She was so welcome to join, she knew it. The smile told it all. And it was good that Theo looked like he was in a good mood, she wasn't in a bad mood but his mood totally reflected on hers. BEAM!

And was it cold? She couldn't tell having been walking around not quite slowly, she in fact wiped a drop of sweat off her forehead at some point during her journey here. Something that probably meant she'd feel the cold soon now that she was not moving anymore but rather sitting near the lake. But so far so good. She scooted closer to Theo, might as well not let cold air get to her from both sides.

"Not really," She answered as she finally got a comfy position crossing her legs before her at the ankles and folding her hands in her lap. "It got really noisy in the common room just when I was trying to get some studying done, " He probably knew that, maybe that was why he, too, was out? "I brought books with me but then I don't feel like opening them," she said nudging the bag on her side. Sitting here relaxing was nicer.

"What about you?"

So condescending. Hmph. Well too bad for her because no matter how many big words she knew how to use, Zander had gotten to the tree first so she isn't helping her case. Ah, what was that? A tone of defeat? Ha. How's that for "diurnal". Ha.

He opened one eye just a sliver and gave the girl a lopsided smirk. Yeah. That's what he thought. He scooted over a generous amount and patted the ground that he opened up for her. "It's all yours." Well not all... Because they were sharing. But now that he had to move over it was hard to lay down. Instead the Gryffindor chose to sit upright. If she was going to share his spot, then the least she could do was engage in conversation. He held out his hand for a shake, "I'm Zander by the way."

Louis could see that the whole worry/care topic had caused a bit of confusion and decided not to push it anymore. “I just like that you like me.” That was good enough for the boy. He turned his gaze upon the girl beside him as she promised not to make him worry, and smiled. “Very happy. Thank you.”

Right, the whole permission thing.
Lou bit at his bottom lip to hold back the sheepish smile that began to form on his face at that moment. He wished he could be a little more assertive, but… well, he’d get there one day. “Right. I’m working on it.” He smiled more genuinely and leaned in to place a kiss on the girl’s rosy cheek.

The boy watched as Delilah fidgeted with her shirt, his eyebrows furrowing slightly. When she confessed that she’d told her parents about him, his eyebrows raised. Actually, it totally made sense that she would, but it still caught him off-guard. “How’d that go?” he asked curiously, a small smile tugging at a corner of his lips. He had never met Delilah’s parents, obviously, and had no idea how they’d react to the idea of one of their daughters starting to date some unknown English boy. Lou’s gaze dropped to her bare fingers and he cringed slightly to himself. OHGOSH, did they know?

And then he was looking at her tummy instead, her belly-button looking unusually sparkly due to the new jewelry addition. When Delilah decided that it looked ‘kind of hot’, he laughed lightly. He wasn’t sure why, but her word choice was a little amusing. “It’s definitely…” He wasn’t sure he had a better word for it. “I like it. It’s nice.” He smiled in her direction again. “Did it hurt?”

His favourite class?
“Charms. But if Hogwarts offered a cooking class, that would probably be it,” he replied with a grin. At the girl’s following question, Lou snapped out of the daze he had momentarily fallen into, his eyebrows furrowing. “What? Yeah, of course.” Pay attention, Bolton. Seriously, you rarely get to see your girlfriend lately, this is no time to be getting distracted.

"Yeah," Silas breathed, as his fingers closed around the object, and he withdrew his hand to reveal a tiny black object. "You dropped this. In Diagon Alley." He held out the MP3 player to her and reached forward to take his ball back. A kind of exchange. He looked at her carefully, for the first time able to stop and study the girl he had been trying to find.

"I tried to follow you, but I lost you in the Alley. I saw you on-on the platform at the train, but you were already on. And then I saw you at the feast, but then it was too late," he explained.

