With hot cocoa in his hand and a smile on his face, Ewan moved looked around their little set up, slightly amazed that he had been part of this little escapade. With all of the magic going AWOL and the weird storm, it was honestly such a nice change of pace to do something fun. Sure, he still had to keep an eye out on the other students but he could still sit close to the flames, sing a few songs and roast a few marshmallows. He was sure that no one would really want to hear him sing or butcher a musical instrument with his large hands but if someone else had brought one, he would definitely join in.

With a small sigh, he took a sip of his regular flavoured hot cocoa, because who would try the jalapeño & cheddar flavour one? and watched the dancing flames get higher and higher. For a moment, surrounded by the tress with a large fire in front of him, he almost felt as though he was back home out in the yard with his family.

Bernadette was transfixed by this fire. She wandered down to the prefect event thingy and was immediately drawn to the food and fire like a moth to a flame.

After staring at it and slowly getting closer and closer to the bonfire until the heat of the flames pushed her back, Bernie shook herself and then made her way over to the buffet table. "What are you drinking?" she inquired of the tall Ravenclaw prefect who always seemed to be a ~mood~. She wanted some, whatever it was.

Awww no. Really? Did it have to be her? Okay. Deep breaths. Deep breaths. Ewan turned with a smile towards a familiar, and yet somehow not familiar sight of the small Gryffindor second year (Bernadette). Why oh why did she have to come and wander down to the bonfire where he was hanging out? There were plenty of fun activities in other places!

Okay. Maybe that was being a little dramatic but Bernadette had a reputation for trouble making and this seventh year didn’t fancy being the one to put out those particular fires. Not with an actual fire around! Then again, maybe she wouldn’t do anything today? A guy could hope, right?

Flashing her a welcoming smile, he replied ”This is just hot chocolate with a few small marshmallows sprinkled in it and a little whipped cream”, you know, because he liked his hot chocolate a little extra. ”I’m not really one for any of the exotic flavours but they’re over there if you fancy one yourself?, giving one small nod in the direction of the variety of flavours. They really had thought of everything one could want when making hot chocolate. See, that wasn’t too bad, was it? He wasn’t in a mood at all. He could play nice.

Bernadette did not MAKE trouble all the time; she just ATTRACTED it like a magnet. Okay? What was wrong with a little chaos? This THIRD YEAR lion liked her adventurous life so far, thank you very much.

She peered at the prefect's mug of hot chocolate with a soft, "Oooooh, fancy!" which may or may not have added a few gems on top of the cocoa. "I do fancy one myself." She blinked at the older boy as if to clue him in to this fact. "Can you make meeeeeeeeeee one? And surprise me with it? PLEEEEEEEEEEEASE? I like chocolate and candy and I see there's a Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Bean option....." So, like, would he do it for her?

Her hands were cold and stuffed deep in her pockets so she obviously couldn't dig them out YET. She needed a hot BEVERAGE to wrap her hands around first. And for the responsible readers asking.... no, she hadn't remembered mittens because she was having trouble remembering everything lately. And weren't prefects SUPPOSED to help younger students? Sooooooooooooooo. This was really all on Ewan.

What was wrong with a little chaos Oh, nothing. Just the very nature of it! And ALSO, an adventure and chaos were two DIFFERENT things so she should really learn the difference. It might help the amount of time she spends in detention or the amount of times she gets hit in the head with a book.

Watching as she peered over, he couldn’t help but sigh at the “gems” she added to his hot chocolate. Well, he was clearly going to have to make another one so he might as well make her at the same time. ”Sure, I was just about to make another one for myself. This one…I’m not sure I want it anymore”. Throwing that one in the one of the bins provided, he moved back to the making station and got to work, throwing all sorts of cocoa and sweet treats in their chocolaty beverages.

What did she say she wanted again? The prefect had forgotten. Must have been something to do with the storm but for some reason, he couldn’t remember what flavour hot chocolate he gave her but…it certainly smelt like the Jalapeño & Cheddar flavour. Oops. Never mind, at least it was covered up with whipped cream and popping candy so it was savoury and sweet! What more could an adventurous little Gryffindor want in a drink?

With an innocent polite smile on his face, he held out her hot chocolate. "There we go. One popping candy, Hot beverage, freshly made". He sure was one helpful prefect! What more could anyone ask for?

Soooo this little escapade wasn't EXACTLY as planned, but there was still food and hot cocoa. The storm hadn't prevented the lake from freezing a small portion of it for ice skating, so allll in all, it really was going to be great. A good change in pace from their new norm and she hadn't even forgotten the marshmallows!!!

