Inside these walls of hallowed learning,sheltered from the ignorant world by the stones laid down by four great wizards of a bygone age. A place where the modus operendi is draco dormiens nunquam titillandus. A place where magic is the key...

Dawn crested the near mountainous hills which sheltered Hogwart's from the world at large,the golden tinges of sunlight reflecting across the great lake,a magnificent sight as one could hope to see on a brisk winter's morn. Those golden rays of light danced across orbs of similar colour as Rembrant Brewar sat in the window of his room in Gryffindor tower. Another sleepless night,he knew Dumbledore wouldn't be pleased but it was part of who he was now. Eighteen years of habit and fear isn't something that's easy to overcome. Rembrant's introspective moment was breached by the sounds of his room mates waking up.
"Remy,we miss breakfast or are you just being weird again?" asked one of them.
"No need to worry skirtchaser,you've still got a good twenty minutes before breakfast".
"Something about a pot,a kettle and the colour black springs to mind Remy"
"Yeah Robbie,but it takes one to know one" came the lighthearted reply as Remy left his roommates to wake up fully before heading down to breakfast.

Even in his seventh and final year at Hogwart's school of Witchcraft and Wizardry,Remy still marvelled at the intricate details that could be found wandering about this wonderous place.The moving portraits,the eclectic collection of ghosts and most of all,the great hall. The magnificent oak doors which swung wide as he approached,the four great tables for each house,the ceiling enchantment which reflected the weather outside the castle.Remy made his way over to the Gryffindor table and dropped down onto the bench before taking out a small sketchpad and pencil,scribling the date in the bottom corner. 15th of December,1969...

OOC: Okay,so it's short,but it lets everyone introduce their characters to the one scene.

Robbie entered the great hall at a less than brisk pace, the souls of his leather boots echoing greatly as he plodded toward his friend. He was somewhat unkempt, but that was good for him, considering he had to get dressed and usher out his female companion and get her dressed as well. Blinking a few times caused the glazed over look in his eye’s to recede somewhat, as he yawned once more trying to awaken.

He landed more than he attempted to sit next to Remy, his back toward the table. He peered around the hall, many smiles and winks greeting him. He shook his head a grin forming on his face.

“You know Remy I don’t think we’re gonna be forgotten after this year.”

Remy continued to scribble furiously.

“Writing a book on a Scottish love life?”

OOC: yeah it's short but Heeeeeerrrrrrreeeeeeeeeeeee's Robbie!

Coming down the stairs, Kalen Ferhan yarned tiredly, having not got enough sleep and wishing he could crawl back into bed for the rest of the day, and he would have too were it not for common sense. He almost groaned when he saw the entrance to the great hall blocked by a gaggle of female students, from all years blocking the way.

"One of these days, those two are gonna regret all this" the seventh year student thought dryly.

He made his way to the entrance and tried to push his way through the mass of girls, but to no avail. His stomach growled hungrily and his eye started to twitch in annoyance, he wanted food and coffee. Clenching his teeth together he pushed his way into the crowd, carefully pushing his way through the girls and sometimes even having to pick them up and move them out of the way, shocking them into silence before they started to get distressed at being moved away from their objects of obsession. Finally Kalen made it out, almost tripping over as he stumbled away from them. He was breathing hard, feeling he would rather face a horde of various dragons then face a horde of love sick school girls.

Grumbling he went over to the table and served himself up bacon and eggs and nice hot mug of coffee and chowed down.

“Oh… geez… not again.”

Elle stood just short of the door to the school, having just come back inside from the morning ritual of going to see and take care of Bullet. Her vibrant blue eyes were lingering on the horde of girls blocking the entrance to the great hall, and she watched as a single male form tried to pick his way through the swarm. Elle lifted a hand and almost wearily touched her forehead, closing her eyes for a brief moment as she let an exasperated sigh escape her lips.

It was a good thing she was a morning person and had, over the years, adjusted to the girls always fanning out around their two favorite school boys, whom were obviously currently eating. If she didn’t know any better, she would swear that the females were just waiting to lunge for their soon to be empty plates so they could lick them clean.

She opened her eyes again and then smiled as she brushed her hair back from her face. Then, after hearing her stomach demand some kind of nutrients, figured she might as well brave the swarm of girls and get it over with. Elle stalked towards the entrance and began shoving her way through, not caring to use any of the carefulness that the guys always used to get through them. She eventually go to the other side and with one last shove, pushed a third year out of her way and slipped into the hall.

It was full, as usual, buzzing with chatter and activity and the tinkling of silver wear as students got their fill of the breakfast feast. Elle eyed the Gryffindor table as she passed by it and smirked at Remy and Robbie.

“Perhaps you could swindle the headmaster into producing a table solely made for your fan club, hmm?”

If there was a retort or any kind of remark, she didn’t hear it. One of her closest friends brushed by her and snagged the sleeve of her robe, tugging her to the Ravenclaw table for breakfast. Both girls giggled as they plopped down, Elle sitting sideways with her legs crossed beneath her, helping herself to a piece of toast while stabbing a sausage with her fork.

The air was crisp and cool. The snowfall was light, it crunched beneath his feet as he walked. James, known to his peers and professors as Howler, remained crouched, taking in the beautiful wilderness around him. He'd always felt drawn to it, even as a child. It was reflected in his appearance as well. He had a rough untamed feature to him. From his facial hair to his mane of hair that fell to his shoulders.

Howler inhaled deeply, feeling the cold air sting the back of his throat and enjoyed the feeling. He didn't have to turn to feel the hot panting breath next to his cheek. His companion sat next to him, jaw open and tongue hanging out, condensed moisture escaping like small puffy clouds from his snout. Ace liked this morning ventures, just before the sun broke. The temperature shift was best for hearing all of the creatures, mystical and otherwise. The half wolf who'd more often then not been nicknamed the local Grim, sneezed at the sunlight.

He turned his head with some annoyance as he heard the bell for breakfast. He sighed and blew the air out to form a small circular ring before he began to jog back towards the great magical school, Ace barked in agreement at the inconvience and soon the two were racing one another back.

Howler slipped in the breakfast hall as usual, Ace trailing no more then a few steps away, sniffing about to see what first years had dropped from their plates as they rushed about. Ace lifted his head to growl as Flich's young cat, Ms Norris strode by. The cat scampered away with its tail between its legs and those around Ace could've sworn the wolf dog chuckled. Howler made his way to his house table. Automatically they moved to give him room at the end table. Unlike most of his peers in his house, Howler gave little to his aesthetic appearance, his robes were always torn up and wrinkled from extended use outdoors, he'd lost his hat years ago on a trip into the Forrest and never bought a new one.

After eating his fill, he stacked some food on his plate and lowered it to Ace, who growled appreciatively and devoured the meaty breakfast with vigor.

Howler's eyes scanned the massive tables, until his eyes rested on a girl he'd always looked at. He sighed contentedly, his fellow Slytherins eyed him with suspicion, as they usually did at breakfast. He rested his stubbled chin on his hand and gazed at her ringleted brown hair until Ace whined and nudged him with his snout, knocking his hand out of balance then tugged on his robes with his teeth.

"Yeah I know, I know." Howler sighed and stood up.

Mallel walked the main stairs to the Great hall, a four legged ferret like creature at his heel as he went. The robed figure studying a piece of parchment with references to a transconfiguration spell and only raising his head when he got in front of the Great halls door to find a stupid gaggle of girls blocking his path and his eyes narrowed.

