Maddie was on an official tour of the castle, and HOLY MERLIN had she found a treasure way up on the sixth floor! It had been a long trek up from the basement where she now lived, but Maddie literally never ran out of energy and didn't mind at all. There was a GIANT SQUID bathing in the sunlight down below, and Maddie thought it was the coolest thing EVERRRR. Maddie made some definite plans to head down to the lake to see if she could get an even better view of that giant squid. She was SUPER INTERESTED to see what the life of a giant squid was like!

So what was this place anyway? Maddie was almost able to use her imagination to imagine a huge battle happening right here in this very location. She even stood on top of a wooden barrel to pretend she was a Princess Knight looking out over the land to protect the castle. This had to be one of the most interesting places in the whole castle! Nevermind the fact this was one of her first places to explore. It was too bad she hadn't made more friends, so she could bring them up here with her!

Joy had been wandering, and made the decision to visit the old battlements on the sixth floor. What a piece of history this was. Almost a hundred years before, her great-grandmother had fought in the infamous Battle of Hogwarts. Thank goodness she had survived that, or Joy wouldn't exist! She had also heard stories that the same great-grandmother had helped Harry Potter set his godfather free on a hippogriff. She didn't know if that was true, but she hoped it was. She was always hearing stories like that.

Upon reaching the battlements, Joy saw the fellow first-year girl she had met at the start-of-term feast!

"Maddie!" she called, trying to get the girl's attention. She moved closer and sat on a nearby barrel. "Remember me? I'm so happy to see you again. How are you doing?" She smiled brightly at Maddie.

Every once in a while Rosalyn liked to come up to the battlements, not only to clear her head and see the Giant Squid, but also because this was a place of great history. Not only was this where Sirius Black had made his escape, it had been used to defend Hogwarts during the Battle of Hogwarts. It always thrilled her to be in a place where history happened. It made everything seem more ALIVE to her.

Coming upon two younger students, Rosalyn smiled at them. She was guessing that they weren't here for the same reason as her; more likely they were exploring the castle. "Well, hello there! Are you girls having fun at Hogwarts so far?" She knew very well how weird it could be when first attending Hogwarts, but that feeling didn't usually last very long. It tended to give away to excitement pretty quickly.

"AHHH!" Maddie called out, as she turned around to face the source of the sudden sound. She seriously needed to work on her battle skills, because had this been a dark wizard or something, she'd be toast. Instead of drawing her wand, Maddie had pulled a licorice stick out of her robe pockets and was now pointing it at her fellow firstie Hufflepuff. "Oh, uhh...my bad! I guess I was too busy thinking about giant squids, battles, and Princess Knights!" she said, hopping off the barrel and sticking the licorice stick back into her pocket. "Of course I remember you! We're roommates!"

She gave her new friend a smile before thinking back to that licorice stick and deciding to eat it right here and now. She pulled it back out her pocket and peeled the packaging away. "Want some?" she asked. Just as she asked that, she heard footsteps approaching them and peered around to see a professor. "Hello, Professor!" she called out. Now...which one was she? Charms? No...History of Magic? Maddie thought so! "Want a licorice stick?!" Her mind was racing a million miles a minute, though. "OH, LOOK! I have something to show you two!" She hurried over to the best viewing area and pointed. "Look at that SQUID!"

Quote:

Originally Posted by Anna Banana

"AHHH!" Maddie called out, as she turned around to face the source of the sudden sound. She seriously needed to work on her battle skills, because had this been a dark wizard or something, she'd be toast. Instead of drawing her wand, Maddie had pulled a licorice stick out of her robe pockets and was now pointing it at her fellow firstie Hufflepuff. "Oh, uhh...my bad! I guess I was too busy thinking about giant squids, battles, and Princess Knights!" she said, hopping off the barrel and sticking the licorice stick back into her pocket. "Of course I remember you! We're roommates!"

