Good. Now that they had that established--Wait. So if there really were Cold Ones in the forrest, didn't that put them at risk!? For a Cold One attack or something? Then they'd really be in danger! Especially if they were actually building up a Cold One army! AH. But after being accused of being scared and stuff, Zander didn't need to give this girl another reason to tease him. So instead of showing how absolutely nervous this idea made him, he just kept a straight face. "I bet you Romano's knows what's going on.... Why else would she be teaching us how to face them?" That was kind of a good point right? He looked at Sophie for some sort of validation in that.... Because she was a Ravenclaw. So she must know. And also because he wasn't really sure of anything anymore. So much for being a lion.

O________o

And before he knew it she was pointing her wand at him! WAIT NO, hadn't she agreed that the dueling arena would be better?! NO FAIR! He didn't even have his wand out or anything. AAHH, that was definitely a spell that Zander didn't--

Flowers?

Hmph. His angered face softened as he picked one up. Awh. Flowers reminded him of Bentley. And that's the last person he needed to think about. Actually she was the one person he wasn't allowed to think about anymore. Lux had told him that he needed to get over her. And she was so right. So no. Brussel Sprouts. Not Beautiful Bentley. Suddenly shaking himself out of his little daze, he threw the flower back onto the ground. "Are you always like this?... This hyper?" And dramatic too. Yeah, don't think he didn't notice that sigh earlier. And there was the laughter too. But overall, this girl was such a ball of energy.

"Yep. Bet she does, too. Bet she's behind the WHOLE THING." There was sarcasm dripping from her voice and she accompanied it with a grin, but... it would make sense that Romanos knew something about the Cold Ones that they didn't and was preparing them for a threat. But... wouldn't she tell them if they REALLY needed to be worried about it?

Shiver.

Looking far too proud of herself, Sophie lowered her wand and went back to twirling it smugly, amused with Zander's reaction. "M'not hyper." Not really. She was full of energy, but it wasn't like she was heavily emitting all sorts of excitement - at least that's how she interpreted hyperactivity. "I think the term people affectionately use is 'spunky.' And 'sassy,' too." Both appropriate labels that she liked to flaunt at any given opportunity.

"What does it take to make you angry and fight back, though?" She was a little disheartened that he had, so far, simply tolerated all her antics and gave her funny looks. Wasn't he sick of her teasing him yet? Didn't the boy ever get upset about anything?

HA, seee he knew it! Maybe he belonged in Ravenclaw tooo. Nah. Never. But, hmmm. That would make sense wouldn't it? It would most definitely explain her funky accent. She was probably there leader! NO WONDER SHE KNEW SO MUCH ABOUT COLD ONES! "What if SHE was the one running out of the forrest?!" The Cold Ones were probably her minions. But then, like in all the SciFi movies, they turned on her! And she ran out screaming. And now she was preparing them for a Cold One attack. Because she hated her army now because they turned on her. HA, OOH HEADMISTRESS, ZANDER'S GOT IT ALL FIGURED OUT!!

He solved the Hogwarts mystery this year! HAA! And who said that Gryffindor's weren't as smart? HA!

Zander: 1 Hogwarts: 0

Not hyper? Yeah, he begged to differ. But he wouldn't protest because that didn't actually get him anywhere before. "Spunky?...." he considered it. Hmmmm. "Yeah, spunky does sound pretty near right... I still think you're hyper tooo, but we can go with spunk." He had to give her some credit, she was the first spunky Ravenclaw he had met so far. So, that had to mean something? Maybe he could take a few pages out of her book. Get it? Books? Ravenclaw? HA- cracks himself up every time. Heh.

"Well... One time Zahra made me mad so I called her a snake?" he offered. "But then she bit me and ran away to get marshmallows..." That was a horrible welcome into the start of the year. He had gotten a mention in the Aparecium for it though, so does that count for anything? "But you'd have to be like Zahra bad to make me thaat angry." See, although he did get all emotional pretty easily, he was pretty good about not reacting with a wand. But that was due to the fact that he didn't really know many good spells... And he couldn't actually use any spells he learned in defense because all of those were too dangerous. Besides, he didn't want to lose any house points and disappoint the love of his life- AND- Head of House. "And you're actually not that bad." In a strange way, he kind of admired her... spunk.

