Lorem hadn't ever been up close to a human foal either and he wasn't sure he really wanted to know but he had no other choice unfortunately. He paused and looked down at her before while swishing his tail. He had to keep it from getting too cold and possibly risking frost bite.

"Human, have you seen any other centaurs around your home?" He was not lost, centaurs did not get lost. He was just nowhere near his colony.

Human? So did that mean SHE had to address HIM as Centaur? Surely he had a name. She also figured it'd be bad form to tell him that she'd OBVIOUSLY not seen other centaurs since she'd just revealed she'd never seen one up close. Instead she simply shook her head. "Never. I'm Maddie, by the way. I mean, you could call me that instead of human." JUST saying.

"So there are others here too? Other Centaurs on the grounds?" Was that normal?

Was he for real? Sure, Adi was awesome and he had a great sense of humor but he got it from her. "Whatever helps you sleep at night buddy." She understood why he didn't want to admit it to her. AJ winked at him as if saying that she was in on his denial.

Raising unicorns sounded like a good idea. "I've actually thought about that. I think that would be fun, and it would involve me being outside." That was a plus. She couldn't imagine sitting behind a desk, and pushing paper. Booooring. AJ gave Adi a goofy grin. "Now we're talking. That would be at the top of your list too." Just in case he was wondering. As much as AJ joked about everything she wanted her friend to know that she thought he was pretty cool himself. "Why would I be happy if you beat me?" She was super competitive and as much as she wished Adi well, she still wanted to be the winner.

Looking at her watch, her stomach dropped. "Time's up." She didn't want to admit it. The water was going to feel like knives. She put her game face on and turned to Adi. "Congrats man."

"I just don't get why you can't admit you're the thief.'' Adi stuck his tongue out. Merlin! Was that becoming his new habit? "See? You even stole my idea. Except I won't be working with Unicorns.'' Hehe. See how much of a thief you are, AJ?

"Because I'm your friend and and you like me.'' Adi grinned. "As a friend,'' he added quickly afterwards. He didn't want AJ to think he was flirting with her or anything. He only thought of her as a friend. "Awesome! I finally beat you at something. Thanks.'' So that meant she would be jumping into the Lake now?

"Uh...AJ? About jumping into the Lake? I don't think it's a good idea. That water has to be pretty freezing. So let's just forget about that.'' That sounded like a idea.

"Because it's not true." She wiggled her eyebrows at him. Who knew if she would work with Unicorns when she grew up. "I might just get one for a pet. Maybe I will be a potioneer or something." She did like potions. AJ laughed at him when he stuck his tongue out again. That was pretty much becoming his signature move.

She nodded her head. "You're right, but I'd rather win though," she siad while jabbing him in his side. Of course if she couldn't win then Adi would be her second choice. AJ noticed how quickly he added on "as a friend" but she didn't think anything of it. "You did, and that is something to be proud of. I am pretty much unbeatable." He should like write this down in a journal or something.

Her eyes widened a bit as he started trying to talk her out of it. "No way I'm backing out." She waved her hand as if dismissing his concerns. AJ never backed out of a bet. She took off her jacket and scarf, and started to shed her entire outer layer so she could prepare for the lunge.

"It is,'' Adi said and playfully wriggled back his brows. "And you'll take the Unicorn for a ride each day, right? The poor thing won't manage to fetch you so much,'' he kidded. AJ wasn't fat or anything but he just could not resist teasing her. Adi accepted the playful jabs. "Well, now that I'm here you could kiss your wining streak goodbye, AJ. I'm going to be the winner around here now.'' Hehe.

"Don't be stupid,'' the Hufflepuff said. His tone of voice had possibly grown stern now. "You'll freeze before you know what's happening.'' He watched her get rid of the scarf and jacket. Ugh! AJ was stubborn! "No way I'm letting you do this.'' And with that, he grabbed her right hand with his left and held on.

"Suuuure." Whatever he said. "Of course. Wouldn't that be the life?" Hey! Her unicorn would be well trained, and he would get used to it. What doesn't kill you only makes you stronger right? "I'll be sure he gets his wheaties." There! "PFFT! SO I have one loss, that doesn't mean anything." She would win whatever the next thing was so she wasn't at all concerned.

Did his tone change? "I'll be fine Adi." Freeze? He was being dramatic now. "I'll just jump in and right back out okay?" Before she knew what was happening he had grabbed her hand. Her eyes met his and she could tell that he was being serious. "Not going soft are ya?" Her smile was back in place.

Dylan rolled his eyes and chuckled, shaking his head. "Of course I have," he said. He had had plenty of fun in scaring people. But he didn't like when people would scare him. Hmph. He'd had terrible experiences with that, that was for sure. "What's your name?" he then asked curiously, studying the boy. He didn't recall seeing him around Hogwarts.

