Halloweeeeeeeeeen was near! Like, tomorrowwwww! And Jó was HERE for IT. It was ALMOST as good as April Fools Day, or his Birthday, and in the week leading up to it the eleven year old was trying to see how much costume he could get away with.

Answer: not much.

These school rules were a complete BUMMER. Hogwarts was supposed to be cool, not all strict and BORING. With one day to go and a lesson dress code that stated comfort, Józef thought that it was risk-worthy.

And that was why a werewolf sat down on one of the hay bales, offering the Professor a happy, if slightly muffled "Morning!"

A very warm, comfortable werewolf mask-wearing Józef Kowalski.

Max was here, and he was wearing his usual school robes because ughhhhh this whole rule malarkey was starting to get confusing. He wasn't entirely bothered by the rules per se, even the new ones, but the Professors needed to pick a set and just stick to them.

"Hey Professor," the Slytherin greeted before perching himself on one of the haybales and rummaging around in his rucksack.

Where was his textbook?? And his gloves????

Had he packed for the wrong class?????

Kaitlynn rushed down to the Care of Magical Creatures lesson ready to actually enjoy this weather while learning something, not just running laps. She looked around and found a hay bale to plop on but before she day so she gave a great big smile, "Hello Professor!"

She dropped her bag and took her seat. Ready. Eager to learn.

Halloween was tomorrow, and Madison was quite excited. It was her favourite holiday, and she was looking forward to it. Too bad that they probably wouldn't be able to have any real fun at all because of the stupid new rules. She REALLY disliked the new Headmaster...

Anyway, she wasn't going to let that get to her, and there was a smile on her face as she joined the rest of the class. "Hello, Professor." Madison smiled at Hanna and took a seat, waiting for the lesson to begin. They were sure to do something fun, and she liked learning about the different creatures - or, at least the INTERESTING ones.

Tristan quickly drained the last of his tea, setting it down on his hay bale. This one he left there...never knew when he would need to sit for a moment...plus it wasn't a throne that would be in the way. He quickly stood, clapping his hands for attention, and waiting until everyone was quiet before he got started. "Good afternoon everyone! I am so sorry about the confusion of the dress code, but appreciate you all for doing what you felt was best for yourself." His Hufflepuff scarf flapped in the breeze. He really hoped the headmaster wouldn't be popping in...but who knew these days.

"Well, lets get the ball rolling shall we?" He said with a small smile, and with a flick of his wand revealed in the field next to them a small patch of trees, seemingly empty at the moment. "What kind of creatures, Magical or non-magical, live in Trees?" He asked pacing around in front of the students waiting patiently for their hands to fly into the air. "Please, only one creature per person." There were so many that the students could have given him multiple, but he wanted everyone to get a chance.


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Natasha quickly raised her hand. "Many species of birds, magical and non-magical live in trees." she said shyly.

Skyler blinked. Magical and non magical huh? She didn't know a whole lot about non magical creatures, except maybe dogs, cats, hers was roaming the castle somewhere, and owls...oh! She raised her hand slightly.
"Wouldn't owls be considered both magical and non magical creatures professor?" She asked.
So they weren't learning about nifflerd today huh? Darn.

As friends of Abra arrived for the lesson, he made sure to wave greetings to them, and flash the occasional smile too from time to time. He shuffled around slightly on his hay bale as he waited for the class to start, eager to get on with things; Abra wasn't a creatures whizz like Derf was, and the only animal he had a true natural affinity with was the regular cat, but all the same, he really did enjoy Care of Magical Creatures and always looked forward to seeing what they would be working with.

When Professor Wayland asked his question, Abra hesitated for just a second before raising his hand; he was sure his answer was technically correct, but wasn't sure if it was what Wayland was looking for. "Bowtruckles? I know they're a specific creature, rather than a kind of creature, but I wasn't sure if... um... Well, you know... yeah." ... Yeah.

She totally wasn’t eavesdropping on others conversation, she was kind of in it. Anyway it was good to know that he just didn’t have the time to make this hay bales Throne. And that he was wasn’t dethroned by his superior. That would really have been sad.

