Insanity (Kynan)

You'd think by now Aoife would know her way round. Which she sort of did. Most places, anyway. But she hadn't explored the Whomping Willow yet. Apparently it was dangerous and you weren't meant to go there. Which is why as soon as she heard about and saw it, she wanted nothing more than to go. So on a Saturday morning, the determined Kerryian set off carrying a backpack filled with sweets.

It was only a short walk from the castle to the Willow. To Aoife, it seemed a bit stupid. Planting this huge dangerous tree right next to a school. And then having the NERVE to tell her not to go there. She'd go there to prove a point. Even if it meant her eye came out on the way. Or some other major injury. To PROVE. A. POINT.

She was humming as she she skipped along, occasionally shoving a Bertie Botts' in her mouth. Toast, yogurt, Irish person blood, baguette. Yum? Aoife stopped a bit outside the tree and sat on the grass. Now she was here, what was she supposed to do?

Rules or no rules, Kynan barely paid attention. He usually went wherever his feet led him and wherever he pleased. If he ever got in trouble, he usually made up an excuse right on the spot. It usually worked. It usually didn't. He was too lazy to care. That was it. That day, when he piled out his homework in front of him, he groaned, stood up and walked out of the Common Room. That was what he always did at the sight of his homework. Then, he usually asked his sister Aylee for answers and did everything at the last minute, or if the teacher was soft, he'd just not do it and make up an excuse. Not that he cared.

Well, he was bored so he just walked towards the Whomping Willow. Apparently, it was a moving tree that could kill you if you got too near and it held a secret passage to a haunted house in Hogsmeade. In his opinion, what was better to check out than that? Kynan grinned as he practically skipped out of the castle, then put his hands in his pockets and whistled to one of his favourite songs as he walked towards his destination. He was still a good distance from the huge tree when he saw a girl- 'bout a year or two younger than him, eating sweets and looking bored. Without thinking about it, he walked towards this girl because for a moment he had mistaken the girl's hair for Maya's.

It wasn't Maya, though. He frowned for a moment before he recognized the girl- the one who had gotten detention along with him for being late to Defence Against the Dark Arts. From what he has gathered, the girl's surname was O'Donnell and she was very energetic. That was all. "It is said that the tree is dangerous," Kynan said to the girl kindly, nodding at the Whomping Willow. "It's supposed to move and hurt whoever comes near. Is it possible that you want to die so early?"

Then there was that boy. Not her heartless dinosaur (who wasn't actually that heartless), the one from detention. And for some reason, he was coming towards the spot where she sat, her legs crossed. Like they actually knew each other. Which they didn't. Just to clarify.

"No," Aoife said, frowning as she ate another bean. "I want to prove a point. And anyway, don't be a hypocrite. You're here too." She didn't care that he was basically a stranger. He was trying to take away her adventures. Maybe it was part of a daring plan to steal all the sweets she had. Or maybe he was just trying to stop her from dying. Either way, he needed to go away.

Then she realised she should be polite, even if she didn't know him. "Bean?" Aoife asked, her mouth stuffed with about thirty.

Kynan laughed at the girl's words. "Yeah, I'm here," he said. "Although I don't plan to die right now. I haven't eaten dinner yet." He grinned and rubbed his stomach. The girl didn't seem pleased to have company, though. He ignored that. When she offered him a bean, Kynan nodded and sat down. "I keep meaning to ask, what's your name? It gets boring after a while, referring to others by their house." He offered the girl a smile.

"You like food too?" Stupid question? Nahh. "Dinner at Hogwarts is SO GOOD! At home it was always a jacket potato or something, but-" Then Aoife remembered what her sister said about how she always babbled for ages and stopped, blushing slightly.

Her name? What was it again? Um... "Aoife! That's it! Aoife O'Donnell!" Oh, she'd forgotten the introduction. "Sheep and Time Lord! What about you? You're just the boy from detention at the minute. I'm not very good though, so I can't guarantee I'll remember it." Yeah, she could hardly remember her own. "I remember my friend Aylee and Hunter and Will-" No more babbling. She had to stop it. Apparently it was unappealing and annoying.

