Carlton looked up and spotted Professor Newton. Immediately he felt embarrassed. He was horrible in her class. He basically knew nothing.

Nothing.

He still liked her though! He just disliked the fact that he couldn't answer any of her questions ever. Up until a few days ago he hadn't even known house elves existed. So History of Magic wasn't really his best subject.

"Hello Professor Newton." He said smiling and then looked down at his book. Yes, he was definitely trying to get some reading done. Catching up on all the knowledge other firsties had from being born into a wizard family. "Yes... I'm trying to learn all things magical!" All of the things. Everything. "I want to know all the stuff the others do." But Professor Newton probably already knew this. If she knew who he was then she probably knew he wasn't very good in her class. Active and talkative? Yes. Giving any right answers? Nooo.

He wish he had Rosalyn Newton's brain. That would be weird though. So instead he said; "Enjoying your walk, professor?" Otherwise you know, the bench is big enough for both of them. And maybe she could explain why exactly elves never did grow as tall as humans.

Is that what he what?.... oh wait did the Head Boy think he was serious? No no I dont creep up on my friends, I'm a Gryffindor. We always take the direct approach." For good or bad.

"And I have climbed trees....." the outdoorsman in him wouldnt let that slide by alas ".....just not this high up" and without so much as a rope or a trampoline or a overzealous house elf watching his every move. "Besides I wasnt intending on climbing trees today, I was just testing out my cruiser and well.... it performed a little too well." hence the current predicament.

Was Colt gonna climb after him? Tenacius was unsure given how the tree branch he was on could barely support his own weight. He was a bit relieved when the older boy decided on something else. Ok a pillow and-- whoah he's being levitated to the ground

He thought it wouldve been thrilling like flying... but it wasnt quite like that, he felt like he was gonna fall but he wasnt plummeting towards the ground. It was a strange sensation indeed. Finally his hands and knees made contact with the pillow and hunched there for a while, hugging the pillow.... kissing the ground..... who knows.

And a muffled reply "tHaNks CoLt"

Colt chuckled at the lions reply and he went, "Of course silly me. Forgot you guys are the brave house. We slytherins like to be cunning and sneaky.." It is true usually Colt loved to sneak up on his friends. Aaahh look at him making up excuses. "Well you surely would have foreseen this happening. You always need a plan to get down. Unless you want to break your legs from the fall.." he joked with him just a wee bit. "Testing out your cruiser?" he questioned him. "What cruiser?"

Now time to get this tree hugger down. Once he got his wand and uttered the incantation. He saw Tenacius have the look of somewhat uneasy in his eyes. He wouldn't let him fall too soon don't worry. Once he was finished, he saw the lion prefect accio a pillow and he fell into it. Colt smirked and laughed at him, all in good fun though. "No problem mate. I mean hey if your climbing trees anytime soon, give me the heads up okay?" He needed some laughter and fun in his life. This was surely one of those times. "How have you been with the head boy duties and all?" He was just checking up on him because he was a tad bit younger. It might be stressful on him.

Quote:

Originally Posted by potterobsessionist

Carlton looked up and spotted Professor Newton. Immediately he felt embarrassed. He was horrible in her class. He basically knew nothing.

Nothing.

He still liked her though! He just disliked the fact that he couldn't answer any of her questions ever. Up until a few days ago he hadn't even known house elves existed. So History of Magic wasn't really his best subject.

"Hello Professor Newton." He said smiling and then looked down at his book. Yes, he was definitely trying to get some reading done. Catching up on all the knowledge other firsties had from being born into a wizard family. "Yes... I'm trying to learn all things magical!" All of the things. Everything. "I want to know all the stuff the others do." But Professor Newton probably already knew this. If she knew who he was then she probably knew he wasn't very good in her class. Active and talkative? Yes. Giving any right answers? Nooo.

He wish he had Rosalyn Newton's brain. That would be weird though. So instead he said; "Enjoying your walk, professor?" Otherwise you know, the bench is big enough for both of them. And maybe she could explain why exactly elves never did grow as tall as humans.

