Gryffindor Common Room
Approximately 8:38 PM

Nail art, that was a thing sixteen year old girls did right? Of course it was, as evidenced by the tiny form of Sophie Flickwick curled up on the floor with six different kinds of varnish; making litlte galaxy designs. The common room might have been a funny place to do such a thing but she really didn't want to sit alone in her room on a Saturday night. She should have been out with her boyfriend or something but she'd made the excuse about needing to finish his Valentine's Day present. It wasn't so much an excuse as a fact, but also she wasn't exactly doing it either.

She'd started it, but then anxiety had set in. How was she supposed to top last year's gift? What could be better than getting to meet his favorite Wrock Star and hang out with him before the show? Also there was the fact that Fig wasn't exactly a stellar gift-picker. He was a sixteen year old boy, and he thought like a sixteen year old boy, and that meant the previous Valentine's Day she had gotten a dog clock. It was a nice clock... it just wasn't very romantic. Sometimes a girl had to lower her expectations...a lot.

It was strange when she thought about where her life was now verses where it had been a year ago. So much had changed and yet she seemed to be in exactly the same place. She was dating Fig, working on SAWS, trying to keep her gift under control, and still have some sort of social life. The social life was harder to come by these days. Without Fauna, the twins, and Chance things got a little lonely. She loved her housemates but she was sorely lacking in the best friend department. SAWS could have been going better too.

She had felt the need to lay low for awhile after the debacle that was the outing of Zel Trumble. Things hadn't really picked up again after that. She felt like a complete and utter failure as a leader. The problem was, really, she couldn't figure out what else they needed to do. The club had really achieved it's main goal - getting Werewolves back into Hogwarts. Then Ollie had left and... Sophie just felt adrift. She needed guidance but she didn't know who to get it from. She felt like a pest Owling Fauna and Dion, as though she wasn't fit to have followed in their footsteps.

It was a quandary, or a quagmire, or some other big word that failed her right then. None of that even touched on the fact her sister had run off to the States again and her father was still touring with his band. Sometimes it was lonely being the littlest Flickwick. It was easier though when she sat in the common room and listened as her housemates played chess, gossiped, and played a never ending game of snap. Somewhere not so far away the Knockturnals were on the wireless and she felt like maybe she was a part of things after all - for just a minute.

Walton was freshly showered. Clad in plaid pajama pants and a loose fitting t-shirt, he padded barefoot into the common room. He had a couple of text books tucked under his arm, intent on maybe doing some studying. If not studying then at least knocking out his homework. Since he'd become Head Boy, Walt was putting extra effort into his academics. Which was odd for him. He never was the sort to go out of his way in classes he wasn't naturally talented in. But being a role model meant that he needed to show kids that school was important and studying was cool. Or some such nonsense.

He approached his favorite, over stuffed arm chair and spotted the small figure of Sophie Flickwick curled up in the floor painting her nails. He plopped unceremoniously into the chair, resting the school books on an end table as he leaned forward, inspecting her work. "Those look neat. Time consuming, but neat," he commented. He didn't understand how or why girls spent so much time on their nails. As far as Walton was concerned, it didn't matter how they looked. But he didn't have particularly high standards and had not been overly interested in romance while at Hogwarts anyway. He had a crush on the Hufflepuff prefect- Rayven- but that was about it. Even so, the only real standard of most men was whether or not the girl had a pulse. Sure, pretty was a bonus, but there was more to it than that.

"Glad to see you out and about. You've been kind of keeping to yourself lately, I noticed. Everything going okay?" he asked. It was a genuine concern. Walton had always felt responsible for the people in his house, even more so for those younger than him. Everybody needed somebody to look out for them. Even though the title of Head Boy changed things slightly, mostly making him obligated to keep an eye out for students, it didn't make his concern any less genuine. And Sophie was a nice girl, if something was bothering her he'd want to do something to make it better- if he could.

And since Sophie had been appointed as the new Gryffindor prefect at the beginning of the month, he hadn't had much of a chance to catch up with her. He really needed to make a point to drag her out on patrol soon and make sure she understood her duties. He'd bring that up later- after he checked up on her state of well being.

