Conan nodded furiously, "They did. I am gonna set up my room ready during Spring Break. When do you wanna come?" He didn't really mind, the summer didn't change at all for him. Except July 4th. That was a big day for him. Exciting too. He'd like to take Treyen to that. The fireworks were the best. "We could even camp in the yard if you want."

"You take divination?" he beamed. That would be fun if they did it together. "So I will do muggle studies, divination and arithmancy." That would be good.

Clearly, Conan was truly excited about his visit over the summer, no? "Good." and he tilted his head to one side as he considered when he'll be going there, "I think...a couple days after our classes are over sound good to you?" because he knew that Diagon Alley was going to happen soon before starting school again, and...the time between the end and the start would be spent with a little bit of Quidditch, since he likes to attend some season games.

So, the best time would be right at the start of the vacation time.

Camping? Treyen smiled, "That'd be fun." And it sort of reminded of Mr. Masterson and the sleeping bag he still had thanks to the man.

"Yes," and Bishop was great at that class too, "So, you'll take..pretty much all the classes I take now," funny, that was. More time with Conan, no?

Conan nodded, "You can come whenever. If it isn't the day of the train, you will have to tell me, cos either I will have to stay in a hotel for a few days, orrrrr we will come and collect you from your nearest airport." He liked the second one better, cos then he could prepare more for Treyen's visit.

"It will be fun. And it won't be rainy, much. It might be quite warm at night. Well warmer than here anyway." It was night time so it got colder anyway.

"What classes do you do?" Not that he would change his choices. He liked the ones he had chosen.

Oooh hugs! Mia loved getting hugs and she returned Arya's hug enthusiastically. She liked to give them too. But what she didn't like was the cold but it seemed that her young friend did. "This is my third term here and I am still not used to the cold weather." Having to wear so many clothes and still have water drip from your nose and your lips turn blue was not her idea of fun. But each to their own.

Mia glanced up at Arnold and giggled. "Yeah he's adorable. A little disgusting at times but you get that, I guess." She'd had to lock him up at night when she went to sleep. The other girls didn't appreciate Arnold's bizarre grooming habits. "I have been good. I'm finally of age. Going to see Nik in the spring break. Things couldn't be better. What about you? How are things with you?"

"I've been here since first year, and I still haven't adjusted to it completely. But I dunno." Grinning, she shrugged her shoulders. "I just really like the weather today." It was probably cause she spent most of her time studying for OWLs, or snaking in the kitchens. She couldn't ever do that enough.

Hehe. "I do get that... I always have to sleep with my door closed when I go home. Peter tends to forget to lock his up at night." Which led to her waking up to the little creature grooming her. Not a fun way to wake. Arya's grin widened at Mia's news. "Your of age? Congrats! It's gotta be awesome." She could not wait til she became of age. "Sounds like your gonna have a great spring break. Things are good with me. Got to see Sabel over Christmas, and I'm gonna spend spring break with my family." So he could have her all summer, see? "Most of my time here has been spent studying though."

"Well even I have to admit that it does clear the head." It didn't mean she wanted to hang outside all day. At least here they were sheltered somewhat.

Mia chuckled softly, she knew exactly what Arya was talking about. Seeing how Arnold was now currently rifling through her hair with his long nose.

Arya's grin was contagious and Mia could feel one of her own forming. "Thank you. Well I don't feel that different. But I am going for my apparition license during the spring break and I guess with being able to go anywhere, I'll probably feel different then." It was going to make getting to Nik so much easier. And life in general should be easier. She hoped.

Mia had been hoping that Arya would bring up Sabel first because she hadn't wanted to ask just in case they were not together anymore. "Oooh and how are you two doing? Are you coping okay with him not being here?" Her friend's next comment pretty much answered that. "Yeah fifth year is hard. Well so is sixth year but I don't have the added pressure of exams." Not that she got to do them last term.

What? The same day of the train? How exactly was Treyen going to take all his books home? And how was he going to pack for Conan's place, eh?

Treyen shook his head, "Not the same day of the train...probably one week or a week and a half after that," he said, before nodding once this time. Really, he needed to know when he was meeting Aaron as well. He supposed by the end of summer, though.

