Iliana stared at Kayla incredulously. "You've got to be kidding." She said, not sure if she was actually relieved or more worried to learn he'd ended up back at her hut. What did that mean? How scared was he to wind up there? Even though her leg screamed out against it, Iliana pressed on, ever-increasing her pace as she got closer.
Professor Morgan saw Ross standing outside her door and sighed. "Ross can we talk about whatever it is later. I'm a little busy right now?" She said, going inside her door and giving him a quick smile and 'Thanks' before closing it behind her.

Once inside, she quickly scanned the room. Her breathing had quickened, her chest heaved up and down. ... She frowned. "Jake!?" She called out, noting nothing out of place and no Jake in sight. Just then, Vincent came whirling out of his cage, flapping his wings erratically in front of her and then zooming under her desk.

Jake, underneath the desk, froze when he heard voices from outside. Craaaaaaap!!!!! He held his breath, determined not to move or make a sound. Hugging his knees tightly, Jake nearly had a full-blown heart attack when the door opened and they entered.

Sodeadsodeadsodeaddeaddead...

Hearing his name, Jake screwed his eyes shut, as if the sound of his blinking would give him away. There was a strange kind of flapping sound, and that evil bloody yellowish BIRD was there.

Youuuuuu... Jake was able to think in a bizarre moment of calm. I'm a seeker you know... I could do things to you that never used to be illegal...

Kayla followed Professor Morgan into the hut and she too scanned the room. "I somehow don't think he's going to make it that easy Professor" Kayla made her way deeper into the room and looked around, she knew exactly where he was and so she stood directly in front of the desk. "Just a suggestion but you might want to seal the doors."

Bending down so that she could peer under the desk, Kayla spied Jake cowering like a frightened little rabbit. "As fun as this has been Jake, your game of hide and seek is now over. So why don't you come out from under the desk and talk to Professor Morgan, she is most worried about you" she gave him a reassuring smile and decided now was not the time to tell him that she would pull him out by force if she had to.

Iliana drew out her wand and quickly sealed up the doors, thankful to Kayla for the idea. She then followed Vincent over to her desk and threw herself to the floor, screwing up her face as her leg sent bolt after bolt of pain all the way up to her hip. Maybe it was a bit more than a nasty bruise after all. She stuck her head under the desk and let out a huge sigh of relief. "Jake honey, come out of there." She pleaded, holding her arms wide open. "Are you okay?"

Seal the doors and windows? That made Jake seem soooooo trustworthy. Merrrrrr... Turning away from the evil snidget for the moment, Jake stared ahead of him and waited for them to give up, assume that the snidget was an evil little liar. Grrrrrrr.

HOLY SMOKIN' TUMBLEDRYERS!

Suddenly, Kayla was there, staring right at Jake, and talking. Bah, words... Hide and seek? I don't think so. Shaking his head, Jake pushed himself further and further back, even though he'd already backed up as far as was physically possible. "Noooo," he whimpered, frowning a tad. "Go 'way..."

EEP! What is this? See-who-gives-Jake-a-heart-attack-first day?! Jake suddenly thought to himself as Professor Morgan appeared as well, a weird look on her face. Jake was sorely tempted, at first, to crawl out and into her arms, but then he realised. That was what they waaaaanted... yeah... good cop, bad cop, evil snidget...

Jake shook his head as an answer to both questions and pushed himself further back, glaring at the snidget... It was soooooo tempting...

Kayla watched Jake's face and she could tell that he did not trust them one little bit and now he was retreating further back under the desk. Eh... like that would stop her. She glanced at Professor Morgan for a moment and knew that her leg was hurting more than she was willing to let on and Kayla was not about to let the woman hurt herself anymore.

Taking a deep breath and hoping she wasn't about to get into trouble for this, she squeezed herself under the table and belly crawled her way to Jake. "You don't like to make things easy for yourself do you?" she panted. "Now Jake, you can come with me quietly or I am going to make life rather hard for you" she grabbed him by the robes and held tight. "Professor, can you pull me back out please, I have Jake?" she looked at Jake for a moment, "It's for you own good you know."

Eyes widening as Kayla reached in and grabbed him, Jake started to struggle.

What WAS it with WOMEN and MANHANDLING?!

Easy for myself? I can't heeeelp iiiiiit...

"I said NO!" he shouted, please Kayla's ears were close in the vicinity to his voice, which came out nice and loooouuuud... But still, she grabbed him.

Flailing about, Jake thrashed as Professor Morgan pulled Kayla out, who ended up pulling Jake along. This was NOT his idea of a perfect day so far, and to think, not a couple of hours ago he was on the third floor pretending to be a plane. Allie was soooooo in for it.

But, Jake was totally bamboozled when Professor Morgan didn't thwack him upside the head or banish him from the castle but instead... hugged him?

Listening to her words, Jake became even more confused. "What?" he choked out, not returning the hug nor trying to escape. "Why?"

Feeling herself being dragged out by Professor Morgan, Kayla grabbed onto Jake even tighter as he continued to thrash around. Really she had taken care of adults twice the size of Jake, did he really think he was any match for her.

Standing up she watched as Professor Morgan embraced Jake in a tight hug and she raised an eyebrow but said nothing. "I'll just go and make us some tea, so you two can...talk." Kayla moved off into the kitchen but made sure that she could see both Jake and the Professor, just in case he tried to make another run for it. She would stay out of it until Professor Morgan, asked her for assistance.

Frowning, Jake looked up at his professor. "But why would you be worried about me?" he asked, puzzled. Strange person. Totally strange... not safe. Jake closed his eyes, looking towards the door again when he opened them. They's sealed them, hadn't they? How crappy. He was stuck there.

"I don't want to talk," Jake mumbled stubbornly, but getting up anyway. He supposed, deep down, he DID need and maybe even wanted to talk, but they weren't getting him that easily.

But wait... never...?

"You... you promise?" Jake whispered, staring at Professor Morgan with wide eyes. Was this a trick? What... how?

She was nice?

Keeping a blank look on his face, Jake's brain gears worked intently to try and make him understand the situation. People weren't supposed to worry about him, it was why he ended up getting away with so much at his primary school, until they kicked him out... but nobody needed to know that just yet, especially considering the irony of the reason. "Mkay," was all he said to acknowledge that he'd heard Professor Morgan.

Watching as Professor Morgan went to sit down by the fireplace again, Jake cast a furtive glance towards the door. It would be a fruitless attempt, trying to escape, and he had the feeling that staying wouldn't be such a bad idea right now. There could be a rabid nurse out for his blood somewhere. Not good.

One step... two steps... Jake let his feet s-l-o-o-o-o-w-l-y carry him over to where the teacher sat, thinking about her words. For as long as I am teaching here at Hogwarts. Oyye, that never ended well in Jake's mind.

He sat down cautiously, fidgetting and playing with his hands for something to do, as well as staring pointedly down, ignoring Professor Morgan until she decided to speak to him. He MUST be in trouble by this point, he'd kicked a chair at the woman, for crying out loud. I wonder what happened to that chair... Jake nodded at the promise, a little disbelieving, but willing to wait and see.

Seeing that everything seemed to have calmed down and that Jake was at least staying put for the moment, well he couldn't actually go anywhere anyway. Kayla busied herself with making the tea, she could hear both Professor Morgan and Jake talking and she wondered whether maybe she should step outside.

Carrying the tray of tea over to where the two were sitting, she placed it on the table and looked at Professor Morgan, concern still etched on her face. She had seen the way the Professor was favouring her leg and Kayla could tell it was more than just a bruise. "Maybe Jake, would feel more comfortable talking if I wasn't in the room" she gave Jake a fleeting glance before turning back to the Professor. "I could take Vincent for a walk outside if you like?"

Jake flinched as Professor Morgan whistled for that Snitch of a Snidget [/pun] to come over. He was still furious with the bird for revealing his location, but that was besides the point right now. Still, he eyed it evilly, feeling a surge of something he couldn't quite place. All he knew was, he didn't like that thing.

Shrugging one shoulder, as he couldn't get back into the habit of using both, Jake listened to Professor Morgan, squeezing his eyes shut at the final question. That was just... so...

Jake leaned back in the chair, running his fingers in abstract patterns along the arm of the sofa, feeling the material brush his fingertips. It was so peaceful and calming. Jake closed his eyes. The day's events had at first exhausted him, but now he was wide awake, and painfully aware of every thought that was brought up with that one question.

Opening his eyes, still leaning backwards, Jake gazed at his Professor. "It's too much," he whispered. Glancing at Kayla, Jake closed his eyes again. "No, I just can't handle this... I want to go home. I miss my bedroom, I miss my house, I miss being alone all day..." Jake took a deep breath and tried not to break down. "Ever since I came to this place I've been freaking manhandled by too many people, shoved about so THEY can move ME around," COUGHAllieReeseKaylaPlymouthProfessorMorganCOUGH "And people think they can pick on me like that. Someone swung for me, missed me, and swung for me again so I got a black eye, another person, Plymouth, tried to flush my bloody head down the toilet because I followed the rules in Defense Against the Dark Arts. And THEN a Gryffindor PREFECT had the nerve to tell me he'd turn a blind eye to the whole thing..." I handled that one, though... for now...

