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.

Shan/Lisa <3
 

Ali/Claudine!! Helloooo <3
 

There was a GIANT treehouse and NONE of her siblings had told her?!?? THE. AUDACITY!!!!!!!!! :whaa:

The youngest Nam pretty much figured out just by dying the magnificent structure that this would be her secret hideout chaotic lair where she would conduct all her business!! where she would come relax after classes. She hated heights (it was an irrational fear, of course) but she was sure she would overcome it.

But fiiiiirst..... she had to climb that ladder.

:blink:

Was it worth it?

Obviously it was. Curiosity drove her to climb up the ladder. She took one step at a time and didn’t dare to look down to notice that it would be a long way back to the ground. It wasn’t the act of falling that terrified her- it was the act of landing or crashing into ground. Gravity was just an accomplice.

Now at the top of the ladder she saw the wooden treehouse in all of its glory. It made her a little sad when she looked at it because the style of the house reminded her of camping trips from this past summer with the fam. How she kissed her Eomma and Appa right now. And Noah too.

Lisa scanned her surroundings, looking for a familiar face at all. She couldn’t find anyone that she recognized but did find an older girl who seemed to be busy working on something. Curiosity, once again, got the better of her and she BOUNDED over to the girl to see what she was working on. It seemed like she was writing or drawing- she couldn’t tell what exactly.

She gently tapped the older girl’s arm- she couldn’t quite reach her shoulder because she was only 4 ft 2 herself. “Watcha working on?”

Stella/Tadhg! <3
 

The Treehouse was another relaxing spot on the Grounds that Evan liked to frequent. In the beginning, he'd been a little leery of the height, but after a slip on the ladder once and feeling the anti-gravity charms keeping him from injury, he was much more comfortable around the whole thing. So after the first few classes, he'd decided this would be a good place to try getting some studying in.

Or just sitting and finally writing that letter he owed his Eomma. With his bag slung over his shoulder, Evan started the trek up the staircase - preferring that over the ladder - and finding a pillow to lay against the siding so he could sit and stretch his legs out in front of him. That was much more comfortable than the chairs, he found.

Although highly more inconvenient for anyone else wanting to get around him.

Waddles/Josey
 

Erik
 

Margaret was not hiding. Well, maybe a little, hiding from an essay she was supposed to write. They had magic. Couldn't the essay write itself? Self-writing parchment, surely that was a thing? She'd have to ask someone with older siblings. Surely she could get through all of Hogwarts without writing another essay. They had magic! Why did they need essays?

She had her wand and a small bag of feathers she'd collected from Vendetta, that she was going to use for some charms practice, and she was going to the treehouse because being off the ground was the next best thing to flying.

She climbed up the rope ladder, obviously, because it was good exercise and someday she might need to use that upper body strength for a weird Quidditch maneuver. Like...hanging from the broom and kicking the Quaffle into the hoop, or something. Wasn't there a maneuver called that? She'd have to check Quidditch through the Ages out from the library to remember. Or, she supposed she could ask the new flying instructor, or maybe even one of those older students who played on the Under-17 team. Yeah, she'd ask them. Anything to avoid a book.

She almost didn't notice the Ravenclaw in the rocking chair. She startled as she was trying to fully right herself after reaching the platform. Climbing a rope ladder took a lot of brain juice, so she was fully distracted and couldn't remember her yearmate's name. "Yaaa! Hi Edith!"

Lisa tilted her head, glancing up at the older girl and ignoring the older girl’s eye narrow. She figured the narrowing of her eyes was driven by the fact perhaps the older girl had less than impressive vision NOT the fact that she, Lisa, could be perceived as being rude for interrupting her. She was never rude. Just adorable with cruppy eyes and all. But nevertheless, she had tapped the girl’s shoulder before interrupting. “I did tap your shoulder before but you seemed very focused on your drawing...” she mentioned before casting her eyes at the older girl’s sketchbook.

Her face lit up immediately like a match striking the outside of the matchbox. Energy combusting within her as she realized just WHO this older girl was drawing And it was not Daniel Yoon!!. It was... “GROGU!!! She LOVED STAR WARS. She had her own lightsaber tucked away in her trunk. Did this girl also like Star Wars too? Was she a secret Jedi witch?!? The tiny Ravenclaw began fangirling and subconsciously began bouncing on her toes with excitement. She just couldn’t contain it. “Sorry for sneaking up on you.... ” She wasn’t too too sorry now. She was glad that she had but it was the polite thing to say if it wasn’t entirely true. “Are you a fan of Star Wars?”

Besides the barn where all the magical creatures were this one of Tadhg's favorite places to be, he spent alot of his time here when he was able to. It oddly felt weird to be able to go where ever you wanted here without being watched, although he kept looking to see if he was being watched. Humming happily to himself, he climbed up the ladder heading towards his favorite spot where him and his best friend Lia always hung out. Although he had freedom over the summer but here was different, he was basically a prisoner last term, the taste of freedom here was a weird bug nice feeling.



