Stained Glass Windows
 

Fire and paper do not go well together. The library, therefore, features a reduced number of torches on the walls to minimize any danger to the books. A number of large stained glass windows, placed at regular intervals where the room is part of the outside wall of the castle, ensure that sufficient light gets in. Stretching all the way to the ceiling, these windows depict different famous witches and wizards, momentous historical occasions, and beautifully detailed magical creatures.

Relax on one of the cushioned window seats. Watch the floor and nearby shelves change subtly in color as the sunlight shines through the stained glass panels. Read a book under the calm gaze of Merlin or the fearsome scowl of a Manticore. Sometimes, it is difficult to stay focused here, but there are students who swear that, when sitting at the window of Rowena Ravenclaw, work gets completed faster.

All rules apply here, and although the glass can't be broken by simple spells or physical force, please be careful and respect the artwork on the windows. Remember to keep your voice down so as not to disturb those also visiting the library.

http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e2...ol/dsfhsdh.gif

Anyone? I don't bite! :D
 

Emily's smile had faultered as she entered the library. This was her favourite place in Hogwarts. In the world! Yet after last year, bad thoughts clouded her joy for reading in here.

Still, if she wanted to do her ambition by the time she left she would have to get started now. So after carefully choosing a book on dragons she too her usual spot by th Ravenclaw window, and settled down to read. This place always helped her relax and concentrate. It was magical really.

Anna walked into the library and was amazed by all of the wonderous books that surrounded her. She was so excited to be in here. She noticed her friend, Emily, sitting in a chair near a window reading. She decided to go up to her and tap her on the shoulder. She startled her friend a little and then a smile lit up on her face. "Hello!" Anna whispered quietly so the librarian wouldn't yell at her. Anna was so excited to see a familiar face in the huge school.

Emily jumped abit as she felt the tap on her shoulder and dropped her book as she did so. But upon seeing it was only Anna she smiled. "Hi Anna!" she said giving her friend a hug. Why was she talking so quietly? OH! Library, quiet. She looked around. No sign of a librarian. "I don't think the librarian's around. We can speak up." She picked up her book and quickly found her place. "So how've you been? And your a hufflepuff I see!" Aw! She was very cuddly, so she should have seen that coming.

When Sarah noticed the big, cushiony window seats under the giant stained glass windows, she decided that she had just found one of her favorite spots in the building. She adored window seats :x3:

She lounged on a window seat and tried to make sense of objects outside the beautiful colored glass.

Anna turned red as she looked at her Hufflepuff badge on her uniform. "I've been great!" Anna said as she sat down next to Emily. "Hogwarts is so great! I mean I read about it so much and to see it all come back to life, being in it and everything! It's magical." Anna said with a giggle and pulled out a book from her purse and a chocolate frog. "Chocolate frog?" Anna asked Emily and she pulled out a second one from her bag. "What book are you reading?" Anna also asked Emily as she took a bite from her Chocolate frog.

Emily giggled as she noticed Anna turn slightly red. "It's alright that your a hufflepuff you know! Didn't you say you brother was one? It usually runs in families." Her sister was a gryffindor like her, though her mother had been in ravenclaw. Ah.

She quickly looked left and right again before taking the chocolate frog. "Thanks." she smiled opening it. As long as the librarian wasn't around, they were set.
"Oh, well I love dragons you see. It's called From Egg to Inferno: a Dragon-Keeper's Guide. I'm not planning to keep one obviously, but I think I would like to work with dragons after Hogwarts. They seem really interesting!" she nodded. Everyone seemed surprised when she told them what she wanted to do, but she found them facinating... well they were her favourite magical creature anyway.

For Alicia/Jory :glomp:
 

Although she had no homework to do yet, Ari couldn't let a day go by without reading something. A side-effect of growing up in her mother's bookshop, presumably. Making her way to the library, the girl remembered fondly about the plot of the mystery books she had received from her friend Jory, the last of which she had finished a few days ago on the Hogwarts Express.

The second year Gryffindor was delighted that she could find a free, and comfortable, seat in front of the stained glass windows. She left her bag there to mark that the chair was occupied while she went to look for a book. The girl eventually decided upon 'An Appraisal of Magical Education in Europe', being curious to find out more about other wizarding schools on the continent. Returning to her seat, she opened the large book and began to read, occasionally stopping to observe the other students in the library.

"Yes, Michael is also a Hufflepuff." Anna said. Michael, her older brother, was a fourth year. "True, Houses do run in families." Anna also said to Emily taking a bite from her chocoalte frog. "My mum was almost a Ravenclaw though, the sorting hat couldn't decide between Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw then gave in for Hufflepuff." Anna said. "And ooh dragons! Sounds so exciting! But also very dangerous. What place would you want to work with them? I know Southern France houses Dragons and also other places like Romania and South America." Anna asked Emily. Anna always thought Dragons were cool but her main interests were the Dark Arts and Charms. She picked up her spellbook and placed it next to her. She was already on Chapter 6, she read a good few chapters on the Hogwarts Express on the way to school.

For Maria :)
 

Jory had absolutely no idea why he was heading to the library. It was not as if he had any homework to do. As usual he had his book bag so he figured he would read one of his text books.
Jory made his way to the stained glass area. He had a strange fascination for the things since he was younger. Reaching there, he spotted a familiar face.
"Ari!" he exclaimed happily rushing over to her. "How come I didn't see you on the train or at the feast?'' He remembered how he had seen everyone he knew except Ari since being back at Hogwarts. "People turn up the most when you're least on the lookout for them,'' the young Hufflepuff thought.

"Yeah, my sister was also a Gryffindor. But my mum was a Ravenclaw." she smiled as Anna told her what happened. "The same thing happened to me! It was a choice between ravenclaw and gryffindor, but I guess it decided I was more like my sister." Her smile faded slightly thinking of her mum. She was so glad she wasn't like her. "I'm not su-" Emily started but Anna was away, talking about different places she could go. "Wow, you seem to know a lot about it!" she laughed looking up from her book. "I think Romania would be cool. You can go to dragon sanctuarys and study them there in the open." Which would be so cool! "What are you reading?" she asked, first noticing she was holding a book.

As soon as she hear her name being called by a familiar voice, Ari put the book down and stood up to hug Jory. 'Hello. What's up?' she greeted, implying her desire to know what her friend had been doing since they've last seen each other. 'I got at King's Cross pretty early,so I was amongst the first to board the train, which then became too crowded. That's why I didn't leave my compartment. Not even to go luck for the trolley lady.' the now second year Gryffindor explained.

'At the feast, I talked to our new Prefect, and was very engrossed in conversations about house elves at our table. Speaking of which, do you have any idea why the kitchens are closed? Your Common Room is nearby, after all.'

Jory returned Ari's hug. "I looked for you as soon as I got on. I got on about five minutes before the train left.'' He listened to Ari and remarked ''You've been busy on your first day back.''
Jory had heard a bit of talk about the kitchen being closed but of the reason he had no idea. He told this to Ari.

