"That's MY lobalug, Lockhart." Williamson took another step forward, turning around so he was carefully positioned between the kids and the pond containing the lobalug. "Unless YOU want to go down to the bottom of the lake, bargain IN MERMISH with the merpeople, and then make all sorts of promises you don't intend to keep.... there's no way in Hades that you're getting that lobalug out of here."

It did NOT belong to Hogwarts; it belonged to WILLY. He was its temporary guardian, for now anyway, and he was NOT about to LOSE IT to a LITTLE BOY.

Hmmph!

"First of all," he glanced between the two puffs, holding up one finger to make his point, "stunning OR petrifying an animal has a horrible effect on them in any scenario, save for an animal with a hide as tough as a dragon's. Second of all, there is NO NEED to stun a lobalug except when transferring or transporting it a great distance from one environment to another."

BUT. "THIRDLY," Williamson held up three fingers now, "there's no need for you to KNOW this information nor for you to ACT on it, because you aren't going to be doing either."

End. Of. Discussion. LOCKHART!

Kurumi had distracted herself away from the pond for just a moment to look at the contents of the bucket once again. Hmm... what should she try to feed to the little creature next? He seemed to be particularly fond of tadpoles, so that was always a win...but there were so many other things in the bucket as well.

Just as she reached in to pull something else out....

o___________________O

Since when had Treyen been here and WHY was he talking about petrifying a creature. Before anything could really register in the Gryffindor's mind, Professor Williamson showed up and the two commenced...arguing...over the lobalug? Why, Kurumi was pretty sure that the creature didn't like all the noise, especially since it was still in a relatively new environment compared to its home under the lake with the merpeople.

Kurumi's jaw dropped when Treyen accused Professor Williamson of not being the true owner of the creature. Had he even be in the lesson when they had gone under the lake? Kurumi didn't remember him being there, but if he had surely he wouldn't be saying what he was now. Kurumi's head then snapped back towards Professor Williamson when he spoke, herself moving closer to the pond and tempting the lobalug towards her with a minnow.

Then a thought struck her. MERLIN! TREYEN HAD BEEN IMPERIOUSED! But by who?! Who would do such a terrible thing to a student over a lobalug?

Kurumi wiggled the minnow in her hands some more with only a small part of it under thee water. Yes yes...come here little lobalug...come away from the cursed students...

Evelyn heard what Trey said and..she nodded. "Professor, see? You're CLEARLY overreacting. There's nothing to be worried about." Evelyn stifled a smile. LMAO. Williamson was hilarious.

When the professor said that the lobablug was his, Evelyn's smiled faded a little. "Erm..well..are you sure?" Although..what if the lobalug was his? That meant..oh! Were they actually going to steal the creature from the sanctuary? Urggh. Maybe..she shouldn't have accepted this stupid assignment in the first place. "Are you sure it doesn't belong to someone else?" If he said it didn't..she would believe him.

Eh, what? "So, that means..if you want to transport a lobalug from one place to another.." Her voice trailed off. Yeah. The stunning spell was a better option. Petrifying the creature might really harm it. And..the professor finished his speech by saying that they weren't going to take the lobalug.

Okay, great. Simply great. Now, what?

Kurumi went unnoticed.



See? WWW could be lying here saying it was HIS lobalug. And this whole argument sounded ridiculous enough that after WWW stopped talking...Treyen chuckled. "Well...if I knew mermish...," his head was tilted to the right, and his eyes focused on some far-away spot...then he straightened and eyed Williamson, "...the lobalug isn't for me, anyway." Shrug. Nor will he ASK merpeople for one either.

Though, if it belonged in the Black Lake, then it belonged to HOGWARTS, and everyone associated with the school, Scabior included.

Mmmhmm. Yes, Treyen nodded at that one, HENCE why he was asking for the best way to...oh, wait. SMIRK...WWW's choice of words was awesome. "So, the exception is key." He ought to stun the not-too-little creature in order to get it to travel in the bucket. Niiiice. Thanks, WWW.

He actually wanted to say...'I MIGHT'...but Eve spoke next...



What she was saying last...well, he completed it somehow. "We stun it. Then carry it away to its new environment...," he didn't truly know WHERE the lobalug was going to end up if Scabior got his hands on it, really, "...or the one he belongs to." Eyes on WWW.

