Muggle Studies still remained one of his favorite classes. Despite the fact he'd largely accepted the magical portion of himself again, Evan couldn't help but still feel the most relaxed when they were studying things that had always been familiar to him. Which was why it was a very light hearted Ravenclaw that entered the classroom, probably the most he'd been all term with the break behind them.

"Hello, Professor Applewood." A smile was sent the Professors way, as he cast a curious look at the tarp as he noticed it. He didn't spare much thought though, knowing it wouldn't be long before class was underway and it would be revealed. He found himself a seat in the middle of the classroom, pulling out his supplies and pushing the bag under his seat after.

Jude felt at ease with the temperature of the room. What a tragedy it would be if it were super cold in here. Though… with the Castle seemingly falling apart and certain aspects of it going all wonky, he wouldn’t be surprised if somehow the temperature malfunctioned while the lesson was ongoing.

But what was that lurking under the covers? Jude eyed the tarp as he approached Applewood’s desk. “Hello, professor!’’ He offered her a wide smile but made no comment about what was beside her desk. In any case, Jude doubted Applewood would tell what was hiding there, Jude went off to get himself a seat, intending on taking one in the middle.

There was Evan sitting somewhere there already and Jude hesitated a bit. Though his friend was doing better of recent, the Hufflepuff was not keen on smothering him with his presence. In Jude's head, the whole 'giving Evan space' still applied. In the end, he slipped into the seat beside the Ravenclaw. "Hey, Ev. Any guesses as to what's under there?" The tarp, obviously. He side eyed Evan, wondering if the other guy minded his presence. It would be a difficult thing to ascertain; Evan was not the type to show much of what he was thinking.

Margaret might have signed up for Muggle Studies thinking it would be an easy O, but it was proving to be more work than she'd expected. But she wasn't giving up! She was just hoping she could get by with not doing as much extra studying for OWLS as she had to do for her other classes.

"Good afternoon, professor." She gave Professor Applewood a polite wave as she entered, glancing around the room before taking a seat in the last row. From her seat, she eyed the back of Evan's and Jude's heads before taking in whatever that was covered in the tarp. Some Muggle thing, she supposed. She began digging out her supplies, not worried too much about the tarp-covered object, nor the fact that she couldn't immediately identify it from her fifteen-plus years of being raised by Muggles.

Why did professors DO THIS?!

Atlas was perfectly aware of the air of mystery and that it was all a ploy contributing to the lead in of a topic (dad and mum did it all the time at home too) but to individuals like Atlas...it was MORE distracting than simply having the object on full display. Thoughts plague with 'what if's, it was going to be one of those days where this Gryffindor struggled to focus. Cube shapes, naturally, had him thinking about LEGOs...and then fish tanks...and then bricks...and then cardboard boxes and everything that could fit IN a cardboard box.

To put it simply, he was making a birthday wish list by the time he had found himself a seat in the back of the classroom near a slightly more matured Hufflepuff student. She played quidditch he thought. He did not really pay much attention to the sport. If he were a bird, he would fly backwards. So...there was that.

"Black tarp is kind of ominous. Like a plastic dementor. Or a really cheap rubbish bag slit down the side," he said to no one in particular and entirely too distracted by speculation to greet Professor Applewood the way he ought to have.

...yup. It was one of THOSE days.

Ash was here. And she was in a relatively good mood. And her uniform was neat. And her hair was brushed. Also she got up at 6 AM, took a walk and ate yogurt. All in all, it was a good day.

She offered the classroom a small smile as she entered, a smile that made the room a little brighter and did not go away as she sat in the front of class, right in front of Evan and Jude. "Hey Professor Applewood." (This was a very proper greeting, in Ash's case.) She arranged her things neatly and took out a skin-safe marker to draw on her arm while she waited for the class to start.

Sleepy, but here. Serena reminded herself this was her fault being this tired. Though she didn't regret it. She had stayed up most of the night, talking to Thalia through their mirrors. She was all the way at Durmstrang, and oddly, Serena realized she missed her face. Which wasn't normal. That's how it started with Lisa, but she pushed those thoughts away. From now on, she was solely focusing on her studies and becoming strong.

