That sing-song voice! Jude was already before his eyes found cat-Keigh. Awww! Just look at her! His baby sister was ADORABLE in those pajamas and cat slippers!! “Heeey, Keigh!” he greeted, bumping her shoulder back. “I thought you might have gotten distracted by Olivia or Charlie.” Were they both here? Jude made a mental note to check up on Charlie since this was literally his first week at the School.

Hady was getting things started. Jude was certain he could read the happiness on her face with regard to the turnout. His attention happened to be stuck on s’mores. Those treats along with hot chocolate?? YES, PLEASE! The only questions he had concerned the making of s’mores. There were so many persons around with which he could make them with. Keighley was first on his list, the obvious reason being that they shared the love for s’mores and hot chocolate. “So, who wants to make s’mores with me and Keigh?” Jude asked at random.

Mitsuki did NOT care about the list of family members that Mercer might visit or how each home varied, which was disappointing but not surprising. Her family was big, her siblings also in multitudes, so it wasn't one of those things that struck her as interesting. She did look disappointed about the way sleepovers worked, though, and Mercer felt bad about making her feel bad. He sort of wanted to find a dangerous creature or a ghost to make her happy again. Or both.

"Sleeping is boring. That guy is boring," Mercer immediately dismissed the sleeping student and pulled Mitsuki's finger around until it was pointing at him instead. "I think we need an adventure. Is catching marshmallows fun for you? Because it sounds like something we're doing for me, not for you. Maybe we should go follow that owl around." Yeah, he noticed her noticing. Why hadn't he noticed it himself? Bugs and birds and big rocks were his whole thing. "Or... oh! This rabbit is possessed. We should do an exorcism!" He grabbed a stuffed animal, only to discover it wasn't actually a rabbit. Some sort of lopsided chipmunk, maybe? Squirrel with a short tail? "I can't feel its soul anymore, Suki. It's pretty bad."

Yukie loved it when people said nice things about her, so whenever her little cat ears got any recognition, she couldn't help but smile at whoever it came from. "Thank you, Des!" The Hufflepuff replied to her dorm mate. "Look at you, though! All pyjama-ed like someone off a story book. The horns won't be a bother, I hope." Yukie reached a hand out to poke then nose of Desiree's beast pillow. That's a cute one. It would fit right in with the stuffed animals Professor Paton had laid out for them.

She also bobbed her head from side to side when Jude pointed out her cat ears. "Thank you, I love them too!" Because it was just cute, it was also super helpful to keep her baby hairs off her face. Even Professor Paton received a grin and a thank you from the littlest Rasting. Cats deserved all the love, you see.

With Professor Paton's sort of welcoming speech for the evening's sleepover, Yukie was more than ready to dive into all the fun things available for them. Maybe a round of chubby bunny for the laughs? Yukie wasn't the best in that game, but she wasn't for the wins anyway. She didn't have any question herself for the professor. "I want hot chocolate. Does anyone else want hot chocolate?" She asked in general. They'd go well with smores, which she also planned to have.

Maybe she'd even get a badger stuffed animal for the sake of it. It'd be adorable.

This was going to be so cool! Max looked around hoping to find some hot chocolate. He found a mug and carefully took a drink. So they were going to spend the night with magical creatures? Interesting.

Maisey was really having a hard time containing her excitement. There were so many things she liked that were happening at once. Sleepover, camping, food, friends, socializing and magical creatures. At this moment there wasn’t much more in her mind that could make this any better. Then a hufflepuff girl (Nancy who she had seen in her classes) introduced herself. ”Hi. I’m Maisey!” She said with a smile. She also nodded to the others who had gathered that she didn’t know either introducing herself to them as well. (Cassidy, Everleigh, Hope, and Brandon)

She was about to reply to Cassidy’s rules question stopped but answered her. ”Probably.” There were always rules. Boooooring. Anyway she smiled at her housemate, Lev when he kind of joyed the group of first years who had gathered. Beaming at Nora when she joined ”I bet it’s going to be wonderful, no matter what we learn.”

Then she spotted Wiley. She smiled and waved at him, noticing his pjs. Kenmare Kestrels that must have been a quidditch team. She had only heard of the sport and still felt like she was learning things about the sport everyday. She didn’t know all the teams by name yet ”You like Kenmare Kestrels?” She asked just trying to make a conversation with someone she knew a bit.

