Tim was no stranger to early Saturday mornings, but ordinarily they were down to books, studies and other academic expectations. At home they were down to his baby half-sister bawling. The only bawling he could hear above their footsteps was some strange animal in the huts and pens ahead. Tim didn't study creatures, but He was heading down with Rylan, his classmate who did study them under the popular Professor Onuris.

"So I've got so much reading to do over the holidays," Tim explained, having brought Rylan up to speed on recent correspondence with Healer Misslethorpe. Tim had aspirations to be a healer, and was also a Ravenclaw, so being sent both a reading list and an application for work experience at St Mungo's was exciting news for him. Meanwhile, he knew that excitement for Rylan was this very morning - heading down to look after the creatures. His mate was very much like his older brother Ambrose in that respect. Tim's older brother, Ambrose, had forgone NEWTs to take up an apprenticeship with the Beast Division in the Ministry.

"You should come over though," Tim added, "Ambrose will love to tell you everything about his apprenticeship," he grinned over his Ravenclaw scarf, "because you'll appreciate it so much more."

Though he normally enjoyed a lie in on the weekends, he had been given an offer he really couldn't refuse! He could have, he supposed, but who in their right mind would turn down the chance for some practical, extracurricular study? Not that he had ever claimed to have a 'right mind', but growing up around rescued and rehabilitated animals meant that he had developed something of a passion for the care and conservation of of wildlife in any shape or form! That was why he wished to study and make a future career in magizoology, to study and conserve animals unlike those he had grown up with.

So when his favourite professor had given him this opportunity to do just that (and maybe help out a little getting that much needed O.W.L), he was glad to take him up on the offer. He wasn't alone either, as one of his best friends had agreed to accompany him, even though he hadn't even elected to take CoMC. He had known Tim's brother, Ambrose, an older student whom he had considered a mentor of sorts and even had been in his House! Tim himself was a Ravenclaw, but with him being in his year, it made sense that they had been introduced and spent a lot of time together.

Any opportunity to hang out with any of his friends was also highly sought after, though he wondered just what it would be that they were about to be introduced to. They had been studying unicorns (though he had yet to try and approach either and adult or foal) and nifflers, along with attempting to raise  blast ended skrewts (his wasn't dead yet by some miracle). He also had a love for streelers (and snails in general) and so wanted to meet a dragon, but...

Time meanwhile seemed to be doing well in his own chosen field of study. Healing was a noble cause too, and he often wondered if magical veterinary medicine was a thing he might be interested in. Healing witches and wizards probably meant keeping more limbs and other extremities attached  a bit longer though.

"Good for you, marra¹!", he enthusiastically congratulated his friend after being brought up to speed on his correspondence with the Deputy Head Healer. "That should keep you busy enough then", he then added. Though he was all for enjoying the holidays, one thing he supposed they had in common was that they liked to keep busy. Maybe that was one of the reasons why the Sorting Hat had struggled a little on whether he should be Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff or Gryffindor.

"I'd like that", he answered when it was mentioned that he should try and visit had some point during the holidays. He had yet to decide if he would do the same in his shoes or stick around for NEWTs. There would be time yet though, he decided as they approached the tent.

"Thanks for coming with me, by the way", he then thanked his friend. Even though he wasn't studying this subject, he had agreed to go with him, and that meant something.

_{1 - mate, friend in Rylan's local dialect}

“I’d like that,” Rylan agreed, the pair of them grinning. “Thanks for coming with me, by the way.”

“No problem,” Tim shrugged it off. While it was a foggy morning the weather was definitely on the turn. Yesterday’s Daily Prophet had predicted a temperature at Hogwarts next week that Tim associated with summer term, rather than spring. It made him feel optimistic for the return after Easter.

“As long as you don’t cover me in dung or whatever…” he added, joking. He was wearing his oldest pair of jeans and t-shirt under his cloak, just in case. “What are we starting with then, creatures expert?”