The girl seemed surprised at first that Kynan liked food. Nope. Instead, she just started babbling on how the good the food at Hogwarts was. What did Kynan do? "Agreed!" he exclaimed, grinning. "The food is amazing- it beats my mum's food by miles!" Then the girl broke off and blushed, which confused him for a moment. "What's your favourite dish here?" he asked.

Then the girl introduced herself as Aoife. "Nice name!" Kynan smiled. "Is it Irish?" Stomach-ache! Something else to remind him of Maya. An Irish name. Instead, he changed the subject. "Er... my name's Kynan," he said. "KEE-NAN. A lot of people get the pronunciation wrong." Then Aoife was naming her friends.

"Aylee?" he asked. "You're friends with Aylee?" Kynan grinned. "That's my sister. My goody-goody bookworm-ish crazy sister. Wait, I'm crazier than her."

OOC- Sorry, suckish post

That was a hard one. But quite easy at the same time. "Roast dinner!" Aoife said, her mouth watering thinking of it and all. "And apple pie for pudding!"

"Yeah! Couldn't you tell by my AWESOME accent? It's spelled like A-OH-IF-EE. So most people get it wrong when it's written down." But she didn't mind, 'cause not many people saw it written down before they'd met her in person. "Kynan's a cool name too," Aoife beamed.

AYLEE WAS HIS SISTER. "Oh yeah, she said she had a brother! And she's not a goody two-shoes! She's cool! But she doesn't know much about sheep, which is STUPID," she said, jumping to her FRIEND'S defense.

"If I manage, I eat a whole apple pie for dinner!" Kynan laughed, grinning. He wasn't a big fan of roast things. Then he was laughing harder as Aoife said something about her awesome accent. "What do you think of my accent, then, aye?" he asked- his Scottish accent was something to usually miss. He poked out his tongue and then laughed again.

And then they were talking about Aylee. "She said that she has a brother?" Kynan asked. "She has two. An older one, and a younger one. I'm the younger one, by the way." Then Aoife continued saying something about Aylee not being a goody-two shoes and not knowing anything about sheep. "She is a goody-two shoes. She could barely break a rule without going mad. One time, she cried when she forgot to do her homework. Trust me, she's a goody-two shoes." Of course, he was joking. But his sister was still a goody-two shoes to him.

"SCOTTISH!" Aoife beamed. She hadn't noticed. "Do you live there? I love Scottish people! And it's cool. Much better than that Netherlands-y accent that Hunter has! Not as good as mine though, OBVIOUSLY." A couple of her relatives lived in Scotland. They really were spread all over the place. Ireland, England, Scotland, America, Australia. It was sort of cool. Then she put her hands on her hips. "Don't stick your TONGUE OUT AT ME!"

What did she say again? "A brother in Gryffindor, I think she said. Is your old one not at Hogwarts?" Aoife knew Aylee and her brother were muggle-borns so that other one could just not be magical. Which would suck for him. She shrugged. Crying because she hadn't done her homework was sort of stupid. There wasn't really anything she could say in response to that. "My brother's a goody-two shoes too, but much worse than Aylee. The rest are just mean to me, but they wouldn't tell on me like John would." Just make her life a misery, mainly Michael and Claire.

Kynan laughed once more as Aoife guessed his nationality. "Yeah, I live there!" he replied. "It's amazing, even with one trip there you couldn't see all the sights. Who's Hunter?" The last question he blurted out of curiosity. He didn't know many students Aoife's age anyway, and it was never late to make some new friends. Right? Then he grinned and stuck his tongue out at Aoife again. "Mwahahaha!"

"Right, I'm in Gryffindor," Kynan confirmed. "The older one is a muggle. Aylee was the first one to get her letter." When that had happened, both him and Ethan were super-jealous that they didn't get to have superpowers. After he had gotten his letter, though, Ethan had got the idea and realized that he couldn't be a wizard. He was sure that Ethan was still jealous, though, even if his brother didn't show it.

