Aiden looks around the courtyard. Green... Green... And more green! All of the yellows there are already paired up. She sighs heavily and shooks her head. "They are not here... Yet," she replies unconfidently.

To be honest, Aiden has no idea if her Huffy friends managed to go throught their task.

Ah! Harper! That was her name. So now Sierra know. "Okay, well, Harper, I'm Sierra," she said. Had she said that yet? Hmm. "...and this is Lola." A Hufflepuff + Lola Jones = just the Golden Trio Sierra always wanted to be a part of. [/end sarcasm] Okay, okay. Enough of that. They had a random location to figure out.

Sierra nodded. "I...think so, but I don't have that coin," she answered. Again, she turned to Lola. "...unless Lola does. Her bag's silver, mine's green." Made sense to her to have different coins in different colored bags. "Lola?" she asked again, and as if on cue, the girl spoke up.



"Oh, for Merlin's sake!" Sierra exclaimed. "Why don't you just name them on the way to the next location?" Or just not name them at all. They were inanimate objects, after all. She rolled her eyes when Lola proceeded to go through more introductions. Okay, okay. Let's get on with this! Why did Sierra pair up with Lola again? Oh, yeah. She was loyal...and she had a different colored bag.

She turned to Treyen as he answered Lola's question.



...okay. Well, that answered that. She turned back to Lola. "So I guess we pay up now?" she suggested. "Looks like your yellow mermaid will be the first to drown." She smirked, knowing that would get a rise out of Lola. ...but wait. What if it had negative results? What if Lola refused to give it up? "Oh, I mean...not drown. She will dive wonderfully into a beautiful mermaid haven, and then she'll repay us for being so nice to her by showing us the location we need to get to."

...wow. That sounded insane.

Name them? Harper tilted her head and peered at the girl's bag. Well, why not? "That'd be cool, but...don't you have to...get rid of them?" That would just be utter sadness. Everyone knows you can't name things you have to give away.

Harper smiled at Lola and bobbed her head. "Nice to meet you too, Lola," Aw, great, now she had that song in her head. Lo lo lo lo Loooolaaaaaa....

Harper turned to Treyen as he answered Lola's question - quite predictably, of course. She turned back to Lola and shrugged.

Wishes? Oooh they got wishes?




"Nice to meet you, Sierra. That's a cool name." It reminded her of something, but she couldn't place it.

Did Lola like mermaids? Harper had never been too keen on merpeople. They were kinda freaky. Definitely not The Little Mermaid, that was for sure. Fo' sho, fo' shizzle, yo.

She caught on quickly to Sierra's rant about how fine the mermaid would be in...what was that? Mermaid haven? Okay then. She nodded enthusiastically, also hoping Lola would follow along with the whole coin-in-the-fountain idea.

Pretzel had begun to inch down her arm, but she shoved him lightly back into place on her shoulder as she watched the scene before her. He was apparently getting annoyed with the whole situation, but Harper was eager to see what would happen.

Lola eyed Treyen. Did he notice how utterly mature she was towards him? She maintained that smirk of hers because she wanted him to miss the FRIENDSHIP that they had and of course, evilly fall back as her prey. Not like she wanted to show what the she thought because on the outside, she was all 'Treyen Lockhart--YES I SAID TREYEN, I will act professional!' Ahem. Not like she wanted to show that, really? She was indeed a Slytherin and right now, the formal way of addressing the boy seemed TRUE to her heart. Strictly confidential information? Was it really? Why was he winking? Was that wink suppose to signify her sign of STUPIDITY?

...

Don't even.

"Thank you, Mister Treyen Lockhart," she addressed almost business-like. OH YEAH.

Lola went back to Harper and gasped, putting a hand to her mouth and shaking her head in shame (SHAME FOR THE GIRL). "Get rid of them?! ARE YOU ABSURD? No, I will most definitely not because Simon just told me deep within me pockets that these coins are protecting their essence and souls!" Did she want her children to be zombie fishes? She'd never HAD fish babies herself hadn't she?! Well if she did, she would know the feeling!

Had Sierra gone BONKERS?! HER TOO?

"Sierra--PLEASE! If you've read 'Swimming with the Selkies' by August--I'm pretty sure yellow mermaids signify happiness and sunshine--WOULD YOU WANT TO DROWN MY HAPPINESS AND SUNSHINE?!" Mermaid haven? Lola eyed the fountain which seemed to scream at her, and she took out the yellow mermaid coin, shaking her head. No. Definitely not.

