Blair sat back crossed-legged and took a second to admire her handy work. Reaching into her satchel for her wand, she pointed it towards her toadstool and spoke, 'Aquamenti.' She watched as water poured out the tip of her wand and onto the freshly planted toadstool.

She then pointed her wand towards hear gloves and trowel and said, 'Scourgify,'. Once all of her equipment was clean she placed them carefully back in her bag. Blair got up to leave, turned back and once again spoke to her toadstool. 'I'm away, I'll come to check you out later. Do mamma proud!'

Adi waited with even more patience as Benny took FOREVER to consider his question. Alright, he couldn't blame him. This was a HUGE thing to ask out of the shy, quiet boy. Besides, his instinct (probably due to the potion) was still telling him to stay silent. Adi was confident this would work.

That confidence paid off. BENNY AGREED!

In his excitement, Adi leapt to his feet and punched the air with his left hand. SUCCESS! In a sing song voice, he began in a loud voice, "I did it, I did it! Benny's going to be a Chinese Fireball sometime! I did it! I convinced him! Thank you, Professors Bellaire and Culloden!'' Those two had noooo idea how much they had helped him with this. Bellaire had told him to do it away from Hogwarts when he became of age, which was happening in a little over a year from now. Admittedly, she also told him to write to her from jail should something go really wrong in his attempt but Adi wasn't going to let anything baaaad happen. Nope. And Culloden... without him teaching them this potion, Benny would still be saying no.

Right. He was done singing so he flopped onto the ground again. "You wouldn't regret it, Benny. You'll have the time of your life. Just remember that I want to go flying on your scarlet back.'' Hehe. Adi wouldn't miss that fun! "Also, remember not to eat me.'' Hehe.

:dragon:

The first place Toby had thought of to go plant this toadstool was actually in the forest. It had been only a few moments, however, until he remembered the whole 'forbidden' thing. Still, it was kinda tempting to go just along the outskirts or something like that, because surely they were allowed on the very borders.

Not wanting to risk it, knowing there were eyes everywhere, Toby instead found himself at the tree by the lake. Seemed as though he wasn't the first person to have this idea, either. He spotted a whole bunch of toadstools already planted here. But, as long as his was at least five metres from anyone else's, it was fine.

Toby circled the tree and edged down the shore of the lake on the side where there were fewer toadstools. He took five giant steps, hoping that each stride was a metre (little legs made it hard to tell), and then took another two just to make sure. The Hufflepuff paused and checked around for more toadstools and, finding none, settled on that spot.

He knelt down on the ground and took his dragonhide gloves from his pocket. Not having brought a trowel or anything with him, Toby instead just used his hands to dig out a little pit to plant the toadstool in. He was encumbered slightly by the bulky gloves, but soon enough there was space. Then, making sure to be very careful, Toby scooped out the toadstool and some of the soil it was planted in, and held it in a cupped hand. He took a decent look at it, noting that it already appeared to be looking healthier than it had in class, before carefully planting the stalk and soil into the hole he'd just dug.

It was easy enough work, and soon Toby found himself filling the rest of the hole with dirt and packing it in around the toadstool. Nice. Nearly done. He sat back for a moment to inspect the job so far.

See, what had caught his attention was the Hufflepuff boy, Toby, walking around the tree. This was no ritual of sorts, Oleander recognized the actions. Didn't he have a Herbology homework, too? Probably, but that was slightly dull and he couldn't be bothered. He wasn't one for planting, and he tried to steer away from plants on occasion. His sister was the one living up to her name.

Plus, it was far more interesting to watch others do the work, even if he'd gain nothing from it except... let's say experience? Yes, let's go with that.

Homework doesn't tell him who he is, anyway, yet at the moment he was the guy sitting near -or not so near- the tree, reading important news from the outside world. Lies. It was The Quibbler. What does that say, eh?

Though the gloves were cumbersome, they were at least pretty good for keeping the cold at bay, so Toby was keeping them on even though he'd done all the handling stuff. The Hufflepuff had his wand now, and was pointing it at the toadstool, squinting and looking as though he was trying to... blow things up with his mind or something.

Which... was close, but also completely incorrect. The sixth year still struggled with non-verbal spells, and practiced them at every opportunity, particularly with spells he had already more or less mastered. But... still not working. No matter how hard he focused, no magic was happening. Sigh. Worth a shot.

