Courtyards!

"My mum used to do that, just drink tons of it. She claimed it kept the darkness away...although obviously it didn't do that for very long." I snorted, looking down. I took a couple deep breaths and smiled at Seb.
"Sorry, enough sad stuff." I announced.

=============

Paige walked around Hogsmeade, trying to find something to do. She just left the Three Broomsticks, but she didn't really want or need anything. Maybe friends, but you can't buy those.

He nodded. "You can only do so much, unfortunately. Pastie?" He asked, holding one out and trying to keep the conversation on a lighter topic, though he filed the information away for later. "Oh I know! Favorite pie."

*****

Cole yawned as he walked down the main lane in Hogsmeade, scratching his stomach absently. He had woken up to find everyone he cared to talk to gone, and that it was a surprise Hogsmeade day. Thinking he would restock on his pastels, he threw on a pair of jeans anda baggy sweater some old relative had made him and headed down to the town. His stomach grumbled.

"Apple, although banana cream pie is a second favorite." I said with a grin.
"What is yours? Second favorite too because I gave both." I informed him.

=============

Paige wasn't really paying attention to what she was doing so it wasn't that surprising when she ran into someone, but nonetheless she wasn't expecting it and she wasn't expecting it to be Cole.
"Oh...sorry." Paige muttered, stepping back and moving to go around him.

"Pumpkin, and second favorite...pumpkin pasties? They're a type of pie. Sort of. Like a little folded over pie. Oh! And I really like cheese Danishes! But they're not a pie..." He trailed off frowning. "Grape pies not bad, I guess."

****

Cole grabbed her arm, stopping her from leaving. Realizing what he did, he looked away, tips of his ears going red as he let go of her wrist. "Ah, sorry, I didn't..."

"Grape pie? I have never heard of it in my life." I said with a smile on my face.
"How does that even taste? I would imagine it taste like wine." I said, thinking about it for a second.

--------------

"My fault for running into you." Paige said, and she was about to leave, she really was, but she was a glutton for punishment.
"Uh...mind if I walk with you?" She asked, biting her lip.

"It's neat! It doesn't taste like wine, but more like grape jam. Kind of. A less sweet grape jam. You take Concord grapes usually and then boils em and take the skins off and - well, it's really complicated and the house smells like grape juice for like a week, but it's pretty good! Mum used to make it all the time before the twins came and everything got all hectic."

****

It felt like a weight was lifted from his shoulders. "If you want. 'S'not like I'm meeting up with anyone," he shrugged, scratching the side of his nose. "But it might be boring. I'm going to the art shop."

"We'll have to make some one day." I said, as I finished my meal and started to focus on my butterbeer. Butterbeer, despite being being barely alcoholic, always gave me a bit of a buzz, probably because of all the rich flavors, but still, it was my favorite drink.

----------------

"I would be happy to accompany you." Paige said with a smile.
"I've never actually been inside the art store, or any I don't think. I am hopeless at anything artistic." Paige laughed slightly, feeling slightly less awkward.

"Maybe. How're you at baking? Because I almost burned down my house once; we had to get a new oven." His shoulders slumped at the memory and he shoved the last pastie into his mouth..

***

"Really?" He asked, glancing down at her. "Though yeah, you do look a bit more like the sporty type, yeah? The one in town is fairly nice, though they over charge for canvas, the wankers."

"I happen to be a decent cook and we'll be in the Kitchens so the house elves can help us if needbe." I laughed, before sucking down my butterbeer.

-----------------------------------

"Muggle sports mostly. Don't tell my mum, she'd kill me. Quite literally too." Paige said.
"And I find this entire town to be overpriced. Trying to take advantage of students." She laughed slightly.

"OI, oi, easy on the butter beer there, kid." He laughe, gesturing for her to wipe the foam from her lip. "Y'like that stuff then?"

****

Cole looked down at her in surprise. A Black played muggle sports? That was rich. He snorted, eyes crinkling up as he laughed. "You're the pride of Gryffindors everywhere, you bloody rebel," he said smiling down at her.
"Ian, the logical bloke he is, tells me that I shouldn't whine since this is the only time these people can make any profit. Well, I told him where he could shove his bleeding profits, I did."

"Yes, well that's how I drink all my drinks but yeah, i like that stuff." Kaalee laughed, licking the few drops that got on her upper lip off.

