Dizzy positioned herself half way between Beth and Hanna, a scowl deeply set on her still half asleep face. She was not happy, and as such wasn't really in the mood to greet anyone, be it her own niece, a friend or any member of staff.

Neither was her outfit this early morning all that conducive to running, it just was, frankly, the closest thing she had that was. And that, in her mind, was on the headmaster. If you were going to require running clothes, than really, you should have added that to school supply list, should you not.

Dizzy was really still too asleep, and otherwise in no mood to listen, and as a result, missed all of Professor Scrimgeour's little morning speech. All she truly caught was a vague recollection of 5 laps, and the very definitive "begin."

Grumbling to herself so low and quiet it was practically a growl, Dizzy started her laps in something that was somewhere between a walk and a jog.

Kimi grumbled as he listened to what the new headmaster was saying and thought to himself yeah right like it would help with classroom activity but he wasn't wanting to lose his house points so he started running his 5 laps but still he was not happy about doing this every morning

Daisy who was in her running outfit (trousers, a shirt, socks and running shoes), tied her hair in a ponytail and made sure her laces were tied up properly just before Headmaster Scrimgeour told them to begin. She started off in a slow jog for the first five seconds trying to get her bad leg used to such exercise. Daisy then began to run, rather awkwardly as tears formed in her eyes. She had been told not to do such strenuous exercises but she had a feeling that if she mentioned this to the Headmaster that she'd be punished.

She bit her lip and continued, her mind full of some choice words.

Okay... Penny was kind of glad she had missed the speech this man had given during the feast. Not that she HATED him like the others seemed to without having given him a proper chance, but because his cold stare seemed to reach the souls of those on the pitch... and well his gruff voice made her uneasy. Which, in all fairness, wasn't a thing that didn't happen often. But still. And just as she made to give greetings to the schoolmates who had nodded her way, the man had barked that it was time to start their laps. Everyone. Including those who had whined about it. Heh.

Not that Penny was at the height of shape for her age or anything, but she didn't mind a little exercise, to be honest. There wasn't much that got her riled up at all really. And she had more than enough SENSE not to sass adults. Especially ones that had fired their Headmistress and laid down the law. Sheesh. Weren't these people ever going to learn when it behooved them to keep their mouths shut?!

Starting out at a slow jog (so as not to wear herself out before the last), Penny started her laps with NO fuss. She didn't even pull a face or anything. Instead she was falling in line and doing as was told... until she found a reason not to.

Maddie glanced down at her clothes, which were the closest thing she had to 'running clothes', seeing as she'd been a Quidditch player last school year. Again, she was used to this sort of thing, but did it have to be so often and so early? She didn't see HIM running laps. She glanced up when the Divination professor greeted them. "Good morning," she said, her voice having an uncertainty to it. She still didn't know what to think of this guy. He hadn't necessarily done anything wrong, but it had to be miserable being Scrimgeour's puppet.

Her jaw dropped when the sergeant ordered a few of the professor's to run laps, as well. Could he even do that? She also fought the urge to correct him and add the Professor title to the name Stewart. What a turd this man was. She gave Professor Stewart an apologetic look. So five laps it was, hmm? Maddie sighed softly to herself then took off. As soon as she was a good distance away, she removed a very small folded up piece of parchment from her pocket and re-read what she'd written in a forced handwriting different from her on.

Quote:

The gargoyles have denied Sergeant Scrimgeour access to Headmistress Hawthorne's office. Saw it with my own two eyes. Seems like at least something around this castle isn't liking this change.

Read the note and pass it on...and try not to get caught!

...and this was how a person very slowly starting planting the idea of rebellion into everyone else's minds. "Psst," she said, whispering to the kid beside her. "Here. Take it."

Why couldn't they just greet him and then start running this waiting around was making him more sleepy and it really wasn't a good thing. He was yawning more and more seeing everyone else yawn. It was contagious after all, it was a fact! He saw Nat come by him and smiled not wanting to waste more energy talking right now. Also he was an excellent person to lean against and sleep if he decided to give a lecture before running, just saying.

