Ascanius hated the Astronomy tower. It was the highest point in the castle and his fear of heights was strongly against even stepping foot in the place. But because of classes and other reasons, Gryffindor girlfriend reasons, he was up in the area.

And had to consequently take a break to breathe before he started his way back down to the Dungeons.

Before he could even get a proper moment of peace, though, he saw someone wandering 'round and he found himself keeping his eyes on her. It was better then looking around and possibly looking at just how high up he was right now.

Anything was better then that.

.......jeez, though, the little puffer looked lost. Or zen.

He appreciated people who understood the importance of a zen being.

Sander liked listening to Tessa talk...and he especially loved the way she laughed. She held nothing back and her laughter was genuine and he liked that.

He was gazing into her eyes when he realized that he was still rubbing her arms. Was that the reason for her blush? Did she feel embarrassed that he was touching her?

Sander slowly removed his hands even as he watched her flex her biceps to show how strong she was. Forgetting the reason why he had removed his hands from her arms, he reached out again to feel her pumped up bicep.

"Wow you are strong? Remind me not to arm wrestle you." he grinned back at her. "With my scrawny arms, you'll beat me hands downs." he told her as he flexed his arms to show her how they looked. Actually, they didn't look too shabby at all, but he wasn't going to admit that to her.

"Talking about scrawny, I think my tummy is telling me that it needs to be fed. Would you like to grab something to eat?" Sander suggested.

Yes he could have eaten alone, but he was reluctant to say goodbye to her yet. Maybe a few more minutes...hours would be good too. He thought to himself.

As he waited for her to reply, he belatedly realized that he was still dressed in green. Oh No...he couldn't head down to the Great Hall looking like Kermit the Frog...or worse yet, a stick of celery.

So he took out his wand. "I really hate to destroy the wonderful ensemble you made for me but I think I need to revert back to my regular clothing. I don't want to end up having a new nickname like Mr. Celery Stick or be accused of being a Slytherin imposter," he explained to Tessa before he ended the spell she had used on him.

He sighed. Now there were no traces of what she done with his clothing...and that made him sad for some unknown reason.

As Sander removed her arms, Tessa suddenly foundthat she was leaning toward him more. Quickly she righted herself, and blinked, trying to clear her mind. What was going on with her today?

She grinned as he felt her muscle- she was quite proud of her fitness. Her skin tingled where he had felt the muscle, but she dismissed that. "I make no promises," she teased. "Well, with all the hanging off a broom I do, I have to keep my arms in shape. Otherwise I would have a lot more injuries to my name," she replied with a wince. She looked over at his arms and then shot him a look. "Your arms are not scrawny!" she objected, reaching out to feel his muscle. It was nice... really nice... She mentally shook herself again.

Food- perhaps that was her problem today. When had she eaten last? Breakfast? "That sounds like a wonderful idea. We hard working professional athletes need to keep up our strength," she said, grinning at him. However, there was something that needed to be corrected first.

"That's fine, Sander," she said with a laugh. "Besides, I can always do it again when you're not looking," she teased. She probably wouldn't... but it was a prank she would log away for a different day. "But I like Mr. Celery Stick!" she laughed.

"Come on," without thinking she slipped her arm through his. "Let's go get some food before we both waste away," she grinned.

Sander felt himself leaning towards her when Tessa reached out to feel his biceps. He didn't think that he as losing his equilibrium after hovering in the air for that short period of time. But that had to be the only reason. So he leaned back to see whether he would fall back...but no he stayed upright.

Then his thoughts were focussed on the word, food. Yes he was definitely getting hungry and maybe that was the reason for his Leaning Tower of Pisa stance a few seconds ago. He readily nodded his head in agreement before faking a look at astonishment at her.

"No you wouldn't do that while I wasn't looking...would you? Poor innocent me?" Sander asked her looking at her with puppy dog eyes. But he couldn't hold that look for long because she was agreeing that calling him Mr. Celery Stick sounded good.

Sander threw back his head and laughed. "And that's one name that should only be used when there's no one around." he jokingly told her. His tummy rumbled again.

"Yes let's go get something to eat," Sander agreed with her holding her arm when she slipped her arm around his. He didn't know why but if felt natural having it there and who was he to object.

