With the chilling air it probably wouldn't seem bright to be outside when one didn't have too, but Harley could give two shits what anyone else thought as she relaxed under the Quidditch stands, a nice, contained little fire going before her. It wasn't a place most students really new about. Not because it took actual brains to access, but because it probably didn't cross anyone's mind to go under the stands. What reason could anyone have for being under the stands?

Harley snorted to herself at that. A little pick me up, that was a damn good reason in her opinion, as she easily took a good pull from the bottle of firewhiskey she had managed to smuggle in at the beginning of term. Oh yea. The teen was full of surprising ways of getting contraband in and out of Hogwarts, and liquor was only one form of contraband she managed to successfully keep an alright stock of. It wasn't like she needed to get drunk off her arse every night. Just a few bottles usually lasted her until the holiday break. At which point it was easy enough to follow the smuggling process.

The Gryffindor usually saved her drinking for particularly bad days. Which usually included actually attending all her classes for whatever reason. She shrugged. She wasn't entirely sure just why she had decided to show up to all her lessons and stay through them all. Or maybe she had an inkling. Either way, it called for a nice drink. The brunette was in now way intending to get completely sloshed. Just a nice buzz to wind down a bit after the grueling day of lessons she had had. She really had no clue how people managed to sit through that shit every day.

The Gryffindor witch shrugged, not caring enough to think further on it and instead took another pull from the bottle, grinning at the familiar burn as it made it's way down her throat and spread a warmth through her from the inside out. Unfortunately, her little drinking spot was apparently not as exclusive as she thought, because just after the teen had settled her head back against the wood plank behind it and closed her eyes to enjoy the effects of the liquor, the crunching of the leaves and ground told her she was no longer alone.

She didn't bother opening her eyes to see who it was. She didn't care enough for all of that. "Oi. This party is B.Y.O.B. And if you don't know what the hell that means, you're definitely not invited."

The trouble with the kind of school that you lived at was that there was no escape. It seemed kind of obvious, but in a school filled with all sorts of teens, there was really no alone time. This was especially true when you really needed some of it. There were simply people everywhere you looked.

That was a problem for Rose, because it meant she had to keep a face up all of the time. Even if she didn’t think it was a face that much different than what was underneath it, it was different enough that doing it all the time got tiring. She suspected that everyone did it, and she wondered how the more well put together managed it. Maybe she would feel comfortable enough to ask one of them someday.

For now, she would settle for a place where she could be alone with her thoughts and not have to impress anyone for a few minutes. Unfortunately, today seemed to not be her day for such things. Or tonight really, since her quest hadn’t begun until she had finished a rather bad day of classes and found that she had no desire to spend any more time with the generally perfect Snakes of her year. The useless squib caretaker had already chased her from two places that she had deemed perfect, his cat had stopped her at a third, and the rumored monster Hughes was lurking in a fourth, causing her to decide that particular spot was a lost cause forever now.

With all of her usual haunts unavailable, Rose made a desperate decision. It was a muggle rite of passage to hang out under the bleachers instead of watching at sporting events and other things that had bleachers. There was no quidditch to watch right now, and technically there were no muggles here anyway. Maybe that meant she would be able to find a new place for a bit of peace.

Unfortunately, she wasn’t even all the way under the bleachers before she realized that it was not the case. Then again, if there was anyone that disproved Rose’s theory about putting up faces, it was the biker girl currently hiding out to drink. Knight’s devil may care attitude was almost as impressive as it was stupid. Then again, maybe she could still let her guard down here. The Gryffindor didn’t seem the type to gossip, and even if she did who would believe her? There was no real reason for the two of them to be together, after all.

Rose strode forward, a sarcastic smile gracing her lips. “You can hardly grow up the way I did and not know exactly what BYOB means,” she advised the younger girl. “You don’t have to worry about your precious liquor though, I don’t really drink much.” That wasn’t strictly the truth of the situation, but it was still a true statement, and it was as much as she wanted to say about it, even with her guard down.

“It sucks to drink alone though,” she said honestly and with a shrug that the other girl might or might not see. Rose wasn’t sure she actually cared one way or the other. “What’s got you hiding from the world and drinking straight from the bottle? It can’t be for show if you weren’t expecting to be found, and if you were expecting company you sure have a funny way of showing it.” That was as close as Rose would come to actually offering the younger girl help and support. If she wanted to take the redhead up on it fine. If not, that was probably fine too. What did Rose care if some stubborn lioness wanted to face her troubles alone? She had her own problems and no intention of ever asking for help.

