Usually, she would be annoyed by the presence of another person, but in this case the girl was speaking so quickly that Rhea didn't even have the time to process her annoyance before interested was peaked. "I wouldn't say it's brilliant," she said, turning back towards the tree and the girl. "You make an interesting point, though," which was a compliment and not something she said lightly. So this girl better appreciate it. "I think it might be a combination of motion-sensing and sentient." If that was possible. "Only becoming aware of us when we come within a certain distance of it." Though that begged the question, if it was sentient, then why was it so ...... violet? Was it protecting something?

"I'm Rhea, by the way," she said tiredly. Why was socialising so draining?

Jessa tilted her head, giving the tree a once over. Both sentient and motion sensing? To be fair, most sentient things could detect when things were moving toward them or in their general vicinity. Making one more a result of the other than the tree possessing dual attributes. For several seconds she remained silent, breaking that silence only to utter, "Jessa." as they seemed to be exchanging names.

"How curious." There were a lot of curious things surrounding this tree. "Kinda makes me wonder how the original creators ever built an entire shack below the tree. I reckon they'd have had to be extra careful...stunned it maybe."

Unless it was immune to that sort of thing because of the type of wood it was made from. Yet another thing she would need to find out. Did Myers have all these answers? Merlin she should have been writing this stuff down!

"Must have been exciting, I suppose."

She smiled at Professor Stewart's advice to manage her time and reached into her bag to pull out her planner. Opening it up to this week, she showed her the intense study schedule dispersed with breaks and free time too. "I've made a planner. My brother suggested that I do that but I'm nervous about keeping to the schedule. How did you manage it all?" she asked. Her brother could study for hours. Merlin. He should have been a Ravenclaw without that work ethic. Olivia had difficulty focusing with subjects, especially when she didn't see a direct purpose or link to her own future.

"It's been wonderful, Professor. I've been catching up with my friends, especially Etta and Ace." Slight blush after Ace. "And it's been a lot of research into wandless magic. I'm really enjoying learning about it. What about you? How has your term been so far?"

Okay. "Jessa," she muttered back to herself, QUIETLY. One of the first decent people Rhea had met since joining Hogwarts ..... not that she'd given people much chance. But she would remember Jessa's name. She was starting to reconsider allowing other people the opportunity to make an impression her, actually. But yes, the Willow. It was curious that the...... "What???" SHACK? Below it? "There's a shack below it?" Her parents had failed to mention that to her. Woah. That made the tree seem way cooler to her than before.

Rhea ignored the whirring thoughts about the mysterious shack.

"Could the tree have been planted after the shack was place there? Or .... or ... there's that immobilising spell, right?" She didn't sound too confident about that and that was because she wasn't. Magic was not her thing, for reasons that she didn't like to discuss. "Sounds dangerous, not exciting," to be honest.

"Oh. You didn't know? Her tone was anything but condescending. Rather, the Ravenclaw was now all the more curious about this girl that didn't know of the shack that lay under the vicious tree. A year ago, she hadn't known about it either but James had let her in on the secret. It left her wondering if this was anything like the kitchen and the hot springs. A secret until it wasn't. Those were among the most interesting secrets if you asked her.

"There's a knot somewhere at the base of the tree. If you hit it, the tree goes still and you can find the shack. I haven't been able to find the knot with this thing swinging at me as it has a mind to, but I know of people who have."

Huh. "That actually makes a whole lot of sense." A tree like this, it really would have been more practical to add it after you'd built whatever needed protecting. "I suppose that might have been the way it went, though the shack would be left unprotected til it grew big enough to be a threat." So there was always that downside too.

"I just meant it'd have been exciting seeing the tree grow into it's own--especially if it really were sentient. Learning the temperament. That sort of thing."

Allot extra time to study for harder subjects? That certainly made sense. Ancient Runes and Divination? Woah that made sense. Olivia enjoyed both those subjects but they weren't her favourite. Her favourite subject either had to be Charms or Defense Against the Dark Arts at the moment. To be fair, she enjoyed all of them for sure except for maybe flying. She didn't enjoy flying because she was terrified of heights. "That's a good strategy. I'll have to do that. I know I'll need more time with Ancient Runes." Ancient Runes was tough. She was envious of her brother for just understanding it straight away. It just all clicked for him.

Olivia was quite red? The statement made Olivia blush even more. "What? Red?" she said, glancing down briefly. "It is quite warm today." She laughed, knowing that Professor Stewart had CLEARLY seen her blush. Whoops. She was becoming more readable (or perhaps she was always too, too reliable). Her eyebrows raised. She had never even HEARD of that school. "Uh no, I've never heard of that school. Where's that school located and how do I take the trip? Would I do that over summer?" she asked as her eyes dazzled with excitement. That sounded incredible. She nearly raised her eyebrows again when Professor Stewart spoke of writing a handwritten letter. Wow. That was incredible that she still wrote letters by hand. Olivia hadn't written a letter like that in ages. She had always used her email to send notes and messages. There was something romantic about a handwritten letter though. Romantic and rustic and lovely. "That sounds lovely. I'm sure he'll love that." She often forgot that the Professors also had parents, siblings, and significant others because she only saw them as Professors so it was nice to hear Professor Stewart speak about her family.

