Ayla sat with her back against a sofa, legs crossed with a large bag of Gummi bears in her lap. The perky Hufflepuff had made her way into nearly everyone common room over the five years she had lived at the castle and it wasn't too strange to see a member of another house hanging out, especially on a Saturday night. Inter house relations and all that jazz.

"I shouldn't care though should I?" She looked over at Cara, her turquoise curls tumbled around her face, "He can date whoever he wants and he's going to be graduating anyways. I'll likely never see him again." She took a handful of Gummi bears and munched on them, "Holy Helga, Cara I'll actually probably never see him again. I mean how many people actually still hang out with old girlfriend's from Hogwarts?"

She looked into the fire. She had been spending most of the time babbling on about her encounter with the Head Girl from earlier in the week. She had gone against her better judgement and asked Jordyn about Xavier. The last thing she really needed to know was how her ex boyfriend was getting on with his new girlfriend.

"Oh my merlin, I need to start dating again." She leaned back and closed her eyes, "I'm going to be seventeen in like six months and I've never been on a date," She spun to face Cara again holding up a finger, "a real date, Blake standing me up on Valentine's does not count!"

She let an exasperated growl, "why do guys have to suck so much though?"

"I shouldn't care though, should I?"

"Of course not," Cara replied.

She sat on the comfortable couch occupying the space in front of the fireplace in the Gryffindor common room, clothed in her nightwear—plaid cotton pants and a gold and burgundy sweatshirt—with her knees drawn up to her chest and her arms wrapped around them. She peered over at Ayla, chin resting atop her knees, and frowned.

"Holy Helga, Cara, I'll actually probably never see him again. I mean, how many people actually still hang out with old girlfriend's from Hogwarts?"

"I dunno, Ayla—a lot, maybe? World's not that big, love."

"I'm going to be seventeen in, like, six months and I've never been on a date."

At this, Cara only rolled her shoulders noncommittally, as she had never before been on a date herself. Nor had she ever entertained the flirtations of a boy—at least, not on any serious level.

"A real date! Blake standing me up on Valentine's does not count!"

She snorted, shaking her head as if to agree that no, it did not count.

"Why do guys have to suck so much, though?"

"I think it's just in their nature, dear," Cara mused, scratching her nose.

"Can't help themselves, yanno? Why do you think I don't date? Easier just to focus on school and worry about boys when they're men, if you ask me."

Cara unfolded her legs, stretching them out and pressing the heels of her bare feet against Ayla's thigh, squeaking slightly at the apex of her stretch.

"Maybe the answer isn't more boys, sweetie. Maybe you should stop worryin' about them—give yourself some time to rehabilitate, yanno? Anyway, what do they really offer you? A few kisses and some chintzy gifts on holidays? No thanks—I can do without."

Ayla hid the smile that threatened to spread at Cara's assessment of the world. People always said what a small world it was. She suppose it was always possible she'd run into him after graduation but then again maybe not. He was Scottish, she was Canadian. Sure, she lived in London right now but what if she went back home? What if he went back home? What were the actual chances of them running into each other if the lived in completely different countries? Then again the fantasy of him waltzing into her shop once they were both full blown adults was hard to turn away from.

Ayla rolled her eyes and chuckled, "Yeah but where's the fun in that?" She had spent the entirety of her fourth year swearing off guys and focusing on her studying and it had been boring She held her tongue at the mention of men. She supposed that Cara was talking about men in their twenties or older. Though as far as the Wizarding world was concerned Xavier was already considered an adult and also coming up on his eighteenth birthday.

"Trust me between baking, Quidditch, Prefect duties and OWL studies, all I have been doing is giving myself time. I haven't done anything for almost two years. How much longer do I need to rehabilitate?" She smirked up at Cara before giving an over dramatic sigh, "I suppose you're right though. After all, who would even be worth dating in our year anyway?" She ignored the blush that coloured her cheeks as Alistair instantly came to mind, "they're all idiots."

"Yeah but where's the fun in that?"

Cara raised her eyebrows.

"I danno, love, magic is bloody thrilling to me. Spend most of my summers 'round muggles, so I reckon our classes keep me plenty amused."

"Trust me between baking, Quidditch, Prefect duties and OWL studies, all I have been doing is giving myself time. I haven't done anything for almost two years. How much longer do I need to rehabilitate?"

"Might be a permanent recovery process, sweetie," Cara joked, prodding Ayla in the ribs with one of her toes and grinning.

"There's no hope for you, I'm afraid."

"I suppose you're right though. After all, who would even be worth dating in our year anyway? They're all idiots."

"True enough, aye. Big, dundering morons—as far as the eye can see. 'course, I reckon you fancy the older boys, don't you?"

