The Bees Knees

Octavia was sitting in the rafters again. It was Friday night and classes were all over for the day. Everyone else was down at dinner but Tavia had sampled some strange looking plants in herbology so she wasn't too hungry. Besides, why go to mealtimes when the kitchens were open 24/7? She amused herself by watching people pass beneath her, completely oblivious to what was overhead. But even her favorite activity got boring when the halls were deserted. So with a sigh she lowered herself towards the floor, jumping at the last second to land with a thud. Then she turned and saw a younger boy staring at her with wide-eyed amazement. Ickle firsties. 

With a solute at her onlooker, Octavia set off down the hall towards Gryffindor tower. She hummed the tune of the school song under her breath, occasionally saying the words out loud. Classes were a lot harder this year than she was used to and Octavia was on the brink of failing all but one. Already. Over the years she had sometimes forgotten that school was school, not just a personal playground. 

Octavia reached the fat lady and looked up expectantly. 
"Password?" the portrait asked with forced politeness. The two hadn't really been on the best terms since Tavia had broken out the finger paints in her second year. "Flubberbuster." responded the Gryffindor. The picture frame swung open and revealed a hole in the wall. Tavia clamored through it and made her way into the cozy common room of Gryffindor. There were a fee students milling around here but most were still at dinner. But Tavia knew what this meant.. ANY seat she wanted. 

With an overly smug expression on her face she choose a red sofa that was close proximity to a fire and had many fluffy throw pillows scattered across it. "Yeah, it's okay to be jealous." she spoke to the almost empty room as she sprawled out like a cat in the sun. Closing her eyes she stretched and felt her joints pop softly. But then the peace was broken by a voice.
"What happened to your face?" 
"I got punched."
"But why is it all yellow and green?"
"I got punched really hard." 
"Why?"
"I punched them first."
"Why?" 
"Because they asked too many annoying questions." 

The kid went away. Tavia smiled, like sharing a private joke with herself. Unconsciously she reached up to touch the bruise around her eye. It was almost healed by now but it still looked ugly. She liked it. 

Molly was walking towards the Gryffindor common room. Most people were at dinner now. She had eaten a few things, but wasn't really that hungry. Besides, she had some food of her own in her dormitory if she was hungry later. The house elves in the kitchen loved her and she could always get food when she liked. All creatures seemed to like her, magical or not. Molly couldn't wait to see her half-cat half-kneazle Tarla. She had been in classes all day and was bored stiff. She didn't like most classes. The only ones she really liked were Care of Magical Creatures, plus Defence Against the Dark Arts was ok. However, today had been full of Potions, Charms and Transfiguration. Nothing that appealed to her that much.

"Flubberbuster." Molly told the Fat Lady, before she had even had a chance to ask Molly for the password. The portrait swung off the wall and Molly climbed into the common room. A first year boy nearly crashed right into her as she stepped into the common room.

"Watch out! Don't you look where you're going?" she said, aggravated at the boy. He seemed a bit scared and fled out of the room at the speed of light. "Idiot." she muttered under her breath.

Looking towards the fire, some other girl had gotten the nice large couch. There was an armchair by the fire that was open though. The common room was practically empty at this time. Molly sat into the chair. As soon as she was seated, Tarla came running over to her and sat on her lap. Tarla always knew when Molly was around, Molly never even had to call her.

Molly started murmuring to Tarla. She was very pleased to see her beloved Tarla. She gave her some treats out of her back, which Tarla greedily swallowed whole. Molly sat there stroking her pet, her mind up in the clouds. She had noticed the girl on the sofa, but never knew what to say to people. Whenever she tried to make friends, she always came off rude or like she didn't care. She didn't mean to, it just always seemed to happen. After about her second year, she'd pretty much given up hope in making close friends. She got on alright with most people, but had nobody who she knew very well. Apart from Tarla, of course, she thought, as she hugged her pet.

Asuna stretched her arms as she walked up the castle's steps to Gryffindor Tower. She was hoping to find someone to hang out with. She had been cooped up in the library for too long, studying for her classes. She needed some socializing.

"Hello, Dearie! How are you?" greeted the Fat Lady. Asuna guessed the portrait liked her because of her cheerful attitude and tendency to not get into much trouble.

"I'm good, Ma'am. The password is Flubberbuster, correct?" She brightly smiled at the portrait putting her hands confidently on her hips.

"Step right on through," replied the guardian portrait. Asuna tilted her head in acceptance and entered the Common Room. She heard the door shut behind her as she watched the current occupants of the room. She recognized the ginger girl with a cat on her lap as Molly Weasley in the year above her. However she only knew the other girl from passing.

"Hello! How are you today?" she gently called out as she plopped down on the floor close to the two upperclassmen. Sometimes Asuna had a desire just to sit on the floor. She looked at the Weasley girl. "You like cats too? They're such wonderful creatures. My cat, Thalia, is somewhere."