Adam began to pick off the grass that had landed an glued onto his face. Great, he looked like a good mess in front of her. "Yeah,yeah, I'm alright." He spoke in a quiet voice continuing to brush off dirt an grass from his clothes.

He just sort of stood there looking at her, speechless, still as a ice sculpture.Yep,awkward. Their 'friendship' from being mad at each other at the lake to standing here quietly at the whomping willow had changed dramatically,almost in a split second of a snap it had happened.

"So.." Adam spoke in a long voice. He wasn't sure what to say to her. He was still figuring it out himself. This was much harder than a potions class. Adam had a tendency to make things awkward, an once again he was accomplishing this. "We have a weird friendship-don't we?" What else could he say? She had to know what he was referring to.

Well, Adam seemed to be okay. Probably not as good as he was before, but Ellie suspected he would survive. When she stood up, she helped Adam brush some grass off of his shirt. Ellie smiled and said, "Good to hear."

And then they both just kind of stood there. Ellie noticed Adam was just looking at her and she didn't really know what to do, so she shoved her hands in her jeans pockets and looked away, pressing her lips together. This was slightly awkward...

Thankfully, he started talking because Ellie didn't know what to say anymore. She couldn't help but laugh quietly at his question. Yeah, I believe we do..." Ellie knew what he was talking about. He liked her, but Ellie loved Dallin. And things were just kind of confusing because she didn't want to hurt Adams feelings and... Sigh. "It doesn't have to be awkward," Ellie said quietly, frowning a little. It was possible, right..?

"I don't think tripping on a branch can kill me." He chuckled. Did Ellie seriously think he could die from tripping on a branch? Maybe if it had been a flight of fifty stairs he could be seriously injured, but a measly little branch. "I find it very amusing thinking that you thought I could die from this branch.." He said picking up a part of the branch that had tripped him up.

Why'd Adam have to mention that? He could've perfectly gone with the typical 'why are you admiring the whomping willow when it could take a swing at you?' but no he had to mention that. "Well, no, it doesn't have to be awkward." He said. The first few days might take some getting used to. Then he leaned in, motioning Ellie to do the same "Warning-I have a tendency to make things more awkward than they already are. One of my greatest flaws..That's when I do this.." An he began to sway back an forth on his tip toes showing her whenever he felt awkward, what he would.

"So, have you err...does Dallin know about this?" Adam had never asked the guy or talked to him before, but they, him an Elllie, seemed to hold a strong relationship, an trust an communication was a must.

Okay, sure, tripping on a branch probably couldn't kill someone. Unless he tripped in the way of the Whomping Willow and it attacked him or something. But luckily, that wasn't the case. Ellie laughed a little as he picked up the branch. "Oh, come on, I never said I thought you were going to die." Ellie took the stick from Adam's hand and poked him playfully in the stomach. Not too hard, of course. "But you could have sprained your ankle or something. I was just looking out for you."

When Adam motioned her to lean in, she did so her ear was near his mouth. Top-secret stuff, eh? Wicked. Apparently he made things more awkward than they were. Ellie laughed quietly and stood back normally again. But then Adam started swaying back and forth again - he said he did that. On impulse, Ellie held onto his shoulders so he wouldn't fall over. "You okay there?" She asked him. He seemed to do that a lot around her...

His question was... interesting. Erm. This, as in... you fancy me?" Ellie laughed somewhat awkwardly. "Yeah, he knows. And he's not too happy that I still want to hang out with you, but... Whatever." Adam was her friend now; Dallin couldn't control who she wanted to be around.

"No,haha..No you didn't say that." He laughed. She hadn't actually said that so he didn't exactly know why he brought it up. "Hey." He spoke up in a 'fake' tone when she poked him. Then he took the branch away from her. "You are now Ellie, Queen of Ravencalw an being weird. That' your official title now.." Adam teased her as he put the branch on one of her shoulders an then the other. "Like the name?" His face was burning hot. Did he just embarrass an make himself blush just by putting a branch on her for a few seconds?

