Yawning, Melly kneeled on her usual spot in front of Rumple. She was just too tired that day, but could anyone blame her? She had been studying like crazy for those finals and what for? She wanted to become a writer and getting 'O's wouldn't help her to write prettier stories or poems, would it? No, no it wouldn't. It was true that it could be handy if she didn't make it as a writer and had to do something else for a living, but still... Sigh. Anyway, none of that mattered at the moment. She was there to take care of her baby jarvey and nothing else.

Smiling as Rumple looked at her with its enormous grey eyes, Melina grinned and opened the cage, offering her hands for him to climb onto them like she had in their last encounter. This time, however, he didn't hesitate and immediately waddled onto her hands. That was more than enough to make the fourteen-year-old happy.

"Good day, little one," She greeted him, tickling his belly with a finger as she laid him on her lap. "Slept well? Good. I didn't," She sighed, allowing her sadness to come back to her face for a second or two before she brushed it away as she reminded herself that that did not matter then.

Forcing herself to grin again, for she didn't want Rumple to get worried, Melly petted his head. "What do you think of me teaching you a pretty word today?," She asked him. "I've heard you making some strange sounds already, so I'm sure that you'll be able to get the knack out of speaking quickly," She nodded at him. "Besides, you're smart. Very smart, indeed." And he was. Just one look at those bright, grey eyes told her that. For some reason, he kind of reminded her of a kittie, even though he was far calmer than any baby cat would ever be. Hmm... Maybe that was why she was starting to like Rumple so much. She did love kitties, did she not?

When the jarvey didn't complain, the girl bent her torso slightly so she'd be closer to him. "Alright then. I'm going to teach you how to say 'hello'. That way, when I come back you can answer me. Would you like that?" Rumple poked her hand with its nose, making her giggle. So he wanted her to get it over with, eh? It looked like he wasn't just as patient as she had thought him to be. "Okay, okay," She giggled some more. "This is how you say it 'heeelloooo'," She pronounced the word very slowly, making sure the little creature saw the way her lip had moved. At once, Rumple attempted to repeat it, only to fail. Melina couldn't help it. She chuckled herself crazy, only to find that Rumple hadn't found her amusement nice and that he was now with his back to her. "Aww, Rumple," She said, traces of laughter still in her voice. "Everyone gets it wrong th first time! And the second and the third... You just need to practise. Come on, little one!," A tickle on his belly was enough to make him turn back to her.

The two of them kept going like that for about an hour and in that space of time, Rumple didn't just learn how to say 'hello', but another word as well.

"I've got to go now, Rumple," Melly told him, once he was already inside of his cage, water and food on their plates already. "Now what do you say?," She asked, her bag already on her shoulder as she waited for her queue to leave. Such a thing came some two seconds later, when the jarvey let out a throaty 'bye', making the girl grin foolishly. She had the best jarvey in the world! Or she would once she made him eat lettuce. "Goobye, Rumple. I'll see you soon."

Lima headed to the Nursery as soon as she had a free period. Time was getting harder and harder to manage, but she still made use of the opportunity to see her baby Niffler.

Hello, Jack!" she chirped happily as she headed over to his cage. She opened the door and took her baby out gently and lovingly. "How are you darling?" she asked him as he sniffed her hand, looking for food. She giggled and started heading towards the feed area. Then she got a crazy idea. She reached into her pocket and pulled out a little chocolate that she had in a wrapper in her pants pocket. Do Nifflers like chocolate?

She undid the wrapper and put the chocolate on the palm of the hand that wasn't holding him and waited to see what he would do. She laughed as he jumped onto the hand with the chocolate and began to sniff the treat curiously before licking it. So they do. Wow. haha!

She let him eat the candy in her hand and when he was done, she took him over to a seat and sat down. "I will need to draw you at some point. I want to draw you." She scratched him behind the ear and noticed that he was starting to get a bit bigger.

Soon she realized that it was time to go. She got up sadly and headed back to his cage. She placed him back in carefully and said, "see you soon." She sighed and started to head back to her work.

Taking a quick detour before going to the student gardens to finish her Herbology assignment, Mariel walked into the Magical Creatures nursery for another visit to her jarvey. The place seemed quite crowded lately, so once she made her way through the crowd, the second year stopped in front of Felix's cage.

"Need some more food?" she asked upon watching him finish the last in his dish. Pulling the food dish out of his cage, the second year quickly took it to the back of the room to refill it before bringing it back. The water dish looked freshly filled so she didn't bother with that.

Apparently he had had his fill of food because he wasn't eating any of what she had just brought, although he seemed to have finished the fruit she had brought last time, seeing as it was no longer in sight. Infact, Felix was looking at her almost expecting to get some more. Shrugging, she said, "Sorry, I'll bring you some fruit next time." She'd have to remmeber to save some from breakfast the next time she came for a visit.

"How about we go outside for a bit?" she asked him as she tilted her head to assess his appearance. He looked as if he had grown quite a bit since the last time she had measured him so she thought once he was out, it would be good opportunity to take down his measurements again. As she gently pulled the Jarvey out of hs cage, she walked to the supply closet and took the measuring tape with her as she carried him outside.

