HUFFLEPUFF COMMON ROOM!

Liz was sitting in the common room, not really doing much of anything. All of her homework was done for the night, for once, and Quidditch practice was over for the night. It was not very late, considering how late she was usually up, but time was passing rapidly, and Liz knew that sooner or later, she would have to drag herself up to get some sleep. Otherwise, she would die the next day, when life went back to its normal, hectic state.

She had not talked to Jason lately, except for on the Quidditch pitch. She still thought he was a perv, and he still thought she was destined for the local neighborhood loony bin, but that was just the way things were. He enjoyed trying to get under her skin, in more ways than one, and she enjoyed attacking him right back, verbally, and often physically.

She still thought he was a perv, but many people believed they were madly in love with him. She was careful not to forget that.

She stared into the fire in the common room, curled up on the couch. She really should go back to bed, but she was happy in her nice, warm spot, especially after being out in the cold for Quidditch.

Naturally, it did not last long.

Jason had spent the last half an hour or so down ont he quidditch pitch, getting ina few extrra rounds before it got too dark to even play by witchlight. Trudging back up the stairs to his common room, he passed girls he had had flings with, one's he had kissed and never looked back upon, and one's he had even dated; well, if you called a five day stint 'dating'.

Each one still looked on admiringly, some even had a grudging look, but none could completely blame him for not wanting them. He wasn't built for love. He wasn't built for relationships. Infact his own personal slogan was 'Bash&Dash'.

A face popped into his head as he passed yet another ex-girlfriend, It was that Liz girl. The one who claimed to think him a dispisable cretin. He reflected on their earlier conversations, if you could call them that. Heated arguments more like it. She was different, he concluded. She didn't start to instantly puker her lips when he looked at her, and that thought of it made him want to punch a wall.

He muttered the entrance pass for the common room, fully intending to lie on the sofa for a couple of hours before bed. Until he saw a figure sitting in his favourite spot before the fireplace. There was an old saying that sprung to mind vefore he approached her; Speak of the devil and he shall appear.

Slowing his steps, he rounded the sofa and sat down closely beside her, he had found that the only way to get through to Liz was to bug her like hell knows nothing.

"Hey cutie, what are you doing down here alone?" He asked, his voice almost a purr.

Liz knew her peaceful evening would end abruptly as she heard footsteps leading into the common room. With footsteps came people, and with people came noise. However, the footsteps abruptly stopped, and Liz was a bit baffled. They would have had to pass her to get to the dormitories, so she would have seen it if they had walked by.

Liz was just about to turn around to see what was going on when she saw a flash of movement, and Jason slipped into the sofa with her, sitting a bit too close for Liz's comfort. Liz was sitting right in the corner, so she could not really squeeze over, further away from him than she already was.

Things got worse when he opened his mouth, of course.

"Hey cutie, what are you doing down here alone?" he asked, trying to sound smooth. Liz ignored his use of the pet name, as he went through an endless stream of them. Every time she saw him, he had a new one--it was just his way of trying to bug her. Of course, he succeeded, but if she let him know that, it would give him the satisfaction of knowing that his attempts were actually serving their purpose. He probably already knew he was winning, or he would have given up by now, but still, Liz hated to show it.

Liz had changed a bit since that first time she talked to Jason in the common room. She was not QUITE as nasty with her responses, unless he started it. However, some things never changed--she still could not stand to lose. Also, she still liked her space.

She replied, her tone a bit testy. He had interrupted her in her doing nothing, which was a crime against humanity, in her eyes.

"First of all, move over. Violating the space bubble limits just gets you pulverized, you should know that by now."

"Second, I am not technically alone, as I am talking to you. I WAS doing nothing, and enjoying it quite a bit. Then, you had to barge in here and interrupt me with your failure attempts at hitting on me... which, by the way, I thought you would have learned by now--it is not doing anything for you. Why do you still bother?"

Liz stopped, done with her little rant. She was crabby tonight, apparently.