All right. ALL RIGHT. This was NOT okay. Williamson was NOT OKAY with the two Hufflepuffs he was starting to think were both Imperiused.


"THAT'S IT!" the man exploded, throwing out his hands and scooping up Lockhart's bucket. "THAT'S IT, THAT'S IT, THAT'S IT! I am taking THE lobalug BACK TO WHERE IT BELONGS: with the MERPEOPLE who OWN IT in the MIDDLE of the BLACK LAKE!"


And he was going NOW! He marched straight into the shallow pond without another thought, whipping his wand out and stunning the lobalug (which was thankfully distracted by Kurumi dangling a minnow in there) as precisely and painlessly as possible. Then he scooped up the lobalug with a bunch of water in his bucket and and marched right back out, pants sopping and all.


"After I put this creature back," Williamson growled, his angry pointing finger coming out to gesture at them both, "I am taking TWENTY POINTS from EACH of you AND I am going to have a WORD or TWO with your HEAD OF HOUSE ANDDDDDDD whoever put you UP TO THIS."


Scabior. Bloody hell, SCABBERS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Blink.

Blink, blink.

It was safe to say Treyen was no longer in possession of the bucket that Scabior had given him...it was also SAFE to say that WWW was in possession of a bucket that wasn't HIS. So, really, it was safe to ASSUME that Scabior had been right all along.

Granted, the Head Boy simply froze, eyes widening even more as WWW yelled at them. It was both funny and terrifying at the same time. Williamson was crazy, and he was reminded of Saylen for a moment. A small smile made its way to his lips...when...he decided that wasn't the best thing to do. Smiling. Or he'll join the lobalug with the merpeople at the lake. "I was actually thinking you should build a more suitable environment for that creature, really...," that was an option.

THEN HE GASPED. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" The CoMC Professor was truly out of his mind. "How could you stun it like that?! It's an innocent creature!" Never did it cross his mind that he pretty much planned to do the same thing.

O_o

TWENTY POINTS?! A WORD WITH HADLEY?! HADLEY?!

Yeah, he might as well be killed by the lobalug RIGHT now. Hadley will be forever disappointed, right? Though, truthfully, they weren't doing anything wrong...

...sort of. Depends on one's point of view. "I--," he wasn't upset, like when Scabior took points from him. It wasn't until now that he noticed Kurumi was also there...which made this even worse somehow. "Don't talk to Professor Hadley, please," he said, looking down.

It would be VERY nice not to take points away either...but WWW seemed upset, VERY upset. BEYOND UPSET. So, he didn't mention it.

Question. "Why do you want it, Professor?" The lobalug.

Kurumi continued to dangle the minnow into the pond and the lobalug continued to swim...float...glide...whatever it was the creatures did in water towards here. "Here lobalug lobalug lobalug," she sang. Just as she was about to let go of the minnow for the creature to nibble on...it went all wide-eyed and limp on the pond.

o_________________O

OH MY GOSH! SOMETHING HAD KILLED THE LOBALUG!!

Kurumi's hands went up straight in the air as if being in some sort of hold up and now her faced matched the lobalug's. This was the second time this month that an adult had pointed their wand towards her - the first being the Headmaster and now Professor Williamson. SHE DIDN'T DO IT!

It was only now that sound had returned to her ears and she heard him...well...going ballistic, taking points, and scooping up the lobalug in his own hands. THE LOBALUG!

Still, one good thing came out of the exchange between the Care of Magical Creatures professor and Treyen! She now knew he wasn't under the Imperius Curse!

The lake? Williamson was taking the lobalug back to the lake? Evelyn gave a small frown when she saw him storm back towards the pond..and hey! Why on earth did he stun the creature!? Her eyes widened slightly when he returned with the lobalug in the bucket. Honestly, this guy was a complete whacko.

20 POINTS!? 20 FREAKING POINTS!? AND, TALK TO HADLEY?

Ridiculous. Absolutely ridiculous. Since they didn't actually do anything wrong. Yes, they were planning to steal the creature but they didn't carry it out, right? So, why deduct 20 points AND TALK TO HADLEY? Gosh, it made no sense.