"I've decided to name her Millicent."

Mermaid haven... There were others like her in the fountain, weren't there?! And so, in a dramatic motion, Lola kissed the coin and threw the coin into the fountain. "SWIM FREE, MILLY!" She immediately held on to Sierra and Harper's hands because it was just a tear-jerking scene for the poor girl!

He looked at Evelyn sadly and shrugged "Well I tried, I'll be heading over with Caroline's group since they need a silver bag." Seriously if he knew the bag colored mattered he wouldve insisted on getting the green one. He liked green more than silver after all.

Guess now they're competing against each other. He doesnt really like competing against Evelyn. It usually doesnt turn out too well for him.

He strode over to Caroline and the Hufflepuff "Hey there Caroline " he smiled at his fellow Slythie and shifted his eyes at the Hufflepuff "I'm Salander, the Snake with the Silver Bag."

Ok group complete, lets get this show on the road.

OH MY GILDEROY.

O___o

He had mixed feelings about Lola, seriously, because he wanted to runaway and get a dementor to fetch her, but at the same time he found her TOO amusing even if SHE did slap HIM...it seemed the latter won, because he had a smirk on his face thanks to the dramatics of the girl.

And his eyes widened when she named one coin. Millicent. Well, Millicent just made the glow change to yellow, as each coin changed the color of the glow according to its own color.

Oh, right. They didn't know that.

Well, let's hope Lola doesn't think she's killed Millicent for good.

Yeah, we're very sorry Salander, but we can't let you guys have a group of five....who knows? Treyen may be the one helping Evelyn after all.

Soon.

Unless a Hufflepuff decides to read the map the way it's supposed to be read, and they ended up showing here, no?

OOC: Yeah, Salander sees their map. You're all set to start.

Sierra waited, breath held and eyes wide open, as Lola tossed the first of the coins into the fountain. A gold glow appeared, and then...nothing. "...okay," she mumbled. "I hope we didn't just waste a coin. If we did, you can go in and get it, Lola. After all, you are the mermaid in training, yes?" Good one, Sierra. Yes, she was giving herself a motivation speech. Way to use Lola's insanities against her.

She peered at the map, and she watched it light up four different ways, with gold being first and blue being next. "Well, ...it's the only logical thing to do next," she said, reaching into her bag and grabbing out the gold coin with a blue mermaid tail. "Off you go," and then she tossed the coin into the fountain.

Wait, wait...mermaid in training? No wonder Lola was LOUD.

Treyen actually took one step back, away from the group. They didn't seem to need him anymore as they were busy with the coins and the Fountain. The sudden blue glow made him wonder how was Ellie doing, and if she had actually followed after realizing she had to go to the Library.

Sierra looked to Lola. It was her turn again, yes? Hmm. She peered at the map again, watching it light up yellow, then blue, the red, and the green. Oh, wait. It actually wasn't Lola's turn, it was her turn again. "I have the next coin, too," she said, and then she reached into her bag and pulled out the other gold coin--the one with the red tail. She looked at it for a few seconds, and then she looked toward the fountain.

What if they were wrong? What if they weren't supposed to toss all their coins into the fountain? This was her second and last coin, and so she'd be out after this. She looked toward Treyen. He hadn't said anything, so she guessed they were right. He'd stop them if not, right? ...err. She sighed, looked at her last coin...

...and the tossed it in with the others.

Red glow. It actually looked pretty. That one.

Gryffindor red. OH. Ellie and Kurumi will be together at their own task, no? Gryffindors and Ravenclaws. He...didn't think about that until now, but the thought was stripped from his mind as he caught Sierra's eyes on him.

His reply to that look? A wink.

Wait...did they actually think he knew what they had to do?

"MILLICENT!"

Lola shrieked, putting a hand to her eyes. Why wasn't the mermaid calling her?! The girl did not hear any fellow yellow mermaids that were singing with euphoria! DID SHE KILL HER ONLY CHANCE OF BECOMING A SELKIE?! She looked back at Sierra with a nervous expression. There were no sparks flying around the fountain that congratulated them. Did they need to do that with all the coins? ALL FOUR MERMAIDS? This just wouldn't do. "Sierra, I don't think we should..." She pouted, but then realized that she was indeed a mermaid-in-training and MERMAIDS NEVER GAVE UP. It gave her the strength altogether again and she just took a deep breath while she waited for the other coins to bask in the mermaid haven.