She gave her new friend a smile before thinking back to that licorice stick and deciding to eat it right here and now. She pulled it back out her pocket and peeled the packaging away. "Want some?" she asked. Just as she asked that, she heard footsteps approaching them and peered around to see a professor. "Hello, Professor!" she called out. Now...which one was she? Charms? No...History of Magic? Maddie thought so! "Want a licorice stick?!" Her mind was racing a million miles a minute, though. "OH, LOOK! I have something to show you two!" She hurried over to the best viewing area and pointed. "Look at that SQUID!"

Oh! She was being offered a treat. How sweet.

Rosalyn's smile grew and she nodded. "Yes, please." These students were all so sweet and polite and it warmed her heart. AND it seemed that they were happy to be at Hogwarts given their good mood and excitement. It really was easy to fall in love with the school despite all the crazy - and potentially dangerous - things that could happen. Fingers crossed that this term would go rather smoothly like last term had, minus the typical school drama that had been expected.

Heading over to get a better look at what they were being shown, she laughed. That squid ALWAYS interested the students. "That's Bartholomew Henry. It's a rather nice squid. He even talks to people." Though of course he didn't make appearances all the time; it made them more special in Rosalyn's opinion.

Up, up, up the spiral staircase Camilla climbed. It was a good thing she wasn't bothered by tight spaces or stairs. Finally reaching the top she smiled seeing that no one else was up here. Really it was a surprise but she didn't mind the quietness, the view was always worth the walk up here.

Grabbing a barrel to sit down on she looked out over the distance. It was a beautiful afternoon to be sitting here doing nothing at all. Even the professors such as herself liked time to just sit back and reflect on the things that have happened. There was a lot on her mind lately but right now watching the grounds and the lake from up here, it was like nothing mattered in this moment.

Even though it had helped a lot to talk to her friends and Professor Hirsch and even Professor Marchand, Stasya still had moments where she wanted to be alone. When she could just be quiet and not have to deal with pretending that things weren’t still bothering her. She felt like it would always bother her, but she’d promised Professor Hirsch that she’d try to be strong. She wanted to keep that promise, even if he’d also said it was okay to cry, too. Which was kind of what she felt like doing, which was why she’d gone searching for somewhere lonely. She hadn’t actually explored this stair case before, either, so the curiosity was there too as she’d started up the spiral staircase.

It helped that she was still pretty slender, even though she’d grown a whole three inches over the summer. The small spaces still didn’t bother her and she’d come out at the top of the staircase pretty quickly only to find that she wasn’t the only person there. On the battlements, it looked like, and she found herself going over to the edge to look down at the forest before she looked back at the professor. “Hi Professor Stewart.” Sorry for interrupting if she was interrupting.

The one good thing about being up here on the battlements, was that it was quiet. The quietness of the afternoon was broken by the sound of footsteps coming up the spiral staircase. Camilla shifted her brown eyes away from the beautiful view swinging them towards the staircase. Whoever it was coming up here was most likely alone guessing by the sounds of the footsteps.

Whoever it was made it to the top rather quickly making Cami guess it could be a younger student. A small smile formed on her lips when Stasya joined her on the battlements and went straight to the edge. "Hello, Stasya. Are you having a good afternoon?" It was a lovely day and she hoped the young lioness was enjoying it as much as she was. "How are you finding your second term to be going so far?" Good she hoped.

Well, OF COURSE she was offering the professor a treat. She wouldn't think to offer Joy something and then eat in front of the professor without at least offering. She smiled and passed a piece of candy over to the professor. "Eat up!" she said, with a smile. Then just like that, her attention on the candy was gone and she was focused on something else entirely. For now, that 'something else' was the squid, who apparently had a name. "Bartholomew Henry?! That's a BIG NAME! He can talk?! Does he know how to say his own name? Does anybody call him Henry?" she asked. She had tons of questions about the squid.