"Aguamenti." Toby said the spell out loud this time, giving the dirt around the replanted Talking Toadstool a splash of water, enough to keep it healthy, but not so much that he drowned the thing. As soon as he spoke, it immediately began mimicking him. 'AgUAmentiii,' it squeaked back, as the surrounding soil soaked up the water. 'AGUamENtiiiIII, aguamentiaguaaamentiii, AGUAMENTI!'

...

"Merlin," Toby muttered, shaking his head with a smile as he reholstered his wand ('aguamentiMERlin,' the toadstool replied). "Okay buddy. That's me done here. I'll try visiting and checking up on you, you just... stay alive."

'Stay aliiiive, stay alive, stay ALIVE!'

Well, it WAS very talkative. That was a good sign. He stood up again, said "G'bye," to the toadstool and headed off back to the castle.

'G'byeeeeeeeeeee!'

SPOILER!!: Adi

Quote:

Originally Posted by FearlessLeader19

Adi waited with even more patience as Benny took FOREVER to consider his question. Alright, he couldn't blame him. This was a HUGE thing to ask out of the shy, quiet boy. Besides, his instinct (probably due to the potion) was still telling him to stay silent. Adi was confident this would work.

That confidence paid off. BENNY AGREED!

In his excitement, Adi leapt to his feet and punched the air with his left hand. SUCCESS! In a sing song voice, he began in a loud voice, "I did it, I did it! Benny's going to be a Chinese Fireball sometime! I did it! I convinced him! Thank you, Professors Bellaire and Culloden!'' Those two had noooo idea how much they had helped him with this. Bellaire had told him to do it away from Hogwarts when he became of age, which was happening in a little over a year from now. Admittedly, she also told him to write to her from jail should something go really wrong in his attempt but Adi wasn't going to let anything baaaad happen. Nope. And Culloden... without him teaching them this potion, Benny would still be saying no.

Right. He was done singing so he flopped onto the ground again. "You wouldn't regret it, Benny. You'll have the time of your life. Just remember that I want to go flying on your scarlet back.'' Hehe. Adi wouldn't miss that fun! "Also, remember not to eat me.'' Hehe.

:dragon:

And so he agreed, even if he still had a few reservations. Surely his bestie would allow a few things to be straightened out beforehand. And Bellaire did say it had to be done when they were of proper age so there was time to wait already built into the circumstances surrounding the plan. And Adi sure had sounded convincing this time around. Probably the whole fact of the recent classes...unless...

He was using the potion?!

So that had been the purpose of their meeting. The two best friends were partnered up for another assignment together and the Gryffindor had nearly forgotten about it. While his friend was otherwise occupied with his excitement, Benny fiddled with the bottle in his pocket. It was as good a time as any to try out his own potion. So he took his friend's distraction as a cover to uncap the bottle and drink roughly the required portion for the test run. He did nearly choke on the contents as the Hufflepuff got loud in his exclaimations.

By the time Adi had rejoined him back on the ground, the bottle was stowed and Benny had stopped coughing. "Sure...that would only be right," he said, answering the remarks that his bestie had made. Except they weren't exactly the words he had thought of first.

Of course they are not. Be a little more certain.

Cue the start if the potions effects.

Adi was so caught up in his excitement he hadn't noticed his bestie almost dying from choking. If he had, he would not hesitate to thump him heartily on the back. But as it was, the Puffer was still very much caught up in his success.

It took him a while... okay more than a while to get a 'yes' out of Benny. It was more like years but still... it was better late than never.

This called for a celebration. Reaching into his pocket, Adi fished out a chocolate froggy and a few Sour Patch Kids in a clear plastic. See, in addition to to having stashes of sweets for himself and AJ, he had added a stash of sour for Benny. Such a good bestie the Puffer was.

"Goody. I'm glad you agree to that.'' Adi was a super happy and content Badger at the moment. Yesh, he was.

SPOILER!!: Mad Scientist

Quote:

Originally Posted by FearlessLeader19

Adi was so caught up in his excitement he hadn't noticed his bestie almost dying from choking. If he had, he would not hesitate to thump him heartily on the back. But as it was, the Puffer was still very much caught up in his success.

It took him a while... okay more than a while to get a 'yes' out of Benny. It was more like years but still... it was better late than never.

This called for a celebration. Reaching into his pocket, Adi fished out a chocolate froggy and a few Sour Patch Kids in a clear plastic. See, in addition to to having stashes of sweets for himself and AJ, he had added a stash of sour for Benny. Such a good bestie the Puffer was.

