Hayden was very grateful her bag had straps by the time she reached the sixth floor. Climbing all those flights of stairs without being able to carry the backpack over her shoulders would have been torture. After three flights she'd considered that there might be a better place, but by then there was no use turning back. She'd fought the rest of the way up and now there was a winded first year pausing in the sixth floor corridor to catch her breath. She'd never thought Hogwarts would give her such a work out, or prove how much of a work out she needed. Not that she was going to change anything of course.

When she was able to breathe properly again Hayden continued on her way down the corridor. She'd seen a room during her exploration and it had come to mind as a good place for her next step. She didn't really know what it was or why it was empty, but it was a big empty room with lots of space. As soon as she arrived Hayden dropped her bag on the ground and started digging through it. She pulled out a folder full of paper and spread those over the floor. Then she took out her box filled with various writing utensils. She selected a normal muggle pencil, because she didn't like using quills, and laid on her stomach on the large rug, with her back to the door. Luckily she'd decided to wear leggings under her dress.

Know something? There was a lot of homework due and none the Gryffindor fancied taking a crack at just yet. Collarbin actually wanted a whole essay and Fuller--or maybe it was Thompson this time wanted lots of points and lists. Those required her to sit still long enough to think up things, or pace the room a couple times until she had ideas. She'd have liked to pretend this walk around the castle was her doing just that, getting prepared to start homework but rather it was the exact opposite. Lex was walking because she could. Procrastination was a horrid thing but really the castle was so big and inviting when you had other things to do, hence her walking through corridor after corridor aimlessly.

That is....until she spotted that Hufflepuff making her way around. Kinda high up for a Puffer when they weren't having any classes, wasn't it? Of course this got Lex curious so she did the decent thing, she followed her, ending up at the spare room just moments after the girl had let herself in. Lex remembered running into this place with Melanie back in her Second Year. It proved useful. What she saw was curious indeed. What was she doing? Homework? Doodling? Master map of the castle for sneaking around later? Please be the last one. "Having fun?" Lex asked, stepping into the room. Don't mind us, just satisfying the curiosity.

Hayden had just gotten started when she heard a voice come from behind her. She had to turn her neck sort of painfully to see who it was, and saw that an older girl had stopped to talk to her. So Hayden pulled herself up to a sitting position and turned around so she could actually face the girl without being extremely uncomfortable. Was she having fun?

"Yeah," she said casually. She wasn't not having fun, but fun wasn't exactly the right word. She liked it well enough, and was excited. Scientific interest didn't quite cover it, so she decided fun would work. Though it might stop being fun if she had to draw the entire castle by herself. She regarded the girl for a moment.

"Do you like to draw?" That was code for are you good at it? Hayden didn't have much faith in her own abilities. The girl didn't have to help if she didn't want to, but she had come to see what Hayden was doing so she probably didn't have anything better to do.

From where she stood she couldn't get a good look at what the girl was doing so she'd take her word for it. Fun. Sure. Lex walked further into the room fixating on the little nooks and crannies that existed. Shame none of them opened anymore, the curiosity of a Gryffindor was a terrible thing and she was half tempted to try bursting a hole through one of them just to see but as it stood there was a witness so her wand would stay in it's holster.

"Hmm?" Lex spun on her heels to face the girl at her question. "Not particularly, unless it's helping me get a better understanding of something." So the girl was drawing then? The Prefect made her way over to the girl, flopping next to her so she could have herself a look see. The fact she was using a pencil caught her attention. A pencil of all quills.

"Whatchu drawing?"

That was a good answer to the question Hayden had asked, but she still had no idea if that meant this girl was good at drawing or not. Oh well, that fact wasn't even relevant at the moment. She rolled back onto her stomach when the girl moved closer to her. But she didn't start drawing again because the girl was still talking to her and Hayden was not good at multitasking.

"It's a map," Hayden said in response to her question. "Of Hogwarts," she added a few seconds later in case that wasn't clear. Looking at it, it was hard to tell what it was. Hopefully that wouldn't last long. Hayden hadn't had time to draw much, and there was a lot of Hogwarts left. So far she just had a rough outline of the dungeon.

Op! A map!

