I Could've Danced All Night, ***Open***

[Isabella Fabiano]

Isabella ran through the feilds towards the forest. It was the first time in a really long time since it had truly been warm outside and she was going to soak it up as much as she could. Running down a pathway, she stopped at a small, whimsical opening where the sunrays were dancing in the grass, and the flowers swayed right along with them. Twirling, her skirts flew with her and she laughed. Falling on the ground she let one arm lay across her stomach and her smile still warmed itself on her face. "Moto bella..." she murmured as she looked at the sky and sighed. Sitting up, she felt her hair fall all around her she let her smile slowly disappear and let her body relax.

Turning her head, she saw a small stream and put her feet in it. The water was cool, but not too cold. Letting her feet dangle in it, she put her shoes next to her and watched the clouds roll lazily past her. Hearing the sound of foot steps close behind her, she turned and looked for anyone who was coming. "Buongiorno! Welcome!" she called, hoping they would take her welcome and come over.

[Brad Collins]

Brad had enough of the indoors. He normally didn't feel the need to go outside, it just wasn't something he needed to do most of the time. But as the weather had been unseasonably cold as well as rainy. He'd been cooped up inside for too long in his opinion. He took a sweeping glance around the Common Room, noticing the first years diligently studying, only in Ravenclaw, he thought to himself with a chuckle. He still wasn't sure why he had been sorted into the house, probably just because he had a desire to learn, but he was certain he was never like that in his first year. He'd been out exploring the castle and trying to learn as much about the castle as he could. He wondered what it was like in other Common Rooms, if they were rowdy and loud or if they were calm like theirs always seemed to be. Well, he would never know personally, but he could be sure that the Gryffindor Common Room was loud, they were always up to something they were. He gathered his belongings and put them in his bag, running them up to his dormitory to drop them off on his bed.

He headed straight down the stairs and out of the Common Room, down the stairs and out the castle. He looked around the grounds, trying to spot someone he knew. He looked down towards the lake and saw a sea of green, Slytherins were at play there and he was doing his best to avoid that crowd. It wasn't that he thought they were all mean, they just usually annoyed him. He turned towards the Forbidden Forest. He wasn't going to go in it or anything, just right outside it. Normally there weren't too many people out there and normally it wasn't Slytherins if there were. He quickened his pace towards the forest, trying to figure out what he would do once he got down there, he hadn't brought anything to do.

He felt the warm sun hitting his face and smiled, sometimes he did take advantage of the outdoors. As he neared the forest he heard another language, it sounded like one of the romance languages, Italian or Spanish or something. He peeked through to see a seventh year Ravenclaw, he knew her name was Isabella, but he didn't know much more than that. He grinned sheepishly as he was greeted, wishing he knew some other kind of language to greet her in as well. He just waved his hand, still grinning, "Uh hey!"

[Isabella Fabiano]

Smiling at the boy she saw in the clearing, she got up and walked gracefully over to him. She recognized him as Brad Collins, a sixth year from her own house. Her knowledge of him stopped there though. Stopping when she got in front of him, she laughed. "Hello! Sorry for the Italian thrown in there, it's just habit I guess." she appologized and motioned for him to follow her into the grove of willow trees. The grass tickled at her bare feet slightly as she glided back over towards the water, sitting back down, she placed her feet back into the clear water.

Looking back at Brad, she thought a moment. She hadn't seen much of him outside on the grounds before. She wondered why. There was something about being outside that really appealed to her. Whether it be when the sun shined, or the waters were rough out at the seaside something just beckoned for her to come out and enjoy it. Especially when she was out with her family, because then she had someone to be there and enjoy what the world had to offer with her. Looking up at the sky, she thought of her family that seemed so far away. Sighing softly, she shook her head and looked back at her fellow Ravenclaw. "So what brings you out here, Brad right?" she asked with a small smile, and a curiosity burning in her eyes.

