He glanced warily at Wasabi, but not for too long, learning in Greece that this is one bird that doesnt liked being watched. Briefly he wondered if he should develop a plan whenever he's anywhere near Wasabi-- pop a shield up? Or offer up food? "What does she eat again?--- wait where she off to?" that is one thing about that owl, it went where it pleased when it pleased. Not that that habit hasnt come handy when he needed some Lexi time heh....

He turned his attention back to Lexi, and as she spoke his eyes grew large in alarm-- and a strangely familiar feeling of upset "Whoah... waitaminute.... emancipated? That sounds a lot like... like your being disowned Lexi." As he continued to listen a grim look darkened his features. "Wow... guess that shows how much you meant to them over the years that they couldnt come tell you face to face huh?" he grumbled as he eyed the letter.

..."That's exactly what it means, actually. They just tried to make it sound a little less... hostile I reckon. Not that it worked. I am intelligent enough to read between the lines. Things have been more than a little rocky with us since the funeral, so I guess... I am not too surprised." The truth was.. she was absolutely surprised, actually. She thought that the Denver's loved her regardless of what was to come.

"I think I meant a great deal to them... I just hurt them a lot over the past few years is all. Not coming home over holidays... and the fight we had the night I came back to Hogwarts wasn't very pretty. It's no big deal, really. What... I'm an orphan for a couple months, then I am an adult," she said bravely. More bravely than she felt she could muster.

The funeral .. the dark times uhhuh... "Did the Denvers know about your birth family-- the details I mean, of how they went?" and of course he meant what really happened. "I dont understand.... if you meant a lot to them surely they would at least discuss this with you face to face. I mean did they even talk to you about this decision? Even if your not a blood relation you're still part of that family and your say so matters a lot-- specially in something like this." At least he thought so.

He slid his arm around Lexi's shoulder and gave her a hug, caressing her arm and kissing the top of her head, trying his best to comfort her at such a depressing time. He had an idea of what she was going through-- the last time he talked to his father all those years ago touched on that specific matter. And as discussions go in the Salander household, he had a good idea how very not pretty family altercations can be. "Do you want to give up the Denver name?" he asked, tilting his head and peeking at her face. "Because deep down, if you want to hold onto your name Lexi, then you dig your heels in and tell them that you're keeping it, regardless of how they really feel about it. " Which exactly what he threw back at his father. Fun times.

"Merlin no! They would have had me locked away for good if they did, Salander... not to mention the fact that they locked me away against my will... I dun think I am as upset as I would have been had they not cast the first stone in this battle, so to speak." St. Mungo's was a place she SWORE to never go to again, and they KNEW how she felt about that place... and yet there she had been. Crying and kicking and fighting as they ignored her pleas and sent her along for someone else to deal with. "I got a letter a few months back asking me to please come home for the holidays, but... I clearly did not. I think that they had planned to talk to me about it then. But whatever. The decision is made and they are the ones that will have to live with it, not me." She gave a shrug as though she didn't care. In reality she felt wretched! Disowned TWICE from two different families. It was enough to give a girl a complex.

She leaned into Sal as he slid his arms around her and began comforting her. "Well... to be honest I always felt like an interloper in that family. Like I never truly belonged. So I am not too greatly upset with the idea of not being a Denver anymore. I think... I might wait until after I graduate though. So as not to confuse the poor staff here once again. I came back as someone different... I would hate to do so again," she said with another slight shrug.

Looking up at him she smiled softly. "Thanks for coming up here tonight... I think I just need someone to tell me it's not the end of the world, ya know. Maybe... just once you can lie to me and just tell me that everything will be okay... that it'll all work out fine and that I'll be happy," she said with the pleading barely kept from her voice.

Hell, every once in a while it was nice to be lied to like that. Just in the name of comforting.

"The holidays?..." he suddenly realized, he and Lexi were in France during the holidays "I'm sorry babe I didnt know... I would've gone with you if you wanted me to, even if all I'd do is sit outside while you all talked." Because he knew this was important stuff, and that Lexi would've needed all the support.

He nodded in agreement "Yeah, just one more year Lexi, although maybe you can tell Madame Donovan and Headmaster Tate on what name you would like on your diploma, I mean if you plan to change it after we graduate and all..." ugh legal details. He's had his fill of those from the summer and he's still nowhere near what The Family says he should be aware of.