When the flop occurred Sophie was sat with her head tilted to one side, tip of her tongue peeking out from between her lips as she carefully tried to glob the varnish on in some semblance of a nebula. She was so focused she almost came out of her skin at the sound of Walt's voice. She couldn't help but look a little guilty at his concern. She had hoped people hadn't notice her shift from social butterfly to moderate recluse. A lot of it had to do with Ollie leaving but she didn't know how to explain that all these months later it still rather felt like a limb was missing from her body. It also probably had something with Deus Deres but she would never ever give him the satisfaction.

Rather than talking about any of that though she just gave the seventh year a sheepish smile, "Well it wouldn't do for Gryffindor's newest prefect to seem disinterested in her fellow housemates and there gossip," she capped the particularly bright shade of lavender in her hand and splayed her figures out on the table, wand in hand as she flicked her wrist an produced a gentle warm glow from the tip to hasten the drying process. "I'm alright though. I still have absolutely no idea what to do for Figaro for Valentine's Day. What do sixteen year old boys even like," she glanced up then lips twitching with a small smirk, "besides the obvious".

She wasn't exactly sure he was buying the story so she relented a little, "Mostly I've been trying to figure out how to not keep botching the SAWS mission - which is a bit hard because the biggest part of that mission was to get Ollie back into school, and now we've done that. After everything surrounding Zel's outing as a Were I feel like I have to prove myself. It might not be a fair assumption but my general feeling is something like that ever would have happened if Fauna and Dion were still around. I don't even know how much interest still remains after that PR black eye," she caught herself rambling and cleared her throat, wrinkling her nose, "I'm going to stop talking now. How are things with Raaaaayven"?

"How are you adjusting to being prefect?" he asked. "I know it was hard for me to figure out this head boy stuff. But it totally caught me off guard, since I never was a prefect. It's weird, being in charge, worrying a lot about whether or not people were going to get mad at me or whatever. I was worried I was suddenly going to become public enemy number one. It's pretty common now for me to walk into a room and for people to suddenly stop laughing or get quiet. I guess they haven't figured out yet that I'm not out to bust everyone for the smallest infractions. I mean heck- if you aren't hurting anyone, then why should I bother docking points or giving detention? Seems a little silly to me." Walt shrugged a little.

"And as far as Valentine's Day goes, I'm not sure I'm the best person to ask. I mean, you know, guys usually like the same stuff. Quidditch for sure. Fig likes quidditch, if I remember correctly. Get him some neat quidditch memorabilia. If he has a favorite team you might be able to owl off for autographs or buy some tickets to a summer game or something. But really it depends on what he's interested in. Like..." Walt trailed off for a moment, then rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. "Don't spread it 'round, but I mean, I like poetry and literature and classics- especially Arthurian legend stuff. So you know, for me a nice journal or old leather bound book would be nice. But I don't know Figaro well enough to really help."

He blushed a dark shade of red hen she asked how things were with Rayven. Walton shrugged again. "I don't know. I mean... Does everyone really know about that?" he asked. "I like her, a lot. But we haven't hung out much lately. I've just been pretty busy and we set up our rounds not to match up because Harcroft seemed to think it would be a bad idea if I patrolled with her. Like he thought I'd drag her into a broom closet or something. I wouldn't do that to her- or any woman. It's not exactly appropriate and women are more important than being used for a snog box... But you know, we'll see I guess."

He leaned forward a bit to address the seriousness that was the SAWS issue. He knew it was a huge deal to students- he'd been a part of it to an extent, but had never been as important to the role that SAWS paid as Sophie had been. "Listen, Sophie, sometimes bad things happen. Zel was outed, sure, but it doesn't seem to be hurting him much. He's got more friends lately, he's a good prefect, and he's even got a girlfriend now. Oliver may be weird, but she's nice enough. I think the fact he's been outed has helped him kind of accept who he is. Sure, the circumstances sucked, but you know- I believe things happen for a reason, and I think maybe in the long run it was better for him."

"And you know, if SAWS has done its mission- maybe it's time for SAWS to evolve? I mean, sure, you've got werewolves in Hogwarts and working on them not being mistreated, but what about other creatures or hybrids? You know, like half giants, half goblins, and half merpeople? You could just expand your horizons to being an anti-segregation in general, or anti-mistreatment. Promote tolerance to all, instead of just to werewolves. I mean, the acronym wouldn't work out at that point but sometimes activist groups evolve."

