Was this kid lying? Was he? Was he?

Well he was a boyyyy though. Easily stunned by Myrtle's good looks as most boys were.

Myrtle toyed with one pigtail and eyed the Slytherin carefully. "I'm Myrtle," she mentioned by way of introduction. "Who are youuuuuu?"

She turned slightly as another boy joined her growing crowd of admirers. Crowd, yes, Myrtle was going to draw a crowd and suck all the attention away from Nick's Deathday. Duh. Why else had she come?

"Hello..... Green-Eyed Gryffindor," Myrtle adjusted her classes and stared at him. She didn't like the name Rafe Lycaon. It made him sound like a liar...con.

"I know, I know, I helped Harry Potter out and seldom got a word of thanks."

*SNIFF*

"You boys should do something about that. Work on getting me a medal or an award or a.... a plaque!" Myrtle was warming up to the party atmosphere now. "I deserve a plaque to hang in the trophy room! And one for the Merpeople Fiasco of last term too!"

But enough of that. Jakey was here. She scooted... er.... floated closer to the boy's side and gripped his arm as best as a ghost could with her icy one.

"JakeyWakers, you know who used to forget things?" Myrtle floated up an inch or two and whispered in his ear, "That GIRRRRL who opened the Chamber of Secrets. I remember her though she probably wouldn't remember ME now. She wasn't afraid to throw things at me too, Jakey. Do you throw things at people?"

"Wow, really you helped with the merpeople?! That's so awesome! That must have been really brave of you." Rafe exclaimed. "Well I woman with your stature definitely deserves some recognition that's for sure." Rafe had never really had a conversation with ghost, it felt natural, like she wasn't a ghost at all, just a girl at school like everyone else.

"So, what do you like to do around here for fun?" Rafe asked curiously. He bet she knew all the secret passages around the castle and some really cool spots. Plus, she probably knew a lot of stuff that happened at the school. "You know I would be honored to get a bit of a history lesson from you, I bet you're very knowledgeable in all the happenings around Hogwarts and about all the people who have come in and out of these doors."

Suddenly brought back to earth with an icy bump, Jake looked at Myrtle as she spoke and allowed her to whisper in his ear... which was an odd sensation... rather like someone with chewing gum breath blowng right down his earhole.

But before he had long enough to dwell on that, Jake started, the hairs on his neck standing on end, though he didn't know if that was from Myrtle's general ghostiness or the thought he'd just had.

"Wuh-wasn't she posses-" Jake started, before his eyes widened.

No.

Way.

"I... muh-muh-maybe it's juh-just sleep deprivvvashun," the boy stuttered out, deciding that yes. It was that.

Even though his sleep deprivation was BECAUSE of the memory loss.

Pssshh.

"No... I duh-don't throw things... I thuh-think."

'I'm too clumsy to walk in snow and ice!' she glanced down at her feet. 'But as soon as the snow is gone I will go into Hogmeade!' Unless she could fly there on a broom, she wouldn't go with snow on the ground. Plus she really doesn't have money to go shopping there, but no one needed to know that.

Glancing over at the food table, Destiny made another disgusted face. 'Yes! Sneaking into the kitchen for food. Perhaps I can get a pie?'

Lyddia laughed. Damn skippy, she was a cute witch. That's sooo true.

'Thanks,' Lyddia said to the boy. 'And, no problem. Go, Gryffindor!'

She is such a geek. 'Jason, right? I can't really tell in the werewolf costume, but you're the only Gryffindor rooting guy I talked to at the match. You are Jason Potter Weasley, right?'

"Well i think all the snow will have melted by the time the next trip comes, so you're in luck!" Evelyn smiled, tapping the ground with her shoe and laughed when she heard Destiny so something about pie. "Hey, did you ever get the your pie that one day we were talking about it? When was it...like...in Transfiguration class or something."

Glancing around the room again, she noticed another ghost had appeared, though this time it was a girl...with a group of boys around her. Why was that? 'Can't be because of her looks...' she thought, tilting her head to the side slightly, staring at the new ghost. 'Huh.' Turning her icy blue gaze back to Destiny, she smiled at the mention of sneaking into the kitchens.

