(Honeydukes) Welcome to my nightmare

[Joshua Rivas]

Joshua nodded with a smile at a mention of the third year twins. While he had rarely encountered them the stories he had heard were legendary. He thought for a moment and decided he would get to know the twins, as he needed partners in crime. Pranks were only half as fun when pulled off alone. Joshua smiled at memories of his own third-year mischief, enchanting many of the textbooks in the library to scream obscenities when opened. There had been a string of long detentions until the teachers realised it wasn't some kind of joint rebellion and just a prank. Even the kids in detention forgave him, saying that the looks on teachers faces were far worth the punishment.

Rivas started out of his reverie when she spoke, inquiring about their direction.
"Actually I wasn't really walking anywhere in particular." Joshua said, smiling with the realisation. "Castle sounds good though. I've got some homework I need to steal back. You see my friend got a hold of it....let's just say it's better if no teachers ever read it."

"What did you do?"

Joshua looked over at her and noticed curiosity in her eyes.
"I was myself." He explained, "First few years here I was just another hated Slytherin. When attacked I got my own back twice as bad. But I think that being able to laugh when everything was done that drew people to me. I don't hide who I am and I don't apologize. But I don't rub it in people's faces, and I think that's the difference."

"And now, well...I don't mean to brag but I'm pretty much a big deal." Joshua said with a grin, to show that he was joking.

[Erys Grace]

Smiling with a shrug, Erys nodded, changing their direction some to successfully make it back to the castle. "What? Did you lose something naughty?" Laughing now while wondering how delightfully amusing the homework was, she lifted her foot just in time to miss a curb, which she would have tripped on had it not been for her eagle eyes. Dodging a small child on a broom, she rolled her eyes, but grinned. Maybe the kid might enroll at Hogwarts and join the Quidditch team. She had heard a rumor their players were dwindling, or something like that, so she signed up as beater. Turns out she was skilled with a bat.

"That sounds like a good way to be." Erys murmured, wondering briefly to the phrase, 'you cant have your cake and eat it too' only thinking in this situation you could. Scrunching up her face before realising he was pulling a funny, she playfully hit his shoulder. (Nothing hard enough to hurt or bruise, mind you.) "Oh, you're a big deal are you?" You could tell she thought it hilarious, by the laughter in her voice. "I may be knew but I know how to bring it." Fighting back the urge to tear up, Erys pressed closer to Joshua, to avoid that same kid shooting by on his broomstick. Stepping away a bit so they weren't so close together, the sixth year smiled sweetly, her eyes glossy from the urge to cry. If he kept up with the jokes, she wasn't going to make it back to school with her makeup intact.

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[Joshua Rivas]

Joshua noticed as she changed direction and followed suit, now heading back towards Hogwarts. He sighed inwardly at the stack of papers he still had to finish. Not to mention his stealth mission to retrieve the incriminating homework. At the very least he had to change the name on the top of the paper. Oh, how that magnificent thought made his mind whirl with possibilities.

Suddenly a kid on a broom zoomed past him laughing.
"Jeez!" Joshua almost swore, but laughed instead. In that short instant he was reminded of himself, though he hadn't flown in a few weeks. Joshua himself was a pretty good flier but had declined to try out for the quidditch team. He was almost certain he would have made it, though he simply didn't have a lot of time this year.

"Yeah, I am a big deal." Joshua said, laughing. "And if you know how, then just bring it!" Right about then the kid returned, flying past Erys and forcing her to press closer to him. That simple touch made him smile again and he silently thanked the kid with the broom.

[Erys Grace]

The only homework Erys hadn't done was practise a few spells, but they were a piece of cake, so she really didn't have to do it. Although, she should check up on her charms paper, to make sure it was acceptable as far as her standards went. She kept up her good grades, but it wasn't the most important thing in her life. Having fun was number one, of course. Then came her animagus training, and after that was excelling at Quidditch. Then came school work. Despite how low it was on the priority list, Erys was a good student as far as marks went.

"Oh, I'll be sure to." She replied, licking her lips at the prospect of a challenge. Erys might not be the most popular girl in school because of how fresh she was to Hogwarts, but she wasn't going to get beaten by anybody too soon. That is, if he wasn't really good at something. If he was, which he seemed to be by how confident he was, then she would lose with dignity. Looking up to see his smile, Erys fought back a sheepish blush, throwing away the remains of the blood pop she had stopped eating a few minutes ago.

