Under different circumstances, someone was bound to be proud of him.  Especially for him, straight up skipping class for the first time was a profound milestone.  And, Sasha Schlagenweit hadn't just skipped class - he'd skipped the whole day. 

As far as he could remember, everything had felt fine and normal that morning - in fact, they'd even been a bit luxurious.  Knowing that he'd, likely, be up late at the Halloween Ball that evening, Sasha had permitted himself to sleep in when he normally would be up, running before breakfast.  Maybe there were signs - perhaps Fergie or Neely or any of those students who were better at Divination than he might have recognized some sort of foreboding indicator. 

As always, breakfast found him with his nose so deep in his books it wasn't until one of his classmates shoved a copy of the Daily Prophet between his nose and his Charms essay with a hushed 'is it true?' that Sasha was aware of the morning's twist of fate.  Whether or not his other housemates were all watching him with that same curious inquisitiveness, Sasha didn't even know.  He'd kept his eyes glued on the paper, avoiding looking up at all costs until he managed to push himself to his feet and hurry from the Great Hall. 

One of the things Sasha remembered thinking when he first arrived at Hogwarts was how vast and expansive the castle seemed to be.  He'd spent months wondering what on Earth the school did with all that space.  It wasn't until times like now, when one was desperately trying to avoid other people, the vastness was, in some ways, merely a perception.  He'd wandered the grounds blankly throughout his morning classes and, sometime around lunch, had come to rest amongst a bunch of young pines along the far end of one of the Care of Magical Creatures paddocks. 

On three separate occasions, Sasha had tugged a piece of parchment from his bag and past the carefully folded Peter Pan costume, intent upon writing an owl to Dreogan - or, perhaps - Aleron, given the other man's lack of placement in the article - intent upon asking for details about transferring to their alma mater.  He knew both would point out that such a question was reactionary but - given the last paragraph - the last threat - it didn't seem like it was excessively dramatic.  Perhaps Snark was less likely to feel obligated to follow Skeeter's advice if Sasha was no longer in her cross hairs.

Night had fallen and the grounds had grown increasingly quiet and deserted as everyone congregated in the Great Hall for the dance.  Which, of course, was out of the question.  Freya was a smart girl - she was bound to figure it out.  And, not take it personally. 

As the night chill set in, Sasha conceded to the inevitability that he'd have to go inside again, at some point.  If, for no other reason than to sneak back up to the boy's dorm.  With everyone at the dance, he hoped his passage would go unnoticed. 

Ava had seen it all. From readingthe paper herself, to mirroring the expressions and cautious glances to the Ravenclaw table of every other person in the Great Hall that morning. Her brow pinched together as she watched Sasha stand up and hurry out of the hall. Dropping her toast and picking up her bag, she stood u and ran out after him, much to the protest of her friends.

Once out in the hallway, she looked left and right. Up the stairs, out the door into the courtyard. But he had gone. Disappeared into the throngs of students making their way to and from classes, chattering happily about the night's events. Ava sighed and shook her head. Poor Sasha.

She attended all of her classes, though her mind wasn't really on what the professors were teaching. She kept looking absent-mindedly out of the window, wondering if Sasha was ok. Back down in the dorms, all of the girls were squirrelling around eachother, complimenting costumes and applying make-up. Ava got dressed perhaps a little more hap-hazardly than normal. Her mind wasn't on the dance - it was on Sasha. Normally she saw him in the corridors between classes, but she hadn't seen him today and it was worrying.

As people were making their way down to the Great Hall for the ball, Ava was frantically making her way to all the Ravenclaws and fifth years she could find, asking if they had seen Sasha. None of them knew, and most of them seemed confused as to why Ava wanted to know. She sighed and threw her hands up in the air in defeat, causing to first year girls to nearly jump out of their skin in fright.

She decided to try her luck with the grounds, so made her way purposefully out into the courtyard. Out in the grounds, she made her way down towards the lake, wrapping her arms around herself to keep in some of the warmth. Her Alice In Wonderland costume was not the warmest of things. Her eyes narrowed slightly as she squinted into the distance. There was someone under some trees. She stopped in her tracks and leant forward slightly. It was Sasha!

She grinned and picked up her pace, starting off on a steady trot before heading into a full blown gallop towards the trees. She skidded to a halt before she reached Sasha, trying to catch her breath and tone down the gleeful expression on her face. "Hey." She sat down next to him, letting her fingers graze the odd blades of grass that surrounded the tree.

