Why was he sighing? Did he not want to teach her? But they've planning to write a song together remember? And maybe, just maybe, a slight touch on guitar lessons was also on the palette, Beezus thought. With how the Slytherin was acting, however, she wasn't sure if he was willing to help her out.

It seems not.

And why was he snappy all of a sudden? She was merely asking. "I wasn't doing anything that could possibly affect what you wanted to say," Beezus answered casually. What? She wasn't doing anything. REALLY. Then he was admitting that he indeed flirted with her. This time, it was Beezus' turn to sigh. Boys seem to like the notion of using her. He was saying more....something about flirting with girls for fun. But it wasn't like that with her? Curiosity ablaze, Beezus looked at him straight in the eyes. "Wasn't for fun? You meant it? What are you trying to say Rich?"

He wasn't going to break his promise right? ..Or did he really promise?

"Calm down, would you?!" the Ravenclaw said in a slightly higher voice. Hold on, hold on. He believes that he deserved what he got? So he's agreeing to his best friend getting even with him because he asked her out. "...You know, I don't think you deserved it," she told him in an undertone. How her voice descended all of a sudden came as a shock to her too. "I mean...him getting even at you because you asked me out....it's highly irrational of him to put it that way." Granted that he wasn't in some kind of commitment with his best friend.

..."No, I'm not..because you've obviously just taught me how to properly hold a guitar, not play.." POUT.

For the first time in a few days, the weather was decent outside. It seemed like it had been raining and bitterly cold for days. So, even though it was muddy outside, she had woken up to go on a dawn run with Edmund. Apparently, though, Ed's dawn was earlier than Sutton's because he hadn't been in the common room. Since she was already up, she set out on her own.

Nearing the Whomping Willow, she smiled slightly. It seemed someone had been taunting the tree in the rain because it was as though the tree was going out of a giant muddy puddle in the middle of the grounds. Changing her path slightly, she ran a little closer to the tree, and she spotted Edmund. A mischievous smile appeared on her face, and she sped up to catch up to him from behind. As soon as she was close enough, she grabbed him and attempted to throw him into the giant mud puddle.

Noticing the muddle puddle around the bottom of the large, vicious tree, Ed kept a little more distance than he usually would. Wouldn't be good if he fell over and landed in that mud. He'd have to cut his run short! He smiled at his thoughts before yelping as someone grabbed him and tried to throw him into the exact same puddle he'd been avoiding. He turned to see who it was and fell backwards as he lost his balance. Instinctively reaching out to grab the still unidentified person for stability, he yelped once more.

Oh no...

Falling boy + Little Sutton = Collateral Damage

As Edmund fell and grabbed ahold of of Sutton she screamed trying to catch her balance in the slippery mud. "Edmund!!!" Sutton shouted, but it was useless. Gravity had spoken, and Sutton was down with a loud disgusting SPLAT!!

WAIT. He knew that voice! Landing on his back in the mud with an almost identical, thought slightly louder splat than Sutton, Ed stared at the sky, slightly dazed for a moment. Oh, right. Sutton. "Sorry. You okay?" He hadn't meant to pull her in too!

Sutton turned over to look at him with a look that clearly said he was in trouble. She scooped up some mud in her hand and smashed it on top of his head, making sure to rub it aaaaall the way in to the roots. "Edmund, you jerkface! You weren't suppose--..."

A shadow moved across the surface of the mud in the dim light of dawn, and Sutton screamed again and rolled away, right before a branch from the Whomping Willow smashed into the ground right where she had been laying spewing mud everywhere. "Ed!! Mooove!!" she yelled as she tried to get to her feet, sleeping and sliding in the mud, unable to get proper footing.

This was not going to be good.

Minerva stomped down towards the Willow she knew exactly what she was planning on doing. Throwing her back on the ground she wrapped her scarf around her a little tighter. It was cold, but she didn't care she needed away from all the.. all the drama. She was tired of feeling weird and that was the best way to describe this term. She couldn't get her head on right and when she was with different people she felt so odd. What was her problem...

Frustrated she moved towards the willow and a smirk went across her face. She hadn't played this game since last term, but she was ready for some fun. "Okay it's you and me." she moved closer and saw the tree start to move. Minerva felt herself step closer, yes that's it you see me, she thought to her self just as the tree branch flew towards her. Jumping she got out of the way before the branch could hit her, then she dodged the second branch as it came swooping by. It felt good to be a little crazy and to feel like something could see where she was even if it was just the tree.

