Almost a month had gone by since Grace had begun her etiquette training with Kit Branwell and already a noticeable difference could be seen in the seventh year. To most of her peers and professors, this generally manifested itself in a quieter, more demure Grace during lessons. Before, she was always eager to offer her input and help prod the lesson along. But now, a combination of the lessons and her personal situation had made her hold back a bit. In terms of her appearance, most of the changes had been gradual. Though not much could be altered in regards to her uniform to be more chic, she had begun to wear makeup and style her hair on a more regular basis, creating a softer, more feminine air about her.

She still hadn't warmed up to the idea of wearing heels to class, or even go all out with her make up, hair styling and accessories, but it was a start -- a work in progress. By March, she was clearly more comfortable showing her feminine side, even if others didn't immediately react. She kept reminding herself that she wasn't doing it for everyone else and that she was doing it for herself.

Most of her lessons with Kit took place in the early mornings before classes or on weekends. While most of her fellow Gryffindors were still asleep in the dorms, Grace Eddy was learning the social graces. And surprisingly, she took to the lessons like most of her other studies -- full on. She may have resisted at first, but she realized that she could do well at it if she put her mind to it.

On this particular morning, Grace had put together an outfit for their lesson on posture. She wore a skirt, nice blouse, blazer, tights and most importantly, high heels. She had done her make up and her hair -- the full look for the lesson so that she could maximize her confidence -- and went through the tutorial well. Though the large book used atop her head to measure her success had fallen more times than she could count, Grace was proud of herself that she had not stumbled in the heels. Not once! A true victory for her! Surely the rest would come in due time.

With the lesson over, Grace departed company with Kit and was on her way back to the 7th year girls dorm when she realized she had lost an earring. The old Grace would have bounded back down the stairs, two or three at a time and oblivious as to how unladylike that might be. But she caught herself and made a point to walk prim and properly back down the stairs and into the common room once again.

She was relieved that one one was awake yet and she started her swift yet composed inspection of the room for her missing piece of jewelry. She found it near the fireplace and knelt to pick it up. She stood to her full height, smoothed out her skirt and then remembering the principles of the posture lesson, she squared her shoulders before beginning the walk back toward the door leading to the dorms.

Unfortunately, she heard footsteps falling and she felt dread sink into her limbs. She hoped it would be a puny first year who she could glare into not saying anything about her being dressed up as a girly girl -- surely a surprising site to see.

Unfortunately, as her luck would have it, it was her fellow prefect, Chance Ryker. She inwardly groaned, but to him, she flashed a quick smile and said, "Morning, Chance."

Then, she ducked her head and tried to slip by him, hoping that he wouldn't say anything except a good morning in response.

Chance and Grace hadn't gotten to hang out as much as usual lately.  Grace had been rather busy with her lessons and Chance had been untangling his own life, especially in the matters of the heart.  The 7th year had been getting back to himself...gotten a haircut and was wearing colors again aside from the black, grey, and white palette he'd been stuck on.  In fact...Chance was wearing a dull orange shirt with yellow streaks of sunbeams pouring out of it.  It actually looked like Chance was in a rather good mood...rockin' the blue jeans, boots, and leather jacket.

Chance's relationships as of late had been quite a rollercoaster...From his family relationships, to being integrated into the Flickwick clan, to losing his best friend Kimberly Chan, to the ups and downs of his "thing" with Fauna Blake, and the emotional rollercoaster of the items of interest that Sophie was keeping him informed on.  Chance never really knew what to expect next.  And now it was time to reconnect with Grace.

He paused, snagging hold of her arm with his hand in a gentle way.  He craned his neck back and stepped backward in order to look her over.  Something seemed slightly off about Grace.  It seemed like something barely noticeable perhaps at first...

"G'mornin' t'you too lass!  Where're ya headin' off too s'fast anywho?"

Running into Chance was not lessening her desire to hightail it upstairs to the dorm and chance into something more normal for the rest of the day. The closeness they had shared over the past few months did not erase the fact that Chance was still a male friend and one who would likely rib her mercilessly about her transformation. This was what she was not looking forward to.

She cringed and recoiled slightly as he grasped her arm. She ducked her rusty colored head so that her hair veiled her made up face. Maybe if she hid her face and her expression, he might be more inclined to let her go.

Nothing doing.

She quickly offered a feeble explanation. "Well....I was just going to change. Quidditch practice, you know...."

Subtlety was difficult to achieve when the occasion called for behaving in a manner outside of the norm.  Grace was in such a situation currently and Chance found it very strange from his perspective.  He quirked a brow and looked to her with puzzled green eyes.

