Adam was walking along the path,trying to get himself some fresh air.As he walked alone he began to think,in the past year so many things had changed.But that wasn't true,his life had changed the minute he had received his Hogwarts letter telling him he was a wizard,even if he grew up in a muggle world.

Kurumi an Selina had entered his life an altered it.He had altered it alongside them also.Everything he knew about Kurumi an Selina had been fantastic,until he left last year an mysteriously had just popped back into their lives.So it came as a shocker,an came as no shocker when they had treated him in such a way in the Great Hall a few days ago.

Girls.You can't live with them.You can't live without them.

Adam hadn't been down this way before but he liked what he saw. He figured going for a walk might be a good idea to try and clear his mind about things...maybe the pathways would offer him some kind of answer that he hadn't been able to figure out on his own. After all, Adam had no idea what he wanted from his relationship with Louisa anymore. He knew her friendship was the most important thing in the world, and he wasn't going to do anything to jeopardize that, but some of the events the last couple of days had changed things, and made him confused. Just when he had started to get to terms with him and Louisa just being friends the whole thing with his parents happened, and then the chat with Louisa about Joao and the things she said in that conversation.

Really, Adam had no idea what to think about any of it. Almost as if it was a blessing Adam spotted the other Adam....yes, a guy to talk to! Maybe he could offer some more insight, or at least say some of thing same things Paulie had.

"Hey Adam," Adam said with a little smile.

She smiled. Of course, she'll also be there for her. That's what friends are for.

This walk is becoming really inappropriate for the talk. "How do you say nervous breakdown? What is it? Did she had a trauma?" Everything confuses Erin now. She wanted to know her more. There is something pulling Erin who's forcing her to go deep down Beezus' life. "I have a sister. Her name's Christina. How 'bout you?" she asked. It was really nice to have a chat with her. They don't just focus on one's past or experiences. They take turns on knowing each other.

Oooh! Erin could see the Gazebo now. Finally, better place to discuss things.

OOC: Just start from there.

Marie was really trying to control that nosebleed she got from jumping down a tall rock somewhere around the lake. She knew the spell, yes...but her wand was partially broken and risking herself like that wouldn't be such a bad idea.

Maybe, if she found someone there, at the pathways, somewhere far away from the student society, to help her...it'd be nice. Or else she'd have to go all the way to the hospital wing and tell the whole story to the new nurse. She wasn't that explicit about telling anecdotes, even less...dumb actions that caused such injuries.

Immersed in his own thought,it came to a shock to Adam when he heard his own name being called out.At first he had been silly enough to think that it might've been him whom had called himself out.Spinning around madly he found the other Adam behind him.

"Oh hey..Pleasure meeting you here!I'm guessing we are both trying to get fresh air from our girl problems,I presume?"He asked his twin in a knowing tone.It seemed to be about one of the only things they connected with,the only thing that had brought them to be friends.

It seemed that everyone was enjoying the day outside, Nikolas meanwhile was at his common room, writing an owl to his parents, but seeing the others having fun made him stopped writing and went downstairs. He will finish his letter later.

He stepped outside and the sun hit his eyes. Very sunny was today and he looked for a good shady spot to relax. Classes had started and from now on he would start having plenty of homework to do so, better enjoy what is left of "vacation". He failed to find that dear place.

So instead he went to the pathways. The place was nice, lots of tree around, benches over here and there, some students hanging around and...a girl with nosebleed. Nikolas narrowed his eyes, he thought he knew her. Has he met her already? Her face seemed familiar. He took a few steps and....Yes! he knew her. It was umm...M-M-Marie, right? Hopefully. "Hey you! What happened?" he walked towards her. "Are you okay?" he asked.

Tori picked up another jelly bean as Corey talked and bit down on this one, chewing on it thoughtfully. Coffee. Hmm, with a hint of French Vanilla creamer. Not bad.

"You're not a freak of nature," Tori commented quietly, offering the bag of beans to Corey so that he could have a FEW. "My mother's the same way, really. I think she divorced my dad when she found out that both me and my brother were wizards."

She shrugged and picked out a bubble-gum jelly bean. Three good ones in a row? That had to be a record!

"There's more of us out there than THEM, you know. I read it." Somewhere. Probably.

Anna just walked along the Pathways. It is without purpose, without thought and without sentiment. For her before this happened, but today it was a special reason. Anna received a letter from the parents, in which they reported that her grandfather seriously ill and they urgently returned to England. They wrote to her not to worry, but she couldn't help myself. She was very sad.

