"Gonna have to try pretty hard with these guns." Adelaide flexed her kinda there muscles. They were definitely a bit more prominent than most of the girls her size, but not ginormous. Enough to get by as a beater.

She shook her head. "Me neither. The only weird thing is those quidditch threats. I mean, who would threaten children?" Someone was playing a cruel sick joke and ruining her last year here.

Connor laughed a little and nodded. Though he could tell that she did have a bit more muscle than most girls. Maybe he'd have to arm wrestle her eventually. He wasn't puny either, though without weights or anything he hadn't been working out much other than running laps. "I'll have to look out for that, then." He told her.

It did seem strange, though given Hogwart's history it wouldn't be the first time the students were threatened. "I don't know, but you're right..that is strange. it's not like that's your typical thing to get threats.."

Adelaide grinned. Even with her bit of muscle she was pretty positive she'd still lose that battle. He had a lot more muscle than she did. Closer to most of the guys she knew.

She shook her head. "No. Not to mention it is ruining a lot of students chances for getting scouted for the pros." Like her. Open tryouts were looming in front of her and scared her. What if she wasn't good enough because she was out of practice?

Connor saw her grin and smiled back at her..He felt like he was getting better at this, talking to pretty girls..pretty older girls.. Yupp..That was the challenge, but that's also what he seemed to like so far.

"I'm sure they'll take that into account..they'd have to..it would be stupid not to." He said and shrugged. "Did you play? Quidditch?"

"Anywhere? Really? Well then how about the Room of Requirements. Jasmine wished for a dance studio and it's really awesome. Maybe you could dance there. I'm sure it's suitable for singing and acting too," Cris quickly suggested before Zoe revealed that she had already decided where she would demonstrate her singing, acting and dancing prowess.

"The spare office on the sixth floor? Hmm...I'm going to have to look for that. I haven't had much opportunity to check out the entire school grounds yet. Sunday at Four?" Cris paused for a second as he ascertained whether he would available to meet up watch her performance.

"Is it okay if I tentatively say yes? I don't know whether Jasmine will be available and I really don't want to make decisions for her. I'll try to meet you there even if she can't," Cris informed Demelza.

Yes he would have to speak with Jasmine. First about his meeting with this girl and then about the performance, Demelza would be showing the both of them. Knowing Jasmine, Cris suspected that she would be interested in meeting Demelza, being a fellow dancers and all that.

Cris couldn't believe how confident Demelza was in her talents. Rarely had he met anyone who not only was multi-talented but self-confident at the same time. She was definitely someone exceptional...at least that's what he thought.

Oh, he was rocking back & forth now.

But WAIT, why was she staring at him? Stop staring at him, he'll probably think you're being weird.

She nervously began to play with the ends of her hair as she tried to think of something else to do instead of stare at him. Anything would do than staring at somebody, daddy would say that it was entirely rude & very dangerous. You never know what someone might do if they saw you staring. Hearing the sound of his voice brought her out of her thoughts, causing her to look at him, but not stare. It was rather odd though, that they've never met before especially in class. Although it was a pretty big school, & there were a LOT of students here, at least from what she had seen in the two years of attending this school. But she could swear, she has seen him in some classes, although she probably wouldn't have noticed too much, since she normally keeps to herself & puts her main focus on the Professor.

Giving a simple nod once more when he seemed to be surprised that she had only been up here two times. She did have to admit though, she actually did enjoy the view up here, particularly in the spring time. "I-It's very...um.." Words, Josie, words, you know you have them. "It's...perfect...for...reading.." There were go. She smiled a little bit again as she referenced to her book.

It was definitely a good idea to get off of the balcony. Especially after what had happened obviously. So best to move, before Josie fell over too. Moving was nice, yep, it was. Closing her book, she took a moment to stand up & was soon following after him slowly back into the Tree House. Josie stared at the floor as she walked inside & couldn't help but jump a little bit as he'd asked her another question. A question about the book she was reading...before he almost fell to his death. She looked down at the book & then turned it so he could see the title of the book. "It's um..called...'Quidditch Through the Ages' ...And...hmm..yes.." And it was very informative, a lot stuff she was going to try to remember...for Quidditch...hopefully when it came back.

