The Giant Treehouse
 

https://i.postimg.cc/vZpjJ9D4/thegianttreehouse.jpg

Off to one side of the lake is a copse of trees that arch so high up in the sky, it's nearly impossible to see where their leafy tops end. But at the bottom of one is a rope ladder and a winding wooden staircase that wraps around the thickest trunk of the trees and leads up into the sky.

If you dare to ascend the ladder or the staircase, you'll be rewarded by entering the Giant Treehouse, which looks something like a cross between a log cabin and a miniature Hogwarts castle. The treehouse has a large veranda with rocking chairs on it and is completely surrounding and supported by the trunks of at least three trees, so it feels fairly stable even though it's suspended waaaaaaaaaay up in the air. The inside of the treehouse contains a few empty rooms, a tower, and a loft, but there are pillows and blankets, spare bits of parchment, ink and quills, and a bucket on a rope and pulley that goes all the way to the bottom of the tree. The treehouse looks (and smells!) brand-new, with nice new windows and fairy lights that illuminate the treehouse at dusktime.

No one said Williamson didn't still have the heart of a kid sometimes. He built this just for you.

And don't wory about falling out of the treehouse; there are a LOT of spells protecting and supporting the giant treehouse. If you were to fall from the treehouse or its platform, your fall would be slowed by magic. Plus, the ground below the treehouse has been charmed to feel like the equivalent of a squishy gym mat. Be careful though; too much horseplay will result in the grumpy groundskeeper shutting things down or turning this into his personal fort where kids can't find him.

Aboliiiii! | K8 (and open if peeps wanna crash!)
 

After a cold homecoming back to the Gryffindor lion room, the boy no YOUNG MAN decided to make the most of the next day. He was going to have FUN before the terrible torture....right?. He wasn't going to let the circumstances get him down for too long. It was his SEVENTH YEAR! And he was going to have fun... Well as much fun as he could during in an examination year or during this inquisition or whatever they called themselves. He wasn't going to be one to lead an uprising; however, that would just..... not end well in anyone's favour. Nope. He was going to play it safe for now.

Thus the boy had scavenged a few things here and left his sad common room to go to the treehouse. And when he arrived at the treehouse - boy - was it his sanctuary. It seemed that this place had yet to be ransacked and as he entered into the room, he flopped happily onto the floor and just glanced up at the ceiling.

Relief washed over him and his concerns from the prior feast seemed to leave him in that moment.

What an absolutely sodding day it had been today. Aboli was mentally exhausted. She hadn't really slept, either, and her hands were shaking at random. The energies in the school...clouding her at this point, were making her feel almost ill. Her own ANGER at it all, too, was enough to settle, nice and solid, in the pit of her stomach as well.

It was sooooo much better being outside right now in the fresh afternoon air. Being a seventh year meant they had more free time, but the free time should be spent doing work and homework. Today, though, Aboli needed to find him. Noah...she had to find Noah. They hadn't gotten a chance to speak yet at all since the train.

She somehow had a feeling he'd be up here, and she couldn't explain why, but she wasn't surprised that, once she had climbed the ladder up, she saw him. Blonde hair to match hers until he changed it again. "It's just me, okay?" she collapsed next to him and kissed his cheek. "How are you holding up?"

Noah's thoughts were jumbled. As he lay on the floor of his newfound sanctuary, he let out a sigh as he sifted through the tangled web of thoughts and ideas in his mind. He didn't get too far when he heard a familiar voice. He didn't even lift his head to look at who it was because he KNEW who it was. He would have known that voice anywhere. He scrunched his nose slightly when he felt cool lips against his cheek. He turned his gaze to look at her and smiled gently. How was he? Well.....

He wrapped an arm around her, pulling her closer. He wanted to be close to her and just enjoy this moment because... he was terrified that this could be one of their last moments. However, he also did want to ask her (on a happier note) about all the nicknames that Bernie had told him. "In this moment? Much better that you're here with me and this treehouse is still in one piece..." he started before letting his voice drop off. He lowered his voice just in case they weren't alone. "I'm terrified, Aboli. Seventh year was supposed to be difficult." He pouted. "But this is insane and wild beyond my imagination. We can't do anything because if we do anything someone's going to get hurt... or worse killed. And i wouldn't be surprised if they were targeting us... or Minjae." He bit his lip. "I'm scared for my siblings. Evan's a second year and Maya's a first year.... Both muggleborn..." He wasn't sure if they were going to make it out alive.

He paused, taking a deep breath, before leaning in to kiss her cheek. "Sorry. That was a LOT. I just have kept that all bottled up throughout the night while Bernie and I cleaned the Common Room..... How are you?"

Quinn! (Anyone else can crash too!)
 

As the days slowly moved along, Dahlia become more and more homesick. She really missed her mum and dad. Her crup too and all her cousins and the rest of her siblings. Gah! Sure she wasn't all alone here, four of her siblings and two cousins were here but it was still hard. And if she was this sad... how did those that had no family here feel?! It was all too much to think about and she needed to get away. Find somewhere that she could just... sit.

A bit of wandering around aimlessly on the grounds and she ended up here. Big bright blue eyes trained upwards at the HUGE treehouse. This was the coolest thing ever and she hadn't even gotten up there yet! Did she want to take the rope ladder up or the tall winding staircase?!

Flower lovers unite!!
 

Quinn had been walking around the grounds—he was comfortable enough now that he didn't think anything would snatch him up into the forest, but he was still wary of the Neo-Alliance people—when he noticed the treehouse. Quinn wondered for a moment how such a large structure had gotten in the tree and was able to stay there, but then he remembered he was at magic school. So, magic. Obviously.

Quinn had been looking for a place to do his practice. He had read a couple of books on battle magic, more advanced than even his current year, and he figured that he had enough information to start practicing the basics, but... he wanted to make sure that it was somewhere that wouldn't be easily found. For the sake of himself and those he wanted to invite. If the Headmaster found out that they were practicing offensive spells, he could figure out that it was in preparation for a face-off with his people, if it was ever to happen. Which would be very, very bad. But the treehouse was huge, and very much out of the way. Quinn thought it might work well.

As Quinn approached the treehouse, he noticed Dahlia standing under it. "Hi, Dahlia. How's things?" He hadn't talked to her since the night in the common room, and a lot had happened since then. It seemed like a good time to catch up.

His embrace was welcome. It felt safe in here, but that didn't mean Aboli was letting her guard down. There were probably listening devices... magic...everywhere. "I know. I feel better with you, too. It is unfortunate we are not in the same house, sometimes, you know. But then...if you weren't a Gryffindor, I might not like you as much." There were some things about non-Slytherins that Aboli just found...attractive, yes?

It was a lot, and the kiss on her cheek had her feeling all fuihweifheirhf, but she just nodded. "They...are absolutely targeting you. You non-purebloods," She said softly. "Noah...Noah...promise me...please...you'll do whatever they say. To stay alive. This is no time to be Gryffindor-ing around. No time to fight back. It's just NOT. Say and do whatever. You know in your heart of hearts what you feel...just comply." Aboli cringed thinking what could happen if she were ever made to turn on any of them. She could stomach it if she had to, but what if it were Noah? She wasn't at all sure how she would cope. It would be...almost impossible for her.

"I wonder if we'll still have NEWTs. Think we will? I need to talk to Recard about University....did you hear about the owlery? No communication out so...I can't apply to Uni like I wanted," she sighed and slumped a little bit.

Dahlia turned her head towards the voice calling her name. A soft smile formed on her lips at seeing one of her housemates. "Hey, Quinn." His question was such a simple one but yet she had no idea how to truly go about answering it. Things were... strange. With those hooded guys around and the mean Headmaster Dude taking over, this wasn't what she had planned for her first year.

"Okay, I guess. Right now, anyway." There, she hadn't told a lie to him. "Being out here, away from all of that...," she waved a hand towards the castle, "the fresh air. I think I'm good. How are you doing?" He was really having a rough start here too. More so than she was.

Quinn nodded in understanding. "Yeah, it's much more peaceful out here than back there. Less, er, stress-inducing." Quinn gave a humorless chuckle.

Truthfully, he was doing better than the first couple days of school, but it still wasn't going swimmingly. He figured that would be the attitude for the rest of the term. "Yeah, I'm, uh... fine-ish. I don't think that I'm ever going to be 'good' so long as this is going on, but... fine-ish is pretty good, considering," he shrugged, then looked up at the treehouse. "Were you going up? I was planning to as well, so... we could look around together?" Quinn eyed the stairs and the rope. "That's... a long way up, huh..?"

Less stress-inducing. That was one way to look at it. "Definitely. Anywhere away from 'them' is good. I don't care where it is as long as 'they' aren't there." As she said the words 'them' and 'they' her voice had dropped to a whisper. The last thing she needed was to be overheard.

"Mm' fair point. I don't really think any of us are going to be all that good but I'd rather say that than 'stink-ish'." She sighed softly. So far this year wasn't going at all like planned. Her typical hyper bubbly self was more subdued. "Uh-huh," She once more turned her gaze up towards the treehouse. "Sure. Beats being all alone. Yeah, but that's what's supposed to make it fun. Being up really high and getting to see everything below from a new view point." She gave him a very small smile.

"Want to take the stairs or the rope ladder?" In her opinion the rope ladder looked like it could be entertaining.

Dahlia's whispering when referring to the Alliance made Quinn shudder. They had everyone at school gripped with fear, didn't they? He nodded.

