"Yeah sure. I'm also kinda hungry" said Nessie getting up to walk with Zara. "And I can deffinately hear my stomach calling them back!" said Nessie giggling. Zara was really a great and awsome friend.

"DADA, Transfiguration and Potions." he told her. "I hope to learn a lot of things this term." he said as he took a bite of his scone. "Right, have you seen the old ship? I wonder what's inside it." he said as he mind drifted back to the lake.

"Yeah, let's go," Zara said as she and Nessie made their way towards the Great Hall.

"I wonder too. You wanna go swim toward it and look?" She asked mischievously. But she was just messing around. "Haha, I'm just kidding. See you around, Mordred!" She said as she stood up. "I'll go head to the Great Hall and go eat. I'm starving." She explained as she rubbed her stomach. "Bye!" She waved as she and Nessie walked away.

"Yeah Bye Modred hope to see you again!" said Nessie smiling. She then went quickly to walk with Zara.

Mordred nodded in acknowledgement as he finished his cup of tea. "It was nice talking to the both of you. I'll see you in class." he said as he waved at them. Mordred then sat back on his chair and closed his eyes.

Christopher wandered through the terrace, many things on his mind. He wanted to just relax and clear his mind, getting away from Nathan and Violet, schoolwork, Selina accusing him of being with Cass, his parents, all of it. The fresh air of the grounds always made him feel better. It relieved his stress.

He wandered over to a bench, not really paying attention to where he was going. All of the sudden, Christopher felt himself trip over a rock. Typical. He picked himself up and brushed off his robes, finding himself at the feet of a younger girl, gaping at him. She looked rather familiar.... but he couldn't put his finger on where he'd seen her before. "Erm.... Hi," he said shyly. Great, now she probably thought he was a freak too. Like he needed any more people thinking that.

Zara looked at the guy who tripped accidentally. It was Christopher! She was about to help him stand up when he managed to do it himself. "Are you okay?" She asked. Obviously, Zara he tripped so he's not okay you dimwit. "Hi, Christopher. Still remember me?" she asked as she dragged towards the bench and they sat down together.

"Er, yeah. I'm fine." Christopher said, still mortified by his fall. Why was he such a klutz? He was having an argument in his head about how not to fall down, when he was suddenly backwards with the younger Gryffindor. "Woah!" He wasn't expecting it, and he tripped backwards onto the bench. Again. He couldn't help but trip over his feet. Idiot boy.

She asked if he remembered her, and the thirteen year old froze. He didn't want to be mean, because he really didn't remember her. Though she was familiar.... Think Christopher, think! He'd surely seen her around the Common Room, but he was sure he hadn't talked with her there..... Hmm....

Then suddenly, it popped into his head where he knew this girl. "You were at the feast!" He blurted out. Then he realized even though he'd spoken to her, he hadn't the slightest idea who this girl really was. "Oh, er sorry, I don't think I caught your name before it ended!" Christopher said it with sincere disappointment. This girl was obviously eccentric; it was a shame he hadn't gotten to know her sooner.

Zara's arms were ready once again to support him. He was falling again, luckily, he fell at the bench, so he was sitting down now. Honestly, were boys like this? Matt was just like him too. And Daichi was close enough to being one. Tyler was probably the only boy who seemed to have his balance controlled. "Easy there. Be careful." she smiled.

"Of course I was at the feast, silly. Everyone was." Zara chuckled. Surely, he didn't remember her. "I'm Zara Griffiths. It's really not a surprise you don't remember, we had such a short conversation." She said, still smiling. Zara was happy that he admitted it instead of pretending he knew all along like how Daichi had called her "Kara."

Christopher blushed furiously. He probably resembled a tomato, but a little less red. He wasn't always like that. Some days he just woke up and his feet had decided that they weren't up to working properly. Other times, he'd be just fine. Graceful, even. But today was not one of those days. It was a I'm-going-to-fall-down-a-lot day. "Sorry about that.... Sometimes my feet just act as though they don't know how to walk." It sounded mental when he said it aloud. Great. Just Great.

