Salander made his way to the 7th floor, for once not really complaining about the stairs. The awesome trip to Greece taught him plenty of things, and finding that there is another place on this planet with even more ridiculous length of stairs was one of them.

He rounded the corner and sat by his usual spot at the corridor, hoping to catch even just a glimpse of his Gryffincess.

What can he say, he's a man of simple pleasures.

Lexi was STEAMING mad. STEAMING. That stupid pirate wannabe and that TROLLOP, Cassie... UGH. Firsties woke her up too early and then all THAT. No. She was going back to her tower and hiding out for... who knows how long.

Then... like a beacon of hope there stood Salander. Oh thank Merlin! Lexi tossed her bag to the ground and called out to him as she ran toward him and pounced, arms and legs wrapping around him. "UGH this day is already terrible. Thank Merlin you're here! I thought I was going to have to hex too little witches in the Yearbook office... one was so mean that I cried..." she said in rapid fire as she lay her head on his shoulder and HELD TIGHTLY TO HIM.

And just as he had hoped, there was his the light of his life.....

.... who right now could probably set a whole house on fire.

Uh oh.

He approached her and caught her tackle!hug, listening to say something about a year book meeting going not so well. He remembered some of their mutual friends being on the staff, so how could that have possibly gone bad?

"Whoah easy there Lioness..." he crooned as he kissed her ear lightly, trying to ease some calm into her ".... too early in the term to send people to the Hospital Wing-- even if you think they totally deserved it."

Then.... Full.Stop.

Someone there made her cry.

Did he say something about mutual friends?

"What happened Luv? Who made you cry?" he said in an curious tone which allllmost has the undertone of going all mafioso.

She clung to him tightly and sniffled a little. She was NOT crying... she was just so angry she was actually afraid she might do something accidental again. "I am TRYING to be nicer... I really am. And... it just never works out for me. Maybe I should just be haughty and rude and then people would stop trying to run all over me," she said pitifully. The ear kisses helped. A lot. Some of the tension left her shoulders and she nuzzled his neck gently.

"It was some new girl... A Slytherin that thinks she is a pirate or something... says Ahoy all the time. I merely introduced myself to her and she started mocking me and being mean... and I think... I think... all this STUFF is finally starting to wear on me and I just started to cry. And that Cassie girl. I just don't like her... she is all wrong for Jimmy and she is rude as well. And nosy to boot. Baby. I want to go to France NOW. Transfer to Beauxbatons and live in the house now," she said with a little whine to her voice.

Ivan walked down the corridor whistling to himself as he headed for the Gryffindor common room. Dressed in his swim trunks, a t-shirt that enhanced his muscles rather nicely if he did say so himself, and some flip flops he was all geared up to go swimming. He stopped as he heard people talking and spotted Lexi, YAY, and Sal, not so yay. Wasn't going to stop him though, no sir. He was picking up Dora. Finding a wall he propped himself against it and out of the way of whatever those other two were doing.

Dora found this place confusing for her tiny, underdeveloped brain. It was really big and was sort of like a giant maze. A puzzle. Yeah. Dora didn't like puzzles. The pieces never fit where she WANTED them to go.

However, Batman had been REALLY nice and offered to help her get to the Lake because she'd been worried she'd end up in the Dungeons and totally miss the million and three left/right turns she was supposed to take. So, dressed in her red swimmers, she spotted first Lexi and Salander who looked to be having a REALLY cute little moment and then Batman. She giggled softly, and ran towards Batman enveloping him in a HUGE hug.

"Thanks for coming up. I would've gotten lost otherwise."

POUT!POUT.

When he asked for who she does give the deets. Anothing reason why he loves his Gryffincess so much.

Ok she said one of them's a Slytherin. Girl. Says Ahoy a lot. Okay, shouldnt be too hard to find that one in the common room. And he knew he could count on his lady friends to keep an eye out at the girls' dorms.

...And the other was Cassie. She sounded familiar. When Jim's name came up he realized who it was-- the Twitter girl.... the one at Floreans during that fun <snort> ice cream gathering. He sighed quietly and gave his Luv another ear snuggle "Dont be all haughty just because of a few loose screws in a meeting Luv." he crooned "... besides are they really worth the extra wrinkles from all that frowning?" Oi! He's sounding too much like his mother again. Then he added "... Remember you got younger ones looking up at you-- Kurumi and little Dora and all the other kids. They look up at what you do, try to be like you-- regardless if its good or not." Much better reason to keep to the high road yeah?

