Valerie blinked when Adam took Katie and lead her away. "Bye Katie." She muttered then ran her hand through her hair.

Unfortunately for this boy, Mia didn't take hints very well. She may be a little dim at times but she wasn't entirely stupid. She hadn't missed the tone in his voice, she just chose to ignore it.

Flopping down on the grass beside him, Mia peered over at the book he was reading and it may as well have been written in a different language because she could not understand a word of it.

So she lifted her gaze from the book to the haughty looking boy and a smile tugged at her lips. "Are you new at Hogwarts? Because I don't think I have seen you before."

No way. Could she really be that daft? Why did no one understand that he just wanted to study? Resigned to the fact that it wasn't likely to happen now, he closed his book and put it away in his bag.

"Yes. I just transferred here at the beginning of the term", he explained politely. He needed to get that stitched onto a shirt or something. "I'm Mr. Ives, by the way", he said, remembering his manners. He held out a hand for her to shake.

The smile stretched a little more across her face as she watched him put his book away. He may not be happy about it but he did it anyway. Of course he wasn't to know that if he continued to ignore her, she would have got bored and left him in peace.

Looking down at the outstretched hand, her smile grew even wider. "Seriously is that your name? You don't have a first name?" She asked as she gave his hand a shake.

Where had this boy come from?

"My name is Mia. But if you want to be all formal about it, I guess you can call me Miss Gibbins." She bit on her lip to keep herself from bursting into a fit of giggles. "But only YOU can call me that." Because it would be so totally weird if her friends started calling her Miss Gibbins.

Well, at least this girl was willing to give him an appropriate handshake. Of course, she had to ask about his first name. Really, it was quite unnerving to be sharing such intimate details with complete strangers. Of all the places to send him...

"I do. It's Parke. With an 'e'." It was almost habit to add that little fact in by now. Not that it made his name any less obscure. "I don't care to use it usually."

Ah, Miss Gibbons. That had a nice ring to it. He gave the girl a half smile. At least she was respectful of their cultural differences, even if she was smiling so widely that she looked like she was going to explode at any moment. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Miss Gibbons", he said formally, bowing his head slightly. Always proper manners in front of female company, he recited to himself. Though truth be told, this was the first time he'd spoken to one his own age.

"It's nice to meet you Parke with an 'e.'" Mia just couldn't help herself but to say that. But then he went on to add that he really didn't like it. "Oh that's too bad because I think it's a nice name but if you prefer I can call you Mr Ives."

She supposed it would feel strange at first to call him that but like everything else you get used to it after a while.

Oh and was that a smile?

When he bowed his head, Mia felt as though she should curtsey or something to that effect. She had never met anyone who was so formal before. Okay yeah Matty tended to be a little formal but there was also a warmth to him. This boy was a little cold but she sensed that he could be nice if he wanted to.

"So do you like Hogwarts so far?"

"I would greatly appreciate it if you did", he said in response. He'd much rather not get involved in the intimacy of calling people by their first names, or being called by his. He'd already accidentally afforded Tyson that privilege and he would make sure that didn't happen again.

He moved his book bag aside and spread out his blanket a bit more. The poor girl was sitting directly on the grass, for Merlin's sake. "You can.. sit... sit on the blanket if you'd like to spare yourself the trouble of grass stains." He flushed slightly. Hopefully that did not sound like some kind of sleazy come on.

How did he like Hogwarts? He didn't. "It's alright, I suppose. A lot less formal than what I'm used to. It'll take some getting used to. I do like the variety of classes though. I noticed the potions lab is quite nice. I don't know anyone though. Not really. You're only the second person I've met", he said with a little shrug. He suddenly missed his old friends, and school - heck, his life, immensely.

"I'm not the most social person." As if that weren't obvious. And he was rambling. How abhorrent. "Have you gone to this school since you started your education?"

Oh Merlin! Mia had thought he had been joking when he said that he didn't like his name. Why she thought that though when she could already tell that the boy was a little stuffy.

She gave him a nod of the head to let him know that she had heard him and that she understood. Now all she had to do was try and remember that.

