Hearing the words, "I'm sorry," come from Matt, Zara hugged her feet tighter and began rocking back and forth, as if putting herself to sleep. But she was wide awake, she was scared. What was she scared of? She didn't know either, probably it was losing her friend.

"It's okay, Matt. No need to say sorry," she whispered as a cold breeze had blown. Her hair was flying to the direction of the wind. It was cold, not exactly freezing cold like snow but enough to make her shiver. Zara shivered, goosebumps on her arms and legs. "You didn't do anything anyway."

Nika smiled as she looked up at the sky. Such a pretty da- wait. She did a quick double take looking back at Feenella then away then back. "Wait Feenella as in 'Fee'?" She asked pretty sure it was her. She was exactly like Rex described her. "Rex told me all about you! He said he wanted us to meet, but I guess we just never really planed it out." She said recalling the day at the lake. Nika looked down at the ground and sighed as she remembered that her friend wasn't at Hogwarts anymore. It was so hard coming back without him.

"Oh I'm a second year!" She said gaining back her happiness. She held out the number two with fingers as she straightened her back proudly. She felt so much more mature. "What about you?" Nika watched as the blonde dug through her bag. Hmmm... What is she getting... "Oh Raspberry drops!?" Nika said as she nodded her head very fast. "I love them! Raspberry's are my favorite fruit!" That's another reason why she dyed her hair the reddish color over the holiday.

The Gryffindor didn't miss Cass's strange reaction at his use of muggle slang so he tried to break it down for her. He was still trying to learn certain words in the wizarding universe as well and sometimes he didn't understand it too much either. Both societies could be baffling. "A ghetto is a slum for people..." he explained quickly. "For people who sort of...have the same background as me..."

"Right. So...what happens when you win the house cup?" the fourth year asked, quirking a brow. He had never really paid attention to that house rivalry situation. It never found its way into his radar. Once in a while, he got annoyed between the assumed competition between Slytherin and Gryffindor, but other than that, he couldn't have cared less.

"He's awesome," Levi remarked blithely. "Can I pet him too or is he a biter?"

Oooh, he was backing out? Alright, then he deserved to know. "It's a present for my sisters," she wondered if he caught the real meaning behind that. She shrugged and took a bite of the licorice wand. YUM. She knew that it wasn't that big of a deal, but those dungbombs were also for those who bullied her or just simply made her mad. She wasn't going to tell Jimbo that part, what if she scared him off?

Nope. That was her secret.

Hehe.

Peyton nodded at his answer. She never gave Usagi sweets, not unless she wanted a crazed cat running everywhere. Peyton stopped petting Pebbles when she remembered something her sisters had told her. "Hey Jimbo, um...is it true that if a turtle bites you it won't let go until it hears a donkey's cry?" Okay, that just sound like the dumbest thing EVER, but he had a turtle so Peyton figured he should know this.

Right?

"My day is going great," she beamed. So far exploring the castle was fine, but she felt as if she would never have enough time to explore EVERYTHING. "How about yours?" she asked. Fee must have a lot of friends to talk to, besides her...oh and a boyfriend. P wondered if the blonde Slytherin wanted to go to them, but stayed quiet instead.

Ahh, so that's what Musketeer was. "Wow, they sound really cool," she smiled at William. "All for one, one for all?" she repeated. "That's an awesome motto," what could there's be? Hmm.

The girl looked around and then walked over to the entrance and as she did an idea popped up in her head.

Hehe.

"Hey guys-" and she threw herself OFF the edge and yelped, like if she had fallen on accident. "Aaahhh! HELP!" she shrieked.

Oh no! Peyton has fallen to her doom!

Hehehe!

Wonderful feeling of a magical fun presence with the Druids and Runes of the God. Young Lady Anasta Riddle is in an embrace with a pile of sheets of her favorite discipline. She enters the cozy room in the enjoyment of a sense of fresh air after the rain and the diamond drops of water, shining through light ray. "The advantages of wizarding life for student I should be able to use, with care", she shivered slightly from a refreshing breeze into an open a transparent window.

" Hi" Wiliam said to Zara. " You look very trobled" Willaim told Zara." I was just asking you if you felt ok" William explained to Zara."So how are you doing?" William asked Zara.

