Looking over the ingredients and the thickly bubbling goo in the cauldron, Daryl couldn't help but think he was forgetting something. After the jello incident in the kitchens with his best friend he was reminded of something he and Skyler had always wanted to try. Okay, so it was more his idea than hers, but she did admit it would be fun to have flubber around. The amount of mayhem and fun they could do with something like that!

Daryl knew he'd been a bad friend lately and he was trying to make up for it. He hadn't gone to the Halloween dance because he would have had to be on his best behavior (something he rarely did unless threatened with painful consequences). What the mischievous Hufflepuff had wanted to do was flirt outrageously with his best friend and cause said best friend's boyfriend into a jealous fit. It would have been funny, at least for Daryl. And it would show how much the blond Slytherin actually cared for Skyler either as a person or an object. It was a big temptation to go about pulling pranks and scaring the pants off his fellow students. Rather then cause trouble, he'd stayed in the dorms coming up with ways to frighten the younger Hufflepuffs.

When he'd heard about the attack and Skyler being in the Hospital Wing, he'd gone into shock. He'd stood outside the doors but could not force himself to go in and had left without seeing her while she was awake. In an attempt to cheer her up, Daryl had arranged to use the potion classroom that was hardly used. He'd dressed himself in a transfigured lab coat, messed his hair in the style to represent a crazy scientist, and glasses that had no prescription. It was supposed to be reminiscent of their days playing all sorts of things. Fortunately the classroom he'd chosen to use was already creepy enough so didn't need much decor added to create the scene of a laboratory. Daryl was thankful Professor Slughorn let him use it and that the man was the Potions professor this year instead of Snape. While Charms were Daryl's area of expertise, he wasn't a bad hand at Potions. It was just he was "undisciplined" and liked to "not follow instructions". With Snape breathing down your neck it was hard to be creative and find class interesting. The dour man had once said it was a miracle Daryl hadn't killed himself or become one of the nasty stains among all the others on the ceiling. A glare and a deduction of points resulted in Daryl's reply that he supposed he'd been born under a lucky star.

Sitting on the stool, foot drumming on one of the legs, Daryl watched the cauldron occasionally looking towards the door. Riddler would come, wouldn't she? She had never to his knowledge, stayed angry at him longer then a week at most. There was that one time with the mayonnaise, the vcr, and the butter...but she had forgiven him. Of course there had been groveling involved and getting Skyler a new copy of Gone with the Wind. Then there was that time he'd accidentally caused the books to attack them when he'd meant to try and get their toys to move by themselves. Skyler's bruises lasted longer then her anger. He thought it was most likely because he'd been clonked in the head with a dictionary and there was something about 'sense being knocked into him' at last. The thought of his best friend staying angry at him caused a frown to slip onto his face. Brooding (not something he normally did), Daryl wondered if he'd get the chance to explain. Hopefully she would forgive him and they could get back to annoying just about everyone with their hi-jinks and shenanigans.

Skyler had seen a lot of people during her stay in the hospital wing. Quite a few had come to visit her specifically. Most had come to visit others there. The point was, people were constantly entering and exiting the doors of the sterile environment, and never was one the boy she longed to see.

The teen knew Daryl were ok, because not only did she know he had opted out of attending the Halloween Massacre, but she had questioned Tobias on her friend's well-being when the Head Boy had come to check on Felicity. She would have asked Felicity to begin with, but the older girl had likely been in the hospital wing as long as she herself had, meaning she probably had no idea who was alright and who wasn't if they weren't in there too. Not to mention that the Hufflepuff witch didn't seem like she would interact with someone like Daryl very much. At least, not that sky could imagine. The blonde just didn't seem like Fairy's cup of tea in her opinion.

The sting she felt when she realized her best friend was perfectly fine and yet hadn't come to see her was a new one. What could it mean? Did the boy hate her now? Did he see her the way she saw herself, before Luna had laid into her? Did he blame her for all the stuff happening? For all the death? Was he afraid to be her friend now?

The questions and possible answers circled in her head for the duration of her stay in the infirmary, and continued to do so even after her release, thanks to the fact that she still hadn't seen her friend. It hurt to think she might have lost her best friend because of all that had happened and come to light since her entrance to Hogwarts. It hurt even more to think her best friend in the world might actually hate her enough to actively avoid her. But more than anything, it scared the brunette. Would Daryl be the next loved one she lost? If so, she wasn't entirely sure she could bare it. Her parents were one thing. Yes, it hurt to lose them. But they didn't choose to leave her. They had no choice in the matter. Daryl did.

