Wait. She was okay? Then what was all that falling over about? Jory watched in bewilderment as Ronnie got up and then poked him, stuck her tongue out and began running. "Jory, you've been duped by your girlfriend,'' he muttered, finally catching on. But he wasn't mad. On contrary, he found it funny. "I'll get you for this!'' he called. He watched her run, figuring he would give her some time to get ahead.

"Enough time!'' Jory thought a few seconds later and tore of. He was going to get her real faster this time. Oh yes he was.

Ronnie burst with laughter as she ran from Jory. Oh Merlin, that was brilliant. Jory would probably never forget this day, that was for sure! Then he was telling her he'd get her for this. Psh. "Oh yeah? Try me!" she called back over her shoulder. Then she turned back to face forward, and began to sprint faster.

After a while of running, she made a quick turn and leapt into a bush to hide. Hopefully Jory hadn't seen... she was planning to jump out at him, scare him, then take off running again. This was so much fun! Playing tag, just like when she was young. She forgot how fun this was.

Challenge accepted! Jory ran after Ronnie, keeping an eye on her. But he must not have been paying that good attention because suddenly, she seemed to just vanish. She was no where to be seen. He scanned that area, looking for any tell tale signs as to where she could be.

There were bushes around. "She must be hiding behind one of those,'' he figured. Jory slowed down as he approached the bushes. Now, how would he know which? Of course! Her footprints in the snow! He quickly found hers which were leading the way he was currently going but suddenly vanished too. Right in front of a huge patch of bushes.

He quietly approached the bush. And there she was! Jory could see her bright red hair quite easily. "Found you, tomato head!'' he said and poked her on the shoulder. And without further ado, he took off.

Oh he had sisters! How did she not know about that? Biting into her ice cream cone, she chuckled softly, imagining just how that event would turn out. "How many sisters do you haff?" Stopping a good ten feet away from the lake, she hummed in agreement to his waiting suggestion. Practically...read her mind. Ahem.

She gave him a side glance. Naaaah, he wasn't a mind reader. Naah.

Though he was a bit red. It...made her go red. Especially after he spoke. Umm. Oh, the mood turned a bit serious. Ahem. Steadying each other. "Sounds good to me." she nodded slowly with a timid smile. Oh thank goodness a change of topic. Not better than the one before though. A reminder that he had watched her during the quidditch match that she faaaiiiled at!

"Oh, no." Her smile grew as she glanced elsewhere, deciding to focus on her half eaten ice cream. "No umm, I guess...just got lucky? Right broom, veather conditions at the time, you know..." Trailing off, she took a deep breath, turning her gaze back to Leo before laughing softly. "Phina, actually, taught me how to get off the ground for the first time not too long ago. Fantastic teacher."

With flying. Yes.

She put her hands over her mouth when she heard his footsteps approach. Her heart beat rapidly. "Please don't see me. Please don't see me." Holding her breath, she peeped through the bushes and saw him looking around. Then she remembered. There was snow. Everywhere. And her footprints were there in plain sight...

Great.

Soon enough, Jory had found her. She stood up, laughing and then ran after him. Merlin this was fun!

Jory heard laughter and turned around to see Ronnie running after him. He stuck his tongue out at her and resumed running. He was not going to let Ronnie catch him so easy this time. Nope. He was not going to fall victim to her trick again. He was going to stay way ahead of her.

"Feeling tired as yet?'' the badger called out to her, stopping at a safe distance. He had to cup his hands around his mouth and hoped she would hear him. He was feeling a bit tired. Despite the snow, he was sweating. Maybe some more ice cream would help him cool down?

When Jory called out to her asking if she was tired, she laughed a little. She was actually getting quite tired and felt like resting. But if she gave up...Jory would win. Perhaps they could take a break.

She flopped down onto her back and sank into the snow. "I'm taking a break!" she called to him. The snow was so comfy... she could pretty much just take a nap right here... it'd be perfect if Jory would come snuggle her. That'd be a perfect nap.

Jory watched as Ronnie sank onto he snow. "Is this another trick?'' he wondered. Should he go to her or not? Finally, he decided to go. He slowly made his way back to his girlfriend.

"You're not tricking me again, are you?'' he asked standing a good distance away at a good distance. Oh, what the heck? So what if she tagged him? He could get her back anytime but he wanted to take a break too. Jory dropped onto the snow and laid next to Ronnie. "That was fun, wasn't it?''

She laughed, shaking her head. "No, I'm not." she told him. Although, that was a good idea...why hadn't she thought of it when she flopped onto the snow? Ah well. Smiling, she scooted closer to him when he laid next to her. She nodded. "Sure was! I forgot how fun tag was." she said as she held his hand. She shivered a little as a breeze blew past them. It was kinda cold out... making Ronnie want some hot cocoa. "Wanna go inside for hot cocoa after this?" she asked her boyfriend. She could really use some of that tasty stuff.

