Term 6 - Winter Ball - Great Hall - Everyone

"Of course it didn't hurt, Hunter!" Aoife grinned. "I wouldn't hurt my ex-best friend!" Obviously. "And it's still a dress, however colourful! If you know a spell to change it into jeans and a top then I'd love you forever!" If he didn't, then she still loved him anyway. Just not as much. But she wasn't going to say that out load. That would be embarrassing.

It was true Jen would probably defend her new best friend if they tried anything. It was also true they didn't know many spells. The only spell she had mastered was that fire one and she'd never sink to Evan's level with a spell like that. "I think...we're going to have to wait. Find a time when he's alone and spring then. We'll always win in hand-to-hand combat against that weakling," she joked. "But I'm serious about waiting. If he leaves Jen's side anytime, we need to be ready. To take him by surprise. Question him."

Then, a girl walked over to them. Aoife was pretty sure she was a first year and she'd seen her around the castle a couple of times. But why was she talking to Hunter? And why hadn't she addressed the boy's poor, sweet, Irish best friend? Scowling, she tensed her hands, ready to attack if this intruder tried to get near her best friend's hair. The girl's dress was pretty. A bit too pretty for her taste. Maybe some pumpkin juice would improve it too. She didn't say anything, waiting for one of the other two to make the first mood.

This girl WOULD NOT touch Hunter's hair.

"It wasn't a good Sneakoscope," Jen admitted, shaking her head sadly. Almost cheap...well, actually, it had been expensive but she hadn't put a spell on it to make it being-thrown-at-a-wall-resistant. Perhaps she should do that for her new one, just in case of any more anger fits. Although she tended to take out her anger on other people nowadays, rather than her belongings.

Stylish. She liked that word. It described her well. Because, obviously she was pretty and also very clever. She did things stylishly, definitely. "I'm not being funny," Jennifer began, actually being funny, "but that's what she gets for giving me that picture. Very self-centred and conceited, don't you think?"

Very dynamic. "We couldn't just have a normal, boring school party," she agreed with a smirk on her face. She wondered what would happen when Aoife felt the effects of those wafers. Would she tell someone or brave it? It looked like Aoife's boyfriend had spilled juice on her dress...but why wasn't she angry? It didn't make the dress look any better. It made the girl look worse, if that was even possible.

"Sure, you didn't mean it to hurt," Hunter said under his breath. Honestly, Hunter didn't think that Aoife could hit him hard enough to hurt him if she tried. But he didn't suggest that to her, because he'd rather not test that theory in front of a bunch of people. He grinned when Aoife referred to him as her ex-best friend. Apparently, Aoife took her contracts very seriously. She clearly wouldn't consider him her best friend again until they made another one. "Sorry, I don't think I've learned that spell yet," Hunter joked. "I might be able to set it on fire, though, if that's any help at all."

Aoife suggested that they wait for Evan to be alone before confronting him. "That's probably a good idea," Hunter said. They would have to pay very close attention to Evan and Jen and catch Evan when his bodyguard wasn't with him. "You're right. Without Jen around, if we can catch him before he has a chance to cast spells at us, we can handle him no problem." Aoife was right, though. They needed to be prepared. "Timing is everything here," Hunter agreed.

A voice to his side caught his attention, and he looked over to see a blonde girl saying hello to him. It was Leila, the girl he'd sat next to in his first potions class and chatted with in the stone circle! "Oh, hi Leila!" Hunter said to her, offering her a smile. And Aoife was scowling at the girl. Hunter raised an eyebrow at his friend, unsure of what would make her react like that. Had she ever even spoken to Leila? Maybe Aoife was just annoyed that Leila had only said hello to Hunter. That must be it. "Leila, this is my friend, Aoife," Hunter said, pulling Aoife into the conversation whether she liked it or not. Then, to Aoife, "Leila's a first year, too. She's in Slytherin." Aoife seemed tense, though, and Hunter wasn't sure how she was going to react.

Leila hid her confusion with a smile, Hm, why is she scowling at me, "Nice to meet you Aoife."

