Connor nodded. "Oh, good.." He waited patiently for her to move her bag, no hurry at all! Taking his seat he stretched just a little bit, there was a lot of walking going on at this school, it was MUCH bigger than Salem. "Good, i was hoping so cause looking for another bench to sit in would have just killed my legs.." He joked a little.

"So what are you doing out here, Vinnie? Just relaxing?" It was a bit of a chilly day to just be outside, but that's what he was doing so why not just be outside?



Connor was in the courtyard, reading one of Jeremiah's many books, he just kinda grabbed one without looking, it as a weird one too. He didn't really like it. Looking up from the weird book he spotted Elodie, she was with another girl but he figured he should go over and say Hi, cause you know..why not?

He put the book under his arm and held in there between his arm and his body, walking over and dealing with the chilly weather. Blegh, he missed Lousiana. "Hey.." He said to Elodie, yupp...just hey, keeping it simple. He smiled though, he always smiled at her, then he turned to her friend. "Hi, i'm Connor..Y'all don't mind if I join you or anything? Do you? I was reading this book that my room mate lemme barrow but it's really awful.." Maybe he was feeling a little chatty due to the awfulness of the book? Who knew..

"There's too much drama in arguing, and it's exhausting." It was a good thing he didn't like to argue so hopefully they would never have to deal with any of that drama nonsense during their friendship. So it looked liked talking to him like a normal person instead of biting his head off was a good thing, noted! "You always catch more bees with honey." At least that was what her dad said... whatever that meant. Now she was sounding cheesy. Moving on...

He was making it seem like it was a task agreeing to be her best friend. "Ouch! No need to think so hard about it over there," she said teasingly. It was not surprising to her that she was becoming so close to Adi because she normally got along better with boys.

"As soon as it warms up ok?" She would love to do it now, but the whole freezing water thing didn't seem too appealing to her at the moment. "Oh, I want to go fishing. I fish all the time back home. Is it true that you can do that here?" What else was there to do. "I still have a lot of exploring I need to do." Who knew what all she was missing out on. "Anything I have to see or do?" He had more experience at the castle and hopefully he could lead her to something cool.

Since they had settled on a spot and all, Cat decided she should probably climb off of Elodie's back and sit by herself like a big girl. Even if she wasn't into being a big girl anymore. Being a big girl was too much pressure on her brain. She scooted over and sat on the bench, folding her legs and settling the food in her lap. MMMMM. MmmMMMmmMmMM. Food. Yum.

"Well." Cue hair flip. "I am one of his very favorite aunties." Obviously. He had very, very pretty aunties, too. What a lucky little boy. "Maybe they'll get married some day. A Moretti-Robertser family." She grinned. "I'd probably marry you if I was into that." Just saying! Elodie was her best friend!

After handing one to Elodie, Cat had unwrapped one of the sandwiches she'd tossed together when they'd stopped in the kitchen and was just about to take a huge unladylike bite out of it when a boy showed up. A boy who knew Elodie. Hmm. Interesting. Cat smiled at him and glanced over at Elodie before nodding, "Sure. So long as you don't mind spending time with two girls." She scooted over closer to her bestie then lifted herself to sit on the girl's lap and offered the boy a spot on the bench. "I'm Caterina. Want a sandwich?" Cause there were plenty. She'd kind of... over estimated the group.

"True,'' Adi said nodding. Actually, he had never thought of that. He laughed now and asked, "What does that mean? You sound like one of those country folks from America that say those funny stuff.'' Adi didn't mean 'funny stuff' in a bad way. They were interesting, really.

Adi laughed again. He was forgetting all about Angel and Benny and he didn't mind it one bit. He was having a good time hanging out with AJ. "Sorry,'' he replied, knowing fully well she was only teasing him. "I would have thought a tough girl like you could take a light whack on the shoulder.'' Hey, he could tease back, right?