It was unfamiliar voice that replied back to her, but Harley was at least able to determine it was another female, and not a professor one at that. For the life of her she couldn't think of any of the professors thinking to check under the stands for rule breakers, but then, McGonnagall and Snape did always seem to know all the tricks of a youngster. It was slightly amusing to imagine the Gryffindor and Slytherin Heads of Houses at her age and getting lit. Then again, the brunette couldn't really imagine either being any kind of fun, so her amusement with the idea died then and there.

The teen opened her eyes a fraction to peek at whoever it was that now joined her and, with the light from the fire she had created for warmth, was able to make out the red hair and pale face of an older girl she only recognized vaguely. It wasn't especially surprising, seeing as she rarely found anyone interesting enough to really remember a name to go with their face. She supposed she could rack her brain trying to think of whichever given term the other girl was born to, but that seemed like a lot more work than she cared to put in.

Instead, the Gryffindor witch merely shrugged her shoulders a bit to the words the other spoke. "Good. Wasn't planning on sharing, obviously." She replied back cooly enough with a disinterested tone, tipping the bottle back against her lips to take another pull from it and enjoying the familiar burn that worked it's way down her throat to settle in the pit of her stomach. She didn't bother with any offhand remarks about the 'not caring to drink'. So long as the other didn't expect her to share her own stock it suited her well enough, and Harley was hardly one to judge someone based on their lack of interest in drinking.

Not everyone could handle the drink, especially the harder stuff, she knew very well. The teen was more likely to think that if one was smart enough to recognize their own shortcomings and adjust to them then who was she to judge on it? Not to mention judging anyone else meant she cared in some way or another to waste the energy on the effort to do it, and Harley couldn't be bothered to care so much about another person. Atleast, that's what she had lived by up until recently when a few accidental run ins had certain people popping up in her head. People she had no clue what to make of.

This was why the girl enjoyed her Care of Magical Creatures class so much. Dealing with animals was much more satisfying than dealing with people. All people did was disappoint and prove to be more effort than they were worth. Boring and hypocritical is what they were, and Harley wasted no time on the lot of them. People were simply not her thing. Animals though, she could handle with an ease and gentleness most would find shocking. Animals never pretended to be anything other than what they were, and were never so stupid as to try and anything than what they were. That was the only kind of crowd the brunette liked.

"Ah well, to each their own." She replied again in regards to the drinking alone bit in that same disinterested tone as this conversation that didn't seem to be leading anywhere bored her. She guessed the other made a valid point for the rest of the world enough. But not for her. There were few things in life the brunette didn't enjoy doing alone. Alone was pretty much her forte, and she didn't regret it one bit. Well, up until recently, if she were being honest with herself. And she was always honest with herself. Even if the truth was an ugly one she didn't care to look at all that much.

Snorting at the other girl's question and explanation on how she came that conclusion, the Gryffindor took the time to take another long drink, feeling a nice, warm buzz setting in as she capped the bottle of liquor and set it aside. She wasn't on a mission to get wasted, and the teen knew her own limits well enough. It always amused her that her reputation as Gryffindor's bad girl would have one thinking she was the type to go all out and get blind drunk, but that was hardly the case. At a party, she was usually the last one standing, because she knew well enough how to pace herself and the fact that she didn't feel the need to show off and prove herself to her peers like most teenagers did meant she didn't fall to things like peer pressure in any situation. Not to mention it was always more entertaining to watch everyone else get sloshed and make even more an arse out of themselves than they did sober.

"Don't beat around the bush do you? Guess I could give you an answer just for that easily enough, even if you did answer your own question. I'm hiding out from the world so I don't get caught drinking from the bottle, and I'm drinking from said bottle because I felt like a drink. Simple enough for you? Or were you hoping for some drama filled load of crap? 'Cause if so, you might wanna find you someone else to entertain you with that shit."

Settling her head back against the wood, Harley closed her eyes again, fully intending on enjoying her buzz and the warmth from both the alcohol and the fire. She guessed she could have asked why the redhead was out and about and in hiding too, and she was a bit curious. But not interested enough to make the effort of a question.

Everything about the girl’s responses was cool, calm, and disinterested, but Rose knew herself well enough to not trust it in the younger girl. Sure, it might be that she really was that disinterested in everything Rose said and that she really wanted to just hide out and drink alone. Maybe the snorting and body language and all really were how the younger witch felt and not a simple attempt to get Rose to leave.

On the other hand, she didn’t seem to be drinking to get wasted, and people usually didn’t hide what amounted to social drinking. And whatever she said, no one liked to be alone all the time. In Rose’s experience, if someone said they were a loner, it meant they hadn’t met anyone they could stand to be around and trust themselves to be honest with for more than a few minutes at a time. Not that Rose wanted to be the girl’s best friend or anything. She had just decided that she was going to get comfortable here for the moment. This was still a suitable place, and the other witch was at least pretending not to mind her being there. Whatever else happened, that meant she had been successful in her original mission today.