Jake took a couple of deep breaths, heeeeeeeehuuuuheeeeeeehuuuuuheeee, and continued. "And then I saw Set die..." he whispered these words, staring at the wall opposite him. "And Professor Kazimeriz... he might need the memory, and I keep seeing it, him falling and stuff... It's so horrible... and... and..." And if someone killed him, and they find out I ratted them out... I'm dead too... And if it's a disease, I touched Set's face, I have it too... and I'm still dead...

Two salty tears ran down Jake's face, and he looked between the two females. "I hate it here."

As Kayla brought the over the tea, Iliana could see how worried she still looked. Shoot! She thought, tucking her hair behind her ear. Kayla wasn't buying her little performance at all. She smiled, thanking her for the tea and considered her offer. "Actually Kayla, that's a wonderful idea." She said, looking back and forth between Jake and Vincent. Privacy was probably best and Vinners seemed more than comfortable around Kayla. "Here you go." She said, handing the snidget over on two fingers. "Its cold out there though. Don't freeze yourself."
Professor Morgan watched as Kayla took Vincent outside, deciding to take her chances leaving the door unsecured. She listened intently as Jake started to tell her about the awful things that had been going on for him here and felt her heart start to break. It must have been just horrible. Being so young and so far from home. At least for her first year at Hogwarts she had Alain and Viviana here with her to keep her from feeling homesick.

"Oh Jake, someone hit you?! WHO?!" She demanded. "Who’s been treating you this way?"

"Plymouth Morgan?" She asked, sure there was only one. "And Cale!?! But why would he do such a thing?!" She asked, visibly angry. She lowered her head in an effort to keep it together, refusing to allow herself to get worked up again. But Cale knew better. She was a Gryffindor darn it, same as he! And a prefect, allowing a fifth year to torment a firstie… The very idea sickened her. Oh her poor Jake.

When he mentioned Set, Iliana shivered and lifted her head. She had had no idea that Jake had to bear witness to that tragedy. But it made perfect sense. He was a Hufflepuff after all. She looked over at Jake mournfully and threw her arms around him again, this time pulling him close. "I didn't know…" She said, trying not to cry. When he muttered, I hate it here... It was more than she could take. She wiped the tear away quickly so that Jake wouldn't see.

Jake sniffed a little as his eyes glazed over with unshed tears. It was all way too much, and he'd never dealt with stuff like this, at least not on this scale. Squeezing his eyes shut, Jake clenched his fists, wishing he could go back to staying in his own house on his own, everyday, like he was used to.

Questions... questions...

But then, she hugged him... Jake didn't pull away or even ignore the embrace like last time, he leaned into it, thankful for any kind of support with his emotional state right then. Only then did he get to answering.

"J-J-Jack M-Mosier," he stammered out, trying to keep his voice steady and failing miserably. "He got d-d-detention for it, and stu-stuff, but he... he... he's just sooooo intimidating if i s-s-say s-something that he doesn't agree with... or l-l-look at hiiiiim the wrong way, whatever that means," Jake added, feeling the tears slide down his face. He hated when people told him he gave them a look, or that he had an attitude, because he just couldn't do those things. "Even in classes, Muggle Studies and Arithmancy... he uses his h-height to g-go all intimidating, s-s-squaring up to me and st-stuff." Jake made sure not to point out the boy had also 'helped' fix his arm.

"Yeah," Jake sniffed, pouting miserably at this point. "We had a wizard tag thing game, and I played by the rules, I swear! He wore a badge! She wore a badge! She got me FIRST!" Panicking, Jake tried to get through the fact that he had not been in the wrong at all. "And Plymouth... he got me in a headlock, and dragged me to the boys room, and made the girl watch, and tried to make me say sorry. But I wasn't sorry, I wasn't wrong... Then... Cale? Yeah, him, he came along as Plymouth tried to give me a swirly, and Plymouth went back to class, and Cale said he would totally ignore whatever Plymouth did if I didn't apologise, but I wasn't wrong, I swear to you," Jake sobbed, the tears coming thick and fast. "He said he'd do it himself... and Plymouth scares me... I panicked when he left, and kept throwing myself against the stall... because I'm a spaz... an idiot... the weird kid..."

Jake gulped again, pushing himself further into the embrace, covering his eyes with his hand, which was covered by his sleeve. "You weren't supposed to know," Jake whimpered, taking a couple of steadying breaths, and again failing to calm down. "People want to know stuff... not many know I actually SAW it, just that I came across him and screamed... some people have been trying to corner me and talk..." Jake pressed harder on his eyes. "I don't deal with pressure very well."

Jake had never been able to deal with pressure, always ushered away from stressful situations, allowed to deal with things in his own little world, whilst everyone sorted the bigger problems. After years of that, Jake couldn't get used to the new way of doing things, and the pressure had slowly crept up on him. If only...

Accepting the tissue, which is something that he had NEVER been able to do, Jake rubbed his eyes clumsily with it and hiccoughed. He couldn't believe that either, nor could he believe that Jack had then had the audacity to act like he was totally good and not remember.

"It's... fine," he mumbled, though in his head, he knew it really wasn't. Wow, all this lying would cause some meltdown with his brain soon. Hogwarts was bad for his health. "I just... wish he'd stay away from me..."

At the Professor's last words Jake leant back against the arm of the sofa and looked up at her, suddenly exhausted like he always was when the slightest tear was shed with him. He shook his head slowly. "He wanted to talk to me about it, Professor," Jake explained. "And also, I don't think he would be very happy... afterwards, maybe," Jake whispered. The fact was, knowing he had known, but not being able to recall would drive Jake absolutely mad. Worse than knowing, but he couldn't say that, now could he. "It's fine," he mumbled, looking down at his hands solemnly, hoping she wasn't about to get mad.

Kayla slipped quietly back into the hut and stood still in the corner so as not to scare Jake into not talking to the Professor. She didn't want to intrude but it was too cold to stay outside and poor little Vincent was shivering as she held him in her hands.

Well she could not help but hear what Jake had to say and her eyes narrowed slightly and the anger bubbled up inside her. That bloody Jack Mosier was at it again and quite frankly she'd had enough of him. And this whole thing with Plymouth Morgan, oh now she had two reasons to have a go at that little snot. She had been itching to for ages now, with the whole Cela thing and now Jake! Oh and Cale Newell will be having a talking to as well, what kind of Prefect just turns a blind eye to this sort of thing.

Kayla knew Jake, was suffering from what he had seen of Set's death and it would be a lot for one eleven year to deal with. Eh...she had seen stuff like that before she knew how to close her self from that stuff now. She cleared her throat to let them know she was back in the room, "Sorry I had to come back inside, Vincent here was getting cold" Kayla turned to Jake. "I couldn't help but overhear and if it would make you feel better I can accompany you to Professor Kazimeriz if you like. He asked me to escort the younger years around anyway" she gave a small shrug, "Up to you of course, I - I have witnessed people dying as well" she confessed.

Still staring blankly down at his hands, Jake took a large breath in and nodded. "I will," he murmured. "I'll try, in any case."

Pressing each of his finger tips together over and over again in a sort of rhythm, getting faster and faster, Jake bit his lip in worry. "What happened with that chair... am I going to get in trouble for what I-" Jake broke off, staring intently at Professor Morgan's face. He'd caught sight of a movement out of the corner of his eye, and had turned to look around, and now wished he hadn't. "Why are you crying?" Did I hurt her? Jake thought worriedly, for this was the first time he could remember feeling bad about making someone upset. "What did I do?"

Hang on... wooooahhhh... Jake stared incredulously at Professor Morgan for a second, shocked. "You... proud? Of... of... of me?" Jake didn't understand. He'd been acting like a coward and a total imbecile, people hated him and then he turned up here acting like a complete infant. Shaking his head, Jake opened his moth to say something, but a noise startled him.

Listening to Kayla with slightly wide eyes, Jake nodded. "Yeah, I mean, please... He told me to go see him in private to talk about it, but I'm pretty sure he meant because of all the others in the office by that point... I'd really appreciate it when I go... but a couple of girls were taking him to see that mirror... on the 6th floor..." Jake shook his head to stop the nervous rambling, and just nodded, before his voice broke up again. At her next words, Jake didn't know quite what to say. "You... you did?" he asked quietly, pulling his knees up and hugging them. "That's..." he looked to the Professor, unable to finish his sentence.

Empathy; not Jake's strong point, even if the situations did have small similarities.

