Agatha left the dungeons on a mission: to find Cutty Mordaunt. She owed him for having cast the spell correctly on her tree to make it shrink and become a bonsai in Herbology. She would probably try and get away from paying someone, but not Cutty. She'd give Cutty his money, alright. Agatha wasn't mad.

Walking towards the Great Hall, she noticed a little group of kids by the entrance hall and decided to check out what was going on. Maybe someone had gotten hurt and she needed to see it more closely.

When the girl got closer to the group, she noticed familiar faces - too familiar, actually - and saw that no one was hurt. They were... doing business, apparently. She approached them and stood next to weirdo Ethan, facing both Simon and Cutty.

And oh, that little crazy Ravenclaw form History of Magic was there too. Agatha stared at him before looking at all the sweets they were trading. Wow.

So unhealthy.

Ethan breathed…chewed and breathed at the same time. “I’ll live. No need to worry, my Watson.” The Slytherin gave Simon a pat on the back and contemplated on his mission. According to Ella’s letter, this Tobias fellow’s a good kid and such. If they met while Ella was still in Hogwarts, then said kid’s an old-timer, just like Cutty who started his first year in Hogwarts.

“Yeah, we should meet this dude at some point. Promised my friend I’d meet him.” And…how come Ella never responded to his letter? They were going to meet in Hogsmeade, yeah? But seeing the weather right now, it looked like the meet-up will never happen. “Wait Cutty…you mentioned that the owls left? All of them?” Why would…birds do that? Is the weather that bad? Ethan glanced at Simon with a worried look on his face. Something…was definitely not right. “I’ve always wondered about the non-delivery of the Daily Prophet recently.” He then stepped a little closer to Simon because THEORY TIME! “The owls have left the tower…and there’s none coming IN. You reckon…we’re trapped inside?” But before he could even hear Simon’s response, he glanced behind him and eyed the great double door. He could swear that the cold wind was starting to get through their fortess.

And theeeen somebody joined them. Ah yes, Agatha always-flippin’-her-hair-and-rolling-her-eyes Hapgood. Well, that was so nice of her too to come in between him and Kyroh. Ethan, for the first time, didn’t know how to feel about her joining them. What was she up to? Is she here because she heard about Cutty’s products? Hmm. Nope. Not saying hi to her. Instead, the Slytherin jammed his mouth with more Maltesers.

He chuckled a little for he had been watching way too many episodes of where Sherlock died and Watson was left all on his lonesome. Yes, the Australian boy felt sort of a deep connection to that particular fictional character. Perhaps it was because he had idolized the character ever since he was ickle or perhaps it was that he too dreamed of solving crimes beside someone nearly or even more brilliant than Sherlock Holmes. "I'm glad," he said with a grin. He needed Ethan to be around so that they could fight off whatever had snowed them in.

Simon leaned in towards the conversation. This was serious business that was going on right here. Very serious business that people needed to be very serious about. Yes, yes, that was about right. The owls had left. Simon nodded in agreement and pulled his jacket closer around him so that he could keep nice and warm. "Yes, the owls have left. I was up in the Owlery right before we got snowed in. Probably and most definitely trapped inside. We could try those doors but they look too heavy to open," he said as his eyes glanced over to the massive double doors in front of them. "I hope the cold goes soon. Do you think that there's any way to stop it?" Or they could sit around, freezing their butts off too..? But Simon would prefer to figure out or at least attempt to understand what was going on. "Is whatever's causing the weather in this castle?"

He heard footsteps approach them and he turned around to see Agatha of all people heading towards him. He turned the lightest shade of pink and waved to her. "Hey Agatha. How's it going?" he said with a kind smile.

Cosgrach briefly laughed to himself. She'd come to him for help. She'd be the... fourth student now, this year? Heh. "Of course you can come." He'd help her with potions. At least she wanted help with something he knew very well. "You have a nice day too," he called after her and got up. She'd got up right about time, his butt had begun hurting. Vanishing the stools, he turned and walked towards his C O L D office.

The Fizzing Whizzbees weren't special or anything. They didn't taste different than they normally did. Though they still tasted good mostly cause it was candy so how could it not?! A small giggle escaped the first years lip as he felt his feet leave the ground.

Kyroh was EVEN going to smile at the candy selling Slytherin boy but-uh the boy-Cutty was his name?-didn't look to pleased.

....BUMBLEBEES!? The boys eyes grew. If he ate a bumblebee it would STING his mouth! And he couldn't eat it anyways because it would be life and he would be eating it and that just seemed so mean and GAH!

