"I can't fly," Jaren admitted in a low voice, just in case any of the Muggles around them understood English. Which was true. Some combination of circumstance and fate had made it so that it was now nearly into his sixth year at Hogwarts, and he still didn't know how to fly on a broomstick.

"The important point is that we are all still underage and would meet severe consequences if we did that around here anyway," he continued, though he knew Ganymede wasn't being serious about it.

Nadia had actually thought about that too. But it was like a daydream, not really a plan. Well, maybe because she was too cowards to consider it--

Turning her head towards Jaren, Nadia titled her head and stared. Coming to think of it, Nadia has never seen the boy in a broomstick, could it be? Well, it would explain also why he was never interested in having a Quidditch position...

A small smile grew on her lips. One that wanted to tease. But it was easily overpowered by her little desire to laugh, and move anything in her stomach that suddenly.

She leaned back and sighed, but when she opened her eyes again she noticed something. She blinked. "Are you done eating?" She straightened up, not wanting to feel herself as a little version of that professor, if it could be called like that, Mr Borr. And she was definitely not going to take a nap holding her tummy over that chair all day.

"Well, should we get going? Walking... should be making me some good," Nadia decided, nodding at her own suggestion while a little color returned to her cheeks.

:: "Well, what next?" Ganymede asked a bit bored. Her mind was still trying to figure out who the portrait was. Maybe it was a reletive of someone. Maybe it was the Father of someone. She pondered, troubleshooting the ideas. ::

Zekke noticed Nadia's green-tinged expression and quickly finished the rest of his meal. He dug around in his pockets for something and held out a little packet.

"This will help settle your stomach, if you need it. You can mix the powder in your drink and it's completely tasteless. Or..." He dug around in his pockets some more. "A mint might help, too."

He offered Nadia the wrapped mint with a symapthetic grin and eyed Ganymede with a considering look.

Pere will have a fit if I let you guys fly around the Eiffel Tower. He'll order my head lopped off and presented to him on the best silver platter in our Estate." His voice was low, so no one else around them could hear, but it was tinged with amusement and his grin was sharp and wide. "So no way."

Even though I've always wanted to do that, too... He thought a little wistfully.

"HOWever... if you guys would like, we can make a visit to the Eiffel Tower. If that's where you want to go, then let's go." He wiped his mouth on his napkin and finished his glass of lemon water and pushed back his chair.

In all honesty, Nadia was still feeling a bit light-headed. Also true, that in another circumstances, mint would have been lovely. But not now... right... now. All thing that went though her throat would feel like an invation - just the look of something that could be considered food dizzed her. And there was this thing; since she had known about magic, all that was muggle, even medicine, looked even less appetizing.

"Actually, I'm feeling much better now," Nadia hastly responded, and stood from the chair to make a point of it, despite the complain of her body. Only because she needed to lean a bit (staying too straight wasn't helping), she placed one elbow over the chair table and a knee on the seat - that would be enough to desguise she was doing it because of some need in leaning. It would look like she was doing it to look cool. Better... no?

When Zekke pushed back his chair, Nadia stared. "Oh, we are leaving already?" Well, of course they were. "Oh great!" She paused. "Be back in a bit," she said and went to the counter, asked something, disappeared somewhere down the stairs and reappeared about two minutes later. She was always delaying them, wasn't she? On the plus side, she looked like she had recovered some color.

"I'm ready!" she announced happily. "Let's go then!"

Zekke blinked and cocked his head from one side to the other as he watched Nadia's retreat then reappearance.

"... Oh dear." He scratched the back of his head with his hand and looked a bit embarrassed.

"How's everyone else doing?" He cast an inquisitive glance at the other two before returning his gaze to Nadia. "You sure you're okay, Nadia?"

His eyebrows knitted together briefly and he hoped she wasn't sick. She didn't look sick at the moment, but...

