Infant Magical Creatures Nursery

[Suziella]

Halfway between Professor Wayland's hut and the barn, you will notice a much smaller, light grey, and white barn. This is the Infant Magical Creatures Nursery. The nursery is where many infant creatures are taken care of when their parents can't take care of them. Many of these infant creatures are orphans, and Professor Wayland needs all the help he can get. If you look just inside the door you'll find shelves stocked with dragon hide gloves, goggles, brushes, clean rags, and anything else you could ever need to care for these adorable infant creatures.

Just outside the back door there are multiple pens, and stables that house the larger animals, like Abraxans, and a closed off pasture that you can let your infant creatures play or roam around in. Make sure when you put your creature away that all the doors are securely closed when you are finished caring for your baby creatures. We wouldn't want them to get out and get hurt!

Please come in and let your babies get to know you! Watch them grow and learn! If there is ever any issue, please contact Professor Wayland immediately.


OOC: Please do not post here until you have your animal assignment. For more information, please see the Creature Calls announcement thread. Remember, this is a NO CHAT ZONE so please make sure your posts are only interactions with your creature. Thank you!

[EquestrianGal88]

Rayna arrived early the very first day that the nursery was open for students. She had her assigned creature letter just inside her pocket in case she needed proof for the Professor. 'Male Jobberknoll chick.' She reminded herself and made sure that her hair was tied in a tight ponytail before she entered the nursery.

She entered the nursery, which was still fairly quiet aside from a few creatures stirring in their pens and cages. "Doesn't look like anyone else has really been here just yet." Rayna said softly to herself and glanced around the barn. Her jobberknoll had to be here somewhere. Of course, she couldn't expect her creature to make any sounds indicating it's whereabouts.
Rayna smiled at a tiny bowtruckle as she slowly moved around the barn, noticing a few other student names on assigned pens and cages. Finally, Rayna reached a cage with a tag that read-

Jobberknoll (Male)
Rayna Thorne

"There you are." Rayna said sweetly to a tiny little ball of fuzz that was snuggled into a comfy-looking nest on the bottom of his cage. The baby jobberknoll's head was barely distinguishable from the rest of his body as he sat there, eyes partly open, clearly just waking up from a nice nap. "Good morning, sleepyhead. I hope I didn't scare you-" Rayna took a low stool that was nearby and placed it next to the cage and sat down.
"I'm going to be looking after you now. I'll be like your foster mom." 'If all goes well, maybe I'll adopt you and be your MOM mom.'

The Jobberknoll didn't make a sound, he simply lifted his head a little above the rest of his body and opened his eyes a little more, and tilted his head.

"I know you don't talk, that's OK. I prefer to let actions speak for themselves, really." Rayna looked away from her chick for a moment and brought a book out of her bag. She turned the pages until she reached the entry about Jobberknolls.
Obviously, the Jobberknoll in the book was mature. It's feathers were a gorgeous blue with some lighter blue, black, and white speckles. It was also about another sixty percent larger than Rayna's chick. Jobberknolls were a fairly small bird, and this chick was the tiniest little fuzzball!
"I think I've picked a name for you, too. If you don't mind." The girl said and set down her book, bringing her full attention back to the tiny chick in the cage.

The Jobberknoll chick opened it's eyes fully and ruffled his fuzz-like feathers. Afterwards, he stared straight at the young girl intently.

'I'll take that as an "I'm listening.' Rayna smiled at the baby, "Pavo." She grinned, "It's a name of a constellation....A peacock."

The little jobberknoll blinked a couple times and started to move a little bit in his nest. He finally situated himself closer to the bars of his cage near Rayna and opened his mouth.

"Oh, you must be hungry." Rayna said and stood up, looked towards a supply area of the nursery and said, "I'll be right back."
She headed to the supply area and read over a bunch of labeled jars. Most of which seemed to be mashed up foods for the infant creatures (especially the ones that can't chew), or things like insects, or pellet feed.
'Jobberknolls eat insects.' Rayna thought, and selected a tiny little jar for her Jobberknoll. 'I'll need some rounded toothpicks.' She grabbed some of those too, 'And some thin gloves, just to be safe.' And a pair of those. Yes. Rayna had prepared herself for this only a little.

She headed back to Pavo and set to work. Rayna had selected some tiny, soft insects for the chick...but the girl decided to mash them up just a little to air on the side of caution. 'Don't want him to choke.'
Rayna then rolled the food into some tiny little balls, and stuck one on the end of a toothpick. "Alright, buddy. Breakfast time." She donned a pair of thin gloves and opened the chicks cage, slowly extending the toothpick with food inside and above Pavo's head.

Pavo looked up eagerly, and snatched the food from the toothpick - Gobbling it right up. And again, he opened his mouth...

Rayna, delighted that the Jobberknoll hadn't downright refused to eat, became more encouraged. "Glad you like it so much! I was hoping you'd eat it."
The girl continued to feed the chick until he'd had his fill. After which, he stumbled around his cage on his little baby legs to get a drink of water from it's dispenser.
"I probably have to go to class soon." Rayna said and carefully started to clean up the birds cage. She moved slowly so as not to disturb Pavo too much. "It was nice to meet you." Rayna gathered some of the messy liner of the jobberknoll's cage, tossed them out, and got more bedding to lay down for him, but not before making sure his little nest wasn't all out of sorts.
"You be a good little jobberknoll. I'll see you real soon!"
With her still gloved hand, Rayna extended a single index finger and gently stroked the chicks head. 'Gosh he's so cute!'


After making a slight adjustment to her creatures tag -
Pavo
Jobberknoll (Male)
Rayna Thorne

Rayna gathered her belongings and quietly headed out of the barn, eager to see her jobberknoll after the days classes were through.

[DaniDiNardo]

THE PROFESSOR WAS LETTING HER HAVE A BABY AETHONAN!!!!

Okay...so maybe he wasn't ACTUALLY letting her have him yet but he did say he'd let her adopt it at the end of the term--and why wouldn't she? After a year of taking care of the little thing, there was little chance she'd want to fully give him back. Sure he'd have to stay in the stables but it wasn't like she'd have anywhere else to keep him when this was all done.