[Brad Collins]

Habit? Speaking in a foreign language was a habit? Well that was weird. Then it clicked, probably a little bit after he should have figured it out. Isabella was an Italian name, well, she was probably Italian. He smiled at her, "Its all good. I'm guessing you're Italian then Isabella?" he asked her casually, slightly proud of himself for figuring out. She had walked right up to him to walk away again, what was that all about? He watched as she beckoned him and shrugged his shoulders, he had nothing better to do but follow her. He crinkled his nose as he saw that she was barefoot and he watched her walking towards the water, surely getting mud all inbetween her toes. He made no sign of finding it disgusting and followed her, standing up because he wasn't feeling much like sitting near the water, somewhere he was sure to get messy. He hated getting messy as most people did.

He nodded, surprised slightly that she knew his name but not too much, they were only two years apart and in the same house after all. She certainly did look curious about what he was doing outside. He smiled, "Well, same thing you're doing. Just needed a bit of fresh air" he replied pleasantly, assuming that was what she was out there doing as she had nothing with hat else could she be doing? Nothing. He looked up towards the sky, noticing a snowy white owl flying overhead. It looked like his owl but larger. He brought himself back to Isabella, "So what's an Italian girl like you doing all the way in England? Shouldn't you be going to Beauxbatons?" he asked her curiously, though he was just trying to make conversation. He wasn't sure what else he was supposed to say to someone he hardly knew.

[Isabella Fabiano]

Laughing, she clapped when he was able to figure out she was at least Italian. Not many people connected things very quickly anymore, of course, this was a Ravenclaw they were talking about. "Half really, I'm also half Greek. My father is Italian, but my mother is from Greece." she answered, pride evident in her voice. She'd always been proud of her roots, and was not afraid to show it. Looking back at him, she laughed when she saw how out of place he looked. Standing up again, she pulled her feet out of the water and walked over to him. The grass was dry, so at least she wouldn't have to worry about being too muddy. "It's okay to take your shoes off if you want to, the ground doesn't bite I promise!" she teased lightly, noticing that him standing in a grove of trees just didn't seem too natural.

Nodding in agreement, Isabella turned her head up to the clouds and closed her eyes, allowing the sunlight to pour in on her. Smiling at how it just seemed to warm her body and sould, she let her eyes open again. "Indeed, I'd been cooped up for far too long. Back home, I was outside a lot helping my family on the boats, so I guess I'm not used to it raining all the time." she explained as she thought about his next question. It had been because of her parents, they had wanted the best for her, and when they heard about Hogwarts, well they had moved to England; even though it broke all of their hearts. "Trust me, it wasn't because I wanted to. My parents heard that Hogwarts is the best school for young witches and wizards and they just wanted the best for us. So we moved her so my siblings and I could come here." she answered softly.

[Brad Collins]

He smiled as she laughed and applauded him, he only hoped she wasn't being sarcastic about it all, like she had expected him to have already known that about her. She seemed genuinely excited though, he had no reason to think that she was being sarcastic for whatever reason. Greek and Italian? He gave her a half-smile, "Greak and Italian, well thats exotic. I'm just plain old English, nothing too exciting," he shrugged his shoulders casually, he liked England and couldn't imagine being from anywhere else. He flashed her a smile, "So is it true? Do Greeks have massive families?" he asked lightly, pretty sure that it was true. He just was a natural conversationalist, he could keep a conversation going with just about anyone, even if they bothered the living hell out of him (not that she did). He sighed and shook his head, an involuntary shudder shooting down his spine, "Eh, I'm not one for taking off my shoes outside. I don't like to think of dirt getting inbetween my toes," he replied and gave her a look of disgust, sticking his tongue out inbetween his teeth and crinkling his nose. Some people may be just fine with mud in their feet but he most certainly was not!

