"I'll do whatever you say," he watched her pace with an amused little grin on his lips. What was she ON about? Didn't matter... it was amusing. "Anna, you should know that no one going on this outing is doing any of that 'dating and such' that you mentioned. Unless you have something you want to say to me."

Or Cela liked Dom? No. NO. She liked COPE. She said so!

He'll do whatever I say? So he'll try the hair products?!?! Anna's expression changed into one that clearly showed just how pleased she now was. No one could ever deny that she truly loved the art of helping someone prepare for their very first date. Whether or not this was Cope's very first date in general was pointless, though. This was his very first date with Cela, one of Anna's best friends and her bridesmaid.

She sort of giggled when Cope questioned her 'dating and the such' phrase. Of course she'd meant that dating and falling in love came naturally, but she'd scare Cope half to death if she brought that up now. Maybe she should, though. Knowing Cope, he was over there considering the possibility that she liked him, Dom liked Cela, Cela liked Dom, or some other nonsense. "Okay, okay. I meant...falling in love, but...oh, Cope don't panic. It was a passing thought in regards to Friday night's date. I mean, I'm the one who's in love...with Cale. Not with Dom. I mean, not with you either, but with...," she said, finally coming to a halt on that last word. She was babbling, wasn't she? "Erm...I'll just get quiet now..."

"Who's falling in... what?" Anna was one to many bludgers to the head, it was obvious. Poor girl. And she'd been so clever at one point in her life. Hehe. "Are you trying to set Celandine up with Dominic? Because I don't want to go. Or are you trying to set her up with me? Because... I do want to go. We have this..."

Hm. How to phrase this correctly? Hm. "An understanding. Cela and I. We both... feel something, right? Oh, you don't care." And now he was an idiot too.

Quite possibly, Issy may have been swooning.

Once upon a time, Samson would never have admitted to desiring her company, sick of or not, and he most certainly would not have told her he wanted her to run her fingers in his hair, much less while he was awake to enjoy it. If the concept of this didn't elate her so much, Issy would find it a strange turn around to the Samson she first met.

Not that she was complaining.

Not at all.

It was the contact with his lips that made her go dizzy and nearly sway on the spot, though. His lips may not have touched hers, but that simple touch to her hand was enough to send trembles down her arms and to her chest, where they touched to her heart and she felt the swoon begin. How silly that such a simple brush of skin, a teeny tiny act, was so... sweet... and could make her so dizzy, so simply.

At times, it was so very overwhelming. When Issy had first spilled butterbeer all over Samson, she had never intended to fall for him, but there, even when he was so rude, she was instantly fond of him. Granted, at first it was all entirely superficial, for he was probably the most beautiful boy she'd ever laid eyes upon but still! They grew up and got to know one and other better and at one point in time, she was honestly certain that they'd never be more than friends, with the strange relationship between them.

Now, here he was. The anti-girl, anti-touchy, non-sentimental boy she'd first met, grown into... well...he was a bit of a man now, wasn't he? That alone called back the trembles and Issy nibbled down on her lower lip.

Fingers still tightened in his hand, she tried to return his smile, but she found that strange, faint feeling to be a bit inhibiting. Instead, she searched for her voice, finding it deep in her chest, bubbling around with all sorts of other feelings and thoughts and words.

"Samson... you're..." she tried again, to complete her previous thought. "You're fantastic and shocking and I... at one time, I never would have expected this. In fact, I'd told myself not to and fought myself to forget you and it was so impossible and this...." Her voice strained a little, but it wasn't with impatience or anger. Just deeply wrought with emotion, the swell that she had to keep from bursting forth and attacking him.

"Oh Samson... you really are fantastic. And... sweet." Her lips turned upward in a sweet, tiny smile. "Who would have thought such a thing, hm?"

Gingerly, with her free hand, she reached up as she rose on tip-toes, to brush a lock of his hair back. There! It was still as soft and pretty and silky as ever. Perhaps even more.

"Look at you," she murmured, returning to her feet, a smile still curling her lips, almost shyly. "You've grown so much. It's almost hard to believe."

