After messing around in the afternoon sun, Naomi and Blake had inadvertently discovered what was now Hagrid's Tree, a rather monstrous and hollow oak tucked away into a corner of the lake. Big red dutch doors loomed at the top of large stone steps, and the two fourth years were only tall enough to enter through the bottom half of one of the doors. However, upon entering, they only found the Salem creatures professor, who, through a supernatural sense of perception, wanted to "discuss classwork" while subtly hinting at threatening her grade. Whether or not the threat was legitimate wasn't something Naomi felt like finding out. So much for casually skipping class.

A little bit before dinner started, Naomi made her way through the dark towards the corner of the Hogwarts ground where she climbed the large stone steps into the  gargantuan tree-house thing. She pushed open the bottom half of one of the doors and walked into the hollow tree, to a nearly empty woody interior, with stairs spiraling up one side and curtains separating different parts of the interior. A large table was placed in the center of the room, where, perched in a tall wooden chair sipping tea was the perfectly presentable Bai Li Yang.

Naomi felt a little under-dressed in comparison, with her wild curls spiraling down her shoulders and her back, a long form-fitting green hoodie, loose shorts, and tall black boots. The younger witch didn't know how long she would be there, but she preferred to be comfortable.

Then, out from behind one of the curtains emerging in a pink flower-print apron was the the towering half-giant that was Rubeus Hagrid, carrying plates of food and drinks in his hands,  "Jus' ignore me," he said as he quickly set everything on the table, before he picked up a bag and a crossbow and opened one of the doors, "Righ', off to th' forest now, be back in a bit." And while merrily whistling a tune, he shut the door and was gone. Naomi looked back up at Yang in the awkward silence.

Finally, the Slytherin climbed up into one of the chairs and looked across the table at the other witch. Then she looked down at her own plate of food: Grilled grindylow, bread, and spinach with some hot spices mixed in. Naomi's green eyes looked back up at Yang and then she took a bite of her food, not really in the mood to start any conversation, or inquire as to why she was there. She only took solace in the knowledge that she knew a new Hogwarts professor wouldn't poison a student's dinner.

From her seat at the table Bai viewed Naomi, her dark-eyed gaze calculating as the fourth year poked carefully at the food.

When Miss Foley and her friend had found the Tree, their arrival had not been entirely unexpected; lurking outside had been an imp, a thin, spindly thing of mischievous curiosity. It had been clambering along a branch high, high above, intent on inspecting a nest when the girl had come into view, her footsteps amplified by pointed, sensitive ears. Naturally, the creature had paused, its angular head swiveled towards the source of the noise, that slash of a smile widening, revealing a row of needle-sharp teeth…

-and had gone still. Large, yellow eyes unusually fixed on the figure far below, Artheet took in the dark hair and skin, placing a name to the face the sooner she drew closer. By the time the girl had passed through the doors, Bai had been seated at that very same table, watching her in the same, exact manner as the imp had—watchful, still, and unblinking.

Now, as the Magizoology professor looked on, that stare was just slightly more different this time around, more open about its assessment of the girl that sat across from her. As soon as the last of Hagrid’s footsteps had faded away—that door softly creaking shut—Bai gave the newly returned silence one more moment before cutting it completely.

“What, Miss Foley,” she began softly, as slow, graceful movements saw to her grindylow cut to pieces, “did you think of class today?”

There was a subtle emphasis to her words, as if what was said wasn’t quite what was meant… But her expression as impassive as ever, however, it gave nothing away.

   

Naomi took a bite of her food as her eyes rose to look at Professor Yang. The woman meticulously cut her food as she asked Naomi a a casual question, as if they always had dinner together like she was an old friend of the family! Thank Salazaar, that wasn't the case, but if the curly haired Slytherin was one who could be more easily lured by the persuasion one could set with the social atmosphere, she just might have succumbed to the idea. Maybe she just didn't like Legilimens.

After swallowing a gulp of grindylow Naomi picked up the soft tone of the other which and twisted it to her own innocent lilt, "Nothing."

Of course, talkative Naomi was not, but the girl felt the need to give the woman some handful of information so that she could avoid  the topic that was Sandusky and Transfiguration. So, after a taking a quick drink Naomi started to roll through the laundry list of her day's exploits, looking from Bai to the wall and then nothing imparticular, "Went over some dueling theories in Charms, some Northern European magic in History, didn't think much of Transfiguratoin," a half-truth if there ever was one, but the witch continued without hesitation as if she were partaking in dull casual Slytherin gossip, "We were introduced to the idea of pairs and couplets in Runes, some formulas and equation formation for heart and personality in Arithmancy, and Defense..."

The witch's green gaze rolled to the ceiling for a moment and her lips became lightly pursed at the only hiccup in her day. She nearly completely forgot about it, and the protective and vengeful side of her grasped for some harsh and witty remark about Sandusky vs. Storm, but Naomi only let her gaze dismissively fall back on her plate, as if she were only lost in thought,  "we tried shields."

