Charlie did not end up outside. See, he always took his time to read lesson notices for reasons exactly like this one: a change in location. So, he turned up on time at the right place. Dressed in his signature attire {Nike sports shoes, sweatpants and a hoodie - no, the hood wasn’t pulled over his head} and with his gaze already on Barnabas, he approached Paton.

“Hi, professor!’’ Charlie said {the usual Swedish greeting}. She looked thrilled about this lesson. Actually, she looked more thrilled than usual. Oh… and did she mean they were heading into the Room of Requirement? Already Char was thinking of the prospective form it would take for the lesson. That was what filled his head, even if he was currently staring at the box.

Dennis was quite the opposite of Charlie in the fact that he DID end up outside. Fortunately he arrived relatively early enough to realize his error. Had he only followed his buddy to class he wouldn't have made this mistake but somehow maybe figured that Charlie had one of the classes located on the upper floors at this time and hadn't bothered to check with the older Hufflepuff where he was going. you would think by March he would have realized that they always had CoMC together but alas, blame it on OWL brain fog.

Huffing slightly as he jogged up the stairs, he let out a long exhale when he saw it was just Professor Paton and Charlie there. "We're really in a change of scenery today. Hi Professor, Hi Charlie," he said once he finally caught his breath.

You know who didn't pay attention to lesson changes? This fourth year, that's who. Vera had gotten all the way down to the grounds for CoMC for the day, only to THEN see the notice board and spent the rest of the time running back up to seventh floor. Which was exhausting and she was so lucky she'd been early for perhaps the first time ever - giving her enough time to make it.

Though she couldn't speak much for how she looked now. It probably wasn't very good. At least they'd also been allowed comfortable clothing, which meant her usual running attire had already been on and well suited for the occasion. "Hi... Professor." She greeted when she reached her and Charlie, puffing a bit. Vera reached out and propped herself up by her hand, using Charlie as a support while waggling her free hand at him in greeting. Dennis seemed to be very much in the same position as her, so he got a wave of hello too and an empathetic smile. That run, jog, whatever had been rough.

She eyed the entrance for the Room of Requirement suspiciously. "Are we... Meeting boggarts today? Because if so, I think I just sprained my ankle on that run and should go see Professor Feirgrund." She gave a cheeky smile to her Head of House, although if they were doing worst fears she might have very much meant them.

Creatures inside…?
And in the Room of Requirement?

Now that got Nadia filled with curiosity for sure. Thankfully given the proximity to the Gryffindor Common Room the second year hadn’t had to go far when she took off to head to the lesson so she had less chance of injuring herself in a rush. As it was she was nearly bouncing on her feet as she approached the meeting place by Barnabus’ tapestry. “Good afternoon, Professor,” she greeted, offering the other three gathered a friendly smile.

She raised a slight eyebrow at her friend as she leaned against Charlie wondering what was up but it was what Vera said that stole her attention. Boggarts!? Yes she knew of them, but it did kinda dull the level of energy that surrounded her curiosity. She wasn’t sure she would be ready to meet one though. That is if that was in fact what they would be learning today. It did make their change of venue make some sense.

It had been somewhat of an accident that had led to Sable Ileana having actually read the notice about the change of location for the next CoMC lesson. Namely, she had been afraid she’d miss the lesson which had led her to double-check that she had her schedule right, considering there was a part of her that was considering the suggestion Professor Cartoon had made during her job consultation. She’d meant to ask Professor Paton what she thought about the idea, too, but had forgotten until now. Either way, the petite blonde was rather less winded than some of the others who had gathered in the corridor as she had arrived, beelining for Bestie’s side almost out of habit.

Plus, she was curious if Vera had in fact hurt her ankle, since that would have been the first she’d heard of it. Not that it wasn’t a possibility. It very much was. Sable Ileana was just as apt to injure herself. Sheer luck probably had been at play that she hadn’t, given the proclivity to fling herself into situations. All the strategy in the world hadn’t prevented her from that.

“Hi Professor Paton”, she rather belatedly greeted her, positioned to prop Vera up if it really was needed, even though the other girl was already using Charlie for that. [b]“Can I ask you a question later? It’s kind of job related though.”[b] But also creatures, and they were allowed to consult with their head of house on things too, right? Two birds with one stone in this case.

