As Ella started speaking, Edric had a feeling he knew where she was going.
And yep, he was right.
She wanted to be… Fr… Frrr-uh… Fuhrrenn… FRIENDS.

Friends.
FRIENDS!?

The Gryffindor, even though he saw it coming as soon as she started speaking, was now… shocked. It's like it had just hit him - he was making his first… ever… friend.
Who would have thought his very first friend at Hogwarts would be a twelve-year-old Hufflepuff?

Wow.

"Hah. Friends," Edric exhaled with an incredulous chuckle.
With a suddenly serious expression, he turned to the little girl beside him and brought his hand up to the top of her head. He then ruffled the heck outta her hair. BAHAHAHAHHA. "You're not just using me for my age and size to scare off any bullies, are you?" he teased.

Ah. The Topiary Garden, where apparently bushes were formed to look like animals. Somehow feeling obligated to still carry out the promise she made with the Groundskeeper last term which was to look after the plants whenever she had time, Beezus briskly made rounds at the Garden.

Upon her patrolling, she noticed a crouching figure at one side with its back to her. She narrowed her eyes as she eyed the person, but couldn't think of who it was. Maybe a new student? "Strange person." she whispered more to herself as she strutted silently over to the unknown guy.

"Errr...what are you doing?" asked the spunky little Ravenclaw with a curious face. This person was just weird. Why was he eyeing the Garden like he was some kind of spy? Was he a spy?

Ignoring the cat, the was now invisible behind the leaves, Louisa eyed his hands fumble with his tie as he rejected her question politely. Although she didn't get why he wouldn't tell her whether his father wanted him to do this or not. It was really a simple question, no? With a jerk, she grabbed his tie and brought him a little closer, untangling the knot he'd just made by pulling on it. "Fine. But we're doing this later... ow!" Forgot about the sprained wrist. Hmph. She frowned down at her left hand and carefully loosened his tie knot with only one hand... it did take a bit of time but they were waiting for that cat to come down, no?

"There, you can tug on your tie again now.." she let him go and stretched a tiny bit. Now that she was sitting here for the past half an hour after the fall, her every bone started to ache mildly. The scratches on her hands were numb but the ones on her legs from falling all the way over the pole, were quite painful too. She glanced down at them and grimaced. She needed a lot of ointment potion... and bandages... and probably some tonic if she had to study in the extra DADA book she got from Romanos. Better get moving then...

Straightening up, she nodded at the tree, "That's it. You can climb and get the little brat down. I'll be right behind you with my wand." She took it out from her skirt waistband and started listing off charms needed, "Cushioning charm for if you fell off, I can do a lightening charm that'll help you hold your weight easily.." she gave him a sideways look, "Although there's not much anyways." Coz he could fit into a keyhole - well, if you don't count his shoulders. "Maybe even the levitation charm could work, too, if you lost your grip or something." Maybe Louisa was expecting the worst but the girl always believes in extra precautions. "Alright, let's go..." And she'd get up after him. She needed a walking stick most probably.

Upon hearing the voice from behind him, Xing jumps out of surprised. The sandwich spurts out from his mouth and the remaining one in his hand has been squished as he tightens his grip not to let it fall off. "Merlin has mercy! You scared me!" exclaims the boy, patting his pectoral muscled chest.

What was he doing? Wasn't it obvious? "I was looking at that moving plant-shaped animals!" he points one finger at where the topiary are. His response is in half-screaming voice as he is still in shock by the sudden appearance of the girl.

Ella chanced a glance up at Edric and was a little surprised to see a shocked expression. Why was this shocking to him? Hadn't this boy ever been asked to be somebody's friend before? Like when he was little or something? The thought that maybe nobody ever did made Ella feel a little sad.

And then came the incredulous chuckle. This made Ella look Edric in the eyes, wondering if that meant no. Sigh. Well at least she had tried. She didn't blame him really, he was much older. She was about to nod her head, tell him that she understood when O__O He was ruffling her hair! Huh? She squirmed away from him but was smiling wide. When she looked at him again, her hair was sticking up all over the place, and she was laughing softly. At his next question, Ella let out a sigh of relief. So this meant they were friends, yeah? Placing her hands on her hips, the second year wiggled her eyebrows playfully. "Well maybe only a little..." She answered. And then, without really thinking about it, she hugged the older boy. After a moment, she pulled away and smiled at him sheepishly. "I'm sorry, I'm-Well I'm a hugger...but you might not be so-sorry."

