Fresh air, that was what she needed! She just had spend a while in the Divination classroom and she still smelled the smell of those dirty incenses. She wrinkled her nose and tried to sneeze. She REALLY hated that lesson! Bleh! Now she was just taking a small walk, she never had been here and she was curious how far she could walk without getting lost. And... She had heard stories about the forbidden forest, so she was curious if she could get close enough to see it. But anyway, she was here to try to get some fresh air and to find out if there was something fun to do here! The Sorting hat had told her that Gryffindor would be good for her too, not as good as Slytherin but still, it had bene mentioned so she wasn’t afraid to try something new and to search for some adventures.

Son of BANSHEE!

Cornelius whipped his wand out when one of those potato faces grabbed on to his shoe laces. That didn't worry him. What worried him was them getting to Azura. Shoe laces could be easily repaired. His hero-ego took longer.

Orange sparks shot out of the boy's wand as a way to scare the gnomes away, his hand pulling Azura behind him. But they were gone faster than he could say Stupefy.

"Stupid little pea-brains," he grumbled, turning back to check on his friend. "You okay, Az?"

Shooting sparks at gnomesies?!

Gnomes do not like this. They don't like it at all.

The one the student had shot sparks at suddenly ran back at him, flailing his tiny arms and baring his teeth. BITEY BITEY!

The other gnomes had begun to peek out of their holes. The curious buggers wanted to see if, perhaps, a de-gnoming was occurring. It wasn't, but what was happening was as equally entertaining for them.

The Pathways... also known as the testing track to the Gryffindor Ace, swooping around on his silvery cruiser. So naturally he'd be there, dodging in and out of obstacles and people. Today was another test day for the latest tweaks he made on his homemade hover board, testing out maneuverability and brakes. "Comin' through...." he called out to this Slytherin directly ahead of him.

Azura felt herself being pushed gently behind Cornelius and she peered around his shoulder in order to see what was going on.

"Yeah, I'm perfectly all right, they just ran over my feet." She said with a bit of a shiver, it was a good thing she hadn't been walking, otherwise she would have tripped!

She wasn't very stable on her feet, and gnomes moving out in front of her didn't help things much.

Gahhh! What where they doing now?!

Azura winced as she saw the things teeth and she pulled out her wand and aimed over Cornelius's shoulder for the running gnome. "Aguamenti." She called out as a jet of water spurted from her wand tip towards the gnome..

"Come on, while he's distracted, let's get out of here." She whispered into Cornelius's ear.

Walking with her hands in her pockets, humming softly she grinned. The grounds were a good place to be so she decided to go out again after today, just for fun and not because she needed to for a lesson.

"Coming through..." a voice called from behind her and with a frown she stepped aside to see who it was and... It was a boy on what looked like a hover board! "Hee! Wait!!" She called after the boy, waving with her hands to get his attention. The thing he was playing with was cool and she had never seen one up close because her parents were convinced that it was dangerous and thus she had been forbidden to have one, but her parent's weren’t here right now so she could get a closer look! If the boy allowed it, of course.

Henry glanced down at Hattie's hand on his kneazle as he listened to her tell him about his ordeal. "Thanks," he chuckled. He wasn't so sure he'd use the word pretty to describe Chewbacca, but it was nice of her to say and he was glad she liked him. "He seems to like you." And his kneazle didn't always sit still for everyone.

Henry frowned a little, feeling bad that Hattie had to go through that. "Well, I'm glad you're okay now," he said, reaching and giving her a one-armed side hug. "So it won't happen again as long as you take that?" Hopefully that was the case, he didn't want to see that happen to her again. Epileptic, right.. he nodded a bit in understanding, hearing of that condition before. "Is there something that causes that?" He might have had a lot of questions, but he was usually curious in general anyway.

He zoomed past the Slytherin girl just as she stepped aside. And it’s a good thing too because now he realized that his breaks arent quite taking hold as quickly it used to. He was making his mental notes on acceleration and navigation when he heard her yell after him. Thinking he actually might've side swiped her, he turned his head sharply to worriedly look back….

…… Cruiser didn’t like that apparently, because it took the action as changing directions and it suddenly drifted to its side, throwing him off balance.

*WIGGLE**FLAAAAAAIIILLLINNNGG**FLOP!*

Ouch.