What if it WAS Romanos? Well... now that she was thinking about it, it seemed pretty likely, if the woman knew something everyone didn't and THAT'S why she was teaching them all about the Cold Ones. "Maybe." But... Romanos always seemed so friendly and caring. She wouldn't keep something from the students unless it was for their safety and benefit, right? Why else wouldn't she have told them anything yet?

"If y'wanna see hyper, y'need to meet Tobes - Toby. Tobias Tempus." The one she'd mentioned earlier, Fuller's other favorite. First favorite, really, which... seemed to have become a trend. Fuller and Culloden both established Toby as their favorite, then Sophie came right along after him as their next favorite. Maybe they were just a package deal. "He's a fourth year Hufflepuff and a Quidditch star - Keeper for England's U-17 team, y'know. My best friend in the whole world - and booooyfriend." Hehehehehehehe. It was such a recent thing still that she giggled as she said it, a little bashful about it.

She had a BOYFRIEND. HER TOBES.

Zahra. Ugh. Horrid girl who mouthed off to the best professor in the whole world. Soph made a face when Zander said her name, but the expression passed as the Gryffindor continued talking and the sides of her mouth quirked upward in an amused smile. "I am not like Zahra. For one, I'd never disrespect Culloden the way she does, and I'd never carelessly throw stuff into my cauldron the way she did in that class." The one she'd caused the big scene in. "She thinks just 'cause she's the Minister's daughter she can do whatever she wants." And for the most part, thus far, it seemed as though she was right.

Sophie wasn't actually that bad? She grinned. "'Course I'm not. I may enjoy picking on people too much sometimes, but it's always in good humor. It helps that I'm so incredibly charming and sweet," she teased, framing her face with her hands in mock pride. "I can get away with just about anything." Most of the time. Except with Culloden, who usually was the first to put her in her place, but that was his job as her mentor anyway.

The Gryffindor nodded enthusiastically. Yep. Romanos was probably the leader of the WHOLE operation. Zander opened his mouth to offer up some more theories, but then promptly stopped himself before he could begin. Sophie didn't really seem so adamant about the conversation. Actually, she hadn't really said much about it all. Though the Gryffindor was clueless in a whole lotta other aspects, he noticed how she chose not to elaborate too much. Maybe that was a sign that she didn't really like talking about Cold Ones? Maybe SHE was afraid of them too. Not that he was afraid. Ha. No. He was totally cool. Yeah. Totally. Cool. So yeah, he'd drop the subject. He was kind of getting ahead of himself anyways. All this theorizing was starting to make him hungry. Actually, most things made him hungry.

Ahem. Moving on.

"Tobias Tempus...." he mumbled trying to think about where he had heard the name before. It did sound kind of familiar actually. Hm. Maybe he had some lessons with this kid or something? Before he could ask, however, Sophie was talking again. Boy, she may have been quiet about the Cold Ones, but this 'Tobes'-or whatever his name is- guy really kept her going. O____O "Boyfriend?" She had a boyfriend? Did everyone at Hogwarts have a boyfriend!? Or girlfriend... Or whatever they preferred, he won't judge. Boyfriend. They were like fourteeeen. Is that even legal? Of course, Lux was dating Bay. And Emmylou was dating Kace. And Cinnamon was dating Bart. And wait, who was he dating?!

NO ONE.

See, he was in love with Beautiful Bentley, but he would never act on it. Well, for the obvious reasons of course. But also because dating is weird. Relationships are weird. Also, girls are weird too. Yet, Zander was finding himself kind of curious about the subject. Intrigued. WHAT!? Okay this is not okay, did someone poison his milk this morning? WAS IT KEVIN!? Before he knew it, the boy found himself blurting out only the most naive question ever. "Why do people date?" GAH.

One look at Sophie's face, and Zander knew he would end up liking this girl. Anyone who didn't like Zahra was a friend of his. "Good because she's evil." Yup. It was a fact. The girl was absolutely and positively nutzo. As Sophie continued to speak Zander nodded his head and mentally 'YEAH!'-ed every thing she said because boy, did he sure agree with-- WAIT. Minister's daughter? HMPH. Well that explained things. She probably thought she was such a hot shot just because she was almost like wizard royalty or something. Eh, he still wasn't really sure how wizard politics worked and stuff. Then, as Sophie went on to explain about herself, Zander let out a snort. It was his turn to snort this time, okay? "Yeah... Well I guess you're oookaaaay." Especially if she wasn't like Zahra. Yep. The Gryffindor had officially decided, Sophie Brown was a decent human being. Sure she had made him kinda mad and she had questioned his courage 'n stuff, but she seemed to be kidding about it all... hopefully. "So, friends?"

