9:00 PM

Devlin thanked Merlin every time he transformed into a rat. It was, by far, the most useful bit of magic he had at his disposal. Curses? There were muggle contraptions that could do just as much damage. Potions? Chemistry sufficed. Divination? Not much of a difference at all. But Animagus magic? Now that was special. To be able to transform into another creature at will was probably one of the most exhilarating, and useful, things he could ever learn. That and how to read minds, which he had been reading up on lately.

The proof of its usefulness was in the fact that currently he was encased in the soft leather of a Hufflepuff girls purse and she didn't even realize it. It was his plan to get into the girls dorm of the Hufflepuff house so that he could be "Found" by Fauna. Getting into the house would have been easy enough, he had a uniform for each house buried in the bottom of his trunk and Michael knew every password by heart, sometimes Dev swore he knew them before they were changed! However, he didn't want to be caught, either in human or rat form. This was much easier. He just sat back, munched on the chocolate frog he found in the pocket of her purse and waited for her to go to bed.

He didn't have to wait long however. About ten minutes later, the bag was roughly dropped on the floor and he heard girls giggling and talking above him. Peaking out from the bag, he saw the the tell tale gold and black bed covers of the Hufflepuff dorms. No one was looking his way, so he slipped from the bag and started to sneak out. However, the sight of what was going on in the dorm room was enough to make him pause and sink back under the bed unnoticed. If he could have had a goofy grin on his face, he would have. In front of him, girls were undressing, articles of clothing dropping around him like a perverted storm. He watched with keen interest, unmoving as stone, until a face 10 times bigger then his own popped into view and a hand slid under the bed in search of a slipper or whatnot. Before he could run, the girls hand moved over him and her eyes focused in the darkness, probably seeing a small dark lump with eyes that seemed red in the dim light.

She let out a scream and Devlin bolted for it, blinding racing between the stomping feet of the half naked girls as they danced around either trying to escape him or step on him. Just as he was about to reach the safety of the door, a white cloud descended on him and he found himself encased in a silky nightgown. The brave girl that threw it on him scooped him up gingerly and the clothe was removed from his eyes, revealing a 7th year girl that he had seen around once or twice. He tried to think of her name when she started to jerk him around so she could get a better look at him. He squeaked in irritation.

"He's kinda cute..." She said finally, after manhandling him for a few minutes.

"It's a rat. It's disgusting.." Announced the other girl, the one whose purse he had stowed away in. He glared, as best he could, at her and remarked mentally You ain't so hot yourself sweetheart. I am glad I took a crap in your purse. And bit a hole in it... and ate your chocolate frog... He was listing off his various crimes of the evening when suddenly the third girl spoke "OOO I bet he is that one girls rat... Fanny?...Flora?..."

"Fauna?" The girl holding him suggested and the third girl snapped her fingers in agreement

"Yes yes, Fauna..." Dev squeaked in agreement, hoping they would understand that he was demanding that they take him to her. Though his squeals must have sounded nothing like an order, they took it none the less.

"I will take it to her..." His captor said, still keeping him wrapped in the silken cloth.

"Throw away my nightie when you are done. I don't want it back" called the mean girl. Devlin raised a paw, and though she didn't see it, managed to curl his tiny claws into a rather crude gesture. He would get her later.

The walk to Fauna's room took only a couple seconds, as it was only a door down. The girl knocked a couple times before calling out "Oi Fauna... I caught one of your... Rodents."

Fauna combed her damp hair out in the mirror, humming to herself quietly. Her bangs had already dried and were sticking up funny, but she was used to it. Every minute or so the humming stopped and her mouth twisted into a scowl when she encountered a particularly nasty tangle. Stupid long hair. Some days she just wanted to chop it all off.

She glanced in the mirror at the girl sitting on her bed and smiled. At least she didn’t have a head of unruly curls like Ollie, or her older sister. In the middle of this thought someone knocked on the door, so she tied her cozy flannel bathrobe more tightly around her. Underneath, she wore a cotton camisole and shorts, which she didn’t feel quite comfortable displaying to her housemates without something like her robe covering it.

Fauna put the comb down and opened the door. She’d heard something about a rodent, so she was only slightly surprised when a younger housemate shoved a rat in her face.

