BOOM CLAP! - March {Arnie/Open to Ravenclaws}

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Commonly, card games were used as a form of clean entertainment. It is noted as early as the ninth century that people would gather around tables and play games using a set of thick paper slips they called cards. Each card was different, with a different meaning and a different value; no two cards were the same. Somewhere along the way, as early as the fourteen hundreds, history states that wizards began developing their own games using these things called cards.

 Over time they changed them, made them more…magical and the games more…exciting. One of the more popular card games in general but mostly for young wizards and witches became ‘Exploding Snap’. In the twentieth century this was still true. Only now there were different variations of the game, different deck covers, specialty cards, ect. Overall the game had seen a lot of development over the centuries that only made it more appealing to the masses. It was a favorite in the common rooms at Hogwarts.

Ravenclaws, though often seen as stuffy and people imagined only read or played chess, happen to be avid players of the game. The older years had even set up a little tournament on Sundays in the common room. Usually Sylvia would sit with Mr. Darcy in her lap, observing from the sidelines as her housemates singed their eyebrows off, chuckling as one person lost and another took their place. Thinking on how its funny how some things make it through History and some things don't. Cards, cards were worth keeping around. On a basis level it was amusing to think something as small as card games had been around well for forever almost.

 Today however, she had been asked to be the dealer. At first she had declined, feeling uncomfortable with all the eyes that would be watching her. But then she thought that she wouldn’t actually be the one playing, people would hardly be paying attention to her. With a little persuasion from the seventh year boy who had asked in the first place, Sylvia caved. So now she stood in a beam of the bright afternoon light, flipping cards out in a circular pattern, Mr. Darcy curving around her ankles, hissing his displeasure at her change of Sunday evening routine.



The girl smiled brightly as the third game she had dealt came to an end, quickly leaning back to avoid the explosion. The same seventh year that had lured her out of her comfy armchair was still seated at the table, reigning champ. The boy gave her a smile she found odd, it was so…she couldn't explain it. But he was looking at her just so. ‘Next!’ he called cockily and Sylvia smiled at her thought of him being much like a peacock, flouncing around, flaunting his pretty colored tail. She picking up the two decks and began to shuffle them, hoping a worthy competitor came around that would be this blokes match.

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Authors Note: This thread takes place in Class of '79's fifth year. The variation of 'Exploding Snap' that is being played here is being played by the Bavarian rules, it will probably be mentioned later on. In case it isn't or just in general you can find everything they have on the Bavarian rules here!
Hope you guys like Sylvia!

[Arnie Peasegood]

Fifth year was going quite swimmingly for this Ravenclaw. He had gone from friends-to-dating with two girls, one who wasn't really speaking to him anymore, but Ava would come 'round eventually, he knew it, O.W.L.'s were coming up but not yet looming, and he really couldn't complain about much. Having spent most of the day with Hestia and their friends, he'd returned to the Tower to finish up some work for the week. Arnie worked well in the common area, enjoying having the banter of his housemates around as white noise to help him focus. Today he'd gravitated towards the established Exploding Snap area, planning on catching a few games after finishing his Muggle Studies essay, and was pleasantly surprised to find Sylvie Davies dealing out the cards. The bloke was happy to see his classmate like this, relaxed and engaging - it was sometimes a struggle for her, he knew, but she'd been opening up more this year, and it was great to observe. So Arnie shot her a grin as passed by, scratching Mr. Darcy behind the ears on his way to an open seat. His quill scratched for a while, his attention drawn up to the game at the laughs and exclamations of its players and onlookers, the sounds of the explosions themselves, and he was glad to fairly soon be concluding his essay.

The latest Ravenclaw to be defeated left with hunched shoulders, the seventh year on a winning streak looking around a bit too proudly for Arnie's liking as he seemed to be looking for another victim.

Time to get off your high hippogriff, mate.

"Fair warning: breaking this streak of yours, Selwynn," Arnie said with a grin as he left his things to take the recently vacated seat. Now, Arnie Peasegood wasn't a fantastic Snap player - but he was worth his salt. May not actually win, but would at least give the older bird a run for his money. "No playing favorites now, Sylvie," he continued in tease to their dealer, shaking his fringe out of his eyes - and harm's way. "Standard Bavarian?" he asked for clarification, giving an exaggerated crack of his knuckles as he "prepared" for the game.

