"Yeah, seriously." he said with a sigh, shaking his head. Then, a random idea popped into his head. "Say, what if it was some prank? Wouldn't that be horrible?" he said with a laugh at the idea. He sure hoped it wasn't a prank. That'd be a cruel one to pull, that was for sure. But then again, the person pulling the prank would have to know they were in for a lot of hate from a lot of people at the school. So it couldn't have been, you'd have to be stupid to do a prank like that!

Laughing, Dylan nodded. "They did." he said, grinning as he watched the two. "They seem to like each other then, yeah?" he turned to her and chuckled.

A prank? Lux had never considered that. "I suppose that's possible, though that would be one twisted prank." It was the harmless ones that she found funny; the ones that were sold at Weasley Wizard Weezes. Something this mean and disturbing would be a terrible prank. "I really hope that it isn't a prank, but I also don't want it to be real either." Siiiiigh. Why couldn't the students have ONE normal year at Hogwarts? From what she had heard, something happened every term. As much as she liked adventure, rapid ageing and threats weren't her idea of fun.

At least Ginger and Arya were having a good and peaceful time, which made Lux feel a little reassured despite the topic they were discussing. "They don't have a care in the world..." Life had been so simple when she was young, as it was for the kittens. So much had happened to her since; so much had happened to her last term alone. She loved where she was in life right now, and wouldn't change it for the world.

Though having Quidditch back would be amazing.

"I am glad they like each other!" It made her smile.

"Yeah, I was thinking that too." he said. But it was a thought. Laughing, he nodded. "I agree." he told her with a small sigh. Maybe they would be told soon what this was all about. They really all did have a right to know, and this whole thing made Dylan really mad. And he was positive he wasn't the only one mad of course.

The third year nodded, chuckling. She was right. They really didn't have a care in the world. They were just two little kittens, all snuggled up and sleeping together. He inched a bit closer to them, quietly, so he wouldn't disturb them. He stroked Ginger's head and smiled. "I'm glad too." he told Lux. Poor Ginger probably wouldn't end up liking having to go back to the dorm later, she seemed to be pretty attached to Arya!

Siiiiiiigh.

Whatever the motivation for this threat was, Lux missed Quidditch. "I'm hoping that we play another sport instead." What that would be, she had no idea. But there had to be something even if it was Quadpot. Muggle sports would be cool as well, but that was doubtful.

Moving in closer as well, she watched as Dylan petted his kitten. "I think we should leave them here for as long as possible so that they don't get disturbed." They seemed to really be comfortable in each others company, plus it was adorable to watch.

Now that was an idea! "I like the sound of that, actually. We should at least have something." he said with a nod. He always had found that Muggle sport baseball to be sort of interesting, it was a bit like Quidditch, in a way. They used bats and balls and such in it, didn't they? Just no brooms or flying or hoops. But hey. It seemed fun.

"Sure, I don't think they'll be going anywhere," he said with a laugh. He knew for a fact Ginger would stay there all night if he let her. "Maybe sometime they can have a sleepover! Like Ginger goes to your dorm with Arya for a night and vise versa?" he suggested with a smile at the thought.

See, that's the problem. He wouldn't call them all girlfriends. "If you count the girl who immediately made me her boyfriend when I gave her a toy when I was six, then three. But, if not. My first girlfriend, her name was Lucille, was when I was 12. Horrible, horrible, horrible. We were complete polar opposites. Complete disaster and we were twelve!! I didn't get another actual girlfriend until I was about to turn 16. A lot of offers were made, but I didn't want a serious relationship, ya know? But this girl was different." He paused. Was he really about talk about her to someone he just met? "Her name was Samantha." Looks like it. "Everyone called her Sammie, but I called her by her whole name to make her mad." He chuckled softly, "She was really funny and an exceptional genius." Another pause. "She's the only one I had to chase after."

WAIT A SECOND, "Marigold?!! You liked my cousin???" All the glares! Charm runs in this family, it seems. Declan nodded to Kace's comment about Emmy the girlfriend. He was honestly happy the lad how found a lovely lady to love. Cheers to the happy couple. Declan wasn't completely heartless, you know.