"Goody. I'm glad you agree to that.'' Adi was a super happy and content Badger at the moment. Yesh, he was.

The Hufflepuff took some time to come down from his lofty feelings pertaining to his positive response to his repeated question. Benny just sat there watching his friend as it happened and his confidence rose. And would you look at that...celebratory materials in the form of Adi's usual stash of candies. His best friend had gotten good over time too, now including some muggle sour candies for his own differing tastes. So there were treats for the both of them on their little picnic by the lake weakly shaded by the bare tree.

"You're welcome," Benny said as he reached for the bag to get his sour goodies free from their current home. No waiting for him for he was confident that they were for him anyway. "You really should add some protein to your diet." To offset all the sugar that he was sure his friend ate.

"I can help you with that." There just had to be something around to assist with this endevour of his. Outside...dirt and grass...meant bugs of course.

Ahh, sugar. Did Adi ever tell you he loved you dearly? LOL. He sat there munching into his now headless Frog. Yep, he always ate the heads first. He was also lost in a daydream which entailed him soaring hiiiiigh in the sky atop a completely scarlet dragon with blond hair. For some strange reason Benny's blond hair decided it would stay. Heh.

"Eh?'' Adi came out of his reverie abruptly as he heard the Gryffindor's voice. "Protein? I get enough of that. I think." He did get enough, right? He frowned as he considered his bestie's suggestion. Hmmm... he did take care of himself dietary wise (or so he thought) so he wasn't worried.

"Help? Are you going to stuff chicken down my throat or something?" Chicken was good. Adi like chicken. "Bring it on then!'' He was game.

SPOILER!!: Frog?

Quote:

Originally Posted by FearlessLeader19

Ahh, sugar. Did Adi ever tell you he loved you dearly? LOL. He sat there munching into his now headless Frog. Yep, he always ate the heads first. He was also lost in a daydream which entailed him soaring hiiiiigh in the sky atop a completely scarlet dragon with blond hair. For some strange reason Benny's blond hair decided it would stay. Heh.

"Eh?'' Adi came out of his reverie abruptly as he heard the Gryffindor's voice. "Protein? I get enough of that. I think." He did get enough, right? He frowned as he considered his bestie's suggestion. Hmmm... he did take care of himself dietary wise (or so he thought) so he wasn't worried.



"Help? Are you going to stuff chicken down my throat or something?" Chicken was good. Adi like chicken. "Bring it on then!'' He was game.

Benny wasn't aware of his friend's day dreams. Just his own sour candy..and the ground around the both of them. The Gryffindor letting his eyes flow over the uneven grassy surface in search of something living besides the two of them. The source of his assistance for the task he was more than ready to undertake. His eyes flitted briefly up to Adi as he let out his two letter response at first, clearly coming out of something. It was only as the Hufflepuff continued his answer that he turned his attention away from his search.

See...he wasn't even sure!

That could be bad if he didn't. Good thing he, his best friend Benny, was there to help. "Hmm...not a bad idea," he mused, briefly mulling over that suggestion before spotting something moving beside his friend. Well a short distance away. "But I have a better idea." And with that he got up onto his knees and crawled forward towards Adi. It took a few attempts but the Gryffindor was soon in possession of a stunned fly.

"Not quite chicken but tastes like it," he mused in all seriousness as he held out the crawlie for his friend. "I'm sure Gus would agree with me."

Annnnd his Froggie was gone. Adi swallowed the last bit of chocolatey goodness, wishing he had another one but he had only stashed one in his pocket before he headed out here. Oh well. There was more waiting for him when he got back to his dorm.

"Better idea?" Adi repeated, his eyes surveying Benny's face. What did that dude had in his mind? He tilted his head and curiously watched his friend's antics. What was he doing?!

WAS... THAT...A... FLY?!

It was finally dawning on Adi as to what Benny meant. There was going to be no chicken. "How do you know that?" he demanded as he EYED the fly. What, was Benny having conversations with his toad now? "I'm not eating that.'' Nope. Buuuut... "Gus does like to eat those things. Well, all frogs do and I did wonder a lot why they like flies so much.''

Heh. Adi was curious and revolted as well at what Benny was proposing.

