Carey just had enough with the tension in his common room. That damned stupid twin always made things difficult for him. And it wasn't like he ever knew where to find Meliae when she disappeared. She was a Ravenclaw anyways so they were always so far away. He at least liked her company, he met a nice Gryffindor girl too. Maybe if it's weren't for those twins and the neon-head, he could have some real friends. He really needed guy friends too, he was sick of girls. He was sick of all these people.

Carey sighed as he walked up the stairs. He'd heard from some older kids about the secret gardens, and he thought that a nice quite look around would be cool. And the fact it was on the fourth floor was also interesting. Carey frowned as he walked in, though his eyes looked around brightly. Wow. It was really nice in here.

He walked around fro a bit and as it was a little bit warm, he took off his jacket. He sat by the small pond and looked into the water. He furrowed his eyebrows, sighing as he looked at his reflection. It was so great here at Hogwarts, but there was definitely something missing. Maybe it was just the hostile environment which he'd been so sick of since it made him feel like those times his brother would bully him and his parent's still didn't believe it. Ripley was always so damn perfect, Ripley was always so nice, Ripley never had tantrums or had to see a bloody shrink for his anger- Ripley was just...urg, everything Carey wasn't.

No matter what he tried he couldn't get his parents attention. He needed something to make him unique, something that would make him feel like they cared about him the way they always claimed but never showed. Well, the end of summer had been great, he couldn't deny it. Picking up Meliae had been the best thing that happened for a while. He actually got praise and genuine attention from his mother and father. He loved it. And just wanted more. Who could blame him...?

Carey continues to watch his reflection and the fish below the surface of the water.

Halcyon felt as though his head was going to explode. He really needed to take more strolls. He had just been in the common room, until the air made him feel like he was locked in some sort of human microwave. He inhaled deeply and then walked towards the Secret Gardens, having heard about them from some other students.

When he entered, he hadn't expected to find anyone else there, but when he saw it was a guy, he smiled slightly. He had yet to meet a guy here at Hogwarts that was his age. It was slightly ridiculous that he hadn't found anyone yet. So he strolled over to the guy, who looked pretty thoughtful, but he figured it couldn't hurt. Then he frowned.

"Matthews?" he asked, feeling pretty shocked, though he should've known; Carey Matthews was his age, and they both knew each other were wizards.

All of the gardens were a calming, not quite silence from the flowing water and sounds of some of the rustling plants. He was able to easily hear when the entrance from the other side opened. He looked up, hearing the footsteps. He sighed, damn it. He hoped it wasn't any of his so called 'enemies.' He only saw a glance of the person, when he looked down as he got up from sitting on the ground. He brushed his pants off but froze when he heard his name said. His eyes shot up and he just started at the taller boy. ...This had to be a joke. Of course his day could get worse. he could have sworn he heard that he was going to be shipped of to Durmstrang or something. Or maybe he just imagined it.

He furrowed his eyebrows, holding back a groan. "Dumbledore..." He said with a nasty tone to his voice, though he couldn't exactly pin point a reason for the animosity. It was just...always there he supposed. His parents hadn't liked his, so he thought he wasn't supposed to like him. And he just wasn't having a great day.

"What're you doing here?" he asked, trying to sound bored as he knelt down a bit to grab his jacket form the floor. He needed to handle the irritation as gracefully as he was taught to. By acting indifferent instead. It's not like he needed anymore problems with people anyway...

Halcyon raised an eyebrow at Carey for the nasty tone. He then shrugged it off. If Carey thought it was that easy to piss him off, he really needed to check his resources. Of course, it might just be a way of saying 'get-the-hell-outta-here-I-want-to-be-alone!' And it might not be a plus that Halcyon was the one to disturb his privacy, given the horrible relationship between the Dumbledore's and the Matthews'.

"Well, I just thought I'd take a random stroll to Hogwarts to spy for the Deutsche," he said sarcastically. Then he rolled his eyes. "What the heck do you think I'm doing here Matthews? Stalking you?" he asked annoyed.