When Professor Paton spoke to her and complimented her PJs the Slytherin beamed at the Care of magical creatures professor excitedly. ”Thank you Professor Paton. I got them for my birthday this year.” Her mum and dad got it for her birthday. It was a very cozy onesie if she did say so herself.

She really wanted to go over to the fire and hang out with the boys if they were going over that way. She highly doubted that they would want a girl tagging along with them. Which girl was she going to snatch up and take to the fire with her. Oh look there was Giselle and Mysaria. Perfect. ”Hi, Giselle. Want to go over the fire and roast some marshmallows with me? Mysaria can come with us too!” She asked her dormmate, please please pleaseeee. Her infamous mischievous grin at her. She even hooked their arms together. See besties already.

She was just about to just drag Giselle over to the fire with her anyway. (She would never do such a thing) Until Nora said something about an owl… OWL??? WHERE?? ”Oh wow. An owl.” She gasped. Pretty. Although she did agree with Hope it was like the owl was watching them.

Then professor Paton was officially welcoming everyone. Maisey could honestly say that she wasn’t disappointed that this really wasn’t an actual lesson. She would definitely stop calling this a lesson now.

Ah, there the owl found herself more noticed, a young Ravenclaw being the first to exclaim. Was she watching them? An older Hufflepuff seemed to have noticed her interaction with the transfiguration professor. And then an older Ravenclaw followed suit with the attention sent her way. The young Gryffindor who had been the first to react in surprise at the owl’s presence had switched to curiosity with the question the creature heard.

When the gathering was finally begun, the owl took off from her perch into the low skies to give a circuitous route around the campsite before finally heading in the direction of the two adults and towards the ground. Just a short distance before she would have landed, the feathered appearance of one great horned owl was replaced by a curly haired astronomy professor prepared for the evening under her life’s work. “Well I’d certainly say tonight seems like a success,” she mused with a smile to her fellow professors.


Rajesh smiled back at Mouse as she approached him and the professors. “Good evening,” he echoed with nod of agreement. Yes it certainly was a good evening. Especially as Professor Paton started it in earnest and the fire was set to ward off the autumn chill and make their snacks just a little more interesting. Following his friend’s gaze, he too noticed the owl, the raptor taking off from its perch as if tired of the attention it was getting from the students. The seventh year tried following its path with his gaze out of curiosity, only to find the new astronomy professor in its place.

“Um…good evening professor,” he greeted, inwardly berating himself for not thinking of the possibility. What with the fact it wasn’t bothered with all the humans around and watching them.


“Good evening, Mr. Atreyu-Rehman,” she greeted back. Her smile a touch bemused at his reaction and knowing he was likely not the only one to notice the change. Why couldn't she be a touch playful for the evening?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cassirin

Mitsuki did NOT care about the list of family members that Mercer might visit or how each home varied, which was disappointing but not surprising. Her family was big, her siblings also in multitudes, so it wasn't one of those things that struck her as interesting. She did look disappointed about the way sleepovers worked, though, and Mercer felt bad about making her feel bad. He sort of wanted to find a dangerous creature or a ghost to make her happy again. Or both.

"Sleeping is boring. That guy is boring," Mercer immediately dismissed the sleeping student and pulled Mitsuki's finger around until it was pointing at him instead. "I think we need an adventure. Is catching marshmallows fun for you? Because it sounds like something we're doing for me, not for you. Maybe we should go follow that owl around." Yeah, he noticed her noticing. Why hadn't he noticed it himself? Bugs and birds and big rocks were his whole thing. "Or... oh! This rabbit is possessed. We should do an exorcism!" He grabbed a stuffed animal, only to discover it wasn't actually a rabbit. Some sort of lopsided chipmunk, maybe? Squirrel with a short tail? "I can't feel its soul anymore, Suki. It's pretty bad."

She did care...to an extent. Mercer and his family were essentially an extension of her one and the extension where she did not feel a melancholy tug to standout and be noticed. Given the circumstances of their conversation, however, she was under the impression that he was using his family to further illustrate his explanation for a sleepover (which was now being calling a sleep out and now she was curious as to how these two terms varied when they clearly must also be on the same Venn diagram). In any case, she did more better understand the situation and was appreciative of Mercer. There was even a small hint of a little smile, did he notice it?

