Based on Benzi's response, Fern was guessing he hadn't ever listened to the Hexy Boyz either. Or else he'd know how just one song had the power to make a person explode with joy and happiness. And about how the Hexy Boyz regularly visited St. Mungo's to do concerts for sick wizards and witches in need of some cheering up.

At least there were some things he could understand. Fern smiled and very cordially said, "Thank you, Benzi."

"YES! It's the price you pay for fame!" But she couldn't explain it in detail because she had to show this Tallulah and then make a copy before the article changed again. Which is why she couldn't give it back to Benzi just yet.

"NOPE! I'M BORROWING IT, OKAY!?" Then she took off running, confident that there was no way Benzi's super short legs could keep up.

It was such a lovely day, just like every other day, really.

Seren had arrived well in time to secure a table and seats before they were claimed by other students. There was no way she was going to sit on the pavement - let alone let her guest sit on the pavement, nope, not that she would have to, but transfiguration wasn't exactly her strong suit.

Placing her keys and notebook on the table in front of her, Seren waited, patiently, for Alexa to show up. And by patiently she fiddled around with her fingers trying to keep herself from going mad. There was news to be shared, exciting news, and it was slowly killing her keeping it inside.

Awwww man, Lex was having something short of a panic attack. Her Head of House wanted to see her but wouldn't say why until she got here?? What WAS this?? What if she died from overthinking on the way over here??

Okay, think Lex. She couldn't have found out about her punching Tag....no, he wouldn't tell...or about the exploding....no...he wouldn't tell about that either. She tried to stretch her memory abit further for anything she might have done. There was that one thing with that firstie...but that wasn't her fault...Anything she'd done, she'd done a good job of not getting caught at it so no one would report her to her Head of House. No. No that couldn't be it but then WHAT????

There were only so many reasons a Professor would have wanted to talk to you. So far, there had been no homework for her to not do so that couldn't have been it either.

Lex took a deep breath as she got to the terrace. Maybe...maybe it was a social call...yeah...she could tell herself that. The Professor wanted to say hi and thought asking her to meet her all the way out here would be the best place to say it--that made no sense. As much as she wasn't thinking it REALLY didn't make sense.

She found the Professor seated at a table and slowly approached. The woman looked...apprehensive...or maybe that was just her overthinking again? "Hello Professor..." Not sitting til we know how much trouble we're in. Standard policy, you understand.

Her thoughts were beginning to get away from her. What with the competition, and the PR that would come with it, and of course the events themselves. What would they be? Had she done everything possible to prepare her students... student... representative. Merlin.

A part of her wanted to think about all the things she could buy back for the greenhouses should Hogwarts win, but there was no point counting the seedlings until they germinate.

Alexa's short greeting brought her back to reality, Seren's face split into a grin. "Oh good, I'm so glad you could make it... thank you for meeting with me." Because she was much calmer in the outdoors, clearly. "Please sit... it's best if you sit." She nodded, her enthusiasm almost getting the better of her. As satisfying as blurting out her news would have been, she wanted to do it at the same level, besides, it would probably be best if the girl sat. Shock could do strange things to people.

........

Grinning Professor...?.....So....she wasn't in trouble? Lex let out a sigh of relief, feeling her muscles relax. There would be no point loss today, no lectures and no disappointed looks. Good day this one. A smile slowly crept across her face but only because the Professor's was SO contagious. Literally! It was like the woman had seen Christmas a whole year earlier than she should have! Did the greenhouse get new plants or something?

"No problem! I don't have any other classes today." Dare she beam over at the seemingly REEEEALLY excited woman? Lex thought to inquire about her sugar intake but then she was being advised to sit. Not invited but advised.

She wasn't about to start freaking out again though, simply for the fact that Professor Bentley was still all smiles but her curiosity was definitely peaked. Lex flopped into the seat and gave the woman a somewhat nervous smile. An explanation would be nice right about now. Just saying.

Cough.

And the joys of timetabling. This meant they'd have more time to discuss things, and tactics, and things and of course... Alexa would probably have some questions, or something. Seren was super proud already. Brimming with pride, even. One of her own, a candidate for her subject, to represent the schooooool. She ought to owl the girls father, Michael, wasn't it? The man was lovely, charming, lovely and would surely be proud.
"Well that is very convenient," she noted, wiggling her butt into her chair as if settling in for the long haul.

"Now, I'm sure by now you will have heard that Hogwarts will be participating in the European Bureau of Wizarding Education Quiz Bowl Scholarship? ... er... an academic contest..." the girl did read, did she not? Like, the Prophet? At any rate, with such awesome things on the horizon, it must be the talk of the school... and if it weren't, then it ought to be.