"Since our outing at Florean's, I got around Diagon Alley buying all my supplies. Then the day before we were due back here, my parents and Grace came back to Leaky and stayed the night. They came to King's Crossing with me. I was hoping to see you so you could meet them. What were you up to, anyway?''

The young Huffie paused before giving Ari good news. ''My parents want to talk to your mom about the trip. When can they meet her?''

Genuinely sorry they haven't met on the train, Ari tightened the hug, which lasted for a few minutes! 'If it makes you feel better, the books from you kept me company. I read the last one on my way here.' the second year Gryffindor chuckled.

'Oh, ok. I thought you knew more on that since you live close to the kitchens. I hope everything is fine. My first thought was that they might be on strike or something, but then they showed up to remedy the situation and seemed to regret what happened. So I don't know what to believe anymore.' Ariadne explained. However, it wasn't so much concern as it was curiosity. She did care about house elves, but she was also wondering what was going on at Hogwarts. There was some weird happening every year, it seemed.

'I was hoping to meet them too. I promise to organize a get-together during the Christmas vacation. Your parents could talk to my mum then, but if it's urgent, they could meet up in London. Mum goes there pretty often these days, to see her new boyfriend.' Ari cringed at the word boyfriend. Though she was truly happy for them, she didn't understand why they insisted on calling each other girlfriend and boyfriend, since they were almost 40!

'On Diagon Alley, I finished my shopping and then we returned home earlier than expected, as we had an emergency. There was a fire in my mum's bookshop. Luckily, no books or furniture were damaged, but they still don't know who's fault it was. I sure hope it was an accident and not something intentional.' Ari got goosebumps at the thought that someone might have wanted to hurt her family deliberately.

Not wanting to worry Jory, she changed the subject almost immediately. 'Anyway, it's good to be back, isn't it?' she said, considering Hogwarts her second home.

Jory was just about to gasp out that he was loosing his breath from Ari's tightened hug when she let go of him. He was delighted that she read all the books. "I hope you enjoyed them,'' he said.

"Did you visit the Kitchens since you got back?'' Jory asked. He thought about going later. He enjoyed visiting the little creatures. "I wonder what caused the problem,'' the Huffie mused.

Christmas. Jory's favourite time of the year. He was looking foward to all the decorations and food. "Its not urgent,'' he told Ari. "But we don't know how long it'll take to convince her. She's not...er...stubborn, is she?'' Jory hoped Ari would not be offended by what he said. He noticed Ari cringed at the word ''boyfriend''. "Is everything ok between them? Do you still think things are going too ''

Jory was shocked and sorry to hear about the fire. "I'm sure glad to hear there wasn't any damage. I'm sure it was an accident,'' he reassured the Gryffie. "What kind of books does your mom deal with?''

Jory agreed. "'Definitely,'' he said. "Still eager to explore the Castle?''

Anyone?
 

Her favorite place in the whole school was riiiight here in front of the stained glass window depicting Godric Gryffindor. Oh yes indeedy. Lexi meandered over and gingerly sat down at the table in front of it. Smiling up at her founder she then pulled her rucksack off her back and started to dig out her Yearbook notes and such. What she would rather be doing right then was wasting time on a beach somewhere... alone. Sighs for life.

'Sure did.' Ari smiled. 'Muggles have a way with words, I tell you. Suspense stories are brilliant.' The ones Jory gave her had sparked her interest. 'I have an idea! Let's exchange books! I'll lend you some magical books to read whilst you give me some Muggle ones. It's win-win, eh?'

'I wanted to, but there's a sign on the door which reads No students allowed. Maybe the Headmaster could fix this, but we students...Well, there's not much we can do.' Ariadne pondered.

'Err...She's quite stubborn, actually. I must've inherited that from her.' Ari's thoughts rambled, and the brunette started to wonder whether her father was stubborn or not. 'Oh, no, everything is fine with Matt, I like him and I'm happy for them. I haven't seen mum so cheerful in ages.' she replied without hesitation.

'Yes, I think so too. Anyway, it wasn't a charmed fire, it was a regular Muggle one. Besides, we don't have any enemies.' Ari was sure of that. 'Magical books only. All kinds of magical books.' she replied.

'You bet! I've heard there are some new places on the grounds ready to be explored...'

She was beginning to find herself in the library a lot this term, going over notes or just wanting to read in silence, and as much time as she'd spent in here, she'd never sat near that window. THAT window. Besides, it was time she had a change of scenery right now.

With her bag over her shoulder, filled with notes from previous terms, and a her charms book in hand, Evelyn stared at the ground as she made her way over to the stained glass window, not aware that the place was already occupied-

o__________O

NOPE! No. No no nonono. Back track. Suddenly turning back around, she TRIIIEEED to get away unnoticed. The Slytherin was not in the mood to deal with Lexi at the moment.

Lexi heard the footsteps and the scuffling of shoes and she looked up from her notes and actually DID NOT sigh or scowl. I know, weird huh? Smiling slightly she said, "You don't have to go. In fact, I would like to ask you something if you have a moment, Evelyn."


Seeeee? She wasn't ALWAYS out to rile the girl up. Nope. Just MOST of the time. Heh.

Meep...

Stopping where she was, the Slytherin sighed quietly, hanging her head slightly for a second or so before glancing over her shoulder and narrowing her eyes. Hmmm. What was this? Taking an extra moment to STARE at Lexi, Evelyn turned halfway towards her, adjusting the bag on her shoulder and leaned against one of the bookcases.

"Yes?" What was the question?

Lexi had gone back to working on her article with the notes she had taken... and decided not to look back up. This was not the greatest conversation to have with someone else...

"I was just wondering... how Salander is doing... with the Head Boy stuff and all?" she asked quietly. If Evelyn made one stupid comment about her asking she WOULD NOT hesitate to set her hair on fire. NO, she had NOT seen Salander since the train left the station except in class. NO, she was not happy about it. And NO, she was NOT in any mood to have Evelyn make a snide comment about her asking.

Raising a brow as the Gryffindor went back to doing what she was doing, Evelyn half expected the girl to not answer her at all, but then she did. Huh.

That definitely deserved the second eyebrow to raise as well.

Blinking, her gaze shifted to the stained glass window for a moment before moving back to Lexi. This...this was weird. "Why don't you just ask him yourself?" He was her boyfriend after all. Unless they didn't do that whole 'being honest' thing with eachother. Was Lexi telling her to SPY!?!? Because she totally would...n't.

"He is clearly busy... with stuff. I figured you would know how he was adjusting to things. I know he was really nervous," she said softly. She didn't want to tell Evelyn that she hadn't seen him much lately... that SHE was no doubt spending more time with him than she was.

"Besides, I dun want to go hunt him down. I am busy myself," she said a little sadly. She wasn't BUSY, she just didn't want to go find him. He would have to find her. HMPH.

This was all becoming rather shifty to the Slytherin girl. Lexi was talking to her AND she was asking about her boyfriend. This wasn't weird. This was awkward and abnormal.

