Flickwick Residence
Around 6 pm

Sophie was bored. This was not a new or rare occurrence for the sixteen year old. In fact up until the night she snuck out to Spellpunk the first month of her summer had been fairly boring. Without siblings or parents to torture Soph had the run of the house. She could do as she very well pleased - which meant she had most often felt like doing nothing at all. After the adventures of watching Sellaphix get his arse kicked by someone as small as she was, the Gryffindor had gotten a taste for sneaking out and had made a very special partner in crime. Ollie being there that night was a stroke of luck Sophie still didn't know how she'd managed and the two had been almost inseparable since (save the dates around July's full moon).

They played loud music, ate copious amounts of junk food and flounced around #12 St. Mary's Place like they owned it - which really for the lack of anyone else there they might as well have. It was a good way to spend the summer, even better when more people showed up but mostly Sophie was just glad to have a nearly constant companion in Ollie. It wasn't exactly like summers past but it was maybe as close as she'd ever get again...and it was enough. It was enough of a distraction, it was enough of a good time, it was enough to not feel alone. It hadn't been all peaches and cream of course - the S.A.W.S. meeting in July had been a bit stressful (especially after Ollie had admitted to everyone what had happened in March with Sasha) but it had more than faded into the background now.

On this particular lazy evening there were no festivities planned. No parties, no shows, no people, just a mostly quiet dinner with Nan and the mutts then a lazy game of pool in the family room. Sophie sucked at the game (even after more than a decade of tutelage by her father and brother) so mostly she missed shots and danced around the cue stick while Ollie did whatever it was you were supposed to do to actually win. It wasn't as bad as playing with Luc, who tended to get hyper-competitive. There was no name calling or bet making... actually it was kind of boring which then set Sophie's mind off on a spiral. Her brown eyes zeroed in on Ollie as she tapped her chin, wheels almost visibly turning in her head. She was hatching a plot, a plan for some kind of adventure...

"Hey, have you ever thought of dying your hair Olls? You'd be a pretty slick blonde," the tiny Gryffindor's voice was curious, though if she had to guess she probably already knew the answer. Olivia Foley was not the kind of girl who fussed much with her looks - that wasn't to say she was unattractive, Ollie was one of the most effortlessly pretty girls Sophie had ever met. She just didn't care much how people perceived her based on her physical appearance. She let her long fly away curls go woolly, rarely bothering to even try and contain them with a hair bungee or headband; so it was a fiar bet coloring the tresses had never crossed her mind. That was what bored friends were for anyway, making you do things you might never otherwise even consider - at least that was Sophie's logic.

There were three more days until the full moon, which meant this was one of the last nights she would be spending with Sophie for the next couple of days. You could tell they were nearing the full moon, as no matter how much sleep Ollie might get she still looked a bit tired. She was sure there were the tell tale signs of bags forming under her eyes. She was also sure she was moving a little slower than usual. The power of the moon could be such an annoying thing. Though Ollie was familiar with the whole process and learnt to function. She was pleased she had been able to spend so much time with Sophie, it was exactly what she needed. Her mother of course worried about her well being so she made a point to pop in for a cup of tea every few days.

Ollie had been enjoying her time with Sophie, might as well soak it up while she could. She was concerned about everyone returning to Hogwarts without her. She kept telling her mother that was the reason she was never home, she just wanted to enjoy the company of her friends before she was left alone again. So she had been partner in crime for Sophie, going along with any schemes her friend came up with. They snuck out a lot, went to parties and on various adventures. Ollie was enjoying her summer months like a normal Hogwarts student.

She was attempting to play some pool, she was getting better at it the more she played with Sophie. She was in midst of making a shot when Sophie started talking about dying her hair and looking good as a blonde. Ollie stood up and raised her eyebrow. "No I have never considered it," she said with a hint of interest in her tone. "Though I wouldn't say I am opposed to the idea of it." Ollie flashed a smile after she spoke and put down the pool stick. "So how do you purpose we go about this hmm?"

Ollie lifted the ends of her long brown hair and looked at them. "Blonde, hmmm," she dropped her hair. "I think I like this idea," Something fresh and new for the approaching school year, if she ever got the chance to attend. Ollie was really hoping for an answer on that sooner than later.

