Me, Strange? Never. (Mack)

[hollow]

Adrian looked around the cramped corridor and grimaced disdainfully. He may not mind a few people from other houses but being stuck in a cramped corridor, with what seemed like half the members from every house but his own, was ridiculous. Keeping that in mind, he scowled at a younger Hufflepuff furiously and smirked as the young girl cowered back into an older boy , causing the boy to back into another group of students and clearing a small path for him. "Thanks, much easier to get through now." Adrian chuckled to himself quietly and gave the enraged group of disheveled students a mocking smile. If they were stupid enough to block the corridor then they deserved everything they got. They were just lucky that it had been Adrian passing rather than one of the older, and undoubtedly more vindictive, Slytherins. If it had been one of the older Slytherins then that group would have been relieved to just receive a rough shove into the wall.

Adrian blinked and lifted a hand to his eyes quickly as he stepped out of the castle, only to be met by an unusually bright day. While certainly not bright enough to make most people cover their eyes, Adrian was used to the darkness of the Slytherin common room and so received black spots dancing in front of his eyes. Adrian scowled up at the sun, blinking quickly in a rather feeble attempt to banish the dots before finally giving up and trying to adjust himself to them. That done, and his eyesight mostly adjusted to ignoring the spots, Adrian lifted his head to scan the grounds and almost groaned in disgusted irritation. The sun seemed to have brought the Gryffindors, Hufflepuffs and some of the Ravenclaws out in droves to sit, chatter and laugh. Adrian winced as one particularly high-pitched laugh reached his ears and thought back to the quiet darkness of the library wistfully before remembering that a group of hyper-active Gryffindors had taken over it and shuddering. Which was worse, a crowded room of Gryffindors or a fairly large space shared by all four houses?

After one last wistful thought to the quiet common room, Adrian stepped into the sunlight completely and immediately backed into the shade as he felt the small warmth of the sun's rays touch his skin. Unfortunately for him, Adrian tended to burn rather easily in the sun and he didn't really want to walk around for a week or so with bright red skin. Why, some idiot could mistake him for a Gryffindor and Adrian really didn't feel like hexing anyone at the moment. No, getting a detention for hexing a hapless idiot was not high on Adrians wish list. Adrian slumped against a wall gracelessly and let himself fall to the floor with a quiet thump. Not many would recognise him from so far away and Adrian didn't really care if they did. After staying up considerably late the night before, the only thing that Adrian could truly be bothered with was sleeping. Well if you were clever, you would have started that essay earlier and then gotten to bed at a decent time. A small voice chided him, sounding so amusingly like a mixture of his mother and sister that Adrian just had to laugh. Quietly, of course, otherwise people might just start to think that Adrian was a bit strange.

[Mackenzie Holden]

Mack moaned as she shoved her book into her rucksack. The blasted song wouldn't get out of her mind. She breathed in and out as she closed her eyes, and massaged her temples. It was an unfinished song at that, one that Tommy said they would have finished before she left for school again the previous weekend. Of course, they didn't. So now Mack had been assigned the duty of finishing said song. But she had been so busy with school work it didn't really matter. With all her work done for the day, Mack took out the notepad the song was on. They needed one more verse and then it was finished. They had the chorus, that was the easiest part. The first verse was done as well. As was the bridge. But it wasn't complete.

Mack raised her blue eyes to look around the library, she wouldn't be able to get anything done in there with the sodding Gryffindors. She grabbed her rucksack and made her way back to the Slytherin common room to get her guitar. Yes. She was a pureblooded Slytherin, but that didn't mean she wasn't allowed a guitar. And technically, she wasn't pureblooded. This past year her true past had been revealed to her. Her father, Derreck, had an affair with a halfblood woman and Mack resulted from that. She wasn't pureblooded, but halfblooded. She was, of course, raised pureblooded; hence her place in Slytherin. But that didn't mean Dixie didn't taunt her about her real mother. Mack sighed again and marched up the stairs to the dormitory, quickly grabbing her electric guitar.

Then she was out of the common room and down the corridors, heading toward the grand double doors. She pushed them open, letting the breeze push back her hair. Her eyes quickly scanned the grounds until she saw a wall, but not a huge one that made the school. No, it was a low one. Only a couple or so feet off the ground. Mack made her way over there, strapping her electric guitar on her back as she scaled the wall. When she reached the top, she brought one leg up and then pulled her guitar in front of her. Slowly her fingers worked over the music and she started fitting words to it. But she was interuppted by laughter, it wasn't loud and obnoxious. It was light as if the person was aware they sounded ridiculous. Mack peered down to see Adrian Hollows, a boy in her year and in her house. She knew he was, but she never made an effort to speak to him; until now. "What's so funny?"

[hollow]

Adrian continued laughing, aware that he would sound ridiculous if anyone heard him but not caring. What was life if you went through it changing yourself to fit the ideals of others? He blinked as he heard a voice address him, looking around but seeing no one close enough to have heard him laughing or even close enough to talk to him without yelling. That was the single reason for choosing a spot away from everyone else, they would pick up on his wish to not be bothered by idiots. Unless, of course, they were idiots. Which would rather defeat the whole point of sitting far away from them. Adrian tilted his head upward, tracking the voice to the wall above him and nodded in greeting. "Mackenzie," Adrian half-smiled at the girl, recognizing her as a fourth year Slytherin like himself but not as a person he generally talked to. Actually, Adrian couldn't remember ever talking to this girl. "What's so funny? Well, what isn't so funny? Look around you, how can you not find the world funny?" Adrian looked up at her in amusement, knowing that he was talking in riddles but not bothered enough to clarify his point.