They reached the enclosed play area and she kept a firm yet gentle grip on the jarvey as she did her best to measure him. Finally she let go of the squirming Felix as he scampered off to play and the 13 year old wrote down the appropriate numbers in her journal.

Mariel played with Felix a good twenty minutes as she tossed his ball to him over and over. Then she scooped him back up to take him to his cage, having to leave again to study for finals.

Almost bumping into Melina on her way to the Nursery and waving to her friend, Willow wandered down the grounds until she reached the nursery. Turning in the door knob and then went straight to her puffkein's cage, without looking at the rest of the creatures around.

"I told father about you," murmured Willow, before plopping herself on the floor and letting out the little furball. "He was quite shocked to know that I'm taking care of a creature - not that I blame him, or anything, but you know. . . " Willow's father was well aware of how much Willow did not like creatures and indeed, hearing that his youngest daughter was taking care of a puffskein was one big surprise for him. "He said that your lot likes drinking water from toilets. I'm glad you don't do that, Aimee, because that is seriously disgusting - no offense, of course." Even though it reallyw as offensive. "But maybe that's because there are no toilets areound here?" Would her puffskein do that if there was a toilet near? Hopefully not! Aimee the puffskein continued to play on her lap, sniffing and nibbling on one of the buttons of Willow's robes.

Distractedly, the girl's fingers started to stroke Aimee's round body, at the same time her teeth gnawed on her bottom rosy lip, her expression thoughtful. "Do you reckon professor Morgan will let me keep you?" She continued chew on her bottom lip. "I'm sure father wouldn't mind. Actually, I think he would like that." Of course he would. His daughter finally coming around to like creatures - or to at least like one creature. Goran Kovac would be utterly pleased . . . not to mention that he wouldn't give her a hard time when the time to discuss certain matters arrived. "I think I'm going to ask Professor Morgan before the term ends, little one. And Willow couldn't find one reason why Morgan wouldn't let her keep Aimee; the puffskein always did that same humming sound, which meant that it was happy, right?

Right. "Yes, I think I'll ask her real soon. But, I have to go now, you see? I am pretty busy person." Her hands reached for the puffskein and then put it back in the cage, leaving some chocolate inside of the cage so Aimee could devour it later when she got hungry. "OWLs to study for an all." Care of Magical Creatures included. Shudder. "See you, little furball." That said, the girl stood up and headed back to the castl - library. Bleh.

Professor Morgan glanced once more at the time before decidedly hanging her robes over her desk chair. It was time to go; she didn't want to leave the Abraxans waiting. Though she refused to acknowledge how spoiled they were becoming, there was no denying how accustomed they'd become to the schedule she'd set for them.

Skipping the Nursery entirely, Iliana climbed over the fence and into the paddock. The brown of the stable contrasted drastically against the bluish hue of the cloudless sky. She breathed deeply, drawing in the sweet smell of spring as she slipped inside the stable doors. "Good afternoon, my lovelies." She said, smiling at each of them in turn. Kimber in the first stall, followed by Marmalade, Pegasus, Tiberius and Cassiopeia. "Did you miss me?" She made her way back into the tack room, grabbing what little supplies she needed and returned, opening Cassiopeia's stall door.

Bringing her out, Iliana tied her lead to a nearby beam and nuzzled her on the nose. She pulled on her gloves one at a time and reached down to lift Cassiopeia's right, front foot. Holding it firmly between her knees, Ili went to work.

After all the cleaning and trimming was done, Iliana lowered the last leg and allowed Cass to once again, stand on all fours. Satisfied that each foot looked level, she set the rasp aside and pulled a sugar cube from the front pocket of her jeans. She brought her hand up to Cassiopeia's mouth and smiled when the abraxan's lips tickled the inside of her palm. "Good girl."

Iliana wondered how silly the other professors would find her if they knew she preferred tending to her animals in the good old, muggle way. Shaking her head at the thought, Ili untied the abraxan's lead and watched as she walked eagerly back into her stall. And on to the next one… "Tiberius, looks like your turn."

"Okay... so..." Jake muttered, entering the Magical creatures nursery and heading towards Rabbit. "I reeeeeeally need to pick up the pace..." he murmured, opening the cage door and pulling the crup out. "Hey, dude..."

With his mind more on other things, Jake lead Rabbit over to a free space and sat down, scratching the animal behind the ears. He was unsure of what to do right now, having totally lost his head recently. Mmmmm. Maybe just sitting would do the trick. "C'mere, mate," Jake smiled, pulling Rabbit onto his lap and petting him. "You total goofball," he giggled, when the creature started wagging his forked little tail in double time.

Siiiiiigh. It's already time to go...

"Sorry mate," Jake mumbled to Rabbit. "This is only a flying visit... I'll make the next one longer... I promise..." he whispered, standing up and carrying Rabbit over to the cage and checking the food and water before shutting the door. "See you soon, mate," he added, turning away and leaving, not wanting to think about the sad eyes Rabbit was giving him.

With a very small pillow in one of her hands and her messenger bag heaving on her left shoulder, Willow stepped inside the nursery for the . . . she'd forgotten how many times she'd visited the place, but really that wasn't important - not right now, at least.