Kayla gave Jake a reassuring smile, "It's no problems at all. I seem to get on quite well with Professor Kazimeriz, so I don't think he will mind." That might be a little presumptuous on Kayla's part but she had never had a problem with the DADA professor. They both seemed to be on the same wave length at times and so she understood him and respected him totally.

She nodded at him, "Horrible, I know" she finished for him. "Death is a hard thing to understand and the reasons behind it even harder. But you have to try and move on Jake, otherwise it's going to torment you for the rest of your life." Kayla moved forward closer to Jake and the Professor and she placed Vincent back onto Professor Morgan's shoulder and took a seat by the fire. "I know that sounds harsh and I don't mean it to be but I learnt to move past it because if I didn't I would still be in my bed crying my eyes out."

"'Kay then," Jake mumbled, twiddling his finger about, not necessarily looking forward to going to see the man, but having the stress eased nevertheless. He had never understood quite why anyone hated the man like he had heard. Kazimeriz really seemed like an okay guy, to Jake anyway. Just need to get that stupid encounter with him over soon...

Listening to Kayla's next words, Jake knew that would be damn well impossible for him. There would have to be sacrifices for him to make, for that to work, in any case. "Move on," he repeated, then went on to misinterpret slightly. "No crying..." Jake thought for a moment after thinking about what Kayla had said in his own frame of mind. He was probably wrong, but it worked for him. And it would be relatively easier than... talking... "Sure."

Eyeing Professor Morgan disbelievingly, as he was pretty sure he'd heard a shout of pain in the hospital wing, Jake shrugged the shoulder he had previously dubbed his 'good shoulder'. "Whatever," he mumbled, staying away from that subject if he could. "I just have... well, I'm alot stronger than I usually try to be, especially when I'm angry," Jake explained, vaguely. "I'm just glad I didn't lose my temper all that badly," he added, noting to himself that as long as he could help it, that wouldn't happen here. Oh no, never again, hopefully. He'd been surprised his mum hadn't gone and kicked him out that day, regardless of him being ten.

Jake cleared his throat, a little confused as to why exactly she ducked his question like that, and a tad frustrated with all the vague answers. It didn't matter, though, because Jake had a feeling after all the trouble he'd been that Professor Morgan wouldn't speak to him again. Sigh.

Watching the woman out of the corner of his eye as she took his wand out of her pocket, Jake had to exercise the self restraint not to grab it straight out of her hand. He was still pretty miffed at the audacity she'd had to take it from him, as that like piece of wood with a sticker on the bottom to tell him which way round to hold it was his only method of safety. "Thanks," he muttered, glancing up at her long enough to see her wink, and quickly staring away from the two females, at the closest wall on the side Professor Morgan was not on. "Thank you," he nodded, in response to the fact that he no longer had detention. Shrugging one shoulder again, and lifting his hand to absent-mindedly prod the bad one, Jake replied, "Bit sore, bit stiff..."

And then she was talking to Kayla, which gave Jake time enough to think. All this trouble, the long day and stuff, and from what I'm hearing, I made too much trouble for Professor Morgan, and Kayla had to help her... Bad person, much?

"And I'm sure you want me gone, now," Jake said, abruptly standing up and staring at the opposite wall, wand in his hand. "So I'll go."

Feeling Professor Morgan's hand take her own and hearing her words, Kayla blushed slightly. "Oh really it was not problems at all Professor, I'm just glad everything seems to have been sorted out." She looked up and met the Professor's eyes and she smiled, "Thank you Professor, although I didn't do it for any sort of recognition...but hey I won't knock back twenty points" she added with a chuckle and then gave the Professor's hand a squeeze, "You're welcome" Kayla said quietly.


Kayla looked at Jake, she hadn't meant that he couldn't cry or that he couldn't show any emotion at all but maybe that just might work for him. It did for her after all, she had closed herself off from all the horrible things she had seen and it had made her all the more stronger.

"No Jake, we don't want you to go. Actually I was hoping you might help Professor Morgan and myself do something about Charlotte here." Kayla reached up and pulled her pet tarantula out from underneath her hair and held her in the palm of her hand. "She's being rather moody lately and I don't know how to snap her out of it."

It was plain to see that no matter how hard she tried to explain, Jake was going to continue to misinterpret her words. Sadly, even her compliments seemed to miss him completely. But it was really no wonder after the day that he'd had. Poor Jake. So, instead of arguing her point and keeping him there any longer, she decided to instead to just smile sweetly and let him go.

"Jake, you're more than welcomed to stay…. but that's up to you. Only if you want to." She clarified. She had kept him there against his will long enough. "I wonder... would you care for a Calming draught before you go?" She asked, getting up from the chair. Releasing Vincent to roam free, Iliana ever so slowly made her way over to her large, mahogany desk. "I have some here in my top desk drawer." She said, pulling it open and holding up a small vial.

Iliana looked over a Jake with a hopeful expression. A big, furry spider might actually work wonders in cheering him up. She propped herself up on the corner of the desk and leaned her head down to speak to the tarantula directly. "Oh, what's wrong pretty girl?" She asked, petting her gently before lifting her eyes to meet Kayla's. "May I?" She asked, laying her hand out in front of her.

Herminny ran from the fourth floor corridor all the way to the COMC teacher's hut and knocked on the door. She knew the measage she had for her was urgent cause from what she could see the older boy was not able to handle the crazy creature that had been destroying the tapestry now destroying the boys face. Herminny was so scared for the boy and the creature and knew the COMC teacher would be best suited to help in a situation like this.

Hearing words that totally contradicted what he had thought, Jake looked between the two again for a few moments, before kneeling on the sofa with the leg that was closest to it, making sure his foot didn't touch it. "Who's Ch-" he began to ask but that was soon answered when Kayla pulled out a tarantula. "Woooww..." he whispered, eyes going bright, staring at the animal. He was itching to get closer, get a good view of the brilliant spider.

Shifting his weight from foot to foot, Jake started a rocking-swaying motion from side to side, his hand pressed against the back of the sofa, whiched gave him a slight push-off. Presently, he stopped the bizarre moving and drummed his fingers frantically on the back of the sofa.

Only if you want to... only if YOU want to...

Saying nothing but not moving from where he was half kneeling, Jake's eyes darted around the room, following the snidget, Vincent. He could amuse himself like this for hours... keeping track of the thing, losing it, then going through the motions of trying to find it. The whole thing was quite fun. Maybe Vincent wasn't so evil after all.

"Erm..." Jake dragged his eyes away from the bird reluctantly. "What will it do?" he asked suspiciously. "It won't... hurt or anything... will it?" Jake was now very wary of anything he was offered these days. Taking another look at Charlotte the tarantula, Jake let his gaze drift upwards again, looking for Vincent. There was a knock at the door, and Jake wondered vaguely who it was, but that was none of his business. Though he did wonder again whether they would, indeed, be turfed out.

Lisa and Zoe
 

Kayla looked up to watch Jake's reaction and was relieved to see that he wasn't afraid of Charlotte, actually he looked rather eager which was good. She placed Charlotte in Professor Morgan's hand, "Of course Professor, she's been this way ever since I got Webster." She placed her hand down the front of her robes and pulled out a second tarantula, although this one wasn't as big as the first.

"This is Webster" she announced. "He and Charlotte, were great friends when I first introduced them, now Charlotte can't seem to stand the sight of him." Kayla held Webster out to Jake, "Would you like to hold him? He won't bite or anything...he's just a little overzealous so he may want to run all over you." She turned back to Professor Morgan, with a worried expression, "Do you know what's wrong with Charlotte?"

At Jake's question, Iliana looked over at him and fought hard not to frown. After all of this he still did not trust her. Smiling instead, she shook her head slowly. "Jake, I would never give you anything that might hurt you." She said, tossing him the vial. "It will just help you to relax." She explained further, once again determined to let him make his own decision for a change.
Professor Morgan listened carefully as Kayla began to explain her spider's recent behavioral changes. When she pulled out another, somewhat larger spider from her hair, several thoughts went through her head. Firstly she couldn't help but wonder, just how many creatures were living in the young prefect's hair. Next she thought, what an interesting girl Kayla was to not act foolishly queasy around her uncommon pets. She certainly reminded her of herself growing up as a child. How funny her brother had thought she was for her lack of fear among the creepy crawly things.

Of course the biggest thought, the one that rang out in her head, caused her to lift Charlotte up close to her face so that she could get a better look at her small patient. After a few short moments, Iliana lowered her hand and gave Kayla a comforting smile. "Kayla, I'm pretty sure that Charlotte is going to be just fine." She said seriously. "Though I do hope you're prepared to be a grandmother. Honey, Charlotte is going to have some babies."

