SPOILER!!: Mason

Mason beamed at the older girl. "You think so?" she couldn't really see how she was dancing, but she had assumed that it wasn't all that good. Well Hady was saying that it was good, and that was all that mattered right now.

Mason nodded and gave Hady a massive grin, happy that she knew the move, "That would be fantastic!" she frowned at the grass and kicked a tuft of it free, "Oh yeah, I can imagine that it would be silly. Probably won't be able to shuffle as good on the grass."


Mason stared at Hady's feet as she explained the moves. She nodded her head and moved her feet so that they were pointing in the opposite directions. "Like this?"


Mason tried putting the weight onto her toes and heels as Hady had done. Hers looked a lot less graceful compared to Hady's, but this was the first time she had ever been taught a dance, so she hadn't been expecting a miracle.

Mason looked down at her feet and shifted the position of them, so that they were they were in the same position as before, only this time the opposite foot carried the weight of the first move.

Mason let out a deep breath. That didn't seem so hard, but this was only the beginning.

"Totally!," Hady remarked grinning slightly at the younger girl. Any dancing was better then no dancing and trying to dance was a large step forward all on it's own.

Yeah, the grass really wasn't the best place to be practicing. It made for a softer fall if anything. Next time they would do this inside. The RoR would be the most likely choice and it gave them more privacy as well. "Probably not but since you're just starting out it's alright. Next time we'll do this inside." Right now it wasn't to big a deal.

After showing Mason a few times over what the dance steps entailed she stepped back allowing the snakette to give it a go. In no way shape or form had her attempt been perfect BUT the good news was, she had remained on her feet! This alone was cause enough for Hady to grin at her. "Just like that. And if you keep practicing it just like that you'll get better and better. Once you know the steps and don't have to watch your feet to know you're doing it right you can try it faster. In no time at all it'll be something you don't have to think about." Like with being magical. Spells came with ease the more you worked at them. Dancing was a lot like that. "Again?"

SPOILER!!: Hady

"Totally!," Hady remarked grinning slightly at the younger girl. Any dancing was better then no dancing and trying to dance was a large step forward all on it's own.

Yeah, the grass really wasn't the best place to be practicing. It made for a softer fall if anything. Next time they would do this inside. The RoR would be the most likely choice and it gave them more privacy as well. "Probably not but since you're just starting out it's alright. Next time we'll do this inside." Right now it wasn't to big a deal.

After showing Mason a few times over what the dance steps entailed she stepped back allowing the snakette to give it a go. In no way shape or form had her attempt been perfect BUT the good news was, she had remained on her feet! This alone was cause enough for Hady to grin at her. "Just like that. And if you keep practicing it just like that you'll get better and better. Once you know the steps and don't have to watch your feet to know you're doing it right you can try it faster. In no time at all it'll be something you don't have to think about." Like with being magical. Spells came with ease the more you worked at them. Dancing was a lot like that. "Again?"

Mason grinned again. She knew that she hadn't been wonderful, probably not even good, but it was nice of Hady to say. It made her stand straighter and it gave her a little bit more confidence.

You can do this, girl!

Mason nodded, "Yeah, in Sugarplums you mentioned that you had the perfect place." she said to the older girl, "Where is it?" Hady had only ever mentioned it, but Mason had never heard exactly where in Hogwarts that place was.

Mason tried the moves again, trying not to gawk at her feet like an idiot. Shifting her weight from foot to foot, she tried doing exactly what Hady had shown her. She was starting to do them kinda automatically, since she had been doing it over and over again, trying to perfect the move. She wanted to try doing it faster, but she knew that she'd fall flat on her butt.

Well then the grass would be good for something at least.

SPOILER!!: Little dancer!

Mason grinned again. She knew that she hadn't been wonderful, probably not even good, but it was nice of Hady to say. It made her stand straighter and it gave her a little bit more confidence.

You can do this, girl!

Mason nodded, "Yeah, in Sugarplums you mentioned that you had the perfect place." she said to the older girl, "Where is it?" Hady had only ever mentioned it, but Mason had never heard exactly where in Hogwarts that place was.