Unashamed of the expression on her face, she stared after his hand, and as he held it up to reveal what it was he had for her, her face morphed into a look of awe and disbelief. He took his baseball and she reached for the tiny device, floored by his explanation for how it came to be in his possession. She had dropped it and he miraculously was there to see it, and rescue it, and then try to return it to her. And succeeded! She had no idea that it had been dropped. Kanna figured she had left it at home somewhere. Misplaced it somehow.

The disbelief washed away and was replaced by incredible joy. The girl jumped in place and then threw her arms around the boy. It was brief, as he was a stranger to her, but that wasn't going to be so for long. "Thank you so much!" As she stepped back, she scooped up Kit in the other hand, as the little ferret had begun eying his pant legs.

"What can I do to repay you?"

He watched carefully, a smile growing on his face as he observed her glee upon getting her device back. He was glad to be able to bring such a look to her face, and then he was taken by surprise as she hugged him. Oh. Okay. He patted her back briefly, unsure about this exchange.

"You're welcome," Silas said, looking down briefly in embarrassment. He watched as she picked up the little ferret, and then looked back at her, a little bewildered.

"U-uhh... You-- you don't have to do anything," he said, only to follow up shortly with. "Um. Why do you have that, anyway?" It probably meant she was muggle-born, or maybe half-and-half like he was...

Ah, she was sitting closer to him. Lovely, yes. Theo smiled at her and wrapped his arms around his knees.

"Tell me about it. I haven't found one place in this castle that is quiet enough for studying." The staircases were okay, but eventually there was always some sort of distraction. Theo eyed her bag when she mentioned that they were full of books. He made a face at her and shook his head. "Yeah, don't open them." Hehe. Not here at least. He was trying to give himself a break. "Nah, not much either. Needed some fresh air." Though that idea was starting to look like a lame one because of the weather.

"Oh, I still haven't asked you, how was the Peru trip?" She hadn't called him for backup, so he assumed all went well. Still, people weren't talking about it much around the school which was weird.

It was the time of year that she could pull out one of the hats she'd knitted and wear it outside instead of parading around her dorm in it like a fool. Hat on her head, Elodie sat with her diary and leant against the tree where she'd noted it was pretty quiet. She only needed half an hour to write the important things down, but if she was left alone for long enough...she'd have time to think over the things she was struggling with. Like what to have for breakfast the following morning.

And a couple of issues not as important as that.

Vinnie felt like going outside. It was rather cold to be honest but the girl had wrapped up in her slytherin scarf and hat. So taking a walk down to the lake seemed to be a good choice. Getting a bit of fresh air and maybe reading a little bit? Just letting the fresh air get to her brain.

As she stepped outside a wave of cold air hit her face and the brunette shivered slightly. Oh well, it took some time to get used to the cold. Walking down the pathway to the lake the girl noticed that not a lot of people were out and about. Strange. Maybe her space by the the beech tree would be free then? If it got to cold she could always accio her blanket or something.

All excited Vinnie reached the beech tree and realised someone had had the same idea as her. Hmmm.... the tre was big enough for two. So the girl plopped down on the ground and sighed. A few moments later she peeked over to see what her tree mate was doing...she seemed to be busy so Vinnie opened her book and started to read.

"You.. wouldn't do anything to make me worry either, yes?" Delilah asked, looking slightly anxious. No, she knew that Lou was responsible and wouldn't do anything ridiculous to get himself in trouble but you know, it still would be nice to have him assure her. Oh.. She gave a small shrug of the shoulders, shaking her head with a smile. "That's okay.. I mean, I just want you to know that it's alright if you don't ask for my permission. It's cute that you do, though." So basically, she was okay either way? Anything he did made her happy.

The girl remained quiet for a few moments, her fingers still pulling at her shirt nervously. ".. Alright. They were surprised, initially.. but I think they're kind of okay with it now.." As in, her parents weren't upset about it but she knew for a fact that they weren't happy either. She did kind of understand though, for reasons. After what they went through with her sister, their reaction didn't really come as a shock. "I told them I was serious about you.. and my mother suggested that you come visit sometime." Delilah lapsed into another few moments of silence before she finally added, "It's okay if you don't want to." It was up to him.

