Levi had sort of ravaged his way through some (all) of the chicken Althea had brought for him and he was presently intently listening to both of his siblings. Then he remembered his hands were dirty so he began to siphon the grease out of them with his wand.

"Hufflepuff Henry?" Levi WAS still interested in the portal story but also...sort of sad. He was not close with Henry in any way, but Henry had always been decent to him. It was enough to make the Gryffindor frown. "That's unfortunate." Though Levi knew bad things happened to people all the time, the idea that it could happen to anyone he knew was more than a little surreal. "Where did this happen? And--well, I was going to ask why, but I think it's obvious no one knows why." They'd have stopped it, otherwise. "Do you think they just--stop, I don't know, existing when they are absorbed by that thing or do they go elsewhere?"

Declan shrugged. He had no idea. There didn't seem to be a pattern his brain could follow when it came to the portals and the disappearances. Nothing in the location of the portals, or the timing, not even some kind of similarity or pattern in its victims aside from them being students.

"If Mum knew..." Declan eyes widened and his brows rose. He shook his head slowly just imagining the scene. "It's better if she doesn't know. Pops too," he added and glanced at Althea pointedly. "You know what would happen if he finds out."

Levi's questions were all he had asked himself too. Unfortunately, he didn't have answers either.

"It was in the Great Hall at the Hufflepuff table, actually," Declan explained. "I got---" Scared. Terrified really. "I thought something could have happened to Althea." Declan was so glad it hadn't been Althea. It was horrible, and he felt a little guilty for thinking so. "I'm not sure. I tried to see if it was more like a hex, you know? Any trace of magic. Dust, ash, scorch marks..." At the very least it didn't mean they were evaporated or decimated on the spot. "No items left behind at least not any that weren't present already. So I'm ruling sentient portkeys out of my theories list."

"You are absolutely right about that." Because had their parents found out it would've been equally parts embarrassing as it would have been hilarious. She lived for that kind of drama; plus it would mean that their father would come and shower Althea with attention. Maybe it wouldn't be too bad of an idea if they knew...but, she thought better of it. Declan and Levi would never let her get away with it. Shameful.

She took a swig of juice, and frowned because she still felt hungry. Remembering that she'd also packed some dinner rolls as well. "As if I would've been kidnapped that easily," she said bluntly. Not that she entirely placed blame on Henry; but his lack of awareness about his surroundings was alarming and, frankly, Althea wasn't surprised that he'd been the one to be kidnapped.

"What if it's some sort of wonky time traveling thing. Like they could be in the future right now." Which sounded cooler than some random portal zapping kids indiscriminately into another realm. "I wonder why more people haven't been taken..." she said and then proceeded to eat the dinner roll.

Levi was not usually very concerned with what the general population of Hogwarts thought of him or whatever reputation he had, which was possibly a result of spending too much behind a book or with his siblings and their latest, out of curfew exploit. But it was still very true that the thought of his parents showing up at school was unnerving. His mother would have stormed the castle and scourged the entire school to find them; at the same time, his father would have made a show of invading all three of their respective common rooms to pack all their belongings before impatiently waiting at the school gates for them.

More than unnerving it was embarrassing. He was not sure he'd be able to ever make his fellow Gryffindors forget such a spectacle. "Well," Levi said, after a moment of deliberation. "If kids are disappearing, it's likely that all parents will be informed." It would surprise him immensely if it wasn't a part of a special edition of the Prophet already. "At this point, I think, it's more a matter of, er, trying to placate them." Which was really more of an Althea sort of mission, which is why Levi shot her a very pointed look. "If you are able to talk sense into dad..." Then we might not have to leave. But then, wouldn't Althea want to leave?

He did not much like the idea of putting so much on Althea's shoulders. "Let's hope it isn't time traveling. The consequences could be disastrous." People, unfortunately, did not take time traveling as serious as they should. "Yeah, it couldn't have been a portkey. You can't apparate in and out of Hogwarts." This was a fact.

