"Ilvermorny is in America. Massachusetts. It's where the new Headmistress came from," Jacob answered Etta. "She was the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor there." She was also his aunt, actually, but he wasn't sure he should bring that up yet. He didn't know if they liked her or not, and that might make or break these potential friendships. Not that the Headmistress showed him any kind of favoritism just because he was her nephew. Still, Etta and Olivia couldn't be expected to know that. They might think he was some sort of tattletale or teacher's pet or something... And limited though his social skills were, he knew that being seen that way was generally not regarded as desirable. Yet another blush -- curse this transparent skin -- crept onto his face as he wondered for a split second if they might be Legilimens reading his mind... No, that was ridiculous. Although Etta had stopped looking at him, and Olivia's expression had changed after he had thought about how strangely they were both looking at him... Okay, nope, not gonna think about that anymore. It was making him paranoid, and besides, he did know that Legilimency was considered hard to learn (and typically not done by teenagers). Okay. Moving on...

"Hmm. I haven't met him. I wonder if I will," he said, talking about the Ilvermorny transfer Olivia had met. "I'm in -- was in -- Thunderbird." He held up the badge he'd been playing with, finally realizing he was holding it. "Home of adventurers... So maybe I should have been in Gryffindor, but the Sorting Hat disagreed." He shrugged, not particularly upset that he was in a less rowdy House. Not that he had anything against Gryffindors. The one in this little circle seemed pleasant enough, and he had to admit that their table in the Great Hall always seemed like it was having fun.

"So. You're," he nodded toward Olivia, "originally from Australia but come to Hogwarts by way of Beauxbatons? And you," he gestured toward Etta, "were homeschooled before coming here, and you're originally from New Zealand?" These questions were meant more rhetorically -- he already heard the girls talking about these facts.

He smiled a bit, genuinely glad to not be the only foreigner here. In fact, none of them were from Britain originally, and he felt much better about being newish when realizing that both of them were in the same boat.

"Seems like both of you moved around a bit before settling here. What was that like?" He was curious because he'd only ever lived in the cottage in Albany -- and, of course, at Ilvermorny when school was in session. "Moving to London was the first time I'd ever moved at all before. It was kind of scary. Everything is so different here. Everyone spells things with extra letters, especially throwing in a 'u' where it doesn't really need to be. And driving on the other side of the road... Not that I have much experience driving, but it's weird to see, I keep thinking the No-Majs are going to hit each other head-on. And I'm still trying to get used to some of the terminology. I don't think I'd ever used the word 'corridor' instead of 'hallway' before coming here..."

He smiled. This talking thing was getting a bit easier. Maybe he had just overhyped it in his head. Fascinating... He should probably still get a book about it, though. Maybe this newfound confidence wouldn't last into his next social interaction.

But wait... Was he talking too much now? Oy vey.

Rooney shrugged, gave the seesaw seat a little push down with his foot and then smiled. "I like trying to balance my weight out with stones." Not that he had ever done it, but it was always fun to try, right? He normally got bored because it was taking hours or accidentally knocked the stones off when trying to get back onto the seat. He looked between Natalia and the seesaw, smile growing with each turn of his head. "Yeah?" He hadn't even needed to ask her if she'd sit on there so he could balance it out!

"I bet a cushioning charm would make it easier to sit on." For her. He didn't care.

Watching him push the seesaw she thought maybe he wouldn't want to do it with her. Maybe he felt she wouldn't be fun. Which was fine if he didn't, it wasn't like she knew really what to do once on it. She tried to think about how the other kids did it at the park when she was younger. They just seemed to go up and down on it. Probably wouldn't be to hard to figure out really. "With stones? How many does it take to balance?" He couldn't weight to much. He seemed the thin type unless his clothes were charmed or something. Now she wanted to do that with her own weight. How many stones would it take for her?

Mind curiously wondering she grinned when he said he wanted to do the seesaw with her. Eyes brightening up on the chance to do something she hadn't before as a kid. Even at seventeen she couldn't help to let her childhood wants come out once in awhile. The life of a deprived kid was hard to hide. "So I just sit on this side and you sit on that side and we move up and down, right?" She had to sound stupid, but inexperience was inexperience.

