KERRI/Liv
 

Oh. So he wasn't ticklish? Bummer. Dora gave a giggle as she flopped onto the ground beside him and placed her hands behind her head. "Hey. Whatchu doing out here napping? Isn't your bed more comfortable?" The Gryffindor beds were super comfy, so she was CERTAIN everyone else's were too.

Or maybe not. Who knew. Who. Knew.

How's it hanging? Ew. She didn't like that. "I don't know... nothing is hanging I don't suppose... " How did one properly answer such a question? Ack!

"How's term so far? Meet any new girls? "

De-cloning
 

Hadley nodded quietly to herself. "Okay. Just, uh...just let me know when you're ready to tell Kitridge and I'll go with you." She gave Abby an encouraging smile. "And if there's anything else I can do to help just let me know."

Asher was back at Hadley's side, nudging her hand. "That means he's hungry," she explained, picking up the ferret. "I'm gonna head to the kitchen to get some meat for him. But come find me whenever you need help with anything, okay?" Giving Abby's shoulder a pat, Hadley stood up and made her way back toward the castle, with Asher riding on her shoulder.

Just to set things straight here, James liked dogs. James liked creatures. James liked all animals, it was his CALLING. But he did not like this animal. He did not like this creature. He did not like this dog. Probably because she was under the care of Poncho Paul. But also because she was sniffing his butt and made him very uncomfortable with tight leash placement.

If James was the type to scream, he would've screamed.

But fortunately for the two of them, he was not the type to scream he was simply the type to GLARE. HE stumbled a little as the big collie ran under his legs... Dog probably thought she was a lap dog or something. She wasn't one. For the record. And she was having some sort of field day.... Just like Merlin over there who was now barking all sorts of things. Was he trying to talk her up or something?

So much for a peaceful walk.

".... I see," only James stopped caring halfway through the story and so he tuned the rest out. Didn't actually see. So do you always take her on walks at this time?" Just trying to figure out when NOT to take Merlin out. Thanks.

Paul shook his head at James' question. "I...take her out whenever she WANTS to come for a walk. I would prefer to NOT do that this early--" he sighed. "But you know. She's spoiled rotten," he chuckled a little and watched as, once more, the collie rolled onto her back...

He could sense Milton's CRINGING at the amount of dirt she was getting in her loooooong fluffy fur. "Merlin, she's gonna' need a bath--no not you--" he said quickly as Merlin the DOG looked over at him. "James, how could you name your dog MERLIN..." he shook his head. "Complete lack of creativity, you know," he commented.

He wondered how much verbal abuse the man could take. Surely that comment would irk James. Surely.

Jer/Nicky!
 

The castle was just so... so... suffocating was the only word that came to Nicky's mind when she thought about the place that was supposed to be her "home" this year. Every inch of it reminded her how much it wasn't home and how much she missed her friends. But instead of making her sad, it just made her angry. Angry at her parents. Angry at the professors. Angry at anyone she thought should just get over it.

Walking the grounds wasn't much better, but at least there was fresh air and sky. She barely noticed the sticky heat back home, but its sudden absence was an ever-present reminder of exactly how far from home she was. Wearing one of her light dresses, she'd added a uniform shirt over it, knotting it right below her chest. Even her wardrobe was wrong for this place.

Before she realized, she was standing on the edge of the lake, having taken no notice of Maddie up against the tree. Slipping off her sandals - see, totally wrong for the climate - Nicky stuck a foot in the water. Just how cold was it?

Maddie did notice, as Maddies were known to do. Very observant Ravenclaw that she was, the seventeen year old spotted the familiar face and watched her curiously. From what she'd heard from this girl over the summer, she was used to warmth and sunshine so the reaction to the water temperature was sure to be amusing. Well, at least to her.

"Not exactly what you're used to," She commented after a few moments. Probably an understatement but true, none the less.

It was all wrong. The water was still and cold and dark as it reflected the sky and the trees that surrounded it. As her toe with the water, she flinched, pulling it back for a moment before dipping it again. The cold was sharp, and it was not an entirely unwelcome pain, given her mood. Nicky frowned deeply, as she made small circles with her foot, watching the ripples. The voice that broke the silence startled her, though, and she quickly pulled her foot out as she turned toward it.

Oh. The girl from the summer.

The blonde shook her head, taking a step back from the water's edge, but returning her gaze to its quickly calming surface. "No. No, not at all." And she didn't just mean the water.