"Yea, a little later we should go. I remember going there with Josh and this Evan guy once so i know where the entrance is." she mumbled, looking mighty suspicious herself. "But I think we would have to do some serious sneaking. Don't want to be caught after hours or anything."

Nick flew around the room, checking on his guests. "Is everyone having a good time?", he asked. "Feel free to stay as long as you like, there's plenty more fun in store!"

Destiny laughed at the thought of Transfiguration class. Which reminded her, she would have to get a new pair of robes since they were ruined, 'Yeah I got that pie. And then someone took my picture for muggles studies homework, with my mouth full. I think she was a Hufflepuff!' She glanced around the room looking for that girl, but she wasn't there. 'Lucky..'

'Don't worry about getting caught! We are Slytherin, we are sneaky. Well maybe if I wasn't dressed as a bumblebee!' Great choice of costume when one is supposed to be sneaky. 'Well maybe we can change the colors? You are good at that!' Psssh, who needs defensive spells? Destiny needed a color changing spell.

Destiny almost jumped on top of Evelyn when the ghost flew by her. 'Oh yes I am having so much fun!' Destiny hoped the ghost couldn't tell sarcasm when it is being thrown at him.

Reese nodded. "Makes sense," she said. "I do like your outfit though, Torin." She glanced around the party once more and noticed more people have arrived. Oh, yay! The more the merrier, that's what she always though. By the time she looked back at Torin, he was gone. She frowned while she looked for him, then she saw that he was with Brody and some other girl she has seen around the school before. Were they having a fight? The other girl didn't look too happy!

After staring at Brody and the other girl for a few seconds, she turned back to Jack and...Jason? "Hello Jason," she greeted the Gryffindor. Not wanting to get into what Jason was telling Jack, she turned her head back to Myrtle, who had looked up at her. She gave the ghost a little smile before looking right back at Torin and Brody. Then, she noticed Brody run off looking like she was crying.

"Uh, Jack, I'm going to go see what's up with Brody and Torin," she explained. "You can come with me if you want to." Not waiting for Jack's response, she fixed her blonde wig, then headed over to Torin. "Torin," she spoke in almost a whisper. "What's wrong?"

He stood there in shock after she had run off on him; he still couldn't believe it. She had dumped him.. just like that. Everything had seemed to be fine between them and she ended it just like that. It had been the best relationship he had ever had, the most serious - even if it had been short.

And more than that, he loved Brody.

He knew that this was his fault even if she said it wasn't. And that hurt him so much that he barely even noticed when Reese came over to him. He needed her he decided. Maybe she could help him feel better.

"Brody dumped me..."

Reese looked up at Sir Nick and nodded in reply to his question. "I am having a good time, sir," she answered. "And, happy death day to you." Correction, she was having a good time until she heard what Torin just said. At first, she couldn't believe what she just heard. It was kind of hard to think that yesterday Brody and Torin were one happy couple and today Brody broke up with him. Oh, the nerve of that girl. If for one second she thought she could get away with breaking her best friend's heart, she was wronnnnng.

"Torin, it's going to be okay," she reassured him before pulling the Hufflepuff into a hug. "She doesn't know what's she's missing; you're a great guy. She's just..." Should she really finish her sentence? Probably not, but who cares? Torin wasn't dating the girl anymore. "She's just a meanie who doesn't even know that you are probably going to be the best guy she's ever going to meet," she continued.

Fyo had spotted Torin from a little distance off, but held back as his friend had talked with Brody. But then she ran off, and the fourth year could tell - clearly tell - that something was wrong. Because the look on Torin's face was... well, one Fyo had never seen before.

He shrugged off all thought like a hot potato, and was about to step up to Torin when, less than half a foot away, he heard Torin's words to Reese. His eyes widened, and then he decided he had not heard correctly. "Hey Reese," he said, as he reached the two of them. Then he turned to Torin, some concern in his eyes. "Kitty?" he asked, placing a hand on ze kitty's shoulder. "What's wrong?"