Edric couldn't help but laugh when Ella's eyebrows went crazy on her forehead and she was playfully admitting to using him. "I hope this bodyguard/friend job pays well, then. I take my paychecks only in gummy bears or peanuts, so… just letting you know." Yeah, he wasn't going to beat up bullies for free!

Aaaand then Ella was… squeezing him to death? Trying to strangle him but aiming too low? WUT. What was this weird thing she was DOING!?
Edric had only received these from his family before, sooo… for someone who wasn't a Barlow and who didn't deal with him because they HAD to to hug him, it was honestly mind-blowing. The poor boy looked like someone had just turned a bucket filled with roaches over his head. Not that he disliked Ella or anything, but… what was physical contact? This was so weird.

But.
Naturally.
Edric decided to be a good person for a change, and hugged the girl back. Or, rather, allowed his arms to sorta float around her in a weird semi-circle. Yeah, that had totally failed. Luckily Ella was pulling away by now.

"It's fine," said the boy as Ella began to apologize. "As long as it doesn't happen too often I think I'll be fine. Y'know, the doctor said I apparently have an allergy to those, so let's not try to kill me," he added with a nod. Kidding, obviously. But not too many hugs, please. So, y'know, Edric could stay grouchy and asocial. He wasn't about to go and turn into a social butterfly any time soon.

Whaa-hoa. Paulie ALMOST got whiplash from the sheer force behind Louisa's yanking on his tie. Oh la la, they were so close! Paulie couldn't waste this opportunity. "Now, now, Louisa. I thought we left our love affair back at detention last term!" He grinned. I mean, if she wanted a kiss, all she had to do was ASK. hehe.

Her 'ow' caused him to raise an eyebrow at her. "You're not supposed to move it." Her sprained wrist, that is. When his tie fell back to his chest, perfectly untangled, he gave a little nod. "Thanks." Now he just took the thing off altogether and shoved it in his pocket.

Oh, oh! What was this? Louisa acquiescing to HIS wishes? His mouth stretched in a grin. "Excellent! And I won't need any of those charms," he added, dismissing the mere thought of them. He wasn't going to fall, hullo?! Paulie was a pro. "And what are you talkin' about, not much to me anyways, hmm?! I've totally bulked up!!" Well. Perhaps 'totally bulked up' was an overstatement..

Swiftly, he got up and started for the tree.

Mordred pulled a disgusted face as Oakey told his story. A Mackled Malaclaw he said. “You really are unlucky to have stepped on it.” Mordred said as he scratched the back of his head. I there was one thing Oakey was lucky, it was that—compared to what happened to Mordred. “And to lose your Rabbit’s foot is also a sign of bad luck.” He said as the Rabbit topiary stooped down to the both of them with its ears upright. “Eavesdropping much?” Mordred said to it and gave it a tired look.

Almost two years of bad luck. Even Mordred will get mad if that happened to him. “Well, Oakey—let’s look at the bright side. You’re still alive after the Malaclaw bit you…” he said as he drew out his wand remembering his gift for Oakey. “And still living a life full of mishap.” He told himself. “Look, I got you this. I bought it in Egypt two years ago. I went looking for you when I got back from Hogwarts, and turns out you missed school.” He said as he loosened the charm and handed it to Oakey. “It’s a Scarab Beetle. Ancient Egyptians believed it to have powers—and it helps to bring the bearer good fortune.” He explained. “Wear it first while we go looking for your Rabbit’s foot.” He suggested. He knew Oakey will be in trouble sooner or later. Now for the summoning spell. “Well, by the looks of it, you have tried the summoning spell.” He said as he looked around him. “Okay, here goes nothing.” Mordred cleared his throat and called out for the Rabbit’s foot.

“Accio Rabbit’s Foot!” he said pointing at the topiary and its foot tried to uproot itself from the ground. “Oh not that foot!” he exclaimed as he murmured “Finite.” to undo the spell. The topiary’s foot stomped itself back to the ground, and wiggled its ears as if nothing happened. He tried again now pointing to the pathways, but nothing happened. “Oakey, the Rabbit’s foot is believed to have powers, right? I think it can’t be just summoned like that. Much like it isn’t meant to be lost.” He said flatly. “Any other plans?” he asked.

