Lucas nodded sagely. Heights, no, but general difficulty associated with simple activities he understood and Quidditch was so fun. Well, flying was so fun. "That's so cool! That way you can be better for class and people aren't.. watching. ..Are you thinking about trying out?" The Gryffindor pursed his lips, imagine. The humiliation.

Lucas grinned, a teeeensy bit distracted by the niceness of her smile. "Do I have to be really funny and nice from now on so I get a good nickname?" Piece of cake.
It came to his attention, rather belatedly, that Cucumber was a food. "How did you get it?" Did she like cucumbers? "Was there a food fight involved?" Because cucumber, heavy and club-like were probably a pretty dangerous thing to throw. Maybe'd gotten really into it. That was kind of.. unexpected. But he liked it.

Ah the Squid. Formerly a thing of Lucas' nightmares, now apparently, hosting tea parties with Merpeople. "...maybe he's lonely," Lucas said, a little pathetically, thinking of how alike he felt to the Giant Squid at the moment but was cheered considerably by the ability to stop humiliating himself in public places.
"Do you know any reallllly smart people? Or realllly nice teachers?" Professor Elwood seemed really nice and so did Professor Bellaire. "What would we call it?" Lucas frowned in concentration. "...you couldn't combine our names to make it catchy either. Same first syllable thing." Lu-ux. Sucky.

Jun hadn't realized that he somehow started braiding part of Lolli's hair. He was too zoned out to barely focus on anything. But it was also helping him forget about the forsaken lake underneath them. "Well, someone seems pretty tired. Or bored," Because they weren't really doing anything either. Just sitting on top of the hill, somewhat enjoying each other's company. No big deal. Jun laughed at her. Lolli was probably the only so far who Jun knew fell asleep when people played with their hair. "Really? I should do that when you become annoying," Jun nodded. Or he just wanted her to just shush sometimes.

What password? "The password to your common room. Remember?"

It made Lux happy to talk about how she was learning to fly, because she was still rather proud of herself even if things were going rather slow and she was still barely hovering off of the ground. "I really want to try for the Hufflepuff Team next Term." Fingers crossed she would actually be able to. The lessons were going well so far, but she was still scared of getting panic attacks and was not even able to fly without Tessa being in front of her on the broom.

She laughed. "You can be if you want to! Or maybe we can give you a nickname for something you like. Bay called me Cucumber because I really like cucumber sandwiches and ate his when he didn't want it." They were her favourite sandwiches, and he had even told her that she could have his whenever his mom gave them to him. She also really liked getting them from the kitchens.

"Yeah, exactly! We all get lonely sometimes. I would so give him a hug if I could..." Maybe she would actually do that, and head back over to the lake and see if she could get him to make an appearance. She had never seen a squid up close and personal, and had a feeling they were not pretty... but he still might be friendly! "My friend Tessa is good with magic, and a lot of the teachers are nice! I bet almost any of them would help us." Though some of them seemed nicer than others from what she had seen so far. "Ooh, yeah! Luux would be like my name, so that would be awful." She made a face. "I bet there is some really cool latin word we can use for it. A lot of spells seem to have Latin names!"

Tessa made her way down to where she was supposed to meet Sander. She was very excited, and it showed in her smiling face and tapping fingers. However, after a minute or two of waiting, she decided to take a seat on the grass and just enjoy the sun- perhaps even calm down a bit.

"Ahhh," she sighed, as she laid back on the soft grass. She watched the clouds as they passed overhead, part of her mind wondering if Sander would see her if she were laying down like this? However, she soothed it. He would find her eventually- and this was just too comfortable to move from. It was amazing how watching clouds could soothe nerves and troubles.

Sander walked along the pathway leading to the lake. He had agreed to meet Tessa here. He had never been at the lake before and the weather was so beautiful that he had readily agreed. He looked for her as he walked. Then he found her. There she was lying on the grass looking up in the sky.

Sander slowly snuck up behind her, lay down on the grass and then rolled his body next to hers. "Hi. Were you trying to hide from me?" he teased her as he turned his body sideways to look at her.

"I'm hardly ever annoying."Charlotte didn't know why she tended to get sleepy when people played with her hair but she loved it and was starting to think she might like Jun ten times more if he always played with her hair. Or, she thought, she could try and be boring just to get him bored so he could play with her hair. Was that weird? "Not bored." YAWN. "But keep playing with my hair." She smiled a sleepy smile and yawned a tiny yawn.

Common Room. Password. "Right. Uh..." Maybe if she took a nap she'd remember it? "I think it's...that thing...with a b?" YAWN.