Then the coin was off in mid-air when Sierra had tossed it.

"Have you gone mad, Sierra?! You didn't name it! Now look what she'll think when my Millicent's received a name and she hasn't!" Tututut this daughter had much to learn. "It'll feel all left out and what not."

Did she have to do everything? Merlin.

"GOODBYE AGATHA!"

Lola looked around and noticed Treyen/Train/WHATEVUHZ taking a step back. Did this mean good progress? Oh ho ho ho. When she looked back, Sierra was already prepping up to throw her last coin--"SIERRA, THE NAME!"--it was too late and her eyes were again with sorrow. "GOODBYE TILDA!" She was probably the only sane one here. Not naming your coins...? Not naming the mermaids?

She looked at the last coin. The green one... "I'll name you Madame Frumpsy..." Lola threw it with much affection and expected to be a mermaid once this coin-throwing business was all finished up.

Aurora shook her head. No WAY was she getting in the lake. "No. I may be 'little' and 'cute'." she made air-quotes with her hands-she was tall for her age and, though she had a petite figure, would hardly class herself as cute. "But there is no way you are getting me into that lake."

"Great, that's settled then." she smiled.

"I'm Aurora." she said simply. Playing absentmindedly with the tie on her green bag.

"Now all we need is some Hufflepuffs." said Aurora, scanning the courtyard for some yellow-clad students.

Harper was taken aback by the girl's reaction to her one little comment. Wasn't that what they were doing? Getting rid of them into the fountain? And then she said something about a Simon and essence and...okeydokie then. Harper nodded, forcing herself to speak. "Well, yeah, of course. Forgot about...that....fact thing." Ahem. Yup. Cause she definitely knew what Lola was talking about.

And then Lola was grasping her hand as she wished farewell to Millicent. Harper found herself looking at Lola instead of the coin. What an odd little duck - but Harper found herself smiling.

Bwahahaha. She liked the odd little duck.



Harper watched this time, as Sierra threw two more into the fountain. Oooh peeerrrrrtyyy!



Harper's eyes widened again with the reaction from Lola - which wasn't so surprising anymore, but still.

So, there went Agatha. Alrighty then.

She, too, noticed Treyen stepping back, and hoped for a moment that she didn't stink. Did she stink? Why would she stink? Was there a reason for her to be stinking?

And then there was a wink. Oh, thank Merlin, winks weren't because of stinks.

She was brought back to Lola and her name-calling and subconciously waved goodbye at the fountain as she called out the name Tilda. Wait - what was she doing? She let her arm fall and shoved her hand into her pocket.

She watched Madame Frumpsy disappear what a miserable name for a mermaid and took a step back herself, waiting to see if anything was going to happen.

Oooh raaiight, Amy understood now, and she'd pulled her Puffs after her towards the courtyard and BAM not only was there a bit of sun, there was a prefect of her own and a group of Snakies. Oooooh. Inteeeresting. Yes. She pulled the lackless Puffs over to Treyan and co and with a grin she looked at them all "we are supposed to be here right?"

She was pretty sure she could get the young one into the lake if she really tried. Evelyn hadn't failed yet when it came to challenges. The Slytherin girl smirked slightly, but didn't comment on what was said.

Finally though, she found out the girl's name. Orrora? Rowa? Wha?

Eh, Evelyn may end up calling her 'the kid' anyhow. That name was quite a tongue twister. Either that or she was just tired. Or bored. Maybe both. "Thank you Ms. Obvious..." she muttered, looking around for the yellow peoples.

They all needed some Hufflepuffs! Some for this hunt thing, some to use as shields, and others to just poke because it was fun. Where were the Huffiieeesss?

Jory didn't really believe Ness but he let the matter drop.

He was thinking that maybe he should get a pygmy puff.

"I like blue," he said as a cool gentle blew around the courtyard. Jory loved a breezy day.

"What was your life like before you found out you were a witch?" he asked Ness.

"Hello!" Aurora addressed the Hufflepuff who had just arrived. "Yeah, you're in the right place. We need a couple of Hufflepuffs to work with, do you have partners yet?"

