So obviously the pear didn't need time to recover or anything. Considering it turned into a door knob when Cassia tickled it and the portrait swung open revealing the kitchen. Just when Cassia turned to Dora to you know discuss the conclusion ,the eagle acted fast and slammed it shut.

Blink...

Cassia was puzzled a bit, "I though we were done expermin...." She trailed off hearing Dora urging her to tickle it again. As if on cue Cassia's hand reached out again and tickled the thing. Just like a couple of seconds ago a door knob appeared and the portrait opened allowing them to enter. So now they could say that it opens instantly without needing time to recover or anything. "Ahem..well, that is apparently a good spell." Cassia nodded approvingly. Not like she is an expert or anything but it appeared to her that it didn't slow down the next time they tried. Unless the eagle thought otherwise.

And a house-elf appeared from the kitchen. Probably the same who just got a portrait slammed in his face a minute ago. Cassia sidestepped leaving Dora directly in front of the portrait. "Um...she slammed it you know." Cassia murmured pointing at the eagle. Not that the elves would complain or ask why or anything. They don't do this. But the elves are nice to Cassia and they give her anything she wants especially Tinka so Cassia didn't won't to ruin her reputation among the little creatures. And it's ok for Dora her common room isn't near the kitchen like Cassia's.

"FIRE! FIRE IN THE KITCHEN. THE HOUSE ELVES ARE TRYING TO BARBEQUE THE HUFFLEPUFFS." The voice came from the Poltergeist that was Peeves, who was zooming up the corridor as he yelled at the top of his voice.

"SAVE YOURSELVES. BEFORE THEY COME FOR YOU TOO."

The poltergeist popped inside a painting so that he could watch the chaos.

*snicker*

"I never trust the first test. Could be a fluke you know?" Dora was of the practice of testing things out multiple times before settling on a final decision. But two was really enough for this though, so she nodded her head in agreement. "It's a good spell, yeah."

Dora didn't move when the house elf appeared, innocent as ever and not even the slightest bit worried about the elf being upset about a portrait being slammed in it's face. She DID glance over at Cassia and narrow her eyes some. This snake was not one to trust with secrets or have around when doing more experiments, that was for sure. "Yeah I did. We were- "

Fire?

"Really? All the elves or just some of them? Are the other students trying to help the Hufflepuffs? Are the elves not setting students on fire trying to put them out? Is it a huge battle in the kitchens?"

Dora sounded a bit excited by the thought, shifting her gaze from peeves to the portrait to try and take a peek at the supposed fire. "I don't think they'd come for us... Hufflepuffs are much easier pickings than Ravenclaws and Slytherins." She said matter-of-factually to Cassia. "Wanna go see or wait for burned people to tumble out?"

So it was settled now that the spell is a good one. Maybe they should check other spells around the school, no? just to make sure that everything is alright. Cassia was just concerned about the school's safety you know. Though they should have a break now, she and Dora, considering they were just done with an experiment. So much effort.

Fire!

Cassia's eyes widened hearing the shouting. Who was yelling? The second-year turned in all directions trying to see where the voice was coming from. And then she spotted the poltergeist Peeves zooming around. Cassia's instinct was telling her to RUN FOR HER LIFE. But then Dora started asking sooo many questions. Cassia turned to the girl an eyebrow arched at her. Yeah sure in such situations Ravenclaws would want to know more and analyze facts, Gryffindors would probably take their wands out to help fighting while Slyterins would think of a way to survive at any cost. As for the Hufflepuffs……they would probably just die.

And Dora had a point actually. About the huffies being easier to pick. So they were safe, right? Peeves said that only the Hufflepuffs were being burnt so Cassia's life was in no danger. That what mattered now. And Cassia was sticking to Dora for now while there was a battle and that kinda thing because Ravenclaws are smart and they always think of a solution while Cassia wasn't the type of person who operated much while in danger. So the snake took a step closer to the eagle after she had stepped further a minute ago. Oh well ,we need you now.


Did she want to see? Or wait? "I don't like waiting," Cassia admitted. "Maybe seeing would be more fun." She said feeling excited now as she saw Dora not freaking out so there was no need to be afraid, right?

Click-clacking down the hall, Anastasia had a frown on her face and a weariness in her hands, which she was currently wringing as she walked. She frowned at Peeves and the girls chit-chatting in the hallway, but the oddness of the moment didn't slow her down a bit, nor did the poltergeist's cries of a fire in the kitchen. No matter that that was her destination; she'd just have to put the fire out if there really was one, wouldn't she?

The Headmistress allowed herself a tight smile that looked more like a grimace and then passed through the pears portrait.

Dora didn't return the headmistress' smile only cause it looked totally weird, but she did move aside some as to not get knocked down and so the woman could enter the kitchen first. They needed someone to enter the kitchens and make sure no one else was gonna get set on fire running into Hufflepuffs. She'd planned on using Cassia cause it didn't seem wise to go first but the headmistress was a good choice.

She could TOTALLY put out all those fires and keep them safe!

