Being a fifth year sucked. Everyone was telling her to study hard for her OWLs, classes seemed more difficult than ever and the professors insisted in giving her more homework than she could do. Her brain appeared to be fried and her schedule was busier than it had ever been.

The fifteen-year-old dragged herself and her heavy bag across the corridor, half her hair sticking out from the bun she had made during Arithmancy as she had tried to deal with all those numbers and all. those. words. She had failed, of course, but that was to be expected.

Eh. You know what? She needed a break before Charms.

Giving up on the spot, the Slytherin dropped her bag to the floor, removed her cloak and spread it in the middle of the corridor. These stone floors could be quite cold, after all. Without paying any notice to anyone who might be around, Daisy sat down and tucked her legs beneath her, protected by the black fabric beneath her. Now ... she ought to have some candy in her bag still, right?

PICNIC TIME!

The Cruly Top just rounded the corner before stopping short so suddenly that he ended up tripping on his own feet and wobbled dangerously to his side as he kept himself from nearly toppling forward.

Why? Because girl in sitting in the middle of the hallway thats why.

Having found his footing again, he side stepped and peeked at the girl. Is she having a nervous breakdown? Its not an unusual thing given that this is Hogwarts....

"Hey... you ok?"

So, someone had almost fallen over near her but had Daisy noticed? No, she had not. She was too busy, you see, emptying her bag of its academic contents to try and find the candy stash she had put there this morning. Hopefully, it was too squished. Aha! There it was. Buried beneath rolls of parchment, textbooks and quills, there was a bag.

She did notice, however, that someone was shading her from the light and now talking to her so the Slytherin raised her head in the direction of the voice.

Was she okay?

Frowning at the boy who was standing over her, Daisy nodded. "Yeeess.." She replied slowly, kind of confused by his question. Did she not seem okay? Daisy turned her attention back to the paper bag she had removed from her school one and opened it, grinning at the assortment of Chocolate Frogs, Fizzing Wizzbees, cauldron cakes and chocolate that greeted her. Now we were talking.

Oh wait. Boy.

Looking back at the - she squinted her eyes at his uniform and rolled her eyes at the badge - Gryffindor Prefect, as it turns out, Daisy offered him a smile. "Are you okay?"

He straightened up as the girl-- Slytherin now that he has a better look at her-- seemed to be fine. And with a candy stash. Oh super fine. "Never better." he grinned as he decided to just.... join her there on the floor, but he sits himself by the wall leaning against it. He paused for a moment before finally asking "You are aware that you are sat in the middle of the corridor right? I mean.... somebody who isnt aware of you could end up somersaulting over your head." like him... almost.

Daisy was okay. The boy was okay. Everyone was okay so, with a grin, Daisy moved towards the bag and pulled out a Chocolate Frog. She was carefully opening the box as she realised that the Gryffindor was sitting down next to her ... well, kinda. "You do realise the floor is cold, right? That's why my cloak is on the floor." She asked him with a pointed look. She couldn't waste that much time worrying about the boy, however, because her chocolate frog was about to escape and Daisy just about managed to bite its head off before it jumped away. NOT ON HER WATCH YOU DON'T!!

Wordlessly, as she chewed on the chocolate and listened to the Prefect, the fifth year pushed the candy bag towards him. "Of course I'm aware! I was walking along the corridor when I decided to ... stop." Yes, that was pretty much what happened and Daisy nodded at herself. That's why she knew where she was sat: because she knew where she had been walking. He seemed to ask the strangest of questions. "...wait, is that against the rules?" Honestly, why was she always surrounded by people with badges?! People jumping over her head, though. Daisy laughed at the idea and looked over at him. "If they do somersault over my head, we can turn it into a competition!" Like an Olympic even, see?

Well he wasnt quite sitting on the floor, more crouched against the wall with his feet braced against the floor. Its an old physics trick to alleviate the weight. But in any case "I'm good." he smiled "yeah I got no cloak so I'll just do this."

Oh hey candy, oh yes he'll have some. And real quick on the chocolate frog decapitation there, he noticed that mmhm. And then she asked about the rules.... he wasnt really gonna talk to her about it because he figured there might be something wrong... but now that she opened it "Well..... technically its obstruction..... and loitering." Littering too if she doesnt put those candy wrappers away properly. But that isnt want this little chat is about, at least not yet. "A competition yeah.... but arent you afraid of those who might hit you? I mean even the best Olympic runners topples down a few hurdles."

