That hand in his was all he needed.

He didn't need someone yelling her name, truth be told. Not to mention it almost broke his concentration, because he was forever focused on not letting her hand get away from his.

Yet the interruption was welcomed. Even if he did eye Ellie when she said she was 'perfectly fine'. Was she?

THAT didn't go unnoticed, Ravenclaw boy. The attitude. But it amused Treyen, who stayed on the ground as he was, the only change was the wave he gave to Eli as a greeting, "Eli." A small smile on his face. That smile went to the boy with the cauldron issues back in Potions a long time ago. His tone was light, unlike Eli's. Clearly, Treyen had no issues with him...though, he couldn't be sure if Eli had issues with him. Whatever those were about, he had no clue.

So, what did the boy want?

"Don't look perfectly fine. You're hair's gone funny." He was one to talk about funny hair! "Yellow, I suppose that's your idea, Lockhart? Making her sport 'puff colors, are you?"

As if anybody could ever make Ellie Stone do anything. But Eli wasn't being rational... he had his jealous on; even though he didn't quite understand why himself. He was just supremely annoyed with the Hufflepuff suddenly. Annoyed with Lockhart's proximity to Ellie (or the fact that she was dating him to begin with?) and even more annoyed at the fact that the older boy seemed utterly not-at-all-threatened or bothered by his presence. Yes, Lockhart needed to be taken down a peg, in Eli's estimation... standing there all smug with his stupid height and his stupid seventh-year looks and his Head Boy position and getting Ellie's attention by being so foul and... and... Lockhart-y.

This was why Treyen was so much better than her. He didn't ignore others. He didn't glare at them. He didn't hide in her shoulder. But was friendly, regardless of the situation. This was clearly why he was head boy. This was why she liked him so much. Or...one of the many reasons.

THEN, Ellie's face fell completely. 'Funny'? 'FUNNY'? "Does it really look funny?!" She was slightly panicking. SEE, Treyen? She couldn't see for herself. And she was actually starting to maybe think that it maybe wasn't so bad, because HE said so.

But now. But now. Now she was worried and gathering it in her hands to examine. Still, the ends were all she could see.

Did anyone have a mirror?

WAS HE FOR REAL?!

Just when they'd dropped the whole hair color argument...then here comes this boy to bring it up ALL OVER AGAIN! Treyen didn't like this. Not one bit. Mainly because he didn't want this topic to resurface. Ravenclaws had the worst timing. At least his Hufflepuffs knew when to make an entrance...and didn't talk back.

The name's 'Treyen', dude. Not 'Lockhart'. Or, well, actually, yes, his name was Lockhart, but that was besides the point.

Also, was he seriously saying something about his girlfriend's hair? When his was purple??? Treyen said nothing of this because...because...Ellie was no longer holding his hand...and was currently freaking out, yes? "What? No, it doesn't!" this was more directed at Eli than Ellie, hence why his eyes went to the boy in question.

But then..., "Is there something we can help you with, Eli?" Or did he just come to annoy them for a little bit?

Eli shrugged and scuffed at a nearby stone with the toe of his shoe. He felt bad, freaking Ellie out, and it looked pretty much okay even though he loved her red hair. But... he just didn't like the idea of Lockhart changing his friend. Or being around her. Or kissing her. Or being her boyfriend. Or-- or anything, regarding her. And the yellow could be the Head Boy's idea; it wasn't something she'd done before after all.

"You're pretty no matter what, Els." he mumbled to the ground in begrudging agreement, embarrassed and feeling a little guilty. His eyes were focused on the world's most interesting pebble as he mooshed it into the soft earth with his shoe.

That snapped his attention back up and he looked up at the older boy.

"Came out to talk to my best friend, that doesn't require permission from the Head Boy now, does it?" Eli snapped. He wasn't sure why he was being so horrible to Treyen; the bloke was being cordial, even nice, but Eli just wanted to shove him into the whomping willow's branches and see how far the tree could fling him. Hufflepuff shot-put...

He really, really wanted to see that just now.

Ellie narrowed her eyes, looking between the two boys. Treyen, she knew, thought it looked 'beautiful'. And Eli...seemed to change his mind? "Why'd you say that, then?" Not nice.

She still longed for a mirror.