Wow, that boy really moved fast! She had never seen such a thing move with her own eyes so she didn't knew if it was safe or not but when the boy looked behind him and then fell she tensed. Going fast was fun unless you fell because then the fall only could hurt more! "Boys!" She muttered under her breath and ran toward him, looking worried. "Are you alright? Do I need to call the nurse to look at you?" She asked while looking down at him to see if he was sounded or not.

He heard a voice. And it wasn’t long before the Slytherin girl he just passed earlier was peering down at him asking if he needed to be looked at. "i'M oKaaAAyyyYy…." he warbled, the wind still knocked out of him. Just give him a few minutes looking at the tree tops and the nice sky above… oh look this spot is a great spot to do cloud watching too, should tell his besties….

"GAAAAAAASSSPPP….." that is the sound of air finally making it through to his lungs. Gingerly he pulled himself up to a sitting position, clothes skewed and leaves and dirt stuck in his curls. Ok now he a bit more coherent "Did I hit you? I'm sorry."

The boy said that he was okay but was he really fine? He had made a really big fall and he seemed to be out of breath! Hmm, who was he? She never had seen him before, what wasn’t that strange because she normally only talked to her friends and hadn’t been that interested in meeting others from the other Houses, not that she had a problem with them, she just had been too busy to spend time on the other houses more than she already had.

Blinking with her eyes when he next asked HER if SHE was alright she stared surprised at him. He was the one laying on the ground and he was worried about her? Why? Why should he? “I’m fine, why are you asking that? You didn’t even touched me while passing…” She spoke slowly, one eyebrow raised. “I just called you back because I wanted to see that thing” she pointed at his board, now laying next to the boy on the ground. “But anyway, I’m Leesha Griffel, first year Slytherin” she told the other boy proud while looking at his own robes to find out that he was Gryffindor.

Juliette was all cozy in her father's old leather jacket, which she fashioned alongside a pair of skinny jeans and an old muggle band shirt, as she made her way down the pathways. Now that the colder weather had arrived, she had packed up her dresses -- actually, just one dress that she liked wearing -- until next summer. It was skinny jeans and boot season!

She cradled a book in her arms as she looked for the prefect place to hide relax at. When a bench appeared out of nowhere, she took a seat and opened up her 'Japanese for Dummies' book and began reading the first chapter. This was a little gift her Uncle Logan had owled her when he realized that she had wanted to learn a new language, and she could not wait until Christmas so that she could show him how much she had learned from this book!

He wasnt sure if he understood her right or his fall affected his hearing, so he paused for a moment and as he looked at the Slytherin girl. She did look alright, and predictably confused at his question. So he did hear her correctly "I didnt even touch you?" Oh geez so he looked back, and subsequently lost his balance, for the wrong reasons. Wincing a bit, he gingerly pulled himself up on his feet, brushing the dirt off himself. Well at least she was nice enough to introduce herself "Hi Leesha, m'names Tenacius, Tenacius Salander." oh she even gave her year "I'm a Gryffindor. 3rd year." as if the uniform and the clumsiness wasnt a dead giveaway, now she's got the info straight from the cubbie's mouth.

He picked up his silvery cruiser and saw the Slytherin looking at it. There was an immense sense of joy and pride at how she regarded his creation. "Yeah its my cruiser, way faster hovering to places than walking or running." he chuckled. And if anything is true about all Gryffindors, is that they like to go FAST. Or at least, not slow.

He tossed the silvery disc back at their feet and it hovered smoothly and quietly several inches off the ground. "Have you not seen a hover board before?"

Colt hummed on his way down to the pathways. He wanted to see what the pathways looked like during the colder seasons like fall. He saw all the leaves fallen and saw the contrast of orange, red and yellow all together in one. He beamed and now knew what he was going to do. He was going to make the biggest leaf pile ever. As he made his way to the center of the pathways, he saw Juliette sitting there. He tilted his head in curiosity and shrugged and decided might as well join her. I mean in all honesty he needed help with his leaf pile too.

He walked over and plopped onto her bench and nudged her. "Hey beautiful what's up?" He thought he might as well give her a compliment. Braedon always taught him always give a girl a compliment when you first see them. They will always remember you being sweet them. He swung his legs on the bench in waiting for her answer.

