(1940-01-19) Breakfast for Lovers & Loners
Details for Breakfast for Lovers & Loners
Summary: After a week-end of Hogsmeade visits and Quidditch, breakfast in the Great Hall is the place to catch up on rumours and ramblings (of you-guess-who). Various students gather and talk about House Points and other things.
Date: 19 January 1940
Location: Entry Hall and the Great Hall
Related:
Characters
AbraxasAngelusEliseHephaestaLaraLeviLudaeMirandaVictoriaPringle

It's just a little bit before breakfast, and many students are streaming through this room toward the Great Hall. Elise has stopped to look up at the House Points Counter, at the rubies and emeralds and sapphires and… whatever yellow stone is being used for Hufflepuff. Absently, she reaches up to twirl a short lock of hair around her finger. Despite the fact that her house is clearly in the lead, she's got a frown on her pale little face.

Ludae is wandering down towards the great hall herself, arriving from the shifting staircases that led to the dormitories. She's carrying her bookbag - when isn't she? Ludae smiles softly, humming to herself happily as she makes her way through the entry hall. Noticing Elise, she comes to a stop next to the other girl, looking up at the house points curiously. "Something the matter, Elise?" she asks, glancing at her fellow Ravenclaw.

At her name, Elise looks away from the Counter. "Hullo, Ludae," she greets. Then she looks rather confused. "Something the matter? No… should there be?" She blinks innocently a couple of times.

Ludae gives a shrug of her shoulders, and smiles brightly at the younger girl. "You were frowning," she says, "Thought you might have been feeling bad for Slytherin, since we're crushing them so hard this year." She grins a little. "How are you doing?" she asks, "I haven't run into you for a couple days now, I was hoping you were doing alright."

Elise laughs just a little at that. "Oh, no," she says. "Just… thinking thoughts, I suppose. Mostly about hair." She touches her short bob and sighs. "I'm alright. And… I hear you're doing very well!"

Ludae is standing next to Elise in the entry hall, the both of them on their way to breakfast. Right now there's a flow of students moving around them. Ludae blushes softly at Elise's mention, and she can't help a really big smile from forming. Of course, being shy like she is, she looks away a bit. "Oh, you heard that, did you?" she says.

"I think everyone heard that," Elise laughs. "We all like to know when Cupid's arrow strikes true." She pretends to draw an imaginary bow and fires it in Ludae's general direction. "Boing!"

Ludae blushes a little deeper at that, biting her lip gently. "Got around that fast, did it?" she asks, glancing at Elise. "Well, you know… Um… Hopefully it's only good things, I would hate to have marred Phae's reputation in any way."

"I don't listen to nasty rumors," Elise says, rather loftily. "People that spread those aren't really the kind of people I like to be around." She sniffs disdainfully at the thought, appearing entirely upper-crust and proper at that moment.

Victoria makes her way down the steps as well, carrying a few of the books with her, including her note-taking book. She spies her two fellow Ravenclaws at the board. "Ladies, it may be too early for a celebration. We're only half though." She smiles. "Morning." She winces with each slow step she takes as she approaches the girls.

Ludae and Elise are standing in the entrance hall talking, near the points counter. Ludae smiles at Victoria when the older girl makes her way over. "Oh, good morning, Victoria," Ludae says, with a smile and a light blush, "We were actually, um, talking about my recent good news, actually." She bites her lip shyly, though she's still got a huge smile on her face. "How are you, Victoria?" she asks after that, "Bruises healing well?"

Elise winces in sympathy at Victoria's obvious pain. After the game Victoria would know that Elise actually cried in the locker room over their crushing defeat. "If there's anything I can do to help, please let me know," she offers.

Victoria puts her books down in order to give Elise a big (cringing) hug, and then a shoulder-hug to Ludae before slowly bending and picking the books back up again. "I'm getting better by the day, but we'll need to get back to practice as soon as possible. We weren't ready for that type of brutality. We need to work on our defensive posture and focus. We can't sit in the pitch in order to give strategies, they don't give us time. We'll have to come up with snap plays and remember them. Work out a signal system or…" She stops, taking a breath. "Sorry. I'm all fired up about the loss too. I'll need to talk to Elspeth soon." She looks around. "Are we heading for breakfast?"