Sophie looked most pleased with herself as it appeared not to take any convincing at all to get Ollie to go along with her hair brained (pun possibly intended) scheme. Ollie was almost always up for anything; well almost anything. She seemed to get lethargic around the full moon - Sophie couldn't help but notice because it was something she had always sensed in their first years at Hogwarts together. The Hufflepuff was better at hiding it now than she had been in years one through four but Sophie could tell she just didn't have her usual get up and go. Ollie was like her in a way, the up for anything spur of the moment type (which Sophie also knew would work to her advantage with this whole let's make you look drastically different! adventure). She just became more lethargic a few days before and after the moon was high and full.

Sophie gave her a cheeky sort of grin, "You ask as if I haven't got it all figured out," which of course she didn't and Ollie probably full well knew. That was the fun part! Hanging her cue back on the wall she placed her hands on her hips and inclined her head toward the kitchen, "Come on. Nan's got a bunch of beautification potions in the cellar. She's been stock piling for when she goes back to Dublin to visit Uncle Seamus and the rugrats. His wife gobbles that shite up, because having six kids will make you look old and she refuses to accept that there is nothing glamorus about her life anymore," Sophie shared a look with Ollie as they bounced through the kitchen, pausing only long enough to grab matches (stupid rules about underage magic outside of Hogwarts, but even Sophie had some rules she still refused to break).

Opening the door she grabbed the least dusty of the lanterns and lit it, "Watch your step, otherwise you'll end up ass over tea kettle and then we'll be patching you up rather than making you more gorgeous," holding the lantern up to her face she went "Rawr" before bouncing down the steps, the light illuminating the space a scant few feet in front of her. She could have made the trip blindfolded but Ollie hadn't lived the first eleven years of her life in the house so some light was better than no light. "Anyway, there is this stuff - Da used to use it when he'd catch a gray hair, but I'm the only one who knows that because my father is as vain as any other Wrockstar but he likes to pretend he isn't," she sounded vaguely amused as she hopped off the last step then made quick work of the lamps, light bouncing off the hundreds upon hundreds of glass vials in the storeroom.

"I forget what the actual potion is called - but all of them are in the same aqua marine cut glass bottle, and under the name it will have a color but not like a typical color. It'll be something um kind of froofy? Like 'honey wheat blonde' or 'midnight ebony'," she paused and threw a look to Ollie while rolling her eyes, though her lips still twitched with a smile, "I think she got so used to meticulously labeling everything for the shop it's just force of habit. This used to be one of her best sellers," carefully Sophie made her way around the room, looking for the set of potions. Her mind wandered a bit, as it was apt to do from time to time, to when she was younger and used to spend hours upon hours in the cellar with Nan. It was the "family business" to a degree. Twisting her dark hair into a knot atop her head she skimmed the shelves, voice a little distracted as she threw a look to Ollie, "Find anything yet, Love"?

Ollie saw absolutely no point in fighting against Sophie's newest idea. After all what harm could a bit of colour potion do to her hair? It would be fun to sport a different colour, and if it was absolutely terrible she could talk to her mum about fixing it. Ollie thought she would probably enjoy the blonde look for a little while anyway, it would be a fun change. She could really do anything to distract for her tired feeling state. She had become better at hiding how tired she was, after all in first year she was falling asleep on her desk in the middle of class. Ollie laughed about the times people found her curled up sleeping in the corridor as if she was too lazy to take her nap in the dorms, when truth be told her body ached too much to move on. Ollie was getting better at moving through the aches and pains, but then she had to if she was going to remain somewhat normal.

Ollie yawned as politely as she could muster was she followed Sophie along, shuffling her feet a little slower than usual. "I'm sure you got it all figured out down worry." She smiled trying to put a bit more of the normal bounce in her step. "And the thought of six kids is mildly terrifying." Ollie thought back to her brief stay in an orphanage and all those children, she did not envy those who worked there. Granted her time at the orphanage was not what one would call pleasant.

