Surrounded by a white picket fence is a patch containing pumpkins of various sizes. There's a gate somewhere that's usually ajar all the time, so students may enter if they wish to relax here. Keep your eyes and ears open, there just may be a little something for the students involving the pumpkins sometime in the near future...

Thomas was wandering around the grounds and he noticed new things like the maze made of corn, but there was something that caught his eyes the pumpkin patch. He loved to eat pumpkin but probably these were not for eating. He looked at the pumpkin for a while and he said to himself, "I wonder what will happen to them at Halloween." He leaned of the fence and carried on his walk.

Alice wandered out to the pumpkin patch. She hadn't really made any friends yet, but there was another boy here." oh sorry, i didn't realize you were here. I guess i'll just, uh leave...."She felt really stupid now. Anyways, she probably would leave; she liked to be alone usually...

When she'd been told earlier that day that Professor Forrester was not teaching this term because he was dead, Kiri thought someone was playing a cruel trick on her. She'd scrambled up to the Astronomy Tower to check, and sure enough, there it had been, a small memorial plate for the Slytherin Head of House. Then she'd remembered the attack in Diagon Alley. Could somebody really have killed the professor? And why?
These thoughts had been depressing, as were the familiar surroundings of the Observatory where Professor Forrester had taught her for three years, so Kiri had hurried out of the castle.

Humming forlornly to herself, she wandered over to the pumpkin patch. With a sigh, she cleaned against the white fence and stared unseeingly into the little garden, the afternoon sun shining into her eyes, the slight tangy smell of the vegetables wafting around her nose.

This task was just...it was...not...she just could not...it was impossible. Why her? Did Kazi have something against her? Or against Kiri? Nancy had just fled the Common Room after watching this Lannes boy for a few minutes with a disbelieving look plastered across her face as the boy subtly cleaned everything with his cleaning-tissue-thingies before getting into contact with it. This was just...well, crazy. Plus, this only made her see how hopeless everything was. Her and Kiri, they would be in such huge trouble. Sigh

She had decided to get a bit of fresh air into her lungs to help her clear her head and maybe come up with some idea as to how to sort out this whole mess. Not that the last part was very likely to happen. Closing her eyes for a few moments Nancy simply inhaled deeply, immediately feeling slightly more optimistic. A very tiny bit. Upon re-opening her eyes Nancy spotted the very person she needed to talk to right now: Kiri. Oh, thank Merlin! "Kiri!" She exclaimed as she quickly took a few strides towards her until she had reached the point where the younger girl was standing.

"You know...this Lannes person is driving me insane. Do you have any idea how-" Nancy stopped mid-sentence upon getting a glance of Kiri's facial expression. The girl looked incredibly depressed and sad about something, and she was quite certain that it was not their problem with Kazi. "I...uhm...sorry, you okay?" She asked the girl awkwardly, and not wanting to stare at her too curiously she let her blue eyes wander over to the few pumpkins which had not yet been harvested to their right.

Kiri swallowed the last notes of her aimlessly meandering melody. Turning around, she waved and gave Nancy a small smile. "Hey," she mumbled as the other girl reached her.

How to explain? Surely, Nancy had already found out about Professor Forrester's death? "Erm..." She sighed and said in the direction of the pumpkins, "Professor Forrester's dead. Have you heard? I, um, someone told me earlier. And, and I went and checked, and there's a memorial plate up in the Astronomy Tower and everything." She paused to give Nancy a chance to take this in.
"But, er..." She wondered how to approach the second part of what she wanted to say. "Well, have you read the Daily Prophet recently? There was... was an attack in the Leaky Cauldron a little while ago. I was there that day, and I think the person who was killed there was, you know, the professor." She stared at Nancy. "Why would someone... kill him?"

Nancy fumbled around with the sleeve of her robes a little nervously while glancing back and forth between Kiri and a very interesting-looking cloud up in the sky. It really was amazing how somehow it seemed to be Flobberworm-shaped...yes, it really looked like...That was the moment Kiri chose to answer her. Oh my, why did she have to be that bad at all this consoling other people and stuff?!

