[naughty children] LOUIS ! [making mischief]

[Ellie Rayne]

<sub>Scrawny, cargo pant-adorned legs wriggled there way into the boat house, secret agent style. The Gryffie tried her hardest not to be caught, and her thin body found it's way into the shack without much trouble.

She'd been watching three older Slytherin girls sunbathing by the lake for nigh on an hour, and had already managed to scheme quite a few clever pranks to pull on them. But most of them required an accomplice, and as Ellie wasn't terribly good in the social realm of things, she would need a miracle to get her just the right person to do the job.

Finally, she spotted him.

One of her only close friends, Louis Weasley was jogging her way, looking rather worn out, determined none the less. His fascination with exercise was something she'd never quite figured out, and had long ago accepted the fact that he was an enigma she might never find the answer to. Perhaps that was why she found him so fun to hang out around. Most people she could figure out in about a minute, as she'd observed normal human behavior long enough to know how people worked. Only a few unique individuals did she find remotely fun to hang around anymore. And Louis was one of them.

As he passed, she stuck her head a crack out of the shack and gestured to him with a hand to come inside, before shoving her head back into the dark of the boat house. She shook her head to get the dull brown hair out of her face, and successfully managed to stop it from molesting her mouth. Muddy olive eyes kept a watch at the door, anticipating his arrival. Louis rarely let her down.</sub>

[Louis Weasley]

Thud. Thud. Thud. The sound of his feet beating against the ground lulled the Gryffindor into a state of calmness. He was running through the grounds again, a past time which he enjoyed a lot, and he never seemed able to be angry after a good run. Yes, some people thought it was weird, but he could deal with that. Louis Weasley hardly cared what people thought of him, and he'd dealt with enough hateful comments in his life because of the injuries his father had sustained years before.

As he rounded the corner of the boat house his breathing was becoming more ragged as he'd been running for longer than usual, though his pace slowed a little as he saw a familiar head appear from a crack and a hand beckon him inside. Ellie. One of Louis best friends. He couldn't help the small smile or soft chuckle as he slowed his pace until he was walking, allowing his muscles to cool down to avoid cramp before he slid into the hut.

As soon as he was inside he wiped the back of his hand across his forehead and caught his breath. "Ellie, what a pleasant surprise." He smiled, though his voice was still a little breathy. His blue eyes scanned the girl in front of him as he ran a hand through his short blond hair. It wasn't unusual for Ellie to call an early end to his exercise for one reason or another, and he was rather interested in what her reason would be today.

[Ellie Rayne]

<sub>Just the few moments she'd sat still on the floor of the shack were making her want to run around in circles. Her finger drummed on her thigh and her olive eyes darted to the door to make sure the exit was clear should something happen.

When he entered the shack, she couldn't help but give him a quick look up and down. It wasn't the casual, flirty way most girls did it, but more of a friendly, quick way. She just wanted to make sure all his parts were screwed on correctly. Growing up in a family of alcohols, she knew that some people had a habit of running around without pants on. Now, Louis wasn't one of those people. But he could have simply forgotten today.

He hadn't

She forced herself to turn her attention back to her friend. A brilliant smile lit up her face, the deep dimple in her left cheek becoming noticable as she showed her enthusiasm. "Bloody lovely to see you again as well, Louis, dear," she replied, a hint of a laugh in her rather raspy voice. "Today, you'll be playing the decoy. But more about that later."

It wasn't weird to her to jump right into conversation. Small talk repulsed her, so she preferred to stay away from it, and continue towards the more pressing matters on her mind. Which, at the moment, were pranking the seventh year Slytherins on the lakeshore. She reached up her hands towards him. "At the moment, I'm greatly in need of someone to help me up. If you will..."</sub>

[Louis Weasley]

Louis saw her looking him over, but he knew it wasn't in the same way the other girls did, she was just making sure he was alright, and probable that he was fully dressed, which thankfully he was. Clothes weren't something Louis ever really forgot about before leaving the dorm room. Yes, he knew he looked good but he wasn't an exhibitionist. He smiled as her face lit up.

Decoy. A role he often played for Ellie. He just smiled and nodded, not bothering to try and start any kind of inane chatter with her, it wasn't worth the effort since she didn't appreciate it in the slightest. He slipped his hands into her as she reached them out to him and pulled slightly to help her back onto her feet. "So about this decoy business...?" He asked arching an eyebrow, once she was upright again.

[Ellie Rayne]

<sub>The moment he helped her up, she lost her balance a little and stumbled a tad to the right, her sneaker-adorned feet having become tangled amongst themselves. She wasn't the most graceful person around, and had a habit of tripping and falling over most things, stable or unstable. Even air wasn't really safe for her.

Once he let go of her hands, she dug around in one of the pockets of her cargo pants for her old pipe that her brother Harlan had given to her. It helped her think to smoke the thing, but she knew Louis didn't appreciate the tendrils of smoke that tended to fly from it, so she simply plopped the thing in her mouth, holding the aged wood between her teeth.