Watching Sophie light a lantern she smiled, "Ass over tea kettle, oh no!" Ollie made a shocked gasp face as she placed her hand over mouth. The face quickly turned to mock fear before making a similar rawr face in return to Sophie's. "Lead the way!" At least she could put some excited tone into her words even if her body did not have the exact same enthusiasm. She slowly took the steps down, not out of pain but out of tentativeness so as not to fall ass over tea kettle. All she needed was to tumble down the stairs to add to her original pain. Rather than replying to Sophie as she walked down the stairs she just listened to her friend rabbit on about potions and the like. As the room lit up she started on a search for the described bottles, searching for particular colours. "I think I found them!" Ollie said as she looked a few names, "Unicorn Blonde." She chuckled in amusement as to what sort of colour that might make. "Honey Wheat Blonde, you were right!" A loud laugh of amusement came out as she was looking through them all. "Now, what colour do you suggest? Am I a Unicorn blonde?" Ollie jokingly laughed. "What colour is that exactly?"

"It's more than just a little terrifying Olls. It's down right horrific," Sophie laughed a little as her eyes swept over the bottles neatly lining the shelves. "Honestly Mum only had four of us and I don't know how she did it. I think she might have been some kind of mutated super witch," Sophie had given up trying to avoid the topic of her mother to make other people comfortable. In the first months after her death it had been too painful to think about her, some days it still was - but mostly it had dulled to the steady ache of missing someone you knew you'd never see again. Talking about her didn't hurt anymore...and mostly Ollie just let her. The other girl was good like that, she let Sophie talk about almost anything. They danced around Ollie's big confession at the SAWS meeting and the residual guilt that the Hufflepuff had... but Sophie tried to offer comfort in the best way that she could, to listen as carefully and lovingly as a friend could when Ollie started to open up about it.

In the end it was like she had told Sasha, being angry wasn't going to bring her mother back. Hating all werewolves, hating the world for the most tragic of accidents, it didn't change anything but Sophie herself... and Sophie didn't want to change. She didn't want to forget that the most important thing she had ever learned from her mother was how to love with her whole self. So that's what she did, she just loved Ollie for being Ollie and tried her best to make her friend as happy and comfortable as possible while they were together. Which was the reason the tiny Gryffindor was on the opposite side of the room looking at potions for pain relief rather than the general area where she thought the coloring vials might be. She knew whatever she found wouldn't be strong enough to take all the pain away but watching Ollie gingerly limp down the stairs made Sophie more than a little worried. Nan wouldn't notice either potion missing, and if she knew how badly Ollie was hurting she'd have probably brewed up something stronger anyway.

"Unicorn blonde," Sophie paused to look over her shoulder with a grin, "is really just white blonde - but really really white blonde, like snow white. It looks completely unnatural except on the little old ladies who used to buy it from Nan because they didn't like the color of gray their hair had actually turned," she turned back toward the shelf she had been inspecting before carefully removing an emerald bottle with a silver stopper. It was what Nan took when her arthritis acted up, Sophie figured it might help, at least a little, with Ollie's joint pain. It wasn't much but it was something. Slipping it into her pocket she wandered over to where the other girl stood and wrapped an arm around her waist, standing on tiptoes to rest her chin on Ollie's shoulder, "Honey Wheat is a pretty color, but I think you might be more...Butterscotch," she scanned for the right label before picking one up, sounding vaguely amused, "I mean we could go Unicorn if you like but you'd look like someone scared the beejeezus out of you".

"I take it a large family is not on your agenda," Ollie chuckled. Admittedly kids had never been on Ollie's agenda nor had she ever given it much thought. She had read some of her mother's research and knew the likelihood of her carrying a child to term was slim to begin with. Of course what sixteen year old was planning to have kids anyway. It was all a horrifying thought to her and her friends right now.

As her friend mentioned her mother, Ollie did her best not to get that pained look on her face. She didn't want to give Sophie that look that so many did, that look of I'm sorry but have no idea how to help or what to say. Ollie tried not to get uncomfortable at the mention of a dead parent, after all if anyone should know how it felt she should. "I think your mum must have been Wonder Woman, a pretty spectacular heroine from a muggle comic book." Ollie decided to toss in the end of it for clarification. She had been introduced to muggle comic books back when she had briefly dated Heather a muggle girl. "I think she would have to be when she raised four kids," she smiled as she spoke. In her mind she thought raising Sophie might have been a handful all alone, she seemed so energetic and on the go. Though those were some of the many things she loved about Sophie.