Seren paused here a moment, wondering how best not to freak the girl out. Not that is was something to freak out about, it was a tremendous opportunity, for her and for the school.

"Well... anyway, I'll just cut to the chase. YOU have been selected, to represent the school in the field of herbology!" TADA! Surprise! Seren was grinning again. The blonde waited in anticipation to see Alexa's reaction.

Perhaps it was all imagination...but the Professor's face seemed to light up just a bit at the mention that she had no classes and therefore nowhere to go. This just built her curiosity even MOAR. Whatever it was, it couldn't be discussed in a quick two minutes. "It's lovely. I can do just about anything now." Minus homework. That wasn't happening just yet.

Lex leaned forward in her seat, rested her arms crossed on the table and tried to follow the conversation. The school...was entering a competition? An academic one? Neat. Had they started rounding up the Ravenclaws as yet? "That's all news to me Professor, but interesting news. When did we decide to do that? What's the grand prize?" Something everyone in the school would benefit from no doubt. Still...what did this have to do with her? It was great that Hogwarts was getting itself out there and all--and of course she'd show her full support...but...she didn't get anything beyond that. If this was the Professor's way of smuggling in small talk then Lex suggested they move the topic to candy instead.

Her brows furrowed a bit, taking in the Professor's pause. Quite a pause too might we add. Was it going to be followed by somethin--

O__O

...

......

................Holy kneazle.

"And I'm sure you'll be keeping yourself busy..." yep, or she'd keep the Lioness busy, either way, busy busy. Things to do, things to learn, skills to practice.

And clearly by Alexa's reaction, she didn't read, nor was it the topic of conversation. This was rather disappointing, but at the same time, it only added to the surprise. "Well, the winning school receives a large cash prize... which you know, would go a long way to alleviating the schools financial woes." And getting rid of the turnstiles for good.. nuisance things. It was a crime to expect her to pay each time she entered! It was her job!

..

..

..

"Alexa?" Seren questioned, watching the girl ... process things. Was she processing? "I know it's short notice, but I only just received word of the selection since the nomination period."

She wasn't going to faint? Or puke? Or lose her marbles? Would she?....

Say what now? Keeping busy? That....depended. She might have wandered around the ground with her kneazle when she was done here or maybe she'd go have a nap. Those both classified as busy, yes? Okay, then the answer was yes and she gave a short nod. "I'll find something to do."

Lex was finding she liked this idea more and more. Good on the school for entering something like this. If they could whip all those brainiacs into shape they could get rid of the turnstiles and make the place completely like it was before. Maybe even better, who knows. "And the school's going against...?" It was against other schools...European ones by the sound of it. She gave it a bit more thought. "Durmstrang and Beauxbaton?" Was that it?

Wait whoa stop. Nomination period??? Someone NOMINATED her in the FIRST place??? Why in merlin's beard did anyone want to do THAT?????

For a while she found it difficult to locate her voice. It might have gone off to laugh at her, in which case, she would wait for it to get back. In the mean time she simply stared over at the Professor, trying to make sense of this. Now that she was processing all this, it made the news even worse. "I thought you guys wanted to win." Oh hey her voice was back. "We're up against Durmstrang and Beauxbaton, I'm assuming, and you all thought it'd be a good idea to choose me?" Clearly, not. They didn't want to win. Nope. They were entering for the lolz. SHE would probably be the biggest joke of the entire competition.

"Yes, Durmstrang and Beauxbaton," Seren confirmed with a nod. "The strongest and most established Wizarding Schools in European history.." it was a traditional thing. What with all those Triwizard Tournaments and competitive relationships formed over centuries. Or something like that... she never was the History of Magic type. Nope.

Watching Alexa's facial expressions were both amusing and heartwarming, she was so pleased she did this in person rater than via owl... so much more fun.

The Gryffindor's comment caught her off guard though. They DID want to win. Very much so. She wasn't making any sense, none whatsoever.
"Oh but we do... and we will, and you're going to help us achieve that." No pressure. Pressure! Was Alexa... uncomfortable with it? Self conscious? Did she fear failure?
"You know, I nominated you for a reason," she added, her grin softening into a small smile. "You're tenacious, you're skilled in the subject.." and this was no joke, she was all sorts of serious. "I don't think you realise just how well you do in Herbology, and academically in general."

