you! But... but you deserve so much better... You deserve to hate me and leave me! Everyone who is worth anything leaves me... It is your turn now."

"You know, when I was a kid, I always kind of assumed that when someone cheated on me, they kind of forfeited the right to be angry and defend their paramour. But then..." He raked a hand through his hair. "If anyone would prove me wrong on that one, lord knows it would be you. And lord knows that I have learned from you not to follow my preconceptions." He sighed, chuckling slightly, and listened to her yelling at him. When she'd finished he looked up at her. "At least I can appreciate the irony. Now, can I defend myself?" Without waiting for the answer, he plowed ahead.

"I did not think that you think you are above me because I'm poor. I did not think that you think yourself above me at all. I'm saying that I think you are above me. That's it. Promise. Although..." His eyes flashed. "I don't want to listen to you defend Jayce right now. I really don't. I'm going to ask you to allow me that- god, stop crying." He stood up and looked at her. "We've made mistakes, okay? You've screwed up, so what? I'm not leaving. I'm mad. I'm hurt. I'm in more pain then I've been in a while, but querida, I'm always going to love you. I followed you everywhere, and you can leave me if you'd like, but I'm never going to stop loving you. So if your alright with it, I'd like to work through this. For which I need you less hysterical, darling." He didn't want to scare her, so she just offered her his hand.

Frowning? Why was Melanie frowning?!

Was she considering leaving him OUT of the Quidditch team because he'd made the awful mistake of...speaking the truth? See, that's why he had lied about Jake. Though, the Captain was a smart one, because she hadn't given Treyen any Beater's bat, not even during try-outs, that was totally his idea.

Then again, he was innocent enough not to kill anyone with a bat, everyone knew the Bludger had a mind of its own, no?

Truth be told, he wasn't even worried about all that previous stuff, not even on being left out of the team, but on Melanie saying something similar to what Arya had said a couple months ago. That's why he breathed in relief when his Captain started to speak again.

'That didn't change when we played Ravenclaw in the last game'. Well, yes, obviously, because Ellie had also been Keeper.

For some strange reason he was thinking of Miranda at the moment, and the very small talk they had when he had considered quitting. "What? No, I'm not worried about my skills," he said, straightening up again, and being SUPER modest, right? His mind was having a conversation of its own thanks to the whole Miranda-talk. Back then, his reaction had been 'Lockharts didn't quit'. And now, he was starting to believe that it was entirely silly to worry over something which certainty was questionable.

So, what if they got to play against Ravenclaw? He was supposed to have fun with Quidditch, no? Then, he should. Have fun. So, what if Ellie managed to make him lose some focus on the game? Well, probably nothing would happen, except, maybe, Ravenclaw scoring a bit more. But what was so wrong with that? Er, both Miranda and Melanie wouldn't like that, certainly, but he wouldn't mind. So, what if Arya, like Ellie, had been right all along?

Treyen couldn't even answer that in his head, but there was a smile on his face.

"You know what, Captain? There's really nothing to worry about, it's only Quidditch," he shrugged, still holding that smile, "It's not like that trophy is the most important thing in the world." It was quite possible that Melanie would think otherwise.

The boy looked around once more before speaking again, "Thanks, Miranda...," no, wait, "...Melanie, I mean." Because he'd been playing that other conversation over and over in his head and he managed to get the current names mixed up. "I have your Potions textbook, by the way, I thought you guys had way more difficult potions to work on, but they seem simpler than I expected them to be." Well, clearly, that Quidditch matter was no longer in his mind.

IF Ravenclaw played against them, then that meant he'll be able to see the redhead a bit more. Now, he was actually hoping that such a thing happened.

Maybe Arya was right. Maybe.