Ariana walked to the Willow, she had been looking for minerva everyhere, She really needed her bestest of all friends right now more then ever. Figures the last place she looks she finds her. She walked up near ir "That thing can Kill you you know." she reminded her, knowing that tree never played nice with min. never. She sat down on a rock by the tree and watched as min dove branches figuring she'd come when she was ready

Minerva heard Ariana and laughed, "I think you could use some playing in this game from all the rumors flying around this school about you. You know how many times I have defended you today?" she chuckled to herself that she was defending Ariana. Not that Ariana couldn't do it herself, but it was just weird. Focusing back on the tree another branch came at her and she jumped forward then sideways jumping the next branch like a jump rope.

Out of breath she backed away from the tree so it could not get her even though it still swung at her. "Not this time Willow." Then she looked over to where Ariana was sitting and walked towards her sitting next to her. "So what brings you out here? AND what is up with all these rumors?" she eyed her friend curiously, "Oh and do me a favor, going your stupid best friend away from me before I hex his stupid girl friend." she said in a nasty tone.

Oh, come on! The first thing he'd done was apologise! Sighing as he felt her rub the mud into his head, he looked over at her and spoke over her. "I'm sorry! I wasn't planning on-" Why had she stopped talking and started screaming? Oh, the tree. RIGHT.

Getting a face full of mud as the branch shook the ground, Ed pulled a disgusted face and stood up quite calmly. Obviously he wasn't phased by the extremely close encounter. Maybe it was because he was finally getting the danger he'd be angling for every day since he lessons. He jumped out of the way of another branch, somehow managing to keep his balance, but looking like a dog on ice skates. Looking around at the mud, he tried to guess the less slippery parts and then saw Sutton flailing. Aie, that... wasn't going to work. He had to go get her because she was panicking!

He saw a branch flex and dived straight for her to help them both avoid the hit that was sure to come.

Sutton couldn't breathe, and she could feel the scared tears filling her eyes. She could have pulled out her wand and tried to do something, but she didn't know any spells to turn mud solid or protect her from the whomping willow. And so continued to scramble in the mud, doing her best to avoid the branches.

She took a step, and her foot sunk in the mud. It was stuck. As she tried to wrench it free, she looked up and saw a big branch flex and, as though in slow motion, begin to come crashing down toward her. In the split second before it hit, something else made contact with her, though. It was Edmund... pushing her out of the way. The force of his dive sent them both flying backward in the mud... Sutton's stuck shoe, however, had remained in the mud.

With one shoe on, she hit the ground, Edmund's full weight landing on top of her. Sutton tried to draw a breath but couldn't, the wind had been knocked out of her. Looking up at Edmund, she had a panicked look in her eyes as she tried and tried to breathe.

Yeah. He hadn't thought this through. But then, who actually thought about something when their friend was in danger? He instantly looked over his shoulder to check if there was an immediate danger and once he'd figured they had about 10 seconds until it struck again, he looked for an escape route. Nope. Nothing obvious. Except...

Ed looked down at Sutton and quickly told her his plan. "I'm gonna distract it. Get. Yourself. Away. Okay?" Please say yes! There was no way he could get her out of there without hurting, dragging or practically throwing her and since she was already looking pretty winded, he needed to get her out of there the kindest way possible. Who said muddy teenage boys didn't care?

Sutton shook heard head in protest as Edmund told her he was going to distract the tree. He'd be pulverized. Still, there was nothing Sutton could do trapped between the muddy ground and Ed, and it was still a bit of a struggle to breathe. She tried to wiggle free, but she couldn't move. "You have to get off!" she managed to gasp out, still struggling to move.

The lapse between attacks was closing in quickly. The tree had found them again and was planning it's next attack, Sutton could somehow just sense the danger speeding toward them. Her muddy fingers fumbled in her pocket for her wand. At the same moment she found it, she pulled Ed as close to her as possible and shouted, "Protego!" with as much force, power, and concentration as she could.

Half a second later branch almost as thick as Sutton herself made contact with her shield charm. It had worked to stop the branch, but then it had shattered, leaving them unprotected once again. She had to get up...

What? She didn't like his plan? He was going to help her! He frowned at her, but then gasped when she told him to move. He got up onto his knees next to her "I'm so sorry, I didn't..." And then he was back in the mud again. She'd... protected them! Both of them! He smiled at her through his muddy face mask and then grabbed her wand and cast another shield charm. Once they'd dodged another branch, he dropped her wand into her hands and extracted his own.

