Marie needed a place to think, some place that no one would bother her. Mina had told her the front gate was a great place to think so that's where she headed. Finding herself at the front gate she looks around and sees a HUGE rock there which she sits next to and leans against. Closing her eyes she just listened to the quiet... and her thoughts.

She couldn't believe how bad things had gone at the feast. Carter had finally remembered who she was and things still weren't good with them. Why did she keep pushing him away? She had spent the whole summer missing him and now that he finally seemed to be free of that silly potion she walks away from him instead of talking.

She would be lucky if he ever wanted to talk to her again. This could prove to be a very long term if things kept up like this.

Ahhh...the outdoors.

It was nothing like home. Nothing! Perhaps Hogwarts was a bit chilly, but in all honest she thought the place was incredibly warm. Maybe even hot, like an oven the house elves use.

And Nikolai had been the only one she'd encounter so far.

But he was being of no use at all! Nik was not talking much, homesick yet? Perhaps she should have brought one those non-magical descendants from the Gryffindor table.

Or maybe Sandra. Because she still needed to talk to her. But there was no way of knowing if she'd ever agree to walk this far just for fun.

"I have to ask, Nikolai, vhat is it that is keeping you silent?" she asked, arms crossed over chest, the dark red hair matching (for the very first time) with her blood-red uniform.

After Rae's little adventure to the Whomping Willow, again she ventured on the grounds until she reached the front gates, to find... Marie? She didn't look well. Then again, Rae didn't know Marie much. She just knew that she was best friends with Evelyn and Destiny who were also Rae's best friends, and that her boyfriend was Carter. The guy who did absolutely nothing while Destiny had a raging rock fight with Arya then that huffie threw mud at Rae's pants. Psh.

Nonetheless Marie still looked sad, maybe she should say something? "Hey, Marie... Something up?" It didn't even occur to Rae that she might not know or remember who she was.

Hogwarts was nothing at all like Durmstrang.

It was a good thing Old Sputnik had accompanied them to Hogwarts to keep them all in check. If the Headmaster was not along, Nikolai, most likely, would have been off with the two girls he had met at the opening feast, creating a water slide on one of castle's many stairwells. Not the way a Durmstrang champion should be behaving.

And thinking about that water slide and those girls, there was one of them now. He grinned in her direction, but decided not to say anything to her. There would be other times for that, but right now it was Danika time, and Nikolai was glad she had found him. "I vas just enjoying the view. It is very nice."

Of course, Nikolai was talking about the view of her.

Danika frowned for a moment there. The view? Very nice? What was Nikolai talking about?

Oh. There were a couple girls there.

She chuckled lightly, "Ai, you never change Nik" her dark red hair going from one side to the other as she shook her precious head. "Hoe many girls did you meet in the feast, vy the vay?" but she saw the fault in her question, "That you vere slightly interested in" because it was obvious he'll be the one meeting many girls.

Famous winker.

"Hoe is Huffl'puff? You have not talked much avout that" about anything, really, she'd been the one talking, "Met any non-magical descendants?" an eyebrow was raised, she was testing grounds.

Speaking of grounds. Hogwarts' grounds were pretty small.

Now it was Nikolai's turn to frown. Why would he ever want to change? He was perfectly fine just the way he was, in his opinion, of course. He shrugged his shoulders at her question. He didn't know how many girls he met at the feast, which brought him back to his thoughts about the tally counter. "You knoe I am interested in all the girls I meet." he said, with a smirk. He was interested in them, until he spotted another one.

He couldn't help it.

Ahh, Hufflepuff, the best house at Hogwarts, or so he was told. The reason he hadn't talked about it was because there really was nothing to talk about. The people in that house were different, and not what he was used to. "It is yelloe. Very yelloe." At least Danika had red, almost like their uniforms. "Vhat avout Gryvindor? Hoe is that?" And then he was asked the question he was waiting for. Had he met any non-magical descendants. "I don't knoe. I 'ad not asked the people I met." He was rather busy with other questions.

"'ave you?"

Marie sat there with her eyes still closed when she heard someone say her name. Being a voice she didn't recognize as any of her friends she slowly looked towards where the sound had come from. Oh, it was that girl that was stealing her friends from her. Marie hardly got to spend any time with Evelyn last term because she was always with this girl. "Nope, nothings up. Just relaxing that's all." She was not about to tell this girl any of her problems. For all Marie knew she would run back and tell Evelyn everything she said. Not that she didn't know it all anyway. She just didn't need some girl going around running her mouth about her.

