The Words Aren't Always Right [rory]

[mgirl03]

To say that he was angry about this detention would be the understatement of the year. No, it wasn't really because he didn't think he deserved the thing--he did, and he would grudgingly admit it. Albus knew he shouldn't have let his temper get the better of him, knew he shouldn't have punched his captain, and knew that it made sense to be punished. The punishment, though...How they came up with it he couldn't even fathom. It was truly a cruel punishment, almost guaranteed to be a creation of Filch's. Nobody else could come up with something so dull and vile to do.

Clapping muggle erasers. Muggle erasers that Hogwarts didn't even use.

The only time Al had seen muggle erasers was when one of his friends in Muggle Studies showed him a picture. Their class used the things maybe once or twice, with calk, but every other teacher in the school used what they were born with--magic. Magic to write the instructions for lessons and to erase them; magic that made everything easier. Here he was, Albus Potter, training to be a wizard, and his school was having him clap together these muggle items to get the dusty bits of chalk out.

“It’s what you get for losing your temper,” he muttered to himself as the classroom door shut behind him. His detention was being overlooked by Slughorn, who had just popped him into a first floor room and than left to do something or other—after confiscating his wand, of course. Al made a face as the bitter thoughts filled his head again, and he forced a deep breath. There was no reason to think like that. He had punched Soren, so the teachers had seen it fit for him to do something boring and muggle so that he would learn a lesson. He had absolutely no reason to sit here whining inside of his own head when he could have avoided this all together by staying calm.

But of course, it was easy for everybody else to say. ‘Keep your temper, Al.’ ‘Don’t let things like that get to you, Al.’ ‘Calm down, Albus, Merlin.’ They all expected him to have a mastery over his anger, over his inherited temper, but none of them understood. He had always, always struggled with keeping his anger in check, even if nobody had noticed until now. Not only that, but it wasn’t exactly his fault that he was in nastier moods recently. He had gotten captured, after all, and ever since Malfoy Manor he had felt his blood boiling more than usually. To top it all off, the subject had been Rory, and Merlin knows everybody had figured out by now that he was very touchy on that subject. He was Rory’s protector, Rory’s best friend, and would do anything for her.

“And she’s ill at you for punching Soren. Way to go, genius,” Al said aloud, blowing his bangs out of his eyes. He paused, staring at the boxes and boxes of old dusty erasers, before reaching forward and grabbing a pair, clapping them together. A dust cloud rose that had him coughing within seconds, but he didn’t stop, mind on things other than the tedious work in store for him. Like Rory, his temper, and how if he didn’t get things under control soon, she would be ill at him for a long while.

There were a few things he knew that he had to do. For one, he had to try and talk to Rory, to get her to talk to him again (because the silence and hostility that was sent towards him was like a constant ache in his chest). He had to try and explain himself to her, and to some of his teammates, if they would lesson. Next, he had to make sure to start figuring out a way to…calm down. If he wanted those lessons from his father, than Albus needed to be calmer, more in control of that damned temper he owned. Finally, the one thing that would be hardest of all—he needed to…apologize, or at least talk, to bloody Soren.

He didn’t want to, and he didn’t plan on doing it any time soon. Soren had hurt Rory, and so Al had punched him. A part of him still thought the Irish bloke deserved it. Not only that, but then he had gotten kicked off the team for the first game of the season! All in all, Al wasn’t happy with his captain, and so he felt no rush in explaining himself or at least apologizing for giving him a dose of the pain he had given Rory. The prefect side of Al, on the other hand, knew that after the game, he would have to swallow his pride and anger and do it. There couldn’t be major hostilities between the two, especially if he wanted Rory to forgive him and his chaser spot back on the team.

Albus sighed again, closing his eyes for a moment before opening them. The green was enhanced by the tears in them, which happened to be caused by the crazy amount of dust in the air. Coughing, Al threw aside his two erasers and grabbed another pair, falling into his thoughts once more as a cloud filled the room.

[.RORY KAY BLAKE !]

Peeves was not a ghost... at least not the harmless sort that floated about the castle.. offered a bit of advice or made a rude comment from time to time and then floated on their way. The most someone had to worry about from ghosts like those was feeling like you'd been plunged into ice water if you were daft enough to walk through one or had the horrid luck of having one choose to float through you. No, Peeves was a git..a foul, loud mouthed, troublesome little troll who was always in the thick of things.. and often at the core of them.. the trouble was those same words had been used, at times, to describe the girl creeping round the edge of a suite of armor and looking with no small amount of guilt over her shoulder and up the steps in the general direction of the dorms she'd left just a bit ago. While both spirits of chaos more or less, each in their own ways, the two were any thing but Kindred. While Rory found she could appreciate the little mans antics more than most, if they clashed with her own it was quick to make her temper flare.

A few of her fellow Gryffindors were going to be far less than a little thrilled at her in a very short time... and she, well she was going to be late for her History of magic class if she didn't get a move on. That said, turning her gaze from over her shoulder to the fore again and coming nose to leering, little, cackling face with the poltergeist was NOT something she was thrilled to find herself doing. Screwing up her face in agitation she all but growled under her breath..

" Get out of it Peeves! ... I've no time to deal with you right now!..."

The little man snickered and leaned back on arms crossed behind his head to float in mid air before her. A wide and mischievous smirk spread across his lips and bloomed into an all out toothy grin.. Tut, tut, tut. Naughty, naughty, you'll get caughty!... Peeves knows.. what's your game.. quite the trick, but all the same.. thinks he'll rat you out he doe's... " He left off at that cackling and Rory gritted her teeth and tried to shush him with a finger to her lips.. yeah, as if that would work.. the poltergeist cackled wickedly and swooped over to a nearby suite of Armour, giving it a firm shove and spilling it in a rattling mess of metal across the floor.. before the noise had a chance to settle he mockingly mimicked her shushing finger and the pointed over her shoulder before disappearing with a small 'pop'. Wheeling around to where the little man had pointed she frowned as Professor Binns floated by.. the ghost didn't bother to pause as he spoke.. Your late Miss. Blake.. five points from Gryffindor... His gaze trailed down to take in the Armour with bored, unconcerned notice.. And another two for all of this..do magic it back in one piece before coming to class won't you? .. Floating onward he vanished through the solid wall of his class room.

Rory's jaw hung slack..

