Xavier was in a foul mood. Ever since the Care of Magical Creatures assignment was handed out he was having a rough time keeping his cool. The fight with Bella had left a bad taste in his mouth and even though they had essentially made up, clarified the nature of their relationship and even shared their first kiss he still couldn't shake the horrible feeling he had every time he thought about it. He couldn't stand the thought of Bella spending any of her free time with that good for nothing Wentworth. He had no idea what kind of connection Peyton had to his scum of the earth father but he wasn't about to ask him either. The two had been at each other's throats since they first met.

Xavier was moving through the entrance hall going no where in particular. His uniform was neatly pressed and his own egg was wrapped up tight in an extra backpack stuffed with extra socks and scarfs to keep it the indicated temperature. His usual demeanor, his charming suave self, was no where to be found. In short Xavier was looking for a fight. No amount of slamming into a punching bag was going to make him feel any better. The only thing that could get rid of this horrible flip flopping in his stomach and burning in his veins was to pound someone's face in, or at least be able to launch of few good hexes in someone's direction. Perhaps he was spending too much time around Bella.

As he made his way through the Entrance Hall, having not yet decided whether he was going to go out into the grounds or bank left and take the staircase up Xavier walked rather hard into someone, "Watch where yer feckin' goin' ye git!"

This just wasn't his day.

First, Kelyn woke up super late. He missed breakfast completely and only had an hour or so before it would be time for lunch. That did well enough to deal with the inevitable hunger that was eating away at his stomach. But that didn't leave him much time to really get ready for the day. And he hated leaving his room if he didn't look just right. On top of this fact, he discovered that someone had decided to "borrow" the exact shirt Kelyn had planned on wearing that day. It was one of his favorite, specially reserved for those days when the students didn't have to be wearing school robes for most of the day. Instead, he was stuck with picking something else out of his closet. Not that there was anything undesirable in his wardrobe, but Kel would rather stick to what he had planned.

After a surprisingly cold shower and slipping on shampoo which someone had spilled on the bathroom floor, Kel was finally able to get completely ready. He looked good, but the whole process had only served to make him frustrated. Kelyn didn't get frustrated very often, but when he did, things never went well. In his experience, a bad day at the start would continue to be a bad day until he laid down to go to sleep again. That thought was enough to make Kel want to stay in the dorm all day, but he did have some important things to get done. And, his stomach was protesting very loudly about it's lack of food.

So, when Kelyn turned a corner in the hall and was subsequently knocked to the ground by another student, it did nothing to improve his mood.

He fell backwards, landing hard his bottom. Ouch. That was putting it kindly. Kelyn wasn't one to be involved in physical activity, so he wasn't built to withstand bumps and bruises.

"Watch where yer feckin' goin' ye git!"

And he was never built to withstand emotional bruises either. Sure, Kelyn would describe himself as 'emotional' or 'sensitive' if he was being completely honest. He usually avoided confrontation at all costs, so there was never a chance to build up emotional defenses. However, because he was already having a horrible day, the boy's yelling only served to finally send him over the top, instead of running away like Kel might normally do.

He jumped up, taking care to wipe off the back of his jeans before confronting the one who ran into him. "Me?!? You're the one who decided to go bowling through the halls like some kind of wrecking ball! Haven't you any sense about things around you?!?"

Kelyn paused to take a breath, having enough sense about him to try and keep his breathing steady. The last thing he needed was for an asthma attack to occur today. And in that moment of steadying his breath, he actually was about to realize who had run into him. Uh, not so good.

Xavier definitely wasn't a person whom Kelyn could consider a friend, or even just an acquaintance. He was one of Callum's buddies, which meant that he was the complete opposite of that to Kelyn. This probably wasn't going to end well.

Xavier tightened the strap on his shoulder. He knew how weird it looked for him to be carrying around his school bag on a Saturday but he couldn't just leave the stupid thing in his dorm room. It had to be kept at a certain temperature which it definitely wouldn't be at in the Slytherin House. Xavier had never had a problem with how cold it got in his room, the cold air was worth how fascinating it was to watch the half frozen lake through the windows in the dungeon level house.