Barry had the sheet it hand and wand in pocket as he approached the hut, the professer seemed kind enough. Perhaps she would allow him to do charms homework on her property. It was worth a try and if it didn`t work out he`d just put it on the whoping willow or something. He lifted a hand and knocked on the door

short >_< yes, i really do fail
 

Immediately, Jake moved over from where he was half knelt at the sofa to go see this Webster dude. "Wow," he said again, holding out his hand for the tarantula to scuttle onto, which he did. Jake smiled as he held his hand up to look at the creature, which promptly ran up his arm towards his head.

"Huh?" Jake spoke, slightly distracted by keeping track of the arachnid's movements and not paying much attention to anything else. As the creature crawled onto his face, Jake looked up to see the professor throw something. Out of pure instinct his hand shot out and he caught the vial, despite having a face full of tarantula. He raised his hand for Webster to climb onto, gazing suspiciously at the vial as he did so. "You... erm... haven't got any water I could have, do ya?" he asked, for not only did he want to be ready, but he had a real splitting headache. "Sorry..."

Moving his hand around to prevent Webster getting much further, Jake gazed at the apparently pregnant tarantula. How the hell does she know that?

Kayla waited anxiously as Professor Morgan inspected Charlotte, she'd only had her for just over a year and she had grown rather attached to her which was why Kayla had kept her and not given her to Celandine like she had originally planned.

Her face broke into a smile when the Professor announced thatshe was going to be fine and then immediately followed up with one of complete shock. "She's what?" Kayla squeaked, her baby was going to have babies!! Kayla sat there stunned for a couple of minutes letting this piece of news sink in and then finally she let out a squeal. "Oh my god, oh my god, she's going to be...I'm going to be...oh my god" she repeated again.

"Well this changes everything I'll have to order a tank from Diagon Alley, so that I can set up the nursery for the babies that are coming. I can't have her wandering around anymore and it might be a good idea not to carry her under my hair either, in case you know she goes into labour or whatever tarantula's do. I haven't read that far into it" Kayla threw herself back against the chair and let out an excited giggle. "This is so amazing. How many do you think she will have?" Oh she hadn't actually thought about that, what was she going to do with numerous tarantula's running around?

Kayla watched as Webster crawled all over Jake's head and arms and she chuckled softly. "I think he likes you." She was impressed that Jake didn't shy away from Webster and in fact he seemed to enjoy having him crawl all over him and then it came to her. "Oh Jake, would you like one of the babies when they're born? I see you've got a real knack with Webster there, might be nice to have on of your own?" She hoped Jake, would like to take one there was nothing more satisfying than having a pet to look after and it just might keep Jake busy enough to forget about his other problems...for a while at least.

"Of course I do. Let me get it for you." She said, handing Charlotte back to Kayla. Then she walked around her desk and poured Jake a glass of cold water from the pitcher nearby. When she returned, she handed it over, giggling at how adorable he was with Kayla's spider.
Iliana held up one finger and said, "Hold that thought." Then she walked over to her bookcase and pulled a medium-sized glass aquarium down. "Will this do for a nursery?" She asked, setting the tank on her desk. "You are more than welcomed to it; I'm not using it right now."

The walking around was starting to be too much, so Ili pulled out her desk chair and took a seat. Smiling faintly at Kayla so that would understand why, she swiveled the chair to face her and said, "As far as her babies are concerned, brace yourself, dear." She said. "A female tarantula can deposit from 50 to 2000 eggs, depending on the species. She will lay them in a silken egg sac and guard it for about 6 to 7 weeks. During this time, she will want to stay very close to the eggsac and is likely to become more aggressive. So be careful not to excite her too much." She said. "Also Kayla, the young spiderlings will need to remain in the nest for some time after hatching so that they live off the remains of their yolk sac before dispersing." She explained. "If its easier for you, they can stay here with me. That way, we can both keep an eye on them and you won't have to worry about your dorm mates disturbing anything."
Hearing the knocking at her door, Professor Morgan called out, "Come in, the door's open."

Barry huried into the hut and took a seat "Thank you professer" he said before turning to the issue at hand "So yeah, first of all, I was wondering professer what do Nifflers eat?" ok so that wasn`t what he had wanted to say " And uh could you help me with my homework by letting me stick something in your office?"

lol someone's been doing their research
 

Kayla took Charlotte back off Professor Morgan and held her gently in the palm of her hand and softly stroking her hairy body. This was the most amazing thing, she had never actually gotten the chance to see baby animals being born before.

She looked up as Professor Morgan took a seat at her desk and nodded not before giving her another concerned look. The woman really needed to have that leg looked at but she didn't want to say anything in front of Jake, seeing he had been the cause. Kayla listened as Professor Morgan spoke and the colour drained from her face, "Two thousand eggs" she whispered, what was she going to do with two thousand tarantula's?

But then the Professor saved the day by offering them a place here in the hut and Kayla breathed a sigh of relief. "Oh I would appreciate that Professor, thank you. And I can come down and visit them often?" she asked. That would be cool because she really liked this Professor.

Nodding slowly, Jake watched Webster as he decided to go on another wander around Jake's arm before. He stared as the tarantula stopped and he gazed at its... face? Then his head shot up. "Serious?" he asked Kayla, tilting his head to one side. "Like... really?" Awesome! he thought to himself gleefully, hoping she wasn't messing with him. "Because I'd love that," he murmured, looking back at Webster.

"Cheers, mate," Jake muttered without really thinking about the London accent he'd started talking with again, holding up the glass and looking through it towards the light. He had, by this time, distracted himself from Kayla and Professor Morgan without really realising. After assuring himself that the glass was indeed free from... wels, he didn't really know what he was looking for, Jake brought it to his lips and downed half of the glass. The headache he had appeared to ease, and so he held up the vial and regarded it.

Biting his lip, Jake decided it couldn't hurt, and opened the thing and drank it. Shuddering, he buried his face in the crook of his elbow, feeling very aware of the sudden calming effect it had. The change was immense, and Jake kept his face hidden, screwing up his eyes until he had gotten used to it. Then, feeling something on the side of his face (Webster), Jake looked back up, eyes glazed a little, and drank down the rest of the water.

"Thank you," he said quietly, setting the glass back on Professor Morgan's desk before looking in the general direction of Kayla. "You want this guy back?" he asked, pointing to the Tarantula on the side of his face.

Well I AM supposed to be the CoMC professor right?! ;)
 

"Well hello, Barry. How have you been?" She asked, gesturing him to have a seat. "Nifflers are pretty easy actually. They have a diet similar to that of a mole or vole. They prefer bugs, roots, fruits, and vegetables. Mostly I have been feeding yours a little fruit and vegetable mixture. She seems to love it. But I bet if you found some beetles on your way to the Nursery, she'd really enjoy the special treat." She said. "Now about your poster…" She continued. "If it will help you with your school work, then by all means. Hang it anywhere you'd like."
Seeing Kayla's concern again gave Iliana mixed feelings. Part of her couldn't help but feel guilty for causing her to worry. Being a prefect, she had enough to worry about already. But somewhere inside it also felt strangely comforting. She looked around the room at the students gathered in her office and a smile spread across her face. There hadn't been many times lately that she had felt truly blessed but today was one of those days.

"Kayla, don't worry yourself. When the babies are big enough to leave the nest, I know someone in the Ministry that will gladly take any spiders that you don't wish to keep. Besides, Charlotte looks more like a Chilean rose hair tarantula. She should only produce an egg sac containing maybe 500 babies. I'm sure we can manage that."
"You're welcome!" She said, secretly smiling inside. It seemed like finally he was starting to trust her. Nothing could make her happier. "So, are you feeling better now? It usually works wonders for me." She admitted.

"Good , a little busy but yes good, need to visit my pet more often though" he said , it wasn`t like he was going to tell the professer his life story. "And thanks, for both things" he said.

Hurrying to well the wall he quickly put the poster on a cabnit door and muttered "Advexis" with his wand out and the poster stuck to it.
http://i410.photobucket.com/albums/p...sterKapoor.jpg

Returning to the table he sat down and admired his handi work "Perfect" he muttered to himself and then looking at Kayla he asked "Is that a spider? In your hands?" Kayla of all people.

So true and such a splendid job you are doing too :)
 

"Of course Jake, I couldn't think of anyone better to have one of her babies and by the sounds of it you're going to have your pick" Kayla chuckled softly. "I'll even help you set up a home for it and show you what they like to eat and how to catch their food."

Kayla looked at Jake and let out a small laugh, he looked so funny with Webster sitting on his cheek. "Only if you're sick of him crawling all over you" she got up and placed Charlotte into the glass tank that Professor Morgan had placed on the desk.

Kayla gave Professor Morgan, an appreciative smile. "That sounds like a good idea. Who knew that being a grandmother would be so stressful" she joked. And then leaned over the desk so that she could speak to Professor Morgan without the others hearing. "You really need to do something about that leg" she whispered, "I don't want to see anything happen to one of my favourite Professor's" Kayla straightened back up and gave her a faint smile. "Maybe I should think about heading back up to the castle." She turned towards Jake and gave him a smile as well. "And so should you Jake, we have to go and see Professor Kazimeriz."