"You know," she said, to no one in particular, but it should be pretty obvious who she was addressing, "Usually friends are nicer to their friends' boyfriends." Not that she knew, but it seemed like a fair thing to say. She wouldn't get all worked up over any of her friends' girlfriends.

Because Ellie was only friends with boys. Maybe it was the BOYfriend thing that changed that rule, though? If such a 'rule' existed, that is.

She reached for Treyen's hand again, letting her hair fall down her shoulder.

Ooh, now he had to defend his own prat behavior. Keen. His stomach twisted into horrid knots when she called Treyen her booooyfriend.

"I only said it because a real friend tells you the truth." He took a time to shoot Treyen a quick glare. "It doesn't keep you from being pretty, but nothing would. But it does look a bit funny. Doesn't suit you like red does." He refused to comment on the boyfriend thing, and also refused to look at her hand reaching for Lockhart's. But Eli's insides were boiling; his gut felt filled with hot blisters full of jealous green pus, on the verge of bursting.

EXCUSE ME?

Treyen blinked. Repeatedly. Various times. So, yeah, he was agreeing with Eli's statement but...was he invisible? Actually, he began to wonder just how many boys had been telling her that same thing over the past couple of years in which he's also said that. Lots, probably. But it was her reaction what he was waiting for.

Couldn't they just have a moment in peace, by the way?

His eyes were on Ellie soon after Eli talked to her. And...WHAT?! THAT WAS HER ANSWER!? Treyen got looks, snorts, and all sorts of things when he called her beautiful...and this boy...THIS BOY GOT AWAY WITH IT?! Granted, he'd said 'pretty' and not 'beautiful', BUT STILL. Not fair, Eliana Stone. Especially when those words came from her boyfriend.

Hey, now, what was this all about, little Ravenclaw boy?!

That was...neither here nor there. "Actually, no, no permission necessary." He said, eyes narrowing at him. What was his problem, eh? Treyen's never done any harm to him, and he KNEW the boy wasn't liking him right now. For whatever reason. And the Head Boy was about to say something else, but Ellie's hand made him forget.

BUT THEN THE BOY HAD TO COMMENT AGAIN.

Real friends tell the truth? Okay, he raised an eyebrow at that. Everyone was entitled to their opinions, okay? But...Treyen now wanted Eli to get lost. He wasn't helping. Was he even suggesting that Treyen wasn't telling the truth, by the way? The Head Boy was quite particular about that. Telling the truth, that is. "Is there anything...," remotely worth listening to, "...else that you'd want to add? Or do you mind leaving us alone for a little while, Eli?" He could leave now, thank you very much, because he was starting to get on Treyen's nerves.

The red suited her better. Hear that, Treyen?

Not that Ellie made any sort of expression as to what she was thinking. She simply nodded. Thank you for your opinion, Eli, it'll be taken under consideration. Or something.

"I believe that Treyen's a real friend." More than just a friend, too, by the way. "And I believe that he's telling what he considers to be the truth." Even if she disagreed. Even if he only made her insecure by putting the blonde color on a pedestal compared to the red.

Ellie went into a neutral state. But really, she was on Treyen's side here. She probably saw Eli more than her boyfriend, seeing as they shared a common room. And Treyen had NEWTs and Quidditch AND Head Boy stuff to deal with. She had her own Quidditch and avoiding studying to deal with. PLUS, it was his birthday. Plus PLUS, she was just about to try and make up with him after their argument. So, really, she didn't mind getting more alone time with Treyen.

But no one was exactly addressing her, were they? So she remained quiet. And drummed her fingers on the back of Treyen's hand. For something to do.

Another month, another observation. Yippy skippy.

Sierra headed across the grounds and toward the Whomping Willow. Well, not exactly toward the tree, but she could still see it up ahead. She'd stop a good distance away from it, though. No use getting whomped in the name of Astronomy.

When she was a good enough distance away and in a spot where she could clearly see the sky, Sierra stopped and began to set up her telescope. In seconds, it was all set up and ready to go. Sierra stepped behind it and peered through the scope. Pisces, the constellation she'd spotted last month, had steered toward the right a little. What was that next to it? Aquarius, maybe? No. Not with that shape. Pegasus? Pegasus! That was it! Proud that she'd gotten another observation done (and not necessarily excited to have spotted Pegasus), Sierra took a few notes then packed up and moved on.

