Next riddle already?

The Hufflepuff pouted as Oakey answered it. She gave him a nod. He had to be right, not that she knew much better. "Yeah, Gebo." She nodded pretending she remembered that word, or what it meant.

Still pouting she watched as Oakey spoke to the Professor about the unicorn. She looked at the magical creature and just wondered about its appearance by the forrests edge. Didn't these creatures not even like humans? She was sure they didn't. There had to be a really good reason as to why he/she was here. Maybe it was just lonely? Maybe there really was nothing to worry about. But Professor Barlow was a good idea. Yep. Yawn.

"Um..I'll go with if you want?" She looked at Oakey then at Botros then back at Oakey. She promised no screeching this time.

Ella had been quietly observing the unicorn as the rest of the badgers debated what the rune might be. It seemed that in the end, they went with the rune she'd suggested which made her feel quite good. Kind of like she knew her rune stuff, yeah? Yeah.

...

And there was Professor Botros, looking utterly confused. "He just turned up, Sir." Nodnod. Really! That's how it happened. "I think he must be frightened though he seems to like us..." Maybe. "He's been following along behind us the entire time." So could they maybe just hang out with the unicorn for a while? Hmmmmm?! Come on, it was a UNICORN! This was so cool! The blonde was sort of ignoring the part of her that wondered why the unicorn was here and what it was running from. Yup. She didn't want to know.

And...they were meant to go on, yeah? Botros was telling them to so Ella gave him and the unicorn a kind smile before continuing on.

"I think it's Gebo too. All about giving and taking and trading such." Nodnod. "I'll just erm...carve it then?" And she looked around for a general consensus from the group before pointing her wand at the wood. "Intaglio Gebo Gebo Gebo Gebo..."

So..."Erm are we done then?" And was someone going to get Barlow for the poor scared unicorn? Looks for Oakey Worm.

Minerva saw Professor Botros smack into Wade and she couldn't help but smile. She was glad he was here though, "Professor it keeps looking back like it's looking for something or upset. Do you think we need to let Mr. Firth know it wondered in?" It just didn't seem normal, she never really saw them just wonder into places where students were.

Then without any warning another puzzle appeared and just as she was going to comment on her thoughts of what it was Ella was already doing the spell. Well she hoped it was right since there wasn't much discussion before hand, but then again Ella was smart so there shouldn't be any problem. It was just odd that she didn't make sure all the puffs were in agreement before jumping to do the spell so quickly.

Minerva shrugged and decided to turn and watch the unicorn excitement again.

The answer was Gebo as the others had guess. Jory watched as Ella carved the rune. "Are we done?'' he asked.

He turned towards the Unicorn. "Something strange is going on in that Forrest,'' he said. A thestral and a unicorn heading in the Castle's direction was no coincidence. "We could let Mr. Firth know.'' The man had taken care of the Thestral problem.

It wasn't long after before Wade felt something collide into him. Thanks to his height and weight though, it didn't do more than take him by surprise. Oh, it was Professor Botros. "You alright there, Professor?" Wade helped him maintain his balance while listening for any further instructions.

Why did they send red sparks, "Well, as you can see, sir." He nodded his head in the direction of the lovely looking Unicorn nearby. The Professor seemed just as confused as they were. Hmm.. Well, if he insisted things were under control. This creature now gave Wade another reason to study one more..

Okay then. Wade then turned his head back after to see the next riddle.. just about solved. Cool. Wade smiled, they were nearly done it looked like.

Kace noticed the unicorn following the group again. He wondered what the animal wanted with the students. He was tempted to go over and pet it but decided not to. Once they figured out the previous riddle, Kace noticed they were faced with another one.

He agreed the Rune was Gebo, from what he heard from the group it stood for giving and trading. That is what the riddle intended to mean. He agreed with them and he saw Ella do the carving of the wood. "Nice job on the carving Ella!" He was pleased with the group and felt bad that he did not too much about Ancient Runes but at least he tried.

Then he noticed the Professor was there. He came into the maze wondering about the mysterious unicorn. Kace wondered if there were other unicorns in the other mazes. "Professor have the other houses seen unicorns in their mazes that you know of?"

