Taylor opened her eyes and giggled, letting her hands dropped enough to grab his. She started to twirl them both and went back to singing. Tay started going faster and faster again so that the tempos of the song and of their dance matched up again. Taylor closed her eyes and just let the music take over again. Tay raised their arms up and sung about the wind blowing and how it becomes faster and faster... all in the language, of course.

Harvey watched her as she continued dancing before she grabbed his hand and twirled them both around as she went faster and faster so fast that he was sure that if she let go he was going to go flying. They were soon going very very fast and suddenly his fears were realised as she let go and he went backwards straight into the snow face first! He was stunned at first as to how he went flying then he remembered that Taylor had let go of his hands, he just shook his head and chuckled with his face covered in snow.

Brodie walked by the willow with a smile, which grew bigger seeing Taylor, "Mon amour!" He went over to her quickly and pulled her into a hug, "I've missed you." He looked to the boy standing next to her and gave a small nod, "Hello... Brodie Livingston." He gave a small smile.

Tay was about to stop after Harvey was thrown until a guy wrapped her into a hug. She let out a scream until she opened her eyes up and saw Brodie. A huge smile came and squealed in delight, "BRODIE!!!!!!!!!!!!" Taylor kissed him and threw her arms around him, hugging him. "Brodie this is Harvs, Harvs this is Brodie." She gestured between the two guys before going and helping Harvey up. She helped dust him off. "You weren't suppose to fall silly, snowman." Tay giggled and smiled at him, hugging Harvey. Tay went back to snuggling into Brodie. Her skin felt like it was on fire, "Brodie... I'm cold..." She shivered and looked up at him.

Brodie smiled and kissed her forehead. He looked at her worried when she said she was cold, "Love, you're burning up..." He held her close, "We should get you inside, this weather probably isn't helping." He rocked her.

He decided he wanted to visit the most violent tree. He heard from his grandparents about this tree. It is rumored if you get too close, it will fling you backwards violently. He didn't wanna get TOO close. He wanted to keep his body intact for qudiditch. He did not want any injuries. Plus the injury from Laura falling on him was still healing. It was getting better and better.

He sat in the grass and was relaxing. It was nice to chill out and listen to the birds and tree moving. It didn't seem that harmless. But looks can be deceiving. That is for sure.

Muscle. SNORT. SNORRRRRRRRT. Zahra snorted SO hard, her nose started bleeding again. No doubt Mikey caught some of the spray. Muscles. HAHAHAHAHA. Zahra died.

....but she had seen.

It wasn't fair. He was faster than her (TELL NO ONE), and taller (SO WHAT HE WAS A STUPID BOY) and well, if she'd gotten closer, then he'd be DEAD, so really Zahra was better.

But she'd seen. And yeah. She was jealous. A lot. She KNEW he KNEW it too. A lot.

"... No." Duh. Zahra had missed like... every class? "I can carry you though. With my "muscles"...hahahaha," hahahahaha no, really, hahaha. She did stop dragging him, and make an entirely valiant and noteworthy effort to pick Mikey up and carry him. He WAS heavy, but... he was her best friend and she'd CARRY HIM if it came to it.

Yeah he had caught some of her spray, but it didn't bother him none. They had swapped spit and boogers plenty of times before, this was nothing.

He could also tell that she wasn't too impressed with his gloating which of course only made him want to gloat some more, but before he got the chance, she was trying to carry him.

Bless her! She was the bestest friend ever. "It's okay Z, I can walk. I'll just need your muscles to help me up." He wasn't afraid to ask for her help, so long as she didn't go babbling to everyone.

"So what are we going to tell the Healer?" Best get their stories straight now.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mell

Yeah he had caught some of her spray, but it didn't bother him none. They had swapped spit and boogers plenty of times before, this was nothing.

He could also tell that she wasn't too impressed with his gloating which of course only made him want to gloat some more, but before he got the chance, she was trying to carry him.

Bless her! She was the bestest friend ever. "It's okay Z, I can walk. I'll just need your muscles to help me up." He wasn't afraid to ask for her help, so long as she didn't go babbling to everyone.