Eyes crossing briefly as he redirected her finger towards himself. Cheeks tingling ever so slightly, her gaze shifted from entangled fingers to her friend's earnest features. "I don't think he is boring. He is Yumeki," she qualified with a curious tilt of the head. "Just as I did not think you were weird when he called you weird. You are perfectly imperfect and entirely Mercer." Mitsuki had no ulterior motive with her words, certainly not meaning to cause any conflict between the two, but simply making an astute observation and interesting comparison. At least it was intriguing to her.

"I have fun when you have fun," she nodded. That had been the theme of his birthday and crossing all that they could off his bucket list on the day and it was still a sincere theme when it came to their friendship. Watching Mercer adapt to her questionable tosses was rather enjoyable, though the reverse may be true for him. She was quite nimble thanks to performance calligraphy. Following the owl though...that sounded more entertaining and she was just about to say so when the reveal happened. Disappointment washed across the Ravenclaw's face as the professor emerged and, for a moment, a certain sense of betrayal set in. Misplaced, truly, but such was the cost with taking words so literally. "When Professor Paton said we may interact with nocturnal creatures," she began, gliding her way over to Mercer's side and slipping her arm around his so she could rest her head on his shoulder and whisper to him more easily. "Was that deception?" She had never believed it to be an actual owl, but the reveal of it being a professor and not something nonhuman was rather regrettable.

Perhaps she ought not to have politely returned the professor's smile when offered earlier?

Sighing softly, her cheek nuzzled Mercer's shoulder as she shifted to look at the rabbit...thing...in his hand. The one that was souless and certainly not possessed. Though, just to be certain...she did take some salt from her pocket and sprinkled it over the creature. No sizzle, no smoke, no indication otherwise. The solution was simple. "We ought to catch a soul then," she nodded solemnly but with an excited sort of gleam to her eyes. "We need to find a glowworm."

When one of her yearmates also perched around the fire, Ve turned eyes towards her. Even if she didn't remember Kalie (which was sometimes not out of ordinary for her with... anyone), the pajamas were a dead give away for which house the girl belonged too. "Hi Kalie. I like your pillow." It looked really soft and fuzzy. Hard to sleep on maybe, but this was a sleepover which meant no sleeping would be happening anyways (except for the older Gryffindor apparently) so... perfect choice!

Feeling an arm loop through hers, she didn't NEED to turn her head to know who it was but she did so anyways, smiling at Sia. "I should have waited for you." Not because she was feeling particularly guilty that she hadn't, but because if she were to be entirely honest, she was bored without her best friend. Lifting up the tail end of her new pseudo snake companion, she booped Sable Ileana's nose with it before gesturing her head towards the bag brought along with. "Did you bring games or your notebook so we can plot more?" Because this did seem a good time. Maybe even a good time to start a plan considering how many students there were milling about - who would notice too smol Gryffindor absences?

Although, she did like Professor Paton and would somewhat hate to cause mischief at her event. Especially considering, did the woman just say they could keep the stuffed creatures? A teenager now or not, who didn't love a good stuffy. She might even double back later and see if there were any other reptilian types to snag for her room. There was some amusement too that it had to be said for people to just not... help themselves. It wouldn't be out if it wasn't for the students right? And clearly this child had no issue making her self right at home. Which is what she was even more prepared to do now that there was FIYAAAAH and s'more fixings. Head turned back to Sia with a giant grin. "SO should we go get a ton of marshmallows and roast them?" Eyes turned towards the other third year around too and she extended the invite to her as well, "Kalie, we're going to start on s'mores! Want to join us?"

---------------------------------------------------------------------

Jude's enthusiasm at her appearance had her feeling the most soft and beamed back at him. It was odd to her, that seeing someone here at Hogwarts the most... non-mundane of settings, could give such a vivid reminder of her family at home. She determined to make her way over to find him at some point in the evening. But for now, it appeared Professor Paton was officially kicking off the event. Mouse's eyes roamed over the space as each thing available was listed, taking note that she should probably figure herself a spot to sleep before lulling herself into a food coma - which was sure to happen considering all the snacks the Professor had supplied. Looking at the spread, and the reminder from the adorable outfit from the Hufflepuff, had the Ravenclaw having to restrain herself from humming out Be Our Guest.

