Sophie grinned in triumph, as she realized she'd won that round of 'Gnomes vs. Sophie.' She glanced around and realized class was still in full swing. Some of the students looked to be leaving, so she guessed they'd found enough gnomes for the day. They had to leave some for everybody else.

Sophie turned her head in the opposite direction in hopes of spotting enough gnomes. There were gnomes everywhere! The thing is, so many were already claimed by other students, and Sophie didn't think the professor would be too happy about the students going to war over the gnomes. Heh.

Finally, she spotted one. It was a good ways away, and since she'd just used the foot to gnome method, she decided to whip out her wand for this one. Thinking quickly, she pointed her wand toward the gnome. "Confundo!" she called out. The poor gnome stopped in its tracks and just stood there, swaying back and forth.

Okay now things were on a roll and in Bay's favour. but the only problem he was having now is that everyone who was trying to catch the gnomes ended up taking the ones that he had spotted. Over and over again it would happen so he started to get a little bit frustrated. Guess he spoke to soon right?

Looking around everyone was claiming gnomes, as soon as he spotted a free one he made his way over quickly and took out his wand.. as soon as he looked up the gnome was gone.. all gone… He wanted to at least throw one more.

Off to hunt for more gnome's.

Cris softly laughed at Jasmine's immediate enthusiasm as she agreed whole heartedly to his plan. "Okay, meet you in the middle," and with that said, off he went immediately identifying his potential candidate. The moment he neared the gnome, Cris gave chase.

Whenever it looked like the gnome was heading away from where Jasmine was chasing her own target, Cris immediately ran alongside his prey and forced it to head back on track. Waving his arms, he shooed it along.

"Heeyah...shoo shoo...Heeyah...," he called out. Despite being aware that he wasn't actually rustling cattle but gnomes, he still figured it would work just as well. "Move on now," Cris clapped his hands as he ran after guided the gnome towards Jasmine.

A quick glance up, he could see her working her magic with her own gnome.

Almost there...he thought to himself.

Dylan spotted a gnome running about right away, so he again knocked it over with his foot. He could have taken out his wand and used a spell but it was quicker this way, he felt. He chuckled to himself as the gnome toppled over onto its back and began flailing its arms about. It was kinda funny to watch. Now for the grabbing part...come here lil' guy...Dylan isn't gonna hurt ya...just chuck you over a fence is all...

How were these things so fast? Seriously, they were a lot than faster than what she'd anticipated. Josie's eyes were dead set on the tiny that she hadn't been paying attention & had accidentally bumped shoulders with someone. After that had happened she gasped a little bit & took a quick glance over her shoulder realizing who it was. Her eyes widened as she kept running. It was that boy Dylan she'd met last term. He looked different...not in a bad way..just...different. She quickly let out a, "S-Sorry!", as she continued running.

It was getting away from her, this was getting to be a little bit of a struggle now. Should she take out her wand & try some charm to stop the tiny gnome?

Mo could deal with any number of things, but he really couldn't deal with sulking underclassmen. And Marigold here, she was a pro sulker. And the lip and the wibble and the huffing. It was way too much.

"Fine, here," Mo extended his hand to offer up the gnome to the smaller Hufflepuff. He'd caught it for her, but she'd had it first. It was probably only fair that he give it back. "But you owe me, ok?"

Now then... he needed to find himself a... oh there! Another potato head was creeping out of the grass. "That one is MINE."

People were leaving. Some people had finished already?! Kate, having disentangled herself from her robes, stood up, and brushed herself off, stood in disbelief. How had they finished already? These gnomes were hard to catch. They were so nimble and ugly and bitey. Kate peered around, hoping to find a gnome running past her feet.

No luck.

Well, lucky for Kate, she too could be nimble, and if necessary could bite. Though she didn't particularly want to bite a gnome, even though they looked a bit like potatoes, which she did like to eat.

Ooh! There was one!

Hoisting her robes so she didn't trip again, Kate ran after the gnome she had just spotted. She would catch this one, and she wouldn't trip herself. She just had to run faster!

Some people were already done!? Zander hadn't even gotten his first nome into the pen yet! Ugh. De-gnoming was harder than he thought it'd be. Okay back to the real problem. Still keeping an eye on his gnome that had fallen way out of place Zander made a run for it!

Okay gnome, be prepared to go down, Zander style. Hmph. Now to pick this little sucker up.

Bree was excited to get to rangle some gnomes. As soon as given the go she ran at a gnome that sprinted off. Bree chased after it and put her foot in front of its path it. It hopped over and she continued the chase.

Bay had spotted Zander, which totally made him happy well because it looked like Zander was having a hard time just like he was "hey mate" he said while he still looked around for some more gnomes to snatch up.

