...was he hissing at her? That's what it sounded like. Honestly, sometimes Puffer Children could be so confusing. Sure, she was a Slytherin, but was hissing at her necessary?

Hufflepuffs...

She'd never understand them as long as she lived. At least Conan was tolerable. He seemed like a nice boy, at least. He had her a rose, too! She smiled as she accepted it. "Thanks. It's pretty," she commented. "So are you ready to head over there now? I hear there's tea cup rides--and a maze."

Conan smiled at her. She liked the rose. "It's almost as pretty as you." Yep she was super pretty. He nodded, "I like rides. I have been on tea cups before. They are exciting." He wondered how they were configured. Well secretly. That wasn't something to share in the present company.

He reached out for her hand. It was a date after all. Even if he didn't want to admit it. "I won't let you get lost in the maze."

...she was supposed to hold his hand? She didn't think it was something she had to do, but he was offering anyway. She couldn't just turn him down, could she? That would be rude, and he'd brought her a rose and asked her to this tea party. He'd been so nice to her--so Hufflepuff.

She hesitated for a few seconds, and then slowly reached her hand forward, enclosing it around his. "Erm, thank you," she quietly said, replying to what he'd said about the rose almost being as pretty as she was. "Alright, well, off we go."

She smiled at him and then tugged his hand a little, encouraging him to walk with her and she left the corridor and headed down to the tea party.

Conan's eyes widened as her hand gripped around his. She actually took his hand. She actually took his hand. She didn't have to. But she did. And now she was tugging him to the party. He liked this very much. He would have to scrub his hand later. But after the party. He would get more girl cooties on his hand later if he scrubbed it now.

"You look really really pretty you know," he smiled, following beside her. "You look kinda like a Princess."

As soon as they'd walked a decent distance away, Sierra gently tugged her hand free of Conan's hand. He wasn't her boyfriend, and she barely even knew him, but the gesture had seemed like the nice thing to do when he'd extended his hand to her in the first place.

Besides that, the fact still remained that this boy was a Hufflepuff, and so Sierra was still a bit leery about hanging out with him--especially in a date setting. She could be nice for now, though. After all, he was.

He was almost too nice, which made Sierra wonder if she really looked that pretty, or if he was just being a loyal badger. "Thanks, Conan. You look nice, too," she commented. It occured to her that she was being so very nice to him--almost too nice for her. There was a mini-war going on inside her head: unleash her fangs or be nice for now. She'd just play it by ear and see what happened, though.

Pretty soon, they'd reached the party, and so she stopped and turned toward Conan. "So what do you want to do first? They've got tables, tea cup rides, a maze..." Her eyes traveled over all the different options before she turned back to him again.

OOC: Wanna choose a thread for us, and then we'll move them there?

And he'd been thinking quite a bit, especially after that talk with Arya, which resulted in...nothing, really, because he still thought she was wrong, but he did like to walk as to clear his mind off. Too much thinking was NOT good for him.

He knew he'd meant to head outside, but he forgot that, that's why he was sitting on one of the openings, right? Because he'd been meaning to head outside? Weird kid.

Either way, Treyen was still holding that Advanced Potions textbook that belonged to his Captain. A Captain he'd failed to see in the Common Room and throughout the school. The boy actually failed to take the book to Quidditch practice, which is where he saw her, but still, wherever the Captain was hiding she didn't seem to need the book.

So, he continued to sit there, leaning against a column, and looking out, as if considering where to go next.

Ellie was going to the courtyard. Obviously. What was also obvious was the additional accessory to her 'everyday' outfit. Yes, Ellie had a camera! Finally. And she was planning to take it around with her everywhere. It definitely made her feel better and taking pictures was so ADDICTIVE. And the courtyard was definitely a good place to take pictures. Especially in the winter with the pretty icicles and snowmen and stuff.

As she walked, she watched where she was going through the viewfinder. That way, she was ready to snap, in case anything interesting were to happen.

And that was where she saw Treyen. Hehe. She walked up behind him and...

SNAP.

All he heard was that oh-so-familiar sound cameras make whenever a picture is being taken, and as soon as he did, there was a smile on his face. It was instant. A camera, and Treyen was all smiles, it didn't matter how bad he could be feeling, and since he'd never been on a funeral then he had no idea if he could NOT smile if someone dared to take a picture in one.

