Oh. PHEW. That could have had a much worse outcome. Plenty of people were less patient about these kinds of incidents. Tobias gave a BIG BIG GRIN.

"Don't worry, sir! I've never run anyone over yet. Just a lot of near misses." Quite a lot. But he knew that, heh.

The Hufflepuff drummed his fingers on the skateboard he held, just some extra fidgeting, you know? SO this dude WAS a teacher. Right yes okay. Note to self: pay attention at school feasts and speeches.

"I do!" Toby responded brightly. "I just moved in with my grandparents. The house with the red door and the apple tree out front." That's right, Tobias. Just give away your address. "D'you know it? What about you... d'you live 'round there too? I seem to almost-but-not-quite run you over a LOT." Heh. Gosh, imagine if they lived on the same street though. Weird. And pretty cool.

Bouncebounce.

"My name's Toby, by the way. Toby Tempus. Or Tobias. Whichever." Or Mister Tempus, the ol' professor go-to name for him.

Now Cassia wouldn't go tell all people about the arguments she and Lex were having, the ones that concerned the spider, anyway. But Lottie would understand this of all people. It was no one's business but the two guardians plus Lottie who served as adviser? Or the one that heard both sides complain about each other.

Nodding, Cassia watched B wandering on Lottie's hands. They were getting along, since no bites happened. Surely Lottie knew to look out for these, right? They kinda hurt. But at least they weren't poisonous, yeah? "That should be done," She agreed. "I'm not giving her any right now but I know she has other sources." Which doesn't make Cassia that helpful. "She's been having way too many since..." The train situation? Lottie was there so it'd be understood without mentioning. "And I thought she used to have a lot!" She shook her head. If Lex would just return to her previous intake.

"I have lots of insects," Something she never thought she'd point out before. Even though she had an owl, she usually let the evil bird search for his own food. maybe he'd starve and die!.

She read it? And she didn't even have a spider of her own? Someone had lots of other house traits. Mhhmm. "Oh, ok." She said flipping through the pages. Ooooh, she had marked the section. Cool, thanks! Cassia owed Lottie a lot so far. Maybe one day she'd have to do something big for the Hogwartian. It'll make the snake feel good.

Cassia turned her full attention to the book and started reading as her eyebrows furrowed in concentration. Hmm...Lots of information that she probably needed to write down for future reference since the book surely had to be returned to its owner. A couple of minutes passed before the blond looked up at Lottie and asked. "When do you have to return the book?" Unless it was Lottie's? "I doubt Lex would read it," he Gryffindor liked to stick to reading Hexes books. "I'll write down the important stuff." Merlin help her. But like, fifth-year she needed to get used to thiiiiiis.

Forrest nodded. "Yeah, it's probably the easiest." He didn't know how Slytherins' entrance was, and he had no intentions of going there to find out. Maybe he ought to ask Kahlan sometime. Hmm.

Compliment? What compliment? He didn't think it was a compliment. It was merely the truth... but in the end, he shrugged and grinned. "You're welcome." So she was actually a good person, after all, even though she looked a bit arrogant on the train.

"But you can't, say, know how a computer works by birth. You have to ask." Never mind if she didn't know what 'computer' was. He was sure she would understand the point. In the end she was just clever, whether she liked it or not. Hehe.

He looked up in the sky to think her comments about Gryffindors. He didn't think Alexa was brave just to look so. And Michael had been pretty responsible too... so he shrugged. "Alright." He was going to respect her idea. Maybe she had just seen that lot. Maybe if she'd met Alexa and Michael, she would change her mind.

If she said that a year ago, he would be pretty sad. But now, he saw her point and grinned. Because she had also said that he wasn't stupid, in a way. "Hat truly knows." Its magic still eluded him, but it knew.

...HEY, that was SUCH a GREAT idea! His face broke into a HUGE grin and he bounced with excitement. "Of course! There're Tobias, Asher and Kace too. You will LOVE them!" Then maybe she could have more than one BFF, like his Tobias and Bristol. YES! See? Definitely she was the clever one here.