Lex was hoping it would have been something along those lines. Those were the only thing worth drawing around this place, especially for Firsties who had a knack for getting lost before they really got their bearings around this place. The Prefect gave a small nod, still taking a look at the...outline of whatever it was. Finally, she gave up on guessing, her creased brows a sign of her confusion. "What's this you've got so far?" You know, so she could tell her if she missed anywhere. Granted she wouldn't be telling her any of the secret spots she knew but there was still plenty more to know. Kid had to prove she was cool enough for the extras.

Alexa shifted so she was on her stomach as well, still studying the parchment. "How come you're using that pencil? Run out of ink?" If so she could get some. The Gryffindor Common Room wasn't so far away. It was nothing a little accio couldn't take care of, just saying.

If she had to be asking that question, it meant her drawing wasn't that good. Hayden frowned a little and studied it. True, it didn't really look like anything at the moment. "It the dungeon, but so far it's just the shape of it. I haven't had time to add the rooms and things." Hopefully once she added the details it would be easier to tell what it was supposed to be.

"No," Hayden said slowly. "I just like pencil's better." Was that a problem? She didn't really understand why wizards used quills, they were way more complicated. A pencil lasted a lot longer before running out of lead, and then all you had to do was sharpen it or put in more lead depending on the kind of pencil. They were just easier.

Oh wait. Hayden just realized that she didn't know who she was talking to. She'd completely forgotten to introduce herself, which she probably should have done when they first started talking. "My name is Hayden," she said casually. Maybe she could make it sound like this was the logical place in the conversation for introductions. Or maybe the girl didn't want Hayden to know who she was, in which case she could just ignore her. But why would she want that?

At the girl's explanation, Lex could admit that the shape did vaguely resemble the dungeon...though she was wrong along that one wall there but she probably never found the secret passage that made it loop another way? The Gryffindor squinted at the drawing, wondering if that might have been the case. It was possible. "Think you can go ahead and add those before we try focusing on anywhere else." Kinda like working their way up.

.....And she just...liked pencils...better. Lex shrugged. "Alright." That answered that and her wand could stay in it's holster. Kid just had a preference for muggle things. She could think of at least one other person like that. "D'you have anymore of those pencils so I could give you a hand?" If she wanted help that is. Just an offer since there were a million other things she had to do and no motivation to get them done. Wasting time in a Spare Office with a Firstie didn't seem half bad.

The girl had just gotten to surveying the drawing of the dungeon again when her company's voice caught her attention. Hayden? Oh right, names, people had those sometimes. Funny how easily Lex could forget that. "I'm Alexa, but you can just call me Lex, most everyone else does." There were a few that didn't but she wouldn't complain about it on account of it being her name anyway.

Hayden nodded and looked back at her drawing. She had to visualize where she was going to draw the rooms before she could actually do it or she'd just mess it up. She did notice that the girl had said we: did that mean she was going to help? Wait, yes she wanted to help and she needed a pencil. "I have a box over there." Hayden gestured to her right as best she could. "You can chose what you want to use." She didn't just have pencils. Also pens, colored pencils, crayons, and a few markers. She was prepared.

Alexa. Lex. That sounded very familiar. "Are you a prefect?" She thought that was right but she couldn't be certain. Was she wearing her badge? She might have been, Hayden wasn't always very observant. Hayden eyes her warily. Her only other experience with a prefect had not gone very well, but they weren't all the same. And so far Lex had been very nice to her, and not threatened her in any way.

A box? Lex spun a little wondering how she'd have missed that. Then again she hadn't been looking for a box. Her focus had been on Hayden and the apparent map she was drawing. The Gryffindor could only notice so much before it all became minor detail. She reached across, pulling the box to her. Wow. Just wow. The last time she had such an extensive possession of muggle stationary she was 10...10 going on 11. These brought back a lot of memories, mostly dull ones of a boring muggle Primary School but there were fun ones in there too. Lex fished a few coloured pens and a marker or three from the box along with the pencil. Colour coordinating helped. She could be organized when it suited her. "Which direction does the dungeon start? Are the stairs here?" She asked, trailing a finger along a section near the corner.

Her finger slowed and her eyes fell to the girl again. Were it not so far into the term she'd have asked how she knew that considering the Gryffindor's Prefect Badge was still locked away in her trunk. No matter what Collarbin said, it would take time for her to feel she deserved to wear it again. Lex gave a small nod in response. "I am. What of it?" Did it matter that much? Was she suddenly not 'alright' in the Firstie's book? Lex herself never liked anyone with a badge back in her first year until Kurumi stopped acting like she was here to end the world and Louisa bothered to talk to her....granted she lied to her, but it was a start.