A cushion charm? Now that sounded like a great idea, but Nat didn't want to come off being snobbish or anything. "I think I'll be alright, but if it gets uncomfortable I might use that." It was a brilliant idea.

Etta couldn't help but laugh out really loud at Olivia's reaction! "Yes! I didn't stay there for very long since my dad got transferred soon after but... yeah. There aren't many Kiwi's around here, are they?" Etta hadn't met anyone yet, anyway. But she still felt sad about moving away from New Zealand. She had such fond memories of her time spent there. She grinned teasingly before speaking again. "Exactly. I can't believe we were practically neighbours at one point." Such a great coincidence right? Right. France? Wow. Etta looked quite impressed by the time Olivia had finished speaking. "That's so amazing though.. You must have gotten to travel around quite a bit, yes?" Because Europe really was fantastic. Her parents had taken her there a few times and Etta loved it there. Especially the food. It was always about the food with her, ahem. "Of course! It was great. Very quiet and peaceful.. and I had gotten to make quite a few friends too before we moved to Ireland. Did you never visit NZ before?"

.... Etta was glad they'd moved on from the subject of her cousins. Phew. She didn't really like talking about them much, so she was glad Olivia understood. She suddenly wondered if Olivia had a nickname? Most people had one, didn't they? Or maybe she liked being called Olivia? She mentally shrugged, thinking
that was a question for later. "What's your mum like?" Etta asked, settling down more comfortably on the sand. She really had the best mum though. Her mum was less like her mum and more like her best friend, really. Etta was lucky that way.

The Hufflepuff nodded in respose to Olivia's question. "Of course! It is definitely intimidating.. I've never really interacted with so many people before. It's weird but so awesome at the same time. I'm happy to be here, I have a feeling that it's going to be a great experience." She could already tell. Wasn't she already having fun? She missed home but she was really starting to like it here. Ok so, Etta had a couple of questions to Olivia's response. "What's the age difference between you two?" Her brother was seven years older than her but he never let her feel that age gap between them. He was awesome. ".. did you want to be a Slytherin?"

Etta listened to Jacob talk for a bit, a little glad that he didn't look quite-so-awkward anymore. Waiiiit. "Do you miss America?" Etta asked, giving the boy a smile. "I mean, it must be quite a change for you right?" That really must be difficult. She wanted to ask a couple more questions but decided against it for now.

"Moving around was... great? My parents like to travel so I always got to see new places but moving to such a big school, away from my family, was a little hard at first but it's getting better now. Don't be scared though.. You'll be alright here. You'll get used to it." Etta spoke, giving him a comforting smile.

Rooney laughed, nudging the pile of stones on the floor with his foot. "I haven't managed it yet. I've been close, but never in line." It had been so much easier when he was 11, but now that he was 16 and there were more to his legs than had been to his entire body at 11...it was ridiculously impossible to achieve it without help. Until now, anyway. "We can try it with you, if you want? I bet it would be easier for me to load the stones with you just sitting there. Instead of me hopping up and down and running back and forth." That was...if she was interested in him using her for an experiment.

He crouched to pick up a stone, rolling it between his palms and smiling up at the Head Girl. "I'm not saying that there isn't anything to you, but you're clearly lighter than I am."

With Astrea busy with her crush troubles and Adra dealing with whatever it was he didn't want to tell her about, Junia was left to her own devices. No one had warned her that being a teenager meant facing crisis after crisis and Merlin, she wasn't even dealing with her own ones yet. This term was going to be an eventful one, she could just feel it.

There was one person who seemed to be drama-free at the moment and at the risk of him getting sick of her hanging around all the time, the third year had almost refrained from inviting him to meet her. It took all of TWO seconds to remember that she was fabulous and any invitation from her was one to be excited about. Sam would show up any time now, he would. In the meantime, Junia found herself a free swing and let herself get lost in the feeling of flying through the air.