Heading towards the loft but stopped seeing a boy about his age maybe a bit older. "Oh I'm sorry mate, didn't know anyone else was here I can leave if you want me to." He knew that a lot of people liked being here by themselves which he didn't blame them, he liked the quiet. Taking a pillow and blanket he headed towards the loft area of the treehouse. "This is one of my favorite places here at Hogwarts, spent alot of time here when I could and wasn't in that room."

He stared at the piece of paper. For a long time, hardly even sure what to write. Her letter had been fully of apology and 'I love yous' and as much as he appreciated that it didn't change how he felt. He knew he just needed some time on his own to process all the changes and emotions and feelings from the past year now, but until then.. he didn't want to lie and say it was okay when he didn't feel like it was.

So he wrote down Thanks. Love you too. And that was all he had.

There had to be something else, right?

Hearing a voice, Evan jumped slightly, pulled from his thoughts and looked up. "Oh, hello." Leave if he wanted him too? The Ravenclaw shook his head, pulling his legs in to make it easier for the other boy to move. "No need. There's plenty of space, and I don't mind the company." Which was good since the other gent was also already grabbing pillow. Ev nodded at the commentary, glancing at the view from where he sat. "It is peaceful up here. Almost easy to forget everything when the castle looks so... calm and quiet." The treehouse offered different perspective. "I'm Evan, by the way."

She noted the older girl’s sheepish facial expression. Huh. “It’s okay,” said Lisa as she shrugged her shoulders. It happens. After seeing the drawing, she understood why Claudine must have been so absorbed in drawing.

Oh so kinda a fan? Got it... “Is Grogu your favourite character or is it your friend’s? And is your friend a friend or a special friend?” she asked, tilting her head to the side as more questions popped into her head. She just had to know the whole story and all the details. She paused herself as Claudine went on to explain about a guy named Heath. Another potential friend who liked Star Wars? She needed some to nerd out with because her Dad wasn't here.

Tall. Long Hair. She almost could have sworn that Claudine was going to add that Heath was handsome. Tall. Dark. Handsome. Princely. “How long IS his HAIR?” she asked curiously. “Is he like Flynn Rider?”

Amabel had to agree it would be pretty nice to have some sort of magic quill that would write the essays for you since she rather just not write them at all. Just thinking about them made her gag. The treehouse did make an excellent place to practice charms just well as long as you didn't mind people watching or random stuff happening or even worse people snogging up here. Anyway, Amabel was just drawing whatever she could see down on the grounds from her vantage point, and at this particular moment, it was really nothing amazing. Just some lads playing some football which was surprisingly normal consider the school they were at.

??????

who was Edith..??? Amabel looks around for anyone next to her and still no Edith's.


"Who???"

Margaret loved people watching, but luckily had never seen anybody snogging in the treehouse. Or outside the treehouse, come to think of it. There was a first time for most things, though, so she wouldn't rule it out as something to happen this term. She seeing people snogging. She was not planning on snogging anybody, that still sounded pretty gross to her.

She stared at the Ravenclaw for another moment, still convinced her name was Edith. But...she was acting like she wasn't Edith? So......maybe not? "S-sorry, aren't...isn't your name Edith?" she asked the girl. How embarrassing for her if it wasn't. There was an Edith in their year, wasn't there? She was almost certain there was. But no longer certain that this was her.

Tadhg knew the feeling on that, at times he stared blankly at the paper for hours not knowing what to write. It was a weird feeling writing his parents, cause last term he didn't get to do it hardly any. All this freedom was weird as well, he was always wary that someone was watching him. He tried not to think about last term, but some things brought back flashbacks.


"Sorry mate didn't mean to scare you." He felt back for scaring him a bit. Tadhg nodded. "Thanks, I'm glad I could be some company, writing home?" He just gotten done writing home before he came here. He nodded. "Yeah it is, I spend alot of time up here just thinking watching the sunset and stars." Tadhg nodded. "I'm Tadhg, second year Slytherin."

For Atlas!
 

For someone who never had been very wordy, words were even harder to come by. He didn't used to have any issues with family and yet... suddenly he didn't have much he wanted to say to his parents. He loved them, of course, but they were preoccupied by a lot of other things right now. And they couldn't really understand the things he was feeling.

And they hadn't asked when he was at home. And yet.. now they did. And expected him to put it all down in a letter?

No thank you.

Hearing the apology, he shook his head. "Don't worry about it. Just got lost in my thoughts so wasn't really your bad." Falling deep into the mind usually blocked things out. "Yeah, my parents asking for an update.. Do you write home pretty often?" Maybe that was a dangerous question following a war but... it seemed the polite thing to do to inquire. "It's a good spot for that. I usually stay in my common room but.. figured maybe it's time to explore." He smiled at the introduction and gave a small wave. "Evan Nam, third year Ravenclaw. Nice to meet you, Tadhg."

