Beech Tree by the Lake
 

http://i1149.photobucket.com/albums/...ps5b11374d.jpg
Image credited to Govoni
You may have walked past this tree, or you may have been one of few who stopped to admire the towering Beech Tree that sat directly beside the Lake for many years. Mr.Kirby has taken it upon himself to give purpose to the tree once more. Under the shade of this tree you can simply relax, do homework, read a book. The Beech Tree gives off a nice relaxing Aura so don't take to long of a nap, and miss your Classes. If you're itching for a small activity grab a Fishing Rod and see if you can land a big one! The lures provided have been charmed to keep any magical creature of the lake from getting hooked. Beside the crate of Rods you will see a sign. Mr.Kirby INSISTS you read it.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sign Beside Fishing Rods. -CATCH AND RELEASE ONLY! Fish here for fun. NOT for Pets, or Food! -NO LIVE BAIT!

Louis was a mix of excitement and nerves. He hadn’t seen Delilah since the end of summer; having been unable to join her during the train ride or the feast. And with the craziness of the first day of term behind them, Lou was finally given a chance to properly see his girlfriend. As in, for more than just two seconds when they passed each other in the crowded Great Hall or something.

Feeling a little empty without Luna bouncing around his feet to keep him distracted, Louis settled under the beech tree by the lake, absentmindedly watching as mysterious creatures would peek from the dark waters every now and then. A few golden leaves fell from the tree as a breeze passed, and the boy found his dark hair covered in the pesky things, his attempts at getting them all off turning futile as the leaves continued to fall.

Angsty!Teen alert..
 

Jenn <3
 

It was a nice, cool day, the youngest Wayne found it perfect to start her round about the castle. She had been planning on starting right and front center at the lake, but it seemed to be crowding up a bit already, so she decided to scamper off toward the beech tree she had climbed last term. Before she had gotten all old and wrinkly. UGH. She was still paranoid at times, though she wound't admit it.

Stopping in front of the beech tree, she gazed up and in a sudden movement - as to gain momentum - she reached for a branch, and using her legs and feet hoisted herself up. Tree climbing at its best. That and she hasn't forgotten her gymnastics. Leaning back against the trunk, a leg stretched out along the branch and the other dangling, she closed her eyes for a while. This wouldn't be too bad of a spot for a nap. The calming sound of the water helped lull her, but...she wasn't sleepy. Not at all.

Too much on her mind for that, and for the first time not all bad.

It was nice day out. Too nice to be cooped up in the castle, even the library. Brushing his hair back with with his free hand since his other carried his sketchbook. He squinted out at the lake with his pencil in his mouth before removing it and heading to sit by the tree. He was going to try and do a sketch of the castle from where he sat, as best he could anyway.

"if only i had been here an hour earlier." he mumbled to his self as he opened his sketchbook. The sun would of been at the most perfect angle for shadows and effect. siigh. He'd make it the best he could and maybe he'd even show Beverly... Maybe.

Eyes still closed, Beverly could have sworn she heard Jeremiah's voice. Merlin. She was imagining things now? Just out of curiosity though, she peeked through one eye and...

It WAS Jeremiah!

Quietly leaning forward, lying on her stomach, she clung to the branch and grinned to herself. "You would have caught the sun at a higher angle," she said, as if they've been mid conversation. He had his sketchpad and he was facing the castle, it was easy to put together what he was referring to.

"Hi."

He had already begun sketching the north side of the castle and was completely content with what he was doing when he heard a voice. "Yeah, it would of made for better shading and all." he said casually before blinking and looking up... wait... who said that!? He looked to his left and to his right and didn't see anyone. Was he hearing things or something!?

Going back down to his drawing slowly he stopped again hearing the voice again, and that's when he looked up. He was almost terrified of what he'd see up there, he wouldn't put it past Hogarts to have something creepy in the trees but, it was just a girl, a girl he knew! a girl he found pretty "Beverly!" did that sound too overly excited? welp oh well. "you look like a monkey hanging on that branch." She did, it was cute. heh Hi

She waited for him to realize it was her who was talking to him. Beverly has come to learn that once Jeremiah concentrated on something, his focus was set on that, so she didn't bother bugging him and just watched as he sketched. It became amusing when he looked every way, looking for the owner of the voice. Silly Jeremiah.

Squishing her own excitement down, she grinned at him. Probably the most genuine grin since the train. "That's me," she chirped. Multi colored eyes gleaming, Beverly twisted so that she was now hanging upside down, her legs crossed at her ankles around the branch, her arms still clinging to it. "A monkey? I was going for a koala."

"That is you.. Hi you." heh Hi. he suddenly didn't are about how the sun was or about his stupid sketch cause she was being a cute monkey!Koala whatever it is she wanted to be. "Monkey, Koala... they both hang from trees." and apparently so do Beverly's.

Squinting from the sun he used his sketchbook to shield his eyes, "why are you in the trees, Beverly?" was she trying something new? some animal meditation or something? "is it comfy hanging like that?" he pointed up at her as she hung herself upside down, he long hand hanging freely. She looked happy though, that's all he cared about

Louis was ruffling his hair when a lovely blonde suddenly appeared out of nowhere, greeting him casually. And he froze.

Okay, seriously.
Did she have to do that thing where she left him breathless all the time? It was like a bludger had just hit him in the face. Awkwardly chuckling the surprise away, Louis grinned at the girl, his blue eyes taking in the sight of her pretty face. And Merlin, he’d forgotten how amazingly she wore her uniform.

“Hey.” It was so weird seeing her on school grounds again; he’d kind of gotten used to having her home and watching movies while eating pizza every night. Smiling, he leaned in and placed a kiss on her lips, pulling back just a couple seconds later. “I’ve missed you.”

"Who else would it be?" she said with a slight cheeky grin. Blinking a bit to adjust her vision of the would upside down, Beverly wrinkled her nose at him in that playful manner that only he's had the privilege to see. "But I like koalas better. Monkeys are too loud and crazy."

It wasn't necessarily comfy up here, given her hands were gripping to rough bark, but she didn't mind it. She was a tough girl. "I like climbing trees," she simply responded. Then, getting a glint in her eyes, she added, "You should try it."

"a monkey.... or koala." do you see what he did there? Cleaver!Jeremiah was cleaver. Maybe if she came down here she wouldn't have to adjust and squint so much. but he couldn't help but laugh at her next words cause LOL! "you are loud and crazy." did she not know herself. she was one of the craziest people he knew, not that he minded. He liked her crazy and all.

