Shaking her head in amusement, Lima honestly didn't expect any other answer from her husband. She DID know him very well after all. "Good thing I like you as bad boy," she said as she kissed his cheek. It was very...attractive.

Yes, a slow song. He had her there but still she was determined to have this dance off with him. Let's see if he could still out move her; she was betting on no but maybe her heels would prove to be a hindrance. You got me there. But first fast pace song and it's on." Smirk.

Of course Matt had picked up on her preoccupation. Stella hadn’t been surprised by that one bit, nor that he’d chosen to ask. The only problem was that, in fact, nothing was wrong. It was just going to be difficult trying to explain that now that he’d asked. “Nothing’s wrong. Honestly, I was just wondering what the kids were up to right now,” she replied. If Risa was completely flustered yet, considering it was infinitely different dealing with one child rather than four. Yet deep down, she did trust her best friend. She wouldn’t have convinced Matt that it was alright to have her babysit so they could come tonight if she hadn’t. She had wanted to come, to have this time with him, to possibly see friends they hadn’t seen in years now if they had come as well. “I could have asked the same of you.” It wasn’t breaking the moment to ask, not anymore. Besides, they were still dancing. Conversation hardly wasn’t welcome at the same time, if it was wanted.

The dancing really was nice, too. Relaxing, even if her mind kept working. That hardly stopped, these days, not with three young children normally underfoot. She had leaned her head against his chest again during the brief moment of silence between them, listening to his heartbeat practically in time with the music, just enjoying their private little bubble before they went to see if anyone else was there. Obviously there were others at the reunion, but so far they hadn’t found anyone they knew. “True. Although it was enough for us,” she murmured. She still felt at home here, even if she’d only attended for a few terms. Being with Matt felt like home, but so did Hogwarts. So did everything.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Erik Vinteren

Erik just smirked, his trademark happy face for those who knew him well. He would rather be most places than here, but for her he would lie about it.

He gently rubbed the small of her back where his hand rested. "I just know myself, you mean." Erik looked around the room for a moment before his blue eyes landed back on his partner. "Are you going to make some sort ov announcement, so everyone can know how much vork you put into this?" A surprising amount of this successful event was due to Ivy's organized mind, honestly, and he didn't want any of these other lazy governors taking credit.

Ivy didn't even have to look at his face to know what it looked like. She knew him well, too. After a moment, she met his eyes at his question. "I will," she said reassuringly. Ivy Knox would let everyone know how well she had done. Ahem. "But I'm enjoying the moment, believe it or not, so let me be." She pecked his lips affectionately and continued to follow his lead until the song ended.

And then it was her speech time, so she took a step away from her partner, used her wand to cast Sonorus on her voice and then cleared her throat.

"If I could have your attention, everyone!"

Ivy's voice was loud and clear and echoed throughout the Great hall, thanks to the charm she used. "On behalf of the Hogwarts Board of Governors, I would like to welcome you and your guests to the Hogwarts Alumni Reunion! We have spent many weeks planning and organizing this event for you to come back and revisit the past and meet with old friends and new. We would like to thank the lovely Headmistress Anastasia Truebridge," she paused to guide a hand to the direction of the redheaded Headmistress, "and her willingness to let us use this wonderful space for this event. Also a great thanks goes out to the dedicated house elves for preparing all this food.

"I hope you all are enjoying yourselves. Continue to mingle, eat and drink, reminisce, and don't forget to stop into the Chamber of Reception to donate to our Scholarship Fund for our students. Thank you for coming!" Ivy gave them all a pleasant smile (she had been practicing) and a small round of applause at the end of her speech and then returned her voice level back to normal so they could all return to the party.

The former head girl beamed at her boyfriend and would have caught his face and returned the kiss but he surprised her and all. Pleasant surprise. Her eyes lit at the mention of their old nicknames. It's been so long since they first came up with them. "I say we get closer to those governors people, they must have lots of things for us to investigate," They always looked mysterious.

Now that Theo said it, she realized what was wrong in what she saw. She almost never saw the man without a suit, which made it hard for her to recognize him at first. But yeah, not a very bad idea.

Ooooh, dance! "You bring up a fine point," She grinned up at him. Her attention was then interrupted by the speech. Oooh, she remembered the woman who was once their charms professor. Wow, this place was like full of them, professors. Anyway, the blond applauded then turned back to Theo.