At his invitation, Mia felt her face brighten. She couldn't give a toss if she got grass stains on her robes but the boy seemed to be making a huge effort. So without hesitation, she moved onto the blanket right beside him. "Thank you. That was very nice of you." For some reason she felt the need to make a point of that.

Mia listened as he spoke and although she had no idea where he had attended previously, she could just imagine that it was somewhere very strict. And he no doubt was a pureblood with a very strict upbringing.

"I hear the potions mistress is a bit of a dragon so you may want to be careful if you intend on using the lab." She chuckled softly as she brushed the hair off her face. "And I can introduce you to some people. But only if you want to." She added hastily. Some people just didn't like that.

Again Mia let out a soft laugh. That was an understatement but he seemed to be opening up to her a bit more now. "No." She replied. "I only started at Hogwarts last year. I was homeschooled before that. And that will become much more obvious when you see my performance in class." She laughed again and tossed him a small wink.

He watched as she moved onto his blanket, feeling awkward all of a sudden. Which was stupid. After all, he'd been the one who'd offered. He shook his head slightly, attempting to rid himself of such stupid thoughts. It almost worked until she thanked him. He felt his flush deepen, and turned his head away, unwilling to allow her to see him in a state of embarrassment. What was the matter with him?

"Yes, I've heard the same", he said with a little nod. He bit down on his lip a little bit, uncomfortable. He didn't like gossip, even when it came to teachers. "I think she'll be alright." He was thankful when she changed the subject, though it wasn't anymore comfortable. "Yes, I'd like that." He turned his head back towards her, satisfied that his blush had sufficiently dissipated. "Thank you."

Parke startled a bit when she laughed. Was she laughing at him. Had he done something funny? Surely not on purpose. He listened when she spoke of homeschooling. He'd heard of it before. That would be wonderful, working out of the comfort of his own room. His parents would have never allowed something like that. "I went to a small male only academy in America. We didn't have things like this. Lakes and courtyards and whatnot. Mostly we just studied and did school work. Frivolity was poorly tolerated, to say the least."

Suddenly, he remembered he was trying to avoid this very scenario. Getting friendly with someone. He promptly stopped talking and frowned. He couldn't very well excuse himself now. That would be in poor form. No, he would stay. He just needed to make sure and stay detached. "If I may ask, why did you stop with the home schooling?" As an afterthought, he added, "I can help you if you'd like. At least with potions and arithmancy. I'm not too bad with combat readiness either. Though here I guess that would be like defense against the dark arts."

Belatedly, he realized that she'd just winked at him. He felt himself redden once again and deeply hoped that she wouldn't notice... and that all this circulation wouldn't cause premature aging or something.

She noticed the blush on his cheeks before he had the chance to look away but Mia could be tactful sometimes and made no comment about it. And besides she was starting to get used to boys blushing around her. Even though she still had no idea what it was that she was doing to cause such a reaction.

Mia nodded her head. "She's a good teacher. I think she just uses that tough love method of teaching." Well that was her opinion on the matter anyway. She had never personally had a problem with the Professor.

Well the boy was just full of surprises. Mia had not been expecting him to accept her offer at all. "No need to thank me. It would be my pleasure." She realised then who would the perfect person for him to meet. Evelyn. The two of them were so alike.

"A boy's only school? That would had to have been boring. I mean I know us girls can talk a lot and all. And well some of us are kinda tempremental but we're lots of fun too." Not sure why she felt the need to defend the female race all of a sudden. Maybe because Mr Ives didn't seem all that comfortable. "Didn't you ever just want to do something other than studying?"

Tucking her legs underneath her, Mia gave him a smile. "My dad really didn't have the patience to teach me. And it was hard trying to find places where the muggles couldn't see us." She ran her hand through her hair. "I live in a commune, in Australia. And dad and I are the only magical people in the commune so yeah it became kinda hard." She didn't mention that they hadn't been able to afford it until last year. Not that she had a problem with being poor but Mia had noticed that there were quite a few snobs at Hogwarts and they tended to look down at the poor people.

Her face immediately brightened at his offer. "Really? You would do that? That's really nice of you and I might just take you up on that offer." Because Mia could certainly do with the extra help especially this year.