He smiled as she did when she thanked him, and paused briefly at her request. Lie to her? hmm... What he did instead was wrap both his arms around her and enveloped her in a great big hug, snuggling her lovingly against him "Luv, life may be overwhelmingly disappointing to you right now--- but like any storm, this too shall pass." he murmured. Truth that was. Then added "And I wouldnt worry about the future if I were you, who knows what surprisingly wonderful things it could bring hmm?" Then instinctively he leaned in and pressed his lips gently against hers, as if to prove a point, what that is he didnt quite understand yet, but it was there, a gut feeling. Alas it seemed that he failed at her request-- he couldnt lie to her. Not at all.

Lexi shook her head and sighed. "I didn't want to go there. It was too soon after everything and I was still so angry with them that I couldn't stand the thought of facing them. I think... maybe I have always been too independent for them. I want so much to be free to do what I please that I have punished the a bit." Oh well... it was a bit too late for that now, wasn't it. What was done was done.

"I think whatever my name is legally is what they have to use. It's not like I can't show proof as to what my name has been or will be... or whatever. It's no big deal, really," she said with a shrug.

"Oh yes, my future is so bright from the dark cloud hanging over my head. It probably can't go anywhere but up from here," she mumbled... she meant it to a certain extent... and then part of her was being facetious. She couldn't help it. She had gotten so used to the rug being pulled out from under her feet when she was happy, that she had begun to get used to the pain afterward.

She was broken from her angst riddled reverie when Sal pressed his lips to hers so tenderly. There hadn't been too many NEW first kisses since they had reconciled... it was always nice to share one of those moments. "Can't bring yourself to lie, can you?" she said in between kisses and then giggled and pulled away ever so slightly. She simply wanted to get a better look at him. Even standing in a room full of bird poo he was a sight for sore eyes.

A slight crease tugged at the corner of his mouth "Still if they really loved you they would understand your need for space, your need to sort things out your own way at your own pace, that you dont have to check in with them all the time.... " he shrugged. It was a need that he can totally relate to, and perhaps one of of the root causes why he never got along with his old man.

An amused brow goes up as he recalled another saying "Well they say that every dark cloud has a silver lining... " he grinned, funny how that kinda means more than one thing for both of them. Then he pulls her close and brushed away the stray hair from his Gryffincess' face, then gazes earnestly into her eyes "Not with you Lexi. And I dont know why...I just... cant." he shrugged again. Not that he ever felt the need to.

Well he DID have a point there... Of course...the Denver's were used to dealing with Dylan and Freddie and even the baby was more agreeable than Lexi. Simply shrugging she smiled slightly at him.

"Do you have a Muggle saying for EVERYTHING?" she asked with a chuckle. Lexi thought he was precious with his little Muggle sayings and his vast knowledge of their lifestyle. Heh.

Allowing him to pull her back into his embrace she blinked a few times as he pushed her hair away. "Don't know why, but I can't lie to you either. Sometimes I think a lie would be less complicated than the truth, but I just can't do it. There is no need to lie to the... one you love," she said with a smile.

Jory made his way up to the Owlery to visit his eagle owl, Tobias. He wondered how Tobias would react. Jory was still ployjuiced as Ari. He was always suspicious of strangers.
Jory located Tobias with his head under under his wings. Jory woke him by calling out to him. Tobias awoke and glared at Jory without moving a muscle.Jory tried to make him come down but the bird glared fiercely at him refusing to move.

"Come on down, Tobias" Jory said in Ari's voice. Tobias turned and showed Jory his tail feathers. Jory laughed. He switched back to his own voice and finally the owl came down and perched on his arm.

Jory stroked his owl thinking it was fun to be Ari.

He grinned sheepishly "Well... not for everything, just the ones I remember cuz they were said to me at one point in my life or another ". at least the ones he remembered correctly. Merlin knows he misquoted a few more things with confounding results.

He listened to her speak and suddenly it all made perfect sense. Smiling slowly he murmured "Aint that the truth." and kissed her lips again.

He held onto her for a while, indulging in that comfortable warm, fuzzy feelings he has for her, oblivious that they were in the middle of the owlery amidst the fluttering feathers and the echoing whispers of the passing wind. Then he felt the makeshift bandage on her hand "You want to have this looked at by Healer Moretti? I'll walk you there, then maybe we can grab something to eat?"

Lexi chuckled at him slightly and shook her head. "You are too cute for words sometimes, Salander. Seriously," she said before she leaned in to kiss his cheek.

