Normally when a blanket fort was being made, Keighley wasn't all alone. Nine out of ten times her brother Jude was with her. He created the BEST blanket forts. Ones that were super warm and cozy, filled with tons of blankets and huge fluffy pillows. That wasn't the case this afternoon though. Nope, this blonde was flying solo.

Which may or may not have been a good thing. As it has her currently stood on a chair reaching up as high as she could to fasten a blanket in place where she wanted it to be.

Daniel paced around the common room, immersed in his own thoughts. A small notebook he always carried with him was open in his hand as he re-read the cryptic rhyme he discovered on a wall some time ago. A part of him suspected it was a student having some fun, but if that were true, he wanted to know what it meant. He hoped he was mistaken and that something significantly larger, and ideally sinister, was going on. After the Pharaoh's Triumph was destroyed, Hogwarts was starting to get a little dull.

He had reached the game room and looked up from his notebook to see Keighley standing on a chair, reaching up to secure a blanket somewhere high up. He walked to the side of the chair that the girl stood on top of and snapped the notebook shut. He crossed his arms and cocked his head to the right to silently observe what she was doing.

Just a little bit higher..

Maybe if she stood up on her tip-toes she would be able to reach the exact spot where she wanted to secure the blanket to. Up on her toes she went, one hand bracing herself on the shelf where she was fixing the blanket to. Almost ha-

The sound of something snapping shut right near her broke through the quiet in the room, startling her. Jumping slightly in surprise at the sudden noise, Keigh stumbled right off the chair with a startled yelp, right into the blanket fort she had worked so hard on.

Daniel had to admit that while he hadn't intended to startle her out of her concentration, her reaction had caused the corner of his mouth to curl up into a small grin. He changed it back to a neutral expression as the girl fell off the chair and into the blanket fort she had been creating.

He uncrossed his arms and stepped on the destroyed blanket fort before extending his hand for Keighley to grasp as he prepared to help her get up. "I think you've fallen for me" he teased.

The unexpected fall could've been so much worse. Thankfully all of the hard work she had put into building that blanket fort had come to great use when she had landed on it unexpectedly! Not at all what she had wanted to happen but thanks to someone coming up beside her unnoticed and very quietly she might add, well luck hadn't been on her side. At least she wasn't hurt at all. So that was good.

Keigh lay there on the pile of pillows and blankets for a moment looking up at the reason she had fallen in the first place. Hello there, Daniel. Reaching out her hand to take hold of his offered one, the blonde got to her feet. "It seems I have," she laughed softly. Though it was more like she had fallen 'Because' of him but there was no reason to be bratty when she wasn't hurt. "Looks like I'll have to start all over now.. want to help?" Maybe she wouldn't have to climb on things if he helped her.

As he pulled Keighley from the pile of pillows, a feeling of déjà vu surged through him. Unlike Lisa, who had hit her head on the ground after slipping off a chair, the younger Hufflepuff did not appear to be hurt as a result of the fallen blanket fort beneath her.

When she responded to his tease, he smiled slightly. He partly expected her to be upset or to blame him for what had happened before he raised an eyebrow as she asked for his help in rebuilding. Did he look like he had time for childish activities such as making a blanket fort? He had more important things to do.....

.....But that important thing hadn't let him anywhere yet and perhaps he had to take a break for a moment. But still...making a blanket fort.... Well, at least she wasn't asking him to play 'floor is lava' like they did in the Gryffindor Common Room.

So with a rather loud sigh, the Hufflepuff put his notebook in his back pocket before taking out his wand. "I've never built a blanket fort before" he said.

Keighley took note of the slight smile on Daniel's face in regards to her response. It looked good on him. Then again, smiles looked good on everyone.

Rocking back and forth on her heels, she looked at him with bright blue eyes. It hadn't occurred to her that he might say he didn't want to help her. Blanket forts were amazing and they were for everyone. So there was no way that he would turn down the offer to help her, not after he had been the cause of her falling off of a chair and in turn the reason her blanket fort was no longer standing. Therefore, he owed her. In the payment of one blanket fort.

And then he went and said that. Keigh must have stood there with her mouth hanging open staring at him like he had five heads. "You never.. But.. I-.. Oh, dear Merlin no wonder you hardly ever smile and act so grumpy." This was very much a tease as she grinned at him and laughed softly, quickly adding, "I'm only joking but really? You've never once built a blanket fort before?" Could he tell that she was in a slight state of surprise?