He leaned up against one of the trees he was standing near, "Where did you live though?Did you live in Italy or in Greece?" He was assuming Greece only because he knew they had a lot of boats there, families did that sort of stuff for their fishing businesses and all that, right? He thought so anyways but he was sure he would find out for sure soon enough. He chuckled, "I'd bet that this isn't the kind of weather you had there, eh?" Either Italy or Greece would certainly have loads better weather than Britain, that was obvious to the fifth year. He gave her a look of mock offense when she said she hadn't come because she had wanted to - how could someone not want to go to Hogwarts? It was just absurd to him. He looked at her with disbelief, "So you would have rather gone to Beauxbatons then? Instead of coming here?" he shook his head, "I guess Beauxbatons is better than Durmstrang, if you wanted to go there over Hogwarts, I wouldn't know what to do with yeh," he replied with a half-smile on his face once more.

He let out a sigh, "So what were you doing out here before I came and ruined all you fun?"

[Isabella Fabiano]

Smiling, she thought of her four younger brothers. She loved them all with all of her heart, even if they were a pain in her neck. Falling back on her right hip, she nodded. "Both sides of my family have large ones. I have four younger brothers, but my father comes from a family of seven and my mother comes from a family of seven as well." she smiled as she thought of Christmas. Oh boy, that was always an affair. "Then I have over twenty cousins and we all get together on Christmas, or Easter. They make life a lot of fun though." she continued on about her family. Stopping a moment she shook her head, no ones heritage was boring if they truly looked down deep at their roots. At least, that's how she always felt. Many times she thought her's was a boring life because it was so common back where she was from. "Now that's not true! I mean, look at England's history! When I'm at home, I feel the same way about my heritage! Then I come here and people tell me I'm so exotic, it's just all a matter of one's own perspective." she commented smiling, shrugging her shoulders. Nodding about his comment about being outside and being bare footed. "Well, I guess that it's all just in a person." she commented and let her arms fall down to her sides.

Picturing her homes in her mind, she felt a twinge of homesickness stab at her. "I live at both. Some summers I'm in Vendicio, Italy, and others I'm in Chelona, Greece. I love them both though, it'll be hard for me to pick which one to live permanently in." she answered, thinking about how both were by the water and both held a special place in her heart. Biting her lip, she thought of the warm sun and the calmness of those days and she nodded. "Yeah, the weather is just so beautiful! The sun shines a great deal of the time and it's warm, and fun. Boats are always out, it's just wonderful" she said fondly smiling and thinking about her family's boat. Sighing softly, she shook her head and leaned against a tree branch. Sighing, she shook her head and rested her head against the branch. "I don't know honestly. I'm honestly just homesick. I love it here at Hogwarts, I really do, I just miss my family." she answered, sadness evident in her voice. Sighing softly, she took a moment to regain her emotions and calmed herseslf down, not allowing herself to cry.

Smiling at him, she shook her head. "Nothing really, I was dancing by myself, and relaxing in the water." she answered simply, laughing at the thought of her dancing.

[Brad Collins]

Wow, seven on each side? He couldn't help but remember that seven was an extremely powerful magical number, although he knew it really had nothing to do with the size of her family, it was still just a bit of random information that popped to the top of his head. "Wow, twenty cousins? That's incredible. You really do come from an extremely large family," he replied, thinking about just how different his own family life was compared to hers. He decided if she was sharing about her family, he might as well share about his own. "My mum, she has one brother and my dad, he's an only child. I have a younger brother but he's only eight now. It feels weird not being able to be there while he grows up, I always wanted an older brother around when I was younger," he told her, not feeling the least bit sorry for himself, he was just sharing. He rambled on, "My parents both work at the Ministry. My mum works in the Department of International Magical Cooperation and my dad, well I don't know too much about what he does, he's an Unspeakable." he added, wondering if she would know what that was but figured that she probably would, she was a seventh year after all. He smiled at her, "What do your parents do?" Sometimes, this could be seen as a rude question, but neither of his parents made a whole lot of money, so he wasn't bragging or anything. Nope, he felt like it was okay for him to ask that. He laughed, "Yeah, I guess thats how everyone feels. I mean, we have a good wizard history here, thats for sure. Our muggle history is also pretty interesting. I'm a huge history nerd, thats where my passion lies in school," he told her, wondering if he was sharing too much information but he doubted it. He just felt at ease talking with just about anyone. He chuckled, "Yup, to each their own."

