Cosgrach didn't have to wait long for Mr. Rehman, it seemed. The boy appeared shortly after, and was even joking with him. What a sweet boy!

"Hey there, Adi the prankster," he said and grinned at him. It was weird to grin after such a long phase of pessimism. "I wanted to see how you guys are doing - the luckiest lot in the castle." Close to the kitches, had proper windows and was the only warm place. "And to warm up, y -"

Was that Leah Abbot bolting upst -

"LEAH ABBOT YOU COME DOWN RIGHT NOW!"

He NEEDED her!

Yes, she heard that. Leah had taken two strides upstairs when the crazy professor yelled her name. Uh oh. She didn't exactly do anything wrong, right? Best to listen to the Potions master and see what happens. The Badger abandoned her blanket at the staircase and walked down back into the common room.

"Good day, Professor Culloden, hey Adi." She said, managing a smile. She sat down on the chair next to Adi. Leah soon noticed the two vials the professor had pulled out. TWO vials. Hmm.

Adi grinned broadly. A prankster he was. Sort of. What was that Culloden was saying? Luckiest? What were they so lucky about? As far as he could figure, everyone in the castle was probably feeling unlucky with this freezing weather.

Before Adi could utter a word of reply, Culloden let out a shout that made the boy nearly jump out of his chair. Leah? Why was he shouting for her? Strange man. Hehe.

"Hey, Leah.'' He saw she was eyeing those vials. Had Professor Cosgrach decided to test out a new potion on his students? Decided to use him and Leah as guinea pigs?

"About Odin, and the hammer" Noel told her, eying the moving pictures in the book. They were very detailed, weren't they? "I was bored, and I am running out of things to do inside the castle," he said, sighing. It was true. He wasn't sure when was the last time he had actually gone outside the castle. He wasn't that eager to do so either because he had no intention of freezing to death.

Oh? She wanted the whole couch?

"I am pretty settled so um .... " Yeah, not happening. Wasn't he nice enough to actually sit up and give her considerable space to sit at? She should be grateful, really

"So anywaay, what were you uptoo?" Because pointless conversation was another thing he could only do during this unforgivable winter.

Good. Leah didn't bolt away. Good girl. He nodded at her, and chuckled at them both. "I won't poison you," he said and shook his head. He was here with very good intentions indeed.

"So I noticed you two are always willing to contribute to my class, and therefore you deserve a gift. Adi, this is yours," he handed the boy his vial, "and Leah." He gave her, hers. "Yours is a potion to make people trust you far more easily and for you to convince them more easily. You drink it and enjoy some confidence." He grinned at Adi. It was brilliant, wasn't it? Cosgrach knew it was.

"And Leah, yours will make studying easier for you. I hope you enjoy it."

Any questions?

They were receiving gifts in the form of potions? Just him and Leah? This was so COOL! Could Professor Culloden get any more awesome? Adi broke out a wide grin. He loved the sound of his potion.

"Thanks a ton, Professor! I'll be sure to use it wisely.'' The Hufflepuff winked. this potion was definitely going to come in handy sometime. And as for Leah's. Hers sounded cool, too. Everyone knew studying could be so difficult.

Choosing a blue, Elodie took the crayon to the page and started to colour in the sea, adding in some orange to point out that this amount of water was definitely infested with goldfish. Mermaids and goldfish in one world. It was a thing and she was encouraging it. She propped her chin up on her free hand and nodded. "Merpuff. Original. I like it. My best friend is a Catermaid." Which was a million times better than 'Merpuff'.

She continued on with the sea colouring, making sure to keep her path out of Lux's way, before starting to doodle an octopus in the mass of blue colour she'd already put onto the page. "So...how are you, kiddo?"

Due to the fact that the rest of the castle felt like a giant icicle, Hayden had been spending quite a lot of time in the common room lately. She did not like the cold; she much preferred the warmth the fireplace offered the room. Though she did tend to keep her gaze away from the windows. Seeing snow piled in front of them was a little disheartening, not to mention frightening. So Hayden sat herself down in front of the fireplace, but with her back to the windows. She'd brought with her a single sheet of paper and a purple pen. It was about time she finished her map.

Merlin. That was impossible. Leah could believe that the professor was not going to poison them, but a GIFT? She could not help but stare at the man before reaching out for her potion. "Oh my gosh, thank you Professor." She replied, observing the vial. "So you think we are the most 'contributing' students? In Hufflepuff?" Out of the dozens of people. Hey that sounded good.

"I've got another question. If I just drink this studying will be easier for me huh? For the rest of my life, or for a certain period of time?" The second year asked. She needed all the details. Didn't want to mess up, nope.


Odin and the hammer. Heard about that one... Maybe.

Leah leaned in and took a peek at the book. They had pictures? She wondered how she could miss that. She usually read books with pictures in it. Just added a bit of interesting thing to stare at when reading a boring story.

