Super cool! The professor remembered Ariadne's dad being the Minister of Magic! He even gave her father a compliment about being a good Minister! "You think so? Thanks, Professor! I'll tell him you said that," she replied. She would try to remember to do that the next time she wrote home.

She nodded. Yeah, she figured things would change when she got older, and she knew she wouldn't miss her parents so much when she was a second year. By the time she was a seventh year, she'd probably be all ready to move out and live on her own, although, she really couldn't imagine that at all right now!

She smiled when the professor wished her a good day. "Thanks, Professor! You have a good day, too!" she said, and then she turned and headed off. Nice man, he was.

So it was a few days later after the whole potion poison failed miserably lesson. He had no idea why that happened. He was finally getting better from the symptoms. He wasn't throwing up as much which is good because then he could eat. The medicine from the hospital wing would help his stomach aches for sure. I mean he was lucky he didn't have the bad headaches anymore and sore joints. Those healed over time. He was making his way to the great hall to go and have a nice lunch. He could use some nutrition.

The nice thing about the corridors, was that it offered a place to blend in. Simply stand in one place, look like you're busy, and maybe you'll be left alone.

Damien stood among the suits of armor, leaned against the stone wall and dug in his pocket, pulling out a small leather bound book; no bigger than some index cards (if you were muggle and knew what index cards were). He opened up to the dog-eared page where he'd left off and continued to read.

If she ever, ever drank poison for fun again, she wanted her friends to send her to St. Mungos ASAP because she might as well be cra-zeh!. Merlin have mercy on my soul. That doomed Potions Class from hell was days ago and her head still ached and throbbed painfully almost everyday.

Her visits to the Hospital Wing were becoming a habit during the day since only Healer Murdoch's potions seemed to make the pain go away. On overall she felt ok, no more excessive sweat, nausea or vomit - thank Merlin - just that nagging headache that crept in during the afternoon remembering that time and her bad judgment.

She raised her hands to her temples, massaging them as she made her way down the corridor when THUMP! Again, she hit someone with her elbow. What's that all about? If this was Quidditch she'd be accused of cobbing!

"Oh I'm so sorry" she quickly apologized stretching her hands out to hold, pat, mend or whatever was needed. Then her brain registered who she was looking at. That's Colt right? The older snake Azura said she fancied?

As he was walking and not really paying attention, he felt someone's elbow hit him right in the face. "Arrghh.." he said and held his nose for about five seconds. Man that is always painful hitting your nose. He heard someone saying something but he was too into the moment. As the pain subsided, he looked at the person with teary eyes. He squinted and tried to get the person into focus. He saw it was a girl. He shook his head and that was a bad idea because that made him dizzy. He went over to sit on the benches and tried to get his stability. He pinched his nose and said, "Accio tissues.." and they went to his hand. He tried to clean up the blood first. "Nah nah I am good. I don't need your help.." he said thickly.

He needed to use the Episkey spell though soon, but he waited till the girl was going to leave. It seemed like she was in a hurry.

Oh no, that was not good. Panic stroke Elsa's chest as soon as she saw red spilling from the boy's nose. Merlin have mercy on her soul, she made him bleed! She apologized profusely and seeing as Colt wasn't paying attention to her, she followed him to the benches fussing over him, retrieving more clean tissues with her own wand from her bag "I'm so sorry, oh Merlin, I'm SO SORRY" she kept repeating offering him her tissues, not that he needed them, he conjured them with ease.

He said he didn't need her help, but that wasn't going to stop her from trying to give it to him. Her green eyes were filled with concern as she knelt at eye level with him, scrutinizing his face, trying to decipher if it was broken or just a bad hit. All thoughts about her headache were now in the back of her mind.

"I'm so sorry, are you ok?" she whispered to him. Stupid question, of course he wasn't. Retrieving her wand she added "Please, allow me to heal you. I can perform an Episkey charm quite decently, it will ease the pain and stop the blood flow" Bugger, being a klutz made her a walking hazard for everyone apparently.

Colt heard her apology and he just wanted her to stop. He knew she was it is not like she was a bully or anything. He just walked in at the wrong moment. It was his fault. He was thinking of using the Episkey spell on himself but it might be hard using one hand to stop the blood and using his wand arm. He saw the girl through his watery eyes and tried to shake the tears out. Man why was getting hit in the nose so hurtful? "Yeah yeah I am alright." he said thickly. He was getting annoyed with her constant apologies and asking if he was alright.

