Penny had spent most of the afternoon exploring the hallways and corridors. The place was way bigger then she had anticipated. It was all nice though, old world even. The pictures had been nice enough too. Talking to her and explaining things. At least with there help she wouldn't ever get lost.

Finally though all the stone walls had gotten her claustrophobic. So the red head had gone to her room and grabbed a book. She had already read a few of her school books half way through so she was sick of them. Grabbing on of her muggle adventure novels she headed for the outdoors. Passing on the lake she came upon a tree that the portrait of ladies had talked about.

Her blue eyes scanned around and noticed no one was around so she found a nice spot against a nearby tree and sat down. Opening her book to the page she had left off on she settle in for a good read.

Ronnie was walking around outside, even after 4 at this school she could never get used to how beautiful the grounds were. She wished all of her classes could be out her. She loved being out side. She started to walk with the Lake on her mind when she notcied a girl sitting near the whomping willow.

"HEY GET AWAY FROM THERE!" Ronnie shouted running toward her, hopefully the tre wouldn't get her yet! "Hey!!!!!!!!!!!" She shouted again waving her arms around above her head as she ran trying to reach the girl as quickly as she could.

Lola wanted to do some exploring.

HOGWARTS WAS BIG.

What if the school kept hidden treasures?!?! Yes! YES! She had a feeling, that someone, just someone from maybe fifty years ago would have hidden a couple of few golden objects... maybe underneath... maybe? Possibly? She looked onward from her spot towards the ship, which was apparently off-limits for now. She'd gotten that Daily Prophet in her mail! SHE KNEW EVERYTHING! Why would something just randomly decide to magically appear in the middle of the Lake, and sail towards the school?

The same year she was going there?

It was fate.

Destiny, even.

Lola Jones and the big mysterious ship were meant for each other. They would become the bestest of friends--but no, sigh sigh sigh, they had to limit and stop their friendship formation merely because it was... not ready? Which ship was not ready FOR FRIENDSHIP?! Especially with the Lola! So she chose the next most interesting thing to befriend: this tree.

It was a big tree. Inanimate, even.

"TREEEEEE," she pointed out and called towards the big, lifeless tree. "BEEEE MY FRIIIIIEENNNNNDDDD!" She waited for an answer.

Ok. Hair out? Check! Sunglasses? Check! A skip in her step? Double check!

Kita made her way down to the whomping willow... the one place she liked to sunbathe near. Even though she barely sunbathes here. But she still remembered the first time she sunbathed here. That time, she was joined by none other than her best friend, Caroline and, as usual, the two of them had talked for quite some time.

At least, that's what she thought. Kita, being Kita, had a memory that let her down a lot. That's why she was glad that the OWL's were cancelled. And to think she thought that the NEWT's would be better. Sigghhh!

Kita stopped a couple of metres away from the whomping willow and lay down on the grass. For safety precautions, you know. Ending up in the hospital wing wouldn't be the best way to start her sixth year at hogwarts.

PRINCESS WANTED TO SEE BIG SCARY TREE.

She had HEARD about this big scary tree, someone had told he.r Who it was that told her?Well, she couldn't remember THAT! It was PRINCESS Minnie Petrov here. Minnie had an awful memory, a terrible one. Heck, she couldn't even REMEMBER what this type of tree was called. Readjusting the tiara placed FIRMLY on her little head, she eyed the tree. YES, EYED IT. There was a little bit of disappointment on her face.

It wasn't THAT big. :l

She was mad now, MAD AT THE TREE.

Caroline had just came from the treehouse, she needed to let some of her energy out. So my running down to the treehouse climbing up and jumpping down landing on the soft ground below, and climbing up again really got the energy burning off. Especially if you do it 1000 times several times. She still wasn't off her energy high yet walking back to the castle.

She walked by the whompping willow, she could always have a go at the evil tree. She eyed it, daring it to move. Nah not today, she didn't want to be in the Hospital wing the first week of school. That's when she noticed someone laying on the gound close to the tree. Someone was already gotten knocked out by the tree, probaby a first year and didn't know any better.

Whoever it was looked dead from that far away. She moved closer. The person laying there started to look more familiar to her.

O_____o

It was her best friend Kita. Kita? no, no not Kita She ran quickly toward her. She was near tears at this point. "Kita." she called. "Please don't be dead." she said softer she couldn't be.

Continuing (or rather, starting) his self-guided tour of the grounds, Dallin started down the slope of the lawn toward the willow. He planned on walking around it before going somewhere else, but something stopped him.

Was that girl wearing a crown?

He slowed his pace, looking at the girl curiously. Yes that was a crown. Of some sort. It was a... a girly crown, and Dallin didn't know the technical name. But besides the crown, the girl was also wearing a weird emotion on her face. Was that anger? Disappointment?