"Professor, I'm sorry." She really shouldn't have agreed to do this in the first place. "I mean, I know this is my fault" Obviously. "..and I promise this won't ever happen again." She didnt actually think that the apology would change his mind but it was worth a try. She'd learnt her lesson though. Never to accept strange tasks from Scabior. Stupid man.

The sixteen year old gave a small roll of her eyes at Trey's question. Honestly, was that even important? Given the current situation?

"That's right; TWENTY POINTS apiece AND a conference with HADLEY," Williamson repeated to himself in an almost sing-song manner, scooping up a handful of the bait from the bucket and dumping it into the stunned lobalug's new home. "I should damn well HOPE it won't happen again," he continued on his tirade, shooting dirty looks at the Hufflepuffs all the while, "because there will never BE another lobalug for you to kidnap!"

Now, before he stalked off to the lake, he needed some answers for the questions he still had. "You," he pointed to Lockhart with a growl, "who put you up to this? Scabior or Lafay? BOTH? Tell me and I'll THINK about giving you each back five of the points I took away." And perhaps if they disclosed even MORE details he'd THINK about not talking to Hadley. But no promises there.

Also, to answer their questions.... Willy set down the bucket with a frown. "I had to stun it. That's how I got it up here in the first place when I," emphasis on HIS role in this matter, "negotiated to take it from the merpeople, for educational purposes of course." No of course he would never think of harvesting its venom to sell at an inflated price on the black market. Never. "YOU," again with the pointing at Treyen, "obviously weren't in CLASS or you wouldn't be so INSISTENT on saying that the lobalug wasn't rightfully MINE. To study." SO YEAH.

Evelyn raised her eyebrows. Gosh, he was talking as if they stole lobalugs all the time! Honestly, she felt that he should have found out WHY they were going to kidnap the lobalug before he handed out punishments.

Evelyn gave a silent sigh relief when all his questions were directed towards Trey. Of course, him being the Head Boy and all but yeah. She was also glad that he was reconsidering giving back the points..even if it was only five points.

The girl gave Trey a comforting smile before she plonked down on the grass and stared at the pond, feeling tired and extremely embarrassed. She REALLY didn't want to talk to Hadley. That would be..horrible. In fact, terrifying.

Evelyn suddenly noticed a girl standing near the pond and gave her a faint smile. Gosh, did she just witness what had happened? Ugh. She folded her legs underneath her and sighed.

See? Kurumi was a smart girl, she remained silent...which is something he ought to have done back when WWW showed up.

Sigh. Hadley. "She's going to kill me." And his eyes were staring at the ground, AGAIN. Granted, the woman wasn't going to actually KILL him, but the look in her eyes WILL. Disappointment was...probably one of his biggest fears, it sort of came with being a Lockhart. Not really, he seemed to be the only one to truly believe that.

"I don't go around trying to stun lobalugs for sport, you know? MUCH LESS, kidnap them!" true, he didn't go around stunning creatures or people, and he wasn't going to kidnap THIS lobalug EITHER.

At least he was leaving Eve off the hook. That was a good thing. The Head Boy crossed his arms. "I believe you know the answer to that question, Professor." Lafay wouldn't have bothered in making kids fetch for something that supposedly belonged to her, she would've come HERSELF. Scabior was looking a bit like a coward now.

Okay. NOW Treyen began looking mighty sad about this..., "Educational purposes?" Like, was he going to teach them something about the lobalug? Because Treyen knew very little about it. "Like...for us? Or your own research?" Did it really matter??

HEY! Pointing WAS rude!

And he sighed again. "Correct." He didn't go. "I dislike Scabior." YES, ESPECIALLY NOW, RIGHT NOW, not a few minutes ago, but now. "Unfortunately, you had to pair up with the one Professor whose class I don't attend." Yes, UNFORTUNATELY.

Kurumi's bottom lip quivered a bit as she watched the scene unfold, but not because of the shouting or the two Hufflepuffs getting yelled at - no offense Treyen - but because the lobalug was stunned and now far away from her now. She STILL had the minnow flopping around in her hand and figured that she should really either return it to the bucket or let it go in the pond. Be free little minnow...or get eaten by something else...

Kurumi's attention was then back at the conversation unfolding in front of her and GASPED. A professor had put them up to this?! How horrible! So it was a professor that had cased an Unforgivable Curse on them? Wait...no...that couldn't be right since they now were acting normal and telling Professor Williamson what had happened. So...that was a relief.