The thirteen year old lightened a bit and chuckled along with the firstie. "You know what I mean, we spoke briefly!" He'd spoken to many people, but hadn't really caught any of their names. Most were just first year girls flirting with every boy in sight. Christopher was very relieved that this girl was not in that creepy-stalker girl category of the first years. He hoped not all eleven year old girls acted that way. "Zara? That's an awesome name! Very unique." He did love strange names like that. Heh, Zara. But no, his parents had stuck with just plain old Christopher. Le sigh.

"So Zara, have you been having a fun at school?" Christopher knew he needn't have asked it. Everyone always was. It was his only home, so he was overjoyed to be back. He was already dreading summer all over again.

Zara watched as the third year in front of her turned red. Panic was in her eyes, what was happening? If he suffocating or something?Then he spoke. He spoke in a calm way. 'Hm, guess nothing's wrong then.'

"You really think so? Thanks." She smiled, not knowing how to respond to that. Should she also comment on his name? Christopher. Hmm, well, she had cousins named Christopher. Oh well, Zara decided not to push that subject any further. Besides, the guy gave her another topic to talk about.

Grinning, Zara rushed through in her made the friends she made at Hogwarts, and the different places she'd visited. Yeap, it was a great place. Surely she had more to meet and more to discover. "Sure am!" She beamed. "But it's getting kind of repetitive. They've all asked me the same questions so far. I was looking forward to something new, something out of the box."

"ZARA! You remember me now" Tyler replied feeling slightly confused by her random yell, were these guys were really having a tea party? He wondered looking around and hearing somebody tell him about a tea party. Tea parties weren't his thing, he didn't even drink tea, tea was nasty. Just when he thought this couldn't get any weirder Zara hugged him, he hugged her back quickly letting go "somebody's happy?" he guessed.

"Yup yup." She smiled. There wasn't exactly a tea party, it just so happened that they all wanted to sit down, and those chairs were the only option unless they wanted to get their clothes dirty. And, there was tea. Of course, drink what can be drunk, eat what can be eaten. "Sorry for that." She apologized, but it wasn't really awkward for her. He was like her brother, a twin brother maybe. Besides, Zara's not interested in what other guy-crazy eleven year olds liked. Just friends, yep.

Zara grabbed one of the scones and began munching again.

Christopher grinned at his fellow Gryffie. "No problem." Seriously, the name Zara was awesome.

The lion couldn't help but feel a bit jealous as the younger girl told him of all of her adventures and friends. Sure, he'd been on plenty of adventures, but friends, he didn't have many. Probably less than ten, really. But they were really good friends, and he couldn't ask for more. "That's great! Hogwarts is probably the best place on the planet. Atleast in my opinion." He grinned. Hogwarts rocked.

Repetitive? He'd have to fix that! "If you're looking for out of the box, I'm sure I can come up with something." Christopher grinned. "So, do you believe in Santa Claus?" Hopefully, the question was eccentric enough. He'd never really believed in it as a kid, it didn't really take a genius to figure it out. Though his little sister was just a year younger than him and still believed. But then again, she believed in everything. Including Narlges and Wrackspurts and Crumple-Horned Snorcacks. She was the definition of a present day Luna Lovegood. He didn't know if Pureblooded or any other kind of wizarding families believed in that kind of thing, but as a Muggleborn, he'd grown up around that atmostphere. Until he found out he was a wizard, that is.

"If you don't mind," Zara excused, "Can I call you Chris?" She grinned. It was a long name, very worthy of a good nickname.

Zara was a hundred percent agreeing with Christopher. Hogwarts probably is the best place on the whole world. "Yeah, it really is."

Santa Claus? Who was that? Oh! The man who gave gifts during Christmas. Well, she's been in on that secret since she stepped on the age of 7. Smiling, she said, "Oh, that guy? Nope, but I did believe in him before, when I was still young. But when my parents came back to working in the Wizarding World, leaving their Muggle jobs, I never got any more presents from Santa. So they told me all about him and apologized for lying." She grinned, happy to be able to come across something that's not the usual.