So Tim had no problem accompanying him...provided that he didn't cover him in dung. Made sense.

"Fair enough, but can't make any rash promises!", he shrugged back, before grinning at the other male. Expert, him? Hardly, but he wanted to learn and grow in his chosen field, and he had asked to have a go with some of the beasties that were a little more difficult to earn trust and respect from. He was under no pretense that he was special and could just magically do so (that wasn't how magic worked, he figured), but that was why he wanted to try.

"I'm not sure, I kind of asked for a challenge. We've been studying unicorns though, and so far only the lasses have been able to get anywhere near the adults. I wondered if there was anything different about that behaviour if they were exposed to certain people from a young age", he answered, careful not to waffle on and bore his friend. "We've also been studying nifflers and blast ended skrewts. We've been raising the latter, so I kind of wanted to see how mine was doing too." If it hadn't been killed or otherwise gone to meet its maker, that is.

"So yeah, unless Onuris himself shows up, the plan is to check on the skrewt. Oh, unless he he has some streelers for me to see!" Okay, so that wasn't all that likely, considering how venomous they were, but ever since his younger days he'd been making friends with slugs, snails and all manner of garden pests. Still, they hadn't gotten around to those yet, but maybe he would be allowed a sneak peek?

Rylan could talk for hours about creatures, not in a nasty way, but in an enthusiastic, interested and intrigued way. He was as intellectual as a Ravenclaw in that way, in Tim’s eyes. So, his Ravenclaw friend nodded along about the explanation of the creatures.

“… we’ve also been studying nifflers and blast ended skrewts…” Tim blinked a few times, recalling that particular creature’s descriptions. “… the plan is to check on the skrewt…”

Tim drew breath, following Rylan down the curve of the path towards the pens. The fog had left a dew on the ground, which highlighted the carpet of spiderwebs strung between the grassy knolls.

“Skrewts,” Tim raised, pausing just long enough to be sure he had Rylan’s ears, “they’re the ones that fart fire aren’t they?” Rylan had mentioned them previously, but Hogwarts was such a mish-mash of subjects and challenges even bright Ravenclaws didn’t always keep up with the elective studies of their friends.

“How are they not roasting each other daily…?” He followed Rylan through a gate towards said flammable bottom burpers.

Most mornings were early mornings for Sylvain, who was roused daily from his hut by Marcel. The dog knew his routines well, sometimes protesting the seasonal changes - for instance, how he spent less time in the forest during the colder months. But Spring was on the rise and Sylvain had gone for a walk beneath the towering tree tops to scout ahead for his trek with Feliks[1] tomorrow.

Now he was perched on the fencing that surrounded the Blast-Ended Skrewts, cradling his second cup of coffee while watching the armoured creatures with a mildness that opposed their fiery temperaments. Marcel was on the outside, chasing after a hare who had foolishly braved his still-sprouting garden.

Over the odd blast of firing stingers, he heard familiar voices. Sylvain turned his head in their direction - he squinted through the dispersing fog to find their source.

"Bonjour!" The professor called out; he remembered then, inviting one of the fourth years to come observe the beasts at their own leisure this weekend. "Is that you, Monsieur Marsh? And a friend?" Sylvain could not quickly place the other voice.

1.	March 25th - Under Giant Trees

Rylan could talk all day about creatures, but he tried not to out of respect for his friends and their boredom levels. Some were more willing to listen and humour him than others, with Tim being one of those he felt as though he could push his luck a little with. One would have thought the the Ravenclaw would have had enough from his own brother, but perhaps that gave him a little more appreciation for the subject (even though he hadn't taken it).

Watching as his breath turned into a mist not like that which already blanketed the ground beneath, Rylan would be glad when spring came and things started to warm up a bit. He liked to consider himself adaptable, when it came to certain temperatures, but that didn't necessarily mean he was a fan of the cold!


"Yeah, something like that!", he laughed at the description of blast ended skrewts, but decided against a mini lecture on the subject, as his friend had another question.

