Skyler made her way to the great hall cautiously, a yawn splitting her face. The usually bright purple eyes were dimmer than normal, but atleast they still had that light in them. They were ringed by dark circles, which served as testimony to the fact that the teen wasn't sleeping well.

Truthfully, she didn't really sleep. Anytime she tried she woke up in a cold sweat with a scream on her lips. Not to mention that since she had to wait for the weekend to get a new wand, so the idea of sleeping didn't sound like a good idea when the same girl who had snapped her wand could easily attack her in her sleep.

Sky didn't have the heart to bring attention to her fears with her boyfriend. She knew she probably should, but she simply couldn't. The brunette didn't even really know why. Maybe it was because she was trying so hard to be her normal self, and her normal self wouldn't be afraid of attacks in in the middle of the night. Then again, her normal self had a damn wand. Skyler figured that once she had a wand again, she would be significantly better.

Currently though, she wasn't herself. She did a good job of pretending it, but it was apparent in the way her head bowed slightly when she walked, or the way her shoulders hunched slightly when she sat. The teen was still defeated and hurting, and her pride had taken a heavy blow, making certain that she wasn't the same her she had been before.

Skyler was determined to fix it, to fix herself, but she was at a loss for how. She avoided anything sleeveless, thankful they had to wear robes during the week for once. She avoided the great hall during lunch or dinner, because there was no avoiding Parkinson and her crew during those times. That irritated her to no end. Normally she wouldn't hide, but this time even she had to admit that she had come out the loser in that battle, and because she was only hanging on by a thread, Sky couldn't face the music yet.

Breakfast for the most part was still ok to take in the great hall, as long as it was late. When she entered it she let out a sigh of relief. The tables were nearly empty, which meant she didn't run the risk of being taunted the entire time with exceptions of the usual looks and whispers that followed her. Those she was nearly used to, even if they did annoy her. Making her way across the hall she easily slid into a spot next to Luca Lestrange, thankful his twin was no where around.

Out of all the Slytherins, Luca was one of the nicer ones. Atleast, to Sky he was. He rarely pinned her with a glare anyways, so that was something. Sky grabbed an orange, not really having the ability to stomach much more anyways, and peered at the older Slytherin's work. "Potions?" She asked quietly, her usual grin not making an appearance for the third straight day.

Skyler brought the orange to her mouth, using her teeth to bite into the peel a bit before bringing it away from her lips, using her nails to begin peeling the fruit while her eyes studied his work so far. It didn't sound or look like anything she knew really, but that wasn't surprising. The brunette was two years younger than the older boy, and potions wasn't her best subject. Then again, it wasn't her worst subject either.

A ghost of a smile flitted across her lips as she continued to slowly peel the fruit in her hands. "You like potions." It wasn't a question, or a statement, but more an observation. It was clear to her from what he said and how he said it that he did, and that he found the class lacking since the professors had been switched. Sky herself hadn't been there when Snape had taught the subject, but seeing as she had managed to completely fail her last one, she was pretty sure she was glad he was teaching DADA. Not that he was much nicer there either. But atleast she was good in that class, so he rarely found a reason to pick on her.

His quiet question surprised her, and she blinked at him. Usually people didn't ask much about her, which was ok with her for the most part. But since he had asked, Sky felt it only polite to give some form of answer. Her fingers had finished peeling her orange, but now her stomach didn't feel so hungry, so the teen sort of played with the fruit, rolling it back and forth between her two hands absently, her eyes watching it but not really seeing as she responded just as quietly. "Late breakfast. Makes it easier to avoid certain people." That might have been giving away too much, or being too honest, but again, the Prefect never really had much to hide anyways. These days it always seemed like everyone knew more about her than she did herself, so she didn't see it as a big deal to simply be honest.

Another ghost of a smile flitted across Skyler's lips when he sat back slightly, allowing her to peruse his work a bit better. The brunette leaned over a bit more, not really aware she was invading his personal space a bit as she did so. Her purple eyes brightened just a little as she overlooked his work, one corner of her mouth tilting up as she cocked her head at the older snake.

"You should. You seem to have a knack for paying attention to detail with potions atleast, something I can't really say I have in common. I'm also glad we have Slughorn, but that's mostly because I don't think Snape would have been happy when I melted my cauldron last week. Slughorn wasn't too thrilled either, but atleast I got to keep my head." The brunette advised in humorous honesty. Sky always did have a knack for expression, and so her words were usually enough to make anyone laugh. Though she completely believe she would have been dead if Professor Snape was still teaching potions that year.

His soft smile had her returning it with her own small one, eyes wandering back to the orange in her hand while she considered his words. It was kind of comforting, that she wasn't the only one who had reason to avoid others. Then again, it was rather sad. Sky couldn't think of anyone not liking Luca to the point where the charming male would need to actively avoid them. The teen tore off a slice of the orange, tossing into her mouth and chewing quietly before finally swallowing, a grimace passing over her face.