" But, ... I didn't!....it was!... arrrghhh!! "

Her mouth clamped shut in a thin line and she mumble a charm to right the armor before storming after the professor. She of course used the door to enter the class and still grumbling under her breath she slid down the first vacant seat.. which of course just 'had' to be at the front of the class. Pulling out her book she flipped it open and was just settling in to sub-comb to the comfortably numb glazed look that all the students adapted during Professor Binns lectures, when something caught her eye. Her's and that of half the class. Peeves had stuck his head out of the blackboard behind Professor Binns and was blowing a silent raspberry...directly..at..her.. that's was it then... Gritting her teeth she picked up her text book and hurled it at the the git.. just as Professor Binns turned back to the class mid lecture. The book flew right through his transparent nose and landed with a sound thunk where Peeves's head had been a moment before. Rory's eyes shot wide in surprise and she cringed and sank a bit in her seat. The class erupted in laughter and it was most likely that.. the break in the stagnant calm of his classroom, more so than offense of having a book thrown through him, that caused Binns to look calmly down at her and drop the axe so to speak.. Detention I think Miss Blake... there's one being held now I believe.. first floor..second classroom on the right.. report to professor Slughorn.. he started back on his lecture in the same monotone voice as always and left her to see her self down to detention.

Just Bloody freaking brilliant.. grumbling to herself the whole way she set off for the mentioned class room and knocked subtly before pushing the door open and glaring around the room. If anything could possibly have made the last hour worse, it was the sight of the other student she was to share her detention with. Al.. Godric, Merlin.. and all thing magical hated her today..hated her bad... they must.. because now she found herself locked into an indefinite amount of time of no doubt boring and unpleasant work.. in the company of a boy who though he happened to be her best friend, was someone she was decidedly ill at for the moment. The git had gone and been daft.. trying to..to what, stick up for her? It was done, over with, yeah? Soren had split with her and that was that. And all his temper induced showing out had accomplished was to totally embarrass the hell out of her when she'd finally caught word of it, and land himself a healthy dose of detentions and a suspension from the first match of the season and the practices leading up to it! It was this more than anything else that had her so bloody angry at him.. what if they lost the match because he'd been to concerned with playing the daft role of big brother slash defender for her to keep that temper of his in check? Al had always been the fairly calm and collected sort, or at least that was the face he'd worn and he was good enough at it to fool his very best friend all these years. Sure he could get mad, but he'd always been long in being pushed to that point. Usually he'd seemed to control it well enough ... but lately it seemed he was less and less capable of doing so.. maybe it 'had' been that damn manor and those hateful people that had caused it.. as Al had mentioned fearing back i his room at Grimauld. One thing she did know was that Al was changing, in a way she really didn't care fore.. in fact, his lapses in temper, like the one with Soren... well, to be honest it was sort of scaring her. Not that she'd ever think Al would turn his newly temper on 'her' If she didn't know another thing about well.. anything... she knew for a fact that Al would never intentionally hurt her. No, her fear was for him.. what if he lost it at the wrong time or with the wrong person one of these days? ..What if he got hurt...like really hurt as a result? The fact that Al was fast approaching the age to be able to join the Order crossed her mind and she frowned, shrugging the unpleasant thought of his leaving her behind here at school away. Walking up to the front of the class she thuncked her books down and resigned herself to a rather grumpy though tolerant expression.

"So what's he got us doing then?" She eyed the box of erasers with a curled lip and then looked up to Al.. and her breath caught.. was he..crying? Her heart lurched at the though and she quickly tried to settle the traitorous thing.. she was mad at him, with a good reason to be... she didn't 'care' if he was upset about something or feeling bad... yeah, Rory...keep telling yourself that..

[mgirl03]

He had been so lost in his thoughts and the task that was set at hand, that Al didn't hear the knock at the door, or said door opening. As if nothing was happening, as if nobody was standing behind him, he picked up two more erasers, but didn't begin to clap them yet. The dust cloud from the two before had mostly disappeared, but his eyes were still tear-filled, and he knew that his voice must be choked. He resisted the tickling feeling in his throat that told him to cough, and instead took a few deep breaths through his mouth, facing his head towards the window where the dust cloud hadn't been.

Honestly, if he planned on being an Auror and an Order member, he needed to learn how to be alert. Al jumped as the sound of thunking books sounded off behind him, and turned slightly to see Rory, which immediately caused his heart to jump. He blinked hard, realizing after a moment that they were still filled to the brim with tears that probably made him look like a sap. Great, did she think he was crying? He watched as she looked up at him, and by the way her face seemed to go from a curled lip to a more caring one, he thought that she must. Well, at least she still cared about him enough to care if he was upset...

"Clapping erasers," he forced out, and sure enough, his voice was choked with the dust and lack of talking. Al forcefully cleared his throat, reaching up with the sleeve of his arm to rub at his arms, before staring back down at his best friend. "This...isn't what..."

He cleared his throat again and continued, "Damn dust." To prove his point he let out a cough, which succeeded in expelling some of the dust in his lungs. Taking another deep breath and rubbing at his stream eyes, Al lifted the corner of his mouth in a slight smile, wondering if maybe during this detention, he and Rory could get to the forgiveness stage of this fight.

To be perfectly truthful, this fighting with her was doing a number on his head, and on his heart. Ever since he had gotten banned from the first game, and Rory found out and got ill at him...Well, the few people who still liked to talk to him were convinced that he seemed off because of not being able to play in the big game. They were right in a small way--it did kill him that he couldn't play, but he would be alright, because he knew that next game (most likely) he would be back in the action. No, what was really eating at Al was that his own best friend wasn't talking to him, or if she did, she was cold towards him. It ached in his heart to know that she was that mad at him, to the point where they weren't talking. They never went without talking, even when one of them did something stupid.

It didn't help that this time, he had been the one that didn't think--the one that had been rash and irresponsible and reckless. Al's job was to keep Rory from getting into trouble, and getting herself hurt, and what he do to set an example? Punched her ex boyfriend in the stomach, without giving warning. It was a cowardly thing to do, and while half of him freely admitted it, the stubborn half (probably his mum's genes) kept saying over and over that he had had his reason. Soren had hurt Rory, and he was...he was smitten with her. Nobody hurt Rory and got away with it.

"So..." he began nervously, and he was glad to hear that his voice was back to normal, and his eyes had stopped streaming. He tossed away his two erasers, and then wiped his hands onto his pants, leaving streaks of white on his thighs. Grimacing, he checked his hands before running them through his hair, eyes still on Rory. "Er...what'd you do?"

He hated this. It felt awkward and wrong. Why did he have to go and punch Soren and get Rory to be ill at him? And yet...why was Rory ill? Albus still couldn't figure that part out. Soren had tore up her heart, and so he socked the guy, and Rory suddenly didn't want him to get the guy back? Was it...was it because she still had deep feelings for the bloke? Al's stomach gave a particularly painful lurch, and he took in a silent breath. That was probably it, right? Rory was still smitten with the guy, so she didn't like it that her best mate went and punched him. Not to mention getting kicked off the team wouldn't have made Rory happy (or the rest of the team, for that matter). It rather hurt, though, to think that Rory would care enough for Soren that she would get mad at her own best friend because he tried to get revenge for her.

