It was finally spring, which meant one thing for Hadley. The lake. The lake was her favorite place in Hogwarts, especially in the spring. Today she was out with Asher, and her camera, Thomas, exploring her fledgling passion for photography.

Asher was rushing around exploring, but was careful not to get to far away from Hads. Snap, snap, snap. She took a few pictures of her ferret, before catching sight of the giant squid off in the distance. Hads snapped a few pictures of him, and was going to move closer when something else caught her attention.

Music.

Asher heard it too, and rushed over to investigate.

"Asher! Get back here!" Not this again. Hadley gave chase, stopping after a few long strides when she caught sight of who was playing the guitar. Salamander. Her heart did that beating a bit faster thing it did whenever she saw him. She took a deep breath and smoothed out her hair.

Asher had already reached the boy by the time Hadley approached, and was doing his war dance to try and entice Ten to play. "Oh, hey Tenacius. I didn't know you played the guitar." She was a little bit jealous actually. She'd always wanted to learn to play but her Dad wouldn't buy her a guitar to learn on, until she'd learned to play, which always seemed a bit backwards to her. It gave Hads an idea though. "Maybe you could teach me sometime."

Strummin strummin strummin.....cloud watching-- is that a footlong?....or maybe it’s a ferret....

He stooped all of a sudden when there looked to be something bouncing up and down across his field of vision. Waitaminute... That is a ferret!

"Hey there boy...." the Curly Top moved his guitar aside for a moment to try to get the ferret closer to him. There was a yelling-- "Hads! This yours?" he called out to the blonde red-head as she drew closer. "Asher... Is that your name? C'mere Asher...." he tutted and snapped his fingers. Dang does he have treats? He rummaged his pockets for a..... packet of Jelly Slugs. "Do you let him eat these?" he asked has he started to bite into the jelly confectionary. Yum.

Oh she noticed the guitar. He half raised the neck of the guitar in acknowledgement then proceeded to strum idly, a loop of a few notes from the song he was playing earlier "Yeah I do..." munch munch ".. drums, piano.... Dad let me take up whatever interests me. Musical family and all that..." he wished he could tell her he also makes a mean Freddie Mercury impersonation but for some reason he felt a bit embarrassed about that all of a sudden. Weird.

Teach Hadley? A Gryffindor teaching Ravenclaw? Stop the presses! "Sure! I could teach you right now." he grinned as he made room for her on the grassy knoll.

Hadley grinned and nodded. "He's mine. Asher." Due in part to his ash grey coat, but not according to Hadley. Asher bolted to Tenacius the moment he tutted and snapped his fingers, eager to meet a new friend. The ferret climbed up on the lion's lap, earning a laugh from Hads. "I think he likes you." She knelt down and snapped a few pictures of them together and then sat down beside them.

"No," she shook her head. "They have a very limited diet. Meat." Hadley pulled out a small bag full of raw bits of meat. Immediately, Asher's attention was on the bag, little nose twitching as he sniffed the air excitedly. He followed the bag as Hadley passed it to Tenacius for him to give the ferret some treats.

"They're notorious little thieves," she said. "So if anything is missing later, just come find me. Chances are it's in my bag." And Asher might just earn an extra treat.

"Wow." Hads was seriously impressed. Guitar, drums, and piano. "My parents never let me. They thought I'd get bored or something and didn't want to waste the money." She shrugged. "Now? Sure, that'd be great!" It came out a bit too excitedly, and Hadley tried to cover it up with a slight cough to clear her throat. "Yeah, that'd be swell..."

Swell? Seriously?

Theres something about him and animals, so a rushing, excited ferret didn’t startle or scare him at all, if anything it just made his amusement even more apparent. He beamed brightly at the ferret when Hadley confirmed the obvious rapport between the two. "Well that’s a good thing. I wanna be a ferret friend not a ferret foe aintcha boy yeahh..." he crooned at the fuzzball "A bit of a sticky fingers eh? Gotcha!" he nodded and started to wag his finger as the Curly Top drew his packet of jelly slugs against himself "You cant have this Asher, Fur Mama says no. No sweets for youuuu." but he did offer it some meaty treats when Hadley passed him the treats bag.