"So what are we going to tell the Healer?" Best get their stories straight now.

Zahra helped all she could, perhaps even TOO much. She was still kind of trying to carry him. Or at least part of him. SHE HAD HIS ARM AT LEAST. She'd carry that.

"Well.... there's the slanted version of the truth... like, 'OH MY MERLIN. THAT TREE BEAT MY FRIEND UP,'" Zahra suggested. "Or... we go with the regular lie that you fell down again. Maybe ... hey .... we can't see thestrals?" Right? She was pretty sure. "Let's say one RAMMED you. Who could possibly debate THAT? Then you'll be that kid that a thestral rammed, so that's cool - and I'll be the kid that tried to save you, but got kicked in the face by feral thestral."

Yeah. Yeah. Merlin, these were BRILLIANT. Why wasn't she a RAVENCLAW? HAHAHA. Ravenclaws. Doooooooooooooooooorks.

Zahra had his right arm so Mikey placed his left hand gingerly over his ribs as though to hold them place even though they had nowhere to go. He listened while she rattled off some excuses. "You know Z, you have a real knack for lying." It was awesome! How many times had she got them out of trouble now?

"We'll have to say that we were down by the Groundskeeper's hut." He couldn't imagine that Thestrals would be walking around the grounds willy nilly, but then again they were invisible so he had no idea where they might be.

"How's your nose? Do you need me to stick my fingers up there to stop the bleeding? Because he would. She had helped him after all.

Trees, that's what Forrest would discover today, on this bright spring day. Listening to the correct set of people again, he had heard of this particular tree.

A tree that hit people who got too close. He wondered whether there were any idiots of that sort. Hehe. He needed a good, and he was going to laugh at them.

Half skipping to the tree, he saw that other Hufflepuff boy sitting not far away from the tree and decided to join him. They were classmates and all, after all. He wouldn't mind, right?

"Hey, Kace, is it?" What a weird name. His surname was even weirder. Huh. Wizards could be so funny sometimes. "I'm Forrest." In case he'd missed his name. "May I?" Sit down with him?

When he was dazing, he heard someone call his name. He snapped out of it and turned around. "Yeah i am Kace." he said squinting at the sunlight. His name was Forrest. Huh..that was an interesting name. Since he gestured, Kace smiled and said, "Oh sure!" he said gesturing to his empty seat.

He turned to him and said, "You must be knew, i haven't seen you around a lot." he even looked at his robes and noticed the hufflepuff badge. His eyes widened. "Oh you must be in my house too how come i haven't seen you?" he asked curiously while pointing at the symbol for hufflepuff.

Surely he had seen him in the dorms? Surely? Forrest sat down, trying to hold onto his good mood. He sighed at the boy's question. Was he really going to make him say it? Admit something he hadn't even admitted to himself?

Well, no. He wasn't going to admit he was the timidest and the most un-social person at school.

"I dunno?" he said somewhat uncertainly, determined to look at ANYWHERE but the boy's eyes. "We just never met officially before, I s'ppose." But they did share dorms.

He could still salvage today.

"So um, fancy tree eh?"

Kace understood that he was uncomfortable with the subject. He was gonna let it go once he stopped talking. He knew Forrest not looking in his eyes was the sign. Kace smiled to show he didn't notice and that he was a kind person.

Kace chuckled and smiled when he wanted to make some small talk. "Yeah it is a fancy tree. I heard rumors about it being violent and all. I wanted to get a closer look at it. Have you heard rumors about the Whomping Willow?" Kace asked him curiously.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mell

Zahra had his right arm so Mikey placed his left hand gingerly over his ribs as though to hold them place even though they had nowhere to go. He listened while she rattled off some excuses. "You know Z, you have a real knack for lying." It was awesome! How many times had she got them out of trouble now?

"We'll have to say that we were down by the Groundskeeper's hut." He couldn't imagine that Thestrals would be walking around the grounds willy nilly, but then again they were invisible so he had no idea where they might be.

"How's your nose? Do you need me to stick my fingers up there to stop the bleeding? Because he would. She had helped him after all.

