Even though the African man arrived at the school a few weeks before the term began, he still had a lot of the castle and its grounds to see. Today Headmaster Sahnoun was exploring the grounds while the weather was still warm. After witnessing the school's resident giant squid at the Great Lake, he soon found himself walking down a path that led him straight to the Whomping Willow. When the large tree was in sight, he couldn't help but stop and stare in astonishment. They certainly did not have any trees like this anywhere near Uagadou.

The old wizard glided forward a few feet to examine the tree closer, but was soon taken aback when its branches began to swing violently. Fortunately, he was still a safe enough distance away. "Ajabu," he murmured to himself in Swahili, amazed at the scene occurring before him.

Hogwarts couldn't be compared with the stories she had heard from her mother. Of course, in her mind she had pictured it a bit different than how reality was but she was still looking around in fascination as she explored the grounds.

Bec's mouth was slightly open in awe as she took in all of the scenery around her. She had no idea where she was headed as this was her first time walking these grounds but she was sure she would find something that would interest her even more. And she did.

She first spotted a tree. A violent one at that. Its branches were swinging in the air unnaturally. This obviously wasn't the winds doing. Another thing that interested her was seeing none other than the headmaster there. Walking up to the man, Bec showed no sign of being nervous. Why would she be? And opened up her small bag to take out a package of gummy worms. She could get the Headmaster on her good side with this for if she ever gotten in trouble. She doubted it but one could never know. "Gummy worm, Headmaster?" she asked, holding up the package while chewing on one herself.

Quote:

Originally Posted by DuckyLinJi

Hogwarts couldn't be compared with the stories she had heard from her mother. Of course, in her mind she had pictured it a bit different than how reality was but she was still looking around in fascination as she explored the grounds.

Bec's mouth was slightly open in awe as she took in all of the scenery around her. She had no idea where she was headed as this was her first time walking these grounds but she was sure she would find something that would interest her even more. And she did.

She first spotted a tree. A violent one at that. Its branches were swinging in the air unnaturally. This obviously wasn't the winds doing. Another thing that interested her was seeing none other than the headmaster there. Walking up to the man, Bec showed no sign of being nervous. Why would she be? And opened up her small bag to take out a package of gummy worms. She could get the Headmaster on her good side with this for if she ever gotten in trouble. She doubted it but one could never know. "Gummy worm, Headmaster?" she asked, holding up the package while chewing on one herself.

Gazing upon the tree with an assertive pair of eyes, the headmaster took note of an opening near the base of the tree. He didn't say so out loud, but he couldn’t help but wonder why the opening was there and if it went anywhere. Sahnoun made a mental note to ask Leobald about the Whomping Willow. The old man knew the librarian would know plenty about the tree and its history, or at least point him toward some books that had all the answers about the many secrets that Hogwarts had.

His appreciation of the three, however, was soon sidetracked by a young female voice. The man looked over at saw one of the new first year Gryffindors standing beside him, holding a package of gummy worms with no nervousness about her. The man smiled at her, admiring the great amount of boldness and bravery she already had at such a young age.

"Don't mind if I do," he said in response to the girl with a chuckle, reaching into the package and pulling out a green worm. "Dank you very much, Miss ... Meadows, is dat right?" he asked, remembering her at the Sorting Ceremony and hoping he matched the right surname with the student, before placing the gummy worm in his mouth.

Rebecca chewed on her own, orange colored gummy worm as she looked at the whomping willow. She had many questions about the tree but she doubted that the the new headmaster would know as he was as new here as she was. No, she would ask an older student who had been here for years.

She did however looked down at her shoes with a small smile when the Headmaster thanked her for the candy AND he knew her name. Her! A first year! He knew her name! "That's right" she said as she looked back up to look at the older man with a smile. "5 Points to the Headmaster" she laughed. "Do you like Hogwarts so far, Sir? I think its amazing! I don't like the stairs though, so many stairs to my common room and the Grand staircase MOVES!" it was a nightmare.

Quote:

Originally Posted by DuckyLinJi

Rebecca chewed on her own, orange colored gummy worm as she looked at the whomping willow. She had many questions about the tree but she doubted that the the new headmaster would know as he was as new here as she was. No, she would ask an older student who had been here for years.