Again she noticed the blushing and tactfully turned away from him and picked at the grass. "So do you have any siblings?"

Despite himself, Parke gave her a smile. A full smile. He hadn't done that since... well, he couldn't exactly remember. "It was a bit boring at times. But I enjoy academic research, so I usually found something to do. Not to say that I only studied. The other things I did just weren't enjoyable. My mother hosted a lot of dinner parties. My father's a politician so we were always hosting something or other. When I was younger, I just said hello to everyone, but as I got older, my father required me to mingle in meaningful ways." His tone hardened a little as he continued speaking. "He's decided that I'm going to follow in his footsteps, so to speak."

He was working himself up a bit so he backed off and approached the more casual, but ultimately just as scary subject of girls. "I'm sure girls are... fun. I'm enjoying your company, after all", he said honestly. My father thought they'd be a distraction. He said I'd learn about courtship when I needed to." And oops, he had not meant to say that part out loud.

He nodded as she spoke. "Yes, that would definitely complicate things. It's a shame though. I would have loved to have been home schooled." He said the last bit more to himself, picturing the scenario once again. Just wonderful. He shifted positions, sticking his legs straight out in front of him and leaning slightly back with his hands supporting him. There, much better.

"Sure", he said enthusiastically. Studying was something he could always get into. "It would be... fun, having a study partner." He'd have to get used to that word. Perhaps he'd learn how to have some this year. "I don't have any siblings. My parents wanted one male, and that's what they got on the first try so it's just me. What about you?"

"Wow, sounds like a lot for one person to handle. Do you still talk to them?"

There was that smile again and it was even better than the one he had given her before. He really should smile more often. While he spoke, Mia couldn't help thinking how different they were. She studied because she had to and there was no way that she enjoyed it.

Her nose wrinkled a little as he spoke about the parties and how he had to mingle. Mia loved parties but she was pretty sure she wouldn't like the ones that Parke had to go to. Politicians. Yeah she'd seen enough of them to know what they're like but she kept that to herself. "I take it you don't want to be a politician. What do you want to do? If you don't mind me asking."

Mia couldn't help beaming at him when he said that he was enjoying her company and then a little giggle escaped her lips. "Courtship? That's...I've never heard that term before." What did it mean? "Oh yes us girls are a distraction but then so are you boys." And she could say that from experience.

Yay. She now had a study partner and she was pretty sure that Parke was not the type to let you slacken off which would be a good thing for Mia. Since she tended to lose focus so quickly. "Cool. Should we like set up a day and a time or just play it by ear?"

"The same." She replied. "Well I don't exactly if they only wanted one child but they didn't seem to go back for more. I don't think my mother had the time to be honest." She shrugged her shoulders. "Besides we live with about fifty people in the commune so it's like one big happy family." Well most of the time.

"No, I definitely don't want to be a politician. I actually want to become a researcher. I'm currently attempting to create a vaccination that will render one immune to the Imperius Curse. Of course, I have no way of knowing whether or not that will be successful. I'd also like to integrate muggle and magical medicine. There are a lot of ways we could help them with certain afflictions, and vice versa. That's one of the reasons I put up with the politics that run rampant within my family." He shrugged then. It was weird to do all this talking. He'd felt uncomfortable at first, but not he was actually enjoying himself. "What about you? Have you decided on any career path as of yet?"

He held back a smile at her giggle. He'd smiled entirely too much already. It wouldn't do to forget himself. "Courtship is like a formal way of..." How exactly did one say this tactfully. Ah, yes. "Finding a partner. In my case, when I'm of age, my father will give me a variety of approved profiles. I will choose the one I find most suitable and then attempt to court her by going on escorted outings, giving her gifts, and introducing her to various members of my family. I will then ask for her hand in marriage. If she accepts, I have successfully courted her." He cringed a little as he spoke. It was very clinical, the whole process. He wasn't sure how he felt about that yet.

Ah yes. Studying. "I'm pretty much always studying so whatever would be easiest for you is alright with me. You can always send me an owl when you have free time or..." He shrugged again.