Seren wasn't really sure if she wanted to go to the Christmas Ball. She hadn't really met that many people since she'd gotten to Hogwarts, and she might not have anyone to hang out with. She didn't want to just stand there by herself looking like a loser. But her mother had sent her such a pretty dress to wear, and she didn't want to have it go to waste. Maybe she'd even meet some new people. Surely everyone would want to talk to her after seeing how nice she looked when she was all dressed up.

With that thought in mind, Seren dawned the purple dress, pulled on a shawl and stepped into her silver flats. Her dragonfly necklace, which she always wore, hung from her neck. She left her hair down to fall in a cascade of curls over her shoulders. Then, she set off for the ball. As she neared the Great Hall, she caught sight of someone that she actually knew. It was Kynan, the boy from the lake that wasn't afraid of Bertie Botts. "Hi Kynan!" she called, but as she got closer she noticed that he was with a pretty older girl. Oops. Not wanting to interrupt them, Seren simply gave him a little wave and slipped past him into the Great Hall. Maybe he'd find her later if he had some extra time.

There were people everywhere, most of them already divided into little groups. One girl was standing up from the floor. Why had she been sitting on the floor, anyway? Seren didn't know most of them, but she did spot a few familiar faces. Hunter and Aoife. Together again, she noticed, pursing her lips. But they'd said they weren't together together, so she supposed it was alright if she went to talk to them. There was a blonde girl with them, anyway, so she didn't think she'd be pestering them if she joined.

"Hello Hunter," she said sweetly as she joined the small group. She made sure to give the boy a charming smile. "Hi Aoife!" Seren couldn't forget to say hello to the red-head. That would be rude. Her eyes were instantly drawn to the huge orange stain that marred the girl's otherwise white dress. "What happened to your dress?" Seren scoffed. If Seren were wearing a dress like that, she would have been extra careful not to get it filthy. "I'm Seren, by the way," she said to the blonde girl, tucking a large chunk of curls behind her ear.

"That would be cool! I may die or something, but it would be more fun than everyone just TALKING BORING-LY LIKE THEY ARE NOW!" Aoife grinned. Maybe a bit too loudly. But she wasn't trying to offend all the boring people standing around and talking about stupid stuff like classes and teenage love-hate-stinky-ness.

So Leila was trying to make a move on Hunter's hair. WELL THAT WAS NOT GOING TO HAPPEN. HUNTER'S HAIR WAS HERS AND HERS ONLY. "Hi Leila," she smiled weakly, imagining ways she could stop this MONSTROSITY.

And, even worse, SEREN HAD JUST TURNED UP. THAT GIRL SERIOUSLY NEEDED TO GET SOME OTHER FRIENDS. "Why am I surrounded by people in love with my best friend?" Aoife murmured to herself. It was loud, though. She really needed to work on speaking quietly, because it definitely wasn't her strong point at the moment. "Hi, Seren." Hmm.

And now Seren was being mean, scoffing at her dress and the fashionable orange stain on it. "Hunter happened," she replied coldly. If she was cold, the readhead could be cold back. It was totally acceptable. "So blame him. I like your dress, even though you clearly have a problem with mine. And me, for that matter." What did Hunter see in these girls? She liked it though. EvilAoife.

Okay, Aoife's mood had definitely changed with Leila's arrival. She said hello, but Hunter could tell she wasn't happy about it. Then, before Hunter could figure out what Aoife's problem was, Seren showed up and joined them as well. The Ravenclaw smiled brightly and said hi to him and Aoife, so Hunter offered her a friendly smile back. "Hi Seren!" he said cheerily, hoping to diffuse whatever tension there was before she had arrived. "Happy Christmas!"

Hunter glanced sideways at Aoife, waiting for her to greet Seren as well. He was trying to figure out what the odds were of his friend reacting like a normal human being. It was her turn to say hello. What Aoife said instead actually made Hunter's palm slam into his face. If Aoife had been trying to talk so that nobody could hear her, she had failed miserably. "If you're talking to yourself, you could be a little quieter," Hunter said to her. Only he actually said it under his breath so that only Aoife could hear. Because Hunter wasn't completely devoid of manners like Aoife was. No wonder Aoife wants to be a sheep. She's sure got the social skills of one.

