"Cookies are just fantastic and too hard to say no too," giggled Olivia as she nodded her head in agreement. She definefly had a sweet tooth. She watched as Ava carefully combined the ingredients and listened to the other girl speak. Ooh chocolate chip. Chocolate chip.... yum. "Those are really, really good too."

Yay! She could help. She almost raised an eyebrow at Ava's reminder and was about to comment but held her tongue. Yes she knew that she had to wash her hands. Her dad had taught her that. With a nod and without a word, she headed to the sink and washed her hands twice with soap and water. Once her hands were cleaned, she dried them and headed back to the center of the kitchen where Ava was. "Alright! How should we shape them?"

Ava nodded in agreement. Cookies were just the best sweet treats ever. And not to mention it was fun baking them too. "Do you also bake, by the way?" The Gryffindor asked.

Perhaps Olivia was a little bit offended when she asked her to wash her hands first, but it was the first unwritten rule of baking. It was just like they had to use clean cauldron in order to brew successful potion. Ava prepared the oven and cookie sheet. "You only have to take some cookie dough and rolled into a ball like this, then you put it on the sheet." She said as she showed it to her how to do it. "Just don't forget to give some space between the cookie." See? It was not that difficult.

"I used to bake with my older brother when we all lived at home but he's off doing his own thing. He's an assistant Professor at Beauxbatons," she said with a nod. She missed her brother a lot though she knew that things were going to be the same next time they saw each other. He would write to her often asking her how Hogwarts was and if it had changed at all since his time. He was not surprised to here that trouble had ensued last year but had been genuinely intrigued by the portal and the creature that loomed there. He wanted to go investigate it himself with his buddy, Ethan, but that hadn't happened yet. She dismissed that away from her mind and went back to the present. "I haven't baked anything recently. I think the last thing I made was an apple pie over the summer."

Olivia nodded, watching Ava demonstrate how to roll the cookie dough into the right shape. Alright. She took a small piece, eyeballing approximately a tablespoon of cookie dough, and then rolled it up into a little ball. One done. Sweet! She then placed her first one on the cookie sheet and then went on to do a few more. "Sure! I can do that. How long have you been baking for, Ava?"

Oh sure Olly knew that Noelle could see right threw him. He did have to admit that the new librarian was pretty cute. A little old for him, but still nice to look at. Ahem. "It would only be polite of us to introduce ourselves to the new professors." And librarians. He rolled another bit of dough and dropped it on the cookie sheet.

He laughed when Noelle mentioned scandals with the professors. And who Hirsch was dating. "To be honest I sometimes forget that our professors are real people with real lives and might be dating people." He grinned. "You've been in Hirsch's office. Is there any indication of a... significant other?" It seemed professors should have some representation of their personal lives. "I met Professor Myers' husband." Did she know that? Had he mentioned that? Maybe. Probably.

Didn't take too long after entering the kitchen to realize she wasn't alone. If the smell of waffles wafting about the room didn't tip her off, the girl sitting by the counter eating them definitely had. It gave the kitchen a nice...homely smell, reminding the girl of her summers at home when her father had breakfast ready by the time she was awake in the mornings. If she didn't like this place so much, she'd been wishing it was summer already.

"Have you tried those with whipped cream and chocolate syrup?" Jessa asked, coming to a stop up by the counter. They smelled even better from here. "It's brilliant. Add some ice-cream on the side and you're set." Not that she'd asked, the Ravenclaw was just VERY enthused about her soon to be evening snack of a sundae.

Speaking off, Jessa spun on her heels, reaching into the top cupboard for a bowl of a decent size. Not big enough to ruin her appetite for dinner but big enough that it was worth the week's wait.

"You're Levi's sister, right?"

The polite thing to do in this moment, would have been to stop chewing, to properly greet the younger girl, and then resume her eating. Althea, however, was neither polite nor did she do the most proper things when necessary. Especially when it came to food. She swallowed, hard, and looked at the girl carefully. "I have actually," she said, a large, satisfied sort of grin taking hold of her lips. "Anything you can think of, I've done it." She was something short of a waffle aficionado, and, well, she would always try something once.

