Celandine blinked. "Are you... you know already? I... don't know those things about you." She got a slightly panicked look on her face.

She leaned back against the wall, being careful not to dislodge his hand from hers. "Not just you? I... you can tell?" What did he mean? "Do you want to... um... live a little?" He had said pretty girls plural...

He tugged gently on her hand to get her attention. "Pink. But I think you look striking in primary colors. Candy, especially the odd ones that taste like chilies. Pride and Prejudice? I like to think you like that one best. And..." He tried to remember the last question. "Either up a tree or in the library. In the squishy chair."

Cope raised his eyebrows in the 'how-did-I-do?' face.

Her next question threw him, though, and his eyes went back to her hand. "I feel like I'm living a lot when I'm with you. More than I live when I'm just me with my books."

Celandine laughed and threw her arms around his neck for a brief hug. "See that's not fair, I don't know those things about you... especially the food one, though you used to try to get me to eat healthy food all the time so... fresh things? I'd guess a deeper shade of blue for the colour, do you have a favourite book? Is it Pride and Prejudice too? Or... something else? And... you... like... hiding in a closet..." She sat back again and tipped her head questioningly.

His answer to her question startled her a bit and Cela nodded slowly. "I don't know if I... live more when I'm with you," she paused and studied his face carefully, "But I enjoy everything much, much more when you are around." She wrinkled her nose, not entirely sure she was making sense or quite putting her thoughts and feelings into words that reflected how important he was to her.

Ohlookit! Cela in his arms, and he didn't even have to work all that hard for it. Cope hugged her back while it lasted. "See? You know me too. I like getting to know you by conversation and observation."

And since she was right there hugging him, Copernicus had to take a moment to study the wibble lip and think about how he also enjoyed getting to know her by kissing.

"I have a million questions I could ask." Cela mused. Things that were both ridiculously inconsequential and profoundly significant. How did that even work?

Celandine dipped her head and looked up at him from under her lashes. "You still want to come to the library with me?" Not that she minded sitting here in the middle of the corridor, but sharing a comfy chair would be preferable.

"You can ask me anything," he gently placed her on the floor and made sure she wasn't touching him. Cope scooted from the wall and rose to his feet before offering his arm to Celandine.

"I think the library sounds like a good idea. Will there be more Shakespeare in my future, do you suppose?"

"I'll make a list." Celandine decided, watching him stand up and offer his arm. Cela stood too and immediately tucked her arm through his.

"Sure. Where would you like to start? History, Tragedy or Comedy?" Celandine beamed at him, "Or maybe the sonnets? Then once you get through Shakespeare, we can move on to Marlowe!" She suggested, headbutting him in the shoulder.

"You should... pick for me. Nothing sad, though. Romeo and Juliet was sad." Cope was torn between finding her adorable for headbutting and feeling all melancholy about the whole 'everyone dies' thing in the Shakspeare play.

"What's the one that you like best? Twelfth Night? I want to read that one next."

"Twelfth Night. Definitely." Celandine agreed, taking her arm from his and sliding it around his lower back instead in a side hug. "I think that one is really funny. And its a love story. You like those, right?" Cela beamed up at him.

"This is the longest trip to the library ever!"

And she didn't mind at all.

Reese headed down the corridor, carrying her schoolbag on her shoulder. She was heading back up to the common room before all the good chairs were taken. Her feet her tapping against the floor as she walked and it echoed down the corridor. Ugh. This is why she didn't like walking in an almost empty corridor. She didn't like hearing her footsteps echoing down the corridor. It wasn't very sneaky at all!

Strolling down the corridor with his hands shoved deep in his pockets which was the usual for him, Marcus was undecided on where he actually wanted to go. No, he didn't feel like going to his office and he certainly didn't feel like going outside into the freezing cold.

He sighed deeply wondering what to do with himself when he spotted a familiar looking blond up ahead. Now that he thought about it - it might be a good idea to speak to Reese about Jake. Marcus, moved quietly forgetting that he didn't need to sneak up on people anymore. He stepped up beside Reese, "Good day Miss Upstead. How are you this fine day?"

Reese was now double thinking about heading up to the common room. This sudden change of mind was because of her tummy which was now growling. She was about to turn around and head down to the Great Hall, but then she remembered that the Great Hall was a GIANT ice skating rink. Goshdarnit. She stopped walking and opened her bag. Maybe she had a chocolate frog in there somewhere.

