Carter watched as she rubbed her arms. She must have still be terrified after everything that had happened to her. He wanted to tell her things would be okay. But he wasn't sure if they would be. If wasn't sure if things would ever be better at Hogwarts. Who knows how long crazy things had been going on. He only knew of events from the past two years. And that was bad enough for him.

"You hungry?" he asked. He was beginning to think he was pressing his luck being so far toward the forest. Any second he could trip over another flask or get hit with one of those weird fliers. Or worse, there could be more robes. He shuddered a bit.

Mina blinked as she shook herself out of her thoughts. It wasn't good for her to linger on things she couldn't remember. She did hate to feel like a victim, so she needed to stop feeling like one. Folding her arms back in her lap, she nodded to Carter. "A little, I really haven't been eating." she admitted. It was a terrible habit, but she hadn't had an appetite in a while. Her mind was always elsewhere and eating wasn't on her mind at all. She needed her strength, but she couldn't really bring herself to eat. Maybe she needed to try a little harder to take care of herself.

Shivering a bit as her eyes glanced to the forest, she quickly looked back to Carter. "Know what? Maybe a snack would be nice." It would be getting dark soon and she really didn't want to be close to the forest when the darkness ascended on the grounds.

Lucy screamed when he brought out the package and grabbed it from him. "Ahh, oh my gosh!" She squealed and ripped the packaging open. Once she saw the dresses and then the shoes, she was screaming again like a maniac.
"TYLER! OH MY GOD!! TELL YOU MOM I LOVE HER!!" Lucy screamed and then put the dress against herself, twirling herself around. "Ahh, I love these!!" She said, now trying on the shoes. But then she looked back at him and smiled. She gave him a tight hug and then kissed him. "Thank you soo much, Cupcake. I really do love them." On the inside, she was still jumping for joy.

"Well you should, since she did design them for you," Tyler smiled at Lucy's excitement. "You were the same size as Ashley, so ma used her as a mannequin, but Ash wouldn't stay still," he chuckled and remembered when he was stuck in the studio all day as well since his mom was designing on him again. "I'm glad you ove 'em," Ty added and kissed her back.

"Alright. Come on. I believe the Great Hall is calling our names." Carter said standing up. He shook the dirt off his robes. He then offered his hand to Mina to help her up.

Mina took Carter's hand and stood up from her rock. Brushing the dirt off her own robes with her other hand, she nodded. "Yes, I do believe I hear it calling." she replied as she grabbed her bag. She just wanted to get inside before it got dark. Forest and darkness didn't mix and she didn't want to be caught outside. Who really knew what could be lurking in the darkness.

Carter shoved his hands into his pockets and lead the way back to the castle. "Where to?" he asked. "Ravenclaw or Gryffindor table?" He did his best to avoid looking at the forest behind Mina.

Mina swung her bag over her shoulder as she walked a little bit quicker. "Let's sit with the Lions tonight," she nodded. She had never sat at another table before and she figured since two of her best friends were Gryffindors, it would be the logical choice. Besides, it wasn't like she eat with her housemates that often. They wouldn't really miss her.

Glancing back at the forest over her shoulder again, she shook her head. Yes, it was time to get far away from there. Turning abck toward the castle, she walked a little bit faster.

Lucy nodded her head and then giggled. "Ash? Really? That girl," She said, remembering how crazy Ashley was. "But I like her," She added, incase Ty thought she didn't like her.
Once she parted from the kiss, she made a face. "My parents haven't sent me anything yet," She said sadly. Maybe they forgot? No, they couldn't forget. She was their only child, their sweetheart. Maybe the owl they used was just really slow.
"Oooh, I can't wait 'till the summer, when you come over my house!" She said, suddenly excited, the sadness wiped out completely. But then she stopped and looked at him. "Wait--you're still coming, right?" RIGHT?!

"Alright." Carter said in agreement. He knew full well that this was a ploy to avoid the forest longer. But he didn't argue. He was all in favor of that idea.

Heading up to the gate he had a look around. He even picked up a large rock that was near him. You know, just to make sure they weren't under it. Okay... not really. He was putting off the inevitable.

He then went up to the gate itself and peered between the bars. He didn't see them on the other side either.

"Yup. That crazy brown haired and blue eyed girl I call my best friend," Tyler chuckled and nodded. Luce mentioned her parents not having sent her anything for her birthday yet. "Awww. Well maybe it just hasn't gotten here yet," Ty said, hoping to console her but he wasn't really good at it. He really couldn't console people for some reason. Yet, people found it easy to console him sometimes. "I will, I promise," he smiled and kissed the top of her head. "Unless my mom hits me with a photoshoot or fashion show. But I highly doubt it,"

Lucy nodded her head as Ty tried to make her feel better about her parent's birthday present. "Mhmm, yeah you're probably right," She said.
When he talked about his mom, though, she shrieked. "Wha--no! You HAVE to come! And Kat!" She said, her frown returning to her face. She had been planning this for a loong time, and if he didn't come, she'd be crushed.
"Please?" She said softly this time. She over reacted sometimes, he knew that. But, that was Lucy McLean.

