(Courtyard) Intellect

[effie]

(Blergh, I'm crappy with starting threads.. but anyhoo, this is OPEN to anyone!)

Effie was lying down on one of the various benches dotted around the cobbled courtyard outside the castle, with her legs dangling over the edge and kicking the side of it absent mindedly. It was a very mild, bright day, and the Ravenclaw was using the newspaper she was reading as a shield from the emanating sun. For once the good weather happened to fall in a weekend, and the courtyard seemed oddly empty for such a nice day.. but perhaps not so oddly empty when considering it was Hogsmeade weekend.

The Ravenclaw had decided not to go to the wizarding village to the bewilderment of her friends. It just seemed a waste to go inside a load of shops on a good day, and though lazing around on a bench outside all day wasn't exactly a good use of time, it somehow seemed better to her.

To any onlookers, Effie supposed she would look somewhat intellectual.. keeping up to date on the world news. She had heard quite enough ministry propaganda however, and turned almost straight away to the cartoon page. Just a moment or two into reading a particularly amusing cartoon involving an angry girlfriend and a shrinking charm, Effie gave out a loud laugh that filled the courtyard and would catch the attention of anyone who happened to walk through..

[Nathan Holloway]

Nathan walked down the steps from the castle and into the outside world. He had been spending a lot of time in the dungeons in the past few weeks and for a moment the light from the May sun blinded him, the sound of birds singing just seemed to by annoying background noise and then a laugh rang around the courtyard in front of him. With pursed lips and the permit frown that filled his face Nathan lightly rubbed the prefect badge that was pinned just above the Slytherin logo and he entered the courtyard ready to belittle and punish the people who were having fun.

The only problem was that when he entered he only saw one person lounging on a bench reading a newspaper. Strutting ever closer, head held high in pride and eyes a gleam with bitterness Nathan saw who was reading the newspaper…

“Howard!”

Nathan’s voice was loud and demanding and he refused to shift his gaze from the Ravenclaw who was lolling around on the bench. Luckily for Nathan he had never had to share a class with Howard as she was a year younger then him but he had heard from fellow Slytherin’s in the years bellow him all about her and he was going to enjoy the chance to have a spar of words with her.

[Antoinette Rouge]

Antoinette stepped quickly down the steps leading to the courtyard, blinking as the bright sun hit her blue eyes. A smile lit her face as her eyes found the glistening blue skies above her. Antoinette hitched her bag higher on her shoulder, stepping out from under the surrounding stone patio. A soft breeze caught her hair and pulled at it, urging the blonde curls to abandon their organized chaos. That same breeze swirled around her slender form, teasing and taunting the yellow folds of the light fabric until it danced and swirled in the May air. Resisting the urge to whoop, and throw herself into the courtyard with a definate air of ungainly youth, Antoine proceeded with a more conservative attidude, a quiet joy glowing in the air around her. Even as a young girl, Antoinette had always felt that good weather was a gift: one must catch it, and pull it inside oneself, a bit of sunlight to glow on a dark day. Lifting her oval face to the clouds, she let the breeze and sun play across her features, dancing in that twilight zone between goose bumps and borrowed warmth.

Although today was a Hogsmead day, Antoinette had elected to stay behind. She loved Hogsmead, with its shops and air of bustling hospitality. But there was something about Hogwarts, empty and full of warm, summer light, that drew her in like a moth to flame. Walking the halls, one felt as though one was being allowed to hear a tantalizing secret, one that made you smile that smile of one who knows what they should not.

So far, Antoinette had seen no one, and was not unhappy with this. However much she loved to socialize, she would never forget the part of her that called out to that quiet peace Hogwart's seemed to bring. Talking and laughing were just as important, but time alone was like a harsh wind after a pouring rain, leaving her feeling fress, exfoliated, and glistening.

It had been a morning of reflections, but now, Antoinette was bored. After wandering the halls for a good part of the day, she was on the prowl for entertainment. She had flipped idlely through all her books, discarding one after another in a lazy heap on her bed. Several letters lay, abandoned, on her desk, the ink still wet with news and gossip. Finally, she had established that nothing in her dorm room, or even common room, was very interesting, and had stopped only to snag her bag before scampering from the room in search of something better. So far, the highlight of the morning had been a lively chat with Nearly Headless Nick. As it turned out, Peeves had been planning a rather elaborate joke on the castle: as elaborate as it ever got with an immature ghost. He had managed to hide in a Suit of Armour to follow people around the castle, freezing whenever they turned around. Several first year Hufflepuffs had been reduced to tears, sure they were loosing their minds. After a good chuckle at the never ending antics of a poltergeist, they had parted ways, and Antoine had been left once again in a spot of complete and total boredom. It was then that she had glanced out the windows, and been so entranced with the lovely weather that she had popped outdoors at the first opportunity.