But, yes, he smiled, and he was certain his heart had skipped a beat, but he knew it was not for the girl who was holding the camera, right? It had to be for the camera, yes, because Arya was wrong.

"Ellie!" he exclaimed, getting up as he said so, "You have to let me have that picture, you know," because he was in it and he liked pictures of himself, every Lockhart knew that, and not every Lockhart was like that, though, Kaika secretly was. "Who lend you their camera?" he asked, wondering if perhaps Cedric had done so. The book he'd been holding was now completely forgotten near the window.

BEAM.

"Sure." Why not? He could total have it... a copy of it. Cuz Ellie was selfish and wanted one for herself, too.

She brushed her finger against the various knobs and buttons that she had no idea of their purpose. "No one leant it to me. My dad bought it." Mmhmm. Over the Christmas holidays. Though, it wasn't a Christmas present because it was a replacement for a less-good camera she'd boughten last term...and forgot about... Heh.

"You like?" It was nice, right?

Perfect.

He smiled again, and actually noticed that him smiling may get in the way of whatever conversation he could have unless Ellie took the camera away from sight. He'd tell her. If he thought it a problem, of course.

Oh, his dad had bought it for her? You know what? He'd just remembered that his sister still owed him a Christmas present. He was not asking for a camera, no, but he should write and ask for something Quidditch-y. Ha. If Treyen had a camera of his own...that could be rather disastrous. Will all the pictures be of him? Good question. That's why he only selected the pictures in the Yearbook, didn't take them.

"He did? That's brilliant, a great gift." Indeed, it was. "You should take pictures of the Quidditch games, you know, preferably Hufflepuff ones...if I don't oversleep," he chuckled, the boy still needed to let his Captain know about it, and probably tell someone to wake him up, just in case.

"I love it. I like cameras, you know?" LOVE cameras, actually.

He leaned against the wall, the book still near the window, and his eyes flickered from Ellie to the camera, "Did you take pictures of that tea party the Prefects held?" he could use some pictures of that, though he was certain someone from the Yearbook took care of it.

"Mmm..." Yeah... Ellie'd used that so-so tone. "I like it."

The Quidditch games!! "Brilliant!" Those pictures would be EPIC. "I couldn't at the next game, though." Cuz she'd be IN it. Unless she could find someone to take pictures for her... Or take pictures while she was in the air! That'd be MORE epic!

Except... winning the game was more important.

"Now I do." Know that he liked cameras, that is. Fun fact.

She wrinkled her nose. "Merlin, no. I didn't go to the party." No. She would've if you didn't have to dress up in those...apaulling dresses.

But...why the tone? "Did you want a different kind of gift?" because to him, it had been a great one, but maybe not exactly what she wanted? Those things happened. Kind of. He never had that problem, though, since he was happy with whatever his family gave him. Though, there's been a couple times when he'd asked for something in particular.

"That's right. Congrats on getting on the team, by the way." He smiled again, she'd better put the camera away now. "I was a bit short on time the weekend you guys played, so I couldn't make it to the Stands." He had no idea why he even felt the need to explain the lack of a Lockhart in the Stands, but he did so anyway.

And he was going to ask some more about the tea thing, because he'd assumed she went, and frowned. For the first time Treyen Lockhart was frowning in front of a camera. A camera that he took from her hands to see it up close. "You didn't? How come?" she must have gotten tons of invites, she is a very pretty girl, after all. And at the thought his eyes fell entirely on the camera.

If she didn't go, then it must've been her choice. Like he did.

Ellie was totally avoiding eye contact. Hopefully in the unobvious way, but it's always those times when people seem to notice stuff the most. Depending on the person, of course. But, as a not really exactly answering the question answer, "Oh, no. It's a great camera." Top of the line, supposedly, "It wasn't a gift. It was more of an upgrade. And I got plenty of other gifts." All excellent.

"Oh, thanks," she said, dropping her eyes to meet his. "It's no problem." Though, she totally was wondering where he was that day. She'd thought he might be there. But whatever..