Ella smiled, nodding. Yes, the job paid well. Ell always had a few treats on her at all times, not wanting to ever be stranded somewhere without food. That would be disastrous! "Gummy bears or peanuts...got it. I'll have to check my supply but I think we have ourselves a deal." Congrats, Sir. You got yourself a job.

Ella felt more than saw Edric's body go all weird and rigid as she hugged him. Oh merlin, now she was freaking him out! She couldn't help but laugh a little as he finally decided to hug hover his arms around her awkwardly. He was definitely not a hugger. At least he had said it was fine, because Ella couldn't really help it that time. She was just so happy to have a new friend. She giggled when he said he was allergic to them. "Oh no! Well I'll have to watch out for you from now on then, make sure you don't get any more of those." Or maybe he could just wear a bracelet like those people who have seizures do: DON'T HUG-WILL FAINT or something.

As she continued to smile, she realized that they had been in the topiary garden for quite some time now. It had totally escaped her that not only had she not done her Herbology homework, but she needed to go see Professor Williamson about her pygmy puff before it got too late. "So friend, I hate to break your heart but I think I have to leave you and Mr. Elephant. I've got to get my homework done." Sigh. Ella would much rather be hanging outside in the sunshine. "You think you can manage to not strangle eachother?" She asked playfully, looking from the elephant to Edric. "Oh, I forgot. You're friends with him now too." Heh.

Scoooooooff. Snooooort. More scoooooooffing. She couldn't say anything about that, though. Because it was just too ridiculous... also, she was focusing on getting up while using his arm as a cane. It worked. It also showed her how much her legs were sore. He had probably three minutes to climb that tree, get the cat that was still invisible from where they stood, and then get down. "I'll keep my wand at the ready just in case." She started pushing him and herself toward the bear-shaped tree, her face lost any previous humor. Falling off a pole even with the help of someone was definitely not a piece of cake as she made it look like.

However, she showed NOTHING. Because showing vulnerability or failure was pathetic. Louisa was not pathetic. She stopped at the pole near the tree, leaned against it and gave Paulie a prod. "Go on. I'm waiting here..." she waved her wand to emphasize that she was ready. "And please don't break your arm and make me do all your work for you this year." as in TAKE CARE AND DON'T MAKE ME FEEL GUILTY ALL YEAR D: but that in a Louisa way.

Edric seemed amused as Ella played along with his teasing. Huh. Finally a person who understood his sense of humour! Funny that it would be a twelve-year-old. He'd never get over that. He could see his next owl to his parents, "Mum, Dad… today I made a new friend. She's three - soon to be four - years younger than me."

And then Ella was admitting it was time for her departure. As she spoke, Edric glanced down at his watch - they'd been here for around two hours! What.
Edric socialized for a whole two hours?
Yeah, so the world made no sense anymore.

"Oh, I think I could contain the urge," replied Edric with a teasing smile as Ella asked he and the elephant not 'strangle each other'. "Good luck on your homework." Grin. A genuine one, too. So he didn't look creepy at all. Just… like a normal boy. Finally.

Hehehe. Paulie smirked and walked on as she pushed him towards the topiary. She still needed him for her personal cane, which meant... "Did you injure anything other than your wrist..?" Anyway. They were at the bear tree, so he rolled his sleeves up to his elbows, then took the tie from his pocket and tossed it on the ground. This was serious business!

He swiftly stepped up and pulled his weight against the tree, and then he was climbing, climbing, climbing! There were a ton of tiny branches, which were pretty annoying, be he ignored them and kept going up. There! He saw the glimmer from the cat's eyes, and he made his way further up the tree. Now that he was about a foot from the feline, the thing was staring him down pretty menacingly. "Here, kitty, kitty.." Then... in one fast swoop, Paulie snagged his arm around the cat - probably squishing Viola a bit, too. "Got her!"

Hmm... he glanced down at the ground below him. "I'm gonna drop her, 'kay?" 'Cause she was a cat, so she landed on her feet, and Paulie preferred to climb down with two hands.

