[CR.Gryff] A New Year, A New Start

[Rian Calhoun Winters]

The feast was over, Rian Calhoun Winters stomach was stuffed, and he was definitely a happy camper. He'd made his way slowly up to the Gryffindor common room and when he got there it seemed that most of the rest of the house was there too. Beaming at everyone, Rian sauntered in at his leisure, checking everyone out. There were students sitting by the fire, reading, others talking, some in the far corner already swapping wizard cards, but the over all atmosphere was cheerful, warm and excited. This was the best thing about coming home again after a holiday, seeing friends that he hadn't for some time, spying new conquests to be made and more then that it was the feeling.

It was important to this sixth year to feel like he belonged and the moment he stepped through that portrait hole he did. It was almost like walking through it for the first time again. Yeah, even then he'd known how to make an entrance but that wasn't completely his fault, the dorkus he'd 'made friends with' had insisted on stopping to talk to some fifth years on their way and the other first years hadn't even noticed. Lucky for them they bumped into a second year who'd taken them to where they'd needed to be. At the time, Rian hadn't minded much, he'd gotten to have a different experience then the rest and a little more excitement then them all as well but the dorkus had faded and that was that.

Two fourth years were hard at work, playing their game of wizard chess when Rian walked by. He stopped to watch. The one shouted an obscenity as the other's queen bashed a rook out of the way. Obviously this was unexpected, otherwise the first wouldn't have turned such a lovely pink colour. Rian laughed, cupped his hand around the first's ear and whispered a quick hint. The pink-faced fourth year's face turned from the pouting mass to a broad, knowing-smile. She moved her bishop to E3 and it was time for the other to start squirming.

Rian chuckled and continued towards the fire place. He stood next to the long sofa for a moment, staring into the fire, lost in thought and just allowing the sounds around him to flow through him, before he flung himself backwards over the arm of the sofa. He landed with his knees dangled over the arm and his head on someone's lap. He looked up at the person whose lap it was and he gave them a broad, winning smile. "Hi there," he said, smoothly, "didn't see you there."

[Julianna Farraday]

Julianna had enjoyed the feast, it was the best one yet. She had stuffed her face something she didn't normally do keeping her weight down was one of Julianna's things. It wasn't that she was fanatical about it she just simply liked to keep fit and healthy. Tonight though it was all about the food, the school food always made her happy it was the best no matter what anyone said. Even at home she didn't get that kind of food. Tonight she had second portions of just about everything she could get her hands on. Even desert was a huge treat for her that treacle tart was the best she ever had.

So fully she could barely make it up off the table but somehow she persevered how she did it she could not say. There was going to be a huge work out in her future after this. Making her way from the Great Hall along with everyone else Julianna couldn't wait to get back to the common room and take that seat by the fireplace. It was always to warm and comfy there, after all that food she needed warm and comfy.

The halls were packed with other students making their way back to their own common rooms, it was easy for Julia to get lost in the shuffle but her feet knew the halls well so they directed her to where she needed to go and in just about no time at all she was standing in front of the portrait that allowed the Gryffindors entrance into their common room. One of the prefects at the feast told her the password so she muttered it and the portrait flew open letting her in. Lucky for her she was one of the first ones back and the seat she had been craving was left unattended while the other students did their own thing.

Making a beeline she plopped down on the couch, sighing contentedly. Putting her head back against the back of the couch she closed her eyes resting her head and just allowing herself to relax. After a few minutes she heard the portrait creek open and a few people walk in someone was talking and laughing but Julia didn't bother to lift her head to see who it was. She could have fallen asleep right there too bad someone else had other ideas. A head landed on her lap and Julia's eyes popped open wide with shock as she noticed a boy's head laying there. Her first instinct was to drop him to throw him on the floor but when he spoke Julia couldn't help but laugh out loud. "Should have known it would be you Rian you silly boy, did you really not see me there or were you just so excited to see me that you couldn't keep away" Julia looked at him seriously for a second or two but she started to laugh almost instantly.