She liked climbing tees though that was cool. "I've climbed a few trees in my day." not that he was claiming to be good or an expert just that he had done it... in the past, and not recently at all. "sometime.. maybe..." unless she meant now.. eerrr..

Shooting him an unimpressed look it only seconds before she broke out into a grin. "Oh yes, we can certainly find those on the grounds." More like silly Jeremiah was silly. Moving her hands for a better grip, she flashed him an upside down eyebrow raise. "Shhh. Don't blow my cover, Jeremiah. I'm going for a cool and mysterious disguise." Honestly, she considered herself all those things. It only depended whom she was around. Hi Jeremiah.

Swinging her leg up and hoisting herself back on sitting position on the branch, she shook her head. "I meant now. Climb the tree with me."

"Hey, you never know here with this school, i wouldn't be surprised, ok?" would she really be that surprised to see them? hmm? though her concern for her cover blowing was cute. "oh.. your secret is safe with me i promise." he cut his hand over his heart trying to be all dramatic in a sense.

"right now?" climb the tree? he looked down at his attire before shrugging. "i doubt id be able to hang all upside down like you can but what the hell." he'd try okay. "i also need to ask you something." heh.. yes.

"It wouldn't be a surprise to see trolls roaming around, either," she said in form of agreement. It was true. Expect the unexpected at Hogwarts; where you could go from normal to a total senile mummy in weeks. Yeah, she was still bitter over that. But she was getting over it. Okay, maybe not completely but distraction helped. Smirking a bit, Beverly was pleased with the whole 'cross over his heart' thing. "I hope all my secrets are." He knew what. She wasn't elaborating.

Giving him a once over, she forced her eyes back on his face, a slight rosie tint taking over her cheeks. She was checking if his clothes were good for climbing, okay. "No hanging, just climb." It took some flexibility to do her stunts. Tucking her hair behind her ear, Beverly tilted her head to the side in question. "Okay...go for it."

"Really?" Delilah smiled and gave him a quick peck on the lips. She really wished she could kiss him longer but wasn't sure if that was a good idea. There were people around and plus.. if a Professor happened to see them, she knew for sure they'd be in some serious trouble. Instead, she hugged him tight for a few seconds before pulling away and looked up at him.

"I've missed you, too." Delilah took his hand and linked her fingers through his, unable to keep the shy smile off her face. It was.. amazing how he just made her smile, without even trying.

"So.. tell me. How have you been? How do you like being a Prefect? Is it fun? I want to know everything."

"Really." Louis nodded his head, a silly lopsided smile permanently glued to his face. What? He had the prettiest girl in the school sitting next to him, it was kinda hard not to act like a lovestruck doof. And, she'd missed him too! Good.

The boy's gaze dropped to their linked hands as he listened to her list of questions, an amused chuckle escaping his lips. Well, Delilah was certainly curious.

"I've been alright," he replied, his expression turning a little thoughtful as she asked about his new prefect-ness. "It's pretty cool. I haven't had a chance to report anyone" - not that he was eager to do it either - "but it's pretty amusing when the first years look at you like you're another professor." He chuckled softly, all too amused by the innocence of the little ones. It was probably a little mean, but whatever. "Oh, and I do get to use the prefects' bathroom without sneaking around this time, so that's fun too."

And speaking of sneaking around... Should he mention his drunken midnight skate sessions with Jun? He wasn't sure what Delilah would think of that. He doubted she'd throw him into the lake for it, but he was supposed to be all innocent good boy. "It's also nice not to have to follow the curfew." He grinned. "Maybe we can meet up some time?"

ayyyy Arielle!
 

For Emmy/Bre :3!
 

Kace finally made it to the Beech Tree by the lake. He had his picnic basket with the help of the house elves for the food, in his hands and he also had a blanket. He put the basket down and started to spread the blanket down. It was a gorgeous day outside and he wanted to spend it like this. He heard a snap of the twigs and jerked his head and thought Emmy was coming. When he noticed it was a squirrel, he chuckled and shook his head.

Oh squirrels....

After the blanket was spread out quite well in his opinion, he put the basket in the center and laid out his legs. He was waiting for his panda, but she didn't know she was coming for this surprise.

This was the very first time that had been down to the grounds since she had gotten to Hogwarts. She didn't know where she was going but she would follow wherever her feet would lead her. Down the way she went in her white dress and off white cardigan, she didn't hate the fall season but she could sense that the cold weather was making its way to the castle.

As she was walking she found a nice tree to sit under but better than that she found a blonde haired boy that made everything in her life better...KACE...her BOYFRIEND. Emmylou started to jump up and down, that was good that Kace could see her. She was so happy and was that a picnic that he had laid out? "KACE!" Emmylou smiled and wrapped her arms around him.

Kace was waiting for Emmy, he heard some crackling of leaves. He turned his head and saw this beautiful blonde girl walking his way. He got up and straightened himself out. He was wearing a blue striped shirt and tan shorts. He took off his shoes because he didn't need it yet. He knew that smile all too well. He even knew that voice too well. He beamed when he saw her.

"Hey beautiful..." he said squeezing her hands when she had them around his waist. "Glad you could make it.." he smiled and kissed her lightly. "I have food and drinks over here..." he said taking her hand softly and guiding her toward his set up. He hoped she liked it.

"Trolls....." no that wouldn't be cool, not at all. nope. "that wouldn't be cool." he wouldn't be okay. He was standing and closing his sketchbook to set on the ground as he prepared to climb the tree with her as best he could. "i promise they are." super super safe even.

gripping a branch he pulled himself up as his feet went into she tree getting a grip. he could do this. dont let us down feet! Pullllling up till he was at a place he can get up and be sorta the same level as he he grinned. told you he could do it. "i just." he needed to catch his breath That was exhausting. Pushing his hair out of his face be smirked slightly. "wanna know what your class schedule is like this term and hen you're free and stuff." for reasons. Ahem

When he'd finally heard what had happened, aside from beating himself up about it, West had pretty much immediately been caught up by two contrasting urges. The first was to go find Jozsua and just... hang out with him, be there for his friend despite everything, and the second was to hang back and give him space. He'd gone with the second for reasons of his own but once he'd realised his mate was now completely avoiding him and apparently everyone else? Yeahh not so much. He wasn't going to just let that go.

It wasn't exactly that he was looking for Jozsua in that moment either, he just happened to be on his way outside, heading to a particular part of the lake actually. So spotting Jozsua by the tree was really a bonus. West stopped in his tracks and waited for the other boy to notice him, then he jerked his head in the direction he was going, a definite suggestion for Jozsua to follow him... if he happened to still believe in the whole 'always mates' thing they'd both promised.

