Why was the girl bouncing? Was she that tense that she needed to move around? Well...Bev could relate. Except she was the opposite. She froze when she felt awkward. She didn't judge though. When it came to social interaction she was a total fail at it.

A letter. No, she wouldn't know that because she'd forgotten to write home. Ugh. They were probably freaking out and were going to kill her. Double ugh.

Bev shook her head. "Ugh, no. I forgot to write home." Whine. She was so going to hear it.

After a second of internal scolding, she composed herself. Studying the girl she said what she told herself she wouldn't say. "Well, that's good you remembered. You know, now that I think about it...um, your name sounds sort of familiar." Mellow.

"You should start thinking about what you'd like to make." Cat suggested, putting the rest of the cookie in her mouth. Hmm. Cat cookies. No her Cat, but just regular cats. That was so nice of Schuyler. "I mean, it'll be a while, but thinking is good, there's loads of options." And Caterina basically knew all sorts of wonderful things to make.

But Quidditch, eh. That was the worst part. It wasn't like Cat had been on the team long, or she'd been super valuable or anything, but she'd liked it SO much and now she'd have to spend all term sitting and watching instead of participating. "Yeah, me too." Sigh. She took another cookie and munched on it while focusing her attention, which was a bit harder than usual right now, on Schuyler. "You do?"

Hearing the approaching footsteps, Lex took her eyes from the fountain in time to spot an approaching Terry. Man, this guy was brilliant at being hard to find. It didn't help that he was a Snake, giving her very little in the way of opportunities to run into him unless he chose to leave the Common Room. This was one of those rare moments and his greeting 'boo' got a smile out of her. Much more creative than a simply 'hello'. Those got old fast.

Lex shrugged at his question. "No, not really. It's just water afterall. I was only thinking I could maybe stick my feet in while the weather still permits." She wasn't keen on certain fountain cliches like tossing knuts that could have been spent on chocolate frogs but at the same time, feet in the fountain were relaxing..especially when it got closer to the summer and the lake was crowded.

"It's good to see you've resurfaced. I like seeing you out and about." She commented lightly, looking to the water again. This time she ran a hand through it, testing it's current temperature. It was still good.

Art? The boy considered the large line on his writing art? Um, okay. "Uh, thanks? I'm glad you like it," Jun joked. Might as well be nice to someone on the occasion. And now they were back to the nicknames and such. "My family named me that because I'm always changing my hair color," He pointed to his hair under his beanie. "My hair is naturally black but it looked weir don me so I started changing it," Which was true. And his parents were the best for letting him change the color all the time.

Oh, story time. "Sure, I have plenty of time for a story," And he did. Putting his journal aside, Jun made himself comfortable on the ground and readied himself for the story.

For Pix :3 (I hope it's okay to say Toby couldn't find Airey D:)
 

You know what Tobias hadn't been doing much of recently?

Bouncing.

I know, I know, shocking stuff. The third year had been concentrating mostly on Quidditch and studying and the pogo stick so far had only been used for transport. But winter was coming and Tobias wanted to go out and try some new pogo!moves before the snow and ice came. And that was what brought him here today.

First, though, he'd been to the Astronomy tower to look for a certain Starman, but no go for the pogo. Okay, so Toby hadn't knocked on the door or anything but it SOUNDED empty. The dude wasn't in the Great Hall or anything but it was a big school and Tobias was sure the man must be busy, and decided to go out and bounce alone.

The uneven flooring of the courtyard was probably not the wisest of places to do this, but Toby seemed not to bother. As soon as he reached the open area he jumped onto the pogo stick with both feet, not even breaking his stride. The Hufflepuff was a bouncing MACHIIIIINE. He even felt confident enough to LET GO and pogo NO HANDED.

Until he hit uneven terrain.

And suddenly bounced in a WHOLE 'NOTHER DIRECTION, which caused him to FLAIL THROUGH THE AIR and hit the ground on his side with an 'OOFT', his pogo stick clattering to the ground beside him.

"............................................. I see."

