Flame-haired Femme Fatale

Rose Zeller here! Future Magizoologist extraordinaire! I suffer from Foot-In-Mouth syndrome on many occasions. I'm not the best with expressing myself with words. I'm always willing to be there for you when no one else is. I guess that's the norm of a Hufflepuff, right? Head of the Magical Creatures and Gardening club here at good ol' Hogwarts. Relationship status: More-Than-Firends-friends with Anthony Goldstein

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Rock Skipping || Tracey and Rose

[slytherinhearted-deactivated201]

Tracey rolled her eyes.

"Actually, it would take much longer to just try things and fail," she pointed out. "We won’t have anywhere to start and we’d just make things explode half the time. I’m fairly certain bubbles and nailpolish have little to do with one another unless in the muggle world they’re one in the same?" She smiled slightly. "It’s not that bad. Just a few thousand books and we’d be ready to begin!’

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"But that's the best part! The failing," Rose argued. "Then you can take what you did and try again. Half the fun's getting there. That's some quote that's supposed be about taking trips, but it will work in this case too!" She twisted her hands together. "Well no they don't, not really. It's just—a thousand books!? Okay, you can read 999 of them and I'll read the one. How's that?"

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Rock Skipping || Tracey and Rose

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"But that’ll put a big limit on the colors we could use, you know?" Tracey pointed out. "What if it was like a color of the dominate emotion and then spots of the less dominate one?" She shrugged. "At least we won’t have to worry about blending. Besides, regardless of what we end up doing, it’s going to take a lot more time and research than the bubbles did."

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"Ooh, like polka dot?" Rose brought he fingers together and began to tap them. "I like. I like a lot. One of my favorite patterns, even. I say we go with that! I'd wear it all the time!" At the mention of research Rose's shoulders slumped and a sort of guttural groan burst from her throat. "Ugggghhhhh. Can't we just...try and see how the end result comes out? I hate researching. It takes too long. And it's a liquid! Same as the soap...kinda. It shouldn't be too different."

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Rock Skipping || Tracey and Rose

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"Alrighty then," Tracey replied as Rose counted off the people. She smiled.

Then her smile turned to concentration. That was a good question. “Well, I don’t think the colors should blend together because some colors might not work well with one another. Tie-dye seems like a good idea but shading would be easier to tell the two apart.” Then an idea struck her. “What if we do both?”

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"That's why I thought that it could be only like colors. Like...orange to yellow. Blue to green. Or, wait, is it green to blue? ROY...G...BIV. Green to blue, sorry. Purple to pink would work, I think, but that's just a guess." At Tracey's suggestion she tilted her head and put her finger to her chin while thinking. "Both at the same time or both in general? I don't know how you'd do tie-dye with shading. But we're magic so I guess we could find a way."

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Rock Skipping || Tracey and Rose

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Tracey laughed, just imagining her and her father sitting at the kitchen table laughing their heads off. She shook her head, the smile still on her face. “I think you two are just fine.”

The girl tilted her head back and hummed lightly in thought. Nail polish that changed color? That was an interesting concept but it would be uncontrolled and people would complain but… “What if it changed to suit people’s mood? So if they’re happy, it would be a happy color.”

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"Thanks. That's one person in the world. No, two. Wait. Three. Four. Yes, four. The cap is at four. But if you include my parents than that's six. And my dogs, that's eight. And then there's the neighbors so that brings that up to eleven..." Rose counted off on her fingers as her mind worked at light speed. "In fact, I think it's just a lot of people in general."

"And if they're sad a sad color. But what if they're feelings are mixed? Would it then be tie-dye? Or just two colors? Like a shading. Like red to pink, for example."

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Rock Skipping || Tracey and Rose

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"That’s a good reason for doing it," Tracey agreed with a nod of her head. "That’s true. Well, at least he has a daughter who doesn’t mind laughing at his not so funny jokes, huh?"

"No, I’d imagine you’d won’t," Tracey commented as she looked to make sure her feet were fine as well. "Good to see them back their normal color." The idea, however, didn’t seem likely to pass off. She gave Rose a look and shook her head in disagreement with the idea.