"I do smile," he replied, knowing she was teasing him. He could hear it in her tone of voice, but it still bothered him. He also didn't think he acted grumpily. It wasn't his fault that other people irritated him most of the time.

the fourth year crossed his arms in a defensive stance and leaned against one of the bookshelves, his wand still in his hand. "Yes, really," he had gotten used to people's reactions to him not having engaged in some of the most commonplace childhood experiences.

It wasn't that he couldn't but that he didn't want to. And it wasn't because he didn't have any friends before he first arrived at Hogwarts. "Besides, even if I wanted to make one, our head housemaid would be mad at me for using the blankets and cushions around the house." She was the one employee at home he hadn't attempted to get fired because he liked her. She was a hard worker with a no-nonsense attitude.

"Anyway, even if I had built one, I wouldn't have done it with my own hands."He'd tell others to make him one. This piqued his interest."How come you didn't apply magic to reach up top?"

She nodded. "You should smile a little more than. It suits you." This wasn't said in a mean way but as an honest gentle toned compliment and she hoped he would take it as such.

Annnnnnd she had offended him. Not that she had meant to but she had. Oops. "Sorry.. I didn't mean anything bad by it. I just.. building forts is fun." That's all there was to it. A fort was very practical for many reasons. Like having a cozy place to study or read, it was even perfect for napping. "Okay, so you can't build one at home but that doesn't mean you can't build one here." Right now, with her.

Keighley groaned. "That defeats the entire point of building one. Magic makes it all too easy."

This was strange. He had never received praise for his smile before. His older brother once told him that when he smiled, his face changed to more innocent features, which was another reason why he didn't want to smile often. He preferred to keep people at a distance rather than draw them in."I'll try," he lied.

He sighed as Keighley apologized. He was aware that he was being a little dramatic, but according to Lisa and Alfie, being dramatic was his thing. "I can't argue with that" he remarked, walking over to one of the blankets and lifting it up in his hands to examine the fabric.

"I don't agree, but whatever." He couldn't understand why some students refused to utilize magic while attending a magic school. In his opinion, using magic to build a blanket fort was a good opportunity to practice spells. "Well? How do you make a fort?"he asked as he waited for her instructions.

That was the thing about Keighley, she liked to give out praise and compliments when she saw fit. She liked building others up. As Jude sometimes called her, she was indeed very much 'a ray of sunshine'. She was one of those that believed that even a tiny smile could go a long way. "Trying is fake. Natural is much better. If you don't feel like smiling, than don't."

Oh, if only she could read minds! She was so USED to dramatics with her older sister that it wasn't even funny. Reagan was the biggest drama queen she knew. Her apology had nothing to do with him being dramatic though, it was all about her being a sensitive child and not wanting others to be upset with her. "Is the blanket to your satisfaction?" she questioned when she noticed him checking it over.

"You don't have to agree. I used magic all the time.. that's why I'm here. To learn. I just.. don't use magic for this...but if you want to then I won't stop you." This was simply her way of doing it. He never even asked if they could do it the magical way. "Typically I gather all my blankets and pillows first which I already did and then I pick where I want to build it.. that I already did too. So next is deciding how big we want the fort to be and where the best places to secure the blankets would be." That made sense, yes?

Daniel nodded and folded his arms in front of his chest. She was dead on when she said that pretending to smile was a fake. "Finally, someone who gets it" why should he always smile? To make people feel comfortable? To appear friendlier? He WANTED to be alone and not draw attention to himself.

He looked up from his blanket examination and shook his head "I prefer Mulberry Silk or Millesimo Sateen, but these are fine too." Of course, it was only for making a blanket fort and it wasn't that he was finding new fabric to sleep in.

"All right," he said, not in the mood to argue about when to employ magic. He preferred to use it as frequently as possible because magic was superior to him, but he understood her point of view. "I believe we'll need a fort that can hold at least three people." he replied, twirling his wand between his fingers, intending to use it later. "What about those light strings? What are their names? fairy lights? I've seen it in a movie before." He looked about, certain that there was something in the room that he could use to Transfigure.

Now it was her turn to nod her head. "I don't like fakeness. It's basically the same thing as lying. If you don't want to, than don't. It will will much more genuine when you do."

"Well I'm sorry to disappoint but that's not what we have here." Keighley laughed softly. "We're only hanging these ones up anyhow, so we should be okay."

Daniel may not have known this but she was taking everything he said into consideration. "That sounds like a good size." There would be more than enough room to move around inside. A smile tugged at her lips once more at his next suggestion. "Fairy lights are always the perfect addition to a blanket fort." Don't mind her excitement while she bounced on her toes, looking around the room for something they could use as well.