Open | Walking On Sunshine

[AMANDA MORGAN FORRESTER]

Yawn. If that were a mood, that would be the one Amanda was in this morning. September was such an awful, awful month. The beginning of school just dragged her down from her summer high. Although she wasn't one for the warmer weather, she definitely did not mind the lazy hours, lounging in bed, no classes to worry about, no appearances to make until night fell...

But school just ruined all of that. And this year would be even worse than the last because this year she'd be taking her O.W.L.s and finding out what exactly she wanted to be. As if she didn't already know. Please.

But she had to admit, she had missed Hogwarts food sincerely. Which was why her mood was only yawn and not grumble. That is, if grumble were a mood. As the young Slytherin shuffled through the halls, she fixed her ponytail and sighed. She could hear the sound of forks clinking against plates and the buzz of chatter early in the morning.

As much as she loved being doted on at home, she rather preferred the indifference of the students at school. It was a freedom she couldn't say she had at home. As she passed through the doors to the Great Hall, she heard a loud tear and looked down just as the contents of her bag spilled on the floor. Now she was in a grumble mood. Just bloody perfect, she thought, kneeling down in a huff, she began gathering her things, piling them on top of each other. This never would've happened at home.

[RYAN LASSEROUES BERRENDOW]

Ryan was walking down a corridor towards the great hall. It had been a week since trixe had left and he was still down. He constantly avoided social contact and large groups of people in fear of the truth being mixed with rumor. It was different this time though, he needed food and the kitchens were locked off with a new password that he did not know.

Unfortunately this mean't that he had to go and eat at the great hall near people. Ryan was usually outgoing and talkative but the most he ever said was one word sentences. Even his friends knew something was wrong but Ryan told them he was fine. He was slowly getting over it and today was definitely better then his last.

As he walked into the great hall Ryan heard a loud sound come from behind him. For a second he thought he had ripped his Jean legs as they went over his shoes, but it was in fact a fellow slithering bag. Ryan had seen the girl before in his classes, which he never really payed attention in because he was so good at using spells.

It had been his pastime to try spells over and over until he got them. Now he was a feared opponent in dueling. Ryan did not know the girls name and he froze for a second. This could be his chance to redirect any attention to the girl, away from his strange behavior which would be a pro. Unfortunately his moral was too good to leave someone like that and instead he bent down and helped the girl.

"here you go" sighed Ryan as he handed her stuff to her "My name is Ryan by the way" he said watching the girl "do you need help fixing the bag or can you do it?" Ryan looked around the hall and frowned.

Unfortunately although he had helped the girl he had drawn attention to himself. When he was meaning to hide. He looked at the bag again and then to the girl. Now he had remembered where he saw her. She was another good dark arts student he had seen her in class before.

[AMANDA MORGAN FORRESTER]

Looking up at the boy helping her, she said, "Amanda Forrester." Taking her things from him, she grinned a little and joked, "Thanks, but I think I can manage. I may not be the best at household spells, but I'm quite gifted when it comes to reparations." Brushing her bangs out of her eyes, she drew her wand out of her robes and muttered an incantation, pointing at the large and ugly rip in the bag. In an instant, the seams were pulling themselves together as if an invisible force was turning back time to when the bag was whole and unable to rip, and soon the rip was gone, not a trace of it left behind.

Beginning to stuff things into her bag, her mood perked up. Chivalry wasn't dead after all, it seemed. Giving Ryan a rare smile, she said, "Thanks for the help." She'd seen him around school, mostly in class, but she had to admit she was at a loss when it came to actually knowing who he was. She wasn't exactly a very sociable person, after all...That could probably be considered a fault on her part, expecting everyone to come to her and to never make the effort to speak to someone else first...But it was just who she was, and the world would just have to accept her as is.

Realizing that people were staring at them, Amanda rolled her eyes and turned to Ryan, saying, "Like they've never seen a bag rip before, honestly." The way they were gawking suggested it wasn't just seeing a bag rip, but Amanda couldn't think of any other explanation...Then again, she wasn't really an advocate of public knowledge and gossip, so she couldn't be sure just what people were saying about her...or about Ryan. Oh well.

[RYAN LASSEROUES BERRENDOW]

"it was a bit odd that your bag tore are you sure so one did that?" asked Ryan "lt could have been a prank" he Looked over at a table "people like them, wouldn't put it past them" he started to walk over the the slytherin at a normal pace "the reason why they are staring is because of me"

He sat down and grabbed a pancake and put it onto a plate in front of him. He knew what she had been thinking and he didn't blame her. Why would people stare, he had been acting odd and that's the only reason why people would stare at him. He wasn't the most sociable person at Hogwarts but he wasn't the most picked on ether.

"Amanda, your good with magic if I remember correctly from classes right?" asked Ryan taking a bite of the pancake "why is it I've never heard any real talk about you? One of those 'stay away from the crowed people'?"

