Amanda nodded in agreement. "Wait. Which class?" she asked. If Amelia didn't remember, she didn't know what they would do. She was usually the one who remembered things. "And when is it due?"

Amelia raised her eyebrows. "Didn't we alrady discuss this? Care of Magical Creatures! We still heave homework even if we arn't doing the project."

Amanda blushed. "I knew that! Really!" she said as Amelia looked skeptical. She laughed, and looked at Amelia. "How do you remember this stuff?!" she asked incredulously.

Amelia rolled her eyes. "Let just say I'm smart, kay? Now lets go. Vamos!"

Celandine skated toward the Ravenclaw table, levitating a stack of books behind her and humming a little tune. She found an empty spot and arranged her things around her so she could easily grab whichever book she needed while she ate.

She began writing in her journal, adding to her notes about which spells she had seen as most effective in the dueling arena and trying to think about which spells would be the most effective and most unexpected counter-spells.

Celandine knew she was a fast caster, but the strength of her hexes weren't so great. Her Protego was pretty tough though. Charms tended to be better for her, which was why she was making a list of spells that normally wouldn't necessarily be used in a duel.

She continued her list, making notes as to which she could cast, which she knew the theory of and which she'd need to research and practice (maybe finding an older student or two to help her out).

Hmmm. She took a bite of an apple and stared thoughtfully at her notes.

Juniper had not been able to stop beaming all the way from the room with the maze. She was starting to think that the maze really had driven her mad. This was not good, not good at all. As the fourth year tugged William toward the Ravenclaw table, she finally managed to change her grin to one of concern.

"You look really super hungry, William," she said, taking a seat and beginning to pile food on a plate for the boy. "When was the last time you ate?"

She set the plate piled with food next to her and motioned for the first year to have a seat, then began helping herself to some fruit. Thank Merlin there was an abundance of apples today! Juniper took a bite of an apple and chewed it slowly, savoring its crispiness.

He was being pulled along by the hand, watching where they were going so he couldn't, nor wouldn't get lost again, as if that would have helped anyway. Finally they made it to the great hall and found their house table. Watching with a slight smile on his face he saw her pile a plate of food for him and sat down when she gestured to the seat. His mouth watered and he took a big bite, chewing slowly.

"I am super hungry, I stayed up last night writing a long letter to my cousin." He replied once he had swallowed his mouthful. already he was beginning to feel a bit better. " I missed breakfast this morning because I slept in." He added, spearing more food onto his plate.

He glanced at Juniper as she chewed her apple. "How can you eat apples?" He asked curiously. He didn't like apples, they reminded him of that nursery rhyme his mother used to tell him at night. "Aren't you afraid a worm is going to crawl out?" He added watching the apple curiously.

If William had not helped himself to more food, there was no doubt that Juniper would have forced more food into his mouth. He missed breakfast?! Breakfast, a necessity that everyone needed every single day. And the poor boy had slept through it! It was no wonder that he was so hungry. A boy like William needed his breakfast. And lunch. And dinner. And many snacks in between.

Juniper nibbled her apple thoughtfully. "I don't think a worm would crawl out of an apple here," she said. "I expect the house elves make sure that all the apples are worm-free before they send them up here." And if a worm did crawl out, then Juniper would just have to carry her apple out to the grounds and set the worm free. No worm wanted to be stuck inside a castle and eaten accidentally by a student. No creature at all would want that.

Watching William eat, Juniper was pleased to see that he was not inhaling it as if the food would disappear if not eaten immediately. He was a smart boy and was eating slowly but steadily. Like the tortoise in the story of the tortoise and the hare.

He continued eating slowly, chewing with his mouth closed. He wasn't like the others, eating quickly and getting a tummy ache he hated that! And besides this food was too delicious to eat quickly, it had to be savored slowly, methodically. Placing some ketchup onto his plate he continued eating, listening to Juni as she spoke about the worm crawling out of the apple.