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"Who do you think I got my jokes from? We can crack each other up for hours. Mom thinks we're crazy, though." She paused. "We might be. I'm not so sure. I've never been tested. But I think I'm fine."

"I know! Hey, you know what we should do next? Try and create magical nail polish. That changes colors with someone's thoughts, like. 'Hmm, I'm in the mood for purple today.' And they'll change to purple so you'd only need to apply one coat. It'd be a small bottle with a small amount but they'd fly off the shelves! We can raise the price to make up for it."

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Rock Skipping || Tracey and Rose

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Tracey laughed. “Weird might not be so far from the truth,” she allowed, not at all bothered. “I’m pretty sure other people do it too just not as many as would be needed for the action to be qualified as normal.”

She paused, raising a brow. “I think you’d best come up with a different excuse for the trip. Then you can kidnap a kangaroo and bring it back to school.”

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"Well, I do it when my dad's being silly," Rose informed. "He loves to tell jokes. Most of the time they're not funny but I laugh anyway. I would want someone to laugh at my jokes even if they're not that funny. It'd make me feel better. There's nothing worse in the world than someone not laughing at someone else's joke."

"Well, yes, I wouldn't want to actually lose my feet," Rose said, looking at them. They had turned back to their normal pale white color, thankfully. "I know. I could say that I'm going under Hagrid's orders and I need to bring it back to keep it safe from...extinction! Yeah! Think that'd work?"

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Rock Skipping || Tracey and Rose

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"It’s not a pureblood thing," Tracy responded before she leaned over and flicked Rose’s nose. "Oops, maybe it is." She smiled innocently. The chance, she thought, was too perfect to pass up.

"And you could keep your books in there too," Tracey added. What a strange topic. Wondering what animal Rose would pick if she lost both her feet….

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Rose's nose wrinkled instinctively when Tracey flicked it and she rubbed the tip while chuckling. "Or maybe it's just a strange, Davis reflex," she teased and stuck out her tongue. "I don't think there's many people out there who do this. Or anyone. Other than you guys. You're weird!"

"See! It's the perfect animal!" Rose said, her eyes lighting up. She hadn't even thought of that benefit. She clapped her hands together. "That settles it, I'm going with a kangaroo. Now all I have to do is fly all the way to Australia to get one. Good excuse for a trip, if I do say so myself."

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Rock Skipping || Tracey and Rose

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Tracey smiled. “My mother loves brand named bags, that’s for sure. But my dad likes to point his glasses at people and flick their noses.” She didn’t elaborate, smiling at a memory. “I asked him why he did that once but he never gave me a straight answer. ‘I learned it from a war buddy,’ he’d joke or ‘It helps get your brain moving’ or even ‘I’m flicking away some of your extra magic so you won’t turn into pixie dust.’” Tracey laughed slightly.

"That’s true," Tracey agreed. It was pretty Hufflepuff of her but that didn’t mean it was the only answer. Still, it was Rose’s choice. "Tiger might not be so," she pointed out, remembering her first choice. "It would be fun though."

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"Flick their noes?" Rose repeated. "Is that a pureblood thing? Why would anyone want to do that?" Well, maybe she could tell her father if that were what they always did, that why he wouldn't have to worry about finding a way to trick everyone and fit in. he did a pretty good job when company came over but in their own environment, especially during Hogsmeade trips, it was hard. "Oh! Pixie dust makes sense! Too much and they'd float up to the ceiling and who knows if they'd be able to be stopped then?"

"Tigers would be fun. And they're cute. Othewise a kangaroo. A giant kangaroo. I could just sit in its pouch and it could hop me from class to class. Like an amusement partk ride."

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Rock Skipping || Tracey and Rose

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"There are also other alternatives, I’ll guess," Tracey added, trying to be helpful. At the question, she shrugged and smiled. "I’ve got my parents watching over me like hawks. It’s not too bad, they’ve got connections and we spend a great time together but sometimes they can be overbearing. It’s nothing too fancy."

"A….panda," Tracey repeated, looking lost and a little worried. "That would be your animal of choice? A panda?"