Oblivious to her surroundings, Miranda wanders in from the direction of the courtyard, her black wool cloak buttoned tightly around her to fend off the cold that subtly wafts off her as she approaches the other students. She has a gloved hand raised, fingers poised as she makes swishing motions, though thankfully there is no wand attacked to said fingers. Just practicing. With a final jab, she finally looks up from the book in her other hand to stare owlishly at the other students for a second before her hands drop to her sides. "Hello," she comments brightly before looking around herself quickly, as if just realizing she's finally entered the castle. With that discovery well in hand, she begins to remove her cloak.

Elise nods seriously. "It's fine, you don't need to apologize. Not after what you went through." Her shoulders droop a bit. "Sorry I was so terrible at the hoops." She nods at the breakfast question. "Yeah, just… catching up before we go in." She nods at Miranda, returning her greeting.

Ludae puts her arm around Victoria, giving her a gentle hug, as she's well aware of the older girl's injuries(having gotten an eyeful of them earlier). "That was the plan," she says to her, smiling. She blinks a little as she looks at Miranda, the redhaired girl smiling warmly at her after a moment. "Hi there," she says, "You heading to breakfast, too?" She doesn't seem to think it's at all odd that the girl would walk around reading from a book. Well, maybe for a girl in Hufflepuff, but she's talking to three Ravenclaw girls. It's a wonder they're not all studying right now.

Victoria shakes her head at Elise. "We win as a team, we lose as a team. Don't be so hard on yourself. I botched pretty badly even before I got hit." She says and smiles to Miranda, and pro-actively places a hand to her nose as a defensive measure as she smiles, jokingly. As she moves a bit slowly still, she starts to take a few steps towards the Great Hall.

"Oh, breakfast sounds lovely!" Miranda replies to Ludae, giving her a warm, beaming smile. She tucks her book into her cloak, which she then folds over her arm. This is followed by a pair of blinks as she watches Victoria and Elise's interactions, but likely deciding it's none of her business, she merely continues smiling and nods in turn to the other girls. Victoria's job is received with a bright-eyed widening of a smile-turned-grin, then she turns to join the progress toward the hall. "No luck with the infirmary?" she asks curiously, noting the slow movements.

Seeing others walking toward the Great Hall, Elise turns to go into it as well. "Well… we certainly have the latter half of that down," she replies glumly to Victoria. She sighs as she heads toward the Ravenclaw table, where the breakfast is laid out and many of their Housemates are already eating.

Ludae follows the other girls into the great all, smiling somewhat dreamily herself. She can't help it, pretty much everyone knows why. Poor girl got a dose of love potion in the form of a kiss and she's addicted. "I'm Ludae, by the way," she introduces herself to Miranda, "I don't know if you've met Victoria, she seems about your age, too. Our other sister Ravenclaw is Elise. What's your name?"

Victoria smiles and waves to Miranda, books in her hand making it difficult to properly shake. "Actually, this is *after* the infirmary. I was much worse off when Madame Hooch carried me off the field in a stretcher. I just have this lovely bruise from the bludger. It's starting to fade." Because of the location, she refrains from lifting her shirt to exhibit it, with such a large company around. She makes her way over to the Ravenclaw table and takes a seat.

Its back to the basic routine for breakfast. Levi enters into the great hall ready for the day or as well as he can be anyways. He peeks around a moment before moving through towards the table. It seems he was hoping someone would be there already but they dont seem to be there. The seventh year gives a small shrug and will move to the table having a plop down he'll look down the row to see who is here offering a wave.

"I once had a bruise that had every shade of the rainbow in it," Elise says absentmindedly. "Red and orange and yellow and green and blue and purple." She picks up a small plate. "It was this big," she says. "Right here." She points to her hip. "My brother hit a bludger at me and knocked me clean off my broom, and then I landed right on the same spot."

Angelus is neatly dressed in school uniform, robes fluttering at his heels as he walks into the Great Hall with a tilt to his chin and a smug smile worn across his face. His hair freshly styled, crisp and with the ringlet of curls at the ends. As he walks towards Gryffindor's table the youth suddenly stops, looking over the table with a smirk, inclining his head slightly to the side. As he sweeps a glance around the hall, he suddenly whips to the side to veer away from Gryffindor's table, heading straight for Slytherin's. This… can't end well.