"The Headmistress kinda matches fire with all that red..." She said more to herself that Cassia as she nudged the girl forward (who she totally noticed had moved closer, one to watch indeed) and then finally passed to enter the kitchens.

Ella left the kitchens, pulling Harvey along after her. "Harvs, we just ate a seriously impressive amount of ice cream!" Like world record status or something, it was that impressive! Grin. And the third year was seriously happy now, like couldn't stop smiling or bouncing kind of happy. Ice cream tended to do that to the girl.

She stopped suddenly and whipped around, bumping right into the boy and laughing sheepishly. "Sorry but I was wondering..." Because Ice cream also gave Ella ideas, lots of ideas. It was brain food, y'know. "Can we make this like a weekly thing? Getting ice cream together, I mean..." And she looked up at him expectantly, bouncing on the balls of her feet. He'd say yes, right? He knew how much Ella loved ice cream!

Harvey felt all dizzy with the amount they had just had, and he knew he had a sugar rush going on in his body as he was being pulled along "Well it was so fun I just couldn't stop eating the stuff." plus he just kept eating cause he got to hang out with Ella, who would want to stop when the pretty girl just wanted to eat as much as she could "Don't think I can eat anything else today this was my last meal" and what a meal it was, and with Ella too!

Suddenly she turned around and him not being prepared for it bumped straight into her, afraid that she might fall he did his trademark catch and caught her just in case she might. He looked at her as she talked to him "Firstly nothing to be sorry about, I have no idea why you said sorry" if it was for that bump, he so enjoyed that it was like a strong nudge... and he did love those lovely nudges! "Secondly... we can do whatever you want, you want this to be a weekly thing? then a weekly thing it will be!" he smiled as she bounced in front of him, looked like the sugar was getting to her head too!

"It was fun, wasn't it?" She mused, the widest of grins on her face. Her eyebrows raised a bit when Harvey announced that the ice cream would be all he ate for the rest of the day. Huh? That was a joke, right? "You're kidding...I mean, I could eat a whole bunch of gummy worms right now." Cause Ella had the appetite of a four-hundred pound man, apparently. She was a champ when it came to food. "Not that I need any more sugar." Giggle!Bounce.

"My hero." Ella said quietly as Harvey saved her from falling over. She did that a lot, huh? The falling thing. Shrug. "I can't help but apologize for things, Harvs. Besides, I practically knocked both of us over." Which had nothing to do with her sugar high, nope. Innocent, she was. BEAM. It could be a weekly thing? This made Ella bounce even more before attacking Harvey with a hug. "You'retheabsolutebest." Total truth right there. Ells was a lucky girl.

Letting him go finally, the third year stepped back and leaned against the wall, a curious smile playing on her lips. "So what are you up to after you walk me back to the common room? Have you got lots of homework to do?"
Cause Ella was currently swamped with assignments, not something she was pleased about. In truth, she'd probably go back and pig out on gummy worms or something. Yup, MORE FOOD.

Harvey smiled and nodded "Yes it was fun! I mean who doesnt have fun having ice-cream with you" he smiled as she had a grin on her face, he smiled a little more as she saw the grin on her face, he saw the eyebrows raised and tried to keep a straight face as he shook his head "No I am not joking, for now I cannot eat anymore, but maybe in a few hours time I will be able to eat more" he chuckled, but right now he just couldnt! His turn to raise his eyebrows "You could?! well.. thats good" man this girl could eat! good to know especially if he was buying anything for her in the future! he shook his head "No.. of course not! you dont need anymore" yeah she didnt he could tell she already had enough sugar in her system.

He couldn't help but smile and puff his chest a little as she called him her hero, well he had just saved her from falling so that would count as being a hero. He just hadn't been called that before and it felt good to be called that, it was true she had almost knocked them over "Mm true you cant, as for nearly knocking us over, we wouldn't have completely been knocked over. What with me being a hero and stuff" cause you know heros never let the girl get hurt, and he wouldn't either He chuckled as she hugged him which he wasnt expecting or what she said next "I am? I.. I ... er didnt know that. I guess I am" he smiled.. was he really the best for just agreeing to hang out with her more? well he wanted to hang out with her more so she didnt have to say he was the best cause he would have agreed whether he was or wasnt.

She then let him go leaving him wondering if she really did have to let go, couldn't they set a world record for the longest hug or something? But he watched as she leaned against the wall and asked him questions, O_O who was this girl and what had she done to Ella? Mins was being an influence on Ella, now she too was questioning on whether he was doing his work... hold up! did Mins send her here to question him. He looked round to see if he could see Mins but he couldn't and turned back to Ella "Um.. well I... er.. do.. but I was going to relax for a little" he couldn't lie to her Ella, and he knew that she would go report it to Mins who would probably come storming down the corridor right now demanding to know why he hadn't done it yet. What would he tell her if she did!? oh boy!