That is some peculiar reasoning Tenacius thought of Hadster's parental unit "Really? But what if you wont be bored and it wont be a waste of money? How'd they know then? Its like a missed opportunity-- not trying out a lottery ticket simply because the odds of winning are too great... oh wait what about music classes? They don’t have to buy equipment with that."

Yes now. And swell is swell because it means Hadley was genuinely interested in learning. Tenacius went over the basics with her-- general parts of the guitar, what frets were, strings, chords and so on, strumming along so she can hear the differences with the finger positions. "It takes some getting used to... specially you're basically looking at your instrument upside down, compared to say playing the piano or the drums, but yeah practice, patience and passion, that’s all there is to it." strum strum strum. Okay so maybe he's oversimplifying that last part, but hey positive encouragement eh? Tenacius is a big believer of that.

"Hey Hads, solving riddles should be easy for ya eh? I mean you need to to get into your common room every day." that honestly made him nervous. What if he couldn’t answer it? He'd have gone nuts having to wait for housemates to let him in. "So... Whats Red that goes well with Blue?"

Hadley laughed as watch Asher and Tenacius together, snapping a few more pictures of the duo.

Asher watched intently each time Tenacius's hand slipped into the bag and came back with a treat. Sometimes he'd be patient, mere craning his neck to get the delicious morsel that much sooner. Other times he would leap or rush up to snatch it from Tenacius's hand, and each time recieved a reprimand from Hads. After a few times of this she took the bag back. "He thinks he can get away with it because you're not me," she explained as she secured the bag of treats away for later. Hadley scooped the ferret up, kissed him on the head and set him down again. "Go play."

Hads shrugged. "I think part of it was back in Cali, both my parents where extremely busy all the time, so they really couldn't take me to a music lesson every week." There were obvious ways around that, sure, but her Dad had been firm on his waiting to see if she was still interested in a couple of years, and then they were moving, and then Hogwarts. "I did play the panpipes in the after school music club, but...I was never good at them." Mostly because she hadn't been interested in them.

Outwardly, Hadley remained calm as Tenacius showed her the basics. The majority of her attention was focused on the Gryffindor, sparing only what was needed to make sure Asher didn't wander to far or get himself into trouble. For the most part, the ferret was content to stick close to them.

Inwardly, her heart was dancing in her chest and not to the same beat the butterflies in her stomach were.

"Okay, let me give it a try." She practice her finger positions like he showed her. "This is the position for A, right?" She repositioned her fingers until they she was comfortable with how they felt on the strings.

"Yeah. I mean, at first it was kinda annoying, but turns out I'm actually pretty good at riddles. They're kinda fun." Though there were times it took her an hour or longer to solve the riddle.

"So... Whats Red that goes well with Blue?"

Hadley strummed the guitar as Tenacius asked his riddle, and produced a dischordant mess of a noise. Errr...For a long moment Hadley couldn't speak. Her face brightened to a rosey shade of pink before she remembered to breathe again. "Um, uh...hard to say. That's not a lot to go on. It could be a lot of things with...uh, without context." She swallowed but it sounded more like a gulp. Play it cool Hadley. "A sunset of the ocean, maybe? Superman's cape? They're both primary colors, so the complement each other well. Together they make purple. Is...Is there context to the question? Might help to narrow it down..."

Bartholomew was never seen in the winter months. He stayed close to the bottom of the lake where it was warmer and there was no ice to cut him. There he hung around with the mermaids and other lake creatures, but today the sun brought him closer to the surface. The air above the lake was warming and so the squid was ready to come above the surface to sunbath and watch the students.

Miranda's favourite place as all of her friends knew was at the lake and always with a book or homework or anything else she wanted to work on and today was no different than any other day. The sun was high and bright in the sky and the sky the most brilliant azure. So naturally there she found herself.... At the edge of the lake sitting undre her favourite tree. She thought she had seen something very large near the surface and thought.... ' Naw.... I'm imagining things.'
But the longer she looked the more she was positive that she wasn't imagining a thing..... She was finally looking at the Giant Squid that she had heard so much about.....
So, Randa being Randa she edged ever closer to the edge of the water hoping to get a better look at it.