Thankfully, the owl proved a good distraction from that as it swooped down towards them all. Mouse was not afraid of creatures, but perhaps her name made her a little skittish around the winged types so she flinched the slightest bit, before eyes opened and she noticed Professor Gert around where the owl had been heading. Oh. Is that why the creature had been so curious? It had been observation more than anything. An amused smile made it's way onto her features and a tiny giggle as well. "Hello, Professor." Unless it had already been common knowledge she was an animagus, Mouse couldn't help but feel she just gave up quite the advantage for this particular setting. Though it was probably far nobler to have made herself known, especially with all the interest she'd been garnering.

Attention shifted back towards Raj now that there was no longer the distraction of wildlife yet. "What do you think you'll get up to first?" Professor Paton had certainly provided them with plenty of options to keep all the students occupied for the evening.

Mercer froze at the nuzzling, although he tried to pretend he was studying the professor crashing their sleepover who had formerly been disguised as a bird. That was the thing Milo was always talking about, and he was tempted to point it out to Mitsuki... adults, especially Hogwarts adults, weren't trustworthy. That professor was probably a Hufflepuff, too, which even FURTHER supported Milo's theories about the universe.

"Very deception, yeah. Probably can't trust either of them. Make sure you salt around the sleeping bags, okay?" He tried to glance at the top of her head on his shoulder and just gave himself a headache. "I'd rather find a soul, anyway, so that is what I call fun." But it pleased him to no end to know that she liked the activities he chose. So many people just didn't get them at ALL. Didn't get him at all.

The fact that this wasn't a true lesson, so to speak, was a relief to Nora. At the end of every day, she was exhausted and ready for a break. It was hard enough to convince herself to do her homework, much less to attend an after-hours slumber party that turned into a lesson. So with a sigh of relief, the first year cast a glance into the pasture to see if she could already spot something. So far, nothing.

The offer of food and drink drew her attention away from the pastures. "Anybody want to roast marshmallows with me?" she said, tossing the offer up to anybody around. She was still standing around in the vicinity of most of the first years, so maybe one of them was in the mood for marshmallows.

Before she could so much as think to gather up all the s'more making materials, she was again distracted by the movements of the owl. She watched, wide-eyed, as the owl swooped down and TURNED INTO A HUMAN BEING right before her very eyes. Yes, this was the muggleborn's very first experience with an animagus. She took a few stumbling steps backward before tapping the shoulder of whoever was standing nearby. "Did you... The owl just... The professor just..."

--
Max snorted at the girl's reaction. He turned to her.
"I mean, to be fair, it always amazes me that humans can turn into animals."
Did that sound rude? He hoped it didn't. He looked around a bit, looking for more sweets.

Desiree was so glad to hear that there were no wombats among the stuffed animals! She smiled, nodding in reply to Professor Paton. As cute as all the plushies were, she’d hold off on picking one for now to make sure there were enough to go around. Besides, she already had a Beast, and he was sort of like a nocturnal creature. He spent all his time in a dark, dreary castle, so that counted, right?

Oh, Yukie knew Beauty and the Beast? Cool! Desiree positively beamed at the compliment, and she couldn’t resist a little giggle as her roommate gave the Beast’s nose a little poke. Who wouldn’t want to boop the Beast? He was so cute and fluffy! “Thanks,” she replied. Would the horns be a bother? Probably not. “I don’t think so. I can always take the hood part off or if all else fails, use the hoodie as a blanket.” The horns certainly wouldn’t be a problem if they were facing the opposite direction.

Jude’s compliment likewise got a big smile from Desiree. “Thank you!” she said, doing a very Belle-like twirl to show off her outfit front and back. Oh, so those pajamas were a gift? Then Jude’s parents had excellent taste! EIther that or Jude had good taste, and they just picked up something they knew he’d like. Her face brightened at the mention of stuffed animals, and she glanced at the table, her bright blue eyes scanning the offerings until one caught her attention. It was a hidebehind, but it didn’t look scary like the illustrations in her textbook. It had a happy face and long silvery fur. “What about that one?” she said, indicating the happy hidebehind plush. “He looks so cute and fluffy!”

S’mores sounded good too, though. “Sure!’ She said, eager to join Jude, Keighley, and whoever else wanted some. So eager, in fact, that she started making her way over to the fire. Along the way she noticed an older girl in a blue nightgown (Mouse). That outfit was giving her major Wendy Darling vibes! She wondered if that was intentional. Either way, it was magnifique! “Hi! I like your outfit,” she said, approaching the other girl. “I’m Desiree, by the way.”

