Noelle listened as Sabbie talked. She imagined laughter, fun, dancing, and close family, and she smiled. Although, Sabbie didn't know his parents, it was a good thing he had someone and others there for him.

Laying back into the pillows, she kept the one that was on her lap, in her hands over her chest. "Your heart wants when your heart wants?" Noelle was confused by this. Did that mean he just liked someone and when he was done with them, he just let them go? Noelle didn't know if she liked that. Sabbie didn't seem the type to do that though.

She could see that he matured faster than others, but she likes his old soul. He was wise and inquisitive. They way he viewed things was fascinating and different. Noelle liked different. She was always the one to pick the puppy that no one wanted. And she had goats as pets. Ones that slept with her too.

Noelle wanted to meet his grandmother. See all the dancing. "Do you think that I could come meet your grandmother over Christmas break?" She asked shyly. She didn't want to intrude on anyone. But the thought meeting his family was fascinating. She wanted to see how different they were from his family.

His last comment stuck with her. Noelle didn't know why he was telling her this. She could see he was. The way he held himself, the way he acted. She tilt her head and looked at him. "I know Sabbie, and I wouldn't want you to be anyone else."

Her family?? She didn't want to talk about her family when his was so much more interesting. "Im just a farm girl. I have two younger brothers and a baby sister in the way. My dad is shy and my mum means business but she's my best friend. We are all close. We help with chores when I'm there. I've learned things most eleven year olds don't k ow how to do yet." Was that good enough?

I would love for you to come and visit my family over the Christmas break, Nells, but I think you’ll have to talk your parents into that first. He laughed imagining her fathers face as she told him her plan head off with a gypsy boy. Their ideas maybe a little different to yours. Still chuckling, he said, Maybe you would have to bring them. Or, perhaps, I could visit you and your family, if they’d have me, I know my family would be fine with that. He knew they’d even encourage it, he imagined the good-natured jibes he’d receive from his aunts, uncles and cousins about pursuing her.

Oh, you live on a farm! Her pet goat made sense to him now. What is it that your family farms?

He listened to her describe her family. I'm glad you are so close with your family, it’s very important. A new baby, your family is very lucky, too. You must be very excited? How old are your brothers? What sort of chores do you have to do?

He was keen to keep her talking about her own life, rather than his.

After his first attempts of casting the Piertotum Locomotor spell, Hugo decided it was time to go somewhere else for a second round and the treehouse was the place he chose. It was one of his favorite places to be besides his dorm. Hugo climbed the ladder and to his surprise and happiness there was no one in around, good for him, that way he could fail all alone. He plopped on a beanbag and thought whether to try another spell or give one last shot at animating an object. And then it hit him, the best idea. Why not animate one of his gummy worms? That would be cool!

He took his bag from his robes and took one gummy, he ate it just because, the next one was going to be the experiment. Alright, now with his gummy worm in hand he pointed his wand at it, "Piertotum locomotor!" he noticed a tiny movement. This time he was going to make sure it worked because, come on a gummy worm come to life? Exactly. Again he repeated the spell "Piertotum locomotor!" and it started to move. Merlin! This was awesome. He had to show it to Dante. The gummy worm was crawling in his hand just like a real earthworm would do, it started to move up to his arm and before it could go any further he turned the gummy worm back to its inanimated state. And ate it. Which kind felt weird since he could only think of a real one and that was disgusting but the good thing was that the spell had worked.

SABBIE COULD COME TO HER HOUSE!!

Oh yes. This was happening. She was asking her mum and dad TODAY.

Her eyes lightening up, she aggressively nodded. "I bet my mum wouldn't mind you coming over!! She'd love to meet you! I owl her all the time about you! Maybe she will even let you stay? I'd have to ask. Would your family be okay with that?" She was stealing him away from his family again, she doubted they would be very willing about that.

Noelle still wanted to meet his family though.

"I still want to meet your family though. And you're not done talking about them right? I like hearing about them. Pllleasseeee." She was keen to him him talking about his family. So there.

Noelle cocked an eyebrow at Sabbie and his questions about her family. She was amused. Surely he was interested. That meant he didn't want to talk about his family... But whyyyy?? "Yes a farm! We raise cows. Daddy says horse farms are no good because they are a waste of money to breed. Cows provide us with milk, and meat. We sell Most of them though. We have other farm animals but those are just pets... " besides Baskins....... Baskins was no longer there.