"So what are you doing out here? Other than playing the guitar, as you obviously seem to be doing." Adrian stopped looking up at Mack, feeling his neck start to cramp from the strain, but tilted his head slightly to show that he was still listening. Adrian stifled a yawn half-heartedly and closed his eyes slowly, trusting that Mack would stick to what Adrian referred to as the Slytherin code of honour and not hex him while his eyes were closed. In Adrian's experience, Slytherins were looked upon as the bullies of other houses, and indeed some Slytherins were bullies, but they would always look out for other members of the Slytherin house. For if they didn't, who would? Due to the Slytherin's tarnished reputation, they were all looked down on and Adrian despised the way that people judged all of his house by the mistakes of a few people. So a few Slytherins went bad, that didn't mean that the whole house would.

Adrian shook his head sharply, trying to wake himself up and silently promising not to stay up until the early hours of the morning over an essay again, even if it meant not doing the essay. Which went against Adrian's whole sense of priorities in itself. He had been taught that lessons and learning were to stay high on his list of priorities, which made sense since both his parents had been Ravenclaws when they had attended Hogwarts. Adrian moved slightly to stretch his legs and groaned quietly at the stabbing pain in his legs before shielding his eyes against the sun and blinking up at Mack inquiringly. "So are you going to stay up there and amuse both myself and you by playing that guitar of yours or shall we make conversation for a while before saying goodbye and never talking to each other again?" Adrian lifted an eyebrow and smiled dryly as he waited for her answer, which would determine the nature of their meeting. Would they change four years of silence and start to become acquaintances or even friends, or would they just talk about meaningless gossip for a few minutes and then go their separate ways?

[Mackenzie Holden]

"Ugh," Mack spat, "don't call me Mackenzie. No one calls me that except my mother, who isn't on my favourite people list." Mack really despised her mother, she always had. Especially when she was younger. Having been treated like a maid kind of puts that sourness inside a person. Now she was remarried to Hank, and that was as bad as it was going to get. And that meant Trevor was her step-brother and he was hard enough to put up with throughout the short engagement. Mack had found herself silently wishing they would cancel the wedding, even when her mother was marching down the aisle. Nothing happened, obviously, and now Mack was stuck with Hank and Trevor and Dixie and her mother all in one house. Oh, joyous day. Mack still maintained her mother married for the money.

She sighed and looked down at her guitar as she listened to Adrian's answer. She shrugged and looked at him again; "There are many things that aren't funny. Like the persistence Dumbledore has for keeping mudbloods in this school instead of driving them out." Mack smirked and looked at her guitar, continuing to strum, "If you were laughing at that, I would consider you seriously delusional. And trust me, I know what delusional looks like." Which was true, she did. Her sister had been admitted into a looney bin because of certain things. Dixie was still insane, no matter what everyone thought. Dixie hadn't gotten better, she was just really good at lying. No one else saw that though, not even Jack, which was sad. Mack looked at her guitar and then back at Adrian, "I don't know what I am doing up here. It was away from everyone else, and I don't like sitting on the ground."

Mack's fingers played over the strings again. They sounded old and thin, but that's because it wasn't plugged into an amp. She brought out her wand and flicked it over the guitar. Her fingers twanged another string, and the sound was more whole - more real. Mack smirked and looked down at Adrian once more as she was speaking. With a sigh, Mack turned her guitar to her back once more and jumped down from the wall, landing on her feet and not letting the pain of the brace show on her face. She set her guitar down and sat next to Adrian, her eyes dancing with amusement; "You really think I'd say goodbye? Obviously, you don't know me. But that's alright, not many do."

[hollow]

Adrian smiled in amusement and only just refrained from a cheeky retort about Mack's favourite person list. That would most likely put an abrupt end to the fairly friendly conversation and Adrian wasn't in the mood for fighting. Sometimes life was just too monotonous. Get up, insult Gryffindors, skip breakfast, insult Hufflepuffs...It was a never-ending cycle of boredom and Adrian was getting bored of it. Hopefully going home for the summer would restore his distaste for the two weaker houses. But that was such a long time to wait. Adrian made a mental reminder to send a note to his parents about them meeting him in Hogsmeade next time the students were allowed to go. With any luck his parents would bring his younger sister, now that was sure to be a fun-packed day. Amusing a nine year old girl while avoiding any Hogwarts students would certainly be a rather fun task. Home life was for home, as far as Adrian was concerned, and that included keeping his family away from the students of Hogwarts.

"Quite the contrary, I find the Headmasters fondness for muggleborns rather amusing. It just shows how amazingly stupid people can be." Adrian smirked, hoping that Mack wouldn't notice his use of 'muggleborn' rather than 'mudblood', and if she did then he hoped that she wouldn't mention it. Adrian had just been brought up that way, taught to respect and like everyone equally. Only his entrance into the Slytherin house had taught him differently, even if he did still have a small amount of patience toward Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs. Now Ravenclaws were alright, Adrian shared their love of knowledge and was on friendly terms with most of the Raven house, at least they had the ability to think which was more than could be said for the other two houses. "Delusional? I most certainly am not. But yes, I imagine that you would know delusional looks like. Every Slytherin who has encountered a Gryffindor who thinks that the lion house is the best, knows what delusion is." Adrian kept away from mention of Mack's sister wisely. Most Slytherins, at least, knew about Dixie Holden but Adrian knew less than most and preferred to keep it that way. It was the business of the Holden family, not anyone else's.

Adrian closed his eyes again as Mack began to play, noting the change in sound and nodding in slight approval. Music was always a good way to relax, whether playing or listening. "Not everyone apparently since I was here but I get your point. Don't like sitting on the ground? Well, Ms Mack, if you'd prefer to sit on a blanket and have a picnic then you can run back to the Slytherin common room and the kitchens to fetch them yourself." Adrian smiled, pulling a thin cloak out of his bag and spreading it over the ground despite his words. If Mack wanted to join him and sit on the cloak then it was her decision and Adrian wasn't really bothered either way. The offer of the cloak was a simple show of manners, manners that Adrian had been taught at a young age. Along with the attempt to make him respect all four houses equally. Adrian rolled his eyes, his parents were amazing and he loved them but they had such strange ideas. "Oh no, I know all about you despite our lack of communication for four years." Adrian answered sarcastically, opening his eyes to see her beside him before closing them again.