Then she held him when he began to sway. He wasn't falling or anything, it just happened to him when he was acting nervous,awkward, embarrassed or trying to hide his feelings but showing them terribly too well. "I'm fine." Adam reassured her. But her touching his shoulders made him feel weird. "Umm..." He said quietly staring at her hands on his shoulders. She did know little things like that could make him think an read several wrong signals.

He sat down on the grass near the spot of where he had fallen an looked out towards the tree, his hand ripping the grass beneath him. "Well, I don't want anything to happen to you guys. Just because I said I liked you doesn't mean he should protect you, he doesn't need to. I won't do anything. You guys can't fight over this, I really don't want you to fight with him." Wow.Even though he liked her, perhaps for the first time in his life, he was actually considering the other people involved an he didn't want to be the cause of damaging them. He'd accomplished that several times before an it was difficult spot to get out of.

"yeah plus if i do have to go meet those muggle parents of mine i'd want you to come with me.. you & jordan."

"I'd love to, I'm sure Jordan would too. Just let me know when." Maxwell said thinking of how he'd told Jordan already and not feeling sure if it was the right thing to do.

"Do You know anything about them? like what they do for a living..In the muggle world?" Maxwell asked Ariana

"i dont know anything about them i refused to know anything really. i wont accept the fact that im a mudblood." Ariana shivered at the word. It was all so new to her it was really all just sinking in too. "I have siblings too. i dont want siblings."

Logan walked down to the Whomping Willow, his paint things in his bag. He stood in front of the Whomping Willow and began to paint it. Logan loved painting, he loved it A LOT. It was something he truly enjoyed doing on his freetime at his aunt's house where he normally didn't have much to do. He couldn't do much exploring since his aunt was so...strict. Mean. Whatever.

After Logan put on the finishing touches, he was done. He took a step back from the easel and looked at the painting. Wow, he had actually done a good job. It almost looked exactly like the Whomping Willow. He beamed at his work and sat down, pulled out his guitar which he had brought along too and began strumming it.

Cardigan sighed as she snuggled her hands into the warm,furry insides of her pockets.It was a good day to have warm,furry pockets!It then reminded her of Liesel;and the last day she had seen her:Liesel was driving Cardigan to Kings Cross.She knew how well Liesel sang and asked her to sing.Liesel then told her the name of this song called Good Riddance that her muggleborn friend from the Russian Ministry,Maysilee Beckham,had showed her.It was a beautiful song.To remind her of the olden days,Cardigan began to quietly,but not too quietly,sing the song:
"Another turning point, a fork stuck in the road
Time grabs you by the wrist, directs you where to go
So make the best of this test, and don't ask why
It's not a question, but a lesson learned in time,
It's something unpredictable, but in the end it's right.
I hope you had the time of your life......."She heard a guitar in the distance.Well,I wonder who that could be playing in the-,she thought as she turned around and stopped breathing for a moment.It was none other than Logan Floyd!She quickly turned around,sat down,and began to redo her braid as cover.Why in the world did she do that?!She had promised herself that,from that day on,that she would never sing again.Ever.With a sigh,she turned back to her braid and continued to braid.

Logan heard a singing voice and stopped playing. He turned around and saw the person who he was sure the one that was singing sit down and braid their hair. He cocked her head. Wait was that......Cardigan! He was sure of it. He walked up to her and sat next to her. Yeah, that was her alright. "Cardigan, was that you singing?" he asked, looking at her.

"Uh....no,"Cardigan said with a "why would I be singing when I could braid my hair" expression.I mean seriously,who would?Especially not Cardigan.She loved to braid her hair and she hated to sing!Okay,so maybe the other way around.Cardigan hated to even do her own hair and loved to sing!She was just worried that everyone would think it was "worthless crap that damages ears" just like her mother said four years ago.Truth be told,Cardigan's mother thought she was worthless crap!Such a mother....