Miranda has been tagging along with the group of Ravenclaw girls, though she slows as they begin to approach the tables. Absently scratching the tip of her thumb at a spot under her ear, she studies the tables for several seconds. In the end, she forgoes joining Hufflepuff's table, and continues following the Ravenclaws to their own. She waves a hand toward Levi as she moves, however, then arches a brow, catching Angelus' progress toward the Slytherin area of the hall.

Ludae frowns a little as she notices the arrival of Angelus, glancing his way as she sees him head towards the Slytherin table. "Well, breakfast is going to get interesting," she mutters under her breath. She climbs over the bench to seat herself at the Ravenclaw table with the other three girls, setting her books down beside her. She looks back to Victoria, though, and says, "You're lucky that you can get magic to help with your injuries. My cousin Tanner, a muggle on my mother's side, fell out a window once. It took the whole summer for him to heal up."

Elise winces a bit at Ludae's cousin Tanner story. "That's bally awful," she says sympathetically. "Still… magic can't cure everything. Even the best witches and wizards eventually die from something." She starts slowly putting food on her plate.

Levi will wave to Miranda "Day going well?" he asks though he notices the arched brow and turns to look at what she's seeing. He spots the Gryffindor moving towards the other table and he will sigh though and turn back "I'm not sure we should involve ourselves." he says simply.

Victoria nods and cringes at the Tanner story. "Well, exactly. Currently I just have muscle soreness and the bruise. Originally I had broken bones and quite possibly a concussion." She looks up as the blond Gryff boy heads to the Slytherin table. "Is this trouble in the making?" She asks her fellows, not entirely sure what may be going on. "Also.. have you noticed anything different about Callow lately?" She says, thinking on a discussion she had with Sybil before bed the night previous.

Miranda must be in agreement with Levi, because she does nothing to stop Angelus. She just watches, while slowly setting her cloak and book on the bench before taking a seat just a space down from the Ravenclaw girls. "I think so," she answers Victoria quietly before turning back to Levi and smiling slightly. "So far," she answers him before gesturing with a piece of toast and grinning. "Back to food I didn't need to prepare myself, so that's pretty good in my book!"

As Angelus approaches Slytherin's table, many of the Slytherin students look up. Their looks range from surprise, annoyance, pity, even as others choose to ignore. Smirking, Angelus offers out a, "Good morning," as he walks the length of a bench. Whenever he finds an open seat that he intends to take, however, it suddenly disappears when the student shifts to take it over.

"Go find your place with your Muggle-lovers," says one Slytherin boy with a sneer. Angelus ignores the comment, lifting a booted foot to place it on an empty part of the bench before anyone can shift position. He leans over, confident smile on his lips, and reaches coolly for one of the sausage rolls, leaning an arm atop his knee. Of course, at least one of the professors up at the Head Table has noticed this and is frowning over at the table.

Elise has noticed, too. "Oh, dear," she says, eyes trained on Angelus and the Slytherin table. "What…?"

The seventh year boy looks back smiling to Miranda "That's good to hear, what's your class schedule like today?" Levi wonders he'll begin to get something to eat and drink though taking a bite against his better judgement he cannot help but look not to the student but to the teachers and back before grabbing another drink and bite to eat.

Ludae is, for the moment, trying to distract herself with the meal instead of paying attention at what's going on across the hall. She chews on something while listening to the girls around her talking, for the moment just enjoying her breakfast.

Victoria looks around, her main concern being her own House. If things get out of hand, she'll look for a way to protect Ravenclaw. No one has answered her about Gareth, so she leaves that discussion tabled for now as she puts some food on her plate, hoping it will help her heal.

Miranda fiddles with the toast in her hands for a moment, her attention split between Angelus and the head table. As the scales in her head teeter back and forth, she finally takes a deep breath, then gathers her things again. "Lovely bumping into you three," she tells the girls quietly before picking up her things and moving herself to her proper table, sitting across from Levi. "If I can't be part of the solution, I should make sure I'm not part of the problem," she tells him with a little smile as she settles in. It helps that there's more distance between her and Slytherin's table, of course.

