Chance wasn't exactly feeling very sociable when he made his entrance into the wizarding cat fight.  Eirene's naive rants weren't exactly helping the bad situation between Grace and Maeve.  Leon seemed unusually uncomfortable in his own skin...and Chance knew the Head Boy was conflicted in the midst of this confrontation.  Chance was seeking to minimize the severity of the nights' events and nodded to Leon's request.

"Ah've got it covered."

Leon doing what might have been considered noble in aiding a...less than likable damsel in distress was one thing.  It was Leon speaking up on Maeve's behalf that troubled and somewhat agitated Chance.

"Jes' dun' ferget that we both know this wasn' some random thing.  It's been provoked an' a long time comin', Leon."

As one of Grace's closest confidantes, he knew how his fellow Gryffindor prefect's mind worked.  He knew her struggles.  He knew her enemies.  Maeve was near the top of that list currently and had been for some time for her elitist pureblood prejudice.   Chance tried to drown out Maeve's melodramatic words and simply nudge and usher Grace away. 

Chance recognized something in Grace's eyes, dancing about her facial features.  It was a feral playfulness...Wild, uncontrolled.  Grace was releasing years of frustration and regulation.  She was rebelling and freeing herself from the bonds of wizarding society and its rules.  This was far bigger than Maeve Whitman.  The look in her eyes was too familiar...It was like looking into a mirror and seeing the part of him that remained caged and buried deep inside, howling through his mind almost constantly now.  He had to get Grace out of there...and soon.

"Let's go, Grace...We needjoo outta 'ere."

Chance squeezed her to his side and tried to get a solid grasp of her elbow to  keep her secure and close.  Sadly, she was still in range of breaking an unwritten rule to "never kick someone when they're down."  Grace whispered and Chance winced out a response.

"Grace don'-"

But the damage had been done.  Regardless of the spell not being a physically harmful one...it was nonetheless adding insult to injury.  Chance growled down at Grace and slung her over his shoulder.

"Yer ruddy daft, Grace!  C'mon!"

Chance grumbled further as they got further and further away from the crowd.  He didn't want to chastise her in front of others...but they definitely  needed to talk about this and what was going on.

"Why doncha jes' give 'er a trophy tellin' 'er she's better'n you?  All yer doin' is makin' yerself look bad, when we both know good an' well 'at she started 'is 'ole mess!  Ah know it feels good t'lash out an' make somebody pay...but 'at's not th' way s'done!"

When Maeve thanked her for sending for help, Eirene told her she was welcome, and then glanced at Leon and Chance, expecting them to echo Maeve's sentiments. But they didn't. In fact, they seemed to be ignoring her, focusing on the more important matter of Grace's attack.

Dismay and hurt flickered on the first-year's face. She watched the two boys decide what to do, approving of Leon's idea of punishment, and staring at Grace in shock and horror when she continued to excuse her actions. Now, Eirene kept tabs on many of the prefects. She'd always admired Grace for the effort she put into her schoolwork and for her calm, patient demeanor. Tonight, she seemed like a completely different person!

A... completely different person.

A startling idea began to form in Eirene's mind. Before she could say anything, however, Grace demonstrated just how far gone she was when she cursed Maeve again!

Eirene let out a loud shriek and ducked behind the bush once more. "One hundred points from horrible Gryffindor!" She muttered underneath her breath, a suggestion to the heavens above. She waited until she heard Chance scolding Grace, and then slowly stood as he started to haul the girl away.

She rushed to Maeve's side, but was very careful not to touch her, because Eirene saw no reason to mess up her own dress before she'd even gotten to the dance.

"Barbarian!" She exclaimed in a whisper, looking over her shoulder at Grace.

"She's not herself! What if she's under a spell? Or cursed?" Eirene suggested to Leon in a small voice that, nevertheless, carried.

Even though Grace was prepared to stay and continue her little war with Maeve Whitman, she had no choice but to let him drag her away--literally. His scolding tone was very unlike him but she didn't have a very good view of his face to be sure if that really signified what he thought about the events that had unfolded. Did he approve? Surely Chance, King of Troublemaking, had something to be reveling in all this, right? Or was he the one who was now turning into the fuddy-duddy, follow-the-rules Prefect who couldn't appreciate a good prank when he saw one? Which Chance was he in that moment?

When they were far enough away from the others, Grace struggled against him and eventually forced him to put her down on solid ground. Her eyes blazed just as fiercely as his did when he set off on his tirade and she bit back, "Oh really? And just what IS the way it's done?" She let that hang in the air before declaring, "That's exactly what's needed to be done for years now." She folded her arms defiantly in front of her before asking him, "So are you taking me to Professor Levartian or not?"

Chance knew full well that Maeve deserved all the grief she gave others.