He hadn't expected his human bowling pin to talk back to him especially after recognizing the kid. Kelyn Adda made a career out of going around unnoticed. He rarely talked and seemed to have no friends. There must be something seriously wrong with him to have spoken to Xavier like that which only made this moment sweeter. He was sure he wouldn't have gotten the same satisfaction from jinxing the idiot if it had been someone he liked or someone that was a total loudmouth git like Figaro or Ayla. No, being able to get under the skin of someone like Adda was well worth it, everything that happened beyond this moment was just gravy.

"So thee mute actually does have a voice, an quite thee nasty one." Xavier glared at the smaller boy with a smirk curling his lips, completely ignoring the fact that Kelyn was right. Xavier had been at fault but that didn't matter anymore. He now had a perfect target to take his anger and frustration out on. Sure he was no Wentworth but he was good enough.

"Whassamatter Adda? Woke up on thee wrong side o' yer perfectly groomed bed this mornin'? Trouble in paradise?" True Xavier was just grasping at straws at this point but since he knew very little about the young man in front of him, like most people in the school, he had to just go with the flow and hope he could entice the man into a duel or better yet a fist fight.

Whatever amount of courage that had been forced out of Kelyn from the buildup of the day's situations was pushed back just as quickly as he faced Xavier. It was a completely bad idea, leaving his room that morning.

He was still angry, most definitely, but Kelyn knew that an altercation would only end badly for himself. So he tried not to think about it; he tried to ignore the sneer on Xavier's face and the words he was speaking. "So thee mute actually does have a voice, an quite thee nasty one." Kelyn's eyes snapped back up to meet those of the Slytherin boy, failing desperately at his attempts to stay calm. Of course, because Kel avoided confrontations like they were the Plague, he never had much of a chance to learn to control his anger.

"Whassamatter Adda? Woke up on thee wrong side o' yer perfectly groomed bed this mornin'? Trouble in paradise?"

If only waking up on the wrong side of the bed were his issues. While most of the day's frustration was just a build up of minor incidents, something had been stirring in him all semester, building up in pressure because Kelyn didn't fully understand what was going on or how to figure it out. But this wasn't the time or the place to go through all of that. Not with Xavier, and not with a hall full of students. Kelyn looked around, glad to see that not too many people had taken notice of the incident yet. There was still time to get away from the situation and calm down.

"It's none of your damn business Tawse. Now if you'll excuse me, I'll just be on my way." Kelyn gave one last glare and tried to push his way past Xavier, hoping for a quick escape. "Let me by, please."

Xavier could tell that something he had said had gotten under the kid's skin. He had no idea what it was but scratching at that itch was only making him feel better and he could do with a boost. He was still being bothered by just the thought of Bella having to spend time with Peyton. He needed something to do to get rid of that frustration and for the time being picking on the shorter smaller Hufflepuff seemed like the best option.

Xavier's sneer went from a typical Slytherin look to a genuine glare of hatred. There was something about the way Kelyn said his last name that got to him. It was just like Maddie, using his family reputation to piss him off. He knew he had pretty much promised Tulojow that he'd work on being a better man and presenting himself in the way he wanted people to see him but no matter how hard he tried people still saw him as a Tawse, a no good criminal. Even with the stigma of his mother's family it was still better than associating himself with the Wentworth's, he didn't need anyone in school to know that he was actually a Wentworth, especially Peyton.

As Kelyn tried to push past him Xavier placed a strong hand on the smaller boy's chest and pushed him back, "This ain't over yet." He sneered again and took a step closer his hand instinctively going to his pocket to wrap around his dark wand, "Ye Hufflepuff's think yer so superior, that jus because yer loyal and true yer betta than anyone else around here." His anger wasn't really directed at Kelyn but he didn't exactly have the best track record with the Hufflepuffs lately, "Ye think jus because everyone else ignores ye that I'm gonna let this slide? That I'm jus gonna let ye push me aside an let ye be on yer merry way?" His cool blue grey eyes darkened and he drew his wand pointing it at the smaller man's chest, "Think again."

