It wasn’t necessarily the most comfortable of days to have ventured outside, but Hestia found that she’d needed a breath of fresh air and that she was willing to brave the cold to get it. The ring around her neck had her so overwhelmingly happy that she could hardly contain herself, but she knew that she needed to start or more suspicions would arise. It was only a matter of time before Rita starting making guesses, so she needed to come up with a plan that would divert the guesses away from Ryland. After all, had she simply denied the ring and acted like she didn’t know what Rita was talking about, she was sure that even more of a commotion would’ve come from it. No, it was better to admit its existence but not answer any of the questions. If nothing else, she was sure she could probably convince Sirius to join in and help divert the attention.
After making certain that Beau would be okay sleeping the afternoon away in her bed, she moved from the Hufflepuff common room towards the castle’s door. She pulled her coat more tightly around her as she emerged from the castle and was met with the chilled air, sighing contently as she moved further outside. Her right hand turned the little shell in her pocket about idly as she walked, her habit of carrying it with her wherever she went paying off with giving her something to occupy her bored hands.
Hearing a familiar voice crying out, she turned an amused expression to the lake in time to hear a practically naked Chase Harper giving his little speech. She sighed, shaking her head, then moved to join him. Wordlessly, she pushed herself to sit beside him, pulling her knees to her chest and resting her arms on top of them. “Hey kid," she said, watching the squid moving below them. "I think she likes you."