Maybe the teenager should have factored in the fact that growing taller over the summer had made him gradually more clumsy in matters on the ground.

it's aaaaaaaaaall good <333
 

Hmm, what she'd like to make. Okay. Schuyler nodded. "Shouldn't be too hard." There were tons of things she wanted to make. Pad Thai. Yes, she wanted to make that. Was that difficult to make? Maybe they'd work their way up to that. Italian food seemed like a relatively easy place to start, and Cat WAS Italian after all. Hah. Look. There. She'd decided. Italian it was.

Her eyes were back on that darn sling again. The sling that held a broken elbow. A broken Cat elbow. Her friend gave an audible sigh and this managed to bring Schuyler's eyes back to the other girl again.

Oh yes. Good news! The corners of her mouth curled upwards and she moved some hair behind her ear as she shifted to face Cat a little more. "I do." This was so fun, getting to tell the news. heh. Her grin stretched a bit wider. "I'm dating someone."

And yes, she purposely didn't spill who yet. Building the anticipation was all part of the fun.

Mr. Tempus.

That was him. So he'd not gone unnoticed, though Toby never really expected that, what with all the people milling around. He knew that voice, though, and the fact that he hadn't been able to find himself an Airey suddenly made sense.

Still on the ground, Tobias leaned up a little and looked in the direction from whence the voice had come. Yep. That was definitely one Airey Flamsteed.

The Hufflepuff pushed himself up so he was on his knees, and waved back to the professor. "Hey Mr. Starman!" Toby called back, pausing a moment to check for any broken bones or pogo sticks, but finding everything still in tact. OOOOOH that seemed like a good excuse. "You know it, Professor. I thought today might be the day, but alas..." he gave a dramatic siiiiIIIIIIIGH.

Not wanting to spend too long on the floor, Tobias grabbed his pogo stick and used it as a crutch to help himself back up, before dusting himself off and stepping a few places closer to Airey. "I just went up to look for you, y'know." Did he know? Did he?

Errrr... "Nice... fish."

Terry was glad that he had managed to coax a smile out of Lex and he smiled back in response. Gryffindor's were definitely hard to scare and the boo had not made her jump in anyway. Though it wasn't particularly loud and he hadn't actually made an effort to sneak up on her anyway. He perched next to her as she began to speak about the water.

"It might make them a little bit cold when you take them out" he chuckled. The cold air impacting on wet feet could sometimes be painful. "But I can warm them up later for you if you'd like?" he suggested. Maybe a warming spell. Or he could sit on her feet too but the boy wasn't that light. "I'll tell you what, I'll join you" he responded pulling off his shoes and socks and dipping his feet into the fountain.

Yeah. That was cold to him.

He pulled a face but kept his feet in there until they had become accustomed to the temperature.

"Yeah, the Common Room was starting to get a little tedious. And I don't have exams to study for this year so here I am" he gestured to himself. "Plus I didn't get to see you lot, did I?" he ruffled her hair with a smirk.

The boy raised a good point in that her feet would get cold once she took them out. It wasn't something she'd thought about simply for the fact that she didn't think ahead with most of her plans. The Gryffindor liked living in the moment but at the moment she was having a hard time making up her mind...

Until he said that. Lex watched as he pulled his shoes then socks off and got his feet nice and wet. If this was a case of leading by example then she would go with it so the Gryffindor pulled off her own shoes then socks and plopped her feet next to his in the fountain. Oh sweet kneazle this WAS cold. Not super cold just yet given it only being October but the cold was still very much real. "I think I'll have to take you up on that warming them up for me offer." She said, wiggling her toes a bit under the water. Slowly her feet were becoming accustomed to the temperature but she knew that would change when she withdrew them later.

"I get that." She said with a small nod. Seriously, the Common Room used to be the place to be but then it got taken over by the midgets and now she could hardly stay in their too long. Being a Prefect she couldn't exactly hex them out of her favourite chair anymore and that caused problems. "And you're so luuuucky. OWLs at the end of the year and I'm not looking forward to them AT ALL. My freedom's slowly trickling to an end as we speak." A bit dramatic but true given what Lottie had told her.

The hair ruffling was dismissed with a grin. "True. You were locked up most times and I never stay in one place too long." She hadn't spent much time on her hair before leaving her dorm. A bit of ruffling wouldn't make it any worse than it already was--not to say it was a mess, it just wasn't SUPER neat. "But you're fixing that now, yeah?"