At the description of Unicorn Blonde she wrinkled her nose disliking the idea of being that white blonde. She supposed for the older generation of witch it might be acceptable. She was almost glad Sophie didn't see the very face she had made. She continued looking over the various names. "You know if I like the colour we should remember as I might need to do touch ups." Ollie said about to reach up and touch one of the labels when she felt the girl wrap her arms around her stomach. She closed her eyes and took a moment to enjoy the physical contact and the warmth Sophie provided.

"I think I will go with your suggestion rather than Unicorn Blonde," she said as she reached up and picked the bottle labelled Butterscotch. "I think I would be the one more inclined to scare people rather than the other way around."

Sophie pulled a little face and shook her head, "No. I mean, I don't think so. I guess I want a family some day - but first I have to fall for a guy who isn't already in love with Fauna," there wasn't so much a bitter tone to her voice as a sad one. She knew that Fauna had history with Ollie too - but there was some insecure part of Sophie that felt like she would always be following in the long shadow cast by the other girl. If she were serious about taking over SAWS and trying to keep it going in the next year she knew the comparisons between them could become even more obvious. It didn't help that her one boyfriend had been nutso about the former seventh year too. It wasn't as though Sophie felt particularly heartbroken over Fig anymore. Things between them were mostly patched up, they were friends again - and it wasn't as if either one of them had ever declared their undying love for the other. It was a farce of a romance because that's what they were good at, they were farce-y type people really. Still, between Devlin, Chance, and Fig... how could  girl not get a second choice complex?

Placing the Unicorn Blonde back on the shelf she gave a small shrug, "She did have help. I mean she always had time for us, but Dad did put at least his performing career on hold so she could go back to work, and then he had Nan around a bit when all four of us were sprogs. Now... well," she gave sort of shrug and made a face that was somewhere between scrunchy and disgusted. There weren't a lot of words to describe her father that she wanted to use, it felt disloyal to say them out loud. She thought them a lot though, especially when she passed by the now empty recording studio, all the magical gadgets gathering dust while he traipsed about the United Kingdom playing sold out shows. He was soaking up the limelight now, and maybe that's what he needed...but she wondered if he had ever stopped to consider what she might need. At first, when she'd come home to the empty rattling house she had cried about it. She had let herself feel abandoned and angry - but like all things at some point she got tired of the feeling hurt and just shoved it in a box somewhere. She could build a life of her own. She didn't have to need anyone who didn't need her.

So that's what she was doing. She was building her own life. It was both different and eerily like her old life. She kept the parts that worked for her and she tried not to think about the relationships that had been lost along the way. She couldn't really feel sad or alone with Ollie around. Actually the thought of going back to school and suddenly not having the other girl to curl up under the blankets with talking till all hours of the night was more sad than anything. She was trying not to get her hopes up about Ollie coming back to school but at least if she was back at Hogwarts (and stuck to her routine) it might not feel as lonely even if they were in separate houses. With all the sad thoughts clouding over her brain she gave herself a mental shake and Ollie an affectionate squeeze, "Yea I reckon you're pretty terrifying, what with those adorable cheeks and all," her voice teasing as she finally let go and decided to set to blowing out the half dozen glowing lamps around the room, "you head up while there is more light. My mum might have been all super powerful but I am kind of a wuss and won't be able to carry you".

She watched as the dark haired (but soon to be Butterscotch Blonde) girl tired not to visibly limp up the stairs for a moment before slowly dimming each of the lamps to dark. Light from the top of the stairs spilled down, so going up was easier than coming down. Once back in the kitchen she fished the other vial out of her pocket, closing the door behind her, "Here, I think this might help a bit. It's not much but it should take the edge off," she handed over the intricately decorated bottle and took the hair color from Ollie, carefully unfurling the label and directions, squinting at Nan's immaculate though minuscule writings, "It's pathetic when someone over seventy has better hand writing, never mind the eyesight to read it," boosting herself onto the kitchen counter she dug through the junk drawer for a magnifying glass (again, stupid no underage magic rules). "Alright, this says it works best when applied to wet hair... and we sort of just comb it through, let it set for ten to fifteen minutes - depending on how light you want the color, then rinse. I believe I cannot possibly screw this up," she paused to look up at Ollie with a grin "Probably at least".