Excited to be meeting her little Aethonan foal, Jessa skipped into the nursery. She may have skipped all the way down the line of stalls to the side but she needed to find the one with her name on it, which required slower movement.

The Ravenclaw moved along the stalls, peering in at the little foals. There was no need to wonder who they belonged to with the names already on the stall doors. It kind of left her even more excited, y'know? The anticipation that the very next door could be he--THIS WAS IT!!! The name Jessa Cambridge sat on the tag and on the inside was the most gorgeous little foal she'd ever seen. He was hers. This was actually happening and it took everything in her to NOT go entirely hyper and scare the skivees out of him.

"Hey there little guy." She said softly as she carefully unhooked the latch to get him out of the stall. Oh, she would be needing a harness for him. Jessa looked about the stall, spotting the set hung up in the far corner. Being sure to lock the gate behind her, she moved on over. "We're gonna take you for a little walk to stretch those legs of yours." He'd be able to stretch his wings too, even if he couldn't quite fly well yet. Just being out in the open would be good for him she bet.

The Aethonan shuffled about the stall, openly wary of the girl's entrance. He'd never seen her before and was not entirely sure what to make of her. Each time she moved, he did as well.

Noticing the uncertainty of the creature with the beautiful, sleek, chestnut coat, Jessa abandoned the harness in favour of moving toward him slowly. Hearing she'd be getting an Aethonan foal, she'd taken the liberty of reading up as much as she could about their care. First thing's first, building trust and desensitizing him to her presence. Wasn't much she could do until it knew they were friends and she wasn't a threat.

Continuing those slow, careful movements, Jessa came to a stop before the foal that had backed itself into a corner allowing it a moment to sniff at her hand. "There you go....see...I won't hurt you." Her hand moved to his neck, lightly stroking at it. With time, his muscles began to relaxed and he was no longer pressing himself flush against the stable walls. "That's the spirit."

And so she went about helping him to get acquainted with her, reaching at some point for the baby Aethonan food as a means to aid in that bonding and trust building.

By the time she was ready to leave, the Aethonan was cautiously but curiously attempting to follow behind her. "Ah ah, I'll be back tomorrow...tomorrow...uh..." And that was when she realized, nearly half an hour with the little guy and he didn't have a name. Huh. "You know what? You look like a Dexter." DIDN'T HE??? "Bye Dexter! I'll see you tomorrow!" Jessa blew the foal a kiss before turning on her heels and skipping off.

[Zellanna]

Kyle made his way into the nursery and looked around. It was bigger than he thought it would be. But why wouldn't it be? It housed all sorts of animals after all. He glanced at the stables and wondered what it was going to be like taking care of one of the winged horses. Well, no time for that, really. He was meeting Jace here pretty soon. He needed to find his kneazle. He really hoped the little girl would like him.

He made his way along the pens when he came across the one bearing his name. There it was! It was HIS kneazle! She. She was his kneazle. What would his dad say when he brought it home at the end of term? He went in and opened the cage door, offering a hand to the little girl. He smiled as she sniffed it and seemed to accept him. Well, they said kneazles could sense things about you, so he supposed he was alright.

He looked her over carefully. She was of course already well cared-for, and her fur was a delicate golden color with amber spots.

He went in and cleaned out the cage, then put fresh food and water. Now it was time to play! He brought the kneazle out into the yard and sat with it, trailing his sleeve along the ground for her to pounce on.

"What should I name you?" he questioned to her. He tilted his head at the little meow he got in return. "How about... Alice?" He thought about it a moment as she pounced his sleeve again. "Tokidoki?" She didn't seem to respond. He thought harder. "Lain?" No response.

She pounced his sleeve then took it into her paws, biting at it. After a few kicks of her back legs she rolled over and looked at him.

"What about Honey?" he asked her. She mewed at him and he smiled. "Honey it is, then." It may have been coincidence that she meowed at the name, but in his mind she had accepted it.

After about half an hour of play, he took her into his arms and brought her back to her cage. "I'll be back tomorrow, okay? Be a good girl, Honey." He secured the cage and looked at the name tag on it. He pulled out his pencil and wrote in delicate lines: "Honey." Satisfied, he made his way back to the castle.

[Harron Peasley]

That short note from Professor Wayland had all but made Felicity's year: a precious Aethonian foal was hers to look after, to name and watch grow right in front of her eyes. A foal who probably felt just as out of place as she did in the huge Castle. She hadn't even met her yet, but already her heart was exploding with joy at the prospect. And if she got to keep her? Well, the fourth year wouldn't think about how practical that would be in an apartment in London right now, for fear of getting upset, but if she told her Dad... Surely she could convince him to sort something out for her?

Making a mental note to write to them later, Felicity pushed all thoughts of her parents from her mind as she entered the Nursery, overwhelmed by the number of animals and all of the noises they were making. She wanted to go and pet every single one of them, in all honesty, but focused her attention on the stalls housing the Winged Horses, eyes scanning for her name as she approached. Giddy when she spotted it, Felicity's steps quickened as she made her way to the name plate. These were not tears welling up in her eyes at the sight of the adorable baby that she got to look after, no - it was... Her Kneazle allergy playing up, obviously.

"Hey," Felicity leant on the stall door, cocking her head to mimic the foal with a giggle. It was smaller than she had expected, even if she had read that they were on the smaller side of the Winged Horse family, stronger than they looked, and the chestnut coat was flecked with tawny across her chest. Even if she hadn't seen any of the others up close, Flick was quick to decided that hers was the most beautiful, and wished she had a camera to document it's growth. Unlocking the stall, she was careful not to make any too-sudden movements, watching as its wobbly legs retreated further to the back of the stall. "It's okay... I'm not going to hurt you," she cooed in a low voice, grabbing a rake and shovel before making her way into the stall, deciding to take advantage of the foals movement to clean up the stall, and let her get used to human presence.