"Look," he said, walking up to the girl. "Whatever the tree did to you, I'm sure it's sorry. You really shouldn't be upset with it." Plus, it really didn't have a way of knowing that it offended someone. Just because it moved didn't mean it had a brain.

Daichi had been walking around the castle since it was a nice sunny day. He walked with Mr.Duckles, his plushed duck in his arms and his eyes looking at grass underneath his shoes. Mweh what an ugly shoes! he needed new ones and fast.

He walked further , lost in thought when he saw a pair of shoes in his view. He stopped dead in his track just as a girl's voice was SHOUTING! O_o What the?!

Daichi looked up to see a older student .....pointing at a big tree and ....wanting it to be her friend. Daichi had seen weird things but this, this had topped them all. He turned to the side the girl was standing and looked at the tree too. "I-..Is it really going to answer?" he asked more to himself than to the girl but he had wondered it out loud.

Kita closed her eyes in an attempt to reach a calmer place. Ok, she was told that she had to relax right? And what better way to relax than to lie there soaking up the sun. Admittedly, the whomping willow wasn't the greatest of places to do this but Kita was desperate.

She had just closed her eyes for a few seconds when she heard someone calling her name. Someone saying something about someone being... dead?!

WHAT?!

Kita shot up and took out her wand. "Who died, who died, who died?!" she said, looking around frantically. There was no way she was going to be dragged into a murder mystery case. No! Because she didn't do it. At least, she didn't think so...

The brunette turned her head and looked at the girl who had called her name. "Caroline?" she asked, turning her head to the side, "Caroline!" She threw her arms around the blonde and hugged her. But wait a minute... "Who died?" she asked, letting go and looking at Caroline curiously.

Caroline stopped dead. (figurely of course) She was alive. Thank Merlin. She hugged her back. She really needed to talk to her best friend and there she was finally. "I thought that stupid tre killed you." She laughed, why the heck did she freak out like that? That had never happen to her before. "Where have you been?" She hadn't seen her since the start of term freast but then again she was spending most of her time with a certain Gryffindor boy.

Kita stared at Caroline incredulously. Then she looked at the swooshing tree. And then back at Caroline. "Oh please!" she said, "It's gonna take a lot more than a tree to kill me!" At least, she hoped that that was true! Meh, no time to ponder on that now.

Where has she-? "I've been... here," Kita said, frowning slightly, "As in... i've been sorting out my stuff in my dorm. Why? Where have you been?" But wait... she wasn't...? No! Was she? "Were you looking for me?" she asked. Please, please, PLEASE say that Caroline hadn't been trying to force her way into the Hufflepuff common room just to see Kita!

Caroline laughed, of course it would take more than little tree to kill her off. Checking to make she was still okay, Verifiing that she was fine again. She nodded, well yeah, but couldn't see her there. "mmm well I've been with Carter." her face pinked "We didn't see each other much over the summer so we're kind of making up for it now." Now was time for the big blush. "I needsome girl talk time with my bestie." She smiled.

And what in the name of Merlin was Caroline doing? Wha- Oh right! She was checking to see if Kita was alright. Kita shook her head and smiled; this girl honestly cares a lot! She crossed her legs and faced Caroline properly. Did she just say that she was with Carter? A smirk spread across the brunette's face. "Oh my!" she said, wagggling her eyebrows, "That must have been... nice!" And there was her signature wink! Oh she had missed annoying people with that wink! But wait... Girl talk time? "Caroline... is everything ok?" she asked, growing ever more concerned by the minute.

Lola was PREACHING words to the tree, talking about how they would have a nice life together (as friends of course), talking about how MUCH they would LONG for each other--how that ship, oh that ship, would become so jealous of their friendship. She was on her knees, telling her newest wooden friend everything; her name, her age, her life, and her hands were outstretched, letting the sun FLOW through her veins, making a gesture as if to hug the tree.

She was interrupted by a boy. A small small boy, who had questioned the tree's ability to talk. HMMMMM??! "Of course it will answer, boyie! Why will it not?!" she questioned dramatically, and still on her knees, pointed towards the thing in his hands. "Is that a duck? A DUCK?!" Her eyes sparked.

It looked real... but not real... she longed for the real/fake duck.

This duck, playing MIIIIIIND TRICKS on her.

She shook her finger, shaking her head, and then moved her eyes back to the boy. "Anyways, it will! The tree speaks to me! All of my tree-friends do," she smiled as she cupped her ear with a hand. "It's name is... is..." She waited, WAAAAITED for an answer.

Nothing.

"But what's in a name?" she said dramatically, "THAT WHICH WE CALL A ROSE BY ANY OTHER NAME... would smell..." dramatic pause... "as sweet."