"But we did dance in the great hall before," She told him threading her fingers with his then slowly swaying their hands. Did he remember?

It was a little hard to help if she wasn't sure what she wanted. But he knew what that was like so he wasn't going to push her to know what she wanted. That was never the right thing to do. He watched her face when she spoke, nodded here and the before saying: "Well.. if you are interested, and just want to do something - there are some positions open at the magazine I am working for" He just wanted to help. It was more a Bridget thing he was talking about, but if Ryden wasn't sure what she wanted - maybe she could try something different?

"Its not THAT sort of a desk job" he defended his new job. "I am the editor of photography for the magazine. It's really fancy, actually" he grinned. "Corner office, a little view of the Eiffel tower" Did he mention, he was now living in France?

The song was coming to an end, and with a smile on his face - Orlando spun her around a few times, and picked up the pace of the dance just a little - before coming to a close. One hand on her waist, and another in hers - the youngest Renaldi resumed the proper position just in time for the song to end. And that was when the question came.

It would have been stupid to think - the meeting would go smoothly. Despite his best efforts, Orlando's smile wavered and after a short pause and 'avoiding' of the eyes, he spoke: "No. Nothing of that sort" And the song had ended, dropping her hand softly, Orlando pulled his hand away from her waist and took a small step back.

Mads chuckled. "Good thing you're the good girl that made me change." He kissed her gently. He wouldn't be the man he was today without her. She was worth it all. "I do hope that River is behaving himself though." River would hopefully never understand what his father's life had been like in the past.

"You're on, Whiggy." He smirked and raised his eyebrows. She really thought she could beat him this time. She had no idea how good he still was, even if he was almost 20 years older now.

Ronnie giggled. "Well, I wasn't at the Gryffindor table for very long. I didn't see anyone I knew at all...but, I might have been showing it off at the Hufflepuff table." She explained with a small smile. She couldn't help herself, she was just so very excited about the whole thing. Just wait until she got to work! She couldn't wait to see Jazz's reaction.

Oh, Gwen! Ronnie had almost forgotten about Gwen...oh, she missed her. It was too bad she hadn't seen her yet. "I haven't, sadly! I hope she shows up!" The Lion exclaimed, glancing past his shoulder and scanning the Ravenclaw table for her.

As soon as Stella finally revealed what it was that had been on her mind the whole time, Matt only considered the thought because honestly it really wasn’t too far off from what he was thinking about which in a way could be weird but there seemed to be plenty of those moments ever since they’d been married. “I’m sure they’re alright. Besides you said that Risa could handle it, so there shouldn’t be anything to worry about. We know at least Caden is occupied since he enjoys hanging out with Autumn.” he said. There were still a couple of concerns to letting his wife’s best friend look after the kids while they were here because in complete honesty, he wasn’t 100 percent sure that he really could trust the woman despite being over what happened during the times that he went to visit Stella in France while they were dating. It was complicated.

“I was just thinking about the last time we were dancing, it’s been a little while.” he commented while continuing to dance along to the music almost effortlessly. There could have been a million things on his mind but that wouldn’t have stopped from continuing the peaceful moment that was happening here seeing as it hadn’t happened enough for his liking but entertaining three kids was still a great time too especially when they all wanted to hear stories about stuff. “You ever wonder what it would have been like if we had met here as first years?” he asked curiously, merely wondering for some strange reason but the whole idea of coming back to Hogwarts really had the memories returning.

Józsua smiled wryly. “Okay, okay. Point taken.” Come to think of it, being stuck inside for months had brought about boredom.. and eventually feelings of cabin fever.. but he had reasons for wanting it to last. It seemed years ago in a way.. yet just like yesterday in others.

Józsua wasn't sure about being persuasive.. but that was true. He HAD got her name! Her real one. AND a surname. And some personal information too. “m' just annoyingly persistent.” He grinned. Yes, he had a unique name in this country, but.. “I didn't start here until fifth year. I transferred from Beauxbatons.” Another snippet of personal information. But she would have graduated before he even started at Hogwarts. Józsua had not been lucky enough to spend seven years here. He bit back an amused chuckle as she tried to guess.. flitting from house to house. He looked up, not wanting to give anything away but his lips curved into a closed lipped, half-repressed, smile. Hufflepuff twice? He looked back at her and she finally got it. “Mhm.. I'm a Slytherin.” He confessed. She was so damn smart. “What do you do for a living? You're like a detective. You jus'.. you get these hunches..” Although it was probably more down to that Ravenclaw logic than any hunch.. “..and know things.” How could you know someone so well when you hadn't really given out any details of your life? Just glimpses here and there of your personality.. and mostly through gestures and body language. She'd noticed things about him he wasn't sure even some of his friends had noticed. She intrigued Józsua. She really did.