Then he addressed the whole dress code dilemma, at least he give them the chance to choose what they wanted to wear, options without consequences Anyway on the first question. Animals that live in trees. She listened to a few of the others answers before raising her hand to answer. ”Lemurs live in trees in Madagascar.”

Mask off?! Well, this lesson officially sucked and it hadn't even started. Józef begrudgingly removed his mask and stowed it away in his bag, his downcast gaze disguising his scowl. At least he could maybe put it on after the lesson, and wear it up to the Castle.

By the time the last student had arrived, the scowl was gone, and Jó was looking everywhere impatiently for some sign of what creature might be scared of his mask. Wimp creatures, most probably - but even so, he was curious. He perked up a little as Professor Wayland started the lesson, his hand hovering in the air whilst he craned his neck to see if he could see anything in the trees.

"Monkeys, sir!" There were LOADS of monkeys lived in trees, like Spider Monkeys and.... Were orangutan's monkeys? What was the difference between monkeys and apes? Was that what they were going to learn about?!?!

It was difficult to look away from the sparkly boils but Jó Kowalski made that possible by turning up to class dressed as a werewolf.

That's right, a werewolf!

Lucas looked down at his own clothes - a simple pair of jeans and a t-shirt that he thought looked cool and a jacket that he thought looked cooler - and he half-wished he had that much courage. He kind of just wanted to look good and not be judged on what he was wearing but he also kind of wished he could pull off something like that.

When the Professor started talking again, he looked up and decided to let the clothes thing go. He couldn't change any of it if he wanted to and it was kind of nice to sit here in his own clothes. Nice and comfortable and a little weird but definitely nice.

What kind of creature lived in trees? He had two answers for this one, both that were very alike but the Professor had only said one so he chose the one he knew a bit more about. And so, the hand went up in the air with a little bit more confidence. "Clabberts! They live in trees in North America but you're not allowed to keep them in front of Muggles, I guess." Or something like that.

"Hey Maddie," Hanna said as she saw her friend enter the area.

In no time, it seemed, they were getting started. Hanna saw the trees, which really didn't give much away regarding the plan for the lesson. Even Professor Wayland's question was very broad. They could be focusing on any animal, really. Well, tree-dwelling animals. A few came to her mind but flickered out just as quick. Hmm. Raising her hand, and going with the broadest kind of animal, Hanna said "Birds. Owls!" Hanna loved owls. They lived in trees, right?

Stella lifted her eyebrows at the sparkly boils and seen Jo a fellow Gryffindor dressed up as a werewolf. She did have to admit it looked cool looking, but she wondered if he was going to get in trouble for it.


Stella was dressed in a gray half sleeved shirt with plaid pink and black pattern attached to the sleeves making it look like she was wearing two shirts with blue jeans and her red converses. Her hair pulled back in a half do but curly like always.


Stella thought for a bit before her hand shot up in the air like a rocket. "Some species of snakes are arboreal they prefer to live in trees, and they hunt in trees as well." she said hoping that was ok.

Well he wasn’t wrong, there was a certain level of uncertainty that came with not wearing her school uniform and it did border somewhat on fear of breaking the rules but more in the sense of how anxious the thought of confrontation on the matter was concerned. She’d honestly had enough of specifically being berated for being Head Girl and breaking rules. If she was quiet enough she could almost hear the man asking if she felt being Head Girl gave her the right to be disobedient.

When the lesson began and the man didn’t show up, Jessa allowed herself to relax juuuuust a little, but the fidgeting didn’t stop. This was likely to continue until she was either back in her uniform or back in her common room, whichever came first.

For now, the young girl would use the Professor’s question as some form of distraction. Creatures magical or non-magical that lived in trees. “While not specifically tree dwellers, Sir, leopards have been known to spend a lot of time in trees, they store their meals up there, rest in them and sometimes use them for a quick escape as not many other big cats have been known to possess the agility and weight conducive to climbing.”

“Hey, it’s not like we don’t wear uniform for everything else. I’d be surprised if we’re not asked to wear them under quidditch robes or in the lake”, Ewan whispered as Beth came and joined him.