Considering his question carefully, Sophie drew her knees up to her chest and rested her back against the arm chair behind her, "It's only been a week. I haven't really had to deal with anyone getting too out of hand yet. Also I think people look at me and I'm fairy nonthreatening; you know unless you're Figaro or I'm holding an apple," she hadn't completely lost her sense of humor. Or maybe it was more that it was finally returning it, produce hurling had not been her finest half hour in terms of what should have been a magical brawl. She still felt bad any time Nicky's pant leg inched up and she could see the fork scar glaring back at her. Even though she and Zel were friends again... there was this nagging sense of having failed him that plagued her often.

She gave a short laugh at Walton's reply about Valentine's day, shoulders raising in an almost helpless shrug, "I kind of went overboard last year. We hadn't even been dating that long and I managed to score him time with the guys from 3 Owl Standard. I don't really know how to replicate that? It doesn't probably matter anyway. I mean it's Fig. He doesn't seem to care about that stuff. Which, you know, is okay most of the time because I don't really care about it either. I just feel like Valentine's Day is sort of a big one? Gordic's Garters I sound like a twit"! She didn't add that after all this time being back together she still didn't know how to talk to him about some things - like the fact March 11th loomed in the not so distant future and sometimes she still had nightmares.

Sophie gave a snort as he inquired just how many people knew about he and Rayven, "Only people with eyes Walton. You guys are kind of adorable and awkward together - and I don't know why you would ever listen to Joshua Harcroft about anything in the history of the world. He's basically a giant walking gob. He's also probably jealous because you manage to be Head Boy and talk to girls and he can't seem to hold onto friends for all his bossy tattling," Sophie was, obviously, not a fan of Harcroft. She still held a hefty grudge over his involvement in their last place finish in the previous year's house cup, though she was quick to add, "Not that that'll influence my ability to work with him. I'm just saying, he is the last person who should dictate anything to anyone".

Her face grew somber as Walton offered up his opinion on the Zel situation, her brown eyes focusing on her nails. Even though he was being encouraging she kind of wanted to shrink smaller in her skin. "Yeah, things have worked out - but I just can't help but think about what would have happened if they hadn't. He trusted me for guidance, it was on my advice he talked to Fig... and even though he's forgiven me and he swears he didn't mean it when he said I'm not trust worthy... I don't know. Maybe I'm not, maybe I'm not good for SAWS. I feel like other people would have known what to do, would have known how to pull it together. That is really where I've failed I guess and I'm worried anything I do is going to be the wrong thing, or maybe no one cares anymore. Maybe the group was only as strong as Fauna's determination to keep it going. I mean you saw what happened, Ollie couldn't even hack it once she got back in. I haven't heard from her in months". Picking at the side of her thumb she took a deep breath, "I could always try to call a meeting and see what everyone thinks about a change in mission".

"Well, I always thought of myself as pretty non-threatening, too, before I took up the Head Boy position. I mean, it's not like I went around getting into fights or anything. I really caught me off guard, especially since I wasn't a prefect beforehand. But I like it. I like being a good role model. I love the younger years, most of them have really good hearts." And he was definitely willing to stick up for them if they were getting bullied by their own years or the upper years. If he'd gotten a standard muggle education, Walton probably would have ended up with some kind of job working with the youth... But since he was a wizard, that wasn't going to happen, and he really had no clue what to do when he eventually left Hogwarts.

Walt laughed at Sophie. "You don't sound like a twit. You just sound like a girl. Valentine's Day is a lot bigger of a deal to you than it is to us. Which, you know, Fig should be smart enough to figure out. But I guess that's something you learn along the way... Not that I have much room to talk there. It's not exactly like I am experienced in the romance department." He hadn't had a proper girlfriend before, because he had been having too much fun doing what he wanted. That, and few girls had ever really caught his interest. Plus, Walton was a little shy and awkward with women- a stark contrast to his usual quiet confidence. "But I mean, I'm not, and even I know that Valentine's is supposed to be something special. At the very least you get a lady a nice bouquet of flowers. My mum says it's so that they can show them off to their girlfriends, and the more unique the arrangement the better." Not that he'd been owling his mother about what to buy a girl for Valentine's day...

"That obvious, huh? But, well, you know. She's a sixth year, and I'm graduating soon, so I don't want to get into something serious just to leave Hogwarts or end up hurting someone as nice and kind hearted as she is. And c'mon- Harcroft isn't that bad. He's a really decent guy; Josh was probably just looking out for my better interests. Rumors about me snogging a prefect on rounds would be bad, and you know- best not to put the temptation there. You really shouldn't say such mean things about Harcroft. I mean, it's fine not to like him, but he isn't a terrible guy. And if my dad was an auror, I'd probably be more like him, too... And they say he's a shoe in for Head Boy next year, so you might want to play nice."

