Braeden, Braeden, Braeden. ಠ_ಠ
Why, oh WHY, did he always have to take people so literally? Not everyone was as sweet as sugar. Theodore thought that the fellow sixth year would have known that but before he could stop him, the evil little girl had punched him in the nose. And she had run away. "C-COWARD!" Theodore raised a fist and shook it in her direction as she leaped off and cackled away. The owls in the vicinity hooted madly, some with contented revenge, some with indifference, and others with sincere care for the wounded lion.

But now was not the time for revenge on the girl. The Ravenclaw would see her again... how could you miss that head of hair? Running over to Braeden, he took a good look at his face. It was bad. A bit of blood had already leaked out and for the next few weeks, he would probably have a bruise in the center of his face. "That... hag!" Theodore spluttered out the only word that came to mind. "Why... what in the hell just happened?" He was beyond concerned and placed his hands on his friend's shoulders, attempting to comfort him.

Poor Braeden hadn't seen it coming at all!
One second he was bouncing around wishing to receive some ice cream, the next he was falling to the owl-droppings-covered floor and his head felt like it was about to explode.

OOOOOOOOOOOWWWWWWWWWWW!!!

The poor little lion was completely disoriented for a good few moments there where he whined and moaned to the floor, a hand holding on to his nose as if it was about to fall any second. Whaaaaaaaat was that?! His face was burning! The poor boy could've just stayed there and cried himself to sleep, snort, if it wasn't for Theodore helping him to at least sit up on the dirty floor. The Gryffindor opened his brown eyes and pulled his hand from his nose, only to find blood tainting his pale skin. AHH!! It had been worse than he had imagined!

"Wha--wha'… My nose!" he spluttered, obviously freaked out by the blood. As Theodore asked what just happened, Braeden turned his teary-eyed gaze to him and pushed himself up to his feet clumsily. "I… I accidentally spilled some ink on her robes at Diagon Alley… it wasn't my fault, though, she'd broken the quill before giving it to me," muttered the boy, wiping the blood off his nose with his sleeve. "UWAAAAAAAA! My nose, Theo! How does it look?!" he asked desperately. What if the crazy Lioness had broken it or something?! What if he had a crooked nose now?!

"All of this is over spilled ink?" The Ravenclaw was gaping at the Gryffindor, whose condition was worsening little by little. He swayed at the sight of blood but snapped out of his reverie. Now was not the time to get queasy! He was the only hope of making sure that Braeden made it to the hospital wing alive! Dusting off his hands, he swept over to Brae and, with a grimace, ripped off the cuff of his button-down shirt. "Here, hold it over your nose to stop to flow. We need to see the healer." It was heart-breaking to see his friend in such a state. Theodore had quidditch tryouts, which he was deeply dreading, next week and instead of preparing, he would be worrying about his little lion friend. "You look fine and handsome as always." Theodore answered quickly, knowing that telling his the truth would only frighten the spaz of a Gryffindor even more.

Placing his hand on the small of Brae's back, he began to lead him out. "We need to get you proper care, mate. Just breathe through your nose; you'll be fine." In truth, Theodore had no clue how capable the school's healer was. This was only a broken nose, so hopefully it would be fixed up promptly. He could only hope.

Di Marco was not a stupid name. Grumbling, Ryden/Marco/WHATEVER made her way to the window, where Rom flew down to and stuck out his leg obediently. The brunette, still steaming from her twin sister's last letter, didn't notice the owl there and let out a yelp as the bird nipped her finger. "What was that for?" she demanded from the bird, baring her teeth and almost crumpled her own letter to dust in anger.

The owl, looking defensive, cooed self consciously and flew up back to its napping spot, leaving Ryden to her thoughts. It knew well enough that when she was angry, there was no dealing with her. The fourteen year old, on the other hand, punched the wall in anger and almost yelped again as her fist immediately began throbbing. Growling in frustration at her know either twisted or fractured hand - her RIGHT hand, mind you - she plopped down on the ground and leaned her head back against the wall.

Stupid Bridget. Ryden had been to hell and back trying to reunite them after last year's disasters and Idge was HAPPY. Happily writing letters, falling in love with Italian boys and going out shopping with her best girlfriends. Ugh, it was sickening to read. She'd turned from her lovely twin sister to... to... some COMMONER. Di Marco's weren't common. And THEN, like reading through her horrific description of the lovely Antonio hadn't been bad enough, she'd gone on to CRITICISE her and say how she thought she was being silly and that not telling people her real name was stupid. That having people call her Di Marco was stupid.

... UGH. SHE was stupid. Stupid Idge, with her fancy boyfriend and her happy life and her awesome clothes. IT WASN'T FAIR. The only good thing Ryden had going for her was that she was going to Mother's old school. THAT WAS IT. Mother was dead - had been for fourteen years now - and Bridget was getting to hang out in Italy while she, Ryden, had to put up with miserable, cold Great Britain.