"Maybe. And it's not like it's awful or anything, just funny. Weird." he shrugged, stuffing his hands into his pockets. "I just don't see any reason to change you. You're -- you're perfect as normal." He flushed pink, looking back at the small rock on the ground, then channeled his embarrassment back into annoyance at the head boy.

"And maybe it's you that should be leaving us alone, Lockhart." he added with contempt toward the boy. "Oughtn't a Head Boy be more interested in... erm... facilitating strong bonds between students than in keeping friends apart to get in a little time for a snog?" Yeah, that sounded good and official.

"Seems a bit inappropriate to me, the Head Boy getting friendly in plain view, compromising Ellie's reputation... I bet our Heads of House would agree. Plus, for all you know I'm in need of Ellie's help with homework or something important like that. " It was like he couldn't stop his own tongue.

James pushed his sleeves up his arms, tilting his head towards the sun. SO good after the crummy English weather. He found himself lying down on the ground, yawning. Crap he was so tired...so very...very...tired. Swoosh.

Merlin. He jumped up, kinda looking like a cartoon. He had almost fallen asleep...beside the freakin' whomping willow!

Evelyn wandered down to the whomping willow, still a little excited about her team winning the final against Ravenclaw. Unfortunately, it was time to start cramming for her exams. Yeah, she seriously needed to get some reading done; no more distractions.

She stood looking at the whomping willow for a bit when she noticed someone jump up from the ground rather suddenly. Right, that was weird. She was about to turn and find a place to sit when she realized that she actually knew the guy. She walked towards him, wondering why he looked so spooked.

"James, are you okay?"

Adrianna walked down towards the Whomping Willow, her long red hair loose and framing her face in the slight breeze. She wasn't doing anything today, for a change. She had decided to give herself a break from all her studying for OWLs.

She found a spot in the grass, as close as possible to the tree but still out of it's range.

Laying back on the grass, she sighed heavily, thinking over everything in her head. She sighed and pulled her glasses off, holding them in one hand, rubbing her face with the other.

Having finally gotten himself away from the morning after of the victory party, Alec made his way down the grounds. He was glad to be away from that commotion that seemed to come up everytime a Quidditch player came into sight.

So, he was out here in the grounds. Ready to get some time to himself and his fake older sister. She did say she was on a break and seeing as he hadn't seen her for quite a while, he was out here to greet her. Yeah.

His eyes cast around the Whomping Willow as his pace slowed down slightly. And... then his grey-blue eyes landed on a flock of very familiar red hair. Alec grinned as his feet carried him towards the older girl. Reaching her, he flopped down next to her and lay back.

"Nice day, isn't it?"

Ad looked over and grinned at the twelve year old next to her. "It's a really nice day out" she agreed.

"I saw the match, by the way. That was an amazing catch, like really. Are you okay from the crash?" she asked him, smiling a little.

She fiddled with her glasses and put them back on, blowing her hair from her face.

Alec looked at Ad and grinned back at her before looking up at the sky. It was a nice, clear blue and there were only a few wisps of clouds here and there. "It really is," he said, "Is that why you're out here?"

Erm... what? Oh... the match. The one thing everyone seemed to be talking to him about lately. Not that he minded, of course. "Thanks!" he said, "I didn't really expect us to win, you know." Well... he might as well be honest with the older girl. "Yeah, I'm okay now," he said, smiling, "Are you okay?"

Alec looked over at Ad as she started fiddling with something. Something that was meant to go on her face, right? "I like your glasses, Ad."

Ad smiled, looking back up at the sky. "Yeah, it's one of the main reasons I'm out here" she said honestly.

She looked back over at Alec and smiled. "You are an amazing Seeker, you know" she said honestly. She smiled more. "I'm glad you're okay. I wouldn't like it for my little brother to get hurt out playing Quidditch" She sighed at his question. "I guess. I'm stressed and tired" she explained.

Ad snorted. "I hate them. They're annoying. But I guess I need them" she sighed.

Logan laughed again and nodded. "Soooo much fun!" he said giggling. "Ahh we should play guitar together! Or you can play your violin...whichever is fine! It'd be fun!" he said.