Plus, she really wanted to know how the RoR could be used to study creatures. Or what kind of creature they were studying. Boggarts seemed more like a DADA thing, really. Maybe.

Kaira had read the notice regarding the change of venue for the class very last minute. She ran to the venue. She was confused as to why a class was being held in the room of requirement. Eh, we'll see.

Kaira was quite winded as she entered the classroom
'Good.. Afternoon.. Professor, 'she panted.

She made her way to near her fellow second year (Nadia). 'Hey Nadia, ' she said, smiling

It wasn’t hard to see that Care of Magical Creatures was obviously her favourite lesson from the over-excited bounce she was displaying as she made her way down the long corridor to the Room of Requirement. Not that Aurora was unenthusiastic about her other lessons, in fact it was quite the contrary. The second year was enthusiastic about everything. Her blonde hair, styled in their signature double Dutch braids, replicated the bounce her body was making and she was dressed comfortably in her dungarees and trainers as was requested by Professor Paton. A large grin was plastered on her face, both because lessons meant friends and because this lesson was somewhere different which was extra exciting.

Amazingly Rora had actually paid attention to the noticeboard and so had managed to arrive in plenty of time without the added inconvenience of heading outside first. Being inside did mean that they wouldn’t be working with the horses which was somewhat disappointing. She arrived just in time to hear Vera mention something about Boggarts and her face fell just the slightest. “I’m too young to be tormented by Boggarts!” Nor had she managed her Patronus yet and she was not prepared to face an army of fanged gnomes and acorn weirding squirrels quite yet.

Because that was clearly her biggest fear.

Was he aware of the location of his mum's lesson today? Yes. Had she reminded him (again) of this during breakfast? Absolutely. Was he one of the first students to be waiting outside the Room of Requirement? Definitely not. In fact, fourth-year Gryffindor was nowhere to be seen despite it nearly being time for class to begin. However, if one were to listen carefully, loud approaching footsteps could be heard like an erumpent stampede.

Logan knew he shouldn't be running through the corridors, but drastic times called for drastic measures. As wonderful as that nap in the common room had been, it perhaps had not been a wise idea to think that he had all the time in the world to snooze a little before class. If that dream of his (as wonderful as it had been) hadn't suddenly shaken him awake, the odds of him still being sprawled out on the sofa would have been high.

Huffing and puffing, the blond was relieved that his mum and the others were still waiting in front of the tapestry and that he wasn't showing up late. Nevertheless, the moment of panic and all the rushing did take a toll on him. He was out of breath and, because he hadn't had a chance to fix it, his hair was sticking up in all sorts of directions. A fleeting see-I'm-not-late look was sent his mum's way as he sandwiched himself between Sable and Vera and used the both of them to prop himself up.

A COMC lesson in the Room of Requirement? Desiree was both confused and intrigued by the idea. The Room of Requirement was always fun (especially when she used it as a craft room or dance studio), but she wondered why it was a better location for the lesson than the barns. Maybe they were studying something too large to fit in the barns or pastures? Or something that required a very specific environment that the barns couldn’t recreate? Whatever it was, her curiosity was piqued!

Inspired by her own curiosity, she was channeling Alice in Wonderland with her outfit today: blue puffed sleeve top with a white collar, white overalls, black sneakers, and a matching black headband. The notice said comfortable clothing, and Desiree was a firm believer that comfortable didn’t have to mean unfashionable! She approached the group in the seventh floor corridor, greeting Professor Paton with a wave and a cheery smile. “Hi, Professor Paton!”

Cue more smiles and waves for the other students. “Hi, everyone!” Desiree joined the group, standing near a younger student she recalled meeting in the barns earlier in the term (Aurora) just in time to hear the mention of boggarts. She seriously doubted there would be boggarts for the simple reason that this was not DADA class, but it did make her think. She’d never faced one before, but she had a pretty good idea what hers would turn into. Who knows, maybe she’d do alright with a boggart. She was good at spells, and she was improving in DADA. Plus, she’d be more likely to keep her cool if she knew what she saw wasn’t real. She gave the younger girl (Aurora) a reassuring smile. “If there are any boggarts, I’ll help you,” she said.