"I told you!" Ellie laughed. See? She didn't actually say that. Silly boy. Ellie grinned when when he took the branch out of her hand. For a second she thought he would poke her back, but he didn't. He was dubbing her, Ellie, Queen of Ravenclaw and being weird. Ellie giggled bowed a little bit. "I love the name. Thank you." And then Ellie took the stick back and cleared her throat. "And I dub thee, Sir Adam Burn, as my knight." Blushing knight, too. Heh. He was blushing. Ellie couldn't help but reach up and poke his cheek. "You're looking a little flustered there, Sir Adam," Ellie said in a light, teasing tone.

Oh, he was fine. Right... Maybe his swaying was more of a subconscious thing rather than a about-to-fall-over thing. But then he was staring at her hands that were on his shoulders. Apparently that was bad..? "Err... Sorry." Ellie took her arms back quickly and clasped her hands behind her back. Now she was being awkward.

When Adam sat down, Ellie followed and sat next to him, straightening her skirt out over her legs. She sighed quietly when he started talking about Dallin and her and his protection of her and fighting... "Adam... Don't worry about Dallin and me, okay? Dallin's just a protective guy and he'll do that no matter what. And we have arguments - every couple does." No couple was perfect, no matter what was seen from the outside. "You just do what makes you happy." Because that was important, whatever it may be. Ellie clasped her hands behind her bed and lay back on the grass. "I enjoy spending time with you and, quite frankly, I'm not going to let Dallin stop me from doing so." She did appreciate Adam's concern though. But she didn't really feel it was necessary for the most part.

Logan raised an eyebrow and gave her a "yeah right" look. He looked around. "There's not many people here, Car. And I know I heard a voice from this direction." he said. "I know it was you." he said, smiling.

"Anyway, I painted something for ya. Be right back." he said, standing up and running off to get the painting of the Whomping Willow. He returned and handed it to her. "I painted this for you." he said, smiling.

"Well, you're a weird Ravenclaw.So it suits you perfectly." What else could he say? He gave her the perfect title. She on the other hand gave him a wrong one. "I am no knight." Adam spoke up darkly. Ellie had confirmed that his cheeks were,ahh, red. Honestly at the rate he kept going people could tease him of wearing make up with the brightness of his cheeks." Oh, well..What can I say?" He said shrugging his shoulders at her comment on his blushing.

The simplest, most common gestures sometimes Adam took them too literal. "You don't have to be sorry. I tend to take small gestures as a signal or something." Small little things he took them to the mind too quickly.

He knew everything about couples arguing. A little bit too much. So he nodded when she told him not to occupy his thoughts with her an Dallin, though the nod was a lie. How could he not worry about something he had kind of jammed himself into?She. Enjoyed. Spending time. With him? Apparently that took Adam by surprise as he looked around, thinking she had seen someone an had addressed, then looked down at her. "Me? No. You only 'enjoy' spending time with me cause I'm only being nice right now. Trust me, I'm very hotheaded, stubborn an I never give up. I'm not a good guy." Ellie needed to know that. Sure, right now he may seem decent, but that was only because nothing drastic had happened. What would she think of him when he tried to find an argument every chance he got? "Maybe he should intervene, before things can get..severe." Dallin could stop everything an no one would get hurt an nothing would change.

"It's your last year..I don't want to be the bearer of your last year here."

"I am weird, thank you for noticing," Ellie said with a little wink. Like she was being weird right now and winking. She was just silly sometimes. But Adam wouldn't accept his knight status and that made Ellie frown a little bit. "Oh, come on. You can't deny you're Knighthood, Burn." Ellie stuck her bottom lip out and pouted, albeit playfully. Then it seemed that his blush got even redder, so Ellie just zipped her mouth shut. She didn't really want to embarrass him.

He took small gestures as signals.. or something? Ellie raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean 'gesture'?" Ellie asked. Sometimes she could be rather dim for a Ravenclaw.