He had been thinking that perhaps, just maybe, Xav was going to let him pass by and the whole incident would be over. Kelyn would grab some food really quick, return to his room, and spend the day there, catching up on reading and preparing for midterms. Then he'd be able to get a good night's rest and hope that the next day started out on a good note. Kelyn was a fool to hope for that.

It usually didn't take much to knock Kelyn down, so the Slytherin's shove against his chest was more than enough to cause the smaller boy to land on his bottom once more. He flinched and closed his eyes, from the delayed pain that now shot up his back, and in reaction to seeing Xavier take a step towards him. He almost expected Tawse to kick him while he was down, but Kelyn opened his eyes back up when no impact came, and Xavier started speaking instead.

"Ye Hufflepuff's think yer so superior, that jus because yer loyal and true yer betta than anyone else around here."

What? "N-n-n0. I n-n-never said t-t-that." Kelyn stumbled back to his feet, taking a few steps away from the older boy. Any anger he previously had was now completely dissipated as fear overcame all of his emotions. He wasn't fit to fight, in any spectrum of the word. Physical fights were a losing battle before they began, and duels were also no good for Kelyn. His anxiety always got the best of him, causing him to  mis-speak spells and aim incorrectly.

"Ye think jus because everyone else ignores ye that I'm gonna let this slide? That I'm jus gonna let ye push me aside an let ye be on yer merry way?...Think again."

His eyes found immediate focus on the exposed wand, only a couple of feet away from his chest. Instinctively, he tried to take another step back, but realized there was no more room for him to walk. Kelyn had backed himself up against one of the walls in the corridor. Fear was slowly giving way to the rising panic, and the Hufflepuff felt like his chest was tightening up already. Calm down, Kelyn, control your breathing. He tried to run through some breathing exercises which had been assigned by his doctor, attempting to at least have control over one thing, his own lungs.

"Umm...l-let's not do anything r-r-rash. I di-didn't mean anything by it, o-o-ok?" For the most part, Kelyn had gotten over his stuttering years ago, but it always came back out in stressful situations. "I-I don't want a f-f-fight, Tawse." Honestly, he had meant nothing offensive by using Xavier's last name, but Kelyn had always referred to those he didn't get along with by their last name, at least behind their back. In the current situation, Kelyn was lacking the thinking ability to realize that using his name like that was making the situation worse.

Ass kicking outfit

"Expelliarmus!"

Ayla watched Xavier's cocobolo wand fly through the air and leapt up to catch it, apparently being a chaser was finally paying off. She glared at the older Slytherin as she closed the gap between them standing between Kelyn, who looked like he was having a heart attack, and Xavier, who looked ready to kill. She had no idea what the shy mild mannered Hufflepuff had done to piss Tawse off but she didn't really care either. Xavier needed a good ass kicking and Ayla was just in the right mood to deliver it, if need be.

She had been making her way up from the Hufflepuff common room to grab some food in the Great Hall when she had come across the altercation and there was no way she was going to let Tawse of all people jinx the crap out of a fellow Hufflepuff. True, she didn't really know Kelyn all that well but that wasn't the point. As much as she was coming to Kelyn's defense she was also just as eager to be pissing off Xavier. Her life had been so much more simpler before he had come along and since breaking up with her and sicking his new girlfriend on her Ayla was desperate to find a reason to get back at him.

With Xavier's wand in her own hand she stared up at the Slytherin with a stern look in her green gold eyes, "Seriously Xavier? You have nothing better to do than pick on some poor kid?" Even though Kelyn, like Xavier, was a year older than her Ayla had no problems calling him a kid, "Don't you have some crazy ass girlfriend to go make out with?"

She turned from Xavier and looked gently and sweetly at Kelyn, "You alright?"

