This was really cold. What was she doing here, again? Yeah, taking Venom out. Poor thing had been indoors for a while this week, thanks to classes that pretty much didn't allow Cassia to have fun and chill out. Homework every bloody day. Most thing she was learning was that these professor never ran out of lessons. Heh. Imagine them doing so, life would turn to be very ....unexpected. Come to think of it, she'd rather stay the way it was rather than live in a weird life...completely weirded out.

She pushed the thoughts away and stepped into the courtyard. Not many were around. She was surprised. Not.

With her hands covered in mittens, she didn't have to tuck them into her pockets. Especially since she was holding Venom's box. Her bag however was hanging by her side slung over the opposite shoulder.

Grateful there wasn't rain, she walked carelessly and plopped down on one of the benches placing the box next to her tentatively and pulled up her feet resting her chin on her knee. She wondered how long she was going to survive in the crispy weather. Her eyes scanned around her then darted upwards to the sky. She had to get back soon but first she let herself watch the stars. It was surprisingly soothing and nice. And very fortunate if she was looking for something.

Her eyes locked on a certain spot, she reached for her bag, dug her hand into it and pulled out the telescope holding it to her eyes. Hello, there, Gemini! Not Elodies' cat of course. Though it would have been pretty cute and spontaneous if she had the cat with her. Pity.

In a general sense, today was a good day. She'd managed an hour or two of studying, and made sure she'd got at least one proper meal into her. As a priority. Not as a last thought. So all was good. All was definitely headed in the right direction.

Elodie wiggled her head back into the hat she had with her after making sure she didn't have a serious diagnosis of hat hair. None of that. Now she just had a warm head.

Dylan made his way to the courtyard carrying his guitar case, his little kitten Ginger bounding after him. He took one an empty bench and carefully took out his guitar. It was a rather chilly day out, but he felt it would be nice to play outside for a change. The first year positioned the guitar upon his lap and glanced down at Ginger who was playing inside the guitar case. Chuckling to himself, he tuned up his guitar and sat there for a minute as he thought to himself what song to play. He swung his legs a bit as he thought. Then, he thought of a song and smiled and began to play and softly sing.

Annabeth walked towards the benches near the fountain. She wanted to sit there to practice the new incantation she need to learn for Herbology class. She had manage to do it correctly before, but she wanted to understand how it worked. She wanted to know what the secure distance she should keep from a plant to avoid kill it with the hot air.
The bench was wet, it was a perfect time to practice the new spell. She pointed her wand to the bench, made two little circles clockwise along with a movement all over the bench, while saying, "Siccus Aerous!"
The bench was dryed and then she could sit and enjoy the sunshine with the birds. She patted on the bench to check its temperature. It was nice and wasn't warmed by the hot air. She sat on the bench. Maybe she should try the spell over a alive being to check if it was secure to cast over the plants at Herbology. Anna walked slowly towards the birds near the wall. They flied and she thought she should search for another place and birds and left the courtyard.

Snuggling into her warm coat, Bethany calmly made her way towards the courtyard. It was her favorite place in the large castle even though there were usually many people. She enjoyed the company of others though. She looked around for an empty bench, not being able to find any she decided to sit down next to a Hufflepuff boy who looked about her age. He looks friendly enough. Bethany saw he was holding a guitar and playing one of those old songs her father always listened to. It was nice seeing something familiar around here. Growing up with a non-magical mother had taught her many things about the muggle world, and she enjoyed doing some things the muggle way. Deciding to start up a conversation, she politely introduced herself. "Hi, I'm Bethany, what song are you playing there?" She smiled. Might as well make some friends.

It was so peaceful, sitting out here in the courtyard, playing his guitar. Not many people were out here today, and it was kinda nice. Suddenly, a girl was making her way over to him. Dylan slowly stopped singing and glanced up at the girl as she took a seat next to him. She looked around his age, and looked quite nice. Then, she was introducing herself. He turned his attention back to her, smiling as he lightly strummed on the guitar to the tune of the song. "It's nice to meet you, Bethany. I'm Dylan," he told her. "And I was playing the song Something by the Beatles." he added with a tiny nod. Even though he was a Pureblood, he actually quite enjoyed Muggle music.