She did however looked down at her shoes with a small smile when the Headmaster thanked her for the candy AND he knew her name. Her! A first year! He knew her name! "That's right" she said as she looked back up to look at the older man with a smile. "5 Points to the Headmaster" she laughed. "Do you like Hogwarts so far, Sir? I think its amazing! I don't like the stairs though, so many stairs to my common room and the Grand staircase MOVES!" it was a nightmare.

As he chewed away the gummy worm, Sahnoun looked at the girl and then back at the tree to see what it was up to now. It seemed to have gotten over its little temper tantrum and as now standing quite still, its limbs swaying gently in the breeze. The man's attention then looked back down at the young Gryffindor when she spoke.

He couldn't help but grin with a twinkle in his eyes. He was glad to have gotten her name right, and she certainly seemed happy that he actually remembered. The headmaster had a great memory that he was quite proud of. It sure came in handy, especially at such an old age where things tended to blur together for many. As for her awarding of five points, the African let out a hearty chuckle. The young ones could be so amusing at times.

"I am certainly enjoying Hogwarts so far, mah dear," Sahnoun responded to Rebecca's question with a nod of his head. "It is quite different from Uagadou, but still a wonderful place nonedaless. How are you liking it here? Have you made a lot of new friends?"

She was genuine glad that the Headmaster liked Hogwarts so far. It must have been uncomfortable to leave his home and teach at a far away country. Bec knew that she would get homesick if that happened to her. Perhaps she will get homesick after a few weeks? She hoped not...

Looking over at the whomping willow, the young Gryffindor saw that the branches stopped swaying with force and instead it looked like any normal tree. If she hadn't seen the tree move earlier, she would have tried to sit under it in the shadow. She made a face at her own thoughts. First week at Hogwarts and in the hospital wing? no thank you.

Turning her head to look at the Headmaster as he let out a hearty chuckle, Bec's smile widened. The Headmaster was cool in her eyes. "I..." She looked around. She loved it now but to say that would be really lame. "I didn't expect to like it" she said truthfully and then began to explain about how she was a halfblood and disliked magic when she first discovered her powers because she was scared she would accidentally hurt her little brother. "But then my mother told me that i would be going to Hogwarts to not only learn more powerful magic but also how to control them" she crossed her arms and nodded her head. "So that's why i agreed to go" At the question of her making friends, Rebecca's smiled again as she held up her fingers as she counted them. "Oh yes! I met Hattie who is a new hufflepuff in Diagon Alley" she hadn't seen her after her sorting... "And there is a girl in my House and year, her name is Evie, i suspect she is muggleborn because she didn't know what an house elf was" weird huh? "And Fiyero is also a first year but a boy and...." she counted her fingers. "Oh! there was also Hufflepuff on the train , her name was...was..." she spaced out as she tried to remember her saviour's name. "Oh! Isabella and she helped me get out of...something embarrassing that i'd rather not talk about" The Headmaster didn't need to know that her head had gotten stuck in the sleeve of the uniform, nope.

"Does Uaga...Uagaudo..." Merlin's Beard how did she even pronounce the schools name? "Have Houses as well? And and! If you were from Hogwarts" he wasn't right? "Which House would you have been sorted in?" she was really curious about this.

Hadley was looking for a new spot to inspire her since the courtyard had seemingly lost its mojo. The Art nook in the Ravenclaw tower still seemed to be working, still inspired her. But the air was fresh and warm, and it was a beautiful day. Too beautiful to be inside even if she wasn't so anxious indoors lately. She wanted--no, she needed a spot outside that inspired her like the art nook did.

The treehouse was nice, but it felt too much like being inside. And if she was going to feel like she was inside, might as well actually be inside and just hang out in the art nook. The playground was obviously out. It was a playground. The pathways was her spot to work through things, as was the lake. The wooden bridge just made her want to go on an adventure. The Forbidden Forest was for said adventure, or messing with the groundskeeper.

So that just left the Whomping Willow or the tower patch. Today she was trying the Whomping Willow.

She'd been there an hour and so far all she's been inspired to do was tally the number of birds obliterated by the Willow. Seven. Seven birds.

