Humpbacked Witch Statue
 

Connor walked down the steps, the steps he didn't much care for, they moved...a lot. He liked when stairs were just stairs and also when there wasn't so many of them to climb, but such was life on the seventh floor. He was in a good mood today, having a decent day. His homework was done, he was off for the night. So he was off to find something to do.

He reached the third floor and was about to walk past the statue as he often did, absentmindedly when he spotted Elodie. He couldn't lie it made him smile.. seeing her. She was pretty and older and nice to him so why wouldn't he smile. He went and walked over to her waving a bit. "Hey! I forgot to tell you my mom wrote and she said i could get a cat, so you can't bail on dressing Otto and Meatball like Robots, okay?" He said and sat next to her.

Looking up from the ends of her hair at a voice, Elodie grinned and listened. Not only was she totes in approval of the human speaking to her, but the subject was one of her favourites. Meatball. Which slightl made her hungry, but he was her cat so she couldn't eat him. Bad times. Bad times. "You getting one for Christmas? Do you get to choose it yourself?" If so... she totes wanted in on that. She could apparate herself, you know? All legal and everything now.

"But definitely. Robot cats in the new year." Meaning...the beginning of 2084. Not after her graduation. Which wasn't looming...but it was at the same time. She was just incredibly over the whole worrying about it being so soon thing. She needed time to decide what she was doing after, and she still had her responsibilities here for now. None of that adult worrying.

Connor saw the grin, he liked to make people happy. Especially when they had such pretty smiles. Merlin...he was never really into girls like he was now..but he knew he barely knew Elodie, he just had a little crush on her. He also knew he had like no chance, but that didn't mean he couldn't be her friend. "Yeah, i think i'm gonna be able to pick it out. Obviously with a name like Otto i should probably pick a boy.." He leaned against the statue and pulled his hoodie a little tighter. "I feel so lame being cold like this, i'm from the south.. so it rarely got cold there.." He wasn't sure why he explained that, but whatever..maybe he just didn't wanna seem lame?

"Yes! I'll have to bring some kind of camera that'll work here..i'm sure My Mom has one." Putting his knees to his chest and wrapping his arms around them, he was shifting a little and trying to get comfortable. "So..were you trying to hang out here alone? I don't wanna bug you or anything.." He wasn't sure why she would be out here by herself but if she needed space he didn't wanna crowd her.

She took control of the situation when he's sat down and turned slightly to lean her back against the statue and prop her feet against his legs. If they were going to robot cat, then he was going to have to deal with how she got comfortable in conversation. And he'd probably also have to deal with her mood swings but cool it was fine, it was okay. Everyone else dealed with them perfectly fine. It wasn't like she punched people for...oh...wait...sometimes she did. "You have to get a boy, otherwise Meatball won't have a boy bestie." That was all she wanted for the cat. A boy bestie. And they didn't need KITTENS or anything. "Can I come pick him out with you? I'll bring Meatball." For moral support and to ultimately make the decision, because opinions from a Robertser were the best opinions.

"It's cold here. You'll be fine though. Do you want me to knit you a really thick jumper?" She'd done it for a few other people already and they hadn't complained. She'd sort him out with a scarf and hat and gloves if he so wanted too. "Scotland is ridiculously cold," she nodded honestly, going back to playing with her hair after she'd spoken.

A camera? Els smiled and nodded once more. "Cameras are cool. I..left mine at home this year. By accident. But I don't need it." She had only been taking photos of people sleeping when they shouldn't have been and saving them up to use as blackmail. Alone? She laughed and shook her head,ushering her feet a little further forward and getting comfy once more. "I just sat down because I was too lazy to keep walking back to my common room."

Connor just let her get comfortable. He was very easy going, he would never fight for control of the situation..and he didn't mind her being comfortable with him. "Okay, so a boy." He seemed excited about the suggestion of her coming with him. "Yeah, it'll be fun! You should totally come.." He liked the idea of her coming along and he was interested in meeting this Meatball. He nodded "Sure, that would be really nice of you." He watched her play with her hair, trying not to stare at her, but she was pretty! Merlin!

"Oh? Well, i'll bring one so we can be sure to document Robot Cats" Mmmhmm, it seemed like it was going to be funny if nothing else and he wanted a picture of it!. Too Lazy? Her common room was on the ground floor right? He couldn't remember, too many floors and junk. "Well, i will keep you company until you feel like going back." He smiled back at her and looked up at the statue, he'd never really payed attention to it before.