Wanting to get away and out of the castle Sophie packed her backpack and strolled out onto the grounds clad casually. She had though her badge with her if she were to come upon unexpected trouble. Pulling back her borwn hair with a knot she mused in the warm weather as she steered her steps towards the new terrace that Professor Bentley had built for the students benefit. Finding a table that wasn't directly in sunlight Sophie sat down on a cushioned seat and pulled out the latest isssue of witch weekley. Spreading out the magazine she started to read.

Finlay wasn't really that good at herbology, so part of him didn't really know why he was wandering over here. He'd seen Sophie leave the grounds though, and was kind of following her. Finn hadn't seen her since that incident on the 7th floor, and was still intending to thank her for taking him down to the hospital wing. That was why he had followed her down to the terrace, not because he was a stalker. "Soph..." He paused, as he stood at the table she was sat at. He was dressed casual just like she was, and he was really hoping that they wouldn't be disturbed down here. Not again.

"Yeah... Sure!" He'd never really thought of himself as a 'Chris,' but all of his friends seemed to think that was his only name. So he'd pretty much gotten used to it! Christopher was, after all, a very long name.

Christopher grinned back at Zara, for the story was very interesting. He laughed, imagining his own parents apologizing for lying. He couldn't really picture it. "Your parents had Muggle jobs even though they were wizards?" He wondered if he'd ever come across another wizard back in his Muggle town, but doubted it. Nobody eccentric or out of the ordinary came to his tiny coastal city. But Zara's case was very strange, though probably not unheard of, and he wanted to hear more about it. "So, tell me a little more about your parents' strange ordeal, I find it quite fascinating!" What a little nerd he was.

Sophie was so engrossed in an article that she didn't hear Finlay approach and that was why she jumped almost out of her seat when he said her name. Trying to calm herself she looked up at him "Hi, Fin!" she said before looking down at her article to finish the last sentances of it. Would they be interrupted in the terrace too and more importantly how had Fin known that she gone to the terrace for some peace and quiet?

"Yeah, they did. My dad was a doctor before and my mum was a concert pianist. Then this strange letter came along and ripped itself into pieces. I really didn't see or hear much after that because they covered my eyes and ears. After that, they weren't the same anymore, my dad wasn't working in his hospital and my mum didn't even touch the piano at home anymore." She narrated, Zara winced as she remembered those dark times. But oh well it's in the past and now she knew the whole reason behind it.

"Months and years passed, and it was by birthday. December 18th, I was turning 11. My parents stayed home for the first time, it was really weird because they looked at me expectantly that day. Like they were waiting for something to happen. So I got out mail from the mailbox as always and brought them in. It was the first time I got any mail since I had no communication to the outside world. I was so happy and showed it to my parents. Then they started to hug me and congratulate me, I didn't know why they had to be all excited for me having my first letter." She explained, looking at Chris if she was talking too much and boring her friend. "Well, it was my letter from Hogwarts, and the next few months we bought my supplies and books and they told me stories about the magical world. Everyone was back in place again. So, it turns out my dad was an auror now and my mum's part of the Wizengamot council." She finished with a grin.

"Well, enough about me. Let's hear your story."

Opps. Finlay hadn't meant to make her jump out of her seat. Maybe he should have coughed or something to make his presence known. "Hey." Finlay smiled, as he sat himself down beside her. This terrace looked quite nice, and although he didn't do too well at herbology he could see himself coming down here quite a bit over his last term. "I'm so if I scared you..." He smiled at her. He was pretty sure that she didn't mind that much. Otherwise she would probably have hit him. "It's nice down here." He mused, glancing around

"What was that letter? Why did it do that?" He'd never heard of that before. Perahps it was a howler. He wondered what it said, but he didn't pry. It was probably personal and he'd just met the girl for gosh sake's.

Christopher continued to listen intently to Zara's story. He found it all so interesting. "So you didn't know you were a witch until you were eleven?" He could relate there. He remembered how excited he was when he got his very own Hogwarts letter.