Zander turned his head right over to her and gave her the smallest goofy grin. She was so sweet, did she know? He was a good four years older than her and yet she was the one giving solid advice. "You're right, I was being absolutely mental," he chuckled a bit as he shifted around trying to sit up straighter against the tree. Yes it wasn't a good idea, but he still didn't regret it. Just needed some sort of escape from the castle for a bit. Not like he had the time to go down to Hogsmeade even, so the grounds were a good alternative, so it seemed.

Taking the lemon she offered, Zander eyed it couriousily before looking over at the little firstie. "Not too sour, are they?" Of course he had been a part of that lesson in CoMC too, but he hadn't even thought about using the charm outside of class. Especially not just for a tasty snack. Plus, it really just looked like a regular old lemon. Couldn't just eat those straight up, y'know? So he had to check.

Huh. How was it that she was biting into it so easily!?? It was a LEMON! Those things were SO sour???

"I... I reckon I could try to get us an appointment with her, she's a pretty busy lady.... But I think since we've got the badge on our side, maybe she'll make an exception for us?" Still not calling it his badge though. It felt weird and out of place to say that. So it was the badge. And it was on their side. Because they were a team in this. Yup. Besides, talking to the headmistress wasn't actually all that bad of an idea, hm. "Oh, and I've been meaning to tell you... I got to see where they live, Amur! The elves."

Amur shook her head. "Not absolutely mental." After all, he was dressed to some degree. "Just partially."

She bit into her lemon again, chewing around the rind as she watched him curiously. Did he not trust her. "Not at all. I don't like sour things, so I wouldn't feed them to anyone else. Unless, you make an interesting face when you eat weird food." Yeah, because she would then. She blinked at the boy innocently for a moment before taking another bite of her fruit.

Comm'on Zander. Do you trust us?

A grin broke free as she nodded, patting his shoulder. "More than just a pretty face." It would be awesome if they could speak with the Headmistress. Maybe, just maybe she would listen and then the elves wouldn't have to be cold in winter. Even though they said they weren't, but they could have soft things to wear! That was just as important. It was no fun being uncomfortable or itchy.

But, what was THIS? Amur nearly dropped her lemon in the snow as she shot forward onto her knees, her hands catching on his shoulders. And she almost shook him. Almost. "What?! Really?!" This was like, the most AMAZING news ever. "What was it like? Do they have comfy beds and fluffy pillows? Do they have windows? What about drawers and cabinets? And books? Do they have books or games or things like that to keep them entertained when they aren't in the kitchens?"

Yeah, that last bit sounded weird. She bit her tongue and STARED at him. Tell her more. Pleeeeaasseeee.

SPOILER!!: Curious Adi

Quote:

Originally Posted by FearlessLeader19

Annnnd his Froggie was gone. Adi swallowed the last bit of chocolatey goodness, wishing he had another one but he had only stashed one in his pocket before he headed out here. Oh well. There was more waiting for him when he got back to his dorm.

"Better idea?" Adi repeated, his eyes surveying Benny's face. What did that dude had in his mind? He tilted his head and curiously watched his friend's antics. What was he doing?!

WAS... THAT...A... FLY?!

It was finally dawning on Adi as to what Benny meant. There was going to be no chicken. "How do you know that?" he demanded as he EYED the fly. What, was Benny having conversations with his toad now? "I'm not eating that.'' Nope. Buuuut... "Gus does like to eat those things. Well, all frogs do and I did wonder a lot why they like flies so much.''

Heh. Adi was curious and revolted as well at what Benny was proposing.

The Gryffindor absently nibbled on his Sour Patch Kids as he watched and waited on his friend. The boy enjoying the tart and still somewhat sweet treats that were growing on him since their introduction into their friendship. In the opposite hand he almost taunted Adi with the fly in his grasp.

How did he know it?

"I just do..." Benny answered matter-of-factly. No other answer to be given to that question, end of story. And of course his bestie wasn't going for it. At first anyway. It was all about eating a bug after all. Not exactly a normal thing for much to do, despite the use of them in potions. But it seemed his addition of Gus, the boy's familiar, was a good move on his part but he hadn't doubted it when he said it.

"Well then why don't you give it a try and see," he suggested, moving his hand and the fly just a little closer to his friend. And to help the other boy along with his decision, Benny added three little words to the mix. "I dare you."

"You just do? Is that instinct or something? Or have you been talking to Gus?'' Adi knew the latter part sounded silly but he just had to ask. Hehe. He'd disown his toady if it had been chatting with others and not him. Well, maybe he wouldn't do that if it were chats with Benny.

