[wales] warm and real and bright

It was a gray day in Wales, skies overcast with silk gray clouds and a fine mist that couldn't really be considered rain. Wini would have been upset about the weather if she didn't have something much more exciting planned for today. It was an odd time for her to have a get-together at her house given it was the middle of February and you couldn't go outside on the farm without proper boots lest you get mud everywhere, but the fourth year wasn't going to complain. A whole month off from school in the middle of the year? She'd take it! Especially to spend time with both her family and friends.

She was so happy to be home, be out of the dome, and be in some of her own clothing that she was nearly skipping around the house. She had chosen a pink dress to wear today simply because she had missed the color so much. Not much of the borrowed clothing she had had for the past few months was pink and she had missed her favorite color. Her older sister Lysanora kept rolling her eyes at her, but Wini didn't pay her the least bit of attention. Her parents had given her the ok to have friends over and while they had allowed it once or twice before, she'd never have a group over before. Wini wondered if they would be used to a muggle home, but she was eager to introduce them to all the muggle things she was already familiar with. Tellies, washing machines, hair dryers! Oh it was going to be fun!

The Hufflepuff had planned a day of traipsing about her family's sheep farm, but given the weather this afternoon, she figured she'd need a Plan B. Not a problem for this little planner. She had kicked her two sisters out of her room (with her mothers permission of course) and she was ready to spend some quality time with Sophie and Marin and Eilis.

A knock sounded at the door and Wini jumped, excited, flinging the spatula down from where she had been taking some welsh cookies out of a pan. She hastened to the door and swung it open, a wide smile greeting her first guest. "Hi! I'm so glad you could make it!" she said and stepped out to give her friend a giant, welcoming hug before stepping back. "Come on in, I was just finishing up some welsh cookies if you want to help me take them out of the pan?"

@Sophie Scott @Marin Clare @Éilís Healey

(( In an effort to make sure this group thread doesn't die, I suggest everyone just posting as they have muse. We don't have to stick to a particular order and 'wait' for one person to reply before continuing. If someone gets busy and can't respond right away, they can just jump back in and we can play it as if they've been involved all along? ))

Éilís was dragging her feet up Wini's long drive. Teagan had dropped her off ten minutes before, promising to pick her up again in a few hours, but she had dawdled at the end of the path, treasuring her last few moments outdoors and with her own thoughts before she would be thrown into whatever dramatic plans Wini laid out for the group. When Wini had written to invite her to spend an afternoon at her home, she had been quite pleased. Although the pair had gotten closer since the Hufflepuff-Ravenclaw merger, she wasn't sure if Wini would continue to be interested in her friendship now that the dome was down. Once the castle was repared, and the Hufflepuffs moved back into their own dormitory, what reason would Wini have for continuing to spend time with the quiet Ravenclaw? But reading her invitation, she could practically feel Wini's excitement bubbling out from the page. Perhaps she had underestimated their friendship.

But even with the comfort she took from Wini's affirmation of their bond, she wasn't necessarily looking forward to the afternoon itself. She felt that Wini had a bit of a tendency to run with ideas as they came to her, and she winced at the thought of what Wini might have planned for the dramatic unveiling of her home. She reached the front door and lifted her hand to knock gently on the door, hoping that it would be Wini herself to answer the call rather than a parent or sibling. She heard a clatter from inside and pictured Wini knocking something over in her excitement to open the door and smiled.

The door flew open, and Wini was there, beaming at her. Before Éilís could answer, she was being smothered by one of Wini's enthusiastic hugs. Shifting her weight nervously, she awkwardly patted Wini once on the back before being released and stepping into the house. "Hi, sounds delicious!" Éilís replied, looking toward the kitchen. She followed Wini inside and spotted the cookie sheet sitting atop the stove. She relaxed a bit as she realized that she was the first one to arrive. Smiling, she leaned against the counter and looked around Wini's thoroughly muggle kitchen. The gas oven, shelves filled with cookbooks that she recognized, and all sorts of muggle appliances and knickknacks. She felt a wave of gratefulness as she recognized that Wini's upbringing perhaps hadn't been too different from her own. She could handle whatever she might encounter in this home.

