"I..." Felicity opened and closed her mouth for a moment, before realising that she looked like a fish and snapping it shut. Yes, Harriet did have a point, but that didn't mean that Liss was eager to try art stuff any time soon. She shrugged, and decided not to reply to that statement.

Which was fine, because Hattie was suggesting something else, now. "I'm not sure I'm as interesting a subject as the lake," she laughed, looking over the water.

So that was a definite no on the Quidditch front. For now at least, maybe after their flying classes he would change his mind... that was the outcome that Shera found herself sort of hoping for. Because Quidditch was great! "Well we definitely need to start with you learning how to fly before we make assumptions about you choosing to try out for your Quidditch team."

Would he notice if she incorporated Quidditch skill building exercises into his flying lessons? That was of course, if he continued needing flying lessons afterwards.

Although, if he got more comfortable with flying she was definitely taking him flying one time anyway.

"That's really cool, I'd love to see them! I really wanted to get a crup while we were in Diagon Alley but my mum said that she was only letting me get an animal I can take to Hogwarts. See the house elves could care for them, but she thinks it's better that they also have people around and they move between homes pretty frequently," she rambled, thinking about their living situation. She wondered whether or not she had told the boy in front of her about that, or whether he'd assume they'd move a lot. Which technically they did, but between houses that they owned. "I told you we have homes in France and America, right?"

"What kind of owl is she? We have a white one and she's also getting a bit old now too, but mum and dad love her so I think they'll get a new one soon and just let her do what she wants at home." It was a very cute owl. She definitely wanted to have one of her own one day. "Imps?"

Another thing that she'd heard of but never seen. His quiet 'they're cute', made her smile. "I think you'd have to show them to me too!"

The smile almost dropped off her face at the mention of the riddles. "They change," she confirmed, shrugging her shoulders lightly. "If you get it right it compliments you and lets you in, you get it wrong and it just goes quiet and you have to wait for someone to get it right. Or figure it out."

"We'll have to go looking! Although, I thing some of them will be less than helpful..." she was pretty sure Elizabeth hated her at this point.

Tenacius has been having a really weird past few weeks....

First were his pajamas where apparently, after some mess up with the laundry, came back all stripey. Black and white stripey even. He looked like a prison inmate!

Some time later he walked into a Firsties pillow fight who suddenly thought it would be a fabulous idea to gang up on the lone Head Boy, to which he walked away with so much feathers all over him he feels he was still coughing them out of his lungs.

Another time he was rushing to his next class when an errant spell bounced off from somewhere, his robes turned into a wide, furry wet suit with with a big flat tail dragging behind him, his shoes turned into flippers. Suffice it to say he had quite some explaining to do with the Professor, other than the fact that he was really late.

Just now he accidentally sat on one of those prank handshake shockers and got himself electrocuted.

So here he is now, outside, where he hopes he can break the streak of these bizarre series of unfortunate events. Because all of those happened indoors and now he's outdoors right? He saw Scarlett sat by his favorite spot by the lake and plopped down not too far from her. "Hi!" he waved casually as he sighed and looked out onto the calmness of the lake.

Learn how to fly first... right. "You think I wouldn't get away with faking acrophobia?" he asked meekly, wondering just how good of an actor he could actually be. It was no secret that he was a scaredy cat lion, so adding one more fear to the list wouldn't make it that far-fetched, would it?

He nodded along to what Shera was telling him about crups needing constant attention, because he couldn't agree more, but he was also considering all her options for low maintenance pets that she could move in between homes. "You did," he said, referring to her telling him about her homes in both France and America. "Then owls are your best bet! Or a rodent?" Or a salamander. He wanted a salamander so bad, but he supposed keeping it in a fire most of the time could be a hassle.

"Same for my Felix," he said with a smile, thinking about his own old family owl that was so dear to him, since they'd pretty much grown up together. "Felicis is a tawny owl, you can meet her anytime!" He didn't have anything in mind when he'd stepped inside Eeylops Owl Emporium, but seeing her was love at first sight, and the owl turned out to be an absolute sweetheart.

Oh! The imps... "They're-similar to pixies? Except they don't fly." Thank Merlin for that. "But they love to cause trouble and mess around... and drive my mother insane." Though there was no way he was letting her chase them away.