"Althea, what would you have done?" Declan asked her seriously. "Kicked the light to death?" Really. Althea almost sounded like a Gryffindor or his mother, really. He rubbed two hands down his face before looking over at what she had brought over for Levi. Declan needed to eat something to swallow the stress down with.

Time Travel. Huh. Declan thought it over as he bit into a dinner roll. His cheeks bulged as he chewed.

"Time travel or whatever," Declan said a little reluctantly. "It's all getting out of hand. I don't want to have to leave Hogwarts but we have to be smart about this too. We don't even know what's happening. How do we keep each other safe?"

He was the older brother and he had no ideas. With what pride did he even ask for suggestions? None, clearly.

Oh? Was Levi trying to strike a deal with her? Interesting. "And how will that benefit me hmm?" A large grin fell onto her lips as she finished her dinner roll. "I could be of assistance, for the right price." If her eyes could sparkle, it would blind everyone. She was giddy with excitement at the prospect of having one (possibly both?) of her brothers indebted to her.

Declan had a point. While Althea hoped that she would've been able to hold her own against whatever it was that was plaguing the castle, she also knew that her magical skills would not have prevented her capture. With a dramatic roll of her eyes, she said: "Yeah, okay, you've got a point, blah blah blah." Because she hated being told she was wrong, but since it was Declan she'd let it slide.

"We need a way to keep tabs on each other until this is all settled. Something to help us know exactly where the other is at all times." It sounded like something an overbearing, hovering parent would have (their father, for example). She wondered if they could manage to come up with a way to do it--and quickly.

Levi actually stood up to get a large cushion from another couch so he could sit on it and look down on Althea without having to ask Declan to move. Though he still had to crane his neck around his brother's head, which was unfortunate. He felt the tips of his ears burn in embarrassment. "I have no gold." This was not true. On the last Hogsmeade outing, in which they'd predictably run into their father (as they always did, unfortunately) Levi had requested some gold. But those magazine subscriptions were not going to pay themselves. "And, honestly, Thea, do you want to go home? To be supervised by ma and pops all day long? Isn't that like being asphyxiated?" Not that Levi would know. Being the middle child with the tendency to turn himself in to his parents every time he did something wrong--which was often--had its perks. Being grounded did not have perks, of course, but it wasn't like they did a lot of exploring when they were home.

He unscrewed his water bottle again to take another swig. "I think," He said, in between gulps, "That if one of us fail to show up to our daily, horrible early morning workouts," at which point he sent Declan a sour look, but did slid him the last of the cold muffins Althea had brought over, "Then we should alert someone." By someone he meant the headmistress or a professor and by professor he meant Professor Myers or Healer Reed or Professor Hirsch. Or Sokolov because maybe the Ancient Runes bloke could intimidate the portal into disappearing. Frankly, Levi did not have much faith in the rest.

Declan had a vague realization of what Levi was doing with all his movement. It was his duty as older brother to both tease him and ignore it at the same time. He found a middle ground by catching his gaze and smirking. He reached up and patted his head.

"Althea, I'll give you some of my allowance," Declan agreed because Merlin knew both his siblings had already wasted theirs plus whatever they got for working for their parents during the summer. Not that Declan ever got much for his labor.

He did get, apparently, a cold muffin for his older brother efforts. Declan grinned and grabbed it, carefully peeling the paper off of one side so he could nibble on it.

"Fair enough, but what if one of us disappears right after our workout in the middle of the day?" Declan was not taking risks. The first 48 hours were the most important in a missing persons case, however, if his siblings got sucked into a portal 48 hours just was too much time. He needed to know as soon as it happened.

"I'll come up with something but I need something that belongs to you," Declan began shoving the rest of the muffin in his mouth after having successfully peeled off the wrapper. He waved one hand, gesturing for his siblings to hurry up and bring forth some kind of item.

As usual, Levi upped his theatrics by ten so that he could talk down at her. Typical, typical, typical. "I hate broke men," she said bluntly, though her attitude changed once Declan offered his own money. "I accept wholeheartedly. Thank you, Declan; I always knew I could always count on you to do the right thing." Translation: thank you for always appeasing me.