He smiled a hit "I have no problems with that type of people don't worry about that, I used to be like that until second year, nothing bad about it of course. Wait I'm rambling you probably don't even like talking to me and here I am rambling on and on"

he took another bite of maple syrup covered pancakes and looked at the golden syrup substance. He never noticed how nice it actually looked because he used to just eat without looking but now he noticed how texture filled the food looked.

[AMANDA MORGAN FORRESTER]

Glancing at the table he'd looked at as well, she said, "Hmm...I wouldn't put it past them either, but this bag is really old, so it could've just been its age." Shrugging, she sent the table a dirty look just in case, she sat down across from him and searched the table for something to eat. So many choices, so many choices...but since she didn't really have a huge sweet tooth, she chose a bowl of fruit salad and two pieces of toast.

"Why are they staring at you? Haven't they ever seen a guy help out a girl before?" she said jocularly, grinning over her toast at him. Really, these people were so criminally childish. Taking a bite of her toast, she swirled her fruit salad around and blushed. "I'm not that great," she said, looking down. "I also tend to stray away from gossip and keep to myself. I don't think it's a Gryffindor's business what I do and don't do," she seethed. "But now I'm rambling," she said, laughing humorlessly.

[RYAN LASSEROUES BERRENDOW]

Ryan laughed "rambling is a good thing sometimes" he looked at the girl "but it can also give people information to use against" he tool another bite of his pancake.

He looked back up and wiped his chin "sorry about my appearance but I've been walking laps of the school thinking, trying to become a little less confused, instead I got hungry. I tried to go to the kitchen but the password had changed. I was trying to avoid people, unfortunately my nice part of me told me to help you so here I am" he finished finally

"makes no sense I am sure, but that is the basics" he muttered grabbing some coffee "caffeine we all need this since they wake us up so early, sometimes I wish it was the holidays"

Ryan actually hated the holidays because his father went on acing adventures into the unknown and he was stuck at his house or holidays and no friends. He didn't really have any friends and the ones he did he barely talked to but they knew something had been up. Luckily Ryan was almost completely truce and he would be able to talk to them normally.

"I'm pretty good at magic myself, maybe one day we should have a duel?" he smiled a bit "battle of the wits?"

[AMANDA MORGAN FORRESTER]

"Which is why I don't usually ramble," she said, winking at him. Spooning some fruit, she let the utensil hover over the bowl for a moment before saying, "You don't look terribly out of order. A little shaken up, but nothing suspicious." No one ever said she wasn't blunt.

"The Kitchens changed the password again? That's not fair!" she said angrily. It wasn't like it was off limits to the students! If you needed a quick snack and you actually knew where they were you could just pop on in and grab something quickly. And the house-elves were friendly...in a creepy sort of way. It just made no sense for them to be changing the password constantly.

"I don't drink coffee, but I imagine it would be a good way to get alert for the day...It's ridiculous that they get us up this early. We live here, they could easily let us sleep an hour or two later and just end classes in the evening instead of in the afternoon. That's the brilliance of going to a boarding school in the first place! They know we can't leave, so they can keep us as long as they like," she ranted, shaking her head.

His duel suggestion shook her out of her reverie and she replied, "I don't know...I'll have to ask around about you so I can make an informed decision about what I'm getting myself into." Grinning afterwards, she said, "Well, that's what I would say if I were, say, a Ravenclaw, but I'll accept your challenge, sir."

[RYAN LASSEROUES BERRENDOW]

He chuckled at the girl's joke"Alright then, name your location and the time and I'll knock you clean off your feat" he exclaimed "wait, it's cool if I hit you right. Your a girl and I need permission to attack you when we duel" he almost laughed "I don't know if that's etiquette or law but ether way I'm a gentleman so, do I have permission to knock you off your feat?"

He smiled a bit "any place and time I'll be there" he finished off the last of his coffee and shook his head to wake up a bit more. He was still not use to the times in the school and he was constantly getting tired. What free-time he had he spent on his guitar of turntables that his father would bring in for gigs. Hogsmede was one of the only he could use his turntables, they were to bulky to have in the castle. He had thought of the room of requirement but he decided against it until he was sure he could access it whenever he wanted.

"how about the room of requirement, I've been meaning to test if it works the way I want it to and maybe this could help?" he said calmly "on Saturday so you have another day of healing before we need to do more work? " he grinned a bit and pulled a piece of toast on the ever replenishing plater.

[AMANDA MORGAN FORRESTER]

Smirking, Amanda said, "You've got a duel. And permission to knock me off my feet." Laughing some [at the idea, if not the joke], she asked, "What's the Room of Requirement?" Never in her five years had she heard of this room, which worried her. Generations of Forresters at Hogwarts and not once had any of them heard of this room? Was that even possible?