" Yes, a great motto" William agreed with Peyton." Fee, come quickly, we have to help Peyton" William called out. " Are you ok?" William asked Peyton. " Fee and I will help you" explained to Peyton.

Presley clambered into a gigantic tree house. "Whoa, what is this place?" She asked aloud, just in time to see a girl launch herself toward the ground. Presley screamed. "Merlin's pants! Are you okay?" She almost fell in her haste to climb back down the ladder.

"Yeah, you Gryffindors seem to have this magnet towards trouble." She stated wryly, recalling Heather's reaction to the ship. It was a good thing Mother told Aunt Leandra about it and sent the girl an owl about it, or else she would have been forced to tie the girl to a tree or something.

"But isn't he in sixth year or something?" She asked, she was pretty sure he was older than her or something.

How could you have a nephew who is older than you?!

"Ah..." Cass said uncertainly, there was so many things she didn't know about. But she did know that the slums is not one of the places she wants to be in.

Then she grinned as he mentioned the house cup. "The cup goes back to Slytherin." Yes, where it belongs. Besides, Slytherins love to win. especially if its against Gryffindor. Then she shrugged "No offense meant, but we really didn't appreciate it when Gryffindor took the cup from us."

Then she lifted her hand off the owl and said "Sure, go right ahead. He's perfectly harmless...unless ordered to be otherwise."

Cynus opened his eyes suddenly when the stroking stopped. His eyes swiveled instantly to his master and was surprised to see the boy reaching out to touch him. He hooted in alarm and flapped his wings, what? He was a stranger!

Cass was surprised at the sudden movement by the owl who she thought was sleeping. She stroked his fathers once more and said softly "Come on, don't worry, he won't hurt you." Unconsciously putting emphasis on the 'you'

Cygnus heeded his mistress' words and stopped the commotion that he was causing to let the boy stroke his feathers. He better not pull on them. Or else.

Even though Gwen did not like plants that much, she wanted to explore everything at Hogwarts, so, that included the treehouse. Getting closer, the girl noticed that this place was rather fascinating. Great, she thought, now…what do I want to do?’, she asked herself. Right! I want to get up there.

Levi nodded. He couldn't blame her for sounding a bit put off by the idea of living in the slums. It really wasn't something to be proud of. At least he only had three years left until he could bust out of there and become whatever he wanted to. Certainly he wouldn't go the way his father had.

"But it's just a cup," the dark-skinned Gryffindor said, looking amused. "I don't really think it means anything. All the houses are talented in their own ways so why do they need some dumb old cup to prove it? I know it's encouraging teamwork and everything but it's only amongst the houses themselves. You'd think the old rivalries and the competitions would have died out by now." The cup was only a status symbol in the long run.

He backed away as the owl started to panic and he waited until Cass had managed to sedate him.

"That's right..." he reassured Cygnus. "I wouldn't hurt anyone." He placed his own emphasis on the word. He knew Cass hadn't done it on purpose but he was a little tired of being villainized. He patted the owl lightly on the head.

clambering up into the Treehouse, Ella was ready to SCREAAAAM!!!!!

Running her hand along the wooden railings, Ella finally plonked her bum down leaning against one of the thick tree trunks.

She wiped under her eyes and rested her chin onto her knees. This was lame. She knew she was being distant and possibly a bit hostile.. but she couldn't help it.

Looking up she could see the canopy of the trees. Shelter. She liked shelter. Sighing Ella chewed her lip. Merh.. maybe she was finding it a bit hard ot make more friends.. everybody had their own groups now. Ella shook her head quickly.. it was fine. It would all be fine!

" Yes, I guess a lot of Gryffindors do graviate towards, not trouble, but more excitement" William told Cass. " We do tend to to help others in trouble, so yes we could look for trouble" Willaim said to Cass. " Yes Connor is older than me and me being his uncle is a long story" Willaim explained to Cass. " you should ask Connor about it" Willaim smiled.

Reassured that the girl who had fallen was okay, Presley turned to a lonely looking girl who had just climbed up. "Hey. I'm Presley" she struck out her hand. Shy as she was, she was immediately worried that the girl would think she was an idiot. Lots of people didn't take Presley for a serious student at Hogwarts because she was soo short. She hoped this girl wouldn't think she was five, or laugh at her, or worst of all, get up and walk away.

