Oh, was Henry a cute name? Henry the boy wasn't so sure it was a cute name, but he guessed it was okay for a pet. He'd think anyone would take the name serious, though sharing a name with an animal might change that. Or not. He shrugged it off but couldn't help to wonder what Noelle would think if someone had a pygmy puff with her same name. For now he'd just think it was pretty cool.

"Yeah, a kneazle is the only pet I have too," he nodded as he walked alongside her. "I haven't had him long, just since last year. The Ministry of Magic had a pet adoption thing and I got him there." Before that, they just had their owl, but he wasn't so much a pet like Chewbacca was. And speaking of his name, Henry nodded. "It's a him. I named him after a character in a movie that I like. He's pretty furry too." He chuckled thinking about it and wondered if Noelle had ever seen Star Wars. He knew a lot of people from magical families didn't watch many movies.

"So, where were you headed?" And was she going to do anything cool? If so, maybe he could come along too.

The fact that she'd been asked to do this homework assignment by an older boy was definitely cool. The fact that he was a Hufflepuff though? Not so much. Nonetheless, Maggie was glad she didn't have to go through the hassle of finding a partner for this - not that she wouldn't be able to find one herself of course. She would have probably just made Dante practice with her. Mhm.

Fashionably late on purpose Maggie strolled down to the Pathways, her own ball and wand in hand. "Hey. SO sorry I'm late." No she wasn't but her face supported her claim. SO sorry, Henric. She was pretty good at Charms so she didn't mind practicing with someone she barely knew. Plus, she'd been practicing the spell early so she was pretty confident all would go well.

Just for the sake of appearances, though, Maggie bit her lip once she was standing next to him. "So...the spell's Depulso right?" Maybe he could like show her again before they would start.

Henric glanced down on his watch to see the time.Did she forget to meet him or something? 30 minutes had past but still no sign of Maggie around."Where the bloody blazes is she?"he thought exasperatedly,kicking the leaves on the ground out of boredom. Henric didn't think the girl would come and if he waited any longer, his stomach would make noises again."Urghh... soo hungrryyyy..."

He turned around when he heard her voice behind him. Finally, she has arrived! Merlin! Did she go off to fight a war or something?! Goodness. Henric eyebrows furrowed slightly,crossing his arms while tapping on his foot. Didn't she know that they could have finish their assignment by now if she could have come a 'little' early.

Henric let out a sigh, not wanting to lose his cool in front of a girl he barely knew."Its fine...can we just start now please?" Best to move on and start practicing with the spell, yeah.Henric wasn't going to miss his dinner over this.

What was the lip biting thing she did? Her lips itchy?He shook his head with amusement before explaining it to her,"Its easy, just use the spell and banish the ball into the bin like this...Depulso!" He casted. The ball vanished and reaappeared again into the bin he provided for them.

"Got it? We practice this first and we move on with the next activity,alright?"he suggested.

He still looked annoyed. Like. Dude, that had NOT been part of the plan.

Maggie managed to look REALLY ashamed of herself, even looking down to the ground and shuffling her feet slightly. "I'm REAAALLLY sorry." Really sorry. So sorry. "Sorry to keep you waiting for that long." She softly kicked at a small pebble lying on the ground in front of her. So sorry. Would he EVER be able to forgive her? EVER??? Would fake!crying be too much?

Her eyes wide with feigned interest, Maggie followed Henric's instructions. Nodding she looked at the bin he'd thrown his ball into. Right. "Okay." But that wasn't the homework assignment right? They could've done THAT individually. She didn't need a partner for that.

"But I thought we were supposed to be, like, throwing the ball at each other." She said softly, eyes the ball in her hand for a moment before looking back up at Henric. Yes?

Ellery giggled as she heard her brother talking, though she had kinda flown face first into the pile and only heard a muffled scream and some choice words. She managed to pull her shoulders and head out of the leaves, then flipped herself so her hips and below were covered with the blanket of crunchy soggy fire leaves.