Cara waggled her eyebrows suggestively.

A smirk crossed her lips. She couldn't argue that real actual magic was thrilling. She wasn't a muggleborn like Cara but she had been raised Muggle. Her mother wasn't fond of having magical things around the house and while she had accepted that her Husband was a wizard it still made her uneasy and she preferred to keep the constant reminders to a minimum. Ayla supposed having three children whom were all magical didn't help any. She wouldn't say she wasn't fascinated by the magical world, after all creating magical confectionery was her life's work, there were just other things someone could be fascinated with at the same time. Like Quidditch and boys and baking and boys and being a Prefect and boys.

Ayla let out a high pitched 'Eeep!' when Cara prodded her ribs and she tickled the foot in response. Perhaps Cara was right, perhaps she was a lost cause. As much as she had been striving to keep away, the subject of boys or men was just an ever present dilemma for her. She wondered if that would ever change. 

A vicious blush spread over her cheeks and she pursed her lips, "Noooooo." She grabbed some more Gummi Bears and promptly shoved them in her mouth, "Yes? Maybe, okay, yeah but only because I'm older than like half the guys in our year." Being born at the tail end of the year Ayla didn't receive her letter to Pinebrook until she was almost Twelve. Shortly afterward she had moved to London and found herself heading off to Hogwarts instead as one of the oldest in her year. When it came down to it, it was this particular little bit of Calendar math that had everyone so upset about her relationship with Xavier. Sure he was two years ahead of her at Hogwarts but with her birthday at the end of the year and his near the beginning, the two were actually only about 18 months apart.

She leaned back, "I suppose it could be worse, I could like boys younger than me." She made a face to let Cara know exactly what she thought of that idea. She always felt it was right to like older men, it was the guy's job to like younger women. That's how it always worked in the stories anyways, "anyway we're about to be in our sixth year, it's the one year we don't have to worry about OWLs or NEWTs or our future. We can just enjoy it and I definitely plan on enjoying it."

At Ayla's tickling fingers, Cara withdrew her foot with a quiet squeak. Fiendishly ticklish, she would have exactly none of that. She feared that it might diminish the sage wisdom that she was dispensing.

"Yes? Maybe, okay, yeah but only because I'm older than like half the guys in our year."

"Yes, well," Cara began, shrinking deeper into the couch. "At least you aren't running around after professors, I suppose."

She giggled at the thought.

"I suppose it could be worse, I could like boys younger than me."

"Too true," she replied, shuddering at the thought. If boys were a misery, young boys were a nightmare.

"Anyway we're about to be in our sixth year, it's the one year we don't have to worry about OWLs or NEWTs or our future. We can just enjoy it and I definitely plan on enjoying it."

"Speak for yourself!" Cara replied, her tone bordering on shrill.

"Ack! If I get the O.W.L.s I expect, I'll be taking N.E.W.T. courses in Defense Against the Dark Arts, Transfiguration, Charms, and Arithmancy! Maybe even Care of Magical Creatures... certainly not Potions or Herbology—it'll be a good job if I scrape up an A in those.

"Regardless, I expect my course load will be thoroughly unmanageable. Certainly no time for boys there. Plus, I reckon I'll try out for the quidditch team... because I'm mad. Ack."

Ayla squawked out at laugh when Cara mentioned Professors. Thank goodness Professor Frasier had left. He had been all kinds of gorgeous, likely still was wherever he had ended up. It also was no secret that Ayla had thought so. It had been one of the many rumors bullies like Callum Knight had spread about her, that she had been trying to seduce the poor Muggle Studies Professor. She hadn't been able to look at him for weeks after that one made it around the castle, which really was a shame considering he truly was gor-geous!

As Cara listed off her plans for upcoming NEWTs classes, Ayla tried to think of the course load she'd be making for herself. Definitely Charms and Transfiguration, Potions if she could make it through Vaillancourt's ridiculous expectations. She'd like to keep Creatures and possibly Herbology. History of Magic was an easy drop and she couldn't see herself needing to continue Divination. That only left Defense and Astronomy, ones she still wasn't sure she wanted to keep taking.

At the mention of Quidditch she perked right up and turned to face Cara, "Oh my Merlin, you have to try out for the Quidditch team. I mean we'll be on competing teams but it's absolutely the best. You'd probably make a good Chaser, maybe a Keeper. Your team already has a seeker and she's wicked good. Any idea who's going to be your Captain next year, since Raine's graduating and All?" The one subject Ayla could talk about more than boys was Quidditch, "I'm actually thinking of applying for Captain next year myself. I mean Elysia's graduating and there's no one else on the team that's interested far as I know. I've already done the job once before when half our team was in detention."

