Hayley looked around suspiciously before entering the broom closet.
She need...quiet...and yet she SO didn't want to be alone....but she didn't want to go search anyone out. Hayley pulled out her wand and muttered, "Lumos". She rested Steve(her wand) against a cupboard and sat down on an overturned bucket. Reaching in her robe pocket, she pulled out a humongous bar of chocolate. This was exACTly what she needed right now.

Kiri practically bounced her way through the Great Hall. She was in extremely high spirits - two days ago, her parents had sent an owl post informing her that they would be spending the Christmas holidays with friends of the family in Japan, and that she, Kiri, would stay at Hogwarts for that time and not return home as usual. Although Kiri had been a little bummed out at first that she, again, wouldn't be able to see Japan, the image of her generally fairly traditional and strict relatives, especially on her father's side, superimposed on Japan had made the prospect of visiting it much less tempting. For all she knew, they wouldn't even let her sightsee anyway.

The parchment with a hasty reply scribbled onto it in her hand, Kiri was on her way outside to the temporary owlery next to the Care of Magical Creatures paddock when she passed the old broom cupboard. She stopped. It was usually closed, but now the door was open a tiny bit, the slit illuminated by faint light. She had heard rumours about the Cupboard - it was supposed to be a hidey-hole for anyone (or, more accurately, anytwo) who needed a little... privacy, but if the door was open...?

Stepping closer slowly, she opened the door a little further and peeked inside. A small girl was sitting on an upturned bucket with a huge slab of chocolate in her hand. The girl's face was vaguely familiar, but Kiri couldn't put a name to it. She was pretty sure though that this was one of the new students. What would she be doing here? "Hey..." Kiri said quietly. "What, err, are you doing here?"

Hayley was just about to take an unnecessarily large bite of chocolate when she heard someone address her. Jumping slightly, she looked up. Oh! It was that girl...uhm...uhm...uhm..KIRI!!! Smiling ever so slightly, Hayley did her best to answer Kiri's question. "Well, I'm not exactly sure...eating chocolate I guess. Would you like to join me?" Hey...she wouldn't mind a bit of company...and besides, if she didn't share this chocolate with someone, she'd end up eating it all....and then getting massively sick. And THEN she'd have to go to the mean healer for something to make her a bit LESS massively sick. Hayley motioned to another bucket that was just across from where she was sitting.

"Hey, no need to be scared. I was just wondering why the Cupboard was, err, in use." Kiri turned around and looked across the Hall. It surely had to look odd how she was standing there, head poking into the infamous Broom Cupboard, but luckily, only very few people seemed to be around. She really wanted to send off that letter to her parents, but the girl (who was a Slytherin, she had noticed, no less) sat there looking a little disconsolate, so Kiri changed her mind.

"Chocolate?" she said, opening the door wide enough to slip through and pulling it shut behind her. "Sure." She sat down on the bucket the girl had indicated and moved it closer. The tiny room filled with a loud screeching noise as she did so. Kiri grimaced. "Sorry about that."

She looked around. So this was the Broom Cupboard. The tinny wandlight illuminated a mess of brooms and buckets and crates, most of them adorned by spider webs. It certainly didn't look as fabled as the rumours told, but then again, Kiri thought, smirking inwardly, that perspective probably depended on who you were sharing it with. An image of Raiden suddenly filled her mind. She coughed and hastily returned her gaze on the girl. "So, er, why are you sitting in here and not outside? It's still fairly nice. The autumn weather is terrible."

Pfft Hayley? Scared? Startled maybe. Hayley's eyes followed the girl as she came into the room and pulled up a...erm...bucket. She gritted her teeth a bit as the room was filled with a painful screeching sound. Icky sooound!
"It's not a problem," Hayley said, dismissing Kiri's apology and breaking off a chunk of chocolate.

Handing it to Kiri she said, "Well, it is nice outside, yeah. All sunny and warm...but I don't really feel all sunny and warm today...I kind of feel more like...a broom closet." Looking around at the cobwebs and dust, she nodded her head, "Yep...I feel like a broom closet."