Daehyun's jaw dropped when she'd told him the riddles changed. He couldn't imagine having to go through that each time he wanted to return to the common room. "I would've probably found another place to sleep if I were you," he joked-or was he joking? "Like the owlery..." The hoots of the owls were some of the most comforting things in the world for him, so he'd have no problem camping there.

His eyebrows went up until they hid behind the hair that fell over his forehead and nearly poked into his eyes when Shera mentioned some portraits that wouldn't be too nice. "Had any unpleasant encounters?"

Shera tilted her head to the side as she evaluated Daehyun, before shaking her head slowly. "I think flying is just a useful wizarding skill. Besides, I told you if you have trouble I'll still help you with it! Once you learn how to do it you'll love it, I promise!"

There was no way he wouldn't like it in her opinion, so that wasn't a promise she couldn't keep as far as she was aware.

"I guess that's why my parents keep owls... they also let me get a kitty for Hogwarts," she almost cooed at the thought of the kitten that was still waiting for her in her dorm. It was too cute. She followed up with another question directed at him, "Did you get any other pets for Hogwarts?"

Tawny owl. It took Shera a few moments to associate that with what she knew the bird to look like, but she smiled and nodded the moment that she did. "I'd like that! I might have met her already... I like going up to the owlery to give the owls treats and cuddle them if they like."

Shera couldn't help but giggle at the thought of little pixies that couldn't fly annoying his mother. "I bet they would. My mother would probably get rid of any before I knew they were there... or maybe she'd get the house elves to do it so she wouldn't have to." Thinking of which, would the house elves even tell her mother about it? They'd probably just get rid of anything that would potentially annoy them before anyone in her family knew they had been there.

She grinned sheepishly at Daehyun's comment about finding another place to sleep. "Weeelllll... I did fall asleep in front of the portrait while I was waiting." She was sure that the boy across from her was going to make fun of her for it, but then again she burned a lot of energy by being this energetic! It required a lot of food and a lot of sleep! After all... he had found her sleeping on the train as well...

"I think Elizabeth hates me," she commented, a frown crossing her face for a moment as she thought about it. For her to think a portrait hated her was a big step, considering she usually struggled to recognise any negative atmospheres. Shera shrugged lightly at the thought after a moment, it wasn't worth being upset over. "We disagreed on the importance of blood purity... she was fine until that."

Bartholomew could always expect his greeting to be returned by students. The Squid lowered his tentacles back into the water and seemed to smile with his eyes. "Hello, youngsters. That's a good thing to hear. So am I. The water's great today I would say. A perfect day for a swim.'' He was inviting them to stay in the water.

"Feel free to call me Bartholomew. Not Bart, Barty or any variation. I dislike nicknames you see but my full name is always the best way to get my attention.'' Tentacles absently splashed water as the other student was addressed. "Has it been busy with classes as yet?''

Hattie just smiled at her friend. She didn't want to be pushy, but she didn't want Felicity feeling like she wasn't good at art, or good enough. Hattie just happened to be really good at art. But she had years of practice with being creative and arty. So she was bound to be good. Or at least kind of good. She didn't say that though, because she knew Felicity would just praise her, and she really didn't want her friend feeling bad. She loved the girl, and just wanted her to be happy.

"Yeaah. But I have loads of paintings of the lake" It was really no secret that she was pretty great at landscapes. Portraits weren't her best piece though. "What I don't have a lot of is portraits of my pretty friends"

Daehyun truly didn't like it when he was proven wrong, but he couldn't find himself angry at Shera for it. "Fine," he sulked jokingly, trying and failing to look upset, although his lips had stretched into a smile. "I've no choice but to trust you, now do I?" Maybe it wouldn't be so bad- oh, who was he kidding? It was going to be bad, but he would give it a try. Though he was reconsidering her offer to help, only because he didn't want to make such a big fool of himself around her.

His eyes went glowing at the mention of her kitten. "Please bring the kitten out one day?" It went without saying that he wanted to snuggle the furry creature - he just didn't want to admit how weak he was for such things. Sadly shaking his head when she'd asked if he'd brought more pets to Hogwarts, he said, "I wish I could've brought them all, but Felicis is the only one. And if you brought treats to the owlery, I'm pretty sure you two are best friends for life already," he said with a straight and serious face - and he was as serious as a heart attack. The owl would be faithful to whoever fed her, the little traitor.

