Clement had heard that Scotland was a cold place in winter, so he'd intended on going around the grounds of the school during the end of the summer period, and autumn before it got too cold. He didn't really want to get too cold, he didn't like the cold. The slytherin fifth year had wandered down past the herbology greenhouses, giving them a bit of a look. He really wasn't into herbology. And he moved on, finding some big tree thing. Well this was odd. The ginger walked on a bit further, over to the rather large tree. It seemed all on it's own. Well that was odd. Who planted a tree all on it's own. Whoever designed this area of the grounds was really stupid.

"Hmm....I would've put more trees around here..." He murmured to himself, as he stopped, a fair distance away from the tree as he looked up at him. "Looks lonely..."

Quote:

Originally Posted by RachieRu

Clement had heard that Scotland was a cold place in winter, so he'd intended on going around the grounds of the school during the end of the summer period, and autumn before it got too cold. He didn't really want to get too cold, he didn't like the cold. The slytherin fifth year had wandered down past the herbology greenhouses, giving them a bit of a look. He really wasn't into herbology. And he moved on, finding some big tree thing. Well this was odd. The ginger walked on a bit further, over to the rather large tree. It seemed all on it's own. Well that was odd. Who planted a tree all on it's own. Whoever designed this area of the grounds was really stupid.

"Hmm....I would've put more trees around here..." He murmured to himself, as he stopped, a fair distance away from the tree as he looked up at him. "Looks lonely..."

Natalie needed somewhere quiet to study. She knew that there was a huge library inside the castle that would be the perfect spot to do so, but she figured that she would take advantage of the nice weather before it got really cold. Dressed in jeans and a light sweater as it was later in the afternoon, she had found a nice spot to do her Ancient Runes homework a fair distance from the Whomping Willow. Coming here was a brilliant idea to be honest. Everyone knew that the tree in front of her was dangerous, meaning there would be no one to distract her from her studies. Or at least that’s what she thought.

As she flipped a page of her book over, she realized that some boy had come by. Natalie didn’t have a problem with that … until he started talking to himself. Then he started moving closer to the tree. Ugh! Why were boys so stupid? “I wouldn’t get any closer if I were you,” she warned the boy, not glancing up from her textbook. Whether or not he listened to her was his choice. Now back to runes…

It was the first day of school, and since Audrey didn't have any lessons at this particular point in time, she'd gone off wandering around the grounds. She loved school, but all that sitting still was going to drive her mad. She was just leaving Herbology so she explored the area close to the greenhouses first.

She came upon a huge willow tree and actually beamed in excitement. She loved climbing big trees; it was just what she needed before she headed off to another class. She could hang upside down from the top.

As she broke out in a run to get to the massive tree (Audrey never sits and hardly ever just walks places), she noticed someone else standing nearby. Audrey noticed another person, a girl, saying something to him she didn't catch from her distance away. She slowed down when she got close and stood just behind them.

Wait a sec..."Is it moving?" she asked. Man, magic was cool.

This tree did look odd. Cle tilted his head to the side as he looked at the tree. Although Cle wasn't that good at seeing if trees were odd or not. He wasn't really into herbology. It was huge though. He was sure he'd never seen a tree that big. He was half tempted to go over to it. Poke it or something. But he kind of sensed maybe he shouldn't? And it was kind of getting a bit later in the day. He should be heading back up to the school. It would be dinner time soon, and he was pretty hungry. It was all of those stairs. he'd never seen so many stairs in his life. The school really needed an lift or something. Maybe he could just take all the classes on floors one to three. That would stop him having to climb so high.

He was distracted by his thoughts of the stairs when he heard a voice, and he whipped his head around. Oh. He hadn't seen someone before. He smirked a little, glancing over at her. "Oh?" He asked, sounding amused. "Is it gonna hit me in the butt or something?" He asked, with a laugh.

Quote:

Originally Posted by freddy-finn

It was the first day of school, and since Audrey didn't have any lessons at this particular point in time, she'd gone off wandering around the grounds. She loved school, but all that sitting still was going to drive her mad. She was just leaving Herbology so she explored the area close to the greenhouses first.