“Oh!” She glanced at the girl and smiled awkwardly. “Well…” she took the rat gently in her hands. “He’s not mine, but…” The girl was already walking away. “I’ll take care of him.”

Fauna held him up so they were eye to eye. “Hi cutie,” she grinned, walking back into the dorm and shutting the door behind her.

“Ollie, I’ve got a new friend,” she announced in a sing-song voice, twirling around the common room because she felt like being silly.

Her hair hung down in tendrils and smelled like cinnamon apples from her shampoo. She forgot about combing it though; her attention completely focused on the rat now. He didn’t look starved; actually, he appeared to be quite well-fed, and Fauna wondered if he’d wandered away from his owner. She would ask around tomorrow. For now, her motherly instincts took over. Fauna reached under her bed and grabbed the wide box she kept for these occasions. In it, lay an old, but freshly washed towel. She put that on her bed, then opened her closet and stood on her tiptoes, accidentally spilling a few of the pellets as she brought the food bag down. “Sorry buddy,” she murmured, not meaning to startle the animal.

After she took care of the food and water and put both tiny dishes in the box, she plopped down next to Ollie. Fauna absently petted the rat’s head, curious about where he'd come from. He had white fur with brown markings around his face, and she didn’t think she’d seen him around the castle before.

She shifted to get comfortable and then looked at her friend sheepishly. “What were we talking about?”

Ollie was babbling about nothing truly important but chit chat that was always fun to talk about. It was girl talk really and Ollie had the intentions of figuring out if Fauna liked anyone. After yesterday there was this plaguing issue of attraction for Fauna, it had been mounting over the days but Ollie had just brushed it aside until yesterday when she could no longer ignore it. Ollie was pretty sure she liked Fauna it sort of felt the same way she felt about Devlin. Devlin would be a good place to start maybe bringing up the idea of boys into conversation.

Ollie was just about to start to the new topic when someone knocked at the door and delivered a rat to Fauna. Ollie sat on Fauna’s bed playing with her mop of unruly hair as Fauna tended to the rat getting out a few things for it. Ollie inched closer to Fauna catching a more delicious scent that no doubt was Fauna’s hair. “Oh he is cute.” Ollie said looking at the rat in Fauna’s hand. “I wonder where he came from,” she asked with a curious look on her face.

“What were we talking about?”

“Oh right,” Ollie realized she had been in the middle of want to ask Fauna about boys and maybe hint at questioning who she liked. How to get on the subject? Ollie pulled one leg to her chest and rested her chin on the bare knee. Ollie was in a pair of shorts and t-shirt, like many of her shirts it was worn and had a few holes.

Curling some hair behind her ears with both her hands she then leaned back on her hands dropping her knee again, she was antsy and not sitting still. “I had the most amazing dream last night, it was about Devlin.” Ollie nodded her head, “Like usual, you know the guy the really gorgeous scruffy hot one from the food fight the other day? He pulled you onto his lap.” Ollie still disliked that he had done that, why hadn’t she been the one to be brought onto his lap. Plus she didn’t like that Fauna was giving Devlin attention. Jealous was not Ollie’s favourite feeling. “What do you think of him?” Ollie figured it was a good lead in to asking questions about who Fauna did like.

Fauna smiled and glanced up at Ollie when she announced she had one of her amazing dreams. Those always involved a boy, and a handsome one of course. Her smile faltered when she mentioned Devlin Matthews. His playfulness during the food fight had been quite flirty if she wasn’t mistaken, though she still resented the oatmeal chucks she kept finding in her hair. It was something else about him that made her frown though.

Fauna took a deep breath. “Well, he’s definitely cute,” she admitted, staring down at her hands.

She looked up at her friend shyly and bit her lip. “I… hmmm,” she stalled. “Ollie, if I tell you something will you promise not to tell anyone?”

She didn’t even need to ask, this was her best friend she was talking to. Still, it made her feel better.

Fauna leaned forward and her wet hair dripped onto her robe. “I don’t trust him,” she whispered, glancing back at the door. “I found out something… well, a couple of things. One, and I might be wrong, but, I think he’s been doing people’s homework,” she widened her eyes at her friend as if the very idea was abhorrent.

