[Hogsmeade] The Mystery of the Shrieking Shack

[Leo Ryder]

The sunlight flooded through the windows in the Dormitory that morning, hitting Leo square in the face. The sudden shock of sunlight on his eyelids woke him up. Rubbing his eyes, he slowly sat up and looked around the dorm. Everyone else was still asleep, Deryn was sprawled out, his mouth wide open and emitting long and loud snores. Their first few weeks here, none of Deryn's dorm mates could sleep due to his snoring, but they had all soon gotten used to it. As Deryn gave another snort, Leo gave up any thoughts of maybe getting a few more hours sleep. It was a weekend and he didnt really want to be up this early, but what could you do really? Leo pushed the quilt off himself and swung his legs over the side of the four poster bed. Giving off a loud yawn followed soon after by a good long stretch.

Walking over to the drawers, Leo took in his appearance. The only bad thing about having long hair was the mess of it in the morning. Maybe he should get a hair cut, he looks older with long hair sure, but the shorter hair was more manageable. Though thinking about it, Isabel would kill him if he cut it. So, dragging a brush through his hair, tiredly, Leo began to get himself ready for the day ahead. As long as it didnt take up too much of his energy, he figured he would be fine to handle whatever the day threw at him. Though of course, he could always be proven wrong, and he usually was. Leo could be a little stupid sometimes, especially when he was tired.

Leo grabbed a jacket, it was March so it would be quite warm later on, but it was still morning and sometimes in the morning the air could be quite crisp. Leo had not wanted to spend another Saturday in the Castle, even though he rarely left it, and began to make his way down to Hogsmeade. A place he had visited only twice in his school life.

The gravel of the path crunched beneath his feet as the wind whipped up and slapped him on his face, rustling his hair up and he began to wonder if brushing his hair was even worth it this morning. Leo wondered if Gray was up yet, though he doubted it. That guy could sleep for England if he wanted to. Leo knew all too well how much Gray could sleep, it had taken him and Isabel at least two and a half hours to wake him up during the last summer, they had eventually threw cold water on him, which lead to Leo and Isabel being chased around the garden.

Leo got into Hogsmeade and the first thing he did was buy himself a cup of coffee, before sitting down on a bench and waiting until the liquid cooled. Looking around for something to do after he had drank it, his eyes landed on the shrieking shack, one of the places Leo had never been before and was always curious to know what it was, or what it was hiding if anything. Like everyone else, he had heard rumours, whether or not they were true Leo didnt know. He took a mouthful of the coffee, nearly splurting it out at the bitterness of it. He stood up and went back into the coffee shop, getting a spoonful of sugar, he poured it in and stirred it. He took another mouthful of it and smiled, it was a little sweeter now, at least it was bearable. As he exited the shop and began to make his way down the street towards the shack, Leo took his eyes off where he was going for a moment and his shoulder collided with someone rather painfully.

"..." Leo stared, "Are you alright?"

[Olivia Costa]

A pillow smacked into the side of Olivia's head, and she jerked awake. She sat up and looked around the room, and found that one of her room mates was missing a pillow. God, this was worse than sleep walking. Every few nights the girl would throw something across the room, and usually it would hit poor Olivia. Well, it was no use trying to get back to sleep now. She swung her legs over her bed and jumped off.

Liv brushed her hair thoughtfully, then finally decided to just leave it down. She took a quick glance out the window, and found the day to be rather sunny. Hmm, it still could be cold. She grabbed her jacket and pushed her arms through. Her jacket was still cold from the night, and she shuddered lightly. Olivia pushed her hair out of her face, quickly glanced at herself in the mirror, then was out the door.

No one was in the common room when she came down, and Olivia let out a small sigh. Oh well, maybe she'd take a trip to Hogsmeade today. Her candy supply was running low. Which roughly translated to, she had none. A small smile graced her lips as she walked outside. Most girls went on weekly candy trips, chocolate was addicting of course. That, and it happened to be a pick-me-up.

Olivia walked out of Honeydukes with a bag of chocolate in one hand, and hot chocolate in the other. Ms. Locke was nice enough to give her the hot chocolate for free, because the morning was still chilly. Liv took a sip of her hot coco as she walked, and was surprised to find that it hadn't burnt her tongue. Must be a special spell that the shop owner placed on it. Whatever the case, she was grateful.