After having one misadventure at the treehouse already this term - she decided to try an easier bit of luck. No climbing ropes with sandals on - bad, bad stupid idea. This time Kyle was going to people-watch from the safety of the upper tireswing the ones near the walkway that if you fell from on a normal tree house death was right around the corner. But here, nah only a bruised knee, shin, ankle - what with the softened ground and everything.

She ran a hand through her hair chuckling slightly she secured her bag - through a modified stitching spell to her sleeve so even if it fell from her shoulder it would still be with her...climbing up ladder she made her way to the walkway. First things first. I should grab my sandal she thought looking to the empty climbing rope she walked over pulling the rope closer she quickly - well not-so-quickly detached the sandal from the rope and put it in her bag.

From there, it was people-watching-time. EEP! She was so excited she loved people watching, walking over to the tire swing she unbound her bag from her shoulder placing it on the ground she grabbed a never-ending ink-filled pen, and a wonderful notebook with an undetectable expansion charm so when you thought you were getting to the end well you get the picture it was like new paper would automatically fit itself, and bind itself to the notebook. Well, it had a five-year warranty and she only had it since the summer.

Climbing up onto the tire swing she focused on the people around her...quickly scribbling down some notes...might help with yearbook 'captions' if they were you know 'big shots' or voted for in the superlatives this term.

Text Cut: Notebook

• Someone has fallen off the tree house - they are alright.
• "William Star" is an "uncle" (I did not know that - must ask Hannah about that later)

Realizing immediately that the treehouse was one of the best spots to gather information for the yearbook, Matt started to climb the rope ladder before stopping when he noticed Kyle sitting in the tire swing; Hmm maybe she's after some kind of scoop for the articles, regardless.. that doesn't mean that you can't go and join her. "Well funny seeing you here huh, seems like we're crossing paths constantly now." Not that he had a problem with it since she was a good friend of his, it was just kinda amusing seeing as there was this entire school to explore and they had just managed to end up at the same place during the same time. After he finished speaking, he climbed up to the top of the ladder and crawled into the treehouse; opening his notebook and staring out the window, there was plenty of people wandering around and it was a perfect time to record a few notes that he could take back to the office with him.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mandana

Realizing immediately that the treehouse was one of the best spots to gather information for the yearbook, Matt started to climb the rope ladder before stopping when he noticed Kyle sitting in the tire swing; Hmm maybe she's after some kind of scoop for the articles, regardless.. that doesn't mean that you can't go and join her. "Well funny seeing you here huh, seems like we're crossing paths constantly now." Not that he had a problem with it since she was a good friend of his, it was just kinda amusing seeing as there was this entire school to explore and they had just managed to end up at the same place during the same time. After he finished speaking, he climbed up to the top of the ladder and crawled into the treehouse; opening his notebook and staring out the window, there was plenty of people wandering around and it was a perfect time to record a few notes that he could take back to the office with him.

Looking up as Matt spoke up she couldn't help but smile, and wave like a complete idiot as she knew he was there, and he knew she was there. Just SPECIAL. Very special moments there.

"Funny indeed, we do always seem to run into eachother - why don't we people watch together?" She offered hopping off of the lovely little tire swing and climbing up to the top with him. Her bag securely on her shoulder.

"All I'd gotten so far was that little boy William is some kid Connor's uncle even though Connor's older...complicated family" she explained with a chuckle. "And he's related by adoption to this girl Hannah - the one who was at the party through 'family' connections this summer" Kyle explained rolling her eyes. Hannah sometimes gave her the creeps.

With a chuckle, she smirked over to him. "Nice Hat" she smiled, really right now she wanted to steal it and put it on. Little hat thief that she was.

"How is that even possible? Man, seriously it sounds like something out of one of those phony magazines that like hundreds of people read constantly; they sound so believable too." He frowned and then turned his attention back to the ground, that whole family relation thing was going to bother him until he figured out how it actually made sense. Once Kyle commented on his hat, he grinned and then took it off, placing it on her head for the moment to see if it would look as good as it did on his head. "Now that's the missing piece to that outfit, although the hat would be kind of redundant since you've got the headband." He chuckled then started jotting down a few things that he seemed to be noticing, there was definitely going to be some good notes for the yearbook.

Why did they need the cup? Well, they didn't really need it, they just wanted it to affirm the known truth that they were the best house, like....ever. "The cooperation within each house should be enough." She said with a smile "After all, all of us would be living with one another for seven years, we might as well find something that we can all work on together."