[Rian Calhoun Winters]

Rian gave Julianna a playful wink. “Oh, you know me, Jules,” Rian teased, “I’ve never been able to keep away from you.” This he had missed. Rian had always enjoyed his and Julianna’s banter, the back and forth nattering they always did. He had always enjoyed it, from the very first moment they’d met. Rian remembered seeing the dark haired girl sitting across from him at the Start of Term Feast moments after they had been sorted and from then Rian was certain that they would be fast friends.

It was true that Rian had his moments where he wasn’t sure of anything but himself and at times like those, like the end of last term, he had locked himself away from everyone, even the other boys he shared a dorm with. This Gryffindor had always found shelter in solitude and it had gotten him through the worse parts of his fifth year. Still, Julianna, among others, had always been there for him. He might not have seen them – or more correctly been too busy not looking to see – but deep in his hear he knew they were there.

That’s what made Julie so special to Rian ... he felt a swell of emotion rise up in his chest just thinking about it. Rian took in a deep breath and let it out slowly. “Good times,” he said with his breath, and smiled a pleaded, nostalgic sort of smile up at Julianna. “But you’ve always kept with me, Jule-bird, haven’t you?” Thoughts of his brother and sister flooded back to him: the good times they had shared this holiday, the friendly wrestle he and his brother had had, the sword duel he had had with his sister with sticks they had found on an afternoon walk. Things there had certainly improved and the dark haired boy couldn’t be happier about that but they had both gone off before the start of term and he was once again they weren’t there.

Another sigh escaped his lips as he stared at the ceiling, less cheery though, as though a heavy weight had been lifted from his chest. He could once again be himself, the Rian that everyone knew and loved! A smirk came to his face as he rearranged his head on Julianna’s leg. Relaxing, Rian breathed an ‘aaaaah’, comfortable. “That better,” he whispered and closed his eyes, tucking his hand between his head and Julie’s leg. “You comfy?” he asked and hastily added. “How was your holiday?”

[Willa Abbott]

As if on cue Willa burst into the room, flying down the stairs as if her life depended on it, her long legs a blur as she shot through the door way, tripped over a table, and managed to become air-borne. A startled noise bubbled from her lips as she managed to level a hat rack, an arm chair, and a very expensive ornamental lamp, all taken down with her in her plight to get away from whatever was upstairs. Aggressively, smartly-pitched noises were heard from the girls' dorm, and the Gryffindor--after picking herself up and shuffling away from the mess--edged away from it, spotting Julianna and Rian on the couch in one moment of relief from her shenanigan. "Oh thank goodness." She heaved, breath coming in quick, short gasps. "You.. Will never guess.. What.. Happened.." The seventh year panted, head rolling as she tried to steady herself on a chair nearby. Pausing, clearly expecting laughter, her eyes widened and her look became urgent but amused. "We have to get out of here, they're coming!" She pressed on in her attempts to usher them out, as the pitter-patter and growling upstairs hit a noticeable level.

As nobody moved she rolled her eyes. "Do you not get it? We will die people!" Willa exclaimed, trying very hard to contain her laughter but managing only a half-arsed attempt. "S-seriously, we're so dead now." Her lip quivered and her extremely bruised and bite-marked legs shook. Were they really not going to do anything? These creatures would murder them for sure, and though at the moment they were contained upstairs, it was only a matter of time before they would get out. And when that time came--albeit in the very near future--the trio were going to get completely buried under them.

Finally catching her breath she sprawled out on the armchair, brightly-streaked hair fanning out over her face as she felled to exhaustion. We're so dead. She laughed inwardly, though she was sure they were curious as to what she was running from, what was going to kill them all and such.[/color]

[Julianna Farraday]

Julianna had to laugh at Rian he was so silly sometimes and she loved it. From time to time you needed a laugh and Rian was there to help her out with that. So when she looked down at him she gave a huge simile the kind that she reserved only for him and people like him, meaning friends. Shaking her head she retorted "Yes I know you can't stay away from me, these gosh darn good looks of mine have boys flocking to me it's a burden really, but one I will have to bear" laughing hysterically Julia tilted her head back and again started to laugh.

Rian was always there for her and she was always there for him. He didn't put on airs like some of the other kids at school. Julianna felt comfortable around him and he was one of the few friends she had around this place. It was nice that they could good off and goof around without it being too weird.