When Treyen asked about research, Kurumi sort of raised her hand eagerly to answer - not sure IF she should interrupt or not. She was rather curious about lobalugs and would have been more than willing to help with research. Besides, weren't all the creatures here in the sanctuary there for those with an interest in creatures and their own individual research? That sort of answered Treyen's question, yeah?

Kurumi then noticed the faint smile from the other Hufflepuff present, the girl, and tried to return it. She still wanted to play with the lobalug...and now her hands smelled like minnow.

Evelyn listened to Trey talk for a while before...huh. Wait a second. Did he just say that he disliked Scabior? To Williamson? Was he crazy? She looked up at him with a frown on her face. Jeez. Yeah. Okay..so..maybe she was overreacting a little but..whatever. She supposed he knew what he was doing.

The sixteen year old turned to look at the pond again when she noticed that the girl nearby was literally on the verge of tears. What was she upset about? Trey and her were the ones that were in trouble.

"Hey, are you okay?" Evelyn asked, kindly. It was only polite, right?

August had yet to given a gift to his head of house Professor Bentley. It had seemed like all the other students, especially Puff, had gone and given gifts to all the professors and the fourth year Lion couldn't even give one to his own Head of House? Merlin's sake he was slacking.

Deciding on the perfect gift, Auggie headed down to the Magical Creatures Sanctuary by Professor Williamson's hut and opened the fence before jaunting in. When he reached the corral area where the winged horses and hippogriffs were placed when they weren't in the Forbidden Forest, August leaned against the wall as he pulled out a burlap sack.

There was animal poo everywhere! This was fantastic!

The Gryffindor quickly put on his dragon-hide gloves and then began to toss pile after pile of the hippogriff and abraxan dung into the sack until it was full and pretty heavy. Holding it with both hands because of it's heaviness. He hurried out, closing the gates behind himself on his way to the Greenhouses...all the while hoisting his sack of poo.

Hadley had no idea what could have wrong that Williamson needed her in the Magical Creatures Sanctuary. Sure she didn't mind creatures and she did get along with Atticus who was like a Creatures EXPERT, but she wasn't. And besides, Jenkins was his best friend. If he needed something, he should have summoned for him. Not her.

Sighing, she entered the Sanctuary and noticed several students there along with the Professor and they seemed to have just calmed down from some sort of shouting match. Or something.

"Williamson. What can I do for you?" Because you know, you just interrupted my focus on numbers. So this had better be snappy.

Oh, Hadley was going to kill the Head Boy, now was she? Williamson just folded his arms and SMIRKED down at the boy upon hearing that statement. Well well well. Looked like the Head of House had perfect timing, because now he could WITNESS the supposed murder of the lobalug thief RIGHT HERE, RIGHT NOW.



"Professor Hadley, so pleased you could join us," William started, smirking all the while now. "We were just discussing how two of your Hufflepuffs here - one of whom happens to be the Head Boy - seem to be lacking respect for my authority around my magical creatures which I placed in this Sanctuary for educational purposes."

He cleared his throat importantly and stared down the two Puffs in question. "Treyen and Evelyn apparently thought it was okay if they stole my lobalug, which I acquired from the merpeople with permission, to take to Professor Scabior. I found this story somewhat difficult to digest, particularly after Lockhart here admitted that he does not even attend Scabior's classes."

Williamson nodded toward the bucket containing the lobalug and then looked to Hadley. "So, professor, what are your thoughts on this despicable, most un-Hufflepuff-like behavior?"

DETENTION FOR A YEAR was what he was HOPING Hadley would say... at the least!

What was up with that look? Whatever it was, it worried Fina. And the way he started off. Oh no, oh no. He did not JUST say that HER Prefect of ALL people had been disrespectful. No. No. No.

Swallowing, she kept her focus on William as best she could, but once he finished, she glanced at the two Hufflepuffs he was talking to. Older Hufflepuffs. Who knew better.

"Where ... is the lobalug now? And are you trying to tell me that you provided no disciplinary action prior to my coming down here?" She said, giving him an inquisitive look. She found that hard to believe. "And perhaps... if it's okay, I'd like to hear what Treyen and Evelyn have to say about this.... ?" She needed the whole story. Because somehow she found William's story difficult to digest, just as he found Lockhart's.