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"Let's hope it doesn't get that far," Rose replied. "Aw, come on now. You can share more than that can't you? I'm sure you have a painted picture of what my parents are like in your mind. Let me guess, let me guess, your mother only wears name brand clothes and your father is the type that talks with the end of their glasses int their mouth. Right? Am I close?"

"Yes, a panda," Rose said seriously. "They're cool! They're big bears and they're giant and fluffy and if you get them mad they get big and intimidating like...get off my bamboo!" She nodded. "iI's a very Hufflepuff answer, I think. It's expected of me."

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Rock Skipping || Tracey and Rose

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"Ahh," Tracey muttered as Rose explained her story. It sounded worse than some of the Forbidden Curses, in her opinion at the moment. An endless cycle of pain, tears, and more pain… At her Voldemort comment, Tracey burst out laughing, having to double over in her sitting position because it was so funny. It was random too but not an unwelcomed thought.

Tracey sat back up and looked at Rose. She didn’t agree and thought that her friend would look just fine with glasses. Plus, she’d be able to see too so there were plus factors all around the idea. But, if she didn’t want them, it was her choice. Still… “I dunno, I think you’d look nice in them.”

The Slytherin smiled when her friend relaxed. At least she wouldn’t need to carry the Hufflepuff back to school because her legs froze or something. That would be bad.

"Well what would you rather travel around on, then?" Tracey asked, leaning back against her hands. "Maybe you could ride an animal around instead then?"

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Rose frowned. "No I wouldn't!" she protested. "I would look funny. I've seen them! They're huge and square and black and they make me go cross eyed. I managed to convince my mom that I don't need them but I don't know how long that will last. She's a very persuasive person, she is. It's the only way she can get me to do chores without complaining. She's great at making you think that you want to do it. But I'm standing my ground!" Rose's head tilted as she regarded Tracey. "What's your family like?"

"Well, I would but I'm pretty sure that a tiger doesn't fall into a list of allowed creatures at school. Might cause panic and pandemonium and all that." Then her eyes lit up. "But I betcha they can't say no to a panda!"

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Rock Skipping || Tracey and Rose

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"Ohhh, that must’ve been horrible," Tracey said with a cringe. When Rose laughed, Tracey just smiled. "Were you scared that you’d never see again? Or were your eyes fine even after you did that?" she asked, curious. Another thought stuck her. "Or do you not remember?"

Tracey pointed her wand at Rose’s feet and cast a quick warming charm. She hummed in thought. “I don’t know, Rose,” she said. “Maybe if you do lose your feet, they’ll let you use a broom to get from place to place.”

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"You have no idea," Rose said, chuckling. "What made it worse was that i was bawling and the tears made my irritated eyes hurt even more which made me want to cry even more and...it was a horrible cycle. I don't wish that on my greatest enemy. Well...I don't have any enemies but, still, I wouldn't even wish it on Voldemort. Okay, maybe him. It'd be funny. He wouldn't be able to sniff without a nose and he'd suffer and sound stuffy. Then he wouldn't be so scary anymore. You wouldn't be scared of anyone stumbling around with red eyes and bad speech would you? I sure as heck wouldn't."

Rose breathed in, gasping for air after having spoken so much in one breath. "And to finally answer your question, no I wasn't worried. I had my mom and dad there. They helped calm me down. Dad's good with story-telling. I think they're fine now. Sometimes it's hard to read something from far away. Mom thinks I need glasses but I don't think I do. I hope I don't, anyway. I'd look like a right git. I wouldn't be able to pull them off."

Rose's shoulders slumped and a lazy sort of smile appeared on her face when she felt the warmth on her feet. "Ahhhhh, that feels so good," she sighed. "Oh, that'd be a bad idea. I hate heights." Then she paused and corrected herself, "No, it's not the height that bothers me. It's falling from the height I have a problem with. I mean, I know I could always slow myself down with my wand and everything but still. I'd rather not take the risk. Unless I know what I'm doing. But I don't know how to handle a broom."