Elsewhere in the crowd, she spotted Summer. Desiree smiled, giving her friend an extra princessy wave, but before she had the chance to talk to her, she was distracted by the owl circling the campsite. She watched in amazement as the owl turned into Professor Gert. Wow! She didn’t know the astronomy professor was an animagus! “Hello, Professor,” she greeted. “That was so cool!” She didn’t want to become an animagus herself, but she could appreciate a dramatic entrance when she saw one!


Was it just him or was that owl looking right at him? Still observing the owl, Norman noticed that it had green eyes. Unusual eye color for an owl, he thought. And did it just hoo at him? Now he was 100% convinced that the owl was an animagus.As a former Auror and an animagus himself, he had some idea how to identify one. The question was, who was it? Merlin, he hoped it was one of his newer colleagues and not some outsider here to cause trouble!

He caught Hady’s nod out of the corner of his eye, and understanding the meaning behind it, he relaxed a bit. If she was in on it, there was no cause for concern. Not that he would ever let on that he was concerned. He didn’t do overt displays of emotion, and more importantly, he didn’t want to worry the students. Speaking of whom, he briefly took his eyes off the owl and turned his attention to the students just in time to catch Atreyu-Rehman’s greeting. “Good evening, Mr. Atreyu-Rehman,” he replied with a polite nod. “Enjoying the night so far?”

Norman stood by, respectfully listening as Hady gave a rundown of the night. The mention of s’mores got a slight smile from him. He wasn’t much for junk food (though he might be persuaded to have some tonight), but he knew enough about camping to know that s’mores were practically a requirement. So… he took it Hady didn’t have a job for him yet? In that case, he’d just hang back and keep an eye out for shenanigans. Speaking of which…

Norman wasn’t the slightest bit surprised as he watched the owl take off, circle, and transform. Ha, he knew that wasn’t a real owl all along! “Good evening, Celeste,” he greeted his now human colleague with a smile. “Impressive display.” Maybe he should’ve shown up in his animagus form!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cassirin

Mercer froze at the nuzzling, although he tried to pretend he was studying the professor crashing their sleepover who had formerly been disguised as a bird. That was the thing Milo was always talking about, and he was tempted to point it out to Mitsuki... adults, especially Hogwarts adults, weren't trustworthy. That professor was probably a Hufflepuff, too, which even FURTHER supported Milo's theories about the universe.

"Very deception, yeah. Probably can't trust either of them. Make sure you salt around the sleeping bags, okay?" He tried to glance at the top of her head on his shoulder and just gave himself a headache. "I'd rather find a soul, anyway, so that is what I call fun." But it pleased him to no end to know that she liked the activities he chose. So many people just didn't get them at ALL. Didn't get him at all.

It truly could encourage paranoia in students, something Mitsuki would particularly be paying attention to in the coming weeks as for many of them it was likely their first exposure to such manifestations of magic. Her thoughts wandered a bit, recollecting the conversations with Milo about this subject and she briefly wondered just how many creatures roaming the grounds may be professors in creature for set to observe them. Historically speaking as well, this was a known practitioner of perhaps one of the greatest betrayers of the past century depending on whose lens you read history through.

"Disappointing," she nodded, though less a description of the deceit and more that she had been anticipating something else entirely. This was the sphinx debacle all over again. Attention back on Mercer, the fourth year nodded her head (again with the temple nuzzle to his shoulder) and set to applying a bit of salt around the sleeping bags immediately. She likely had just enough to do so again before they fell asleep for the night ... assuming they did so. Mercer had said that sleep was boring so perhaps he would be keeping her up all night. That might be nice, the sunrises here at Hogwarts were quite nice. Returning to Mercer's side once she had circumnavigated their sleeping bags, Mitsuki looked around for a jar or something that they could keep the glowworms in once they found some. "We need something to hold them once we find them," she noted, fully engrossed on their newest mission. "I suppose we could always create a breathable magical barrier over the top of a mug," she mused aloud while examining one of said mugs in their possession. "First we must rid it of all these marshmallows."

She was not opposed to just dumping them on the ground here. The ants would appreciate the oddering.