Levi watches as his housemate joins him properly and will take another bite though when finished he smiles across "Diffrence being you werent causing any issue and i'm sure they didnt mind you sitting there." He says his voice lowered a little not trying to start any more drama though its just likely the truth anyways. He takes a moment to glance about at the other tables seeing anyone else he knows before back.

The lips of one of the Slytherin's tighten as he eyes Angelus. Probably a seventh year, his voice is quiet as he says something about the Gryffindor going back to his own table. "I'm where I'm meant to be," replies the Gryffindor youth, giving a carefree shrug as he bites into the roll. But the blonde haired boy's decision to approach the table has, indeed, caused a scene, and the caretaker is up and grumbling as he moves over to take care of the situation.

"Ow," Angelus hisses out when Pringle's fingers grasp his shoulder. He shrugs it reflexively as he's suddenly yanked away, listening to the grumbles of the caretaker as his feet scramble to keep up, lest he be dragged across the floor. Angelus is all but thrown to a seat at Gryffindor's table, firm hands planting him down on his rump. A twist of Gel's lips turn upward as his gaze follows the caretaker off, lifting the bun to his mouth and tearing off another bite.

"What was that all about?" says one of the Gryffindor's.

Ludae glances up when Pringle pulls Angelus away from the Slytherin table. She giggles softly, hiding her smile behind her hand for a moment. She grins a little bit and glances around her, and reaches over to collect another piece of bacon to munch on. The redhead is seated at the Ravenclaw table, watching the others for now, content to just listen to the conversations at the moment.

Miranda passes the butter down the table to a younger Hufflepuff, then returns her attention to Levi, shrugging slightly. "Still invited myself, didn't I?" she replies with a tiny grin before moving some bacon onto her plate. She watches Pringle and Angelus as the Gryffindor is moved to his own house's table, then she quickly focuses on what she's doing instead. "Our 'Creatures' class today is going to be wicked cold," she comments idly to her fellow seventh year, acting like nothing is out of sorts. "I went for a walk this morning and nearly tried out a new charm just to warm my toes. Seemed extravagant, though."

Elise lets out a sigh and the tension drops from her shoulders when Angelus and removed from the Slytherin table.

Victoria waves to Miranda as she leaves, totally understanding why. When Pringle takes care of the situation, she relaxes and begins to eat. "I always thought entertainment was for the evening meal." She quips, popping a bit of biscuit in her mouth. "So yes.. Quidditch. We're going to seriously need to practice harder for the next match."

Hephaesta hasn't even noticed the disruption, as she her attention has been claimed by a Ravenclaw Second Year who is apparently a friend of her little brother's. The younger student has been barraging her with a stream of questions about magical mechanics. Despite having her attention so occupied, Phae frequently glances down and across the table to a certain redheaded housemate, a bashful smile playing subtly on her lips.

Angelus stuffs the last of the roll into his mouth, moving his hand to rub his shoulder with a grimace. He didn't have to grab him so hard! Frowning, the boy shoots another glance off towards the caretaker, and then snorts as he turns to his plate. He begins piling eggs and bacon and the works onto the plate, his chin lifted in his arrogance. In a his former, proper British, he speaks to the general Gryffindor students sitting around him. "Well certainly when my father is on the Board of Governors he'll start getting changes made at this school. I say, some people need to learn how to better speak to their noble fellows."

"Shut up, Eibon," says one exasperated Gryffindor. He actually rises, taking his plate, and walking along the table to sit down again a few paces down from where Angelus is. Gel carries on, completely unconcerned by the rudeness. "And of course, when Professor Black takes over as Headmaster, things will be much better off." The youth pauses to take a couple forkfuls of his breakfast.

Ludae hadn't noticed Phae come in, though she knew she'd be there eventually. It isn't until she looks down the table for an idle distraction that she notices the mechanical-legged brunette, meeting her eyes for a moment and blushing shyly. She chews her lip a little, and something a little more important than breakfast nags at her to get up from the table. "Excuse me a moment," she says to the girls she's sitting near, before she gets up. Hands clasped behind her back nervously, she heads down the row to where Phae is sitting. "Got room for one more?" she asks, smiling warmly, particularly when her eyes meet Phae's.