She smiled back, "It's nice to meet you as well, Dylan." Bethany said. "And no wonder why that tune sounded so familiar, my father always makes me listen to them." She replied, an amused grin spreading on her face. Her father had always insisted she listen to muggle music, and she found his muggle obsession quite funny actually. "So how is your first year at Hogwarts going so far?" She asked him, pulling out her favorite book from her bag. She did initially come out here to read after all, and she felt bad as if she had interrupted the boy in the middle of his quiet time. Oops!, she thought, a frown making its way to her face.

HOT HOT HOT HOT CHOCOLATE.

Cat had tried dancing down to the courtyard, but she'd ended up slipping and falling hard on her backside. After that, she'd decided to walk slowly, stepping carefully around the patches of slick and ice. Woo. Got this Moretti, got this down. "My bum is sore." Cat complained, sitting next to Elodie and offering her a hot chocolate.

The one that she'd spilled a little. Shh.

OHAI.

"Catty, did you fall?" Pretty dumb question, really. Your bum never just got SORE. Unless you were a baby, but that was different. Cat got a once over though, to check for a nappy or something. But nope. She looked very Cat!like. Cat, the human. Not cat the animal. She didn't have fur and a tail. Meow. Taking the hot chocolate, Els kept her hands around it, warming them up a little.

"You should make sure you haven't broken anything." In her bum.

"Yes. I did. Real hard on my bum. I might have a big bruise." Except she was actually sitting on her bum now and it didn't hurt that much, but that HAD been some kind of crazy fall. She made a face at Elodie and rubbed her back. "Not even just my bum, I slammed on the ground all brick like."

Sad. It was so sad. She was crippled. "I might need a hug." Lip wibble.

Els wiggled her nose and tutted. "You're a silly banilly, Caterina." Falling over and all. It was a silly thing to do, but expected. Given the current weather. She wished she'd have seen it though. She wasn't to tell her best friend that, of course. But she definitely wished that she had seen the fall. "Do you want me to check for a bruise?" Best friend promise that she wouldn't tell anyone about it.

A hug? Els pouted a little feeling sorry for Cat, and then nodded whilst taking a sip of her hot chocolate.

"I can do hugs." Expertly.

"It's not as if I went and slid on purpose." Cat lip-wibbled in Elodie's direction. Did she want her to check? As a matter of fact. "Yes. I do. Look." She shrugged out of her coat and lifted the back of her sweater a little for Elodie to see her back, "Is it broken? Am I ever going to be allowed to play Quidditch again? Will I live?"

Tell us, Dr. Robertser!

Dylan returned the smile to Bethany. She seemed real nice. Oh! She knew of the Beatles, then? He chuckled. "That's cool! Do you like them, then?" he asked, cocking his head slightly.

"Oh, it's great!" he then answered with a few nods of his head. "I love all the classes, professors, students...just everything, really. Especially the food." he giggled. It was true, the food was delicious! That feast in the beginning of the year was heavenly. He was about to ask her how she liked Hogwarts when he saw she had pulled out a book. Books! Dylan liked books. A lot, actually. He peered over a little to get a closer look at the cover. "What book is that?" he asked curiously.

Claudette tilted her head curiously as she looked at Fern when the younger girl began to stammer about her allergies. She remained silent for a moment as the girl seemed a bit awkward, then offered her a small smile when she mentioned having her hair done, but leaving the makeovers to the others. "You could always try an Antillergen potion," she mentioned lightly as she pulled her brush and some lip gloss from her purse. "Might help with the allergies.." But she let it go at that in case there was something more to it that Fern wanted left unsaid.

She beamed appreciatively as both girls flattered her with their compliments about being fashionable and her good taste in shoes. She crossed her feet at the ankles almost subconsciously, glancing down at her cute boots before looking back up at the girls. "Well, shoes are a favorite topic of mine.. I think I have a pair for every occasion.. but I'm glad you both think I'm fashionable." That was a good thing in her eyes and meant a lot that others thought so.

Oh.. and makeover time! Yay! Claudette nodded happily in Fern's direction as Min mentioned the braids. "I would love to do some braids today.. either of you." She glanced at Min as well before adding, "I've been experimenting with a few new ones over summer." And she'd love to practice on someone. She listened to Fern talk about nail designs and her own mind started to churn with ideas of her own. "Oh.. I know just what to do.." she exclaimed excitedly as she sorted through their combined pile of cosmetics. "How about yellow and black separated by silver sparkles.." Silver could represent the bludger, maybe. Was that it's color? She didn't pay that close enough attention to notice that bit. Pulling out a few colors of nail polish, she took Min's hand, since she had held them out, and began painting.