Nora had just regained her balance and somewhat collected her thoughts, when she became aware somebody was talking to her. "Amazing me would be an understatement," she managed to say. This was literally beyond anything she had ever seen or heard of in her entire life. It was official. She was staying far away from the Astronomy professor for now. "So, uh, what just happened here?" she asked. A glance around told her she was literally the only one, as of now, phased by this at all.

Meanwhile, the s'mores could wait. The first year was still somewhat terrified that a literal owl had just turned into a literal professor. So did that mean the professor was really an owl? Or was the owl really the professor? All these thoughts and more were running through her mind and causing her to forget the deliciousness of the s'mores that she'd been planning on eating.

—
Max shrugged.
“Not entirely sure how it works but humans can turn into animals by choice sometimes. Mum told me you need to be registered to be an animagus. Reckon there’s some sort of class on it.”
He reached over and grabbed a chocolate bar. He broke it in half and offered her a piece.

Hadleigh waited a few moments, watching the students mostly to see where they each were going and what seemed to be the most popular activity right now. From what it looked like to her, it was hot chocolate and s'mores. She couldn't blame any of them for that, what better way to kick off a sleepover than drinks and snacks?

With no one asking any questions pertaining to anything that she had just spoken about, it was time to really get things started. Especially with the arrival of Celeste's entrance which made her smile as she had been the only one to know about this. However some of the students appeared a bit unsure of this, while others appeared to be delighted. Might as well clear that up a bit! "Thank you for joining us tonight, Professor Gert. I would say that so far it is." It was certainly a success in so many showing up! Turning to the students she smiled softly again. "As most of you all have noticed, Professor Gert can turn into an owl at will. For those of you that don't know what that means, it means that she is an Animagus. She can change into a creature, in her case an owl at will and back again. Now this isn't at all easy to accomplish and takes a great deal of dedication, time, studying and focus." At this Hady took a moments pause to give that a second to sink in.

"Being this isn't a lesson and I don't teach transfiguration, we won't be going into all of those details on what it takes to become an animagi tonight. Our topic tonight besides having a great time out here is nocturnal creatures. Which is why I asked for her help. I might be in charge of many creatures but I do not know what it's like to be an owl.. I can only tell you all what it's like for me while I'm in my own animagi form." Which also happened to be a nocturnal creature but they would get to that shortly.

Another pause from her and a quick glance around, Hady clasped her hands behind her back. I do have creatures here that I will be bringing out. Before I do does anyone have any questions about what was just said?"

Her attention turned to Norman for a quick second. "Feel free to have whatever you like as well. Join the students even if you want to." Of course it was up to him what he wanted to do but the more eyes everywhere, the better, yes?

*****

"I did for a little bit," Keighley admitted to Jude. She couldn't help it, there was a certain amount of time that she aimed to spend with both Liv and Char. It was very important to her that they knew how she felt and how much of a true effort she was putting into each relationship. "I'm really hoping they both show up.. even if it's only for a little while." Wishful thinking is what she was doing. "Right now though s'mores sounds amazing!" Was she bouncing on her toes? Erm, yes, yes she was!

Keigh smiled warmly at Desiree. "Great! Should I get us all some hot chocolate to go with it?" They may as well enjoy themselves and go for whatever snacks they all wanted.

Mercer was scandalized that Mitsuki wanted to just DUMP those marshmallows, and he immediately set about stuffing the rest into his cheeks like a very tall chipmunk. Waste not, want not, and all that. He gave the professors a disinterested glance... again, they were basically advertising their intention to spy on students as rodents and birds all term. Milo must be losing his chill somewhere at this very moment.

"What if the glowworms are professors? What if all the fish in the lake are? What if someone's pet cat is and it sees me in the bath? What you need to figure out is how to shake salt on a person pretending to be an animal that makes them turn into their person form? I'm feeling very vulnerable right now." Also extremely over-sugared, but that was a different problem. "I kind of want to sleep inside now."

There seemed to be mixed reactions to her appearance before them. Was that a look of disappointment from Ms. Rasting? At least her slightly elder housemate appeared more amused at the situation. As was a young badger, “Hullo Ms. Durand, Ms. Marchand,” she greeted them with a smile. See, no harm in having a little fun with things when they were supposed to be enjoying the experience out of doors while learning. “Glad that ye enjoyed it.”

