Yeah i'm glad too she said with a smile.Yeah your right and you know He going to feel old agian,Yeah he will she said with a smile.Do you want grab a bite to eat i'm straving.

" You go meet your friend" Willam told Ariadne." Talk your time, friends are important" Willaim said to Ariadne. "We will see you at the table later" Willaim smiled.

" Ok, we will practice later" Willaim told Tayla,

Boyfriend.
Boyfriend.
BOYFRIEND!
The House prefect had just scolded Ruby for yelling at her… boyfriend. Meaning him - Brae.
UWAAAAAAAAAAAAAHAAAAAAHAHAHA!!
His plan was working even BETTER than he had expected! Not only did people now think that Ruby had an obsessive crush on the Gryffindork, but they thought the two little lions were dating as well!

Oh, Merlin. COULD this possibly get any better?! I think not.
Despite the throbbing pain on his foot (which still had him limping as he crawled out of the portrait hole with Ruby at his side), Braeden could not stop laughing as he walked out into the seventh floor corridor. There were tears in his eyes, and they were no longer from the physical pain Ruby had caused him, but from the HILARITY of this situation. Everything was going perfectly. Braeden could not have possibly asked for his evil plan to have worked out any better than this. The boy gave Ruby the most mocking of looks as he grinned stupidly to himself, only coming to a halt as they approached the stairs, right next to Lachlan the Lanky.

"Wai--… wait a second… I need… I need to breathe…" said the boy between deep breaths. All the laughter had left him rather breathless. Hehehehehehehhe. Oh, this was too rich.

"Well, my dear girlfriend, I hope you realized by now I'm not seriously taking you to the lake. You'd drown me," he said, "Now, all I need you to do - and I will take the photos off from the common room and take back the rumours - is apologize." The boy then raised his dark eyebrows expectantly at Ruby. Surely she'd apologize now, wouldn't she?

Ruby's face was beyond red--both from anger and embarrassment. She couldn't believe her ears as she heard Brae laughing his pants off as they entered the 7th floor corridor. She wanted to throw something heavy at him but nothing was in her reach at the moment. Perhaps if she had enough strength in her, she could rip off once of those statues and hurl it at him--that would give her immense pleasure.

When Brae finally stopped in front of Lachlan the Lanky to take a few breaths, Ruby took a wack at him now that she was free of his tightening grip. "You--sick--dog!" She said, hitting him as she said each word. "I can't believe you! You'll pay for this, Stonem, and you'll pay very dearly. Mark my words," She said hoarsely, and breathing hard from all the yelling and wacking she had been doing.

And then--and then he had the nerve to ask her to APOLOGIZE?! Oh Merlin. This boy was beyond demented. He was never meant for the world, this one. Oh no. Ruby shook her head at him, the normal color to her face returning. "Are you serious? Me? Apologize? And to YOU of all people?!" She cackled loudly, like a true witch. "Now. Give me that picture before I break that pretty little face of yours," She said firmly. The redhead stuck out her hand, waiting for Brae to surrender.

OW! Ow, ow… OW! "Wha-- you-- HEY!"
Poor Braeden had to jump a mile back to get far enough from Ruby that she couldn't reach him anymore. She was crazy! And horribly abusive too. Sheesh. He already felt pity for her future children.

However, horrified as the boy was, he was still on troll mode. And he would continue to be that way until Ruby finally apologizes for all the pain and abuse she's put him through.

As Ruby asked for the photograph, Braeden merely smirked and shook his head. "That is one thing I can't do for you, sugarplum," he said sweetly, always making sure to take as many steps back as possible every time Ruby approached him. He would like to keep his 'pretty little face', thank you very much. "'Pretty'?" the boy repeated, dark eyebrows raising. "Aw shucks… you're always so sweet and full of compliments, love. Please, you're going to make me blush!" he asked of her, putting on an act of typical-flustered-teenage-girl, before dropping it and instead cackling like the little villain he felt like at that moment.