(and yes, sounds good)

"Thanks for taking me here," Sophie told her mother as she let go of her, her backpack hanging over her right shoulder. "And no, you don't have to wait until I'm inside. Look around. Where else should I go?" The girl rolled her eyes and turned around to take the last few steps to Wini's home on her own. She sighed in relief when she heard the familiar sound behind her, signalising her that her mother was indeed gone. She'd snuck out in the middle of the night more than once during the past few weeks to spend time with some muggle friends in London but even though she'd been caught only once, it was enough to make Marie distrust her whenever she wanted to leave the house. Only Merlin knew what would have happened had she actually caught her more than once.

Today was harmless, though. Wini had invited her over and since her mother liked the Hufflepuff she'd been okay with taking her there. The blonde was probably just like she had wanted her own daughter to be and Sophie wouldn't be surprised if her mother thought that spending time with Winifred would somehow make her more girly. Well, that wouldn't happen. One unicorn princess in their group of friends was definitely enough. Once she reached the door, Sophie rang the bell, wondering who else Wini had invited or if it would just be the two of them.

The door opened and Sophie greeted Wini's brother, was it Owain or Steffan, the Hufflepuff definitely had too many siblings, who told her that the girls were in the kitchen. With a huge smile the Gryffindor walked over to the room, she'd been at Wini's place quite a few times over the last few years, and found Wini as well as Éilís and a bunch of cookies that smelled just heavenly. "Hey," she said loudly and placed her backpack on the kitchen table. "Your brother just let me in." With a few steps she reached the two girls and hugged Wini first and then Éilís. "Thanks for inviting me over, it was getting boring at home." She knew she should be glad for a few boring days after the last few chaotic months but she wasn't. Sophie was feeling restless and so every distraction was more than welcome.

"How have you been, Eilis?" Wini asked, throwing a smile over her shoulder as she led her Ravenclaw to her kitchen. It was a wonderfully muggle kitchen. Not a pan in sight washing itself, not like she'd seen at some of her wizarding friends houses. But she loved it just the same. It was warm and smelled like home and except for the current moment, usually filled with at least one or two of her family members. "Do you want to help me sugar these?" she asked, sliding the shaker of powdered white sugar to the other blonde. She had the spatula in her hand and she was sliding cookie by cookie onto a cooling rack. She had already placed a layer of plastic underneath the rack to catch the extra sugar so she nodded for Eilis to start.

The arrival of Sophie took her by surprise as she hadn't heard the knock on the door. "Sophie!" she exclaimed happily. She was so excited at the sight of her Gryffindor friend that she accidentally sent the cookie that had been on her spatula flying through the air, landing near the opposite wall. She didn't even bother with an "oops" as she rushed around the counter to wrap her arms around the brunette. "So glad you came," Wini said as she stepped back, genuinely happy to hang out with her friends even though it had only been a couple of weeks since she'd last seen them and only a couple more until they would all be reunited at Hogwarts. "Thanks Owain!" Wini called as she saw her younger brother walk past the doorway and towards the back of the house.

"Soph, do you want a cookie?" she asked as she finished pulling the last cookie off the hot tray. She began to bustle about the kitchen, getting a red tray out from beneath the counter, a few glasses filled with juice, some napkins, and a box of crackers too. Snack foods were very important for a girls day in. She placed a plate on the tray and asked Eilis, "mind putting those on the plate when you're done sugaring them?"

"Marin said he might come today too," Wini added happily, a sunny smile on her face. She had been owling her friend since that train ride to King's Cross and at least that aspect of the school year was looking up. Once the tray was ready to go, Wini picked it up, balancing the tray carefully. "C'mon, let's go to my room."

The Hufflepuff led the way down the hallway. They passed doors this way and that way, but Wini stopped to toe open the door close to the end of the hallway. It was a nice sized room with two single beds in it. One side was completely pink as if the color had thrown up on everything. Pink sheets, pink blanket with pink sparkles on it. Pink painted flowers on the wall half-covered with 3Spelled and Rupert Hartwood posters. The other side was light purple and the palest of blues. It was clear which side of the room was Wini's. "I share with my little sister Emlyn," she explained as she toed open the door for her friends.

