By The Fire ~Open~

[Annabella Valentine H3]

Annabella sat curled up on the couch, staring into the blazing fire that was, roaring in front of her. Beside her was a couple of books, her parchment and quill and a bottle of ink. She had been doing a bit of homework and was now taking a break, she had chosen to do her homework, in the student lounge because it was much more quieter, and comfortable then the Common room or the library.

As she stared into the fire she began, to think about how her year, had been going so far. She had met a few new people and her classes were going great so far. She hadn't been late once this year. The only bad thing was she had gotten detention for being out after curfew, she had been with Danny a Gryffindor 6th year, who she had met in the corridors when she had gotten lost. He had offered to show her back to her common room, and they had gotten along pretty well during that trip.

He had offered to show her a secret place that he went to, and it was on the way to that place, that they had gotten caught, and were given detention...seperatley. She hadn't seen Danny since that night and was wondering, what he had been up to....or if he was mad at her. She shrugged her shoulders and made a memo in her mind, to seek him out sometime and see what had been up. She sighed quietly as she turned her head, to look at her unfinished homework. "Might as well get back to it." she said to herself as she picked up a book, and began to flip through it. She wondered if anybody else would be coming into the louge, as she was getting rather bored and wanted somebody to talk to. A friend or a potential new friend would do.

[hpfan1]

((I know this was a long time ago,but I noticed that no one had replied so I decided to join in.))

Anna walked down the halls thinking about how much homework she had.
She went over the list in her head:
- That stupid Dream Diary that she had to do for Divination that was assigned every year( according to the other students).
- Snape's essay on the differences between Monkshood and Wolfsbane.( which had to be no less than 2 feet long).
- Practicing the Banishing spell for McGonagall( she had been given extra homework since she hadn't been paying attention in class).
Ok, so maybe that's not that much,thought Anna.

Anna was headed for the Student Lounge. She was hoping she could find someone to do homework with. As Anna reached the corridor with the lounge, she met the person she did not feel like meeting right now, Filch.

"Sorry sir, I was just headed to the Student Lounge to get some homework done, I'm not doing anything wrong am I?" she said before he even said anything. He grunted and walked off.

Thank goodness, thought Anna. She had reached the lounge, and when she opened the door, she noticed a girl in her year, but in Hufflepuff, sitting by the fire doing her homework.

"Oh, hi, mind if I join you? My name is Anna, Anna Chancy." Anna said quickly.

[Annabella Valentine H3]

((Yikes..my turn to be sorry lol been busy and such ^^))

Annabella lifted her head when she heard someone talking, to her. She was so absorbed in her book she did not hear, anybody come in. She smiled and nodded at the other girl request and began to move, some of her things so that she could sit down. "Yes of course, please do. My name is Annabella Valentine...it's nice to meet you Anna." she replied as she had just moved the last of her things, onto the other side of her.

She tilted her head and tried to place the girl, she knew from her robes she was in Gryffindor and looked, around her age. She also tried to remeber if they took any classes together, perhaps they could do some homewrok together.

"So what brings you to the lounge? Myself I'm doing some homework...stupid Snape and his essays." she muttered the last part, before smiling up at the girl.

[Harmony Chan H6]

Harmony had decided on going to the Student Lounge to try and find Aurora and Ari, who may be able to help her with her Potions homework. Well, Ari, to be exact. Aurora couldn't do Potions to save her life! Tucking the rolls of parchment tightly under her arm, she entered the warm room, and noticed two girls already there, a redhead Hufflepuff who she recognised, and someone else around the other girl's age. But no Ari or Aurora. Oh well. Harmony thought she might as well make herself comfortable and attempt her other pieces of homework. Maybe her sister and cousin would drop by soon. It wasn't as if she had anything better to do, as lots of this work was in for the day after.

With a suffering sigh, Harmony sat herself down and opened up her homework in front of her, scrunching her face up to try and concentrate, despite the fact she could hear the quiet mumblings of the two girls' conversation. Even though Harmony wasn't in the best mood right now, she told herself she'd get the work done soon, and could have an early night.