"Excuse me" it came out in his politest voice but was iqnored, but iqnorance once was enough. Mallel began rolling up the peice of parchment when the Jarvey walked forward and started screaming in abusive lanqauge. The group stopped immediately and some of the girls hissed at the thing, others took a step back and one or two gave it mighty hateful look and most of the Great Hall was now looking towards the doors. The damn thing was well known in the school and who it belonged to, many loathed it. It caused chaos wherever it went and had been the catalyst for multiple pupils breakdown including two Slytherins and one teacher who never returned to the job.

From inside the hall few people saw what happened but the commotion was well noticed and was over in a few moments, though many guessed it had something to do with one of the girls beeing called a 'Dried up hag bitch'. There were two bangs, one flash and it was done.

Mallel slipped his wand away and walked on unrolling his peice of parchment again while Elopite was still at the door chewing and pulling at the hair on one decked girl's head as another repeatedly walked into the wall from the confundus charm on her until she tripped on another who was scratching herself from a body wide itch like her skin was on fire. The rest weren't so lucky.

"Howler" Mallel nodded his head and spoke in a conversational tone like nothing had just happened, suddenly Elopite was there beside the other Slytherin having heard his name and calling 'Ho' repeatedly for attention. The Jarvey had taken to him on sight and it was perhaps that reason Howler was one of the few Mallel spoke to, even if only briefly and constricted it seemed. The distinctly introverted wizzard spoke very little and prefered his distince with most people, even most of his other house mates left him to his own devices and he also prefered it that way.

Howler just nodded back and stroked the Jarvey shaking his head before moving to the Great Hall doors chuckling with a grin on his face as he tried to step over the dispatched fan girls.

OOC: And a trivia question now. Can anyone tell me which mistake in this post is homage to a well known authors character, here's a clue: It's on the characters hat.

“Someone’s got eyes on you again, Elle.”

“Hmm?”

Elle looked up from the day’s copy of the Daily Prophet, which she had snagged from her friend after the morning’s post had arrived. As soon as it had been pointed out that she was being watched, the hairs on the back of her neck stood on end, like they usually did when she accidentally passed through a ghost. She rolled the paper up and handed it back as she turned in her seat, looking for the source of her anxiety.

What she found herself looking at was the somewhat lone Slytherin student that the rest of his house tended to stray away from. She smiled, a little more shyly than her usual nature allowed, then watched as something drew him to his feet. Ah crap, had he finally noticed her looking at him?!

Her eyes went wide and she turned back around quickly, picking up another piece of toast and a knife so she could spread some jam over it. The strawberry marmalade almost matched the color of her cheeks. Maybe he had missed her smile and today wouldn’t be the day and oh god she was panicking.

“You REALLY need to just go and talk to him or something, Elle.”

“Oh, leave me alone.”

“Well you’re practically smitten and you’ve never even spoken to him!”

“Hmph!”

Elle bit into her toast, eyes closed, trying to look defiant, even though she agreed inside. Her fellow Ravenclaw friend narrowed her eyes and picked up the still rolled up copy of the paper, using it to smack Elle upside the back of her head.

“Hey!”

She cried out, opening her eyes again as she swallowed her food. Her friend turned away from her looking smug and Elle frowned, working her way up to a remark when the sudden chaos at the main doors erupted.

Everyone at the table fell silent from their chatter and turned to look in the direction of the shrieking girls, the few first year students who had escaped unscathed joining in with the screaming as they watched in terror. Half of the hall erupted in laughter, the other half simply stared, while some of the teachers bustled about and hurried to the doors to try and stop the chaotic happenings.

“That Mallel fellow again, eh? And his pet thing…”

Elle looked across the table at one of the more stuck-up students in the house, a 5th year who thought she was overtop everyone else because of her last name. Elle was part of the student population who had never been impressed by this girl.

“They shouldn’t allow such a bad tempered animal in the school. Oh look! The loners aren’t such loners after all!”

The girl pointed past Elle back towards the Slytherin table and she turned to look over her shoulder to see what reference she was making. Elle saw the exchange of words between Mallel and Howler, as he was known, then growled and turned back to face the accusing girl, who continued to poke fun at the two.

“Shut up, you snot!”

Elle threw her toast at the girl, the jam covered side nailing her in the face, and her surprised and angry shrieks at having food thrown at her mingled with the screaming at the door.

OOC: Oo' I gotta make some DF's for these Ravenclaw people. XD

OOC: My first first post in llike ump-teen years. So if it's not up to par...:OOC

That crowd of girls at the entrance was bugging Kristina to no end, even tho she was already in the great hall eating. Just the fact of them being there goggling over Remy and Roby drove her insane. But her mood rose greatly after Mallel hexed them. How she wished it was her wand that cast the spell upon them.

"That Chambers and his jarvey are alright." Kristina said with a chuckle.

"Thats strange of you Kris. You usually hate uproars... especially ones casued by that critter. But since it did hurt Remys fan club, You would be happy..." Sylvia said with a sly smile. Others at the table took interst aswell.

"WHY whould you say That." Kristina asked, daring Sylvia to say somthing stupid.

"No reason! I just know you hate Remy and Robie. And their 'fans'."

"Yeah, their not even good looking." one slytherin said before bantering on about them.

While everyone else was looking at the slytherin talking about Robby and Remmy,
Syvia mouthed "Your compettion." and indecated the what was left the the 'fans'.
Kristina could have wrung Sylvia's neck right then and there but instead started writting what she wanted on her B-day, since it was coming up.

Robbie turned to his friend and fellow hellraiser as he spotted the Slytherin prefect arriving late to breakfast.
"Thought a Prefect would know better than to be late for meals Rembrant"
"You say that like I'm the cause for her sleeping in..." Remy replied as innocently as he could manage
"Remy...I know you too well. I've also seen enough of your victims over the years to recognise one."
"Well,fair point. But you'd have thought a girl from the serpent house would have known all about tongue tricks by now" Remy said with a slight smirk
"My friend,you have to remember that the Slytherin boys are trying to compensate for some things,and failing from all we've heard."
Neither could suppress their chuckles as Remy's attention was drawn by Nibbles swooping down past his left cheek,letting him spot Kris trying to avoid staring at him. Unable to resist,Remy flicked his tongue out the side of his mouth for a brief instant,taking great satisfaction at the curious scarlet blushes which coloured the cheeks of the pale Slytherin.


Content that the young minds were sufficiently fuelled for the coming day,Dumbldeore signalled for the ringing of the bells,smiling contentedly as the pupils dutifully trekked off to their classes. All save one. when all the other pupils and staff had departed,Albus Dumbledore spoke softly to the remaining pupil.
"Come now young Rembrant,you really must stop using fireballs to burn the candle at both ends,especially the night before our monthly sessions to harness your gift"...


OOC: Gryffindor and Slytherin pupils will have potions with Horace Slughorn as their first class of the day,double period,while Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw will be attending Transfiguration and Charms,taught by Minerva McGonnogall and Professor Flitwick respectively

“One would hope that, by now, you would not need a school map in order to get to class on time, Miss Nelson.”

“Sorry, professor, I forgot my books and then Peeves was being… well, Peeves--”

“Excuses! Sit down.”

Elle pursed her lips in a straight line and trudged to her seat, plopping down beside her solemn friend who gave her a pitying look. As McGonagall began to give instructions to the already prepared class, Elle muttered under her breath about the idiot ghost and protruded her book, Guide to Advanced Transfiguration from her bag. Today was going to be mostly a practice class based on the topic that had been assigned to them the day before, in an extremely lengthy essay that had taken Elle most of the night to finish.

While the theory was only mildly interesting, Elle couldn’t help but eagerly pull her wand from her pocket and anticipate the moment the professor would tell them they could start. Everyone was required to pair up and begin practicing human to animal transfigurations.

Naturally, Elle paired up with her best friend, and together they started right away.