Ollie wondered what was going on in Sophie's head, but of course with the comments of family and the jab at Fauna gave good enough rise for concern. Funny how if Ollie was male, or the situation was different, Ollie wouldn't exactly fall into that category for Sophie. It did somewhat pain Ollie to think about Fauna and what could have been. She had cared for Fauna much more than any friend should. Kissing Fauna had made her realize just what kissing was supposed to feel like, and make your feel like. The closest she had been to finding that same feeling was with Heather. Though at the time she had not actually been over Fauna to level she was now. She was sure kissing someone else would be much different now. The only thing that stood in her way was finding someone who wanted to kiss her, which proved to be difficult given the fact her preference was same gender. You couldn't just go about kissing girls without proper research as to whether such an advance would freak them out or perhaps even disgust them. Ollie hadn't even made the first move on Heather, it had been other way around. "I am sure you will find someone meant just for you. After all, who could deny someone as cute as you." Ollie honestly meant it, Sophie was exceptionally attractive and any boy would be lucky to have her. "So sod those people who don't see you," she had almost said that she was more attractive than Fauna but Ollie couldn't bash her own friend who she also still found particularly attractive.

Ollie left the lingering comment about Sophie's mother hanging in the air, she had no idea what she could say in response. At least she did not have that shell shocked look upon her face that often appeared when there was a mention of a dead parent. No, she luckily was able to hide it because she knew Sophie didn't want to see that look of feeling sorry on Ollie's face, that was not what she was around her to do. Ollie was meant to distract and entertain her friend, not bring up feelings of sadness.

"I can be quite terrifying," she said with a laugh as she was let go from her mini friends grasp. She almost said that she capable of frightening Sasha with just proximity but decided to avoid that topic. It was not in good taste and she preferred to avoid discussion of her werewolf aspect. "Course. Don't want to go tumbling down the stairs backwards." Ollie laughed a little. She was dreading walking up the stairs as it was sort of daunting. She tried to hide the pain she felt as she walk up the stairs. She headed in the direction of the kitchen.

Ollie smiled when Sophie handed her a different bottle in exchange for the one she had been carrying. She looked it over and smiled, "Oh thank you." Ollie figured this stuff would help take the edge of a little. It was nice of Sophie to notice and want to help, but she also felt somewhat ashamed her stiffness and pain was showing. She got a glass from one of the cupboards as Sophie started reading the instructions for the beauty product. She put some of the potion Sophie gave her in the glass and sipped at it. Ollie just hoped it would take affect soon enough.

"It sounds easy enough," she paused glancing over at Sophie with a cheeky grin, "I have faith you can't screw it up." Ollie was sure it was going to turn out just fine. "Alright let's get started."

"Puppies are cute," was Sophie's only reply when it came to Ollie reassurance that somewhere in the world was someone to love her. It wasn't that Sophie thought she was unlovable - she just didn't particularly think she was the sort of lovable you got all hot and bothered over. She was everyone's kid sister, sure she was dabbling in the waters of the wild side but when it came right down to it she was tiny and that made people protective more than anything. Most of the time she didn't mind, but she was coming to the place in her life where kisses just weren't contracts anymore. They didn't have to mean anything - she wasn't sure at this point she wanted them to mean anything. It was a stark contrast to the idealistic Sophie of last year, the Sophie who fell in love hard and held on till the bumps and bruises were too much to bear.

"Boys do not want to make out with puppies - or if they do I do not want to make out with them," she had the good humor to sound amused as she said it, slipping off the kitchen counter and leading the way toward the first floor bathroom. "Anyway, it doesn't really matter because I'm only sixteen and I have too many adventures planned to be fussed with long term relationships and thinking about families. One of the many perks of being a halfblood is no one gives two shits who I marry. I cannot believe how many people I overheard from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang talking about betrothals and arranged marriage. It was seriously killed my sugar-buzz," always with the jokes Sophie was (and in the jokes were hidden kernels of truth). Pushing the bathroom door open she gestured inside, "If you lean over the tub I think I can rinse your hair without drowning you".

Sophie's offer both was and wasn't a joke; it was really a matter of what would hurt more for Ollie - sitting on the edge of the tub and letting Sophie do it or trying to stand in the shower to do it herself. She just wanted to give the option without making it sound like Ollie was weak. Sophie knew the girl had her pride and had felt the subtle mood shift when she'd offered the girl the pain reliever. Sophie couldn't, in good faith, ignore her friend's pain when there was something that might help; but she also understood the desire to prove you were stronger than people gave you credit for. She didn't want Foley to confuse her concern with judgment. Sophie couldn't fathom what Olls lived through every month, she could just try to make the days leading up to it as pleasant as possible - to treat Ollie as if she weren't really different at all. That was what the last month had shown Sophie if nothing else, Ollie just wanted to be "normal" or some variation there of.