Bless the heavens for not giving Ethan a sweet tooth. He’s a ball of energy to start with, and if ever he had a big liking to sweets, then it can only mean disaster every single day. “Mordred said they’ve got loads of chocolates up there. I’m guessing it’s homemade and stuff.” Which makes it yummier, yeah? His mother used to bake and cook for him and she always whips up the tastiest meals in the whole wide world. The Slytherin sat back, his grin slowly fading. The thought of his mother gone forever? It was still painful after all these years. He’s just thankful that he’s got Mordred to run to. Just…well, don’t ask about his cooking. He is bad at it. Bleurgh. “I guess it’s high time that we save up for Hogsmeade weekend. Looks like we’ll be hoarding the sweets shop, yeah?” Now that was something to look forward to. “Mmm…how about your parents? Will you be getting them something too?” He’s thinking of giving his dad a gift for Christmas. Hogsmeade just might be the place to get it. Oh! And Mordred too! Ethan’s sure that his cousin has ran out of inks and stuff.

“Yeah, he did mention about looking after ancient dragons. They are the hardest to contain.” Ethan shifted in his seat and looked at the ceiling of the tree house. “I guess it’s easier to bond with a dragon while it’s still an egg…” recently his cousin has been training a young dragon to glide. Mordred almost killed himself training it, but Ethan was pleased to learn that his cousin and his charge are okay. “Pssh. The Cold Ones won’t stand a chance against the Frost Dragon. I’ll bet my life on it.” Oh, yes of course! “Roro! Yeah it’s the dragon they hatched when Mordred was in his fourth year. The creature was their topic for the whole term. Watch it grow and stuff.” Really, really cool if you ask him.

“Yeah, Mordred thought it has something to do with Momo’s food too!” That dog really. “He’s got a big belly and very short legs. Momo’s like a fart machine or something.” Ethan laughed at the thought and wondered how his little buddy is doing. “I really wish we could bring our dogs here, yeah? I’m sure my pet will deadpan at the sight of the vast grounds.” He did deadpan when he first saw Hogwarts. Mhmm. But they built a dog house for their dog? That gave him an idea. Summer project! Woohoo!

“Oh you haven’t? I’ve got a snowboard and a skateboard back in the dorm. I can show you how it’s done.” Ethan furiously nodded at the thought. Skateboarding and snowboarding is his life. Yeeep! “I don’t know about you, but why is the weather suddenly chilly?” Yeah, it’s December and they’ve got snow and stuff, but the chill is different. Is it because he’s sick? Or something else is going on with the weather? Or Hogwarts? Ethan wasted no time and zipped up his jacket and jammed his hands inside its pockets.

Sniff.

“Skateboarding and Snowboarding are my sport. I swim too, so there’s that. If you consider running as one, then we can add that to my list.” Pause. “I’d like to learn how to surf though. It seems pretty neat.” Ethan grinned and scratched his head. “I’m not into Quidditch that much. I don’t play it, but yeah, I do watch it when I’ve got nothing else to do.” Oh and…what was that he played? “Cricket? What’s that?” Ethan scrunched up his nose. “Isn’t that a bug, or something?”

Homemade stuff?- that made it sound even better! He remembered when he was about nine that his mother used to go on and on about how homemade food was much better than store bought. During those years, Simon would spend hours helping her out in the kitchen, making delicious dinners and desserts. He had just wanted to eat everything at the stage since he was a growing boy. Simon laughed and nodded. “Yes, good idea, we’ll need to save up for the shops.” As Ethan asked him about what he would get for his parents, Simon could have done a faceplam. Christmas was around the corner, of course! How could he have forgotten? He needed to get something for his parents… but what? “I don’t know what to get for my parents. Something cool for them, but that’s not too confusing for my mum… She may not remember it… ” he paused, looking away for a moment. He had really hoped to learn how to make that potion by now to help her memory improve. “She has a bad memory” he added, explaining it to Ethan.