Within a few minutes, there were only a select few whom had managed any success. One student had completely said the wrong spell and had transfigured their partners head into a pumpkin. Another group of students had managed to only half transfigure their partners, and sadly among them, was Elle. Her friend had only gotten about a 16th of the spell right, and now a pair of big tanned colored wolfish ears were protruding out from under Elle’s ringlet hair.

She heard nearby snickers and sighed exasperatingly, then flicked her wand and corrected her ears, then gave her wand another lazy swish…

“Transmogrify.”

…and transfigured her friend into a perfect Australian shepherd.

The montone voice of the professor drolled on. Howler listened with feigned interest and attentativeness. His mind would always wander back to that girl. Ace, seemingly reading his thoughts and body language nipped him at his ankle from where he lay with a gruff snort. Howler shot his canine companion a rueful look but knew Ace was right, again. Damned dog knows me better then I do. He muttered in his head, absently writing down notes on the professor's lecture.

He shook his head and mane of hair to clean his head of the girl's face which seemed to be etched into his eyelids, so every time he blinked he thought he saw her. He opened his eyes and decided to distract his mind by seeing what his fellow students were up to. Mallel, off in his own respective corner, was fiddling with his own side potion as prof Horace Slughorn continued to elaborate on the use of some such herb which was key for some such potion, Howler gave up listening at that point. Kristina was openly yawning and stretching as though she were about to fall asleep. Kale appeared to be sharpening one of his many throwing knives he liked to carry about, obviously bored of the lecture as well.

Howler sighed deeply and turned his attention back to the mind numbing lecture. "It's only a double period, how bad could it be, right?" He muttered to Ace, the black wolfish dog merely snorted again, lay its head down and began to snore.

Professor McGonagall’s class was a scene of chaos in the few moments before the first period class ended. Elle’s best friend and a hufflepuff girl were having a somewhat violent tussle over a spell gone wrong. The hufflepuff girl, in a fit of frustration due to not being able to properly transfigure her partner, gave the spell just one more try; the spell was not only somewhat wrong, but it missed her partner by a mile and hit Elle in the back of the head as she got up to her feet.

On her feet is not where she had remained for very long. Her vision had exploded in an array of colors as she sank to one knee with a small gurgle of pain. Her friend went nuts and immediately started claiming that the hufflepuff girl had done it on purpose, and after the accusations had gone by un-affirmed, her friend had lunged across the desks and had tackled her to floor, pulling the girls robes and hair while they both screamed in outrage over the mishap.

The professor bustled about trying to separate them while some of the male students perched themselves on their desks to watch the girls fight, some of them cheering while others just shook their heads and got their things packed up for when the bell rang.

“Uhh… professor… can I go to… the nurse?”

“Yes, yes, go! --”

McGonagall readjusted her hat as she gave Elle a quick look over, then went back to separating the two girls.

“And get the nurse to fix those feline attributes while you’re down there!”

“…Wha?”

Elle blinked as she rubbed her face, her vision becoming a little more regular as she climbed back up to her feet, bag in hand. She slid out of the classroom and shut the door, stopping the cries from within from reaching the hallway as she set off to the hospital wing with a bit of a wobble in her step.

Meanwhile, on the opposite end of the school, a concoction was unknowingly brewing to get rid of Howler’s stressed boredom in class. Literally brewing.

With most of the girls goggling over Robbie as he sat in his desk, Professor Slughorn was having a difficult time holding the classes attention. He eventually just let his voice evaporate during the lecture, scribbled the required ingredients and instructions to the days potion on the board, and let the class get to work.

The exception to the girls who were preoccupied with watching Robbie was Kristina. She was one of the few females whom were actually focusing on how much of what ingredient was dumped into her cauldron. The rest were too busy giggling and blushing and trying to appear attractive than to bother paying any attention to what they were doing work wise; so it hardly came as a surprise when something bad resulted because of this.

One of the slytherin girls was fluttering her eyelashes and playing with her hair while she added an entire package of the wrong herb to her potion. A sudden and deafening bang met the class as the cauldron promptly exploded, making the girl shriek madly while the contents of the cauldron sprayed all over her, and sadly, all over Howler, who was unfortunately working beside her.

Ace was spared miraculously as he had been laying under the table, but Howler had been in the middle of a yawn when the potion nailed him in the face, and there was nothing he could do but swallow a mouthful of it by natural reaction. Half spluttering, he made a face as the potion awoke his taste buds, then used the sleeve of his robe to wipe off his face. The explosion had singed the ends of his mane, and besides the mouthful of potion he had swallowed, that was really all the damage that had been done to him.
The girl, on the other hand, was soaked from head to foot in the solution, her face charred from being so close when the explosion happened, and crying, due to the intense amount of humiliation she had just suffered.

Professor Slughorn hurried over and began flicking his wand every which way to get the mess tidied up, then turned to make sure both students were alright.

When the professor asked Howler if he was okay, the slytherin boy opened his mouth to assure both the teacher and himself that he was fine, but instead of words, all that he managed to get out was a rather large hiccup.

Slughorn stared at him, then blinked as Howler hiccupped again, and again, and again.

“Oh dear, dear, dear. You’re excused to the hospital wing. Better double check to make sure nothing was internally damaged, though it seems you just got a bad batch of hiccupping solution! Ohoho. How she managed to make that is beyond me… we’re making love potions..”

Howler managed to get a few choice quiet words out between hiccups, then gave up and packed up his books and quills and left the room, Ace at his heels.

The walk to go see the nurse was almost completely uneventful, except for one minor mishap. Howler was deviously plotting how he could play his cards out so that he could be excused for the rest of potions and successfully skip another period of boredom… and then he stepped onto the floor he needed to be on and walked unsuspectingly around the corner.

Elle was floored for the second time in the span of a few minutes.

How Howler managed to not fall on Ace was beyond him. The impact had sent them both sprawling, Elle in the less than graceful way she would have liked. Her surprised cry had been followed by a cry of anguish as she sat up and pulled her skirt back down to cover what had been exposed, her face flushed from frustration of her day being so craptacular.

How COULD it get any worse?

…had to ask. Just had to ask!

Elle blinked her extremely catlike eyes, her furry ears twitching beneath her hair. The bad transfiguration had left her with certain feline features, ones that Elle had chosen not to acknowledge until this point.

“Ooh… sorry, Howler… just off to the nurse… ahu.”

The following silence was only broken by Howler’s abrupt hiccup.

Of all the godforsaken times to run into her... Howler cursed and kicked himself in his head, only two short hicups escaping his lips as he continued the mental brain bashing of himself.

Ace peered around his slightly singed companion to take in a whif of Elle. He cocked his head to the side, slightly puzzled. She smelt like a cat, but she looked just like any other human he'd see. The local grim gave a confused snort, trotted up to Elle's face a moment later, gazing into her semi feline featured face.

Elle, acutely aware of just how big Ace really was, especially when one was sitting on one's rear. "Uh...good dog?" She croaked, hoping that Ace, unlike every other dog she knew, wouldn't chase her halfway around Hogwarts because she was a cat. The large shaggy black grim opened his mouth, Elle's eyes intently focused on his rather sharp and very pointy fangs.

There was a squeak from Elle as the massive wolf dog stepped in closer, she clentched her eyes shut and stiffened, anticipating fangs to grap hold of her.

"Hey, what th-" Elle tried to speak but was interrupted as a massive and wet tongue licked her face from chin to forehead. Ace continued to slobber over her with his long wet tongue until Howler gave him a shove with his foot as he rose.