Because something was, definitely was.

Evelyn laughed when she thought of what that picture would look like. "Aw, i want to see it! You'll have to point out the girl who took it...wait. Never mind, I'll just ask the professor if he would let me see it."

"That's true. I can probably get it to turn dark green. Either that or Gryffindor red or this blue." she said, pointing to her eyes. "Other than that, i haven't tried any other colors before-" Suddenly, Destiny jumped very close next to her, surprising her and making her scream slightly. Evelyn was just too...jumpy...

"What are you doing?" she asked, putting a hand over her heart, breathing deeply, pulling herself together. She noticed Nearly Headless Nick floating by, asking if everyone was having fun and hearing Destiny reply. 'She's afraid of ghosts?' Evelyn thought, smirking slightly. "We are having a great time Sir Nick." she spoke, sounding as sincere as possible. "Thank you for inviting us."

He listened to Reese, not really taking in what she said to him. It was all very nice and normally he would appreciate it, but right now.. he was too heartbroken to say anything. When she pulled him into a hug he just stood there. He had never been dumped before and now.. out of the blue..

Then Fyo came and he almost completely broke down.

"I don't understand," he said with his eyes threaten to water as the Gryffindor places a hand on his shoulder. Fyo knew things that Reese didn't.

"I thought things were going so well."

That confirmed it.

Torin hadn't even told him what had happened, but Fyo realized the words he had overheard were absolutely true. His pupils widened slightly, and he could not understand, not understand at all.

Brody - how could she? He understood why a lot of girls thought she wasn't very nice, mean even, but she had never been bad to him, and Fyo had always liked her, really liked her. Not to mention that things hadn't even been rocky, not even a little, between her and his best mate. There had to be a reason, but Fyo just couldn't figure out what it could be.

Then that Christmas present... no, presents... no...

"Torin," Fyo said, and then he had pulled his best friend into a very Torin!Fyo hug, the kind only the two of them could share. "I'm sorry," he said - he could understand how heartbroken Torin must be, his friend had always loved Brody a good deal. "You're an amazing guy, you know you are, it's her loss. But I don't get why..." he trailed off, then shook his head.

How could he just tell Torin to forget it, move on - even give him any of the usual advice? He couldn't, just couldn't.

Honestly, Reese didn't know how Torin felt right now. She never got dumped by someone. The last two boyfriends she had, she was the one that ended up dumping them, but she had a reason, they were complete jerks and losers. But, Brody - that girl probably had NO good reason to dumping Torin. Unless, she found some other guy she liked. Which, was a reason, but an awful and depressing reason.

She released Torin from her hug and took a step back to let Fyo have his hug with the boy. "Yes, listen to Fyo, Torin. You are an amazing guy," she said. "It is Brody's loss. Like I said before, she doesn't know what she's missing." She also wanted to add that she knew Torin could find someone better - someone that is less evil. But, she thought better of it and kept her mouth shut. Instead of adding more to what she had previously said, since she might say something not-so-nice about Brody since she didn't like the girl, she began to wipe the wrinkles out of her blue Cinderella dress.

" Ahh, you like the boy" Jason told Eva. " I think teasing him is good for you" Jason said to Eva. " Any scares for me?" Jason asked Eva.
" Let's go to the great hall and get something to eat" Jason said to Destiny. " i do not like this food either" Jason said to Destiny. " Glad you accepted by invitation to have a butterbeer" Jason thanked Destiny.

" Yes. I agree let's go to the tables to eat" Jason told Evelyn. " Yes, I have seen someone change hair colors right in front of me" Jason said to Evelyn.

When Evelyn jumped, Destiny jumped again. 'Sorry! He just came out of nowhere.' 'Well duhhh, he is a ghost' 'I really have to stop being so scared I guess.' She looked around the room at everyone else, no one seemed to be scared.

Then looking like she just remembered something horrible, Destiny turned to Evelyn 'Them pictures. What if the professor displays them? There will be so many embarrassing pictures of me!' Stupid Muggle Studies homework.