As if it wasn't enough that Aoife had created the most awkward situation ever, Seren chose that moment to comment not so nicely on the stain that he had created on Aoife's dress, making it basically impossible for Hunter to brush the red-heads comment under the rug. Aoife didn't hesitate to respond, pointing out Seren's lack of manners. "I spilled pumpkin juice on her dress earlier," Hunter said, a little defensive of his red-headed friend. "It wasn't her fault." Hunter had a feeling, though, that his words wouldn't be heard. Because Seren didn't seem to be the type to take being insulted lightly. The Ravenclaw girl seemed too proud for that.

In light of that fact, Hunter was racking his brain for something that would end the problem before it started. The last thing they needed was to cause a scene in the middle of the Christmas Ball. In a rather lame attempt, Hunter spoke up. "Speaking of pumpkin juice, don't you need more, Aoife? I'm all out..." Hunter caught Aoife's elbow and took a half-step toward the buffet, hoping to lead her away from Seren. But he knew that the chances of Aoife backing down that easily were slim, especially if Seren insulted her back.

Seren's mouth fell open slightly as Aoife made some snide comment about being surrounded by people  who were in love with Hunter. Hunter's hand his his forehead, so apparently he hadn't been expecting it. She saw him whisper something to the girl. Hopefully he's telling her what an embarrassment she is. Because Hunter MUST be embarrassed by her, right? Had she actually meant to say that out loud? Or had she meant to say it quietly and accidentally said it TOO loud? Or had she meant to make it LOOK like she was trying to say it quietly, when she really meant for Seren to hear it?

Then, the red head actually had the nerve to say hi. HI! As though she hadn't just tried to make Seren look bad in front of Hunter and the nameless blonde girl who was standing with them. Seren's face set into a glare. Two can play at that game. "She drools every time she looks at her best friend's hair," Seren said as though talking to herself. But she MEANT for Aoife to hear. "And she has the nerve to suggest that someone else is in love with him? Please."

Oh. Hunter had spilled juice on Aoife's dress. And he seemed to be a little protective of his irritating little friend. But Hunter clearly wasn't the problem here. He was at least being sensible and trying to stop Aoife from ruining the whole ball. He was trying to inconspicuously pull Aoife away, but Seren couldn't let her get the last word. "I don't have a problem with you," Seren said evenly. "I just can't understand why someone like him would waste his time being friends with someone like you, that's all." There. She'd complimented Hunter and insulted Aoife all at once. That was like killing two birds with one stone. Maybe she was being a little mean, but Aoife had started it with her stupid little comment that she ACCIDENTALLY said too loud.

"Sure. I don't think it was nice to give you that picture. Aoife didn't even sign it, so if  she becomes famous somehow, this picture won't be really valuable," Evan said. "I would keep the gift though. In case I make it up with her somehow." Now it was too early for a reunion though: Evan was still angry, Aoife probably was too. "Maybe that's just because I couldn't perform such a cool picture tearing."

Then Darcy appeared from nowhere and hugged Evan, thanking him for the Sneakoscope. At first he considered it the best thing in this term, but then realized that he was actually in trouble. Girls hated to have same things. It was the most noticeable when applied to dresses, but Evan thought that any identical things were considered something bad. He definitely needed a plan to avoid girls confrontation.

But first things first. Evan hugged Darcy back and closed his eyes. He was going to think about Sneakoskope similarities only after Darcy breaks the hug. He couldn't let this moment be spoiled by some intense planning.

"Well, now the three of us have the same cool protection measures. As our Sneakoscopes are identical, we can use each other's observations about their specific behavior. This can help us to understand these devices better," Evan explained. "And thanks for your present too, Darcy!"

Wow. We are dressed in cyan, pink, and black. We just need someone in yellow and we will look like a printer ink cartridge together. Evan didn't say it aloud. It was a muggle thing, no one would probably understand.

Leila looked at the new girl that just appeared introduce herself "Hi, im Leila." She saw as the Seren girl ask Aoife about her dress, Leila giggled when she heard that Hunter was the cause of the orange stain.

Leila stood there bewildered at the very small redhead, how can someone so small have so much anger, she then looked at the ravenclaw girl, whose name was seren insult the redhead, oh god please dont tell me there going to fight.