Well. There you go, then. Daisy was about to offer to share her cloak, but the boy didn't really need it so she nodded at his words and with a little shrug dropped the subject. That was fine, it meant more room for her. That chocolate frog though, was demanding her attention and she watched it flap about in her hand despite the fact it was now headless. With a huff, she proceeded to bit off its moving arm, allowing it to melt in her mouth and sending a wink to the Gryffindor. Honestly, the nerve of some candy!! "I get the obstructing ... but how am I loitering?"

Actually, that was a lie. She didn't really get the obstructing either. Who was she obstructing? NO ONE THAT'S WHO.

Ahem.

The Slytherin was preeetty sure that soon enough the boy would tell her to 'please move or he would have to go and get someone' but, not really wanting to give him any ideas, she kept her mouth shut. He did have a point about the flaws in some Olympians' technique, however, and Daisy looked behind her, almost expecting to see someone trying to jump over her and accidentally behead her. Nope. Still no one. She turned back to him with a pointed look. THERE WAS NO ONE THEEEEEREE!!!!! please don't make her move "Well, then I'd have to duck. Quidditch reflexes are good for that!" Yup, yup. Her face lit up with a wide grin. "Also, you're right there. I fully trust you to tell me if someone is about to kick me in the head!"

Chilvary or something. Isn't that what Gryffindors were all about?

How is she loitering? Why is he feeling awkward having to tell her about this? Its part of his job.... seems like this is the part he doesnt really enjoy "Well... its kinda like dawdling.... I mean you're sat in the middle of a corridor eating which isnt what a corridor is for..."

In any case, he knows she's not a child, and when he realizes that she's a year ahead of him, all the more reason why he wouldnt have to explain even further, to him he thinks she should already know.

Anyway, would he tell her if someone is about to trip over her head "Sure I would, if I spot them fast enough" which isnt an assurance that he will, only that he would try his best.

But he has to ask and the main reason why he even stopped by her "Why are you sat in the middle of the corridor eating a bag of sweets?"

What was he talking about? "You do know I'm not staying here forever, right?" She asked the Gryffindor quite nonchalantly, not really noticing the awkwardness the boy was feeling. "I mean, technically I'm having a picnic. Sure that's not what corridors are for ... but you can kind of say the same about parks! Right? Daisy nodded wisely. YES YOU COULD.

BAM - she had him there.

He would warn her if someone was about to jump over her head and the Slytherin seemed satisfied about it, sending a thankful grin at the boy. Gryffindors were always so reliable, it was awesome. She was about to reach for some Fizzing Whizzbees when he asked yet another question. Yes, reliable, but Gryffindors were also curious. Why was she sat there? Well... She pointed to the end of the corridor as a way of explaining. "I was going to the Charms lesson but I sort of decided to ... take a break." Look, that was the best explanation she could give him, alright?

AND it was also the truth.

There was something he was always mentioning, though, and she frowned at him curiously. "So ... say I was sitting by the wall. Would that still be loitering?"

Wait..... You cant have a picnic at parks? But there are picnic areas?.....

Ok he shouldnt get distracted about that. "Having a break is fine...." he nodded as he finished off his candy "Its just that sitting in the middle of the corridor is generally not allowed, even if you're hurrying answering homework just before class..." Of which they're all guilty of.

"If you sit on the window ledge by the wall..... thats acceptable, so long as you dont stay there for too long...." otherwise it would be dawdling. Or worse, some Prof might think one is skipping class. He got up and offered his hand "Why dont we move to that window over there? Not as cold, much better view."

Hogwarts definitely had too many silly rules. No sitting there, no sleeping here, no eating that. Still, this was definitely a battle Daisy was not going to win over the Prefect and honestly, nor did she care that much. Sure, she could ignore him and remain sat where she was but then he would probably report her. If there was something Daisy definitely did care about was not having her Mum know she had lost points for something as silly as this.

And she fully trusted her brother to tell Mrs. Carden that.

As he talked about the window ledge, Daisy began placing all her books and the candy paperbag back inside her school bag. She even made of show of throwing the empty wrappers in there too. No leaving trash behind was definitely another rule, right? Well, that one at least, Daisy understood. "Oh, fine." She told with the boy with an overly dramatic sigh. Grabbing her school bag and a hem of her cloak with one hand, the Slytherin took the offered hand and hoisted herself up. "But only because I don't want you to get in trouble." She told him with a bright grin, hand still clutching his. Why ... well, he had warm hands, that's why! She gave said hand a little tug. "C'mon then, Mr. Prefect."

It was drawing nearer to the holiday break and this place could due with some cheer. With part of the sixth floor being closed off on the Headmistress' orders, Camilla ventured on down towards the third floor. She had on a large a red sweater with a large Christmas tree on it, one her head was a Santa hat.

