Hearing Jake's voice over the calming sounds of the fireplace, Professor Morgan rose from her chair and wrapped the blanket around her shoulders. She walked to him and placed her hand on his forehead. Some habits, it seemed were impossible to break. "Morning, Jake," she said. "How do you feel?"
Somewhat astonished by the early morning visitor, Iliana rushed over to her door and flung it open. "OH!! Professor Kapoor, please come in," she said, standing as far from the wintery air as she could manage while still holding the door partially open for him.

Immensely relieved, Jake smiled at Professor Morgan, yawning as she felt his forehead, probably for a temperature. She was such a woman at times.

No complaining from him, though.

"I'm 'kay," he mumbled, squinting around and searching for his glasses, feeling blindly around for them on the bed and any surfaces. "Mmmmmy mmmmmuscles are ruh-ruh-really stiffffff, 'nd 'm aching ever'whurr, and you betturrr b'lieve uh c'n feel thuh bruises," he slurred out, a little worse than the night before. "'Nd mah heart... 's racing... but 'm uhkay."

At that moment, there was a knock on the door, and Jake started frantically searching for his glasses, in case it was Bunbunz and he needed to escape.

"Good morning!" He beamed right back at Professor Morgan and stepped into her hut. A gust of the cold air grew a bit stronger and caused the end of the scarf he knitted himself to billow theatrically as he shut the door behind him.

"Mr. Upstead! Pleasure to see you again." He said greeting Jake as well.

"Professor Morgan, I'm sorry to disrupt your morning, but I've been having some trouble with my fwooper. I was wondering if you could have a look at him for me?" The pocket wiggled a little at the small chihuahua adjusted for comfort. "Also," he said reaching into the pocket and pulling out the dog as if it were a piece of candy. "Do you know to whom this might belong?".

Iliana let out a sigh of relief and smiled. "I can give you something for the pain," she said. "And I'm sure your heartbeat will return to normal once you've had your morning calming draught," she added, handing over one of the tiny phials.

Watching him search for his glasses, Iliana walked over to the bedside table and retrieved them. "Looking for these?" she asked with a smile. "Hurry and put them on. You don't want to be late to breakfast."
"Good morning, Professor Kapoor. It's good to see you." she said sincerely. "If you'll just set his cage down on my desk, I'd be happy to examine him for you." As was customary, Iliana was just about to offer the Divination professor a drink when she saw the sweetest, most familiar face looking up at her. Letting out a shriek of excitement, Iliana scooped the doggy into her arms with an, "OH Puppy!! It's SO GOOD to see you!!" She snuggled him close to her, laughing quietly as he covered her cheek with sweet, puppy kisses.

Momentarily forgetting that there were others in the room, Iliana gave the dog a quick once over before flipping him onto his back and cradling him in her arms. Then she looked up at Kapoor and said, "This is Professor Truebridge's dog. Where did you find him?"

Wow, the winter air was NOT something Jake relished after waking up in the morning. "Ssssssir," he stammered, half because he was cold. "Nice tuh sssssssee you ttttttttoo..."

Letting out a huuuuuuge shuddery type of yawn, Jake's teeth chattered. "I c'n deal wiv 't," he shrugged, wincing a little, before pulling another face. He hadn't realised that Professor Morgan was handing him th potion until he thanked her for his glasses and put them on.

With a face of mediocre annoyance, yet resignation, Jake reached out for the potion and uncorked it, downing the contents and sitting still for a moment.

He was about to stand and leave for the door, when Jake heard Professor Morgan asking about the puppy she now held. "Kapoor sat on 'im," he blurted out, staggering forwards (he hadn't walked in a while now) and reaching out to pet the puppy, who seemed wary of him at first, causing Jake to look puzzled. Animals usually loved him, why was this one... kinda iffy with him?

Iliana's eyes grew to the size of saucers hearing what Jake had just said. "He SAT on him?!" she said in a not so hushed whisper. Looking down at the wee dog then back up at the not-so-wee Kapoor, Iliana couldn't believe the little guy had survived. She decided to wait for more of an explanation from the man. What was the puppy doing so far away from Ethan anyways? Was she the only one in this school that actually looked after her pets?