Ash's smile vanished in about 0.2 seconds. Ash had nothing against Atlas Flamsteed. But she thought his question was rude and uncalled for. So...

"No." It was a cold response, and a firm one, but nothing nicer was coming, because Ash wasn't a nice person, not even on her good days. Atlas shouldn't hold his breath. Atlas could take his pet out for a walk or whatever. He could share the treehouse. They could even have a conversation if he was feeling nice and/or stupid. But she was absolutely not leaving. This was a safe place for her and she was happy. What was the deal with Atlas Flamsteed anyway? Why did he hate her so much? Whatever. He could get in line after Cambridge, James, and Gemma. He could get the enemy starter kit, full of notes to gossip about her, mean insults to say, and things to remind himself that it was okay to hate her because she wasn't a real person with feelings and motives anyway.

"I'm drawing Lisa right now, and I'm not leaving until I'm done." She held up her drawing. "See? I'm only halfway." She smiled briefly. Not at Atlas though. Only for Lisa. She could paint faster, but the more he wanted her to get out of his way, the less she wanted to do so. And she was here first. If he wanted to avoid her, her could go somewhere else. "Is it extremely important that I leave right now? Because explosions count as reasons I should leave. You hating me does not count." And judging by his tone of voice, there were no explosions coming. She didn't even switch to a more tense posture, because he wasn't worth ruining her day over.

Jesssss <3
 

Remy had heard stories about the GIANT Treehouse, but she didn't quite believe just how high above the ground it actually was. The Gryffindor had decided to take a visit there today, since she had given herself an hour or two break from studying. The weather had held out for most of the journey through the grounds, but she felt a drop of rain fall on her nose as she got closer to her destination. Some would say perfect timing!

Kinda.

She started to climb the ladder, and that's when the rain really picked up. Her face was DRENCHED by the time she made it to the top, since she had to look up to climb the ladder. Once her feet were safely back on the ground, Remy didn't even stop to look at her surroundings and she rushed inside the treehouse.

The blonde stood, rigidly, and did not know what to do with herself next.

The last time Apollo was out at the treehouse was last year when there were goons escorting the room people outside. Ugh. Heartbreaking when he reflected back on that year and why couldn't he do much?? Why didn't he resist more? Stand up to them? Why was he so paralyzed?

But it seemed as good as any day to hang out at the treehouse again. So the second year wandered out onto the grounds, feeling relief in the breathability of the air. That was when he felt a raindrop. Oh crud. That would explain the freshness of the air though. It was nothing to do with the goons afterall. Hurrying up the ladder, the small Gryffindor paused at the top when he saw a housemate he recognized vaguely. Frozen ?

"Hello? Are you .. okay?" he waved his hand in front of her face.

It sucked being a first year with such magical limits. Remy was sure there was a charm that dried wet clothes, but she couldn't quite put her finger on the properties of it, nor would it be in her capabilities anyway.

Until this point, Remy hadn't looked at anyone around her as she was too self absorbed worried about herself. Suddenly, there was a hand being waved in front of her face and the girl adjusted her eyes to see who it was.

Ohhhh, no. Not today.

Remy had seen this boy a few times before, he was a fellow Gryffindor from what she remembered, but she had never properly met him. And she certainly hadn't hoped for it to be on a day where she looked like this. She didn't want to meet anyone looking like a drowned rat. "Oh... hi there." Remy loosened her rigidness. "Yeah, I'm okay... I just..." Wasn't it obvious? "... got soaked, trying to remember the charm that dries clothes." Not that she'd even attempt it, but it was something she would take a note to look up in the library later.

The Gryffindor chuckled softly, trying to laugh off the situation, despite DYING INSIDE.

Very inquisitive, she was indeed. She wanted to learn everything that she possibly could. Lisa wanted to know everything. She had always been curious about people and how things work. "Oh... Okay," she beamed and nodded. She would have to meet this special friend of Claudine's. Her eyebrows arched when she mentioned that he was a special friend and she let out an excited squeal. "That's amazing! Is it nice to have a special friend?" She wanted to hear aaaaaall about it.

Lisa was happy about all the questions Claudine was asking. She shook her head. "No, he doesn't have a lightsaber." It would have been awesome if HE DID have a lightsaber. Honestly she forgot if Flynn Rider did have a sword. She just remembered that he mostly spent time running around while Rapunzel held the frying pan. "Only one of the coolest and funniest characters of all time. He's got dark swoopy hair which sounds like your special friend so I'm just imagining that your boyfriend is Flynn Rider which makes me think that you're Rapunzel." It all made fantastical logical sense in her ever-imaginative mind.

"Mhmm." Ash was continuing with her relaxing drawing, preferring not to look at Atlas. He was much less relaxing than her art. Ash was painting a little bit of the fountain when- didn't Nem do this same thing to her? The thing where you just act super unconcerned and ignore people? Well, Ash was improving at it, but perhaps in this situation it was better to remain engaged in the conversation. And not act exactly like Nem. Maybe.