"Oh, mother tried to get rid of them, too," he said, laughing as that day was replaying in his head. "I thought she was going to murder them all with her bare hands when they'd pushed her into the lake." While he and his father had to keep a straight face on at the sight that awaited them after hearing the hysteric screams. "I'm glad I was there." He had the puppy eyes mastered.

Daehyun's eyes widened when Shera had told him she'd actually fallen asleep outside the common room. "Oh, no. That's so-cruel." Cruel of whoever came up with that kind of password. Wasn't it possible to change the system- "OH!" he exclaimed, his wide eyes brightening all of a sudden. "Father's told me about the Room of Requirement! We have to find it!" It couldn't be that impossibly difficult to find, could it?

"Elizabeth?" he repeated, unsure of which portrait she was talking about, until- "Oh..." He couldn't find anything else to say, as it had been drilled into him that pure-bloods were the superior wizards, and he'd lost count of how many times he'd fought with several family members on the subject.



Perfect day for a swim, he said? Daehyun turned with a light giggle to glance at Shera, who'd just gotten out of the water, before turning back to nod at Bartholomew. "Got it!" He knew exactly how Bartholomew felt about his full name and the unwanted variations, Aaron soon coming to mind, and his preference of calling him Danny. He shuddered only at the thought of it.

"Very," he answered the squid's question. "May we visit you when we come down here for classes?" He really wanted to be friends with such a kind squid, and he imagined it wouldn't take long to drop by after Care of Magical Creatures or Herbology before the following class started. Besides, it was one of the most exciting things that had ever happened in his life.

So that was something Felicity couldn't argue with. She did think about pouting and claiming that Hattie was totally wrong, and that she had prettier friends that she could paint, but she knew the other girl would either state the obvious - that none of her other friends were present right then - or would deny that they were prettier and insist that Felicity was on their level.

Which was, of course, what a friend did. Even if they were totally wrong and there was no way in Merlins underpants she was as pretty as any of their other friends. "Fine," she said, the corners of her mouth turning up in a shy smile. "Paint away." At least a pretty background would detract from the weirdo that was front and center, yeah?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Steelsheen

Tenacius has been having a really weird past few weeks....

First were his pajamas where apparently, after some mess up with the laundry, came back all stripey. Black and white stripey even. He looked like a prison inmate!

Some time later he walked into a Firsties pillow fight who suddenly thought it would be a fabulous idea to gang up on the lone Head Boy, to which he walked away with so much feathers all over him he feels he was still coughing them out of his lungs.

Another time he was rushing to his next class when an errant spell bounced off from somewhere, his robes turned into a wide, furry wet suit with with a big flat tail dragging behind him, his shoes turned into flippers. Suffice it to say he had quite some explaining to do with the Professor, other than the fact that he was really late.

Just now he accidentally sat on one of those prank handshake shockers and got himself electrocuted.

So here he is now, outside, where he hopes he can break the streak of these bizarre series of unfortunate events. Because all of those happened indoors and now he's outdoors right? He saw Scarlett sat by his favorite spot by the lake and plopped down not too far from her. "Hi!" he waved casually as he sighed and looked out onto the calmness of the lake.

Scarlett slowly opened her eyes, wondering if the person she'd heard speak up was talking to her. She looked up and saw, to her HORROR, that it was Ace - and yes, he was talking to her. Wha--what? She hadn't said more than two words to the guy in all her years here, but NOW, when she was having these weird dreams about him...NOW was the time he had decided to chat her up?

Oh Merlin. This was the worst.

"Oh, uh, hey there...Mister Head Boy," she said with a chuckle, smiling jokingly as she referred to him by that title to try and lighten the mood. Hopefully he wouldn't think she was being weird.

Shera couldn't help but giggle along with Daehyun at the fact that she had just gotten out of the water before the Giant Squid showed up. But she did listen by dropping the towel and walking back into the water, sitting down at a point where the water was half way up her stomach. That would give her the best place to be talking to both Daehyun and Bartholomew.

