Harriet did tend to get a little distracted when she was painting. She kind of went into a little world of her own. It was okay most of the time. She didn't do a lot of portraits. It wasn't her forte, and she preferred doing a lot of landscapes. So she didn't need to talk to anyone whilst she painted. So right now, she was going into a little world of her own. She just wanted to make sure that the painting looked good. Felicity was so beautiful, and she really just wanted to do her beauty justice. She knew her friend would say it was good regardless, but she really did want it to be good.

"Lies" She muttered, shaking her head as she looked up from the canvas and smiled. Felicity was so pretty, and Harriet was a little jealous to be honest. She'd thought about it a lot when Flynn had picked Felicity over her, but she was over it now. She didn't want that to ruin the friendship she had with the girl. "Don't worry. I will" Not that that she was doing anything. Felicity looked like a supermodel anyway.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Steelsheen

Scarlett was looking at him. With that face. A face that says something truly horrifying has entered her field of vision.

His blue-green eyes widened in alarm, and instinctively started to feel around his face and his head, looking over his entire person "Wh-What is it? Is there some weird growth now? Something missing? Gaaaasp what's missing???"

Bizarre week has turned him batty apparently.

It made Scarlett feel...slightly better when Tenacius FREAKED out and started looking around like he was growing another limb. Maybe she wasn't the only crazy person around here...but she was still nervous. This was all just a coincidence though, right? That he just happened to wander by? After she had woken up from a nap about him?

Oh Merlin. She wasn't still dreaming was she?! He wasn't about to turn into an animal was he?! Heart racing a bit more, she wrinkled her eyebrows.

"Um, what? Nothing, you're not...growing anything," she assured him. What did he mean by now? Was there a weird growth now?

She was so confused.

Perfect. Felicity couldn't help but snort slightly, covering her mouth with one hand as she let her giggles subside. How Hattie could say that with a straight face was beyond her, but it did leave an amused smile on her face. It was sweet that her friend would say that. "How was Paris?" she said, realising that they hadn't talked about the trip that Hattie had taken with her boyfriend. Liss had always wanted to see Paris, and she was excited to hear about what they'd gotten upto.

He was twirling around on the spot, trying to see if maybe theres a tail growing out or something was growing out of him that shouldnt be there "You sure? Because that look on your face... its like I grew a second head or something."

He plopped back on the ground, just stressed out. "Such a weird month." he whispered aloud "I thought my silk pajamas getting all stripey and ruined in the wash was some unfortunate accident-- something the elves dont do by the way-- but what are the odds of me getting electrocuted or my entire uniform turning into a furry wet suit with flippers eh? "

OOC: Of course

"It's a pleasure, Dee, Deh...Daehyun,'' Bartholomew said. A tentacle was extended. "I sincerely apologise for mispronouncing your name. Daehyun it is.'' No nicknames would be for this one. "I certainly do. For one, there are the merpeople who despite their fierce look are actually friendly.''

There was Bartholomew's laughter again. "I've heard that females despise the frizzy hair.'' Bartholomew playfully splashed some water in her direction. "Better ensure that every strand is drenched. I'm over one hundred years old, you see. I've seen a lot in that time. Now I get to add you two to my collection of memories. I trust I'll be seeing you two each year until you graduate?''

"The merpeople are friendly? That's so cool, although I heard that they don't really like witches and wizards.... Although I think that they teach a class on their language here now..." that was enough rambling about the merpeople. Although, she did have one last question remaining about them. "Are there a lot of them in the lake? And what about the Grindylows? Do you get along with them too?"

Then she giggled as the squid splashed her with water. "Thank you for your assistance," she commented lightly, patting down the strands of hair again. Just in case.

"Over a hundred years old?" that was a lot for an eleven year old to wrap her mind around. She was pretty sure she didn't know anything else alive that was over 100 years old. Which, in her opinion which was totally not already being influenced by Daehyun meant that the squid was much more majestic and magical than the castle.

Because the castle was meant to last for millennia, and she couldn't imagine it ever crumbling. But a living being?

"Of course you'll be seeing us... I think it'd be hard to keep me away from the lake," she commented lightly, a grin on her face as she thought about coming back to visit the lake not just to swim, but also to visit a giant creature that she knew she would consider a friend before long.