"Nuh uh. No matter how much protein's in there I'm not going to eat that.'' The Hufflepuff eyed the fly as Benny moved the insect closer. His brown eyes darted to his bestie. A DARE? Adi never backed down from those!

"Smart. Well played, Dragon.'' Adi gingerly reached out and grasped the fly. "Is it okay if I just swallow this?'' Since he wasn't keen on chewing. Bleh.

Just partially'!? That got a nice laugh out of him actually. Amur was great, could he keep her? "Well, it's better that way, isn't it?" he crinkled his nose, still grinning at her. "Makes things more interesting?" At least... It sounded like something Sophie Brown would say. Or well, something like that.

And for the record, he did make interesting faces when he ate weird foods. But he couldn't tell her that, or else she might try to test it out. She may have been playing at that innocent smile, but it was anything but innocent. Mhm. He'd seen that smile enough times to have figured it out. Girls seemed to use it all the time around here. "If you say so....." Still, he was skeptical. But he couldn't just all out deny the fruit right in front of her. She had given him so many chocolate frogs and well, it'd be rude, right? Plus... He was getting a bit hungry too. Hm. Alright then, it was settled. Though, he wasn't one to just bite out of it. Lemon skin was blegh. Casting a quick "Diffindo!" he watched as the lemon sliced in half. There.

Slowly, he lifted one of the wedges to his mouth and--ooh. It was actually real sweet. Kind of like the ones they--WAIT A MINUTE. "Did you... Did you use that Magimus Charm that we learned in Creatures?" It only made sense. And woah. He was impressed. Like really REALLY impressed. Huh. How come he hadn't thought of that?? "Do you think we could get it to work on things that... aren't fruit?" Because imagine all the possibilities!! That'd be SO cool and-- He was getting ahead of himself, wasn't he?

O____O Oh Merlin. What had he done? The Gryffindor was fully expecting the first year to go all "Airey-Flamsteed" on him and do the crazed shoulder shaking, bug eye-ed thing... But wait. She wasn't doing any of that... Just asking him five hundred million questions per second. That's all. "Uh well... They live in a room connected to the kitchens... And they have bunk beds... Well, some of them. The others kind of make a little next of sheets and stuff... There's also one that sleeps in a cauldron..." Also, he hadn't found Toddles' bed. That was important. Because he stole more chocolate frogs. "But uh, I don't think they have games... But they do keep each other company? There's loads of him." Did that answer anything?

Well at least he wasn't going to deny it. If he did, she'd have to rain on his parade to keep him humble. At least, that's what she heard was proper to do. Still wasn't sure if it was true or not, and she didn't really want to try and test it out on Zander. Instead, she nodded and agreed with him. "Definitely interesting."

Especially cause he made weird faces and looked at her like he didn't trust her, even though she was eating one of the fruits in front of her. "Oh common! It's not like I'd poison you or anything." She nodded fiercely. "I do say so." So...eat up? And any way he pleased, just as long as he tried it.

Amur watched as he took a bite, and grinned broadly. "Sure did. It's quite handy. And chocolate frogs are becoming really hard to find." Seriously. Even her stock was almost gone. So, she was finding other means of getting the same results. What was that called? Resourceful? Maybe. She was trying to be resourceful.

Taking another bite of her fruit, she considered Zander. "Probably? I don't see why not. Maybe we should try it on potatoes?" Because vegetables were the next logical step after fruit.

As for the exctiment about the elves, it lasted about a nano-second. As soon as Zander began telling her about it, her smile started to wither and her shoulders started to slump. Each word had her frowning more and more until she was completely frowning at him, in that 'I-completley-believe-you-but-I-don't-like-the-words-coming-out-of-your-mouth' way.

When he was done, Amur withdrew her hands from his shoulders and sat back. She twisted the edge of her sleeve as she watched him, remembering their conversations before. Not everything she thought was good, was their definition of good. How was she to know the mind of an elf. But still ---

"Do...do they like sleeping in cauldrons and in blanket nests?" Maybe they were like cats in that regard? "And how many are in one room? Is it crowded? ...Do they...do they seem comfortable?" Or were the sheets scratchy and itchy?

Serious questions Mr. Adair. Serious questions.

