Jenn looked over at the sound of someone yelling at them and smiled at Rachel. "Hey!"she called back, smiling. Then she noticed how...cold Rachel looked and she frowned. "You okay? Did you help down there?"she asked, her eyes widdening. She bit her lip, and looked Rachel up and down. "Do you know what happened?"she added, hopeing someone atleast could tell her what had happened.

"I'm fine - just cold and slightly annoyed as a matter of fact," Rachel answered as she tugged her blanket tighter still around her slim figure. It was so frustrating; she should be out helping Anna and the rest of the Prefects but instead where was she? Yeah, that's right - she was the one that actually needed help! BUT there's more; the new orders from apparent Headmaster Kazimeriz was to remove outer clothes - and that included shoes and socks. So, in fact, in order to get proper help she would need to climb all the way to the Hospital Wing BAREFOOT in order to receive her dosage of the horrid Pepper-Up potion - big whoopee there.

She almost laughed as Jenn asked her if she knew what happened. That question had SO many different answers it should just be qualified as unanswerable. BUT, she was a Ravenclaw - and a Prefect no less - so to her there should be no such thing as an unanswerable question.

"Yeah as a matter of fact I did. And I was also the last one out, which should explain this," the fifth year gestured to her blanket then continued, "We still don't know what caused the flooding - all I know is that it's lake water, very icky and muddy, and that whoever swam in it now has to remove their clothes," she said, pouting slightly as she explained to Jenn what she knew.

WAIT! Wait, wait, wait! A slow but HUGE smile spread across Rachel's face as a thought occured to her. Of COURSE! Geez, I must be more affected by this than I thought, she told herself and with a shrug removed the blanket, hissing as she felt the cold air on her now exposed clothes. Quickly removing her cloak, she tried very hard not to tremble as she proceeded to take off her shoes - one shoe at a time, having trouble with the laces since her hands weren't at their steadiest - but eventually both shoes were off and she was shivering like mad.

Gah - quickly Rachel, quickly! Fumbling about for a second, she pulled out her wand from the pocket of her shed cloak and summoned down a clean pair of woolen socks which were so thick, they almost felt like shoes. Which is the exact effect I was going for, even if they look absolutely ridiculous! As swiftly as she could she removed her socks and cast two cleaning spells on each foot, wincing as the cold practically bit at her toes.

Socks, socks, SOCKS! Put them on, now!! Rachel put her wand down carefully and quickly put on her socks, feeling the wool slowly take it's effect on her poor, freezing toes. Looking up, she quickly wrapped the blanket around her tighter than ever since even though her feet were worm, she still had no cloak on and that was not good.

Jenn cocked her head slightly. "Annoyed? How come? I can understad the cold but....."she trailed off, eyeing Rachel. She could tell Rachel was a bit upset, just by the way she was...acting at the moment. She was right then glad she wasn't a Prefect, or in Slytherin. She would of been dieing of freezation at the moment if that was her.

"Your a good person to help them Rachel."she said, smiling warmly at the fifth year. Lake water huh? Why though had it just happened to happen then, and now? "So they have no clue who, or what did it?"she asked, sighing angerly. She might never know what happened.

Jenn watched Rachel, a slight smirk appearing as she watched the girl strip off her robe and socks and shoes then summoning theese huge socks with her wand. "If you want I could run and get you some warm blankets or cloaks from your trunk.... if you want."she volunteered, smiling.

Laura smiled at Rachel. Now that was a reasonable, sensible answer, and it probably was right too! She had been sitting there for ages, countless thoughts whirring around her head, each one more stupid and outrageous than the last.
"Thanks Rachel," Laura said. "Your probably right, and although the thought worries me, I know the teachers will sort it out!"

Maybe in a few years, Laura would be as clever and logical as Rachel someday! No wonder she made prefect!

Then, turning, Laura saw Jenn. "Hi Jenn!" she smiled, hoping she remembered her, for they had spoken at the Start of Term feast.

"Welcome - and yeah, of course they will. Give them time, they always find a solution in the end," she replied to the cute little first year. Rachel couldn't help but smile reassuringly at Laura; there was just something about the girl that presented an innocence that teenagers seem to lose as soon as the ending 'teen' comes into their age. Nice little kid - I expect great things from her!

Rachel turned to Jenn and just shrugged slightly, not really in the mood to explain the inner workings of her complicated, absurd brain to her friend. Besides, she should know by now - after what, three years of knowing each other? She tightened the blanket around herself as another involuntary shiver ran through her - why did it keep getting loose? For a few seconds she actually contemplated on putting a sticking charm on it but dismissed the idea soon enough; after all, she wasn't THAT desperate.

"Thanks Jenn - although to be frank, it IS part of the job description," she said with a small smile, opening the blanket slightly to reveal the dirty, grimy badge. After all this was over, Rachel vowed to go upstairs and polish the thing until it was cleaner than when she had first received it. "Not yet, I'm afraid that it may take a while," the fifth year replied, unable to quench her curiosity even through her fatigue. You're weird, you know that? Real odd.