"you should totally try confundo… i just tried it and it totally worked. it gives you enough time to go pick them up by their feet." he hoped that giving his new mate some advice would help him out too.. Maybe he should give confundo another shot. "Confundo" he said while waving his wand…but it totally failed the gnome had ducked in its hole to fast for Bay.

"oh… yeah its hard to get them even with that spell" shrugging he kept an eye out "look theres some more".

As Jasmine went to the left, she tried to run wide around her gnome hoping to force him back in the direction of Cris. Hopefully he would run right into their trap, but she had learned to expect the unexpected with the potato heads. So far, the plan seemed to be working because Jasmine could see Cris coming from her right side.

When her gnome tried to change course and run in the other direction, Jasmine managed to head him off at the pass. It now seemed that the two gnomes were on a collision course. All they had to do now was catch them. At least the two gnomes would have each other as they went over the fence.

Right on track. From the corner of his eye, Cris could see Jasmine herding her gnome and approaching from his left side. So to avoid passing her altogether, he forced the gnome...by way of sidelong bumps with his foot, to turn and head towards her.

By now both gnomes would most certainly have seen each other and realized what was happening. Cris tussled his wand and signaled to Jasmine, that he was ready to cast the spell that would stun her gnome for a few minutes.

...and when they got closer, Cris pointed, took aim and with a flick of his wand, he called out, "Stupefy."

He watched as a red beam of light flashed from his wand and hit the gnome Jasmine was chasing squarely on its chest. Down it went...hopefully soon to be followed by his gnome.

The gnome in the tall grass was much more worried about a pack of noisy Gryffindors and didn't even sense Mo creeping up on it, so when Mo grabbed it by the ankle and hoisted it in the air, the poor thing was completely surprised. He almost felt bad about it, honestly, but the fact that he was still trying not to get bitten continued to smooth over that emotion.

"Better luck in the next field, bud," Mo muttered as he stepped out into an open spot and spun in place. He was smarter about it this time, keeping a fixed eye on the horizon so that only the gnome got dizzy, rather than both of them, and then he released the creature to let it sail up and over the fence.

And he was so glad to be done with this task. He'd prefer not to be bitten today, thanks.

Jasmine caught Cris' signal and knew that he was going to take care of her gnome. So to return the favor, she pointed her wand at his gnome and said, Immobulus". Her gnome went down first, follows by Cris' frozen potato head. "Thanks for looking out", she yelled over her shoulder. Then Jasmine proceeded to run straight to the stunned gnome and scoop him up.

Jasmine waited briefly for Cris to grab his gnome. She figured that they ought to have the pleasure of sending them off together. Looking at Cris, she said, "Ready?" Hammer time! Jasmine got into her hammer throwing position and started to spin. One, two, three and away he went........over the fence. Turning to Cris, she smiled. "Way to go partner! Mission accomplished."

Except while the little guy flew from his grasp when Benny had let go, it wasn't smooth sailing for him. He hadn't given it enough height it seemed, the gnome bouncing off the fence post and coming to a landing back on the wrong side of the fence. The third year couldn't help but sigh at the failure. So much for starting out strong and having good luck and fun like it seemed like much of the class seemed to be having around him.

Spotting movement at the landing site, the Gryffindor rushed closer only to see his stunned target starting to recover from being airborne, smacking into the fence and falling. "Oh no you don't..." he muttered, repeating his stopping and grabbing of the creature. The boy nearly tackling the gnome to make sure that it didn't escape bevause he didn't want to have to completely start over two more times seeing as he still needed to get the other one afterwards.

Thankfully despite nearly getting his hand caught inbetween the gnome's biting teeth, Ben escaped the head. His hold once more on the creature's legs.

Caleb sighed and started towards the de-gnoming area. He was so tired and wanted a nice, easy lesson - whatever happened to just answering questions? - but it had to be done. Plus, he'd get points, yes? Probably.

So first things first - find a gnome. He waited as his peers gathered their own gnomes and waited for the perfect one to come for him. Sure enough, after a few minutes, he saw one out of the corner of his eye that was trying to dart past him.

BOOM! Too slow! He threw his foot out and stopped the gnome, who promptly ran into his trainer and stumbled over.

Sophie just stayed in place for a moment, amused at how her spell had reacted against the gnome. Then she realized that no matter how great she thought her spell might be, it wouldn't last forever. It would be such a waste of a good spell if it wore off before she could get to that gnome.

She hurried forward and scooped the gnome into her hands. Turning it upside down, she grabbed it by its feet and let it just dangle there. The spell must have worn off then, because the little gnome seemed to snap out of it and began to get angry with her.

She didn't waste any time in spinning around and around with the gnome. After a few turns, she stopped and released the gnome. It soared through the air until it landed amongst the tall grass. Now, she still had some more time, so she could find another gnome or two.