Kayla looked up at Barry, "Why yes it is Barry. You seem so surprised that I would like something like this." She cocked her head to the side and regarded him for a moment. "Why is that?"

After entering Professor Morgan's hut Vanessa smiled at the few other students in their before looking at the Professor. "Hey Professor Morgan," She spoke with a smile. "I was wondering if I could have a talk with you."

Screwing up his face, Jake nodded a little. "Yeah," he muttered, flashing a quick smile. "Better..."

Why don't I feel like running around in circles anymore? Siiiiiiiiigh...

"I feel..." Scrambling around in his head, Jake tried to find the right word. "Slow... tired... lethargic... I'm not used to it is all," he explained, nodding to himself. "Yeah..."

He turned back to Kayla. "Oh, that sounds so cool..." Reaching up, Jake held out a hand for Webster to climb onto and held him out to Kayla. He smiled. "Thank you."

Scrunching his nose up again at the next suggestion, Jake shrugged one shoulder. "I dunno... I'll go back up to the castle... but I don't feel like talking to him 'til later," Jake looked back towards the door. "We gonna go now?"

Kayla took Webster off Jake and placed him onto her shoulder, in which he immediately crawled around and hid underneath her hair. "Wow jump in her grave, why don't you Webster" she chuckled, that had been Charlotte's favourite spot. "Anytime Jake" Kayla returned his smile.

"Okay that's no problems, you probably need a rest after the day you've had" she nodded. "Sure we can go now if you like." Turning to Professor Morgan, Kayla raised an eyebrow. "That is if you don't need us for anything else?"

"You're most welcome." She said with a smile. After the poster was hung, Iliana gave it a curious look and started to laugh. Then she turned towards Barry again and said, "Will that be all?
Professor Morgan stood back up and walked over to her supply closet for some things to add to the tank. She wanted to make sure that Charlotte was warm, as well as comfortable. She looked about ready to lay her egg sac soon. She piled the items in her arms and hobbled back to her desk to arrange everything. When she was finished she looked over her work and smiled. Then she gently put Charlotte back inside.

"Oh Kayla, really!? Thank you so much for saying that." She whispered, genuinely touched. No one had ever said that she was their favorite before. "And don't worry, as soon as Jake goes back to the castle. I just don't want to upset him if I can avoid it." He had been through enough.
"Absolutely Vanessa, come have a seat." She said. She looked down at the poster that Vanessa was holding and grinned. "Would you like to hang yours on the wall too?" She asked. A couple more students and they could paper the whole office with that ridiculous looking picture. Oh joy.
"It might take a moment for that sluggish feeling to subside. That usually doesn't happen to me, but its possible for your reaction to be a bit different." She said. "Though it might make your visit with Professor Kazimeriz a little easier." She continued. "At least that's what I was hoping."
"Nothing at all dear. There are some things I should take care of around here at any rate." She said, giving her a knowing look. She wanted to tell her that she planned to splint her leg the moment they walked out the door, but Kayla was smart… She'd figure it out.

Vanessa smiled at Professor Morgan as she sat down. "Erm...if you don't mind?" She asked with a grin, noticing that there was already a poster up on the wall. It seemed someone else had already thought of her idea. But it also seemed that Professor Morgan was more than happy to have more than one up. Awesome.
"How are you Professor?" She asked politely, not really knowing what else to say.

Kayla watched as Professor Morgan, got some supplies out for Charlotte and she looked down at her tarantula and smiled fondly. It was going to feel weird not having her close by anymore. She placed her hand inside the tank and stroked Charlotte gently, "I'll be back as soon as I can" she murmured.

She straightened back up and looked at Professor Morgan, "Well it's true and thank you for looking after Charlotte for me." She nodded in understanding at the Professor's meaning and walked back over to Jake, "Okay Mr Upstead, let's get you back to the castle and into your nice warm bed." Actually she could do with an early night herself, today had been one hell of a day. "See you soon Professor." Kayla gave her a small wave and headed towards the door and opened it waiting for Jake.

Jake's ears perked a little as he heard his name being mentioned, and his eyes narrowed at the whispering females. Sneaky people... Unfortunately, Jake didn't hear the rest of what they were talking about, but he cursed his stupid hearing for letting him hear his own name, and tried to convince himself it was the wind.

The wind was calling him.

"I'm sure it will," Jake nodded to Professor Morgan, starting to feel better already, but scrunching his face up when she mentioned going to see Kazimeriz. "Yeahhh... sure..."

Turning back to Kayla, Jake nodded. He was extremely tired at that moment and for once sleep seemed very inviting. In fact... now that Kayla mentioned his bed, Jake's eyelids seemed to put on a few pounds (= soooo heavy). "'Kay," he said before turning back to Professor Morgan. "See ya later, Professor... and..." Jake took a deep breath, trying not to think about the earlier scenes. "I am sorry..."

And with that Jake followed Kayla to the door and straight out, his mind preoccupied with his distracted thoughts.

Celandine detoured to professor Morgan's hut after having visited the abraxans. She knocked on the door politely, intending to ask a few questions about the progress of the foals and maybe have a go at the saddles again.

Knocking before he entered, Jude slipped sheepishly inside.

"'Eh dair Professah Mo'gan..." he said, not looking forward to this. "Oi jus' came ta tell ya tha' Oi'm leavin' for aboot 2 weeks, an' so Oi can' take care o' me Augurey while Oi'm away. Oi jus' though' ya should know. Oi'm leavin' in a few hours, kin'a loike a family emergency. This way, Oi jus' din't want ya ta think tha Oi'd abandoned 'er or anuhthin..." he said and looked at her.

He hadn't really dealt with Professor Morgan a lot in the past, and didn't know what to expect for a reaction. So instead, he just stood there silently, face expressionless, hoping for the best.

Iliana laughed sweetly and shook her head. "No Vanessa, I don't mind." She said, taking a seat beside her. "I'm doing great. Thanks for asking. And how are you?" She asked, happy to see a smile on her face.
"I will be my pleasure. Maybe Charlotte can even keep Vincent company." She joked. "Come by anytime, my door is always open." She added, waving her goodbyes.
"Bye Jake. Come and visit me soon." She said. "And there's nothing to be sorry for."She added sincerely. "…. be careful." She whispered, as they walked out the door." She had a feeling that it would be hard from here on out not to worry.

There was another knock at her door and Iliana called out again, "Come in, it's open."
Iliana looked up from her place on the couch and waved Jude inside. "Well, hello." She said.

She listened carefully as he explained about his family troubles and then replied. "Never you mind, dear. Aubrey will be well taken care of in your absence. Now you run along and leave everything to me."

Celandine stepped inside and smiled brightly, "Hi Professor! I wanted to ask a few questions about the abraxans and thank you for the unicorn class and I drew a picture for you because I couldn't stop thinking about how beautiful they were."

Celandine bit her lip and offered the drawing to Professor Morgan.

"Good afternoon Miss Toussaint, its lovely to see you today." She said, walking over to meet Celandine half way. Taking the picture from her hands, she opened it up and laid it flat on her desk. "Oh wow! Celandine this is magnificent work!" She exclaimed, clearly impressed. "You are truly gifted. Would you mind at all if I hung this drawing up right beside my desk?"

"Oh of course I don't mind, Professor!" Celandine answered cheerfully, "Thank you. The unicorns inspired me and I felt like drawing something else after I did the homework. It's relaxing." Cela told the professor.

"Thats good..." Vanessa smiled, glad that Professor Morgan was alright. She frowned just the smallest bit when the Professor asked the question back to her. "Errm...I'm good," She nodded, trying to smile a little more. "Some things are better than they were before now."

Iliana's face lit up and she pointed her wand at her beautiful gift. Using a quick fixing charm to attach it, she smiled at how perfect it looked on her wall. "Thank you so much Celandine." She said, sitting down at her desk, still admiring her new artwork.

Just then, Iliana grabbed a piece of parchment and started to scribble something down. Where had her head been today. She had almost forgot. Still writing, Iliana glanced up at Cela and said, "Oh and there was something you wanted to ask me about Abraxans, right? You know, Cassiopeia seems to be simply thriving under your care."
Iliana was almost certain that she knew what Vanessa had meant by 'things'. She decided not to ask, hoping that she knew she was there for her if she ever needed to talk. Instead she began making idle conversation. "So... your classes are going well?" She asked.

Feeling another slight twinge in her leg, Iliana turned in her chair and lifted up her robes to take a look. She frowned when she saw that the swelling had gotten worse and picked up her wand. She swiftly splinted her leg and immediately felt some relief. She smiled at the difference and turned back timidly to face the girls. Maybe they would pretend not to notice. She thought, optimistically.

