While it was true that Hogwarts wasn't too different to Durmstrang, Mellony Abendroth still hated the place and wished very much to be shipped back overseas, but given current circumstances at home it was very unlikely she'd be allowed back anytime soon. So, for the time being, she was stuck in Potions beside her self proclaimed 'guide' who seemed to insist on telling her the entire schools history before the very first lesson of term started. Narrowed olive eyes stared at the front of the class, waiting for the professor to enter and start the lesson to put her out of her misery.

Up until she first slipped into her uniform, Mellony could quite easily have passed for a male. Chocolate brown hair had been cut short, just barely reaching her shoulders and brushed neatly into place. Years of training at Durmstrang had given her a toned physique and a strong sense of discipline. The female could wake in the early hours of the morning and run miles before breakfast, she could trek through woods in the middle of the night and not twitch at each and every sound around her, she could give the boys a run for their money and yet.. wearing the Hogwarts uniform made her uncomfortable. Why did they insist on wearing skirts? Shifting uneasily on her seat, Mellony once again started to pull at her skirt, trying to cover her knees and get comfortable.. with little success.

"... and thats why we aren't allowed in the library over night." The male sat beside Mellony finally paused for breath, but only for a split second. "Oh, you should watch out for Peeves too, he's a poltergeist and likes to cause trouble. Last week he put itching powder on each of the toilet seats in the girls toilets. You should have heard the screams! Myrtle wasn't pleased." Christian chuckled as he reclined back in his seat and looked around the classroom, noting it was slowly starting to fill up. With a smile that seemed to be glued to his lips, his blue gaze fell upon the the new girl beside him who seemed less than interested in what he had to say, but that wasn't going to stop him.

Running a hand through short, sandy blonde the Ravenclaw paused for a moment, thinking over everything he'd said and trying to think of something interesting that might amuse her. To be honest, if she hadn't found the toilet seat stunt funny, it was unlikely he was going to be able to think of anything else to make her smile. "We have a room of requirement too. It shows up when you need it most and contains everything you need." The male cocked his head as he spoke. "I found it last year, I'd gotten so stressed with my work load that I needed somewhere to relax. I'd never have imagined the room of requirement could conjure up a.." Chris was cut short as the professor entered the room and hushed the class into silence so he could begin.

Isaac shifted in his seat uncomfortably. He was itching to be out flying, not inside in the stuffy potions room. It was dark and dank, quite confining for someone so used to the skies. Leaning his elbow against the table, the lean Gryffindor listened only halfheartedly to the lesson as Professor Slughorn droned on. The dark haired male was trying to find something, anything, to distract him from the trapped feeling beginning to close in upon him. That was when his eyes lit upon the new girl sitting by the Ravenclaw... He couldn't quite remember his name, so he nudged his red-headed friend. "Whose the Ravenclaw sitting by the new girl?" Sometimes, he thought his friend Percival enjoyed potions just a little too much.

The two had been friends since they were toddlers, one with black hair and the other with hair of flame. It came as a surprise to them when they were put into two separate houses. The pair made the best of it though, taking turns at each other's tables and helping each other out with homework... Rather Perce helped Isaac pass his classes.

Turning his head from taking notes, Perce frowned. After shaking his head, he turned his brown eyes to check. An 'o' of surprise formed itself on his mouth when he saw who it was. "That's Christian," hissed Percival. The quill he wrote with scratched furiously against the page as he took the initial notes for their project. If he didn't, it would be a failure for sure. That's was how things always worked out between Isaac and him.

While Isaac was brave as the lion of Gryffindor, Percival found himself very lacking in that aspect. So he had been glad to be placed in Ravenclaw, had even been wishing for it while the hat had been choosing. The old thing had said he could be in Gryffindor too... But Percival didn't want to take that chance.