A real friend? FRIEND? Just friend. Well, this was mighty awesome. Treyen seriously wanted to point out that he was more than just a friend, but decided against it. Why? Because...did he call her perfect?

WHAT?!

He was NOT invisible. And Treyen would've said something to the boy about it, but...he couldn't help but agree with what he said. She is perfect. All her imperfections were. If she even had any. Oh, actually, she did. She was the one who should be dealing with her Ravenclaws the same way he dealt with his Hufflepuffs whenever they interrupted them. And she was incredibly quiet. "I think I'm the one who gets to call her 'perfect', Eli, but thanks for pointing out the obvious." Now, shush and walk away.

Treyen felt her fingers, and that was what was keeping him so calm, because he would've hexed the boy back to the Castle. Or yell at him, like he did to Simon. But...right, her fingers, he made them stop by lacing them with his.

Wait.

HE was the one that should leave THEM alone? What the hell was this?! An eyebrow was raised, and quite frankly he didn't have the time to deal with the boy. And...facilitating strong bonds? "It's my day off." Vashti was taking care of everything...and failing, because THIS one Ravenclaw got away from her care. "And, frankly, I don't like your words." Especially when they involved his girlfriend.

INAPPROPRIATE? "Inappropriate is the way you're talking to my girlfriend in my presence." Got it? That was incredibly inappropriate. Plus, his Head of House was loosing his mind, so, Treyen didn't care anymore whatever Vindictus agreed with. The only thing he got right was naming Ellie as Captain. "You should apologize to Ellie, by the way. That's not a nice way to speak of a girl either." Because it was Eli the one mentioning reputations and whatnot.

And...homework? Really? Well, all Treyen did was eye him. Did he want to ask her something about homework?? He doubted it.

Perfect? Both of Ellie's eyebrows went up in surprise. She never expected to hear that from Eli. And, yes, she also thought that Treyen should be the one to call her that, if anyone did. But, actually, she didn't think he ever actually did. Rightly, too, because she was no where near perfect and Treyen would just be lying if he said such a thing and get in trouble. Heh.

There was so much confusion in the next few seconds. With what Eli was saying, mostly. "You do realize that I want to be here, right? With Treyen? That we were already here together? So it wouldn't make much sense for him to leave you and I alone." Not when Eli was the odd one out.

She squeezed Treyen's hand after he'd entwined their fingers. He shouldn't go anywhere. Unless he brought her along, too. But even so...they were here first. Why should they leave?

Ellie'd definitely taken Treyen's side now. Because Eli was being beyond rude. He needed to leave.

"I think you should apologize to Treyen, as well. He's not doing anything to ruin my reputation." The one off the Quidditch Pitch, she was guessing he meant, but Aparacium made sure she ruined THAT reputation enough herself. "And for being so rude."

...."Did you want my help, then?" He HAD said that he was looking for her. "Because you're going to have to wait until tonight." Probably right around curfew unless her and Treyen decided to try and get away with later. Or unless Treyen had other plans later in the day. But Ellie didn't.

If Ellie'd help him at all at this rate.

Apologize? APOLOGIZE?!! Eli gaped at the Head Boy. Treyen was clearly out of his mind. He'd sooner dress up as a hippogriff, climb up onto the astronomy tower and yodel the entire aria from Barkwith's Wizarding Suite (complete with a recreation of the explosive finish out his own backside) than utter an apology to that Hufflepuff elitist snob... especially when Eli so clearly was not in the wrong. "You're out of your mind, Lockhart."

And then she joined in. That huuuurt. "What, have you got her under an imperius charm now, Lockhart?"

He turned to Ellie. "And you-- Maybe I DID. But you-- You'd rather go around snogging him than take time out for your own. best. friend? Well, that's just fine, then." He huffed. "You know what? I AM sorry. Sorry you've got such rubbish taste in boyfriends. Sorry you'd ditch your real friends for gits like this." He turned to storm off before he did something really stupid, like draw his wand and try to take on the Head Boy.

"And your hair looks like-- like -- just-- lemondrops!" he shouted over his shoulder as he stormed away from the couple. He couldn't even summon up a decent insult, for Merlin's sake. Not to fling at Ellie, anyway. He'd have a few worked up for the Hufflepuff prefect later, though.