[Deleted]

What luck! No sooner had she thought of a worthy opponent did one show up, or at least she hoped. She had seen Arnie earlier, heard as Mr. Darcy purred after him, momentarily forgetting his feline anger; but now he was taking a seat across from the strapping lad yet to be beaten, and she realized she had no clue if he was any good at Snap or not. She only knew she was glad to see him join in the entertainment with her. “Peasegood.” She said by way of greeting, sounding fond.

It had only been recently she had begun to let the bloke into her heart. They were friends of course, nothing more, but still there were big changes she was making in herself, she felt like Arnie was a part of that. He was just so much fun. Like now, teasing Selwynn, and her! Cheeky fellow. “How sad.” She said quietly, setting one deck down to properly shuffle the other. “I would have been favoring you.” Sylvia sent Arnie a sidelong glance, smirking to herself.



Really it didn’t matter who she favored, she had no control over the game, she simply flipped the cards over and moved out of the way so her hair didn’t catch fire. Well she could maybe place more matching cards on his side of the circle, he would get them quicker. No one would even notice her doing it. But she couldn’t, she would never dream of cheating, it was just so un-honorable. It did, however, stand to reason that she would love for her friend to win.

“Yes, normal Bavarian.” She said, beginning to deal out the first deck face up, forming a circle on the table between the two boys. Once that was done she grabbed the second deck and began placing them face down in the circle she had just made. “Wands at the ready. Person with the most matches before they explode wins.” She announced, picking up her own wand and waiting for the competitors to pick theirs up too. Before she whispered her spell that flipped all the cards in the middle so they were face up, she sent Arnie an encouraging smile. ‘Good luck!’ she thought as the game began.

[Arnie Peasegood]

It took much of the boy's concentration to not let out a laugh at Sylvie's soft and somehow underhanded remark. It was her specialty, really, and yes you had to listen to catch them, but it was so worth paying attention. "Pity," Arnie replied, knowing she wouldn't have rigged the match in any way - and was still rooting for him, regardless. Unless she and Selwynn knew each other better than he thought, which he felt to be a highly unlikely scenario. At his friend's confirmation of the style of gameplay Arnie gave her a nod, and his opponent a waggle of his brows. "That's great news, Sylvie - my best Snap's always been Bavarian."

The fellow opposite said something along the lines of "Shame you'll lose your credibility to say that again" as the brunette dealt the cards in their concentric circles, to which the younger Ravenclaw simply gave an unruffled smile. It was fun to play with people's egos, was it not? Arnie scooted a bit closer to the table as Sylvie explained the rules, drawing his wand and getting ready to act. The game was a hoot, and everybody in the Tower was well-accustomed to putting out fires it caused, so he wasn't altogether worried about getting a little singed if necessary to knock Selwynn down from his self-appointed pedestal. He met his friend's eye, returning her smile with a little one of his own, before she said the incantation that flipped the inner circle - there was a flurry of action at their little table as wands and cards flew, the blokes nearly bonking heads overtop it in their eagerness to outdo the other. The cards sizzled with increased menace as time went on, etching their designs into the wood...

Arnie didn't envy Sylvie's job of keeping track of who'd tapped each pair - but he had hardly a moment to spare of thought for his friend's troubles, so hell bent was he on winning the match. It wasn't that large of a feat, after all, winning three matches in a row. He could probably do that tonight, if he tried! And so it was that little time later, with a laugh and one last flourish, that the last cards to be matched had been by his very own wand.

Shaking his fringe back, Arnie gave Selwynn a helpless sort of shrug, again trying not to lose himself in a laugh, this time at the look on the older Ravenclaw's face.

[Deleted]

Arnie was just such a fine chap; he was so easy going and just...chill about everything. When she was around Arnie she felt like the world only consisted only of those things designed to amuse. She couldn’t explain it really; she just knew he made it almost impossible to worry over anything major. Nothing bad existed around him, and he took everything in stride. Even her sass. And the game style, which for all anyone knew Arnie was a snap at, really he could be pants; the point was he owned it all, she liked that about him. He was a good friend to have around to lighten things a little, and he was a nice foil to her more reserved personality. She smirked to herself as they boys engaged in a little ‘trash talk’ before the game commenced.