There was Sylvie, who did morning exercises with him but see they were forced and a still later than this. Making this mandatory made all the difference

"Mooooorrrning"

He tried not yawning but failed mid saying that.

Oh, Zach from the train.

"Not when the morning is forced"

Like even when they were forced to do morning qudditch practice at the crack of dawn you had the wind from flying to wake you up a little bit. Man look at all the professors. Where they forced to do this also. Ah he was finally talking. Praise Merlin. ok. Grooooaaan. Every morning. There goes his quite morning runs.

5 Laps......could be worse and could be better.

Guess he will start running now since he said begin. Lets not go full speed to start this thing.

The long walk from her dorm room to the pitch was enough to lessen the ringing in her ears from the overly loud morning wake up call. Her achy shoulder was still very much a thing though however.

Arriving at the pitch with several minutes to spare, Rylee greeted the new Headmaster and professors with a polite 'Good morning' and a smile as per usual for her. The student leaders all received a warm friendly smile and 'hellos' as well as did most of the others already there.

Running wasn't an issue for her. It was being told they HAD to run that didn't seem fair. However she was rocking lightly on the heels of her sneakers waiting to be told what to do. The action quickly halting when hearing that anyone that didn't run would lose House points, serve detention, and have privileges revoked. That was seriously messed up! Running was supposed to be fun, not a chore and certainly not something they would get in trouble over.

Still rather conflicted on all of this, Rylee did what she normally would when she needed to clear her head. She ran. Or went to work on her Quidditch skills... or flower crowns or played with the creatures. Only she was already out here on the pitch. So running it was.

Steady even strides as she started off on her first lap around the pitch.

……. this dude was joking, right?

There was absolutely no way he was capable of running laps EVERY. SINGLE. MORNING. Nope nope nope. He got a painful stitch just from walking the four floors to the library. And all that stuff about it kickstarting the brain???? The only thing he needed to get his morning kickstart was a strong cup of coffee.

Max glanced helplessly at the other Professors, wondering when one of them was gonna crack and yell ‘HAAAH! GOTCHAAA!’ Because this had to be some sort of weird start-of-term elaborate prank, right?

RIGHT????

It appeared not, because people were already setting off for their laps.

Grumbling moodily under his breath, Max leaned down to fake tie his shoelaces in an attempt to delay the inevitable and think of some kind of escape plan.

Ummm what? Excuse me?

Penny turned her head as she heard the PSSST beside her. Glancing up and then back down to her housemate's hand she grimaced a little. A note? For her? What was this?

Hesitating for a moment she started to just shake her head and speed up a bit, but that would be considered the HEIGHT of rudeness. Penny was not rude, you see. So after some deliberation, she took the note and unfolded it. Her eyes scanned the message and she began to shake her head. Nope. This was a big chunk of NOPE. She wanted no part of this. Shoving the note back toward the girl all she said was, "No thank you," before speeding up just a hair and moving on along.

Not today Circe. Not today.

Maddie's gaze traveled back and forth between her housemate and the field before her. No way was she tripping and falling over her own two feet. The two seemed to fall into step with one another as Penny read over the note. Maddie didn't really notice the hesitation the girl was showing. She was trying to pass the note discretely, after all. At the girl's response, Maddie nodded and continued on her run.

She would not allow Hogwarts to defeat an army of Inferi, some with lifelong injuries and some with temporary injuries, just to come back the next school and be ruled by a sergeant. As she ran forward, she accidentally dropped the note, and she winced to herself as she realized it'd be too revealing to go back for it now.

Dang it. She could only hope it fell into the right hands now.

Lap one down...four to go.

Running wasn't a new thing for Magdalena. She did it every day. It was part of her work out regime, which she needed for both her gymnastics and quidditch. So she wasn't opposed to the running. What she did not like was the way they had been woke up. Luckily she was a morning person, but it had still not gone down well. She could have done with a bit more sleep, but that was okay. Hopefully a good run, and then a nice healthy breakfast would help. She just hoped that none of her fellow peers would get in the way. She liked having a good pace with her running.

