Catch The Snitch

October 15th
The air was turning cooler and the leaves were starting to change, which helped to brighten Andromeda's mood. She wasn't really a fan of the warmer weather, she really preferred the cool air. Pumpkins and spooky things were her absolute favorite and she really wanted to carve pumpkins the muggle way with Zeke and Laguna. With Halloween just around the corner, she couldn't contain her excitement. Although most people wouldn't want to carve pumpkins the muggle way, she had a brief conversation about it with Laguna over butterbeer not too long ago and he seemed to be all for it. She just had to get Zeke on board and get the pumpkins as well as a time and place to get it all done. She might even have to write home to her mother or her aunt to see if they could send her a carving kit as well.

Now, with the air being brisk, and the leaves changing, Andie barely spent any time indoors unless she had to be. For classes and the like. But now, she made herself comfortable down by the lake on a blanket she laid out with a book in hand. She waiting for her friend the squid to come and make an appearance, as she hadn't seen him for over a month now. She had told Laguna that he like to put on a little show for her from time to time, but that wasn't entirely true. It was more of a happy accident. But she did talk to him whenever he made an appearance and she liked to think that she was his favorite student.

She took in a deep breath and leaned forward. Her fingers flipped through the pages of her book as she found her spot and started reading. It was just then that the squid sort of waved a tentacle at her and she smiled. "Well hello old friend!" She set her book down almost right away and sat up on her knees. "I haven't seen you around lately, did you get yourself a girlfriend?" She giggled and tossed her hair back behind her shoulders. His tentacle hit the water and she grinned. It was so majestic the way he moved. Her smile didn't leave her face as she spoke again. "You know, you get a bad rep around here....but I think you are simply fabulous." Her eyes followed his movements and it almost seemed like he was getting closer to her. But it could have just been her over active imagination getting the better of her.

“Boo!”

The voice cut through the air, and probably any sense of peace that Andie probably had leading up to this point. He laughed at his own actions and then plopped down beside her, his eyes set on the lake now to watch the squid in action. He guessed either the squid really liked her or she was lucky with her sightings. Still it was quite a sight. He didn’t see it as often, but seeing it now made him think it would be nice to try to come out this way more often.

“You really are like the squid whisperer.” Laguna said, propping his elbows on his knees. “Is he the only reason you came out here or do you have something else you’re getting into today? I saw you from across the lawn and thought I’d come and badger you about the pumpkin carving. Have you talked to Zeke about it?”

Andie had been so caught up in watching the squid that she hadn't heard Laguna approach. So when he said boo, as silly as it may have been, she jumped a little. "Oh my!!! Laguna you scared me!!!" She let out a giggle and settled back on the blanket and looked over at him.

He watching the squid and he was lucky to catch the show. She had been telling him about th squid and how he would dance for her. Although she was sure it was just luck, however it was happening more frequently. "Isn't he just beautiful?" she grinned and turned back to the squid as he flailed his tentacles around more and it was obvious he was getting closer to them.

She blushed and shrugged her shoulders a bit. "I don't know about that....I just...I think I get lucky. Or maybe he's lonely and Im the only one that talks to him?" She turned back to Laguna and leaned back putting her hands behind her. "No, I came out here because of the beautiful fall air and I love this time of year. I was going to read, but the company is nice too." She enjoyed spending time with Laguna. He never really judged her or made foul comments. It was a pleasure to be in his company.

Oh! The pumpkins yes! "It's so funny that you say that! I was just thinking about you...and the pumpkins. I was also wondering when a good time to ask Zeke would be. I don't really have a lot of classes with any of the lower years and he's a hard person to pin down." Erm. That came out wrong, but rather than correct it she went with it. "I really want to do the pumpkins soon, as it's getting closer to Halloween."

The fact he'd caught her off guard made him laugh a little more. Laguna hadn't actually expected her to be so startled by his greeting, but then she was sitting out alone by the lake with a book, so chances were she hadn't anticipated any company. He returned her look, still an amused grin on his face. "Sorry....a little sorry anyway. I only meant to surprise you a litttttle bit." He closed an eye and emphasized the little bit by showing her just a pinch on his fingers. "But it was a little funny," he admitted, then looking over to the lake.