“Yeah, they must be really powerful.” All of this talk about dragons just made Simon want to do some more reading up on dragons later today. He nodded. That made sense. Bonding with an animal at a younger age made it trust you more because you raised it. Simon blinked again when Ethan told him that he’d bet on his life that the Frost Dragon would destroy the Cold Ones. Yeah. The Cold Ones had no chance up against a Frost Dragon. Perhaps Hogwarts should invest in one if the Professors had taught them how to fight a Cold One. Hmm.. That could be useful. Simon smiled when he learnt more about Roro. “Wait. Seriously!? That’s amazing. They got to spend a whole term watching a dragon grow? Now why can’t we do that?” he pouted slightly. That sounded awesome. They should be doing that.

Simon laughed with Ethan and felt a pang in his heart. He really did miss his dog. Perhaps he could get a crup next year? Feo, Botros’ dog, was fun to play with. He figured that it would be nice to have a companion here. “Yes! I wish we could too. Max passed away a couple of years ago and I’ve been trying to persuade my parents to get a new dog. They’re a little hesitant but they’ll come around eventually.” He knew that it would only be a matter of time before his parents agreed to get another dog. He knew that the both missed Max’s company immensely.

Simon nodded less enthusiastically this time. He had never done snowboarding or skateboarding before. Both prospects had always seemed a little scary to the less coordinated Slytherin. “Sure, let’s give it a try. I’m not that good at keeping my balance though,” he admitted. And he also had a fear of heights. Simon paused for a moment when Ethan brought up the weather. He shivered a little bit and put on his gloves. Ahh.. much better.

He shrugged nonchalantly. “Honestly, I don’t really know the difference between the weather here. I’m used to it being warm during December and cold in July!” he explained laughing a little. “But I have heard a couple people say that the wind has been more bitting than usual.” He paused again and racked his brain, trying to find correlations between the weather being cold and the lessons that they were learning. “Do you think that maybe the weather made the Professors teach us about the Cold Ones? They’re from Antarctica so perhaps if the climate is changing- do you think that they would be up in this area?” It was only a hypothetical thought but Simon couldn’t help but wonder if it were slightly true… Oh Merlin.

“Surfing’s pretty cool. My brother loves to surf. He’s really good at it,” added Simon. Simon was the exact opposite. He was horrible at surfing due to his inability to balance. He laughed when Ethan asked him whether cricket was a bug. “It is a bug, but cricket is also a game. It’s only the best game in the world. It’s sort of complicated back in the dorms I do have a couple books about it. Each team takes its turn to bat, attempting to score runs, while the other team fields. Each turn is known as an innings.” He flushed for a second when he realised that Ethan probably was confused. “I know it sounds confusing but I’ll lend you a couple of books if you’re interested.”

Adelaide had to admit Connor had a pretty nice smile. Him being younger than her meant nothing. He was pretty attractive.

She bit her lip. "I hope so." Addi was really out of practice, aside from the bit of work she'd been doing with West. Which wasn't as much as she would like to do for tryouts. "Mhm. I was the second best beater in the school last term."

Connor saw her biting her lip..was she nervous about something? "I'm sure it'll be fine." He said and put a hand on hers, as a way of reassuring her that yes things would indeed be fine. He was just that kinda person, he looked for the good in every situation.

"You were? Wow...so is that you telling me you could beat me up?" He asked jokingly, trying to lighten her mood, As much as he found the lip biting cute if it meant something bad he didn't want her to.

BLINKS. Is she staring? Oh no, was there something in his teeth? Was the rocking weird? More importantly why did the staring freak him out? Why did it make him so nervous? Could he just stop being nervous? First the stumble, then the red cheeks, and now the nerves. Can't this all just stop for a few minutes. AH. The Gryffindor could feel the blush burning on his cheeks.

Zander let out a small breath in relief when he noticed how hesitant she was to speak too. At least it was the two of them and Zander didn't look like a total idiot. "Yeah, uh... Yeah, I'm sure it is," he smiled and ran his hand through his hair, ruffling it just a bit. "I just uh... I love coming here to... just kind of.. Take a break from everything," he admitted. Was that lame? Would she think he's lame? "It's.. a nice breath of.. you know, fresh air," Coming up, lying on the couches, taking in the view. It was beautiful. It was such a great place to come to, in order to escape all the chaos that goes on below.