'Maybe he was becoming more important to her than you are, Albus,' he thought to himself bitterly, and he quickly reached out to grab the two erasers he had sat down and began to clap them together, away from his face. 'Maybe Rose is dead off, and Rory will never have feelings for you. Maybe she'll still stuck on Soren, and aches for him every night. Maybe she's considering never being your friend again because of what you did.'

It all came back to the same thing, didn't it? Everything was messed up because he had let his temper go and had punched his own captain. A boiling hatred, stronger than ever, formed in Al's stomach toward Malfoy Manor and every bloody Death Eater. It was their fault that he was like this. Before that damn attack, he had his feelings under control. Before that attack, he hadn't been head over heals for Rory. He hadn't been an angry and moody git. Ever since they tortured him, he had been different. It seemed as if it wasn't going away, either.

But he had to try and get back to normal. If he wanted those lessons from his father, if he wanted back on the Quidditch team, if he wanted to stay being Rory's best friend. He had to master his anger once again, he had to go back to being regular old Al. He had to try harder. Slowly, Al's face went from a bitter expression to one of calmness. There, that was better. He felt it safe to turn back around, and watch his friend once more, wondering if they were going to be able to get through a conversation, or if this would be just like any time lately. Al sucked in a deep breath, letting it out through his nose, wondering if the relationship he had with Rory was permantly screwed up, all because of him.

[.RORY KAY BLAKE !]

Rory watched him for a for a moment, straight lipped and for all the world trying not to find any humor in the situation once she'd heard him state the reason for his tears. She was angry at him after all and wasn't about to just 'let it go',.. she had her reasons. How would he have liked it if it had been Cissa who'd broken his heart and she'd done something like that? Well yeah, sure..so they were over and Al'd been the one to break it off, but what if he hadn't? What if she'd been the one to hurt him and Rory had gone in front of practically the whole school..or at least enough of them to have a solid bit of gossip start flying, and done something daft like that?! Told the girl off for hurting her best mate or even going so far as to get her back for it in some way..not that she would have.. (in public anyway) She could take a good guess that he'd have been less than thrilled if the roles had been reversed..if he'd had to deal with what she had been. Even if Al had the best of intentions in doing it. So she fought to keep a straight face when he coughed up the dust and wiped at his eyes, though when his mouth creased up ever so slightly in a hopeful smile she couldn't help the pleasant flutter of her stomach or the smirk that fought its way onto her face, Rolling her eyes she gave an exasperated sigh to try and cover it..

" Sure..sure... look, I'm not all that thrilled to be here either, yeah? Don't see me crying over it though right? "

She cast him a rather tight grin before dropping her gaze to the erasers. Yeah.. it had been a rather edged crack.. a bit on the mean side even. But no one had ever claimed Rory to be nice or considerate when ill at someone, Al was no exception. If anything he tended to catch it worse than others as in Rory's mind being best mates they shouldn't have to deal with being angry at one another. She didn't like it, it upset her..and therefor put her in a right fowl mood all over. Never mind the times in the past, not to mention the times that would no doubt come about in the future when it would be 'her' fault they were at each other.

Glowering at the box of muggle blocks, loaded with enough chalk powder to suffocate a mountain giant, let alone two students, she frowned and picked one up. A rather grossed out grimace bringing the curl back to her lip as she eyed the thing. They had to 'clap' them he said? 'All' of them?? She gazed back down into the box looking rather incredulous. Merlin's Shorts and his beard for that matter as well..

" What'd they do? Raid an entire muggle High school for them?? Not worried the place might notice them all gone? "

Snorting in contempt she picked up a second eraser and holding her hands out away from her she banged them together. Instantly a white cloud billowed out around her and just as quickly her eyes bulged and and she gasped for air. Right, moisture was building in her eyes.. this so sucked. She had a mind to magic them all clean as her wand had yet to be confiscated. But seeing as she was standing across from a prefect..and one that was probably less than thrilled with her for all the silent treatment he'd been getting lately, she doubted he'd be all that willing to go along with such a suggestion. Since when had she ever had to second guess how Al would react to skiving off on something? Since when had she ever found herself plotting such things alone without him? Sure they'd fought before.. but nothing like this.. it was awkward.. and difficult, confusing and the very type of thing she'd been trying to avoid between them since that first odd flip of her stomach last year when he'd given that dopey lopsided grin of his and tweaked her nose as always.. that grin wasn't so dopey anymore.. it was trouble that's what it was.. made her feel and think about Al in ways that frightened her, because if acted on they'd cause things to change.. they were changing anyway though, now in ways she couldn't control and her stubborn anger at that fact had her showing out and making things worse, when little be-known to her a simple kind word tossed Al's way would go a lot father in solving the problem.

She knocked lose the dust from another set, sneezing a time or two and stubbornly blinking back the tears that were trying their best to do their job and re-moisten her quickly parching eyes. Al spoke again, asking what she'd done to receive the detention and at first she didn't say anything. Working her way through another set or two of the erasers as the silence dragged on and she tried to decided just how much of that little story she was willing to share. the end reason for the detention was simple and harmless enough she supposed. Screwing up her face at the injustice of it she finally broke the quiet.

" I'm here... because Peeves is a loud mouthed git and Professor Binn's hasn't got a sense of humor..."

Frowning she muttered out the rest of it.

" Sort of lost it in History of magic class an' chucked a book at Peeves... thing is, he was poking out of the wall just behind Binn's head.. sooo..yeah..."

She grimaced at the memory and side stepped the fact that she'd lost their house seven points before that point.

"wasn't my fault though, hes such a nasty, nosy little git some times.. "

She left off at that point hoping he wouldn't put two and two together and realize that for Peeves to bug you..really bug you as he'd done to her, he had to be able to get some twisted joy out of it beyond the mundane casual annoyance a rude passing comment or well aimed ink pellet could create. You had to already be in a bit of a fix that he could step in and make all the worse for you. And that for Rory to retaliate instead of laughing at something as simple as Peeves poking his head through a wall, there had to be more to it. Knowing Al as she did, she rather doubted that it would slip his attention.. the guy was pretty sharp when it came to reading between the lines.. and the scattering of yellow and red flecks that had just sent sparks throughout the gray of her eyes wouldn't help matters.. maybe if she kept her gaze buried in chalk clouds and didn't get so nervous or flat out angry that the damn things went all out yellow or red, she might stand a chance of his not catching on.. or at least choosing to let the subject drop.

