Hogwarts Lake
3 ish in the afternoon

It was snowing, why the hell was Waverly[1] outside?! Oh, right, because down by the lake was the place she was most likely to find Rayven and after a long day of trying to catch up with people and not having a moment to gather her thoughts she wanted to find the Hufflepuff and offer her congratulations on making Prefect. If there was anyone who was really deserving of the title it was Ray. She still wasn't sure how she felt about Gigi making Prefect; it bothered her but what was she going to do about it?

If the other girl proved as unfit and biased in the role as Waverly thought she might then, well, she'd get it taken away and it'd be up for grabs again. It was the one truly Slytherin like impulse that Waverly had, she would not falter one bit watching a housemate and friend fall from grace if it meant she could snatch up the honor. Roh wasn't totally sure what it said about her, or maybe about her desire to please her mother Zora, but she wasn't going to analyze it because she was freezing her bum off!

In each hand she carried a lidded cup of hot cocoa; a good on ya, mate kind of gift for the Hufflepuff. Of course her legs were freezing, despite heavy tights and good boots; and she worried she might drop both cups before ever finding the other girl. Her teeth chattered as she made her way down to the lakeside looking for the dreadlock'd sixth year. People might have thought it strange, the friendship that had formed between the Snake and the Badger, but it was just sort of proof positive that Waverly lived by her belief that there were good people and assholes everywhere.

Rayven just so happened to be good people; who also happened to be in Hufflepuff. "Oy! S0rin, you're blonde and it's snowing, not sure I'm going to find you mate. Call out, or summat yeah? I don't want to accidentally walk into the water," Waverly's voice carried down the path, as she listened for the other girl. She really hoped there was not some red noised first year who wanted to have a snowball fight. Despite having spent the last six winters in Scotland, and being born in Lodnon, Roh would insist until the day she died she was a hot house flower. She needed warmth to survive, like a lizard... or a snake, whatever.

1.	wearing, with the adition of a heavy coat

Rayven had gone outside to relax a bit. It was the first day back to school and she felt like she needed to escape the crowded hallways. As happy as she was to be at school, all the visiting students and professors had the school a little too crowded for her. She didn't like being inside all the time anyway. She needed to reconnect and be able to breath for a moment. The snow didn't bother her at all. She liked it. It was just colder rain. She had gone over to the lake and sat by the edge. She debated taking her shoes off and sticking her feet in the water, but she thought that may be a little too cold for her. She pulled her cape tighter around her and looked up, letting the snowflakes land softly on her face and melt at her warmth.

"Oy! S0rin, you're blonde and it's snowing, not sure I'm going to find you mate. Call out, or summat yeah? I don't want to accidentally walk into the water."

Rayven laughed, hearing Roh call for her. She liked Roh. She wasn't like the other Slytherin girls. She was actually nice and not too stuck up. Not that Rayven had anything against Slytherin, she just didn't get along well with many people in the house. There were a select few she was friendly with, like Gigi, but she and Roh actually got along quite well and she was grateful for their friendship.

"Over here, Roh!" she called from the lake. She raised her arm and waved her hand so Roh could see her better. "Don't worry. Not close enough for you to fall in or anything!" She smiled as Roh came closer. She was so grateful for all the friends she had made at school.

The Slytherin grinned at the other girl, easily spotting her when afforded the guidance of her voice. "I swear; you're the only person on the planet I would risk exposure for on a day like to day," she visibly shivered as she carefully sat down next to the other girl offering her one steaming cup. "After Charms this morning I have no desire to get wet again. Kesali is a mad man. I don't know what those terrible robes were supposed to protect us from," her tone was bemused as she shook her head. It had been a fairly fun lesson; no one had died anyway.

"I didn't get a chance last night to congratulate you on making Prefect. I was gunning for Slytherin but apparently someone sees something in Gigi," she tried not to actually make a face as she said it (and totally failed). She liked Gigi well enough but she just wasn't Prefect material. She was too subversive and liked to flout conformity. She may have been in good academic standing but she wasn't a people person. She liked fighting too much. Tucking her hair behind her ear she sipped from her cup looking out over the lake with a small sigh. She'd been so busy with life at home and missing Annie she hadn't realized until just then how long it had been since she and Ray had had a proper conversation.