"You weren't joking about the squid then." He said, watching as the squid seemed to get closer to their spot. "He's quite a sight," Laguna agreed, looking over the motions of the tentacles. There was a moment where Laguna wondered if there was something the squid was trying to tell them or if he just enjoyed putting on the show and having a bit of company. "It must get lonely in there for him." The idea never crossed his mind until now, but he was the only thing of his kind in the lake, at least to common knowledge. Confined to a lake where he was surrounded by people and things that probably paid little attention to him aside from the few students like Andie. "I don't know if it's just luck."

Laguna glanced back to Andie. "How do you think he ended up there? Do you think he ever had a family...?" It might be a silly question. Maybe giant squids didn't need family or friends. But in his eyes, most things were misunderstood. He watched in the darkness of the night at the creatures in the forest and even the spiders were different from what most people thought. So maybe the squid was misunderstood too. "It is nice at this time of the year," he agreed. "If you were going to read, I can leave you here to it. I just saw you down here and thought I'd say hello."

A small chuckle escaped. "He can be...hard to pin down." Maybe most teenage boys were hard to pin down. Or maybe Laguna and Zeke were a little different from the others. Maybe it was a little of both. "I can ask him...if you want. I'll see him in the common room this evening."

She laughed along with him but also playfully pushed him. "Riiiight..." She grinned and shook her head at him. "Well, did more than surprise me a little bit." She mimicked his actions and let out another small laugh. "I suppose it was a little funny. You're lucky you're cute, Laguna Lestrange." The smile on her face stayed there as she relaxed a little settling back into her blanket. She hadn't been expecting anyone to join her, it wasn't really a common occurrence for her.

She looked over at him and feigned being hurt. "I am utterly offended that you would think I would lie about something like that." She placed her hand over her heart before letting out a laugh. "No, not lying about the squid. To be quite honest, I don't really lie. I find it to be rather disrespectful and sort of disgusting at times. I think it could be because I have been lied to so many times, that I don't want other people to feel the same." She nodded, feeling a little sad for the giant squid. "I imagine it does." She wasn't sure on his history or why he lived in the black lake. But she did know he loved showing off for her, and she had gone swimming with him before but that was a story for another time.

"I honestly don't know. Most people think he's mean or scary. I think he's cute, and beautiful and he loves freshly baked bread. I have brought him a slice to two after dinner a few times." She didn't think people gave him enough of a chance, and she completely understood that. Most people saw her and only saw her mother or didn't understand why she didn't play quidditch. She wasn't interested in taking the path that her mother had. "Oh! No, please don't leave." She gently grabbed his arm in case he decided to try and stand up. "It's nice to have company out here. I honestly just didn't expect it. Most of the time I'm out here alone and I read, sometimes to him." She nodded to the squid. "But it's nice having someone I can talk to out here." Then she smiled and used her other hand to wiggle her fingers at him. "Hello."

After he seemed to be okay with staying she relaxed a bit and shook her head at his offer. "I appreciate the offer, but if it's alright with you, I'd like to be one to ask him. I'm sure I can catch him after dinner or something today. He can't evade me forever!" She grinned. "Besides, It will give me a reason to leave the Slytherin table early."

In good fun, he pretended that the force of the push got him off balance before sitting right back upright, chuckling a bit. "It was a little funny," he agreed. At her compliment, she surprised him just a bit, his cheeks slightly pink. But he disguised his surprise at her compliment by looking up at her through his big blue eyes and giving her his cutest face. "I am quite lucky, aren't I?" But at that he even rolled his eyes at himself and then relaxed back into his spot, his animated personality reeling back in a bit.

A little chuckle followed, before she transitioned to her more serious topic. "Ah yeah, I don't think I've been put in many positions where I've had to lie." A pause followed as he reflected and then he realized there were actually plenty times. "Er...sort of," he added on that way his statement about lying was not a lie. "Perhaps a good little side project," he nodded toward the squid. "To learn more about the history behind it all." Laguna wasn't a reader unless he needed to be, but maybe he'd at least look into the squid. Or just hang out in the library and persuade someone else to look into the squid for him, charming them into providing the updates free of effort.