Marie was sure that her nose was turning purple already. She was scared then. She knew the only solution was to go to the hospital wing and tell her way to be stupid. But before her feet turned back to the castle someone showed up. Oh Merlin. That was a miracle...and she saw who it was...despite the fact that she had to cover most of her face because of the injury.

"Let's leave it to...I did something very unconscious and my nose is probably broken..." she told Nikolas, shaking her head, "do you have your wand with you?" she finally asked, hoping that he'd knew how to perform the healing spell...

Free time at Hogwarts meant one thing - Spike went out to explore the grounds. Usually these involve some imaginative mission or another, sometimes hunting for a new pet. Today however, he was just on a leisurely stroll as far away as possible from the evidence of lessons. And homework. So he wandered, a relaxed smile on his face and Matilda on his shoulder, and Killy and Kranky perched on his outstretched hand.

This pathway was Max's favorite part of the entire Hogwarts grounds. The way the trees made a sort of canopy over the path, casting shadows on those who meandered along was extremely comforting. He deeply inhaled through his nostrils, greedily taking in the fresh air. It was an absolutely lovely day.

A few paces ahead of him, Max recognized a slightly younger boy who seemed to have the same idea of enjoying the gorgeous day. He had seen the boy - Spike, was it? - many times before with Ellie. There was a large... spider on his shoulder?

Could it really be?

If this was a normal thing for Spike, Max wasn't aware for he quickened his pace, half to protect the boy and half out of curiosity as to what it really was. When he was within normal speaking distance, Max awkwardly started from behind, "Err, did you know that there's a large creature on your shoulder?"

"Huh?"

Spike slowly turned round, and subconsciously brushed the shoulder not holding Matilda with his opposite hand (the one without Killy and Kranky, obviously). Giving the older 'Claw a small frown, he gently shook his head, his curls bouncing. "I'm afraid you seem to be mistaken," he said softly. He was so used to Matilda there, he didn't possibly think that's what the boy - who he seemed to associate the name Max with - was implying.

"Maybe it was just the light?"

Max stared. Was Spike kidding? He scrutinized the younger boy for a moment, unsure. "Your other shoulder," Max replied, nodding his head at the tarantula. He then realized Spike was holding two small frogs in the palm of one of his hands. Max's tightened expression softened and a grin spread across his face. "Cool frogs! Did you find them along this path?" At the thought of it, Max excitedly scanned the edges of the path with his eyes. While he wasn't a huge fan of toads, frogs were much less creepy and pretty cool.

"Oooooh!" Spike exclaimed. "That shoulder." He grinned. "She's nothing to worry about. Meet Matilda." On cue, Matilda stretched out and wriggled. "My friendly little tarantula." Okay, she wasn't exactly little on the spectrum of spiders, and some would claim she wasn't friendly purely by species, but she was definitely Spike's best friend.

"You want to hold one?" Spike asked, slightly surprised (but very pleasantly so) to find someone who looked nearly as excited as he did at them. "Killy and Kranky," he introduced, pointing them out with his free hand. "I got them before I came to Hogwarts, but I'm always on the look out on the grounds for new friends. I fancy a snake from the forbidden forest...but getting in there is an issue." He shrugged. "Have you got any pets?"

"Hello, Matilda," Max chuckled softly at the spider's response. Cool trick, but friendly little tarantula? Max begged to differ. Surely the tarantula wasn't always friendly. He loved animals, but toads, spiders, and centipedes were the few critters he couldn't find himself to love.

"Killy, Kranky." Max gave them respective nods, extending his hand to hold one of them. "A pet snake? That's a very bold idea. Wouldn't you worry about the screaming girls in the common room? I'm actually surprised I haven't seen any riots over Matilda." If he ever saw that thing adventuring around the common room, Max knew he would be one of the first to evacuate the room.

Max shoved his hands deep in his pockets and took in another large breath of fresh air. "Nah, I don't have any at school. Not besides my owl. But my dad - he's a Magizoologist - has a few back at home. We have a whole outside shelter full of cages and pens, but most are empty now. We don't have as many creatures as we used to - we had a lot when he first started out. He liked to study at home back then. Now he's normally out traveling and studying elsewhere. The only one that is mine, I guess you could say, is our pet crup, Benji."

Spike grinned. He liked this guy. Saying hello to Matilda was pure win in Spike's eyes. Not many peeps did that of their own accord. And that's why Spike quite happily placed Killy upon Max's outstretched hand. There she looked up at Max with wide froggy eyes.