He sighed as Fyo hugged him and felt close to crying. It really was hard to get dumped. And maybe worse for him since he had no idea why she ended it. Though now that he thought about it Brody had been a bit more distant with him lately. He remembered... but that didn't matter right now. No point in dwelling on it.

"If I'm so great, why did she dump me? She said it's not my fault but it obviously is. Why else would she have done it?"

He was getting tired of being here; he wanted to go back to the Common Room. But he couldn't just yet since Reese and Fyo were in different Houuses than him.

It was good that Reese was backing him up, or Fyo might have been at a total loss for words. "Torin," he said, eyes filling up with worry at Torin's not-so-happy question. "Listen..." What was he supposed to say? That Brody might have found someone else? That he, Fyo, had been wrong in his thinking, and Brody HAD been sorta evil? Oh my.

He was quiet for a second, sure that - whatever it was - it was definitely not Torin's fault. Not. In. The. Least. "There might be another reason," he said finally, realizing how lame he was at comforting other people, even his own best friend. "Maybe there's something that's bothering her... you -- you didn't get a chance to ask her?"

He bit his lip, suddenly falling silent, and looked up at Reese in a very "Help me with this, PLEASE!" way.

Reese wanted to slap some sense into Torin right now. Did he honestly think it was his fault? Like, honestly? She lifted her foot and lightly slammed it against the ground, not enough to actually break the plastic heel of the shoe, but it was still enough to show that she wasn't going to stand this. "Torin Kristopher Kane," she stated. "I'm not going to stand around while I can be over there with my Prince Charming just to hear you say that this is your fault. It's not your fault! The reason she broke up with you is because Brody probably finally realized that she's not good enough for you." Whoops. That last part kinda slipped from her mouth.

He brushed their statements aside. "I can't see how it could be anything other than me. When you tell someone it's not them it really is their fault.." He wracked his brains trying to think of where he had gone wrong. Was he too eager to please her? He wasn't sure. She did like to be spoiled and he had liked spoiling her...

"What if it's because of Bunbury!?!" he suddenly exclaimed in a headdesk moment.

Though he still made a mental note to tell Reese off for that comment later on.

"STOP IT!" Now Fyo was angry, angry because Torin would not listen. "Listen to me -" He grabbed Torin by the shoulders, and shook him a little. "It is not - I repeat - it is NOT your fault. At all. Brody will have her reasons, but they are HER reasons. It is not YOUR fault. GET THAT?"

He let go of Torin, breathing rather quickly. What was wrong with Torinkitty? Why didn't he get it? "Why would it be because of Professor Bunbury?" He asked, narrowing his eyes rather... suspiciously.

Evelyn was just about to tell Jason that she would probably go later to the Great Hall, seeing as she wasn't so hungry at the moment, when Destiny spoke again, rather frantically at that. "The professor displaying the pictures?" she asked, thinking about it. "That wouldn't be so bad. I bet yours will be a great hit! And then everyone will forget about it in a day or so. Nothing big." she said, thinking about the pictures she took.

The one of Josh, one of Destiny, one of two girls she didn't know, her owl aaaand...what was the last one she took? Suddenly remembering the one picture being taken of her and Josh holding hands in the Three Broomsticks, she shook her head worriedly."Hmmm, maybe not having the pictures displayed would be a good idea."

Reese was losing her patience. WHY WASN'T TORIN LISTENING TO THEM?! Grr. "So, Torin, if I told Fyo that it's not his fault that all my chocolate frogs are gone - it's really is his fault?" She asked. "That's what your making it sound like, Torin. It's not Fyo's fault that all my chocolate frogs are gone just as it's not your fault that Brody broke up with you." She glanced over at Fyo, hoping that he would knock some sense into this boy. Instead, Fyo just grabbed his shoulders and repeated that it wasn't his fault. Sigh.

Really, why wouldn't Torin listen to them?


"Bunbury," the Slytherin repeated. "Professor Bunbury, are you serious? If Brody was smart enough, she wouldn't break up with you because of your crush with the Professor. She would know that you have no chance with the woman, just like I know that." She placed her hands on her hips and just stared at the Hufflepuff in front of her.