"You two don't make time to see eachother?" It was a question that sorta slipped out on it's own, and Evelyn cleared her throat, trying to pretend she never said it. That was just...that was a 'friend' question. She didn't do 'friend' questions with Lexi, and she'd rather know less about the girl's personal life as possible. "Well if he was nervous, he doesn't show it."

Meaning he was doing just fine in her opinion. Could she go now?

Lexi visibly cringed at the sound of Evelyn's question. Clearly they had NOT been making time to see one another... they had only spoken about two full sentences to one another and that was in Defense class. Hell, she had spoken to Nicolas more. SIGHS FOR LIFE. "Clearly we don't," she mumbled.

A small smile touched her lips and she nodded her head. "Good to know. And... thanks. Also, can you not tell him I asked you about him?" she said as quietly as she could but sure Evelyn could hear her. GAH. Having to resort to asking EVELYN how her BOYFRIEND was-- it was pathetic.

It seemed she was not going to be able to sit in the library today, knowing that she just had this conversation with Lexi, however...

Yes, however...

As she continued to stare at the girl, her frown started to lift into a smile. Not just an smile. A smile that said she had the wheels turning in her head, and it wouldn't benefit Lexi in any way other than the fact that Evelyn would keep her mouth shut. "And uh...what will I get out of this? To keep my mouth shut that is." She'd like to know.

Lexi's head snapped up and she glared at the girl for a moment and then shrugged her shoulders. "Not a thing. Tell him if you would like to. I don;t really care," she said sharply. How RIDICULOUS! Like she would pay Evelyn off in ANY way to keep quiet about an innocent conversation. Pffft.

"Now go away before I set your robes on fire," she said angrily as she went back to her work. Stupid girl. Ugh.

Oh, she hit a nerve. That was enough to keep Evelyn quiet.

Chuckling, Evelyn GRINNED as she pushed away from the bookcase and walked past Lexi, intending to hang out at the other side of the library. This had a happy ending after all. "For shame Lexi." she smirked, walking backwards to continue staring at her. "Having to resort to talking to me to check up on your boyfriend..."

Snicker.

Aw well, at least she could study in a good mood.

Lexi flicked her wrist in a deft motion and her wand slid into her hand. Turning she glared at Evelyn with tears in her eyes. "SHUT UP!" she shouted with her wand trained on Evelyn. "Just... shut up, Evelyn," she said again, quietly this time as she wiped at her eyes with the back of her wand free hand.

Her grin widened once Lexi snapped, eying the wand that was pointed at her. They were both walking on thin ice right now, both for different reasons. "Relaaax, would ya?" she said, the final chuckles subsiding as she raised her hands in defense. "And lower your wand. That is not a smart move."

Obviously Lexi wasn't thinking clearly. What happened to the feud they usually had where it was just words? There was only one circumstance where it resulted to more than words, but Evelyn knew better now.

Definitely hit a nerve.

"Do not tell me what to do, Evelyn. I do NOT care one bit if you ARE the Head Girl and you well know it. And you damn sure know I have no qualms about using this wand either. Now the smart thing for YOU to do would be to get away from me. Now," she said in a commanding tone.

Evelyn KNEW better than to provoke Lexi when she was upset... KNEW. BETTER.

Her telling Lexi to lower her wand had nothing to do with her being Head Girl, though Evelyn bit her tongue from saying so. For one, they were in the library, and two, the girl's Head of House was in here. All in all, the Slytherin girl was actually trying to do Lexi a favor. "I'm not taking orders from a Gryffin-"

Meh..

Seeing Orlando suddenly turn up, Evelyn snapped her mouth shut as she eyed the both of them. Were they going at it again? Well duh, he had two eyes and ears didn't he? "If you could call it that." she muttered, taking a side step as she was just thinking perhaps she should leave. "Lexi is just being her unstable self. As usual."

Now she had to study in a bad mood. Merlin, it was like a roller coaster ride right now.

Lexi glared at Evelyn and was thinking of casting on her... when she heard Orlando's voice call out to her. Shooooot! Lexi lowered her wand immediately and wiped at her eyes once more.

"Nothing's wrong with me. Although SHE is a nutter," Lexi said evenly as she tucked her wand back into its holster.

If Evelyn thought she was doing Lexi Kennedy any favors she was stupider than Lexi already thought she was. HA. Madame Donovan was indeed in the library, but Lexi was her precious angel. Heh. So joke's on you, Evelyn Flores.

"You really are a heartless wretch," Lexi said to Evelyn before she turned her attention away and looked pitifully at Orlando. "Sorry you had to see that mess again," she muttered as she started to rearrange her notes and things meticulously to avoid looking Orlando in the eye.

She was the nutter one here? Did Lexi hit her head over the summer?

Evelyn couldn't help but raise her eyebrows again. This was all very surprising but then again, it wasn't. Figures. Looking from Gryffindor to Gryffindor, the Slytherin girl rolled her eyes before shrugging. "Whatever." she muttered, eying the both of them again before turning and starting towards the other side of the library.

Figures that the Gryffindors would stick up for one another. Never their fault. Was all the Slytherin's fault wasn't it?

"Much easier said than done, Orlando. Much easier. We HAVE to be around one another more than I would like to. And not to mention... for some reason only Merlin knows why, Salander considers THAT a friend. Of course it doesn't matter much what she says or does to his girlfriend. Hell, it doesn't matter what any of his friends say or do to me. He still thinks they are his friends," she said miserably as she looked up from her notes and wibbled her bottom lip a bit.

She didn't even LOOK at Evelyn as she heard her speak. She didn't care what the girl heard or saw or DID. She was OVER IT. Over it all. No matter what happened Lexi would be blamed for it anyway. She was ALWAYS to blame no matter what.

She had heard it all: You should have just walked away. Be the bigger person, Lexi. Well you know it isn't true so what does it matter what is said about you? Did you stop to think about how it makes ME look?

Yeah. She was over it. Anyone that didn't like the act first think later Lexi had a seriously rude awakening coming for them. "H-h-how have you b-b-been?" she asked with a shaky voice.

Lexi chewed the inside of her cheek for a moment and wondered where she might possibly go that could cheer her up. Hmmm. She had one idea. Nodding her head slowly she picked up her things and shoved them haphazardly into her rucksack.

"I want to go to the Room of Requirement. Is that -- is that okay?" she asked him as she stood up and pulled her sleeve across her face in an attempt to rid it of any tears.

"I can't promise that right away, but I will definitely try," she said with a little nod. She was just so stressed out. SO STRESSED OUT. She wanted to run to Sal and talk to him about all that was going on, but she also didn't want to bother him. SIGHS FOR LIFE.

Lexi hooked her arm through Orlando's and said, "Alright let's go, then." She hadn't been in the RoR in a good little while... she avoided all corridors on the seventh floor except for the corridor to and from her CR. SIGHS AGAIN.

