"Ok then, suit yourself," Anna said, putting one of the chocolate frogs back into her pockets but keeping the other for her to eat now. When Cale's stomach growled, she eyed him suspiciously and then asked, "You aure about that, Cale?" She flashed him a friendly smile to let him know that she was only kidding, and that if she didn't feel up to eating anything right now, she wouldn't push the subject. Anna unwrapped a chocolate frog and bit into it.

"We did," Anna confirmed. "It was actually a...nice conversation, if I do say so myself. That Evolette, she's not so bad after all, you know?" Anna nodded and then made a move to shove the candy wrapper into her pocket. "So, tell me, how are you and Evolette doing now-a-days anyway?" she asked. Oh, this was going to fun. Realllly fun. She couldn't wait to see what sort of answer he would come up with to this question. Hmph, fake relationship...

Cale rolled his eyes and turned to face her again. Couldn't she tell that he didn't want to talk right now? "Oh, that's nice. I dunno why you're so concerned about us though, since you're leaving tomorrow," he mumbled. Why was she acting so cheery? Geez, how insensitive! She KNEW how much she was hurting him and yet she was walking around like absolutely nothing in the world was wrong.

"Now that you're leaving I don't see why I have to inform you about my personal life...it's not like you're going to see us everyday or anything," he grumbled angrily.

Anna blinked, a little startled and hurt that he was being so snappy with her. Then again, she had to also look at things from his perspective, too. She knew deep down under that he was probably crushed that she was leaving Hogwarts for America, the same way she would feel if the tables were turned and he was the one who was leaving. She sighed, trying to will herself to not be so startled and hurt at his actions when there was no telling what was going through that head of his right now.

"Okay, okay," she said, looking back up at him. He was definitely not going to be willing to stand here and talk to her in that terrible mood he was in. She may as well just get her part of this conversation over with first. "Look, I can tell you don't really want to be standing here and talking to me right now, and to be honest, I don't blame you. I know what's going through your head of yours right now. If I let you in a little secret of mine, will you agree to stay here just a little bit longer and talk with me? There's some thing I really need for you to hear," she explained.

Cale shook his head again. "Anna, I don't want to hear it!" he cried, his arms flailing about as he got worked up. "You're leaving and I just...you can't! You just can't!" he exclaimed. Oh lordy, he was about to go off into a drama queen meltdown.

"I still don't get, after everything I've told you, everything we've been through, how you can just leave and forget that any of this ever happened. These last few months...up until start of term, of course...have been so important to me and I know they've been important to you, so don't even say they weren't cause that will be just downright lying to my face." he told her in one long rant. He began to pace...all of his feelings were coming out and he couldn't stop it. He was practically throwing a tantrum...thank goodness Shel wasn't anywhere to be found! How embarrassing would it be to have him see Cale like this?

"Anna, just...don't go," he told her, stopping finally and looking at her dead in the eye. "Don't go, please...don't leave. I don't know what I'll do without you! You'll just be making both of us miserable and I won't be able to stand it. You're my best friend--I can't lose my best friend! So please, please, don't leave!" he told her.

He was breaking down right in front of her, the tough fascade that he had been pulling for the last few months crumbling apart at his feet. He felt himself drop to his knees before he even realized he was doing it, looking up at her with pleading eyes. "Anna, don't go. You CAN'T go. I still care about you and I still need you here," he said softly, looking up at her from his spot on the ground.

"But what I have to tell you is something you will want to hear!" Anna responded, panic coming through in the tone of her voice. She hoped he didn't turn and bolt down the hall and refuse to listen to the news she had to tell him. It was too important! Besides, she wasn't sure she was up for another sprint through Hogwarts again trying to keep up with him. "But, Cale, I'm---" It was no use, though. He had nearing meltdown status for a few minutes now, and there was no use in trying to get in another word until he had calmed down.