Quinn laughed a bit at 'stink-ish'. It sounded funny, even though it wasn't really that nice of a word. He looked up at the treehouse. It probably would be pretty from up there, but getting up there would be... an experience. The ladder didn't seem that secure, but the steps would probably hurt his legs by the time he got up there. He tried to return her smile, but it probably looked a little squeamish. But Quinn really wanted to get up there.

He could see that Dahlia was particularly eyeing the ladder, and he didn't want to disappoint. "Uh, we... we can use the ladder, if you'd like," Quinn said, making his way over.

Hearing Quinn's laughed was refreshing and it made her smile quite a bit more. The were plenty of other words she could've used but that one always seemed to get a laugh or at the very least a smile. Just as it had done right now.

Bouncing every so slight on the balls of her feet, Lia cast a quick sideways glance over at Quinn. He didn't seem all that thrilled with the use of the rope ladder but he had okay'ed it anyhow. Interesting. He would rather do something that didn't sit well with him then take the stairs. Dahlia like that. "Cool. I'll go first if you want? Or we can climb up together? Stay side-by-side?" They both were small enough that it should work, right?

Without wasting another second, she walked over to the rope ladder and grabbed hold of it. "Ready?" Flashing him a warm smile, she put her foot onto one of the ropes and reached her hand up to grab hold of the rope above her head. Okay, so the rope ladder swayed a little, that was ummm... different.

Dahlia seemed really excited to be going up the rope ladder, and Quinn didn't want to ruin that. He stepped up to the ladder next to her, looking up as it swayed. "Um... we can go up together if you'd like, but... will it be able to hold both of us on the same rung..?" He thought this was a fair question, given they would be going up a fairly long and swaying rope ladder, and falling from high up didn't seem very pleasant. Quinn, of course, didn't know about the charms on the treehouse that allowed for a slower, softer fall, so he was expecting certain doom if something were to happen.

If Quinn had thought this was her being excited he hadn't a clue about how she could really get. This was nothing. Wait for him to see her on a sugar high or when she was having an amazing day. Or when that evil dude and his minions were gone! That would be some real excitement.

"Erm, possibly?" She truly had no idea if it would hold them both or not. "There's only one sure fire way to find out, right?" Dahlia gave him an encouraging smile and a nod of her head. "If it makes you feel better I can stay a rung or two ahead of you.. unless you'd rather be ahead of me?" Either way she didn't care who went first. As long as they made it to the top!

Even as she was speaking to him she had began to make the journey towards the top of the rope ladder, pausing briefly whenever she thought it was swaying a little to much. It wasn't so much that she was afraid of falling because she wasn't, she had fallen from a tree before but that was a story for another day. She was looking out for her friend, if he got hurt because of her, well... that wouldn't be good.

"Uh, well I guess..." Quinn stopped to think about it. Wasn't the rule usually ladies first? But was ladder etiquette different? He felt like it was, because if a girl was wearing a skirt or a dress she should be under the boy, right? Would that still apply if the girl was wearing pants? "Uh, maybe I should—" Quinn looked back at her to give her an answer, but.. "Oh. You've already started. Well..."

Quinn figured it was safer to go one by one anyway, so this was a fine outcome. Quinn started climbing up the ladder, but he did so cautiously, at a much slower pace than Dahlia. "Don't look down, don't look down..." he muttered to himself as he climbed. Quinn was so focused on not looking down that his foot missed a rung on the ladder, which caused him to panic and miss the rung with his hand because he's a mess. Quinn slipped off the ladder, falling backwards.

"WAAH—"

Quinn's scream from his initial shock of falling was cut short when he realized that he wasn't actually falling very fast. It was really peaceful, actually. He swiveled his head around to look out at the grounds. He quite liked this. He thought to talk to the groundskeeper and learn what charms they'd placed here. "Oh. Huh. Neat."

Was it her or did he sound more and more skeptical as the minutes passed? Dahlia wasn't one of those girls that insisted on the 'girls first' rule. Nope, she was all for 'who wanted to go first, can' rule. Being she wasn't nearly as nervous about climbing the rope ladder as Quinn had seemed to be, she didn't mind going ahead of him or waiting for him to pass her and let him climb up first. "Hm? Maybe you should, what?"

Dahlia paused her climbing to remain where she was, maybe just about half of the way up. "I can wait right here for you." Which is what she was going to do when she glanced down and saw that he wasn't as close behind her as she had thought. From where she was and how his body had blocked where his feet might be, Lia hadn't noticed his foot miss a rung but she DID see his hand miss one.

"Quinn!" she shouted at the same moment he did, her eyes widening in fear. He was falling and it was all her fault! She should've stayed behind him... better yet... insisted they took the stairs! Her heart was racing as fast as her mind and she had already begun to climb back down before even realizing that he hadn't hit the ground as expected.

Nope. Was he... floating? Dahlia blinked and used a hand to rub at her eyes making sure she wasn't seeing things. Still gripping the rope ladder with one hand, her body weight resting against it. "Cool! Whoever built this must have really thought ahead and placed protective charms on everything." Very smart. Thank you, whoever had thought ahead and done that!

Quinn was too focused on trying not to fall before he fell that he didn't actually hear anything she was saying to him.

He relaxed once he was floating and smiled up at Dahlia. "Yeah! This is really nice, honestly. I guess I was worried for nothing..." Quinn laughed awkwardly. He stuck a hand out and grabbed the rope ladder, pulling himself back onto it.

"Well, it's alright now, then. You can keep going, I'll be fine!" Quinn said as he started climbing back up the ladder. Knowing now that he couldn't actually fall and die, he started climbing at a regular pace.

Everything before Quinn's fall, no longer mattered. The only thing that was important right now was that he was in one piece and hadn't even hit the ground. All was well.

Dahlia grinned down at him. "Worrying is natural when you're unsure of what the outcome can be. At least now we know we're safe, hm?" If one of them were to fall they would be fine. One less thing to worry over.

"I'll meet you at the top then!" Lia called down to him. Turning her attention back onto climbing the top was within reach in a matter of no time at all. Pulling herself up over the ledge and onto the platform, she stood up and watched Quinn climbing up. "You got this, Quinn!"

Quinn smiled. He always felt like he worried too much, but Lia didn't seem to mind. It made him happy.

Quinn climbed up to the top after Dahlia. Her encouragement spurred him on, and he made it up quicker than he anticipated. After pulling himself onto the platform, he gave a small "Woot!" and laughed a bit. "Well, that wasn't so bad."

Quinn looked at the treehouse. It was more impressive up close than from the ground; it actually looked like a small castle. "A lot bigger than a regular treehouse. Lots of rooms, huh?" Quinn made his way inside.

With a family as large as hers, knows how important it is to let people be who they are. Everyone reacted differently and felt differently about things. So if he was a worrier, that was A-okay with her. Perhaps her being a bit more laid back at times and adventurous would balance that out.

Lia would've held her hand out to help him up onto the platform but there was no need to. With Quinn now standing beside her, the Ravenclaw allowed herself to really take in this treehouse and how HUGE it truly was. Much larger then it looked from the ground. "Yeah, now that we know a fall won't land us in the hospital wing." She grinned over at him lightly.

"This is awesome. It would make a great place for parties or study sessions." Lots of open space and fresh air. Dahlia followed alongside him from room to room, taking everything in. "I think I'm going to be coming here a lot." In case he ever wanted to find here, looking here might be a good place to start.

Quinn blushed a bit at her joke and laughed. "Yeah..." It was embarrassing looking back on it, but it was kinda funny, too.

Quinn looked around at the spacious rooms, and in the tower and up at the loft. "Yeah, I think so too." This would be perfect for his practice sessions. Quinn thought about inviting Dahlia, but he didn't want to start off with too many people. Only the two people he was closest to, Atlas and Eden. That way it wouldn't be as dangerous—less people to know, less ways for it to get out, less people to be hurt for knowing. Though he hoped that, even if they were found out, they could play it off as innocent practice for classes rather than practice in case of a rebellion. "I really like it up here, honestly, so I might come up here, too. Plus, that floating stuff was kind of fun. Maybe I'll just come up here so I can float back down again," he giggled.

Dahlia hadn't meant to make him blush but the hint of pink color on his cheeks was nice. Definitely a plus and she would take it anytime over tears. "Now you can say that you've fallen from a treehouse and didn't get hurt." No one really had to know he was caught by magic and safely lowered to the ground.

The more Lia looked around, the more she liked it up here. This would make a great hideaway spot when she needed time to herself. "We can celebrate our birthdays up here. A little bit of enjoyment away from all of...that." She waved a hand in the direction of the castle. Any other reasons for being up here would remain unspoken, chances were low that she would use this spot for practicing though. Too much damage could happen should a spell go wrong.

Lia smiled at him. "It did sorta look like fun. What did it feel like?"

Quinn nodded. "My Muggle friend would get a kick out of that one. No broken bones for me!" He thought about Mari and how she was doing in school without him. Probably better than he was, in any case.

Quinn's eyes lit up. "We could totally celebrate birthdays here! My birthday is in July, so we couldn't celebrate mine, but definitely our other friends! I could bake a cake!" He thought about his previous attempts at baking—they hadn't gone super well, but the more recent ones weren't inedible, at least. "A-as long as I don't burn it..."

Quinn thought for a moment. "You know that feeling when you're on a rollercoaster, and right before a big drop you lift up in your seat and you get butterflies in your stomach? It was kinda like that, but it wasn't as exciting. It was more peaceful."