"She's well trained," Spike answered with a wink. "Knows to stay in the boys' dorms and all that. Or safely tucked away in my hair." He laughed. "I know Captain Ellie is one that's not too keen. She had an...unexpected meeting with her in Diagon Alley. Matilda has steered well clear of most girls since." He shrugged. "Doesn't bother me. Most girls are too cutsie and scaredy anyway. Makes the cool ones who can cope more awesome." Spike quite clearly hadn't hit the hormonal stage of liking girls yet. Nor did it look like it was gonna happen for a while.

"Aw, you can share mine if you'd like. I've got Sophie too." He nodded happily. "And I'm always looking for something to add to the family." And then he realised exactly what Max had said. "Hang on...your Dad's a magizoologist?" Spike's eyes widened. That was an epic job. "That's awesome. Cor, I'm jealous." His parents reeeeally hadn't appreciated Spike's love of animals. Not until it got him decent marks in a class, anyway. "I bet your Benji's cute."

Beaming down at the frog in his palm, Max took a forefinger and gently stroked the back of the dainty frog. "That's good," he replied, his eyes still fixed on Killy, then he laughed. "I'm not surprised that Ellie is afraid. Not one bit." Those butterflies from his last meeting with Ellie returned and fluttered in his stomach for a moment, but the feeling quickly passed.

"Who's Sophie?" Max scanned Spike's being, expecting to find another creature peeking out of his pocket or clinging to his pant leg. "He is, yeah. He seems to enjoy it. I don't know if I'd ever want to be one, but I definitely got my love of animals from him." If being a Magizoologist meant taking long trips and being home very seldom to see his family, Max would never pursue a profession like that. "Benji's my best friend. Coolest crup I know. He's really intelligent and learns tricks fast. It's a shame I only get to see him on holiday and summer break."

Spike watched max stroke Killy quietly, a look of pride on his face. Matilda took the opportunity to start wandering down his arm, possibly due to lack of attention, and Spike giggled as it tickled. He put Kranky next to Killy with Max, and lifted Matilda down so that she wouldn't feel quite so left out.

"But Matilda's adorable," Spike said with a small pout, letting his tarantula walk between his hands. "Gentle and loving. And mindful of others' feelings." But sure, he knew people didn't understand that. His parents and sister definitely didn't.

"Oh, Sophie's in the dorms," Spike said with chuckle, noting Max searching his person. "She's a stick insect. I acquired her last summer. Cute, but she doesn't get up to much. Just looks...stick-like, really." He'd got her after he'd release Boggis, Bunce and Bean, and she was nowhere near as interesting as his former cockroaches. But her camouflage efforts were pretty neat.

Spike's jaw dropped. Why wouldn't you want to be a magizoologist? Of course, Spike would want to specialise in critters and the like. None of those cutsie overly furry things girls seemed to go for. "He sounds wicked cool. Probably the best crup I could know as well. And it's awesome you can teach him tricks." His face fell though as Max explained he didn't see him except for the holidays. "That must be hard," he said softly. Spike couldn't imagine not seeing Matilda for so long. "I bet he's really excited to see you when you're home though! What tricks can he do?"

Max wasn't going to lie to himself - Matilda was creepy. Instead of dwelling on the presence of such a critter, he busied himself by stroking the back of Krilly and Kranky in turn. "Sophie sounds cool." Not all that interesting, but cool nonetheless.

"He can do a lot of the really standard ones that a dog would do, like sitting, begging, rolling over... playing dead is his favorite. He kind of wigs us out sometimes with that one. He knows how to open doors, too. One day he taught himself to jump up at the door handle, turn it, and let himself outside. That's my favorite. He's ridiculously clever." Max stopped stroking the two small frogs and looked up at Spike. "Do yours do anything cool? Besides Sophie's fantastic stick imitiation?"

Spike nodded. "As stick insects go, she is. I preferred my cockroaches though. She's a tad sedentary for my liking." Spike didn't do sedentary if at all possible - though it was cropping up more recently. His bouncing bulbs were unhappily sedentary too. It didn't even sound a particularly exciting word. Heh. Se-den-ta-ry. He wrinkled his nose at the thought.