Tobias Tempus, yes. Soph watched Zander expectantly, hoping he would put the pieces together and place a face with the name... but then he was looking at her like a loon. "Uh huh. S'a recent thing." Which was probably why she was still all giddy and bashful talking about it and even just thinking about it.

Definite honeymoon stage.

Why did people date...? "Err..." Sophie wasn't entirely sure if the boy was genuinely asking or if it was a declaration of frustration on his part - she assumed he was a single pringle - but she responded anyway, "Well... I know me and Tobes started out as besties. I mean, we met real early on last term, right after the first potions class, and at our first meeting we declared ourselves besties." She initiated it, naturally, but he also said yes. That was a big deal.

"We've kinda been inseparable since, and he's my favorite person in the whole world - I always wanna be with him and he makes me happier than anyone ever." There was no one like him in the whole world, she was sure of it. He was one-of-a-kind and the best guy to ever live. "He can always cheer me up when I'm sad and I always wanna do the same for him. I... care about him more than myself." Which was, a bit shamefully, very unusual for Sophie Brown. "Was kinda just... a matter of time before we started having feelings for each other once our friendship was so great, y'know?"

That, in a nutshell, was why she felt that people dated.

Zahra Kettleburn was evil. Had to have been adopted because she was the spawn of something evil, for sure, not their Minister. "Agreed." Ha. Sophie made a face at Zander for calling her 'okay,' then shook her head. "You're okay, too, Z. Can I call you Z? Friends for sure." And she picked one of the flowers from the bouquet and threw it at him to seal the deal, a content smile on her face. Yay friends.

The Gryffindor kept mostly quiet as Sophie began to explain. Man, she must really like this Tofu person because she wasn't holding back. Normally this type of conversation made him beyond uncomfortable and incredibly itchy. Yet, this time there was a significantly less amount of itch. It was like the kind of itch after using a glob of anti-itch cream; still there, but muted. Maybe it was because talking to Lux about love was desensitizing him to the subject? Or maybe it was because he needed some help sorting out his own feelings about Beautiful Bentley? OR--

Was he having a puberty? That puberty thing that Aaron had warned him about.

Was THIS what becoming a man was all about?!?!

Nahh.

Zander would never admit it, but he was kind of taking mental notes about the things she said. It was all a bit too mushy gushy for him, but he needed some sort of basis for comparison. "You really like this 'Tobes' then, huh?" He didn't really need an answer for that. She had already said that he was her favorite person in the whole world, which sounded way to dramatic for his taste. But still. "Do you love him?" That was the big question. The Gryffindor had been throwing around the word love for a while actually, he loved Beautiful Bentley, but after hearing Sophies whole speech about Toby or whatever-his-name-was, he was starting to doubt if love was actually the right word to use.

Yes, Bentley cheered him up and made him happy like the Tobeson guy did for Sophie. Buuut, did Zander care for Bentley more than he cared for himself?... That was... That was big... And he wasn't sure if he did... Little did Sophie Brown know it, but she was helping Zander figure things out more than the Gryffindor could know. Maybe, maybe if he wasn't in true deep love, he could fix it! He could just fall in love with someone else, just like Lux had said! Except the hufflepuff had also said that it wouldn't be that easy.... But would it be any easier if he could figure out if his love was really love after all? Why was he even doing all of this thinking!? Sophie was the Ravenclaw, wasn't that HER job and not his? Could they go back to talking about the Cold Ones again? That was much easier.

He chuckled when he saw the funny face Sophie made at his comment. Hehe. Then, when she admitted to his 'okay-ness', he smiled rather proudly. Friends for sure? "Good." She was actually pretty cool and maybe she could help him get on Culloden's good side. As for the new name, "Z..." he said as if considering it. "It's actually got a nice ring to it. I like it." Catching the flower in his hand, he used the stem to help hold it on his ear. "How do I look?" he cocked his head to the side and let out another small chuckle. The flower probably clashed horribly with his Gryffindor robes and blonde hair. Not like he was going to walk out of the room with it still there or anything.

"Of course I like him," Sophie chimed, her expression bright and prideful. But... then he was asking about love?

Tricky, tricky.

