Relaxation is key. (Giuseppe)

[Giuseppe Gambino]

So apparently Riley was Snow White? Gio laughed. Most people didn't really acknowledge elves unless they needed a glass of wine or a stain washed out of their knickers. He visited plenty of households with his family over the years and some treated their house elves like dirt. More often than not those same people turned out to have pretty rotten personalities, so Gio always thought he could get a good sense of a person's true nature from how they treated animals and other creatures. Riley already seemed like a nice girl, but now he was sure of it. He just hoped she wasn't one of those house elf liberation nutjobs that knocked on the door every Saturday morning at 6 a.m., armed with pamphlets instructing house elves how to trick their masters into setting them free.

"It's probably a good thing food can't be conjured by magic. Everyone would have a little more junk in the trunk if they could, at least I would anyway." He peeked into the basket trying to figure out what it was they were missing, when he realized they hadn't packed a single utensil. "I have my father's appetite and my mom loves to cook, not exactly a good combination. Mama's always complaining I don't eat enough. She says I wouldn't be as thin as I am now if I did." He paused just long enough to find a couple of spoons and forks, as well as napkins, and tossed them into the basket. "I eat plenty, but I'm just not a lazy slug who sits around all day. I can't sit still doing nothing, it drives me crazy. It kinda gets me in trouble sometimes, but hey..it's just the way I am.." he shrugged. They pretty much packed everything they were going to need and besides, raiding the kitchen made Gio feel like a freeloader. It was something he'd have to get used to. "So I guess we're all set here. I say we head to the lawns!" Most people had a fascination with the lake, but it was just so damn creepy at night. He gave Riley a sort of crooked grin before reaching out to take the basket and offering her his free arm instead.

They hadn't spent more than a couple of minutes preparing the basket, but when they arrived at the lawns, it was significantly darker outside than it was only moments before. Lucky for them Hogwarts was a magic school and the lighting fixtures throughout the grounds were designed to activate at nightfall. It took a couple of minutes for Gio to find a spot on the grass that was free from ants and mud, or anything that might not make their outing one hundred perfect. He managed to locate such a spot near a large oak tree and helped Riley set everything up, starting with the blanket.

[Riley Taylor]

"Isn't that the truth? I would definitely not be as small as I am if magic could conjure food. I hate in the middle of the night in my dorm when there's nothing to eat. Well, I used to hate it. Now my Dad just sends me snacks to keep up there all time." Riley shrugged. She was lucky to have the fast metabolism that she did have, which kept her figure nice and slender, despite how much food she could put away. She watched as Gio found utensils to put into the basket, wondering how she possibly could have forgotten. She figured most of what they had were finger foods anyway, but sometimes you never knew. Plus if Gio was eating something with a fork, Riley might do the same just to look more polite. She definitely couldn't let a boy look like he had more manners than her. "Yes, off to the lawns we go." She watched with a wide smile as he took the basket and offered his arm to her. She slid her arm into his with grace and walked arm in arm with him out towards the lawns.

When they reached their destination, or at least they reached the destination that Gio had chosen for them, she realized how dark it was out here. At least there was some lighting, but the spot they had chosen, the lighting was dim. Dim enough so that it felt dark, but not too dim. They could still see each other and what they were doing, so at least they knew what was going on. For some reason Riley had always been afraid of the grounds at night, in the dark, but something about Gio made it.. different. Made it feel safer. Although she wouldn't let on that this was true. She started to help him by laying out the blanket, once it was straightened to the way it should be, she moved the basket onto the blanket and started to take things out of it, including their drinks and utensils. She pulled out the two glasses and poured some soda from one of the thermoses into it.

Riley started to pull out some food and put it onto each of their plates. She looked up at him wondering if he was going to come down and join her. She didn't know exactly what he liked, but figured most of it since she hadn't really chosen any of the food. Everything he had grabbed was appetizing to her.