Noah and Eva.

Eva slept amazingly well. She had a strange dream about bludgers and pumpkin juice, but she could only remember bits and pieces of it. She pulled herself out of her nice, warm bed, taking a quick shower and getting dressed. She had a half an hour before she had to meet Noah, so she decided to go down to the Great Hall early and eat breakfast. Most days, breakfast was optional, but she got the feeling that she would need it today.

She went down the many flights of twisting, turning, moving stairs. She avoided trick stairs, Peeves, and as many other students as she could. It was morning, and she was still not completely awake, even after her shower. She wanted to avoid as many people as she possibly could.

She finally opened the large doors into the Great Hall. The ceiling, which mirrored the sky, was a brilliant blue today, with white fluffy clouds spread liberally throughout. It would be a beautiful day today, it seemed. She pulled up a chair near a group of people she knew, picking at her breakfast until she was not hungry anymore. She checked the time, and saw that she had about five minutes until it was time to meet. She looked around in the Great Hall, trying to see if she could find Noah yet.

Noah glanced at his watch, the flashing numbers showed that it was nine thirty. Which gave him half an hour to have a lengthy breakfast before he had to go and meet Eva. Bundling his books in his arms he walked up to the dorm and placed them into his trunk. He then grabbed what he needed to take into Hogsmead and slinging his bag over his shoulder he set down to the great hall. The halls were busy, i was nearly ten and most students were awake and about by that time. He took care not to walk into anyone, walking into people who had just woken up was not a good idea. As they were usually irritable. Which Noah did not need.

He entered the great hall, a bubble of voices erupted around him as soon as he walked through the doors. He walked past the Slytherin table and took a seat at the Ravenclaw table. Dumping his bag on the floor next to his feet, he glanced at the varied choices of food presented in front of him. he wasn't the kind who ate the same thing every single day. He liked variety. Today he decided he wanted Bacon on toast. He didn't like egg as odd as it may seem. It just tasted off to him.

He finished his meal, licking the oil off of his fingers. He glanced at his watch, frowning at the time. It was nearly ten. Finishing off the glass of milk he had poured sometime during his meal he glanced up and down the table to see if Eva was about. He saw her, not sitting that far away from him.

He grabbed his bag off of the floor and made his way over to where she sat. "Hi," He said softly, though unsure if she could hear him over the roar of noise created by the students around them. Though when she turned around to face him he knew she had. "Ready to go?" He asked him, fiddling with the strap on his bag.

Eva was waiting when she heard a familiar voice. "Hi," Noah said quietly, and Eva turned around to find him. "Ready to go?" he asked, nervously fingering the strap of his bag, and Eva got up from the table. "Yup, let's go!" she said cheerfully. Noah nodded, and they walked out of the large doors of Hogwarts.

The weather was nice for this time of year, and the sky was as blue as the ceiling of the Great Hall showed. It was the perfect day to be walking around, and the trip to Hogsmeade was enjoyable. Neither of the two was particularly chatty that morning, but neither needed to be--they were both content to walk around and enjoy the weather. It was absolutely gorgeous, one of those kinds of days where it almost seemed wrong to focus more on conversation than on the glory of nature.

However, once the pair got to Hogsmeade, Eva discovered a problem. She could not recall either of them having decided on a place to actually go practice. She could not remember exactly--it was possible that she had brought up the Three Broomsticks, but her memory seemed to be a bit spotty.

"So, where do you want to go to practice? There are a bunch of smaller shops and places where it could be quiet, or we could find a quiet area off the main road. Or, we could go to the Three Broomsticks or something. It's up to you where we go, I don't really mind."

The two set off to Hogsmead in silence, Noah wasn't sure how Eva felt about the silence but he personally preferred it. it gave one less of a chance to same something ridiculous and make a fool of oneself. Which was half of the time the reason why Noah didn't speak a lot of get into things, because he was worried about how others would perceive him.