She had set up a veritable blanket palace on the floor, pillows stacked on pillows, a variety of blankets covering the carpeted floor to make for an inviting place to lounge and hang out. Wini set the tray on a little three-legged faded white side table and they flopped down on the pile of pillows. "C'mon, let's snack!"

A small smile crept across her face at Wini's warm welcome as they walked toward the kitchen. "It's been fine. Very quiet at home," she replied. She had been spending most of her time with her father, who had had a hard time understanding why she had been away from home for so long. She hoped he wouldn't take it too hard when she left again; it seemed like the days at home were passing by very quickly. "How are things here? Were your parents happy to finally have you back home?" She looked curiously over at Wini, wondering how her own family had taken her absence. Had they been as worried and confused as hers had been?

Éilís took the powdered sugar shaker from Wini and began gently sugaring the cookies that were lowered onto the cooling rack, taking care to distribute the topping evenly. She was focused on her task until the arrival of Sophie distracted her. Éilís hugged her friend quickly, doing her best not to get her sugary fingers on her top. Éilís couldn't help but smile at Sophie's comment. She supposed a month at home would be boring for the impatient and adventurous Gryffindor. "Not enough excitement at home with your parents?" she asked, only a slight teasing in her tone. She felt comfortable with Sophie and was glad that she had joined them. As much as she liked Wini, she didn't feel nearly as much worry or pressure around Sophie, having been friends with her much longer.

As she finished up the sugaring, she carefully placed the cookies on the plate that Wini had set out for her, doing her best not to spill any sugar onto the counter. When she was done, the cookies were arranged in a perfect stack, each consecutive layer of cookies in a smaller circle than the one before. As she took a sip of the juice she was offered, her eyes darted up in surprise at Wini's words. She had invited Marin? Éilís hadn't heard that they were speaking again. Wini seemed quite happy about the prospect of Marin's arrival, however, so she decided they must have worked out their differences. She was surprised, but pleased, that the two had put things behind them. It had seemed like they might never repair their friendship, but maybe getting out of the dome had helped. Hoping that Marin's arrival wouldn't make things awkward, Éilís followed the Hufflepuff down the hallway to her bedroom.

Éilís couldn't help smiling as she noted the contrast between the two sides of the room. One half was pink. So, so pink. Obviously, that was Wini's. Éilís watched as Wini set the tray down in the middle of what could be best described as a blanket fort. She looked uncertainly at the set-up as Wini flopped herself, not sure where to settle down. After a moment of hesitation, she lowered herself down onto a pillow near Wini's feet, crossing her legs and reaching for a cookie at Wini's invitation. She choked a bit on her first bite as she accidentally inhaled the powdered sugar that she had so carefully dusted on top. Coughing, she reached for her juice, cheeks flushed with embarrassment. "These are delicious, Wini," she managed to get out once she had rinsed the first bite down with juice.

Sophie laughed when Wini sent one of the cookies flying but before she could comment on it, the blonde's arms were already wrapped around her. "I couldn't say no to an opportunity to get out of the house. You know my mother.” During the past few years Sophie had complained so often about Marie's overprotective nature that both girls could surely imagine what she was talking about. Owain, huh? One day she might finally be able to tell them all apart. Maybe. Okay, probably not.

"Of course, they smell heavenly.” She snatched one of the still hot cookies off the tray and put it into her mouth, slightly burning her tongue in the process. "And no, definitely not enough excitement,” she mumbled and shook her head. After swallowing the last bits of the cookie she continued, a smirk on her face. “I managed to sneak out of the house a few times to meet up with friends but then mum caught me and of course I've been grounded since then. She made an exception for you, though. She loves you.” Her words were directed at Winifred accompanied by some heavy eye-rolling.