He gave her an impressed look, "I can't imagine what it would be like to live in two places. Don't you miss your friends around there? And do you have any wizarding villages around where you live or is it all muggles?" he asked her curiously. He had nothing against muggles, he just wondered how much they had to keep secret...as far as their magic was concerned anyways. Well, he knew he wouldn't be able to decide between Italy and Greece...well he would probably choose Greece, just because he had never been there before but he had always wanted to go. "You know, I've always wanted to go to Greece. All the pictures there are just beautiful and its rich in history," he commented with a grin on his face. He shook his head, "I don't know, I think I'd get sick of all the warm weather. But then again, I've always lived here. This is just what I'm used to," he responded with a casual shrug of his shoulders. He nodded his head, "I know what you mean. Even just being here and away from my family, even though they're not very far away at all, I still miss them a lot. So don't feel too bad, everyone else is in the same boat as you," he replied, once again shrugging his shoulders. Everyone got homesick at Hogwarts...well, unless they had a really bad family life or something.

He laughed, "Dancing? Really? I'd like to see that."

[Isabella Fabiano]

Listening to him talk about his family made her wonder how he got on! Didn't he have any cousins? "It's hard to comprehend coming from a small family. I mean, coming from a large family, and then most people I know there have large families so I don't know. It's just weird to hear about small families." she commented trying not to offend him. Smiling she sighed softly and let her body relax for a moment. "I know the feeling though, I've always wanted an older sibling, but I'm just glad to have my brothers, and a few older cousins." she murmured and ran a hand through her hair. She was grateful for her family, but there were times she wished she wasn't the oldest, and having to put on a brave face for her young four year old brother. "My youngest brother, Andrew, he's four so he's the reason I like to be the oldest sometimes." she answered and pulled her locket from her shirt and showed him the picture she had in there of him. Thinking of her parents, she folded her arms. "Well let's see, my dad works at the ministry as well, he's a kinda the middle man for the Italian and English ministries and my mom stays at home with the boys." she answered thinking of her family, and knowing that while they weren't rich, they lived comfortably. Nodding in agreement, she ran a hand through her hair. "Exactly! No matter what, wizarding or muggle history, it's always going to be interesting if you just take the time to look at it." she agreed with a smile.

Shaking her head she gave him a small shrug. "With the two being so close to each other, my friends often come visit me, the ones in Italy. I dearly miss my wizarding friends here, but with the floo network they come often. As for where I live, it's a mix of both. Everyone lives among everyone in no seperated communities." she explained as she thought of the old women she spoke with often, one was a witch, the other wasn't, and they were still the best of friends. Things like that gave her hope for the future even in their dismal time. Her ears perked up at him wanting to go to Greece, she she grinned and nodded. "You could always come visit! It's wonderful there, especially if you like to be out on boats or just among people." she commented with a nod, she smiled as she thought of the markets and how crowded they were, especially during the summer. Feeling her heart sink lower, she nodded and sniffled slightly. "Yeah, but not everybody has family in a whole different country. All I have here is my immediate family, and while I love them, I need my other family too." she commented, thinking of her grandmother who she'd always been close to and had to bite down harshly on her lip so she could hold everything in. Sucking everything back in, she forced a small smile and sighed softly, letting everything out that way.

Laughing with him, she threw her shoes down. Closing her eyes, she let the music play in her head and she started to dance, like no one was there, like she didn't have a care in the world, with an unseen partner holding her close as they danced.

