Brooklyn hadn’t been surprised one bit that it was quieter out in the courtyard than it was inside the castle. Especially down in her common room, where she still half-expected the house elves to show up randomly again to have her housemates threaten to hex them. That was still weird, on the list of entirely weird things that had happened this term. The swamp and the nifflers in the Chamber of Secrets were up near the top of that list, of course. Her being outside when there was still snow on the ground hardly merited notice, and so far nobody had. Nobody had even come outside, until she saw a figure over the edge of her book.

“You better not be thinking about using that on me,” she commented, nearly at the same time as he had spoken. The Gryffindor’s comment had earned one of her patented looks though. “If it was a library book, maybe. If I wanted to be among all the other people, maybe,” she replied. The inference was there, if he was smart enough to get it. She doubted he was, and she was going to keep an eye on that snowball in his hand. She knew better than to trust that he wouldn’t throw it at her. Not all Gryffindors could be trusted. She’d met maybe one who could, and that was only because he’d saved her from getting all icky with swamp water. She doubted Frankie would have done that.

It. Was. Cold.

Freezing really. Maggie had completely misjudged the weather - or the outside temperatures rather. It had LOOKED nice and warm. It was SUNNY AFTER ALL! Why was British sunny not actually warm? It wasn't fair. It didn't make sense. It was plain rude too. Because now Maggie was cold. Even shivering slightly.

BUT she was way too proud to go back inside and change.

So she was sitting out here, IN THE SUN! Focusing very hard on the whole 'not appearing to be cold' thing whenever somebody walked past. This was nice. Mhm.






..............She couldn't feel her toes.

It was honestly too cold to be out without a cloak, and so Dot was enjoying the very end of cloak season by swinging and twirling her way across the courtyard, the full fabric dragging against her ankles and tripping her up from time to time. She just giggled and swung again, spotting on a crack in the stones on the far side of the courtyard.

Or she was trying to spot, until a flash of fair hair caught her attention, and Dot twirled to a breathless spot in front of her younger housemate. "You look very fancy today." That was an observation, but it was funny how often people said thank you for observations, as if they were compliments. "It's cold, though. D'you want to share my cloak? It's probably big enough for three very small Slytherins, and we're only two. My dad thinks I'm going to grow into it." She probably wouldn't.

Not shivering, nope. There was someone coming her way so Maggie was going to show NO signs of being cold. Nope. She was a strong teenager. And totally warm. Yup. The sun was out and she was sitting in it so you know. Perfect outfit for today. Not cold at all.

Not. At. All.

"I know! Thank you!" Maggie beamed at the fellow Slytherin, and tugged on her dress a little. Maybe she could tug it further down to cover MORE of her legs. What if she pulled up her feet and sat on them? But then again, that was very much UN-ladylike so no. Not an option.

Only when Dot mentioned the cloak did Maggie look at it properly. It was HUGE. "I'm fine." She was really not. "But we can still share if you want." She'd decided that being seen sharing a cloak with Dot definitely trumped pneumonia. The older girl wasn't THAT bad. Despite the fact that she did some things that Maggie did not agree with.

At all.

She was not in the best of moods to be honest. She was just so confused & so flustered & upset, along with many other feelings she was having difficulty understanding. It was making it almost impossible for her to even read her book on Runes that she was so looking forward to reading a few months ago when she had purchased the book.

'Was it me? Did he suddenly change his mind?'

Josette shook her head & tried not to think of it anymore. Right. Back to the Runes. She cleared her throat & tried to focus her attention back on the pages in her book...which obviously did not last long.

'But if he changed his mind, why would he even bother to ask me?'

That was the main question she wanted answered. The fourteen year old clenched her book briefly but relaxed very soon after. She blinked a couple of times until she was noticing water in her eyes slightly blurring her vision. Wait, was she...crying? DRATS!

No No No No.. NO Crying!