Taking two glasses with her, Sophie began to follow her friends and when her Hufflepuff friend mentioned Marin, her eyes grew wide. No way. They were finally speaking again? This was like… the best thing that had happened in a while. Things between them had been so weird during the past few months. Seeing Wini without Marin and Marin without Wini had been just wrong, especially since she hadn't liked it to pick sides. Sure, she and Wini were a lot closer but she'd still felt really bad for the quiet boy who had seemed kind of lost without his best friend.

They entered Wini's room and the Gryffindor wasn't surprised at all that the girl's half of the room seemed even pinker than the last time she'd seen it. She flopped down right beside Wini and took one of the neatly arranged cookies Absentmindedly, she patted Éilís on the back, her blue eyes focused on the Hufflepuff. "So you and Marin are friends again? What happened? Tell us everything!”

"Quiet?" Wini asked, a foreign kind of curiosity in her tone. "I don't even know what that is," she added on a laugh. Even now, even with three of her siblings out of the house, there was still this hustle and bustle hum just outside the door. She knew her father and brother Elias were tending to the sheep, her mother and Emlyn were  sewing some quilts in the traditional muggle fashion, Lysanora was on her piano as usual and Owain or Steffan were bothering her because there was an odd note every once in a while followed by bickering. And at Hogwarts, it was even crazier. She wondered which Eilis preferred. "They were happy," Wini said immediately, summing up the situation easily. The details though were a little more difficult. Especially because they involved William and that was always a hard matter to explain. How could she explain that her real father wasn't the man she had thought was her father until only a few years ago?

"They.. they don't really understand everything that happened. I mean, neither do I. But William.. a family friend explained everything to them I guess and they were just happy that I was ok." she shrugged as she took a sip of her juice glass. "What about you two? How did your parents react?"

"Sophie lives the life of adventure," Wini joked, sharing a smile with her Gryff friend. "Relaxing and staying indoors isn't her thing." She knew that well about Sophie and she admired her for it too. She giggled at the thought of Sophie's mom liking her and she tacked on, "it's probably because I sent her that handmade Christmas card two years ago. Marin told me his mom loved hers too." She laughed again, her blonde hair shaking on her shoulders. Wini had this thing about writing her friend's mums, it was just fun.

"We should have visited you in London," Wini suggested with a glitter in her brown eyes. "Might have been more fun. There's nowhere to go if we try to sneak out other than down to the lake, but that's more fun in the daytime anyway." Or maybe she just wasn't as adventurous as Sophie, she wasn't sure. The Gryff's mention of Marin made her smile again, shyly almost, and she shrugged. She wasn't too proud of her behavior. "We just saw each other on the train and it just happened. I started talking and you know how I get when I'm emotional. I just couldn't stop talking and I apologized and cried a lot. He was really understanding about the whole thing," she explained, frowning towards the end. She still wasn't sure what she had done to have such a forgiving and kind friend. "I don't know why I just didn't apologize sooner," she added, rolling her eyes at herself.

Wini scooted over and then flipped onto her stomach, propping her chin on her hands. "Do you guys think the dorms will go back to being normal when we get back? Do you think they can fix everything? I kind of like sharing common rooms," she said with a look at Eilis. The two had grown closer since the Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs had started dorming together. It was nice.

Smiling obligingly at Wini's little joke, she listened with interest as Wini told her about her family's reaction to having her home. She understood exactly what Wini meant about her parents not understanding what had happened.

"It was the same thing with mine. They were happy to have me back. A friend of ours explained to my dad where I had been but he didn't really understand too well. It will be hard to leave him again," she replied. Éilís was surprised when her answer to Wini's question came out easily; normally, she had a difficult time talking about her family, but she felt very comfortable at Wini's house. It was so muggle, so familiar, and with Sophie here as well, Éilís couldn't help but relax a bit and let down some of her walls. It felt good to be with her friends and to relate to someone else's family situation, even if it wasn't precisely the same.