"If you want the picture, you're going to have to apologize for all your abuse, Ruby," said the boy simply, waving the infamous photograph around, teasing the redhead with it. "C'mon, say it. 'Soooorry' … say it! 'I'm soooorryyy," he said slowly, as if Ruby was just now learning how to pronounce the word.

The color rose to Ruby's face again as she was called, sugarplum and love. Did the time the spent apart somehow give Goofball the strength to be brave in front of her? This was all so perplexing and Ruby's head was spinning. But she still needed to know information. Like how Brae had gotten a hold of that picture.

She approached him but crossed her arms so he could see that she wasn't about to hit him again [s]though she was itching to[/i]. Giving him her characteristic eyeroll, Ruby didn't like how he was mocking her. It was true, though, she wasn't the apologizing kind. In fact, she couldn't remember the last time she had apologized to anyone. As if she was going to break that streak now, and for someone as pathetic as Braeden. "The day I apologize to you will be a sad day indeed." She continued to glare at him. "Now, I can see you won't do anything unless you get something in return. Seeing how I will not apologize, ever why don't we negotiate with something else?" She grinned in spite of herself. A bag of marshmallows would probably make him happy.

Braeden knew Ruby far too well by this point to trust being near her even if she did cross her arms. So, as the girl stood there rolling her eyes at him, he remained a safe distance away, waiting expectantly for her apology. SURELY she would apologize. All that took was two words, and she would never have to deal with him again. Brae was pretty sure he was giving her the deal of the century here - she got away with punching, kicking, and abusing him just with saying two words. And he would let it all go.

But it seemed apologizing was the last thing on Ruby's mind.
Braeden's jaw dropped to the floor.
How could she reject such a deal!? Aw, c'mon! He might as well have asked her to merely breathe or blink to get out of this mess! He couldn't have possibly asked for something simpler! But, it seemed, with Ruby nothing could ever be simple.

"Negotiate what? All I'm asking for is a measly apology!" said the boy, brows furrowing at the stubborn girl. "I can't possibly ask you for anything simpler than that!"

Hmmm.
No.
Braeden Stonem was determined. He wanted that apology! And he would get it even if it was the last thing he did! But first he'd have to convince Ruby somehow.

"Fine, I'll ask for something else," he suddenly said, crossing his arms back at the redheaded girl. "Since apologizing is apparently too much for you, then I'm going to have to ask for something else…" He allowed his brown eyes to wander to the picture he was still holding in one of his hands before turning back to Ruby. "Y'know, the day this picture was taken, we had to cut our date short because our parents had come to look for us. Luckily for us, there are no parents at Hogwarts," he began with a malicious grin (which looked rather odd on Brae, really; who would have ever imagined he was capable of being malicious?), "So I'm going to have to ask you to let me take you out on a nice, proper date. And then I'll take back the pictures and the rumours and you won't see me again unless it's completely necessary," he promised.

That should scare the pants off the stubborn girl, surely she'd apologize now!

Ruby pretended to admire her nails (which were pathetically short and crooked, for a girl) while he went on about an apology being measly. Well, it wasn't measly to her! She was already planning on going to Hogsmeade whenever they were allowed to go next and buying him a nice, fat bag of multicolored marshmallows when his new negotiation caught her by surprise.

She looked up at him, open-mouthed. What?! A date?! This was too much--she'd rather die now. So this left her between two fires--apologizing for doing absolutely nothing wrong (it seemed that way to her, at least) or going on an actual date (she shuddered as she thought this) with Marshmallow. She held her stomach in disgust, almost puking at the thoughts going through her head. "You--I'll never forget this," She said, whilst thinking fast on the spot. So there was no way he was going to make another deal and both of her options right now were too appalling to even think about. But at the same time, she didn't know which was worse. Ruby bit her lip and watched him, eyes narrowed. She closed her eyes and made up her mind, wishing she had never put herself in this position.

"Fine," She said finally, in a defeated sort of voice. "I'll...I'll go on a date with you. BUT. You have to promise to bring that picture with you to the date so I can make sure you're going to keep your word. I'll burn it myself," She said through gritted teeth. She would have to go paint Brae's face on her pillow later and then punch it wildly to take all her anger out--he really knew how to torture an evil lioness.