With a satisfied smile on his face, Sander led the way past the fountain to the entrance of the Tower Patch and then walked downstairs with her.

Marigold continued half-walking, quarter-stumbling, quarter-skipping around the garden before she noticed someone watching her. It was a boy who she had never talked to. 0.0

She raised her eyebrow at him. Yes? What do you want? Did you win the lottery and want to share your money with me? Do you have chocolate?

That was all the important questions right?

Now she was staring back, which he didn't want. Sure, he was used to people always looking at him because his general face area was very appealing, but he just wanted to take a breather. He was allowed to observe whoever he pleased.

Her staring? Yeah, no welcome.

He raised his eyebrow in an almost challenge. What was she looking at? He was just personally observing the whole courtyard.

Marigold shook her head. This older boy was being strangeeeeee, there was no doubt. She rolled her eyes and bounced over.

"Yeeees? Do you need something" Like maybe a mental examination?

Just a suggestion. He was being a little creepy, 'kay?

"No, I don't, beautiful. Just hanging out," he said casually. Seriously, he was doing just fine sitting her and getting his relaxation on. So she could turn her gaze virtually anywhere else 'cause that'd be okay with him.

Between everything going on schedule wise in his life he was dying for some peace and quiet.

So take the hint, small person.

Marigold reeeeally EYED the older guy at this comment. Beautiful? Her? Yeah, she didn't take this as a compliment. She just took this as a GO AWAY CREEPER thought process.

But maybe she was misreading him.

"I'm Marigold," she said, bouncing a bit.

HAI OLDER DUDE.

Slightly hidden behind one of the many shrubs in the Tower Patch appears a pearly-white and slightly transparent figure. It begins to glide slowly through the air towards the fountain when it stops.

Could it just a trick of the mid-afternoon light?

Alexa had just gotten through the trimming of a couple plants up in the tower patch and pulled off her gloves. It wasn't really a requirement to continue maintaining this place but it was either this or finding something academically productive to do--like that Herbology homework she was having a grand time procrastinating with! After throwing her gloves back in her bag she moved to get the clippings vanished when she heard her kneazle give off a sharp screech followed closely by hissing.

Lex swung around, thinking they'd been joined by someone neither particularly liked (the girl even put on her best scowl just in case) but what she didn't expect was THAT.

"Holy Kneazle....." The Gryffindor said in a near whisper as she watched it glide along. Her eyes fell to Felix. "Never seen that up here before. Do you think Professor Airey knows?" She contemplated, taking a small step in it's direction. What even...?

Caleb could NOT take that common room anymore. It was loud, his housemates were annoying, and he could barely think! How was he supposed to complete his Herbology homework if he couldn't even picture a topiary without getting a migraine because of all the distractions? This was anarchy. They needed a new heir to wipe out the fake Slytherins.

As he approached the tower patch, one of the only places he could think of that wasn't super dooper CROWDED right now (he'd already checked the library and his favorite tapestry, sigh.) he saw the Gryffindor prefect - the one who had been under the love potion last year - and was going to go say hi. She seemed like a nice girl, always talking and stuff in class and she seemed like she spoke her mind, which was cool. However, he stopped when he noticed she was talking to someone - or rather, someTHING it seemed.

OHMIGOSH. A GHOST! A REAL LIFE GHOST!

And of course she was moving towards it. How GRYFFINDOR of her.

Caleb snuck behind her and crouched down slightly. If this thing was hostile, she was getting hit first! "Is that one of the house ghosts?" he asked quietly. Who else could it be, right?

A thought had been consuming her mind. Why did she mostly hang out outside in the grounds and not inside the castle? Although there were plenty of places that were suitable for wasting time passing time and having fun. So she decided to do that right now. Yup! Hanging out inside.

The snake walked around aimlessly until she reached the Astronomy tower. She didn't have a destination in mind so she couldn't see why shouldn’t she go up and hang out up there. There were a couple of nice places she could spend some quality time with herself. Not that she hadn't been doing that.
Though the walk up wasn't a smooth one. Thank Merlin she belonged to the dungeons.

As she got up, she made her way to the tower patch and decided to sit there. But hey look! Lex and Caleb. Fancy seeing them here. She walked towards them and was about to greet them when she noticed that they were looking at something.