:: Ganymede perked up. She was trying to think about too many things at the same time. So she decided not to think about anything for a little while. But at Zekkes comment, a thought did poke into her mind. Maybe I should get to know this 'Pere'. He sounds like a fun guy to prank. She sighed and nodded sightly at her own thoughts. ::

Nadia blinked at the grimace from Zekke. It only then dawned on her what he might be thinking. But. She wasn't sure she wanted to correct him. It was not that far from the truth, but just telling she had gone to the potty wasn't that nice sounding. A small tint of red appeared in her cheeks. "I'm fine enough, honest!"

Trying to take her thoughts from this embarrassment, and just to some more productive thing, she straightened up and said, "Well, are we waiting for something? If not, let's go, no?" She tried an encouraging smile, but Zekke was still grimacing, Ganymede distracted and Jaren - you wouldn't expect that one to smile back.

"Hm," her features turned into a frown, and she looked at all empty plates. "Let's go already, I wouldn't want to miss the rest of my visit in restaurant - as pretty as this one is," she added when the waitress came near, lamely, "I mean, I feel like walking."

And just as the waitress came, Nadia moved fast (or as fast as she could) to pay the bill before Zekke could. And afterwards regarded the French buddy with a proud (ha!) smile.

Jaren blinked at the speed of which Nadia beat Zekke to paying the bill and wondered to himself why he hadn't thought of that earlier. He regarded it as a sign that Nadia was indeed feeling better than she had looked earlier.

He stood along with the rest of the group to begin making the trip to the Effiel Tower. There was something about the destination that was...poking the subconcious kneazle that resided in his head. As if something might happen there...

...deciding unwisely to ignore it, he waited for the rest of the group.

ooc: Ack, let's go already *pokes you all* If we have to wait for each to post "is leaving" we will never move anywhere >.<


Still looking smug and in a good humor, only on her fast thinking, Nadia re-arranged her glasses and gestured the other two to follow. Maybe she was a little pushy when she actually dragged Ganymede up, impatient that they would miss the sunset. With no reasons to linger back (and Nadia made sure of it, giving also the tip before Zekke could beat her to it-- oh no, mister! This victory was for Chantalona-Rey, so ha!), they exited the place.

They were walking though the streets of Muggle Paris in no time. Which was already a show, the bulidings and such. Plus the streets were so clean one would wonder... if there wasn't magic involved. Celaning up a whole city couldn't be that easy. Much different from her country. She considered London to be all clean, then again.

There were musicians singing at every corners and music coming from shops, an scent of perfume or baked croissants which came from the stores. Yeah, sure, there were a couple of things that weren't completely possitive, but that was while they didn't come accross some French workman. Which any case, Nadia kind-of-obviously avoided.

There were pretty dresses on every store, but Nadia's attention was on those with stripes. Or with oversized ribbons. And there was this one in pink and white that might look nice for dress robes. Maybe later. Her attention was directed to each little thing. She felt some embarrassment to be caught, at some point, staring curiously an advertizing about a nudist beach. (ooc:... what! It's part of their culture 9.9)

But nothing prepared for such a sight. An extensive garden by the side which ended on the tower, pass a fountain with scultures at the very start -- the lights were off, but there were tall lamps escorting their pace. And the famous figure of the Eiffel Tower standing before them, looking like a giant in the background and over the buildings. She didn't thought it was that big when she looked at it in the pictures.

Zekke had watched with wide eyes as Nadia had managed to successfully snag the bill and pay the tip out from under his nose. He had been ready to protest, then thought better of it, giving Nadia a "You beat me to it this time" grin before exiting out the restaurant with everyone and heading to the Eiffel Tower.

As they walked, he let his mind wander a bit, keeping a bit of his attention devoted to some private thoughts as the other parts of his mind commented here and there on the French culture, including the nudist beaches.

His father didn't have to tell him how to treat his guests; he understood the "rules" to being a good host to the letter. However, his... understanding... or perceptions of his comrades also allowed him to alter the "rules" a bit to better suit each person.

If he had been his father, he wouldn't have allowed Nadia to pay for the group's meal -or better yet, he would have inconspicuously given the waiter the payment ahead of time. But then again, he wasn't his father and Nadia wasn't quite the "typical" person or guest. In fact, none of his housemates were in the least.