"So.." The Slytherin began again, "You're the popular guy, are you?" Grinning now, Erys nudged him with her shoulder, not really realising if it was a dumb question or not. At her old school she had many friends, sort of what you called popular, but she tended to stay out of the limelight. Again, she sort of retained a lone wolf demeanor while having many allies. Now it was more difficult, with everybody divided by houses and all. Knowing Erys, she'd find a way around that and use her wit to make it through the rest of the year.
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[Joshua Rivas]

Joshua thought about the question. An automatic response was to say no, but that wasn't exactly true. People liked him. He had a lot of friends and even more knew his name. He was cheered when he stood in front of the Great Hall for one thing or another and people rushed to greet him when he entered a room.
"I have a lot of friends." He said simply, "But it would be true to say I don't have many close friends. Most don't really know who I am. Slytherins tend to see me as something of a house champion, while other houses think I'm trying to unify Hogwarts."

In truth, Joshua was similar to an alpha-male wolf. It was, in fact, his patronus. He tended to run in a pack, one that he led. Having people around him meant friends and people to manipulate, if need be.

"And I guess you're the mysterious loner?" Joshua nudged back.

[Erys Grace]

Nodding as he spoke, Erys thought this over for a moment, wondering if he liked having that status even though it meant you didn't have many close friends. Only fake ones, posers who think if they got into his good grace, they'd get the benefits. It was sickening, those people. All they were, was a lie. Erys detested them more than anything. Sure, she lied every so often to get herself out of trouble, but she was true to herself and what she believed in. She could never change for anyone.

Erys' patronus could have taken that canid form, but even the lone wolf runs with a pack. Instead, her protective animal was a jaguar. From what she knew of the large feline, its very solitary, a stalk-and-ambush predator, opportunistic in its prey selection, and loves to swim. That described her to a tee, by far. Only she wasn't completely solitary, having a few friends here and there. And Erys wasn't a bully all the time, mind you.

"You could say that, yeah." She agreed with a grin, "Why, do you think I'm mysterious?" Was she mysterious? Weren't people like that supposed to be all super-spy ninja or something? Whatever possessed her to use that definition, she didn't know. But for the record, Erys wasn't a super-spy ninja.
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[Joshua Rivas]

Joshua himself didn't consider his friends fake. They genuinely liked him though he admitted it was likely some were prone to being fake in order for him to like them. He was lucky, he never had to change for people to like him. He didn't lie to himself either, he liked being popular. Less for reasons of vanity than of simply having people and friends around him all the time. And who can seriously say they don't enjoy being liked and admired?

His friends weren't that bad. He had a few closer ones here and there, thought most of the girls tended to be annoying. Half the time he'd get close to one hoping for a confidante or close friend and he'd suddenly realise she was putting up a front, hoping to date him. These people he kept at arm's length, not close enough to truly know him but enough that they could still be useful.

"Maybe mysterious was a bad word. When people tend to stick to themselves others see them as an enigma. Sometimes it just takes a few blood pops to bring the real person to the surface."

[Erys Grace]

Maybe thing were different. Erys didn't have that many people as friends, so she couldn't know. You would always have the real and the fake, and the only way to take care of the liars was to not have that many friends. To trust people and only open up to them when you're sure they're geniune. She couldn't deny liking being looked up to, that was for sure. But being in crowded areas unsettled her, forcing her to look for a quick way out into the open where she could breathe. Erys wasn't afraid of so many people bunched together, she just really didn't like it. He must be okay with being in a group, or a pack. He seemed like a leader to her, a quality they shared.

Erys would have strangled herself if any of her friends found her annoying. Sure, if she popped more than two blood pops straight, one after the other, she'd be bouncing off the walls faster than you can say, 'Dont eat another one of those' but that was only if you loaded her up on sugar. Which was a bad idea, but Joshua didn't know that. He'd find out soon enough, if they kept hanging together more often. One of these days, he'd run into her after accidentally eating more than the recommended share of candy. Who knows what he'd think of her after that, but lord almighty, Erys was a fun drunk.

Stopping at the last part, Erys looked up at him, opening her mouth to say something but finding the words wouldn't come out. Settling with a smile, she continued walking again, flattered. Glad to know she was being real with him. "I.." She started, unable to continue, knowing that if she said anything else it would just ruin the moment.

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[Joshua Rivas]

Joshua looked at her, surprised to see her unable to speak.
"What's this? Big bad Slytherin girl is speechless?" He pulled his denim jacket closer around him as a cool gust blew past, then spun in front of her and walked backwards so he walked while facing her.