He pointed his wand at the mud, muttering a spell and as it hardened up a little more, creating a path to the safe zone, he grabbed Sutton and dragged her out of the way of another hit. "Go, go." He pulled her to her feet and pushed her gently towards the grass before being knocked flat onto his face into the still soggy mud by the tree branch hitting his back.

At first, Sutton was rightfully indignant about Edmund just snatching her wand. That wasn't okay! Uh... but he had saved her from needing reconstructive facial surgery..err...healing, she supposed, so she'd forgive him this time. And then he finally thought to take his OWN wand out. And to think Sutton was the one new to this whole magic thing!

Ed had somehow managed to harden the muddy ground, and before Sutton knew it, she was on her feet, being pushed out of danger. When her feet hit the grass, she spun around wanting to hug Edmund, but he wasn't there. In horror she watched as he took a blow from a tree branch right in the back and landed in the mud.

"Edmund!!" she screamed, racing back toward him. This was going to be tricky. "Protego!" she cast before them and, concentrating on holding the shield strong, she grabbed her friend by the arm and, with much effort, managed to drag him as far as the hardened path he had created in the mud. "C'mon, Ed..." she pleaded, giving him one final tug but no longer being able to pull him without the aid of the slippery mud.

Okay, he'd been knocked down, he could deal with that. But Sutton screamed his name and before he had a chance to get up, she was back beside him. Oh, Merlin. He was about to get up onto his knees when she dragged him. What?

He raised a muddy hand to his face and wiped some of the excess mud away so he could see. He could FEEL the hardened mud by his hand, but again, Sutton was the one who he was thinking about. He scrambled to his feet and without even thinking, just grabbed her around the waist and half carried her to the grass so she could focus on the shield. Once they were out of the danger area, he let go and sat down, staring at the tree that had assaulted them. How many times had Sutton saved him again? "Thanks."

As they both made it safely to the grass, Sutton just fell to the ground. When he thanked her, she just nodded her head. "You, too," she said, closing her eyes as she tried to catch her breath. Seventh year boys were heavy. Faaaar to heavy for her liking. Maybe she needed to start building her muscles or something if this was going to become a habit. Without thinking, she wiggled her toes slightly, and a slow smile spread across her face before she began laughing. "My... My shoe is still in the mud," Sutton explained through her laughter. This whole thing waaas pretty funny if you thought about it...

"Welcome." How the heck she'd dragged him, he'd never know, but it didn't mean he wasn't thankful. Stretching out his back, he made a quick assessment and relaxed when he realised he was okay. Though when she started to laugh, he stared at her concernedly. Was she in shock or...? Oh. Her shoe. He raised his wand and muttered "Accio shoe", then watched it zoom over to them. There, no more going near that tree until he tried to climb it. Yes, he still wanted to try, this experience had been fun! "Er, you okay?" He asked, still concerned. She was young and a girl, wasn't she meant to cry or something?

When the show was sucked out of the mud by the spell and came flying at Edmund, Sutton couldn't help but laugh harder. "I'm NOT putting that thing on! It's full of mud!" she said. She thought scourgify might work to get the mud off, but she wasn't certain... that was a lot of mud... it would take tons of attempts to to get it out, and frankly, washing it would be faster. Her laughter finally subsiding, she pulled Edmund down next to her in the grass and laid on her back. The sun was almost all the way up, but the air was still a bit chilly. Finally able to catch her breath, she smiled at the older boy. "Yes, I'm fine... thanks to you. Are you okay? You got hit pretty hard..." she said, a concerned look in her eyes as she looked him over.

He turned the shoe in his hands, but started laughing at her insistence she wouldn't put it on. "Never said you had to. Just retrieved it for you. Actually, I think you'd be better giving all this to the elves. I'm going to." Elves were just amazing at getting practically everything out of anything. He put the shoe next to her and laughed as she pulled him into the grass. Now he was going to look like he had a hairy green back! Pft. Oh well. He didn't care any more. He looked up at the sky for a moment as she caught her breath. Once she spoke, he turned his head so he was looking at her. "Good, what're you going to do next year when I'm not around to save you, hmm?" He joked, but then shrugged. "I'm fine, the mud broke my fall." Oh, yes. His face still had mud on it. Eugh.

Sutton crinkled up at her nose at the thought of asking to the House Elves to clean her dirty laundry. Though, she supposed that was how their clothes did get laundered every week, but still... it felt odd to ASK them to get the mud out of your shoe...