Ok. He was smiling a lot. He probably had the silliest grin on his face when Aboli confessed that she felt so safe with him. He liked being able to protect her. He nodded, agreeing with her about how unfortunate it was for them not to be in the same house. It would have been nice to be in the same house because they could have had the Common Room as an area that they could share but they would have to make it work. Noah fake! gasped at her comment. "You only like me because I'm a GRYFFINDOR?? WHAT! HOW RUDE!" he teased, sticking his tongue out at her. He ran a hand through his hair, pretending to be quite distraught before a smirk graced his lips. Heh. "Let me guess .... you're type is non-Slytherins... So I was right to set you up with Minjae.... And... What house was Mr. Christian in again... hmmm?" Despite their current sour situation, Noah was feeling quite upbeat in this moment.

Oh. She was VERY worried about him. He listened to her, nodding. He knew she was right and if she had seen what happened in the Gryffindor Common Room last night then.... Yeah... Talk of rebellion and stealing dessert had transpired... He reached for her hand, taking it in his own and sighed. "Don't worry. I won't be so openly.... Gryffindor around. And I agree we should be safe and compliant," he nodded his head, just in case someone was listening. He gave her a different look which he hoped to telegraph that he would be careful but he wouldn't go on with everything completely. They'd have to be safe. "But... if anyone comes near you or lays a hand on you... they'll have to deal with me." He'd risk it if they threatened her... Her and his family and his friends.

He nodded at her question about NEWTS. "I think we may. I don't think that they intend to stop our education... I think they'll change its course slightly to exclude some subjects and embellish others... What's that quote about history again? History's written by the winners or something like that?" He paused, frowning. "No. That's not quite the quote I'm thinking of...." But the subject of University was exciting and terrifying to him. He... He hadn't thought much about university. Her question about the state of the Owlery perplexed him. He hadn't heard the news yet. He frowned. Merlin. Of course, they'd cut off the Owlery too. Firepalces, owls - no communication to the outside world."Did they destroy it? Are the owls still... alive?"

He knew not being able to apply to university would have been nerve-wracking to Aboli. She was always so focused on the future and just aceing everything. She was a rockstar when it came to academics. Brilliant, beautiful, and just perfect in her own Aboli way. "Maybe we'll be able to apply but it'll have to go through the new Hogwarts Administration? If not, we can just take a gap year and apply next year to university...."

Noah's dramatic antics only got him a snort from Aboli. "You guessed it. Oh nooOOoo. Whatever will I do now that you know my secret?" she said veeeeery dryly as she smirked in his direction. Her cheeks DID turn a deep scarlet color when he mentioned Christian because she felt like Noah would never stop bringing up her former conquest. "Christian is a Ravenclaw," she reminded him before poking his shoulder pretty hard. "But I don't LIKE Christian like that anymore, Noah. So stop. I like YOU like that. We've been over this." She felt like she was the reason he felt so compared to Christian, though. After all, it was she who had told Noah it was because he wasn't like Christian that she didn't like him like that. And at the time, she had thought that was true! But things had changed, hadn't they?

Deal with him? Aboli gave him a look. "Firstly, I can handle myself. Secondly, do not lose a hair on your head over me. Worry about yourself." Not that Aboli was good at taking this advice. The only reason she was so high on her own list was because she felt like she owed it to the littles and to her friends to survive. She was better ALIVE than DEAD, yeah? Well, so was Noah. "You just have to be extra careful because of your muggle-born-ness, Noah, okay? SO please...please be careful." And as he said, no 'Gryffindoring'. No OVERLY doing so.

"The victors." She finished his statement for him. "History is written by the victors. That's why so much British history makes us look like the good guys even though...you know colonization and whatnot," she plucked her gloves off to rub them together. "But you're not wrong....and...maybe they WILL let us finish education stuff." Her shoulders slumped once again as she let out a deep sigh. "They...just aren't there. Don't know what happened to them. I...I am hoping they're....just elsewhere," her voice was hardly above a whisper now that she was speaking of the animals. It was hard to think that they might be....dead. She kept her voice steady, though, because she didn't want it to quiver in emotion. Aboli HAD to be strong and steady.

Hmm.

A gap year had definitely crossed her mind. A gap year with Noah, however, had not. Now that sounded delightful. "Where would we go? If we took this hypothetical gap year?" A smile again graced her lips before she took his hand in hers, gloveless, and squeezed.

That cheeky comment made him chuckle in response. "Unwillingly agree to take over the world with me?" Noah winked, enjoying how GOOD it felt to just feel silly and happy instead of constantly looking over his shoulder. Heh. Now it was HIS turn to smirk. And she was right, he was never ever ever going to live that down because HE play acted as Christian a few times back then. He thought he deserved an Oscar or some sort of acting award for what he had managed to do. His face broke out into a GLEEFUL smile like a child who had just proven to the rest of the class that he was the smartest person in the room. Pure joy radiated from him. "Okay. Okay. I'll stop. I was just curious about which house he was in with him being a bad boy and all." He raised his left hand up into the air. "Alright. I'm not a scout but scout's honour that I won't bring him up for at least a month to start off with.... " That was something he could negotiate too.

Alright so Noah's type was def. women who could save him. There was just something so attractive about having a significant other or a person that you were keenly interested in be able to hold her on and be able to even protect you to a degree. However... There were times that... he would have preferred to protect Aboli. He chuckled, raising both hands into the air. "I know you're very capable and that most likely you'd end up saving me but... I'd like to think that I could come to your aid, y'know." Just him being a romantic. And once again - she was asking him to stay safe. How could he say no to her when she gave him that look? "I will." If it were between her and him, he wouldn't keep that promise. He'd rather save her than himself.

Ah that was the quote, wasn't it? Aboli had always been quite clever. "That was it!" he nodded before raising his eyebrows at her. "Ah yes. The British are good guys..." He paused, deciding to switch to his native language to ask her the next question. He suspected if people were listening that there may be a very, very narrow chance that they may understand Korean. "They don't say much about the Koreans. What would your step-father say?" he asked, his voice deepening as he slipped into his father's Busan dialect. He frowned, mirroring her body language as she spoke about the owls. Instead of adding on or commenting, he just squeezed her hand. It was the best comfort he could offer.

A gap year together? Yes, that sounded perfect and something that they could look towards together. They'd have to be able to go home after the school year had ended, yes? No one forced into any unfortunate circumstances like marriage or whatnot? Err.. Don't know why his mind went there. Perhaps he had read too many Victorian Era novels over the summer thanks to his sister's obsession with them. He pursed his lips. "Korea - we've both gone too. So maybe Japan? We could go see the cherry blossom festival? Or we could go to New Zealand? That would literally be the furthest point from all this craziness?" He paused before casting her a playful grin. "Though if you DID want to be romantic, we could go to Paris..."

Lia grinned at his comment. "I bet they would be so confused," she agreed. Imagine falling that high from a tree and walking away without even a scratch? That outcome would be very different if there hadn't been charms placed on the ground for their safety.

A July birthday. "Well mine is in the middle of June. The fifteenth. So when we celebrate one... which might be the last during the school year.. we can celebrate yours and anyone else's that is in the summer. One HUGE party!" The thought alone of this made her smile. "Even if you do burn it... I bet it'll get eaten anyhow." Dahlia gave a soft giggle. "I can make cookies or sandwiches." There was tons of easy foods that they could have.

Dahlia's eyes light up at the mention of rollercoasters. "That still sounds like a lot of fun." Before they headed back to the castle she might just have to give the drop a try.

Mari would definitely be confused, but she would think it was the coolest thing, too. Quinn giggled thinking about her face when he told her.

Quinn's eyes lit up at that. "Sounds like fun! I might need some help baking the cakes for that party, though," he laughed. "But if you made cookies or sandwiches, I don't think it would matter too much how edible the cakes are. There'll be other food to eat, anyway. I bet you make good ones!"

He nodded. "Yeah, it was pretty fun, honestly." Quinn went over to the railing of the treehouse and looked down. Now that he knew falling from here was safe and fun... "Hey... do you think we could get down by jumping off..?"

Has a few muggle friends herself. Misses them all now that she's here at school. Wonders what they would say if she told them she had a friend who fell from a treehouse and didn't get hurt at all.

Seeing Quinn look so happy for the first time ever this time made her smile brightly in return. "I can help with the cake too! We can bake the cake and cookies together! It'll be fun!" Maybe working together nothing would end up burned. "Well we might need a lot of food if we have lots of friends join us." Lia smiled. "I've never made any all by myself. I've always had my Mama, Papa or my siblings make them with me." So she really couldn't take all the credit for her cookie baking skills.

"Ummm..." Dahlia walked over to the railing and peered down over the side. It was a long way down. "Probably. I mean whatever charms are being used kept you from falling. So it should do the same if someone jumped off." Right? "Might want to make sure we don't get caught though if you're going to give it a try."

Quinn was getting really excited. He had never baked with anyone besides his Gram, and he hadn't seen her in a while. "That would be awesome! Plus, if we had a lot of people coming and we needed more things baked, we could just recruit some of our friends to help." He chuckled thinking about Eden and Atlas baking. Neither seemed the type, and he kind of figured they would both be a mess. But it would be fun, regardless.

Quinn peered out around the grounds. There were a couple students dispersed here and there, but nobody that seemed like they would scold him for this. Besides, there was no way he would get hurt, so... there shouldn't really be a problem with him doing this, right? Quinn climbed up on the railing and sat with his legs dangling, then turned back towards Dahlia. "Do you wanna jump with me? It looks scary, but it'll be fun!"