She tried her best to wipe away these very embarrassing tears but it was no use, they wanted to be seen & there was nothing she could do about it. Josette could think of nothing more to do, other than just hang her head low & at least attempt to read this book. Hopefully, the tears that were now dropping onto her Runes book wouldn't be too ruined after this.

After all the partying...it was back to studying. Ethan saw the opportunity days ago...and the opportunity turned to be a very disappointing night. The Slytherin even sent an emergency note to Simon, but it seems that his Watson was also affected by the spell during the prefects’ event. It was a splendid night indeed, but kind of disastrous if you actually asked someone out before the spell had hit them.

Ethan Mordaunt looked like the epitome of haggardness. Wrinkled clothes, unkempt hair, dark circles under his eyes...and he may even have lost some weight after all the studying and sleepless nights for his OWLs. Not bothered by his appearance, the sixteen year old ventured towards the courtyard to enjoy the sun while studying for his upcoming high profile exam.

Without looking at where he is going, he entered the courtyard with a book close to his face, and a bag full of books and revisions slung over his shoulder. He was too engrossed with his book that he didn’t notice the broken tile on the floor. It only took seconds after he stepped on it that his book went flying, his body now flat on the ground, as he tripped on himself. “Owwwwwwwwww,,,!!!” He may or may not be cursing everyone right now under his breath.

SERIOUSLY?!

She heard the sound of footsteps on the grass, which clearly meant that someone else was entering the courtyard & she knew that she had hide her face in the embarrassing state it was in at the moment. She tensed up praying that that person might not notice her tears or reddened face & just pass her without a second thought. But that was apparently not what had happened. Instead she heard this person, who sounded like a boy sort of yell out in pain, which did scare her a bit.

Josette slowly lifted her head when he had stopped his noise, thinking he might be gone, but alas she was wrong again. He had apparently fallen & was now on the ground. She knew that feeling all too well. But should she go & help him? Or should she take this opportunity to run away without being seen? She quickly gathered her things & stood prepared to leave, but she stopped herself before she could even taken a step. A feeling of guilt coming over her, she bit her lip & looked at the unknown boy hesitating once again.

Without realizing it, the fourth year was headed in the direction of the boy. She couldn't quite make out who it was, but he did look older than her. Once she was beside him, knelt beside him. "A-Are you alright? Di-Did you need help getting up?" Josette kindly offered her hand to help him stand, still fully unaware of who this was. "D-Do you need to visit the healer?"

His head was still clouded...and he felt every ounce of confusion wash over him again for the nth time that day. There’s such as thing called information overload, and if his brain was a mechanical machine, it would probably be at its melting point right now. Ethan stayed on the ground for a few good seconds, savouring his fall. He even considered staying there and go sleep so he could forget all about his worries and anxiety.

The voice didn’t register right away, nor did the stuttering, so the sixteen year old sloooooooowly pushed himself on the ground, and stayed in an all-four position. He tasted blood inside his mouth, and figured that he’s got a cut somewhere inside his mouth.

Did she say healer? No, he’s not a little kid anymore who’d go crying over a small boo-boo. Besides, taking a trip down the ward hall would take up much of his time. Ethan just shook his head and got his books and bag off the ground. “I think I’m fine...” LIE. “Thanks for asking—"

And the world stopped spinning.

Ethan who was now standing up with a book tucked under his arm and an overstuffed bag slung over his shoulder, he looked at Josie square in the face, his brain completely going blank. Talk about an awkward encounter? To make things worse...

Rrrriiippp!

His bag ripped, and all of his books and revision papers fell on the hard ground. Ethan however did not notice this...Josie was more important apparently.

From the way the boy was not responding to her, she thought he might have severely injured himself & was getting very concerned at this point. Perhaps she should go & fetch help? But wait, before she could even do that, the boy was moving, thank Merlin otherwise she would have started to panic. She watched as he managed to move himself into an all-four position which made her wonder if he could even stand at all.

