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?”

Folded up under the tree, notebook in her lap, a girl with bright red hair stared down at the page as she moved her quill across it, making quiet scritch scritch noises as she wrote. She didn't care that she was sitting on the ground, although her neck was starting to hurt. Not far away, a ferret played by the water, chasing after the minnows as they swam above the pebbles in the most shallow parts of the shore.

She wore black skinny jeans and a white blouse underneath her Ravenclaw vest, and next to her on the ground was her Transfiguration textbook. She had meant to come out here to her ahead on her studies, being that it was her favorite subject, but she had flipped to a new page in her notebook and had begun writing, as often happened.

The girl occasionally looked up and around, keeping an eye on Kit, hearing other students nearby, but she sat by herself, which she was okay with at this moment. She'd get down to some socializing later. For now, she was taking this quiet time to herself.

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.