Although her curls were going frizzy now that they were starting to dry. With that in thought she dropped her head forward to wet her hair again.

"It is really nice," she agreed with the squid. "It's really nice to meet you Bartholomew, I'm Shera." Because she was definitely going to be around long into the future, just because the lake gave her a place to swim.

"Have you been in this lake all of your life?"




Shera shifted her entire body around, in order to be able to easily look up at Daehyun. Would he join her in the water? By like, putting his feet in?

Daehyun had to trust her now? Shera wasn't sure if that was part of him joking or if he actually meant it, but it did end in her giving him the biggest smile that she had. And that was saying something considering her general expression was just beaming at everyone. She was also determined. She was not going to let him down. He was definitely still worried about it, and Shera could kind of but not really understand that.

"I will bring her out soon, she just spends a lot of time sleeping at the moment so she stays in Ravenclaw tower most of the time at the moment," Shera explained, thinking about the little cat. She had bought her for that exact reason, because that little cat could sleep waaaay longer than Shera could.

She couldn't hold back her giggle about the comment of the traitorous owl, but she shrugged her shoulders. "I think all owls are like that," or at least it was her personal experience. She managed to give him a mischievous smile. "I mean, I tend to bribe them with treats anyways. And I've found building up a relationship of 'I bring you food' in advance is always very effective."

Her head tilted to the side curiously. "The room of requirement?" she mimicked as a question. It sounded vaguely familiar, but she couldn't for sure say that she knew what it was.

"Yeah... I mean my grandma is the same but... my parents just never cared," she explained with a light shrug. The 'oh' made her assume that he also had experience like that. But she was aware that maybe the opposite was true and it was his shock at never having experience that way of thinking.

Paul was not running. Or exercising all that much in general, lately. Just...you know, relaxing. Meditating. Yoga. All things that required peace and tranquility and most importantly, quiet.

It was when he was out taking a stroll along the lake that he saw Isa running her little heart out. He waited until she was passing closer by to him and smiled and waved. "Hello, Isa, m'dear! How are you this wonderful morning?" he said in a loud, clear voice. There were a few others running around on this slightly bright morning. The sun was peeking out fairly shyly, saying HELLLLOOooOOoo in its pretty way. His white hair almost looked yellow in the glow.

...he had forgotten his morning tea. Oops.

Quote:

Originally Posted by kayquilz

Paul was not running. Or exercising all that much in general, lately. Just...you know, relaxing. Meditating. Yoga. All things that required peace and tranquility and most importantly, quiet.

It was when he was out taking a stroll along the lake that he saw Isa running her little heart out. He waited until she was passing closer by to him and smiled and waved. "Hello, Isa, m'dear! How are you this wonderful morning?" he said in a loud, clear voice. There were a few others running around on this slightly bright morning. The sun was peeking out fairly shyly, saying HELLLLOOooOOoo in its pretty way. His white hair almost looked yellow in the glow.

...he had forgotten his morning tea. Oops.

A small figure grew into a close up familiar face as Isa ran by. It was professor Myers! Isa slowed her pace to speak to Professor Myers, eventually coming to a stop. ”Good morning, Professor Myers! I’m doing well. Trying to stay in shape for quidditch. How are you?” On this fine morning the fifth year Hufflepuff captain was also stressing about OWLs already, but that was not the sort of thing one should discuss so early in the morning so early in the term. That topic was better saved for closer to the actual exams and at a time when one could sit and have a cup of tea. She had more important things to focus on right now. ”I’m feeling nervous about quidditch, honestly. That, and there are so many other things like the musical which I’m interested in but I don’t know if I’ll have time for.” There was a lot of pressure on her as captain to play well and to work with her teammates to have the team do well. With her only real quidditch experience coming from summer quidditch camps, Isa had wondered on a few occasions if her receiving the captain badge had been a mistake and at any moment someone was going to come tell her that the badge actually belonged to some other Hufflepuff who was on the U 17 team or something. So far, she had heard only encouragement from her friends, especially Derf, so that had boosted Isa’s confidence. From what she had seen so far as captain, it seemed like quidditch camp experience was enough for her to have decent chaser skills and enough understanding to talk strategy with her team. Derf’s notes were helping a lot too.