The minutes ticked on with her standing there, she had needed to early to ensure that everything was more than prepared for, Hadleigh could only hope that her students remembered where the day's lesson was being held. The arrival of the first student showed all to be well. "Hello, Mister Bergstrad. I see you're ready for today's lesson." She smiled softly.

As soon as one student arrived, the next showed up soon after. This was normally how it worked even when she held their lessons out on the grounds or in the barns. Oh, dear. He seemed a bit out of breath though and in such close proximity in this corridor she had been able to hear his words said to Charlie. "Indeed you all are, Mister, Walles. And hello to you as well."

Goodness, her. Two in a row that were out of breath. She sure hoped this didn't become a pattern and they did try harder to keep an eye on the notice boards for changes in the future. "Good afternoon, Miss Thanatos." A small laugh was nearly given when she heard what was said next. "There will be no need for a visit to the hospital wing."

One to break the pattern was the smiling face of Nadia. It didn't look like she had run here at all. "Hello, Miss Atreyu-Rehman," Hady greeted her with a returned smile.

"Hello, Miss Armstrong, you absolutely can. After class hang back for a moment and we can speak then." Hady was always happy to speak with any of her students whether it be about their class or anything else.

Here was another young one that was panting like she had run for hours. These poor children. "Good day, Miss Parker." She smiled softly, glad they had several more minutes left before the lesson began.

"Hello, Miss Ackerly. There's no cause for worry." She was going to have to set all of them straight in a moment about Boggarts before someone got overly wound up unnecessarily.

Now, Hady surely had expected her son to be on time. And he was. The boy was out of breath and his hair a mess, but he was on time. She had reminded him more than once where today's lesson was being held so she wasn't even going to ask. Logan got a smile and a small shake of her head, this boy of hers was definitely his father's son.

With one last arrival they were about ready to start the lesson shortly. "Hello, Miss Marchand." She greeted her warmly, taking a look at the group of students that had now gathered in the corridor.

Professor Paton waited another minute or two for anyone else to arrive before she gave a light clap of her hands. "Alright, hello everyone. I'm glad you've all found your way to the Room of Requirement." There was a small wave of her hand at the door just behind her. "Those of you that are still a bit windy from your journey here, you'll have a few more minutes to catch your breath before we head inside. And for anyone worried about Boggarts, they will not be today's topic." They were all very welcome for that and should take the time to catch their breaths and consider other creatures for the day's lesson.

"Now before we all go inside I want you all to be very aware that I asked you all to come dressed in comfortable clothing because we will be visiting three different areas today within this room. Our terrains will change, the temperature will change as well. So when we do head inside please make sure that you all listen." She knew that they would but she didn't want anyone falling and hurting themselves or worse today should they not listen. "From what I just said, what creature or creatures might we be working with today?"


OOC: So sorry for the wait!! The first question is very simple. What creature(s) might they come across in different places and different temperatures?

Oh, Den. You are quite the silly bestie. Charlie meant this in the nicest of ways. Following him would have been good but then again, Charlie took some classes that Den didn’t, such as Alchemy. Hey! At least the Ravenclaw made it to the right place in time so any calamity had been avoided. Unless anyone wanted to call all that huffing a calamity? “Hi, Den! You okay now?” As for Vera, Charlie wouldn’t have expected her to check the noticeboard. Don’t ask him his reasoning; no reason in particular could be pinpointed. It mainly had to do with a hunch based purely on Vera’s personality. In amusement, the Hufflepuff looked around at her using him to keep herself upright. An eyebrow arched at her, a gesture that was meant to ask the same question as he had asked of Dennis. “Boggarts fall under Defense Against the Dark Arts. I don’t think you have to worry about them, Vera.” Charlie returned the younger Gryffindor’s smile and gave Sable Ileana a five-finger wiggle wave. Desiree got a grin, at the same time the thought that there were so many out of shape Hogwartians out and about. Did Wellness and Fitness Club do nothing for them? And if they weren’t a member, then they should definitely join.

When Paton confirmed that they weren’t dealing with Boggarts, Char shot Vera a quick glance. She must be so relieved. What intrigued him, however, was the fact that they were visiting three different places. This explained the need for the lesson to be held at the Room. This was going to be great! Charlie hoped most, if not all the terrains, were the outdoorsy type. The seventh year’s hand went up. “Frost Salamanders, perhaps?” It was literally a wild guess. "We'd need cold temperatures for them." Obviously, as their name said.