Ella smiled, shrugging her shoulders. "I dunno, I guess no one?" Grin. Probably not true, Ella was sure not everyone found ice cream and her as exciting as Harvey did. It was a really nice thought, though. "Just can't hack it, can you Harvs?" She teased, poking him in the stomach. Truthfully Ella wasn't that surprised Harvey was full, she was just kind of a freak of nature when it came to her appetite. She giggled when he seemed surprised that she could eat more, nodding seriously. "Oh yeah, I have lots more room for sweets." BEAM. There was always room for those. "What do you meannnn?" Ella said, pouting. "Not even a little moreee?" Bounce. Bounce. Bounce.

The third year giggled as the Claw puffed out his chest, thinking it was quite amusing. "Oh look at you, so strong and tough." Grin. "You're a regular tough guy, Harvs." As tough as a stuffed teddy bear, that one. "Good point, you kind of made a good save." And he deserved a high five for that, yeah? So the small blonde held up her hand, waiting patiently for him to go along with her. "Yeah, you are." She confirmed, nodding her head. "Don't doubt yourself, Harvs." None of that while Ella was around, it simply wasn't allowed.

The stumbling over his words, it made Ella raised her eyebrows at him. "Harvey Watson..." Eyebrows. "You should do your work and then relax." EEP. And she was sounding like his mother or something. "Or you could relax...and then do your work." She added, a small smile on her face. "But either way, do your work, okay?" And she stepped away from the wall, smiling up at him. "Can't have you falling behind, can we?"

Harvey smiled and nodded “Yeah that’s just what I was thinking ” cause it was true anytime that he was hanging out with her or having ice-cream it would always be a lot of fun! He had to move back a tiny bit as she poked him before he resumed his normal position “No I guess not, but I don’t regret eating that much ice-cream” he smiled looking at her. Yeah he didn’t regret eating that much since he was with Ella, and he would do it again if he had to. Cause if a girl like Ella was offering you more and more ice-cream you weren’t exactly going to say no, cause 1) that was a bit rude and 2) well he just couldn’t say no to Ella at all! He chuckled as she giggled “Well I see you are the opposite of me!” he said as he very gently poked her stomach not wanting to hurt her. He looked at her as she pouted when he said she didn’t need anymore sugar. “You mean you want more sugar? How much more?” he asked her wondering how much more sugar this girl could take before she would start bouncing off the walls just like she was bouncing on this floor right now.

He smiled as she chuckled and he nodded “Oh yes I am! So good of you to notice” he wanted to add finally but thought against it as he nodded “Yeah I know! I have been working on my…. tough…ness” or something like that, not sure if toughness was even a word but it seemed to work so it didn’t matter at all. He smiled and nodded “Yeah I did!” as he high fived her back, sending a few butterflies to his stomach as he wanted to hold that hand but he didn’t. He listened as she confirmed that he was the best "Umm I guess that's good then" cause in his mind she deserved the best "I will try not to......cause it seems that you don't want to, so for you I will try" yeah he was going to try for her cause she seemed so sure that he was the best for just hanging out with her? He smiled as he realised she wanted to hang out with him just as much he wanted to hang out with her if not more!

He looked at her as she called him by his full name, whenever Mins or his mom called him by his full name he knew he was in trouble. But with Ella.......he enjoyed her using his full name, too bad he didn't have a middle name to make it more funny to hear. He raised his eyebrows as she said one thing, and then changed it to his idea. He smiled "Dont you worry I will do my work, but right now I am a bit busy to think about work. I will think about it once I get to my common room" man he so wished he could say 'our common room' but it was not to be, he was not happy that he was in a different house to her cause that meant that he had to leave her at her common room door while making the lonely trek to his common room. He nodded smiling "I will do my work, I will. " he watched as she stepped away from the wall and came towards him, giving him those fluttery butterflies again. He just continued looking almost missing what she was saying "Oh I won't fall behind me" he said pointing his thumb behind him "Cause I have good balance" or she could catch him too! Either way work was the last thing on his mind right now, he was not going to think about work when he was around HIS pretty girl, yes HIS!

Ella felt her cheeks flush and she looked down, shrugging her shoulders. She was smiling, though. Smiling like an idiot. She laughed when Harvey wobbled a bit after her poke, looking up at him with a raised eyebrow. "Woah, steady there." She joked, clearly amused. Heh. She was strong, huh? "You don't? Well...good." Beam. Ella didn't want Harvey to not enjoy their ice cream hangouts, it'd be quite sad if he didn't want to do them anymore. Especially since the third year spent a considerable amount of times in the kitchen eating the stuff. Nod. Nod. "Seems that way." And maybe they'd always be opposites when it came to their appetites, Ella wasn't too sure. All she knew was that she loved food! The next question caught Ella off guard and she looked at Harvey thoughtfully, biting her lip. "Oh...I dunno. Maybe a bag of gummy worms...or two." Grin.