Braeden was looking pretty smug (even with his black-and-blue bandaid-covered nose) as Ruby thought about the options he had left her with: either apologizing, or going on a date with him. Her choice was beyond obvious: of course she'd choose the apology! All that took was two little words! A date, on the other hand… well, that meant spending a whole day with her biggest, worst enemy. Braeden had this. HE HAD THIS. Ruby Abigail Blair was going to apologize - MWAHAHA!! - and he was going to rub it in her face for as long as they liv--

And then she agreed to go on a date with him.

WHAT?!

Braeden's jaw almost literally hit the floor when the girl agreed, his brown eyes going wide as saucers and his dark eyebrows disappearing in his hairline.
WHAT?!?!?! Was she… was she crazy?! She was going to go on a date with him of all people-- HEY HEY NOW. I'm not THAT bad of a date! Sheesh. Well, with her worst enemy of all people, just to NOT apologize? Braeden might as well have asked her to swallow poison.

Hmmm.
"Very well, I can do that," agreed the boy with a nod. Though he was already, of course, planning to keep another copy of the photograph in his wallet. There was NO WAY he was seriously going to walk out of this completely empty-handed. Who knew when the picture might come in handy again!? Besides… he kinda liked it.

"Tomorrow, then," said the boy. "I'll pick you up" - as in, walk over to the girls' dormitories -snort- - "tomorrow at six. Don't be late." He held up the photograph once again and waved it around teasingly, a lopsided grin on his face, "Or this will be, not only all over the common room, but all over the school." MWAAAAAHAHAHAAHA!! Who dares say Braeden Stonem can't play dirty now?! Huh? HUH?!

She couldn't believe she was doing this--it was utmost torture...but apologizing would have been worse. Especially since she really DIDN'T know how to apologize. Really, she couldn't even say the word---S-s-o----BLEH. Brae might have thought it was comical when he was 'teaching' her how to say those two words but she could use the lesson. Pfft, who apologized these days anyway? Only losers.

When he agreed to her terms, it never dawned to her that he might try to double cross her because he simply wasn't that smart. So she took his word for it and at once gave him a LOOK when he spoke about picking her up. "We live in the same bloody place, Marshmallow, or has that piece of information escaped your poorly developed brain?" She said with annoyance, even angrier when he started waving the picture around in her face. Leave it to him to talk nonsense. Maybe she could disguise herself so no one could tell she was actually going on a date with him...she had to save her dignity.

"Whatever," She threw her hands up in the air, in grim defeat. "Tomorrow, at 6, I'll meet you." "So I can die," she muttered under her breath. She turned to go but whipped around once again. "Don't forget that picture," She warned him threateningly, giving him an angry gaze. Then she turned around promptly, making her way back to the Common Room.

"Meanwhile, I'm going to burn down those bulletin boards," She said loudly, one hand reaching for her wand which was stored in her back pocket. But it occurred to her that Brae could simply duplicate the picture and post it everywhere again. ... Oh well, as long as she didn't have to stare at them while she walked up to dormitories tonight, she was fine. Ruby shuddered at her own thoughts. And to think, she had been so happy when she had punched his face.

Braeden couldn't stop grinning to himself like the doof he was as he watched Ruby basically breathe fire at him, nagging and insulting him the way she so often did. Oh, that would never get old. Was it really wrong or weird that he found it so incredibly amusing and entertaining to watch her be completely angry, completely frustrated because she no longer had control over a situation? D'awwwwwwww, she was so cute, he could've just pinched her cheeks. But he didn't, in fear of having his hands bitten off.

"What, forget this treasure?" said the boy as Ruby warned him not to forget the picture. "I would never. I'll keep it near and close to my heart, always," he said melodramatically before pulling the collar of his shirt and allowing the picture to fall in, now all cozied up under his shirt. BWAHAHAHAHA! Watch Ruby puke when she next holds the picture… BWAHAHA!! Though she should be grateful he didn't at least stuff it in his pants. He'd thought about that, but figured it would've been too much.