"That's alright. There are like, ten wizards who say they like to talk to me and five who I know don't lie about it. That's enough, I suppose." It really wasn't, but she said that it was and he better believe it.

"I don't judge people I don't know. I judge institutions and people I do know. Is this about that ill-fated therapy session? I don't hate you and your family or whatever." If that's why he didn't like her. Individual government workers were fine. But together, they made an institution that failed her completely.

"How do you know I can't understand?" There was the first emotion in her voice, subtle but there. It was unclear which emotion it was. Maybe anger. Maybe sadness. Maybe disappointment. Maybe pain. Who knew? Not Ash, and probably not Atlas. But it was the first time she had showed any emotion, so that comment must have struck a nerve.

Because Ash. Was. Pretty. Sure. That. She. Could. Understand. How did he know that she didn't know what she was talking about?

"Is that opinion about me not based off of things that you don't understand yet?"

Because Atlas knew almost nothing about her, not even about her easy-to-find past. He had no idea why she was the way she was. So maybe neither of them should be making assumptions. Just a thought.

"Because they aren't good at it. It's all 'hey Ash, how are you' until we have to partner up or I'm in danger. Then it's 'you're stupid and I can't believe you'd be so reckless even though you have no friends and your life is one big traumatic mess. I can't believe you'd be like this... etc.'" She rolled her eyes. What did they expect? "Everyone could be lying, but some people are super good at lying. So I just accept them as my friends and know I won't be able to tell the difference. But a lot of people aren't good at pretending. I guess I'd be one of those people." She heard how people talked to/about her. She watched how they looked at her. Most people did not smile at all when she entered a room. Instead they cheerfully turned away.

"No, I'm not judging the people who run the institutions and try to fix them. I'm sure the majority of people working there are great and fine and awesome etcetera. But the institutions still have flaws, don't they? And yeah, it's not about me or you. It's about the wizarding world as a whole, and I would say that our trauma reflects that. And I'm not going to say that it's anyone's fault the institution failed, but there have got to be cracks somewhere. Maybe in the chain of command. If a few people at the top are bad or mind-controlled, then they have way too much power. Maybe that's it. Maybe it's something else. I don't know."

"I'm sorry about your dad." Ash could guess that Atlas was all mad because he thought of his dad whenever she complained about the government. But she thought he should take her side on this- it didn't seem all that hard to kidnap, subtly get rid of, or corrupt good people at the ministry. And it seemed really super hard to get rid of bad people at the top. That was another problem. She thought this could be fixed if individuals had more power, but whatever. Maybe it was better to not mention that right now.

Ash was back to her usual, hiding all emotions until they explode, trying to embody Nem with her absolute calm that she was trying to maintain really hard.

"mhhhm. And how do you know that I have never had enough empirical evidence to know that something went really wrong in the government?" Because it seemed pretty clear. Ahem. The school got taken over for a year. Many important people got kidnapped. Bad people became in charge of the government. And the government as a whole kinda just stayed there. It was a resistance group that finally got people to come to Hogwarts. Ash didn't forget.

"And why do you think I think the worst case scenario has happened every time? Why do you think I'm, I don't know, like this?" Ash was curious. Did he think she was born a pessimist? Because she... hadn't been. She was born happy, and every year she just went downhill. "And do you really have enough empirical evidence to say that I don't want to understand?" To write her off as ignorant and hopeless. To know that she couldn't or wouldn't understand.

Ash was interested. It showed. Here was someone actually willing to admit how much he didn't like her and why... she could actually use this information. It was reasonable to bet that Atlas did not like her for the same reasons as a bunch of other people. Gemma, for example. Another good thing about this is that she now knew she wasn't wrong when she assumed everyone thought she was stupid. She KNEW she wasn't liked. Now she could stick her tongue out at all the people reassuring her that they loved her while secretly disliking her. She was onto them. So she was happy to let Atlas continue on his unnecessarily philosophical speech about how he was better than her, so long as he kept feeding her information like this.

"Do you think you're better than me?" Ash really wanted to know. This was so fascinating. So fascinating she forgot to ask that question coldly.

Fortunately for the first year, meeting him was probably a good thing when she looked like that since he didn't notice. At least not to the point where she looked worse for the wear than himself.

But apparently she was vain enough to want to dry her clothes. Or just uncomfortable. He glanced outward at the wet grounds a moment before looking back at her. "Oh. I think uh ... There's a hot air charm. But wouldn't it be better to wait until you get back to the castle. Since like then you only have to do it once." he also didn't really want to admit that he wasn't hundred percent certain of the incantation and he would have liked to check his book again. But using laziness as an excuse might work ??

Huh.

Hot air charm. Remy was glad someone was here to tell her that because those words hadn’t crossed her mind at all. She would’ve probably ended up casting incendio on herself! Nah, not really, although she couldn’t wait to learn that charm. The dangerous spells were much more fun.