"Yes! It would be awesome if we had something even if it was more of a game than a sport." True there was Gobstones, but she honestly was not all that familiar with the game. Maybe she should try it out some time.

Oooh, a sleep over! That was a great idea. Dylan was full of great ideas. "I would have sleep overs with Bay's Pygmy Puff, Ziggy last term. It was awesome." And now she had her own Pygmy Puff, but she still got to see a lot of Ziggy anyway. And having kitten sleep overs would be awesome too.

Kace nodded at Declan's conversation about the supposed girlfriends back then and the current one he chased after. He chuckled and commented on his past life. "Well mate it seems you were a player.." he said jokingly with a grin. "But in my past, I liked a lot of girls but weren't that serious like I am with Emmy. I mean yeah girls have told me they liked me but i never felt the same ya know?" Maybe Declan felt the same way. "A couple of girls here liked me from what i could tell from their body language but...I only saw them as friends. Even one of them kissed me at a dance last year but I won't say who.." he grinned some more and shrugged innocently.

"Are you still friends with Sammie?" he asked him. Usually it is good to keep in touch with old exe's. I mean he does! WAIT!! HOLD THE HIPPOGRIFF. Kace stood there dumb founded. I mean his mouth was hanging open and all from shock. "MARIGOLD IS YOUR COUSIN!? .." he asked him a little loudly. "No way mate you are pulling my leg.." he said.

He laughed along with Kace, but he was completely right. Dec nodded, agreeing with the part about no mutual feelings. He always felt bad about telling them no. "Yeah, they usually keep it to themselves, but however, since I've come back to the U.K, I've encountered girls who straight up came up to me and told me their thoughts about me. It was something I've never dealt with before." He raised a brow at the kissing at the dance part, but he wasn't going to pick him about his past if he didn't want to.

Friends with Samantha? Declan shook his head no, "She hates me." He tried the whole friends thing, but it was completely explosive. The Scot stared at the boy's gaping mouth. Was it really that hard to believe? "Yeah, she's my cousin! My mum's sister's daughter." He explained.

Games were fine too. He just wanted some fun activity here. "We just need an activity, to get involved, you know?" he said. Like maybe a choir or something! Now that'd be fun. Something musical would make Dylan really happy. He was all about music. Maybe he could start his own music club. They had book club didn't they?

"Aww, that sounds adorable." Dylan said when Lux mentioned Bay's pygmy puff. He took a glance at the kittens and looked back at Lux. "You can just take her with you tonight if you want. I think she'd be really happy to know she's staying with her new friend." he told her with a smile.

Kace chuckled and said, "Did you stand there like a deer caught in a headlight? Could you speak some words to the girls?" he asked him. Maybe teasing him slightly. Awww that was a shame she hated him. "Aw mate that is a shame well obviously there are better fish in the sea." he said cheering him up. But he knew that of course. He was flirting with the other girls. Kace nodded when he explained Marigold was his mum's sister's daughter. That made sense. "Ah mate that is pretty cool. So now i liked your cousin and that sounds kind of creepy doesn't it?" he asked with a scrunched face.

Lux was totally on the same page as Dylan, since she was always the more active type. Books and quiet were fine at times, but she needed to DO something. "I wish we still had that skating rink here, because that could be loads of fun." But as far as she knew, it wasn't back this term. Oh well.

"Bay is so nice." Her boyfriend was the best, absolutely amazing. Awww, she got to have Ginger tonight? WONDERFUL. "Okay, and then you can have them both tomorrow night if you want!" Because Arya would totally be looking forward to that.

Dylan nodded. "Yeah, that would be really cool." he said with a sigh. "But hey, they gotta keep us safe. That's the important thing here." he then said after a while of silence.

The Puffer smiled when Lux said Bay was nice. She seemed to really like him, and Dylan thought they made a good couple. He then nodded. "Okay, sounds good!" he said. He was sure the kittens would be happy for all the kitty treats he had for them! Hehehe...he kinda liked to spoil Ginger.