“And,” she squirmed uncomfortably. “He kissed Waker last night and she was really mad and upset about it.”

Fauna fiddled with the edge of her robe and sighed. He’d probably just been flirting like he did with all the girls, but a part of her felt disappointed now that she knew more about him. She froze, remembering a crucial point. “Oh and Ollie, I’m such an idiot. I told Waker I’d talk to Inika for her. She’s going to curse me,” she flopped back on the bed with a groan and covered her face with her hands.

It only took a moment for her to open her fingers and stare at the ceiling. She then peeked out at Ollie and wondered what she thought of all this.

“Hi cutie,”

As Fauna held him up to look at him, Devlin was aware of two things. One, he once again got to see how blue her eyes were and Two, he got a whiff of her hair. It there was one thing that Devlin loved in life, it was a good cinnamon roll. His mother used to make them all the time and he remember waking up surrounded by the scent of cinnamon and icing. But he didn't get much of a chance to enjoy it before he had him encased in a box and was pelting him with food pellets, successfully ending his fixation with her fragrant hair. Before he could squeak and nip at her fingers in irritation, she settled on the bed and started talking to the other girl in the room, whose voice he recognized as Ollies.

“What were we talking about?”

“I had the most amazing dream last night, it was about Devlin. Like usual, you know the guy the really gorgeous scruffy hot one from the food fight the other day? He pulled you onto his lap.”

At this point, Devlin forgot about the rain of pellets and perked up at the mention of his name and dream. Inside, he was grinning like a fool. So, the rumors about Ollie liking him were true! Maybe she could convince Fauna he was worthwhile. When she asked  “What do you think of him?”, Devlin tossed away the pellet he had been chewing on and scurried to the corner of the box. Standing on his hind legs, he managed to get a good grip on the edge and hoisted his pudgy rat body out. He just couldn't get the good dirt hanging around in a box. He scurried up Fauna's lap and towards her shoulder, pausing only for a moment to rest against her chest, testing the softness. Once he was satisfied that she indeed had a decent amount, he finished his trek to her shoulder, where he buried himself in her delicious scented hair.

“Well, he’s definitely cute,”

Damn right I am! He thought in agreement, nodding his head before licking her earlobe, as if to encourage her. Unfortunately, no sooner had she praised his cuteness did she start in on his faults, some of which he was surprised to hear she knew about.

“I don’t trust him, I found out something… well, a couple of things. One, and I might be wrong, but, I think he’s been doing people’s homework, And, He kissed Waker last night and she was really mad and upset about it.”

He let out a squeak of anger as he inwardly cursed Waker and her big mouth. What happened between was their damn business, not anyone elses. Though, to be honest, he was angrier about her blabbing about the homework then her whining about the kiss. She could very well destroy his budding business with her nosiness and big mouth! On one hand, this whole situation made him angry. Now he had to work twice as hard to get Fauna to trust him and find a way to get her to excuse both his actions towards Waker AND his criminal activities. At the same time, on the other hand, he felt a challenge coming. Waker obviously was close enough to Fauna to talk to her about her private life. This meant that he would be destroying their friendship by stealing Fauna away. The idea made him smile and ebbed away at his anger. Waker was going to pay.

“Oh and Ollie, I’m such an idiot. I told Waker I’d talk to Inika for her. She’s going to curse me,”

Oh Merlin... Just what he needed, Inika getting in on this. He wasn't as bothered by this idea as he had been about Waker, since he knew that he and Inika weren't going to last much longer. Maybe she would break it off with him when she heard about the kiss. It would certainly make things easier for him since he had been mulling over reasons to break it off anyways. At least this way, he could pretend to be the victim.

Standing on his hind legs, he nipped at her ear as if to say "Go on..."

The rat was out of the box and Ollie watched it as it moved over top of Fauna. She watched as it paused on her chest and Ollie was caught up staring them for a moment until the rat had moved from it spot snapping her from her staring. “Yup he definitely is cute,” she agreed nodding her head curious to hear what else she thought about him.

