Friday night, the 23^rd of September, 2011
Hufflepuff girls' dorm
The Autumnal Equinox

Osha and Zeta were draped over each other on Zeta's cozy bed. They were arranged so that Zeta had access to Osha's pretty arm, and it was already partially vined with hand-drawn chrysanthemums. It was a very zen sort of thing, drawing the intricate flowers petal by petal, building out from the center in shimmering opalescent ink. She connected each one with curling vines. Flowers weren't really Zeta's aesthetic, but they were very calming to draw and Osha would not have been interested in jagged geometric labyrinths.

Zeta's red blond hair was drawn up in two messy buns and she was wearing three layered tank tops in neons, tucked into high waisted voluminous black trousers. Her own arms were full nearly to the elbows in cuffs, bangles, and woven bracelets.  Her newest lipstick was iridescent green.

"I'm going to get a tattoo immediately when I turn seventeen," she declared. Her birthday was in January, only a few months away. "I will not be deterred. I don't know what of exactly, but it's going to be big and colorful. All up and down both arms."

She'd got the idea in her head about a week ago and now it was all she could think of. "I'm sure mum will say I'll never be able to get a job, but I don't care. I'm not going to have some boring office job, anyway."

Zeta rotated Osha's arm to start on a new flower on the underside of her forearm, where it was more tickling. "Osh! Cease thy wiggling!" she laughed. 

Osha was feeling so comfortable, lounging in their dorm and not thinking about having to attend lessons tomorrow. Homework could wait. She giggled as her housemate began to progress further along her arm - expanding her ambitious artwork with more patience and dedication to it than Osha herself could have mustered.

            "Osh! Cease thy wiggling!"

"Sorry!" she squealed, pushing up the sleeve of her shirt to give Zeta more space to work with. "I'm trying!"

Osha flopped back on to the bed, legs partly tangled in the sheets and with Zeta's. All this talk about turning seventeen was exciting but it seemed so far away. Should she get a tattoo as well? There was that place just around the corner from the flower shop, in Knockturn....

"I'd get a tiny tattoo. On my shoulder." Probably a flower, she thought as she lifted her head to glance at the ones travelling down her arm. "Maybe you could work at tattoo parlour?" Osha suggested. "That sounds like the exact opposite of a boring office job!"

Ayla sat on her bed, atop her neatly made covers. She was surrounded by various objects - a few texts books, issues of Witch weekly, a small jewelry box that appeared to be overflowing and in the middle of it all was a leather twist bracelet.

She was listening to the girls across from her while she rifled through the books on her bed, her wand twirling absently in her hand as she did so.

"My cousin Athena, she's absolutely covered in tattoos - Magical and Muggle. She's also a teacher, so I guess it doesn't really matter what you look like for work. Though she is from the States, so." She had often heard that British women were more prudish and conservative, though she didn't exactly believe that. All the British women she knew were complete badasses.

She was only a few months away from her own Seventeenth birthday, making her just slightly older than her dorm mates, "Speaking of jobs." Being in their Sixth year at Hogwarts and months away from being considered adults, it was hard not to think about their futures, "How would you guys react to an ex boyfriend - who now happens to be a millionaire - offering to fund your own business?"

      "Maybe you could work at tattoo parlour?"

"Hmmm..."  Zeta stroked her chin in a performance of thoughtfulness. "I would enjoy stabbing people..." She laughed.

       "My cousin Athena, she's absolutely covered in tattoos...." Ayla said.

"Jealous...!" replied Zeta in sing-song. She was surprised that even teachers could be inked in America - she thought of her dad's visits there and wished she'd asked him to get some photos or portraits of tattoo'd American teachers.

And then her jaw dropped and she snapped her eyes up to Ayla.

"Ayla Bryan Collins! Don't you dare!" She could only be speaking of Xavier Tawse, a Slytherin who was two years ahead of them, graduated Hogwarts, inherited a fortune from his grandfather, and was trouble. At the time, Zeta hadn't bothered Ayla too much about what she saw as a very risky relationship, but she was glad when it ended.