"Nah, it'll be alright. She's been biting me a lot lately. If it's too bad I will just get some dittany and take to it." He was even cuter when he fussed over her like that. Heheheh. "I love you, Sal."

Leaning in to kiss the end of his nose as she always did she took his hand in hers and said, "Food sounds divine though. Maybe Daisy will cook us something." She then waited for him to lead the way. Hehe.

Kisses... see they are worth climbing up 7 floors, a tower and standing in a room full of gook and feathers. Totally worth it heh.

He nodded his head as he caressed her fingers gently. Well Lexi was pretty darn good in this emergency healing stuff-- he knew that first hand.

"Alright lets see what Daisy can rustle up for us. I've been told that she keeping in touch with the Waldorf elves so she should have something new to cook up " he grinned at his Gryffincess, lacing his hands in hers and leading themselves out of the owlery.

With Ness' arm hooked with his, Damien followed the first year back through the grounds and to the Owlry; then proceded to climb a fairly large set of stairs before landing on the top of the tower where all the owls were kept. He certainly expected a large mess but was still taken aback by it.

"Are the owls really happy staying up here?" he asked with a scrunched up face. "Maybe I'd be allowed to keep mine in the Hufflepuff Common Room next Term --"

A question for Lockhart, perhaps. He hadn't seen his Prefect friend in quite a long time. Not since the middle of the term when he was kind enough to set him up in the 5th year boys dormitory.

Damien turned towards Ness with expectation. "Well? Which one is your owl, then?"

Ness was pretty out of breath, when she had reached the top. Ness was used to the Owlery, but she remembered the first time she saw it, she was quite shocked at the mess. "Well Aya is happy,I think!" said Ness a little unsure. Ness did always see Aya happy, and Aya was always playing and being friendly with other owls. On the one hand the place was a huge mess, but Ness thought it was better when the owls were all together. They'd at least have company. "She always seems to act happy, when I see her."

As soon as Damien asked the question, Nessie started to look around. Only to get a fright after a few seconds, when Aya out of no where landed on Nessie's shoulder. After Ness had recovered from her fright, she started to giggle at Aya. "Well this is her!" said Ness, turning a little so Damien could see her. "Damien, Aya.. Aya Damien!" Ness giggled a little as she introduced the two.

Aya was a beautiful Tawny Owl. She had all different kind of browny shades in her fur. Aya was still pretty small, but thats why Ness loved her so much. They'd both get bigger together. Nessie was gratefull, that Aya and Puffles got along because if they didn't it would be chaos when she got home. Here it was fine though, because the two didn't see each other often.

Vashti wasn't used to being up here, let alone being up here pretending to be someone else. Except she didn't really have to pretend to be Louisa unless someone was around that she knew. Owls didn't care about all that though, so this was a nice place to wait out the rest of the time the Polyjuice Potion would last, which hopefully wouldn't be too much longer.

But let's see. Where was Calandra? Vashti hadn't used her owl to send any letters yet, so she ought to be here somewhere.

She walked around the owlery, making sure not to step on any owl poo as she searched for her owl...and finally found her sitting mostly by herself, cleraly trying to sleep. Cally could wait a little longer before snoozing though.

"Hey there, Calandra," Vashti said, reaching up to pet her, but her owl scoot away a bit, her big orange-yellow eyes staring warily at her. "Oh. I guess you don't recognize me, huh?" Meh, of course not, why hadn't she thought of that? Of course her owl wouldn't know it was her; they'd only just met, and Vashti hadn't visited much, so of course the owl wouldn't see through the Polyjuice disguise and know it was her. Sigh.

Anakin made his way up the stairwell and into the Owlery, determined to make up for his recent failure as a son, and send a rather lengthy letter home to his Da. He'd be working pretty hard with OWL's soon, and wouldn't have time to contact his father again probably before he headed home for the holidays. And he hadn't sent anything for so long he felt guilty, it's like he was abandoning his father or something. It was only him at home, with the cat.

Stepping into the bird filled room, he glanced upwards at the rafters, looking around for his elfish owl, and stepped forward. You'd think by this time the boy would realize that was never a good idea, but he did it anyways and rammed straight into a dark haired girl who appeared to be a year or two younger than himself. "Merlin, I'm sorry!"

Deciding that it was best to just leave the Owlery until she could return as her actual self, Vashti turned - or started to - to head for the door, but was stopped when someone suddenly ran into her. Normally, that wasn't a bad thing, since she could keep her balance fairly well; however in Louisa body, she didn't have all that good of a stance, and so, being as clumsy as she felt, she was knocked over.