"Hey, you," greeted the girl with a tone that clearly indicated that she was expecting some kind of answer from the puffskein. And she definitely received one, for the little cuddly creature produced the same humming sound. "So I was thinking," she began as her hands rumaged inside her messenger bag and caem out holding a little sheet that she spread on the floor, before taking seat on it. "That the little cage of yours is probably not really comfortable. I mean, you must hate having to sleep with no pillow, right? I know I would." Shrugging as she opened the door of the cage, the fifth year saw as her puffskein came out and quickly scurried to Willow's lap to get comfortable there. "Anyway, I brought you a pillow. It's sort of small really, which means it is perfect for you and your cage." Considering that the cage wasn't exactly too big - well, neither was Aimee the Puffskein, so Willow supposed that was okay. "I hope you like it. I reckon Cerulean had to put some kind of charm to it so it could be small enough to fit in here . . . " And now that she was paying attention to the cage, it was filthy again.

She sighed. Well, Willow supposed that having a pet included cleaning up after them . . . good thing Cerulean the house elf would be the one doing that if she took Aimee home with her, as planned. "Uh, time to clean." Taking out the gloves from her messenger bag, and putting Aimee in the floor beside her so she could clean without squishing her or something, Willow started to pick up all the . . . things inside Aimee's cage. "You little pig," murmured the girl under her breath. "I really am going to start feeding you chocolate and all that." Ew. The puffskein really was a little pig.

Once she was done, the girl put all the unclean stuff inside a plastic bag and went to throw it inside a rubbish bin nearby. "There you go. Your house is clean now. Don't worry, thouh, it won't be your house much longer as I'm planning to get you a new one once we are home." Willow nodded. Aimee really was a small little thing, but the fifth year still thought that her cage was just a little too small for her. Bending down to pick her up, the young Ravenclaw placed the puffskein inside the cage, "In you go. I have stuff to do, as usual. Have fun with the pillow! I mean, sleep well." Thinking that she really was beginning to lose her mind for being talking to creatures, the brunette left the nursery.

Qaz needed a break, so she went down to visit her Jarvey, Chaos. She had his usual treats in his bag, plus his playpen and toys.

When she arrived in the nursery, she went over and said hello to Chaos. ‘Hello Big Guy! I brought yummies and we have time to play again.’

Oh here’s mommy again. She brought more yummies. I love yummies.

Reaching into her bag, she got out a plastic lid to a peanutbutter jar. She placed it on the floor in an open area, pointed her wand and said, ‘Engorgio!’ She watched as the plastic lid grew…and grew…and grew…until it was about two meters across and the sides were about a third of a meter high.

Qaz went over to the cage, opened the door and gently grabbed Chaos. She then went over, climbed into the ‘playpen’ and set him down. She quickly sat down, reached into her bag and retrieved a couple of toys. A couple of plastic balls and a piece of suede that she’d tied onto a stick with a long piece of twine. She dragged the piece of suede across the fllor and watched him chase it. He didn’t have the speed or agility of her tabby, HiJinx, but he was having fun

Watch me attack mommy. I’m a mighty hunter.


Chaos must have gotten tired if chasing suede because he climbed up on Qaz. Stroking his fur, she asked, ‘Such a handsome fella, you are. Such a lovely coat, too. Would you like a treat?’

‘Ta-ta-ta-ta.’

‘Okay, I’ll get your food.’ So Qaz reached into her bag and pulled out his treat. Yoghurt and mashed banana, again….which she put down on the floor of the playpen. Chaos made a quick dash for his treat. He was certainly a quick little runner when food was involved.

Qaz was really enjoying this break. She lay down on her side and watched him eat. Slowly she drifted off to sleep.

Yum, Yum, Yum. Tastes so good. Now I need a nap. Mommy naps, too. She can nap with me.

After Chaos had finished his treat, he climbed up on her side and went to sleep. What a pair.

Qaz couldn’t believe how uncomfortable her bed had gotten. Opening her eyes, she realized what had happened. The tiny weight on her side told her where Chaos had gone. Good thing he didn’t try and do a runner.

Carefully, Qaz stroked the fur on his back. 'Wake up, Sleepyhead.' Mommy has to get back to work.

‘titch, tutty, tutty’ I don’t want to wake up. Oh well. Yummies?

Qaz picked him off her side and placed him on the floor. A few more minutes would hurt. She rolled one of the balls, but Chaos didn’t seem interested in it, so she grabbed the suede again. After chasing it for a few minustes, Qaz decided that it was time to get back to the books. After she got to her feet, she picked up her Jarvey and returned him to his cage. ‘You’ve been a really good boy. You get an extra treat.’ Qaz reached in her bag and pulled out a few raisins and placed them in the cage.

Qaz picked up the toys, with a flick of her wand, reduced the playpen back to a lid, which she placed back in her bag…then left for the common room.

Chris walked happily into the Nursery. He walked over to Owen and picked him up. "Hey there Owen." he said as he scratched his Kneazle on the back of his neck. That is where Owen likes to be scatched.

He placed him back on the ground and went to go get his bowl. He filled the bowl with water and food. He layed the bowl on the ground and while Owen ate, Chris decided to clean up a bit. He walked over to Owen's bed and brushed the hair off of it and starightened up the blankets. he then got a broom and swept away extra food and hair that was on the ground.

