Joshua Harcroft had introduced Winifred to the Room of Requirement when he had helped her with her wand work. Now Zoe was her tutor, and she was actually doing a lot better with her wand. Her new one was working better and she and Zoe were already on third year spells. It was a huge improvement, and Winnie was convinced  that by the end of the school year she would be on par with the rest of the students. Mediocrity was fine by her.

But she had been focused so much on school work and trying to bring up her grades and make her family proud that she hadn't made much time lately for her friends. That was very unlike Winifred, and intended to remedy that problem as soon as she could. Winnie had decided to make use of the Room of Requirement to have a "girl's night". She had invited Sophie first- because she felt like if anyone needed a girl's night, it was Sophie. She had also sent out a few random owls to other girls that she was friends with.

As she paced by, the door to the room of requirement appeared and Winifred went inside. It was perfectly set up. There were large arm chairs and comfortable bean-bag type cushions and pillows strewn across the floor. There was a record player against the wall, and Winifred placed her large basket of sweets to share on the ground. She opened a butter beer and stretched out on one of the oversized chairs. "Room, you are amazing," she said aloud.

Winnie glanced at her watch. Dinner had only ended about fifteen minutes ago, and she had told everyone to come along after dinner. Winnie didn't care who did or didn't show up. She knew Sophie would be there, and that was enough for her!

She had just opened a butter beer when she saw Sophie come into the room. "Soph!" she exclaimed, hopping up. "Isn't this just the ABSOLUTE BEST?" Loud Winifred was loud. "I don't know who else will be along, but even if it's just me and you that's fine by me. I need some GIRL TIME."

Life was weird, a few weeks ago Sophie had felt like everything was coming down around her ears. She hadn't known what to do with herself, between Ollie going home and Zel's big secret coming out... it had all just seemed so impossible. The most impossible thing of it all was in the fact the person who had made it all blow up was also the person who had listened to her vent all the frustrations and fears she had had. Consequently he was also now her boyfriend and they'd made it basically an entire week without her wanting to kill him.  it was a feat some had not thought possible for Sophie Flickwick and Figaro Sellaphix (Sophie, herself, had been one of the doubters).

Things were surprisingly good though, not that it was all candy drops and sunshine but she felt more like herself. It was why she had agreed to a girl's night with Winnie on the spot when the fourth year asked. She really did adore Winnie, mostly because it was all but impossible not to once you got to know the boisterous and friendly girl. Whatever grudge the younger girl had held over the scolding Sophie had given her for gossiping last year seemed long forgotten. Sophie was glad, most of all because she hated the thought of anyone being mad at her for an extended period of time, but also because even if she'd been right about the other girl needing to control the things that flew out of her mouth... it was also what made Winnie...Winnie.

Slipping into the room she gave a low whistle and bright smile to the Hufflepuff, hands shoved in the back pockets of her jeans as she bounded over to the other girl, "Did you do all this Win? It looks amazing. The last time I was in here Fir had the whole place set up for broom racing and was taking bets on who'd wipe out first," she sounded vaguely amused by the memory as she gave the redhead a one armed hug before dropping into a chair of her own. "I won't be fussed either way, it's been a long time since you and I had a proper conversation that lasted more than a few seconds between classes anyway - which means I need a full fledged Winnie update. My gossip well has run dry"!

Winifred shook her head. "Nope, the room did it all. I just brought snacks and butterbeer. Because what girl's night is complete without chocolate and butterbeer?" Winifred furrowed her eyebrows when Sophie asked for information for her gossip well. Winifred was out of the loop on gossip too! Which was so very unlike the Hufflepuff girl. She kept up with everybody's business. Gossip was a fun thing to do! (She was horrible at keeping secrets... Which was probably why she didn't have any new things to share.)

"Oh, it's been dreadfully boring," Winnie told Sophie. "I've been trying to get my grades up. I've been tutoring with Zoe at least twice a month. If not more often. My wand work has gotten loads better. But I'm trying to get on par with my year before next year. Cause being a year or two behind on the OWLs would be just dreadful." But talking about school wasn't why she had arranged the evening. Talking about classes and tutoring and all that stuff was boring.