The unicorn was cautiously watching the smaller humans as they did whatever they were doing. Then he heard crunching noises behind him and he suddenly saw an old male human show up and bump into one of the smaller ones. The unicorn was spooked by this sudden run in and flicked his silver tail back and forth, his golden hooves pawing at the ground.

But then the older man was approaching him calmly, so... maybe it was okay? The unicorn huffed some air out of its nose and sniffed the man's aura. He was still spooked, though, ears folded back and all.

Laura looked at the unicorn and continued to smile, she was move bothered about the Professor getting hurt that this teamwork, if the Professor got hurt how would they all cope, what with everything else going on, "Professor please be careful." Laura was a bit worried that he wouldn't be able to move in time if the Unicorn got spooked.

Eyebrow raised.

No, no, THIS was not normal, Professor. We know what you're trying to do and everything, but this is not normal AT ALL. Unicorns usually stayed in the forest unless something led them out. On purpose. Like dark wizards or acromantulas or...Merlin knows what.

Not that Lottie was trying to be overly dramatic about this, but this was unusual. Cool, though. And surely nothing to be worried about, which is why he wasn't freaking out.

It was hilarious, also, because Professor Botros seemed more frightened than the unicorn.

Hai unicorn. *waves*

Little Kace got a hair ruffle when he commented on her rune carving. He was incredibly adorable, yeah? She really wanted to pinch his cheeks too and was suddenly feeling quite a bit like Loch Nessie. She was the resident cheek pincher of Hufflepuff these days, right? Right.

And they were at the end of the maze but Ella didn't want to go anywhere so she sort of just stayed where she was, eyes on the unicorn that appeared to be sniffing Professor Botros. She wanted to move closer to the creature but didn't want to scare it and so instead she smiled and continued to watch. She'd read that unicorns preferred women but this one seemed to be okay around Professor Botros so...maybe it was still relatively young? Hm.

Kace smiled and squished his face adorably when Ella ruffled his hair. "I knew you couldn't resist ruffling my hair." He smiled and giggled. He knew his adorable charm worked on a lot of people but he wouldn't use it to his advantage. Or maybe he will???

Once the Professor told them the unicorn was normal, he noticed the unicorn was still there. Kace was looking at it and noticed it looked frightened. Awww it actually looked adorable when it was afraid. All Kace wanted to do was pet it but he knew he shouldn't it. He just wanted to comfort it but it was a wild creature, he had no idea how it would react.

Kace was waving at the unicorn *waves!* He was glad that the activity was over. He was proud of his housemates and all the team work they did.

Wade gave a little chuckle when Ella ruffled the little guy, Kace's head, especially at what he then said. "Well, seeing as we can't pet the Unicorn, you're the next one to pet." Wade then gave little Kace some pats on the back while giving a cheeky grin.

Then he looked back at the said Unicorn whilst they moved on. "Wonder if it has any family nearby.." He didn't know much on it's size and behavior, whether it was full-grown or not. Curious as he was, Wade kept looking back past the Unicorn at the forest from where it came from.

"No, no. No need to go anywhere." Smiling at the Head Boy and Girl, he waved his wand equals staff and a perfect silver Eagle burst out of the top flying toward Professor Barlow's hut. "He is scared." Botros agreed with the kids, softly, considering the fact that the unicorn didn't kick anyone in the butt even though they were significantly close. He was scared but not from them. Hmm.

Ab grabbed his staff closer to his chest and called out, "All students take off your bracelets, and join me when you see me as soon as the illusion goes away." They would see him with the unicorn and the Hufflepuffs easily considering that the four mazes were side by side. He was going to tell them about the puzzles and then dismiss them.

ooc: - As soon as your character takes off their bracelets, the maze will disappear and they will find themselves in the Grounds, not far from where the other houses are.

Awww they have to remove the bracelets? But Aquila has grown to really really like her bracelet.

Regretfully she took it off, and the maze melted away. She turned her head to see the rest of the class in collected clumps—exactly as they were when they were surrounded by the bushes of the maze. And then something caught her eye...

Gaaaasp. Was that a unicorn? And off she goes closer to the students in yellow, wanting to have a better look...

0___0

It really was a unicorn!