Sylvia’s bright blue eyes darted between the two competitors with blinding speed, dutifully keeping track of which boy had tapped which pair. It made it slightly easier that the pairs lifted themselves as they were chosen, moving so they piled on the corner of the table, a stack on Arnie’s side and another on Sewlynn. She could always count them after but it was so much more satisfying to be able to keep track as the game went on. Nervously she twisted and pulled at her wand with both hands, biting her lip anxiously as the circle of cards grew thin, the threatening sizzle they produced growing louder.

 Cautiously she took a step back, hoping to avoid any fires, still shifting her gaze as the cards flew. In a flash the game came to a close. It was the best she had seen! They managed to pair all the cards up before /any/ spontaneously combusted. And Arnie had won! “Peasegood takes the cake! Congratulations!” she said happily, sparks flying from the wand grasp tightly in her hand as she announced the winner with a flourish. Sewlynn had snatched up the decks to double check as she spoke but it was no use, her friend had won fair and square. “It was a nice run.” She said kindly to the older boy, feeling a little poor about her earlier excitement. The boy set the cards back down angrily and left the table in a huff.



Sylvia turned nervous eyes to her friend, “I hope he isn’t too upset.” She said, smiling slightly as Mr. Darcy pawed at her leg. “It’s just a game.” She added quietly, more to reassure herself that Sewlynn couldn’t have been very mad about his loss, right? With a sigh Sylvia gathered the cards to her, tapping the piled so that they separated into their original decks. “I haven’t seen you much lately.” She commented, picking up the cards to shuffle as they waited for a new challenger. “What’s new in the world of Arnie Peasegood?”

[Arnie Peasegood]

As Sylvie announced his win, Arnie grinned over at her, finally letting out his laugh as the older Ravenclaw double-checked his friend's work. As if she would have made an error! Sylvie really was too kind for her own good sometimes, though - Selwynn wasn't in the mood for cheering up, no matter how she tried. "Better luck next time, mate!" Arnie called after him as he left. Looking back to Sylvie, the bloke was surprised to see her looking so anxious, and gave her another grin as she continued. Sweet girl. "He'll find another way to keep his life force going, I'm positive," he assured her, leaning back into the plush chair now that the game was done. Sylvie, in her self-appointed or housemate-appointed, he wasn't sure, duty of dealer made sure everything was ready in case anyone else came by to play while he got comfortable.

He wasn't sure if anyone would join them, but found he wouldn't mind either way. If someone came he'd give it his best shot again and see what happened - if not, he got time with Sylvie! Which he hadn't had enough of lately, something she'd picked up on as well, evidently. "I know - what's up with that?" he began genially, although knowing it was his fault. Arnie tended to get rather caught up with his relationships, especially in the start, spending an abundance of time with the girl he was seeing. Couldn't blame him for his excitement! Although there were only so many hours in the day, and only so many hours of wakefulness, so something had to give. Unfortunately for friends who weren't particularly close with the girl, they weren't seen as often as before...selfish bastard. "Things are good, though - Hestia's fantastic, glad I got up the nerve to ask her out," he commented with a laugh. As he looked across the table to his friend, though, Arnie was hit with the incredibly odd realization that Sylvia had never been asked out - at least, not to his knowledge. Beautiful girl like her - wicked smart and funny, to boot - never being asked out? It was against the laws of nature, surely! So, sincerely, but with a bit of a tease, Arnie continued, "You know...I've got way too many single guy friends...if you ever fancy me putting a good word in."

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Sometimes Sylvia wished she could take things as lightly as Arnie did. The dark haired girl had no doubt their older housemate would, as Arn had put it, ‘find another way to keep his life force going’. Of course he would survive one defeat, but would he be adverse to her now? Knowing that she was rooting for Arnie? She didn’t want Sewlynn to think she didn’t like him. “I suppose your right.” She said with some resignation, thinking she really ought not worry so much.



At his next words Sylvia graced him with a rare disparaging glance, breaking into a smile. She could never play at being angry or mean for very long. “Well I’m glad you’re so pleased with your new lady friend, and will note that that is probably why we have not seen each other much recently.” She said placing the shuffled cards in the center of the table. “I must meet her.” She added, taking the seat opposite Arnie. It appeared no one was brave enough to take her friend here on. At least not at the moment.

Sylvia’s eyes wandered around the room, spotting the former champion sitting amongst a knot of students from his year; she looked away hastily, just in time to catch Arnie’s last words. “Arnold!” Sylvia hissed quietly, glancing around to make sure no one had heard him. “That is completely inappropriate.” She sputtered, a rosy blush staining her cheeks, momentarily at loss for words the gestured impatiently with her hand.

