Why Dora had thought the dungeons would be a fun place to explore... she wasn't quite so sure now. This place was GROSS!! And she had just stuck her hand in something slimy. WHAT WAS THAT?! Ack! Shaking her hand about wildly she finally took the time to focus on WHERE she was exactly...

Which was she had NO IDEA. None. Zip. Zilch. Nada! No good. Dora would have backed against the wall and cowered, but gross stuff on the walls! And the floor didn't look fit for hunkering down either.

What was she going to do?!

"HEEEEEEEELLLLLLLLLLLPPPPPPPPPPPP! "

Lost and scared and little!! Send help!!

MARCO......

ZzzzZZZzzzz nothing like a good ole noon nap zzzz-----

WHATWHOWHATWHENWHAAAAAAAA -

Cosgrach JUMPED to his feet at that scream and looked frenetically around. Okay, he was still in his room, which looked pretty saf -

The scream came from OUTSIDE!

SPIDERS AGAIN.

Cosgrach drew his wand in 0.0082 seconds and rushed to the door. Yanking it open, he yelled ALL the shield charms he knew around himself, lit his wand to see better, saw the girl, and in no time, the girl was HUGGED tightly to save her from whatever was trying to harm her.

"WHERE?" WHERE WAS THAT STUPID CREATURE!?

OMG WHAT WAS HAPPENING?! A professor came out of NOWHERE with his wand pulled... Dora gave a yelp and covered her head with her arms, waiting to be hit by the spell...

Only the man hugged her? He was HOLDING ONTO HER. Dora used this opportunity to wipe the gunk off her hand... onto the back of his jacket... and CLING RIGHT BACK TO THE STRANGE MAN BECAUSE HUGS WERE WELCOME WHEN DORA WAS SCARED. And she was now.

After the man asked where... she peered up at him and whispered, "I'm right here, Professor Dude. " Who else was he looking for? Was he senile or something? Did he forget he was hugging a child who was basically now koala clinging to him, legs and all.

Cosgrach didn't even feel her hand, because he was too busy trying to survey the whole area with his lit wand. Where was it where was it WHERE okay wow was she heavy SHOULD THEY RUN YET -

UGH GIRL REALLY THAT WAS NOT WHAT HE WAS ASKING!

He didn't want to waste time with talking while he could just direct his wand everywhere to SEE, but NOTHING attacked them and...

"Where is the attacker?" He still wasn't calm, but... if she just screamed because she saw a tiny bug...

...Ooooh. it kind of made sense now. Not really. But maybe a little? Dora looked up at him with her BIG EYES and poked her bottom lip out REAAAAAAAL far. "There is no attacker, sir. I am lost. Please help." DID he see how big and sad and sweet her eyes were? She even gave him an extra squeeze of a hug just for added cuteness.

Although, in all fairness, she had no idea screaming help would elicit such a reaction from a Prof. Hindsight is 20/20 and all.

No attacker . . . No attacker . . . Lost . . . Lost . . .

Cosgrach took a step backwards at that instant as he tried to control his anger. He didn't even feel the hug - he was THAT mad. Why was she still hugging him and looking at him like that anyway?

"So you screamt just because you think you are lost." His tone was on edge CLEARLY. The right answer to this question was: No, sir, I screamt because I really was in life threatening danger. Because she WASN'T lost, see? She was OBVIOUSLY in the dungeons, right beside the potions classroom.

Okay... the look wasn't working on this one. Crud. CRUD.

Dora released her arms and legs at the same time and plopped onto the floor on her bottom. Her bottom lip began to wibble of its own accord. She was going to cry at him if he was mad at her. SHE WOULD DO IT!!

Covering her face with both hands she spoke muffled, "I'm sorry, Professor... I JUST WANT TO GO HOME! " Her shoulders shook as she forced herself to cry on cue.

. . . her lower lip was wibbling . . .

Merlin no . . .

He remembered Fern, the Hufflepuff that had broken down RIGHT here in front of him, then fainted and he had to carry her to her dorm. She had been only a second? third? year then, and Cosgrach was stuck with a crying first year only 5-6 years later. This wasn't happening AGAIN. No. He wasn't going to let it.

"Have you spoken to your head of house about it?" he asked quickly as anger was replaced with slight panic, "I'm sure home education can be arranged!"

