"I'm sorry I have to leave you, but I promise… As soon as I get back, I'll sneak off to see you. The second I can get away, I'll be right here." Willow was having a tearful farewell with her Tree. She knew without looking that the others were too.

They had already been at Hogwarts for a week. The Trees had travelled better than even Shaman Gagnon had expected.

Placed in the central tower, the six teens had worried and fussed over their Name Trees. It was a large, circular room with strange swirling patterns carved into the walls. The floor was much simpler; a few lines divided the room into six equal portions, connecting in the centre. Where they joined, a ladder led down to the castle.

"Me and Oak are staying with a wizarding family. I forget what the name is. They have four kids coming to Hogwarts, all in Gryffindor. That's where the Sorting Hat put me. I told you about this, remember? The old hat that once sat on Godric Gryffindor's head?" Willow rattled on.

Her Tree made an impatient gesture with one limb as if to say, "If you must go, you'd better get a move on!"

"Are you sure you'll be OK? You won't get lonely?" Willow was in truth asking herself these questions.

The Tree indicated the other Trees with a sweeping of the leaves. It had the effect of looking not unlike a windy day. "Of course not."

"Alright, I'm going," she hesitated, then asked the question that had been plaguing her since their arrival, "Why don't the English have Name Trees?"

It gave a very humanlike shrug as it placed her not too gently on the floor.

Willow took two steps before turning back, "We're not supposed to talk about Name Trees. If any student stumbles across this room, we're to say we're conducting an Advanced Herbology assignment. Isn't that the craziest thing? Only a fool would believe it!" She smiled as the great Tree shook with silent laughter.

Fern gave Willow a sad smile when they met at the ladder, "We came all this way, only to leave them day after day." She glanced back at her own corner, at the ferns that swept towards them like a living carpet. Willow had seen Fern lie down among the stems and the plant cover her protectively. The slight girl seemed to become a part of the leafy fronds, making one wonder where she had been.

Watching Fern's curly head disappear down the ladder, Willow thought of their mission. We must protect them. Without them, all is lost…