Soph hesitated for a long moment, considering what Tobes would say upon being asked the same question. "Yeah, I love him. I mean, he's my best friend in the whole world," she spoke casually and shrugged, working out her answer as the words passed her lips. "But," she added after a thought, her eyes squinting a little, "lemme clarify - I think there's a difference between loving someone... and being IN love with someone. I have love for loads of people, including Tobes, but... I don't think I'm in love. I don't even know what that's like." Or what it even meant to be IN love. But it sounded too extreme and intimidating for her and Tobes right now. Maybe she could ask Cat and Mo about that later, since they were clearly in love. They could probably explain it pretty well.

"But I think that's the kinda thing you'd know when you feel it, right? Being IN love?" She wasn't sure why she was asking him, since clearly he was facing some sort of inner turmoil about love, based upon his expressions, but she wanted his opinion anyway.

Rolling her eyes at Zander's antics with the flower and trying to look as unamused as possible, even though she was quite entertained by him, she shook her head, her tone sarcastic and dry, "Simply enchanting."

He really wasn't so bad, though.

While Sophie seemed to be taking sometime thinking things through, Zander sat in place thinking some for himself. All this love talk was kind of unnerving. He'd rather face the Cold Ones in the forbidden forrest. He did like Beautiful Bentley, a lot. But did he love her? Ah. This was all starting to give the Gryffindor a major headache. He looked at Sophie curiously, and listened very carefully as he spoke. He wouldn't ever admit it, but he was actually clinging on to every word she spoke. He needed some help getting out of his little Bentley mess.

Woah. That explanation. That was. That was GENIUS. She really was a Ravenclaw after all. Heh. Maybe he actually did love Beutiful Bentley, but maybe that didn't mean he was actually IN love with her because according to Sophie, they were two completely different things. "That-that actually makes sense." HA! His probelm was solved!! Well... not exactly. But still... this could mean that he was starting to understand this strange feeling, which also meant that he was one step closer to getting over her. Which would also mean, NO MORE FLUTTERIES! "You should write a book about this kind of stuff. You're like an expert." Or at least she sounded like one.

... Now she was asking him? But Zander didn't know a single thing about love. Why would she ask him!? "I- yeah, I guess it would just click when it happens?" Because if Sophie was right, then you could love a lot of people, but being in love only happened so often. That probably meant that the whole IN love thing would be unique. "I guess you'd just know because it's so different from everything else you feel?" But then again, how was he supposed to know!? For Merlin's sake he was just a fourteen year old boy.

Zander just laughed at her clearly sarcastic response. "I reckon I can start a trend." he smiled lightheartedly. He was actually starting to feel a lot more comfortable around this girl. She was a bit intimidating at first, but after getting into such a deep topic, he actually kind of trusted her a bit. "We could make it a thing." Hehehe.

An expert? Merlin, had this kid not talked to a lot of people about love... or was she unknowingly a master of love and relationships? She figured the former was more likely and didn't let his praise go to her head too much. Well. At least she tried not to let it go to her head too much.

"Yeah, I know. M'such a life saver." Her tone was sarcastic once more and she threw another flower at Zander, a cheeky grin on her face. The grin softened as he went on to give his opinion and Soph nodded thoughtfully a few times. "That makes sense. Yeah. Cool... Thanks." His advice wasn't anything groundbreaking, but at least she would keep it in mind. Being in love undoubtedly was like anything she'd ever felt before, she was sure of it - so she would know when it happened, wouldn't she?

Still shaking her head good-humoredly at Zander's shenanigans, she was glad he seemed to be lightening up and relaxing around her. So, naturally, she continued to give him a hard time, since he seemed to enjoy it anyway. "No... no, I don't think you could," she said, trying to sound serious, but her big grin gave away her teasing. "Y'just look like a big ol' nerd." Hehehehehe.

Another flower? Zander picked this one up with a dorky little smile and tucked it in just over his other ear. Now he really did look ridiculous. Being ridiculous actually felt kind of fun. Liberating even. Hehe. He'd have to try it more often, yeah? "Well thanks, I guess.... For sharing your thoughts, you know?" He wasn't really sure of what more to say at this point. He aimed to stay quiet while she talked about how she felt and her Tony guy, but when the tables had turned he felt a little uncomfortable again. He didn't really know much about love or being IN love for that matter, but this kind of helped. And there was no way that he was about to tell that to this Sophie Brown, who he had just met. So a simple thank you would suffice.