[ksmilesallroundk]

Richard walked slowly into the Student Lounge, holding his notebooks protectively against his chest. He scanned the room, hoping to find somewhere to sit. He recognised a girl, Harmony, who he had met one night with Rachel, but he didn't know any of the other students. Thinking about Rachel, he smiled. She always made him smile, she was a good friend. He decided to go and sit down near Harmony. Feeling a little bit shy, he sat down on a chair near her. He had do some work himself, but he wanted to do a bit of writing while he had the chance. He had been working on a poem for a while now, but it wasn't working. Turning to Harmony, he gave her a friendly smile. He then looked at the other girls. They looked nice, and he really did want to make some new friends. Deciding that he had to get some confidence somehow, he began walking over to them.
"Hi, I'm Richard," he said, hoping he didnt' sound nervous.

[Harmony Chan H6]

Harmony had been half way through a long Muggle Studies essay which she was not having too much trouble with when she noticed a figure stepping almost cautiously into the room. Looking up, she saw an older Ravenclaw boy she recognised from some night previously, though she didn’t know his name. Harmony regarded him curiously as he scanned the student lounge, and wondered if he was looking for someone. After a short pause, he walked over to a seat near her and sat down to work, and watching him settle down slowly, she was reminded of her own essay also, and hastily turned back to it. A few moments later, the boy looked up, and catching his movements from the corner of her eyes, she looked up and noticed him smiling friendlily at her. Blinking in surprise and shyness, she quirked a coy smile in return, and looked away quickly when he stood up and approached the other two girls in the room, trying hard to concentrate on the tedious essay. Muggles, yes, they um… use… However, yet again the Ravenclaw boy distracted her (part of her was grateful for it too) as he spoke slightly nervously to the girls which Harmony guessed were in his year. Not wanting to eavesdrop, though it was hardly possible because the room was rather quiet and his voice rang out clearly, Harmony almost dropped her quill in surprise as she heard the Ravenclaw state his name, and the cogs in her brain began moving rapidly as her memories regurgitated a rather recent conversation…

"Um well... I do like someone... His name is Richard. He is in Ravenclaw."

A clear image of an older Slytherin girl swam into her head, and with a low gasp, Harmony realised that the boy before her could possibly be Patrica Dawsinson’s… “crush”, Patrica being a girl she had come across one sunny morning outside near the Lake. Patrica had mentioned that her crush was in Ravenclaw, and since this guy’s name was Richard, Harmony made a guess that it was the same boy. And he appeared to be in the year above her. Wanting to make sure she was thinking on the right lines, Harmony bravely drew up a little courage, and called softly to Richard, the same shy smile lining her face. “Excuse me, Richard… Do you know a Patrica Dawsinson?”

[ksmilesallroundk]

Richard turned when he heard someone addressing him, and found himself staring at the girl he had recognised as Harmony.
"Yes, she's my friend," he said, confused. Then he remembered that Patrica had mentioned meeting a girl named Harmony, and that was how he had known her name. Then he smiled. If she was a friend of Patrica's, then she was probably very nice. His shyness disappeared and he decided to walk over to her.
"I suspect you're a friend of hers, aren't you?" He asked, smiling.

[Harmony Chan H6]

Harmony watched in suspense as the boy turned around, and with a confused frown reply that he did indeed know Patrica. A happy smile alighted on her face as she realised it was the right Richard, and flashed him a less shy grin, feeling rather triumphant she had finally met Patrica’s crush. He approached with a friendly face, and Harmony decided he seemed nice, though kind of shy, like her, which made her glad, as she always felt this way. In hearing Richard’s question, Harmony gave a soft chuckle, staring at Richard with an amused expression, “Well… I don’t think Patrica would consider me a ‘friend’, but yes, I consider her one of mine. I know her, but I’ve only met her once. My name’s Harmony Chan.” She introduced herself with a small smile, and decided not to tell him that Patrica had mentioned him to her before, “I’m in Hufflepuff, second year. It’s nice to meet you.”

Cocking her head to one side so her black hair fell past her right ear in a mini cascade, Harmony cast Richard a questioning glance, “So what brings you here? Are you looking for Patrica, or just doing homework? I’ve got loads myself.” She indicated the piles of paper on the table with a sickened face, “I’m sorry about the other night, by the way. I bumped into you and another Slytherin girl, didn’t I? I didn’t mean to intrude.” Harmony remembered the night clearly, for she had been exhausted, and had wanted nothing better but to flop into her bed. However, she wondered who Richard’s friend was, and so thus decided to ask him with a curious look in her eyes, “What’s that girl’s name anyway, because I’m sure she’s Patrica’s friend, but I never asked for her name.”