The Ravenclaw smiled as Wini gently teased Sophie, enjoying the opportunity to be a part of their light banter. Éilís imagined sneaking out with her two friends at midnight into London, and was secretly relieved that they were at Wini's. She was all for exploring a new place with her friends, but she wasn't much of a thrill-seeker and the worry of getting caught would probably have been too much for her to have any fun at all. But going down to the lake that Wini mentioned as they walked down the hall toward her bedroom sounded wonderful to Éilís, and she hoped that Wini would show their group around the farm later.

Her coughing finally abated as Sophie patted her back and the juice rinsed the powdered sugar down. Éilís' eyes widened as Sophie asked about Marin, and she almost choked again on her next bite of cookie. She hadn't been brave enough to ask Wini about her casual mention of her best friend, but Sophie had taken matters into her own hands and brought up the delicate subject. It seemed that Wini was happy to talk about it now that they had resolved their argument, though, and Éilís listened with interest to the story. She was relieved to hear that things had been repaired between the two, feeling a bit less worried about Marin's potential arrival now that it was confirmed that they were on good terms again.

Éilís frowned slightly at the next question. "I doubt it. The building was so damaged, and there are probably more important things for them to deal with while we're away," she replied. "I expect we'll still be sharing for some time." As grateful as she was to have gained a new friend in the Hufflepuff, she wasn't sure she was quite as happy to be sharing spaces as Wini was. She preferred to have a quiet common room and a bit more personal space than the Hogwarts students had been afforded over the past few months. "I bet you would be happy to have the Slytherins return to their dungeon, though, Sophie!" she teased, looking over at her Gryffindor friend and smiling.

"Oh they were happy as well," she replied, remembering the look on her parents' faces when they'd picked her up. Marie had been crying and Sophie was pretty sure that her dad had shed a tear as well. She hadn't meant to tear up herself but seeing her parents after months of not knowing if they'd ever make it out of the dome had taken its toll even on her and she hadn't been able to stop the tears from falling down her face. She had calmed down sooner than her mother, though. "Can you believe that mum suggested that I should be homeschooled from now on?" the Gryffindor asked, shaking her head, "I'm just glad dad convinced her that it's a stupid idea." Not being able to return to Hogwarts and her friends? That would be even worse than being stuck under a dome again.

She grinned at Wini's words and nodded. "What can I say? Gryffindor through and through." Oh yeah, the Christmas card. It was still hanging on a wall in the kitchen and she doubted that her mother would take it off. "Yeah, and the fact that you're a proper girl." Sophie gestured at the pink... everything, sure that her mother would love it. "You can always visit me during summer break and I can show you my favourite places. It's much nicer in the city then anyway."

The blonde finally answered her question about Marin and she listened carefully. "I kept asking myself the same question," Sophie teased her friend lightly, smiling at her. "But I'm glad you finally made up again. Now I won't have to see your miserable faces anymore." She was joking, obviously, but there was a little bit of truth in it. Wini had clearly not been her usual happy self during the last few months and it hadn't just been because of the danger they'd been in. Hopefully everything would turn back to normal now that they were friends again.

She doubted that school would turn back to normal so soon, though. Éilís next words confirmed her thought and she found herself nodding along. "A little, yes," the Gryffindor agreed and took a sip of her juice. "It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be, though. I got along pretty well with Aideen O'Bannon. She's nice, despite being a snake. But yes, I would have preferred sharing a dorm with one of you two. That would have been fun." While she and Aideen had gotten even closer during the last few months there were other students she definitely wouldn't miss once they would return to their dungeon.

"Do you think that was it now? No more danger, no more catastrophes? At least for the rest of the school year..." Her voice trailed off as she thought about everything they'd already been through during their time at Hogwarts. The war, the plague, the dome... They deserved a break, didn't they?

Wini nodded in agreement to Eilis's admission of it being hard to leave home again. She felt the same way, but always looking on the bright side, she said, "Me too, but this time will be better round. We'll be able to send letters and it's only a few months until summer break again." She smiled in a private joke to herself as she thought of her parents and siblings receiving owl mail. They still weren't quite used to it. Her brothers kept calling them carrier pigeons.

