Steven sighed, and slowed a little as Nancy nudged one of the suits of armour that practically clung to all of the enclaves and hallows of the old walls of Hogwarts. He sighed as he slowed to a stop and watched as she started to speak to him but then stopped and bent over picking up a piece of parchment. He raised an eyebrow at her as she read it and then decided he wouldn't ask about it.

That was, until it was being pushed in his direction as she started laughing. With another confused expression, he took the parchment from her as he continued to hold Chis close. He silently decided, that he quite liked the cat and that he might have to look into getting one. That, or he could simply steal Chis from Nancy. The cat obviously liked him better anyway.
Just as he was getting to the end of the paragraph, and he read the words "Slytherin Playboy, Steven Tamesis", he looked up and saw his cousin slumping against the wall. He gasped, and forgetting that he was suppost to be interested in the rest of the juicy gossip and his best friend. All but ran over to Sarah.

"Sarah! What happened? Are you okay?" He asked. He may have been tangled up in webs with girls that he didn't realise thought of him in any way; but he would always look after the three girls and George. Especially George. He sank to the floor next to her, Chis still in his embrace as he waited for her to answer him.

Sarah looked up at her cousin still with tears in her eyes. "Hi Steven." She said with sadness in her voice. "I'm sad, I am sure that Jake Upstead and the rest of the Hufflepuffs will hate me, you see I lost my way and so I asked a Professor if he knew the way and he asked Jake Upstead to help me, Jake my fault since I was the one that lost my way and had to aks the Professor refused and after the second time he lost 5 points for Hufflepuff which was my fault since I had to ask the Professor which way it was.

Sarah continued to look at Steven. "And then there's the fact I haven't seen Alice or Bee since the start of term feast, I hope they are okay and that they aren't cross with me for any reason." She wanted to cuddle him but decided against it.

Nancy waited expectantly for a reaction from Steven to the whole Aparecium-thingy but was unfortunately disappointed once again. No reaction, nothing. Not even a roll of his eyes. Nothing. But that was due to the fact that he probably never got to finish the article in the first place. He had to just dash off without saying another word. Oh, nice friend she got there, very nice. Hmpf...

And above all he was still holding on tightly to her cat. Her cat. And Chis seemed to like it. Oh, great. Soon she would have nobody. Soon she would be all alone. Sniff...
Okay, maybe she was being a bit melodramatic at the moment but the whole thing just annoyed her way too much to be able handle it properly. And what happens when you're not able to sort out things properly? Right. You behave strangely.

So, just as Nancy was already half-turned away from Steven, her soon-not-to-be-her-cat-anymore cat and whoever her "best friend" had ran off to, her attention was once again caught by the name Steven exclaimed. Sarah?! It couldn't be-

Alright, it could be. And it was. She was certain of that. Steven had rushed off to look after that irritating little Hufflepuff girl, Sarah Jessica Winchester. Awesome, another annoying thing that was added onto her pile of irritation. Just great. Nancy did not turn around, nor did she continue to walk. She just remained standing where she was listening to the conversation of Sarah and Steven. The 14 year old couldn't suppress a snort upon hearing the tone Steven used on her. Yeah, whatever...

Sarah looked up from Steven and couldn't believe who she was see, she was sure she was seeing things, it couldn't be could it, oh but it was, she quickle grabbed Steven and held onto him. "Don't let her jinx me, please Steven don't let her Jinx me." She cried remembering that time when Nancy had pushed her over. "Cousin, please don't let her do anything to me." She was very scared now and was trying to find away out of her situation but unfortuntly the only exit she could see was behind Nancy and Sarah didn't want to go anywhere near Nancy. "Nancy what are you doing here?" She asked looking up at Nancy for the first time since she had realised who it was.

...but then that annoying Hufflepuff chose exactly that moment to recognize her. Yeah, awesome. Not. Upon hearing the panic in the girl's voice Nancy whirled around, her face torn with pure annoyancr, and snapped at Sarah, "For Merlin' sake, Sarah Jessica Winchester! Could you maybe just shup up?!" Jeez! That girl brought out the worst in her. Seriously, she really did. And if she continued whining about being afraid of her jinxing her, Nancy just actually might.