The arrivals of others was not unnoticed as she caught her breath, thankfully an easy task considering how used to running her body already was. Each person got a small wave from her and a smile, with special mention for Bestie whose concerned look was not unnoticed as she stuck her foot out and twirled it around at the ankle - showing she did in fact have full range of motion. She was merely teasing was all - all fine and healthy and in tact here!

Although... perhaps she was feeling a little bad because it seemed like she'd set a chain reaction of concern over Boggarts. She gave Aurora a comforting, perhaps slightly apologetic, smile. It was true they were primarily a DADA thing so other than maybe being discussed in class as creatures, it probably wouldn't be helpful for this particularly subject to actually SEE one. Especially considering as she'd already told Professor Khanna, how would anyone know what one actually appeared as anyways? ... Maybe another Boggart would. Did a Boggart turn into a Boggart's worst fear if they encountered each other in the wild? What WAS a Boggart's worst fear?

Actually maybe it would be good if Boggarts were today's subject. Because suddenly she realized she had a LOT of questions.

Which were only interrupted by a sudden weight on her own shoulders, which caused her to let go of Charlie in order to not further inconvenience him. She gave him a thumbs up and a smile as well, to show she was perfectly fine, before head turned to see the sudden intrusion between her and Sia. Of course it was Logan, now splitting his weight between herself and Sable. For some reason, that left a sudden uncomfortable gnawing in the pit of her stomach that she did not like or care to name, so she just decided to dispel it by shaking him off her shoulder and moving to the other side of Sia once again.

No Boggarts. That was good at least. But they were going to be encountering different terrains? She couldn't think of a creature that liked all sorts of climates and everything and considering Professor Paton had mentioned creatures as an option, Ve decided to give a few different options for different regions. "A yeti, a chupacabra and a... kelpie?" Probably not any of the above.

... And were two of those even real or just lore that she'd heard of before?

Being stabilized by Sable and Vera was actually pretty nice, he had to admit. But, unfortunately for him, the moment was a fleeting one. A face was made as Vera started shaking him off of her shoulder. Had he put too much of his weight on her? It was a possibility that he hadn't balanced himself between the two of them properly... The blond was about to adjust himself slightly only to find himself rather flabbergasted when she moved to the other side of Sable, away from him.

Instantly his other arm was removed from Sable and dropped to his side. He assumed that she'd be doing the same thing soon enough. Not that was going to bother him. In fact, he would have been nice and removed such a burden from them if they had just asked. What hurt most, though, was the movement from Vera. What was that all about? Was she mad at him? Had he done something? It certainly contradicted a certain note that he still thought about more than he should have occasionally.

His mouth opened to make a comment, which hadn't been said at all because his mum started speaking to them all. His gaze was redirected toward her and he listened, mainly to distract himself. Hmm... What creatures could they be seeing today that lived in different terrains and environments? "Fire slugs? Those are found in the Amazon rainforest where it's humid and warm. Ooooooor maybe something from a coastal area like a murtlap?"

After the words left his mouth, his thoughts fluttered back to The Movement instead of focusing on what everyone else was saying. Sure, the whole mystery of what creatures they'd been working with today was an interesting one, but there was another mystery regarding a certain Gryffindor that was taking precedence. What would happen if he... gradually scooted over... just a bit?

The discussion continued back and forth between the other students over whether Boggarts would belong in CoMC or DADA and the Ravenclaw listened looking side to side as if she was watching a tennis match. Whether they were in this lesson, Aurora was quite sure that she was NOT prepared to face her worst fear at the ripe old age of 12 (and 3/4). Thankfully Vera’s apologetic smile and Desiree’s offer of help should she be faced with one left her feeling a little more relaxed. “Thank you!” she grinned at the older Hufflepuff. “I haven’t learned Riddikilikilus yet.” Was that even the right spell? It sounded right in her head but wrong when it rolled off of her tongue. Riddikulous? Riddikilius?

Whatever. It didn’t matter anyway because Professor Paton reassured them that they would not be facing a Boggart today.

Now Care of Magical Creatures might have been her very favourite subject but that didn’t mean the second year was well read up enough on every single creature in her textbook and therefore her answers would probably make little sense. That didn’t stop the enthusiasm though as the petite blonde’s hand shot up in the air. “Will there be Unicorns? They like umm.. forests!” Seeing a Unicorn would absolutely make Aurora’s year although she wished she’d known before she dressed for the lesson so she could wear her Unicorn patterned wellies.