Wow. Perks of coming from a wizard family. He blinked, dumbfounded, as he weighed the bag with his hand. It really was light... shrugging, he hung it from his shoulder. Still, he was the boy here. He should carry it. His parents taught him the coutesy rules well.

"Let's see if there's something new this year," he said and started to walk towards the lake with her.

She had wanted to say that, too, but didn't know whether Lottie would think Cassia was making fun of her house or something. Though Cassia wasn't that nice those days and didn't bother being chatty, she still made effort for friends. She could express her current anger at the world on strangers. Not that she had lots of anger.

"They do," Cassia nodded in agreement. "He did?" the snake paused considering it. Well, maybe he had lots? But then again, that firstie Slytherin Cutty had, too and he was selling them. Had a sign on the Students bulletin board. "That is awfully nice of him, " And it was good to not inform Lex, the Gryffindor can be demanding. Distraction. Talk about those. "Yes," Was all she said with a nod. Cassia might be able to relate.

For her to eat.

At first Cassia thought they were still talking about Lex and she just blinked. Yeah she didn't approve of the too much candy consuming but that didn't mean she'd-- her thoughts were cut when her eyes settled on the spider that was trying to get pass Lottie's ribbon. Stupid of her, they were talking about B. "Yes, I don't collect insects usually." Did Lottie think she did?

Oh, she could keep the book, awesome. "That's good, I'll take good care of it," She said to Lottie reassuringly. She'd keep it somewhere safe in the dorms. Lando, Derry's cat was good, though she'd still keep it out of reach.

Conversing, yeah? "Not bad, could be better, though," A general answer. Only because she didn't know what to really say. She hadn't yet formed clear ideas about stuff. "And on your end?" She asked the hogwartian closing the book. She'd read later.

... What was the firstie doing?

Dylan was looking at Melanie all weird. Was there something on her face? She brushed her hair away from her face nervously. There was nothing wrong... right? Melanie looked at the Hufflepuff and then at the cat. Then back at the Hufflepuff. "What exactly is Ginger?" she asked. Because Melanie wasn't sure though she was pretty sure it she was a cat and not a kneazle.

She glanced back at Dylan's drawing. Then at the cat-possibly-a-kneazle-thing... then back at the drawing. "Uh... I guess he doesn't like fur on his suits," Melanie replied with a shrug. Actually, Melanie wasn't too sure but she was sure he had his reasons.

What is Ginger?

What kinda question was that? Dylan blinked. Was this a...trick question? Oh Merlin, he hated those. Ah, well. Guess he'd have to find out. "She is a tabby cat." he answered slowly, eyeing Melanie suspiciously. Huh. Curious she'd ask such an odd question... "Why'd you ask?" he cocked his head, looking at her intently, waiting for her to answer.

Oooohh. "Well, I guess that makes sense." Dylan said thoughtfully. He then began to add more things to his drawing and then not before long, he was finished. But he felt it needed more. Like, something that would mean something to Melanie since he was giving it to her. Hmmm. Glancing around the courtyard for a minute, an idea suddenly popped into his head. Aha! Quickly, he sketched two figures standing by the fountain, a tall one and a short one. Melanie and Dylan. Quickly, he drew Melanie's arm around him in the picture, and now he was finished. The first year showed the drawing to her. "Do you like it?" he asked, raising his eyebrows in question.

Cassia knew of the Hufflepuff niceness, in fact when she was new here she was to be mistaken for one. Something she doesn't brag about and barely anyone knew of. Since the snakes aren't known for their chatting and social characteristics with everyone, she was set apart by that. Though right now, she kind of dropped that trait. Not in the mood. Unless it's a friend she wasn't wasting her time and breath. It was easier now you know?

And still, the snake found what Alec did and was doing so unbelievably nice. Had it been her she would have totally gotten suspicious being the paranoid snakette she was. But then again, you can't be suspicious of Alec, impossible. "You're lucky, yeah?" She probably didn't have to buy candy on her own. Why would she when she was given bags of candy for free! Maybe the older hufflepuff had a factory or something?