"Because perhaps... their intentions ... weren't as malevolent as you're making them out to be." Not that she was implying they were entirely innocent in their actions, but she did like to see the good in people.

Okay. First of all...HADLEY? HADLEY WAS HERE?

Evelyn stood up and stared at Williamson. Honestly, what was wrong with him!? She folded her hands in defiance as she watched him complain to her HoH. Despicable? For merlin's sake, they didn't do anything! This was getting to be beyond ridiculous.

Besides, if he wanted to be angry at someone, it should be Scabby. He was the one who asked them to take the precious lobalug, didn't he?



Evelyn gave a sigh of relief when Hadley seemed to be supporting them..somewhat. At least, she was willing to listen. Willy received a final glare before she turned towards Hadley.

"Professor Hadley, Scabby..er..I mean, Professor Scabior asked us to get the lobalug from this sanctuary. He said that the creature belonged to him and that we would be awarded in points. We kinda agreed to do it." Evelyn refused to look at Williamson as she continued rapidly, "So, Trey and I were just talking about how to remove the lobalug from the pond when Professor Williamson pounced on us and basically..started screaming without even bothering to listen to our side of the story." Evelyn finished and took a deep breath. She looked at Trey and hoped that he was okay with what she just said.

"Tell me, professor. Are we to be blamed for this?" Evelyn turned to look at Hadley again.

She listened to all that was going on and she was a bit curious as to why they would even joking or want to hurt an animal.

Vlimia took all of the fluffy Pygmy Puffs off her head and legs. "While it has been lovely playing with you, I must go." She told them solemnly, walking further into the middle of the sanctuary, where a little blue, speckled bird was perched on a branch. She dug in her pocket, and found a small package of dead crickets that she had bought for the jobberknoll. "Here you go, little Jobberknoll!" Vlim said, feeding the bird a few of the crickets. It seemed to enjoy the food immensely, so she gave it some more. "I wonder if you like it when people chat to you. The conversation would be rather one-sided, but you know. Do you get annoyed when people talk to you, because it just gives you more to say when you... uh... pass on." She said awkwardly. "You're quite a pretty little bird, aren't you? Wonderfully speckled, like these eggs I found once in an ordinary bird's nest..." Vlimia then proceeded to explain how she had climbed up a tree, skinned her elbow and found the speckled blue eggs in a lovely nest. "I waited until they had all hatched and flown away, and then I added the nest to my bird's nest collection." Vlim explained. Seeing that the Jobberknoll seemed slightly disconcerted at the fact that she collected bird's nests was understandable. "Oh, don't worry. I won't take your nest!" She assured the little bird, chuckling a little. Maybe the Jobberknoll really did understand English.

Kurumi continued to stand there silently as she wibbled over the poor stunned creature that had only wanted to gnaw on a minnow. She looked over at the female Hufflepuff when asked if she was alright, and simply nodded her head and faintly smiled. She had wanted to play more with the lobalug. Who was to blame for this? Well, Professor Scabior was one since he had told the pair to do it...but Kurumi was mad at the two Hufflepuffs too for ACCEPTING the offer. Had Professor Scabior blackmailed them? Threatened to not have them pass a class if they didn't do it? Surely they didn't accept this task on light terms, right?

Slowly, Kurumi began to back away. This hadn't been the first time she had seen Professor Hadley involved in some sort of confrontation with another professor...which was suspicious, very VERY suspicious. Kurumi could only hope that Professor Williamson straightened everything out because he was the one who was about to be robbed and Treyen had even admitted to that.

Backing up even further now, Kurumi played with the necklace around her neck and walked towards the burrow where the niffler was.

Alyssa entered the sanctuary intending to look for the Salamander this time round. It was getting cold and she wondered when the Professor would be moving the creatures into the barnyard. She made it a point to ask the Professor whether she could help move them when the time came. Of course she wouldn't be allowed to work with the XXX and above rated creatures, but there were plenty of X and XX creatures that she could help with.

But for now she walked along the sanctuary looking for the Salamanders. She looked until she spotted a group of them feeding on pepper that had been scattered all over the ground. Alyssa looked around for the familiar fire that the Salamanders usually made their dwelling in, but to her dismay didn't see any. Alyssa knew that Salamanders could only live without fire for at least 6 hours before they died. Since she didn't know how long ago, their fire had died out, Alyssa wasted no time in trying to start another.