Lia didn't need to think this over to know that it could end up amazingly disastrous. Usually the more people in the kitchen baking, the bigger the mess. At least that was typically the outcome when it came to her and her siblings. There was no denying how much fun they had but the mess was a whole other story. "The more the merrier! We can all bake and prepare the food together and than party up here." It was going to be great!

She did the very same thing, looking around the grounds. With no professors in sight or anyone else that might get angry at them, she climbed up onto the railing and sat herself down beside Quinn. "Together? Okay," she nodded her head. With no real potential of harming themselves this should be fun. "Are we just counting down or..." Dahlia asked quietly looking at him.

Quinn smiled and hooked his arm with Dahlia's. "Yeah, I'll count us off. On 'go'." He nodded, looking back down at the ground. "3...2...1...Go!" he exclaimed, pushing off from the railing. He giggled as he began to float down.

Okay, they were doing this!

Dahlia grinned over at Quinn, her arm hooked around his. "Mhmm," she hummed. Blue eyes shone brightly as she once more looked down over the side, her legs swinging back and forth. As Quinn counted them down out loud, she counted down silently in her head.

On 'GO' she felt herself falling forward. There was no need to push off from the railing, having her arm linked through Quinn's was enough to send her downwards with him. For the briefest second it was nerve-racking to be up so high and fall. There was a breeze that blew some hair into her face and then...

A sense of peace and calmness washed over her as she floated safely beside Quinn. That was when she had started to giggle, a bright smile on her face. He was right. This was AH-MA-ZING!

"You better not bring him up for LONGER than a month, Nam," she rolled her eyes playfully as she nudged him, moving to hug her knees to her chest as she lay her cheek on top, peering at him through her deeper blue eyes.

Aboli would have liked to know he found that attractive about her. She sometimes her perceived bossiness was too much, or rather that SHE was too much. It DID feel nice just to...talk to Noah about something other than what was going one. It was REFRESHING. Freeing, even. But it still loomed there, in the back of her mind, and when she wasn't paying attention to her facial expressions, she found her mouth reverting to the upside down U shape of worry she had grown accustomed to. "If I need you to save me, I'll let you know," she smiled before closing her eyes and just...taking in his presence.

She could smell his scent if she concentrated enough. He smelled good. Like...a good man smell. "You smell nice. It's comforting." And attractive, but she left that out to keep this moment sweet. And the switch to Korean was nice. Noah was much better at it, but Aboli could at least keep up and do minimal replies in it. "Not sure. But we should stay in Korean whenever we don't want to be understand," she said softly, squeezing his hand back. "What...will your family think? About the lack of contact? They're muggles so...they might not know as much."

HmmmmMmmmm. Places to go...in their fantasy gap year if they made it out of Hogwarts. "New Zealand would be nice...I've actually never been before. It seems warm...and beautiful, if the pictures are anything to go off of," she leaned in and kissed his cheek. "What do you...even want to do after this? After Hogwarts?" Because for the first time, she realized Noah had never really spoken to her about it. She mostly used their time to focus on HER. How selfish she could be.......her heart throbbed with the sudden guilt.

Quinn was grinning, the feeling of weightlessness stirring up the butterflies in his stomach again. He looked around the grounds as they floated down. "You really can see just about everything, can't you?" Quinn could get used to this floating thing.

"Almost," Dahlia agreed, nodding her head. "This really isn't so bad. I can definitely get used to this feeling." There was something about peacefully floating to the ground that surrounded her in a bubble of calm. If this was something she could do over and over again, chances were that she would but it wasn't worth the risk right now.

All to soon, her feet touched the ground. "That was amazing. I feel so light and relaxed now." Like she could do anything!

"Yeah, me too." The floating was really nice. There was nothing to worry about up there, and nothing could get to you. All of your worries seem to... float away, in a sense.

As they reached the ground, Quinn sighed. He wanted it to last a bit longer, but he knew that would be his preferred mode of exit from the treehouse from now on. "I'm definitely doing that again the next time I go up," he giggled. "Well, that was a nice adventure."

With her feet firmly back on the ground, Lia unhooked her arm from around Quinn's. There was a warm smile still on her face. "I think I will be too. It definitely beats climbing all the way back down." If only they could float all the way up to the treehouse too! Now that would be really cool. She made a quick mental note to have a look in her charms textbook when she returned to the dorms.

"One adventure down with no issues. Only a whole bunch more to go," she laughed. If she kept herself busy with lots of different things to do, then maybe she would get lucky and they days would move along more quickly.

Valencia was carrying a book, as per the usual, looking for a place higher up to look around. She wandered around looking for a vantage point when she suddenly arrived at the treehouse.

This would work perfectly.

She climbed up high and stopped in her tracks. She grinned slowly. "Look what we've got here."

As Royse calmed himself down he could feel himself relax and instantly felt proud as well. He had done it. He had calmed himself without blowing things up or working out until exhaustion. That was a significant feat one he had to share with...

Then he heard the familiar voice. He knew that voice anywhere. Slowly he opened his eyes and grinned as he saw her. "Are you following me?" he asked with a slight smirk.

"I wish actually." Valencia said finishing her ascent and going to sit next to him. It would be more rewarding and enjoyable than who she was actually trying to follow.

"What are you doing all the up here? I thought you were practicing your spells." Or was he planning on doing that up here? It might not be the safest option...

She held out her hand, palm up toward him. A little hand hold would be nice.

"You wish? So what are you actually doing then if this is just a coincidence?" He asked as he sat up a bit to watch her. "I know you! You were hoping to ogle me jogging by."

Royse shook his and made room for her to sit next to him. "I was having an anxiety attack. Thought maybe some air and being far away from everyone would do me some good. But I did it. I calmed myself down." So proud of himself.

He took her hand and squeezed it lightly. "Didn't blow things up or work myself into exhaustion. I've been working on meditation and breathing."

Valencia laughed lightly. "You wish." she said with a teasing nudge. "I actually just came for... a... new vantage point." she said vaguely. There wasn't a good way to tell who was listening and she purposefully kept her answer vague.

She tilted her head to the side. "Oh. Should I leave? Do you still want to be alone?" She didn't want to intrude if he still needed time. As for the other part... "I am proud of you though. That is quite an improvement."

"I guy can dream can't he," Royse said with a grin. He tilted his head a bit as she said that. New vantage? "Well...I suppose the trees do look differently here. He had no idea what she was talking about. He wasn't going to ask either.

"Leave? What..no please don't. I didn't mean away from you just...everything else," he said with a vague wave of his free hand. "It's all a little much sometimes. I just wish I could fix everything and I can't. But thank you. I thought you would be."

It was a big deal for him. Bigger than his limited excitement let on right now but she knew that considering the last time he lost his cool. "Let's have a treehouse in our backyard."

Valencia was amused. Of course he would say something like that. Hopefully he didn't get too bored with the fact that she wasn't much of an oogler.

"Well. As long as you don't mean from me." She actually preferred it that way. It was always the two of them. She was similar too, when she wanted to be alone it was never away from him.

She squeezed his hand in return. "Yes. I'm very proud. You used to be quite an angry one. Just like week if I'm not mistaken." It was a little tease, but really, she was so impressed with him.

She nodded enthusiastically. "Yes. With a swing. I like swings."

"No. Of course I wouldn't mean from you. Not to mention if I was mad at you or something I wouldn't be so easily found," he teased. The likelyhood of that actually happening was less than zero. That was the one thing he was proud of. They talked out their issues.

He turned his head to look at her and laughed. "Yeah, I'm still an angry one though. Just a work in progress." Always in progress. But if you weren't working on yourself what were you doing?

A grin came across his face as she answered. "Tire swing or regular swing? Or like a hammock or something?"

Kale!
 

Tavie possessed a LOT of things. There wasn't enough parchment for all the things she owned or that her parents could get her. Her father probably wouldn't get her everything she ever wanted but HE COULD if he wanted to. Truthfully, he usually did let her have whatever she wanted. Her mother certainly did.

But they never got her a giant treehouse filled with so much magic.

She had never wanted one, but STILL.

Tavie was high in the treehouse that was now suddenly the treehouse of her dreams. It had rooms for snogging, and rooms for writting, and rooms for anything you wanted! She loved it more than anything, and even with everything that was happening this term (maybe especially because of it) this place made her happy.

Sitting up in a room with large open windows that overlooked the lake, the ravenclaw was snuggled in a pile of blankets and pillows with her chinchillas and a very old potions book.

Tavie!
 

Valencia laughed lightly. "When was the last time you were mad at me for more than five minutes?" She couldn't recall. They were pretty good at talking things out and anger wasn't usually involved in that process.

She nodded encouragingly. Yes. Her work in progress. Always learning. Just what she'd always wanted.

"Mmm..." she said thoughtfully. "Porch swing for the porch, one of those nice bench ones made of dark wood. Regular swing for the yard. Hammock for the reading nook."

Royse looked thoughtful for a moment. When was the last time he had been mad at her for an extended period of time? He shook his head "You know...I honestly don't think I've ever been mad at you for any length of time. You've been mad at me but, I kind of find it hot so it never bothers me. Which probably only serves to frustrate you more." He chuckled and pulled out his diary and his colored pens.

Hearing her though he laughed, "So, all the swings? I can get on board with that. And a tire swing for the tree."

She didn't SEE him at first. She was too busy reading the notes in the margins of the potions book to fully process that it was Kale in this part of the treehouse with her and not another student passing by. But when he squealed, she knew. She KNEW. That was only a sound Kale could make.