She greeted the professor with a curt nod as she took a seat at the back. She wasn't hiding how tired she was, noooo. Serena just couldn't stand people that weren't Thalia at the moment. Durmstrang girls. They were different. M'hm.

Claiming the first place in the room as soon as setting eyes on it, Milo chose to squat on the chair instead of sitting - or kneeling, which was his other preferred mode of chair-residence. Often his feet would slip and slide all over the place when he did this, but enough of his socks had small holes worn through the soles that sometimes, like today, that wasn't a problem. He had traction, fraction, abstraction.

"Sticks and stones," Milo said, in lieu of any greeting, blinking hard at the small, smooth, off-white objects he held in his fingers, which upon close inspection would prove to be kneazle canines. "And teeth and bones." He gave little consideration to the large tarp-covered object - it would be uncovered soon enough - and less to the people(?) around him, but he was, at least, aware that the classroom he had just entered was the Muggle Studies one.

There was a pause, and Milo glanced up at the professor at the front, eyelids fluttering as though in a sudden bright light, and back to the teeth. Yes, Muggle Studies.

Paying attention during lessons had become quite the herculean task. There had been a lot on her mind lately - all the swirling thoughts, each one louder than the next. Too many distractions.

She did, however, remember to greet her professor this time. It was kind of weird when your professor was your friend's mum. There was more pressure. "Hi, Professor - hope you're well."

And with that, a distracted Kinsay made her way to the back of the room, stopping just a few rows in front of where Mamie and Atlas sat. She didn't really want to sit by either of them to be honest.

"Hello Professor" Maxine smiled as she geared her self up for today's Muggle Studies class, these were always fun, she had always enjoyed these.

Taking a seat and getting ready.

Delilah figured the rest of the year in Muggle Studies would be a breeze for her. After all, she was a half-blood, and that meant she was being raised in the best of both worlds. Granted, she usually aligned more with her mother's magical ways of doing things. Still, she was really familiar with the muggle world.

She made her way into the room, neither too excited or too bored. Neither too happy or too upset. It was just another day and another class. "Hello, Professor Applewood," she said, as she passed by the professor and made her way to a seat. She got good and settled and just sat there. Not really anything else to do, was there now?

She needed more friends...

And with that, it was time.

"Alright, everyone, looks like it's time to begin." Rosalie moved to close the classroom door then returned to stand in front of her desk.

"So I think most of us, and most people in general, enjoy having days off from our usual schedule. Whether it's from school or from a job, it's nice to take a break from those responsibilities to do something else we enjoy." Perhaps there were exceptions, but even when you did enjoy your work or studies, taking a break when possible was usually fun and beneficial.

"Sometimes, when possible, some people like to take a trip to different places when they go on holiday. So what is a place you can think of that people might travel to? Or where is a place you have gone, or a place you would like to go one day?"

OOC: The lesson has begun, but please feel free to join even if you haven't posted your character arriving! Just post as if they've been here the whole time, because arriving late IC will result in IC consequences (unless of course you want them to, then feel free!). Class will move on in approximately 24 hours.

Maxine was positively beaming with excitement. She loved to travel, though with a family as large as hers they rarely did so. "I've heard Disneyland or world is super fun! I'd love to go some day"

Class had begun and Jordyn listened as the professor wasted no time getting to the first question. Taking a break. Now there was a topic that she could get behind. Jordyn loved vacations, travel, trips…….yes, this was going to be an interesting class.

Raising her hand, the Hufflepuff waited to share her thoughts. “A lot of people like to go to the beach.” That was definitely her happy place. The waves. The sand. Just thinking about it made her smile. “If I had to pick a specific place, I would like to visit the beaches in Hawaii.” Yep, and she would get there one day.

They were discussing vacations? She wouldn't have to worry about restarting her brain to focus, then. That was nice. Serena listened to a few answers before sharing hers. Sharing meant participation points, yes? These were going to be the easiest ones she's earned.

"A place I've gone to is Simon's Town in South Africa. Penguins make their homes there and have families." If Jasper Botros was here and IF he heard her mushy reply, he WOULD get decked. No questions asked.

