Lenore is just settling into a pleasant daydream when two things happen at once. First she's surprised by the arrival of Callista () and then downright startled by the arrival of a bag falling from the sky. When Marcia () lands beside them and apologizes Lenore blushes faintly, embarrassed at being caught off-guard.

"No problem. I don't mind assassination by book-bag." she jokes. "But you might want to work on your aim." Laughing she turns to greet Callista.

"Nice to see you Cal" She has no idea whether the girl will appreciate the nickname but it just comes out of her mouth. Looking quizzically at the glass bottle filled with dark liquid that Callista had taken from the basket she asks, "What are you drinking?"

When Marcia complements her clothes, Lenore takes a moment to respond. She was distracted by a commotion going on not far from where they were sitting. A young boy () was flailing wildly and shouting for another girl, apparently named Lily (), to come and join him. It looked as though the blue-haired girl () would not be enjoying her book today. She looked happy enough with the interruption though. Lenore, for her part, was glad that her own companions were of the quieter sort.

"...hmm? Oh, thanks. You look lovely too." Lenore finally responds to Marcia with a smile. After her upbringing, Lenore probably couldn't look low-class if she tried. Not that she ever would.

As she ordered more coffee from the basket, Lenore noticed that another girl () had taken her idea of conjuring a large pillow. She was sitting alone with her meal. By choice, Lenore wondered? She realized that she should really take the time to introduce herself to more people, especially now that she was Head Girl. It would be expected of her. Not wanting to leave her friends, Lenore took out some parchment and a quill. In her signature green-black ink she scrawled a note.

Feel free to join us if you like. You can bring your pillow.

She then used a hovering charm to send her note to the girl. Once she had finished, she noticed that the basket next to her was jingling insistently.

"Oh, sorry." she apologized to the basket as she took her coffee from it. Was it her imagination or did the basket respond with an impatient huff?

"Aye, he's a sweet beastie really," Zoe replied. "Thank ye. He was my present for becoming Head Girl. Name's Harold. Tales is around here somewhere, as is Lloyd."

When Lily's stomach growled, it seemed to remind Zoe's stomach that she was also hungry. A loud grumble issued forth. "I guess I'm hungry too," the girl said stating the obvious. She looked at the menu. "I'll have a double cheese hamburger with bacon, tomato, lettuce, onion and ketchup on top please, with crisps, Scottish Chocolate and Orange Mousse with Whisky for dessert, orange juice and Tetley's tea with milk, sugar and cream on the side. And some chopped up chicken for my cat, a carrot for my rabbit and a cup of berries, OH! some chocolate chip biscuits please." When her basket jingled, she smiled. She put the bowl of chicken beside her and Tales, the grey long haired cat, jumped down from his tree perch to indulge in the tasty treat. She gave her rabbit the carrot and set him close to Jona. Then she took out the tea service, which was a lovely blue Delph pattern and fixed her tea. She sipped some and sighed with pleasure. “Nothing like a good bit of tea. Well, save for my chocolate and orange mouse with whisky. But I’ll be good and not tuck into that until after my burgers and crisps.” She leant herself against the tree, which enabled anyone to see she had no shoes on—nor were there any pair near abouts either. She began her meal, managing to get ketchup on her jeans within mere seconds. Her old yellow singlet also fell victim to the ketchup. However, she left the ketchup where it fell and munched her burger happily unaware she was being scrutinised by others.

Knowing she was running a bit late, Elizabeth however did not hurry to leave the castle. She had been quite wary of the picnic, given they had already reached the colder months of the year. [img align=left]https://i.imgur.com/nBNbztm.png[/img]But then, it sounded like a fun and calm event. Taking some time to get ready, she grabbed her new jacket (a true gem she had discovered while she was in the US) and a book before heading out of the common room.

From afar, she could see the already gathered group of students. She recognized some faces, but mostly Zoe, one of the Head Girls(), obviously due to her amazing blue hair and waved at the group before she spotted the rather familiar group of Slytherin ladies, seated under a tree. ( ) She approached them carefully, not trying to fall over any of the pets, books or possible stones lying around. "How do you do?", she asked with a smile and perched on a free spot on the blanket.

The day was perfect as the dark haired boy hurried after the grayish dog bounding several feet ahead of him. “Dodger, no begging,” Drew called to his pet/friend. He knew all too well that while Dodger wouldn’t actually steal food from any of the students, he was adept at cocking his head just so and turning on the full poor puppy look. The mutt was an accomplished panhandler and had won himself many a treat in the past two terms Drew had been at Hogwarts. Boy and dog both knew that at some point it would happen again at the picnic, but at least it wouldn’t start out so obvious, Drew reasoned.

Reaching the area near the lake that had been prepared for the picnic, Drew noted two things right away. The first as that there were a fair number of students already there. Oh well, he’d run late because he’d been busy with schoolwork…and it still wasn’t all finished, but he was definitely in the mood for a break. The second thing was the shortage of males. He spotted the little first year Puffie he’d encountered at the welcome feast () with a blue haired girl (). Drew had to look twice to realize it was Zoe, one of the Head Girls he’d met on the Hogwarts Express during the Head Girl and Prefect meeting. Her hair looked different down. In fact…it looked pretty nice. You know…if you looked at that sort of thing. Which Drew didn’t really…or at least not often…or not so very often. He gave the group with Zoe a smile and moved on to find a vacant blanket.