Nadia would badger him about paying for her all the time and sneak her way around it (which she managed to do!), as would Ganymede at some point or another more than likely, and Jaren would simply NOT let him after a point (which also happened!).

Thus, he took it upon himself to find a means of compromise in the way of paying ahead of time for the more expensive things, but letting his guests help pay, too.

In all actuality, he was more than happy to pay for everything. It wasn't that he wanted to flaunt his wealth - that wasn't it at all - but it gave him something... productive to do with his money.

It would make sense that he'd donate or contribute to charities or something... but...

As much as he seemed to trust people, he actually distrusted more than he trusted.

He didn't trust that most people or organizations, when donated money, would put the money to its proper good use. Thus, he never really donated money itself to anyone or anywhere. His parents "donated" more in terms of time, energy, and material things (like schoolbooks for poor children) than they did moneywise and he thought it was a prudent practice.

Share the wealth, non, in the best ways possible?

So share he did, and this time in the ways of inviting his comrades over to visit and play a bit of a host at the same time.

But then again, he didn't want to make it seem like charity, either, which was why he was content (more or less) to let his guests help out and was keenly aware of when too much was too much. But then again, being the host also gave him an excuse to indulge in his guests, too, so...

He chuckled quietly and shook his head.

Now that they were standing in view of the Eiffel Tower, his thoughts returned to the here and now. A few "click" sounds sounded off as he snapped a few pictures of the Eiffel Tower and the surrounding area, careful to not take any pictures of his comrades.

The view was indeed a sight to behold, the horizon taking on a pale pink and orangey glow as the sun readied to make its descent.

The sun was fixed to set in another hour or so, which would give them time... Ooops.

"If we want to go to the top to catch the sunset, we should start walking that way," Zekke chuckled and waved a hand over and up in the general direction and grinned. "Sun's fixing to set in another hour or so, so we need to give ourselves a bit of time." He pivoted on his heel and started heading in the appropriate direction facing backwards while waving at the group to follow.

Jaren nodded in reply, noting that there were uncountable numbers of couples around the vicinity, probably about to enjoy the sunset from the top of the Effiel Tower as well.

Reminding himself that he was not in school and had no say in sticking rampant snoggers in detention (no matter how much he would have preferred to do so), he looked solidly straight ahead and followed Zekke.

Inside the Effiel there were the usual stock of tourist couples and families as well as locals, though the number of couples (young dating couples, newlyweds, and otherwise) greatly outnumbered the number of any other category.

Such an observation made Jaren wonder in what state the Moulin Rouge would have been in at this time of day.

ooc: That... small... complicate mental monologue - and I thought I was the only person to complicate things like that Then again, your posts, Steph, and my posts have to be the longest on the SS school for a reason @_@


Nadia grinned enthusiastically at the tip and quickened her pace jogging to keep Zekke's. Upon crossing the door (?), and alerted by Zekke's words about missing the sunset, Nadia spinned her head in every direction looking for a way up, next she climbed the first spare elevator on view, barely paying attention to the ground floor expositions and such. They could always come back later at night to check it, right?

From that lift down they arrived the first plataform, and got into a new lift for the second-- and from there, a last elevator to the top. None of this lifts were closed enviroments; it was possible to have a view while you went up. They could see all around, a 3D-show landscape wherever one looked. The sensation of vertigo mixed with excitement was acting on Nadia's stomach at some point. It was the only time she prayed her eyes from the surroundings of the city to concentrate solely in some other guy-in-the-elevator's shirt (where she kept re-reading the phrase, as if for the first time, 'Simple et Elegant.') To which point, she started hating the phrase.

Decided not to allow the dizziness ruin the show, she kept pushing the idea aside and concentrate on whatever other thing she could set eyes on. But then again, there was, from the other inhabitants of the lift, only couples from which there was one who seemed to decide on spending the time until the lift reached the top by snogging their heads off. And Nadia was not about to be there watching so she looked another way.