The professor was holding parchments that held the words to Christmas carols on them. Not that she needed it but some of the students might should they come out and join in on the singing. Her voice was soft but loud enough to be heard throughout the corridor as she began singing the first of many songs. Now she wasn't the best singer out there nor was she the worst she just simply liked to sing.

Now all she needed was some of the students to join in and singalong with her!

Zelena was someone that didn't sing much. She was more of a piano player. Maybe it was the holiday spirit but she had found her way to Professor Stewart.

"I'm here to partake in the carolling, Professor."

Kimi walked along the third floor corridor and said "Hello Professor Stewart i am here for the carol singalong"

Oh, lookit!

Camilla smiled warmly as two of her students arrived to join in on the caroling. "Ms. Holmes, Mr. Kovalainen, I'm so glad you both decided to come along and sing with me!" Could they tell she was excited? She was excited! "Here you are, these are for the pair of you." She handed them each a parchment booklet containing a few Christmas carols just in case they didn't happen to know/remember the words to some of the songs.

"I have some Christmas hats here if either of you would like to wear one," the Transfiguration professor offered pulling out several from the bag hanging on her shoulder. Santa hats, elf hats, reindeer antlers and even a snowman one. They were more then welcome to even keep the hat if they liked.

With a happy grin on her face and a clap of her hands Cami looked between Zelena and Kimi. "I shall warn you that I am not the best singer there is but I do enjoy it very much. With that lets get started and draw some more students out of these rooms!" Laughing quietly Cami started to sing the words to a song she was sure nearly all the children would know. Jingle bells.

Was...that...singing?

River popped his head around his office door and stayed that way as he listened to all the singing that was happening. Oh...oh, it's today wasn't it? The Healer almost forgot about the caroling thing given that he was busy keeping the Infirmary clean. Considering that it was the holiday season, it was expected that the elves were extra busy...therefore, the took the liberty to clean up the ward himself.

With a mischievous grin on his face, River got out of his office with a cup of hot tea in his hand, and hid behind a wall to listen to one of his colleagues singing. The man took a peek, and his grin turned into a smile when he saw who it was. Surely, Cami wouldn't mind him singing along, yes?

River flattened his back against the wall, and kept himself hidden from the carolers. This...should be fun!

As they started off with the song, River tilted his head from left to right, and tapped his foot following the beat. "Meowmeowmeow...meowmeowmeowmamaaaooo..." What? Cats can sing too, did they know? The man pursed his lips to prevent himself from laughing, and would supply the second voice whenever he got the chance.

Carlton was all dressed up in his Christmas outfit his granny had made him. He was so proud of it. The bright green sweater with matching pants was his favorite thing to wear. Not only was the outfit in his favorite shade of green but it also had little bells sewn onto it. Plus, this year his granny had sent him a green Christmas hat to match with a loud golden bell at the end of it. His sister said he looked like an elf, but that was a silly thing to say. Carlton looked nothing like Schmoops or Pips.

Jingle, jingle, jingle

He was so proud of his little bells and the sound they made when he pranced down the corridor. But then something else reached him... Voices. Carlton stopped, lifted his hat from his ear so he could properly locate where it was coming from. Then he ran towards it.

"Christmas carols, christmas carols, christmas carols!"

Carlton rounded a corner and found the little trio of singers. He bounced with hapiness when he saw that professor Stewart was also wearing a Christmas hat. A red one and not a green, but it looked dashing either way. He bolted towards her and the two students he'd actually never spoken to directly. He skipped, bounced and ran towards the three of them waving to them. All the excitement!

Jingle, jingle, jingle

"Professor! Professor Stewww....."

Was that... A cat? Or Peeves playing a joke? Carlton stopped abruptly, frowning.

Whaaaaaa....

"... Meow?" Was... Was he supposed to meow back? Crazier things had happened at the school than cats singing along to Christmas carols.

Here, kitty, kitty, kitty!

Carlton beamed at the professor. "There's singing cats!" Carlton wasted no time. "We should answer them!" Jingle bells was great and all, but a choir of singing cats? That had to be the best thing this Christmas.

Having things left up in the air was something Elle had gotten used to when it came to where she’d be during the holidays. Therefore, she was waiting for an owl to tell her if she was going home or staying at the castle, and that not knowing had led to her wandering. So far, she’d stuck to the lower floors, a bit irritated by the fact she was nearly confined to the indoors, but she was making the best of it. However, one of the portraits had mentioned people gathering on the third floor and that had piqued her curiosity. As long as it wasn’t anything disastrous, she figured she’d be okay.