"I don't think that's possible." She said with a shrug "People would always find things to compete in, to fight about. It makes life less predictable and more exciting."

Cynus' eyes darted back and forth between the two. Something was not right, his mistress was too calm. Usually, she would be all giggly and noisy, especially with her other friends.

After letting the boy stroke his feathers, he flapped his wings to say that he had enough and flew off to go back to the owlery. He would rather sleep there.

Cass watched in puzzlement as Cygnus took off without her order. He had only done that a couple of times and that was before she trained him. Weird.

She turned to Levi and said apologetically "Sorry about that, he can be so dramatic when he wants to be."

"I would rather think so." She said primly, still wondering what went wrong with Gryffindors, why they always seem to draw trouble. Maybe they were dropped as babies?

Then she wrinkled her nose slightly at the idea of asking Connor about it. Well, that would be awkward. So she shrugged instead and said "I have time. Why don't you tell me?"

Kyle chuckled over to Matt, as he commented on the possibility of someone being younger then the person they were an uncle too. It was possible but she herself didn't understand it fully unless it was re-marraige and all...like he was the kid of someone's step mother or step grandmother. Weird.

She then couldn't help but giggle infectiously as Matt placed the hat ontop of her head - it didn't exactly work because of her bow, the hat falling over her eyes. Still, it was fun, and a nice gesture.

"Aw, thanks I'll have to remember that next time - note to self wear a fedora like hat" she laughed with a smile she looked over to him as he commented about the bow. "Well, we could always trade...but i'm not sure a bow would work for you" she laughed softly, her smile was really happy, almost goofy. Really, right now she probably looked like an idiot but she didn't care.

She was having fun. She took the hat off of her own head plopping it back down on Matt's own head.

"Yeah I doubt the bow would work, I'll stick to the hats; this is the first of many fedoras that I have in my trunk." Matt tried to imagine a bow in his hair and chuckled at the image of that, he remembered finding a picture of when he was a child and he had a big bow in his hair thanks to Raven; that was totally embarrassing and hoped that no one else ever saw that picture again. Huh.. what do we have here? Discussion over the House Cup? Could be interesting.. He started writing down a couple points that he heard from where he was sitting and paused when the discussion turned to the idea that there was no need for competing, now that wasn't something he entirely agreed with but he wasn't about to interrupt with his own views; instead he continued to write down points in his notebook.

" Yes, some of us Gryffindors try more dangerous things than othere" William told Cass. " Guess I am one of them" William said to Cass. " I have been in the ship and it is cool" William explained to Cass. " Well, I would tell you about Connor and myself ,but I really do not know how I am his uncle and younger" William sighed.

Ivan climbed up into the tree house and looked around at the grounds. Maybe Lexi was right and he was just a big wuss. But he'll admit it he was terrified of rejection or at least the thought of yet someone else rejecting him. He had come up here to think after leaving Lexi and decide what he wanted to do without her calling him names. He really liked Dora she was fun, cute, and he just though the world of her. She made him happier with a smile than anyone else could. Should he just ask her out? Ugh he didn't know any more.

"Hi. I'm fine." She said. Then once again did a heads-down.

Zara took a peek at Matt, wondering why he was so quiet when she saw Ella on the other side of the treehouse. She wondered why she was there, then Zara remembered quickly that Ella was being sort of distant these days. She sighed and put her head back down, deciding not to call her since Ella might just stand up and leave like she always does.

HOGWARTS WAS SO AWESOME!

Hogwarts was better than summer and fairy floss and candy canes and CHRISTMAS ALL COMBINED. Dora stared in awe up at the tree and the swing and all this stuff that was just too awesome for words.

She took one look at the height and flailed.

"Lawdy.."

But she was going to be brave and stuffs and so she took a deep breath and started to climb. She got up there really quickly, in fact and she found herself staring at someone's legs. Someone was already AT HER SECRET PLACE? *POUT*

But she just got up and dusted herself off preparing to utter a warm and delighted welcome at the new person.

"Batman! Oh. hi!" hehe. Even better.

" I know you say fine, but I do not beleive you" William told Zara. " i am your freind and I want to help you" William said to Zara. " You are one crazy girl" William laughed at the way Zara was hanging from the tree.