[Brad Collins]

It was weird for her to even think about small families? How odd, most people around here didn't have seven people in their family. He shrugged his shoulders, "Well, its probably just as hard as me trying to comprehend such large families! Granted, there are some around here with large families but those are mainly Purebloods who are just trying to make sure they have a lot of er successors," he replied, shrugging his shoulders. Its what he believed to be true but he really didn't know all that much about it. It was only knowledge he had gained through observance,not through experience. He smiled, "Yeah but I guess that there are perks with being the oldest. We get to do everything first. I'm the oldest out of my cousins, granted I only have two of them. They're both around my brother's age. I was an unexpected gift for my parents," he laughed, giving her a small wink. It was true though, he got to do everything first. His parents didn't know what kind of restrictions to put on him, so they didn't put any on him. His little brother now had to take all of his parents' attention and he pretty much got to do whatever he wanted. Yes, he was living the life. He nodded as she talked about her brother Andrew, wondering if she was going to say anymore on the topic. Then she pulled out her locket and looked at the picture of her younger brother, he chuckled, "Awww, he's a cute little tyke," he replied. He wished he had some sort of picture of his brother with him but at the same time, he would feel weird carrying a little picture of his brother around...he would feel extremely feminine. Brad smiled, "Well then our fathers probably work together, I'd imagine that would put your dad in the Department of International Magical Cooperation. My dad works more with Germany and Russia," he replied, wondering if he had ever heard his father mention a Fabiano...probably not. He never listened to his father when he talked about something as boring as work. He crinkled his nose, "I don't know about that, there are some histories I don't find incredibly interesting. Luckily for you though, Italy, Greece, and England are rich in muggle history, England moreso in wizard history," he replied.

He had never heard of wizards all living so closely to muggles. It was almost unheard of really, unless the Pureblood family lived in London or something. He shrugged his shoulders, "I don't know how I'd take that! I'm only a Halfblood and we live off on our own, out in the country. Its pretty nice though, my parents don't have to hide anything. My mum, she's the Muggleborn, she misses the city and people sometimes but we have so many visitors that she doesn't notice it most of the time," he replied casually, putting his arms behind his head as he leaned against the trunk of the tree. He smiled at her, "Well, to be honest, its the history that draws me there. I'm a history geek to the core," he laughed. It was strange how interested he was in muggle history, most wizards would spit on him for having such an interest in muggles. He had always hated people who complained, whether it was about the weather or about something serious, complaining never got anyone anywhere. He didn't let any emotion other than happiness cross his face though. "Well, you still get to spend the whole summer with them. And hey, thats what owls are for, communication," he replied with a smile. It was true, she would always have a way to contact them, it was pointless to miss them almost.

He laughed as she danced, surprised that she had actually done it. He was half-tempted to get up and dance with her but there was no music and he had no idea what kind of dance she was dancing.

[Isabella Fabiano]

Nodding, she had to agree with him. Many times when she told people how many siblings her own parents had, then she herself had four brothers, they found it quite odd. "I know the feeling, but you know, coming from a large family just makes small families seem so foreign and strange. That's just me though I guess. My family is a pureblood, but that's not the reason that our family is so large. My parents just can't seem to take their hands off of each other." she shook her head and rolled her eyes at the thought of her parents, but she had to admit, at least they were still in love. Laughing she hadn't realized that he had been a 'surprise' for his family. "Don't worry, I was kind of a surprise for my parents too. It'd been their anniversary and nine months later there I was." she laughed and remembered the story fondly, remembering the times her mother had told her the story on her own insistance. Nodding in agreement about being the oldest she thought of how even though she was the oldest, she was alost still very protected since she was the only daughter that her parents had. Deciding that it was okay though, she moved on with her thoughts. "Yeah he really is, but then there's Nicholai, Tony, and Antonio. Nicholai is the one right after me, he and I are closer, and of course I just adore my baby brother." she commented, stroking her locket, knowing that all of her sibling's pictures were in there, before putting it back under her shirt. "My father has mentioned yours a few times, during one of the many meetings in which they both needed to be there." she commented with a smile, thinking about one of their many talks. Nodding in agreement she had to agree with him. "I have to agree, but of course if you really dig down into the hidden parts of the history, there's a lot of wizarding history there." she pointed out with a smile.