Presenting the best soother in the world, Cosgrach Culloden, able to say the WORST thing ever in a heartbeat.

...he really WAS terrible at comforting children. Sooo bad at it. Suggesting she be home schooled actually did hurt a little and Dora looked up at him with tear streaked face and a bottom lip poked out far enough to trip over and just shook her head.

"Hogwarts offers the best magical education in the world and you think I should be homeschooled. You don't think I should be here... " WOW CULLODEN WAY TO GO, BRO!

Dora's lip wobbled harder and she gave a wobbly cry before covering her face again. This was not a great first impression... from either of them.

And like... she was sitting in the FLOOR. GROSS. EW. ICKY. But she wasn't going to get up unless Culloden hugged her. Right now.

Oh well when you put it like that BUT SHE SAID SHE WAS MISSING HER HOME COSGRACH HAD BEEN TRAPPED HERE UGH HE HATED KIDS!!!!111111!!!!!!

"I don't think that!" he hurried to say, completely oblivious to her hugging needs, "I just said, since you miss your house..."

COULD SHE GET UP NOW THANK YOU. They were making quite a scene here.

Oliver stood in the hallway outside the potions classroom, vial clutched in his right hand. Since he had not totally messed up it was his own potion, with a little help from Culloden. Olly decided that he did like the potions master. He was a nice man who had just been a little grumpy at the beginning of the first lesson. If there was any professor to like he was glad Culloden was one of them, because his office was not far from the Slytherin common room. But that wasn't the point.

Normally, Olly wasn't a huge fan of homework. But this homework involved turning into an animal, which was very exciting. He was definitely looking forward to that. Writing a paragraph, not so much. He'd probably still do it though. Probably.

He held the vial in front of him. Looked fine. Not poisonous. He'd chosen to add fox parts; it had been a hard decision between that, a wolf, or some animal that flew. Olly unscrewed the top and wasted no time before consuming the contents. At first, nothing happened. He was standing there on his own two feet, regular human feet. But then the ground started to get closer and Olly's hands fell to touch the ground. Except, no, they weren't hands. They were paws, covered in reddish fur. It was so weird. His senses changed too. His sight remained relatively the same, but he could suddenly smell a lot more.

Woah. Once it seemed like the transformation was complete, Olly tried taking a step forward. It was weird, because movement didn't operate the same as it had when he'd only had two feet. Now there were four to account for. He was unsteady at first, tripping over his own paws more than a few times. As he paced up and down the corridor, he got better. It was still evident that he was not a real fox to anyone who would watch him move. But at least he wasn't falling over with every step anymore.

What was that smell? His fox nose picked up the faint smell of meat. He hadn't smelled anything like that just a few minutes before with his human senses. It was coming from...above him. Probably the kitchens, that seemed like a logical assumption. Olly decided to follow the smell. He was always in the mood to eat, and it would be interesting to figure out the logistics of eating while in the body of a fox.

Okay, this was the absolute last time he was coming down here unless it was for patrols or Potions. He was one hundred and thirty percent DONE with chasing that annoying little girl around just so that he could write to his mother that she was alive. ENOUGH. No more. Benzi wasn't sure how they managed to never see each other anywhere around the castle - he had a nagging suspicion she was avoiding him - but regardless he'd just informed her that today was the last time he was doing it.

Also, he remind her to not forget her terror of a kneazle - like Suri could ever forget that stupid animal - because apparently mother has someone she wants Cleo to meet. Whatever. Turning away from the Slytherin common room, Benzi sighed and started making his way down the corridor and out of the dungeons. How the Slytherins lived down here was beyond him, he absolutely loved the Ravenclaw tower.

Maggie couldn't find one of her dresses. Like. It was just gone. Like it had just vanished into thin air or something. Oh. Wait. HAD someone vanished it?? But then again, who would do that? Also who even had access to her clothes? Really only the girls in her dorm could do that. Only she hadn't antagonized any of them recently so she really couldn't imagine any of them doing that to her dress.

Besides, who would even do something so HORRIBLE as to vanish one of her dresses???

Maddie maybe.