Seren paused, reaching her hand out to the table to play with her keys. Hands needed to be kept busy or she'd lose her acorns.
"Alexa, you're a consistently high achiever. Not only in house points, which by the way indicates that you're strong across the board, but particularly in Herbology. You've made it on my list of top students two years in a row, and that is quite a feat. It says a lot about your skill, not to mention you're tough enough to handle whatever challenge they throw at you." Again, no pressure. "You're a very capable student, Alexa... and we all think highly of your skills and potential to further them."

"This," yes, THIS... as in, big thing happening here, "is going to be a wonderful experience for you."

Alexa nodded slowly at the confirmation. Both Durmstrang and Beauxbaton. Mhm. As she thought. The apprehensive look on her face wasn't doing anything to dislodge the grin on the Professor's. She was beginning to think the woman legit thought this was one of the most epic things ever.

It turned out they had all intention of winning this competition and by the sounds of it they were convinced Lex would help them--say WHAAAT? She nominated her? Lex's mouth fell open in blatant shock. Maybe...maybe she'd just wait to hear the reasons before completely flipping out here. Might have been for the best. Lex settled back in her seat, listening, very much listening. Finally she gave a shrug. "I'mokayatit." At them. Academics weren't something she worried about but she didn't put tremendous amounts of effort into it anyway.

And you know what, it never occurred to her just how modest she was until her Head of House went and said that. So many compliments in one sentence. She didn't know whether to grin or...yeah...She would have sat there, not knowing what to say until she heard THAT. Throwing challenges at her? See, when she said it like that it got the Gryffindor's lips tugging up into a smile then a full on grin. Challenge could have meant anything but the fact that they were being thrown and she was tough enough all just kinda screamed danger. Her eyes had a little spark in them now. "There's gonna be legit challenges?? Like...like real ones, not the whole sitting behind a desk, hurrying through a theory paper that could leave me brain dead??" YES?

She was prepared to agree on the wonderful experience thing.

Okay at it?.... the girl needed to own it. Be confident, and even arrogant about it... to an extent.

But finally, she seemed to perk up at the idea. Which was good. The last thing they needed was students second guessing themselves at a time like this.
"Oh heavens, no... the competition is not going to be anything like an exam or written assessment." In which case, yes, there probably would have been stronger candidates. "No, these competitions, while academic, will be almost as rigorous physically, as the Triwizard Tournaments... you will be required to think on your feet, and there is an element of danger involved."

Not that it would get out of hand... they didn't need more people dying at the School... the students had already been through so much.

"So what do you think?... Reckon you're up for it?" Seren would have crossed her fingers and toes, but instead settled for her mental mantra of please say yes, please say yes, please say yes... not that the girl had a choice, she'd talk her into if she had to.

Alexa was leaning forward onto her elbows that were once again on the table. It wasn't anything like an exam. No writing...almost as physically rigorous as the triwizard competition itself????

Good sweet merlin!! "Why didn't you say that sooner??" Explaining it like some academic burden. Pfft. The Professor needed to learn how to sell ideas better. The thought of thinking on her feet and DANGER nearly sent her bouncing...but of course she would remain composed. If she seemed too eager they might change their mind for fear she'd do something stupid and get herself killed.

What did she think? Was that a serious question?? Lex grinned over at her Head of House. "Of course! Definitely!" NOW she could feel the confidence she should have had earlier. Lex thrived in situations like the ones mentioned by the Professor. "It's gonna be epic! Are we gonna have carnivorous plants????"

Yes? No? Could she keep a sapling?

"Do you have any idea what they'll have us doing?"

Why didn't she say that sooner? "Er... uhh... well..." she didn't know. Perhaps she should have opened with Hey Alexa, do you want to do something outrageous and potentially life threatening? and now that she thought about it, it really would have been easier than her subtle Oh hey, you've been entered into an academic competition. This was fail on her part, but she got there, they got there... in the end.

But what with Lex looking and sounding all excited, Seren too was back in excited mode. There was nothing quite like competition to get her motivated, and this one in particular was very motivating. Could she start thinking about the plants and resources she'd buy back after the win now? And speaking of plants, of the carnivorous persuasion, "you know... it's likely. Carnivorous plants require higher order skills and you need to be especially quick thinking," in most cases, or you know... chomp!

"They offer it's handlers an element of danger and pressure, which is seldom found in other flora. That being said, the task could simply be more technical with a time limit?.." which would also result in pressure. Different pressure, but pressure nonetheless.
"A good place to start might be to look at the types of plants often found in OWL or NEWT practicals.. talk to some of the sixth and seventh years about what plants they faced in their examinations, talk to alumni too, if you're familiar with any." A world of knowledge right there. "And should you need to, the library should have records of past papers and notes on practicals." Should being the key word, though what Kitridge did in the library all day, she did not know.