"Get...*hiccup*...off...*hiccup*...of...*hiccup*...her you...*hiccup*...dumb flea-*hiccup* bag!" Howler managed to string together. Ace whinned, annoyed he couldn't continue licking the strange cat human and moved back, Elle's eyes moving from a massive black dog, to a strong open hand to help her up. She graciously accepted and felt Howler nearly throw her into the air.

The signed haired wildman felt as though she were a feather in his arms. He'd lifted her with such force she came right into his chest, his other hand grasping her lower back as though it were second nature to balance her. Elle flushed violently along her ears and they twitched as a shocked cat's would. Her left hand holding his upper arm, with a grip firm enough to feel the muscles beneath his cloak.

OOC: Your move Miss Rika B)

Mmm… wait, oh god oh god oh god oh god oh… mmmmmm…

Feline instinct was taking over and there was nothing she could do to stop it.

Elle leaned more firmly into Howler’s masculine body, her grasp on his arm tightening as she nuzzled her face into his neck. She was purring, and while the gentle vibrations could be felt by Howler along his flesh, Elle could feel his hiccups from how close she was pressed into him. She closed her eyes and pulled back a little to nuzzle Howler’s cheek, seeking that natural comfort that all cats liked.

“…You smell like…”

She opened her eyes again and blinked, then released his arm and slipped her hand out of his strong one to take hold of his face, randomly running the tip of her tongue up along his cheek.

“No… you taste, not smell, like chocolate...”

All of a sudden, reality came crashing down on her and Elle stopped short of what she was doing, her ears twitching again as she squinted innocently and her face bright red as she realized what she had done.

Howler simply watched her, not being capable of even attempting to string words together between his hiccups. Elle became acutely aware of the pressure along her lower back, signifying the comforting and balancing grasp he had on her. A lopsided smile graced her features and she shook the hair out of her still flushed face.

“Thanks for catching me… and for calling back your dog… ya’ know, you should show off your arms a little more…”

So when I’m staring at you in the hall, I can see your apparent sexy muscles… gah.

“Are you going to the medical wing?”

Howler gave her a curt nod as he hiccupped again and Elle giggled. It was so funny to see a grown male doing something so innocent as hiccupping.

“Mind if I come with you? Feel like I took a bludger to the back of the head from that spell… and seeing as you’re so fluently able to catch the damsel, I’m figuring it could be a good idea to go with someone…”

Haha! Smooth Elle. Ohhh this is so not going how I had planned...

Her ears drooped from her mental lashing, yet she gave his arm another squeeze, just to re-affirm his build. Inside, she giggled gleefully.

Howler was glad for once in his life that he was cursed with this wretched hiccuping, otherwise he knew he'd look awfully stupid right now. She was talking to him. He felt as though he were watching this from outside of his body, that and his core body temperature was skyrocketing at the same instant. Her movements, her smell, her touch, it was nearly overwhelming, intoxicating, and so serene. He didn't care that she looked like a cat, he was too dumbfounded at her grip on his arm to notice.

Ace growled with annoyance and nipped his ankle to serve as the cliched pinch to see if he was dreaming. Without taking his eyes off her's he kicked the dog aside. The local black shaggy grim whined, still annoyed at the whole situation and began to trot off in the direction of the hospital wing. He looked over his shoulder and barked.

Elle began to walk, keeping her body relatively close to his. Howler thought the hand on her back was in heaven. He half expected her to slide away but was in awe that she stayed so close. He had a bemused smile on his look as she led on, Ace ten or so steps ahead of them, occasionally looking back to make sure Howler wasn't turned into Elle's impromptu scratching post or worse....

Elle kept her eyes on Ace as the shaggy black dog trotted in front of them. She felt foolish for talking aloud when Howler could hardly respond in a way other than hiccupping, so she let her voice die and kept quiet. While the silence between them wasn’t uncomfortable, she felt a little fidgety, so if she couldn’t talk, then she needed to let her hands occupy her mind.

As they were walking forward, Elle sidestepped in towards Howler and pressed into his side in such a way that in order for him to remain touching her, his hand had to slide from her lower back to her hip. She glanced up to see the bemused smile on his face, and as he hiccupped again, her right hand snuck into his cloak and into his school robes until her fingertips found the smooth flesh that covered his muscle ridden stomach.

She gasped quietly, then purred as she ran her hand up his chest. Out of Ace’s view, she was half using Howler’s front as a scratching post, except it was more of a gentle clawing rather than a savage clawing. She grinned and rested her head on his shoulder while she explored his chest area, a fierce blush arising in her cheeks as she pondered where she had gotten this daringness from.

Must be the feline issues...

Once she was sure she had ‘scratched’ most of his front and they had walked so far that they had reached the medical wing, Elle patted his chest and withdrew her hand, then slipped away from him. She approached the double doors and while she was opening them, let her other hand drop down to rest on Ace’s head. She gave him a quick scratch behind his ears, then pushed the door open and stepped inside.

The local grim and Howler followed her inside and she let the door close, the nurse popping up from her office to begin fretting over their well being.

OOC: Come on fellow Hogwartians, POST DAMMIT.

After Howler had left the classroom, the class had resumed its work on brewing the love potions.

Kalen reluctantly brewed the potion, doing it out of necessity so his grades didnt suffer for it, or lose points for his house. He personally believed he would never have any use for something like a love potion, not for the career he was interested in, but still he kept brewing the potion, half tempted to actually alter the potion and use it on the girls in the class that wouldnt stop drooling over Robbie, just to see what it would do. At the very least it would turn them into violent possessive maniacs.......no, they already were.

No bad would come of it he decided, but still he didnt alter the potion. He wasnt stupid enough to play dice with his education like that.

Remy strode into the Great Hall to the bustle of lunch. Nibbles swooped down as he past the Ravenclaw table,nabbing a large chunk of fish from Elle's plate before flapping back to its usual perch on Remy's shoulder. The tall Scot meandered through the bustle before dropping down beside his fellow countryman and master of mischief.
"DADA followed by bludgerugby,what a great afternoon we've got in store. Can't wait to pummel the snake kissers after class tonight,especially with a double 'study period' tomorrow morning"
"Oh yes,some victory party may be in order I believe" was Robbie's simple reply.
"By the way...I heard there was a few mishaps this morning while I was training with Dumbledore,care to fill a brother in?" Remy asked of his close friend...


"Now Robert and Eleanor,take your positions and prepare to Duel" The teacher announced as he assessed several students' skills with advanced dueling tactics.

Robbie grinned,trying to cover his unease. "What am I doing?" he asked himself. "I don't fight women,I can't" he mumbled as a bead of sweat rolled down his brow as Elle saluted him with her wand. Straight away Elle cast some sort of curse that sealed Robbie's lips,forcing him to concentrate more on casting non-verbally while she began casting stunning spells to try and earn a quick victory. Robbie blocked the first barrage with a shield charm when suddenly his feet came out from under him seconds before Elle cried "Imobolus",ending the duel.

"Well done Miss Nelson,inventive use of a non-verbal summoning charm on Robert's shoes followed by a classic finishing spell.Ten points to Ravenclaw I think. Now,why don't we see how you handle Mister Brewar here"

Remy stepped out from his classmates,laughing as he passed his friend."I though we were supposed to sweep the girls of their feet,not the other way around mate" He mocked before performing a simple salute with his wand,opting to leave his staff off to the side. Elle brushed her dark hair out of her eyes before returning Remy's salute with one of her own. Elle knew she wouldn't get away with the same trick twice,so this time she went straight on the offensive with stunning spells and a few creative curses and hexes. Yet for all she was attacking,Remy was merely dodging each attack and moving slightly closer to the brunette Ravenclaw. Remy raised his wand and pointed it at Elle just as she had him in her sights,crying "Expeliramus!" as her wand let loose an eruption of scarlet light. Remy smirked as he snapped out his left forearm to intercept it,the golden sigil on his bracer glowing brightly as the scarlet orb impacted with the leather bracer. Remy cursed loudly as the binding snapped and his bracer flew through the air,revealing the source of the light to be a tattoo or birthmark of some sort in the same form as the sigil on the bracer. Elle barely managed to focus enough to fire off a stunning spell as Remy continued to close the gap. "Rictusempra" Remy mumbled seductively,focusing on his target as he dodged a stuner from Elle,smirking as she fell back panting,a blush forming on her cheeks while her breathing quickened to match her heartbeat.

