It was a beautiful day outside, and Alice saw it just as good as any to sit outside. Alice didn't usually go outside, but it was just so nice, she knew she had to.

She picked a big tree near the lake, and sat down under it, pulling out her notebook, and writing random words. It was an exercise she liked to do. It helped her visualize what she wanted to write about and at the same time looked quite cool. It was nice to be alone. Just Alice. She really wanted to meet someone new, but didn't want to force anyone to be her friend.

So, she sat there. And she wrote.

Dessa carried her book very resolutely outside. She hadn't proceeded a page forward since arriving at school, her attempts always being thwarted by homework, or friends, or the occasional common room fight. This really bothered her, since she had always been an avid reader, and didn't want to lose that now.

She paused for a moment on her way over to a nice spot beside the lake, in order to take in exactly where she was. She still had these moments every now and again, where she'd freeze up and just wonder at her surroundings. Not just the physical ones (although the fact that she was at a magical boarding school and could at any moment expect to encounter everything from moving staircases to pony professors was not lost on her), but just the whole idea of being here, away from home. Learning how to make things happen with nothing more than sheer willpower, and a wooden stick--er, wand (which she had secretly named Lorna, for reasons unknown even to herself).

Plus, it was just honestly really, really pretty here.

The grass feeling springy beneath her feet, Dessa made her way over to a tree that seemed promising, and upon arrival, saw that Alice was already occupying it. Her friend seemed to be busy scribbling away in a small notebook, and not in the mood for talking. That was just fine with Dessa, so she nodded hello, and settled herself on the opposite side of the trunk. She opened her book and took a whiff of the pages, reveling in the smell. Dessa loved the way books smelled.

OOC: can I send the link to this thread to everyone?

The sound of Rico's "Saturday Song" woke her up. Her obnoxious twin was at it again. She pulled on a T-shirt and comfy slacks, no classes today, no homework. She decided that Rico usually played football on Saturdays, today was no exception. She would intend on meeting him down by the lake.

He would show up, he always did.

Early that morning, as the sun rose, Lexi had opened her eyes in a different place than usual. She had no memory of the night before, and she hurt everywhere. That moment, then and there, she decided that full moon's suck. The trip back was uneventful, they traveled by floo powder from the Ministry to Hogsmeade, and then back to Hogwarts. By the time Lexi had gotten back to her dormitory, it was empty, save for a note on her bed from Dessa.

Hey Lex, if you're feeling up to it, come join us outside. You can watch us play football, or play if you want. -Dessa

Lexi smiled weakly, at least someone was thinking about her. She stretched out her stiff joints and aching muscles, and took a bite of the chocolate she had. She changed into blue jeans, a black shirt, and her maroon sweatshirt. She slipped her feet into her black ankle-high combat boots and laced them up. Another bite of chocolate, and she made it down to the common room.

She walked out into the grounds, and spotted Alice, Dessa, and Mercedes. The former two were sitting under a tree, their noses in books. Mercedes was standing out in the open, looking around as if she was waiting for someone. Gripping the strap to her bag, Lexi walked over to her friends, and took yet another bite of chocolate.

"Hey you two," she said quietly. She sat/fell down next to Dessa and leaned up against the tree. Her hair was pulled back into a loose ponytail, and that was about the only normal part of what she looked like. She knew that Alice was going to worry over the scratch marks on her neck, and the huge bags under her eyes. but that was the Hufflepuff way...

Dessa startled at Lexi's voice, and became far more alarmed when her friend plopped down beside her, and Dessa was allowed a clear view of her face.

"Lex, I'm glad you got my note." she further examined her friend's face, and cringed. "You look lovely this morning dear," she continued, hoping humor would lift the spirit. All the same, she dug in her pocket and produced one of the now famed Hershey's kisses, shoving it into her Lexi's hand. "Sorry I can't make it fly, but it ought to have the same affect. So tell me, on a scale of one to receiving a Ziva beating, how bad was it?"

Lexi giggled slightly as she ate the hershey kiss, "We're resorting to the Ziva scale now?" She asked. Thinking back to the summer, when the two had obsessed over a muggle TV show, and the toughest fighter was a mossad trained assasin, Ziva.

