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1:12 P.M.



“Right then,” Shona said, squinting briefly at the sun before looking down at the clipboard in her hand, scanning at the names with which she’d neatly checked off. Satisfied with what she saw, the werewolf looked up, endowing the students gathered with an animated grin. “Let’s get started then, shall we?”

Given the nature of today’s class (–well, not class, as it were), Shona had the students assemble here at the Hideaway, rather than the clearing in which their classes were usually held. It was not the first time she had done it – field trips had become a frequent thing since she’d begun teaching, after all – but it was the first time she had them here, and it made her feel both wired and confident, more so than usual. The students looked somewhat out of place among the trees, the pumpkins, the sheep and– perhaps especially so –the odd assortment their classmates’ creatures presented.

But mostly because hardly anyone was the same age today. After an eventful breakfast[1] hours earlier, Shona found herself a bunch of students both taller and smaller than usual—she herself swathed in clothes that no longer fit her. And a wolf cub, when she turned.

Still, the show had to go on. Shona wasn’t about to let a sudden loss of two feet and thirty years keep her from teaching, if she could still think like an adult.

Although the students had had their final exam just a day before, they weren’t done just yet; today, they were demonstrate their success – or failure – with the exercise Shona had tasked them with since early April,[2] and for the occasion the “front yard” of the Hideaway had been portioned off into a small arena, complete with a platform, a cluster of hoops of varying sizes, and a set of wooden bleachers spacious enough to accommodate even some of the larger beasts. Off to the side a pier had been erected for the those demonstrations taking place in the lake, jutting into the body of water and strung with boats.

All in all, it looked pretty good—perfect, actually. And as much as it pained her admit it (which, not really), achieving it all would have been much more difficult had it not been for Rick, who she had invited in the first place to assist her with the props and pier (and then later – before lunch –the Hideaway) and after breakfast needed more than ever. The aforementioned Artificer now watched from the sheep pen, leaning against a fence post with folded arms and a disinterested expression on his face.

Rather than let them all mill about like sheep, Shona had the students wait in the bleachers with their creatures. Some, however, didn’t seem to be actually in the class, but rather than kick them out she allowed them to stay. It was the last day, and as good a chance as any to show them new creatures when they wouldn’t, or would rarely, see them otherwise. So long as the presentations met her criteria,[3] she would grade them a little more leniently than usual, too. Those who couldn’t make theirs, given their own infantile state, would get a pass.

Recognizing a few students from her older classes sitting on the grass with their own creatures (–one of them a Slytherin sixth year, who offered a cheeky wave, petting the furry hulk lazing by her knee), Shona returned their greetings (or sheepish smiles) with a good-natured shake of her head and moved onto the fourth years, who would be going before their upperclassmen.[4]

“Who wants to go first?”

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[center][quote][table][tr][td]

[color=white]STUDENT[/color][list type=none][li]
Name: 
House & Year: 

[/li][/list][/td]
[td]

[color=white]CREATURE[/color][list type=none][li]
Name: 
Classification: 
Rating: 

[/list][/td][/table][/quote][/center]

1.	Eat Me, Drink Me (The Great Hogwarts Mayhem of 2010)
2.	Creature Training Projects. Students had two months to accomplish this. For reference, please refer to the fourth year winter exam.
3.	I won’t be posting Shona unless something happens, things get out of control, or a student needs help, so feel free to step up, complete your presentation, and then get permission from Shona to leave.
4.	Shona is allowing non-students to watch, but only watch. OOC-ly it’s more being able to say your character was there rather than actually posting in it. So please, still fourth years only. :)

Esther’s hand shot up high, resolute and unabashed. “If I may, professor,” she sweetly said, already rising from her seat. “I’d like to.”

Professor Donovan grinned, clearly pleased. “The stage is yours, Miss Morrell.”

They had only been given little more than a week to decide their creatures and what they would teach them, but for Esther it had been a week too long; after a day or so of contemplation (–of daydreams, she was not wholly proud to admit, of fairies and, yes, even a unicorn, as much as there had been ones of great, beautiful birds and felines—creatures whose beauty lay largely in their obvious power), the Slytherin had decided upon something she thought would be manageable as it could be challenging. And, of course, was as cute as it was more than it appeared.

After carefully subjecting the list of examples– ideas– they had each been given, Esther had found herself idly jotting down her own ideas of what each one could be taught, and her thoughts returning to the knarl—not out of an interest in the creature itself, but for what it reminded her of. With its near identical likeness to the common hedgehog, anything exceptional would surely test even her abilities, proving the amount of time given sparse and wasted.

But there were others, ones that closely resembled a hedgehog yet were capable of more, and all it had taken was a judicious search through the family bestiary, of which she had been gifted with a copy of last Christmas in acknowledgment of her efforts (which at this point in time had yet to be disclosed). Freshly showered and draped in the lightest of robes, the young witch had curled up with the book at the bay window of her bedroom, uttering aloud key phrases until, at last, there was a soft cry of triumph.

Now, she descended the steps, gracefully picking her way through the assortment of stray tails, bulky wings, and scattered things before climbing onto the platform—three small, bark-colored balls bouncing along after her. As she came to a halt, so did they, rolling lazily about her feet until they slowed, stopping, and uncurled, revealing a trio of hedgehog-like faces and beady, intelligent eyes.