Bubble. Button. Ball. Bulldog. "Banana? Or...uh...Baubles?" Ba-something. It was so close but she was just so sleepy now. Did she really have to go to the Common Room?

While talking about his family was nice and all, Michael decided to let the subject go. There were better things that they could talk about.

And hearing her talk about herself and her house mates was far more interesting. "Oh really?" He was laughing now. "I think that's your take on it." He poked his tongue out at her. "I know a few Ravenclaws who consider the grade very important."

Oh Merlin! Not another one. What was with girls and chocolate frogs? Sure they were tasty but he didn't think it was anything to nuts over. Not that he would ever say that to either Emma or Alexa. "Well sure they're good but there are other things that are better." Something he only had a little experience in but he liked very much.

He looked over his shoulder at her and tossed her a wink. "Would you like a head start?"

BEAM. Without censoring himself at all, Lucas said, "The House Team!? Uh, that's awesome. You'd get those cool capey robes for matches and oh, wow, what position would you play!?" There were so many questions! Like, most pertinently, "we should fly sometime, my broom is.." and he was going to say 'was getting dusty' but he didn't actually know where it was, "..probably lonely." Yeah. Cough. But it was actually a good way to make sure he got to see her again. But why that was so important, Lucas wasn't sure. In any case, Hogwarts was ginormous and he might never bump into her again. That.. well, it sort of made him a little sad.

Bay? Were they mutually friends with Bay? Who was.. Bay? Lucas looked puzzled but smiled when she explained her nickname. "Is that like a Bay-specific nickname or is Cucumber.." Lucas made a face. "It's an in-joke, but uh, something like that. Sure." She was.. sweet. It was too weird. She wasn't green or even salty. Maybe he'd let Bay have Cucumber since he'd made it up. Lucas certainly didn't want to intrude. "You like them that much?" he asked, and then laughed. "I'll make sure that if I ever see a cucumber sandwich to pass it on to you."

A hug? A eight-tentacled hug? Lucas grinned, "..and if he liked you too much and never let go?" She'd be gone. "Maybe you could become a mermaid." Except the idea kind of sucked. He'd never see her and uh, she wouldn't uh.. get on the Quidditch team if she was stuck in the Lake all the time. Yeah. That was it.
Lux was really on the ball with the map idea, though. "That sounds awesome! I'll see if the library has any maps of the school to start with, too. Then we can find all the secret passageways." It was getting better and better. "Coooooool! ..I bet we'd be pretty popular with an anti-clumsiness charm." At the very least, Lucas wouldn't always find himself red-faced.

Lux found herself laughing at his enthusiasm over the Quidditch outfits. "I would totally love to have one of those uniforms and be on the team. It would be amazing to play any of the positions, but I don't think I would be able to do Seeker. I don't feel I would be good enough to." That position was so hard and so crucial to the game, and she was positive that she would not do a good job at it. Beater was something that she could definitely see as being fun, since it meant she got to use a bat. "But yeah, I would love to fly with you when I'm feeling more confident." It would be absolutely amazing to have a flying buddy, and Lucas was so nice.

"Oh, no! Other people can call me that as well." Lux could tell that he was puzzled and unsure about the whole thing, but it was honestly fine whether or not he wanted to call her Cucumber. The decision was up to him after all. "Maybe you can come up with your own nickname for me, then we will have special nicknames for each other." Putting their heads together would probably result in some awesome names! "They are my favourite sandwich, and thank you." It was really sweet of him to say that he would do that!

Lux laughed again. "I would live down in the lake with the squid and the Merpeople." That would be a lot of fun, though she really did not want to leave Hogwarts and all the amazing people there. She would miss everyone, and would feel lonely at the bottom of the water, just as she was sure the poor squid was lonely right now. "That's a great idea, Lucas! And I will see if Tessa can help with a spell that would sort out the tripping issue." As a team, they would totally have this covered, and she was excited to do this with him. "We will be so cool!" Yeah, totally.

And she would look so cool in them too! "Like a, superhero. Uh, that would be pretty cool." And his glee turned quizzical when she said she didn't want to play Seeker. "Your hair is very shiny, you could use it as a distraction." He nodded seriously and then asked, "so what position do you want to play?" Lucas beamed when she agreed to fly with him sometime. "Cool! I'll keep it on the quiet though, wouldn't want people to think I'm cheering for the other team." And yet, Lucas found himself coming to appreciate yellow quite a bit.

