It was a warm morning and Vulpes decided to lounge around the grounds. Not paying too much attention, he skipped out of the Great Hall after breakfast, climbed up into a tree, and now lay across a large lower branch, his legs propped straight up against the trunk. His headphones were turned up full blast, and it was very likely that the pleasant notes from Pachelbel's Canon could be heard. Arms out, he waved them like a conductor, and swayed slightly.

As he closed his eyes, his thoughts began to slip away from him; images of green fields filled his mind. He was walking, arms straight out, through groups of lilacs. He heard birds chirping, watched Unicorns prance through the meadow, and marveled at the double rainbow[1] stretching across the sky. With a smile Vulpes began spinning around humming 'The Sound of Music'.

It was about this part in his daydream that he fell out of the tree. He opened his eyes and found himself laying almost vertically upside down at the base of the trunk. Laughing cheerily, he rolled over and climbed back into the tree, once again relaxing in the same spot he had been previously.

Once again he found himself in his day dream, skipping through the fields and attempting to pet the Unicorns.

1.	I had to to it.

-- Outfit. --

---

Murphy liked the springtime. It was always so warm and welcoming and unlike her hometown's crummy weather, it felt nice against her arms. While she was at Hogwarts, she felt much more comfortable with rolling up her sleeves or even donning a tank top. Today, she simply wore a loose t-shirt. It was white, unlike the rest of her wardrobe, and she never wore it while she painted, so no stains could be found on the cottony material. It was the perfect shirt to wear on such a nice day.

And it was the perfect day to go about taking pictures outside. Murphy was known around the school for snapping photos everywhere she went. She hardly paid much attention to her own well being at some points. As in, she would waltz right into the forest or a dark alley just to capture a dusty corner that caught her eye. The bad part of being an artist was that nobody really understood why exactly she did the things she did. Especially not the uncreative types. So while Murphy had no problem with standing on the edge of her window to get a better shot of the grounds, her housemates were likely poking fun at her behind her back.

She wasn't afraid of falling. Murphy knew she wouldn't fall. And even if she did, she would enjoy the ride down before she crushed her skull in at the bottom. And that was okay.

Murphy had made her way around the courtyard, blue eyes sharply dissecting her surroundings. There wasn't exactly anything she hadn't already had a picture of. Most of them were in a scrapbook she had for herself, and her favorites hung on the wall right above her bed. In her house, her paintings and photographs nearly covered every inch of her wall. That was when Murphy started storing paintings in odd places, such as underneath her bed or her mattress. Some of her paintings were even folding into the pages of her favorite books. Anywhere she could get her hands on, she'd hide them there. She was a hoarder of her own artwork.

But, when she decided to try another area instead of the courtyard, she heard a thud followed by laughter. Murphy's brow furrowed and she quickly glanced around the area, trying to find the source of the noise.

But then she saw him. The boy from the party... Vulpes was his name. He was in quite a bit of her classes. Murphy had sat, quietly, watching him hum to himself while she sat in her corner, protecting her own painting like a freak. Vulpes was, in his own little way, adorable. In a good way, really. Murphy never really paid much attention to the boys around her. She simply wasn't attracted to any of them. However, there were a few lookers here and there. Vulpes was pleasant to look at, as was Percy Dervish. Nice, dark-haired boys seemed to be her type. Even if her ex fit that general description. At least, he did.

She caught herself staring again as the boy climbed back into the tree. Her eyes dropped to the ground immediately and she ran her long fingernails across her neck. She didn't like looking at people, but she was simply used to letting her eyes wander. And they couldn't help but wander back to the boy in the tree...

... Who was now upside down, humming to himself. The site forced a grin onto Murphy's face. She turned her heels, facing towards the boy, and snapped a picture of him. Happy and carefree. Lucky thing, he was. She felt a bit bad for taking a picture of him without permission, however. It was a bit creepy. So she found herself trudging forward, towards the Slytherin.

She halted about four feet away from him, his arms swinging about and making her scared for her skin. But she tilted her head and pressed her index finger into his flipped stomach.

"Oi, Connor," she spoke up, "Mind if I take a picture of you...? Not everyday you see someone just... Casually hanging upside-down, yeah?"