So it probably was somewhere. It HAD to be somewhere. Her last idea had been that it was in the Great Hall from before Halloween. And as unlikely as that was, she'd checked anyway. No luck though. So now she was on her way back to her common room, a big frown on her face. Meh. I had to be somewhere. Had she lent it to anyone? She didn't think anyone was her size though. Maybe Kaycee. But-

Hearing someone's steps Maggie looked up from her Christmas packing list out of habit. Like, maybe it was someone interesting. "Hi." She greeted the person even before recognizing him, assuming them to be a fellow Slytherin. Only it wasn't. "Oh, hey." It was Noel's friend. Benzi. Weird name that was. "Hi." What was he doing down here in the dungeons?

Mind already wondering if there was something to eat in the Great Hall, Benzi almost didn't notice someone walk past him and say hi. But then the person greeted him two more times - three times, in total - and he stopped to look at who this strange girl is. Noel's friend. The baby one, Maggie.

Well.

"Hey. Do you usually say hello three times?" he asked, kind of curious. Perhaps it was the new lingo with the youngsters? Or possibly just a Slytherin thing? It seemed a bit redunant to be honest and if Suri was going to start saying hello three times whenever she saw someone she knew she'd never get anything done. If there was one thing he couldn't fault her for, it was her socialising skills. T'was a bit uncanny actually.

What was he-

Oh.

Maggie narrowed her eyes slightly once she'd stopped to look at him. Was he making fun of her? So now she could either be embarrassed about greeting him three times (why HAD she done that???) or own it. Obviously there was only one REAL option there. So she nodded. "Only when I run into...interesting people." She replied with a small smirk. Smooth, Maggie.

"So what brings you down here?"

Hady leant against the wall her arms resting lightly over her chest, foot tapping lightly against the floor. She had asked Zeke to meet up with her so she could ask him something this morning. His reply actually would allow her to plan a few things out so the sooner she knew the better.

Glancing down the corridor she fixed her eyes on the way she knew he'd come down. No point in wasting time when answers were needed. Hopefully she didn't make the boy panic when she had told him to meet her here. It wasn't anything bad. Guys were weird though and they always thought the worst all the time. She'd find out soon enough though.

Why did she choose this corridor out of all the others? Yes it was closest to her common room but it was freezing down here. Even if she was used to it by now she hadn't cast any warming charms on herself yet.

He really didn't know what to think when he got her message. It seemed urgent, but there was nothing to give it any real context. WHY did she need to see him? And WHY did he have to go ALL THE WAY down to the dungeons? Not that he minded, he actually made the trek fairly regularly these days, BUT... he wanted to know what was going on. Somehow being summoned rarely ended up being a good thing.

Opting not to keep Hady waiting, he had decided to change on his way down. It had seemed like a good idea at the time, but now that he had his sweater half way on his head, maybe not.

Somehow he managed to poke his head through the right hole in time to round the corner to one of the dungeon corridors and saw Hady waiting for him.

"Hey? What's up?" he asked.

Straight to the point, Hady! Don't keep him waiting and confused!

Was Maggie okay?

SPOILER!!: Mr. Worried

He really didn't know what to think when he got her message. It seemed urgent, but there was nothing to give it any real context. WHY did she need to see him? And WHY did he have to go ALL THE WAY down to the dungeons? Not that he minded, he actually made the trek fairly regularly these days, BUT... he wanted to know what was going on. Somehow being summoned rarely ended up being a good thing.

Opting not to keep Hady waiting, he had decided to change on his way down. It had seemed like a good idea at the time, but now that he had his sweater half way on his head, maybe not.

Somehow he managed to poke his head through the right hole in time to round the corner to one of the dungeon corridors and saw Hady waiting for him.

"Hey? What's up?" he asked.

Straight to the point, Hady! Don't keep him waiting and confused!

Was Maggie okay?

The second she had turned to glance the OTHER way thinking maybe he had taken a different route this time she heard his voice. Turning back around she grinned at him instantly. What's up? As in 'how are things going' or 'why did you message me'? Hady figured it was probably a little of both so she didn't keep him waiting.

"Hey! Nothing to much I was just wondering if you'd gotten a chance to speak with your mum cause I heard back from my dad already." You know seeing as they had the holiday vacation and all that. "Are you able to come visit this summer?" If he still wanted to that is. Maybe he was going to visit Maggie now? Maggie...how would she feel about Zeke coming to visit her? Would she be upset about it?