It just WASN'T FAIR. Wincing as she clenched her hand - forgetting for a moment that it was throbbing like mad - Ryden bit her lip and raised her knees to her chest, feeling suddenly very small and very incompetent. Bridget had been her one source of comfort, the only other person there who had made her feel like it was ok to be what she was. And now... there she was, wearing D&G custom shoes and dating Hunk of the Year. Pathetic.

Blinking rapidly, Ryden slowed her breath and raised her good hand to beckon Rom. After it had glided down, she tore up the letter she was going to send to Bridget, and immediately felt just a little bit better. "Hold on," she whispered to the bird and took out a quill, some ink and a small slip of parchment from her bag, used the wall as a surface and wrote:
Stuffing her new "letter" into the tube attached to Rom's leg, she watched the bird fly off with a grim expression. Once it had disappeared, Marks experimentally moved a few fingers, groaning as she came to realise that a few of her joints were busted and her wrist fractured a little. Oh well, it'll heal on its own eventually. Glancing out the window one more time, she took a deep shaky breath and left the owlery, pulling up her guards and closing herself off as she walked.

Marks. She kinda liked it.

Daisy walked into the Owlery tower. It was November now and she was feeling kinda bad that she hadn't written to her parents, especially as it was her first time at Hogwarts. The owlery, a tower looking over the countryside, seemed a nice place to write from.



Daisy sealed her letter, it was short, but had enough in to keep her Mum happy. She then looked around the room for a suitable owl...

Jordan, before eating, thought he'd go over and send his letter to his Uncle Chris. So he grabbed a quill and parchment and started writing.

Isabella Walked Up To The Owlery and Found an Owl . She had Been Wanting to Send a Letter To Her Parents Since The First Day And Tell them How Hogwarts Was Going. she Opened Her Letter Up And reread it .

Bella Finished Reading Her Letter and Closed It Back Into Its Envelope then Tied it On To One of The Barn Owls Legs . She waited For The owl To Take Off Before Leaving In tears She really Missed Her Parents and Never Been This Far Away From Them But she Had Friends and Next Term She Would Be Used To Being So Far From Home . Bella was glad That It Was Almost Christmas So She would Be Able To Go Home For A Few Days .

Nika was still searching for them. For SLytherins. For the snakes of Hogwarts. She found herself in the owlry and looked around for them. FOUND ONE! Nika ran up to the snake not knowing better than running in an owlry and gave her a huge hug. And that's eleven of them so far!

As Isabella was Walking Out She realized a Girl was running Torwrds her . She slowed down Drying Her Tears and Then The Girl stopped and hugged Her .

" Uhhh ? Why Are you Hugging me . " She Said . Finally Bella Realized It Was Hug a Slytherin Day . " Ohh . " She Finally Said . Wow Who Would Think Of An Idea Like that Hug a Slytherin Day." Umm can you Let Go Now . " She Said In An odd Way " Please "

Nika stepped away like asked and grinned widely. "It's hug a Slytherin day that's why! And I plan to win the competition!" She said enthusiastically. Nika wasn't quite sure why the girl added an "Oh" at the end of her statement, but she figured she just remembered something. "My name's Nika Adler by the way!" This made her too happy. Hugging Slytherins and planning on winning the hug a slytherin day competition.

Karol Walked into the Owlery wanting to send a letter back home when she heard two girls talking .Karolina Listened to The Gryffindor Talking & realized it was Hug a Slytherin Day . " really It Is ? " she asked them .

Nika nodded her head slowly as she looked at the random girl who walked in. "Erm well that's what my friend said! I think she made it up though, but it's sort of a competition to see who can hug the most!" She said bouncing up and down.

"Fun?" Mordred thought as he looked at Nika. "It's not fun when you encounter your worst fear." Mordred shrugged as he looked at the window remembering his trip with his father. He looked at Nika and asked -- "So, what do you fear most? A chainsaw?" Mordred smirked.

Adrianna sighed and slipped inside the Owlery and approached an owl. She tied her letter to it leg and it flew off.



Ad sighed and leaned against the cool stone wall, hopeful to get some quiet here, or maybe make a new friend.

Nika beamed at Mordred. "It just sounds like a cool adventure!" Nika loves adventures. "I guess you're right though. It would be sorta weird ssing my worst fear..." She looked at the slytherin and thought deeply about the next question. "Well Chainsaws are a bit freaky, but I wouldn't really call them scary." Maybe the person holding it was scary though... "Well I guess I would fear losing my sister the most." Even though her sister wasn't really talking to her anymore she still cared about her.