Mason tried the moves again, trying not to gawk at her feet like an idiot. Shifting her weight from foot to foot, she tried doing exactly what Hady had shown her. She was starting to do them kinda automatically, since she had been doing it over and over again, trying to perfect the move. She wanted to try doing it faster, but she knew that she'd fall flat on her butt.

Well then the grass would be good for something at least.

The grin coming from Mason was returned with another of her own. Upping a friends confidence level was a good thing especially when she knew what that friend was truly capable of.

"Indeed I did. Normally I take to the RoR for dancing. That way whatever I might want or need is supplied for me," she answered with a small smirk. Things didn't get much better then a room giving you what you wanted before you might even fully know what you needed to be there. If there was a way to have a room like it at her home she would and she would be in it all the time.

Rather then stand there and give out instructions over and over again Hady stood a few feet across from Mason so they faced each other. As Mason went through the steps Hady did the same not at all minding that they went over them again and again and again. That was the only way to learn. "Let me know when you feel you're ready to try it faster or move on to something else."

RoR, was that like the Room of Requirements?

Her dad had told her a story once from when he was still in Hogwarts. He said that he'd always take the girls that he was snogging there. "The Room of Requirements? Is that the room by the dancing trolls?" She wasn't really certain where the room was.
"Just imagine having such a place at your disposal. I'd never leave, like ever."

Mason nodded at Hady, whom was now standing across from her, doing the moves as well. "Yeah, we can go faster," she told the older girl enthusiastically, "I just hope I don't land on my butt."

Well, she'd never learn if she just kept to the same pace. So Mason started shifted her feet a little faster each time, concentrating hard on getting the steps right and staying on her feet.

SPOILER!!: Mason

RoR, was that like the Room of Requirements?

Her dad had told her a story once from when he was still in Hogwarts. He said that he'd always take the girls that he was snogging there. "The Room of Requirements? Is that the room by the dancing trolls?" She wasn't really certain where the room was.
"Just imagine having such a place at your disposal. I'd never leave, like ever."

Mason nodded at Hady, whom was now standing across from her, doing the moves as well. "Yeah, we can go faster," she told the older girl enthusiastically, "I just hope I don't land on my butt."

Well, she'd never learn if she just kept to the same pace. So Mason started shifted her feet a little faster each time, concentrating hard on getting the steps right and staying on her feet.

It most certainly was the Room of Requirement. Hady smirked a little bit. "Sure is. Uh no it's up on the seventh floor across from the tapestry of Barnabus the Barmy." If she didn't know where that was one day the brunette would show her since they would be practicing there soon enough anyhow. "Neither would I. I'd have no reason to ever leave my home." Unless like she wanted human contact or something but whatever.

"If you do then you get right back up and keep going," Hady laughed quietly. One never truly got better unless they fell sometimes. She should know. Falling happened to her a LOT. Still happened quite often actually, not that she would be telling anyone else this.

Since she was the one teaching the move and knew it so well already it was easy for her to continue repeating the steps along with the younger girl as she watched Mason's feet rather then her own.

Being in the castle too long just wasn't in the cards for Noelle no more. She had to be out among the grounds and able to see that she was safe. It was a security blanket thing.

So today was no different. It had been about a week since the holidays had ended and everyone was back. Classes had started again. Noelle finished up her classes and made a beeline for the outside with her books. She had to make up for half the year she had missed due to the..... Traumatic experience.

Instead of the Great Lake, where she had ventured to most days since she came back, she headed for the whomping Willow, stopping shortly from its reach. It was lightly snowing so Noelle pulled her coat tighter around herself. She pushed her books open to the spot she needed them to be. Now studying time.

It was still kind of chilly outside. But not too cold to keep Olly cooped up inside. He didn't mind being a little cold. Plus he had a coat, so it was fine. He was heading toward the playground, because that was always fun. And it was something he could enjoy by himself. He'd go and find Ellery later, but for now she was probably hanging out with her bff. Or reading or something Elleryish.