Milo kept his eyes on the teeth, but his ears on the room around him, as Ms Applewood drifted from the greetings into the introduction. It was a moment before he ventured to offer an answer; ever since he'd reached a Realisation™, he had become increasingly aware of the dangers of answering questions, which might have had something to do with the fact that his words seemed even more determined than ever to encrypt themselves before he could set them loose.

He knew better than to say where he had been or where he might plan to go, but suppose picking a location at random still held a wealth of information he didn't want to release into the wild. There was no supposing; the subconscious was like that, ask any diviner, and also any psychoanalyst. They'd joined Hufflepuffs on the list.

So Milo just stayed silent for a long moment as he overthought and overthought, and the very concept of a relaxing holiday worked him into an inner frenzy, reflected only in the rapid clinking-together of the teeth in his fingers. Eventually, "Lothlórien," slipped from his lips without his so much as looking up again, and though he was content enough that it was (allegedly) a place that (allegedly) did not exist for (alleged) holiday destinations, Milo was mildly unnerved given he had not intended to say anything at all.

Books and a pen before him, Jude was fully set by the time Applewood was ready to get started. He found himself staring at the back of Ashley's head when he looked up again. Not that she was blocking his view to the front of the class or anything. He leisurely let his gaze drift to Applewood after some seconds. A break from routine? If that routine involved homework, classes and exams, then yes. Jude liked to take the occasional breaks from those.

Where would he like to go someday? EVERYWHERE. That’s where! Jude wanted to travel the world as a pianist doing concerts or a dancer/choreographer. Better yet? He'd like to travel the world while doing ALL of that! Maybe he’d be famous one day and it would happen. A guy could hope and workd towards it.

Jude thought he heard the word Lothlórien from Milo. The Ravenclaw wouldn’t be wrong in the sense that some persons had places in their head they visited mentally when they needed a break. The Hufflepuff raised his hand. “I’d like to see South America someday, Argentina and Uruguay especially.” Because one of his favourite dances - the Argentine Tango - had deep roots in those countries!

Evan smiled at Jude's appearance at the desk next to his, inclining his head in a hello as he turned brown eyes to survey the tarp. Did he have any ideas? "Not really. It's a cube so like... a really old muggle tv comes to mind, but I don't know." Could they be watching movies in today's class? Could he vote for the Matrix? It was nice to see Ash smiling, which Evan returned when his friend and fellow Ravenclaw entered, finding a seat in front of them. She seemed in a good mood today, and he was glad for it. Another person who got a smile in hello as they entered? Margaret, as she found a seat behind them. He was going to turn to offer a hello, but stopped himself as class was starting.

Hmm.. breaks from routine was it? And travel? Could maybe some type of globe be what was hidden under the tarp? The Ravenclaw raised his hand regarding the question, pushing back thoughts of the mystery again and instead fondly remembering previous vacations. "Korea. My mom's parents live there so we travel as often as we can to go visit. My cousin and I got to go together last summer, just us." A very fond memory, as he never really kept it secret how much Evan admired and looked up to Chase. Maybe even more so than Noah, despite how much he also did love and appreciate his older brother.

Oh, okay, well...this was a pretty cool topic. Traveling to other places, especially places she had never been to, was an easy topic for Delilah. Interesting, too. Nevertheless, she spent the next minute listening to what her classmates had to say. "Oh, yeah, I agree with Disney World and beaches," Delilah said, her hand in the air. She'd heard Florida in the United States had both of those, too!

Next vacation destination? FLORIDA!

"I think somewhere cold would be fun, too," she continued. "Maybe...Alaska? Canada? Norway?" The list could go on and on. What if the professor had invented some kind of spell that would take them there today?!

Rosalie waited a few more seconds, looking about the room to make sure there were no other hands raised or answers being offered, before continuing. "Excellent answers, everyone. With the vast world we live in, there are numerous places to visit and an endless variety of activities to do when we go on holiday. But for today's lesson, we're going to narrow our focus down to one particular topic, one that Miss Bixby touched upon - amusement parks.

"Disney, of course, is perhaps the most well-known and popular thanks to the number of locations it has built throughout the world," she continued, slowly pacing the front of the room as she spoke, "but there are many others as well, both large and small. Amusement parks as we know them today are a relatively modern creation, but their development and influences can be traced over the course of hundreds of years, from the earliest traveling fairs in the 1100s to the world's fairs in the 1800s. I won't delve too deeply into all of the history for now; you'll be able to read more about it in the homework later.