"I think they are, that's why I wanted to come along and see what's what. We're supposed to raise them over the year,  but I hear not many get as far as that.", he answered matter of factly. "I wanted to squeeze in a little extra curricular study. I know they're not much to look at, stink of rotting fish and have a temper to match, but I think they're kind of cool."

Rylan had strange idea of what was 'cool' or 'cute', seeing as he tended to be fond of anything that many found repulsive, but he liked to think that was part of his own unique charm! He still wanted a per streeler too, because why not have a pet that could probably melt your hand and/or kill you?

"Hello, professor", he greeted as Onuris himself called out . He didn't see Marcel, but supposed he was around somewhere.

"Yeah, this is Tim", he then introduced his friend. "Just came to see if any of the skrewts were still with us", he added, just as the sound of firing stinger indicating that there still seemed to be a good number of them still within the mortal realm.

“I think they are…” Rylan admitted, and Tim’s eyebrows drew up and together in alarm. As a teenage boy he was not unfamiliar with awful farts, or the curiosity of lighting them, but he didn’t fancy being roasted by other people farting in his vicinity. Magical creatures were crazy.

“Bonjour!” There was Professor Onuris, perched upon the fence, just as Rylan had hoped. “Is that you, Monsieur Marsh? And a friend?”
“Hello, professor. Yeah, this is Tim.” Rylan introduced.

“Hello!” Tim greeted, raising a hand to shoulder height in a kind of wave. Professor Onuris was alright, what Tim knew of him, but he’d never been taught by him properly to judge. Rylan seemed to love him though!

“Just came to see if any of the skrewts were still with us.” Rylan explained. Tim nodded and smiled.

“I keep hearing all about them,” he explained, “so figured I’d come and see what all the fuss was about.” He shrugged politely, looking from his friend to the teacher and back again.

He loved it when pupils brought along friends who did not study Creatures - to Sylvain, it was an opportunity for people to observe something out of their ordinary, that would go on to affect how they thought of beasts in general. Animals were commonplace in wizarding life and in his opinion, everyone should have some kind of interest in them.

            “Just came to see if any of the skrewts were still with us.”
      "...figured I’d come and see what all the fuss was about.”

"Ah, you are Ambrose's little brother, non? I see him when I visit my friends at the Ministry," he smiled at Tim and then gestured for both of them to climb on to the fence. "Come, come join me. From here you can see our skrewts..."

Sylvain looked out across the paddocks, some of which had sturdier barriers between them and the more dangerous creatures like the skrewts. "You can also see the Jackalopes!" he craned his neck to look at a much smaller paddock further along, where the antlered rabbits hopped about. "They have only just arrived from America."

The Jackalopes would be seen by all the years he taught, but were especially ordered for the third years as a lesson in how even the sweetest creatures were more dangerous than they appeared to be.

“Ah, you are Ambrose’s little brother, non?”
“Yeah,” Tim nodded.
“I see him when I visit my friends at the Ministry.”
“Oh cool,” Tim brightened when a professor was positive about Ambrose, rather than remarking at how glad his older brother had left the school. It wasn’t that Ambrose had been a bad student, just that he’d been prone to magical accidents, and could get a bit tongue-tied when casting. “I think he likes catching up, Professor.”

“Come, come….” They were ushered, “… They have only just arrived from America.” Tim looked to Rylan, and gestured for him to follow the Professor first down the path towards the paddocks. He slid his hands into his pockets as they went, smiling to himself at the energy in Rylan’s steps at the prospect of meeting a new creature.

They arrived at a paddock further along, full of what looked to be rabbits crossed with reindeer. They had fluffy tails, just like rabbits, and otherwise looked exactly the same as rabbits, apart from curved antlers before their long ears.
“Cool,” Tim repeated, surprisingly at a loss for adjectives that morning, “I’m kind of expecting to see a little rabbit santa and sleigh rock up to deliver presents to woodland creatures, though!”