Welcome to the lake, bound to be your future home to get away from the hassles of the school life. Extending for as far as the eye can see, the lake boasts a beautiful watery surface that allows the sun to sparkle off it in the day time and for the moon to shimmer beautifully during the night. At the shoreline, there’s plenty of grass to take a seat upon and some times to lie under. The breeze off the lake is usually pretty good for a cooling down during the day.

Come on down alone or bring a friend. Bring your homework with you and work on it here or throw it into the water (but you didn’t get that from me!). Hey, you might even get lucky and spot the beloved Giant Squid, who from time to time may be caught waving his tentacles above the surface. Meet friends, make friends, do or lose homework…the list of things to do at the lake extends of miles! Enjoy the space!

Oh, and make sure you respect the grass and the dirt. Mr. Masterson will not be pleased if he has to come after you. He’s armed with acorns and he’s not afraid to use them.

Nia practically skipped down to the Lake, stopping a few metres away to dump her bag on the ground, and sit down. All was going amazing so far, Theo was well away from her in Slytherin with Lucas, which meant no moaning and crying on that front, and she was put in Ravenclaw as predicted. A perfect start.

She smiled to herself, and hugged her knees. Lessons started soon enough, and that was going to be exciting. She had a couple of her books she bought in Diagon Alley in her bag, but for the moment she was happy to sit here and giant squid spot. She wanted to see it come up and wave to her.

Theo held his Buzz Lightyear close to his chest. He sniffed, trying to hold back the tears. His feet scuffed the dirt beneath him. Last night had been his first night away from his Mummy, and he was feeling very upset, because she didn't kiss him goodnight. He sniffed again and flopped down by the edge of the lake, not aware that his sister was but a few metres away. He rested his head on the top of his Buzz, and sniffed again.

Nia was enjoying the calmness of the Lake, with just the quiet splashing here and there of the water as it lapped the shore, when a sniffing sort of noise caught her attention. It was shortly followed by the scuffing of feet, and Nia turned in that direction.

Great. Here she was, enjoying some time away from her cry baby of a twin brother, when who should turn up but a snotty blonde small boy...said brother. Her eyes narrowed, and she gritted her teeth. Nia desperately wanted to ignore him, but at the same time knew that if he was upset, he'd write home. And if their parents found out she was sitting right by him and hadn't helped, well...that wasn't good. She gave a small 'Hmph!' and watched Theo carefully. She'd give him a couple more minutes, and if he was still sniffing, she'd go and talk to him or something. Not that he'd want her help, but at least she'd have tried.

Theo looked up and over at the lake. A tear dripped down his cheek. He looked down at Buzz and pressed one of his three buttons. The green one to be precise. He waited for Buzz to say something to cheer him up. But nothing came. That plant teacher had been right, electricity doesn't work at Hogwarts. He sniffed again as another tear fell down his cheek. He wiped his nose roughly on his jumper, and sniffed again.

His head slowly drifted down to Buzz's and rested there. He squeezed Buzz tightly before sniffing again.

Nia watched her brother as he tried to get Buzz to work. Tears were now starting to dribble down his cheeks, and it made Nia realise how hard it was for him. She'd always been the more outgoing one, the one that was independent...but Theo had relied quite heavily on their parents and his friendship with Buzz. And at the moment he didn't have either. No wonder Mum and Dad had tried to gradually stop tucking him in, though it really hadn't worked. Theo looked so small and unsure, it almost made Nia feel sad for him.

Almost. Her rivalry with him was set too deep...and it was about time he learnt to live without Buzz anyway. Silly bit of plastic that got her into trouble. Sighing, she rummaged through her bag to find a pack of tissues, and headed over to her twin.

"Here," she said, pulling out a tissue and holding it out, "Stop that dreadful sniffing and blow your nose." It was a strange tone of voice, as if she disgusted, but trying to cover it up and be a bit friendlier.

Theo blinked the tears out of his eyes, so he could actually see who the person was properly. He didn't really recognise the voice. It sounded like Nia, but it didn't.