"OH, I'M SORRY. TALKING TOO LOUDLY? DIDN'T REALISE. OOPS," Aoife said sarcastically, narrowing her eyes at Seren. What a pathetic little response. "I am NOT in love with Hunter like you. JUST HIS HAIR." OBVIOUSLY. HOW THICK WAS THIS GIRL?

That was a stupid thing to say. "You don't have a problem with me? Well, obviously you do, so SAY IT YOU LITTLE-" No, she couldn't say that. Aoife wasn't that mean. Hunter seemed to be keen on getting more pumpkin juice. Nope, her cup was still half full. And she couldn't stay away from Seren for the whole night. The Great Hall wasn't that big. So she might as well get KILLING HER over with now.

It was only then, in the midst of her anger, she noticed Hunter was holding her arm. "HUNTER LET GO OF MY ARM SO I CAN GO AND KILL SEREN," she shouted, yanking her arm away and jumping towards Seren. It felt like things were going in slow motion, as she flew through the air dramatically. Rather than properly kill the Ravenclaw straight away, her hand went to yank Seren's hair. "WHAT IS YOUR PROBLEM?"

"Yes, well, I guess you wouldn't realize," Seren said in mock politeness. "Seeing as you ALWAYS talk too loudly." Aoife was obviously in denial, and was using Seren as an escape route. "Of course," she retorted, rolling her eyes. "Because it's not weird at all to be in love with someone's HAIR!" Hopefully, Aoife got the point. It was weird. VERY weird. AOIFE WAS VERY WEIRD! And for some reason Hunter liked her, when he'd be much better off spending his time with Seren.

Apparently, Aoife wasn't even smart enough to listen to her friend when he was trying to keep her from humiliating herself. He was SO nice. And Aoife was so stupid. Seren raised her eyebrows as Aoife started to call her something, but seemed to think better of it. Seren still understood what she meant, and a smirk started to form on her face. But before Seren could get another word in, Aoife had ripped her arm from Hunter's grasp and lunged for Seren, coming up with a fistful of Seren's hair.

NOT MY HAIR! Seren shrieked in outrage (and maybe some pain) as Aoife yanked at her hair. "LET GO OF ME YOU LITTLE FREAK!" she screeched. She instinctively lashed out toward the red-head, clawing in her direction. Who did this girl think she was? What's my problem?" Seren hissed, still flailing her arms in an attempt to free herself from her opponent. "CLEARLY I'm not the one with a problem, here!"

One of Seren's hands tried to grip the arm Aoife was using to pull her hair, because it literally felt like Aoife was going to rip it out of her head. "I SAID LET GO!" Of course Seren had left her wand in the common room. Because who would need their wand at a Christmas Ball?! Aoife was lucky she'd forgotten it. "Honestly, how can anyone STAND you?!"

Why do I have to have the most difficult best friend on the planet? Hunter knew from the moment Seren insulted Aoife that there was no hope of keeping his friend from reacting. Not that he really blamed her, because Seren was being mean. But he still wasn't prepared for Aoife to tear her arm away from him and attack Seren. As in actually attack her. "Aoife, no!" he exclaimed in exasperation. "She isn't worth it, you'll get in trouble!" But he knew Aoife wasn't going to listen to him. He tried to regain his grip on her arm, but he wasn't fast enough. She had already pounced and currently had a chunk of Seren's hair in her grasp. Seren reacted violently, attacking back by swinging at Aoife with her arms.

Hunter moved quickly without thinking, the girls' exchange of insults not really registering in his head. "Cut it out!" he shouted, trying to push the two girls apart. He strained to wedge himself between them, hoping to break up their fight. As he did so, one of Seren's hands that was meant for Aoife caught him in the face. Her fingernails sliced into his cheek, resulting in a few shallow scratches. Hunter winced, but didn't let it deter him. At least maybe he'd spared Aoife a few scratches.

How had this started, anyway? Well, technically, Aoife had sort of started it. But she had every right to, because Seren was being rude. But Hunter could tell Seren what he thought of her later. He had to figure out how to rip Seren and Aoife apart first. With a frustrated growl, he grabbed Aoife around her waist and attempted to pull her away. "Aoife, that's enough!" he shouted. She was little, he might be able to manage carrying her out. Only she's still got ahold of Seren's hair. Oh yeah. That was a bit problematic. Even if he could lift her up, there was no way he was going to be able to make her let go of the other girl's hair. Now what?