Sasha heard the rapid footfalls moving towards him but he didn't look up.  Maybe, for once that day, luck would work in his favor and they'd run past him or turn and move away.  He didn't want to answer questions, didn't want to try to explain himself, didn't want to see the pity or curiosity or simple questions in anyone's face. 

But, the footsteps continued to move towards him until someone dropped on the ground next to him.  Whoever he might have been expecting - or hoping - to find next him, it wasn't Ava Grosvenor.  Sure, he was finding himself in her company more often than he used to and she seemed to seek him out as much as he sought her.  He even had come to accept her ... for lack of a better term ... volatile mood swings as a part of whatever illness or whatever she was dealing with.  There were, undoubtedly, times when she was harsh, bordering on cruel, towards him but there were also times when a softer, gentler and far more friendly side showed through. 

She greeted him and Sasha glanced at her, briefly, trying to quickly gauge what side of her had motivated her to seek him out.  He'd accepted those vicious moods were outside of her control but he didn't think he could deal with darker Ava.  But, there seemed to be no trace of that other side of her and Sasha attempted a tentative grin - though it probably came across as strained.

"Hey," he repeated, quietly.  After the hours of isolation and silence, it was strange how foreign his own voice sounded in his head.  What was he supposed to say, now?  Was she expecting him to say something?  Did she think he was pathetic?  Did she think he'd been lying to her as well?  He exhaled, quickly, through his nose before looking down at his hands.  "You read it?" he asked, assuming she'd know what he was talking about.  "What are they saying?" 

She was content just to sit in silence. He would talk when he was ready. She wasn't going to push him into talking about it if he wasn't comfortable. Just as long as he knew that she was there and ready to listen if he needed her. In the same way he had been - was - there for her.

She didn't need to answer his first question. It was less of a question, really, and more of a confirmation of his fears. Her lips pressed together a little more, forming a thin line of pressure. But his second question couldn't go unanswered. Of course people were talking about him. He was the hot gossip of the week.

Ava let her lips curve up very slightly into a smile."They think you were a famous horse rider that had an affair with a Dutchess, and that was why you lied about your identity." She giggled slightly and nudged him, shoulder to shoulder. "I just let the rumours spread. No point in stemming something that keeps them from the truth." She grinned slightly, but let them fall to the grass momentarily. "What-what is the truth?"

Sasha had spent the whole day in as close to complete solitude as he could manage.  He'd assumed facing the day alone would simply be easier than having to deal with other people.  At first, he'd been suspicious of Ava's mood and he'd even slightly resented her penetrating that solitude.  As the quiet moments ticked on and Sasha gradually accepted the genuine intentions of the woman sitting next to him, the resentment was replaced with at deep sense of gratitude.  Rather than the shameful discomfort he'd been expecting to feel in the presence of someone else, Sasha was finding the presence of someone sitting strongly next to him surprisingly comforting. 

With another sigh, more of the tension his shoulders had gathered on her approach ebbed gently away.  Despite everything, Sasha had to laugh, quietly, at the answer Ava provided and he glanced at her, a slight grin on his face as she nudged him.  The gesture not only lightened the mood but also reminded Sasha of Ava's current attire.  Both its attractiveness and lack of insolation.  Luckily, the act of shrugging his own robes free from his shoulders and draping them over Ava's provided a decent distraction from the first trait.  "I suppose it's a fair guess.  Historically, my relatives were counts, so a duchess would be a nice step up in status," Sasha offered, trying his own hand at a bit of humor.  "And, affairs seem to run in the family, too.  And, I am a good rider."  Not that he was looking for an opportunity to sound pompous. 

While normally very cordial and polite with others, Sasha was well known for keeping his personal distance from others - physically even more so than emotionally.  But, in the comfort of her presence, he leaned over, slightly, and let his head rest on Ava's shoulder.  He sighed, again, closing his eyes and shrugged.  "It's actually all pretty true," he admitted, quietly.  For all of Rita Skeeter's reputation for sensationalizing the truth for shock factor, she hadn't needed to do much on his part. 

"My mother and stepfather reacted so badly when they brought my acceptance letter to my house that they had to modify their memories.  They think I'm studying sciences and French at a school in Switzerland.  They think I ride for the school team.  They think I'm dating a girl from Austria named Hannah."  His stepfather couldn't have been more pleased to hear that Neely had dumped Sasha.  Bitterly, he added, "so - yeah, I've been lying to everyone.  Except - I didn't mean to lie her.  It just seemed easier that way, you know?  If it's just all kept separate.  And, it's hard enough when they know you're muggleborn but ...  It's all as pathetic as it sounds." 

