"Yes I did" Surya replied. "I have explored many things as i couldn't find anything else to do, No friends to hang out what else could i do??" Surya is now pitiying himself! "I have even went to Hogsmeade and to the Three Broomsticks"

Cora's mind was officially blown by what Eliza was saying. She assumed that muggles had some forms of communication, but it had never once occurred to Cora to figure them out. Coming from a pureblood family, Cora had never had any opportunity to learn. Not that her family was completely against muggles, but they kept to themselves.

Cora laughed. Cora practically dropped her books in surprise. "Other muggles carry the mail?" That sounded ridiculous. She pictured muggles running with letters in their hands. "How long does THAT take?" Cora giggled, but still found the topic completely fascinating. However they got all that organized was beyond her. She was so eager to learn more, and was about to ask more questions about it, when she heard something else new. "What's a te-le-phone?" Slightly embarrassed by her lack of knowledge, the Ravenclaw was kicking in again to fuel Cora's curiosity.

"I'm sure your Kneazle will be perfect. But it couldn't hurt to look them up a bit. And get one real young, so that they can be trained a bit easier." Cora could tell that Eliza hadn't known all this, and hoped she wasn't nervous now. "But don't worry, I'm sure yours will be pleasant. Any thought about names?" Cora added a reassuring smile.

Cora liked to listen to Eliza all excited about things. "I'm glad you enjoyed flying. It is wonderful, isn't it?" Cora thought about quidditch. "It would be pretty cool to watch you on the team someday. I would be your number one fan. But watching from the side is just as good." Cora loved flying, but not quidditch. Two very different things. She would watch, but hated whenever anyone got hurt. She was just NOT that competitive. "Oh, I don't really know much about the professional teams. My dad used to watch them, but now that he's, well, gone, our house is not quite a sports-loving one. Cora's face fell a bit about talking about her dad, fidgeting with a thread on her shirt. If Eliza pressed, she would talk about it. She never talked about him really, but it all happened a while ago, so she would be strong. Continuing, she added, "I will watch, on occasion, but I don't really have a team in mind. What about you?"

How had it taken so long to find Matt and Pam? It was odd to Nate, because unlike he assumed Matt and Pam were, romantically 'hoping' to see each other in the common room, he knew that he would find both of them there, with Matt probably doing something stupid. Upon noticing them, but hem obviously not noticing him, Nate walked over silently, reached down, and tipped the chair Matt was in until the victim fell off of the front of it. "You're sitting in Elliot's chair," he said, gesturing toward the angry-looking girl. Setting the chair back down he bent over to help Matt up and whispered, "It isn't worth arguing with her over it." Straightening up, Nate stretched his back a bit before flopping straight backwards into the couch, where he himself usually sat. "Hey, Pam," he added with a small smile. Someone important was still missing from the picture, though, and it was really affecting Nate. He was much more solemn now, and Pam would likely be the first to notice, having known him all his life. It was best, though, Nate decided, to keep it to himself. At least, as long as he could.

Sitting in a particularly comfy, plush chair near the fireplace, Ethan had nearly finished penning his letter to his cousin at Beauxbatons. His focus was more on the flames in the fireplace than his letter, however, and his eyelids started to grow heavy as he watched the nearly hypnotizing fire... or maybe he was just bored. Either way, his attention was diverted by the boy in the chair next to him... or rather the boy falling out of the chair next to him. Ethan turned towards the two boys as the one tipped the chair and one came tumbling out of it.

What the what?

The fifth year watched curiously for a moment as he heard the chair-tipper speak. Elliot's chair? He looked over at the girl the boy gestured towards. The one whose eyes were shooting daggers at the other two boys. Apparently she had wanted that seat. Chuckling to himself over how ridiculous that scene had been, he turned towards the boys. "Listen, mate," he said to the chair-tipper, "It's one thing to offer your chair to a lady..." Not to mention good manners. "But chucking your buddy out of his seat... well, that's just wrong." Besides, she hadn't even asked. She just... glared. And that was no way to get what you wanted. Although apparently it was today.

A large hawk owl slammed into the window near the trio. It flew backwards, shaking its head, then steeled itself and tried again, head first. This time it actually broke the window and gained access to the common room.
The window next to the now broken one was open.
The hawk owl settled on the back of the couch, pulling on a beak-full of Nate's hair to get his attention. There was a small brown sack clutched in its talons. Once he was sure at least someone was noticing him, the owl took off again, dropping the bag in Nate's lap before coming to rest on Pam's shoulder, preening its feathers and looking proud of itself for completing its task.