It was damn well confusing.... When it came down to it, was followed to the source, it had sort of been Al's fault she'd ended up sculking around in the hall in the first place. That in doing so she'd attracted the attention of Peeves and in short that it had all lead up to this final moment of tear inducing chalk clouds. So why then didn't she want him to know about it? Why was she hoping he wouldn't read deeper into things and ask? Why not let him feel just a bit bad for what she'd been going through, yeah? Because he was her best friend... that was why. As angry as she was at him over the whole bloody ordeal, she knew that seeing him upset, especially because she had purposely caused it, would only makes things much worse and far more painful to deal with. Her mind roamed back over the previous night in the dorms and she could feel the crimson in her eyes grow and a hot tear that had nothing to do with clouds of chalk worked its way out of the corner of her eye to streak a trail through the dust on her check. Stubbornly she rubbed an arm harshly across her eyes and muttered..

"damn chalk.. "

[mgirl03]

This was not going to be easy, and it was not going to pleasant. Not that he had expected this to be like a simple day in Charms class. Nothing dealing with Rory was ever easy, Al was starting to figure out. What was happening between them right now, though...this was new territory for the both of them. Their fighting hadn't ever been this bad, nor this awkward. This row was easily the worst one that they had ever had, and the worst part was that Al had caused it. His anger had caused it, his temper had caused it. Everything about him just seemed to be a screw up lately.

He felt a hopeful tug in his stomach as Rory seemed to smirk at him, but it disappeared immediately as she let out a crack that had him practically wincing. So it was going to be a detention full of that, eh? Well, he wasn't biting this time. Usually, their fights were double-sided, with both of them being a bit mean until somebody caved and apologized. Not this time, though. He wouldn't fight back. He'd take what she threw at him, just because he knew that this was punishment for being so high tempered. There was nothing he could really say to her, anyways. He'd already apologized a few times about punching her beloved Soren (without the beloved in there, of course).

His face staid impassive as Al continued on with their work, not cracking a smile at Rory's joke, nor even really paying attention to her as she began to clap erasers too. His mind was elsewhere, fretting over how he could fix things, how he had let himself spiral out of control, how he had managed to screw up the greatest relationship he had ever had with anybody who wasn't family? They were fighting worse than ever--they weren't even barely talking to each other. Things were awkward. Rory was horribly mad. And he? He was the one who had done this, who had changed into some different person, whom got angry and let themselves go ballistic. This was all wrong. Everything about this was wrong.

After a moment, Albus glanced at Rory, taking in her watery eyes, the way the dust seemed to be tickling her throat just as bad as it had, and was, his. Glancing down at his chalky-erasers, Al murmured, "told you so." The words were so quiet, though, that there was no way Rory could have heard them. For a moment, of flash of hot anger went through his brain. Maybe he should be just as mean to his best friend as she was being to him. She didn't seem to want to even try to understand why he had done what he did. Rory was ill at him and hadn't been there, hadn't witnessed it, didn't understand what his intentions had been. Serve her right to have nasty words slung at her, wouldn't it?

'No,' his thoughts snarled forcefully, and Al quickly began clapping his set of erasers. No, he would not be like that. He wouldn't be cruel, he wouldn't 'give Rory a taste of her own medicine'. He knew that what he had done was wrong. He knew that punching Soren had been a dumb move, that he had lied to Rory, that what she was dishing out to him was completely deserved.

When finally the silence was broken by Rory answering his question, Al's hands twitched, and he had to fumble not to drop his erasers. Quickly, he stowed them away back into the 'clean' box, shaking his head a little to free his black hair of dust as he listened to Rory's explanation of what happened. The more she said, the more he frowned. Al knew Peeves--everybody did--and it was common knowledge that he generally respected trouble makers, or at least more than he respected most anybody else. Why, then, would Peeves bug Rory to the point of getting her into trouble? The way Al saw it, Peeves should be quite fond of Rory in that way of his, seeing as all the trouble she got into.

Yet he had set out to get her into trouble, to really irk her. How had he done it? Rory wasn't the type to be annoyed by the usual pranks of that darn Poltergist. What could have been happening that made Peeves look into it, making it worse? Al blinked in confusion, not sure of what to think of this, or whether or not he should push the subject. His eyes bore into Rory's face, and he saw with a sense of foreboding that red and yellow was dancing with that beautiful grey. Something was...wrong. Something had her both angry and nervous, and something had been going on before Peeves stepped in.

Had Rory been worrying over things, and so Peeves had made her day worse for her? Had she been feeling particularlly ill at him, Al? Was it his fault that his friend was in detention? Yeah, it probably was. No, it was most definitely had to be. Everything lately was his fault, and he might as well get used to it. Malfoy Manor had changed him, and not for the better, and now it was ruining his life. Scorpius was in danger, everybody was fearful, and he was an angry git who caused his own best friend to basically cut ties with him. He was losing his mind because of them. No, not just them, but because of himself. He was weak, to let the anger control him, and weak for letting himself change.

Change. Al glaned at Rory again, and saw her rub at her eyes as a tear rolled down her cheek, muttering something about chalk. He wanted to ask her about what was wrong, and comfort her if she was upset. He wanted to demand to the know the real reason that she was in this detention, and how Peeves had managed to get to her so bad. He wanted to talk everything out like they use to do, and end up laughing at the whole ordeal as if none of it mattered. He wanted things to be normal with his best friend again. Instead of doing any of this, though, Al turned his back on Rory and the erasers, and reached down to draw a picture from his pocket.

It was creased, completely worn, and the color was starting to fade from the picture, but the true meaning shined through anyways. It was the picture that Rory had given him a few weeks ago, when he had awoken up in Grimmauld Place. She had shown him a picture of what they had use to be--at that point he had been angry, but mostly sad. A crying mess. That picture, though, had helped him. Now, he looked down at it, hoping it would help again. There they were, laughing with each other. His green eyes took in their actions greedily, from the bunny ears to Rory takling him.

A lump that didn't have to do with the chalk dust formed in Al's throat, and he stuffed the photo back into his pocket before turning around and grabbing some more erasers. He didn't clap them though, and didn't pretend that he was going to. He took a step towards the redhead in the room, looking down, trying to meet her eyes. She was angry with him, and they weren't talking, and this had to end. The awkwardness had to end. His temper problem had to end, because he missed those two people in that picture. It had done the trick, it seemed. Al's resolve was hardened, and he knew that he had to fix this right now, before it got worse.