Victoria sees Hephaesta and smiles warmly, leaving Ludae room to see her and wave. "What's with the name-dropping? Has there been some big deal coming up that I just haven't noticed? Is this the kind of thing that studying keeps from us?" She asks, more philosophically than anything else." When Ludae gets up, she grins brightly, thinking fondly of a friend of hers as well, who hadn't made it to breakfast yet. She moves down to close the gap on the bench so the ripple effect can work when Ludae goes to sit with Phae.

"Eh, think there's a diffrence all the same Miranda." Levi says simply though perhaps the rules would say diffrently strictly speaking that is. "I had a bad feeling that it might be cold out there, what was it we were learning today? I cant remember after I finished the paper i'd been assigned in charms." He chuckles a bit though he grins "Nah, cant have your toes falling off either." he grins.

Miranda continues to watch the comings and goings of fellow students, but she can't help but glance over at Angelus at the table next to Hufflepuff's. About half done her breakfast, she finishes a last bite of bacon and quietly shakes her head as she sets down her fork. "I'm not sure, but I think I'll go find my warmer stockings before class all the same," she murmurs to Levi before excusing herself from the table. She gathers her things, and without another glance back, she makes her way out of the hall.

Hephaesta's eyes are on Ludae as she approaches, her smile growing. "Just a moment," she says, turning to whisper something to the Second Year, who nods with a beaming smile before getting up to head down the table. Along with Victoria's effort, this suddenly leaves a very comfortable gap for two people. Phae scoots a few inches and smiles invitingly to the ginger. "Good morning, Ludae." A few nearby Ravenclaws exchanges whispers and hushed giggles, subtly gesturing to the two girls.

Levi nods to his housemate "Sure, i'll see you at class." He says watching as she leave he manages to spot the new arrival and a memory clicks from at holiday break though he looks a tad concerend maybe he's heared tale but as she nears he'll offer a wave and a friendly smile which is his usual way "Morning Stuart." he will add when she's close enough at least.

Hephaesta glances down when she feels Ludae's hand link with hers. Suddenly aware of the attention of their housemates, she ducks her head and her cheeks flush pink. But despite her embarrassment, her smile shines on. "S-so did I. But…yes, I think people know. You…um…you weren't very subtle." She giggles sheepingly, peeking up at Ludae.

Victoria sits quietly, contemplating. "I should get ready for class." She says as she stands, reaching for her books as she slowly makes her way to the exit, walking gingerly.

Ludae giggles softly, then nods her head to Phae, chewing on the corner of her lip. "Well… I figured there was a time for talk and a time for action…" She shrugs her shoulders, giving Phae's hand a squeeze under the table. That smile on her lips doesn't seem willing to do anything but remain brightly, despite Ludae's own relatively shy demeanor. "There's, um, there's this party coming up, by the way," she murmurs, "Sybil and Victoria are hosting it for the sixth and seventh years…" She chews her lip a moment, lifting her eyes to meet Phae's when she asks, "Would you, um, like to go with me?"

Angelus has gone quiet for a time, working on his meal. As he shovels eggs and bacon into his mouth, biting at toast, he manages to keep the appearance of self-importance, the smug look all but plastered on his features. After a while, the boy clears his throat, smirking, and pipes up as he spreads jam over his toast. "You know that I've had jam that tastes far better than this second rate stuff. Of course, we always have the high end stuff. Why, my father imported some brilliant jam from America. It was delicious." Lifting the bread to his mouth, he bites into it and tut-tuts, his lips curling snobbishly.

Lara pauses a moment as she hears her name being called, turning to the Hufflepuff table. She manages a grateful smile, waving back at Levi. Then she returns to her brooding, taking an empty seat at the Ravenclaw table. Looking around she notices Hephaesta and Ludae sitting next to each other and talking intimately. Having been completely oblivious to the rumours of this week-end, this finally catches her attention. She tilts her head, staring at the sweet couple for a long moment before coming to her senses and starting to fill her plate.

