Adelynn was determined to know her way around this castle by the end of September. But uhh, the castle is BIG so that would be nearly impossible. That still didn't stop her from trying, though.

Ending up on the third floor, she walked and gazed around. It was pretty empty but she didn't mind, it made it seem like a good place to study for Charms class.

As she walked down the corridor, she stopped at about mid way down to watch some portraits have an argument. Those portraits could be pretty entertaining and Adelynn loved to observe them.

Skipping through the halls, Noelle was on a mission. A mission to fina nother secret passage. She had already found one but she wanted to find LOADS of others. She could be named the Queen of secret passages. That could add to her Queen of Cute.

Spotting someone in the corridor, she skipped up to her. "Hi." She simply stated as she looked to see what the girl was looking at. Heh. The portraits. Noelle loved watching them. She giggled at the free entertainment she was receiving. " I love the portraits. We have portraits at home but they are onl in some of the rooms in my house." Hi. She was was Noelle Grace Summers, the oversharer.

Adelynn turned her head when she was approached by someone. AWW. The girl was adorable! She loved kids, although she technically still was one herself, ever since she turned 13 over the summer she thought of herself as a cool teen/young adult. Adelynn smiled as the girl told her about the portraits in her house.

"Hi! The portraits are fun, aren't they?" She felt like she should introduce herself to the girl. "I'm Adelynn. I'm a third year, but this is my first year at Hogwarts! Is this your first year?" She assumed it was, since the girl was so tiny, much like herself when she was that age.

Noelle giggled as one of the people in the portraits bopped the other person in the head. Heh. You funny portrait you!

Looking at the girl, she gave her her best smile. "They are! I love them! I wish we could have more in the house but papa is muggle and a farmer so we have muggles over a lot so we have to limit them to the magical places in the house and..... " Okay she was sharing too much. And she needed to breathe.

"Annnnd... anyways, Im Noelle Grace Summers and yes! I am! How did you know??" Because it wasnt obvious to her. She would like to think not anyways. She was already trying to pretend that she was a second year. Because... firsties got picked on a lot. And that was just not cool in her book.

Adelynn nodded her head along with Noelles talk about the portraits and her family, etc. She almost felt like she should pull out a parchment and quill and take notes as it was a lot for her to remember. That and she also loved taking notes.

"Wow, well I could see how that could be difficult! Maybe, you could just put all the portraits in your room! Then you could have entertainment and be free of worrying about muggles finding them!" That seemed like a good solution, to Adelynn anyway. Although those portraits could get a bit rowdy sometimes...

She briefly turned her attention over to the portraits as one started screaming at the other for hitting him in the head. Err, maybe it wouldn't be so fun to have a bunch of portraits in someones room.

She turned her attention back to the firstie. "Well it is lovely to meet you, Noelle Grace Summers! I'm Adelynn Bleu Kingston." She tilted her head up in the air and put her hands under her chin as she introduced herself, and then giggled. Bringing her hands back down to her sides, she said "Well...you're little! Not in a bad way, but in a cute way!" And cute was always the way to go. "Most first years are little." she added with a nod. It was true, she had already seen some who looked younger than their age.

Noelles eyes widened at the thought of putting the pictures in her room. How brilliant was that?! Now she would have to send an owl. It was the only thing to do. She needed those pictures in her room!

Looking back at the creaming, Noelle blinked. Okay..... Maybe just a few of the pictures then. Not all of them. She needed to be able to sleep at night.

Noelle grinned at the girl and her BEAUTIFUL name. She giggled as her hand dropped and she shook it. And she shook it like a grown up would. Because she was one! A grown up! She had her big girl shoes on now being at Hogwarts.

" I am the Queen of cute but you can be my princess of cute.... Because you're cute too!" Another giggle escaped her lips. She was having a ball with this girl.

Adelynn let out an "aww" at the Queen of Cutes introduction. She smiled greatly at the mention of being her princess of cute. "Why, I would be truly honored, my Queen." She said and bowed.

Okay, this girl was officially the most adorable kid Adelynn had met at Hogwarts so far. But all the the people she had met at Hogwarts were cool and unique in their own way, and she had wished she had come to the wizarding school sooner.

"So your highness, how are you liking the school?" Adelynn asked. She for one was having a great time. First she met friends on the train, then got sorted into the house she was hoping for, and was discovering all the fun places that Hogwarts had to offer. All while making more friends along the way.

