Daxton was bored. This was unfortunate, but not an unfamiliar feeling. In recent weeks, the boredom had been creeping in more and more, surely condemning him to death by ennui. He had thought that perhaps once he was back at school, free to roam a huge castle and its grounds rather than confined mostly to a tiny bungalow in a sleepy village, the boredom would abate. So far, it clearly had not.

So he had taken to roaming, and his roaming had taken him here, to the humpbacked witch statue. Of course, he knew about this statue, the history of the witch it depicted (Gunhilda of Gorsemoor), and the history of the statue itself. Daxton leaned to the side slightly, as though he might find the secret passage just by doing so, but of course he could not. It required a spell, and that was not about to happen.

Daxton stood there for at least a minute, staring unblinkingly up at the statue and appearing to be lost in thought. But then, in a sudden moment of decisiveness, he stepped forwards and scaled the statue, climbing right on up as easily as if he was climbing a ladder. It helped, being barefoot, and meant he could ascend the statue quite easily. In only a moment, he was atop the statue, sitting on Gunhilda's hump with his feet propped up on her head. Daxton looked this way and that, up and down the corridor, then propped his elbows on his knees and his chin in his hands.

Bored.

Wandering aimlessly had its perks. For one, she never felt as though she was lost or running late! Dora simply took her time and roamed freely... and she just so happened to come across a glorious sight. Hehehehe.

Covering her mouth to mask the bubble of laughter she crept closer to Daxton. She remembered he wasn't a huge fan of loud noises, so she was mindful to clear her throat and keep her voice down when she spoke. "Daxton... what are you doing up there? You'll get in trouble. " Not that Dora was particularly concerned about trouble, but just SAYING. Also... she wondered if there was room enough up there for HER because it kind of looked like a LOT of fun climbing a statue and all.

She continued to inch forward and survey the statue. Could she climb up to? Maybe they could just sit there and not talk?

He had heard her approach from down the corridor, mainly because the corridor was all but empty, which was why Daxton had chosen to stay there. That meant he could hear anyone approaching; not only by their footsteps, but by the slightest change in atmosphere. If he did not hear footsteps, he could hear breathing, clothes rustling against clothes. Everything, he could hear everything.

Maybe he really was cursed.

Except it did not always feel like a curse. It meant that people did not often manage to sneak up on him, intentionally or otherwise. So he had heard Dora's approach, even if he was not aware it was her until she was actually within his line of sight.

Looking down at her from atop the statue, Daxton considered her words. Trouble? He was not entirely sure that that was true, having found no explicit school rule that they were not allowed to climb and sit on the statues, and the other rules were all so vague they could easily be disputed.

So Dora got a shrug in response and that was that, as he did not quite feel like getting his notebook out, though Daxton did remove his chin from his hands and folded his arms on his knees instead.

And eyed Dora suspiciously as she creeped forwards. What exactly did she think she was doing?

She thought she might like to climb that statue, also! She was sizing it up, so to speak. When she was close enough to carefully inspect the size she craneD her neck and looked up at Daxton. Giving him a big smile she spoke softly again, "Mind if I come up there, too? " She had learnt a lot about not encroaching on people's personal space lately.

So ya, nay?

She could wait here all day!

"We could throw dung bombs at people from up there and blame it on Peeves, ya know. " Grinning she pulled a few out of her pocket and held them closer for him to see. She WAS. A Gryffindor, after all. Dung bombs were a staple in her world.

That was the question, wasn't it? Daxton could not say for sure whether he minded or not, and it took him a good while to work out the matter in his head. While he did not exactly want company, he did not feel very strongly the other way, either. She might alleviate his boredom, too; not necessarily by being good company, but by giving Daxton the opportunity to observe her.

Or, if she got annoying, he could kick her off the statue. That would be entertaining, even amusing.

So again, Daxton shrugged as a means of telling her he did not care, but made no move to budge out of the way. If Dora wanted to climb the statue, she would have to work around him.

But hold up. Those dungbombs were a huge nope. Daxton suddenly held his hand up to stop the Gryffindor before she could move, pointed to the dungbombs, and shook his head emphatically. None of that, not if she wanted to join him (and not end up unceremoniously shoved off of the statue). Dungbombs were disgusting and, being so sensitive to smells just like he was sensitive to everything else, just the hint of one made Daxton want to heave. They had enough odours around this castle with all the animals and teenagers living there, and now that putrid old Divination teacher too. There were plenty of other ways for them to torment people from up here. He would even allow Gryffindoring.

