After finding the Caterpillar at the Lake, Jory headed straight for the Whomping Willow. Well, not for the Willow but for it's surroundings. He remembered seeing daisies there last term when he had been spending time with his Tarot Cards which was a part of his Divination homework.

"Annnnd, got one!'' the Puffer muttered, as he plucked one. Before heading to the Owlery, he paused briefly to look at the Willow. It was completely still. He had heard tales about it when it was provoked and quite honestly, he would like to see it in action someday but just not hurting anyone.

She just knew where to find them. Dad had told her. Dad had collected it once, ofcourse with add on bruises. Wouldn't forget it.

She lingered and then walked cautiously towards the tree.

The tree was....huge. It looked dangerous. She tore her eyes away from the tree and started to look for her ingredient. Ingredient. She walked a few paces near. We're looking for a small...

SPOTTED!

The fluxweed was well hidden on the ground. She moved fastly towards the little bunch, clipped, pocketed the flower and walked away, as quietly as possible. Smug. No bruises.

Well… Gwen wasn’t really sure what ingredient she should be looking for next. So far, she had collected some peppermint and some nettles. Hmm. Maybe she should be looking for something else, not just plants but meehhh. When you don’t have a lot of time, you take whatever ingredient you can find first.

And for some reason, she found herself walking quite close to the Whomping Willow. So she was just looking around, hoping that she would manage to spot something. Ughh. Come on. Some plant. Anything, she thought and started at the ground. There was something there… A caterpillar.

That would do.

Gwendolyn took the caterpillar and started walking away. She still had to find one more ingredient.

Deep Breath here Oakey. This was definetly the tree, He set his bag down a good distance away from the Willow and tossed his school robe over it. The robe would only get in the way if Oakey was going to have to dodge a bunch of time to avoid being smooshed by the violent tree before him. Keeping his wand ready as well Oakey began getting closer to the Whomping Willow.
Good news was his ears were better since Renesmee screeched in them. He could hear his heart skip a beat.

The tree didn't like the sudden disturbance of the air, nor the apparently defensive stance the disturber had assumed as he approached its territory. If it wasn't for the wand raised, ready to numb the tree to the core, it miiiiiiight allow him to play a little close…. before having fun itself. The topmost branches rustled allowing it to warn the boy, 'I am awaaaake!' it said, some of its yellow leaves had fallen down and carried away by the gentle breeze to scare the boy.

What did this boy want from this part of the grounds? It was for the Whomping Willow alone - itself and its generous man who never approached empty handed. It sent figurative glares in the boy's direction.

Oakey stopped in his path when the tree rustled it's top branches. He watched the leaves fall from the Whomping Willow, and gulped before he spoke. "H-Hello Willow. I can call you Willow can't I?" He took one step forward and no more. Oakey could feel his legs begin to shake, and anymore right now would probably make him stumble over.

That was good sign though, shaking legs. It meant he still retained his sanity, and that he was terrified of the dumbest idea he's ever had.

"D-d-don't mind me. Just thought you could help me with a Ancient Runes assignment. You like Ancient R-Runes?" He lowered his wand just a bit. If this failed, the Whomping Willow would personally pound him Six-Feet Under.

Always with the gurgly sounds, they think it matters to the tree folk, HAH! Not to this one. Body language was what trees sensed. Insecurities and intention to harm. At least he'd lowered his weapon wand. Pretty humble, this one. The tree made a massive shaking of its branches, swaying and letting the dead leaves *sniffle* fall down before extending them over to the boy and puuuuushing him closer to it, rather harshly and purposefully causing his hands to lose whatever he was holding with them.

He was allowed to approach it, completely barehanded.

Oakey's face went pale when the Whomping Willow moved one of it's large branches past him. He was gonna get it he was gonna die! This was a terrible idea, stun the tree then run!

"Gufaw!"