At Aoife's next response, he tried imagining the girl asking Aylee about crying over her missing homework. Kynan could just imagine his sister exclaiming, 'I was eight!' He let out another laugh, then realized that he probably sounded rude. "Sorry," he said, then asked, "How many siblings do you have, then?"

"Don't even START about Hunter like your sister," Aoife warned, threatening him with her best DEATH GLARE, the one she usually saved for Ry-thingy. "But he's my best friend. And he happens to be a boy, but that DOESN'T MEAN ANYTHING." So for good measure, she stuck her tongue out too. Self-defense, though.

"That's good. Best house. What year are you in?" Obviously not first year because she'd know him. Aoife was curious. When she boasted to her siblings about all the friends she had, she needed to be able to say what year they were in and stuff. "I'm the coolest O'Donnell child now because all the rest are muggles like your brother," she smirked.

UGH NO KYNAN COULDN'T LAUGH. Aoife was one of those people who burst into laughter whenever someone else did, no matter what the reason was. So there she was, lying on the grass, crying with laughter and unable to stop. But she managed to squeeze out a couple of words. "FIVE...ONE SISTER...FOUR BROTHERS!" HAHAHAHAHA.

"Oh-ho-ho-ho!" Kynan exclaimed, raising his eyebrows. "So my sister started on Hunter?" He laughed. Aylee was too predictable sometimes. "She does that, because she won't accept the fact that Gryffindoggy likes her." Gryffindoggy was his new nickname for Ryland- he had thought of that after Aylee had told him about Ryland being attacked by a werewolf. That made the guy practically a dog, right? He laughed. "I didn't mean it that way!"

Totally, best house ever. "Third year," Kynan replied. "I'm surprised I got through to this year so far, though." 'Course he was. He barely showed up for classes and do his homework. Then he grinned. "Yes. We're the coolest siblings ever, high five!" He held up his hand, grinning.

It surprised Kynan now that Aoife was laughing so hard. He sat there, watching the girl laugh her head off with surprise on his face. He looked around, then ended up laughing just as well.

"Gryffindoggy?" Aoife asked, scrunching up her nose in confusion. "Oh, you mean Bill? Sorry, Ry-thingy? He's so mean." Apparently she had a little girl voice and was super annoying. But she'd never even done anything to that lovesick idiot. It was good he didn't mean it that way. Because nothing was ever going to happen that way. Because boys were icky. Very icky.

Third year. "That's so old! Does that mean you can do, like, magic and stuff? Properly?" Because she burnt the table and stuff when she tried to do magic. YEAH HIGH FIVE. Awesomest siblings ever. Was it bad that she liked Kynan more than Aylee? Probably not. He WAS definitely cooler.

"NEVER...LAUGH...NEAR ME....EVER!" Aoife grinned as she laughed harder.

"Bill? Ry-thingy?" Kynan was confused for a few moments before he realized who Aoife was talking about. He chuckled and said, "His name's Ryland. But he was never mean around me or Aylee." He frowned and asked, "Why is he mean to you? Want me to set him straight?" He tried to flex as to show how strong he was. But he miserably failed and grinned. Of course, he was just joking around and not trying to show off in front of Aoife or anything.

"Yup!" he grinned at Aoife's amazement. "I can also go to Hogsmeade, haha!" He stuck his tongue out again, out of pure tease. Then he took out his wand and muttered, "Flagrate!" A fiery blaze came out of his wand and he tried to write his own name with his wand, in the air. But it didn't happen, all that came out was a jumble of letters. "Eh, I still need practise. But yeah, you learn that in your third year..."

"RYLAND. THAT'S IT!" Now she knew his name when she was imagining ways to kill severely injure him. Ryland. That was so stupid. "That's 'cause he's in LOVE with Aylee. And I don't know. He hates me. He said that someone would have to be deaf to go to the party with me or something," Aoife shrugged, trying to hide how sad she was at this. He was so mean. She HATED him. Before, she could tolerate him but now she just wanted to severely injure him so badly. "And that'd be great! But he'd DESTROY you. No offence or anything." Kynan had just proved how strong and brave he WASN'T.