"That makes sense." He spoke softly after he finished chewing and took a drink of his pumpkin juice. She reminded him of his cousin they way she talked about creatures. It was a good thing he knew, all creatures deserved to be treated equally, each had their own personality and habitation.

Tilting his head as he finished eating his first plate he shrugged, "I'd love to meet a house-elf one day, but I heard they don't like to come out during the day while students are milling about. Something about their contract or something." He asked, quirking an eyebrow as he drained the last of his juice.

Juniper finished her apple and wiped her hands on her robes. William really was a really smart little boy. Not many first years would accept an explanation like that without question. Of course, Juniper did not know many first years, but she guessed that William was one-of-a-kind.

"I suppose that's it," Juniper mused, reaching for some carrots. "I've never seen a house-elf, but some people I know -" did she dare call them 'friends'? - "got some picnic goodies from the house-elves once. So I'm sure they're very nice."

William was out of juice. Juniper, paranoid as she was that the boy would give himself a stomach ache, immediately reached over and grabbed the juice. "Would you like some more?" she asked, holding it ready to pour into the little boy's goblet. Juice was healthy, after all. A growing boy like William needed lots of juice and food, and she was there to make sure he got it!

William smiled a big toothy grin at that. Honestly he was very surprised he was talking to her so normally, as if they'd known each other for years instead of hours. funny what being partners and helping said partner get out of a sticky situation can do he mused as he took another piece of meat and placed it on his plate.

"That's nice of them. It's good to know they'll help you out if you need it." He replied, wiping his mouth with a napkin. "Surely there's got to be a mean one though." He added tiling his head in the direction he hoped the elfs came from.

He watched with a quirked up eyebrow as Juniper picked up the juice and he nodded eagerly "I'd love some please." He said holding out his goblet. He didn't want to admit it but he loved juice. If it was up to him he'd drink it all the time if it wasn't for classes and the no-food rule. He smiled and said "Thanks" as she filled his glass back up.

"So what's there to do around here?" He asked, going back to his food. "You're the first older student who's actively talked to me. It's like they don't like First years or something." He said honestly his blue eyes tinting.

Perhaps Juniper had been wrong. Perhaps the whole human race consisted of little boys like William who did not give themselves tummy aches and who wiped their mouths politely. Perhaps there was nothing to fear, and nobody who ate fifteen-year-old girls with curly hair.

Or perhaps not. It was easy enough to believe while she was talking to little William and pouring him juice, but when she thought about all those scary seventh years and mean-looking professors... well. That just reinforced her previous belief that human beings were scary and it was much safer to be around plants and animals who don't plot against you and with ghosts who can't hurt you. And little boys who were just adorable.

"I quite agree. With all those house-elves, one of them has got to be mean. It just goes to show that you can't generalize, however much you'd like to," Juniper said, pouring more juice into both William's goblet and her own goblet before setting the juice down on the table. "You're very welcome."

Juniper frowned slightly at William's question. "What do you mean, what do we do? We do homework and studying and Quidditch and more homework. What else would we do?" What? How could anyone not like a first year? If all first years were like William, how could anyone not speak to first years!? "It's probably because of the age difference. I'll bet some people just can't think of anything to talk about. That, or they're busy."

He sipped his drink, thinking over what she had said. It made a small amount of sense but it still confused him sometimes. Frowning into his drink he shrugged, deciding the topic was closed since he couldn't really think of anything else to add to it. Instead he glanced upwards towards the cieling and blinked as he saw outside. It still amazed him sometimes to look up in the great hall and see the world outside.

Turning back to Juniper he shrugged, "Work work and work, got it." he joked grinning as he took another bite of his food. "I don't understand Quidditch. I've tried to follow along with it but it confuses me greatly." He sad honestly staring at her. "It just seems that if an older student spoke to a younger one, helping them out instead of laughing or joking at them then the world would be a better place." he suggested, shrugging his shoulders as if it made the most sense.

Of course it couldn't be like that though. the older students were set in their ways. Most of them hanging with their own, not bothering to notice the shy looking first or second year hovering nearby, waiting for the right moment to step in. "All they have to do is remember what it was like for them when they first started out, then they'd be more susceptible to helping the newer ones." He added glancing at her. "Like you. Even after we've done our homework you're still speaking to me. Thank you." he said simply.