Laughing softly at his reply, she smiled brightly at him. It was really fun though, if you would just take the time to try it! "Actually it's a lot of fun! It's a chance to be exposed to be both sides of people you know? My family has lived among both groups for generations so it's all I've really known. It'd be weird for me to be..away from everyone." she replied from her own leaning stance on the tree. Grinning at him she laughed. "Same here! I really do love it, something about it just fascinates me. I think it's because it's a time that's not always put out there, something new that I didn't experience myself, but get a chance to if I study it!" she agreed, excited over the topic, and laughing at herself for it. Sighing softly, she let one of her arms fall down to her side and shook her head. It wasn't the same as seeing them face to face though, and that was the hard part. "It's not the same though. I mean, I don't get to see them like I want to, and while owling helps, it's still not really the same." she murmured, smiling softly and sighed softly. Shaking her head, she just decided to continue on with a different train of thought.

Laughing, she held her hands out to him. Walking towards him, she grabbed his hands and pulled him into the dance with her. Humming an old tune, she pulled away and grabbed her wand. With a swish of it, the violins and guitars started to play and she smiled. "Care to dance?" she asked with a grin.

[Brad Collins]

He laughed, "Well, anything that someone doesn't experience, I guess they could find it strange. I mean wizards find muggles strange and i'm sure if muggles knew about us, they would find us strange. So I can understand why you'd find it strange, its different. And I guess my parents just have better self control than yours," he teased, knowing full well that his parents were in love, they had just wanted a small family and there was nothing wrong with that. Brad flashed her a grin, "Well I was love baby. They got married when they found out my mum was pregnant with me," he laughed and shook his head, "I mean they were already engaged, they just sped along the process so my mum wouldn't have to hide her belly on her wedding day," he added, just to clear it up. His parents were in love before they had him, he just sped everything up.He listened to her talk about her brothers and wondered if he should talk about his own. There wasn't anything too special to talk about though, nothing out of the ordinary. He just listened and nodded. He smiled at the fact this his dad had been mentioned around hers, "I don't really listen to my dad when he talks about work, I'm sure he's said something about your dad though. I hope he said only good things?" he asked rhetorically, laughing lightly. His dad was a good guy, one of the nicest. He would give the shirt off of his back for anyone. He couldn't imagine anyone having something negative to say about his father. He smiled at her comment, "There always is."

He shrugged his shoulders, "Once again, an experience that one would have to try. But i don't know if I would like it, I like being able to be what I am without having to hide anything. But of course, I can't do any magic yet, but I know it would put a lot of stress on my parents, both having magical jobs and whatnot," he replied, wondering for a moment what it would be like if they had to hide everything. He smiled, glad to hear that he wasn't the only one who was fascinated with history. "Yeah, exactly. I don't know how else to explain it, you explained the fascination with history perfectly," he replied happily. He could tell that she was really upset about her family. He knew that he wasn't all that close to his family, he loved them and everything, but they just weren't as close as she seemed to be with her family. He gave her the most apologetic look he could muster, "I'm sorry, I guess that has to be really hard on you," he replied, unsure of what else he should say. He didn't think there was anything that he could say to make her feel better about it so he decided it was probably best to not even try.

Before he knew it he was taken away from his stance on the tree and she held his hands in hers. He gave her a bewildered sort of look. He listened to her humming, a tune he recognized but couldn't think of what it was, and soon it sounded like someone was playing it. He grinned at her, quite glad now that his parents had made him take dancing lessons, of course only things like ballroom dancing, but still, "Well it seems as though I would have no other choice," he only hoped they were doing a waltz, it was one of the only ones he could do.