She came upon a huge willow tree and actually beamed in excitement. She loved climbing big trees; it was just what she needed before she headed off to another class. She could hang upside down from the top.

As she broke out in a run to get to the massive tree (Audrey never sits and hardly ever just walks places), she noticed someone else standing nearby. Audrey noticed another person, a girl, saying something to him she didn't catch from her distance away. She slowed down when she got close and stood just behind them.

Wait a sec..."Is it moving?" she asked. Man, magic was cool.

Quote:

Originally Posted by RachieRu

This tree did look odd. Cle tilted his head to the side as he looked at the tree. Although Cle wasn't that good at seeing if trees were odd or not. He wasn't really into herbology. It was huge though. He was sure he'd never seen a tree that big. He was half tempted to go over to it. Poke it or something. But he kind of sensed maybe he shouldn't? And it was kind of getting a bit later in the day. He should be heading back up to the school. It would be dinner time soon, and he was pretty hungry. It was all of those stairs. he'd never seen so many stairs in his life. The school really needed an lift or something. Maybe he could just take all the classes on floors one to three. That would stop him having to climb so high.

He was distracted by his thoughts of the stairs when he heard a voice, and he whipped his head around. Oh. He hadn't seen someone before. He smirked a little, glancing over at her. "Oh?" He asked, sounding amused. "Is it gonna hit me in the butt or something?" He asked, with a laugh.

The fifth year girl closed her book with a huff when she heard another voice. Was it really going to be that difficult to find a quiet place to study? Sure, the Willow was quite intriguing, but that did not mean it needed to be gawked at in close proximity of its branches. Like, from one of the towers would’ve been perfect for that. But this time a little girl’s voice had come from behind her. Natalie turned her head and saw the girl make a run for the tree. If the boy had a brain, he would stop her from getting any closer if she continued since he was already standing. Fortunately the little girl had some common sense and stopped when she realized that the tree was moving.

“Yeah, it’s moving. And I would stay right where you are because-” Natalie started to tell the girl until she was cut off from the boy’s laughing. ‘Is it gonna hit me in the butt or something?’ Wow. Did this one get hit with one too many Confundus charms before coming here? And where did that accent come from? “More like crush you flat. There’s a reason why that tree is all by itself. It’s the Whomping Willow.” Hopefully she didn’t need to give a history lesson.

The Whomping Willow seemed like the perfect place to sit and do some thinking so that's where Ella walked to, the book Sir Treyen had sent her for her birthday wrapped in her arms. You know, just in case the thinking go to be a bit much.

Plopping down a ways away from the dangerous limbs of the tree, the blonde placed the book beside her and closed her eyes. Deep breath. Everything was going to be just fine. Mhm. Just because Mordred hated her, Theo apparently loved her, the Hair Whipper appeared to like someone else, and she was FIFTEEN now didn't mean anything. Nope... just little bumps in the road is all. ...Yeah.

Opening her eyes again, Ella bit down on her lip and tried to think about better things. Happier stuff like Quidditch...and classes...and friends.


...Like Mordred who hated her, Theo who apparently loved her, and the Hair Whipper.

Mellow.

Ice cream was his saviour. Really.

Having been confused for a while about the events of the past couple of days, Alec had sat down in the Great Hall and just... ate. Yeah. Ate ice cream until he figured out what was going on. Because... over the past couple of days, it was as if everyone had decided to blurt out their suppressed, innermost feelings and thoughts and Alec had just... listened to it all.

But... he was still confused.

So, he was out here, just wandering around until his mind stopped being so... confusing. And... it needed to stop landing on one blonde girl in particular because... well... everytime he thought about her, he just became extra confused and happy and...

... no, Messy! They liked each other, right? So he had to just... move on. Or try to, anyways.

And he was going to start NOW NOW NOW. No more thinking about... her. He think about... Quidditch? And ice cream? And...