Rachel's eyes narrowed as she recognized the expression on Jenn's face. "Hey! Do NOT mock the socks! They are my favourite pair in winter - and when you are all freezing your toes off in the common room by the fire, you'll come BEGGING for me to get you a pair of these!" she said with a smirk of her own, laughing inwardly as the mental picture of the whole Ravenclaw house coming to her for socks. But, honestly, last year at Christmas she had actually played in the snow with them - after a few spells done by Jake, but still. These are AWESOME socks, and that's my final word.

"No, thanks - I'm going to head up to the Hospital Wing to get some Pepper-Up anyways so there's really no need. But thanks anyway," the fifth year said with a grateful smile and slowly got up. She just wanted to make sure that everyone who had been in the water had done as instructed.

Ahhh, the Great Hall. Karma was in desperate need of some food and something to drink, and what better place to come here instead of bugging the house elves for it.

She debated on what homework to start with first - Muggle Studies, History of Magic - it all seemed fun so far. And Divination class wasn't too far away either. Mental note: pay attention in Divination this year.

Sitting down in her usual spot not too far away from the door, she brought her bag on the table and pulled out her Muggle Studies book. Mmm, food. And pumpkin juice. Yay.

Friends? Yep, they needed to come. Now.

Natasha had come over to the Ravenclaw table, mostly because there wasn't really anyone to talk to at her own table, and looked around briefly. "Hey, do you mind if I sit here?" She asked looking towards a girl she didn't know. Which wasn't really surprising, she didn't really know very many Ravenclaws.

Patrick came in the Great Hall and went directly to the very end of the Ravenclaw table, as close as possible to the Staff table. He looked around, hoping that no one was staring at him. The coast was clear, so he opened his book bag and removed the smaller bag that it held. He carefully aligned his origami flowers in a row, peering occasionally around him to see if anyone was looking his way.

With small swishes of his wand, he carefully dropped one flower per teacher place setting, along the very long table up on the dais. He then floated a small printed card next to each flower. With a nod, he picked his things and left the Great Hall with an innocent smile on his face.

Cela was hungry. In that way where candy stashes weren't quite cutting it. She needed CARBS in a BIG WAY. She was wearing her Ravenclaw uniform today, mostly anyway. If you ignored the fact that her skirt was far shorter than it was supposed to be (just in case she ran into Dom-in-ick so she could freak him out) and she wore non-regulation socks, just because she had sort of gotten a thing for wearing long socks.

She sat down crosslegged on the bench and immediately filled her plate with mashed potato and gravy, looking around a bit to be sure nobody was watching her before beginning to make a little potato island in a gravy sea.

Garret spotted Cela's socks as she walked into the Great Hall and smirked a little to himself as he made his way towards her. If she was caught wearing those (which he didn't see a way she could escape from), she would be in so much trouble. But having been almost biologically pre-programmed to be attracted to trouble, he found himself plopping down beside her as if he belonged at the Ravenclaw table.

"Hey," he grinned as he picked up a fork and took out a chunk of her potato island, "I finally got you to meself."

"You were looking for me?" Celandine blinked a few times and tipped her head to one side, but she couldn't really keep the act up for long. She grinned at him and gave him a big huuuuuuuuuug. "It is kind of hard to get me alone." Cel agreed. "I'm kind of a big deal." Gigglesnort.

She poked her tongue out at him and scooped up some gravy sea.

"Sooooooooooooooo. I have a question for you." She sucked on her spoon innocently.

Garret's only reaction to her hug and statement was to roll his eyes and pat her on the back awkwardly. After what felt like a very looooooong hug, he leaned out of her hug to pile some food on his own plate, "Yeah? Ask away." although he dreaded whatever it was she wanted to ask him. Her tone belied something sneakier than the innocence she was trying to pull off.

He loaded a pile of sausages, a mountain of mashed potatoes and topped it all off with what looked like half the gravy in the gravy boat. He ate like a MAN! None of that rabbit food or low cholesterol stuff for him.

"Yes." Cela attempted not to snort inelegantly and failed in an epic way. "You remember how I totally wanted to ride the whomping willow?" She looked up at him and dipped her spoon in the gravy again. "While you were busy being all UGH last term," because clearly, that was what he had been doing, "I made Daphne help me source some saddles and some glue. A whole lot of glue." She sucked the gravy off the spoon and beamed at Garret.

"It won't take much -unless you are chicken of course- but I was thinking, it would be fun to do when it starts snowing so we can build up some big ol' snow drifts and let the willow fling us off into them."

The deathwish part of her personality apparently hadn't gone away.

Excuse me? When I was being all UGH? The way Garret remembered it, it was Cela who had been all UGH last term, but he wasn't about to contest her on that point. No sense in making her all defensive and teary-eyed and start another fight between them. Besides, the Whomping Willow Ride was more important here.

