I'm not great at the advice; can I interest you in a sarcastic comment? -- TBD, 5th year

I walked into the common room after having some fun out on the grounds and saw that Marie was sitting in a chair looking slighlty upset.  Erm... I was not entirely sure if I was the best man for the job.  Where was Maggie or one of the other girls?  "Hey... how is it going?" I asked timidly.

I looked over at Thad and could already see how awkward he seemed just by the way he was looking at me.  I could not help but laugh a little bit.  "Hey Thad," I said, watching him sit down.  "It's whatever," I answered, shrugging.  "What are you doing inside?  I mean... it's nice otu adn you're normally all over the place on the grounds this time of year."

I nodded at her.  "Yeah, I know," I said to her simply.  "What's up?"  Yes, it was lame.  And yes, that was the best that I could do.

I was not entirely sure what Thad was getting at.  Okay, I was a little down mainly because of what Mina had said to me.  But I knew that was stupid for me to let it upset me.  I sighed and looked at Thad.  "It's nothing," I said to him simply.  "What are you up to inside?"

I was not convinced.  I sighed.  "Well, I was just doing some meandering," I said, shrugging.  "Why don't you tell me the truth?"

I rolled my eyes.  Of course Thad would not let me get away with any of this.  "It was just Mina again," I said, figuring there was no use in delaying the inevitable.

I sighed.  "Why do you let Mina do this to you?" I questioned, shaking my head.  This was ridiculous.  I hated seeing Marie this upset because of Wilhelmina.

"I don't just willingly let her do this," I pointed out, a bit of anger in my voice.  "She's my friend and I know she gets more moody when it's closer to a full moon."  Mina being a werewolf was common knowledge -- she made sure everyone knew.  She uses it to scare people all the time.  "And, in case you didn't notice, it's close t the full moon."

I sighed, knowing that I had to tread carefully with their relationship.  "I know, Marie... I just wish you didn't let her walk all over you is all," I said to her honestly.

I looked over at Thad, feeling bad for having snapped at him.  "I don't let her do it on purpose," i said to him, shrugging.  "It's just... sometimes easier to do that than to argue with her."

Well, she did have a point there.  Mina was like a child-- you had to pick your battles with her.  "I know," I said to Marie, trying to let her know that I did understand.  "I just don't like seeing what it does to you."

I felt bad for snapping at Thaddeus.  he did understand more than anybody.  I sighed, smiling at him.  "Yeah, well, that's why I'm going to move on from this," I told him.  "I'm kind of feeling some snacks are in order  Wanna go across the corridor and grab something from the kitchens?"

I chuckled and nodded.  "Alright, that works for me," I said, standing up.  I offered her a hand to get up.  I smiled at her and hoped that I could succeed in making her feel better.

I let him help me up and I noticed how we boht seemed a little hesitant to let my hand fall back to my side.  Smiling, we walked out of the common room and across the corridor towards the kitchens.  "Oh, I hope they have some of those eclairs."

I chuckled and opened the door to the kitchens.  "If they don't, you know they will end up making some," I informed her as we were greeted by a few different house elves.  I loved the kitchens.