Reaching into his left pocket Kyroh pulled his hand out revealing nothing before trying his other pocket. Really though he didn't KNOW what he was looking for since....he didn't HAVE any money on his anyways! "I don't have four sickles." Kyroh mumbled, quietly looking from Ethan to Simon. He dug through his pocket again before FINALLY pulling something out, grin reappearing on his face. "But I have this! You can have it! Here!" Plucking the ball of lint right from his pocket he handed it over to Cutty.

THERE.

All paid for.

Just in time too cause Ethan pushed a box of sweets in front of him and that was IMPORTANT to pay attention to! "Maltesers." The Ravenclaw mumbled reading the box. He had NEVER heard of those before. And LOOK Simon was offering stuff too. "OKAY!" Reaching into the box Kyroh took ONE Malteser and ONE smarties? Smartie? Colourful thing-because he wasn't even SURE if he'd like them so why take a lot? "You guys can have as many Fizzing Whizzbees as you want!" Since he paid for it and everything!

And Tobias Tempus ? They were talking about his FRIEND!! Simon looked like Toby. Huh. Kyroh tilted his head. Well kinda. Maybe? "He goes by Toby. He's my protector." And a GOOD one too. "So I can help you guys find him!"

He could HELP! Maybe that girl could too! Kyroh blinked staring at the girl who had joined them who for SOME reason was staring at HIM. Shoving both the Malteser AND the Smartie in his mouth Kyroh chewed, grinned and then held out the bag of Whizzbees. "Want some?"

“Death by Maltesers. Hm…that doesn’t sound nice, no? Not dignified at all.” So yes, dear Watson, your Sherlock Holmes is a-okay. He might fake death at some point…but not by chocolates. Oh Merlin no. That’s just…way too ridiculous. He’ll be banished from his new family tree, that’s for sure. Anyway, onto more pressing issues.

Whoa wait, try and open the doors? “I don’t think that’s a wise idea. We don’t know what’s behind those doors anyway.” Maybe a huge pile of snow? “Best if we investigate first from the upper floors…assess the situation from there.” He said as he pointed upwards. Merlin, do they even know what’s happening outside of Hogwarts? Did they know that the people from the other side cannot reach them? To answer his next question though, Ethan paused to think of a wise answer. He’s playing Sherlock after all. “Let me see…” Mordred always told him to look at the obvious first, then slowly peel off the layers of the problem. “I don’t think we can stop it unless we find the source for all of this.” Nod nod. As for Simon’s next question. “I say we keep our eyes open for any suspicious fellows.” Anything out of the ordinary, yes? No normal human being would even enjoy this weather, seeing that the Term is about to end…which means Summer is just around the corner. “…keep an eye on those who seem to be not too bothered with the weather. I suppose we can narrow them down easily.” Because it’s way too cold for their liking…and that they’re trapped inside school! Who would actually enjoy that?

He got distracted when Kyroh started talking to Cutty. Ethan eyed the other Mordaunt kid. Now…how will he deal with the lint issue? Besides…Kyroh’s packet of candy didn’t turn into bumblebees. But before he could even get a piece for himself, the Slytherin stopped. “Tobias goes by the name Toby. Got it. Toby the Protector.” Nod nod. “Oookay, how’d he become your protector?” Interesting stuff. Ethan didn’t need to be told twice about the candy, and so, he got a piece, sucked on it…and he floated a few inches off the ground.

Sweet!

"To be honest, that sounds like a muggle ice cream flavour," he explained, chuckling a little. It was like 'Death By Chocolate' but more crunchy.

Simon eyed the doors once more. What COULD be behind those doors? Hmmm.. Biting his lip, he thought of what could possibly be out there? Only one thought passed his mind. The Cold Ones. He hadn't been able to get those creatures out of his thoughts for ages. He nodded. "Alright. So look for anyone who's way too happy for their own good in this situation?" he said, taking mental notes of the situation. He nodded. It seemed easy enough but they would have to take it one step at the time. Didn't want to put the blame on the wrong person. "We should go talk to Professors too because it could be a Professor." They didn't know whether the creature was hiding in the castle or was an actual person causing all of this. Either way- it was pretty scary.


"Thanks Kyroh!" said Simon as he took one of the candies and sucked on it. He felt himself get lighter and he looked down to see that his feet weren't on the ground. Ooh. He was floating. He could fly. Then Simon's eyes widened as Kyroh mentioned that he knew Toby. Oh perfect! And he was offering to lead the mighty Holmes and Watson to the place. Could it get better than this? "That'd be awesome if you could help us find him!" said Simon as he nodded in agreement when Ethan asked how did Toby become Kyroh's protector.