She continued to eat and nodded at the girl. "Mmhm," she paused, wiped her mouth quickly, and set her fork and knife down (see? Etiquette.) "I love eating ice cream with waffles. I just...," she sighed contentedly, "food is just so great, but breakfast food? Amazing. To die for, really." And she would, if she could. Althea watched her grab a bowl - was she going to eat ice cream??? Seemed logical, considering their recent topic of conversation - and actually didn't think she'd continue with the conversation. "Levi Kenning? Yeah, his younger sister, the one and only, Althea." A sort of dramatic introduction for a dramatic sort of girl. "And you are?" The girl looked familiar, but these days Althea walked around half-alive, so she couldn't actually be sure if she'd run into her or not. "I rarely run into anyone from other houses down here." Hufflepuff territory and all that.

"Have you?" Jessa perked up at that confession, setting her bowl down to give the girl a once over. She didn't mind the food etiquette or lack thereof, in fact it didn't occur to her for the fact her sister was the same. It almost seemed normal. "Are you that adventurous with other sorts of food too?" She wasn't picky herself, eating most things placed before her without complaint, but she definitely had her favourites.

Without tuning the girl out, Jessa made her way to the fridge to grab herself the tub of strawberry ice-cream. Might as well stock it specifically for her, she made sizable dents in it every time she was down here. Back at the counter she nodded enthusiastically. "Definitely--I mean I could think of a couple things I'd sooner die for, but there's a reason I'm so fond of breakfasts around the castle." Not necessarily for the waffles but the wide array of options to start her day.

Ah, right, Althea. They had a few classes together. That was her name. Jessa began offloading the strawberry ice-cream into the bowl, belatedly remembering she forgot the chocolate. Back to the fridge! "Jessa." She volunteered, prying the door open again and reaching for the tub of plain chocolate. Wait wait wait, whipped cream too...and the sprinkles....and the chocolate chips..."I'm more often down in the dungeons than on this level. Easier to find test subjects down there." Outside of that, no, she wasn't down here too often. It was a long walk from the Towers.

"I like to give everything a chance at least one time." That way, she wouldn't have to defend her dislike for certain foods. "But I just love eating, so as long as it's tasty, well-seasoned, and well-cooked I'll most likely eat it." Picky eaters made no sense to her. Food was there to sustain you, it literally gave you life. It might've been the fact that her father owned a chain of restaurants, but Althea could not see her life sans food.

Another breakfast lover? Nice. Althea definitely liked this girl. As she resumed eating, she took note of the tub of ice cream that the younger girl pulled out - so she had guessed correctly - and wondered if that was all she was going to eat. It made her look briefly at the plates spread around her, with stacks of waffles. Nope, nothing out of the ordinary. "Mm, well I can get that. I think I'm just a little bit obsessed with food." More than a little bit, but there was no need to expose herself like that.

"Oh, of course you are," she said, having an a-ha sort of moment. "We have class together." She finished with her plate, and put it atop the others and pulled the next batch of waffles in front of her. "Test subjects??" She didn't know they conducted those kinds of experiments at Hogwarts. "What are you testing?"

And just like that, Jessa was certain this girl was alright. The wide grin she now sported said as much. "I don't meet a lot of people who say that." Which was the real shame. Skeptical minds were alright until they hindered discovery and brought you to a developmental stand still, then it was just annoying and intolerable. "Are you adventurous about other sorts of things too?" For reference sake. It was an important question, on the same level as this food conversation even.

The admission of being addicted to food wasn't all that far fetched, not with all these plates of waffles set before her and some already made clean."How will you eat dinner after you've gone through all these?" The shock was plain in her voice but there was no mistaking the awe that resided there as well. "Do you have one of those bottomless pits my sister talks about?" Logically, the girl knew there was no such thing...but then she watched Lexa eat....and suddenly nothing made sense. Perhaps this girl was the same in which case she was all the more curious as to how it works.

Yes, they had classes together. Jessa nodded in the affirmative, even as she continued to fill her bowl. This was going to be amazing. She could already taste it. "Test subjects. Yes. I test a lot of different things depending on the day...or I did...sorta still do...." Her brows creased at the mere memory of why she could no longer give a straight answer. "I've gotta rework a couple things here and there, put a couple on hold and move a few to the forefront but mostly the dungeon test subjects help with the long term effects of spells on living things. My people test subjects help with other things entirely." Because she was pretty sure she wasn't allowed to use her school mates for those studies.