Sure, Halcyon didn't really think he had a problem with Carey, but he had no interest in becoming friends with someone who was that rude to him, only having his parents accountable for the dislike. It wasn't like Halcyon was the same as his folk. He could stand on his own feet, recklessly enough.

Carey rolled his eyes as he stood up straight, annoyed as Halcyon was getting sarcastic. He groaned. "Of course I don't Dumbledore, I'm not an idiot." He sneered. "There are just so many places here, it's a bit annoying that you've come by here of all places by coincidence."

Carey didn't know what else to say to him. He'd been told that Halcyon and his family were no good. They were far too 'traditional' as his mother would say. And he knew that whatever traditional really meant to his mother, it wasn't good. At the parties, hosting events or fundraisers they'd been pushed together at, he never really talk to him much. He'd always try to run off back to the adults to talk to them while he could.

He never exactly thought of them as rude or mean people, but the way their mothers always looked at each other make him cautious, and he really wondered what was going on at times. He sighed and started to walk, "Whatever, I'll just find someplace else to sit. And here, I finally thought I could get away from everything that reminded me of my damn family-", he grumbled as he complained, just wanting to have a look around. but the room was big enough maybe he could find a nice place to sit without having to see Halcyon or have him bother him... He had almost decided to bump Halcyon's arm when he walked by but the other boy was taller and most likely stronger then him to, so he didn't chance it.

Halcyon lifted his eyebrow. "Then don't ask silly questions," he said shortly.

He then looked at the guy, feeling like rolling his eyes again. Honestly, this castle wasn't all Carey's either. Cyon could go wherever, and if Carey honestly thought they wouldn't have met sometime either way, he was being daft. "Coincidence? It's not like we would have gone to this school for seven years, not meeting each other at all. It's already been a week, I'm surprised I didn't notice you sooner," Cyon said calmly.

Cyon narrowed his eyes as Carey said that he had hoped for some peace and quiet. He honestly couldn't understand the fact that Carey seemed to dislike him so much. Seriously, they had barely ever talked. And if he remembered correctly, they had been having fun when they were really young at the first of the parties their parents were mushed together in, until his own parents came and warned him not to talk to Carey again. Cyon never really understood, and he never saw the point in doing what his parents asked him to, but if this was the way Carey was going to behave, then he supposed his mother had been right.

Cyon took a hold on Carey's shoulder as he was about to walk past him. "Hey, don't be so crude. It's not like I was wishing to intrude on your privacy, but you could at least have the decency of not being an ass about it. Honestly, Matthews, what do you hate so much about me? Personally," he added calmly.

Carey crossed his arms. "You know, to be honest I heard you were being shipped off to Durmstrang or something. I wasn't expecting to be seeing you at all." His eyebrows were furrowed slightly, looking annoyed, but there was no annoyance in his voice. A part of him was glad he was here. At least he knew him. Everyone else was a stranger, and quite strange. He wouldn't like to call himself sheltered, but he had hardly ever been in the company of other children save for Halcyon and other party-goer's kids, which most the time he never liked.

Carey looked away slightly, biting the inside of his lip. He remembered some of the times they had been put together, he was the only other kid his age and they seemed to get along. usually because whenever there was a party he was in a great mood. It was a while ago though, and events always had a different feeling to them. And with all the things he'd heard from his parents, he thought it hard to really form his own opinion. There were a few parties after his brother returning home, that he'd thrown his infamous tantrums. He realized at the moment, he felt a little embarrassed, unsure if he ever saw him freak out. He was pretty sure his parents had, as Carey's mother had gone off complaining that night of some comment the other's mother made about him.

Carey sighed and turned to face him, not harshly. He held back a sneer as he spoke, realizing he really just felt confused about this whole situation. He wasn't sure what to say at first but the moment Halcyon asked why he hated him he immediatly snapped at him, his arms still crossed. "I don't hate you!" He then just stared at him, feeling a little inferior, was he trying to make him feel stupid by acting like the 'better person'.