Honestly she didn't see the big deal. Being at home was fun! They had their own rooms and got to hang out with their parents. And they didn't have to deal with outsiders being nosy and judging them. "Unlike you, I love being asphyxiated. It just means they love hard." And it fed right into her ego. As much as she loved solitude, she also loved doing things with her brothers (no matter how annoying they were most of the time.) Their workouts were routine, and she needed them--what with all the food she ingested on the regular.

"Fine fine," Althea unclasped her charm bracelet and handed it to Declan. "Are you gonna, like, charm them or something? Put some ancient magic on them?" She was very interested in the prospect of having a charmed piece of jewelry. Maybe he could make it so sent electric shocks to people who came too close to her.

Levi totally gaped at Althea's absurd logic. He loved his parents dearly but he did not want to be around them all the time; not because he found them annoying (though they could be) but because he appreciated having the freedom to come and go as he pleased. Not that Hogwarts didn't have any curfews, but the art of sneaking in and out of the common room unnoticed hadn't escaped him. If he ever so much as placed a foot out of the apartment without his mother's explicit. permission, alarms would probably quite literally go off screaming his name.

He visibly relaxed, though, when Declan chose to sacrifice his own gold to appease their little sister. Though Levi did manage to send her a glare from over Declan's head. He was not going to tell her ANYTHING.

And yet: "You better start cutting that umbilical cord SOON, Althea." Declan won't be here forever. He didn't want to say it but then he didn't have to. It was the unfortunate reality that his brother would be leaving them to fend for themselves in a year.

The boy threw the empty plastic bottle inside his messenger bag and removed his watch from his wrist, which he promptly handed over to Declan. Levi looked positively remorseful. "So... that's gonna help you keep track of us." That should have probably bothered him more than it did. Not that it bothered him at all because his sense of privacy was pretty much skewed over when it came to his siblings. "How will we be able to keep track of you?"

Declan smiled in order to keep himself rolling his eyes. It was hard so he smiled even bigger. He loved Althea to the bottom of his slightly crooked and bent heart but she reminded him too much of his mother. There was only so much room in the world for one Dairine Harcourt-Kenning. How was the world going to cope with an Althea Kenning in her full glory?

"Alright, Althea I guess Levi and I will just have to love you doubly hard," Declan said with a raised brow. "Until you can't breathe." If that's what she wanted Declan would just have to amp his big brother role go ahead and verge on the overprotective thing. He fiddled with Althea's bracelet as she talked and nodded distractedly. "Yeah, something like that although nothing as complicated as you're probably thinking."

He wasn't about to go and work three different spells into one artifact. There was just no time for that.

"Really?" was his only response to Levi. He stared at him incredulously as he slipped the watch away from him. "Consider me the calculated risk," he explained easily. "I have to find a way to anchor these in this realm so even if you disappear these items do not." He could make himself the anchor but that wasn't much a protection for his siblings. If he disappeared his siblings would know but the spell would be lifted and they would be anchored to wherever he would even travel to.

If he survived the attack.

"Is anybody still friends with Peeves?"

This was why Althea openly favored Declan over Levi. There was just no competition between the two; Declan was the far superior older brother. Her bias most definitely had everything to do with how much less aggravating Declan was, and how easy he gave in to her demands. "I don't wanna. I don't have to and I WON'T," she said, crossing her arms and frowning. It wasn't fair; Levi was being stupid and Declan had no right to leave her...well them, but really her.

Munching on a piece of chicken, Althea mentally agreed with Levi (because she wouldn't dare say anything out loud.) How would they keep track of him? What was the point of them being able to find each other if Declan wasn't a part of the equation? More questions swirled around her mind as she continued to eat. Mouth full of food, Althea added: "Don't be so grim. You're not going anywhere, so talk more positively. Please." He sounded as if something was going to attack him very soon. It frightened her.

"Friends? With that loudmouth? Nope."