[ksmilesallroundk]

Richard smiled. It was good to meet some of Patrica's friends, other than Rachel. He motioned towards the seat near Harmony, and then sat down.
"I was sort of looking for Rachel, that's the girl I was with when you met us. She's my best friend, I don't know what I'd do without her. But I was also just looking for somewhere to write. Not homework, even though I have more than I should," he said, grinning at Harmony, "I just really needed to put some thoughts down on paper. Oh, and you didn't bother us at all the other night," he said, shaking his head. It was a shame that they had to split up soon after they met Harmony, because a prefect warned them it was close to curfew. He was still so shy around new people, but he was getting better. Especially when Rach or Patrica was there. A year ago he wouldn't dare have dreamed about sitting in a room talking to a virtual stranger and not even blushing.
"Are you doing homework right now? I should be doing mine, but I'm not really in the mood at the moment," he said laughing softly.
"How do you know Patrica?" Richard was genuinely interested, he loved learning new things about his friend.

[Harmony Chan H6]

Harmony happily accepted Richard’s presence to the seat beside her, and smiled at the mention of Rachel’s name, wondering if she’d get to meet this girl sometime too. It was funny how she’d met Patrica, then Richard. Well, coincidence, what more could Harmony say? Upon Richard’s mention of writing, Harmony’s face lit up a little with enthusiasm, and she found herself thinking about her cousin, “Oh really? I like to write a little too… Perhaps not as much as my cousin, Aurora, but it’s fun. I like to read too. And dance.” Harmony gave a wry grin, thinking how little practice of ballet she had been doing recently. “I need to practice my ballet so badly. What about you?” she asked, wondering if he was anything like her. Perhaps they could strike up an interesting conversation. “What were you writing about? Personal stuff?” Harmony’s face creased with worry as she realised she was being slightly nosy, “Um, well… I was just wondering.” Her tone turned apologetic, as did her smile, “You don’t have to say.”

Harmony grinned at the thought of the other night, tucking some hair back behind her ears as she spoke, “I was exhausted that night… What were doing up so late anyway?” She asked curiously, then watched as Richard motioned at her pieces of parchment and neglected quill, “Hm? Oh yeah, I’m writing an essay for Muggle Studies about electricity and stuff. Kind of boring, but it’s easy for me; I was brought up in the muggle world most of my life.” Harmony rolled her eyes grinning as she scratched her head with a nervous laugh. Upon hearing Patrica’s name again, Harmony surfed her memories back to the day she had met her, which was not too long ago. “Oh, I met her by the Lake one morning recently. I was just relaxing, and I think she was too. We started talking… I think she almost hit me in the process.” Harmony let out an amused chuckle at the discussion they’d had, which had included Richard too. “And that was it, really.” Harmony smiled at how random an encounter it had been, a pleased look playing across her face, “That’s how I know Patrica. What about you? You’re in the same year, right? Are you guys good friends.” Harmony wondered whether Richard liked Patrica too, and inside of her hoped he did. It was sad when love was one sided.

[ksmilesallroundk]

Richard listened as Harmony spoke, getting more excited.
"I love writing! I was just writing a poem about my friends, and family. And how much my life has changed since the beginning of the year. I can't believe you do ballet though. Rachel does it too; that night that I met you I caught her doing a dance and she was amazing. How long have you been doing it for?" Richard was enjoying talking to Harmony. She was friendly, and he really appreciated that. She didn't have to talk to him, especially since he was a stranger, and yet she was taking the time. To him, that said a lot about her character. He smiled.
"I met Patrica a while ago in the halls at night. We are good friends, and well, kind of, going out. I asked her out last night and she said yes," he said shyly. Normally he wouldn't dream of divulging such personal information, but Harmony was Patrica's friend, she would find out pretty soon.
"I was really scared to at first, just because I didn't think she'd say yes, but she sort of started the conversation. I couldn't believe it," he continued, smiling. Then, realising he might be boring Harmony, he tried to change the subject.
"So, uh, are you dating anybody?" He asked quickly, trying to think of something to say. Then he cringed; how childish was that question?

