[C] Between Armour

[Lisa Turpin]

It was late in the evening and everyone was away chattering in the Great Hall, eating their dinner. The weather was steadily growing more and more chilly as winter approached, and the castle walls were decorated with shadows as the candles in the corridors emitted dull lighting and blissful warmth.

Lisa watched the view across her for a few moments, the candle flickering and sending broken shards of light at the two Knights in Shining Armour leaning against the stone wall. She had skipped dinner, something she hardly ever did, in need of some peace and quiet- To be hidden, to disappear for a while.

She quickly picked up her book bag and walked between the two knights. Then she sat in between them, huddling her knees close to her chest as she let her head rest on the wall. She was blocked from view, for the most part, and she opened her bag, taking out a letter she had received from her father.

Dear Lisa,

I'm sorry I hadn't contacted you earlier! The Ministry has been going through a very stressful time and they've called me in day and night. I realize today is not your birthday, but I hope it was an enjoyable time for you! You're growing up so fast, Lisa!

She smiled slightly, rereading the casual letter and looked sadly at the belated birthday wish. He had forgotten that the 29th of October had been her birthday once again, hadn't sent a letter, a gift until her mother had reminded him.

I know how much you love fairy tales, Princess, so I went over to Benson's Book Shop and knew this would be perfect the moment I saw it.

Lisa pulled the large, thick fairy tale book from her book bag and her fingers trailed over the leather cover appreciatively. Her father had been right, it was the perfect gift.

She tried to ignore the voice in her head that said, A perfect gift didn't make a perfect father.

Enjoy the book, Lisa. I'm looking forward to seeing you over the Christmas Holidays! I'll owl you soon, love.

Lisa sighed. Soon always meant weeks, months even. She dropped the letter on her lap and opened the table of contents in the book, looking for Sleeping Beauty.

[Helia Ollivander]

Helia was wandering around aimlessly, nose stuck deep inside a bronze colored, cloth bound book with dark brown letters that read: ~Common and Uncommon wand materials, their uses and meanings~ she mumbled to herself, "...Rose wood links to love, Olive wood has links to divination and wisdom, Ivy wood has links to Defense spells..." she continued to ramble until she bumped into a suit of armour, "Sorry sir..." she said, still looking into her books, then her head shot up when she heard someone giggling. She turned around and smiled, "Hey Lisa, when did you get here..." she took a look at her surroundings, "Better question: When did I get here?" she made a face and then closed her book sitting down in front of her friend. "What'cha got there? New book?" she asked chipperly.

[Lisa Turpin]

Lisa smiled at Helia kindly, taking the letter from her lap and setting it down neatly beside her as she sat crossed legged, leaning against the wall. "A while ago," she said distractedly, her finger placed inside her book as a bookmark as she closed it. Looking at it she felt her smile fade slightly before looking back up at Helia, "Yeah, new book! It's a really good one too!" She said, showing the Ravenclaw the cover and the current illustration she was looking at, sleeping beauty in a deep sleep.

She grinned in spite of herself, and looked at Helia sheepishly. Then she let out a small laugh.

"You looked as if you were pretty immersed in a book as well!" She said, grinning.

[Helia Ollivander]

"Yeah, doing some research to help a friend out." she said with smile, "You know, a little birdy told me that I almost forgot your birthday," she held out a package wrapped in yellow paper. "Happy birthday Lisa."

[Lisa Turpin]

Lisa grinned, and she bit her lip, trying not to smile too wide. She looked at Helia with appreciation and gratitude in her eyes, she never did get many birthday presents. Taking the gift carefully from her friend, she laughed slightly. "Better late than never." Even as the words escaped her lips, she knew she was directing the comment to her father as well as Helia.

Beginning to open the package, she couldn't help the flush that stained her cheeks with excitement and she tore off a piece of the yellow wrapping, looking at Helia with amusement, holding it up. "This wouldn't happen to be because i'm a Hufflepuff, would it?"

Her eyes caught sight of the honeydukes logo on a box, and she hurriedly unwrapped the gift, laughing. "Honeydukes best chocolate! Are my constant chocolate cravings really that obvious?" She said laughing, and hugging Helia gratefully.

[Helia Ollivander]

She laughed, "No, I thought you liked lemon drops." she said sarcastically. "Well, I hope you enjoy them!" she said with a smile.

[Lisa Turpin]

Lisa smiled back, collecting herself and settling between the two knights once more. Then opening the lid, she held out the box to Helia, offering some, when taking a funny-shaped one for herself.

"There's no way I can't enjoy chocolate!" She exclaimed, popping the the sweet into her mouth. Then she smiled softly.

"Thanks a lot."

[Helia Ollivander]

"Hey, what are friends for?" she asked taking a little white chocolate out of the corner of the box, "Thanks." she said munching on the sweet that turned out to havea raspberry filling, "Mmm, Honeydukes is definatly the best place to go for birthday gifts. Everybody likes candy." she chuckled.

[Lisa Turpin]

Lisa grinned, nodding. "Yeah, definitely." She put the box on the floor and looked at Helia, her head tilted slightly.

"So, the ball's Masquerade formal... Not Grecian, but sounds alright."

[Helia Ollivander]

"Yeah, seeing as neither of the themes are very descriptive I think it leaves a lot of room for interpretation." she grinned. "What are some of your ideas for it?"

[Lisa Turpin]

Lisa sighed, looking a bit glum. "Honestly, I don't really want to go... Formal gatherings intimidate me." She laughed embarrassedly, before looking back at Helia. "But, my mask is definitely going to have to do with this." She held up the fairy tale book fondly. "How about you?"

[Helia Ollivander]

"I'm not really sure... I may end up having to owl my mom for one of her old dress robes. I can make a mask though, it will probably be silver no matter what color my dress ends up being," she chuckled.