I Can Take Care of Myself! (( Ryder))

[Cassandra Blackfire G7]

The snow was melting at Hogwarts. The weather had been weird as of late; with one day warm and the next being extremely cold. Because of that, Cass had been unable to decide what to wear that morning. It mattered not, though. It was a school day so school uniform was going to be mandatory, and her most pressing decision was whether to wear the wool or cotton cloak. Deciding on the cotton, she threw it around her shoulder and whisked herself out of her dorm. She waved at a few people in the common room but didn't stop to make conversation. She was in a hurry. Liam, her boyfriend, was on her mind, and she was later for their lunch date near the lake.

The doors to the courtyard flew open as she pushed them outward. The area was open except for a group of older students that were huddled into a corner. Ignoring the group of Slytherins, she hung her head down, determined to not get their attention. The clicking of her heels quickened as she tried to make her way across quickly. " Hey, you there?"

" Damn!" she cursed under her breath. She looked up to see a tall, smooth, black haired Slytherin make his way toward her. Putting her head back down, she continued along her way. Cass didn't notice the shiny black shoe that was put in her path before it was too late. " Ugh!" Cass found herself on her hands and knees. The cobblestones skinned her knees quite horribly as she heard one the older students say, " Hey, isn't that Cass Blackfire. Gryffindor's Beater?" Cass groaned as she felt that same shoe kick her in the gut. Doubling over, she landed on her side on the ground. I knew this was going to be a bad day, thought Cass as she looked up to see several Slytherins congregate around her.

[ryder]

A cool breeze blue across the courtyard as he stepped out onto the stone path. While most of the school was tucked safely inside the great hall happily enjoying their lunch, he preferred to dine out at the pitch. There it was alone, and quiet. Through all his years at Hogwarts he never really liked meals with the school all crowded into the same room. It felt awkward and forced, and those were feelings he hated.

He had taken but a few strides away from the castle when he spotted a suspiciously looking group of Slytherins gathered around something on the ground. As he caught the tail end of something one of them had said, 'Gryffindor's Beater.' He wasn't necessary close to the Gryffindor team, despite the fact he was destined to a Quidditch focused future, but he was aware of who they were, and under no circumstances would he let one of them lay defenseless.

Maybe it was odd that he never reached for his wand, but instead he walked over to the group, and with out a word slammed a fist into the right cheek of the nearest one to him. It was sheer instinct--he didn't even know who it was they were gathered around, but then it didn't matter. He would have done the same thing even if he didn't know they were a quidditch player from his own house. He had barely pulled his arm back from he first one, when he pushed them back and immediately sent another one flying in the direction of one of the others.