Up until this moment she still had not received any kind of verbal response from him to find out if he was alright, but she did however noticed him shake his head towards her & gather his books, along with his bag. 'I think I'm fine..' She didn't fully believe him. Still she had to ask, "A-Are you s-sure-"

She couldn't even finish her sentence. Her bloodshot eyes widened almost immediately. Her mouth dropped & she couldn't believe what she was seeing, more like WHO she was seeing. The last person she was expecting run into & that was all she wanted to do right now. Was run. Yes, it was Ethan, well a more unkempt version of him. Why did he look so disheveled? Josette just stood there as he stared at her, & she stared right back. Who knows how long that must have been, but she was soon brought back into reality when his bag had ripped dropping all of his papers & books onto the ground. She jumped a little bit looking at all of his things & then her eyes darted back to meet his.

"U-Uh...H-Here..."

She quickly knelt down trying to gather all of his things together for him, trying not to look up at him all while doing it. But her eyes did glance at his feet every now & then to check for any sign of movement. 'Just help him gather his things & when you hand it to him you'll run before he can see you cry again..'

See? Just like that, a comment was taken as a compliment, and Dot had gotten away with not hurting any feelings but not saying anything untrue or disingenuous. She settled on the bench next to Maggie and draped her cloak around the other girl's shoulders.

Now they were both warm.

"You're probably fine, but I'm getting warm and this is better for me. Why are you out here, anyway? I think there's still pudding in the Great Hall. I like puddings... we could go inside and get some?" Because it was actually quite chilly now that she didn't have extra cloth swathing her legs.

Meanwhile Maggie had apparently gotten away with NOT acknowledging that Dot had probably just saved her life. Or at least from a visit to the Hospital Wing. She was SUCH a good actress, huh?

Hehe.

Pudding? "I don't like pudding." Maggie stated with a small shrug - covering up a shiver. "And it's so nice out today!" She went on, looking up at the sun. That liar. The sun that is. Making her think it was actually WARM out when in fact it...well, wasn't.

"You don't have to have pudding. I like pudding." Dot leaned in against Maggie when the wind picked up, sending the edges of the cloak snapping against them and flinging Dot's loose hair into her face. Ugh. Mouth full of hair.

"What do you like? Other than... fancy dresses and extremely cold days masquerading as warm ones?" Talking kept her from hearing the sound of her teeth banging against each other. The violent shivering was really distracting from the friendly dialogue Dot was hoping to start.

Bring in all the awkward in the world.

Ethan just stood there, lost for words for the first time. He was too upset about what happened, and at the same time, the pressure of his OWL exams proved to be too much for the sixteen year old. Though, he has to admit that he’s thankful he’s got OWLs to think about...and not some stupid ball that ended up really bad for him...and Josie.

It took him seconds to realize that Josie was already on the ground picking up his things. He too started to pick his things up. What should he exactly say? Should he say sorry? Sorry for what? For being stood up? Ethan bit his wounded lip and winced at the pain. “Look...it’s...it’s fine. I got this.” The Slytherin said concentrating on the mess before him. He got his wand out, and pointed it at his satchel. “Reparo.” The spell did its thing, and his bag was as good as new.

Tucking away his wand, he quickly glanced at Josie, then continued to stuff his bag with his things. “Is everything okay, Jo?” he asked casually without looking at her. “Your eyes...” She had been crying, yes? Ethan mentally groaned at the thought, and couldn’t help but feel guilty. But why does he feel that way? He was the one who got left behind during the bloody Masque party.

How was the fact that DOT liked pudding relevant to Maggie ??????

She didn't know but didn't verbally question it either.

Especially seeing as it was right then that a particularly strong wind picked up, making her feel as if she was about to be blown away AND frozen at the same time. Good thing the other girl had leaned in a little. Because so had Maggie. It was okay to do that even with people who weren't your friends if it meant not dying. Yes. That was a fact, look it up.

What did she like? Not dying was what she liked but she couldn't exactly say that. She wiggled her foot slightly without realizing it in an attempt to revive her toes. "I like berries." It was been the first thing that had come to her mind. Seeing as they were talking about food and stuff. "And summer." Mhm. Like the sun. Yes.