"I can always fly to your nearest airport. That's the best option, I think," right? Because why was Conan going to fly to England again? Not necessary, Treyen could travel by himself, you know?

Then he nodded at the warmer weather talk. Yes, we got that, especially when Conan was pretty much wearing every single item of clothes he owned.

"Besides the mandatory ones...I take Care of Magical Creatures, Divination, Arithmancy and Muggle Studies." Basically, no Ancient Runes. "I don't know if I'll be dropping any of the mandatory ones for my sixth year, though," he said, and seemed deep in thought. Arya will probably drop Potions. Probably. He'll probably drop...none.

Conan nodded. A week was fine. "Oh. I just didn't want you to have to pay for a plane ticket is all. Cos we use the company plane." And his father could probably wrangle having a meeting that week anyway. Maybe in France.

"You drop subjects after 5th year?" That was exciting. He would drop Charms and Transfiguration. They were horrible subjects. He was looking forward to muggle studies though. "Can you drop anything?" Well that you had taken of course.

Oh, well, that changes plenty of things. Everything, actually. "Hmmm, well, I don't really mind flying commercial, but...," he started to say, and then came up with something, "...let's do this, if your dad needs to be in England a week after school is done with, then I'll go with him, if he can't then I'll fly on my own, good?" they could get in touch by the phone, because Treyen was giving Conan his number once his owl with the information arrived.

See? Now he needed to explain a few things, "Well, the thing is, you have Ordinary Wizarding Levels, and according to which career you want to pursue or which subject interests you the most...," or not at all, "...then you're free to say which classes to take if your grade meets the class requirements," seemed easy enough, no? So, if you have any further questions just ask Healer Moretti. Treyen will also answer, though.

"I'm not sure if I do want to drop one, though, I'll think about it over summer," because he was still unsure about what his life after Hogwarts will be focused on.

Conan smiled, and nodded, "Do you have a cell phone?" Or what did those Brits call it, a mobile? "Cos I can give you my cell number. And I can take yours." On the train though. Cos of the whole, electricity doesn't work. "Though the international calling is rather expensive, so I can just call you." They had enough money to be able to afford that. It was all earned though. He hadn't inherited anything from his ancestors. Except pictures and memorabilia.

"I think I am definitely going to do Arithmancy at all stages." Because he was good at that. Plus he was going to MIT. He needed to keep his brain active while in this nut house.

"I hope you get good marks in your Ordinary Wizarding Levels." What if he did badly? Would he get kicked out. He would really really miss Treyen.

Arya nodded her head in agreement. It DID clear her head being outdoors, it always did, and today was no exception. She would have to do more studying outside... maybe in the stables.

"Hm. That's what everyone says." Which was kind of a let down, not that her grin faded any. Didn't they feel the trace being lifted off of them when their birthday came around? She always thought something... magical would happen. Heh. "I still don't like to apparate, but good luck with getting your license."

"We're doing great. It was hard at first, not seeing him all the time. But he visits on some Hogsmeade weekends, and I saw him a bit over the holidays. Hopefully I'll get to stay with him this summer though." Her eyes twinkled a bit at the thought. It was a big hope, and something she hadn't shared with anyone else, but if all went well she would be with him over the summer. "I just hope I'm not wasting my time doing all this studying. It'd suck to not have OWLs after all my hard work." Really, it would. Mia should know.

ACTUALLY, Conan, he does. "I do." He nodded once he answered, but the thing is...he didn't know his number. He got the thing last summer, because it was easier to be in touch with the family in France while he was away with Aaron.

"But I'm waiting for my number to be owled to me. I kind of forgot about it," and he didn't even bring it along, there was no need. He did pick up on the expensive part of it, and then shook his head, "I can also call you," they could also manage to spend a few more galleons than necessary.

Treyen's smile widened at the thought of Conan in Arithmancy, "I want to, as well," meaning, yes, Hadley will have this young Lockhart in her class next year too, and the one after that. If Hadley remained as their Arithmancy Professor, that is.

Yeah, OWLs. "I hope so, not that it would determine whether I get to keep coming to Hogwarts or not, but...they were canceled last year, I don't know if we're going to have them again," he HOPED so, because he wanted to be graded, mostly, and because if he followed any University path then he'll need those, no?