As Ruby then went on to inform her tormentor that she was going to burn down the bulletin boards, Braeden merely grinned at her. He didn't really care, he still had that extra copy that he could duplicate as many times as he wanted. And as long as it was in his shirt, no one could ever take it away. Not even Ruby. She'd never dare go anywhere near his chest. The picture was safe. "You have fun with that, love. I'll be looking forward to our date, sugarplum!" he called after her, louder than necessary just to make sure everyone on the seventh floor heard. HEHEHE.

And with that, the boy headed down the stairs, his steps light and full of energy as he mentally cheered for his victory over the wild, redheaded Gryffindor Lioness.

Cassie ran up the stairs to the seventh floor, sweat and tears washing her face. Perhaps for the first time in as long as she could remember her hair was a down right mess but she didn't care. She just needed to find her best friend and that meant she needed to get into the Gryffindor Common room. If only she could find it.

Frustrated and heart broken she slid down against the wall and pulled her knees up and cried soaking the knees of her jeans.

She really needed Brynn.

He wandered up to the seventh floor and sat at the feet of Lachlan the Lanky. he knew the Gryffindor common room was around here somewhere he just wasn't sure where but a nearby portrait of a fat lady was giving him the evil eye almost as though she knew exactly who he was and had been expecting him to show up round here. He leaned back against the base of the statue and waited. He wasn't even sure she would speak to him but he had to try, He had been a Jerk and he knew it.

Hugging her broom to her chest and a letter from her brothers in the other, Kurumi made her way back from the pitch towards the common room. She had managed one last practice in before the match against Ravenclaw the next day and had found herself surprisingly comfortable on the broom. She decided that it had to do with the fact that it had been a gift from not just her captain, but from someone who had been like an older brother to her from her first day at Hogwarts.

As she turned the corner, Kurumi saw Connor standing there looking like he was trying to have some sort of psychic conversation with the Fat Lady. "I don't think Legilimens works on portraits," she said softly to make her presence known. She hugged her broom tighter.

Connor turned, he was surprised to see Kurumi standing there. He was glad to but surprised at the same time. "I wouldn't even know how to do Legillimens!" He laughed softly. He looked up at her, kinda grinning a little. "Let me guess, bonding with the broom?" he gestured toward her broomstick. He could remember offering at one point to teach her to fly and that being turned down. He shrugged it off. "I'm glad you're here Kurumi. I was a jerk that day at the lake. I should have just spoken up about what was bothering me instead of going off on you and then turning tail and acting like an idiot." He stood and walked over to her, putting his hands in his pockets when he would have tried to hug her. "I should have just come right out and told you that being excluded from the skating lessons hurt my feelings."

"You could say that," she nodded looking at the handle and rubbing her hand over Simon's signiture. "I am going to need all the help I can get." She felt her stomach tie in knots. "R-Ravenclaw is a tough team..."

Kurumi's heart raced a bit when she saw his smile. It was something that she hadn't seen for a long time, winter vacation aside. He had always been so serious around her recently. Not just serious, but depressed and taking everything so personal. There hadn't been a need for any of that. And then she listened to what he had to say. "I am sorry if you thought we were excluding you...but you weren't helping with Heather learning how to skate. You took everything personally and just walked off without even trying to help," she said sadly looking down at her shoes.

"Yeah they are, but I believe in you, I know you can do it. Do you know what position you're going to be in yet?" He asked, genuinely interested. "I've been going through a lot of depression recently Kurumi. It's just, well I'm going through some personal things and I really wish I could talk to my Dad, but I can't and I don't feel comfortable yet talking this stuff over with Mom's boyfriend. I suppose I could talk to Luke, he's my best friend from Drumstrang." He thought out loud. "I wanted to help, but I wanted to see Heather smile too." He looked into her violet eyes and smiled. "I still haven't finished that song yet. Wanna help?"

Kurumi hugged her broom tighter still and her cheeks flushed. "Everyone seems to have faith in me except me," she giggled softly. That was a rather depressing thought really. Simon seemed to have the most faith in her, giving her THAT position to play. Kurumi felt a bit dizzy and she began scratching her arms. "Y-Y-Yeah...he told me..." she said as her cheeks burned even brighter with embarrassment.