Seeing Carlton with all those books made Rosalyn think back to when she was a student at Hogwarts; reading had been a big part of her time at the school, though of course she also had friends and boyfriends. It made her smile and feel a connection to the child. "What kinds of things have you learned about magic so far?" she asked curiously. Was history part of it? The boy seemed to be trying his best, but he didn't seem to be confident when it came to her class. Maybe he felt that he didn't know anything, but that wasn't true; everyone could contribute something valuable even if they didn't see it that way. "I'm sure you know some things that other people do, and other things that others don't." No, this was not just 'teacher talk'. Everyone had their strengths and weaknesses and there was probably something that he could teach her about!

"Yes, I am thank you. I think I need a rest though." He didn't mind? Rosalyn wasn't tired, but she wanted to talk to Carlton some more. Maybe she could tell him about things if he wanted to know anything.

"Cunning and sneaky.... yeah yeah I know." he smiled. That was probably something his dad tried to impart on the young boy, with mixed results. "Forseen...... doing the Evel Knievel on a hoverboard and ended up on a tree?" it was a bit of a stretch of the imagination for this boy, or maybe he's just not aware of his own strength. "I was trying to conjure a way to get down but I dropped my wand--" so yes its somewhere down there amongst the bushes "-- my cruiser too... its down there somewhere I have to look for it." Probably shrank back down to size which is why Colt couldnt see the usually all too shiny hoverboard.

And yes back on the ground sweet sweet earth. He drew himself up, relief clear on his face "I will tell you when I purposely will want to climb trees." he nodded with a smirk. Now he has to go look look LOOK for his wand and a shiny coin.

Whoah wait what....? The Gryffindor Prefect paused from his searching and glanced at the Head Boy, bewilderment, and perhaps undue excitement, etched on his face "'head boy duties'.....? I get to do Head Boy stuff?" Is that a promotion just a few months into his Prefectship? Oh boy oh boy oh boy oh boy!.....

Carlton hesitated. Since he hadn't known magic existed before receiving the letter from Hogwarts everything he'd learned about magic so far was everything he knew of it. "I've learned about a whole lot of stuff! Like for example, I've learned that if you use heating spells on a metal bucket long enough it will melt, that my drawings doesn't count as magical runes and that shields can be used to avoid getting covered in potatoes in a food fight."

He believed professor Newton was right, Carlton probably did know some things others didn't, after all, he'd taught a sixth year how to play Pac Man in the Fun room. That had to count for something.

Carlton scooted over on the bench to make room for her. "Sit!" He said, patting the spot next to him. Every time someone mentioned someting about magic that he didn't know, or understand he wrote it down in his notes so he could read up about it later. He'd tried the library earlier but someone had made fun of him for looking up the word 'muggleborn' so he'd stopped going there. Besides, the pathways was nicer.

"Today, I'm finding out stuff about house-elves, professor. I haven't got very far..." He straightened out the small parchment and handed it over to professor Newton.



He smiled and pointed at his drawing. "That's just a sketch, professor." Just in case she thought house-elves really looked like that. But then again, maybe she had actually met one. That would be awesome.

Colt shrugged and Tenacius probably knew about the house traits. I mean he was present for the sorting ceremony after all. Hearing that song the hat sings which is sometimes catchy but sometimes it can be boring and tedious. The head boy snorted at his comment. "I mean hey I don't know if you excel in divination. You could be a psychic for all I know.." he was playing along of course. Aahh so he dropped his wand did he? He looked to his right and noticed the bushes. He went over to look for it. He saw it was deep in the bushes. He got out his wand and said, "Accio wand.." and it zoomed up to him. Piece of cake. He walked over and showed him he had it. "I mean I didn't wanna summon your hover board because I didn't wanna get hit in the face.." Knowing his luck he probably will. Plus if it happened to Tenacius it would be 10x funnier.