Conan beamed, "You doooo?" That kind of excited him. They could text each other and everything. He would have to give Treyen his. Maybe on the train. When they could work. Would he need to charge it? Oh the questions. "You should call me. And text lots."

"You can help me with my studies. If I need it." Not that he would. He was smart at math. "But you will have left when it is my Ordinary Wizarding Level exams." Which was really really sad. Maybe he could study with a girl. That would be awesome. Not as good as Treyen though.

"They were?" Maybe he didn't notice that. He was wrapped up in his bubble of anti-magic. He didn't notice a lot. "Lets hope they do this year then. You need exams." Or something.

"Yeah, since last summer," he replied, with a smile on his face, "I don't know why I didn't tell you sooner," which is something he started to wonder...just now. Because they could've been in touch over the holidays. Oh, Ellie should definitely get one. Definitely. That way he could listen to her voice during summer, right? Now, with Conan, it was a different matter, "I will," he said, with one nod, he needed to take his cell phone along because that was the only means of communication with the boy while in the States.

This was funny, because Conan was telling him to help him in Arithmancy, when in fact Treyen was helped by Kurumi, "Sure, no problem, though Kurumi helps me with my interpretations," not with the calculations per say, but with the interpretations. Well, Kurumi will have to help Conan as well.

Leaving. Yes. Treyen frowned at that thought. "Sierra will still be here once I'm gone," and she was going to take Arithmancy, no? "Perhaps you should ask her to be your study buddy or something," since she too will be going through OWLs at the same time.

Mmmhmmm, "Yeah, both OWLs and NEWTs. You do NEWTs when you're in your seventh year." So, Conan, no need to worry about any of that, yet. "Let's." He still hasn't heard anything involving either one of those tests. But he was still studying.

He smiled, "We can get walkie talkies as well if you want. Save us on dollars when we are together. Plus they are Mickey Mouse shaped." It did help having family working for the business. "Plus we would look well cool walking round the parks, speaking into them." They might even pick up security feeds. If they find the right channel. And he knew them by heart.

Oh. He thought since Treyen was older, that he would know more stuff. Kurumi was only a 3rd year. And kinda cute. She was cute. He could ask her for help. "Study buddy? Sierra?" That wasn't a bad idea. He might have to do that.

Yeah, whatever Conan was talking about sounded good to him, and he knew just enough about his country to understand parts of that. Though, he knew enough of Muggle things to know what walkie talkies were. Was he planning of separating from him in the parks? Because if there were together, then there was no need to use them, right?

"Sounds good." That was all he said, and then laughed when Conan kept on explaining what they'll do, "Right, we'll look rather shifty, though, as if we were spies," granted, spies used objects that were smaller than a knut, but still.

That ought to be fun, no?

"Yes, Sierra, she's a smart girl," therefore, completely approved as Conan's study buddy. "And she's also a second year, so, she'll be here until you leave," unless Conan decided to leave Hogwarts sooner, or she did, but there was no way to know either of those was going to happen. He doubted that Sierra would leave, but Conan, he was clueless about him.

Conan chuckled, "Spies use littler ones that what I have. And they like speak into their watches and stuff." He had seen that old show Knightrider. He preferred Baywatch though. Mmmmm Pamela Anderson. "We don't have to take them on the parks with us. We can use them in the backyard though. It is big enough." And had a pool. Yay for pools. He hoped that the pool cleaner had done a good job while he was away.

"I know Sierra is a second year," he blushed. He knew a lot about Sierra. Mainly what he had heard though. He tended to gaze from afar. He would never properly talk to the girl. Talking was an effort. Especially to a girl like Sierra. He liked talking to Ellie though. She was fun. Maybe he should ask her if she had a cell phone. They could call her from his house. Maybe ask her to come visit too. That would be fun.

As Treyen suspected, or knew. "Still." Before the littler ones came along, they had those walkie-talkie look-a-likes, no? Like...over a hundred years ago.

That was a long time ago.

Treyen nodded as Conan mentioned the parks. And truth be told, he couldn't wait until summer arrived, yet he still feared it because Ellie will be away from him. Summer lasted long enough for Treyen to miss her too much.