With a few quick strides towards Steven and Sarah Nancy looked the girl straight in the eye and said, in a voice like the other girl was somehow retarded, "I. Am. Not. Going. To. Jinx. You. Get it? Unless you-" The rest of the sentence was drowned out by the loud gasp which came out of Nancy's mouth. "Cousin!?" With her mouth slightly ajar the 14 year old's blue eyes flickered back and forth between Steven and Sarah. No. Way.

Chris was walking down the hallway pretty much at a loss of something to do. He had been patrolling the halls doing his Prefect duties and had come along nothing wrong, no rules being broken, and no fights to break up. Like the one in the Trophy room the other day. He stopped to look out the window onto the grounds.

Still confused over what had happened in the hufflepuff common room, Dominic was trying -with difficulty- to move onwards from that whole flood ordeal and just hoped that the waters could be stopped before the whole castle was under water. Because if that happened, then they better hope that Professor Bunbury had been growing a rather large supply of gillyweed or that Professor Ashby perfected teaching bubblehead charms. Or maybe they could all turn into merpeople. That would be . . . not fun.

Ugh... Gryffindor Male Prefect alert. Lucky boy, having his common room in the tower. Except not lucky, because Dominic had quite liked his common room down by the kitchens. Only lucky because at least he wasn't homeless. Not fair at all!

"Hello Chris," the sixth year greeted nonetheless, though not making eye contact, but figuring it polite to greet a fellow Prefect especially. Even if he didn't really know the boy much at all, except that he was like a fifth year or something.

Chris turned as he heard someone coming down the corridor. It was the male Hufflepuff Prefect Dominic. "Hey Dominic. Im Chris Potter, I dont think we have officially met." He held out his hand to shake Dom's. He had seen him on the train in the Prefect's Compartment. "I heard that the water was rising into the floor with your Common Room. Is it true?" He could tell by the look on Dom's face that it most cetainly was. Crap. He thought "Im sorry that really sucks. Do you guys know where you are supposed to stay?" He asked trying to comforting, without it being awkward. He would have mentioned they could stay in the Gryffindor tower with them but the Slytherins were already there. So his best guess would be with the Ravenclaws. "So what do you think is causing the flooding?"

Dominic half smiled as Chris introduced himself officially, though he had already known his name from Anna saying it on the train. Biting his lower lip, the sixth year just dug his hand firmly into his robe pocket, ignoring the younger boy's hand.

"Nope. I don't believe that we have... Just informal introduction by Anna on the train," Dom agreed, before the boy jumped full force it seemed into a mouthful of questions. Dear Merlin, this boy could ask questions like his life depended on it!

"I didn't even know there was a flood until it reached the Hufflepuff Common Room and the dormitories... But yes, it's true, and no, as of right now, we haven't been informed of where to stay yet."

Canaries! Being homeless really did suck. Now he knew what Clifford must have felt like (and been talking about). Yes it was all making sense now. But wait . . . Cause of the flooding? "Uh... Myrtle left the sink running in the girl's bathroom again?" Dom suggested lamely.

Chris had his hand held out like an idiot as Dominic decided not to shake it. Ok. He thought and instead the fourth year ran a hand through his hair. "Oh yeah I guess Anna did introduce me on the train. Im so glad to be able to work with her this term, she truely was a great choice for Head Girl."

Chris listened intently as Com mentioned his lack of knowedge on the flood in the Dungeons until it reach his area. "Well it really is a unfortunate event that two Common Rooms are now flooded, plus now that I think about it the Kitchens are flooded too. I do hope the house elves are ok." he said he sighed. But then got back to the topic of Hufflepuff Common room. 'Well Im sure the professors will let you guys know soon."

"Moaning Myrtle left the sink running...?" Chris trailed off. Was he serious? He thought to himself. He started to smile thinking it was a joke until he saw that it definately wasn't. "Well that might be it." he said try to reassure Dom's idea. "But I have a theory, I think that it is probable that something has punctured the boundary between the lake and the foundation of the castle."