"I will make a note for when you wanna climb some tress..." he smirked and handed him his wand. "I am all in though, send me an owl next time." he patted his shoulder. Colt realized his mistake when he said that and noticed the excitement on his face. "Woah woah woah buddy. Slip of words. I meant to say prefect duties. How are your prefect duties coming along. Sorry to burst ya bubble mate.." He seemed like an excited five year old for a second.


ooc; I just realized my writing mistake and I loved how Tenacius is playing along

Quote:

Originally Posted by potterobsessionist

Carlton hesitated. Since he hadn't known magic existed before receiving the letter from Hogwarts everything he'd learned about magic so far was everything he knew of it. "I've learned about a whole lot of stuff! Like for example, I've learned that if you use heating spells on a metal bucket long enough it will melt, that my drawings doesn't count as magical runes and that shields can be used to avoid getting covered in potatoes in a food fight."

He believed professor Newton was right, Carlton probably did know some things others didn't, after all, he'd taught a sixth year how to play Pac Man in the Fun room. That had to count for something.

Carlton scooted over on the bench to make room for her. "Sit!" He said, patting the spot next to him. Every time someone mentioned someting about magic that he didn't know, or understand he wrote it down in his notes so he could read up about it later. He'd tried the library earlier but someone had made fun of him for looking up the word 'muggleborn' so he'd stopped going there. Besides, the pathways was nicer.

"Today, I'm finding out stuff about house-elves, professor. I haven't got very far..." He straightened out the small parchment and handed it over to professor Newton.

SPOILER!!: Crumbled up note

TO LOOK UP: HOUSELF HOUSEELVES HOUSE-ELVES
- Where do they live?
- What do they eat?
- How long do they live?
- Can the fly?
- Do they have house-elf-babies?
- Do they have their own language?
- Are they nice?
- What do they smell like?
- Do they move in packs?
- Do they celebrate christmas? -Are they related to Santa?
- Why haven't I seen one?
- IF there are elves at Hogwarts, why don't they sit with us in the Great Hall?
- Are they sorted in houses?
- WHAT DO THEY LOOK LIKE?

Maybe like this ????????????????????

He smiled and pointed at his drawing. "That's just a sketch, professor." Just in case she thought house-elves really looked like that. But then again, maybe she had actually met one. That would be awesome.

Oh goodness!!

The whole time that Carlton was talking, Rosalyn couldn't help but think of how precious he was!! Children were amazing with their innocence and different view of the world, and it was hard to imagine that she had been like that at some point. His answers during class were definitely creative and that was something that she always encouraged. "Well, it looks like you have learned a lot already. Have you been in many food fights?" That was an interesting observation and one that she hadn't considered making in the past, always choosing to dodge instead. Then again the majority of food fights she had been in were when she was at home and too young to use magic outside of school. These days she obviously didn't participate in them even if her brothers could still lack maturity at times.

Happily she joined him on the bench, getting as comfortable as possible before looking over the parchment that he handed to her. So he was interested in house elves. It made Rosalyn smile. "You know there is a way to get into the kitchens and it's not too far from your common room. You could go there and ask them what you want to know." Obviously she could answer some of them herself, but it was more fun and better for him if he asked them himself. Surely they would be glad to tell him things. "I can show it to you if you like."

Carlton shook his head. "I have only been in one food fight, professor. It was right here at Hogwarts, and- and- and it was professor Hirsch who started it." This was the truth. "And... I might have thrown a broccoli at my sister once but it was just a small one! I had already taken a bite out of it." So really, it didn't count.

He frowned, looking up at professor Newton. Suddenly, he was very confused. "What do you mean professor?" Why would going to the kitchen help him study? "Who would I ask in the kitchen? You are the magic world expert, I thought." Carlton really doubted there was someone more knowing than his History of Magic professor. Especially someone who lived in the kitchen? Who did that? "Who is this 'them'?"

LOOK AT ALL THIS SNOW!!

You'd think that after all these years - heck, even after the past weeks of snow - Daisy Carden would be quite done with snow. However, she really, really, REALLY wasn't. Snow was awesome and it never really lasted as long as she wanted it to. Soon enough, she'd be take the train down to London and maybe it would be snowing back home.

BUT not as much. NO WAY.

That was why the Slytherin was outside, a green beanie hat buried deep in her head, trying to catch snowflakes with her open hand only to watch them melt. It was fun but KIIIINDA cold which was why the other hand was hidden by a glove. YUP.

AAAAAAH BENCH!!