Vanessa was glad when Professor Morgan decided not to ask about the "things" she really didn't want to talk about them. Not now that everything was moving on so perfectly. "Yes...They are," She nodded, smiling. Her classes were going very well, especially the one Professor Morgan taught. "The Unicrons were soo pretty!" Vanessa added, smiling, she'd liked that lesson especially, even though all of the care of magical creatures lessons had been awesome.

Vanessa noticed the Professor cast something on her leg, but she decided not to ask. Professor Morgan hadn't pressed onto her problem, so she wasn't going to do the same. "Are you enjoying the teaching Professor?" She asked, interested. Professor Morgan was a new teacher so, she'd like to know how her experiance was going.

"Thats okay professor." Celandine smiled brightly, "Oh yeah there is! She flew! On her own! Well not on her own, but with Tiberius. My question is, is it better to let them continue on their own or should I be going with them? Either riding on Cassiopeia or on my broom?"

Iliana just smiled, loving the response she was getting over her last lesson. She turned her head towards the open window and could just make out Kimber running in the distance. She looked back at Vanessa and pointed, making sure that she wouldn't miss the show. "Unicorns are one of the most fascinating creatures that we have here. I am not surprised that you find them intriguing." Professor Morgan said. She watched in silence until Kimber ran out of view and then turned back to Vanessa.

"I certainly am. I think teaching is the greatest job in the world." She answered. "I taught Arithmancy at Beauxbatons a few years back and fell in love with it immediately."

"So… any idea what you'd like to do when you leave Hogwarts?"
"They flew, really? Cela that's wonderful. I so happy you were there to see that." She exclaimed. With her next question, Iliana tilted her head to one side and gave her an appraising look. "You know what... I think they might be ready to be ridden after all." She answered. "Let's see…." Still brooding over the details in her head, Iliana began mumbling to herself out loud. "Of course, I'll need to be there to supervise… and they have to promise to be very careful… and make sure not to fly too high... " She trailed off.

When she was finally satisfied that it was a good idea, she shot a glance at Celandine and said, "How does this afternoon sound? I will be making a trip out to the Nursery soon; we can go together."

"Well, I only saw them landing, I was inside mucking out the stable. They have been sharing the same one all this time. But they are too big to share now, so I had to move Cassiopeia into a seperate stall." Cela explained. She tensed up as she listened to Professor Morgan muse out loud and jumped happily when the answer was yes! Cela stilled for a moment and looked up at the Professor, "Copernicus too?"

Iliana laughed her joyous, musical laugh at Cela's reaction and nodded her head with excitement. "Copernicus too!!!" She answered back.

With a flourish of her wand, she quickly sealed the letter she had been writing and handed it over. "Cela, I was wondering... would you mind delivering this to Professor Truebridge before we go? That should give me enough time to finish up in here and meet you and Copernicus near the stables."

Cela's face lit up at that and she nodded enthusiastically, "Oh yes, not a problem, I can do that." Cela took the letter, "It might take me a little while to find Cope... I think he's avoiding me." Celandine was a tiny bit crestfallen by that but she perked up again almost instantly, "I'll go now, Professor. Thank you soooooo much!"

Celandine waved and tucked the letter in her glove before leaving the hut and running up to the castle.

Walking side by side, the poor and sick Pymgy Puff held by Kiri's hands, Emiliano and Kiri arrived just outside Professor Morgan's Hut. And so, he knocked the door, not wanting to look like unrespectful to his favorite teacher. He just meant it...

"Don't worry." Emiliano said, looking at Kiri face to face. "Sol will be fine...and healthy in no time after this..." He told her with a wide smile.


ooc. Hello. Phil will be posting here tomorrow. ^_^

Kiri nodded mutely. She wasn't sure what to expect - Professor Morgan seemed nice enough in her lessons, for the few words they'd ever exchanged, but Kiri guessed she might react differently if some stupid second year turned up at her hut with a sick pygmy puff in her hands.

At least Emiliano didn't seem to be worried. He knocked at the door with every sign of perfect confidence. Kiri was immensely glad to have him with her. As the two of them waited for the Professor to answer, she disentangled herself from Emiliano and removed her gloves. She stuffed them into her bag unceremoniously, then grabbed Emiliano's arm again.

Iliana rose from her chair and followed Cela over towards the door, waving goodbye as she left. When she heard the quiet knocking, she flung open the door and smiled down at the pair standing just outside. "Good afternoon. Won't you come in," replied Professor Morgan, noticing the pygmy puff at last. "And I see you've brought a friend."

"Oooh," Vanessa cooed as she watched Kimber out of the window. The small unicorn was really something, very cute indeed, and definetly something Miles wouldn't mind being called cute. "Your lessons are really good Professor," She complimented, after Kimber had ran out of view and she was looking back at the Professor. Care of magical creatures had really become one of her favourite lessons, especially with the magical creatures nursery. That was one of her favourite things to do.

"You suit it..." Vannie commented with a smile, Professor Morgan seems to really enjoy teaching, that's why she was probably so good at it, and she really got along with the students too.

"Weell...I'd like to be a healer," She spoke with a nod smiling, that seems fun. "But I'm probably going to get dragged around with the band I'm in for a while." She giggled, that would be fun too.

"Oh... Hello, umm, Professor Morgan," Kiri said uncertainly as the door was opened. The professor's friendly face was brightened by a smile, and Kiri felt herself relax a little. Then she realised she was still clinging to Emiliano... Hastily, Kiri removed her arm. She could feel herself blush, and for a few uncomfortable moments she didn't know what to say. Then Sol, still sitting in her hand, squeaked his own little greeting, and her brain started working again.
She nodded gratefully at the professor and stepped inside. "Thank you," she mumbled.

Once inside the hut, Kiri turned to Professor Morgan. She wasn't sure how to begin, but so far it didn't look like the teacher was going to bite Kiri's head off for disturbing her outside of lessons, so she held out her hands. The tiny 'puff in her palms was shivering again. "This is, uh, Sol," she said, the name bringing on another blush. "He's my pygmy puff, but... Well, I think he's ill or something. He doesn't. And he won't stop shivering, either," she added miserably.
Kiri took a deep breath. "So I was thinking... As you're the Care of Magical Creatures professor, maybe you could, you know, take a look at him. If you have the time, of course."

<333 To my SS Parents...
 

Emiliano walked into Professor Morgan's Hut with a wide, yet sort of worried smile on his face. He just didn't like to see Kiri so sad about Sol, he just knew the poor creature would be fine sooner or later after this visit to the expert. "Good day, Professor Morgan." He greeted, "How have you been lately?" He asked, his casual manners.

He watched as Kiri talked to the professor about Sol and how he had been doing lately. Emiliano just wondered if he could help in anything.

"Why thank you for saying so, Vanessa. I'm glad you enjoy them." She replied. "Arithmancy was fun, but nothing beats being back at Hogwarts. Its just like I remember it." She added, inhaling deeply, as if taking in the familiarity.

"It seems we have much in common." She said. "I began my internship at Saint Mungo's as soon as I graduated from Hogwarts. See my father is a Muggle doctor and I imagined myself following in his footsteps. I apprenticed under a brilliant Healer named, Helga Fairhaven." She explained.

"I wonder…" She mused, a sly smile stretching across her face. "Vanessa, I think you'd be a great Healer! If you'd like, I could recommend you. As it so happens, Ms. Fairhaven still holds her position there. She is always eager to add a bright, new intern to her staff."

"Good afternoon, dear." She said sweetly before glancing down at the little creature in her hands. "I always have time for my students." She said, patting her gently on the shoulder. "Kiri, why don't you set him down on my desk and have a seat." She suggested.

Stopping just to the left of her desk, Iliana brushed her hair back into a ponytail and bent her head down towards the creature. "When did his symptoms start?" She asked.
"Hello Emiliano. I'm lovely, thanks for asking." She said, waving him over to join them. "The house elves brought over my favorite cookies. Please help yourself while we figure out what's the matter with Sol."

"Ooh...you came here?" Vanessa asked, smiling. She wondered what house Professor Morgan had been in, Gryffindor maybe, she would suit that house. She felt like asking but it would probably be a little rude. "I'm not that good at Arithmancy," Vanessa admitted, blushing a little bit. It was all those numbers.

"We do?" She asked, as she listened to Professor Morgan. Oooh. She trained as a Healer too. That was quite cool, one of her favourite teacher being in the profession that she wished to go into. "Aww...Was your father proud?" She asked, choking on her words a little. She found it hard to talk about things like this. But by doing so she'd make it easier right. She knew her father would have been proud of her, even if he wasn't here now.

"You do?" She felt her cheeks reddening, because the teacher telling you that was quite embarrasing. "You could recommend me? That would be great!" She exclaimed, smiling. It would be good to get a recommendation, then she might get onto the course quicker.