Well, Adam nodded but Ellie didn't think he meant it. He still seemed worried. But Ellie couldn't help but laugh a little as he looked around as if he was trying to figure out who she was talking to. "Yes, I'm talking about you. I like hanging out with you, it's fun." Did he not believe her? ... Apparently not. Ellie watched him as he went off about his hot-headedness and stubbornness. And he didn't think he was a good guy. She frowned at him. "Look, if you're talking about last year at the lake, I'm completely over that. It was just silly. You're my friend now and I really don't think you're hot headed or stubborn. You're nice, too." She even smiled at him to prove it. Sure, Ellie had been mad at him when he made her fall on her butt on the ice. But that was a year ago, she was over it completely. Besides, it was just a silly argument. "I don't see way Dallin has to intervene..." Ellie added quietly. Nothing was happening. But... severe? Was Adam planning on doing something? Ellie didn't really see Adam doing anything like that...

Adam gave her this mildly confused, amused expression when she winked at him. "Your welcome." It wasn't that hard not to spot Ellie's weird side. Though it wasn't excessive it did occur during odd moments, such as now. Now he began to think back to his 2nd an 3rd year when things were, still nonetheless, drama filled, but more calm. He hadn't been that horrible back in the day. He'd just substitute those years for the past year. "Alright..No." He chuckled, after finally giving in.

He began to shake his hand back an forth. It wasn't that important really, it didn't matter at all.

"You must've gone mad in the head. I haven't exactly done anything fun yet.." Besides dubbing her Queen Weird Ravenclaw. "Well, I'm not talking about us at the lake last year, I'm just saying that's how I am in general, with my personality.I'm a fiery one." He pointed at his hair for this. Usually he used his hair as an excuse for his personality. Personally, Adam was feeling worse an worse with each nice thing Ellie had to say about him because they sounded like a lie to him. "That's because you've just met me you think it's good to hang out with me."

He spotted the worried expression on her face. There needed to be a clear up. "I'm not gonna do anything. Like I keep saying, but maybe Dallin should forbid you to see me, hanging out an all..." The more he got to spend with her the worse it would probably get. He should go cold turkey an just distance himself so that nothing would ever happen. "I know you want to hang out with me, but maybe it's best I distance myself from you. It'll make things less complicated." She could understand that right? Sometimes, he had to let go in order to know that things would be better that way.

"Don't use that word to describe yourself, in my mind you're more of a pureblood than i am. And siblings aren't all bad, especially since you didn't have to grow up with them, they might be friendly."

"Prove,"Cardigan said in an icy voice,wearing a smirk.Some people thought they were so smart.Too bad it wasn't always true.She had sang,but did she actually sing?It wasn't technically true.She was 'talking in a sing song voice'.Good.That's what she'd call it from now on.See?She didn't 'sing'.

"Wow,it's so pretty,"Cardigan said smiling,'staring' at the painting.It was so....real.Like she could reach out and touch the tree.She could reach out and touch it and she could 'reach out and touch it'.I mean,it was right there and 'it was right there'.Funny things can happen when you're staring at a tree and 'staring at a tree'.She gave Logan a hug then went back to her staring session.Or was she 'staring'?

"Well fine, if it wasn't you then I have to find whoever had that beautiful voice." he said, shrugging.

Logan smiled. "Glad you like it." he said. He hugged her back and watched as she stared at the painting. He looked at the painting an smiled. He loved painting. He loved art. Something he always did. His bedroom was full of paintings he did.

"or they could be annoying :/

"You do,"Cardigan said,looking at her feet,trying to hide her face.But sadly,without success.Well,at least it's not Worthless crap,she thought,forcing a smile onto her now reddened face.She felt so.....special.That was a good feeling.She grasped the painting firmly in her right hand,fingering the painting ever so slightly with a gossamer touch.She was a star!

"Yeah." he said, nodding. He cocked his head as she looked at her feet, her face red. "You okay?" he asked.

"I...I'm fine,"Cardigan said,slowly stroking the painting as if she was in a trance.Why yes!I'm just extremely flattered that you think my singing is not dumpy,she thought,thinking what she SHOULD say.But of course,it would reveal that she was the one 'speaking in a sing song voice".We can't let that happen,can we?

"you'll never know unless you meet them." Maxwell said with a wink.