Noelle giggled. This girl was actually playing along! Oh she liked her. Beaming, Noelle stood on her tip toes and 'dubbed' her the new princess. "You are Offically the Princess of Cute!", dubbed by the queen herself even.

"I love it here! Everyone is so nice and I've made lots of friends, like you!" She said giving her another smile. "I like that there's lots of stuff to do and I've learned a lot already!" She was excited about that part. She was eager to learn all she could.

"What about you? How do you like Hogwarts?" Noelle asked Ade. She looked up at her.

Finding a partner for homework was a whole lot harder than it should have been. Norah had collected a ball from in front of Professor Baxter's office AND waited there for four entire minutes, and nobody had come by to play catch. That's right, not a single person. She'd retreated to the corridor with the ball in one hand and her wand in the other, in the hopes that there'd be more students there like her who had left the homework until the last minute. It wasn't her fault, okay? OWL year was a whole lot more work than she'd signed up for. She'd gladly go back to fourth year, as long as they let her keep the shiny badge. There wasn't even a need for prefect-dom anymore, considering she'd never figured out what crazy person had awarded her the title in the first place. The shiny badge was more than enough.

A minute of standing smack in the middle of the corridor had proven to be a ginormous failure, as not a single person had approached her with the burning desire to play catch. Lame. It was sure to be exciting, she promised. Prefects honor. Norah took a seat with her back against the wall and bounced the ball up and down against the cold floor. Anybody? Aaaaaanybody? Professor Baxter was far too nice to have students not doing the homework she assigned.

Okay, Cosgrach... didn't know which floor he was on. He had been too deep in thought, and he had never memorised which class was on which floor exactly anyway, and... WHERE was everyone? Where did they go? Were they under attack aga -

Bounce bounce bounce. He turned his head to the source of the sound, squinted and saw that it was Norah. The perfectly mature one. Sighing in relief, he made his way to her. Oh, she was bouncing a ball... Why?

"You lost your dog?" Did she even have a dog?

Bounce bounce bounce bounce. Norah didn't notice Professor Culloden's arrival until he spoke, but it took a moment for her to register on account of his words making absolutely no sense. "I don't even have a dog." Didn't he KNOW? She'd be a whole lot happier if she had a dog. Pets were the dream, uh huh. Didn't he pay attention? She put her head down to go back to bouncing, because there still didn't seem to be any students who'd do the homework with her. Bounce bounce bou- WAIT.

She caught the ball before it his the floor, and scrambled to her feet. Putting on her most angelic grin, she stretched as tall as she could and put her hands behind her back. "Would you like to help me with my homework, Professor Culloden sir?" This idea was GENIUS. Man. Maybe her brain really had gotten better at coming up with stuff since she'd become a fifth year. It definitely wasn't because of all the books and studying. She absolutely refused to attribute anything good that. So obviously it was the age thing. "It's for charms. I really really really need a partner to play catch with or else I won't get it done on time and Professor Baxter will hate me and I'll fail my exam and flunk out of school and have to live in your potions classroom forever and ever with my wand broken in half so I can't even clean things, just mix things together and make them explode." That was a convincing argument, right? Clearly working with her was for his own good. Just in case it hadn't worked, she added, "Please? It won't take too long, I promise." See that? That was covering all her bases. He had to agree now, he just had to.

"It's not real catch, though. It's SPECIAL catch. I've got to banish the ball towards you and then you can slow it down and catch it and throw it back and then we do it AGAIN." He knew the 'arresto momentum' spell, right? He was a Professor, he was supposed to know everything. Norah gave him another big smile. Pretty please?

Oh, she didn't have a dog. Well, alright. The ball was for her own entertainment then -

Or not.

Cosgrach squinted at the angelic smile. Why did she change so fast? What would come out of this? ... oh, cool, homework. Yeah, he would... wait, she spoke so much that he missed the part where she explained the homework. It was for charms, alright, but what were they going to do? Why was she staying in his lab forever? Why wouldn't she clean stuff? WHAT WAS HAPPENING HERE WHY WOULD POTIONS EXPLODE EVEN DIDN'T SHE MENTION CHARMS LIKE A HUNDRED WORDS AGO -

Special catch!?!?!?! Ohhhhhh okay gotcha. Or, got her. "I'll do it," he said slooooooowly, because he still didn't know why she was staying in his lab forever to explode things, "but only because Hufflepuff must win the Cup this year." Did she get it? Hufflepuff. Had. To. Win. Period.