Rose shrugged herself to the other girl’s little speech or whatever it was. That felt like a load of crap to her, but she wasn’t really in the mood to push the issue. Rose wasn’t going to force her help and experience on someone who didn’t want it. That kind of save the world rah rah rah stuff was the territory of the idiot kind of lion that Rose would never understand, largely because she had no desire to understand such stupidness. She had offered. If the younger girl didn’t want or need the help, good for her.

Still, she couldn’t help being a little bit sarcastic when the opportunity was presented to her on such a golden platter. “If I wanted more drama in my life, I’m sure hiding under the bleachers while there’s no quidditch of any kind going on would be my first choice every time,” she said with a roll of her eyes. “And I’m sure I know how to find someone far more entertaining than one who only shrugs and rolls her eyes at the world and couldn’t carry a conversation if her life was at stake.”

Okay, maybe that last one was a little bit more mean spirited than sarcastic. Still, it wasn’t often that Rose actually saw someone she felt was worth helping, and the girl had blown her off entirely like she was some kind of idiot that had no idea what she was talking about. If made Rose just angry enough that she felt the need to have a little bit of fun at the expense of the other girl. Maybe that would teach her to graciously accept the kindness of others in the future.

Harley couldn't help but snort at the clearly older girl's words, finding them to be hypocritical in contrast to her actions. If she didn't want drama in her life, then why inquire after someone's personal problems? That was more the opposite, in the brunette's opinion. Asking for someone's problems was like inviting drama into your life, not avoiding it. Then again, the redhead hadn't said she wasn't looking for drama. She just said that under the stands wouldn't be her first stop in that endeavor.

She hadn't really said that per say, but the Gryffindor wasn't an idiot and could understand sarcasm loud and clear. "My bad. Should've realized you were just hiding from the drama. Typical Slytherin thing to do. 'Cause it's not like you lot ever to out of your way to start it." The teen replied easily, with her own sarcasm, though it was true for the most part.

If the Slytherin was seeking out a private place where she knew she wouldn't find drama, one could only conclude that she was hiding from it. And the snakes were notorious for stirring up drama and shit. That was just a given. Not to say the Gryffindors were any more innocent in that area. Maybe that was why the redhead assumes there was a reason behind Harley's secluded spot and private drinking.

Either way, the entire situation was making her have to use her brain, and that was just a waste of the nice buzz she had just got it to with the liquor for help, so the brunette didn't bother saying any of it aloud. That would no doubt lead to her having to use her brain even further with whatever the other girl's response would be, and she didn't feel much like making the wheels in her head turning at the moment.

Again though, she found herself snorting at the other, her lips curling up into a grin in spite of herself. That was just too comical. "Ya, 'cause my reflex reaction would be to talk my attacker to death." Harley rolled her eyes and shook her head a bit at the older witch. "And if you're so bothered by my lack of conversation skills, then the same way you came is the same way you can leave. 'Cause like you said, you know where to find someone more entertaining, and I'm sure as hell not here to entertain anyone. So," with a smirk, the teen waved in parting to the girl, with that same smirk on her lips, "laters."

With that, the Gryffindor witch dropped her head back against the stands behind her, closing her eyes and wondering only slightly if the redhead would take the hint and leave. If she didn't, well, then she was only making herself suffer Harley's company, which apparently offended the older girl in some way or other. The brunette was sure how or why, and didn't care enough to figure it out. It wasn't like the Slytherin was any kind of interesting, even as a conversationalist. All in all, the other girl didn't seem to have any kind of personality. She as just bland, hence, Harley didn't have the slightest desire to keep up a conversation with the girl.

Rose returned the younger girl’s snort at the comment about stirring up drama. The only kind of snakes who did that were those who were assured to come out ahead when the pot they stirred simmered back down. There may have been a day when that was her, but it had more to do with the friends she was capable of making than the enemies she could stand toe to toe with. This year she was quickly realizing that, and it was becoming a bit of a problem.

She shook her head. That line of thinking would get her about as far as trying to have a sword fight with one of the ghosts would. Lots of trouble, lots of blood, no good results possible at all. Besides, why worry about the likes of Black and Faulkner and their male equivalents when they weren’t actually here to bother her. Wasn’t avoiding them in all forms the reason she sought out places like this, after all?

She shook her head, forcing herself back to the current moment, whether the other girl actually wanted to be in it now that Rose had shown up or not. “Not bothered by the quiet, pretty girl,” she said in an attempt to sound positive and turn this encounter around before it turned into typical lion snake combat. “Just thought two girls who are targets more often than they’re anything else might bond a little bit. If you don’t want to do that, it’s your loss I suppose. I’m staying here to hang out where my idiot housemates can’t find me either way, though.”