The bag's drawstring opening came loose and the contents spilled out over Nate's lap. The unmistakable blue-spotted black body of Rowena, obviously dead. Even on a cat, the terror in her last expression was clear, frozen on her face by the Avada Kedavra curse.
There was a note, attached to Rowena's nose with a long sharp pin.

PFFFT. Elliot raised an eyebrow at Nate. She had never talked to the kid, but she didn't care. And she sooo could have handled it herself...really...but she was happy she had her chair.

Sure, anyone could sit there...

...When Elliot wasn't in the room. HEr facial features remained annoyed, though, as she opened her book. She ignored the little trio...deciding not to butt in too much. They seemed occupied, and Merlin knew how annoyed Elliot would be if someone was trying to just butt into their conversation. MEH.



She heard him...some new boy...she had never seen him before...maybe she had, she didn't know! Or care, really. She raised a dangerous eyebrow at him..."I like this seat. I should write my name on it." She said in her drawl, eyeing him dangerously, now.

Hmph.

Elliot was SCARY. Or at least working on it.

"Thanks for that, mate," Matt said sarcastically after Nate had unceremoniously dumped him from the chair. "Oh, and hello Pam. I almost forgot you were here," he stated jokingly, leaning down and wrapping his arms around her. He had actually almost forgot how warm Pam was, how she was always able to warm his soul. He let go of the hug after a few seconds, remembering how Nate must be feeling. He looked to Nate's lap after the owl debacle and saw Ro's body lying there, dead. "Oh no..." Matt couldn't take it. Anger flared up inside of him, his muscles tensed up, and his eyes became firey with unbridled rage. Literally. That's one thing that Matt had discovered about himself over the summer. By all accounts, he was normal. Well, as normal as a wizard could be. Except for his eyes. In a similar way to Pam's color-changing, Matt's eyes changed, revealing his every emotion.

Matt looked down at Nate, then back up at Pam. "We're putting an end to this. Tonight."

Indy sighed, as she clutched her blanket tighter as she descended the stairs. She didn't know why it bothered her so much. She didn't even like Dylan anymore. Maybe it was just the thought that her liked her best friend. He had probably liked her when he had dated her. Indiana knew that she had been stupid. She knew that now. Hopefully Max would be able to make her feel better. Max always made her feel better. He was just awesome like that. She looked around the common room. He wasn't there yet. She wandered over to a couch by the large fire, and lay down on it, snuggling down in her blanket. Hopefully Max would be around soon, before someone else came around.

It was at times like this she still wished that Ellie was here. Even if Ellie had been right all along. Max was Ellie's best friend though. He'd do, and he'd probably end up making her laugh.

Pam laughed as Matt was forcably kicked from the chair. Her smile grew even more as he wrapped his arms around her. At first she hated being hugged like this, for she had a fear that she would never be let free. She had nightmares about this. But after a while, she had come to enjoy his hugs, and even found it comforting.
"Hello Nate." She said, giving him the same reassuring smile back. She knew he was missing someone. Someone important to him. And sitting here, with Matt's arms around her, she felt a little bad. She just hoped he didn't lash out at them for being cuddly around him. As for Matt, she rubbed his arm affectionatly.
Then, a bird flew through the window, and a familiar cat fell out of the bag. Pam covered her mouth, trying not to let out a scream. But she couldn't help it. Small, shriek-like, noises came from her mouth, and tears began to flow. Ro was one of the animals she liked, and Pam was one of the only people Ro didn't attack. They had a small connection that wasn't visibly shown with anyone else.
As Matt spoke, Pam wanted to cry out to him. Tell him it wasn't safe, and they couldnt' leave school grounds. But no words came. Instead, she just looked at him with scared eyes, hoping he would get the message. They needed to stay here. At least for a little while. Plus, there was no way they could find this Team Wolf gang. And the only way they would is if they got captured, and if that happened, they would surely all be dead. Her head started shaking as these thoughts occured in her head. There was no way she could lose Matt. She needed him. Maybe more than he knew.

Ameliah nodded understandingly. "Whether by choice or not, exploring is always fun! And Hogsmeade is a great place too! The Three Broomsticks makes the best butterbeer."