She paused and stepped a bit further back, readying her camera for another picture, "I don't think that's healthy, by the way. All that blood going to your head. Seems a wee bit painful, doesn't it?"

Still caught up in his daydream when his current symphony ended, Vulpes was surprised to hear someone call his name, along with a soft poke to his stomach, which caused him to giggle slightly.

He opened his eyes to see who it was, as he didn't recognize the girls voice. When he saw who it was his heart skipped a beat, and he fell headfirst out of the tree, his headphones falling of his head. It was his dear heart throb Murphy. She had never said anything to him before that he could remember, and he was pretty sure he had never been this close to her except maybe in passing down the hallways.

He blinked rapidly a few times, smiling warmly up at her. He hadn't quite heard what she had said, but he noticed a camera in her hands. "Oh... uh, sure!" He said happily, hoping she had asked if she could photograph him.

Quickly he grabbed his brightly colored headphones, hung them around his neck, and stood up. She was about an inch taller than he was. He had no idea until now. "Do you want me up in the-" His voice trailed off mid-sentence and he leaned forwards slightly. "You have really pretty eyes, you know?" He said softly before realizing it. Blushing, he quickly straightened back out, and ran a hand through his long hair. His eyes fell to the ground, but he couldn't help but smile warmly.

Around his neck his headphones played an instrumental version of Nearer My God to Thee[1], and Vulpes began swaying slightly, softly singing the words. He began to forget where he was, zoning back out into another day dream.

1.	Nearer My God to Thee was reportedly the last song the Titanic String Quartet played as the ship sank.

The fellow began giggling and Murphy immediately retracted her finger. She had a weird thing about touching people, but she didn't think a simple push to his stomach would have been such a big deal. A gentle poke with the finger tip. That's all it was. She had trouble with grabbing and pulling and the overall feeling of flesh. Because her fingertips against another person's skin was much too personal and much too intimate for her liking. But there had been a wall of cotton blocking Murphy's slender finger. And while the giggling made her smirk just a tad, as it was like she were tickling a child, she hadn't expected him to... Well... Fall onto his head...

She didn't know whether to step forward and help him or not. She also hesitated from snapping a photo of the crumbled heap below her. Murphy had trouble keeping her morals and her art separate at times. She enjoy a nice, twisted, deformed body. But before she could even decide, really, Vulpes had popped right back onto his feet, stuttering about and smiling. She stepped back just a tad, giving him more air to breathe and more room for her to actually take the picture she wanted. She had a rather nice camera. She had saved up for it since her second year and finally bought it the summer before her fifth year. Before then, she used a flimsy camera that required film and had to be taken to place to be developed. Her new one still required film, but didn't need to be taken to anyone. She was magic, after all. Taking pictures had never been easier.

She placed the camera adjacent to her right eye, fixing the zoom before gently placing her finger on the button, ready to press down...

"You have really pretty eyes, you know?"

Murphy's jaw fell slack. Pretty eyes? She slowly lowered the camera once more, obviously confused and surprised by the sudden compliment. There was nothing wrong with having pretty eyes. It wasn't a statement complimenting her femininity, and it wasn't an sarcastic insult. Boys had pretty eyes, too. It was a general saying. Nothing to get worked up about. Nothing to sneer about. She had pretty eyes, apparently. "T- Thank you..." Murphy replied as her pale cheeks tinted rose. Without thinking, she took the photo and let the camera fall against her diaphragm, hanging down from her neck against its strap. She wanted to be angry. She wanted to tell Vulpes he could go bang a goat. But in a way, he made her feel kind of good about herself. She had pretty eyes.

Her eyes flicked around Vulpes' expression, waiting for him to say anything else... But it looked like he had escaped back into his little fantasy world. Murphy bit her lip and refrained from laughing at him. He seemed like a bit of a ditz, though she knew better than that. Most Slytherins she encountered were actually quite intelligent. Most of them, at least. And then there were also the Ravenclaws who were rather slow, also, but could completely wreck Murphy in a duel or even set the curve on a test. But Vulpes swayed to and fro in front of her... Murphy knew better than to judge someone for being different. She, herself, was a victim to bullying and teasing and name calling. Words hardly hurt Murphy anymore. This wasn't a good thing, however.

