Jack thought it was highly unlikely that he had left his Herbology book near the statue of Lachlan the Lanky, but ya never know. He dropped his school bag and crawled around to the back of the statue, just in case the book had fallen out of his bag and somehow ended up behind there. Nope.

As he crawled back out, he sat up too soon and hit his head hard on Lachlan's elbow. "Owwwww," he muttered, sitting down and rubbing his head. Gahhhh, he was NEVER going to find his book.

What in the world was a book doing in the middle of the corridor? Okay, technically not the middle exactily. It was more off to the left, towards the wall, but the tiny first year still spotted it cover down on the stone floor. "Weird" She murmured, eying the book carefully as she stepped forward and bent down to pick it up. Looking at it skeptically, she let her fingers graze the cover before deciding it was safe and not a stupid trick. She hadn't forgotten she was on the Seventh floor.

A Herbology book left on the floor in an abandoned corridor. Katie was definitely not being paraniod, that was just strange.. since when could you find books laying around randomly, outside the Library. Her dark eyes went wide in surprise, hearing something solid meet something equally solid pretty hard from the sound of it, followed by an 'owww'. Okay. So the corridor wasn't empty after all.

Straightening up with the book in hand, the small girl stared intentively at the statue on the right, Lachlan the Lanky. "William said the portraits move and talk, but nothing about the statues." She mumbled thoughtfully, walking abit closer until she noticed the teenage boy sitting on the side rubbing his head. THAT made alot more sense, yet still Katie frowned. Asking quietly, "I'm guessing this is yours. Are you alright?" as she held out the book to him.

Still rubbing the back of his head, Jack looked up when he noticed that someone had walked into the otherwise abandoned corridor. "HEY! You found it!" he exclaimed with delight when she was holding his Herbology book in front of him. "I've been looking for this everywhere! Thank you!" he said as he took his book from her. He tucked it safely in his bag right away--he didn't want to take any chances this time.

He turned back to the girl and nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine, thanks." he told her. She was small, so he assumed she was a first year. EEEEK! First years weren't exactly on the best page in Jack's book at the moment. But she was girl, and girls tended to be less...what was the word?...annoying than boys were. "I'm Jack, by the way. Jack Fritzera."

Katie gave a slight nod of her head at his enthusiasm to getting his book back, dark curly locks bouncing at her shoulders as usual, a small smile played on her face. She had actually helped someone, a older student she didn't know, but still she did something good. Even if she had stumbled upon the book and the boy by mistake. "You're welcome." She said, simply, folding her hands infront of her as she watched him stuff the book into his bag where it probably should have been all along.

As the older boy looked back to her, Katie noticed the tiny lion on his robes. A Gryffindor crest, of course. She wasn't really surprised, but she did feel bad for him all of a sudden. Hufflepuff got one of the most annoying first years to ever exist, while Gryffindor got two of them. "Nice to meet you, Jack." Katie said, holding out her hand to help him up from the floor as she went on to introduce herself. "My name's Kaitlynnh. Kaitlynnh Mae, but my friends call me Katie. I'm a First year, from Hufflepuff."

"Nice to meet you Katie," Jack said with a smile. Hufflepuff? Ahh, the house Jack SHOULD have been in. He glanced down at his Gryffindor crest with a sigh before looking back at the young girl again. Katie? That name sounded incredibly familiar, although he was sure he had never met this girl before. Katie Katie Katie...WHERE had he heard her mentioned?

OH! The little first years! They had been talking about her and how they were going to plant a whoopie cushion or something on her chair. Oh, the poor girl. She was friends with three of the craziest kids Jack had meet in a longgg time. "First year, huh? You wouldn't happen to know a couple of kids named Cy or Mat, do you?" he asked. He knew there was another one--the one who had stuck his tongue out at him and gotten him in trouble with Anna--but he had never caught that one's name. Not that he really cared, to be honest.

OH. So he DID know of not just the first year Gryffindors, but her fellow first year Hufflepuff. That could not, under any circumstances, be a good thing. Those boys were pure trouble, and this was just the beginning of people asking her 'Do you know these boys' or 'You wouldn't happen to know some kids named Cy, Mat and Legend'. The beginning of seven LOOOONG years. Merlin help them all.