Eirian seethed as Thiago kept his cool. What did she need to do to solicit a proper reaction, for Merlin's sake!? Was he even human!? Up until now she had always thought that she had understood her love - at least understood human nature. But now.. Now Eiri wondered if there could even be defined human nature! This was against everything that had ever been written, ever been experienced, ever been felt. Thi's rather mild reaction to this was like a pit settling in her stomach, growing into a blossom of brooding anger. "I am not defending anyone but you," she hissed, her tongue sharp on each consonant as she struggled to hold in her rage. "Defending Jay?" Was that what it seemed like? "You were comparing yourself to him, as if he was better than you because you were a beggar child! He was no better, and he is no better than you! I love you! I made many mistakes. I let myself get too close. All the mistakes were mine... But he is no better than you, and neither am I! I am so below you... I am not even the dirt you walk upon. And no, I am not alright with working through this! You should never trust me... you should not love me."

Stepping back, Eirian wrapped her arms about her, trying not to fall to pieces. Sobs no longer played with her diaphragm, torturing her lungs with strenuous gasps, but she had already broken like a mirror into a thousand pieces. He didn't know what was good for him... He didn't know how to let go. It had always been more than her - Thiago had never given anything up. Nothing except Brasil. Perhaps it was because he was just as abandoned as she thought she was... Leaving and being left hurt like Hell. But if it was to get away from her, then it was for the best.

Everyone else who had left her had been reunited in heaven, right? That had always been for the best.

"I expected you to leave me," Eirian whispered, looking down at her shoes. "Because I thought you had a sense of self-preservation... I thought you would go because you knew when to quit. I believed that you would do what was right for you." Why did he put this daunting task upon her when he was the one with the terrifyingly sound reason? "I am not leaving you for Jayce," Eiri continued, wiping tears out of her eyes. "I would never, Thi... Never. And even if I could bring myself to be so despicable, take comfort... He is done with me. I have finally chased him away, too. He wants nothing to do with me... and he has the right idea." With another step back, the Slytherin puffed out her cheeks and dug her teeth into her fleshy lower lip. "I am leaving you for you... because for right now, it is what is best for you. I want you so much and I love you so much, Thiago, but you deserve better than me. I can change myself! But... but you do not deserve this... And I do not deserve you..."

Thiago heaved a sigh that whistled through his lungs painfully. He felt empty, drained. Like all that he believed in was gone from the world, diminished and danced away. He listened to her quietly though his heart splintered apart. He knew where this was going. He heard this story a million times, and it ended with self sacrifice that felt a lot more like self preservation. He looked at her. He smiled at her, because other wise, the familiar trembling underneath his skin was beginning, something he had not dealt with in years, not since those first months with Eiri. She'd fixed him- she'd seen who he was, and repaired the broken parts- how to keep his sickening, destructive self quelled. And she was refusing the same thing- the help he wanted to return, long over due.

"Of course I don't bloody trust you. Of course not. But Eiri, You are a good person. And you lost someone and your life tumulted and this happens to half the couples on this earth. You aren't a bad person. Weak, maybe, but bah-" He threw his arms into the air. "We're all weak. That's what it means to be human. What you need to understand is that I love you. I gave up so much, and I'm not going to throw it away. You made me a better person then who I was before." He broke off, and stared at the walls. "Can't you see that I hate this place? I hate that everything is made of stone and darkness. I hate that people treat each other like glass, and I don't belong in a tie, Eiri. but I'm doing it all- and happier for it, too- because of you."