Ah. Parents moving around. That was a similar reason to why her father moved. The company was closing their site in Australia and they had sent him over to work in London. It conveniently lined up the summer after Simon went to Hogwarts. There weren’t many Kiwi’s around here. Yes! That was very true. Olivia was certain that Etta was the first Kiwi that she had met at Hogwarts. To Etta’s question about traveling, Olivia nodded. She had travelled a little. “I haven’t done much traveling but I have been to Spain, Belgium, Luxembourg and Italy.” They were all very different countries and she enjoyed them. She had loved Spain the best though. The food was to die for. “Ireland? I’ve never been there. What’s it like?” she had always been curious about the island and the Celtic peoples. Something about it all was just utterly fascinating. To Etta’s next question, Olivia shook her head. Sadly, she had never been to New Zealand. “I haven’t. Mum and Dad went to New Zealand a year before I was born and took both of my older brothers with them.” She sighed. She’d have to go one day.

What was her mum like? Olivia paused at this question. Well… “I don’t really remember who she was. I had been a toddler when she’d gotten into an accident and lost her memories.” She glanced down at her hands for a moment. She didn’t really know much about her mother save for the part that they looked alike and that she was her mother. Though Olivia had never felt any strong affinity towards her as her mother didn’t even know who Olivia was. The accident had made her mother forget that Olivia was even born. She was simply a child who accompanied her boys to go and visit her. “She was nice. She passed away a year ago.” Olivia still didn’t know how to feel about it. Part of her was angry at her mother. The other part was mad at herself for not trying and for giving up and moving to live with her grandparents on the other side of the world. “Sorry if I made the conversation sad… What’s your mum like?”

Olivia grinned at Etta’s response to her about the school being intimidating. She could definitely see that. Sometimes she, herself, felt intimidated around this school. It wasn’t so much to do with ho w many people there were. The fact that intimidated her most was that so many amazing people had come out of this school and had done terrific things. She was terrified of not being able to live up to them. But Etta moved the conversation along with another question. Simon and her..? He was twenty one now, right? Yeah, she thought so. “Simon’s twenty one,. So six years between us. We have an older brother too, Marcus. He’s twenty four and a muggle. He wasn’t very nice to us when were kids since we had these strange abilities. Mother’s condition didn’t help the situation.” She smiled weakly at her next question. She hadn’t known what house she wanted to be in. “Maybe? I don’t know. I think being in Slytherin would have been fun but I think Gryffindor’s a better fit. I think some Slytherins would think I’m a little too crazy for them.” She chuckled. Well maybe that Oliver or Brent but there were probably a few. Some of Simon’s friends may have thought that she was crazy.

Jacob was sorted into Thunderbird? The home of adventures? Interesting. Olivia hadn’t expected that considering that he had seemed so timid before. But then again, they were all at a new school and new schools were intimidating. You had to reestablish your identity, find a new group of people, and accomplish schoolwork on time. It wasn’t an easy feat. “That’s cool!” she said with a grin. Upon hearing that he thought he should have been in Gryffindor, she nodded softly. She had a hypothesis about this. She didn’t know if it was right or not but she’d share it anyway. “I think the Sorting Hat has plans for each of us. I feel as if we all could have been in different houses but it finds a house that we will grow in. I thought my older brother would have been a Ravenclaw but he was a Slytherin instead. It’s funny how the Sorting Hat works.”

“Etta’s right! You’ll be fiiiiiine!” she grinned, nodding several times to all the fantastic points Etta had made. This Hufflepuff had some great advice. Yes, yes! She agreed with every point. Don’t be scared. She almost added an ‘embrace the change’ but held her tongue. That may have been a bit much.

Olivia chuckled at his comment about how everyone spelt things with extra letters. “We speak the Queen’s Proper English,” she added, trying to make her accent sound of so very posh, dah-ling. A teasing smirk played on her lips and she grinned mischievously at him. “Perhaps that’s because you guys are too lazy!” she joked. She glanced at Etta and then at Jacob, leaning slightly in. “Though truth be told, the fish and chips in this country is not as good as the ones back home but I may just be biased.” The Brits cricket was meh compared to the Aussies. “Though if you ever need help with spelling or anything remotely British, I volunteer to help as being sort of similar to a Brit though don’t tell some that because they may think that all Australians are convicts.”