Katie's face fell at the mention of her 'friends', looking warily up at the older boy. What had they done now? Or better yet, what had they said about her or blamed on her. Hesitant, the small girl gave another nod of her curly haired head. "Unfortunately, I do. They're.. my friends, kind of. It's complicated." Really, really complicated. Anyone who wasn't her age would never understand the complex friendship between eleven year old girls and boys. Katie shrugged, now asking her own question. "Why do you ask?" Translation: What did they do THIS time.

Jack wrinkled his eyebrows in confusion. Katie seemed less than pleased at the mention of her "friends"--well, if he had someone after him with a whoopie cushion, he wouldn't exactly be thrilled either.

"Oh, no real reason. They just mentioned you, is all," he said. GAH! That wasn't the right thing to say--now she'd ask what they said about her, and he wasn't sure if he should warn her about her impending doom, or keep his mouth shut. Surely if she knew these boys well enough she wouldn't be surprised by their actions, right? "There was another one too, I forgot his name, though. He gave our Head Girl a rough time, though."

Woah, surprise surprise. Katie faught rolling her eyes towards the ceiling high above her head, not wanting to give Jack the wrong impression. Her irritation was growing like a rash being scratched at constantly. Part of her did want to know what they had to say now and the other, probably the wiser part of her brain, prefered the idea of being kept in the dark. Really, how much more could she take? They were only in First year for merlin sake! "That's never good." She muttered, stiffly.

Lifting her gaze from the stone floor of the corridor, Katie looked up at Jack again as he mentioned a third boy, that he couldn't remember the name of. "Legend." The little first year offered, certain it was him. Legend was bothering Anna? Hopefully she recognized him from her small description on the train, and would now KNOW Anna was definitely wrong in thinking what she suggested. "I'm not surprised, that's what I call 'normal' with them. Poor Anna, poor you - can't escape from them permanently." She shook her head, sighing. Anna would escape them after this year. "Boys mature with age, yeah? All of them? Because these would be the boys not to mature if some didn't; and I don't think I can handle that." katie admitted, frowning.

"Legend! That was it," Jack said. Hmmm, that was an unusual name--one that he was sure to remember. So then, the next time the little kid stuck his tongue out at him, he could go tell Anna right away. That boy was going to be the death of them, he was certain. They could just kiss the house cup goodbye this term. Sigh.

"Erm, yeah. You know boys--they mature much slower than girls. Don't worry, they'll get there!" he assured her. Although, that could very easily be a lie with those three. Legend would probably never make it. He was a goner. "And they're only like, what, 11? They've got plenty of time to mature, trust me," he added. It WAS true. By the time they hit 7th year, he was pretty sure they'd all be somewhat tame. Even Legend.

Why was Natasha here again? Around the Seventh floor and near some statue thingy when most of the time she tended to hang around the grounds or the Slytherin common room. And she was now at the other part of Hogwarts entirely.

Natasha paused walking for a moment, beside the statue, to glance around. She shook her head slightly to herself, when she noticed two other people here. "Oh, erm, hello." She said politely to them both.

Laura wandered down the corridor, noticing a large statue in the middle, she looked around with wide eyes. Ok, stay calm, she told herself. But her eyes displayed the fear that she was battling inside to hide. She was completely lost. Not only was it her first year at Hogwarts, but she had already managed to get lost. Hang on, that was an understatement. She really didn't have a clue where she was!

Walking over to one of the older students she noticed standing furthur along the corridor, she took a deep breath.
"Excuse me," she started timidly. "Look...uh...I'm er- lost. Could you please tell me where I am?" She finally looked up from her feet.

Well duh, it was Legend. Katie would have been sure of it, whether that was the name he heard or not, the little Hufflepuff wouldn't put it past the younger Chosen to give an older student a false name. In fact, she was more surprised he hadn't. Then again, she would never understand how he or the other boys' minds worked anyway. Not that she wanted to, seriously. That was not something Katie ever wanted to venture into, a boys mind. Ick. "Legend Chosen and Matias Sulo, they're both in your house. Currently Gryffindors biggest pains, I'm sure." Katie added dryly, her tone soft. REALLY sure on that note.