He stepped towards her as she stepped away. He heard the blood in his ears, he stopped breathing, he hated it, hated it all. "Eirian Vaughn. If you want to leave me, then go. then we'll never see each other again. I'll get a job til I can afford a way back h-." He stopped. He didn't have a home. "Until I can afford being on my own. I'll leave and then one day my temper will come back, and then I'll find a wife no where near as strong as you, and I'll be happy enough, and I'll be fine. I will be. But there isn't a single part of me that won't want you everyday and every night of my life. Because you're it, kid. You're the only one who I could ever want, and I don't want to live like that. I don't care that you made a mistake. You grow from mistakes. But if you leave me...." His voice started to tremble, a precursor not to tears, but to the rage he had fought and feared so long- and he had the good sense to step back before it consumed him, so it wouldn't touch her. "Then don't you tell me It's for my own good! Being led to an existance that leads most men to suicide before they can even know what life is about! It's my life. MINE. And If I choose to share it with you, then it's because THAT is what is bloody best for me. You don't get to decide that. The moment I raise my hand to you, run away and don't come back. The moment I grow dull to you, break it to me gently. But not now, not because you think you know What I need. No one does, Eiri. Not even you." He shouted the whole thing- but it wasn't him. He was barely concious of it. Eiri, the only one who could lull the beast to sleep, had woken it, in her attempts to pull away. Deep down in the corner of his brain where he still lived rationally, he regretted this more than anything.

Er... If he wasn't worried about his skills on the pitch, what was he worried about? Some sort of disease carried only by Ravenclaws? ...something to do with his friend? Or, uhhh... WAIT! What? Nothing? NOTHING? If he felt there was nothing to worry about, why on earth was she trying to get him to stop worrying? Or was there something to worry about earlier, and now there wasn't?... because...

MELANIE WAS SOOOO CONFUSED.

He looked relatively happy now, though. So, that was good. At least she didn't have to worry about him. Much (Y'know, because quidditch was not only quidditch and, while the trophy was probably not the most important thing in the world, Melanie felt it was at least one of the top three. Or at least, winning was, and the trophy came with that. If it helped Treyen calm himself to think that it wasn't though, Melanie was perfectly happy let him continue to think that way.)

She smiled pleasantly back at Treyen as she noted his grin. Her smile widened, as he thanked her... Well, thanked Miranda, and then her. Hehe. Melanie couldn't help but wonder if anything she'd said actually helped. The girl figured, logically, that something that exited her mouth must have been of some use if she made him think of Miranda, though. "You're welcome." she replied brightly, beaming.

... Melanie ended up with an expression of shocked disbelieve on her face at what he said next, her eyes widening quite a bit and her eyebrows going up. EEEEP. Her Potions book! She'd been looking for it everywhere! "Nuh-uh! Treyen, how long have to had it?" No, wait, she didn't care about that! "Or, oh, no, never mind that... Do you have it with you?" She needed that book. Without it, it was inevitable that she would fail. With it, there was hope she might scrape by with an Acceptable!

Pfffft, silly Treyen, and he thought the potions looked simple. She gave him a look. "You're making me feel stupid." Yeaaaah. Just so he knew.

Eirian opened her mouth to argue, but as Thiago powered through his speech, his voice raised and her own shrank, taking another step back as he advanced forward. She knew he wouldn't hurt her - he never could. But the unreasonable fear engulfed her again. He had been so different when they had met... He had been so angry... If there was any time that he was close to that past self, it was now. It scared her, how he had changed so quickly. Suddenly, she couldn't think of any words in English or Portuguese, and there was nothing left to say. "Thi," she murmured, biting her lip as tears rolled down her cheeks silently. "I... I love you... But I have to go now."

She didn't mean to leave him forever... and she sincerely hoped he knew that. But Eirian couldn't stand there any longer. He was frightening her, and the one thing she thought she was doing selflessly ended up being the last straw to it all. Wrapping her arms about her, the Brasileira sobbed and walked up the stairs from whence Thiago had came. She didn't know where she was going, but anywhere was better than here.

'You're welcome'. And he nodded. Good they had everything sorted out. Or, well, nothing was sorted out, but he was feeling way much better.

Oh.

The book! Of course! It seemed Melanie was in need of it, and he oh-so-expected that she'd say she didn't.

The book? Where was the book? Right there on his backpack, because he'd been taking notes again. Sierra didn't know, but he was working full time on that potion. "Oh, I've had it since...," never mind, right. The boy took his backpack from the ground and opened it, spotting in an instant Melanie's book. "Here it is." He smiled as he took the textbook out and almost unwillingly gave it to her, "I've had it with me since...forever, really, I've been looking for you for quite a while now." Clearly, he hadn't been looking very much.