Good that they had cleared out this insects matter. She didn't want to be known as the girl who liked to collect insects. Ewwww. And having a spider was totally a different thing. Mhhm.

It was a good thing Lottie didn't ask further, not because she didn't trust the Hogwartian but because Cassia had decided to not to mull over certain stuff, to just accept it, get over it and get back to normal. And that required time. Isolation sometimes? While Lex distracted herself with talk to everyone and doing everything, Cassia did the exact opposite. "Yes, those," She answered agreeing on the OWLs. "I'm kinda stressed," Which was true. The snake nodded at Lottie, of course she couldn't have enjoyed the start, understandable. "Well, hopefully, things will start getting better?" She said in a non-optimistic tone. Eeeh. "I guess, we should work on that ourselves," Distractions. Mhhm. And probably try do stuff that cheered them up. As well as try not to care too much.

Cassia almost forgot about spidey Venom, both bad and good thing. Bad because she wasn't supposed to forget checking on it every single second, while it was good because it meant she was totally into the conversation and not feeling the need to distract herself with something else to be comfortable she already was.

So yup, Lottie was lucky. It was totally confirmed. Cassia wished she was that lucky in this department. Though other than that she was lucky to have many awesome friends. And right now she was trying to ignore the unlucky field of her life where she always looked the wrong way that guaranteed her being upset afterwards. Ok, now she needed distractions again. Wheeeeeere was spidey? Oh, still on Lottie's arm, good. And for good measures, Cassia looked over her shoulder making sure no one was spying on them or like noticing them. Trust no one!

Coast was safe. Sitting on the ground was so much better than sitting on a bench.

Maybe she really was smart like Lottie just said? Cassia knew she wasn't dumb, she was lazy and had short attention span. Though longer than Lex's . But it was mostly laziness. If she could do something easily and fast why spend lots of time? And if she could get away without doing something even better. She'd never bother. Though those weren't good for OWLs, were they? Nope, definitely not. "I guess that is true," The stressing thing. Cassia smiled at Lottie, because it was nice hearing someone who believed in you potentials. And since Lottie wasn't the kind of person who gave compliments left and right, Cassia liked to believe it. "I just need to control my stomach," She was a vomit-er . So she didn't eat before exams. Not too pleasant.

"I'm right most of the time," She said with a serious face then cracked a smile. heh. Humor? "Actually, I'm not," She said snorting at her own comment. Always getting the wrong vibes.

She stared at the cat even more. What was it was a very good question. She didn't even really pay attention to the strange look that ickle firstie Dylan was giving her. Melanie tilted her head to the side even more as she stared at the cat. If only felines could talk. She immediately sat up when she heard Dylan speak though. "She's a tabby cat?! So she's not a kneazle right?" Melanie said, letting out a relieved sigh. Oh thank Merlin. "Oh uh... slightly allergic to kneazles but not cats. Strange right?" Melanie said with a laugh before she resumed staring at the cat.

Melanie sat back up and nodded. The Gryffindor rummaged in her bag for a scrunchie. Finding one, she tied her hair back before she glanced back at the drawing.

Awwwh.

Was that supposed to be them? Grinning, Melanie put an arm around Dylan like it was in the picture and gave him a side hug. "I love it. It's cute," she said nodding her head. Absolutely adorable. "And look. There's even a little you and a little me in there," she added. Which made it even cuter.

A kneazle? OHHH! That made sense now. And then she was mentioning that she was allergic. OH. *facepalm* Okay, everything made perfect sense now. Heh. "Oh! Oh okay, I get it now. Nope, she's nothing close to a kneazle. Just a typical tabby kitty." he told her with a firm nod, scratching the kitten behind the ears. "But yes, that is quite strange though. Although it's still great at the same time, 'cause then you're not allergic to Ginger!" he said, beaming.

