Eirian glanced up at Jayce as he scooted closer and hugged her. Fuzz metaphorically coated her stomach as warmth enveloped her. Mmm... The heat was nice. So very nice... It made her miss Brazil just the tiniest bit more. With the tiniest bit of a smile, she listened to Jay's voice, poetic in the natural way it moved about the English language. She envied his skill in it, even though she knew it was only natural for him and not for her. That was avarice in her stomach, was it not? That knot... Yes. It had to be.

She leaned against his hand as it grazed her cheek and swept her hair back; he was nice and warm... And his hands, while scarred, felt good on her smooth skin. Hard and warm... That wasn't often an ideal combination, but Jayce pulled it off. Gosh, why was Eiri so cold all of a sudden? As he hugged her, she pet his arm and closed her eyes, fighting the tears that stung at the back of her eerie blue eyes. "Thank you," she whispered. With a gulp once he let her go, she rolled up to balance on her kneecaps and gave the Gryffindor a gigantic hug and a kiss on the cheek. "You are an amazing brother, Jayce. I wish I could have been born with a sibling like you... I wish three people did not have to die to make me your family."

"Does not feel right?" Eirian repeated, her voice small. What did that mean? Why didn't he feel good about being her best friend of two years? Jayce looked into her eyes, then looked away, and at that moment.. Eiri felt hollow. Dread was pooling in her stomach in place of her jealousy. After all that Jay had said before about never abandoning her, why did he say that now? Had she done something wrong? She couldn't... Couldn't lose a friend...

"Sharing a date of birth does not necessarily mean sharing qualities," Jared reflected. Not, at least, in his opinion. "I guess individuals are called that for a reason." He gave her a little nod, a light smile playing around his lips.

"One has to swim, once in the ocean," he agreed. Drowning was, obviously, not an option. Not for him. "I still believe I can't find the time to fit a pair of pets in my schedule, but let's see if I can find this irresistible little demon of yours a partner." Josette, of course. He grinned at the end of his sentence, his usual lazy, little grin.

"I suppose one's perspectives as a student and teacher need to be different," Jared offered. Being a professor meant needing to be on the calmer, more cautious side of the fence, and that alone could entirely change an experience. Liking putting on tinted shades. "I'm sure it's going to be a delightful visit, mademoiselle. Perhaps you have a suggestion, regarding the place I should visit first?"

He'd value an opinion and, of course, such an opinion also meant some insight into her personality.

"Yes, that is very true. I do think my brother and I are different sides of a coin sometimes," Sylvie shrugged. They were alike in some qualities, but others they were and would always be like night and day. "Common qualities we might share, but we are very much individuals when you look at us." she added with a soft smile. Thinking about just how different she was from her brother, still made her smile at times.

Another small smile graced her lips at his comment. "The pair does keep me on my toes, but I do find it rather exciting at times. Never a dull moment to be had with them around." Of course, they wouldn't allow that to happen. No they would constantly nip at her ankles for more play time with her. Giving her kitten a look, she shook her head. "Wouldn't you just love another partner in crime." The kitten only purred, but Sylvie knew her little demon was so plotting.

"When once a street looked so boring and plain, it now looks completely different to one's eyes." she nodded. Her days as a student and just heading to the shops that only served to amuse her were over. As a professor, she could actually slow down and maybe enjoy the simple things that once bored her in her youth. "I was always very fond of Madame Puddifoot's and Scrivenshaft's Quill Shop. But a visit to Hogsmeade is never complete without a stop to The Three Broomsticks or The Hog's Head." she voiced after giving it some thought. They was a certain charm to all the shops in the village, but those that she visited always varied due to her mood.

Jared nodded in acknowledgment of her statement, but did not otherwise comment. That topic had been taken as far as it could be on a superficial level and, never having been one to ask unneeded questions or pry, he let it drop easily.

"I believe you," Jared said, the usual lazy grin curving his lips. "I expect such a dynamic duo needs an eye kept on it." Pets could cause unbelievable chaos, just as they could give one unbelievable company. So said the common consensus. "It looks like the plan has pleased her, mademoiselle." He laughed softly, an almost startlingly warm laugh as he glanced down at the purring kitten.

