Melinda stood there, startled when Chris kissed her cheek. She caressed it then thought about the pool she had seen a few days ago, when she visited them for the first time. The three D's...and there she was...apparated in front of the pool. "Why did you take so long?" She asked him, quite mischevious it was having already eighteen and being able to use magic outside of school.

Chris walked out side with a wide smile on his face. But that slightly feel when he saw Melinda. He sort of glared at her, teasing of course. "Ok that is so unfair. Just wait till next summer when I can apparate." He told her and walked towards her. He then wrapped his arms around her and picked Melinda up. "Ha what are you going to do now?" He asked with a sly smile.

Nick watched as Melinda apparated. And then Chris ran through the door. But then he saw Chris pick Mel up. "Chris you know you're not alone." He said with a slightly disgusted look.

"Ah suck it up Nick." Chris said teasing his brother.

"I'll wait...but while that happens, I will enjoy the magic I already can do..." Melinda said, laughing and walking towards Chris, just then he picked her up. "Whoa..." She said and gave out a long laugh, mostly chuckle...if it was possible. Then Melinda looked at Nick...and then Chris teasing with him. "Don't say that to your brother, Chris and put me back down...he's right. We are not alone anymore..." She told him and smiled wide.

"Hey, Nick...how have you been?" She asked the boy who was still inside the pool.

"Oh ha ha funny." He said to Melinda. Chris then heard her to put her down. "Alright." He said putting her back on the ground. "Oh come on I was just teasing him. You know that right Nick?" He asked.

"Course I know that." Nick said to Chris. "Hey Melinda. I've been good. How about you?" He asked but then splashed Chris. "That's what you get." He said to him and laughed.

Chris got hit right in the face this time. "Alright Nick you asked for it." He said taking his shirt and shoes off. He then jumped in the pool. As he came up to the surface he pushed his hair back. He got hold of Nick and started tickling him. "How do you like it huh?" He asked laughing.

"Stop it!" Nick said between laughing and trying to get away from Chris. He tryed splashing him but it didn't work. So he just let Chris keep on tickling him, he actaully did think the whole thing was funny.

"Better than ever..." Melinda answered with a wide smile. She would be laughing at the whole situation the whole afternoon if Chris had not splashed her along. Her clothes were damp now...ah. Great...

She tapped her foot, thinking of what to do to both the Kaplan boys. Then the idea came along. "One second..." She said, and ran back to the living room, found the nearest restroom and changed into her decent and lovely navy blue suit along with her white flip-flops.

Melinda ran back outside....Mwhaha...and jumped into the pool, making a whole splash out of nowhere, hitting both the boys while Melinda tempted to get at least two meters away from them, hoping they weren't so revengeful.

Chris and Nick now were trying to get each other in head locks and constently, splashing each other. So it was not suprise that Chris hadn't heard or see Melinda leave. That's until she came running back out and jumped in the pool.

Chris again push his hair out of his face, and then looked at Melinda and started to laugh. "Two can play that game Black." He said moving closer and splashing her will doing so. "Hey Nick get over here." He said to him.

Nick then went over and also started to splash her. He also started to laugh.

"What are you going to do now?" Chris asked Mel still laughing.

"Stop...both...please..." Melinda said, as she slowly drowned herself into the water and tried to plan something out to just go against them. There was nothing...nothing at the moment. Gah, she hated that.

"Okay..." She said, coming out of the water and pulling her hair into a ponytail. "...I give up.." Melinda said laughing, taking her white flip-flop and using it as a flag.

Chris and Nick both stopped when asked. They looked at each other when Melinda went under the water.

Chris then laughed when Mel got out. He followed and also got out when she did. "Sorry about that. But I warned you, that Nick might get you." He told her and smiled. As he grabbed a towel and started to dry of.

"Oh thanks Chris." Nick said rolling his eyes playfully at him.

Melinda laughed. "Don't worry...we are having fun." She said, walking close to Chris as she dried herself. "So...how about another jump in..." She just had the idea in her head...she was really excited to be in that house, having the time of her life again.

So, she ran...and another jump and splash was made. Melinda came up, "Sorry, Nick..." She said, apologizing.