[Harmony Chan H6]

Harmony nodded enthusiastically as Richard relayed how much he enjoyed writing. It was nice to share hobbies with other people, as not all her friends liked the same things as her. At the mention of Rachel doing ballet, Harmony found a smile etching itself steadily across her face. “Really? If I ever see her, I’ll talk to her.” Harmony promised, wondering if Rachel was going to be willing to talk to her. It had been a while since she had done any actual dancing and even longer since a proper conversation had been struck concerning her abilities. “Well…” Harmony pondered in thought, wondering how long she had been learning ballet for… “I started when I was like.. four… Which is a very young age, I know!” she laughed, knowing many people would not stick to something for such a long time, “So… Eight years, I’ve been doing ballet. I love it, though like I said, I don’t really have the time to practice.” She gave a sad smile, glancing down at her feet and wondering if they missed getting on their toes for a bit of exercise.

“Oh!” with an excited gasp, Harmony’s face grew in delight as she heard of Patrica and Richard’s growing relationship, an infectious grin forming at the thought, “Really? Wow, I’m so happy for you guys. I haven’t had a chance with Patrica for her to tell me the good news herself. That’s so great! I’m sure you guys will be very happy.” Harmony nodded earnestly, remembering Patrica’s expression when she had mentioned Richard, “She really likes you, don’t worry, I’m sure of it.” At Richard’s switch of subject, Harmony flushed a little, and began to laugh slightly nervously, looking away at the thought of her with somebody, “Um, me? No, no, not yet.” She smiled, hoping Richard wouldn’t feel too sorry for her. She didn’t mind so much, really. She was still a young girl, and she didn’t mind waiting until someone right came along. “Haven’t met the right person yet. Plus I’m still young, right?” She laughed her embarrassment off with a grin, a happy twinkle in her eye.

[Patrica Dawsinson S3]

Patrica walked down the halls looking for Richard or Rachel. She needed to tell them about Hogsmeade. Well she couldn't go. She needed Parental Consent, and she knew her father would disapprove. Then she walked by the Student lounge and herd a familiar voice. It was Richard's. She spotted him talking to Harmony, the girl she met the other day.

She ran in, "Richard there you are." she looked at Harmony with a sincere smile. "Hello harmony. Sorry to interupt. I just had to tell you Richard. That I can't go to Hogsmeade." She bit her bottem lip. "It turns out you need a letter of parental consent......and well, we both no I won't have that" She sighed. "But you and Rachel can go without me. Tell me all about it tonight." She said with an upbeat smile.

[ksmilesallroundk]

Richard smiled up at Harmony; he knew she and Rachel would get along great. And he nodded in full agreement to what she was saying about dating.
"I know. Patricia would be my first date and girlfriend, if it goes that way, which I hope it does," he said as a piece of blonde hair flopped uncomfortably into his eyes. Pushing it back, he was about to say something else when Patricia entered the room. Smiling broadly, he stood up.
"Hey Trish," he said, motioning towards his seat. As she spoke, he felt his smile drop.
"That's too bad. But don't worry about it, we can still do dinner. That will be great," he said, his smile returning at the thought of their first date. It was a bit overwhelming, and he still couldn't comprehend it.
"If RB still wants to go, then perhaps I'll still go. Otherwise we can all do something else. Whatever you want," he said smiling.

[Patrica Dawsinson S3]

Patrica grew a soft smile "Really... ok... great" she sighed with a smile.


All her worry left her at that moment. Richard didn't seem to sad about it. Good, because she was worried he would think she bailed on him. Witch she wasn't trying to do at all.

She gave him a hug. "Thank you for not making this a big deal" she said with a timid smile and looked at Harmony . "Oh am Sorry Harmony, How terribly rude of me. How are you I see you met Richard" she said nudging Harmony softly giving her a wink. Reminding her of what they talked about the other day.

[Harmony Chan H6]

Richard was just nodding about Patrica being his first date, when speak of the devil, the girl herself popped into the student lounge, though a rather irritated face adorned her face. Patrica flashed a greeting at her, and Harmony replied with an equally happy smile, “Hey Patrica. Long time no see. Congratulations on your relationship with Richard.” She gave a friendly wink, happy for the older Slytherin. However, it was then Patrica told how she couldn’t go to Hogsmeade, and Harmony felt pity well up from within her. Patrica sounded like she had parental problems, which she could relate to, as she had always been terrified of her father, whom she had never gotten on with. Well, no one got on with him, not even her mother. It was a wonder they ever married in the first place… “That’s a shame you can’t go.” Harmony sent Patrica a reassuring smile through her sympathy, “Hey, if you need company, I’ll be happy to stay with you if Richard and Rachel go. I have nothing better to do.” Turning to Richard she cast a comforting smile at his worried and disappointed expression, feeling sorry for them, “Don’t worry, Richard. If you do go, I’ll take good care of Patrica here.” She gave a laugh at the thought of her, little Harmony, ‘looking after’ Patrica. “At least you still have this date you’re talking about.”