"No one's asking you to fall in love with her, Cope. That was just me touching on a related topic. We'll forget it was even brought up, 'kay?" she replied, moving to set her overloaded basket of hair products on the floor. She frowned at them, wishing she could she could just banish them back to her trunk. They were getting way too hard to handle stuffed into that tiny basket. "We're all just going to...hang out, you know. Madame Puddifoot's has some wicked cheesecake, too. It'll be fun. No pressure. No worries."

She eyed him for a few moments, then added, "What's this understanding anyway? I mean, you either like one another...or you don't. What else is there?" Then it occurred to her that Plym was probably classified under 'What else is there?', so she sort of just wished she hadn't even asked. "I tell you what. Don't answer that. We're just going to make this as simple as possible. The four of us are just going to go out, have a good time, and that's all there is to it."

"No, I'll tell you if you want to know," Copernicus shrugged. He really didn't have anyone to discuss this sort of thing with. You couldn't talk about the mechanics of getting into a relationship with the same person you were getting into the relationship with, could you?

"We do like each other a great deal, but we don't want to rush anything. Cela has to get over the Plymouth thing, and I don't want to upset him further, so we're going to wait for him to be okay with it." That was reasonable, right?

Well this was certainly odd. It felt like she was missing something. She looked around as she walked down the corridor. She felt like she was unplugged from the world or something. She felt like a pod person who had just been dropped into the middle of Hogwarts or something, everything and everyone has seemed to have moved on without her.

She hadn't seen any of her friends, if she still had any, in like weeks. And they all seemed busy and wrapped up in their own lives to have noticed that she had been incognito for a few weeks. Would she go seek them out to find out how they were doing? Would she wait for them to come to her and ask after her?

These thoughts whirled around in her head as she walked in her new Pastry heels. They were brand new and she had to break them in.

"Okay then. Come on, let's walk a little ways away from the portrait hole and take a seat along the wall somewhere. I like to sit in the corridors somethimes at night, when it's a little more quiet, and study or just enjoy the peacefulness," she said, picking up her basket and motioning for him to follow her. As she listened to him talk, she walked a few yards away and took a seat. She placed her basket beside her and got comfortable. If Cope needed someone to talk to, she'd be there, of course. She nodded as he talked, taking in everything he had to say.

"Well, if you want my opinion...I agree with not rushing, and I agree with Cela wanting to get over Plym first," she started. "What I don't agree with, though, is you waiting on Plym to be okay with this whole set-up. I understand where you're coming from and all, but...what exactly are you doing to tell whether or not he's okay with it...or ever will be? You two don't really seem to be talking a whole lot lately, so if one of you doesn't make the first move, the situation could stay like this for...quite a while, actually."

"You can't make someone willing to talk to you again. Or force them to like you," Copernicus seated himself in front of Anna, willing to subject his hair to her attentions. SCARY THOUGHT.

"The thing is... I've done everything I can. I've apologized, and I mean it, and I'm trying my best to prove that I can be trusted again. But I don't see WHY he'd ever forgive me for what I did. I doubt I could. And since I don't know what else to do... I feel like not doing anything. You have no idea how hard it is to have a conversation with him. If I say a word, he ignores me or tells me not to talk to him, but if I don't, he yells at me for ignoring him."

As Cope talked, Anna's hand sort of edged towards that basket of hair products she'd brought along. She just couldn't help it. His whole head of hair was staring her right in the face and idea after idea after idea was coming to her. She pulled the basket into her lap, stopped to say a quick "hmmm," then grew quiet and started listening again. "You know, Cope, there's a little thing I like to call...'being too nice'. That's what you're doing, you know," she said, popping open a bottle of Wonder Witch mousse and pouring a good amount of it into her hand. She rubbed her hands together for a minute, then...plop...smacked the goo onto the top of Cope's head.

"Cope, have you...I mean...Cope...you know he's..." She stopped applying the mousse for a moment and just gave him an apologetic look. "Cope, you have to have noticed that he's moved on. I'm constantly seeing him around the school chatting up one of the girls. He really doesn't appear to be missing out on anything. If he can have fun, why can't you?" She moved her hands to the top of his head again and sort of scrunched up his hair. "I mean, exactly how long are you willing to wait around?"