Er... Right.. Marie didn't look pleased that she was here... Did she know who Rae was? She always felt like she should try to be friends with Marie, Evelyn and Destiny were. Though Rae always was with Xylon or Marie always seemed busy. Feeling bad that Rae didn't get to know her last year she thought she should make up for that, and how she had no idea.

"Can I sit with you?" Was that a weird question? She looked over to see two of the foreigners talking, with the one that looked like Xylon, he grinned at Rae.... Ugh stop taunting her! Back to Marie, who still looked sad but said she was relaxing. She knew that was wrong. "I didn't expect you to trust me. It's alright." Marie didn't know her well anyways.

Haha. Danika laughed. Yes, she knew that, but it was still worth to ask if he'd by any chance met the one that will make his eyes focus on her and only her.

A lucky one, indeed, to some people.

Not in Danika's eyes, because she was still upset that thanks to Nikolai they weren't able to stay in the ship. Or that's what Zitnik said, anyway. And she believed him. Enough said.

"Very yelloe? Interesting description" she remarked, but given the Hufflepuff she'd met then Danika already knew that based on their robes. Danika sort of smirked, "Gryffindor is...very nice to strangers, you vill get along vith them amazingly vell" and there was one little girl that was brave enough to remark one of Danika's comment. Bravery. Very foolish if you'd ask her.

No, of course, she didn't ask that either, "I did not ask it either, vut had the pleasure of people giving it avay, like it vas something to ve proud of" perhaps to the non-magical people it was something extraordinary. Personally, there was nothing extraordinary about them. Not that she know of...yet.

"I velieve Gryffindor has plenty of them" she nodded, sighing slightly, she wouldn't know how their reaction would be if somehow they knew how she felt. People accepted it so easily in here. "Vut I met a very smart one" she was, of course, referring to that one non-magical descendant.

Nikolai smirked as Danika laughed. He knew he really didn't have to tell her that. Like he was looking for that one person.

"Very yelloe," he emphasised. Not only was the house color yellow, the common area had been built to look like badgers actually lived there. Tunnels leading to the dormitaries.. Very nice to strangers? The only Gryffindor he had met was anything but nice. How was Nik supposed to know that he was winking at his girlfriend? Just because the boy had his arm around her didn't mean they were a couple. "I 'ave met a Gryvindor student. He threatened me." he snorted a little, just imagining the boy even trying something on him.

"Vhat?" Nikolai asked, eyebrows raising. Danika had actually had people going up to her and just telling they were non-magical people? Strange behavior the people at Hogwarts had. "They just tell everyone avout it?" Like a disease; you wouldn't boast about one. And here Nikolai thought it was going to be hard to tell which ladies to stay away from. This would be a piece of Garash now.

"I think they all 'ave plenty." Except maybe the Slytherin's from what Nikolai gathered when he was sitting with them. Lucky for Vlad, to be rooming with them. Another smirk appeared when she mentioned a non-magical descendant being smart, "I vould have never thought I'd hear you say that."

Okay. Fair enough. Very, very yellow.

She still had a bit of trouble picturing it, though, yellow didn't particularly matched her hair so it wasn't a color she'd favor anyway.

To say that she looked surprised by an understatement, but she still laughed, again, at Nikolai's expense, "Are you joking? He threatened you? Vut vhat did you do to deserve veing threatened?" she asked, just a tiny hint of concern in her voice. Not that she'll ever be worried about Nikolai.

"Oh, then I do not knoe if you vill get along vith them" because she was the one that had said that he'll get along amazingly well with Gryffindors, no? And as it turns out he's already met one of those...and wasn't in good terms with him either. Maybe it would be better to keep Nikolai away from that tower.

Danika sighed, "Yes, vut it is not like they just told me..." he was correcting a couple things, "...one of them vas talking avout non-magical sports..." she nodded, "...and the others, vell, a couple things they said made it clear that they vere" of course, Sabel had been pretty straight forward about it, but their conversation had lead towards that path anyway.

Nikolai was probably correct.

After all, Hogwarts was very liberal about it.

Oh, yes, a very smart one. And she'd been impressed and all...now, she was slightly worried. She looked down while she took a strand of hair away from her face, "Incredivle, no? There seems to ve a first time for everything" and she also made a deal with the non-magical descendant.

