Emile had just visited the owlry to send a note to Lotusorder.  They hadn't seen each other in a while, so he wanted to plan a prank to initiate on Alice.  But he required a cohort, so he called on Annette.  He waited in the entrance courtyard, patiently awaiting his fellow first year. 

He had been waiting for such an event, but he had no plans... yet.  He wanted to brainstorm before initializing a gag.  He hummed quietly to himself as he waited on the grass for his partner-in-crime to arrive. 

Annette headed down to her dorm after lunch, their was no flying today. She sat down on her bed, trying to figure out what to do the night of the Yule Ball. The first years were not allowed to attend, to Annette had made a list of things to do. Alice had also wanted help with the Holiday break invitations. Annette wrote a few invitations, still bored, and her parents had just sent her a pair of ice skates.

Did the lake even freeze here? Would she ice skate? She shuffled around, not wanting to do anything in particular, she was  was dressed casually, sporting a Hogwarts T-shirt. She padded around in her socks. She had wanted to try hanging upside down from the beam on the ceiling for a while now, so Anni clambered up the fireplace an mantel and wrapped her legs around the beam. She hung a bit, trying to get a vantage point of all the points in her room.

Shikoba fluttered in through the window, near the ceiling. She hated living in the basement, their was no sun, or moon, or wind to blow through the short, squatty windows. She enjoyed being in high places now, ever since she learned how to fly. Climbing, swinging from trees, etc. Shikoba landed on the beam and Annette reached for the note tied to his leg.

Nette knew the ribbon and the parchment set, she recognized the smell of the parchment. Emile, the last time she had seen him was over the summer, he had ruined Lexi's dream date, she had ignored him all year. Why was he sending her a note. Annette pulled the ribbon and the note fell to the floor, ugh.

Koba flew off through the window. Annette monkied down from the beam with difficulty, final landing on the floor. She untied the note and read it. Emile wanted her out side, something about a surprise and lots of fun. Annette threw a jacket over her shoulder and slipped a pair of shoes on, crawling out of the common-room door, went up a set of stairs and walked to where Emile said to meet him.

She saw his brunette head and rolled her eyes. "Hi, what do you want?" She yelled, still approaching him.

The obviously irritated Annette Lotusorder came his direction.  He hadn't had much contact with her since the an afternoon in the summer heat before they had came to Hogwarts.  He pranked them, turning around their own dirty trick.  It was mean, but justified.  The three girls involved, Annette, Alice, and Lexi had ignored him nonetheless.

The girl wore a hogwarts tee, she was clearly hanging out after class was over in the Hufflepuff dormitories or wherever the tall girl hid.  Strangely, she said hello before she annoyingly asked, "What do you want?"

"Your love, Annette.  We marry tomorrow.  I'm Emile, what do you think I want?  I have called on you for some backup in shenanigans.  A prank is needed to be pulled on Alice."

He stared into her face, looking for a reply.

 

"Ha. Funny, I forgot to laugh, and I wouldn't marry your ugly mug if it was the last breathing one on earth." She stopped to pull a stick out of her shoe. "I'm not pranking Alice! Are you crazy, and haven't you learned not to prank people? Remember the last time you pranked Lexi? You ended up with your pans in the dirt and your teddy bear boxers showing to everyone in the park."

"I have homework to do, I don't have time for pranks and practical jokes Emile, I have a life!" She said, turning, her bun whipping to the other side of her head as she walked off towards the castle.

"Hey!" Emile grabbed Annette by the arm and whirled her around.  "And you were prepared to trick me, as well.  So how can I be responsible for foul play and not you?!" Emile was not going to deal with Lotusorder's crap.  "If you're not going to help me prank Alice, then at least you can learn to be less of a bitch!"  Emile hypothetically covered his mouth in surprise.  This should be fun.

"You scumbag! Don't touch me!" Annette wrenched her hand from his grip. "I will not ever prank Alice, ever, she's my friend, and you don't prank friends, because that's what friends do, they're nice to each other."

"...then at least you can learn to be less of a bitch!"

Annette's nostrils flared, "Don't EVER call me that!" She ran, she ran all the way to the lake, where she climbed the first tree she saw and sat in in the highest branch she could get to and fumed and steamed.

As Annette ran off, steaming at Emile's minimalist request, he shouted, "Stupid Hufflepuff!"  He couldn't help but be a little angry with Annette.  After all, the prank had been so long ago, and it seemed stupid at this point in time.  Both Nette and Meal had done mean things to each other and caused lots of mischeif, and to see her run off like a little wimp was slightly discouraging.  He tore after her.

"Leave me alone, Emile! Just leave!" Annette yelled from her tree, down to the ground where Mel was jumping, reaching for a branch. "That's not going to do anything, you can't get up, might as well leave,I'm not pranking Alice and that is that!"

Nette grabbed the biggest pine cone she could reach from her perch in the pine tree, wrapped one arm around the tree, needles in her hair, sap on her wrist, and threw, as hard as she could, down. "Leave!" She yelled once more.

Emile looked up to the Hufflepuff.  "Leave me alone, Emile!  Just leave!" "Do you think I came here so I could leave?" He shouted up to her.  "And I don't care that you don't want to prank Alice!  I just want to be friends again, and I'm doing a horrible job at it!"  Ann hurled a large pinecone from the top of her tree.  Emile, realizing that it was going to fall on him, quickly stepped out of the way, before yelling up to the girl.  "I'm sorry, Annette!  I'm sorry!" 

"Yes, you suck at apologizing! Annette yelled.

"I'm sorry, Annette!  I'm sorry!"

"For what, stealing my bag, snapping my ankle, breaking Lexi's heart, covering me and Alice with who knows what? Is that what you're sorry for? Huh? Calling me names you could be sorry for too!" She screamed down the tree trunk, climbing and swinging down so she hung in front of his face.

"I like Hufflepuff, everyone is nice there, thank god I didn't get sorted into any other house." She added, still holding onto the branch above her.

"Yes, I'm really sorry!  I was being a careless jerk, and I promise I won't do it again!"  He was desperate, and he wasn't sure why.  He just wanted his old Oulton Broad friends back.  He begged for his friends back, and a silent tear slid down his cheek.  He looked down momentarily, wiping the annoying water out of his eyes.

"Yeah, a pie crust promise, easily made, easily broken, how do I know your not just lying?" Annette dropped down from her perch in the tree.

Anni knew what Emile was going through, all of his friends were muggles, back in Oulton Broad. She felt that feeling when Alice and her argued, when Lexi and Alice had an inside cousin joke that she was left out of. Emile may be crying, but he had pulled out bags of fake blood from his pants before, how would this be any different.

Annette sighed. "Stop crying. Do you promise to to stop being careless?" Nette held out her pinky.

Emile sighed.  He was a little irritated at the fact that Annette had noticed him crying.  "Yes, I promise."  His voice was crackly, but he refused to sniff or shudder in tears.  "Friends?  We don't have to prank Alice, I was just being a dumb git, is all." He would prank Alice, but for now, he just tried to mend his severed relationships.

"Okay, fine, no pranking my friends, got it?" Annette stuck out a hand in agreement. "I'll race you to the Great Hall, their are muffins, everywhere. I mean, like, everywhere." Annette started running. "Come on you slowpoke!"

Annette forgave Emile, but she still might have to have Lexi style his hair with petroleum jelly when he was asleep.