Dear Merlin, in the name of all that was good, PLEASE don't let there be any bird poo under me. PLEASE.

Grimacing, she looked up to see who the culprit was... "Oh, it's you, Lo-" NO - SHUT UP - DON'T SAY THE NICKNAME - YOU AREN'T ACTUALLY YOU! "I mean... Hi." That probably wasn't what Louisa would say after being knocked to the ground, which was probably covered in owl poo, but Vashti didn't particularly care. Her time as Louisa was probably almost up anyway. So long as she didn't call him "Lord Vader" or any of her nicknames for him, then she'd be okay.

Merlin, he felt like a prat now. Grimacing as the girl fell over, Anakin blushed slightly. Feeling pretty bad that he'd knocked a girl, especially younger, down on the floor that was probably covered with bird droppings. Fail. Epic fail. "Merlin, I really am sorry." He offered his hand to help her up. "You alright there?"

Watching her, waiting to see if he was going to get yelled at, not that he'd REALLY know, or anything of the sort. Ani raised an eyebrow as she opened her mouth, and he could have sworn he saw her say, 'Oh it's you.' Did he know this girl? She really didn't look all that familiar, he was almost sure he'd never met her in his lifetime. But maybe he was just that forgettful? And there would be another reason to be sorry. "Uhm, hi. Do I know you already?" Because the beginning of her sentence seemed to suggest so.

He somehow doubted it though. Only girls he'd met here at Hogwarts were Vashti and Fee. And he was sure this girl was neither of them. He'd have noticed that now wouldn't he?

"Yeah. Fine." Vashti was feeling quite awkward right now, even more so than during the incident with Louisa and Enya earlier. She wasn't sure why, though it probably had something to do with what she might have fallen on to. She accepted his hand and pulled herself up, not even bothering to check the back of her robes. She really didn't want to know right now.

But crud - he'd noticed her say "it's you." And obviously he and Louisa hadn't met before. Awkward. "No, I don't think so," she said quickly. "I just...thought you were someone else." That was a good cover-up. Right? Yeah. He'd buy that excuse. Maybe.

And then, suddenly, she started feeling weird. Not the awkwardness of the situation, just...weird. Like on the inside. She glanced down and gasped slightly when she saw Louisa's black hair slowly turning back to her real brown hair. Merlin! The Polyjuice Potion was finally wearing off!

But she didn't want to change back in front of someone - yet what choice did she have? Anakin was standing between her and the door, and she didn't want to knock him down just to get to it or anything. That'd be rude.

So instead she spun around so that her back was to him, not that that helped a whole lot - and clearly she'd done it too fast, as her clumsy Louisa form accidentally whack her owl, Calandra, with her arm. The eagle owl hooted indignantly, spread her wings, hit Vashti in the face with them as she turned, and took flight. She flew straight in Anakin's direction in an attempt to whack him in the face before flying to a new perch high up above the rest. She looked at the both of them with a comtemptuous look before turning her back and trying again to sleep.

But after all that commotion, Vashti suddenly realized that she was herself again. Thank Merlin! It felt so good to be back in her own body, with her clothes fitting her perfectly once more.

But the real question remained: Had Anakin noticed her changing back, or had he been as occupied with the angry owl as she had been?

He flinched again as he hauled the girl up, and avoided looking at the back of her robes to see what damage he might have done. He didn't want to know. He'd feel worse, and looking would draw attention to the fact and he didn't want to make the girl feel uncomfortable or anything. Well, plus the fact of the matter was it could also look like he was trying to check her out or something. "Sorry again." That's what he got for not watching where he was going.

Anakin arched his eyebrow a little bit, before giving a tiny shrug. Hogwarts was full of Doppelgangers. How that was so, he wasn't entirely sure, but it was the truth so he really shouldn't be surprised. "Oh, well, how about we just say this little mishap was him then? I don't exist." He was trying to kid around; and doing a poor job of it. Offering his hand again, this time in greeting he smiled slightly. "I'm Anakin Amstern, nice to meet you." Sorta. Though he was sorry it was in such a weird way.

And then, in another second it felt like, the girl was spinning around and placing her back to him. And she looked a little panicked, reaching out to touch her shoulder and ask if she needed assistance to the Hospital wing or anything, Ani was distracted right away and didn't get to ask, because her sudden movement had startled the bird perched in front of her, and the little bugger headed straight towards him. And his face. The boy would be lying to say he wasn't a little nervous.

