So, that was a no on the scarf? Henry was good either way and he'd happily offer it up to Katy if it made her feel more comfortable, but somehow he had a feeling that his offer made her feel less comfortable. He'd just drop it.

Henry chuckled a bit. "I'm not completely sure if I should take that as a compliment or an insult." Or just an observation. "But coming from you, I'll take it as a compliment," he grinned. Especially the endearing part. As for jealous girls.. he shrugged a bit. "Is it bad that I find it a little flattering?" He didn't have to be modest all the time, did he? He did kind of like the attention if he were honest.

Of course. They were friends and Henry hoped that Katy knew she could ask him anything. He wasn't sure he was expecting that question, though he figured it would eventually come up. It was kind of a loaded question though, wasn't it? He looked over the railing, watching a leaf falling from a tree before answering. "You pretty much dared me to kiss you, Katy," he said, stealing a glance. "But... I wanted to. I wanted to be your Hufflepuff." And it weirdly bothered him that she hadn't asked him first. "Did it mean something to you? More than your scientific experiment, I mean."

"It's a compliment. A very sideways sort, though, so that it almost seems like I'm being mean. I can't help it. I sound mean even when I'm trying to be sincere. It's one of the curses of being me. Or being a Slytherin. We're hard to gauge when it comes to sincerity." Katy dimpled at him and waved a strand of recalcitrant hair in his direction. It just wouldn't stay tucked into her collar. Figures... she had being confined too. "And not bad at all. Merlin knows you ought to enjoy your fame."

She held up her hands to capture him like a photograph, framed between her fingers. Famous Henry. He was going to be on magazine covers, the Quidditch kind, and he looked like he'd be at home there. "I..." Ugh. She dropped her hands and tried not to think about how her stomach was occupying both her throat and her toes at the same time. "I wanted you to be my Hufflepuff too. But I didn't... want you to be one of many." Which was dumb. This was what her brother had been talking about, probably, and she'd only just found his point.

Etta decided to go for a walk, wanting to get some fresh air AND wanting to just be alone for a little while. So she roamed the grounds for pretty much the most part of the evening before she finally found herself standing on the beautiful wooden bridge. There was hardly anyone around.. and it was so serene. Wow. How had she never visited the bridge before? Weird.

Shivering slightly, she slowly walked, appreciating the greenery around her. This was lovely. Maybe she could spend some time here before having to go back to the castle for dinner...

"Oh.. well, thanks then." Henry smiled back. A compliment was a compliment as far as he was concerned and he didn't really think of it in a backhanded way. Or sideways even. Just.. in a Katy sort of way. He liked her sense of humor. "I didn't really think it was mean anyway." But if someone else had called him the Puffiest Puff, he might have a different opinion.

"I'm not famous yet," he pointed out as he turned to lean his back against the railing of the bridge. There was still a difference between being popular among peers and being a well-known Quidditch player, but he did admittedly enjoy the attention that he got, even if it did make him feel selfish at times. He gave her a hesitant grin as she framed him with her fingers and he thought fleetingly about what it might be like to be photographed all the time. Would he really like all the attention then? He wasn't completely sure.

From his position leant against the railing, he gave her a glance hearing her hesitation before looking out at the colored leaves again. Just... checking. He already knew he was an expert at complicating things without even intending to, and he wasn't really meaning to do it again. He shrugged a little and gave her a reassuring smile. "One of many isn't that big of a deal, is it? Not if it made up for the one that didn't count." Gotten dishonestly, isn't that what she had said? Something like that. He was happy to help her out. "So, did you get your Ravenclaw?"

Junia was one of the few brave enough to be outside this time of day, the wind making her brunette hair dance behind her as she peered out past the bridge and beyond. She didn't mind the cold air so much, it was a welcome change from the busy, crowded castle. It was.

Hearing footsteps nearby, the third year gripped her wand a bit tighter. She wasn't too scared it was something that would harm her, but constant vigilance and all that. She was just practicing what was always preached at this place.

"Pretty soon it'll be too cold to come out here this late," She said softly to her classmate, her gaze shifting briefly to the girl before returning to the scenery. "Makes you wonder why more people aren't out here enjoying it."

