{~the news~} |James|

[Arturo Leonard]

This morning was like any other, the Slytherin got up, showered, dressed, prepped herself, then walked to the Great Hall; the dining room for the school. She usually sat with the Gryffindors and hid from the teachers, as students were to sit with their houses. She loved hanging with her family and friends, they made her dreary times melt away and it made her feel extremely loved, completely unlike her house. She was enemies with almost all of them, if not most; she grimaced at the thought of her friends being so close but too far for her to reach when she must stay in her house, which she disobeyed so much. She grinned at the thought of her sneaks and gave her hair another fluff, she walked into the Great Hall with a smile as she headed for the halfway full Gryffindor table.

She saw a few friends and smiled, she gave little waves to a few but sat in the usual spot and listened to the chatter raise as many waited for the last students to fill the seats so the morning mail would come quickley. Arturo did not see Adam, James, or Albus when she had come down so she simply poured herself some pumpkin juice and waited. A first year sat down by Arturo and smiled, then once she saw the Slytherin emblem she widened her eyes and looked away. Arturo only shook her head and silently begged for the boys to come quick, or even just one of the girls.

Her skirt was a tad short but regulation nonetheless, her shirt crips, her vest soft, her tie fixed, her makeup the usual and her violet optics dazzling. She smiled and tucked a pink strand behind her ear, her blonde hair was still streaked and she intended on keeping it that way until she chose another color; hot pink that looked almost fire engine red was her thing right now. One last look had her grabbing a chocolate chip muffin and popping a piece in her mouth before someone uninvited came to talk. Where are you, boys?

[James Potter]

Morning. It was the worst time in teh world. personally, James thought there should be no such thing as 'morning', it shoudl g straight from night to afternoon. With a grimace the Gryffindor walked through the throngs of students that flocked toward the Great Hall for breakfast. Ew. Breakfast, he hated that too. Normallyhe ate a peice of toast and drank some water in the morning, other wise he felt sick all day. Of course at home his motehr made him eat a plate full of everything. Ugh. James ran a callused hand through his black hair, trying to set some semblance of order in place without any luck. Other then his haggard face graced with a frown and baggy eyes, he was immpecably neat, mainly because he didn't care how his clothes looked in the morning. Take that as you will, but it made sense to him. Crisp khaki trousers were definatly regulation, with a crease down each leg, none the less. His top half was slightly less neat, his shirt bunching around his pants and his red and gold tie askew. The magority of this was covered by his long black robes, but, like I said, it didn't really matter.

James grumbled slightly as he entered the Great Hall, striving to block out the rumble of voices. His hazel eyes ran over the tables, finding the difference in atitude amusing. The Hufflepuffs, a buzzing table of smiles and laughter, were clad in yellow and black, creating the feeling of a very happy hive of bumble bees. next were the Gryffindors, his own table, a ccophony of loud voices and rowdy confusion. Truly they were a den of lion cubs, rolling all over each other with merry recklessness. Next to them were the Ravenclaws, a blue wave of studious silence as most of them had their nose tucked in a book, all except Teddy of course, his unnaturally orange hair sticking out like a sore thumb. Like most days he was asleep, so he didn't really add to much noise to the table. Last was Slytherin, voices rising and falling in some kind of smooth rythym as they glanced up at him in disgust. He glared back, knowing there were only two of that house he would trust. Andromeda Malfoy and Arturo Leonard. Both blondes and both gorgeous, James felt a deep affection for both of them. And yet, it was a different affection, love for the Malfoy, something secret from teh rest of the school. Her platinum head was easy to pick out, her brilliant emerald eyes animated. Arturo was one of his best friends, and James felt a deep, unexplainable connection to her. She didn't sit at the Slytherin table, as per usual, and the sight of her golden hair striped through with hot pink reminded James of something rather important. The Yule Ball was coming up, and he had to ask someone, someone that wasn't Andi. Arty knew about teh pair, so he could ask her and she wouldn't feel offended if he wandered off. Besides, James very much doubted the pretty girl had anyone else to go with.

Slightly less tired he quickened his pace and soon saw her sitting at teh Gryffindor table beside some wide eyed first year. With a tired smile purely for the Slytherin's benefit the fith year slid into a chair across from her and grabbed a buttered peice of toast, slowly ripping it into shreds as he stared at Arty. "Hey Arty, where are your stalkers?" A common little joke between the two helped James think of how tophrase this. "Are you going to the ball with anyone?" The first year made a small eep and opened her outh to say soemthing about teh Gryffindor seeker asking out a Slytherin, but James glared at her, daring her to say anything else.

[Arturo Leonard]

Arturo swallowed her juice and tapped her foot a little irritatedly; the boys had always been late yet she always was on her regular schedule. She smiled a little as she thought of her best friend, an unexplainable connection she felt with him lingered on her face but darkened as she thought of his new girlfriend that only half of the school may know about; the other Slytherin was similiar to Arturo in many ways but personality waise she was the replica of James Lupin Potter. Arturo's mind wandered to the ball and before she knew it a Gryffindor resided in front of her and she was unfocusedly staring striahgt at him; she had to blink to comprehend she was halucinating.

She smiled wamrly and shook her head, her stalkers were more or less no one yet, she was beautiful and a third veela, she casted no spells and let boys do their staring from afar and leaving before they could come closer. Five too many relationships left her hurt and unwelcoming to new situations where her heart was vulnerable. She smiled at James, he was something else and as far as friends went he was closest to her, including her family. Her violet optics took in his wardrobe of choice, a lovely semi-neat dress. "My stalkers love to stare from afar and you know they have no courage. Besides, I can't let them get too close." Her relationship with her virginity loss was the hardest for her, she was cheated on by a jerk with a rather ugly girl who seemed to be more experienced. She gave a grimance at the thought; she relied on James to take it all away, and he succeeded each time. "The Yule ball is coming up..." She knew about him and his secret girlfriend, the one he couldn't be seen with, she was his top choice as a date. Arturo would have been flattered but the reasons for his choice were...unflattering. She smiled cruelly, she wanted to tease him first but she would accept no doubt; how could she refuse him? "Well...you see...actually...I...well, I sorta... wouldn't mind to go James." She smiled and wondered if he would try the I was just checking on you, I already have a date joke, although he wouldn't ask her, surely, if he had a date, would he? She bit her bottom lip and watched him for a few before grabbing a mango and taking a bite.