Aurora turned back to Evelyn, "There, I dealt with the Hufflepuff conundrum. You know, for a Slytherin you aren't very cunning; it didnt take much to go and ask them. And by the way; my name is not Ms Obvious. It is Aurora. If you can't manage that feel free to call me Rora but it really isn't that hard." she said. My Salazar this older girl was rude, it was only fair to be a little cheeky back.

Oh phew, evidently she was in the right place. Yep. She grinned at the younger girl, whose name was...Aurora? "As in sleeping beauty?" She burst out before regrettingit and slamming a hand back over her mouth when she relaised she had said something muggle to someone in Slytherin. And they were like all purebloods. And sleeping beauty was muggle. *face palm*.

"Err, no", she said chewing her upper lip,"but we can sort that out in a second", she carried on, "what are we meant to be doing together?" Because if anyof them got snooty with her muggleborn status and being a Puff...well, bagders bit."Oh I'm Amy by the way, and this" she said gesturing to the other Puffs is..."Ness, Conan and" ah crap, tale a stab at it "this is Em" she said shortening the girls name lamely. Because she couldn't remember it, and Amy wasnlt forgetful. Well, she was, but she didn't let people know

Treyen smiled as he noticed his teammate walking their way with some other Hufflepuffs as well. Good. The map she had been holding changed, and she would definitely notice that.

But before he could tell her that she was in the right place, someone else did that for him. Hufflepuffs were wanted, CLEARLY. All the time.

Then introductions were made, but was Amy going to be working with Aurora and Evelyn?

Now that they had two Slytherins with the green and silver bag and the hufflepuff with the map. They could get to work. Taking a look at the map again to make sure what she was thinking made sense. She opened her bag and pulled out the coins. She had a red one and a blue one assumming that Salander had the yellow and green coins given he had a silver bag.

"Okay," She took a deep breath and hoped this was right. She looked at both teammates as she started to explain what to do. "We need to make a wish." And then they needed to put the coins in the fountain in the order that they lit up. "And then the coins."

"Hi." Viola said, rather doubtfully. Gosh, did she really have to work with this guy who looked like he wanted to kick her out of the courtyard? "I'm Viola. It's nice to meet you." NOT. Ugh. She really missed Jamie and Helena. They were the only Slythies she liked. Anyway..moving on..

Viola looked at the map in her hand. "Yeah. Looks like we have to make a wish.." Um. So they had to make a wish and drop the coins in the fountain? But.."What kind of a wish, though?" Viola asked, with a frown as she turned towards Caroline.


ooc: Viola doesn't feel comfortable around the snakes XD

Ness was a little behind from the pack they were all going to the courtyard, Ness got there a little nervously as apparently they had to team up with Slytherin's, and unluckily for Ness she didn't have that many Slytherin friends. She then spotted a girl she recognised, the silent girl she had met at the Three Broomsticks. Ness walked over to her nervously, hoping not to scare her. "Um.. Hey... Do you have a partner yet?" asked Ness very shyly.

"Nessie!"

Helena knew that she was talking to Aiden, but she couldn't help it. Thank MERLIN she was there! They really needed a Hufflepuff. "We really need you," the girl said happily. Yes, she was super relieved. But where were the Hufflepuffs, anyway? There were about four or five of them. And the rest?

Aiden was eyeing for a Badger to abduct when Nessie talked to her. She recognises the girl she met at the Three Broomsticks immediately. As she opens her mouth to speak, Aiden stops since Helena has interrupt them happily.

As the older Snake gets all excited, Aiden interrupts them. "We haven't got a Hufflepuff yet," says Aiden in her usual calm voice. She tries not to be so cold at Nessie again. She does not want to be misunderstood as a prejudice.

Ness turned around, surprised to hear somone call her name. It was Helena "Helena!" said Ness smiling. Why didn't I think of Helena, thought Ness, shes deffinatley my friend and a Slytherin too, it was perfect. "Okay! So we're a team right?" asked Ness just to make sure they were both thinking the same thing. Nessie smiled at Helena, and then at Aiden hoping, niether of them minded.

Ness then wondered what the hunt was going to be about, but what mainly caught her thought, was what was at the end. It was really starting to take over Nessie's curiosity.