"Really? That's a shame, honestly." There was nothing more pitiful than someone who refused to try out a food they've never eaten before. She nodded at Jessa, making sure to swallow the bit of food in her mouth before speaking. "I am. I'll try anything once, I do like living a little recklessly." As long as she came out unscathed - mostly, unscathed at least - and remained out of trouble. She didn't think anything of the girl's question, in fact she more than welcomed any question as long as it wasn't so invasive that she had to reveal parts of herself that needed to remain hidden.

Taking a small gulp of her water - because juice would've only made everything too sweet - she thought briefly about how best to answer her questions. "Well, I sort of do?" No, no, that wasn't quite right. "It's more like, my mum has us on a really healthy," more like strict, "diet at home, and we work out a lot." Understatement. They worked out every day, mostly, and Althea was so used to it, her metabolism just worked overtime. "I'm just always hungry, but I eat relatively healthy every day. I just eat frequently, and this," motions to all the plates, "is a bit of stress eating. O.W.L.s are really kicking my bum," she sighed after saying that last bit, and cut into the waffles in front of her.

Test subjects? In the dungeons. How did she not get caught?? The girl proved to be more interesting by the minute - something Althea never thought she'd say about anyone who wasn't in her immediate circle of friends - and the Hufflepuff found herself listening intently to her explain. "And you do this with permission? Or...," she suspected this wasn't Hogwarts approved, but...who knew? Maybe this was a new initiative that the staff were taking part of. She highly doubted it, though.

Ava paid attention to her story while keep shaping the cookie. "Your brother is an assistant professor? He seems so smart." She commented. "I also have a brother... Wait, two." Yeah, she did not forget about the one who was born just like five minutes before her. "But my older brother is waaaaay much older and sometimes people thought if I was actually his daughter." She laughed. Dima was like nineteen years older than her and Teddy, already married with two ickles and seemed live happily ever after with his little family and owned two restaurants. "And Teddy is my twin brother."

How long she had been into baking. Actually, not really that long. "I started baking since... two years ago." She answered and chuckled slightly. The reason why Ava decided to try baking because she wanted to surprise her boyfriend. Yeah, it was kind of silly but she didn't really regret it. "My sister is the one who taught me baking."

"My friend Clarissa insists you can enjoy life without ever being reckless." Always the practical one her friend was. "D'you know her? She's in your house but my year." Perhaps the two had bumped into each other at some point, they shared a common room afterall.
"I like to think I'm reckless but in all likelihood I'm probably not. Just awful curious and little else." But oh so willing to satisfy her curiosity whenever the need arose. "What's the craziest thing you've ever done or eaten?"

It was time for the whipped cream. A look at her bowl had determined that she'd reached the maximum she would be able to consume in one sitting and the girl would hate to think she'd have to put the rest away for later. There was just something infinitely more satisfying about a clean bowl. "That's neat, what sort of restaurant is it? A healthy foods one? Vegan stuff?" Because if it was, Bastien would probably like it and she could recommend it to him. It made sense. Althea had said they had a healthy diet and stuff so maybe they made a family business out of it? Whipped cream now set atop her ice-cream, she moved to the chocolate syrup. "Are you working out for a specific reason." Like Quidditch or some other pass time that required one to be toned.

Aaaaaaaand sprinkles. "I could help you with OWL studying sometimes. I don't mind. I like learning things in advance." Rather than waiting til she was actually a Fifth Year herself.

"Weeelll..........." The young girl sprinkled the last of her toppings onto her treat then moved to replace them in their originally holding places."It's not that black and white. See....no one ever said I couldn't.........but then Professor Wayland got mad and threatened detention and took points.......so I guess I can't really say I've got that anymore." It was never that she'd been told she could but rather that she'd never been told she couldn't. "Sets me back by a bit, I reckon, but I haven't completely given up and I haven't released every one of 'em either." One did not release months of hard work, not even in the face of detention. Knowledge at all cost. She was serious when she'd said it.

As she nodded in tandem with Jessa's words, Althea offered the younger girl a smile. "I respectfully disagree, I think you need to be a little reckless to enjoy life to the fullest." Or else what was the point? "Mm," she dug deep into her memory to see if she knew a Clarissa but came up empty-handed. "No, doesn't ring a bell. Thought that could be because I'm rarely in the common room these days." For many, many reasons, of course. "Curiosity is a great thing to have, don't let anyone take that away from you." The best kinds of people in the world were curious - plus, without curiosity, would magic have even progressed as much as it has??