Caroline laughed. Of course when she brings up Carter, Kita would be all winking and wigglely eyebrows she always was. That's what best friends are for right? She anwsered. "It was." She grinned and turned pink again. "Oh no everything is fine. It's just that since we've been spending so much more time together it. I'm really starting to like him, like really really like him." She grinned and turned a light shade of red. Truth was she was falling pretty hard for Carter, and deep down inside she was both scared and excited. This was the first time she felt like this. Could she possibly be in love for the first time?

Penny had her nose fully buried in her book so it took a minute for her mind to register the screaming. Confused she looked around and finally spotted the noise maker. The girl was running frantically toward her, as if she had a pack of werewolves after her. Alarmed Penny shot up off the ground her book forgotten on the ground.

Her wand was in her hand and her stance was defensive. Though after scanning around her blue eyes could find nothing threatening. "What are ya screamin' for?"

Alec had left the badger common room and went straight for the library. His goal was to have all of the books in the place read by the end of the year and he was well on his way to doing just that. He started at the shelf that he had stopped on and picked up right where he left off. He picked out three books that he hadn't read before, know well that he would have them finished by morning.

Once he had the books that he wanted he made his way down to the grounds. Alec had always enjoyed the landscape of Hogwarts. It was an extremely peaceful place. He couldn't decide where he was going to read today. Would it be the lake, or the courtyard? He finally decided to visit the whomping willow, which he hadn't been to very often.

As he got closer he saw a familier blaze of bright red hair. He recognized the girl quickly as the one that he had met in Diagon Alley, Penny. She too was reading. As he got closer she jumped up and ran over to someone else that was screaming. He followed behind her. "Woah is everything okay?" He asked not really knowing who he was talking to. Well this was sure a dramatic way for a second meeting.

"That's the whomping willow you're leaning up against." Ronnie cried as she got closer to the girl. "I'm surprised you even survived to get back out!" She explained looking at the try. She could see they were testing it. Any second now it would begin to start swinging.

"We should back away slowly....." Ronnie said taking a step backward away from the tree.

William did a lot of searching to just sit down here. He needed to collect his thoughts about his recent arguments. Hopefully one of his friends will join him there.

The way the odd girl was looking at Mr.Duckles, he didn't like it. Daichi held his plushed duck tighter than before and was about to confirm that it is a duck when the girl suddenly fell on the ground.

"W-What's wr-" his sentence was cut short when the girl had nothing and started to question dramatically. He looked at the huge tree for a second before his eyes landed on the girl who said that trees could talk.

His ability to believe EVERYTHING that someone said took over and Daichi's eyes twinkled. "Really?!" he asked amazed by the girl's awesome powers. He had never heard of a tree language before~! Ah magic is so much fun! "What language is it? i is treeish? or treedenic or...?!" This is so cool! of all the people at Hogwarts he met someone who could actually talk to trees!

Daichi still stood beside the other girl as she cupped her ear with her hand. He waited curiously , biting his lip while wondering what the tree would say when...nothing. -_-;

The first year than took a better look at the huge tree and stories that his brother had told came in mind. Wasn't this the tree that stomps people? He wanted to tap the girls shoulder but decided not to, instead he cleared his throat once and still looking at the tree he said. "Uhm, isn't the name of this tree "Whomping Willow ?"" Now hope he didn't offend the girls 'tree speaking ability'

Penny was utterly confused as the girl finally reached her. Her blue eyes went from the girl to the tree in question. And then realization hit and she started giggling. "I wasn' leanin' agains' the Whomping Willow," She pointed her finger at another willow that was close by. "I was leanin' agains' that willow." Stopping down she picked up her fallen book and smiled at her new frantic friend. "Thanks for the concern though. I'm Penny." She may be new and American, from the South even, but she wasn't dense. She knew to keep her distance from that particular tree.

After all of the excitement it took a moment for the red head to see who else had come upon the scene. Her cute guy friend from Diagon Alley. "Hey Alec. Didn't think I'd seeya for a while since the castle was so big." Okay so it was a bit of a lame joke but she was new here.

Ella's curly hair flew out behind her as she skipped towards the Whomping Willow. She wasn't going to go to near of course. She wasn't stupid..

Stopping at a safe distance, Ella tucked a stray lock of hair behind her ear. She looked up at the tree softly swishing its branches.. rather menacingly obviously warning people to stay away.

Sitting down she leant back on her hands, letting the weak sun splash over her face. It was a cute tree.. She giggled out loud. Wow.. she shouldn't stay out in the sun for much longer!

Xandi paused and looked up at the tree. She looked around and saw someone else had settled down not too far away. "Is this the Whomping Willow?" she asked, she was sure this was the tree she'd been told about, but there were so many tree's around here.

Ella turned around and smiled at the girl that had come up behind her.

'Yep.' Ella smiled and patted the grass next to her. 'You can sit with me if you like, I'm Ella-May!'