With a grin, Elodie undid the bow in her hair and started to do it back up again. Give her hands something to do, maybe. Stop the pinching of her legs or something. She really needed to bite that habit in the behind and make sure that she had something else to do when stressed. Maybe she'd colour more. Have a specific colouring book for stressy times. "I'll be there. For sure. Just let me know when and Meatball and I are all yours for the day!" Or a few hours. Whatever worked.

Company. That'd be nice. Elodie smiled at him and nodded. "That'd be lovely... What brings you to wandering around the castle alone?"

Connor watched her hair go up and then back down. "Why put it up if you're going to bring it back down?" He asked, curiously as ever. Sometimes Connor felt he asked too many questions and in those moments he hoped he wasn't annoying! "Okay, you'll know as soon as i find out." He intended to inquire about it when he got back.

"Good, and well..I thought it would be a nice break from school and reading. Exploring a little, i mean i still don't fully know my way around. It's a really huge castle." He was also trying not to think about OWLs. This was the nest way to do it, doing something else. "But i'm not alone anymore." He grinned.

Why...did she keep moving her hair around? Elodie made a little face and wiggled her nose, leaving her hair to sit on her shoulder so that she could just tug on the ends of it. "I... uh.... I like bows...." And it was distracting. And she couldn't yet decide how she was liking her hair to be right now. Up or down. Long or short. Hair or bald. Maybe not that last one, but options were options. "Outstanding!" Ohhhh, now she was excited for the break. Excited for something other than being able to cuddle with her boyfriend and watch him fall to sleep again.

Not creepy, of course.

Exploring... Elodie grinned. "It is quite big around here... I'll show you around properly later if you want? Or..you could ask Charlie. I'm sure she'll walk you around the castle and show you things." Or they could do it together. Els could offer ideas for places to hide out in and Charlie could offer good studying places. Win win situation!

Connor had a feeling that wasn't all it was but who was he to bug her about why she did what she did. "Okay...well it looks good either way." He leaned his head back on the statue again and shifted just a little. "Good! Robot Cats will be great!" He grinned and played with the zippers on his hoodie, just flicking it between his thumb and finger.

"It is, much bigger than Salem. I don't think i've ever see a school this big, really.." He nodded a bit. "Yeah, that would be fun, either way." Charlie was nice and she and Elodie were friends it seemed so it would be another fun distraction from his books, he knew he could use one. "Charlie told me to be more confident.." He smiled a little, looking down at his zipper, afraid that if he looked back up at her he might blush. "I've been trying that..and i don't feel nervous around you now.." He looked up at her and managed a smile. "So i guess it's working."

It looked good either way? Elodie smiled, and nudged him a little. "You're some sort of sweetheart, huh?" Els was certain that he was just made of unicorn turds. All the glittery good stuff was in him. He probably was a fuzzy little soul. What a sweetie. She played a little more with her hair and the ribbon until finally leaving it down and putting the ribbon in her lap. It was nice being told things looked good. Always an energy booster.

"What's Salem like? I was supposed to go there, but my mum told my brother he had to send me to Beauxbatons or Hogwarts. I...wanted to come here." Beauxbatons had memories of when her mother taught there and it actually upset her incredibly just thinking about it. Her mother before she was ill. Before she left.... Confident? Els smiled a little bigger. "Charlie likes the people around her to be at their best. She's...wonderful." And definitely the best person that Elodie would wish for Tristan to be dating.

"It suits you."

Connor grinned a little and even blushed, but not as badly as before. "Thanks, but i'm just being honest..Since you didn't know what you wanted to do with it.." He felt all special. He didn't try to be sweet or nice or anything he was just being himself and he liked to be this way, so maybe he was sweet? He didn't know..what he did know is he made her feel good about herself and he liked that.

"Salem is really laid back, like academically but also there's not as much going on around the school, it's smaller. But i think the people here are nicer so far, i haven't really met anyone mean." He shrugged. He saw her smile and did his best to keep up his, not getting nervous, nope..not at all! "Well, She's very helpful..she was really nice to me too..and thanks." He felt good about himself now..

Little tomato. Being adorable. Cute little tomato. Els reached out gingerly and prodded his cheek. "You're doing the thing again." The red thing. The cute thing. Little sweetheart. "It's nice to know someone else thinks it's pretty." Besides herself. Maybe he'd let her put a bow into his hair or something. Decorate his hair in boredom.