Cutty held the galleon up to his face and took in his blurry reflection after a moment as if he he were authenticating the piece. He put it away then promptly proceeded to cough up the amount of goods for which Ethan had just paid. "I know their names, booht what I meant when I said they weren't m'real ones was that m'grandad isn't m'dad's real dad." That part probably needed clarification. Although, he still wondered if his father was somehow changling in par or in whole. "M'moohm wouldn't know much. She hardly spent time with that side of the family." If Soheir could help it that was. Not like they openly welcomed her or anything.



Cutty might have answered Ethan's question about the owls, but it looked like Simon had handled it. It was his preference anyway. It went lightyears to have a random confirmation from a source more trusted than oneself. Not that it seemed to him that Ethan mistrusted him (yet), but observing the two of them, Ethan and Simon definitely had a thing....

Oh...

Oh, Merlin.


Cutty sighed heavily as he caught the pink highlights in Simon's tones when he greeted Happygoody. Cutty looked...concerned? Or maybe like he was going to vomit as he reached a hand up and out and took hold of Kyroh's shoe.





With probably more force than was necessary, the Slytherin boy yoinked the little Ravenclaw close enough to cast upon the box of Whizzbees. Enjoy your cockroaches, kidda.





Was that...Happygoody's judgmental face? Yes, Cutty believed it was. What was she judging? He followed her gaze and it lead him to the sweets. He was waiting to meet this one. The one that didn't like sweets. He was willing to bet that deep down she really did like them, she just didn't want to lose control. He wasn't going to test that theory. Not here. Not now. For reasons all his own.

"Hapgood." He greeted her. "To what do we owe the pleasure?"

Crazy Ethan was also rude and ignored her, so she would ignore him as well.She knew he had seen her, he just chose not to acknowledge her at all. Have it your way then, Mordaunt. Hmph.

Well, obviously Simon was kind enough to greet her. "Good, thanks." The girl asnwered him politely, with a nod of her head. Good to know he wasn't becoming like Ethan after all.

And UGH, GROSS. That little Ravenclaw kid was smiling at her with his teeth full of chocolate and eeewwwwbleurgheurhgkjgkdjf. Nasty. "No, thanks." She said with a slight not so slight look of disgust on her face. And oh, Cutty was about to deal with the kid. Cool. Agatha would enjoy watching that.

Speaking of the other Mordaunt, he was polite enough to greet her too, which was good. See that, Ethan? You're the one who's left out now. HMPH. "I'm here to pay you." She told him, but she'd watch him deal with the little eagle first.

Bored, cold and in search of something to do, Adi wandered towards the Entrance Hall. That was how he happened to stumble across Cutty. Adi stared. Was that a weird looking snake? He was very much curious but he was still annoyed with Cutty for the way he had behaved in Arithmancy. Just taking his kebab and all.

But curiosity got the best of the Hufflepuff. "Yo, Cutty,'' he said stiffly. "What you got there?''

"He saved me from being eaten by Professor Culloden on my FIRST day." Yeah, Toby was a PROTECTOR and AMAZING too, and nothing could change the Ravenclaws' mind about that. As Ethan hovered from the ground Kyroh's hands came together and the first year clapped with excitement. YEAH GOOD JOB ETHAN! Hovering like a PRO!

He looked over from Simon to Ethan and nodded eagerly. "I can help you find him! As long as you don't want to hurt him or anything." Though Kyroh didn't THINK they'd want to hurt him. Both boys seemed NICE, PLUS they were Slytherins which mean they were automatically cool right??

Opening his bag Kyroh was about to reach in for another piece so he could hover higher but-then the candy boy Cutty YANKED him close and Kyroh ALMOST dropped the candy but he didn't. "Do you want one too?" Yeah? Sticking his hand into the bag the boy's smile vanished.

...Why were his candies moving.

......they weren't suppose to right....but....bumblebee's? ....no they didn't feel like........He glanced down

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

Giant FAT cockroaches wriggled inside the bag and on his ARM and HAND and

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH EWWWW EWWWW EWWW AHH NO GROSS NO" Kyroh THREW the bag....right at the new girl....but he was TOO worried about the cockroaches on his HAND to really care.

Agatha was calmly watching as Cutty dealt with the little Ravenclaw. She didn't really know what he was doing, but the whole scene looked interesting.

Until that.

Agatha noticed some dark things crawling up the boy's arm and frowned when the kid started screaming. She was about to cover her ears when the FLIPPING KID THREW THE BAG AT HER.