Ahh.. well.. dissing the other houses seemed to be a Slytherin trait. “You're definitely a hybrid.”.. As she'd put it before. “Or.. maybe a chameleon? You blend well into your surroundings..” Surroundings, yes.. not into the background. Louisa was like a shining light. Józsua imagined she stood out from the crowd wherever she went. Hm.. He smirked a little at that. “Your secret is safe with me.” He understood that she wasn't serious but he appreciated that she elaborated. She articulated things well when she talked about herself which was something he struggled with. “Unnecessarily complicated and obnoxious?” He repeated. “m... yet to see that side.” Which... meant he'd like to see some more of her.. They sounded like the best sort of friends. SHE was so opposite to him in many ways. He was too cautious about hurting anyone's feelings.. he wished he could be more like this woman. Yet another name to add to the list of people he admired.

He pulled a face as the conversation focused on him and his awful inability to take a compliment. He didn't understand either.. Maybe it was being brought up on a diet of subtle put downs and beratings.. always being compared.. It was easier to make light of compliments than to awkwardly accept something you didn't believe. Aaand she noticed the deflection.. Of course she did. She noticed everything. Józsua was embarrassed.. Maybe she was a psychologist rather than a detective. “No.” He said, shaking his head, masking his embarrassment with a smile. “I jus'.. I never know what to say.. without sounding ingenuine.”

Lima happily kissed him back. "I love you so much," she told her husband. She didn't know what she would have done without him, she would have been so miserable. "I'm sure he is, and if not I'm sure he will grow out of it like you did." Hopefully he was being good, but you never could know with teenagers.

Whiggy, Huh? "Who you calling Whiggy," she said as she playfully poked him in the chest.

There had been every chance that she was going to find out that either Matt had already guessed her preoccupation, or that he’d been jumping to conclusions and unnecessarily worrying himself. Stella had known that, and that was why she’d taken her time figuring out exactly how to explain. She had relaxed when it had proven that the former was correct, or at least that he hadn’t assumed it was anything they should really worry about. “Oh, I know that. We would have gotten an exasperated Patronus message or something if she’d had trouble,” she responded with a smile. She doubted he hadn’t quite figured out that her best friend didn’t usually deal with things she didn’t want to for long without complaint. “Joshua is probably there keeping things under control anyhow,” she added, hoping that would help Matt relax more, knowing it wasn’t just Risa watching their children. She hadn’t heard that he’d had any trips lately for work. It was good for Risa having him around, if amusing. That was one relationship that had honestly surprised her when she’d first heard about it. Not to mention that was what had brought them to London in the first place and closer to her. Closer for their kids, given Caden and Autumn’s fast affinity for each other. It was adorable, really, even if it meant yet another redhead in their life.

“Mm, it has,” she agreed quietly, even as they had continued dancing, her head still on his chest. There was every possibility the last time had been at their wedding. She couldn’t remember exactly. Having three kids could do that to a girl. They certainly kept things exciting. Caden with his little drawings on whatever he was given to draw on, and the girls were starting to show their separate personalities already. She already knew there would probably be trouble when it came to Matt with Kieran, but that was cute. She just had to wait and find out how it all played out. Back in her thoughts, it had taken her a moment to realize he had spoken again, yet she’d tilted her head to look up at him once it had registered. “Honestly?” Had she ever wondered that? She couldn’t really remember, but then, things were perfect the way they were. They still had memories here.

o_O Did Orlando Renaldi just offer her a job?

"That's more of a Bridget thing. If she wasn't so successful in her own right she'd probably jump at the opportunity to be honest," Ryden said, and there was most definitely no hint of resentment in her voice because she did not resent her twin sister. That would be dumb and pointless and both weren't Ryden's thing.

Sigh.