Where were her chocolate frogs? She knew she had a stash in her bag somewhere. As she was digging for her chocolate, she heard someone come up beside her. She jumped slightly and quickly took her hand out of her bag. "You sure know how to scare someone," she said, not even looking at who she was talking to. She closed her bag back and looked up at- "Professor Lawson," she stated. "Oh, I'm just fine. Thanks for asking. How are you, sir?"

Typical girl! Rummaging around in her bag no doubt either looking for some make up of some sort or chocolate. Marcus, grinned when she jumped. He really should not take enjoyment out of that but it was fun and it just showed that his students weren't aware of their surroundings like they should be.

"If you were paying more attention, then you shouldn't be so skittish" he chuckled softly as he leaned against the wall. "I am doing well thank you, Reese." He watched her for a moment before speaking, "Have you seen Jake lately?"

What was it with Professors just showing out of nowhere? That's what Reese wanted to know. Well, at least it Professor Lawson. He was cool, right? She took her eyes of the Professor once again and opened up her bag. She needed a chocolate frog! She rummaged for a few seconds and finally pulled out two boxes and offered one to the Professor. "Want a frog, sir?" She asked him.

"Ahhh, true. I should be more observant," she agreed. She closed her bag as she listened to Professor Lawson talk. He wanted to know if she had seen Jake? "No, sir. I haven't seen him lately. The last time I saw him was in the trophy room and that was a while ago," she answered. "Are you looking for him or something?"

Did he want a chocolate frog? It took all of his restraint not to snatch it out of her hand. Marcus, definitely had a sweet tooth and chocolate was one of his favorite. "That would be lovely Reese" he said, holding his hand out to her and trying not to look like a greedy little pig.

"Hmmm...no just worried about him." He once again watched Reese, for a moment. He knew that Jake and she were siblings...of sorts but you could not find two people who were so totally different. Reese, was a lovely sweet girl and Jake was...well Jake.

"He has been really acting out lately and I was wondering if you knew what was bothering him?" Marcus, pressed his head against the wall and sighed. "I took him to Hogsmeade a few weeks ago and got him to meet with his old Prefect, he spoke highly of her and I thought that she just might be able to help." He groaned softly as he thought of the look on Jake's face when he had entered class. "But I don't think it went that well" he finished quietly.

Reese smiled and dropped the chocolate frog his Professor Lawson's hand. "Enjoy," she told the Professor. She began to open the chocolate frog box, hoping that it wouldn't be her luck to have the chocolate frog hop right out of the box and down the corridor. She did NOT feel like going on a chocolate frog chase at the moment.

"Worried?" She repeated. Was there something going on that she didn't know about? Well, it wouldn't surprise her if there was. She was always left out of something. "I know he was sick a few weeks ago. One of his friends told me, but like, I never see him or here from him," she explained. Hmm. She might as well talk about the favor she asked Cam to do for her. "Professor, since I don't see him often, I asked on of his friends to keep an eye on him. Well, more like spy on him. I don't want Jake to get into anymore trouble this term. I'm not sure if he's keeping an eye on Jake or not, but I tried," she said.

She sadly shook her head. "I don't know what's bothering him," she honestly answered. She listened to the Professor talk about how he carried Jake to Hogsmeade to meet his old Prefect. She wondered how that worked out, but then the Professor said he didn't think things went well. "What happened?" She asked him.

Sometimes he felt like squealing like a little girl when he had chocolate. He refrained from ripping the paper open in front of Reese, he didn't want her to know that he was actually obsessed with chocolate. Seriously it was one of his downfalls, Marcus finally got the wrapper opened and he bit off the frog's head and he closed his eyes and breathed in deeply as he let the chocolate melt on his tongue. Honestly there was nothing better than this.

Marcus, listened as Reese spoke even if he looked like his mind was elsewhere. Like devouring the chocolate frog in record time. "Maybe I should speak to Cam and see if he knows what is going on with Jake." he paused for a moment thinking about it some more. "Are there any other kids that he hangs out with or Professor's that he likes to go and see?"

He chewed on the last bit of chocolate frog and swallowed before answering Reese. "I am not sure I haven't had the chance to speak to either Jake or Miss Winters but he didn't look too happy in class the other day." Marcus, reached into his pocket for something else to eat and pulled out a packet of dried pasta. He looked at it for a moment and then shrugged his shoulders, opened the packet and started munching on it. He held the packet out to Reese, "Would you like some? It's actually not that bad dried you know." He was having some serious water issues lately and even just boiling some to cook his pasta in was a total put off.