[Isabella Fabiano]

Nodding, she flashed him a smile. "You're right again I suppose, new experiences are always strange to people who have never tried them, especially if they involve a lot of people. And yes they probably do! As much as I love my parents, they can get pretty gross sometimes." she commented with laugh. Listening to him, she grinned at him. "That's so sweet though! I mean, much better than mine, it had just been a romantic evening and one thing led to another and bam! Here I am." she replied with a soft laugh and she wrapped her arms around herself. Looking at him, she wondered why he didn't speak of his younger brother, I mean, who woldn't want to talk about their siblings? Then again, that just might be her, so she wouldn't push the issue. Thinking about her dad talking about his work made her a bit homesick, but shook it off. She remembered him saying good things about his dad. "Indeed he did, he thought about inviting you all over to dinner, but things got busy. Which really means that there were a lot of births in the family and fishing was good so, maybe next time." she answered smiling at him and she leaned agianst her hip as she nodded. "I always thought that way anyway, I thought I was the only one there for a while."

Nodding, she had to agree with him on that one, for people who weren't used to it anyway. "Well, yeah I guess that's a downfall to it. But really, we don't hide anything. I mean sure, we can't randomly pull out our wands, but that doesn't mean we don't practice our magic, not me as of yet, but you get it." she answered with a nod. Smiling at his fascination with history she all but jumped with joy over how someone was just as interested in it as her. "Trust me! It's hard to describe it most of the time! I mean, something about it just gets me excited!" she replied with a grin on her face. Shaking her head at his appology, she gave him a small smile. It wasn't his fault after all. It was just she was closer to her family than most people were to their own family. "Don't worry about it, it's okay. Owling gets me by, I just miss them a lot." she answered thinking of her family who seemed so far away now.

Laughing she spun out, and then back into him. She never learned how to waltz actually, she could tango and do the cha-cha, but not the waltz. "Actually, I never learned how. I can cha-cha and tango, but you'd have to teach me how to waltz if that's what you want to dance." she answered as moved to the beat with him.

[Brad Collins]

He laughed, "Well, my parents generally keep their hands off of each other in front of us kids, sometimes they don't, but we'll tell them to go get a room and they'll stop. We give them a hard time about it," he replied, shrugging his shoulders. His parents had never really had a problem with doing that in front of Brad and his brother but sometimes after a couple glasses of wine or firewhiskey they sure did, which was understandable from what Brad knew about firewhiskey. That was on his list of the first ten things he was going to do once he became of age. He pulled a face, "I don't know if its much better, i was an illegitimate child, I think I would have rather had my parents been married instead of being the pushing force behind their marriage, but I don't know, maybe that just me," he replied casually, he didn't really care how he was born, he was just glad that he had been in the first place. He thought her statement was funny, in a very strange way, normally when someone was busy, it didn't mean new births in the family or fishing opportunities - it was weird to see how different lives were in different cultures. If his dad happened to get busy it would be because he was drowning himself in tedious paperwork or fighting for one of his causes, it wouldn't be because of births or fishing, that was for sure. He flashed her a smile, "Its funny how different things are important to people, just depending on their cultures, upbringings and such, isn't it?" he asked her rhetorically. He shrugged his shoulders, "I'm sure most wizards think that way, I don't see why they wouldn't, they have full knowledge that they are sprinkled throughout pretty much all of muggle history. The muggles are blind to it of course," he replied, unsure of why she would think that she was the only one who thought that way but not giving it another seconds attention.

He shrugged his shoulders, "I guess its just different for everyone. My mum doesn't have as big of a problem with it, she was raised muggle anyways. But my dad, I think he would perform an Unforgivable Curse on himself if he couldn't whip out his wand whenever he felt like it," he laughed slightly and shook his head, "Some wizards just depend on magic a little too much in my opinion. But I can see why its nice to live by muggles and why its nice to be away from them, each have their ups and downs I suppose," he concluded, nodding his head once for emphasis. He laughed at her reaction, she was obviously excited to find another history nerd, there weren't too many in the school - most found Professor Binns dismally boring and sometimes he was, Brad had to admit it, but normally the subject content was interesting enough that he would find himself reading chapters and chapters ahead, just for fun. It was the only class that he really, really enjoyed and pursued to learn about outside of the classroom for entertainment. He shrugged his shoulders, "I guess I just like it because you can never stop learning it and from it, I'm a firm believer in the phrase that history repeats itself. If people would just learn from history we may be able to prevent a lot of the mistakes that we're making, that our ancestors made, if we just learned a lesson from it all," he replied rather passionately, it was one of the few things he was incredibly passionate about - the idiocy of people who thought that nothing was to be learned from history. It was their loss. He mustered up the most sympathetic look he could give her, he did feel sorry for her, but there were other people in her shoes, he was sure. They may not be from Greece but everyone was away from their family, both immediate and well, distant. "I can understand why it'd be hard for you, you seem really close to all of your family, not just your immediate," he replied, giving her a small smile. He didn't want the conversation to get sad, that was really just no fun. But she was an older student, and a pretty girl, so he'd be there for her if she needed him to be.