Daehyun could only blink in both confusion and fascination when, in a flash, Shera's towel had been discarded, and she was back in the water, looking like a mermaid that belonged in there, meanwhile he would've been a complete mess struggling to stay alive a moment longer. She gave him a look that he wasn't sure what it meant, but all he did was move closer to the lake, but stopped before his shoes could get wet. That was as far as he would go.

He smiled at Shera's description of her kitten. "Sounds like her human companion to me," he teased. He didn't fail to notice in the short amount of time he'd known her that she was either energetic or not, which he found fascinating how she could switch in between such polar opposites.

He couldn't help but laugh when Shera was telling him about her very effective way of befriending owls - and pretty much any creature. "That is so sad, but so true," he shook his head, smiling. "Just when you think they're your friend, they leave you for whoever's got the better treats." Little traitors. But he still loved them endlessly.

Daehyun nodded enthusiastically. "Father's told me about it. There's a room in the castle that models itself according to your needs!" How AWESOME was that? "We have to look for it!" She could use it whenever she got locked out of her common room, he could use it whenever he didn't want to be bothered by anyone (which was most of the time), and the possibilities were endless!

He sobered up when she'd mentioned her grandmother, unable to say anything - he only hoped she didn't take his silence the wrong way, but he also didn't feel like sharing that his whole family had that kind of mindset. He didn't want to share not because he didn't want to tell her, but only because he feared she'd think he was the same, and that couldn't have been farther from the truth.

Shera would have been lying to herself if she tried to say that she was not amused by how Daehyun moved closer, but still stayed out of the water. She would've considered splashing him to get him wet, except then he'd have to deal with being in wet clothes for who knows how long. Or worse, he'd leave to put something else on. Maybe she'd get him in the water before they graduated?

Her goal was to not drive him away.

Then she did laugh at the boy's comment, unsure if he was trying to mock her, but finding it amusing nonetheless. "I burn a lot of energy," she defended herself, before shrugging and admitting, "That is the reason I chose her though." Her defence was still very accurate though, to manage being as energetic as she was she needed a lot of sleep and a lot of food. Without either of those things she just existed in a state of almost always falling asleep.

"Then you've just got to raise the stakes and make sure you're the one giving them the better treats," she teased him lightly, thinking about all the owls that she had met so far. "Or go alone, whenever I go by myself they know that I'm bringing them a snack and are super loving."

"It changes to suit your needs? That's awesome!" she was grinning at him, and couldn't even begin to wrap her head around the possibilities or how magic like that even worked. It didn't matter. "Do you know roughly where it is or how to get in?"

That was step one.

And he sobered up, and she immediately noticed the change because he had just been so comfortable with her. Shera's grin shifted to a sympathetic and slightly concerned smile directed at him, and she managed to reach her hand out to touch his shoe in an attempt at a comforting gesture. From the water that was the only part of him that she could reach, and honestly Daehyun would probably be thankful about that back. "Sorry if the topic upsets you, but at least you know to avoid that painting? It doesn't really matter anyway."

Now how could she try to excite him again so he wouldn't be this stiff and uncomfortable again? "Have you had a look at the Care of Magical Creatures syllabus yet? I'm not really that familiar with anything in it so I was hoping you might help me when it comes to classes and study... and maybe you can take me to that nursery soon to start to get to know the creatures and how to treat them? If you don't mind of course..."

Because he didn't have to help her, but she had worked out that he loved these creatures.

Daehyun laughed when she turned defensive. "I never said you didn't!" he said, slightly raising his hands in defeat. He smiled at her admission, because people normally tended to choose pets with a personality similar to theirs in order to be a good match, and he was happy she'd found hers. Which was why he'd chosen Felicis in the first place - his eyes had immediately landed on the quietest in the shop, though one time he supposed he would give in and get himself a more energetic companion, just to see if he could succeed in taming and befriending it.

"Challenge accepted," he grinned. "I'm sure I can win my owl's heart back." Actually, he wasn't too sure against Shera's charms, but he would have to send a letter to his parents to send him better owl treats... as soon as he found the courage to write them that he was the first lion in the family. He was telling himself he'd been busy the past few days to write them, but he was just dreading the moment.