Time to change the topic."Can you really preform it?" he asked kind of doubting her. She seemed young. "What year are you?" he said. He got his wand out and said, "Accio tisues.." and some more came to his aid.

Merlin, she did a good number on him. He even had tears in his eyes, she felt really bad until his tone snapped her out of it and she looked sharply at him "Can I really preform it?" she repeated in disbelief "Would you think I'd offer to cast it if I thought I might rip the rest of your head from your neck?!" she bite back sarcastically. Ups.. there goes the good girl number.

She paused for a moment "Ok that was uncalled for." she said, trying to apologize, not sure if she was being successful. So that's the deal with Elsa. She's really sweet and friendly until she isn't. Her bad temper tends to sneak out everyone and a while, especially when she gets the feeling of being patronized. "I'm a first year, but I need Episkey rather often.." she shrugged and sat next to him on the bench. "Can I?"

Colt might of asked the wrong question to this Slytherin because he heard her sassy retort. He rolled his eyes and didn't have the time for this. Could you blame him? She was a first year, she didn't know a lot about magic and didn't practice enough yet compared to a fourth year. Colt shrugged and tried not to laugh at her attitude. It didn't phase him but he tried to keep a straight face. He was past the point of being polite right now.

He saw the girl sit besides him and saw her get her wand out. He eyed it cautiously and sighed. "Yeah go on. If you give me a hug nose, I will give you a curse to make you have buck teeth." There was the threat. He just wanted to let her know he was serious.

Elsa felt like sticking her tongue out at him, but refrained to do so. She could tell he was annoyed, and clearly in pain, so better do it once and for all. Plus, it wasn't really smart to mess with someone older, even if only a couple of years.

Ok. Episkey. She had done it bunch of times before - unfortunately - so she had a good notion on how to do it. Sometimes it came out perfectly, other just a light touch of healing. Nevertheless if she could stop the bleeding, it was a win. He could later go to the Hospital Wing and have it properly fixed.

She took a deep breath, concentrating. Pointed her wand at his nose with determination and before casting the spell, flicked her eyes, trembling with humor, to his and said "I'd still look good in buck teeth you know? Now with a big nose.." she made the correct movement and said the spell "Episkey" and a flash of healing light made contact with the boy's (she would have to confirm his name after) nose. All fingers crossed now...

Colt's heart was racing. He hoped this girl knew what she was doing. He saw her wand pointed at his nose. He prayed things would go right. He crossed his fingers and closed his eyes. He tried not to laugh but he could picture it. "I think the whole school would laugh at us." They might even be considered a couple, the couple with the big nose and teeth.

He saw the bright flash light and then....

He felt himself BREATHE.

He didn't feel any pain. Bloody merlin she did it. "Woah I don't feel any pain." He examined his nose and it looked good as new. "Erm thanks.." he said awkwardly. He could take back what he said about doubting her but he didn't want to. He probably looked normal despite all the blood aftermath on his robes and lip. "How do I look?" he asked. "Do I have black and blue marks?"

As the healing light hit his nose, mending it subtle crack-noise, she swelling immediately subsided and Elsa felt like she should be clapping her hands, and she did, excitedly, leaning into him to look at his nose carefully "There will be no need to sue me for damaging your million galleons' face" she declared nodding with a wide grin. What? She could say he had a nice face, but it was Azura who fancied him. Or was it Jace? She was hard to keep up..

There was still some blue around his nostrils, but it was also covered in fresh blood so it was hard to tell if it was from some bruising or something else "I think there's some blue there, not sure, maybe after a good scrub it will be easier to tell" she clapped her hands together one more time, got up and did a few mock bows, thanking an invisible crowd.

"By the way, your name is Colt isn't it?" she asked, mid-bow. She then returned to her place on the bench, feeling proud of herself for proving him wrong. Elsa retrieved a few more tissues from her bag and offered them to him. "I'm Elsa, the elbow killer, in case your wondering" her grin spread even wider with the amusement at her own joke.

After a particularly interesting Charms lesson, Carl walked down the corridor happily. He was not sure where he was going - it would be logical to go back to his Common Room and have a snack or something, but he also wanted to go to the Barn again and check out how the creatures were doing. When he saw an older Hufflepuff standing among the suits of armor busy reading a book and looking like he did not want to be disturbed, of course he abandoned both ideas and decided to bug him.