"Thanks," Kiri said, taking the chocolate and taking a bite. It was very tasty. She did not, as a rule, liked a lot of chocolate or sweets, but sometimes, one's sweet tooth had to sink into a slab of fermented cocoa goodness. She pushed the melting piece around in her mouth with her tongue for a few seconds before swallowing. "Hey, this is really good," she told the girl, indicating the chocolate. "Where did you buy it? Maybe I can get some of that in Hogsmeade..."

Kiri sighed comfortably and took another bite. This girl, she decided, needed cheering up, especially if Kiri herself was in such a good mood. Feeling like a broom closet sounded serious, although the significance of this particular one was probably lost on the first year, as it had been on Kiri for a very long time. "Hmm," she said, wondering where to start. "You might feel less like one if you went outside with me, though. It might, you know, cheer you up!" But Kiri herself didn't usually appreciate stupidly uplifting talk like that. "Or maybe... you want to tell me what's going on? Is something wrong?"

Hayley nommed on her chocolate..."Uhm...I'm not sure where it's from. My sister sent it to me from...somewhere. I bet they'd have it in Hogsmede." Actually...Hayley had no idea, seeing as she'd never been there..YET.

Going outside...into the sunlight...where people were happy...oh gosh, was Hayley turning into a vampire?! Nope..she hadn't been bitten by anything..she was still normal.

"Well, I can't really say why I feel like a broom cupboard...cuz I don't really know for sure."

Might it be cuz she didn't feel like she had many friends? Or maybe because she missed home? Or because she'd been yelled at on more than one occasion, when back home, she was pretty much never yelled at? Humph...

"Maybe a walk somewhere besides a broom closet would be good..."

Alright, Kiri had hit another wall. Comforting people was really difficult! She could feel her optimism slide down a notch or two. IF the girl didn't know what was wrong, how would Kiri know? She could babble on and on and present a few more platitudes, but talking definitely wasn't her forte. After a while, she would even run out of platitudes, something she would not have thought possible.

Kiri took another bite off her piece of chocolate. As it melted, she stared at the wall behind the girl reflectively. It was old and dirty and depressing. She knew they had to get outside, and when the girl suggested it, Kiri jumped on it immediately. "Yes, let's go outside." She stuffed the chocolate in her mouth and chewed it down hurriedly. "Hey, have you seen the Whomping Willow yet? Ooor... we could visit the magical creatures compound?" Kiri wasn't actually sure if that was allowed, but if Professor Morgan was around, surely they could ask her.

Hmm...the Whomping Willow huh? That sounded fun!

"Sure...let's go to the Whomping Willow!" Maybe that would cheer her up!

"Alrighty! Lets GOOO!" She exclaimed hopping up off the bucket, and incidentally tipping it over, "Oops," she giggled, picking it back up. She opened the door and let herself out of the cupboard. "Lead the way" she said, since she actually didn't KNOW the way.

Jake.

Was.

Crying.

No... no, that didn't do the tears justice. He was sobbing, sobbing... beyond composure, even. He had nowhere to go. As if he would go alllllll the way up to the seventh floor just to sit and cry... no... Jake needed somewhere that reminded him of when he lay under his bed.

Yep.

But really, though... he needed someone. As much as he hated to admit it, Jake neeeeded someone. Not necessarily a friend... maybe a staff member? Lawson? NO! Yes. GAHHHH! He needed Kayla... but she couldn't come up here.

Ohhh, what had he just done?

Sobwail.

Clark was excited.

His first ever Quidditch game was soon and and and and it was his BIRTHDAY!!! He had gotten a new broom, and so he had to return the one he had been borrowing from the school back. He was in all out happy mode-until he saw Jake. Sobbing.

He immediatley dropped the broom and went over to him. "Jake...are you okay?" he asked. Jake was obviously NOT okay, thanks for asking. "What happened? Do y'wanna talk about it?"

Chest heaving with sobs and wracking breaths, Jake glanced around at whoever had just entered, immediately recognising the blue hair on the guy. Clark. His buddyyyyyyyy.

"I-I-It's... I..." he started to say, before breaking into renewed tears. "My... my... I b-b-bit h-her... I s-s-said such... n-n-nasty th-things! K-Kayla... sh-she..." he broke off, covering his face with his hands and trying to block out everything from his vision.

