Still recovering from the embarrassment experienced at Valentine’s Day, Lisa was laying low. It was bizarre to lay so low but she took the opportunity to do some research on potions, birds, and intriguing plants. Her cheeks flushed pink when she thought of the forward comment she had given a friend.. She hadnt meant to say that, did she?

She bit her lip.

Maybe she had.

But she didn’t like HIM like THAT.

….. Right?

Sitting at the bottom of the staircase in the Entrance Hall, she looked up for her book for a moment and sighed. This much reading was making her eyes get sore. Maybe she ought to take a break?

... He was totally not reading books about dates now and what someone was supposed to do on them. And if he was, it was also entirely not disguised to look like a transfiguration book. Which seemed fitting. Evan had the rather bad habit of reading while he walked, and this was no different - despite how dangerous that was now to do in the castle with the tripping hazards pretty much... everywhere.

Coming in through the Entrance Hall from the outdoors, he looked up to glance at the house point hourglasses, and ended up doing a double take when he noticed his youngest sister perched on the lower stairs.

She'd been... quiet. Which was the most concerning when it was Lisa. Closing his book, he moved towards her and settled himself down beside her. He reached into his bag as he did so, pulling out a sherbet drop and offering it to her wordlessly.

He'd just been to the Owlery to send, and surprisingly, receive an owl from GG Al simultaneously, reminding him of the work that was to be done over the coming summer. Surely, Noah's itinerary was fuller than full, but the Gryffindor was more than happy to be moving and working his bum off than stay at home indoors with his siblings.

The sixth year's nose was buried while reading his lengthy letter, when he stepped on a vine that wasn't supposed to be in his path. Noah quickly lost his balance, tripped on another vine, and then landed on his hand and bum. "Blasted, bloody vines!" standing up, he swiftly drew his wand out and non-verbally slashed the offending horizontal vine on both sides, and pushed it out of the way towards the open door. "Rogue vine in the hole!" it was a late warning, sorry.

Turning, he saw Lisa and Evan sat on the steps of the Entrance Hall, and decided to join them momentarily to check if he'd sprained his ankle. Look, he just had a shattered rib not too long ago, and he can't afford to have another injury, especially when quidditch practice was starting to pick up. "Hello, Nams." he said with a huff as he plopped down a few steps lower from where the siblings were sat, and had his leg stretched out, and started to roll his ankle. Nothing to see here.

Lisa had gone back to pretending to read. Her lips pursed, she let out a sigh, as she tried her hardest to refocus and ignore certain... feelings. Think of happier times... Happier and fun and less awkward. That was possible, right? Surely Evan could relate? She was sure that Evan could relate best to her current feeling out of her other two siblings cause Noah and Maya always seemed oh so cool, calm, and collected. She bit her lip and began turning the pages slowly.

Her brother had been so silent that she hadn’t noticed him make his way to sit on the steps. She finally gave up on the book, sighing, and then turned to her right to see Evan there. He hadn’t said a word but she just felt him there. Eyes dropped to the sherbet drop (her favourite candy) and a smile broke out across her lips. She took the candy and leaned her head on his shoulder and sighed. “Sherbet drop for my thoughts?” she asked, enjoying the peace and tranquility.

It only lasted momentarily.

Cause then someone was shouting about vines and them being bloody. For a split second, her wild imagination got the better of her. She wondered if the vines had taken someone! Could vines even DO THAT!?!? KILLER VINES?! GREAT SCOTT!

Fortunately the word bloody was just used in frustration. She glanced up in time just to hear a louder exclamation.

It was Sensei-Jedi Master Noah Morduant who was fighting the pesky vines. Lisa raised an eyebrow and watched him plop down on the steps too just a ways away. Was he injured? She gasped. “Master, are you hurt?” she asked as she gave him a rather quizzical look. “Was it the vines?”

It was funny the way similarities and differences could work between siblings. With each of his three siblings, there was things he could conclude he most had in common with them but also... there were so many other things that were so different. With Noah, they shared the responsibility of feeling protective as the older brothers, but Noah... he was so much better at it. He was openly loving and cheerful and he was the type of person you wanted to talk to about your problems. And Maya? They handled things similarly. They were both quieter and approached problems with more rational than emotion. But she also had such a creative side that he could only be jealous of, and she was driven.

And then there was Lisa. Truthfully, Evan thought they were the least alike - though this certainly did not diminish his affection for the youngest either. Lisa was SO full of life, and confident and had the easiest time making friends as soon as she walked into a room. Evan... was the exact opposite. And even when it could sometimes be hard to find their similarity, at least at the end of the day there was always sherbet drops.

"That, exactly." He gave her a small smile, before frowning again a little. "Are you okay, Liss?" There had been small things that were off, and that had just continued to accumulate through out the term. It wasn't that she seemed sick or anything but... she certainly seemed sad.

He could only focus on that for so long though, before he also heard a yell and a .... rogue... vines??? His instinct was to run as the LAST thing he needed was another cuddle with a vine, but then he noticed Noah Mordaunt now sitting near them and rolling his ankle. "Hi Noah." He wasn't exactly sure why his sister was calling the Gryffindor Master, but it was only another addition to a long line of things she did that he did not understand so he just chalked it up to that. "I have an ankle brace in my bag if you need it. Might be good to reinforce that some if you injured it."