He had been just under the surface swimming around and enjoying the sun coming through the water. What a brilliant day it was and to make the day better he soon saw a curious girl looking towards the lake. Though he was aware of her watching he did not go up right away.

Nibbling a few small fish he soon came above the surface. "Hello, wonderful day today."

Miranda had gotten quite close when all of a sudden a voice began rising from the water...she must have jumped three feet in the air. " Merlin!... I didn't realize you could speak..." she half shreiked half laughed.. " and yes. yes it is isn't it?.." Miranda felt like pinching herself just to make sure this moment was in fact really happening. To think there she was all by herself and having a conversation with the Giant Squid.
" Excuse me... umm.. Sir... But my name is Miranda.... what are you called?" she smiled hoping he might actually answer her again...

He watched the young girl as she did like many young ones and jumped the first they time realized a squid could in face speak. "Yes young child I can talk. I've been in this lake and have talked to many students for years and years." Swimming a bit outward so he could get a better look at the girl, "What are you doing out here?" Many students came out, but he was always interested in what they were doing while here.

"It is very nice to meet you Miranda, I am Bartholomew. "

" Batholomew....Well. Nice to meet you... " she smiled as he swam a little farther out. " the lake is my favourite place to come and think, or do homework , or just about anything else really. " she turned and pointed to her spot, " See that tree there?.... That's my favourite spot in all of the grounds. I do some of my best thinking right in that spot.." she continued." what of you?... It's a bit odd for you to be up to the surface isn't it?" she asked.

" Very nice to meet you as well." Barty swam towards the edge and lifted himself up so she could see him better. The lake is a lovely place. Many students come here for those reasons." Years of students had com end gone and the squid never tired of watching them.

He glanced over at the tree as she pointed. " I like the bottom of the lake for my thinking." The mermaids were very helpful. " Not odd at all dear child. I'm always around you just have to know where to look."

Miranda watched with amusement as Barty had repositioned himself so she was able to get a very good look at him... " Wow. you're quite a specimen, aren't you?..." she mused as she took in his enormity." We all have our favourite spots I suppose.."
Randa looked about to see if anyone else had seen Bartholomew.... Good... they hadn't." so what exactly is it like down there?.... Ya know... at the bottom? I've often wondered if it's much like up on dry land....Because of the merpeople of course...." she turned back to him and sat upon the sandy edge of the lake.

Hadleigh had spent the last few hours exercising, working on a new song with the band and doing homework. It was time for a well deserved break. Which could only mean one thing really for the sixth year. Fresh air.

A trip outside was in order and she wasn't wasting anytime in getting there. Swinging by the kitchen first since it wasn't out of her way at all she grabbed herself a banana, easy eating when you had a Mandrake leaf in your mouth and then made her way outside. Finishing her food as she made it outside the girl disposed of the peel with a wave of her wand, she was getting much better with the non-verbal spells now since it was easiest not to speak.

Headed for the lake she took notice to movement in the water almost right away. Which could only mean two things really, something in or beneath the water. Getting closer it was easy to see the cause and Hady practically beamed. The Giant Squid! It had been such a long long time since she had seen him last. Would he even remember her from several terms ago and the photo he had allowed her to take of him?!

Reaching into her bag she pulled out her dry erase board her father sent her and a marker. Quickly but neatly she wrote down...

and gave him a bright smile. Oh and there was a young girl there as well. Hello to you too! The girl got a smile and a wave in greeting.

"Hey panpipes are cool!" nod nod they sure were. At least he thought so "You gotta teach me how to play that yeah? Gonna be hitting up Hogsmeade and see if they sell that." Because even if the Music Room had one, he's not quite so keen having to use something that 98745987 people may have used. Same goes with a harmonica. Unless galleons are involved, then all bets are off.