"It's a date,'' the Puffer said enthusiastically. "Yep, you can but there's the whole catch and release thing.'' He was sure AJ won't mind that though. "Hmmm. Well you can explore some of the passages around the castle.'' Adi had heard all about Hogwarts's secret passages. It would be fun to explore one.

Elodie had to laugh, and agree with Cat. She definitely was one of Radley's favourite aunts. He could even say both of their names now, and he still slept with Elcat the teddy. Wonderful, huh? They practically had a son already! "We should organise a wedding a make our families get married soon." Candice wasn't taken, you know? Well... Elodie never knew if she was. Candice was worse than a mute with keeping things on the down low. She could be married again for all Elodie knew. "I'd marry you before you had the chance to think about it, Caterina." They were meant to be. For life and all that jazz. Elodie was okay with being practically sisters though.

Sisters and besties.

Looking up, she grinned and reached a hand out for the book Connor had. "Whatcha reading?" She left him and Cat to introduce themselves to one another, and found herself nibbling at one of the sandwiches her bestie had made AND getting comfy with her new lap inhabitant. At leats they'd had plenty of pratice with sitting in each others laps and stuff. Their friendship was a good one.

"You should have a sandwich, mhm! And a seat! Cat makes the BEST food." Ever.

AJ laughed at loud. "I dunno actually. I know it has something to do with being sweet for the honey. I think he was getting at the whole do what's right thing." You know how parents are. AJ was a nice person for the most part, but she could be a major prankster. It was all in good fun, and to get a laugh though. "I'm not American, but the place is nice. That is where I found my love for baseball." Baseball, she really missed that. "You think they would let us play that here?" Of course she didn't have any equipment with her, but she was sure that she could improvise.

"I won't lose any sleep over it." Sarcasm and teasing all came naturally to her and it seemed like Adi was pretty good with it as well. AJ was tough and it would take a lot more than that to get to her.

"Totally. Don't forget." She only hoped that the squid would come out to play. "Catch and release is a bummer, but we can still have fun." Fishing was something they did as a family, and maybe she could get Abby and Angel to come out with her sometime. Of course it may not be a good idea to bring Angel around Adi just yet. She would have to wait and see how the apology went with them first. "Ohh passages sound cool. Have you been to any of them?" It sounded like she would need to do some more wandering around.

Connor nodded and took the seat, nope..he wouldn't mind hanging out with older girls..why would he? He wasn't stupid.. "Nice to meet you, Caterina, I'm Connor.." His usual smile staying on his face, Did he already say his name? he dind't think so. "Sure, i'll take one..thanks.."

He turned to Elodie and shrugged. "Something about bugs, or ants or something..My Roommate has this enchanted trunk under his bed filled with books, i kinda just grabbed it and hoped it wouldn't suck...but it did.." he made a face, in his mind few things sucked like a bad book.

Adi was also inclined to think that's what the saying meant and he nodded in agreement. "So you've visited America then?'' Adi himself had never been to the place. "Okay, so I don't know much about baseball so you'll have to teach me sometime.'' If she was up for it obviously. "We could always play it in the Room of Requirement.'' Adi completely forgot AJ might not know what the room was about.

"I won't,'' Adi continued, grinning. Some thing as fun as that was something he could not forget. "I bet I'll be able to catch bigger fishes than you, AJ.'' His tone was serious but his face would say otherwise so his friend would know he was once again teasing her. As for secret passages..."Nope, haven't gotten around to doing that as yet.'' But hey, now that AJ was here, they could do that together.

"Yup. I've been there several times and it's pretty cool." Not as cool as where she lived, but it was different and sometimes different was all you needed. "It's so much fun Adi. A player pitches you the ball and you have to hit it with a bat. Once you hit you have to run bases all the while the other team is trying to catch the ball and get you out before you get to the base." Her eyes were bright and you could tell that she was taking about something that she truly loved by her animation. "I'd love to show you sometime." They had a lot to show each other it seemed. "After you show me what you can do with a guitar of course." Oh yeah, he was not getting off the hook on that one. The room of what?" She needed to know more. If he had information, AJ needed it.