Hayden watched where Lex was tracing the paper and nodded. Her drawing couldn't be too terrible if she was able to figure that out. Or maybe she just knew the dungeons well enough to make an accurate guess. Either way, she was correct about the stairs. "Over here is the potions classroom," Hayden added, pointing to where she meant. Those two locations should give her enough of an idea to draw the rest of it accurately. "Do you want to work on the left half and I'll work on the right?" She scooted over a bit so they could each access half the map easily.

"Nothing," Hayden said. Probably nothing. "As long as you don't try to lock me in a cage with only candy to eat." She probably wouldn't do that. She'd been nice. Unless the nice was just an act to lure her in. But probably not. Just like there probably weren't actually first years in cages hidden somewhere in the Hufflepuff common room. But you never know.

The map was slowly starting to make a degree of sense for the Gryffindor and she could somewhat catch her bearings. If those were the stairs and there really was the potions lab, then dungeon five must have been about.....there. With a red marker she traced along Dungeon Five. "Detention Area. They have the best rats if you've got a kneazle interested." She explained, placing the marker with the others once more and having another look at the map. They'd be splitting it? "Sure thing. Shouldn't be too hard filling in this section." She'd been down to the dungeons enough, looking for Cassia--and rats for Felix to know what went where.

Just as she was about to choose from the assortment of coloured pens she heard what might have been the most ridiculous statment all day. "I don't share candy. It'd be the last thing I fed you if I kept you in a cage and I reckon if I put you in a cage in the first place it'd be because you got on my nerves in which case I don't see myself feeding you anything." With a perfectly straight face to boot. Had to make it clear. Juuuuuuuuust clarifying. Alexa? Giving a Firstie candy? Snort and maybe pigs would grow opposable thumbs.

A kneazle. "Do you have a kneazle?" Or did she just know a lot about how to properly own a kneazle at Hogwarts. Was Hogwarts a good place for pets? Which pets fit the best? Or were there places for all pets so there weren't any particular ones that were best? Those questions weren't super important at the moment because Hayden didn't have a pet, nor did she plan on getting one any time soon. And she had a project literally right in front of her.

"Okay," was all Hayden said to that. It didn't look like the girl would be locking her in a cage. Hayden didn't really get on people's nerves...at least, she didn't think so. All she was doing at the moment was getting back to her drawing. The dungeon was coming along nicely.

Derry was bored. So so very bored. Studying was not an interesting thing to be doing when your brain was full of excitement and restless ideas. So she'd taken a walk.

She'd hardly realised how far she'd walked, when she reached an empty office. Hm. Cool rug. Could hang out here for a bit... procrastinate some more. Walking inside, and leaving the door ajar behind her, Derry dug into her pocket and retrieved the juggling balls she'd brought with her - they worked wonders for restless fingers - and started to juggle.

And as if that wasn't enough, she was also singing the Entrance of the Gladiators and attempting to balance on one foot whilst she did it. Regular juggling did get boring once you'd mastered it after all.

"I do." Lex said with a small nod of her head as she continued along the lining of the half of the dungeon she'd been working on. "His name's Felix. Left him back in my dorm because he was having some private time with my pillow." She could have taken a nap with him but this was one of those days where he just didn't feel like sharing and she didn't feel like getting a million scratches before taking that hint. "I take it you don't." Just a guess, she could be wrong but there it was. "What'd you bring to keep you company at Hogwarts?" There was a girl with rats....Felix liked following her around when he could.

Her okay got Lex curious. She looked up from the map for a moment, giving the girl a once over. "Someone else told you they'd lock you in a cage? And you didn't tell 'em to shove off??--wait no, no, who told you that?" Kinda important. There were some people you just never said that to. Her...Dora...Elodie. Outside of that, the Prefects were pretty chill about most things. Hayden could tell almost all of them to shove off so yes, important question.

"No," Hayden said in response to the question. She also shook her head too, maybe for emphasis but mostly just because. "I didn't bring anything. No pets, at least." Her grandma had a cranky old cat but Hayden had never had any pets growing up and she hadn't gotten one to take to Hogwarts with her. She didn't mind it much because she was used to not having them.