Chris chuckled. "Alright alright. Just a second." He said and walked over to his guitar making sure it wasn't wet. And thank God it wasn't, he then thought it best to put it back in the case. But then turned and headed back in the pool. But this time he didn't jump not wanting to get anything or somebody more wet.

Nick wiped the water out of his face. "It's alright." He told her and smiled. "So Mel why did you come back again. I didn't think you would come again for awhile." He asked.

Chris heard Nick. "Well you're not shy." He said and laughed messing up Nick's hair playfully.

Melinda turned to Chris when Nick asked the question. "Err...there are times like this one, that you have to take chance of...and well, I was at Greece and decided to come...to wish you and your brother a nice start of school, as well as a great year." She said, feeling kind of weird explaining that again.

Chris was behind Nick so he couldn't see him. He sort of shrugged when Melinda looked at him. He didn't know what she should say either.

Nick nodded. "Ok. I get it." He said.

Chris put a thumbs up behind Nick's back to Melinda. But quickly stopped in case Nick turned around.

"Hey Nick." Charlie yelled from inside. "I need some help in here." He called to him.

"Coming." He called back. And got out of the pool grabbing a towel. "See you later." He called back to Mel and Chris.

Chris raised an eyebrow when his dad called for Nick. Then turned to Mel when Nick was back in the house. "I promise I didn't put them up to that. My dad is probably fixing something. He likes doing it the muggle way." He told her and shrugged.

"Thanks for understanding, Nick..." Melinda said with a smile while she noticed Chris cheering her up. "...see you later." She said as the boy walked away.

She nodded, quite understanding that some wizards liked to do things Muggle ways. "Hey...as long as I'm with you, I am happy." She told him with a smile. Melinda was biting her lip, feeling quite awkward still inside the water. "...I better walk out of the pool. The sudden change of temperature affects somehow to this weak heart..." She said, swimming towards the edge again and walking out of the pool, drying herself.

"Same for me." Chris said and smiled. He then heard Melinda say she was going to get out. "I think I will too." He said as he got out of the pool and started to dry off. He then looked out to the forest straight a head.

"You know that's the forest you always smell and say you love." He told Melinda and smiled

Melinda smiled as Chris commented about the forest smell she loved. "Yeah...and maybe that's another reason I came here...to enjoy the place, the smell...of you and the forest." She told him, "...'cause I've really missed it." Mel added with sort of a frown in her face.

Chris was putting his shirt back on when he heard Melinda's comment. "Really that's one of the reasons you came?" He asked and sort of chuckled. But when he heard Mel say she missed it and frowned. He took her took her left hand gently. "Well you are here now. And you can smell it all you want. If you want we can even go into to the forest." He said and smiled to her.

"Oh, come on, I missed the smell..but most of all I missed that wrinkled nose. But yeah...going out into the forest seems like the way to make it a perfect day." Melinda said, giving him a smile and excited to go into a place she loved. Memories, she didn't know why, were brought from forests. Hogwarts....

Chris laughed at the wrinkled nose comment. "I still find it funny how much you like that." He told Melinda. "Alright then lets head in." He said putting his hat back on and took Mel's hand.

He lead her into the forest, it wasn't long after the was a bit of a clearing. He let going of her hand and climb on of the trees on a very low branch. He crouched down keeping one hand on the tree. "So this is pretty much it. You can keep going. There's not really more parts like this though. That's it all clear." He said looking down at Melinda.

"Well, it's something unique, Kaplan...and it's cute." Melinda said, dressing up with a pair of shorts and a white t-shirt on top of the swimming suit. She took his hand, but quickly held his whole arm. She missed those moments and wanted to have them at least for a while.

The trees, the bushes, the flowers surrounding them all made Melinda smile wide. "This is beautiful...and surely one adventure of a lifetime. Thanks." She told him, looking up to the branch where he was sitting on. In an instant, she popped right beside him. "It makes me think of Hogwarts..." She whispered, "...I really miss that place." Melinda added, looking up to the sky.

"Yeah it was unique that was until somebody." He said and looked at Melinda. "stole it." He said and chuckled. "No it's very unique I guess. Oh is it?" He asked with a sly smile.

"Umm yeah it is. Oh no problem, I love to come out here. It's like you can forget about everything else." He said and smiled. But then she was sitting next to him. "Show off." He mumbled. "I miss having you there." He said softly.