She listened to the things about Salem and nodded along. Paying total attention. Complete and total attention. A smaller school sounded so much better... Less people sounded better.... She actually hated most of the people here and just didn't feel like telling them unless they disgusted her on a humane level. She tolerated many of the people in her own year. Wanted to smack most of them right in their little faces too. Ugh. "Sounds like some sort of heaven..." Not that she was going to explain why she'd be glad to get out of Hogwarts. Sure, she'd miss it. The castle. The professors. But the others? Ugh, no. Cya later. Don't turn up on my doorstep when you've got nothing. Waste of spaces. All of them.

"Charlie's nice to everyone. She even likes people I hate."

Connor chuckled a little, rubbing his cheek. He wasn't a total mess this time or maybe he was just faking it as Charlie suggested, either way he wasn't blushing as much. "I know it just kinda happen sometimes.." He grinned a little though and it started to go away, he was just happy his voice had stopped being all creaky like it had been last year, that would have been terrible! "I don't know why someone wouldn't think it was pretty." He had a hard time seeing why someone would think anything about her wasn't pretty.

Connor shrugged a little. "It was nice, i didn't feel as stressed at the thought of OWLs that's for sure. I didn't really want to change schools, but we had to move." Well, they needed to for his mother's sake. She couldn't take living in their home anymore. Not with his father gone, there weren't many days that went by that Connor didn't replay that moment in his mind, getting the letter about the passing of his father. He didn't want to think about it now though. "Do you hate a lot of the people she's nice to?" Again he was curious and it made him a bit nosey but he was a teenage boy, curiousity wasn't anything out of the ordinary.

It just happened, huh? She grinned, and returned her hand to the ribbon in her lap and played with the frayed ends of it. Her ribbon. The first ribbon her mama got her after ballet class. It meant a lot. But not having it in her hair was fine, she could just touch it and think and...try pay attention to Connor. Try her hardest. Hardest. "Some people don't look at me that way.." As much as she wouldn't have minded the constant attention, it was cool. Not having to shove jerks away wasn't a bad thing. "I don't mind though!" She had to make that obvious.

Ew. OWLs... "Do you have them this year? I'll study with you, if you'd like? I have NEWTs to study for.. I could use a study buddy." Seeing as she didn't have a Coulson to reward her with kisses for every subject she succeeded in. Ah. The hate topic. "I...strongly dislike a lot of people." A LOT. "Charlie sees something good in everyone though. If I don't like someone..then I don't like them. And I usually don't change my mind." And she held grudges for such a long time too.

Connor kept playing with his zipper, he stopped when he noticed her playing with her ribbon, he wondered if there was a story behind it. But he would wait to ask until he knew her a little better, it seemed like something personal. "Well, that's dumb..But i get your point. I'm sure it would be annoying if everyone in the school was fawning all over you." He said as he continued to try and not do it himself.

He nodded. "Yes and i'm not looking forward to it at all. I've heard all about them from one of my cousins, she said they're brutal." He made a face like something smelled bad, he didn't mind school for the most part but he never liked tests. "Yeah, i could use a study partner. That way i stay on track. What subjects do you need to study for NEWTs?" Not that he was bound to be any better than she was at them, he was two years behind her. "Oh, well some people are like that. They like to bring out the best in people. But we can't all be like that. If everyone was the same life would be a very boring place."

The zipper thing was gonna get to her most definitely. But whatever. It was probably as annoying as her ribbon thing or the leg pinching thing. Which she was wasn't doing, and that was an extremely good thing. She was proud of herself. "I wouldn't want to be breaking guys hearts left right and centre." She'd dealt with a broken heart, and dealt with breaking someone elses heart before and there was nothing worse than that feeling. Nothing in the world was worse than a broken heart. It hurt and as soon as you thought you were over it...... you weren't.

And that was poop. Not having control over your feelings.

Brutal. Els laughed. "Brutal is putting them lightly. Unless you have a good study guide and have everything organised. Like I do." She meant the meticulous organisation of her binders and notes from all of her time at Hogwarts. "I've got myself covered. I'm not aiming for certain subjects.... Haven't decided what I want to do after school..." She had no idea. Healer? Travelling? Working for Tam? Forever babysitting?

No idea.

He noticed how she looked at his hands playing with his zipper. "Sorry, is that annoying? I can stop.." He said and didn't fiddle with it again. Hmm. He didn't want to irritate her. He wanted to stay on her good side. "Yes, i think breaking hearts like that would be an issue, not that i would know.." Connor had never had never had a girlfriend, he hadn't even had a Real kiss yet, but he didn't think that would be a smart thing to tell Elodie, nope. H

He would keep that to himself.