It seemed to be a good call - by the time Felicity had mucked out the stall, the foal had taken a few steps forward, it's eyes shining with curiosity at the young witch before her. Felicity giggled slightly as she offered her hand, palm down, in the direction of the foal, and it nudged under it with it's nose, allowing her to stroke the coat. It was coarser than she had expected. Digging into her pocket, Felicity produced an apple that she'd taken from the Great Hall at breakfast, offering it with her other hand as she continued to stroke the horse. More giggling ensued as the horse's nostrils flared wide as it investigated the apple, before taking it from her in one huge bite and retreated back to the corner of the stall to eat it. After watching the foal for a few moments, Felicity turned to the trough, leaving the stall to grab some straw, which she distributed on the floor of the stall and into the trough along with some infant Aethonian food. Then she raised her wand. "Agumenti," she muttered softly, filling the water trough. By this point, the foal was sniffing around her pockets, no doubt in search of another apple. "I'll bring you more tomorrow, okay?" the Thunderbird managed softly, taking a brush to the foal's coat, who made appreciative noises.

A check of her watch revealed it was soon time to return to the Castle for afternoon lessons, and Felicity already felt sad about leaving the animal behind. She closed the stall door, offering it one last stroke. "I... Still don't know what to name you," she realised, and was sure the horse had sighed in response. "I'll have a think. See you tomorrow."

As she was leaving, Flick noticed Jessa's name on another tall, more excitement washing over her as she realised she could talk to her friend about having the same pet. OOH.

[PhoenixRising]

To say Skylar was nervous was an understatement. She, Skylar Natasha Diggory, was entrusted with a baby niffler. She had a triple x creature. Yes, it was only a baby, but still.... it was a NIFFLER. And while she knew it was gentle and affectionate, she also knew that even a baby would surely be attracted to shiny things. Yet, perhaps, in the initial stages, earning its trust with something shiny might be of benefit.

Walking down the nursery, the fourth year peered into each pen looking for the male niffler that she was meant to take care of. First things first, she would have to give it a name. How long did she have to spend a day with it? What did baby nifflers eat? Skylar made a mental note to owl her mother later, because Savannah of anyone, would know about different creatures. Not that Professor Wayland didn't, but she wanted to seem competent and even though she knew some basic things about nifflers, there was other things she didn't know.

And there it was... With a big grin on her face, she slipped into the pen, void of jewelry, except a watch because she had to know what time it was. And some knuts in her pocket, because a few knuts to sacrifice for trust with the niffler might be worth it. Fluffy. Black, it was over in the corner... and Skylar just stared a moment, considering names. It was so teeny.

"Aguamenti," she said, as she poured some water into an empty bowl (one of the shiny chrome ones) and set it down for the creature. It liked the shiny, even as a baby niffler, because it ran over to the bowl to take a sip.

"Hmm, I think ... I'll call you Shin-ee... or Maybe just Nifty?" she said, thinking aloud. Though she guessed she could always settle on the name the next time she made her way down to the barn. No need to rush into naming something, but putting thought into it was good.

Glancing at the watch, she noted it was time to go, but just as she was about to exit, the small fluffy black creature jumped up and snatched the watch right from her hand. "Uh....That's my watch!"

[itsjustjesse]

There as a small fur baby in her hand. What was she supposed to do? Melbourne didn’t want to hurt the little baby that Professor Wayland had bestowed on her. It wasn’t like today was the first time she was meeting Darcy, it was however one of the first times she didn’t have to wear gloves – you know, so that Darcy’s mother would still bond with her. Now, after today it was Mel that was going to be taking care of the little fuzzball.

Could have just called her that, fuzzball. It fit, but still Mel knew better than to assume that it would always fit. ”Hello Darcy” Melbourne grinned at the small ball of fur only to watch in delight and shock as the creature that was twice the size of a baby ferret the same age began to mutter things. Was it already learning to speak?

Darcy was speaking! Darcy had a really really r-e-a-l-l-y BIG language problem. ”Darcy! We don’t say that about other people,” Mel laughed only to wink at her at the same time…what? Was she expected to tell her little huntress not to call things names? That was after all what Jarveys were known to do.

[ChanceCoeur]

You could say that Noelle had a way with animals, because she did. She grew up on a farm and was used to having a ton of animals around. It was a little bit of a culture shock when she came to Hogwarts and there weren't animals practically everywhere you went.

So this extra credit assignment was right up Noelle's alley. She received the letter that she was the proud adopter of a female bowtruckle! They were adorable and Noelle couldn't wait to find hers. Taking her time, she looked around at all the baby animals as she went to find hers.

Then.... there was Epiphany.
Pip for short.

Noelle saw the little tree creature sleeping up higher on the branches. Noelle grinned but didn't move to wake her. She had, however, a little bow that she had managed to make that would be small enough for her head.... hopefully. She would put it on later.. when she was awake.

Sleep tight, Pip.

[DaniDiNardo]

"Deeeeexter!" She didn't wait til she was at his stall to begin calling. It'd been just over a month of daily visits and by now she'd grown fond of the Aethonan's enthusiasm whenever she popped her head over the stall door and grinned over at him.

The knocking of his feet against the stall door as she got closer was unmistakable. He was an eager little thing. A lot more friendly, firm and out there than when she'd first met him--as she assumed. You could never really tell what a creature was like until it got used to and trusted you and it seemed her visits and diligence were finally starting to pay off. "Deeexxttteeerrrr!" She chirped, coming to a stop at his stall. "Ready for your walk?"

Of course he was.

Jessa slipped inside the stall, being sure to rub at his neck, back and hind legs. Affectionate greetings were a must. He had grown accustomed to them and she could hardly say she didn't like giving them either.

Dexter shoved his head toward her, nipping lightly at her hair but that only got him a nudge away from her. "You're getting bigger." She commented, firmly establishing her boundaries as the books stressed the importance of. "Reckon you'll be nudging me around before too long if I let you." Never too early to start setting boundaries. By June, he would be of a size decent enough to make him think he could start following his mind.