[Mackenzie Holden]

Mack raised an eyebrow at his use of 'muggleborns' but she didn't say anything about it. In truth, she had said 'muggleborns' instead of 'mudbloods' for sometime. It wasn't until her sister went completely insane that Mack decided to use the terminology that Dixie once used. She didn't use it anymore, Dixie was just an outer shell now - there was nothing inside. She could sit for hours and stare at absolutely nothing. It was as if, now that Dixie wasn't Dixie anymore - Mack had to be. Not only to please her mother, but to please her father, who was much harder to please. Derreck didn't need anything, and it was all his fault that Dixie went psycho. Not anyone else's, and Mack never let anyone else think differently. Even if it met publicly humiliating Derreck, especially if it met publicly humiliating him. Yes, Mack would take lots of pleasure from that. She sighed and brushed her blonde hair out of her eyes before turning to Adrian again, "What some find infuriating, others find amusing. It's those who find them amusing that live a happy life."

He skirted around Dixie; which was, in a way, intelligent. Though Mack never minded speaking about her - she just didn't do her sister justice. If someone didn't know Dixie, and they asked Mack about her; they would have cause to believe that she was a babbling idiot without control of her limbs, brain, and or emotions. Many knew Dixie more than they knew Mack, however, and that made it harder for others to believe. Besides, who would want to listen to the younger sister when it comes to the health of the older sister? No one, that's who. Mack bit her lip before responding with, "No. I know what delusional looks like because that's what the Slytherin house is. Delusional about everything. They can't face up to the facts, we can't face up to the facts." She knew that sounded cryptic and it probably didn't make a lot of sense, but it made perfect sense in her mind - and if Adrian didn't understand then he could pursue it further and get it out of her as to what she meant. The Slytherin house was arrogant, and that led them to be ignorant. She knew she was speaking and thinking ill against her house, but she couldn't help it - she had seen enough through her four years at Hogwarts to understand how they thrive and what they believe.

"Picnics aren't my type of thing. I perfer a seven course meal with everything and servants waiting to take your dishes away and present you with new ones. Correct me if I'm wrong, but you can't get that at a picnic." Mack looked at her guitar and pulled it to her once more. It was as if she couldn't stay away from it for too long. It was pretty pathetic, but it was the way it was. Even when she wasn't recording with Tommy, Mack had her guitar - especially when school first began. When he said he knew all about her despite their lack of communication for four years, Mack couldn't help but smirk and look at him out of the corner of her eyes; "Are you stalking me, Adrian? I don't think many people know all about me. Not even Jack, or Mary, or Kris for that matter - know every single thing about me. Just the basics. And you wouldn't have to talk to me to know me, a lot can be learned through observation. Just being in the shadows and watching. It works wonders, much more than actually having a conversation might. Because then you know the person isn't lying to you, they can't, because they don't know you are there."

[hollow]

Adrian relaxed slightly when Mack didn't bring up his usage of 'muggleborn'. Most Slytherins probably would have mentioned it, which made finding one of the Slytherins who wouldn't, even better. "I have no doubt that I'll live a happy life, Ms Mack. With a younger sister like my own, demanding attention and amusement every second, how was there even any doubt of it? I dread to think what life will be like when she comes to Hogwarts." Adrian's dark eyes glimmered with the love he felt for his younger sister for barely a second before they regained their usual mocking glint. He couldn't protect his sister properly if she ended up in a house other than Slytherin, or perhaps Ravenclaw, and so it was best that no one saw the love he felt for her. Seeing his sister in pain or being used against him would completely destroy Adrian's carefully constructed, cold facade and cause him to unleash his temper. No, it was certainly easier and safer if no one knew much about Adrian's sister until she actually came to Hogwarts.

"Delusional? Careful, Mack, you might start to sound like a Gryffindor." Adrian's tone was light and his words were teasing but the brown eyes were trained on Mack sharply, watching for a reaction. In his experience, most Slytherins would take offense to being compared to a Gryffindor but would a girl who had called the whole of the Slytherin house, including herself, delusional take offense? If she didn't take offense then good luck to her, she knew the truth. Everyone was delusional about something and the quicker they learned that, the better. Adrian wasn't entirely sure what Mack had meant but was wary about pursuing the topic as he didn't know the girl very well, they shared classes and a common room but weren't friends. Maybe he would ask before she left, he would ask before the end of the conversation for sure. Wariness often did nothing to abash curiousity, no matter how frequently Adrian tried to prove that wariness could stifle curiousity.

"Seven course meals? Of course you can get them at picnics. Servants might be slighter harder to find but I'm sure that a few Gryffindors would be willing to escape a few hexes for serving food. I'll make sure to mention your preference for seven course mealed picnics with servants to Jack. You might end up on a picnic for your next date." Adrian's mouth quirked slyly, watching Mack out of the corner of his eye carefully. Adrian always tried to ignore the gossip flying around the school but had been vaguely intrigued by the few tidbits of gossip involving Mack Holden and Jack Rendel. This wasn't exactly the most discreet way to find the truth but it was certainly the most direct and the simplest. Why bother hiding your meaning in a tangled web of long and complex words when you could get to the point with a few sentences? If Mack didn't confirm or deny the gossip with her answer then Adrian wasn't really bothered. If his year-mates decided that they enjoyed each others company enough to date then that was their business. Though Adrian definitely didn't have any thoughts about dating anyone. Why go through all that bother when it was so unlikely to work out?

"Ah, Mack, you discovered my secret. I stalk people in my free time. I especially focus my attention on the younger, muggleborn students of the school. How else would I know when to strike and not even fall under suspicion when a student is found locked in a closet? With a snapped wand of course." Adrian smiled in amusement, his eyes glittering with laughter. He wouldn't even think of wasting his time in such a manner, even attending classes or doing homework was a more productive way to pass time. The less worthy members of the school would be taken care of, one way or the other, if the Dark Lord had his way. Which didn't really concern Adrian at all, he stood in the grey, neutral side of the war. Not supporting Dumbledore and his band of light sided robots but not backing the psychotic, self-proclaimed Dark Lord. Both sides would rule the wizarding world with an iron fist and oppress people who didn't follow their ideals. "Ah, but what if the person is even lying to himself? Then everyone would be fooled, including that person."