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There's a First Time for Everything || Anthony & Rose

[thegoldraven]

Anthony laughed at the first years antics, mostly to cover up how much he was blushing. Sure, he had heard them whispering and giggling at him and Rose, but marriage? He shook his head, bewildered, pondering the silliness of young kids. “I’m not surprised. Actually, I think Bonnie had her sights set on me for a while but she seems to be taking the rejection quite well.” He grinned at Rose and squeezed her hand to show that he was kidding. All of the first year girls were cute, but in a very different way from how Rose was.

His eyebrows shot up, surprise clearly visible on his face. “Why wouldn’t I help you? Did you think I would say no?” His heart fell just a bit at her last words, but he kept a smile on his face. “Best friends, huh?” Maybe this was her subtle way of telling him that she wanted to step back a bit. But then again, when had Rose ever been subtle? A sudden thought occurred to him, and he bit his lip. He glanced over at her sideways, then came to a decision. Skipping slightly, he jumped in front of her and put his hands on her shoulders. “Wait. I might consider helping you, but there’s one condition.” He cleared his throat, suddenly nervous.

Anthony took the hand he was holding and squeezed it. “Rose, I don’t want to be your best friend. I don’t even want to be your more-than-friends-friend. I mean sure, it’s been great, but there’s just so much gray area. I’m already confused enough, and gray areas just make things worse. And so… well…” He let go of her hand and put his hand on her cheek, then leaned down and kissed her. When he pulled back, he stayed a few inches away so that he could look into her eyes. “Rose, will you just throw caution to the winds and maybe consider becoming my girlfriend?” When he was done with his speech he leaned back all the way to wait for his answer. He knew that this was a big step to take, and he also knew that he would be devastated if she got angry at him for taking it too far.

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"What kind of condition is that?" she asked. Her face scrunched up on one side as she thought. "I only get one kiss for every ten answered questions? That's a good incentive but I'd be waiting a long time for that and it wouldn't be worth it after a while," She chuckled at her own joking comment but stopped when he grabbed her hand and squeezed it. It was a normal gesture but she had realized that he does it so often different squeezes meant something different. She didn't know if she was that perceptive of him or that strange to focus on something so insignificant but now that coupled with the look in her eye she was worried about what he was going to say.

When he leaned down to kiss her she closed her eyes, her hand immediately lifted to grab onto his wrist. She dragged her thumb across the back of his hand and felt the small hairs on her arms and the back of her neck stick up from the initial contact. A noise of disappointment, a whimper, squeezed out from between her lips when he pulled away and she pouted at him. Lately she felt as if she could kiss him for ages and she would willingly go about it if the need for oxygen for survival wasn't so important. Her face quickly changed to an expression of surprise when he asked her the question. The G Question. She had hoped that one day someone would ask her that and that she would be cool, calm, and collected about it but no. She had a very strong urge to click her heels together and do cartwheels.

She tried to keep a smile off her face and stay as serous as possible to tease him a little while pretending to think the question over. "Hmmm, no, I don't think I'm going to consider it," she said, trying really hard to keep a straight face. She paused, waiting to see how he'd react and then said with a small smile and an accompanying blush, "I don't need to consider something that needs no thought. I...I want to be your girlfriend. If you want to be my boyfriend."

Standing up on her tiptoes she wrapped her arms around his neck as best as she could and kissed him again, taking the time to memorize the feeling of his lips against hers and the warmth of his body and his mere presence. She pulled away and rested her forehead against the crook of his neck and breathed in his scent. It filled her like helium in a balloon and made her spirits soar. "We're still going on the date, though, right?" She mumbled against his shirt. "Not that I mind just taking a walk with you but I want to see what you brought and sit down and just relax for the first time in a while. If that's alright with you, anyway."

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Rock Skipping || Tracey and Rose

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Tracey pressed her fingers to her eyes but knew better than to rub them. She tried to grab her wand but when Rose offered to do it, she thought of the risks. Usually, she really disliked others casting spells on her, even if they mean well, it just didn’t sit right with her. 

"My mother taught me a spell for this, hang on," Tracey replied as she pulled her wand out of her bag and quietly cast a spell. She blinked a few times and then sighed in relief. "That was bad. Never do that if you could help it." She rubbed her eyes. "They were the…um…the ones you gave me with soap, unfortunately." Once she regained her eyes sight and blinked normally she looked over and noticed Rose’s feet. "Quick warming spell?" she suggested. 