"I know you're upset with me," he said bluntly, not bothering to hide the raw pain that was in his voice. "I know that I've probably put you through hell, yeah? Punching Soren and all. And I know this probably won't do any good. But, I'm sorry. Alright? I apologize, again, for what I did. I shouldn't have let my temper get the better of me."

"There's just...there's something I don't get," Al continued, and he let out a small sigh. "Are you ill because I lied to you? Is it because I got into trouble and got...y'know, some heavy punishment? Why, Rory? Please, explain to me why you're so mad at me so that I can try and apologize enough to fix things."

[.RORY KAY BLAKE !]

Al had fixed her with a good long stare as she'd talked about Peeves, one that he'd continued to hold for a short while after she'd fallen silent. He was watching her eyes, she knew he was and made a point of banging the erasers with a bit more force and ducking her head a bit lower into the rising chalk cloud. Sure it intensified the burn and made her throat catch worse with the want to cough. But at least it would allow her some form of shield from being read like a bloody book for once. Al's ability to know just about exactly what she was feeling due to years of practice at getting the colors straight had never really been something she'd minded.. not 'really' minded at any rate. Sure it'd been horribly embarrassing often enough, especially over the last year, and it had been a disadvantage on more occasions than she could count when trying for a prank on him. But when it came down to it, when the frustration or embarrassment had passed, her real feelings on that had been for the most part ones of comfort.. it was often because of his being able to read her like that he'd known what she was feeling at times better than she'd known herself and therefore almost always seemed to know the right way to approach her to make her feel better, clear things up between them or make what was troubling her seem so much smaller.

This time though she found herself not 'wanting' him to have it that easy. Not wanting him to be able to read the nervousness that the addition of the bright yellow to the red flecks would give away. For some stubborn reason a part of her didn't want to be soothed and calmed out of her anger towards Al. It wanted.. almost needed him to know just how bad he'd upset her by snapping, losing it like that.. and if she had to suffer awhile right along with him to get that point, whatever point it was her heart seemed to be trying to impress on him, across then so be it. She hated herself a moment later for that fact as Al, with a last glance her way, turned away from her without so much as a word and occupied himself with rummaging in his pockets. Well she couldn't have it both ways yeah? She'd wanted to block him out, cold shoulder him, and apparently it had worked.. go Rory, yeah? Daft idiot.. stubborn heart.. why the hell was she so set on feeling that way any way?? What did her heart assume that her brain had yet to catch up to? ..Or maybe as always her thoughts were just rushing along at such a reckless paces she'd missed the point somewhere along the way? Glancing up at Al's back she grimaced painfully. Was it normal to actually feel physically sick over being this at odds with your best mate? Even with her crush on him, no sense in denying it to herself at this point, she'd be stupid to try, though she had no intentions of acting on it.. it was still just a crush right? Soren breaking things off had hurt really bad.. but having Al turn away from her like that, seeming to give into her own damn stubborn streak that she was at a loss to control.. it added a horrible, frightening and lonely swoop to the mix that hadn't been present in the pain brought on by her now ex's letter, it was just different some how.. really different.

Really she couldn't blame Al for it..turning his back on her like that. Why should he care that she was angry and upset, like being that way was anything new here lately for her? He was probably sick of it. Probably about ready to tell her something along the lines of how if she couldn't bring herself to forgive her best mate a mistake he'd tried apologizing for on more than one occasion, then maybe they weren't as close of friends as he'd thought. The possibility of that and the fact, that she'd actually deserve it for being the prat she was, cut deep in her heart, and damn did it hurt. Her mind turned over the conversation in her dorms last night. Guilt by association and all that apparently.. she was Al's best mate and the known reason for his blow up. She was there and he wasn't and two of the girls that shared a room with her had seen fit to lay into her as a vent for their anger at Al's part in possibly messing up Gryffindor's chances at winning the upcoming match. She'd endured comments ranging from being accused of not being able to stand up for herself and how people better watch it around her least her nutty defender come storming to her rescue, all the way to jabs about why had she lead Soren on in the first place when she spent nearly all her time with Al and it was obvious they were basically an item. That if anyone should've gotten punched it was Al for causing problems to begin with. How if he liked her he should have just gone on and snogged her rather than doing what he did and screwing things up for Gryffindor. Just when she been about a pixies breath from pummeling both their faces in Al's cousin Lucy had come in for the night and had promptly told the girls off. That was the awesome thing about Al's family.. was Lucy mad at Al like everyone else? Of course.. was she going to stand by and let them have a go at her cousin behind his back and provoke the girl she'd not only roomed with since first year at school but had also seen at most of her family functions.. not on your life. She'd gotten them to shut it, save one last jab about how yeah, they'd best watch the Al comments or she might do something just as stupid as Al had and then the team would be out two players because she'd be rotting in detention.

She snorted at this last bit of memory.. been right in the end on that part hadn't they? She clapped two more erasers together and continued on with her thoughts, doing her best not to let Al's silent shoulders draw her gaze to often.. She'd been fed up with them and rather than deal the next day with yet more jabs and comments she'd taken the time on her way out, having woken before either of them, to do something about it. She wasn't awesome at charms true.. Transfiguration was more her thing.. but somehow she'd doubted turning them into the whining pigs they'd been acting like would have ended in something as simple as a detention. So instead she'd mustered up the better of her limited knowledge of charms useful for pranks and had cast on the two a dual lip locker jinx and silencing charm.. to get either to undo they'd have to get the reverse incantations to both spoken at the same time. Other wise they'd be spending the better part of the day mumbling threw sealed lips or flapping their gums in silence.. Neither of them could ever be mistaken for a Ravenclaw.. so she figured they'd be having a fairly quiet day. Serve them right.. pair of bloody git acting prats..

Her thoughts were pulled from the past back to present at the motion of Al rising to.. get more erasers? Yeah, well what else would he do? That was what the detention was right? .. But he didn't bother lifting them to clap the dust free. instead he stepped over to her and just laid it out there. Another apology.. why couldn't he get that it wasn't just about 'who' he'd punched? .. She scoffed mentally, how could she expect him to when she wasn't even really sure exactly what it was beyond that? Al's voice was laced, heavy with a hurt that dug into her heart. How in the bloody hell could she find it so hard to let a grudge go when the damn thing kept eating her up so bad inside? And then he flat out asked her .. why? Why exactly couldn't she let this go and what could he do to make things right between them again. How the hell could she answer that when her heart had all the answers and was either holding them hostage or else having one hell of a time shoving them up into her stubborn, prat of a brain?