Olly is, of course, very easily distracted. So his eyes were not always toward his destination, but glancing around. Sounds in the distance or familiar faces always provided plenty of distraction. And he did see a familiar face, just not one he expected. Noelle? He had recently heard in passing a vague rumor that she was back, but he had not seen her for himself. But that was undoubtedly Noelle over by the whomping willow. NOELLE!

"NOELLE!" He shouted, unable to contain his excitement. The playground insignificant and completely forgotten, Olly raced toward the whomping willow. "Noelle!" Noellenoellenoellenoelle. He couldn't remember a time he had felt so excited in his life. As soon as he reached her, he clung to her in a big hug. There were so many thoughts and questions running through his head, but he didn't want to overwhelm her. So he simply grinned and said, "You're back!"

Noelle was just raising her wand to practice a defensive spell, when she heard her name being yelled. She was determined to learn as many defensive spells as possible because there was no way she was being caught again by anything or anyone. So when it came to homework, she started off with DADA and finished with it as well.

So, when her name was called, Noelle turned her head just in time to see a familiar face grab her in a hug. She flinched automatically. Her breathing became a little hitched and she gripped her wand tightly, luckily not sending off the defensive spell she was about to do.

"O-Olly! You H-have to G-give me a m-moment." Noelle stammered, trying to get the words out. She had healed mostly physically except for a bite mark on her shoulder and her needing to gain some weight from the amount of found they were given. But her menta side was still very raw. She was working on it though.

Oh no oh no oh no. What had he done? He would not have hugged her if he had known she would not like it. He maybe should have thought about it but hugging was Olly's first instinct in most situations. He drew back very quickly, peering at Noelle with guilt and concern.

"I'm sorry!" Very very sorry. But he still didn't know where she had been so he could not have known that she would not want to be hugged. It had never been a problem before. "Are you okay? I'm really really sorry. I won't hug you again. I was just happy to see you." He needed to learn new ways to express happiness and closeness to a person.

Noelle knew a lot of people didn't know what happened to her and Sabbath. She tried to keep that in mind when people came at her. She used to do the same thing, run to people and hug them tightly. Just as Olly had done, and had done many times before. "No no. It's o-okay! It's just m-me." She stammered. She offered him a shaky smile because the corners of her mouth didn't wanna work the way she wanted them to.

Taking a deep breath, she called herself a bit before reaching out to hug him."Im so happy to see you!" She stated, even though her face was almost as white as the snow around them. "Missed you. How are you?"

Olly didn't know if he wanted to know where Noelle had been. Well, of course he did. But he had already been so worried thinking it was something horrible and this was just confirming his suspicions. He wanted to tell Noelle that it was not okay, not just her, if she didn't want a hug that was valid and probably understandable. But he couldn't find the words. And they moved on, she was hugging him now. He smiled and hugged her back, gently.

"I missed you too," he said earnestly. When he sat, his arm still rested gently against hers. It was only slightly intentional, but also partly because he was unconsciously scared of her being gone again. Plus, he could almost not believe she was even real. "I'm okay. I've been really worried about you, I went to see Headmistress Moxley and everything. She told me it would be helpful if I took some notes for you so I did. They're probably not very good but I tried my best." He really had tried to pay attention, if only for Noelle's sake. But she probably would have liked it better if someone else had done it.

"How are you?" He asked carefully. Obviously she was not super great. He wanted to ask what had happened but he didn't want her to have to talk about it if she didn't want to, so he thought it might be best to start slow.

Noelle was happy when he sat. She was a little surprised by their arms still touching but it was... Comforting. She took a deep breath to calm her heart rate as she felt his eyes taking her in. She looked at him and gave a small smile as he said he missed her too.

"You wrote notes for me??" She asked quietly, almost tearing up. That was the sweetest thing ever and something that Noelle would need most. Especially since she wanted to learn every spell possible. And charm, and potion. She wanted to be well rounded so that what happened to her, would never happen again.