The craziest thing? Well, she wasn't exactly sure about all of that. "I dunno, how do you know something is crazy if you don't think it's crazy?" She chuckled at that. The most wild thing she'd ever done was accidentally conducting a seance that quickly turned into a possession, but...she would not reveal any of that. "You've got a very elaborate formula for your ice cream, there," she said, impressed with how much time and effort Jessa was putting into her dessert. "I guess it is more or less healthy. It's a Portuguese and Spanish fusion sort of thing. Dad serves really tasty food in really small portions on really large plates." Not to mention the price was ridiculous but the food and ambiance made up for it. She thought so, anyway. "We probably have vegan options, my dad is always up on the current food trends." Plus, she was sure if there was a demand, he would do his best to fulfill and meet it.

"Ah," she paused to finish chewing before resuming her thought. "Mum is a retired professional Quidditch player, so being fit and healthy is her thing," she rolled her eyes at that. "We sort of fell into the routine at home, plus she wanted us to carry on her legacy with Quidditch but it never happened." Keeping healthy ended up being a sort of sorry Mum, at least you can have satisfaction in us living a long life thanks to our healthy lifestyle.

Jessa was incredibly sweet, and Althea smiled at the offer. "Thanks, I couldn't put that on you though. But you're more than welcome to hang around as I study, look over some of my materials, if you want to get ahead and stuff." Though she wouldn't understand why Jessa would want to. Ravenclaws were a strange breed. "Oh, okay, so experiments involving little critters or animals then?" Not that she was judging.

Jessa found herself smiling, even as she got the last of her ingredients list back into their respective places. "You sound like my sister." She commented fondly. Her dad disagreed of course, choosing not to do anything particularly reckless if there was no need but her sister was something else entirely. Jessa returned to her bowl at the counter, pulling herself onto the wooden structure before reaching for the bowl. Definitely worth the wait. The fact she didn't know Clarissa came as very little surprise. Her friend didn't seem to the sort to mix and mingle with her housemates just because they were required to share the same space. The smile she sported grew wider. "I won't! My life would suddenly be a lot emptier without a bit of curiosity pushing me forward." Afterall, it was the reason she did 80% of anything.

And that was a good question. The Ravenclaw thought it over as she helped herself to the first spoon. MMmmmmmmmmm. Definitely worth the week long wait--as always. "I think..." She finally tried, "you know it's crazy when it's not something the general population wouldn't consider normal." Which naturally meant it varied a whole lot and there was no REAL answer. The young girl beamed down at her treat when it was given that compliment, feeling all the more pleased with herself. "I've been watching the house elves, they really know what they're doing." And now she did too. It was a wonderful cycle. She offered her spoon then quickly retracted it to wipe it in her shirt before offering it--in case she had a thing about germs. "Wanna try some with your waffles?"

Also, that was all really interesting. Jessa picked at the little nuts atop her sundae, popping them into her mouth but otherwise, Althea had her full, undivided attention. A daddy who made delicious food--like her own did--and a mum who could ACTUALLY PLAY QUIDDITCH!! "I bet you get to eat out at any of them whenever you want." Kinda made her wish her own dad owned a restaurant...though she suspected she'd grow tired of the food after some time. "Can you play Quidditch then? Really well? Even though you aren't following in her footsteps?" It was such a complicated sport. Getting in the air was easy. Staying focused with everything happening around you afterwards was the real challenge for the young girl.

jsbdkfjgsdufv!! She would let her stick around when she studied!!! Most older students often said she'd be nothing but a distraction or that she'd only get in the way but Althea was GONNA LET HER!!!!! There was no hiding the pleased expression. "Okay! I'll bring my own stuff too so I can take my own notes." Because some of her experiments required higher level spells, some of which she was not currently privvy to. See the problem? "Creatures yeah...and people...and things. Anything that does something, essentially. I like finding out what makes them tick, what happens to them when I do certain things and so on."

Took that as a genuine compliment. "Your sister must be amazing then." As Althea truly believed she was nothing less than amazing every day. "I'm glad to hear that. I rarely find anyone younger than me interesting, but you, Jessa, are very, very interesting." This came to her as a shock, even as she voiced the thought out loud; she supposed she had matured over the summer. Go figure.