"Ahhh...s'right.  Are y'a'right, Gracer?  Seems like somethin's a wee bit off?"

Chance was concerned about his fellow prefect.  As close as they had become...of course he'd be concerned with her acting peculiarly...and it seemed like she wanted out of there quickly.  Was she in trouble...danger...was she upset?  Something was wrong for certain.

Grace refused to meet his gaze, not just because she thought it would keep her face hidden but also because she had just told a lie. She had no idea if George was going to have a practice that morning and even if he was going to, the chances were likely that it wasn't going to happen any time soon. Her slacker of a best friend routinely did not rise this early in the morning unless he absolutely needed to.

If Grace had been thinking rationally, she would also have realized that hiding her face could not possibly hide the rest of her ensemble if Chance had been so inclined to inspect her appearance more closely. Her made up face and styled hair were the least girly-girl offenses. The stylish (for her anyway) clothes and heels stood out more.

Grace frowned and cursed under her breath. She then took a deep breath and looked Chance in the eye. "No, nothing is wrong. I...." She sighed again. "I just wanted to go change." She pointed to the stairs. "That's where I was going before you came....before anyone came, really." She shrugged. "I just didn't want anyone to see me like this."

As Chance analyzed Grace more closely, he began to see that something seemed slightly off other than just her attitude.  She did look a bit dressy...Maybe there was some special occasion?

"Ah, well we can go on an' walk an' talk if ya wanna?"

Chance slowly released her arm. 

"Y'look nice though.  Why so shady?"

Chance turned to walk with her toward the staircase...still a bit perplexed at her unusual behavior.

"Walk and talk?" she intoned, somewhat dumbly. "Uh, sure." But she knew that she would still feel a little awkward walking and talking in what she was wearing. Granted, she was much more adept at walking in her heels these days, so she was pretty certain that she would not end up stumbling and needing to hold onto Chance for support.

When he complimented her, Grace's face immediately started to turn red. "Err, thanks." She flashed him a smile that clearly showed her embarrassment. She wasn't sure if he really meant it or if he was just being nice. Generally, her guy friends didn't really notice or comment on how nice she looked.

"Shady? I'm not being shady," she protested defensively with a frown. She started to move back towards the common room. "Let's go talk then. What's new with you? And how's Fauna?"

Chance observed Grace's nearly frantic nerves being triggered every other millisecond.  Was there a reason she didn't want to spend time around him?  Was something really wrong?  Was she simply overworked and rushing as he was used to?  No...no...It seemed different somehow.

Seeing Grace's awkward blush and shy smile made that trademark half grin of his appear.

"Wha?  Y'act like y've ever 'adda compliment b'fore...C'mon...Ah'm nice t'ya all th' time, lass."

Chance nudged her faintly with an elbow.  Her defensive behavior made Chance quirk a brow though.

"Uh huh....whate'er y'say, Grace...."

And so they proceeded to talk on their route to the common room.

"New...?  Uhh...well...Fauna's uh....Ah dunno honestly.  M'kinda always kinda puzzled over 'er actually?"

"Well, you have complimented me before," Grace admitted, still feeling the heat on her face. "And you are nice to me all the time....now." She quirked a grin as she briefly thought back to earlier  in the school year when they seemed to be more at odds with each other than they were now.

Grace stepped over to one of the couches in the common room and slowly lowered herself onto it, careful to be prim and proper while doing so. She sat more rigidly than she might normally in a couch. She would have lounged and been a proper slouch.

Instead of letting the conversation focus anymore on what was going on with her, Grace focused on the talk of Chance and Fauna. "Puzzled? About Fauna? Why's that?" Grace raised her brows at her friend. "Fauna's one of the least complicated people that I know." She paused and then quickly explained. "She's sweet and honest and genuine. So exactly is puzzling you about her?"

Chance smiled and nodded, rather pleased with himself.  He chuckled at her reference to how their relationship had been previously...

"Ahhh...that was another time all tagether, now wasn' it lass?"

However...the way Grace moved seemed quite different.  She was lowering herself with such propriety, and straightening up with such poise and...well GRACE!  Was she uncomfortable?  Was that why she didn't look so casual and relaxed?  However...the line of questioning regarding Fauna had Chance distracted enough that he didn't pursue questions regarding her posture...yet.

"Nnnh...well...ah dunno.  Ah'm thinkin' somethin' might be developin'...but ah've gotten mixed signals b'fore...an' ah'm a tad bit 'estitant.  Dun' wanna risk th' friendship either o' course!  Ah dunno, Grace..."