The 15 year looked straight at Kiri, her eyes showing a little hint of curiosity, as the girl started explaining why her mood had been better before. Fortunately, the younger Slytherin seemed to feel as uncomfortable as she currently felt as it looked like she was talking to a nearby pumpkin and not her. Professor Forrester. So this was what this whole thing was about. Alright, this was a good reason. "Yes, I know." She replied sadly. "I've heard that too." She still couldn't quite believe that this was true. And above all she was curious as to how he'd died. Something told her his death had not been under normal circumstances...

Completely lost in thought Nancy had also leaned against the white fence next to Kiri and her blue eyes had started wandering off towards the pumpkins again. Images of ways how Professor Forrester died flashed before her inner eye, even though, yes, this was a little crazy and probably also a bit sick. Her head jerked back around to face Kiri again in surprise as she started talking about something in the Daily Prophet. "Yeah...I read about this incident in Leaky Cauldron..." She replied tentatively as she listened curiously to how Kiri continued. Forrester was the person who got killed?!

This was something Nancy had to give a great bunch of thought first, so her eyes drifted back to the pumpkins in front of them. The professor was killed. Killed right there in Diagon Alley. With all of the students there. With Kiri there. Just, crazy. "I don't know..." She seriously couldn't think of a reason why somebody would kill Forrester. "Although...was he alone there in the Leaky Cauldron? You know, cause, maybe..." She trailed off glancing at Kiri out of the corner of her eyes waiting for her answer.

"Dunno," Kiri mumbled, subjecting the nearest pumpkin to a long, blank stare as she thought. She'd scanned the Daily Prophets following the day of the attack carefully for any news, and had decided to do so even more now that she knew who the victim had been. So far, however, the Ministry and the Aurors appeared to be clueless. "I've heard lots of rumours. That the Headmaster was with him... That he was only hit by accident because the real target was the Headmaster... That it was because of what happened at the Assembly..."

"I just can't believe something like this would happen! If it was an accident, that still means someone wanted to kill Professor Bontecou? And... and what if they try again here? At school?" She had to resist the urge to turn around and look at the trees. Instead, she turned to look at Nancy, wide-eyed. She didn't really want to talk about this, but curiosity got the better of her. "Have you, er, heard anything else?"

feeling slightly bored with herself, Lilly walked out to the pumpkin patch and sat staring at a particularly large pumpkin. it looked nice enough. she just sat there staring at it. she probably looked insane to everyone else but she just kept on sitting.

A seventh year shouldn't be so surprised to see a place she had never been before. Although she was in Hogwarts for quite some time, this Hufflepuff girl still got lost too many times and she should kepe in mind that Hogwarts was a mysterious castle, and therefore had a lot of hiden places to find out. The pumpkin patch wasn't exactly hidden, but it seemed to be a calm place and once she was already there, Eva decided to stay.

She had brought a little sketchbook but really, who was she trying to fool? That wasn't the reason why she wanted a quiet place that provided her some privacy from more curious' looks. She chuckled as she admitted she had been lying to herself lately.
Her plan had been to talk to a Prefect befgore, but Tammy was completely out of question and Rachel Rider.... That girl seemed to have been smashed by a truck over the summer from what Eva had seen of her in classes. Rachel didn't have that nasty shine on her shines nor seemed to care about a lot of things in that moment. So, Eva had left that little fun conversation for later. Truth be told, they had the whole year to try and have a civilizate conversation.

The Hufflepuff woman took a smalll piece of origami from her left pocket and studied it all over again. Nothing garanteed her that it would work - nothing, but the prince's word. Let's see if this works then..., she thought with a sigh. Under the small bird's wing, she wrote his name and closed her eyes, thinking of him.
"Helios."
She told herself she was stupid for believing in someone she barely knew; someone who claimed to be a spy and that was only interested in Hogwart's greater good.
I shall find out soon if he was telling the truth or not, she convinced herself.