Ella smiled at Harvey, thinking that this wasn't exactly when she noticed the super hero stuff. She'd thought that way back under the elephant topiary when she'd been quite upset. He'd comforted her then and that's when she knew. Not that she'd told him this. She giggled at his toughness comment, thinking that was quite cute. "Oh I can tell you have." Grin. And she continued to grin as he said he'd try not to doubt himself anymore. That made her happy. "Good and hey, if you do start to doubt yourself I can help you with that, yeah?" She'd gladly remind him of how awesome he was any time he needed it.

The third year nodded approvingly. "Good, I'm glad." And then she cracked a small smile, realizing the reason he was busy at the moment was because he was with her. It was nice to know that his attention was all on her at the moment, even if that made her quite nervous. She laughed softly as he joked about falling, shaking her head at him. "You're quite funny sometimes, Harvs." And he was kind of a dork, which Ella loved.

She took another small step towards him, tucking a stray piece of hair behind her ear nervously. Reaching down, she grabbed his hand and looked from their hands to him again. "Well come on, you've got to walk a girl to her common room, it's the gentlemanly thing to do." And she smiled warmly before continuing to lead the way down the corridor.

Harvey smiled as he thought he saw her blush a little, but he couldn't be too sure. He saw her raise her eyebrows as he seemed to be effected by her poke, he chuckled and steadied himself "Steady? I am steady, look? " he said shaking a little to show he was steady. He nodded "Yeah I don't, well I thought it would be, so I just carried on" he smiled as he saw her beam, he knew that she agreed with what he had said. He smiled as she agreed that he was opposite to him, that was how it was since she could eat a lot more than him. He had to chuckle as she answered his question, he nodded "I see! well ok, I guess it's good that you want gummy worms. Too bad I dont have any in my pockets right now" cause if he had gummy worms in his pocket he would have given them to her. Yeah she did love those gummy worms a lot! A lot more than he did, but he was liking them too. As he ate them more and more, and Ella was the one that was offering him every time they had hung out, but he was not complaining, afterall to was Ella how could he refuse her?

He smiled as she did, before he heard her giggle and he raised his eyebrows. "You can? How can you tell? " he looked at his arms, could she see some muscles that he couldnt see? He wondered of those workouts over the years had taken an effect, he wondered why he had suddenly wanted to workout with Justin. Maybe he had worked out for this day, to show a girl that he could be tough as well as the sweet kid that he was. He watched as she seemed to have her face stuck at rhe grin point he smiled and nodded "You can? Um ok.. but if you don't mind me asking... how are you going to do that? " cause he was curious as to how she was going to make sure that he didn't doubt himself? He smiled as he waited for her answer, as he looked at her. Was she going to teach him some tricks on how to stop doubting how could he was? Ella Bishop as his professor? Mmm maybe it wouldn't be so bad to learn some things from her.

He saw her nod as she agreed "Yeah I thought you might be, knowing that I will work when I get back" maybe he should really get some work done instead of wondering what Ella was doing in her common room. But he didn't need to think that right now she since he knew what she was doing. He pretended that he had no idea that he was funny "Really? I am? Why.... I had no idea I was!" he said before bursting into laughter that he could not hold for long. That was his downside he could never hold in a laughter for too long, and now he had let it out.

He watched as she took a step towards him, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. He felt her hand grab his and he looked down and back up at her as she said that he had to walk a girl to her common room as it was the gentlemenly thing to do, he was left speechless. He watched as she started to lead them down the corridor, he looked down the corridor as he noticed that they weren't too far from her common room now. Meaning he would have to leave her at the door again, this stopped him in his tracks. Unknowingly he had pulled her towards him by stopping in his tracks, she ended up falling into him again as he caught her once more and held her in his arms. They were so close that he ended up staring into those sparkly eyes of hers, and forgot where they were. Slowly he leaned in towards her as he was going to kiss her, when he realised what he was doing and changed the direction and went for her check just so that she wouldn't wonder why he had leaned in only to lean out again.

Ella smiled, nodding her head. "Yup, I see." And she was glad he wasn't going to fall over on her any time soon. The third year shrugged at the fact that he didn't have any gummy worms on him, bringing her hand down and tapping her own pants pocket. "Did you forget who I am, Harvs?" Grin. "I have some, I always have some." She hardly ever went anywhere without gummy worms. One never knew when they were going to come in handy, y'know.

How could she tell? Ella wasn't sure she wanted to answer that question. Truth be told, she was just kind of joking around with Harvs. Not that he was a weakling or anything, the third year just had never really thought about things like muscles before. She smiled thoughtfully for a moment before answering, trying to think of the best way to put it. "I just know..." Which wasn't much of an answer at all, actually. She looked at Harvey seriously when he inquired how she was going to help him with his problem. "Well...I'll just have to tell you how great you are...every day." And maybe her reminders would help convince him of it too. "Besides, I don't lie. You'll have to believe me eventually." And Ella smiled confidently before giving Harvey a hug. Those were part of the plan too.