"Trust me... fame isn't all its cracked up to be. I mean, people making stuff up about you when you aren't being interesting enough. No privacy. It gets old fast, don't you think? So yeah, you get all these pretty girls drooling over you in the bleachers, but then you leave the stadium and there are people in your face." Not that she didn't want him to have whatever he wanted, but she wasn't sure he knew what he was getting into. He was too nice. The paps would eat him alive.

And... yeah. Henry. Enough said. She could take a hint. "Yeah, no big deal, I guess. But I didn't find a Ravenclaw. I guess I got bored of the game. It was bad science, anyway. Terrible sample size for a population." She kicked at the railing before shoving off. "I'm freezing. Are you freezing?"

Henry grew thoughtful as he listened to Katy. He knew all of that, or at least he thought he did, and he wasn't sure if he'd like that side at all. He'd admit that he liked having positive attention, but not so much the lack of privacy or someone making up lies or half-truths about him. "My sister does a pretty good job staying out of the tabloids," he said after a moment's thought. Though he had seen plenty about her in various publications. "There was a rumor about my dad in one once though. I think it caused some problems for him and my mum," he admitted quietly. He was sure it wasn't true, but even just the idea of it was rather unkind.

Henry wasn't completely sure what the game had been to begin with or exactly what Katy had wanted out of it, but it seemed important to her at the time. He didn't know what changed, though it was clear to him that he said something wrong. And he didn't want to feel any weird tension between the two of them, not when he considered her a good friend. So he simply smiled when she mentioned the cold. "Well, I did offer you my scarf," he chuckled. "But yeah, I think I've lost feeling in my toes. Do you want to go in and get some hot chocolate?" That was always the best on a cold day.

"My parents are in the tabloids a lot. They make up pretty rotten stuff about my family..." Katy tilted her head and pulled her cloak tighter around her. "I know that they're starting to watch my brother, and then it'll be me. Like... I don't want to screw up and embarrass my family, but it's worse when you know that it doesn't matter if you screw up or not. They'll just say what they want."

Not that he cared about all that. She flashed a smile to break the solemnity of the moment. He was already smiling again, so it wasn't hard to suppress any hugger-mugger feelings of angst and disappointment in favor of moving on. Cocoa sounded perfect, and she'd even allow herself a marshmallow. Her mother would never know. "You can't afford to lose a toe. I think cocoa sounds perfect."

Etta nearly jumped out of her skin when she noticed her fellow classmate. Someone who really didn't seem to mind the cold, just like her. Hmm, interesting. She gave the other girl a curious look before turning to admire the scenery once again, the trees looking rather.. scary under the twilight sky. Still, she loved it. Except for the cold, that is.

"Mhm... I love how quiet and secluded this place is. Helps you think." She said softly, shivering just a liiittle bit. "I guess people don't like wandering out in the cold."

"Guess not." Junia shrugged some, deciding that she agreed that this was a good place to think. What was the other girl thinking about, though? The third year was curious but she didn't ask just yet. They'd only just met, after all.

"Are you new here? I don't recognize you." And the Junebug knew most everyoneeee here at Hogwarts. Or...well, she liked to pretend she did. It gave off the impression that she was clued in to all the important people in the castle. "I mean, I've seen you in classes and stuff, but you know." Only just this term.

Daisy had a pretty bad case of self- diagnosed cabin fever. She was spending too much time inside, going to all her classes and for the first time since she arrived at Hogwarts, trying her hardest not to fall behind on her homework. It was exhausting. Honestly, how did people do that for seven years? She had been doing it for one and she was beginning to think she would lose her hair or something.

She still had Ancient Runes homework waiting for her but she decided to ditch it and go for a walk.

SNOW. Look at all the snow she had missed while being trapped inside!

Walking across the snow-covered courtyard towards the wooden bridge, Daisy grinned happily as the soft snowflakes fell on her head. Please, let the snowstorm hold for a while. Daisy wanted to do snow angels!! And plopping right down on the snow, right by the entrance of the bridge, that's what the Slytherin began doing.

Yes, she was fifteen years old. Promise.

Etta leaned against the railing, squinting her eyes a little to peer into the dark woods. Surely, something just moved? Or were her eyes playing tricks?... Um. Anyway. She turned to look at the other girl and nodded, a small smile on her face.

"I'm new, yes." Yeah. Etta had seen her around in classes too but they'd never met so far? Weird. "How about you? Are you new as well?" She asked, flicking a momentary glance towards the trees again. What? The girl was a little nervous, okay.