The weather was nice, warm, but not too warm. Perfect. Noah felt a little odd thinking to himself about the weather, but as no-one else would know, it didn't really matter. The two of them got to Hogsmead, students were already about, milling around the many shops, browsing through windows and chattering to friends. Noah shrugged as Eva asked him a question, but he supposed that she would like more of an answer then just a shrug.

"I don't mind either. Though I suppose practicing would be easier someplace quiet so we can hear ourselves." He shrugged again, staring at his feet.

"I don't mind either. Though I suppose practicing would be easier someplace quiet so we can hear ourselves." Noah shrugged, and Eva nodded.

"I know a good spot off the beaten pat where we can go, then." She stopped for a second. "It is near the Shrieking Shack, though. Does that bother you? It is not in the Shack, and it is not haunted or anything, but it sometimes freaks people out. I never really got that, but that's just me. It's a lovely spot, though, and no one is ever there. We could easily run over our presentation there a few times, and then have the rest of the afternoon to ourselves. It's a five-minute walk at most."

Eva was not sure that Noah would appreciate the location, but she did not really know him very well. He seemed quiet, but she did not know whether he was the type to believe in haunted, creepy shacks or not. She personally had thought it was just a scam, but she had always been a bit cynical.

Noah listened as she rambled about the place, he himself didn't have a problem with the shack. He wondered why some people were so frightened of it. It was just an empty building, sure if you looked at it in the wrong light it might look somewhat scary but really, it was only a building.

"That sounds fine," He said nodding at her, she had an unsure expression on her face which he supposed meant that she wasn't too sure how he would react when being presented with the idea of sitting next to a supposed haunted shack.

Eva set off to this place, Noah only a few steps behind her.

"That sounds fine," Noah said, and Eva nodded. Off she went, walking at a rather brisk pace. That was the way Eva was--she did everything quickly, and walking was no exception. When she had somewhere she wanted to go, she went, sometimes leaving others in the dust. However, Noah kept up with her steep pace, trailing only a few steps behind her.

They walked quickly to the spot, which was actually one of Eva's favorite areas of Hogsmeade. It was a small, grassy area, not far away from the Shack, but not right next to it. However, the proximity was enough to unnerve some, because you could hear the snarls and shrieks from there. This made it a more private, quiet area, which Eva liked. Usually, she was a chatterbox, but something about this part of Hogsmeade calmed her down.

When they got to the area, she plopped down on the grass, basking in the sun. "So, I suppose we should go ahead and start?"

Eva walked fast, Noah like that, he couldn’t stand people who took absolutely forever to walk from one place to the other. He nearly always kept stepping on their heels. He managed to keep a few steps behind Eva and wasn’t trying to slow himself down so he didn’t stand on anyone’s feet.

They got to the spot and sat down, Noah glanced around. It was a nice place, away from the bustle of the town but didn’t take forever to get there. It was a nice distance away and the view was nice as well. You could see parts of the town, people who looked like dolls walked through the streets going into shops.
“Yeah,” He said nodding to Eva, starting now would be the best idea. Then they had it out of the way, and there was nothing else they were going to do either. Except for talking, and while Noah talked to Eva more then he talked to a lot of people he wasn’t exactly the best guy for a conversation.

Whoever had the stuff (I don’t remember -_- ) got them out and passed them to the other, so both parties had what they needed to perform the presentation successfully. Noah sifted through the cards, reading through his parts so he had a general idea of what he was going to say. “Alright,” He said nodding at Eva. “We ready?”

Eva passed out the information, and the two read over everything very quickly before practicing formally, just so they had an idea what they were doing. Eva thought it would be best to do it as if they were actually presenting, since that always seemed to help her. Neither really was the type of person to goof off a ton, though, anyway, so it would work out perfectly. Eva was a chatty person, but when it came to schoolwork, she never let anything get in the way. She was a good student, and her work was very important to her.

Finally, Noah and Eva finished their precursory reading. “Alright,” Noah said. “We ready?” Eva nodded, saying, "Yup, I think so! Are you ready?" She got her note cards back into order, and stood up, getting off the soft, grassy ground.