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"I learned that the hard way. Only instead I was three, thought about washing my eyes with them because my mom and dad told me back then that we washed with soap and water. I, of course, took them more seriously than they thought and dumped the whole thing in my face. But it's not my fault that they never told me the difference," Rose explained, laughing at the memory. She couldn't see for two days and her eyes didn't stop hurting until after four. She hoped that her story made Tracey feel a little bit better about her predicament.

Plopping down on the grass she stretched out her legs and glanced at her feet, tapping the sides of them together as she tilted her head this way and that to survey the redness. "Hmmmmm.....yeah, sure. I'd rather not lose them before the end of the year," she replied. "That'd be a drag. Can you imagine that? I'd have to hop around on stumps just to get from here to there. It'd be funny at first but after that, not so much."

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Rock Skipping || Tracey and Rose

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"That’s true too," Tracey agreed. Still, she’d rather not have that memory as her first in a new school. Regardless, it was fun and she guessed it wouldn’t be all that bad. Tracey laid back and blew bubbles upwards, trying to see where they’d go. "Dragon racing?" she asked. "I’ve heard of it. It’s illegal, of course I’ve heard of it." She grinned before a bubble popped right over her and some of the solution fell into her eyes.

"Ahhh," she groaned, sitting up again and holding her eyes. "Owww."

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"Are you suggesting that your families dabble in illegal activities, Trace?" Rose asked, her eyebrows lifting. "That's not something that one would want to say aloud, is it? There are ears everywhere! Sssssh!" Rose brought her finger to her mouth and made a hissing sound to signify her to be quiet, laughing afterwards. Sometimes she cracked herself up.

Her laughter increased at Tracey's expensive when the bubble popped into her eye. Shifting against the water she shivered at the ice cold pain shooting around her foot from the movement and climbed up onto the bank. She wiggled her toes and made a note of how red her feet were, telling herself not to get back into the water unless she wanted hypothermia if she weren't exposed to it yet. "Was that the soapy kind or the one we made?" She asked. Either way she reached for her wand. "Which spell do you think would be better? A siphoning one or a cleaning one? That may add more soap to the eyes but who knows, it could help. Would you like to take the risk?"

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Rock Skipping || Tracey and Rose

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Tracey just nodded. To her, it made sense, it did but irrational fear were just that: irrational. She smiled though, getting over it was really easy. Her first trip made it disappear completely.

"It’s not that I worried what they’d say or think," Tracey replied. "Think about it. I would have rather have my parents be there for the first time I did something I wasn’t too comfortable with. I’d rather do it at home where I knew my parents would have it under control as opposed to here in my first year when I knew no one." She shook her head. "Like I said: it was my first year so I did ride on a number of different animals afterwards." She smiled.

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"Or...you could go ahead and try it and have a very good memory to laugh about with your friends when you get old!" Rose said, laughing a little. "There's nothing quite like the bonding experience of laughing over someone else's misfortune, right?" She rolled two rocks in her palm, trying to weight the difference between them to see which one would skip further than the other. She then moved one to each palm and lifted and lowered her hands. Choosing the one she liked, she dropped the other and then rolled that in her palm. "Which ones? And which is your favorite? I'm partial to hippogriffs myself. There's something so...elegant about them. Winged horses are cool too. Ooh, and dragons! Have you ever ridden on a dargon? You know they have dragon races? You can get pretty good gold from them. It's sort of illegal, though."

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There's a First Time for Everything || Anthony & Rose

[thegoldraven]

Anthony shrugged, glad that he hadn’t blushed. Maybe he was getting better about being less embarrassed by her teasing. “I don’t really go outside that much, I didn’t even realize we had boats at Hogwarts! There’s not any boating classes or anything. Besides, how to people go out on the lake with the Giant Squid? I for one would not like to end up in that freezing water.” He was amazed that even after seven years he was still finding out new things about his school.