Ah France! "Dont worry Luv." he said as he tightened his loving embrace "... it will be Christmas soon enough. And besides if you move to Beauxbaton, what about poor lonely me?" he whimpered playfully, giving her his sorriest, puppy-dog looking gaze.

Ivan looked up as he heard someone coming toward him and tried to ignore the conversation Lexi and Salander were having. "There's Squishy," he said with a laugh. Seeing her run over and hug him he caught her and grinned, "Someone's happy to see me."

He looked over her outfit with a raised eyebrow, "Nice...polka dots..." He hugged her back and gave her a shrug, "Well I couldn't have you getting lost. Wouldn't do me much good then. Maybe I should give you a tour one day." Would probably be beneficial for her actually.

Dorie BEAMED at her Batman widely and giggled. "YEAH! We're going swimming! I've never been a great swimmer but I mean you guys have a LAKE and it's not too cold to go swimming and it's just so brilliant! And how cool would it be if you could just swim all year round? But it get's really cold in England. Like BRR." Oops, rambling. She flushed a little.

TWIRLING for him as he eyed her off, she bounced on her heels. "Isn't it PRETTY?" She smiled and nodded before suddenly looking serious. "I mean.. it's a REALLY big place and your paintings are REALLY MEAN!" She told him indignantly. "They have attitude," She told him, eyes wide.

A TOUR? Sounded like FUN. "You could also draw me a map," She said with a bright giggle and then looped her arm through his. "Hehe, let's gooooo!"

Lexi caught a glimpse of Ivan over Salander's shoulder and gave him a weak smile. He couldn't enjoy this sight... but she was not letting go of Salander for anything in the world...

And then Dora got a little smile too and she waved at them over Sal's shoulder. Mhm. All they were getting right now. She needed her man.

The way he crooooned and loved on her ear made the anger begin to quell and she clung to him for other reasons. Hehe.

...

EXTRA wrinkles? Pulling her head back she looked at him wide eyed and said, "Am I getting wrinkles?" She legs were still wrapped around his waist and so she let go with her arms and began to feel around on her face... Oh sweet Merlin if she was getting premature wrinkles she was going to DIE.

"And I was TRYING to be nice... it's just... that I lose my temper so easy right now... with all the drama from right before term... and you know... the M word discussion wasn't easy for me either. It all is making me overly emotional right now. I know I need to be a better rolemodel. I am actually quite ashamed of myself. I never let a girl make me cry like that..." she said as she wrapped her arms back around him and kissed his neck a few times.

BIIIIIIG tight Salander hugs made it ALL go away. She sighed contentedly and smiled brightly. He was always right... "You know... you always show me the stuff I am doing wrong in a way that I can see it and accept it, baby. You really know how to handle me. And I love you so much!" she said before beginning to pepper his adorable face with kisses.

"Hell I dun know what I would do without you... so... we move officially in December?" she said bouncing a little as best she could wrapped around him as she was. "And you're cute when you whimper. Wanna... go somewhere else? Hmmmmm?"

Then Lexi's attention was caught by Dorie and Ivan. Hehehe. She winked at them both and said, "Whatchu two up to? Swimming in the lake then?"

Ivan listened as Dora rambled a bit and gave her a smirk. "Yes it does get cold and I can teach you how to swim properly if you aren't sure about it." She was kind of cute when she rambled like that.

He watched as she twirled around and scanned his eyes up and down her, "Yeah, it is very pretty." Pretty? No hot. He brought his arms back around her and gave her a another smirk. "And you fit it well." Then she was talking about something that he had to focus on since he was still looking at her outfit. "Huh? Oh the paintings, yeah they are a bit rough. Well some of them are. There are some that are quite interesting to talk to though."

He smiled as she slid her arm through his and shook his head, "No I'd much rather show you around." He was about to lead her off when he heard Lexi speaking to them. He had seen her nod before but she seemed a bit...busy...with Sal. "Yeah we are. You wanna come? I thought it'd be a fun way to relax." And spend time with Dora of course.

Any sort of glances or wave Lexi gave over his shoulder went right by his notice... simply because she was wrapped around him and he was embracing her in his arms. Yup he was soooo concentrated to the task at hand see? Maybe Professors ought to take note of this trick on how to get this particular Slytherin to concentrate.

Buuuut in true Salander fashion-- he made a boo-boo.

Aak!