Now, she just had to decide what she would do today. She could always see what Gray was doing, when he woke up that is. Liv hadn't spent much time with him the last week, both of them had been quite busy. The thought brought a small blush to her cheeks, and she quickly looked down. It wasn't like anyone was staring at her, but one never knew.

Something collided with her shoulder, and Olivia fell back rather painfully. She landed, stunned, on her back. The hot coco hadn't spilled, and her chocolate remained in tact. Truly a miracle. Liv sat up after a moment and rubbed her back, that would bruise later. A voice broke through her mental inspection, and she glanced up. Why looky here, it was Gray's friend Leo. Olivia blinked up at him for a moment, before nodding.

"Just a bruise or two, but nothing I can't handle." She replied softly, with a small grin. Liv pushed herself up, so she was actually standing. Even standing, the boy was taller than her. She needed to get some shorter friends.[/color]

[Leo Ryder]

"Olivia?"

Her name just sort of slipped out of Leo's mouth. He had seen her with Gray a good few times and had asked him about her. It had taken a while to get anything out of Gray about Olivia, but eventually he had told Leo a few things. Leo easily recognised Olivia, but they had never spoken, Leo never thought their first meeting would be him walking right into her. It just proved how much of a clutz Leo really could be. His own coffee hadnt spilled, it had splashed a bit over the side and burnt his hand a little, nothing major though and he would certainly survive.

"Well as long as your not permanantly injured I guess its alright"

As she tried to get up, Leo took hold of her arm gently and gave her a small, but soft tug. When she was standing, Leo smiled when he realised he was taller than she was. Though he soon looked away and began to sip his coffee again, he thought if Olivia was out then Gray would be around somewhere, as the only times he really saw Gray these days was in class or with Olivia. He would admit he wasnt really used to seeing Gray take such an interest in a girl, he was usually too busy acting stupid and getting in trouble, or breaking as many of the school rules as he possibly could to notice any female who looked his way, and yet he was taking a large interest in Olivia, whether or not he was interested in her as a friend or something else, Leo didnt know and Gray certainly didnt answer that question, still, it was none of Leo's business really was it?

"You uh," Leo furrowed his brow, "Heading anywhere in particular?"

Conversations were new to Leo since he didnt really converse with many people. He usually kept himself to himself. Well disincluding Gray and Izzy but they were more like family then friends. He ran a hand over the back of his neck and gave a small but unsure kind of smile. The wind was still blowing his hair, and the air was still quite fresh and crisp against his skin. Though the wind was dying down a bit now, the chill was still very noticeable in the air, the clouds hung low over the sky and there was one rather nasty looking grey one heading their way slowly which, by the looks of it, was threatening to burst any moment now. Leo silently hoped it wouldnt rain, he hated the rain more than anything he knew.

"Oh," Leo smiled and ran a hand through his hair again, "Im Leo by the way. That sould really have been the first thing I said, but I'm not too good at this conversation... thing" Leo knitted his brows together as though he couldnt believe he had said 'conversation thing.' It didnt make any sense to him let alone Olivia. Usually now was the time he would be looking for Isabel or Gray to save him, but they were probably still snoring away with themselves so he would have to deal on his own.

He could do it. Right? It cant be that hard.

[Olivia Costa]

Olivia glanced up in response when he said her name. He seemed somewhat unsure that it was her. Or surprised. Gray had obviously told him something about her for him to recognize her. She knew of him because she had seen Gray talk to him once or twice. Her eyes moved to his hand, which she noticed had some of his coffee on it. A small frown tugged at the corners of her mouth. She took off the cloth she was using to hold her hot coco and handed it to him. "For the coffee."

Liv laughed lightly at his response. "No broken limbs here. No blood no foul right?" She shrugged lightly.

She sent him a look of gratitude when he helped her up. But he quickly looked away, what was he looking for? Liv blinked for a moment, then shrugged to herself. It wasn't her business to pry, so she just let him be. He seemed to feel awkward near her, for whatever reason. Maybe he just wasn't a conversation type of guy. That could always be the case. It was pretty ironic then, because Gray was always ready to talk with her about anything. She grinned to herself at the thought of the contrast, and laughed a bit.