Ollie laughed as she said puppies, and could not help but roll her eyes. "Sophie I would much rather make out with a girl that looked like a puppy rather than one that can turn into a crazy beast." She said in regards to herself. She always figured that Sophie is going to have more luck with boys or romance in general than someone like herself. Ollie had long since accepted that she was a werewolf, and she had also accepted the limitations. As much as people were working towards changes in the treatment of werewolves, it did not completely change the preconceived notions.

"Though you do have a point, there is plenty of time to find your perfect someone. You are young yet." Ollie said with a grin and she followed along behind Sophie towards the bathroom. "You know speaking of the Beauxbatons and Durmstrang kids, you know with all the foreign kids you may find someone to drool over." She shrugged her shoulders. Ollie had noticed a few attractive faces among the crowd while she was there. Though she had not had much chance to encounter too many of them, but she was hopeful that she would be allowed to attend Hogwarts and get the chance to meet more of them.

"I trust you to not totally drench me," she said with a nod as she moved over to the tub. It would probably just be easier over all if she just let Sophie attempt this entire ordeal. She had to admit she was becoming increasingly more intrigued by the potential outcome. Ollie wanted to see what she was going to look like with a mane of blonde hair instead of the brown. "I am kind of excited about this, who would have thought of me with blonde hair." She figured she would shock not only her mother but many of her friends. "Let's do this!" Ollie said as she got down on her knees and moved towards the bathtub.

Sophie's face grew somber rather quickly - she knew Ollie was trying to make her feel better but it also bothered her that she would talk about herself in such a way, "Hey. Don't say things like that," her voice was soft as she reached up to touch the other girl's hair, brow knitted together in concern, "Once a month something happens to you, and it's painful and it sucks, and you have no control over it - but it isn't who you are. I know... once your mum's book comes out it might be how a lot of people see you...but fug um Olls. The people who know you, the people who matter, we know you're so much more than what happens to you every full moon," if Sophie had been thinking about it she'd have realized how much she sounded like her mother just then. Ramona had believed that every werewolf wiling to be compliant, to be registered, to be safe deserved the same chance at the same life their non-werewolf counter parts had.

Realizing that the mood had become far to serious Sophie brightened considerably, gave her friend a squeeze around the neck and then turned toward the tub. "I think I might fancy myself a stoic Russian - provided we can get past the language barrier, though I suppose snogging is better when it doesn't involve talking. I mean, I would guess since Fig never shut up and Luc kept saying how weird it was and then kissed me some more," Sophie didn't have a lot of stories to share about boys - but the ones she had were mostly funny. She liked finding the funny parts and exploiting them otherwise it would just be depressing. She couldn't help but think of Chance and miss him a little. He was off doing his grown up thing and she had known it was coming... it was just much harder than she thought it would be letting him go off and having to stay behind. Some age gaps just couldn't be traversed.

Gesturing toward the wide lip of the tub, Sophie kept fiddling with the nozzles trying to find the right temperature as Ollie situated herself, "I said nothing about not drenching - just not drowning," and as if to prove her point she turned on the shower head and playfully squirted the other girl's shoulder with a giggle. The way Sophie figured it - between her natural clumsiness and the slightly narrow space of the bathroom they were both going to be complete messes by the time this was all said and done. Actually at that thought she gentle set the (now switched off) showerhead in the tub and whipped off her pink shirt and tossed it into the hallway. It was far less scandalous than it might have sounded to an outsider. It wasn't as if she were wearing (or even owned) some skimpy bra, "You might trust me, but I like that shirt too much to take any chances," she grinned at Ollie before rummaging through the bathroom drawer to produce both a wide toothed comb and a hair tie for herself, whipping long dark tresses into a ponytail, "It'll look good on you, I reckon".