“Of course I won’t say anything,” now she was very curious as to what she knew about Devlin. She moved a little closer to her. “You don’t trust him?” Ollie didn’t quite get how Fauna could just decide that. What had he done to lose Fauna’s trust?

“I found out something… well, a couple of things. One, and I might be wrong, but, I think he’s been doing people’s homework,”

“People’s homework?” Ollie paused for a moment, “Do you think he would do mine?” Ollie laughed a little. “That isn’t a bad thing Fauna, some people just don’t like doing homework.” Ollie shrugged her shoulders, “He could do worse things, I mean if he isn’t getting caught all the power to him.” Ollie could understand Fauna being a bit concerned about that though.

“He kissed Waker last night and she was really mad and upset about it.”

“How could someone be mad about Devlin Matthews kissing them?” Ollie was in shock at this. “Well I don’t know the particulars about or what is going on with them. But maybe she just doesn’t like him? Maybe she was just angry about it? I dunno?” Ollie shrugged her shoulders. “He doesn’t sound that much like a bad guy.”

“Oh and Ollie, I’m such an idiot. I told Waker I’d talk to Inika for her. She’s going to curse me,”

“Eh who cares about Inika you can tell her later. I still cannot believe he is dating her?” Ollie rolled her eyes at the thought. “Don’t even think about it you can tell her before you go to bed perhaps?” Ollie shrugged her shoulders as she moved to lay down next to Fauna. As she did so she caught the scent of her hair. Ollie just wanted to snuggle into her and kiss her. Ollie felt a pink colour appear on her cheeks as she thought about it.

“Since we are talking about boys and all, do you think anyone cute at school?” She sighed looking up at the ceiling. “Ooo I know something I have never asked you before,” she said with excitement as she rolled to her side not even letting her answer the question about the boy thing. “Have you ever kissed someone?”

Fauna relaxed almost instantly. Ollie always managed to calm her down and it was one of the reasons they were so close.

“Hmmm… yeah you could be right. I haven’t heard his side of the story to any of this anyway. Not that it’s my business. I mean, why would he want to talk to me about his personal life?” Fauna laughed. She still felt a little wary of him though, just because she knew Waker and Waker rarely got upset over anything, let alone guys.

Fauna propped her chin up with her hands and giggled at the rat nibbling at her ear. She gently picked him up off her shoulder and put him on the bed, between her and Ollie.

“My earlobe is not food,” she announced to the rat, then focused her attention back on her friend.

“Ugh. I don’t know why he’s dating her either,” she wrinkled her nose, thinking about Inika. “Yeah, I guess I’ll talk to her when she gets ready for bed,” she said, clearly not looking forward to it.

Then Ollie asked a few embarrassing, but very important questions that Fauna just couldn’t ignore. She flushed, then bent her head down.

“Uh, well, no,” she stammered. “No to both, I guess. Don’t get me wrong, there are a lot of cute boys at this school, especially… well, Devlin and his friends. I don’t know if they’d… if he’d be good at being anyone’s boyfriend. You know? And I haven’t had a boyfriend before. Or been kissed.”

A slow smile spread across her face. “Of course, I wouldn’t… not to say I wouldn’t mind being kissed. Just hasn’t happened.”

Fauna laughed a little and with the movement, a piece of hair fell into her eyes, but she left it alone.

“How about you?” She asked curiously, though she suspected she already knew the answers.

“Hmmm… yeah you could be right. I haven’t heard his side of the story to any of this anyway. Not that it’s my business. I mean, why would he want to talk to me about his personal life?”

“Exactly he could have a side of the story which I am sure he does,” Ollie shrugged her shoulders biting her lip softly. This whole position next to Fauna was driving Ollie nuts and it was stopping her from thing properly. All she wanted to do right now was try kissing Fauna.

Ollie laughed as Fauna moved the rat in between them. “I know Inika and him just doesn’t fit I don’t think.” Ollie knew she was biased though because she liked Devlin but she never thought she had the chance of dating him but it didn’t stop her from liking Devlin.

“Yes Devlin and his friends are cute. Alex is really hot, not as hot as Devlin but he is still really hot.” Ollie chuckled as she thought back to the day in the courtyard with Alex. “Gavin is cute too but he seems cozy with that Nicola girl.” Ollie just shrugged her shoulders.