[Mackenzie Holden]

Mack rolled her eyes to the sky and breathed in before looking at Adrian with sharp eyes, "Sometimes Gryffindors see things much clearer than Slytherins do. And if that makes me a Gryffindor-lover then let it be, I'd rather be in a crowd of people who know the truth, than in a crowd with frauds and people who can't see past their noses." Mack scowled and turned her attention elsewhere for a moment, before letting her anger subside, "And that is why Dixie is the Queen of Slytherin, and not I. My views would be considered unmoral to the Slytherins in this school." It didn't bother her to be considered an outcast, though she was certain many compared her and her sister. How could someone related to Dixie Holden have such twisted views on the Slytherin house, eh? Mack shook her head harshly, driving the self-criticism out. Mack was her own worse critic, and she was strongly aware of it. "That's the only thing that bothers me about Slytherin, other than that, I love being in the house."

Mack's fingers played over a familiar song, and she started to hum the lyrics as well - not singing, just humming. It was an old one, one she wrote in her third year. She hadn't played it since the summer either and even then it was a remix. That was another thing her family didn't look happily upon. Her recording deal, most of the employees at G Major were muggles, and she recorded the music for Muggles. But Mack would take whatever audience she could get. Of course, Tommy was a wizard and he understood everything about her. He even promised her a wizarding record label when things started to settle down in the muggle world. But Mack didn't quite believe him. When Adrian brought up Jack, she stopped playing and looked at him, "Well, yes, if we ever have time. I haven't spoken to him since my mother's wedding. Which, granted, wasn't that long ago. But we've both been so busy. Please, do pass along the picnic idea - I might like that." Mack smirked and returned to playing her music quietly, the thing with Jack...where had that gone? They had all the time in the world over the summer, and then everything just collapsed. Mack made a mental note to speak to him about doing something later on.

"You know," Mack began after he said something about picking on younger students, "one of these days they're going to get back at you and then you'll be the one in a closet with a snapped wand. Not that will matter to you much, you can just go buy another one; but there are some kids who can't you know. Ever hear of the saying, 'pick on someone your own size'? Well, I suppose you would be picking on someone your own size wouldn't you?" Mack bit her bottom lip in fake confusion then broke out into a smirk as she looked down at her guitar before putting it back against the wall. She stretched out her legs and crossed her right ankle over her left, her hands in her lap. She then leaned her head against the wall and closed her eyes, letting the silence engulf her before thinking of responding to Adrian's last statement about lying to one's self. It was true, lying to one's self would make it impossible for anyone else to know you were lying. But there were sure to be someone who knew.

"Surely there's someone who would know better," Mack stated calmly, "For instance, I used to lie about everything when it came to who I was and who I wanted to be. The only person who really understood that would be Jamie, and even then he knew little about me. He always had this keen sense of knowing when I wasn't completely honest with him, I suppose that's because he was there when I was born. Of course, he was two so he couldn't know much - but he looked down at me and we had this instant bonding..." Mack trailed off, "it's too bad Dixie has him in her clutches. Hopefully, now that she has her eye set on Harrison Brooks, he'll get over her and come back to his senses." Mack smirked and opened her eyes to look at Adrian, "Jamie is, well was, one of my best-friends; just to let you know."

[hollow]

Adrian studied Mack thoughtfully, brown eyes half-closed in thoughtful contemplation. He might occasionally consider a few Gryffindors worthy of acknowledgment but he certainly wasn't a Gryffindor-lover. The very thought of becoming one was abhorrent to the young Slytherin who had worked so hard to be the carelessly insulting Slytherin he had become. The teachings of his parents had made him enter the school believing that all four houses were equal and only after a few weeks in the Slytherin house did he realise that most people didn't think that way. Adrian had come a long way since then and reserved his thoughts about the houses for his younger sister, because he knew that she was the only person he could trust to keep the secret. If the news got out that Adrian had only pretended to hate Gryffindors for the first two years of Hogwarts before getting used to it as a habit in his third year then he would never live it down. Just the thought of the endless jeering he would have to endure made him shiver and reaffirmed his belief that he was doing the right thing by keeping his thoughts private. Besides, most Gryffindors were annoying and Adrian didn't have a problem with insulting them.

"No, Mack, I don't consider you to be a Gryffindor-lover. But then again, I don't really know you. I only have this conversation as a base for my belief but no, in my opinion, you're not a Gryffindor-lover." Adrian pondered the subject for a while before giving an answer, not basing it on Mack's last name and her sister's reputation but actually on Mack and what little he knew of her. "Dixie is a Queen of Slytherin because she wanted to be, surely. The power and status that being a Queen would bring seems to be tempting to most female members of Slytherin. So you're not interested in being a Queen, big deal. I'm not interested in being one either." Adrian smirked at her laughingly, using the lighter side of his personality, the side usually saved for his younger sister, to lighten the dark mood that seemed to surround them.

"Oh of course, I'll be sure to pass along the message, Ms Mack. Would you like me to give him a bunch of flowers and tell him that they're from you, too?" Adrian pushed his dark hair away from his eyes, showing the pure amusement glittering in them. Still, he made a mental note to actually pass along the message rather than just forgetting. It would be easy enough to tell Jack since they shared a dorm, common room and classes. Adrian blinked as Mack started to criticize his treatment of younger students and tilted his head thoughtfully. "I've never actually thought of it that way. Would you prefer that I also give them fifteen galleons before locking them in the closet? That way they can pay for the new wand." Adrian answered with a deliberately irritating smile, masking the torrent of confusion that Mack's words had caused with practiced ease. That was truly one of the best things about being a Slytherin, the ease with which one could throw up a barrier or facade.