"Kale!" Hehe. She had just enough time to close her book and give him a little room before he was in the pile of blankets with her. Giggling delightfully, she wiggled around enough to make room for him to squish in RIGHT beside her. "Fancy seeing you here." She didn't give him much time to join her because she was already pulling him into a squishy hug. She MISSED him.

He was so down for cuddles. He wasn't the King of Cuddles, that distinction went to every Hufflepuff with fantastic hair, but he was a pretty decent cuddler himself. Like, he coulda gone pro if he didn't blow his knee out. Ah, the paths not taken.

Hehe. ANYWAY, he snugged riiiiight up to Tavie and played with her hair. It had gotten shiner since the last time he had played with it, did she know? He told her. And added, "Not that your hair game wasn't great before." That was the last thing he wanted her to take away from their conversation.

With another squish, he said, "I'm sooo glad you're back. Nobody else appreciates pretty people like you."

One of Kale's many fine qualities was that he was a GREAT cuddler. Ugh, she had missed his cuddles so much when she was being homeschooled last term. All her cuddle buddies. How had she even survived? "Thanks! I changed my shampoo and conditioner!" She was going for more tropical scents because they were her faaaavorites and they made her hair so soft!

Oh. My. Gosh. Speaking of pretty people. She stared up at the ceiling all tangled up in him and blankets. "Have you SEEN all the new faces? They're so pretty! I have to rethink my entire kiss list." Because so many new pretty faces! "We can make new lists and have pretty people watch parties on the weekends." Since they weren't going anywhere.

Whenever a friend dropped a hair care routine, the oldest Trent sibling ate it up. He was really trying to invest in his hair now tha he was growin' it out. He was going for wind swept hero-type, but it was, like, super hard to upkeep. Especially since he was blonde and his hair got dirty reeeeeal quick. Bless Tavie for imparting some knowledge.

ANYWHOODLE.

Kale siiiiiiighed. He was suffering, did she know? "I dunno if I should be kissin' lots of people anymore. I hurt Fifi. And now Meeks is upset. And poor Cece thinks it's all her fault, which it totes isn't." Basically?? Tavie had missed a lot.

Valencia laughed lightly. "Yes. Very infuriating. But that's your usual." she joked. She peeked over his shoulder. "Another point for me? Because I'm always winning." Poor him and his tally on the scoreboard.

She nodded in agreement. "Yes, of course. It would be entirely foolish to put a tire swing anywhere else."

Royse smirked and looked at her. "Well if I wasn't in my usual form you would think something was wrong. Right?" He looked down at his notebook and opened it. "Well that wasn't what I was going to do but...sure. You win this round batman." Royse flipped to the tally page and added a blue tally in her box. Unlike last year the balance between the tally marks appeared to be drastically in her favor. Hmmm.

"Very foolish indeed. I think I need to earn more tally marks..." Deciding to count them he frowned as he got to the number. How was she that far ahead. Rude.

Valencia nodded. "Oh definitely. I get suspicious when you're things like nice." She cracked a smile at the tally marks. She was winning, as she should be. All was good in the world.

Beammmm.

"I think that means you actually need to win more. Good luck with that."

The dramaz
 

When Tavie was being homeschooled last year she wrote her friends almost every DAY. So in a peripheral sense, she knew what had been up with most of her friends. But that wasn't the same as being here. She still felt completely out of the loop. She still felt like a bad friend for not being here when they needed her.

BUT she was here now. And apparently she was still missing stuff? Tavie cuddle her friend. "What happened? Who'd you kiss to break all those hearts?" Most of which belonged to her closest friends. Sigh.

Oh he was only kissing those three. That maybe made things easier. Maybe. It was still Fi and Cece. That did NOT make things easier at all.

"Maybe." And this was a wild maybe. "Maybe take a break with snogging anyone until this mess is cleaned up." She brushed back his beautiful hair. Tavie KNEW that was like, the biggest ask of all the asks ever but he had a MESS that needed to be cleaned up and because it involved her friends (him included) she was going to try and help. "Do you feel the same way about any of them?" The was the first and most important question ever.

Tavie knew! She KNEW how awesome and totally amazing kissing was but it was getting him in trouble! And with their friends! Two of her closest. That had to be fixed before it could be fun again. Or else more kids would get hurt and one of her most favorite cuddle buddies would feel terrible about it.

It was such a good thing he had a ravenclaw like her as a friend.

"I mean," She kept playing with his hair because they were kindred spirits and hair play was equally as comforting for her as she knew it was for him. "Do you like Fifi and Cece as much as they like you?" Or was all the snogging just for fun? Either way it was okay, but she wanted to know where he stood with all of the feelings.

"That's a good start" Because still kissing most of them would be a bad thing with all the feelings and hurt going around. And what could she say? She liked physical touch and this was one of the things she was just good at.

Tavie was following, but she also noticed that he was talking in circles, which wasn't out of normal for Kaley. "You didn't awnser my question." She pointed out helpfully mid hair stroke. "If you're still kissing Meeks and Cece you should talk to them both. And you should figure out how you feel about them. That makes a difference." Like if he didn't like them but he liked kissing them he should let them know so they didn't get too attached.

Well. More attached than they already were.

His cheeky smile grew even larger when she proclaimed that he ought not to bring Mr. Dreamy Sexy Eyes Christian up any longer. “Alriiiiiight.” He pouted.

He watched her with awe and admiration as she closed her eyes. She looked so peaceful in this moment and he wished he could have captured this whole memory forever. He knew that he’d want to play it over and over again. Safe. He liked being safe with her.

A dusting of heat touched his cheeks as she said that he smelled nice. He really ought not to blush but whenever she was giving him compliments- he just couldnt help it.

He interlaced his fingers with hers as she spoke in Korean, enjoying the sound of her voice in his native language. There was just something so attractive about her speaking Korean and them sharing the language. It was their secret. “I’m..... My parents won’t notice too much. The last time the school lost contact... Evan wrote letters to all the family members for me. He basically committed a crime- forgery for me- he must really love me. I’m certain Lisa will do that too.” He chuckled, remembering that moment very fondly. He had also been chastised by his younger brother.

He listened to her speak again about New Zealand. “Then let’s make the plan.” He couldn’t think of them possibly not making it out of the castle alive. He needed the happy planning to keep him sane. He did. He needed to think of the future. Her question made him pause.

“I...” Truth be told, he was unsure. “I could see myself dancing but the life of a professional dancer is... difficult.” He wasn’t a great singer like his cousin, Chase, but he was good at Ancient Runes, Magical Creatures, and Potions. “I’m not sure.... I like COMC, Potions, and Runes.... And Arithmancy too. I’m not sure what I could do with that... Maybe I could be a Professor?”

open post!
 

And Tavie so happily obliged him, giving him her BEST head scratches. Gosh, he just had the best head of hair, did he know? She could play with it all day long. "Give her time. Most girls just need time before they're ready to talk again." It was obvious to Tavie that Meeks was more upset that Kale was able to explain. She would need a lot of time.

Her hands slowed a little as his words sunk in, but didn't let them stop giving him scalp scratches. "How are you handling thing?" She wasn't going to say what 'things' were if he didn't want her to. At least she was really going to try not to say anything about his father or the treatments he's received in class.

For the Bern
 

Quinn paced back and forth in the main room of the treehouse, waiting for Bernie. It felt as though a cold fire was lit in his belly—this was a stupid, stupid, stupid idea.

And yet...

He couldn't sit on this any longer. But... he knew he needed help. Like, actual help from someone who knew what they were doing. Which is why he asked Bernie to meet him here.

His thought process was: she seems nice, he knows her more than several other upperclassmen (though he still wouldn't say he knows her well), and she's a Gryffindor, which means she's brave. Much braver than he is, at least, and he would need some bravery to go along with this. Even if it was his idea.

Quinn had remembered the way Atlas got him to meet at the Astronomy Tower, and he figured that was a pretty good way to go about telling Bernie. Quinn had written a note for her—

Meet in the treehouse
After Potions
IMPORTANT
Don't tell anyone!

—then folded it into an origami ladybug. On the wing he wrote "Open me". During the day he saw Bernie in the hallway, then shoved the ladybug into her hands. "Imadesomethingforyou," he said quickly, then hurried off before she could say anything.

And now, here he was, in the treehouse. He knew that now he had acted on his idea, there was no going back to before the idea, and that made him more nervous than anything. That list that had been intimidating him from inside his trunk for so long was now burning a hole in his pocket. Anyone who simply looked at the list probably wouldn't even think twice about it, but because Quinn knew what it was for, it took on a whole new meaning for him.

He paced and paced and paced, waiting for Bernie to show up and yet half hoping she wouldn't.

Weird message but okay, she was intrigued. Bernie had the paper ladybug stuffed into a pocket, and nooooo she hadn't ToLD aNyOnE, and honestly, what was with the boys of this school and thinking she ran her mouth all the time?! Mama didn't raise no snitch is all I'm sayin'....

So, she slowly took the staircase to get up to the top, even though she was THISCLOSE to leaning over the edge and just barfing half the time. She had really wanted to visit this treehouse all year and yet it seemed terrible due to the fact that it was up high in the air and all. Why did treehouses have to exist only in tall trees?! Either way, congratulations and condolences were in order for Quinn, apparently.

She finally got to the veranda part and paused to catch her breath and also her brain, to try to talk herself into remembering that this wasn't that high in the air and she was fine and all that other stuff. She saw Quinn and made her way over to him, though really she was sliding into a rocking chair before she got all the way there. And then slightly scooting that chair and herself in it his-away.

"Right, what's this then?" Berns was perched in the chair and doing her best not to look TOO suspicious of the first year. And also hopefully not looking TOO green as well.