Oakey blurted out as he was shoved from behind rather hard. He lost grip of his wand behind him and stumbled forward pretty damn close to the base of the Whomping Willow. "W-what!?" Oakey asked falling to his knees. He wasn't dead, in fact he was just a few steps away from touching the trunk of the deadly tree. He looked behind him at where his wand lay. He could still make a mad dash, snatch his wand then book it back the castle.

Then his attention went back to the Willow. He was this close to it now, and it didn't crush him. It moved him closer, was it letting him do his Ancient Runes Home Work? Still on his knee's Oakey looked up. "Y-you...Umm...Could I maybe nicely take some of your tree bark for a Gandr wand?" Oakey pointed to the trunk of the Whomping Willow. No way was he going to go touch it on his own just yet. "It won't hurt, just a quick...um snap, and we're done." He thought for a moment still looking up at the tree as it did nothing but sway now. He stood up from the ground knee's still wobbling. and took those last three steps until he was within arms reach of it. Extending his shaking arm he touched the Whomping Willow with his index finger. "B-bark Please?"

The wind was getting colder at this time of the year. Sooner or later it will be winter and Juliet is just as excited as everyone else because winter vacations are usually the best vacations she has than summer. Hmmm, she should definitely make something progressive during summer vacation, other than lazing around the house.

Since their common rooms are getting colder as well, Juliet decided to take a walk outside. She sure wished she brought her bow and arrows with her for a little archery practice around but it was no use. They will just give her luggage some extra weight and she doesn't like that at all.

She made a stop into the whomping willow and decided to stay there from a distant, nothing much. Just looking at it. Besides she needed to get some of her homework done, the library isn't helping as much. The place makes her sleepy all the time. So she sat down on the ground and took out her notebook, now what homework was needed finishing again?

The tree's top branches were still swaying up in the air, some of them were kept pretty low to the boy. Just in case. It took him a while to get on his two legs again, meanwhile all was good. Even when he made those sounds, the tree still didn't crush him.

Then he moved closer and his hand touched its bark. In an instant the branches pushed the boy away, rolling him on the ground a couple of times before pulling away from away. The tree swayed again, warningly and rather violently. The main bark was a no-no. Everybody knew this. The boy could've touched the right spot if he wanted to enter the secret passageway, obviously though he was no passerby. One of the main branches rolled on the ground beside the boy and halted right next to him, the size of the branch was abnormally big that if it was severed, it'd serve as an independent small tree. And the loss of one of the disturber's limbs.

However, If you really look at this big branch, you'll notice a few withering stems and sub-branches.

Dizzy! Dizzy! He was dizzy and dead meat, no doubt after the Whomping Willow was done rolling him around on the ground would it raise one of it's branches and crush him under it's weight. Hobbling to stand up Oakey used a conviently placed second tree to hold himself up.

Okay Oakey, time to decide. Go find another tree that wouldn't kill you for touching it, or...HOLY-HOLYHEAD HARPIES! That was the Willow he was grasping onto! Oakey released it and stepped back in fear.

"I just need a piece." Oakey tried to appeal to the tree again, even if it did not seeme to understand, or care what he was saying. He eyed the Giant Branch beside him. Okay maybe he needed to try another approach, the Willow apparently did not want him touching it's trunk. Probably because it was worried Oakey would go for it's vulnerable spot and paralyze it. Like hell, even if that did seem like how this was going to end. There was no way to please the Whomping Willow. So why even bother giving it an offering and singing it some song it wasn't going to understand. His eyes stayed on the one large branch beside him and Oakey took a good look at it. Some of the smaller branches and stems looked like they could easily snap off.

Okay one last try, then he can run for his life. He placed a shaking hand onto the branch that sat beside him menacingly. "May I take from this instead?" Oakey moved his hand to one of the old withered looking branches, and pet it.
"No Trunk, how about branch?" Oakey moved his free arm not on the tree in a large X in the direction of the Whomping Willow, then pointed to the branch he was touching and gave it a questionable thumbs up.

Oakey then let go of the branch too and took a step back away from the tree again.