He nodded enthusiastically as Shera seemed excited about the Room of Requirements, as well, but then his grin was soon wiped off his face. "Err-well-" It was only then that he'd realized he'd been too excited about the notion of that room to wonder where it actually was. "... no." But they'd made a promise to explore the castle inside out! They would-they would surely figure it out... somehow. "Maybe ask the portraits?" They must know everything there! Just not Elizabeth.

Daehyun was speechless when she'd reached out to touch his shoe, unsure of what she was doing, but at the same understanding. He shook his head, still finding it difficult to say the right words and tell her that she didn't upset him. "Right," he agreed. "Umm, the water is nice, you say?" Maybe he could stick his feet in? Though he wouldn't go in farther than up to his ankles, but Shera did seem to feel at ease in the lake?

"Of course I can help you!" he blurted out before she even finished speaking, reddening the slightest bit at the interruption. "I mean-I'll make sure you pass this subject with flying colours!" he vowed, holding out his pinkie finger to show her he was serious, unaware that it was something he probably shouldn't be doing in public. "You could bring your kitten, too-what's her name, by the way? Maybe we can find her some playmates there." But they would have to keep an eye on her anyway, just in case they had any baby birds at the infirmary. You can never be too sure with cats.

She just laughed along with him, not really bothered by any of the comments even if she had tried to defend herself. It was probably a lost cause, and she shouldn't have tried, but slight give in saying that she did burn a lot of energy make her smile as well.

"May the best treat giver win," she joked, a mischievous smile on her face. She still had a few tricks up her sleeve to win the allegiance of all the owls. So really it wasn't personal. She just enjoyed spending time with them... and she also had a bit too much of a competitive nature that had been brought out by him referring to this as a challenge.

"Good idea, and the ghosts as well when I find them... maybe the house elves can help too..." she plotted away, rambling lightly. Shera had finished with a shrug. "We do have seven years to find it?"

If they didn't find it the she would very begrudgingly accept defeat.

"It's great! Still pretty warm, just like Bartholomew was saying too!" she commented excitedly. It was definitely a good idea to get in. Would it be rude to quickly dive under water for a moment? Probably... she'd wait until her hair started drying and frizzing up again.

Shera giggled at his enthusiasm, but glad she got him back to this point. Stretching slightly she moved herself so she could grab his pinkie with her own. "Thank you," she responded as she settled herself back down in the water, nodding enthusiastically at the thought of bringing her kitten along. Had she forgotten to mention her name? "She's called Callie, I think it'd be a good idea to introduce them. Then she'll get used to other creatures while she's still young!"

So yes, great idea.

Hattie was glad that Felicity wasn't going to try and argue with her. She didn't fancy an argument. All of her friends were pretty, and she would fight anyone that disagreed with her about that. She had a feeling nobody would though. That would be very mean, and she hoped people weren't mean. Though she knew that there were some mean people at Hogwarts, but she could totally take them. She might have been little but she could fight. She was a badger after all. They were fierce, even if people thought that they were not.

"Yay!" The blonde beamed, getting a pencil out to sketch out a few basic lines, before she began to paint. She was going to put the lake into the background, but Felicity would be the main focus. She was so happy that Felicity had agreed, it meant a lot to the blonde.

Seven years to find the room?

That sounded awfully discouraging, but Daehyun tried to stay positive for as long as he could. Although finding a room that they had no idea what looked like or where it actually was... in the huge castle that was Hogwarts... the odds were not in their favours. "I'm hoping to find it this year," he said, though it hadn't come out confident at all. "It'll probably be in a more deserted area? Like less used corridors?" He doubted the room would materialize from the Great Hall.

He stared doubtfully at the shore as he took off the long robe he wore, taking his sweet time to fold it neatly before he placed it next to Shera's discarded towel, not wanting to get it wet in the process. Next off were his shoes and socks, which he'd also arranged next to his robe and, folding the ends of his trousers up just a little above his ankles, he tried the water with the tips of his toes first, as if expecting grindylows to come out and grab him. "Okay," he agreed with a smile, bending down to slip his hands into the water as well. "This is nice." His smile widening, he splashed lightly in Shera's direction, careful not to get any water in her face, though it didn't seem to bother her at all. And it wasn't like he was starting a water fight. Nuh-uh, not him.