She let him take the camera. It was no question why he'd want to see it. Cuz it was AWESOME. "Did you see the invitation? You had to dress up..." In hideous clothes. Ugh. "Were you there?" She was kind of presuming 'no', because he hadn't realized that she wasn't there. Unless it was one of those times when you just don't notice who's there and who's not. Completely understandable when everyone's in 'costume'. Again, ugh.

Then...why the tone? If it was a great camera...hey, wait a minute, she didn't answer his question, did she? "I didn't know you had one already." He was referring to the unmentioned camera from the past. And he said it as if he was meant to know such a thing, which was slightly odd considering there were plenty of things he didn't know about Ellie for sure. Though, he knew the most important ones. Plural. Because she supported at least three teams.

"I suppose you got what you wanted, then, since you didn't exactly answer my question," his eyes were now on Ellie, and her prettiness, he still wanted to be a couple inches taller, though.

Why was it that Melanie chose him as Keeper, when there were other tall people on the team was beyond him. Even Ellie was taller than him. They weren't on the same team, though, but all the girls from the Hufflepuff team were. A very annoying fact.

"I knew you were going to get a spot, though, it was no surprise." Because she was an awesome player, no doubt. And he'd missed the game, BOTH games, because he overslept for the Hufflepuff one. Sigh. And he'd been the one excited about Quidditch being back.

And he was smiling again looking at the camera, then chuckled at her comment, "And you don't like to dress up in costumes. Got it." He stated, raising an eyebrow. Fletcher's party had been living proof of that. "Me? No, I didn't go, I don't like tea that way, I only enjoy it when...," his eyes were back on Ellie, "...doing readings. Only then."

"Yeah...," she was looking at that very interesting stone behind Treyen's head, "I bought one last term...in Hogsmeade. But I forgot about it after only a couple days." Yeah, it usually took more than a camera to hold her attention for long. "Anyway, Dad bought me this nicer one," she gestured to it, "They thought it'd be good for me to carry it around." For...reasons.

Ellie shrugged, "You could say that. I didn't really want anything in particular, so I couldn't be disappointed, right?" Logic.

She just smiled at his...compliment? Statement? At what he'd said. "Yeah. Jacob has me as chaser, though." Meh. She totally missed smacking those Bludgers around. Like a lot.

Hehe. "Not frilly ones." No. Those were too... Those were the sort of thing you'd put on, and then your great aunt would call you things like 'adorable' and 'precious' and pinch your cheeks. No, she would not willingly put herself in that position. "Oh," she nodded slowly, "Right." Her smile faltered.

He sooo desperately wanted to say 'Look at me, and not at whatever you're looking at', just because he liked those eyes to look at him, but...he said nothing and pretended to eye the camera while his cheeks turned slightly pink, or so he thought, because he could feel it.

He sort of nodded, as much as possible, since he was kind of looking down, and then frowned a bit. She forgot about the first camera, just like she'd forgotten about her pygmypuff, correct? It looked like this camera could follow the path of the first one. "Yeah, that's good." Not the fact that she distracts herself too much, but that she could carry it around.

She was smarter than him. He already knew that. Still, the logic behind the gifts thing was perfectly clear. "Yes, exactly." Ellie was right.

Jacob? Oh! Of course, the Ravenclaw Captain! "He obviously thought you were suited for that position. Surely you played perfectly in that game." The one he missed. The only one so far, actually.

His eyebrow was still raised. He couldn't say the same, because he had no problem with ruffles, clearly, but yeah. "It isn't you, though." He was having trouble just by imagining her in one, and it just didn't fit. It wasn't Ellie.

Treyen decided not to keep on talking about the 'tea' part. She didn't need any reminders. Neither did him. So, he just smiled and gave her the camera, "Where were you heading to? Before I showed up."

Ellie nodded. She just nodded. Even if she was feeling better, and even if the camera aided that, she didn't want to talk about the reason much. You can't keep talking about something if you're trying to get over it. Because then you're constantly thinking of it. So you don't have the chance to NOT think about it. More logic.

Ohh he agreed. So that made sense. Good. Cuz, frankly, she confused herself a lot of the time.