"Ells?" ... So much for not thinking about her. Head!shake. She was here! Right by the... hey, the Whomping Willow! Alec grinned a little at this. It was the spot they usually met up in, right? Yeah. It was their spot. Where they sat. Together.

Shaking his head again, the fourth year walked up to his housemate and... ruffled his hair. "Erm... hey! Erm... you look really... erm... I mean that dress is... erm..." Why couldn't he just talk? "Erm... you look really pretty, Ells." Smile.

Psh. This thinking positively stuff was for the birds. It was really hard to be positive when bad stuff kept happening, yeah? Plus it was just downright exhausting pretending all the time. Not that she wanted to make anyone else sad by being a mope all the time. Nope. Maybe...she could just hide out in the kitchens and become a house elf or something?

...Hey! Yeah! Yeah, she could totally do that! Kurumi was basically a house elf so why not Ella?! The thought actually made her smile a little because if she was a house elf she'd get ice cream like...all the time, right? MYGOSH! She'd like live right next to the ice cream! That was just...something to really consider.

And then someone was talking to her. BLINK. It was Alec. Ella couldn't help but BEAM at the boy, though she was still quite sad about the fact that he didn't like her. But...what had she been expecting, anyway? How could he ever like someone like her? "H-hey Hair Whipper!" She said, looking up at the boy all smiley. And he was...having trouble speaking? Ella watched him curiously, raising an eyebrow as he mentioned her dress. Wait...pretty? He thought...she looked pretty? That was...BLUSH! "Erm I...That's um...thanks." JHFHLKFHJFKL WHY did he have to be so cute and nice and just...INNERFLAILING. Meh. "Erm Gran made me come back with loads of dresses. We erm...shopped a lot this summer."

Oh and..."Want to um...sit?"

Why was it that whenever he was around this blonde haired girl, his mind just turned to mush? But... around most of his other friends, who just so happened to be girls, he was completely fine? Yeah... he didn't really understand that.

... He needed help.

See, Superman needed to come and explain... girls to him. Or... or Treyen or Keefer or someone. Just... someone who was older and semi-understood girls, you know? Someone who could explain to him why things felt weird but great at the same time and why... why he got happy with the tiniest things this particular girl did.

Oh... but hey! She was beaming at him! That was a good sign, yeah? Because... it meant that the two of them could stay on good terms, even if she liked his roommate. "Hey Ells!" he said, grinning back at her, "Erm... I... yeah. Anytime!" So... she had understood what he had meant? That was... good. Yeah. Because he didn't really understand much when he was around her.

Alec tilted his head as the girl started talking about her Gran and the... dresses? The fourth year grinned some more at her words. It was just... nice. You know, that they could talk about normal things. Just... yeah. He liked that. "Yeah? Erm... did you... end up going wig shopping with her as well?" For her Gran's play... right?

... Oh! Sitting down! Yeah, he should probably do that. "Erm... yeah, yeah... thanks!" he said, plopping himself down right next to the girl, "Erm... so... it's a nice day, today..." ... Really, Summers, really?!

Well someone didn't look very happy. Clement turned around with a little smirk on his face. This was going to be amusing, and was much more entertaining than the tree now. The girl had a book with her, so had obviously been studying or something. That was odd. But then he hadn't seen her in his house, so maybe she was like a ravenclaw or something. The boy glanced at the tree before stepping away, after noticing that another girl at come too. The other girl, book girl, had started talking again, and Clement glanced at her. The whomping willow?

He thought about it for a few minutes. "Aaah..." He mused with a nod, glancing at the tree. "That would explain it..." He mused more to himself than anyone else really. He didn't give a glance at the tree. He really didn't need to be crushed flat by a tree. Not really. It wouldn't do well.

Ella was a bit sad as she observed the boy carefully. She was really dumb, having a crush on someone so...well someone really awesome. And here she was, Ella Bishop the over thinker. She wasn't exactly someone that somebody would have a crush on now was she? Well...except Theodore. She was still a bit confused about all that, actually. Having a crush on her just seemed...well really silly. Yeah...