Clark sighed. It was time for the healing power of hugs. He embraced Jake. "You bit Kayla?" he took from his stutterings. "Everything's gonna be fine, Jake. She'll forgive you. Just because you bit her and maybe said mean things, if she's a friend worth having, she'll apologize and forgive. You can always lean on us, me and Dani. We'll always be here." Wow, he was being incredibly sappy.

And sentimental. Wow, he was a talented therapist. Maybe he could go into business. Yeah! He could totally make it work-earn some money on the side, and earn some credit with the teachers.

"B-but, the... the things she... said..." Jake babbled out, clinging onto Clark as best he could. In a distinctly manly way. Ohhhh yes. "I... I..."

He didn't know.

Did.

Not.

Know.

"I don't want her to be my friend... but I DO!" he said, trying to make sense of it all. "She was here last year for me... a-a-and... I dunno..."

Sniffle.

Jake was now holding him. Tightly. Okay, he was good at hugging but this was just kinda weird. "There there." Clark patted him on the back. "So she changed. Girls do that a lot-it's one of their many faults. She might not change back, but if she made you cry, that's not someone should be around." he nodded firmly.

"And ya know what? If you aren't friends anymore and she was a good friend, then you can cry. You are allowed." Clark sat down on the musty wood floor. "Let it out, Jake. Let it out. Do you wanna tell me what happened so I can help completely?"

Swallowing the omnipresent lump in his throat, Jake watched Clark through his red-rimmed eyes, sniffling every now and then. After a few deep breaths, Jake was able to speak clearly with only the odd stammer here and there. "Lawson... took me to Hogsmeade, and... Kayla was there, and it was me and her... and then Raiden came along too... and... and... I was talking to Kayla, and she suddenly went all stern, and I snapped at her, like told her to shut up, and she had a go at me... so I bit her, only a little... and then I started to run off."

He paused here, wiping at his face with the back of his sleeve. "She said I was good at running away, and that I feel sorry for myself... so I shouted a bunch of stuff at her... and..."

And I told her I never want to see her again.

And I don't.

But I DOOOOO.

Clark comforted Jake. "It's gonna be fine, Jake. Gonna be fine. Kayla sounds like she was just being rude-maybe it was just something for a second. And who knows? Maybe she feels sorry for you, maybe that was a compliment that you were good at running away. Maybe she was just being an arrogant toadstool. Women, y'know." he shrugged.

"You'll be okay. You're strong. A strong Jakers. Strong."

His breath skipping every now and then, Jake wiped at his eyes again. "Yeah," he nodded, just going ahead and agreeing. He needed to get out of this place... he really did. Standing up, Jake avoided eye contact with Clark. "I gotta go," he said, drying his face and heading towards the door, before pulling it open and leaving without another word.

Water spilled into the broom cupboard, wetting the floor.

Clark felt his feet get wet. He had been about to leave...but now water was seeping in. "Wha?" he said to himself. Oh well, it was just a little fall or rain, right? He sat down on the wet floor (a bad idea, as the back of his robes got wet) and tried to think of a way to get Jake to feel better. This was a great place to ponder things, he noticed.

He could probably write a novel in here, if he wanted too. Clark shrugged to himself and placed his chin on his fist.

The water suddenly froze and the broom cupboard looked like a small ice rink.

Clark jumped up. The water-er, ice was cooooold. It looked like he could skate on it! He slid around and whooped. "This is soooo cool! he exclaimed.

And then he fell in a sitting position. "Owww!" he howled. Clark quickly stood up again and jumped around. This was fuuuuuun.

Mop.... mop............... Livvy needed a mop. That mess out in front of the Great Hall was greatly annoying her. She didn't understand how people could just ... waltz right past it and do nothing. Pfft.

The fifth year reached out her hand to open the door and she stepped in on something rather... slippery.

SWOOSH!

Livvy slipped on the icy surface beneath her and collapsed on the floor and into something or someone with a yelp. "Oof!" she uttered as she remained sprawled on top of the cold surface beneath her. "First years and their pranks..."

As the temperature warmed, the ice began to melt and the water started to rise once again at top speed. It was cold, and it seemed angered by its having been frozen.