"A party?" Phae's mouth form's a curious 'O', though a certain trepidation is quite evident in her shifting eyes. "What…what kind of party? Just for Sixth and Seventh Years? So…Sybil won't be bringing Abraxas?" Her eyes flit down the table to where Ophelia sits, and her fingers involuntarily tighten in Ludae's grip. Ophelia is a Seventh Year, and Victoria's cousin no less.

Ludae chews her lip nervously, and gives a nod of her head. "I think she and Victoria are going to be too busy managing the party," she says, and leans in closer to murmur, "Besides, Sybil and Victoria were holding hands in Hogsmeade yesterday, so I don't think she'll be bringing Abraxas, no." Ludae grins a little, blushing softly. "I think it's just a social event," she says, "But they invited me, and well, I don't want to go if I can't be there with you…" She's a little wrapped up in her conversation with Phae at the moment, otherwise she might notice Lara looking their way. She follows Hephaesta's eyes down the table to where Ophelia is sitting, and she chews her lip a little. She knows the history they have, of course, at least the publicly known bits of it. "We don't have to go if you don't want, Phae," she says, "I just… thought it would be nice to go together." She hesitates a moment, and adds cautiously, "As… um, as a couple…"

By the time Angelus' plate is empty there is only a select few students sitting around him. The boy seems completely unconcerned by this, and keeps on making quips like, "And of course as a Star I imagine I'll just have to put up with many challenges from other wizards." Clearing his throat, Gel rises from the table - much a few relieved sighs - and comments airily, and yet with pride. "Well, I've got to grab my books and stop in on the library so I'm afraid I'm going to have to take my wonderful presence from the table." He turns to walk from the table, striding confidently towards the doors of the Great Hall.

/Couple. That word pulls Hephaesta's attention away from Ophelia and back to Ludae. Their rather public kiss was one thing. But an impulsive kiss between teenagers isn't quite the same thing as being a couple. "A couple? You want me to be your //girlfriend?" In her wide-eyed nervousness, that last word comes out in a cracking squeak, elevating her volume and drawing the attention and snickers from many nearby students.

Ludae blushes hard at the reaction from Phae, the redhead Ravenclaw feeling incredibly embarrassed at having mentioned it in such a way as to provoke that response. "Uhm, w-well," she stammers for a moment, unsure of just what to say or do that might resolve this in a good way. Meanwhile Ludae can only feel her face getting hotter. "Maybe not… girlfriend," she stammers, "N-not yet, at least, I just… thought we could, um, go together…" Poor Ludae looks like she's about to hyperventilate! 'Of course Phae doesn't want to be your girlfriend, what a stupid thing to say, Ludae! And in public, too. Might as well go throw yourself off the astronomy tower. Stupid, stupid, stupid!' All of that gets written on her face as she feels panic settling in.

Lara looks up at Hephaesta's squeak with curiousity. Girlfriend? She grins as she sees the expression in Hephaesta's face, and the panic in Ludae's eyes, but only until she realizes that Ludae is really looking ready to faint, turning an incredible shade of scarlet. She instantly prays Hephaesta would not make a scene here and now. But then, why should she be the only one feeling miserable this morning…?

Hephaesta blinks rapidly as she sorts through all of this in her mind. "So…you don't want me to be your girlfriend…yet?" The poor girl is so lost. Her eyes dart around as she realises that others overheard her. For a moment her eyes lock with Lara's and she gives her an awkward smile, silently pleading for understanding from a housemate.

Who knows what Abraxas was up to earlier in the breakfast hour? Sleeping in? Possibly, or more likely up to no good of some kind. Either way, he strolls into the hall, pointedly ignoring the exiting Angelus and sliding into place at the Slytherin table and getting himself a plate.

Ludae is so terrible at this. She doesn't know what to say and now a thousand thoughts are racing through her mind all at once. "N-no, I mean, I do, I just… It didn't come out right," Ludae stammers, red-faced, "I didn't think, um, we had to be girlfriends to go somewhere together. Um, I meant it kind of, uh, as a second date, maybe, not that we would be like… dating… um, like that… Oh gods, I really screwed this up didn't I?" Ludae bites her lip, finally shutting herself up, head down and eyes on the floor. She must really have a thing for Phae if she's this flustered over something so little. Really it wouldn't be so bad if it weren't for all the other people around making this whole mess extra embarrassing for the poor girl.