"I'm Etta." She added, 'cause introductions were important.

Juno stopped at the edge of the bridge, and sat down, taking deep breaths. She grabbed her water bottle and chugged. Her run this morning was kicking her butt and she couldn't figure out why. Maybe it was the cold? Could she be getting sick? Who knows...

She did know that she hoped to run into Leon, even if she was sweaty and gross. She quickly re-did her pony tail. It had come lose just before she crossed the bridge. After fixing her hair, she leaned back against the side of the bridge. Why was she so tired? She hadn't been sleeping very well, but she knew it was because she was stressed out, especially now that they had to work the creepy portal into their prefect rotations. She had a long enough school week without having to babysit a portal so no one would enter it. That was probably why she was having nightmares sometimes too. The thing just gave off a really creepy vibe.

Before she knew it she was curled up asleep at the end of the bridge...

Leon was in the middle of his morning run, hoping he would see Juno when he ran across the bridge and spotted a blonde head slumped over at the end of it.

His leisurely jog turned into a flat out run, adrenaline pumping in his blood as he tried to get to the figure as fast as he could..His legs pounding against the wood of the bridge as he tried to get there faster! Gah! It felt like he was moving in slow motion when really the 7th year was fairly flying over the rickety wooden structure.

And then his heart nearly stopped as he saw it was indeed the blonde haired prefect, whose eyes currently haunted most of his dreams. He was down on his knees so fast he skidded last her a little and he winced at the feeling of splinters entering his skin, but he pushed all that away as he gently touched her cheek..

"Juno! Juno! Are you okay? " She seemed to be breathing so that was a relief.. but he wanted her to wake up!

Juno was running across an empty field...running towards Leon. As soon as they collided they were kissing. A small smile crossed her lips in her sleep.

And suddenly she was being shook awake she looked up blearily and thought she was still dreaming. "Leon?" She said with a yawn. When had she fallen asleep? She was a little stiff so she had to have been here for a little while. "I'm ok. Just took a break from my run and fell asleep." She put a hand on his cheek and smiled. "Don't worry. I just haven't been sleeping well, that's all."

It took her everything not to kiss him with how close he was to her at the moment. She stared into his beautiful grey eyes and smiled a small smile. She looked down noticing that he was bleeding a little. "Leon your bleeding what did you do?" Her worry crease perked immediately. He hadn't hurt himself because of her had he???

Jacob was out taking a walk, exploring the grounds, and thinking. He spent a lot of time pacing while he was thinking, but he could tell the other boys in his dorm were getting annoyed with him, so he decided to take it outside. It was probably better to get some fresh air, anyway. He was mostly thinking about his schoolwork, but his thoughts had begun to wander toward his personal life, too. He'd made a few friends, but he still felt somewhat lonely. Why was that? He'd been making a concentrated effort to be less awkward, and he thought he was succeeding for the most part, but his social life still seemed fairly stagnant. Lots to think about, so lots of walking.

He was starting to get a bit tired of walking, though. Once he reached the wooden bridge, he figured that seemed like a nice place to take a break from his rambling. He leaned his elbows on one of the railings, looking out at the view. It was chilly, but he was wrapped up nice and snug in heavy robes and a scarf, so he wasn't uncomfortable. The tips of his ears and his nose were beginning to turn a bit red, though, but he didn't notice that, although he did sniffle once. His brain was still whirring. He may have stopped walking, but he had not stopped thinking.

Oh thank Merlin..

Relief coursed through the grey eyed boy as Juno woke up and yawned a bit.. She had just been sleeping! He felt himself go a bit weak as he looked at her and he gently cupped her face in his hands..

"I thought something had happened to you. " He said softly as he gently stroked her cheek with his thumbs for a moment before releasing her. Any longer like that and he would be kissing her!

Worry was etched in his face though as she said she hadn't been sleeping well and he took her hand in his, gently playing with her fingers as he spoke... "Why not? Is everything okay? " He asked, a hint of concern in his voice.

His adrenaline had been so high he hadn't even noticed the sting of his knees and hands until she brought it up. "Bleeding? Hmm? " A glance downwards confirmed her words.. "Ohh, I skidded a bit on the wood, must have picked up a few splinter.. I'm all right though. " He said with a warm smile.