And he has got to say, teaching a Ravenclaw is proving to be a lot easier than he expected. The benefit of smart people yeah? Not dull like a rock. Sharp as a cookie also meant less stress. He did give her more tips on how to properly position her fingers around the fretboard "Yeah, or you may want to move your fingers this way....." he suggested as he gently lifted her hand and positioned it another way "Less awkward angles, less stress for your hands in the long run."

But oh wait hyello-- Giant Squid ahoy! The Gryffindor Ace raised his arms wildly in greeting. Did the squid remember him? The little runt that capsized an entire firsties boat last term. He did grow a bit, but he cant be that different from him eh?

"Riddles kinda make me nervous...." he admitted aloud. "....or maybe it was that Alice in Wonderland story where they had riddles.... that cartoon was kinda creepy." Or maybe he watched it when he was too young, the problem perhaps with having a 24/7 Muggle box. "I liked that live action though, that was a blast." it was weird, but it was the kind of weird he appreciated. Again maybe because he saw it when he was a bit older.

And he watched her. The flushing of the cheeks, the tripping of her fingers, the less than confident Hadsters talk. He tried not to smile, lest he come across as enjoying her discomfort. He sure wasn’t, but it just confirmed the guesses he had in his head since candies rained on him that Herbology class. And well he was pretty pleased with the results. "Superman. Yeah yeah.... shoulda thought of him. I thought a cheesecake would send me valentines." Now he really has to bite that smirk that’s trying to escape his lips. Loooooookin at you now Hadsters. Is that enough context for ya?

"I can try," she said, though not sounding confident at all. "But I was never good to begin with, so...you know?" She really had no idea how to play it anymore. It had been years since she last even held one and well, she wouldn't be a great teacher at all. Not like he clearly was.

Speaking of, Hadley tried not to give anything away as he guided her hands around, but her heart was pounding just a little harder in her chest as he repositioned her hands for her. Her shoulders tensed a little, despite her trying to keep a calm and relaxed appearance. "You're a good teacher." And no, it wasn't just because she liked him, though that certainly made it all the better. He really was a good teacher.

She watched the giant squid for a bit while he talked about riddles. She'd never seen the squid this close, and was half tempted to excuse herself to go talk to him. Though unlike last year she had no plans to convince him to eat Davie Trubridge. Mostly because Davie wasn't here this year. She had still wanted to just meet the squid.

But Hadley wasn't about to interrupt a music lesson from Tenacius Salander for it. "Yeah, I can see how riddles can do that. You just have to kinda keep cool about them. Know you'll solve them eventually and that takes the pressure off." Except when you really needed to get in your dorm room, or use the bathroom, then it was hard to keep your cool then. "I liked the live action one better too. Of Alice in Wonderland. The Cinderella live action wasn't as good as the cartoon, though." Why was she bring up Cinderella? What did that have to do with anything?

Cheesecake? Really? That provided enough of a distraction that some of her nervousness faded away in a heart beat. Hadley arched her eyebrow. "You thought a cheesecake sent you a valentines?" She shook her head and chuckled. "You're a cheesecake." And then his words really sunk in. Valentines. And the nervousness came crashing back. Hadley turned her head, suddenly intensely focused on the squid. "Um, well, that's simple I think. Red and blue. You're red, as in Gryffindor, so your admirer must be a Ravenclaw." Like her. Hadley ventured a glance at a Tenacius and caught everything: the subtle, suppressed smirk, the way he was studying her, all of it. "But you already know that, do you?" And now it was her face's turn to be red. Bright red. Tomato red.

Bartholomew chuckled as she was surprised by his size, "I'm a very old squid and the food is plentiful in this lake." He had never worried about going hungry. No, he truly had it good here in the Hogwarts Black Lake. There was no need to think about relocating unless the students of this school turned crazy and started going against the creatures of the water, but that seemed very unlikely.

"It is wet." He wasn't sure how else to explain it or what she was truly asking. "There is plants and creatures moving around." If she knew the bubblehead charm she could come look for herself, but he assumed she was a younger student and didn't know that quite yet.