Hmmm. That was a good point. "What is considered normal, anyway," she started, taking another bite of the waffle, "is it normal because everyone says it is?" A genuine question she thought about all the time. What did constitute as normal or abnormal, and why did they have to rely on the general consensus of the majority versus the few?? All very strange indeed. She had to agree with that sentiment; the house elves were really good at what they did. Quite often, Althea found herself in awe of how efficiently they ran the kitchens - and with so few of them, too! Jessa's offer was very endearing. "You're sweet, but no thank you." She wasn't in the mood for super sweet things right now, though she filed this moment in the back of her head to remember the sort of generosity Jessa showed her. "Very kind of you to offer."

Again, her maturity astounded her.

Althea supposed the Ravenclaw had a point. "If we do eat, it's usually at the main one in West London, but, I'm telling you the food is really, really good. You should stop by over the holidays." The more business the better, right? Though she would see to it that Jessa got a free meal. "Oh, Helga no; no, no, no." Not for lack of trying, though; Althea was just not into Quidditch. At all. If it wasn't for Daisy, she wouldn't have even bothered attending matches again. "Out of the four of us, I probably could play if I wanted to. But Quidditch isn't that interesting to me." Plus, she was absolutely, unabashedly, lazy. "Naturally, my mum is frustrated with all of us." Not that she blamed her.

Even with a mouth full of food - she chewed as politely as she could - she managed to smile at Jessa. "It'll be fun having another person around who isn't studying for O.W.L.s, some of my friends are...intense about their studying." It was too much for her. Much too much. "Ah, you would get along with Levi then. He's got a very similar thought process." Though she supposed this more or less applied to humans rather than living beings in general. "Do you happen to also be into Potions or Herbology?" Another two of Levi's areas of expertise.

"Oh she is!" Jessa enthused, almost bouncing on her spot there on the counter. Couple years ago, she may have hung her head and changed the subject. It was amazing how life could take the strangest turns, wasn't it? But hold on. Hooooollllldddd ooooonnnn. Althea Kenning thought she was interesting. Where some thought she was over the top or a little odd, Althea....thought....she was.....well what was there to do but smile widely at this point???????? Play it cool? Did that sort of thing matter? How did one play it cool in the first place?? "I think you are too!" Yes, that was a good start, keep it up. Not too eager. Play it cool.

With the offer declined, Jessa moved back to shoveling the treat into her mouth, practically feeling those taste buds dancing now. "I think, by definition, that is normal. Has to be agreed on by the majority." Which was sometimes a real shame. So many untapped potentials just because they weren't what everyone could agree on. "If all the girls decided to poke holes in their stockings tomorrow, that'd become normal too I suppose, within the Hogwarts area anyway." There was just so much that went into deciding what was normal that at the end of the day, she found it rather subjective. Hardly worth following up on.

"Ooooohhhh, there's one back in London?! My Dad and I always go out to eat when I get back from school. I should suggest there. What's the name--is it kinda fancy???" Like an excuse to wear a pretty dress and do more than throw her hair up into a messy bun or ponytail? Suffice to say, there weren't many of those opportunities around here. It was fine if it wasn't, she supposed, because later before she went back to school, she could still be taken somewhere else that required fancy dressing. "I imagine she must be." The young girl agreed before taking a moment to savour the blend of strawberry, chocolate and whipped cream packed into one spoonful. eing so into something than having your kids show no interest. "I think I like it, but I'm not nearly very good at it. My friend Cameron's been helping so I'm not terrible anymore." She may have asked for Althea's help but it was clear the girl wanted very little to do with the sport and she didn't want to be a bother--not after Althea said she thought she was interesting!

Oohhh more nuts! She'd sprinkled quite a bit on this section. "I've noticed. OWLs seem to drive people crazy. NEWTs too. Some of my house mates have been studying since summer." Which was entirely wild if you asked her. It made her wonder if she would be this diligent when her own exams rolled around. But hold the snitch. Did she just...she thought that...."Really??" Jessa perked up at this suggestion. "You think so?" Said possibly a little more eagerly than she'd meant to and while forgetting that cool she'd been playing at for a couple minutes now. Her attention was only diverted by the next question that had her nodding. "Oh yeah, definitely. I've got something brewing up in my dorm as we speak and Professor Myers lets me near the flesh eaters sometimes so I can do my own observations." Which was entirely brilliant. He understood that she needed more than a textbook in order to learn.