"Quidditch... I guess could be confusing. I like it," she said with a smile. Some people liked Quidditch, and others did not. That was better than some people liking nature and others not. William was the good kind of other -- the other who simply did not understand Quidditch. At least, she assumed he liked nature. Didn't all boys like running around outside and getting dirty? That was what the Muggle boys that Juniper grew up with did.

Juniper gazed at her carrot stick for a long moment before gnawing another piece off. This boy had such insight into how society worked! Maybe he would be able to help her recognize the child-eaters from the nice adults!

"It would be a better place, wouldn't it?" Juniper mused. "Except lots of people forget what it was like to be little, once they're big." And therein lay the problem of why people did not get along. Lack of empathy. Tsk, tsk, tsk. If only people could practice being sympathetic toward plants, then they would get along with other people just fine. Hypothetically speaking, of course.

"You're quite welcome," Juniper said with a chuckle. "And thank you for speaking to me even after we found the Great Hall."

"Don't get me wrong, I love sports, I used to be on a little league baseball team back before I joined Hogwarts. I miss running and sliding into the bases." He replied, sighing slightly as he remembered being popular with the girls as he ran along the bases, wind in his hair. "They should have something like that here. I'm sure everyone would love it." He said cheerfully, making a mental note.

He watched her knaw on the carrot, his face somewhat amused. Most girls he knew ate with a knife and fork, even when eating vegetables, but not her.

He nodded, agreeing with her one hundred percent. "I often tell my mom she has no idea what I go through." He replied, shaking his head as he stopped to sip his drink. "Then she tells me how it was when she was younger and I shake my head telling her it's not the same." He shrugged. He remembered one fight they had once about the things she used to do compared to the things he did now. "Sometimes I think how different things would be if kids ran things you know?" He asked smirking.

He smiled as he finished off his plate, his hunger finally starting to diminish. "You're welcome. I figured since you didn''t run off and hide from me that I'd talk to you." He replied chuckling.

Little league baseball? What on earth was that? Juniper blinked away her confusion. Little league baseball was probably some social organization. Merlin knew Juniper had avoided those when she was little. She had been social enough with her garden and birdhouse. Just smile and nod, and the boy would think she knew what he was talking about. Hopefully.

And why was he looking at her like that? She was eating a carrot... that was a perfectly respectable thing to be doing, was it not? Maybe first years did not like carrots. Hmm.

"If children ran the world, I expect there would not be a lot of progress," Juniper mused. After all, most children, with the exception of Ravenclaws, were more interested in having a busy social life than a good education. Besides, if children went right into running things, they would spend no time learning. And then what would the adults do? It just was not logical.

"Well, I was hungry, too, you know," Juniper said after swallowing one last bite of carrot. "I should probably go now, though. I have books to read." Oh, yes, she had a great many books to read. Books about puffapods and books about dueling and, most importantly, books about streelers and their diets and habits.

Turning his head William bent down and took a small piece of pie onto his plate. It was dessert time now and he was famished still. He watched as Juni finished her carrot and smiled, hoping he hadn't made her feel awkward.

"That's too true." he agreed, nodding his head as he finished his juice and placed his fork down onto his plate. Wiping his lips with his napkin he put that down onto the plate too, just like his granny had taught him. Manners were everything, or nothing he thought frowning a bit.

When he heard she was leaving he nodded slightly confused but ignoring the feeling. "Yes, I should probably go and be curious, as little boys are." He agree once more, standing up and stretching. Holding out his hand he said "Well it was nice to meet you juniper, I'll see you around the Common room sometime." he added smiling happily.

William took the time to have dessert, and Juniper was grateful. That gave her time to gather her thoughts and plan an order to reading her books. She tapped her foot absent-mindedly, and hoped that the library would have lots of books on snails. Yes, that was her next destination. The library.