The girl practically ran to the bench - thank you Healer Reed for the experience in running in the snow - and sat down. AAAH, YES. What an afternoon it was to snowflake!gaze.

Matt was starting to freak out - proper FREAK OUT - by the fact he had been locked up inside the Castle all day. Okay, it was a MASSIVE castle, but he the fact the outdoors was there, waiting for him to go out and DO SOMETHING made the Gryffindor feel the NEED to do it.

He NEEDED to go OUT and DO STUFF. ANYTHING.

So he was walking. The lake, as usual, looked quite cool fom a distance, but Matt was more than happy to walk awaaayyyy from it and into the pathways. That was a nice area because it took you places YET that was a place of its own.

See a bench there? Matt wouldn't normally take a seat there because that was a PATHWAY and he usually didn't hang around there, HOWEVER, he had just realised who was sitting there.

Teehee, what were the ODDS?

"Why, hello there! I didn't know you liked the cold this much." It WAS a pretty cold day and Daisy even had her hand out without a glove! She seemed to be... well, he had no clue. "What're you trying to do there?"

Snowflakes were slooooowly falling all around her and Daisy Carden was perfectly relaxed, head leaning against the back of the bench and legs stretched out in front of her. It was almost as if she was sunbathing except ... there was no snow. Still, she was pretty chill and it actually wasn't because of the coldness of the snow. NAH, she was prepared for that! She had used heating charms for ... well, heating up her clothes! For once, they had also worked! Except for the slight burning the rubber on her boot had suffered, but hey, small steps.

Unfortunately, she had been too scared of setting herself on fire to try a heating charm on her skin, therefore her bare hand was kinda cold but LOOK AT ALL THE PRETTY SNOWFLAKES!

Awesome.

"MATT SOLO!" She greeted him brightly when the boy approached the bench she was occupying. She sat back up straight and grinned at him, nodding towards the bench. JOIN THE SNOWFLAKE!GAZING!! "I was beginning to think you only existed during classes, you know?" GEDDIT? 'Cause they only saw each other during classes. Or Yeti runs which SORTA also count as lessons, anyway. Also, what did it look like she was doing? "I'm enjoying the snow! Obviously."

DUUUHH!

WHOA, she YELLED his NAME. That totally meant she was happy to see him, which Matt liked very, very much.

MWAHA!

AND! She wanted him to sit next to her. SCORE numbah... he lost count. Mwaha, good newssss!

He sat down and LAUGHED out out after she commented about him only existing in classes. That was a funny observation and it kind of made sense so far.

SO FAR. Because he had just changed that. "Nah, I also exist to help turn the Gryffindor Common Room into chaos." He wasn't even the only one who did it, which was super awesome. Back home he was the only one to make a mess, but apparently that was a Gryffindor thing.

"But Slytherins aren't allowed in the Gryffindor Tower, so I had to get out here." Grin! Ahem. Was he smooth or WHAT? So smooth. And she was out there to enjoy the snow. "Ahh, of course. I forgot you enjoyed running away from Yetis. We should get Healer Reed to do it again! Or something else." He thought for a moment. "Something else would be better since doing different things is more fun that being repetitive." Though running in the snow had been really fun! And Matt felt SUPER FIT TOO. RAH!

He scooped up some snow into his gloved hand. "Do you reckon snowball fights help you keep fit as well?" The Gryffindor asked, turning to face Daisy with his cheeky grin in place. Muehehehe!

SEE, Matt knew she was right. That was why he was laughing, right? Anyway, it was sorta true. She had only seen him in classes. She was sure she must've crossed paths with him, they DEFINITELY had been at the Great Hall at the same time but classes? YUP, she was SURE of having seen him in classes. "Oh maaaaan..." She gave up on her mission of catching ALL the snowflakes she could and turned to face him. "The Gryffindor Common Room must be INSANE."

STORIES. Okay? She wanted STORIES.

It wasn't that she wanted to be a Gryffindor. It was just that ... well, imagine how MESSY that tower must be.