Glancing at the clock on the wall, Iliana quickly remembered she had somewhere to be. But with Kapoor here, she wasn't about to run out her office anytime soon. So pulling her wand from her robes, she sent her pretty patronus to deliver Marcus a message.

It was funny how you could suddenly know someone like the back of your own hand. Marcus, had never seen Iliana's patronus before but even as the cat had appeared in front of him, he had known it was hers even before it opened its mouth.

He bolted down to her hut at full speed. His boy...ahem Jake was now awake and Marcus wanted to make sure that he was alright. In his excitement he forgot to knock on the door and kinda burst right into the room. His eyes fell on Professor Kapoor. "Oh my apologies...I didn't mean...to interrupt..."he cleared his throat and quickly made his way over to Jake.

Looking down at the young lad, Marcus was extremely happy to see that he looked so much better. "How you doin kid?"

His eyes flicked over to Iliana and he raised his eyebrows and gave her a questioning look at the other man in the room.

"Ah, good, you know each other then." He said relieved that the dog had an owner. Something about that Divination room seemed to attract animals without owners. "Oh, hello Professor Lawson. I'm sorry if I'm disrupting your visit, but I promise I won't be long." He said, placing the fwooper, cage and all onto the surface of Illiana's desk. The bright pink bird clung to the side of the cage furthest away from Jake and looked rather nervous in general.

"I'm afraid I did. Though, how he got into my couch I tell you I do not know." He said delivering the tale of the chihuahua's finding with an absurd visual. "We shared some channa last night, but he's probably hungry...for meat." And, Kapoor couldn't help him there.

Noticing that even the fwooper seemed keen to distance itself from Him, Jake frowned in puzzlement. He really hoped the Charlie and Lolcat and his owl would still accept him. Biting on the tip of his finger, Jake was looking in Vinnie's general direction when the door burst open.

A bright grin gracing his features, Jake just went ahead and hugged, yes, hugged, the professor, before smiling up at him. "'M okay," he shrugged, choosing not to go into any detail at all about the after effects. "Starvin'" he added, realising he hadn't actually eaten in like three days, thanks to being so busy.

Still facing the door for some reason, Iliana's eyes were permanently fixed on the puppy in her arms. Drawing little hearts on his tummy with her finger, Iliana casually raised her eyes to the door as Marcus came bounding inside. "Morning, Marcus," she greeted him, shrugging off his apology. "You're not interrupting at all." Without any elaboration on Kapoor's presence, Iliana went right back to stroking the puppy's warm belly. She was in heaven.
Hearing David's booming voice brought Ili from her reverie. "Well no harm done, it seems. He looks good as ever," she said, hoisting the dog up so that he faced her; his paws resting on her shoulder. Thankfully, she still had all of Puppy's things in her top drawer. Walking over, she pulled out his food bowl and placed it in the center of her desk. "You hungry, boy?" she asked, setting him down beside it. Before she'd even filled the bowl halfway, the puppy darted straight for it and began to eat. "I'll take that as a yes," she laughed.

Moving over towards the Fwooper cage, Iliana peered inside and asked, "What seems to be the problem, Professor?"
'Starvin' ... Yeah, she'd heard him right.

Keeping her eyes on the caged bird, Iliana cleared her throat and said, "You're gonna miss breakfast if you don't get a move on."

Pulled himself away from Lawson at the sound of a throat clearing, Jake rubbed the sleep from his eyes again and yawned, staggering a little towards Professor Morgan and hugging her as well. "Fanks," he smiled, making sure he had absolutely everything (especially his shoes and socks on) before heaving the door to the office open, and started his attempt to get up to the castle (mighty exhausting for him, I might add).

Pulling up his hood, Jake braved the snow and stupid hills, determined to prove that he could actually manage.

"Not at all Professor Kapoor, I am merely here to check on a patient." Marcus, gave the older man a warm smile and looked mildly interested at the fwooper. He had to admit that they were interesting creatures but Lawson, still liked the more dangerous ones. The deadlier the better.

Marcus, couldn't help but hug Jake back and quite frankly he didn't care what it looked like. He ruffled the young lad's hair and burst out laughing at his comment. "yeah I guess fighting off devils snare will do that to you." He was still seething about the incident but he would make light of the situation so as to not upset Jake anymore.