------------------------

"Yeah...you can't tell anyone okay?" Paige asked him. She figured since he told her a secret, about his passion for art, she better tell him a secret. Earlier she needed something to make sure he didn't go blabbing to Seb, but now she didn't and she didn't really like the feeling of blackmail.

"One huge gulp and finished?" He asked. "I can respect that."
Seb finished the rest of his coffee and stood up. "I'm going to the loo. Be right back"

****

"Who would I tell?" Cole asked, eyebrow raised. "Besides, I respect a pure blood who can get down off their high horse and play some of our sports that rely on pure athletic talent and hard work. Dunno, can't really get all that into quid ditch."

"I'll be here. Probably, if I don't see an opportunity to give the Weasley twins some of their own medicine." I said with a smile.


===========

"You paint all of us Slytherin's with the same brush, but really it's not true. Sure we got people like Malfoy in our house but we're not all like that. Sure we've got some Death Eaters coming out of our house, every house does. We just get a bad rep because the big families came out of Slytherin. But you judge us all the same anyways, future Death Eaters." Paige ranted before she calmed down.
"Sorry, didn't mean to go off on you." She sighed, shaking her head before a smile reappeared on her face.
"I throw this annual Masquerade Halloween every year the weekend before Halloween, so next weekend. You should come, everyone who is anyone, sans Malfoy and Company, will be there." She said, digging through her robe pockets and handing him an envelope that now spelled his name.
"Seb, Ian, and Felix are invited too." She said and the envelope had their names on it too.

When Seb got into the bathroom, he stopped and leaned against the sink with a sigh. He moved in close to the mirror, rubbing his hands down his face so his cheeks were all stretched out. "Bollocks," he muttered before he splashed his face with cold water from the sink. The spell he had cast to hide the bags under his eyes was wearing off, and he tapped each eye with his wand to refresh it, thankful he was so good at charms.

****

Cole clenched his jaw, temper flaring up. He snatched the invitation. "Thanks, I'll be sure to pass it on to them," he spat out. "Wouldn't want a judgmental arsehole nobody like me to crash the party, now would we? Yknow, I haven't had all that great of an experience with the people from Slytherin, so you'll have to forgive me for being a bit biased, yeah? Not that you really have room to talk. It's not like you're ever with any of them anyway." His tone was scathing, blue eyes cold as he glared down at her.

I waited for him to get back, wincing from the headache I was starting to get.

=================

"Because you lot are so much better." Paige rolled her eyes.
"You've had bad times with Slytherin? I get called a snake every day in the hallways. I get tripped, I get booked, I get whistles because somewhere along the line apparently Slytherin girls got labeled as easy. I sit at a table in the library and everyone who isn't Slytherin clears out from around me. Slytherins hate me too, because my family is related to He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named and the ones who don't are the reason I can't make friends outside my house. If a Gryffindor or a Ravenclaw were to do something against you, even multiple of them, you wouldn't blame the entire house. But because we're Slytherin you do. And by the way, that was the royal you. You all do it, and that's why I throw these parties. Because maybe, just maybe, you'll stop seeing Slytherins as the worse parts of our house and start seeing us as individuals." Paige said, before turning around and running off, tears blurring her vision.

The bathroom door opened, and Seb quickly straightened up, wiping his face on the sleeve of his t-shirt because he wasn't going to waste time finding a towel. He gave the kid who entered an easy smile, shoving his hands into his pockets as he exited the loo.

****

Guilt and anger gnawed at Cole's stomach, though, like always, anger won. He turned on his heel with a scoff, shoving his fists in his pockets as he stormed away. She thought she knew everything; of course she did. She was a Slytherin, so she was always right.
A tiny wide eyes girl - most likely a third year - got in his way, and he shoved past her, glaring down at the shaking blonde. "Move it," he snapped at her, and she almost burst into tears right where she stood. Cole may not have had Ian's height, but he was terrifying when angry; the hat had actually almost sorted him into Slytherin, but something it saw in him called out hufflepuff, which he was forever grateful for.
An iron grip clamped down on Cole's arm, and it took all his self control not to whirl around and punch the bastard. Ian, hazel eyes narrowed and serious stared down his beaky nose at Cole. Gen was comforting the girl Cole had shoved past, nodding to her and rubbing her shoulder. Cole's stomach twisted uncomfortably. "What the bloody hell are you doing, Cole," Ian asked, voice low and dangerous.
"Don't touch me," Cole growled back, the unasked for contact and what he perceived to be condescension in Ian's voice pushing him over the edge. "If you don't let go of me, Ian, I swear to God I'll knock you into the next century. Let. Go. Of. Me."
Ian paused but then backed off, holding his hands up to show he wanted peace. The tall boy watched his friend leave and then sighed, pulling out a scrap of folded parchment and sending it flying to Seb. He was the only one who could calm the bear now.