It seemed they were sooooorta on the same train of thought and Daisy blinked up at him when he said Slytherins weren't allowed in the Gryffindor Tower. RIGHT. EXACTLY. That was the WHOOOLE issue here. Wait ... get out here? "What does that have to do with Slytherins not being allowed in there?" What was he hinting at, hm? She was SURE she was missing something but eh... maybe he just preferred the company of Slytherins to Gryffindors. Daisy didn't blame him. Look, they were insane, which was why she was SURE there were brilliant stories.

But how exhausting, too.

"You also enjoyed running away from Yetis, if I remember right!" She chuckled and nudged him with her elbow. He had definitely enjoyed that, it hadn't been just her. And while she would definitely be up for doing it again - look, she had gotten TWENTY points, a MEDAL and had an awesome time -, Matt was right. Doing something different would be better. And it seemed he knew what to do.

You see, she was facing him. That was why when he scooped up some snow, Daisy raised one eyebrow and started putting her missing glove back on. She sorta could tell where this was going. PLEASE, let it be ....... YES, SNOWBALL FIGHT!! Ammo, ammo! Returning his cheeky grin, the Slytherin reached for the snow in the ground and got herself a good amount of fluffy snow. Did snowball fights keep them fit? "Not if you stay sitting down!" And with that, the snow in her hand was thrown at his face and Daisy proceeded to escape.

Look, if he had only been kidding about the snowball fight .. too bad. IT WAS ON.

Quote:

Originally Posted by potterobsessionist

Carlton shook his head. "I have only been in one food fight, professor. It was right here at Hogwarts, and- and- and it was professor Hirsch who started it." This was the truth. "And... I might have thrown a broccoli at my sister once but it was just a small one! I had already taken a bite out of it." So really, it didn't count.

He frowned, looking up at professor Newton. Suddenly, he was very confused. "What do you mean professor?" Why would going to the kitchen help him study? "Who would I ask in the kitchen? You are the magic world expert, I thought." Carlton really doubted there was someone more knowing than his History of Magic professor. Especially someone who lived in the kitchen? Who did that? "Who is this 'them'?"

Oh goodness. This kid was so adorable. How could he be so adorable while talking about a food fight? Rosalyn had no idea, but she felt it hard not to smile at Carlton. "Professor Hirsch started a food fight? How come?" Merely curious. Honestly she wished that she had been around to see it! Maybe even take part in some good old fun; on second thought it might not be the best example to set for children. "Well, I've thrown food at my brothers on more than one occasion so you are definitely not alone there." Forgetting the fact that THEY generally started it.

"Well... The house elves. They work in the kitchens here. You can ask them your questions if you would like to." That way he could see them in person as well as hear about them, and it was always best to go to the direct source.

Matt laughed again after she made her comment about the Gryffindor Common Room. "It's pretty nice, if you ask me." He grinned. "I mean, I'm not sure how you Slytherins do it, but our reception party this year was... well, it was not a party, but a paint-balloon fight." No need to say how crazy the Common Room looked after they were done. "I can't complain, really. That place is never boring." Grin.

The Gryffindor sitfled a laugh when she didn't really get what he was saying. "It means that there was a zero percent possibility that you would ever be allowed in there. Hence my coming here." He wiggled his eyebrows at her. Get it? Get it? Muehehehe.

This girl kept making him LAUGH. Whattup with THAT? Not that he minded, very much on the contrary. He DID enjoy the Yeti run. "You do remember right!"

And she was on the same vibe as him. He hadn't even DONE anything yet and she was already throwing snow right at his FACE! AWESOME! He cracked up and scooped up some more snow before jumping up from the bench and running after her.

"There's NO ESCAPE, PRINCESS!" Was Matt using Star Wars jargon or was he being ridiculously straightforward? UMMMMMMMMM, how about a little bit of both? Lol. He tossed the snowball he had first scooped up at her and RAN, but this time slower than he had run in the Yeti Run because this was no race, yo. But he wanted to try and throw some snow at her FACE TOO, like she had done to him. "HELLOOO!!" He exclaimed as he nearly reached her, throwing the second scoop of snow he had in his hand.

UUUUHM. WHAT?