"There's no possible way this isn't some kind of scam. Sorry to say so."

She could easily picture Zeta working at a tattoo parlour now, being told off by the artists for jabbing at the customers a bit too excitedly. Osha giggled at this thought, still on her back, as she glanced over at Ayla. Tattoos and teachers flew straight from her mind at the question.

Wow. Sometimes Osha forgot that her housemate had so much more drama going on.

Zeta was totally set against the idea, couldn't blame her. What did they really know about the inner workings of someone lie Xavier Tawse anyway?

"Why did he even offer?" Osha sat up, careful not to disturb the drawing on her arm. "I don't know, Ayla. He might use it to like... ask for another kind of favour," she pulled a face. "Do you really want to feel like you owe him soemthing? Boys are so gross."

In all honesty Ayla wasn't surprised by her friend's reactions. She didn't think anyone had actually approved of her short lived romance with the older Slytherin. It had only lasted two months but the feelings and interactions had lingered through the years that followed. She thought on the letters she had tucked away at the bottom of her trunk. She wasn't even sure why she had kept them, or why she had brought them with her. Perhaps they were just a reminder not to go down that road again.

"He did happen to be drunk at the time." Which from what she could discern was a more common occurrence now that he was out in the adult world  (if his drunk owls were anything to go on)

She sighed and leaned back on her large pillows twirling the leather bracelet in her fingers, "boys really do suck." She agreed with Osha. While she didn't really believe that Xavier would have used something like that as leverage for certain favours, she had once thought that of Alistair and now look at her.

She glanced over at her dorm mates, "Do yourself a favour girls, forget about boys. They never do anything nice without wanting sex out of it." She smirked lightly. Ayla Collins denouncing boys was certainly a sight to see.

"Collins, you walnut!" Zeta gasped! Drunk! She swung out with her pillow, probably jostling Osha. Ayla, that poor dear thing. A bright and shining mini-mess.

    "Do yourself a favour girls, forget about boys."

Zeta snapped her fingers. "Done!" She was finding girls more interesting lately anyway.  She hadn't had a boyfriend yet, and there were absolutely sweet, clever boys at school but none of them seemed to show and interest in her so meh.

"So what's your business idea? Baking? Mmmm. Maybe we could help you raise money..."  Ayla was an intoxicating baker and Hufflepuff was dead lucky to have her. The commonroom was frequently stocked with something enticing, and sometimes spiked with a bit of magic. They'd chatted about it a bit before, Zeta feeling fulfilled by drawing, Ayla by batters and beaters and biscuits.

She'd heard of baking referred to as art and science; Zeta knew next to nothing about science but it seemed to her like Potions without the magic. Mixing chemicals and then boom. Or brownies.

"Not sure how, though."

Osha's eyes were round with wonder as she stared at Ayla. The IDEA of trusting a drunk Xavier Tawse was so.... so outside of the realm of her imagination. Alcohol made people say weird things! At least as far as she knew. Mum liked to talk about Glumbumbles and naked mole rats when she had more than two glasses of wine.

            "Do yourself a favour girls, forget about boys."

Zeta seemed to agree with this sentiment, and Osha laughed at how easy it was for her friend to say so out loud. "I try not to think about them enough to require any forgetting," she grinned at Ayla before propping herself up on the bed against some pillows.

Raising money to do something as big as starting your own business was a Big Deal. Osha narrowed her eyes and stared into space, taking a quick moment to ponder. There had to be some way to help Ayla get it going, right? Even on a small scale.

"We could have like.... a fundraiser?" Osha frowned, tentative. "Or you could find a backer who isn't your ex. Someone you can impress with your baking skills!"

Ayla yelped and giggled when Zeta swung out with her pillow. She couldn't get over the hilarity of her friend calling her a walnut (!) of all things. She was suddenly very glad she was talking to her girls about this. All they were missing was Winnie to top it all off with 'visions' of their futures.