After 5 minutes or so Owen finished eating and chris was finished cleaning. Chris layed down on his stomach and played with Owen. They played with Owen's favorite toy, the sock on a string on a stick. They played for an hour or so until it was time for dinner. Chris filled Owen's bowl with fresh water and then said good-bye.

Just after finishing her Herbology final, Melina literally made her way to the nursery skipping. It was just that he hadn't gone as badly as she believed it would and for that she was nothing but grateful. She was happy as well, of course. And who better than Rumple for her to share her happiness with?

Walking past a number of other creatures, she finally reached her little jarvey, who appeared to have just woken up, since its eyes were even sleepier than her own during morning classes.

Smiling gently at him, she sat down in her usual spot. "Hello, Rumple," She greeted him. The jarvey, however, didn't seem to be that keen to respond and, instead of doing what she had once taught him to, turned his head away from her and curled himself into a ball, completely ignoring the dumbfounded Melly. Huh. Who would have thought that, after becoming such good friends with her, he'd just start skulking or doing whatever it was that he was doing then? Ah well, he was probably just sleepy and tired and wanted to sleep some more. She knew she was a hard one to get out of bed, so why wouldn't a baby be?

Sighing nevertheless, she changed Rumple's water and added some more food to his plate. Merlin, was it just her or his food disappeared pretty fast? At this, she smiled and rolled her eyes. Allie would love to know that she had found a jarvey that was exactly like him. Heck, one of these days she'd have to bring Rumple a sweet to see his reaction.

Once she was done with those little tasks, she petted his belly gently, only to find that he was, indeed, sleeping deeply. She could feel his stomach going up and down under her fingers. Well, she wouldn't wake him up. Oh no. Instead of doing it, she'd just go back to the Common Room and study some more. Nodding to herself, she whispered a "sweet dreams" and walked out of the nursery, hoping that the next time she went there, he'd be wide awake.

"Jarveys," Willow said under her breath with annoyance, as she entered the Care of Magical Creatures Nursery. Really, they were not only loud, but they said all those bad words all the time, which was completely infuriating.

With her nose in the air, the fifth year finally reached to where Aimee was located, playing inside her cage with the pillow Willow had left for her. "Glad to see you are enjoying yourself." Her hands quickly opened the cage so the little thing could come out and play, or do whatever it was that puffskein did. Well, whateve it was that Aimee did -for Willow was convinced that her puffskein was no average puffskein- certainly had her happy, because the furball always produced that humming sound.

"Oh, I forgot to tell you," she began, placing milk in the little bowl so Aimee could have some. Puffskeins did eat anything, after all, so there was no reason why the puffskein would not like milk. "Apparently, I can take you home. I just have to fill this adoption thingy and hand it to Professor Morgan before taking you with me." Pale and long fingers stroke Aimee's fingers distractedly as Willow spoke. "I'll have to write to father and ask for permission first, of course. But I'm sure he'll be more than happy to have you at our house, so don't worry about it." The man loved magical creatures - no, her entire family loved magical creatures, and Willow was the sole exception to that. Because as much as she liked Aimee the puffskein, it was very clear that the rest of the creatures on the nursery meant nothing to her. Either way, she was certain her father would tell her yes.

Perhaps in the letter where she asked for permission, she could ask him to send her a bigger cage, too! Yep, Willow was sure he would say yes to that as well.

"I'd better go and do that, Aimee. I'll come later." Later meaning once her dad sent her a reply, of course. "And next time I shall bring you more food. But you are not hungry, aren't you?" Surely not. The little furball had drunk all the milk. Smiling a little smile at the puffskein, Willow curled her fingers around it and placed it back to the little cage, before grabbing the litte bowl and putting it inside her messenger bag. "Later, kid." After turning around, Willow headed to the common room. She had a letter to write.

Now, hopefully Agnes the Owl -her owl- would not be be difficult about it.

Chris had a few days ago sent a letter home to his parents about Owen. He was so excited he ran into the Nursery with a paper bag behind his back. "hey owen!" he said excitedly. "Guess what I got for you?" he pulled the bag from behind his back as he climbed over the rail of the pen. He sat down on the ground next to Owen and pulled out a small bag of Kneazle treats. He placed two on the ground infront of Owen. He just sniffed them. "They're treats, Owen, food." he nudged them. "I know you have never had them but they're good try one." After much persuading Owen ate one. And by the time he was finished with the two chris had set on the ground he was already climbing in Chris's lap trying to get more. Chris laughed as Owen licked his nose trying to get to the treats. "Owen calm down and i will give you one. I told you, you would like them." he then gave him a treat as he ran around the pen or if he jumped or if he stalked good. After he did his tricks and Chris decided that it was enough treats he gave Owne a big hug. "I love you Owen." he said happily. He then said good-bye and left up to the castle.

It was obvious that: 1) Melina was definitely not in the mood to study, and 2) she loved that jarvey quite too much, for in less than an hour, the little red headed girl was kneeled on the floor of the nursery, opening the cage where Rumple slept. She just couldn't wait to hold that furry, little baby on her hands again and teach him a couple more words. That day she had planned to teach him how to ask 'how are you?' and respond 'I'm fine'. She wasn't sure if he'd be able to learn it all at once since the last time she had taught him something, he'd end up getting moody for saying a word wrong and make weird noises at her. And now she was attempting to make him learn full sentences so... hmm... Well, she'd see how it would go.