"Hello," he said and made himself comfortable between two tall suits of armor. "What are you reading?"

Colt rolled his eyes and commented back sarcastically, "Yeah well take care of this million galleon face. I got a reputation to live up to." After he could breathe and such, he wiped his nose and it didn't feel tender anymore. He saw blood on his hands. He walked around to find a water fountain. "Where is there a water fountain around here?" he began to wander. As he was walking, he heard the girl Elsa ask about his name. "Yeah it is Colt why?" He wondered why a lot of people were starting to know his name. Then he noticed she had green robes on. "Aaahh that makes sense. Your a fellow slytherin. No wonder you know my name..." Well thought out Colt. "

After having no luck finding the water fountains, he sat back down on the bench and accepted the tissue from Elsa. He nodded as a form of thank you. He wiped off his remaining dried blood off his nose and he smirked at her joke. "Well now I can use that nickname and you know I will never let this down." This is something he will never forget. I mean how could he forget the pain? "Nice job first year doing the spell.." he patted her on the back. "You liking Hogwarts so far?" he asked dabbing his nose.

Elsa giggled at his remark about having a reputation. Did she have a reputation? She didn't think so. Not so far at least. She had been quite discreet other then ocasional elbowing. So he was Colt, she knew it! "Yes, that's it, I've seen you around the Common room a couple of times" she nodded in agreement. Better than sharing the true reason she knew who he was.

She watched as took her tissue and wiped off the remaining dried blood. She made a pained expression when he said he would use her nickname and she was completely sure he would not let go of it. Ever. "It's only deserved really" she shrugged the answer, swelling with pride at his somewhat reluctant compliment, which made her grin and then his pats on her back, which made her strangely shy for a second.

"You're welcome, though you understand why I can cast that specific spell quite nicely don't you?" she chuckled with humor, forgetting the shyness and returning to her old self, poking him on the shoulder. "It's OK really, I thought it might be really weird since I'm not even from the UK, but everyone seems so nice and welcoming, it's been a real adventure for me" she looked around the corridor and her gaze landed on the Hospital Wing's entrance.

"I was going to get me some potion for my headaches, but I'm feeling OK now actually! What were you doing here?"

Colt nodded and then eyed her suspiciously. "Hold on were you stalking me..?" He was teasing her just a little bit. "Yeah I can understand, I guess you practiced Episkey pretty well. Have you had a lot of broken noses?" I mean it was a fair question to ask. Colt heard her take on Hogwarts and snorted. "Well then you must have met a lot of Hufflepuffs. I heard they are very welcoming and kind." He had to put the stereotype in there. "Wait you're not from the UK? Where are you from then? The Unite States?" Because he was from the United states as well. He was born in NYC and still wants to go visit.

What was he doing here? He shrugged and said, "Well I was just exploring the castle basically. I just like walking around the castle. I just never explored this floor yet and I thought might as well. Didn't think I would get hit in the nose by a girl." he grinned and laughed.

"St-stalk-stalking?! Mee?!" she stuttered, completely flustered by his question "N-No! We're both in Slythering, I've seen you around the common room!" she gesticulated as she spoke, trying to explain herself, completely oblivious to the teasing tone of Colt's voice. Merlin maybe she was too obvious? She did sort of stalk him for a day or two, after hearing about him. But it was completely innocent... right? Maybe he noticed it. Maybe... her hands dropped and her eyes narrowed "Are you teasing me?" she asked in disbelief, faking a frown and teary eyes. Let him take the bait.. once he does I'll poke him in the ribs.

She chuckled a little at his question "A couple of broken noses, some toes and fingers.." she shrugged nonchalantly, letting out an amused giggle. Hufflepuffs.. she did meet a couple of them so far, and they were as he was putting: welcoming and kind. But so had all the others so far. She did know about the rivalry between the houses, and the conception that Slytherins were supposed to be arrogant and a little evil... she had yet to confirm it.

"I'm afraid it's not as exciting as the USA. I'm from Portugal. I've lived there all my life. When I turned 11 my mother insisted that we returned to the UK so I could attend Hogwarts and so..." she opened her arms "here I am! But why did you ask specifically if I was from the US?" maybe he wasn't from around too!

She snorted - so not lady like - at his joke about being hit in the nose by a girl. She covered her mouth with her right hand and laughed "I am sorry you know, even though you come of *** someone who deserves to be elbowed from time to time" she teased back.