"That's quite a list there." He smiled, another light smile. "It looks like I have my work cut out, even after your suggestions. But thank you. Merci beaucoup." He inclined his head, ever so slightly.

Sylvie let a small giggle out at the thought of her duo. "A constant eye is needed, but I never tire of watching them play and cause trouble." she smiled. They were her babies after all and she did allow them too much freedom in her office, but it was fun to see all the chaos they could cause in such an enclosed space. Again looking down at Josette, she shook her head. "She is such the attention seeker, so a partner in crime would amuse her so much." The kitten again purred and reached her paw out. Oh, she looked innocent and cute, but her owner knew better.

"For a small village there is never a lack of places to see," she smiled again. "I always find something new to appreciate when I visit. Je vous en prie. I'm sure you will find the village to your liking though," she added.

"You ready?" Chandler asked, titling his head sidewards. He was ready for this, it was a chance for him to have fun and be...rebellious. Though he'd probably ever do this again, it would just be epic if they both did this once. He also did know what the consequences would be but right now, he thought it was totally worth it. Then again he'd probably change his mind half way through. Not. A. Good. Idea. At the back of his mind this wasn't one but he was convincing himself that it was and fun was always a good thing to do...even if it was risky at times.

This was going to be cooler then sliced bread, legit.

In the back of Leopold's silly mind, he knew the consequences but the general AWESOMENESS of this idea made those thoughts stay in the back of his head. He was going to have to much FUN to worry about the bad things. HE WAS GOING TO BE A FREAKING SPY!! He fit the part too, a nice suit and bow tie was on him. YES HE WASN'T WEARING SCHOOL UNIFORMS RIGHT NOW. He couldn't BE a spy in uniform, nope. He also held a little gun, a water gun in his hand just in case he needed to squirt some people. Key point was, Leopold looked COOL and oddly like James Bond except not as manly.

Now where was FRENCH!Fry?

Leo wasn't going to run around SCREAMING his name, that wouldn't be very spy like. He had to walk around all secretively with his water gun in hand and pretend like he actually WAS awesome. He then found his friend, instead of running up to his friend, Leo did something much cooler. He got a toy walkie talkie out of his belt.HIS SPY BELT WITH SPY GADGETS!

"MEEP! Copy, FRENCH!Fry, Spy!man is here..."Leo said it loudly enough so his friend could hear it because obviously FRENCH!Fry didn't have the other walkie talkie.The sole purpose of the walkie talkie was to look cool

"Rodger that?"

Chandler eyed Leo up and down. See HE looked good, Chandler just looked like the idiot that he was normally, but this time he looked even more stupider. He did like it though, it looked cool, yes he admitted that he looked cool for once. That was a first and he looked SPY like! SO COOOL. :333 Except Leo looked cooler like he always did and in addition to that he had his usual water gun with him.

...Walkie talkie? That was SO police like! FLAIL. CHANDLER WANTED ONE! ...Or SHOULD have one for that matter. "Ummm...mate? Do you actually know zat I don't 'AVE a walkie talkie?" Or did he forget to give him one? Either way it was NOT cool. "But rodger. Ready to go in?" Yep. Chandler Montague sucked at being a spy. Too serious and shizz. Policeman however suited him AWESOMELY and like how that walkie talkie suited his hand.

He put the walkie talkie down, eying his best friend for a momet who looked...like normal. Perhaps he was a spy that was just trying to blend in? It sure seemed like it. MAYBE HAD SPY GEAR UNDER HIS NORMAL CLOTHES! His eyed his friends, his eyes narrowed."You have spy gear, correct?"He said while putting the walkie talkie back up to his mouth.


.........and now he was QUESTIONING the walkie talkie? "not cool, man. You are TOTALLY ruining the vibe."He said STILL talking through the fake walkie talkie. He put it down for a second before lifting it back up. "And yes, FRENCH!Fry....i'm aware of that."It was only MINOR details though that he did NOT have a walkie talkie with him. MINOR details.