Could she get that in writing!? Boys mature MUCH slower than girls. If Jack wasn't decent, even nice enough already, he had definitely won Katie over now. But proof of this wouldn't work anyway, it wouldn't matter if she resurrected Albert Einstein himself from the dead to have this same thing confirmed, Legend, Mat and Cy would A) Would not believe it, and B) Would not care. Although Jack seemed to be trying to assure her they would one day mature, it was looking far FAR too long of a wait. Katie frowned, "Yes, they're eleven.. and that's what scares me - the plenty of time part. By the end of term I'm sure you'll doubt they're ability to mature as well, just wait and see." GROAN. Apparently, Katie noted, mister big HARD - yes, hard. Jack had demonstrated that for her pretty well right before getting his book back. - Lanky statue was a popular. . errhm. . statue. The small girl had absolutely no idea why, and no desire to find out why, to be perfectly honest. But still, fact remained, he did draw students in. In her childish little mind, Katie was trying not to let her imagination get away without her, thinking about the silly statue. "Hello!" Katie greeted in response, her head tilting to the side. Being abit blunt, she asked "Who're you?" without giving it a second thought.
Oooh, look! Yet another girl. Maybe it really wasn't the statue that drew students in, because all of them were girls. Maybe it was really the older Gryffindor beside her! He was nice enough, it made complete sense. Perhaps she should bring that up, make sure he was aware of his magnetty powers she had discovered. Not yet, though. The newer girl sounded frightened to her, though Katie could have easily been looking too far into the matter. Dark eyes traveled up to the fifth year, and then to what she assumed was a fellow first year student. "I know the answer, we're on the seventh floor. In the corridor, errh, next to this.. guy here," Katie mused, patting Lachlan the Lanky fondly. The girl was lost? Her smile faded slightly, informing her of what her Ravenclaw friend had told her. "My friend, William, he said that when you get lost the portraits can help you! He says they're very nice, normally."

Natasha glanced over at another younger looking girl as she heard her speak, and smiled kindly. "Is there somewhere you'd like me to lead you in the right direction?" She asked as the other girl had already explained where they were so there really wasn't any point in saying it again.

"I'm Natasha Lovato, I'm in my second year." She replied with a smile at the girl who looked about eleven. "Are you a first year?" She asked the girl curiously.

Laura smiled at the two girls who had spoken. "No, it's ok," she said to the older of the two, "I was just exploring, you know, and I ended up here, without any clue as to how."

Laura laughed. "I'm Laura, by the way." she said. "And if we're on the seventh floor, I guess I'm not really all that lost. The Ravenclaw Common Room should be here somewhere!" Looking around her, Laura peered expectantly at the walls, as if waiting for a door to the Ravenclaw Common Room to appear out of nowhere.

Helena emerged from the staircase by the statue of Lachlan the Lanky and noticed the odd assortment of people near it. There seemed to be a number of younger students and who she remembered as a Gryffindor in her year. Often forgetting the rivalry between houses, she gave Jack a smile as she passed by and settled into a chair a short ways down the hall.

Pulling out a parchment and a quill, Helena couldn't help but glance up at the group every so often as she began writing her list, pausing sometimes to ponder her next bullet. She couldn't wait for this time next year, when she would have her own home to be going back to.

Chris was looking at a book as he walked past the statue. He sighed and closed the book. Probably wasn't the best idea to look at that while he was walking. He then saw someone on the ground writing. He gulped. Lena? Umm what to do? He stood there for a couple of seconds knowing she would see him. Oh whatever go talk to her. She is your friend. He thought. He took a deep breath and walked towards her. He then crouched behind her.

"Hey Lena. Mind if I sit next to you?" Chris asked smiling slightly. "What's that." He asked pointing to the parchment.

Helena didn't look up immediately when Chris addressed her from behind once more; she did pause mid-word, however. Her blue eyes shut for a minute as she mentally sighed. When they opened again, they were a medium purple she managed a smile though as she looked up at him. Hey. Not at all. She motioned to the bit of floor next to her. In reference to her parchment, the smile widened of its own accord. Just a list of things to buy over the summer - seeing as I'll be getting my own place before school resumes next fall. She finished off the last bullet she was on, actually beginning to get excited that her birthday was three days away. Sadly, she was pulled back into reality as Chirs sat down: didn't he understand how hard he was making this for her? Helena loved his company, but with her feelings lately, it was getting very depressing. She would never say that, though.