As Slughorn finally arrived and started talking, Mellony listened intently, Potions being one of her favourite subjects. Dark arts was by far her favourite, but unfortunately Hogwarts had banned the use of Dark arts and instead, only taught students how to defend themselves against them. Talk about taking all the fun out of lessons. The Potions Slughorn was talking about were far from easy, they took months to brew and the ingredients were not only hard to come by, but also needed to be chopped and added with precision. These potions were far more interesting than anything Christian had to say. Was Slughorn going to brew one for them?

Forgetting about the skirt, Mellony sat up straight and placed both hands on the table, as was taught back home to be polite and proper. As the professor spoke, a piece of chalk started to write down the names of many difficult potions, only a few of them she could recognise though. Ah. Finally they got to the point. They were going to be brewing one of these potions themselves. Perhaps Hogwarts wouldn't be as dull as she'd first thought?

Christian was one of the many students who absolutely hated Potions. No, that wasn't true, Potions could be quite an interesting lesson. After much thought, he decided it was the location of the Potions classroom that he didn't like. Why did it have to be in the dungeons? It was cold, it was dark and more importantly, it was home to many Slytherin. Not that he had anything against the Slytherin house, but there were more than a handful of Slytherin students that enjoyed being a bully.

Feeling eyes on him, Chris glanced over his shoulder to see who was staring but didn't get chance to catch the culprit as there was a knock on the door. Slughorn announced that the potion was only going to be half of the project and opened the door, letting the Herbology teacher in to explain the second half. Now Chris was intrigued. They had to pick a potion, grow their own ingredients and brew the potion all before the exam next year? Well, they knew how to make exams interesting, didn't they?

Isaac turned form his friend while thinking. Lessons weren't very important, nor were grades. At least, not to Isaac though he knew that was different for his friend. So as Slughorn droned on the dark haired boy thought about how he could meet that Durmstrang girl. That was when their professor mentioned a team of four people would be assigned for the project. A wide grin spread over Isaac's face, and he nearly yelled aloud. Now it was time to explain this little plan of his.

Isaac did so with so much gusto and relish that Percival couldn't refuse, even if it would mean confronting something he very much didn't want to. It wasn't necessarily something deathly, though sometimes it felt like that. Percival like Christian, or rather he had a very large crush on him. Just the thought of working with the other Ravenclaw set him aback, but to please his friend he would go over there and ask to be in the same team.

Sending a glare at Isaac, and receiving a thumbs up in return, Percival walked the seemingly endless distance to the table where the interesting pair sat. "Hello Christian.. Umm, I, I was wondering if maybe you'd like to be with Isaac and I for the project. We'd be delighted if you joined us." Sometimes his knightly namesake fit Percival a little too well. The red head was polite to a fault. Smiling at the girl he inclined his head in her direction. "That goes for you too Miss."

A team of four students working on this project was going to be interesting, it might even make the whole thing fun, providing they weren't grouped with someone pleasant. The thought of working with some of the Slytherin in their class wasn't going down too well, though thankfully he didn't have to dwell on it for too long. Blue gaze came to rest on Isaac as he stood at his table and his question chased away the fear of being paired with someone he didn't like. Almost instantly his face lit up and he nodded his head. "Of course, I'd love to join you both." No, this project was going to be fun, it would give him chance to spend more time with Percival.

A team of four. The only drawback of such an interesting project. This would mean she'd have to find three other people to work with, of there was always the option of waiting until last and playing the spare part to a group of three. If the group was bad, she'd simply play the foreign card and pretend she couldn't understand what they were saying, she'd done it so many times in the past, once more wouldn't hurt. Still sat in silence, the female looked upto Percival as he approached and spoke to Christian, then to herself.

A grin formed on the males lips as the offer was extended to Mellony aswell. "Well it looks like we're all sorted then." He said, not giving the girl chance to answer as he had done all morning. "Looks like we'll get first pick of potion too." The rest of the class was still trying to figure out their groups, he noticed a large group of Hufflepuff girls trying to decide who should go in which group and getting nowhere fast.

((As it doesn't appear I'm going to get a reply, I'm just going to go ahead and unsubscribe. Ciao.))