Hesitantly she lifted her gaze from the erasers. He'd been waiting for her to and their eyes locked, his seeming to search for answers she wasn't even sure of herself. Staring back into his bright green, the colors began flecking her own... crowding each other as if unsure just which feeling was entitled to the space encircling her pupil.. which emotion was taking precedence over the others.. it was all just a mixed up jumble of a prismatic mess.. though the Grey was still holding its dominance. Dropping her gaze to the erasers again she sighed.

" .. Look, I don't really know myself alright.. it's .. " She drew in a deep breath and shook her head slightly before giving her explanation another go. " Yeah you lied to me.. and it hurt.. and your getting held from the game... " Her features darkened a bit at this.." We'll I can't say I'm thrilled on that either yeah? Nor will I be for awhile..so lets just not touch on that ok? Because I'll get over it..eventually.. but.. your losing it like that Al.. " She shook her head and tossed the erasers back in their box before dusting her hands off and looking back up at him with a furrowed brow. " The first time I heard someone talking about it I wanted to deck them for lieing.. because I know you better than that.. or... rather I thought I did. But then I heard it from some one else.. and then a whole load of people... so when it goes from being a nasty rumor who's spreader is worthy of being the target of my bat to being the main talk of the school its a pretty good guess that its true yeah? .. So then I had to wonder..what the hells gotten into my best mate? " Her eyes sought out the scenery beyond the window and her voice quieted and faltered with emotion held stubbornly in check. " .... Why are you changing like that?.. It's suppose to be me and you.. right? I'm the screw up and your the one who keeps it all straight, yeah? .." Frowning she looked back to her lap and finally lost out to a battle with the tears that had been threatening to form. " Bit daft and selfish of me to think that way though.. you having been through all you have.. it's just.. well, you've scared me Al.. what's going to happen when you leave off from school? Join your dad and the others? .. what if you lose it at the wrong time or with the wrong person and end up hurt.. or... worse? " You've never needed me the way I need you.. you've always been able to hold your temper, never needed a safety break.. so I've tried not worry so much over it. But now... " The built up tears won out and dripped down into her lap, lifting a hand she rubbed at her eyes, launching a frustrated curse at herself for giving into them. She'd sure been tearing up a bloody well lot lately..it sucked..it really,really, sucked.

[mgirl03]

He had messed up bad this time. The worst thing about it, though, was that he didn't even really understand what made this so much more horrible than any other things he'd done before. So, yes, he punched another guy, and got suspended from the Quidditch game. They would get another replacement! Not to mention that other people got into fights all the time, so why was he any different? It was because he was him, because he was Albus Potter that made what he did such a bad thing. Mr. Responsible losing it? Oh, tell the newspapers. Didn't anybody understand that he made mistakes too, and had a temper just like any other person in the world? He wasn't perfect!

As Rory's eyes met his, though, Albus knew that there was something different with her reason of being ill at him. He listened to her with a frown, slowly nodding. Yes, he had lied, and he felt bloody awful, and yes Gryffindor was in a worse state now in terms of winning the game. This was his best friend, though, and just because of the team being possibly out one game didn't seem like a good enough reason for her to be mad. Sure, there was also the whole Soren thing, as they had just broken up and it was...possible for Rory to still harbor feelings for him. Her eyes, though, said something different. There was something else to her anger.

As she continued on, Al shifted his feat uncomfortably, even as a slight stab of annoyance went through his body. There it was again--the notion that he never lost it, that he was Mr. Perfect Prefect, that him having a temper was something new. Sure, he usually kept himself in check, but everybody had to have a time where they just blew up, right? Keeping things bottled up for long periods of time did stuff to a person's emotions and normal personality, didn't it? Albus patted together the two erasers he was holding gently, creating a miniscule dust cloud, although his eyes were still fixed on Rory's face.

"What the hell's gotten into my best mate?" Al grimaced, tossing aside his erasers just for something to do. Not that Rory was looking at him anymore--her gaze had wandered out the window, and as he wiped his hands on his robes, his bright green eyes looked the same way, as if they would both find answer out there. In the silent room, Rory's words seemed to echo around, bouncing off the walls and replaying over and over in Al's mind. Or was that all just in his head? Either way, it the words seemed to be mocking him. What the hell had gotten into him, eh? You didn’t see Scorpius beating up people. You didn’t see other kids who fancied girls going around punching their ex boyfriends.

Indignation seemed to take over again, though, a defiance in his brain that brought about another spark of anger. He had a right to make a mistake though, didn't he? Hadn't Rose even said that a person who got captured and tortured was expected to be a bit off for a while? So he punched somebody and got kicked off the team for a game. So he let his temper get the better of him and got into some trouble. This didn't mean that he was always going to fly off the handle like that. Maybe this was just a fluke thing, a one time blow up! As soon as Al thought this, though, he knew that this wasn't just a fluke thing. Even now, he kept feeling angry. Things that usually just irritated him were actually making him mad. Maybe, though, it might turn out to be like that week of moodiness and sadness. A week of being different from his usual self, and then all is well.

This, though, wasn't true either, and he knew it. He wasn't generally a weepy guy, Al, and so that week of being really moody and crying all the time was a fluke, a random thing in his personality. A temper, though--he had always hidden a temper from everybody, including his father and Rory. Nobody had seen how bad his temper could get, because even punching Soren wasn't the worst that could happen. Not only that, but when he had been weepy, he had had reasons for his emotions (even if they were dumb and mislead). And people had been able to help him get rid of those feelings. After a good talking to, he had felt better.

His temper problem was different, though. The things he blew up over were things that only called for irritation, possibly a bad mood for a few hours. Maybe a few choice words towards somebody, but not punching and general chaos. Not only that, but nobody--not Rory, nor his father, nor anybody else could talk him out of his temper problem. They couldn't hold his hand and lead him out of the problem. They couldn't make him get his head back on straight. Only he could do that to himself. If he wanted to become Mr. Calm again, he had to travel the road alone.

As Rory started speaking again, Al's eyes traveled back to Rory's face. Her words made him frown deeper. She was supposed to be the 'screw up' and he was supposed to be the calm one? Well...it was true. It had always been that way, really. Rory would get into trouble, and he would be there to save the day. He was Albus Potter, the kid with a plan, the Potter who kept his cool, who was open minded, who had the answer. Who was always there for everybody, especially Rory. He watched, laced with guilt, as Rory looked downwards, eyes sparkling with tears. They were getting to the real reason as to why she was ill at him.

She was...scared? Scared that he would blow up at the wrong time, bite off more than he can chew and end up dead? That was why she was really angry at him, because he had scared her? After a moment of silence, Al's left hand made the familiar path through his hair. Well...what was he supposed to say? He couldn't very well lie to her and say that it wasn't possible that he would get hurt after joining the Order, or leaving school. He couldn't even really promise that his temper wasn't going to be a problem anymore. Albus stood there awkwardly as he watched tears make their way down Rory's cheek, but he didn't know if she would want him comforting her. Was she really ill at him, or hiding the fear behind anger? How was he supposed to make this better?