Again Jory was pleased to hear that Ari had enjoyed the muggle books. And he certainly would enjoy reading some wizarding books. "That's an excellent idea,'' he told Ari. "Do you have any on the ones like muggle fairy tales? You know, like made up stories parents tell their kids were small?'' Jory had not gotten around to reading any of those as yet and he was quite looking foward to it. "And I've got loads more to lend. I buy new ones almost every month.''

Jory had not seen the sign. But he made a mental note to visit the kitchens. Hopefully, by that time everything will be sorted out. "I think I'll go check on the situation before I head back to the common room. Maybe you would want to come too?'' he asked Ari.

Ari looked a little lost in thought when she mentioned her getting her stubbornness from her mother. Jory was sure Ari's thoughts had flashed to her father but he didn't say anything. He hated what the man had done to Ari and her mother. "Good,'' Jory replied ''She deserves to be happy. It's also good you approve of him. I know loads of persons hate it when their parents start dating some one else.''

"Maybe I can visit the shop one day?'' Jory asked eager too check out the books.

"So am I! Where do we begin?''

Nodding enthusiastically, Ari smiled when Jory said something about childrens' stories. 'Yes, we do have fairytales in the wizarding world as well. I grew up with the Tales of Beedle the Bard. I'm sure you'd love it.' Ariadne had re-read those stories dozens of times. That should probably be the first book to exchange.

Of course she wanted to tag along! Whatever was going on with the elves seemed interesting enough for her to want to meddle, so the girl replied affirmatively at once. 'Sure, I'll join you.Though then there will be so many stairs to climb till the seventh floor...'she complained, chuckling.

'As long as mum is happy, I think I would approve of anyone. But I genuinely have a good feeling about Matt.' Ari replied, certain that she could confide in Jory. 'Of course, you must visit the shop! I can't believe I haven't invited you yet, what was I thinking?' Ariadne started rambling, annoyed at herself for omitting that. 'How about the Christmas vacation?' That sounded right.

'Well, let's see. We explored the dungeons and the kitchen level last year, so how about the ground floor for starters?' Everything was logical and ordered in the Gryffindor girl's mind.

Jory was very interested in reading Tales of Beedle the Bard. "Do you have a copy I can borrow?'' he asked Ari. "Which was your favourite story?''

At Ari's complaining, Jory burst out laughing. ''You're not getting lazy, are you?'' he teased. "Before I came to Hogwarts, when Dad was home he'd make me work out with him and go jogging for miles. Being a cop, he likes keeping in shape. I suppose he's gotta chase bad guys alot.'' Jory grinned slyly at Ari. "Maybe I should let you work out with him. A few weeks of that and you're going run up those stairs.''

"And as long he's nice to you, too,'' Jory added admiring her love for her mother.
"It's no problem. If you hadn't invited me I would have found out where the Store was and invite myself,'' he joked.

"The ground floor sounds great to me,'' Jory said feeling the old exciting adventurous feeling creeping up on him.

Transfiguration post 4
 

'Sure, I have it here at Hogwarts. It's with a dedication from my uncle on the first page so I take it with me everywhere.' the girl explained. Her favourite story? Hmmm...'I know people usually say The Tale of the Three Brothers or Babbity Rabbity, but I prefer The Warlock's Hairy Heart. Good ol' drama.' Ari chuckled.

'I'm not getting lazy, I already am.' Ariadne laughed, at the same time thinking it must be dreadful to work out with a cop, even if he happened to be your father. Or especially then.

'Yes, he's great with me too, almost like my uncle. I'm sure in time we'll get friendlier still.' the Gryffie replied with conviction. 'I guess you'll meet him too, if you come for the holidays. We'd all be thrilled.'

ooc: Ground floor next?

Selina lugged a gigantic book over to the stain glass window seats. Once she arrived she grunted and heaved the book onto the desk where she was sitting. All of this trouble for Lafay's class seemed hardly worth it, but if she was going to get any better in that class she would need to buckle down in her studies. Although something in her told the small redhead that there was very little she could do to improve that class. It would take a miracle or a really good tutor. Both of which did not exist when it came to Selina and potions.

Before she threw herself down in her chair she adjusted her dress to sit and then flipped open the book. Her hand went to pick up her quill and she braced herself for what was sure to be a long night of study.

India didn't mean to run into the other girl when she walked over to the seats - well she didn't actually run into her she just dropped a book next to her. It was heavy - what seemed to be a fifty pound tome. Studying was hell.

"Sorry" she whispered over to the other girl. Cheek turning bright pink as she did so. "You mind if I sit over here with you - I kind of need to study a bit...and studying together always seems more helpful. I won't atleast fall asleep." She remarked with a chuckle.

Selina pulled her head out of her book and looked at the girl who she had spent the train ride into Hogwarts in the same compartment with. She wanted to say the girl's name was India or Indi or something, but she did not speak up for fear that she would offend the girl. So she gestured to the seat next to her and patted it down with her hand, "Take a load off."

Selina then felt very awkward and asked, "I'm sorry, but your name is India right? We met on the train. You came into my compartment."

When India realized who she had run into she couldn't help but smile. "Right - Selina isn't it?" she smiled yay for being good with names. And of course it being not-so-big of a school. "Yeah I did come into your compartment - thank you for sharing it with me" she smiled.

Atleast briefly knowing the girl made it easier to sit and possibly study with her after all it was hard when you knew nothing about someone - atleast they'd gotten eachothers names before.

She shook her head vigorously, "You're right, my name is Selina." Her heart slowed a little in just the comfort that she had remembered the girl's name. If she hadn't that would have been extremely embarrassing.

The two girls settled into a comfortable silence in studying when Selina suddenly grew uncomfortable. She was a talkative person and hated when people insisted on being so quiet. If she were by herself it would not be a problem, but one person switched her need for noise on. "So, erm, India. How are you?"

"I've heard of those stories but I never actually read them. I'm particularly fascinated with the Tale of the three Brothers. Who knew that was actually real,'' Jory said in wonderment.

He laughed out loud when Ari said she was lazy. People did not usually like to admit that they were lazy.

"Well, I'm glad you approve. Imagine if you didn't. You and your mom will probably be squabbling all the time. And I'd love to come.'' Jory was thrilled at the idea of spending the holidays getting to meet new people.

India felt proud at the fact that she had gotten Selina's name right. Atleast she hadn't butchered it like some people did with names - like her own mother who sometimes called her the dog, the cat, her fathers name or whatever name came to her tongue first.

"I've been alright - just...loads of studying - and its actually rather cold here I mean - I'm used to summer about this time of year so its a whole change really." it really was her schedule had been flipped so she'd go form rain to snow and back again until she'd graduated. "How about you?" She asked kindly - she was rather glad for the conversation it was better than sitting and doing nothing all day and Selina was a very nice girl.

Selina started to flip through the large book and take notes as she listened to India speak. She could multi-task, because, honestly, she did not want to focus solely on studying at the moment. Potions gave her a headache and India was a nice girl and an even nicer distraction. Any time she could come up with to get away from Potions she would take with open arms.