"Thank you Olly. I really appreciate it. I need all the help I c-can get to catch up." Her eyes flitted to the books scattered around her. Then he was asking if she was okay. Noelle took a shaky breath, debating on telling him the truth or giving him the fake answer she gave to most people.

She decided the real one.

Noelle gave a small shake of her head and looked at him, tears filling her eyes. She didn't wanna cry, but the comfort he was showing made her feel ... Safe enough to talk about it.

He nodded, glad that it seemed to have turned out to be a good thing. "They're in my dorm right now, I can get them as soon as you need them. We can even practice together, if you want." He had just recently realized that Noelle would be feeling behind, so he would do what he could to help her get caught up if she wanted. Not that he would be the best teacher, but still. Whatever he could do to help he would.

But oh no. Oh no, oh no she was going to cry. Olly didn't know what he was supposed to do. He'd never been good with that. And that shake of her head made him feel so sad. Sad and powerless to help, really. "Is there anything I can do?" He knew that there probably wasn't, not really. But on a small scale, he wanted to help her feel okay at that moment. Did she need more space? Want him to stay? Eat some chocolate? If there was anything he could do he would do it in a heartbeat.

Why was Olly so sweet?? Noelle stayed with his arm touching hers and nodded. And he was offering to help catch her up and also help practice with her? Merlin had blessed her with a good friend. "Would you please?? That would be amazing. I already feel like I'm drowning in work. And some of the hand movements I haven't been able to get my wrist flick right. And..... I wanna.. I want to make sure I'm doing it right." The better she did, the more spells she knew, and the more knowledge she had, could keep her safe.

Noelle looked away from him as he asked if he could do anything. She brushed a tear away with the hand that wasn't near him. "Ill b-be okay. Just... I'm not right now." She wished she could make him understand what she was feeling but she didn't wanna bestow that one anyone. "I was just in a bad place. And I'm trying to get over it." Noelle added and brushed another year away.

She wasn't sure what all he knew and had heard. So she didn't know what to tell him exactly.

Olly's face brightened at the thought that he had done something useful. Hopefully it had been good enough. He nodded as Noelle spoke. "I'm sure you'll catch up quickly. You're smart, you can do it." Better than he would be able to if he had been gone for half a semester. "Whenever you want to practice, just let me know."

Olly wanted to do something to comfort her, but he didn't know how. He felt like awkwardly patting her shoulder or something would not be of any help, so he didn't even try that. He just stayed where he was, listening quietly. "What happened? Where were you? You don't have to tell me," he added quickly. "If you don't want to talk about it that's okay, I understand."

Noelle was extremely grateful for Olly at this moment. Not only was he there but giving her the space she needed, he was giving her all his notes and going to help her study and practice. He was a gift. Shifting, Noelle leaned over and hugged him. "Thanks Olly. This really... It helps a lot and means a lot. Very sweet of you." She let him go and turned back to her books. "Anytime you're free and want to hang out, you can come find me and we can study of you want? Every free minute I have will be spent catching up. " She put her wand in her book and sat straight again so her arm rested against his again. Comfort and calm vibes.

Having to tell the story was hard for Noelle but she thought Olly deserves it. He was doing all this for her. The least Noelle could do was tell him what happened. She kept her eyes trained in the snow and her books, rather than at him because she was still crying but trying hard not to. "I don't remember everything. I remember going down to Knockturn Alley to search for the old hug. Sabbie thought maybe they were related since she was supposedly a gypsy. We didn't even get off the steps.... " Noelle clenched her eyes shut tight, trying to remember what had happened after that, how they hd gotten into the dungeon but her memory was gone. "I don't remember what happened next but... But I woke up in a dungeon. That's... That's where I was for the last.... Five months." Noelle said wiping her eyes again.

Yay, another hug. Olly liked those. He gladly accepted it but didn't hug back too much. He didn't want to make Noelle uncomfortable again. So he would wait for her to hug first from then on. He should think about applying that philosophy to everyone, but he would probably forget. "I will," he said nodding. "What are you studying right now?" He gestured to the books she had with her at the moment.