Gently, Kiri put Sol down on the desk. She could see him quivering slightly as he left her hands, so she ran her fingers through his pale yellow fur to calm him down before sitting down on a chair in front of the desk. Kiri couldn't help but give Emiliano a small smile as the professor bent down to examine the pygmy puff. She really was very friendly...

Kiri thought for a moment. "I'd say a few days ago." She paused, and said: "I usually keep him in a cage in the dormitory during the day when I, you know, have my lessons. But two days ago, when I came back from my last lesson, I found him on my bed, somehow he got out of his cage. And..." Here Kiri broke off. She glanced around at Emiliano and dropped her voice. "Some of my Potions ingredients were lying around, too. Maybe he ate something there... But," a pained note entered her speech, "I always keep them stored safely, and anyway, he's a pygmy puff, he can't open the cage on his own..."
Kiri wondered if she should really continue, but something made her. She spoke even quieter, conscious of Emiliano in the background. He didn't need to know. "Maybe someone in my dormitory did it." She swallowed heavily. "Some of them don't like me, I-I think."

ooc. my bad...uni tramits had to be done.
 

"Thank you, Professor..." Emiliano said with a wide smile and walked over.
Aww. Luffly, cookies!! They just smell great and Emiliano's stomach was craving for anything to eat, really, anything!!! So, he stepped closer to the plate and took one, just to try and while he made some company to Kiri to save Sol. He was just too worried about both.

Emiliano smiled back at Kiri and shrugged his shoulders as saying, See...I told you she would love to help you! He cleared his throat and stood against the wall, watching Professor Morgan and Kiri talk about Sol's health. His ears had to just be alert, what if Kiri was hiding something from him? And then, came the whisper. That was...stressing for him. Not to know what really might have happened.

Some people might not like you?? He heard that!!! And that was not so true. He just loved his friend Kiri, for being so sweet and curious for him. Emiliano couldn't believe it came from Kiri's lips. He shook his head slightly and kept standing there and eating the delicious House-elf made cookies.

Kayla made her way down to Professor Morgan's hut anxious to see how Charlotte was doing. Webster had been acting very restless over the last couple of days and she wondered if that was a sign that Charlotte was about to lay her eggs? She knocked softly on the door and took a step back and waited for Professor Morgan to answer. She rocked back and forth on her heels in excited anticipation. Webster was obviously excited as well because he crawled out from underneath her hair and proceeded to climb onto the top of her head.

Chris quickly walked up the stairs of Professor Morgan's hut and knocked he had really enoyed their last Care of Magical Creatures lesson on dragons and just wanted to tlk to her about things. He waited patiently for her to answer.

SO SORRY this took so long. Family issues have kept me away.
 

Iliana heard Vincent fluttering around back inside his cage and leaned over to lift open the door. "I missed you. Did you enjoy your nap?" She asked quietly when he flew over to her shoulder. When he nipped at her ear she giggled and then kissed him on the head before turning her attention back to Vanessa. "Yes ma'am!" She said proudly. "My entire family used to sleep right up there, in Gryffindor Tower. All except my dad, of course. He's a muggle after all." She explained.

She nodded enthusiastically at Vannie's question. "He's still proud." She answered, keeping her eyes fixed on one of the pictures on her desk. "And I'm sure your mother will be proud of you too. I am going to owl Ms. Fairhaven today and tell her all about you. She's going to adore you."

Professor Morgan listened in horror as Kiri described what sounded like an intentional poisoning. Her mind was racing with thoughts of smallish Slytherins sneaking around hurting their dorm mates' pets. She kept coming back to one key word. Slytherin. It made her wonder if it wasn't at all possible. "Well if he has eaten something that's made him sick, I have just the thing to make him better." She assured her. She moved to the cabinet and grabbed a small vial of clear liquid. Then she pulled out a tiny eyedropper and slowly fed some elixir to the little, furry creature before handing the rest of the potion to the young girl. "Here, this should make him feel better soon. Try administering it to him every other hour for the next two days. And keep a watchful eye on any new symptoms that might spout up. If his condition worsens, bring him back to me straight away." She said, lovingly patting his little body.

Then, looking Kiri straight in the eyes, Iliana said. "And Kiri, you can tell me who did this, if you know. My door is always open for you, okay?"
"You're welcome, Emiliano. And thank you for bringing Kiri to me." She said. As frightened as Kiri looked initially, she probably wouldn't have come without him. "I think Sol's lucky to have you both looking after him."
"Excuse me." She said, hearing the knocks at her door. Iliana hurried over, still limping slightly, and opened it. "Hi Webster!" She called out when she saw who was waiting outside. "Come on in, Kayla. I have a surprise for you." She said.

"Hello, Mr. Potter. Please come in." She said, ushering them inside. "How may I help you today?"

Kayla smiled brightly when Professor Morgan opened the door. "Hello Professor" she said as she moved inside the hut, taking Webster down off her head and holding him in her hand. She turned and face the Professor. "She's laid her eggs hasn't she?" Kayla asked excitement in her voice.

Grabbing Kayla's free hand, the Professor pulled her over to the large tank near her desk. "Yes she has!" She exclaimed. "Come and see! I'd say by this time tomorrow we should have a nest full of babies."

"Oooh!" Vanessa smiled, it was nice to know that Professor Morgan had come to Hogwarts, and had probably experianced some of the same experiances. "Gryffindor? Oooh...Nice." Vannie nodded, she had expected Professor Morgan to be in Gryffindor actually. "My Mum was in Gryffindor...but my dad was in hufflepuff," She nodded, it was getting easier to talk about her father now, thanks to Professor Morgan.

"She will be....Although she wanted me to go into herbology," She rolled her eyes, her mum would be proud, whatever Vanessa decided to do. "Ooh...She will?" Vanessa asked, blushing. It was nice to know someone would adore her, especially if she was going to get paid for it. "But...if you don't mind me asking. What made you want to change from healing to teaching?"

Kayla peered inside the tank and could see Charlotte hovering protectively over a very large sac of eggs. She wanted to put her hand inside the tank to get Charlotte a pat but she could see the possessive stance on her and decided she had better not. Charlotte had never bitten her but she'd never had babies before either and Kayla wasn't willing to test her patience.

"How is she doing Professor? She looks tired" Kayla observed, moving around the tank and looking at Charlotte from all angles before looking back up at Professor Morgan. "You will owl me won't you? As soon as the babies start hatching, I want to be here." If she could get away with it, Kayla would stay here until the eggs hatched. She somehow didn't think Professor Morgan would want an overnight guest, she had enough creatures to look after.

Chris smiled and walked into the Hut. "Professor Morgan that lesson today on Dragons was amazing! I loved it! I was so happy you could arrange for us to see the dragon." he said excitedly.

"Herbology could be fun." Iliana mused. "I never really had a knack for it, myself. I'm sure your Mum will be happy with whatever you decide." She said sincerely. "After all, its what makes YOU happy that's important."

"Well let's see... that's rather a long story." She said, clearing her throat. "While at St. Mungo's, I quickly moved through the ranks from Intern to Assistant Healer within my first year. Ms. Fairhaven was a great teacher and under her direction I stood out as a talented and hardworking healer. So in addition to my position as Healer, I took on the responsibilities of training all of the new interns that came in. Soon I found that I had an aptitude for teaching and after many years, I decided that I needed a change of scenery. So I accepted a post to teach Arithmancy at Beauxbatons." She paused, taking a breath to continue. "The only draw back to that was that I found myself increasingly homesick and after only a few short years, I resigned. When I moved back to England, I began my studies for Care of Magical Creatures. Soon after, I was recruited by The Modesty Rabnott Snidget Reservation. While at the reservation, I realized that I really missed teaching so when I heard of an open position at Hogwarts, I quickly applied. And so here I am. Doing what I love to do, teaching what I love to teach."


"Charlotte's doing great. She stays very close to her eggsac, turning it often, just like she's supposed to. She's much more aggressive right now but that will pass soon." She reassured her. "I will send an owl the moment it begins."
"Well thank you Chris for telling me that. I have been wanting to do something special for your last lesson for ages and when I found out that Professor Truebridge used to be a dragon keeper, I just had to ask for a favor." She said, gesturing towards a chair near her desk. "I owe it all to him really." She added. "Oh and am I mistaken or did I see your name on the Gryffindor leaderboard?" She asked, grinning proudly. She just couldn't help herself. Once a Gryffindor, always a Gryffindor it seemed.

"If I was any good," Vanessa chuckled, she wasn't as good as her mother was, she definetly had not inherited that. "I'm getting better though." She added, smiling at Professor Morgan. It was good that she was getting better it pleased her mother. "Yeah....I'm doing better than my brother anyway," She grinned. Her brother hadn't done a lot yet.