Zahra took the compliment because it was MEANT as one, but was she really good at LYING? That idn't seem very noble or something to be proud of. But Mikey made it sound like it was, so she BEAMED.

"WHAT." HAHAHAHHA. "Are you eating boogers again? Your dad will KILL YOU DEAD, MIKEY TOUSSAINT. For your own LIFE, I'm not letting you mine my nostril gold."

And just like that the fuzzy moment was over. Mikey shook Zahra's hand off his arm and then gave her a good HARD push. "YOU ARE SO RIDICULOUS ZAHRA KETTLEBURN."

He stopped walking so that he could bend down and scoop up a large ball of snow. "Now take that back or I will smash this snow into your face." And in true Mikey style, he didn't bother to wait for her to take it back, he just smooshed the snow into her face anyway.

Something was a foot. Unsettling and upset the natural balance of the forest. Of course it had been a growing menace one the centaurs thought would eventually pass but that was to no avail.

The forest was unnaturally dark and cold and the centaurs could no longer stay there. The unfathomable evil drove them out of the forest.

Toren reared in frustration and the others followed sending their hooves thundering into the ground. NO doubt the vibration vibrated across the ground with their neighs.

Rumours? What rumours? Forrest looked at him in total confusion. Was there anything rumour-able about it? It was just a fancy tree, no? "I jus' heard it slaps people." Y'know, those who were stupid enough to get too close.

"What did--"

Whoa, WHOAWHOA!

Forrest gasped as he heard the noises and felt the vibration at the same time, and his head snapped to the source of it.

Holy heaven goodness merlin oh my--

His face got pale, VERY pale, and he just gaped at the... horses. Animals. Creatures. Stuff. Stuff he didn't know. Stuff that scared him to death. Stuff he would like to avoid at all costs. Stuff--

He gulped, unable to move any other muscle, and just stared at them with utter fear.

So. The downside of being at school all the time meant that dates were things like... walks. Walks. Anya was on a date!walk with her boyfriend.

But. The good news was... Anya and Jake had managed to be together an entire year without screwing up to the point where they needed to break up. Which... was practically a miracle given their track record.

She walked hand-in-hand with her Prefect as they headed toward a semi-romantic pathway.

But she stopped suddenly and tilted her head to the side. ... did that horse... have a face...?

Jake was quiet as he and Anya walked down the path toward the Whomping Willow. He kept glancing at her every few seconds, just to make sure she was happy. He knew this wasn't her ideal version of a date, but she seemed happy enough. So that was good.

... Or maybe not? Why was she stopping?

Just as he was about to ask, Jake's head snapped up and he saw for himself. It took a moment for his brain to process what was going on, but when he did, he was shocked. "Centaurs?" What were they doing here?

Anya swayed slightly on the spot as her legs got used to... the stampede thing.

Centaurs?

She lowered her voice and let out a soft "Ohhh..." That made sense. They were centaurs. She was looking at centaurs. That was... incredible.

Wait. Why was she looking at centaurs?

"... I thought they lived in the forest?"

SPOILER!!: Forrest :3

Quote:

Originally Posted by Deniiz

Rumours? What rumours? Forrest looked at him in total confusion. Was there anything rumour-able about it? It was just a fancy tree, no? "I jus' heard it slaps people." Y'know, those who were stupid enough to get too close.

"What did--"

Whoa, WHOAWHOA!

Forrest gasped as he heard the noises and felt the vibration at the same time, and his head snapped to the source of it.

Holy heaven goodness merlin oh my--

His face got pale, VERY pale, and he just gaped at the... horses. Animals. Creatures. Stuff. Stuff he didn't know. Stuff that scared him to death. Stuff he would like to avoid at all costs. Stuff--

He gulped, unable to move any other muscle, and just stared at them with utter fear.

Well Forrest wasn't too off from the rumors. It was rumored it did slap people and that was about it. Note to self...NEVER **** it off. That was for sure.

He heard Forrest about to ask another question when he heard rumbling....

SPOILER!!: Centaurs o.O

Quote:

Originally Posted by CENTAURS!