The cold water was slowly starting to warm up, or rather his feet were getting used to the change in temperature and it kind of felt really nice, like a relaxing foot bath. He'd been walking around a lot today and it was taking the slight ache off of his tootsies.

He couldn't help but to chuckle at her reaction to the water. Yes, it wasn't particularly warm but it wasn't frozen yet either, which was a very good sign seeing as Scotland was particularly colder than the rest of Britain. "I told you so" he responded but nodded at her. He didn't mind helping her out, that was what friends were for. "I guess this is relief? After having to walk around all day doing your duties?" he asked, glancing briefly at her badge. It had seemed a significant proportion of his friends had been given leading roles in the school. He was definitely proud of them.

"There's only so much of staring underneath the lake that I can take." It was still pretty fascinating and the occasional glimpses you could get of magical creatures was an amazing sight to behold but Terry had spent a lot of time in there last term and he was just grateful to be out and about. "You'll be fiiiiiine!" he shrugged it off. "I had to study a lot but you're really smart. It will be a doddle" he chuckled. Some people didn't have to revise at all, those people were mainly Ravenclaws.

Heh. Good. Most girls hated the hair ruffling but Terry always did it in an affectionate way rather than a patronising way like a lot of people did. "Sure I am. I need to socialise. Right now my friends are more important." Well, his studies obviously were too but they could take a step back for a short while, at least until he knew he had to start studying for the NEWT's. Now they were going to be torture.

Toby stood tall (... as tall as he could) and proud and assumed that what Airey was telling him was a compliment. It had sounded like one, after all. And Toby prided himself on his natural pogo ability. Probably all that bouncing he sort of did naturally. He even fell with grace. "Thanks! ... I think, anyway."

The Hufflepuff grinned and nodded. "Yep, I wanted to see if you fancied a bounce," Toby explained, dropping the pogo stick momentarily and catching it as it bounced back up, before holding it up. You know, just in case it wasn't clear that Toby was talking about using the pogo stick and not turning each other into frogs or something. Toby couldn't even cast spells like that yet.

At the mention of the bass (that must have meant the fish, yes? okay), Toby grinned and nodded enthusiastically, about to take a step forward to have a closer look before being stopped dead in his tracks only a few seconds later. He blinked.

And blinked again.

And turned curiously to look at Professor Flamsteed. And blinked once more.

"Teach?"And missed Toby? What. WhAT. "I..." Tobias stalled and looked at the fish again.

And back at Airey. And back at the fish.

And back at Airey again.

"Who's in the tank?" the third year asked, lowering his voice just a tad while his eyes widened slightly. The way Flamsteed said it made it sound like it was a professor. A professor who Toby would have met. But whoooOOOO?

Gross? How was it gross? Adeline yawned as she thought of what to say to the second year. Yeah, Adeline hadn't been getting much sleep, with homework, tryouts and being back here for the first time in three terms, it was hard for her to get back into a routine. "It's not gross! You'll think this was too when you're older, don't think you won't, it always happens and hits you like a ton of bricks." Still in the cooties phase, apparently, Adeline kind of wish that she was in the cooties phase when she was a second year but she wasn't. "Do you like your classes?" Adeline thought a change of subject would do the girl good.

Yes, he did tell her so and she would willingly admit to him being right given the differing temperatures in and out of the fountain. Good thing the Common Room had that big fireplace in case their efforts proved futile later one. Lex gave a little nod acknowledging that fact she'd be taking him up on his offer for SURE.

As for her duties...there was a bit of hesitation, a thick silence then a small shrug. "I haven't been up and about doing duties so much that it'd make a difference on my feet." No, not nearly, not when she considered all that stuff Sarah always said she was out doing. Where the girl found time was beyond her but the girl was more impressive and it weighed down on Lex even if she didn't say it. "There's been some planning but I've mostly been sitting for that stuff." And another shrug because she didn't know what else to say on that matter.

Heh, that she could understand. "I know the feeling. I like the Quidditch pitch as much as the next guy but a change in scenery never hurt anyone." On the contrary, monotony killed brain cells. So far it had yet to be proven but she was pretty sure that was the case.....and what? A doddle? Lex let out a short laugh. "Clearly you've never sat next to me in History of Magic. If I scrape through with a 'D' I'll buy myself the entire candy shop in Hogsmeade." That might have been how bad it was. "I mean Lottie offered to help me study, Cassia too but I'm not getting my hopes up." NOPE. Whatever happened would just have to happen.