Lucas nodded. "Uh, sure." He wasn't sure how well Ariel would go down considering her affinity to the Black Lake but he decided to test it out. "Instead of a food.. well, have you seen the movie Ariel?" Cos, it was like awesome. And Under the Sea was kind of a favourite song of his. Secretly.

Reconsidering the Lake, Lucas could see the perks but also a lot of disadvantages. "You would. Allllll the way down there. Far away. Kind of sucky." For him. Obviously she'd be re-enacting the scene from Ariel. So cool, he was so jeaous. .....it was a great idea?! Lucas grinned and put up a hand for her to high-five. "Uh, yeah. Nice, Partner."

There they went with that kissing thing again. "Not that he actually kissed me, but yes we don't want that happening again." They should be clear that the frog did not technically kiss her. That was how rumors started after all. She still doubted that the frog could croak anything, but that was one battle that she didn't want to fight.

Of course she could smile. Everybody could smile, it was only a matter of whether or not they wanted to. "I smile when it's worth smiling." Not that she had to explain herself or anything. "See, the thing about me is I don't want just any kind of friend." She was only ride when she wanted to be. She was actually quite pleasant with the people that she chose to call friends. "I would rather have a few close and real friends rather than have a bunch of phony ones." He didn't have to agree with her or anything after all. She didn't need approval.

"Well, Adi... I really do think I need that bath." She couldn't help but to feel all icky and she knew that feeling was not going to go away until she did something about it. "Catch you later?" It was weird to actually be leaving on a good note with him.

"Okay, we can say he licked your cheek,'' Adi said and grinned. Secretly, that will always be a kiss to him no matter what Hannah said. He and Gus knew better. He listened to her long reply as to why she didn't smile much. Yada, yada...He even wondered if she had close friends. Meh. But he replied when she was done, ''Whatever floats your boat, Meanie Queen.'' Now that's a nickname that was going to stick and if they were going to be talking to each other more, she'd better get used to it.

She was still going on about a bath? Adi smirked. Gus wasn't dirty or anything. "Alright then. See you later, Hannah.'' He smiled and wandered off closer to the Lake. He retrieved Gus from his pocket, set him down on the sand and watch him hop off. Adi knew the toad wouldn't go far so he plopped down on the sandy shore, watching the gentle waves.

This boy was so... cheeky. Emma laughed, sticking her own tongue out in return. "As I said before, you'd be surprised! Grades are important.. but so are pursuing your passions..I'd much rather be doing something I enjoy than being holed up with a book in my face all day.."

Much better things? This boy had clearly gone insane. "Really? Something BETTER than chocolate frogs? Please, do enlighten me, Mister Toussaint." She smirked, tucking a strand of hair back behind her hair.

Oooh. That boy. Now he was teasing her because she had a much shorter gait. "Nah, I'm sure I'd rather just beat you fair and square!" Emma countered back, increasing her speed as she began gaining on him. Now they were nearly neck in neck. She'd show him.

Silly boy...

"A superhero in a yellow costume! That would be so cool." She was generally not a huge lover of superheroes, preferring to read other things besides comic books, but she still had to admit that wearing a cape would be mighty cool. "Is my hair really that shiny?" Curiously, she took a strand of it in her fingers and looked at it. In the sunlight, it really did shine a lot. Huh. So he was right. "Beater would be cool, because it would mean I could use a bat." Yep, bats were cool. "And it's okay, because I think I will be cheering on the red on the down low! We are soooo bad." But sometimes it was fun to be bad, and she had a lot of Gryffindor friends, like Lucas!

Errr, Ariel? Puzzled, Lux looked at him vacantly before she figured out what he was asking. Oh, The Little Mermaid. "That's a nice name! We definitely both have red hair, but she was beautiful and a mermaid, and I am neither." She felt she wasn't.... unattractive, but she still knew she was no beauty, just like she knew she wasn't a mermaid. Ariel was so much prettier than her.

"It would be very sucky," she agreed with a nod as she thought about all her friends she would miss, including Lucas. It would make her sad if she never saw him again. "Maybe you can make sure that doesn't happen when we hug him!" He was a capable boy, she could trust him to do that. She returned the high five, but at the mention of partners, suddenly something came to mind...

"Speaking of which.... how about we put hugging squids on hold for a moment and do the Transfiguration homework together?" If he had already done it with someone, that would totally be okay and she could find Tessa or Bay or one of her other friends to do it with. But they were already here, and she still had her boat and rope in her bag... Besides, she wanted to work with Lucas because he was really nice and he was her friend now.