Her clothing was starting to stick to her now and it felt HORRIBLE, causing a pouty expression on the Gryffindor’s face. She was a drama queen, okay? Remy followed the boys gaze to the grounds and then back to him with a sigh. It was still pouring down so they’d might as well make themselves comfortable here for a while.

“Good idea.” Remy found a cushion inside the treehouse and let her backside fall into it. She knew instantly it would be very hard to get back up again. “Wanna hang out for a bit?” The little Gryffindor asked, hopefully not trapping the older student.

Remy started… “A - what was your name again?” Remy had pretended not to know, but of course, she knew that it was Apollo Adara-Stark. Ahem. “My name’s Remy.” Since she was sure he wouldn’t know her. She hadn’t been able to build up her REP yet.

A special friend was someone you got to talk to about what’s bothering you and fun stuff like going to Espresso Patronum for what-a-what? Caramelattes? What were those? She scrunched her nose, glancing up at Claudine. “What’s a caramelatte?” Was it a coffee beverage of some sort? Whatever it was… it sounded very adult which Lisa was far from being that adult. She did like the idea of having someone to talk to exclusively about things and getting their advice. Did she kinda have a special friend?!? She bit her lip. She didn’t know. She had friends… “Did you guys choose each other as special friends?” How did this process work? She also remembered sifting through ‘applications’ for a one Minjae Yoon in her brother’s room. Whatever that meant… she wasn’t entirely sure. “Or was there an interview or application for it?”

“I don’t know if he had a name. I think most of the Princes had a name like Charming or something.” Whether or not they were charming was a different debate. “I think that’s what the Prince from Snow White was called.” A look of disgust crossed her face when she said Snow White and she rolled her eyes. ”I can’t STAND Snow White. Her voice is too sugary sweet and bleh. Makes me want to pull my hair out.”

Lisa GASPED!

Claudine didn’t know what she was referring to!?!?

“Does Hogwarts have a DVD player in their Muggle Studies classroom? You’ve got to see Tangled! I think YOU’LL love it.” Lisa would make sure that her new friend had seen it so she could understand the references.

For Kita-face and Samuel! <3
 

wrapping up ^_^
 

Caramelattes sounded DIVINE. Lisa listened to Claudine describe them. Her eyes grew wider and her stomach let out a weak grumble at the description. Mmm... she really wanted one badly. She nodded, making a mental note of asking her parents and telling her siblings to bring her there. “What about the house elves? Do you think they could make one for me if I asked really NICELY?” OOOOOOOOORR maybe she could experiment in the kitchens?

NO INTERVIEWS? And .... NO APPLICATIONS?

Well the poster that her brother had put up for a one Mr. Minjae Yoon was quite deceiving. Lisa had read it in Diagon Alley and automatically presumed that this was how the natural way the world worked. But apparently it was not so! No application or interviews were needed for special friends. She scrunched her nose. “How do you ensure they are qualified for the special friend role?” she asked perplexed. Besides wasn’t a date just a different from of interviewing?

Claudine didn’t remember either about the Prince’s names. See! She wasn’t going crazy. She wondered if other people thought of these things in the same way. Most likely. She raised BOTH eyebrows as Claudine said she was sweet and had a sugary sweet personality. “Only cause I’m in a good mood and you’re nice. I’m not nice to people who are mean to me...” she explained with a shrug. Besides she still was on her best behaviour. She had promised her eldest brother to.... regretfully ... BEHAVE. “Snow White’s voice is annoying and makes her sound like a damsel in distress. That’s my issue with her. I don’t want to be the princess waiting around for someone to save me. I want to be able to save myself. I aspire to be like Mulan or Megara or Merida. Or maybe all three!” With a dash of Belle but Lisa liked the M name theme that she was going with. Ooh! And she wanted Tiana’s work ethic.

How did Lisa know?

The little Ravenclaw chuckled. “Oh. Because.... I know! Come on let’s go watch it nowwwwwwww. I know you’ll love it. Trust me.”

Yes, the paper aeroplane had reached him.

It also made him trip and stumble while he rushed to the kitchens but that was beside the point.

This was a picnic, and he couldn't go to a picnic without bringing something he'd made. It was why, on this day, Sammy could be seen clutching a plate of brownies and cookies (yum!) as he climbed the stairs of the treehouse to find his sister. Better safe than sorry, right?

"Cece!"

This moment right here made the third year feel a lot younger than he actually was - and he wasn't complaining. It was a familiar sight, seeing Cece waiting for him in a treehouse with snacks. It was almost as if they were back at home, being kids, and she was about to start telling him some stories.

Approaching her, Sammy kneeled down to place the plate on the floor. "I hope you're hungry."

"Am I ever not hungry, Sam?" Cece grinned, plucking a brownie from the top of the plate and wasting no time taking a bite. He'd gotten better at this whole baking thing, if that was even possible. "You-" She managed between bites, "Are an epic baker. You should have a bakery some day. I can taste test all your creations!" Hey, yeah! Then she'd have her career sorted and he'd have his career sorted and they'd both be set. Who knew it could be that easy?