He looked up to see her next to him with a tissue. He smiled weakly at her, and blew his little nose into the tissue. "I miss Mummy and Daddy, Nia. And my Buzz doesn't work. I want to go home." More tears flooded down his cheeks, as he snuggled Buzz closer. He wanted his mummy.

Theo looked up at the new arrival, and frowned, "What do you mean? Nia hasn't done anyfing. Why do you fink she has?" He rubbed his eyes with his sleeve, and continued to look up at the new girl.

Camira blinked. Odd. "Well then, why are you crying. Pull yourself together. You're Slytherin, after all", she said a bit harsher then she intended. She sighed and tried not to look too mean. She didn't want to scare the first years - at least not the ones in Slytherin. "It won't do you any good to be crying outside at any rate. You don't want to give people a reason to make fun of you, do you?" She tried to think back. She was pretty sure she hadn't been like this in first year. Then she recalled the detentions. On second thought...

Freya made her way over to the lake, from what she had heard from other students, it was quite a popular spot. She made her way slowly towards the waters edge, pausing for a moment staring out into the water, before sitting down, half conceiled by overgrown bushes. It seemed so calm, but at the same time made her a bit nervous, Freya never did like deep water, she secretly feared what was hidden underneath it. 'This place isn't so bad.' she thought as she stared out to the peaceful, still water. Pulling her small side-bag closer to her, Freya took out one of her books, opening to the second chapter, but still looking out onto the water, lost in thought.

Tears started trickling out of Theo's eyes again. "I miss my mummy. I want to go home." He sniffed again, and squeezed his Buzz tightly to his chest again. "Don't you miss your mummy?" he whimpered. He shook his head, "I don't care if people make fun of me. I am used to it. Nia does it all da time at home. And if people are mean, I will tell a teacher. Like the Plant professor. He was really nice to me."

Camira sighed as the boy started crying again. When he asked if she missed her mum, she almost recoiled. She did. Nothing she could do about though. Her mum had been murdered. She sighed and crouched down. "I miss my mum too. Your mum would want you to be happy though. How about you write her a letter and tell her about all the stuff you've seen an Hogwarts so far. I bet she'd really like that." She'd never been good at being sympathetic or cheering people up. She hoped she wasn't botching it up.

Plant professor. She smiled. She'd have to pay him a visit. She hadn't spoken to him in a while.

Biff Harrington the Third goes looking around and sees a lake. He does not swim. It gets you dirty. It is only for muggles to swim. Biff walks up with an air. "Any purebloods here?" Biff asked.

Freya couldn't help but look up as the boy made his presence known. Figuring she would keep to herself, Freya continued to look out towards the water, hoping the boy didn't catch her listening, but had the feeling that he knew she had heard.

Theo sniffed again. "But I have only been away one night." He missed his mummy alot. He had never been apart from her before. "Do you fink she would like me to write to her? Do you write to your mummy?" He wiped his eyes again with his sleeve, and then his nose. He wished that Nia would give him a hug and make everything better again, like his mummy used to when he was poorly.

Mandy walked to the lake pulling her school jacket annoyingly. She hated uniforms but she liked the school so she figured it was a problem she was going to have to face. She still had her funky jewlery on and she smiled at tht. Looking around Mandy stood awkwardly feeling a bit left out. She knew absoutely noone and everytime she had tried to make a friend.. no such luck. She didnt know why she wasnt a quiet girl or shy. She shurugged and stuffed her hands into her jacket pockets and looke at the rocks surronding the lake.

She turned quickly and stared. "I'm a pureblood though I'm not sure why you're asking", she said quickly.

Camira patted the young boy, albeit somewhat awkwardly. "That's okay. I bet your mum misses you too and it would make her really happy", she said in what she hoped was an encouraging voice. She cringed a bit when he wiped his nose with his sleeve. Ah well. He was only 11. "I used to write my mum letters, but then she had to go away forever so I can't write her anymore." She wasn't sure if she should just say her mum was dead. She didn't want to traumatize him. "Maybe we could even ask the plant professor if we could have a flower to send to your mum. Then, she'd have something from here and whenever she looks at it, she'll think if you."