Gold blinked. "Well, I for one, can't pull that off," she laughed. She could read emotions, though. If you wore them on your sleeve. Or if you didn't, but she was close to you. Something like that.

"No one can get along with everyone," Gold said, with a little nod of her head. That much was, of course, true. "You have to be either a people-pleaser, or a really, really patient person, to pull that off. I'm neither," she added, with a smile. She was the calm sort, and she could keep her cool in front of pretty much everyone except Xylon 'I-am-so-awesome' Saar, but she wasn't exactly patient. A bit, but not too much.

"Natural colour," Gold said, with a small smile. "Vanessa is a pretty name. Can I call you Nessa?" Kind of silly, to chop up the name right after she had complimented it, but then Gold was like that.

Vanessa laughed. "I guess I show my emotions too easily or something." She shrugged. It was true however if she tried to lie nobody could tell. It was pretty strange..well that's what she thought of course.

She looked out at the Willow as it's branches cracked and twisted as it moved back and forth. It was peaceful out here in the daytime. She turned back towards Gold as she further talked. "That's true, however I have to agree with you. I'm neither of those as well." She laughed. She would never be called a people pleaser because she didn't please everybody and she could be patient but sometimes she could be very impatient.

Vanessa nodded. She was glad that Gold weren't like the muggles who thought that they needed to change everything about themselves. She smiled as Gold complimented her on her name. "Thank you so much." She said then laughing as she shortened it. "Of course you can. I would give you nickname but your name is already short and I'm terrible at random nicknames, trust me." She said. It was true, she even wrote it in LilaDelilah about how bad she was at nicknames.

Gold shrugged. "No worries, transparency can be a good thing. Better bad with lies, than good at them."

"Patience is a quality, though," Gold mused. "I like to think I'm a patient person, but there are some people that just get to me. Xylon Saar, for instance." Wait. Nessa wouldn't know who Xylon was. "I'm not sure if you've met him. Seventh year Gryffindor. He's sorta good-looking, so he thinks he's God's gift to the ladies, or something. It gets to me." She frowned, at the thought of the guy, and then shook her head.

"It's funny, that all my nicknames are longer than my real first name," Gold laughed. "My friends call me Goldie or Goldilocks." Goldilocks was a painful memory, though. She preferred people who called her Goldie, now. Goldilocks had too much of a history she didn't want to remember.

Now, or ever.

Vanessa nodded. "Agreed." She said agreeing with her "words of wisdom". She tilted her head to the side and shook her head. "No I don't know who that is, maybe you can introduce me to him sometime." She said then feeling regretful for saying that as Gold described him.

"Oh I know how that is. Patrick Dubois is like that as well. I don't know if you know him, he's a 7th Year Slytherin though. Of course. He flirts with every girl he talks to, to think I actually had a chance with him." She said throwing her hands up in the air and shaking her head. "Boys are stressful." She said simply.

Vanessa laughed. "Really? Well I'm going to call you Goldie then. It's a very decent name for your personality, Gold-ie." She said almost forgetting to say it. "Most people call me Nessa, I haven't had a special nickname but Nessa is always fine with me." She said simply. It was true even her parents called her Nessa and that was it, nothing else.

Gold tilted her head to one side, and gave Nessa a quirky, little smile. "I can introduce you, but then he'll try to flirt with you, and stuff of that sort." To be honest, she really thought Xylon was a sweet person. But he didn't let anyone see that side of himself. She didn't get why.

Never would get why, probably.

Patrick Dubois? Gold supposed that was Vanessa's boyfriend. But, just to be sure -- "You two are together?" Gold asked. "For reference. Since I don't want to refer to him as your boyfriend, and then find out he isn't." She gave a little laugh, as she said that. "But yes, boys are stressful. It's nice to have female friends you can about them to, though." Hehe.

"Well, one could always call you Ness. Or Van - illa! Hey, I like that. It so has a ring to it." Vanilla, teehee.

"Oh, you're welcome." Adelyn replied, still glancing at the tree from where she now sat next to Rex. "Trust me, I'll be sure to be extra careful around it; that thing scares me." She laughed, trying to lighten the statement. "So, how long have you and Kay been together?"