Desiree was glad to see Aurora relax a bit at the offer for help. She returned the younger girl’s grin with one of her own, but there wasn’t time to talk. The lesson was starting! She was equally glad, though not at all surprised to hear that there wouldn’t be any boggarts in today’s lesson. Again, this was not DADA! She listened intently as Professor Paton spoke. Changing terrains…. Ohh, so that’s why they are using the Room of Requirement. It looked like her earlier guess of “environment the barns couldn’t accommodate” wasn’t too far off then!

She considered the question carefully. Changing terrains and changing temperatures… What could that be? Probably somewhere hot, somewhere cold and something else. Somewhere wet, maybe? That would make sense, but Desiree hoped it wasn’t that! No getting wet and gross for her, please and thanks! Since her classmates had already covered both temperature extremes, she focused on specific types of terrain. Her hand went up and she said, “Maybe something native to mountainous terrain, like a wampus or graphorn.” Honestly, she doubted it was either one of those, as both were quite dangerous, but it was the best guess she had!

This group was on their a-game today! Hadleigh nodded her head as Charlie explained to Vera that Boggarts were essentially a DADA topic. Indeed they are but being a creature it was always a possibility that she could toss out some information on them as. Only today was not one of those days. "Let me just go ahead and get this out there now. Mister Bergstrad is correct about where Boggarts are typically taught. So anyone that is worried about them being a part of this afternoon's lesson, they are not. No fears will be revealed on account of Boggarts." Everyone's secret fears or not so secret, were safe another day.

Onwards with the actual lesson now! "A cold climate would be needed for frost salamanders. That's a good guess." Hady was very surprised how well of a guess that was from the first person to answer but she wasn't about to give that away yet.

Vera's reply put a smile on her face. It seemed to be trying to cover different creatures for different areas. "Each of those would certainly be found in a different location, nice thinking."

Had she seen the small interaction there between Logan and Vera, also Sable Ileana but mainly the former two. Yes, she had. And no, she wasn't going to say a thing about it.. not even after the lesson. She knew when to ask questions and when to not. Despite her son's previous moment of being distracted he did a good job of still paying enough attention to answer the question. "Good guesses for sure. Both of those are interesting creatures as well."

"Unicorns do live in forests! Wonderful guess," Professor Paton, smiled making a mental note of how excited Aurora sounded even just mentioning uniforns. It reminded her of the first time she had ever gotten to work with one.

Hady could see the thought behind Desiree's eyes before the young lady gave her answer. This one was really good as well. "Beautiful creatures, those two and not always easy to work with either. Very nice."

She smiled, taking a quick glance around for any more raised hands. "Great answers everyone! All of those creatures would surely thrive in different climates and enjoy many types of terrains. Knowing what a creature likes best is how we can help them thrive and even help in keeping them safe. Sometimes though you get a creature that has different variants." This is where she paused for a minute to see if anyone had an idea of which one she was speaking about.

"Mister Bergstrad, was partly correct with his mention of frost salamanders. They will be part of our focus today. Before we go inside, what do we know about these particular salamanders and their variants? We will be working with those as well." Here's looking at you, reptile lovers and creature fanatics!


OOC: Great answers everyone! We're on to the next set of questions! What do they know about frost salamanders and their variants?

Everyone seemed to be making educated guesses {for the most part} though no one seemed to be hitting the proverbial nail on the head. This just made Charlie more eager to hear what today’s topics were actually about. And that was why he was slightly startled to hear that he had been somewhat correct. His eyebrows shot up as he eyed Paton though his facial expression returned to normal when his brain caught up with the fact that they were dealing with a variety of salamanders today. It was nice to guess topics correctly.

“Frost Salamanders are resistant to the Green Sparks and the Red Sparks Charms,’’ the seventh year said, now thinking that he would rather have a Frost Salamander over a Fire Dwelling One. The only drawback to that would be maintaining the freezing temperature for a Frost Salamander to survive, so having one as a pet was probably not a good idea after all.