"Ah know good an' well that she d'served it!  But now y'get t'take the wrap fer it an' YOU get t'look like th' bad guy!  B'fore...everybody an' their dog's cousin  knew if th' two o' ya ever 'ad a spat, y'were in th' right an' she was th' problem.  Now?  Now people aren't gonna be s'sure.  S'that what ya wanted?  T'let 'er get th' best o' ya an' 'urt yer reputation?"

The Irish Gryffindor sighed and tossed his hands up, finally freed from having to tote Grace.

"Look...ah dunno th' answer.  Ah dunno 'ow ya give somebody their just desserts without takin' th' fall yerself...Y'just gotta wait sometimes an' let all that rubbish catch up to 'em.  Look at Devlin.  'e got 'is...mostly.  Y'can't go 'round makin' a mess o' everybody's lives without it catchin' up to ya."

Chance rolled his eyes at the thought of reporting Grace to Myrni.

"Ah'll go with ya.  Y'turn yerself in an' it'll look better on yer part.  Ah still got yer back...even if ya pull a doof every now an' again.  Still partners?"

Chance offered a hand to Grace now.

Maeve was grateful for Eirene's presence, even though she generally saw younger students as pesky little snots to be ignored. Like her brother. The young girl was almost forgotten completely until after Grace's last hex, which Maeve barely felt, except with a small zap to her face.

The Slytherin barely registered the last hex that Grace sent her way and was happy to see her fellow seventh year's departure with the equally insufferable Chance Ryker, Maeve turned her attention to Leon. She latched her crystalline blue eyes on him with her best pouty expression.

Grace scrunched up her face and watched as Grace departed with the equally insufferable Chance Ryker. "She is barbaric," the Queen Bee called out. She haughtily added, "But then that is why she's a tomboy and single and doomed to be so for all of time! No boy here at Hogwart's wants to be with someone as horrible as that!"

Hearing the small girl's theories on Grace Eddy not being herself placed a bad taste in Maeve's mouth. She waved all Eirene's ideas off. "Who cares about her? I certainly don't."

She then turned her crystalline eyes to Leon and with her best pouty expression and her sweetest smile, she pleaded with him. "Leon, Would you be so kind as to help me back to the Slytherin Common room? I would be eternally grateful to you...."

Grace wasn't happy that Chance was making her turn herself in, but of anyone of late, she could hardly be mad at him. For what he had done for her, all things considered, he deserved a badge of honor and not just one that made him a prefect.

With a sigh, she bemoaned, "Oh, alright. I'll go." She pretended to not be happy about it and pouted until she realized that probably only worked for girls like Maeve Whitman. She brightened a bit, looped her arm through his and assured him, "Yeah, you're still my Numero Uno partner-in-crime."

As they walked (she trying very hard to slow the pace so as to prolong her impending punishment), she returned to what had happened. Her eyes glinted mischievously and she gushed"So tell me...wasn't that totally awesome?" Grace pumped her fist a little bit and was clearly excitable by how the events replayed in her mind. "You can't deny that, Chance. I mean, c'mon. That was priceless seeing her like that, right?"

The duo continued to walk further away and put the unfortunate turn of events further behind them.  Chance wasn't even positive that he'd turn Grace in if it came down to her refusing to go to Myrni herself.  He contemplated it and wasn't certain what he'd do if put in such a situation.  Luckily for him...it seemed Grace was doing the right thing and not putting him in that kind of a position.  She'd been a such a good friend to him since they'd actually gotten to know one another.

"Ah'm glad.  Y'know nobody 'ates it worse than me...'cept maybe...well yerself."

Chance smiled faintly at her pout and shook his head as he took her arm in his own and patted her knuckles with his free hand.

"M'glad.  Without you an' Sophers an' Kim Kim...ah dunno what ah'd do."

The phrase sounded strange even for Chance.  He had barely spoken to Kim Kim in months...and that was previously his best friend.  They had been growing apart.  Perhaps the drama that Chance had been getting into and the changes that had been taking place in and around him were a bit too much for the bubbly Kimberly Chan.  Perhaps even more curious was the omission of Fauna Blake from the list he'd rattled off...Yet his own prior experience at the dance had given him extremely mixed signals regarding Fauna's own feelings for him.

Chance walked every bit as slowly as Grace did, not wanting Grace to have to go...and none too eager to see Professor Levartian himself.  He hadn't thought of it before...but perhaps Myrni would blame Grace's behavior on Chance and their partnership.  Had Chance been a bad influence and drug the former "Princess" into the dirt with him?  He began to feel guilty...whether his fears were true or not.  Chance had a worried, distant look in his unearthly green eyes, but he seemed to snap to a bit late for Grace's question.  He offered a weak smile and nodded.

"Aye...aye...that it was."