Totally oblivious to the Nam siblings' conversation, Noah busied himself stretching and rolling out both of his ankles to check if he was injured, because that would be the worst that could happen to him right now. While at it, he'd turned to both Lisa and Evan with a grin. "Not really, no. I just lost my balance, that's all." he said as he pulled down the leg of his trousers. "I'm okay, Evan. Thank you." the kid must either be a muggle scout or he often gets himself into accidents. Hopefully it was the former, for his sake.

Fully turning to face them now, "Have any of you noticed the greenhouse lately? I passed by the area this morning, and the smoke from the one that was closed off to students started to seep in..." he said, tilting his head in thought, "Would you know if Professor Flamsteed's aware of the current situation? I'm no longer taking Herbology this year, so..." this vine business looked sus to him, and he was told many years ago that they should inform a professor if something was amiss.

Lisa crinkled her nose when Evan confirmed that he was offering her a sherbet drop for her thoughts. It was much better than a simple penny. She took the drop and began unwrapping it, enjoying the sound of the crinkly paper. “I think Pascal is upset with me… I left him alone for Valentine’s Day. And I think he’s not the only one. Stewie has been a little… distant ever since I spent a lot of time talking with Daniel and then running off to the kitchens with Jasper… I wanted to ask some of my friends about it but I feel like Serena would get upset..” She popped the drop in her mouth and then played with the wrapper as she sucked on the tart treat. “She got upset last time I mentioned Jasper and I don’t know why… She doesn’t like Jasper like V does… And I can’t tell V because it’ll become a competition.” She sighed. Ollie and Remy were probably good neutral candidates to share it with. Ash would have been good too but all of what transpired made her feel silly talking about it. “Thirteen is a weird age…. especially around Valentine’s Day… How was… your day?” It was not often that she asked her brother about his day and she felt a little bit bad about it. Too often she was focused on herself and her problems that maybe Evan was feeling blue too! Who knew? “I think I’ll survive… maybe if you give me another sherbet drop?” she asked, flashing her elder brother a toothy grin.

Now that certainly didn’t sound like Master to lose his balance like that. He was a good Jedi- one with perfect balance. Maybe he was feeling blue too?“But Jedi Master Noah, that means you need to practice more… and become one with the vines. Embrace the force… unless… were you ALSO distracted by Valentine’s Day?” she asked, tilting her head to the right. “Is it a special friend?” She turned her attention for a moment to Evan when he kindly offered Noah something. A brace… How practical and perfect! Her brother wa so thoughtful. Maybe he’d become a Healer like Noah one day too?

Noah’s question earned a nod from Lisa. “It’s been bizarre… I think Professor Flamesteed knows but I think it makes her upset… She looked really sad the other day unless she was perhaps subjected to one of Professor Holden’s essays or lectures… but I doubt Holden would do that since he seems… alright. He’s always walking around with a notebook…” A notebook for note taking. She had gotten so close to peeking at it a few weeks ago but he was as sharp as a hawk. Fortunately she didn’t get into trouble… He did tell her all about the *YAWN* boring adventures. “I hate seeing Professor Flamesteed upset. She’s so nice.”

Were he to ever have to choose between a penny and a sherbet drop, his preference also would have been the latter. And then Lisa was beginning to talk and truthfully... he could only blink at most of it, because the amount of names he recognized was half. Serena and Daniel were names he knew, but Jasper? Stewie? He assumed one was the Ravenclaw boy she hung out with - as he had seen them in the commons, but the other... he hadn't a slightest. "I'm sure Pascal is just happy if you are. He's a good little chameleon. And as for your friends... perhaps they're just missing time with you?" Not being able to properly balance friends was not a problem he'd ever had to even consider handling. Not that he minded that as much as he used to. "Why would telling V become a competition?" Weren't they friends? But... the thirteen part he could certainly concur with. Though he also wondered if it was just about being thirteen or if it was also a being a girl thing that made it so complicated. Or.. "I think Valentine's Day in general might also just be complicated."

He was a little red at that, still embarrassed. But considering she was not teasing him mercilessly at his little poetry recital, he was going to assume she hadn't seen it. Or hopefully remained in the dark about it. He blinked a bit when she asked about his day - not because he didn't assume she didn't care but... even when he had a poor day, he didn't like to admit it. And he supposed it'd been a bit on the poor side between driving himself mad with confusion and then feeling like one of his few close friends might have been avoiding him. Though, Jude also was rather busy all the time with everything so maybe it was mere coincidence. "It was fine. Padme and I went for a nice walk and I did some homework." He reached into his bag, pulling out another sherbet drop and handing it to her.

Exciting life he lived.

Hearing Noah's response about the brace, Evan gave a nod and a small smile in acknowledgement, before offering another sherbet drop in the older Gryffindors direction. And then questions went to the vines and greenhouses, and the things really on everyone's mind. Considering they could not escape them. "Yeah... it's weird. There's so many odd things happening connected to the plants and the greenhouses it's hard to know where to unpack it." Though he'd certainly been spending his own time researching in hopes of finding some idea as well. "Flamsteed is aware, as are the other Professors." Even though it was primarily Flamsteed's area of expertise - he knew Professor Kazmi was also following up on things as the groundskeeper. "I don't know that anyone has figured out a plan of attack though.... or defense, as it may be."