Anna simply shut her mouth and listened as Cale went on and on saying things that she knew he was right about. Regardless of whether Cale and Anna were together as a couple or not, they still needed to be near one another. They'd been through too much together for one of them to make a move that would possibly separate them for a lifetime. Suddenly, without any warning, a flood of memories came rushing back to Anna, flashing before her eyes as if she were watching them on the big screen at some muggle movie theater. Regardless of whether or not they were ever a couple again, they would have to always be together. She couldn't leave him, and he couldn't leave her.

When Cale sank to the floor, Anna's eyes filled up with tears that came crashing down her face at rapid rates. Then, that force that always managed to draw the two of them together forced her to go crashing down to the floor with him, so that they were seated, facing one another, both on their knees. "You're my best friend, Cale," she began. "I could never, ever leave you. That's what I followed you down here to say. I've owled my father and he's not coming to pick me up tomorrow...or ever, for that matter. I'm staying here at Hogwarts with....with you. I'm so sorry," she said, right before leaning over and crashing into him with a hug. She pulled away briefly to kiss him on the forehead and then crashed right back into him with an even tighter hug.

Cale listened to her talk from his lonesome spot on the floor, and when she said that she was actually staying, he felt a rush of emotions. Part of him felt completely stupid for groveling at her feet like this. Another part was so immensely realived at her words that he felt like crying.

But no, that would NOT be cool. Although he was seriously very VERY close, now that she had fallen on top of him and basically collapsed into a big crying mess. He wrapped his arms around her and hugged her back, pushing back the lump in his throat as he pulled both of them up so that they were standing again.

"Do, do you mean it?" he asked softly, looking at her in disbelief. If she really was staying then...his imagination took off. He'd tell her all about Evolette and how it was all fake, and how he had only done it because she had hurt him so bad with the Seth kiss thing. They'd sit down in the common room and talk about their problems and get over them, and in a few days, they could be back together. They would be Cale and Anna, a couple again, and it would be just like they used to be. And they'd be together, unlike last year, where they were at different schools. And the second time around would be better, SO much better than before.

Anna felt Cale pull her up, and suddenly they were both on their feet again. Through her tears, she smiled and nodded in reply to his question. "Yes, yes I really mean it!" she answered. "That's what I was in such a hurry for when I was practically chasing after you earlier! I didn't think I would ever catch up with you, and it was so important that I tell you immediately! I...I knew it would make you happy," she said, blushing just a little bit on that last statement. Telling Cale that she was staying was so much easier than she thought it would be. She had thought the scene over and over and over again in her head, imagining the worst possible scenarios each time. She was honestly a little worried that he would be upset that she was, in fact, not leaving, although she could see now where that wasn't the case at all.

"We do have a lot to talk about, though," Anna said, her tone turning serious once again. "I need to talk to you about a few things I'm responsible for, and then I'd like to ask you a few questions, too. In the meantime, let's not worry about those things. We can talk about them later. First things first, thank you. Thank you for caring about me so much that you'd want me to stay here with you and never leave. I'd be crushed if you left, too, you know?"

Cale nodded. "Yeah, we have a LOT to talk about," he agreed. Mainly everything that they had broken up for, and the stabs in the back that each of them had inflicted on each other the past few months.

"I'm putting up my white flag," he said with a smile. "I'm tried of all these arguments and trying to show up the other person. Friends?" he asked, flashing her an irrestible smile of pearly white teeth. They could be friends now, right? Of course they could--he had just gotten on his knees and begged for her to stay. That pretty much showed how serious he was about this.

Slowly, the corners of Anna's mouth began to creep their way up into a smile. A few seconds later, Anna was beaming with happiness, a smile spread wide all over her face to prove it. "Really, Cale?" Anna asked, tackling him once again in a hug. "Me, too! I'm putting up my white flag, as well!" she exclaimed. "Not just friends, though. Best friends!" She released him from the hug and stood back and just smiled at him for the longest time. They were going to be friends again---best friends. All of the bad memories were going to be put into the past forever. No more moping around the castle, no more glares or back-stabbing. No more crying herself to sleep night after night. It almost made her smile fade into a frown to realize that he'd probably being going through the exact same things she had been going through.