"Yes, I totally agree with that. But I miss skating...." Siiiiiigh. It made her sad. But suddenly she had an idea. "Want to go to the Room of Requirement and wish for a skating rink so we can go skating? If we wish for it, there will be skates for us to use as well!" It was a room where anything could happen, so why not have some fun with it?

The possibility of skating and having kitten sleepovers made her so happy. SQUEEEE. "This is awesome!"

Dylan raised an eyebrow at her idea and a grin spread across his face. He nodded eagerly. She was absolutely brilliant, Lux was! Why hadn't he thought of that?! He leapt up from where he sat. "What are we waiting for? Let's go!" he said, bouncing on the balls of his feet in excitement. Perhaps they could also really wish for some hot cocoa to be there too? That'd be awesome.

SNORT.

Gosh, Dylan's excitement was adorable, and it reminded her of herself. Eagerly, she hopped up as well. "Okay, let's go now. I'll race you!" Races were fun, and made things even more interesting.

Oh, did Elodie not know? Leah shrugged. She thought that prefects knew secret stuff. Or maybe Elodie just did not want to tell Leah, which was more likely. She would be mad if a partner was not cooperating. The second year had no clue who he was, however. "Yep, I'll make sure to do that." And inform him of the hard work the girl prefect is doing.

*yawn* The second year rubbed her eyes.

Her eyes a little red, she smiled brightly. She doubted that she would have a nightmare this evening, nothing horrible happened, except maybe Quidditch being cancelled. Leah was shocked at what Elodie said about her dorm mate Olly. Eh.. sounded like a scary girl. "I hope I won't have to disturb you." And poke the wrong person awake and get a blow in the head? No.

Good merlin she was kidding. Still a bit scared, Leah stood up and stretched. "Yeah, good night, Elodie. Thanks for the chat." she waved at the prefect and dragged her feet towards the girls dormitory.

"No! Well...maybe for a second." He said, laughing. "I spoke. I flirted. I teased. But, they did so back twice as hard!" Interesting, those two were. What were their names? Eh...Maya and Ruby! Yes, that was right.

Declan nodded, acknowledging Kace's attempt to make him feel better. Little did Kace know, it'd be Samantha who was better off finding some better fish in this so romantic sea.

Creepy? "Eh, yeah. A little bit creepy." He let out a kind-hearted laugh. "I bet you're happy you helped me not be so protective of her and my sister, huh?" Or maybe he knew all along and just tried to save himself...Hmmm...Nah. Kace seemed like a good person. Can't really trust anyone though, so whatevs.

Cris had just about finished dinner and was headed back to the Badger Common Room when he noticed the homework assignment Professor Culloden had assigned everyone. They were supposed to test their potion on someone. Cris was hesitant at first, because he didn't feel comfortable making someone do something they usually wouldn't do. So that eliminated Jasmine. There was no way in heck in was going to make his girlfriend do something she didn't want to do.

And there was no way in heck he was going to use the potion on Bay or Lux. Besides being his friends, they were also Sander's and Cris suspected that if his brother found out he had tried to manipulate his friends all in the name of science, Sander wouldn't be too pleased with him.

So that basically left everyone else. Deciding that he would mask his potion in a glass of pumpkin juice, Cris returned to the Great Hall and filled up one cup before bringing it back up to the Common Room. Taking the vial out of his pocket, Cris first studied it. The color of the potion was dark grey and no matter how he shook the vial, it stayed where it was, not even shaking or move from side to side like most liquids did when shaken.

Pouring the potion into the glass of pumpkin juice, he watched it smoke briefly and then the drink looked like how it was before he added the potion in. Plain old pumpkin juice. Now he had to find someone he could trick into drinking his potion.

.....and there he was. Adi. Being a fellow badger and all round nice guy, Cris decided that he would go easy on the little guy. After all, Adi was going to be made to do something he normally wouldn't do, the least he could do was make sure the boy didn't get hurt in the process.

"Hey Adi, how's it going? Care for a drink? I brought up an extra glass of pumpkin juice," Cris offered the glass to the boy who was sitting down in a chair next to the fireplace.