"RECEPTION PARTY?!" Daisy exclaimed, eyes wide open. Excuuuuse me? She might've been too loud, but really this situation justified it. Was Matt telling her that the Gryffindors had a party at the beginning of the term? The Slytherins never did that, did they? She definitely couldn't remember having a party in the common room, anyway. With paint-balloons or with anything. "I can't believe you have a party ... with balloons! And paint! And fight!" The Slytherin leaned back against the bench and crossed her arms dejectedly.

Must resist the urge to wish she was a Gryffindor.

RESIIIIIIIST.

It was kind of good that she was looking away from Matt, because at his next words something seemed to click inside her and she felt her cheeks growing hot at the meaning behind his words. Uhm. That was weird. It never happened. Not really. He had definitely said that, right? She couldn't get into the Gryffindor Common Room -- which was a bummer, because PARTIES -- so he had to get out here. To see her. Okay, seriously. Was it just her or was it hot in here? Slowly, she turned back to him, a strange, soft smile playing on her lips. "You couldn't possibly have known that I would be here, though." YEEEAAH, he was just pulling her leg.

Unless he had been spying on her from the Gryffindor Tower which -- uhm, would be weird.

NAH, no weirdness. It was Matt! He was cool and funny and they had had a lot of fun at the Yeti run. And now they were definitely having a snowball fight. EEEEK. She felt a snowball disintegrating against her back as she ran towards a small tree, not really tiring herself that much, though. You were supposed to get hit with snow during snowball fights, anyway! And he just called her Princess!! Daisy laughed at his words, bending down to scoop some snow and hiding behind the tree. "There's always an escape, Master Solo!" She peeked from behind the tree which was a TERRIBLE idea since she got hit in the face. And she could see Matt through the snow! One hand quickly moved to get the most of the snow out of her face even as she threw the other handful in his general direction.

And with that she was gone, running back the way they had come from. "BYEEEE!!"

Matt was half surprised half amused when she basically yelled at his face. "No, reception pain-balloon fight." He gave her a cheeky grin. And she sounded and seemed gutted she didn't have one of those. "It was pretty awesome." The boy added with a chuckle and a nod of his head as he remembered the chaos that the Common Room turned into. "Even professor Newt, our Head of House, joined us!" They were THAT awesome!! "Don't you have anything to welcome you to Hogwarts when you arrive??" Whaaaat??? "How boring are you??!" Mahaha, jooookes! But really, if the snakes didn't have anything fun awaiting them upon their return to school... how depressing was that??

Matt was casually not-casually-at-all full on staring at Daisy. He wanted to see her every reaction to his words and it seeeeemed she got what he meant. Mwahahahaha, yaaaaaas! And she was blushing slightly, which made Matt grin widely. "I didn't, but I knew you weren't in the Great Hall" - trust him, he had checked - "so I took my chance and decided to roam around the grounds. I have to say it didn't take me too long to find you." The fourth year grinned. Did she want more straightforwardness than that?? Now she knew he had been actively looking for her. Even Matt felt a bit strange admitting that, even though he had planned it. Weeeeeeeeeeeeirdddddd.

It was a good thing she was nowhere near the Lake, though.

And what better way to avoid the possible awkwardness of the conversation than a good ol' snowball fight? It was almost like they were actually in Star Wars, what with all of the blaster shots zooming about at the most convenient times. AND she was calling him Master Solo. Seriously, and she didn't know why he liked her so much already? MWAHA! "INCOMIIIIIING!!!!" He yelled as he LEAPED towards the tree she was hiding behing. Hanging off one of its branches, he pushed his feet against the main trunk and give the whole thing a good SHAKESHAKESHAKESHAKESHAKE with all his might. Most if not all of the snow on the lower branches fell on both of them, making him spiiittttt out the bits that got in his mouth as he laughed out loud.

Call him weird, but snow did taste good!

THIS WAS SO UNFAIR.

Why did Gryffindors got to have all the fun? Daisy couldn't decide if she was angry at her Gryffindors friends for not telling her about these parties or glad since it had kept the envy at bay. What she could decide, however, was that she was SUPER DUPER annoyed at Professor McLeod -- who thus far had been her absolute FAVOURITE -- for allowing the Gryffindors to be more awesome than the Slytherins. WHAT. A. DISGRACE. Their HoH organised the parties AND attended them! "I think you should smuggle me into the next party." She told Matt with a cheeky grin playing on her lips. YES, that was a BRILLIANT idea. That way she could also poke around the Common Room.