"Not me," Junia answered quietly, following the older girl's gaze. Was something down there that she needed to be worried about? She tightened her hold on her wand juuuuust in case. "Been here since first year and I'm a third year now. My whole family has gone here, practically."

Squinting a little, she tried to see through the darkness. Sometimes she thought it'd pay to have the vision of an owl, particularly when you liked wandering around at night as much as she did. Surely there was a spell or potion to help with that.

"Hi Etta, I'm Junia Botros." The thirteen year old extended a hand and gave her classmate a curious smile.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cassirin

"My parents are in the tabloids a lot. They make up pretty rotten stuff about my family..." Katy tilted her head and pulled her cloak tighter around her. "I know that they're starting to watch my brother, and then it'll be me. Like... I don't want to screw up and embarrass my family, but it's worse when you know that it doesn't matter if you screw up or not. They'll just say what they want."

Not that he cared about all that. She flashed a smile to break the solemnity of the moment. He was already smiling again, so it wasn't hard to suppress any hugger-mugger feelings of angst and disappointment in favor of moving on. Cocoa sounded perfect, and she'd even allow herself a marshmallow. Her mother would never know. "You can't afford to lose a toe. I think cocoa sounds perfect."

Jingle, jingle, jingle! Santa!Gaston jiggle a little Christmas bell to alert everyone within earshot of his presence. "HO, HO, HO! Merry Christmas!" he called, keeping an eye out for candy gram recipients, and it wasn't long before he spotted Miss Toussaint. "Ho, ho! Looks like someone's been a good girl!" he said as he approached her. He pulled a candy cane out of the sack he was holding and handed it to the Slytherin; attached was the following message:

Quote:

To: Katherine Toussaint

Have a cheer up candy cane on me. Kiss whomever you desire.

Spotlights and pink confetti,

From: Drama-King-With-A-Kissed-Nose

Uh... Santa!Gaston blinked confusedly at the message. It sounded a bit mean to him, but maybe it made more sense in context. Oh well, there wasn't time to think about it now. He still had more candy grams to deliver, so he gave Miss Toussaint a friendly wave and continued on his way.

Quote:

Originally Posted by FwooperOnYourLeft

Oh thank Merlin..

Relief coursed through the grey eyed boy as Juno woke up and yawned a bit.. She had just been sleeping! He felt himself go a bit weak as he looked at her and he gently cupped her face in his hands..

"I thought something had happened to you. " He said softly as he gently stroked her cheek with his thumbs for a moment before releasing her. Any longer like that and he would be kissing her!

Worry was etched in his face though as she said she hadn't been sleeping well and he took her hand in his, gently playing with her fingers as he spoke... "Why not? Is everything okay? " He asked, a hint of concern in his voice.

His adrenaline had been so high he hadn't even noticed the sting of his knees and hands until she brought it up. "Bleeding? Hmm? " A glance downwards confirmed her words.. "Ohh, I skidded a bit on the wood, must have picked up a few splinter.. I'm all right though. " He said with a warm smile.

A little farther along, he saw Mr. Kennedy and walked up to him. "Ho, ho, ho! Merry Christmas, Mr. Kennedy!" he greeted him. 'Now let's see what Santa has for you..." He reached into the bag for another candy cane and handed it to the Ravenclaw. Attached to it was a card that said:

Quote:

To: Leon Kennedy

I hope your Christmas is full of candy and happiness, and your New Year brings you fresh starts and new joy!

From: A friend

But Santa!Gaston couldn't stay long! There were still many more candy grams to deliver, so he gave Mr. Kennedy a quick goodbye wave and was off again.

Etta turned around so that her back was leaning against the railing now, not really wanting to stare into the woods any longer. She was pretty sure she saw something moving though.... probably just an animal. Maybe.

OOOOH. Her whole family. Etta raised an eyebrow, quite impressed. "That must be cool. Do you have siblings that go here too?" She asked curiously, tucking her hands deep into the pockets of her jacket to keep her hands from freezing. EEEP.

"It's nice to meet you, Junia Botros." Etta responded with a grin and shook her hand. Botros------- Wait. That sounded familiar. "Is Rula your sister?"

Out of nowhere, the wooden bridge loudly creaked and a blinding burst of light flashed. Soon, where a bit of railing had been moments ago, a small hole began to take form, flickering as it grew in size. The energy trickling out of it caused the Hufflepuff to be sucked in first with little effort, followed soon after by the Slytherin. After the two were transported to the other world, the first portal of the new year flickered several times before it completely disappeared.