She knew she needed to eat atleast something, but her stomach simply didn't like anything. She had never had this problem before, but figured she just needed to make her body accept the fact that it still needed nutrition even if it didn't want it. Sighing softly, her eyes found the older boy's gaze again. "I can't imagine you needing to avoid anyone, to be honest. You're more charming than anyone else I've met so far. Unless it's your twin you're avoiding. Because then that would make two of us."

A very rare but genuine smile graced her features at his words. He did manage to make her feel a bit better, even if it was only about melting her cauldron. Very rarely did she allow an actual smile to show on her face. Usually the teen was more prone to grin, or smirk, in various different degrees and manners. Lately even those were rare though, which made an actual smile extremely rare.

Sky couldn't help it though. The older Slytherin could just as easily have been completely horrible to her like some of the other snakes. Instead he was rather kind. The brunette felt a sort of kinship with him, because there weren't that many kind hearted snakes around the castle. She knew this for a fact. His words made her her brows furrow together in thought though, her eyes glazing over for a moment, before they snapped back to attention. "You said it was one of the things you're truly good at.."

The teen started out cautiously, using the same soft tone that wasn't her usual self. In fact, even the cautious part wasn't herself, but she didn't want to offend one of the only people in the whole castle who atleast could stand having her around for more than five minutes. "I guess I'm just wondering what other talents you have.." Skyler trailed off, shrugging slightly. "You don't have to say, if you don't want. It just kind of piqued my interest I guess."

By now even the thought of another bite of the fruit she still held was making her stomach feel queasy, and the mention of his brother was making it churn even worse. Anytime she heard even Leyton's name images her imagination had decided to plague her with floated to mind, flashing before her eyes, and insane amount of anger, jealousy, and hurt flooded her. Another grimace passed over her face, and Sky willed herself to push it all down and away. It wouldn't do any good to lose control now.

Looking away from Luca, the brunette dropped the unbeaten orange onto the table, hiding her hands underneath it and pulling at the sleeve of her left arm uncomfortably. The teen hung her head slightly, and her voice was quiet and almost emotionless. "He didn't seem so bad, the first time I met him. He was almost...entertaining, I guess would be the right word. He didn't hex me, anyways." Again, the girl shrugged, not really sure what else to say on the matter of Leyton Lestrange. What was she supposed to say? That sometimes she wanted nothing more than to murder the boy? At times like then, when her mind imagined him in some sexual position with her boyfriend, she did want to murder him.

Skyler's body tensed up automatically when he shifted, turning to the side and resting his arm on the table, almost fully facing her now. It took a moment for the brunette to force herself to relax again, and even then she was still prepared to bolt. It wasn't normal behavior for the teen, but she was dealing with it as best she could. That's really all she could do, apparently.

Facing the older Slytherin again, her vibrant eyes lit up as he spilled his talents to her, and a rather pleased grin stole across her lips. Sky was pleased that he had found her worthy enough to confide in, even if it wasn't something most people would find important. She did. A person's likes and dislikes told a lot about them usually, and the brunette dearly loved music. She told Luca as much.

"The drums and the guitar? That's awesome! I wish I could play an instrument, but I seem to lack coordination with anything other than broom unfortunately." Skyler ended with a sheepish look, her hand rubbing the back of her neck in that tell take sign of her nervousness. She was happy when he changed the subject from his brother, even though she wasn't surprised to hear he seemed very fond of hexing people.

A real laugh bubbles up from her chest and burst from her lips, and for the first time in days the brunette looked like her normal self, with bright purple eyes shinning in amusement and an equally amused grin settling on her lips. She really couldn't help it, when he blurted things out like that. "Thanks for that. I needed it."

She admitted openly about the laugh, still grinning and looking amused at the older boy, shifting to match his position but facing him. "But yea. I'm excited. A little nervous too, to tell you the truth. Apparently Harry is a legendary seeker." Sky rolled her eyes, but a fond grin for her Gryffindor friend worked its way onto her lips, before a smirk curled them. "But for once he's so going to lose." She added on with a confidence she hadn't felt in a while.

Skyler returned his smile with a rather excited grin, eyes growing a bit wide in surprise when he actually offered to teach her how to play the drums sometime. It wasn't something she had ever really expected, and it pleased the brunette that he would consider even wasting any of his time teaching her something. It was unexpected, and the teen wasn't sure whether to be suspicious or not, but she didn't get any kind of bad vibes from the older Slytherin, so she settled for simply looking excitedly pleased.

"Really? You would really try to teach me? Because that would be awesome!! Better than awesome actually. But I should warn you, I tend to get carried away when it comes to banging on things." She admitted sheepishly, rubbing the back of her neck again. It was the truth anyways. A curious look stole across her face then. "Is it hard to learn?" Sky questioned interestedly.