"This makes me so happy, Cale!" she continued. "I've missed you so much! I miss our talks, I miss...everything!" She tried to calm herself down, but right now, all she pretty much wanted to was take off into a sprint and run around the castle about ten good times. She would have to calm herself down, though. She and Cale needed to talk about a LOT of very important things, Evolette McKenna being first on that list---hopefully.

"So, shall we sit?" she asked, taking a seat against the wall without waiting for an answer from him. "I'd like to know about you and Evolette..."

"Oh, right," Cale muttered, leaning against the wall with her as well. He slid down to die on the floor and looked her straight in the eye. "Well...me and Evolette are nothing. It's all fake. We're not going out, and to be honest, the only reason we started pretending we were going out was because I saw you kissing Seth," he explained, turning red in the face and looking at his hands. "I wanted to hurt you as much as you hurt me, and I couldn't think of any other way to do it than pretend I was dating Evolette." he told her. Gah, he felt so horrible! The fact that he had even done such a thing should be good enough to lock him up in Azkaban.

Anna should probably be angry at what he was saying, but she wasn't. Not anymore, at least. She'd gotten out all her anger and frustration when she'd first heard the story from Evolette earlier. So instead of pitching a classic Anna Greingoth fit, she just looked up at Cale with loving, understanding eyes as he explained his side of the story.

"I know," Anna said, as soon as she was sure he was done with his explanation. "Remember me telling you about my conversation with Evolette earlier? Well, believe it or not, she initiated that little meeting for the sole purpose of convincing me I needed to stay here and not leave. She told me about her relationship with Terry, and she happened to mentioned that he was her boyfriend. When I called her on that, she told me about her relationship with you."

"...and you know what, Cale?" Anna asked. "It's okay. It really is. I've done a lot of hurtful things to you, too, so I have no right to get angry. First, that kiss with Seth. I should have never, ever kissed him like that. It's just, when I saw you and Evolette in the courtyard together, the two of you were holding hands, and I assumed you'd gotten together. I heard you just mention 'I wanted to hurt you as much as you hurt me,' and, well, that's where I was coming from, as well. That kiss meant nothing, and I'm sorry for it."

"Next," Anna continued, "I want to explain to you while I was leaving Hogwarts in the first place. I actually never really wanted to leave, and I still don't. It's just...when you care about someone as much as I care about you, then it hurts to lose them and see them with someone else. I thought you were happy with her and that it wouldn't affect you if I moved on. I knew I couldn't stand to stay here and see you day after day with her, so I decided to leave, and I'm sorry for that, too."

Cale blinked in surprise. "Oh...she told you?" he said in shock. Well, that was very...noble of Evolette. How unlike her!

"Well, the only reason I was holding her hand and stuff was cause I saw you two holding hands," he explained with a sigh. He drew his knees close to his chest and rested his forehead on them, exhaling deeply to get his stress out. "This whole thing has just been a back and forth battle of who is hurting who more and I don't like it one bit," he mumbled.

At her last little speech, he looked up again and pushed his hair out of his eyes. "Exactly how I feel...I couldn't stand to be away from you. If I knew you were off in America, I don't know how I could last here. I'd probably go back home and get taught by my mum and Aaron--Ezra would be super pleased, I'll bet. And I'd be WAY jealous of Emma spending more time with you than I could."

"She did," Anna said, skipping the part about Evolette's little story about herself and Terry. Evolette had asked Anna not to mention anything about it, and Anna knew that Cale would want Anna to keep her promise not to retell Evolette's story to anyone. "Of course, I had already been thinking about leaving, and to be honest, it really scared me---a LOT. I knew in my heart that I didn't want to leave, but I was afraid I'd gotten myself too far into something I couldn't back out of. I was a little nervous to tell my father that all his hard work to get me transferred was all for nothin, but as it turns out, he was just really glad I decided to stay and didn't really care what it had cost him in the longrun."