His breathe was becoming shorter, and Kelyn was putting most of his concentration into trying to calm his breathing, instead of what was going on in front of him. So when someone shouted off a spell, his first reaction was to duck and cover his head, even though he knew it wouldn't do much to protect himself from whatever was shot his way. When Kelyn realized that he had not been hit with a spell at all, he dared to open his eyes and looked up to see another Hufflepuff girl standing there, with Xavier's wand in her hand.

Breathing a sigh of relief, the boy stood, keeping a steady eye on Xavier still. Just because the boy was wandless didn't mean anything. He still had fists, which Kelyn was sure could hurt equally well. But the Hufflepuff boy had a little more confidence, now that there was someone else in the situation.

While fumbling in his bag for his inhaler, Kelyn took a moment to size up his 'rescuer'.  They were in the same house, but that didn't mean that Kelyn really knew her. The only people in their house with whom Kelyn regularly interacted were the boys of his own dorm. And besides being a girl, she was obviously younger than Kelyn. Not that he minded being rescued by a girl; that wasn't a problem for him at all. Kelyn knew well enough that he wasn't very capable of defending himself, so any help was appreciated.

Kelyn took in a puff of medicine just as the girl had turned to face him, so it took him a moment to reply to her. He held up a hand, giving a few seconds for the medicine to work it's way to his lungs. "Yeah....I'm ok....thanks." By this time, students had started to see what was happening and a small crowd was growing around them. Great, just what I don't need. Kelyn tried to not look at those around him and instead focused only on Xavier and Ayla. Hopefully this all ended quickly and he could make his retreat again.

If there was anyone in Hogwarts that Xavier hated more than Peyton Wentworth it was Ayla Collins. Everything from her stupid pixie haircut to those horrible muggle contraptions on her teeth to her prematurely mature body. Ayla was a sight of beauty and that only caused him to hate her more. He made himself find something to hate about her so that he would never again fall victim to the curse that was being in love with her again. As he snarled at the compact Hufflepuff he reminded himself that he no longer loved Ayla but Bella and the little Hufflepuff needed to learn to keep her button nose out of other people's business.

Xavier felt a snake of anger uncoiling in the pit of his stomach as he watched the tiny Canadian hold his wand as if it belonged to her. No one touched his wand, no one. He advanced on the girl as she turned her back to him to check on Adda. What a pathetic git, who the hell let a little girl come to their rescue? He was almost too pathetic for Xavier to bother with. So much for putting forth a positive reputation. Maybe it was time to finally drop the charming enchanting act and let the whole of Hogwarts see who he really was . . .

well maybe not.

"This is none o' yer concern Collins." The disdain in his voice was unmistakable and when Ayla spun back around to face him the much taller Slytherin was easily towering over her. He took the slightest moment to smell her, she always smelled like some kind of fruit, today it was green apples. Xavier quickly regained his senses and ripped his wand from her tiny grip, "Never do that again or yer birthday party will seem like a walk in the park."

He quickly put space between himself and the girl he swore he no longer loved and turned his attention to Kelyn, "This ain't ova Adda, ye jus watch yer back." He feigned a lunge at the smaller boy just to make him flinch before walking off in the direction of the Entrance courtyard. Nothing was worth tangling with Collins again, the stupid little girl was a minx that seemed to have some ungodly control over him and he wasn't about to let someone like Adda see him in that state. He'd get back at the older Hufflepuff sooner or later. For now a stroll through the frozen grounds might be best.

Ayla watched curiously as Kelyn drew an inhaler out of his bag and started to take a few puffs. She found it interesting that in the middle of a wizarding school he was still relying on muggle medicine. It made her feel good to know that the older Hufflepuff had nothing against muggle methods. It made her think about the fact that she was still wearing her braces. Most wizard kids, or at least those that came from pureblood families, had never seen braces before and most likely had never seen an asthma inhaler either. Which told Ayla a very interesting thing, at least someone in Kelyn's family was a muggle.

She smiled at him after he recovered and was glad to see that he was okay and that she had gotten there before Xavier had done any damage, "I'm glad you're okay."