"Not anywhere in particular, I was just wandering. How about you? You seemed pretty set on your course."

Olivia noticed him rubbing his neck, and that only confirmed her theory. She followed his gaze and looked up at the sky, noting the clouds rolling in. That meant it was probably going to rain soon. Another gust of wind blew into them, causing Liv's hair to flip to one side. The air was cold against her soft skin, and the bite brought some color into her cheeks. She glanced back up at the clouds. Liv wouldn't mind if it rained, she happened to love storms. She would often spend her time looking out the window, watching as lightning lit up the sky.

Her attention quickly snapped back to Leo as he spoke again. Olivia let out a light laugh. "I know who you are, but it's nice to meet you all the same." She stuck out her hand. "I'm Olivia, but of course you already knew that. Nice to meet you Leo." Liv grinned in good nature and waited for him to return her gesture. Ever since she met Gray and had been spending more time with him, she had managed to open up a lot more than normal. Liv could sympathize with Leo, she used to be horrid with keeping up conversations.[/font]

[Leo Ryder]

To be honest, it was a bit of both. He was unsure if it was Olivia or if he was getting confused with someone else, and he was taken by surprise at the fact he had literally ran into her. It was not something Leo made a habit of, he was usually a lot more careful than that. Which warrants sly comments off Gray usually all the time. He took the cloth she handed to him with a smile and a small 'thanks' before wiping the spilt liquid off his hands. He looked up as Olivia began to speak again and slowly nodded, this was the longest conversation he had held with someone other than his family, or Gray and Izzy. In all honesty, he was quite proud of himself.

"Uh," Leo muttered, then gave a swift smile. "Right. I think."

It may have seemed like he was looking for something, but until he got to know someone, Leo felt awfully uncomfortable around them. He had done around Gray when they first met. Gray had been extreamly loud and Leo wished he would just go away, but Gray never left Leo alone and eventually the two became friends. They were complete opposites but that worked for them, Izzy was the glue since she was in the middle of personalities and managed to hold the crowd together. Gray was the loud one who wasnt afraid to try new things, Leo was quiet and reserved, Isabel was somewhere in the middle so it worked out okay.

"Well I was going to look around the Shrieking Shack." Leo stated, "I've always wanted to, its just I never quite got around to it."

The clouds above them were white and fluffy, making the sky look bright white not blue, but that grey cloud was making the sky look like it wanted to burst. But as long as it didnt burst all over Leo, he would be fine. He hated the rain, he pretty much hated being cold, but he didnt like being too warm either. Saying that, he would rather be cold than too warm, least you can warm yourself up when your cold. It was difficult to cool yourself down when you were too warm.

"Yeah," Leo smiled again, "I knew who you were. I saw you with Gray a couple of times" Leo took her hand and gave it a soft shake. He wasnt used to this and his father would probably kill him for not kissing the back of her hand. He was old fashioned that way, but Leo knew these days girls could take the wrong idea of that gesture to stuck to the safest option, followed by a big, but shyish grin. "Its nice to meet you too, Olivia."

[Olivia Costa]

In her mind, she found it was probably easy for people to confuse her for others. Liv never thought she looked so beautiful that she would stick in one's mind. She found herself rather ordinary, neither ugly nor extroadinarily beautiful. There were a few features that she admitted she thought were pretty, her hair for one. It curled perfectly on its own accord, what was not to love?

"Well don't agree if you don't want to. You always have a choice in the matter."

Leo never focused on one object when he was looking around, and that just confused her even more. It was rude to keep staring at him like this, so she quickly looked down at the coco in her hands. Olivia took a sip, and was happy to find that it was still warm. Go Ms. Locke. Maybe Leo didn't enjoy talking with people as much as Gray did. Opposites attract right? So maybe they were best friends because they had almost nothing in common, the thought wasn't strange in any way. It just seemed rather amusing.

"Shrieking Shack? Can't ever say I've been there either. Mind if I join you?"