Ava also had brothers? That was something in common that they shared! Olivia also had a brother that was older than Simon but no one really talked about him since he had kind of left the family in a very poor manner a few Christmases ago. He had never been particularly nice to Simon or she but he was still family... "How old is your older brother? The one other than Teddy?" she asked, intrigued by the age difference. "Also, what's it like having a twin? Does he go to Hogwarts too?" Was he also a Gryffindor? If so, she would feel bad for not knowing him too!

Olivia continued rolling the cookie dough into small balls as she listened to Ava talk about baking and the fact that her sister had taught her. "Your sister. Is she also older than you?" Hmmm... What must it be like to have a sister, wondered Olivia.The concept seemed strange but also nice. Perhaps if she had had a sister, her sister would have been more of an influence on her since her mother and she didn't exactly get along.

Jessa's energy was infectious and Althea felt herself smiling more. "Thank you. I think you and I will get along just fine." Translation: she couldn't wait to adopt Jessa into her life. Who knew third years could be so fun? She cut into more of her waffles, and was made her way through the last stack - she amazed herself, and if her mother could see how much she ate, she'd faint - mulling quietly over Jessa's words. "But why do we stick with that? Why not change it?" She was in a very philosophical mood as of late, constantly questioning what was happening around her and wondering if she was living life on her own terms or if fate was nudging her along a predestined path.

"You are right about that," she said, licking syrup off of her lip, "the girls here are pretty crazed about the latest trend. It's very...odd, yet interesting." Was that hypocritical of her? She wasn't sure. Althea understood the allure of wanting to fit in, but she was perfectly happy with how she was, she couldn't possibly imagine being just like everyone else. It sounded boring. "Mmhm, we serve both the muggle and magical community." Though even that got tricky sometimes. "He named it after my mum, it's called Dairine's." She smiled at that; her dad was terribly romantic and a sap when it came to his wife. Althea did appreciate the sort of relationship they had, though she wasn't sure if she would ever find that for herself. "Uhh, it's not fancy, maybe like dressy-casual?" At least, that's how Althea would go into it. Maybe a nice pair of denims or a cute top, something that was a little bit above ordinary, she thought.

"Hmm...I've got a friend who plays Quidditch, Daisy Carden? She's really good, you should definitely ask her for pointers." It seemed that she was full of recommendations today! But...she couldn't help it, she found Jessa terribly adorable, and once Althea latched on...she never let go. "If you're serious about playing, but even if you just want to do it for fun, Daisy would be the right person to talk to." At last she'd finally finished her stack of waffles. The Hufflepuff was full - stuffed, even - but didn't regret anything. "I've got a friend who's been studying like that," she shook her head at that. "I couldn't do it, my summer was way too packed, and besides I needed the mental break from school." She liked school enough, she just wished they wouldn't focus so much on homework and exams and would focus more on practical applications of magic. It was so frustrating!

"I know so. My brother might be a lot of things but he is full of helpful information." And even though she wasn't entirely speaking to him still, if Jessa asked it of her, she would harass Levi to at least entertain the younger girl for a conversation or two. "You really seem into that stuff, I wish I had that sort of drive."

She even thought they'd get along. Could this trip to the kitchen get any better? Yes, yes apparently it could because by the sounds of it, Althea was a questioner. Didn't sound like the girl was keen to take things at face value simply because they were, which...kinda raised her a couple steps higher in Jessa's esteem. "Because most people are fine not having to think things through for themselves. They've forgotten how to ask why and sometimes they just get annoyed by the why...at least....that's how I see it." But the whys were too strong in her. There wasn't a day that passed without the young girl questioning SOMETHING.

"I'm not too brilliant at catching on to the trends." And it wasn't from a lack of trying either. "By the time I finally get it, they've usually moved on or I just don't do it right." Which left her trying only half the time anymore. Sometimes it felt like everything was passing by her really quickly and she could scarcely keep up. But oh! A mixed clientele! "I might convince my mum to come too then!" The idea thrilled her in truth. If they catered to muggles, the setting was likely mundane. Her mum hated magic but she could tolerate it when it wasn't seen so........it could work? It'd been ages since her parents had been in the same place for more than a few minutes. "I'll start working on an owl the moment I get back to my dorm. It's gonna be my birthday wish now." A lovely evening with BOTH her parents for New Year's Eve.