Clearly, she'd not been expecting this. Her reaction was even perfect. For at least she didn't believe this boy either. Treyen would've complained if she had, and be more upset that she'd accepted a 'perfect' out of some random boy.

Well, random to him.

Ellie was slightly mistaken, though, because it wouldn't make ANY sense at all that they were to be the ones leaving. They'd leave together if they were going to, but they weren't, so it didn't matter. There was a very small sign of a smile on his face. He liked the way 'together' sounded.

Then Eli replied back. Or talked back. Whatever. And Treyen almost glared at him. Almost. Ellie's hand kept him from doing that. Funny how his girlfriend kept saying he was crazy (for loving her, but still), and now this kid told him...he was out of his mind? CLEARLY, it was the other way around. And he wasn't going to argue with crazy people, like Eli.

Plus, the Ravenclaw boy still owed his girlfriend an apology.

No, Ellie, he didn't owe Treyen an apology, he owed him an exit. So, the kid should leave. ASAP. Before Treyen got tired of all of this. WAIT. WHAT?! "I don't have her under an Imperius Curse," he said, all too serious. THAT was an Unforgivable. A Curse. He'd never...EVER do such a thing. Erase someone's memory on the other hand...he was sure he could put himself up to the challenge if it was extremely necessary. But only extremely necessary. So, really, he doubted he'd ever need to do so.

Then the kid kept talking and talking and Treyen just wanted to shut him up! His voice was far too annoying now. Lemondrops?! What was that supposed to mean? If one liked lemondrops...then...it wasn't entirely bad, right?

BUT HE WAS WALKING AWAY. YES! Go, little boy, go!

His eyes were on Ellie for a second, "Your hair doesn't look like lemondrops." It was golden, like the sun, but he'd much rather have her red hair back. He missed it too much now. He couldn't tell her to do so, though, he'd said it once before and it made everything even worse.

Next thing, he sighed, dropped her hand and lay back down again. "I don't have you under an Imperius Curse either." But he understood why someone would think so, because, really, why was she with him? He's gone over this with her before, and he still believed she needed someone better suited for her. Someone she could discuss Quidditch more freely and who loved the sport as much as she did. Or even more.

He was the luckiest young man in the world for having her by his side.

NONE of this was any fair. Eli wasn't apologizing to her, which, for once she agreed with Treyen, and thought she should get one. And then he accused Treyen of putting her under the Imperius curse, while simultaneously implying that Ellie wouldn't elect to be with Treyen on her own, which hurt.

And HER? AND HER?! So what? So what if she didn't get to see her boyfriend a lot and WOULD rather go around snogging him or arguing with him or ANYTHING with him than anything else in the world right now.

And and and everything he was saying HURT. It hurt HER because it was both offensive to Treyen and herself and it wasn't TRUE. And if Eli would really go and consider himself one of her best friends, he wouldn't go around saying things like that. Hell, she'd told Max ALL about the hurt Treyen had caused her, and Max didn't go 'round calling him 'rubbish' and a 'git'.

Thank Merlin when Eli walked away. Ellie still threw death glares at his back, though.

She continued staring in the direction Eli took until she heard Treyen speak. Then she turned her eyes to him, letting out a small laugh. "Good to know." She picked up a lock of it and held it to her face. "Pity it doesn't at least smell like lemondrops, though." Maybe there was a spell that changed the smell of your hair to match the color.

"And you're not rubbish or a git," she informed him. She'd definitely thought those words warranted more of a reaction from him. But it hardly mattered now that Eli was gone.

It amazed her how Treyen could go back into such a relaxed position after all that. SHE was seriously peeved. And hurt. And concerned. "I know," she nodded. Not that one exactly knew when they were under the Imperius curse, but she knew Treyen wouldn't do such a thing, and knew that it was completely genuine, how she grew to love him.

With him dropping her hand, she wasn't sure what to do with it, and clasped it with the other in her lap. Because she wasn't going to go laying back down.

Cardigan squealed in sheer delight as she began to say, "BOTH!I can do both!!!" Genius idea, it was. She was like that. Sigh. It seemed sooooo far away 'till summer break. Hopefully the time would go by fast. Really fast! Like, so fast that it wold come in seconds!!! Wouldn't that be nice...