"N-No I didnt mean that Luv... " he balked wide-eyed, wishing he could smack himself for being so careless with word selection ".. you got no wrinkles. At.All." he nodded vehemently, then kissed her cheeks "Yup smooth as..... silk." right lets avoid any references to babies or bottoms for now. "What I meant to say is..... if you ever get any of those kinds at all, its better that they be from laughing than frowning you know what I mean?"

Ahh Lexi kisses, he loves them even more than firewhiskey, and thats saying a lot. "I know we've had a tough couple of weeks Luv..." then his voice drops to a whisper as he pressed his head against hers ".... but you are strong and your handling it much better than I would've guessed. And I love you for that." he crooned as he kissed her nose.

He grinned as she bounced in his arms "Yeahhhh..... December... decorate the house for the holidays-- Christmas trees and all that." Indeed he would love that, one of the few childhood memories that where he was actually happy.

Ohhh.... well given how they were right now they could get real cozy right there heh. Until Lexi spoke to someone behind him. Oops, not quite as secluded as he thought. He turned to see Ivan. Okayyyyy. Nope, still keeping his arms around Lexi just the way they are. Would death stares get to him now? With the way Lexi is wrapped around him? Not likely heh.

"Hello!" he greeted the Ravenclaw lad and the young girl he recognized immediately as Dorie from twitter. And they were in swim gear. Keeping his arms around Lexi he shifted his head back and forth between them as they spoke. "If you want to join them Luv, go right ahead. Gotta sort out my stuff back at the dorms." Yeah he's making it easy on Ivan given that Jim wasnt around to come up with excuses.

Lexi smiled graciously but shook her head. "Thanks so much for the offer, Ivan, but I have something to tend to," she said with a wink.

"The two of you have fun though, okay?" she said with a beaming smile.

Lexi smiled at him and started to chuckle. "I wasn't serious, love. I am far too young for wrinkles. I was just giving you a hard time," she said as she gave him a kiss to the end of his nosey. Heheh. He was cute.

When he whispered his praise of sorts at her, her heart soared. "I can't thank you enough for putting up with me... I know I have been a nightmare to handle. You are making me believe... that we have a future... because you aren't running away," she whispered as she stared into his gorgeous eyes.

"That sounds delightful... perhaps your mother could come? And some of our friends? Make it an event. Or... we could be selfish and keep the place allll to ourselves this time around," she said with an eyebrow waggle. Heheh.

Lexi shook her head... "Go somewhere with me quickly... then sort out your dorm? I want to show you something," she said with a cheeky grin.

Selina stopped dead in her tracks on her way back to the Common Room. Once her body was still it gave way to a little back shiver and a roaring yawn. She covered her mouth in the hopes to muffle the yawn, but it was a loud yawn despite her best efforts. As soon as her body was ready to press forward Selina began to walk on to the portrait hole of Gryffindor Common Room. Before she reached the Fat Lady she grew slightly more tired. Each step was like carrying a weight with her until finally she needed to rest. Spotting a bench in the corridor she decided she would rest for a minute. So she curled up in a ball on the wooden bench and shut her eyes to go to sleep.

Elektra was wide awake. Shocker right? Well how would you feel if you were in Elektra's shoes right now? Anyways, Elektra began to walk around the seventh floor corridor with nothing else better to do as she twirled her hair and hummed softly to herself a tune her mom sang to her as a baby. As she walked, she stopped for a moment seeing a red head. Was it? Could it be? No way! It is! Selina Skylar: The Fire...umm...FIREHEAD FRIEND! Elektra smiled as saw that Selina walked over to a bench to get some sleep. Now...a plan was forming in Elektra's mind and oh, boy this was gonna be good. Elektra slithered her way((oh yeah, like a snake baby!!)) towards her red headed friend holding back her laughter and leans in towards her ear and inhales then shouts. "I SAY!! FIREHEAD!!!"

Violet lightly skipped down the seventh floor corridor, with her blonde hair pulled into two braids, and a bright smile as always on her face. She wasn't exactly sure why she was in the seventh floor corridor, but oh well wherever you go it should be treated like an adventure, which is what Violet stuck by all the time. She was about more than halfway down corridor when she heard a very loud scream and she immediately turned her head venturing to discover what the noise was. As soon as Violet discovered it was her best friends Violet gasped and immediately covered her mouth. She then immediately and quickly tip-toed her way up to Elektra quietly. Violet then took a breath herself and screamed excitedly,"OH MERLIN!! MY BESTEST FRIENDS IN THE WORLD ARE BACK IN MY LIFE!! AHHH!" She clapped eagerly and hopped up and down.