Jory carefully made his way towards the Whomping Willow, balancing a cup of hot water in his hand. He found his usual spot where he sat when he was here and set his cup down on a bit of flat ground. He himself sat afterwards, pulling his bag from his shoulder. Jory looked around. He spotted Oakey. As he watched, bewildered as to why his friend would be so close to the Willow, it dawned on him that Oakey was trying to get a piece of bark. "For Ancient Runes project,'' he thought to himself. He had to get that done as well. Well, he'd better get Divination out of the way then.

Jory retrieved the tea leaves and the parchment saucer he had cut earlier. He placed the tea leaves into his 3/4 full cup. While he waited for it to brew, he concentrated on clearing his mind. After about two minutes, he lifted his cup with his left hand and began to drink. He knew the steps by heart now but still, he double checked them so that he would not make any mistake.

As he drank, the final year tried to find the matter that was very much on his mind. "NEWTs,'' he instantly thought. Yes, he was nervous about them. Not as nervous as he was about OWLs but there was still that fear of failure. Leaving a little of the tea in the cup, he now gave it three swirls before he turned it over on the parchment saucer to drain the last of the tea.

Jory turned it over after three breaths. Starting at the usual twelve o clock angle, he started to look for symbols:
There, he was done. Jory couldn't believe how these symbols captured how he was feeling right now. "One more reading to go,'' he muttered.

There was apparently a small knot near the base of the Whomping Willow that caused it to become immobilized, and Alice intented to find it. She knew it was too dangerous to try herself- if there was such a thing as too dangerous, because Gryffindor, remember?- but she'd seriously considered nicking Penelope's cat from the common room to help. Of course, Spot was probably still cross at her for sucking up her tail in a vacuum and rendering it hairless. Therefore no cat. But if she COULD get one to assist her one day, it would be just as handy to already know where it was.

So there she was. Looking for base knots and things.

How close could she get to it without being whomped?

Time to clear her head, my jumping over violent branches and risking life and stuffs because why not? She'd done it before and was just fine .. because Blue had saved her. Ahem. Not that that rescue had affected anything, she would have been fine. If she hadn't ... well, what was a fourth broken wrist to her existing three? Nothing. In a slightly happier mood than normal, she strolled down towards the Willow and then spotted ...... Alice. Joy.

Did backing away slowly work in this situation? No? Super.

SLOWLY, she approached her rival sort-of-ex-friend. Well, this was awkward. Was it mean to think that Alice looked needy? 'Course not. "Hey," she said quietly. MAJOR PAUSE. "Hey." Hey was a great conversation starter, right? Though, she wasn't all that eager to have a conversation with her. Alice should be happy enough without her, right? She'd got her way; got West all to herself.

Humph.

No knots in sight. Would it help her find it if Alice's head was closer to the ground? She leaned over and braced herself against the grass, quickly kicking up into a handstand and peering closely at the base of the Willow. Was she within whomping distance now? Blasted thing. It's branches were in the way. How was she supposed to see anything when there were tree limbs blocking her vie-

"Hi." Her eyes flickered up from the Willow to where.. Bliss was. Oh. Why was she there? There were better places for Blisses to be. Places without her there. "You might want to move a little, I think you're in whomping distance." Actually, she wasn't, but it was okay if she thought she was able to be smacked with branches. Alice was perfectly fine with watching her run away in terror instead of staying.

She was busy knot finding right now. Clearly.

Awkward. Awkward. Awkward. Awkward. Awkward. Awkward. Awkward. Awkward.

Heh. A weird and fierce determination came over and she decided that she didn't want to leave. She had just as just of a right to be here as Alice did. Bliss watched the girl, a small frown forming on her face. Headstands? Normal. She briefly worried about Alice's safety, but .. only briefly. There was no doubt that Alice was a girl that could look after her self. Maybe that's what West liked so much about her. That and her Quidditch skills, beauty, brains and awesomeness. Not that she was that jealous. Hah. LOOK AT THOSE LIES.