He listened as she spoke of this commune. He still wasn't quite sure what that was, but it sounded interesting. He'd always felt his house was too big for the amount of people who lived there. "You know", he said suddenly. "There must be something special about you, Miss Gibbons. I don't think I've ever spoken so much." He spoke lightly, but realized how true that was. Had he been missing out all this time? And missing out on what, exactly?

"Wow. You really have thought a lot about your future." Mia was very impressed and slightly in awe of this boy. He knew what he wanted to do already in his young life and he was working hard towards it. She on the other hand was still tossing around ideas. And of course he had to ask her. "Well I like Herbology a lot so maybe something to do with plants. But I have been seriously considering going into the Healing profession lately." She knew that she had a caring nature and she liked to help people, so it seemed the right thing to do.

Another giggle left her lips as Parke explained what a courtship was. Why didn't he just say when a guy and a girl hooked up? But the giggle quickly died out as he continued on and she gave him a horrifed look. "Wait a minute. Are you telling me that you don't even get a choice in the person you are going to spend the rest of your life with? I mean I know you're going to be given profiles but what happens if you don't like any of those girls what happens then?" Geez what happened to finding someone by chance and getting to know them and fall in love and all that?

Mia had been totally against the whole relationship thing at first but she still wouldn't have allowed someone to pick out a husband for her. And now that she had met Nik her views on relationships had changed. "Don't you want to fall in love with someone that you chose?"

"Or what?" She asked tilting her head to the side and giving him a curious look. And then out of nowhere he was calling her special. It was Mia's turn to blush this time but she didn't bother to hide it. "Oh well...thank you...Mr Ives. I'm not sure that I am special, just that I never shut up once I get started." She grinned at him. "And well maybe attending a school and parties with people that are kinda the same as you are, well you probably had nothing to really talk about."

Er...did that make any sense?

Herbololgy. A fine subject indeed. He enjoyed it almost a much as potions and arithmancy. And healing? Very noble indeed. Parke turned to face Mia and gave her an almost scrutinizing look before nodding. "A healer of sorts. I could definitely see that", he said warmly.

He was taken aback by her horrified expression. What was wrong? He pondered her query for a moment before responding. "Well, I suspect if I didn't like any, I'd have to pick the one I'd believe to be most tolerable. As for falling in love... "I'm not sure if I believe in love. It all seems rather suspect to me. From what I understand, marriage is to be a type of permanent business partnership. I'd rather choose a partner like that based on like-mindedness and mutual benefit. I don't think I'd ever consider gambling on a partnership with such a fickle emotion as love." Really, isn't that what everyone thought? She must be confused?

Parke stared at her intently as her cheeks reddened. The color they brought to her face looked quite nice. And she'd called him Mr. Ives like he'd requested... perhaps... "I'll make you a deal, Miss Gibbon. You can call me Parke, as long as we aren't in the company of others. If you'd like."

And then she said something that snapped him out and away from those lovely thoughts and made him frown. "I'm nothing like them. I could care less about bloodlines and wealth. I was utterly disgusted every time I heard someone speak about muggles as if they were nothing more than dogs. Or proclaim themselves to be almost Godly because they had pristinely clean blood lines. Or talk about those who aren't as financially fortunate as though they're parasites. I am NOTHING like them."

Somewhere during his rant he had started to raise his voice. He hadn't even noticed. And now he felt terrible. One was never supposed to raise their voice to a lady. "My deepest apologies", he said sincerely, anger deflating. "I don't know what's wrong with me. I didn't mean to make you the brunt of my anger. It was completely misplaced, and morally repugnant. Will you allow me to make it up to you?"

" Yes and ecwn though my shoulder is healed, I still can not play Quidditch" Rex told JP. "Well, I do talk to Kay, she is still my friend" Rexx said to JP. " Watch out for " The Whomping Willow" Rex warned JP.

Mia looked at Parke in surprise for a moment. "You can see that? How?" Was it possible that the Slytherin boy was like her. Although she hadn't checked out his aura sometimes she liked to figure people out the old fashioned way. By just talking to them.

Well it seemed they had sort of the same thoughts about love and marriage. Of course Mia didn't think like that anymore and she had never thought of marriage as a business partnership more that she couldn't imagine herself with the same person year after year. But again things had changed since Nik.