No? "Well I think you're just jealous!" One look at her big grin gave her away easily. "See, you're smiling! You totally think I could start up a revolution with these flower... ear flowers?" Yes. He will call them ear flowers and they will be a thing. EH, he needed a new name... But that would come later. Maybe Sophie could think of something clever to call them? "Excuse you, I'm not a nerd. Aren't Ravenclaws supposed to be the nerds?" He even had the grades to prove it. Messed up his potion in the first lesson. Mhm. No nerd here. Nope. Dork... maybe. But nerd? Never.

Oh, Merlin. A flower behind both ears? Now he really looked silly, and Soph couldn't help but laugh at him. This kid was great - he didn't mind being goofy at all! Very impressive in a kid their age - he'd be a nice person to have around. But why was he thanking her? "No... problem, I guess." Still weird. "And thanks for... being you in all your weirdness." Hehehehehe. He was so easy to tease.

Jealous? Hah! She was laughing again and shook her head in protest. "No, no. I'd much rather wear the flowers in my hair. Behind the ear is so lame." Sooooooo lame, Gryffindor boy. Heheehehe. "M'not a stereotypical 'claw. I'm really half Ravenclaw, then like... thirty-five percent Gryffindor... and fifteen percent Slytherin." She had once been even more Gryffindor and less Slytherin, in her own opinion, but she'd become far more cunning and ambitious as time had gone on. "So I'm smart and cool and awesome and everything. Y'can definitely have the title of nerd, see?" Sophie grinned the cheekiest of grins and sat back on her hands, all too happy with herself and her new friend.

Zander knew that Sophie was laughing AT him, but he looked at it more as one of them laugh WITH him sort of deals. So with that in mind, the Gryffindor burst out into laughter as well. Ah, figures the boy couldn't be serious for more than a few minutes before needing a break from all that love stuff. It was kind of a hard subject to handle. Maybe even worse than potions. Nah, nothing was worse than potions, well except Arithmancy. Either way, Zander was kind of thankful that Sophie hadn't teased him about the love questions. That would've stung, but everything else? Eh, it wasn't too bad. But... all his weirdness? Huh? "I'm not-- Oh," before he could even protest he remembered the flowers he had behind his ears. Okay yeah weird. He'd give her that much. "...Anytime." Ha. It was kind of fun letting loose.

In her hair? Naaaah that was lame. "Hmph fine, you wear your hair flowers and I'll wear my ear flowers," Where would she even get a flower crown anyways? HMM? "I'll look cooler anyways," but probably not. He'd still look like an absolute dork. So meh. "What about Hufflepuff? You forgot that one," How could she be everything without a little sprinkle of puff in there? Yeah. Take that. Oh no! Maybe he was a nerd GASP! "Well if I'm a nerd then I must be the a cool one.... like the leader of the nerds, you know?" Did nerds have leaders? Were the leaders cool? "Because I'm the cooooolest" just as he was saying all this he leaned back onto his hands, completely missing and hitting his back on the floor. Oops.

Getting up, he blew some of his hair out of his face and blushed a little. "I-uh, meant to do that."

Sophie WOULD wear those flowers in her hair, Zander Adair, and she planned on making a point to craft a flower crown and hunt him down later to show it off. "Perfect." But WHAT? "Ha! You would not look cooler. I'm the cooler one here." She beamed proudly at that but ruined it a little by giggling.

...Hufflepuffs?

"M'not really Hufflepuff material. I'm not really patient and I'd rather goof off than work hard most times, and fair play is for sissies." She was joking a little bit at the last part - at least she sounded like she was joking. She wasn't, really. And she wasn't going to admit that she wasn't all that honest or always kind or tolerant of others.

Aside from deep loyalty to her friends, she just wasn't very Hufflepuff. She struck out on too many other factors of the house.

Hehehe. Leader of the nerds. She could roll with that. "Okay, great Leader of the Nerds." Now it was an official title. "I'm gonna make you a badge that says it so the whole world knows you're the COOL LEADER.......... of the nerds." Totally something to brag about, and she wouldn't put it past him to actually wear it.

Yes. It was official, Zander had officially decided that this Sophie Brown, wasn't all that bad. She was actually kind of fun. Which was weird, because normally girls made him a nervous wreck because girls are scary... most times. Now was Sophie really cooler? Eh, probably. Was he going to admit that? Heck, no. "Nooooo..." with a look at her face, he grinned. He couldn't even manage keeping a straight face for this. This conversation was kind of weird. "Okay, okay how 'bout we're both equally parts cool?" He tried to give her a look that said all 'I'm being generous', but it wasn't really working.