"AWW, IS LITTLE SEREN JEALOUS BECAUSE HUNTER HATES HER? OBVIOUSLY HE HAS REASON ENOUGH SINCE YOU'RE SUCH A MORONIC LOSER!" Aoife yelled, only making herself more angry. At the minute, she didn't particularly care about all the people nearby who were probably staring at her oddly. She just wanted to kill Seren, or at least ruin her hair, since she seemed to care about it so much.

After just a couple of seconds, she'd lost her grip on Seren's hair, both because Hunter was trying to pull her away and the Ravenclaw was scratching at her face. It was more the surprise of the sudden pain on her cheek that bewildered her rather than how much it hurt. She'd deal with that later. There must be some ice here somewhere. Aoife made a feeble attempt to hit Hunter but she couldn't get hold of Seren's hair again. Which sucked.

How could anyone stand her? Offensive! "I COULD SAY THE SAME ABOUT YOU! AT LEAST HUNTER CAN STAND BEING NEAR ME! YOU'RE JUST TOO DISGUSTING AND WEIRD TO BEAR!" she screamed. This would not end here. If she couldn't get Seren's hair, she'd have to do something else. LIKE HIT HER. Aoife aimed a punch at the girl's stomach. She WAS strong, whatever Hunter said.

"In case you make up with her?" Jennifer asked, raising an eyebrow sceptically. She didn't say anything else, not wanting to cause a scene. And obviously she needed to keep Evan on her good side. She had to have a couple of friends, at least. Being a loner wouldn't help her much in life, however much awesome plotting and action she did.

When that blonde girl, Darcy, who she didn't particularly like, came up and hugged Evan, she was planning an escape route to avoid awkwardness, but Evan tried to include her in the conversation. "Yep," Jen nodded awkwardly.

She looked around the hall for something interesting and was just deciding to go and get some food when she noticed a fight starting between Aoife and some other girl, probably first-year judging by appearance. GO OTHER RANDOM FIRST YEAR! "Evan," Jen nudged him, a smirk spreading on her face. "Look what's going on over there."

So, of course, she had to get closer and watch as Aoife screamed like the weird psychopath she was and the other girl shouted insults. The other girl was good at insults. The other girl clearly hated Aoife. She liked the other girl a lot.

Aoife was still shouting at her. "I'M THE MORONIC LOSER?!" Seren shouted, still swinging her arms wildly. She winced as she felt a few strands of hair break off from her head. Hunter was trying to interfere, but Seren ignored him. After a few more moments, she felt Aoife lose grip of her hair. Seren ceased her attack, panting slightly, and realized that Hunter had pulled the PSYCHOTIC FREAK away from her.

With Hunter holding her back, all the moronic red-head could do was scream at her. She made the point that Hunter could stand to be near Aoife. "You better hope that's still true," Seren said snidely. "I'd imagine after the scene you've caused, he's probably realized by now that you're NOTHING BUT SOME FREAKISH EMBARRASSMENT!" Because that's what Aoife was. A deluded, embarrassing freak. Seren looked more carefully at them and realized that her fingernails had cut into not only Aoife's face, but also Hunter's. She'd have to apologize to the boy later. She would never apologize to Aoife, because there was no way to make the girl's face any MORE hideous, so she hadn't really done anything bad.

Seren had deluded herself into thinking that with Hunter holding onto Aoife, the girl wouldn't be able to hurt her. But apparently she was wrong, because before she knew it, Aoife's fist collided with her stomach. Seren doubled over in pain, the wind knocked out of her. For such a little monstrosity, the red-head could throw a punch. "You might as well be a BOY!" Seren choked out, glaring up at the red-head. Because punching was a very un-ladylike thing to do. Scratching and hair pulling was acceptable, of course.

"No WONDER Hunter is friends with you. You act like a boy, and you SMELL like a boy!" Seren didn't really know what Aoife smelled like, but she thought it was a nice touch. "You're one of the guys. That's all you'll ever be to him." Seren even managed to smirk, despite her pain. Because she was right. Hunter would grow up and one day he would realize that Seren was perfect and beautiful and that Aoife was a stupid, ugly mistake of a girl. And that made her happy.