With that she leaned easily against the back of the seats, smirking slightly and pulling out a nail file to show that she was serious about staying. She found a place of relative peace, and as long as she didn’t have to watch the other girl drink herself to death, she was holding on to it. The only reason she would give it up in that case is someone always seemed to see who was with who, where, and when, and she had no desire to end up in the Headmaster’s office, testifying about the idiot lion who was too stubborn to ask for help and needed to kill herself instead. Hopefully it wouldn’t come to that.

As she worked to perfect her nails, the redhead also kept one eye on the other girl. She wasn’t entirely sure if she was watching to see if their conversation was really over or to make sure the lioness didn’t decide to remove her from their shared hiding space by force. She just knew she was going to watch her until she was sure of what in the hell was going on here.

Harley couldn't help chuckling a bit at the older girl's words, a sound that made it clear she was laughing at the Slytherin. Of all the bloody snakes who could've stumbled upon her, it had to be the one who fantasized about bonding with Gryffindors. Typical. Here she was, trying to get some peace and quiet, and the redhead was going on about bloody bonding and crap. Merlin, she was glad she wasn't as thick as all that.

There was also the little piece the other witch said about being targets, which Harley dismissed for the most part. If she was ever a target of something, it was generally rumors and gossip. Neither of which the hardened brunette cared one wink about. If the Gryffindor ever found herself caring even a smidgen about what other people thought and/or said about her, she would slit her throat herself.

As for being any other kind of target...Harley had made sure to make examples out of people who would even dare to attempt any kind of harm to her person. And unlike most, the teen rarely used her wand to do so. Needless to say, pretty much the entire female population always made sure to stay out of range of her fists, and a good amount of blokes did too, since one was sure to lose a lot of blood if they came into contact with them.

Harley refrained from rolling her eyes under her closed kids at the company she was apparently now stuck with for some reason or other. "Being a target of the gossip mongers doesn't bother me. I'd have to care about what people said and thought for it to bother me, and I don't. And I'd have to both care and be bothered by it in order to 'bond' over it." The brunette replied cooly, her tone a bored drawl as she kept her eyes closed, arms crossed over her chest while she shifted a bit to get more comfortable.

"So it's obviously your loss, not mine, since you're the one who's bothered enough by what they say and think about you enough that you wanna bond over it. Now why don't you run along and find one of your idiot housemates to hear you complain about it and do your bloody nails with? Save me the trouble of conjuring earmuffs so I don't have to hear whatever sounds your flapping lips are making."

The Gryffindor witch spoke again in that bored drawl, sounding and looking completely disinterested in whatever the other girl said or didn't say. She had no idea what kept the older witch somewhere she clearly wasn't wanted, or what made her think Harley of all people would want to 'bond' with her over anything. She didn't even know what would have the Slytherin suggesting something so idiotic. What she did know was that if the girl had a point to her presence, she had better make it soon and shut up before the Gryffindor took the bottle and her over the head with it to shut her up herself.

This was beginning to feel like as much a waste of time and energy as a night hanging out in the common room would be. She could be ignored in a way that swung somewhere between actually bored and mildly hostile just as well there, and in the common room there was no threat that she might be stabbed or punched if she let her guard down, at least since Hughes had disappeared to wherever the hell he had disappeared to. Hell, hopefully.

Still, there was a way to get out of this that saved her image, and Rose would find it. Maybe the brunette actually meant all of what she said and it wasn’t just an act like it would have been from a Snake in her position, but it mattered to the redhead. She would leave here feeling like she won the encounter, even if she was the only one keeping score.

She pushed up easily from her place against the seats, walking across the open space with the confident strut she always used within the castle and when she needed to have her game face on. “You may not realize it, but the loss of my company and presence is always the other person’s loss, not mine,” she advised in a tone that was almost as bored sounding as the younger girl’s, though far less lazy sounding. Even when she was going for bored, Rose managed to mimic the sophisticated speech patterns of a proper member of society, not the drawl of a bumpkin who had escaped to town on a special occasion.

She stopped just at the edge of the stands before she would make it back onto the lawns and into public. There she spoke without even turning her head, trusting that the younger girl would make any extra effort it took to hear her, if the words didn’t float back to her on their own as they should. “At least with my housemates I know where they stand with them and why and what I would need to do to fix it. There are rarely guessing games in Slytherin house.”

With that she walked the rest of the way away, ignoring any reaction the younger girl might have had. She probably didn’t visibly or audibly react anyway, and if she did, it was probably a boring, pointless reaction. She was sure her attention and effort would be more needed in whatever came next for her that night.