Returning to school was just as stressful as she had expected it to be. Seeing Figaro for the first time since their break-up reminded her of how frustrating the whole break-up had been. They had been cutest couple and now... nothing. It all seemed so weird, and she felt like everyone was whispering about her (even if they weren't). The only logical response, in Zia's mind, was to do everything she could to Win the breakup.

What did that mean? Well, she didn't know how Figaro was coping, but it certainly didn't mean dissolving into tears every time she saw him. She'd caught a glimpse of him on the train and dove into the bathroom for a few tears and then popped out a few minutes later, looking Totally Fine.

It also meant that she had to date as many people as possible. That was what you did after break-ups, at least according to the track records of her older siblings and friends. Zia was amenable to the idea and had emitted a Single vibe as best she could. She would forget about her ex in no time, and he would hear all about her adventures in casual dating.

As a seventh year she was lucky enough to be 'in the know' about where guards would be for the night. At least for the most part. Someone was always friends with a prefect, or overheard their schedule, or caught a glimpse of it posted on their wall. It trickled through the upper year grapevine, and Zia took this opportunity to show off just how grown up she could be. She brought along a gigantic bottle of wine that her brother Ronaldo had made especially for her. It was nearly the same color as her hair, and the best part about it was that it would replenish itself twice. She stuck that in her bag, which of course was charmed so that it was bigger on the inside.

She knew a few of the other seventh years knew about the availability of the quidditch pitch tonight and wondered if anyone else would dare to go out. School had just started and she knew that some people were wary to break rules so early in. For the first time, Zia found herself struggling to care about rules and school and even if nobody else showed up here, she would at least get a good taste of this wine. Taking off her cloak to reveal one of her traditional brightly colored outfits, Zia threw the cloak down on the grass and sat upon it, popping the cork of the wine.

This, this was going to be a good year. Eli knew it. With the bucket list that Indi had put together there was no way that his last year at Hogwarts would be boring in the least. He was already attempting to do one of the bucket challenge items tonight. Or rather-- two of them. As he made his way to the quidditch pitch, he carried in his arms two cheesecakes-- one chocolate and one pumpkin. He could not decide between the two flavors and the house elves had both on hand.

Eli was going to stay up all night and eat these cheesecakes. He had skipped dinner for this moment.

Literally, he was going to stay up all night, as in he was going to pull an all nighter. He wondered if he could get away with pulling the all nighter outside. It wouldn't be the first time that he stayed out late. During the midnight swim with the other seventh years, he had perched in a tree, smoking gillyweed and eating snacks until people arrived. Somehow he felt like hanging out outside would be less dangerous than getting lost inside the castle. Outside, people could find him-- inside... There were mystery corridors and staircases that did their best to get the students lost.

It seemed that he was not the only one who decided to spend the evening on the quidditch pitch.

Zia Piselli.

She and Figaro had recently broken up, or so Eli assumed based on her latest outfits and the way she tried to look like she was having so much fun without Figaro. Also, they were no longer joined at the lips. So there was that.

"Ziaaaa!" He greeted the Ravenclaw, sitting down next to her and taking his backpack off. "You gonna pull an all nighter too?"

This year's set of seventh years turned out to be a bunch of fun-loving group of daredevils. This attuned perfectly to Zia's current transition from goody-goody to whatever it was that she was going to be. She hadn't decided yet, but she had become accustomed to saying 'yes' a lot more often. Zia was determined to try new things and prove that she was grown up and independent this year. She was also determined to do almost anything to make Fig feel like he'd lost out on the girl of his dreams, because she was pretty sure that he had.

Before she could think too much about his ugly stupid cute face, Zia began to sense that she was no longer alone. She stiffened and gripped the neck of the bottle of wine tentatively, wondering if she should get ready to run. Is that what you were supposed to do if you were caught? With bright pink hair it was pretty hard to make a clean getaway.

Luckily it was none other than Eli Amherst and he seemed happy to see her.... or maybe it was just the cheesecakes in his arms. "Hey Eli!" She said brightly. "Cheesecake?" She looked at the items in his hands, her face expressing clear curiosity. And also whether or not he was going to share. Every one of Zia's teeth were sweet, and she could eat more sugar than a chocolate frog.

Now that she was sure it wasn't a prefect or professor coming to bust her, she took her first long sip from the bottle. Growing up in Italy, wine was nearly as commonplace as water, so she knew quite a bit about the grape-based beverage. This was a dry rosè, very fruity and floral- but she couldn't distinguish quite what category it fell into. She liked that about it- it was unique, just like she was. Ronaldo had really outdone himself -- this was the perfect wine for Zia.

"Do you like wine?" she asked Eli. She offered the bottle of pink liquid to her classmate. Maybe this would encourage him to share that alluring cheesecake...

"I like your shoes." He commented, pulling a blanket out of his backpack and laying it out. A perfect, comfortable resting place for the precious cheesecakes.  Eli looked at the wine curiously-- go Zia-- getting drunk in public. He didn't particularly like wine-- it was kind of gross actually. If he was going to drink alcohol, he went for the hard stuff.

But it's not like he had a choice here.

"I'll take a sip." He replied, and then motioned towards the cheesecakes. "I am going to eat an entire cheesecake tonight. Would you like to join me?" Eli leaned forward, "Also, I'm pulling an all nighter. Tonight. Tomorrow will hurt, but it will be worth it." He pulled some forks that he had taken from the great hall out of his backpack, "What are you doing out here?"

She beamed when Eli complimented her shoes, which she had just been tempted to take off. "Grazi*!" Zia said cheerfully. A big part of her wished she had brought some type of container with her so she didn't have to drink straight out of the bottle. It wasn't very graceful and it probably wasn't something that an Adult would do.... but drinking wine was mature enough, she decided. Zia helped herself to another helping before passing the bottle to Eli.

"My brother made it," she explained after swallowing. "For my birthday." She had just turned seventeen which was a ripe age for getting into trouble, which Zia had not done much of. Most Slytherins didn't like Zia because she had always been categorized as a goody-goody, her sugar-sweetness being an instant turn-off to their normally sardonic personalities. They clashed like Zia's hair with the purse she was carrying. Eli seemed to be the exception though- they'd always been friendly with each other, had even studied int he same circles, upon occasion.

"I am going to eat an entire cheesecake tonight. Would you like to join me?"

There wasn't a task Zia could have been more prepared for. "Absolutely," she cheered. Zia had been at the same meeting that Eli had staked out. She confidently decided not to think about how they'd all gone skinny-dipping and she'd been one of the first people to be totally in the buff. Of course this task would be attempted by Eli, who had luckily thought to bring two cheesecakes. That way no one could protest their points for sharing -- but mostly because Zia really loved cheesecake.

"Also, I'm pulling an all nighter. Tonight. Tomorrow will hurt, but it will be worth it.... What are you doing out here?"

She smiled as she took a fork from Eli, her eyes hooked on the chocolate cake. When Eli asked her what she was doing out on the Pitch, she looked at him and shrugged a little. "Dunno- I just heard nobody would be on guard here," Zia admitted. What had she planned for the night? What if nobody else had showed up here- would she have just taken her sad little self back into the castle? How long would she have waited? She thought about none of these things and instead smiled at her companion for the evening.