Hady bounced lightly on her feet as she looked upwards at him. She'd figure out the Maggie situation in a few moments.

Seriously... was someone hurt? Was SHE hurt? Was there something he could do?

WHY DID PEOPLE JUST SUMMON HIM TO THINGS?! Being called away from his comfy common room had only paid off on a handful of occasions, but for a friend he would do anything. Or, just about anything.

But when Hady began speaking - giving him an opportunity to run his fingers through his hair - his confused expression was replaced with one of recognition. Geez. He had to be called down for this?!

"Not yet," he replied truthfully, "but she won't have a problem with it, like I said, she works a lot." BUT... this begged the question. "So... where would I be visiting you at?" he asked, unable to recall if she'd mentioned where they were moving to. Because, come to think of it, he wasn't sure he'd even told her he was moving... or well... that he HAD moved. Over Christmas. Whirlwind of a move, something that he was thrilled about though.

SPOILER!!: Zeke!

Seriously... was someone hurt? Was SHE hurt? Was there something he could do?

WHY DID PEOPLE JUST SUMMON HIM TO THINGS?! Being called away from his comfy common room had only paid off on a handful of occasions, but for a friend he would do anything. Or, just about anything.

But when Hady began speaking - giving him an opportunity to run his fingers through his hair - his confused expression was replaced with one of recognition. Geez. He had to be called down for this?!

"Not yet," he replied truthfully, "but she won't have a problem with it, like I said, she works a lot." BUT... this begged the question. "So... where would I be visiting you at?" he asked, unable to recall if she'd mentioned where they were moving to. Because, come to think of it, he wasn't sure he'd even told her he was moving... or well... that he HAD moved. Over Christmas. Whirlwind of a move, something that he was thrilled about though.

While speaking she watched the change in his expression. Only when she stopped speaking to allow him to answer she didn't get the reply she thought she would. Not that it was a big deal but now she wasn't sure what to do. At least his reply wasn't that his mum had told him no so it was still all good for now.

Hady rubbed her arm lightly before tucking her hands into the pockets of her hoodie. "That's okay. Cause I didn't move yet anyhow so yeah... the house wasn't ready." Her fathers words in the letter she'd received just before the holidays informing her she couldn't have gone home. She wasn't even sure if Zeke knew she hadn't gone home then. Anyhow she continued on since he had asked another question. This is where she grinned at him. "London. Which is why you HAVE to come. I need someone to show me around and prove it'll be fun living there." See Lion you HAVE to come visit now!

"Oh and um...would it be okay if I invited someone else too?" Not to join them right away but maybe a few days after he arrived.

He couldn't fathom houses taking so long to move into. Somehow his experiences were never drawn out. In the... two, technically three times he'd moved now, it had been the quickest transitions. Then again, he had a control freak for a mum, so that helped. Everything was set before he even knew what was happening.

And LONDON! When she said that, he grinned. "Where abouts?" still more questions, because London was a very big city, and greater London was even bigger. "Cause, I guess I have news?" he shrugged, slipping his hands into his pocket and leaning on the wall. "I just moved back to London, literally over Christmas, mum took her job back at the Ministry." So yeah. They were practically neighbours. Practically.

And... could she invite others? He wasn't going to stop her, that was silly. Zeke chuckled, nodding. "Of course you can, don't be ridic." Who was he to dictate who she could and could not have over?

SPOILER!!: Zeke

He couldn't fathom houses taking so long to move into. Somehow his experiences were never drawn out. In the... two, technically three times he'd moved now, it had been the quickest transitions. Then again, he had a control freak for a mum, so that helped. Everything was set before he even knew what was happening.

And LONDON! When she said that, he grinned. "Where abouts?" still more questions, because London was a very big city, and greater London was even bigger. "Cause, I guess I have news?" he shrugged, slipping his hands into his pocket and leaning on the wall. "I just moved back to London, literally over Christmas, mum took her job back at the Ministry." So yeah. They were practically neighbours. Practically.

And... could she invite others? He wasn't going to stop her, that was silly. Zeke chuckled, nodding. "Of course you can, don't be ridic." Who was he to dictate who she could and could not have over?