"I think that there's only one person who could truly tell if I'm lying and thats only because I've been there for her entire life. We have a bond rather like the one you just described. And no, before you ask, it's my sister, not a girlfriend." Adrian smirked, once again leaning against the wall but this time leaving his eyes open. "Harrison Brooks? The seventh year, correct? No offense to your sister but I rather pity the poor man. I don't know your sister personally but if she's a Queen then she's not likely to be nice. Of course, Slytherins aren't meant to be nice either. Though I do hope that you get your best friend back and that he's in the right frame of mind if you do." Adrian closed his eyes lazily, half-asleep and still regretting his late night studying of the night before. Why didn't he have the sense to leave essays if it was past midnight? Eh well, it was just one of the side effects of being raised by two Ravenclaws.

[Mackenzie Holden]

Maybe that's what was wrong with everyone now. They judged too soon. Mostly people who wanted to get somewhere with their lives that involved trampling others. People looked at a person at categorized by how they looked, then they spread rumours about them - making them viscous and horrible for the person. Mack had been subject to ridicule, rumours, jeering, and many other things that she shouldn't have been subject to. But that's the price you paid for making the wrong decisions and kissing the wrong Houses, especially if you are in Slytherin. Mack grimaced at the memory of Tristan and shook her head before looking down at her hands. She listened to Adrian some and then looked at him before shrugging and saying; "Adrian, I don't think the Queens would consider taking you, no matter how girlie you are. The Queens have better taste than that." She smirked before continuing, "But my sister always wanted to be a Queen, even when she was admitted into a psych ward."

When he commented on the message and offered to give him flowers, Mack rolled her eyes, "Go ahead, but he mightn't believe you. He knows me better than that. I don't give flowers, I receive them." If she ever did. Mack wasn't one to send out flowers, that showed too much affection and it was hard enough to tell her feelings to Jack, much less show him affection like that. Besides, sending flowers to a guy was just...twisted. She rarely ever received them, though, and when she did they were usually from some moron who thought they could get on her good side by buttering her up. But all that did was piss her off further. He was talking again about the closet thing, he offered to put 15 galleons in with them for a new wand and Mack smirked at him before turning her gaze back to him, "Oh, but then some of the Slyths could state you were turning soft," her eyes darkened and she looked at him with intensity, "and you don't want that, do you?" Just as quickly as her eyes had darkened, they lit up again and they were back to the light clear blue colour.

"I wasn't thinking it was a girlfriend, surely if you had a girlfriend I would know about it." She shrugged nonchalantly and closed her eyes again, "I know everything when it comes to pureblooded families and their relationships. Dixie and my mother think it is prudent that I know, I don't see why. But neither of them approve of my relationship with Jack because he's a Rendel but there isn't much they can do about it." Mack bit her bottom lip in anticipation about whether she should continue further, and finally she came to a decision. "In fact, for a long time I was forbidden to see him. My father and his father don't exactly get along, and I haven't exactly come face to face with Mr. Rendel for a long period of time, but I know he probably wouldn't give me the light of day. My father, Jack doesn't have to worry about anymore. He's out of our life and he has no say in mine."

Mack smirked when Adrian spoke about Dixie, "Oh, Harrison can handle her. I don't know if you've ever met him, but he has this way of staring people down and making them feel uneasy about themselves, making them believe something is out of place. Dixie can't stand that, she dresses immaculately and is perfect in every way - aside from the little insane thing. Harrison intrigues her, because he doesn't care about her and her status. For all he cares, Dixie's just a spoiled brat. And that's really all she is. So don't pity him, be amused by him. He's really the only person who can bring a rise out of Dixie and let it stay there for more than ten minutes." She looked at him and watched as he closed his eyes half-way. She smirked, "Didn't get enough sleep?"

[hollow]

"I was joking, Ms Mack. Surely you have heard of such a thing. If not then I'm sure that one of your friends could enlighten you. I assure you that I have no thoughts about becoming a Queen and I most certainly am not girlie." Adrian half-smiled in amusement, silently wondering why he had continuously called Mack, 'Ms Mack' before shrugging and putting it down to lack of sleep and being taught to respect the female gender. If she was bothered then she could say so but until then Adrian wouldn't make a conscious effort to stop. It was simply not worth the effort of mentally checking his words unless Mack actually told him to stop calling her that. "Some girls are like that, power-hungry. And the Queens do represent rather a lot of power. Power, status and a certain amount of spookiness. They have the power to make even the bravest and most reckless of Gryffindors cower and some girls would kill for that power. Hence, the creation of the Queens." Adrian shrugged carelessly, not really bothered by the ambition of the Queens. If they wanted to run about hexing people then that was their choice.

"You've known me, however distantly, since first year. Now if you weren't paying enough attention to your surroundings to see how I behaved back then, then that is your problem, Ms. Mack. I'll not be filling you in on the details of the last four years. And I don't really care how the other Slyths see me. They can accept me as I am because I'm not planning on changing." Adrian smirked, secretly relieved that Mack hadn't noticed his big change in personality. Most Slytherins hadn't and if they had then they put it down to finally getting rid of shyness or something of the sort. After all, how many Slytherins would even consider that Adrian had once had a fondness for muggleborns and half-bloods? Especially since he had worked to acquire a hatred for them, yet only managing a strong distaste. Still, he generally managed to keep up an appearance of hatred and hadn't fallen under suspicion, despite his previous attitude. Adrian suspected that most Slytherins had forgotten by now, it had been almost four years.

"Ms. Mack, you had me thinking that you were stalking me for a moment. And surely you don't know everything about the pure families. I imagine that it would be rather difficult to learn so much. Thankfully I'll never be put through that torture." Adrian tilted his head slightly as Mack continued, absorbing the information silently and storing it in his mind. Even small pieces of information could be important and Adrian had learned to apply that theory to everyday life, storing even useless bits of information away. Small, useless pieces of information could add up to one large, extremely useful picture if one collected enough information. "And true love conquered all. Sounds far too much like a fairy tale, or maybe Romeo and Juliet, for my liking but sometimes life can seem rather fantastical."