Hogsmeade? No way. That was SO unfair. "Why can't we go?" she whined. "I want to try that ICE-CREAM SO BADLY. Take me with you! PLEASE? I WON'T BE ANNOYING I PROMISE! And if you're that awesome third-year like you said, you could DO THAT. PLEASE?" Hopefully she could use some mind games to get to go with him. "PLEASE?"

Kynan laughed. "Yeah, in love with Aylee. Something only a fool would do," he grinned. He was only joking 'bout being a fool. It wasn't a bad thing to like Aylee. It was only Aylee who was being the fool. At this, he almost clutched his stomach and felt upset. It wasn't a bad thing to like Maya, either. His face showed hurt for a few moments, then it left. "Er... I don't know... did you find someone to go with you, though?" he asked. "You don't make people deaf." He was trying to think of a reason why Ryland would hate Aoife. "Haha, no," Kynan chuckled. "I'll get Aylee to destory him. She told me that the two had duelled last term and that Aylee had won!" That was the only thing he knew, though.

Then Aoife was begging him to go to Hogsmeade. "I haven't been to the ice-cream store yet, and I'd really like to take you if I could but it's against the rules!" Kynan exclaimed. Then the girl said that if he was so awesome, he'd take her. He sighed and blinked. "But if I could, how could I take you there?" he asked slowly. "How could I sneak you out?"

"Yeah, I'm going with Hunter," Aoife nodded. He wasn't surprised, was he? She hoped not. "But why would Aylee duel with her one true love?" That didn't make much sense. Maybe there was trouble in paradise? Heh. "And she wouldn't destroy him, surely? Even for the greatest, most beautiful, amazing first year ever. Me, by the way." Just in case he didn't understand.

How could he sneak her in? Aoife didn't know. That was the point. He was old and clever so he was supposed to do all that thinking stuff. "Um...magic?" Yeah, that could work.

"Ah, Hunter," Kynan stuck his tongue out again. He wasn't offended at that, he didn't care who Aoife went with. He liked the girl as a younger sister, something he had never got to have. He was always the youngest, no matter how old he grew. Kynan frowned at Aoife's question. That made sense. "I don't know... they were probably practising their spells," he answered. "And I don't think she would destroy him. She likes the guy too much, no matter how much she denies the fact." Then, jokingly, he pretended to clutch his heart and do a silly, hurtful expression on his face to demonstrate Aylee hurting Ryland. Then he burst out laughing again.

"Magic..." he murmured. "It depends what kind..." He looked at the direction of the school gate. "There is always a teacher checking that all students have their permission forms from their parents... somehow we need to sneak you past the teachers... hmm..." Kynan scrunched up his face in concentration. Then he shook his head and said, "Aylee's better at this."

LIGHT BULB MOMENT!

His face lit up and exclaimed, "Okay, so my sister and I are planning a family trip to Hogsmeade next weekend. I can go ask her for ideas now, if you want. Just make sure to meet us by the gate next Hogsmeade trip, around mid-day. We should be there. I'll bribe Aylee into helping me or something. How about that?"

Aoife managed to hold her laughter in a little bit better this time, but still giggled for a while at Kynan's incredibly accurate impression. "Do you not like Ryland?" she asked curiously. Maybe it was sibling over-protective stuff? Or maybe Kynan saw through his be-nice-to-everyone-except-Aoife act. That would be nice. She wouldn't be the only one.

"Okay then. Midday, by the gate. Got it," she grinned. "Oh, can I bring a friend? Or two?" Aoife was pretty sure Hunter and Willow would be up for an adventure. Especially to go and get ice-cream in Hogsmeade. She stood up and grabbed her bag, getting ready to leave.

"No, I like him," Kynan grinned. "He's a good friend. It's weird though, he likes my sister." Then he shrugged, "I bet Tom and Wes would've felt the same if-" then he stopped talking. "Nothing." He stood up and nodded at Aoife quickly. "Sure. Just not too much. We don't need everyone knowing of the Walters Business- sneaking out students to Hogsmeade." He let out a chuckle and stood up too.

"See you!" Kynan told Aoife before heading off towards the castle, grinning and trying to decide what he had just gotten himself into. Oh well, it should be fun anyway.