Maddie? Humans had the strangest names for their off-spring but the centaur kept that to himself. What others chose to name their children was not his business nor his place to judge and the centaur simply nodded. "Would you prefer I call you that?" She must have if she suggested it. Did it even matter? This would not help him in finding his colony.

The centaur cast another glance in the direction of the forest. It reminded him of his dilemma. "Do you know of a safe place I may go to escape the cold until I find my colony?" Surely she knew this much.

Adi had stopped all his kidding around now. He was pretty serious about AJ not jumping. "Didn't you hear what I said?'' he demanded. "Have you felt how cold it is lately? Imagine how the Lake would feel.'' He glared at her. When he agreed to this bet, Adi hadn't known that winter would be this bad.

"Put back on your jacket and scarf and let's go. In the meanwhile, I'll go replace the poles.'' Dropping her hand, the Hufflepuff grabbed his and AJ's poles. "Don't do anything stupid.'' Trusting that his friend would think logically, he headed off to set the poles back where he had gotten them. And since when had he become so protective of someone?

"Yes, that'd be preferable." Which is why she'd mentioned it, see? And he probably knew this too which is why she kept that little comment to herself. Instead she just smiled at him curiously. "Is there something I should call you?" Y'know, so she could have a proper name when she retold this little meeting to Kyroh and Dima later.

Was he scared? Maddie glanced towards the forest too and shivered slightly. It did have a menacing air to it, huh? Not that it'd stop her from investigating it if she thought she could get away with it. Still on her bucket list, though.

"Well, the castle is probably safest. There's also the stables and the greenhouses. I reckon those would keep you pretty warm."

When did Adi become bossy? "OF course I did. I'm not deaf." She was becoming defensive. Angel always treated her this way and she couldn't help but to be a bit put off by it. She wasn't a child and she would be just fine. "I know it's cold. That was the whole point of the bet." Of course she didn't expect it to be this cold, but there was no backing out now. It just wasn't in her blood.

AJ was not about to put on her jacket. He should know her well enough by now that it wasn't going to be that easy. She nodded in agreement, but that was only so he would go and put the poles up. As soon as he dropped her hand, she knew that was when she needed to do it. She didn't think what she was doing was stupid, so technically she wasn't going against what he said. The lion quickly took off her shoes and socks, and ran to the edge of the pier before she lost her nerve.

SPLASH!!!

AJ plunged in and as soon as her body touched the water it felt like a million knives were stabbing her. It took her breath away and she was having a hard time trying to stay above water. Okay, this was not the best idea. She had to get out, but first she had to catch her breath.

Adi could tell AJ was taken aback by his sudden sternness but he didn't care. Her pride was keeping her from thinking rationally. He cast one another stern look at her as he headed off to replace the poles.

Altogether, it had been great fishing out in the cold and AJ's company made it all the more better. People who he could joke around so much with were hard to find. The boy had just replaced the poles when he heard the resounding splash and immediately knew what had caused it.

Adi raced back to where he and AJ had been fishing. Sure enough, there was AJ sputtering and trying to keep above the water. "AJ!'' he called out. "Give me your hand!'' If she couldn't make it to grab onto his outstretched hand, he'd have to jump in after her.

This was a bad idea. Maybe she should have listened to Adi? This was no time to worry about it now. The water was so cold it almost felt like it was burning her. A million things were going through her mind, but she was having a hard time making sense of them. AJ was trying not to panic and continue kicking her feet back and forth while moving her arms. She had to stay afloat.

Adi's voice almost sounded like it was coming from far away. She heard him shouting to grab his hand, and she managed to get within an inch from his hand. "Ad..." Her head went underwater before she could say his whole name, and it took every ounce of strength to push her head above water once more. Not wasting another second she grasped his hand. She had no strength left, and the lion was still gasping for breath. AJ hoped Adi would be strong enough to pull her on dry land.

Trying his best not to panic, Adi watched in horror as AJ went down under the water again. But to his relief she managed to come up and even closer towards him.. He was able to grasp her hand. Thank Merlin she was only a first year so she wasn't that heavy. With all his strength, Adi was able to haul AJ back to shore, though he was heaving a bit from the effort.

"You okay?'' the Huffleppuff asked. Then without thinking, he grabbed AJ by the shoulder and shook her slightly. "I told you not to do it, didn't I?'' he demanded. "Why are you so stubborn, AJ? What if something had happened to you?'' Without waiting for an answer he took off his jacket and wrapped it around the first year. Then he used hers that was on the ground to do the same.