He paused for a moment longer and then set off in the usual direction, to his usual spot.

Józsua tore his eyes away from the lake when he sensed someone looking in his direction. An inward wince. West.

Although he couldn't deny it wasn't good to see the guy. Mixed feelings. Józsua spent his entire time feeling mixed up about everything.

The jerk of the head and Józsua stood, without hesitation, and followed.

Whoop sorry it's so late!
 

Adrienne trotted up to the beech tree with a pleased look on her face and a stack of books in her arms. It was a lovely day, and she had a few hours to sit under a tree and actually get some reading done before winter set in, as it was likely to do soon. And that would leave her locked inside for months on end, since she absolutely could not stand snow. However, to her chagrin, when she arrived at the place where she usually curled up with her back against the bark of the tree and felt isolated from the rest of the world, there was already someone there.

Sleeping.

Well that most certainly would not do. Adrienne prodded at the boy with her foot, not quite kicking him in the ribs but making the general motions as if she were. "Budge up, that's my spot. You can find somewhere else to sleep."

Not report anyone yet? Aw, that was kind of sad. Delilah's blue eyes turned to look at him curiously for a moment, a small smirk playing near the corners of her lips. "If I ever get into trouble or create any mischief, would you report me?" Y'know. Not that THAT was ever going to happen. The girl liked rules and definitely liked to obey them but still.. Delilah was a tiny bit curious.

Oh, right. Speaking of the Prefect's bathroom, she cleared her throat slightly. "Yeah.. I was wondering if we could use it sometime? Maybe.. at night?" As much as she was proud of him for having a badge, she also liked the fact that it came with so many privileges. Now, she could just sneak in whenever she wanted to because she had a boyfriend with power. How lovely. The girl smiled at him before laying back on the grass, her hand still linked with his. This felt so nice. The weather was still pleasantly warm, the gentle breeze, holding hands with the boyfriend. Life couldn't get any better. Hmm? What?

"Yeah, sure. We can meet up.. I'd like to meet you more often. I don't want to see you just once in a couple of weeks or something." Delilah hoped she didn't sound too clingy.. She gave his hand a gentle squeeze, her smile widening to a small grin. "Just tell me where and I'll be there."

Louis laughed. Was she seriously asking that? As obedient as he was, he wasn’t THAT eager to follow the rules. “Of course not.” He narrowed his blue eyes suspiciously at her, though there was still a smile on his lips. “Should I be worried? You’re not going to start causing trouble now, are you?” He poked her nose playfully, amused by the thought of a trouble-making Delilah.

But maybe Delilah did have a mischievous streak in her. Or at least that’s the feeling Louis got when she suggested they share the Prefects’ bathroom. At night. “I suppose that can be arranged…” he decided with playful seriousness, as if they were talking about a business meeting. No, but really. He liked that idea. More than he’d like to confess.

Lou watched absentmindedly as Delilah proceeded to lay down on the grass, her blonde hair spread around her in lovely golden waves. He smiled at the sight, that stupid lovestruck grin on his face again. It was ridiculous how effortlessly she could drive him absolutely mad. It wasn’t fair. Not at all. At her following words, Louis’s grin faltered slightly. Right. Yeah, he probably hadn’t been doing a good job of keeping in touch lately. “We’ll see each other more often, I promise,” he assured her, bringing their linked hands up to his lips and placing a kiss on the back of the girl’s hand. Her last words got him to smile again. “Oh yeah? Anywhere, anytime?”

Silas had gone almost all the way around the lake by the time he neared the Beech tree. He wasn't in a hurry, he was just out here for good old fresh air and exercise. Of course, he could be doing more int he way of exercise, but meh. He had brought along a baseball, which he was turning over and over in his hands, occasionally tossing it into the air. Silas was wearing a tan sweater over a white-collared shirt, sleeves pushed up, of course. His pants were a darker shade of brown, contrasting with the red and orange all around him.

Silas looked down towards the lake from the pathway, seeing the way the leaves reflected in the water with the occasional ripple here and there, the movements of the fish. Not looking where he was going, his foot slipped off the side of a rock, making him reach out to stop himself from falling, and the ball tumbled from his hands, down towards the shore.

Kit's tiny paws splashed about in the very shallowest parts of the water, trilling from the excitement of chasing around the tiny minnows. Kanna watched the little animal and smiled, laughing at her antics. Suddenly, and without missing a beat, the ferret ran from the water and looked to be heading up the bank. The Ravenclaw watched as Kit tackled a ball rolling down the slope, tumbling to a stop.

She looked up to find the source of the ball and saw a boy, appearing very unsteady on the rocks, and she put two and two together.

"Kit, quit that," she said, putting her notebook aside and leaning over to take the ball away from the little fuzzbutt. Kanna rolled onto her knees and stood up, ball in hand, as Kit danced off to wrestle with... herself, tumbling through the pebbles beside the lake.

"This yours?" she asked, holding up the ball.

Silas watched as some.... tiny... thing... was-was that a ferret? A ferret pounced on his ball, and then he spotted a girl sitting under the tree, looking back at him, and he stared. Was that...? Yes! Yes, it was!

He steadied himself as she stood and came down to her. "You!" he said excitedly. He had found her! The girl with the bright red hair! It had to be her! "It's you!" This was much more lively than Silas usually was with introductions, but he had had and lost many opportunities to speak with this stranger girl. Now here she was. He knew he would find her.

"I-I have something for you!" Silas reached into the pocket of his trousers. He had kept it on his person almost all the time. Just in case.

There was incecream. And lots of it. All the flavors you could possibly imagine. Vanilla. Chocolate. Strawberry. Sherbet. Coffee. Rocky Road---

"OI!" The young Gryffindor woke up startled and quickly looked around his surroundings. "WHAT'S GOING ON? IS THERE A FIRE?" Wait, nope no flames. Then what was the problem? And as if she were answering his question the girl responded. Oh. A girl? Zander squinted his eyes in attempt to block out the sun while this girl seemed to be angrily complaining about something or another. What was she saying? Her spot? Somewhere else to sleep? Huh?

Did she learn nothing from the whole "never-tickle-a-sleeping-dragon" motto. In all honesty it was probably because the dragon wouldn't be able to understand you right after he woke up. BECAUSE HE NEEDS TO COLLECT HIMSELF FIRST. "Uh, your spot? I'm only a third year, but I'm pretty sure that anyone can sit here." OR SLEEP. Which he was doing before YOU rudely woke him. However, not really in the mood to get into another fight this week Zander decided to be nice. "But uh, if you want we could share the spot?" Buuuut he wasn't going to give it up entirely. He got there first okay. He EARNED it.