She quickly walked around picking up any dry twigs and branches she could find. Once she had a handful, she returned to where the Salamanders were and formed a pile of dry twigs and branches. She then gathered some rocks and made a circle around the pile to make sure that the fire stayed within the barrier she had created and not burn out of control and end up burning down the entire sanctuary.

Alyssa then unholstered her wand and pointing it at the pile said, "Incendio". Flame shot out of her wand and set the wood on fire. As the fire burned, Alyssa added more dry twigs and branches to make it burn hotter. As she watched, the Salamanders slowly made their way to the fire and climbed into it.

Alyssa was amazed that these magical creatures did not burn up in the fire like other creatures would. In fact, they seemed to revel in the heat. The color of their skin changed from white to blue. As the fire continued to burn, Alyssa continued to pick up more dry twigs and branches and kept adding them to the fire. Once she had a big bonfire going, she say down and watched as more Salamanders joined their companions and crawled into the fire.

Alyssa knew that she couldn't stay here forever keeping watch over the fire, so she gathered as much twigs and branches that she could find and just added them to the fire. As the fire continued to burn, Alyssa decided that for now she had to leave, but would return again some other day, just to make sure that the fire was kept alive and burning. To be on the safe side, she tore open a bag of pepper and scattered it all along the perimeter of the fire, just in case the fire burned out before she could return again. Making sure that the fire had adequate fuel, Alyssa turned and walked out of the sanctuary.

OH, MAN! HADLEY ARRIVED.

Well, now Treyen seriously hated WWW. He was evil. A former Slytherin, correct? SURELY. There was no way this man could've been a Hufflepuff. Definitely not a Ravenclaw...and he didn't fit in Gryffindor.

Like Kurumi did. Hey, where was Kurumi?

The Head Boy felt the need to narrow his eyes at the man, but didn't do it. He remained calmed, or as calmed as one could be in this position. The Hufflepuff was merely going to WAIT until WWW discussed his theory...HEY! SEE! He knew who it was that had set him for this task! And he'd pretended not to know by ignoring his answer. Tsk, tsk.

Then Hadley wanted to hear their side of the story...and Eve was the first to answer. Well, the Head Boy was afraid of disappointing his Head of House, especially when she's been so forgiving to him.

The boy cleared his throat before speaking. "I didn't intend to disrespect Professor Williamson in any way," TRUE, he didn't call him a 'liar' and any other word he thought while arguing with the man. See, Hadley, the man even stunned the creature! He wasn't fit for this post, but this was no time to bring it up. "It was never my intention." It wasn't, really.

As far as taking the lobalug goes..., "Well, it's rather simple," IT WAS! "Professor Scabior was kind enough to ask for our help...and whilst I wouldn't have helped him any other day...," perhaps he was being TOO honest, "...I believed him when he said he was the rightful owner of this lobalug," he said, pointing to the bucket, "However, the creature truly has no owner, unless you count the merpeople at the lake." After all, they'd lent it to WWW. It wasn't entirely HIS.

What an idiot, WWW. "I don't take History, so I'm allowed to skip his lessons. On another note, that is irrelevant." ACTUALLY, History was one class he didn't leave...only he read the textbooks instead of listening to Scabior. Much better that way.

Eyes on Hadley, "I know it was wrong...," THAT was an apology WWW, take it or leave it.

Nate was wandering around the sanctuary when he saw someone sitting by themself. Well not by themself some type of creature was there with her, but human wise she was by herself. So Nate walked over to her and said "Hi I'm Nate. If we met already then that's ok I'm very forgetful with meeting people especially with so many new people that I'm meeting here. So anyways what is that creature that you're talking to? It looks really cool." After Nate said that he took out his notebook and pencil and started to sketch the amazing creature.

Minerva walked into the sanctuary and found the colony of puffskeins. She pulled out her blanket from her bag and set it on the ground so she would have something to kneel on. She knelt down and watched them for a little while. One of them noticed her sitting there and came close. "Hello little one. Come here." she said patting her leg not sure if it would come or not. It came closer and she was able to pet it. Once she began to pet it she noticed more coming closer. "Well hello" she greeted them and pet as many as she could. They were so cute and fun.