"Or is it that someone's hit you with a langlock curse? I didn't see any wand-slingers around. Nah, must be that you're speechless." Joshua grinned smugly then looked right into her eyes. Fierce green flecked with gold stared directly at her and Joshua quickly evaluated her. There was definitely a sensitive side to her, and it was likely he just caught a quick glimpse of it. He had purposefully covered it with his joking, unsure that she wanted to show herself truly. It was something he rarely did, Joshua usually used his strong empathy to tear down a person's walls to see them truly. For once he did so to help another.

Joshua suddenly stopped walking, stopping right in front of Erys. He looked her in the eyes and gave her his winning smile. He reached up and touched her face, softly.
"Don't compromise who you are for others. You're a strong girl and a good person. People will come around to you." Rivas said, his light Irish brogue emphasising his words.
"And hell, if they don't screw, 'em. I'll stick around."

Joshua took his hand from her cheek and jammed it in his pocket.
"It's getting cold, let's get moving." He suggested.

[Erys Grace]

Coughing, Erys shook her head quickly, trying to cover it up but not doing a very good job of it. "I was.. No." She protested, her usually brilliant, cunning mind unable to produce for her an excellent comeback. Shivering at the oncoming wind, she wrapped her hoodie closer around herself, watching him spin around to face her. That really took talent, walking backwards. You could run into so many things..

It was nice he appeared to cover up her speechlessness with a joke. Erys didn't like revealing to others her softer side, because it made her just a little less stronger than before. Not by any level physically, but emotionally, they had something to use against her if needed. "No, I would have killed anybody who did that." She retorted with a grin, not succumbing to the pressure of looking away. Erys naturally looked right into peoples' eyes when they spoke, somewhat of a habit she had from her early childhood. To some it appeared as a direct challenge, but for her it was just how she was raised.

Parting her lips slightly as his hand grazed her cheek, Erys watched the connection for a moment, looking back up at him with a mildly surprised expression. "You're right. Thanks." She murmured, grinning. Joshua would have to be her.. Second, true friend at Hogwarts. Being here a week didn't count for much, on the popularity scale. That was alright though, she'd rather have a couple of real friends instead of a bunch of fake ones.

Feeling another strong breeze, Erys this time pulled the hood of her sweater onto her head, feeling her ears feel a little warmer. "Yeah, its getting pretty chilly." She remarked after beginning to walk again, moving around Joshua if he hadn't started.

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[Joshua Rivas]

Joshua nodded in agreement. She had shown a slight moment of weakness and he was happy that she had been comfortable sharing that with him.

"No, I would have killed anybody who did that."

She grinned, and Joshua realised it had a grain of truth in it. Their eyes locked and Joshua smiled, she had the strength to look someone straight in the face. He immediately decided he liked this girl above most of the people he currently hung out with.

They continued walking towards the castle and quickly reached the courtyard. Joshua turned to Erys and smiled.
"It was nice meeting you." He said, taking her hand and kissing it in mock formality. His touch was soft and only a little more than a friendly gesture. "I'll definitely be seeing you around."

[Erys Grace]

Erys hadn't been completely alright with the idea at first, having told nobody but him, but slowly she began to feel she could trust Joshua. She hadn't even talked to Veata about it, something they might discuss later. They were supposed to have a little chat about her revealing her animagus powers to a few students in the Kitchen a few days ago, but never got around to it. hm. Maybe Erys would run into her friend in the common room later.

She was strong. Not only did she have to be, but Erys liked looking directly into people's eyes. It showed she was truly interested in what they had to say, not to mention she had the balls to possibly stand up to them if they did her wrong. Clearly it wasn't the case in this situation, just two friends talking and sharing a joke.

"You too." Smiling as his lips met her hand, Erys nodded gently, "I'll make sure of that." She added with a grin, watching him walk away in silence before closing her eyes. At once, in one fluid motion, she was a bengal cat, ready to prowl the castle unnoticed. It wouldn't matter if he saw her or not, she would be gone soon anyway. Looking after Joshua with an unblinking stare, the feline slunk out of sight, slipping into the castle through a small opening in the ancient stone. Ignoring a nearby mouse, Erys thought back to their little encounter. Stretching her lips in a look that aimed for a smile - but came off as a sinister sneer - she darted through the halls towards the common room. Changing back and murming the password, the sixth year entered the familiar room with a long stretch. That was nice.. She thought, glancing at the spot on her hand where he kissed her. Laughing, the Slytherin felt a familiar grin creep onto her face. Any more of this romantic mush and she would have to hit him.

Kidding.[/color]