Because COMEON, who didn't want to have a cape and super powers? Magic was all good but when you were twelve and limited by what you didn't know, it did get frustrating. "Captain Lux or something, could be your name." Lucas swallowed and looked anywhere but her when she mentioned her hair. "UH, yup, it's nice. Shiny. Pretty." What? But they were talking about Quidditch again which was much less awkward than her shiny hair. Erk.
"That's awesome. Are you really strong, Lux? Should I be worried if I ever make you a bit miffed?" Apparently, this girl was armed. He grinned at her. "Yeah. Me too. And that's what friends are for right?"

Uh. What to say here? Lucas grimaced and shook his head quite forcefully. "Wow uh, no, I think you're definitely um.." Prettier? Well yes but no, Merlin, he wouldn't be able to get the word out without turning into a Tomato. "..better than, Ariel. You're magic, for one." And shiny. Er. Shiny hair. Um. What. What.

Everything kind of flew out the window at Transfiguration homework. OF COURSE. And it also meant he was her partner. And she would hang around until they finished. "I don't know Lux, Henry looks upset he won't get a hug from you." He was too. But only a little bit. "Do you have the stuff in your bag?" Because Lucas had practically sprinted out from the class, and everything was tucked inside his book bag, dropped unceremoniously by the lake.
"So we have to master the spell and then make sure our boat floats?" Easy peasy. The hard part was not embarrassing himself in front of the Hufflepuff.

Tessa heard movement in the grass, but figured it was a student walking by or a creature. So, she jumped slightly when Sander rolled into her. "Sander!" she exclaimed with a grin as she turned her head to look at him.

"No! Of course not!" she replied. Then, a small smile spread on her lips. "I mean, you caught me. I was trying to impersonate the grass- apparently it didn't work out so well," she said with a laugh. "Isn't it such a nice day!?" she exclaimed, stretching her arms out over the grass and turning to smile at Sander again.

Sander just couldn't keep his eyes off Tessa. She looked so relaxed. Propping one arm up, he rested his head on his hand and looked down at her. "Maybe it's my to turn you green. That way you will be able to blend in better with the surroundings." he grinned down at her.

For some unexplainable reason, his eyes kept darting down to her lips. Yes he liked the way she smiled, even the way her eyes lit up whenever she laughed, but right now, at this moment, he seemed more drawn to her lips than her eyes. He reached over and silently brushed aside strands of hair out of her eyes and noticed that a few of them were grey. He wondered whether she had decided to add more distinguishing colors to her already beautifully colored hair.

As he did that, he realized that his face was closer to hers than it had ever been...and it kept moving closer as his eyes darted down to her lips again.

Then she stretched out her arms and smiled at him, and the moment was broken. Slowly leaning his head back to a more respectable distance, Sander smiled and agreed with her. "Yes it is indeed a beautiful day and I could lie here all day, just basking in the sun.'....'and in your beauty too.' he thought to himself.

"But I guess we should take advantage of whatever daylight we have left to work on our Transfiguration homework. Did you bring your piece of wood and vine?" Sander asked her, as he sat up and dug in his backpack for said items before pulling them out and placing them on the grass next to him. Then he lay back down next to her again.

Captain Lux sure had a ring to it!

She liked being thought of as Captain Lux, and her smile grew even bigger. "I would wear my cape even off the pitch." It would be so amazing, and she really wanted to be on the Quidditch team; hopefully her dreams would become a reality. Smiling at his question, she playfully punched him on the arm lightly. "You tell me."She was small and light, but she was sure that she could hold her own on the Quidditch pitch if she actually managed to get off of the ground. "Yeah! We are going to be great friends!" ^______^ She was so happy and excited.

"Oh, well... you really think so?" That was awfully nice for him to say that, because it was true that she could do magic where Ariel couldn't. Soo that was totally amazing. "I can be Ariel then! What could you be?" Hmmmm. She became thoughtful as she tried to figure something out.

Reaching into her bag, she pulled out her crappy boat and the vine she had made. "We can make it up to him with hugs later, after we have finished this and seen about the boats floating." That seemed like the best plan for her. "Yep, that is all we have to do, so get yours from your bag, and we can get started!"

Tessa laughed at Sander's suggestion. "But then, will you ever be able to find me?" she asked, rolling onto her side so that she was looking at him. Goodness, they were close. She could feel his breath on her cheek- she realized she was curling into him slightly, and stretched herself back.

His eyes kept flickering. Was there something on her face? Casually, she brought up a hand to brush around her lips, hoping that the one stroke had gotten whatever it was he seemed to be looking at. As he reached over to brush back her hair, she closed her eyes at his touch. It was so gentle... She hadn't realized she was holding her breath, but her lungs were protesting their lack of oxygen.

