Peace and quiet. Finally. Carsyn tossed her bag onto her four-poster and then tossed her body onto it, as well. Laying across the bed on her back, she looked up at the ceiling without focusing on anything in particular. Her eyes glazed over, Carsyn tried to clear her mind of everything racing through it. She was physically exhausted from all the traipsing across the grounds and the stairwells of the castle, and mentally exhausted from spending her entire day fending off panic attacks. Social anxiety is absolutely miserable.

She didn't want to risk dozing off and missing dinner in the Great Hall, so Carsyn decided she'd practice with her gargoyle again for Transfiguration class. Forcing herself to sit up, Carsyn drew the curtains around her for privacy. She pulled the gargoyle-in-the-box out of her bag and sprung the little guy free of his container. She also pulled a textbook from her bag to give the gargoyle a hard smooth surface to move along.

Curious to see what its reaction would be, Carsyn placed the gargoyle upside down on the book, balancing it on its head and wings. She directed her wand at the gargoyle and pronounced, "Piertotum Locomotor!" The gargoyle unfroze from his stony position, wiggling his legs helplessly as he unsuccessfully tried to upright himself. While his adorable struggle did make her smile, Carsyn felt bad for the little stone beast, even though as a statue, it probably didn't have any feelings anyway. She turned the gargoyle over onto his feet and commanded him, "Walk backwards." It obeyed, just as it had earlier in the Kitchens. Phew. It wasn't a fluke.

"Stop," Carsyn ordered before her gargoyle walked off the edge of the book. "You need a name, my friend. I'm gonna call youuuuuu..... Mikey!" Carsyn repositioned Mikey on the end of the book and told him, "Put your left foot behind you with your toes pointed to the floor and then slide your right heel back until it is even with your left foot." Mikey tried to follow her directions, and technically he did, but it just didn't look right. She instructed him again, "Now do the same but switch the feet." Again, Mikey did as he was told, so the spell was working, but it didn't actually look like the Moonwalk as it was meant to appear. Perhaps the Moonwalk requires more fluidity than a stone statue is capable of achieving, even if he is Transfigured to move. Sigh. Now I need to figure something else to make him do.

Carsyn didn't have the mental focus at this point to think of some new trick to teach the gargoyle, something he could perform in the circus that Professor had planned. Maybe some food would refuel her brain and help her think. "Finite." She tucked Mikey back in his box, grabbed her change purse (so that she could re-enter the common room later), and took both with her out the dormitory door.