"Hello, there!," She picked him up sweetly and nuzzled his nose. At once, she giggled. It was kind of cold and moisty, just like a kittie's nose. Hmmhmm, she definitely liked Rumple. And she liked him very, very, VERY much.

Grinning at the husky "hello", she settled him on her lap. "Do you want to learn some new words, Rumple?," She asked him, tilting her head as her hand ran across his head. Once the jarvey shook his head in a resounding negative, she frowned. "No?," Looking at the bag she had laid on her side, her lips twisted into a victorious smile. Maybe... At once, she opened her bag and took a thick book out of there. "What do you think of listening to a fairytale then?," She asked him. When she had no answer whatsoever, she smiled comfortingly at him. "Don't worry, they're pretty," She promised, nodding at him.

Moving him to sit on one of her knees, she opened "The Complete and Illustrated Works of Hans Christian Andersen" on her other knee and quickly started to flip through the worn pages, stopping once she read the title "Thumbelina". "What do you think of this one, Rumple? I think it fits us both, since we're both really small," She smiled at him and, with no other answer, started to read the words she already knew from memory.

Once she was done reading, the baby's eyes were already starting to close. Hmmm... He really was a sleepy one. Giggle.

"Go sleep, Rumple. I'll come back as soon as I can," She promised, pecking his head before placing it back inside her cage. Two minutes later, she was walking out of the nursery, again, glad to know that her jarvey actually liked fairytales.

Anna tip-toed through the nursery, planning to surprise Blaze just as she usually did. She passed the crups, kneazles, and clabberts and headed to the very back corner where she knew her now grown Phoenix would be. Somehow, Blaze had always been able to sense Anna's presence, and for that reason, Anna could usually see a few feathers from Blaze's head poking through the wires of the cage. That was always a sign that Blaze was trying so hard to peek forward and see if he could spot the first glimpse of Anna coming to visit. The funny thing about today, though, was that none of Blaze's feathers were visible through the wires of the cage. Had someone already let Blaze out of the cage for an early flight? Professor Morgan, maybe? Not seeing Blaze's little feathers poking out the wires was an unusual occurence, as the bird had been doing that since about October. It was a small act that a person usually takes for granted until its suddenly taken away. Something was...wrong. Wrinkling up her face in confusion, Anna hurried forward and peered deep into the cage, trying to see if she could spot her bird or figure out where he was.

Anna's face fell at the site before her eyes. Blaze was, in fact, inside the cage, but he really didn't look so well. He was laid out in the very back of the cage, still other than his slow-moving eyes that were partly watching Anna. A good many of his feathers were strown throughout the cage, and Blaze's normally beautiful tail looked a bit on the mangled side. "Blaze?!? BLAZE!" Anna cried, fearing her bird was sick and about to die. Within seconds, the cage door was open and Anna was scooping the bird up into her arms. With tears in her eyes, Anna looked at her bird and said, "Your Burning Day..."

Anna had known this moment would be inevitable, but she hadn't realized it would come so soon. She thought many, many years would pass before Blaze would burst into flames and rise again from his ashes. When this happened, though, would Blaze be the same bird? Was the baby bird she loved so much slowing drifting away for forever, or would the little bird who would soon rise from the ashes be the same Blaze Anna loved so much? Anna needed to get back to the Common Room and retrieve her book on Phoenixes. She'd wait to do this later, but she was so worried about it, that she really needed it now! "I'll be right back, baby bird. I'll feed you as soon as I get back," she said, scooping up her Phoenix again and placing it back into its cage. "Mommy loves you!" Anna gathered her things and ran from the nursery, en route to get her book that would answer all her questions.

Cela skipped into the stables, waving at Professor Morgan as she saw her there already. "Hello! Ooooh. I need to mix some more mash." Cela announced, spying the fact that Cassiopeia had finished up all of it, "She's eating so much now!" Opening her notebook, Cela spent a few minutes checking her notes and making a few more before mixing some corn mash with butterbeer, checking and double checking the quantities. Once she was satisfied with the consistency and the strength of the mixture, Celandine filled the feedbucket and firmly pulled Cassiopeia's nose out of the way while she attached it to the inside of the stall. If the bucket wasn't attached, it would be no match for the ever-growing abraxan.

Seeing Cassiopeia happily snuffling away and eating the mash, Cela made another note in her book and put it aside. "Want some help, Professor? While we wait for Cope?"

The next time Melly appeared in the nursery, she didn't have just one book inside her bag but a whole load of them. Less than half of them were school books. Anyone who knew her at all would know exactly what the non-school books were. Yes, they were fairytales. But hey, she just had to take them with her! Rumple had liked Thumbelina, hadn't he? And he was too lazy to learn more words soooo, if she read to him instead, he'd surely learn them anyway since he'd hear her speak. That was how children learned too, was it not? By imitating what adults and other children said, that is. Uh oh. Hopefully Rumple wouldn't have learned anything with the other jarveys. They were so rude!

Quite nervous at the prospect of finding her jarvey saying horrid words, she was biting the inside of her cheek as she finally reached Rumple's cage.