The whomping Willow is where Noelle seemed to get the most studying done. The common room was always so crowded and loud, the library was always so crowded but silent. Anywhere else just didn't seem to fit with her. The whomping Willow tended not to have so many people around, and Noelle stayed just outside of its reach. She liked to watch it twitch and shiver from time to time. Gave her just enough distraction from her studying that it didn't get boring.

So that's where Noelle was now. The whomping Willow.
She was perched on a blanket facing the tree. Chico and Weazel were both running around her and playing. She'd cast an invisible barrier so they couldn't get close to the tree. But they never seemed to get too far from her whenever she took them out.

Finally, getting stumped on a Herbology question, she closed her book and stretched. Looking around, she saw Hads. Weazels god-mom!! Hads had give Noelle Weazel whenever she had found out that Noelle hd lost Mute whenever she had been taken. Weazel was by her side, along with Chico, most everywhere now.

"Come on guys, let's go see Hads." Leaving her books in a pile, Noelle vanished the barrier and made her way over to Hads. Weazel touched her hand first. Chico just burrowed into his hedgehog ball. The shy little nut. "Hey Hads!" Noelle greeted with a smile. She sat beside her. "Thank youfor Weazel. He's... Amazing." Noelle blurted out.

Hadley looked up from petting Asher. The ferret had gotten bored of exploring, though he refused to go near the tree, thankful and was now enjoying the fruits of bugging his Mama. "Oh, Noelle! Hey! How are you?" The last time she had seen the girl was when she gave her Weazel. Asher looked up, spotted the indigo pygmy puff and started to dance excitedly. Clearly the ferret was happy to see his buddy.

Hadley grinned, watching him for a bit, then turned back to Noelle and her posse. "You're welcome. I couldn't give him the time he deserved." She nodded to Asher, still doing his excitement dance. Hopping and jumping and running around and falling over, mostly on or against Hadley. "He's a bit of a handful, especially last year when he was still untrained." She reached out and petted Weazel. It was clear she made the right choice in giving him to Noelle. The girl had lost her pygmy puff, which Hadley had gotten to name, Mute. And Weazel needed someone that had more time and attention to give. She was thrilled to see how good and happy the pygmy puff looked. "So what brings you to the Whomping Willow?"

Hads ferret looked so excited when it saw Weazel. It was jumping at him. Noelles puff was jumping right back and making this excited noise he made. Noelle grinned and sat next to Hads. "Whose your little ferret? Training? How do you train a ferret?" She was intrigued. She hadn't known you could train one. She loved how ferrets moved and played. They were so cute.

Noelle picked up Chico as Weazel and Asher played. He curled into his ball and she wiggles her finger on his belly."Im studying. Being boring. But this is the only place I can get my studying done. What about you? What are you up to?" She'd only seen Hads briefly at the feast and.... The feast didn't turn out how she had expected it to.

"I see you got your uniforms back." She mentioned with a grin. Hads hadn't had one on during the feast for whatever reason. Noelle could only guess because she forgot to pack them.

Hadley smiled. "This is Weazel's brother, Asher. Got both of them the night of the Ravenclaw raffle. We were only allowed to keep one animal as a pet, so naturally I kept two." Her smile grew wider as she watched them play. "I think they missed each other. We'll have set up play dates for them or something." Which, by the way, would be the most adorable thing ever.

"Ferrets are, like, crazy smart, actually. They're really quite easy to train if you have the time for it. Which I did over the summer." She was still watching Asher fondly. "It also really bonded us together." Not to mention Asher was extremely affectionate and instinctively knew when to comfort his Mama. She probably wouldn't have held up nearly as well without him.

There was a pang of guilt and weakness at those thoughts. Noelle literally went through hell the summer before. Had reason to be broken and damaged and yet wasn't. Sure she was different than that girl Hads met back in Diagon Alley, but she wasn't broken. Hadley spent the summer essentially grounded and buckled like a leaf. One of these girls was justified in being severely effected by her summer ordeal, and the other was a mewling wimp. Guess which one was which...

Pushing those thoughts aside, Hadley grinned and shrugged. It was a good performance but didn't fool Asher. He stopped playing and nudged her hand, but Hadley pulled it away and shook her head gently. Hesitantly, the ferret returned to playing. "Just looking for a place to inspire me actually. So far, nothing."