"You know I'll always stick by you Ri no one else has been as good a friend to me as you have. I would do anything for ya." She meant that whole-heartedly good friends were hard to come by and Rian was one of her closest so she wouldn't let anything happen to him. He was the one person she could talk to when she needed to let off some steam. Who could ask for more as they say.

That's how comfortable they were around each other, instead of getting his head off of her lap he kept it there and even made himself extremely comfortable forcing the brunette to laugh out loud again. Her laugh so loud that it had several firsties looking at her shocked. Sticking her tongue playfully at them Julia focused her attention on Rian. "I suppose I'm as comfortable as I can be with your big head on my lap" her voice gave her away letting him know she was only teasing. "No it's OK you can keep your head there as long as you like."

Their relaxing moment was short lived when someone came flying downstairs a complete wrecking ball knocking everything down in their path to get to something. When the running stopped Julia noticed that it was Willa, and she gave her a very quizzical look, but before she could ask any questions Willa seemed freaked about something. She told them that there was something upstairs that would kill them all. The room was silent for a moment and in this silence Julia listened very hard and heard nothing. "What's going to kill us all Willa?" Julianna wondered if this was a joke or if she was being serious. If there were murderous somethings upstairs why then didn't they manage to kill her, why did they allow her to escape and alert the rest of them.

Julianna didn't move from her chair instead she sat there trying to figure out Willa's facial expression.

[Rian Calhoun Winters]

When Julianna smiled at him, Rian knew that he was one of the few people who saw it. It meant a lot to him that he was that important to her that she would think that highly of him. There weren't many that did, he thought, but she did. There were a select few that did as well and he counted them above all others. Friends were just that important to him. And Jules knew it, and he hoped he knew that she was just as important to him as he was to her.

As Jules started laughing at her own joke, Rian jumped to his feet, assuming a defensive stance with his fists clenched. “Lemme at 'em, Julie,” Rian practically growled, “I'll protect you from all those ... dirty scoundrel.” He glared around at all those around them for a second but then flopped back onto the couch and onto Julianna's lap, chuckling along with her. Playing tough was never easy for him to keep up for any extended period of time but that didn't matter, the effect was just the same.

Then the beautiful sixth year got all nostalgic on him. Rian wasn't always sure how to handle situations like this, where people spoke about their emotions and feelings, but Rian knew that was Julie's ways. He smiled up at her for it but when Jules commented on the position of his leg he knocked it gently, testing. “Oh, you sure?” he tested, pushing harder and then relaxing again. Teasing. That was what they did best.

A silence fell for a moment, comfortable, where neither of them felt they had to fill it with talk just for the sake of it. But suddenly there came a great clanging down the dormitory stairs and a blustered Willa flying down. She looked panicked but both Julianna and Rian stayed where they were. Others around them whispered and looked confused but these two friends knew better. Rian watched Willa closely as Jules spoke. He knew Willa well, even though she was a year above him, so he knew her tendencies for the fanciful.

“Is it that man-eating wall flower again, Wil?” Rian chuckled mockingly.

[Willa Abbott]

At their lack of even the slightest movements--except for their eyebrows shooting up, maybe--Willa mock-scowled, chest rising and falling in a manner that matched her hastily beating heart. "No, its worse." She responded seriously to Rian's question, which seemed much more in jest than anything, before the thudding on the stairs grew louder. Angling herself so she faced the terror they were about to, well, face, Willa prepared herself, watching as tens upon hundreds of pygmy puffs burst into the common room, tumbling down the stairs from the dorms and into the seating area. The room was awash with sickening shades of furry pink and purple, and as students scrambled for cover against the mass ambush the Gryffindor dove behind the couch, conjuring up a tennis racket in order to swing an oncoming puff away. "I-" She clubbed one away from her as it tried to gnaw off her ear, "-told you so!" Willa exclaimed, soon buried in what appeared to be a giant pom-pom ball.

"Getmeoutgetmeoutgetmeout." She tried to call to them, anyone, as she gargled out stray puffs of pink and purple. Why they had appeared in the girls dorm she had no idea, probably some prank or something. It was rather ingenious though, she'd have to hunt down whoever did it and congradulate them accordingly. In fact, she could've sworn she saw a hint of smirk on Pierce's face, though that was usually there anyway, so whether it was him she couldn't know. She was buried back underneath the pygmy puff pandemic anyway. "GETMERGHGRHG!" She tried to say again, voice muffled by large wisps of fur. Laughing hysterically despite herself, she could only think of how hilarious it was that she always got herself in these situations. Leave it to her hey? Goodness.

