Forrest just BEAMED at Tobias' compliments because it meant even more when it came from a pro like Tobias. He opened his mouth to answer him and return the compliments (see the 'Blocked Shots: Tobias Tempus - 5' part?) but he was cut off with an ugly accusation. His smile looked plastered on his face before vanishing all together. He then slowly frowned and stared at the accuser.

Yes, he WAS offended by the greeting, although the boy didn't mean it so at all!

But--hold! Did Tobias say this boy's name is Cutty? But wasn't he Cuthbert--the one Fern looked at like she could kill him any moment? He forgot about being angry and looked confused now, but in any case, the greeting hung in the air and Tobias was eyeing him.

"I'm NOT her boyfriend!" he snapped and folded his arms. "Rather, people say you are." Maybe this was just an impostor of Cutty? Because what kind of boyfriend would greet someone as his girlfriend's boyfriend? Or maybe there were two Cuttys? That had to be it. Because he was sure Fern hated this kid but also loved a Cutty.

Benzi watched. Watched and smirked when Cutty called Forrest, Fern's boyfriend. He WAS slightly surprised that the slight jab was all there was to Cutty's remark, but let it slide. He was probably just warming up. HE certainly wasn't done here, and it certainly wasn't because of the parchment bits on the floor.

He found the conversation between the two Hufflepuffs rather boring, and was not impressed at being called "Cutty's friend". "I have a name, mate. S'Benzi," he said, leaning on the wall as he folded his arms against his chest. "And you're Tobias... Can I call you Toby?" he asked, though Benzi figured that no matter what the boy's answer was, he'd be Toby to him. He LOOKED like a Toby.

The eleven year old snorted at Forrest's words directed to Cutty, but chose to not comment. Cutty could certainly take care of himself. Instead, he raised an eyebrow. "I see you cleaned up. Good for you. The skirt just wasn't your thing, Forrest mate," he sneered stated evenly, giving Forrest a LOOK. Benzi was trying to say without saying that he did not like being ignored, but really had no idea if his expression showed any of that.

Eh. T'was only Weirdo Forrest the Skirt-Wearing Professional Scratcher. Mentally, Benzi resolved to find a shorter nickname for the Hufflepuff. This long one took too long to think of, never mind saying.

Cutty raised a hand to Tobias in a short-lived but nonetheless sincere wave hullo as he drew closer to the Hufflepuffs. Cutty noted that both boys had their names on the plaque. He would have to ask Tobias later what it was like playing against Alexa Cambridge. Polite as she was to him on the occasions where their paths crossed, he imagined her to be the terminal opposite of a push-over on the field. For now, though, Forrest...

"You mean you're not her boyfriend yet." Cutty gave a surprised sneering sort of expression as though Forrest were being purposefully perplexing. "Give yourself some chance for Merlin's sake!" He couldn't abide by defeatist attitudes and Forrest's protest was read as nothing short of denial for the want of Ferns affections. Perhaps even a little jealous as Forrest seemed to seriously buy that idea that Quimbley had been selling about she and Cutty being an item. "And, anyway is that what Quimbley told you? That I was her..." He inhaled sharply, apparently trying to suppress what promised to be a loud and boisterous laugh. "Boyfriend?" He spat this word out rapidly as if saying it faster wouldn't give the thought enough time to register as funny.

"She started that rumour, you know. In the Aparecium. She must have wanted it to be true or something." He shrugged understanding his imagined girl-logic as best he could. Though, he understood it about as well as he understood Forrests intentions with Fern. Which is to say, not at all. Cutty didn't get it. He sooo didn't get it.

Cutty registered Benzi's reaction at being called 'Cutty's friend' and saved it into the Things-that-Annoy-People bank he kept in his memory. Meanwhile snorting a bit at the mention of Forrest's skirt. C'MON! That was funny! It was a bygone. And all could've been easily gotten passed, all except for the female component, who Cutty was willing to bet real galleons that had they not been there the experience in the corridor would've been a rollicking good time. They would've made sure Forrest wasn't dying, laughed at him, each taken a jab or two, taken him to the hospital wing and then forced him to be the brunt of the joke until the end of term or more likely next boy was hurt. Whichever came first. They were wizards for Merlins sake!

Woah.

Okay.

Forrest was not Fern's boyfriend. Duly noted.

Tobias was completely lost with this encounter. It was all about girls and stuff, obviously, which wasn't really something Toby was interested in. Not like everyone else seemed to be. He was saved from having to give any input, at least momentarily, by Cutty's friend, to whom he gave a large friendly grin.

"Hi Benzi!," Tobias said cheerfully, before giving a nod. "That's me. And yep, I don't mind!" Tobias, Toby, Kitty, Pyro!Puff... he had a lot of names.

But yes, anyway, now he really did have to try and work out what was going on. Tobias looked back and forth between Cutty and Forrest a few times, thinking hard on what to say. Was there some sort of protocol?

Eventually he realised there wasn't really much he could say without knowing the full story, so the Hufflepuff just ended up coming out with, "Which one's Fern again?"

Real casual like. So it was clear he was super super lost.

Maybe Forrest would give him the background info later.

Skirt.

Forrest took deep breaths to hopefully calm down.

Skirts. He bet they didn't suit him!

"'T wasn't a sssskirt!" he stuttered, flushed with indignation. He officially HATED Benjamin. LOATHED him. "They were Ffffern's robes. Because--because I was unwell." Understood, stupid Ravenclaw?

His attention turned to this Cutty-the-disloyal-boyfriend. If he and Fern were on talking terms, he would have a few words on the boy. Clearly, he didn't impress Forrest at all--who was the worst liar on the whole universe, so it was clear on his face that he both feared and disliked this Slytherin boy.