"Sort of." No, not sort of. "I mean, yes. But she was probably kidding." There probably weren't any first years in cages hidden somewhere in the Hufflepuff common room. Probably. "Um no I didn't. I mostly just hid behind a barrel." Hayden was not one to tell people to shove off as Lex put it. Hiding was more her style. "I don't remember her name, I think it starts with an L. She's the Huflepuff prefect." Lex would certainly know who she was talking about.

No pets? Bummer, though it didn't seem to be too much a problem for the girl. Just another fact of life, she didn't have a pet and it wasn't the end of the world. It was a little hard to imagine for Lex. Felix had been with her since the start of her first year and even though he didn't do a bloody thing he was told for YEARS she still couldn't imagine not having him around. "Let's say for arguments sake, you do get a pet, what would you take? I'd like a thestral or a baby nundu but for practicality sake kneazles are brilliant." And she meant that both as a compliment to their personality and a compliment to their intelligence. People had often told her he was too smart for his own good.

Alexa did everything not to laugh at the image of the kid hiding behind a barrel. In the end she allowed an amused smile. Lucky to have barrels wasn't she? The lion Common Room had no such things. Poor ickles but it toughened them up she liked to think. "Hmm...Hufflepuff Prefect and it's a girl. Definitely Elodie. Good you never told her to shove off, it's very likely she does have a cage." Only a small exaggeration but Elodie might as well have a cage with the way she could get. "I doubt she'd lock you in a cage though, she's more creative than that." So nothing to really worry about, right? Right.

Hayden considered that for a moment. "Well if there are no limitations on the pet I'd say maybe a phoenix." They were really fascinating and probably smart enough to take care of themselves for the most part. "Or a dragon," she added with a small smile. No limits, remember. She knew having a dragon for a pet was hugely impractical, almost impossibly, and also very illegal. It would be cute as a baby though, and possibly great when it was grown as long as it was loyal. An untrained fully-grown dragon, however, would not be fun at all. "Wait, what's a nundu?" She'd heard that word before, but she could not think of the animal associated with that name.

Elodie. Yes that sounded right. It was a pretty name, but Hayden was not fond of the girl it belonged to. "Oh." She probably did have a cage? Hayden's face paled a little and she tried to focus on the drawing as much as possible so as not to give away her probably obvious fear. "Oh," she said again. Something more creative? Great. That only strengthened her plan to keep away from the girl as much as possible. "What are the other prefects like?" While they were sort of on the subject. Lex was...either a sixth or seventh year probably so she should know about the people at Hogwarts. Hayden hadn't gotten a chance to know too many people yet so she'd welcome even a general overview of the other students, prefect or otherwise. She didn't have time to meet everyone herself.

Phoenix fell under the category of bird. Lex had never been very good with those. They either died of 'natural causes' brought on by provocation or....got eaten by her kneazle. There was no winning. In some cases the birds fought back and she couldn't let her baby get hurt for his ambition so she had to step in. Felix didn't stand a chance against a Phoenix. Dragon though! "My cousin had a baby dragon." Lex said with a firm nod. The only thing her cousin ever did right if you asked her. First time she showed she had a spine. "Found it in the mountains while she was still at Durmstrang. Got suspended from what I heard." And Dax didn't lie so it had to be true. His sister proved her worth. And she didn't know what a Nundu was? "Only the most dangerous creature in the wizarding world. It's like...a leopard only way bigger and far more dangerous. It's breath can cause disease, faminine and wipe out entire towns. Classification XXXXX." And Lex wanted one, just like she wanted a chimaera.

The paling....was worth it. Lex didn't believe in lying to Firsties, not after being the most guillible of the lot when she herself was a Firstie but sometimes....sometimes it was allowed, like now. Harmless fun. Kid didn't need to know Elodie didn't have cages, it was a minor detail. "The others....are a real...mixture. Nigel--He's one of the Claw Prefects, is super chill. You can get anything by him and I mean anything. Dora--girl Claw Prefect is just as chill but for a different reason. If you blow something up she'll be one of the last--if at all-- to bust you." Yes, the Ravenclaws had it easy with their Prefects. "Louis is the other Prefect for Gryffindor. He's an idiot plainly, but a nice one, easy enough to get on with. Kaiden, your other Prefect....is possibly dumber than a sack of bricks and moody but he can be okay sometimes...on the odd occasion...I guess." Eh, Kaiden was just Kaiden.