There it was, the name butchering. But Daehyun could only giggle at Bartholomew's attempts, because he found the squid adorable. When his tentacle went up, Daehyun didn't waste a second in reaching out to hold it lightly.

"Do you speak mermish?" he asked, highly interested in the subject. He had dozens of questions popping in his head, but he supposed he would scare the poor squid away if he shot one after the other. He also wondered if it were possible to meet merpeople, but he supposed it would only be respectful if he learned their language first. It was very likely that he went straight to the library after this lovely meeting with Bartholomew to search for some books on mermish for beginners.

Then his eyes snapped to Shera when she'd mentioned grindylows, but he stayed quiet. While he was eager to see some, he also wasn't, since he couldn't swim and they would likely pull him into the depths of the lake and leave him there like a shipwreck.

And Bartholomew was over 100 years old?! He must know so many things! Daehyun nodded when the squid asked if they'd keep visiting. "Of course we'll come! Would you teach us about what lies under the lake?" He was dying to learn everything Bartholomew was willing to teach them.

It was good to hear his quidditch captain was already thinking in long terms about her role within the team..questioning auditioning for the play AND exercising. It pleased Paul because she didn't have any TEAM experience with quidditch but she seemed quite the excellent flier, from what he could see.

Bottom line, Paul believed in Isa. A great deal.

"Isa...don't worry. You'll be great and Hufflepuff WILL win the house cup this term! We were so close last term!" he grinned. And he would not leave Hogwarts uNTIL Hufflepuff won, okay? "And our quidditch team will rock everyone's socks!" Hopefully. "Well..you can always help out with the play in other ways besides just the acting, you know. Stage stuff...scenery...lights! We always need some lights people!"

“They are friendly though its best to leave them alone. Should you prove no threat to them they will return the favour. Grindylows too. I try to keep out of their way. Have either of you decided to take the Mermish classes?’’ Bartholomew’s tentacles came to a rest. “Quite welcome. Yes, over one hundred years old.’’ Old Bartholomew could see that he had surprised Shera with his age. It was always a fun thing to do with new students. “Then I’ll be seeing you often. I like to have conversations with anyone from the school.’’

Bartholomew shook Daehyun’s hand while replying. “A fair bit. Enough for the merpeople to understand me. I can tell you I understand the language a lot more than I can speak it. Funny how that works isn’t it?’’ Daehyun was surprised about his age too. This never got old. “Of course. I’ll tell you as much as I can. Knowledge is power.’’

At that moment Bartholomew’s stomach attracted his attention. “I’m getting famished. I must go hunting. But it was great getting to know you both.’’

Hattie bit her lip, concentrating as she painted. She figured she probably didn't look overly attractive when she was pulling her really concentrating paint face, but it didn't matter. She made pretty pictures and that was all that mattered to her. She looked up, and smiled at Liss's question. "It was amazing" She adored talking about it, but also didn't want to annoy her friends, so only really talked about it when she was asked. "I loved just looking at all the sights, and eating all the french food. You so need to go! It was lovely!"

Daehyun's eyes glowed. He was so fascinated by everything Bartholomew was telling them, and clung to the squid's every word. Nodding in understanding, he said, "I get that, too. I think I'll take Mermish classes!" He knew it was a difficult language, but it must be rewarding once he knew it. And he and Bartholomew could practice together!

"It was lovely meeting you! Have a great day!" he told the hungry squid with a wave, avoiding to ask what exactly he would be hunting for. He wasn't sure he was ready for the answer.

"Yeah, I can't wait for them to get started!" Shera commented enthusiastically. Languages were awesome, she learnt that at a very young age! "I guess I understand them wanting to be left alone. I mean, if someone came into my home without permission I'd be irritated too..."

Although that did throw a damper on her plan of using gillyweed to meet the mermaids and practice her mermish with them.

"It was amazing meeting you Bartholomew! I'll see you next time!" because she was going to be back.

Shera was too excited about this new friendship.