"But again...the person who originally is the owner...makes the show go better." Melinda said with a wide smile. There was this urge of her to kiss him again, but then she thought of how much she would be thinking about that enclosement between them.

"...then I'd like a place like this. I only want to forget about grandma for a while. But she's always there." Melinda commented with much of a pouty face. "I'm sorry...but I have learned to apparate and practice makes the master." She told him, with a laugh."...and I miss you..." .

"Yeah I cause that's true. But I'm not the only person who wrinkles their nose probably." Chris said and chuckled. But he saw her wide smile, the smile he loved. He put one hand on her cheek, but still had one on the branch making sure he wouldn't fall. "I love you." He said to Melinda softly.

"I thought you would." He said smiling toward her. "Really? I have to say that pouty face is kind of cute though." He said to her and laughed. "I do have a question. In one of your letters you said your grandmother was trying to get you to marry a guy. Who was he? And am I invited?" He asked teasing Melinda.

"I know I know you have to practice." He said rolling his eyes playfully. "I missed you too. I think for about the first couple months I wouldn't go down to the lake. And I was mopping around. That was until I talked to Kayla Winter, and she wouldn't let me do so any more." He said. Actaully thinking back to there bamboo fight in the forest, and he started to laugh slightly.

"Maybe..." Melinda said, teasing Chris about his nose, making the gesture herself. And so she was looking up to the sky when she felt his hand touch her cheek. She sighed, looked straight to him and smiled when he mentioned those three words again, the three words she had missed the most during her one year at Marseilles. "I love you too..." She said with a whisper, taking his hand and holding it. "If it was possible...I would stay here. But Mirelda would send her troops and you and your family would be in trouble." She said, quite laughing at the fact after so many times she tried to escape.

She just laughed, quite sarcastically. "...well, his name is Daniel. We used to be at the orphanage together. My grandmother knew his family and ever since then...she's been trying to set me up dates with him. I allow it because he invites me places near Bulgaria, and he knows why I come." She told Chris, straightly looking back to him. "But no way...he's a great friend. And he likes JoAnne...at least that's the impression." She commented, swinging her feet from the height they were from the tree branch to the floor.

"Winters? Yeah...she just goes straight to the point and makes you change your mind to some things." Melinda commented about her. "...I just got to meet her a few minutes, but it's enough to find a great friend like her." She said, smiling. "And what did she say to convince you?" Melinda asked with curiousity.

Chris smiled his wide smile when he heard Melinda."I wish you could stay. But you're right your grandmother would probably come and take care of me personaly." He said and chuckled. He then looked Melinda straight in the eyes and leaned to kiss her. He felt his lips on her's, he then kissed her with more passion then normal, but being care because they were on the tree branch.

"So there is like no chance of you marrying this guy?" Chris asked and raised an eyebrow. "Oh right that's where I knew that name from you said he was the one who was going to be near here." He said nodding.

"Yeah. She is very straight forwared." He said and chuckled. "Well mostly she just distracted me. But she told me if this was really true love then we one day somehow would be togehter." He told Melinda and shrugged slightly.

Melinda laughed along. It would be HILARIOUS to see her grandmother freak out, yet not funny if she comes and takes Chris by the ears and tries to take them away again. "...I am not going to let that happen." She said, giving a frown, knowing that sooner or later, she'd have to go back to Greece. Suddenly, the kiss came. She responded right away...there was no escape, nor the need to do so. But...oh, no. The branch was holding much weight. It just started to move really shaky. She stopped kissing and jumped to the ground again, "Sorry...but I think the poor tree won't hold enough time our weight." She told Chris, quite apologitecally.

"Nope..." She said, giving a firm shake of her head. "...he's like a brother to me. And no matter how much grandma makes us go out together, there's no way I'll be able to see him as more than he is, my accomplice and great friend." Melinda said with a wide smile. And she listened and nodded towards every comment. "See...he's the one who invites us...JoAnne and me..." She told him.

"Looks like you're having more friends." She said, poucing on his shoulder. "And that's a great thing." She commented and smiled. Chris was having a nice life. "Well, we'll have to make people see that can come true..."