"Oh my god." she muttered as the feeling overcame her,limiting any thoughts of spellcasting "eh...eh...Expeliramus!" she barely managed,this time disarming Remy. But the golden eyed wizard was too close now for it to make any difference as he pinned Elle to the wall,slamming his left hand into the stone beside her head. Gasps could be heard from the class as a golden flash cascaded from his fist,discharging the energy from Elle's first disarming attack. Remy whispered something in Elle's ear as she dropped her wand. Behind them,the teacher applauded softly.
"Well done Mister Brewar,inventive and talented as Professor Dumbledore warned me.We may have to discuss some things later,but for now have Ten points for Gryffindor. Class dismissed!"

As the class packed up and began filing out of the classroom, Remy shifted his weight and stepped away from Elle, unpinning her from the wall. He flashed her another grin before retrieving his bracer, then nabbed his stuff and headed out of the room. As soon as Elle found herself alone in the class, the moan she had been holding in escaped her lips and she slid down the wall to the floor.

“That was SUCH a cheap way to beat me…gah…”

She sat where she was for a few minutes, waiting for her body to stop quivering and to just overall calm down. She was going to get revenge for this, oooooh yes.

Once she decided she could walk again, she snatched up her wand and climbed back to her feet, then grabbed the rest of her stuff and headed for her dorm. Everyone else was currently strolling outside, eager to watch the bludgerugby match between the Slytherins and the Gryffindors. Elle needed clean clothes before she could join them.

OOC: Just something small to keep it moving.

OOC: Sorry for the delay with this post,been trying to come up with a way to properly introduce bludgerugby in a manner that lets people know the rules and such like. So here goes.

IC: Remy was grinning as the Gryffindor BludgeRugby team made their way to the area of grass marked out as the playing field. His staff in Hand,Remy focused on the posts and field markings needed for the game,along with the properties he needed to imbue them with to keep the game fair. He could see the small crowd react to the sight of the gold and maroon shirt approaching,although a few of the female spectators where just getting a kick from the boys in tight shorts,while he pressed him gumshield up against his teeth.

As he stepped onto the pitch Remy signalled to Malcom,the Hufflepuff captain and referee for today's match,that the Gryffindor team were ready and that the pitch enchantments were in order. He could see the Ravenclaw Prop casting 'sonorous' on himself at the side of the pitch.

"Ladies and gentlemen,Welcome to this evening BludgeRugby confrontation between Slytherin and reigning champions and the team currently topping the league,Gryffindor. Now,as many of you are well aware,the use of magic during play is against the rules with the sole exception being to aid an injured teammate. As always,our modified bludgers will be hurtling towards the player in possession of the ball at a slower speed than we see them in Quidditch. But that's to be expected since wizards on brooms move faster than wizards on foot. Looking round the pitch here,it's easy to see how this new sport has grown in popularity. Three years ago it was mostly wizards raised in the muggle world who started playing and watching,but now it seems as if a substantial potion of the student body have shown up. I think I can even see a few teachers amongst the student body. Now the two captains are shaking hands and we're underway with the Slytherin kick off"


OOC: Anyone has any questions that require a detailed answer,pm me or grab me on msn. Basically scoring goes Try(carrying the ball over the try line and planting it down in a controlled manner)=5 points,Conversion(attempt at kicking the ball over the horizontal bar of the H shaped posts)=2 points,Field Goal/Penalty=3 points

The excitment in the air crackled like electricity. Howler looked too and fro, cheers and jeers filled his ears on either side of him. Grudge matches between these two houses were always a spectacle and usually ended in a spectacular fashion. He exhaled slowly, his mind still reeling from his awkward chance encounter with Elle. His stomach twisted and turned as the memory of her touch played back in his head. Without much of a thought to his behaviour he was actively scanning the crowds, in particular the section of Ravenclaw students here to watch the match to see if she was with them.

The local grim threw back his head and howled, momentarily subduing the fans' dull roar. Out of the corner of his eye Howler could swear his wolf dog was grinning at the instant of fear that filled some of his fellow Slytherin peers. Even for a Slytherin he and his dog managed to instill some fear, even if Ace only did it to amuse himself on occasion. Then again, Howler mused, any dog that was big enough to be considered a grim would have that affect.

Howler caught sight of one of the local romeo's, Remy, on the field and gave him a small nod of respect. Even he felt a tinge of jealousy at just how capable he was with the girls when he had managed to bungle a golden opportunity with Elle. Either way it would be a good match, he settled in with a sigh, his eyes retreating from the Ravenclaw pack of fans and re-focused on the soon to begin game, maybe some sporting violence would take his mind of things...and by things, he knew it was Elle.

OOC: It's been a while,time to give this thing some CPR

IC: The whistle sounded as the Slytherine team kicked the ball towards the eager Gryffindors. Robbie caught the ball and dropped into a snap turn awy from the charging brutes in green and silver before passing the ball to a sprinting Remy. Remy ducked past one clumsy tackle before kicking the ball in the air.

Elle glowered from the sidelines at the memory of what Remy had done to her that afternoon,and scowled even more when she caught herself staring at his legs as he ran past a couple of his opponents before passing the ball back to Robbie,who went on to score a try with it. Remy didn't get to celebrate as a bludger caught him a split second after the pass,taking the breath from his lungs...

Mallel walked the corridor to the library two peices of parchment in one hand, one half poking out from the other and being compared while the Jarvey trotted at his heel. The conjurer's fingers on his empty right hand moving, opening and closing rapidly jerkily. He noticed it and stopped it, but a minute later it started again, absent mindedly he took his wand out to occupy his fingers subdueing the mannerism.

He stopped abruptly.
"Mr Chambers"

Professor McGonagall approached from the far end of the corridor and Mallel turned to her his face as unreadable as it alwas is and she scowled slightly at it, he never gave anything away, not to anyone "Free time in the library as usual Mr Chambers"

He took a breath inwards casually, "Is it detention?"

"Yes, correct as usual. How astute of you. There was no point of removing you from class but you typically avoid the school activities unlike everyone else. I only dare to imagine what you were thinking this morning when you entered the great hall"

"They were in the way Professor, where should I attend for detention until next class?" Mallel asked as he rolled up the peices of parchment stowed them away somewhere on his person.

Minerva sighed inwardly, she didn't know what she could do with this student sometimes. He was passive to the point of apathetic until something set him off, and even then he was controlled about it. If she sent him to a class to sweat it out he'd probaly read a peice of parchment with notes on a spell, if she took it off him and left him with nothing to do he'd still find a way to practice in his head going over something. Perhaps the most strange was that if she sent him to do some sort of manual punishment and told him no magic, she could leave him his wand and still be sure he listened to her. Punishments had no effect, he just took them as things to do and did them then forgot about them. She was almost considering not bothering.

"Go and report to the caretaker, I'm sure there'll be something he can find for you to do"

"Yes professor" The Slytherin turned and walked off.