His grin sort of snapped her out of her thoughts and she felt her cheeks turn a bit pinkish. He was...well really adorable sometimes and she wished he'd just stop that. It'd be easier to talk to her if he wasn't smiling and being so...so perfect. Sheesh. She smiled up at him and decided she'd compliment him as well because well...it seemed like the nice thing to do after the erm...compliment he gave her. "You look nice too, y'know."
Mhm.

Wig shopping? He'd remembered that? Ella beamed at him and nodded her head, wondering why it was he'd remembered something...well something so random. It was really nice when people remembered the little things. It made Ella feel...well it was silly but it felt like Alec really cared what she had to say. "We did! Gran erm...got this black wig for the play and I got to try some on as well." And she giggled at the memory, thinking of how silly she had looked in the wigs. "I really liked this red one I tried on, reminded me of Loch Nessie!" And Ella hoped someday she could be half as awesome as their captain.

When he sat down next to her, Ella became suddenly quite nervous. That was...odd. It was just Alec...the erm...Alec the hair whipper. This wasn't a big deal. She turned to look at him as he spoke and she grinned, nodding her head. "Oh I...yeah it's really nice out." And the blonde looked up at the sky, smiling a little more. "Lots of clouds and stuff..."


Right....this wasn't awkward at all.

Confused wasn't even the right word for it anymore. He was more... conflicted? Yeah. Conflicted. Because a part of him wanted to keep his distance and not... ruin things for Ells and Messy. Not that he would because... well... no one would choose him, would they? Apart from Tag, probably.

But then... a part of him actually liked being around the blonde haired girl. A big part of him, at that. It was just... nice. And different from all the other friends he tended to hang out with and... well... he didn't really understand why. It was probably just something about the girl and-

...

O___________O

Breathe... breathe... breathe...

Had she... really... just said that? Alec sat there, letting the words wash over him. It was... well... had she, Ella Bishop, just told him that he looked nice? "I... erm... thanks Ells!" GRIN. "Erm... that... I... that's really nice of you to say." Nodnod. ... And... was it starting to heat up?

You know what was nice? Just listening to Ells talk about... stuff. He didn't mind what they talked about, as long as they got the chance to talk. And this particular conversation? It was enough to make him let out a small chuckle. "Yeah? Oh! Hey! Erm... for her... Shakespeare play, right?" She did say something about Shakespeare and being one of Cleopatra's... maidens? ... OH. GRIN. "You know... erm... if you brought the wig to Hogwarts, you could have pretended to be our awesome Captain for a day," he said, grinning a little more. ... It could happen, right?

... So this was awkward.

Although, since it was him and Ells here, it really wasn't surprising, right? They were just... like that. Two very awkward Hufflepuff fourth years. The young boy grinned back at Ells before looking up at the sky. "Erm... yeah! Pretty great for September..." he said, looking back down at the blonde haired girl.

Alec's eyes widened a bit at Ella's compliment and she bit down on her lip hard. Was that...a really weird thing to say? She wasn't trying to make him uncomfortable or anything it just kind of...came out? And it wasn't like it was a lie. The boy really did look nice and not just today, all the time. Not that Ella would ever tell him that...nope. And the silence? It made Ella wonder if she should have just kept her mouth shut. "Sorry I...was that weird to say?" Like weirder than the stuff that usually came out of her mouth?

But then he was grinning and thanking her, meaning things were okay, yeah? That was a relief. "Oh um...you're welcome!" BEAM! "It's erm...just the truth so..." Oh Merlin...she was SO turning pink right now. The blonde looked down and willed it to go away.

He was laughing? That was really nice to hear and it made Ella giggle a bit as well, her green eyes trained on the boy. "Mhm! Yeah... yeah, for her Shakespeare play. I um...it's nice that you erm...remembered that." It showed that he really listened which was...well really really...anyway. The blonde GRINNED at his idea of being Loch Nessie for a day, nodding her head. "Y'know, maybe for Halloween or something!" GIGGLE! "Erm though I'd have to practice being as awesome as Ness...oh and erm screeching and cheek pinching!" Because Ness did those things a lot, yeah?