Levi was about to object to Declan but then realized that he couldn't because whatever he said would be a lie and because he also didn't want to. It would have been malicious, anyway, and though he enjoyed fighting Althea, Levi often drew the line at saying anything that could genuinely hurt her feelings. Not that the feeling was always returned, but oh well.

And, anyway, Declan was absolutely right anyway. He already super loved Althea. It was a sentiment that all three Kenning men shared.

He shot Declan a suspicious look. Levi didn't necessarily have a problem with his brother taking charge, and in fact, he did prefer it; but there was something inherently messed up about the situation not being a little more balanced. He also did not want to feel like a terrible brother for not looking after Declan the way Declan would be looking after him. "I don't agree with this." This was not an easy thing to admit. "I know you're trying to take care of us, and I am glad." He shot Althea a glance from over Declan's head. "But you can't expect us to sit by and do nothing. This is serious." Not that they'd not dabbled with serious before but it actually became a concern when they were not (at least a little bit) in control. A portal that quite literally sucked people in was completely uncharted territory. Levi took a deep breath and did his best at appearing perfectly calm, though he was not. "What about the protean charm? It's supposed to be complex and I've never even tried it, but." He shrugged.

They had done worse. Or, better. He supposed it depended on the situation. "Wait, what about Peeves?" He frowned. "Who cares about him? He's probably farting all over someone's face as we speak." To say nothing of the other two members of his insufferable family.

"Let's not use up more oxygen than we need to," he said in what he thought was a sweet voice to Althea. Declan wasn't sure how it came across. He was very bad at intentional attempts at affection. His father was better at that kind of thing. Declan supposed he had his mother's tact. "I don't want you to faint or anything terrible like that."

How about that? He hoped that worked. In any case, this was giving him a headache. He needed the coffee--that he was according to his Mum--not drinking.

"A protean charm only means we can communicate with each other. If either of us change our charmed items, with heat or whatever, it will let the others know. It won't tell us anything if you suddenly got sucked up into some wormhole or into oblivion," he explained slightly annoyed as he waved a hand in the air. "But it's a start, if you think you're both fast enough with a wand."

He wasn't worried about the difficulty. It was N.E.W.T. level work. Declan had read it in his fourth year although he hadn't yet put it into practice. He supposed there was a first time for everything.

"Peeves is a poltergeist," Declan explained slowly. "In theory, he is an entity that kind of dabbles in between realms already. Dimensions? Two realities? I am not too knowledgeable on that." He shook his head. "I was thinking wouldn't he know something about these portals? Or at the very least do you think he would be able to travel to and from at will? Or..." Declan shrugged. "If I can't be the anchor, he could be an achor. But Peeves isn't so easily tricked."

After cleaning her hands and face--eating chicken was a messy business--Althea felt content and full. For the time being. As strange as it was, the relationship between the Kenning siblings was iron clad--Althea really wouldn't trade her brothers for anything or anyone. However--and she frowned again at Declan--she was not happy with the answers their older brother had provided. "Levi's right, Declan. You know we won't just let you do whatever without some sort of assurance for your safety in all this." Really. Who did he think he was? More importantly: did he have that little faith in their capabilities?

Although Althea was mostly entertained by the portal's bad timing and mysterious way of sucking people up, it was also unnerving that they'd vanished without a trace. The fear that one of her brothers (or even herself for that matter) could be next, settled in quickly. She swallowed hard and tried to keep her thoughts coherent. "We're going about this all wrong, we should go to mum and dad for help. Dad probably has a bunch of ways to track us and mum; he would know a better," she looked at Levi first before narrowing her eyes at Declan, "safer way."

Sometimes she wondered how her brothers got to be so independent--there were times when relying on family for assistance trumped racking your brain individually. "You give Peeves too much credit; what makes you so sure that he'd even understand how and why he is what he is." The poltergeist seemed like the sort of loose cannon that left destruction everywhere he went. Plus, even if he did know...would he even help them? Double plus: wherever Peeves lurked, his shrieking wife was somewhere not-too-far behind.

