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[Corrine Lagos]

Corrine lifted her feet out of the water, laughing to herself at how pruned they were. She'd had them in the water, kicking her feet slowly and effortlessly for some time as she'd sat with a textbook on her lap. She was supposed to be studying, but Corrine hadn't accomplished too much even though she'd been sitting there for nearly an hour. She wasn't too bothered by this, enjoying the soft breeze and beautiful day far more because she wasn't studying. It was almost time to head in, her stomach telling her that supper was near. Well, that and the sun beginning its dip in the sky. Lifting her wand, Corrine cast the bluebells flame spell just because she could, watching the sunlight and the blue flame reflect off the water. It was so pretty that she knew that she'd be here for a few more minutes. At least.

 

[Rose Holland]

Sometimes Rose just liked to wander around outside without a real purpose. Today was one of those times. She walked to the lake, wondering if there was anything interesting happening there. To her surprise, she actually saw a girl she knew. Maybe there really was something interesting going on here! She hadn't talked to Corrine much yet, but she knew the girl was friends with Rory. A friend of Rory's was a friend of Rose's, as far as she was concerned. She watched the girl lift her wand and cast blue flames. It looked very pretty! Rose couldn't be quiet for any longer. "Wow, that's pretty awesome." She said to Corrine, sitting down on the grass. Unlike the other girl, she didn't really feel like dangling her feet in the water. Who knew what could grab you from there.
"Are you going to burn your textbook with that?" It seemed almost logical to Rose. Why else would she have it in her lap while casting flames? She smiled. "That's a pretty neat spell, I don't think I've ever used it." She was actually pretty sure she hadn't. Maybe Corrine could show her? Fire would be useful. And more importantly: fun.

 

[Corrine Lagos]

"Thanks" Corrine said, her smile growing when she recognized the girl before her as one of her roommates. Corrine liked them all even if she didn't talk to them a whole lot. There were just so many of them with big personalities that Corrine was usual content with sitting back and listening and throwing in a word or two here and there. Hearing Rose's next words made Corrine giggle. "Oh Merlin, that is a great idea. Why didn't I think of that?" She giggled again. "It's called something like the blue flame spell, I think. I just think it's pretty to look at" she said with a small shrug.

 

[Rose Holland]

Rose watched the flame for a moment as she listened to Corrine talk. She had a thing for fire, a thing that would probably have worried her parents a lot more if they hadn't been too preoccupied with her sisters thing for explosions. "It really is pretty to look at." She said with a smile. "I like that its blue. I think that means its hotter than normal fire. It's smart of you to do this by the lake so you don't set the whole grounds on fire by accident." She glanced at the other girl, wondering why they hadn't talked much yet. "You're friends with Rory, right?" She asked with a smile. "I think she told me about how she went to the kitchens with you. I mean, she practically lives in those kitchens, but still."

 

[Corrine Lagos]

"Oh, it only burns whatever goes on top of it. And clothes" Corrine said with a small shrug. That's what her brother had told her anyway. There was always the chance he'd been lying to her. She undid the spell, the flames slowly withering away as she listened to Rose talk. They shared classes, a common room, and more importantly, a bedroom, but she hadn't really spoken to her one on one before today. Corrine nodded her head, smiling widely and revealing the gap between her teeth. She tightened her smile as soon as she realized. "Oh, Merlin. I can't believe we didn't get caught. Vex had it in for us that night." Corrine giggled and then continued, "It was a blast."

 

[Rose Holland]

Rose nods. "I see." She said softly. "So would it hurt if I touched it?" She held out a finger as if to try it before the flames disappeared. She shrugged, that was probably for the best. She listened intently to Corrine's account of the kitchen incident. "I can't believe you got caught by Vex! He sounds hilarious." She grinned. "Though maybe less so when you're the target. I've only been caught by professors so far, TWICE! It's not fair. Am I extremely loud or something?" She sort of was, she knew, but not when she was sneaking out at night. Unless she was and just didn't realize it. Maybe she should ask Rory. "We got caught right outside the common room the other day, and Harley and Rory ran away because the professor told them he didn't know our names. I think he figured them out though because we lost points after."

 

[Corrine Lagos]

Corrine made a face. She didn't think Vex was that awesome. "He slimed me!" she exclaimed, though she could see a little of the amusement in that especially since they'd managed to get away with it in spite of the poltergeist's efforts. Listening to Rose, Corrine clapped a hand to her mouth to cover her giggles. The boldness of her roommates was inspiring. "They did not" she replied in a hushed tone, loving the story she was hearing. "That sounds so fun. Why didn't you run?" she asked curious. She wasn't sure she would have been bold enough to run either.