Alexandra stepped through the gate of the pumpkin patch and wandered around. Once she found a secluded area to stretch out and relax she plopped herself down. She lay back and got comfortable thinking of her new life at Hogwarts.

Ranch sauntered through the Hogwarts grounds and came apon a pumpkin patch. There were a bunch of people sitting around who seemed to be just staring at there feet. What losers, he thought but then immediatley took it back, it wasn't like he had any friends or was doing anything either. He sat on a pumpkin near one of the other loners, a first year Griffie by the look of it. He gave her a small smile.

Japanese wizards knew the secrets of origami. Flowers, and tigers, and birds made from sheets of paper. To those that gave them purpose, they were more than just folded art. With a stretch and a flutter, the fragile bird in Eva's palm took flight. Circling the girls head, it then hovered for a moment on paper thin wings before zipping off. Not towards the castle, but towards the dark woods.

Now she would just have to wait..

..a little longer..

And there he was, as if he had descended from the heavens, or slinked from the shadows. The sunlight made his hair shimmer like gold, the radiance possibly distracting attention away from the sharp piece of metal in his hand, down at his side.

She dared summon him. Now she had to live with the consequences.

Alexandra looked up as a boy sat on a pumpkin near her and smiled. She returned his smile and said, "Lovely day isn't it? I am Alexandra Kennedy. You are?.

Eva watched at the bird of paper flew away, circling her head and then moving on the forest. She girl gave a step back, amazed with what she had just seen, and stayed like that, staring into she woods she would never dare to set a foot on for a few minutes.
Ten minutes later and already tired of waiting, Eva sat down on the grass and pulled her skecthbook. She was such a fool. Why had she even believed in him? Those were the type of thoughts the prince interrupted.
Eva saw a shadow and she didn't have to look up to know who it belonged to. "Geez, what took you so long? I was starting to think it didn't work... and that you were the liar I first thought you were." she complained, not looking up. When she did it, she was speechless:
"Wow... Oh my god. Don't you dare to move. Not that you're a god, but the way the sunlight reflects on your hair it's just... perfect. Stay still." moving her quill quickly, the young woman made a draft of the prince. He was sooo going to have to let her draw him under that light in that time of the day. It just looked... perfect.

THe girl packed her few belongins and stood up with a small sight.
"I want to draw you. Later, with more time, I want to draw you. With this light... it's just amazing how it can turn out... And just know that I won't take no for an answer. " she warned with a small chuckle. One second later, Eva saw it. The small sharp piece of metal in his hand. Suddenly, she felt scared. Terrified. And yet, she tried not to show it with her eyes. Carefully, she placed her hand on the metal and looked straight into his eyes. She didn't seem very confident, but she was glad she trusted herself enough to know she was showing him the panic she was relaly feeling.
"Helios..." her voicewas nothing more than a low whisper. It was the first time she called him from his first name, and this time she was not joking. "Helios, what are you doing?"

With the blue sky in his eyes, Helios looked curiously at Eva as she marveled at him. "I do advise caution. Would not want me to think any higher of myself." Though he still appeared passive, a keen eye could see that he was actually quite flattered, a smile tugging at the edges of his mouth.

What could of became a smile was wiped away when she noticed the shard in his hand. "Careful..it's sharp." The prince's voice was a faint whisper, as if sharing some important secret. A mischevious grin creeping onto his face.

"Hold this. Might be a little safer." Before kneeling down, he placed a small candle in Eva's hand. Slightly amused with the panic he caused, Helios plunged the sharpend metal into the top of a pumpkin, carving a circle so he could pull out the top and get at those gooey pumpkin guts.

Wrist deep in pumpkin goo, the young man laughed. "You should have seen the look on your face."

"Ranch Townsen," he said, "Sooo....you liking it here at Hogwarts?"