The Gryffindor nodded slowly in agreement. "Right. Books are okay but they can't really replace friends. It's even better for you because there's no SERIOUS exam to freak out about once the year ends." Oh so very lucky on his part. She could remember a time when OWLs didn't bother her because they were ages away and wanted to go back to that.

A look of revulsion appeared on Lux's face at that statement. Never in a million years would she do what Adeline and Asher did, because that was where disease came from! "I will never think that." Nope, never. At the sudden change of topic, Lux became thoughtful. She had not been to all of her classes yet, but she had been to a few of them. "The Professors seem nice on the most part. Ancient Runes really confuses me though." She was not sure how she would be able to pass that class without help. Maybe she could get someone to tutor her, because the thought of looking at a bunch of Ancient Runes textbooks made her shudder almost as much as the thought that Adeline had kissed Asher.

Terry was glad that Lex’s duties weren’t distracting her from socialising. In fact, he’d noticed quite a few of his friends were still making time for him despite being prefected. West and Theo clearly didn’t count, he saw them in their dorm room everyday. “This place is so huge its exhausting having to walk from Astronomy down to Potions.” Seriously. Adding on prefect duties would just make matters so much worse. “Planning?” he queried. “Gonna let me into any secrets?” he teased. He was obviously joking, Terry didn’t expect anyone to tell them their secrets, especially if it was to do with the school.

Why was everyone so obsessed with Quidditch? It was really cool to watch but boy it looked dangerous at times. And Terry would much rather watch it from the sidelines than ever get on a broom and risk his life in order to catch a flying ball, as amazing as winning probably was. “Plus the Common Room is dark!” it was under the lake for goodness sake. Getting out into the sunlight was a welcome relief, though it had taken a while for his eyes to adjust. “I quite like history” he threw into the conversation nonchalantly. It was interesting but it was a subject which you either excelled in or you failed. Terry was hoping he was the former. “Believe me, you get into the exam hall and everything just comes flooding back to you.” Most of the time but he wasn’t going to add that bit in. “You’ll be fine!” Hopefully.

“Well for starters friends are real and books are just words on paper. They can keep you entertained for a few hours but you try having a conversation with one.” They don’t respond, not that Terry had ever tested this theory out. He’d look like a right dingbat if he casually started talking to books in the library, people would think he’d need to be sent to St Mungo’s. “You’ve got months to worry about that. Start revising after Christmas” he suggested. “Hang about with your friends for now.” Priorities.

Adeline smiled, so did this second year really think that it was never going to happen to her? The seventh year laughed a little. "I was always thought that I would never feel like that towards any boys but that changed and to be honest I was scared at first but everything worked out." Yuuup, she only been in one serious relationship and it's been with one guy, she wondered how most people couldn't do that, honestly it was just easy. "If you need help with Ancient Runes I can help you, I'm not the best at it but I don't suck at it." Just average, she knew the basics.

Asher nodded and then grinned. He couldn't believe that he had been playing for them that long. It was hard to believe that they were in their Seventh year here, too. And now time was wasn't moving any slower for them. Receiving the letter only reminded him that they were growing up.

Alec's voice came ringing back loudly, bringing Asher back to reality. "Really!" He was excited his hard work paid off. But he was no where near being done with the hard work especially now. "Thanks, bro. I was surprised." Really he was. He was one of the best on his team last term at the school in Italy. But here a Hogwarts he only felt average. The Slytherin team was tough. So far he'd be lucky to make reserve especially this term. It would be nice to end his school career on the team somewhere.

Asher laughed, Alec was crazy in a good way. Cool bro. His cool bro. "Nah she wouldn't mind." She would probably but she would only pick on the both of them. Just like Alec who was joking around too.