Sitting up a little now, his eyes wandered towards Professor Wayland, ready for the first instruction of the day. Raising his hand in a flash, Ewan couldn’t help but blurt out one of his favourite creatures “One answer Professor. I’d have to say a Sloth, Sir. They’re just so interesting!”, his enthusiasm getting the better of him.

Quickly, he turned to Beth and eyed her, a mischievous smile on his face. “Hey. Hey Beth. What do sloths throw when it snows?”, a little chuckle escaping as he poked her playfully. Not giving her time to answer, “SLOWBALLS!!!”,he shouted, his laugh echoing off into the distance.

“Ooops. Sorry Professor”.

Derf honestly felt like 10,000 galleons right now, a feeling that only intensified when Professor Wayland revealed the little grove of trees. Before Abey had even answered the professors question, Derf was already thinking about bowtruckles. Picketta specifically, of course, and would have been his initial response to the question had he not been a bit distracted glancing over at the barn for just a moment where Picketta was likely still playing with the enchanted flower Chloe had created for her.

But anyway. TREE DWELLING CREATURES! Oh wow where to even BEGIN? There were just so many to choose from, though Derf opted to share one of his favorites he had been able to observe while visiting his extended family over the summer - and one he was certain was NOT in those trees right there but still deserved a nod nonetheless.

"My personal favorite arboreal creature is the chameleon, of the family Chamaeleonidae," he began, an EAGER gleam in his eye.

And, because he could never resist, he chimed in when Stella spoke about snakes. "Like the Green Tree Python! It has arguably one of the best best adaptations for life in the trees in its strong prehensile tail. Not to mention its striking green camouflage coloring!"

Lizzie was nervous, this was her first class and it was the one she'd most been looking forward to. Being a first year she'd arrived early but sat in the back not wanting to draw too much attention or seem to eager, she'd have years to do that.

But it seemed that the Professor wanted student interaction, Lizzie let others go first, wondering what animals they'd think of. Bowtruckle was the first to pop into her head, only because Derf had introduced her to one, he sat ahead of her. But of course someone answered before she found her tongue.

Quickly thinking of another she stood up as she was at the back of the group and wanting to make sure the Professor heard her she spoke clearly.

"A Thunderbird perhaps." she replied quickly, before sitting back down, biting her lip, hoping her answer was acceptable.

Thunderbirds were a type of bird, a magical bird at that, and if the Thunderbird was small or the tree were large like the Redwoods in California or the forests in British Columbia it could be possible.

Madison grinned at Hanna, but wasn't able to say anything to her because the professor started speaking. It was hard to resist the urge to roll her eyes at the mention of dress code, but she somehow managed to. Just as long as their lesson wasn't dropped in on like Muggle Studies had been, she would be fine. At any rate, she needed to think of an answer to the first question. Some of the first ones that popped into her head were already taken, so she tried to think of something else.

After a few moments, she raised her hand. "koalas! They spend basically their whole lives in eucalyptus trees." Add to that the fact that they were adorable.

Benji's face lit up as Penny approached him and sat down on his hay bale. "Don't mind at all," he said with a huge grin. Something about her made him want to smile like that. He really needed to figure out what that was all about... Not that he minded it. "Glad you're here, in fact," he added a bit more quietly. Wait, WHAT? He had meant to think that. Why had it come out of his mouth? AAAAAAAHHHHH. As was becoming usual when talking to Penny, suddenly his feet became fascinating to stare at as the slightest tinge of pink crossed his cheeks.

Thankfully, he was saved from too much embarrassment by class starting. When he heard the question, his first thought was bowtruckles, but one of the first people called on had already given that answer. People were coming up with things left and right, but meanwhile, his mind was blank because HIS ANSWER HAD BEEN STOLEN. And it's NOT like it's easy to concentrate when the girl you have a giant crush on (wait, what? Had he just thought that?) is sitting right next to you, you know! Geez, this was just unfair.

He shook his head in an attempt to clear his thoughts of Penny, mostly and thought hard for a moment. His brain ran through the mental rolodex of animals it held until a lightbulb went off and he raised his hand: "Sir, squirrels often make their homes in trees." And they were SO CUTE. But also kinda scary, honestly, with their little buckteeth and beady eyes...