After a few moments, she was finished and she pulled back, tilting her head slightly to assess her work. "What do you think?" She looked up at Min then over at Fern. "Want yours done next?" That would be okay, right? Or was she allergic to that too? If so, she could always get started on braids..

"I wouldn't be surprised, you know?" Maybe not a slip to get hurt. But she could see Cat testing the ice out. It just generally made Elodie want to go ice skating. And not fall over, heh. Els shifted a little away so she could get a proper look, and jabbed a gloved finger onto Catty's back. "I think...you're a silly banilly." And she was going to take this moment to voice her Quidditch opinions.

"No Quidditch. Ever." Maybe not an opinion so much.

Looking up from her book, she nodded her head. "Yes, actually. I find muggle music quite interesting. Especially the older tunes, they speak of life so simply, it's quite amazing."

Turning the book back to the front, she showed the boy the cover. "It's a muggle book called Alice in Wonderland. It's also definitely one of my favorites!" She said with a smile. Bethany honestly loved the book to pieces! It had been her favorite ever since her mother started to read it to her six years ago. Turning back to her bookmarked page she once again began reading. Oh, but don't worry, she didn't forget Dylan. "So do you have any favorite books? Or just any hobbies in general?" Bethany asked.

Yeah, Bethany asked a lot of questions, but what's the big deal? She loved getting to know people!

Cat made a 'hmpfing' noise at Elodie and though her back was turned to her, she made a face too. "Well, I didn't slip and slide on purpose. I didn't." Nope. "I wouldn't do that without at least a cushioning charm." C'mon Elodie, goodness!

"Ow! You weren't supposed to poke it!" Cat wiggled and flailed and pulled her coat back on so Elodie would stop poking her sore back. It did hurt. She was sooooo not making it up. If anything, she generally liked to pretend that things did NOT hurt.

No Quidditch? Hah! "Obviously I need a second opinion. Dr. Branxton would never tell me not to play Quidditch."

No indeed.

Blair walked across the courtyard and spotted a free bench. She slipped her satchel off her shoulder and took a seat. Reaching in her bag she pulled out a piece of parchment, it contained the instructions on how to perform the spell required for her herbology homework.

Last time Blair practiced it took her a few tries before anything happened. She soon realised this was because she was making the wrong wand movement. After consulting her notes she decided she would first practice the movements. She pulled out her wand and started making small clockwise circles. Okay now I only have to do two clockwise circles, she thought to herself.

Elodie couldn't help but giggle. "I bet you considered sliding on it though. Before the whole slip and your injured bottom." If she hadn't considered it then Els was considerably disappointed by her best friend. Considerably. And that meant a whole lot. "We should do it. Add it to our list of things to do. Like statue dates." That was a thing.

She laughed a little more, making sure as to stay still and not to spill her drink any. "I was checking!!! It doesn't seem broken or anything!" She had to FEEL. Or poke. The poking was just because it seemed fun, but she was maybe a little sorry. "Does it really hurt?" Did she need like..other medical attention?

Ew. Gross. "Dr. Branxton isn't as qualified as Dr. Robertser, and he isn't legally allowed to prescribe a diagnosis." Neither was she, but that was their secret, teehee.

"Well, I didn't actually see the ice to begin with, but after I fell and crashed on the ground, I thought if I had seen it, it would have been more fun." So yeah, she'd thought about it. "We could go ice skating for reals, though." Cat, bundled up in her coat again, wiggled around and sipped her hot chocolate. She was a pro at making hot chocolate.

She shrugged, "Hurts a bit, yeah." But from now on, she was going to go with it was no big deal. No big deal. She tilted her head at her bestie and raised an eyebrow. "He's really cute though." So obviously that trumped everything Elodie had just said. Obviously.

See. Genius. Elodie was a genius, and she knew things about things. Things about things indeed. "I wanna go ice skating. So long as you don't pull me over or break any of my bones or anything." She didn't need any injuries. Nor did she want a bruised bottom. She'd had a super painful one of those before and she wasn't looking to get a second. "S'good." Sip. Sip. Caaaaareful sips. Burnt tongues meant you couldn't taste the good of your fooodness.

Elodie liked tasting her food.