She watched him go off and her eyes narrowed, that boy was an enigma. She pondered it in her mind, he stopped before she had called for him and he couldn't have heard her coming from that far down the hall They were in the way Professor Who thought that way. His spellwork was just a managing passable in everything else but his Transconfiguration and Charms were better than anyone else's. She'd saw the way he cast those spells at the Great hall this morning and heard other accounts of random occurances he'd gotten involved in but the few times he'd been made to practice duelling in DADA he was beaten by everybody, even the worst student there.

The Professor tried to shake the thoughts off but the knowledge of his parents disturbingly surfaced and drifted away as she went about her business.

“HAH! That’s what you get you sleeze!”

Elle had jumped out of her seat the moment Remy had taken the hit, a wide smirk of glee on her face. She had thrown her hands into the air in a sort of cheering-for-the-pain motion, receiving odd looks from the students around her as she did so. Her triumphant yelling had been slightly louder than the cheering from the sidelines, so she was more than certain Remy had heard her.

And if he hadn’t, then oh well, that was fine too. She had managed to release a little bit of anger, which helped calm her seething conscience. Elle knew she would have full revenge for the dueling mishap eventually, at latest it would happen at the upcoming ball. Her catlike ears twitched happily as she plopped back down into her seat to watch the rest of the match. The nurse was still in the process of figuring out what spell Elle had actually been hit with; for some reason, the spell just wasn’t coming undone. She had sat through numerous call backs only to find out the feline features still weren’t gone.

Not that it really bothered her all that much. She had found that she liked the changes; even milk seemed to taste better than it had previously. And the daringness she had obtained. The vivid images of her moments with Howler and Ace popped back into her head, so suddenly and unexpectedly that she actually topped back out of her seat with a squeak and almost rolled off of the bleachers.

Laughing softly at herself, she brushed herself off, regained her composure and sat back down, trying to ignore the talk going on behind her back and the way people were scooting away from her. She rolled her eyes and shook her head, fixing her hair and adjusting her scarf.

Her eyes began to wander across the crowds, looking for Howler now that she was thinking about him. It took her a moment, but she spotted him. He looked like he was trying desperately to focus on the game; the expression on his face was so cute, it made her giggle, earning her some more whispered comments from the people around her.

“Oh shut up you idiots. I can hear everything you’re saying.”

((OOC: Just something to…keep it going. And to get back into posts and all that jazz.))

OOC: After some begging,pleading and general whining...it's onwards we march :P

IC:

Remy heard Elle's yelp of joy as he got slammed by the bludger,apparently he'd gotten more under her skin than he'd thought. Oh well,plenty of time to work his charm later. For now he and Robbie had a game to win. He dragged his aching body back to his half,catching Robbie's eye and making a hurried series of hand gestures to his partner in crime. Robbie nodded as the snake lovers got the game back underway...

Robbie charged down the hulking slytherin who had the ball. A sneer came across the brute's face as he saw the relatively slender form coming towards him. He simply set his shoulders and prepared to run right through the runt. then he felt a shoulder dislocate his knee as he caught sight of Remy rolling out from under him while Robbie yoinked the ball from his weakend grasp. He barely saw the duo tear through the Slytherin defence before the pain overtook him...

The game was continuing at a furious pace,even well into the second half as Remy carried the ball deep into the slytherin half. He turned his head for a split second to track down Robbie when he felt the impact at his waist before he was hoisted into the air. Then his world went dark...


"Let the boy rest Poppy,if need be then give him thsi to keep him sedated. No Poppy,I am not impugning your healing talents. And yes,I am aware that this is the third time today you've had to treat a seventh year student. Now if you would leave me with him for a few moments,there is something I must do"

The castle was in darkness as Remy stalked the hallways. The only light source was his burning staff and the vibrant crimson glow from his hands which reflected dark pools of blood behind him and the dead faces of those slain by his hand. A form moved towards him,only to be stopped short as the glow in his right hand formed outwards from his staff into the shape of a greatsword. Remy twisted his grip as he impaled the shocked form of Professor McGonnogal. Wrenching his arms he swung the blade,heaving her lifeless body from it as a stunning blast erupted from further down the corridor. The demon Remy had become reversed the direction of the blade to block the blast,but even then he was sstaggered by the sheer force of it. His empty eyes narrowed as Albus Dumbledore descended upon him,shaking with rage at the nights events. Yet it was a rage tinged with sadness and regret for Dumbledore was a compasionate man and was loathe to cause death. A second blast tore the sword from Remy's grip and a third crumpled him to the floor. Dumbledore stood over him,tears in his eyes "I think this has gone far enough Mister Brewar" he said as he slipped a vial between Remy's lips...

Remy woke up with only vague memories of the dream to find his partner in crime waiting for him.
"Had us worried for a few days there mate. Dumbldore came to see you not long after we hauled your sorry ass up here and left looking like a ghost. Since then you've been snoring loud enough to make a dragon move its nest." Robbie joked.

"What do you mean 'a few days'? Madam Pomfrey should have been able to get me back on my feet within an hour."

"Well,apparently Dumbledore felt you should take the time to rest and recover naturally. He knows you've not been sleeping well,but then again,the man does have an annoying habbit of knowing what goes on around here and who's behind it."

"Yeah,that's really a problem for us...since we're the ones usually behind it. Now,if I've been out for a few days,then what day is it?"

"Well you lucky sod,it's Friday morning which means you've missed the last week of term yet are still up and about in time for teh Christmas Ball. Jammy git"

"In otherwords I miss schoolwork and get to womanise in a kilt? Who'd have thought a bludger to the head would be so beneficial?" Remy quipped,despite the vague memory of the dream...

In the wake of the Christmas Ball, the school had been transformed into an elegant winter wonderland. There was a never ending buzz of excitement surrounding each student who was anticipating the night’s festivities. Among those students, in all her feline glory, was Elle. It was one of the more major times of the year when she really looked forward to being at school. She could throw away her “I’m not one of those really girly girls” attitude and really flatter herself by dressing up for the occasion.

And dress up she did.

With the start of the ball a mere few minutes away, students of both genders were wandering about with either groups of friends or dates, each looking smartly dressed in outfits of all kinds. The exchange of words between the houses was unusually calm and cheerful, something that was rarely seen. Music flowed from the doors of the hall where students were starting to gather beneath the silver and blue colored theme decorations.

At the top of the main staircase, Elle had finally arrived from her departure of her house dormitories. She looked completely different. Her brown ringlets had been pulled back and to one side, then pinned with a silver hair piece so each curly strand hung down over her right shoulder. For the sake of the occasion, Madam Pomfrey had offered a vanishing solution to her feline features that would last only a few hours, but served it’s purpose. A strapless dress clung to her curves, the pale blue color really bringing out the vivid blue in her eyes.

The dress poofed out beneath her waist, with folds of pearl white material able to be seen to make it appear like she was elegantly floating on a cloud. To accent, she wore long earrings and a matching choker chain, along with elbow high white gloves. Fear of falling on her her face in front of everyone had made Elle change her mind about wearing heels, so her height hadn’t changed as she had chosen to wear flat white shoes.

This time around, Elle had decided to attend the ball solo; or so she was saying. In truth, she hadn’t really thought about a date until she realized she had indeed forgotten to ask someone. Not that it really mattered, she knew the ball would be fun regardless. Especially if she got her hands on that smug ass Remy.

With a smile of false innocence, Elle descended the staircase, one hand on the railing, the other holding up the front of her dress so she didn’t trip and fall.

((I wasn’t sure how long we were gonna make this ball, so I left it at that. Also, no-one mentioned if they wanted their characters involved, so I did nothing in that sense, leaving everyone to do their own flirty post.))