Kay walked over to the big tree. She knew why they called it the Whomping willow. This thing could have kill Rex last year. Sighing and looking around to find Rex, she saw that he was over to her left. Adelyn was all ready there and so Kay walked over to them. "Hello." She said sitting down nest to Rex. She gave him and hug and smiled at Adelyn. "So what are we talking about?" She said watching the tree from the corner of her eye.

Marie stood there watching Justin help Jake out of the tree... and he apologized too? Maybe Justin was going to try and change his mean ways, maybe there was hope for the kid after all. "Wow Justin, that was pretty nice of you to help Jake. Not many kids would help him like that." she said. "And you even found it in you to apologize to him." Even if Jake wouldn't accept the apology at least Justin had made the effort to make things right. "I think there may be hope for you after all." she said smiling at him.

Third year, was it? It was really interesting that there were a lot of third years in the school than any other grade. There was a few fourth, even less fifth and sixth, and a few under--thread-of-extinction seventh. But, like more than 20 third, and firstie. Come to think about it, he hadn't met any secondies for some time either. He wondered if anyone else realised it. Probably not.

Beater? Even the name was scary. What did they do, beat people? Evan knew that much that the names was close to their literal meaning, so if it turned out to be something like 'who injures people', he wouldn't really be surprised. Though he'd be extremely horrified. Who would love such a game, where people could be hit by not-very-light metal ball in the head? Definately not him.

"Oh girl, you don't know who you're challenging." he said with the same taunt and smirk. "Do you have a ball?" And, not just a ball. He wouldn't play with a Lescon, for example. It had to be something of quality. He had no intention of falling down when he stepped on it to stop it. "I have one, if you don't have. Original Adidas bought from ChelseaMegaStore." If she knew what Chelsea was, of course.

Justin smiled as he approached Marie again. "My actions were wrong at the feast, even if they were funny they were still bang out of order. And I'm gonna tell Violet everything, even if it kills me. But I know you'll enjoy seeing her crush won't you?" he replied. He knew Marie and Violet didn't get on and therefor she'd love seeing Violet crush like a bug under her feet.

" I know you will be careful" Rex told Adelyn. " The Whomping Willow can be scary for sure" Rex said to Adelyn. " Well kay will know more excactly how long we have been together, but we have been together since last term when I transferred to HogWarts" Rex explained to Adelyn.

" hi sweetie" Rex kissed Kay on the cheek. "We are talking about a subject we both love to talk about right now-you" Rex explained to Kay. " Just talking a little bit about the tree, too" Rex said to Kay. "So before I get in trouble with you, could you please tell Adelyn how long we have been together?" Rex asked Kay. He is sweating now because Rex did not know the exact day.

Adelyn smiled back at Kay as she took a seat on the other side of Rex. Just as she was going to answer Kay's question, Rex began to speak; she closed her mouth and let him answer.

Vanessa shook her head. "No worries, if he tries to flirt with me I'll just ignore it or pretend to be completely oblivious." She said. "It usually always works." She laughed.

Once she heard Gold ask if Patrick and Vanessa were together she sighed. "I wish." She said simply. "He figured I was jealous because he flirted with every girl that he talks to and he told me he can't maintain long relationships." She sighed. "Agreed." She nodded. It was always good to have female friends to talk to boys about. It's usually always funner that way.

Vanessa left. "That's great! Okay so I'll be Vanilla and you can be Goldie." She said liking this new idea of nicknames. People would ask why they were called that and it would just be their inside telling of it.

"Well, I hope I am not boring you" Rex said to Adelyn. Now you need to tell kay and I about yourself" Rex told Adelyn.

Feeling the charm being removed from her, Miranda shuddered for a bit, and then rubbed her arms. Gosh, that just felt...WEIRD.
She looked at Torin, but felt a bit confused at this comment. Why couldn't he carry that much candy? Hmmm... "Why...why can't you carry that much candy around?" she asked a bit serious. It was an odd thing to say, wasn't it? Unless Brody had like...prohibited him from doing so. But she wasn't that mean. Heh.