Sleepy. Adi was sleepy. He had come up from dinner and had the intention of doing his Herbology homework but instead was just staring blankly at the pages of his text book with his eyes half closed.

Whaaa? Who was speaking to him? Or was it a dream? He knew that voice. Pumpkin juice? Adi's eye lids fluttered open to see Cris standing before him. Adi yawned widely, covering his mouth with his left hand. "Hi, Cris. Don't mind if I do.'' Hopefully the beverage would be enough to wake him up a bit. Adi didn't find it one bit strange that the older Hufflepuff was walking around with an extra glass of pumpkin juice nor that he was offering it to him.

"Say, I've got some water here. Want some? I figured you're one of those health conscious folks after I saw you doing those push ups the other day. Plus you're buff looking and all.'' Hehe. Cris was one of those muscular dudes. But there was a secret to this water. It was laced with that Potion from their last Potions class.

The third year downed the juice in the meanwhile. "Thanks a lot. I sure needed that.'' Yep. The juice had revived him a bit.

Cris was so elated that Adi had more than happily accepted drinking the pumpkin juice that he absentmindedly accepted the glass of water, Adi had offered him in exchange. "Oh yes thanks. Water is always the best thing to drink. It helps flush out all the bad stuff in our body. Cheers!" he lifted up the glass and downed the water in one gulp.

"Now that was really thirst quenching. For some reason the pumpkin juice wasn't doing anything for me. So how are you feeling?" Cris quickly asked interested to know whether his potion had taken effect or not.

Awesome! Cris had drank the water without a second thought. It was amazing how easily someone could slip an unsuspecting person a potion. This was the second time he had done that this term. First Benny and now Cris.

"Water is best,'' Adi agreed. "Pumpkin juice comes second.'' He looked down back at his books. So many things to be done. "Sleepy,'' he replied looking back at the sixth year. "But that pumpkin juice woke me up a bit so thanks again for it.'' The third year eyed Cris. "What about you?''

"I'm feeling good. I...um...feel like I need to do something...but I don't want to," Cris told Adi even as he tried to analyse what he was feeling. For some unknown reason, he felt an overpowering sense of guilt, and he didn't know why. Even though he tried to ignore it, and push those feelings to the back of his mind, he still felt it.

"What's going on? Why am I feeling this way? I have nothing to feel guilty about," Cris thought to himself even as he tried to narrow down what he could possibly be feeling guilty feeling. Dumbfounded he looked at Adi. Why now? Why this overwhelming foreboding sense of guilty and shame? He was doing fine in school, in his relationship with the other students, most especially with Jasmine. And unlike Sander, who had been at odds with their father when he was sent here to Hogwarts, Cris didn't have that problem.

....and there, that feeling of guilt surfaced again. Much more now!!

Was that it? Did his feelings of guilt have anything to do with their father. Cris tried his best to rationalize why. Sure he has allowed his father to think that he had gone to Hogwarts against his will, but there was nothing wrong with it. Sure he allowed his father to think that he would change his mind about taking over the family business, when in fact he wasn't. But he didn't think that was wrong either. He hated deceiving his father, but Cris figured that he would deal with him after he graduated from Hogwarts.

So why the heck was he feeling so guilty about what he did??

Adi smiled discreetly. The Potion certainly was kicking in. Cris seemed oblivious to the fact that he had been slipped it. Adi arranged his face so that he was looking as confused and blank as possible.

"Guilty?'' he asked frowning. "How come? What are you feeling guilty about, Cris? Did you forget Jasmine's birthday or something?'' Oh yes, he had noticed those two and figured they were a couple. "Or did you have a fight with someone?''

Adi wanted to know but he hoped Cris wouldn't think he was nosy.

Cris wondered why Adi was asking him those questions. "Guilty? I have nothing to be guilty about," Cris told Adi even as he paced about the Common Room. Dragging his hands through his hair he looked at Adi. "No I have nothing to be guilty about. I...um...need to go up to the Dorm. I'll catch up with you later," Cris told Adi as he headed up the stairs to his dormitory room.

As he headed up, he turned around to look at Adi. How was he feeling? Had the potion the younger boy taken effect yet?