Raven drew her wand carefully from her robes then set it down on the ground, it may have been a foolish move but she knew exactly what she was doing. "I'm unarmed now, my wand's on the ground, now are you two going to come out here so we can deal with this situation civilly?" she asked, in a rather calm tone; she wasn't sure if she could trust Lori and Cameron not to hex her while she was just standing there.

Now that would have been a cheap shot.

Cameron frowned. Herr... WAND was on the ground? HEY! She'd found it *snortle* Pulling her own wand, she lit the lumos spell and stepped out from their corner with the bagpipes Lori had thrust into her hands. She frowned and put her own wand down still emitting light so they could now both see each other.

"Let's start negotiations."

Lori frowned once and chewed at her lip as she watched both Cam and Raven put their wands down, and then placed her one down to join them. "Okay, let's go. Civilized okay? I'm not having no crap." no. She really wasn't, she couldn't be bothered with it now she was wandless. They could always smack her with bagpipes yes? Hehe.

Raven stood her ground firmly, watching as Cameron and Lori both put their wands on the ground which was a rather smart move. "Okay now, I'm not going to lie to both of you and say I trust your deal because honestly I don't. Here's what's going to happen, I'll apoligize to both of you and I won't be anywhere near you or Adam but you have to promise me to never take my bagpipes for this rest of the time I am here. If you don't like my offer, then fine.. but I will say this; don't expect anything like this to come from me again." She was ready to chase them through the alley if need be but she expected that they would be wise enough to accept her offer.

Cameron stood up in the dim light and frowned as Lori spoke. "That's right. We do this with maturity or we don't do it at all." If Cam so much as saw Raven starting to get angry, it'd be wands out and RUNNNN. Stuff duelling. They'd be no match for the Snake.
Raven spoke and Cam was suprised with the eloquence. Hey! She could string together a civilised sentence! *claps*
"We didn't take your bagpipes to be mean, we took them as retribution for what you did to us," Cameron told her calmly. "An apology has got to mean something. This time it's going to under a truth spell 'cos you're going to mean it and you're going to hold by it!" None of that 'Sorry but I don't really mean it' business.
Glancing back at Lori, she smiled a little, "Apologise to both of us for what you did and then we'll apologise and give you back your bagpipes." There was no reason for them to keep them (other than to spare Hogwarts' eardrums) but Cameron didn't really like conflict and she wasn't doing this to hurt her.. but to get even.

Lori nodded as she listened to both Raven and Cammy. She smiled softly as Raven took a turn for the nice and sh smiled a bit more. "that sounds good to me." that was probably only because there were juuuust about a few months left of the term, then no more raven. Yey!

Raven listened to what Cameron had to say and thought about it for a second, she realized that it was only right that she had to be under a truth spell in order to apoligize properly since she had the tendancy to not mean it. "Alright, that's fair. So shall one of you use this truth spell on me so I can apoligize to both of you then eventually get my bagpipes back?" she just wanted to get this over with so she could continue on with her life.

Cameron's brown eyes flickered back to Lori and she nodded. That sounded all good then? Slowly bending down she kept her eyes on Raven, put the bagpipes on the floor and took her wand.

'You ready?" She asked the slytherin calmly. "Veritas," The Gryffie whispered and watched as a silver thread wrapped itself around Raven's throat, glowed for a moment before fading.
"Now.. go. Apologise. The thread will go black if you're lying.."

Raven watched the silver thread wrap around her throat and held her breath for a second, she wasn't going to lie this time around even though that would be difficult. "Cameron, Lori; I apoligize to both of you for my actions which lead to this unfortunate situation. I hope you can each accept my apology because I do not want to cause any other trouble." she felt like she was a fool for saying that although it needed to be said.

The Gryffindor was extremely proud of herself. So, all the studying had gone to good use. Yes, yes!