"Sorry not sorry, Ol. You snooze, you lose." But then she grinned and threw some leaves at him. "LOVE YOU."

She had some difficulty extracting her wand and the ball from her pockets, but then held the ball out to him.

"Ready for homework? I'll throw first. WORK YOUR REFLEXES, OLLY!"

And then she threw the ball.

Right, homework. Olly knew that's what they'd been planning on meeting. But he was generally not a fan of homework. Because it was boring, of course.

"How about we don't and say we did." The entire point of their homework was just to play catch. How would the professor even know if they actually did it or not? But at least it was just playing catch, so it wasn't too bad. It wasn't boring. And he could do it while also hanging out with Ellery.

She didn't give him much of an opportunity to react before throwing the ball. He supposed that was the point of testing his reflexes. But he hadn't come there for a TEST, ELLERY. At least he had his wand in his hand already, and he was able to have it up and pointing at the ball almost as soon as it was thrown.

"Arresto Momentum!" The ball continued to fly past him. Oops. Olly ran after it and scooped it up with his non-wand hand. He would totally get it next time. READY ELLERY? He stayed where the ball had landed, a few feet further away from his sister than he had been before. He wound his arm back and threw with all his might.

Ellery giggled at the mere thought. "Not do homework? And slack off and not actually learn the super cool magic? I DON'T THINK SO." Even if it seemed very uncharacteristic, Ellery LOVED homework. It gave her a chance to practice the magic and actually get it, plus for this one QUALITY TIME WITH HER BROTHER. She loved hitting him with balls.

"IT'S OKAY, YOU'LL GET IT NEXT TIME." She waved imaginary pompoms. She was his number one fan, okay?

THERE WAS A BALL COMING TOWARDS HER HEAD. "Arresto momentum!" She watched as it slowed a bit, before dropping quickly near her foot. She picked it up and tossed it into a high arc towards Olly.

At first Paulina thought that the potion hadn't worked because nothing was happening.

Then came the slight pain.

It wasn't the pain that bothered her though; what was bothering her was the fact that she didn't feel like a person anymore: she was shrinking, and her limbs were changing. She watched for a second, but then had to turn away because it freaked her out. She wasn't herself anymore, and as much as she knew that was going to happen, it was a little scary.

How was she going to become an Animagus if she couldn't handle a simple Potions assignment?? Get a grip, she scolded herself.

After a minute or so, Paulina had built up enough courage to look herself over. What she was greeted with was a bunch of very colourful feathers. She let out a surprised gasp - only it came out as a loud "SQUAWK!"

Henric was taken aback by the girl. She kept saying sorry to him and it felt a little discomfiting to be honest. He wasn't her boyfriend or anything so... But still, she shouldn't keep someone waiting on her. Looking at her expression, he decided to let it go and forgive her. It wasn't in his nature to stay mad for long."Its fine...don't worry about it, alright...let's just finish this assignment and we can go." Yup, he couldn't let go of his Hufflepuff traits especially when it came to girls. Also, he needed to remind her that dinner time was about to start in another hour! So chop-chop.

She didn't want to practice first? Okay. No problem,less time-consuming that way."I just thought you might want to practice it with the bin in case you've forgotten the spell. Alright then, let's start with the activity...I'll throw the ball from there and you try banishing it from here,"Henric suggested. He then went to stand a few metres away from her and waved."I'm going to throw the ball now! Get ready!" Henric pulled his arm back and throw the ball up high towards her direction. Would she be able to do it?

Austin watched in amazement as his potions partner turned into a parrot. It was interesting to see how things work from the outside perspective. Was this how people saw Animagi? Well if it were this easy to change into an animal, he would do it all the time. That was assuming he was up for making the potion that many times. He'd rather spend his ingredients making something else. But it was a cool potion to have in his arsenal.