But, hey! What was that look for? He was giving her the book back, wasn't he? Oh. Blink. Blink. "Do you need help with...Potions?" he asked, tilting his head to one side, "I could help you, if you'd like." There was a slight shrug to his shoulders, he didn't mind. Distractions, while no longer needed, were always welcome.

Thiago watched her go. He watched her turn away, and thought, in his muddled mind, of all the other times she had walked away from him, from the minuscule- times she kissed him goodnight and went away- to the infinitely large- when she'd left and they didn't see each other for two years.

Merlin. He had seen the fear in her eyes. Seen it, he'd practically smelled it, and he didn't know how he could ever fix that. His professor always told him that once you unleash the force of yourself on a person, they lose their trust in you. And trust, the only thing he could not give her now, was to one thing the duo needed. And duo is something he'd never be again. Because if he wasn't with Eiri, he was alone. That's how he'd always known it would be. He slid down the wall nearby, and looked up at the stairs where he had seen her go. Gone. Meaning. Happiness. Worth. It all seemed to drift with her, and he didn't believe, not for a minute, that she would come back. Hopelessness drew over him, quiet and cold. She wouldn't come back. She'd grown bored of him. She'd grown afraid. She'd forgotten her promise and she'd forgotten his. She'd given them up. And she took one more thing as well. She took Thi. He would always be there, clinging to her, and Thiago remained alone. Remained bitter. Remained angry. Or, perhaps, returned.

Melanie took the book from him, holding it to her side. She stared down at the textbook for a moment, as if checking for damages, before looking up and returning Treyen's smile. "You said you've had it for a while..." ...and that he'd been searching for her. Melanie doubted she was hard to find, considering she spent the majority of her time wandering the grounds, or in the common room. She shrugged it off, though. "Did you read the whole book?" Melanie typically used her textbooks for studying specific things, or referencing material, simply because she felt there were better things out there to read. With Treyen she couldn't help but wonder, though, out of simple curiosity.

"Oh. Uhm." That was Melanie's first reaction when he suggested the he could help her with Potions. She had never really considered getting help for the class before, though it was her worst subject. Now, with the offer up in the air, she pondered it. Melanie knew she could probably use the help... However, "I think I'll be okay just studying." At least, Melanie hoped so. "If I have a question about something Potions related I'll be sure to bother you first though." she assured him, with a small grin.

A smile!

Had Melanie been checking the book for damages?! Did she not know how great he took care of books!? She didn't, probably, but still. He could almost feel insulted, but he didn't. It was alright, really.

Mmmmhmmm. Yes, he'd had it for a while, and he was more than positive that she had no idea when her book had gone missing. Haha. At least she was a focused Captain. Treyen nodded, "Actually, I did." He was in need of distractions, and this happened to be light reading, so, he read it. "It kind of helped with a potion I'm working on," yes, he didn't say 'we', though, the collaboration part was there, "Since, you know, advanced Potions and whatnot."

Okay. The boy nodded, once, "It's alright, honestly, just let me know if you need some clarifications." Totally. Because how much help can she need if she's a NEWT level student? Only minor clarifications for sure.

At first Melanie wasn't quite sure whether to believe him or not, but Treyen seemed very sure of himself. She didn't know whether to be amused or irritated that he kept it long enough to read it, in all honesty. Melanie's face still held a small smile on it, though. "I guess that's cool if textbooks are the sort of thing you enjoy reading..." she trailed off, rocking on her feet a little, before speaking again. "You're working on a potion?" Ooooooh, interesting! "What kind of a potion?" Melanie asked, curiosity evident on her face. She didn't know Treyen was working at an advanced level! Melanie was fairly sure she wasn't. Even if she knew most of the information at this point, she wasn't the greatest at actually putting Potions together. Hence the reason it was her worst subject. Meh.

The girl simply nodded at his last comment. Nod, nod, nod.