"Actually, could we perhaps talk about this? I'm, uh, a little desperate for something to do every day," she mumbled, pointedly looking anywhere else but at him because this was embarrassing and HOW did she even manage to get herself into this mess? She'd been so sure she'd have her life figured out by now. Figures Bridget, the less brilliant of the two and even she admits it, is better off than her. She'd always known what she wanted to do and she's bloody good at it, too.

Cue jaw drop and laugh. "You might want to star with 'I'm editor of photography' when you tell people you have a desk job, Mr. Renaldi," she pointed out. Always so modest. "And that sounds incredible, congratulations," she added softly, the 'I'm proud of you' portion of the sentence left unsaid because she didn't know him well enough to tell him that. This entire night was incredibly confusing at best, she didn't need to start getting all sentimental as well. Nuh-uh.

Her mood seemed to improve when there were a few seconds of silence where they just danced, moving this way and that until the song ended. And then she blushed again. "Right, I know, 'twas a joke," she tried unsuccessfully to cover up her idiotic comment, crossing her arms over her chest protectively.

"Yep! I bet they do!" He bounced a little. Why was this exciting? "And... I could drop off any information to my friends at the Daily Prophet." He winked. Friends was maybe a bit of a bold statement. A handful of the employees there would at least recognize his face.

His thoughts were interrupted by a speech given by one of the governer people. "Snoooooore." He whispered once she was finished.

Theo TUTTED. As if he would forget THAT. "Of course!" Their Hogwarts dancing was iconic (to him, anyway). "But we were just pining teenagers back then." HA. Literally. "I wanted to ask you out almost every day of seventh year." He placed a hand on her waist and swayed along to the music. Though, maybe it was best that they waited. Relationships during school were potentially quite suffocating. It was nice to have space, too.

Huh. Beauxbatons? That was an interesting little bit to know about him. Louisa thought it fit with his heritage to go to Beauxbatons. She wanted to ask the obvious, why he moved to Hogwarts but that would mean more personal information and more background bits. So she glided over that for now and focused on something else. "You'll have to do better to annoy me. I have good stamina." Louisa did have little patience for stupidity but other than that, she gave her time and effort generously... you just have to catch her attention first. Józsua did that already.

Ha! She got it right! Louisa was pleased, the slight beaming in her face was a bit much but he was a difficult puzzle. She laughed when he mentioned her being a detective, though, that was a first. "You think so? Thank you, maybe I should change lanes of careers now." She was joking, she'd finally gotten the job any aspiring diplomat would've wanted, but he didn't need to know that yet. "I wasn't always like this." Louisa shared, looking into his eyes. "A few misfortunes was all I needed to become people smart." A smirk found its way to her lips. Shy people were the hardest to read and make assumptions of, though, they had so many layers that hid their innermost quirks. Unlike introvert people, she wouldn't break down those layers, she'd accidentally break them too. Best way was to easy her way inside and take a peek at what made them tick this way.

Chameleon? Her smirk stayed there accompanied with a raise of her eyebrow. "Maybe..." Though she'd rather not blend in with her surroundings, she could be quite the screaming contrast, but she didn't share this one with him. Enough bits about her were discovered by him, any more sharing and they'd stop being sweet strangers and start being REAL friends. At this point, she didn't want to be friends with him, she wanted the glamorous fantasy they shared last time to last longer. Speaking of, "Yeah, it won't take long for that side to show I'm sure. I'm interested to know at one point will you sprint off, though." Louisa teased, only half-joking.

Pulling faces when they talked about him, yes yes, Louisa had a friend who drove her crazy with this. Merlin's Beard, everybody was so selfless around here. "That's your justification?" She chuckled. "I don't buy it, but fine. I'll teach you." Heh heh, she enjoyed being a teacher to cute guys, she did. "You don't have to say anything, just give them that edgy look I taught you." She did.

Slipping his arm back around her waist, Ethan pulled Minerva a little closer to him. "Oh, I don't know about that," he chuckled. "I think I'll just stick to dancing with my wife." He enjoyed dancing with her when they had opportunity but he didn't see himself as a competitor or that good. Still, he couldn't tell if she was joking or not. Ethan couldn't help but to grin at the kiss on his cheek and hearing her words. "Feeling a bit nostalgic?" He wouldn't mind that himself as there were quite a few places around the castle and its vicinity that held special memories for them. "I'm sure we could visit some places." Maybe not disturb any classes but the whole castle wasn't off limits, right?