He had never gotten close, "I could always do the stones for you. I mean while you sit on it. If it's to hard for you to do it yourself." She wouldn't mind doing it really and she wasn't really doing anything else. Try with her? She looked at the seesaw and then back to Roo. "I bet it would take a lot of rocks for me. I might look light, but I'm tall." So not as light as people might think. She touched the seesaw a bit before looking at the rocks again.


Taking a seat on the one side she smiled. "You know this is the first time I've actually sat on one of these things. " She figured that was lame to admit that, but it was the truth. "Are you sure I'm lighter than you? I mean it's a sweet for you to say, but are you sure?" Her eyes floated to the stones again. "It's up to you, you want to try with us or the stones. I don't care either way."

Of course Dora could typically be found outside when the weather was decent. September in Scotland did call for her Welly's and a light coat. Luckily though, it was not raining at the moment, so the blonde found herself wandering to the playground.

Was it childish for a fifth year to want to play outside? If it was, then this Gryffindor did not want to grow up! And to make matters even better... SAM WAS THERE!

Making a beeline for her friend she made her way up to her, dropped a quick kiss on her head and immediately plopped down into the swing next to her and began to kick her feet ever so slightly. "What's the matter? You look rather glum, chum." If she needed hugs, Dora was there for the job. Legit.

"And I have been looking for you. I want to talk to you about somethings, but you first. Spill it all."

The corners of Sam's mouth feebly tugged upwards towards a smile as Dora approached, though dropped once more as she mentioned being glum. She nodded softly, and pulled the now crumpled envelope from her pocket, and handed it so her bestie.

"'e wrote back," she said, casting her eyes once more over the careful neat handwriting that addressed it. "Came at breakfast. Big elegant owl it was. 'n' look at the 'andwriting and postmark too." Her accent harshened subconsciously as thought of all the contrasts between them. "It's gonna say the social worker 'n' me Pa are, wrong, I know it."

Jacob was finally starting to relax into this conversation. Both of these girls were nice and not scary after all. Phew. Except he could already tell his brain was going to replay his awkward creep-walk over here a few times before he fell asleep tonight, though. He could almost feel his cheeks redden at the thought... But he hoped that they weren't really doing that. Blushing was 1) embarrassing, 2) not very manly, and 3) uncontrollable, which was not fair since it happened to him all the time, and he couldn't do anything to stop it.

"I miss some things about America," Jacob answered Etta's question. "Mostly food things. Like ranch dressing... It's hard to come by around here. And it's delicious." Why the UK wanted to deprive itself of the world's best condiment, he would never know. "And I do miss my friends back home. It's also a little weird not to see a bunch of Pukwudgies wandering around the school. Not that they were very friendly... Bunch of complainers, really. Maybe I don't miss them so much, actually." He smiled.

"Thanks," he smiled again at Etta and Olivia's encouragement that he would be fine. "It helps a bit that I was around for the end of last year. And over the summer," he added, shrugging, "but I didn't really see anyone then, so it doesn't really count, I guess. At any rate, I didn't make any friends last year. Coming in with only a month left isn't easy." He grinned, hoping they'd realize he wasn't having a pity party, just making an observation. He didn't feel all that bad about it, actually.

"Interesting," he said, tapping his chin with his finger as Olivia explained her Sorting Hat theory. [b]"I can see what you mean. The Sorting Hat is kind of unpredictable, it seems. It does things that are very unexpected sometimes. You get to choose at Ilvermorny," he added. "Or at least you do if more than one house wants you." Just one more reason Ilvermorny was the greatest school. Although he did remember reading about a few cases of the Sorting Hat allowing students to sway its decision... Still, Ilvermorny was better.