"I'd ask how the hols were but Merlin I am sick of that question and all it's many answers," she grinned a little at the Hufflepuff, "of course if you did anything exciting  please tell me all about it. Everyone else just fought with their parents or ate too much fruitcake. I did not need a full recounting of the massive feast the Wiedman's had or how many of the things on Neely's list she had gotten in triplicate. How was your birthday! Someone told me they saw you getting friendly with Mister Head-Boy-Himself on the train. If there is a story there I want all the delicious details".

Rayven smiled and took the cocoa. She sipped it a bit and used the warmth of the cup to warm her hands. He hadn't expected Roh to come outside to see her. She thought they would just see each other in the halls or in class as usual. She produced a small candy from her bag and offered it to Roh.

"I think you'll like these. Walt showed me how to make them. The candy is charmed and you don't get cold. It's how I'm actually comfortable out here."

She wrinkled her nose a bit at the mention of Gigi getting prefect. She liked Gigi alright, but she didn't thing Gigi was good prefect material. Her grades were good, but her attitude was less than prefectly. She had a bit of a reputation as well. Rayven thought Roh would have been a better  choice for the role.

"Thank you for the congratulations. I honestly wasn't expecting to get it. I'm glad I did though. I get to help out all the new first years and such. I'm sorry you didn't. Between the two of us, I think you would have been better," she said with a slight giggle.

"How was your birthday! Someone told me they saw you getting friendly with Mister Head-Boy-Himself on the train. If there is a story there I want all the delicious details".

Rayven blushed and couldn't help the smile that covered her face. Had it already gotten around the school that they had a bit of a crush on each other? She thought for sure it would take another week or two for rumors to get started. Oh well. She liked him and wasn't ashamed of it.

"We sat together on the train, yes. With Gigi. We went for a butter beer when we got to London and he came to my parents house to have dinner with me. The only other real thing of interest that happened over holiday was that we went on a double date with Sasha and Abby and I spent a couple days at his house with him and his family. We had separate rooms! And he was very respectful. I'm not sure what is exactly between us. I know we both like each other. Nothing has been done about it though. We're not a couple or anything. We haven't even discussed it. There's something there though."

She sighed a happy sigh and the smile stayed on her face as her cheeks reddened a bit more. She sipped the cocoa and watched as the mist came from her cup and her mouth. She did like Walt. Quite a bit in fact. She hoped they could be something more one day, but there was no way she was going to bring that up to him. She was content with them being... whatever they were. Even if they didn't end up being an item, they were at least good friends. That was important to her.

"Anything really exciting happen over your break? Anything with juicy details or adventure and what not?"

Hugging her knees to her chest Waverly gratefully took the candy and popped it past her lips, feeling warmer almost immediately. Resting her chin on her arms she glanced at Rayven and shook her head, "Nah, I think you got this. You're good with people and you can tolerate Sellaphix even when he's being a tit. I just avoid him," she sounded amused, her lips twitching with a small smile before she took a sip of her cocoa. There weren't a lot of people Waverly minded being around, she was a fairly laid back person but after having a whole week of Figaro not talking at the start of the term there were some classes she dearly missed the silence in. Also he and that Gryffindor were constantly sucking face. It was disconcerting.

"Talk about a third wheel," Roh actually giggled, nudging the Hufflepuff's shoulder at the mention of sharing a train car with Gigi. It was obvious Rayven liked Walton - and if she were being honest Waverly got the appeal. Aside from having a terrible name there wasn't anything really wrong with Walton. He was attractive and well spoken, he was also Head Boy, and you know, his bum was rather nice. If Waverly were the sort to get worked up over romance, boys, and having crushes Walt would be close to the top of her list; maybe not number one with a bullet but up there in the top ranking. He'd have gotten more points if his name wasn't Walton, probably. She couldn't be sure because after six years of calling him that she couldn't really picture him being named anything else.