Again; no, she did not want to be a Gryffindor. Shut up.

Just because they didn't have parties, it did not mean that Slytherins were boring and Matt got a poke in the ribs for that. "We're not boring. We sit around, plotting world domination whilst the Imperial March plays." YES. YES YES YES YES. That was a Star Wars reference. She had watched the films over Christmas. It had been on purpose a coincidence. "Some of us even stroke white cats while we're sitting on our armchairs."

No, that didn't really happen. But it easily could, let's be real here.

And plotting world domination in the Common Room was exactly what she could've been doing, but still Matt decided to look for her outside. She wouldn't lie, his words did make her feel slightly strange, like she had had something bad for lunch -- which she knew she hadn't. Still, the blush miraculously disappeared -- thank you, snow! -- and she found herself grinning widely at him. He probably had just decided to get some fresh air and THEN had found her but okay, she would play along. "Well, I'm glad you found me, Master Solo ..." Her own words made her stop and release a chuckle, giving him a pointed look. "... even if I'm pretty sure you're lying about your last name."

She had rewatched Star Wars, okay? She REMEMBERED all that stuff about Han Solo.

The Slytherin had snow on both of her hands, ready to hit him, when the boy went and surprised her once more. "You're making it snow!" She openly laughed at that, hands full of snow forgotten at her sides. It had been snowing already but this was different snow. It was Matt!made snow! TWIIIIIRLLLL. This was FUN. It wasn't much of a fight, but it was fun. ALSO, there was no way that she would get him down from the tree using snowballs. NOPE. She needed something more dramatic. So, the fifth year dropped the snow she had in her hands and tugged up her trousers. RIGHT. Here goes nothing... "GERONIMOOOOOO!!!" Daisy jumped at Matt, trying to tug him down the tree.


WHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE.

"Yupppppppp!" Carlton nodded, dangling his legs off the edge of the bench. "But it was in a class room, not in the Great Hall." That would be funny though, if professor Hirsch just stood up at the staff table and threw potatoes at everyone. He kept that little image to himself though. "And we were practising protego and..." He blushed. He forgot what the other spell was. "And stuff." He couldn't keep all the spell names in his head, they were too many.

Carlton beamed when professor Newton mentioned she'd thrown food at her brothers. He didn't know if it was an inappropriate conversation to have with one of your professors, but he liked it nevertheless. "Siblings." He murmured, grinning as he rubbed his nose.

For a moment, he just sat wide eyed staring at his professor. Mouth open and all. The house elves were real?! He thought the older kids just teased him about that! But a professor wouldn't tease him, especially not professor Newton. She was good and kind. "They work in the kitchens..." He repeated in awe. Fiddling a little with his book in his lap he felt the excitement creep up on him. "I..." So many thoughts in his head to keep track off. "I will go see them." Yes. "Will they think I'm rude, professor? Is there a code of conduct I should know about?" Because first impressions were important.

Suddenly, the scenery shifted and before the student or adult could comprehend what had happened, there was a blinding flash of light. A hole appeared in the fabric of time and space and seemed to be growing bigger and bigger... When it was big enough, the portal sucked up the young Slytherin and transported him to the other world, leaving the adult behind. It flickered once... twice...

... and then it was gone in the blink of an eye.

You know, life was A-OK after all. Carlton Lewis was just minding his own business, talking about professor Hirsch starting a food fight before the idyllic pathways was struck by a change of scenery.

The young boy squinted and put his hands up to shield his eyes from the sudden flash of bright light. "Erm, professor..."

Holy cow, Carlton did NOT enjoy this part of the conversation. "Professor, I don't like iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiit!"

The light grew stronger and before he knew it, there was no professor, no pathways and no problem free discussion about house-elves. Just like that, Carlton had been pulled in through the portal.

Again.

Running and eating right was a thing for Noelle now. She even tried yoga now and again because Professor Stewart had mentioned it was a good way to exercise as well as clearing your mind. Something you would need when you transfigured.