All her worries seemed to have vanished currently as she say there with Luca, discussing his talents with instruments. The boy had succeeded in completely distracting the brunette from all her problems and worries, and that made him a total gem in her opinion. Skyler really hoped she would be able to count Luca as a friend from then on. She could really use some of those, considering her rivals seemed to outweigh her friends now.

His compliment made a pink hue appear on her cheeks, but Sky took it with a grain of salt. She wasn't used to compliments, even though Draco showered her with them ridiculously. But the brunette knew she was a damn good Seeker, so this one wasn't so hard to take. It was just unexpected. "Thanks Luca. I am intent on beating Harry to that snitch." She grinned confidently, and a determined look entered her eyes. His words stuck something in her though, and the teen have the boy a teasing smirk. "How do you know how good I am on a broom anyways Luca Lestrange? Been spying on practices?"

A truly pleased smile settled onto the Slytherin's lips when he said he really would teach her how to play. At first, Sky hadn't been sure if he been offering simply to be nice or if he had really meant it. So it pleased the girl to know he really didn't mind teaching her a thing or two. The idea of being able to pound out a beat on the drums was much to fun for her to ever want to turn down.

The fact that Luca was being so open with her also pleased her, especially considering he was a Slytherin as well. And especially because the brunette was considered pretty much an outcast in their house. It was bad enough the rest of the castle generally gave her a wide berth whenever she went somewhere. The growing hostility between herself and her housemates was mounting an all time high, and the most recent attack on her person left Sky feeling very unsure about whether she could trust any of the other snakes.

Somehow, the teen didn't get any feelings of doubt about Luca though. He seemed to be being generally honest with her, and Skyler could appreciate that, and valued it. There were very few people who were honest with it seemed these days, including her blonde boyfriend. But the brunette tried not to think about that too much. It was still too fresh and hurt too much so she simply pushed it away. She forgave Draco, and there was no changing what had happened between him and his cousin. She just couldn't forget it.

"Well, if you're sure..." Sky trailed off softly, but there was no mistaking the honestly pleased look and excited look now shining in those violet orbs. It was the first spark they had truly showed over the last few days, and it made her all the more thankful to the older boy. Tilting her head a bit, she considered his words. "I know what you mean. It's just natural. Like you know what to do before anyone really tells you." She replied a bit more brightly.

The brunette was feeling more like herself than she had in days, and it was because of him that she was. Before she could stop herself, the teen was wrapping her arms around him in a hug. It wasn't anything promiscuous, or sexual. It was simply a hug. A thankful and grateful one. But it was physical contact nonetheless, and in the middle of the great hall, but Sky didn't care much. And she hadn't really given it much that maybe Luca would.

Pulling away, she flashed a wide grin before it morphed into her trademark smirk at his cheeky grin and remarks. She was feeling much too good at the moment to take offense to his comments about Draco. "Don't worry. I won't let you down. And between you and me, I'm a much better Seeker." The Prefect winked at him playfully, and then a laugh bubbled up out of her, and she looked at him knowingly with a teasing smirk. "Uh huh. I think you've been spying. Now the only question is, why?"

Another pleased grin spread across her lips and Skyler nodded to him in understanding. The brunette could honestly say she liked the older boy. He was different from the rest of her housemates, and much different from his brother. Although, the teen hadn't really had any issues with Leyton either, until she had found out about him and Draco. Aside from that, her meetings with Leyton had always been entertaining.

The other twin was snarky, and sarcastic, and to Sky he was a riot mess around with. Luca was far different. He was still just as amusing to her, but the brunette could tell he was more like herself. Except the brunette wasn't as reserved as the older boy before her. She liked making friends, mostly because she hadn't really had any before. But the harsh world she came from made it easy for her to decide friend from foe.

"Message received. But just so you know, I really do hope I get to learn more than that about you." The Slytherin advised him matter-of-factly, a true grin on her lips. Shrugging her shoulders gracefully, the teen tilted her head at him. "I like you. So naturally, that means I wanna learn all about you." Her tone suggested that should be the most obvious thing in the world. "Now let's see. When are you free to teach next? I should probably take advantage of the offer before i completely annoy you and scare you off after all." Sky advised in a mock serious tone, but the playful gleam in her eyes gave her away.

More and more she was beginning to feel like herself again, and thus her grins and smiles were more and more real than they had been lately. For the first time in a week the brunette was seriously enjoying herself, and she was thankful that she was taking to having a late breakfast, even if she didn't eat at all during it. Her grin spread from ear to ear at his words, eyes sparkling. "Oh really? Well, it's too bad you were too busy for the team. Atleast if you were I'd get more time with you." She teased, though she did mean it.