When Cale rested his forehead on his knees, Anna scooted closer to him and put her arm around him. "The only reason I was holding his hand is because I was honestly, literally falling apart at that moment. I wasn't too sure that I couldn't even stand up without getting dizzy and falling over," Anna explained. "That was the day after our break-up, and my whole world had spun out of control." When Cale didn't automatically look up or say anything else, Anna continued talking. "We don't have to fight anywhere. Neither of us want to, and it's not neccesary at all," she reassured.

"You don't have to worry about having to leave to get home-schooled," she reassured. "I hate to break it to you, but you're stuck with me now, babe. I'm here to stay...well, until graduation that is."

Cale put his arm around her as well, smiling softly at her. It felt nice to be close to her again, and to be holding her in his arms...even if it wasn't really romantic and more friendly at the moment, he liked being embranced by her.

"To be honest, my world kind of fell apart too. And to think, it was all because of some loser named Paul Kutcher?" he asked with a small chuckle.

"OH, who, by the way, is staying at my house. How ironic is that?" he asked with a grin, pushing his hair out of his face again. It was straight today, but it was starting to annoy him again. Maybe he should go back to curly for a week or two, to just change it up a bit.

"Oh, right. Graduation," he said with a sigh, leaning his head against her shoulder. Meh. He didn't want to think about that right now. He didn't want to think of school at all, especially Herbology. "Well, that's such a long way away right now, we don't have to think about that yet," he told her, smiling at her.

Anna sat still and quiet for a few minutes, enjoying the fact she and Cale were nearly back to normal. Nearly, meaning that they weren't back together as a couple, but at least they were back together as best friends. It made Anna happy to think that they could start doing things like hanging out together, going to Hogsmeade together, and even studying together again. Merlin knew both of them needed Herbology help, and she could even use a tip or two as far as Arithmancy was concerned. Nevermind the fact that she had slept late his morning and missed an entire Arithmancy lesson. Yikes!

"Paul Kutcher," Anna commented, a disgusted expression on her face. "And he's...WHAT?!?! Are you serious? Why in the name of Merlin is Paul Kutcher staying at your house?" This situation just kept getting more and more ironic as the days went on. "That could actually be a good thing, though. I've been meaning to hunt him down and personally thank him for pretty much ruining my life...the jerk."

"So, there's one more thing I need to get out into the open right now," Anna said. "Trelawney. I think I should tell you why she called me to her office that day. Just be warned, though. It's not going to be all that great to hear. I think you'll understand why I was so upset about possibly going to the nurse that day I hit my head on the suits of armor."

"So anyway, she wants me to become cunning, ambitious, and less noble. I think we both know which students possess those qualities, don't we? Anyway, she proceeded to tell me that I needed to remain at Hogwarts, but you just wait until you hear the reason she thinks I need to remain here," Anna said. "She wanted me to convince you to leave Hogwarts instead. She said that Hogwarts would really suffer a loss if I were to go, so I should stay here, date a Slytherin boy like Nico, and then..."

Anna paused and bit her lip. Should she even attempt to tell him the last part? He'd get it out of her way one way or the other, so there was no use hiding it now. "She wanted me to have you beg for me back, and then for me to say no," Anna explained. "I guess that was her way of having me force you to leave."

"I hope you know I would never, ever do any of that to you, though! That's why I said, 'We don't ever have to worry about what Trelawney said' that say I was talking to you at the statues," Anna said. "...and we don't. I promise you I'll never have you beg for me back, only to say no. I also promise I'll never do anything to convince you to leave..."

"Yeah, apparently he's like, best friends with my Uncle Ben, Emma's dad. He's moving in from Germany with his daughter Lacy or something and Emma's house is so crowded my mum offered to let him stay with us. I guess it won't be toooooo bad...I mean, we really shouldn't judge the guy. We don't even KNOW him," Cale chuckled.