Delilah laughed and gave a small shrug of the shoulders. "Weeeeell, no. I can't see myself getting into trouble.." Maybe she should. One day. It would be kind of nice to do something that was totally un-like her.. Hmm. The girl mentally shook her head and returned to their present conversation, making a note to think about it later. "I like the idea of you worrying about me, though." She grinned happily and poked him back on the cheek. "You're adorable."

Delilah looked rather smug at his response. Not that she'd expected him to refuse but yeah. "I knew you'd be up for it." Delilah said, unable to keep the smirk off her face. It would be great to spend some private time with the boyfriend.. Ahem. ANYWAY. "We could go down to the kitchens for a snack after?"

"Hey." Delilah nudged him with her leg, suddenly feeling a little bad. As much as she wanted to spend time with him, he probably had loads of prefect-y ( that's totally a word, yeeees ) stuff to do. "If you're busy, I totally understand. I know you have responsibilities now and they come first.. Yeah. I just want you to know that. I didn't mean to sound selfish.. " The girl smiled up at him shyly. They'd been dating for a few months now and she still didn't get how she ended up so lucky. He was just prefect, in every way possible.

Delilah nodded at his question, surprised that he'd even ask. "Of course! Anywhere, anytime. Always." She replied, the smile on her face widening to a bright grin.

Louis narrowed his blue eyes at her again. “You like making me worry?” He smiled and shook his head slightly, though that wasn’t very nice. He’d rather not worry or see her in trouble. At least not on purpose. When she poked his cheek and called him adorable, he chuckled softly. What was with everyone calling him that lately?

“How well you know me…” Louis laughed lightly at her smugness, and nodded his head in agreement to her following suggestion. “Sounds like a night well spent.” He was rather looking forward to it now.

The boy frowned slightly as Delilah began to apologize, though he appreciated her understanding. She was too nice to him, seriously. “You’re not selfish at all. I want to spend more time with you, too,” he assured her, flashing the girl a smile. “Perhaps we’re both just selfish when it comes to each other.” Whether this was bad or good, he wasn’t sure, but he didn’t mind admitting it. If he could hog up Delilah’s time for the rest of the term, he would. But that probably wouldn’t be very healthy.

“Oh yeah? I’m gonna have to put that to the test one of these days, then.” He smiled and leaned in to place a kiss on her forehead. “So, Mademoiselle Starr. Tell me about yourself.” He laid back on the grass, beside her. “How was the rest of your summer? Your classes so far?”

Talking about trolls. "I wouldn't mind learning how to fight them off, though." She mused over the idea. That...would be cool, actually. Kicking troll butt and being the hero. Besides, she felt it necessary since there were a few stray in the woods near the manor. Not that they ever crossed the boundary wards. Still. Cool. She shot Jeremiah another grin. She knew she could trust him.

Watching as he climbed up, Beverly scoot down the branch so they'd both fit. She knew he could do it. Jeremiah wasn't JUST good at surfing. Heh. Hehe. His smirk caught her off guard, and the Slytherin found herself slightly blushing. "Oh...umm..." Snap out of it, Wayne! "I have my schedule in my dorm, I can owl it to you?" She hadn't bothered to memorize it since no one had asked her about it. With another curious look, she asked, "Why?"

"if they don't knock you out first." not that he'd want her knocked out or anything but he cared for her and the last thing he wanted was her to be knocked out and hurt. tragic really. "Not that i want you to get knocked out or anything." he clarified for reasons and stuff.

He could also climb trees and stuff, kinda anyway. Making his way up the tree he sat on the branch next to her before moving the hair from his face, again. "that'd be great." cause they both needed to be not in class and stuff. "why!? no reason... none at all..Don't worry about it, Beverly. "juuuuust curious is all." :3

Kanna was taken aback by his first words to her. The girl looked around briefly before gesturing to herself with the ball and replying "Me!" What else was she supposed to say? He obviously thought she was someone... She didn't know him, she was sure. She was usually very good with remembering people. But he seemed to know her.

She looked at him curiously, taking a step back when he ran up to her, and watched with interest as he began digging for something. Probably whatever it was that was for her. This was much better than the standard introductions, to be sure...

Pulling her long hair over her shoulder and separating it in three even parts, her eyes gleamed as her fingers got working on a braid. "You know I'm pretty fast on my feet." Even on sand, he's seen her. "My dad was once got knocked out by one...he lived." True story, though she hadn't been born yet. Apparently her cousin Yvonne had wandered off when she was a child, a troll saw her as a threat or food, but her dad had saved her.

Seriously, that man was a hero. Hehe. Her dad's a hero.

She eyed him. "You sure about that?" Hmm. What was he up to? If he was planning on doing her homework then that was a big NO. Beverly enjoyed doing her own very much. She'd have a fit if someone ever tried doing it for her.

Adrienne looked more closely at the younger boy. He was being unexpectedly and annoyingly resistant. All she wanted to do was read Hélas, Je me suis Transfiguré Les Pieds, the first lighthearted play she'd found in a while, as old as it may have been, in the shade of one of her favourite trees in the spot where she always read. Why couldn't people just comply with a few simple requests? Honestly, was the world out to make her miserable?

She pretended to consider his request for a moment, and then dropped the act with an exasperated sigh. "Hm, no, I don't think so. Why don't you just scoot and get out of my way?" That particular phrase was accompanied by little shooing hand gestures from Adrienne. "Unlike you, I have stuff to do that's actually, y'know, enriching and intellectually stimulating." Seriously, why would you want to sleep during the day? Especially on such a nice day as this, when you could be taking advantage of the weather by actually being conscious to enjoy it?

If her Hogwarts uniform didn't already give it away, she was most definitely a Ravenclaw. 'Enriching and intellectually blah-blah-blah'. Was it just her or were all the Ravenclaws this pretentious. "Actually, sleeping is just as equally important as all that intellectual stuff. After all, it helps refresh your mind so that you can do all of the enriching in the first place." He had a point. And besides, two could play at that game.

And with all of the "excitement" of going back to school, Zander hardly got any sleep. Then after the welcome feast he stayed up all night in the common room. Basically, Zander needed a nap time. And he was there first anyways. There was no way he'd move.

Though the boy was normally shy and outspoken, getting woken up by a rude Ravenclaw made him uncharacteristically grumpy. "I'm not moving. So either you can share, or you can go find somewhere else to do your enriching nonsense." HA. Smirk. Then he promptly put his head back down onto his pillow and closed his eyes once again. Was she still standing there? Hopefully not.