Awesome, he wasn't going to forget about their fishing date. She was looking forward to it more than he probably knew because fishing was another one of her favorites. "You're gunna lose that bet. Wanna make it more interesting?" Maybe they could wager something. "I have to tell you I've been fishing since I could walk." Just so he knew what he was getting into and all. No secret passages for him yet, and he had been a student for 3 years already? "We'll have to change that then." They were going secret passage hunting.

"Which state have you been to?'' Adi asked curiously. He wasn't sure which he would like to visit. All of them sounded cool in their own way. He watched AJ speak about baseball. He noticed how her face lit up and he realised how much the game meant to her. It was as much as music and cricket meant to him. "Well, maybe we can have a game with some of our friends someday. That sport sounds fun,'' he said and then grinned. "Of course. I'll show you soon.'' As for the Room..."The Room of Requirement. It's this super cool room that transforms into anything you want it to. If you want to play baseball, it will surely transform into a field with the bases and bats and everything else you need.'' Pretty awesome Room that was.

Uh ohh. AJ sounded pretty sure of herself. Adi hadn't done much fishing, to be honest. But he wasn't going to make his friend know that. "Sure! What you got in mind?'' Bring it on, AJ! "Good. Just let me know when you're up for it.''

"I've been to so many considering my dad is a tourism guide. He gets all these perks and likes to be well traveled." Which ones should she talk about? "The two that really stuck out to me were New York and Texas. They are both so different from each other." New York was busy and always had something going on whereas Texas was a bit slower, but they loved baseball there. "The people in Texas talk funny." She smiled thinking about their accents. "Super nice people though, New York is rougher and the people are pretty rude." No southern hospitality there. The room of requirement sounded beyond awesome. "Really. I want to check that room out." Like yesterday. "We should. My sisters already know how to play." On account of AJ always forcing them to play with her.


Hmmm... what to wager? "How about if I win you have to jump in the lake and if you win I'll do it." That most likely didn't sound like much of a bet. "But the catch is we have to do it while it's freezing out." So no, it wasn't cold enough just yet for that. It would be soon though considering that winter seemed to be coming sooner than normal.

AJ's dad had a pretty cool job in Adi's opinion. "So I bet he's been to loads of countries then? What about you? What others have you been to? And what does your mom do?'' Questions, questions. It was Adi's turn to have them. He smiled to himself as he remembered the first time he had met AJ at Sugarplum's and he had fired one question after the other at him.

He listened to her description of the two States. Yep, he had figured they were different from the movies he saw. "Can you do the Texas talk?'' Adi asked for no reason at all. He was sure he'd find it amusing to hear AJ have a go at that. ''I should show you were the Room is so you can check it out then,'' the Badger said and made a mental note. Must take AJ to Room of Requirement.

Adi grinned. "You're on! If you don't know by now, I love the cold so if I do loose it wouldn't be such a big deal for me.'' He paused then said, ''Besides, I think it's about time I beat you at something. You won in Potions and our duel.'' Not that he was mad about that.

"I think my dad had practically been to every country. I wish I could say the same, but besides the United States I have been to Australia and China.
They are both sooo cool. Australia has a bunch of killer animals." Practically every animal could kill you there. "I got kicked by a kangaroo, and it was awesome." Her dad did warn her, but of course AJ didn't listen. "Besides taking care of us kids, my mom owns a sweet shop." So, AJ's love for sweets came naturally. "What about your parents?" She wanted to know more about Adi.

He wanted her to do the Texan talk? "Y'all come on down here you hear." She tried her best at an American accent and tried to add that southern drawl. "That was horrible." She was laughing at herself at this point. "Yes, you should." There were so many things that she wanted to see, but this new room was on the top of her list now.