"Come on, let's get you outside." Jessa reached for the harness, fastening it securely before leading Dexter from the stalls and out to the barn area.

She led him around a couple times allowing him to follow her cues and respond to the tone of her voice. Compared to how he'd been at the very beginning, she had to say she was impressed, Dexter was getting far better at this. Now he didn't question her lead as much and only occasionally did he still nip at or try to move her with his feet. Testing limits the book called it. Whatever it was, she had to say she was proud her Aethonan baby wasn't just going with the current but was actively trying to figure it out before taking anything as law. Smart smart cookie he was.

When Jessa felt he'd sufficiently stretched his legs and wings and gotten his pent up energy out, she led him back to his stall. With him secure once more, she went and caught him a fresh bucket of water to go with the baby Aethonan food she'd set out for him.

"I'll see you tomorrow Dexter. Remember we're cleaning your coat and your hooves." The latter wasn't a real favourite of his but it was a must. The 13 year old blew Dexter a kiss before making her way from the stall. It was Friday. Strawberry sundae day.

[Kolyander]

When Camilla had heard that Tristan had an overabundance of infant creatures this term and needed help caring for them throughout the term she had wasted no time in offering to help out. She had spoken with him behind and it had been agreed that should he have a creature left (after all the students volunteering got one) that she would help out. As it turned out she heard back from him shortly later where she was asked to help care for a very young male cruppie. Of course she had accepted.

So here the women was the very next morning just after breakfast but before she was to hold her first lesson of the day. She had left her cat Bonsai inside her office much to the feline's displeasure but she was sure that most of these baby creatures wouldn't be to thrilled with the cats presence. So of course she had to spoil him a little extra this morning before she had headed down and outside to the creature nursery.

Camilla smiled at some of the creatures she passed by as she looked for the kennel that held her cruppie. And there it was! The sign posted on the kennel held her name and what her creature was but it didn't have his name. She would have to take care of that before she left. Unlocking the kennel, Cami stepped inside closing the door behind her. It took her a moment before she even spotted the little guy but there he was, a tiny little ball of pure white fur with just a small patch of tan and black fur on his left side and a tiny bit of black on one ear. He was adorable...and the second her eyes landed on him the little guy was up on his paws and bonding over to her.

Laughing softly she knelt down on the floor of the kneel reaching out to pet him. "Well hello there, aren't you just a little sweetie." Such a friendly little one, this one was. He was already licking at her fingers as she tried to pet him causing her to laugh. Sitting down so it was easier for them both to become acquainted only served in the crup climbing his way up into her lap and jumping all over her making her laugh even more. "You're certainly a playful one, aren't you, boy?"

After a few minutes of pets and cuddles, Cami looked down at her little friend. "What do you think of being called Cypress, hmm?" She was once more met with licks to her hand from the overly excited cruppie. "Alright, alright, Cypress it is!" Now that he had a name she was free to play with him for a bit longer as it seemed that Tristan had already been in here to give the crup some food and water.

After a few more minutes Cami set Cypress down and rose to her feet. "It's time for me to go now but I'll stop by later on and take you for a walk," she smiled patting the crups head lightly before letting herself out of the kennel and locking it behind her. Before she left she pulled a quill from her robes and wrote the name "CYPRESS" clearly on the sign that was attached to the kennel.

She would be back later to check in on him.

[Daydreamer11]

Shay was so excited. She was finally going to have a real pet to take care of. In her life outside of Hogwarts, she had always lived in an apartment. The only pets she was allowed to own were the few goldfish she kept in a bowl from time to time. Now she was going to have a crup of her very own.

Shay entered the animal nursery and stopped to get the supplies that she would need for her visit. Then she looked for the kennel with her name on it. When at last she found it. She hesitated before opening the door. Taking a deep breath, Shay open the kennel door and peeked inside. What she saw brought a smile to her face. It was the cutest little puppy she had ever seen.

Getting down on her knees, Shay began to talk soothingly to her new friend. "Hi there girl. I'm Shay and I'm going to be taking care of you. Oh my goodness, you are soooo cute." Moving slowly and taking care not to frighten her baby, the Gryffindor moved closer to the animal. Finally, she carefully picked up the puppy. She was a squirmy little critter, but eventually she calmed down and let Shay hold her. Stroking the puppy's head, Shay said, "First of all, you need a name." She would have to give this some serious thought. Choosing the right name was very important.

Shay continued to pet the crup and the puppy must have liked it because she proceeded to lick her new mommy's hand. Shay hugged the baby closer, already smitten. She put the pup down and continued to talk to her. "I'm going to clean out your kennel and then I'll give you something to eat." Shay donned gloves and cleaned all of the puppy doody out of the kennel. Then holding her puppy in one arm, she Scourgified the area with her free wand hand. When everything was spic and span, she placed the crup back inside. She then filled her water bowl with fresh water and got out the baby crup food. The little one seemed to get really excited when she sensed food coming. Shay fed her and made sure that she got enough to eat.

Now that the kennel was clean and the baby was fed, it was time to decide on a name. Shay picked her pup up again and looked at her closely. "What shall we call you? Hmmmm. You look like a Coco to me." The crup wagged her tail and Shay asked, "Do you like that name?" She seemed to like it, so the decision was made. "Alright then. You are my little Coco." Shay gave the newly christened Coco a hug and a pat on her head. "I have to go now little one, but I'll be back to see you very soon. You be good now." Shay put the crup back in her kennel and secured the latch. Giving Coco one final wave, Shay returned her supplies and left the nursery. She couldn't hide the big smile on her face. She now had a pet.

[Kimothy]

Guess who was going to be a baby mama today? Yep, this girl!

Well... to a baby niffler, at least.

Vivian had looked forward to break time to finally meet her baby niffler for Care of Magical Creatures class. The blonde hurriedly skipped!ran to the creatures nursery where her ickle baby was being kept safe by Professor Wayland. Of course, she brought marshmallows but not for her baby, obviously. It was because she packed a small basket and mat for a picnic with her niffler kiddo! What better way to bond with her ickle than to celebrate their first meal together!