She shrugged. If that was so, he had more confidence in her than she did in him. He'd never seen her play outside of a Beater position, and she'd never seen him in a Captain position. Yet she took his promotion a lot worse than he did just switching hers around. UNLESS he knew that she wanted to play Beater, but that she was mean to him about making Captain, so he purposefully put her as Chaser to spite her! Yes! He was sooo mean! She was soo going to get him! Forget that apology she'd made after the game. She'd worked out his mind tricks now. Grrr.

Anyway.

"Not at all." And she smiled, a small, sweet smile. Weird how someone knew her enough to know what 'was her' and what clearly 'wasn't'. It was nice, though. Comforting.

Where was she going? Ellie took a minute to remember. "Oh. The courtyard." The one that the corridor led to. "To take pictures."

Yes. Treyen was absolutely and one hundred percent sure that the Captain had placed her in said position because she could perform greatly in it. If there was one thing he knew is that Quidditch Captains took Quidditch very serious and they wouldn't dare to mess up the team no matter what. Kaika had done so in the past (and she was fighting to get the Captain position right now, he was sure of that), Miranda had been a fierce Captain, and now Melanie, well, she didn't like to lose.

So, yes, better not complain about the decisions they make, they know better. That's why they're the Captains, no?

She smiled, and so did he, because he loved to see her smile. And Arya was right about one thing, and one thing only, Ellie was doing okay.

"The Courtyard?" that was an odd choice for picture-taking. If he was going to be taking pictures of people, then he'd probably choose the Great Hall, and if he was planning on focusing on Hogwarts then the grounds will do wonders for the Castle, but, Ellie was the one taking pictures now, wasn't she? "I could join you, if that's okay with you?" and please, Ellie, say it's okay.

"I wonder if there was dancing there..." Ellie wondered..heh...out loud. It would have been a pity if there was. Still...she wouldn't have dressed up just to dance. There were plenty of other places where that could happen.

Yes, the courtyard. Oh! Really?! "Would you? Please?" That'd be awesome.

Dancing? Oh, he really doubted that said tea party held any sort of dancing, but as soon as she mentioned the word his eyes were entirely focused on the Ravenclaw. He was remembering how she'd been the first girl at Hogwarts he'd danced with, until his mind decided to remind him that she'd been the only girl at Hogwarts, not just the first one. Which was...odd, truth be told.

"I don't think so, but I wouldn't know." Right. Tea and dancing was a weird combination, though, all you needed for dancing was music, which made it something that could happen pretty much everywhere.

And then...GRIN.

He'd follow her to the end of the world if she spoke to him like that. Seriously. But Arya was still wrong. Very much wrong. "Yes, of course." And he knew he was beyond happiness but decided that it had nothing to do with her, it was probably because of the camera.

It wasn't until now that he noticed the book. Melanie's book. And just took it. Wouldn't want the book to go missing, right? Though, Melanie was already missing it.

"Come on, let's go and take some pictures." He said, gesturing forward and then pocketing his free hand. It was easier to fight the urge to take her hand if he did so.

Hmmm. Well, because she didn't go, she hoped there wasn't. Yeah.

GRIN.

And Ellie followed the gesture, walking out of the corridor and into the courtyard. To take pictures. She took her camera and held it 'at the ready' as she walked.

Tyrone laughed a little. "You already asked that one. But, no. I haven't met anyone else." he sighed a happy sigh, thinking about how silly Jamie was.

Jamie blushed, "Right sorry." She laughed and looked up at the sky. The day seemed to go by so fast. she didn't know what to say but she liked the silence that was there. It wasn't that awkward silence but a good calming silence.

Jaylon causally leaned against one of the walls in the corridor, with his hands tucked into his pocket. He felt kind of stupid just standing there alone, but it was where he was suppose to be meeting Cass. So there wasn't much he could do but wait for her to get there.

Cassie strolled down to the corridor glad that she had just had her last class for the day. She was particularly excited this evening because Jaylon Summers was here at Hogwarts and she would be meeting up with him. She could hardly stop herself from practically skipping down to the corridor and when she spotted him her smile grew wide.

As she neared him she flipped her hair over her shoulder and leaned against the wall next to him. She squealed mentally but on the outside she was completely collected. Oh yeah Cassie Storm still had it." Not late am I?" she asked nudging him lightly with her shoulder.