Dylan smiled widely as Melanie gave him a side hug. "Thanks, I'm really glad you like it!" he told her. The first year then chuckled and nodded. "Yeah!" he said. Melanie was a real nice person, he was so glad they met that day at the fountain and she shared him her sandwich. She was real cool.

Noted. BVM was fond of ribbons. Cassia was going to get her lots and lots of cute ribbons. Lex might not apProve but it did't matter. What mattered that spidey B was going to get what she liked and wanted. Nope, not spoiling at all. LikE the snake wouldn't know how to act rationally.

#Sarcasm

Honestly, she had been aware of her troubled-before-exams stomach situation, but never did she think that there miGht be a solution for it. One that solved it for good. Was that even possible? Would she ever be Able to be completely casual and chilling right before exams. She almost couldn't imagine it. "I sure hope so. I would hate to not be able to answer anything because of nerves," she said. "Since I'd have studied a lot," Yeah, right. She needed to work on that. Really did.

Since she'd been crossing her legs for quite a bit now, she started feeling them kind of stiffen. So she inserted the book into her bag and outstretched her legs before her as she scooted back and leaned against the column again. Did anyone count how many times she'd changed her sitting position. And she was relaxed and all now.

Arching an eyebrow at the Hogwartian, Cassia tilted her head at her with an amUsed expression on her face, "I really doubt saying that would make any difference," She said. Self-esteem and confidence was indeed important but the snake didn't think those would change any facts. "Anyway, no one is always right." Or maybe Lottie thought she was? CaSsia wouldn't be able to tell, maybe there were people who happened to always be right. The fifth-year wouldn't know.

Glancing around her, Cassia noticed that most people who were sitting around earlier had left. It was getting late and they certainly didn't want to be caught after curfew with a spider. "Think we should go back to common rooms?" She asked the fourth-year.

Why was Nigel in the Courtyard? Not even he knew the answer to that question. He was sort of lollygagging around the castle and ended up here. He did not really have a reason for wandering. It just happened.

Nigel took a seat on one of the open benches. He started thinking about how fun being a beater was in tryouts. But being a Chaser was still a little bit more awesome. Now thinking about Quidditch made Nigel want to starfish. But this place was a terrible spot to do it. Sigh. Nigel stared at the fountain trying not to think about anything.

Zen

She had so much to prove this term that the pressure was already starting to get to her even though she had only been to three classes so far. Textbook in hand she made her way to a bench that was empty and didn't have anybody near it. The weather was still nice and she intended on taking advantage of it while she could. The sixth year gracefully placed herself on the bench and opened up her book.

Stare.

All she could manage to do was stare at the book without taking anything in. Would she ever be back to normal? Sure, the days were starting to slowly get better, but she was nowhere near her normal self. She closed her eyes and pushed her face up towards the sun. She just needed to clear her mind.

Taylor twirled into the courtyard. She was just wandering the grounds, looking for something to do or someone to talk to. Tay was about to give up and just go back to the common room or something when she spotted someone familiar. It was someone she talked to for a few moments here and there and they somewhat played quidditch together. It was Nigel. Taylor did a little dance before skipping over to him, waving. ”Hey, Nigel.” Tay beamed, ”You are doing great at the try-outs this term!” He probably make the team unlike Taylor who would probably fail at getting on it. She gestured to beside him, ”Mind if I join you or are you waiting on someone or do you just want peace and quietness?” Taylor tilted her head, waiting for an answer. She didn’t want to plop down beside him if he didn’t want her company. She shifted her weight back and forth, playing with her gold eagle bracelet. Her eyes were sparkling in happiness as she looked at the boy.

Nigel began to think again about staring at the fountain. It was not getting him anywhere. Even the benches looked more interesting than the fountain. So it was a pleasantly distraction when Taylor suddenly appeared next to him. It was as if she apparated right next to time. Crazy. So he stopped zoning on the fountain and turned his attention to Taylor.

"Hey Taylor. Thanks. Being a Beater is pretty different than being a Chaser. Oh, You can sit if you want and Wow almost forgot. You are a Seventh Year." She was about it graduate. Time flies.