Okay, somehow this entire fight was all about him. Or at least, they kept bringing him up. Which was completely stupid. At least when boys fought, they just punched each other and got it over with and moved on with their lives. They didn't waste time screaming at each other unless it was really important. At least he'd managed to pull Aoife away from Seren. That was something. But Aoife was still yelling, and so was Seren, and even worse, they were still yelling about him.

Aoife said something about him being able to stand being near her, and Seren said something about him thinking Aoife was a freakish embarrassment, and honestly nothing that either of them was saying was true. They were obviously just trying to get a rise out of the other. While thinking, Hunter must have loosened his grip on Aoife's waist. Out of nowhere, the red-head punched Seren in the stomach. "Aoife, STOP IT!" Hunter shouted at his friend, grabbing her by the arm and attempting to yank her back.

"That's enough," he repeated angrily, but this time his words were directed to Seren. Normally, if a girl were hurt he would do what he could to help her. But this was an abnormal situation. Besides, he was pretty sure if he asked Seren if she was okay, Aoife would unleash her wrath on him next. And he didn't want that to happen. So he just stared at Seren irritably. He was irritated with Aoife too, at this point, but at least Aoife had been provoked. Seren was being mean for no reason. He realized that, without really meaning to, he'd let go of Aoife's arm after trying to pull her backward. That was probably a mistake...

Leila looked shocked as she saw the redhead punch and pull of seren's hair, then she saw Aoife scratch Hunter's face, I have to do something, charms class don't fail me now, Leila pointed her wand to Aoife, who seems to be the cataracts to this fight, she swished and flicked the wand and said "wingardium leviosa." suddenly Aoife feet were starting to hover off the ground, oh man i hope she doesn't come for me this time.

"HUNTER NO I WILL NOT STOP! SHE DESERVES IT! Is your face okay, by the way?" Aoife added as a side note worriedly. Her face was bleeding and it stung a bit and his may be worse. Obviously she wasn't going to do anything because she had to carry on killing Seren, but if he was about to die then that was a bit different.

One of the guys? What the flip was she going on about? In the midst of her anger, she stopped for a split second to try and understand. Oh, did it mean that Hunter would never see her in a romantic way? That made sense. But was incredibly stupid. For once, she hoped Seren was right, as long as the Ravenclaw didn't get Hunter herself.

Aoife sniggered, since she understood now, a lot less angry. "Hunter is my best friend. Boys are stupid and suckish. I would die if he saw me in a romantic way!" she giggled. "And it's not like you'd ever have a chance with him! IF he did date someone, he would actually have STANDARDS! He'd pick someone PRETTY. And NICE. NOT LIKE YOU. Or me, for that matter." Ouch? Hopefully. True, she had said she wasn't pretty herself, but she didn't lie.

Probably, she would have continued to insult or hit Seren, but she felt her feet rising from the ground. SHE WAS BEING LIFTED IN THE AIR BY MAGIC. "WHO IS DOING THIS TO-" Aoife was cut off when she suddenly, totally unprepared, fell back down. The spell apparently wasn't strong enough to keep her there and, if her suspicions were right, Leila was only a first year and probably not the strongest at this spell.

But she was less worried about Leila's ability and more worried about getting up, since she'd landed on the floor in a bundle of limbs. It was sort of embarrassing, but luckily she wasn't really hurt, so she could push herself up and run at Seren in an attempt to scratch at her face like the other girl had to her. Then she noticed Jen was watching. Probably enjoying herself. Aoife scowled at her but continued towards Seren. She'd deal with Leila later.

Ana had heard all about the ball in her class from excited chattering students. She had been at first uninterested in the idea but then she pondered the thought and realized that it could be the source of a fair bit of chaos. With all of the hormones running rampant it would be like buying a front row ticket to insanity. Ana had been in her personal chamber thinking of an outfit for a very long time. She wanted to show that she was not as safe as everyone thought, and that she too could be wild. Finally she came up with her perfect attire.