Once she arrived at the nursery barn, Vivian looked around for her baby and... alas, there she was. Her baby niffler was inside a little cage, good enough for a tiny one just like it, with her name outside. This was like... a mother-daughter moment. "Hi, ickle one!" Heart eyes for her creature, indeed. The Slytherin crouched and knelt down near the cage of her new baby niffler to get a better view of her. "My name's Vivian. I'll be your mama, and I prepared us a small picnic!" Isn't that exciting?!

Oh right, a name. Vivian had already a name for her female niffler in mind. "I hope you like the name Goldilocks," the blonde said. "I'll be calling you that from now one, y'know. I also know you like shiny things so... yeah." Despite her baby niffler not having actual gold locks, Vivian named her Goldilocks anyway because nifflers like shiny things = gold is shiny = GOLDilocks. #VivianLogic.

Vivian carefully laid the mat on the ground and took two little bowls for Goldilocks. She filled one of them with the available infant niffler feed, and the other for water. "Aguamenti," she said and let the water fill the other bowl until it was about 3/4 full. "Finite." She then kept her wand and took Goldilocks out of her cage and then Vivian had a mama moment with her ickle. SOOOOO CUTEEEEEE.

"There ya go, Goldilocks," Vivian placed her near the two bowls of food and water, and sat down in front of her. The blonde simply admired her little kiddo as Goldilocks made a few attempts to sip on the water inside the bowl. Yup, Prancer and Marshmallows were going to be really jealous of the attention her new baby niffler was getting.

[TakemetotheBurrow]

After selecting some dragon hide gloves, baby jarvey feed (she refused to acknowledge that this was in fact chopped moles, voles, and rats because EW), and an array of cleaning supplies, Junia went round to the back of the small barn to where the cages, pens and stalls were located. She started by the cages, going one-by-one so that she could scan the names and creatures listed there. Hers would be around here somewhere, she was...oh! Junia Botros, that was her! Her baby boy was right inside here! Her very own baby jarvey. ...And okay, she was fully aware of the dangers of jarveys both of the insulting and biting varieties, but she was helping to raise him from when he was small. This was the perfect opportunity to test out the whole nature versus nurture argument.

After setting the cage down in front of her and opening the door a crack, the Slytherin took a moment to survey the inside. The dark and dank corner in the back stole her attention and she focused her gaze there, curious. It was because jarveys lived below ground, yes? That would make sense. Her baby jarvey would be most comfortable there.

After setting down her cleaning supplies beside the front of the cage, the fourteen year old reached in towards the back with some food. She shook the container some, deciding this would be a way to let the creature know he'd be getting fed soon, and then set out some of the food in front of her for the little guy to eat. Then quickly, quietly, she pulled her arm back and waited patiently.

...Suddenly there was movement in the shadows. Little black nose, black mask around the eyes, white undercoat hair visible on the face, and dark black hair over the remainder of the body. He blended so much with his dark corner that had she not seen something move, she wouldn't have believed he was there at all!

"Hello," Her voice was soft as she watched the jarvey baby, who was noticeably smaller than the ones she'd seen at the creature stores back home, munch on his food. He seemed to enjoy the selection and Junia tried not to cringe, just thankful he was eating at all.

Deciding that cleaning while he was distracted was best, the fourth year carefully grabbed her supplies and began cleaning up any waste that was left around the jarvey's living space. Fresh water was given, too, in case he got thirsty. By the time she was finishing up, her little companion was very close to her and she noticed how curious he seemed to be about her. Almost as curious as she was about him.

"I'm Junia, you know." In case he was wondering. "And I've decided you'll be Curt. You know, because you'll probably have a bit of a mouth on you when you're older. It's your nature, I know, but maybe I could teach you some polite words, too. That might be nice." She thought so anyway. And she also decided she'd keep these same gloves to work with Curt, labeling them and leaving them just outside his cage so he'd get used to her scent. That way he wouldn't be scared. Maybe he'd even recognize her in the future.

"Now Curt, I'm going to let you get some rest now after that meal, okay? I'll be back real soon to check on you. Easy now."
The Slytherin carefully closed the cage and made sure it clicked shut before removing her gloves and placing them near the door. "Sweet dreams."

[ChanceCoeur]

Bugs were a thing that Noelle used to didn't mind picking up and carrying about. Now that she was a bit older, it wasn't as fun. They were creepy and crawly. But, Pip needed some food.

Noelle had spent some time collecting random bugs from the greenhouses since it was nearing winter and not a lot of bugs were seen about. They were all collected and put into a tin jar.

Heading to where her Pip was, Noelle grinned when she saw her baby bowtruckle climbing. "Hey Pip! I brought you some food." This hadn't been the first time that she'd come to feed Pip. It was a habit now, and incorporated into her schedule.

Taking the tin out of her bag, Noelle popped open the lid and let some of the bugs crawl out. She moved the tin closer to Pip and watched her reach for one of the bugs excitedly. Once she had one, Noelle put the rest around so that she could munch leisurely. Taking notes, she had a list of bugs (after researching what they were) of ones that Pip liked best. She tried to find them, but sometimes she couldn't.

"I hurt my bum getting that one fer ya." She told Pip lightheartedly, as the baby bowtruckle nibbled away.

[littledhampir]

If Olly was being completely honest with himself he would have to admit that he was a little bit nervous. He was excited, yes. Excited to get a baby creature to take care of all by himself. But he just a little nervous that he wouldn't be able to do a good enough job. This was a real life. A real baby life. And Olly was the one in charge of it. That was kind of a scary thought. But Professor Wayland had thought he could handle this baby Jobberknoll and Olly would definitely do his best to take care of the little guy. Or, well, girl.

When he arrived in the nursery he slowly approached the cage. There she was. His baby Jobberknoll. "Hi Aurora," he said softly. That was the name he had decided on, with Noelle's help of course. He opened the cage and reached in gently. Aurora was so small she fit right in just one of his hands. He slowly stroked the top of her head with his other. Aurora, of course, did not make any noise. She sat still and silent in his gently hand and Olly smiled at her. This wasn't very hard so far. She was pretty cute. A pale blueish color with fuzz instead of feathers so far.