Ollie just shrugged her shoulders, why shouldn't she talk like that when it was true. Of course the fact she was a werewolf did not define her, but in the eyes of many it did. The fact she was a werewolf blacklisted Ollie for many, and she knew that. She knew that career opportunities would be slim for Ollie, which did annoy her because she did not have the same bright open future everyone else did. Despite the dim career products later in life it did not matter, Ollie knew no other life and she was happy. Ollie really did love who she was, and cherished the people in her life who liked her beastly and all.

"I know I am more than just a werewolf, but sadly it is not a drawing prospect for love life." Ollie shrugged her shoulders but flashed Sophie a smile. "It doesn't matter, I have people like you in my life who love me for who I am, not what I am." Ollie loved having people like Sophie in her life, and she cherished them. Fauna was one of those she cherished, despite not seeing as much as her as she wanted. Fauna was an important auror in training.

Laughter escaped her small body. "Yes Sophie, snogging is much better when you aren't talking." The chuckling continued, "I am not really sure how one can continue talking while smushing your lips against another person. I suppose Fig has talent then." Ollie was limited in the knowledge of kissing boys, but girls she had a bit more knowledge. Sometimes Ollie wondered if her interest in girls was merely enjoying the romantic attention from someone who could accept her as she was. Perhaps she should give herself a chance and kiss a few boys. "Though I think you should snog a foreigner, Durmstrang or Beauxbatons because if you cannot talk then less chance of finding the Russian version of Fig."

"Hey!" Ollie said in an exaggerated way upon being sprayed by the shower nozzle. "You know I am half tempted to get you back later." She shifted towards the tub again, awaiting instructions from hairdresser Sophie. She turned back to observe Sophie just as she started to pull off her shirt. In that moment all thought went out of Ollie's head. Her eyes immediately went to the exposed skin of Sophie's stomach and moved up over her breasts hidden behind the bra. Thought did not return to her head until Sophie spoke, and then Ollie was concerned she was drooling or something. Sophie was gorgeous, Ollie was aware, but this was almost too much. "Makes sense," Ollie managed to stutter out as she turned away. Ollie took some deep breathes trying to stop the thoughts in her mind. Sophie was her best friend, not someone to oogle. 

This wouldn't be the first time he made multiple stops at the Flickwick residence during his annual house hop, nor was it the first time he'd been outnumbered by girls. The latter only bothered him on occasions he happened to related to one of the girls outnumbering him, or if they happened to be messing him.  In this particular case, Sophie and Ollie were off doing... well, he wasn't entirely sure what they were doing at the moment.  He'd not really been paying attention to the conversation that led up them disappearing from the room.  On the upside, Lucas Norwood was very capable of entertaining himself.  On the down side, without John around, he went through those things much faster then he anticipated.  The dogs were lazying about, there was absolutely nothing on the telly, and what was the point of doing trick shots with absolutely no one to appreciate them? 

That, was something he still struggled with.  The loss of Ramona Flickwick hit hard and it been a slow adjustment to missing not only her presence, but everyone else's as well.  Emily and Ruby promptly left as soon as they arrived home from Hogwarts and Duncan been gone most of the Summer on tour.  It was hard to catch John on a visit, but Luc really couldn't hold it against the older boy.  At first, it been surreal, like everyone gone on holiday and forgotten them.  There was only so many ways to fill up the emptiness air where other voices should be.  There was no Emily teasing Sophie about this and that, or Ruby advice to hear, or Ramona giving him directions on cooking. 

Now, well, now they simply needed to be louder to make up for it and start filling in the gaps. In Sophie's case, she really only had two switches and neither of them happened to be all that quiet.  He could hear her from here, she and Ollie were up to something and it clearly amused the two of them.  Being around Ollie was another thing Luc was still adjusting to.  Luc liked Ollie, and he knew her in the way he knew most people in his year and his house, but they'd never been particularly close.  It been a pretty big deal when it happened, but in the months following, so many other things happened since then that it felt like years since she'd been expelled. 

What finally led him to the bathroom wasn't boredom, at least not the kind of boredom that required attention.  No, he'd been trying his absolute best to maintain distance from whatever girly endeavor they'd consumed themselves with, but he simply could not find his notebook.  It was disconcerting, to say the least, not finding it where it should be.  Careful deconstruction of the room didn't turn up any results, with ever growing panic.  Short of completely going round the bend and undertake a thorough sweep of the house, Luc went to Sophie instead.