He's gonna fall and it's all my fault, He's gonna fall and it's all my fault, He's gonna fall and it's all my fault, He's gonna fall and it's all my fault, He's gonna fall and it's all my fault, He's gonna fall and it's all my fault, He's gonna fall and it's all my fault.. HE MADE IT! Louisa's face beamed as Paulie settled on one of the big branches. "You see her?!" But almost instantly he called out that he was going to drop her. "Yeah, sure!"

Louisa and just to make sure, waved her wand at the ground casting a cushioning spell... she never actually tested that spell outside class but it was better than nothing, right? The cat then let out a hiss as she was thrown aaaaaand onto the ground with her forelegs. Viola gracefully had her balance back and went to her owner, snuggling by her feet. The girl shot the feline a LOOK and shooed her off. "Paulie?! Are you alright?" Did she have to go run for help? D:

Ella smiled. Good, the elephant topiary would still be intact then next time she chose to visit. "Thanks!" She said cheerfully as he wished her luck on her homework. The second year almost congratulated the older boy on his successful smile but thought better of it. Instead she waved so long to him and headed for the castle.

Oakey hadn't thought of it like that. What if his bad luck caused him to loose his lucky rabbit's foot. It seemed very ironic, but if what Mordy said was true, his bad luck was worsening so much that it was surpassing all the training Oakey had done to suppress it. Oakey wanted to freak out there and then but decided to hold it in. Maybe later in the dorm room he thought.

Well of course I'm alive Malaclaws are tiny little pests, I should have been watching where I was going and not have been playing in the rock pool. Oakey misunderstood what Mordy was getting at with that comment. He nodded his head in agreement with what his best friend was saying, but was truly thinking What does "mishap mean", gonna have to look that up later. He didn't say anything because he wanted to seem smart.

Then Mordy did that greatest thing EVER! Oakey took the Scarab charm and held it in the palm of his hand looking at it intensely. It was really well made. You-you got this at Egypt? You g-got me a gift? Mordy I-this-it-it's-this... Oakey was at a loss of words he just starred at his new charm. He pulled his empty chain out and quickly attached the scarab to it. It looked so much better around his neck than the rabbit's foot. It rested on his chest a lot more comfortably, and he felt lucky already.

That makes sense, maybe it's has so much power in it a simple summoning charm isn't enough. He had decided that his rabbit's foot wasn't here. Let's stop looking for it...for now. Oakey responded to Mordy. Wanna hang somewhere else? Maybe later he could visit the new Charms Professor.

O______o

Beezus backed away in haste as the guy had scrambled off from where he stood, obviously frightened by her presence. "Uh.." Merlin has whaaat? Beezus scratched her head as she tried calming the new guy. "Sorry about that. I thought you were doing something..suspicious." Then a shake of head. "Yeah, sorry if I startled you."

At his next chide, however, Beezus couldn't help but raise an eyebrow. "Err..plant-shaped animals?" She looked at him disbelievingly. "No..no..they're plants. Shaped as animals." It was completely the other way around. And her, being a Ravenclaw, she just couldn't allow him to think lopsidedly.

It was one of those sunny days when Gwen was simply in the mood for a walk. Truth be told, she was kind of curious to see what had changed around the grounds from the previous term. So far, she had only noticed the playground. Hang on… new things appearing here… hmm… perhaps some of them disappeared? Still looking around as she made her way towards the place where the topiary garden was last term, the fourth year felt relieved as she spotted something… Yes. From a considerable distance, the Ravenclaw was able to recognize the topiary giraffe. Soon, a smirk appeare on her face as she hurried up, moving quickly towards the topiary garden.

As soon as she got closer, Gwendolyn started taking notice of the other animals. Hey! There was the lion! Gwen remembered having started the drawing of it last year. Too bad she didn’t get to finish it. Hmph. And too bad she didn’t bring her notebook this time. Pffft. Going back to the castle and way back to the Ravenclaw Common Room was out of question. Meh. She’ll just finish the sketch some other time.