While he was still holding Aurora in one hand, Olly used his other hand to clean out her cage before gently setting her back in. "That looks much nicer," he remarked, even though he didn't think she could understand what he was saying. He added a little bowl of the baby jobberknoll food and a little bowl of water to the cage. "Eat up. I'll be sure to come back and visit you soon, don't you worry." He watched for a moment to make sure she actually started eating before turning and heading out of the nursery.

[RandomRaven]

Signing up for Care of Magical Creatures' extra credit wouldn't be a bad decision. Come on, wasn't it fun taking care of the cute baby animals? Plus, she enjoyed the lesson even though hence her OWL result on this lesson was exceed expectations.

And Professor Wayland assigned a female crup pup for her.

ASDFWDCNZKSPWO!!!!!!!!!!!!

Her wish was granted! Since she saw Professor K with her crup, the Gryffindor wanted to have one, that's why she put crup on the list. She quickly ran to the creature nursery to see the pup. Ah, there she was!!! Wasn't it the cutest thing ever? Gosh, hopefully Preston wouldn't be jealous that now Ava also had to take care of the pup. But first, she needed to name her. Uuuugggghhh... She hadn't prepared it for the crup pup. Hmmmm... "I'm going to name you Kara." Ava said to the pup and pet her head. Hearing the pup barked, it seemed like she loved that name. Yeah, Kara the pup!

"Do you want to play, Kara?" She asked taking a tennis ball from her bag. Ava tossed it randomly and saw the pup chased it. Goodness, wasn't it so precious watching it?

[Kimothy]

Visiting Goldilocks numero dos!

This time, Vivian had a fun activity in mind. During her previous visit, she had prepared a picnic for two with Goldilocks. But now, she was feeling a little pumped up and energetic today so the Slytherin decided to play and exercise at the pasture near the nursery. She skip-walked her way to Goldilocks' cage and then crouched to see her baby female niffler. "Hi, ickle! I'm baaaaack!" Yup, Mama Vivian has come. With no marshmallows, sadly, but with a few knuts inside her pocket for activity time.

The fourth year took out her wand, a knut, and a piece of thread. She positioned the knut and the thread together. "Epoximise!" she said, pointing to her wand at the end of the thread that met the coin. They both then glued to each other, forming some sort of pendulum. She then stuffed it inside her pocket to avoid any itchy hands

"Alright, Goldilocks, we're going out for a little exercise today!" Vivian said as she began opening her niffler's cage and letting her out. The Slytherin stood up, cradling her baby and making her way to the pasture. "We're gonna have fun fun fun today, I will assure you." Skip skip skip towards the pasture!

Once they arrived, Vivian placed Goldilocks down and took out her make-shift pendulum. "I know you like shiny things, so here's a little jumping exercise for you," the Slytherin dangled her pendulum over her niffler's head. Goldilocks took a moment to register what was going on, but when light reflected on the coin, the little niffler began jumping in hopes of catching the knut for herself. The sight made Vivian giggle. See? Her idea was successful and fun, after all!

"Come on, ickle one, you can do it. My knut's all yours when you catch it!" Vivian said encouragingly and then moved the knut sideways as Goldilocks kept on leaping to get it. However, her baby niffler was eventually victorious when it made a big leap and clung to her knut.

BLINK BLINK. GIGGLE.

Vivian couldn't help but smile. "That's my girl."

[MadMadamMalfoy]

Gaston had heard about the students' infant creature assignment and jumped at the chance to care for one himself when he found out Tristan still had a few left. Nurturing something too tiny and helpless to reject the love he had to give might help distract him from his sadness. His eyes scanned the tags on the cages until he finally came to one at the very end that bore his name. Inside the cage was a female kneazle kitten. He couldn't help but smile as he looked at her. She was small and ungainly, just growing into her paws and her ears, but what struck him most was that she had gray gray hair with white flecks and blue eyes, just like... He chuckled halfheartedly. What were the odds that he'd be assigned a creature that just happened to look like an animal version of his father?

"Hello, little one," he whispered, holding a hand out to the baby kneazle. She backed away and just glared at him; his heart sank. So she was rejecting him... just like him. After a minute, she cautiously approached and nuzzled against his hand. He smiled. "There, you see? I'm not going to hurt you... Are you hungry?" The kneazle replied with a meow-like sound; he'd take that as a yes!

Gaston filled the baby kneazle's food and water bowls and watched her for a moment as she chowed down. While she wasn't looking he picked up a pair of gloves and some cleaning supplies. He thought it might be a good idea to clean the cage while she was distracted. He finished around the same time she had finished eating. The kneazle looked inquisitively up at him, and he gave her a little scratch behind her large ears. Maybe she'd let him hold her now?

He gently picked the little kneazle kitten up and gently carried her to the pasture. He found a quiet place to sit on the grass, and the kneazle curled up in his lap, purring as he murmured a few words to her in French. After a few minutes of petting and purring, he looked at her. "You know, you remind me of someone I really miss," he said, sighing wistfully as his thoughts turned to his shattered relationship with his father. "Would you like to hear about him?" The kneazle's ears perked up, and he went on, "His name was Raoul; he was my father but I don't think he liked me very much..." He continued and found to his own surprise that telling this little kneazle about his father eased his sadness.

"You're a lot like him, but we can't name a little girl like you Raoul, can we?" he said; the kneazle blinked in reply. "I'll call you... Raoula." It was only fitting that he give her the feminine version of his father's name. Little Raoula stayed curled up in Gaston's lap for a while longer before finally sretching and letting out a big yawn. "Looks like somebody's sleepy..." he said with a smile. He gently scooped her up and took her back to her cage, carefully closing the door behind her. "Have a nice nap, Raoula!"