"Well, I don't mind if you tag me, anymore,'' Jory replied with a grin. He was happy to just lay next to his girlfriend. He put one arm behind his head and the other under Ronnie's shoulders. "Me too. I haven't played this in probably years.'' They had Professor Romanos to thank for this. Jory felt Ronnie's shiver. She was cold, but it didn't feel that way to him. He guess he ran too much. He removed his jacket and put it around her. "Better?'' he asked, replacing his hands behind his head and under Ronnie's shoulder. Hot cocoa! It was a good idea. He nodded. "But after a while?'' Jory loved spending time with her. Just the two of them.

He didn't mind? Might as well tag him then. Just for fun. "Okay, then." she said. Ronnie gently poked his shoulder, giggled, and said: "You're it!"

She let her eyes close as he put his arm under her shoulders. This was so nice and peaceful, laying here with Jory. Could they just do this all day?! Now, if only they had a cozy blanket to snuggle under this would be perfecto! She then nodded. "Yeah, I think the last time I played was when I was about...ten." she told him, laughing lightly at the thought. It had been with her next door neighbor, Ethan. They had been running around....it was summertime, and she was having a blast playing with the new boy who just moved in. Then her mother came out and scolded her for playing, because that wasn't how a 'lady' should act. Ronnie frowned at the memory and tried to rid it out of her head.

Thankfully, she was distracted by Jory's sudden movement as he wrapped his coat around her. She blinked and looked from the coat to him, smiling warmly. It's like he knew just how to cheer her up from the thought, even though he had no idea what had just gone on in her head. "Much better. Thank you, sweetheart." she said, leaning over to kiss his cheek. "I love you." she added while wrapping the coat more tighter around her like a blanket. She got closer to him, rested her head upon his chest and closed her eyes again.

"Of course, after a while is perfect." she said. "I like this. Just you and me out here, laying together." She wished it could last forever, but they'd probably get too cold. . .

"Fine, I'm it,'' Jory agreed with a grin. Twice Ronnie had got him easily now. No worries. He would tag her back in no time. "I think I last played around that age too. It had been with some of my friends from school, I think.'' Or had it been his cousins at the family reunion? Oh well. The point was, he had not played tag in a very long time and it felt good to do so again. Jory saw Ronnie frown. Was it something he said? "Are you alright?'' he asked.

Good. He could not have his beloved girlfriend freezing and he was warm. "You're welcome, angel.'' He smiled. "I love you too. And more.'' Jory wrapped his hand around Ronnie's shoulders when she rested her head on his chest. And Jory like it like this too. "Too bad we will have to go soon.'' Otherwise, they'd be turned into popsicles.

Ronnie smiled as he talked about the last time he played. She always wondered what it'd be like if she went to a Muggle school...she was really curious on what those were like. Then he had noticed her frown... she looked up and shrugged. "I was just thinking." she replied.

Smiling again, she kissed him. "I love you so very much." she told him. It was true. She then nodded in agreement. "Yeah I know." she said with a small frown. She was quite comfortable here.

It didn't seem she wanted to talk about it, so Jory didn't press the subject. "I'm always hear to listen if you want to talk,'' he reassured. He may not have the answers all the time but he was a good listener. "I love you, too.'' He kissed her back.

This was paradise. A cold one, though. Jory was definitely feeling cold now. "I think we should get going,'' he said, shivering a bit. They could surely use that hot cocoa now.

She smiled a little as Jory said he was there to listen. He really was a sweetheart. "It's not anything big..." she began. "But anyways, I was just remembering how the last time I played tag was with this boy who lived next door...and my mum came out and started yelling at me saying it wasn't 'lady like' to play tag." she explained, frowning slightly. "I just don't get what the problem was for acting the way I wanted. She expected so much of me and expected me to be something I didn't wanna be..." she glanced down at the ground for a minute, and then back up at Jory. Her mother was kind of pathetic...

Nodding in agreement, Ronnie stood up. "It is getting more cold out." she said as she took off his jacket and handed it back to him. "You need it more than I do." she told him, smiling. She took his hand in hers and began walking back to the castle.

Jory was all set for his and Ronnie's walk. It was rather early in the morning, much like that time they had been jogging. But it was better this way. Yup. No distractions or anything else to bother them.

He glanced towards the castle, impatiently. Not because Ronnie was late or anything, but because he missed her. "She'll be out soon,'' Jory said to himself, as he turned his attention towards the frozen Lake.

Oh Merlin, she hoped she wasn't too late. Ronnie glanced down at her watch as she exited the castle and shrugged. She wasn't tooo late. Deciding to make it down to the lake faster, she began running as fast as she could through the snow.

