“ i  would  be  careful,  if  i  were  you, ”  aria  warns  when  she  notices  someone  making  their  way  up  to  the  baby  hippogriff  in  the  mini  menagerie,  having  already  seen  the  sweet  little  thing  get  feisty  with  someone  else  who’d  decided  to  get  a  little  too  close  too  quickly. aria  herself  is  sitting  off  to  the  side  a  few  feet  away  with  a  kneazle  curled  up  in  her  lap,  its  tail  flicking  slowly  from  side  to  side  as  she  scratches  gently  down  its  back,  a  soft  purr  emanating  from  the  creature  even  as  its  eyes  track  its  surroundings  with  a  piercing  stare.  “ might  lose  an  appendage  if  you  move  too  quickly. ”

aria  scrunches  her  nose  as  she  inspects  her  dress,  trying  to  assess  whether  her  scourgify  charm  got  out  all  of  the  mysterious  pink  liquid  that  the  wooden  spoon  on  the  drinks  table  splashed  at  her  when  she  happened  to  ask  what  was  in  the  drink,  feeling  disgruntled  at  how  the  party  has  been  going  thus  far  even  though  it’s  still  so  early  in  the  evening.  she  absolutely  adores  her  little  dragon  friend,  but  it  nearly  managed  to  escape  her  to  hunt  a  frog  near  the  lake,  and  then  singed  some  of  the  pieces  of  her  fringe  hanging  from  her  dress,  just  before  she  got  sprayed  with  the  liquid.  all  in  all,  not  her  best  night,  but  she  supposes  it  could  be  worse.  noticing  someone  nearby,  she  sighs  as  she  gestures  to  her  dress.   “  you  reckon  i  got  all  of  the  drink  off  of  my  dress?  the  stupid  spoon  spilled  it  on  me,  ”   she  asks  with  a  pout,  singling  out  the  area  for  them  with  her  hands  for  good  measure.

aria’s  reclined  on  a  blanket  against  one  of  the  stone  pillars  in  the  sundial  garden,  freya  and  chachki  curled  up  together  and  grooming  each  other  on  the  other  end,  having  just  finished  running  around  and  playing  in  the  grass.  it’s  been  cute  to  watch  the  two  of  them  bond,  despite  the  fact  that  she  knows  zehra  is  ( fondly )  annoyed  by  it.   “ they  are  a  bit  cute  together,  aren’t  they? ”  she  asks  as  her  lips  tip  up  into  a  semblance  of  a  smile,  her  eyes  locked  on  the  two  felines.

“ i’m  surprised  there’s  even  still  anyone  here,  given  how  late  you’ve  made  us, ”  aria  huffs  teasingly,  though  there’s  no  heat  behind  her  words. they  hadn’t  actually  arrived  that  late,  realistically;  perhaps  more  fashionably  late  than  anything,  but  aria  will  never  surpass  an  opportunity  to  give  kaius  a  hard  time  if  she  can  help  it.  she  can  feel  eyes  on  them  as  they  make  their  way  through  the  crowd,  and  notices  more  than  one  pair  widening  at  the  sight  of  her  neck,  and  although  it  hadn’t  been  that  bad  when  they’d  left,  she’s  sure  the  love  bites  kai  had  left  during  their  pre-ball  romp  must’ve  bloomed  darker  in  the  moments  since.  she  lifts  her  glass  of  spiked  butterbeer  to  her  lips  and  takes  a  sip,  giving  a  soft  hum  of  approval  before  she’s  turning  back  to  kai.   “ y’know,  you’re  lucky  you  fucked  most  of  the  fight  out  of  me  earlier,  or  i’d  be  very  cross  with  you  right  now, ”  she  tells  him,  the  serene  smile  spread  across  her  lips  at  contrast  with  her  words.  “ people  keep  staring  at  my  neck. do  i  even  want  to  know  what  you’ve  done  to  it? ”

aria’s  standing  near  the  drinks  table  when  an  abrupt  series  of  loud  laughs  escape  her,  her  eyes  widening  with  amusement  behind  her  mask  as  the  hand  not  wrapped  around  her  now  empty  glass  comes  up  to  cover  her  mouth  in  shock.  “ i  always  forget  that  the  giggle  in  gigglewater  is  literal, ”  she  muses  to  no  one  in  particular,  directing  her  gaze  towards  the  nearest  person  and  giving  a  shrug,  mirth  shining  in  her  eyes.  “ it’s  definitely  not  water  though,  that’s  for  sure. ”

aria's  chest  feels  tight  as  she  enters  the  common  room,  the  news  of  the  happenings  of  the  night  before  making  her  feel  nauseous.  she  knows  that  the  attacks  are  at  the  hands  of  werewolves,  of  creatures  like  her,  and  she  feels  sick  just  from  the  thought.  the  thought  of  one  of  these  unknown  werewolves  attacking  someone  she  loves,  attacking  cedric,  makes  her  feel  panicked,  and  she  looks  for  him  immediately,  the  thought  of  losing  her  best  friend  unfathomable.  the  sight  of  his  light  brown  locks  has  her  nearly  deflating  with  relief,  rushing  over  to  him  immediately and  giving  him  a  quick  glance  up  and  down  on  the  way  over  to  make  sure  he's  not  hurt,  and  not  even  hesitating  once  she  finds  him  unharmed  before  flinging  herself  into  his  arms.   “  oh  my  god,  i'm  so  glad  you're  okay.  i  was  so  worried  when  i  got  the  notifications,  ”    she  greets  him  as  she  squeezes  him  against  her,  her  hands  still  shaking.

“ cute. sorry to break up whatever was going on there. ”  her words come out sharp and they sound insincere even to her own ears, but she’s annoyed enough not to care at the moment, though she knows she’ll regret it later. this wasn’t exactly the greeting she’d expected, but she supposes that’s part of the reason why she’s so irritated.