"You don't mind it do you, my worrying?" Ella always felt like it might get annoying at times, how much she thought about everything. How much she worried that the people she loved weren't doing the things they needed to do, or getting the things they needed. She guessed it was probably a lot to take. "I am trying to work on it." She added, quieter this time. It was the truth, she was working on it. Her face lit up when Harvey burst into laughter, finding herself doing the same. It was nice, laughing like this. She laughed until her stomach hurt, clutching at her sides and taking a deep shaky breath to calm herself. She wasn't even sure what they had been laughing about when she finally stopped, all she knew was that laughter like that was the best.

O____O

And then Harvey tried to steal Ella's arm, or rip it off, or something. All she knew was that one moment she'd been pulling him along and the next she had been jerked back and wrapped up in Harvey's arms. Hm. That was a strange way to go in for a hug. The third year looked up at him curiously, wondering what had just happened. It made the situation even more puzzling because Harvey wasn't saying anything. He was just...staring. And they were close....really close. Close enough that if she just rose up on her toes he could kiss her. And this thought made her heart race and her breath catch in her throat. And then he was leaning in and she felt like all the butterflies in her stomach were going to combust or something...and her heart was beating so fast now that she could hear it. It was SO loud. Could he hear this too. OhMerlin'sBeard. Was this it?

...

And then he kissed her cheek. And Ella wanted to groan, or yell at him, or sigh with frustration. Because Ella wanted him to kiss her. Because Ella wanted to kiss him. Because Ella couldn't understand why he kept backing out. She'd been over it in her head since it almost happened the first time. Was she unkissable? Did she not look pretty enough. Was she just not the type of girl you kissed? All the thinking was driving her nuts. It was making her feel awful and she felt like she was always on edge, just waiting for the moment when he might finally go for it. She was growing impatient out on the edge, though. She was tired of waiting and tired of wishing Harvs would take his shot...

So Ella decided to do what she always did when she was out on the edge. She jumped.

The third year stood up on her tippy toes, grabbing Harvey's shirt and bringing him towards her. And then her lips were on his.

He chuckled glad that he didn't lose his balance trying to show her, or that would have been embarrassing. Showing her you were steady only to have fallen over showing her, that would have not been good! He watched as she shrugged and tapped her pocket "No I didn't forget, how could I? I just....I just wanted to do that thing. Where someone asks for something and the someone suddenly presents it like magic. That's all" oh wells, but he could do it next time! Carry them around and when she says it, whip those bags out of his pocket.. careful not to drop any. "Yes can't go anywhere without your supply of gummy worms" he chuckled as he though of them as her power supply to keep her running throughout the day, keep her bouncing the way she does.

He chuckled as she said that she just knew, did girls know a lot about these things? he wondered. Unless she knew something that he didnt, like she knew some stuff about him that he didnt know. Had she spied on him working out with Justin, or talked to Justin about him wanting to toughen up. Cause that was one thing that they had talked about toughening Harvey up a bit for the girls, to impress them.. at that time he had hinted at Ella. All that was forgotten when she said the next thing "Everyday? you would do that for me? Not scared of it getting to my head, making my head a little bigger each time?" he chuckled as he questioned her "Yeah you dont, and I guess I will believe you in the end" he almost forgot to breath as she hugged him and he hugged her back, but he remembered. These little moments felt like he had won the quidditch cup each time she hugged him or blushed or did any of her Ella things. He was just happy that it would happen more and more now that they were together, and he would enjoy every moment of it.

He smiled and looked at her and shook his head "No I dont, cause it shows me just how much you care. You just want me to feel as though I am a good guy with good qualities and that I should start seeing it that way." that explained it right? "It shows how much you care about how I think about myself." he smiled hoping she understood at that, just in case he had been rambling again. He looked at her "You can if you want to, but dont feel defeated if you dont manage to succeed. Cause there will always be one person that wont mind all that worrying that you do, as long as.. and I repeat as long as you dont worry about it so much that you end up making yourself ill" he knew that there were some people like that out there that worried so much it constantly made them ill and they would be taking constant medications just to keep themselves well and he didnt want this for Ella. Soon they were laughing hard, so hard that they couldn't stop themselves and ended up with a stomach pain. He hadn't laughed this hard in his life! and here he was with a fantastic girl who had managed to make him laugh his hardest.

He had just pulled back from kissing her cheek after having backed out at the last minute again! Why did it seem that everytime he wanted to kiss her he just couldn't! he always seemed to back out and end up kicking himself once he got back to his common room. He wanted to look away not wanting to show how disappointed he felt that he couldn't go through with it when he really wanted to! He was the guy in this relationship so he would have to take that step sometime or have Ella get upset at him that he couldn't even kiss her after all the girlfriends he'd had, he couldnt kiss her!? He decided that he would try again and this time he WOULD kiss her no matter what, he was just about to lean in when the next thing he knew Ella was kissing HIM!! HIM!! He was shocked but his body just melted into the kiss of its own accord while his heart was beating and he was thinking a million things a minute!! Well this was what he wanted right to kiss her, and she seemed to want it too so now he could make things right. While she was still kissing him he kissed her back, and pulled away after a minute.... or two.. he had lost track of time.. or had time just stopped while they had kissed. He just looked at her a little confused, was what just happened real? or did he imagine it? well there was only one way to find out if he had been dreaming or whether it was reality "What....? Wait.. our.. lips.. they.. they touched.. was that..? did.. you.. did you kiss me? or.. did I lose my balance and.. fall onto you?" either way he would know what had happened exactly in the time that he had decided to kiss her and the moment their lips collided with each other.