Reese was still holding her box shut as Professor Lawson began eating his chocolate frog. She should answer his question before she started eating, right? Right. "Well, there's this guy that I met a few days ago claiming he's friends with Jake. Um, he has blue hair...Clark! That's his name," she answered. "I also know he likes hanging out with Professor Morgan, but I think that's the only teacher he likes. Actually, I'm pretty sure that's the only teacher he likes." Was there anyone else she was missing? Nope, she didn't think.

Chocolate frog time!

She opened up the box and grabbed the chocolate frog before it hopped out. Was it bad that she had an obsession with these things? She shrugged at that question and began to eat her chocolate. Yummy yummy chocolate!

She finished off her chocolate frog and placed the empty box back inside her bag. "Have you tried sitting Jake down and talking to him?" She questioned as she looked back at Professor Lawson. She doubted that would work, but you never know. "Or, you can bribe him with sugar until he tells you what's wrong," she shook her head right after she said that. "Bad idea! Forget I said that." Sometimes she just needed to keep her mouth shut.

She eyed the bag of dried pasta and shrugged her shoulder. She was hungry after all. She placed her hand inside the bag and pulled out a handle full of pasta. "Thanks," she said. She looked down at the dried pasta, trying to think of anything else she needed to tell the Professor about Jake. She couldn't think of what else she needed to say right now, so she started to eat the dried pasta.

Hmmm...Clark. He would probably have to seek this Clark kid out as well. Marcus, had no idea why it was so important that he get to the bottom of Jake's problem, maybe because the old man had put the kid down or maybe he was just feeling sensitive at the moment. He snorted softly to himself. Yeah riiiiiiight! When had he ever been sensitive?

Oh Professor Morgan!! He liked her. She was nice. "Well maybe I will go and have a word with Ili - I mean Professor Morgan, about Jake." He must remember not to call the staff by their first name in front of the students.

Marcus, peered into Reese's bag trying to see if she had any more sweet stuff in there. He could do with a sugar fix right about now. "Yes I have" he answered. "The kid doesn't trust me." Of course that might have something to do with hanging the kid by his underwear in the dueling arena, it felt the right thing to do at the time...obviously it wasn't.
He chuckled again, "Look if Jake, is anything like me, sugar is not a good thing."

He watched as she ate the dried pasta and grinned. "It's pretty good eh? Of course it would probably taste a whole lot better cooked and with a nice spicy tomato sauce but hey you can't have everything in life. So how is life at Hogwarts treating you Reese? You know besides the whole flooding thing."

Reese nodded. "Yeah, Professor Morgan might be a good person to go to," she said. She noticed Professor Lawson peering into her bag and couldn't help but smile. Did he want more chocolate frogs? Probably. "Do you want some more chocolate? I bought a dozen chocolate frogs during my last visit to Hogsmeade. I could give you half of them," she offered. She didn't really mind giving the Professor some of her chocolate. She could always go buy more later.

Jake didn't trust Lawson? Hmm. "You seem like a very trustworthy person, though. Not to be mean or anything, but have you done anything to Jake that might have made him not trust you?" She questioned. "You don't have to answer that question if you don't want to, Professor. I was just asking." She took some more dried pasta from the little amount she had in her hand and ate it. Dude, this pasta was good.

She giggled. "No, sugar is not a good idea. I talked before I even thought about what I was saying," she told the Professor. "Don't give Jake Upstead sugar. It's never a good idea." She shook her head as she spoke.

"It is pretty good," she answered. "I've never tried dried pasta, so it's something very new to me." She took another bite of the pasta and looked around the corridor then back at Professor Lawson when he asked how life at Hogwarts was. "Yeah, the flood is sort of...destructive," she told him. "Anyways, life is good, but somewhat stressful. You know, with homework and stuff."

Yuuuuuumy!! She had more chocolate and he really wanted, no needed more chocolate. "That is very nice of you Reese. If you don't mind that is." He was seriously restraining himself right now. What he wanted to say was gimme...gimme...gimme some more choccy. "I have some in my office. Make sure you come down some time and replace the chocolate I took from you." Hehe...he had the biggest stash of chocolate in his office along with other sweets and heavily guarded of course.

Marcus sighed deeply, she probablywasn't going to like his answer. "Well yeah I guess I did but you have to understand Reese, that I have been trying to help Jake out for weeks but he just won't listen to me and he constantly gives me attitude. I kinda got fed up with it and hung him from the ceiling in the dueling arena." Of course he left out the bit about the underwear.