SKDFNSKJFNSKDJLFNSDKJFNDSKJFNSDKJFNSDKJFNSDKJFS

The Slytherin's reflexes had never been as quick as they were that one moment when she slapped the bag AWAY from her before it hit her BEAUTIFUL hair. Or any part of her for that matter. "WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING??" She yelled at the screaming Ravenclaw. This was TOTALLY. HIS. FAULT. Nevermind Cutty was the one who cursed the sweets. Her face was bright red and she clenched her fists by her sides.

But sdkjfsndklfjsdnkfjds the nasty cockroaches were going EVERYWHERE and GROSS DSKJFSNKJFD "YUCK!"

Hello, Ethan. You exist from now on.

The girl grabbed the blond boy by his shoulders and pulled him back as she stepped away from the CHAOS. NASTY. DISGUSTING. CHAOS. Ethan was obviously standing between her and all of the others, including the cockroaches.

This thirteen year-old was a STRONG one, okay? It didn't seem like she was, but Agatha had been in enough fist fights with boys to develop such strength. Ethan wasn't going ANYWHERE.

So Toby saved Kyroh from being eaten by Professor Culloden?

Simon's brows furrowed. Professor Culloden didn't eat people- that notion was absurd. Sure, he looked terrifying at times when he demanded why a boy would accidentally startle a Professor. However, after apologizing and explaining his actions, Culloden turned into this nice guy. He even ruffled Simon's hair for some unknown reason. Simon was still trying to understand whatever had made the Professor do that.

Before Simon could respond to Kyroh's really kind offer, cockroaches wriggled out of the candy box. Ewww.. He thought. He simply turned up his nose and then pulled out his wand. Now what spell could he use? He figured a cleaning one would do the trick. Hailing from Australia, he knew how to deal with worse pests than a bunch of cockroaches. Moving his wand in a s-formation, he quickly cleaned up the cockroaches before they could get too far. Ah much better.

"Are you all okay?" he asked, looking at Agatha and Kyroh. He assumed that Cutty and Ethan were both okay.

“But…your grandparents are an okay bunch, I suppose? Even if…they’re not your real dad’s real parents?” MERLIN. Why are they talking about this again? He just discussed this stuff with Culloden, and, though he’s feeling much better than yesterday, the truth still stings. Ethan still needs to work on the I-don’t-give-a-hmmhmmhmm’ anymore attitude. Yeup.

Turning to Kyroh now…whoa, wait. Professor Cosgrach attempted to eat him? Isn’t that Kirby’s role? Kirby, as in…Agatha’s uncle? Agatha who…might be a man eater too in the future? Anyway. Ethan waved his hand dismissing the thought. “No, you got it wrong, Ky.” Was it okay to call him Ky? Kyroh’s too long. “…what…exactly did you do to him? He’s a cool guy. Trust me.” The Slytherin gave the boy a pat on his shoulder. Culloden was the best. He just had a heart-to-heart, man-to-man talk with him yesterday. Sure, the man’s blunt when it comes to opinions…but it was exactly the words he needed to hear. No matter how painful they were.

And…why did Cutty yank Kyroh away? And…oh. A box full of cockroaches. Ethan watched as the box went flying towards Agatha…then Agatha swatting it away from her…and the box hit Ethan in the eye. “OUCH!” What? And was the she snake trying to save him? Why was she pulling him away? With his hand still on his right eye, he shot Agatha a look, then to Simon who calmly vanished the mess. Thank Merlin.

Yeah, okay Hapgood. You can get your hands off of him now. Thanks. “Are you all right, Ky?” Ethan asked. “What…did you do, Mordaunt?” Merlin, his eye hurts so, no. He’s not okay, Simon. He needs HIS doctor. Ahem

Jun was now completely comfortable on the floor and would somehow roll himself up the stairs. Though the tower was far to roll up to. The boy didn't care. He was cooped up there too often now with being snowed in. Who knew school could feel even more like prison now? Transferring was sounding a lot better each passing second. He should've done it last term, after all the aging things had happened. Starfishing, the boy's eyes darted towards the voice that talked to him.

"Wasting my life away. Not much other things to do nowadays," He had already practiced so no more of that today. Eating was done. Homework was caught up to. And Jun wasn't an avid reader. Big surprise there. "And you? Trying to keep yourself occupied?"

This earned Agatha mucho points from Cutty. I mean she had actively sought him out just to pay him. What was this girl even made of? She just became immensely interesting to the Slytherin. Luckily, he didn't have time to stalk her like a total and complete creep. Maybe he'd consider putting someone on the payroll to do it. Or tricking Simon and Ethan to carry out the task.