He stared at the mirror and the mirror stubbornly stared back. The reflection wasn't all that familar, it'd only looked this way a handful of times, typically during an important family gatherings, where cameras were expected and he was to be, at his adoptivemother's insistance, a woman he could never hope to defeat in an arguement. A glance to the massive wolfish dog sprawled smuggly on his bed and its antagonizing bark set off a flurry of questions in his mind.

"It's not like I have to go." Ace cocked his head to the left and whined mockingly once more.

"What? I haven't gone to a single one of these things before. Not like I'll be missed if I don't turn up this time." Ace barked at him again and whined again and lifted a paw into the air and waved it at his companion.

Howler followed the waving paw to the formal attire neatly set out on his dresser, freshly unwrapped with a note from the woman who had treated him like her own since before he could crawl, once more he picked it up and read the familar elegant handwriting on pine scented script.

My Dearest James,

I know you don't like showing
your face around any of those
formal things your school holds.
But before you graduate you should
at least attend one in your lifetime
to say that you did participate in one.
What will your children think?
Having a father who never attending
one of the famous Hogwarts Christmas
Balls? I know I know, I'm not allowed to
mention anything about you and
kids until you're well into your twenties
but I'm just actively looking after
your best interests as a mother.
So please my dearest, clean
yourself up and attend, heaven
knows the last time you cut or shaved.

Thinking fondly of you all the time,
xoxo
Mum

His shoulders sagged with a heavy sigh of defeat. "I suppose I can make a brief appearance." Ace's tail wagged and he let out a chorus of excited barks. "You're not coming." Howler quickly silenced the dog.

A long pitious whine came from the black beast. "Unless you want a bath first." Ace quickly silenced himself and hopped off the bed and pawed at the door. "That's what I thought," he opened the door and the wolf dog bounded down the stairs to head out into the crisp snowy fields. "And no bringing back any stray female werewolves this time!" Howler shouted down the stairs as Ace took off like a black bullet, toppling a few of his Slytherins but none raised their voice in anger when they heard Howler yell something about werewolves.

Christmas Ball Entrance

The crowds of people unnerved the Slytherin student, being bumped and jostled about iritated him as it came with the sensation of being knocked off balance. He took in a deep breath and followed the massive stream of student into the main hall.

The clothing still smelt of home, his mother had evidently spent a great deal of time and effort crafting his outfit. He never was very accustomed to wearing formal attire and thankfully his mother had taken his mindset into account. The jacket, an earthy dark bronze colour, was not flashy but simple and to his mother's credit, complimented his rugged nature. It complimented his white shirt and black tie. Howler did his best to keep his hands at his side and away from clawing at the noose he had around his neck. The pockets in the black pants were comfortable enough and so he kept them their as he made his way through the crowds.

"Okay, they've gotta have some decent food for a party like this." He attempted to convince himself, doing his best not look as though he were searching the crowd for anything more then some punch and little nibblies. He ran his hand through his hair, combed, unmatted and shiny in the many lights of the Ball. He stroked his face with his hand nervously, still slightly puzzled by the smoothness of his shaven face. "This is gonna be a long night..."

Remy slowly scraped the razorblade across his face,carefully removing the excess growth from his days in the infirmary. He'd always been partial to his scruffy look since it seemed to suit him. But days of inactivity had streched even his definition of scruffy and his usual cockiness demanded he look his best for the Winter Ball.

Remy and Robbie grinned at the barely audible gasps frm a fair portion of the female sutdent body as the strutted down the staircase into the Great Hall. They grinned even more at the meager attempts at mocking from some of the students who were unaware of Celtic traditions. Comments like "Why the hell are they wearing skirts. Chasing them not enough for those two now?" were amongst those heard but the troublesmoe duo just shrugged them off knowing full well how much fun this night should prove...largely due to the large hipflasks of firewhisky secured in their sporrans...

Howler wondered what mischief Remy and Robbie had in store as he sat near one of the walls,present but out of the way enough so he'd be more comfortable. He saw the pair seperate after a series of hurried whispers and what looked like round of paper,scissors,rock which left Robbie scurrying over towards the band with one hell of an evil grin on his face. Howler's concerns over what was in store ceased as he glanced back to the staircase and felt his breath ripped from his lungs as an angel descended into the hall. He felt sure it was a mirage amidst the shimmering blue and pearl dress as Elle carefully walked down the stairs. His heart sank as the band started playing a familiar melody and Remy swept in pulling her into an embrace on the dancefloor before moving through a graceful series of motion. Howler was considering leaving there and then when Robbie sat down next to him.
"Firewhisky?" The cocky Scotsman offered,handing over a flask before Howler could answer. "Now,in the seven years we've been here you've always been an outsider and Rembrant and myself figured it was time to change that. Consider it a Christmas gift to one in need of romantic assitance from the two masters of seduction in our year."

"What the hell are you babbling about?" Howler growled,his patience wearing thin as Remy lead Elle through a respectable tango.

"Well,as I said,Remy and myself are masters at seduction and as such have noticed your interest in young Miss Nelson here,and hers in you. Noting how inept you are at human interaction we decided to lend a hand,so on your feet soldier,cause here goes nothing." With that Robbie grabbed Howler and dragged him to his feet,thrusting him onto the dancefloor just as Remy spun Elle away from him. Whether by coincidence,fate or mischievous design,the two paths converged in proper dancing position as the band started the next song. Remy slipped off the dancefloor unnoticed by either Howler or Elle,he made his way back to Robbie. the two clinked their flasks together in a toast.
"Here's to the start of a new romance,and to us doing something good and unselfish." Robbie said.
"I don't know about unselfish...now we've got a snake kisser on our side,that'll help for some triple R projects. And now,cherché le femme"

"Uh, hi." Howler said without realizing that he had begun to dance next to the girl that had been crowding his thoughts for as long as he could remember. Despite his best efforts his face felt like an ironforge in the midst of hard labour, he could feel the reddness of his cheeks singe his skin, normally cloaked behind rugged scruff. However it was exposed now, clean shaven and beginning to fluster. His eyes darted instinctively down to the ground, watching her feet, unable to keep the intensity of the gaze as the two moved along.

"Hi to you too." She smiled, Howler felt as though his knees had suddenly melted and barely managed to keep step. He wasn't sure how he managed to keep pace, dancing was never something he enjoyed or found entertaining. Yet whilst joined with Elle he found himself more relaxed and able to nimbly preform the steps that would've normally left him dumbfounded and awkward.

Words escaped his lips, as though he'd used them all up. His throat felt dry and his heart hammered away in chest with such force he felt it ring in his slightly pink ears and yet the two continued to dance, smiles exchanged as Howler slowly began to grow accustomed the radiance of her smile.

I wonder what I owe those to for this? Howler wondered but then all cognitive thought evaporated as Elle pulled his body closer and felt her chest press up against him.

Remy grinned turning his head scooping out for his next already forming plan when he caught site of Mallel at a table on the far side of the room, his face was even and calm but his eyes were locked, sharp focus pointing clean at Remy and his companion. Remy tried to think of what he knew about him but there weren't many facts he could pull up from his scheme making mind. That howler was one of the few he spoke to was the most concise he could think of and probaly the reason for the digging glare, it made Remy wonder how much the other Slytherin would act out they tried pushed things too far, it almost made him spur into action just to see, almost.

Dean took a sip of his goblet as he watched the two across the room and listened to the small hassle near him as someone was caught smuggling in fire whiskey. Robbie and Remy noticed it too as they looked past the Slytherin to see the Instructor moving down towards they're direction, a quick glance back and Dean was already out of if his seat moving away.