Mentions of the uniform brought a chuckle from the Californian teen. "Saw that did ya?" She was always a bit curious about what Gryffindors thought of the shirt she had on that night, but didn't ask. "Yeah, they were overnighted to me the same night. So I had them when I woke up the next morning." Her birthday. "So how was your summer?" Had to be better than the last one.

Quote:

Originally Posted by DuckyLinJi

She was genuine glad that the Headmaster liked Hogwarts so far. It must have been uncomfortable to leave his home and teach at a far away country. Bec knew that she would get homesick if that happened to her. Perhaps she will get homesick after a few weeks? She hoped not...

Looking over at the whomping willow, the young Gryffindor saw that the branches stopped swaying with force and instead it looked like any normal tree. If she hadn't seen the tree move earlier, she would have tried to sit under it in the shadow. She made a face at her own thoughts. First week at Hogwarts and in the hospital wing? no thank you.

Turning her head to look at the Headmaster as he let out a hearty chuckle, Bec's smile widened. The Headmaster was cool in her eyes. "I..." She looked around. She loved it now but to say that would be really lame. "I didn't expect to like it" she said truthfully and then began to explain about how she was a halfblood and disliked magic when she first discovered her powers because she was scared she would accidentally hurt her little brother. "But then my mother told me that i would be going to Hogwarts to not only learn more powerful magic but also how to control them" she crossed her arms and nodded her head. "So that's why i agreed to go" At the question of her making friends, Rebecca's smiled again as she held up her fingers as she counted them. "Oh yes! I met Hattie who is a new hufflepuff in Diagon Alley" she hadn't seen her after her sorting... "And there is a girl in my House and year, her name is Evie, i suspect she is muggleborn because she didn't know what an house elf was" weird huh? "And Fiyero is also a first year but a boy and...." she counted her fingers. "Oh! there was also Hufflepuff on the train , her name was...was..." she spaced out as she tried to remember her saviour's name. "Oh! Isabella and she helped me get out of...something embarrassing that i'd rather not talk about" The Headmaster didn't need to know that her head had gotten stuck in the sleeve of the uniform, nope.

"Does Uaga...Uagaudo..." Merlin's Beard how did she even pronounce the schools name? "Have Houses as well? And and! If you were from Hogwarts" he wasn't right? "Which House would you have been sorted in?" she was really curious about this.

With no gummy worm to chew on any longer, Sahnoun reached into his pocket for a mint. Two mints were in his hand after he took a moment to feel around his large pocket; one for him, and one for Miss Meadows if she wanted one. The headmaster held out an open hand and offered the mint before popping one in his mouth.

A look did appear on his face when the girl mentioned that she didn't expect to like Hogwarts. Though the look quickly resided and he nodded his head at her explanation. The man couldn't say that he felt the same way at that age, but he did have a number of students in the past that had similar worries. But that all turned out to be great witches and wizards, as he expected the young one in front of him to be. "Dere is nothing to worry about, mah dear," he replied, smiling tenderly. "You have many years of schooling ahead. You will learn a lot about magic and do a phenomenal job, I am sure." There was a brief pause when the girl started rattling off all of the students she knew. The man couldn't help but chuckle at some of her commentary. "Well, it seems like you got off on da right foot. Friends are very important to have."

A second chuckle arose at the girl's attempt to pronounce the name of his school. He had to give her credit for trying, though. It wasn't as easy of a name to say in comparison to names like Hogwarts. "Uagadou," Sahnoun politely corrected. "We do things a little differently at Uagadou. Every school is different, with their own ways and secrets." He left it at that before moving on to the Gryffindor's final question. "Hmm. I see traits in myself from all of da Houses. Dough I dink the Sorting Hat would have placed me in Ravenclaw."

Bec looked at the mint in his hand before she took it and popped it in her mouth. She didn’t really like mint flavour but if the Headmaster himself gave you something, you took It out of politeness right? Besides, it was nice of him to share after she had done it as well.

The young Gryffindor listened to him talk but at the same time she was looking over at the Whomping Willow which had started to trash again. A student had probably tried to get close to it. Actually, she had been wondering how close she could get to the tree without getting hit and she was really resisting the urge to do it. How cool would it be to be able to do that right? She wondered IF anyone had ever tried. No not tried, she doubted she was the first with those thoughts. But succeeded? She watched the tree some more. She doubted that.