"Warm weather...? Oh yeah your from Australia, I almost forgot. Yeah, it can get a tad bit cold out here, you know? But I wouldn't worry about the weather. It doesn't get awful... and I've been good. Just staying busy and practicing a lot."

For Ella XD (See? It's still funny!)
 

Cass walked into the library with her books, parchment and numerous inkwells and quills in hand as she strode purposefully towards the tables near the stained glass windows. Oh, how she wished she was heading towards the reading lounge instead...

She cracked open one of her books and sighed sadly. Merlin, how she hated studying. Normally, she would do her homework in the common room, but her fellow snakes seemed livelier today and she knew she wouldn't be getting anything done.

But soon enough, instead of being productive, the young blonde found herself doodling random shapes on her parchment instead...being a complete waste of time.

Hahaha!
 

Marching into the library, the second year flicked her dark hair out of her face. With the family owl, Lullah, on her shoulder Thea headed towards the Stained Glass windows. Parchment in one hand, she rummaged in her bag for the quill. Her Mother had requested an IMMEDIATE reply from her and her brothers. Naturally, Thea ended up with the job of writing it herself..

Taking another step forward, Thea heard a CRUNCH underneath her foot. Stopping dead, she lifted her foot up. 'Oh..' she said quietly. She had crushed somebody's quill. Turning her head to the right, she smiled slightly. 'Sorry.. I kinda crushed your quill. ..But I have another one you can have!' Thea pointed to her bag lamely. Sighing, the Gryffindor took a seat next to the blonde girl. She looked up. Looking at the girl, Thea frowned. She looked a little bit older than herself.. Slytherin maybe. don't ask how Thea guessed, she just had that Slytherin look about her..

Cass jumped up slightly in surprise when she heard the chair beside her creak as someone pulled on it, and found herself looking at a younger Gryffindor, holding a broken quill. She then lifted her arms off the parchment and started searching for her quill until she realized that the broken one that the girl had been holding was hers...huh, she must have spaced out and lost her grip on the quill. Meh.

She smiled at the girl as she apologized, waving an airy hand as she did so. "It's fine. Don't worry, it's just a quill." She didn't want the young girl stressing over it anyway "I have more." At this, she whipped out another similar looking quill from her bag and smiled "No need to apologize." Although she did wish that they girl had watched where she was walking first...oh well, she shouldn't have let go of it in the first place anyway.

"I'm Cass." She suddenly said as she extended her hand towards her, trying to be friendly "You are?"

Looking up, Thea raised an eyebrow. Handshake? Hm. Really? Slowly, she sat up and stretched out her hand. Pausing slightly, then she took it and shook once. 'Thea..' She said then dropped her gaze. Dumping her parchment on the table, andbag on the floor she sighed. Lullah hooted lamely and sat on the back of her chair. Twirling a curl around her finger, Thea mashed her dry lips together. 'Second year, Gryffindor.' she suddenly added. She didn't know why..

Picking up her own quill from her bag, Thea scrawled out the first bit of her letter home. [i]'Dear Mam,'[/b] This was as far as she was going to get.. Merh. Shaking her head, she set down her quill again. Touching the rough parchment, she let it run over her fingers.

India chuckled when Selina realized that indeed she was from Australia she nodded. "Oh I'm not saying it gets awful at all - I rather like having winters...its just backwards for me like I'm going backwards through life...nothing bad. And that whenever I send mail - its the next day there its just confusing." She had to admit at times it was mind boggling.

"Oh god - potions will give me a migraine by the end of this term...all the studying needed...I'm really normally rather more wretched at potion making" she admitted sheepishly. How she'd managed to make a Hate potion drinkable was beside her.

Well, these look pretty awkward XD
 

Cass perked an eyebrow at her when she added her house. Hmm, alright. "Nice to meet you Thea." She said, then she glanced down at her own robes and realized that she didn't need to mention what her house was, the Slytherin crest and the green and black robes sort of announced it for her.

She turned her attention back to her books, then noticed that the younger girl - Thea - was having difficulty writing to someone - well, she assumed that she was writing to someone...since an owl was there...unless of course she simply liked lugging around an owl around the castle.

"Do you need any help?" She offered. Yes, Cassie, be the nice, helpful Slytherin. Don't scare the little lion.

It's how she rolls;)
 

Thea frowned. Was the House a problem? If Cass wanted to make it a problem Thea could take that.. Feeling almost a little self concious, Thea patted down her own scarlet robes and looked around. Stroking Lullah, Thea sighed. This whole Gryffindor and Slytheri thing was getting tedious..

Looking up again, Thea's eyebrows stayed risen in suprise. Was this girl mocking her?.. Just because she was younger and in Gryffindor?! Stopping herself from slightly snarling, *sigh* THea cocked her head to the side as she looked at blondie. 'Urm.. no. It's fine.' Thea continued to just look at the girl. 'It was actually meant to be me and my brothers writing it.. but I got dumped with the job again.' She shrugged. Just shrugged. What else was there to say. It was irritating, so Thea was very irritated. Their Mother hadn't even sent any cookies this time..

Carrying a potions book in her hands, the second year headed over to the stained glass windows. Finally taking a random seat, the young Ravenclaw opened her book and flipped the first pages slowly. Finally finding what she had been looking for, the girl began reading.

Ack! I forgot I can’t concentrate here… at all!, she thought, looking around. I don’t get it how other students can study here!, she told herself and frowned. Closing the book, Gwendolyn took her notebook and began drawing her favorite spot of the stained glass windows. One thing she liked about this place- she always had inspiration for drawing here.

‘HMPH!’, she puffed and a huge grin appeared on her face, as she heard some other student exclaim something like ‘how pretty’. Really? You couldn’t have possibly came up with something smarter…?, she wanted to reply but didn’t. It was probably one of those first years that are here for the first time. Meh…

Willing to see if she was right, Gwendolyn raised her eyes from the notebook and glimpsed at the other student. Right- one puzzled first year, she thought and smirked.

Minerva noticed another student. She had hoped she didn't speak to loud." Sorry I didn't mean to speak to loudly. Hope I didn't bother your studying. I just love stained glass windows in churches so when I saw these I just thought they were so pretty."

Glimpsing back at her notebook, Gwendolyn realized she was almost done with the sketch. Placing the quill down, she looked back at the other student, who hopefully didn’t get upset just because she was in the mood of making fun of people.

‘No problem’, the young Ravenclaw smirked and tried not to roll her eyes. Listening to the other girl talk, Gwendolyn grinned. Definitely a first year. Hopefully not a dumb one…, she thought. After a while, the second year looked a bit puzzled at the other student. ‘Hufflepuff?!’, she finally asked.

"Oh alright." Cass said with a frown as she turned her attention back on her still unfinished - barely started on - homework. If the girl didn't want any help, then she wasn't going to force her.

It was probably a Gryffindor thing anyway. Bloody lions and their pride.