Cup of Bertie Botts Hot Cocoa in hand, she watched the exchange between Ewan and her younger housemate casually, taking a sip. Root beer flavored? Okay then. And then took another sip. Weird, now it tasted like vanilla? Who's idea was this flavor hot cocoa anyway, but actually gave her some semblance that magic was still there even if they couldn't cast any spells.

Bernie didn't know why the prefect was going to make a new drink, and almost offered to take his?!??! She wasn't above drinking after someone else. They did it all the time at home; better to do that than to THROW AWAY THE WHOLE DRINK, Ewan!!!!

She definitely let out a small gasp when she saw that WASTE, by the way.

But he was quickly making another one for her so Bernie tried to pay attention to see what flavor it was. She got distracted by HER prefect/mentor though, Carsyn. "Hi Carsyn, what are youuuuu drinking?" Just curious.

Now Bernie's beverage was ready, so she squeaked, "Yipppeee!" and dug her hands out of her pockets to accept the drink. She slurped down the sweet topping of the drink, loudly, and then smacked her lips. "Yummm, Ewaaan, what flavor is this?" She took another long long sip, somehow already getting past the sweet part and into the full body of the drink... which was DISGUSTING!

Bernie spat it out with a huuuuuuuugely disgusted face, obviously not caring that her spit-take resulted in a spray of beverage allllll over the buffet table. "What did you PUT in THERE?" And WHY?!?!?

Trinetta was not in the mood to be here, but she was at the point where she felt if she DIDN'T attend, she would literally drive herself insane sitting alone in her dorm. Everything was just...weighing on her so heavily as they got to the end of term. The memory loss, the fading in and out of reality, the disappointment of still not speaking to Eiji, being disconnected from the outside world...yeah. Her eyes were puffy from near constant crying fits at night, and thank goodness for Alex, otherwise she'd have probably just rolled into a ball in her bed and given up on this term.

Jalapeño & cheddar hot chocolate? Ugh. No thank you. None of this looked appealing, so Nettie just stood and sort of stared at the finger foods, wondering if she wanted to grab a small plate just to have something to nibble on.

What was it about Bernadette’s reaction that amused him so much? His amusement didn’t last long though, not with her spitting the hot chocolate over the buffet table. Shaking his head ever so slightly, he inwardly sighed at all of the food that had been caught in the spray. What was it with her and causing havoc? Then again, it was sort of his own fault though, wasn’t it? D-did he make it for her? What flavour did he make it? He…wasn’t sure. ”I…Sorry” he muttered, his face scrunched up in confusion. ”Did I make it for you? I’m so sorry”. Scratching his head a little, he just looked down at his own, slightly hesitant to actually drink his own. ”I can uh…make you a new one maybe?”. He wouldn’t blame her if she said no though.



Thankful for a distraction though, he turned towards the newcomers. ”Hey Carsyn, Nettie”, his welcome only slightly off. Was his memory getting worse? He really wasn’t sure. ”How’s the hot chocolate Carsyn?”. He was curious if hers was just as bad as Bernadette’s. He hadn’t made hers too, had he?



And as for Nettie, she looked upset. He didn’t exactly feel like her was the right person to try and cheer her up but he most certainly going to try. ”So have you been ice skating on the lake yet? he asked hesitantly as the fire popped and crackled nearby. ”I think I might pop by later. If you want a laugh, you’re more than welcome to watch me fall”. She’d most likely end up with Alex but she was welcome to head over there with him and watch him fail at skating.

She thought she had something going on today but for the life of her could not remember. She hoped it wasn't a date or meeting her brother for anything. It was really bothering her how much she felt she was forgetting lately. Instead of just sitting in her room Chloe decided to head out for a walk, maybe she could try to get some training in though it had been harder and harder lately.

As she walked out on the grounds she noticed the fire and people sitting around it. Was that where she was supposed to be? Making her way over to check it out she saw a few girls with Ewan and stopped.

Was she walking up to something she wasn't supposed to see? Was that Nettie, was she okay? Chloe wasn't sure what was going on, but she couldn't help but watch Ewan more than anyone else there. He looked cute near the fire. Giving them all a smile she lifted her hand to wave only to notice that it was see through. Pushing it down to her side she just walked closer.

"Hey everyone, what are you all doing out here?"

Ewan was really trying to convince Bernie that he hadn't just made this drink?! "I WATCHED you make it," the little Lion insisted, not at ALL buying his confused act. "No no no," she poured the rest of the drink on the snowy ground. "I'LL make my new one. Just show me where the stuff is." She walked around to the prefect's side of the table to help herself.

As Bernie busied herself with preparing a new hot chocolate (this one was going to be CHOCOLATE FROG flavored), she nodded to Nettie and Chloe. Wow, was this a Ravenclaw party or what? At least she had Carsyn here. "Hi you guys, anyone want a hot chocolate? Ewan is pretty bad at making them but I can help."