Quidditch through the ages. So she was a Quidditch gal then? "Oh," he said looking at the cover. "Do you play?" He asked regaining just a little self assurance, as this time he didn't hesitate! Of course, Zander didn't really care too much for the sport, but he finally had a steady conversation starter going. So he'd carry on with it. "I'll have to borrow it from you sometime... maybe... I mean... If you'd let me.." Ahem. Oops. "Because... I-I should... probably learn some more... about Qudditch. I'm kind of.. Really... hopeless," Maybe she could give him lessons about the sport or something.

Quote:

Originally Posted by FireboltAvis88

"Anywhere? Really? Well then how about the Room of Requirements. Jasmine wished for a dance studio and it's really awesome. Maybe you could dance there. I'm sure it's suitable for singing and acting too," Cris quickly suggested before Zoe revealed that she had already decided where she would demonstrate her singing, acting and dancing prowess.

"The spare office on the sixth floor? Hmm...I'm going to have to look for that. I haven't had much opportunity to check out the entire school grounds yet. Sunday at Four?" Cris paused for a second as he ascertained whether he would available to meet up watch her performance.

"Is it okay if I tentatively say yes? I don't know whether Jasmine will be available and I really don't want to make decisions for her. I'll try to meet you there even if she can't," Cris informed Demelza.

Yes he would have to speak with Jasmine. First about his meeting with this girl and then about the performance, Demelza would be showing the both of them. Knowing Jasmine, Cris suspected that she would be interested in meeting Demelza, being a fellow dancers and all that.

Cris couldn't believe how confident Demelza was in her talents. Rarely had he met anyone who not only was multi-talented but self-confident at the same time. She was definitely someone exceptional...at least that's what he thought.

"Yes. Really. Anywhere, anytime, rain or shine," Demelza replied for extra emphasis. Was he not listening to her? Or had he not met someone nearly as talented as her? It was probably the later. It wasn't every day that you met someone who was naturally gifted in the arts. "I've been acting, dancing, and singing from the very moment I could walk and talk. My parents gave me quite a head start by paying for private lessons and letting me compete before I even started going to school at the Academy." So she had no excuse for not being able to do act, dance, and sing all at the same time, really.

Then Cris mentioned the Room of Requirement. How in the world did he find the room before she did? She had been here an entire term already and hadn't found it. But more important: you could wish for a dance studio and – abracadabra! – it would be there? Say what?!

"I, umm, never have been there before actually," Demelza admitted quietly, a little embarrassed. "Anyway, the spare office I was talking about would do just fine. It's quite roomy ... and it smells like crystallized pineapple." Plus she knew exactly where that room was. It really was an easy find, considering there wasn't much to the sixth floor. But it would be nice to see the Room of Requirement before graduating. That way should could, you know, actually say that she had been there and everything. "Unless you want show me where the Room of Requirement is..." Hint, hint.

She nodded when Cris asked if it was alright to tentatively say yes to the date of her performance. Why wouldn't he and Jasmine be available at four on a Sunday? Was that their study time? Because, let's be real, no one but Ravenclaws did their homework until hours before it was due. But she nodded again. He did not want to make anyone's decisions but his own. Such a gentleman. "Sounds good to me."

"That can probably be arranged." Maddie would have to check her schedule and all but if this guy wanted to meet her ferocious little one, who was SHE to deny him that small favor? She wasn't going to promise he wouldn't get scratched, though. That possibility was a likely one. "We've got a German Shepherd at home. His name is Bruno." And unlike Zeus, Bruno was a BABY. A big cuddly baby.

The subject of the giant squid had clearly unsettled this boy and Maddie couldn't help but wonder why. Did he not like big creatures or just big squids? Seemed silly to be scared of something you didn't even have much contact with. The brunette tilted her head as his voice cracked and raised her eyebrows, realizing he was trying his best to cover his fear. It made her smile. It was perfectly fine to be afraid of things as long as you didn't let that fear cripple you.

"Well I plan on meeting him properly one day, the squid." YUP. "I just need to figure out the best way to get him to talk to me."

Adelaide smiled, forcing back a blush as he reached out to her hand. It was just a natural reaction. Honestly she should be used to this kind of stuff by now. "I hope so." She gave him a soft smile.