The squawk that the Paulina-parrot made, made Wolf-Austin's ears hurt. He bent down and covered his ears with his hands paws. A few whine noises came from his mouth, but he decided not to say anything. She wouldn't have understood him anyways. Which is why he was second guessing having a partner. Not because she was a bad partner, but because understanding each other was going to difficult. Once he removed his paws from his ears, he realized he could hear a lot more than just the Paulina-parrot. He could hear small bugs flapping their wings as they flew by. The couple of students who were throwing a ball around on the other side of the path could be heard as if they were next to him. Although there was a lot to listen to, it was something he could get used to. It was like he had super sonic hearing.

"We already learned it." In CLASS, didn't she remember? He already knew he could do it because he had done it in class. So why did he have to keep doing it over and over again when he wasn't even in class? Yeah sure practice makes perfect and whatever. But it was still homework. But Ellery did make a good point that it was still magic and it was cool. Well, it was just slowing things down it wasn't super cool.

"GO ELLERY!" YAY SHE DID IT! He raised both his hands in the air, slightly apart like he was holding imaginary pompoms. He could be a cheerleader for his sister.

Oh it was his turn again. This time the ball was high above his head and coming toward him. Olly held his wand up, right at the ball. "Arresto Momentum!" He watched as it began its descent, picking up speed, and then it slowed. It floated gently down toward the ground so Olly could easily reach up and grab it as it got near him. YES. He grinned at Ellery (but did not send her a thumbs up because both of his hands were full) and send the ball flying back in her direction.

You can do it, yes you can.

Parrot!Paulina fluttered her wings as she saw Austin!Wolf covered his ears and whimper. Was that her fault? She had a feeling that it was. Wolfs had sensitive hearing, so she would try her hardest to use her indoor voice.

"SQUAWK!"

See?? She was trying harder now. She was going to be a good partner even if there was a problem with communication. If she had become a wolf too, this would be much easier, but she was going to enjoy this challenge. Parrots were smart, and that was one of the reasons why Paulina had decided to transform into one - that on top of the pretty feathers.

Hearing students nearby, she wanted to see them and immitatesome of the things that they said, but she also wanted to stay with her partner.

Deciding to test her wings out, she took of into the air and flew around Austin a few times. She wondered if he would mind it if she landed on his back. Parrots weren't heavy to wolves, and she would make sure not to dig into him because that would be mean and unnecessary.

Maggie was mentally preparing to cry on cue. If need be. Only it seemed like Henric forgave her anyway. Without warning she threw herself at him and gave him a hug. "Thank you! I'm so sorry." She pulled back then hugged his arm for good measure. Now, that they had that over with they could finally get on the actual homework assignment.

So, no, she did NOT want to practice first.

She didn't say that however but simply shrugged. It seemed like he'd gotten the message though. When he started moving back, she too took a few steps backwards. Maggie tightened her grip on her wand and waited, eyes on the ball Henric was holding. Okay. Yes. She was ready, so ready. She'd practiced this. Albeit by herself but still. That shouldn't really make a difference.

And then the ball was in the air.

Maggie narrowed her eyes slightly, then made a sweeping motion with her wand and said, "Depulso!" She even tried to banish the ball back to where the Hufflepuff was standing.

Aiming for his face.

The Wolf-Austin was glad that she squawked a little quieter. Now he could focus in on other things. Like how, for some reason, he could smell meat. Was it from the kitchens? That seemed a little far to actually make sense. But maybe the Great Hall had some food in it left over from breakfast. Maybe some bacon or something. The fourth year really did love his bacon.

Turning back towards the Parrot-Paulina, he realized she wasn't there anymore. Upon further inspection, it turned out she was flying around in the air above him. That was pretty nifty. He didn't think about that when he chose his animal. Being a bird of any type would be cool. When his owl flew around him like that, he would always stick his arm out so she could have a place to land. He tried pushing himself up off his hands again, but found that he couldn't stay on his own two feet for very long. Right. He thought. I'm still a wolf. So instead he looked up, gave a small "bark", and knelt down, as if to signify to land on his back. Hopefully her feet wouldn't hurt him. He didn't want to have permanent scars on his back.