Then she felt a hot rush of anger that flood away as quickly as it came. She wanted to ask if he thought she really needed help in that department. She could hear herself in her mind, but she didn’t sound snappy as the question would have warranted; she sounded more uncertain than indignant at the suggestion. “What makes you say that?” she asked instead, her voice more normal though her cheeks added a lively shade to the already apple red.

[Arnie Peasegood]

Arnie watched with amusement as his friend's look turned right sour for a moment before she let out a brilliant smile. She never could stay mad at him, lovely girl. But he had to grin, shaking his head in disbelief, as she decidedly stated that she had to meet Hestia. "Sylvie," he said with unhidden exasperation, sometimes Ravenclaws really didn't look about, "she's in our class - Hestia Jones, Hufflepuff, 'bout your height I suppose, dark hair too, pals about with me and Tommy and Doc?" He waited for a sign - or lack thereof - of recognition before continuing. "But yes, I'll introduce you two properly, bet you'd get on great."

Soon later, Arnie was being told off, his full name whipped at him from the girl. His hands went up placatingly, although he was trying not to laugh. It was hardly inappropriate to set your friends up! The fact of the matter was this - if a goofy and goofy looking kid like him could have someone to snog, there was no reason a beautiful girl like Sylvia Davies couldn't. And her curiosity was getting the better of her anger with him, so no harm, no foul?

"Meant there's probably some blokes who'd want to go out with you, and I could do some digging, if you ever want," he offered, lowering his voice for the flustered girl's sake. He gave a shrug, leaning forward to grab Mr. Darcy and pull him onto his lap. The cat hissed a bit, as usual, but calmed after a little fussing, kneading Arnie's leg as he settled down. "Just putting it out there is all, okay?"

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Her friends tone caught Sylvia’s attention immediately. Was that a slight vexation she was hearing from the boy as he described Hestia Jones and the fact that the Davies girl should know her? The girl gave her male companion a luminous grin. “But of course that’s what I meant.” She said, waving him off. “A proper introduction. ‘Sylvia this is Hestia my girlfriend, Hestia this is Sylvie my friend.’ You know that sort of thing. I know who Hestia Jones is, just not personally.”

Though the girl admitted to herself that for the life of her she couldn’t pull up a mental picture of Arnie’s beau. She did know the name and some of the particulars of the girl however so that was something. “I’m sure we will, we have you in common after all.” Sylvia liked to think she could get along with anyone regardless. Apparently Arnie thought there were a few choice people she would get along with especially well. She didn’t want him lobbying for her, ‘Step right up boys, my friend Sylvie here is on the market! We will start the bidding…’ No, that thought was a little extreme. But how did it look for her if she had her friends asking around to find her a boyfriend? Sylvia would have much rather a boy like her all on his own without anyone fishing about.

Then again, she didn’t want to turn Arnie down all together. Maybe she did need a little help. She wanted to think she didn’t, but it wasn’t as if the opposite sex was knocking down her door. Well she wasn’t after them either. She couldn’t. How embarrassing if she asked someone out and they turned her down. She was thankful he had lowered his voice, and matched her volume to his. “I undertsand but, what makes you think I’m not already seeing someone?” she asked, stalling for time. To be set up or to not be set up, that was the question. Well not really but close enough. Arnie was a good friend. Sylvia knew he just wanted to see her happy, wanted her to experience the happiness he got from romantic relationships. Sylvie wanted that too. She really did.

[Arnie Peasegood]

Arnie grinned back as Sylvia explained herself more thoroughly, chuckling a bit as he imagined how that would go. Yeah, he'd definitely do an introduction, both girls being so important to him and all, but he was wrong and the only thing they had in common did turn out to be him? Well. Would be a mite awkward, but such was life. "I'll bring her by at lunch tomorrow and we'll be all set, all right?" he promised.