"Jake is five and Timmy is three. And mum is pregnant with a girl but I don't know her name yet. I can milk a cow, I also daddy with the bay hales. Mum has me help her in the kitchens too."

He watched her with amusement as she chatted animatedly and made all the plans in her head, he just nodded and shrugged and agreed where necessary “Yes, his family would be ok with it”, he nodded, “yes, staying would also be fine”, he shrugged. He was quietly pleased with her next statement, She owled her family about him all the time? He raised his eyebrows and smiled.

Then she was asking if he was done talking about his family? Yes, he thought he was. “Plllleeeease”, she was begging him. Oh Merlin! he was such a sucker. He shook his head, and laughed,

"Ok, well I’m not sure what else to tell you. There are a lot of them, that’s for sure. He pictured their faces in his mind. He tried to imagine what they'd seem like from her perspective, "They can be quite loud and vocal, which I guess can be intimidating to others who maybe think they’re arguing or something. But really they’re not, thats just how they are having a normal discussion.] He laughed, "they just do everything with gusto, that’s their style.

He thought about his aunts and grandmother, "The women are strong and protective but they are also very warm. Be warned, once they know you there is a very high chance of big hugs, cheek squeezing and insistence that you eat second and third helpings of everything...He paused, Oh, but the food is so good, he smiled reminiscing in his mind over how he’d come in the door from school and dip bread into his grandmothers simmering Olla de San Antón. He could almost smell the rich aroma, he missed it so much. And now, he’d actually succeeded in making himself feel quite hungry.

So, her family were cattle farmers. He did agree that there was no money in horse breeding though, he had an uncle that kept and trained horses, and they weren’t rich, and as for other pets, well, he was sure he didn’t want to remind her about Baskins.

"If I come to visit, I want to help you with your chores. But, you’ll have to teach me how do it properly, I’ve never milked a cow". He laughed at the mental image. Hey Nells, You feeling hungry? He shifted his weight and rumpled through his robe pocket pulling out two chocolate frogs, a strawberry and cream flavoured muggle lollipop, and three wrapped caramels. He held them out to her, "Here take your pick,"he said. He nodded towards the window, "Look, the moon will be rising soon and it’ll only be red for the few moments that its close to the horizon, we shouldn’t miss it." He remembered he’d actually come there initially to watch the blood moon rise.

Sabbies family sounded amazing. She just loves their spirit, their sense of free. She LOVED her family but they were so structured and the only time they really got to have fun, free spirited fun, was after all the chores were done.

Noelle turned on her side and watched him as he talked about his family. She smiled. You could tell he loved his family from the way he talked. "i love the sound of your family. Maybe I can get them all to do a group hug together. Do you have any cousins or brother or sisters your age?" We're there anymore awesome people their age that Nells could become friends with?

"YOUD HELP ME DO MY CHORES?" Oh he was so coming over. "Mum might freak I bring a boy home but we have plenty of room in the old farm house. Are you sure your grandmother won't mind?"


Oh now he was taking about food...

"Hmmm..." She said debating what to choose. "Chocolate frog please!" She needed a Dumbledore for her collection.

Before heading back inside the castle, Paulina decided that it might be a nice idea to check out the treehouse and see what she could transfigure from there. She hadn't had a chance to check this area of the grounds out yet, so it should be interesting.

Slowly she made her way over to the tree before carefully climbing up the ladder. At least she had gloves on because otherwise her hands would be freezing!!

Looking around, she was pleased to see that the space was a lot bigger than it appeared. That was the lovely thing about magic because the muggle treehouses probably weren't the same. There was even a little drink fridge! How cute. Maybe she could use something from in there...

Thinking about it, that was probably the best idea because she wasn't sure if she wanted to perform magic on one of the cushions; she couldn't exactly take THAT around the castle in a transfigured state. She wanted to put her new object in her bag beside her mushroom.

Heading over to the fridge, Paulina opened the door and looked inside to see what was available. Water. That would be perfect. Smiling, she removed the bottle and took a seat on the comfy floor. With the water bottle on the ground in front of her she practiced the incantation a few times: "vair-uh VAIR-toh... vair-uh VAIR-toh... vair-uh VAIR-toh." When she felt ready she tapped the bottle three times with her wand. "Vera Verto."