It was not like he was waiting for someone or anything. He was just lollygagging around the castle.

Taylor beamed at him, ”Yeah, it is.” Tay was trying out for a chaser but have played beater a few times when she was a reserve on the team. ”What is your favorite position? I prefer chaser or a beater but this year, I am shooting for chaser…” She laughed, ”Though, I doubt I will even be a reserve. You, on the other hand, would most definitely be on the team.” Taylor nodded at what she said and then smiled at Nigel. Tay sat when he said she could then frowned at what he said next. In a partially whining voice, she said, ”Please don’t remind me…” She didn’t want to graduate just yet and was stressing out about NEWTs this year. Tay tugged on her blonde curls lightly while looking at him, pouting now. Her happiness had quickly disappeared at his words and now she was starting to stress out about the tests… and about graduating. She grew quiet and looked at her feet, worrying and fretting. Taylor bounced up and started to pace, trying to get her nerves to go away. Tay kept tugging at a curl though.

"Yeah. I would have to say Chaser. Since I really have only played Keeper for one match long time ago. Then every other match. I have played Chaser." Nigel had never been a reserve. Which was interesting in itself. "It is still tryouts. So nothing is certain beside Mo making the team. Since he is Captain."

It looked like Nigel hit a nerve with bring up she was a Seventh Year. Well it not like Nigel worried about tests. Even owls barely made Nigel worry. So he did not know what to say. Leaving and taking Newts must suck though.

"So where you just wandering through the courtyard?"

Though now he craved a cupcake from Mo's girlfriend. Great. He did not really want to get up right now either.

Taylor looked at him and nodded, ”That’s understandable…” Tay shrugged, ”Eh, that is true but I am horrid at qudditch it seems.” She giggled and smiled, ”I would ask you for pointers about it but seeing how this is my last term, it is kind of too late.” Taylor shrugged at what she said and then laughed, waving the thought away. She then started to pace again until he asked a question. Tay looked up and shrugged again, ”Eh, I was bored… and looking for a friend or something to do so I found myself walking in this direction.” Taylor started to twirl and skip around the bench that Nigel was on. ”I go wherever the wind takes me when I don’t have anything planned. What about you? Why are you here?” Tay giggled and smiled, closing her eyes and just twirling about. Her happiness started to come back as the thoughts of graduating and NEWTs disappeared into the wind. Taylor started to sing in Gaelic. The notes floated up and down in her Scottish accent and her dancing started to go with the rhythm and timing of the song. Her blonde curls spread out in the air around her as she danced. She moved barefoot around Nigel’s bench.

Just a typical tabby kitty. Melanie liked the sound of that. Still, she tentatively reached her hand out to the cat. She couldn't get too attached to the feline at all because if she went home and smelled like cat, Munchie would probably get jealous though. "Yes. It's definitely good to be not allergic to her," she said with a little laugh, petting the orange cat's head. Soft. Munchie's fur was softer though but that was because Melanie liked to groom him loads. The cat would probably hate it if Melanie showered her and groomed her.

"Remember to sign it. I'll frame it and put it somewhere back home," Melanie added, giggling.

She could only imagine what her parents would say if she were to hang it. She'd put it in her grandparents' home actually. Because she found herself staying there a bit too. Then it could hang right above the fireplace... because that was where the noodle teacup that Alice had given her was sitting. In a box. "So, have you drawn anything else so far?" she asked.

Adi hummed a random tune as he walked along, having no idea where he wanted to go so he just let his feet do its thing and take him where ever they wanted to go.

All of a sudden he realised where he was. The Courtyard! Cool! He had not really found the time to check it out properly. There were quite a few students milling around. Face he knew by sight, others he didn't. Oh hey! It was the girl from Astronomy who had tried to hit him with the spell! And he had managed to get her back. Adi remembered how she had been muttering as she came out of the water.

"Hi!'' the first year said, going up to her. "Remember me?'' She looked at little...lost? She was just staring at her book. "Are you alright?''