Walton frowned as Sophie began to downplay her own worth. "Listen to me, Sophie, and you listen good. You are good for SAWS. Because you are a good person. You are genuine, kind, tolerant, and have a lot of love and guidance to give to the world. That's why you're a prefect, that's why you're so good for SAWS, and it's why you worry so much about it. You have a good heart, Soph, and the best of intentions. You're intelligent, too, and a talented witch. Not that it matters nearly as much, but you're pretty, too. You're beautiful inside and out, Sophie Flickwick. Don't ever doubt how much you're worth- or think of yourself as a failure. Fauna and Dion were good leaders, too, but they just lead differently than you do. Everyone is different, Sophie, and reacts to situations in different ways. Other people were just as lost as you were. You are the person that everyone looked to to keep SAWS going, and that has to mean something. I have a lot of faith in you, Sophie Flickwick, and so do other students- you just need to keep some faith in yourself. So you made a mistake. So what? Everyone makes mistakes, and that's not a very big one in the grand scheme of things, now is it?"

"But yeah- you should call a meeting. Baby steps, ya know? Take it one thing and one day at a time. Call a meeting, explain that you've more or less reached your goal. Talk about how you can expand your horizons to stop segregation and prejudice and mistreatment beyond werewolves. That's something that's really important. You can stand for tolerance and fairness for all- instead of a select few. It's a chance to be more and to leave a really great footprint at this school. I'd be more than happy to help you figure out what you want to say if you want to prepare some stuff. You know I'm totally on board for fair treatment of everyone."

Sophie draped her arms over her knees, a soft sort of laugh bubbling in her throat, "I have to admit I'm kind of waiting  for my boyfriend to decide it's a brilliant idea to try and sneak something past me. I would like to believe he wouldn't put me in that position but I am also acutely aware of the fact Figaro rarely thinks before he opens his mouth". She was a little worried about having to bust her friends now, they were in third place for the House Cup after all, she didn't want another last place finish like the previous years. She considered maybe talking to Jordyn to see how she had handled walking the line between having friends who acted out and being not only the voice of reason but safety as well. She didn't want to admit to Walt she was worried about it, it seemed like too big a thing - even though he was being perfectly supportive. Sophie had a lot of trouble admitting when she wasn't sure she could do something.

She wrinkled her nose as Walton suggested Figaro ought to know Valentine's Day was important, "I dunno, I mean it's not really fair to expect someone to be other than they are just because you care about some silly date on a calendar. I mean especially because I know it's a silly date. Fig just doesn't think about stuff like that, you know? Most of the time it doesn't matter, I mean it doesn't matter now really. It's just... finding that balance I guess. My mom was crazy about holidays, all of um, any excuse to show us extra special love. I guess I'm kind of like her in that way. People don't tell one another they care often enough, so even though it's a silly excuse it also makes it easier to... I don't know, show people how much they mean". She made a face at her own rambling before going back to inspecting her nails.

She did have the good sense to look appropriately chastised when he told her not to be so mean about Josh, her cheeks flushing a faint shade of pink. She didn't respond of course because, well, what could she really say? He was probably right and even if he wasn't it was a terrible idea to bad mouth a fellow prefect to the Head Boy - no matter how much the Head Boy seemed to like you (though she had a hard time not shuddering at the thought of Josh taking up Walton's position in the next school year. It was best not to think about it, no use borrowing trouble anyway. "I think you and Rayven are cute actually, and you know, you shouldn't let what next year holds keep you from enjoying the time you have with her now. I mean if you're constantly thinking about when the right time to have a life; a full life I mean, then you won't ever rally get to have one because the timing is never right. There's always some bigger plan, something else to get to. It's good you're thinking about next year so you're ready for it, but you shouldn't let it keep you from having fun now".