She stepped forward and pressed her finger into Vulpes' stomach once more to bring him back into reality. "Bloody hell, Connor. Don't daze out like that. You must be dizzy from all the blood in your head," Murphy grinned feebly and settled her eyes on his torso, rather than awkwardly looking into his eyes.

"It's worrisome, you know? Are you okay?" Her brow furrowed, but she continued to smile, "There's people out there who torture unsuspecting victims by forcing them upside down. All that blood rushing to their head. Makes a man go crazy, yeah?" She softly nudged him again with an innocent laugh, "You're not crazy, now are you?"

Vulpes gave out another giggle as he felt her finger on his stomach again. It brought about a very warm sensation in his chest, and his smile widened. He felt his cheeks growing rather warm as he looked at her, and his heart beat faster. With his headphones around his neck, he could clearly hear what she was saying this time. He thought she had a very nice voice. Suddenly he realized that he had started slipping into another daydream, which probably wasn't very polite.

"You can call me Vulpes. If you want, I mean," speaking quietly, tilting his head slightly with a warm smile. "And I may be a little dizzy, it happens sometimes... But it probably has more to do with me being-" He raised his right arm and made a fluttery movement with his hand. "A bit out there..." Voice trailing off he looked back at her and smiled, then dropped his eyes to the ground.  He still couldn't believe he was talking with her, it seemed too good to be true. He started to wonder what she thought of him, but then she simply said,

"You're not crazy, now are you?"

With a slight laugh and a warm smile he leaned back against the tree. That was a good question. Was he crazy? He certainly didn't think so. But then again, that may be how he was perceived. "No," he managed to say tilting his head again. "At least, I don't think I am, or at least not in a bad way. It's just..." He wasn't sure how to put this and have it make a lot of sense. "Music always has had some pull to me. Don't know why,"

Vulpes furrowed his brow, he crossed his arms, a pensive look across his face. "But I suppose it helps keep me so calm. Play it loud enough, keeps the demons at bay[1], yea?"

He hoped that made sense to her. Or maybe that would be the response a crazy person gave?

1.	Across the Universe (2007)

He giggled again and returned back to reality. Murphy's arm fell back to her side and her brow furrowed. He was an interesting fellow. Murphy was quite used to being around mean, rude, nasty people. The ones who laughed at the darker things in life. That made her quite comfortable... Knowing some people could find light in the dark. But... The ticklish boy who stood in front of her definitely wasn't that kind of person. Murphy almost felt like she would taint his innocent appeal if she were to befriend him. His wide, boyish smile and cutesy giggling. Murphy hardly even giggled. This boy was more feminine that her.

... Murphy was beginning to like him a whole lot more.

"You can call me Vulpes. If you want, I mean,"

The girl shrugged, lightly. "Vulpes," she repeated, dragging out the 's' into a hiss. She only ever called her peers by their first name when they gave permission. Even then, it was only if she felt like adding that intimacy to the conversation. First names were for when Murphy was feeling friendly. She didn't care if people called her by her first name, but if they called her, "Murph," she got uncomfortable and feisty. Murph was for her closest friends and her dad. Even if it was simple. She simply hated it when people attempted to personalize her name. She hated letting people get close.

"Okay," she told him, "Vulpes it is then... I'm Murphy Urquhart, by the way..." she paused, "You'd be surprised how many of our classmates I need to tell that to. No one really knows my name." Which was, sadly, incredibly true. A lot of her peers hardly knew who the hell she was. Murphy was simply too quiet for her own good.

"And I may be a little dizzy, it happens sometimes... But it probably has more to do with me being-" Vulpes did a weird arm movement, almost as if he was thinking of what he was going to say, "A bit out there..."

"Well, yes," Murphy responded, crossing her arms across her chest, "But we're all a bit out there, lovely. You're just honest with yourself." Murphy, herself, was a bit "out there," also. She was lot different from Vulpes, however. Abused and used, that's what she was. She didn't picture Vulpes having a hard life. At least, she hoped he didn't. He was much too cute. It'd be like owning a rescue cat. They're cute and friendly and completely extraordinary... But they'd always have that part of them. Murphy didn't like that thought. Her own cat, Whiskey, was a rescue. The poor thing was skittish and didn't like being around people. Perhaps that was why the hairless little bugger clung onto her. She wasn't like other people.