Levi was very glad Althea had chosen to be good and taken his side. It was not an every day thing when the two of them decided to team up to take on Declan. Not that this was in any way an attack towards his older brother but it was true that Declan was always the one leading the way. Levi had no delusions about whether or not there was a democracy but usually at least the semblance of it was maintained.

Which was good for a change because back home there wasn't any. "Then we shouldn't touch it--the object in question, I mean--unless it is an emergency." Levi raised his eyebrows at him, then shrugged. "I don't know if we are fast enough, but no time like the present to figure it out, I guess."

It wasn't a wholly convincing plan by any means. And Declan had a pretty good point--they'd need to both think fast and act fast. "Although who knows if it'd even work in the other side." He knew magic did, but--were spells the same? Or rather, were their intended effects the same? "Anyway, I see what you're saying, Declan." About Peeves. Feeling less testy and ridiculous, Levi stood up, removed the cushion he'd been siting on to create the illusion of more height, and sent it flying to the couch he'd removed it from. "But Peeves is a fart. If he understands his own nature, I don't know how we'd get him to help. He is--destruction." Levi sat back down and tapped his hairless chin with his index finger. "What do we have that he could possibly want?" This was not a rhetoric question either. .

Levi shot Althea a look. He was trying to play nice but then she had to come down with that kind of drama. Or at least she was trying to; because his parents were a lot of things but dramatic was probably right up there on the list. Levi closed his eyes for a moment, then opened them again. "Going to our parents for help would just make them want to pull us out of school all the more." He shook his head. "Althea, you are probably right." And at this he lowered his voice. "But dad's methods are probably not necessarily..." Legal. Ministry approved? Levi had figured out early on that his father loved to toe the line on what was right and wasn't and tended to live in that in between. "...conventional."

His siblings were being stubborn and overzealous. He adored them but tried to hide it by frowning. "I'm the older sibling here so I decide whether I'm a throw away or not." He realized the gravity of his words after a moment's silence and added: "In an emergency anyway, but I understand, and I appreciate you being concerned for me but really, you need to let me be the older brother." It was his duty really. His father would agree, maybe, even if reluctantly.

It was like Althea had sensed him thinking about his father because she brought his parents up. Declan tensed feeling like it somehow worked as a summoning spell and he could almost hear his mother's voice in his head asking him what the bloody hell did he think he was doing.

"We are not asking Pops for anything," Declan said decisively. "That's a bad idea. If we even so much ask he'll know we are up to something and he will just yank us out of here quicker than I can throw the bones and ask them what's next." It was just going to be a disaster. "We'll do the protean charm tomorrow or tonight. It depends..." On how tired he was. The Protean charm would probably take a few attempts as he had never even tried it before only knew about it in theory.

Levi presented a good point. Declan had to shrug in some defeat. "To be honest, I don't know what we could offer Peeves except a good opportunity to pull a fast one on us." He was a poltergeist. Surely, he lived for pranks. "It doesn't mean he will give us any information in return but he probably knows way more than us about the portals, at least instinctively."

Declan sighed and fiddled with the objects his siblings gave him. He reached into his cloak, and pulled out the item he was offering up. "My deck. You each can pick a card you like." He placed the deck of playing cards on the table, before waving his hand over the deck. It fanned out on top of the table creating a soft rustle. Declan held his hand over the deck, fingers tight together, and turned his palm up. The cards flipped over.

With a long, very dramatic roll of her eyes, Althea conceded with a mumbled "Whatever." And left it at that. There was no use arguing because Declan wouldn't budge. They'd have to take him on another day when he was unaware and vulnerable. If they had to rely on the poltergeists for assistance, they'd end up dead before they accomplished their goal. "You're probably right. If anything, he's the most mysterious sentient thing at this castle. I wouldn't be surprised if he knew who was controlling the portals." Because he seemed like the sort to think that this would be an extremely hilarious prank to pull.

A morbid thought on her part, but Althea couldn't rule out the possibility of his involvement.