“That’s what the wandmaker said as well!” she exclaimed happily and she took out her wand for him to show. “He too said that I would be a phenomenal witch if I work hard” she grinned, not thinking about he had probably told every customer the same story. “Phoenix feather, see?” she held up her wand. She was quite proud of it. “It doesn’t really listen to me though….” She added with a mumble but tucked the wand back in her holster.

“Oh right, I forgot about the secrets each school has. Does that mean they will erase your memory after you leave Hogwarts and go to the next school, Sir?” that wasn’t a strange question right? And when he answered her House question she nodded her head. Bec had somehow already thought that he’d be in Ravenclaw but she was surprised to hear that he could be fitted in every house. So he would have been a Hatstall. “I’m a Gryffindor through and through. The Hat wasn’t even on my head and it shouted ‘Gryffindor’ I think that’s pretty amazing”

“Headmaster?” she asked slowly, looking as if she was going to ask the most important question of all time. One that could change everyone’s views on life and how they live it. “Do you put on your left or right shoe first?”

Quote:

Originally Posted by DuckyLinJi

Bec looked at the mint in his hand before she took it and popped it in her mouth. She didn’t really like mint flavour but if the Headmaster himself gave you something, you took It out of politeness right? Besides, it was nice of him to share after she had done it as well.

The young Gryffindor listened to him talk but at the same time she was looking over at the Whomping Willow which had started to trash again. A student had probably tried to get close to it. Actually, she had been wondering how close she could get to the tree without getting hit and she was really resisting the urge to do it. How cool would it be to be able to do that right? She wondered IF anyone had ever tried. No not tried, she doubted she was the first with those thoughts. But succeeded? She watched the tree some more. She doubted that.

“That’s what the wandmaker said as well!” she exclaimed happily and she took out her wand for him to show. “He too said that I would be a phenomenal witch if I work hard” she grinned, not thinking about he had probably told every customer the same story. “Phoenix feather, see?” she held up her wand. She was quite proud of it. “It doesn’t really listen to me though….” She added with a mumble but tucked the wand back in her holster.

“Oh right, I forgot about the secrets each school has. Does that mean they will erase your memory after you leave Hogwarts and go to the next school, Sir?” that wasn’t a strange question right? And when he answered her House question she nodded her head. Bec had somehow already thought that he’d be in Ravenclaw but she was surprised to hear that he could be fitted in every house. So he would have been a Hatstall. “I’m a Gryffindor through and through. The Hat wasn’t even on my head and it shouted ‘Gryffindor’ I think that’s pretty amazing”

“Headmaster?” she asked slowly, looking as if she was going to ask the most important question of all time. One that could change everyone’s views on life and how they live it. “Do you put on your left or right shoe first?”

The old man's eyes twinkled when the girl took the mint he had offered. Either she really liked mints ... or she was taking it just to be polite. No matter her reasoning, Sahnoun hoped she enjoy it. The mints were from his homeland, and they were, in his opinion, much better than any of the mints that could be found in the United Kingdom.

The tree began to move again, though the headmaster paid no attention to it. Rather than the bark of the willow tree, the only wood that had captured his attention was that of the Gryffindor standing beside him. Nearly a foot in length, hornbeam, and... he thought, just when she revealed the wand core. A quiet 'ahh' sounded, and he bent over slightly to take a look at the girl's wand. "Just give it some time, mah dear. You are only eleven, after all." He smiled at her, pausing for a moment before revealing a fun fact for her to store away in that young mind of hers. "Mine's ebony with a runespoor scale. Dough it is a rarity for me to carry it on my person. At Uagagou, we learn to perform magic with little to no wand usage."

Oh, Miss Meadows was just full of questions, wasn't she? Naturally, Sahnoun so no fault in this. After all, how could one learn if they didn't ask questions? "No, mah dear. I don't dink dey'll be erasing my memory. Dere will be simply too many to erase." The headmaster nodded his head following his answer, and then he laughed at the next question that was asked. "Right shoe. How about you?"

Hadleigh had finished her lessons for the day. Had managed to get all her homework done and to top things off had NO practices or training today. It was indeed a magical moment therefore she had swung by her dorm and grabbed her bag, her hoodie which she pulled on over her head and Hagan. With the cat prancing about at her side she made a stop at the kitchens for a thermos of milk and two apples. Not her average snack but it was good anyhow.