"Nice to meet you, Natasha." Katie said, politely. She was getting use to remembering her manners here at school, and getting better at it too. Well that made sense, the girl was a second year. That's why she hadn't seen her during the sorting ceremony. Or, up in the ceremony with the other first years, anyway. It would have been rare if she spotted her at the house table she belonged to, there was FAR too many students in each house for her to even slightly try remembering.. or counting, anything of that sort. "I am a first year. Katie Mae," "It was probably those pesky stairs, right? Always moving around on you!" Katie shook her head, mock disappointment in the enchanted staircases. She was sure they had to have a mind of their own, some charmed pranksters mind. Why else would it switch directions when you're trying to get to the place it moved from? Definitely mischievous.

Waving a small hand about, the young girl introduced herself, "Hi Laura, I'm Katie. And this is.." What was his name again? "Jack!" She exclaimed excitedly, gestured to the older boy she stood by. "It must be! The Gryffindor's room is up here too, so.. maybe thay way," Katie pointed to the left corridor, glancing down it briefly, and then to her right, "Or that way." Shrug. In all truth, she had no idea.

Chris watched Lena. There was something different about the way they had been acting towards each other. He knew why with himself, but why Lena? "Oh so you got your own place?" He asked. But he didn't smile like he normally would. There was something wrong...just like the last time. He thought it had just been the water or something. Wait what if it wasn't the water at all. What if...maybe it was him? Maybe he did something to her. But what? He thought for a moment then it came to him. Melinda maybe? He didn't know but right now that was his best guess. "Umm Lena." He said and gulped. "do you want me to leave? Doesn't seem like you want to talk right now." He said under his breath to her.

Helena shook her head slightly as she rolled up her parchment and was still smiling slightly as she clasped her bag shut and said, No, not yet. I was looking at a few places, though, and it'll be a lot easier once I come of age; I'll only be sixteen when I get it before school, of course, but I won't actually live there until the holidays.

She chuckled slightly and looked back up at Chris; her eyes had turned more blue, but at his words they faded off again. Leave? Helena said, her voice rather empty and distant and her smile falling rapidly. Of course I don't want you to leave, why would you think that? She looked at him questioningly and, though she was sure she knew why, Helena decided that the strain it was to be friends with Chris and know nothing would happen was much better than being lonely for the last three years of school.

Chris nodded. "Well hope you find one soon." He told Lena and half smiled towards her. "So did you ever find out what happened with your grandparents. I think it's weird how they just weren't there anymore." He commented.

"Yeah leave." He said. "I...didn't know you looked like you wanted to be alone. Or you didn't want to talk to me or for me to be around. I thought you were mad at me or something." He told her sheepishly. He did really think she was sick of him. He wasn't excepting her to want him to stay, but that was good. Cause he actaully didn't want to go, but if she wanted him to then he would.

Helena paused for a moment; it was still a slightly touchy subject. Yeah, it--- She took a deep breath. It was hard for her to come out with it. I'm almost certain my parents lied to me about where my grandparents lived when we went to visit. I know they're still alive, though. Somehow I still get a Christmas present from them every year.... Her smile reappeared slightly at this thought, glad it was true.

At the slightly more.... awkward part of the conversation, though, she did her best to hold back a grimace as her eyes turned light gray. Why would I be mad at you? Helena asked finally. You haven't done anything. She frowned slightly, liking this approach more then coming out with the whole truth. That would be far too embarrassing. You're one of the only friends I've got, she said, a little more quietly.

Chris saw how hard it was for Lena to talk about this."That's umm kind of strang that you still get a present from them at Christmas but you don't hear from them anyother time." He said and shrugged slightly. "But we really don't have to talk about this if you don't want to." He said letting her knew.

"That's why I didn't get it. I didn't knew why you were mad at me." He told her. He then saw her frown. "Are you sure I haven't done anything. Cause it really doesn't seem that way to me." He said to her. "Is that true? I would have thought you would have more friends." He said.

Helena nodded, letting the 'grandparents' side of the conversation drop. Her eyes widened slightly, though, still gray, but she shook her head slightly, her smile reforming once more. Chris, why are you so doubtful? You're such a lovely person, and it's a shame you think so little of yourself. Helena shrugged at his question/statement. I have people I know, but everyone has their cliques and no one wants to talk to the Slytherin-Bulgarian transfer. She smiled at him, knowing his roots as well.