GULP.

What was that.

"I doubt it's one," she said answering Caleb question. Though she might have forgotten to draw attention to her presence. Did she startle them? Hopefully not.

It's head inclined as if reading something, the figure slowly turned its head when it heard new voices. Voices of precious students that it loved so dearly. An eerie smile spread across its face as it glided towards the three students. It picked up speed quite suddenly and flew right through them all and into the castle.

Whatever that THING was, it was reading the plaque over there. RIGHT. Caleb forgot that this whole thing was like...a memoriam of sorts. Maybe that was one of the ghosts of the dead people this place was dedicated to! WHOA. It came to see the monument made for it!

But which one WAS it?

Caleb didn't have time to think about that, because a second later, the ghost had turned and then WHOOSH! It flew right through him. Caleb had never walked through a ghost before, but it was not something he wanted to do again. COLD COLD COLD COLD! GHOSTS WERE ICE COLD!

"UGH! That wasn't pleasant," he said, shuddering as he spoke.

Alexa had only taken another three steady steps before she heard the approaching footsteps. Obviously not another ghost because she could hear it. At the moment she didn't know whether that was more of a relief or not. The figure didn't look harmful. Running into a few more of them might not have been so bad. As it were, the new company was the little Slytherin fun-sucker. Lex gave him a smile but couldn't answer his question because of the distraction of yet another person to add to their present company.

Oh! Cassia! Lex grinned at the girl, nodding at her doubt of it being a house ghost. There were only four of those and she was well acquainted with each...er...okay not WELL acquainted but for sure, none of them looked like that.

Alexa secured the hissing kneazle in her arms and looked on curiously as the ghost..read something....? Her eyes narrowed a bit in a vain effort to get a better look but in the next second the ghost was zooming right toward them, leaving a frightening cold to rush through her as well.

"Sweet Circe!" She exclaimed, watching it make it's way to the castle. "I don't suppose we'd classify something like that as a threat, huh?"

It had a head. The figure did, and she was just gathering up facts here. For whatever reason that could serve. But at least she was able to do so.

And here she was impressed by her bestfriend who was capable of grinning and looking cheerful when they were looking at something that for all they knew was gonna devour them alive or .... something.

Here it was, coming for them. Did she really have to come here today? Wasn't hanging out by the lake or the tree house a better idea? Why did it always come back to ghosts. WHY! Theo's doubts were proven right.. Yup, he fellow spy knew best.

The sixth-year was rooted to the ground and instinctively shut her eyes as the figure approached. BAI HOGWARTS! But hey, at least she was going down with her friend.. And Caleb was here, poor kid.

...


..... *blink*


Oookay. They were still here. Cassia squinted and looked around. Did they feel what she felt? The obviously did. Caleb's words confirmed it and she had to agree with him. And yup that didn't look dangerous. "Yeah," She agreed with Lex confusion written all over her face. "Weird, though, I think we should tell someone?" Professor Airey perhaps? Or they could go and annoy fill in the headmistress.

Caleb shrugged and rubbed his arms. "You can go tell someone if you like - I'm heading straight to our dorms. I'm gonna get my cardigan," he said, shivering as he spoke, more for dramatic effect than anything else. Still, it HAD been uncomfortable and he was not waiting around for the ghost to come back and do it AGAIN. So he turned on his heel and off he went, still rubbing his arms as he walked.

Sander decided to take a break from looking through the telescope and headed up to the Tower Patch. He laughed to himself when he recalled the last time he was here. It was with Tessa and that's where he got the nickname Peter Pan.

Sander took a deep breath and inhaled the fresh clean air, then he looked up at the glittering starlit sky. He tried identifying the planets from the satellites up there, but couldn't quite tell the difference. Then he remembered the spell that would strengthen his eyesight. With a swish of his wand, he first tapped his left eye and said, "Oculo Focalis and then did the same with his right eyelid and said the same spell.

Then he blinked a couple of times before looking up at the sky. He had already found Jupiter earlier and was able to find the planet quicker now that he knew where to look and he was amazed at how clear the planet looked through the naked eye even though it was million of miles away. He blinked a couple of times and the planet became even clearer to him. Sander smiled and wondered whether Tessa would join him out here. It was definitely a beautiful night.