"But I'm hoping if people aren't afraid of my wand, they won't be afraid of me. And maybe, just maybe, I can get a proper boyfriend!" Because naturally Winifred Leigh Oliver was still incredibly boy crazy. That wasn't going to go away- even with all of her hard work and studying. "I promised myself I would find a handsome, older, foreign boy to be my boyfriend this year since the tournament is about. But I haven't found... yet." Winifred, however, had faith she would. They had to like foreign women, right? The Beauxbatons girls couldn't get all the guys!

Winifred took a few long gulps from her butter beer and unwrapped a chocolate. "What about you Soph? What gossip have you got for poor old Winifred? I've been so out of the loop and I haven't had time to do anything. I never knew school could be so much work." Amazing how things changed when you tried to care about your grades.

Man what a difference a few months made - not even Winnie had gossip, and it was because of her school work! It felt a little bit to Sophie like she was in opposite land lately. Winnie with no gossip, she and Fig dating and not trying to kill one another, the Monarchy being relatively quiet and not plastering slut shamming leaflets or anything. Thinking of the Slytherin elite made her think of Deus and that caused a small stab of pain on her heart. She really did like Fig and she really did feel like this time they were better prepared to deal with one another than they had been last year... but Deus was always there in the back of her mind. She hated it but she tried to ignore it as much as possible. She had known what it was when it was happening, she'd have been an idiot to let herself think she was different.

Then again Sophie could be an idiot when it came right down to it sometimes. The fourth year's pronouncement of wanting a good and proper boyfriend by the end of the year brought Sophie back to the conversation and she just shook her head with a grin. So maybe things hadn't changed so much for boy crazy Winifred, "Well, not that I'm one to discourage goals and aspirations but if you looked at guys more like people and less like potential snog buddies," she wrinkled her nose at the word before giving a short laugh, "I think you'd get further. I mean Fig was my friend first... when I wasn't breaking his nose". She wasn't actually sure who knew that she and the Hufflepuff were back together. It wasn't as though they were keeping it this massive secret but it had really only just happened a week ago, and knowing the two of them it could be over before another two weeks was up.

Reaching for a butterbeer she looked at the other girl, grin tugging on the corners of her mouth, "But, for the sake of girl's night conversation, let's say the singular most important thing for a young Witch to do is find a boy to kiss," she paused opening the bottle and settling back in the chair with her legs folded beneath her, "have you got your eye on any dashing foreign lad? If the answer is yes then I want all the details. If the answer is no then we can discuss the pros and cons of long distance relationships and whether or not you want to focus your energy on Salem, Beaxbatons, or the absolutely terrifying Durmstrang. Personally, were I on the market - which I am not so all of this is hypothetical - American is probably the way to go.  Those Drummie girls look like they would hex a person into next week for daring to touch the robes of one of their boys. Seriously, some of them make Kitty look like...a kitten".

"But the only good guy friend that I have is is Ambrose," Winifred said to Sophie. "He's like- one of my best friends! And i don't think I could ever be Ambrose's girlfriend. When I kissed him last year nothing exciting happened. You know, like you read about in romance novels and stuff. If you kiss a boy and it's supposed to be then you get all tingly and feel like someone punched you right in the stomach. But when I kissed Ambrose it was just weird. Same as when I kissed Blake. I bet if I could have gotten Dax to kiss me it would have been like a punch in the stomach, though!" Last year Winifred had decided that it was time to start practicing her kissing- which is how she ended up kissing Ambrose to begin with. The Blake thing... Well, that was a miscalculated experiment.

Winifred was glad when Sophie agreed- for the sake of girl's night- to let it be okay to want to snog a bunch of boys. "I don't really know very many of the foreign boys," Winifred confessed. "But you know- I guess it wouldn't be so bad to date an older Hogwarts boy, either. I just don't want to have a boyfriend in my year. I mean, I turned fifteen at the beginning of the school year! That means I should be dating fifth years and sixth years." Maybe seventh years- if her Uncle Archer wasn't prone to arrest them.