Delilah shrugged once more, the corners of her lips lifting up in a small smile. "It's just.. I love that you'd worry about me, you know? That you're concerned." It just made her so happy that there was someone was looking out for her.. Yeah, she had her family and friends but it just wasn't the same, was it? Meh.. She wasn't exactly sure if that was even making any sense so she simply shook her head, her smile fading slightly. "But, relax. I was kidding.. You don't ever have to worry about me. I'm not one to get in trouble.. usually."

Selfish when it came to each other.. Yes, maybe. At least, even if she didn't want to admit it, Delilah was selfish when it came to Lou. She couldn't help it though. Was it that wrong to crave for boyfriend time? Or maybe she was just being too clingy and needy.. "I suppose." The blonde sighed a little before turning to look up at the sky. "I like being with you.. a lot, Louis Bolton. You make me happy." She said, her cheeks turning slightly pink. Funny how she still blushed around him.

And then, she was suddenly grinning when he joined her on the grass. "Good! I went to Florida and basically spent the rest of the summer at the beach with my family. Oh and I got my belly-button pierced too! It was fun." Except for one awkward situation which she really didn't want to talk about right now. Yeah, no. He'd hear about it later. As for classes.. "Same as usual, I guess. Still struggling with Astronomy.. I mean, I LOVE that subject but it just requires lots and lots of hard work." Which she didn't mind, really. Better to slog for the next two years and then enjoy for the rest of her life, yes? Hard work always paid off.

Louis seemed slightly amused when Delilah explained the logic behind her earlier comment. Perhaps it was her word choice that had puzzled him earlier. ‘Worry’ was such a… strong word. “So what you’re saying is… you like that I care about you,” he said, half-statement half-question. It made him smile, though, that she knew he cared about her. “…Usually?” He laughed. “That’s reassuring.”

The girl’s following words made the Gryffindor boy beam like a kid on Christmas morning. Seriously, how did she manage to make him feel on top of the world with just a few words? “I’m glad to hear that, Delilah Starr. I’ll take it as permission to snatch you away whenever I’m feeling selfish,” he decided with a smile, admiring the way her cheeks turned a light shade of pink. Awww. She was so cute when she blushed.

“Sounds like a good time,” said Lou, listening as Delilah shared her last few summer days with him. “How’s your family? Everyone alright?” He actually didn’t know much about the girl’s background or family, so this was a nice little reminder that she didn’t just fall out of the sky one day. He wondered vaguely what she must’ve been like around her family, around her parents. Maybe she was the same Delilah he knew. Or maybe she turned into a totally different person? Hmm.

Wait, and she got her belly-button pierced? Louis raised a curious eyebrow. “Can I see?”
When Delilah then went on to explain her struggles with Astronomy, he laughed lightly. “I know exactly what you mean, it’s not really one of my favourite classes either,” he said, looking up at the tree branches hovering above them, casting a cool shadow over the two kids. Lou made a game out of catching the falling leaves with his free hand, though his mind wasn’t really in it.

Adrienne narrowed her eyes. He was putting up more of a fight than she'd expected. She couldn't tell from his robes, given the way he was sitting, but she was almost sure already that he was a Gryffindor. They were the ones who usually were stubborn enough not to take pity on her when she just wanted a simple place to read.

"Maybe so, but you see humans, being diurnal creatures, tend to save the sleeping for night." Her voice had taken on a bit of a patronising tone, as if she were teaching a small child something exceedingly obvious. "Also, we invented these things called beds, you know, where we're meant to sleep?" But still nothing. In fact, he had the gall to lie back down after suggesting again that they share! She wasn't about to share her reading spot with some egotistical third year who wasn't compassionate enough to think about her feelings. Calling him a rather obscene name in French, she thought about just sitting on him if he wouldn't get out of the way, but after a moment reconsidered. He was probably bony and not particularly comfortable, anyway.

"Fine, but at least make a little bit more space so I have somewhere to sit, yeah?" She was decidedly unhappy with the compromise, though. If that wasn't clear already.

Emmylou blushed as Kace greeted her. The blonde gave him a tight hug before loosening her grip around him and kissing him back lightly. "This is a pleasant surprise." Emmylou smiled and looked around at the picnic set up for the both of them. "I'm glad I was able to make it too." the third year grinned up at him. He was so tall, like a skyscraper. Emmylou wished that she was taller, just being five foot would make the thirteen year old happy and she was almost there but she still wasn't growing any taller. "This is so sweet of you." she said looking up at him and taking his hand. Kace was just pure perfection.

"I know i gotta say it was easy keeping it from you being in different houses and all.." he grinned and nudged her lightly. But he only joked a little bit. As he lead her to the set up, he saw her gorgeous eyes light up. That was the reaction he was waiting for. He smiled widely looking down at her, "I am glad you made it too.." he leaned down and kissed her. "Eh..it was nothing." he shrugged and motioned her to sit down first.

He walked around to the basket to get a bottle of sparkling cider and asked, "Would you like some mademoiselle?" he asked trying to impress her with his french skills.

Delilah remained quiet for a few seconds. "It's just.. I don't know.. I like that someone cares about me enough to worry.." She gave a small shake of her head and smiled. "Nevermind. I just like that you like me." Mhm, now that made total sense. Usually.. Okay, well. Did the occasional visits to the Prefect's bathroom count? Maybe. If she were caught, that is. But then again, she got along with almost all the students leaders so she had nothing to worry about. Heh. "Fiiiiine. I won't do anything to make you worry, promise. Happy now?"

Delilah couldn't help but laugh a little. He looked so happy; And she loved the fact that she could make him smile like that. Yeah, it felt good. "You don't even have to ask me for permission, Lou. You should know by now that you really don't." The girl smiled back at him, turning to lightly graze her lips against his cheek.

"Yeah.. yeah, alright. Everyone's fine.. thanks for asking." Delilah nervously fidgeted with the hem of her shirt with a free hand. "I.. I told my parents about you." And, they weren't extremely thrilled about it, for reasons. But she hadn't really wanted to keep her relationship a secret forever. Plus, her sister had noticed her empty left ring-finger the second she reached home. But somehow, her parents weren't that annoyed as she thought he would be.. and in fact, her mother had even suggested that they meet him which made her feel a little too anxious.

"Yeah, of course." Delilah smiled when he asked to see her piercing. Looking around to make sure that no one was around, the girl pulled her shirt up just a bit to reveal her pierced navel before pulling it back down quickly. "See? It looks kind of hot, doesn't it?" She was honestly so proud of the fact that she did it. Yes, very proud.