Did it hurt? "Not much. At least, it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be." Frankly, Delilah had been really nervous about the pain and she almost wouldn't have done it, if it wasn't for Cat. Anyway, it was all worth it though. "Wish you could have come with."

Cooking class! Delilah couldn't help but agree. "Yeah.. that would be pretty cool. Since I clearly suck at cooking.." It was probably one of the few things she really, really wanted to be good at 'cause she loved food. Maybe, one day. The girl raised an eyebrow at his response and sat up, turning to look down at him. "Okay, what's wrong? Something is clearly bothering you."

One paragraph in. One meal detailed. And she was already taking to distractions such as doodling stick people in the corners of the page doing things like climbing trees and swimming. Active stick people. She drew active stick people because she wasn't being very active herself right now. Just sitting and writing random foods that she had "eaten" that day so far. Or at least thought about eating. The concoction of banana chips, ice cream, spaghetti and bacon just...wasn't very appealing to her stomach but to her head it was.

This could be her concoction diary.

She could already feel someone looking in her direction, and she was aware that someone else had joined her at the base of the tree trunk. "Do you try to read over everyone's shoulders?"

It was easy to keep this surprise from her? Emmylou eyed him and then softly smiled. Emmylou's whole face just stayed lit up, she couldn't believe that Kace had done all of this for her. It was so sweet and she just loved all of it. Emmylou felt her hear skip a beat when leaned down to kiss her, she kissed him back. Curse her shortness. "It was very lucky that you found me here." Emmylou didn't plan on going about and exploring the grounds today but she did have a gut feeling that it would be a good idea.

It was nothing? Emmylou tired to figure out how all of this was nothing. She had a hard time believing that all of this was nothing. This had to take up a lot of his time and planning there had to be a lot of planning. Emmylou's ocean blue eyes sparkled at the cider in his hand. She nodded. "I would love some." Emmy grinned and blushed at his French skills.

“Of course not. Promise.” Louis gave the girl an encouraging smile, then chuckled softly when she pretty much gave him permission to ask and to not ask. “Hmm. Now, to be cute or not to be cute? Decisions…” he teased, though he knew he had to stop the permission-asking soon. He wasn’t sure he’d have the patience for it in the future, anyway. Every time he kissed Delilah… well, it was easy to forget manners.

“Kind of okay?” That didn’t sound very reassuring. Lou bit at his bottom lip thoughtfully, listening as Delilah went on to announce that her mother had suggested he visit the family. At this, he raised his eyebrows. So they were sort of okay with them dating, and they were interested in meeting him. Right. Well, to say that this made the boy terribly nervous would be a huge understatement. When Delilah assured him it was alright if he didn’t want to, Louis shook his head with a smile. “Can’t make a good impression with the in-laws if I’m not there, can I?” Denying an invitation to meet would probably be the stupidest move the boy could make, and he knew it.

“I wish so too,” muttered Louis, absentmindedly tracing a finger over Delilah’s arm. He just couldn’t keep his hands to himself when she was around, everything about her called out to him. “But if you decide to get another piercing, I’d love to be there.” He looked up at her and smiled, “Just don’t get one on your face, yeah?” ‘Cause he liked her face just the way it was. It was perfect.

SNORT.
Lou felt a little bad, but he couldn’t help laughing when Delilah commented on her lack of cooking skills. Oh, he knew all about that… “It’s kinda cute that you can’t cook, though. Gives me a chance to pamper you. If you learn, who will I cook for?” He raised an eyebrow at her, then watched as she suddenly sat up, causing his fingers to slip from her arm. Puzzled, Lou furrowed his eyebrows and sat up beside her. “What? What do you mean?” Was it because he’d been a little distracted a second ago? Or had he done something weird? “Nothing’s bothering me, love. …Did I do something?”