"Yeah? I think I'll be fine ..... but, thanks?" Bliss said, even though she was also completely sure that it hadn't been that much of a helping tip, than a hint to leave. Which she wasn't going to do. So, if you don't mind Alice, she'd carry on with what she'd come to do. Stepping forward, she came within the branches reach and smiled as one flew towards her.

Deciding that Bliss probably wasn't going to leave, she pretty much dropped most of the hostility in her expression and refocused on knot finding. It probably would have been clever to do a bit more research on its location than 'at the base of the Willow', because it definitely wasn't specific enough for Alice's taste. This, so far, was going absolutely nowhere, and it probably would have been more productive if she'd sought out Spot, even if all the cat would have done was hiss at her.

"What are you doing?" Her eyes widened briefly when she saw that the Hufflepuff was stepping towards the tree, and she might have even wobbled a bit on those hands of hers. Seriously? Was that what breakups did to other girls, give them a death wish? "You're going to get the life whomped out of you. You should really move." Her tone was less bitter this time, sounding more concerned that anything.

She did not need an injured fourth year on her conscience along with everything else, thanks.

Bliss half-studied what Alice was doing. It seemed like she was searching for something, but she couldn't tell what. The knot maybe? What else was there to see, unless the Gryffindor had a fascination with bugs. Back to the knot theory, well, she knew where that was. She'd found it in her Second Year. "Uh, Alice? Are you looking for the knot?" Just out of curiosity. She may or may not help her, because of reasons obviously and because it was still pretty awkward. Yup.

Weird. She hadn't expected Alice to care or anything close to it. She was so surprised in fact, that she almost missed the time she was supposed to jump. Not good. Luckily, she jumped over the flailing branch and again when it came back. It was a good exercise of balance and reaction times, though, admittedly dangerous. "I've done it before," she said dismissively, flashing Alice an almost-smile. If Alice cared, she'd try and stop her again, if not, then she'd leave her too it. Hmm, maybe this was just .. a test to her.

Interesting thought.

"Yeah. I started searching for it, like, two minutes ago. Might have to get Penelope's cat to help me, maybe." Alice resumed her thoughtful squinting at the base of the Willow, not once considering the fact that Bliss might have known where it was. She clearly didn't need to ask for assistance, especially from her. Because she was capable of finding it herself, obviously. Or maybe it was just a bit of a pride thing.

Was she deranged or what? "What if you miss, though? Your skull could crack or something. If that happens, your chances of survival aren't as perky as you are." Alice tilted her head to the side so she could watch Bliss dangerously hop over branches, wobbling a little more and nearly toppling over. Could she.. not do that? It was making her antsy. Because SHE could take care of herself, but she didn't know if Bliss could.

Which also made her wonder if she could jump over the Willow's branches just as easily, too.

Hm.

Two minutes ago? Great timing to bump into each other.

Wait, huh? Penelope's cat? "How would her cat help?" She asked curiously. It wasn't like the cat knew where the knot was, or could sniff it out. Surely there wasn't such thing as a super cat. Perhaps it could avoid the branches more easily, but that was about it. "I could help you." PAUSE. "If you want." Which she probably didn't, but, um, whatever. Bliss was just being polite.

"Not missed yet," she said truthfully. Alice was ... right, though, she could crack her head open. That would either make the girl amused, unlikely, or annoyed and maybe worried. Perhaps she sho-- "Merlin!" A branch clipped her heel and she fell to the ground with a thump. She did a quick shuffle backwards, well out of the range of the branches and looked up at Alice. A smile played at her lips and she called out, "don't say anything." By 'anything,' she meant, 'told you so.'

Well, it was bound to happen eventually, right?

"Her cat's small and lithe and quick enough to get under the branches and to the knot, I think, if I knew where it was, first." Spot was a real keeper, huh? "And then I could actually immobilize the tree." Alice leaned forward on her hands, putting enough pressure on them to lean forward and land on her feet again. ".. do you know where it is?" Besides, she didn't need help, anyway. Unless Bliss had already found it before?

Nope, not even then.