"Whoa. Sounds like you've been doing a good job at training him. Can he shake your hand too?" Spike shook his head. "Not really." He'd never had the chance to have something big enough to train. Well, train to do exciting tricks. Matilda was clever enough in her way, but he suspected it was as much instinct and her trust in him as anything else. "Killy and Kranky will wrestle and chomp on my finger. That's kinda cool. And they like playing hide and seek too. But that's about it." He chuckled, remembering when Killy and Kranky first played hide and seek in the dorms.

"Your remember Finn? Headboy last year, beater? They used to like hiding in his bed. They'd jump across, and he'd discover them when he wanted a nap. And he'd come stomping down to the Common Room for me to come retrieve them." Spike smiled innocently. "'s not my fault they preferred his bed. I think he'd have preferred to find Matilda though really. Matilda liked him."

Her nose was seriously bleeding and like she said, it was probably broken. She must have hit something really hard to get to this point. He couldn't imagined the pain she was feeling.

"Yeah probably" he agreed with her. Nikolas was gonna get her to the hospital wing until she asked him if he had his wand with him. Nikolas smacked his head mentally, he was a wizard...well, half-wizard. What was he thinking? He could simply heal her right here. "Yes, I think I have it here..." he rummaged the pockets of his robes "Umm, on second thought I guess I...." he paused for a moment while still looking for it. "Forget it! it's here" he took it out. He had many rubbish in his pockets. Now back to Marie and her broken nose.

"I just hope it doesn't get worse" he said with a hint of fear in his voice. "If not, directly to the hospital wing and I apologize from now" he told her. He had to apologize right now, just in case. He took a deep breath before he started. Hopefully, he would do it right. Nikolas flickered his wand and said "Episkey". Now just hope for the best and fingers crossed.

Marie freaked out when Nikolas couldn't find his wand among the many pockets he had inside his robe. Every student should be carrying their wand right? That was why they were trained to be wizards. "Okay. One question...before...." And there it came, the spell then the pop inside her nose. "OWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW!" She said, holding it tight with her fingertips. That sure hurt. Although, when she touched it, it felt perfect, as always....and no more blood was coming out.

"OH THANK YOU!" She said, jumping up to hug him. He deserved that, no doubt. "I was going to ask you if we could use...magic, outside of class." Rules were rules. But that was an emergency. Maybe she'd go to the hospital wing anyways to go ask the nurse for checkings.

He wasn't sure if he had performed it right. The problem was that if he haven't done it right, her nose could get deformed? No, no, no. Nikolas shook the thought away, he didn't need any of that right now.

He waited to see if everything turned good. Marie screamed when he said the spell. He pity her. He hated this kind of spells, they were really painful. He waited for her to say something or yelled at him because her nose was worse, but the next thing made him sure that he has done it right. Marie jumped and hugged him. The hug took him aback, he didn't expected that.

He chuckled "Oh, see! I did it good. I thought I'll do it wrong" he admitted "But thanks Merlin you are okay" he smiled. Now the next thing made his smile to fade away. Not allowed to do magic outside of class? WHAT? why she didn't said that before? He didn't knew that. But I mean...this was a emergency. Her nose was bleeding and broken and...you could have gone to the hospital wing. Yeah but still! Was it wrong to help someone in problems? No, so? He didn't deserved to be punished. He looked at her speechless "I...I..." he trailed off "I think...I don't know" he was babbling. "I hope not, but still it wasn't to do a prank, it was to help you so, I guess it is fine" he shrugged.

Marie let go of Nikolas, knowing that she was probably covered in her own nose blood, and getting him dirty with it just wasn't the perfect referrence between them. And again, she checked her nose, just in case he was right in the assumptions and her nose could probably be malformed now. Which meant a surgery...EW. She shook that thought out of her mind, and focused on Nikolas panicking when it came to rules.

"If anyone saw this and it's against the rules, it's my responsibility, from the beginning, okay? I'm a year ahead of you, I asked you to perform it...my calls, okay?" Yeah, Marie was sure she wanted the load on herself. After all, it was her silly head that got her into the bloody trouble. "And as you said, it was an emergency." She didn't think they'd get in trouble, nope.

Marie took a look at her clothes, all covered in blood though she was going to wash them later. "And how have you been?" She asked Nikolas, willing to start a conversation.

Adam noticed that he had kind of startled Adam, the boy swinging around madly like maybe had had called his own name out and hadn't noticed it. Adam cleared his throat slightly before giving him a little smile.

"Oh, of course," Adam said with a little chuckle. "I thought that maybe walking out here would magically inspire a thought that could be the solution to my problems. So far I haven't had any luck though," Adam said with a little sigh. "How about you...are you having any luck?"