At his friend's quiet reply, Arnie gave her an exaggerated shake of the head, because - "Sylvie, I would know, yeah? We're mates! And I've not seen you hanging around with a bloke or whatever, so...am I wrong?" He gave her a raise of his brows as he pet the cat in his lap, in this instance feeling all right with being proven wrong. If she had found a guy and was sneaking around with him? Good for her! Sneaking was fun. But Arnie felt he wasn't wrong...which was just fine. Dating wasn't a necessity, after all, but he'd found it to be a grand part of his Hogwarts years thus far. Just didn't want his friend to miss out! As he was thinking on it, neither Benji nor Doc nor Tommy had anybody...not that any of them usually did besides Doc, who'd been on and off with Hestia, something they didn't talk about. Benji still couldn't stomach talking to girls, Arnie would need to put some work in there to get him ready to even chat with Sylvia. He didn't feel a vibe there with her and Doc...but maybe...Tommy? Both academic, high expectations, kind, similar sense of humor...that could do, that could do quite nicely...

[Deleted]

“Alright.” Sylvia conceded easily. She would meet Hestia at lunch the following day! “But don’t bring her by last minute. We should have time to properly chat.” The girl added with a nod. Secretly she was thinking she would have to do a bit of snooping around Miss Hestia Jones, and also how remiss she was to have not done so sooner. Of course just to look out for Arnie; Sylvia would never want her friend to be hurt. A sure fire way for that was to have feelings for someone. Even still as humans they craved the attention of another and Sylvia was no different from the next in that regard.

She gave a chaste smile as he called her out on her particular line of answering questions with questions. “No, you’re not wrong.” She admitted shyly, glancing around the room, hoping for someone to suddenly take interest in their card table. No such luck came her way however and Sylvie was forced to face her friend. “Honestly Arnie I would much prefer for a bloke to like me without any help.”



She hoped he understood where she was coming from because she really didn’t want to have to explain the complex emotions she had at his offer. Some guys had the emotional range of a teaspoon; she hoped Arnie wasn’t one of them. If someone liked her she hoped they had the courage to tell her, otherwise she may have been making a mistake turning Arnie down. What if noone ever liked her? Hoping to change the subject altogether Sylvia smiled brightly. “How is Benji lately? I tried to flag him down the other day and I think he ran from me. Is he ill?”

[Arnie Peasegood]

Having his friend so wanting to get to know his girlfriend better was heartwarming, and Arnie counted himself lucky to have both girls in his life. He nodded his assent to her request, hoping that everything would go well. Not that he needed Sylvie's approval to date Hestia or anything, but it would make things a lot better all around if they both got along! However, as he pried and prodded about her own personal life, Arnie could see her getting more uncomfortable by the moment. He did feel a bit bad about that, but - could you blame him for trying to help her out?

"Case closed," he said in an exaggerated whisper, shielding his mouth from "prying eyes" and everything in his hope his friend would lighten back up. As she swiftly changed the line of their conversation, Arnie lost Mr. Darcy to other and more exciting activities - the light of the fire was bouncing off of someone's model solar system, he couldn't blame the cat for trying to catch the spots of light against the wall, determined little fellow that he was - and he gave the girl an amused grin. Does being lovesick count as an illness? His best mate would likely contend that it did, along with cat-got-his-tongue-itis, which was an ailment he was susceptible to whenever in the company of a pretty girl. "Don't take it personally, Sylvie," he said with a well meaning chuckle, taking the cards she'd arranged - it didn't seem like they were gaining any new competitors - and starting to build a pyramid. Carefully. "He's doing all right, you know how he gets scattered sometimes though."

Regardless of what he had promised Sylvie, Arnie's mind was still spinning scenarios. He just had a good feeling about setting her up - this could be brilliant! Especially if something worked out with one of his mates! He knew Benji had a thing for her, and if he let his roommate know about his idea to set her up...it might actually prompt him to burst out of his cocoon and do something about it! "How's Max doing?" he asked after a little while, dark eyes popping up to see her as he inquired about her brother. The bloke was a wily guy, always up for a good time, and his presence in the House was certainly missed!

[Deleted]

A bright smile was the only response Sylvia could muster as her friend dropped the subject of boys. She really was glad to be shot of the conversation, well for now, Arnie would no doubt not rest as long as she was single. He could be very persistent. Or perhaps she was simply wanting him not to give up the idea. Inwardly she shrugged. She would think about it later.



“It’s kind of hard not to take it to heart Arnie.” Sylvia said matter-of-factly. “I happen to think Benji is a great friend to have and he has been avoiding me lately, obviously so, no one is that scattered.” Really, did Arn think he could explain away his best mate running in the other direction that simply? “I think I may have done something to anger him but I haven’t the slightest what it is.” She added honestly, her voice a little sad but mostly thoughtful. Maybe Arnie was right, Fenwick was strange sometimes.