She clapped her hands softly to herself—this one looked SO PRETTY, and very much like those images in the books she’s read, unlike those strange horse-things that pulled the carriages. “Haaiii Unicorn!” she waved and beamed at the creature.

Blessed are they of simple joys.

West took his bracelet off and was disoriented for a moment before getting his bearings and going over to Botros. And a unicorn. Blink. That made the thestral thing even weirder no?

So he should mention...

"Professor? Some of us saw Thestrals coming out of the forest." It was weird right? Not just him? Not that West sounded panicked or anything and he just said so quietly...

Yeah. It was weird.

He peeked around to see if Bliss was anywhere to be seen, for maze reasons, but didn't spot her. Hm. Okay.

Jory watched as Professor Botros's eagle Patronus erupted from the end of his way and then made its way towards where Jory guessed to be Professor Barlow's hut.

So they were done! And all they had to do was to take off the bracelet. Jory reached for his yellow bracelet and pulled it off. Instantly, the maze vanished. Blinking, he looked around. There were the other Houses not far from them.

Just then he heard West mention Thestrals. So, there were more leaving the Forrest? Weird.

Okay, They were suppose to take off their bracelets now. That must mean this maze thing is over.

Shame it was quite fun.

Nigel took off his bracelet and watched the maze disappear. Awesome. He looked around to see where to go and spotted a unicorn. Weird. But he spotted the Professor close to the unicorn and the puffs. Nigel walked over and saw that it was a real unicorn. Well this was the first time Nigel ever saw one. It was awesomely awesome because unicorns don't like guys that much from what Nigel read.

When Sarah removed her bracelet and saw what was around her she was really surprised. She put her bracelet on again and the maze appeared thens he took it off again and saw it disappeared. It was an illusion. "Professor, that illusion was awesome, can you please teach me how to do it?"she asked

Then she spotted the unicorn, so innocent and all and she hoped Lafay never set her eyes on it.

Minerva listened as professor Botros gave more instructions. Slipping the bracelet off her wrist, she watched as the maze faded. Oh that was interesting.

Watching as the other students gathered, Minerva hoped that Professor Barlow would come soon for the unicorn. She felt bad that the creature seemed so scared. The unicorn was so pretty.

Now were they just done or would they get to see if they got the puzzles correct. She decided he was probably going to tell them who got the answers correct and stuff. How else would they know which house did the best.

Since the bracelet was only JUST managing to stay on Mo's hand, it was no great hardship to slip it off and stick it into his pocket. As soon as he did so, the maze disappeared, and Botros and the other students appeared across the lawn. And unicorns.

Well, why hadn't they had any unicorns in Mo's maze, hmm? He was particularly interested in magical creatures, after all. Mo stuck his hands in his pockets and shuffled off toward Botros and the growing group of students gathering around him.

Tag listened to the Professor's instructions and took off his bracelet. When he did the maze seemed to disappear and there stood the professor with a... with a.. with a... "UNICORN!"Tag said excitedly as he bounced up and down at the site. His head was jumping with joy. A unicorn stood there right by the Professor and as each second ticked by Tag found it harder to contain his excitement.

Besides trying to figure out the riddles, Tag really enjoyed this lesson because it was more hands on and individual and a bit more creative in terms of how it had been practiced. The blonde waited for the professor to speak soon again.

Oh. Bracelet off, then. Thank, Merlin, cuz it was YELLOW. And soon enough she was looking at the other students and Professor Botros, and hey, the unicorn was still there. That was very interesting information.

So, the creature was actually real, and messed with her mind, so she really had no interest in finding out which puzzles they got right or not. They could skip that part, because there was something far more interesting.

Her eyes landed on West. "Thestrals, too?" AGAIN? She was glad the unicorn decided to come to the Hufflepuffs, because she couldn't see thestrals. Wait, did that mean West could? Blink.

OHHEY! "We should go investigate." Oooooooh, that wasn't meant to be said OUT LOUD, Lottie.

Yeah, we see you, bouncy Tag.

Lex slipped the bracelet off without much problems. It wasn't blue so there was no particular attachment to it. Nothing special really. She took a look around, blinking a few times as the illusion left.

Wow...