She glanced back at Lori and watched with bated breath as Raven spoke. Whoah. She WASN'T lying.
"How did that feel?" She asked. It made a change from her usual smirky attitude. Gesturing to Lori, "Give 'em back to her?" She asked, looking back at Raven for a moment.
"I'm sorry too.. I slapped you and threw your wand away and it wasn't the right thing to do.. I was just really angry at you for ruining my night." Muh. Apologies were so awkward.

After attacking the sweets in Honeydukes, Josh walked in the Back Alley , alone just for now, and he looked around at how peaceful it was in this street. Maybe one could find back alleys creepy yet Josh had nothing to fear, he almost had no senses of fear (:D) so he continued walking till he decided to lean against a wall and enjoy the chocolate he bought from the sweets shop.

Checking his pockets he realised that he had few money left so he made a mental note on reminding his parents to send him more as soon as possible. If they cared about him anymore, of course. Or if they could find enough time to do that while caring for his newly born sister.

Pfft. Whatever...trying to focus on the chocolate he was chewing on, he waited for Evelyn to arrive.

Wrapped in her black coat and pulling her gray striped scarf closer to her neck, Evelyn wandered down to Hogsmeade, her dark brown hair layered in wavy curls, waving behind her as a small breeze came her way.

She hated the cold sometimes.

Her nose was PINK, matching the blush like color on her cheeks, and the scowl was evident on her face. Really, couldn't they have some sort of spell around here to keep it warm? How could anyone concentrate on the little shops and such from the outside, if they are too busy concentrating on ways of stealing others cloaks and scarfs to keep themselves warm!?

Speaking of warmth, her speed picked up slightly as she remembered where she was supposed to be headed. Hmm, she knew what could warm her up! He was like a space heater himself. Turning around a corner, her eyes lingered on a shop for a moment before looking straight forward- Oops! Someone was here.

Wait no, that was Josh. Smiling, not noticing the chocolate he was eating as of yet, Evelyn took a few hesitant steps forward before walking normally to where he leaned against the wall. "Hey you. You alright?" The look on his face wasn't all that happy.

Still thinking about how his mother threatened that he would not be able to step in his own home if he got another detention, Josh let out a sigh and bit swallowed the chocolate pieces in his mouth. What was that woman's problem? She was acting like as if everything was his fault and as if he hated the newborn sister. No, Josh did not hate his sister. He just hated the fact that they did not bother to inform their son about the baby. He just figured it when his mother started to wander around with a huge belly.

Eating another piece of chocolate, the Gryffindor boy looked up just in time to see Evelyn approach him with an adorable smile on her face which made the boy smile as well. Her sight almost made him forget all his problems ''Hey'' he greeted back and stared at her for a minute before answering her question. Was he alright? He was about to say 'yes' but decided against it when another thought appeared in his mind. This was Rose. With whom he could share his problems if not her while they were so close? ''I am just...still angry at my parents'' he confessed then smiled at the Slytherin girl ''But that's not important now. Do you want chocolate?''

Letting her arms drop to her side, Evelyn slowed down her walk, her smile dwindling as he did not answer right away. Was he alright?

Oh. Parents problem thingy. She hadn’t really heard him talk about that since well, forever. "Oh." She nodded, moving closer and leaning against the wall next to him- OMG! WHAT…was he eating!? "No, thank you." Turning her gaze away from the offending treat, she looked at the snow they stood on. Rather, white snow actually. Huh, one would think it’d be muddier and such in alleys such as this. Then again, why were they meeting here of all places? They could’ve met someplace WARM.

"So…nothing has changed with your parents then?"

Wrapping the chocolate back in its package, Josh put it in its pocket when Evelyn said she did not want to have some. Then he looked in her eyes and smiled. He did not want her to be bothered by his problems, actually he did not want her to be bothered by anything.

And the problems with his family, or mostly with his mother since his father was a Muggle who followed almost everything his wife said, seemed to be hard to solve, so as a reply he slowly nodded at the Slytherin girl's question ''Unfortunately not. They are still the same.'' and he doubted they would ever change.