Not like the current sun though.

Abby wandered down to the courtyard and sighed she couldnt believe that the term was almost over and she was glad that she had the field trip to look forward to she was surprised that her parents had given her permission to attend she was still under age but it gave her something to look forward

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Abby wandered down to the courtyard and sighed she couldnt believe that the term was almost over and she was glad that she had the field trip to look forward to she was surprised that her parents had given her permission to attend she was still under age but it gave her something to look forward

With the end of the term drawing near and the weather growing warmer Hady found herself outdoors more and more whenever she could be. Since she didn't have OWLS or NEWTS to take yet she was able to enjoy the fresh air without worry.

With nothing much to do this morning the second year found herself out in the Courtyard. Wandering around slowly with now real place set in mind she soon found herself coming upon a friend (Abby). With a light grin she walked towards the girl calling out to her in greeting, "Hey Abby!"

Abby looked up from her thoughts and said "Hey there Hady, care to join me?" Abby was glad that she had found a friend to talk to she hadn't seen Hady for a while

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Abby looked up from her thoughts and said "Hey there Hady, care to join me?" Abby was glad that she had found a friend to talk to she hadn't seen Hady for a while

Oh good. Abby seemed generally happy to see her.

"Sure. Where were you headed to?" Hady asked quickening her pace briefly until she reached the older girl. Had Abby been headed anywhere or was she just simply walking around like she had been? Either way it didn't really matter at least they'd both have someone to talk to.

Abby smiled at Hady and said "Was not heading anywhere special just wanted to get out of the castle to get some fresh air it is all a bit tense just now with the students who are sitting there OWLs or NEWTs at the moment"

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Abby smiled at Hady and said "Was not heading anywhere special just wanted to get out of the castle to get some fresh air it is all a bit tense just now with the students who are sitting there OWLs or NEWTs at the moment"

Hady nodded at that. It was getting a little hectic inside with the older students studying and taking their tests. Not to mention it was beautiful out so there was no point in staying inside and not taking advantage of a lovely day. "Yeah I know, I hope I don't go all crazy when it's time to take them like some of the older ones are. They're all getting so worked up." Really what was the point in stressing out over it? It's not like freaking out helped any.

Abby smiled and said "Well i think i know that i will probably crack under the pressure when i sit my OWLs in a couple of years time and i have to say i am not looking forward to sitting them at all"

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Abby smiled and said "Well i think i know that i will probably crack under the pressure when i sit my OWLs in a couple of years time and i have to say i am not looking forward to sitting them at all"

"I honestly don't know how I'll handle it. Hopefully I don't crash and burn while taking them." She replied shrugging her shoulders. These tests seemed a lot more important then those standard muggle ones schools make you take just to see if you're learning what you're supposed to. If she wanted to be an animal healer then she needed to do really really well. Failing was not an option, it never was. However she wouldn't have to worry for another few years still.

Abby smiled and said "Yeah i am hoping the same but i mean really the exams are important as they can set out what we will be able to do in the future and have you read the notices about the field trip after the term has finished"

Quote:

Abby smiled and said "Yeah i am hoping the same but i mean really the exams are important as they can set out what we will be able to do in the future and have you read the notices about the field trip after the term has finished"

"Well yeah the exams are important but stressing out over them isn't going to help any." Hady replied quietly shoving her hands into her pockets and looking around as they walked. If you took the time and passed yourself studying a little each day then you'd know what you'd need to know. That's how she looked at it and what she always told herself but even with that she had to admit she always seemed to get ahead of herself with studying and learning new things.

As the question changed to summer break and the field trip a small grin formed on the seconds years face. "Uh-huh. My parents already agreed to let me go. Are you going?"

Abby grinned at Hady and said "Yeah my parents gave me permission to go to the field trip it is going to be fun and it is going to be interesting to see what we are doing while we are at Loch Ness and yes i think there is no point in stressing out over the exams until we are actually sitting them"