Juliette had buried herself into her reading that she did not even notice someone else was in the area until she was nudged. What the fudge? She looked up from her book and right into Colt's beautiful ugly, SO UGLY eyes. After witnessing all the drama between Brady's love life, she was very uncertain whether she wanted any part in the whole relationship thing. She was perfectly FINE dating herself but.... for merlin's sake, she could not deny she had a crush on Colton Winchester. Actually, she could easily lie to herself about this crush, but would she?

... but that compliment. Damn it, Winchester.

"Guten Tag!" See, all this reading was worth it! "I'm enjoying this nice weather, and this nice book." Her answer was quickly followed by a little smile. "What are you up to?"

Colt snorted and then chuckled with her greeting. He couldn't help it because it was unique. "Well I will mark that as an interesting greeting that is for sure. What gave it away I was german?" He was teasing of course. Smooth move Juliette very smooth. He was grinning and looked over her shoulder and saw the book she was reading. "Oh yeah is the book any good? What's it about?" he chuckled and admire her cuteness for sure. What was he up to? "Oh nothing.." he sighed. "Just looking for an accomplice and I was curious if you wanted to make a huge leaf pile with me?" He knew the spell to get the leafs in a pile, it was all up to Juliette if she wanted to help.

"No, you did not, I only called you back because I was curious about you board but... Are you sure you're fine? You really seemed to have fallen hard" she said while looking worried at the boy, feeling guilty. But the boy seemed to be fine enough to stand up, that was a good thing. "Well... Sorry that you fell, were you really thinking that I was hurt?" She sounded surprised but relieved that they both seemed fine at the same time.

"Well, sorry again Tenacius" She said honest. Looking at the board when Tenacius took it in his hands and let it fly in the air before them she wondered if it might be a good idea to wear some protection while using that thing like most Muggles were doing with fast moving things. "I've seen it before but never up close, my parents didn't wanted me to have one because they told me that it was too dangerous but I always wanted to see one, so that's why I called you" she told the boy. "But, weren't you supposed to wear some head protection like a helmet?" She asked slowly while eying him again, was he still hurt?

Juliette squinted her eyes in a concentrating kinda way, and she did not even realizing that her facial expression had changed from a 'HEY IT'S COLT!' excitement look to a 'Is he being serious?' confuzzled look. She could not tell whether he was being serious about being German or not, but hey! She'll go along with it and casually hope for the best outcome. "For one, your sense of humor," she replied. "And..." Huh. "That's about it, actually. You don't look German at all. You look like you arrived here in a package from New York." She gave him a glance over and added, "City boy." She was allowed to say since she was also from the big city.

"It's... well, it's about learning Japanese," she replied to his question. "Clearly, my brain wants to speak German instead." She closed her book, not even marking where she left off, as she gave all her attention to him. "A huge leaf pile? Is that suppose to be fun?"

So his sense of humor had something to do with it. He was fairly amused. He chuckled even more and shook his head. This chick was one of a kind. Ooohoo this chick was good. "Your spot on that one. Born and raised in the city. I am proud of it. Which I am sure you like it I'm guessing.." he raised his eyebrow at her blushing. "Have you ever been to NYC?" He can't remember if he asked her. "I mean I am sure my accent can give it away.." he shrugged. He tilted his head in confusion. He couldn't put two in two together. "Woah your trying to learn Japanese and yet you spoke German..?" He blew a breath in utter bewilderment. "Clearly your brain and your heart want two different ideas. Unless you have a twin I don't know about.." he humored her.

He scrunched his eyebrows in confusement. A big leaf pile was supposed to be a lot of fun. "Ermm yeah? It is a classic we city kids do. I mean in new york having a lawn was a speciality kind of thing living by the appartments and such. Come on.." he ushered her off the bench and got his wand and waved it and got the leafs all together in a huge pile. "Race ya to it.." he smirked and began to bolt.

Heh, look how smart she was! Truthfully, she was just too good at remembering stuff. "Even if you try to fit in, Winchester, you'll always be a city boy." You can take the boy out of the city but you can't take the city out of the boy. That's how the saying went, right? He had asked her that question once before, but she did not mind refreshing his memory. "I was born and raised there. Hence, how I knew you were from The Big Apple as well." She chuckled. "The Northern accent is a big give away, yes." She tried imagining Colt with a British accent; the thought just made her chuckle more. "No twin. I'm an only sibling." Sadly. "I tried learning German a long time ago. I guess the only thing that stuck was how to say hello."