As the boy stood up, Juniper got to her feet as well. "It was nice meeting you, too, William," she said with a grin. "You were a great partner."

And then... she sort of just turned and walked away. Juniper really needed to practice saying goodbye to people. It was definitely not one of her strong points. As an afterthought, and not until she was quite a ways away, Juniper turned and waved back at William, before leaving the Great Hall altogether.

Walking into the great hall, Chase held open the door for Whit as they walked in. He walked behind her his hands on her waist. Not too high and not too low. He was tall enough that it made walking easy and didnt bother him or whit when he walked behind her.

They headed to the Ravenclaw table somewhat starving. He sat down after Whit and sucked his teeth rubbing his hands together. "I am starving. Now what to eat what to eat." he sai picturing a roasted chicken with mashed potatoes. Instantly it appeared before him and he looked at WHit. "Now this is what im talking about!"

Whitney walked in front of Chase,towards the Ravvie house table,his arms around her. Maybe she'd meet a few of his friends...if not it was probably better,she was awfully anxious and wasn't sure why. Once seated Whit looked over to him and saw a huge chicken and potatoes. "That's the ideal meal huh?" she asked laughing. She would never be able to eat all of that. Looking back at her plate she thought about a caesar salad with crispy chicken and ranch dressing. TA DA! There it was,right in front of her. It was nothing compared to Chase's,but that's what she had a craving for. When she looked back at him she asked, "Can you really eat that?"

Whit and her light appetite. Chase cuckled as ehr eyes popped open in response to his food compared to hers. "of course I can. I might be spilling food from the rims but I can eat it." he said laughing and grabbed a fork. Tearing some chicken off he put it into his mouth and moaned. A yummy moan. It tasted good. He smiled at Whit. "You HAVE to try this." he said tearing off another piece and putting the fork in front of her face. "Taste."

She simply shook her head at him and watched as he ate the chicken. Just as she was about to put some of her own meal into her mouth, a piece of roasted chicken appeared in front of her. Looking to see who it belonged to,it was obviously Chase. "Erm...." Whit looked from the chicken to him and back. It did look like it tasted fairly well but....she didn't know if she really wanted it. After a short moment,she gave in and grabbed the chicken from the fork and putting it in her mouth. While cleaning her fingers,she chewed and savored the flavor. Instead of using her words,she nodded and moaned,just as he had,at how good it tasted. "I haven't had chicken this good in ages!" Although that chicken really was good,she went back to eating her salad. With a small smirk she asked him, "Would you like to try?" It really was exceptionally good and she enjoyed it. Whit got a few lettuce leaves,chicken and a few other veggies on the fork and offered it to Chase.

Chase smiled when Whit had reacted just as he had. Then she ofered some of ehr salad. It did look crispy and fresh. Something he always liked in a salad. He shrugged. "WHy not?" he asked and bit the food of the fork. Yum! he thought and nodded. "Very good. Not as good as my tasty chicken but still good."

He looked back at his chicken and ate a few more peices of it before looking towards his mashed potatoes. Taking his spoon, he got a spoonful and tasted it. O my goodness it was like an org.. in your mouth. DELICIOUS! He smiled adn took two more bites. Irresistable!

Whitney couldn't help but laugh. His chicken tasting better than her salad was laughable. "Maybe in the way it tastes..but mine is healthier!" she said sticking her tongue out at him,playfully.

"I guess you really were hungry huh?" she said staring blankly at him now. It was as if he hadn't eaten in years. Then again,they had been in the courtyard all day,very understandable. He seemed to really be enjoying,looked as though some kind of "party" or something was going on in his mouth. "Happy it got dark outside,I presume?"

"Healthier? WHo cares about that?" he asked laughing knwoig she was tellin the truth. He smiled though and continued eating.

"Let boys be boys and let me eat my food." he said laughing. He kissed her on the cheek maybe leaving a molecule of mashed potatoes on it.
"Of course I didnt. I would still be out there enjoying our time but.." he looked at his food. "I was kinda hungry. And this food IS very good." he said nodding his mouth watering just from the look of the food.