[Harron Peasley]

Getting to know Floyd (a naming decision that had taken about seven times as long as it should have) was fast becoming one of the best things about transferring to Hogwarts. She'd never had such an opportunity at Ilvermorny, Felicity reflected as she made her way across the grounds, bundled up in her warmest clothes, and clearing a path with a warming charm from the wand held in front of her.

This task was definitely improving that spell casting.

Pulling her hat and gloves off as soon as she entered the nursery, Felicity stuffed them into her pocket and pulled out an apple and some sugar cubes. Before she even reached Floyd's stall, she could hear the foal rubbing her head against the door and she grinned. "Hey, girl." Now, would you please step back and let the human come and join you in your stall? Yes? Thank you.

Grabbing the brush hanging on the stall side and reaching out a hand to run it through the animals mane, Felicity noticed how much she'd grown over the term. It hadn't been noticeable at first, what with her spending so much time around Floyd that it was imperceptible, but now she was definitely reaching higher to brush her mane. Offering the apple, she watched as the Aethonian munched it happily before taking care of the rest of her coat, and carefully rearranging the feathers that were out of place on her wings.

After that, she made quick work of cleaning up the stall and refilling the food and water troughs before opening the stall door and leading the horse out slowly. "Shall we stretch those wings of yours?" she asked calmly, before digging in her bag for a special coat she'd ordered from an advertisement in the Daily Prophet. It was a struggle to put on, easing the wings through the slits and fastening it underneath, but after some work Felicity managed to, feeding Floyd a sugar cube to keep her calm. Then she lead her slowly into the closed pasture, watching as she furled and unfurled her wings repeatedly, clapping happily. Deciding to be a little adventurous, the Snake tossed a sugar cube into the air, and clapped joyfully as the horse spread its wings to reach it, remaining in the air for a few seconds before landing, her legs wobbling before steadying underneath her. After a few more runs of this, letting the horse stretch its wings and get used to being off the ground, Felicity led it back to her stall.

She took the coat off, gave her mane one last brush and then locked the stall behind her, stroking the horses nose as she tried to follow. "I'll see you tomorrow, Floyd, okay?"

[DaniDiNardo]

Merlin's beard it was cold! Even after the warming charms had been put over her clothing, the Ravenclaw was sure she still felt the chill of this crisp winter day deep inside her bones. It probably meant she hadn't done the spell right--obviously, but the girl was determined to see her baby Aethonan today, so much so that she was prepared to wait until she got to the nursery before making any adjustments to the charm. She'd add one to Dexter too before taking him out, despite being fairly certain the Professor would have done daily ones on them to keep them warm over here.

Stepping into the nursery, she could immediately tell that it was much warmer than the outside which only served to confirm her suspicions. Professor Wayland had probably already been by to keep up the warming charms. Either that or someone else who had a baby creature in here cast around the place to make sure they stayed warm. Either way, she was grateful and she was sure Dexter was too.

Jessa came to a stop by his stall, prying the gate open. "Dexter!! Dexter! You should see outside, there's snow everywhere!!" Freshly fallen over night. She bet he'd love it.

Jessa went over with a grin, stroking his mane in greeting. "Let's take care of your coat before we do anything else. It's been a long time coming. We were meant to do it last week, remember?" But she hadn't been able to find the brush and had been running out of time before her next class. It'd just been a really busy day all around. Today was much better.

Oh look, even the brush was present. Someone must have borrowed it when they couldn't find their own.

"Oi, cut it out." She insisted, nudging him away when he tried moving right up against her. "We've talked about this." And he was getting better at it...but he was also getting bigger and with that he was beginning to think it was a better and better idea to test out his position and dominance. No worries, after all she'd read, she was sure she could keep it under control.

Being the meticulous sort that she was, Jessa made careful strokes with the brush. Didn't take very long for Dexter to settle down, he lived for this sort of treatment. Add to that the fact that she'd placed a bucket of baby Aethonan food before him to keep him from fidgeting too much and you had a perfectly pampered Aethonan.

While he was getting his stomach full, she moved all about him, being sure not to miss a single spot. Was it just her or did his coat seem to almost shine now? Brilliant, wasn't it? He was completely welcome. Top care coming from the 13 year old.

"There, you look like a million galleons!" Not literally, but surely he understood that. He was a smart horse afterall. Jessa reached around the collect the now empty bucket and replace it on it's hook. The brush was placed down and the stall she was sure to get cleaned.

"I've got a potion I need to go check on, but then I'll be right back to take you outside, okay? You'll love the snow."

Before leaving, Jessa ensured her baby Aethonan's stall door was properly shut and blew him a kiss. She'd be back before he even realized she was gone.

[itsjustjesse]

Sitting on a haybale Melbourne couldn’t help but smile at the bundle of chirping and chattering fur in the palm of her hand. Sure, it was still young, but the creature had nearly doubled in size over the school year alone – its body was now around 5 inches in length and was nearly the weight of a rather small chinchilla. ”You have grown so much” she smiled at the chirping creature that was now eating eating more solid of food. Nothing gnome like quite yet but the Gryffindor did have to wince when she fed Darcy an already dead mouse. The Crunching, that was the hardest part to hear and now after Darcy had eaten she couldn’t help but grin while simultaneously wanting to hurl on the ground where she sat. Yes, she knew ferrets and Jarveys alike were carnivores. Heck, maybe she could use Darcy’s aid to get that cat to leave her alone?

”I told my friend Kirk about you,” she told the fuzzball only to hear a chittering grumble of curses that seemed to be along the line of not giving a… she shrugged, ”you should, he likes Jarveys” she told her stubbornly before taking the little brush she had been sent by her brother to gently work the tangles out of her little babies hair. ”…maybe if we work well together I’ll be able to bring you home with me at the end of the term?” she told Darcy as if she were listening and not just spewing out curses and obscenities whenever the moment struck her.

”you really are quite vulgar at times, I commend you for it” she chuckled and gave her little scatologist mustela buddy a little scratch on the top of her head before returning her to her little nest. ”I’ll be back in the morning to feed you and bath you” she told her as she set about cleaning up her work station.

