Too many people made Nat's anxiety raise. She had been getting better and actually making friends, but she started feeling that anxious feeling and needed to take a quick break away from everyone. So moving to the Alley seemed to be the best option. She took a few deep breaths and watched everyone on the front stree from afar. This was her usual ways. The ways she was trying to get away from.

She thought about everyone she had met and all the great people that she could actually, hopefully call friends. Even her journal seemed to like her writing more now that she was in school with people that actually talked to her instead of talk about her.

It hadn't gone unnoticed by Dot that a girl was slipping down the dark alley between two shops, and while it was really none of her business... she didn't think she was supposed to ignore it. Either the girl was up to something, or she needed help. And that was prefecting work 101.

"I don't think this is a very safe place to hang out." Dot scuffed her feet against the ground to let the girl know she was there. Didn't want to scare her or anything.

She was liking being back there alone. It was calming to be just watching and invisible. Not that she wasn't liking meeting new friends, but she was starting to get a little overwhelmed by all the feelings and thoughts going through her head anymore. Not paying attention to anything around her Nat jumped hearing a voice.

Her brown eyes turned on the girl who had just spoke. The Slytherin prefect. She remembered her from the corridor and seeing her in the common room. "Not safe? Oh, I didn't know. This is my first time here. " Her Australian accent still strong. "I just wanted a little break from the crowds. I'm not really one that likes big groups." Her eyes glanced back to the main street.

"What are you doing back here?"

The girl was jumpy, which probably meant she was up to no good. Dot put her hands on her hips and tapped her toe, a gesture she'd learned from her mother. It was always very effective in putting Dot on notice, and she hoped the girl would re-think any possible lies she might be cooking.

"It's dark, and someone could steal your purse," Dot tried to look ferocious about it, but she was starting to feel... amused. At the girl, at the sort-of-but-not-really rule breaking, and at the jumpiness.

"You should get a table at Puddifoot's to be by yourself. It feels like you're alone in a room full of people in there." Which maybe wasn't comforting.

Why was she putting her hands on her hips, UGH, Natalia had seen this before. Her other school, the mean girls. Did she some how get the information on Nat's life with her mother and now going to use it against her? Everyone else here said it wasn't her fault, but she knew it was only a matter of time until the ugly came out. People weren't nice, they just weren't. So she had been in a dream.

She glanced at her small purse that had been over her shoulder. It was one of her prizes that she swiped the last summer she had in Australia. "It's not this years style, so maybe they'd be doing me a favor." She chewed on her lip, she couldn't get into trouble. She didn't want them owling Joe. Maybe coming here today was not smart, she should have just stayed in her dorm hidden. That would have been better.

"You still didn't say why you were back here." Nat had been back here for a bit, so it wasn't that she followed. Maybe she was doing something and didn't want to get caught. "What is Puddifoots?" Alone in a room full of people, "That is something I'm very use to, but I like being alone by being alone. Where I can see what's going on but I'm not in the big group." It was true, but not true for today. She'd stick with it though.

He wasn’t exactly inside the dark and creepy looking alley but Kevin was leaning against the wall on the busy street nearby it, watching the shoppers walk by. He was bored and after walking around Hogsmeade and hoping to find his best friend, who he already knew wouldn’t be there because he had that internship but one could hope right? And he had been where he had begun.

Only, this time his hand hold a plastic bag with various types of candies inside of it and he picked out the bertie botts to eat. He eyed a suspicious looking yellow bean and put it back and instead grabbed a red one. He put it in his mouth, chewed on it and gasped loudly . His tongue sticking out and he waved with his hand to cool it down. HOOOOOT!

No, this wasn't suspicious, no.

Cosgrach was here, because he was bored as well. He'd had a few things to do at the university, but his work finished early, so he decided to visit Hogsmeade and reminiscence his six years spent here. It looked different, he didn't recognise some of the faces and he didn't like it, so he decided to walk the Back Alley that would barely change. Only...

"Kevin?" He wasn't sure if it was the boy, because the boy's back was turned at him, but... he looked so and... maybe this WAS beginning to look suspicious now.

Kevin was still having an inner struggle of playing it cool and let the hot pepper taste go away or run around in circles. He had never been a hero with spicy food and he regretted buying the bertie botts.

When the spiciness finally subsided, he let out a sigh of relief and was about to dug in to the bag of candy again when he heard a voice coming from behind him. Kevin? him? Duh, he was the only person here and although kevin was a common name he didn't think it was directed towards anyone else.

The almost seventeen year old turned around and nearly dropped the bag on the ground when he saw who had called his name. He quickly composed himself and looked at his old potions professor. "What are you doing here?" he asked and after a moment he added a "Sir?"

Yep, it was THE Kevin.

With the sass and all.

"What are you doing here?" he asked in the same surprised tone. Although he wasn't his professor anymore, he still got to ask questions first. He also wondered what Kevin did in general too. Was he still a lost case? Did he hate the society?

The same question back. With the same surprised tone. Kevin raised his eyebrow. This brought him back to his school years again. But instead of retorting back, he simply grinned. "Eating" he said, holding up the bag of candy he had bought earlier. And no, he wasn't going to offer some. This was his candy. His!

He crossed his arms over each other and leaned against the wall behind him. "Now, what brings you here, Sir?"