Once the brownie was finished and she was settled comfortably against the wall, a cookie in her hand just in case the urge to snack hit her again, the blonde turned her attention properly to her little brother. "So, it's been ages. Catch me up on life?" Those third years could be a crazy bunch, so she was sure he had updates to give.

Up for grabs!
 

Ingrid
 

The tree house was simply magical. There was just something about it that always made Ingrid’s imagination wander off to places unknown. Maybe it was just the fact that it was so high up or simply because she was out in nature but something about it really struck a chord with the third year Ravenclaw. Also, it was just so fancy too. It was practically a house and the fact that it was just here for the kids of Hogwarts to chill in at their leisure just blew her mind continuously. Still, you wouldn’t hear this Ravenclaw complaining about it.

With a large sigh, she hauled her rucksack full of books onto her back and began heaving them up the rope ladder. Judging from the ladder itself, it seemed as though someone had the same idea as her but she didn’t mind one bit. Company was always nice when it came to places like these. As she got to the drop, she hesitated for a moment and froze, eying the entrance hold and then the backpack that was weighing her scrawny little arms down on the rope ladder. Could she fit through with it on her back? Maybe. Was she about to try and get stuck? No.

“Errrr…excuse me? Someone in there? Can you give me a hand? My backpack is a little heavy and I can’t fit through the hole with it on,” grunting slightly as she took a deep breath. Why she hadn’t chosen the stairs was a question for another day. Gingerly, Ingrid manouvered it off of her back and into one hand as she held on with another. Maybe this was a sign that she should actually do some physical exercise. Nah. Couldn’t be.

Okay, so maybe Ash was making it a little hard for other people to follow what she was saying. But hey, they judged her whether they understood her or not, so it didn’t really matter. Maybe she didn’t want them to understand her. Maybe Atlas would hate her even more if he understood her. Maybe that was because she was a bad person. Or maybe because he was judgmental. Or maybe they were both horrible and judgmental. Who knew.

Ash smiled. He was insulting her now, wasn’t he? And pretending not to. Well, she’d let him pretend. They were alike, sorta. Maybe that was why they couldn’t stand each other.

“So, what I have written is:
I don’t want to understand any perspectives other than my own, I talk and think confusingly or irrationally, uhhh and also you think we are not supposed to interact. Like whatever analogy you were using, but also like two negative sides on a magnet. Um and the government isn’t as cruel as I think.” She clicked her pen, wishing she had glasses to adjust to make her look extra official. “Did I miss anything? Don’t think so...” She was pretty sure that was what he said.

He never answered her question about if he was better than her. But it was alright. She wasn’t sure she wanted to know. “Anything else you’d like to add that you haven’t said yet?” Maybe something about how she was a terrible person? Or maybe something nice for a change? Anything at all? He looked like he was gonna leave soon, and she wanted to get all of her notes down first. “Even if it’s hurtful, you can say it. I’m trying to understand your perspective.” Did she really want to know why people didn’t like her? No. But hey, knowledge is power.

”Nice spider.” Maybe they could end this interaction on a neutral note. A girl could dream.

"And am I ever not ready for some Cece stories?" he sat down, grabbing one of the treats that Cece had brought with her. This was just like old times, wasn't it? Except, he wasn't just baking weird cookie shapes with too many chocolate chips.

And speaking of baking, "You think so? My own bakery?" His eyes lit up at the idea. He could try to figure out the details but how can he focus on that when this was a lot more exciting? "Of course you can taste test! You can get anything you want in the store, too." His own bAKERY! Imagine that!

Sammy let out a sigh. "Well," There was a small pause while he munched away. "Kizzy and Matty are official. I think. Like, dating-dating. And Emm........ has moved on." Happy? He was. But his sister needed some context too. "His name is Ezra and she seems quite happy. But," And there was another pause, one where he could clear his throat. "she said she was trying to make me jealous." And that wasn't hard to. forget.

And he wasn't even going to go into how he was the last out of SKEEM to get any kisses.

"Sooooo, what's been going on with you?"

Hey, Ash was a Ravenclaw. She liked to make lists. She liked to do research. She liked to see what made people uncomfortable. Atlas did seem to be uncomfortable with this whole 'making a list of bad things about myself' thing. People always got uncomfortable around this point, when she asked them exactly what their problem was with her. She thought that Atlas would be different, but apparently not. She sighed. Maybe there would be someone else who disliked her that she could ask.

She turned back to her artwork and laughed hollowly. "Next time you see me, I'll be all fixed." It was a joke, obviously. There were some things that she didn't see as problems. And there were some things that couldn't be fixed. There might not even be a 'next time we see each other', and that was probably good for both of them.