In a single motion, Leopold put the plastic walkie talkie back in his spy belt. And what he did after that was SO cool. He did a ninja roll over to his friend, getting grass and dirt all over his suit. HE DIDN'T CARE THOUGH! IT WAS ALL FOR THE SAKE OF BEING A SPY. He sent a tiny accomplished smile at his friend, nodding. "Yeah, let's go." He got in his SUPER!spy stance.

Sigh. Why HAD he decided to wear his normal clothes on top anyway? Oh yeah, because he wanted to make people think that he wasn't doing anything shifty before he got out of here, thing was he just forgot to strip down to his spy gear. "I do, it's...just underneath me." Oh how silly of him. So without another second to spare he unloosened his tie and pulled it off. Then unbuttoned his shirt. Sure he looked weird with a tie in his hand and his shirt unbuttoned showing this black outfit underneath but he'd take the rest off as they walked around the school. "I just forgot to take it off before we got 'ere zat's all." He added before Leo could make a comment about it.

Vibe? What vibe? The vibe where Leo pretends that he's talking to Chandler through ONE walkie talkie? Or the fact that Leo looked COOL? And he was STILL talking through it, oh well, might as well play along then. "Okay, okay, I'll try NOT to ruin ze vibe?" Which would probably lead to ruining it. But Chandler really didn't care, he cared about the fact that they were still outside when they should be INSIDE the school. He quickly rolled his eyes when Leo had to pick the walkie talkie up again. "Good, because I want one." Because walkie talkies were COOL!

o____O

How AWESOME was that? How awesome was Leopold? Chandler wouldn't be able to do one of those little wicked ninja!rolls because he was too lame to accomplish that. LAME LAME LAME. It was cool though, at least one of them could and when it came to spy stuff Leo could do a lot of things. "After you my little spy friend." He winked and sent a nod to the castle.

GIGGLE.SNORT.

"That's silly, Channy."Leopold stated with a few more snorts. HE THOUGHT IT WAS FUNNEH! Couldn't he just WEAR his spy gear now? It's not like any one was looking out for spies out here. She looked at his black gear, a serious look on his face. SUDDENLY HE WAS ALL SERIOUS! Leo took his spy actions VERY seriously. HE WASN'T GOING TO LET SILLY FRENCH!FRY RUIN IT FOR HIM. "Again, your silly."PAUSE."JUST DON'T RUIN OUR SPY TIME!"Leo flailing bouncing up in down in a very unspy-like fashion.

......right. *cough*

He acted like he hadn't just flailed and he was now TRYING to act all cool and awesome. HE WAS GOING TO ACT COOL AND AWESOME LIKE COUSIN TORIN! Putting his hands in fists and resting them on his hips, he looked so serious in his little suit. If one knew the boy, this would honestly be quite comical. Leo nodded his head slowly, watching his best friend. He said nothing because he had to be quiet so people ESPECIALLY professors didn't hear him. THEY DIDN'T WANT TO BE CAUGHT SPIES DID THEY!? And he wanted a walkie talkie? Leo suddenly exited cool spy-mode and grinned. "MY MOM GOT IT FOR ME AT A TOY STORE!"It was cool. :33"Maybe she could buy you one too...?"Then instead of having one way walkie talkie conversation they could have FAKE two way walkie talkie coversations. YEH!

Off to the castle? Leopold nodded, smirking. With a tiny bounce, Leo skipped into the castle. His belt jingling as he did so.

"Of course." Being attached to one's pets often meant finding most of their antics interesting or amusing. Unless, of course, the pets in question decided to poke someone's eye out. Jared felt it might be a refreshing change, a relief of sorts even, to turn to a creature that could be trusted to provide good company, after all the years of tackling dangerous and deadly ones.

He smiled at the paw that Sylvie's kitten had stuck out. "Your kitten, Sylvie, could have fooled me in a flash, if you hadn't mentioned her devious nature," he said, his laugh light but warm. How could one ignore such a gentle-looking pet?