Dominic nodded about Anna being a great choice for Head girl; truly, she was one that he never had too many problems with. Which was probably why she was picked for the position... "Quite so." Better than Vanessa; of course, he was on slightly better terms with Vanessa, but only for diplomatic reasons. Since it was because of her that there was this increased awkwardness around Kaika...

"Let's just hope that the whole castle isn't headed for the underwater world," Dominic mused, trying to make a joke out of it, but it wasn't really funny. Especially since it was his common room and not Gryffindor's or Ravenclaws - the latter in particular - to have it be flooded. "I wonder though, about meals, with the kitchens flooded. And, oh no, it's headed for the Great Hall?" Weird. Guess that left the Hall out from staying there temporarily. Yup, this officially sucked. "I'm sure they'll let us know where we're being displaced to..."

Oh. Chris actually believed him with Myrtle leaving the sink running?!? But he was only joking! Seriously, how was he supposed to know the cause of the flooding? "Doubtful," Dom corrected himself over the Myrtle theory. "Well, that's possible, but what if ... Barthalomew has it in for the castle? Like maybe something set him off?" Truthfully though, Dominic could think of only one thing that might have done that and she left the school almost two years ago now.

Chris thought for a moment on what all consequences would there be of this event on the castle. He decided not to worry about long term effects unless the water continued to rise.

He decided to change the subject to a less gloomy one. "So I heard you made it to the Quidditch team." he said cheerily. "That must be exciting. I really wanted to play this term but couldn't make it to the try-outs." Quidditch was another thing Chris was really good at. He played chaser for a team he and his friends in his neighborhood put together.

Ryders shoes were wet, and he could barely feel his toes. But he was okay. At least he'd gotten Sarah out of the common room. He wished he knew where they were supposed to be going though. And he wished he still had the Daily Prophets that had been in his room. He was going to need them lately.

As he made his way down the corridor, he heard people talking. One of the voices sounded familiar. As he got closer, he realized it was Dominic. He hadn't seen him since...well, since the opening feast. Walking up to join him, and the other boy he didn't know he said, "Hi Dominic, how've you been?" He rubbed his hands together, to try and warm at least one bit of him up. After a minute he gave up. It was useless anyway.

Anna stared blankly at the ground and strolled absentmindedly down the corridor. Well, to be honest, her mind wasn't completely blank. She was concentrating quite deeply on the current situation going on in the dungeons and kitchens of Hogwarts. She'd thought for sure that the lake was the cause of the flood, but then the kitchens had flooded, too, so what now? Wasn't the Head Girl supposed to know all the answers? Or, wasn't she expected to know all the answers? No, no, she couldn't be. No one knew all the answers. Okay, so maybe Professor Kazimeriz did, but definitely no one else. Tapping her chin in thought, Anna continued down the corridor.

Where was Anna when you needed her?

Reese headed down the third floor corridor, keeping her eye out for the Head Girl. She had to be around her somewhere or if she wasn't done here, she might be in the common room. She was checking there last since she was going to check all the corridors for her. She needed some advice and yes, she had already asked Lima and Whitney for advice, but she needed some more. It wasn't like Lima's advice didn't help, but maybe Anna had some more advice for her.

Hearing footsteps, she quickened her walking. Maybe that was Anna's footsteps. Oh, she really hoped it was Anna. She didn't feel like checking anymore corridors for her, but if she had to, she would. Then, she saw it was Anna. She was still ahead of her, but she COULDN'T get away. "ANNNNNNNNA," she called out. She ran after her best friend and when she got close enough to her, she smiled. It was about time she found her. "I've been looking everywhere for you," she added.

Still walking and pretty much lost in thought, Anna blinked and came to when she heard someone yelling her name. Because of the recent events in the dungeons and in the kitchens, Anna's first thought was that someone was in trouble. Spinning around, Anna caught site of Reese running towards her, definitely looking like she wasn't in trouble, thank Merlin! "Oh, hey, Reese," she greeted, smiling in return. "Looking everywhere for me? Why? Is something wrong, or you just missed your best friend?" Anna shot Reese a playful smile, then stopped her little stroll down the corridor. There wasn't really anywhere to get comfortable, so she'd have to settle for leaning against the wall for her little chit chat.