Max snapped a short answer at the knocker to hurry inside the common room. He didn't have the time or patience to give a more detailed, thoughtful answer than he needed to(though he usually liked to talk aloud and elaborate on his thoughts).

His eyes fell on Indy, who looked... well, certainly not like the little ball of energy and joy he usually saw from her. Slowing his pace, he neared the couch, sat on the edge of it, and frowned at her. He hesitated for a long moment, looking to the fire in thought. It seemed like such a rare thing for Indy to be sad, Max thought, and he wasn't entirely sure how to handle it. Finally, he brought his gaze to hers, cleared his throat, and inquired lightly, "How are you doing?"

Just in case she needed it, his arms were already preparing for an encouraging hug.

Eliza laughed too. It was kind of funny to think about. If the muggles only knew how easy magic and owls could make communicating! She was sure they’d be completely irritated for having wasted so much time for so long. It was really too bad that witches and wizards couldn’t just be open about magic with the muggles. She was sure they’d all get used to it eventually, right?

She’d been right; Cora didn’t know about telephones. This didn’t really surprise her. I mean, why would she know? Especially if her mom’s a bit paranoid, she thought. “A telephone is what muggles use to talk to each other from their own houses. Kind of like how our howlers have the voice of the sender? Well it’s like that…ehh...” This was really hard to explain. Perplexed at how to have this make sense, she remembered her sketch book. “Oh, gosh! I can just draw it for you!” She pulled out her sketchbook and did a quick diagram of what telephones looked like, how they were connected by wires across miles and miles. Then she drew one person on a phone in one house, connected to another person’s phone in another house. Maybe that would make sense. "See?"

She gratefully took all of this information about Kneazles down on her parchment. Names? “No, I guess I haven’t gotten that far yet. Depends on how it acts I guess.” She shrugged and smiled.

Happy to see that Cora enjoyed flying a lot too, Eliza said, “Thanks. It really is great! And thanks for saying you’d watch me play. I mean, if I ever did. That’s really nice.” She was feeling more comfortable at Hogwarts each day and Cora was largely to thank for it. “No I don’t have a favorite team either. Not yet anyway.”

She hadn’t pushed before about the details of Cora’s family issues, but since she mentioned it again, Eliza thought that maybe she was ready to talk about it with someone. She didn’t like to see Cora upset, so she hoped her wanting to know more would be able to help Cora in some way. She fumbled with the stitching on her sleeve for a moment, trying to figure out the best way to approach this topic. “…Um, Cora?” She softened her expression and turned her big, sincere eyes to her new friend. “If you’re okay talking about it…H-how, erm…What happened to your dad?” Hazel eyes awaiting her response, she added, “Of course it’s none of my business if you don’t want to say. I would completely understand.”

Having said his piece, Ethan turned his attention back to the half-written letter. Whether or not those boys wanted to heed his words was no longer his concern. Figuring the situation would now resolve itself, the fifth year penned a few more words, then looked up as a movement caught his eye.

Did Glare!Girl really have the nerve to sit in that chair even after someone was dumped from it?! Ethan shook his head slightly, simply amazed at her sheer brazenness, then turned back - yet again - to his letter, determined to finish it today. But that apparently was not to be, as the girl called Elliot seemed to not be happy with just taking occupied seats, but also had to let everyone know it.

Ethan slowly lifted his eyes to meet hers. First giving the girl an appraising look, the corners of his mouth soon lifted into an amused smirk. Did she think she was intimidating him? Cute. "Write your name on it..." he slowly repeated with a hint of incredulity. "Look about you... this common room is amazing." Hmm, was he finally showing some House pride? "Why on earth would you want to tarnish that by scrawling your name on a piece of furniture?" Graffiti in the common room was less than impressive (although it might be funny in another common room, heh).

Shrugging, he added, "Even if you did, it still wouldn't belong to you." He leaned closer as if to tell her a big secret and said in a mock whisper, "That's why it's called a common room." The fifteen year old leaned back in his seat and turned back to his letter, but he had a feeling he wouldn't be finishing. In the five minutes he knew her, he had gotten the idea that Elliot was the type of person who had to have the last word.

Elliot forgot what she was even reading. The boy...he looked a little older, maybe even her age, who knew at this school, everyone looked older! and sighed. "My name written somewhere...would just enhance its..." er, she let the word roll of her tongue..."Amazingnes."