Tada. Water goblet.

Boy, did he have cousins! “Yes, I have a lot of cousins, of all ages, Nells," he said with a smile. He paused considering the remainder of her query, I don’t think I have any brothers or sisters, but, I can’t be certain, can I?”.

You know I’d be happy to help with your chores. I want to see what you’re like when you're at home. He said, smiling. I picture you on the verandah of a large farm house with one of those swing chairs at the front, and there’s a big white fence and a red barn with a pointed roof, like what you see in American movies, he gestured with his hands as he spoke, describing the details. Am I even close? he said with a laugh.

He grinned at her So, how do you picture where I live? He was interested in how she perceived him.

He left the lollies in a little pile so that she could take her choice and get more if she wanted.

Hmmm. Noelle began to wonder if Sabbie did have other brothers or sisters out there.

"Maybe we can go on a trip one day to find your parents and find out?" Noelle liked that idea. The adventure!! Not to mention how cool would it be to experience finding his long lost parents and possibly brothers and sisters? "In the meantime, I'll have to become friends with your cousins. Maybe when we all get together and dance," Because definitely planned on dancing. " I can dance with some of your cousins! That'll be fun! If your grandmother and aunts don't punch my cheeks off first." She stated and giggled.

Noelle thought about her farm. She was super proud of it. Heck, she had even helped paint it when she was seven years old. "i love my farm." She stated and grabbed another piece of candy from the pile. "The shutters are this turquoise blue, and the house is painted this light gray. The porch surronds the whole house. A lot of my family comes around to just sit and talk on the porch. It's a two story, the bedrooms all being upstairs. There is a farm out back." She stated and glanced at Sabbie with a big smile. "but it's not red. It actually has a painting on it. Mum did it. She loves to paint and she said that was the best canvas she could ask for." She wondered if her mum painted it this year. About every two years, she changed it.

Maybe they could go on a trip one day to find his parents, she was right. He would have to find out where they’d gone first and there wasn't much he could do about that while he was stuck in classes at Hogwarts. Then a thought occurred to him, maybe he could hire someone to track them down, like a private detective or something?

She wanted to dance. Well, one thing he could say for sure, is that whenever his cousins and family got together to celebrate, there was always plenty of dancing, and the singing of bulerias always went on late into the night. I’m sure my cousins will be very happy to dance with you, Nells, he replied to her query. He was also quite certain that he’d be sticking close by her side during her visit.

He painted a mental picture of her place in his mind as she described it. The turquoise shutters, the vast verandah, her mothers barn mural. He imagined Noelle there.

He unwrapped a caramel, popped it into his mouth and wondered if she was still thinking over his question about how she pictured where he lived, as she hadn’t replied yet.

Noelle was lost in thought of perusing Sabbie's parents. She imagined them going all over the world until they found them. The adventure was very prominent in this one.

Noelle grinned at Sabbie. "im going to dance with them all! Are they good dancers? You'll dance with me too right?" She asked as she sucked on her lollipop.

Then she was imagining where he lived. She somehow always pictured him and his family in very close quarters. "I picture you living in caravans. Because you stated you move where you can perform and make money. -And your family is all there so there are at least five or six caravans. They are all decorated exotically with a lot of thought and effort." Noelle said picturing it all.

"Your grandmother is probably very important isn't she?" For some reason, she pictured his family like.... A Tribe, and his grandmother being the elder, the wise one, especially with the visions. "Was it even close?"

He laughed at her enthusiasm and said, Don’t worry, Nells, you’ll have no shortage of dance partners and, yes, of course I’ll dance with you, that goes without saying, he smiled.

When she started to describe his place, he cracked an enormous smile, which gradually grew into a chuckle and then an all out laugh, she was such a romantic and he found it endearing. Buuuut, she wasn’t even close, he laughed again. We don’t live in caravans, Nells, we live in houses like everyone else in Spain. He wondered if she was disappointed by that. Mostly, his aunts and uncles, actually had very nice houses and fancy cars to match. Its true, we do travel a lot for work, Nells, as a performance troupe, we are hardly in one place for long because we are touring. We have production agents in Granada, that promote the flamenco art and they do send us all over, even abroad. So we go where work takes us.