This conversation about weather stuff? It was...a bit odd. Ella didn't really understand why things always got like this between them, especially since Alec didn't feel the way about her that she...well that she felt about him. She frowned as she looked up at the sky, wondering how she could possibly stop liking him when he was just...so likeable. "Erm I..." Wait, what were they saying again? "Oh erm...hey that cloud over there? It looks...kind of like a broom, yeah?" And she pointed, leaning over just a bit in his direction to show him. She only realized how close she was when she looked up at him. Blink...erm yeah.

Before Lex left her common room she ensured that she had everything she needed; everything being her bag of candy and her kneazle. Felix wasn't one to play nicely with others so she took him with her on walks when she could. Better that than to have him starting little scuffles with the other felines in the Gryffindor tower.

"Hellooooooo." She chirped, skipping close enough to admire the tree without being close enough to get herself crushed. "I haven't seen you all summer, did you miss me?" YES she was talking to the tree. The two had a special bond that only they would understand. Besides, what else did she have to do until Mo decided to show up? Felix was good company but he couldn't exactly talk the way the tree could.

"I'm pretty sure you did. With me gone you didn't have anyone to play with you."

She took a seat on the ground and watched Felix curled up right next to her. Now she would wait...here's to hoping he'll be here soon. Waiting wasn't her thing and she wouldn't pretend it was.

"You're talking to yourself. Unless you think the tree can understand you," Mo flopped out on the grass a few feet away from Lex and stared up at the very very blue sky. He was a bit interested in the tree, mostly because it was so extremely violent.

And because Lex was going to be there, and so he had to show up to make sure she didn't die or something. "You really need to be more careful. I'm supposed to keep you out of trouble, but here you are being best friends with an old mean tree. You see the pickle I'm in?"

Lex twisted slightly and grinned over at Mo when he showed up. Felix merely raised his head to see who had joined them then went on napping. "Am not. The tree is a very good listener you know and it never argues with me. We understand each other." There was no way she'd pass up a chance to be near a tree like this. It had everything she was looking for and it always made her get her way...so long as she didn't stand too close. She didn't fail to notice that he sat at a bit of a distance. Did he think the tree would swoop down and start swinging randomly?

Although that was quite likely.

"I'm afraid I don't follow. What does me being friends with the tree have to do with you taking care of me? It's not like I'd try to give it a hug--what do you think would happen if I did though????" Her gaze shifted to the tree. Hugs were nice. Would it accept one? "And it's not that mean...just...um...misunderstood." Misunderstood things definitely needed hugs.

The girl was a total nutter, considering she had an affection for murderous plant-life that bordered on way too friendly. Was the tree her best friend or something? And... if it was, that made him feel sort of squirmy and sad and like maybe he ought to start letting poor Lex sit with him in the Great Hall more often.

"Trees can't argue. Don't have mouths. But it can whomp you, 'cause its name says so. And whomping probably isn't nearly as nice as a hug. Which you should not do, by the way. I'll get a howler from Vivi." And it wasn't like she needed help with amplification. "Anyway, I'm supposed to keep you out of trouble or from bodily harm. That's how I'm taking it, anyway. So stop doing things that might get you harmed."

She got a wide smile when he tried telling her trees couldn't argue. "I know, that's the point." No one said the child liked being argued with in the first place and if talking to a tree was the only way to be 100% right then she would make the trek out her as often as she needed to. "If it can't talk it can't tell me I have dumb ideas and it can't try talking me out of things. It can only listen." She paused, her brows crinkling slightly. "And I don't think it'd whomp me. We have history together! I'm it's only friend!" Because she was the only one that bothered to give the tree any form of entertainment. Not everyone had time to play with a tree you know.

o_O

"You'd get an owl from Vivi if I were to get hurt?" She was now beaming. Over the summer she was wondering how she would be able to pull off not dying without her Mama Vivi around, and yeah she heard that he was supposed to 'take care of the baby lion' but she thought that extended only to supplying her with chocolate frogs; an excellent way to take care of any chocolate frog mind you. "Would she send me an owl too with a get well card while I'm in the hospital wing???" Or a howler yelling at her for being reckless, that could work too, as long as she got one.