"Right now, I want you to think about what goes in to planning and building an amusement park today. Muggles don't wave a wand and make one appear out of nowhere. So what is something that needs to be considered before setting one up?"

OOC: Class will move on in approximately 24 hours.

Professor Applewood's reassurance fell a little flat...because all Atlas could think about was how the tarp truly did look like a partly melted dementor and then that transitioned on to one of the stories dad and mum had shared about dementors and ice cream and how none of them were to ever do so much as even TOUCH the ice cream at Hogwarts. He would be lying if it didn't make the Gryffindor want to touch it, just open up a tub and shove his finger right into it, but thus far he and Aries had kept to their word.

But...still...the pseudo half melted dementor was engaging all of his attention...so...yeah...suppose that this was one way to engage with the lesson. So to speak. He was so transfixed on the tarp of the matter that he entirely missed the start of the lesson and the sharing of locations and what have you. Had he been paying any attention, he might have shared the glass igloo vacation to Finland they had gone on as a large family unit after all were reunited after the war. It had kind of been the first time her really GOT dad's fascination with the sky and heavens. He also would have been keen on that weird little Ravenclaw's answer...because he understood that reference!

Coming to a little, enough to hear some talk about amusement parks, he blinked his eyes and glanced about the room a bit and then honed in again on the tarp. If there were mascot costumes under there...there might be an Atlas sized hole in the door. So, quiet again, Atlas continued to just stare at the tarp WHICH, for the record, was only growing more and more ominious by the second.

Jude nodded quite enthusiastically in response to Applewood’s words to him. The prospect of seeing other continents was so exciting to him. Of course, he was always happy to visit places within the UK to hang out with the cousins and other family members. Still… another continent, home to countries with much dancing!

Amusement parks then. Those were littered with fun, relaxation and good times. Jude thought for a moment before raising his hand. “There needs to be a plan or a layout of what the park will look like: where the rides will be, the main attractions, food stands and so forth.” He thought Muggles had a specific profession for this sort of thing. Architecture, if he wasn’t incorrect.

Ash enjoyed amusement parks, mostly. Especially roller coasters. They were thrilling AND safe. She could have fun without doing something dumb, and the biggest problems were usually getting tired out or hungry.

Hm. "When you're planning an amusement park, you need to think about safety. Nobody wants to go to a place to have fun and end up dying. Also, you should make the layout easy to understand." For OBVIOUS reasons. Ash may be a messy person, but she couldn't stand messy layouts. Her answer concluded, she started drawing quietly. It may not be the best thing to do in class, but she wasn't being disruptive and it actually helped her focus.

Milo blinked hard and looked up again, pulled momentarily out of his thoughts by mention of the very thing that had leapt out of them before him. Beautiful, yes. Incredible, probably. Milo wasn't much of a daydreamer, at least not in the sense that he could decide where to send his mind - mostly it went places and it was as though he happened to be there too - but Lothlórien was one of those places he would take himself if he knew how to. Perhaps he could learn.

It was the likening of the forest to silver and gold through the seasons that had first drawn him in, the first time he had read with Rose, and it was that he thought of now.

Which, it so happened, brought him in a roundabout way to an answer that was more or less applicable to the question Ms Applewood had asked. Milo hadn't ever been to an amusement park before - two of his previous schools had organised trips to such places, but one had refused to let him join in, and he himself had adamantly refused the other. But he had a good idea of what they were like.

"Metal," Milo said, tap-tapping the teeth again. "They need a lot of metal. Alloys. Probably carbon too, that's not a metal." He paused, considered, summarised. "Elements. Always you need elements." For everything(?).

Amusement parks. Serena had a love-hate relationship with them. Thrilling rides were her thing. And sometimes the food. But she looooathed the amount of people that went. Especially when there was a screaming child in the cue.

The professor's question hit on some of the things the redhead thought about from time to time when she went to an amusement park. The details and how much effort went into creating one. "I think knowing who you're targeting is important when creating an amusement park." Almost like getting to know your enemy and where to strike. "Disney parks, for example, doesn't only target children. It plays on the nostalgia of adults. That's why both young and old keep going back."