SPOILER!!: Dared Puffer

Quote:

Originally Posted by FearlessLeader19

"You just do? Is that instinct or something? Or have you been talking to Gus?'' Adi knew the latter part sounded silly but he just had to ask. Hehe. He'd disown his toady if it had been chatting with others and not him. Well, maybe he wouldn't do that if it were chats with Benny.

"Nuh uh. No matter how much protein's in there I'm not going to eat that.'' The Hufflepuff eyed the fly as Benny moved the insect closer. His brown eyes darted to his bestie. A DARE? Adi never backed down from those!

"Smart. Well played, Dragon.'' Adi gingerly reached out and grasped the fly. "Is it okay if I just swallow this?'' Since he wasn't keen on chewing. Bleh.

Benny chuckled at the questions, especially the last. "Like I could understand Gus THAT well," he remarked with a shake of the head. "I read it somewhere." Now that made more sense given he had been hitting the books a lot lately. If only his best friend wasn't being reluctant to do what he was suggesting. No...wait? Was that Adi giving into his idea about eating the flying insect?

He found a small smirk playing across his face at Adi's compliment, his choice of words hitting home with the other boy. Benny watched as the Hufflepuff took the fly from him, he himself willingly handing it over. "Swallowing is acceptable." The Gryffindor himelf had swallowed the beetle Angel had gotten him to eat before.

"I suppose so. Wouldn't it be cool, though? Then we can eavesdrop on his and Conrad's conversations.'' The besties' animals were besties too and Adi thought that was super cool. Anyway, Benny read it. Hmph. Seemed like the tables had turned this time and Benny was the one doing experiments on him. If this was an experiment. Hehe.

"Such a tiny thing. Well, here goes nothing.'' Swallowing the fly was a whole lot better than having to chew. Adi raised his hand in which he had the insect to his mouth, tilted his head back slightly annnnd in went the thing. Without wasting a second, he swallowed. "I did it!'' WOOT! He won the dare! "What do I get for my win, Benny?'' A logical question that was. YES!

Yes, yes he DID trust the first year, but a lemon? Since when was that a casual snack... You know? Who could blame him? Wasn't like being hesitant about it was completely out of the ordinary. It was a LEMON for crying out loud. He had some reason in waiting to take a bite. No offense Amur, but this Gryffindor wasn't a huge sour fan. Had the biggest sweet tooth though, but acid pops and lemon drops. No thank you.

But, it wasn't sour. And he wasn't making weird faces. So there was that. He nodded a bit as he considered the potato thing, but... "You think vegetables would taste good sweetened?" Okay so now he was making a face. But only because that sounded terribly unappetizing. He didn't eat proper vegetables to begin with. Sweet ones didn't make them sound any more appetizing. "Maybe it works on inedible stuff too though?" he was curious, you see. If you could sweeten up fruit, who said that was the limit? "Think it'd work on worms? Or beetles even?" Except well, Zander couldn't be the one to test it out. And neither could Amur, he liked her too much for that.

And as far as the house elf thing went... The Gryffindor could tell that his newly found information was not impressing her the least bit. "I-uh-I don't remember exactly how many... But there were tons of them..." he began as he scratched his head in thought. "I think they like it though... Living all together, otherwise they'd get lonely. They like to talk and play around. They especially love each other." Even Toddles the chocolate-stealer. His eyes lit up at the mention of that Argyle or whatever her name was... He couldn't remember. There were too many of them. "But they were very excited for us to see their beds, one even had Puck sit on top of hers."

He slowly stopped talking as he searched her eyes for any indication of what she was thinking. Had he said the right thing? The wrong? What was going on in that little mind of hers?? He was curious.

Amur giggled a little bit around her food at the first question, then even more at his second and by the third she was shaking her head with a wide grin. Silly boy. "There are sweetened vegetables. Tomatoes, for one." Because in this particular argument, she had decided it was a vegetable. Tomorrow, it might be a fruit. Depended on what the conversation was. "And sweet potatoes." Cause they were naturally sweet, right? She'd never tried one. Oh and... "Cooked carrots, but not plain, with brown sugar."

Had she lost him? She was afraid she had. Settling a little bit, Amur did her best to take his curiosity serious. "But I'm sure it would help with spinach. Or asparagus." Though there was the texture thing. Now she was making weird faces.

As for inedible, she had been thinking more along the lines of rocks or twigs. Things that one literally could not eat. But bugs? "Bugs are edible." She said it so matter-of-factly anyone around might have thought it was her daily breakfast meal. Time to clarify. "Animals eat them all the time. And occasionally children." Yeah, that was learned from the farm cats, thank-you-very-much.