She considered Ray's question before giving a small nod, "Well, let's see. I got an E from Storm - which basically never happens, I went to Raine's birthday party and watched her act crazy - which was really awkward and weird. She like attacked a Squib; and then everything got more weird because Sasha wanted to take him to Mungo's and it was this whole...thing," she made a face and shook her head. She still wasn't sure what she thought about the whole incident. She was having to reassess her opinion of the Gryffindor Prefect. It was awkward trying to see someone in a new light when you had a fairly solid opinion of them. Taking another sip from her cup she closed her eyes, taking a moment to really realize she'd stopped shivering and no longer felt like her teeth were going to rattle loose from her head.

"I did manage a wandless transformation into my Animagus form. Just one though, I don't know why I still panic when I'm not holding my wand. I just feel like something is going to go terribly wrong," she frowned a little and shook her head, "I'm not advertising the fact of course, but McGongagall is going to give me lessons. I'm both excited and terrified," curling her toes her body seemed to tense for a moment before relaxing as she looked at the Hufflepuff again. "So, if he's met your family and you've met his family, way has nothing been discussed. You obviously want to kiss each other," her tone was teasing as she made a fishy-kissie-face before breaking out in a fit of giggles. She would rather talk about Rayven and her potential boyfriend than think about Raine, wandless transfiguration, or the idea that she might totally embarrass herself in front of their Headmistress. Plus, speculating about hookups and their varying degrees of seriousness was way more interesting.

"Sellaphix isn't all that bad. He certainly can be a tit, but you can't deny he keeps things interesting. And I was more meaning you would have been a better pick than Gigi." She giggled. She didn't want to talk bad about Gigi or anything, but Roh was a better pick for the position, hands down. She decided to avoid that topic though. Someone saw Gigi fit, so it wasn't her place to say anything bad about it.

"Talk about a third wheel,"

"No no no! It wasn't like that! We were all talking, you know? Talking about holiday and my birthday and hanging out and school. That sort of thing. There was -no- canoodling of -any- sort on the train," she said, face flushed. "It was just hanging out. Plus Walt had to keep getting up to do rounds and stuff so it wasn't like that at all." In a way, she sort of hoped it had just been the two of them. She also knew that she would have turned into a bumbling idiot if they were alone, so Gigi being there helped a bit.

"The birthday party seems like it was a bit... intense.  I don't think I could handle anything like that. I don't like a lot of drama and craziness. It makes me uncomfortable. We're all very calm and collected at my house. And congrats on the transformation! I wouldn't worry about it too much. You're really talented, Roh. I know you can do it. McGongagall can be a hard ass at times, but I don't think there's a better person out there to help you out with that stuff. If I had that gift, I would turn to her in a heartbeat for private lessons in it!" In a way, Rayven wished she possessed the gift to turn into another form. She would love to explore the woods and such in animal form and see the world through and animals eyes. She didn't have it though. Probably never would. It was fun to think about though.

Rayven giggled and her face turned the brightest shade of red imaginable when Roh talked about her and Walt kissing. She -did- want to kiss him. Especially after spending so much time with him over the break. She didn't have the courage to be the one to initiate it though. Plus it didn't seem right. If they were to kiss or even hold hands it was going to be him to initiate. That was the way of the world. She thought she had made it obvious she liked him. If he liked her in that way, then he could show her.

"We just haven't talked about it. He came over for my birthday dinner, but a few people did. It wasn't like he was my date or anything. And I live three hours away from London so I stayed with his family when I visited for a few days to make things easier. We -did- go on a double date with Sasha and Abby one night, but it was more the four of us hanging out just enjoying the day. We went to the movies and played laser tag. The topic just... hasn't come up I guess. -I'm- not going to bring it up. I wouldn't know how to! 'Hey Walt! I like you and I want to be your girl?' No. I can't do that! I don't want him to feel like I'm pushing him either! If he wants me to be his, all he has to do is ask. Or tell me. That would work too." Rayven shrugged and sipped her cocoa, holding the cup in both hands. Her face was burning and not from the candies or cocoa. Roh was the first she had discussed her feelings for Walt with. She knew Roh wouldn't run to him and tell him. At least, she hoped not.