There was a smile on the gryffindor's face as she headed down to the quidditch pitch. Yes it was early, and they were being forced to do this, but actually she was looking forward to it. She liked running, and so didn't have a problem with it. She smiled as she listened to the headmaster speak. To be honest, she didn't really need to. She enjoyed running, and didn't mind having to do it. But maybe some other students needed some sort of pep talk.

Finally. They could go. Mags finished the few stretches she was doing, and then set off. She started slow at first, a nice gentle jog, before beginning to speed up. These 5 laps would be done in no time.

Splendid, he thought as Headmaster Scrimgeour spoke. He was perfectly capable of encouraging the youngsters to run. “Will do, sir” was his only response. It was all that was necessary. The students were starting to arrive, and several of them appeared to be less than enthusiastic over the mornings events.

“Professor Stewart. So nice to see you on this beautiful morning.” A slight smile crossed his lips as she stood next to him. She, as well as the increasing number of students, looked displeased. “Miss Starson, I am well, thank you.” A few more complainers, then a polite Gryffindor. “Mr. Botros” he gave a nod to the young man.

The group was growing, but not at a rate that was acceptable. If he could be down at the pitch in a reasonable time, the students surely could as well. “Mr. Potter. Good morning to you. Today’s activity should work those yawns right out of you.” Then, another polite Gryffindor. “Miss Dalgaard-Volkova, good morning to you.” He made a mental note that the Gryffindors appeared to be the most polite of the houses thus far just as another couple of Gryffindors greeted them. “Good morning, Mr. Spenley, Miss Roberts.”

Ahh, a polite Ravenclaw, he thought “Mr. Hadley-Nairne.” Then a Slytherin that called him math guy. “It’s Professor Davis, Miss Greyvson. You would be wise to remember the names of all the professors. If in doubt, ask your Head of House or your Prefect. Ignorance is no excuse for disrespect, young lady.”

After greeting Miss Blackwell, he spotted Tristan approaching. “Good morning, Professor Wayland.” Although his colleagues expression did not look as if good was a part of his morning. The reactions from the long term professors was starting to make him wonder if something very wrong was going on. In general, if an unfit leader was removed from their position, those beneath them are pleased. This was not appearing to be the case.

With a nod to the polite Mr. Ashburry-Hawthorne, and a curious look towards Miss Swann over her comment to the headmaster, Foster greeted a few of the last to arrive. He got in a quick “Professor Marchand, Professor Fletcher” before the headmaster made his speech.

Once the instructions were given, Foster dashed off to the far side of the pitch, to better encourage the students and make sure none were slacking off at the halfway point.

Unimpressed.

Kalen was fully unimpressed.

Oh he was there, he had quietly gotten to the pitch and had sidled up next to Tristan, his hands on his sweatpanted hips as he took a look around at the students and then at Scrimgeour as he spoke.

They were going to have to do this every morning? Was he crazy? And think of the students in Ravenclaw and Gryffindor, they would have to come down all those stairs, run, and head back up all those stairs just to change and come back down for breakfast.

Kalen wondered if he could sneakily let those kids go early so they wouldn’t miss breakfast.

And then he heard that he had to run, because he didn’t stand last night? Kalen’s snort was a bit loud as he heard that and he gave the man a look. Was. He. Serious?

“Come on Tris and Kay.. lets walk.” He said as he gave Scrimgeour the eye. No way would he give the man the satisfaction of seeing him run.

No.

Way.

The sixth year wasn't too sure what all to make of that look, but it made him feel somewhat comfortable. It was one of approval and, well, with approval came a brand of validation, you know? Though the headmaster's words once again were what brought about the unease and in a BIG way. So...there would be no team building then...this was an individual challenge? "Oh..." he said, feeling a bit crestfallen. "Okay..." To make matters worse was what he said to Jessa, the bit about her losing her breakfast privileges. While Derf had never been a fan of food in lessons...he now hoped that the usual suspects came equipped so Jessa could get something.

Starvation...was NOT a teaching technique.

So, while the man began to address the crowd and instruct, the Hufflepuff moved beside his (best?) friend and nudged her gently. "I'll sneak something out of the Great Hall for you if it comes to that, don't worry," he assured her. He could easily manage a banana and muffin at least since the pockets of his robes still had the undetectable extension charm on them from...Scamander days.