She then proceeded out onto the grounds straight for the Whomping Willow. It was the one place outside on the grounds besides the Forbidden Forest where she knew not to many people ended up especially given it was November. Selecting a tree not to far but still out of harms way of the waving branches of the willow she sat herself down. Tugging the hood of her hoodie up over her head she set her bag down at her side and pulled out some parchment and her self inking quill. Hagan quickly taking up his place on top of her bag with a quiet meowing sound.

A glance towards the furry friend brought a light smile to her face before she directed her attention onto the parchment. It was time to begin thinking about what she was going to get people for the upcoming holiday. It was still a little bit away but coming closer fast and with the addition of seven new members into her family it was tougher to get things right.

There hadn’t been one distinct reason why Brooklyn was outside in the middle of November. She’d felt like going for a walk, and it was oddly interesting how different the weather in Scotland was from the weather in Sweden. It was a bit like the difference between California and Scotland. After Sweden, it was nearly warm. At the very least, it wasn’t half as cold. Yet. She’d figured she’d enjoy it while it lasted, knowing that it would get colder soon enough. Plus, she felt like there was much less of a chance of getting pulled into all the weirdness. Considering she hadn’t seen Frankie out running, she thought she was safe from that situation.

That and there were either less or more places for Dante to hide, but then she didn’t think he was apt to stalk her unless Hugo was around. It was kind of irritating that people felt she couldn’t handle things on her own. It was like they thought she couldn’t make her own decisions, or maybe it was more that others couldn’t. She didn’t know, but escaping the common room still seemed like a better idea.

However, as she’d walked nearer to the Willow and saw Hady sitting there, she couldn’t help but slow down. She’d wanted to make sure she was okay. She hadn’t had the chance on the field trip, so now seemed like as good a time as any.

Reaching her free hand to the side a little she gave Hagan's ears a light scratch earning a small quiet purr from the bundle of fur. She continued the petting with her free hand as she began to list names down one side of the parchment in her neat writing. First she listed her dad and Katalin, then her step-siblings all four of them and then the twins.

By the time she lifted her head having paused in her writing her list was rather long in size. How she was going to come up with and get gifts for all these people was waaaaayyyyy beyond her. Maybe she would do some baking or drawing and those could be given out as gifts...handmade stuff and sweets were always good.

Something catching her cats attention his tail flicking back and forth was cause for her to look around. Spotting Brooklyn she smoothed her hand over Hagan's head. "Hey," she greeted simply glad it was her fellow snake and not someone else whom she was still trying to avoid seeing yet at the same time wanted to see.

Everything seemed completely normal, yet that hadn’t stopped Brooklyn from wondering what was going on. She didn’t think that anyone was going to suddenly appear out of nowhere, but the sight of Hady not with others was surprising. It wasn’t going to make her think there was a plot afoot, though, and she also could make sure of a few things. First off, that Hady didn’t think she was siding with Frankie in whatever that mess was. In fact, she really rather would have avoided being dragged into that, and she also wanted to make sure her housemate was okay. That wasn’t a question for the dorm. Even thought they were out in the open, there was a sense of privacy by the willow.

The fact that she’d gained Hagan’s notice before his mistress hardly surprised her, either. She got along with the cat, for what it was worth. “Hey,” she said in return, walking closer until she was able to take a seat next to her. She wasn’t about to outright ask anything. Answers could be gotten without making things awkward, and part of her hoped that the same went for Hady. She wasn’t really looking forward to questions about a certain topic.

Over the last few days or even weeks she had grown into her own little pattern. Keeping away from most people unless she had no other option. No questions could be asked that way and she was given time and space for herself to do whatever it was she needed. Brooklyn appearing down by the Willow was a little unexpected by not by any means unwelcomed. The fellow Slytherin never pried or made Hady feel as if she had to talk. They had a simple way of communicating that worked fairly well for the two of them.

So it was when Brooklyn took a seat near her did she give a small grin. It probably also helped that Hagan had inched closer to the other girl in an effort to bump his head on her arm. "What brings you out this way?" Simple question. Nothing prying or annoying. There wasn't any need to ask anything that neither of them felt like talking about. Even if she was curious as to whether or not Dante was still trying to get her friend to talk with another of their house mates. It wasn't her business but she would listen to whatever might be said.