"What IS your favourite class?" Delilah asked curiously. Maybe.. Charms? She guessed mentally. Orrrr.. Care of Magical Creatures? Hmm. Wait. DADA? Right? It had to be DADA. She watched him, concern suddenly washing over her features. He seemed so distracted all of a sudden. She hadn't said anything to upset him, had she? "You alright?"

Theo was feeling good today, and his hair was definitely shining to show this mood off. After being cooped up in the common room for ages this morning, Theo decided to take the afternoon off and went outside for some fresh air. And dang, it WAS fresh. Kinda cold, too, but thankfully he had brought a thick jacket with him.

With his arms folded, the lake caught his eye but it was way too cold to get anywhere near it, so he stopped off near the tree instead.

PLOP. He sat down with his long legs spread out wide. Peace and quiet.

Kids whined a lot. And they were noisy. Cassia never thought she'd be saying that one day, seeing that she used to be one of those. And she used to not like the older kids for complaining about it. But man, she needed to clear her head from all the ruckus in the common room. Without knowing where she was headed, she was out the common room after she grabbed her bag.

Good thing she remembered to bring it, she thought, she had some things to help her pass the time while she was out. With the bag slung over her shoulder she set off to the grounds and absent-mindedly walked around. That until she felt like she needed to sit down and rest. Wow, how long had she been walking again ? A sudden feeling of fear struck her, what if she was aging and infected like people were last year!!!!

Pushing the dark thoughts to the back of her head, she decided it was nothing. After all, she did walk all the way here from the dungeons. That was something.

Cassia's eyes scanned the surroundings around her and searched for a place to sit down and rest. Maybe read a book. Yeah, maybe not. A familiar face grabbed her attention and she was glad to find company. Plopping next to Theo, Cassia smiled at her bestfriend. "Hey!" he didn't mind her joining did he ? Hopefully. " Nice spot," it seemed like it provided a nice view and a bit of privacy but still not isolated. He was NICE to share it with her!

You know what? It was too cold here.

Theo gave the place another look around and shifted to get up but RIGHT THEN, he was joined by a familiar someone who made him relax into his previous position. "Sup, Cas?" Theodore gave her a bright smile that reflected his mood. He could never be in a bad mood when Cassia was around. Had she ever seen his grumpy side even? He hoped not, cause it wasn't pretty!

"Yeah, it's all right. Kinda chilly, though!" It was warming up a bit since her joining him, though. Summin' to do with body warmth of others probably, or because he was slowly forgetting about it due to actual social interaction. "You been up to much today?" Maybe she was looking for an afternoon off, too.

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.

Laura/Vinnie ♥
 

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.

For anyone :D
 

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?

Astronomy Homework #1 - Post 1
 

Lux
 

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.

Astronomy Homework #1 - Post 2
 

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.

Astronomy Homework #1 - Post 3
 

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.

Astronomy Homework #1 - Post 4
 

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.

This was amazing, Emmylou was still in awe and shock at how Kace had set this all up for them. He was perfect. Wait, TEN MONTH ANNIVERSARY. GULP. Emmylou scratched her head, she had forgotten their anniversary. Now that she was at Hogwarts she was forgetting everything. This school was making her lose her memory. The third year couldn't believe that she was forgetting this and her planned day with Lux and Cinnamon. She had to make sure that Kace wouldn't find out that she forgot about their ten months together. Had it really been ten months already? O_O "Just a little bit to fancy?" Emmylou giggled. She liked fancy but she knew that sometimes things were to fancy and this wasn't one of those times. She knew that anything French was too fancy. Emmylou clanked her glass against his and smiled before taking a sip. Then she got a kiss! Emmylou smiled as she kissed him back softly. "Those look really yummy." Or she was just really hungry.

Kace shrugged when Emmy admitted it was a little too fancy. "Well i wanted to do something a little special. But this is it I swear." he said holding up his hands. After he finished his salad, he reached into the basket for the next meal. "Well do dig in.." he offered to her. He saw the hunger in her eyes. He may of heard her stomach growl but he smiled it off.

But if she thought this was too fancy. He smirked even more and said, "I mean what i am gonna do with these simple peanut butter and jelly sandwiches?" he asked him showing her he went with simple. See? He didn't wanna show off too much. He wanted to take things nice and simple. He knew Emmy like that. "I mean I hope you like PB&J..." he said eating his sandwich.

For Liam/ Angel ^_^
 

Adi had almost finished the book on hippogriffs he has been reading for the past few days. He decided he would finish it at the edge of the Lake but something had drawn him towards the beech tree instead.

The Puffer decided there couldn't be a better place to finish his book. So, without further ado, he sat down under the shade of it big branches, leaned against the huge trunk, opened his book and got to reading.

Right! So it wasn't only her. She'd been worried that she was turning into one of those whiny and constantly complaining ones, but it wasn't only her so yeah, she wasn't turning into one. Not yet or fully at least."Even the library isn't that quiet all the time," She herself when she got there couldn't remember not running into someone she knew where she ended up chatting leaving whatever book she had left untouched. "I don't need to be told twice," she grinned at him nudging the bag an inch away.

PERU! That got her all excited.

"Oh, it was great!" she said angling her body so that she could look at him. "Well, most of it," Since there were parts where she regretted going but those didn't last long and now that it was over she luckily could mostly remember the good parts.

Where to start, though?! She considered starting from the very start where the group met but she figured that that would be one heck of a long story that wouldn't be finished now and that she might have to keep talking until they had to go back to the common room and stay up late and maybe even pause and continue telling it the next day. That definitely would be boring for Theo, although, her friend never expressed annoyance by her chatty nature. She was sensible and decided to tell the most exciting and worthy things. "We encountered Trolls!" Was that not epic?!

Vinnie smiled as the girl turned to look at her. She closed her book and crossed her legs, maybe this wouldnt be too bad. „Sometimes sticking to your own thoughts is the easiest way to escape the world“, she nodded,“ at least for a bit.“ Did that sound weird?! It probably did...after all she was the weird one.

The brunette tried to remember if she'd seen the other girl before...but nothing. She probably wasnt a Slytherin...or maybe not in the common room a lot.“ Fifth and you?“ There was no need to tell her house, in this weather it was quite obvious. It was good the houses were healthy rivals now, why limit your choice of possible friends. Sometimes opposites attracted. So it didnt really matter what house the other one was in, but it was always interesting.

„Still“, Vinnie said,“ i didnt mean to make you feel uncomfortable.“ It was just so nice to sit under the beech tree.