Going into the Great Hall was quite a stunner. The decorations were indeed fantastic and most of the students and professors in attendance were dressed for success. As she went in she waved her peacock feather fan and smiled sweetly to those who caught her eye. Ana knew that most would be surprised that a professor could dress so provocatively. The festivities were going well until some girls began to argue and then turn from arguing with words to fighting with fists. How delightfully interesting, she thought to herself. Ana allowed an entertained smile to creep across her lips before drawing her fan over all but her eyes and step back into the crowd to watch with interest from afar.

Aoife was still struggling against Hunter, but somehow managed to act like a normal human being for two whole seconds to check and see if he was okay. Seren rolled her eyes. It was probably all an act so that he'd think she was nice and everything. How pathetic. Then Aoife was actually laughing. She said she didn't WANT Hunter to see her like that, and managed to work an insult in there by implying that Seren wasn't pretty or nice. The redhead added that Hunter wouldn't choose someone like her, either. It was obviously another act to make Hunter think she was humble. "Yes, definitely not like you," Seren agreed, rolling her eyes and scoffing at Aoife.

Okay, now Hunter seemed to be pretty irritated. And he was glaring at Seren and telling her to stop. He should really be glaring at Aoife, because she was the crazy psycho that had attacked Seren to begin with. But if all she was going to accomplish by continuing the fight was making Hunter actually hate her, it probably wasn't worth it. After all, the ultimate way to get back at Aoife wasn't to beat her up. Besides, Seren wasn't any good at physically fighting... SHE didn't like to act like a boy, even if Aoife did. No, the way to get back at Aoife was to take her best friend Hunter. AND HIS HAIR! So she'd have to put aside the desire to RIP EVERY STRAND OF UGLY RED HAIR FROM THE GIRL'S HEAD and listen to him.

But Aoife wasn't listening to him. She was coming for Seren again. Seren began to back away (because her dress was already WRINKLED from the girl's attack), but somehow Aoife began to rise off of the ground. A quick glance to the side told Seren that Leila was intervening. She took that moment to escape further away. She glanced around the room quickly and caught sight of a familiar face. Evan, the boy from the common room, was standing a bit away near two girls, one an older blonde girl that seemed to be enjoying the fiasco. Seren quickly retreated toward them. Evan was older and knew a lot more magic, and probably hadn't been stupid enough to leave his wand behind. Maybe he could help her before her dress got COMPLETELY RUINED like her hair!

"Hi Evan! Hi.. umm... well, hi!" she said quickly, realizing she didn't know either of the girls he was with. It didn't matter. She didn't say anything else, taking refuge behind the older boy. She peeked out from behind him just in time to see Aoife land in a heap on the ground. Seren giggled, but frowned as the girl STILL continued toward Seren. Doesn't she ever give up? Seren had enough of getting punched. Glaring at Aoife, she grabbed a pumpkin pasty from a nearby table and threw it at her angrily. "BACK OFF, YOU PSYCHO!" she shouted, aiming the pumpkin pasty at the other girl's head. Seren's aim usually sucked, so it would probably miss, but it was a good way for her to let out her anger without drawing more blood. Then she ducked behind Evan again, hoping the older boy didn't think she was crazy and would protect her.

Suddenly Jen called Evan's name and pointed out that some kind of fight was happening. Evan looked where she was looking and saw Aoife ripping Seren's hair. How rude. Then Aoife punched the Ravenclaw in the stomach. Evan was stunned by what he'd just seen, so he stood still instead of interfering.

Despite Hunter was holding Aoife, it seemed like he was on her side in this fight. He probably doesn't have a brain of his own, just does as he thinks Aoife would like. Pitiful spineless minion. Somehow Seren managed to escape and now was looking for his protection. She hide behind him and threw a pumpkin pasty at the ginger Gryffindor monster. Why? Why does Aoife hate all the nice people: me, Seren, Jen? What's wrong with her? She was such a good girl at first.

The first thing that came to Evan's mind was to protect Seren's hair, as it was the main target for Aoife. So he cast a bubblehead charm on her head. "Hi Seren. Your hair is safe now, by the way," he smiled. It was probably the spell he used the most often this term. Evan needed to stop Aoife somehow, but he didn't think casting something directly at her was a good idea. In this case she would probably hate him for the rest of her life. So Evan tried to reason with her first, "Aoife, listen! Stop this now! One more step in Seren's direction and I will have to paralyze you! I have a wand with me! Seriously, stop it!"