He drew himself up to sit straight, his still scrawny chest pumped out and his nose up in the air, "Nobody calls Garret Crocker a chicken and lives to tell the tale!" Without any warning, he dove on her and started tickling her sides to punish her for that unpardonable offence.

Celandine had just filled her mouth with gravy covered potato island when Garret attacked her. Squealing with gravy covered potato in your mouth isn't easy, but Cela managed it without spitting mashed potato all over Garret. If she had of thought of it, she probably would have spat potato at him.

Teehee.

But the TICKLING!

It was her WEAKNESS!

And she was helpless under his digging fingers. Swallowing her mouthful, Cela wriggled and squealed and whimpered, "Garret! You got me! Uhh! Stop! Don't... eeeeeeeEEEEEEEEE! You win!"

Garret laughed triumphantly as he surveyed the little mess under him, his fingers giving an extra wiggle to ensure that the job here was done, "You dare challenge me again, woman?" He got off his knees and settled back on the bench to survey his meal, "Sho-" he said around a piece of sausage, spraying some gravy over his full plate, "When're we gunno do this?"

"You got me good." Celandine let out another little squeal and took a deep shuddering breath before adding, "You always do." She waited for him to get off her and sat up, offering him a contrite look. "I probably will challenge you again." She lifted her chin and grinned at him with a little twinkle in her eyes.

"Like I said, when it's snowing. I like snow."

Celandine used a fork to pick up a whole sausage and dipped it in her gravy.

"Snow's good," Garret forsook his fork and dipped a finger in his mashed potatoes, extracting a dollop of the creamy goodness and getting it good and covered in gravy before lifting the concoction to his mouth and sucking it off his finger, "So's this stuff."

He licked his lips and picked up his fork again, spearing a sausage and dipping it in her gravy island, knowing she'd be annoyed, "You sure Daff is up for this?"

Celandine watched Garret get stuck in with his fingers and taking it as a challenge, dipped her own fingers in the slightly salty gravy and licked them off noisily before taking a huge mouthful of sausage. "Mmmmf." She agreed, it WAS good.

She stared at her gravy island and pouted a little, but comforted herself with a mouthful of meat. It took a while before she could swallow it all and she had to take a deep breath once she had.

"Of course she is. Daphne does anything I ask her to. Just like everyone." Celandine flipped her hair at Garret and, deciding she was full, offered him the other half of her sausage.

Garret took her offered food as if it was the most natural thing in the world and snorted at what she said, only to discover that snorting while chewing a sausage was probably not the best idea he'd had.

He coughed.

And then he coughed some more.

The meat dislodged itself from his throat and he took a long, healthy gulp of the pumpkin juice Hogwarts seemed to like so much (but not him). He made a face once he could breathe again, and said in a voice made raspy from the choking and coughing, "You're so full of it, not everyone does what you tell 'em to." If they did, those were only the weak ones.

"They do too." Celandine tossed her head and poured a glass of chocolate milk, offering it to Garret wordlessly. Chocolate milk always felt awesome when your throat was scratchy.

"It's mostly because I'm pretty. And smart. And funny. And nice. And fashionable." That last part was a new development, clearly. She poured herself a glass of water and took a little sip. "Sometimes it's for kisses. Not that I need to prove any of that to you, because it's totally true whether you believe it or not."

This time Garret didn't even bother to hide the eyeroll, even as he wordlessly thanked her for the chocolate milk. He set the glass down after a long gulp, leaving a chocolate 'stache on his upper lip and grinned down at one of his best friends, "Yes, and you're also very modest which is why so many blokes love you, right?" he laughed and poked her in the side again.

"Exactly!" Celandine agreed, pleasure that he got it evident in her voice. She squealed again at the poking and poked her tongue out at him. "So when it snows, the pirates will play?"

Sure she was being recruited by all those popular girls in pink, but Celandine Toussaint would always be the Navigator to Garret's Captain.

"Raiden wants to come too." She added in a thoughtful tone. Even though he hadn't slid down the staircase, he was kind of one of them.

Garret's mind had already wandered off to the scene in the future where they would be riding the Whomping Willow like one of those old American cowboys riding bulls. The thought of being thrown off and landing in a snow bank made him feel so warm inside that he scooped up another forkful of mashed potatoes and stuffed it in his mouth.

Food always served to enhance his happiness.

"Shooore," he said, swallowing the mouthful and nodding excitedly, "It'll be more fun if he comes along, buuuut-" he paused thoughtfully, "everyone should prepare a war cry!"

Cela was done with the eating and now she was just playing with her food, making a fort for the island out of carrot sticks.

"Great! Raiden is nice." She tipped her head at Garret. "A war cry?" She considered this, "Like... all different or all the same?"

She straightened one of the carrots and beamed at Garret, "You know, we are probably going to be sharing a common room soon? I am soooooooo lucky! I'll get to see the Crocker boys EVERY DAY!"