Well, Carson had seen almost every part of the castle. From what he could remember, there were only a few more places to go. But the topiary garden seemed like a fascinating place to go visit. The idea of bushes shaped like different types of animals and creatures seemed like a rather interesting idea. And the garden was sure to be an interesting place to hang out and meet new people. Of course! And for once, he didn't have food with him. He'd even shocked himself on that one. Since when did he go anywhere without food in his pockets.

He made his way toward the topiary garden and entered looking around the different bushes shaped in different animals and creatures. Who knew what he'd find in here? Maybe he'd find one shaped like a cheetah? Or even one shaped like a duck? He just hoped he didn't see any shaped like food! He didn't want to be looking at food shaped bushes just stood there teasing him.

Alec took a deep breath and tried to think of happy things. He couldn't let his nervousness show, could he? She might just take advantage of that and attack him or something. But... she was being so nice! Look at that smile! Really nice. How could he be nervous when she was smiling nicely at him?

He was just being silly now. Of course Ellie wasn't going to do anything weird! They were in the middle of the topiary garden, she was smiling and she had a cute bunny on her shoulders. And, maybe, Treyen had told her to be nice? ... Would he do something like that? Just so that they can get along? That would be nice of him.

Whatever the reason was, he wasn't going to let it bother him. It didn't matter why someone was happy as long as they were happy, right?That's what his Dad had said. And that's why he usually went around being happy for no reason. Because you didn't need a reason to be happy and the same could go for Ellie.

Where... they should look? "I haven't seen it... but I can help you look?" Because, apparently, Hufflepuffs were meant to be particularly good finders. "It might be easier on a broom..." he said, tiptoeing slightly, trying to look over the closest topiary. Even if he was slightly tall for a thirteen year old, all these topiaries were HUGE!

He could pet her? And hold her? That was SUPER nice of Ellie! Alec grinned up at the older girl. "Yeah, sure!" he said,holding out his hands, "What's her name?" Just so he didn't make the same mistake with Rufus. The small bunny might not like being called 'little bunny' at all.

It was time for the nerd bird to get some fresh air. After being all cooped up in the common room or library for OWLs, he barely saw the sunlight. Mikey was sometimes afraid he'd become a vampire like Hailey, but that was impossible; he wasn't pale. But since she was nowhere to be found lately, he decided to enjoy nature; something Hailey wasn't fond of. So Mikey wandered off to the grounds to find places he hadn't seen yet. This garden was obviously new to him. The animal figured bushes seemed fun to ride. But he was pretty sure he'd get detention if he attempted.

Still gazing around the fun looking garden, Mikey caught eye of someone he knew. Well, kind of. He walked over to her and gave her a small wave. "You're that girl from the bookstore in Diagon Alley," he began snapping his fingers. Mikey was pondering on what was the girl's name. Did it start with an A? Or maybe a B? No, it didn't seem right. With one last snap he said, "Gwen, right?" Yeah, the boy had a really bad memory.

Right. He'd already said that. No need to repeat himself, really.

His offer of help was super welcomed, though, and Ellie refrained from accepting it too quickly. She didn't want to look too eager, or as if she was expecting him to help her or anything. "If you'd like to..." She was giving him an out. Alec didn't have to. But it would be much appreciated. As long as he didn't have anything better to do. Then again, what could a second year possibly have that was more important or better than looking for a bush!bunny?

Exactly.

A broom? "Brilliant!" she said, zigzagging past a bush!tiger and a bush!armadillo. Then she bit her lip for a moment, in thought, "How upset do you think Vindictus would get if we got a broom to help us? He's very particular about not flying off the Pitch, you know." But Ellie was also very much in the mindset of 'I'm a seventh year and I really don't care what the teachers do to me this term cause it's my last to do anything fun and worthwhile and stuff', so she was seriously considering summoning her broomstick.

Still thinking of his proposal, and Vindictus' reaction, she found herself grinning. "Okay! Why don't we take a seat somewhere?" she asked, lowering herself to the ground right where she'd been standing. It was a good spot. She jerked her head at the boy for him to join her. And then he could hold Bunny. "She doesn't have one....yet....I've been calling her 'Bunny', though." Couldn't go wrong with that.