Quinn had been pacing and thinking so hard he hadn't noticed when Bernie arrived. And now she was here, and his nerves were through the roof, but he knew he couldn't just do nothing and run away even though he wanted to. He grabbed onto the rocking chair and dragged her further inside the treehouse (he had gotten some extra strength from his nerves) so as not to be seen—he had made sure beforehand that there was absolutely no one up here with them, but one could never be too sure. With that, he pulled out his wand and cast a quick "Muffliato." on the room, which he had been practicing over and over again specifically for this conversation.

But... now that she was here... how would he even start? It was a strange subject to broach.

"Hi. Uhm... okay.... uh.... so...I.... uh...." he mumbled as he paced, wringing his hands. His mind was tumbling over itself as he tried to find proper words to express what he wanted to say. "Th-there's something I wanted to ask your opinion on, and you have to absolutely one-hundred-percent promise me that you'll never tell anyone ever until we sort it out, okay?"

Bernie wasn't in the best of spirits due to the.... madness of this year, but she did perk up and grin a little when Quinn dragged her rocking chair further into the treehouse. It was like a ride! It was fun! And then she tried not to freak out when he did the muffliato thing. Uh. Uh. Uh. Okay. What was this about?!?!

She watched him carefully with her bright blue eyes, and then nodded, a final nod of agreement, on account of how all she had to agree to do was give her opinion and Merlin knew she was never short on those. "Okay, I'll NEVER tell anyone EVER, if you insist."

What, Quinn wasn't going to make her make an unbreakable vow, was he? Also? No offense or anything?

She didn't have anyone to tell anything to ANYWAYS.

Okay. Okay. Okay. It's just a question. It's just a question to be asked that you can't take back and could probably get him killed if it were to ever get out but it's fine it's perfectly fine.

"O-okay, um, I w-was, um..." Quinn was shaking a bit, but he took a deep breath and started over. "I want to start a training session for first years. Maybe even second years. F-for, um... for battle magic. Because... there's no way this term is going to end nicely," though he would never himself incite a rebellion, he knew others might—or, if not, the Alliance could simply turn on the school, "and we are the defenseless ones, and the easiest to threaten, and are a liability on the part of the staff and upperclassmen. B-but if we can prepare ourselves, even a little bit, we can defend ourselves. A-and I, for one, won't be as scared." He let out a shaky breath as he paused.

He pulled out the list from his pocket. "I-I've been doing a lot of reading, and I've found a bunch of spells I thought might be useful and I wrote them down." He brought the list over to her. It started with some pretty basic spells—Levicorpus, Protego, Petrificus Totalus and the like—but it gradually got more advanced—Expecto Patronum, Stupefy, Sectumsempra. "I wanted to ask.... I wanted to know what you thought about it. A-and..... I know that I can't do this by myself. I can't do this with just first and second years. We need someone—or a group—to help us. A-and we would need a place to train. I was thinking about up here, since it was so far away, but we wouldn't be able to have a large group—though I never planned on it being a large group, since that would draw too much attention—but this is still pretty exposed either way. And we would have to plan a schedule, and make sure going to and from training wasn't suspiscious and of course I don't know if we'll be able to get to all these spells since there's so many and—" he broke off, 'Uh, well, that's... that's if you think this is a good idea." He looked at her expectantly. It was all out there now; it was in Bernie's hands. Thinking about it, that was.... a bit of a dilemma he just plopped right into her lap. For her to decide. But he needed a second opinion, someone to say yes or no—he didn't exactly trust himself to make the best decisions all the time. And this was his heftiest one yet.

I SAW YOU DOING THIS W/THE BOOKS!!! ALL IC!! omg i love this so much!!
 

Well this was a lot. A lot for ol' Berns to process. She quietly took the list from Quinn, nodding as he spoke, nodding a lot actually, her face definitely one of interest.

And concern.

Bernie was definitely a little bit concerned about this plan to help the first and second years. First of all, she never saw herself as being someone who helped out the Kinsay Jameses little kids of the school. It said a lot about her growth and maturity that she was even here in the treehouse, having somewhat faced a fear to get up here. Second of all, if she helped Quinn, this would count as making waves, then? Yes? Yes. This would DIRECTLY be making waves. This would be JUMPING INTO THE POOL in a cannonball, honestly. This would be going against all the advice anyone ever had given her.

And yet....

The fact that he'd come to her? Specifically? Another Muggleborn? An older and wiser and even though she didn't think so good-at-magic Muggleborn? Bernie bit her lip as she looked at the list again, unconsciously starting to rock the chair, thinking and thinking of how best to respond to Quinn. She may or may not have tugged at her own bottom lip as she thought. It didn't take long, though, before she had her answer.

"Yes." She stated finally, the rocking chair stopping as she stood up. "Yes, I'll help you, but I actually think this is a TERRIBLE idea. And yet, that's precisely why we need to do it."

She started pacing too, because it helped her think to walk, you know? Walk and talk. Though she was also cautious and QUIET whilst talking, as she often was when she got an idea. "The spells are good, and I see you mastered muffliato already," though honestly Berns sometimes forgot or doubted the usefulness of that one, "but the real trick will be finding the right location to train... and... and we'll have to set a schedule, so not very many people are out at the same time.... and we'll have to be careful about who we let into our club, because there are some REAL snitches up in Hogwarts..."

And she wasn't talking about the golden flying kind they weren't allowed to use in Flying lessons anymore.

YES I've been setting this up for a while.... I'm glad you enjoy hehehe
 

Quinn let out a long sigh. It was over now. The decision was made. It was the more dangerous one, but he felt as though a weight had been lifted off his shoulders nonetheless. "Y-yeah... I know it's a terrible idea. But I know that, if it works, it'll pay off in the long run."

He nodded along with her planning. "Yeah, I agree. With all that. I already know two kids who're never to know—Emmerson Cambridge and, by extension, Kinsay James." After the incident at the Winged Boars, he knew to never, ever trust Emmerson. While he didn't think Kinsay was against them, he didn't trust her not to spill to her best friend in the whole world.

"B-but, on the topic of where to train, I did have another idea, but I'm just... I'm not sure if it'll be a fruitful endeavor. I've been reading up on wizarding history as well—I didn't know much coming into school and, especially given the situation we're in now, I've been trying to learn as much as I could—and, during the Second Wizarding War, there was a group of Hogwarts students that rebelled against the Death Eaters who had taken over the castle that called themselves Dumbledore's Army. And they used a specific room in the castle as a home base, where the Death Eaters couldn't get to them. It was called... uh... the Come-and-Go Room? B-but it didn't say where it was in the castle, or how they managed to keep out the Death Eaters, so I wouldn't even know if we could use it." He hoped beyond hope that Bernie had some inkling of what he was talking about.

I HOPE YOU STICK AROUND SS FOR A WHILE ok ok <3 that's all
 

Right, Bernie could agree with that. She nodded slowly, her pacing petering out slightly. But wait, what?

She blinked a few times at the call-out of her housemates. "Why not those two specifically?" she asked slowly, trying to think of a reason they would be excluded? Well, Emmerson could probably look after herself; Bernie was pretty sure she had a mum who worked at the Ministry in some important job. And Kinsay.... well, yeah, she was annoying, but she'd grown on Bernie a little over the course of this year too. BUT maybe he didn't want Kinsay involved because she had her big sister to look out for her? And stuff?

Back to the training location. Bernie began pacing again quickly. "I don't know if I like the idea of somewhere indoors, not even the Room of Requirement." Yes, Quillnn, that's what it was called here. "We need to be outside, in case we have to scatter quickly and and---" She illustrated with her hands, making a kind of shooing motion. "You know. You KNOW they'll come after us." Bernie paused on her circular pacing path, coming to a stop by the window. "What about the island, outside? The bowtruckle island?"

You know, in the middle of the lake? THEY couldn't get to THEM there, right? RIGHT?

AWH well I don't plan on leaving anytime soon <3 also... I seem to be writing novels
 

Oh, right, they were in the same House with Bernie, weren't they? Quinn had those two so far removed from Bernie in his head that he forgot pretty often. "Er, well, that's.... to make a long story short, my friend, Eden, hexed Emmerson because Emmerson got into a fight with our friend Ashley and called her a mudblood. And then Emmerson started screaming, and dodged help from both Kinsay and Eden, and I'm pretty sure she wanted some of the Alliance people to come over. To see us punished. The only reason we weren't is because Professor Williamson came to help—he had to Silencio her so she wouldn't say anything to them. And then he had to Stupefy her so she didn't go get Rosier. It was... a mess. And Kinsay's her best friend, so..." he trailed off, shrugging. He thought he had stated his case very clearly—Emmerson was very pro-Alliance. Kinsay was her friend.

Hearing her say it, he did remember it being referred to in the book as the Room of Requirement as well. Quinn didn't know how the Room of Requirement worked, so he couldn't refute any of what Bernie said. If she thought it was a bad idea, then it was. He looked out the window and pondered her idea. "Well... it could work. But if we needed to scatter.... a small island would be a bit hard to do that on. Unless we had a couple boats prepped all around the island..." He thought about it for a moment. "...Okay, so, let's think through this. If we were to use the island, it would definitely be hard to spot our practicing—it's so far away from shore that you probably wouldn't be able to hear us, much less see. But, if we were to be found, we would need to be able to escape pretty quickly. And we should scatter to make it harder to follow us. Depending on how many boats are in the boathouse, we could spread some out around the outskirts of the island and leave them there in the event we needed to leave in separate parties. But, we would be sitting ducks out on the water—or, well, rowing ducks, but you get my point. Rowboats aren't the fastest mode of transportation. Is there some way we would be able to speed that up? Or is there some other way to get to and from the island?" Talking generally helped Quinn sort things out in his brain. He hoped that all made sense to Bernie—sometimes he confused people with longwinded explanations.