 

[Rose Holland]

Rose laughed. "Did he? What was that like?" She tilted her head and frowned. "Do you think if you ask him nicely he'll slime someone else for you? Like someone you don't like?" Rose paused. "I don't know who I would ask hom to, honestly. I don't have many people I dislike really. Though Odette is a piece of work." Rose had never actually talked to the blonde but she had heard plenty of stories from her friends.

Rose giggled at Corrine's total shock. "They did! I just didn't really react fast enough. I also felt sort of bad for the professor! He said it was his first time catching students and they just ran off!" She laughed. "He sent me to go back to the common room too, though. So it didn't matter that much in the end, except I lost a few less points than they did." She shrugged. "I don't care that much about points, though. We're doomed to lose this year anyway."

 

[Corrine Lagos]

Corrine thought about it for a second and then replied, "Wet." It had been pretty disgusting, but thankfully Podrey the House Elf had helped out with that. Not that she think he or Vex would be doing any favors for her ever. Shaking her head, Corrine giggled. "I don't think so. Vex didn't look very happy that we'd told on him to the house elf. I'm kind of trying to avoid seeing him ever again" she replied, not sure what he would do and not sure she wanted to risk finding out. Odette was a piece of work from what she'd heard, but she wasn't sure she'd want to sic Vex on anyone.

Listening to the story, Corrine's blue eyes widened. She wished she had seen that. "Oh my! I guess he won't be looking to bust any students any time soon" she laughed and then nodded her head. "Yea, we should all just go crazy since we're losing anyway" she wiggled her eyebrows, wondering what other mischief she might get up to this year. It made sense to her to get any trouble out of the way, so she could start fresh next year when they might have a chance again.

 

[Rose Holland]

Rose laughed. "Vex and a house elf in one day? Sounds eventful. How did Rory react?" She couldn't imagine the redhead being very happy about being slimed by a poltergeist. Rose wished she could have been there. "I can understand that you're avoiding him, but I'd love to meet him sometime!" She smiled. The story was funny, and she hoped she could have a fun adventure with Corrine sometime.

Rose laughed again at Corrine's comment about the professor. Honestly, she had felt bad about the whole thing. The man had seemed nice to her, and they had been a lot more trouble. The idea of going completely overboard with pranks and rule breaking because Gryffindor was losing anyway was a fun one. Though Rose wouldn't have let winning stop her from having fun either. "I think that's probably why we're losing. Because most of us find that an awesome idea." She smiled. "I guess us lions care more about mischief than about winning a meaningless contest that's meant to make us behave well and do our homework."

 

[Corrine Lagos]

Corrine nodded her head. It had been such an adventure! "Ooh, she was mad at Vex. All we wanted was some pie and he ruined everything!" she exclaimed easily. She'd been pretty mad about not getting pie at the time. Now, it was just part of the story.

"I dunno. I kind of hope we at least win once before we graduate. I like the whole banners and decorations to end the term" she admitted. And the winning. Corrine liked to win, and she hated hearing the other houses laugh at how far behind they were. It was one thing for the Gryffindors to joke about it themselves, but another for the rest of the school to do it.

 

[Rose Holland]

This talk about pie made Rose want some, and she smiled at the thought. "Pie is tasty. I can't blame you for trying to get some."She wanted to go to the kitchens now, maybe it was a fun thing to do next semester. "Maybe we could go to the kitchen together sometime! I want pie! And what are the odds that Vex would be there again? I'm sure he' d be tormenting someone else by then."

Rose hesitated when Corrine said she would hope they won once. It really was something Rose didn't really care about, but she also didn't want to ruin it for anyone else. She hadn't really considered it like that before. "Well, apparently Gryffindor wins quite often so I'm sure it'll happen someday! " She said with a smile. "In fact, I heard we won the year before last, so before we came to this school." She giggled. "Maybe us coming here didn't help, to be fair. Rory and Harley get into so much trouble!" She shrugged. "Maybe they can be less adventurous for a year sometime and then we'll win." She doubted it, but she hoped they would win anyway sometime so Corrine would get her decorations.

 

[Corrine Lagos]

Corrine nodded her head enthusiastically. "Yes, we should!" Her roommate's logic made absolute sense to her. She'd run into Vex once, so the chances she'd run into him again in the same spot had to be low, right? Of course it had to be. There was no way she'd run into him again there.

Smiling, Corrine could see that Rose thought it was important to her for the Gryffindors to get a win. It was just something she wanted to see happen, but the twelve year old wasn't sure she'd be so helpful in actually making it happen. She wasn't exactly the most well behaved Gryffindor either with her sneaking out and about. "We're the jinx!" she exclaimed with a laugh, not even realizing that the Gryffindors had won before they'd started in the school.