Not Hufflepuff matieral? Well... yeah Zander could see that. He didn't really see the badgers as the 'spunk' kind. Not that they couldn't be 'spunky', just they weren't. Not the ones Zander had met anyway. They were great in their own way though. Shrugs.

Wait no okay that was not how he planned this to go. He didn't really want to be the leader of the nerds! He just, uh, well he just-- what had he meant with that? Uh... Welp. Sophie, Zander's not really Ravenclaw material. Oh great. Now he was even going to get a badge too. Jeez. "I'll wear it with Gryffindor pride!" Lies. He was totally lying. But he was trying to prove his coolness after all. And that's what cool people do, embrace the weird? Yeah. Totally. That's what being cool was all about. He was totally cool. "Buuut you'll have to wear your flower crown," he'd have to make her a secret badge too. Something equally as embarrassing. But what?

Before this year, Zander hadn't really talked to a lot of girls before. And now he was actually becoming friends with them. Woah. It was BEYOND weird. Come to think of it, this was really his first time truly letting his guard down around one. Weird. Maybe this meant he needed to go? Letting his guard down was dangerous, right? Right. His hand shot up to the back of his neck again and he found himself closing off once more. "Well, Sophie, it's been lots of fun, but uh, I, uh, should probably get back to the common room to work on some homework?" Why'd he make it sound like a question? Gah. Zander. "Been procrastinating and stuff..." Either way, he'd admit that he did enjoy getting to know the girl and actually did want to stay friends and all that.

Equally parts cool? That was no fun. "Eeeeeeeeehhhh." She grinned a little, but tried to sound entirely disinterested in the idea, "Equal parts, with me like one percent more cool. Deal?" HEHE. She just couldn't let it go.

Sophie was pleased with Zander's compliance with her wishes and beamed, nodding in happy agreement. "I will absolutely wear my flower crown if you wear your badge. Absolutely. We'll walk around together like that." Because she would want to see the look on everyone's face when they saw his badge. Hehehehe.

Wait, he wanted to leave already? Awww. She shrugged a little, trying to look very calm and casual and not at all disappointed. "Homework. Laaaame." She rose to her feet, though, and stepped away from the door to let him pass first. "...Y'wanna go out first? Make sure Fuller's not standing there listenin' and waiting to scold me or somethin'?" He probably wasn't, but she would feel safer if Zander went first. Heheheh.

One percent cooler? How did they even get into this conversation again? But aaanyways, the whole point of equally parts cool was for equal parts. He was going to mention this, but instead found himself giving in. "Fine, deal," had he really just let her get away that easy? "Buuut, it's more like point one percent more cool." There. That was better right?

Zander almost mentally cursed himself for suggesting that'd they could wear their badge and crown together. Why. Why, Zander? W H Y??? "Good." he hadn't really meant that though. It wasn't really good because he didn't actually want to walk around with a badge that proclaimed him as a huge nerd. But, alas, what could he do now? Either way, he sideways smiled at the hilarious thought of them too walking around with badges and her with a flower crown. Embarrassing? Yes. Funny? Also, yes.

Laaame? Nah, he was cool remember!? Weren't Ravenclaws all about that homework life though? Sophie was a confusing Ravenclaw, who was actually not a Ravenclaw at all, but more like a Gryffindor in disguise. Yes. At the mention of Fuller, Zander lifted in eyebrow for a split second, before remembering the dramatic entrance that Sophie had made earlier. Oh, yeah. He had nearly forgotten about that! "Oh yeah, sure," The Gryffindor opened the door ever-so-slightly and peeked his head out. After scanning the perimeter he stepped out, still trying to be stealthy (and failing). After just a few scans he turned back to Sophie and gave her an "Okay"-sign.

"Well, uh, bye I guess," he grinned as he sent her a wave. Just because he was getting all weird again didn't mean he couldn't give the girl a proper goodbye. "See yah around, Sophie Brown."

Hope was on a mission...one that brought her here to this room. She walked all around looking at trophy after trophy and then she found it. The name of the woman she had been on a mission to find.