If Atlas was listening closely (no guarantee that he was), he could maybe here an faint "I'll ask Upstead next." They were the only other option. She had already talked to Kinsay, Emmerson was of no use, and Ash didn't know who else to ask. Plus, they didn't seem like they'd get too uncomfortable if she asked "what are my character flaws?"

If Apollo could read Remy's thoughts, he definitely would have been in hundred percent agreement with her. Because yes, what was life without a little excitement?!? BORING, that's what! Like some of his older family members. He was amused by the younger girl's pouting but like honestly it was kind of endearing. In a totally platonic way, cause EW.

He gazed out at the pouring rain and then back to the first year and shrugged. "Sure. May as well. I'm Apollo." He pulled up a cushion next to her. "Remy. What a cool name. What's it mean?" Also, was it short for something or did she have a name like his that couldn't really have any cool nicknames, but was cool in its own right?

The second year glanced down at the wood, picking casually at it. "You liking Hogwarts so far?" Cause yea, he knew she was a first year.

Remy felt herself get a little shy when Apollo pulled up a cushion beside her, even more so when he complimented her name. She had grown up hating her name, because it was often used as a boys name too, however it was growing on her. It DID have many nickname options, actually. Remylemy, Remyroo, Remdawg (her personal favourite). “Thanks, umm, I dunno what it means.” Truth. “It’s French, though, but I am not French.” Obviously.

“Nice to meet you, Apollo.” Remy continued to sigh at her wet clothes as they were starting to get uncomfortable. “You’re a second year, aren’t you?” She knew he was. “Can’t you do the hot air charm???” Atlas would be able to help her, she was sure of it, so she had every faith that Apollo could help with this.

“Of course. Although I can’t wait to be a second year.” Remy grinned. There was something mature about being second year and above. First years often got painted with that same annoying brush. “And summer is going to be really fun.” With visits from her bestie, eep.

Huh. Interesting. He would have thought it was normal for people to want to know what their name meant, especially when it was unique. "French. Your parents like France or something?" Or just French names.

He nodded. "Yes. Second year. Although the way my first year went, sometimes I wish I could have had a do-over." He hated the fact that he had a dark wizard for the gryffindor head of house, for instance. It was almost like not even having any house head. "Yea. I can do it." He was just lazy and didn't want to have to do it twice.

"Second year is okay. But third year will be even better cause we can go to Hogsmeade! But like, second year is cool. We're not the babies. And we can have our own brooms." He paused. "You fly?" He looked over at her. "yea? Why is summer going to be fun?"

What? What a random question. “No?” She didn’t think they’d ever been to France, actually. Her dad may have been for work. “They obviously just wanted their kid to have a totally awesome name.” Remy half smirked. “Do your parents like rockets or something?” Hehehe, she was just joking with the fellow Gryffindor. Apollo… Apollo 13… geddit?

GULP.

“Yeah… I, ummm, have heard all about it.” Although she didn’t feel she had heard even a scratch of the surface. “I suppose I can’t complain about my first year…” Duh, Remy, why were you such an idiot?!?

“Yay!!” Remy sat up a little straighter and faced Apollo, ready to be dry again. Once again, she was far too trusting.

Exactly!! Apollo hit the nail on the head. “Yesss… being the baby is the worst.” Especially when her birthday was so late in the term. Can you believe she was still boring ELEVEN, when all her friends were twelve and thirteen now? ;___;

“Ehhh… I can fly.” She wasn’t good at it but she certainly wasn’t awesome at it. “Don’t think I’ll take it up as a hobby, though. Are you good at flying?” Remy was noticing all of the questions from him so remembered to bounce them back to him. “WELL… my best friend, Ollie, is coming to stay with me for a week… we’re gonna have slumber parties, go camping, go shopping… it’s gonna be awesome…” there - word vomit finished. Did she have time to ask him about his summer plans??

Nope. “Also my sister is home for summer so I’m looking forward to hanging out with her.” Aaaaand, breathe…

Oh well that was a dumb thing to ask, Apollo. He shook his head. "I don't think they were very into space at all, actually," He frowned, now wondering where they DID get his name from. He never actually asked them. "Guess they just wanted a unique and awesome name for a unique and awesome kid," He grinned sheepishly, having mimicked her own answer about her name.

"I mean, considering we're basically all in therapy this year with that bread healer lady, it'd be impossible for you to not have heard something." Made him wonder though, would she have been in the room? Was it inappropriate to ask about blood status nowadays? He didn't really care, but there were some pureblood elitists that did, apparently.

He frowned when she sat up straighter. OH, she wanted him to cast it now?? Well, dummy, of course, why else would she have asked you if you knew how to cast the hot air charm? Suddenly he was feeling anxious and he wasn't sure if it had to do with the fact that they were in a treehouse that could catch flame if he mis-cast or just the pressure. Did he have to cast now? She hadn't specifically asked him to cast right now, so maybe just uh .... not, for right now.