Ah, how Garreth adored this great lake. Since his very first year at Hogwarts, he'd been coming here to read and relax. Sure, a lot of other people had the same idea, but that's what was so 'great' about the lake; there's plenty of shore for everyone!

This time, Garreth's plans were simple. He'd brought a book with him, "Riddles of a Silent Sorcerer" by Worrlin the Wise, and he thought he'd spend a little time familiarizing himself with its contents. The Seventh-year trudged absentmindedly towards his usual spot and as the ground began to incline, he knew he was getting closer. Before long, he was sitting in the cool grass, right under a lone tree slightly elevated from the lake surface. With a bright smile, he cast a glance over the water. Today was gonna be a good day.

Rylee bounded across the grounds with a purpose. It didn't matter that it was November and it didn't matter that it was getting cold outside. She knew just were she was headed too. The lake. There was this amazing spot down by the lake with a tree for shade and plenty of open space for.... DANCING!

She raced across the grounds as fast as her little legs would carry her, ginger hair fanning out around her shoulders and blowing around her face with the slight breeze. It wasn't until she reached her preferred spot that she spotted the much older boy already sitting there beneath the tree. Well this might put a damper on her dancing around now. Oh, well. Time to make a new friend instead!

"Hi!" Rylee smiled brightly and waved, bouncing on her feet.

Garreth was well into Chapter 3, and was quite absorbed. He was turning the page when he was startled by the loud, enthusiastic greeting of a first year. The boy jumped visibly, and even tore off the corner of the page he was turning. "Gah!" he gasped and looked up at the girl who had managed to come so close without him even noticing. Startled and confused at first, he almost immediately calmed down and shook his head with a smile. "I'm sorry, you scared me!" he laughed before returning her greeting with a, "Hi." The seventh-year wasn't known for his outgoing nature. In fact, if he was known for anything it was how introverted he was. But he had recently had several good experiences getting to know the new first years, and this seemed like an opportunity to make yet another young friend.

"I'm Garreth. What's your name?" he beamed up at the girl and scooted over in case she wanted to sit by the tree. As he spoke, he fished out his wand and cast a silent Reparo on the book, causing the corner he'd accidentally ripped off to flutter into its original position and re-attach itself. Just like new!

Oops! She hadn't meant to scare the older boy AND she certainly hadn't meant to make him tear his book. Rylee bit her lip taking a tiny step backwards ceasing all bouncing that she had been doing. "Sorry... I hadn't meant to scare you at all... will you be able to fix your book?" Was he angry at her? He didn't look angry but he very well could be. It was hard to tell with older people sometimes.

He was smiling! Rylee grinned. "I'm Rylee! First year lion cub," She replied proudly. Only when Garreth moved over making room for her did she sit down beside him watching in awe as he pulled out his wand fixing the torn page of the book. "Wicked! Can you teach me that?!" Please?! Knowing how to fix torn things would be really useful.

"Oh, don't worry about it. It's my fault, really. I guess I'm just a bit of a jumpy guy." Garreth reassured the first year with a smile. "It's very nice to meet you, Rylee." he added in reply to her introduction. He couldn't help but grin at her eagerness to learn when she saw him cast a spell. He remembered feeling exactly that during his first year. Everything was so incredible, and he'd wanted to learn literally everything. Hogwarts was certainly a far cry from his hometown of Grimsby, a place where Wizards and Muggles lived side by side. Here, there was no need for secrecy, and it really showed.

"Yeah, sure I can teach you." he smiled at Rylee, knowing how happy he would have been if an older student had been willing to teach him anything back in his first year. "The Charm itself, anyway. It'll be a while before you'll be ready for wordless magic." turned his head towards the girl and waited for her to 'accept his conditions' so to speak.

His fault? Nah-uh. She had been the one to startle him. "It's both our faults," Rylee decided after a second. "I scared you which made you tear the page." Therefore it was both of them. "It's really nice to meet you too, Mister Garreth." She really liked meeting the older students, especially those that were super nice and willing to teach her new spells that she could use.

Yaaaaay! Rylee smiled brightly up at the older boy sitting at her side. "Thank you!" Anytime she learned a new charm or spell it excited her. That's why she was here of course. To learn and grow in her magical capabilities as well as a person. Listening closely to Garreth's conditions for teaching her she readily agreed. "Uh-huh. That's fair." There was noway she was ready for any non-verbal magic. There were sixth and seventh years that couldn't accomplish that yet!