But she was right about his grandmother. My abuela, he considered aloud, is quite the character, he grinned. She's larger than life, she’s got a very strong personality that matches her voice. He paused, She is very well respected in our family and she certainly makes sure she has her way in family decision making. Of course, she is prone to having one of her ‘visions’ in order to get her own way and my family just accepts her wily ways with good humour as a reflection of her upbringing. He gave a laugh at the thought. Despite her quirks though, she’s very strict that we, as a family, adhere to the customs of our heritage and she encourages us to be proud of our roots.

She was raised in humble beginnings and so she has that fierce determination that is instilled by that kind of upbringing. You, see, when she was very young she danced, and her family did various odd jobs and travelled for work but they were poor. Then, according to custom, she married young, to Juan Antonio Gimenez, my grandfather, who went on to become an accomplished and renown flamenco artist. He unwrapped another caramel, and held it ready to pop in his mouth. They had 5 sons, you know, the pride of her life, and 1 daughter, my mother.

So, my uncles followed in my grandfather’s footsteps, becoming renown flamenco artists themselves and now, they are teaching my cousins and I. We've been dancing since before we could walk, he laughed.

My grandfather passed away 11 years ago, but my abuela still performs with our family. Her strength now lies in singing. He popped the caramel into his mouth and imagined her voice, ever powerful, as she called the dancers with her soulful lament.

Good.

Noelle loved dancing so having a lot of dance partners was going to be amazing. Not to mention she could get o know Sabbies family and maybe even dish on Sabbie and get some juicy gossip he hated told her yet. Her smile grew.

What?? They didn't live in caravans? What was this?! Her image shattered!
But as she listened to Sabbie talk, Noelle began to fall in love with his culture all over again. To be booked on tours with fancy houses. Oh how tremendous would that be. Scooting onto her stomach, so that she could face Sabbie as he talked, she imagined how each house would be.

"So what does your house look like? You live with your grandmother right?" which led to more thoughts and questions that had to be answered.

Next, Sabbie was describing his grandmother and Noelle closed her eyes, getting a picture of her. She could picture the fun loving woman, with a stern wrist. She could picture her picking up Nells in big bear hugs and pinching her cheeks like she knew Nells for years. She liked the picture she had in her head of the woman. "So because you live with your grandmother, do you get extra treatment or expected more of?" She asked him, questioning the thoughts from her mind earlier. She popped the lollipop in her mouth, and opened her eyes to look at Sabbie.

Now what was flamenco?

"Youve mentioned flamenco a lot. What does that mean?" She asked. She knew it had to be a dance, but she wanted to see it, and she wanted to learn it. "And could you teach me it? Maybe by the time your family visits, I can have it down!" That way, Sabbie could show her how to do that, and Noelle would show him how to milk a cow. Culture to culture.

"Also, my house isn't fancy. It's old, it's been in the family for years. And I /ABSOLUTELY/ love it. You'll have to remember that when you come over okay?" She said giving him a look. No dissing on her home.

Wow, there were a lot of questions! He did his best to reiterate them in his mind.

"Yes, I live with my Abuela and my Uncle Juan, his wife Ana and two of their four sons - my cousins José and Manuel". He paused, and added, "But all my other uncles, Antonio, Ramón and Joaquím and their families live close by too. Oh, except for one uncle, José, who lives with his family in another town, Jerez de la Frontera, he added. "And then, there are the families of my cousins, like, the older brothers of José and Manuel, we can see the roofs of Juan and Ruben's houses from ours". That’s not including the second cousins, aaand, the cousins who are cousins via marriage. For example, the house opposite my grandmothers belongs to the family of the sister of my third uncles wife, Kike". There were even more cousins that the ones he'd mentioned too. He smirked, he didn’t need to see her face to know this was confusing. Really, she had no chance of understanding it…. but she had asked.

"I guess overall I probably do get extra treatment but as a male heir to my lineage, there are certain expectations placed on me. I'm expected to represent my family name and my gitano heritage, by dedicating myself to practicing our art. I've been fully immersed from the day of my birth and guided in developing the dance, music and traditions of my family and heritage". He shrugged because, even though he was proud, the expectations were just a normality for him.