What an awful word. But in her defense, she was quoting him. Yep. NODS.

HAHAHA veeeerry funny, mate! Elliot rolled her eyes. "I'm not going to fight with someone over a chair. People can just leave it empty...and all will be perfect in the world." *EVIL SMILE!*

She turned back to her work, but her thoughts weren't on Transfiguration...they were on the boy...BOYS COULD BE SO ANNOYING. But his sarcasm was nice. It was better than simply shooting back a boring remark...Elliot could appreciate sarcasm...even if it was directed at her.

However, did she let the guy know this?

No. Not likely.

"You are right. I loved Hogsmeade. The Butterbeer tasted unbelievably amazing. Did you attend any classes so far?" Surya asked.

She could probably have gone to sleep here. It was lovely a warm. Indy figured that was to do with the lovely warm fire, and her huge blanket. It was a huge woolen one, that her mother had knitted for her. She loved it so much. She actually closed her eyes for a few moments, but luckily Max arrived before she actually fell to sleep. She opened her eyes slowly, looking up at him. Indy didn't quite know what to say. It was hard to be sad around Max. He was just so fun loving. "Hi Max..." She mused, with a sad smile.

How was she doing? She'd been doing fine actually. Until today. It had just all come crashing down there. "Okay..." She spoke quietly, with a little shrug. Would he sit with her? She just needed a cuddle right now. "Can I have a hug..." She murmured, almost a whisper.

Max's expression continued to falter as Indy seemed almost unable to greet him - or perhaps it was just the fact that she had just been drifting off to sleep. He couldn't blame her, really - a big comfy couch, a cozy blanket, and a toasty fireplace was the recipe for a perfect nap.

Aw. Aw. Max's heart broke and the corners of his mouth somehow managed to lower even more. "Of course," he replied softly, scooting down the edge of the couch toward her with open arms. He let her come to him and held her close. After a few long moments, he quietly asked, "D'you wanna talk about it?"

He wasn't entirely sure what 'it' was, but the young Ravenclaw Max thought of as a little sister was unhappy; he wanted to do whatever he could to help.

Indy was glad when he agreed to let her hug him. She didn't think she could deal with anymore rejection right now. She smiled, scooting closer, and moving into his arms, snuggling into him. Max gave good hugs. She knew that from the hug he had given her last year, when they had won the championship. That had been a much happier moment. Although that memory made her smile a little. She loved her friendship with Max. It was nice. He was nice. A big brother to her. She knew she couldn't come to Spike about this so it was good.

"I don't know..." She mused quietly, resting her head on his shoulder. "He likes Bee..." She muttered quietly, aware that he probably had no clue what she was going on about. "He dated me when he liked her..." And that hurt.

Big surprise... he was right. Ethan set down his quill knowing he most likely wasn't going to get the chance to use it. The fifth year looked up as the girl's acid tongue began wagging again and stared at her in disbelief before letting out an exasperated laugh. "If you say so..." he began - Seriously, what planet was Miss Delusional from, anyway? "I highly doubt anyone else would agree though," he continued, mirroring her drawl. Ethan gave the common room a brief once-over. Nope, no one was bowing down to her... where did she get her sense of entitlement?

Huh?! As Elliot continued to speak, Ethan shot her a very confused look. Did she really just say that she wasn't going to fight over a chair? "But that's what this whole thing was about... that stupid chair..." he began, not even knowing how to continue. Ugh, girls were so confusing, and this one was no exception. Shaking his head out of pure exasperation, the fifth year tried to turn his attention back to his letter. If she wanted to walk around thinking she owned the place... then, whatever. But if the girl thought that he was a push-over like those other two boys, she was crazy. He would not be getting out of any seats at the sight of her glare... the fifteen year old lifted his eyes to appraise the infamous chair. Maybe he'd have to make it a point to sit in it next time he was in the common room... just for fun. Smirk.

Ameliah nodded. "Yeah, Astronomy and Defense Against the Dark Arts. As a warning if you haven't gone to Charms yet, the proffesor is reeeally uptight." Dang clean woman.

Max rubbed Indy's back lightly, hoping to bring some sense of comfort to her. As she spoke, his eyebrows furrowed and his eyes narrowed at the fireplace. "Dylan?" He inquired quietly upon the mention of a 'he,' then gave a few solemn nods after she continued. Ah.