Speechless in that regard. Lex understood. She'd been speechless only a minute ago when she thought her Head of House and the rest of the staff had lost their minds in entering her into something academic. Now things were explained and the young girl felt like she'd just eaten a dozen chocolate frogs. Were it not for the fact that they were currently discussing stuff she might have been bouncing about the terrace with ideas of what the challenges would be like.

bcvjhfdbvjdjgjsdg!!

It. Was. LIKELY!! There was this really good chance that at least one part of the challenge would have something man-eating and that just made it even more intriguing. Also, ahem, Professor Bentley just said it required higher skills and especially quick thinking. NOW she was swelling with pride, but only because they thought she could hold her own against a carnivorous plant. She WAS pretty good at staying alive. "I think I'll be able to handle it." She said with a definite nod. "I'm particularly good at not dying." GRIN.

Okay. This was where she needed to be at a normal level of hyper, otherwise everything the Professor said would go right over her head. So! Checking OWLs and NEWTs! She could do that! She'd start by asking Alice who did them last year....and she could ask Vivi too--whoa wait hold on. She wanted her going to the library with the turnstiles even though she didn't make a habit of reading? "I'll...uh...pass on the library unless I absolutely have no other choice." Reading. No.

"Are there rules against sabotage as well?" Just curious.

Seren had high hopes for the Lioness.. very high hopes indeed, and the fact that Alexa was excited about the event, and seemed to be motivated only added to her confidence and enthusiasm. Although... good at not dying, wasn't exactly a phrase that inspired confidence and competence. Merlin.
"Not dying is good, but that would likely only be half of the task.." because there would be a goal or outcome which would need to be achieved. "A bit of bed time reading and revision wouldn't go astray..." but with that being said, Seren didn't expect Alexa to read, much of anything.

This was only confirmed by her disinterest in visiting the library. No surprise there. "That's perfectly fine, a practical approach would be more beneficial." Seren was still playing with her keys, mindlessly playing with her keys.
"Should you want to play around in greenhouse eight, just let me know.. I'd be happy to supervise, or arrange for supervision." Because despite Lex being selected as one of their champions, so to speak, Seren wasn't prepared to leave her in a greenhouse full of challenging flora. Flesh-eaters making up a healthy percentage of them, amongst other dangerous, even fatal... plants. Curiosity will not be killing this cat on her watch.

Sabotage?

Seren stopped playing with her keys and leant forward, resting her elbows on the table. "Well... as with any competition or contest, I would assume that cheating, or sabotage, is unacceptable." Though, what was Alexa thinking? Seren was starting to think the Gryffindor was an evil mastermind in the making... maybe.
"However, I'm sure there will be little opportunity for such things. After all, the task will only be revealed on the day." Ergo, how do you sabotage something you have little to no knowledge of?

"I know." She said, grin still in place. "This is one of those academic thingies so they're gonna want me trying to get something done, probably before everyone else or better than everyone else." And a firm nod was added to that. She had an idea about how these things worked. Lots of people lived through them but that didn't make them winners. Now that she knew about the danger she had a new drive to win.

...Bedtime reading...? A brilliant way to fall asleep faster but that was all it was. She couldn't see herself picking up a book before bed. It was just...weird? Odd? Not gonna happen?

Her eyes widened in excitement. "Wow! Really? I'd love that! I've always wanted to see what it was like in there and what kind of plants you have hidden away." Now she'd get to seeee! Eep! "What kind do you have at the moment??" Just so she could get herself prepared to see them up close. Lex might even read up on them a bit, who knows. This was all officially plenty exciting. To think she'd nearly started panicking just now. What was she thinking???

Alexa nodded slowly. No sabatoge. "Good." She'd be less likely to be stuck with shoddy equipment or gear that suddenly 'stopped working'. You never know what those Durmstrang and Beauxbaton students were capable of, especially when there was a lot of money on the line and desperate Headmasters or mistresses. "Nothing to worry about then." You know...not counting the vicious plants of course.

They didn't HAVE to pay to sit out here, so Dora had managed to find herself out here when she wanted somewhere to think. It wasn't so good of a spot when it was warm outside, since then everyone was out. But now with the snow and winter cold? Now it was perfect.

Of course the boundaries within the terrace itself was rather warm, she had charmed it that way since she was expected the boyfriend person to be joining her for drinks and snacks soon. Her two-way mirror turned between her fingers slowly while she waited, all of the food preparing itself and otherwise going unnoticed by the fifth year.