"Homeschooled? You?" Wini giggled and giggled, her cheeks turning pink. It was safe to say she thought the idea absolutely silly, especially because she knew Sophie so well. "They would be lucky to be able to keep you at home for that long if they had tried," Wini teased. "I would love that!" she was adding a moment later when Sophie mentioned visiting her over summer break. She'd been to Marin's and Peter's homes, but never Sophie's. The summer just went too quickly sometimes and Wini was always eager to see more of her friends in the summer.

As the conversation moved on to Marin, Wini was so relieved and happy to finally be able to talk about him or think about him and not want to cry. She feigned a shocked gasp and tossed a pillow lightly in the Gryffindor's direction. "I didn't look miserable all the time," Wini said in her own defense. Then thought about the past few months without Marin as her best friend and the smiled guiltily. "Okay, maybe I was, but now that's over," she amended with a grin.

"Next year, we should just be able to dorm with our friends, no matter what house they're in," Wini said with a smile, already picturing the whole thing perfectly in her mind. "Not all Slytherins are bad, right?" she asked, both questioning and stating the fact. "Peter's nice," she said with a shrug, not completely comfortable with the blanket statement about the Slytherins. She just didn't know that many personally but there was bound to be other good ones in their lot right?

At Sophie's question about the rest of the school year, a shadow passed over Wini's brown eyes and she frowned at the thought. "I hope so," she said fervently with a shiver up her spine. "We really do have the worst of luck these past few years," she added as she thought of each of her Hogwarts years in rapid succession and how something terrible always followed something even more terrible. "Do you think we're cursed?" she asked suddenly as the idea popped into her mind.

And then she went into full Wini mode as the dark, depressing thoughts threatened to take over, she looked for something, anything to distract her. "Hey! Did you guys want to try out this new curling iron my sister Llewella got me for the holidays? I don't know if it works as well as a curling charm, but we can find out. Who wants to be my first victim?" Wini asked with a devilish grin as she snatched the long barreled curler in one hand and pointed it to each of her friends in turn.

Sophie snatched the pillow out of the air when it came flying towards her, grinning at her friend. "Thank Merlin it is," she agreed and tossed the pillow back at Wini. The fact that she'd be able to spend time with both of them again was definitely something the Gryffindor was looking forward to when she thought about going back to school.

"Peter is nice, yes," she nodded, thinking about the rather mature boy. He wasn't as much fun to be around as Vyn or Aaron but she still considered him her friend. "So is Penrose." Now that she thought about it, she had quite a few Slytherin friends, and while she wouldn't consider any of them one of her best friends, that spot was reserved for Wini, Éilís and Vyn, she was quite proud of the fact that so many different people seemed to like her.

"And that would be just perfect, except..." The girl glanced at her Hufflepuff friend, a smirk on her face. "except that I'd go crazy if I had to look at anything even remotely as pink as this room every day." Wini's dorm at Hogwarts surely wasn't as bad but she wouldn't be surprised if she'd made it as Wini-like as possible. "I'm not the only one who thinks your love of pink is slightly obsessive, am I?" She laughed and looked at Éilís for help.

A dark look passed over the blonde's face and it made her regret her question immediately. She hadn't come here to upset the others, on the contrary. They had gone through so much during the past few months and what they needed most right now was something light and fun, something that would distract them from their past horrors. "No, we're not cursed," the brunette replied quickly, shaking her head. "It was just bad luck. Maybe the Ministry should provide the school with a few bottles of Felix Felicis next year." It was meant as a joke but it was actually not even a bad idea, was it?

Before they could dwell on the gloomy thoughts any longer, Wini changed the topic and Sophie was grateful for it even though she wasn't so sure if she really wanted to try that thing out. "Éilís, you wanna go first? You have much nicer hair anyway."

Éilís' eyes widened at the mention of Sophie being homeschooled. The idea of going back to school without her friend was awful; things had been much easier with Sophie steering her through the Hogwarts social life. Sure, she had Wini now, too, but she wasn't sure that the Hufflepuff wouldn't mind having a shy Ravenclaw girl clinging to her all the time, like she tended to do to Sophie. She tried to smile as Wini laughed the idea off, but she was mostly just relieved to hear that it would never happen. She listened quietly as the two girls discussed vague plans to meet up over the summer break; she wasn't sure if she was included in this invitation, so she just shifted a little awkwardly and said nothing while the other two giggled.