"Good morning Iliana." Marcus smirked at the way she was petting the dog and he almost wanted to make a quip about dogs and cats but stopped himself just in time. He was pretty sure that not many people knew.

He threw himself into one of her chairs and watched as Jake, left to go back to the castle. "So what's on for today?" He was posing the question to Iliana, but he certainly didn't mind if David answered also. Marcus, still hadn't managed to get up to the seventh floor as yet.

Angela walked slowly as she took in the sights around her before finally arriving at Iliana's hut. She hadn't spoken to her since the beginning of the term and finally had a bit of time for a visit.

Reaching for the door, she gave a swift knock. She figured that Iliana was inside as she had just seen a student leaving from this direction, plus she thought she heard voices. But of course, she wasn't the type to simply barge in without announcing herself. That would simply be rude.

Moving over towards Marcus, Iliana smiled up at him and said, "I was just going to ask you the same thing." Other than unpacking, Iliana's day was wide open. Well sort of....

She glanced over in Kapoor's direction. He was still just STANDING there.

"Coffee?" she offered, turning her attention back to Marcus. And then after coffee maybe they could go out and get some fresh air.
Or maybe... hold that thought. "Come in, the door's open," she called out.

Angela peeked inside, noting that she had been right when she thought she had heard other voices. "Hello there, Iliana!" She greeted, stepping into the welcoming hut. "Marcus, David." She greeted her two colleagues with a smile and nod.

"I hope I'm not interrupting anything." She addressed Iliana again. "I had a bit of time on my hands and decided to come by for a visit." She glanced towards the other two professors before continuing. "Or I can come back if it's more convenient."

Well he had been thinking about going for a walk around the grounds and maybe make a snow man or ice skating on the lake. Yeah he was a total sap but what could he do?

"Coffee sounds good" he nodded in agreement. Or maybe they could just sit inside by the fire with David...


...and Angela.

Marcus immediately got out of the chair and graced the librarian with a huge smile. "Nice to see you Angela" he said graciously. He was going to say that she wasn't interrupting anything but she wasn't speaking to him, so he shoved his hands in his pockets and rocked back on his feet for a moment.

"How about I go and make the coffee's and you...um...entertain" he asked looking at Iliana.

Seeing Angela coming through the door, a huge grin spread across Iliana's face. "Angela! Hello." She rushed over and promptly gave the woman a warm hug "What a pleasant surprise," she added. Shaking her head slightly, Iliana returned her smile and said, "No, you're not interrupting at all. Would you like to sit down?" she asked as she walked over and stood beside Marcus.
Sure she was eager to spend the day with him. But she was also elated to have the company. Being out on the grounds, she seldom got the chance to visit with her colleagues. This really was such a pleasant surprise.

Hearing Marcus' offer, Iliana smiled up at him and said, "Marcus Lawson, you are a dear. Thank you." She reached down and squeezed his hand briefly and then headed over to the sofa and sat down.

Angela smiled at Iliana's greeting, returning the hug quickly before accepting the offer to take a seat. "Certainly. Thank you." Settling herself on the sofa for she knew that Marcus would be returning to the chair that he had just vacated, Angela turned towards Iliana, her mind momentarily pondering over how delicious coffee would be right now.

"How have you been?" She inquired.

Rafe stood before the door to Professor Morgan's hut, he didn't know exactly how to explain his abscence from the midnight class. He was still wearing his sunglasses from the night before, that covered his once beady-black eyes, which were now back to their normal shade of green. He was still really pale and a bit shaky, but he felt like he should explain his abscence. A few beads of sweat were dripping from his forehead.

He hoped he didn't interrupt anything. He made sure his sunglasses were secure. And knocked on the door...

KNOCK. KNOCK. KNOCK.

"He seems to have anxiety attacks." He gave a quick nod describing the behaviour. "Whenever a student enters my office, he tries his best to vacate to the other side of his cage." He looked at the pinkness and studied his reaction. Perhaps it was some form of birdie PTSD. "He's been doing that for a while, never with Professors, though. I thought you might be able to help figure out exactly what it is. You have the experience no doubt, working with magical birds." And the compassion to deal with Leroy in his hour of need.