Kam had been the same way when they'd first met so Maddie had some idea what the girl must be feeling, though she wasn't entirely sure how to help or if she even wanted to try. She wasn't exactly an expert on comforting people she didn't know. "It does grow on you." It did. Cold? Yes. The beautiful part, though, that usually won people over in the end. It had done it for Maddie.

"How do you like being a Ravenclaw, then?" There was mild curiosity where this one was concerned, especially since she was new to this environment. Made her infinitely more interesting than the people she saw year after year. There was more to learn here. More things she didn't yet know. Things that might be helpful considering she'd be seeing the girl around all the time.

Information was power.

For anything to grow on you, it needed time. And thinking about more time in this awful place was something Nicky did not want to entertain. She sat, then, at the water's edge, using her wand to dry her foot. Non-verbally, because in some ways, she was showing off a little.

Slipping her sandal back on, she shook her head. "I'm not one of you," she said, simply. "May be where that mangy hat put me, but it's not what I am." She slid her wand back in her pocket and rested her forearms on her knees, still gazing out over the water but looking at nothing in particular. "I know where I belong."

And it wasn't here.

"That's the spirit." One that was definitely not going to help her assimilate but Maddie wasn't going to judge. If this girl wanted to spend her time focused on how much better life would be if she was somewhere else, it was going to be a long couple years for her here.

"Are you planning on sulking all term, then?" There was nothing mean about how it had been said, the seventh year was genuinely curious.

The thing was, Nicky was harboring a tremendous amount of sadness about her new circumstances. But since she would never, ever, allow anyone to see that, she'd buried it under layers and layer and layers of anger and attitude. And so as she turned her head to look at the girl, fire flashed in her eyes.

"There's no sense twisting myself in knots around here when I'm not staying a second longer than I have to." Nicky had already decided that on her 17th birthday, she was packing her things and headed back to Brazil to live with Tali. She'd enroll herself back at Castelobruxo and her parents wouldn't be able to do a thing about it.

But June was so very far away.

But it looked as though she'd already been twisted and Maddie could sense the anger but it didn't deter her any. She didn't scare easy. "You've still got this term to get through. Better find something to occupy your time." Friendly advice, see?

Speaking of time though, Maddie had spent a longer amount than usual caring about what Miss Teen Angst 2089 was doing so she pulled her bag over, fishing through it for her flash cards.

And who exactly did this witch think she was? Nicky narrowed her eyes. "And who appointed you head shrink?" she spat back, shifting so that she more fully faced the girl.

"You don't know a single thing about me." Nicky's voice wasn't raised, but it was biting, and thick with anger. "I left home this summer thinking I'd be gone for two months and the day I was supposed to go back, found out I was coming here instead. I didn't get to say goodbye to my friends. Strangers packed up our house and shipped things to London that didn't arrive until after I was here. I'm an entire ocean away from everyone and everything that's important to me." Her hands were balling into tight fists, her nails pressing into her palms.

"So you can take your sanctimonious, patronizing 'make the best of it' garbage, and kindly butt out."

Was she quite done?

Maddie listened intently, her gaze shifting from the cards now in her hands to the girl in front of her and back again. She didn't recall saying anyone should make the best of anything and she honestly didn't care much whether this girl was angry at her for speaking on the subject or not. Time simply seemed to pass by more quickly when one kept busy. Simple as that.

With a shrug and a rather impassive look given, the seventeen year old went back to studying. She'd learned one important thing about this girl. A button to push if she ever wanted to get a rise out of her. Not something she'd have shown as easily but something she'd keep in mind for the future if this one kept stalking around with the rather large chip on her shoulder.

Anyone please feel free to join
 

Jesse. ^_^
 

Feeling slightly restless and closed in, Esme had decided that it was a good idea to head outside to the grounds and enjoy a bit of freedom and fresh air. There was no better place to do this than the lake and it had been a while since she had sat by the shore or dipped her feet in the water.

Dressed in a light coat, she made her way across the grounds and towards the water. It was fairly deserted at this time which was a shame because company always made her feel better, but Esme supposed that alone time was also important. At any rate it was nice just to be outside.

Picking up a small stone, she skipped it across the water.

Colt was still in shock. I mean his brain was trying to form words. He tilted at her 20th question in the past few minutes. "Erm I don't know...I guess I liked having the sun on my face? I mean my bed would be more comfortable but the grass is kind of comfy. You should try it..." he said still laying down and patting the spot next to him. He snorted at her answer. That was cute and to be expected. "I meant like how are you?" He was still smirking at her reaction. Oh the young ones.