She was a bit impressed to hear Sophie list off so many Slytherins that she was getting along with. She hadn't minded having the Hufflepuffs in her dorm too terribly (she had made friends with Wini out of it, after all), but she could only imagine the tensions that must be building in the Gryffindor common room and dormitories. She smiled at Wini's suggestion of having the dorms completely mixed. It might be fun to live with these two all the time, though she'd certainly have to scout out a few more hidden locations around the castle so that she could escape every once in a while. "It might be just a little much," she laughed, hoping that Wini knew they were only joking. "Are you planning to redecorate our dormitory when we get back?"

The mood shifted as they remembered all the horrors that happened during their time at Hogwarts. Éilís had missed out on what had probably been the worst year -- the year with Snape and the Carrows -- but she could imagine how awful it had been. She had heard stories. And then there had been the plague, and now the dome and the monsters. It was almost as if Hogwarts was trying to keep the students out, for some reason. Here eyes widened at the mention of a curse. It almost made sense, though she couldn't think who would be trying to curse the school. She was considering Wini's idea, but Sophie had already stated flat-out that it was impossible. She hoped Sophie was right, but the evidence sort of seemed to point in the other direction. "That's not a bad idea," she mused at Sophie's suggestion. "I mean, it's very valuable and rare, but we could probably use a bit of luck!" Even if things could just go back to normal, that would be enough for her.

Éilís eyed the curling iron skeptically that Wini was waving about a bit threateningly. Her mom had curled her hair once, years ago, but styling her hair was hardly something she made a habit of. Sophie immediately suggested that Éilís go first, and she knew there was no chance of arguing. When these two girls got an idea in their heads, there was nothing to be done about it. She hardly thought she had the nicest hair of the bunch, but she thought it would probably hold the curls. "Uh, okay," she agreed halfheartedly. Having her hair curled wouldn't be so bad, so long as it stopped at that. She didn't need to leave with some wild hairdo of the other girls' invention that would get everyone staring at her.

Wini was nodding and smiling, encouraging Sophie to go on as she hesitated, knowing for sure Sophie would love to dorm with her just as much as Wini would love it. But the Gryff finished her sentence and Wini gasped, her brown eyes lighting with surprise as she realized the joke was on her. She laughed even as she threw another pillow in Sophie's direction. "It's the perfect amount of pink!" she protested with a grin. Then she too looked to Eilis for backup. "It's a good amount of pink, right Eilis? I'm not obsessed, right?"

But then all of her hopes were dashed as Eilis sided with Sophie and Wini let out a dramatic wail as she flopped onto the very pink blankets in front of her, burying her face for a moment before popping back up, one finger in the air. "You guys just don't understand the correct amount of pink there should be in the world. You can never have too much pink," she said nodding. "If Marin was here, I bet he'd agree with me," she added as she thought of her best friend even though she knew he might only agree with her to be on her side. That would be good enough for Wini. At Eilis's question, Wini nodded, her smile sliding away as she looked at the Ravenclaw seriously. "I am going to redecorate. Everything will be pink. Everything!" she exclaimed the last word with a grin and rubbed her hands together in what she hoped was a maniacal way.

Her eyes had been on Eilis when she mentioned if they were cursed and Wini was glad for Sophie's quick assurance that they weren't. Wini glanced betweeen her two friends, her worries about being cursed were dulled and the Hufflepuff was able to smile and nod at the thought of being given some of the golden potion of liquid luck. "I wonder what our days would be like if we had some liquid luck," Wini mused, her mind wandering away as her eyes found the ceiling for a few moments. "It'd be one amazing day, wouldn't it? Everything would go your way, everything would be wonderful. Classes would be called off for the day, your breakfast would be the perfect temperature. Maybe the boy of your dreams would kiss you.." Wini flopped onto the blankets again, this time laying on her back and hugging a pink heart-shaped pillow to her chest, her blonde hair flying out in all directions from her head. She made a pouty face and asked, "why can't we be rich enough to get some of our own Felix Felicis?" Then she rolled over onto her stomach and glanced at the other two girls. "What would your perfect day look like?"