She laughed (nervously) before speaking again, "I vonder hoe vill Zitnik react if I make any kind of deal vith a non-magical descendant" she said, kind of hoping Nikolai would enlighten her about it, but her tone suggested it was a very hypothetical situation.

Cue nervous smile.

Marie really wasn't in the mood to talk to anyone right now unless that someone was Carter but it didn't seem like Rae was going to go away any time soon. "Sit wherever you want, I can't stop you." It appeared as if she couldn't stop anyone from doing anything, including herself from walking away from Carter... again.

Trust her? Why on earth would she trust this girl? She knew nothing about her other than she was stealing her friends from her. For all she knew she could have been in on the whole love potion thing with Destiny. First she steals her friends then she helps said friends steal her boyfriend. Choosing not to even acknowledge her comment Marie hugged her legs close to her, put her chin on her knees and closed her eyes. She had come here to be alone with her thoughts, not to be questioned by anyone.

Err.. What was Rae supposed to respond to that? She hesitantly sat down in the grass. Was Marie mad at her for hanging out with her friends? She had a strong feeling she was right. Before last year, Rae didn't have any friends, she was always the loner. With Destiny it was a once in a while spontaneous event of fun... With Evelyn... Well, they had things that connected them together, like a house. She could easily see if Marie didn't want to be friends, but she did not want an enemy. "I know its... Probably not the time but.... Later sometime, there's going to be a water slide... On the stairs.... With Evelyn and that Durmstrang guy over there." She pointed to Pretty Boy that wasn't too far away. Psh, Josh will probably be there too. He's scared that Pretty Boy will take Evelyn. HAH! What a sight if there was a water slide and a fight. "You're welcome to join us, it should be fun." SHOULD be fun. That was if no one broke a bone this time.

Did Marie LOOK like she wanted to talk to Rae... or anyone at all? Could the girl not tell that she just wanted to be left alone right now?

Obviously not.

Right, if she knew it wasn't the time then why was she talking? Probably just to annoy her even more than she already was.

WHAT!?

Evelyn was going to be having fun on a water slide on the stairs with Rae AND one of the boys from Durmstrang and she didn't tell Marie about it? Just another thing to make Marie believe she was losing her friends to Rae. Yep, her day was just getting better and better here.

Oh...

Rae was inviting her to join them? Well that was... unexpected. "Um thanks, but I don't think I'll be joining in on that fun. I'm not in the mood for any sort of fun right now." Really she wasn't in the mood for anything... unless it had to do with Carter and them working out their problems... which she didn't see happening if he wouldn't even talk to her.

Did she look more angry with her? Yes, yes she did. Why did Rae even try anymore? All she did was invite her to a day of fun. "Well, it was worth a shot. If you change your mind. You can still join us you know." Maybe she should walk away. She glanced at the Durmstrang students close by.

Marie looked over at Rae when it sounded like she may be getting up to leave... but no such luck, she was still sitting there. Although she did appear to be looking over at the foreign students. Maybe she was going to go bother them now. "Thanks again, but really, don't count on me being there. Like I said, I'm not in the mood for any fun right now." Which really was true, fun was the furthest thing from her mind.

Rae knew she should just leave right now, but she didn't have anything to lose, they weren't even friends. She didn't understand why she wouldn't go have fun. She stood up and looked at Marie, she can leave her with some final words. "You know, I now have to spend these next three terms without Xylon, my boyfriend. I just had to change my name because my mother banished me from the family, and until recently, I was homeless for 5 years because my father was murdered by my own mother. Starting this term was making me completely depressed. That is why I am going to have fun. To get my mind off of what has happened recently and not so recent ago. Just giving you my side, maybe you can understand." Yeah, alot has happened, and it never looked up until last year, she got friends for once, and Xylon happened, she got a place to live. What an amazing feeling it is to sleep in a bed that's yours, or even a bed alone. With her closing statement to Marie, she walked away, towards the Durmstrang guy who looks so much like Xylon it almost kills her.