Winifred nodded in agreement. "The Durmstrang students are all so scary!" The Hufflepuff exclaimed. "They seem so mean. Of course, they get taught some scary stuff. It's like they're only here in the hopes of seeing everyone fail and get hurt and stuff. The Beauxbatons girls are really pretty, too. Like super classy. I figure with them at Hogwarts, all the Hogwarts boys won't have eyes for a simple Hufflepuff girl like me." Winifred frowned a little. She had always had low self confidence when it came to romance. All these gorgeous girls from other schools weren't helping any.

"My Aunt Leola says that I just need to try harder. She sent me some new beauty charm books. In a few months I won't be afraid to try them! I just can't wait to grow up some more. Once I'm sixteen or seventeen I bet I'll be super gorgeous. My mum told me that sometimes it just takes a while to grow into your looks."

It was strange how much older she felt than Winnie in that moment, it was almost surreal because all the things the Hufflepuff said were things that Sophie had believed too. It dawned on her then that no matter how much she acted like nothing had changed, that she was still the same old Sophie...things were just different this year. She thought about her short list of kisses, the difference between what it had been like to kiss Fig the first time and then Deus... and what it was like to kiss Figaro now. Sipping her butterbeer she gave a small shrug, "my first kiss actually happened while I was half asleep. It was Chance. Gordic's Garters I was crazy for that boy... but it wasn't like a punch to the stomach".

"It was just weird. I think the first time you kiss anyone is weird though unless you're super confident. I think that is the difference". It was one of the differences anyway, everything was a slow awkward dance with Figaro, trying to find the right steps... it seemed like they were either reactionary or timid there was no in between. Deus had just always been so sure of himself, it was easy to get swept up in the moment and forget this idea she had of who she was. "I think if you're a Fayette you're just born knowing how to make out with people - I mean Dion totally put the moves on Ruby at the Valentine's dance last year. It was so awkward when I walked in on it".

She giggled a little and made a face, her nose wrinkling, listening as the other girl went on about boys and dating. It was only when the other girl mentioned beauty charms that Sophie's eyebrows drew together, it really bothered her to hear Winnie be so dismissive of her natural beauty. "Win, come on, you're not just some ordinary Hufflepuff - and while I sound exactly like my mother and my sisters, I feel like I need to be the mild voice of reason and point out any boy who doesn't like you for who you actually are isn't worth trying to kiss in the first place". She knew that it was annoying advice and it didn't feel true at all sometimes but as the oldest person in the room she felt contractually obligated to say it.

"You're already pretty, you just don't see it. I mean I get it, I was always so insecure because Ruby and Emmy are gorgeous and smart and better at everything than I was - or at least that's what I thought. It turns out everyone is just as insecure and messed up, we just don't notice because we're not busy living inside their heads, hearing all the ways they don't feel good enough". She made another face and quickly downed the rest of her butterbeer before swiftly pushing on to something not so sister-lecture-y sounding. "As long as you don't fall into the long line of girls who have fallen for Sasha I don't think you can really go wrong. Are there any sixth years that specifically tickle your fancy"?

Confidence made a difference. "I guess it makes a difference if you like them, too. Uncle Archer says I'm not old enough to be kissing boys, and that's why it wasn't any good- because you have to be of a certain age for kissing to be enjoyable. But I don't believe him. You see too many people around Hogwarts sucking face for that to be true."

Winifred wrinkled her nose when Sophiementioned Dion putting moves on Ruby. Dion was her least favorite of the twins. He was so mean and impatient. Dax had at least given her the time of day... Which was probably why she had ended up head-over-heels for him last year. "I wouldn't want to walk in on that. And she's your sister. Gross! I can't imagine how I'd feel if I walked in on Zeke or Earnest making out with a girl. I'd probably run away screaming... Or, laugh. If it was Earnest, I'd probably laugh." She wondered for a moment if her brother, Zeke, had ever tried to put the moves on Sophie. He was a Gryffindor and also a sixth year. And he was definitely the sort to try to kiss any girl who breathed.