It had all started with a mirror. One that showed her, not the reflections of herself, but one of an older version almost. One of a woman with blonde curls, jade green eyes, and an all perfect smile too much like her own. Even the curve and lift of the eyebrow matched to perfection. Then she stumbled upon the picture. A picture of the same woman in an old Daily Prophet announcing the arrival of the Holyhead Harpies with the name of Heather Malfoy and the position of Beater. The article had also mentioned that she had played for the Gryffindor House in school.

She stared at the multiple trophies with the woman name one it. Seemed she had played well too for she had played in a game against Professors and she played more than one position, but favored beater. Too much alike. Too much in common.

Hope took a deep breath and found a clean spot on the floor to sit and stare up at the woman's name. She looked down at the picture in hand. They looked so much alike...and her mother had let it slip kind of...over winter break. The cancer did it really. Her mothers words haunted her. She can't help...she's not mine.

Was she adopted?

The whole "cool" business was getting a bit drawn out, but Sophie was still very amused by it and she waved a dismissive hand. Yes, yes, Zander, one point one percent more cool. Hehehehe. She'd take that.

Sophie adjusted her sitting position so that she was now on her knees with her legs tucked under her, watching, waaaaaiting to see if Zander would spy anyone, particularly Fuller, outside waiting for them...

...THEY WERE IN THE CLEAR.

"Excellent. Thanks, Z." She was on her feet in a flash and bounced on after him, ruffling his hair as she passed him and replied brightly, "See ya later." YAY NEW FRIENDS.

Zander just watched as Sophie dashed off. Man, she really did have a lot of energy. He chuckled to himself as he carefully brushed his hair back into place with his hand. That was all kind of fun actually. Even if he would have to wear a badge that called him out as a nerd, it was worth it. He had made a friend and learned some stuff about this whole love thing.

Grinning to himself, the Gryffindor made his way down the corridor. Next stop: The Common Room!

Simon made his way up to the fourth floor and wandered around a little as he tried to find the perfect place here to cast the spell. As he entered the Trophy Room, he shivered slightly and pulled his coat closer to his body so that he would be enveloped in its warmth. With wide eyes, the Slytherin examined all the names of the Prefects, Quidditch Captains, and Head Boys and Girls that were on the several different plaques. Woah. These people would have their mark on Hogwarts for the rest of eternity! He blinked in awe of them and then moved on when he realized he had spent way too much time just staring at them.

Staring at inanimate objects was unhealthy, Simon.

Simon found some empty wall space and pulled out his wand. "Caelum Saepio! Caelum Saepio! Caelum Saepio! Caelum Saepio!" he cried, making the infinity sign movement four times. A big puff of fog resulted and the boy smiled. It looked like his work was done here. As he was headed out the door, the boy took one longing glance at all the plaques and trophies. One day he too wanted to be remembered.

Four down. One to go

Theodore, who was wrapped up one of his thickest jumpers, was fed up of the common room but had felt bound to stay there since this cold weather had made such an impact on the school. The cold was one of Theo's least favourite things, so staying wrapped up in bed was the most likely place to find him.

Not today, though! He was bored and coming out to play!

Or... to walk around and hang. Theo didn't really play anymore.

He found himself in the trophy room where he watched each trophy as he passed with great detail. He finally got to the current plaques and was disappointed to see that his name wasn't there yet. That meant he'd never see his name on a Hogwarts plaque. Sad. Theo sighed.

Whoooooooose best friend was that? WEST'S BEST FRIEND! HUZZAH! So what if he was eighteen, so what if he was ridiculously tall and a (former) school leader and should be all serious now: West went chaaaaaaaaaaaaaarging at his best mate and tackled him at the waist.

"WATCHOUTIAMACHORTRAWRCOLD!"

Stir crazy too, apparently.

Well, this was hopefully going to be the pickup Theodore needed but disappointment as always. At least he saw Dylan's plaque to smile at. He turned to leave, just as some ginormous beast came hurtling towards him and booooooshed him right in the waist.

Theo tensed up and caught the person and just after figuring out who it was, he gently nudged him out of his face. "What the heck are you doing? I thought you were a dementor." West kinda had a dementor look about him, Theo kept to himself.

West made a slight face at the dementor thing for reasons that Theo knew very well. "You'd have felt me coming if I was."

True facts, Mister Kinsley. West straightened up.

"What are you doing? I saw you come in here so... I just followed." Yup that was all that was, West following his best mate. No big deal. West shifted from foot to foot, like he couldn't quite keep still.