Though she had been aware of Sasha's sudden tenseness at her arrival, it was apparent that it was slowly ebbing away. His shoulders seemed to relax a little, and he even managed to crack a smile, forcing hers wider in turn. She watched with a slightly puzzled expression as he shrugged his robe from his shoulders and draped them over hers. "Oh..." she swallowed and smiled sheepishly. "Thanks." She couldn't honestly say she wasn't grateful - it was rather chilly out, and a cool breeze whipped through the blades of grass, forcing her to pull the robe further around herself.

His response to the rumours that were flying around the school caused her to chuckle. "A step up in status indeed," she agreed. Whatever response she had been expecting, or hoping for, the affectionate leaning of his head on her shoulder was not one she had envisaged. Her eyes widened momentarily and she tensed up. As he started talking, however, she felt her shoulders relax. Her expression softened as she listened, and without even realising it, her own head had moved slightly and was now resting on his.

She sighed as he finished speaking. "It's not pathetic," she offered earnestly, "I can empathise with what you're going through." She paused momentarily. "But...do you really want to hide? What are you hiding from?"

His head resting against Ava's shoulder, her head resting lightly on his, Sasha was unable to see the older Slytherin's expression but he felt her shoulders drop gradually as she sighed.  He took her reassurance at face value - neither questioning its validity or whether, by now, she would have a biased enough view point to color her perspective.  Sasha accepted Ava's opinion as being one of those that, quite simply, mattered. 

Sasha was far from conceited enough to believe his situation was wholly unique in any sense.  The details might be different - but he was well aware the overall concept wasn't.  At least not in theory.  But, it did still startle him when he heard Ava admit she could empathize.  "You mean, with your parents?  And, well, being friendly with muggleborns?"  Sasha asked to verify.  Those few times when Ava's other personality showed through, it was usually quite apparent that her household was just as intolerant as his - the objects of their intolerance were, simply, different.

At first, Ava's question was puzzling.  Sasha assumed the answer would have been pretty obvious - he was hiding from his parents.  His mouth opened, that reminder poised on his lips when he realized the question referred to now.  And here.  Why had he spent most of the day wandering the grounds, lingering in the paddocks out behind the nurse's cabin? 

"I don't know," Sasha admitted, quietly.  Which was a rather thorough lie.  "I'm hiding from Madam Snark.  I'm hiding from Callum and Erin and the other ... Slytherins."  Ava might not think him pathetic, but Sasha wasn't foolish enough to delude himself into thinking everyone else would agree.  It wasn't that he cared what they thought - he just wasn't looking forward to the humiliation and the bruises and whatever other trouble it would bring.  "And, I don't ..."  Sasha started, then hesitated.  "I've spent four years keeping everything so separate.  How will I know what to do?"

She simply nodded as he second-guessed her meaning. She had no desire to delve back into her own problems. Not now. Not for a while. The wound that had been so callously ripped open recently was taking a long time to heal. But it had started healing, with Sasha's help, and Ava feared that exposing herself to any more of her own emotions would be detrimental to her recovery.

His enquiry into how he would know what to do was met with a slight smile. "You won't." She shrugged very slightly. "Nobody does. You just have to guess, and hope it's the right decision. Or, you could hide out here for the rest of your life and hope that the flobberworms eat you alive before Erin and Callum find you." She grinned and shifted, deciding that perking up might be just what the healer ordered. "Come on!" she stood up and held a hand out to Sasha. "We'll be quite late, but you're going to the ball!"

"I know. Thank you," Sasha offered after Ava's words of advice - or guidance.  She was right and, more importantly, she'd been honest.  Despite the travesty of the Quidditch Cup last year, her obvious taunting on the train and her unpredictable mood swings this year, Ava Grosvenor was quickly becoming one person he trusted unwaveringly.  But, despite her advice, Sasha had decided to take Dreogan's advice and lay low for a few days until he was ready to face the whole process of school. 

With everything - from Professor Greyfriar's attack to this article to Snark's general ... whatever against him, Sasha was looking forward to a few days away in London.  He'd expected it to stay there - for them to leave it there.  Ava was bound to go back to the dance - with whomever she was supposed to be there with - and Sasha could keep to himself until it was time for him to leave in the morning. 