Once she reached the lake, she saw Jory standing by himself waiting for her. She walked up to him and tackled him to the ground in a big bear hug. "Hey, cutie!" she said, giving him a kiss and then standing back to her feet. She held her hand out to help him back up. Hopefully she hadn't startled him too bad or anything.

Jory did not hear Ronnie approaching until it was too late. He suddenly found himself on the ground, with someone hugging him tightly around the middle. "Hi, Angel!'' He could see her vivid red hair only. He too had grabbed her by her waist as they both tumbled to the ground. Grinning, Jory kissed back his girlfriend. "I've missed you.'' Even though he had seen her yesterday.

He took her hand and hoisted himself up. "Good morning, beautiful,'' he said. "Missed me?'' Cute grin.

Angel. Ronnie loved when he called her that. She smiled warmly at him, laughing as they fell onto the ground. Jory was so perfect and fun. She could never want anyone else. "I've missed you more." she said, grinning.

Smiling, she hugged him again as he stood up. "Morning, handsome!" she said. She then nodded. All she did last night was think of him and it took forever to fall asleep, she was so excited to see him the next day. "Shall we begin our walk then?" she asked, reaching her hand out towards him for him to hold.

Jory laughed. "I doubt that!'' he said. "I've missed you waaaaay more.'' Notice the way he dragged the word. He hugged Ronnie back, lifting her off the ground momentarily. He knew she liked that. "Yes! Let's go!'' He did not need a second invitation to take her extended hand. Were they supposed to walk slowly or briskly? Professor Romaos had not specified, so it probably didn't matter.

So. Jory needed to get something out of his head. "Remember the other day, what you said about your mom not approving about you playing tag with that guy?'' he began. "Well, don't you worry about it, Rons. You turned out just fine. I love you the way you are.'' She was perfect in every way and he did not want her to feel she disappointed her mom. Or anyone else. He squeezed her hand and smiled.

"Oh, really now?" she asked, her hands on her hips. "Well I missed you a hundred times more than you missed me!" she beamed at him. Haha! Try and beat that, Jory Bear! Now that she thought of it, he could probably say a thousand times more than her next. "I mean...a MILLION TRILLION BILLION times more! That's what I meant to say!" she quickly said with a giggle. This was so fun.

As they walked, Ronnie looked at Jory as he spoke. She blinked at what he said. She'd never had anyone say that to her...let alone know about her real parents. She had never really told anyone except Jory. "Jory...I...I don't know what to say." she said, her voice small, looking at the ground. She was literally speechless. "That means so much to me. You have no idea...no one has ever said that to me." she told him, suddenly stopping in the middle of walking to hug him tightly.

Jory laughed. Oh, Ronnie was so funny! He folded his arms. "I missed you...infinity times!'' Hehe! That sounded weird but there was no way Ronnie would be able to top that! "I guess I win.'' He stuck out his tongue.

Jory kept a lookout for rocks and so as they walked. No need to twist an ankle on a walk. Nope. The place was covered with snow, so that was a bit difficult but he liked it all white and cold. He looked back at his girlfriend. Aww. His Ronnie.She looked so ...overwhelmed. "You don't have to say anything,'' the badger said. "Just know that I don't care what anyone says about you. You have me, who loves everything about you.'' Another bear hug! Jory liked these. He hugged Ronnie back.

Infinity times? She frowned, quickly trying to come up with something bigger. But she couldn't so she gave up. She crossed her arms across her chest. "Fine, fine, you win." she said, shaking her head and laughing. He was good at this.

She smiled. "Thanks again, Jory. You don't know how much this means to me...no one has ever told me that." she told him, squeezing him. He truly was the perfect boyfriend for her. She could never want anyone else... he was the one she wanted.

Awesome! He had won! Jory grinned. "Maybe I'll go easy on you next time we have one of these...er whatever we have,'' he replied with a wink. They needed to come up with a name for whatever this thing was which they always seemed to be doing.

Jory smiled. "I ish just trying to make you feel better,'' he said but he did mean every single word he just said. He kept one arm around Ronnie as they continued their walk. So far, they still seemed to be the only ones around. Just they way he liked it. He just hoped it won't snow and spoil his and Ronnie's moment together. But there was so much snow all around! Maybe they could build a snowman sometime? "Er did your mom ever tell you anything like that?'' the Puffer asked cautiously.

She laughed. "Okay, you better." she said, winking back at him. What was this 'thing' called, anyway? It didn't really seem to have a name... hopefully they'd come up with one or something. Or perhaps they could just call it their 'thing'. Who knows.

Smiling, she kissed his cheek. "And you're doing a great job at it. I feel tons better, thank you." she said. As they walked, she looked around at everything around him. It was so peaceful and quiet...no one was around, it was just the two of them enjoying each other's company. The way she liked it. Then, he asked her a question. She looked at him, cocking her head slightly. "What do you mean, exactly?" she asked slowly.