All she was focused on was simply learning the spell as it was. Cue excited wiggling.

This first year seemed rather determined for them to share the blame for the jump and the torn book-corner. It really didn't matter, the book was fixed, but it was very nice of her to not let him accept the blame himself. Rylee seemed like a really nice person, perhaps even nicer than most first years, and she certainly had a stronger than usual curiosity about her. Garreth nodded and shrugged his shoulders, accepting her compromise.

"Oh please!" The boy couldn't help but giggle. "Call me Garreth or Garry." he wasn't usually comfortable with people using the nickname that his little sister had been the first to use, especially not so soon after meeting them, but Rylee seemed like she might be at home with nicknames, and she was so sweet, Garreth didn't see the harm.

"They'll teach you this later this year, but it's always puts you ahead of the rest if you've met a nice seventh-year who can teach you before class even starts." he grinned and pulled his wand out again. The boy pointed the wand into the air in front of the duo and whispered, "Flagrate". Slowly and carefully, he drew the image of a spiral in the air, and a thin, brightly glowing line traced his movements, seemingly pulsing and hissing softly. "It's called the Mending Charm." he explained as he drew and the image of the spiral appeared in the air before them. "The incantation is 'Reparo', and the wand motion looks like this." he gestured towards the symbol hovering in the air.

"You think you can do that?" he asked with a smile. He had to be sure she'd be willing to try it before breaking anything for her to test it out on.

"I'm not surprised. What was your favourite sight?" Felicity mused, twirling the end of her blonde locks around a finger. The food was definitely one of the main attractions for Felicity, even if her favourite was Italian - who could resist French pastries and bread? Not to mention macaroons - her dad had always brought her home some, and they'd never failed to disappoint.

But to see the Louvre must have been a highlight for Hattie, right? As for going herself... Well, it didn't look like Felicity was going to be travelling anytime soon.

Why was he laughing?

Rylee tilted her head slightly to the side until Garreth told her it was okay to just call him by his name. She smiled and nodded. "Okay." If he didn't want her calling him Mister than she wouldn't. He was a student like her anyhow so she had just been being polite.

She was already wiggling in excitement when Garreth pulled out his wand to show her the spell. Right before her the shape she would have to make appeared in glowing lines. "Whoa... what spell is that?!" That was so cool! Rylee stared with wide blue eyes as the symbol was shown to her and the incantation spoken. "Uh-huh! I can do it!"

"Reparo," she recited a couple of times while pulling out her wand. Aiming it at the air in front of them she tried her best to replicated the symbol he had made that was still hovering before them.

Garreth couldn't help but smile at Rylee's enthusiasm and excitement. She reminded him so much of himself during his first year, it was almost unbelievable. His smile only widened when she asked about the floating symbol.
"That one's called 'Flagrate'." he explained. "I could teach you that one too, but the incantation is very similar to 'Flagrante', a rather dangerous curse, so I think maybe that one can wait for now." he winked promisingly at the first year, trying to make it sound like she wouldn't have to wait too long to learn some of the cool stuff he was doing. He could never forgive himself if Rylee got hurt because of something he'd tried to teach her, so he thought it best to leave that one to the professors. At least until he had a better idea of how talented she was with her wand.

"Great! Looks like you've got the hang of the motion and the incantation, but let's see you actually fix something, shall we?" he smirked and pointed his wand straight up. "Diffindo." he spoke firmly, flicking his wand to the side. In the same moment, a small branch severed itself from the tree and dropped into Garreth's lap. "You think you can get this branch back to where it belongs?" His smile was genuine and hopeful. It was a pretty difficult place to begin practicing the mending charm, but something about Rylee told Garreth she could handle it.

Rylee stared up at Garreth his smile catching her attention fully. A smile meant he was happy and happy was good. "Fla-... fla-grate?" she repeated softly, blue eyes still fixed on the floating symbol. She HAD to learn how to do that. "Flagrante? What's that one do?" Curious. Always curious. "If it's so dangerous why would it sound so similar to one that's harmless? That's not good... a tiny mispronunciation could be a huge problem, right?" Her parents and big sister always told her to make sure that she knew she was saying an incantation properly before actually testing it out with her wand.