But, Ava turned to him and held out her hand after pushing herself to her feet.  Startled, confused, Sasha gazed up at her from the ground.  "I - what?" he asked, glancing around him, half-expecting to see someone else waiting to grab her hand.  "You ... me?  Wha?"  He blinked, remaining where he was on the ground, staring at Ava in confusion.  "You want - why - don't you have someone to go with?" 

Sasha looked shocked to the core at her request. Ava laughed, the first real laugh she had felt in months. Of course I have someone else to go with! But I was holding out for you." She quirked an eyebrow. "Not that I couldn't have found someone else, you understand. I could go in there now and pick somebody who would be overjoyed at the chance to dance with me!"

Her grin quickly turned into a side pout. "Wouldn't you want to go to the dance with me?" She raised an eyebrow before sitting back down. "Because either way, you're stuck with me." She folded her arms across her chest stubbornly - something she was extremely good at and had been from a young age. "We can just...you know, sit here and talk or something if you don't want to go in?" She chanced a glance at him, realising that going into that hall was probably the last thing he wanted to do at that moment in time.

The shock on Sasha's features only grew more profound.  "I - Seriously?"  He asked, his eyebrows furrowed.  She was just saying that to make him feel better now, wasn't she?  She had to be!  After all, like she said, there were bound to be lots of boys who would have gladly taken her to the dance.  She couldn't have been holding out all this time for him. 

She could have likely gone with anyone she wanted and, here she was.  Sitting out in the dark with him.  Missing all of it.

Despite the slight sense of guilt over keeping her from the dance, Sasha was immensely grateful when she sat back down next to him.  "I - yeah, no." He admitted, quietly, shaking his head slightly.  "I don't want to go in there."  It was cowardice, perhaps, but he just didn't want to be surrounded by other students. 

"Of course you could have gone with anyone.  I mean, you're pretty and nice."  Most of the time.  When not in those moods.  Which Sasha had just learned to take with a grain of salt.  "I'm sure lots of boys would want to dance with you.  And, of course I do - I mean would - or I ... "  Color flooded Sasha's cheeks and he looked down at his hands. 

He had confirmed her suspicions - of course he didn't want to go in! After the humiliation of that horrible article by the hag Rita Skeeter, who would want to face all of the school? Ava was sure she wouldn't like to be in his position. She ignored his waffling and his blushing, instead allowing her eyes to watch the grass being compressed gently underneath her fingers.

"What about Neely, anyway?" Ava started cautiously. "I thought you and her were a 'thing'. How come she's not out here keeping you company?" It wasn't that she was nosy, more a genuine curiosity for why Sasha wasn't being consolled by his 'girlfriend'.

Ava didn't insist on going in, a fact which Sasha was highly grateful for.  He was perfectly content and, perhaps, even a little happy to be sitting out in the dark with her.  In the shadows, the gentle motion of the blade of grass rolling between her fingers caught his attention as well and his eyes settled on it absently. 

With a sigh, Sasha shook his head - a likely useless gesture in the dark.  He and Neely were not a thing.  Whether they had ever been was debatable given she'd dumped moments before he was aware they were dating.  "She went with Julian," Sasha admitted, quietly, pursing his lips with another shake of his head.  "She's not talking to me.  She won't listen to me when I apologize, either."  With another sigh, his glanced up from the blade of grass and shrugged. 

It was very likely Sasha was supposed to do something like George had tried to demonstrate in the girl's loo that day to get Neely's attention.  A few times, he'd caught himself trying to imagine something like that but ... it just ... it felt so wrong.  Probably because every time he tried, his thoughts were invaded by that image of George moving towards Freya by the sinks.  Those kind of things might work for George, being all ... studly?  But, trying to think of himself standing near Neely where George had been in relation to Freya and saying those ... well, frankly, stupid and nonsensical things just seemed so impossible. 

But, of course, that was probably largely why Neely wasn't talking to him. 

With another sigh, Sasha leaned over and, again, rested his head on Ava's shoulder.  For several long moments, he sat in the stillness, content with the quiet.  After a few minutes, he tilted his head, glancing towards Ava.  Perhaps it was the remnants of his 'lesson' with George or perhaps the whole thing was made easier by the knowledge that she'd already initiated one.  Or, maybe it was just her being there that amplified otherwise muted emotions.  Whatever the reason, Sasha lifted his head and pressed his lips against Ava's.