{through the park and by the tree} pm

It still seemed ... insane to him, that some of his favorite people were about to graduate. Andy, in particular, would be beyond missed. Who did he have now that was going to match Andy's level of competitiveness and obsession when it came to Quidditch? No one, that's who, though he was sure his own friends would indulge him a bit. There would be something missing, though, because Andy loved the game like he loved the game and it sort of really sucked that he wouldn't be able to share that during his own 7th year. He was getting all sappy about it and it needed to stop, actually.

But just because he refused to mope (lie: he'd absolutely been mopey) didn't mean he wasn't going to throw a party. A party disguised as a practice, actually, though he'd restrained himself from sneaking in anything stronger than a butterbeer, knowing he couldn't control everyones mouths, no matter how much he threatened them. There was also the whole business of being a bloody prefect and making sure everyone else wasn't breaking the rules too badly. Not to say that they couldn't enjoy a bit of carte blanche between the 6th and 7th year Slytherin dormitories.

He was also, conveniently, not focusing on how it meant Wini would be graduating, too.

Up until like two weeks ago, the idea of graduation had seemed so distant to Andronicus. Like this imaginary thing, he’d been planning for and moving toward for the last six years. It wasn’t real, but now, like a punch to the gut, it felt real. And when Ben invited him to a party-not-party, Andy couldn’t help but realize it might be one of the last times they met on the Hogwarts pitch. Over the years, they’d had their share of rivalries and comraderies, sometimes at the same time, and almost always ended in someone getting hurt, not that Andy had ever minded. Benjamin had become his best friend, and he’d be lying to say he wasn’t going to miss him next year.

“Oi,” Andronicus called as he pushed through the doors leading to the grassy knoll on the pitch and found Benjamin standing near the circle. “Who’d you invite to this?” He asked, not because he minded either way, but because Andronicus wanted to figure out the exact level of serious, he would need to be tonight. As a former bully-turned-nice guy, Slytherin Quidditch captain, and the self-proclaimed arm candy of the Head Girl, Andronicus had a lot of range.

"Mee!" Wini answered Andy's question with a smile as she arrived right after him, a little breathless. He had been ahead of her the whole time down to the pitch and while she had hastened her steps, she hadn't been able to catch up with his long-legged gait. "Well, technically, I think I invited myself because Merlin knows you lot need help in the party planning department," she said, glancing at Ben and remembering with amusement how that interaction had gone. She hadn't wanted to actually play, but watching Ben play quidditch? Yeah, she was definitely in for that. She used Snack Captain as her excuse. Speaking of..

She slung her backpack from around her shoulder and reached in to pull out a big bag of Honeydukes chocolate. "Told you I would pay you back," Wini said as she pushed the bag at Ben with a satisfied smile.

"Hey Andy," she said in greeting to him as she looked toward him. "Who else is coming?" Wini took a second to glance around the pitch, wisps of her blonde hair escaping from her messy ponytail as memories flooded back. Hefin teaching her how to fly and how to overcome her fear of heights, the one year she had actually played as seeker for the Hufflepuff team before they thankfully recruited someone much more talented so she could take up her rightful place as head cheerleader from the stands. It had been a while since she had actually been on the pitch and she surprised herself by actually looking forward to it.

Her gaze from Ben, a smile on her lips for no reason at all.