Adi grinned. He liked how Olathe was up for exploration by selecting one of the paths so fast. "This one's perfectly fine with me!'' He was eager to set off so he lead the way down the path, walking at a slowish pace so that he and his friend could look for any unexpected stuff popping up.

"Good question. Things just randomly show up here so you never quite know what you're going to see.'' Adi paused then said, "I hope we see a Hippogriff.'' Hehe. Him and his Hippogriffs...

“It is my pleasure to meet you, Professor York!” he said beaming at the woman. Indeed, she’s more approachable than Bellaire, but he can assure everyone that the woman before him is just as good as the former Transfiguration Professor.

And also, it’s not everyday that you get high compliments from people, most especially professors. Ethan tried his very best not to look so smug about the praise he just got, and just looked down at his skateboard and scratched the back of his head. “Thanks, professor. I think…practising spells at home is finally paying off? I’m sure I wouldn’t be able to pull this thing off…” he trailed off gesturing to the path, “Without practice. I mean…I need to get all the exercise I can get to make sure I pass my NEWTs later next year.” It doesn’t hurt to rehearse everything and anything he has learned in school, right? He did want to pass his exam with flying colours. He wanted to impress his future university!

“Broken bones? You can’t call yourself a skater girl if you don’t get at least one bone broken. It’s part of the sport, ma’am.” And a painful downside too, if you ask. “But then as I practice it, I don’t get much injuries compared to when I was younger.” It drove Mordred crazy, definitely.

“It must be fascinating for you to be here again.” He said nodding along as he flipped the board with his feet. “Yes, it’s the final year for me.” He continued as he looked at the woman again with a grin. “To be honest, I don’t want to leave yet…but I know it’ll be more fun once I step into University.” And probably start a path towards his dream job!

" Really? That's Cool." She skipped a few paces ahead of him and turned around with a confused look. " What's a Hippogriff?" there was so much about the magical world she didn't know yet it almost wasn't fair. [b] Are they big and scary? or small and cuddly? Somewhere in between?" She asked excitedly rambling as Adi walked she skipped circles around him. yes it was childish but she liked to skip. " Oooo... What about unicorns? do you think we'll see unicorns?" She asked hopeful that they really existed.

Woah woah! What was happening!? Henric was taken by surprise by this. He never would have expected Maggie to boldly hug him out of a sudden.He stood stiffly until she released him. They weren't even that close to each other so it was a little awkward. Clearing his throat, he glanced away to hide his flustered state,"Umm..yeah...you're forgiven...just don't be late next time if we're going to be partners again...alright."

Oh she did it! But wait...where did the ball g-SMACKED! The ball reappeared and hit directly onto his forehead before falling back down onto the ground. He blinked and looked back up at her.Frowning slightly,"I don't think that was how we supposed to do this activity, Maggie...we supposed to banish it into our hands." Well that was what the assignment told them to do, right?

Hehehehe.

Inside Maggie was snickering but on the outside she was simply smiling at him. So grateful she was. "Aw, you'll still wanna be partners again?" He'd just said that and she WAS going to take him up on that maybe. If she needed a partner. Or needed to show off that she could easily get an older partner. Yes. Good plan.

Now, on to the actual homework assignment though.

There was a brief second where an amused smirk flashed across her face. It had actually hit him in the face. Apparently she DID have good aim after all. Maybe she should start playing a ball game. Tennis maybe. Hmm. "I triiiiied." Maggie bit her lip again, looking REALLY ashamed of herself. "I tried aiming for your hands. I did. Are you okay?" Did he need any help?

He better not.

Waiting a little longer to make sure he wasn't about to faint, Maggie finally held up her own ball. "You ready?" Well, either way, she was throwing that ball. So ready or not, here it came.

Paulina was having a hard time believing that she was actually flying - HOW FREAKING COOL WAS THIS????

She wanted to soar off into the trees and explore the outside of Hogwarts, but she knew that she couldn't do that because Austin would be left behind. He was probably wishing that he could fly too, but she thought that wolves were pretty awesome. She liked dogs in general.