"Oh, so sorry, the Queen's Proper English!" Jacob mimicked Olivia's fancy accent jokingly. "I'm just going to continue to refuse to spell things the silly... I mean, British way. Eventually these countries will come to their senses and realize that extra letters just mean extra work, right?" He grinned again, and he was surprised to find himself feeling comfortable enough with the two girls to joke around. This was an interesting development. Maybe he didn't need a library book after all.

"Wait," he said, a sudden thought occurring to him. He looked at Etta quizzically. "Is Etta short for something? It seems like that's usually a nickname, if I'm remembering right. And," he added, shifting his gaze to the Gryffindor, "Most people I've met named Olivia usually go by something shorter. Do you, too?" A random question, maybe, but he couldn't help it when curiosity struck him.

Dora took the envelope and frowned. So this was what was bothering her friend so much? Dora opened the letter and looked back at Sam. "I am sure that is not what it is going to say, Sam. We're from different places, we are. Hasn't changed a thing about our relationship." Where one was from didn't definite a person. Or so Dora had always thought. And really, her opinion was all that mattered, yeah? Heh.

"Don't be so negative, Sam." She said before she pulled the letter out and carefully smoothed it out. Her eyes scanned the letter, slowly taking in each and every word of it. A smile tugged at her lips as she continued down the first page and turned it over to read the reverse.

"Sam. This is... awesome. You have to read it," she said excitedly while extending the letter back to her best friend. She couldn't tell her what it said, but she was certain that her friend would be beside herself to know that Robin was indeed her brother and he wanted to see her next time there was a Hogsmeade weekend. They, obviously, had a LOT to talk about.

"I know, it's never been a problem for us, but this is diff'rent..." She was now full of questions about how she'd ended up growing up how she had, and only her real family could answer them. She just didn't see how she could be related to someone like him; someone from the fancy-schmancy part of town who used owls that Sam could only see as a waste of galleons.

She chewed her lip nervously and she watched the Gryffindor closely for any sign of what the letter might say. Her stomach knotted even with the apparent curl of a smile on Dora's lips.

"It is?" She still looked doubtful as she took back the letter, and glanced at the beautiful handwriting that covered it. She touched the dried ink carefully, and took a deep breath.

Dearest Sam, it started. She swallowed slowly, and rubbed her lips together to moisten them. I'm truly sorry for not contacting you before, you must believe I didn't know about you, or I would have owled sooner. Now, though, I can confirm a few things... She let out a gasp, and caught an unsuspecting tear from rolling down her cheek as she turned to the next page.

"He wants to meet me, Dora." She looked up at her friend wide-eyed, her hands shaking as she put the letter down in her lap. She couldn't quite believe it, and was glad that that her bestie had found her out here. "I have an older bruvver named Robin and he wants to meet me."

"How is it different? We live in a large house in the Lake District. We have property in other countries, we visit foreign places every year. Sounds like he and I aren't that different. And you... you live in this world now. Don't put yourself down." Sam was different than she used to be. She had changed a lot.

Dora kicked her feet to swing a bit, but she never took her eyes off of Sam as she did so. She knew what the letter said, she was jut waiting for Sam to react. And when she did, Dora smiled softly. "I know it. I saw. Are you excited?" she asked as she pushed herself higher in the air.

His fingers wrapped tightly around Charlotte's hand, Dalton let their arms swing gently as they wandered through the grounds together. It was an aimless wander, with the seventh year just happy that he got to spend time with his girlfriend nearly whenever he wanted to. Aside from lessons and the fact that they were in different houses and she had tons of friends, it was nice living in the same castle. Even though he had seen her over summer, it was different... and he didn't want to think about not being able to see her at all next year.

... But wasn't he getting ahead of himself? "Wanna go?" Dalton asked, indicating the swings with his head as they neared the Playground.

Drama-free was right.

Sam repelled drama. He was born with it, he believed. Or maybe it had to do with the fact that he did not tolerate fools. Fools got on your nerves. And he was not some silly teenager! Alas, he was a smart one. Mhm.