Scowling, Thea watched the girl with wide eyes and raised eyebrows. Nostrils flaring slightly, the Gryffindor stifled a growl. What was this girls problem? She was about to ask that exact question, but distracted herself by attaching the letter she had quikcly scrawled to Lullah's leg. Handing the owl a spare owl pellet, she smiled at it. 'Safe trip..' she muttered quietly as Lullah swept out of the library.

Turning back to the blonde Slytherin, THea frowned again. Was it because she was in Gryffindor? Was it because she was a second year, so therefore younger than her? Grr.

As Cass scribbled utter nonsense that sounded true on her essay, she couldn't help but notice the nagging feeling that someone was watching her - or staring, more likely. She lifted her head slightly from the parchment and watched the young girl beside her discreetly behind a thick curtain of long, curly blonde hair and noticed that she seemed rather...put out.

Choosing to ignore it, Cass went back to her homework for a few minutes until the feeling resurfaced once more and this time she found that the girl - Thea - was full out glaring at her....

So she lifted her head up from her homework and swept her hair to one said before turning to the young girl and asking in a chilly tone "Excuse me, but did I do anything to offend you? Because, you seem to be spending half the time on that seat glaring at me." Seriously, she was used to glares and stares, being a Slytherin sort of came with the glares so you just get used to it, but it seemed rather peculiar that Thea was eyeing her so badly for such a long amount of time. After all, as far as she could recall, she did nothing of sorts to purposely offend the young Lion.

Thea smiled sweetly. 'Well, it just seems you have an issue. You know, with the way you're speaking to me?' Thea placed a hand on a nearby piec eof spare parchment that had been left from her letter. If she needed to harm something, she now had it..

The Slytherin girl looked at her. All innocent. Pah. Innocent? Slytherin? Come at me.. THea shook her head, her curls moving with her. 'It's nothing, really.' She smiled again and looked down at the oarchment. It was in a ball now. Poor parchment.. *sad pout*

Well, well, well, well. The little lion had claws. She was more Slytherin that Cass was! -Well, on the outside anyway...She raised one perfectly arched eyebrow and drawled derisively "And how have I been speaking to you, exactly?"

Was this girl bipolar or something?! One minute she had been not-so-subtly hinting that she had personally offended her or something, the next she was smiling. Like, what the hell? But of course, her expression revealed nothing of the confusion that she was facing at the moment as they simply held a quiet indifference. She then crossed her thin arms over her chest as she faced the girl fully, turning sideways on her chair before replying "If it's nothing, why do you seem so...affected?" Honestly, she didn't do anything to the girl! It was as if the Gryffindor suddenly decided that she was going to feel insulted and Cass was the only Slytherin around to blame.

Thea's head bopped to the side slightly as blondie responded. Mhm. 'Like I'm some sort of..' She waved her hands about, trying to search for the correct word. 'Nuisance!' She scowled, nostrils flaring slightly. 'I didn't break your silly quill on puropse!' Puffing slightly, Thea tried to relax. She didn't know where the quill came into it, but the Slytherin seemed to have changed her attitude towards her when that had happened..

Thea shrugged, thinking seriously about the question that the girl gave her. 'I was trying not to get mad..' A small frown appeared on her face as she wrinkled her nose.

"Well, I was trying to do my homework." Cass replied tiredly with a sigh "But I guess we both didn't get what we want."

Then she ran her fingers through her tousled, blonde curls in frustration and finally said "Look, I'm not mad at you for breaking my quill. Seriously, I'm not even mad. I apologize if you think I've been acting rather rudely towards you, and I can assure you that's it wasn't on purpose."

Then she held out her hand in an attempt to make peace and said "So, truce?"

Thea glowered at the girl. She had said sorry about a thooousannd times! Blimey.. Did she want a leg too?! Like blondie, Thea also ran a hand through her dark hair, sigihng loudly. Grabbing the scrumpled up piece of parchment, she squeezed it while listening to Cass. 'You aren't mad...' she repeated, slightly confused. How could she not be mad!? Thea had been mad.. even thought it was only for about five minutes.

Looking up sharply, Thea stared at the hand that appeared to be extended towards her. Wrinkling her nose, Thea pouted. Then, very slowly took ahold of Cass' hand and shook it once. 'Whatever..' But she grinned.

Ooooh, this could be intresting, thought Daisy, smirking still from the last hug. What a great way to make enemies, but it was so funny. Walking past the windows she spotted a fourth-year Slytherin deep in conversation. She would hate Daisy for this, but It was something Daisy had to do. Closing her eyes and blocking out the horrible thoughts about what could happen, Daisy walked up to the girl and hugged her, grinning.
'Happy hug-a-Slytherin day,' she grinned, running off...

"Well yes I am, are you a ravenclaw?" Minerva wasn't sure if this girl was being nice or mean, but she didn't care she was always one to give everyone a chance at first.

"Nope. Not even the tiniest bit." Cass said as shook her head once more as she smiled reassuringly. "I don't even get why you would think I was remotely upset, I mean, it was just a quill, it wasn't as if you broke it on purpose."

The blonde then resisted the urge to roll her eyes as the girl grudgingly accepted her apology. "Well, I'm glad that's settled."

Suddenly while she had been conversing with Thea, someone had approached them and hugged her from behind, while greeting her 'Happy hug-a-Slytherin day.', effectively taking her by surprise.

WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?!

Cass swiftly turned around and caught a girl wearing a set of yellow school robes running off, a manic grin on her face. The blonde took a minute or two to glower at the disappearing girl before facing towards Thea with an annoyed huff. "What is it with that bloody hug-a-Slytherin day?!" She exclaimed as she brandished her arms around in an exaggerated fashion "I've already ben hugged twice today!" Seriously, why was even a day like that?

THea smiled and shrugged her shoulders. running a hand through her dark hair again, Thea also jumped as some irritating girl came over and hugged Cass. Cass seemed horrified...

'Ew' Thea wrinkled her nose. 'People are very lucky there isn't a 'Hug a Gryffindor Day'.. I can assure you, anyone who touched me would not be walking..' Thea giggled. Okay, that sounded mean but seriously.. whaddup with the whole hugging randomers? She hoped that girl got hexed.. badly.

"Wasn't she the same nutcase who hugged Professor Lafay?" Cass asked as she stared at the empty aisle where the Hufflepuff disappeared to. Bloody Hufflepufffs and their weird attachment to hugging people.

Then she laughed as she regarded Thea's obvious...dislike for the day. "Yeah, you lot are lucky indeed." She agreed with a single nod. Then she placed a thoughtful finger under her chin and added "I do wonder though, who created this stupid event. Honestly." It was pointless, and useless, and worthless and did she mention pointless? Good.

Thea nodded, scowling. 'Huffle..' She stopped her self from adding the 'duffers' part. Tucking a strand of dark hair behind her ear, she sighed. Like Cass, she watched the girl run off and disappear amon the shelves. Bloody moron...