He could look back on some things about his final year here and laugh. Not all, but some like the deplorable condition the castle had been in. "Right.. Mum sent up some actual silverware and plates and things," he chuckled. He remembered deliberately leaving a few things out so as not to worry his parents but there had been some obvious financial issues. He knew that Min had said things were better the next year though the turnstiles were still at the Quidditch games when he came to visit.

Hmm, odd. He almost got the feeling that he had said something wrong, though she was the one who brought up it being nice to see old professors. Though there were a couple he was sure she wouldn't want to see either so maybe that realization had hit her. As she put her head on his shoulder, Ethan put his arm around her tighter to hold her closely to him as they danced to the slower song. He liked those ones best.

Well then. Tiberius supposed he had maybe caught Gabriel a bit off-guard, seeing as he was mid-dip with no real sense of when he might be upright again. He chuckled a little as Gabriel finally pulled him up, mouth spreading into a grin at the stammered french. "Well, good," he responded, as they spun.

Enjoying the dance, Tiberius was quiet a few moments, thinking about how it wasn't a matter of if, anymore, but when. The applications were in and it was only a matter of waiting, now. "Look at us," he whispered as they moved across the dance floor. "Talking about where our kids will go to school." He laughed lightly. "I think I've had a bit of a one-track mind, lately."

Honestly it wasn’t that surprising that Stella had been wondering how the kids were, considering this was their first time away from them in a long time which really reinforced the idea that this date night definitely had been necessary because Matt knew there was no way things would have been able to continue properly without at least getting some time to themselves, that wasn’t to say that spending time with the kids was a problem but it was just different. Something which he still was adjusting to. “Risa is a good mother too, so despite previous things, I know she can handle it. It’s not like you’d have to worry about the kids because they’re all occupied in some way. Hopefully nothing destructive.” he commented, immediately thinking back to what Cameron had done to one of the bedroom walls which definitely wasn’t fun to deal with.

Sure his daughter was two but that was honestly a bit much for the whole ‘terrible twos’ phase, regardless that was something that could have waited to be dealt with in time. Just getting to enjoy the dancing right now was way more important than figuring out what to do with walls that were a little damaged. Of course worrying about Kieran too was a whole other discussion since she was practically the little princess but Caden did look after his sister too so honestly it wasn’t really that bad, well not until they all grew up which partially was not a thought that he was looking to have cross his mind at the moment. “Yes honestly, I just started thinking about it myself since I mean… I was a lot different at 11, you know the stores though and you’ve seen the pictures thanks to my mom.” Of course his mother wanted to show his wife all of the embarrassing pictures though, they hadn’t really had that much of an effect on him anymore.

It wasn't that Sabel was against dancing. Not at all. In fact, he had become quite fond of it, but his dance-scapades usually occurred in the early morning, in his pyjamas, barefooted and either with one of the dogs, his daughter or his wife. It had been a very long time since dancing had been any sort of formal matter to attend to.

Emma had tried to give him lessons the night prior, having stood on his feet and holding his hands, telling him if he was stepping right or too fast. He trusted her capabilities as a teacher. Just not his own as a student.

Placing his hand over Arya's, Sabel leaned close to whisper in her ear. "Are you sure this is a good idea?"

Really? She did remember that he had two left feet at Hogwarts, right? It was something he attributed to his age at the time, but being back under the familiar roof of the school, he had a suspicion it might flare up again. Interesting things always did happen at Hogwarts.

And just to make sure that she knew he wasn't getting cold feet or being a party pooper, he placed a quick kiss on her cheek before drawing back with a genuine smile. "You look beautiful, by the way."

Arya was EXCITED to be back at Hogwarts. How long had it been? Almost a decade, since she'd skipped through these halls just a young girl. Now she was a woman with children who did not fancy being left at home, but she was surprisingly okay with that too. It had been even LONGER it felt, since she and Sabel had a night out together.

"I'm positive. Most everyone here knows we can't dance, so there's no embarrassment. Plus I'm super good at charms now, so no hurt feet after." She had been good at charms back then TOO but not wise enough to think to charm her own feet. Funny how age changed how you thought.

She grinned at him and took his other hand so she had both, pulling him onto the dance floor. "Not as handsome as you look. The bow tie is a nice touch." He was much more formal than she, but Arya wasn't one to care for being so formally dressed. Not when the invitation said semi-formal.