She wasn't sure if it was because of her sudden soured mood that she was feeling particularly defensive about Boggarts or what, but the reiterations of them being a primary DADA subject were making her feel sorry for the creature. And while usually she'd assume that was simply because it had been her suggestion and her pride hated being wrong (or perhaps just called out on being wrong - because that was the most constant state of what she was), she was quite certain it wasn't this time. It just seemed kind of sad to her that they were being dismissed as creatures and instead thought of as a tool for teaching spellwork. Which she KNEW was important but... it was still sad. It would have cheered her slightly had she been able to hear Hady's thought that they were still a creature and could be mentioned but... unfortunately (truly - unfortunately) she was not a mind reader. But she also chose not to pursue the topic any further because it was clearly given younger years anxiety and she was probably, maybe, sliiiiightly just being emotional anyways and choosing to rely it into a random subject.

So... moving on.

As for Logan, well... she didn't notice any hurt from when she had moved away - but it was hard to not notice how quickly he'd then moved from Sia as well. That was... curious she supposed. And maybe made the churning feeling ebb ever so slightly. Until she then concluded her all over the emotions were ridiculous to begin with and then just became even more annoyed with herself, instead of the annoyance that was maybe a little bit directed at him and previously received notes. This was exhausting. Was there a way to just stop this whole puberty thing? Maybe a potion? She'd have to consult a potions book later.

If there was any moving back towards her, she wouldn't have noticed as she was now very determined to give the lesson a lot more of her attention - even if only as distraction from everything else in her head. Which primarily included not stealing glances like she'd been prone to doing ever so often lately.

So yes. Frost salamanders. What did she know about them and their variants? Well... distraction would be a LOT easier if she actually had any information to draw from. What a shame for her. "Um... Their claws are kind of like icicles. And they use those to attack predators, or prey, or even just for climbing." Which made her think a bit. "Are their claws at all fragile then? Or does it just LOOK like icicles and not actually BE icicles?"

Desiree hadn’t correctly guessed the creature of the day, but she wasn’t even disappointed. She had noooo idea what creatures would await behind that door! Mainly she was just glad her answer got the factual information about both creatures right. So frost salamanders… Cool (no pun intended)! What did she know about them? She knew they were pretty cute, based on the illustration she saw in her textbook. Their little blue bodies sort of reminded her of the salamander from Frozen 2. Ooh, could she keep one of the frost salamanders and name it Bruni?!

But the salamander in the movie was a fire spirit, not a frost one. So why was he blue? Fire salamanders were supposed to be red. This just got confusing! As she tried to come up with an answer, her thoughts kept going back to fire salamanders. Her hand went up, and she said, “Do fire salamanders count as a variant? They’re sort of like frost salamanders but in reverse; they need fire to survive.”

Slowly but surely, he had managed to sidestep his way behind both Sable and Vera. For now, that was where he was going to remain standing. He was testing the waters so to speak and assessing the situation. As for as he could tell though, a certain someone didn't seem bothered by his own movement. Or maybe she hadn't noticed. Or maybe she was purposefully ignoring him for some reason.

Not wanting to linger on the latter, the boy directed his attention back to his mum. Fortunately he had managed to catch onto the last of what she had been saying, so he was digging in his brain for all the information he knew about the creatures. It didn't take too long for him to speak up as he recalled seeing them at Scamander Zoo when he was younger. Odds were they had at least one of their own at some point at home too.

"Fire salamanders are typically scarlet red, though its colour varies depending on the heat of its birthing fire," Logan stated. "Frost salamanders are blue in colour, which is fitting for the freezing conditions it lives in. There are also Amazonian and Peruvian salamanders which are green and purple respectively."

“Hey Kaira,” she greeted her fellow second year, smiling softly at the Ravenclaw in her attempt to calm about the possibility of seeing one’s fears. However as her aunt began to speak to the group there was at least one bit of good news in the mix, other than the fact that they would be exploring three different things in today’s lesson.

Oh goody…no boggarts.

Nadia returned to her normally curious and excitable self at the assurance. She certainly hadn’t even thought about the fact that they were more appropriately taught in Defense, her brain had simply thought of them as creatures. As for other possibilities, the Gryffindor was simply listening to the options being thrown about by her classmates, each far more interesting to learn about than boggarts for sure.

Frost salamanders…cool!