Halcyon frowned slightly. "Huh... That's weird. Well, my parents were considering it for a while, but then the brutality of the wars got a bit worse, and they wanted me to go to Hogwarts. But that is a while ago," he said with a shrug. Sometimes he did wish to be at Durmstrang, but he was also rather happy about the fact that he wasn't. Durmstrang was said to be freezing the year around, so he was pretty happy that he wasn't there.

He looked at Carey as the guy seemed to think harshly about something. He guessed it had something to do with whether or not he did dislike Halcyon. He feeling very good about himself, really, he didn't want to be disliked by people who didn't even really know him. He didn't mind that their parents had a strong dislike for each other, but he didn't want people who barely knew him to judge him.

But he was really surprised when Carey snapped at him, saying he didn't hate Halcyon. "Yeah, okay then. Hate is a strong word. But you know what I mean. I mean, I'm no better or anything, it's not like talking to you is the most natural thing I've done, but is there something in particular you dislike about me, or is it just the family feud. For me, it's definitely the latter," Halcyon said honestly, hoping Carey would follow his example so they could get to the bottom of it. He knew he was coming off as a know-it-all, but he really wasn't feeling very secure at all.

Carey looked a bit over to the side, his arms crossed, feeling a bit embarrassed for his assumption that he'd actually be going to Drumstrang under the current circumstances. What a stupid thing for him to think, no one would put themselves or their family at risk like that. "Oh...right. Probably should have known that..." he muttered.

Carey didn't like not knowing what he thought or felt of a person. Usually it was so straightforward...he didn't like them or he did. But with this guy, with Halcyon, there was a part of Carey that wanted to like him and be friendly with him, since they knew each other and could actually talk about things. But another part of him, beyond what his parents thought, didn't want to like Halcyon. There was always his damn smile, and the way his hair was that just attracted everyone's attention. If they did start to talk more casually...well, what was Carey compared to him?? Carey let out a soft groan.

"I don't know, okay?" Carey said, still not looking right at him. He sighed and lowered his hands, uncrossing his arms, but his hand clenched. He needed to think. He felt himself getting frustrated. He looked up at the taller boy, "Just give me some space, alright?"

Halcyon shrugged. Yeah, he should have known, but some people actually did send their children to a warring country. Word had it that the headmistress of Hogwarts had done so. But Halcyon didn't really care all that much. He was just happy he hadn't been shipped off. He looked at Carey with a scrutinising look. He was looking for something Halcyon could relate to, other than their uptight parents, but that was a bit hard. He didn't know the guy, but that only made him want to know him more. He looked at Carey and nodded.

"All right then. I'll give you some space. As long as you let me know when you find out of what stops you from even trying to be my friend," Halcyon said.

However, he wasn't feeling as cocky as he might've seemed. Truth was he was probably thinking much of the same as Carey, and if Carey had started the conversation with why Halcyon didn't try to be his friend, then Halcyon would've been the one asking for space.

"See you later, Matthews," he said and walked away.

Carey wished it would just be easier to think of a definite reason to like him or not. But he honestly didn't know him other than through family ties. Granted the conversation at the moment wasn't horrible, he bet a part of him was just too proud to just so suddenly want to change his mind. It would make him seem stupid, desperate even. He didn't want that. Carey gave a stiff nod back to him.

He was thankful that he wasn't going to be pushy or anything, but his next words just made him roll his eyes. "What if I just don't know, huh?" he muttered more to himself then to Halcyon. He didn't have to tell him anything if he didn't want to. He should have been so sure that Carey'd even talk to him...even though Carey planned on it anyway.

Carey stayed where he was as Halcyon walked past him. "Yeah, whatever Dumbledore." he glanced back at him and sighed as Halcyon made his way to leave.