He laughed as she spun in out and from him, he felt sort of strange dancing in the middle of the Forbidden Forest, but he could be rather strange sometimes if he wanted to be. As she spun back into him, he dipped her as low as he could without actually dropping her and quickly brought her back up. He laughed, "Well, I'm afraid the tempo isn't quite right for the Waltz, we'll just dance," he replied smoothly, giving her a mischievous smile.

[Isabella Fabiano]

"Sometimes I think they do it just to make us kids embaressed." she answered with a faint chuckle coming from her lips. Her parents did it to make them laugh sometimes, but other times, after the wine from dinner and dessert, she and her siblings were forced to lock them in their room so that way they could save their sanity. She listened and looked at him lightly. "I'm sure they wouldn't still be together if they weren't at least happy together. Maybe you were just the push they needed to move their relationship forward." Isabella shrugged and walked around, her skirt brushing against her ankles. Thinking a moment, she knew that different things were more important to others and not everyone was the same. For a moment she wondered if she could really work at the ministry. Always being held down by paperwork. She'd never be a housewife, that much she knew, but a ministry worker? Now she was not so sure, that would be a thought for another day though. Finally, her aimless wanderings brought her back to the tree she'd been comfortable against and she placed a hand on it. "Different things have different meanings to different cultures. Mine has always revolved around family." she answered and watched him for a moment. "It's good to keep muggles ignorant at times though. Look at the Salem Witch trials for example, they fear anything that they don't understand." She pointed out, using a history reference just to get them both in the same boat.

She nodded in agreement and thought a moment. "Well it's not as if we're surrounded by muggles all the time. Just when we're in the market mostly, our home is a way out of the city on a hill. The view is magnificent. Anyway, You're right, too many depend too much on their magic in order to make their life function normally." She answered and thought of her mother. She rarely saw her mother really pull out her wand. Only when things got hectic, or she didn't feel like doing dishes. She wouldn't mind doing that herself at times! Isabella thought a moment of Professor Binns, while the most the time she really did enjoy his class, there were other times when she thought he drug something out way too long. That's when she'd skip ahead in her book and read, or find some other way to amuse herself. "I've always thought history repeaated itself, if people don't learn from their mistakes. I mean, if my ancestors were to make a mistake and my family didn't learn from it, we could be punished for it down the road and have the risk of making that mistake again and again. Now who I ask you, would want that?" she asked rehtorically. That whole topic was something she'd been passionate about since she could actually start learning more about history. Thinking of her family she nodded and gave him a smile. Patting his hand she tried to make the gesture not worry so much about what she was feeling. "Yes, but it's getting easier you know, as I get older. I know I can have them around me all the time anymore, but they're my family. Anyway, I've ruined the mood with my sad topic." She laughed at herself and let her homesickness drain from her veins.

Isabella didn't know why, but when she danced with the younger boy she felt as if she'd been dancing with him for years. When she was dipped down low she let her head fall back and a smiled graced her mouth. As she was brought back up, she led him gently in a tango, teaching him without words, but mere gestures. "I hope you're not to uncomfortable about dancing in a forest." she murmured as she waved her wand and let the music needed flow out of nowhere.