"Hey you," She said, putting her very heavy bag on the floor, next to which she sat down. "Would you like to listen to another story?," She asked a few moments later as she opened the cage, trying not to sigh with relief for not having heard him speak any vulgar language. That didn't mean he didn't do it when she wasn't there, though. Oh dear... What if the professor had heard him say something he shouldn't? She really hoped that had not been the case! Merlin knew the trouble she'd be in.

Shaking those thoughts out of her mind, she place him on her knee and, taking a bit of pellet out of its plate and placing it in her hand, she moved her hand closer to his mouth so that he'd feed directly out of her hand. At once, he started eating. Ah, he was so cute. There was no way such a pretty thing would say bad words. What had she been thinking of?

While he ate, she opened one of her books and started to read to him. This time, it was "Hanzel and Gretel" that was coming out of her mouth. When she was done, though, the jarvey didn't look one bit tired and actually looked at her as if begging for another story. Honestly joyful, she read another one: "Sleeping Beauty". And then she told him of "The Ugly Duckling" and of "The Little Mermaid". Even though she wanted to, no other story did she tell him, for it was getting quite late and she did have to study. Again. Sigh. Ah, those evil finals!

"I have to go now, Rumple. I'll tell you some more stories soon," She smiled at him, pecking his forehead in a farewell gesture. With that, she was gone.

Chris Potter found himself walking down to the Nursery with some food. he had decided to skip dinner and bring it with him to see Owen. He opened the door and walked over to Owen who was of couse asleep. 'I can't believe i walk all the way down here to see him sleep.' he thought as he sat down in a chair and a table close to the pen. He ate his food and pulled out his Arithmancy book so he could study while Owen slept and he ate. After a half an hour or so, Woen woke up and bounced over to the fence and wanted Chris to get in. So chris closed his book and got in.

He played for an hour or so. He brushed Owen's fur and fed him some scraps from his own dinner, as a treat. After another hour of Owen Sleeping Chris decided to leave so he could get into the castle before curfew. "Bye Owen." Chris whispered as he layed a sleeping Owen into his little bed.

As Evangeline once more made her way to the nursery, hoping Greenie the Clabert would be awake this time. It was really cute watching him sleep, and he did need the rest, but she miiiiiissed him! She didn't need to call him this time though, as soon as he spotted her, he started pointing at her and she could have sworn his grinning mouth was now even wider.

"Hello Greenie!! Did you have a nice sleep ... yes?" She smiled .. but that same smile soon faded away once she realised just how tiny the cage was getting. WAIT! The cage didnt get small! Greenie got bigger. Therefore he needs a bigger cage. Yup, yup.

There was no way her Greenie was gonna sleep in that minuscule cage again. Hmpf. "Here's what we gonna do, honey.." Evangeline started as she opened the cage and let Greenie out. The moment he stepped out, he went to cling to her legs and she nuzzed his face. EEP! "Go play with your little ball while I get you a larger cage, yes?" It was weird, but Greenie almost seem to understand her and soon he went off to run after the rubber ball he always played with.

Now - she needed a bigger cage. Oh yes.

As she cleaned out the cage and pulled everything out, Evangeline tried to find ways to get a bigger cage for Greenie. Maybe ... hmmm .... it was worth the shot since she didnt see any free cage around. Getting her wand from her back pocket, Evangeline pointed at the cage. "Enlargio!" She said and - somehow - the metal cage grew bigger. Alot bigger, but at least now Greenie had enough room to play! Perfect!

"Can you seeeee, Greeniie? It's bigger now! You can play inside!" She giggled, turning around to see her pet. Awwww. He was just too cute with his green skin, red pustule and looong limbs. Unable to resist, she played around with him for a while, actually attempting to tickle him and all. She wasnt sure if it worked, but ah well.

After a while, she returned to the cage and got it ready for Greenie to go back there. She put his fluffy pillow inside, filled his three bowls with milk, water and food and spread some leaves around. She figured it'd do him good since he was used to trees. Hehe. "Time to get back in, dear!" She called out. After making sure he was comfortable and everything was okay, Evangeline closed the cage and bid her goodbye. EEP!

Ordinary Wizarding Levels.

The truth was that Willow detested those exams, and if one day she discovered who was the genius (please note the sarcasm) behind the creation of such horrible exams, that person was going to hear it from her. Seriously, they were just so time consuming! And to think she'd thought at the beginning of the term that Quidditch would be the one thing that would keep her extremely busy! Granted, Quidditch had kept her busy but that was nothing compared to how much time studying for her OWLs was taking.

She grumbled. It wasn't like there much she could do about that - not now, anyway. So with a frown on her forehead, the girl turned on the doorknob of the nursery and wandered down the little hall, stopping only once she reached Aimee's cage. "Hey, you. Are you hungry? I've brought som--" As soon as the fifth year noticed that Aimee was sleeping, she fell quiet.

Was she like, taking a nap? It sure seemed like it. Huh. Willow didn't know puffskeins, just like little kids, took naps.

Feeling a little dissapointed, Willow sat down in front of Aimee's cage and sighed. In a way, the fact that Aimee the puffskein was sleeping was a good thing because she'd been planning to draw her. Shrugging, the young Ravenclaw grabbed her bag and took out a muggle notebook that her brother had given her over the summer (previous summer, that is) and started to draw the little furball.

