Rafe needed some fresh air. He just wanted to enjoy the outdoors. He even brought his room with him in case he got the urge to practice. It was a perfect day to do so. He also put on his swim trunks and t-shirt in case he wanted to swim at the lake. There were just so many things to do outdoors he didn't exactly know which one to choose. For now he just took a seat by the whomping willow, but not too close of course, he didn't want to be beaten up by a tree.

Kurumi wasn't sure what made her want to sit by the Whomping Willow. Perhaps it had something to do with a certain Ancient Runes professor who had left the school without Kurumi being able to say good bye to her. It had been one of the more exciting classes of the term when they had had to find their way out of a maze using their runes as keys to get through doors. Kurumi waved to the Whomping Willow wondering if perhaps the tree remembered her.

Kurumi looked over from her spot on the grass and noticed an older boy enjoying the atmosphere perhaps more than she was and she smiled shyly at him.

Cass, who had been walking around the grounds, headed for The Whomping Willow. There she saw a familiar raven-haired girl waving at the said tree.

She walked over to her and tapped her on her shoulder "Hey Kurumi. What are you doing?"

Continuing her waving, Kurumi turned to see her other favorite Slytherin friend. "Hey Cass," she smiled realizing she was still waving. "I was..." what was she just doing? "...say hello to the Whomping Willow?"

Cass looked back and forth Kurumi and the tree. Hmm. Then she smiled and waved hello to the Whomping Willow too. Then she turned to Kurmi with a smile and asked. "So, how have you been Kurumi?"

"I've been good. I am really glad to be back at Hogwarts," she smiled flopping back onto the ground and gesturing for Cass to do the same. "Oh, thank you again for inviting me to the party over the summer. That was very kind of you." Kurumi looked back at the Whomping Willow. "How are things with you? I...I met Edward...he got sorted into Gryffindor. Heather is rather distraught about it."

"No problem. It was a friends only party, and you are one of my friends." She said after she had sat down on the grass beside Kurumi and a smiled. Then she smile turned upside down at the mention of Ed. "Ah, poor Heather..." Then she glanced at the tree to admire its softly swaying branches and said "He fancies her you know..Ed."

"He seems rather smug," Kurumi said folding her arms across her chest and crossing her legs. Then her eyes came popping out of her head. "Wait...what? He fancies her?" Like, he fancied her a drink or he wanted to steal Mr. Panda from Heather? "I won't let him steal Mr. Panda!"

"Yeah, he is." Cass said with a frown. Then she nodded sullenly "He's not after Mr. Panda. He's after her. Ed has fancied Heather for years now..."

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOH! That kind of fancied. The way that Adam fancied her kind of fancied. Something in Cass' tone seemed, well, depressed and a bit distant. "Is that...a bad thing?" Kurumi really didn't understand relationships very well. Even her and Adam didn't always make sense - like the fact that their special place was a broom cupboard.

"He might just end up hurting Heather." Cass said sadly. "and I'm not very fond of him.."

Kurumi nodded and frowned slightly. She had heard that Cass did not like Edward very much from Heather. It looked like Kurumi was going to have to be on patrol duty while in the common room. "I'll keep an eye out," Kurumi said still not fully convinced that Mr. Panda was off the hook. "How are things in Slytherin?" A change of subject was probably a good thing. "Have you met many of the first years?"

"Oh yeah!" Cass exclaimed when Kurumi mentioned first years "I met a first year from Japan!"

"Really?!" Kurumi'e eyes lit up. "Who?!" She hadn't met very many Slytherin first years, but to meet someone from her home country would be fantastic.

"Her name's Chisato." Cass said with a smile. "Cute kid, really shy, still not used to speaking in English." She continued on as she plucked a blade of grass off the ground and twirled it around her pale fingers

At least Kurumi had her father to thank for her being able to speak English. She had hated 'English Days' when she was a child, but they had certainly saved her a headache for when she had arrived in London. "I would like to meet her," Kurumi nodded.

Cass smiled. She was sure Kurumi and Chisato would get along beautifully. "I'm sure she would love that...she seems really, really homesick.."

"I got homesick often my first year," Kurumi nodded remembering the many nights she had slept hugging her pillow for several hours before finally being able to fall asleep. "You can tell her that she can come and talk to me anytime."

Kurumi smiled looking up at the Whomping Willow again. It was always nice to meet others that were in the same boat as you. She had meet Fang last term and they had talked for hours and hours about what it was like not only adjusting to life being a wizard, but also to life in a foreign country.

"Oh, Quidditch is back on this year. Are you going to try out for your House Team?"

That's it. Nathan had hardly been at this school for a day, and his mind was already blown.

The Whomping Willow!!? A tree that WHOMPED the life out of anyone who went near it! How AWESOME! He ran towards it, (maybe overreacting a bit) but obviously his paced slowed as he got closer. Nope, he didn't particularly want to die today, but he had to get just a little bit closer to view such a fantastic monument of the school!
EEP. It was final, Nathan loved this school, it was so cool.

Hugo felt the wind around his ears when he approached the tree. He took a spot on the leafy grass and decided to draw the humungous thing. He hadn't drew in a while, and it was one of Hugo's occupations.

"Hugo!" Kurumi waved from where she was sitting. Noticing that Hugo had started to draw something, it would be rude to ask him to move closer to her. Instead Kurumi hopped up and walked over to where he was. "What are you drawing?"

Hugo waved at the approaching Kurumi. "The tree of course," Hugo smirked. "If I would be drawing anything else, I would be at the safe and warm common room, or at the lake," he told her. Not in this rather unpleasent environment. He smudged the lines with his finger. "So," he said, not taking his eyes off the tree, "What brings you here?"

Kurumi blushed slightly as she sat down. Hugo was probably going to think she was insane...either that, or that her and Eino shared a liking for strange plants. "I was just, um, coming to say hello to the Whomping Willow," she mumbled folding her legs close to her chest. "It was rather kind to me during Ancient Runes last term."

Roxana walked around the ground of Hogwarts. While arriving the Whomping Willow she saw a boy drawing. Silently she walked near to him and galced at his painting. "You're a very good painter. I love your picture!"