"I feel like I took a seven or eight, maybe more, but I've been eating alot of wizard chocolate." She stretched out her back slightly, hearing the joints pop as they tried to get used to their normal human form. A horrified look crossed Dessa's face.

"Oh, that's normal," Lexi said. "I'm not really that broken. Sort of."

Dessa raised her eyebrows. "Reassuring." she said dryly, before popping one of the candies herself.

"And yes, yes we are resorting to the Ziva scale. We're just nerds, and nothing can be done for it." Dessa was just happy to see that even after her transformation, Lexi was still able to smile and joke. Her mind drifted to her lessons, and she remembered something from History of Magic. Harry Potter's father and godfather, James Potter and Sirius Black, had both been unregistered animagi, which allowed them to transform into animals and keep their werewolf friend Remus Lupin company (and keep him relatively safe) during his "time of the month". She wondered if it would be possible for her, and if Lexi would even allow it. Knowing her friend, Lexi would probably forbade them all, insisting that it was too dangerous. However, it was worth a try...

"So how about that History of Magic class?" she said, rather bluntly.

"Boring." Lexi said opening her bag. She pulled out a blanket, like the one you would use for a picnic and spread it out on the ground. She lay down on it and hugged her knees to her chest, looking back up at Dessa. "Why?"

She was curious as to why her friend would be asking her about HoM, one of the single most boring classes. At least, that's what she thought so far, well... They did talk about how Remus Lupin was a werewolf and how his friends were animagus. That was slightly interesting. "You can sit on the blanket by the way, if you want to."

Annette woke up to find no Alice, no note and no one in the dorms. Oh, Saturday, right... AH Saturday, Lexi transformed last night!She hopped out of bed and into a comfy t-shirt, with her favorite muggle TV show logo on it Doctor Who. The TARDIS matched her eyes.

She pulled on some jeans and a grey hoodie. She grabbed her knitting bag, slung it around her shoulder and headed for the lake. At least is she couldn't find Alice, she could always read under the big tree. She ran down the moving staircases and almost fell through the bottom of a changing one, a saintly Prefect caught her before she could fall to her death. After thanking this person, she continued to hop down the rest of the stairs and on to the green grass.

She jogged to the tree, looking for Alice, Lexi, Dessa, or any first year in particular. A flash of red hair gave it away. Lexi sat behind the tree with dark circles under her eyes, accompanied by none other that Alice and Dessa. "Good morning 'Warts students!" She plopped down next to Dess and pulled out her latest knitting project, a nice beanie for Alice. "So what are we planning this fine Saturday?"

"Sleeping." Lexi said, answering Annette's question about what they were going to do. "I am sleeping." She turned so that she was on her side, facing the trio. Annette had pulled her knitting out, it was fascinating. In a way. You could create so many things with two metal sticks and some string. The needles would click back and forth, Lexi could watch the process for hours.

She yawned widely. "You are way too hyper." She said, giving a small gesture in Annette's direction.

Dessa shifted eagerly onto the blanket. "Oh you know, I was just thinking about the lesson. I mean, isn't it cool how all Lupin's friend's became animagi? I'll bet that really helped him during his transformations." she ventured cautiously.

Good morning, 'Warts students!

Glancing up at the sound of Anni's cheerful voice, Dessa scooted over on the blanket to give her friend room. "Oh just some lazing around. Maybe a game of football."

Nette pointed her needle at Lexi. "Hey someone has to be, even if wittle wexi is sweepy." She said in her baby voice. She got back to her knitting.

Dessa leaned back to avoid the needle and laughed, "Hey, careful where you point those things! I don't particularly fancy a trip to the hospital wing!"

Lexi curled up by Dessa and lay her head in her lap, "Dessssaaaaa, tired." That was about all Lexi could say before her voice decided to be mean and break up. This was going to be fun. Annette resumed her knitting, thankfully not jabbing anyone with one of the pointy metal thingys that looked extremely dangerous.

"Watch out, you might just end up like my cousin, Edd...Oops! Annette teased. She never thought of knitting needles as weapons... Good idea