Angel was walking around the grounds when she suddenly saw Adi, the mean puff as she was now calling him, "Adi?" Adi sighed, she wished that Adi would tell her what was going on. "Adi? Have I upset you at all?" Adi wished that her friend would tell her what she had done to upset him.

Adi had not heard when the voice called out to him the first time such was his concentration on his book. But he did hear his name the second time around. Looking up, he blinked at the face looking back at him. Her. The Best Friend Thief. What did she want with him?

"Don't you have somewhere else to be? Like hanging out with Benny?'' the third year asked, now looking back down at his book and frowning. His tone wasn't as it had been that day at the Willow. Instead he was speaking in a resigned tone. Yep. He was resigned to the fact that Benny liked hanging out more with Angel now.

Adi shrugged. "Doesn't matter anymore.'' Now leave him alone.

Angel looked at Adi. "I like hanging out with other people as well." Angel pouted as she looked at Adi, she thought they were friends and he had been nice to her before, but now he was acting like someone who had lost something and was blaming her for it, but she couldn't figure out what.

"Adi if I did something wrong, I want to know." Angel gave him her best puppy dog eyes. "Please, I don't like you being angry with me." Okay so if Benny was angry with her then she would be heartbroken but Adi was still a friend.

Adi continued to stare at his book, pretending to read but actually he wasn't seeing the words on the page. Angel being here brought up memories of the occurrence at the Willow and that wasn't something he wanted to think about. He didn't want to think about either Angel nor Benny and that was the reason he was spending most of his time alone, his head buried in a book.

"I'm not angry with you. Not anymore,'' Adi said in the same resigned voice. "But if you really want to know then listen. You're hanging out with my best friend so much that I don't get to hang out with him anymore.'' There. Now the first year knew the reason he had been annoyed for the past few days.

Angel looked at Adi as he spoke, and then blushed. "I'm sorry Adi." Angel sighed as she felt a tear coming down her face. "I didn't mean to steal your best friend from you." Angel just wanted to spend time with Benny. "I just like spending time with him, though I also like spending time with you, maybe all three of us can have a play date." Angel sighed, wondering if that would make Adi happy or even more mad with her.

Oh no. Not again. Adi could hear the tone in Angel's voice and knew she wanted to burst out crying. Ugh! He couldn't deal with when people cry. How was Angel so different from AJ? AJ needed to teach her sister to toughen up a bit.

"Yeah, well you can keep him, Angel,'' Adi said, frowning at a picture of an infant Hippogriff. "Spend all the time you want with him.'' His eyebrows shot up at her next statement. Play date? What was he? Three or something? "I don't need play dates. I'm not a kid.'' Adi sighed. "Buzz off, Angel. I want to be alone.'' But somehow he knew she would not leave just yet.

For a bit? Elodie nodded, even though she didn't fully agree. "Sometimes your thoughts are worse than the world." Hers were. Sometimes. Other times, she just really liked to be by herself and consider everything. Like the future. Ugh, the future. "Other times... it's nice to only deal with your own opinions." Of which, she had a lot.

"Seventh." And older than her, it had became apparent. She left out the point that she was a prefect, and a Hufflepuff and most definitely better than her, because she just..wasn't in the mood to dish out titles or anything more than what she immediately needed. But a fifth year. Hmm.. That meant she was the year below some of her friends. Right. Ah. Nevermind. Elodie wasn't going to ask questions about people, because one opinion wrong from this girl and pow. She might be gaining blood flow from her nose.

"You didn't make me feel uncomfortable. I wasn't writing anything to make me feel uncomfortable if it was read." That was a lie.

Angel sighed as she looked at Adi. "Adi, I'm sorry if I upset you." Angel sighed as she looked at her friend or was it ex friend, she didn't know all she knew was she wished that he would tell her more about what was wrong.

O_____________o

"YOU KNOW WHAT ADI!!" Angel snapped, was that good enough, she had decided to stand up for herself at last, "I have tried to be nice to you and friendly and I've not done anything wrong other than talk to Benny." Angel glared she was totally annoyed now. "I'm gone." And with that Angel stalked off back towards the castle.

Adi remained silent, now staring at the words printed on his book. Maybe he should apologise to Angel. He had lost his head, after all. Without looking up, he opened his mouth to do just that but to his enormous surprise...

:whaa:

Was that Angel shouting at him? In his surprise, Adi's head snapped up, his mouth slightly open. Who knew she had it in her? He remained silent, this time it was because he was too shocked to say anything. He continued to watch her as she stormed off towards the Castle. Ho well. She'd get her apology another time.

Furmy padded along with his wings flapping a bit uneven. With an inflation of his slightly padded chest, he slowed to a gradual landing in front of the recipient, then hopped towards her. A letter was tied to his leg.

Would he get treats?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Letter http://i1220.photobucket.com/albums/.../xm4vnnjpg.pnghttp://i1220.photobucket.com/albums/...2ptzc5sjpg.pngXaria Lyndsey Logan-Gunter October 10th, 2083 2:53AM 6lbs 2oz Here's some Photos! Sorry i didn't get them to you sooner but, life's busy you know.Thought you might would love to see her before Christmas. I miss you loads and i hope Hogwarts is treating you well. xx- Ari Text Cut: Pictures http://i1059.photobucket.com/albums/...ps9e44d349.jpghttp://i1059.photobucket.com/albums/...ps1decdca6.jpg

„I guess its about the balance of thoughts and reality.“ Vinnie wasnt one to overthink things, so her thoughts were a good place to hide in most of the time. But right now she liked reality a lot so she had no need to escape. Everything was finally falling into place. Which was nice. Dealing with your own opinion only? Hmmm.. the Slytherin did have a lot of opinions but she liked to voice them. „Depends on how good one is at discussing and accepting other opions.“ And she certainly was.


It was kind of weird how she had acted like it had made her feel uncomfy but said it hadnt. It would be careless to write something like that in public anyway. Someone could always sneak up behind you. Oh well.It would be „And what house?“ Probably not Slytherin...something about her wasnt Slytherin at all.

"Yeah... nowhere's quiet." Well, Theo had yet to find a place that wasn't full of distractions. It didn't help that the smallest of things would distract him from studying, though. Dust gathering on desks was a prime example. He was a bit deep in thought for a moment but looked over to smile when she agreed to not get the books out. Yeah, we didn't need those kind of headaches right now. "So... other than burying your head in books, been up to much?" Theo hadn't seen Cassia as much as he was hoping. AND he was eager to hear about what she thought of being Head Girl in comparison to his own opinions.