Sabel's sideways grin went to Arya. She understood him so well, as she always had. That, was one thing that hadn't changed in all the years that had passed. "I'll probably have to take you up on that offer, Mrs. Dakest. These feet weren't made for dancing."

But, if she kept smiling at him like that, he would dance with her through the whole night. Regardless of what his feet were or weren't made for.

Letting her lead him, Sabel laughed. "I didn't even know I had it. Emma wanted to find something to add to my outfit." Placing one hand on Arya's waist, Sabel slipped the fingers of his other hand between hers. "She found it in a drawer somewhere. I couldn't refuse."

Their daughter had inherited Arya's irresistible smile, and so he had been unable to say no. His life was run by the two women in it, and he was completely okay with that.

Starting them into a slow dance, Sabel tipped his head. "You are free to borrow it, if you would like. I'm sure it'd look dashing on you."

Now that she’d spoken, all that was left was to find out if Matt was going to say she was being silly. Stella honestly knew she was. It was just hard not to wonder what their children were up to, especially knowing Caden was with Autumn. Even at nearly four, she had a feeling they were going to be inseparable. Not that she minded, considering it just meant more instances of visiting with Risa while Matt was at work. He quite obviously wasn’t now, though, and she knew she ought to be enjoying their time away instead of wondering what their babies were up to. “Why do I have a feeling that will be the only time you admit you think that?,” she replied, lightly teasing him over the compliment to her best friend. She knew he’d understand. Just as she knew he would have never forbidden her from seeing Risa if he hadn’t decided the redhead wasn’t as irritating as he’d originally thought. Besides, they got plenty of alone time these days, even if it was just moments before bed. It was just times away from home together that were scarce, and why the reunion was welcome.

Even if his little tacked-on hope brought back those thoughts about what the kids were getting up to. “I doubt Risa would let her get to any permanent markers,” she said, vaguely. She didn’t quite know where Cameron had gotten the one at home for that matter, yet she had. The fact couldn’t be changed now, although a little paint did wonders with fixing the damage. They were just lucky the other two weren’t quite as troublesome. She knew Matt wasn’t just thinking of the one twin, though. He just wasn’t admitting that he was just as concerned about Kieran, if not moreso. Part of her couldn’t wait until all of them got older, just to see what would happen. Just to see how protective he’d get over his little princess. “Weren’t we all different when we were eleven?,” she asked. “I know my mother’s told you stories about when I was tiny too. Everything I got into with Risa.” She didn’t know it for a fact, but she knew there was every chance her mother had. Especially during that last term when she’d still been here at Hogwarts and Matt had been in France. She didn’t begrudge him for that odd friendship he had with her mother. It was an artist thing.

Józsua was aware that he was giving out personal information out freely and naturally and not getting much back from Louisa. But her insistent mysteriousness still just made her appeal all the more to him. Why was she so secretive? Was she afraid to get close to people?--His line of thought was interupted. Stamina, huh? Józsua grinned conspiratorially. “S'at a challenge to test it?” He asked. He had a little sister y'know? He knew how to annoy someone if he really put his mind to it.

She seemed rather pleased with herself when she eventually, after much toing and froing got his house correct. He nodded. “Mhm..” But obviously he was wrong. No elaboration again from Louisa. Hm.. So life had toughened her up then... or smartened her up to people, as she put it. He smiled slightly.. softly as she shared this, looking back into her eyes. He lifted a hand to brush her cheek lightly... tenderly. “I like you as you are now.” He said gently. He imagined she could use that people smartness and that sarcasm to her advantage. To tear down people who tried to tear her down, but all he had witnessed, so far, was her softer side. Although Józsua wasn't the personality type to aggravate someone's tough side. Those traits of hers instead gave her a humour which Józsua appreciated, and an insight into who he was just by observing him. He liked that he didn't have to talk about himself to feel close to this woman.

That 'maybe' was a no. He chuckled knowingly. She liked to stand out. That hair alone and the way she carried herself was enough to provoke attention he thought. “You don't seem all that high maintenance to me.” He teased her. “You're way too independent for that.” Mhm.. “..I don't do running.” He smirked. Maybe occasionally.. but keeping fit that way wasn't really Józsua's thing.

