Damon sighed but let out a small chuckle as an agreement to his statement, "Very true..." He looked at him, "I want to Max, but... As I said she's been avoiding me. The moment I see her she runs in the opposite direction almost, and when she doesn't someone else comes up and talks to me and she'll just slip away in that thin second of me turning my head." He really had no doubt that Ariana hated him again. Things would slowly go back to them fighting all the time, not so much a friendly word... and the thing that sucked is that it would almost be enough to kill him every time since all he wanted was to talk to her.

Maxwell nodded and then sighed at Damon's words about Ariana. "What if i could get her to talk to you....If i could get her to agree to at least give you a chance...would you go for it?" He asked. "Damon, I know you and i aren't like best friends or anything but i know how you feel...i've been there and i hate seeing her like she is...Maybe i just think she needs you and as her best friend i wanna give her a push in the right direction..."

Damon instantly nodded, "Of course I would. From what I've heard from Min about her choices they haven't been the best... So it's kinda nice to know she isn't just saying it to make me feel better." He gave a weak smile again, "But if she'll speak to me, I would gladly take the opportunity."

Maxwell nodded. "Yeah, she's been making stupid ones...Min's right.." He said shaking his head a little. "I'll talk to her and do what i can...but no promises..."

Damon nodded understanding, "Of course there aren't but... I appreciate you at least trying, Max... It really does mean a lot."

Maxwell nodded. "I figure if she'll listen to anyone maybe it'll be you....maybe you can help her where i can't...and yeah, no big deal. You made her happy and you knew how to treat her." He said with a shrug.

"Well, there I can't promise anything either... I can't be positive talking to me will make her realize anything." Damon sighed, wishing he could say differently.

Maxwell nodded. "I know...believe me i understand. Just do your best...like i said i'll get her to meet with you." He said hoping that he actually could.

Damon nodded and sighed, "I'll try my best..." He wanted to talk to Ari again, but he was slightly nervous at the idea of seeing her again.

Maxwell nodded. "Right...well, I'm gonna try and talk to her...I'll let you know what happens okay?" He said getting ready to go, he was going to meet Elliot for lunch. "See ya, Damon!"

Damon gave a small nod, "See ya, Max..." He sighed and turned the other way walking back towards the kitchen and the common room.

Armor had fingers. It was the first thing that Vivi noticed as she entered the gallery and took in the dark figures lining the room. She could easily practice the spells on those suits of armor rather than on another person.

Although... she'd invited another person, so why NOT practice on one? She tucked herself into a crevice beside one of the suits and waited for her homework partner to arrive.

Gideon had made a note of the DADA homework and had planned on doing it as soon as he could but with sickness and the injuries of the latest quidditch match he had been delayed. Still, when Vivi had come to him asking if he was interested in working with her on it, the idea was a welcome one he accepted. At the time they had agreed up, the prefect made his way down from the dorms to the third floor and then in the direction of the armor gallery. It was one of the places he knew well as he and Selina had wound up meeting her at times mostly on accident.

Reaching said meeting place, he looked around to see if his companion was there. Gideon didn't notice her at first and was ready to think he had arrived first until he caught a shadow beside one of the suits of armour that seemed out of place. "Vivi....?" he questioned approaching it. You know...just in case it was a second year hiding and ready to pounce on an unsuspecting victim. However the shadow he saw was in the opposite direction of her true position.

"Mary?" Vivi slid out of her cubby, launching herself in Gideon's direction. He saw her, right? He'd just said her name and all that... only his back was to her and she was moving way too fast to stop from plowing right into him.

"Sorry about that, Gert. I'm a high velocity eagle today."

He heard his gosh-awful nickname second only to Gertie but it was coming from the wrong direction. Gideon turned around only to be met by an almost flying Ravenclaw, his hands reaching out to both catch her and stop the momentum from sending them both to the floor.

"Nae...its alright Branxton," he assured her as he let her go. "Just be nice to the bruised Lion." The last he added in half jest since he was recovered from his injuries, both game and Selina-afflicted for breaking his promise.

"Oh, yes! How are you healing up after the game? You look alright... on your feet and not limping noticeably." Which was all that mattered, right? All the bruises and pains would fade away so long as the serious stuff was healed.

"Are you ready for this? Been practicing the spells? I'm actually not a fan, but maybe it'll be less unpleasant when I'm not hanging from the ceiling."

"Healed up fine," he said with a shrug before nodding at her question. "Aye, ready as I'll ever be." Practiced...well not more than he had during class but that was the purpose of the homework was it not? To practice?