Kaalee could feel something was up, with the whispers and the way her Shadows were tugging at her.
"Hey, do you know what's going on?" She asked Ron, who was passing her.
"What? Oh yeah, 'parrantly Cole and Paige got into a yelling match and now Cole is pissed as hell and Paige ran back to the school." Ron said and Kaalee sighed. She put a few gallons on the table and went to go find Seb, who was just exiting the loo.
"Hey, I don't know if you heard but Paige and Cole were going at it. I'm going to go find Paige, I think it might be beneficial if you go after Cole." She said, with a small sigh.

Just as Kaalee was finishing talking, a small parchment butterfly flapped it's way over to Seb who caught it. His face darkened. "Bollocks," he muttered, rubbing his temples with the heels of his hands. "That's just bloody brilliant. I'm sorry, Kaals. I'll try and get things cleared up on my end as quickly as possible." He cupped her face in his hands , but paused before kissing her. His head tilted to the side. "Actually, we might have to cut this short, I'm so sorry. My best friends an absolute idiot." He gave her a quick, apologetic kiss and then raced out the back door.
He paused only to look both ways down the alley for where people looked the most agitated, and then took off in that direction. Seb was panting by the time he caught sight of the tense back, and he put on an extra burst of speed. He tapped Cole on the shoulder, ducking when the other boy immediately swung his fist as he turned around. Barreling into Cole's stomach, Seb pushed him up against the side of a house, forearm pressing down on Cole's throat.
"What the bloody hell is wrong with you?" He roared, eyes snapping.
It only served to make the other boy more angry. Cole grabbed the arm at his throat, digging his finger into the gap between the bones, and Seb cried out in pain, backing up. Now it was Cole on the offensive, and Seb didn't even try dodging the right hook, stumbling back when the fist connected with his cheek. His vision went white for a second, and he could feel blood trickle down his face. "Do you feel better?" Seb asked, fists up now becuase there was no way in hell he was going to take another one of those.
"Not in the least," Cole replied, and jumped at him.
Ten minutes later, they were both bruised and dirty, and Seb had Cole pinned on the ground. "Now mind telling me what's up like a civilized bloke?" He panted, eyebrows bunched in concern.
Cole dug his fingers into his scalp, looking away from his friends caring eyes. "Slytherins, Paige, and me being an idiot," he mumbled.
Seb sighed and stood up, holding his hand down to Cole. "Tell me on the way to the castle. We need to get you to Pomfrey because i can't to tooth repairs," he grimaced and held up the incision he had accidentally knocked out. As they headed up, Seb cast his patronus with the message "hospital; okay and sorting," to Kaalee.

Kaalee went over to find Paige, who was hanging out by the Shrieking Shack, hexing the life out of the air. She sat down behind her, waiting for her to be done. Once she had gotten most of it out of her system, Paige sat down next to her, leaning her head on Kaalee's shoulder.
"I hate it here. I want to go home." Paige said quietly and Kaalee put her arms around the girl.
"I know, but you just have two more years left. After that you can go wherever you want and you won't be labeled as anything unless it's what you want to be labeled as. You could be a hippie over in America or a starving artist in France, or a Hockey Player for the Flames?" Kaalee said and Paige shuttered.
"First of all, men's league, second of all, never the Flames." Paige said and Kaalee laughed.
"Or whatever then. Look, you're so close to done. You've made it this far. Just don't let them get under your skin." Kaalee said and Paige sighed.
"It's easier said than done. I really like him Kaalee, and I can't get him out of my head no matter how hard I try, and I don't know why. He's really annoying and he obviously has a temper issue. And he goes for girls like Alicia fucking Spinnet." Paige sighed.
"I know baby girl." Kaalee said, hugging her before the patronus showed up.
"We should probably start walking back. You wanna stay in the ROR tonight? We can have a sleepover." Kaalee said but Paige shook her head.
"I think I just want to be alone...can you send me up to my dorm?" Paige asked and Kaalee nodded, with a concerned face before sending Paige up. She decided to walk back though, maybe catching up with Seb.