Aw man, so she had made a bet that he actually liked? What were the odds of that. "The water will be freezing Adi, most likely it will feel like knives." Surely, he wouldn't like that. "I guess I will have to come up with a better bet next time." So they were on! "Shake on it?" That was the proper way to agree after all. She held out her hand for him to take. "Not a sore loser are we?" AJ was back to teasing him. "I'm not your average girl so you better eat your wheaties that morning." There was nothing wrong with a little playful competition was there? She knew that Adi knew that she was just having fun with him.

"Soon?" They were going to plan a wedding for SOON? "Who exactly are we going to marry off? Your sister is older than all my brothers." The oldest of which was already married. Sooo. Hmm. But awwwww. Best friend was so sweet. Caterina grinned and kissed Elodie on the cheek. Then she turned her attention and her eyes on the boy. "Do you want ham or turkey?" She offered up one of each to him, "Or both. You can have both." Maybe this was a test. Was he a good eater? That was important.

"Bugs and ants?" That did indeed sound like a boring book. "Maybe you should look deeper into that trunk of books."

Bugs or ants? Elodie cringed and moved her hands WELL away from that book. So far away that it was ridiculous. Ew gross, ew gross, ewwwww. She wasn't touching a book that had pictures of BUGS in it. Or talked about bugs. "You should...burn that book. Burn it." Because he'd said it had sucked. And if it sucked and was about bugs, then she was all for burning it. Hell, she'd set fire to it right now if she really wanted to.

She glanced at the Cat in her lap, and grinned at the cheek kiss. "Candice can be a cougar." C'MON CAT. Marriage planning. Wedding planning. Think of all the pretty! The flowers, the shoes, the dresses, the hair. The WEDDING. Everything.

"I want both." Sandwiches please.

Connor looked up and over at Cat. "Umm, i'll have both? Thanks..They look good." He grinned. Hmm yumm. FOOD! He took the book back from Elodie. "Yeah, it's kind of awful. Next time i really need to look around before i just go and grab one." He laughed a little and grinned at both girls. Two pretty girls..not one.. two. Merlin.

"So, Y'all just having a picnic out here or something?" His southerness starting to show. He didn't have an accent but certain words were said that way, and certain words weren't even words in this corner of the world. He wondered if people thought he sounded dumb?

"Luck you. I've yet to travel anywhere out of the UK. Mom talks a lot about taking me to India sometime so I can get to know more about where our family came from but as cool as the place looks, it's crowded.'' Adi had done his research, using the internet as his main method. Right now, he was staring at AJ. She got kicked by a Kangaroo? And she found it awesome? "You're weird, you know that?'' A good weird that he liked though. "How bad did it hurt?'' Because that couldn't have been painless.

Sweet shop? Adi perked up. He loved sweets. Anything with sweets interested him. "That would explain why you love sweets. And it explains why you were in Sugarplum's when I met you.'' AJ was trying out the sweet of the wizarding world. Hehe. "Well, Mom's a writer for the Daily Prophet and Dad works at a bank.'' He paused. "My dad side's all muggles.'' That would explain his muggle job. "So is mom's side except for her.''

Adi laughed. "Nope, it was surprisingly good.'' He didn't think he could pull it or any others off. Except maybe the Indian accent but that was because practically his entire family had that particular accent.

"But surely water that cold will kill me,'' the Puffer said with a wink. "I know you wouldn't want that. Who else's hair would you run your hand through.'' He could hardly contain his laughter as he said that. He reached out, grasped AJ's hand and shook it. "Deal! And of course not. Competition's always fun. But you be prepared to loose.'' He knew AJ was not the typical girl and would understand fully well he was just teasing back.

Nessa pulled her cloak tightly around her, thankful that she had remembered her mittens. She had been wanting to sit outside while she worked on tweaking her lesson plans.. she had wanted that picnic with Cassie.. but nice days were fewer and fewer to find. It just kept getting increasingly colder and she was worried it was going to be a bitter winter. Or maybe one that was cold early to get it out the way for an early spring. Yes, that was looking on the bright side, that was much better.