Kace smiled when she said she would love some. "Very fancy isn't it?" he cocked his eyebrow. He then poured himself some and said, "And a toast to our ten months of being together..." he said clanking his glass against hers. He even kissed her softly on the lips to symbolize their love. After he took a sip and put his glass down, he began to get out the lunch. He got out two salads to start out. "I got us two salads as an appetizer.." he grinned.

Austin was ready. For what though, he didn't know. All he knew was that he wanted to get out of the castle. It was starting to feel cramped, and no matter how many secret holes he found to sit in, there were always people near by. They didn't even have to know he was there. But them walking by was enough to make him feel like he wasn't alone. Some fresh air would do him so good. Upon walking down, he saw a sign that said not to keep the fish that were caught. What would happen? Would they be too big to keep him his fishbowl at home? Probably not, and Austin wasn't willing to find out.

He decided to lie under a nearby tree. The cool breeze was proof that winter was coming, and Austin was not looking forward to it. It would mean that he was stuck inside the stuffy castle, with hundreds of other students who refused to go outside. It was not a situation to look forward to, but until then, Austin was having fun under the tree. He could just smell the beauty that was radiating from the wind. Flowers, from the patch he was lying on, mist from the lake, only a few steps away, and the small hint of food that was cooking. Dinner was coming soon, and no one could be dreading it more than Austin Moore.

Vinnie hadnt looked at the girl for too long, she didnt want to stare at her. That would be a tad creepy. So she just took out her history book and chose a random chapter to read today. She had been through it twice already but it was her fave. On days were she felt a bit down the girl just chose a random chapter to cheer her up.

Just as she was about to start reading the girl next to her spoke. Oh. „ I wasnt trying to read over your shoulder“, the fifth year shook her head,“ i just noticed your busy and looked away. Sorry.“ That wasnt the best way to introduce herself....but things like that happened. Maybe Vinnie had caught the girl on the wrong foot.

"I'm not busy." She retorted, turning her body just slightly to see the other girl. "I'm just writing things down. I was more so admiring the company of my own thoughts." Until they'd been interrupted with the uneasy feeling of being watched. She'd lost track of where she was in her writing and her thinking, and therefore took her fingers from the page she had the book open at and closed it, tucking it between her knees and giving her FULL attention to the other girl.

She wasn't staring or anything crazy or stalkerish. Just..paying attention. Taking her in. Especially that scarf and hat that indicated which house she was in. "What year are you?" Did Caterina know her? Did she know Cat? Would either have opinions on the other?

"Don't apologise, either. You weren't reading over my shoulder. Like you said." Or had she been? Was the apology a guilty conscience?

Kitten following along at her heels, Lux made her way over to the beech tree. It was getting colder out as November approached, but she wanted to make use of the nice day outside.

Her first choice of an audience had been Bay, but her boyfriend was nowhere to be found; meaning that he was probably in the Gryffindor Common Room. Arya was around though, and she would love to listen to a demonstration.

Reaching the beech tree, Lux placed her bag down by the trunk then sat herself down on the ground beside it. "Good girl, Arya." Affectionately, she rubbed behind her kitten's ears. It was time to get started, but some love needed to be given to her Arya first.

Cris was making his way from the castle over to the Student Gardens when he came upon Lux, sitting at the Beech tree with her kitten. Puzzled as to why she was out here alone, Cris walked over to join her.

"Hey Lux what are you doing here alone? Is everything okay? Where's Bay," Cris asked concern written all over his face.

After giving Arya love for a few minutes, Lux set about going through her bag and taking out a flashlight and a apple that she had drawn a black line around. Of course the flashlight wouldn't give off the strongest light in the daytime, but it was what it was. Not like Lux could break curfew and do this in the dark.

Ready to start, she was surprised to see Cris and how concerned he seemed to be. Awww, he was so sweet; a lot like Sander in that way. "Hey, Cris! Everything is okay. I was just about to do my Astronomy demonstration for my kitten. And I think Bay is in his Common Room. I haven't seen him anywhere." The first place she had checked for him was the kitchens.