Fauna had not kissed anyone, Ollie had to admit she kind of liked that. She could be Fauna’s first kiss. “Nah I haven’t kissed anyone either. But you know I do like a few boys at school.” Ollie kept back the words she wanted to add about a few girls she liked, well one really.

Ollie leaned over and brushed some hair from Fauna’s face. The urge to kiss her was becoming too much for her, Ollie was trying not to because she didn’t want to make things awkward. Ollie was saying no but her body was deciding against her and now it was time to see which was stronger.

Ollie brushed her hand over her cheek resting there and her thumb moved against the skin. Ollie smiled at Fauna and before her head could let her mind in on the decision Ollie had leaned closer and placed her lips on Fauna and kissed her. Ollie’s heart was racing but she couldn’t stop the kiss not now.

Fauna definitely felt amused by Ollie’s babbling about the boys at school. Somehow, she wasn’t surprised. Not in the least. Ollie was a bit ‘boy crazy’, but Fauna loved her anyway. She nodded when her friend admitted that she hadn’t kissed anyone yet either, which was again, unsurprising, because they would have gossiped about it for hours otherwise.

She was about to make a teasing remark when suddenly Ollie leaned forward and brushed her hair out of her eyes. Fauna raised her eyebrows, about to thank her, when the words died in her throat. Ollie wasn’t backing away. She looked at Fauna’s hair, and then at her face, and finally into her eyes. Fauna began to feel a little awkward and somehow flattered all at once. Her body went still and even her hands became tense, pausing in fidgeting with the covers.

Ollie’s hand moved from her hair to gently touch her cheek. Fauna stared into her big brown eyes, noticing so many details about her that she never had before. The tiny mole right next to her ear. How her lashes were dark and long. And most of all, how her smile made her face light up in that mischievous, sweet way.

Fauna’s eyes widened as Ollie leaned in, lightly touching her lips with her own. Without consciously thinking about it, she leaned into the kiss and her eyes fluttered closed for a moment. Her lips were soft. And warm. Delicate too. This was so unlike what she thought a kiss would be. She had no idea what she was doing, but her heart rate sped up in a good way.

A little giggle bubbled up inside and she pulled back, lips curving into a slight smile. She stared at Ollie and touched her mouth, realization dawning. Her hair fell forward again and she brushed it away. What did this mean?

Fauna felt embarrassed, excited, confused, and slightly hysterical all at the same time.

“I… what?” She whispered, a little breathless. Her cheeks turned red; she could feel it. “What… just… happened?”

Fauna looked into her friend’s eyes questioningly, half afraid and half excited about what she would find.

Devlin could have kissed Ollie. She was arguing his case like a master defense lawyer, and without him having ever given her a reason! Besides the flirtatious comments he made the other day, during the food fight, they hadn't had a lot of interaction. Part of him wondered if he should ditch the idea of seducing Fauna and go after Ollie instead. After all, half his work was done for him, she was already enamored with him.

But Devlin decided against this idea. He would be seventeen soon and he didn't need any issues with legality when dating someone underage. Besides, where was the challenge in making someone who was already obsessed with you fall for you? Waker would just write her off as another one of his flings. He needed to get Fauna, that was all there was to it.

Suddenly Fauna's hand closed around him and plucked him off her shoulder. He squeaked a little in irritation at being stolen from his cinnamon tinted hiding place but changed his mind when he was plopped down between the two girls chests. He snuggled between the front folds of Fauna's robe, getting a nice view of her elusive cleavage. Ah yes, this he could deal with.

Suddenly the conversation turned to kissing and Devlin perked up, listening intently. He learned quickly that Fauna had neither been kissed nor had she had a boyfriend, two facts he found very interesting and even more useful. This would very much be in his favor, since he found that inexperience meant it was easier to seduce them.

Devlin's thoughts, however, were put on pause when Ollie moved towards Fauna in a move that was anything but platonic. Suddenly he found himself squished between the girls chests, with the perfect vantage point for Fauna's first kiss. Words could not explain what this did to him. Hell, words failed him completely. Even his human brain came to a complete halt as the two girls lips pressed together, his little black eyes bulging nearly out of their sockets as he tried to process what was happening.