For a second, Olly wasn't sure if Noelle was going to tell him anything or not. Yes he was very curious but he didn't want her to say anything if she didn't want to. He opened his mouth to say it again, but then Noelle started talking so he closed it again and listened raptly. His eyes started tearing up just imagining that happening to Noelle. Why would anyone do that to her? She was the nicest, sweetest girl he knew. Nobody deserved anything like that, especially not Noelle.

"You're safe now," he said softly but fiercely, because that was all he could think of to say. He would personally fight a thousand hags or dark wizards to protect her. Not that he would be able to win, but he could try. "How did you get out?"

It felt good to hug without flinching, so that was a step in the right direction. She was healing. It was just going to take some time. "Herbology and History of Magic right now. Two of my worst subjects. I had started on DADA but I need the most help in those two." She said staring at her books and then tucking her hair behind her ear and peeking at him. "Are you any good at those?"

She was safe now.
That was something she still felt uncertain about. In the back of her mind she knew she was, but she just didn't feel like it.

"iwishifeltlikeit" Noelle said quietly and untucked her hair again. She hid behind it. "We only had a piece of bread to eat a day, and we had to clean the other prisoners and the dungeons. " She didn't mention that her mouth had gotten her in trouble a few times when they first got there. She learned quickly to keep it shut or punishment occured. "The guy that kept is captive disappeared a few days before we were found by the MLE. " Noelle told Olly and reached for her wand, her security blanket.

He frowned slightly, because neither of those subjects were his strong suits either. Herbology wasn't always bad, but he hadn't really been able to keep up with what they had been learning this year. History of Magic though. "I might know a little history," he said, trying to sound positive. He would definitely try.

He knew that she might not feel safe, he imagined it would be hard to feel that way after what she'd been to. But he would do what he could to help her start to believe it. Only a piece of bread?! That explained why she was so thin at the moment. Hogwarts was the best place to be, with feasts and house elves who were so happy to provide food for everyone. He would offer to cook her something but that wasn't really something he knew how to do.

"Do you know who it was? Or why he kidnapped you guys? What did he want?" Wait no, those were not positive questions. Asking them would probably not make Noelle feel better, Olly just could not help his curiosity. "I mean, I'm glad you're here now. We were all really worried."

Oh good. Olly knew something about history. That was her worst subject. It was hard trying to stay awake to study and write things when it didn't really interest you. Noelle tried though. She had to study that subject out in the cold where the chill kept her awake. "Great. We can start with that. If you want, we can walk down to your common room and get the notes. That way if you don't remember it, I'll have the notes."

Noelle leaned against him just a little bit more as she talked about the stuff. It was more for comfort than anything. "No... I don't know. I just know there were a lot of prisoners down there and people kept disappearing almost every other day. Towards the end, no new ones came. They took an eight year old boy before we were saved.... I ... I almost thought ... Well... It doesn't matter."

It felt good to know that people cared. She gave him a small smile after wiping another tear. "Thank you." His words of positivity were appreciated.

"I hope he's okay," Olly said absentmindedly about the boy. He was sad that some people had not been able to get out, but he was very glad that Noelle had been rescued. He didn't even want to imagine what would have happened if she hadn't been, and obviously she was even more scared of it. But she had been rescued and she was okay now, that was the important part. And now they were going to study.

Olly got to his feet and even grabbed some of her books. "We can go to the kitchen after I grab my notes," he suggested. "Get some hot chocolate or something." They had been outside in the cold for kind of a while, and hot chocolate sounded good. He was ready as soon as she was. He was glad to be doing something useful to help.

Noelle didn't know what had happened to the others and that poor little boy. She hoped only good things but knew that the others things in that dungeon hadn't been good and the chances were... Wherever they had gone probably wasn't good.

Noelle smiled though and got up. She grabbed the rest of her books and tucked them in front of her. She stood and knocked off the snow from her robes. "Hot chocolate sounds great. Lead the way.