Brooklyn had definitely noticed how much Hady had changed lately, even given her own situation involving trying to avoid certain people. It was just her bad luck that those people seemed to find her even when she didn’t want them to, and that had also kept her from making sure her roommate was okay. Although her way of making sure was probably different than most people in the first place, since she wasn’t one to ask questions. She wasn’t generally one to answer them either, unless she felt like it. She was fairly certain that Hady didn’t feel like it, and therefore she hadn’t tried to ask. Except, that wasn’t keeping her from taking advantage of the current circumstances.

She had acknowledged Hagan’s little head nudge by lightly scratching between his ears, even as she had returned the small grin that the cat’s owner had given her. “Just going for a walk,” she said with a shrug. There wasn’t any reason to come up with some elaborate answer when the reality was so simple. Besides, she had no reason to lie. It was Hady, and in all honesty she figured that people would say her problem was in being too honest. At least, she usually reacted to people exactly how she felt, with a few exceptions.

Hadleigh had certainly noticed the change in herself and she had been working on it the best she could. However every time she seemed to pull herself out of it and was doing better she would run into the blonde prefect again and the pain was back. The holiday break couldn't come fast enough. It was going to be complete time away with family. It's what she needed.

The cat in question gladly accepted the head rubbing, purring contently. "That's what this started out as but then we decided to sit and relax," she answered with a nod of understanding. Taking a walk or a small run was common for her especially as of lately. "I know I haven't been much into talking lately but how are things with you this term?" Brooklyn could take this question however she liked and answer it the same way. If she wanted to talk about lessons that was fine or her dancing or music playing. Hady didn't care what they spoke about honestly right then as she knew how the girl at her side was and completely respected her for it.

The thing first and foremost in what could be considered her friendship with Hady was the knowledge that there wasn’t any risk of having to deal with irritating questions. Brooklyn remembered the conversation she had listened in on back in Sweden, and she was certain that the other girl knew that she wasn’t about to bring up certain other prefects either. She had no reason to bring that up, to make things any more awkward than they might have already been. She didn’t do awkward, really. Another reason why she felt like the Gryffindor’s belief he could use her as a distraction was nothing sort of irritating.

Plus, it was always amusing to know that at least Hagan wasn’t afraid of her. The pouring was almost comforting, and she kept scratching the cat’s head even as she nodded in response to the comment. “There’s nothing wrong with that,” she replied. Not to mention the odds of interruption this close to the willow were slim to none, her own notwithstanding. She had raised an eyebrow slightly at the question posed of her, though. Maybe her idea that things wouldn’t be brought up wasn’t as accurate as she hoped. “They’re good,” she said instead. There was no reason to bring subjects up that she already knew Hady was aware of. “Taking advantage of not having OWLs this term, really.” It left her with more time to do other things.

Hady wasn't at all surprised with the way Hagan took to Brooklyn. She was supplying him with his favorite thing, a petting. Not to mention the fellow Slytherin knew the cat for quite a few years already which probably helped. Then again her furry companion liked everyone just like she herself did so there was that factor too.

See once again she hadn't needed to explain anything. Brooklyn just knew. She knew and she understood. No words needed. Hady smiled a little nodding her head as well. They were on the same page. "I couldn't be happier that OWLs are over. I'm not looking forward to next term with NEWTs though but at least that's still a little while away yet." Having less lessons to study for was going to be a huge help as well.

Well goodness.

As he stared up at the Whomping Willow, supplies in tow, Paul took a deep breath. It was....it was going to be a bit of an adventure, trimming her up. Or him. Or whatever...the tree was. Technically both, though. Before Paul could dawdle on overthinking the reproduction of trees, he needed to.....get to it.

Erm.

This would be hard alone .___. He should have asked Justin or...James for help. Granted, James would have probably let the Willow hit Paul around like he was a bludge in a Quidditch match. At least he would have gotten out of doing THIS. But the tree had really gone far too long and needed a good pruning and maybe even....some bark examination....

UGH.

"Well, Willow. You're looking quite lovely today," he said, shoving his hand in his pocket to grab his wand.