"Oh my Merlin, you have to try out for the Quidditch team. I mean we'll be on competing teams but it's absolutely the best. You'd probably make a good Chaser, maybe a Keeper. Your team already has a seeker and she's wicked good. Any idea who's going to be your Captain next year, since Raine's graduating and all?"

Cara blinked, taken aback slightly by Ayla's gushing—she hadn't realized that her friend was so intensely into quidditch! Granted, she'd never asked. Cara had only developed an interest in the sport herself perhaps a year or two ago. She'd wanted to try out for the team in September, but feared that her O.W.L.s would make practicing and playing a bit too tiresome.

"I'm probably going to try out for Chaser, yeah! What with bein' fast and little, and all."

She mulled over the question of who might become captain, and then shrugged her shoulders.

"To be honest, I reckon the most experienced person on the team now is Mai, huh? But she'll only be a fourth year, so I danno. She has my vote, anyhow, even if she is a bit of a troublemaker."

A bit was a bit of an understatement.

"I'm actually thinking of applying for Captain next year myself. I mean Elysia's graduating and there's no one else on the team that's interested far as I know. I've already done the job once before when half our team was in detention."

"You should!" Cara blurted, simpering. "You'd make an excellent captain. But... yanno... if you're a quidditch captain, you might not have nearly as much time for the boys, Ayla."

She grinned, biting her lower lip.

Ayla barely registered her friends shock. She didn't think it would have been such a surprise having been on the team for nearly three years now. Granted she didn't seem like the jock type. She was into fashion and make-up and gossip and boys. She was also incredibly petite at only five feet and not much more than a hundred pounds. Definitely not the kind of girl you'd pick out of the crowd as a Quidditch player.

She nodded, knowingly, "I'm a chaser myself. You need great broom control and at least a decent arm. The quaffle can feel super heavy after an hour or so." Most of the games she had played thankfully hadn't lasted too long but she had heard stories of games lasting for days. She supposed they were lucky they had some really talented Seekers.

Ayla laughed, "A little bit of a troublemaker?" Ayla knew Mairead was trouble long before she had become a prefect, "if I had a knut for every time Mai and my brother have lost points or ended up in detention . . ." She shook her head with a smile, "you're right though, she'd make a great Captain."

Ayla blushed. The more she talked about it with her friends the more she felt like becoming Quidditch Captain could be a reality, "thanks. It would be a lot of work and wouldn't give me too much time for dating I suppose." She tapped her chin as if seriously contemplating something, "Although," she gave Cara a conspiratorial look, "Raines dating Zel and Gracie's with Theo and Peyton's got Nick. If they can manage Quidditch and Boyfriends I think I'll be just fine." Despite the rather recluse nature she had adopted the previous year she still had her ear to the floor when it came to the many relationships of Hogwarts.

"I'm a chaser myself. You need great broom control and at least a decent arm. The quaffle can feel super heavy after an hour or so."

"No kiddin'," Cara agreed, scratching her temple. "I've practiced a little on my own... I'm not the best, but I can fly pretty well, and I've got decent hands. I'm sure I can pick it up if I work at it."

"A little bit of a troublemaker? If I had a knut for every time Mai and my brother have lost points or ended up in detention . . . you're right though, she'd make a great Captain."

"Okay, so 'troublemaker' might be an understatement," Cara conceded with a giggle. "She is a brilliant seeker, though, and I reckon she knows the game better than anyone else that'll be left on the team, huh? Got a real head for it, seems like."

Cara raised her eyebrows as Ayla listed off the various team captains and their romantic relationships, grinning.

"You sure do keep your information current, don't you, love? Yeesh—am I the only person in the school that hasn't really... dated anybody? Starting to wonder if I'm some sort of leper."

With the topic of quidditch Ayla let her mind wander. There were so many good players that were graduating this year. Almost the entirety of the Slytherin team was made up of Seventh years. It was really only the Gryffindor team that had any younger players on it. Even Hufflepuff wasn't that diverse. They'd be losing Fig and Elysia. There was still herself of course and Heliotrope if the little mermaid was still interested in playing (which Ayla couldn't really guarantee) This was definitely going to be an interesting time for the Quidditch players to say the least.

Ayla laughed and leaned back on the couch, "are you kidding me? First off you're not a leper, obviously. Secondly I think you might actually be the smartest of all of us."

She thought about all of her own romantic entanglements. As much as she loved the idea of having a boyfriend, the thrill of dating she also had to admit that it had never actually gone well for her. She couldn't think of a single boy she liked that she was even still friends with.

She smirked, "besides I'm pretty sure all the seventh years are dating solely for the sex." One Didn't really need to pay attention to the rumor mill to know that their graduating class was one of the most promiscuous group in years.