So, Noelle was out running in the pathways when she heard a yell. She had her wand handy (because she never went anywhere without it. Even the bathroom). Her run became a sprint as she ran towards a yell and then a flash of light.

She had managed to get into the clearing when she saw Carlton being pulled away. Her mouth dropped open and she looked at Professor Newton. "What... what happened??... we need to get him back! That's... that's Carlton! He's a precious boy!" What was that thing??? And why'd it grab him?!

Noelle was out of breath but she had this adrenaline running through her body. She needed to do something, anything. She took to looking around at the bushes because it was something to do and maybe... just maybe... there was a clue?

Before Rosalyn could respond to Carlton, everything started going wrong. Not just wrong, but seriously messed up.

The scenery started to change suddenly, and before she had a chance to grab a hold of him, there was a flash of blinding light. By the time it had disappeared and she could she again, he was... gone.

"CARLTON???"

Frantic, Rosalyn looked everywhere for a sign of the child, knowing in the pit of her stomach that he had disappeared. It had to have been a portal because there was no other explanation for what had happened. To make matters worse potentially, another student had arrived. The danger might not have completely passed... "Noelle, we need to be careful. Whatever that was, it's connected to the portal on the Sixth Floor." The girl surely knew what she was talking about because it had been in the wall for well over a month by now. "We need to go to the headmistress and tell her about this." Right this second.

"I think I should too!" Matt beamed in reply to Daisy's comment about smuggling her the next time they had a party. That would be AWESOME! "I have the feeling you'd survive one of our parties alright." He gave her his cheeky grin and chuckled at his own little joke. Haha, he was so funnyyyy, MAN!

Her words about what Slytherins did instead of being boring almost made him choke. He WOULD have choked had he been drinking anything, but he hadn't, so he didn't REALLY choke. His eyes did widen in surprise and he GAAASSSPPPEEEEDDDD loudly for a dramatic effect. "Plot domination PLUS Imperial March???" He just wasn't mind-blown because that sounded very much like a Slytherin thing to do. "I can see you lot doing that." He finished, scratching his chin as he looked throughtfully into the wide white? blue yonder. Then he shot a somewhat suspicious look at her. "Have you got a white cat that you stroke?" Was she a cat person?

Well, oh well, Matt approved very much of her wide grin as a reaction. And you know WHAT? He had a plan. But yeah, no, SNOWBALL FIGHT FIRST. Priorities, priorities.

But say WHAT!? He stopped on his tracks and GASPED dramatically again. He COUGHED up a bit because sheesh, what COLD AIR, but gave Daisy a SHOCKED look. "I don't LIE about my last name, princess! How can you say THAT?" Matt asked in a mocking shock tone. He remembered very well he had actually told her his real surname when they first met, even though he had no CLUE why he had done that. Anyhow, no need to linger on THAT.

The Gryffindor was getting quite a bit of an exercise by pretty much using his whole body to shake the tree as much as he could. Yaaaaas, he was making it snow! Not that it was necessary - it was already snowing naturally - but heyo, that was kinda fun! Matt was so distracted by his own actions that when Daisy basically YELLED LIKE A CRAZY PERSON and JUMPED on him and started to tug him down, he was completely caught off guard. "WHA-AAAAHHHHH!!!!" Were his words as dooownnnn he went.

He made sure to NOT fall on TOP of Daisy as well as he could. HECK, some juggling he had to do! He managed to step on a bit of ground that had NOT been previously occupied by any part of Daisy and he kicked himself forward, faceplanting the ground. Thank MERLIN it had been snowing enough, so now he was basically doing a snowangel, but facing downward instead of upward.

"PTHU!!!" He spat the snow out of his mouth when he eventually raised his head off the snowpile. The fifteen year-old turned over and casually sat on the snow as if it wasn't cold or anything, and looked at Daisy. "So. Tell me, Daisy, do you want to go on a date with me?"

...

Heck, he thought that would feel a lot more normal than it actually did. Straight forward much? Well, yeah, but that was how things WORKED.

No big deal. He was cool, he could do this.

All good!