As they pulled apart, his brain unfroze and the first thing that came to mind as the gears started turning was Threesome? An image came to mind of him, shirtless, laying on his back with his arms behind his head and a absolutely satisfied look on his face, while he was flanked on either side by an exhausted Fauna and Ollie. Yes, he could live with that. Very much so. Since Ollie was already enamored with him, all he had to do was get Fauna in on the deal.

In the moment of silence between their kiss, Devlin let out a light squeak of a sigh and closed his eyes. He could die happy now.

That kiss was amazing and Ollie couldn’t exactly pin point why. It could be the amazing scent of cinnamon on her hair or the heat from her body. Was it the softness of her lips? Ollie didn’t care because that feeling of her so close to them, with only a rat between them, was amazing. Ollie didn’t want to part but as Fauna pulled away the realization of what she had just done dawned on her.

Ollie rolled away and onto her back looking up at the ceiling completely shocked. “I uh…” Ollie couldn’t quite figure out what to say right now. She was never good about talking these things out. She turned back to look at Fauna and gave a sheepish smile. “Sorry about that,” she was sure her eyes felt a different tale. Ollie felt embarrassed that she had acted the way she had. “I was umm,” Ollie paused, “curious, yeah curious.” Ollie figured that was the best thing to say because it was the truth. Ollie was curious about this attraction to Fauna.

She was dying to ask Fauna if she had liked it, and if she wanted to do it again. Right now Ollie felt was not time for questions like that. She scratched her head as she sat up and looked at Fauna. “I should probably head to my bed I have some reading to do.” Ollie wasn’t usually up reading for school, she hated homework.

Fauna gave her a shy, nervous smile. This was so strange. Ollie never made her nervous, she always felt that way around boys and other people she didn’t know very well, but never her best friend. She let out another giggle and sat up, pulling her knees to her chest and hiding most of her face behind them. She peered out at her friend, at a loss of what to do or say.

Luckily, Ollie was a bit more eloquent. Or at the very least she could find words.

“Um…” she started twirling her hair. “It’s okay.” Was it okay? Was she excusing the kiss or was she saying it would be all right with her if they kissed again? Fauna had no idea. She swallowed and wished her heart would stop beating so fast.

Poor Ollie looked just as confused and awkward as she did. When she suggested leaving to finish her homework, Fauna realized there was something off about that sentence, but didn’t want to keep her there if she wanted to go. She wasn’t even sure she wanted Ollie to stay. Fauna hadn’t felt this jumbled and confused in years.

She stood up quickly as if to stop her. “Oh! Okay. Yeah. Yeah, I guess that’s a… good idea.” Fauna sat back down on the edge of the bed again. Biting her lip, she watched Ollie leave, and sat staring at the door for a long time.

The flannel robe that had once felt cozy and warm now felt stifling. Fauna shrugged it off and hung it on a hook inside her closet. No one was here to see her skimpy pajamas anyway. Then she picked up the rat that snuggled on the bed and give him a lopsided grin.

“I am so very confused,” she confessed to him, placing him on her shoulder. Fauna stood in front of the mirror and began braiding her hair to one side. It gave her something to do as her mind raced. Her cheeks reddened and she shook her head at her reflection. Her eyes were too bright and her hands trembled a little. She took a deep breath, tied her hair, and gave her reflection a once over that was partly critical and partly curious.

Fauna glanced at the rat on her shoulder who seemed strangely attentive.

“I don’t know what to do,” she whispered to him. “I love her… as a friend, I know that much. I mean, and the kiss was… not bad. Not bad at all. It was definitely not slobbery like Moira warned me it might be.”

Maybe that’s because Ollie was a girl? Were girls just better at kissing? Fauna wanted some frame of reference here.

She walked in an agitated circle around the room. “Maybe… ugh. I don’t know. Stupid hormones!” She stamped her foot and sat on her bed again.

“She could have been just… just curious like she said.” Fauna sighed. This was too much to take in, and too confusing to sort out all in one night.

Fauna glanced down at the rat and petted him. “I know,” she said with a little smile. “You think I’m crazy. All humans are crazy, you know. Must be easy being a rat.”