[RandomRaven]

She did not have any class to attend this morning, that's why Ava decided to visit her little crup pup. Oh, thankfully she had been awake already! "Good morning, Kara." The Gryffindor greeted the pup and gave a pat on her head. Kara seemed very happy to see her because she was barking excitedly and wiggling her tails. Ugh, what a cutie! "Are you hungry, Kara? I brought a treat for you." She said as she took a package of crup biscuit from her pocket.

Ava sighed dreamily as the pup nibbled the biscuit that she gave to her. Poor pup must've been hungry, huh? "Next time, I'll bring more, okay? I promise." She said, although the biscuit was not the only thing that she brought for Kara. Ava took something from her bag and gave it to her pup. Surprise! It was a puppy chew toy. "I hope you like it."

[Zellanna]

Kyle made his way over to where his kneazle was being kept and smiled as he approached. She was sound asleep in her cage! He opened the cage quietly hoping not to disturb her, but she looked up at the noise and mewed anyway. He gave her a soft smile. "Hi Honey. I love the way you look today." In the times coming here, he had noticed her fur was starting to become less fluffy. And now she was fairly sleek with a noticeable lion-like tail, rather than the fluff it had been.

He cleaned out her cage, put in fresh food and water, and made sure everything was tidy for her. She had started walking around in the cage, letting him fluff her bedding a little bit. Then, he pulled a new toy out of his pocket that he had transfigured (with a lot of practice) out of a piece of parchment. It was a stick that held a string attached to a feathery end. He dangled it in front of her and was pleased to see her batting at it. He picked her up and carried her out to their designated play area.

Setting her down, he dangled the feathery end at her and watched as she batted and pounced at it. He started moving it around him and she followed it, sometimes pouncing and pulling it into her paws, biting it. Whenever she was done, he would move it again and the cycle would start over.

When she seemed to be done with the toy for the moment, he picked her up and made his way back into the cage with her. They had played for a good while and she seemed tuckered out. He placed her on the bedding and pet her until she laid down and curled up. He smiled and scratched behind her ears a bit before leaving and closing the cage behind him.

[emjay]

Henry could hardly believe that Professor Wayland was actually going to let him take care of his very own Granian foal that he could possibly eventually adopt. Like really a winged horse of his own. And when he found out that he was assigned the foal, Henry came down to the nursery barn the first free moment he had after classes.

He had brought one of his creatures textbooks with him, one that had an extended section on winged horses. He thought he knew some of the basics on how to take care of one, but he wanted to be sure that he was doing everything correctly, at least at first. And he knew he'd have to give a name to his baby horse, which was something he had been considering since he had gotten the notice. He had a few ideas in mind, but he wanted to see the foal first to see which might fit.

Henry headed around the back of the animal nursery to the stables where his Granian was meant to be. There were several other animals and students here tending to them, so it took him a few minutes of walking through and looking for his name before he found his winged horse. Ah, there was the stable marked Henry Whittebrook.

The sixteen year old peeked inside and grinned at the gray little horse. Wow, he was really cute. And his very own! "Hey, buddy! I'm Henry and I'm going to take care of you." He held out his hand to let the Granian foal sniff it before stroking his nose. "So first, I think I should give you a name. I was thinking.." He tilted his head a bit and looked at him, thinking over the couple of names he was thinking about. "I think I'll call you Caelus. That's the Roman god of the sky, y'know." He thought it was appropriate and he thought it fit the little horse. Did Caelus like his new name? Henry couldn't be sure, but he thought the little toss of his mane was approval.

"Would you like something to eat?" He might as well do some things to take care of him such as feed and groom him. He might need to clean out the stable too... But first food. Henry remembered a lesson Granians a couple years ago, but he decided to also consult his book just to be sure. Using the book as a guideline, he retrieved and mixed the ingredients to feed his little horse. And as he ate, the Hufflepuff also used that time to groom him with one of the horse brushes in the stable. Cleaning out the stable was next, but he used his wand for that. Magic made hard jobs a lot easier, but he did also get fresh hay for him.

That was a lot of work for now and he had been there quite a while. But Henry was really excited to be taking on this task and he didn't mind. "Bye, Caelus," he grinned, stroking the horse's neck. "I need to go, but I'll be back soon." Probably tomorrow, to be honest. And once he had everything put back in its proper place, Henry left, heading back towards the castle.

[SilverTiger]

From the second Professor Wayland had announced that they could care for baby creatures, Stasya had been all over the idea. Besides, she had already decided she was going to spend as much time out at the barn as she possibly could since she wasn’t allowed to have Dobby with her in Gryffindor tower. It was going to be like when she’d first adopted the squirrel all over again, and obviously she’d done a good job taking care of Dobby. She figured that should’ve convinced the professor she could handle a bigger creature. But she had been assigned a puffskein, so she was determined to do the best job taking care of him and then maybe if there were other babies that hadn’t been assigned, he’d let her help with those too. That was her plan, but first, she needed to meet her puffskein.

Heading down to the nursery, she wandered through all the cages until she found the one with her name on it. The one with the tiny little custardy fuzzball rolling around inside it, and she grinned at the sight. He was so tiny. He looked littler than Dobby was, maybe even littler than her squirrel had been when she first had found him. He might not have been a Granian, but he was definitely cute. “Hi,” she said, opening the little cage and slowly sticking her hand in so the baby puffskein could decide if he liked her. At first, the puffball had rolled off into the far corner of the cage, but after a couple seconds a long pink tongue peeked out and flicked against her fingers before the puffball rolled toward her and tucked his entire body under her hand.

Gently scooping the puffball up, she cradled it in her hand as she lifted him to eye level. “What should I name you?,” she whispered, trailing off into a giggle as the rolling fuzzball shifted and licked her ear. “Okay, that tickles,” she finally said, setting the baby down in her robe pocket so she could go collect the things she’d need to clean out the cage, along with some baby puffskein food. A name would come. She knew it would. Dobby hadn’t gotten his name right away either.