Oh, good!! Theo was glad about her experience being good, since he didn't have too much faith in a Hogwarts field trip being successful... or safe. "No one died?" Surely he would have heard about it buuuuuuuuut Theo never paid much attention to current events.

"Trolls??! Big, ugly, gross things?" Behind cages, he hoped!! Theo made a face, undecided whether encountering trolls could be considered as cool.

She didn't suppose she was really burying her head in books, though she knew she should be! She wasn't about to contradict that, maybe it'd be some kind of a motivation to get her to actually do it. Here's to hoping. "I thought I'd be doing lots of things, you know, but it's not much," She admitted. Being a seventh-year plus a Head Girl had glamour and a huge amount of build-up and expectations. "We should do something exiting," Did he not think so ?

That was the most sensible question which Cassia would have asked herself, had she not been on the trip. "Nope, everyone survived." Which was a huge accomplishment. "Those are the ones, " She nodded solemnly. Well, trolls weren't cool but encountering them was a total different thing. "They chased us! It was so close," she told him. "We also got chased by Zombies," While they were on the topic. And she paused to see Theo's reaction before telling MOAR about what chased them. Looking back at it now, they got chased many times.

At the first sight of an approaching owl, Cassia was about to freak out thinking it was her MEAN and vicious owl. But luckily it was not. It was a totally unfamiliar one. With a letter strapped to its leg. The blond untied the letter and patted the bird's head. And a it did get a treat, too! Because this was a nice owl. BUT A LETTER! Who was it from. Curious, Cassia ripped it open and her eyes caught the signature right away and she found herself gushing at the pictures. "Look! It's Ariana's baby, "She showed Theo the pictures. He surely remembered Logan, his teammate.

"I know what you mean!!" Theo had been so excited about this term but so far it had yet to deliver anything worth remembering. "You mean, something head studentish?" He winked. As in - Cassia and Theodore abusing their power. Yes, he wanted it to happen.

O_________O

"W H A T?" Theo's mouth fell open a bit in shock. Being chased by trolls was one thing but ZOMBIES? "Zombies. You were chased by zombies." He paused, trying to process it, and then the most obvious questions came flowing to mind. "What did they look like? Were they like the ones in the movies? Pale and limpy, like..." He had to demonstrate it didn't he? Theo held out his arms, stuck out his tongue and droned out a, "Hnnnnnnnnnmmmmmmmmmmmm..." You know, zombie noises and stuff.

Oh, there was an owl. Theo flinched a little as it approached them since he really wasn't used to owl mail. It wasn't for him, though, but for Cassia. He didn't wanna be nosy but it looked like she was sharing it with him anyway. WOOT. "Aw, I didn't know she was preggers!" Good for her, that was cool. Wait, who was the dad? "Cute." He looked over the photos. Yeah, Theo didn't really think babies were awfully cute.

Adelaide
 

Cris decided that the Beech Tree by the lake would be a good place to get some reading done. Yes it was cold as heck and only a crazy person would be out here reading instead of doing so in the warm confines of any place in the castle.

But that was it. One could only be cooped up in the castle for so long before getting cabin...or in this case...castle fever. So here he was dressed warmly with a scarf wrapped around his neck, wearing a pair of leather gloves and a Russian Ushanka hat protecting his head.

Even then his fave was still chilled, his nose numb and running its own marathon. Cris wondered whether his nose was blue from the cold or red from all the blowing he had to do. He already had a pile of soiled tissue stuffed in his jacket pocket.

Ah...the joys of being outdoors.

Adelaide pulled her hat down over her ears and readjusted her scarf as she walked around the lake. She just needed some fresh air and the dungeons were pretty chilly as it was anyways. Cold really wasn't that much of an issue here.

Addi was getting stir crazy inside. She walked, listening to the crisp ground crunch underneath her feet. She tugged her jacket sleeves down over the tops of her glove to block the slight wind that was blowing. As she walked, she started to sing softly to herself. As far as she knew she was the only one out here.

From the way the leaves were crunching, Cris could tell that someone was approaching where he was sitting. He glanced up from his book interested to see who it was. It was a girl around his age. He had seen her in a couple of classes but never had the opportunity to meet her.

Well here's your chance to make a new friend, Cris, he told himself. He waited for the girl to approach. Not wanting to scare the beejeebers out of her, especially if she wasn't expecting anyone else to be out here, Cris coughed a couple of times. That was always a great way to alert someone of their presence.

Adelaide continued singing to herself, getting slightly louder as she walked along. Her feet kicked up some of the leaves as she watched. Then she heard someone coughing a few times. She stopped singing immediately. She wasn't really used to singing in front of people. Just a couple of her friends had even heard her sing.

Addi still gave the boy a smile. She had been the one to interuppt his reading. "Sorry about the singing. Didn't realize anyone else was out here." Mainly because it was super chilly now. "Reading anything good?"

Adelaide
 

Someone was singing, and he liked it. Turning around to look at the girl, he smiled up at her. "You shouldn't have to apologize for singing. Just between you and me, I sing a lot too...mostly when no one's around," he winked conspiratorially at her.

"I didn't realize anyone else would be out here either. I just needed a breath of fresh air. With the weather being so cold, we've had to spend most of our classes in doors and I'm staring to get cabin fever," Cris explained his presence outdoors.

"What about you? What brings you out here?" he asked her in return before looking down at the book he was reading. "This here? Oh it's a book about dragons and how one can work with them," Cris showed Adelaide the book he was holding in his hand.

"I'm Cristoffer Strand by the way, but you can call me Cris," Cris smiled at the girl as he stuck out his hand to shake hers.

For Chrissy!
 

As he held the leash for Feo in his right hand, he let the Crup excitedly race around the Beech Tree by the Lake. Feo began running circles around Simon as if he wanted to play with the boy. Simon chuckled. He could tell the Crup was glad to be outside and playing. He was also glad to be outside. He had spent way too much time in the library today doing extra research on memory charms and whatnot. He loved being in the library but sometimes he just needed some fresh air.

Brrr..... He didn't like the winter at all up here. It was really cold. Was this a normal winter for this area? Simon wasn't sure. He was used to December being a time when the sun was out and it was summer. He used to go to the beach in December. He shrugged. He'd get used to it eventually. Or so he hoped.

After running around for a fair amount of time, all of a sudden Feo flopped onto the ground. He was pooped out. He glanced up at Simon as if to say 'Give me two minutes and then I'll be up and running around'. The look made Simon laughed. Kneeling on the ground, he patted the Crup. "Now you're tired," he exclaimed chuckling. He was definitely going to get a Crup next year. There was no doubt about it.