She sighed, because her brothers were trying her patience today (and she was full so she couldn't even eat chicken even if she wanted to!), and stared incredulously at both of them. "I don't see the big deal, but since you both want to cling on to whatever little freedom you can find at school then fine. We won't ask dad." They were being ridiculous! Being pulled out of school wasn't even a bad idea. She supposed it was because Levi and Declan both had things they'd wanted to do without their parents' knowledge. It was peculiar and suspect. Althea watched quietly as Declan pulled out his cards and smiled as she tapped on the Queen of Hearts. "Since I'm in a romantic mood as of late."

"Yes, of course, sorry," Levi began, draping one of his arms around the back of the couch and allowing sarcasm to leak into his tone. "I forgot we live in a--what is it muggles call it?" He pretended to to think about it. "That' right--a dictatorship."

He was mostly joking.

To prove it, he waved one of his hands, dismissively. "If we are doing a protean charm, then we need a duplicate of the same thing." He was probably pushing his luck, at this point. And maybe duplicate wasn't the correct word, since there were three of them. Or was it? "Right? Something that wouldn't be weird for people if they saw all three of us have it."

Levi still was of the idea that involving Peeves with anything was a mistake that would end up with howlers from home being sent over, at best, and being pulled out of school altogether at worst. Though he could see Declan's reasoning, he supposed--he just wasn't particularly willing to entertain it. "We could always offer our services to him, I s'ppose. As buffoons, or whatever." Nope.

He leaned forward, towards Declan's, eyeing the shuffled cards in speculation. "You're feeling what, Althea?" That almost him laugh. "Dad would looooooove to hear about that one." Ridiculous. He drew the first card his eyes landed on, and revealed it. "Jack of Spades." Levi lifted it until it covered his nose and mouth. "What does that mean?"

Declan shrugged. It was a bad habit he wanted to correct but continued to forget he needed it corrected in the first place. "I don't know if he knows or not, he could have an idea but chances are he isn't very concerned at all. He probably thinks it's funny."

Humorous in some weird sick morbid way. Poltergeists were strange like that.

"Don't be dramatic, Levi."

His siblings were also strange in their own way. Declan smiled at Althea's choice. He couldn't decide if it was fitting. "Your choice says you are a kind and affectionate young woman," he said pushing out the card from the rest of the deck. He allowed it to linger on the table for now. "Let's not get carried away and confuse affection for romance."

If Althea got too romantic with anyone Declan was just going to have to deal with it, the Kenning way.

"Yeah, getting to that," he said. "We'll work on the duplicate thing in just a bit. Let's all just pick a card first." Declan did roll his eyes this time. He could tell his siblings were not taking his Peeves theory seriously. "Forget I said anything. It was just a thought."

At the sight of Levi's card, especially covering part of his face, Declan had to laugh. He quieted quickly, reminding himself he was in the library still. "Have you been feeling a little hostile or jealous lately, Levi? You do know you can share with us."

Chuckling still, Declan slipped the card away from Levi's grasp. "Give it here, Mister Hostility." He placed it next to the Queen of Hearts. Declan closed his eyes and opened them again as he picked a card. "King of Spades." He spared his siblings the meaning of it and allowed his hot ears to be the crown of shame to carry.

Declan placed the cards in a straight line, side by side. One sweep of his hand and they slide one on to of the other. He then picked the Ace of Hearts and placed it on top of the cards. His eyes shifted carefully to see who was watching them. Not feeling any suspicious vibes, Declan pulled out his wand and lowered it slowly to tap the middle of the top card--the Ace of Hearts. The card seemed to melt underneath the touch of his wand. It rippled, like sudden white liquid. Once Declan removed his wand the cards had become one card.

"One card," Declan announced gesturing at it with one hand. He flicked his wand at the car quickly: "Geminio." From the card sprung a second one, and then a third. Declan slashed his wand across the air to end the multiplying. "I may have tried something different." A little more than Protean charm, really. "So I'm not sure how it will work but it should change accordingly. Queen of Hearts for Althea. Jack of Spades for Levi. And then mine..." Declan cleared his throat. "If we are all safe it will always look like this," he said and held up one of the Ace of Hearts cards.