"Well, I am an oridinary Hufflepuff, but thank you Sophie. I'm sure there will be a boy eventually. Maybe next year. I guess most fourth years are just starting to realize that they have crushes. I learned quite early how handsome and dashing boys were. That was my problem, I guess." A problem birthed from reading romance novels at too young of an age. Even so, what Sophie said didn't make Winifred feel any prettier. She was probably going to always be insecure. It was just part of her personality.

When Sophie asked if there were any specific sixth years, Winnie giggled. "There are a few," she readily confessed. "I think Rohan Graham and Elijah Grimlish are quite handsome. And they're Ravenclaws- so they've got to be really smart! I think that intelligence is a nice quality for a boy to have." Mostly because Winifred thought if she ended up marrying someone who was smart, maybe their future babies had the chance to be good at magic.  "And... well, I guess it's kind of weird, but I think that Zel Trumble is kind of cute. He's a nice guy. And he's so mysterious." She found his quirky appearance endearing. "And since he's a prefect he has to be responsible and stuff. And Gabriel- that seventh year Gryffindor- he's good looking, too."

Sophie tilted her head a little considering, "Well, I think good kisses come with practice. I would wager most first kisses are fairly terrible, actually, and it's worse if you build it up in your head. No one actually has a first kiss like something out of a romance novel. It's usually slimy and awkward, mine was anyway," she slouched lower in her chair, lips twitching with an amused smile as she shook her head. Kissing Figaro had been weird, and then it had not been weird, and then they'd broken up and now... well now they were just them and it was comfortable. Maybe, deep down, some part of her missed the exciting thrill of being with Deus but mostly she was happy with Fig. There was a lot to be said for comfort and familiarity. It might not have taken her breath away but it made her feel safe and a little less alone.

"Zel is a great guy," she found herself raising a rather surprised eyebrow when Winnie admitted to liking the sixth year Hufflepuff. She didn't know about mysterious but he was sweet. It was easy to romance an image of someone if you didn't really take the time to know them. She also reminded herself that imagining people complexly was rather difficult when you were fifteen. She hadn't ever stopped to do it herself until after she'd had to imagine her parents are being separate people, living separate lives. Draining her bottle she gave a contented sigh and closed her eyes, "so, have you told him how you feel? I think he'd be terribly flattered if you did - and for the sake of argument since this is the only Yule Ball we'll ever have it's never too early to try and land a date".

Winnie's eyes grew wide. "Tell him?" Winnie exclaimed, sitting straight up. "Sophie- don't be ridiculous! You don't just tell boys how you feel about them. That makes you seem desperate. I am many things, but I am certainly not desperate!" She crossed her arms and huffed dramatically at Sophie. Really! How absolutely out of touch with reality could her friend be?

But she was right. It wouldn't hurt to have a date for the Yule Ball. And going with Zel would be a lot of fun. He was a sixth year and nice and cute and he was a werewolf. That was so mysterious and dangerous! "Besides, my Aunt Leola always told me that if you like a boy and you want him to ask you out on a date that you make him think it was his idea. That you drop hints and flirt and make yourself irresistable. That you have to trick them into it. Because if you ask them they think you're easy- whatever easy means. When I asked she told me I had to wait until I was seventeen before she would explain it to me..." Winnie trailed off, and frowned a little. "People tell me all the time that I can't know things until I'm older."

"Are you taking Figaro to the ball then?" Winifred asked, to shift the conversation. She didn't want to talk about her sort-of crush on Zel. Because Winifred's crushes were not very in depth- they were particularly shallow, really. The whole reason Winnie liked Zel was the idea of taming him like the werewolves in her romance novels. But saying that to Sophie wouldn't go over well- since she was so active in SAWS. And Winnie didn't want to upset her best friend over something so very trivial as to the reasons behinds Winifred's crush.