Something was a foot. Unsettling and upset the natural balance of the forest. Of course it had been a growing menace one the centaurs thought would eventually pass but that was to no avail.

The forest was unnaturally dark and cold and the centaurs could no longer stay there. The unfathomable evil drove them out of the forest.

Toren reared in frustration and the others followed sending their hooves thundering into the ground. NO doubt the vibration vibrated across the ground with their neighs.

Kace stood there in awe and in fear. There were centaurs here??? Right NOW? Woooooahhhhhh.....they seemed SO huge up in person. Kace stood there in silence.

He looked over at Forrest and he stood there just as gobsmacked as Kace was. He saw all the other centaurs thunder right behind him. That was SO cool to experience. He was gonna have to tell Belle that sometime.

Once he found his voice after the centaurs left, he asked Forrest.....

"Now...what were you gonna say before?"

Ella held Alec's hand in hers as she headed towards the Whomping Willow. She figured this was as good a spot as any for their next location cause this was their spot and she liked it here and yeah. He was okay with this, right? She glanced up at him and smiled a little, happy he'd bumped into her at the tree house. This was nice.

Flopping down, hand still in his, she tugged very gently and beamed. He'd join her down here, yeah? She then reluctantly tore her eyes away from his face and looked upwards. Time to find Polaris.

"Big dipper first, yeah?" That's how she usually found the star and all. The sixteen year old tilted her head, squinting a bit as she continued to scan. It had...to be around here somewhere.

"Alec? I think that's it." She reached across him and pointed upwards, wondering if he saw it too. "And if that's the big dipper then..." They just needed to follow the pointer stars.

After he'd gotten his readings done she began her march over to another great vantage point. Her most favourite tree in the entire school. They totally had an understanding, yup! On the whole walk she was beaming about the fact that he remembered her as the commentator. That had been a fun match for her...she could still feel the mic in her hands. "You can just call me Alexa, commentator's too long and has too many syllables to bother with; Lex works too." In case Alexa had too many in it as well. You never know these days.

It was grand he didn't want to get caught! They could work perfectly together, get back to class and Professor Airey would never know but wasn't that lying? Withholding information?...only if he asked.

"This looks like a good enough spot, we don't wanna get too close to the tree when it's so dark or we won't see the branches it's swinging at us." As epic as THAT sounded she had Kitty!Tobias to worry about and getting him squished would just prove why they needed older supervision--which they DIDN'T. She was handling this.

Her gaze went to the sky, looking for the stalker constellation again. Just as she thought. It'd followed her to the whomping willow too.

Awesome. Let's seeeee now...Ursa Minor...star...star...ah! There we go! Polaris!!! She waited for him to find it too. They were partners in this thing afterall.

Tobias' excessive energy was helpful their little venture. Sometimes people worried because Tobias had little legs but he could keep up just fine. "Okay Lex!" 'Cause Alexa was only slightly shorter than commentator, and nicknames were fun. That was why he didn't have a problem with being called Kitty!Tobias. "And you can call me Toby if ya like, but Kitty!Tobias is neat too!"

He stopped when Lex did, because he already kind of viewed her as in charge because she was older AND because she was super confident so clearly knew her stuff. He squinted through the dark towards the sounds that the tree was making. It seemed even more violent when you couldn't see it... probably just misunderstood. But still a good idea to keep back. Aw yis.

Tobias glanced around to see if there was anyone nearby that might be all RARRR about them not being accompanied by anyone older, but it seeeeemed safe. Keeping a low profile just seemed the best route to take. YEP.

He stared up into the sky and looked all around. It always took him a few moments of staring before he could actually see stars, and soon enough it was like he could see hundreds of them. Wait, wasn't the one that looked like a frying pan something like... the Plough... and that was the same as the Big Dipper! OF COURSE. Tobias slapped his forehead lightly before pointing a finger in the air and drawing a line between two of the stars and kept going aaaaaaaaand... there it was! Tobias DID know what he was doing after all. Finding Polaris was much easier than he kept making it out to be in his head.

"Got it!"

Now for the sextant business, eeeee.