While she had plenty going on to distract her somewhat from her panic at the situation, her anxiety only grew as the days passed with no word from her friend, or any sign of him. It did nothing to her with the depression the Slytherin witch seemed to be slipping into, though thankfully no one seemed to notice much, and that was mostly due to Skyler doing her best to hide it. Ever since her visit from Luna in the hospital wing, the teen had decided that ultimately, Luna were right. This was her burden to bare, and rightly so, so she wouldn't whine or complain or cry about. Or let anyone know how badly it was affecting her. So far, her approach seemed to be working, with the exception that bottling everything up on the inside was starting to take its toll on the witch.

So when she received a summons from Daryl to meet him in one of the dungeon classrooms, Skyler wasn't sure how to feel. Normally, she would've been excited, and full of anticipation. But her depression was so deep that she could hardly let herself get her hopes up. Instead, for the first time in the history of their friendship, the brunette didn't even want to face her friend, having been completely convinced by that point that he hated her and blamed her and probably just wanted to tell her that to her face.

It was completely ridiculous of course, but she were so far gone in her inner doubt and emotional turmoil that Sky were completely misjudging not only the entire situation, but her best friend as well. The one person who she generally knew like the back of her hand. It was testimony to just how badly scarred mentally and emotionally the young witch was becoming by everything she had recently been through.

But regardless of what was going on internally, she had promised herself not to let it show. She wouldn't be making that same mistake twice again like she had with Luna. So the teen trudged her way to the designated classroom, foregoing uniform attire as per usual when she wasn't in actual class and instead downing her typical choice of jeans that fit snugly, Converse shoes, and a hooded sweatshirt with a plain black shirt underneath. Her dark and wavy locks fell down her back and over her shoulders, and were rather messy, most unlike the girl, who's beloved locks were usually well kept. The most noticeable change in the female snake, however, was the dullness in the usually bright purple eyes that so often sparked with various emotions, which was accompanied by dark rings around them, signaling her lack of sleep.

Despite all of this, Skyler managed a small, albeit hesitant and nervous grin as she entered the room, wand tucked behind her right ear, hands in her hoodie pocket for warmth. Whatever the case may be, it were clear the teen had been worried for the Hufflepuff, even if she had heard he was fine and well, if the relief that crossed her face and the sagging of her shoulders as if a weight had been lifted from them were anything to go by.

Once she were sure he were in fact intact and well, her violet eyes searched out his blue ones, finding the familiar warmth there, and losing some of her nervousness in the process, a spark of hope lighting her eyes. "Hey Fairy. Long time, no see." Her voice was soft, almost delicate as she spoke,and she sounded almost afraid to speak, as if she feared what she would get back in return. Searching for something to grasp on to instead, it was then Skyler noticed his actual appearance, and in spite of everything else, that familiar flash of curiosity shined in her eyes again as a dark brow arched slightly. "What are you up to in here exactly?"

Daryl's fingers twitched wishing he had his Zippo to play with but perhaps it was a good thing he didn't since it would have fallen and likely set something on fire or exploded something. Standing he felt complete relief yet still nervous when his best friend showed up but felt guilty at how she sounded. He knew that he hadn't seen her and that she would have understood his absence if he'd only told her sooner. When he'd written to her in was in hopes that that driving curiosity of hers and the need to cause mischief would be the driving factor to get her here; he would have even settled for her anger and want of payback.

Perking up when she asked what he was doing, Daryl also put on a pout with a mock hurt expression. Putting his hand to his heart he stated, "You wound me, Riddler. I thought you would have a guess at least."

Pulling a bouncy ball out of his pocket (okay so he fliched one when he and Riddler made that mess with the balls at the store that one time), which happened to be lime green -he'd spray painted it- and tossed it from hand to hand. Waggling his eyebrows he was sure that his best friend would get what everything was for now. Putting on a manic grin he tossed the ball at her. He knew they'd get to all that personal touchy feely stuff later, but for now he needed to put a smile back on his partner's face. Putting on an old german/austrian accent he began to walk towards her as he talked. "Okay, girl! Battle Stations! I need a guinea pig for this experiment, and I know just the 'pig'!"

If anything the teen knew he'd rile her by that last comment even if it wasn't an actual insult. He was just quoting from his favorite movie just as he was sure she'd done the same. It was a bit of habit, or at least for him, to tune out and pretend he didn't hear certain things and was fairly sure she did the same at times. Hopefully though this was just what was needed to give her a pick me up.