He raised a brow, eyes glinting.. going back to playfulness as a deflective. “That's the justification you're getting!” He smiled. Miss Non Elaboration here wanted him to let down his thickest layer of armour? Not happening. No. ….Not... yet..

She'd teach him? He laughed brightly. “Okay.. okay.. So if you were to say I look nice today. I should...” He tried that edgy look again, chin down and eyes on hers. Serious.... failing for the little smile he was trying to keep from his face. “I dunno...” He was unconvinced. “People might think m'a little weird if I look at them like that..” Or.. weirder. Is that what Louisa did? Maybe he should try complimenting her. See if he could coax out that hot edgy look he'd admited so much when he met her at the festival.

Her giggle. Jory loved Ronnie’s giggle. “Did I ever tell you that you have a nice giggle, future Mrs Stonewall?” That sounded good too. Mrs Ronnie Stonewall. “Might?” Jory smirked. “Sure. You might have.’’

“I wonder what she’s up to these days. Did you know that the first time I met her, I got the impression she disliked me?” He could still vividly remember the day he had come across young Gwen doing some sketches. “Have you heard from her recently?” Oh yes, he did have one question not relating to his friends. “Have I improved on my dance moves?”

Cassia almost forgot that Theo had interned there and made friends or acquaintances or whatever the term was. And now that he'd mentioned it, she imagined if she was a journalist snooping around for a hot topic. The spy in her told her that she could totally do it. "Well, maybe one of your friends can talk me up to the boss there some day," She said with a smile hoping to get into university first then becoming a successful journalist and all. One day, hopefully.

Wasn't surprising that Theo didn't bother to applaud, it made Cassia laugh. "How did they ever make you Head Boy," She teased.

Closing the space between them, she leaned closer and rested her head on his chest. "Mhm, we were," It seemed like a whole different lifetime. "Sometimes I wish that you had, but then you wouldn't have sent me that cute letter," she grinned up at him and stood on her toes to place a kiss on his cheek. High-heels advantages.

Louisa just fell a little in love with him when he said 'challenge'. And yes, this definitely was a joke, no one was allowed to fall in love yet. "I love challenges. But most importantly..." She smirked properly now, moving her hands and locking them behind his neck now the music was slow enough. Also to get a teensy bit closer to him. For talking purposes, of course. "... I admire those who take on a challenge." It was the sign that this person was interested in spending time/effort with/on her. She didn't have to convince or manipulate play games to get that, it was a natural action and reaction connection with Józsua. She loved it.

His hand touched her cheek softly, and his words had a bigger effect on her than she expected so she dropped her gaze immediately, looking anywhere but his eyes, anywhere was easier and safer than his face, actually. He didn't know what he was doing. He seemed so clueless in a way she hadn't seen in people for a while. Unblemished and... a fresh start. Louisa forced a chuckle out to replace the nervous look on her face, and gently took his hand lowering it to her waist. "Th-thanks.." Oh Merlin, this was embarrassing. Ugh. She hated this, she wanted to make a witty comment to un-lameify this whole moment. Nothing witty was coming to mind, though, it was all about blocking out the nice tender feeling that had already spread and made her feel good. Bloody hell.

It was easy when he went on telling her other things... without that let-me-look-beyond-your-sarcasm-and-see-into-your-heart kind of way. Though his saying she was independent made her smile again, in an easy and confident way. It was a big deal that he noticed her tendency to being independent even though they only knew each other... well, they only met once before, so what they knew of each other was what they allowed to let on. And she was pretty careful with this, maybe too careful for a potential friendship but not too careful for investing more in last time's connection. "You don't run off when things get messy and complicated?" Her tone was full of suspicion, she wasn't ready to bet on that. "I think our list of challenges is growing." Her smile changed back to her former smirk.

Niiiice playing, Józsua Istvan. He wasn't cracking easily, and Louisa caught his eyes to see if he had caught up to how she was keeping the essential personal things away from him, too. He probably did, he was intelligent. Quite young but intelligent. "Fair enough." For now.

Now she laughed. When he did that edgy look, it was his smile that ruined it for him and made it look slightly cheesy. Louisa shook her head, "You can't be edgy on cue, I think. That's fine, that's fine. Try something else." Edgy was not for cute guys, those had their natural charms to use. "Try looking like you already know-- no, you own that compliment. Try again.." She paused. "I think you have very nice dark eyes, Józsua." Was she acting? Was she not?