But the real question was: how do you say hello in Japanese? Bloody hell, all that reading, and she learned NOTHING.

"You had a LAWN? I'm jealous!" Ugh, ENVY. "I lived in a broken down apartment for a few years before my pa decided to upgrade to a nicer flat, which was not that much of an upgrade in my honest opinion." She paused. "I guess what I am trying to say is that I did not grow up with a lawn. I did not have that luxury." Maybe if she had a lawn, the thought of making a pile of leaves would be a little more appealing. She watched as he made the pile of leaves and began running off towards it. Oh boy...

She sat her book aside, stood up, and raced after him.

"Who says I wanted to fit in? That would be boring.." Truer words have never been said right? Oh right right. No wonder why he semi liked her. They had a connection to the big apple. "I know right can you imagine me with a British Accent? It would be so weird.." He couldn't even try to imitate it. It would be an epic fail. "I never tried to learn a language it didn't fit into my schedule. I never had the desire too anyways.." Now that he came to think of it. Colt was shocked to hear that. "Well that sucks.." That was all he could reply back with. "Well now Hogwarts must be a real treat then..." he gestured to the open fields.

When he was racing to the big leaf pile, he grinned and ran and turned his body and jumped back first. He felt the soft pile crush underneath him and he smelt the feeling of fall leaves. Aaahhh nothing like it. He saw Juliette accompanied him and he grinned and threw some leaves at her playfully.

"Wise words, Winchester." Juliette appreciate the fact that even though him (and her as well) had a different background, but they did not try to fit in to the London culture. "No, I can't imagine it." She much preferred his American accent anyways. "My pa has a British accent, but since he's spent years in America for his job, it's been Americanized in a way." It was still obvious though when you put her and her father side by side who was the one that was born and raised in London, England. "Maybe you could learn Japanese with me... or German. I may still have that book around somewhere." She looked around at the beautiful environment they were sitting in, and his words made her realize how happy she was to be here. Sure, she missed New York, but Hogwarts had so much to offer. "It's the best dessert I've ever had."

She jumped into the leaf pile without any second thoughts, and she landed side by side with Colt. This was interesting, she guessed. It felt weird having the leaves prickle her skin. She giggled when he threw some leaves at her, and she returned the favor. "I guess this is a little fun," she admitted. Regarding all the leaves that were now getting stuck in her hair, she laid back and stared up at the sky. "Can I ask you something, Colt?

"My wise words happen to leak through now and again..."he smirked and continued to stare at her book. "I mean American Accents are unique though. Some people love to imitate it." He heard a few people around here trying to say american words. He knows what happens in the corridors. "Nahh I'll pa-.." then he had a second thought. He shook his head and then. "You know what yeah. We can learn together.." he smirked. "Should be fun having you as a teacher." He laughed at Juliettes comment and said, "What desert do you think Hogwarts is?" He was thinking more of a canary creme.

Colt felt the leaves hit his face and he was glad he closed his mouth. He didn't want to deal with dirt in his mouth. He had that experience and it was not pleasant. He threw some more and he liked her laugh and smile. It always look good on her. He laid back too and stared at the sky. He heard her question and now he arched an eyebrow and said, "Sure, shoot.." His curiosity was getting the best of him now.

Walking along the pathways, Noah shoved his hands inside his trouser pockets and carried on his slow little journey through the snow covered grounds, lost in thought as went.

Christmas had been brilliant, but oddly, he was glad to be back? Maybe. Maybe he was glad to be back. There was uncertainty there. But, then there always was.

Noelle sprinted down the pathways, looking for her boyfriend. She'd had to ask where he was and someone had mentioned seeing him by the pathways. Noelle had news and was very eager to share with Noahbear.

It didn't take long to see the snowy footprints and to follow them. There actually weren't a lot of sets of prints. So that tended to help Noelle as well.

Then she saw him. And a huge grin spread across her face. Speeding up, she jumped on his back. He was taller than her, and she knew that she wouldn't take him down....... maybe.....