Olivia grinned up at him, some excitement flashed in her eyes. Even if she did tend to be quiet, and shy away from conflict, that didn't mean she was afraid of it all. On the contrary, when it came down to it, Liv was quite brave. She would always be the one in the dorm to usher a spider out of the room, she would never kill the poor beast. Even at home she would always help little William concure his childish fears. Monsters, the dark, storms, you name it and she beat it.

When Leo mentioned her and Gray, and immidiate blush came to her cheaks. She quickly brushed her hair from her ear and let it cover part of her face, to hide the redness. "We do tend to spend quite a lot of time together, I admit." Olivia laughed hesitantly, trying to cover up her embarrassment. "It's nice to officially meet you."

[Leo Ryder]

He had been getting out of his shell more and more recently, there were times when he wouldnt have even considered coming down to Hogsmeade on his own, and yet now he was here, in the morning, cup of coffee in hand and planning on visiting the Shrieking Shack. If he could only get the fact that he was talking to someone too then he would be fine. Leo liked talking to people, but due to his shy nature, he didnt really know how to converse, though Gray had told him the more he talks to people the easier it gets so he figured he should listen to his brown spikey haired friend and do that thing called have a conversation, right?

"Its not that I dont agree, more like I dont really know what It meant"

The only thing Leo knew was that it was rude to stare, plus it made him feel uncomfy if he was staring at someone so he would usually try to find something else to focus on. Not that he would really focus on one thing in particular, he just tended to scan the ground as if something interesting was happening. Leo took the last sip of his coffee and placed the empty carton in the bin before Olivia spoke again, causing Leo to look up at her.

"No, of course not." Leo smiled, "It would be nice to have someone join me."

Leo looked away again in slight embarrassment. In this moment it was difficult for Leo to tell if he had a brain or not, for someone who was supposed to be smart, he certainly didnt know how to put two decent words together did he. Leo looked at Olivia in time to see her eyes flash with excitement, which of course made Leo grin. Leo liked an adventure once in a while, though he didnt go overboard with things. There had been things in his time that he hadnt managed to do, like explore the Shrieking Shack or the Forbidden Forest.

He spotted the blush come on her cheeks, but he didnt say anything as she brushed her hair to try and hide it. She obviously didnt want Leo to see it, maybe she was harbouring some form of crush on Gray? Though Leo didnt ask, instead his brow furrowed as he thought about it. "Yeah you do spend quite a bit of time together," Leo answered, "But its good, as long as your both happy, right?" What is it with Leo today? Saying one tacky thing after another. "I didnt mean it like that... Obviously... But its nice to officially meet you too, Olivia"

[Olivia Costa]

Olivia took another sip of her coco, letting it warm her up on the cold morning. Once finished, she tossed it lightly into one of the adjacent garbage cans. Liv shoved her hands into her pockets and glanced back at Leo. The two were a pair weren’t they? Both avoided staring at each other for too long but looking around them, they usually only answered each other with a few words, and to top it off they knew little to almost nothing about one another.

“I believe it means that if no blood was drawn, there’s no harm.” She shrugged lightly as she responded though.

A large grin swept across her face as she agreed to let her join him. Olivia always had trouble containing her excitement for something. Even when she tried to, it often shown through in someway. Today, she just decided to let Leo know how happy she was for him inviting her to join him. Maybe he would crack a smile then? Liv loved it when other people smiled –and laughed—because that meant that they were happy.

“Great! Shall we be off then?”

The Shrieking Shack was at least one obstacle that she could overcome this term. The Forbidden Forest on the other hand…well…she’d leave that to some other students. She never really wanted to go in there, but she was always curious what happened in the forest. It was full of many strange and dangerous things, yet students when out there just for sport. Olivia found that rather odd, and sometimes questioned their sanity. Going just once would be good enough for her.

“It’s alright, I know what you mean.” Olivia laughed lighted and grinned up at Leo. He was kind of cute, in that awkward way. Struggling to say the right thing while trying not to offend someone, it was somewhat funny. Liv was probably like that at some points, though she would blush a lot and stammer through what she was trying to say. A lot of times, that only happened with Gray. He would just laugh it off and say ‘Spit it out already Liv!’