And then she asked about his story. "Oh...." He fidgetted uncomfortably. Christopher hated talking about his home life; he could hardly call it either. It wasn't a home nor a life. So he tried avoiding all painful things the best he could. He only hoped Zara didn't notice the scars and bruises all over his arms, legs, neck. Luckily for him his clothes covered up the rest of them. He hated going swimming at the lake for this very reason. "Well.... I'm Muggleborn, so I didn't know about Hogwarts either. My dad was cool about it, but my mum wasn't...." He winced, thinking of how violent and crazy his mum went. She nearly strangled the Professor who came to deliver it. "Well anyway, my mum doesn't work but she buys too many shoes and my dad's a high school history teacher, atleast he was. He has cancer and it's really bad." He lowered his voice. "He's probably going to die by next summer."

"Well, when I was finally let in to the secret, my parents explained to me that it was a letter from the Ministry. Said they wanted my parents back to work for them. Of course, my parents couldn't say no, so a week after that they had new jobs at the Ministry and completely abandoned their Muggle ones." She explained.

Ohh that one. Zara remembered that day, it was the best day ever. "Yeah, I didn't know it until I was eleven. Though I still don't understand why they had to keep it from me. Probably they weren't sure if I'd turn out a witch. But we're purebloods so they were kind of expecting it 99%; the 1% they weren't sure of." She smiled. It was all good.

When Zara asked of his story, she wondered why he looked so awkward. Uh oh. Probably he didn't want to tell Zara. She wished she's never asked, and completely regretted doing so. But the words were out, no way to take it back, unless she had a time turner. Now that would be awesome.

WHAT?! DIE?! Zara's eyes widened in shock and immediately felt concern for the guy in front of her. "I'm..sorry..to hear that," she said, she didn't know what cancer was. But by the sound of it, it seemed deadly--lethal. Her face showed on a frown, wondering what life must be like to know that your own dad would die soon. Zara shuddered. No, she couldn't bear the thought of her own father dying slowly, life slowly fading away from his whole self.

"The Ministry sounds really cool. Maybe I'd like to work there one day after Hogwarts." Yeah, that'd be pretty awesome. "Did the Muggles ever wonder what happened to your parents? Did they resign from their jobs or something?" That could've been quite a problem if they just disappeared. Maybe even police would get involved if there was a missing persons' report. Woah.

"Like a squib? Those are like backwards Muggleborns, right?" That sounded right to him, but he'd better check with someone like Zara. It was so weird that Christopher had been at Hogwarts for three years, but some firsties already knew more about it than him.

Christopher stared at his feet. "Thanks." He wished he could save his dad. But he couldn't. It didn't seem very fair. It seemed cruel and horrible. Maybe the Ministry could save Muggle's lives! But that was quite unlikely too. He sighed. There didn't seem to be much hope for him. Then it was off to the orphanage; his mum surely wouldn't keep him or his sister around. Not that they were 'freaks.'

"They did resign immediately. Seemed in a rush. People were sad to see dad go, he was the local doctor, built his own hospital right next to our house. My mum was a great pianist but hey, there are a lot of other great musicians around, so they just replaced her. But her music had a whole lot more to it than they think, that's just my opinion. She plays with feelings, with emotions. I know there are a lot of musicians who also play and sing with emotion, but there's just something about mum that's different. Or maybe that's just because she's my mum," Zara chuckled.

A squib? Yeah, probably. "Well at least I didn't turn out to be one. Being a squib would make me feel so awful, like I wasn't able to live up to my parent's expectations. Somehow, I felt like they were afraid of me being one since I didn't really show any signs of being a magical person when I was young. I was just plain and simple like a Muggle. They thought I was a squib, as they admitted to me. It was a great relief for them to know I was a witch." She grinned.

And her grin immediately faded. "Couldn't there be some cure to this? Every sickness has a cure right? Or is cancer rare and can't be cured?" She asked, trying to find some hope in that situation.