"So I took a few steps back, yeah?" he asked, and went back anyway without her answer. She would banish the ball towards him, he would slow it down, throw it back and all over again. Got it.

"Do I throw it by hand?" he asked.

He'll do it? He'll do it! WOOOOH! Norah beamed at him and took a few big steps back until they were about 4 meters apart. "For Hufflepuff, then. We're so going to win, I feel it in my bones." With Moxley AND Culloden as their important professor people they were bound to win, right? It was practically a given. And anyways, badgers were already the best ones. "I guess it doesn't really matter how you throw it." Was there a throwing spell? Or was it just the same as banishing? Why had he said that so slowly? Was there something in his throat? Did he want water? Could you cast aguamenti right into somebody's mouth? Why was she just standing there and thinking instead of playing catch?

Remembering that she was supposed to concentrate just for Culloden, she focused on his face and pulled out her wand. Totally concentrated on the task at hand, uh huh. Who could even suggest otherwise. "Just don't throw it so hard that you hurt yourself, because that'd be bad." Not that he was old or anything. Just older than some people. And younger than some buildings. "Ready?" Not waiting for an answer, she tossed the ball in the air and cast "Depulso!" when it reached the right height, making a big sweeping motion with her wand. The spell was a whole lot easier when she could pay attention to what she was doing instead of being mad at Evie like she had been in class (the older claw had DESERVED it though, okay? Nobody was allowed to be mean to Sophie Brown. It was practically a law). She watched the ball fly in Culloden's direction, a little further to left than it should've been but at least it was making it all the way there.

Cosgrach nodded in determination. Good thing she got the part 'for Hufflepuff'. Good thing she felt winning in her bones. Because how cool would it be to win the cup in his first year as a house assistant? SUPERB. Yes.

Oh, so he could just throw it with his hand - slowly not to hurt himself. PSH. This was absurd.

"I'm not old, Miss Kittredge," he said rather dryly, because THAT was what she had implied. That he was old so he had to be careful. PFFFT. He would throw it at ANY pace he wanted!

"Arresto Momentum!" he said as he waved his wand, and the ball slowed down. Then, taking it (he didn't realise it was a little bit to the left), he THREW it at her (a little bit above her head not to hit her so hardly) but his shoulder DID crack.

Ow. Ow. Ow.

Norah widened her eyes. Totally innocent. Totally. "I didn't say thaaaat." YOUNGER than some BUILDINGS, remember? That had to count for something.

She nodded appreciatively at his catch. See that? That's why this was a GENIUS
idea. Professors were good at everything, so obviously his magic was perfect. You probably never ever even used that spells in potions but he knew it anyways. Well, unless you knocked stuff over, but knowing him, Culloden probably hadn't ever knocked anything over in his whole entire life. She threw her hands in the air to catch the ball. It bounced off her fingers and landed on the ground where she scrambled to lift it from. Nooooobody saw that.

Apparently it was pretty likely that Culloden really HADN'T seen it, 'cause he seemed pretty preoccupied with his shoulder. Norah let her arms fall back to her sides. "You okay, Professor?" She took a few steps closer and elevated to her toes, craning her neck to see better. Was there blood? Did he need the hospital wing? HAD SHE BROKEN A PROFESSOR? Sophie Brown would never forgive her for breaking Culloden, no way. Who would the Ravenclaw tease NOW?

Well, it sounded SO and if she hadn't already casted the ball towards him, Cosgrach would have pointed it out but since he had a job...

...during which his shoulder cracked and was a pleasant sign of how old his joints felt...

"I'm perfect!" he answered back, rolled his shoulders, and even forced a smile for her. He was fine. He just wanted to be over with this homework.

"Let's continue." And have Hufflepuff win the cup, thank you very much.

Okay. He was okay. PHEW. "If you say so." That wasn't a very happy looking smile but Norah couldn't exactly accuse a professor of lying. Imagine the look on his face. It'd probably be HORRIFYING. Or funny. But most likely horrifying.

"Here we go!" He was ready, right? She took a few steps back from Professor Culloden once more and threw the ball up in the air. Once it reached the right height, she focused on making it soar back in Culloden's direction and cast, "Depulso!" with a swift sweep of her wand. The ball shot straight at his head. Well. It was better aim than last time but hopefully he had good reflexes. Not that the soft little ball could really hurt anything besides maybe his pride, but y'know. Catching was good too.