Aoife argued that Seren deserved it, and then took a moment to ask if his face was okay. He'd forgotten about it, honestly, in the midst of the action. Aoife's face was bleeding from where she was scratched. "It's fine. Doesn't hurt much. Yours looks bad... And even if she does deserve it you've already hit her. Isn't that enough?" But he already knew the answer. It was Aoife. Of course it wasn't enough.

Hunter was really getting sick of hearing his name in the girls' argument. Honestly, what had he done to be thrown in the middle of this? Aoife responded predictably when she realized what Seren was suggesting, pointing out that boys were stupid. Personally, Hunter had plenty of reason to believe that girls were even more stupid, considering the situation. But he didn't say so. Then, suddenly, Aoife began floating.

Leila had cast a spell at her, only it didn't seem to be strong enough and Aoife fell to the ground. It might have been a little funny if the situation were different. Hunter stepped toward her to help her up, but she rose quickly on her own and started for Seren, who had used the opportunity to take refuge. And of course, who had Seren chosen to hide behind? Evan. The jerk who had tried to blind them. And of course, Jen was with him.

"Aoife, don't be stupid," he said, moving quickly to catch up with her. Evan had just threatened to hit her with a spell if she didn't stop. "Jen will help him in a minute," Hunter reminded her. "And you'd be the one to get in trouble, not them." Seren shouted something at Aoife just then and threw something at her. A pumpkin pasty by the looks of it. The sweet collided with Aoife's dress, breaking apart and leaving another stain a bit away from the one Hunter had already caused. Why do I even bother? He should have just stayed in the common room. Then none of this would have happened.

Seren was SO pathetic. "CAN'T EVEN FACE ME SO YOU'RE GOING TO HIDE BEHIND THAT IDIOT?" Aoife scoffed. Not to mention, the evil queen who Evan seemed to have on his side. It was slightly scary, knowing that Jen could curse her into the middle of next week if she moved forward. That was if Evan didn't paralyse her first.

Oh, wow! Another pretty stain on her dress. "Thanks Seren!" she beamed, not even being sarcastic. Her dress just got better and better. Anyway, back to the matter at hand, rather than how she looked in the ugly dress.

So what could she do without being magicked at? Hunter, once again was trying to stop her. Surely he must know he had absolutely no chance by now? She just shot a quick glare at him. Seren would die, whatever it took. Even if it had to be delayed until she knew some more magic and they weren't in a room full of people including the evil queen and her new best mate.

Okay, the only thing she could guarantee she was good at was punching. Punching, kicking, biting, most forms of fighting. And she could probably beat Evan in a fight if it came down to that. So she could suddenly rampage at him, steal his wand and do something with it. But what spell? There was the colour-changing one she'd read about. It would have to do for now, since she didn't plan on burning the great hall down at the minute with her fire spell.

While he was wittering on about something she really didn't care enough about to listen to, she ran towards him quickly and slammed into him, in an attempt to push him to the ground. If it worked, Aoife could take the wand and change Jen's hair colour or something very brave and cool like that. That was, if it worked.

ooc - I decided to just wait and not godmod, Evan

In truth Ana had grown tired of the foolishness of the fight in front of her and so she started to think about what she could do to liven up the party. As she thought she waved her fan and looked at the children arguing. Then a thought struck her, she could turn this place into a madhouse while no one was looking. Ana quickly disappeared into the crowd and popped back up on the edge of the crowd next to the entrance of the Great Hall. This should get the party started, she thought to herself.

She looked around to make sure everyone was still entranced in the fight going on, they were. She then raised her wand covertly so as not to draw attention. Looking at all the ornaments glittering around the Hall Ana smiled an evil feline smile. With a flick of the wrist she caused every ornament in the Great Hall to shatter simultaneously and then all the lights turned to black flames. For her grand finale she transfigured all the broken pieces of ornaments into large bats to fly around the hall. Her work done she let out a small feminine laugh and then changed into her raven form and flew from the Great Hall cawing, sounding more like laughing.