Mmmhmmm. Conan should know that, right? The fifth year noticed the blush, but said nothing, "I should probably talk to her about you, since I'll be having a meeting with her in a couple weeks," he said, standing up and shrugging, as if it was the most normal thing in the world to him. Well, it was, they had meetings. Potions-related meetings.

Conan's face fell in thought for a moment. He was lost for words. Treyen was having secret meetings with Sierra. HIS Sierra. Sigh. It wasn't like Sierra was actually his. He just wished it. She was allowed to have secret meetings with whomever she wanted to. Even his best friend.

"Oh? You are?" he mumbled, his voice cracking slightly. He wasn't going to let it show how much it hurt though. Nope brush it off Taylor! "I....um...." He didn't have anything to return with on that.

Oh, no. What had he done?? Treyen didn't mean it like that, but Conan's face had changed from happiness to something else, and all it took the Prefect was mentioning Sierra.

Not nice, Lockhart.

Wait. Had the meeting thing been the one that changed Conan's expression? "Yeah, we discuss Potions together, sometimes, not every day," he said, shrugging again. But he'd failed to notice that perhaps it took too much of Conan to even utter a 'Hello' towards the girl he liked and here was Treyen mentioning meetings. "I'd invite you over, but we're currently working on a Potion we came up with, so, I don't know how she'll react to that," not to mention Treyen wanted to ask her something else. Something that involved a bat.

Oh. Conan had forgotten that they worked together in potions. It did kind of make him even more sad, jealous even. "I am...good. Thanks." He didn't want to interrupt their potion lovefest anyway. What about Ellie? Conan could look after her. Poor girl. He'd get her a present. Maybe some chocolate from the kitchens. YES. He would do that.

"You should have fun with that. I need to..." Need to what? WHAT DO YOU NEED TO DO TAYLOR???? "Go to..." WHERE???? "The bathroom." Oh yeah. Good one. Fantastic under pressure, you American idiot.

He stood up from the step though. He didn't really want to be around Treyen right now. Even though he was his best friend, he was stealing Sierra away from him. How could he do that?

He was...what? Good? What on Earth was Conan talking about? And now Treyen was entirely concerned because Conan wasn't Conan anymore. He'd never meant to change his mood today. Actually, he never meant to hurt him in any way, and his own eyes seemed to express some kind of hurt over the fact that he was meeting Sierra in a couple of weeks.

"Yeah, fun, I...probably will," he said, but he was frowning, frowning because Conan...was suddenly leaving? What? Er, "Right, mmmm, see you around then, Conan," he said, and eyed the boy as he started to get ready for leaving.

Treyen was going for a walk on the grounds, though, so they'll be walking in opposite directions. Like...now.

Conan took a last glance at Treyen. What had Conan really done to him, to make him do that to him? He sighed. He wasn't going to cry. Because Sierra wasn't his. Nope not really. He had no hold on her. And if his best friend did want to cheat on Ellie with her, then that was his prerogative. Conan couldn't stop him. Sadly.

"Yeah. See you around." Maybe. Maybe not. He didn't know if he wanted to. Not really. And definitely not, if Sierra was going to be on his arm.

Gav headed back to the castle, and entered the corridor to the courtyard. The day was fading, and the sunlight was beautiful through open windows. She only needed one more ingredient, but she was too tired to keep scowering the grounds. Just as she was about to leave the corridor, she noticed some cockcroaches crawling along. She absolutely hated cockcroaches, but she needed one more ingredient...

She grabbed a few, trying not to think about the feel of their tiny legs against her skin. She shoved them into a jar, glad to be done with them.

Now that she had her last ingredient, she was inspired to finish the assignment by bringing her supplies to the potion store room.

When was the last time Samira went down by the lake? Or any where outside the castle? It's been a while, since she couldn't stand the cold. But now it was starting to warm up slightly, and Samira didn't mind as much, even if it was a little uncomfortable. Moving down the corridor to the courtyard, Samira's heels clinked with each step she took. Heels was like Samira's trademark fashion-statement, and she wore them nearly all the time. Humming a tune to herself-something she rarely ever did-the Slytherin was content to walk a little and not think about anything.