Meh.

He just didn't want to.

"Yeah, they're alright. And my grand mère is m'dad's moohm. It's my grandfather who isn't really m'dad's dad." Could he have been ...overwhelming Ethan somehow? Cutty could pick up interest, but not the other more complex layer to the Ethan's emotional bouquet. It was a bit lost on him as where most composite emotions. Maybe he'd insulted him with his comments about purebloods, though Cutty didn't consider them insensitive per se.





He tried to remember Somerlad, but if he were being entirely honest with himself the sound of a screaming firstie was symphonic to Cutty's ears. A relaxed and probably inappropriate smile played on his face as the scene unfolded. Chaos. A lot of it unintentional. Yes. Bees would've been too much.

He noted the boy's response to Ethan's question. Toby. A protector. Toby. A protector.

And whoa look at the fire on Happygoody! That chick was fo' real. "Yer alright, Hapgood." They were only roaches. He gave lil Agatha a pat on her shoulder. "D'yew have my sickles?" Ah. The empathy and emotional support from this kid were incredible as he steered the conversation toward money.


Only not really.



At first, Cutty took the other Mordaunt boy's answer to be something akin to loyalty. A knee-jerk reaction to protect Professor Culloden as if the old snake's temper was detected by the underclassmen, who understood it to mean that it was only a matter of time before the Potion's Master stepped out of line and be let go. Not that Cutty would let that happen. He'd probably have to potion his own teacher if Culloden had a noble moment. There's a first time for everything and a second time for some things. Besides, Culloden was too good of an educator for Cutty to just let him waltz off into the damned sunset like it was the thing to do. Could this have been Ethan's train of thought? Or was the fair haired Slytherin coming at it from a different angle?

Cutty had winced when the box went flying toward Ethan and nicked him square in the eye. "You alright, mate?" Then he followed with an answer to Ethan's question. "Joost a bit of magic is all."






"Couldn't be betteh. Thank yew fer asking." Cutty smiled knowingly, and so really it looked like more of a smirk. THIS was exactly why he kept Simon around. He cleaned up the evidence. "And nice wand wehrk, Holden. Well done."

Cutty was practically counting down the seconds before Kyroh claimed Simon as a protector as well. It wasn't a looney position or anything. Not by Cutty's standards, which admittedly relied on a high tolerance more or less. Nor was it unlikely that Tobias inserted himself into some position or another where he wasn't previously involved in the name of kindness. How interesting he found it that the boy with Toby's face would do the same and for the same person no less. Even more interesting was why the little Ravenclaw boy was claiming the need for a protector. Not all of the ickle firsties did this and Cutty had been the opposite, eager to get out on his own, although he himself sought and still continued to build an army of what he liked to refer to as 'goons'. The absence of a strong parental figure, perhaps? But which? Maybe he was an orphan? Though, Cutty thought the little boy looked too healthy.




Was that Rehman looking a bit...less friendly? The very thought of that amused Cutty to no end. Since he'd known Adi, and actually before that, the boy had lived as the epitome of friendly. And helpful. And that last bit was what always got him kudz from Cutty. It must've been a trait of Hufflepuff men.

"Sweets. Want some?" A simple invitation he hoped implied trade.

Agatha was NOT pleased. One could easily see that on her face as she let go of Ethan and stepped back where she was before, accidentally - ahem - bumping him on the way. And thank you, Simon, for having cleaned all that up. The girl didn't verbalise that, though, because she was TOO busy being ANGRY.

That silly first year.

Kids. Urgh.

Still frowning, the girl pulled out a small coin bag from her robe's pocket and started getting out some sickles as she counted them. "How much was it again?" She asked looking at the silver coins already on her hand. A not-very-subtle hint of irritation could be heard in her voice, but she was trying to calm down. She WAS.

That silly child! HUFF.

THEY WERE ON HIS ARM AND CRAWLING AND GROSS LEAVE LEAVE LEAVE!!!!!! Kyroh managed to bush them off his arm frantically but they were still everywhere around his feet and-GO AWAY GO AWAY!!!!!! Tear began to well up in the Ravenclaws eyes, and quickly made their way down his face at the slight of the squirming bugs. And now the girl was yelling at him but he hadn't meant to! He didn't know-he didn't-it wasn't on purpose!!! As soon as the cockroaches had appeared they suddenly vanished as Simon took out his wand.