Even though Seb promised himself he wasn't going to get angry when Cole told him the story, he still grabbed the other boys ear and pulled his head toward him. "You said what, exactly?" He asked, voice low and mouth flat. Cole looked away, ashamed now that he had cooled off, and Seb pushed him away. "Jesus, Cole, just how thick can you get? I would tell you to go apologize to her, but yknow, I doubt your word would mean a single bloody thing at this point," he roared. GlRing at his friend, Seb rubbed his sore jaw. "Fuck, I don't even know what to tell you to make this better. I don't know you can make it better. You seriously need to cool down and grow up."
Cole's temper rose then and he glared back. "You think I like being this way? You think I like going off on everyone and ruining friendships? I don't know why you and Ian are still my mates; Merlin knows I wouldn't be after all this."
"It's because we're your mates that we haven't given up." Seb smiled crookedly. "We know your good points, and we've accepted your bad ones. But you seriously need to do something for your temper. Talk to Sprout."
Cole spat blood on the ground, and Seb laughed, clapping his friend on the shoulder. They had arrived at the Castle then, and both boys noticed the wide berth and suspicious looks students gave them. Seb just smiled, but it was a barbed smile that made others look away first.

Kaalee caught up to them and gave them a raised eyebrow.
"Well...I was going to give you a plethora of threats, but it looked like they've already happened so I guess I can lay off on that for now. Are you two okay? Well, stupid question, you're not." Kaalee shrugged.
"I do have one thing for you, Paige's apology. She's not exactly fit for company right now, well neither are you two but I can force my company on you. I can't force hers. Anyways, Paige is sorry she went off on you, but she requests that you stay away for a bit." Kaalee said.
"You're still invited though, to the party. I'm surprised just how much Paige likes you, and if you hurt her again like that, this will seem like nothing compared to what I can and will do to you." Kaalee said, again oversharing since she was still under the lingering effects of the truth spell.

"No, feel free to carry out any threats against him," Seb said cheerfully, earning himself a glare. "Maybe it'll make some kind of impact in that thick skull of his. Merlin knows I haven't made a dent in 5 years."
At news that Paigeapologised, Seb smacked Cole's head and the other boy looked away guiltily, stomach knotting. "I'm really sorry too," he mumbled.
"Not that it makes any difference at this point," Seb reminded him, slightly unnecessarily. His eye was already almost swollen shut and he was pretty sure his eyebrow was split and would scar, so he was feeling relatively bitter toward his old friend.
Seb turned to Kaalee as they trudged up the stairs. "Party?"

"Paige throws this awesome masquerade party every year the week before Halloween. She invited you guys via Cole here today. It would be cool if you guys could make it." Kaalee said, going up on her tiptoes to investigate his wounds on his face.
"That's going to scar." She informed him, probably unnecessary.
"That's going to be a problem for me, girls like guys with scars. It makes them seem all tough or something." Kaalee pouted as she walked with them to the infirmary.

"Oooh, party! I love parties! I'll go, I'll go! Cole," he said, turning to the dejected boy beside him, "you might want to think about going, show her you're making an effort to not be so bloody close minded. You're putting hufflepuff to shame."
Cole made a rude gesture that a Seb returned..
The brunette laughed at Kaalee's pout. "I am tough, I'll have you know." He winced and touched. The area around the cut; it was crusty with dried blood. "Though that freaking hurts. But, love, you don't have to worry about what other girls think, right?"

"Not what they think, I could care less than what goes on in some of their airbrains, but more what they do. I've seen many a guy be devoured by a prowling female." Kaalee sighed.
"The choice is yours Cole, if you want to come, do, if not, we probably won't know because it's a masquerade ball." Kaalee laughed slightly. She wasn't one to hold grudges, neither was Paige. She wouldn't forget, but she wouldn't hold it over him either.
"I should probably let you two get into the infirmary. Want me to wait or are you going to go do your own thing?" Kaalee asked Seb, turning her attention back to him.