Finally she spotted everyone gathering where the Puffers were. The Professor was there so that's where she was meant to go--oh hey a unicorn!! OH AND LOTTIIE!! Lex skipped over quickly and took a spot next to her with a wide grin. "You guys got a unicorn, cool!" Not shouting, just very enthusiastic speaking that was slightly louder than normal speech.

Lex looked to the Professor, at the moment she was waiting on a shoulder pat but she supposed that would come at the end of the class so she wouldn't say much on that for now. Oh and of course she was agreeing with the girl. "Mhm, investigating, we should!" She'd seen the thestral the other day and now a unicorn. They could both move into her dorm, she figured there was enough space once she moved out some of the beds of the other girls.

Snapping the bracelets off his hand as well and finally, Botros waited for a moment for everyone to gather around. "Yes, over here." He said every once in a while, leaving a good distance between them and the unicorn. Then Odessa mentioned Thestrals. Ab's furrowed his bow thoughtfully and nodded slowly. Unicorns and Thestrals showing up at the same time was not common.. or a good omen, if you ask him. "We should wrap up here quickly." And yes, it did interest him that some students were able to see Thestrals. Heartbreakingly cute.

When the Gryffindors came along, and the curious one wanted to learn how to do illusions, Botros laughed, "Aw, I'm afraid we'll have to wait for you to take all your classes at school before we can talk about making an illusion this big. Not far though! Just a few more years." He smiled and nodded, he would've patted her shoulder if she wasn't standing a bit in the back.

At least the students seemed pretty excited about the unicorn... Botros frowned a bit at the Hufflepuff kid who wanted to investigate, "Yeah, sure. We need to investigate." He nodded, half-mocking half-serious, "'We' being those who know enough spells to fill an entire book, not a few pages." Geddit? He was being subtle and politely superior.

"Quiet down, everyone, and let's say a few words before you're dismissed." He moved to the head of the crowd and waved his can toward the Hufflepuff's puzzle corner where two of the plank woods shattered. He gave the Badgers an 'aw' sympathetic look, "The boards shatter when it has the wrong rune. The first puzzle of yours was, 'My place in the Futhark alphabet is the same as the Death card in Tarot cards. Who am I?' And the correct answer was Eihwaz. The thirteenth rune." He expected some to mistake it as the other one. Pity. "The next puzzle was, 'I give you health, I give you power, I open new doors filled with wealth, And I let you devour, Your fears, and your obstacles, With me will be as gentle as a flower'" Botros tried to say it as normally as he could without sounding too dramatic, but a few stressful tones here and there wouldn't hurt. "This is a description of the rune we studied last term. Uruz. The rune of ultimate strength and power, which can open you doors of wealth and close the doors of your fears by making them as insignificant with the strength it gives you as possible." So. Yeah. Another one wrong.

"Hufflepuff house gets three points for this competition, and I thank them gladly for a great teamwork!" He clapped, urging the others to clap for them as well, maybe a bit exaggeratedly.

He waved his cane, but the other Houses' boards stayed intact. No wrong answer and it made Botros' smile widen proudly. "Excellent job everyone. I did see the Ravenclaws being an excellent team, though." He glanced at the Ravenclaws. "All three houses get ten points for solving the puzzles. Ravenclaw gets extra two for their great teamwork."

Pause.

"Now Prefects and Captains, please lead your housemates back to the classroom to gather their things. Class is dismissed. And no, you cannot stay around for more unicorn quality time." What if it had family joining later, hmm? And Thestrals? That was out of the question. "Any questions, you'll find me in my office later." Clapping urgently for them to move. He shouldn't have made the illusion this close to the forest.

ooc: - class is dismissed, you can post your character gathering their possessions and leaving in the main lesson thread as well as in here.

As Kace took off his bracelet, he noticed they were in the grounds. Woahh i guess he was living in a dream like state the whole time. Well the professor called it an illusion. The mazes were side by side the whole time? He would never have guessed.

Then he heard the professor announcing the correct runes. At least the older hufflepuffs weren't too far off and they guessed correctly. He was proud of his team. Once Kace gathered around, he heard that the puffs get 3 points. Kace was happy and was glad they got points and the professor noticed their teamwork.

Kace gathered his items and bag and was off the castle. He really had a great time participating in this activity. He learned a lot. "Thank you professor for the lesson." Kace said as he left.