Okay so don't give Jake Upstead any sugar, not that he would anyway. The kid was too hyped up as it was and he knew from first hand experience what a sugar rush can do.

He looked at Reese and burst out laughing, "You're just saying that so as to not hurt my feelings." Marcus looked at the packet of pasta and grinned stupidly, "It's really rather...dry." He smacked his lips and ran his tongue around the inside of his mouth. "I think I need a drink. What about you Reese?" he pushed off the wall and stood beside the young girl. "I'm glad you're liking classes. Maybe while we're getting a drink you can tell me what you would like to study in DADA?"

"I don't mind at all. You deserve more chocolate for being such a nice teacher," Reese said. She reached inside her back and pulled out 5 chocolate frogs, well, that WAS half of them. She said she was only giving half, because she needed at least 5 chocolate frogs to get her through at least to tomorrow where she can go to Hogsmeade. "Here you go," she reached her hand out, so Lawson could take the chocolate. "It's fine. You don't need to replace any chocolate. I'll just take a trip to Hogsmeade tomorrow, maybe with a friend, and get some more. So, no need to worry about paying me back." Maybe Anna would go to Honeydukes with her or maybe Jack would go. She'll go find one of them later and ask if they would go with her.

She took out one of her five chocolate frogs she had left and opened the box up. She took the chocolate frog out and began to eat it as she listened to Lawson talk. Constantly gives him attitude? Yep. Sounded like something Jake would do. She nearly choked on her chocolate when Professor Lawson said he hung Jake from the ceiling. She held her index finger up, telling the Professor to hold on, as she swallowed her chocolate. "Okay, you hung him from the ceiling..." she repeated as soon as she swallowed her chocolate. She tried to picture Jake hanging from the ceiling and she just smiled. "I don't blame you. If Jake annoyed me, I would and him from the ceiling, too."

"But, back to helping Jake for weeks. What have you been helping him with? Like, homework or..." She asked. She was oh so curious about this. Thinking about helping Jake, she thought about the letter dad had sent her a while ago. But, Lawson was going to go see Professor Morgan, so maybe she would tell him about the letter. She wasn't going to tell him. Nope.

Seeing Lawson laugh, made her laugh. Wait...what did she say that made him laugh? He then said she was just saying that. "Well, sort of. I mean, it's good, but it would be much better if it was cooked," she confessed. She stepped back a little bit when Lawson stood beside her. Man, was he tall! "A drink? Where at? Aren't the kitchens flooded?" She asked. Talk about school while they were getting a drink? "Hm. Actually, why don't we talk about you while we're having our drinks? Like, what are you favorite hobbies?" She said, grinning slightly. Oh, yes. She was going to try and get out of talking about school while they having their drinks.

Sweeeeeeeeeeeet!!! He reached out and took the chocolate from her happily and started nomming on the first one. Seriously there was nothing better than chocolate. Had he already said that before? Probably. Oh yeah he was gonna have to go to Honeydukes and top up his stash, can't let that dwindle at all.

"I have been helping him with some private lessons in dueling. Just trying to give him a little more confidence with his wand and stuff because he seriously lacks magical ability." Marcus, shrugged a lot of kids were like that but he really wanted to help Jake. Still the reasons were unknown to him as to why.

Marcus blinked at Reese rapidly for a moment. Why did she want to talk about him? He instinctively backed away from her. "Um..."he was saved the trouble of answering her when the sensor in his pocket went off. Marcus, looked up sharply and narrowed his eyes. Someone was in his office and he was betting it wasn't Goldilocks. "Er...sorry Reese, I need to go someone's in my office." Without waiting another second he took off down the corridor and to the first floor where is office was.

"Okay. I'll see you in class then," Reese said as she waved goodbye to Professor Lawson. Well, that was good. She was out of having drinks with Lawson and out of having to talk about school. Score! Haha. Well, she probably freaked Lawson out about saying she wanted to talk about him. Well, that was much better than talking about DADA. Right? She turned on her heels and headed in the opposite direction of Lawson. She was going to go find Anna or Jack and see if one of them wanted to go to Honeydukes with her tomorrow. If they didn't, well, she could go by herself.

Barry came down the stairs he wanted to have a good look at this flood there was something wrong with it, why didn`t it just flow out of the doors and windows? And where was the source of the flood? If only he knew. The water looked similar to lake water and Barry oppened his notebook and jotted it down, he really should have been revising for his exams