She sighed as the pair so easily dismissed boys. She wished she could be like them. She had been boy crazy, for lack of a better word, ever since puberty had hit. How all the other girls she knew weren't boiling cesspits of hormones, she had no idea. It made it almost easier to talk to boys about it - not that she had any boys to talk about it to. She had Fred, but really, he was about as useless as trying to talk to her brother and sister about this sort of thing.

She felt a blush well up on her cheeks as they started to devise plans to help her fulfil her future dreams, "you guys." She swooned and made a finger heart over her chest, "finding a backer would be a good idea though. I'm thinking of starting small, maybe just a cart or kiosk in Diagon. Eventually I want my own bakery."

She tucked the bracelet she had been holding into a special spot in her jewelry box. One that was almost overflowing with pieces of jewelry the boys in her life had given her, "I have some money saved from all the years I've worked a stand during the Hogsmeade Winter Festival." She knew it was no where near enough for the capital she needed but it had been good experience and it helped her build up clientele. She had been doing it enough now that she had wixes she could consider regulars.

"And my parents did say they'd help if I was serious enough about it." Given the fact that Ayla spent most of the year living in the castle, she didn't speak much about her station in life. Saying her family was well off was a bit of an understatement these days. Her father was an Ambassador and her mother a famous, award winning fashion designer. Then again her family's fortune, so to speak, came from the muggle realm and wasn't exactly taken into consideration when it came to the social hierarchy of Hogwarts.

"We could advertise in the Hogwarts Howler," Zeta suggested, after making affirmative utterances at Osha's suggestion of a fundraiser and Ayla's agreement with the idea of an investor.  "Maybe sell something warm at the Quidditch matches."

That was just small knuts, though. How much could she really make off second years' pocket change? A simple school bake sale wasn't going to be at the scale Ayla needed.

Zeta rolled over on her stomach and chewed on the end of her pen cap in thought. Her voice was muffled as she wondered ... "Who do we know who's rich ... other than Xavier Tawse ..."  Then it looked like she had an idea, and took the pen out of her mouth.

"If I were rich, I'd be a famous actor. I'd have a huge apartment above Diagon Alley and go out every night and wear all the newest fashion. And I'd bankroll your business and you'd have bakeries in Signature and Death and Co and all the best places..."

Then she slumped over the edge of the bed. "But I have Defense homework..."

"Howler!" she caught on to Zeta's first suggestion quickly, because it was the one most within their reach. "That's such a good idea! And Zeta can draw it, or we can take photos of your baked goods to really tempt people." Who could resist a pretty picture of a really good cake or pastry, right?

It was nice that Ayla's parents were supportive too. Osha thought that was probably her best bet: if you needed a backer, it was better to owe it to your parents than an ex or a complete stranger. Especially if your parents were chill.

Zeta carried on, though, talking about her own dreams. "An actor?" Osha raised her eyebrows and then pulled a face. "You could still be an actor. If you can compromise on the big flat," she laughed, sitting up against her pillows slightly. "What happened to tattoo artist?"

But that didn't surprise her. Zeta was always saying this and that, not really settling. It was an adventure, being her friend! Osha sighed and crossed her arms across her chest thoughtfully while she considered her own prospects after Hogwarts.

"I guess I'm just going to keep working at Floriblunders," she shrugged lightheartedly - it was her dream to continue being a florist after all. "If mum says it's alright, you can set up a cart outside our flower shop this summer!" Osha offered Ayla, certain that her mother would support the idea.

Ayla leaned back against her many pillows, rearranging some of her stuffed animals to be more comfortable. Her friends made her smile. She was happy they were so supportive and it was great to talk to them about all this. Especially considering, if left to her own devices, she was more likely to make all the wrong decisions.

"Why have I never thought about advertising in the Howler?" She even wrote for the school paper some times. Most students in their year knew about her passion for baking and many more had even purchased her treats whenever she sold them during the Winter Festivale. It likely wouldn't amount to much but it was a good way to keep her name out there year round. After all didn't the guy that owned the Joke Shop in Diagon start off  buy selling stuff while still at Hogwarts? She could totally do that too.