"I totally get what you mean." She nodded, now back in her sitting position and staring into the fire. "We're stuck in the common room all day long without anything to do. But I - " Leah managed to stop herself just in time. She was about to say I will never read because I'm bored but had learned that that was never a wise thing to say.

The thirteen-year-old did guess that he would not move for her. Not that she cared much. She was just stating that she would be more comfortable on her own. "Nothing much. You got something fun to do except reading?" Any suggestionsss?

BEAM.

Elodie approved of the nickname which meant it was awesome. Because Elodie was awesome. Oooh, Catermaid. Giggling, Lux loved that there was someone else who liked mermaids. "I like Catermaid. It definitely works. Luxermaid wouldn't though." She made a face. Yes, Merpuff was much better than her. Besides, she didn't want to more-or-less steal nicknames because stealing was wrong.

Finished with the red hair, she moved on to the tail after picking up a green crayon. Elodie was doing an awesome job colouring in the sea. What a great team they were! "Ummm, I'm okay. I just am wanting Bay to get better." She really missed him. She missed seeing him all around the school and talking to him for more than a few minutes at a time. She missed the piggy back rides. But as long as he was getting better, she was happy. "What about you?"

...Adi just... winked?

Cosgrach GAPED at the boy for a moment, right before bursting into a heartily laughter. "You -" HAHAHA, "oh, Adi!" The man took a few deep breaths to calm down and answer Leah. Merlin's long beard! No one had winked at him before. This was a moment to remember.

"There were Elodie, Toby and Lux too, but yeah - if I'm not mistaken, this five are the best in Hufflepuff." Mhmm. "For a certain time. A drop of it will give you the energy to study for a few hours." Any more questions, or could he leave?

Leah looked from Professor Culloden, to Adi, and back to him again. What was going on? She obviously did not get the joke. She was relived that the professor had managed to calm down though, she was afraid that she would have to get the Healer.

The second year nodded. Best in Hufflepuff. Leah tried her best not to smirk. "Aah, okay. Got it. Thank you again, Professor. I'll try my very best in your classes next term too. I promise." she nodded. Maybe she would be able to get another vial of potion next term if she does too.

Now.. could she leave? She wanted some sleep and also get her blanket back.

Annaleecia! Oh, right! Now he remembered. He gave her a nod. "Okay gotcha, I remember now. I promise I won't forget it next time." he added with a smile and a chuckle. Then, there was a slight moment of silence. She seemed a bit shy or something...the third year studied her for a second. Had she always been kinda quiet...? But suddenly, she asked him a question. How's he been? Hmmmmmmm. "Oh, I've been good," he answered with a small nod. "What about you?" he asked.

"And Luxermaid would be a rip off of Catermaid." And Cat was a million times better than Lux, even if Elodie did like her. Cattycake was the sister bestie and Lux was...the...well she was Little Lux and that was that. She could just be a Merpuff and keep that name for herself, because it certainly wasn't going to catch on and be a viral sensation.

Bay? Oh, yeaaaah. He was the boyfriend that was fifty years older than the young Hufflepuff, and was doing something or had something done to him that the Prefect didn't exactly give anything close to two hoots about. She nodded though and offered Lux a smile. "I'm sure he'll be okay, Lux. No one dies in the middle of term." Heheheehhehehehehe. She continued with her colouring though, and shrugged from her blanket wrap. "I'm okay. Getting there? Being cooped up is getting to me. I think I might actually have more of an issue now."

And she just really missed Coul. Sometimes she wanted to write to him, because communicating with their mirrors just wasn't enough and she didn't want to talk to his face. Things were hard enough without the stress.

"I know." Lux smiled and gave a little shrug and continued to colour in the tail. She had no desire to have a name like that, and honestly thought that Merpuff was cooler than Catermaid. It sounded nicer in her opinion.

The comment about Bay made her feel better.... kind of? "Wait, students have ACTUALLY died here? It isn't just talk?" She had heard the stories - it was hard not to - but she had never been sure that they were more than well... stories. Bay wasn't going to die, she knew that much. "I hope he will be okay, and Mr. Kitrdige too. I like Mr. Kitridge." Being cooped up really was something that Lux could relate too. "I know what you mean. I really want the sun so that I can go to the beach." Cold weather sucks.

With a roll of her eyes, Elodie shrugged. "Have you never read anything about this school, Lux? Read up on stuff this summer." She wasn't going to fill her in on it if she didn't know this stuff. Technically, Elodie didn't know from reading anyway. Mama Tam had told her. Mama Tam knew all. Elodie was pretty sure she was more clued in about the castle now that she wasn't here though.

"Yeah.. He's cool too. Looks after the books and that... Real cool dude." Or whatever. Els preferred 'fessor F and the mean potions guy. For reasons. "Yeah...the weather isn't exactly the reason I want to get out of here." Nope. It was more important than that. She'd withstand a million blizzards if the people she wanted were here with her. Hopsitalised or not, at least Lux had her person here with her.