Rylee smiled brightly. She watched closely as he severed the small branch from the tree with a clear ease. He expected her to fix the branch?! That wasn't paper it was a branch. A piece of a tree. A-a living thing! Blinks. "I- I'll give it my best."

Sitting up super straight and clearing her through she took the piece of branch off his lap and laid it at her feet. Just in case. "Reparo!" she tried waving her wand in the symbols form. Nothing. Not even a wiggle. Again. "Reparo!" The branch gave a small shudder but that was it. Heart and soul. She needed to visualize it better. So she tried again and again but the branch hardly moved from it's position at her feet.

After about her fifth try the ginger child glanced sideways for some assistance. "What am I doing wrong?"

Garreth nodded at Rylee's question. It was a bit silly that two spells with such vastly different safety classifications had such similar incantations. The slightest mispronunciation, and you might have an accident on your hands. "Flagrante is a dangerous curse that makes ordinary objects feel red hot to the touch, like they're on fire." the older boy explained with a serious look on his face. Rylee seemed mature enough for her age to understand not to play with dangerous magic, but Garreth had to make sure his demeanour didn't give the girl the slightest hint that this was a spell to be trifled with. "But the objects don't look any different. You won't know an object's been cursed until you touch it, and then it burns you. So when you learn Flagrate, be very careful not to add that extra 'N' when you cast it."

The boy smiled encouragingly at the girl as she made her first attempts at casting Reparo. "You can do it." he patted her shoulder. "I believe in you." It seemed she wasn't having much luck, but that was fine. Nobody was an expert on their first try! Maybe Rylee just needed a different material to work with. Garreth often forgot how hard it was to get started with new spells and a change of pace could be helpful. "Hmm, you need to visualize the branch returning to it's proper place. Maybe living wood is a bit of a hard place to start. Let me find you something else." The boy pointed his wand at the branch and cast a silent Reparo, causing it to rise into the air and gently float back to its original position on the tree. A creaking sound shuddered from the branch as it fused with the tree once again and the spell was complete.

Spotting a boulder jutting out from the hill below them, Garreth had an idea. "Here, try this. You see that boulder over there?" He pointed at the stone with his wand and waited for Rylee to spot the stone in question. "Reducto." He flicked his wand in a chevron shape and spoke firmly, causing a red spark to bolt from the tip of his wand towards the rock, smashing it into five large chunks.

"That should be easier. Just focus on the pieces and try to imagine them coming together. Imagine the stone becoming whole again."

Rylee listened very closely as Garreth explained the difference in the two spells. While Flagrante sounded pretty cool it wasn't something she would be messing with anytime soon. Maybe when she was much older and way more experienced in performing charms. "I won't make that mistake. Promise." He need not worry about her messing around with spells that could really hurt her or someone else. "Why would anyone use that, anyhow? For protection or something?" Thoughtful. "I like Flagrate much better."

His encouragement was really nice but it wasn't doing her much good. She still wasn't able to get it right. Maybe it was just to tough for her. "I was trying to do that...." Visualizing it is a must. Rylee knew that. Tilting her ginger head back she watched with a smile as the branch returned to it's original spot attached to the tree.

They were going to try something else. Nodding her head she turned to look at where Garreth was pointing his wand. "I see it." A rather decent sized boulder. What was he going t- "Whoa!" she giggled grinning at him. "I got to learn that one too!" There was loads and loads of spells she wanted to learn! Could she hangout with him all the time and learn them all?

"Okay, I'll try it." Sitting up super straight she pointed her wand as the broken boulder. Think about what she wanted. The boulder to mold back together again. Visualize. She closed her eyes picturing it happen. Make it happen. "Reparo!" she cast firmly while preforming the movement with her wand, the pieces of boulder shuddering before lifting up and meeting again to mend back to its original state in the hill side.

A wide grin formed on her face and she wiggled in excitement turning to him, "I did it Garry! I did it!"