Seriously this boy deserved another Bro!hug. But the Slytherin didn't want to over do the bro!hugging. He nodded, "Well, about the same time." They didn't go like the military and go out in the middle of dark way before sunrise. He laughed again. "On a run around the grounds?" He chuckled. He always caused confusion it was fun too.

emjay - Potions
 

Lex gave a couple nods, indicating just how much she was agreeing with him right now. So many rooms and floors in this place, it was a wonder anyone gained weight from the food here (because some did despite the exercise). Talk about a determined metabolic system! "Tell me about it. The worse is having a class in the towers first thing in the morning. Imagine going down seven flights for breakfast just to walk all that way back up as well." That usually happened at the start of the year despite the not so subtle hints she'd been leaving the Professors asking them kindly NOT TO. The planning caught his attention but there was little she could give him in that regard. "What? And ruin the surprize? I couldn't possibly, no, you'll just have to wait and see and be amazed or otherwise horrified like everyone else." Kinda like she was but maybe that was just her.

Oh right! That was another reason to add to her growing list of why staying in the Snake Common Room would suck. Lex was no bat, she needed sunlight and fresh air. Staying down there would drive her mad, the kind of mad that made you pry open a window forgetting you're under a lake...."That's shoddy planning right there. I think you guys could have gotten away with having a Common Room on any of the other floors without it being a problem." With all the expansion charms and such, there was no way it could be a problem. And would you listen to that? He liked history? Was that even possible???? "I'm hoping so. Everything I've ever learned up until the end of this year. It doesn't help that memory potions would be considered cheating." Lex didn't have poor memory, she had a selective one and guess what it chose to forget more often than not.

"Yeah...they never actually answer no matter what you ask them." She should know, she'd tried a few times when she was younger and without anything better to do. Lex wiggled her toes some more in the water while he went on talking about enjoying herself and the coming break. "That's the plan. Lottie says we'll start doing some full on studying when we get back from the break. It's not something I'm looking forward to...but it's necessary, so play now and work later." She concluded with a firm nod and a splash of her foot that mmmmight have sent water in his direction. Oops? Hehe.

Brynn was starting to feel somewhat overwhelmed. She could hardly keep up with her classes and now the homework was starting to pile on. This was so much more work than she had been prepared for.. more than when she had been homeschooled and even way more than when she went to that Muggle school for a few years. Really, she needed to get a better handle on things but she wasn't sure what to do. She had started a little list to keep track of everything that needed to be done and that seemed to help somewhat - maybe she should owl her mother for a planner or something - but maybe what she needed was some help from an older student, like a study partner or something. Maybe she should ask one of the older Ravenclaws when she got back to the common room, though she really hated to bother someone already in the middle of something else.

For now she just wanted to clear her head and maybe try to sort out things later. Perhaps a walk outside would help get her mind off things. Her schedule was actually free today after lunch, so after she had her fill at the Great Hall, the small redhead headed towards the entrance of the castle to take a walk. Before she got very far, Brynn noticed a teenage girl sitting in the courtyard and she happened to have a lovely shade of red hair. Almost subconsciously the first year gave her a smile as she neared and started to continue on her way when she noticed a vial in her hands. One that looked much like one she had in her bookbag.

"Hey.. are you doing your potions homework?" Brynn asked, looking up at the older girl as she sat down on a bench near her. She so needed to do this as well and maybe the older girl could help her. Obviously someone older than her would know more than her about it, not to mention working together would help get things done quickly and correctly, right?

Adelaide caught sight of the smile the younger girl was giving her so she returned it out of habit. Not to mention the ginger hair did not go unnoticed. It seemed she was meeting all of her fellow gingers this term.

She smiled a little wider when the girl asked about homework. No need to look all glum, plus it kind of solved her problem. No need to pester her fellow snakes...even if they could use the house points. "Was thinking about it. Just needed someone to do it with." Because of the whole partner aspect of it.

Brynn looked up hopefully at the teenage girl. Not only did she hope that the girl still needed to get her homework done but also that she would work on it with her, therefore assisting her with it. And the older girl's words were exactly what she was waiting for. "Maybe we could be partners?" the first year offered. "I still need to do that homework too." She bent down to dig through her tote bag and pulled out the similar-looking vial, holding it up for the girl to see.

Might be nice to get her notes out too, she thought, and Brynn bent back down to pull her journal from her bag, flipping through to the appropriate spot to see exactly what the specifications for the assignment were, though she figured the other girl might know too. Looking back up from her notes, she offered her another smile. "I'm Brynn," she said, introducing herself, figuring that would be helpful if they were going to work together.