"Aw." Miranda smiled crookedly at Adrienne. "Sorry your brother couldn't spend more time here, but it was cool that he enjoyed it so much." Nod nod. Eh? Girlfriend? Hehe. "Oh...yeah, I hear...that could be a problem." And in her mind, relationships were just obstacles.

Uh.... Visit in the future? Miranda got a distant look in her eyes as she glanced at the Castle. "Um, yeah, I'll...try." She smiled at the girl, hoping.

And then suddenly, Brody was here!
Oooh, maybe she would be able to convince Mister Loco here to not try and hug the Willow. "Hey Brody!" Miranda smiled, but when the question about what they were doing here, she actually took a step back, letting Brody talk with The Tor. Hehehe.

Uh oh.
Yeah, there came the...yelling. Or almost yelling. Exclamations? Yes, sounded better. Hehe.
Yeah, maybe Miranda should go and...go. Away from the verbal assault. Hehe.

"So, you guys, it's been fun." Nod nod. "Sorry I'll miss the Willow giving you a 'tickle', " she glanced at Brody, raising the camera and ! FLASH ! snapping a pic of the couple.

"I should...go. Gotta get...the, um, stuff ready for...Quidditch." With an akward grin, Miranda gave Torin back his camera, flashed Adrienne a mischevious smile and scadaddled off.

Hehe!

Rafe made his way holding Marilyn's hand with one hand and a picnic basket in the other. He could barely keep his eyes off of her and practically did. He only looked forward to make sure he wouldn't run into anything.

Rafe smiled at her enthusiasm about who he was and where he came from, though felt a little weary at how open the conversation was. He wasn't ashamed of who and what he was, but other people might not take it the right way.

"I know my father like you, and why shouldn't he? You're perfect," Rafe said as he gently squeezed her hand. "He understands how much you mean to me, after all he was the one that had to explain this overwhelmingly wonderful emotion I felt for you almost instantly."

Rafe walked to a nice little clearing with the whomping willow not that far away, but far enough not to cause any damage. He sat the basket on the ground and pulled out a typical red and white checkered blanket and layed it out for the two of them to sit. "You were actually a lot braver than I was when I first got there, you're reception was a lot warmer than what I went through," he laughed.

Ella waved over to Rex, who she heard call her name. "Hey, Rex. Thank you!" she smiled toward him. Nice people were just.. nice to be around.

She turned back to Evan. She laughed out loud seeing his expression. Must of been provoked by her saying Beater. She hadn't actually beat anyone severely except for Carter once at practice. And that was by mistake. But he was better soon enough, thanks to the nurse.

She made a face. "Of course I do." How could he think that she wouldn't bring a football with her? She was a diehard fan of it. "Oh, I love that place. I think that's where I got mine. I can't really remember, though, because it's been my lucky ball. I have a new one, too.. but I don't really stay at places for a long time without it. I've never lost a game with my lucky ball, though," she said proudly. She would believe that he was a truly fantastic player once he beat her on that specific ball.

"Okay, I can do that." Adelyn replied, "What would you like to know exactly?" She was prepared to tell them anything, but she just didn't know how much they were interested in knowing.

Marilyn approached the old Willow tree with Rafe, hand in hand. His touch made her so happy and overwhelmingly anxious at the same time. Just being near him was enough to drive her insane. Her feelings for him couldn't have been stopped...even if she'd tried. Merlin, she was glad she hadn't, though.

"I was very nervous, I can tell you that much...But it was your father that took that away. I got a sense from him. It was understanding and somewhat adoring, all at the same time. You must have told him some pretty good lies about me for him to accept me so easily." She gave him a breathtaking smile and settled down on the blanket he'd set out.

"I'm sure your father is happy to have you back in his life. He seemed so...proud...of you when he meet me. Why was that?" It was an honest question, really.