"Then you'll have to show me around," Jared said. "If possible," he added politely, looking up from the small paw as he spoke again. "Ah," he said, smiling slightly. "You speak French." It was as much of a question, as it was a statement. He knew of at least one other person on the staff that spoke the language fluently, but he was aware that it is not unusual for people to know common French phrases, as might be the case here.

Sylvie glanced back down at her little demon and smiled. She was really a handful, but it was worth it in the end. Her duo meant everything to her and as rumbustious as they were, she did find amusement in them. A sense of normalcy at time, when she watched them attempt to get in trouble in her office or seeing them run around looking from someone to play with. Yes, they did offer so much more than just comfort for her.

Reaching her finger out, she played with Josette's paw and looked back to Jared. "Oh, yes Josette has fooled many a people with her cuteness." she laughed softly. "She has her good day, where she isn't as much as a demon as I like to tell people about. She's almost like an angel, but on her bad days, I would advise no one come near her." Again, her kitten was so much like herself and on those bad days, the two of them would just keep to themselves.

"I would be honoured to show you around, I do hope not to bore you too much," she smiled and then a nod. "I actually just moved back from France. I lived and worked there for some time." She actually France to be her new home before she returned to England. "My French is somewhat limited, but I do remember bits and pieces." Her time at the Louvre, she spoke little French but she had mastered enough to get what needed to be done.

"Hell hath no fury like a kitten saddened, perhaps?" Jared suggested, glancing back at the creature in question and, to be honest, unable to picture Josette anything other than active, despite his knowledge of how quickly a creature's mood can change. Creatures do, after all, depend far more on instincts than humans.

"Thank you," he inclined his head, both lightly and graciously. "No, I'm sure you won't. Company is good to have, especially if exploring a place." He doubted having a guide might make the experience boring. Most likely, enrich it.

"That sounds enchanting," Jared said and, being naturally fond of France, he meant it. "I left the place almost a decade ago, and have only been able to return for brief visits since, but I've found it charming each time." Of course, he was aware his opinion might be influenced by the fact that he was French himself. "Knowing common phrases is always useful."

He straightened up, ever so slightly, noticing that the sun had risen high. He had no lessons scheduled for now, none until the latter part of the morning, but he did have other businesses to tackle back in his office. "I'm afraid I need to get back to my office, Sylvie," Jared said, sounding mildly apologetic. "I should head back inside."

With another glance at her kitten, Sylvie cuddled the kitten softly. "I do believe could be very right. Sadness does not suit her at all." she commented softly, nuzzling her kitten head. To see her little demon sad, only served to make her the same. They were very much connected like that, some would say. Lively and playful was just how Josette was always meant to be.

"You are too kind, I can tend to ramble on and bore some. I shall try to keep it at a minimum when we happen to visit the village." she smiled. Of course, her rambling usually was connected to some kind of nervousness and all, but she didn't really have to be all that nervous whilst in the company of her colleagues. Having company on the next trip to the village just might turn out to be a fun excursion.

"I began to fall in love with France, during my early adulthood. I sent some time backpacking through the countryside, but once I moved there to work. It was done. I'm rather captivated with it." she smiled as she thought about her time there. Of course, they weren't necessarily all great. There were bad times, but she still did treasure the time she had spent there. "Oh, yes the last time I stepped foot there, I was charmed all over again." It really was hard not to be taken in my it, in her opinion. "I shall have to brush up on my French again before I visit though." Yes, it never did hurt to tune whatever skills she had still retained.

Looking slightly up at the sky as well, a small frown formed. It was getting late and she had lost track of time once again. She did need to tend to something in before her lesson. Hearing Jared again, pulled her back from her thoughts and she nodded. "Oh yes, I should be going myself." she replied with a shrug. "Thank you once again for helping me find my little demon, Jared. I should get her back inside and return her to her playmate."

He understood her point, there. It could not be a delight to see a creature so active, down in the dumps.