The two of them went through the presentation a few times, with each reherse it got better. They didn't stumble quite so much on the longer and more confusing words and the whole thing flowed better, wasn't as choppy as they knew round a bound what they were going to say.

Noah was quite pleased with how the presentation turned out. Once they started Eva went completly serious, not that she hadn't been serious before. She just stopped joking and talking and went into work mode. Which was the only mode Noah really seemed to have.

Despite the fact that Snape had thought pairing them together would be horrible for the both of them. It had turned out quite well. They got on well enough together. Which made Noah smile, something Snape had done had actually benifieted the people he had been trying to put through hell.

Eva was happy. This project had turned out perfectly. Both of them worked hard, and they worked surprisingly well together. They practiced a couple times, just to make sure they had it down perfectly, and by the end, they did not even really need the flash cards. They had it all committed to memory, and if one person forgot, the other person could recover things for them. It was the perfect setup for both of them. Eva loved the irony of the fact that Snape had paired them up to set them up for failure. He was the only one who failed.

They finally finished, and the morning was not half over. Eva sat down in the grass, enjoying the day. It was beautiful. The weather was perfect. She could just sit there, not saying a word, not doing a thing. Nature did that to her, silencing the chattiest of souls.

She completely forgot why she had gone out there in the first place. She was just glad to be there.

Noah sat down once they had finished practising their script. He wasn't the biggest fan of the outdoors, mostly because he burnt easily when it was sunny and that was not a good thing and quite painful. He looked at the sun, hoping that it wasn't that bright. He didn't want to spend the next few days in pain. Eva was quiet, he had expected her to start chattering as soon as their practice had ended but she hadn't, she'd sat down and was quiet. He yawned softly, running his fingers through the grass and distractedly pulled a clump out and then let go, letting it drift to the ground.

After a while, Eva noticed Noah starting to get a bit uncomfortable. She forgot they had been out in the sun so long--Noah was pale as can be, he was sure to burn. She was a bit embarrassed to have so completely lost track of time. She stood up, gathering her materials together, and she looked to see the time. It was a lot later than she had thought--it was already almost lunch time, according to her rumbling belly. It was getting near noon or so, so she figured she would eat soon anyway.

Out of common courtesy, she extended an invitation to Noah to eat with her. She did not know what else he had to do, but he would have to eat eventually, also. "Noah, you want to go somewhere for lunch? No strings attached." She did not mean anything by it--she did not want to create any implications or stress him out.

Noah looked up as Eva asked him to lunch, and wondered whether he should or not. Though she had stated that she didn't mean anything by it, it was just lunch. And there was nothing wrong with just having lunch, it wasn't like it would lead to anything or something along those lines. "Sure," He said with a small nod getting up off of the grass and then sneezing when the blare of the sun shone into his eyes.

Eva and Noah walked along in Hogsmeade. It was a gorgeous day, but Noah kept sneezing. Eva walked slightly ahead, although she had no idea why. She did not know where they were going to eat any more than Noah was. She just liked the feeling of rushing around, of feeling the wind on her face as she skipped along the road. She was always weird that way. She LIKED being in a hurry, and bustling about. Today was no exception.

Finally, they started to get to the shops and restaurants. She turned around to talk to Noah. "Do you have any preference for where we eat? I don't really mind either way, and if you have any favorites, I'm up for anything. I don't really know what you like to eat."

Noah shrugged when they got into town, near the shops. "I don't mind either," He said. He wasn't a fussy eater, he just about ate anything. Well not anything, but for most foods he woudn't complain if that was what he was given. "I don't usually eat in Hogsmeade, so where-ever you like to go is fine with me." He shrugged again, his eyes flittering to the shops. Thinking that he should go around all of the shops one time when he was in Hogsmeade.