As he assured her she was a good person and should never question her own worth she had to look down again, the former pink in her cheeks shifting to crimson, she actually hid behind her hand, "Stoooooooooop, Walt, you're killing me"! It was hard for her to hear that she was good enough when so often she felt like there was so much more she should have done. She felt like she had impossibly big shoes to fill, not just Fauna and Dion but her mother's as well. Peeking at him from between her fingers her lips twitched with a little smile, "You know for someone who says he has no experience with girls you're awful good at compliments". It was so much easier to try and joke about things than actually admit he might have a point. Bad people didn't think about being bad, they didn't worry about it; it was kind of the point. If she were really a terrible person she wouldn't notice nearly so much. She had absolutely no rebuttle for his assertion that she was pretty because, well, he was right. It didn't matter nearly as much as the other things. Deep down, very very deep down of course, she had to admit it was kind of nice he noticed though.

She considered his offer for help, and gave a small nod, "I just have to figure out what I want to say. Maybe wait till after Valentine's Day? It's all anyone seems to care about right now, or you know, they care about hating it. I could talk to Taryn too, the half giant from Salem, and maybe Professor MacLeod and see if they have any insights to offer. I know they're not barred from things as strictly as Werewolves are but I can't imagine it's easy; and there was all that stuff last year with Tilly's shop in Diagon. I could talk to Abby Reid too about dealing with the prejudices against Squibs who choose to stay in the magical world," she was really thinking now, and despite nails that were not quite dry she was rummaging in her rucksack for a quill and piece of parchment, though she did glance back up at Walt with a much happier smile than she'd had when he sat down, "Thank you. for taking the time to talk. I know I never shut up but I'm not so good at, you know, this stuff. I'm better at listening".

Walton laughed "That is a pretty accurate description of Fig. But, you know, even when he's being... well, himself, his heart seems to usually be in the right place. That's what really matters in the long run, I'd think. I'm sure you'll think of something. If you want, I wouldn't mind prodding Figaro about Valentine's Day. I won't say you sent me, I could bring it up casually. Maybe give him a hint that he ought to actually do something nice?" It wasn't much of an offer, but if it would help he'd do it. Even if it might be somewhat awkward. "And if he tries to sneak stuff past you, just tell someone else and get them to bust him, instead. I wouldn't mind doing that kind of stuff to spare your relationship the trouble."

"Trouble is I don't even know what next year will hold. I haven't given a lot of thought of what to do after Hogwarts. I don't know that I'm really good enough at anything to have a really exciting career. And with my parents being so successful, I feel a lot of extra pressure. My dad's an archaeologist and now he teaches at a university, and my mother teaches at a private school. They're really smart and have great careers. I mean- I'm not stupid, I know that. But I'm not brilliant at anything, really. And I know they'll be proud of me no matter what I do, but I'd like to not let them down. I guess I should start looking into that stuff, see what my NEWT level classes qualify me for, maybe talk to a professor or my head of house about it It's hard to believe school is almost over. I guess I could take some time off to bum around, but I'm worried if I do that I'll always be bumming around." Walton shrugged a little.

"And having fun now is important, i guess, and being happy. But I don't want to hurt her because I'm ready for fun. Even if we got together, and stayed together after I graduated, I wouldn't want to ruin her last year of Hogwarts because I wasn't around. I'd only be able to see her on Hogsmeade weekends, and she might be better off not having to worry about something like that. Besides, I don't even know whether or not she likes me as more than a friend. I thinks he's really pretty, and she's nice, and we get along great... But I don't really know that much about her. I don't know." Walton rubbed the back of his neck and shrugged awkwardly. "It's complicated, I guess. But I was thinking of asking her if she wants to do something Valentine's weekend. I just don't want to put a lot of pressure on her or anything."

Walton blushed when she told him he was good at giving compliments. "I'm just telling you the truth about what I think, not going out of my way to compliment you or anything. But I hope you realize all of that stuff is true. You are a good person, Sophie. And you'll figure things out with SAWS, I have no doubt about that. If you put your mind to it and stay as dedicated as you have been, things will sort themselves out. Things like that usually do."

He nodded in agreement when she mentioned talking to Taryn and Professor MacLeod. "I think that would actually be a really good idea. I know I've heard some people making smart comments about Taryn. Could maybe owl Hagrid or something, too. I didn't think of including squibs, but that's a great idea. See, you're already thinking ahead. And, you know, any time you want or need to talk you can talk to me. I don't' always know the right thing to say, but I like being there for people. Anything you want to talk about, I'm all ears." He smiled gently, and cracked open one of his text books. "So apart from all of that stress, how are you? I hope things haven't been all bad and stressful lately."