He sighed. "I'm not really...organized, but i would love whatever help you could give me." He was like any other teenage boy when it came to school, he did his best but organization was not a strong point of his. She didn't know what she was doing? That made him feel a little better because neither did he, he didn't know if he wanted to be in the muggle world or not, or even any idea as to what he was interested in as a career, but he was only 15. "Well, i'd be happy to study with you since it seems like we're both gonna have to."

She shook her head and reached for his zip, playing with it herself and offering him a smile. "Not annoying... Just..distracting." She only messed around with it a few times before returning to her ribbon. "You'll find out soon enough, kid. You'll break a million hearts." A million and one. A million and two. Some high number, anyways. Els gave him a grin at that point and wiggled herself comfortable again.

She was way too comfortable now. Statues and males were comfortable things it seemed.

She laughed then. "I only know of one boy with intense organisation skills, so I think maybe it's a boy thing. But I can definitely help you. Just give me copies of your notes and stuff and I'll put them into order and binders and everything." She'd probably even add to them and put little post it notes in there with motivational messages. Yeah, she didn't do these things lightly.

All this talk of studying was making her hungry.

Connor looked down and watched her play with his zipper, her smile made him smile, that's how it is when you like someone. "Right, thanks..I'll try not to be too distracting." He smirked a little, trying to be a little playful. He could handle that. A million hearts? Him? He doubted it. "Well, that's nice of you to say, but i doubt it. I've never even had a girlfriend or anything. So..i doubt it.." He grinned a little though and rubbed the back of his neck.

He just tried to sit still so she could get comfortable, he moved his legs though, but just a little. Stretching them so he wasn't all cramped up.

Good, he didn't want to seem like a mess. He knew he wasn't one but what if older boys were much more organized than he was? He would seem like one! Merlin. "That sounds great! I can get them to you soon.." He smiled at her and thought for a moment, she didn't seem like the kind of person that doesn't like most people. "So..if you can't stand the people here, why are you being so nice to me?" Connor was curious as always and had to know the answers.

Elodie grinned, and gave him a light shove. "You better not." Distract her, that was. But she was only teasing. Hence the shove and the grin. She tilted her head just slightly and raised an eyebrow. "Never?" Now that had to be a lie. She didn't believe that at all. Why hadn't someone snapped him up and patted his head on a daily basis? His head needed patting! Someone needed to pat on his head for definite! She'd find him someone. Make sure they weren't gross humans or disgusting. Or ridiculous humans with annoying opinions.

She nodded, and kept up her smile - of which she'd noted hadn't left since she'd been joined here on the floor. "I'll get them organised and put into a binder for you as soon as I can." And a lollipop jar. He could have all of the lollipops that would fit in a jar, and she'd put a pretty bow on it. Not from one of her old frayed ribbons though. "You haven't done anything to make me want to punch you in the face."

True say.

Connor laughed a little at the shove and grinned. "Or what?" He kept up his playfulness, he was just hanging out with a friend...a very..pretty friend. He shrugged, it was true, he'd never been with a girl in any sense. "Nope, never...never even kissed a girl.." There he said it and blushed but only the tiniest bit, keeping his embarrassment on the inside..

Nope, nope, nope..not embarrassed..

She was still smiling, wonderful. He was too but he assumed that's just because she was..that made it hard not to. "Good! I will get it to you when i can..i should have it all collected next time i have a free period." He was a mess, notes all over the place! He laughed out loud a little bit at that though, not having done something to get punched in the face? Good.. "Well, i'll have to keep that up. I'd like to stay on your good side."

Or what? Ah. Elodie grinned and shook her head. "Or you'll get a smack on the head." Nothing too bad or anything. It was silly, okay? He was silly. She laughed at first, when he mentioned he hadn't even kissed a girl, but when she realised that he was actually being deadly serious, she stopped. And just stared at him. "Never?" Could she... figure this out? Could she work him out a first kiss?

Next free period? Elodie grinned and nodded. "I'll be waiting!" And then she'd redecorate all his notes and put them into girls handwriting because boys was ridiculous and almost impossible to read. Oh, it was just plain awful.

Connor laughed a little. "Oh, well i guess i should behave then. I don't wanna get a smack on the head." He smirked, she was funny. He was feeling more and more comfortable around him. Cause he was okay with not having a real shot with her and just being her friend. Shaking his head he felt less weird about it, the Gryffindor didn't know why though, he just wasn't as embarrassed. "Nope..never." It was the truth.

"Good!" he would have clean organized notes from a pretty girl who probably had pretty handwriting and claimed to do everything neatly. He was interested in what that looked like. He wasn't exactly neat himself..nope.