This was the hardest question of them all, he really had to think about how to explain what flamenco was. It was a dance, yes, a music, an artistic representation of an ancient people, but it was so much more to him - it was his way of life. He could have spoken of its history, the roots of his people, of the deep song and the intense passion. But ultimately he couldn’t make her feel the profundity of it or help her know the presence of the dark ‘duende’ spirit that was invoked by the dance and the music. He lacked the words to convey the depth of its intensity. His uncle had once described the feeling of duende as “the moment one’s heart breaks and mends itself at the same time” but still it was more than that. He felt it was like beauty, something fleeting, that never repeated - a sad joy, or a longing for people or times or places that you could never return to - it was the love that remained. Ultimately, it was the expression of the suffering and grace and love of his people through the ages. He considered all of these things, but said none of it. He said, simply, “You would have to experience it to know”.

Indeed, she wouldn’t have to know anything about flamenco to feel the hairs on the back of her neck rise as it touched her, and he knew that if she were to experience the passion of a performance of pure flamenco, that the memory of the feeling it conjured would stay with her always. He did enjoy her enthusiasm about wanting to learn, but as for teaching her in one day, well, maybe they could start with the basic palmas or clapping patterns so that she could join in the when the singing began…

Then, she was worried about the age of her house! "Well, If you think your house is old, you’ll be surprised to know how old mine is, in fact, my whole town", he said with a smile. My grandmother’s house overlooks the Alhambra, which is a 13th century Moorish palace and fortress set atop the hillside. It’s a spectacular view, Nells, I’ve looked upon it nearly everyday of my life and still I can’t deny it’s beauty. You should see it at night when it is fully lit, the orange glow of the palace walls are a sight to behold". He smiled, at the memory of his hometown and said, "If you come and visit me, I’ll take you there". He knew she would adore the walled gardens and trickling fountains, the intricate carvings and tessellating glazed tiles, the domed ceilings and still ponds. The alhambra was a love letter to Moorish culture and enchanted all who knew her.

He thought about his grandmother's house."My house is at the top of a narrow road that weaves up into the hills. It’s a double-storey house with small wrought iron balconies under each window". He pictured it in his mind, blinding white in the summer heat. "Its white-walled, like most of the houses, but the shutters and door architraves are painted royal blue. At the front, theres a walled terraced garden with a wrought iron gated entrance that opens into a terracotta courtyard. Inside, the garden walls are lined with orange trees and on warm afternoons you can smell the orange scent wafting in the breeze". He recalled many a night spent in the courtyard with family and friends singing bulerias late into the night and he felt a pang of sadness ignite in him, he really missed those times. He gave a small smile and continued."The house itself is not that large but it opens out to the back through columned archways to a another walled terrace which has a row of date palms and a swimming pool. And if you look up Nells, in the distance, behind the house, are the Sierra Nevada mountains", he gestured upward with his hand as he spoke, indicating their dominence. He hoped this painted a better picture of where he lived - and, not a caravan in sight.

Whoa.

Sabbies family was HUGE. She tried keeping up with who lived with who but she got lost after he said he lived with his abuela and whoever that guy was. Then he was explaining the house and.... Noelle fell in love with the buildings without even seeing it.

And of course she wanted to go.

"Sabbie I HAVE to visit. Please, PLEASE!" She was being persistent because she was going to go. She had to see these houses... On top of a hill that lined down them. It sounded magical! And she bet watching the sunrise and sunset was just absolutely breath taking.

And as for the flamenco, Noelle wanted to see that dance as well. Sabbie had gone quiet thinking about the dance. And if Sabbie was quiet... That meant this dance would probably be the most amazing thing she had ever seen. Besides his houses.

Could they go now? Please?

He had considered candles, but given the environment that Rooney had chosen, he didn't want to set the tree house ablaze and in no way wanted his nice thing to turn into a bad thing. A bad potentially life threatening thing. He had laid out the picnic blanket all nice and neat and made sure to place a small heating charm on it so that the chill of the wind wouldn't affect them too much. The wind, mainly, because he really wanted them to have a good view and so they were right on the edge of the tree house overlooking the entire grounds.

Roo had spent days making sure the view was good enough. Every day for the last three days, he had came here at 3pm to check the weather, view and how busy it was around here.

3pm was the perfect time.