Finally, what was undoubtly the longest of the elevator rides, they where reaching the top plataform. The last still made Nadia feel uneasy - excited but uneasy. Also because her sight had changed from spot to spot during the ride, and the sunlight was hitting her glasses depending where she looked. In the end, she staggered a bit on the spot out of dizzyness. Not falling, and most importantly, not falling on top of anybody, but about to stomp on Ganymede (caught herself just by seconds) and in turn hitting Jaren's shoulder. "Sorry," she appologized in a small voice and rubbed her temples behind her glasses.

But no, she was decided to not let that silly dizziness get to her, ruin the moment and much less let her friends realize. Indeed, once the elevator doors opened, a breeze would hit her face and it would be enough to let it all be back to normal.

:: Ganymede followed along as best as she could. Her head was going this way and that, looking at everything.
When they got to the Tower, she gave the whole height of it a grand look. She then noticed the couples kissing and her heart yearned to have a boyfriend. She looked at Zekke. Then she looked over at Nadia and Jaren. Her stomach felt weird. She looked at Zekke as they began to make the journey to the top. With all the work they did at school, none of them ever had any time for a boyfriend or a girlfriend. She always thought Nadia and Jaren would get together in the end. Although she did have feelings for Jaren, she knew that he'd probably kill her if she mentioned the idea. So, the other option was Zekke. Not a bad option at all.
As they went up, her ears popped. It was getting cold as they went. Unintentionally, Ganymede's hair grew several inches longer to cover her neck and shoulders. She quickly threw the hood of her sweater over her head. "Oh geez.." She muttered with a blush. She cowered a bit down, trying to hide behind the tall Zekke.
When they reached the top she quickly got off the elevator and was almost pushed over by Nadia. Luckily, Nadia didn't fall. The strange feeling in her stomach from before dissipated as she saw Paris and a beautiful sunset. ::

When at last they had reached the top, Jaren stepped off the platform only to have Nadia run blindly into his shoulder. He turned around to take stock of his comerades. Gany seemed to have taken to hiding behind Zekke for some reason, and Nadia looked somewhat unstable on her feet, though maybe that was due to the fact the setting sun's rays were glancing off her glasses. Because Jaren had his back to the sun (temporarily), he wasn't that affected by the light.

Then again, perhaps it would blind him enough and he wouldn't have to stare at kissy couples scattered throughout the area.

Zekke muttered something under his breath, but looked otherwise content with the fact that they had made it to the top in record time. Having made many many trips to the Eiffel Tower in his life, he had grown immune - mostly - to the various numerous couples who liked to indulge in PDA in varying degrees.

Apparently, the others weren't as immune - either to the snoggers or to the changing weather - and he gladly let Ganymede keep cover behind him.

Acknowledging his guests' reactions to the... lovey dovey nature of the view... made him engage in a moment of silent introspection.

If I...

His thoughts wandered for a moment before he hastily reined them back in. They were wandering in a not-so-pleasant direction and he decided that now wasn't the time to ponder such things.

Forcing himself to shove the thoughts aside, he concentrated instead on the gorgeous view that presented itself to them and he took the moment to snap a few choice pictures.

The sun was juuuuuust starting to set and he called the others to watch.

"The view out there is better than the view in here," he murmured with a wink.

:: Ganymede slowly came out from behind Zekke and walked to the edge. She looked down. "This is nice." She said with a small smile. "Jaren, Come see this!" She said feeling very alive. She then waved toward Zekke and Nadia, "C'mon you guys! Check this out!" She pointed to various mundane things that suddenly seemed very interesting from the top of the Eiffel Tower. ::

Nadia didn't need be told twice. She stepped out and into the last and highest floor; not as wide as the other but nice enough. Impossing in a way, even when they were up there and now under. When they had reached the place, managing to take her reaction to be less... less painful, let us say - now calm enough, she reached over to find a spot from which have a nice look.

She reached closer to the edge and leaned with her elbows on said edge. Ganymede had already beat her to it-- well, better walk at this point. The sun was starting to hide between clouds and buildings, and a pinkish-blue color had tinted the horizon.