Grinning when she'd sealed the pinky promise, he nodded in response. "Gotta teach her not to hunt other people's companions on school grounds, too," he joked, though he was partly serious. He was pretty sure young Callie was eager to hunt while still discovering the wonders of life.

"I hope so too... but I mean like, if we don't find it this year then we still have more years to do it in! And we have to be able to find it by then... right?" she shot him a hopeful smile at that comment. Because she was desperate to see this room before they left! "That would make sense..." she mused, agreeing with his comment about it probably being in a more deserted area of the school.

"I might also ask Jessa if she knows about it..." Shera mused, before remembering that Daehyun probably had no clue who that was. "She's the Ravenclaw prefect, she's super lovely but also... really intense? She's fifth year and thinks she'll have finished the NEWTs syllabus soon..."

It intimidated Shera a little bit and made her feel the pressure of being a Ravenclaw much more acutely, and that was despite Finn's reassurance that Jessa wasn't the expectation. But she still admired that girl and wanted to be somewhat more like her...

Daehyun intrigued her, and she watched closely as he folded everything up before slowly and all too hesitantly dipping his feet into the lake. In that moment he seemed like the exact opposite of her. "It told you so," she responded with a grin as he admitted the water was in fact nice. And rather than flinch away from his splashes she laughed, not bothering to retaliate because he was still dressed unlike her.

'He's very nice,' she thought to herself, noting how he seemed to be cautious in his splash.

"She's pretty good actually, like there's a bunch of rats in the dorm and she knows that she shouldn't eat them... or try to," she was probably lucky that her kitten was so young and hadn't gotten used to hunting and eating rats already. "Although, she hasn't been around anything other than rats and owls..."

"Right," he nodded with a grin. Of course they could find the room!

Daehyun was about to ask who Jessa was, but his question was soon answered, and his eyes went impossibly wide at what Shera was telling him. He knew that NEWTs were the seventh year exams... and the girl was a fifth year... "Whoa." He'd be lying if he said he didn't study ahead for Care of Magical Creatures, but he doubted he got too far.

... then he remembered what she'd told him earlier when she said she hadn't expected to be a Ravenclaw, and suddenly her words made more sense. "Were you talking about her earlier?" If so, he seriously doubted every Ravenclaw was like that... right?

"Hey," he said, splashing a little bit more water than before. "Nobody likes a know-it-all." Daehyun had to purse his lips to keep himself from grinning, but he was failing miserably. He was surprised when she hadn't fought back, because he was feeling so much at ease right then that he probably wouldn't have minded getting his clothes wet. He made a mental note to search for a spell that would dry them, because Incendio was the most helpful one he knew. And it wouldn't be helpful at all.

He found himself giggling. "It's a great start," he smiled. "But I bet she'll want to put her claws to good use." He would know, with his two troublemakers.

"Uhuh, she's really amazing," Shera commented, assuming that his response of 'whoa' meant that he was just as impressed with Jessa as she had been. And then he took the conversation back to whether or not she had been talking about her earlier. A slight flush covered her face, a sign of self doubt that Shera barely ever experience in her life. Shrugging her shoulders she forced herself to continue on and ignore the feeling of of her burning cheeks. "I guess so? Like she's the exception but..."

That probably gave away enough of her feelings on that. It was Daehyun's next comment that was what smacked her straight out of her self doubt and caused her to smile brightly at him again. Although with him gaining more confidence in splashing her with more water she giggle, splashing him very lightly to make sure he wasn't hit with a ridiculous amount of water. Then with a mischievous grin she dived under the water, using the opportunity to slip away.

She contemplated tickling his feet and using the water as a shield, but then she might lose any chance of getting him in the water again. So instead, about a minute later she resurfaced again making sure she was still close to Daehyun.

Then the conversation was back on her cat. "I'm sure she will... especially as she gets older." Shera was half dreading that, just because she wasn't sure what she would do if her cat was responsible for eating another students pet. She supposed she'd cross that bridge when she got to it. "Hey Daehyun? If you could have any animal or creature as a pet, which one would you choose?"