Kyroh stopped moving, tears still falling and suddenly he opened his mouth and spit out the Whizzbee just in case. He could still feel the bugs crawling on him. He looked over at Simon who asked if he was okay, and then at Ethan who repeated the question. Kyroh didn't respond though. Instead he swiped ANGRILY at the falling tears, drew his wand and POINTED it at Cutty.

"You are REALLY mean, and I DON'T LIKE YOU" The first year YELLED at the smiling boy. He thought they were FRIENDS, y'know? Cutty had helped him learn and spell and everything.....

"Diffindo!" Kyroh cast over at sone of the other boxes of candy, causing the contents to spill out not to the floor. He sniffled as hesitated before turning and walking away from the group.

"16 sickles, please." He reminded in his friendliest tone. "Yew aren't by any chance looking for a Herbology tutor, are yew?" Or a tutor of any kind, really. If Cutty could get on her payroll and she always sought out to pay off her debts, he thought he and Happygoody would work out rather well.



Then the little Ravenclaw boy was crying and whipping out his wand. Like a reflex, Cutty drew out his own nine and a half inch aspen for reasons he'd tell any involved authorities that were related to self-defense.

You are REALLY mean, and I DON'T LIKE YOU.

Cutty's brow furrowed as if in concentration. Kyroh hadn't said anything Cutty didn't already know, but for some reason having it broadcasts in front of others, his housemates in this case, bothered him. He thought back to his conversation with Professor Romanos. He was a monster. Whatever she said about the cold ones and the skygge, Cutty had the reality of his own volition to answer to. And from where he was, the only logical answer was that he couldn't have been entirely human. He hadn't known anyone who could do what he could do in the conditions in which he did it. Not with both of their eyes open.

A white light erupted from Kyroh's wand before Cutty could voice any protest the little firstie had destroyed some of the displayed sweets boxes. He flung a cushioning charm toward the product but was unable to catch all of the sweets wasted by Kyroh's spell. It made him want to double-down and place a bet that he could find someone who would indeed buy them despite their polluted history.

"Yew all saw that, didn't yew? He pulled his wand out on me first." He said to the other three snakes. "Firsties this year. K'uhmp!"

Simon gave Cutty a brief nod as his friend complimented him on his wand work. Err. Yeah. He was quick with the spells. Someone had to clean up the mess around here. His blue eyes flickered towards Ethan. He noticed that Ethan wasn't okay. Ooh. His eye looked pretty bad. Ouch. "Maybe we should get some ice for your eye, Ethan?" he began and was about to make a joke about how the weather was finally going to be useful for once when all of a sudden everything turned upside down.



Simon watched the next scene all happen in slow motion. His blue eyes widened as the ickle first year shot a spell at the rest of Cutty's goods. Oh no. Oh no, everyone brace yourselves as things are ABOUT to get bad. Really bad.

He bit his lip. But things didn't get bad. He had been expecting Cutty to react more but the other boy hadn't. Huh. Interesting. He wondered what must have been going through his dormmate's baffling and intelligent mind.

Sad blue eyes followed Kyroh as the young Ravenclaw left the group. "Well that escalated quickly," said Simon as he scratched his head after Cutty asking them if they all saw that Kyroh had pulled his wand first. Yes, Kyroh had but perhaps Cutty shouldn't have cast that charm that turned all the delicious candy into cockroaches. "Yeah, I saw that he did but you know..." He waved his hand around a couple times as if it helped him explain his point. He didn't have the write words to describe the situation. "You could have explained your point calmly to him instead of yanking him. Sure, he may have needed a 'lesson' but he's only a crazy first year." He fished around in his pocket for some change to give Cutty on Kyroh's behalf. "How much did the box of Wizzing whatever that he took cost?"

Merlin, that little kid looked really upset. He was even about to cry. But then again, there had been cockroaches crawling all over him, so it sort of made sense. But what was the point of crying over something? Surely that wouldn't change anything. Agatha just eyed the kid as he pulled out his wand. Then Cutty did too.

Okay, this was getting BAD. Agatha's reflexes were quick, but not when it came to magic, so her first impulse was to grab Ethan's shoulder with her free hand and use him as a shield. Again. She watched as all the candy fell on the floor - or almost, wow, Cutty was fast. Not fast enough to stop the spell altogether, but still - and simply remained quiet when the kid left and Cutty asked them if they had seen who had drawn their wand first.