Noticing a new child coming towards them Bartholomew smiled, "Hello young lady. How are you this fine afternoon?" It was a splendid day and she was so nice not to interrupt, but to write down her hello. She was welcome to join them though.

Noticing two other students Barty gave them a wave. The students are always so nice.

He nodded, at least she would try to teach him, and he appreciated that. Regardless if she would be a good teacher or not or that he would be an even worse student, he gets to hang around his buddy, which is always a win win situation for him.

Good teacher him? "Really?... Thanks!" he was just trying his best not to suck yknow? "Some of the folks who taught me to play, they're pretty good at what they do." As is the case of celebrity musicians yeah? Shhh. The perks of having a fancy hotel business.

Ok Hadley likes live action Alice in Wonderland. She was already super cool in his book, but that just bumped notches up even further. Because a lot of folks Tenacius knew didn’t like the live action rendition much. Too weird they say. Too bad he says. Cinderella though? "I thought the Fairy Godmother was hot." he laughed "Her and the Step Mother. Cinderella was pretty too of course but yeah...." And that was pretty much the only thing he took away from that live action movie. "Cartoons' classic though-- bippity-boppity-boo!" strum!

He's a cheesecake? He'd have broken out with the cheesiest cheesecake grins too if he wasn’t just trying to keep it all in. And there you have it. He knows, she now knows he knows, and cue the blushing. "You're the berry cheesecake see? Red and blue." BlushingClaw. Now he can laugh, that warm brilliant smile that lights up the room.

"I had my guesses yeah....a few clues here and there, cat letting things out of the bag...." Probably the closest he could say about Kitty right now, since he didn’t know if outing her is a good thing or not. Girls eh? "Thanks for the Valentines Hadz, really really appreciate it." And with that he looped an arm around her and gave her a hug.

Pebbles on her leash in one hand while his other preoccupied itself with the twirling of his wand, the Astronomy professor made his way down to the Black Lake with a very specific something on his mind. While the man was not one to keep a proper bucket list of any sort, preferring to live his life spontaneously in that aspect, this was something that had been nagging at him for quite some time now.

.................ug. Public displays of affection. Ug.

He was half tempted to conjure some water from his wand - since it WAS at the ready - to cool those two down before things heated up any further...but instead settled for an obnoxiously loud clearing of the throat as he strolled right by them. Be thankful you were doing that out here and not in his sanctuary of scientific inquiry, yeah?

Giving both Mr. Salander and Miss Denaker lingering warning looks, the professor found himself a spot near the shore an cleared his throat before conjuring a large fluffy white cloud in front of him. "Hmmmm..." he mused, giving the cloud a tap with his wand and then testing the firmness of it by pushing down on it with his hands. "That...should do it..."

And we see you Mr. Giant Squid. Just....preoccupied at the moment with the current task at hand.

Hadley smiled, not her normal sheepish smile, but a sweet dreamy sort of smile. "Yeah, really. You're welcome." She paused for a moment, clearly wanting to say more. "Maybe this summer, you can teach me how to play some more." When she came over to see his Abraxans. She hadn't forgotten that plan.

So, you pretty much thought everyone in that movie was hot, then?" Hads raised an eyebrow at Tenacius, and smirked. "I totally agree about the cartoon though." A short way away, Asher was suddenly startled by the appearance of a plant that he hadn't noticed until it was right on him and came running back to the protective comfort of his mama. Then, after a few seconds he realized he was safe and wandered off again.

Hadley watched Asher hop around, playing with imaginary ferrets, all the while acutely aware of the burning warmth in her face. The warmth flared when Tenacius pointed it out to her, and the redness deepen even more. She buried her face in her hands and knees. "Merlin!" she squeaked, the way she always did flustered. "I usually never blush!"

And wait...what was...oh, she was getting a hug. Without actually meaning too, Hadley leaned into the hug, savoring the moment. He knew she had a crush on him, and was hugging her. At the very least it hinted that things wouldn't get weird between them. Thank Merlin. At the most it hinted that he might have one on her as well and maybe...