Although the weather was as wonderful as the view from the window had promised, Antoinette was no closer to any sort of fun then she had been before. Surveying the courtyard, she had just decided to wander on down to the lake for a romp with the Giant Squid when a loud laugh had startled her into dropping her bag. With a curious glance in the direction of the noise, Antoinette knelt to gather her belongings, placing then gently back in the scarlet, leather bag. Just as she was placing her quills back in their pouch, another noise startled her. "Howard!" The shout echoed across the empty grounds, and Antoinette stood, pushing her blonde curls out of her eyes. As she stepped out onto the grass, two figures came into view: a girl, lying on a bench, and a boy, standing before with with a rather unattractive look upon his face. With a smile, Antoinette stepped forward.
"And here I was, thinking I had the castle to myself."

[effie]

A booming voice cut off Effie's laughter immediately, and she lowered her paper slightly to glance at the owner of the voice out of the corner of her eye. 'Holloway.' She merely said, a faint smile creeping onto her lips as her gaze returned to the paper in a purposely unphased manner.

She obviously knew the older Slytherin, almost everyone knew who the perfects were around the school, particularly the ones who strutted around like they owned the place. The Ravenclaw had been quite surprised he knew her name however.. then again, though she tried to be one for generally keeping out of trouble, she had had her fair share of run ins with the slytherins in her year, and he had no doubt heard a few things about it.

His eyes stayed fixed on her, and she flipped a page casually as if she had all the time in the world. Finally, Effie lowered the paper slightly again and turned to him with a look of perfectly put on innocence. 'Oh, did you want something?' She said it as if she had only just realised, knowing all too well he wouldn't have marched over so confidently for no reason.

It was then that another voice sounded, breaking what felt like was becoming a bit of a staring out contest. Effie gave Antoinette a smile, being a Gryffindor that she had shared various lessons with over the years, though she had yet to get to know well. 'I know what you mean.' The Ravenclaw replied to her, moving herself to sit on the bench properly and smirking as she shot a glance in Nathan's direction.

[Antoinette Rouge]

Antoinette followed the Ravenclaw's gaze, turning her attention to the Slytherin. The prefect badge on his chest gleamed in the bright light, and Antoinette raised her eyebrows at it. Antoinette had so far managed to keep out of trouble this year, excepting one particularly nasty incident involving a pair rather viscious tap shoes. Other than that though, Antoinette had managed to keep a pretty low profile, as far as trouble-makers went. Still, it never hurt to be wary of a prefect. Especially a Slytherin prefect. And especially a Slytherin prefect who was standing in the courtyard with a particularlynasty expression on his face. Taking in the measure of this boy, Antoinette waited, as Effie was waiting, for the impending explosion. She resisted the urge to ask the boy if he needed help pulling that particularly large pole out of his- well, you know. Stifling a smile, she turned back to the Ravenclaw, glancing down at the newspaper clutched in her hands.

"Are those the comics? Very nice. I always loved the strip called...wait, what was it? It something like Nittler the Kneazle." Her blue eyes swept the page, and when she saw the comic, she smiled. "Yup, thats the one."

Antoinette hadn't read the comics in ages, but she had once been quite the addict. Growing up, her father and her and bonded over little things, like crosswords, museums, and the occasional round of frisbee. Comics had been one of those Sunday morning rituals that had seemed nearly as important as the election of the next Prime Minister of Britain. Of course, those were Muggle comics, but the concept was the same. When Antoinette had discovered that wizard comics moved, she had immediately sent her father several papers.

Thinking of this, those sacred Sunday mornings, a little pang of homesickness struck a cord, deep inside her. Pushing it away-surely, a sixth year ought to be old enough to get over it-she turned her attention back to the glowering Slytherin.

[Erys Grace]

Either Holloway wasn't a prefect anymore, or there were two prefects strolling the grounds, one being Miss Erys Grace. But they didn't know it was her, maybe, unless they recognised her in cat form. The bengal strode confidently towards them, stopping short of Holloway before slithering back into human form. Surprise? Shocked expressions? Doubtful. The presence of animagi had skyrocketted at this school. Why, back when she was younger it was just her and a measely few others. But now.. Tsk tsk. Weren't there rules or something?

Striding with a catlike gait towards the trio of students - her prefect's badge pinned inside her robes - the Slytherin finished her approach, drawn by her curiosity at why a fellow house mate would be shouting some Ravenclaw chick's name. Had she done something to bother him? If that was the case, Erys wouldn't hesitate to provide him aid. Thats what you do in a house assaulted by prejudice; you stick together.

Almost beside Nathan now, Erys cocked her head to the side, looking up at him, "Problem?" Smiling pleasantly, the animagus glanced at the other two, the contentedness on her face melting somewhat at the sight of them. Crossing her arms over her chest, she wondered briefly if they recognised yet another prefect. Not many knew her to be one, but people talked.. They sang like canaries to keep out of trouble, as it couldn't hurt warning their friends. Ah, well. If the girlies over there knew, then all the better to them. If not.. Well, this afternoon might shape up to be more entertaining than she had first thought.[/color]