His thoughts turned to another aspect they would need to sort out. "Okay, so... for this part, I definitely will need your help—who we should... recruit? Is that a good word for it? Some older students you think would be trustworthy, but also well-versed in magic." Quinn didn't know many of the older students, and the ones he did know, he didn't know well. Well, not all of them. "I... I had two in mind, but I thought I should run them by you first. Valencia Phillips and Aboli Song? Did you think that they're... you know.... alright?" While he hadn't spoken to Aboli about his idea yet, she seemed really nice during all of their interactions. Plus, she said she had really good OWLs, so... she was probably good at magic. As for Valencia, he had danced around the topic in conversation with her, but... she seemed reciprocative of it, so...

lotta wannabe novelists here, huh? you're in good company xD
 

And if Bernie had known this thought about herself and these second years... she definitely would have had a laugh. A great big hearty laugh. If only Quinn had known her in her younger and less vulnerable years! He definitely wouldn't have thought so highly of her!

As it were, she could only listen intently to his story about all the hexing, her brow furrowing a little. "Well I'm impressed no one died," she stated firstly, "and secondly, I mean, I guess it makes sense. They'll be fine without this extra training anyway." She shrugged dismissively and started pacing again, because Quinn was talking and it helped her to do something else while someone was talking to her. Helped with the paying-attention thing. He was a decent strategist for an eleven-year-old or whatever, she supposed, and plus they had the Muggleborn thing in common. Bernie took a few laps around him and then came to a stop by the window.

"You're right, the island is out." It is decided. It is known. I have spoken. Etc. etc. etc. This seemed like a time-sensitive matter, and Bernie wouldn't even continue to entertain the lines of thought about the island; it required too many logistics to be a viable option, even WITH magic. So. Jot that down.

She turned from the window to stare intently at Quinn with her hyperfocused blue eyes. "I think, instead, we should just stick to the lakeshore. In fact, what if we didn't even TRY to be so... so clandestine about it?" One of her favorite words, to be sure, from her Muggle fantasy books she liked to read.... er, had liked to read, before this year, and before they got confiscated. "What if we make it look like we're offering ourselves up for target practice? We can pair up with some pureblood kids, yes, like Aboli and... and... I dunno, you may be right, I think maybe Valencia is, but I dunno. Those two will probably work with us but we have to ask them the right way."

Though Bernadette did not know Valencia very well, she was certain Aboli would help her. Though, on second thought, she knew self-preservation was pretty important to Aboli Bologna, and she hadn't exactly acted out in class at all yet. ALSO.... "I mean, we have to find a way to offer those purebloods a way out," Bernie stated suddenly, her heart sinking as this thought occurred to her, and per usual, escaped her mouth before she was quite through thinking it out. "We have to make it look like they're NOT rebelling. We can't have another Portraits fiasco; they deserve to be protected too. Why should they have to suffer the way us Muggleborns are suffering? Someone needs to survive this school year, in--- in case we don't make it, so--- so someone will pass on our stories----"

Her voice broke as she was suddenly overcome with emotion, her bright eyes starting to fill up with some stupid pathetic liquid that made her look human or something, ugh. Bernie turned away from Quinn and found herself sinking back into the rocking chair, where she began aggressively and sadly rocking herself, her hands forcefully pressed to her forehead in a triangle shape so he couldn't see her leaking eyes.

He nodded exasperatedly. Quinn was surprised nobody died, too, and he was there.

He listened to Bernie talk—he didn't know what clandestine meant, but he caught onto what she was saying as she continued. He thought about this idea—they could try to hide it in plain sight. And they would have to ask in the right way, and they would have to make sure nobody would get hurt... as he thought about all these things in tandem, gears in his head started turning, he was starting to form another idea—

But then, Bernie's voice was breaking. He looked up quickly, seeing her tears form as she went to sit on the chair. He understood where she was coming from—this was a scary time, and nobody wanted to see anyone get hurt. But... he knew. He knew this was for the best. He rushed over to Bernie and knelt in front of her, clasping her shoulders. "Hey, Bernie, it's alright..." he started softly, the way his Gram talked with him when he was upset, "this stuff is scary, and hard—I don't want anyone to be punished either. And it's alright to cry, but we can't break down, you know? We need to be strong for everyone. This will work, but... only if we're smart and brave. And you're a Gryffindor, and I'm a Ravenclaw, so we have both of those bases covered, yeah? We'll be fine. Everyone will be fine." He managed a smile, even though he was scared, too. It was strange to be consoling someone older than he was, but it had always been this way—he would be as emotional as ever, but the minute one of his friends needed help, he forgot all about what he was feeling to make sure they were alright.

"Plus... I think I thought of a way to make it so we don't have to hide, but we'll still be safe. We'll make sure everyone is safe," he said with a determined look. "I think it would be hard for anyone to believe that the Muggleborns have offered themselves up to be attacked by other students—plus, it would attract unwanted attention from those students who believed it, and wanted to take part in the Muggleborn-bashing. But, if we ask people to join our Defense Against the Dark Arts tutoring group..." he said with a look, "...I think it'll be an easier pill to swallow, both for students and administration. And the only people who would come would be those we invited. And... we don't have to tell the people we invite what we're really doing. We could probably pass for a genuine study group, and... what the others don't know can't be used against them." He finished up his explanation and focused his eyes on Bernie, hoping this would satisfy her stipulations. He thought it was a pretty good plan, himself.

Bernie couldn't believe she was being comforted by a FIRST YEAR RAVENCLAW of all people! Someone put their hand up and tell her if she had been bamboozled by a polyjuice potion or something! How was this year still happening!!! She let out a choked sob and tried to push Quinn away from her, but mostly she just ended up crying HARDER.

"I'm... I'm...." She found it kinda funny, and also kinda sad that she was being helped along by a Ravenclaw FIRST YEAR of ALL PEOPLE. Mer-lin! She finally succeeded in quelching her tears with just a few choked-back sobs. "I'm fine, Quill--- QUINN!" There she went again, messing up his name. "I'm fine. It'll be fine. And---- and you're right, we'll just call it a study group. I've been meaning to talk to Aboli anyway." She nodded and set up a little brighter, drying her obnoxiously wet (and snotty) face on her sleeve.

She found she was able to make eye contact now, and stared right back at Quinn. "Okay, um. I'm in. I'll talk to Aboli. You gotta try to talk to Valencia. She's in YOUR house." Deal?

Quinn took a step back when Bernie tried to push him away. He didn't want to be in her personal bubble, and he knew some people would rather not be touched while they cried, so...

He half frowned when she called him Quill, but decided not to push it right now. She was in a sensitive space. He nodded at her agreement. "Yeah, I'll talk to her. I think she'll be open to it. And I'll ask some of my friends about joining. If you think of anyone else you think would be, er, qualified to help, then talk to me about it. Oh, and I should probably talk to you about who I want to ask, too, huh..? I know I don't know many older students and you don't know many younger ones, but... y'know... if one of us doesn't trust someone for whatever reason..." he shrugged. Just to double check and make sure they'd be safe. He didn't expect anyone to figure out what was going on, but in the case someone did and they weren't to be trusted... well, that would be pretty bad.

He tried to think of a list of all the kids he had in mind. "Um, so... I wanna ask Eden Tilly, Atlas and Aries Flamsteed, Ashley Fox, Dahlia Donovan, and Tadhg O'Neill. For right now, at least. I'll probably think of some others. Do any of those names stick out to you in a bad way?"

Okay, yes. All this talking about who to talk to, who not to talk to, etc. etc. etc. was kind of making Bernie's head throb. "I'll gather a few people from my year, if I can..." she hesitated because she was reminded of her failed leadership at the Portraits not so long ago, and she felt like she should say something about that. "But don't be surprised if they turn me down, Quinn, because it's me, and I'm good at--- at--- making waves and not much else."

She let out a sigh of utterly despair and hopelessness. It was probably better to talk about the little kids than about her right now, because her emotions were still running pretty close to the surface. "I mean... Ashley loves to run her mouth, like so much that she's got a death wish probably. But the others might be fine. Gotta watch out for that Atlas though." She allowed herself a small smile. "He gets so nervous sometimes that..." That, y'know, he pees. She wouldn’t bring that up though. Bernie thought that boy was alright.

As for not trusting the others... Bernie gestured back to Quinn with the flat of her hand. "Is there anyone in my year or above you don't wanna have teaching you?" Even though he'd said he didn't know many older students, he did know a few, like Aboli and Valencia.

Quinn shook his head. "Bernie... it's alright. We can't make anyone help us. If they want to, they will. If they don't... that's not your fault. Really." He didn't think Bernie should be so hard on herself. She was smart and brave. Sure, she might not use those smarts and bravery at all the right moments, but at least she was trying.

Quinn side frowned. Ashley could definitely be talkative, depending on her mood and the situation, but... if she just thought it was a tutoring group, then... it should be fine. She wouldn't have much to really chat about. And Atlas... he had his moments, but he was getting better about that stuff. Quinn would know. "Yeah, I understand that. I... I think they'll be alright though. Don't discount them just yet."

Quinn puffed out the side of his cheek, thinking. There definitely was one who came to mind... he still couldn't discern if he was reading too much into them, but he still decided he should say something. "...Nemesis Upstead," he said firmly.