He had taken a little more care with his appearance just before coming out here this afternoon. He quite liked this jacket, and he was a little more picky about how his hair stood. This was becoming more common for the fourth year, no doubt a sign of being in his teens now, but also, at least in this case, there was another reason to try to look attractive.

Junia was swinging back and forth, her hair being swept along with the rush of air while Sam approached. With his hands snug in his pockets, he finally came to a stop at the edge of the swingset. "Having fun?"

"Lots of." Her smile was immediate as she looked the Gryffindor over. He looked nice in a way that was effortlessly cool. She couldn't help but wonder if he tried at all, or if boys were just lucky in that they could throw on anything and still make a girl's stomach do flips. If that was the case, she was lodging a complaint...to someone. Yeah.

"Come swing with me. We can see who can jump farthest, okay?" Surely he was up for a little friendly competition. "Winner gets, well, I haven't decided yet." But she would.

Heh. She looked like it. Sam gave a crooked smile.

When she requested that he come swing with her, he didn't hesitate to start walking around her area of swinging so that he could claim the seat next to her. Sam dropped his weight onto the swing seat and loosely held the chains. "So, you get to decide the prize after the competition?" This seemed to amuse him.

He pushed his feet against the dirt beneath him and began moving his legs to and fro to gain height. Oh yes, he was certainly up for a bit of friendly competition.

"I like deciding. I'm really good at it." It was one of her many talents, didn't he know? The third year smiled as she pumped her legs harder, gaining height. This was almost as good as flying.

"You know, I guess the winner could decide. I am feeling pretty confident about this." Also she trusted Sam enough that she knew he wouldn't make her do anything too horrible on the off chance that she did lose.

...He wouldn't make her do anything awful, would he?

"Are you now?" Sam asked, now about level with her height. They were at that specific point where they both met briefly at the bottom as they passed, swinging in the opposite direction.

The winner was deciding, she'd decided. Okay, so she did make a decision in that sense. "I'm up for that," Sam agreed. "I like having the freedom to choose my winnings," or her consequence, "when I win." He gave a mixture between a smile and a smirk and glanced over at her blurred face while they passed.

"Ladies first."

Junia rolled her eyes in a very dramatic fashion, though she couldn't quite stop herself from smiling. It seemed this would be a fight to the finish which made it all the more exciting.

"What a gentleman," She called out as she passed him again, nearing her desired height and speed. She needed to wait for the perfect moment to let go of the swing or she'd be falling on her face. Not something she wanted, obviously.

Just..
Another...
Moment....

She loosened her grip and then let go completely, her body flying through the air as she let out a girlish scream-one of glee. Her brown hair fanned out behind her as her feet neared the ground and she landed in a crouched position, all smiles. She was pleased, could he tell?

After standing up straight and carefully marking her landing spot in the ground with her heel, the brunette moved out of the way.

"You're up, Sam!"

Dora made good points, of course she did. Sam felt so settled living with the Umbridge's, normal even. But it still didn't shift that awkward feeling of being misplaced sitting in the Ravenclaw's stomach. "It's not just now though, is it? It's how I got 'ere, and what 'e finks of that." She'd been cautious about what she'd revealed in her own letter, and in hindsight, she wasn't sure if that was better or worse.

She folded the letter up and put it back in the envelope, taking time to carefully smooth over the crumpled edges. It seemed far more precious now she'd read what was inside. "I guess so, yeah. I wonder if we look anyfink alike? Who d'ya reckon will be tallest?"

And with that, she started to push off the ground, letting herself swing gently. Not as high as Dora just yet, but her glumness had been lifted. "So what did yeh want to talk to me about?"

Spain! Yes. Etta had been there before and she'd loved it. She was actually quite lucky to have seen so many new places, thanks to her family. It was so exciting! They had so much fun together.. Plus, most importantly, she got to try new kinds of food. Ahem. Best times! "What do you like about traveling?" Etta asked her new friend curiously before grinning at Olivia's question. Hmm. What was Ireland liiike? She paused for a moment before replying, "Well, it's beautiful. Very scenic and peaceful, the people are really lovely.. I think you'll really like it." Anyone would, actually. And her eyes widened when Olivia said she'd never been to New Zealand before, especially when she had been living in Australia for a while. GOSH! "Well, I honestly hope you get to visit at some point. If you get the opportunity, don't miss it. If not, we can definitely go together one day."