Now what did she know about them that wasn’t already being said. Nothing came to mind at first, but when Desiree mentioned fire salamanders, the second year had an idea for those instead. “There are variants of the fire salamander…ones from Peru…and…Amazonian.”

The disappointment that befell on Aurora’s face when she learned they wouldn’t be studying Unicorns was hard to miss. She knew deep down that it was entirely unlikely that they would be awarded the opportunity to see the shy and rare creatures but she still had hoped that Professor Paton might have had something up her sleeve. Perhaps it was something she’d enquire about at a later date?

The actual focus of the lesson was something far smaller and a creature she didn’t quite know as much about. That wouldn’t stop her from raising her hand high up into the air to answer the question as best as she could. “They look like lizards.. or they are a lizard?” They were Lizard-type? “So they’re a reptile and they have long tails and they’re scaly like Dragons so sometimes they get Scale Rot” Ever since talking with that Magical Creature Healer, Aurora had garnered a slight fascination with the diseases that inflicted her creature friends. She had even borrowed a book from the library which for the second year was quite unheard of.

Ironic considering she was a Ravenclaw.

The look of surprise in a student's eye whenever they unexpectedly guessed the day's lesson topic always made Hady smile. “Yes, they are. Normally when a creature is resistant to specific spells you might find that it’s much more difficult to deal with them. Luckily for us, we won’t have to worry about that so much today.” While they were going to be working rather closely with the Salamanders in question, they wouldn’t be casting spells at any of them today.

“That’s correct. This is true for quite a few of our creature friends. Many use their sharp claws to help protect themselves and their families as well as to capture their own meals or climbing as you said.” As a professor she loved not only when her students answered a question that she asked but also when they asked their own. “Their claws only resemble shards of very sharp ice, they are in fact not ice at all. For such small creatures their claws are as sharp as steel but as cold as icicles.” Fascinating little salamanders were what they are.

Here we go. Now they were slowly starting to get somewhere. “They most certainly do.. Because they are! Fire and Frost Salamanders are very closely related despite the fact that one type needs extreme heat to thrive and the other needs freezing tempers to flourish.” Simply remarkable, were they not?!

Ah, yes, leave it to her son to list the other variants that they would be working with today. If anyone should know all of them, it should be him. For a brief moment it left her remembering when she had brought a few young ones home, did he remember that? So many different creatures had come in and out of their home throughout the years while she cared for them. “This is correct and in a few moments we’ll be getting to see just how those colors can vary.”

“Very good, we do have the Peruvian and Amazonian variants of the fire salamander. They are basically the same except for their coloring and where they come from. So if we were to see them all together in a group we would easily be able to distinguish which is which.” It was differences such as these that sometimes could be really important.

Hady had seen the saddened look but this lesson was already planned and in progress. She did always take in consideration what her students were interested in so should anyone want to discuss unicorns with her after the lesson they were welcome to do so! “Salamanders are lizards, yes. Scale rot! Yes! Sadly this is very true for our scaly salamander friends. When they are mistreated or malnourished they can develop a rot-like infection to their scales which can at times cause them to die if not tended to.”

As always Professor Paton took a minute's pause to allow them all time to let the responses to their questions sink in. They couldn’t wait too long though as they needed to move along with their lesson. “Today we will be working with ALL of the variants that were mentioned. Fire, Frost, Amazonian and Peruvian.” How they were going to do that, well that’s why they were using the Room of Requirement. “We will be going for a hike along several trails that will take us through very hot, very cold and a damp wet climate.” So they would be making their way through THREE different areas. “This is why I asked that everyone come dressed comfortably. In these boxes up here beside me are pouches to be worn around your waist, they hold a variety of different foods for the salamanders, as well as a pair of gloves that will protect your hands from the heat and the cold. There’s also a water bottle as I’m sure you will all get thirsty along the way.” The pouches were all different colors and styles to please everyone.

“We won’t just be walking through and feeding them. We will be treating many of them for scale rot. Now to do that we rub chili powder on their rotted scales. There is also some of that in a compartment in the pouches. We will be making sure that none of their fires are burning too low and that none are injured as well.” She gave another moment's pause to see if anyone had any questions or if they all understood what they would be doing this afternoon. A lot of information was given to them and she didn’t want anyone to be confused.