"Thanks!" Archer replied to the professor's compliment on her sweater.

And then class was starting. The most obvious answer to the question was any of the numerous species of bird. But then, that was already being covered to various degrees by her classmates. As was the second most obvious, monkeys. So, time to go to the ol' knowledge well. Fortunately, her brain spit back an answer pretty quickly. Something she'd seen often enough when she was younger but hadn't seen at all since the move back to England. "Possums like to sleep hanging by their tails from tree limbs." True story. And they could be mean little creatures, too.

Professor Wayland wasn’t supposed to be ignored…that wasn’t the intention at all, really, truly the little snake had just been distracted and excited about their rebellious lesson. Beth shot a glance over to Ewan as she debated WHY she had even sat there in the first place.

The dad jokes were back…why were they back? ”stop or I’ll spell-o-tape you” she warned under her breath – he knew about her thing with dad jokes…hell, she didn’t even know why it was a thing but it was a thing. A complete and total thing and look Professor Wayland was speaking.

Hand RAISED, really raised like nearly knocking into her bail-mate’s head she was so excited to raise it…or maybe she was trying to stop their dad jokes? But either way her hand was raised. ”Professor, The Tarsiers are a type of primate that reside in trees that live mainly in the islands of Southeast Asia…they’re the second smallest primates in the world the smallest being the Berthe Mouse Lemur” she excitedly explained with a grin.

What? They were cute.

Aaron beamed at he man, finding his explanation not as exciting as it could've been, sure, but that was okay. Did their professor seriously create a hay!throne for every lesson? The Hufflepuff was kinda in awe of that level of dedication. "Okay, if you're sure." And he promptly returned the wink, because he was supposed to, right?

Oh... and hello, Bel! Aaron sat up a bit straighter when she took her seat beside him, his cheeks warming up with happiness. Class was about to being, so he mumbled a quiet 'hello' in her direction.... He didn't want to cause them to lose anymore points, basically. Though, Professor Wayland seemed like an ally.

............... Animals in trees, did the man say? Aaron's hand shoot up in a blur (he'd thankfully remembered to do so, at least). "BEES!" .... Ahem, what? Rubbing at the back of his neck, his grin shifted to resemble something more sheepish. Sorry, he'd gotten excited there for a moment. "It depends on the species, but there are a few wild breeds who chose dead and hollowed out trees for their homes... It's more practical, I think, because they prefer habitating near a food source." Flowers, you know?

He didn't forget things, he was organised. Some more rummaging in his rucksack however, confirmed that yep he'd gone and forgotten everything. With a stressed out ruffle of his hair, Max simply nodded when Professor Wayland assured him that spares were available. If he had to borrow gloves, he hoped they were clean at least.

But anyway.

Tree creatures. Okay. Most of his answers had already been taken, so Max had to take a moment to think.

"I reckon loads of bugs and insects live in trees," he said, arm in the air. "I saw a caterpillar near a tree once." Not actually in the tree. But not far away. Did that count?

So far, there had been no acts of defiance. No rebelling. And it was stressing Dorian out. He half concentrated what the Professor was saying but the majority of his focus was on the other students. Especially the ones who had proven to be...intolerant to the new school rules. Wasn't it funny though, how people had different reactions to change?

He took a small breath and told himself to focus on the lesson and not on what could potentially happen and that this was Professor Wayland's class. They had him for several years now.

....wait...what?...why were people giving answers?! Had he missed a question?! Dorian blinked, looking around at the others and instantly felt guilty. This whole time he had been silently criticizing the others when in reality he hadn't been paying attention himself. The fourth year grabbed his notebook instead to make small notes to show that he was doing...something.

And there it was. He knew something felt off when he walked down toward the circle of hay ales this morning. But he supposed that it was better to be safe than sorry for now. Although if headmaster kept it up he’d be getting expelled or something. He figured he’d have to sit down eventually and process how he felt. With a shake of his head to flip the slightly long piece out of his peripheral.

He was listening to all of the answers but no one had mentioned his favorite. He raised his hand and stated proudly, “frogs like to live in trees South America has some really cool ones.” they were some of the Beatles species and coolest colors. Some of them were EXTREMELY dangerous.