Another piece of her grindylow was cut and Naomi put it in her mouth as she looked back at Professor Yang--if the woman was any other normal person Naomi wouldn't have broken eye contact so much. But years of living with her mother made it so the girl understood that sometimes the simplest of lies could be discovered with the most innocent and indifferent of stares--no actor alive was safe from the stare of a master of the mental arts.

Her jaw hardly moved as she chewed, as if she strived to conceal any function as human as to eat. She did, however, nod along as Naomi spoke, letting the girl’s casual tone carry over the table undisturbed—and, inwardly, let a small, satisfied smile bloom; contrary to the misconceptions of the misinformed, Legilimency was not, in fact, ‘mind-reading,’ but one did not need it to surmise the reason behind all the ocular reticence.

Because of a brief, trivial instance that could have been anything but was not, the girl knew. And Bai—so often careful, so private despite the pride she bore like a diamond-hard varnish—couldn’t help but be curious at the prospect of someone knowing, for once.

“Productive,” she remarked, amusement coloring her tone just enough that its presence was unmistakable. Theory, formulae, couplets and shields… Lightly, almost innocently, she added, “That would have certainly would have been useful yesterday, would it have not?”

As she spoke, there was something in her tone that could have very well been a smile. Personally, the visiting professor thought the girl’s forceful manner had been just a tad excessive, but compared to the manner some of her classmates…

Well. Opinions.

“And speaking of which…” Delicately, she bit off the small, neat chunk speared on the prongs of her fork, and dabbed at her mouth with a napkin. The smile she gave the Metamorph was full-lipped and serene. “What did you think of yesterday’s lesson?”

Yang's remark caught Naomi by surprise and during mid-chew. As Naomi looked around the room she supposed the older witch was right, but it wasn't something the Slytherin had immediately thought of.

Naomi pushed her curls behind her ear as she sat back and began to twist her spinach and grindylow onto the end of her fork, "Well O'Doherty was hung from a tree, Connor got attacked by my book, All the boys tripped a lot for some reason, and I bonded with a textbook," she pursed her lips together trying to figure out whether that constituted a good class or not.

The young girl lifted her fork up from her plate as she shrugged her head to the side, "Regardless of not using any shield spell or runes, I t'ink it was great," The witch bit her food off her fork and then began chewing again. She wasn't sure what class had to do with anything, nor did she find talking about it to be terribly revealing or anything. But Naomi was starting to wonder if Professor Yang was just messing with her or fishing for information.

Whatever the case was Naomi was sure the Salem professor couldn't keep it up all night.

“Did you?” asked Bai, her smile widening. The question was, for the most part, rhetorical, but if the girl chose to answer…well. Though the professor was not so much concerned about what students wanted from a class rather than what they needed, feedback was always useful, and therefore welcome. “You may thank your professor, then. It was his idea.”

The corners of her lips curved upward even further. “I enjoyed it as well.”

There was a soft skrtchskrtch of movement by one of the windows, the sound almost completely inaudible had it not been for the fact that, until now, it was only the two of them there. Bai did not have to look in its direction to know it was Artheet at the windowsill, peering through the glass with both palms pressed against it. With large, yellow eyes that were luminous even through the pane, it stared at them—at her—expectantly.

That secretive look giving way to something carefully polite, Bai glanced away from the student and withdrew her wand from a sleeve. A wordless, serpentine swish later, the window swung open just enough for the creature to slip through. Once past, it climbed down nose-first with surprising speed, almost a blur of movement until it was clambering up the professor’s arm. With care, the imp picked its way up the limb, clawed hands gingerly grasping; when it was close enough, it heaved itself onto her shoulder, its spindly grubby appearance a marked difference from the rounded features of her face.

“Your classmates are not quite as adept at handling… strong personalities, as it would appear,” she remarked, as delicately as clawed hands had been when they’d climbed up her arm. “Monster Books in general require a certain amount of… empathy.” At this, a slight frown marred the smooth plane of her brow. It was the fact that while she approved of her colleague’s methods—mostly—the fact she occasionally found herself grasping for words was one she did not approve of.

The next smile was sardonic. “Professor Hagrid, I believe, is quite well-known for proving this consistently—with virtually all manners of animal minds. But for the rest of us, we must rely on dexterity,” she continued aloud, somewhat distantly, with the imp perched almost tamely on her shoulder. Almost, because any glances it caught were met with a rude expression of its own. “Outmaneuver by wit and physical skill. Most do not grasp this… or only partly, for that matter, which is why there is always a ludicrous amount of injury upon their introduction.”

Almost imperceptibly, dark eyes flicked at the girl’s unscathed appearance. Approval touched her lips; whether Naomi knew it or not, bonding with one’s Book was a feat in itself—nothing impossible, but not something to scoff at lightly, either. And as she looked on at the student’s easy composure, the professor would not be surprised if the event had happened far more easily than it did for most.