"I'm not going to say that everything will always be alright with me, that I won't get hurt," he said in a low voice, and after a bit of hesitation, he reached out take ahold of Rory's hand. "I'd be lying if I said I might not get into trouble, or have my temper get in the way once or twice."

With his free hand, Al reached into his pocket again, bringing out that picture of him and Rory in the Burrow's garden. He held it out for her to look at, his frown lifting enough for him to have a half-hearted smile.

"I've got a temper, Rore. Always have and always will. It's just never really shown itself, not in front of others," Al continued. "I didn't mean for it to blow, and I'm sorry I scared you. Sorry that I let the anger win and ended up punching Soren. I want to say that nothing bad will ever come of my temper again, and that I'm completely under control again, but I just can't. I'm not completely under control again, and I'm sure it'll be quite some time before I'm completely back to normal."

Al's bright eyes peered into Rory's face for a moment longer before looking down at the photo he held in his hand. He watched the loop, staying silent for a bit, wishing that they could get back to those care free times, when there wasn't any worry about war, or love, or anything else like that. When he knew that he had to say more, Al heaved a rather large sigh.

"Remember the week after the kidnapping? I was a complete mess, yeah? Moody and crying all the time. But I got better. You helped me get better, and helped me get one step closer to being my old self," he said. "Well...you can't help me get rid of my temper, Rory. nobody can, I'm the only one who can fix this. And I swear to you and to Merlin that I'm going to try. I'll get my emotions back into check, and I'll try to make sure that I never get myself into a situation where I end up...well, where I end up hurt or dead. I'll try to be like the guy in the picture again.

"I really am sorry," Al whispered after another pause. "About all of this. About being a git to you and to everybody else, about lying, and punching Soren, and scaring you, and making you worry over whether or not I'll be fine after school. I'll work on my temper problem. I'll do my best to make sure you have little to worry over. But...Rory, it'd be a lot easier for me if my best mate wasn't ill at me."

[.RORY KAY BLAKE !]

His reply started out pretty much as she'd expected. He couldn't promise anything.. couldn't promise he wouldn't end up hurt... well of course he couldn't, that was it then, right? that was what hurt so bad after all, what had her so angry at... well just angry?.. Realizing, after hearing about his show of temper..thinking on it to much and 'Knowing', that when it came down to it, once he was 'out there' in the thick of things, Al stood as much a chance of getting hurt as any other order member. When exactly had she gotten it in her daft head that he was somehow different in that respect? That somehow, just somehow he'd be immune to mistakes out there.. that he'd always be able to make the right decisions, keep a clear head and therefore keep safe? That simply because he was Al.. no not Albus Potter..just plain Al.. her best friend.. the person she needed most, had always been there for her.. that he would continue always being there, that 'they' would always be safe as long as she protected their friendship, kept it just that.. Her breath caught and she looked down to their hands as Al took her's in his own. Her eyes pulling up briefly to his face as he continued to talk about being able to make no promises regarding his temper getting the better of him in the future, staying safe after school.. and the fleeting notion hit her that maybe..just maybe..Al might actually feel a bit more strongly than he let on..like she did? Maybe.. maybe she should just tell him.. tell him how she felt and get the damned issue out there, on the table and sorted? .. maybe it would make a difference if he knew.. help somehow?..

It was then he reached in his pocket and withdrew something that when held out for her to see had her beating back her consideration of only a moment before. She watched the repetitive loop of the two care free friends that seemed to step out of time so long ago though it had really be such a short time. He'd kept it? Even more of a tug at her heart was that he'd apparently been keeping it 'on' him as she had from the time it had been taken till she'd given it to him at Grimald. No.. taking her hand was just a sign of their deep friendship.. here was the proof of it, this picture they both held such importance in. Al went on to strengthen her resolve by admitting that his temper was something that only he could get in check, he went on to try and reassure her that although he couldn't promise, he planned to try, swore to her that he would try.. he wanted things to be as they were in that picture as well, when things were simple.. because their friendship meant 'that' much to him as well, so be damned if she'd screw it up by confessing to feelings that had to pass in time.. because those feelings would ruin things.. turn to rubbish a friendship that was already facing a rough patch. No she was making things worse by caring that much.. or rather in that way. Al had said it himself.. he needed his best mate not to be ill at him.. it would make sorting things a ton easier for him .. right. Trying for a brave smile she gave her eyes a finale stubborn rub and then looked up at him again.

" yeah..ok Al... "

Reaching into the box she drew out another set of erasers to bang. A shadow of the smirk she often wore when joking graced her lips and a brow rose..

" you know If you lie to me like that again your so dead right?.. "

Her smirk faltered a bit. one other thing had to be addressed.. Soren might have been a git in the way he broke things off.. but she was just as much to blame for it happening, even if she wasn't sorry for the reason in the least. Al was her friend, that was that.. but Al had to leave Soren be.. whatever his reason for feeling justified in going after him, he was the team captain. Not to mention, though she didn't hold out much hope that they'd ever be friends again, she had hopes of one day walking back on to the pitch for practice and games alike and being able to at least look him in the eye when he spoke to the team. Did she still care about him?.. well, it didn't feel 'good' to think back on the times they'd spent together and know it was done, over.. but honestly.. it did feel fair.. she might have firmly decided not to act on it, but the fact of the matter was there.. she was crushing on her best friend far harder than any feelings she could still stir up regarding Soren.

" Hey Al? ... about Soren.. lay off yeah? ..I mean, I know your not planing to hit him again or anything. But we're a team out on the pitch, right? And you being a prat to him..I know you think you should, that he deserves it.. and maybe he does, sort of..but.. "

Frowning she bit her lip, shook her head and sighed..

" It's as much my doing as his.. so try not to be so ill at him ok? "

[mgirl03]

It seemed as if luck might be slowly turning to be on his side. As Al looked down at Rory, picture still clutched in one hand, her hand in his other, he saw something seem to shift in her face. A smile broke out on her face, and while it wasn't exactly the Rory smile he had come to know and love, it was a smile all the same, and so he felt his shoulders relax a little bit. She wasn't going to curse him, at least. Maybe they were getting past the anger and the fear. Maybe he would at least have his best friend back on his side, because if he just had Rory, then everything else would work out alright.