Thea grinned. 'to be honest, they would orobably hug me once, and only once.' She snorted. 'I know! They want sorting out..' Thea laughed again. 'What's your homework?..' Thea frowned. Woops. Homework.. she had a lot of that herself.

"Huffle--what?" Cass asked as she glanced at Thea questioningly, Heather had once mentioned that Gryffindors had a special...name for Hufflepuffs, but she never did have a chance to find out what.

Then she laughed "I would have said that too if I wasn't taken by surprise." Then she rolled her eyes, honestly, there were just people begging for a good hexing. Preferably one that would make antlers grow out of their heads. Yeah, that was a good one.

"Oh, that." Cass replied with a frown as she glanced down at her unfinished homework "I'm trying to research about that spell from Aritmancy..." The blonde admitted "I don't really get it." Then she leaned back against the back if her chair with a tired sigh and said "But so far, I haven't found anything." Merlin, how she hated Arithmancy.

Smiling sheepishly, Thea shook her head. 'Nothing nothing..' She looked down at her feet again. Woops. Muhaha. Grabbing a piece of hair that had fallen form her ponytail, she began to twirl it inbetween her fingers. Awkward slightly..

Thea laughed. 'They honestly are. Maybe you should get practising the good ones..' She rolled her eyes, but giggled a bit again. You would probably get in all sorts of trouble fi you hexed somebody.. but Thea honestly wouldn't be bothered. It was possibly a good thing she hadn't been placed in Slytherin...

Thea's eyes widened slightly. They had homework from that subject? Woops. Again. Thea shrugged her shoulders. 'I don't like that subject at all.. I'm no good at it. I was never good at maths in my Muggle school, she why should it change here?' Shrugging again, she wrinkled her nose. She despised maths possibly a bit more than being hugged by suprise..

"Alright..." Cass said uncertainly, seriously you cannot just leave her hanging like that, now how was she supposed to go through life without knowing what Gryffindors call the Hufflepuffs, not that it matters much as Slytherins only refer to them as 'the people in yellow' Hehe.

Then she nodded "I probably should, good ones that don't last for very long." That way, of the student ever thinks of telling a professor, the evidence would be gone for a while and they would have no proof...unless they cast Prior Incantato on her wand

"I'm not particularly fond of it either." The blonde answered glumly, it was the one of the few subjects that she had difficulty doing well in, and it really didn't suit her and her ego. "But I suppose I won't need to worry about it once I finish my OWLs...but that still seems like an awfully long time." two more years. Sigh.

sorry for the rubbishness:( I couldn't think!
 

Thea smiled. Pulling her knees up, she hugged her legs. 'So.. did you have a good Christmas?..' She knew it was a bit after Christmas but better late than ever hmm...
Thea had had a pretty good Christmas. The whole fmaily as usual, minus her Dad & a couple of others. The presents had been good, as had been the food. Muhahah.

Resting her head on the table, Thea stifled a yawn. 'I don't like it..' She stated simply, then giggled.

"Christmas?" Cass repeated as she tried to remember what she did for Christmas, but could only summon a flurry of things, all equally confusing. She could only guess that it had been that chaotic for her. "Ah, well, I stayed in Hogwarts." She explained with a smile "Much to my mother's displeasure." She really loved riling her mother up, it was amusing to see her mad, but she had constantly remind herself to not push it or she might just send her a howler. Then she smirked when she remembered what happened during Christmas "Well, it was certainly interesting." Couple of months ago she wouldn't have dared call it anything but terribly, or devastating, but now, she just found it...amusing actually.

Thea nodded, as she listened. Hm. Thea could never stay at Hogwarts.. She loved the family gatherings to much. 'Oh. Was it.. fun?' Thea's eyebrows shot up as she asked the question. She couldn't imagine it had been.. but oh well. 'Do many people stay here over the holidays?' She asked her. Her eyes went wide with suprise when Cass mentioned her Mother. Hm. Weird.. Thea and her brothers loved their Mother with all their hearts! Their Dad however.. not so much. She frowned at the memories.

Shaking herself, she smiled again at the older Slytherin. 'My Christmas' are pretty.. hectic.' Thea shrugged.

"It was...alright, I guess." Casss answered slowly, more like surprising, eventful...or even...hm.. yeah, interesting. "I mean, it's nothing compared to spending Christmas at home with my mother." She explained with a shrug "But, I wasn't feeling well enough to board the express, but then, maybe a week into the hols, I recovered, so I had to stay in Hogwarts."

Then she nodded "Oh yeah. Loads of people stay around." Well, Slytherins at least, she wasn't sure about the other houses though. Then she laughed at the memory "The Slytherin Common Room had never been so full before." With the cold air outside, and the draft inside the castle, it was no wonder that only the crazy ones like her even dared venture out into the grounds.

Thea nodded, only really half listening. something about being ill.. feeling better. Whatever. 'I don't know.. I would never stay!' She shrugged. Thea had no idea about her own house never mind anybody elses.

Tucking a strand behind her ear, Thea sat up. 'But do you not have any brothers or sisters that you would want to see?..' Thea trailed off, running a finger around the table as she spoke. She never really got to speak to her brothers properly while they were at school; holidays were the perfect time. As much as they irritated her, she couldn't imagine not having them..

She smiled when Cass made the comment about the Slytherin common room. Crossing her legs, she sighed. As much as she loved Hogwarts, she did miss home. This conversation confirmed that much.

"You'll be taking that back once you start nearing your OWLs." Cass stated with a grim nod as she remembered the sheer number of fifth years and seventh years that had camped out in the library.

Then she shook her head "I'm an only child." She said with a shrug "Well, to my mother at least." The girl added, thinking of her dad and his way ugly new wife Priscilla.

Pixie / Kurumi
 

It felt like forever ago. Forever ago that he'd stepped into the library and stayed more than five minutes. The Common Room had managed to become his own personal library and the books were returned into the Hogwarts one when they were meant to be returned. So, really, there was no problem with no studying in the actual library.

But no one should tell Ellie that.

Either way, instead of heading to the reading lounge as he always used to, Treyen took a seat near the window, one that had some wizard that seemed to be enjoying looking OUT whatever window was drawn into the real one.

That worked for him.

The boy was expecting to meet someone in here, but he still opened a book as he waited.

Kurumi felt...nervous about meeting Treyen again, but it wasn't the same nervousness that she used to feel. Sure, some of that girlish giggle and blush was still there...but it had mostly been replaced by awkwardness and, perhaps, a little bit of regret.

Her hair was down, hanging around her shoulders now with a slight wave - a look that he most likely wasn't familiar with. She usually hid behind her bangs and pony tail, but recent things had helped her let things go, quite literally.

And then...she spotted him sitting and reading. Her heart skipped a beat and she felt her cheeks flush just a tad. Slowly, she made her way over to him. "Hey...um...long time no see."

Not awkward at all.