She didn't say anything, but it wasn't like she needed to. Bliss knew she'd tripped and fallen over, and she knew that Alice had seen her, too. "Lucky it was your shoe and not your skull, aren't you?" No dead Hufflepuff on her clean conscience, either. Good day. If Bliss was done accidentally involving her in near-death experiences now, could she go back to knot-finding? It was important. Really.

Tommy was bored. He had absolutely nothing to do. The trouble for him was he had never faced this situation before. He usually had something to do and was never bored. Maybe he could think about life for a change? But that was also boring so that was a no. But something struck him. Why was Hogwarts so boring? His Mother, brother and sister all promised him it was going to be the greatest school ever! It really wasn't! All you did was well... BE BORED! All of this was in his opinion and he was hoping it would change soon.

To try and recover from his situation, he started to walk around the grounds to see something or someone interesting. Maybe he could see something new? Something big maybe? All he was hoping for was something interesting. As he walked around the grounds he spotted a humungous tree swooping through the air. "COOL!" Tommy thought to himself. At least something was cool here. He started to walk closer and closer towards the tree and was so amazed by the landmark he tripped. Since when did he trip over something? Never! What had gotten into him? Whatever it was he was blaming this new school.

If there was a good time of the day to go out of the castle and just wander the grounds, now was it. Kat was aware that it was starting to get cold because Christmas was looming in. It was a good thing that she had worn a sweater on top of her shirt. It helped a lot about that whole temperature problem she was facing because of the cold. Out of all the places in the Hogwarts grounds, she hadn't really been to the Whomping Willow. Well, mainly because it looked dangerous and probably whack her to the ground if she went there. All because it was out of fear. But who cares? It was a risk worth taking anyway.

She arrived near the Willow a few minutes later, though she was trying to keep her distance because even if it did look like a normal tree, it still looked like it wanted to hit her. Merlin, the chills. She thought she was alone at first, but it turned out... she wasn't. Hmm... weird. And... cool? Yeah, she could agree. "Hi there," Kat said casually while she watched the tree. Nope she wasn't taking her eyes out of it. It might hit her you know. And would you look at that? He was a Slytherin too. Yay. Proud Slytherin moment.

He stood back up to only have found a pretty girl in front of him. She had dark blonde hair and looked exceptionally pretty. But she had come in the worst moment ever! He was highly embarrassed to have a really pretty girl in front of him to see him on the ground. And even worse she was a Slytherin. And a prefect. Could this day get any worse?

Tommy felt like he had to be polite otherwise he would show a bad reputation. But whatever he thought. He already had a bad reputation at his other school so really would care? Would she care though? He really did hope she didn't. But then again he honestly didn't mind if she would thought he was weird and silent. Two things he wasn't though.

"Sup!" Tommy replied to the Prefect confidently. He didn't want to look nervous speaking so he put on a smile and waved his hair. Would this girl think he was weird? He hoped she wouldn't because she seemed nice and actually spoke to him. Maybe she could be his friend?

Honestly, Kat did not understand why some would flinch and stuff when they see her. It was a mystery she wanted to solve. Maybe her student leader badge made the other Hogwarts students scared of her? Hmph. She wasn't scary. Wait... scratch that. She wasn't scary outside of the Quidditch Pitch. That seemed much more accurate but since she wasn't playing Quidditch right now, she had no reason to be scary. Besides, wandering near the Whomping Willow wasn't going to lose anyone points. That was kind of irrational.

Well, she was waiting for a response from him. Kat gave him time to have thoughts because by the look of it, the boy was having so much things in his mind. Kat could really tell, just by looking at him. She didn't mind it if he didn't want to talk to her. Although that would be rude. Ahem.

Oh. Sup. Yep, he was definitely a boy. "I don't think I know you," Kat pointed out. He wasn't at the introduction thing at the common room after the Start of Term feast, which explained why. He didn't even look familiar. "Are you new here?" Just to, you know, continue toe conversation. Silence was awkward, and something Kat would love to avoid. She has had enough awkward this term.