''Whatever.'' then he said smiling at her widely. He wanted his happy mood back and Evelyn's presence helped him quite much about that. Even her beauty was enough for that. Yet as much as she looked beautiful, Josh figured that she was also cold which was proved by the pinkness on her face. Still smiling he moved closer to her and leaned in. ''And how are you? There's nothing or no one bothering you, right? If there's...well you know what i would do'' then laughing at those words he took her hand so maybe she could feel warmer.

Aw well, parents failed, and she meant all of them. Sure Destiny’s had been halfway decent, but they were gone for practically the whole day. Probably better that way.

"Well, again, if you need someplace to hang out and get away from them…" she muttered, making a circle in the snow with her foot. "There are always other places with open doors." Like Destiny’s surely, with the crazy sheep, or Rae’s and her new home. It was still getting fixed up, but it was halfway decent now. She actually didn’t mind living in it; the main reason being that the spider webs were gone.

The smile that had been lost moments before, slowly crept back onto her face when Josh leaned closer. "Hmm, no. No one is bothering me, but…this chilly weather on the other hand..." Squeezing his hand gently, the contrast of warm and cold causing her to shiver slightly, she looked into his eyes for a moment. Her own, happened to become a bit lighter over the days, and a little bit of her normal hazel could have been seen, but only just. "Why, did we have to meet here? And not somewhere where we won’t freeze our toes off?"

''Thank you'' Josh murmured as the girl spoke. Knowing that he had other places to stay if his mother would not want him in his home felt good. He was thankful that he had met this Slytherin girl at first place when he was in the Diagon Alley for the first time in his life. Now they shared something more than a friendship and, as she said, they could even share a home. ''I think i will consider those options''

And he was glad that there was no one bothering her. But she had a problem with the temperature? The Gryffindor boy looked around. There was snow everywhere and he could see many showflakes flying here and there. Well...he could see why she was cold but on the other hand, oddly, he did not feel any cold for him there was just the vision of snow. ''I don't know.'' he answered her question looking back at her eyes ''And i'm sorry. I could not figure that it would be that cold.. Do you want to go somewhere warm like the three broomsticks?''

Hmm, a summer with Josh? Longer than a few days maybe?

That only made her wish for summer to be here even sooner; but for now, winter has taken over and any hope for the warmth of the sun to surround them was long gone by now. Of course, then again, she had her own personal sunlight right here. "Perhaps you feel the cold different then I do." She suggested quietly, moving to his side and taking his arm in hers, more to get herself warm then anything. Alright, maybe it was to get a little bit closer to him as well, but really, she was freezing!

"The Three Broomsticks sounds good." Smiling, she hugged his arm a little more before looking out into the crowded area of Hogsmeade. Hmm, she was starting to realize that being in an abandoned alley wasn’t all that bad either. At least there were no people staring at them.

''Perhaps''

The boy looked up at the sky and as more snowflakes landed on his face, he wondered why show had to feel that cold. Not that he complained about it yet it was making his Rose feel cold and cold was apparently not good for her. What if she got sick? He was not going to let this happen so they needed to hurry and step into that warm place: The Three Broomsticks.

''All right'' he murmured as she took his arm then he started to walk with her towards the crowded main street. Buut before they reached to that crowded street Josh stopped in a sudden as an idea occured to him. Maybe he could make her feel a little bit warmer until they reached there so looking into her eyes for a moment, he hugged her tightly without saying a word.

...

...

''Feeling better now?''

As they started walking towards the main street, Evelyn took a quick glance behind down the other way, towards the dark end of the back alley before feeling Josh suddenly stop. What?

Looking back forward, her eyes found his, and she was confused for a moment to see him just staring. Was there something wrong? Something on her face? Did he step in something?

…Did SHE step in something?

"Oh." Him suddenly hugging her tightly caused her to tense slightly, though relaxed when the cool breeze could not reach her anymore. Letting the shock where off, it felt as if she were warmed instantly from his hug. Or it could have been the little butterflies in her stomach doing that. "Mmhmm, much." She muttered, sounding as if she wasn’t even on Earth at the moment, but in dreamland.