WHO liked Slytherins anyway? Except for Cassia and Kahlan, they ALWAYS meant trouble!

"I won't ever be!" he exclaimed furiously. But, deep down, he felt the urge to protect his ex-friend. He would still choose her over this disloyal Slytherin. "She didn't tell me anythin'. I read some paper in a funny handwriting." So it was called Aparecium? Good to know for future reference, just in case. He opened his mouth to state that Fern was too clever to fall for him anyway when Tobias cut him off with a question. And it was very lucky for Forrest too, because upon thinking, he doubted Cutty would take the comment pleasantly.

"She shared her birthday cake with us on the train," he said--it wasn't really her cake but whatever. The fact was, she shared it with them.

Wait.

It was TOBIAS!

a.k.a his best friend,

a.k.a his saviour.

Could he read minds? Because Forrest was trying to deliver him the message 'Save me PLZ,' with his intent gaze.

Benzi had learned at least two entire facts from the conversation. 1) He couldn't ever tell when Cutty was lying, so he'd decided he was always just going to go with it unless it didn't agree with him, and 2) Toby was eerily cheerful. Not like any of the Hufflepuffs he'd met. It was sort of throwing him off.

"Right." Because there really wasn't anything else to say. He had anticipated some comment about his comment to Forrest but no such thing came, and he certainly wasn't about to start explaining who Fern was.

But then Forrest spoke up, and the eleven year old's smirk came right back. "Fern's robes, right. Because you peed your pants. It's ok, it happens you know," he mocked, pretending to nod in sympathy, "just.. usually we go through it when we're about three."

He raised his eyebrows at Forrest's insistence that he was not dating Fern, and couldn't help but ask, "is there trouble in Puffer Paradise?" Benzi suddenly wondered what would happen if Fern were to suddenly stroll in. He would put two sickles on at least one of them leaving with a broken bone. Or two.

Any and all control Cutty was attempting to apply was pretty much blown out the window the minute Forrest started to stutter. WHO in their right mind could hate this guy? Not only did he meander through corridors draped around Fern, but he denies his feelings for her and then...

STUTTERS!!!! O_O

It was a gift of a Hufflepuff Cutty thought he'd found in Forrest. And, although Cutty had heard of Hufflepuff generosity, Forrest was truly the epitome of a gift that kept on giving and it made Cutty feel sort of unworthy as he made a bee-line for Toby's shoulder. He was in need of something to lean upon as he could NOT possibly face Forrest or Benzi right now, the latter of whom was taking this to all new heights. He erupted into a fit of laughter that lasted...pretty much through all that was being said. A terrible laugh, like the chittering of monkeys from the depths of bandar-log hell.

When all had said their piece, Cutty again spoke, still overcoming the aftermath of his fit of laughter. "Yes. That's the Aparecium." He said, turning to face the boys and addressing Forrest first. "And besides Charlie Tudor, Fern is really the only person who could've spread that story." And Charlie was really too simple. It had to have been Fern. "But it IS just a story." In other words, you're free to take her up, although it would be your funeral. No need to be all bent out of shape over it.

Cutty leaned against the taller Tobias still apparently in need of support (or was he?). Perhaps, he was simply mimicking the leanings of the elder boys in Charms class or another reason entirely. "What really happened that afternoon, Forrest? How did you get to be in Quimbley's robes? " Cutty's eyes quickly squinted and unsquinted at the mention of Fern's name as though he could've mocked her from the mere mention of it. Amusing as Benzi's take on the matter was, truth was always more entertaining, not to mention useful.

Goodness, had she really forgotten to update the wall after the second match?

After the doubleheader was over, Tiara had headed back to her home in Hogsmeade to freshen up and warm up. Feeling better, she had made the journey back to Hogwarts to update the wall. Pulling out her wand, she made a gesture and watched as the statistics updated themselves for her.

The end of the season had finally come. Tiara made her way to the Wall of Fame to update it for the last time. She was impressed with the level of play she saw from the students this year. It made her proud to think that her alma mater was still keeping up a quality program.

She stood in front of the wall and reminisced for a while, thinking back over some of the more spectacular plays of the season. Smiling, she tapped the wall to update it for the last time of the year.

Text Cut: Wall of Fame

Goals:

• West Odessa - 9
• Tobias Tempus - 7
• Marcus Branxton - 4
• Ascanius Stark - 4
• Alice Fischer - 3
• Jake Keller - 3
• Lotus Wisteria - 3
• Benjamin Barton - 2
• Abigail Campbell - 2
• Forrest Charlton - 2
• Nigel Barrington - 1
• Ella Bishop - 1
• Sophie Brown - 1

Blocked Shots:

• Vesper Bayliss - 13
• Theodore Kinsley - 7
• Tobias Tempus - 5
• Ella Bishop - 4
• Jake Keller - 4
• Wade Elisabeth-Potter - 3
• Anya Phillips - 2
• Alexa Cambridge - 1

Bludgers Hit:

• Lotus Wisteria - 8
• Katrina Hudson - 5
• Adelaide Adams - 4
• Wade Elisabeth-Potter - 4
• Nigel Barrington - 3
• Alexa Cambridge - 2
• Blue Gracae - 2
• Ella Bishop - 1
• Alice Fischer -1
• Jake Keller - 1
• Caterina Moretti - 1

Snitch Grabs:

• Alec Summers - 8
• Aidan Stone - 6
• Penelope Greenwell - 4
• Anya Phillips - 4
• Derryth Ferrier - 3

Team Standings:
Hufflepuff - 490
Gryffindor - 300
Ravenclaw - 285
Slytherin - 230