"I think you are going to have a very interesting time at Hogwarts, Mr Ives." Mia couldn't help smiling. "I do believe you will be thinking differently before you know it." The girls at Hogwarts could be rather irresistible at times and she was sure that Parke was going to discover that.

Any other girl probably would have found that comment rather patronizing but Mia merely beamed. "Okay. And you can call me Mia when no one else is around too." Because that was only fair, right?

Ooookay.

Obviously she had said the wrong thing. Mia held up her hands and leaned back away from him. "Woah. I didn't mean it like that. I just meant that you all went to the same school, studied the same things, attended the same parties which meant you really wouldn't have much too talk about."

She certainly knew not to ever say something like that again.

And then he was back to his formal self and apologising. "It's quite okay. I probably shouldn't have said that." Mia put her hands down and straightened back up. "What did you have in mind, Parke?"

He gave her a curious look. Why on earth would she think that? "Yes, well, it's been rather interesting already", he said simply. As for thinking differently, he doubted it. That was one topic of which he was sure of his opinion.

He felt sheepish as Mia explained what she'd meant. He had a tendency to get defensive rather quickly. A character flaw, he supposed.

"Well...", he paused, thinking. He wasn't sure what you were and weren't allowed to do here. "Dinner", he decided finally. "I'd like to take you out to dinner. Wherever you'd like to go." That should make up for his outburst, right?

Parke glanced at the sky. It was getting a bit dark. He should probably get back to his studies. He'd been out here talking for quite a while. "Miss Gibbon, it has been a pleasure." He just couldn't bring himself to use her first name. "I thank you for allowing me the privilege of your company. I'm afraid I must be getting back to my studies before it gets too late, but hopefully you'll grace me with your presence again in the near future. And I meant what I said about that dinner."

And it was going to get a lot more interesting but Mia decided to keep that to herself. Parke could find out for himself. And then she could tell him later 'I told you so.' She had always wanted to say that to someone.

What?

"Oh. Parke, you don't have to do that. Your apology was enough. And besides there is no where to go to dinner besides the Great Hall, so I can always come over to the Slytherin table and we can eat together." Mia was pretty sure that's not what he had in mind but that's about the best one could do around here. Of course she was totally forgetting about Hogsmeade.

When Parke, announced that he wanted to head back to the castle, Mia quickly got to her feet and stepped off his blanket. "Of course. I am sorry that I kept you out so long. But I did enjoy our talk." And she had very much. She could tell that there was a very nice boy underneath all that formal and stiff mask he wore. "And I will keep the dinner invitation in mind Parke. And I hope you enjoy the rest of your evening."

"That is sad Rex. I am trying out for the quidditch team this term. Hopefully I get a spot." At that moment JP turned around to take notice to Rex's warning. He ducked as quick as he could but the whomping willow was too quick. A branch got him right in the face. JP now had a scratch right one his cheek. "Well, thanks for the warning. Guess i wasn't quick enough." JP shook it off. He wasn't about to look soft infront of Rex. "Well that's good that you still talk to them. It's good to be friends even through the bad stuff." JP took out a handkerchief he had in his pocket and put it on his now bleeding cheek. It was starting to sting.

"Well good luck on your Quidditch tryouts" Rex told JP." Oh well, it was only a scratch" Rex said to JP. " Are you ok?" Rex asked JP. " Yes, Kay is a great person" Rex explained to JP.

"Thank Rex! Yeah i'll be fine. It's just a scratch like you said. That's cool. what house is Kay in?"

Ohh he called her bestie? A sigh of relief escaped her mouth and Fee smiled widely at her best friend."It was not last term? How so?",she asked a little confused. Mhhh maybe she just understood him wrong.And then he told JP she was great?mOhh how sweet."Well i hope so",the blonde giggled,"but you are a great guy."Why exactly was he talking to JP about her by the way?!Hehe.

JP noticed Fee.
"Hey Fee. I didn't know you knew Rex. Although i am not surprised. He is quite popular around these parts. He was just telling me his story about the willow and him. Quite interesting. Although i don't think the tree likes me. It hit me right in the face." JP showed her the scratch on his cheek.