Noah didn't seem to have a specific preference, since it seemed he didn't really know much about the individual shops. Eva watched his eyes flick from place to place, and it gave her an idea. "Noah, what do you usually do in Hogsmeade? Have you been to any of the shops down this strip?" If he hadn't, they could go exploring--Eva knew a few of the stores really, really well, and a few of them she had never been in at all. It would be easy to get their lunch along the way, picking it up bit by bit in different shops, while getting to see everything there was to see in the magical town. Eva always had liked exploring, and she had lots of time on her hands and not a lot to do. She was excited about the prospects. She just had to see Noah's response.

Noah looked at Eva, thinking that it was a somewhat odd question but also at the same time not. He sighed, he was confusing himself. "Havn't been into much of them, been into the quill shop, three broomsticks, uhm." he frowned, trying to name the other place he had been to. But he couldn't remember. He was sure he had been into more than two places when in Hogsmeade though. He couldn't remember going into any more. But he had, surely.

Eva's face lit up. He hadn't been to many places. This was the perfect opportunity for them both, then, if he was willing to go along.

"What do you think of the idea that we could just go exploring?! We could walk around Hogsmeade, popping into random shops, getting food wherever we feel like it, and just figuring out where everything is. I don't have a lot of experience with this area, and I figured it would be something fun." Eva then backed up a second, to make sure Noah didn't feel forced into anything. "But, I mean, I completely understand if you have something you need to do, or if you just want to go somewhere like the Three Broomsticks. I was just kind of curious, and I figured now was a good chance to investigate."

"Um," Noah said thinking it over, it sounded alright, looking around all of the different places in Hogsmeade, he probably wouldn't have much of a chance to do it again. Because he didn't come into Hogsmeade every weekend that they could, and he usaully just did what he neded and went back up to the castle. And it would be nice to explore all of the shops and everything. "Sure," He said with a small smile. "Sounds good."

"Sure," He said with a small smile. "Sounds good."

Eva beamed. She was bursting with energy, partly from the nice day, and partly from the excitement of getting to explore, to see the things she had never seen before, and to find out things she hadn't ever expected. She thought for a second, before saying, "So, where do you think we should start? We could go to the end of this street here and start there, going to all the shops and stores, or we could just pick random places and walk around. It's up to you, whatever you want."

Noah wondered how someone could have that much enegery. It was crazy, she didn't stop bounding around and went from one idea to the next without stopping for a moment. He smiled slightly though, he liked it, it was nice. Even though he knew he would never be like that. Starting fromt the top of the tree would add more order into what they were doing, where as going into random shops they wouldn't know which ones they had been in and which they hadn't, which could get confusing in the long run. "Let's start from the top," He said. "And work our way around."

Eva nodded. "I agree. That makes a lot more sense, and that way, we will be sure that we go everywhere, which is half of the fun." Eva was beaming at this point, and she skipped to the end of the lane. If she had known Noah for longer, she would have been practically dragging him along with her as she went, but she decided against it. She wanted him to be able to walk along at his own pace, and he probably wouldn't appreciate her dragging him along.

At the end of the street was a Quidditch store, packed with all sorts of Hogwarts students, there for the day. Eva stopped to wait for Noah to catch up before plunging into the crowd. As she was waiting, something occurred to her. "What if there are secret passageways in Hogsmeade?" she asked Noah, excited by the prospect.

Noah smiled amused as Eva bounded along to the shop, he followed at his own pace, which wasn't exactly slow. But compared to Eva's it seemed it. He caught up, looking inside the shop, it was fairly packed students bustling around, most of whom played Quiddich, getting supplies from their brooms or other things along those lines. He looked at Eva who was almost bounding on the spot. And couldn't help but smile. "Maybe there are, but they are not going to be in places that students can find them. So I doubt they'll be in the shop part of the shop."

Eva agreed with him. "I vote that we look in every shop for secret passageways--I didn't bring much money anyway, so I don't really care about actually buying anything. I don't know if you do, but secret passageways are WAY more important, in the long run. What if we discover something that no other students know exist! What if we can find a hidden tunnel that leads to other stores, or to Hogwarts, even!" Eva was out of control, her brain humming along, finding possibilities, getting more and more excited. "Let's go!" she said, beaming once again. She turned around to Noah to see his reaction, and waited.