But at any rate, she did want to be outside for at least a little while. The brunette was getting far too cooped up inside and it was far too early for cabin fever. She wanted a little people watching and social interaction, so she took her cup of steaming hot tea and her binder full of notes to the courtyard. Casting a heating charm on the immediate area around her, she took a seat on one of the benches and laid out her things next to her.

Furmy flapped his wings more slowly as the recipient of the letter was spotted. Slowly, he circled above, then landed in front of the girl. He held out his leg, which a letter was attached to.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Letter

Xaria 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

No traveling, ever? "Ohh, I'd like to go to India." She smiled as he explained about the over population. "There are worse things." Like killer animals. AJ simply shrugged her shoulders when Adi called her weird. "I'd rather be weird than ordinary." Ordinary people were no fun, and the first year was all about fun. "It hurt pretty bad actually. I got a wicked bruise out of it." Who else could say that a kangaroo had kicked them? That was pretty cool in her book.

"Yes! I can't wait to tell my mum all about the sweets here. I really should write her soon." Considering that she hadn't written her at all since she had been here, and she was specifically told to do so. "You'll have to try something that she made sometime." AJ was pretty sure that she could get her mum to send her some. So the bank she knew obviously, but the Daily Prophet was throwing her for a loop. "The Daily Prophet is the magical newspaper right?" She could make educated guesses. So he liked her accent huh? "If you say so."

Kill him? "Not getting scared are we Rehman?" Hmmm... who's hair would she play with? "Good point... so try not to die will ya?" She didn't want to have waste more time finding another friend with good hair. AJ liked that she was able to tease Adi so much, most people got all sensitive about it. He thought she was going to lose? "You sound confident for already being beaten by me twice." Sure, he should have technically beat her both times, but she was having a good time messing with him so she was going to leave that little detail out of their conversation.

"Why are you so eager to marry off your sister, 'Lodie?" Cat nudged her best friend gently in the ribs and handed over two sandwiches, one of each. She also got a turkey for herself and took the bag of grapes out of the basket, because what was a meal without grapes (in any form, wine anyone)? No good. She also handed over two sandwiches to Connor and was quite pleased about it. Good. The boy could eat. She liked people who liked food. "At least make sure you check what it's about, if you're going for creatures, dragons are much better than ants."

"I like to think it's our mission to eat food in every place possible at Hogwarts before we graduate." That was SUCH a good idea, actually. She loved it.

Then, all of a sudden, an owl landed right with them! Awwwww. Such a pretty one at that! With a grin, Cat scooted off of Elodie's lap and propped near the owl, untieing the letter from its leg and then offering it a bit of her sandwich. "Thanks!" She grinned and blew a kiss to the animal before scrambling back to her spot on Elodie's lap. "I got a letter!" VERY EXCITING!

Vinnie moved her bag away and smiled at Connor.“Come sit then.“ Where had he been that his legs hurt that big? Had he been working out, running? The castle was quite big though but over the last year the brunette had gotten used to it.“You got around huh?“, she grinned and patted the space next to her.

What was she doing out here? Hmmm... basically she wasnt doing much. Actually the girl should be studying, but between potions, astronomy and muggle studies she needed a break.“Oh well not much“, she shrugged,“ was gonna read or something. But i guess i found something better now.“ The Slytherin just liked being outside and as ex Durmstrang and proper english girl she was used to the cold weather. "What are you doing outside?"

AJ wanted to go to India? "No you don't,'' Adi said. But he was kidding. The place was fascinating. Plus there was food. Lots of food. Hehe. "True,'' Adi said with a nod. "Like Kangaroos.'' He laughed a bit. He was teasing AJ again. "I want to see a Rhino out in the open someday.'' Speaking of animals. "I want a pet Hippogriff, though.'' Random fact about him. With the Hippogriff, he could go for rides every day. "Well, you're luck I like weird people otherwise I wouldn't even bother talking to you.'' That last bit was a lie. Adi talked to practically everyone he came into contact with.