Addi laughed. "Oh yeah. So you better watch it. Stay on my good side." She probably wouldn't ever use her strength against anyone off the pitch. She still had moral issues hurting people on it.

Connor saw her smile and thought that was a bit better, she should be smiling. She was young and supposedly talented and pretty..her future would most likely be bright and she should see that. "Good.." He said softly.

"I'll have to try my hardest then, i'd hate to get hit with that bat of yours." He laughed along with her though he was sure she wouldn't hurt a fly, unless the fly had a quaffle..

"Alrighty, then! Cool." Dylan replied with a smile. OOOH THEY HAD A GERMAN SHEPPHERD! Those were one of Dylan's favorite kind of dogs. Sigh. He wished he could have a dog...they were so cute and so fun to play with! Maybe this year he could really convince his mum to let him have one. Hmm. "That's cool, I love dogs." he told her.

Glancing at Maddie, he noticed her smiling. His cheeks grew slightly pink. He hoped she wasn't making assumptions about him being afraid of the squid. Because erm, that totally was not true at all. He then wondered why she would want to meet the thing. Oh well. People were strange... "Awesome, well, let me know how that goes then." he said.

Adelaide smiled. She was glad she'd decided to meet up with Connor. He was a genuinely nice guy and just the ball of sunshine she needed in her life right now. She was going to have to keep him around.

"Just stay on my good side and no one gets hurt." Addi smirked. Yeah she probably wouldn't be able to do anything to that face of his if she tried.

Her mom’s got a bad memory? Ethan would trade places with Simon anytime. He misses his mother a whole lot, and he’d rather have a forgetful mother than none at all. Another idea came to mind! “How about we ask Professor Culloden for help? I’m pretty sure he knows a lot about Memory Potions and stuff.” What’s better? “I checked the dungeons the other day and we actually have a Potions Laboratory. We can practice brewing there, yeah?” See? Win-win situation right there. He gets to help a friend, and he gains experience in brewing. Brilliant! “I don’t think we’ll get it in time for Christmas, though. Maybe we’ll finish it just in time before you go back to Australia for the summer?” Either way, Simon has a big probability that he will have something to bring home to his mother.

“I know, yeah? They got the chance to hatch it and all!” Mordred most definitely had a grand time. That lesson made a huge impact on his cousin that he decided to take up Dragonology. “You guys will have a great time talking about them beasts. I can tell.” Ethan sat back and chuckled. The idea of Mordred talking a lot is actually funny. Poor chap doesn’t talk much unless of course it’s his girlfriend Sophie. Mhmm.

You know, deaths are no fun. Ethan’s already had enough dose of losing someone really close, and he can genuinely relate to Simon when he said that his dog Max died and misses him. Dogs and/or crups are the most awesome pets ever, because it has nothing to give their owners but attention and affection. “You can always bug them. Make sure they won’t forget?” He did mention that his mother forgets things, so maybe reminding her and his dad would help? Just a suggestion.

“Hey that’s exactly what Professor Flamsteed taught us. The seasons, yeah?” Smart man, he was. “It must be scorching hot back in Australia right now.” Seeing that the weather in Hogwarts is just…bloody cold at the moment. “So…do you spend your Christmas at the beach?” Because it’s hot…or? “I’ve seen muggles sandboard before.” Cool, huh? Ethan just loooooooves boards and the things he can do with it.

And…why didn’t he think of that? “You know what…you’re right. All the lessons we learned in the past few days have something to do with weather. First there was the Seasons in Astronomy…then the Ice Menagerie in Transfiguration…then the Reductor Curse to beat a Cold One.” Definitely there’s a pattern, and it didn’t help that the air inside the Tree House was dropping further. “I have a bad feeling about this…” he said as he subconsciously felt the wand up his arm. “It’s a good thing that we’ve been taught how to defend ourselves. Just in case…you know?” The school had a field trip prior to the present term and they did encounter zombies and such, yeah? It is possible that the Cold Ones would pay them a visit.

MERLIN.