Someone cleared their throat and Hadley jumped a little. She looked up to find Professor Flamsteed giving them the stink eye for some reason. Hadley returned it instantly. And unlike him, she had good reason to. Interrupting them like that when it was just a harmless hug. A very nice, pleasant, harmless hug. She was totally unimpressed with the cumulus cloud he conjured too.

Aaawww Bartholomew was so pleasant and kind, such a nice smile too...for a large squid. Certainly not something you saw everyday. Hadleigh smiled back walking closer to both the Great Lake and Miranda as well. She sat down on her knees in the cool grass making it easier to balance the small white board on her lap and write down her answer.

There. It had taken a few moments to write this down but she wanted to see if he would recall who she was. Annnddd well she also felt better with letting him know why she wasn't talking and rather writing everything down instead. Once done she capped her marker and held the board up for him to see it.

Could he just say how cute Hadley was being all squeaky and blushy? True its not her usual confident self-- something which he greatly admires-- but getting her off balance from her usual demeanor he was finding to be quite amusing. She was awesome. But she was also human. And that matters a lot, more than he could realize at this time.

And this was a hug of gratitude, at least that’s his intentions when he started. Plus Tenacius was that kind of happy guy that wasn’t stingy with the hugs. And yeah maaaaaaaybe the male chromosome kicked up a notch and wondered what its like to hug a girl that wasn’t his childhood besties.

--AHEM

He felt her jump at the sound. But Tenacius' pulse just kept its usual rhythm, and casually he turned his head at where the sound came from "Ey Professor Flamsteed, nice Insta-Cloud!" the Curly Top grinned and waved the Astronomer hello, then a thumbs up with his other hand, the one that’s not hugging the Ravenclaw. Yes its still there, casually draped over her shoulder. He didn’t think theres anything wrong with that either, too well meaning, too innocent perhaps to have realized what others could think of it. After all, they were all just there, enjoying the pleasant spring afternoon chilling to some tunes. Whats wrong with that?

Miranda smiled back, " hi.. I'm Miranda... first year.... " turning back to the lake." You know Bartholomew I suppose.... It's my first time ever meeting or talking to a water creature..." she beamed.. " I love this place...."


" Oh?...Do the merpeople have houses and stuff... Like does it look like up here down there but only wet?" Miranda knew she sorta sounded like a moron but she didn't know how else to ask... she didn't have the ability to breathe under water..... WAIT A MINUTE..... She could probably find a charm that would help her with that.... Or maybe?......
" Hey, Bart....?... Do you know a way that I could come and see what it all looked like down there?... Like a charm or spell or something?....." He he would know of something... He had lived on Hogwarts grounds for ages... Maybe he's seen or heard of something...

She was in training. That was very impressive. "You have grown, but yes I do remember you. Not many get my picture you are one of the lucky ones." He didn't mind the pictures though, but he did like to not have too many. "It takes a strong will to train like this, it's very impressive that you are doing it." He had been around long enough to know what the students did to learn this type of form.


"They have their own places to live. It isn't like land people, but it is their homes. " This one was full of questions and he stared for a bit before noticing a professor was over near some other students. "There is a charm that you can breath under water. Many have visited me, but I do not know it. Maybe a professor would be of some assistance or an older student." He knew the one sitting near couldn't since she had the leaf in her mouth, but maybe some one else.

"I've never seen a younger student down there though, there are many dangerous creatures in the water and you need to know how to defend yourself from them. I wouldn't advise visiting until you have been taught how to do these things. For now enjoy the above water things."

Miranda circled her finger in the cold damp sand. Making a tiny little divet next to her as she listened.. " Oh..... well, maybe one day I'll be on the bottom and run across you. It's been nice talking with you but... I have a bit of reading to do... Really was a pleasure meeting you, Bartholomew." she stood up and brushed the sand from herself and grabbed up her school bag full of her things she toted about and slung it over her shoulder. With a wave and smile, " Until we meet again.... "
and then she turned and started walking back up to the school...