Alexandra sat up and looked at the boy. "I LOVE it here! Everything is so... magical!" she giggled. "How are you liking it so far?" she inquired. Then she pulled her legs up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them.

Deciding to go for a walk with Roma, Constantine chose to take a path that passed by his beloved pumpkin patch. His prides of joy. The pumpkins that were going to make Halloween simply the greatest! He even had a little one growing that he was going to carve especially for Jadyn when she came to visit him.

He laughed gently as Roma seemed to trip over herself in an attempt to grab at a charmed ball. Every time she lunged for it, it would roll a good 3 feet away and wait for the next pounce. It allowed Neo time to look around and see what things had to be done the next day. For sure, pumpkins needed to be checked and made sure that they were growing at the right rate and healthily.

Speaking of pumpkins...

Catching sight of something in the pumpkin patch, Constantine squinted and saw the strange Hufflepuff boy. And he was leaning over a pumpkin...

!!

He was carving into the pumpkin! They're weren't ready for carving yet!

"OI." Constantine entered into the patch himself, clearly not pleased. AT ALL. "What the heck do you think you're doing," he asked of the boy, eyeing the sharp object in the boys hand. "Get away from that pumpkin, child," he frowned, and with a quick flick of his wand and an "accio", he summoned the sharp thing from the boy's hand and caught it as it flew into his own.

Alexandra started when the groundskeeper started to yell at the Hufflepuff boy. "Ummmm... I think I am going to get out of his pumpkin patch before he yells at me too" she told the boy who she had been talking to. As she got up to scurry out of the patch she looked back at the boy and said," Hey, maybe I'll see you around soon!" And with that she turned to leave.

"I believe they call it a Jack O' Lantern. Though I do not know who Jack is, nor why he used a pumpkin for a lantern." Frowning as his carving implement was taken away just as he was about to finish, leaving the pumpkin with only a mouth and no eyes.

The groundskeeper had a nose for trouble, and now he had the prince's scent. Now how to get Constantine off his trail?

"Found these curious little candles down the way from Diagon Alley. Shopkeeper said they are charmed..or cursed..I forget which. Do not lie and tell me you are not the least bit curious to see what they do."

Of course it didn't dawn on Helios that he might be in trouble. He still had to report to Kaz for something he did two terms ago, how much worse could things get?

Don't answer that..

OOC: Going to let Flip reply before I post again.

Walking around the ground, He noticed a Pumpkin Patch. Their Groundskeeper has a really brilliant mind, He kept adding some beautiful attractions at their school. He, then proceeded at the Pumpkin Patch. Then he recognized a cute, little child. Then their groundskeeper, Mr. Constantine shouted. He don't know why, did he do something wrong? He sighed, It was not him who did something wrong, An another student who touched their groundskeeper's precious pumpkins. He reached Mr. Constantine, "Hello Mr. Masterson." He greeted him politely then he glanced at Constantine's child. He bent down his head. "Hi cute, little girl. You must be Mr.Masterson's daughter." He grinned at the child. She looks lovely like his mother.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Helios Sunrider

"I believe they call it a Jack O' Lantern. Though I do not know who Jack is, nor why he used a pumpkin for a lantern." Frowning as his carving implement was taken away just as he was about to finish, leaving the pumpkin with only a mouth and no eyes.

The groundskeeper had a nose for trouble, and now he had the prince's scent. Now how to get Constantine off his trail?

"Found these curious little candles down the way from Diagon Alley. Shopkeeper said they are charmed..or cursed..I forget which. Do not lie and tell me you are not the least bit curious to see what they do."

Of course it didn't dawn on Helios that he might be in trouble. He still had to report to Kaz for something he did two terms ago, how much worse could things get?

Don't answer that..

OOC: Going to let Flip reply before I post again.

"Uh huh. Charming," Constantine frowned, sarcasm in his tone. "And you're right, I am totally not curious in your candles," he answered, folding his arms, his face: dead serious. "I'm more than twice your age, boy, and I've seen a lot...a lot of stuff that 100x more interesting than a set of candles.