Agatha listened as Simon made a point, but just stared at all those sweets. Merlin, that was unhealthy. But well, she needed to pay Cutty. She gave one last glance in the direction the Ravenclaw had left before turning back to her housemate. "Here." She said as she finished counting 16 sickles. But UUUHHNOOOO!! He asked her in front of the others if she needed a tutor!! NOO!! "Uh..." Her face immediately turned bright red as she used all her strength to not look uneasy. "No." She forgot to act like the polite lady she was and say 'thank you' to the offer, because UGH NOT IN FRONT OF THE OTHERS, CUTTY.

The girl looked at the door of the Great Hall, pretending she was interested in something that was over there when Simon asked how much the sweets cost. Hopefully her face would go back to its normal colour SOON before anyone else SAW it. Ugh ugh UGH.

This was supposed to be a fun interaction. A FUN, freaking interaction. Ethan had winced when Kyroh started to shout things at Cutty. Now, he did not expect that at all. And was he crying? He couldn’t see much because, thank you very much Agatha for swatting that blasted box right in his eye. As soon as the Ravenclaw kid started shouting, he did him draw out his wand and point it directly at the other Mordaunt. Instead of drawing out his own wand, his hands unceremoniously flailed for a bit until it found Cutty and Kyroh’s shoulders. It took him a while because it was hard to look at them with one eye closed.

“Now now, girls--,” but before he could even start his diplomatic speech to both gentlemen, candies spilled on the floor, and Agatha was pulling him again. What is up with this woman??! “What are you doing?!” Because he was about to make a speech and—oh. Oooh, there you have it kids. Simon to the rescue! Come on you guys, applaud his Watson for Merlin’s sake! They might be in the presence of the future Minister! He did pretend to be one during their History of Magic lesson, didn’t he? Anyway. “Don’t ask me about who pulled the wand first. I’ve got one eye open,” he said as he tried to open now his eye and touched his right brow, “all thanks to Happygoody…and for turning those sweets into roaches.” He said wincing at the small cut. They really should change the packaging of that stuff.

Blinking, Ethan eyed his dorm mates with difficulty. The blond boy shook his head at Simon first, “I’ll be fine, mate. Just a little cut. I’ll live.” Then his attention shifted to Cutty. He did notice his expression when Kyroh was yelling at him. He’s now too familiar with that expression, given that he had spent so much time with Mordred. Mordred who kept on over-thinking things, and doubting himself as a good person. Cutty might be different though, he was probably scheming on how to get back at the first year, but his expression wasn’t as bad as he expected it to be. “Cutty? I know this…this…” he said as he gestured towards the wasted sweets and pulled the other Mordaunt kid towards a corner awaaaaay from Simon and Agatha, “this business thing makes you happy and all that, but you could have explained the consequences further to Kyroh.” A pause. “I have to say the sweets-turning-into-roaches was clever though. Maybe you could enchant all your sweets to turn into roaches if they don’t pay up? Or is it a bad move? Business wise?” See, he was just trying to cheer up the other Slytherin and applaud him of his ingenuity despite Kyroh’s outburst. That should take Cutty's mind out of...whatever he's thinking right now. “Anyway, I’ll go talk to Kyroh about this.” Ethan grinned at the dark-haired Mordaunt, and patted his cheek to say good bye.

Ethan then turned to the brewing couple Simon and Agatha, “I’m gonna go find Kyroh.” He called out. The third year eyed Simon and gestured his head towards Cutty, and gave him a ‘fix-him-please’ look. It seems that Simon has the flair to comfort troubled souls. A final wave, and he dashed to find the crying Ravenclaw.

Ethan was doing that thing again. That thing where he was making physical contact. He was normally quite bothered by touch, but Ethan...it exposed something about the boy's character to Cutty and also he'd done it so often that Cutty was able to make amends with it. Cutty's enormous eyes searched the point of contact for the box on Ethan, checking for serious damage. It was, as the boy had stated, nothing more than scratch. Something a simple healing charm could fix, though before Cutty could aim or even say much of anything, Ethan had gone after Kyroh.

But what could he possible say? The little Ravenclaw kid seemed very bothered by the situation and likely, anything said wouldn't have settled into the ear or brain. Apart from the little firsties outburst of emotion, Cutty wasn't too bothered by what transpired. Ethan's eye could be healed with a quick charm. A story could be fabricated and a profit-loss could possibly be a profit gain made up for in the muggle sweets provided the obvious occurred to no one else prematurely. He thought Kyroh was over-reacting, being numb of soul.

He made his way back over to Simon and Agatha considering their words and actions.



Then Cutty was laughing. "Yes, it did, didn't it." Cutty gave an agreeable remark to Simon's comment about the speed of escalation as if he were able to completely disengage from what had just transpired.