Harmony watched with a smile as the two embraced, and then replied with a reassuring grin to Patrica, "Oh, no problem. We were just talking about ballet and stuff... Right Richard?" Harmony was grateful for his company so far, "And yes, I finally met Richard." With a bright beam, Harmony leaned up to Patrica's ear and whispered a soft message with a mischievous tone, "Nice catch, if I must say so myself. I'm happy for you."

[Patrica Dawsinson S3]

Patrica smiled at the what Harmony said about watching over her. SHe then blushed when she mentioned her and Richards date. "Well sorry to barge in like that. I just really had to tell you that Richard" she said with reasuring smile. "And yes Harmony, you and me should do somthing" she turned to Richard. "That is ofcourse if you and Rachel go. And if not we could all do something." She said with happy grin.

[ksmilesallroundk]

Richard grinned as he watched Harmony and Patricia talking. He was glad that Trish wouldn't be upset if he and RB went to Hosmeade. Of course, that was if Rach wanted to go.
"Thanks, Trish for coming and telling me. I'm really sorry you can't go, but I'm looking forward to tomorrow," he said warmly.

Richard turned to Harmony, just as she was filling in Patricia on what they had been talking about. He smiled; he was grateful Harmony was saving him from the embarrassment of admitting he had been talking about Patricia.
"Oh yes, we were just talking about...um...ballet," he said, smiling and biting his lip to keep from laughing. Surely Trish wouldn't believe them; she was much too intelligent. But it was fun to play along. Even if Trish did know they were lying, she would understand. Patricia was just nice.
"So, yes, as I was saying, the third position is quite essential in all aspects of the...uh..."Flibberty Gibbay", which I believe Ursual Mootata danced herself in 1945," he improvised, trying to keep from bursting into laughter. He didn't have the faintest idea about dance at all, but Rach had said something about different positions, so he used that. Then, deciding he had nothing to lose, he continued, grinning.
"However, in my opinion, that entire composition was completely rubbish. They should have used Isabelle Morrendo, and used the "spinning swool" step instead of the "underwood army". It would have been much more effective and entertaining, and would've added rather than subtracted to the story," he said in his poshest voice, sticking his nose comedically in the air.

[Harmony Chan H6]

((Perhaps Richard, you and I should finish this - or continue this - some place else. We should leave for Annabella and Anna, as we've kind of taken over this thread, and I'm sure they wanna continue their conversation. I'll make my leave now - stay to talk to them, if you want - and if you want, PM me and we can start a new thread, or... well. We'll see! But it was lovely talking to you! ))

Harmony caught Richard's grateful glance at her, and flashed a reassuring smile in return. She watched in amusement as he began to trail off on the topic of "dance", and Harmony could barely stifle the giggles wanting to escape as she nodded in agreement with a solemn expression, as if understanding every word he was saying. Richard was very nice, and Harmony was glad Patrica had someone like him. She hoped they'd have a happy relationship, and found herself replying to his crazy banter with an ear-to-ear grin, "Of course, of course, you are, as usual, extremely correct, I totally agree with you." Harmony commented with a twinkle in her brown eyes.

However, as she watched Patrica's face for her reaction with an amused smile, she caught the clock's face from behind the Slytherin girl, and with a gasp, shot up in her seat, all trace of hilarity escaping her face as a now worried one crossed it, "Ah, darn it, I'm meant to be getting ready for class right now. I'm sorry, guys, I've got to go. See you round!" Apologising with a small bow and a big smile at the couple, she grabbed her parchment and quill, and rushed out of the room, hoping she wasn't going to be late for class. She had overrun slightly, but Harmony didn't regret it. On the contrary, she was rather pleased. Keeping a smile to herself, she made her way back to her dormitory.

[Patrica Dawsinson S3]

Patricia listened as the two talked about Ballet?... She showed and awkward smile. "Since when does Richard know about ballet?"she thoughts then saw Harmony was trying not to giggle. Patricia Knew something was up. but she thought not to bother them with questions. She just smiled in approval.

She then realized Harmony looking at the clock. She glanced over at it as well. "Oh My Merlin, it is late. I am going to be late for DADA. What class do you have next Richard?" she asked turning to him.