"Now," his eyes looked at the poor little pumpkin, "from the looks of it...you've just destroyed something that belongs to me. I've been spending careful time getting these pumpkins ready for Halloween, not some boy who's carving them in September so that he can check out his candle. 5 points from Hufflepuff for carving & destruction of my property without my permission...and, get out of my patch." Constantine stood to the side and held the gate open; Roma came inside and situated herself between two pumpkins, laying down and looking ready to fall asleep. "Get out and you're not allowed to come back until such a time when I say you can."

Cedric gasped, a little bit shocked. Their Groundskeeper just took 5 points from Hufflepuff but he's in the right reason. He dunno, but Hufflepuff these days were quite rebellious. He glanced at the carved pumpkin, it now looks horrible. That Hufflepuff is mean, he destructed one of the precious pumpkins. And as Mr. Masterson said, He been spending time to get those pumpkins ready. Poor Mr. Masterson, Cedric sighed. "Errr.. Umm, Mr. Masterson. I can help you to get those pumpkins ready for October, I think you would need help because some of the pumpkins were destructed." Cedric said looking at him wistfully. He just want to help, Helping is fun.

What was he doing? Of course it was sharp! She had realized it, otherwise she would have never been so scared. Eva hated sharp things, either it was an ancient relic, like a dagger, or just a simple knife she used eating. Other than the aboslute necessary, Eva made her best to stay away from sharp things... unless they were talking about horse saddles and the related instruments to deal properly with horses. That was whole different subject.

Very different emotions hit her all the sudden. When she realized how foolish she had been and that there was no reason to be scared, she blushed... and laughed, because of her exagerated drama. And he was laughing too. She narrowed her eyes at him with a distrustful expression:
"You're laughing?! You did it on purpose!" she told him off and gave him a very soft friendly punch in the arm - even if she was mad at him and wanted to punch him for real, she would never have the strength needed, which was one of the things she liked to hide better about herself.


Eva watched as Neo, the groundskeeper, approached them. She had had her share of problems with groundskeepers before. She keep quietly as her... well, as Helios Sunrider seemed to take care of the situation.
"Mr. Masterson... We were just here admiring your lovely pumpkins and - Helios is going to hate me for sayying it - but he wanted to make you and our teachers a surprise. As you know, Jack O'Lantern's celebrations happen in a about a month..." Eva interrupted herself and played her good girl, very innocent, looks. ".... well, at least in the muggle world they do. Wer really just wnated to make a surprise to our teachers, seeing this is our last year." she paused with a the shadow of sadness crossing her face. She quickly regain her composure and added in a good mood: "You're finally getting rid of us, Mr. Mastersons."

She took a slight bow to the groudskeeper and began to walk away with an annoyed mood, grabbing the prince by his sleeve, not stopping to think at all. If he wasn't used to be treated like a common person, he would have to learn to deal with it, because Eva was not going to give him a rest if he started acting all superior and bossy.
"C'mon, let's go. You got us into enough trouble. I have never been to detention, and that's not something I'm looking forward to." she stated and almost ran until they where out of Neo's sight, hiden behind a tree right after the gate. Geez, that man always annoys me! She and groundskeeper had this 'thing' that she was caught doing something by them. It was starting to be annoying a creating a little bit of hate torwards the ground's responsables. At least he's not that annoying little woman... she thought.

Eva finally stopped walking and leant on another tree. That all summoning the prince thing and freaking about about the sharp object was all a little to much for her, considering Neo's intervention. Ah well.... Why do I keep coming to the grouns to relax when I know I will get into troubles?!
She studied the prince wondering what he would be thinking about. Because he had a lot of things to explain, his strange behavior being one of them. The girl gazed at him with a lopside smile:
"You know, sometimes being around you might be quite disturbing..." she told him, her eyes looking for some sign, as small as it was, that she should ran away back to the castle instead of keep on walking with him.