"It's funny," Murphy tilted her head and dropped her eyes to Vulpes' feet, "The people who distract themselves with music are typically the most depressed people in the world..." Something she once read in a book, but she wasn't sure how much she wanted to believe it (considering she spent most of her time listening to music while she did whatever). "But you don't seem depressed, Vulpes. At least, I hope you're not..." another pause, "Just a thought."

"But I suppose it helps keep me so calm. Play it loud enough, keeps the demons at bay, yea?"

Murphy attempted to hide her beaming eyes, but they shot up and grew wide. Of course she'd recognize that line. "Muggle movies, eh?" she spoke with an uneasy smile, "I didn't picture you being associated with... Well, it's interesting, is all." Murphy, herself, was a muggleborn. She always felt she was subjected to bad judgement because of her blood. Mudblood. Dirty blood. Some of her best friends were muggles, but she hardly wanted to admit that in Hogwarts. She never knew who was a purist. It oddly made her comfortable that Vulpes simply had knowledge from a movie. Even if it was by mistake. It gave her a good feeling.

"You were quoting a movie, right? Sorry... I just... Have issues with..." she trailed off and didn't continue.

Vulpes pushed a lock of his hair from his face. Of course he knew her name. How could he not? After all, he has been staring at her every day in class for the last two years or so. But he wondered if he should admit that. Would it be good to say that he's known her name for years? She was one of the few people who had never really bothered him for his strange nature after all.

"Murphy..." he said slowly. "Right. I remember your name." With a warm smile he attempted to meet her eyes. But she seemed to be avoiding his.

"It's funny, the people who distract themselves with music are typically the most depressed people in the world..."

He flinched slightly. But he didn't think Murphy saw. Technically... that was true. While he usually was happy, or at least thought he was, the words from the others still hurt when he heard them. It was just that, even by their first year, he was able to ignore it, or not give any real reaction.

"But you don't seem depressed, Vulpes. At least, I hope you're not... Just a thought."

Vulpes blushed rather heavily. She actually cared? That wasn't something he had expected to hear. At least... Not in their first conversation together. Or maybe he looked into it too deeply. Maybe she was just talking to talk. He leaned down in another attempt to make eye contact.

"Well... To be honest," he said with a sigh.  "I am rather concerned about what I'll do about my future. After school," he laughed slightly. "Well, you may think it's silly coming from someone like me. But I always wanted to be an Auror. And there's no way I'm ever going to get that job with me failing Potions and Herbology."

He gave another absurd laugh and smiled softly. He didn't want to be sad, and laughing and smiling always seemed to help him keep his spirits up.  But he flinched, this time much more obviously, when she looked up at him.

"Muggle movies, eh? I didn't picture you being associated with... Well, it's interesting, is all."

An unusual surge of anger filled him for a moment. Why should she think that. Because he's a Slytherin? He bit his lower lip waiting for the rage to pass, which, luckily for him, it didn't take long. He realized quickly that that probably was the reason she would think that. He was a Slytherin. And, generally speaking, Slytherins were purists.

"You were quoting a movie, right? Sorry... I just... Have issues with..."

And there it was. Vulpes concluded that she, or someone she was close to, say a parent, was Muggle born. He had no issues with blood status. He could care less, his mother was a  Muggle born. But he knew there were more than enough people who called them... Well, the word wasn't one he liked to think about.

"Yea," He said with a smile. "Across the Universe. Went to see it with my mother when it came out." With a large grin he took a step closer to her, hoping she wouldn't retreat. "And you should know," Vulpes began softly. "My mother is a Muggle born. And that word..." he practically spat the last word. "It's not one I would ever say."

With that he turned on the spot and looked up at the sky. He suddenly felt like flying. With a quick draw of his wand, he pointed it straight up and shouted "Ascendio!" Suddenly he was launched up into the air. And he laughed all the way back down, shouting "Aresto Momentum," slowing himself enough that he hit the ground softly. Unable to contain himself, Vulpes rolled on the ground laughing until his sides hurt.

When he finally stopped he rolled out and stretched. "It's nice laying here," he muttered softy. "Only thing that would make it nicer is to have you laying next to me..."