"I've seen her around!" Jessa declared proudly. It was always a great accomplishment when an older student mentioned someone and she actually knew of them too. It gave the illusion they were running in the same circles, even if they really weren't, and made her feel like she fit in a little more. "Would you ask her for me? D'you think she would??--would she help my friend Cameron too??" Because while she wanted this for fun, he was serious about joining the big leagues one day. Also, Althea had the right idea.
"Summers are for relaxing. I get restless after awhile but not in the sort of way that'd make me study. Studying's hard."

As it so happened, Jessa LOVED people who were full of useful information but not in the traditional help with classes and homework sense, the young girl liked ...wider...more applicable information that she could put to good use after her lessons ended. "D'you think you would talk to him too for me? Pleeeaaaasse?" When there was an in, one did not let it close. That was ill-advised. "I think it's just curiosity. I like knowing how things work and I only get so much from reading," kinesthetic learner and all,
"so I like to get my hands dirty myself when I can. It's more fun that way!"

Rolling more balls of dough, Noelle grinned to herself. Olly and her had a bond. Sometimes, it was like they didn't even have to speak and the other just knew. She loved it.

Placing one of the balls on the pan, she glanced at him with a laugh. "I mean, we are prefects. We need to introduce ourselves." She'd caught a glimpse of the librarian... and she had to admit. He was a cutie. Of course, all the professors were too old for the students, but they couldn't help but gawk.

"I haven't." Noelle had already been talking to Sky about that. "Skylar and I were wondering if Reed and Hirsch were an item. They have that chemistry. And theres a rumor going around they went on vacation together." Theres bound to be stories there.

"I met Myers husband at that pool party." They were such a cute couple. And opposites attracted right? "Myers is your favorite professor right?"

Quote:

Originally Posted by Watson

Ava also had brothers? That was something in common that they shared! Olivia also had a brother that was older than Simon but no one really talked about him since he had kind of left the family in a very poor manner a few Christmases ago. He had never been particularly nice to Simon or she but he was still family... "How old is your older brother? The one other than Teddy?" she asked, intrigued by the age difference. "Also, what's it like having a twin? Does he go to Hogwarts too?" Was he also a Gryffindor? If so, she would feel bad for not knowing him too!

Olivia continued rolling the cookie dough into small balls as she listened to Ava talk about baking and the fact that her sister had taught her. "Your sister. Is she also older than you?" Hmmm... What must it be like to have a sister, wondered Olivia.The concept seemed strange but also nice. Perhaps if she had had a sister, her sister would have been more of an influence on her since her mother and she didn't exactly get along.

How old was Dima? She counted on her finger, yeah she's not really that good with math. "He is 34 years old, already married and have two cute kiddos." Keenan and Kiara. Ava felt bad for not seeing them this summer, she was too busy with her part-time work. "And funny thing is, my boyfriend's mother is around his age." She was quite surprised when Phillip mentioned that. But well, Caroline was a young mother while Ava was the youngest child in her family. "Yes, he is. Teddy is a Ravenclaw. He doesn't socialize very much. Some people are kind of surprised when they realize that we're actually twins because He and I... don't really look alike and have different personalities."

The Gryffindor nodded. "Yup, she's seven years older than me. By the time Teddy and I started our first year, she's already graduated." At first, she wished that Zhenya was like... maybe four or five years older than her and Teddy so they could be in Hogwarts together. Ava was glad that she had a sister who was very understanding and always had her back, especially since she and her mother were not really in a good relationship. "Alright, now we put the cookies in the oven and waited until they're baked!" She checked the oven again. It's already preheated and set into the right temperature. She put the cookies in the oven and wait. "We just need to make the cream cheese frosting now." Grabbing another clean bowl, Ava put the butter, cream cheese, sugar and vanilla extract and mixed them together.

Thirty four and with kids? That made sense... But Ava's brother was already that grown up? Wow. That was impressive. Olivia couldn't very well imagine her eldest brother, Marcus, married and with children. Marcus wasn't thirty four yet (he was twenty five) but in nine years he would head to that stage of life. Merlin. Olivia couldn't fathom her eldest brother a father. That was just a strange thought to her as Marcus could barely take care of himself. Olivia blinked at the next fact. Wow. Well everyone has kids at different ages. "Wow! Thirty four and two kids. That must be fun. Do you like being an Aunt?" she asked, wondering if Ava felt any different because she was an aunt.

Her twin was a Ravenclaw? Huh. "What's he like?" she asked, very curious. She was unsure if she had ever seen him before. Maybe she had? She didn't get out that much last year and was trying to make up for it with this year.