Juno felt bad for making him worry about her. She simply hadn't been sleeping well. But the way he held her face in his hands made her think she would never have a bad dream ever again.

She really, really hoped this would be the moment he would kiss her but...he pulled away. Which was fine. She didn't want to rush things, no matter how badly she wanted to kiss him. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you worry." She really hadn't meant to fall asleep on the bridge...it just happened.

Everything was fine...it was just that creepy portal. It was really making things harder for everyone. "We prefects have had to add the Portal to our rotations. And well, you have been inside it and know the creepiness that lurks within....well being outside it for a couple hours every day...has it's affects. I have been having nightmares...," she paused and looked down at her hands. It was embarrassing to say. She was almost 17 for goodness sake.

Juno was about to suggest they go to the hospital wing to get his splinters out when Santa showed up...

A candy gram from a friend huh? Suddenly Juno was slightly angry. Who the hell was sending her.............well.........she didn't really have a claim on him did she? This cooled her off pretty quickly...at least she wouldn't be mad at him. "Oh, That's nice. I wonder who it's from." She quickly stood up and walked a little bit away so he couldn't see the jealousy forming in her eyes.

Daisy had been pretty focused on her snow-angel!making. Like, these things required true focus, you know? Especially in the January snow. If you weren't paying attention then one wing would end up bigger than the other and it would all be terrible. Still, as focused as she was on that, there was no way that she could've missed that light. Or that noise.

As soon as the bridge started creaking - and not in its usual 'oh, it's windy up here' style - the Slytherin sat back up and found herself looking at .... Well, she didn't know what she was looking at. There seemed to be two girls there but suddenly there was a light surrounding the bridge that made it really, really, REALLY hard to see. Squinting her eyes, she placed her hand up, trying to shield her eyes and see what was happening.

Because in those small seconds, her brain never did make the decision to move and DO something.

The railing had gone, replaced by ... Daisy blinked a few times ... was that a hole???!!! And why was it growing??? AND WHY WERE THE GIRLS....

HOLY HIPOGGRIFFS.

Just as fast as it appeared, the light seemed to be gone. So was the hole. BUT SO WERE THE GIRLS!! Just WHAT was going on in this castle?? The fifth year sat there, dumbstruck for a couple minutes, before standing to her feet. RIGHT. She had to find someone. And with that, she ran towards the castle as fast as she could.

Natalia had hurried as fast as she could at the moment get there. Her wand was already up as she made it to the bridge and there it was. She couldn't even believe it was there. Was it still on the sixth floor? Had it closed there to come here or was Hogwarts being sucked up by multiple portals? How could they ever patrol all of them and keep people safe? She put a hand on her back to stretch a bit the hurrying had brought a bit of pain, but she was focused.

Carefully she walked onto the bridge, but there was no portal. Had the girl lied to her? Was this a joke? SO NOT FUNNY. She stared at the bridge and couldn't figure out what was going on. IF there was a portal it should still be there. The other one was still sitting right on the sixth floor, so why wouldn't this one still be there. Why would Daisy lie to her though? "HEY WHERE ARE YOU?" She yelled out to nothing. She was getting annoyed. If there was a portal it needed to show itself. COME OUT AND FIGHT! Okay not fight, but bring those girls back.

Where the girls gone for good? A bit of a panic started to build up in her. She hoped Daisy came with a professor soon.

Leon shook his head as he looked at her "Don't apologize! While I was frightened out of my mind by something happening to you.. It was a nice feeling... because it means I care a lot about you " He said as he held onto her hands and smiled warmly at her..

Merlin he wanted to kiss her..

Though as talk turned to the Portal a frown settled over his face. "I've been getting nightmares about it too. I'm trying to save people from the monster that lurks inside and I can't.. and I wake up screaming.. " He admitted quietly to her. He hadn't told anyone about that.. not even Azura. "I'm so sorry Jun.. maybe I can help you patrol? Take some of the burden from you?" " He asked her softly as he gently lifted her hands to his mouth and softly kissed it..

He was about to say more when..

Another candy gram? Who was this from? He barely knew anyone!

"I literally have no clue.. " he said as he shrugged and looked at hers