Kurumi loosened her grip on her broom and looked up at Connor, noticing the sparkle gone from his eyes as he spoke. "You know...you can always talk to me..." she said softly. "I thought you would be able to share these things with Dani. You two are always together." She took a timid step forward, only slightly closing the gap between the two of them. "You shouldn't always make yourself look like the victim. You're only selling yourself short." Kurumi felt her own nerves begin to ease. Advice that she should be giving herself right now, with some slight modifications. "Heather smiled a lot once she was used to being on the ice. We even did some ice dancing together...it...it would have been nice if you would have stayed."

She tugged on her hair for a few moments.

"I...don't have much time," she said with a hint of regret in her voice. "I to get to bed early tonight. Simon's orders...but I can stay out a little bit longer and work a little on the song."

Connor smiled at her softly. "It's hardest for us to have faith in ourselves. We see our own faults in a way that no one else can and It's easy to focus on them. " He smiled. "I'm going to take a wild guess and say you're playing seeker." He grinned. He withdrew his guitar pick and flipped it between his fingers.

"Not some of this stuff. I'm sure that there are some things that you as a girl can only talk to your mother about, well it's the same for me, Only I don't have a dad to talk to about these kinds of things." He bit his lip then laughed. Surely she didn't think....Nahhhh... "Dani's my friend Kurumi, My mom's dating her uncle. She's like a sister to me and it's never going to be anytthing more." He ran a hand nervously through his hair. "Sometimes I think the problem is I've been a victim for so long I don't know how not to be one." He shrugged. "I wish I had stayed." He replied, blushing just a little but controlling it before he sprayed anything.

He put his hand back in his pocket and stood there awkwardly for a minute.

"Oh, I understand." He replied with a hint of sadnedd but he perked up a little at the redt of the sentance. "Why don't you go get yourself a little more comfortable and I'll wait out here for you and we can work on the song when you get back."

Kurumi's entire body went rigid when he guessed correctly. She could hardly believe it herself. Her. The girl who couldn't fly her way out of a wet paper bag last term, and over the summer for that matter, had been made Seeker. She simply nodded. She didn't really want to think about that right now. So she instead focused on what Connor said next.

Actually, there were more things she felt that she couldn't talk to her mother about than her father. Kurumi hardly ever had heart to heart conversations with the woman and always went to her father about everything. Well, either him or her older brothers who were always more than willing to give her advice - even if it wasn't always the most sane. Kurumi cocked her head to the side a bit. Unless Dani had changed A LOT over the winter holiday, Kurumi was pretty sure that the Slytherin felt more than just a sisterly bond towards Connor. Kurumi had seen the judgmental looks Dani had given her. "I haven't exactly been the winner all my life you know," she said calmly looking down at the ground for a moment. "But, I've always been the type of person to see the glass as half full and not half empty."

Kurumi nodded and was just about to head back to the common room when she saw the portrait of the Fat Lady looking very displeased and pointing to her wrist as if to remind her about the time. Merlin, was it really this late already?

Swiveling back around on her heels, Kurumi turned to Connor. "C-Connor, please don't take this the wrong way...but would it be alright it we met up tomorrow, after the match instead?" she tugged on her hair and adjusted the grip on her broom. "I really should just rest tonight...it's already kind of late and I still need to stretch and work a little on Ancient Runes for tomorrow."

Connor smiled and took his hands out of his pockets. He stepped up close to her and smiled. "I promise not to take it the wrong way, if you promise not to take this the wrong way." He wrapped his arms around her in a hug and brushed his lips across her cheek softly and he whispered into her ear. "Good night Kurumi, I'll be cheering for you tomorrow. "About time you were in bed yourself isn't it Mr. Cambell." Warned the cold voice of Former Slytherin HOH professor Severus Snape from a nearby portrait. "Yes sir, I'm going!" He let her go and walked down to the dungeons to bed...