But for now, he would continue looking for the other planets that were visible during this time of year.

"Here's where you got to," Tessa said as she peeked into the Tower Patch and saw Sander. She walked up to him, and looked up to match his eye line. "I'm guessing you cast the spell- what do your magical eyes see?" she asked, with a soft laugh.

She took a step away, not wanting to interrupt his concentration any more and took out her wand. "Oculo Focalis," she cast quietly, one spell on each eye. She blinked, getting used to to the feeling before looking up into the sky. Her eyes were instantly drawn to the large gas planet Jupiter. She smiled, transfixed by the planet's swirling colors all over the surface. She blinked, refocusing and looking ever outwards toward the far reaches of the galaxy.

"I think I like this much better than the telescope," she remarked with a soft laugh. No instruments to fiddle with- just the naked eye.

Sander smiled when he first felt and then smelled Tessa as she walked up and joined him. She had that distinct smell about her that he was now so familiar with. He looked down at her and smiled, "I'm glad you decided to come up here. This place is even more amazing at night....and yes I cast the spell. I've always looked up and seen the stars up there but I've never been able to see them as clearly as I see them now." he told Tessa.

He glanced back up at the sky and scanned it looking for a the pale yellow planet with orange hints color on it and of course its familiar rings. Without the spell he wouldn't have been able to see the planet that clearly, but with it, Sander immediately spotted Saturn.

"I just found Saturn. It's amazing how clear the rings are. I think I can actually see the particles that form them. They are all floating around the planet. Wait I think I found Uranus too." Sander whispered in excitement as he sighted the bluish green colored planet. "I can even see its white moon, Ariel. This spell is amazing," Sander whispered to Tessa before looking back up at the sky again.

It just seemed natural for him, to reach out and hold her hand.

"I agree- it seems completely different than during the day," she said, looking around. But, admiring the Tower Patch at night was not the point of her being here. She came up beside Sander and quickly cast the spell before looking up into the night sky.

"And I've just found Pluto," she whispered back, her smile widening. "Amazing how it's so far, and we can see it so clearly," she replied, blinking again to bring the planet into focus. Despite its distance from the sun, there was enough light to make its black and reddish brown mottled surface. She blinked again and smiled when another object came into view. "I've also found Charon," she said, looking closer at Pluto's moon.

She felt Sander take her hand and she gave his a gentle squeeze. "This is just amazing," she replied, in agreement about the spell- but just spending the time together was nice too.

Sander gazed over in the direction Tessa was looking at. He scanned the starlit sky until he sighted the black and reddish colored dwarf planet. "I found it too. I still am in awe of how beautiful all these planets look with the help of the spell." Sander turned to look at Tessa. He could have stayed up all night with her, but squinting at his watch, he realized that it was getting longer.

Pointing his wand at his eyes, he said,"Finite" ending the spell. "I guess we should be heading back down and finish packing up our stuff. It's getting late."

He continued to hold Tessa's hand as they proceeded back down to the Observatory.

Louis coughed. It was freezing out and though he usually handled the winter weather valiantly, he felt rather weak this season. His knees hurt from walking through the cold, and the boy couldn’t help but wonder vaguely if it had anything to do with the grey hairs that had taken over his head. His beautiful black hair was almost completely gone, replaced by hideous silver strands. :’(

The Gryffindor distracted himself from his woes as he took a moment to read the stone plaques beside the fountain, not really all that interested in what had happened to Professor E.M. Forrester. With the speed in which he was aging, he’d probably be joining the dead man soon.

Ew. Delilah hated that she had to walk all the way to the seventh floor. She was pretty athletic and would have managed to climb all those steps without grumbling but.. somehow, she felt rather tired lately. It was so very weird. All these old age symptoms, she didn't get it. Was it a disease or something? But at least, THANKfuLLY, she didn't have even one strand of grey in her hair. Not the last time she checked anyway. Which was just half hour ago.

"Hey." The girl walked over to her friend, still panting. Whew. That was tiring. She smiled at Lou, who looked weaker than her and whose head seemed to be filled with grey. Aw. He still looked pretty though.

... What? He did, okay?