Just laps though? That didn't seem too bad, even if five was sorta a lot even for an athlete like himself. A quidditch pitch was five hundred feet long and a hundred and eighty feet wide...and seeing as there were 5 tomatoes in a mile...yikes. Though there WAS something to be said about the points he was making about morning exercise being good...because that WAS true. His U-17 quidditch trainer had even listed 8 benefits of it and, well, it was partly why the 16-year-old had been able to bulk up over the summer. Working those hormones to his advantage, he could get behind that. You know, testosterone and stuff naturally circulating at their peaking during the early morning and a lot less in the afternoon and evening...and release those endorphins!

SOMETHING good had to come from all the raging hormones he had, you know?

And, well, honestly...a lot of the progress that had been made with his own anxiety and coping emotionally with all his trauma...had been boosted by his morning exercise routine.

So it was, after a few more stretches, that Derf took off at a brisk jog himself. Though, as he jogged, that unsettled feeling back to sink in again. He wasn't to help his classmates who were struggling? Was that not the role of a prefect though? How did THIS foster a safe environment if peers couldn't provide emotional support and stuff when it was necessary. And...what exactly was the kind of encouragement the man kept uncomfortably stressing?

His pace was slowing a bit as he thought about all this, but he made a decision that set his heart and mind at ease...and thus his pace increased and he unknowingly stepped right on the note Maddie had dropped, pushing it down into the damp ground of the pitch.

Some mud with that rebellion?

For a brief moment, Drewett had considered going back to the Stemp House for homeschooling instead. But alas, he was here and he was being forced to run five laps. Waking up early wasn't a problem of his because he was very much a morning person, but never for reasons related to physical activity that he did not at all sign up for. He was probably going to write to Mrs. Stemp after classes today about this, to see if it does anything.

He had considered walking for the rest of the laps, but Drew knew he would be late to class if he didn't try to speed up a little. Unwillingly, he let himself jog. And flashes of himself puking right after this session crossed his mind.

Yup, he was going to puke. For sure.

After stretching a little bit, which would most likely not do much because Drew wasn't a big fan of exercising, he went off. Where were his friends? They ran too fast. Oh Merlin. Come on, scrawny legs. He was panting all the way through.

... was this man serious?

Daehyun had been beyond upset about headmistress Hawthorne's departure and didn't like the new guy at all - those were things established at the feast. But, this? Running laps around the Quidditch pitch every single morning?! He fought hard to keep in a snort when Scrimgeour said it would improve mental and physical energy. Why wasn't he running along, then?

And the other thing that irked him - did the guy actually make professors run, too? Who in the world did he think he was?

Because he'd never been a good actor and couldn't contain the displeasure on his face, Daehyun turned away and kicked off on a light sprint, huffing and puffing, his eyes rolled so far back that they might stay that way at the guy's words. Now one thing he didn't want was to lose house points or serve detention. There was no chance he was going to actually finish the five laps, but he was going to follow orders... for the moment.

Nettie was there PURELY so she didn't have to end up in detention. Or lose house points. If she wasn't trying to be a better student this year, she would have skipped this nonsense without a second thought - but she was trying to be better for her house, so here she was. Without a single bite of food in her stomach. She had to admit though - the promise of a warm, hot breakfast after all this WAS a good motivator for her.

The awkwardness between some of the professors and their new Headmaster didn't go unnoticed by Nettie - but she was sure that was bound to happy. The whole staff couldn't be happy about Hawthrone leaving (or the manner in which is had been done) and probably didn't agree with all of THIS. But he was making THEM run too?! Wow. Talk about cruel and unusual punishment.

As they began, she noticed her friend Maddie up a few feet in front of her. Only problem was - she was teeny, and trying to push through the crowd to get to her friend wasn't going very well. Couldn't they have done this in smaller groups? She was likely to get trampled! Eyes still on her friend, she watched in confusion when Maddie tried to shove something at another Hufflepuff - only to have it pushed back at her. And then it fell into the ground. It looked like...a note or something?