"No, I've never met Harrison. Nor Dixie, actually. I've undoubtedly seen them both around the common room but never bothered speaking with them. Why should I? We probably have next to nothing in common. But I'll be sure to try to attend their next meeting, sounds rather like the immovable meeting the unshakable, undoubtedly a sight worthy of attention." Adrian smirked in amusement, intrigued by the man who could irritate the infamous Dixie Holden so. "Sleep? I hardly know what that is at the moment. I was up until dawn finishing an essay and only slept because I fell asleep over it." Adrian sighed quietly, remembering the still unfinished essay before continuing. "Lets just say that the common room is not the most comfortable place to sleep. I'm rather surprised that I wasn't hexed by someone actually."

[Mackenzie Holden]

"As was I, Adrian." She shook her head with a small grin on her lips. It was almost unnoticable though, Mack rarely ever smiled anymore. She used to all the time, until Dixie had told her Slytherins smiling was like a snake laughing - kind of creepy. Mack never really saw anything wrong with Slytherins smiling, especially those who had nice smiles. Nevertheless, she stopped smiling and smirks seemed to appear on her face more and more. She knew that pleased her sister, to have one something like that - but Mack grew sour over everything that was changing. Sometimes Mack missed who she used to be, what she used to love. But all that had to change, she had to become a true Slytherin - and Slytherins didn't do what Mack liked, they didn't have fun the way Mack liked to have fun.

Her blue eyes flared up with hot amusement as she replied, "Oh, how naive you are, Adrian. What the Slytherins, especially the older ones, think of you is one of the most important things here at Hogwarts. When you graduate, it doesn't matter how good you are at something if you have a bad reputation, people won't give you the time of day. Trust me, I know. Keep to yourself, is what you should have done from the beginning." Mack smirked and shook her head. Of course, she hadn't any right to give any advice. She had been a prime example of a bad Slytherin. That was, obviously, before she met Jack who influenced her ways more than he knew; she was sure. Mack was a different person when she was around Jack. She didn't necessarily know if that was a good thing, or a bad one. But she found it didn't just go for Jack. It was that way with everyone. She was teasing when she was with Kris, and she rarely ever was that.

"Would you open your large ears, Hollows?" She snapped, "I said I knew all of the pure blood relationships. I didn't say everything about the families, did I?" She knew she probably sounded mad for no reason, but she hated it when people twisted her words around - even if they were just confused. Mack had that happen to her, too many times in her life to appreciate it..ever. She ran her fingers through her hair before taking deep breaths and closing her eyes. She wouldn't apologize, those words rarely ever came out of her mouth anymore. If the person didn't care for the apology, why apologize? Besides, no one ever apologized to her. And if that meant she was bitter, that's ok. Mack could handle being bitter. She sure as hell deserved to be with all the crap that had gone on in her life. She opened her eyes and looked at Adrian, "And my life is hardly a fairy tale. I'm stuck with Trevor and Hank Laurie now..in some prison somewhere in Manchester."

"Stay away from Dixie, she'll only cause pain for you. If not physical, than emotional. She might look innocent, but she's far from it. Harrison is easy to talk with though, and I'm sure you two could find something to speak of. You might have to do most of the talking at first, however, he's not very talkative to newer people." Mack smirked and shook her head. She had met Harrison only once before, and it wasn't a very memorable meeting. She looked at Adrian as he told her why he was so tired, Mack shook her head again; "When will boys learn to do their work before they go off and play? But I'm sure you had a logical reason as to putting the essay off to last minute," Mack rolled her eyes.

[hollow]

Adrian grinned in amusement, holding no reluctance to smile in front of another Slytherin. Had Mack belonged to any other house then the smile would have been banished before it could even consider appearing. Then again, had Mack been a part of any other house then Adrian probably wouldn't have bothered to talk, let alone smile. Sometimes it seemed that it was only safe to show his emotions in front of Slytherins but that was also more dangerous than safe. Emotions seemed to be banned from the Slytherin house, it was all about hatred for weaker students. The only truly good thing about Slytherin was the united front they showed to everyone else. They could shun and insult a Slytherin student privately but Adrian had never seen them do it in public. And that protection, that unity made them stronger than any other house. Everyone else hates Slytherins so we must stick together and protect each other. No one else would bother.

"Naive, Ms Mack? The older Slytherins obviously have no problem with my behaviour otherwise they would have mentioned it before now. Keep to myself? Ms Mack, I make a point of keeping to myself. My year mates hardly know me and that's the way I like it. Why let someone close to you, give them precious information when they will most likely use it to hurt you? No, Ms Mack, solitude is my preferred way of life and it's a very peaceful life." Adrian's brown eyes flickered between amusement and sadness, both emotions too strong to let one take hold. Amusement because he was right and he knew it but sadness because while his life was peaceful, it was rarely exciting or interesting. Yet which was more important, keeping his family safe or having an exciting lifestyle? Adrian knew the answer without even thinking about it but longed for something interesting to happen.

He glanced at Mack in faint annoyance as the girl started to snap at him. Usually he might have found it vaguely amusing but his temper was still simmering from the Gryffindor-infested library. "Watch your mouth, Mackenzie," Adrian hissed the words at her warningly, using her full name as a weapon and playing on her apparent hatred of the name expertly. Once one let it slip about a weakness, a hatred of a name for example, it was only too easy to infuriate them. "You implied that you knew all about the pure-blood families and their relationships. Don't blame me for your stupidity." Adrian sighed ruefully, already regretting the words that were about to come out of his mouth and silently cursing his polite upbringing. "Apologies, Ms Holden. I didn't mean to irritate you." The words sounded stilted and fake which, in a way, they were. The apology coming from his mouth was fake but the sincerity hiding behind the annoyance in his eyes was real. His temper cooled again instantly and Adrian was suddenly glad for the hours he had spent trying to master it. Exploding over such a trivial annoyance was rather ridiculous, Adrian saved his temper for more important things; like threats to his friends and family.