Quill can stop being a nice kid ANY TIME NOW ;________;
 

Bernie nearly cried again at Quinn's kind words. It was true, she was tough on herself, but she'd grown up in a tough household, she had. It was just who she was. And the fact that Quinn could tell she was trying? Merlin, if she knew he thought this highly of her, she'd probably be a smöl puddle of Gryffindor robes on the ground. As it was, she tried to keep the lump of feelings in her throat and not cascading down her cheeks. She merely nodded a few times to confirm that they were on the same page.

"I think they'll be alright too," she admitted. But, let it be known she HAD pointed this out FOR THE RECORD before things began.

Now, onto the one person Quinn didn't trust? She watched him, clearly she could tell he was thinking, and... let out a tiny giggle at his answer. "Nem? Do you... not trust Nem, or not like him, or....?" She was, incredibly, amused by this answer. But she was always amused by all things Nemesis, truly.

Quill would NEVER not be nice, he my nice lil lad uwu
 

Quinn reddened a bit. She wasn't taking him seriously. And... she was calling him Nem..? Did she know him? Quinn crossed his arms. "I... I don't like him and I don't think he's trustworthy. And, right now, not thinking he's trustworthy is a good enough reason to give him the boot. No chances. Why, do you know him?"

uwu is right :3 :3 :3
 

Bernie WAS taking Quinn seriously; the thing was, she just wasn't quite able to take his fear of Nemesis seriously.

"I mean.... yes, I know Nem." She shrugged like this was no big deal. Bernie considered Nem a friend, actually, maybe even one of her better friends, if that was possible with this Upstead. She could see the trustworthy thing, or lack thereof, and gave Quinn a serious, stern look for that. A LOOK of acknowledgment. "I just... I don't know how much you know about Nem, but he'd never agree to join this anyway. And not because of your trust... thing."

She was shaking her head to herself and rocking the chair gently again. "This is just the exact sort of thing Nem told me NOT to do." Jot that down, alright? She knew, she KNEW she could get into a lot of trouble over this. And yet... she was going to do it anyway.

Aaaaa sorry for the late response, weekend was busy ;..
 

Quinn side frowned. Well, that made it easier, at least, but he didn't like Bernie being close to him. He couldn't very well tell her to not hang out with him or anything, though. "I'll admit, I don't know much, but what I do know, I don't like. Him telling you not to do stuff like this is all the more reason to do it, in my book, but..." Quinn shrugged.

"Just, y'know... be wary of him. I have a bad feeling." Again, did he really have a bad feeling or was he just biased? Quinn was finding it hard to pick that apart himself.

no worries; I think we gotta wrap dis up!
 

Bernie blinked a few times, and then a few times more. She probably actually looked like her BFF Finneas Schmoe there, to be quite frank.

"You... are telling me to be wary of Nem? You?" Bernie couldn't stop the small smirk that popped on her lips. She disregarded the whole bit about 'Nem telling you NOT to do this stuff,' because frankly, Quinn's logic was flawed, but also frankly, it was hardly the Ravenclaw's fault since the kid hadn't been in the Boathouse and all that.

Back to the topic of the Slytherin in question, who she was, obviously, now going to defend. "Nem is a friend, so jot that down. How about you worry about yourself and your friends, Quinn? I'll worry about the kids my age. And then together we will worry about getting out of this mess and recruiting people to join the cause."

She nodded slowly as though confirming something with herself. "And anyway, as I said, Nem would NEVER join this study group so you really have no need to worry." She stood up and pat-patted the Ravenclaw on the shoulder, moving toward the door of the treehouse to exit. "Was there anything else?"

Merlin, she really had been spending too much time with Upstead.

Yeah, I agree, especially seeing as......... it's not gonna happen ;-;
 

Quinn was not the biggest fan of her patronizing tone. He crossed his arms and let out a small "Hmph." He was just trying to help her, but it was her call.

Quinn shook his head, walking past her. "No, I don't think there is." He casted a Finite on the room as he walked out. "Alright, well.... I'll catch up with you later, then." He gave her a small nod before descending the stairs.

;__________; RIP us / end scene?
 

Bernie knew she was being patronizing, but so was the first year! Or it at least felt that way, all things considered. He was, after all, JUST a first year.

"Hmmph," she tsked back, though hers was much lighter, and yet heavier at the same time. The thing was, now she had to go back DOWN the stairs one by one by one by one etc. Bernie tugged on the back of Quinn's robes. "I'm following you so don't go too fast, okay?"

Because dizziness and vertigo are very real things, okay?!

Yeth we finish uwu
 

Quinn blinked and looked behind as she grabbed on his robes. Was she... scared of heights? It made more sense why she sat down as soon as she got up here, then. "Um... alright." He walked down the stairs at a much slower pace.

Mamie? Or anyone else? :3
 

uhm yes okay? :3
 

Hugging his knees to his chest, Apollo tried to collect his thoughts and reason with himself over all the things when he glanced down at the grounds to see one of the young girls he recognized from classes being escorted with the guards. Ugh. She didn't look like a criminal and yet the way those guards were watching her, was rather unnerving. He saw her wave and something caught in his throat. Empathy, perhaps?

Swallowing, he straightened his legs to ready himself to climb down to the base of the treehouse, figuring if anything she could use some social interaction outside. "Hi. How are you?" Dumb question, Apollo. She was being treated like a felon. Not to mention you didn't even remember her name from lessons, so why you acting like you know her.

Mamie was relieved that the kid climbed down from the treehouse to greet her. She squinted as he got closer. One of those Gryffindor first years? Aries? Atlas? No, this was the non-twin one...Umm what was his name. Started with an A? Apple? Yeah, that sounded right.

"Hi, Apple," she greeted the slightly younger boy with a tired smile. "I'm..." she glanced back towards the guard. "I'm well." It was a lie, but...she didn't want to get this first year into trouble. "Having fun in the treehouse?" she asked, looking away from the kid and up into the tree again. It sure would be nice to have some unsupervised time outside, like this youngster apparently could.

She wondered if she'd ever be able to wander the Hogwarts grounds unsupervised. Ever...ever again? She doubted it. Mamie sighed, then tried to smile again for the benefit of this first year and the guards. See? She could pretend everything was fine. Well, she could try.

It was Triple A in the Gryffindor First year Boys dorm, didn't she know? It was a requirement for that dorm that your name had to start with A. He frowned when she called him Apple at first thinking maybe she was talking to a fallen fruit. Were there even apples at Hogwarts? Maybe she was delusional from being locked up and was hallucinating? Or did she think HE was an apple? She wasn't going to eat him, was she??

It took a minute though before he realized she thought that was his name. "Apollo," he corrected, nonchalantly. He nodded at the well comment, sort of oblivious about it, but then again, what could she do or say? "Not really, Marnie" he answered honestly, figuring he'd guess at her name too. It did begin with an M he thought. "It just is a good place to think." Because thinking couldn't get one in trouble, could it?

He looked over to the guards and then back to the Hufflepuff. "You ever think maybe we're in some bad dream and we'll wake up tomorrow and everything will be good?" Was he going to get into trouble for that comment; perhaps. But then again, if half of hogwarts was locked up, did it really matter anyway?

Mamie was not bothered at all by the fact she'd gotten the first year's name wrong. She'd spoken to him, what, once? That once being right now? Plus, Apple, Apollo, they had mostly the same letters. In fact, her guess was just as close as his. Well. His guess of her nickname. "Mamie," she said instinctively. She glanced back at the guards again. Was it okay for a pureblood to call her by a nickname? Was that too familiar? "Or...or Margaret, I guess."

"What were you thinking about?"

She sighed at his question about the dreaming, giving only a half shake of her head. She was pretty sure it was best for the both of them if they kept things light and breezy. Small talk only, no big talk. Last time she'd attempted big talk, she'd cried, and she didn't want to cry in front of this tiny Gryffindor OR in front of the guard. So. Small talk only.

Mamie? How did one get Mamie out of Margaret? Apollo shrugged, because he probably had misheard her name being said since Marnie and Mamie sounded somewhat similar. At least it was the same number of syllables. He nodded at her though, "Whichever you prefer"

What was he thinking about? He looked past her at the guards who were watching her, almost threateningly. Why were they so untrusting? Was it wrong if he wanted to say freedom to be a kid and enjoy all that Hogwarts had to offer, as told in the stories by his family? Somehow though with the guards staring menacingly over Mamie, he lost all nerve he maybe had - some Gryffindor he was turning out to be - and forced a small smile. "Quidditch and flying." He lied, but only a small lie. It was on his mind, sort of, but wasn't his primary thoughts of recently. "You fly?"

she still doesn't know about U14 :(
 

If Apollo had asked, Mamie could have told him her older brothers had trouble pronouncing Margaret when they were little, so the whole family took to the shortening of her name. She did not truly have a preference. Margaret was her name, but so was Mamie. She just didn't like the bad guys calling her by her family name.

She perked up, however, when Apollo brought up Quidditch. Her favorite sport! Unconsciously standing straighter, she nodded vigorously. "I love Quidditch!" she said. "And flying! Every week, I--" she broke off mid-sentence, glancing back at the guard(s) and lowering her voice to a less enthusiastic volume and allowing her shoulders to slump again. "Before the holidays, I flew every Tuesday. Professor Aguilar was helping me get better, since--" another glance "--since I didn't get to learn as early as you probably did."

"I'm going to play U14 Quidditch this summer," she announced proudly. Ooh. Maybe Apollo would be on her team. "Do you play?"