Managing to pry herself from the mass of puffs she glanced around wildly, wondering how her friends were faring. "Bring out your dead!" She laughed, searching for them in the overcrowded common room, scattering pygmy puffs as she went.[/color]

[Rian Calhoun Winters]

Willa seemed genuinely distressed and this was beginning to give Rian the hint that maybe, just maybe there was something to this panic she was showing. Ri had always known about Willa because she was that cool, older student that everyone knew but it was only in recent years that they had gotten to know each other. And Ri was very happy about that. It meant that as soon as the crazy seventh year turned he knew for certain that something was coming.

A small frown came to the dark-haired boy's face as a distant thundering (the only way he could explain the the strange sound that echoed down from the the dormitories) and Rian slowly pushed himself up onto his elbows, peering over the top of the couch he and Julianna were sharing. Suddenly, there was a flood of pinks and purples as a wave of pygmy puffs came pouring out of the door way. His dark eyes shot wide open and the Gryffindor was on his feet in seconds on top of the couch. He watched as the small creatures continued to pour out of the door way, with a look of amusement mixed with a little shock on his face.

Willa's voice came to the sixth year's ears and he turned to see her with a tennis racket in her hand. Willa waved the racket around a little and Rian couldn't help but laugh. “You tell 'em, Wil,” Rian chuckled. Turning to observe the chaos that was spreading around the room. Fourth years were diving under tables – idiots! – and the first years he'd seen before had jumped on top of the table and were trying to help others onto it as well. Rian recognised one of his fellow sixth years sitting on top of a display cabinet, just chilling there, dangling her feet over the edge and just watching everyone. Who knows how she got up there?

Willa's paniced scream pulled Rian's attention back to her again as she was over run by pygmy puffs. Rian leapt onto the arm of the couch he was standing on, aimed, and then launched himself across the distance between the couch he was on and the one where Willa was. Balancing precariously on the back of the arm chair, Rian grabbed Willa's shoulder as she re-emerged from the mass of pink and purple and helped pull her onto it. The two stood triumphant and watched the panic spread across the common room as people dove and jumped and huddled and screamed. Rian laughed heartily as Will did but suddenly panic set in. Looking around frantically, Rian grabbed Willa by the arm and gasped, “where's Julianna?”

[Julianna Farraday]

Julia had been having a very nice relaxing time sitting there with Rian. They were chatting to each other and just hanging out. Then things got a little weird, suddenly they were talking to Willa and Willa was telling them some weird story about something being upstairs. At first they thought that she was just joking, it wouldn't be a first and they wouldn't be mad at her because they would have probably found it really funny, but then again...At first Rian and Julia were taking the words with a grain of salt because they didn't seem to hear anything or sense anything out of the ordinary.

Then Willa started to give this look like there was really something plaguing her. Julia didn't want to believe that there was something upstairs especially after all the craziness last term, but then there was this noise it sounded almost like thunder Julia's face suddenly registered shock. What in the world could that be? Julia listened looking from Rian to Willa. The words she wanted to say wouldn't seem to come out of her mouth at the moment. Just when she thought things were back to normal this was going on.

Soon a whole mess of pygmy puffs erupted from out of a door. There were too many to count. Julia's mouth burst open in shock. "What the hell" she uttered trying to figure out how this could have even happened. Suddenly the common room was a chaotic mess. Kids were hiding anywhere they could find to hide, people were screaming, then last thing Julia saw was Willa with Pygmy Puffs all over her. Julia in shock slipped off the couch, but in the chaos no one had seen.

In seconds she was covered in the little fluffy things. They were all over her covering every inch of her. Julia was feeling a bit panicked and couldn't scream out loud to let her friends know where she was. Julia thought she was going to end up being suffocated by these little buggers who were still piling on top of her. Somehow Julia managed to free one of her arms, and she threw it up in the air waving frantically hoping that someone would see it and inform someone that she was on the floor under a pile of puffs.