Then, everything was back once again. "Then we should," she said, settling against the ground more. She closed her eyes, making a face as he reminded her of homework. "Maybe..." she trailed, cracking open one eye to take a look at him. The sunlight was shining beautifully off of his hair. It even made a few strands appear even lighter- almost grey. That only presented a more stunning image though.

Sander had thought that by mentioning homework, she would immediately swing into action and focus on what they need to do, but she did the entire opposite. When he saw her hand brush across her lips, his attention was once again drawn back to her luscious lips. He wondered whether they felt as soft as they looked.

Without realizing it, Sander reached out to touch them with his fingers. He was right. They did feel soft. And her hair...was it as soft too? Sander ran his fingers through her hair, stroking it back from her face. Her face....did it feel soft too?

....then Sander heard someone's laughter and it jolted him back to his senses. He found his hand midway to touching Tessa's face and he quickly pulled it back. What must she think of him? Sander lay flat back on the ground, and quickly hid his face with his arm. He was so embarrassed. He didn't know how he was ever going to face her again.

"The sun really is glaring isn't it?" he lied trying to change the subject.

Then he turned to look at the piece of wood and strand of vine lying right next to him.

Whether he wanted to or not, Sander knew that he has to make an attempt at getting this homework assignment done.

First off practicing the incantation. He looked over at Tessa. She looked way too relaxed.

"Come on, the faster we finish this assignment, the more time we have to do other things," he coaxed her, nudging her shoulder with his hand at the same time.

Well she certainly was surprising him right now. Maybe he needed to rethink the whole what each house stood for thing. It seemed so simple when his family had explained it, but now he was finding that most of the people he had met were more than just the stereotype. Like Emma here.

Oh! She wanted to know? Michael hadn't been expecting that and he felt his face flush a little. It was one thing to practice with Rhodes because she didn't really care, but Emma was a nice girl. "You're too young to know." He teased. He had no idea what else to say because he wasn't sure how she would react. He hadn't figured girls out yet.

Michael glanced at her when she managed to catch up to him. "You realise I am merely jogging here." And she was practically at a full sprint.

"Well your arms were too wide apart, your legs didn't get as close together as they should and...." Laura stopped and started giggling she was enjoying this but she didn't want to get slapped by her friend.

"Oh West is alright." Laura smiled. "I'll try and get him to ask you on a date or something." Laura winked it would be awesome if he did. "I don't think I know a Victor Bay thought." Laura was being serious there, who was this guy she was on about.

"Please don't," Ana said very seriously. She didn't want West to ask her out. She didn't want either of the boys she'd mentioned to ask her out actually. Bay was just a friend and she wanted to keep it that way. She didn't need Laura to get her a date. If the older girl attempted it she'd get the what for.

"He's a fifth year like me. But a Gryffindor and he only started this year," Ana explained, not at all surprised that Laura didn't know who she was talking about. It would be slightly odd if she knew everyone.

Delilah raised an eyebrow, giving the other girl a small smirk. Heh. Good for Cat. She seemed so happy to just talk about her boyfriend. Hopefully, she'd have this one day too. "For how long have you guys been dating?"

"Of course, I don't have to have one! I like being single." Being single did not mean she couldn't get a boyfriend, yeah? It was just.. she wanted to wait for the boy of her dreams. Or something like that. Miami! "It's amazing! And I've practically lived on the beach all my life.. Yeah. Have you been to the States before?"

Tessa probably should have gotten herself together and done the homework with Sander. But, for the moment, this was so comfortable. Sander right beside her, the sun on her face- it was bliss. She had turned her face back to the sun when a sudden touch on her lips made her jump. However, the touch was gentle and slow, so she remained as she was, even pursing her lips slightly into his touch. It was Sander, obviously.

And then his fingers were in her hair. She sighed as he gently moved through her multi-colored locks. However, suddenly his hand was gone. Her eyes opened and the smallest of frowns played on her lips. Slowly, she turned onto her side once more, looking at him. It was cute how he was hiding his face like that. "That felt nice," she told him, her voice just above a whisper. She reached out and gently ran her fingers through his hair, frowning as a few strands came out with her fingers. She shook them again and did it again.

After a moment, she sighed regretfully. "Yes, I suppose you're right," she said, sitting up with a groan. She laughed as he nudged her and then nudged him back. "Come on, Mr. Celery Stick, we need to focus," she teased, bringing out her supplies. "Which one would you like to start with?"