"And most things can be better when yer not hanging upside down. Unless you need to score and flying upside down is the only option at the moment." That he had done at least once during a practice to the awe of all. "Do ye want to go first or shall I?"

"I try not to score upside down if I can help it. That's a surefire way to make a goal in the wrong team's hoop," Vivi reseated herself by one of the suits of armor and held out her hands gamely.

Sure, why not? Mess with her fingers. "You can go first. I don't mind."

Gideon nodded at her permission to go first and slipped his school bag off his shoulder, setting it aside before taking out his wand. Eying the two hands offered up to him, the Gryffindor tried to remember which was Vivi's wand hand prefering not to practice on it. Settling on a choice, he visualized the incantation as his hand and wand moved through the required gesture. "Ready..." he mused giving his friend some warning before casting soon after.

"Petrificus Digitirus!" he cast, his wand moving through the upside-down u motion smoothly and taking aim at the Ravenclaw's non-wand hand.

Oh, interesting. Vivi's fingers went stiff and locked together, and she performed a few experimental karate chops against Gideon's non-wand hand arm. Chop. Chop. CHOPCHOPCHOP.

She tugged her wand out of her holster and pointed it at her own hand. "[i]Finite incantatem." Immediately, movement returned to her fingers and she could flex them again.

"Lemme try while I get feeling back in my hand," she did a small swooping motion with her wand before pointing it at Gideon's hand. Hope he was ready, 'cause she was going to jump right in. "Petrificus Digitirus!" The motion was so similar to their Transfiguration spell, and she was already a pro at drawing the upside down u shape. Did it work?

Gideon waited to see what happened with the spell, the changes to Vivi's hand proof that he had been successful. He gave a bemused chuckle before shaking his head and his friend's actions against his arm. "Funny...no cutting please," he remarked in half jest.

About to say something else, he was stopped when his left hand felt weird. Just like it had in class meaning the Ravenclaw had been just as successful...or maybe more so. For the frozen, fuzzy feeling seemed a tad stronger if he wasn't imagining things. "Ooo that certainly worked." His wand already out, he cast a silent spell canceling the effects, the prefect unable to fight the urge to shake it to get feeling back.

That went pretty well, actually, and Vivi grinned broadly as Gideon got feeling back in his hand. Now that they were experts on the spell... how about making it a little more interesting? Up the challenge, so to speak.

"How about we try it as if we're actually dueling? Try to hit my wand hand while I'm blocking, and vice versa." She backed up a few feet and gave a short bow. Like that, see? Dueling etiquette.

Gideon was glad to say the least when the feeling was finally fully back in his hand, finally stopping the shaking of his limb. It reminded him of when he had first gotten the hang of changing his hand into his raven wing. He looked back up at Vivi, raising his eyebrow at her proposal of a duel to test the spells out on. Certainly sounded more fun then simply casting off each other when they knew that they could do it normally.

"Why not...." he answered,straightening his stance and moving back a few steps himself before bowing in echo of her own movements in proper duel form. Taking Vivi's choice of words as permission to go first, Gideon took up offense once he was back up to his full height. His gaze watching the Ravenclaw as if timing and planning his move against her. "Petrificus Digitirus!" he cast once he was ready giving no verbal warning since it would defeat the purpose.

Her eyes were narrowed as she watched Gideon for his first cast. He was pretty good... subtle... no real tells that she could catch on the first casting, but everyone had some sort of tell. When he finally cast, her wand was still up and she cast a nonverbal Protego, sending his spell back at him.

She followed it up with that inverted u shape, and the accompanying incantation. "Petrificus Digitirus! As soon as the spell was cast, she started moving in a circle around Gideon. Moving was better, even if most formal duels ignored it.

The spell sent towards the Ravenclaw was met with Vivi's successful defense sending it back his way. He managed to put up a quiet shield of his own sending the deflected away from them both. However his non-verbal shield wasn't as strong as it would have likely been normally and fizzled slightly under the attack of the fresh jinx causing his middle, ring and pinkie to fall under the spell's effects. That was going to make things interesting,he mused, especially since it was his wand hand and he'd need to switch hands to take it off.

Instead he followed Vivi with his gaze as she started to move, circuling around him and Gideon found himself following suit to avoid letting her have a chance to to get him on a blind side. He would need to catch her off guard and the movement of the duo was already making the target harder to pinpoint besides only having a two fingered grasp on his wand. "Petrificus Digitirus!" he cast once more, making the upside down u shape as required as he aimed where her hand might be in a few moments trying to anticipate.