Oh. Etta just looked at the other girl for a long moment, feeling so very sad for her. It was horrible.. What would be the right thing to say? She had no idea. "I... am so sorry to hear that. Couldn't she ever.. recover?" And then suddenly felt even worse for asking that question. Olivia would only feel even more sad to talk about it, right? "Sorry.. we don't have to..." She mumbled, giving the other girl a comforting smile. ... WAIT WHAT? Why was SHE apologising? Etta simply shook her head, nudging Olivia lightly in the arm. "You don't have to be sorry at all, okay?" What was HER mum like? Hmm. "She is wonderful." Etta said, with a smile. "Very caring and protective.. I love her. She's my best friend." NOD. "You'll like her, I think."

Wait. She had a brother who wasn't nice to her? Who was a muggle? Ooooh. Etta glanced at Olivia as she spoke. That was just silly, though. Shouldn't he be more supportive? "So.. he doesn't talk to you at all?" She asked, wondering how could someone be so mean. Especially when it was your own brother. "What about Simon? What's he like?" So many questions.. Etta couldn't help it, though. She was just so naturally curious about everything but unfortunately, that made her seem rather abrupt or rude sometimes. "Yeah. My parents thought I would be in Hufflepuff.. and I am. I guess I didn't have any preference in the first place? I'm just happy being where I am."

Etta looked slightly amused as Olivia spoke, occasionally looking at the BOY. You know, Jacob. He actually seemed rather nice and friendly. Unlike her boy!cousins who took every chance they could to poke fun at her. She raised an eyebrow at the other girl when she mentioned the fish and chips. "Is that so?" She mused. "I haven't tried it here yet." Hmm. How weird. "I do love puddings, though." Mhmmm. They were too good.

BLINK. Ranch dressing? Etta wasn't sure what that was but she didn't ask. She didn't want to appear stupid for not knowing, okay? Oh, yes. The friends part, she could understand. You really do tend to miss your friends when you move. She still missed her NZ friends even though it had been a while since she had shifted to Ireland. "What do you like about Hogwarts?" .. oh. Etta smiled a little when he mentioned not having friends. Well. "We are your friends.. I mean, if you want. Right, Ols?"

... was Etta short for something? OHGOODNESSNO. She blushed slightly, feeling so embarrassed. She wasn't a fan of her name, okay? It was too old-fashioned.. what were her parents thinking?! She nodded, awkwardly chewing her lip for a moment. "It's short for Henrietta." Surely, they will tease her about it. Ugh. Silly name.

Every now and then in their walking, Char broke into a skip or four until she remembered she wasn't walking alone and managed to rein it in. She was good at one thing in particular generally speaking: focusing on the moment. And it was even more easy to do when she was with Dalton. She could just.... not think about every other possible little thing that might niggle, and enjoy herself.

She looked up at him when he spoke, then over towards where he gestured and immediately brightened even more than her current state.

"Oh! Good idea! Yeah!" Tug tug. She tugged his hand, not wanting to let go though she was about ready to zoom over there. How COOL was it that they had a PLAYGROUND? "Lets try and swing over the bar!!"

Dora listened to Sam's fears and merely shook her head. She didn't agree with her... "Family isn't supposed to judge, Sam. And if he does, then tell him to shove off. Simple as that." Aware that it was probably a very Gryffindor philosophy, she did try to think of something better to say... "But if you know about him, I bet he knows things about you too. Or is at least trying to find things out." SO she probably needn't worry, right?

"I bet you do look alike, yeah. And he is probably tallest. You're short," she said with a laugh. Dora had grown a fair bit since they had met. She now stood at 5'6" tall and still had some room to grow. But this was all unimportant... she had told Sam she was going to share some things with her, but at the moment it all seemed unimportant.

"Nothing. It was nothing. So how has your start of term been?"