And so, Rooney waited to be joined and prayed that she had at least gotten his note to meet him here.

Though she'd been laying low, Reagan Penrose simply could not ignore the summons she'd found on her bed Friday afternoon, post lessons. With the 'miss' word precariously placed within the message, the older Ravenclaw thought she'd had a pretty good idea who to expect when she showed up for this surprise. So, without giving it much thought, Rea had gotten to work on a scrapbook of sorts; one chalked full of photos featuring one very specific person. A Raveny-claw person. A Raveny-claw BESTIE person.

Sophie Brown.

Reagan kneeeeew that Rooney was quite fond of Sophie, which made perfect sense to her. Sophie Brown was the sort of girl that everyone should admire; smart, pretty, and with a lovely personality to boot. So, Rea, for one, completely and utterly agreed with the obsession. And just for Rooney, she'd even dug into her old personal photos; the ones she and Soph had taken in Third Year after they'd talked about her moving. Those, paired with a few she'd been taking over the course of the term, were laid out with glitter, ribbons, and colored parchments.

It was quite pretty. Reagan was proud.

So, shouldering her usual bag, the scrapbook nestled inside, she ventured out to the treehouse; arriving quickly......Oh, gosh! Was that setup for her?

"Rooney?" Her heart.

Together with his stomach, his head was swirling and going a million times per hour. He was worried that there was something in his research that had led him to think an item of food was okay for her, but it wouldn't be. And he didn't want to be that person, nor did he want to be the person that let her eat something that wasn't exactly as it should be. Rooney was just about to tear open the basket of food he had when he heard his own name from up here in the tree house.

Which meant that she was here.

Which meant that she had gotten the note.

Which meant that this was really happening.

The second year turned his head to look at Reagan and smiled when he was able to shake away the nerves that really shouldn't have even been there. "Miss Reagan! You got my note?" Another smile, bigger this time.

Miss Reagan...

Rooney, you handsome, debonaire little person.

Feeling slightly overwhelmed by the thoughtfulness, Rea cupped her gloved hands to her face; mouth splitting into its own WIDE smile. No one had ever done anything this lovely for her before. So...it was quite a bit to take in. Of course, Reagan assumed that was due to people being intimidated by her diet. They probably didn't know what sorts of things to make her...which was NOT their faults. It was why she'd taken to fixing her own food at meals.

Looking towards the picnic, she wondered at what Rooney had made...and thought, even if it wasn't vegan, that she'd try to eat some of it...just to save his feelings. No matter if it did make her stomach turn.

"Yes..." She was still blown away. What did one say to this?! "...everything looks amazing!" Of course, Reagan wasn't the sort to stand on ceremony. So, she'd already converged on the blanket, making herself comfortable. She'd wait to give him the scrapbook until a bit later...after she finished oo'ing and ahh'ing over everything.

At the initial sight of her hands moving towards her face, Rooney squeaked and reached out for her, only to put his hands into his hair when she smiled as big as she did. It wasn't a grimace, and it wasn't the face you made prior to crying. She was smiling and therefore this was a good thing. THEREFORE, he didn't need to be reaching out for her and his hands being in his hair was just a distraction ahem. He had clearly needed this hair brush with his fingers, just because he was in the presence of a nice person.

A really nice person.

Did Miss Reagan know just how nice she was? Roo wished that she inspired him as much as Miss Sophie Brown did, because she deserved to inspire someone like that. But he was sure that his ability to be inspired was completely taken over by the Head Girl. Miss Reagan was also nice enough that if he ever told her (not that he would) she wouldn't have a problem with it because his inspiration was clearly just a personal preference.

He turned his head to look at her when she sat down and smiled again. "I've seen you getting your food together yourself... thought you shouldn't have to do it just to eat..." Why shouldn't she have food made for her? The rest of them did.

That was something that Miss Reagan deserved.

Sabbath looked down at Nells, still lying on her stomach sucking her lollipop and grinned at her wheedling and pleading "Of course you can come Nells, but like I said, your parents might need convincing to let you come with me." He suggested, "Maybe after I visit you, and they get to know me they might let you come" . But at the same time he thought, with a smirk, that after they got to know him, that maybe they'd be even less inclined to let her come. He didn't know what her parents would be like, but, unfortunately, many people had preconcieved ideas about gypsys. He'd have to wait and see.