"So, how ya doing? I mean, since the flood of the dungeons and all?" Anna asked, glancing back and forth between Reese and the floor. It was a tough topic to talk about, but Anna had to make sure Reese was alright. "Pretty cool that we get to share a Common Room, though, huh? Too bad Cale isn't still here to enjoy this one. The sharing of the Common Room, I mean...not the flood."

Reese leaned against the wall and looked at Anna. She was getting her breath back after that little run she just did. She looked around the corridor, making sure nobody was around. There were some people in the corridor, but they were further away from them. She looked back at Anna and shook her head. "Nothing is wrong," she told her. Did she miss her best friend? Well, of course she missed Anna. It seemed like ages since the last time they talked. "I need-well-your good with boys, aren't you?" She asked.

"I've been doing well. No little flood is going to stop be from having a good time nor is it going to stop me from earning points," she said. "How about you? How have you been doing? Are there anymore little first years giving you trouble?" She glanced at a near by window when Anna mentioned Cale. "Yeah. He would have probably liked to share a common room with me," she said and then she looked back at Anna. "Mentioning Cale, I need to write him sometime. He's probably wondering why I haven't wrote him this term," she added. There was nothing to talk about with Cale. She could mention the flooding of the common room, but Anna probably already told him that.

Noticing the way in which Reese was glancing up and down the corridor, Anna turned her head and glanced around, as well. Was someone coming, and if they were, was Reese about to share some juicy gossip or something? She certainly seemed like she was. Or maybe she was in trouble? Anna certainly hoped not, though. Anna turned back to the girl and gave her a questioning look, then mouthed the word, "What?" Anna nodded when Reese said that nothing was wrong. Okay, so she wasn't in trouble or anything of that sort, so yes, yes this was indeed gossip of some kind. Ohhh, boy talk! Now this was Anna's kind of conversation! "Of course I'm good with boys---I'm eighteen!" she exclaimed, as if being of that age meant you knew it all.

"Yeah, that's the spirit! I was hoping you would say that you were doing well," Anna replied. From what she could tell, all the Slytherins...and now Hufflepuffs...were doing just find adjusting to their new situation. At least everyone had gotten out alright. "I'm alright, too. No one's been giving me trouble, since...well, since Jake, you know." Anna trailed off on that last note, not really wanting to mention the situation with Jake in front of his stepsister. "Oh, he'd love to hear from you, Reese! Speaking of Cale, though, as soon as you give me the scoop on this guy, I have a question for you."

Chris turned his head from Dom to listen. he heard two girls' voices that sounded awfully familiar. He said 'hang on Im going to go see who that is." he walked around the corner and found Anna and Reese. "Hey guys! How are you? Anna I havent talked to you in forever!" he said excitedly. "And Reese let me guess you ran into Anna too?" he joked. He looked at the two of them. "I wasn't interupting anything was I?"

Reese took a deep breath. "So, you ARE good with boys. That's good," she said. Here it goes... "So-yeah-there's this guy. Um, he's the same year as me. And, yeah, I like him. But, Anna, I haven't liked a guy in ages. I don't know what to do. I'm not even sure if he likes me back," she explained. So, she was going to leave out his name and house, unless Anna wanted to know who he was. Then, she might just have to tell her. It wasn't like Anna would tell Jack anything, right? "I've asked Lima and Whitney for help, but Whitney wasn't much help and Lima gave me some advice. I just need some advice from you. I need to know what to do," she quickly added.

"Jake..." She trailed off. She hasn't seen her stepbrother is quite some time now since the incident in the corridor. She needed to talk to him soon and tell him what Heath had said in the letters. She smiled when Anna said Cale would love to hear from her. "I would love to hear from him, too. I'll try to write him later," she told Anna. "Ohhhh, you have a question for me?" Hehe. Now she was curious to know what Anna wanted to ask her.

She took her eyes off Anna and looked at the person who had walked up to them. "Oh, hello Chris," she said with a smile. "Hahahahahahaha, no. I didn't run into Anna." She wanted to say he was interrupting them since they were talking about boys and it would be strange to talk about boys in front of a boy, but she didn't say anything. It would be rude to say something and make him go away.