Sylvia’s mind went back to mulling over relationships in the comfortable silence. There was the underlying readiness in her to spring back if Arnie should cause an explosion as he built a house of cards, but mostly it was just boys in her head. Sylvia was trying to think of someone she liked, in that way. Past the mere physical attraction or girlish crush. No one in particular was coming to mind and it was disheartening.

But there was her erstwhile friend again whenever things got down! “Oh I think Maxwell has a girlfriend!” Sylvia whispered conspiratorially, giggling. “He is all soppy when he writes me and every time I’ve been home this year he is signing, all the time, he never shuts up. But he hasn’t said anything to any of us yet so we pretend we don't know anything. Which really, we don't.” She finished with a slight pout. Sylvia had never seen her brother so happy and she was simply itching to meet the cause of it.

[Arnie Peasegood]

Sylvie was nothing but pleased to drop the topic of her dating life, and Arnie put the issue away for now. He'd approach her with the idea again when he had an actual plan, not something so spur-of-the-moment. Now, to have a plan, he'd have to think of a bloke who deserved his friend, and that wasn't going to be easy...and as talk turned to his best friend, Arnie saw how difficult this could be. Because Benji was a great guy, and one who had a big fluffy crush on the girl. But Arnie didn't know if even he could convince him to do something about it. And if he couldn't, and did find someone who fit with her...he'd be in for the guilt trip of a lifetime.

Time to make a move, Benjamin.

Because Sylvie was put out by the bloke's manners, and Arnie couldn't blame her. Running from a friend isn't a good way to keep a friend, after all, and he had her all worried that she had done something wrong. Didn't do anything wrong but get even prettier, Sylvie. "I'll see what I can find out, okay? But I swear, you've done nothing wrong," he promised. "Boys can be idiots sometimes, I apologize on behalf of my half of humanity."

Arnie loved that this was the way his Sunday afternoon was going - catching up with a friend, winning Snap, building a house of cards...it was nice to relax, forget that the O.W.L.'s were just months away, forget about schoolwork, and just be with good company. "Maxy's got a girl?" Arnie looked up from his precarious building exercise with a grin, eyeing his friend over it. "You've got to find out over Easter and let me know, put your sneaky sister skills into work," he teased, abruptly jerking his face away from the suddenly toppling house of cards. He yanked out his wand and extinguished the cards, hoping the scars he'd just added to the rough-due-to-gaming tabletop would make a cool new pattern, at least. He gingerly separated them from each other, laying them out to cool off.

[Deleted]

It was no wonder why Sylvia and Arnie were so good of friends; he enjoyed making people laugh and she enjoyed laughing. She had been nodding along as he spoke, he would have better luck finding out what was up with his roommate than she was after all - though she wasn’t so convinced she hadn’t done something wrong - when the second half of his statement yanked a tingling laugh from her. She continued to chuckle, her tummy tight with amusement.

“What happened to solidarity?” she asked, trying to stop her giggling. Arnie was just so funny. “Let me know as soon as you know.” She said once her breathing was normal, she was quite series but still smiling. Her friend had a way of keeping a smile on her face when they were together. She liked to think she was an easy to please kind of person, then she also liked to think Arnie was the easy going, humorous type person; perhaps it was a combination of both of their best traits. And it made them such good friends in her eyes.

“Oh I fully inten-“ Sylvia was cut off by having to jerked back forcefully, almost toppling out of her chair. She righted herself with a grin, pulling her dark locks to one side to inspect them for burn damage. Satisfied her hair hadn’t sustained any scorches she pushing it over her shoulder and helped Arnie sort out the cards. “I think I may enlist the help of my mum.” She continued when all of the still slightly smoking cards were laid out over the table to cool.

Sylvia brushed her hands off and got up, standing on her tiptoes to stretch out her back. “I’m just so limited here.” The girl said with a gesture around the common room and really the castle itself. She couldn’t really get up to any snooping if she was here in school and Maxwell was out there, doing Merlin knew what or who. Sylvia was utterly shocked at her own thoughts and blushed furiously, then shook her head, gross. She did not want to think about Max that way. Sylvia held out her hand to Arnie. “Help me pick out a leisure book for the week?”