Grace quirked a smile. "Yes, it does seem soooo far away from where we are now." She left it unspoken how much she was glad that their opinions of each other had changed for the better. Now they could count on each other for pretty much anything and it often had Grace wondering what she would do once they were done with Hogwart's.

Thinking about that--about who she would stay friends with and who she could count on after school, and then also how scary adult life would be for she and her classmates--helped to keep her from thinking about how she looked and how she should be acting around her friend. Even as she maintained most of her posture and kept her ankles primly crossed, her shoulders relaxed a bit.

She relaxed further the more that they talked about someone who had become one of her favorite classmates but wasn't a Gryffindor--Fauna. Perhaps it was because Grace had not been as close to Fauna throughout the other girl's relationship with Devlin that allowed her to dismiss it more easily. Or, perhaps it was Grace's observance of the sparks between Chance and Fauna that held her loyal to the idea that the pair would eventually end up together romantically.

Still, the practical thinker in her wondered if it was too soon after Fauna's break up with Devlin for another suitor to be considered, even if it was someone as amazing as Chance. She tried not to appear too hopeful when he said that something might be developing. "Mixed signals? Like how? And you said before, but what about lately?"

It was true.  They had come remarkably far in their friendship.  Firstly...they formed a friendship!  Secondly...they had become very close confidantes, shoulders for one another, encouragement.  It was at times difficult to believe that the two two had started out as polar opposites.

"That it does, lass.  That it does."

The future could be a frightening thing and sometimes crushed those who allowed themselves to become obsessed with it.  Chance had been told to be looking to the future and preparing for it all of his life.  Maybe he understood a little more now about what his Mother meant about living his present in a way that would ensure his future.  It had always sounded so different when it came from his Father.  The same, exact sentiments coming from her simply didn't sound the...same.

Regardless...it was good to sense a tension lifting from Grace, even if he didn't particularly realize how he noticed it lifting.  It was simply something one felt sometimes.

"Ah dunno...She's awful busy an' ah understand that.  Ah admire what a go getter she's b'come an' how people're appreciatin' 'er.  Jes' doesn' seem like there's time fer us t'be us an' jes 'ang out.  Ah dunno.  Th' 'ole thing's been pretty tricky from th' get go.  Told 'er a long time ago 'ow I felt, but she never really acted on it or gave any indication she felt th' same.  Now seems like she does...but ah'm not even really sure what t'think.  An' findin' out 'bout th' 'ole deal with Ollie jes' makes me think mebbe ah dunno 'er like ah thought ah did."

Aside from the time the Irishman had spent in denial over those budding feelings for his friend and the whole situation with Devlin...he'd never really felt unsure when it came to Fauna.  Now it seemed like he hadn't seen her in forever...and he'd become unsure if he even really knew her to begin with.

With Grace, things were more simple and straight forward.  They were typically very open and honest with one another and had shared deep matters of importance with one another.  Grace meant a lot to her fellow Gryffindor prefect.

Grace rested her elbows on her thighs and cupped her chin in her palms -- not exactly the most flattering way for a lady to sit, but it was a "Grace" way of doing so. Her brown eyes remained thoughtful and sympathetic to what her friend was saying. Grace would never claim to be much of an expert in love matters -- her own love life was practically non-existent and the extent of her intimacy with her male counterparts was limited.

Still, Grace felt that Chance needed a female perspective. Or just a perspective of someone who cared about both him and Fauna. She smiled at his characterization of the person that Fauna had become, marveling herself how the Hufflepuff had changed from how she was in their early years at school. "Yeah, I guess it is getting to be crunch time around here. And maybe she feels the pressure of all the responsibilities she has on her plate. She could be trying to distract herself from what happened with Devlin." Grace didn't say that she knew that was how she would deal with a hurt like that. She glanced down at her lap and chewed on her lip when her fellow prefect mentioned that he had told Fauna how he felt about her and had gotten no positive feedback. She sighed and offered, "Aww, Chance. Maybe we never know anyone as well as we think we do. I mean, most of the time we're all just running scared from how we're feeling." Before she could realize it, Grace began to ramble. "Life is scary. And the future is scary too, especially with so much coming at us at once, it seems." Her commentary on his situation was also a commentary about her own, even if she didn't acknowledge it as such.

With a sigh, Grace scooted closer to Chance on the couch and gave his arm a squeeze. "Maybe things will be better when we're done with Hogwart's. Yanno?" Or maybe they wouldn't and she just kept telling herself that. "Do you have any idea what you're going to want to be doing?"