Selina was having a very peaceful dream when everything disintegrated around her. All of the pretty colors were gone and all she heard was Elektra screaming. She sat up with a jolt and said, "Oi! What are you doing?"

Her peace was further disturbed by a bubbly blonde who was yelling as well. All Selina could say was, "It was such a nice dream."

Violet had eventually stopped clapping and hopping and then looked at Selina. She heard what she was about her dream and then Violet immediately scurried next to Selina on the bench. Violet then crossed her leg looking very proper and lady-like as always. She then placed her hands on her legs and asked eagerly,"Was it about that Simon person you're always being nervous around? And blushing the bright color of a strawberry?" She fluttered her eyelashes repeatedly and then said in a way that was almost as if she was an a hopless romantic young girl in an old film,"How romantic.." Violet sighed softly.

Wiping the remaining tears from her eyes, Kurumi pressed on determined to at least make it back to the girls dormitory before she burst into tears again. She would rather she be under her covers and snuggling Walnut before the tears came, but she would settle for the dormitory where she felt a little less vulnerable.

In her rush, she almost didn't notice Selina curled up in a ball on a bench.

"Psst, Selina," she half whispered half whimpered. "You will catch a cold sleeping here and then what will happen do you when Quiddich tryout roll around?"

At least, she knew key words like Quidditch would wake her up.

Selina blushed bright red at Violet's accusation. "Simon? No, it wasn't about him. Besides he likes Kyle- he just doesn't know it yet. And I'm twelve. Why would he even look at someone my age. It's just weird, honestly. So he's a look but don't touch or talk to type, Violet. Not all of us can have fairy tale relationships with boys who adore the very ground we step on."

Maybe Selina was a bit bitter. Her first boyfriend was a werewolf who had disappeared. The second guy she liked was unavailable and unattainable in every shape of the word. She was beginning to think that it was just because she was too independent for a twelve year old. Or maybe it was the Quidditch. She didn't know.

Selina snuggled closer to her knees when she heard a soft voice try to lull her back to the land of the living. She protested shaking her head trying to regain her slumber stupor. But when the magic words were uttered Selina shot up like a jack in the box, "Quidditch try outs! You're right, priorities."

After a few moments Selina's eyes came back into focus and she looked at Kurumi clearly. Her face was blotchy and her nose was red. The usual shine of her hair seemed dulled. All Selina could do was what a best friend could do when their heart was broken, "Oh Kurumi come here." Selina wrapped her friend in a hug allowing her to cry all she needed about Adam. It was an awful situation.

As soon as Selina told her that Simon liked Kyle, Violet did frown a bit, but there was nothing either of them could do, he was a LOT older than them. She then said softly,"I'm sorry Sely...I had no idea.." Even though it did sound like there was a tad bit of jealousy and bitterness in Selina's tone, Violet didn't seem to be to faltered or phased at all by the way she answered Selina.

Kurumi jumped backwards when she saw Selina practically stand up at attention like a soldier reporting for duty. Kurumi wished that she had something she was THAT dedicated to like Selina was. Baking was probably the closest thing she had, but it was more of a hobby and a way to relieve stress. That, and she enjoyed making people happy with her baked goods.

Before Kurumi could say anything else, she once again found herself being comforted by the younger girl who acted more like a big sister than a little sister. "T-T-T-Thank you...Selina..." she whispered through her tears that now had reappeared. "I-I-I-I didn't think it would be this hard...."

Sophie headed back up the many stairs to the Gryffindor common room. Even if she used the shortcut from the Great Hall it was still a bit of a walk. The lioness prefect had forgotten once again how tiring it could be if you hadn't worked out all summer. Grumble. Sophie had just finished her breakfast and was going up to fetch her backpack. Stopping in the middle of the corridor to refasten her prefect badge she didn't see the person coming towards her in rapid speed.

Zara finally reached the 7th floor. She had to admit, it was tiring. Back at home, they had escalators and Zara had no problem reaching her room which was on the 5th floor. She stopped near a wall, leaning on it. She could use some rest, even though it was only a few more steps before getting inside her dormitory and collapsing on her bed, she couldn't walk yet. Not yet. A little rest would do her good or else her asthma might attack her again. Losing energy in standing, Zara decided to sit on the floor. She looked clumsy sitting on the floor, and people passing by might think she was mental. 'I don't care what they think for now. I can't walk anymore. My asthma's killing me.' She thought to herself as she closed her eyes for a while.

Finally regaining energy, Zara opened her eyes and stood up. Though she had a little difficulty breathing due to her asthma, she approached the Gryffindor common room, eager to be inside.