"Sophie, did I leave my--- Gah!"  And just like that, the notebook was forgotten.  Whatever he'd been expecting, it was quite obviously not a half naked Sophie and Luc didn't particularly know how to feel about that.

"Kissing was not one of his better talents," Sophie rolled her eyes and pulled a face. She'd run her mouth on that topic back in June at Spellpunk. Fig wasn't really as horrible as the rumors (Sophie may or may not have had a hand in starting) made him out to be - but he was pretty inexperienced. Then again so was Sophie, kissing him just hadn't ever felt... completely right. It was nice enough, the kissing itself once they got past the tongue choking it was just not the right thing for her. She had never felt as close or comforted by Fig as she had by, well, any of her guy friends. When Erin Harper could make sweeter gestures than you it ought to have been a clue to step up your game. In the end it hadn't really mattered because the fact was they weren't in love with each other. Years from now they'd look back on it and laugh probably, in some ways Sophie already did. At least they were friends again, that had been the worst part of the break up for Sophie, really.

Shuddering she gave Ollie a mock horrified look and shook her head, "You can't say things like that! It's putting all that bad mojo into the universe. Now it might really happen," she pretended to sound horrified but wasn't really. The idea of a Durmstrang student being anything like Figaro Sellaphix was laughable. There was no way someone like that could survive at the school - and that was just having interacted with Professor Storm. She couldn't imagine attending an academy filled with Ignan Storms or some that might even be worse. The thought of it actually sent a shiver down her spine as she shook her head. "I don't actually think someone like Fig would survive those Russian winters, it'd have been skinned for his pelt," she giggled a little unaware that she'd just put her current best friend in an extremely awkward position. Sophie didn't often think of the people who might be attracted to her of either sex. Other than Deus, and the two times she and Luc had gotten caught up in a moment, it just didn't happen to her.

She didn't think about the fact that parts of her had filled out, or that there was a definite curve to her slender waist now. She didn't spend time obsessing over her body in the mirror anymore because she had realized she would never be the lean leggy Latina beauty her mother was. She was so used to looking at her reflection that she didn't really see herself when she passed a mirror. She saw what she was used to seeing, it was some sort of trick of the brain - but she was so unaware of it she couldn't even try to puzzle it out. So instead she brushed Ollie with her bare shoulder as she reached for the shower head as she turned it back on, "Lean back and close your eyes, maybe hold your breath. I promised I wouldn't drown you but I might need some help in that endeavor," she grinned a little, wrinkling her nose as she carefully set about wetting the other girl's hair. She was nearly done when Luc made his grand entrance. Glancing over her shoulder she arched an eyebrow as she ran her fingers through Ollie's soaked hair, "Where did you leave what, and while we're on the subject - why are you always losing things in my house? It's like you live here or something".

"You may have a point," Ollie said with a chuckle. "I am not sure someone like Fig could manage at Durmstrang," well at least the Durmstrang she had sort of created in her head. The school was all sorts of intimidating, and seeing them the other day made the intimidation even more presences. Sure she had only really encountered Salem students, but the uniforms and their stoic appearance made them intimidating. Just like the Beauxbatons school was so prim and proper, not a hair out of place. The way the uniform clung to the natural curves of many of the girls had been rather impressive. Over all, Ollie felt a sense of intimidation from the new schools, well not so much from her first encounter with Salem. Ollie assumed it was just unfortunate who she had run into that day, Taryn seemed perfect nice though. Perhaps she did better judging Salem off of the niceness of Taryn.

"I think you are safe that you won't find a Fig like person at Durmstrang, I take back the bad karma." Ollie loved her housemate, and would never exchange him for anyone. She said as she finally got into position next to the bathtub. She leaned back as instructed, but her eyes when a little wide when Sophie mentioned about not drowning her. "I really hope you don't go drowning me Soph. I totally trust you."

Ollie closed her eyes and leaned back comfortably. She tried not think about Sophie in her bra. It was much easier to just close her eyes and not see the view. Ollie did not want to start crushing on a friend again, it had been delightfully awkward with Fauna. She also did not want to fall for a straight girl again, because the pain of watching them with a boy was too much. Her thoughts were distracted when she heard another voice. Right, Luc was here. Ollie sat up with her sopping wet hair and looked at him and saw his face which sort of brought a smile to her face. "I think we both almost live here."