Aislynn was on her way out of the Common Room. She was deep in thought with her book she was reading as she went down the stairs. She accidently bumped into some. "Oh!" Aislynn said as she dropped her book and all her notes in the pages seemed to go everywhere. She bent down to pick everything up and while doing so, she looked up and noticed she ran into Anna. "So, sorry Anna, so clumsy of me. Sorry..." she was picking up a paper under Anna's foot, "...sorry again. Sorry for interrupting. Sorry for..."

She kept going on and on with apologies.

...plop. When someone...or something?...suddenly bumped right into her, Anna's hand jerked and the mousse she'd had in it was smasked onto Cope's cheek. She winced a little, then dug throught her basket in search of a few spare cottonballs. She glanced up at Aislynn with an understanding look, knowing full well the younger girl hadn't intentionally done anything wrong. "It's...it's quite alright. Really," she said, listening as the girl apologized several different times. With the few cottonballs now in her hand, she wiped the product off Cope's face. "I'd help, Aislynn, but I'm afraid my hands are covered in Wonder Witch products." She held up both hands, so as to show the leftover mousse she was using to style Cope's hair.

"He moved on from Cela, but it's ME he's mad at. He could be married with 6 children, and he'd be mad. It has nothing to do with her anymore and everything to do with me lying to him and sneaking around behind his back. You're so innocent, Anna," he said it spitefully, but the anger was directed at himself. "We were going behind his back."

Cope glanced up at the girl who appeared from the Gryffindor common room. "Hey! I... don't I know you? Class together?" She looked familiar to him. "I'm Copernicus."

He offered his hand to her but couldn't get up. Anna was putting something smelly on his hair.

"I'm not innocent, Cope," she said, glaring at him and considering spraying him with mousse for that little comment. Instead, she huffed out a sigh and started in on the hair-styling once again. She'd have let him really have a piece of her mind, but she didn't want Aislynn to think she was completely insane. "So back to my question...what are you going to do to try and make sure fences are properly mended? You know...since I'm so innocent and all, do enlighten me as to what your plans are. Surely you have plans. I wouldn't think the uninnocent would sit around for too long waiting on the other party to make things right." So, yeah. She was a tad annoyed with the whole 'innocent' comment, which would be why she'd brought the word up so many times in her reply, but she'd get over it for the sake of helping a friend.

Aislynn laughed as she saw Anna wipe off the mouse of Copernicus's face. She picked up all her papers and shoved them back in her book. "Are we starting a hair salon in the corridor?" Aislynn asked with a grin.

She observed Anna's work as she was scrunched his hair. "Hmm..." she said. "Have you tried Monsieur Cheveux's Très Magnifique Hair Spray?" she dug around in her bag and pulled out a spray container. The label had a man with gorgeous long gold locks and grinning ear to hear on it. "He uses the same idea as love potions, where it gives off a smell of whatever you desire or whatever someone else might desire. Right now my hair spells like roses and ocean mist. It's the latest thing!"

She showed Anna the spray and held it out for her. "It's not like an actual hair spray, where it makes your hair sticky or hard. If anything it makes it more shiny and soft." Aislynn twirled her hair around so they could see. She took in a deep breath and could smell an ocean breeze and roses. "Don't worry it doesn't act like a love potion, where you'll fall in love or anything. Apparently it might attract people, but it's more to the smell."

Aislynn walked over and took his hand. "It's a pleasure to meet you Copernicus. I'm Aislynn," she gave him one of her wide watermelon smiles. "I think we might have a few classes together...So how did Anna rope you into this one? Lose a bet..."--She looked kindly at Anna, hoping she didn't offend her--"...I'm only kidding of course. You seem to be in good hands. Who's the girl you're trying to impress?"

"No, I don't HAVE a plan," Copernicus said impatiently, flicking a bit of foam off his nose. What was she DOING up there? Did he really even still have hair? Was she turning it lilac spotted? He was starting to get nervous. "I'm sorry I called you innocent then, Anna Bella. I take it back. You're a completely corrupt creature. Happy now?"