That could give way to an interesting answer considering the boy that she was talking to. But that was part of the fun of asking that question in the first place.

The sight of Shera blushing... it was something he knew he wouldn't see too often, and he refused to admit to himself that the colour in her cheeks suited her. Instead, he smiled reassuringly, hoping it would somewhat ease her worries. "I'm pretty sure that's not what's expected of you, if that's what you're thinking." Though if he were in her place, he probably would've felt pressured to live up to that, too. "Besides, if you studied that much, you wouldn't have time to spend in the fantastic company of yours truly," he said humbly not at all, pointing towards himself. Plus, it couldn't be healthy to study that much either.

He barely registered the incoming splash as he watched her dive once again under the water, only to resurface moments later. Shaking his head, he laughed, "Your hair was beginning to dry." He couldn't even imagine how long it would take her to dry it fully. "Aren't you getting cold?" The last thing he wanted was for her to catch a cold, not if he could prevent it.

He didn't need a second to think about Shera's question. "I wanted a salamander, but they're not exactly low maintenance," he giggled lightly. Having to keep one in fire... he would get one once graduated, when he had the time and right place to keep one. "Also, I would love a winged horse." But obviously he couldn't bring that one to Hogwarts... though how awesome would it be to fly on one to the castle and back? "I wish I saw thestrals, but at the same time I don't want to, you know?" Since he would have to see death to see one.

All in all, his pets would likely be classified as more dangerous the more he got as he grew older, but that wasn't something to keep him away from misunderstood creatures. Psh. "What would you like to have?"

Yay wasn't exactly the exclamation Felicity would have gone with, but she did offer a weak, almost nervous smile at her, before her hands went to her hair. "Do you need me to do anything...?" Did Hattie want a smile? Her to stand up? A different angle?

A 'paint me like one of your French girls' moment? Liss almost giggled at the thought, and it changed the expression on her face to one of an actual smile, and she settled more comfortably on the ground. After all, Hattie was one of her best friends - if she couldn't be happy and comfortable around her... But Liss wouldn't think about that. She was happy and comfortable around her, and so the fiddling with her hair stopped.

Shera laughed. That was all she could do at his suddenly bold declaration that his company was fantastic. It seemed so... out of character, from what she had seen of him so far but she also enjoyed the confidence that was behind it. "Of course, you are the sole reason that I have not yet gone to the library to make sure I am at least up to third year content," she teased lightly, although. His company was good, and it was a pretty good excuse to not bother.

"It was going frizzy," Shera said with a shrug, knowing that that was what the curls would do immediately. And then she'd need a potion to get them back under control. "Ummm..."

Shera lifted her arms out of the water to check for goosebumps or for the beginnings of her nails starting to turn a purple colour. Finding evidence of goosebumps starting to form, she gave Daehyun a sheepish smile as she shrugged. "Maybe a little bit?" With that in mind she moved to sit next to him, feet still dangling in the water as she had her towel wrapped around her shoulders. "It has a heating charm on it, compliments of my mother," she explained, in case he noticed the towel had already dried and was weirdly, but very comfortably, warm.

"I like to imagine witches and wizards in Ancient Greece had salamanders... just because they always kept the fire burning in their cities... I don't know whether or not they did though..." somehow she'd never done research, maybe she didn't want the image she imagined in her mind to be proven wrong.

Threstrals. She nodded understandingly, before figuring that she might as well explain what they looked like considering Daehyun would appreciate it. Considering they were the only creatures that she had experience with, that he wouldn't have experience with. "The pictures you see in books don't do them justice... like yeah.... they look like a bony reptilian winged horse, but they're so much more majestic than that. They're easily my favourite creatures, we have a bunch of them on the manor in America, I'm pretty sure they've been there forever. I remember mum and dad taking me out to help feed them before I could see them..."

Oooooh... but then she should probably clarify. Considering there was a very good reason he didn't want to be able to see them. "My granddad passed away in St Mungos when I was still young, I was there when it happened but I can't remember."

"Well... I don't know what I'd want..." after all, she didn't own the threstrals but they were around which was amazing. Because they were choosing to be with them. And she had a cat and owl of her own...