Finishing off her fruit salad and drinking the last of her pumpkin juice, she rifled through her bag for a pen and her day planner. Yes, she actually had a day planner for school...it was a present and she liked being organized. Flipping it open to Saturday, she scribbled in "Duel with Ryan, Great Hall/Room of Requirement, noon" Closing it, she said, "So, why don't we meet here and then head to the room at noon on Saturday then?"

[RYAN LASSEROUES BERRENDOW]

"sounds good but don't wear anything fancy, chances are we'll be getting thrown around allot and unless you want to rip some sort of expensive dress. I'm all up for ripping expensive things, but I don't think you'd want that" he laughed at his own comment "or maybe we could wager some money? I'm joking that's taking it too far"

He looked at the planner in her hand and brung his hand into the ball of his palms "a planner, are you serious?" he held in a laugh making sure he didn't cause any unwanted attention. That planner would have been great ammo for a hungry gossiper "you know not all your life can be planned, sooner or later things will surprise you"

He nodded at the suggestion that they meet down in the great hall "bring some bandages" he pretend to write in an imaginary planner of his own "because Ryan will kick my ass tenfold"

[AMANDA MORGAN FORRESTER]

Raising an eyebrow, she joked, "Because I always duel in my evening gowns. They're sooooo easy to move in." Laughing at the thought of two people dueling in floor-length gowns and tuxedos, she shook her head. "You're funny."

Hugging her planner in defense, she said, "Hey, don't mock the planner! It keeps me busy and organized." Stroking the sides playfully, she jested, "Surprises are all well and good, just as long as they're between my carefully planned activities." Rolling her eyes at his joke, she said, "Oh, doll, you can't pull off a planner. It's a tricky art."

[RYAN LASSEROUES BERRENDOW]

"I can so pull it off thank you very much!" exclaimed James "you know what it doesn't matter because you can't plan my attack in that and you'll have no idea what hit you"

Ryan smiled a bit "You know, small surprises are usually the best in life" he thought of trixe for a small time but pulled his thoughts away from her. He could not keep thinking about her. He shook his head and forced a smile onto his face "so a battle for a great title, 5th year...dark arts expert? Sounds cool" he looked at the planner in the girl hand and smirked "wait if you loose that book would you forget about it or would you still remember in that busy lifestyle of yours?"

He wasn't going to steal it but in case someone else did he wanted to make sure she remembered just in case, even though they were in the same common room didn't mean they saw allot of each other and the fact she was a female meat she went to the girl dorm so he couldn't leave her a note.

[AMANDA MORGAN FORRESTER]

"Oh, you wish," she teased, putting the small book back down on the table and tucking the pen into the spine. "I'm not planning your attack, I'm planning our plan to attack each other," she riddled, sticking her tongue out at him playfully.

"Small surprises are nice, I suppose. But I like being prepared," she mused, propping her elbow up on the table and putting her chin in her hand. "5th Year Dark Arts Expert? Interesting. It can be an inside joke between us," she said, smiling.

"I wouldn't be lost without this," she said, shaking her head. "I mean, for long term plans I might be a little lost, but...I certainly wouldn't miss it." It wasn't like she needed the planner...it was just a fun little book to have. And besides, it was a good distraction during boring classes like History of Magic. SHe could just doodle in it and pretend to take notes.

[RYAN LASSEROUES BERRENDOW]

"I still don't get it" muttered Ryan "however I guess in the long run it's your choice on what you want to do with a planner" he laughed a bit before sitting up straighter, his back was starting to get a not sore, it was probably all the walk. He was surprised it wasn't his legs though.

"so it twas concluded that the two warriors would fight in the ring of heroes'" said Ryan in a VoiceOver type of voice "but Amanda did not know the problems she was to face" he laughed a bit and then he looked at the sky, oh great magical creatures in going to be all rainy" he grumbled "not to mention the fact it's cold and snowy up until spring"

It was an unbearable winter for Ryan because he didn't like the cold and he had chosen magical creatures for a subject. His father knew so much about them and the travels he went on where great fun, if Ryan got to go. Once he was in Egypt another time south america and then Greece.

[AMANDA MORGAN FORRESTER]

Amanda grinned and put her planner back into her bag. Planning simply wasn't for everyone. She happened to be one of the select few who liked it enough to be semi-diligent about it. Plus it helped that she got a new one every year from the same Uncle for no apparent reason.

Raising an eyebrow at his funny voice, she said, "Is the battle also going to be narrated?" Laughing slightly to show her amusement, she happened to glance at her watch. Gasping in shock, she said, "I'm going to be late for Divination!" Ugh, she hated that class, but she hated being late even more, and if truth be told, she'd only taken the subject so as to get a good grade. If you predicted doom, a good grade was definitely in your future. But the homework was abysmal.

"See, the cold and snow and rain and ick is the main reason why I didn't choose the only outdoor class. That, and I'm not too fond of creatures that can rip my limbs off," she mused, shaking her head and standing up.