That's right. This was all part of Bernie's plan to becoming a prefect... Step 1: Literally do their job for them. Step 2:....well, there had definitely been a step 2 at some point, she knew Carsyn had told her this at the start-of-term feast. She just couldn't remember specifics and THAT WAS FINE. A rough outline would do.

If he wasn’t so confused, he might have actually laughed at the expression and response from Bernadette but right now, all he could do was to point to the hot chocolate making station that he had helped set out earlier and head off towards the fire. His reply to Bernadette somewhat mumbled. ”Well…I don’t remember making it”

The warmth and heat of the burning wood was the thing that helped him now as he stood there, momentarily alone, a small ache in throbbing in his temple as he tried to remember what he’d been doing a moment before. Thankfully, a welcome distraction had just wandered over to the him in the form of Chloe McCarthy.

Shooting her a small smile, he replied ”Oh, not much. Just…about to break out the marshmallows actually” because that would make everyone have a better time, right? Walking over to the food and drinks station, only stopping on the way to grab a stick from the floor, the prefect grabbed a bag and tore it open in the corner letting some of the marshmallows fall out onto the table for the rest of the children to have.

”Help yourself guys”

Grabbing one for himself and Chloe, he headed over to stand next to her and gave her a small shoulder bump as a welcome. ”Marshmallow?”, the confused look on his face now forgotten as he held his palm out flat with a marshmallow on top.

Casually sipping her bertie botts hot cocoa, she observed the interactions at play, when Bernie greeted her, asking her what she was drinking. "Hot cocoa. It's bertie bott flavored and it's actually pretty decent. It has a different taste every time ---" oh, wait, then suddenly she was sprayed with the mouthful of whatever it was that Ewan had made for her housemate. UM...

Carsyn gave Ewan a pointed look, like a don't try to poison my housemates. And before she could say anything else, they were being joined by Chloe and Nettie. She grinned at the two older Ravenclaw girls.

"Smile Nettie. Here, let me fix you something warm to drink." Um what??? Why was Ewan spilling marshmallows on the table?? Moving swiftly over to them and forgetting all about Nettie for a moment, she used her hand to brush the marshmallows back into the bag and then popped a handful in her mouth. What were they doing now? Was this a marshmallow eating contest?? Could it be one because she would totally win.

Quote:

Originally Posted by GD2204

And as for Nettie, she looked upset. He didn’t exactly feel like her was the right person to try and cheer her up but he most certainly going to try. ”So have you been ice skating on the lake yet? he asked hesitantly as the fire popped and crackled nearby. ”I think I might pop by later. If you want a laugh, you’re more than welcome to watch me fall”. She’d most likely end up with Alex but she was welcome to head over there with him and watch him fail at skating.

Nettie looked up when she heard Ewan talking to her and smiled softly. "No, not yet, I'm not really a skating type of gal," she explained. That was true, no matter WHAT mood she was in. She smirked and chuckled a little at his next comment and shook her head. "Just as long as you don't break your bum. That won't be a great way to spend the last of our time here at Hogwarts," she joked.

She gave a grateful smile to Chloe, Bernie and Carsyn, shaking her head a bit at the younger girl. "No thank you - but I'm having a lot of fun watching you all try and make it," she added with a small chuckle, referring to Ewan basically ripping into the bag of marshmallows like an animal. She was really going to miss everyone when she went off to uni, honestly - if they even made it there, of course. A thought she was desperately trying to avoid...

Oh a Bertie Bott's hot chocolate? "That sounds kinda good, actually." Bernie paused in whatever she was doing and glanced at Carsyn as she wondered if she should make herself that flavor of hot chocolate. Huh. Never mind you, Ewan Mcwhateveryourlastnameis. Bernie could make her OWN drink JUST fine.

She dumped this and that in her cup and then walked over to grab a few marshmallows for her mouth and a few more for her pockets. While she was stuffing them in her pockets, she realized she had something flat and stiff in her pocket. Huh???

Bernie pulled out the cardboard cutout and realized it was her Newt Scamander! OH YEAH! For that Divinations project or whatever! She grinned at the sight of him and propped him up beside the food and drinks. There we go. Now if she'd just get a picture of him... she could count this outing as one of his stories. Or whatever it was she had to do with him.

She felt something seeing him with all these girls, but that feeling moved away when everyone greeted her and Ewan himself had come over and shoulder bumped it. "I love marshmallows. Do you want to cook them over the fire?" If she wasn't supposed to be here she forgot all about that now that she was with him.

"What smells so good? Is that hot chocolate?" She looked to Bernie to see if that was what she had. "Can I have some?" She hoped there was enough for everyone, bit if there wasn't she would be alright.

Looking back to Ewan she moved a little closer. "It's a nice night for a fire, was it your idea?"