"Angela!" Oh. Warm fuzzies. Madam Kohan had arrived and coffee was on the brew. He should've come down to see Professor Morgan more often, she certainly knew how to extend herself graciously.

"Don't I know it" he said giving her a wink and laughing softly as he headed into the kitchen. Marcus, put the kettle onto boil and then took out...four cups? Yep there was four of them there. David, Angela, Ili and himself.

Pottering around the kitchen, he hummed a tune as he got everything organised. He placed the cups, sugar bowl and jug of cream onto a tray and then poured the coffee into the cups. He even found some biscuits in the cupboard and placed them onto a plate as well.

Carrying the tray back into the small living room, Marcus couldn't help but grin. He was becoming so domesticated, all he needed now was a frilly apron. "Here we go ladies and gent." He laughed as he placed the tray onto the coffee table.

"Things have been great," she said. "It's wonderful to see you. I've been meaning to pop up to the castle for a visit," she said softly. She should have made it a priority. But at least Angie was here now. "How are you?"
Iliana listened as David explained the bird's recent temperament change. "Oh poor baby," she said. "Have those kids been bothering you?" she asked, moving back over to the cage. She watched the fwooper for awhile, but noticed nothing at all out of the ordinary. "So he's fine around adults, huh?" she asked, still keeping her eyes on the bird.

Catching movement from the corner of her eye, she looked over and saw that Puppy was finally all finished eating. She scooped the dog back into her arms and then she turned towards Kapoor and said, "Nothing appears to be physically wrong with him. I do have something you can give him for nerves. That should help." It worked wonders for Vincent during the move to Hogwarts. At least it was worth a shot.
When Marcus returned with the coffee she was sure that everyone in the room knew what she was thinking simply from the smile upon her face, though she didn't try to hide it. Her eyes always lit up whenever he was near. "Thanks Marcus," she said quietly.

Just then, she heard someone at the door. "Excuse me a moment please," she said.
Walking the few steps to the door, Iliana couldn't help but wonder if yet another of her colleagues had decided to come a visit. Five would just about make it an impromptu party.

Upon opening the door, she smiled down at the young Gryffindor standing on the other side. "Good morning!" she greeted him, giving Puppy's ears a good scratch.

Angela accepted a cup of coffee and selected a biscuit. "Thank you Marcus." Then to Iliana, spoke. "Well, I can understand being so busy out here. I'm sure that you've always got something or another to do." She remarked, taking a sip of coffee before settling the cup back down. "I've been well; trying to assist in organizing the study sessions that we've started in the library, which seems to be a big hit at the moment. Otherwise, same old thing."

"Thank you, Marcus." He waited for the ladies to take their cups and biscuits before lifting his off of the tray and taking a swig of the coffee. The hot sensation of the liquid seemed not to register with Kapoor. "That's good brew." Biting into the biscuit he wondered if they were intended for Wizardly consumption. Not that it mattered for in a matter of seconds the entirety of the biscuit was gone and devoured by Kapoor.

"That's what it seems. Children and trolls.". The fwoopers talons clung and slid along the bars of the cage as he moved around in it to exert some energy. He stopped momentarily to preen and otherwise exhibited normal bird behaviour. "Oh, that sounds like it'll do the thing." He said agreeing to Ilianas suggested treatment. If it would help Leroy be his usual tender-hearted self again, it was definitely worth a shot. He bottomed up the coffee cup, downed the rest of it and (perhaps, out of habit) turned the cup upside-down onto the saucer. "Thank you, Iliana. Thank you." He said warmly, gesturing to call the wee chihuahua over to him.

Davids ears would've physically perked if they could. "Sounds very exciting!"

Rafe jumped a little as the door finally opened. "Oh, good morning!" Rafe could see some other adults standing behind her. "I'm incredibly sorry Professor Morgan, I hope I'm not interrupting anything." Rafe pushed his sunglasses more properly up on his nose. He was pale and extremely tired from last night, the night he missed her lesson.

"I just wanted to apologize for my absence from you lesson, it wasn't a good time for me last night, I was feeling ill." Ill seemed the simplest way to put it because in a way he was. He felt a little uncomfortable as it appeard that half the staff was there.