She looked at Mordred and remembered that he was a slytherin. She let out a squeal and hugged him. "I don't know if you heard but it's hug a slytherin day!" That's 13. Nika's competitive side was determined to win the competition.
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ooc. Different timelines
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Nika was desperate. She needed to find more slytherins. Even though she had already looked in the owlry she decided that it wouldn't really hurt to look there some more. So she walked around the owl filled room and looked for some Slytherins. Must. Win. The. Competition. Nika almost jumped as her eyes landed on a snake. Just what she needed to find. She walked up to the girl and gave her a hug before letting go. "Hey! I'm Nika!" That's 14.

Adrianna stumbled back before quickly hugging the girl back. "Uhmmm...hi, Nika. I'm Adrianna. May I ask why you randomly came up and hugged me?" she asked, then remembered. National Hug a Slytherin Day. Oh dear lord, she was doomed. She did NOT like being hugged. Except if it was Justin.

Good thing he didn't have any siblings. Although the thought of losing any of his cousins was horrible for the young snake.

Squeal.
Hug.

"What?" Mordred asked turning a bit red on the face. A squeal and a hug? "This isn't happening." he thought.

"You lions do it too?" he asked confused and shocked. He thought he was safe with the lions and the birds. "And wait." he said holding up both hands -- "why?" he asked...

Nika smiled at the girl. "Nice to meet 'cha!" She said rocking back and forth. "Well because it's hug a slytherin day and I wanna win the competition." So far by what she knew she was beating Isobel and Ariana, but things could change in the matter of minutes.

Nika beamed at him and let out a giggle. Poor kid, his face is red. "Well it's just a group of my friends really. I think there are people from all houses participating." Except for the snakes themselves. They were the hug-ies.

She let out another giggled and looked at the funny little Snake. "Well see it's hug a slytherin day and it's more of a competition." She explained slowly. "I plan to win." She finished beaming. Nika is very competitive actually. Especially when it comes to house points, and now hug a slytherin day.

"And you're having fun, I see." Mordred replied still in shock. He shook his head and looked at Nika again. "So far, I got 3 hugs. You were the first lion to do it to me." he said trying his best to hide his confusion and shock. Earlier, he almost choked when Oakey hugged him from the back while eating his snack. An older Hufflepuff hugged him just when he was about to exit the kitchens. "Most if not all Slytherins don't do hugs. Or huggable for that matter." he said. He can't imagine hugging a fellow Slytherin. Not even his closest friends.

Nika nodded cheerfully. "Yeah, actually it's a lot of fun." Who cares about the weird stares. Oh Nika's the first lion! "Well then I feel honored to be your first lion hug." She said nodding her head proudly. Nika chuckled at his next statement. "Yeah I've noticed. But that's really the fun part I guess! When a slytherin gets in my face about it I get to go all gryffindor on them." She replied. "Besides hugs are fun!"

Aurora climbed the stairs and entered the owlery, she scanned the perches for Sage but he had landed on her shoulder before she saw him. "Hello, I've got a letter for Kryspin, up for going to St Mungo's?" she stroked her eagle owl and he hooted softly, hopping onto a ledge and holding out his leg. Aurora attached the letter to it and watched as the owl stood straight, the roll of parchment tied to it's leg, looking at her expectantly. She giggled and held out her hand, an owl treat in her palm. "Have a good flight, Sage." She stroked his head and he flew off through the window.

Adrianna smiled back. "Pleasures all mine" she said softly, looking away a little. She was saddened by the recent letter her godsister had sent, and wished to disappear. "Yeah...I realize that now" she said, uninterested suddenly. She sniffed and let out a shaky breath.

Nika was smiling, but then her smile started to fade. She noticed the girl looked a bit uneasy. "Erm are-are you alright?" She knew too well what was coming. This girl had probably just sent a sad letter or received one. She knew this routine way to well because it had happened to Emily and even Nika herself.

Adrianna stuffed her hands in her jacket pockets. For once, she was clad in Justin's jacket that she still needed to give back, her blue 'Save the Wolves' shirt, and gray jeans. "I will...I will be. I got some upsetting news from my godsister. My mother and stepfather separated...so I'm more than a little upset" she said, hiccuping a little. She wiped away a few tears. "So I don't know where I'm going for the summer, if I'm going to the wildlife preserve I inherited, or back to my birthplace, back to France. If I have to go back to France, I won't be coming here anymore...I'd have to go to Beauxbatons. Mother's fighting to keep me here" she said.

Presley spent all too much time writing and sending post to her father. She didn't know why she bothered anymore. She hadn't gotten a single letter back this year, but she continued to write faithfully once a week.
Presley sent the letter off with Mercury, and watched her owl until she dissapeared into the smallest dot. "Please, Merlin, Presley whispered. "Make him care about me." She felt stupid for her quiet prayer. Even Merlin hadn't the power to make her father realize that small girls needed some kind of love and attention. With her mum gone, her father was the only parental figure Presley had left. And he no longer cared.