Cosgrach DID have good reflexes, thankfully, so he stopped the ball with a "Arresto momentum!" just in time. PHEW! He would have eyed Norah too, but he had been awful at charms, so he wasn't exactly the right person to tell people to get their spells right...

Might as well try the Depulso himself. He threw it in the air like her, and exclaimed "Depulso!" as he sweeped his wand in... OH WAIT IT WASN'T HER DIRECTION! It would be a little to her left. Ugh. Charms was hard. Also, what if the ball just... dropped in the middle? Because it wasn't going very fast, and...

No wonder he was the potions master.

"Nice catch!" Norah immediately broke into a grin, because encouraging a PROFESSOR just felt weird. Especially Professor Culloden, because he was the kind of professor who seemed to know everything under the sun. All those potions ingredients from all sorts of random places and he knew all about them. It was a wonder that his brain didn't get so big from all that information that it squished right out of his ears.

She lunged forward and to the side to catch the ball, which had slowed down so much she didn't think it'd get all the way there. Heheheh. Maybe he wasn't perfect at everything. That was even BETTER news. "Better luck next time," she said, nodding solemnly because it wasn't very nice to make fun of people when they didn't do things perfectly. SHE didn't do things perfectly a single time in her whole entire life, but it was harder to keep a straight face when it was a Professor who always seemed so smart. The smart thing was his fault, really. But still, no smiling. NO. SMILING. Norah chewed on her bottom lip to keep the grin at bay as she took a few steps back and threw the ball up in the air. Depulso!" She gave a more controlled sweep of her wand and watched the ball fly exactly at his chest. OH YEAH. DID HE SEE THAT? DID HE SEEEEE THAT?

Adelynn let out a gasp as Noelle dubbed her Princess of Cute. "Thank you, queen! But I think I'm going to need to buy some nicer robes now that I have a new title." She said with a laugh. "Maybe in the winter we could go shopping together in Hogsmeade for some? And for some sweets of course." she suggested. She had the feeling that Noelle would be fun to shop with.

She smiled as the girl referred to her as a friend. Adelynn could see them becoming as close as sisters. "Aww, everyone's so lovely! And the classes, oh my, the classes are great! Plus, we learn so much stuff outside of the classroom too!" Learning new stuff was one of her favorite things, and she could go on and on about it.

"It's honestly a dream come true to be at Hogwarts! It's better than I thought it would be and trust me, I had high expectations." She said, smiling even wider now.

Noelle giggled. She liked Ade... Could she call her Ade?? Please? Princess Ade!

Shopping?!? With her?!? Noelle BEAMED! "YES! I would loooove that! I know all the cutest stores! Mum takes me! And your clothes are just fine. I don't know what you are talking about."

"Really?? High hopes? How high were these hopes?" Noelle wondered where she had come from before... Or had she already been told that? She'd been distracted by the girl agreeing she was Queen of cute.

Adelynn smiled and did a little jump. "Yay! We're going to have a great time!" she said, with a nod. She could see it now, the two of them strutting into all the coolest stores and buying new stuff. Exciting!

"They were pretty high hopes. I mean I expected to have a nice dorm in which I could study and relax, lots of places within the castle to explore, brilliant professors, and to make a few new friends." she said, reflecting back to the summer when she daydreamed about how nice things would be once she arrived at the wizarding school. "But Hogwarts is all that and more! My dorm is amazing, the professors are beyond brilliant, I've made a lot of friends, and I don't think I'll ever run out of places to explore! I mean this place is HUGE."

"We will keep our hopes high!" Noelle said with a grin. She could use a day or two off to 'pamper' herself.

Noelle listened to what Ade was saying and grinned. Hogwarts had exceeded her expectations as well. All of those things Ade had said and more.

"Yes!! I get lost sometimes, or sometimes I just walk and try to figure out where I'm going in places I've never been before. Oh! And I found a secret passage before. It was amazing." It led to Honeydukes!

Adventures or food? That was the question. AJ was sort of wandering around aimlessly trying to figure out the important questions in life. Like, should she put extra hot sauce on her taco, or just the regular amount?

She was in a weird sort of mood. It wasn't a bad mood, but she just felt unsettled? AJ thought maybe walking around and getting into something might make her feel good, but what to do?

Food was going to happen soon, but she wanted something more than that. An adventure needed to happen before she got fat full. That was about the only thing she was sure of.