Hady hadn't asked questions really on the whole 'the house wasn't ready yet' situation. What she did know was the home her father had chosen wasn't the one she had picked out as liking. It was a different but her father promised her she would love the home even more then the other. She hoped so.

Spotting the grin on Zeke's face Hady's own grow. "Uh..." Where was it again. Um. She had even looked the place up to learn a bit about it. Oh! Oh! "Somerset, I believe was the name." Why? Did he know of that place? And then he went and said THAT!

Hady instantly beamed brightly at him. "Seriously?! That's awesome Zeke! I bet you're really happy about then, hm?" Of course he was. She remembered him saying many times how he wanted to move back there and now that he had surely he was very happy about it. "Is where you live close to where I'm moving?" He did know that much about it right?

Chuckling was happening. From the lion and then from herself and she couldn't contain her happiness. Honestly she was tempted to hug him she was that happy, only she didn't. Not yet anyhow. "So then you wouldn't mind my asking a certain blonde if they would like to come visit me as well?" she asked with a playfully teasing smirk on her lips. No need for names. He would know.

It was actually super amusing how Hady didn't seem sure about her new home, as in, where it was. He had only had that with Prague, New Town, Old Town and never mind the actual Czech names of which only Podskali was recalled. That was so far behind him now.

But then... Somerset?

Somerset County? No.....

Zeke racked his brain. Geography had never been his best topic, but he felt he knew London well enough. Was it Greater London? Greater Greater London?... the only Somerset's he could recall were just a few buildings by the name, but perhaps he was wrong. "I might have to look that one up," he confessed.

It was sweet though, that she was so happy for him, of course he was thrilled, though he did have SOME mixed emotions about it. "It's the greatest, who'd have thought getting detention would actually pay off." Kind of. London was awesome, but he KNEW it was because he was in trouble. As for how close it would be to her, he really couldn't say. "We're in Harrow now, Harrow South. It's Greater London, further out than Wembley and Highgate which is wear I lived before." Highgate that is. They might need to inspect a map though, because answers were needed.

He didn't really know what to expect when Hady said she wanted to invite other people, but somehow he hadn't expected Maggie to be one of them. That IS what she meant by blonde, right? Zeke's eyebrows arched, "Uhhhhh... and why would I mind that?" Legit question btw.

SPOILER!!: Zeke

It was actually super amusing how Hady didn't seem sure about her new home, as in, where it was. He had only had that with Prague, New Town, Old Town and never mind the actual Czech names of which only Podskali was recalled. That was so far behind him now.

But then... Somerset?

Somerset County? No.....

Zeke racked his brain. Geography had never been his best topic, but he felt he knew London well enough. Was it Greater London? Greater Greater London?... the only Somerset's he could recall were just a few buildings by the name, but perhaps he was wrong. "I might have to look that one up," he confessed.

It was sweet though, that she was so happy for him, of course he was thrilled, though he did have SOME mixed emotions about it. "It's the greatest, who'd have thought getting detention would actually pay off." Kind of. London was awesome, but he KNEW it was because he was in trouble. As for how close it would be to her, he really couldn't say. "We're in Harrow now, Harrow South. It's Greater London, further out than Wembley and Highgate which is wear I lived before." Highgate that is. They might need to inspect a map though, because answers were needed.

He didn't really know what to expect when Hady said she wanted to invite other people, but somehow he hadn't expected Maggie to be one of them. That IS what she meant by blonde, right? Zeke's eyebrows arched, "Uhhhhh... and why would I mind that?" Legit question btw.

Why did he seem so amused by her not knowing where she was moving to? It wasn't her fault! If they were staying in the US she would've known everything about this move but London was a whole other ball game for her.

Hady blinked at him. He didn't know. Great. Not what she had wanted to hear. It was okay though, they could explore the area together then. It might be more fun that way. Get lost and see what they could discover.

What did his getting detention have to do with a move? She tilted her head at him questioningly. Explain Zeke? And Harrow South? Greater London? What?! "Erm yeah...I have no clue at all what you're talking about. I've heard of it but I know nothing about locations so you can bet I'll be looking this up." Probably when she got back into her dorm.

The reaction she got made her laugh. "You wouldn't mind. I figured I'd ask you anyhow, since I asked you first." Now that it was okay though she'd have to speak with Maggie and see if the girl wanted to of course.