Celeste certainly had, especially playing with her colleague who of course had to have figured it out. “Guid evening, Norman” she greeted, returning his smile. “Thank ye… I was already flying down.” One could only make the trip up and down the astronomy tower so many times a day, especially at her age. Though she had arranged it with Hadleigh beforehand upon hearing her planned theme for the gathering seeing as it was an option for assistance. “Ye’re welcome…glad to help,” she remarked to the woman, simply inkling her head as the COMC professor explained what was going on to the students. Yes, transfiguration was coincidentally the subject of the third professor in their trio, Celeste chancing a glance to see if he had anything to add while listening for any questions she might be able to answer.

The great outdoors…the night sky…the prospect of creatures…and amusing antics of professors…what’s not to like? “Yeah, I am,” Rajesh admitted to his head of house taking it all in. As for Mouse’s question, he turned back to her as he thought it over. “I was thinking s’mores…” Traditional campfire food to get in the sleepover and camping mood while they awaited whatever Professor Paton had planned with their future guests. Besides who knows of he would get himself too distracted by what was to come to enjoy said food later on. “What about you?”

Nora stared at Max in slight disbelief. How he could explain the whole owl-to-human transformation so calmly? Nora, on the other hand, wasn't even sure she was ready to talk to Professor Gert after what she'd just seen. She'd need a little bit longer to wrap her head around it first.

"Okay, so...the professor is indeed a human? Just one that can change into an animal any time she wants?" she clarified. "Can she be any animal? Or just an owl?" Because if she could also turn into a dragon, Nora was out of here. "Thanks," she added, taking the piece of chocolate he'd broken off for her.

Nora turned her attention back to the professor. She was explaining what Max had already told her, but the first year still hadn't convinced herself it had just really happened. Then she became wide-eyed for a second time in the past five or so minutes. PATON WAS AN ANIMAGUS, TOO?! Could anyone around here be trusted at all? Nora did have a question, but she didn't want to speak up and ask it right now. What kind of creature could Paton turn into?

This level of nervousness really killed the s'more-making mood she had once had.

Jude had been keeping a suspicious eye on that owl. He kind of expected it to begin attacking students so when it took off, he kept a wary eye on it. You know, just in case he needed to go all ninja on it should it attack his sister. Imagine his surprise when it landed not far from Carton and Paton and transformed into Professor Gert. OH! She was an Animagus! How neat!

Desiree certainly seemed as though she belonged on a runway with the way she spun to show off her outfit. Maybe a runway in Paris - the city she loved so much. His gaze followed her indication and a happy smile crossed his features. “I agree! Hang on.” The seventh year jogged over to the table to snatch up the plushy. “It’s even cute up close, don’t you think?” he asked when he got back.

Jude snuck his hand into his sister’s so that they could follow Desiree over to the fire. “I’ve got the marshmallows!’’ he announced as he headed over to grab a pack or two. The marshmallows were for both the s’mores and hot chocolate, he reminded himself, even as one of the squishy treats popped into his mouth. Oops! “They’ll be here,’’ he remarked confidently. “I mean… they’ll get to hang out with you… for a bit each…’’ Jude trailed off, foreseeing the issue of Keigh splitting her time between Charlie and Olivia. And him. The seventh year himself was yet to adjust to Keighley no longer hanging out with him as much.

With regard to Hady’s words, he had no questions. Nope! All was clearly understood, even if the boy wasn’t that into Animagi things.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cassirin

Mercer was scandalized that Mitsuki wanted to just DUMP those marshmallows, and he immediately set about stuffing the rest into his cheeks like a very tall chipmunk. Waste not, want not, and all that. He gave the professors a disinterested glance... again, they were basically advertising their intention to spy on students as rodents and birds all term. Milo must be losing his chill somewhere at this very moment.

"What if the glowworms are professors? What if all the fish in the lake are? What if someone's pet cat is and it sees me in the bath? What you need to figure out is how to shake salt on a person pretending to be an animal that makes them turn into their person form? I'm feeling very vulnerable right now." Also extremely over-sugared, but that was a different problem. "I kind of want to sleep inside now."

It was an impressive thing, Mercer's mouth, and she found herself watching it intently as he continued pushing marshmallow upon marshmallow into it and just how the curve of his lips created a full cheeks induced smile as he did. It elicited a little bit of a smile from herself as well and a near giggle were it not for what Mercer said next.