''Sure,'' the Hufflepuff said. "I'm always up for trying new candy.'' It was a wonder he didn't have rotted teeth or anything. But then again, he took care of his teeth pretty good. And his mom made sure he visited the dentist regularly. "Don't forget to tell her how Chocolate Frogs are made.'' Adi winked. What made him say all the craziness about how the Frogs were made to AJ the day they first met, he didn't know. "Yep, that's the Prophet. She's been working there since before I was born.''

"Of course not. It's you who has to be worried about that winning streak of yours breaking. And once it breaks, you'll have a difficult time getting back on track 'cos I'm going to be winning all the time.'' Hehe. Adi ran a hand through his hair, a habit he had picked up back in his first year. "You'll never find anyone with better hair.'' Meh. That wasn't true but Adi wasn't going to say that.

How would he know where she wanted to go? Of course she really would like to be able to say that she had traveled the world. There were so many cool things out there, and so many food opportunities. She snickered at his kangaroo comment. "Hey, that kangaroo was pretty intense." Ohh, a rhino huh? "That be pretty cool." What was a Hippogriff? "I've never seen one of those. I REALLY want a house elf, but seeing as how I can't have one I've settled on a unicorn." Now that would be cool to ride around on. He wouldn't bother talking to her? "It would be your loss." Teasing him right back. AJ didn't really think she was weird. Was she your average girl though? No way!

The fact that he was down for trying some of her mum's sweets made her happy. "Good one. I'll have to tell her allll about it." She wondered how wild the story would get before she started questioning the truth in it. "Does you mom like it? I mean working a magical job is way cooler than a muggle job right?" Now that AJ was apart of this life she couldn't imagine working a plain old job.

She really liked Adi's spunk. "I wouldn't be so sure about that. I hope you are ready to get wet." Cause she wasn't going to lose. He was sounding mighty confident. "We will have to come up with some better bets then." AJ was sooo ready to kick his butt at fishing. Was it cold enough yet? Adi was proud of his hair, and for good reason. "I dunno... there was this one guy who I had a sword fight with. He had some nice hair." Joking, she was totally joking. His hair was nice, but not Adi nice.

Cris walking through the courtyard on his way back to the castle. It was cold when he left the castle to head down to the Black Lake and it was getting colder by the minute. Keeping his head down, trying to shield his eyes from the biting cold, Cris almost fell over something that ran across his path before heading towards one of the benches.

Stumbling, Cris managed to catch his balance after making a couple of quick, nifty steps. Yay for nimble feet. He would have carried on his way, if he didn't hear a barking sound. Wait did he just hear a dog barking? Who had brought a dog into Hogwarts? Cris wondered to himself. As far as he knew, he thought students could only bring, cats, owls or rats...and maybe Pygmy Puffs.

Walking over to the bench where the sound was coming from, Cris got down on his knees and looked under it. And that's when he saw it. A Fox Terrier...only he wasn't one. It just looked like one. It was a Crup!! Cris wondered where the Crup had come from? Despite not knowing whom the owner was, Cris knew that he couldn't leave the creature outdoors on its own. Who knows what could happen to it? Cris decided that he would bring the Crup back to the castle. Maybe someone would know whom it belonged to.

But first he needed to coax it out. He slowly stuck his hand under the bench to allow the Crup to first catch his scent. When the Crup didn't bite his fingers off, Cris knew that it was safe for him to pat it, which he did. Stroking its fur, Cris waited patiently for the Crup to accept him before reaching in to pull the Crup out.

Cradling the Crup in his arms, Cris whispered to it. "Hey there fella. Whom do you belong to? I'm sure your friend must be worried sick not knowing where you are. Why don't we head on back to the castle to look for them." Slowly standing up, Cris quickly made his way across the courtyard shielding the Crup from the cold.

Here's hoping someone would recognize his furry friend and point him to its owner.