"Right," she muttered between her teeth, taking out the pipe for a moment to explain. "You up for looking like a lost puppy today, Lou?"

She had a habit of calling him such. The Gryffie didn't really believe his full name fit him, and had a habit of shortening it so it didn't sound so righteous and kingly. Although it was pretty wicked to have a name like the king who starved half the French population. But it was still just weird.

She sat there, knawing thoughtfully on her end of her pipe, her olive eyes watching him, awaiting his answer.</sub>

[Louis Weasley]

Louis stifled a laugh as Ellie stumbled, though he kept hold of her hands to make sure she didn't fall and injure herself, that wouldn't be a good outcome. He knew she wasn't the steadiest person in the world on her feet, which was why he had kept hold of her hands for a moment. He released her hands once he was sure she was steady again.

He rolled his eyes as his friend withdrew the pipe from her pocket, but was grateful that she didn't actually start smoking it, probably for his benefit. He hated smoking, the smell was just awful, and the taste wasn't any better. He'd tried it once, a couple of years ago during his 'rebellious' phase.

"Sure thing Elle." As much as she abbreviated his name, he abbreviated hers. "And why may I ask, do I need to look like a lost puppy?" He asked with a sigh, leaning against the wall, his eyes still trained on Ellie as she chewed on the end of the pipe.

[Ellie Rayne]

<sub>She flashed him a playful glare when he almost laughed at her stumbling. Sure, she wasn't the most sure-footed of women, but she didn't like to let other people know that. It just gave them ways to hurt her, and that was never a good thing to give out.

"In time, young grasshopper," she joked, her voice mocking a calm, teacherly tone, "Let's not be hasty now."

It was so like her to joke around. Life was too short for seriousness and sadness. Passion, freedom, and laughter were things that lives should be filled with. Not the weird things like sadness and awkwardness. Although Ellie tended to be rather peculiar around people, it wasn't because she was trying to embarrass them. No, she was trying to lure them out of their comfot zone. Give them a taste of the good life.

Such was the life she led.

She grinned at him before instructing him again. "Now put on that adorkable little face I know your hiding in there and follow me," she told him, tapping him lightly on the nose as a sort of show of affection. She was rather cryptic in her signs of affection to people. Random hugs were common with her, as well as gestures that would be considered quite strange had one now know her.</sub>

[Louis Weasley]

As she glared at him Louis stuck his tongue out playfully, he knew that she knew him better than to think that he'd make fun of her for her lack of balance. That just wasn't who he was. Even if he didn't know people that well, he'd rarely use anything he knew about them against them, unless of course they threatened or hurt his friends or family.

He arched an eyebrow as she adopted a mock teachers voice, but his smile didn't die in the slightest, he was used to her slightly odd ways, and loved her all the more for them. She was definitely a special one. Unique. He'd never be able to explain her to someone who hadn't met her, and he had tried the first summer he went home after they became friends, his parents had asked about her, and he hadn't been able to find the words to describe Ellie. He was sure the task would still confound him now.

"Adorkable? That's not even a real word Ellie." He laughed, tilting his head to the side a little, "But before I 'put on my adorkable little face', I'd like ot know why I'm doing it." He said calmly, poking her side gently as if to make his point.

[Ellie Rayne]

<sub>She knew he could never actually hurt her with all the dirty little secrets he knew about her. Louis just wasn't that kind of person. But now that she thought about it, he did know quite a lot about her. He knew she smoked, as well as most of her quirks and weaknesses, just like she knew most of his.

Naturally, they spent a lot of time together. They were pretty close when it came to friends, even if she was a year younger than him. The age difference didn't really seem to matter, and the only reminder of it was the fact that they didn't really have classes together. And that she was infinitely shorter than him. Damn her scrawniness.

She laughed a raspy little chuckle. "Running low on patience, m'love?" she questioned him, teasing if anything. She knew he always looked forward to going along with her plans, but only struggled ot make a point of himself. That was just the way he was. It wasn't that he found it girly or anything. Nothing Ellie ever did was girly. No, it was probably just that he liked the playful banter that his being difficult ensued. She rather enjoyed it herself.

"Just put your bloody bloomers back on," she answered him, rolling her eyes playfully, "And follow me. Actions speak louder than words, Louski."

Strange combination of names. But Ellie liked it. And that was really all she gave a damn about.</sub>

[Louis Weasley]

Sometimes it scared him how much the little fifth year knew about him, thankfully he trusted her, just as she trusted him, it was the only way their friendship could work. People often commented on the fact that one of his best friends was a year younger than him, his response was always that age doesn't matter, who cares how old you are or what school year you're in? Really?