Lara is certainly not a master of subtlety, but a look at Ludae's face is sufficient to grasp that the girl has totally fallen for her fellow Ravenclaw and is on the brink of tears, by the look of it. She gives Hephaesta a re-assuring wink when their eyes lock, forming the words "She loves you!" with her lips and willing Hephaesta to understand, torn between the urge to laugh and the urge to strangle Hephaesta for her cold machine heart, or soul, or mind, or whatever is in control right now.

Hephaesta is no more subtle than Lara as she squints, trying to read her lips. Cheeluff juice? What in the world is-…oh. OOOH. Phae turns her attention fully to Ludae, gathering up the other girl's hand in both of her own. "No, no. You haven't done anything wrong," she tries to reassure her, taking a deep breath to settle and focus herself. "I was just confused. I thought a 'couple' meant…well, girlfriends." She looks around, sending many staring eyes suddenly away from the two of them, then murmurs more softly, "Maybe we should talk about this alone?"

Abraxas is oblivious, with his back to the Ravenclaw table, until some of his tablemates start pointing out that something interesting is going on. Abraxas turns and glances over his shoulder, then just shakes his head and turns back to his poached eggs. He murmurs something quietly, and there are a few laughs from the other snakes.

Ludae blushes softly and she nods her head, chewing on her lip. She glances around, too, but that only makes her blush worse when she realizes she was probably(coughdefinitelycoughcough) making something of a scene. "I, uh, I think you're right," she says, "We should probably talk about this somewhere else." She smiles softly, though, and gives Phae's hand a gentle squeeze. It's a good thing she didn't overhear whatever it was Abraxas said, because Malfoy or not the redhead might be inclined to give him a bloody lip! Of course, she's too focused on Phae right now to pay attention to what's going on at the Slytherin table, anyways.

Lara sighs as Hephaesta obviously just did not get it, resolving to have some girls talk with her later. Or maybe… pour some oil into her clock-work heart? Fix some loose parts? She pushes her plate away from her, having lost the rest of her appetite. What a mess. And Colton did not show up. Getting to her feet, she whispers to Hephaesta and Ludae in passing "Maybe you should… discuss this somewhere more private? Last thing you want is the Slytherin table taking notice…", giving both a warm, re-assuring smile before turning to leave the Great Hall.

"I, for one," Elise comments to another third-year sitting across the table from her, "Am happy to see the beginning of what could be a very romantic love story. I wish them all the best!" The other girl nods thoughtfully, her eyes already far-away, and Elise goes back to her meal… though she serruptitiously flashes Ludae an encouraging smile.

Hephaesta nods to Ludae, glad that the latest moment of mutual confusion seems to have passed. "Let's finish up and-…" Lara's comment earns a grateful smile. "Yes, that's our plan. I'm sorry if we caused a fuss," she adds, hearing her mother's voice reminding her about her manners.

It's too late, there's already been a scene. But other than another glance over his shoulder and a roll of his eyes, Abraxas doesn't engage with the other table. "Typical." he says, to his tablemates. "Then again, that family is known for their… how does one put it? Eccentricity?"

Ludae, as well, gives an apologetic smile to the other girls around them. Well, this is certainly going to circle the gossip trails at least once or twice, she's sure. She overhears that comment from Abraxis this time, though, and looks over toward the table, shooting a glare at him and the others there. She doesn't comment, at least not yet. Instead she looks back to Phae. "I, uh, I finished breakfast a minute ago, actually, that's why I decided to come talk with you, instead." She bites her lip and smiles at Phae, shrugging her shoulders.

Hephaesta nods, and takes a sausage pasty in hand. "Alright. Let's go, then." She's a light eater anyhow. She carefully swivels her legs around the end of the bench and rises, her clockwork leg brace clicking and whirring into action as she moves. As she heads for the doors, she gives a grateful smile to Elise. It's good to hear a vote of confidence over the usual gossipy whispers.

Ludae gives a smile to Elise, as well, blushing at the thought, herself. She waits for Phae to get up before standing herself. After collecting her things, she hesitates only briefly before sliding her arm around Phae's, taking her hand again as they head towards the doors. She doesn't say anything more, though, until the two of them are out of the great hall.

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