In front of her classmates, the young witch serenely tucked back an errant lock of hair, her posture straight and confident. With her other gloved hand, a elegant wooden mallet was held in place by her hip, the head of it delicately parallel to a slim, perfect ankle. “For my project,” she began, in a bright, smiling voice, “I chose to train a trio of spiny pallhogs, who I’ve named Shuffle, Flush, and Queenie.” At each name, one shuffled forward, black button nose twitching.

“As you can see, pallhogs – like knarls – look a lot like your ordinary hedgehog,” said Esther, holding out a hand; one of critters, Shuffle, rolled back into a ball and neatly bounced into her palm. It crawled up her arm then, onto her shoulder and snuffled against her cheek. “But aside from that, their similarities end there. Instead, pallhogs eat billywig larvae and marmoreal mushrooms[1]—the second of which gives their quills their amazing durability… and with which they will demonstrate what I’ve taught them.”

Behind them, the stage props had arranged themselves into a high wall, taller than Esther, even taller than the professor’s brother. A triumvirate of winding pathways had formed, with a series of progressively larger and larger obstacles set in their way, which included a set of unevenly tiered platforms that finally ended on a single common one—one that still stood a couple of feet short of the top of the wall. Lifting the little creature off of her shoulder, Esther set it down beside the others and took a large step to the side, swinging the mallet up to rest against her shoulder, like a parasol. “Queenie, Shuffle, Flush,” she cooed.

The pallhogs quickly darted into a V-shaped formation, with Shuffle at the helm. Esther smiled. “Go.”

Curling up once more, each hog sped off at once, rolling into a separate path and – despite the twists, turns and jumps – only picked up speed. Quills flattening into sleek, almost wooden-looking balls, they bowled things out of their way with surprising force, leaving a trail of destruction in their wake. “In their ball form, pallhogs are actually one of the hardiest creatures in existence,” Esther continued, idly rolling the mallet along her slim shoulder. “In one of the earliest incarnations of wizarding croquet, they were used as balls—hence the name pallhog. Research– incidental research– has found they can withstand up to a two tons of force, possibly more.”

Behind her, as something crashed soundly to the ground, Esther tapped her lip. “But only if it’s still on them, of course,” she added, glancing at Shona with a slight, sheepish smile. “Or they become brittle—useless, really. And like, you can still Stun them even when they’re curled up fairly easily. Physically speaking, their hide isn’t anything like dragons’.” Somewhere to the left, there was a tiny, fierce war cry. Esther smiled brightly. “They are still very tough, though! Even alone they are quite daring, especially in the defense of their young or a sibling.”

Shreds of stuffing floated to the ground, followed by the sounds of concentrated destruction. Esther, turning to watch, looked on with fondness; even to the casual observer there was an unmistakable method to their destruction. Shuffle, ahead of the others only by a few seconds or so, knocked over a foam totem pole, sending it sideways onto Flush’s path, who subsequently put on yet another burst of speed, launching itself over the fallen obstacle. It then landed onto a red, circular cushion with clear intention– thereby activating the spring in Queenie’s path, who then sprang onto the next platform. Although their paths were separate and differing, the pallhogs worked smoothly in unison.

“Siblings already work well together, but I thought they could use a bit more… finesse,” said Esther demurely, smoothing out an invisible wrinkle on the front of her sweater. “They do fairly well in the wild, what with their quills and all, but there are so many things out there that find them tasty…”

Reaching the last platform, the trio faced the wall now, quills raised and small frames poised. At the very top of it – far enough from the edge that it was hidden from view – was an earth-colored lump of crushed pallhog chow, topped with a small red flag. It looked like an impossible feat no matter where one stood, that even the professor’s surly-looking brother looked on with interest, albeit with skepticism as well.

Then, without further ado, the pallhogs fell into single file, rocking back on their hind legs before throwing themselves into an even-spaced hurtle towards the wall. The first one, Shuffle, pulled back at the very last second, right before slamming into it; the second one, Queenie, bounced right off of it just before Shuffle did, letting its brother’s last bit of momentum carry it forward. The third, Flush, followed shortly after—scrambling a bit at the edge, but Queenie clawed it fully over the edge.

A second later, Shuffle’s own buttony nose appeared over the edge of the wall as well, its claws scrabbling for purchase before Flush and Queenie helped pull it up as well.[2] Once they snuffled each other for a status update, all three then scurried over to the flag, where they began to happily feed away at its base.

“I thought I would try giving them a better chance,” said Esther a little more softly than before. Looking away, to Shona, the Slytherin bit her lip, looking slightly unsure beneath an otherwise confidence demeanor, hopeful and anxious all at once.

The professor’s expression was pensive as she regarded her. “Well, Miss Morrell...” Head cocked to the side, Shona rubbed her chin. Esther held her breath. “What we have here is either a rather extraordinary phenomenon within the species, or the beginning of unforeseen consequences for Ireland’s ecosystems. But either way, I’m impressed! Excellent work.”

Releasing a soft sigh of relief, Esther smiled, and amidst the applause her natural confidence reasserted itself. Lifting her chin a little higher, she turned towards the platform with outstretched arms—laughing as, jumping down one by one but in quick succession, they all latched onto her, nearly bowling her over.

And it was like that she faced her audience again, offering a cute little bob of a bow before walking off the stage, head bowed lovingly over theirs as she made her way back to her seat. In a moment she would lift it to receive her praises (as was her due, obviously), but—at that very moment they were the ones being praised, the clever little darlings who were perfect, just perfect today.

1.	A small, edible white mushroom that causes one’s skin to harden when eaten raw. They are most commonly found in Ireland.
2.	Inspired by this.