He glanced out the window, then gesturing with his hand, directed her gaze, "Look... the moon, she has risen". The moon was emerging over the vista of silhouetted treetops, large, blood red and pocked with grey shadows. The effect was eerie and mesmerising. He watched it quietly.

Reagan literally could not with this adorable boy.

Amidst all the veggie and fruit dishes, she was still completely overwhelmed. Literally no one had ever done anything this nice for her before, and that made the care and effort she'd put into the return gift seem leagues more worthwhile. In fact, perhaps she'd do something else for Rooney. Exactly what that might be, Rea didn't know, as it'd take thought, but she was definitely feeling grateful.

Cutie.

"I just never want to put anyone out. I'm a minority with my diet." Things one had to come to terms with, basically. The elves already put so much hard work into the Hogwarts' breakfast, lunch, and dinners. Asking them to also make separate things (that wouldn't be consumed by mass quantities) seemed trivial and rude. And Reagan cared too much about their happiness and welfare to ask that of them.

Reaching out to pluck and pick at various things, she savoured each one; a smile fast-spreading on her face. Reagan thought, without prejudice, that it was the best meal she'd ever had...since it'd been made with her specifically in mind. Also, had Roo gotten help from the elves? This all tasted too wonderful.

Perhaps she'd give him that gift now. Pulling her bag over, Rea dug down into it to retrieve the scrapbook, carefully handing it over once she had.

"I hope you like it."

...and back to snacking...

A small hint of a frown graced his features, and Rooney reached out to pat the hand of the seventh year his eyes wide and apologetic. "Maybe we could do this more often? Before you leave? It's real nice out here when the leaves go green again..." And he knew that he very much liked the company of Miss Reagan, and she was never putting him out. It was almost like she had an allergy. He wouldn't mind not using peas in a meal if someone was allergic, so this wasn't any different for him. But he did want her to realise that someone out there, him today, was thinking about her whenever he did eat food that he hadn't made himself.

"You're a majority of sunshine though, Miss Reagan." And after snacking on something, he leaned across and kissed her cheek. The first cheek he had properly kissed. Now, he had been saving that for Miss Sophie Brown at the end of term, but the aim of this homework was to do something nice for someone and he was very much so caught in the moment.

Without time to apologise or ask belatedly for permission, he was being handed something. A bashful smile covered him and he took it into his lap, running his fingers across the front of it. "What's this?"

Had she really chosen to do something full of sunshine for him?

For little him?

Merlin, she wanted to squish Rooney. Was he interested in snuggles?...because he was in serious danger of getting a tight, Reagan!SNUG at this point. And she was usually pretty great about accepting compliments, but Roo had reduced her to a gooey pile of pink, blushing cheeks and giggles. What a little ladies man! Gosh, the girls of Hogwarts needed to be careful with this one on the loose!

...and that cheek kiss...

Rooney!

BLUSH!

She just could NOT with his level of adorableness. It was unmatched, save for her ickle Aldous. These little Ravenclaws were enough to melt the strongest of hearts. Gosh, Reagan WAS covering her face again. "I'd love that, Rooney. Especially when it gets a bit warmer...Professor Myers and I will be foraging for seaweed, then, if you'd like to join us." He didn't need to be intimidated by the task, as it was both fun and educational. And seaweed was so healthy for you. Perhaps she'd get him to try a bit. There were ways to make it very yummy, even by non!vegan standards.

Hehe. "It's just a little something I put together for you. You used 'miss' in your message..." Gosh, were her cheeks STILL red?

"Im going to owl them tomorrow." Noelle said with a beam. She couldn't wait to ask. Her mum and dad were pretty amazing. Mum would probably be super strict with rules while he was there, but it was a good thing that Noelle was queen of cute. She could get mum to relax a bit.

Noelles thoughts were pushed from the break when Sabbie started talking about the moon.

Do you know the part in Tangled where she is looking at Flynn and then the lights start and she about rushes off the boat to stand and gaze at the lights?

This was Noelle.

The moment she saw the moon, Noelle jumped up, wide eyed, and rushed to the window. She'd seen the moon before. But this moon was breath-taking. It was full and just... Wow. Noelle leaned against the window frame as she looked at it.

Beautiful.