"Theo, you know the Head Boy, is a laughing stalk--but that's just me, people actually like him, go figure and Cassia," who the girl should know was the Head Girl, "is one of my best friends. She's one of the nicest people you'll meet." Sometimes too nice but eh, she loved her.

It was exploring time again.

Her Hogwarts: A History book her ever favorite companion was under her arm as she explored a different floor of the castle. She figured, that by the end of the term, she'd have every inch of the castle explored and all of the information that went along with it, absorbed. She was practically done with the latter.

CB brushed some dust off of a chair with her hand, pulling back as soon as it hit the air, and sneezing rather loudly a few minutes later. Merlin. Didn't house elves clean this? Weren't they supposed to clean things?

She took a seat and rubbed at her now itchy nose and opened up her book.

"What?" She knew someone who'd had a baby dragon? "Isn't that illegal?" She had said she'd gotten suspended, but that was it? She wasn't arrested or anything? "Yeah that does sound more dangerous," Hayden mumbled, mostly to herself. The nundu sounded pretty fascinating, actually. Breath that could cause disease? Awesome. Magical creatures were fascinating in theory, but Hayden didn't like them as much in person.

Hayden just nodded and listened as Lex told her about the prefects. She didn't think she'd need to get away with anything - she couldn't imagine herself doing anything that she might have a hard time getting away with - but the information was good to know just in case. The Ravenclaw prefects sounded much nicer than the prefects of her own house. Nicer than Elodie at least, she'd never met the boy whose name rhymed with her own that Lex told her about. She didn't really know what to say in response, hopefully Lex didn't think she was just ignoring her. Instead, Hayden looked down at the drawing and tried to focused.

She finished up a little bit on her side and then inspected it. "I think the dungeon is just about complete." Unless Lex had anything to add.

Her emotions were not being vented into crying now. Nor were they being swept up in throwing apples at the wall. She also wasn't using a boy as a distraction to the monster she had unravelled into, which was a positive. Maybe it meant she'd be able to smile at her reflection without having to force it so much so that it looked contrived. Instead, everything was focussed in making her way around the castle and finding everything that she needed to see before she wasn't coming back here again.

And she kind of just wanted to find a place where she hide out for a few hours when she needed a breather to knit away the temptations her newfound emotions gave her.

Like boys.

More boys than the boy.

Boys that didn't deserve her attention.

Aiming to avoid anyone she knew or would uphold a conversation she didn't want to have, Elodie backed into the office, and shut the door quickly before resting her forehead on it. Alone. She was finally alone. Again.

Maybe........

Was someone turning pages???

How long had it been? She lifted her wrist, to check the time, only to remember she wasn't wearing a watch, and only had one as an accessory that she couldn't figure out how to program the proper time in. She lowered her wrist again, pulled her legs up closer, folding them just in front of her and scootching back in the chair to get more comfy cozy.

But her brief time of silence had to come to an end, didn't it? All good things did, she thought. Her eyes lifted from the book as footsteps approached and crossed the threshold of her newly found reading spot. Was there no safe place to read?

She watched the girl- oh! She knew this one. Met her briefly. And she was... Pretty prefect! The grumpy one with the boyfriend.

Although.. she seemed busy. Preoccupied. CB just watched, though. Staying quiet, observing. Would she have to say something first? Did people expect her to? Maybe. Hm.

But she made no move to open her mouth. She continued watching, her hands folded lightly, resting in the fold of her open book.

Just waiting.

So she wasn't alone. And it wasn't like it was someone she could forget about being insecure in front of. She had to hold her own with this one and not crack. Which meant she wasn't allowed to hug her knees and cry quietly until she was all cried out and didn't need to cry for another month. Not...that she was crying anymore. No. That wasn't a thing. Nope.

"Oh..." She mumbled, as she turned around and leant her back against the door. There was no intention to trap them or anything or force the kid to stay here, but she just wanted to lean and the door was in a convenient spot.

"No one is usually here..." Aside from Cat or no one. "What are you reading?" If she got her talking, maybe she could find a couple of scratches on the floor that she'd let Gemini make a year ago in the middle of the last burst of bad times.