Ella smiled, patting Harvey reassuringly on the arm. "There's always next time, Harvs." And it was sweet he wanted to give her gummy worms, but really not necessary. Ells was always carrying them around. Always. "Course I can't...cause I might get hungry...or worried...or sad. And they help."

The third year giggled, rolling her eyes. "I can't picture you getting a big head, Harvs." So in truth she really wasn't worried about it. "And of course I'd do that, if it helped." Ella hated when people she cared about put themselves down. It made her feel upset because she saw how awesome they were and all she wanted to do was help them see it too. The small blonde simply nodded at the last part, glad Harvey agreed with her.

She was glad Harvey wasn't annoyed by her constant worrying, mostly because it was something she did all the time. If he had been annoyed by it, she was sure she wouldn't be able to fix the problem. It was just in her nature to worry too much. "I'll try not to worry that much, Harvs." She'd never done that before, worrying to the point of being sick. It sounded quite unpleasant. "And if I do feel overwhelmed I'll just talk to you, yeah?"

So she had done it. She was kissing Harvey. ShewaskissingHarvey. O___O Merlin's beard! What was she doing? One minute she was all frustrated and the next. EEP! It was lovely though, the kissing. Ella's eyes were shut tight, trying to remember everything about the moment. And her brain was all over the place, and her heart was still beating a mile a minute. ... And then it was over way too soon, or at least she felt that way.

She opened her eyes to find Harvey looked utterly confused, which was funny considering Ella had a satisfied dreamy look on her face. She couldn't shake the goofy smile, either. The third year couldn't help but laugh when Harvey started trying to piece what had just happened together. She bit her lip, a blush appearing on her face. "Harvs I um...well I just was afraid you'd never do it so I uh...well I just..." She'd just decided to take matters into her own hands. "Well you were here, you know what happened." And she grabbed his hand again, looking up at him with wide eyes. "Itwasn'thorrible,wasit? Imean...It'sokaythatIdidthat?"

Harvey looked at his arm as she patted it, trying not to smile. He then looked at her and nodded “Yes there is cause we gonna hang out a lot more now.” he chuckled before looking at her “I am always there if you are worried or sad, and if I carry them around too then when you are hungry as well” he the put a hand on her cheek “But in all seriousness if you are ever worried or sad, you know where to find me or how to contact me. No matter what I am doing I will leave everything to come to you.” he smiled. He wanted to help with everything even if he didn’t understand what she was going through, cause that’s who he was. Wanting to help whether he understood it or not! He chuckled as she rolled her eyes “You cant? Maybe I will have to use a charm or something to make my head bigger that way you will see a big head on Harvs” he chuckled jokingly. He smiled at the next part “I see, and what if it did help, would you still tell me I am great? Or would it stop after I start to see how … good I am” he raised his eyebrows and tried not to smile as he waited for her answer. He watched her nod, yeah he would have to believe her in the end for they were not to lie to each other. Even more so now that they were together, no secrets and no lying but only cause he didn’t want to lose her now that they were together.

He smiled as she said that she would try not to worry that much, cause he didn’t want her to get sick. If she did he wouldn’t be able to take care of her cause she would be stuck in her common room, though he would probably bug Mins or some other poor puff asking how she was doing. He nodded “Of course Ella, you can always come talk to me … always. Just find me in my usual places or send an owl and I will be there.” of course he would be there to listen to her whenever she needed to talk about something that may be annoying her, cause that’s what he wanted to do and needed to do as her boyfriend. If she couldn’t talk to him who else would she talk to? Apart from her fellow puff girls, oh and her ‘brother’ Edric. Was this really happening? Were they really kissing? Or was this another of his dreams? Either way he was going to respond and kiss her back just in case it was not one of his dreams, well they were kissing now whether it was a dream or reality. He melted into it just letting it happen cause if he had to be honest he was enjoying it,, the kissing. His heart now beating so fast he was scared it would jump out of his chest, those butterflies were back and this time were fluttering so hard he was sure they had multiplied. He started to feel all dizzy since it felt so nice, that he knew he had to stop or he might just lose his balance! So he pulled away looking at her in confusion wondering if it had really happened

He saw the look on her face, one that he had never seen before and wondered what it meant. As he tried to figure out what had happened he heard her laugh as he stuttered through his words, he even in his confusion saw her blush and try to explain what had just happened between them. He would have still been confused if she hadn’t grabbed his hand and looked up at him with wide eyes, as he looked at her his confusion cleared and all that she had just said came flooding back to him. He smiled and laid his other hand on her cheek “Don’t worry about it Ella. No, it wasn’t horrible, in fact it was the opposite of horrible.” he smiled, like it was beautiful or something “Yes it is ok that you did, cause if I can be honest…. I was just waiting for the right time to do what we just did. I was not sure if you wanted to, but now I know that you did. ” he said looking at her and suddenly realising what that look had been. She had been happy about kissing him, now they both knew that they had wanted the same thing. He knew that there could be more kisses to come, well if Ella had any control over it then yes there would be!