The sun was shining brightly in his eyes, reflected off of the small patches of snow lying here and there amongst the grass. Spring was definitely in the air, but winter wasn’t leaving without a fight. Anthony hoped that Rose wasn’t cold, and was relieved that he had thought to grab a blanket. How lame would it be if she caught a cold on their first date? Despite his worries, he could feel himself relaxing. Finally something positive was happening between them, and he was going to spend a fun, carefree afternoon with the girl that he lo- really really liked. He still didn’t let himself complete that thought because it seemed to large for him to handle. The negative, snide little voice in the back of his mind reminded him that he was going to have piles of homework that night when he got back, but this was going to be worth the sleep deprivation.

After a few minutes of walking in companionable silence, he realized that he didn’t exactly know where he was going. He stopped, and turned to Rose with a sheepish grin. “Uh, so where exactly is this boathouse?”

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"Anthony Goldstein!" Rose said, laughing a little. "Did you happen to block out the part of us crossing the lake with boats just to get to the castle?" She shook her head and said in a teasing tone, "Someone's had their head in far too many books. You've been sniffing too much of that old glue. I think it's starting to have some adverse effects on your memory. Quick, what year is it?" She shook her head and sighed in a relaxed sort of way. "You're silly sometimes."

When he stopped walking she almost walked right into him. Regaining her balance she pointed in the direction that the boat house was located. "Sorry, I should have told you where we were going," she said, tucking her hair behind her ear. "It's over here,on the other side of the lake. I hope you don't mind the walking distance. it was either this or risking broken ankles on the stairs. I think this is a better option, right? But let's hurry, it's a bit cold."

She lightly pulled on his hand to get him to start walking in the proper direction of their location. She couldn't wait to get there. She was beginning to lose the feeling in her ears. Just because she came from a place where the cold was inevitable during certain times of the year doesn't mean that she particularly liked it. "Did I tell you what some of the first years have gotten up to?" She asked him to make conversation. She didn't wait for him to respond. "They keep asking me about you, now. They don't want to focus on their schoolwork, they keep asking about our relationship and everything. I think some of them want to plan our marriage. It's funny. Apparently they even had a bet going on, seeing how long it would take for us to get together. From what I can understand Bonnie is winning.

"But that brings me to a very important question, I must ask," she continued. She breathed out heavily, having spoken a lot in one breath and then sucked another one in. "Examinations are coming up soon. I'm afraid I won't pass Potions. Will you please help me study? Pretty please?" She batted her eyelashes for extra help to convince him to help her. She knew sometimes she could be a nightmare when it came to trying to get her focused on one thing but he was smart and she could use his help to get a few more points on her exams. "I'll be your best friend if you help me."

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Rock Skipping || Tracey and Rose

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Tracey listened to Rose explain blackouts and what she did during them. She tried to imagine the appeal and although it seemed interesting, it didn’t really…make much sense to her. But, if Rose liked it, it shouldn’t be all too bad. When she threw the rock into the water however, Tracey had to turn her face away to hide a smile.

When she turned back, she saw the next rock skip seven times and nodded. She was going to have to do better than that. “I learned right before I came to Hogwarts,” she explained. “I was always scared of going on a creature’s back and riding it but since things might happen at Hogwarts, I wanted to have some kind of knowledge of what I was getting myself into. You know, so I won’t have to freak out in front of my friends or anything. My parents thought it would be best to do it with a creature that wouldn’t…fly, I suppose.”

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"What's there to be so afraid of? Most of them won't hurt you so long as you respect them before running up to them with your hand outstretched. They tend not to like that. Or loud noises and people poking and prodding them. Oh, and when someone decides that their offspring is 'just so cute' and they 'have to touch it', that's a bad idea too. They're very protective of their young and don't want anyone harming them," Rose ranted. Well, to her it wasn't ranting, it was her stating common sense and information that was stored into her brain. A small part of it was, though. It bothered her to no one end people would run up to a random creature and treat it as if it were a pet.

Her nose wrinkled and she looked at Tracey over her shoulder. "Surely you don't care so much about what they think, do you?" She asked. "That'd be a very stressful way to live. I bet that most of your friends are scaredy-cats themselves. I bet you that none of them have ever been on a horse and you can laugh at them when they freak out. So I take it you've never been on a winged horse, then?"