"He's a healthy looking squid. A fine creature." Laguna agreed. "So...you feed him soggy bread? Please tell me that you at least put a little charm so the bread isn't too soggy. Poor bloke." He was only joking, of course. The idea that she thought enough about him to do little things like this was more than kind and was telling about her personality. "I'm sure he appreciates it, in all seriousness. I know that if I was stuck in a little lake I'd appreciate some fresh bread." Half of him expected she would be happy to have the time alone with the squid, but when she grabbed his arm, he decided he would stay a bit longer. It was nice out and Andie and the squid were as good of company as any.

"Just want me to annoy you a bit longer, huh?" He let out an airy chuckle as she waved to the squid. Though, for a moment, he almost swore it waved a tentacle back. Laguna blinked and titled his head to the side. Interesting.

Laguna shrugged and nodded, "Yeah, of course. I'm sure he'll appreciate the invitation from you more anyway. I'm always dragging him places." They were best buds, pretty much inseparable most of the time. Sure, they would have a brotherly bicker once in a while, but really they'd never had any fights. "Not a fan of sitting with your own house?" Laguna often wondered what it was like to be in Slytherin. He sometimes, deep down, even wished he'd been sorted there. "I've heard your common room is really nice."

She shook her head at him playfully before settling back into her blanket. "You're hilarious, Laguna." She grinned at his slightly pink cheeks. However, he quickly changed his demeanor and he gave her his cute face. She let out a giggle. "So lucky. You can use your adorable little face for lots of good...or bad things." She winked at him realizing that she loved his cute and animated personality. He seemed very comfortable with her and that made her feel like she actually a real friend in someone. It was a good feeling and she didn't feel she had to try so dang hard to impress Laguna.

She shrugged her shoulders at him about his lying situation. "It's okay, I mean, everyone lies a little sometimes. It's the big ones, or the ones that could hurt that really bother me. I have just made it my mission not to lie because of how many times I have been lied to." Even thinking about her mother and her 'aunt' knowing that they had been dating all these years still feeling that had to hide the fact that were in love from Andie was infuriating. She looked back out to the Squid and smiled. "Yeah, I might have to look into it. Find out how he got here, if there are more like him and maybe even how long they live." She didn't mind doing the research for it. She enjoyed reading and looking into things, especially when they really interested her.

"Healthy looking? You use that on the girls too don't you?" She laughed and tossed her head back as she laughed. "But yes, I suppose he is healthy looking. I love his color too." She looked over at him and perked a brow. "Soggy bread? Hm, I guess it is, considering it gets wet as soon as I throw it into the water. But he seems to love it, and I never thought to put a charm on it." She grinned at him. "Is he stuck though? I mean...he could leave couldn't he? You don't think..." She wondered if there was a charm or some sort of barrier keeping him the area of the lake near Hogwarts. "he's really trapped...do you?"

Annoy her? He was far from annoying and she enjoyed his company. "Yes, please annoy me to the point of me wanting to push you into the lake." She chuckled and nudged him again with her shoulder.

"Thanks, Laguna." There was a reason she wanted to be the one to invite Zeke with them to the pumpkin carving. She thought it would help her case if she were the one to invite him, instead of Laguna. She knew that Laguana was Zeke's best friend. "Well, that comes with the territory of being best friends doesn't it?" It sort of hurt her to think they had each other and considered themselves as much, Andie sometimes wished she had a best friend. "It's not the common room that's the problem. I can actually see the squid from the windows in my common room...He uh...well, I read to him sometimes. I'm not sure he can hear me though..." She blushed at her own stupid confession. The common room was really nice, it was the people that made it a problem.

"Why thank you, I'm glad to serve as your personal entertainment." Laguna responded, giving a slight lopsided grin at her giggling. "Maybe I can use my powers for both good and bad." Her wink just turned the little lopsided grin into a full on smile. "I'll do what I can to keep using it for good..." He gave her a side-glance wondering if she would buy that. He wasn't even sure he bought that about himself. He'd only met Andie a few weeks earlier, but it seemed easy to transition into a friendship with her. Maybe if they'd met much earlier they would've been friends from the start, but since it had been a fun transition and she only had the rest of this year left at Hogwarts, they might as well make the best of the time that they had now. In his opinion, Andie was missing out on a lot of opportunities to get dragged into all sorts of mischief with him and Zeke.