Ugh! That wouldn't help much, would it? Wait...he had another idea. Adi soon had his wand in his hand. "Ventus!'' There. The Hot air charm should help warm her up.

AJ was beginning to think that she was going to freeze to death before she managed to get on solid land. Thankfully Adi was strong enough to pull her out of the water no thanks to AJ. She knew that she was dead weight. When she finally felt the ground under her feet, she stood a bit wobbly from all the excitement. She was shaking violently.

"I...I...I'm..." Her teeth were chattering so hard that she wasn't able to say a full sentence. She was going to say that she was alright, but she wasn't so sure that, that was the truth. AJ stared into Adi's eyes as he shook her. Why was he so upset that she did it? The jacket felt nice, but she was still shaking from the cold. Her teeth chattering slowed a bit though. "I...I h..had...t..to" Didn't he get that? "Wh..why..d..do you..c..c..care..so...m..much?" She was alive and well.

Oh, the hot air charm. "That feels nice. Good thinking." AJ was chilled to the bone, but she was no longer shaking violently shaking and she was pretty sure that she could speak normally now.

Adi felt sorry for AJ but that didn't stop him from glaring at her. "You HAD to?'' he shouted with indignation. "I told you not to. If you wanted someone to jump into the water, why didn't you tell me? I would have done it. You let your pride take over.'' He was mad. Mad at her for doing what she just did. Mad at himself for leaving her alone. "I should have never agreed to that bet. Or I should have done something that would made me loose.'' More glaring on the Hufflepuff's part.

"What kind of question is that?'' he asked, still holding his wand towards AJ so that the hot air would flow on her. "I'm your friend, aren't I? And besides...'' Adi allowed himself to smile a bit. "Angel would probably kill me if I let anything happen to you.'' That girl was crazy. Hehe.

"You feeling a little better now?'' Poor AJ. She was shivering. "Sorry I yelled at you earlier.''

This whole yelling thing was not working out for her. "I already have one mum ya know!" So she didn't need him yelling at her. "And a sister who thinks she is my mum too." This was the kind of crap that Angel would pull, and she didn't want to hear it from him, especially from him. She glared right back and folded her arms. She was still shivering slightly, and she wasn't sure how well she was pulling off the whole being mad thing, but she was trying nevertheless. "You're not the boss of me." Just because he told her to do something doesn't mean that she had to do it. "I'm fine Adi." AJ was practically yelling herself. It wasn't like it was shark infested water.

She thought it was a pretty good question. She knew he was her friend, but he was acting almost crazy himself. In spite of being angry she couldn't help but to smile back at him. "Angel definitely would have gave you a hard time." So it was a good thing that she was alive and well.

"I'm still cold, but I am feeling a lot better." The hot air charm was a life saver. She had feeling now in all of her limbs so she was slowly but surely warming up. He was apologizing? He definitely needed to. There was no reason to yell at her like that, but she got it. He cared. Angel acted the same ways towards her. AH shrugged. "It's okay." She looked into his eyes without blinking, and her thoughts were scattered.

"I don't see either of them around here, AJ, so don't get smart with me.'' Adi wasn't shouting now but he was still mad at her and at himself for what had just happened. He sighed. "I know I'm not the boss of you but you did something stupid. I was just trying to protect you,'' he added through gritted teeth. The images of her going under the water kept replaying in his head.

Shaking his head to clear them away, he just said, "I'm glad your fine. I didn't mean to go all crazy on you.'' He didn't mind her yelling at him as much as she seemed to mind him yelling at her. But she was smiling back at him and Adi was pleased at that. He didn't want them to start arguing or anything.

Adi noticed the way AJ was looking at him. Well, staring into his eyes. "You're not still mad, are you?'' If anyone had the right to be mad, it was him. Anyway..."Come on. You should go back to your common room.'' And in front of the fire with a nice cup of hot chocolate.

Oh, he hasn't seen smart yet. She was just about to open her mouth, and have something else sassy come out, but she decided against it. "Then stop acting like them." There, that wasn't such a smart remark, but she still had to make a point. Protect her? Her instincts had been right, he did care about her. She tried to think about the situation from Adi's point of view, and she felt a little bit bad about scaring him. "Awww... you care," she said playfully, her old self coming back.

AJ waved her hand. "Let's just forget about it. I'm sorry for just jumping in." Things could have been a lot worse, and if it was the other way around she would have been just as worried about Adi. "You have to remember that I'm tough." She shot him a goofy grin trying to make light of the situation.