Still, there was that muggle show where eating bugs looked tasty. Maybe it was? She looked around them and lifted up her knees, looking under her legs. "If we could find one, we could test the theory."

The news about the house elves took considerably longer to settle in. She eyed him, and eyed him some more. "I suppose it sounds alright, and I get wanting company." It'd be like a sleepover, all the time, with all one's friends instead of only a select few. "And as long as the beds are comfy." But still, there was still something unsettling about it.

She knotted her sleeve, frowned and decided it was because she simply didn't know. She didn't know how house elves were supposed to live. She didn't know how they were supposed to think. She didn't know what they liked or didn't like. She simply didn't know. But the Headmistress would. And they would see her and get this whole thing sorted out. Amur nodded to herself.

Her eyes went back up to Zander and she offered him a smile. "Thank you for sharing. I'm glad you got to see it."

Now, onto other important matters. She lifted up her knees again and poked about the ground by her feet. Time to find a worm to test Zander's theories.

Sam was sure he'd never tire of this stuff. This Hogwarts/magic stuff. It had been a year and a half (give or take), and he still didn't take any of it for granted. Not a thing. He lifted the old camera which was slung around his neck, where it usually lived and took a few winterscape photos of the beautiful lake to owl to his mam, dad and Suri back home. There was something nice about not being able to use modern technology in school. Dark room development of photographs gave them a really vintage, authentic, artsy feel. He had opted for muggle film, however. He still wasn't used to his artwork moving around when you'd taken the time to capture a specific moment in time.

He was meeting his cousin, who lived up in the towers, out here. He leaned against the tree, yeah that one, and pulled his scarf tighter around his neck. He folded his arms around him an attempt to keep warm (because freakin' hell was it cold!), and waited for Lala to arrive.

Layla’s mood today was questionable. She had the usual emotionless expression on her face, the one that said ‘leave me alone’ but she was reasonably ‘upbeat’ today, if you could call it that. Lets just say that there wasn’t a frown set into her features. The reason behind this wasn’t clear either, she still felt pretty isolated in this school despite there not being that many students and she still spent the majority of her time cooped up in the dormitories or down by the lake when she fancied fresh air and a bit of sports practice. But today she had arranged to meet with her cousin and if there was anyone in the school that appreciated her for who she was it was Sammy.

She spotted his familiar blonde locks from quite afar leaning against the tree. The pair looked very much alike, more alike than she did her own brother anyway. She kinda wished that it was them that were siblings. Bradley had his own family and they weren’t particularly close when she was younger. He was protective, she gave him that but they weren’t the typical cuddly playing together type. Sammy and Layla were much closer, in age and personality and she adored his little sister Suri too.

She prodded him in the shoulder from behind as soon as she arrived. “Hey loser” A genuine smile came upon her face. Sammy was the type you could be playful with, he didn’t take offense to the nicknames and quite frankly he gave as good as he got. She could tell that he was cold from the behaviour he was exhibiting. “It ain’t that cold you wuss” she smirked moving to stand in front of him.

Angel was totally looking forwards to this, she had a few things that she could do now, she was going to be able to soak Adi if he got the question wrong, which was going to be very funny and she totally couldn't wait for it, she had come up with a few trick questions because she wanted to be able to soak him, the only way this would be better would be if she could use slime but since she didn't have any that was a no go.

Angel sat down by the tree and looked out at the lake, now she just had to wait for Adi to get there...she took out a lollypop she had in her bag and unwrapped it before she started to suck on it... she couldn't wait for Adi to get there.

Sam was busy watching ripples on the surface of the lake, leaning forward to see if he could see what lay beneath. His favourite class was creatures ( giant killer spiders hadn't changed that one iota). He loved that the Slytherins lived under this very lake. It was crazy and cool, and the letters he wrote home got his family both jealous and incredulous.

His heart jumped at the prodding. Heart rate increasing as he whirled around to face his favourite, fellow blonde cousin, with a big smile on his face. “Tryin' to give me a heart attack, like?” Nearly succeeded too. Cheers, Lala. He rolled his eyes playfully at 'loser' comment, holding back the rude name that was on the tip of his tongue. There were little kiddies within ear shot, aye.

“I caught me soddin' death swimmin' in the freezin' lake. I blame you, Lala.”

He paused to smile wider and nudge her playfully.

“How've y'been?”