"We need to learn a bit of Untransfiguration," she said decidedly. Her friend had a point in that, besides objective observation and well educated guesses, that it was very difficult and could be impossible to know for certain what was and was not a witch or wizard in animagus form. Which was something that one could easily find in a book from the library and practice just about anywhere. Of course it may take some effort practicing on an actual animagus in order to know for certain that one's spellwork was proficient, but there was a feasible check list and path with which to accomplish it. Thankfully she was able to hold her tongue from elaborating further and add insult to emotional injury by reminding him of the existence of Polyjuice Potion and people with the abilities of her mother and grandfather. Tilting her head a bit and observing Mercer's body language and general jittery nature, Mitsuki slipped her hand into his free one. "We can sleep in a tent if you want or go back inside," she offered, no further questions asked. She had no real attachment to staying outside here at the party, especially if Mercer was not going to. "We can collect a soul later, once we learn the spell and know for certain."

Max shrugged. "I mean, I've only ever heard of humans turning into only one animal," He started eating the other piece of chocolate and took another drink of hot chocolate.
chocolate seption??

Untransfiguration? Trust Mitsuki to know just exactly the thing that they needed. Between her and Milo, Mercer was constantly being pulled from the edge of utter disaster. How did he live the first eleven years of his life without the two of them sharing his common room? He patted the top of her head with his free hand.

"We should collect one now. I'm not scared if you aren't. 'Sides, maybe I should write my Gran and ask her about how to tell if professors are trustworthy." Seeing as how she was a former Headmistress herself, it was very possible that she would have insight that would be helpful. Granted, there'd been more than a few shenanigans in the family history regarding possessed, ghostly, be-potioned, be-witched, and otherwise frightening professors... it would be a long return letter, he was sure. "You hold hands with all your friends?"

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cassirin

Untransfiguration? Trust Mitsuki to know just exactly the thing that they needed. Between her and Milo, Mercer was constantly being pulled from the edge of utter disaster. How did he live the first eleven years of his life without the two of them sharing his common room? He patted the top of her head with his free hand.

"We should collect one now. I'm not scared if you aren't. 'Sides, maybe I should write my Gran and ask her about how to tell if professors are trustworthy." Seeing as how she was a former Headmistress herself, it was very possible that she would have insight that would be helpful. Granted, there'd been more than a few shenanigans in the family history regarding possessed, ghostly, be-potioned, be-witched, and otherwise frightening professors... it would be a long return letter, he was sure. "You hold hands with all your friends?"

It was easy to pull Mercer from this theoretical edge of utter disaster when the solution was quite obvious. While she may not share entirely in his paranoia, still just sheer disappointment, she did want to know who and what was in front of her rather than simply think she knew and be proven wrong. The pang of disappointment was uncomfortable.

Mercer patting her head was the opposite, however. Though in the moment she had almost forgotten just how tall he was now and practically towered over her. She could see right up his nose sometimes when she looked up at him.

"I am not," she confirmed with a small nod of the head. She could offer to write to her grandfather, but seeing as he was manipulated and entrancing enchanted by the Neo-Alliance...she had the feeling that his opinion would be a little too skewed on the matter. "Perhaps we could compile a list and include her guidance." They already had their shared journal where they wrote each other messages or drawings or whatever may have struck them in the moment - even if that was a leaf. It was two fwoopers with one stone to record their observations in that journal and build upon them thus. At his asking she shifted her gaze from looking, mostly, up Mercer's nose to their intertwined fingers. "I do not." Milo did not like holding hands and only really tolerated it on the rare occasion, like when they had all three gone to the dance together, and the thought had never crossed her mind much with anyone else. "It is possible that it is only you that this is commonplace."

Was the mug marshmallow free now? The wind was whooshing and whirling to gently nudge them away from the spot they were standing if so.

Hope's attention immediately turned from watching the kitten to the sudden appearance of one of the professors, who had only a few minutes ago appeared as a hawk. "Oh, that was wonderful!!" she exclaimed aloud, clapping herhands together. She knew what an Animagus was, of course--there had been a woman in their village who could transform into a raccoon, but she had died a few years ago. But Hope had never seen anyone transform back as neatly as this professor did--and while flying in for a landing, too!

"So, you remember what you do and feel when you are transformed, then?" Hope had always wondered about that. And when you're in your animal form, do you remember that you're a human being?"