Spotting a green and black plaid blanket, Drew made a beeline toward it. It seemed made for him in his favorite colors. Dropping his bag which contained a couple of books and his writing notebook along with his two favorite quills, Drew settled on the blanket and directed Dodger to sit as well. He picked up the menu, but as he wasn’t overly hungry just yet, a rare thing for the teen but one that did happen at times, he people watched for a bit. Seeing Lenore () and some other girls from his house, he waved and smiled, but made no move to join them as he assumed they were talking about clothes again as they did often in the common room. That topic was so over Drew’s head. Now books, that would be a different matter. He hoped that more boys would show up, like Mags and Merlin, but even as he thought it, Drew added in his head, And please don’t let this become a couples thing. He wanted just some pure fun after dealing with lessons, not more stress.

Zoe watched as Elizabeth waved to her. Shyly she waved back and watched as the other girl took her place amongst the other slytherin females. Drew, another slytherin gave her and her group a smile. It seemed she was being remembered now. It had to be the badge. Still it was unusual for her.

"Ooohh! Yes! Yes! Yes!" Jona hugged himself and wriggled in the grass where he lay. "My birthday is June 24th! I can't wait to get a dog!" Jona noticed Lily and Zoe getting food as he accidentally kicked his backpack. He sat up and looked at the bag, thinking about something serious it seemed. Then he said, "Eh, yeah, I'm still down to swim if either of you're interested. Food first?" Then he watched the rabbit eat its carrot next to him, totally rapt in the process despite how mundane it was. He was distracted only briefly as he noticed the Slytherin () he'd met at the feast. Jona toook a mental note, making sure to go talk to the boy later.

' Marcia laughed, "Oh, if I had wanted it to hit you, it would have. I don't miss." She replied somewhat seriously, but with a deviously joking grin.

Marcia turned to Elizabeth () as she arrived, "Welcome. It's a little chilly out here, but I'm doing well. How are you?"

Then she noticed Drew () settle in nearby and returned his wave politely.

Zoe laughed. "Well I'll file that away. Soon ye'll have a puppy to play with and run amok with." She couldn't help but think it'd be good for him since she got the impression he was lonely at home. Maybe she was wrong though? "Aye, eat first. I'm sure ye'll find something to yer liking. Then we can swim"

Lily pondered a while what she'd order. She finally went for a simple baguette with ham and cheese and an apple for a snack. She munched happily on her food while she watched Zoe () feed her pets. She felt guilty she didn't think of Burr... Who was still up in the tree watching below.

"Aren't you hungry, Jona?" () she wondered why he kicked his bag but was distracted by Drew () who waved at the group. She waves back with a friendly smile. "What kind of dogs do you like?"

Jona snagged a menu, quickly ordering a chicken sandwich and a glass of horchata. Munching on his sandwich, he responded to Lily's question: "Mmhmm. I didn't realize how hungry I was till I saw you guys start eating." He took another monstrous bite out of the sandwich, stretching his cheeks out wide like a chipmunk. Mostly answering Lily's question again, but including both of them in the conversation after swallowing what he had in his mouth, Jona said, "I think I'd like a fluffier dog that I know'll run with me. Like a shepherd or collie of some kind." Jona made a sideways glance at the Slytherin boy's aussie (), squealing at the thought of having one of his own. He took another bite of his sandwich, nearly finished with it after only three bites. "Definitely something big, though. I don't do tiny dogs." He cringed at the thought of having a chihuahua or something like it,, biting at his ankles and yapping at every person who walked by. He shook off the thought and smiled, replacing that thought with the idea of going swimming and making friends with a the giant squid in the lake. He ordered a second sandwich, this time tuna, and a few peanut butter cookies as well.

Zoe finished her burger, but never bothered to clear off the ketchup. They were old clothes anyway, she figured. She envied Lily's ability to carry the conversation. Zoe didn't seem to know what to say most of the time and Jona often perplexed her. "I don't know much about dogs," she admitted. "Other than they are related to wolves."

Outfit Not Found

& & &

"You look good too, Marcia," Callista says, and sets Sabrina's lunch out first, so the cat will stay out of hers.

Lenore's nickname amuses her.

"Good to see you too, Lenny. It's Diet Pepsi. It's a muggle drink, but my sister and I get it sometimes when we're travelling because it's one of those things that's the same pretty much everywhere. Plus, it doesn't have any calories."

She looks up when Elizabeth joins them. "Oh, hello Elizabeth, and -- hi, Drew!" She waves to him, too.

Paddy double checked the notice to make sure that her pet would be allowed, and hurried down to the lake. As she passed a girl with blue hair () (who Paddy was sure was either a prefect or a head girl), she realised Snowden wasn't beside her. Whistling for him, she turned and realised he was running straight towards the blue-haired girl. Dashing over, Paddy hoped she would be able to scoop him up before he got himself into trouble.