Suddenly a great idea came to her. "You want to join Arya in watching my demonstration? I have this flashlight and apple." Holding one object in each hand, she let him see.

Cris smiled as he sat down on the grass next to her. "Sure go ahead," he nodded as he leaned back against the tree and waited eagerly to watch Lux's Astronomy demonstration. "Why don't you hand me Arya, so that you'll have both your hands free to demonstrate," Cris offered, holding out his hands for the kitten.

Awesome, now she had an audience of two!

Placing her flashlight and apple on the ground for a moment, Lux carefully picked Arya up and handed her over to Cris. They had never interacted before, so it was an awesome opportunity for them to get to know each other.

Grabbing the apple in one hand, she then picked up the flashlight in the other, making sure to turn it on. "Okay, so pretend this flashlight is the sun, and this apple is the earth. The black line I drew around the center of the earth is the equator. Also imagine a line going from the top of the earth to the bottom: this line is called the axis. The axis is what the earth spins on." Hopefully this was all making sense, because she really was not the best at explaining things. Meh.

"The earth is not positioned perfectly straight; it has a tilt." As she spoke, she angled the apple slightly, mimicking said tilt of the earth. "The earth remains on this tilt throughout the entire year without changing." Pausing, she hoped that Cris was still following her.

Cris nodded his head as he listened to Lux explain how the seasons worked. Yep it sounded right about how Professor Flamsteed had described it. Glad to see that Lux had obviously understood the lesson proper herself, he smiled at her encouraging her to continue, as he continued to stroke the kitten's soft fur.

Yes, that nod was good. It meant that she was making sense and Cris understood what she was saying. Arya was purring from all the attention, so that meant she was enjoying this as well!

"This tilted axis is why we have seasons," Lux went on to explain before shining the light from the flashlight on the apple. "From this position, you can see that the light is hitting BOTH the top AND bottom of the apple evenly." As she spoke, she made sure that they both got a good view of her demonstration. "When the earth is in this position, it is either spring or fall. While the Northern Hemisphere experiences spring, the Southern Hemisphere experiences fall. And while the Northern Hemisphere experiences fall, the Southern Hemisphere experiences spring. It is because of the sun casting an equal distribution of light that the temperatures in spring and fall are not too cold and not too hot." Another pause to make sure that all of this was hopefully sinking in. If it was incorrect, or needed to be explained better, they were more than welcome to voice their opinions.

Continuing with her demonstration, she rotated the earth so that the top of it had more light shining on it than the bottom. "Now, the first thing I want to note is that the amount of light hitting the earth has NOT changed in this position. Instead, the top - or Northern Hemisphere - is experiencing the direct light. The bottom - or Southern Hemisphere - is experiencing the INdirect light." Another pause for dramatic effect, because why not. "This is what we call summer in the Northern Hemisphere, and winter in the Southern Hemisphere. The direct rays of the sun brings the heat of summer, while the indirect rays of the sun brings the cold of winter."

Continuing to demonstrate the rotation on the earth, Lux stopped when the bottom was receiving more light than the top. "As in the last demonstration, the amount of light hitting the earth has NOT changed. This time, it is the Southern Hemisphere that is getting the direct light, while the Northern Hemisphere is getting the indirect light. In this position, the Northern Hemisphere is experiencing winter while the Southern Hemisphere is experiencing summer." Did they understand this? Had she covered all the points?

Cris clapped his hands. "Well done, Lux. You did an awesome job demonstrating how the tilt of the earth's axis affects the seasonal changes in the weather. It always does help when one is able to physically visualize how it happens," Cris smiled at Lux.

"You should find Bay and demonstrate what you've shown me to him," he stroked the kitten one more time before handing it over to his young friend.

"Are you going stay here a while longer or return to the castle. I'm headed off to the Student Gardens," Cris informed her as he stood up and brushed the grass from his pants.