Once he had figured out where she was, Paulina saw Austin try to push back onto his hind legs before failing. Dogs just weren't meant for that kind of thing. She gave another "SQUAWK." Before landing on his back as he knelt down.

Haha, wow. She was perched on a wolf. Not everyone could say that and she wasn't afraid either because she knew he wouldn't hurt her. It would be so cool if they had a friendly race, but she wasn't sure how to communicate that to him. She was trying her hardest not to dig into him though, so that was a plus at least.

"PRACTICE MAKES PERMANENT, Olly." Because nothing could be perfect, blah blah blah and all that inspirational stuff. That's why homework was so cool and all. She wanted to be as GOOD as POSSIBLE.

She did a victory dance, then watched as Olly successfully did it too. "!!!!!EEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!! YAAAAAAY!" More victory dancing.

Okay her turn. "Arresto Momentum!" She used a bit stronger vocal strength or whatever this time, and the ball stopped midair immediately. She grinned, then tossed it back at her brother.

BEAT THAT.

"WHATEVER!" He yelled back. But she did have a point. Practicing would make him better at using the spell, and he liked being the best at things. What if he needed to use it some day? What if it was important? Then he would be glad that he had practiced so much. FINE.

Olly eyed his sister for a moment. She looked like she was just doing some sort of dance, but what if she was actually having a seizure or something? Whatever, she seemed fine. Fine enough to perform the spell better than him before throwing it back. What? Was that how it would be now? You wanna fight, Ellery?

"Arresto Momentum." He pointed his wand toward the ball and it slowed so it was just barely moving. It didn't stop, but did that really matter? It was definitely slow enough that he was able to just pluck it out of the air and throw it as hard as he could back in Ellery's direction.

Ellery stuck her tongue out at her brother. She did it in a joking way, of course, but still in a loving kind of "I can't believe I'm related to you" way. Olly was no stranger to that look, because as much as she loved him, he was an adorable dork.

"NICE. SMOOTH TRANSITION. A-STAR. Not like they were going to take A-levels, but it was a good transition - oh a ball was coming towards her face. At this point, because she had practiced 'til permanent, it was a reflex.

"Arresto Momentum!" Wand movement was executed smoothly, and the ball stopped on a dime and dropped right into her waiting hand. She smirked and tossed it back at her brother. She was getting into the zen mode of playing "catch."

It wasn't like Olly was bad at actually catching things. He totally would have been able to catch the ball every time it was thrown at him - as long as he didn't have to hold his wand in one hand. So why did they have to use a spell to slow the ball? Why couldn't he just catch it? If he had to do this homework, he wanted a bigger challenge.

He kept that thought in mind as he watched Ellery catch the ball and throw it back. He pointed his wand without even having to think about it. "Arresto momentum." The ball slowed and he grabbed it out of the air. That seemed like enough of that. They had both been able to perform the spell on the ball consistently. The ball being key. But what about something different.

"How about a challenge?" Without giving Ellery much time to respond to his question, Olly ran forward. He was fully intending to tackle her to the ground - or right into the pile of leaves. Ellery knew him well enough that it probably would not be hard for her to guess his motive. The question was if she would be able to slow him down. Hehe.

Adi stuffed his hands in his pocket, watching Olathe jump ahead of him. He grinned to himself. She was such a happy soul! But she didn't know what a Hippogriff was? Allow the big brother to enlighten his sister!

"They're only the most AWESOME creatures ever, Olathe! Half eagle, half horse creatures. The look fierce but they're really cool. All you have to do is make sure you don't insult them and you're okay.'' Adi could already tell than ANY Hippogriff would bend their scaly knees for Olathe. "They're big creatures but they can be gentle.''

Laughing, Adi tried to grab Olathe as she skipped around him. Not for any reason in particular. He was just making a sort of game out of the situation. "Anything is possible! You like unicorns, Olathe?'' He tilted his head at his younger friend.