Niamh found a blanket that wasn't too close to the lake, and sat down. She loved being outside, but she wasn't too sure if her cats Lick and Rish would try chasing anything that might be living in the lake. The strange fur-covered girl ran past her chasing after her puppy, and Niamh laughed with relief that so far her pets had been quite well behaved. Looking at the menu options, she figured the menu must be like the ones they had at the Triwizard Tournament, and said "pumpkin pasties and chocolate biscuits" to the menu. She jumped at the jingling sound the bsket suddenly made, and both her cats ran to the safety of the nearest tree. "I'm not climbing that tree to rescue you if you get stuck," she called to them, knowing full well they didn't have a clue what she was saying. Munching on one of the chocolate biscuits, Niamh watched the other students, wondering if anyone she recognised would turn up.

"Yeah, dogs are cool." Jona licked his fingers after polishing off sandwich number two, just before starting on the cookies. "I think they're my spirit animal. I don't know for sure yet, but I will soon." He looked up at the girls with a gleam in his eye, wanting them to guess at what he meant. Silence lasted about forty seconds before he gave. "Oh, alright" He burst out, not really being able to withstand the patience it took. "Allen said if I want he's gonna teach me to be an animagus!" Jona sat for a minute to register their expressions - hopefully as excitement. "He said I have to wait until I'm fifteen -" Jona rolled his eyes at this and crossed his arms. "But! Once I finish my fourth year at Hogwarts, we'll start training!"

Lenore gave Elizabeth () a hug when she joined the group and then waved to Drew () as passed by with Dodge.

"Good to know." Lenore replied to Marcia () in mock seriousness, "I'll be on the lookout for your accessories from now on." She tried to keep her face serious but after a moment, giggled.

Lenore admired the beautiful Sabrina again while Callista () gave her a plate of food. Then she nearly choked on her coffee as she was called 'Lenny.' Eyes bugged and trying not to spew the hot liquid, she took a moment to swallow. She supposed she had asked for that, assuming a nickname for Callista.

"I'm usually called Noe." she laughed now, pronouncing the name Noh-ee. Then looking at the bubbling drink again she wrinkled her nose. It was a muggle drink at Hogwarts? She was half offended and half...was it curious? Her eyebrows knitted together as she thought about it and she was quiet for a moment until her musing was interrupted by a hair-covered girl () racing by after a dog.

Lenore watched in amusement. She knew the girls name was Paddy and recognized her for obvious reasons but she hadn't really gotten to know her.

And speaking of dogs, a white puppy made a beeline--or would that be dogline?--towards Zoe. The girl was attacked with slobbery licks which sent her in a fit of giggles. when she finally got up and pushed the doggy off her arm, she noticed Paddy standing in front of her. Snowden was now licking the ketchup spots off of her. "Hi, is this your doggy? Wanna join our little party? Jona would love to play with your pup. Name's Zoe."

"Ooh being an animagus would be cool. I'd be a cat, cos most of the time it follows your patronus. I hope you get to be your doggy, Jona."

Zoe heard her name and stood up. "One moment, I'm being called." The shoeless girl headed over to the slytherin girls. She stood in front of Lenore in her old muggle clothes--now with ketchup and dog slobber on them. "You called me, Lenore?" Zoe knew Lenore, well mostly by name and people watching.

Lenore looked up as a shadow blocked the sun. He eyes widened and she felt one eyebrow raise. The blue-haired girl had left her spot and was now standing in front of her, looking expecting.

"No..." Lenore said. As she took in the girl's appearance it went from bad to worse. Not only was she wearing muggle clothes, something that Lenore didn't approve of for wizards but had gotten somewhat accustomed to, but they were filthy. They were food-stained and dripping with...was that stringy stuff drool? And there were bits of grass clinging between the girl's naked toes. Lenore's proud nature reared up and she looked around herself, not wanting to be seen talking with someone so...uncivilized. She wanted to move closer to her more appropriate companions but good breeding kept her in place.

Zoe shook her head. "I heard you say Zoe," she insisted. Was that a snooty look? Unsure she didn't comment.

Comprehension dawned on Lenore.

"Noe." she said, "You heard me say 'Noe.' It's my name..er..nickname." She was caught off-guard and her usual graceful speech was faltering. Why did the girl have to be standing so close?

"What happened to you anyway?" she looked the girl up and down again, still trying to understand how anyone could be so oblivious to the fact that they were so dirty.

She cast a sideways glance at Elizabeth (), Marcia () and Callista ().

Zoe smile. "Cool we have names that are similar then, so we must be alike." The air of unapprovealness in her clothing was dismissed with a wave and a laugh. "Oh bit of ketchup and puppy attack. Its nothing." She extended her arm with the dermal piercings to shake Lenore's hand. And with the other hand waved to the other slytherin girls. "Zoe Parker, Ravenclaw." (), Marcia () and Callista ().