Nigel was taking a walk and getting away from the dorm for a while. He should find a better place to spend his free time besides The Prefects' Bathroom. But reasons, effort, and such. Wandering about the school, his eyes spotted the Tree House. It has been years since he was here at this thing. It does look a bit different. Probably just Kirby's own personal touches or whatever. You would think the whole thing would be honey colored or something. Or have like a rope and that is the only way up into the tree house. Would be harsh but awesome. It got Nigel thinking on another bizarre thing on the grounds a couple years ago. That weird duck pond. It was just so random. Though one does miss the oddity that was the duck pond.

Because really why do those even exist.

Looking at the Tree House raised a couple of question for Nigel. What would it be like to snog in there and was he too tall to enter?

He did not know which was more important.

She hadn't changed her behaviour? WELL. Logic was saying that she sort of DID, though it wasn't for a bad cause. Was he going to say this, though? Not at all. "Maybe it was just a nice coincidence that you met someone who introduced you to other people and so on. It just happened on its own." Shrug. SNORT. "I guess we're just good at attracting a different gender." Wink.

"Yeah, I do." He didn't give out compliments often so it was one to take or leave. And then Vinne went on to say something that Grayson FULLY agreed with. "'Xactly! Merlin, it's annoying when someone acts differently around strangers. Or differently around a certain group of friends," he said, shaking his head, "Uh huh. They're not exactly going to like you much after that. There's no point." Basically, treat people equally: hate everyone. Strict and rough? POPULAR AND TOUGH? "MAN, that doesn't sound bad." It would be a good way to kick out some of the less tough ones. Or to toughen them up. Stop them from becoming human versions of marshmallows. "Does that mean you were a rough and tough kid back there?" This was interesting, actually. Uh huh. "Believe me, it really was. This place seems like a mix between the two, doesn't it?" he asked, leaning back a little and looking out at the view of, huh, Hogwarts.

One of each kind of friends to make a balanced group was something that Grayson could agree with. Uh huh. "'Xactly. It'd get dead boring if you were in a group of people who were the exact same as you." Besides, you never know what situation you're going to be in; one of the weird bunch of your friends could come in handy at any moment. SNORT. "I'm gonna hold you to that, you know." JUST saying. "Bet that made it even better. You didn't really need it to be a bonanza of a day. It just happened." Was this nice of him? Eh. He was also 'eh' about the idea of getting there when it came to making friends. "We'll see. I don't care if I don't," Lie. "But it doesn't sound bad."

Grayson smirked at the wink. Flirty or not, it was a wink and he liked it. "I can share if you can share any food you bring up here." Juuuuuust saying. Who wanted to people-watch on an empty stomach? Not him! "Yes! I don't understand the freaking point in pretending to like something just to get someone's approval." Unless that person was someone in a higher position of power. THEN he could understand but otherwise? Not so much.

That sweet smile was nice and while they would have made him smirk in any other situation, the boy was now raising his eyebrows at her. This was amusing. Really. "I couuuuuuld but what's the point when you already have the number?" More charming smiles for the brunette. LOL. Mediocre brains. LOOOOOOOOOL. MAN, this girl was definitely one to keep around. "Because we don't have mediocre brains." WINK.

She didn't mind. Er, alright. He nodded at her and gave her another smile, just in case she needed one. Vinnie didn't look like the type to ask for hugs, from what he could tell, but he was still hoping she wouldn't reach over and hug him randomly. Only because he would NOT know what to do. "Are you doubting my chaaaaaarming nature, Miss Vinnie?" All the dramatics were being pulled out for that. LOL. Hide him somewhere? Hide his BROTHER?! "Nah, he'd just find a way out and then run after me."

How did Ethan come up with all these great ideas? Brewing Potions was right up Simon’s alleyway. He preferred working with Charms; however, after speaking with Piersie, he had learnt that the safer path with working with memory loss would be to use a potion. Simon grinned at his new friend. “Piersie- I mean- Professor Fuller suggested me to go speak to Culloden about it as well. We should definitely go see him,” he nodded. They had a potions laboratory? How cool was Hogwarts? Way cooler than he had expected. He weighed the options out in his head. Rush to have the potion by Christmas and have it be a little wonky? Or have a perfected potion by the time he went home? The latter seemed better.