The point at which she envied her pets signaled the time she needed to get some sleep. Suddenly, the door of the dormitory opened and Fauna jumped, wishing she had something a bit more substantial on. She simply wasn’t used to running around the dorm in little shorts and a camisole, even though many of the other girls in her year did. Fauna was an odd duck that way.

Marni stumbled into her dorm room with an armfull of parchments and books.  Ink stains were all over her fingers, her braid was mostly wisps of hair and her uniform was in dire need of an ironing spell. In the end she'd been a good girl and done most of her homework.  It had taken every ounce of urging and nudging herself to keep at it.  Determination was something that she had plenty of.

With hardly a glance at Fauna, Marni tossed her stuff on top of her trunk and plunked down.  Only then did she notice the rat perched on Fauna's shoulder and the night clothes.  Sure Marni had seen her getting ready for bed before but something else was different.  Perhaps it was the expression on her face, the flushed look. . .

"Evenin' Fauna.  Ye doin' arright there?  Sorry ta just barge in, I had my hands full and wasn't thinkin' clearly.  I know, I know, we're s'posed ta knock."  Marni felt bad. Perhaps something was going on she was clueless about. There had been another girl in the hallway. . .  Marni hadn't paid attention to who it was.  She was too lost in her own thoughts.  Maybe that other girl had had a discussion with Fauna about something private.  Who knew.

Taking a second look at Fauna, Marni noticed the rat eyeing her.  "Where'd ya get the furry little rodent?  I haven't seen him around 'ere before.  He's got mighty bright eyes.  So intent!!"  Those eyes were a bit disconcerting.  That was definitely a very astute rat.

Marni breezed in like a storm, a whirlwind of papers, books, and mussed up hair. Fauna blinked at her, trying to regain some semblance of normalcy. If anyone had to barge in right now, she was glad it was Marni. The girl never butt into people’s business.

“Oh. Oh yeah, I’m… fine,” Fauna reassured her faintly. Dear Merlin. Did it show on her face? Did she have a stamp on her forehead that declared ‘Just been kissed’?

Fauna stood, the rat still on her shoulder, and smoothed out her clothes. Marni asked where her rat had come from and she gave her a distracted smile.

“Um, someone… someone found him in the common room I guess, and brought him to me thinking he was mine.” Fauna patted him on the head fondly. “He does seem very intelligent,” she murmured, thinking about those sharp eyes. “Almost as if he can listen, and hear me. Or, maybe I just wanted someone who would listen…” Fauna trailed off, embarrassed. Everyone in her dorm knew she talked to her rats everyday, but they probably didn’t realize she asked her little pals for advice- more frequently than was healthy, she thought.

She folded her arms and hovered near Marni, torn between wanting to confide in her friend and wanting to seek refuge under her bedcovers.

“How is your homework going?” She asked lamely.

Marni looked a bit pained at the mention of homework.  "It's mostly done.  I got stuck on bits of the essay for Potions.  Did ye finish off yours?"

Marni loved Fauna's rats, but this one was starting to make her uncomfortable.  It was just a bit too expressive.  After Fauna's explanation it would make sense someone would turn a rat into her. . . mostly because some of the other girls squeaked at the sight of them.  Wimps. 

"What are ye going ta do with him? Maybe we should make a notice for the house boards to see who lost a rat.  Or turned into one. . ."  Marni muttered.  She disliked Slytherin to the point it was almost unhealthy.  They were slimy snakes, but that's no reason one of them couldn't be a rat. 

To make amends Marni quickly added, "Not that this fella here is anything bad.  He seems quite clean."

Fauna did look a bit funny in the face. . . like her skin was crawling the wrong way or something.  But Marni wasn't going to press the uncomfortable moment.  Instead she began changing into her own night things turning her back on Fauna.  Wriggling into her boxer shorts and quickly flipping on her t-shirt over her head [her shirt is starting to show some holes in random spots] Marni nearly fell over, but finally safely plunked down on the edge of her bed. 

Marni let out a deep sigh as she brushed her hair and began to replait it.  "Finally having a break from all this work has left me famished!!  Would ye care for some biscuits Fauna?"