Just a bit? Els scrunched her face a little and then shrugged. "If you say so.. Does it hurt to walk? You think there might be spinal damage? What if you have to sit on a cushion for months?" These were all possibilities, bestie. They really were. "Not as cute as your fishfacing bestie." And that was what she was right now. Cheeks all sucked in and fish facing. Daaamn, she was attractive.

Okay I think I've got the wand movement down. Having practiced several times, she was sure she'd remember it was clockwise circles. She looked around the courtyard, the chatter of her fellow students, the sound of the fountain. It was quite peaceful.

It was then she noticed the fountain was spraying small beads of water on her notes. Making the circular wand movement she had just been practicing, Blair spoke "Siccus Aerous."

Yay it worked! Warm air blew out from the tip of her wand. She pointed it at her parchment and smiled as she watched it dry. It looked like she'd finally got the hang of the charm.

She was totally spot on about Muggle music. It was just how Dylan thought about it, which was awesome. They were starting to have a bit in common! "That's exactly how I feel about it!" he said with an eager nod of his head. "What other bands or artists are you into?" he then asked as he began to play lightly on his guitar.

Alice in Wonderland. Dylan's mother had read that to him when he was younger, and he had loved it very much. "Oh wow! I know that one, I haven't read it in a while. It's a great book, though." he told her as he scanned the cover. He then nodded when she asked about favorite books. "I quite enjoy reading about magic histroy, and a bit of Muggle history as well. I have loads of books I love." he said, chuckling. "But for hobbies, I play guitar, write music, and read. A bit of Quidditch. Nothing much else. What about you?" he smiled at her.

Distracted much? What was the boy looking at anyways? With Hannah's extreme beauty she was shocked that he could focus on anything else besides her face. This one was still young so she didn't think too much into it. Her attention was quickly brought back to Quidditch with the next question. "Hmmm... I dunno really." Why had she never tried out? "Mainly because I couldn't be bothered to make it to try-outs." She could be very lazy and she had to be in the mood to do things you know! "HA! Confidence definitely doesn't have anything to do with it." Had he not put that much together for himself yet? He preferred what? "Cricket? You mean like an insect?" That was an insect right? Her mind automatically went to his blood status. This one most likely had dirty blood... figures! "What?" What was he going on about now? She looked in the direction of the head nod and noticed a tiny bird. "That would be pretty cool." See she could play nice sometimes.

"Rude, me?" She feigned surprise and put her hand over her mouth rather dramatically. "Why are you so sure that something is bothering me anyways?" Yeah, something definitely bothering her, but she was still going to play dumb for the time being. She noticed the change in Adi that came with her duffer comment. "Struck a nerve did I?" There really was no point in arguing over the Hufflepuff duffer thing, nothing was going to change her mind. Before she could comment further on the duffer situation, the sixth year was once again laughing loudly. "I'm a..." Laugh, LAUGH, laugh. She was having a hard time getting her words out. "I'm a meanie." She was clutching at her sides as she tried to once again control her laughter. "You sure are a laugh firstie." Maybe she would keep him around for giggles. Meanie... that was a good one. She had definitely been called way worse.

She couldn't talk anymore about the duffer thing because she just knew that she would not be able to keep it together. So she just ignored the last comment that Adi made. "You and I have a very different definition of the word coward I'm afraid." Slytherins were not cowards. How was saving your own neck before somebody else cowardly? Hello!!! Nobody was going to look out for you like you. "There's a very thin line between being a coward and being stupid." She was not stupid!

"You're doing very well! Great job!" Annabeth said, excitedly, clapping her hands as she observed her friend casting the spell.

She looked at the rocks Adi was pointing to, they were at the courtyard, near to the fountain. "It'll be exciting! Let's go there so we can try it on the rocks.", she nodded; and the Anna sat at the window and put her legs outside. She looked at a rock and pointed her wand towards it. Made the whip-like movement and tried to say the incantation...
"Carpe retractuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuum!" When she waved her wand, Anna had lost balance, slipping and falling on the courtyard's ground. It was funny, although she had fallen on her knees and they hurt a bit.
"Adi, come here!" She said, still in the kneeling position, looking back trying to see if Adi was coming. She wouldn't want Adi found her in that position, so Anna stood up and rubbed her knees, then she rushed her eyes on the ground, looking for her wand. It was intact! She sighed, relieved and smiled. Everything was fine.