Propiety, expectation perhaps. He was supposed to be there, therefore he was. That was Mallels only excuse to attend if he thought about it. He took another sip from his goblet he'd carried with him, even if he wasn't drinking it, it made his hand stop moving on it's own.

A passing thought made him put the goblet down and a piece of parchment he'd had on him appeared in his hand along with a muggle pencil, something he had a distinct preferene for over an inkwell and quill. Messy and fickle was his opinion of it, they'd tried to stop him using it when he first started at the school, for some month's his work was down marked to discourage it but he'd iqnored it. They eventually realised he knew his skill in areas he put himself toward and wasn't going to change weather they acknowledged it or not. It was only the first thing that eventually culminated in where he was now.

A sound reached his ears and he looked to see the table he placed his goblet, it was in the middle of a group of students who's talk had been killed abruptly by him. The sound was a girl telling him to get a move on, a hiss and she looked down to see Elopit then caught site of his face. He saw the mental "oh bugger" behind her eyes as she realised who the perpetrator was and the attitude of expecting trouble descended on her.

Mallel however didn't do anything however, they didn't start anything, he had. The hand moved finishing it's scribble of what he'd clicked on, slipped the keepings away on his person and grabbed his goblet. His head moved in what was a cross for a nod and small anguler turn that was his apology and he moved on, finishing the contents in one he put down the goblet at an empty placing he passed and moved to the open area outside that had been decorated for the festivities. He needed some air.

OOC: What? You thought I was gonna let this die?

IC:
Remy and Robbie sat back eyeing the crowd and enjoying casual swigs from their quickly diminishing hipflasks,quite happily watching the bumbling awkwardness between Holwer and Elle and all the while keeping a roving eye on the assorted females of the school. Their mischevious reverie was interupted by a cough from off to their side. A sideways glance told them someone thought they were in truble.

"You do know it's against school rules to be imbibing alcohol,don't you?" the arrogant,snotty tones that only a prefect of a mostly loathed house could muster. A Slytherine prefect stood with his arms crossed,a sneer plastered across his face as he thought he had the troublesome Scots nailed to the wall.

"Actually snake kisser,you might find that school statute 1832 states that students who are of age both in the wizarding and muggle world,may partake in the enjoyment of alcoholic beverages in the privacy of their own dormitory,or at suitable formal occassions on the provision that they conduct themselves in a manner befitting such events" Remy replied casually,completely confident and unphased. Robbie gained confidence from what he suspected was merely bravado on his friend's part but that was shaken by Remy's next words.

"Feel free to ask Professor Dumbledore if you're in any doubt,he'll verify it" Remy suggested as he raised his hipflask in a toast to the Headmaster while Robbie choked on his single malt. Vaelith,the prefect,looked to the Headmaster for confirmation and merely scowled as Dumbledore raised his goblet to the young scotsman and smiled at him. "Now if you're quite done,would you mind just toddling off like a good pain in the ass who's bitten off more than he can chew?"

Robbie could only stare in awe at what had happened. How the hell had Remy gotten them out of that? "Okay mate,what in the holy hell just happaned?" he finally managed to ask.
"Well my friend,I know you're very familiar with the thee b's of negotiation."
"But of course: Balls; Bullshit; Bravado"
"Well I added a fourth, Bribery. You see good Albus here has a weakness for well aged malts along with muggle sweets. Late this afternoon he recieved a package of strawberry bon-bons and johnnie walker blue label. I had been saving the bottle for our graduation,but after being out for a week I needed the insurance for tonight. Oh,you might want to avoid Vaelith for the rest of tonight though"
"why would I want to go near that snake kissing prat anyway?"
"Well while he was looking for Dumbledore's confirmation,I slipped a mixture of hiccuping solution and dragonsbreath potion into his pumpkin juice" Remy replied with a cocky grin.

OOC: The thought had crossed my mind more then once to be honest :rolleyes:

IC:

The music was a muffled and distorted to Howler's ears. All he could hear was the beat of his heart in his ears. His fingers felt as though they were on fire as he held Elle to his body. It took all of his focus not to let them quiver and tremble while they rested on her back. He did his best to keep up to the music and not move in robotic jerks.

He caught sight of the smug looks on Remy and Robbie respectively and figured it was their doing and that this little favour would come back to be collected at some other time. And yet he did not care at the moment, he was enjoying the moment and the company. He gave her a wide grin and twirled her before reeling her in and surprised her with a small dip.

OOC[ Yeah. Tis my great return mortals and my first post in ump-teen years... again...]OOC

Kristina was not too keen in attending the Christmas ball this year. It felt more like a chore to her, a chore she had to do one last time. She hadn't changed her hair at all, for it was not long enough to do anything with this year anyway. Kris adorned herself in a deep V-neck dress that matched the color of her vibrant emerald eyes. The neck of the dress was a silver color. The dress clung to her from the top, giving a little leeway at her legs for comfortable walking. She wore a silver chocker with an emerald embedded in it and emerald earrings. Silver gloves and high heels finished off her outfit.

Kris did not plan on having a date to the ball this year, and had to turn down a few askers. But when the boy Sylvia liked asked her to go to the ball with him Kris had to yes, just so she could spite Sylvia. Kris may have found him interesting if she gave him a chance, but she was just using him in her and Sylvia’s game. Kris was chatting with him semi-flirtingly and he asked her for a dance. She was going to accept until a goblet was set down on the table and someone bent over writing something down, displacing people.

“Move it idiot.” Sylvia said in an irate tone due to the fact Kris had her man and she was currently being forced to lean aside.

At the insult a loud hiss made Sylvia look down to the infamous jarvey before she looked at Mallel himself. Kris knew Sylvia’s stomach fell at the unexpected site of him and the trouble sure to come. If Mallel hexed Sylvia right in front of her it would be bad for Kris’s image, because everyone thought Sylvia was her best friend. Kris started pulling off her right glove when Mallel casually finished his writing and picked up is goblet. His head moved in what was a cross for a nod and a small angular turn before he moved on with Elopit at his heel.

“What a loon.” Kristina spat in her snobbish manner while she fixed her glove. “And they allow that jarvey in here.” She said in condescending tone.

“That rodent is not the only exception being allowed.” Vaelith proclaimed in a vexed attitude joining them. He took a swig from his goblet before continuing “Dumbledore has allowed Rembrant and Robbie to have flasks of Firewhisky, while everyone else is left to drink pumpkin juice.” He said disgustedly. He looked as if he wanted to throw his goblet, but thought better of it and took another gulp.

Everyone at the table turned to see Remy and Robbie staring at them, in turn in there despicable get up… almost expectantly… Vaelith was about to speak again but hiccup instead rather loudly, with a black plume coming from his mouth. Everyone gave him the WTF look. He hiccupped again and tiny bit of fire came out and everyone moved away from him slightly. Vaelith was staring hard at the table holding his breath, obviously trying to suppress another hiccup.

“Go see Madam Pomfrey!” Some said rather panicky

Kris glanced back at Remy and Robbie to see the pleased looked on their faces. Kris realized what happened immediately and grinned back at them slyly. Kris didn’t like Vaelith at all many reasons but never really could act on it. Remy had done her another service… and she was pleased. Vaelith tried to drink from his goblet again but instead he shot a small jet of flames across the table nearly singeing Sylvia’s dress.

“Bloody Hell, get away from us you fool!” Sylvia said rather loudly as Vaelith went into a fit of hiccups and small spouts of flames.

Vaelith rushed out the Great Hall with everyone getting hurriedly out his way. Everyone at Kristina’s table was trying to figure out what happened to their ally. Except for Kris of course.

“Seen that grin Robbie? Took care of a prick and earned some favor from the lady.” Remy said with an exceptionally large grin on his face.