"More, huh?" That was going to be quite hard, considering they were pretty much together any time they weren't in class or in their common rooms. Not that she wasn't up to the challenge, the third year was completely content spending her time with Harvey. And she was blushing again, his hand on her cheek was the trigger this time. "Iknowyouwill."She said quietly, a small smile playing on her lips. And her stomach was doing those annoying somersaults again, also Harvey's doing. She laughed at his joke about a big head, raising a eyebrow after thinking on it a moment. "Y'know, you really shouldn't give me any ideas...or Minnie, for that matter. We might just make your head big after all." Cue a mischievous grin. Hey, he'd brought it up. ..."Of course I'd keep telling you anyway, Harvs. That's kind of a given." Smile.

"I will... If I need to I'll go to you first, okay?" She said reassuringly, nodding her head. Not that she could see herself getting sad any time soon, that usually didn't happen til the end of term. The anniversary of her mom leaving always proved to be quite hard on her.

Grin. It was the opposite of horrible? Ella was more than relieved to hear that. It probably showed on her face, too. She was always terrible at hiding her feelings. She bit her lip nervously as she felt his hand on her face again, trying to hold his gaze. "Lookslikeyouwaitedtolong." She said quietly, looking up at him before shrugging. "Yeah...yeah, now I guess you know." And she wouldn't have to worry about the subject any longer, yeah? "You had me worried, you know." The badger added, looking up at him. "I thought I was like...well that you...didn't want to kiss me or something." But he did...and they had...so it was all good. "Shouldwego?" Cause they were only feet from her common room entrance and glued to their current spot.

Harvey nodded though he had no idea how to do that but maybe he would find a way, he saw her blush but he hadnt done anything except put a hand on her cheek. Did that do it? did touching her cheek make her blush? mm that information could come in handy! He smiled as she said she knew he would, what was this girl doing to him!? Just one small smile from her sent made his heart go wild! If only she knew how much of an effect she and her Ella gestures had on him, she would probably find ways of making him do just about anything! He wanted to slap himself right then and there, see he just blurted that out without thinking about it and now look she had a funny smile on her face! "Y..you might? Well I guess you are right... I must keep those things to myself" that way they couldn't use anymore charms on him to make his head bigger, but for some reason he knew that Ella was going to relay that information to Mins who was going to formulate a plan for the two girls to have fun against him. Oh boy! this was trouble he had invited upon himself! "Ah yes that does make sense, afterall you cant go telling me how bad I am" he smiled, knowing that more compliments would be coming his way.

He nodded "Yes you can, anytime. Even if you have to sneak out at night, I will sneak out with you." he said before he realised something "Unless you have other friends that you would want to talk to instead of sneaking out" cause he was sure that she didnt want to get into trouble just for sneaking out and trying to talk to him.

He saw her grin and knew that she was happy about it now, and he nodded as she bit her lip "Yes I agree I did wait too long, far too long for something as good as this" oh yeah that kiss was good, wait more than good! "Yeah I do know now, if only I had tried to find out sooner" he said before frowning a little as he listened to her "Oh Ella I am sorry for worrying you. Oh I did want to, I really did." he nodded "I almost did a few times but thought you might freak out a little so I didn't kiss you. But no more worrying about that now" he smiled knowing that they had both done what they had wanted to do for a while, and it seemed like the right time so she went for it and he had responded. He looked down the corridor to where her common room was, yeah she had work to do so she probably had to go. He nodded a little reluctantly but he knew they would be able to hang out again soon "Yes, I think we should" he said letting go of her hand and wrapping his arm around her shoulders and held her a little close for the final time before he let her go through that door.

After Max realized Emmaleigh did not go on without him and he caught sight of her trailing behind them on the pathways, Max made his way back through the corridor after stopping off at the Hufflepuff common room. He was assuming Em wanted to talk to him since she didn't just go on with the rest of her day, so now he had to find her. He still wasn't entirely sure what house she had been cheering for, so was she... going to be happy that her house won, or was she going to be disappointed in him for missing both of those blocks and preventing a win for his house?

He wasn't sure, but no matter what she had to say to him, he didn't feel good about the idea of talking right now. Especially after he had spent the last twenty minutes pushing away all of his self-loathing and self-pitying feelings so he wouldn't very obviously cry in front of the whole school.

Max kind of hoped they would just hug and talk about Quidditch as a whole, not the outcome nor his performance. Or they could talk about something completely different. But since he had no idea how she was going to respond to today's occurrences, he dug his hands into his Quidditch robe pockets and nervously waited for Em to come into view.