Still, looking at it directly was a little troubling. Nadia had to take her glasses off to stop it from reflecting the sun, and equally couldn't see a thing and that also made her eyes hurt without glasses. Irritated she wondered if there was any spells for making glasses stop being a pain. Lazer correction treatment maybe, though there was nothing magical about that.

Still, she let herself relax and stay there, put, leaning at the edge and looking about, and allowing herself to sigh into the afternoon view. Imagine how she would have missed this if they had come tomorrow and it rained? 'Wouldn't forget herself.

:: Ganymede gave a dramatic sigh, "Paris! A city for lovers" She said giving a small glance at her pals and then at the snogging couples that surrounded them. She made another dramatic sigh before looking out at the sun setting. "It looks magical." ::

Resolutely, Zekke closed his mind to everything save for the view and for his comrades as he stared out into the sunset and the city sprawled out below them.

"A city for everyone, really... if you know where to look and where to go. Certainly a city for artists." He commented with a nod.

"You know... it doesn't matter how many times I've been here... the view is always different. Like that building over there... it wasn't there last time... and the winding street over there? It used to be so full of cars and it's actually rather empty today..."

His thoughts were more like spoken-aloud observations than actual conversation matter, but oh well. The fascination was in his voice though and in his actions as he turned his head this way and that to get different views of the city scape.

Nadia let a small chuckle and a smirk. Though she listened to Zekke as he spoke, her thoughts returned to Ganymede's outburst. Finally, not helping herself from commenting, she whispered to the girl without taking her eyes from the view. "Have you noticed, Gany? People will think we are two couples."

She turned from the sight momentarily and turned at the boys, "Umh, if I'm made look like I have a couple... I choose Zekke!"

She said this last dropping the low tone and then explained, "Zekke is more sensitive, and would play a more convincing mate." She smirked, humored. This could very well be considered girl-talk; Nadia hadn't that close female friends but for Ganymede and never did speak of this, so it was a firsty. Funny experience, it was. Amusing.

Nadia turned to the landscape again, not giggling but close ( ) and wondered if she maybe spoke more than she should have. Well... There was no doubt about Zekke being sensitive, just hear the boy speak!

Nadia had indeed spoken a little louder than she had probably intended to and Zekke had to chuckle. Eyes flitting to the girls and back to the scenery, he reached out and ruffled Nadia's hair then Ganymede's hair with a grin before returning his attention to capturing a few more pictures.

:: Ganymede's nose flared slightly at Nadia's statement. So, if she has Zekke. Then I get Jaren. Fine. Ganymede thought with a strange competitiveness. She fixed her hair under her hood. She moved over toward Jaren. "Isn't the night nice?" She asked him smiling and giving a few flutters of her eyelashes. ::

With a tint of red reaching her cheeks, both since she heard Zekke chuckle at her little girl-chat tease and because of having her hair messed like a child (the circumstances wouldn't allow her to go "hey!" mockingly outraged), tried to cover her own snickering with a cough and turned to Zekke wanting to sound convincing, "That's no way to treat your sweetheart, now is it, Z?"

Though her humor died out as an alarm flared somewhere at the sight of Ganymede. Oh no. Nononono-- Umh, it wasn't because of anything about the two. But. Ouch. It was a joke! It was clear it had been a joke, wasn't it? She meant, 'act' like a couple. Not actually coupling. Zekke hadn't misinterpretate it... right? She risked a temptative look at the boy, and then from Jaren to Gany, shifting slightly. Now she was going to be held responsible for messing things for the group. Me and my big mouth...

Jaren wasn't exactly paying attention anymore, mainly due to the fact that he was staring at a couple over to his right. A man with short brown hair and square glasses with a dark-haired petite French woman. The man was speaking in broken French and was obviously not a native speaker of the language. The look Jaren had on his face was...guarded, as if he was considering backing off and dissapearing without a trace.

As it would be, he didn't get the option. The woman looked his way and her eyes widened with shock as she reckognized him.

"Jaren!"

Jaren flinched slightly and immediately looked away, as if hastily pretending to be someone else.

ooc: Gyah, need to go. I'll have to leave it off here...>.<