"Maybe we should stay here for a moment." You know, since they were both warm and all. Why move?

Standing there he was feeling like he could her forever like that. So he was ready to obey her words on staying here for a moment however as she said previously it was cold, too cold for the Slytherin girl, so he was feeling the urge of taking her to somehwhere warmer...than his hug. Because her comfort was much more important than anything else right now.

Therefore he eased his grip on the girl to continue walking yet the sight of her beautiful face so close made him halt again. Almost mesmerised he only stared and stared and as he did so he spoke without really knowing what he was saying. ''We should get to the Three Broomsticks'' were the words he uttered which contradicted with the fact that he was watching the girl's beauty instead of walking towards the main street.

Then, smiling, his gaze moved from her eyes to her lips and slowly leaning in he played with her soft, dark hair before kissing her gently. This was one of the greatest moments in his life or probably the best one.

''We should get to the Three Broomsticks'' the Gryffindor boy repeated once he pulled away, a little smile appearing on his face.

Mmmmnnnnooo...

Sighing as the Gryffindor moved, she followed him anyways, taking a deep breath through her nose and looking towards the crowded street with a small content smile on her face, but it happened to disappear once she was stopped again. Now, she really must have stepped in something or had something on her face.

Looking expectantly, and slightly concerned, to Josh as she turned towards him, Evelyn had no idea what he wanted. To stare? Well of course, she'd let him stare, but really...in the middle of winter and standing in a pile snow that was freezing her feet off? "Hmm, we should." she murmured with a nod, glancing towards the crowded street one more with the slightest movements of her head before her gaze turned back to Josh. Yet, they were not moving...

Orrr...they could stay...here. A smile crept to her lips against his before kissing him gently back, her arms snaking around his neck. Go? Why would they need to go? "Or, we could stay here." Teehee. Her own eyes brightened to a more green/hazel color at the thought. She wasn't at all cold anymore, partly due to the fact that her mind was elsewhere.

"The Three Broomsticks is probably...rather crowded." With lots of eyes that could stare, glance, invade their privacy...

Or they could stay there...

No matter how alluring this idea was, it looked like Josh was not going to forget about the girl's words on the cold weather. So, once the kiss was over, though he looked in her eyes with a mesmerised expression as if his mind was away from the outside world , the idea of taking her to somewhere warmer was still in his mind for he was pretty much concerned for her well being.

On the other hand, the Slytherin girl was right. The Three Broomsticks was probably too crowded and there probably were dozens of people to disturb them. Then where could he suggest to go? Looking around for a split moment, he hoped to see somehwere close but it appeared there were no shops or cafes in this back alley.

For now he could not think of anwhere else but he knew he was going to persuade her to get into somewhere somehow. Still smiling happily at the girl he continued playing with her hair ''No. Rose, i don't want you to get sick, especially not because of me.Sooo...'' he stopped for a moment to think of a place they could go other than the Broomsticks. ''...what about The Hog's Head?'' okay. This did not sound all romantic but it was better than Puddifoots, was not it?

Leaning her head back just a bit as he looked around, her gaze almost followed his, but he looked back to her just as soon as he looked away. No?

Aw well, that was true. She didn’t really feel like getting sick at the moment, and she didn’t want Josh to get sick either. Even though he pretty much felt like a heater, he could still catch a cold-

o___o!!!

"NO." she said simply, yet firmly. "I…I am not going…there." Ever again. Shaking her head, she looked down to his jacket, her hands following her gaze and slid down to his chest. She didn’t even want to get near the place. It may be true though that the bartender there was gone, even though he wasn’t really a bartender, but, the place held memories of what happened a few years back. The Slytherin didn’t want to be reminded of such things when she worked hard to hide them in her mind.

"How about, we go to Honeydukes? We can get a few things then find someplace elsewhere." Hmm, he wouldn’t say no to candy would he? Hehe.