Reluctantly, he released the hand he was holding, allowing Rory to grab more erasers. At her rather weak threat he let out a nervous laugh, but gave a vigurous nod, to show that he understood. He smiled at her, but his own smile faultered as her smirk did, and he feared that maybe she wasn't completely over her anger after all. Well..he didn't think she was anyways, really. He could tell when things were perfectly okay with Rory. She would be messing up his hair, perhaps, or grinning at him, chucking erasers...Making him inhail a big cloud of chalk dust. Still, her smiling or smirking at him slightly was better than a cold shoulder or the tears that had been leaking down her face. If there was one thing he hated more than Rory being really ill at him, it was if she was also upset, like she had been.

As silence fell over the two, Al slowly folded up the picture he was holding and placed it back into his pocket, before grabbing the set of erasers again. Just as he had lifted them up to bang the dust out of them, Rory turned and spoke to him again, and he slowly lowered his arms back down to his side. At the mention of Soren, he felt that same old buble of anger form in the pit of his stomach, but he forced a deep breath quickly, and shut his eyes for a moment. When he opened them again, Rory was frowning, and he felt a frown take over his face too. Not one of anger, though (thankfully), but more of a thoughtful look. After a small pause, he gave a hesitant nod.

"Yeah...yeah, alright. I'll try...try to be civil towards him," he said slowly. Al's lips twitched up a bit on both sides, although his eyes had a steely glint to them, and the set of his jaw said that he obviously wasn't happy with Soren. "Even if I think he is at fault...Which he is, but yeah, I'll...I'll be nicer towards him. I'll have to if I want to play along side you lot, right?"

Realizing that he had just brought up Quidditch, the exact thing that Rory didn't want him bringing up, Al's face took on a slightly fearful look. He didn't think that his best friend would physically harm him, no matter how mad she was at him, but he still didn't fancy getting her riled up again. Hastily, he added, "But...I can't promise not to still have a few...ill wills towards him. But I did promise to try and keep my temper in check, yeah? So I'll just...I'll work on getting over it, alright?"

After a pause, he continued again. "And...Rory, please don't say this is your fault. If it's...anybodys fault, maybe it's also a bit of mine? Me being a bloke and hanging around you so much, when you'd been...otherwise taken." A sad look flitted across his face, but in the next second Al was smiling, trying to lighten the mood. "But...it's neither here nor there. What's done is done, right? We better get these erasers clapped, or we'll never get out of here."

Quickly, he began to bang the two erasers together, covering up the fact that he had shown sadness at the thought of Rory dating another guy.

[.RORY KAY BLAKE !]

He'd try and be civil.. the hesitation behind that, the look in Al's eyes and set of his jaw, she knew him well enough to read beneath the surface of the megar attempt he made at a smile. He might be agreeing to try and get along with Soren but Al's anger at the whole thing was still there, he was far from being 'over it'. That made her a bit nervous. She couldn't have her best mate trying to play hero for her in this,... didn't he get that? It needed to be dropped, left alone, so they could all just get on with things. Her worry was calmed a bit though as with his next words Al was at least willing to admit that he was still ill at Soren. At least he wasn't planing on putting on some 'everything's fine' front around her to smooth things over, and then still try and go at Soren behind her back yeah? Doing that was something she'd have never have expected of him before.. but then she'd never expected him to go and slug the guy on her behalf either.

What he said had made it clear that he still felt Soren mostly, if not totally, at fault for the whole thing.. so whatever yeah? Al was an overprotective, pratish, and yet awesome for caring that much, best friend. Even if he had shown as much in a way she'd rather him not have.. could she fault him for wanting to stand up for her? Honestly if the shoe were on the other foot would she 'really' have been as reserved as she was faulting him for not being? Thinking back on all the times she's threatened to take her bludger bat to someone on Al's behalf she sort of doubted it. So as long as he tried to keep it in check, not make things worse.. she should probably just let it go, be glad he was the friend that he was. He didn't have to be standing here after all, putting up with her git like attitude after the way she'd been treating him lately.. but he was. So why throw his trying to be a good friend back in his face, right? Then he had to go and make a reference to Quidditch again...

Really she'd have liked to have snapped at him some about it. Taken the not so gentle mickey out of him for fouling things up.. risking the outcome of the game..leaving her to face a team full of ill Quidditch players and a captain she couldn't lock eyes with for company at practices..in short taking most of the fun out of her second favorite subject in the world.. and she would have to.. if on glancing up at her most favorite she hadn't seen his face shadow over with just a touch of what looked like.. fear? The glare that was sent his way was accompanied by a roll of her eyes and the lack of a comment to his question about playing with the team. Smart as he was, Al must have taken the hint as he moved on back to a somewhat less touchy topic.He went on to agree that Soren would be remembered when it came to his commitment to try and watch his temper she nodded a bit. It wasn't a guarantee.. but it was a start at least.

Clapping the erasers in her hands together again she coughed as a cloud of the dust was sucked in, making her eyes water and her lungs burn. Her attention was caught again though and she jerked her head up to frown at Al as he tried to place part of the blame of her breakup on himself. She didn't miss the sad look that flited across his features, but mistook it for remorse at his apparently feeling he was some how responsible for partially causing it.

" No.. it 'is' here Al.. because it wasn't your fault, so stop thinking like that, yeah? 'I' chose to ask Soren out.. and 'I'm' the one that's to st... " Catching her self she sighed in irritation at her near slip up and frustration at having to watch how she worded things. " Look, he's the one that couldn't handle us being friends..spending time together, yeah? And like I said before if he hadn't broke things off, if he'd just started being a prat about it all, then I'd have ended it anyway. No ones going to make me feel guilty for spending time with my best Friend. And your right, we should probably get a move on with this."

Turning back to her erasers she clapped them together again just as a loud raspberry sounded from the door way. Rory glared through the cloud of dust she'd created, and as it cleared her gaze became more and more of a livid ruby as the little man hovering by the door started taunting. oh ho! Little love birds have had a row now have they? Peeves can help.. He let out an evil cackle and pulled out a straw.. play cupid for Potty and his pet he will.. Grinning Maliciously he slipped several stink pellets quickly into the straw and fired off a round at them.

Not bothering to dodge and miss her chance Rory hurled an eraser with the strength she'd use on a bludger at him and glowered as he just managed to dodge the thing and speed out of the room..his cackles echoing down the hall. Her eraser slammed into the wall and dusted a good section of it in white chalk. Just brilliant.. now she'd be wiping that down before she could leave as well no doubt. Heaving out a frustrated sigh she kicked the leg of the nearest desk menacingly and snarled while plucking a reeking stink pellet from her hair...

" You know.. just 'once' I want to actually hit him before I leave here!...just once.. that's all I'm asking... "