Laguna gave her an understanding look at her as she elaborated on her experiences with dishonest people. His eyes were sympathetic and understanding. "That's admirable. Most people are more absorbed in their own interests that they don't even pause to consider how their lies can impact others." Even though he couldn't say he'd always been forthcoming about everything, he at least could typically understand how it would be impacting others. "Just drag me along. I don't mind learning a bit more about it." He imagined they'd find some time to meet up in the library for their research, which was fine by him. He didn't get over to the library nearly as much as he should anyway. Maybe it would earn him new points with the professors if they saw him electing to go in his spare time.

"Oh yes. It's my best line, didn't you know? You're looking absolutely healthy today. Would you like to go out sometime?" He shook his head, unable to suppress light laughter at the very idea. "Girls make no sense to me, as odd as you may find that." His eyes shifted away from Andie and back out to the giant squid, considering a trip out by himself later. Maybe when it wasn't so cold even a swim to get a closer look. As he did so, he noted how the oranges in the tree seemed to accent the squids coloring. There were times when he sat out by the lake like this and he thought about how much he would detest the day he'd no longer be here at Hogwarts, taking in the beautiful views, the colors of the trees as they transitioned from season to season, the stars reflecting off the surface of the lake. There were times when he wished he could just disappear from existence out by this lake. Maybe settle off on the edge of the nearby forest to live in solitude and peace.

Suddenly he realized he'd lost himself in a bit of a daydream. "Hm..? Oh, well...how would he get out of the lake?" Laguna wondered. "But maybe he likes it here. Maybe he's no desire to move out into some bigger body of water. After all, where else would he live and get fresh bread delivered?"

Her nudge was light, and he returned it back to her. "You wouldn't dare. Because," he explained, "I'd be pulling you right in with me. And you do /not/ want to go into that water. It's dreadful this time of year." The temperature was steadily dropping as they advanced toward the winter season. "I don't think you would like to be in freezing water."

"Yeah, no problem." Zeke would probably wonder why he didn't bring it up, but what could it hurt to let Andie extend the invitation on her own? He smiled. "It does. It's one of the biggest perks of having one. Always a partner in crime!" Laguna nodded, "Not all the Slytherins are so bad, are they?" He could recall a couple he like quite a lot. "Well..." Suddenly he could understand which she might be talking about. "There are some that I'd stay clear of. Though I am envious of you sometimes. The common room, from what I've heard, would feel a lot like home for me."

She eyed him seriously and gave him a look like 'yeah, when have you ever?' "I don't believe you for a moment, Laguna. You will use them how you see fit, usually getting into trouble or getting what you want." She grinned at him knowing that he was overall a good person. But he had a knact for mischief. "But, by all means, keep me in the loop. I am always down for using our powers for good and bad. As long as no one gets hurts of course." She giggled and looked over at him. She had wished that she had met him and Zeke prior to this year. It was nice to have more than one friend, and more friends that actually liked to get out and do things. She could never get Nate to join her at the lake. Most of the time he was too busy with his other duties or school work.

Andie shrugged her shoulders at his comment. "I've been lied to a lot, even my parents...are lying to me. They have been most of my life and they think I'm daft and don't know what's really going on." She let out a soft sigh and looked over at her friend. "I'm not daft, Laguna...I just want people to be honest with me because I would rather be hurt by the truth than comforted by a lie." She nodded to him and smiled again. "Yeah, of course. You're a bit easier to find than Zeke. I'll just randomly walk up to you during dinner and drag you off to the library." She chuckled. "Sorry, mate, we have work to do!" She mocked herself and pretended to walk by swinging her arms at her side.

She burst into laughter and sort of rolled into him playfully. "Oh Merlin, Laguna. No wonder you don't have a girlfriend!" She snorted into his chest and sat back up before trying to catch her breath after laughing so hard. "You're so fit..." She mocked him and let out one last chuckle. She looked over at him and he seemed to get more serious. She let her smile fade a bit and she leaned over to him. "You alright?" She could tell he was sort of gone from reality for a moment as his eyes were unfocused and he was just sort of staring. She couldn't blame him though, she did that a lot really. Especially when she was reading. The words on the pages would dance and she would follow their steps straight into another world.