" You welcome" Rex told Ella. " I would love to see you play soccer sometime if you would like to see me play American football in the near future" Rex said to Ella. " Of course, you can watch me or not watch me play my type of football" Rex smiled at Ella. She is one of the nicer older girls at Gryffindor and especially to Rex.

'Well, you can tell us about yoir family, your interests , just whatever you want to tell us" Rex explained to Adelyn. " Kay and I will not judge you at all" Rex told Adelyn.

"Rex! My long lost brother!" cried Emma, turning around to see Rex and some of his friends, "How are you?" She told his friends, smiling, "Hi I'm Emma Malfoy. First year, Slytherin! Nice to meet you!"

"Well, okay..." Adelyn replied, considering the things she could tell them. There was a lot, so she decided to just give the basics for now, until they asked for more. "I'm a halfblood; my mum's a muggle and my father a wizard. He was a member of the Black family. Both of my parents were always very open when it came to magic, and we were pretty much your average, picture perfect family. Then my dad died when I was six, and nothing was ever really the same after that..." She trailed off, thinking of how much had changed; she shook her head, clearing thoughts of it. "Hm, what else? Oh, well, my best friend's name is Shawn, and we've been friends for as long as I can remember. Actually, he's one of my only friends back home. I like to sing and write, and dance, as you already know. Singing is probably my favorite, though, I don't think I'm any good." Adelyn laughed; she was talking too much. She could feel her cheeks turn pink. "I'm sorry...I'm rambling."

"Oh, me." Kay smiled. "Well the tree is just....scary." She said and thinking about the day they meet. Where would she be right now if Rex hadn't helped her. "We met at the Leaky. It was one year and two months that we have been together. I think of Rex as my lifeline. If it wasn't for him I...I may not have come back here." Kay said a little sadly. "So the date." Kay said smiling at Rex. "That would be July 28th." She said holding Rex's hand.


"Everything. Well we can talk boys when Rex isn't around." Kay said giggling and tickling Rex.

"Rex is right. No judgeing." Kay said smiling. She just couldn't help it. She had been so happy this year. "Oh and Rex. No laughing." She said looking at Adelyn. "Come on spill. I would love to here about where you come from."

Rafe took a seat, very close to Marilyn, but enough room for the food. The basket was empty, and just held the blanket. This probably wasn't the best time to test one of his experiments, but it was worth a shot. He took in a deep breath and clapped his hands. Plates of all sorts of food popped up all over the blanket, including empty plates and glasses in front of them each. There was sushi, steamed dumplings, rare steak, fried chicken, a roasted pheasant, a pear salad, ribs, and some steamed vegetables. And of course butterbeer.

Rafe frowned, he hadn't realized how few vegetables he included. He was only following his gut. "Sorry love, I think I was a little selfish with the selection," Rafe said as he started to pile of up plate with steak, ribs and some fried chicken. He went ahead and added a little bit of salad on the side, despite its lack of looking appetizing.

"Well, I think you being a pureblood helped," Rafe said with an awkward smile. "We're very particular when it comes to mixing blood...it goes waaaay back, which is part of the reason my mum was forced to leave." Rafe forced a smile.

Rafe was as fascinated with Marilyn's interested in his fashion. Though it's not everyday that you get to stay with a werewolf clan and not be a "pureblood" and tell the tell. "I think more than anything he was surprised I showed up without the intent to kill him...it's an animal instinct thing, seeking revenge against the father that abandoned you," Rafe took a sip of butter beer and quickly downed half a rack of ribs before continuing. "But, I just wanted that connection, that understanding. I even asked him to make me like him, but he refused." Rafe knew she would understand what he was saying, but perhaps wouldn't agree with his choice of what he wanted to become. "It's just this unbelievably wonderful feeling to feel connected with them, meeting my father was one of the greatest things that's ever happened to me." Rafe had a wide smile stretched across his face.

"Aw, well it sounds like the two of you kind of belong together." Adelyn replied thoughtfully. They just looked so happy together, and while she slightly envied it, she knew they both deserved it and that made her happy. "Kay, we'll definitely have to talk about boys whenever he isn't around." She laughed; she had never had girl friends to talk about stuff like that with.