After some time in which the only things that Willow could hear was the sounds that were produced by the rest of the animals -which annoyed her quite a bit- the girl realized that she was done with her drawing. Tilting her head to one side as she compared the Aimee of her paper and the real one, Willow quickly erased a few things that didn't really belong to the drawing, and eyed it again.

It certainly wasn't as bad as she'd expected it to look. But it wasn't a master piece either.

Raising her dark long eyebrows at the drawing, the girl decided that it wouldn't get any better so it was best to just leave it the way it was. Closing the notebook and putting it safely back inside her bag. The girl stood up, bent down and opened the door of the cage, before sticking her hand in and stroking the puffskein's furr. "I'll be back before leaving," she murmured softly. "You know, to take you with me so we can go home." Smiling one little smile to herself, the girl left one small bar of chocolate inside Aimee's cage, closed it, and then slowly left the nursery.

Hoping that no innocent bystander would be in her patch, Anna tore through the magical creatures nursery, her informational book on Phoenixes in her hand. "Blaaazzzzze!" she yelled, running faster through the nursery. Anna feared that her baby bird was dying, and she needed to get to him as quickly as possible and figure out just what was going to happen with this so-called Burning Day. Anna didn't want her bird to burn. She wanted to Blaze to live for forever and ever...not burn away and rise again as---possibly---some other bird. "Blaaazzzzze!" Anna yelled again.

BAM!!!

A second later, Anna ran into something tall and---apparently---strong. "Owww," she murmured as she laid across the ground of the nursery, her book out of her hands and a few feet away. "Oh my gosh...I'm sorry." She didn't know who'd she'd run into, but it had to be a guy---no way was a girl enough to nearly knock Anna senseless. Anna pushed herself off the ground and glanced up to see Chris Potter a few feet away. "Ohhh, Chris. I'm sorry...for knocking into you and for the fact that I must run off now. My bird's dying!"

Grabbing her book, Anna ran off in the other direction, skidding to a stop and sliding onto the ground right in front of Blaze's cage. Anna unlatched the cage and gently pulled Blaze into her lap again. She stroked what was left of the bird's feathers as she read through the book. Finally, after about thirty minutes, Anna looked up. "Okay, baby bird, you're going to be okay...and so am I...I think. Apparently, you'll be my same Blaze as soon as you rise from the ashes. I was afraid you'd still be a Phoenix, just not Blaze. That's not the case, though. You're just going to be a baby all over again. Don't worry, though, we're going home to London soon, and I can let you out all the time then!" Anna explained.

After Blaze had been fed and the water in the bottle had been changed, Anna simply sat and pet her bird for quite a long time. Blaze no longer wanted to fly, and Anna couldn't really blame him. If she was going to blow up any second now, she'd want to just lie around...and cry. Even though Blaze sort of seemed alright with what was going on, Anna still cried. The thought of her baby bird bursting into flames was scary. When it was time to go, Anna placed Blaze gently into the cage, blew him a kiss goodnight, and left.

The final visit.

Knowing, as Hugo trudged miserably down to the Nursery, that this wasthe last time he would see Georige at Hogwarts was incredibly weird. Next time, they'd be on the train together, away from the bustle and fun of the Nursery. Sniffle. He kicked a stray pebble as he dawdled towards the building, his hair ruffling in the wind. Siiigh. He slung the bag furthur over his shoulder, worrying that it would fall, split, and sent the contents tumbling all over the place. Considering that he was a walking disaster, it was very much a possibility, and he didn't want any slip ups. Not today.

Slowly pushing open the door - as though to savour each second - Hugo made his way to Georgie's cage. "Hey baby," he whispered, as she leapt into his arms. He quickly re-filled her drink bowl and food bowl, laid out a new layer of hay and then settled her on his lap. "Now Gee, this is the last visit of me looking after ya," he warned, petting her head as she grinned up at him. "So on the Hogwarts Express you've gotta be reeeeally good, otherwise they won't lemme keep ya!"

Picking up a small treat, Hugo waggled it above her head.

...and she jumped!

..and sat!

"Holy Moly!" He exclaimed, giving her the treat with a grin. YAY! She was perfect. Hugging her to his chest, he planted a kiss on her mottled green skin. "You've really been a great friend Gee." And she had. She didn't judge him, or argue with him; she just cared. And was THERE. Always. "Bye baby," he cooed, placing her back in her cage. "Love youuuu! I'll come getcha before I leave, don't you worry." And he left the Nursery with a smile and a wave.

Bag full of books again, Melina made her entrance into the nursery, this time a tad more slowly than usual. It was just that that bag was soooo heavy! And it wasn't just that. The finals, the whole school environment, the too much studying, the lack of letters from her family,... all of that was wearing her down and if it wasn't for her beloved fairytales and Rumple himself, she just didn't know how she'd cope with all of that.

Literally falling on her knees as she reached Rumple, she let out an exhausted sigh. "Hey," She gave him a little, tired smile. "I don't know if I'll be able to tell you as many stories as I did the other day. I'm very tired, see? I'll read you one or two though, what do you say?," She asked him as her hands started to deal with the locker that kept the cage closed.