Heading up to the third floor, she’d heard the strange sound of a cat meowing out Jingle Bells, and a soft giggle slipped out before she could hold it back. As she’d gotten closer, she’d realized it hadn’t sounded exactly like a real cat. There were enough in the Slytherin common room that she knew what that sounded like, and the sight of Healer Reed hidden behind a wall led her to believe she knew the answer. However, she wasn’t going to reveal it if he wanted to stay hidden.

“Maybe they just like to hear us singing?,” she suggested, joining the small group and slipping an elf hat onto her head. “Hello Professor Stewart.” She’d given the Charms professor a smile, followed by the same to Zelena, Carlton and Kimi. She wasn’t the best singer ever. She knew that, just as she knew she lived with someone who was. Nat. But Nat wasn’t there, and she was. Plus, her hedgehog didn’t ever complain about her singing, so she figured she was okay at it. Besides, caroling was for fun.

Zelena looked at the book of carols she had just been given, with excitement. When she saw the assortment of hats, she just had to wear the reindeer antlers. It reminded her of her dad, John for some reason.

"I'll have the antlers, thanks." Zelena said as she carefully grabbed a pair and placed them on her head.

When Professor Stewart mentioned singing skills, Zelena smiled and said, "It is all about having fun. Besides, I can hold a tune but I'm not astounding in that respect."

When the first words of "Jingle Bells" were starting to be sung by Professor Stewart, Zelena joined in and then she heard...

....Meowing? Had someone brought along their cat? Zelena continued singing as she looked around for the source of the noise. Her eyes then spotted Healer Reed leaning against a wall. Her eyes met his and she smirked. It was harmless fun so she certainly wasn't going to cause a fuss. She turned back to the front and continued to sing.

Exactly what Professor Stewart wanted to happen happened. Just meer moments after she had begun singing were they joined by more students. The happy smile on her face widen and she held out hats and a parchment containing the songs on it to each of them. Of course her singing stopped just then so that she could greet each one properly. "Hello, Ms. Penrose."

Oh, lookit Mr. Lewis in his christmas outfit! "You look wonderful, Mr. Lewis! I would saw the green suits you splendidly!" And those bells that jingled too! Cami loved it. He was certainly getting into the season and making things fun.

"Certainly Ms. Holmes," she smiled handing her the antlers. "It is all about the fun! I'm not the best but I do enjoy a good song every now and again." With the students all in tow she went back to her singing pausing when she heard something that was rather odd...

What that- MEOWING?

It was!

Camilla glanced at the students to see that it was not any of them. Had Bonsai her cat somehow followed them out into the corridors? No, no she was certain it was not a real cat. "I don't believe it is a real cat Mr. Lewis but you're free to answer it if you like." If meowing back made the young boy happy then she was all about that, it wouldn't hurt anyone.

"Let's see if we can locate this 'singing cat' shall we? Perhaps he/she would like to join us," she was joking obviously about it being a cat. Ushering the students along Cami rounded the corner into another corridor taking her to where Healer Reed was hiding. A soft laugh left her lips at seeing him. "River, hello, you haven't happened to see a singing cat have you?" Cue a teasing grin and a glance at the students.

Had they found the 'singing cat'?

"MeowmeowmeowMAAAOOO." River finished the song without cracking up in between, but he almost spilled his tea when Miss Penrose and Miss Holmes caught sight of him. The Healer was quick to put his index finger against his lips, and hoped that they wouldn't spoil the fun for the rest of the carolers...especially for the young ones like Carlton. Did everyone hear what the kid said? Hahahaha!

TAKE THAT, FROG CHOIR!

As soon as River heard their footsteps, the Healer was torn between staying in his spot or to move back to the safety of his office. Apparently, he took too much time debating himself because the next thing he knew, Cami stood near him...but, she doesn't know about the cat...yet.

"Singing cat? Now that is interesting." River smiled to each and every caroller and gave his greeting, "Happy Christmas everyone. I hope you're enjoying the activity...and Professor Stewart's voice." Hehehehe.

Carlton beamed when professor Stewart complimented his christmas outfit. He blushed and squirmed slightly. She thought it suited him 'splendidly'. SPLENDIDLY. He did a little shake of his body to get all the bells to jingle merrily. "Thank you, professor.". Aahh, life. Wasn't it just wonderful?

When the professor told him it wasn't a real cat, Carlton frowned suspiciously. Of course it was a cat. It sounded nothing like a dog. But he wasn't one to disagree with a professor. So he kept his opinions to himself. He did however answer the cat. Because it was a cat. He didn't know of any other animals that meowed.

"MEOWWWWW!" He tip-toed after the professor and the other students so that the bells on his sweater and hat chimed loudly.

"MeeeeeeeeeeOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOW!"

Jingle, jingle, jingle.