"Please don't," Jared said easily. "I'd hate to make you uncomfortable, mademoiselle." Never having been the sort of person to make an effort to talk to someone he did not have to, he often found himself at ease in the company of people that did tend to talk. It gave him the opportunity to listen and reflect, rather than attempt to make small talk.

His usual half-smile flicked across his face, as she narrated her experience of France. The place did have an undeniable charm, one that had allured people of all kinds for ages. Brush up her French? "If I can be of service," Jared said, the light smile returning. "Please do let me know, Sylvie."

"Of course." He nodded, a slight nod. "De rien," he said, lightly shaking the thanks off once again. "It seems we'll have each other for company, until we reach the first floor."

Ella was still wandering around the grounds since the care of magical creatures lesson ended. So obviously, she was still dressed up as a pig. Although she did wash the stupid face paint off at the lake before she continued to stroll any further. It was a lovely day outside, and if she decided to go back to the common room, then she knew that she would stay in there for the duration of the day. Lazy Ella.

She arrived at the front gate, mainly because it was probably one of the emptiest places at Hogwarts. Apart from the forbidden forest, anyway. Ella sighed and stared at the intimidating gates. Why did she always come here? It just proved the fact that this place was like a prison and there was no way of getting out..

Pout.

Elliott had a sort of mental checklist of all the places he had been on the grounds. The boy made a lot of checklists for some reason. Mental organizational obsession or something. So far he had been almost everywhere: the lake, the courtyard, the whomping willow, the pathways, and so on. But one place he hadn't been since the start of school was the front gate. So he walked further, anticipating a visit with the old wrought iron gates.

And he saw that one of the other students had the same idea in mind. Or was it a student? She resembled more of a pig than a girl at the moment. As horrible as it was, he was tempted to make an 'oink oink,' but that wasn't very appropriate for someone he had never even met before. Chances were, she was probably still in her costume from Care of Magical Creatures.

"Hello," he greeted, and he continued until he was close enough to the gate that he could grip the bars. "I like the, erm.. outfit."

Ella fiddled with her pig hat, because it was making her head itch like woah. She eventually took it off and tossed it on the floor. What the heck, she could've taken that off ages ago and stopped herself from looking like a complete idiot. Now she was just left wearing the pink outfit with pink tassels. Sigh.

Suddenly, she heard someone approach her with a kind enough 'hello'. She turned, only to see one of the most gorgeous guys she had ever seen. Apart from Aiden, of course. She actually had to stop herself from giggling frantically. That was until he made a sarcastic comment about her outfit. She knew it was sarcastic because there was no way her outfit looked nice.

"Yeah, yeahhhhhh. I know I look like a twit." She looked away from the beauty, and watched as the boy held onto the bars. Ella had never ever done that before in fear of it electrocuting her or something. Her head cocked to the side, and she slowly grabbed hold of the bars too.

WOW, she was alive.

Turning back to the boy, Ella said, "Are you here to try and escape? If you are, then don't bother cos I tried that last year." That probably wasn't why he was here though.

Elliott gave the girl a once-over. "You don't look like a twit. You just look like a girl dressed up as a pig," he told her ordinarily. He noticed her cling onto the bars as well, and he suddenly felt like they were prisoners or something. Hogwarts never made him feel like one, but the intimidating iron gates did. For a moment, they were cell mates.

He gave a laugh when she suggested escaping. Okay, now it definitely sounded like jail! "I'm not trying to escape.." Although it was interesting that she had previously attempted to. Almost everyone he had met loved Hogwarts, and he wondered why she didn't. "How come you tried to leave?"

Ella replied with a solemn expression when he tried to justify her outfit as non twit-ish. "Well it isn't exactly normal is it. You probably think I'm a right freak." And that was NOT the impression she wanted to give out, especially with hot guys. She looked forwards again, with her hands still on the bars, and starting to pull and struggle like a real prisoner. Stupid Hogwarts and it's stupid indestructible gates.