Tyler jumped when Lucy shierked about him probably not coming to her house this summer. "Don't worry, hun. I'm pretty sure I'll be able to go, even if my mom doesn't want me to. My dad would probably gve her a speech until she cracks," he said and chuckled. "And I'll bring Kat as well," he sighed.

Marie walked out to the front gate with Carter knowing that they were not going to find anything. She really was dreading heading into the pathway but just knew it was an inevitable thing they were going to have to do. If they were by the front gatte someone would have found them by now....wouldn't they?

Looking around she watched as Carter picked up a rock. Really? He didn't think he was going to find the girls inder a rock did he? She had heard of a saying 'you were found under a rock' before but she didn't think it was real. Hmmmm, maybe Carter knew something she didn't know.

Finally reaching the gate she looked around but didn't see anyone around. Watching as Carter looked between the bars she said, "Be careful, I would hate to see you get your head stuck in there." That would not be a funny thing.

Finally accepting that they were going to have to make their way to the pathway she stood next to Carter quietly for a minute before speaking. "You know where we have to go now don't you." She said more as a statement than a question. As much as she didn't want to go to the pathway she knew she had to do it. It was now or never. Knowing her frineds couldn't wait until never she turned to leave the gate.

"Yeah." Carter said solemnly. Marie's statement about not getting his head stuck had taken away the severeness of the situation for a few seconds. He had actually smiled. But now it was back to business. He looked toward the pathway. Bringing his wand out to full view again he looked at Marie. "You ready for this?" he asked.

Lucy sighed and then relaxed. "I could talk to her, too," She replied, tracing her finger on his hoodie. But when she heard him sigh about Kat, she looked up. "You don't wanna bring Kat?" She asked. "She's my best friend, I have to invite her," Lucy continued.

"It's not that. She's hard to control sometimes," he laughed. Which was true, remembering how she had hid in his vent so many times to avoid people. But it was actually smart. Not typical like hiding under the bed or something. "I'll tell her she's invited,"

"Oh. Well, we'll both be there, so I'm sure we can control her," Lucy pointed out to him, turning herself so her back was leaning against him.
"And you don't need to tell her; I'll tell her myself," She added, grinning a little.

"And what happens if my mom doesn't crack?" Ty asked, with a slight smirk. She was tough to crack once she set her mind on something. Trust me, he knew. "Alright. I'm sure she'll get even more hyper to be going to your house," he smiled and wrapped his arms around her shoulders. BUt what if Lucy's dad didn't like Ty?

"What do you mean, 'if your mom doesn't crack'?" She asked him, raising her eyebrows. "Meaning she won't let you come?" Because if she didn't, Lucy would personally go back to New York and convince his mother. Hmmph.

"I can control Kitty, please don't underestimate me, Tyler," She told him, fluttering her eyelashes a bit. As he brought his hands around her shoulders, she held onto them, letting her hair whip in the wind, hitting his face.

"Yeah. She's a 'tough cookie'." Tyler laughed and nodded. He had to conviince her to let him do many things. But she sure didn't need convining when she sent him away. He was still mad at her for that.

"I wasn't underestimating you. I was just saying that I can't control Kitty. Maybe it's because I never had to look after someone since I'm the youngest in the family," he said as he tried getting Lucy hair out of his face. Damn wind.

"Tough cookie, eh? Well, we'll see what happens," She said finally, plotting something to get his mother to let go of him.

Noticing that Ty was trying wrench her hair out of his face, she shook her head and then put her hood up--well, it was Ty's hoodie, but he had given it to her, so it was really her's now. "Well, I think I can control her," She said matter-of-factly. She was her best friend afterall. "Well, all I've got to look after are the farm animals," She added. Since she didn't have any siblings at all. Huh.

"I can see you might be planning something," Ty laughed and shook his head. "True. I wonder what your farm looks like. A farm girl dating a city boy, from across the world," he added and chuckled softly. "What if your dad doesn't like me?"

"Nu-uhhh," She lied, grinning nevertheless. She turned back around, and lay her head on his chest. "Do I seriously look like a farm girl to you, Ty?" She asked him, laughing a little. At the word 'dad', she looked up. "He'll like you. Eventually," She said softly. "Trust me. I'm his little girl. I get whatever I want, remember?" She told him, giggling a bit. "Except for chocolate," She added thoughtfully, making a face.

"No way near a stereotypical farm girl. You look like you belong in the city like me. But I don't dress like a city boy, I think," Ty shrugged. Did he dress like a city boy? He didn't think so since he dressing was kind of skater like, but he knew how to dress formal when it was needed. "Eventually," Ty repeated and sighed a bit. "You're a spoiled farm girl! We both don't get chocolate. My mom because of modeling, what's your excuse?"