Even though Emmaleigh had caught Max telling her not to wait for him, she had refused. This, no, he was too important to just leave. She smiled when she saw him carrying the little Hufflepuff girl. It brought back memories of her first year, and the Tri-Wizard Tournament. Memories of a bruised and battered Fletcher had carried one of injured girls from one the other schools to the healer. It had cemented his hero status in her mind, and seeing Max taking care of the little girl made her adore him even more.

They were in front of her, but she didn’t bother to catch up to them. She was content to let Max and the girl talk about whatever they needed to. If it looked like he needed help, she would gladly assist, but she needed time to think about how Max was and how to try to cheer him up. She pulled the fidgeted with the zipper on her now Ravenclaw blue coat as she thought.

When Em saw Max standing in the corridor waiting nervously for her, all of the things she had thought about flew out of her mind. She rushed to him, wrapped her arms around him and rested her head against his shoulder. “I’m sorry, are you alright?” She said, and pulled back from him and gave him a small smile. “You were really fantastic.”

When Emmaleigh came into view, Max's stomach gave a churn and a weak smile spread across his face - until she ran at him. Then the smile became quite broad and genuine. He wrapped her in his arms, let out a slow sigh, and nuzzled his face into her neck. "Yeah," he said softly. "Don't... be sorry. I'm glad your house won." It sounded like a lie, but it wasn't. He would have had some sort of joy either way - either for his own benefit, or hers.

But he still couldn't shake off the feeling that it was a tie/loss that could have been prevented if his head had been in the game from the start. That first goal was one he shouldn't have missed. That was inexcusable. There was no reason he shouldn't have had it. The other one he missed was less crucial, in his opinion, because he had been distracted by Aidan catching one of the snitches that put them back in the game.

He was fantastic? Hah. "Nah. Not... really. I missed two blocks I should've had. If I had just blocked one of those..." he trailed off, not wanting to finish the statement with we would have beat you guys. That would have sounded rude, so instead, he just looked down at the ground.

"It'smyfaultwelostandIletyoudown. I'msorry." Max's entire face went red, and his eyes locked on his boots, but he didn't cry. He was too prideful to do that in front of someone he constantly felt like he needed to impress and be strong for.

Em smiled as Max nuzzled her neck. It felt nice, and She found it amazing that he could make her feel this way, even when he was so sad. “My house?” she said sort of shaking her head. “Do you think I transfigured my coat to be Ravenclaw blue because I wanted Hufflepuff to win?” She honestly didn’t care about the quidditch cup, she just wanted Max to win.

It broke her heart to see Max blaming himself for the loss, and it hurt even for him to think he had let her down. Gently placing a hand on either side of the boy’s face, Em force him to look up at him. “Maximus James, you didn’t let me down. You played an amazing game. There’s no way m-, uh, the Hufflepuff keeper could have made the saves you did.” She had almost said “my keeper,” but had thankfully she had caught herself. Who ever that Mancini kid was, he wasn’t her keeper, her keeper was right here. “And its not your fault that Ravenclaw lost. So there were two missed blocks, but the beaters could have hit those bludgers a little harder, or the chasers could have made another goal, or that Aidan kid could have caught the snitch that last time. Its just as silly to blame them as it is to blame yourself. You had an incredible team, with an even more incredible subcaptian. There is no way Milton could have done a better job.” She paused a moment to let that hopefully sink in. “Max,” she said softly, rubbing her thumb gently across his cheekbone. “No one, absolutely no one is allowed to make you feel this way, and that includes you.”

Wait... that coat wasn't naturally blue? She did that for him? Max tried to hide a bashful grin and royally failed. "I dunno," he replied quietly. He did know now, of course. He knew that she was the best.

When she took his face in her hands, the temperature of his face rose significantly and his heartbeat quickened. He tried to keep looking down, finding it hard to look her in the eyes when he felt so ashamed, but he stole a glance into her eyes and couldn't tear his gaze away.

So much for putting up that wall so he wouldn't cry.

Emmaleigh's words meant more to him than she could ever fathom, he knew, and he wiped at his eyes while she spoke words of overwhelming comfort. Though he still knew he could have done better, she did have some kind of point. Maybe it wasn't entirely his fault. He was, after all, one of the biggest preachers that they were a team, and they were all in it together. He sniffed, wiping at his eyes once again, but smiled when she referred to him as an 'incredible subcaptain.' That felt good. Somewhere in the depths of Max's soul, he, too, thought Milton wouldn't have done a better job - nor would he for the rest of the term. Milton was too self-centered to properly care for the needs of his teammates.

But it felt good to have SOMEONE believe in Max.

He sniffed again through the silence, a smile still lingering on his face. Max bashfully looked away from Em when she said his name, the hairs on his neck rising as she stroked his face. He wanted to genuinely smile at her words or agree, but... "Ican'thelpit," he murmured, still trying to look anywhere but into Emmaleigh's eyes. "I'vealwaysbeenthisway." And he never had anyone who cared enough to try to remedy those feelings until now. It was... new, embarrassing, wonderful, and a mixture of countless other adjectives and emotions all at once.