Term so far? How was it? Colt didn't really know. It was just the beginning but it was alright. "It is good actually. I mean I am trying to do better in lessons. In fact I am supposed to be in one now butttt ya know how it goes.." he trailed off. "The motivation is too low.." He should be trying since it is his OWLS but it was still the beginning of the term.

sorry this took forever
 

It was strange really to think that she hadn’t been to the lake yet all term…sad even, considering it had been the first place she had visited her first year. Even before she met the sorting hat even. Looking around for a place to sit she couldn’t help but notice and hear the splashing of rocks falling into the water.

Moving closer she stopped just to watch Esme tossing the stones. Not bad. She’d probably make a good…what? Rock tosser? She didn’t know what sports involved rocks really…except that long dead game with the people that tried to catch rocks in pots…on their heads? She couldn’t remember clearly but it was insane.

Stepping closer she made her way over to Esme and smiled. “Hey, enjoying the weather?” She asked as she reached into her bag and pulled a container with two still warm grilled cheese sandwiches in them and took a bite of it. “Um…do you want one? I was hungry when I asked Toddles for help and got too much? It’s…Cheddar I think” She offered with a smile. She also had peaches and fruit soda but yeah…awesome right?

Alright. So it was fairly easy to see who wore the collar in this relationship.

Clearly it was the Collie. Not Poncho Paul.

".... Right...." James nodded slowly. Totally not questioning the Herbologist's sanity here. Nope. He had learned not to do that after day one. How could one question sanity if there was none of it? But either way, no direct time for walks meant there was no way that James could ACTIVELY avoid the pair. Darn.

And now Poncho Paul was the one to make fun of something James did? LOL. Ironic.

"Merlin is a regal name," only the best for the best. "What do you call yours?" HM? And swear to Circe, if he named his dog 'Ponchette' James was quitting on the spot.

And also, "Merlin! Stop that!" This tugging and trying to get over to the other dog WAS NOT HELPING. Normally Merlin was so well behaved. This was clearly Paul's fault.

Hope had needed some exercise and what better way to exercise than to swim? She had come down a few minutes ago and jumped right into the lake. No dipping her toe in or nothing. Just jumped. At first she regretted it. The cold had her frozen for a second, but that's all it took for her to get use to it. She swam a little bit. Doing a back stroke she enjoyed the water.

After a few minutes though, she decided to get out of the water. She wrung out her hair and walked over to her towel. Wrapping it around her. She spotted Kitty a few yards away. Snapping pics. Hope smiled and snuck up on her. Then popped up in view of her camera.

hey!!!

So there Kitty was, happily snapping away - when all of a sudden someone jumped out in front of her camera and shouted hey! "GAA!!" Kitty squealed and dropped her camera in alarm, and just barely managed to catch it before it hit the ground.

"Hope!" She set her camera down before turning to her friend. "Well I hope you're proud of yourself, for being able to scare the Queen of Darkness." She pretended to look angry before giving her friend a gentle push.

"How ya been? Have you been swimming in the lake?"

It wasn't a bad day and Julien decided some fresh air would be nice, plus he was doing an experiment with a new charm. He wasn't really sure what it would do if it hit the wrong person, but going out and hitting a tree couldn't hurt. Walking to the lake he found a tree that wasn't near any students. Yes this would work. Lifting his wand he flicked ans swished pointing.


........

NOTHING, well that was disappointing. It was experimental though so he couldn't be to upset that it didn't work. Lifting his wand again he stepped forwards just as he flicked right onto a cats tail and sent his wand pointing in the wrong direction.

"Watch Out" He knew the spell was going to go at someone without being able to stop it. Thankfully it hit the tree off the side and the tree started to move in a dancing rhythm.

Hmmm awkward smudge in her journal. Kye looked up at the sound of a disgruntled MEOW and was just in time to see the remnants of a spell, which apparently was out of hand... Her head whipped towards the caster and was a bit surprised that it was the professor. She could continue writing later... she was too curious. Had it been a student, she would have been tempted to try to hex that person right then and there. Instead, she stood up and started a walk towards him saying, "Hello Professor! What were you practicing?" If he was learning a new spell, she wanted to know it too. She could have it perfected by the time it got to the classroom! Perhaps he would teach her?