Simon was whipping out his dosh and Cutty wasn't about to refuse. "4 sickles. And, I thought I did. I gave him not one, but two opportunities to pay me. I mean, he didn't even ask if he could do me a favour or get on my new payment plan. Wots he do? Tries to steal from me. Kids these days." Not that Cutty thought he wouldn't get what he was owed one way or another.

He took the money offered by the girl!snake and promptly stowed it away upon his person before smiling at her. He could see what Simon saw in her if he interpreted that blushing reaction made a moment ago correctly.

Ethan out of earshot now, he thought it might be a good time to let them in on the likely outcome that a crying firstie might be spotted wondering the halls and asked about his tear-stained face or even might seek out an adult to tell his side of the story to. "Follow him." Meaning Ethan. "You know how stories escalate. Make sure he has a good one for that eye or we'll all be implicated. I have something that could help once we're back in the common room. I'll catch oop withyew lot at Field Day."

Agatha was very red when Cutty offered to help her out. Simon thought that there was absolutely nothing to be ashamed about from seeking help from someone else, especially if they were a terrific study partner like Cutty Mordaunt. Seriously, she'd be crazy not to miss that opportunity. However, Simon wished that he could have offered his services first for he would have enjoyed that too.

Before he could ask her about it, Ethan began speaking again. Ah diplomatic Holmes was at work again. Oh and he was fine? Well that was a relief. His poor eye looked a little bruised though- he'd have to make sure his mate was fine anyway. He nodded hopefully. If anyone could speak to Kyroh well about the situation, then it would be Ethan. Poor little first year. Simon couldn't help but feel a little bad about the whole situation. He felt as if he should have stepped in a bit further but he didn't want to lose face with Cutty as Cutty was one of the first people who accepted him at the school. He caught Ethan's gaze and then set back a simple 'You owe me for this' face.

Now that Ethan was gone, Cutty came back towards them. Simon laughed a little uncomfortably as Cutty did. Wow, he was surprised by his friend's easy mood change. It was a little suspicious but Simon went along with it. "4 sickles?" he repeated. He had been surprised when his mate hadn't told him not to worry about paying him. Hmph. Oh well. Once he had found it, he handed it over to Cutty. "Here. Yeah, kids..." he mused, however, he didn't think that Kyroh was entirely responsible for that whole situation.

Follow him?

Who are we your simple lackeys? wondered Simon as he pursed his lips. And how would I get implicated? I was a bystander. Plus Kryoh liked him. Simon raised a curious eyebrow at his friend. "Right, we should go in a bit. That is- if you want to Agatha? And are you sure that you're okay, Cutty?" Before he could press further, Cutty said that he'd catch up with them on field day.

Alright...

Quote:

Originally Posted by HOPEendures

His question made her worry a little. It may still be a little early in the year....but her birthday wasn't too far away and when she turned thirteen she DID NOT want to be locked up in the castle....and if she did then there better be a big party thrown for her somewhere. "I don't know. Maybe dig our way to warmer places?"

"That would be totally FANTASTIC!!!!" Hope's mind was buzzing and going all dorky Ravenclaw on her "OR!!!! We could totally just make our own rink in the dungeons. After all it is cold enough down there already and we could charge people to skate." It would throw a little extra jingle their way to spend if they could escape this ice sculpture.

Hope shivered once more and stretched in a small movement. She was feeling a little tired all of a sudden and she stifled a yawn. "I think the first thing I'm going to do though is warm up in front of a fire place." After all her hair was still dripping and her soaked clothes needed a small drying. Did she hug him? Shake hands? Friendly punch?

Would she ever be comfortable with boys around her own age?

"I'lllllll...seee you around?" It was drawn out, hope literally hanging on to every word.

Caleb smirked. "CHARGE people? You're thinking like a Slytherin," he teased with a grin before laughing at the image of the two of them charging people to go ice skating in the castle. Knowing his classmates, though, it wouldn't surprise him if they willingly offered up money to do stuff like that. They had no value of a dollar, half of them.

"I dunno if I'll ever get warm again," he grumbled when Hope mentioned a fireplace. It was probably warm up in her common room - being up in the tower and whatnot. He was in the damn DUNGEONS. He was surprised he didn't have pneumonia yet!

"Yeah definitely, especially if we get snowed in," he chuckled. "And hey, look at that - Cutty didn't show up at any point this afternoon!" he joked, commenting on how Cutty was like - ALWAYS there whenever he wanted to talk to Hope. Or half the people in the school, really.