Cameron was taking a walk on the grounds, having no particular interest in the Whomping Willow, per se. He'd already had a look at it last term and it hadn't really impressed him then either. It looked dangerous to say the least so he had EVERY intention of keeping his distance. He was no Gryffindor. So generally he was the opposite of reckless.

He would have simply ignored the tree and the students close to it - really, what WAS the appeal there? - when he spotted someone who looked vaguely familiar. Sitting in the grass near the willow but fortunately not TOO close. Still, who knew what she was going to do.

Feeling particularly chivalrous today Cameron walked over to her until he came to stand next to her. "You probably shouldn't go any closer." Just FYI. Because in case she didn't know, this tree was vindictive.

Zarina was busy with her camera and didn't even notice there was someone there telling her what to do. Wow that kid had some nerve. She rolled her eyes, "Yeah yeah I know the tree is vicious, I'd figured I would get some nice art..." As Zae turned around, her expression changed completely. Woaahh that guy was cute. She smiled kind of wide and was impressed. Was she blushing? She hoped not. Wait a minute Zae you're staring too long! Look at your camera bloody merlin. "I mean some artists like to take risks am I right?" Of course she was. Zae couldn't help but sneak glances at him while trying to admire the tree.

Art was one thing but risking your LIFE for it?

Eh, that was just stupid in Cameron's opinion.

But then again she HAD taken precautions apparently by sitting not too close. So as long as she didn't move any closer she was probably fine. Okay, why was she staring at him like that though? Did he have something on his face? Holding her gaze he tilted his head a little, giving her a curious look. Weird. Although he wasn't TOO bothered.

"Why though?" Why would she take the risk?

Zae heard the dude ask a stupid question. Why was she risking her life. She snorted and replied, "Ermm because all the best artists take risks?" Like duhhh. She got a really good shot of the shadow that got the depth of the branches. She almost got hit by the branch. She dodged just in the knick of the time. She felt flat on her butt and was looking at her fellow slytherin and shrugged. "Don't say anything..." she pointed her finger at him. She knew he might make a snide remark and she wasn't in the mood.

Once she brushed herself off, she looked at him yet again and asked, "What is your name again? Cameron is it?" She had to double check. She met so many new people this term it was hard to keep track.

Okay, but that didn't really answer his question.

WHY did they risk their lives? That made no-

O___________________o

Even though he wasn't even close enough to be in danger of getting hit, Cameron jumped back a little when the branch came down. "Are you okay?!" Also I told you so but he wasn't going to say that out loud. Not ever and definitely not before he'd made sure that she was in fact alright. BUT SHE SAW WHAT THE TREE HAD ALMOST DONE RIGHT?????

Was that really worth it?!

His name? "Yes. And you're....?" He tried to remember. He really did."Zzzzz-" Something with a Z. No offense, he was quite bad with names in general. Hey, he'd been friends with Junia for a YEAR thinking her name was Julia. So really, nothing personal.

Olivia nodded at Professor Stewart's suggestion to ask for help if she needed it. She certainly would. Olivia's problem with Ancient Runes was that it took her a while to get is-- more so than her peers-- and that would frustrate her to no end. Though if she was in the right mindset it would all click. She couldn't let herself get frustrated. "I will. I'll need all the help that I can get on this subject for OWLs." She would be spending most of her free time on Ancient Runes when she wasn't trying to read up on wandless magic. Maybe she could ask Etta or Noelle if they could help her with it too? It'd probably be a wise idea to form a study group. Maybe even Solo would join?

She glanced down momentarily at her hands and laughed. Red for sure, huh? "Oh Merlin." She shook her head. This wasn't good if the Professors were starting to catch on. She was certain that the boy had absolutely no idea about it which was probably for the best. Confronting feelings was something that Olivia didn't really want to do. It could ruin a friendship. That would be horrible. She didn't want to lose him as a friend. Ah the dilemma of being young. At Professor Stewart's suggestion for finding out more information about this Wizarding School in Africa, Olivia nodded several times. That would be INCREDIBLE. She'd really appreciate it for sure. She grinned. "That would be incredible if you could find out more information, Professor Stewart. I'd really appreciate it." Olivia paused momentarily, allowing the description of the carved edifice floating sink into her mind. Woah. Absolutely stunning.

"Aw that's understandable," she nodded. Her own grandparents weren't fans of technology either. It had taken her forever to teach them how to use the new mobile phones. Her grandparents got so frustrated that they resorted back to using flip-phones from the early 2000s. "I tried to teach my grandparents how to use newer technology when I lived with them in France and they always got frustrated by why everything had to change. They especially didn't like how the power button was shifted from the top of the phone to the right side of the phone." She laughed, remembering that whole encounter. Oh Merlin...

Zarina was still sitting there in shock and felt her tailbone throbbing a bit after the harsh landing. "Yeahh I'll be fine....could use a little help getting up.." she held out her hand for her fellow slytherin to take. She could go to madame pomfrey for bruise medicine or something. Ah she got it right! Score one for her. "Schweet...I am Zzzzzzaaarinnaaaa...." she played along and smirked a little bit. "You were close enough. You got the first letter right. " There he got some points there. As she was examining herself, she noticed she got a gash from the tree branch on her arm. "Of course..." she muttered. She tried to hide from Cameron.