“Ultimately, Monster Books are only books—an admirable reflection of life, but still only reflections. However, they are a reliable indication of what one will find in, out, and after classes. After graduation—should you choose to pursue a career to which Creatures is pertinent—you may find that all manners of advantage may apply…”

Naomi watched as Bai Li Yang began to talk again--smile even. Naomi wasn't sure she quite understood why, was she surprised? Or did the woman discover something she like about the whole lesson? She seemed far too meticulous to be so open about the lesson.
 
The Slytherin girl swallowed her last bit of food as she watched the professor let a spindly creature into the room. Naomi only gave the thing her lazy and indifferent green stare, the same as she would any younger students choosing to rile her up. It was like a miniature little first year perched on the Salem Professor's shoulder.

The younger witch slowly laid her silverware down as she leveled a suspicious gaze with the professor, she seemed to be studying more students than creatures, even Professor Hagrid seemed to be under the microscope for this woman. But Naomi continued to listen intently as she gradually leaned back in her chair.

Then that dark gaze glanced at her whole form, and Naomi realized that she was the focus of attention here. Her gaze hesitated, falling to her plate, the soft texture of her green hoodie, and rising to the creature before meeting Yang's gaze again.

"Like legilimency?" the young witch said with an airy criticism. Naomi had been in a situation like this with many other faces, but never as herself. This instance only ever came up with her own professors--but Yang didn't fall into that category--not really anyway.

The witch took her hand twisted one of her curls between her fingers, and pulled it down into her lap to play with as she hardened another suspicious stare on the woman sitting across the table.

"Creatures are pertinent to life, aren't 'dey?" Naomi let go of her curl and it bounced up to her shoulder, "My mother says it's better to rely on 'dem--first--for domestic chores than magic--gardening, cleaning, keeping t'ings safe," though Naomi liked the idea of learning a lot about creatures and how they ticked, she couldn't imagine a life without them, "Why wouldn't you always have a few around?"

“It depends,” Bai replied simply, looking pleased with Naomi’s answer… and that they were finally touching upon the real reason why she was there. “First and foremost, it is best to rely on them to be what they are,” –a wisdom that many pet owners so often forgot, she had come to learn. They were always so surprised when Spot urinated on the Persian rug, or when Moggy shredded the sheets. Or, more appropriately, when the chimaera broke loose and mauled the family crup. “Moles may burrow, griffons guard, house elves serve… Yes, creatures are pertinent to life, but it is a fact not all are consciously aware of.

“It is why magic-” she placed a quiet emphasis on the word, “-is often relied upon, first.”

Artheet jumped off her shoulder then, landing on the floor with a faint thump. As he capered away, the professor continued to eat, slicing away at her meal with neat precision. “That said, Legilimency may be such a tool when utilized accordingly,” she murmured, as her fork impaled another piece. “Like nearly everything else…”

She took a moment to savor before speaking again, and when she did, serenity shaped the curve of her lips. “The rules remain the same no matter whose mind is the subject.

“But,” she smoothly continued on, after what may have seemed like a heartbeat too long, “that is not what I had invited you here for. Occlumency, however, is.”

Even if the girl refused to meet her eyes, the calm stare Bai gave her was as direct—piercing—as it would have been even then. When she spoke next, a note that resembled pity dreadfully had crept into her tone. “I am glad to see that you have your hair under control now, Miss Foley. This afternoon’s display was more befitting of a first year.”

Harsh? Perhaps. But from what she had observed earlier, the professor had a feeling that to sugarcoat would only be a disservice and an insult to themselves.

Naomi breathed a heavy whisp of air from her lungs as Bai Li went on to educate her about why wizards relied on magic more than creatures or nature. Yeah she never put it together like that, and having it spelled out for her was semi-helpful, but it was a redundant and sad fact of the wizarding world--or the world at large--in general. Some people were just too narrow-minded, and too selfish.

Naomi's stare suspiciously narrowed at Bai Li with a sudden raise of an eyebrow, she didn't think the Salem professor saw that much. Though that meant she caught everything else too, the latter of which put Naomi more on edge than her metamorphing did, "Okay, you be fourteen. Go to class wit' Sandusky. Answer a question, and den he can threaten to take your wand for two days and we can see what you'd do." Her voice was a calm and light lilt, but the offer for a challenge was still there.

The young witch's appetite suddenly deteriorated as she made a quick note to break eye contact and looked out the lone window in the half-giant's makeshift kitchen before speaking again, "I could've pulled what one of th' firsty Ravencalws did, try to curse a teacher--but I chose to walk away," that wasn't to say she might have her say with some mischievous prank later, if she decided Sandusky was worth it, "At the cost of my hair--but even 'dat could've been worse."

Without a smile the young witch gave a satisfied purse of her lips as she closed her eyes and let her shoulder fall, "Could've been snakes."