The words his father once spoke of never trust a Slytherin seemed to ring true in his mind at the moment, but he didn't dare to speak those words. He didn't think they stood true normally, but... they did seem relevant for the present situation. "That doesn't mean he didn't like you, too, though, right? I mean," Max shifted slightly and pulled back enough to look Indy in the eyes, "take Bee out of the problem for a moment. Don't think about her. He dated you. He wouldn't have done that for no reason. There must have been something about you he couldn't have resisted, right?"

He paused for a moment, trying to find the words to speak cautiously enough that he wouldn't set her off, nor say something wrong. He didn't know much of the situation, or Dylan's motives in the situation, so he could only hope the Slytherin hadn't been using poor Indy as a way to make Bee jealous. "I'm sorry... that happened, though. I know that's... not going to be easy to get over." Max hugged the girl close once more and added, "But clearly you're better off without a guy like that. You don't need him." That was encouraging, right? "You deserve better."

"Yeah..." She mused, pulling the blanket around her tighter. Her mother wasn't here, and whilst she needed her so badly, the blanket was the closest thing she had to her. Max was good too. He gave good hugs. She figured it was because he was so much bigger than she was. She really hoped he'd get on the quidditch team this year, she had missed playing with him last term. Well. She really hoped that they would both get onto the quidditch team. She really did want to play with him again.

She looked up at him as he looked into her eyes. That was true. Wise. Maybe Indy was too young to understand. "Maybe..." She mused, feeling a tear run down her cheek, and she wiped it away. She had said she wouldn't cry over him anymore. "I don't need him...." She murmured against his shoulder, deciding that she didn't want to think about him anymore. "Of course I do..." She mumbled with a little smile. "I don't want Bee falling for him though..." She loved her best friend so much. She didn't want her getting hurt.

The seventh year gave Indy a small smile of encouragement and hugged her tighter again as she seemed to appreciate his choice of words. That was good. "You're right." She DIDN'T need him. Boys were stinky anyway, and Dylan was clearly just that. Indy needed to wait for a man. "Guard your heart, Indy. Don't let some immature kid get to you."

Max gave Indy another comforting squeeze as she began to cry. Ugh. She was killing him. "Everything will be okay," he cooed soothingly. He used his own sleeve to wipe away the remaining moisture on her cheek from a fallen tear. "Does... Beezus know? Have you talked to her about this?" he inquired, turning his gaze back toward the fireplace. That was important. It would be insulting to Bee if Indy didn't warn the girl of what Dylan had done, right?

"I don't need any boys..." Indy decided, with a big smile on her face. "Just you, Spikey and Pink Ted." Her favorite people. Max was practically her brother too. So he got considered as one of her favorite people. "I won't. I'll keep close guard of it." She nodded at him. She wasn't going to let any stinky boys getting hold of it and treading all over it. Especially no stinking slytherins. Although there was one nice Slytherin. Daichi was not a stinky one at all. He was very nice, and he had a teddy too.

"It will." She smiled, giggling a little as he wiped her tears away. "You're robes are all wet now..." She mumbled with a little grin. Oh. The real Indy was back. Oh dear. Oh Bee. Indy frowned, chewing on her lip. "She knew..." She mumbled, blinking back tears. "She knew Dylan was going to dump me...."

Max chuckled, glad that her mood seemed to be lightening. "Pink Ted?" Ted? Like... a teddy bear? Or was there someone in her life named Theodore that he didn't know about? Either way, he was honored to be considered one of the lucky few to be prized in her life. "Very good. Make sure you keep that mindset, please."

He knew that all too often people in ended relationships 'learned their lessons,' then simply moved onto the next love interest with no regard for the previous experiences they went through. It seemed silly.

"That's okay. It'll dry," Max offered, not wanting her to feel bad. It WAS just clothing, after all. A friend's reduced sadness was worth all the soaked robe sleeves in the world. And then Indy went on about Beezus. Oh.

"...Oh." Hm. He paused, thoughtfully considering the situation, then asked, "Well, what could she have done about it? That's a tough situation to be in, y'know? If one of my friends was going to be broken up with and I knew about it ahead of time, I think... I'd be in a tough position. Because I'd want to give the friend a heads up, but then again... it's not my place to interfere in a relationship. Y'know? So that must've been an awkward situation for her. Did she... tell you he was going to do it?"