He tilted his head back to grin at her before returning his attention to Aislynn. "I'm not sure I trust anyone with hair like that," he pointed at the container. "He looks like the cover of a bad romance novel. Like maybe he will rend his clothing and beat on his chest a little bit. I'm not sure I have the locks OR the musculature for that."

He considered whether or not to speak of his undying affection for a certain fourth year. Hmm. It was probably ill-advised. "Anna invited me to join her in the village for tea with some friends, and I'm letting her... do something to me. Pull out all my hair, I think. Am I bald yet?"

Aislynn laughed at the bald comment. "It's actually looking quite dapper," she smiled. "She has given you volume and sleekness, it's a very attractive look on you." She handed him the spray.

"Never judge a container by its cover," Aislynn said. "It really works wonders and your hair will smell absolutely divine." She took in a deep breath. "Who knows it may attract some wanted attention?" She gave a little giggle.

"Yup, it's called Greingoth's Cut Above," she said, joking around with Aislynn. Anna finished with the mousse, re-capped it, and scrunched Cope's hair a bit more. It was looking pretty stylish now. Not that it hadn't before, but Anna had always been a big fan of a little lift on the top. She shook her head at Aislynn, indicating she'd never heard of the product the girl was inquiring about. "Is it available at Madame Primpernelle's?" That was the main shop she went to when it came to beauty products. She thought they sold everything under the sun, but maybe she'd just missed their line of Mon-whatever Aislynn was saying. "Is that even English?" she asked, not being able to pronounce the word.

Anna playfully stuck her tongue out at Cope, then rummaged through her basket a little more. Surely she had something else he'd like up in here. She decided to say no more about he, Plym, and Cela right now, though. They'd save the rest of that conversation for a later time. She did catch on to how he casually mentioned Anna had invited him to the village. That seemed safe enough. Meanwhile, she thought Cope's hair looked really nice. It wasn't too gooey, too sticky, or too spiked. It wasn't too hard or too soft or flying all over the place. She pulled a mirror from her basket and held it up to his face. "No, you're not bald. I think you look really nice, though," she said, awaiting his reply.

"Who do I see to make an appointment?" Aislynn said jokingly back. She watched Anna work a bit, she did have a knack for it.

"Actually, it's from France," Aislynn said about the hair spray. "It's a fairly knew product, I have an uncle who's a hair stylist over there. He always keeps me updated on the latest fads."

She noticed that the way Anna looked at Copernicus that she felt like she interrupted an important conversation. "Well, again, I'm sorry for bumping into you. Keep the hair spray, I have plenty back in the dormitory. Tell me if you like it. And have a pleasant evening the two of you with your friends over tea." She smiled widely. It must be nice to have a group to hang out with, she thought.

"No, I don't trust your discretion in this matter, Anna. You want me to believe it looks good," he peered at himself in the small mirror before frowning. "Aislynn... don't go. You're the impartial observer here. Any bald spots? Do I look... sporty?" He said the word gingerly, as if unsure he actually wanted to look 'sporty'.

"Why does it smell like this?"

Becca was SO PUMPED. She and Cela had a top secret mission ahead of them, and Becca was SO into it. As she made her way to the common room, she slid along the wall, playing a very appropriate song on her alto saxophone as she went. She was in SUPER SPY MODE! Even though the music coming from her person would surely give her position away, she needed some theme music to go along with her mood. It was pure intensity.

Shuffling down the corridor almost silently, George dodged someone who was sliding along the wall with a saxophone and looked around at the busy-ish corridor. What had he walked into?! He stood there and looked around, his mouth slightly open as he tried to work out what was happening.

Elan was walking his new corridor when he bumped into another boy, who appearred to be a Huffie. "Sorry, mate. Didn't see you there. I didn't hurt you , did I?"

"Ooof!" George turned to look at the boy and then smiled "Don't worry about it, no, it's okay" he nodded and moved against the wall that the crazy girl WASN'T using a support as she walked. Leaning on it casually, he indicated for the other boy to join him "I'm George" he smiled. Wow! Where had his shyness gone?

Elan smiled. "Glad to know I haven't hurt you. I'm Elan. Nice to meet you." Surprised we haven't met before." He looked around the corridor and saw some strangeness and around them.