"Ms Mack, I had no plans of approaching your sister. Pain is not high on my wish list whereas staying away from your sister has just shot up to the top. Most Slytherin's aren't very talkative, I rather think that I'm one of the few exceptions. Only with friends though. Complete strangers hold no interest for me nor I for them, I would think." Adrian shrugged carelessly, making small talk with strangers wasn't his idea of fun and he never made a point of hiding it. They'd find out in the end, why not save them the trouble and let them know straight away? "I have a very logical explanation for leaving my essay until the last minute. You see, I simply couldn't be bothered doing it before." Adrian smirked and tilted his head, brown eyes glittering with impish laughter.

[Mackenzie Holden]

Her glare turned to one of hatred and her mouth turned into a scowl. "Stupid? Me? Hardly. You're the one who laughs to himself, maybe you are insane." Her words formed a sentence and the sentence hung in the air, like a bubble just waiting to be popped. She crossed her arms under her breasts, hard enough to make her chest ache. "Let me give you a little lesson, Hollows. The conjuction 'and' connects words, phrases, or clauses that have the same grammatical function in a construction. It is also known to be used for putting things together or along with. Example; in addition two and two is four. In a sentence; 'I know everything about pure-blooded families and their relationships.' That does not mean, I know both. I just know what the pureblooded relationships are which. Understand? Or are you still too thick to follow?" She knew her words were biting and they'd probably just anger him even more, but that's what he got. Her insults might not be perfect and as good as Mary's or say Kris' but, they worked and what she said always had more emphasis - as if she really cared.

He apologized and Mack smirked while shaking her head, "Save it for when you mean it. Never apologize for something you don't believe you should be apologizing for. It's false and it hurts the person you are apologizing to. What's the point of an apology if it's fake?" Maybe that's why she never apologized, or maybe she just really didn't believe in the idea. Apologies never did anyone any good, and they caused more problems than just fixing them. It gives cause for people to walk all over others again, especially because the person they 'apologized' to lets them...again. Mack had been used for some time before she decided to fight against it, and now apologies were just like promises. Golden until they're broken. She picked up her guitar, her fingers itching to play a song, a note, a string, anything. When suddenly, it hit her. THe words! The lyrics! All of them! They were there, in her head, they clicked! Instantly! Just WHAM!

"They put my poster on the wall, they watch and wait for me to fall. They think they've made me who I am, oh they don't know me at all." Mack whispered, she chewed on the inside of her cheek and looked sideways at Adrian. "I have to get this out of my system, don't laugh alright. If you laugh Hollows I swear, not even the greatest wizards will be able to piece you back together again. Got it?" She stared at him, her eyes unmoving so he knew she wasn't jooking. And then her fingers started the first note. They followed through until it was time for the first verse; "Sick of the line's that fade in me. Never know what to believe, in a world that's crushing me. You're the only I see. I don't change my mind for anybody. I don't waste my time on just anybody. I won't share my life, with anyone but you. It's such a long way, with anyone but you. I couldn't follow, with anyone but you. Never anyone but you. They put my poster on the wall, they watch and wait for me to fall. They think they've made me who I am, oh they don't know me at all.

"I don't change my mind for anybody. I don't waste my time on just anybody. I won't share my life, with anyone but you. It's such a long way, with anyone but you. I couldn't follow, with anyone but you. Never anyone but you. They build you up so high, so you can hardly see the stars beneath your feet. I'm falling through the cloud, then you'll be the next to catch me." She finished with the chorus once more and then let her fingers drop from her guitar. It wasn't perfect. Would it ever be perfect? Or was she so hard on herself that she figured it could be horrible but not perfect, not something that Tommy would adore? Her last time recording in the studio was months ago, and Tommy hadn't liked many of her songs then...aside from Skin, but that was just about everyone's favourite. Mack sighed and looked at Adrian, planning to resume the conversation. Although she had just broke out in song, she had to sing it - to commit it to memory, so she wouldn't forget it later.

"Oh, I never said you would approach her. But if she hears you've been speaking to me, she might just approach you. Dixie is out to ruin my social standing, which granted, is limited and very slim to being extinct, but oh well. Whatever flies her broom." Adrian was right, however, when it came to Slytherins not being talkative - many weren't. Then again many were too thick to form a complete sentence. But Mack knew plenty who talked within the house and some even outside of the house to loyal purebloods. She shrugged and smirked at his response for putting his essay off, "So get someone else to do it? I mean, if you're too lazy or whatnot to pick up a quill or enchant one to write whatever you say - then maybe getting someone to do your homework is the better option." Mack rolled her eyes and waited for his response.

[hollow]

Adrian shrugged easily, utterly unconcerned by her words. Maybe he was insane; maybe he wasn't. What was the difference either way? "I'm not the one that should be concerned with insanity though, am I Mackenzie?" Adrian smiled nastily before completely breaking the tense atmosphere he could practically feel hovering around the two Slytherins with a tired yawn. Adrian covered his mouth and sighed, letting his shoulders slump slightly and silently admitting defeat. He simply didn't have the fighting spirit that seemed to exist in other Slytherins; he could happily insult, curse and argue with a Gryffindor or Hufflepuff but fighting with Slytherins just seemed pointless to Adrian. United fronts and all that. Pretenses didn't settle well with Adrian unless they were for a true cause and weren't entirely fake. So to openly insult and argue with a Slytherin and then turn around and defend the same Slytherin to another person wouldn't be something that Adrian would do. One, most Slytherins could defend themselves and the ones that didn't weren't very welcome in the Slytherin house. Two, it was only friends that could insult a friend then defend the friend a second later and Adrian had very few, if any, friends in the Slytherin house. Acquaintances, sure, they were everywhere but friends were a different matter.