But no dung bombs. Not on Daxton's statue.

Because it was his now, by the way.

Dora smiled ever so slightly when he shrugged that she could join him... because she definitely interpreted that shrug as a CLEAR invitation. But what... wait... No? No dungbombs? Cool. Giving Daxton a small shrug of her own she shoved them back into her bag. No big deal. She could throw them at that stupid first year she had decided to loathe.

Now. Hmmmm. Dora walked around the base of the statue observing the best way to climb up... and she did take note of Daxton being barefoot... had that made it easier? Kicking her shoes off she immediately shoved them into her bag and nodded to herself. Statue climbing was GOING TO HAPPEN NOW. With the grace and speed of a monkey, Dora scrambled up the statue and settled in beside the boy after a few movements and adjustments. HA!

Seeeeee?! She was very proud of herself and her obviously awesome climbing skills. Yep. "I like it up here, " she said softly so as not to offend her statue sitting partner's sensitive ears. "Are you having a nice term so far? "

What was... was she... was she going to sit right next to...?

No.

As soon as he realised that Dora was indeed about to set herself down literally right beside him on the statue, he finally relented in shuffling over. Stubbornness was all well and good, and often by refusing to comply, others just worked around him. Other times, however, people (usually Gryffindors) just did what they wanted to do, regardless. Daxton was stubborn, but he was not stupid. If he did not move, Dora would be sat so close that the possibility of even just their arms or legs brushing was almost a hundred percent, and he did not want that. In the interests of self-preservation, he hurriedly shifted his position, nimbly manoeuvring to sit somewhere that there was little danger of physical contact, even though it meant sacrificing the optimal vantage point.

Now perched on the outstretched arm of the statue, with his feet propped up on the arm across from him, Daxton looked up at Dora and gave a shrug. He thought about getting his notebook out, but decided against it. It was hassle, it was boring, and he was fed up with writing down everything he wanted to say to everyone.

Instead, Daxton signed his response; in his mind, the action was close enough to miming a yawn that it was clear what he was trying to say, but whether she could tell was as yet unknown. After a moment, in which he waited for any recognition from the Gryffindor, to see if she knew what he meant, Daxton pointed at Dora, returning the question to her in his limited way.

Dora stretched her legs out and watched Daxton from the corner of her eye. Did she smell bad or something?? Leaning her head a bit she sniffed the front of her robes and frowned. Smelled fine to her. Hmmm.

Her eyes were fully on the boy now that he was settled. OH! She read his lips!!! Bored.

He was bored.

Story of her life.

Remembering to speak softly she sighed and spoke, "Yeah. I can't decide if I'd rather be home or here. People are really dull here." That was her being diplomatic, really. She thought most of the people here were dumb. Heh.

"Did you have an interesting summer at least?"

Lucy was establishing a firm belief that Magical people were irresponsible. Who lets children wander in an enourmous castle they've never been to before without ever offering a map or a chaperone or employing a buddy system?

Needless to say, Lucy was lost once again. She'd been here well over a month and just couldn't get her bearings. The girl heaved a sigh, placed her left hand on the wall and let it brush along as she attempted to find her Common Room.

She's definitely never seen that statue before.

That, Daxton thought, was an understatement. Many of the people he had encountered at Hogwarts were unbearably dull. The ones who were not were simply unpleasant, loud, or utterly perplexing. The latter was tolerable, because it made things interesting. It gave Daxton something new to work out, to understand, like a riddle. Problem was, if he did start to understand, they became dull, and if he did not, the entire situation became infuriating. And, as Daxton grew older, he found it somehow even more difficult to understand those around him, the complexities of human life. But it had been a long time since he had found someone new who truly perplexed him, someone he really wanted to understand. Thus, life had become boring.

Having become so sidetracked with his own thoughts on the matter, Daxton almost missed Dora's question. His eyes flicked automatically to her for a split second, and a sudden urge to smile - or rather, to smirk - suddenly struck him, though not enough to reach his facial muscles. With an impassive expression, but a curious gleam in his eye, he gave a nod of his head, then pointed at Dora once to return the question back to her once again.