Her daydream only lasted so long though. As Eilis hesitantly agreed to be her first victim, Wini squealed in excitement and jumped up, running to her side of the room and rummaging under her bed for a moment before holding up the curling iron in triumph. She kicked some things out of the way as she plugged it in and turned the dial on before sitting just behind Eilis. "I promise you'll look fabulous!" she said as she leaned around Eilis's shoulder and then leaned over to pick up her brush, combing it through Eilis's blonde hair, the strands silky beneath her fingertips. Wini hovered a hand over the curling iron to see when it was hot enough and then separated a strand of the Ravenclaw's hair and wrapped it around the barrel, holding it there for a few seconds as she looked at Sophie. "We should all give each other makeovers today! Lysanora--" Wini said naming one of her older sisters, "-- has a stash of makeup just there beside her bed. I'm sure she wouldn't mind if we used it." 

Éilís smiled as Wini described her idea of a perfect day. It was both wonderful and a little ridiculous that all the things the Hufflepuff wanted seemed a bit frivolous. She wondered what it would be like to not have many worries; to have your greatest desires relate to crushes and delicious food. She knew right away what wonderful things she would love to have happen if she could have anything; money for her family and to repay Teagan, her parents back together, her father miraculously healed, stronger magic so that she could stop embarrassing herself in her classes. But it didn't really fit the mood of the room to list all of that, so she answered as simply as she could. "I think if I took the potion, I'd just end up with a lot of really small wonderful things, like classes all moved out to the grounds and perfect weather. Maybe the repairs in the castle sped up a bit. I don't think it could really change anything that wasn't going to happen eventually anyway."

It made the small Ravenclaw smile to see Wini so excited about the prospect of doing her over. She ran her fingers through her hair a bit nervously as Wini ran about the room and warmed up the curling iron, trying to get any tangles that might have formed since the morning out. Doing her best not to imagine how ridiculous she would look with huge curls, she groaned a little at Wini's promise. Éilís had never held a secret desire to look 'fabulous'; usually her goal was to just blend in as much as possible. Hopefully Wini wouldn't be too upset if the look wasn't a permanent one.

It felt surprisingly nice to have her hair gathered by her friend, and she did her best to relax as Wini wrapped her hair around the barrel. She hated not being able to see what was happening back there, but she knew that she would need to hold still. It wouldn't be good if she jumped nervously and ended up with a burned scalp.

She looked nervously over at Sophie as the first curl fell back onto her shoulders, wondering if the Gryffindor would intervene if Wini took things too far. What if her hair looked really stupid curly? She wasn't sure if Sophie would save her or just find it really amusing. She bit her lip anxiously at the mention of make-up, but didn't object. Maybe one of the other girls would take a turn after this. They couldn't be intending to give her a full make-over, could they?

Wini smiled at Eilis as she described her perfect day. It wasn't as spectacular or fantastic as the things Wini had dreamed of, but it did sound kind of nice. She found herself saying exactly that to her Ravenclaw friend with a smile and a nod. "Maybe Hufflepuffs just dream big," she said lightly with a grin, teasing her friends as she flicked her hair over her shoulder dramatically.

Sure Eilis didn't seem super excited about the makeovers, but Wini was sure she could change her mind. What girl didn't like having her hair all did up and shiny?! "You're going to love it, I promise," she reiterated again as she separated another strand of her friends hair and wrapped it around the barrel. The steam from the hot iron slowly wafted into the air and Wini was quick to take Eilis's hair away as soon as she thought it was a perfectly formed curl.

"Maybe after we finish our hair, we'll go out and I'll show you the lake. It's probably too cold for a swim and we wouldn't want to mess up our hair, but it's a pretty view out there," Wini added.

[[ trying to wrap this up soon so we can claim some pointsss. hope this is ok ]