Skyler was counting him as a friend from then on, something she could definitely use more of. So naturally, she would want to spend time with the boy. One couldn't be friend without spending time with the othe person, could they? Laughing again, she gave him another one of her knowing looks, crossing her arms over her chest. "You are a terrible liar. If you have enough time to watch the practice then you have enough time to join the practice. Try again." Him actually trying to lie had her complete focus and her curiosity. A curious Sky was hardly ever a good thing though, and usually led to trouble. But she couldn't help herself.

Skyler's grin grew all the more when he chuckled, and his eyes sparkled with his amusement. Or what she took as amusement. Either way, the teen found it was a good look for the reserved older boy, and as per usual, decided to make it a personal mission of hers to amuse the boy as often as possible.

"Then maybe I'll share some of mine." She playfully replied, pleased that he had referred to her as Sky. The brunette really preferred that to anything else, unless it was a nickname. Speaking of which..."You need a nickname. All of my friends get nicknames. Although, I don't have many.."

Sky trailed off with a frown, eyes losing focus for a moment before she bounced back, looking at Luca and considering possibilities for a nickname. After a moment, the teen grinned widely at him, eyes lighting up again. "I've got it!! I will call you Beats!!" She dubbed him, not bothering to really explain it because she felt it was rather self explanatory.

His words provoked a smirk to grace her lips. "Ooh!! Got a date tonight Beats? Gonna tell who the lucky girl is?" Skyler wriggled her eyebrows at him teasingly, an equally teasing grin replacing her smirk. "Tomorrow's fine with me. Hopefully practice won't be too brutal, but with the match coming up Draco's pushing hard.." The brunette trailed off, a downcast look coming over her as he mentioned his family.

"Yea, I have." She offered back softly, not really knowing what else to say. The Slytherin noted his playful tone though, and tried to recover. "They don't seem so scary to me though. Atleast, not the ones here. I even gave your brother a nickname. Before..you know.." Again, she trailed off uncertainly, the downcast look returning. Obviously she was failing at being able to reference his twin in any way, but the teen was determined to get past it one way or the other.

Instead of focusing solely on that, Sky observed him as he poured himself some juice, drinking it down. His fingers played along the edge of the table, and she found another smirk unfurling slowly on her lips. To the untrained eye this would be nothing, but the brunette was much to observant for her own good sometimes. She flashed another knowing look at him, clearly showing she knew he was hiding something. Sky wouldn't pry. This time.

Hopefully she wouldn't have to. The brunette was generally good with putting two and two together most times, so hopefully he would give enough away for her to piece the puzzle together. "Uh huh. Suuuure that's what it is." Sky rolled her eyes at him, but flashed another playful grin. "Well the next time you're 'not spying' for whatever reason, I'll make sure to wave." Winking at him again, the teen smoothly got up to her feet, feeling ten times better than she had when she had first sat down.

Skyler offered him a happy grin, picking up her book bag as she readied to leave for her first class, which she was probably going to be late to. She didn't care much though. It was definitely worth it in her eyes to be late to spend time with Luca. "Thanks Beats. You really are quite the guy. Whoever your date is tonight is a lucky witch. See you tomorrow night then?" Without waiting for an answer, the brunette turned and made her way from the great hall, feeling a lot lighter and a lot more herself.

She was an interesting girl to say the least but Luca was enjoying their conversation. It was rare to find someone he could talk to so easily and even rarer that he had shared anything with her. But it got to be quite lonely keeping everyone at arms distance and after all he only had one more year left at this blasted school so what would it hurt to make a couple of friends. Nothing right?

Raising a brow as she continued to smirk he shook his head. He was quite alright with his given name, even preferring his to his twins. Their mother had named them and given any input from their father their names would have been horrific.

"No no thats quite alright...I really am fine with Luca. Just don't start calling me Lu or we will have all sorts of problems." he said as a scowl crossed across his face. When she settled on Beats he couldn't help but shake his head. "Fine...fine but only when no one else is around alright. Don't come screaming down the corridor Beats at me because then I would have to explain it and I really rather not."

She was on quite a roll it seemed this morning bouncing from thing to thing with an energy he couldn't even begin to muster. "No I don't have a date, at least I don't think its a date." He hadn't put much thought into his date with LeBeau that night but he was pretty sure she was into the Head Boy too much to be into him as well. And Skyler was too damn observant for her own good. "Well next time I will just make sure I'm not seen then," he said with a laugh.


Leaning forward he rested his arms against the table watching her get up to presumably make her way to classes. "Thanks Sky, I appreciate that. I do try." Skipping over her mention of tonight he couldn't help but smile, taking maybe a bit more than he need to from her words. "Sounds good. I'll see you then. Music room after dinner." he said as she trailed off not certain if she heard him. He watched her form disappear from the hall before turning back to his books to finish his assignment.