Thinking about what he asked, she laughed again in the cold november air. "Well, Logan will still be here... so unless he tries to put me up in a tree again, I guess we'll have to trust him. Actually... maybe I should just learn A LOT of magic between now and then," she said, suddenly a bit sad at the thought of Edmund not being here next year. Term was already almost half over... and then she'd probably never see him again... That was depressing.

What? She didn't like the idea of asking the elves? Did she think the clothes washed themselves? Okay, stupid question, it being a magic school and all, but really? "I'm sure they'll appreciate you asking and then giving them some gratitude once they're done." The elves really did pull their weight around here and got very little recognition for it.

Logan had what? Raising an eyebrow, he rested his hands over his stomach. "Did you put him in his place?" Ed asked, thinking that he'd just explain the situation to Logan if she hadn't. Snorting at her, he shook his head. "That's kind of why you're here." She was here to learn magic, right? Noticing her expression, he nudged her gently. "Don't worry, I'll write. And we can meet up if you want to. I'll definitely be coming to Hogsmeade next year." He was gonna see Nell there! And now hopefully Sutton too.

Shrugging, Sutton responded to his advice about the house elves with a simple, "Yeah, I guess." Maybe someday she'd get used to house elves, but somehow she didn't think so. The responsibility of doing her chores and taking care of herself was so deeply ingrained in her, she didn't think she'd ever grow out of it.

Put Logan in his place? Sutton laughed again. The idea of HER being able to put ANYONE in their places was laughable. "No... not exactly. I just kind of... freaked out on him..." she said quietly, staring up at the sky. It really hadn't been a pretty sight. Anyone walking by probably thought he was trying to kill her or something."Well, you have to remember, I would need to learn AT LEAST three years of magic in this one year to get caught up on everything I should know. I would really like to get through all of my 4th year stuff, too... then maybe I could actually be in the same year as everyone else my age." Yeah... that was a bitter subject for her. Sutton hadn't even met anyone in her year, let alone become friends with them.

As Edmund explained that they stayed in touch, Sutton nodded in agreement. They'd definitely have to be in touch, though she was sure Edmund would graduate and get some awesome job and be too busy for little old her. Deciding she should change the subject, she turned her head from where she was laying to look back at the castle. "My foot is going to get REALLY cold," Sutton said with a smile.

Her shrug and nonchalant response reminded him that she'd been in the muggle world for a long time. Elves were probably a very new thing to her. "You'll get used to it one day." He shifted slightly, realising that while he'd not broken anything, he'd probably be getting a bruise where the branch hit him.

"...Same thing, really." He sniggered, thinking about how Sutton would have freaked. "I'm sure he got the message." Someone didn't just freak for no reasons, so surely Logan understood. He'd not known the guy long enough to start talking about his character, but he was clever enough to know that it was a bad idea to try and make Sutton climb a tree. "I know, you have a lot of stuff to learn, but I'm sure you're clever enough to do it." He beamed at her. "I could give you extra lessons, if you want..." He offered, feeling bad for her.

Eyeing her foot when she mentioned it, he sat up. "I suppose we'd better go back to the castle then." He glanced over his shoulder at the large castle that was their temporary home. "You happy with just walking there?" He asked her, smiling at the state they were in. Anyone would mistake them both for mud monsters!

Sutton just stared at the brightening morning sky as Edmund responded about house elves and about her screaming at Logan for trying to put her in a tree.

Jeesum Crow! Who was this weird girl? House elves, being afraid of things, covered in mud... if her mother saw her now... laying on the cold ground, wet and muddy, with an older boy... she'd be grounded for sure.

When he complimented her about being smart, she couldn't help but smile. He thought she was smart. Ooh! And he wanted to tutor her?! For a moment, she had to fight very hard not to laugh as images of those cliche teenage movies where a girl falls in love with her tutor came to mind. Sutton could never fall in love with Edmund...

He had a girlfriend.

Well, that and he was 3 years older than her and one of her best friends. But mostly because he had a girlfriend.

Sitting up slightly, Sutton nodded at the suggestion of getting back to the castle. "Yes... we probably should. Breakfast will be soon. We can't have you missing a meal!' she said with a giggle as she got up to her feet. And then she remembered something. "Oh! We'll have to clean up our footprints as we go in the castle... the Headmistress has a thing about kids leaving muddy footprints everywhere..." she said, remembering the day she almost gave herself a concussion because those silly girls wouldn't clean up their footprints.

As they walked, a mischievous look come to her eye, "By the way... what do you know about... transfiguring objects into animals like... oh, say, a pig...? she asked, trying to sound as innocent as possible.