“Please come up one at a time to collect a pouch and fasten it snuggly about your waist. Go ahead and fill the water bottle that is in the side pocket on it with Aquamenti and try on your gloves to make sure they fit well.” The boxes at her side were then opened so the students could come up and get what they needed. “I know I shouldn’t have to remind anyone but I am going to.. The area that the Fire Salamanders are living in is very warm. Please do not go and stick your hands or any parts of your body inside their fires. You will burn yourself.” They were all old enough to know that fire was hot and shouldn’t be messed with. She was giving them all special gloves for a reason. "If you would like to cast any spells on your clothing to help against the heat or cold or to help with walking along different paths, you can do that now as well." Should anyone need help with any of those, she would gladly assist them with it.

Hazel eyes yet again scanned over the group as she watched them all get what they needed. Once everyone had done so, she grabbed a random pouch for herself and fastened it about her waist, silently filling the water bottle with her wand. “Now if everyone is ready, please follow me inside. And we will get on with our hike and locate the fire salamanders first. There is a path for us all to walk along but it’s alright if you do step off it a bit, nothing will hurt you except with the fires our friends dwell in.” Though they may come across some of the scarlet red and blue salamanders not inside a fire at all and lazing about elsewhere along their hike.

Opening the door to the Room of Requirement, Hadleigh led them all inside. Right away the students would find themselves on what looked like a trek up the side of a very real active volcano, lava flowing in small streams or puddles of it all around. This was purely for entertainment purposes and the ‘lava’ while it looked very real and was warm, it wouldn’t harm them. As they walked along their path, they would come across different fires burning on the volcanic rocks, this was where the Fire Salamanders were. Though some could be found on rocks or even wandering through the ‘lava’. “You can stop at any time now when you see them and try to get them to come to you. This is what the food in your pouches are for and after seeing if they will eat you should be able to tell if they are ill and need to be cared for.”


OOC: I’m soooooo sorry this is so very long! The students are going on a hike to three different areas. The first being a ‘volcano!’. In each area they will befriend, feed, evaluate for illness/injuries and then help treat the salamanders! Please give me a nudge if something doesn’t make sense. As always let the kiddos have fun, ask questions and learn!

It was only when Logan spoke directly from behind her that she realized he'd moved, and Ve's head turned just the littlest bit to give him a look with a bit of curiosity in it. Shouldn't he have just been glad she was out of the way? She looked at him for a minute before turning her attention front wards again as Professor Paton answered her question. So the claws weren't icicles... just looked like it and were cold to the touch, but strong as steel. That's why reptiles were her favorite - how wicked cool was that?

She didn't know much about the other types, but she did like the idea of getting to meet them all and even practicing their care measures by getting rid of scalerot. The entire lesson actually really seemed to line up with things she'd been considering post her previous discussion with her Head of House, and Vera briefly wondered if there were even just jobs doing as exactly as they were - except... traveling to different areas. Creature sanctuaries were always interesting but... so was the idea of caring for different critters in their own habits. Even the wild ones sometimes needed help, right? Or else why would they even have rehabilitation reserves. it was food for thought. For later. For now, she'd just enjoy this lesson - maybe even enough to research more on it later.

Following after other students to go and grab herself a pouch, Vera selected a bright blue one that she liked the way it looked against the green of her running shirt, before moving back to where she'd previously been standing while she securely fastened it at her waist, before then pulling her wand from it's holster and filling the water portion. "Aguamenti!" She spoke it quietly so as not to disturb others doing the same, before capping it off and replacing her wand once more. She'd grabbed a pair of gloves as well, with the intention of sticking them in her pocket but.. hearing fire salamanders were first, she opted to go ahead and place them on her hands instead to begin with.

Seeing the door open and the immediate look of lava (which Merlin, she hoped that wasn't REAL) Vera hung back to let others go first just while she pulled her hair up into a ponytail to keep it out of her face. She was a little worried about the rubber soles of her shoes but.. wasn't sure of what fire prevention charm she could use on them, so she figured she'd just be along the back of the pack so she could carefully stick to the path. That was safest, right?

Beginning to follow along, she kept her eyes peeled for any of the salamanders along the way. She figured looking IN the fire was best bet of finding them quickly but she was pretty sure her clothes and shoes wouldn't survive that, so instead she looked closer to the path. Occasionally glancing forward too to see if any of her peers had also already located one.