As soon as a voice was heard (because there were very few people in the library) Treyen turned towards it. He didn't turn to see who it was, for he knew whom that voice belonged to, but it was still nice to see the person that carried it. "Kurumi!" he instantly smiled and closed the book. She looked...different from the Kurumi he'd known for so long, a good different of course. "Yeah, it's been a while, eh?" but their last agreement had stated that she was the one to look for him whenever she was ready to do so.

"You look great," or, wait, what? "Your hair, I mean, down like that." the ponytail was the only hairstyle he's ever known when it came to Kurumi.

But where were his manners? "Feel free to join me." He gestured towards a chair nearby, really nearby, but she was more than welcomed if a seat by the window was what she wanted.

The wizard in the glass seemed to think that some other window held more interest and left this one unattended. Great timing.

And there it was. The smile that she had been missing so much. It was really nice to be blinded by it again and a small smile appeared on her lips. "A little too long," she nodded, eyeing the open seat next to him. Really, that was mostly her fault since she had been the one who needed time to think and sort things out. It had taken her longer than she thought it would, but at least she had come to the proper conclusion, right?

MEEP? The blush returned to her checks as she idly played with her hair. "Um...thanks," she said with a small bow. "Mother insisted that I change my hair style a bit, no more hiding behind my bangs and all that." Which had actually proven to be a very good thing.

Smiling again, Kurumi accepted his offer and took a seat. Her body was a little rigid, but that was to be expected after everything that had happened. For her to be perfectly normal would have been more odd. "I'm um...sorry that things happened the way they did." Yeah, Kurumi was still blaming herself for all that. "And..just so you know...there will always be something there, but, I'm okay with that because you are someone very important to me." Just that it had, you know, now been categorized and was finding its proper box to be tucked away in inside her.

See? They were back to normal, weren't they? At least that was the small smile on her face suggested. "It matters no more." She was here now, right? How long it had been didn't matter anymore, mainly because it was in the past and no longer important. Not at the moment, anyway.

He did notice the blush, but he was going to blame it on the tiny rays of March's sun.

The bow. He'd missed that. Which is why he merely nodded instead of saying that she didn't have to do so, "Looks good on you." Enough was enough, Treyen. So, yeah, never mind, he cleared his throat and sunk into his seat a liiiittle bit. Being all cool and relaxed works wonders for him.

Oi. Kurumi should stop mentioning what had happened. He'd tried to forget and sort of succeeded but if she kept bringing it up..., "So am I." She wasn't the one to blame, yet the fault wasn't just ON him. "Apology accepted." Now...moving on. Or not. Sigh. Why did she have to say that? It was slightly awkward for him to hear that, he was hoping she'll be completely over everything by now. Though, if Ellie hadn't taken him back, chances were he'll be in Kurumi's position somehow. "Friends are always important. Kind of what you are to me." A friend, a very good one.

Aha! He straightened himself a little. "So, tell me. How's the Prefect life treating you?" he was actually curious to find out about this.

Kurumi adjusted her seating position a bit, folding her legs under each other to sit crossed legged on the chair. She idly took some of her hair and play with its ends a bit. "Thank you," she chirped. She was still getting used to the whole image change a bit and still wasn't used to her face being so...out there. Hiding behind her bangs had become a habit, but Jonathan was always pushing them away to look at her eyes.

"Agreed," she nodded. Surprisingly, it didn't hurt as badly as she thought it was going to be when he used the word friend. Then again, why should it? She had been preparing herself for the whole friends and nothing more label ever since that day in the trophy room and the whole polyjuice potion had just complicated that situation. She had been going down that path the whole time, right? Although, she wasn't sure what the kind of meant in his sentence, but Kurumi assumed that the kind of was implying that she was more than just a friend. She was a little sister and that made her smile.

"Prefecting has been alright," she nodded. Besides the whole event planning making her exhausted. "During the first weeks of school I had to tell a second year she wasn't allowed to keep five cats...it was kind of hard. She got so mad at me..." Kurumi would have probably kept them all herself if she could...but Walnut would have tried to do something to the poor felines. He was very territorial. "I dunno...I still feel awkward wearing the badge around. I don't want people to see or treat me any differently because I have it. I'm Kurumi first." Heh, she sounded really mature there. "I'm really enjoying it though. I'm glad that I can serve my house."

And the answer to that? Just a smile, a sweet small one. There was no need to comment any further on the matter.

Then Kurumi was finally agreeing and they could put everything behind them, yes? It was always a plus when she smiled, really. He took that as a good reaction, of course. It couldn't possibly be taken as a bad one.

Say what? FIVE cats? Like, why? That was besides the point, though, he's never had to deal with any sort of difficulty involving students. So far. Perhaps Arya got them all. Lucky him. "Pretty odd for a second year not to know the rules," she could be a transfer, really.

You know what? "I know what you mean," he nodded, Treyen had been through a similar situation when he was a fifth year, he'd probably would've freaked out if he'd become a Prefect in his fourth, like Kurumi had, "I used to carry my badge in my pocket for most of the school year," a chuckle came after he spoke, "For slightly different reasons, since I didn't think I was the best choice for that," hadn't he once thought that he'd charmed the HoH and that's WHY he got the badge? Yeah, he'd been terribly worried about doing a good job.

He'd been doing okay so far, regardless of which position Hufflepuff held in the race for the House Cup.

But...serve? That was funny. "You don't truly serve your House, Kurumi, you represent it." Hence why the Prefects were supposed to set an example. Supposed.

Treyen realized there was a liiiiittle bit of pressure involved when he traded places with Dallin. That experience helped him understand his Prefectness a bit more.

She once again found herself surprised by how normal this felt. Sitting in the library together just chatting like old times. Granted, there was still a small little string attached to her heart that tugged whenever he smiled or she go to look into his eyes, but it certainly had transformed from what it had been before. The biggest indicator? Her hair wasn't changing colors.

Oh right, back to the cats. "This particular lion is always seeking attention...so she is more prone to breaking rules here and there. I was able to find a compromise with her since sending them back home would be too hard. She gave them away to friends." Still, why she had even brought five kittens with her to Hogwarts was beyond Kurumi. Hadn't been the way she wanted to start off the term..crushing the sparkle in the eyes of a second year.

"I remember that," she giggled. She hadn't seen Treyen with his badge pinned proudly on his robes until about midterm. "Wait...you thought that you were not deserving of the badge?" Kurumi gawked at him now. Was he insane? Well, Kurumi knew that he did have a bit of an odd streak in him, but insane was not a word that came to mind when she thought of Treyen Lockhart. "I can't think of anyone else better suited for the role." She paused, biting her tongue before she could say more. It would only brings things back to being awkward. "But...I might be a little biased." There, light hearted.

Kurumi's smile faded just a little at Treyen's last comment, but not because of what he had said but because of WHO it made her think of. Patroclus. No one knew that she was the last person to see him before he left the grounds. She had seen him apparate right before her eyes and his parting words were still with her. Words about her and her relationship to Gryffindor. Merlin did she miss him. "Yeah....right..."