"Ooh...That is so interesting!" Vanessa nodded, seeming very enthusiastic. "You've done a lot with your Life...if you don't mind me saying so." She smiled, hoping that she would do something like that with her life. "You do it very well too....I would never that thought I could look after a kneazle like I am" She added, smiling. "I really enjoy it."

"I know..." Chris said as he took the seat she had gestured to. "Professor Truebridge's job must have been really interesting."

Chris smiled a bright smile, "Yep, I am one of the leaders on the leaderboard. Third or forth I think."

Chris thought he heard another student mention she was in Gryffindor when she went to Hogwarts when he walked in the door. "So were you in Gryffindor?"

"Its because I LOVE it." She giggled. "And if being a Healer is something you'd love, I say go for it and give it all you've got. I stand by what I said before... I think you'd be an amazing Healer."
"That's wonderful Chris! My older brother, Alain was always top points earner for Gryffindor when we were here." Saying his name, she sighed. She missed him tons. Looking over at another family picture, she smiled. There they were, lined up outside of Hogsmeade, each of them wrapped in their Gryffindor robes. Still smiling, she nodded at Chris. "That's right! My older sister and brother and the twins too. I remember our Head of House used to refer to us as 'those amazing Morgan children'." She laughed at the memory.

Kiri nodded and carefully watched how Professor Morgan fed the liquid (Or was it an antidote of sorts?) to her pygmy puff. She had to be sure she'd remember later how to do it. When the professor was done, she handed over the glass vial. Kiri took it gingerly and stored it in a pocket of her robes.
"Can I just feed him normally, Professor?" she asked. Sol was sniffing around on the desk - Kiri held out her hand, and he wobbled towards it. She waited until he sat securely in her palm again before stroking his fur gently with her thumb. It tickled the inside of her hand. She smiled at Sol fondly. "Thank you so much, Professor Morgan," she said, turning around to look at her. "For your time as well."

Emiliano hovered in the back of the little hut, with a cookie in his hand. Kiri was very grateful that he'd tagged along, too. But first... "Umm, well, I don't know," she stammered in response to Professor Morgan's question. "There... There might be one or two people."
Which sounded horrible, either as if everyone in Slytherin was in the habit of poisoning pygmy puffs or, worse, that Kiri had done something to deserve it. She didn't see how to amend her words without getting into what might well turn out to be an unpleasantly open (and teary) heart-to-heart, so she simply said: "If I find out, Professor, I'll tell you," thinking privately that this would be the last thing she'd consider.

Chris smiled again and was flattered that she thought he was doing so well. "Thanks again."

"Oh really. Were you as good of student as your brother?" he asked grinning. As she mentioned her sister and twin sibilings Chris looked at the picture. He saw the love in her eyes as she stared at the picture smiling. "What do they do know?" he asked.

"It shows Professor," Vanessa nodded, with a smile. She doubted that anyone could succeed in a job which they didn't enjoy. "I've wanted to be one for a while....I just Miles doesn't mind it," She giggled, Miles probably wouldn't mind what she did, as long as they could be together. "Oh...thank you Professor Morgan," She spoke, with blushing.

Listening to what Professor Morgan was telling her, Kayla nodded as she kept her gaze on Charlotte. She hated being away from her tarantula and Webster obviously didn't like it either, he was trying desperately to get out of Kayla's hand and into the tank. "You can't see her just yet Webster" she crooned. "Charlotte will probably eat you if you get to close to her now." She gently stroked Webster on the back trying to settle him down.

Kayla sighed and looked back at Professor Morgan. "Can I hang around for a little bit Professor? I just want to spend a little bit of time with her. I promise not to be a bother, you can just go about doing whatever it'll be like I'm not even here." She gave the Professor a hopeful look.

Iliana nodded. "Yes Kiri, Pymgy Puffs are resilient. Sol should be fine. And you're welcome honey. Come back and visit me again soon." She gave Kiri a smile but felt her heart break a little bit for her. Poor girl. "Bye Kiri."
"Well let's just say he was less shy." She answered. "Actually Alain's wonderful. He works for the Ministry and he's married now. Viviana is my older sister. She's a writer. She was living in Egypt for awhile and just moved back to London after the holidays. And the twins, Adriana and Julianna, are both principal dancers for the Paris Opera Ballet. Our mother was very big on the arts and made sure that each of us were involved in some way or another." She said, motioning over to the cello sitting in the corner. "So Chris... what are your plans for after you leave Hogwarts? Any ideas to what you'd like to do?"
The professor raised an eyebrow at her and smirked. "MILES Vanessa? As in Miles Parker?" She laughed. "What's going on there?"
"Of course Kayla. Make yourself at home. I'll make us some tea." She patted Kayla on the arm and walked over to busy herself in the kitchen. Her limp was nearly gone now and she wondered if Kayla had noted the change.

"Ermm...Yes?" Vanessa nodded, whilst feeling her cheeks flush. Oh Great. Trust for her to mention Miles. "He's my erm..Boyfriend." She added, smiling at Professor Morgan. "And my best friend." She added, feeling a little awkward, because this was so comfortable. NOT!

With her initial assumption confirmed Iliana smiled. "Well you two make a lovely couple." She said sincerely. Miles suited Vanessa.

Sensing her unease, she quickly changed the subject. She leaned over her desk. "Just remember... study hard. Make it so St. Mungo's is beating your door down to get you. And then... the sky's the limit."

"You think so?" Vanessa practically beamed. That was so nice to hear, especially from someone who was her teacher. It made a change to some of the things that she'd heard. "Thank you Professor Morgan." She added, for once not actually blushing.

"I will Professor," She nodded, she knew how important it was for her to get the grades that she needed. And she wasn't going to chuck away this opportunity. "Is it hard graduating?" She asked, suddenly, knowing that Professor Morgan would know it had felt.

Iliana tilted her head, giving Vanessa a curious look for a moment before giving her a sharp nod of approval. "I think so."

The professor sat motionlessly in her chair, thinking back to her seventh year at Hogwarts. Was it hard? Hmm... She could remember the hours of late night studying before her NEWTs and the pile up of homework before finals but for the most part, her seventh year had been one of excitement. Whenever she considered the possibilities of what was waiting for her after Hogwarts, a feeling of renewed motivation would come over her and the work just seemed to breeze by. "Well Vanessa, I'm sure the experience is different for everyone but for me... it went by so fast that I hardly had time to notice whether it was hard or not. I do remember being sad. Hogwarts was my home for so many years and saying goodbye was a bit difficult. Not to mention leaving the friends and professors that I had grown to love. But it was also a really happy time. I remember feeling like my future was out there somewhere just waiting for me to find it. Does that make any sense whatsoever?" She asked, realizing that she had started rambling again.

"That means so much!" Vanessa nodded, smiling, especially after what she had been through. "I nearly lost him last year though." She admitted quietly. Stupid Italian girl. "We're good now though." She added quickly, smiling again.

Vanessa nodded as she listened to Professor Morgan speak. "Yes it does," She smiled, thinking of how she was looking forward to next year. "I'm just kind of glad that a few of my friends are graduating with me, I wouldn't be able to leave them behind, especially Miles." She spoke, frowning a little. She was still leaving other friends behind though. "I'm kind of looking forward to graduating too, and dreading it a little. It will be different not being here."

The professor listened politely but decided not to comment. It seemed like an especially personal subject. One she'd rather share with her girlfriends than her teacher. "It is different, Vanessa but a GOOD different. You'll see."

"Yeah.." Vanessa smiled, thinking of the many things she probably get up to once she had graduated Hogwarts, Miles appeared in many of those things. "My brother seems to have done nothing," She giggled, picturing Aaron just sat at home. "My mum likes the idea of me being a healer..."

Chris smiled as she told him about her large family. "Wow, your family is so interesting. I dont have any borhters or sisters." he siad a little sadly. He had always wanted a brother. "My parents are fun though when they arent working. My mom is a model for Madame Malkins Robe Shop and always has photshoots. And my dad is Wilkinson Potter the famous Historian. He is always traveling. Sometimes he will take us with him, like this summer me and him went to China and saw the Chinese Fireball Reservation. And shortly after that his colleige that was working with him on the China project called and needed him in France so we all went there and had a nice family trip at the beach. It was really quite fun." he said smiling.

He listened to her question about his future and then thoguht for a moment. "Well i would really like to go into teaching. It has been my dream to teach here one day."

Kayla tore her gaze away from Charlotte and watched as Professor Morgan moved into the kitchen. It was good to see that she was walking normally again. She moved around the tank and followed the Professor into the kitchen, "I can give you hand if you like?" Kayla leaned up against the bench and smiled at the older woman. "It's nice to see you walking without that limp" she said quietly so the others wouldn't hear. "And I have to congratulate you on an awesome lesson too. It was one of the best we've ever had...well since I've been at Hogwarts anyway."