He nodded excitedly at the idea of speaking to Mordred. Hearing that Mordred would have a good time to discussing all of this would be brilliant. It made Simon feel more comfortable about meeting the intimidating yet cool cousin of Ethan. Simon chuckled at Ethan telling him to bug them about the dog. Yes, he had been trying that for a couple months and had even persuaded his sister. Maybe he could find a way to get his brother on the same side too? They hadn’t spoken in a while though. Perhaps his sister could help? Yeah, Allison could do the job easily. She was a professional at getting their older brother to side with her. “Yeah, I’ll have to get my siblings on the case. With all three of us, there’s no way that they could say no,” he laughed. Peer pressure. In that instance, it worked in their favour.

Simon nodded again with a wide grin playing on his lips. “Oh yes, it is definitely scorching. My family are probably heading to the beach tomorrow and having a nice picnic.” He loved spending the summer at the beach. It was the best place to relax. He shivered as a cool breeze passed into the treehouse. Ooh, that was one thing he didn’t particularly like about Hogwarts. The winter. Merlin, it was horrible. At Ethan’s next question, he paused. Sometimes they spent Christmas at the beach. Sometimes they went to their grandparents’ house down in Mornington Peninsula, which was an hour away from where he lived. The trek was always a momentous occasion where they’d pack up their car two days before and spend a whole week down there with their Gran and Pa. “Sometimes we do. My favourite Christmas’ have been the ones that we have spent playing on the beach. Other times we go to extended families’ houses.” Simon paused and rubbed his hands together to try to keep them warm. “I’ve seen people sandboard too. It looks pretty fun. My daredevil of a cousin, Jack, loves to do that. He’s a lifeguard.” Jack. Now he had always been a cousin that had excelled in everything. Simon had been thoroughly envious of his cousin for many years. He had often wondered why he couldn’t be better or at least the same as Jack? He dismissed that thought from his head and refocused on Ethan. He smiled. “What about you? How do you usually spend your Christmas?”

He liked being told that he was right. It made Simon feel more confident in his ability to make deductions almost as good as Sherlock Holmes. He nodded at Ethan’s comment. Something did feel wrong with the winter. The wind was too biting and the cold too frigid. He folded his arms and shivered as he glanced at the window. A frowned wiped the smile right off his face. “So do I.” Simon squinted his eyes into the snow-covered forest. He peeled his eyes away from the view and back to Ethan. He chuckled. “Thank goodness we have. Though I hope its enough to help us fight whatever may be a threat. Perhaps we could see what the Professors think about the winter? Maybe they know more.”

With the possibility of danger lurking close by, would the students even get to go to Hogsmeade?

Connor smiled back at her, he was just the slightest bit bashful still when he got a smile from a pretty girl, but he wasn't as bad off as he used to be. So that was good.

"All right, deal. As long as no one gets hurt." He said and nudged her a little. She was cool, had a good taste in books and she got his sense of humor, for all intents and purposes he liked her.

"I think I'm okay with that promise." Addi figured it wouldn't be that hard to keep. She couldn't see how she could be mad at this ball of sunshine.

The wind picked up a bit, chilling her in her window seat. "It's getting chillier. Maybe we should head inside."

"Yeah, dogs are okay. Bit too cuddly for my liking but good listeners which is helpful." And Maddie ONLY told her secrets to things and stuff that couldn't talk back, THAT way they'd never reveal them to other people.

"Yeah, sure. I'll give you a FULL report." Maybe. Also, did he KNOW he was blushing? Maddie had noticed, yup.

Handing Ginger back over to the boy, the small brunette stood up and dusted herself off. "I think I'm going to head back now but it was okay meeting you. You too, Ginger."

She didn't like all that cuddling? Weeeeird. Dylan loved cuddling. He'd cuddle doggies all day if he could! "Oh huh, interesting," was what he replied to what she said. Because yes it was quite interesting. But people had their preferences.

"Okay, very cool." Dylan said with a nod, taking Ginger as she handed her to him. He looked up from the cat to Maddie and smiled. "Alrighty, I'll see you around then! It was nice meeting you as well," he said, scratching Ginger behind her ears. Maddie seemed pretty awesome so far, he hoped they'd talk more.