Chris smiled and laughed with her and then looked at Anna. "It was just something we talked about earlier." he then looked at the both of them. "I am interrupting something aren't I?" he said

Dominic was grateful though when Chris decided to change the subject. To Quidditch of all things, which was definitely something that on most days would have been a happy relief. Though these days, it was filled with drama from Kaika who seemed like she wanted to beat him with her bat every chance she could get... and well, Willow wanted to do pretty much the same, he was sure. Girls were dangerous!

But wait, what? How did Chris hear about him making the team before he knew himself? Oh right. He avoided the pitch except for tryouts and practices due to the drama. Not that he expected to NOT make it since he made it the last two terms, but who knew with Kaika's attitude change this term around him . . .

Of course he was pretty sure that captain's weren't allowed personal bias in their team selection; adjustments could be sought if necessary. "Hmm? Yes, so I did. Thank you Chris and shame you couldn't make tryouts this year. Always next year," Dom nodded, wondering though what position he'd been assigned this term. Perhaps beater would be nice for self-defense purposes against the two crazy female beater captains . . . heh.

Oh. Familiar voice down the hallway. Dominic turned his head at the sound of his name to find himself looking at a younger (and awesome) Hufflepuff, Ryder. It'd been ages . . . well two months since he'd seen the kid and Dom was actually starting to miss him. Weird considering Dominic Denton rarely missed anyone.

"Hey Ryder! I'm... well, as good as one can be with being homeless," the sixth year tried to joke lightly, albeit unsuccessfully. "And how have you been? Classes treating you well?"

Dominic then took notice of Chris approaching two females - one who he knew to be Anna and the other was quite unknown. Frowning at this lack of knowledge of who this student was - cause he had to know everyone - the sixth year tried to comprehend at least her house from the situation.

Sarah looked at Nancy was she here with her cousin. "Cousin, is she here with you?" She asked, she was scared now, how could he be talking to the enermy. "Steven, she pushed me over the last time I saw her, she is so mean." She cried clinging to Steven. When Nancy started shouting about what ever it was she was shouting about, Sarah hid her face in Stevens hand. "See she is just so mean and she doesn't like me for some reason, and I have no idea why."

Still gaping rather dumbfoundedly at her best friend and this Sarah-person Nancy blinked a few times in confusion. Cousin?! They were cousins?! Like seriously?! They were related?! She needed a few more moments to first restart her brain and then find her voice again. That just couldn't be true...

Blink Blink

A great number of blinks later Nancy cleared her throat once, then twice, then a third time before daring herself to speak properly again. "Not that I care or anything but you know just for the record. I did not push her over. She totally ran into me and then accused me of like tackling her or something. I did not do anything." Nancy had turned her full attention to Steven now completely ignoring that Sarah Jessica Winchester-person. Not that it mattered anyhow.

"Oh, and while you look after your lovely cousin over there, could I please get that back?" Nancy demanded, the annoyance pretty obvious in her voice, with a wave at the parchment Steven was still holding. "You can keep the cat." And Nancy was not entirely sure whether she was serious about that statement or not.

"Hey, Chris!" Anna said, a bit startled by the sudden presence of another person. She'd thought she and Reese were the only two around, but she supposed there must be others nearby. "It does feel like forever, doesn't it? I've just been so busy trying to assist with this horrible flood...which I imagine you've been busy with, too." When Chris directed his attention back to Reese, Anna did, too, and she gave her best friend a warm smile.

"Hold that thought," Anna said, holding her index finger in the air. "We'll continue our little talk in just a bit." She knew that Reese didn't want to have a boy talk in front of another boy, so responding to what Reese had just said was out of the question...right now, at least.

"Hey, Chris, do you mind if I catch up with you later on? Reese had a bit of a personal situation she needed my advice on, and I've agreed to help her," Anna politely explained. Hopefully Chris would understand and wouldn't take anything personally. After all, sometimes girls just needed to have a good 'girl talk' without the boys around. "You and I do need to catch up, though," she continued. "How about we meet up in the Common Room a little later?"