Eating. Cosgrach snorted, but it wasn't an annoyed sort of snort - as he wasn't his professor anymore, his behaviour didn't affect him that much.

The man enjoyed the lack of responsibility, he really did.

He shrugged at the question and shoved his hands in his pockets. "I quit my job here," he said, unsure of what Kevin knew about the school, "and now I teach at the university. So I finished work early and figured I could visit and see how the school is doing." Fair enough, yeah? Though, he couldn't really see how the school was doing.

"What are you up to?"

He quit his job? At Hogwarts?

Kevin looked genuinely surprised as he heard this information and placed his bag on the ground next to him. It wasn't as if it was heavy but why bother holding something when the earth can do that?

He wanted to ask why he had quit but before he could open his mouth his question had been answered. "University..." he repeated and his stomach did a little flip of discomfort. He wasn't teaching at the Uni he was applying for was he? If he was than it would be even harder for him to get in to the school than it already was considering his record. "Which University?" he asked calmly but he was silently freaking out in his head.

What he was up to? Kevin shrugged his shoulders. "My tutors gave me a day off as well" he said. "Decided to spend my time in Hogsmeade instead of Diagon Alley" He looked at his old Professor again, wondering if he should say this or not. Would he laugh or call him a liar if he said that he was studying for his final exams now? One way to find that out. "I'm studying for my N.E.W.T exams....." he narrowed his eyes as if to say 'go ahead, laugh'

Yeeeeeeah, surprising, huh? Cosgrach hadn't planned to quit so early, but the birth of his daughter changed that. Plus, he felt like he needed to do some research on university level.

"Edinburgh," he said quickly before Kevin went on to explain what he was up to.

Tutours?.. NEWTs? Well... Cosgrach was surprised and impressed. He'd thought Kevin was lost, but..? Eyebrows raised and with an expression of surprise, he nodded slowly in the end.

Also, why would he laugh even!?

"That's great for you!" he explained, "I'm glad you... are studying for them." He almost said turned your life around, but that would sound offensive. It was no lie that almost everyone had quit believing him, so Cosgrach could admit it, and anyway, this just made Kevin's success even bigger, no?

"Are you planning to get higher education?" Or would he leave it at NEWTs?

Edingburgh.....

oh no......

Kevin's face fell. Not that he had looked happy in the first place but he still looked like his dream had been shattered yet again. He did raise an eyebrow at the subtle silence before saying he was glad that he was studying for his NEWTs. He had the feeling the man had wanted to say something else but let it go. Perhaps it was better if he didn't know in the first place.

"Yeah well, apparently when i focus and stop being an...well...you know" he meant how he had been a few years ago. "I'm actually pretty good at studying. I received seven OWLS and three of them were Outstandings... including Potions" he scratched the top of his head. "Who would have thought eh?" he hadn't , but his tutors had played an amazing part in his transformation.

He wasn't even concerned about his NEWTs. He was concerned about getting in to an University. The same Uni that his old professor went to. "Well i....." he began , stopped for a moment and then sighed out his frustration. "I've always wanted to go to ..." he bit his lower lip as if he didn't wanted to say it before saying "...Edinburgh" He had been the Potions Professor at Hogwarts so was he one at the University as well?

If he was then he knew he could say bye bye to his attempt to get accepted. "Becoming an potioneer has always been a dream of mine" but getting in to that school...keeping my record in mind...was difficult.

Dora made her way from High Street, in a manner in which she thought was stealthy, into the back alley. This was where she needed to be. Away from all the others. Not that she was going to be up to anything BAD, but simply because she COULD. She was allowed to wander off now and then, yes?

Yes.

Pulling her scarf tighter around her neck she sighed, sending a puff of breath out into the air around her. That always made her laugh. So she took to huffing and puffing, making the cloud of breath go out each time, a giggle leaving her.

Now she was bored. Hadn't ANYONE seen her? Maybe she should just go peer around the wall out onto the street and beckon someone back there with her? Maybe they could plot on taking over the world or something.

Dante had just made a candy deal and well it went great. He just loved making money which was only just above his love of gossip. Popcorn was somewhere in between the two. But he could eat it while doing both so maybe that wins. He was only going in the back alley to count his money in peace because really who would be back here.

Apparently Third Years. Well, one that Dante recognized.

"Well Well Well why is Dora Umbridge in this back alley. Bored of Hogsmeade already?"

He was only teasing.

He did not really care and well its not like she is a first year. She could do what she wanted. As long as he wasn't involved.

Dora was both delighted and kind of MEH at the same time. Someone was invading her hiding spot. Which, in retrospect, wasn't that great of a hiding spot, was it? Heh. An alley didn't equal as great a spot as under a table or up a tree. Nope. She was going to have to do better next time.

"I think the better question is Why is Dante Barrington in the back alley? Nefarious reasons? Doing something illegal? Spill." He had her attention. Wide eyes were on him, she was turned to face him.

Really she was kind of bored and really wanted some juicy gossip. Dante wouldn't disappoint would he?

Why was she here? Why did she decided to come? She had been hanging out with Lily, but knew Lily was going to meet up with her sister for a bit. Nat could have went with her, but she wasn't ready for the awkward what are we stage. So instead of heading to meet Sha and most likely Vince, she headed to the alley. This is where she could hide.


She needed a break from the loudness of the front street and she was afraid to run into certain people. So kicking a rock Natalia hug on a stoop and looked up at the sky.