And then DERF STEPPED ON IT. Gross. Still, her curiosity got the better of her, and she made a beeline for it. She scooped it up in her hand and got a good amount of mud along with it - but she got the note. She wiped her hands on her running pants to get the mud off - EWWW - and then opened it carefully, trying to be discrete about it as she ran. She hurried towards a large group of students, hoping to blend her small frame in to the herd of people.

It was kind of hard to read, due to the mud and the water, but it was still legible, thank goodness. She giggled at the message - take THAT Scrimgeour - and suddenly found herself a bit more...motivated. If the castle itself didn't want him there, it was only a matter of time till all this nonsense was OVER with. She could grin and bare it for that long, right?

Now, to pass on the note...she followed it up, holding it in her palm, looking for someone to pass it off to - if anyone had noticed her reading it, otherwise it'd be kind of hard to do it discretely.

Hearing another voice come closer, Natalie turned and saw Slyvie joining her and Theo. She hadn't spent much time with the girl, but she seemed fine. New year, new day new friends. That's what Natalie kept telling herself. "Morning," Natalie replied. She was tired, but she was intrigued about this new Headmaster and his plans for the school. So she was up.

And she was also pleased when a newly familiar face appeared in their group as well. It was Zach, from the train. "No, not particularly," she responded to his question with a tired sigh. Anyone who knew Natalie knew that she liked her sleep. LOVED her sleep. It was her greatest hobby. As for his other question. "Erm... No. This is new." A lot of people didn't like Hawthorne, but at least she didn't make them run laps.

Natalie perked up when the Headmaster began talking, not without missing what he said to Jessa. She did worry about that... and decided she would keep an eye on her because she didn't want her to have an asthma attack. NOR did she want her to go without breakfast. It seemed rather harsh and Natalie wasn't sure how she felt about it, but... all she could do now was follow the rules and hope she didn't fall over before five laps.

Five laps? She got winded just walking to Charms class.

With a deep breath, Natalie glanced at her companions. "Shall we?" she asked, trying to be enthusiastic. Then she took off after Theo and followed in an a somewhat slow job. She didn't want to overdo herself, especially because she was NOT athletic.

Natalie had tried running. Once. And then she got tired so gave up. So, today would be interesting.

FIVE laps? Around THIS pitch? It's more likely than you think. But it was huge.

Abra didn't know what to think, though he instantly had to mentally rebuke himself for even daring to hope that this running exercise might be of a reasonable distance, judging by the general demeanour of the man who was setting the task. Abra was a Quidditch player, yes, he had had a certain level of fitness instilled in him from how much walking and stair-climbing was necessary just to get to and from his common room and classes, sure, and he had a naturally small and light Seeker's physique, OKAY, but a runner he was not. There was, after all, no need to run in Quidditch.

With any luck, the muscle and fitness he had inadvertently worked on through all that swimming in the summer would help him out, but Abra still didn't see himself completing five laps of the pitch with anything remotely close to ease. That being said, he didn't raise a fuss, didn't even dare attempt to talk his way out of it, and resigned himself absolutely to the task at hand. He knew it was true, about morning exercise being good for you - his Healer had mentioned it so many times that he'd long since lost count - but that didn't mean he had to like it, or being forced into it. Or this early morning business. It was completely lost on him why there were so many smiling faces present, but he wished they'd take their smiles far away from him.

Biting back a sigh with great difficulty, Abra turned towards the pitch and began jogging along with the general throng of people. It was tempting to try and go fast, to get the laps finished sooner, but even Abra knew that he needed to pace himself, that he'd never be able to maintain a sprint at that distance. Already the fresh morning air was feeling a little too crisp in his lungs for his liking.

Being naturally curious, the Ravenclaw got a bit closer to hear the conversation between Jessa and the Headmaster. He wondered if she really has asthma or if it was just an excuse to get out of running. Not that he cared though, he cared about when he heard that Ravenclaw had lost 10 points.

Why was it ALWAYS Ravenclaw?

With a annoyed sigh, Dorian turned to listen to the Headmasters words. He had already figured that these morning exercises were for that kind of reason and he didn't minded it. He had been wanted ro excercise more anyway and this gave him a chance.