Rae walked over to the foreigners, she was probably going to be a nuisance to them but she saw this Durmstrang girl at the feast and she looked like someone that she wanted to meet. She was totally interrupting their conversation but it couldn't be worse than her conversation with Marie, she probably hated her now. Rae turned to the girl and introduced herself. She held out her hand. "Hi, I'm Rae... Welcome to Hogwarts." That sounded not like her, welcome to hogwarts? She had nothing else to say, still, it did not sound like Rae. Now she turned to Pretty Boy, ugh. She still needed him in order to get Evelyn to the waterslide.. Must.. Be... Nice.. "And.. Nice to see you again." Fake pretty smile. Ugh. Rae rarely smiled as it was. When she did it was around Pretty Boy's twin it seemed like. Why did they have to look so alike, and why did Xylon have to be at University? UGH.

Blah, blah, blah. That's all Marie heard coming from Rae's mouth as she tuned her out. She really did not care about the girl and her life right now. She had her own problems, she didn't need to hear about anyone else's.

Good, she was leaving. Now Marie could go back to being alone... just the way she wanted to be... unless of course a certain 4th year Gryffindor came along and decided he wanted to talk to her. She had a feeling that wasn't going to happen though so she just leaned her head against the rock and closed her eyes.

Ella wanted to get away from this place, and away from everyone in it. She approached the front gate, crying her eyes out. Why? Because she had hit a real LOW point in her life. Her plan to get her boyfriend back was to..... look like a barbie, apparently.

That's right.. Ella Ainsworth was now a blonde.
Which is why she is crying. She felt UGLY and really regretting doing this to herself just for a boy's atttention. AGHHHHh....

Laaaaaa......da.....deeeeee......da.....doooooo... ..

The blonde walked around, her hair pulled back into two little pigtails bouncing on her shoulders. She was happy and she really didn't know why. Perhaps because she had spoken with Nekoda and they weren't too terribly mad at each other anymore. Her eyes wandered around the gate, landing on a blonde now crying. Savvy's good side tugged her towards the girl, a confused look on her face. Did she know this chick? Savannah wasn't sure exactly...

"Erm, are you okay?"

Tory stepped towards the front gate, closing her eyes, breathing slowly. She smiled. Until she bumped into someone else.
"Ouww, cr*... Damn I'm so sorry!" she was completely surprised when the girl lifted her head and she saw that there were tears streaming down her face. She really didn't bump into her that hard.

The girl quickly tried to wipe the tears off her face when Tory noticed something else.
"What in merlins..." That girl looked exactely like her in blonde. And maybe a bit older.
Tory grinned. She quickly caught herself again, though. "Hey, I'm so sorry, are you okay?"

SOBBBBBB!
Her life was a wreck at the moment. Depression from lack of Aiden, and now she felt 100% insecure because she looked like Savannah. She would write to her parents later, and ask to come home. Fer sure. Ella's head turned abruptly to the side, hearing a familiar voice. Noooo.. she did NOT want Savannah to see her looking like this. But it seemed that she didn't even recognize her. Well, obviously. Why would she be being nice if she didn't see that it was actually Ella?

"Leave. Me. Alone. Savannah." She said in a deep voice, then just waited for the laughter. She was going to get bullied for this. By Savannah, Nekoda, Aiden....... everyone.

And now she was being bashed around. NOOO, the bullying had started! "HAY. GET OFF OF ME." She pushed the girl away. But, whoops. It was an accident apparently. "Oh.... don't worry about it." She said moodily. She wasn't in the mood to be friendly today. Then again, when was she ever? "I'm sorry for pushing you." *sigh*

Now she was talking about Merlin.......... and with good reason!
o_____O Ella had a twin sister! Not anymore though, she was blonde and ugly. "Did anyone ever tell you that you look like Ella Ainsworth?" She said seriously, then chuckled. That soon died out, she was too depressed to laugh.
"I'm fine. Just having a hair crisis." Obviously. "I'm Ella."

That voice.Savvy KNEW that voice.



"THING!??!"Thing was a blondie now ?!? ZOMG. Wasn't this cute? Was there a reason for it? Was it because she wanted to be more like her now? *beam*"Why is your hair blonde and not the usual boring brown it usually is?"SMIRK. Hehhh.

"What did you just call me?" THING? Wow, that was just real nice. They weren't friends, but really.. calling her names like that. Psh. Boring brown? This girl was heading for a slap. Well, she was always heading for a slap. Now for the pathetic explanation.

"I don't know, I wasn't thinking straight." Mkay, she wouldn't go into the REAL reason as to why she did it. 'Cause she would sound really lame. "But just so you know, I'd rather have pink hair right now." Regret. Sigh.