"No, not mad. It's just..." What were these emotions coming over her? Not even thinking about anything, "I think I like you," fell out of her mouth. AJ had never been a chick that was afraid of saying what was on her mind, but it was weird hearing that come out of her mouth. Maybe the cold water had done something to her? Maybe seeing how Adi reacted to her possibly getting hurt caused bells to go off in her head. Whatever it was, the cat was out of the bag now.

No matter how hard he tried, Adi could never remain mad at AJ. So it would be safe to say that no matter what she did, she'd eventually get away with it. "I told you, they are here so I had to go all motherly on you,'' he said with a laugh. See? He wasn't mad anymore. Not at her, anyway. "Of course I care. Who wouldn't care about a friend?''

"Yeah, just don't do that again.'' Adi returned her smile by sticking out his tongue. Tough or not, he wasn't looking forward to an injured AJ anytime. "You can return my jacket later. That's two of them you have now, you know. I suppose I'll have to ask my mother to buy me loads more because seem to need them more than I do,'' he joked. Adi didn't mind if AJ kept his jackets, anyway.

AJ looked warmer now so the boy stopped the Hot Air Charm. What was that she was saying? "Of course you like me. I just saved your life, so you should,'' he kidded.

But she didn't need him to be motherly. It was rather annoying that Angel already made it a habit, but maybe it wasn't so bad when Adi did it. He was just looking out for her. Of course the same could be said for Angel and her mother, but that was different. "Okay, I get it." Hopefully they could move on from that now. At least Adi realized what he was doing and stopped. If it were Angel, she'd been nagging her for a week. "I know. I guess it's just different seeing it first hand." There wasn't a lot of people who yelled at AJ.

Even though she would never admit it to Adi, she had no intentions of doing it again. It was painful and she felt like she would never get warmed up completely for as long as she lived. "Pinky promise." She wiggled her pinky at him. If he could stick out his tongue then she could suggest that they pinky promise on it. AJ was stocking up on his jackets. "Yours are better than mine." they seemed to keep her warmer. Her mum would never go for buying her a 'guy' jacket so she was stuck with 'cute' ones that didn't do anything for you warmth wise.

Umm, that's not really what she meant. For a moment she thought about just playing it off like that was where she was going with that. Blowing out air, she decided to make her intentions clear. "That's not what I meant exactly." Not one to beat around the bush, she was blurting out more confessions before she could control it. "I mean like more than a friend."

The wind whipped through the grounds in below freezing temperatures as the snow continued to fall heavily over the grounds. If the little creatures of the forest hadn't taken shelter away from the castle yet then they would meet their end.

As the wind continued to blow across the lake the water began to turn to ice. Soon there was no water left just a big block of ice. The Black Lake was now The Black Frozen Lake.

"And I promise I wouldn't be your "mother" again,'' Adi said. "Unless you are going to end up doing some really, really silly.'' Yep. He stuck out his pinky, hooking it on AJ's. It reminded him of being a kid. Kids did this a lot. "It's not the Unforgivable Curse so we'd both be tempted to break it,'' he said jokingly. And about the jackets... "Well, I know what to get you for your birthday.''

Wait. What? More than a friend. Oh no. Adi tore his eyes away from AJ's. He did not feel the same way about her and if he told her that, she'd be really hurt. How could he do that? She was his second closest friend... maybe he should joke it off. "It's just a crush,'' he said weakly, still not looking at her. "Because I saved you just now, I guess. And we hang out all the time.'' Yeah. That would be it.

Josette had felt a little embarrassed after grabbing onto Simon, it was just, he was there & there wasn't much else she could've grabbed onto, so was it terrible that she'd done it? Well, it couldn't have been that bad if she'd apologized to him right? And from the looks of it, he didn't seem to be upset about...at least that's what she believed.

The second year was really beginning to find a liking to these Crups, they were so adorable & energetic. It was so fascinating, since Mr. Feo belonged to Professor Botros, perhaps she might be able to ask him if he enjoyed owning a Crup. Perhaps, she might buy her father one of these energetic creatures to keep him company while she was away at school? Maybe? Her thoughts stopped abruptly though when she'd realized that Simon was speaking to her. It seemed he liked the names that she'd chosen for her owl & growing kitten. "E-Edwin's really sweet....B-But Sebastian...", she sighed, "H-He's rather odd...I-I'm not sure why...but h-he always chooses to sit o-on my head...If I-I'm holding him, he ends up there..B-But he's really friendly.."

She listened as he told her how he didn't have any pets & it made her a little upset. But maybe his parents would let them get a pet maybe, if he got his sister to help him ask. "..M-Maybe that might work?" But there was another problem though, apparently he was a Muggle & Crups can be aggressive towards Muggles. Josie paused briefly, "Oh...W-What about..a cat...or..maybe another kind of dog?"