He rolled his eyes as she chuckled, and shook his head slowly, folding his arms across his chest. It was odd how much he went along with blindly for this small little Gryffindor, it was almost as if he didn't have a choice, which really he didn't think he did. "And a picture paints a thousand words Ellie, so paint a picture with those thousand words, and tell me what we're doing. And for the record, I don't wear bloomers, thank you very much." He laughed the last part, but looked at her with his puppy dog eyes trying to convince her to share her plan with him.

[Ellie Rayne]

<sub>He reminded her a lot of her brothers. Perhaps that's why she had opened herself up to him so. The four of them knew exactly what she was thinking, and knew everything about her. Louis was like the quadlet of them, all the best traits wrapped up into a nice little package. Pity he didn't smoke. They could've had pipe parties.

At his metion of bloomers, she gave him a laughing look with those killer olive eyes of hers before asking, "Boxers or briefs?" It was a weird question, but such a cliche question to ask guys. "I always considered myself a boxers kinda girl. And you..." She pondered for a moment. "You seem like a briefs kinda guy." Her dimple appeared once again as she smiled, wisps of her hair falling down around her face from the high pony-tail messily done up in the back of her head. "I suppose opposites really do attract."

His protests were becoming more ridiculous by the second, so she simply rolled those eyes of hers again and made her way behind him, pushing him rather roughly in a good-natured kind of way over to the grimy window on the far side of the boat house, facing the lake. She pointed a slender finger at three girls sunbathing by the water. "Them." One word, but it was pretty much all she was going to give him by way of explanation.

That is, until he asked for more.</sub>

[Louis Weasley]

He listened to her talk about what underwear she thought he wore with a small smirk on his lips. "You are a strange one Ellie Rayne." He laughed, "But just to quell your curiosity, Boxer briefs." He laughed, this kind of conversation was rather typical of the pair of them, they often discussed things others may consider weird or inappropriate.

He could've stopped her from pushing him to the window but as usual he didn't resist at all. He looked out at the three sunbathing girls and nodded slightly appeased, but not completely, he turned to look at his friend. "And what, exactly, are we dong with regards them?" He asked, his impatience mounting ever so slightly, causing him to roughly run a hand through his hair. Exasperation led to messy hair for Louis Weasley.

[Ellie Rayne]

<sub>She grinned at his answer, before shoving him playfully. "That's called cheating, love," she told him, the hint of that grin in her voice. "And is frowned upon in normal society."

This type of conversation was normal for them, so she didn't find it strange in the least. In fact, it took a lot of effort for Ellie to find anything peculiar in the least, seeing as she was usually the most bizarre thing around. Usually, their conversations were either much more inappropriate or stranger than this one. This stemmed from the fact that they were completely comfortable with one another and found that they trusted each other. Something so rare in the world today.

She smiled slightly when he asked her that question. "I have no bloody idea," she answered, telling the absolute truth, "But it involves you as a decoy. I was hoping you could help me out on the pranking part."

Sure, it was a tad late in the game to be asking him for advice now. But really, what the hell did it matter? She was a reckless person, and she barely ever planned. Two things that were a nightmare for most other people. But she'd learned how to manage things over the years, and it worked out perfectly for her.</sub>

[Louis Weasley]

He fake stumbled as she shoved him playfully, "It's not cheating my dear, I can't help it if you forgot about them!" He laughed, "And since when have we ever been classed as normal?" He asked arching a questioning but playful eyebrow.

He rolled his eyes, completely lacking any kind of surprise when she said that she had no idea what they were going to do with regards the three Slytherin girls. "I'm always the sodding decoy, I think it's a given now Elle." He smiled. "Ok, so do you have any idea of what you want to acheive with all of this, might help with the actual planning if we have an ultimate goal." He laughed, settling himself back against the wall he'd leant against before, arms folded across his chest as he got comfortable with his stance, and waited for her response.

[Ellie Rayne]

<sub>She laughed as he fake stumbled. He was ever the good actor, that was one perk about the boy. "I didn't forget," she told him, mocking a know-it-all tone she'd heard so many Ravenclaws use on her. "They're hybrids. And therefore, off limits. Jesus, Louis, everyone knows that."

That kickass little grin on her face the whole time, she continued on her way. A smile never left her face when she was with Louis. He could cheer her up in a heartbeat and she hadn't the faintest idea why. Perhaps because he reminded her of home. And that was always a good thing. She liked her home. As well as the people that lived there.

"Since never," she assured him, knowing that they'd never really quite achieve the thing people called normal. And she didn't want them to. They were fine the way they were. In fact, if they interacted like everyone else, things would just be boring. And one thing that Ellie didn't like was boring.

When he practically whined that he was always the decoy, she just laughed at him in a good-natured way. "That's because you're better than me at it," she told him, actually meaning what she said, "No one notices me. I'm just the freak in the corner with the bloody pipe in her mouth. You, on the other hand, are special. People are drawn to you." She paused for a moment, winking at him. "No shit."

She thought for a moment when he asked about her goal. "Does dying their hair purple sound like a good plan?"</sub>