Marisol was finishing late, but at least she hadn't missed yet. Though they were dismissed (if the Spaniard had understood correctly), she wanted to get her gnome over the stupid fence. She flung with all the speed she could, and Mr. Potato Head the Second went outside of the pen. Hopefully Mari wasn't in trouble for that. It wasn't her fault that she rocked athletically!

She'd leave before they could point it on her. Just in case she had to do it again.
"Bye, professor," Marisol smiled. "You have a good day. Thanks!"

Kate had finally caught up with the gnome and grabbed it from behind. This time, she knew exactly what to do. She wasted no time in gripping the gnome by its feet and spinning it around five times, as she carefully counted. On the fifth round, Kate let go of the gnome and stopped in time to see it soar…

Right into the fence post.

Kate pouted. She'd missed. It hadn't gone far enough. Oh well. She went to go re-catch the gnome and try again.

Nodding in approval when Jasmine immobilized his gnome, he ran up and quickly picked it up. "Ready," he grinned at her, jostling the gnome along as he made his way over to the fence. Giving Jasmine space to spin, he assumed the spin technique position and began spinning in synchronization with Jasmine.

one...two...three...up and over you go!!

"Way to go, Jasmine. Yep Mission Accomplished," Cris raised his hand to high five Jasmine. "Looks like almost everyone has left. Are you ready to leave too? Don't forget to collect your reward from Professor Thompson," he reminded her as he made his way over to where he had left his backpack. "If you want, I'll walk you back to the castle. I'll wait for you over there." Cris pointed over to a spot near where the Care of Magical Creatures was standing.

Slinging his backpack over his shoulder, Cris walked over to Professor Thompson and retrieved one of the flashing medallions that had a....ACROMANTULA embossed on it. Okay....

"Thank you for an interesting lesson, Professor. I'll be sure to check up on the gnomes in the pen when I come back later," Cris smiled his thanks as he pocketed the medallion. Then he stood aside and waited for Jasmine to join him.

Jasmine Accepted Cris high five and was satisfied because they had completed their task. Yes, I'm ready to leave now", she replied. Walking over to the Professor, Jasmine received her medallion. " Thanks Professor. I really enjoyed the class today." Gathering her things, Jasmine walked, over to meet Cris and head back to the castle.

She was almost done, right? She only needed to send one more flying over the fence before...what? She could leave. But he'd said if they got more they'd get something special, but it didn't look like the kids who were leaving with a significantly higher gnome count got anything the other kids didn't. So she was going to go with the minimum and leave as soon as she could. Even if she could have gotten something later, it probably would not have been worth her staying in the garden for longer than necessary. She was already going to have to take several showers in order to get acceptably clean.

Right, back to the gnomes. Hayden was on the hunt, searching for just one more. But maybe they had gotten smarter, or maybe most of the gnomes had already been thrown over the fence by the other students. Either way, there weren't many left for Hayden to find. She saw several darting through the garden quite a ways from where she was. But she didn't want to have to go after them, she preferred easy prey if possible. So she stood off to the side, slightly hidden in the garden. She waited and watched. Come here little gnome.

Zander was really struggling trying to lift the stupid, kicking gnome. Could it just stop for, like one second please? As Zander got down on the floor trying to wrestle the little sucker into his arms, when- Oh! Was someone talking to him? Turning around Zander noticed Bay walking towards him. Oh yay! A friend! Hopefully the older boy would have some good advice because Zander really just needed to get this assignment over with.

"Oh confundo? I never thought of that..." Hmmm, yes the boy had a point. Confundo? Why was Zander trying to wrestle the gnome when he could've simply used a flick of his wand and a simple incantation. Noticing Bay's failed attempt he stifled a small chuckle. "These gnomes are annoyingly fast, no worries," he chipped in. Getting up quickly, Zander lifted his wand and her goes nothing "Confundo!" BULLS-EYE! "Bay it worked! You're a genius!"

"yeah mate, it totally worked when i used it last.. well not just then but you know" he said laughing.

"I hate these things… thankfully we don't have them in my garden at home or I would be an expert by now" laughing he watched Zander confuse a gnome "well done!!" he was happy to help out a mate.

"i'll give it one more shot and then I think I'm done" he pointed his wand over at a group of gnomes and said "confundo" he saw the gnome get all confused as Bay rushed over to pick it up and start to spin it and twirl it to toss it into the garden behind the bush.

Once it soared over the bush Bay smiled "see.. awesome right" he winked at Zander.

Running behind one of the gnomes he stamped on one somehow still managing to stand and spearing his arms to support him from falling the third time. Quickly bend down and grabbed the gnome’s leg. Spinning time

Spinning….Spinning….turning round four times or something what he thought like was four he threw the gnome as far as possible and there it landing on the grasses. is it where the professor asked to throw them? anyways one was out. Now time for another.