Selena liked giraffes. And elephants. And bears. And since they came in the form of green bushy stuff, Selena liked them more. What she didn't like was how hard it was to find a pygmy puff and cruppy topiary. Kent and Clarke had to be very offended. The head girl walked through the topiary garden, more like skipped but who was really observing? Her pygmy puff rested on her head as her cruppy was being tugged along behind her. She liked the green leash... it prevented her from having to run after the cruppy when he found a pair of shoes he wanted to chew on.

Plus, the weather wasn't horrible out. It was a nice day. She wondered if her cruppy would chase after a squirrel topiary... did they have one here?

Mordred refrained from rolling his eyes and simply laughed at Oakey. “YOU should always look after yourself, bud.” He said as he slammed his hand on Oakey’s shoulder. “But what the heck, maybe your bad luck will get tired of you…” he said as he pocketed his hands.

The boy looked at Oakey with surprise and curiosity as his best friend examined his gift. “Egypt, yes. Fantastic place! You should see it.” He said as he continued to watch Oakey in amusement as he hanged the charm around his neck. “You’re the only unlucky person that comes to mind when I saw that.” He said. “And don’t you lose it! I had to look for an authentic priestess to bless it.” He continued pointing at the charm which was now resting on Oakey’s chest.

“Let’s put it this way. Now that you have the Scarab, maybe it will give you luck, so that the Rabbit’s foot will find you.” Rabbit’s foot was specially prepared, and it was never meant to be lost. “I reckon, anyone who finds it is lucky, and will continue to be one. Don’t you think? So maybe you have to be lucky first so it will find you.” Mordred told Oakey—his Auror instincts kicking in. “Anywhere is good, buddy.” He said looking around. “I’ve heard there’s a playground somewhere….” Now Durmstrang will never allow that on their grounds. "The kitchen sounds nice too."

Blink. Blink. Soapy really wasn't getting the hint. Hannah was hoping that she would understand her looks and the long while that it took her to answer as Hannah not wanting to have anything to do with her. Apparently that was not the case and even worse she plopped down right beside her as if they were truly friends and this was a normal occurence between them. Hannah jumped up at once and glared at the girl for having the nerve to sit down beside her. She heard her say that her name was pretty. Well of course it was.


It seemed like nothing phased this girl. Hannah told herself that she would try harder this year, but she wouldn't associate herself with a puffer. What would her parents think? This girl just sat down right beside her like nothing...what if somebody saw? No, no, no Hannah did not keep this kind of company. "It was a nice place to relax until I was interrupted." So rudely too she might add. Maybe soapy had a different idea of peace and quiet, but to Hannah being badgered by a badger was not it.


She was a second year too, huh? What did this girl want a cookie or something? Hannah did not care what year she was in. "Wow, awesome" she said with as much sarcasm as she could muster. The names that she said did not ring a bell with her, but if they kept company with puffers then that was probably why their names were not familiar to her. Did people not have standards or pride anymore. Jeeze! "I don't know anybody by that name." She said cockily.


Now to the subject that Hannah was most interested in...where this girl came from. Her mom was a Hufflepuff...figures. Ravenclaw dad...not bad. Not the best, but it could have been worse. Her mom came from a family of purebloods? Well then why were they in the house of yellow. She was debating this in her head when the next words hit her like a brick. What did she just say about her father? "Your father is muggle born?" Her mouth actually fell open on that. How could a pure blood marry such a thing? "Your pureblood mother married a muggle?" The look on Hannah's face was full of disgust and her mouth was still hanging open.

As she hadn’t thought of bringing the sketchbook with her this time, the fourth year decided she should just hang out there for a while. Mhm. That sounded like a good plan. She casually made her way along the pathway, eyeing the topiary animals she was passing by. Good thing the topiary garden didn’t disappear. It became one of Gwen’s favorite places at Hogwarts. With a quick look around, the Ravenclaw was able to spot the lion again. As she made a mental note to remember her sketch, her thoughts were interrupted by a voice sounding somewhere close to the place where she was standing.

Was he talking to her? Gwen drew her attention towards the person that had just said something. That girl from Diagon Alley? ‘Guess so’, the fourth year said simply. After all, wasn’t Diagon Alley the place where lots of students met? ‘Hi’, she finally said and gave a small smirk as she tried to remember who he was… Mikey? It was odd enough that the Ravenclaw remembered the name. ‘Right’, the fourth year nodded. ‘How are you?’