"Well, I mean....don't lakes sometimes turn into rivers or something? Or am I just being a stupid girl?" She shrugged and looked out at him feeling sort of sad. If he was really stuck in the lake, she wondered if he was really, truly happy. "I hope he likes it here...I mean I would hate for him to be miserable and stuck with a bunch of snot-nosed kids like us." Her eyes shifted back to Laguna and she smiled a bit. "Yeah, I suppose."

"Oh...I have no doubt you would pull me in after you, Laguna. But the fact of the matter is, I'm not scared of a little cold water!" She let out another giggle gave a 'brave' face before shaking her head. "Although...I'm not sure you could annoy me enough to want to push you into the lake anyway. Besides, we could always duel again to see who really is the better of the two of us." she snorted again and looked back out to the lake.

"Well no, I mean I'm a Slytherin and I'm not terrible. Granted there are times I can't stand myself, but...." She nodded and leaned back on her hands. "It's quite the common room. I heard yours is bright and shiny...not really my forte. I prefer dark and mysterious.

"It's a bit scary how well you know me after such a short time," he joked, knowing good and well she wasn't wrong. Some might find those qualities to be a little alarming, but it wasn't bad to use what you had to get what you wanted. At least he didn't think it was always bad. "Like I would hurt anyone.." Mostly true. His time with Andie was like a breath of fresh air. Finding new friendships wasn't something that happened much at Hogwarts after the initial ones were established--many of which could be traced back to interactions between first years as they acquainted theirselves at school. Around fifth year is when you'd start to see a few unlikely bonds pop up. Laguna concluded that was, in part, the sudden interest in potential dates that came into play. But every once in a while, you would hit it off with someone from a different house or a different year and it would be the start of a great friendship.

He looked over at her, curious as to what was going on and whether he should press further and decided he would. "Lying to you about what?" He asked, thinking back to his relationship with his own parents. He didn't think they lied to him. There were just certain things both parties chose not to discuss. "Zeke can be found where there is mischief going on." Laguna chuckled a bit. "Is that bad? That I'm so readily available?" Laguna joked, shaking his head a bit.

"Girls just don't know what they're missing out on." He rolled his eyes at himself. It was easy to joke around like this with her. She was so open hearted and easygoing. "Huh? Oh yeah, I was just losing myself in a daydream," Laguna admitted, glancing sideways.

A small grin spread across his face, "We could just do a duel over the lake. Loser would get dunked at the end." And just like that he'd invented the next best watersport in the wizarding world. "Remind me again...how did that duel go?" He was always up for a fun duel with people. There were times he wished more people would join dueling club so he could get a wider range of opponents for practice.

"You're not terrible," Laguna agreed. "We all have those moments we don't necessarily like ourselves. But yes, ours is very warm and inviting. I can appreciate both, but I must admit dark and mysterious is more like home for me."

She pursed her lips and shrugged her shoulders."It's easy to pick up on if one is willing to pay attention. Not to say that you're an open book, I just mean that you have a certain way about you." It wasn't a bad way, it just felt like she knew Laguna a lot longer than she had. They had spent some time together and it seemed that they had a bit in common and clicked when it came to friendship. She didn't have a lot of friends, so she cherished the ones she did have, Laguna included.

She rolled her eyes and waved her hand. "My father left long before I even knew who he was, so my mother and my 'aunt' raised me. It was a cover though, you know what I mean? My mum being...who she was she couldn't be known for being," She leaned in really close and whispered the word into his ear. "Gay." She covered her mouth sarcastically and rolled her eyes again. "Honestly though, who sleeps in the same bed as ex's sister?" She sighed again and looked out at the water. The squid seemed to be calming down, but he was now just yards away from the two of them. "I don't like being lied to, I know they are in a relationship, and you know what? Good for them, but don't lie to me about it..." She bit into her lip a little hard and tasted the copperiness of her blood. "Sorry...I just get heated about it."

She shook her head and smiled once more. "No, of course not. To be honest, I enjoy your company, even if you are a bit of an arrogant ass." She laughed and nudged him with her shoulder. "Har har har, Laguna. You know that you won, but just barely. I think you cheated if you want my honest opinion." She smirked and let out a small chuckle. "Alright, a second duel, but is it a bit cold to be dunked?"