He nodded and listened to what she had to say about Trelawney, feeling his jaw drop ever so slightly at the really shocking parts. "She did what? Some staff member!" he snorted. That was soooo like Cassandra! Once a Slytherin, always a Slytherin. "She just hates me cause I actually had the nerve to stand up to her, rather than bow down to her like everyone else in the school. And that was like, ONE time. Sheesh! I can't believe how low she wanted you to sink!" he muttered, shaking his head so his bangs moved gently across his forehead.

"Weird," Anna said, shaking her head and commenting on the fact that Paul Kutcher turned out to be an actual friend of Emma's father. "It's a small world we live in after all, I guess. I'm sure the man's not too bad, but you have to admit, he does having an awful habit of creeping into relationships and causing them to hit rock bottom..."

"We don't even have to worry about her, though. None of that stuff she suggested will ever happen anyway," Anna promised again. She reached her hand up and ran it through Cale's long bangs. "You hair," she commented with a smile. "It's grown out so much since I've last talked to you. Well, you know, really talked to you. I like it."

He snorted. "Yeah, whatever. She's not worth our time anyways," he mumbled, looking at his hands again.

Cale chuckled and then closed his eyes as Anna ran her fingers through his hair. "Yeah, I've been changing it up a bit lately. Going curly some days and straight some other days," he said with a smile.

Aly yawned and stopped halfway to the kitchens, wondering whether or not she was really hungry. She was, but on the other hand, she could just go upstairs and sleep. Sleep..or eat? Both were really necessary.

She huffed and stuck her hands on her hips, still trying to decide if she really wanted to eat. She wasn't that hungry, but..hungry enough that her stomach was giving it's opinion. Urgh!

Jenn walked slowly around. Not paying attention she bumped into a girl her age. "So sorry!"Jenn said quickly. Jenn giggled as she heard the girls stomach growl. "You hungry too? I'm Jenn."Jenn said extending her hand.

Maddox was walking towards the Dungeons. He had to find Nico. They need to talk about Kayla, the pictures, anna, and whatever else was going on. He had to let Nico know that he was on his side. He was determined to help him. Nico was his best friend after all, even if Nico didnt feel the same. He had just gotten to the corner when he thought about something, and stopped. He alost went back, but decided to keep on going.

This was more important to him then the tooth pendant at the moment. He knew Nico would get it then if he saw that around his neck, but he jsut didnt ahve the time to go back to the commen room and get it. He kept trudging on Hoping to catch a glimpse of him soon.

Nikki walked along the corridor away from the dungeons, after the talk she had just had with Nico, it was the last place she wanted to be. She looked down at the pictures in her hand and shook her head, how was she meant to find out who took them?

Slowly she rounded the corner and hit something hard, well it wasn't something it was someone. The photos dropped from her hand to the ground. "Sorry" she said to the person, looking up at them before bending down to pick the pictures up.

Maddox was about to turn the corner when something hit him hard in the stomach. He looked down and realized it was a girl. She looked very familiar. He bent down and said, "I'm sorry i should pay more attention." He smiled at her and was about to ask if she was alright when he saw them.

The pictures of nico and three girls. "Where did you get these pictures? Where is Nico?" He almost had a growl to go with it, but he calmed himself. If he wanted answers he needed to channel his inner slythie.

Nikki looked up at the boy and smiled, "it's alright, I should look up when I'm turning" she picked up on of the pictures and put it in her pocket when she saw him look at the pictures.

She took a deep breath when he asked about him. "I got them from Nico himself" she answered taking the pictures and putting them away. "I have no idea where he went" she answered. Why did this guy care so much about Nico? "may I ask who you are?"

Maddox gave her a tight glare. "Got them from Nico, you say." He stood with the other two pictures in hand. They did look bad, but he so wasnt kissing them like Kayla said. "I am Maddox Darcy, who are you?"


He tightened up, one hand gently placed over where he kept his wand, the other holding the pictures. While looking at the pictures, He mumbled, "They arent as bad as Kayla said they were. Its a good thing I trust Nico more. She really over exaggerated." He shook his head.