She suddenly looked disappointed. "Shame. We could've teamed up and escaped together." She was sure that with a little muscle help, Ella would be outta there in a tic. His next comment made her roll her eyes. But she wasn't sure why. Probably because everyone loved this school so bloody much, that she looked like an outcast. "I hate it here. I'm not much of a school person." Even if it did have a giant treehouse. OH WAIT, that's gone now.

"Only a slight freak," he assured her, smiling a little. Elliott slid his hands further down the gate. "But no, I'm glad you were dressed this way. If you were dressed normally, I probably would have left you alone." He was typically pretty bad at initiating conversations. But who couldn't remark upon an outfit like that?

He blew a noisy breath out from his lips. "Okay, well, that depends. Where would we be escaping to?" A nice holiday really did not sound like a bad idea to him. His chin lifted when he looked up to survey the size of the gate. It actually wouldn't be too difficult. They would surely be able to climb it if they really wanted. She answered his question by informing him that she hated the school. And school in general. Heh.. "If you're in your seventh year and you still don't like school, then... yeah, sorry. I guess that sucks." But at least she only had this year left, right?

"What's your name then, Piggy?" Ooops!

Ella's mouth opened slightly in shock at his rudeness. He wasn't supposed to agree to the fact that she was a freak... Seriously... Ella folded her arms and snorted. "I wish you DID leave me alone." She mumbled, looking away moodily.

"Urrrm, home??!" That would be the first place to go, surely? But this guy could be one of those people who 'escape' to Hogwarts to get away from home. Blah blah blah. Ella was not one of those people. "I am in my seventh year, yes." She confirmed, then nodded. "This place isn't half as bad as Beauxbatons, but I still hate it." Although there wasn't any harm in giving Hogwarts a tiny bit of credit.

O___O What a cheeky idiot!

"Why would I tell my name to a complete prat, like yourself?" She raised her eyebrows but didn't wait for a response. She turned on her pink heel and walked about 10 yards away from him. Would he be a good guy and follow to apologize? Now was judgement time.

Uh oh. Well.. being dressed up as a pig was rather weird, although it was simply because of a class, so. Maybe this was one of those situations in which he was supposed to lie to the girl. Instead he stood awkwardly, remaining silent while he thought up something to say. "I'm sorry?"

Oh, home. That was a good enough answer, though he probably would have chosen somewhere different. "Wouldn't you get bored of home?" Aha, so this was her last year. But she was a Beauxbatons girl, too? Or, formerly. "I like it better than Durmstrang, too," he added. He came to this conclusion only when he said it, but yeah.. it was true.

Merlin's beard, he thought he had been improving in talking to girls, and look at this! Failing. Completely. She turned on her heel and walked away and he panicked. "Wait, sorry!" Gahh! He fumbled a little before hustling after her and blocking her way. "Sorry, sorry. I didn't mean that. I was joshing you, you see. You're very pretty and you don't resemble a pig at all, aside from the pink overload." Right. He inhaled. "I'm Elliott."

Ella stood with her arms still crossed and her eyes still away from the boy's face. At least he apologized for calling her a freak, but he didn't exactly take back his words. So Ella was still a freak, apparently. "Well, yes. You should be sorry." But she wasn't going to accept it just yet. Stupid boy.

"Not at all." Because she wouldn't be in her actual house all day long, she'd most likely be with Aiden. Siiiiiiiigh, Aiden... Oooh, he went to Durmstrang. Maybe that's why he was such a jerk. "Then I guess this school is the best in the land." Because those were the three main magical schools, right? Ella should be proud that she was accepted here really. This was the school to so many legends.

She subconsciously tapped her foot on the floor to see if he would apologize. She waited, and waited, and... there we go. Ella looked up at him, with a small smirk playing on her lips. She was very pretty? Hmm, that was a good start. And she didn't resemble a pig. Okay, good. "Apology accepted..." She paused and made a little 'err' noise, "Elliott." She smiled when he finally introduced himself.

Ella sighed. She still didn't want to tell him her name. But she did so anyway. "I'm Ella." Their names were quite similar. Obviously one was a boy's name and one was a girl's name.. but whatever.