She bit her a lip when Zeta asked who they knew that was rich that wasn't her ex. She didn't feel it was the right moment to mention that she actually was herself, or at least her family was. She liked this brainstorming session too much to suggest she could just fall back on her family's wealth and not have to worry about it. She felt like she needed to work for it anyway, she didn't want anything just handed to her.

"You could always do both. Act and be a tattoo artist. Use the tattoos to make a living while putting yourself out there as an actor, people do it all the time. Okay, well, maybe not the tattoo bit but actors always have more than one job."

She sat up quickly and looked to Osha, "Really?! That'd be soooo cool!" She bit her lip again while the gears started whirling in her head, "I could do flower themed treats! Gummy berries, flower shaped cookies, cupcakes iced to look like blossoms!" She scrambled down her bed and opened her trunk pulling out her journal slash recipe book and started jotting down ideas. Even if she didn't end up being able to work with Osha's mom on the project, making a line of spring and summer inspired treats was never a bad idea. She had run out of new ideas for her Christmas Themed treats long ago.

Zeta laughed at being reminded she'd decided on being a tattooist only minutes before.

"True, true! Both, at once!" she giggled in agreement with the other two girls. Artist slash tattooist slash actor slash full time Pepper. It was far-fetched but who cares? Her mum was a formidable accountant and her dad built flying cars. She could pretend to cry and then stab people with needles. Life is funny.

Ayla and Osha were riffing on floral/pastry synergy and thinking about summer already. The three of them were bursting with creative potential and big plans and an unstoppable fire! But! But it all seemed ages away! They weren't even at Halloween, let alone Christmas, forget about summer flower carts, lemon tarts, and nights out with Theta and her friends, and sneaking out to get inked.

In spite of herself, she sighed dramatically and melted halfway off the bed. "Request permission to time travel?"

Here they were, sitting around in their beds while their heads raced ahead to their futures! Osha reached for one of her spare pillows and hugged it as she listened to Ayla's ideas about what kind of baked goods she could sell. They all sounded tasty! It was kind of making her hungry. Good thing the dorms were so close to the kitchens.

            "Request permission to time travel?"

"Noooo!" Osha exclaimed, hugging the pillow a bit more tightly as she pouted in Zeta's direction. "I don't wanna miss all the fun stuff between now and then! Like, not the exams, but you know-" she bobbed her head from side to side, "-all the other stuff."

They had school dances and secret parties and great hall dinners and Halloween...! Osha didn't have any brothers or sisters so she was painfully aware of how different life would be when they finished school. It would be just her all alone.

"Think about it you guys," she told them with wide eyes, suddenly serious. "We won't be like this ever again! All of us living in the same castle, seeing each other every day, no parents around! It's way easier to sneak out of the common room than to sneak out of my mum and da's flat."

Ayla laughed as Zeta seemed to melt off her bed, "And Quidditch!" She reminded them but wasn't entirely sure that either girl was as passionate about the sport as she was, "I gave up my Prefect Badge to be Captain this year! There is no way I'm missing that! We have a really good shot this year, too!" Not necessarily because the Hufflepuff team had a good roster this year but because some of the greatest Quidditch players had graduated the year before. Without the fierce competition that the previous Seventh Years offered, the new teams were pretty much on equal ground.

"No more competing with Peofessional level players." She stuck out of her tongue and glanced over to her collection of letters. Somewhere amongst them was Peyton's excited letter, telling her that he had been scouted and had joined the Tutshil Tornadoes.

Her expression fell slightly when Osha reminded them just how different life was going to be outside of Hogwarts, "we could always get a flat together." She looked from Osha to Zeta, "a lot of the other graduates have done it. It's almost like a rite of passage at this point." Besides she wasn't too keen to go back to living in her parents Penthouse. Neither were ever home and the twins would still have two more years at Hogwarts after she graduated.