Mo rolled slightly and gave Lex a look. He might, usually, have endless patience with odd people and odd questions and odd predicaments, but Lex was argumentative for the sake of having an argument, and Mo wanted to lay here on the ground and not argue. See how that worked? "You need to take a moment and think about something other than yourself, okay? You should think about me and how I don't deserve a howler because you have a death wish."

But for the record, if he and Lex got attacked by the tree, Lex would be the one to get a card. Not fair OR nice, but true. "And I never have said you have dumb ideas. Why is the tree a more interesting companion than me?"

Lex staaaaared over at him wondering why he was looking at her like that. She was hoping he wasn't one of those people who froze in times of crisis because it might have meant the tree was about to do her in and he was just there looking. When nothing suddenly swooped down and knocked the breath out of her she figured his look was for another reason.

And there it was. "I don't have a death wish, I'm actually working on not dying at the moment!" BEAM. From what she was told, that was like a rule or something and it was one she didn't mind following. She did see his point though and gave a sigh. "Right. I suppose you'd get in trouble, wouldn't you? This doesn't mean I have to walk around in some kind of safety bubble for the rest of the year and stay away from trouble does it?" That didn't sound very fun at all. If that's how things would go then a howler would be sent!

She shot him a curious look. "I never said it was. A tree's no substitute for real company, it just works pretty good when I don't want company." Did that make sense? She could explain it a different way. She inched her candy bag towards him. "Help yourself."

"Not dying is a plus. I'm definitely in favor of not dying," Mo inched her way a bit and grabbed candy from the bag. Everyone had such bossy rules for him, and this weird discrepancy between Vivi and West's set of rules had him walking a very fine line between ticking West off or having Vivi eat his face off.

"Would you be opposed to permanent cushioning charms? What about that Muggle bubble wrap? I mean... that could be a very interesting fashion statement. You could be That Girl in Bubble Wrap." And who would say no to that? "I bet they make pink bubble wrap. You like pink. I know you do."

Seemed like they were on the same page with that whole no dying thing. There were too many things to do and too many people to see for her to simply die like that. "We'll work on not dying together, like back on the train when I saved your life." Then she gave a firm nod. If she hadn't been there he might have fallen to his doom. Pfft. He was so welcome, no need to thank her for her heroism.

She made a face at his suggestions. "Those sound uncomfortable and I don't think I'd be able to sneak into tight spaces while wearing them plus I'd be more likely to get caught! I think I'd prefer to be put in a bubble so I can role around." Now THAT would've been epic. Lex paused to eye the sleeping kneazle, for now she would take his silence as his consent to riding around in it with her--

o_O

BranxtonBoySayWhat???

"Ew." She said simply but then she decided that answer wasn't good enough. "EWW! Why in Merlin's beard would anyone like that disgusting colour? Couldn't I have it in blue?" Wait! They were NOT discussing this. The colour wasn't important because she didn't plan to walk around with bubble wrap.

Today was such a fine day, Bliss thought as she skipped around the tree merrily. For whatever reason, she was having a really, really good day. She'd frozen the Whomping Willow for the moment, using the trick she'd learnt in first year and was now blissfully skipping around it, humming to herself. She must be high of sugar or something right now, because although Bliss was normally quite happy, this was a whole new LEVEL of happy.

Whatever.

SKIPSKIPSKIP.

"You did not save my life," Mo scowled at her, although there wasn't much bite in it. She'd sort of kept him safe, but she'd also put him in extreme danger. Extreme. Danger.

He did laugh at her reaction to his bubble wrap comment, especially when her concerns were more about the pink then about the wrap itself. Maybe that was their solution, then. Bubble wrap. He'd buy her some and see what happens. "What have you got against pink? It never did anything to you."