"Mudblood," She heard a husky voice say. Eyes widening, she rose her head to stare at the jarvey. "What did you say?," She asked, unable to believe that her beloved Rumple could have said something like that. "Mudblood," She jarvey repeated, quite smugly in Melly's opinion.

Absolutely dumbfounded, she merely stared at the jarvey, her jaw dropped. What on -? He couldn't have - How could he say such -

Sinking her teeth onto her lower lip, she let go of the locker. "I'd never think that you would - that you - after I told you so many pretty stories and looked after you -," She shook her head as she felt tears stinging in her eyes. "It looks like you're just like all of the other jarveys," She raised her head as high as she could.

Not bothering to say anything else, she picked her extremely heavy bag and ran out of the nursery, hoping she could disappear from it before she started crying.

Copernicus entered the nursery and found the Professor with Tiberius. Uh oh! What was wrong? Was the lad ill? "Professor? What's wrong with Tiberius's hooves? Is he hurt?" He climbed over the fence and joined her, sliding a hand along Tiberius's neck.

He spotted Cela and offered her a grin. If Tib wasn't too sick, perhaps they could fly again! That would be EXCELLENT!

Mariska entered the Nursery in a slightly agitated mood, having just had a rather terrible week (in her opinion, and that was all that mattered right?) that she'd rather forget. However, as soon as she picked up Pandora she found that she didn't feel so bad anymore and she only thought about how much she had been mislead about cats. Shredders of couches and shedders of multiple puffy piles of hair, that's what she had been told they were.

So they shed that was true; Pandora always left unseemly amounts of fluffly grey and white hair on Mari's clothing, but she didn't mind it really. A quick vanishing spell was all that was needed. They basically liked being on their own, too. Sometimes, Pandora would just be content to have Mari in her sights but not necessarily next to her, and Mari thought that suited her just fine.

Today though she needed to be near her little Kneazle so she held her in her lap, simply enjoying a quiet little moment with her. Hmm. It was odd but Mari was getting used to referring to Pandora as her own, and not as a project anymore. She pet her a few times and then let her bat at her hands for a bit, laughing when Pandora threw herself onto her back, obviously trying for a tummy rub. When Mari gave in though, the cat playfully attacked her hands, gently nipping at her and making the strangest meowing noises. It was hilarious." Now I have to brush you out or you'll look all puffy and we can't have that," She said, meaning no pet of hers would go around looking second rate. After brushing her fluffy hair so it sat nicely, Mari gave her a few more treats before she had to go. " Don't give me that look," She said, knowing that somehow, Pandora understood her well enough. " I'll be back soon." She said, scratching the Kneazle behind her ears once before going.

Not even a whole hour had passed by before Melly was entering the nursery again. It looked like she had not even made it to the castle again, for the same bag was still on her shoulders as she passed by the other creatures and their caretakers, completely oblivious to them. She just didn't care what they might say as she ran by them or if they saw how there were trails of tears on her cheeks. She just wanted to go back to her little Rumple, forgive him and make him swear he'd never do such a thing happen. After all, it wasn't his fault. Not really. It was hers. She had been the one who had been careless and left him there on his own for so long, allowing him to learn that horrid language with the other jarveys. She couldn't really blame him. Besides, he was just a baby and he probably didn't know just how horrid the word he had spoken was. There was no sense in being hurt or mad at him.

For the first time, as she kneeled by him, she didn't bother to say 'hello'. Instead, she just opened the cage, took him into her hands and held him up until he was at her eye level. She didn't say anything, she didn't do anything. She just kept looking at him, eyes full of tears and lip trembling. But then he made a weird sound that, to Melly's ears, resembled a 'sorry'. It only took that for her to hug the jarvey, making sure she wouldn't squish it against her chest, while she sobbed soundlessly.

When the creature began to wriggle under her arms, she sniffed and carefully let it sit on her lap. "I'm sorry too, Rumple," She told him honestly as she wiped the tears away with the back of her sleeve. "I'm sorry I didn't come see you earlier, I really am," She told him. "But please, don't ever say that again, or any other horrible word like that, alright? Please? It's just so mean and evil to say those things," She teared up again. However, before the tears slipped, she shook her head a bit violently, telling herself not to cry. Rumple would get worried, after all, and there was no sense in making a baby worry. If she did it, she'd be even meaner than he had been when he had called her a mudblood.

"Hey, what do you say of me telling you a fairytale to make up for it?," She suggested with a weak smile. Once the jarvey nuzzled her hand, she let her smile broaden slightly. A story it was then.

At once, she took a book from her bag and started to read. This one was longer, but still, beautiful and she was sure that her little Rumple would love it. It was "Peter Pan" that she read, a much lighter story, which fitted the occasion, or so Melly believed.

Once she was done, the little girl pecked the jarvey's head. "I have to go again, it's getting late. I'll come back tomorrow, alright?," She promised, patting its head before putting it back inside the cage along with some fresh water and a whole lot of food. As she picked up her bag up, she noticed how Rumple was dugging into the pellet she had given him. She beamed as she began to walk away. The jarvey really wasn't that bad not at all.

"Bye." The word made her turn around with wide blue eyes and look at a bright eyed Rumple. Melly grinned again. No, the jarvey wasn't bad at all.

"Bye, Rumple. Sweet dreams"