"I'm okay at flying. Weirdly my parents didn't want me to try flying until i officially got to hogwarts, which sucked cause like my grandparents played at the Hufflepuff team and like, my mum's whole family did. Some of them even went pro. But my parents weren't really that into flying, so guess that's why they wanted to wait for me to fly until I got to Hogwarts." He shrugged, "That sounds fun. Ollie goes to Hogwarts? Or is she from ... home? How old is your sister?"

Remy laughed a little, proving her point that you didn’t have to have a reason to be named something other than just being awesome. She held up her hand to initiate a high five. “There you have it. We’re just cool.” And superior with these names. He had described himself as unique and Remy was very interested to find out why.

She shuddered when he mentioned Healer Poppy and her bread. Personally, she had no evidence about it being a bad situation, she only took Ash’s word for it. “True. A lot of my best friends were here last year and,” she bit her lip, “… I feel like I don’t know what to say to them about it.” She understood that nothing SHE did would help, but she wished there was.

Her brow lifted a little, and she slouched back into her cushion. Perhaps Apollo didn’t know the hot air charm, otherwise he’d have done it by now. If SHE knew the hot air charm, she’d be performing it all the time. She loved showing off her magical skill, and she was pretty decent at it for the most part. This has decided that she’d be teaching herself later. “Hmpth.” Couldn't help but get that in there.

Woah. Apollo sounded like he had a real Quidditchy family, apart from his parents. Which was super duper cool. “I started flying at school, too.” Remy nodded. She didn’t mind too much, since flying was cool but it still scared her a little. “What team did your family play on?!” The ones that went professional, she referred to.

GASP. He didn’t know Ollie? “She comes to Hogwarts, she’s in Slytherin.” This was all vital information, obviously. Oooh, questions about Ahnya. “My sister is 19… she’s training to be a healer right now.” She added proudly. “Do you have any brothers or sisters?”

Apollo grinned when she said it and reached over to slap her hand high five. "Just cool, yes," He beamed. As for the unique thing, well, they were all unique technically.

He might not have caught the hint that she wanted him to perform the hot air charm, but he did notice her shudder at Healer Poppy. "I mean, i guess it depends. If you had no muggle parents or grandparents, and you laid low, you probably would have been safe, just had to witness it all happening. It does make things challenging to go from learning to not speak to going back to answering questions though. Since it was a year of just, is this safe to say? Or am I going to meet my demise with that answer?" He paused, picking at his robe sleeve which he only just noticed was getting a little short. "So uh... you have best friends older than you? Did you like meet them before school or something?"

What was that small sound? "What's wrong?" He might not have picked up on the hint to dry her, but he did notice sound effects.

Oh, so it was normal to wait until school to start flying? But hadn't Serena started before? Guess every family was different. "Uh a few teams. Kestrals like a few decades ago. I think two uncles actually played for them. And my grandmum played for the bats in like the late 60s. Oh and i have a cousin who just accepted a position on puddlemere's team, so that's current." Mm, yea. Think that maybe covered it.

"Oh. My best friend is a Slytherin too. Isabella. She's a second year, like me, but she probably knows Ollie." Oh. "No siblings for me," he shook his head sadly. "I mean sometimes I guess Bella is like a sister, but yea. Healer though? My grandmum is one of those. She'd probably be happy to mentor your sister if you wanted."

Divination LTA dream 1
 

Being 0outdoors helped calm Evan and that had remained a constant throughout the term. So when it occurred to him he needed to try working on his dream journal, the Treehouse seemed a natural place to go. He searched for a spot that was more secluded than the others, grabbing a couple of pillows and blankets and making himself a small secluded fort.

He knew he'd need the help from the light sleeping potions, so he'd grabbed a few of those and took one out from his bag once he was comfortable and fairly certain he was alone. It took a minute for the courage to drink the potion, but he was eventually able to do so, throwing it back before laying himself down amongst the pillows and closing his eyes.

One, Two, Three, Four...

He didn't even get to counting to five before he was asleep and he found himself on a mountain top. It was cold, it was tall and surrounding by clouds, so much so he couldn't see anything of what the bottom might look like. There was a fresh blanket of snow around him and he could feel in his bones another was about to layer atop it. And all he had in the clothes was a short sleeve shirt and a pair of his favorite gym shorts he usually reserved for a run or dance practice.

His teeth began to chatter, and he spun in a tight circle on the tip of the mountain, hoping to find anything that looked different. But there was nothing. It was just him and so much ... nothing. He was alone, and that thought made his teeth chatter even harder as his arms wrapped tightly around himself.

And then there was a gust of wind.

So strong, it knocked him off his balance, and suddenly he was tumbling down the side before a rock launched him into the air and began a long freefall. His throat ached as a scream wrenched out of him. And then... he was awake.

And fairly positive the yelling part had actually happened. He quickly grabbed his journal, hunkering further into the pillows out of embarrassment, hurriedly jotting down the whole thing into his journal so he could more effectively hide out until everyone was gone and he could escape back to the comfort of his dorm.