With Xavier's hateful voice in her ear Ayla shuddered slightly before turning around. She jumped as she had been unaware at just how close he had been. She swallowed a knot in her throat and cursed her body for reacting to him. It wasn't all that long ago that they had shared passionate kisses from this distance, something she definitely did not want to be reminded of. She let out an involuntary yelp when he snatched back his wand and childishly stuck out her tongue at his threat. She was going to prove that she wasn't afraid of him. She wasn't afraid of any of those stupid Slytherin.

She narrowed her eyes as she watched him make another threat to Kelyn before stomping off. At least she had been able to stop anyone from getting hurt. She glared around at the crowd. Most of the students had begun to disperse while others seemed rather disappointed that they didn't get to witness a duel. Rolling her eyes Ayla turned back to Kelyn, "Don't let him get to you, Xavier's all talk. He's a total jerkwad but he won't do anything major, he's got his precious reputation to upkeep." The same precious reputation that had kept him from persuing a proper relationship with her, instead he let the whole school think she was a good for nothing tart.

"I'm Ayla by the way."

He saw Tawse step closer, but Kelyn was still trying to calm down and couldn't say anything to warn Ayla. But Xavier didn't look like he was going to attack her, which was good. Kelyn couldn't let a girl get attacked by an older boy, which would mean he'd have to jump up and try to defend her. Which meant that he actually would get hurt in the process. Luckily, it didn't come to that, as Xavier just had a few words with the girl before snatching his wand back.

"Hey..." He didn't have to be so rough with her; she was younger. And a girl. And that wasn't right, in any situation. But Kelyn didn't really get a chance to say anything, as the Slytherin spoke up to him again. "This ain't ova Adda, ye jus watch yer back." Kel jumped a little as Xavier leaped at him once more, and let out a slow breathe as the older boy stopped and walked off. Kelyn felt that the threat was real, and he knew he'd be looking over his shoulder for the rest of the semester.

"Don't let him get to you, Xavier's all talk. He's a total jerkwad but he won't do anything major, he's got his precious reputation to upkeep." That was easy for her to say. She didn't have worry about her own reactions to what the older boy could do. Even if Xavier never laid a finger on him, the anxiety from the situation alone was enough to effect Kelyn. It was far too easy for Kelyn to be emotionally bullied, as well as physically. "I'm Ayla by the way."

Kelyn looked back at the Hufflepuff girl, actually managing a smile. She was nice. And he was very thankful that she had walked by at that exact moment. Kelyn didn't care that he got rescued by a girl; she had saved him a lot of headache, and he was appreciative. "I'm Kelyn....really, thanks for your help. I uh...think you handled it a lot better than I could. Why aren't you afraid of him? He's obviously bigger than you...and...and well, yeah. He's not someone I'd want to mess with." By this time the students had all lost interest, so it was just Kelyn and Ayla there, no one else focusing on them. He felt a lot more comfortable now.

Ayla blushed at Kelyn thanked her. As much as she did want to help  out a fellow Hufflepuff Ayla had been more interested in getting Xavier's goat and she supposed she was still trying to make up for Halloween. Maddie had gotten hurt by Xavier because of her and she wasn't going to stand by and watch him hurt another of her housemates while she could easily do something to help out, "It was nothing." She began to say when Kelyn continued on.

Ayla gave the older boy a confused look and glanced back in the direction of the front entrance before turning back to him, "You mean you don't? I just though that everyone, seriously you have no idea?" Ayla was only partially aware of the fact that she hadn't been finishing her sentences.

She let out a long sigh before giving Kelyn a sheepish smile, "Okay well a little while ago me and Xavier were kind of a thing and he told me he loved me but we were just from two very different worlds and couldn't be together blah blah blah. Anyway long story short Xavier knows he can't touch me because he's still in love with me but won't admit it especially now that he's got that freaky new girlfriend." She looked to see if Kelyn was still following, "Besides even if we hadn't dated or whatever I still wouldn't have been afraid of him, that puppy's all bark and no bite."