He wasn't sure exactly how it had all happened or anything, all he could see was her falling behind the bird fast approaching him, and he didn't have much time to try and help her or anything, because then the bird corrected itself so it was completely in his line of vision. He honestly couldn't see anything beyond the flapping wings in front of him. The bird swerved last minute, and ended up leaving a small bit of a gash on his cheek, though it could have been much worse, and the shock sent the 5th year falling back onto the ground. He probably deserved it, for doing the same thing earlier to the girl here in the room with him.

Rubbing his cheek, and looking around to see if the girl was okay too, Anakin was mind blown that the darkhaired girl was gone, and only he and Vashti were now in the room. "Queenie? What? Wh-when did you come in?" Was he really so unobservant? "And do you know where the girl that was in here went off to? Dark haired? I thought I saw her falling too." Frown. He was incredibly confused.

Well that answered her question.

"Erm. Hi," she said, managing a smile. But now was the big question - should she let him know that she was Polyjuiced as the girl he'd seen just seconds ago? Well, why not? It was for an assignment, so it wasn't like it was a secret or against the rules or anything like that. And, well, she didn't want to leave him all confused forever even if he was adorable.

"I've been here the whole time," Vashti continued, "but as the girl you were just talking to, not as myself. It's for the Polyjuice Potion assignment. You've heard about it, right?" Surely Hufflepuff had their own notice board for homework and finals and things like that, right?

Looking around at the many varieties of owls in the tower, Damien had to agree somewhat with Ness. The animals did seem happy spending time with each other. Damien hadn't planned on keeping his owl cooped up by itself in the Common Room (if he were allowed to keep it there), but thought it would be nice to spend time outdoors on the ground with the bird. But perhaps some time in the Owlery with the other birds might be beneficial, as well.

Ness' owl knew who she was as Damien watched the Tawny bird swoop down and land quite gracefully on her shoulder. He smiled sideways and nodded his head to Aya. "Nice to meet you," he said with a light chuckle. "What do you think of your living conditions here, Aya? Are they up to your standards?"

It feld odd talking directly to the owl, and he smiled sheepishly at Ness after he'd finished his questioning. "Clearly you see how much I need someone to talk to," he added.

Anakin blinked a little confusedly, scratching the back of his head, before glancing around the owlery as if to check for the other girl; or even a place to where Vash could have been hiding. It seemed unlikely he'd miss her. He usually didn't, she stood out from the rest most of the time. Though he didn't really know why. Though he had his suspicions.

Looking back to the red-head he gave a small pathetic like wave. "Erm, hey Queenie. Sorry." Hopefully she hadn't tried talking to him or something, and him completely and totally ignore her. Because obviously he wouldn't have MEANT to...Vash would probably be the one to know that before all others though. That he didn't purposefully ignore.

Oh. Wait. The boy's eyes widened slightly, and he gave a slight chuckle. "Oh, so it was you I pushed down? I feel a little better." He poked his tongue out slightly, before sobering again. "Not really, I didn't actually hurt you did I?" Or did it not matter because she was in a different body? Either way..."So you switched with someone then? And yeah, I did hear about it." He'd decided not to partake though, considering he'd gone about 4 years now without hearing. He didn't want another taste of it now.

What?? He was perfectly fine knocking someone down when it was her? How rude!

But of course he was teasing. She knew that. And of course she'd tease him back. "Oh yeah. Yeah, I'm hurt really bad," she said, trying to pull on a painful expression and probably not succeeding. "Yeah, I think my arm's broken or something." She held it up, letting it dangle pitifully and obviously not broken.

"Yeah, with my friend Louisa," she said in answer to his question about her switching. And...it was only when he said the next phrase that Vashti realized she'd been stupid enough to use it. Of course he hadn't HEARD about it, idiot Ravenclaw. Why did she keep forgetting that sort of thing?

O___________o

Anakin totally thought at first she was being perfectly serious. And he was going to have to run her to the hospital wing, because it WAS his fault. AND HE FELT BAD. Because she was probably one of the people he'd least want to hurt in any manner. And now he haaaad. Despicable being. But then again...when she held up her and said it was broken, it was obvious she was messing with him. And then he felt like a loser for freaking out over it. "Oh dear, want me to use my own magic to try and heal it for you?" Heh.

Heeeeeh. "So that's who that person was then." Sorta. It was still technically Vashti. "And that would explain how she--er, you?--knew who I was."