Levi's joke did not go unnoticed, because Althea laughed (as quietly as she could!!) at how accurate his statement was. Declan really didn't see how authoritative he was with his younger siblings. It was both endearing and scary. "Will it really be that weird though? We do have our own thing goin' on anyway." If people commented on the close relationship the Kenning siblings shared, Althea was very unaware of it. She just assumed that the students and staff were used to them being together all the time. They were pretty much a packaged deal.

She shot Levi an incredulous look. Offer their services?? To Peeves??? No. Never. She would rather die one thousand deaths. "Watch, now that Declan has put it out there, he'll probably be right about the whole poltergeist theory." Leave it to Declan to literally speak things into existence. If he was right...the school was in more danger than they probably knew. "Shut it," she said defensively and smacked Levi's arm. He was SO rude. She turned her head to hide her face and only calmed down once Declan explained the card's meaning. "I am really kind, that much is true." She was only affectionate with her family, so she supposed that that part was true as well.

Snickering at Levi's card, she couldn't help but prod. "Levi's whole thing is living a life of hostility. He probably is pining after someone he shouldn't." Although she wanted to ask Declan what his card meant (he did seem rather secretive about it,) she was too caught up in the movements of the cards and the spell that Declan was casting. When he was finished, she almost felt like applauding. It was all mesmerizing and she wondered if her wandwork would ever be that elegant. "Knowing you it'll work even better than you thought." Althea inspected the card; it seemed so normal, but she'd seen what Declan had done previously so she knew it was anything but. "I wish I had pockets, it would be easier to carry it that way. But I suppose my bag will do."

Levi would have probably protested to being called out for his dramatics, but he'd learned long ago that it was always wise to choose his battles well. And this battle, he knew, wasn't one he would win any time soon. Not only were Declan and Althea a formidable team when they worked together against him, but, well, Declan was also right.

But Levi rolled his eyes at his brother, anyway. And also at Althea, of course, who was talking about kindness as though she'd ever seen that before.

Alright. He was probably being dramatic, again.

"Hostile? Me?" This was a contradiction, as far as Levi was concerned. He snorted. "Never. I don't even know what pining means, Althea." Well, he had a fairly good idea of what it was. That Levi was familiar in an intimate fashion or if he'd been at some point was another matter entirely.

The Gryffindor eyed with interest as his brother worked, and as always, felt a rush of both affection and pride for Declan. Which, he reasoned, was very stupid because those sort of feelings ought to probably be exclusive for parents towards their children. But he couldn't help what he felt. Levi reached for his journal inside his back and took the card he was being offered. He tapped the card against the front of his journal with his wand, twice, successfully attaching it to it.

"I always have this with me." It was best to say it before anyone asked. "So...what is yours supposed to mean, Declan?"

Noelle already had a stack of books with her as she made her way through the library and then headed for the fireplace. She took a seat, making sure her books were no where near that fire... just in case.

Haddie was supposed to meet her here. She had gotten here a little earlier than she thought she would have. So instead of wasting time, she already grabbed books that she had her eye on so that her and Haddie could go through them for their report on animagi.

Now all she needed was Haddie.

Hads was running a bit late. Not exactly uncommon for her, but it was something she was trying, and ultimately failing, to change. Ah well. She was who she was. As she approached, she tossed her book bag at the ground next to Noelle. It skidded dangerously close to the fireplace. Whoops.

Hads extracted her bag from its nearness to the fire as she sat down. The bag was placed on her other side, away from the fire, opened, and the books removed from it. Asher, disturbed by how much Hads was moving around, yawned from Hadley's shoulder and watched her, annoyed, until she was done setting the books down. "Okay. Ready."

Noelle was in the middle of opening a book she particularly liked, that Hady (her big sister) had shown her last year. She grinned when Haddie came in late and plopped beside her. "Rough day?" Noelle asked glancing her over as she got her bag before it entered the fire.

"Yes. Ready. I grabbed some books that Hady showed me last term. They've got some brilliant information in them. I figured we could take notes. " She offered one of the books to Hads as she opened another one, scattering them around them. "Have you started on the report?"