Wait.... Healer Reed? "Hello Mr. Healer-professor-Reed-sir." Carlton never knew what to call him. So he called him everything just in case. Yes, yes, hello, very good, hi. Now where was the cat? Carlton spun around him, crouching down and squinting his eyes in his search for it.

"You haven't happened to see a cat-choir have you, professor-sir-reed-healer?" He didn't want to get his outfit all dirty by crawling around on his knees to find the cats in question so sitting down and crouching on the floor would have to do. "Maybe my bells scared them away?" He bounced a little where he sat so the bells jingled again. He hoped they hadn't scared the kitties.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Steelsheen

Wait..... You cant have a picnic at parks? But there are picnic areas?.....

Ok he shouldnt get distracted about that. "Having a break is fine...." he nodded as he finished off his candy "Its just that sitting in the middle of the corridor is generally not allowed, even if you're hurrying answering homework just before class..." Of which they're all guilty of.

"If you sit on the window ledge by the wall..... thats acceptable, so long as you dont stay there for too long...." otherwise it would be dawdling. Or worse, some Prof might think one is skipping class. He got up and offered his hand "Why dont we move to that window over there? Not as cold, much better view."

Santa!Gaston was making a second trip through the halls of Hogwarts, just to make sure ha hadn't missed any candy gram recipents. As he was walking down the corridor, he saw Mr. Salander and stopped to hand the Gryffindor prefect a candy cane. "HO, HO, HO! Merry Christmas, Mr. Salander!" he said. Attached to the candy cane was a card that said:

Quote:

To: Tenacius Salander

you're so Ace
you're number one
I hope this Christmas
brings a ton of fun!

From: A friendly classmate

Santa!Gaston contiued on his way, and a little farther down the hall he spotted Cami and River singing Christmas carols with some of the students. And... was that a cat he heard? Phantom hadn't escaped from his office, had she? "HO, HO, HO!" he called out, hoping the carolers would hear him over all the singing (and meowing. "Look what Santa's brought!" He set his big red sack down and pulled out a candy cane. "Here's a gift for Miss Zelena Holmes!" He handed the Slytherin girl a candy cane with the following message:

Quote:

To: Zelena Holmes

Zelena, oh me, oh my!
Your hair is as shiny as freshly laid paint;
Your eyes as bright as a clear, blue sky.
I admire you from afar...and hope with all my hope that you have the Merriest Christmas of them all!

From: a secret friend

He reached back into the bag for another candy cane. "And this one's for..." He paused to red the card. "Miss Elle Penrose!" He gave the girl a candy cane; attached was a card that read:

Quote:

To: Elle Penrose

Can I have a hedge-hug?
Merry Christmas!

From: a friend

But Santa!Gaston still wasn't done handing out gifts! He produced one last candy cane and read the attached card. "And here's one for Healer Reed!"He gave his colleague a small smile as he handed him the candy cane. He hoped the white hair and beard and disguised voice would be enough to hide his identity... or at least River wouldn't blow his cover if he did guess. This candy cane bore the message:

Quote:

To: Healer River Reed

Thanks for helping me out with my arm and offering great advice! I swear I won't cause trouble. Happy Holidays!

From: Olivia Holden

Santa!Gaston picked up his sack and slung it back over his shoulder. "Well, I must be off!" he said. "I hope you enjoy your candy! Merry Christmas!" And he continued on his way.

Camilla smiled warmly unable to hold back a soft laugh when Carlton did a little shake making all the bells on his outfit jingle merrily! That was certainly the cutest thing she'd seen so far this holiday. "You're very welcome, Mr Lewis."

Was Carlton really 'Meowing' in reply to this 'cat'? Oh, my! Now that was even cuter! This child was precious but she was a Professor and therefore wouldn't go on making a fuss. Cami did smile warmly nodding her head at him. Maybe the 'cat' would answer back for all they knew.

"Yes, a singing cat River, have you not heard it at all?" she grinned at him holding back a light laugh. She knew now for sure with his light teasing that the 'cat' was him. Deciding to play along she looked around at her carolers. "Perhaps if we continue singing our song in meows the cat will join back in?" Hey, no one said they couldn't have fun and be silly with their holiday songs!

Hey! Was he teasing her singing voice?! Camilla looked at River when she spoke again, "My voice is very lovely I'm sure everyone is enjoying it." Note the teasing tone in her voice at this! She was not the best singer that was for sure!

Was that...Santa? Cami eyed the person dressed as Santa and grinned to herself when she realized who it was upon closer inspection. A few Candy Grams were given out and she nodded at Santa/Gaston as he left calling out to him, "Merry Christmas to you too!"