Later the next Day He waited in the same spot. He had his guitar and sheet music and Lyrics sheets with him. He'd witnessed Gryffindor's loss and he wasn't sure if she'd come out but he waited anyway.

"Take what the wrong way?" she asked as she leaned on her broom a bit and looked up at him just as he was beginning to lean forward. Her eyes widened, not really knowing what was coming next, and it just barely registered that he had kissed her on the cheek. "G-G-Good night, C-C-Connor," she whispered back as she continued to stare at him. How could she take that the wrong way? Connor kissed lots of girls on the cheeks and hugged them. She had seen him do so to Heather many times, so there wasn't anything for her to freak out over, right? Even if there was, her thoughts were so focused on a certain golden ball that she didn't really feel anything. There was no loud squeak, no hint of her hair changing color, just a dazed look that could be interpreted in a million different ways.

She quickly turned around and vanished through the entrance to the common room with her broom hugged tightly against her chest. It was time for some Seeker and broom bonding.

__________________the next day___________________________
Kurumi came out of the common room, still in her uniform, and with a BRIGHT smile on her face. From the way she looked, one would have thought that Gryffindor had just won the Quidditch Cup instead of lost. She had much to be proud of and, to her and she was sure everyone else's surprise, had held her own again the Ravenclaw Seeker who she had heard was the fastest at Hogwarts. Catching the Snitch once and coming ridiculously close the other times was enough for her for now.

Kurumi was full from all the food and drinks she had shared with her fellow lions in the after the match party her and Selina and put together to lift everyone's spirits. It wasn't a time to be depressed, it was a time to celebrate themselves as a house and for coming together as a team.

It was after a few minutes of simply standing there with her hands on her cheeks that she realized Connor was most likely waiting for her and she took off at a light sprint through the corridors until she found him waiting for her.

"S-S-Sorry!" she squeaked as she came to a stop, a huge smile on her face. "I got caught up in the party in the common room."

"Oh that's alright. I can understand if you'd rather go back, we could do this another time." He spoke softly, glad to see her happy. He could understand that she would need to bond with her team and spend time with them. He smiled at her. "Um- I brought everything and whenever you're ready we can work on it." He picked up his guitar and began to play the tune.

Kurumi cocked her head to the side. "Why would I want to go back?" she giggled as she quickly tied her hair that had been hanging loose over her shoulders back in a ponytail. "I made a promise to meet you and I always keep my promises." Kurumi practically skipped right up to him and plopped herself down on the ground before tugging on his pant leg for him to do the same. "I've actually put some thought into it over the winter holiday when I was back home," she chirped as she looked up at him with her violet eyes. "Something like...don't know where the future's heading, but nothing's gonna bring me down." He oldest brother had had to help her a bit with the wording while she had played the song over and over again on the piano in their living room.

Connor smiled at her as she tugged at his pant leg and he sat down beside her. He listened to her idea and he stuck his pick between his lips and picked up his muggle pen and his parchment and scratched out an Idea.


"What about..." He spoke it as he wrote it.
"I fought to the limit, to stand on the edge
What if today is as good as it gets
Don't know where the future's heading
But nothing's gonna bring me down
Jumped every bridge
Run every line
I risk being safe
I always knew why
I always knew why
So here I am still holding on."

He played the tune and sung the song so far.

Ohhh hmmm..
Seconds, hours, so many days
You know what you want, but how long can you wait
Every moment lasts forever
When you feel you've lost your way
And what if my chances were already gone
I started believing that I could be wrong
But you gave me one good reason
To fight and never walk away
So here I am still holding on

With every step you climb another mountain
With every breath it's harder to beleive
You make it through the pain
Weather the hurricanes
To get to that one place
Just when you think the road is going no where
Just when you almost gave up on your dreams
They take you by the hand and show you that you can
There are no boundaries..
There are no boundaries

I fought to the limit, to stand on the edge
What if today is as good as it gets
Don't know where the future's heading
But nothing's gonna bring me down
Jumped every bridge
Run every line
I risk being safe
I always knew why
I always knew why
So here I am still holding on,

"OK so what do you think about. With every step through No boundaries being the Chorus?"