Wait..."Five?!" he repeated. Sure he was mistaken right?......apparently not...

When it was time to move, Dorian watched as people just took off. No, he was not going to injure his body just because the Headmaster demanded they'd run and instead began to walk and stretch his body to warm it up. If there was one thing he knew was that a warming up was essential even when going running.

Stella got a wave in return and a smile to go with it because he, for one, was genuinely happy to see her. Familiar faces, you know? It might make this process a lot easier, whatever they were here fo-

........ Wait. Five laps? FIVE?!

F I V E ?!

Lucas audibly whimpered. One look around gave enough of a reason why. Did this Headmaster person see how big this pitch was? It was HUGE! And he had very small legs! Any mention about how good and beneficial it was was going right over the young Gryffindor's head because all he could think about was how he was going to run around this huge Quidditch pitch five times. His legs were going to fall off!

The worst part? Daily. This was going to happen daily!

But the idea of serving detention didn't sit well with him either, especially if it somehow got back to Mama about it. Lucas bit his lip, watching as some of the others started jogging already and he was just..... standing there. Gathering up as much energy as he could - which wasn't a lot - the first year started jogging in the general direction that the others were jogging in.

Where was Emma? Could they have cuddles after this? Something told him they needed it.

Back in the ranks? In the ranks? So these students were considered cattle now? And what was his reason with including the professors in this? They had other adult priorities to contend with. Skyler frowned and stood at her place refusing to move. She wasn't going to be treated like this.
"No." She said to him. "I'm not going to run the laps," she said.
"I can understand you ordering us around, maybe, but the professors have adult things to take care of. Professor Wayland. has creatures to take care of. And the head girl that mentioned asthma, do you want her to faint half way theough her laps? What has this school come to be? Is it going to be like it was when professor Umbridge took over?"

Five laps?

FIVE?

Lex sighed miserably (but not loud enough for Headmaster Scrimgeour to hear her, hopefully), and bent down to quickly make sure her shoes were securely tied. Her newfound clumsiness would NOT be her friend, she decided.

As Lex began to break out into a slow jog, she noticed that a small piece of paper was being passed around in front of her. What was that about? She kept quiet - maybe she'd find out in due time what the note was, but she wasn't too keen on making any trouble.

As she continued to jog around the pitch, her thoughts were mostly focused on how tired she was, and how much she really didn't want to trip over her own two feet - or someone else's, for that matter. She stayed at a steady pace, finishing her first lap without much trouble (apart from the whiny voice in her head that wanted to give up and go to sleep).

One down, four more to go.

Five...laps? If Charlie was riding a broom, it wouldn't be a problem, BUT to do it with his legs and feet? Well, it'd be agony, however, he knew he's destined to be a pro one day so he really shouldn't be complaining. He could take this opportunity to up his game, starting with a good cardio workout. What he didn't like though was the fact that his lower extremities will hate him for doing this. Leg days are the worst!

And so, wearing his 'running gear' a.k.a Quidditch uniform from the last term, Charlie did some stretching while Drill Master Scrimgeour did all the talking. The American teen didn't miss out on the looks that the professors gave each other. So...he was right about the thing he said about Hogwarts when he asked his parents to transfer him back to Ilvermorny. Hogwarts was a military school, only this time, it was literal in every sense.

One final backstretch was made before Charlie began his slow jog. For some reason, the DrillHeadmaster reminded him so much of his former Quodpot Captain. The man was brutal, but it did bring forth good results during their game. Will it be the same for them this term?

Maybe Scrimgeour isn't bad news...

Maybe.

Lizzie started off with the rest of the group, matching their slow pace at first until she eyed someone familiar up ahead. She recognized the Prefect from the start of term feast, she'd always liked company when running and maybe she could get some pointers from him for the coming year. She'd also heard rumors swirling around the common room that he had an interested in Care of Magical Creatures, and she could always talk about Magical Creatures.

"Hi," she breathed, matching the Prefect's steps. "My name's Lizzie, but you probably knew that."

Wow, running made her mind muddy.

"Was wondering if you minded if I accompanied you around the pitch, I always find running with company is more fun."