Olivia bit her lip, restraining herself from asking a question about Ava and her older sister's relationship. That was perhaps... too prying. Olivia nodded when Ava said that the cookies were ready and as Ava went to go put the cookies in the oven, Olivia washed her hands again.

Alright. It was time to make the frosting. "Alright, what can I do? Do you want me to measure the ingredients and you mix them? Or vice versa?" she offered. "Or some other combination?"

Olly kept working on rolling out they dough as they talked. And occasionally he would sneak a few bites. What? It was delicious before it was baked too, though of course he knew that the resulting cookies would be even better. They were about out of dough now and almost ready to put the pan in the oven.

"Hirsch and Reed?" Olly laughed as he contemplated it. Just the thought of two of their professors being an item was funny to him. Though Reed wasn't really a professor...but still. "Chemistry?" He considered that too. Come to think of it, Olly hadn't really seen the two of them interact so he wasn't sure if he agreed with her claim that they had chemistry. "A vacation together? Really?" At that point Olly realized he had been mostly just repeating what she said back to her in the form of a question. He should probably actually contribute more to the conversation. "That does sound like a lot of fire for the rumor mill. Any idea what this vacation entailed?"

Oh yeah, Olly had forgotten Noelle had been at that pool party too. It had been only for Hufflepuffs, and guests. Olly had of course been Remy's guest as this was back when they were dating. He couldn't remember who Noelle had been with but that wasn't really the point. "I ran into him once in Hogsmeade, too. He's cool. He was a Slytherin." And clearly Hufflepuffs and Slytherins made good couples. Olly grinned at her question. "Yeah,
he is."

Noelle rolled one more ball before the dough was completely gone, this ball was a little bigger than the others, but that's because Noelle wanted a giant cookie. She was claiming this one.

She did pop one of the small rolled balls in her mouth and chewed away as Olly just seemed to be repeating back to her everything she was just saying. She was amused by it, to be honest. "yeah, I have no details about the vacation. Just someone told me that they went on vacation this summer together." Was it bromance? Or was it more? That was the question. But... Noelle couldn't help but think they would make a deliciously cute couple.

"Did you really? I didn't get the chance to talk to him one on one. How is he?" She asked, picking up the pan. "These are ready to be put in the oven right?" She asked as she started towards it.

Huh. That was extremely well put. Althea smiled at that, extremely satisfied with Jessa's response. "You have no idea how many times I've thought that very same thing." The fifth year often found herself at a loss for words for the idiocy that surrounded her, and whenever she felt that way, thoughts of how she really wished she could resort into a different house plagued her. But, it didn't matter much at this point in her academic career. "It makes that you'd want to try anyway," she said with a slight nod of her head. Althea was terribly immature and prone to rash decisions, though she rarely found herself wanting to follow what others were doing, but she understood. At that age, teenagers were incredibly impressionable. "You'll find your groove anyway." She had no doubt about that.

While Althea wasn't one to advertise her father's restaurant to just anyone, she felt a strange kinship to the younger girl, which made her perk up once Jessa mentioned her birthday. "Birthday? You should definitely come then, we'll do something special for you." She was the favorite, after all; and her father wouldn't refuse her request if it meant that his restaurant was gaining traction from all over. A win-win, really. "You have? Huh, she's more popular than I thought," she mused out loud and chuckled after. Daisy did have a very magnetic pull to her, so she understood the appeal. "Of course she will. Daisy lives and breathes the sport." Which was a shame because Althea found it boring but would support her friend no matter what. "But I'll ask for both of you, if that's what you really want." It wouldn't be a big deal anyway, the more the merrier right?

Summers were also for hanging out with very interesting people, though Althea doubted Jessa had any sorts of ideas like that - did she? "I'm glad you don't fit the stereotype of your house; that would've been extremely dull." And she did not do well with dull and uninteresting. "What do you do over the summer then?" She wondered if Jessa continued her experiments outside of school too. The Ravenclaw was extremely quirky but also entertaining. Laughing lightly, she waved her hands, "Don't worry, I'll ask him. He'll do it, I promise." Just because she wasn't entirely happy with her idiot brother, didn't mean that she couldn't coerce him to help out someone in need. "The hands on type then, I like it. I'm the same way actually. There are a few things that aren't entirely hands on," like astronomy, for example, "but whenever I can apply a theory practically, it'll make sense to me."