Adrian held his hands up in amusement but stayed silent, knowing better than to interrupt a singer when she was coming up with words for a song. Not only words, but damned good words by the sound of it. When Mack finished, Adrian started to speak. "Brava, Ms Mack, brava. But just one thing, I don't laugh at talent so I wouldn't be laughing at you when you're singing and playing guitar. Any other time...perhaps. But not when you're showing your talent." He smirked, leaving the open-ended compliment hanging in the air between them until Mack spoke again.

"Ms Mack, I'm not scared of your sister. Queen she may be and a sixth year she may be but I've never cowered in front of a Queen, or anyone else, before and I don't plan to start now. If her sole purpose in life is to destroy you then that's her problem, and possibly yours since it's your life and social standing, but it has nothing to do with me. So if the Queens are so bored that they want to torture a fellow Slytherin then let them. They can't destroy my social standing because I don't talk to Slytherins a lot nor do I spend a lot of time in the common room. They can't destroy something that doesn't exist." Adrian shrugged carelessly, honestly not caring but feeling a small thrill of fear and anticipation running through him. If they truly were that powerful then perhaps Adrian should watch his step for a few days, after all caution was a good thing to have in the presence of power. "Let someone else do it? No!" Adrian stared at her in shock and a small amount of outrage. "Getting someone else to do it would imply that I haven't the brain to do it and I most certainly have! I may not be best in class but that's mostly because I don't try."

[Mackenzie Holden]

Mack looked up and sat there, shocked for a moment and then she remembered to look cool. "You don't honestly believe in that whole mumbo jumbo about manic depression being genetic do you? Mum tried to make me feel guilty about being such a brat to Dix, by saying I could inherit her 'disease.' I told her it was hogwash, Dixie was manic depressive for a reason," she paused here, chewing this over in her mind and the nodded, "she doesn't have a backbone. She can't take change like I can. That's why she was placed in the loony bin and not me." If Adrian seriously meant she could get it just because Dixie had gotten it, he somehow knew her greatest fear. Mack didn't want to turn up like her sister, and if her depression was through genetics, Mack was pretty much doomed. Then again, Mack didn't have all the blood that Dixie did - they only shared a father, that was all. Maybe the depression was on Pam's side.

After she had sung, and Adrian complimented her, Mack sat there wondering to snipe at him or thank him for the compliment. Instead she did neither, and closed her eyes, letting the guitar set against the wall again. She didn't do well with compliments, actually the compliments she did well with were from Tommy or Jack. Tommy rarely gave them though, and Mack always felt happy when Jack complimented her. She was always pleased when she felt she had done something impressive in Jack's eyes. Mack rarely tried to impress anyone, she didn't need to. If they didn't like her, she shouldn't try to get them to like her. That's the way she saw it. Forcing someone to see who you really were was a waste of time, they should be willing to get to know you without being pushed to. That was just false, phony. Mack couldn't stand phonies. If you weren't real, true to yourself, you didn't have any respect for yourself.

Mack shrugged when Adrian commented on what she said about her sister. "Alright, it's your life. Don't say I didn't warn you. Dixie doesn't need to be bored to torture people though, she does it when she feels like it. But you know, if you aren't worried about it I won't be either." Maybe she was making her sister out to be a lot more than she really was, but there was no harm in that. Dixie wanted people to run from her in the halls, Mack was just giving her a helping hand. But that just also happened to include Mack talking bad about her. Oh, how low could Mack get? Very low indeed. Adrian started ranting about his homework, and Mack smirked - turning her blue eyes toward him, "So? You'll fail by not doing your homework and looking stupid instead of passing by someone else doing your homework and looking stupid? I would rather pass and look stupid, rather than fail and look more stupid. But that's just me."

((I got to it! Finally! *parties on cliff*))

[hollow]

Adrian smirked in silent amusement, the more sadistic side of him thoroughly enjoying Mack's shock. It wasn't often that this side came out to play and so it was extremely hard to restrain the thousand remarks that bubbled up in his mouth and tried to push themselves into words. No. Adrian wasn't like that; he wouldn't be like that. "It could be genetic but that doesn't necessarily mean that it'll show up in you, Ms Mack. Sometimes such things do skip over a few people for reasons unknown to everyone. And you do have a point; you must surely need a reason. So, Ms Mack, perhaps you should be wary of events or people who would make you depressed." A morbid warning but a warning nonetheless because Adrian was already becoming fond of his new acquaintance. The banter, not exactly playful banter but a form of banter all the same, was rather amusing - even if Ms Mack had seen fit to give him a crash course in conjunctions.

He lifted an eyebrow, silently wondering why Mack hadn't fired up at his compliment-insult before shrugging and deciding that it really didn't matter either way. Maybe it was better this way, a few minutes without the insults and just spent thinking. But what to think about? Oh yes, like that was such a hard decision. For a fleeting moment, Adrian wished that the silence had never been initiated but was quickly caught up in the rush of worry and fear about the coming new school year. Not worry about the OWL's no, but about his sister. She would definitely be able to cope with the change of attending Hogwarts, Adrian was sure, but it was the house that she would be sorted into that worried Adrian. His parents weren't really bothered, laughing and telling him that it would matter if Lita was a Slytherin or a Hufflepuff, she would still be the same girl. Really, did they not think about how difficult it would be for Adrian to watch his sister parading about in a robe any colour than blue or green?

Adrian was roused from his thoughts by Mack and he smiled slightly, pondering whether Dixie really was that bad or if Mack was making her out to be worse than she actually was. Not that it really mattered; honestly, how likely was it that a sixth year would be bothered with Adrian? "Torturing people as a hobby, then? What a fascinating life your dear sister must lead, Ms Mack." Adrian rolled his eyes impatiently; was Mack really still stuck on the topic of him not doing his homework? "Yes, yes. I get it Ms Mack; I'm stupid. Though I do want to point out that this was a one time event and not a daily happening. My homework generally does get done, you realize." The subject was boring him but that didn't mean that Adrian would close it without clarifying that he wasn't stupid and did do his homework. Not that Ms Mack would care; it was more for himself than for her anyway.

((*pokes and smiles innocently* It was the wall. Honest.))