It felt nice that he cared. Boys she knew would shake it off and let it go.
Seemed Cameron had feelings which was a good trait. "Soo what do you think of the giant squid in the common room?" Woah way to make awkward small talk Zae.

Olivia's cheeks slowly became less red over the course of the conversation. Phew. She focused on the African school that Professor Stewart had mentioned. "I will try to look into it for this summer. Who knows maybe they have a program over the summer?" she said with a hopeful smile. That being said, she would have to find a summer job that would be flexible enough for her to take a week to two weeks off to hone her skills. Hmm... A problem for future Olivia surely.

Professor Stewart's question made Olivia pause. It had stumped her and it took her a while to figure out an answer. "I think.... I think that while we must progress with changes, we also must remember our culture and identity too. We have to progress in moderation; otherwise, we could lose our cultural identity and then technology would perhaps define us instead of history." Hopefully that made sense. She wasn't so sure anymore.

Okay, she seemed to be alright. Mostly.

Cameron stepped a little closer again and held out both hands for her to take so he could pull her up. Which was when he also DID in fact notice the small gash on her arm. "You're bleeding." In case SHE hadn't noticed. Did she want to go to the Healer? Or could they just bandage it up themselves? He could do that! Probably. He knew some first aid.

As for her name..."Zarina. Right." That. Yeah he would have never guessed that but at least he'd gotten the first letter right. That was something. Her next words caught him off guard though. Talk about random. "I'm used to him by now." But it had been a little strange at first, yes.

Professor Hirsch? Now that was an excellent idea. She had been speaking to Professor Marchand too but getting two opinions on wandless magic would probably help her. "I will look into asking Professor Hirsch for help. I have visited Professor Marchand too and he's been assisting me too." She was really grateful that her Head of House had given her so much of his time and chocolate to help out. Professor Hirsch would probably provide different insight on wandless magic or maybe they would be the same? Who knew! Asking would never hurt.

Olivia smiled, watching Professor Stewart construct her letter. It was nice to see how close her Professor was with her family. At times, she tended to forget that Professors and the Staff did have a life outside of Hogwarts. It was a nice reminder. Two points? Wow! "Thank you, Professor," she said with a small smile. "What do you think about technology and culture?" She was curious what her Professor's opinion on this was.

Olivia liked how Professor Stewart was always one to encourage her to continue and pursue her goals. In fact, she was lucky that most of the Professors here were like that. She was grateful that they took such an interest in their student’s success. It was a lot different from other schools that she had attended. To Professor Stewart’s question, she nodded. She had tried wandless magic. It had taken her a good while and a couple of tries but she didn’t give up because she barely was able to raise a piece of chocolate a couple of centimetres off of the ground. “I have tried it. I was successful once. Professor Marchand had me levitating pieces of chocolate. I was able to get one chocolate off the bottom of the bowl only a couple of centimetres. It took a lot but it's a start.” She grinned. It had been difficult and she had almost given up but she didn’t. “It’s going to be a lot of work. I have a list of non-verbal spells to practice.” Hopefully mastering those would help her in the long term with wandless.

“I see,” she said, interested that her and Professor Stewart’s thoughts were very similar. She smiled softly at Professor Stewart’s words about points. “I agree. I think it would be sad if we lived in a society where expressing opinions aren’t okay.” It would be a very dull place indeed.

"Yeah thanks for pointing that out sherlock.." she smirked because she knew she was giving the kid a hard time. Zae graciously took his two hands and stood up. She didn't realize the tree would actually hit back that hard. I mean she can clearly feel the warm blood dripping down her arm. "I'm sure it is probably nothing too serious just a scrape.." It would heal on its own. She didn't want to bother the healer too much but she did hear rumors he was pretty cute. Maybee just maybeee.

Back onto the cute guy slytherin in front of her. She blushed when he said her name out loud. "Yup and your Cameron. Do you like to be called Cam for short? I mean you can call me Zae for short if you want.." she shrugged. The slytherin saw she caught Cameron off guard with her question. Yes she was random so what? "Yeah I am still freaked out by him to be honest..." I mean squids like that creep her out. Not to mention that people eat them which was disgusting. "I am still getting used to the common room being underwater and all...what happens if the windows break..I mean would we drown in there..?" All these thoughts just blurt out of her mouth just now. Now Cameron must think she is insane.

Olivia could really feel how genuine Professor Stewart was when she complimented her on a wonderful job with wandless magic. She even encouraged her to continue her studies and dedication. She nodded in agreement. Olivia would pour every fiber of her being into accomplishing wandless magic. She would do it. And she had awesome encouragements from Professor Marchand and Professor Stewart. The professors here were awesome!

And then she was off. "It was nice to see you as well, Professor Stewart. I've enjoyed talking to you again," said she with a genuine smile. Professor Stewart was just so easy to talk too and she really appreciated the woman taking time out of her day to talk to her. "You as well!"