"HEYYYYYY, BARTHOLOMEW HENRY!" she yelled out, waving down at the squid. She would HAVE to head down to the grounds later on and get a closer look at this squid. She already wanted to build a big aquarium and take him home for Christmas break! "Do YOU have any pets, Professor? What about you, Joy?" she asked. "I have a delivery owl named Pepper, a puppy dog named Rico, a new baby kitten named Bella, a Pygmy Puff named Cotton Candy, and I really want a new baby monkey, too!"

Quote:

Originally Posted by Anna Banana

Well, OF COURSE she was offering the professor a treat. She wouldn't think to offer Joy something and then eat in front of the professor without at least offering. She smiled and passed a piece of candy over to the professor. "Eat up!" she said, with a smile. Then just like that, her attention on the candy was gone and she was focused on something else entirely. For now, that 'something else' was the squid, who apparently had a name. "Bartholomew Henry?! That's a BIG NAME! He can talk?! Does he know how to say his own name? Does anybody call him Henry?" she asked. She had tons of questions about the squid.

"HEYYYYYY, BARTHOLOMEW HENRY!" she yelled out, waving down at the squid. She would HAVE to head down to the grounds later on and get a closer look at this squid. She already wanted to build a big aquarium and take him home for Christmas break! "Do YOU have any pets, Professor? What about you, Joy?" she asked. "I have a delivery owl named Pepper, a puppy dog named Rico, a new baby kitten named Bella, a Pygmy Puff named Cotton Candy, and I really want a new baby monkey, too!"

Happily Rosalyn took the candy and chewed as the girl continued to talk excitedly about the Giant Squid. Her name was something like Maddie, but it could be a little hard to remember when it came to new students. Within time she would know this for sure. "It IS a big name, but I am not sure if anyone calls him Henry. You can definitely ask him if he's okay with that if you talk to him." Which would hopefully be the case, but it was sometimes hard to tell; a lot of the times that he was sighted it was while coming to the shore to bask in the sun. "He knows his own name and many other words. He likes having conversations with people." Usually was in a good mood too.

The conversation suddenly turned to pets, and Rosalyn supposed that it had to do with the fact that they were just talking about the squid. While giant squids were obviously not pets, they WERE creatures. "I have a cat named Coco. She's a calico." Right now she was probably asleep in her office. Or at least that was what she had been doing the last time Rosalyn had checked on her... "Well, that's wonderful. I hope you can get your baby monkey. So you like Care of Magical Creatures then?" Even though it was early in the term, it was clear that the girl was fond of animals. It reminded her of Derfael.

Maddie's jaw dropped. "That's some squid! Do all squids talk that much?" she asked. She'd never in all her eleven years learned about squids talking, even magical ones. "If he's the only one, how'd he learn how to talk? How does he even understand what we're saying?" OHHHH, she bet she knew what happened! "Did he used to be a human or something?" She was definitely going to visit that squid first chance she got! It wouldn't be today, because she had a whole lot to do once she got back to the common room. It'd be soon, though!

Joy hadn't said anything in a while, so Maddie didn't feel so bad about talking non-stop. "Thanks! I hope I can get a monkey, too, but my mom and dad don't want anymore pets. They said I have enough." They were probably right, too. She nodded. "I love creatures! It's one of my favorite subjects! Is your favorite subject History of Magic, or is that just what you happened to start teaching?" It was weird talking to a professor like this. Maddie liked it, but she'd never been able to just stand around and hand out with the teachers at her old school. It was FUN!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Anna Banana

Maddie's jaw dropped. "That's some squid! Do all squids talk that much?" she asked. She'd never in all her eleven years learned about squids talking, even magical ones. "If he's the only one, how'd he learn how to talk? How does he even understand what we're saying?" OHHHH, she bet she knew what happened! "Did he used to be a human or something?" She was definitely going to visit that squid first chance she got! It wouldn't be today, because she had a whole lot to do once she got back to the common room. It'd be soon, though!

Joy hadn't said anything in a while, so Maddie didn't feel so bad about talking non-stop. "Thanks! I hope I can get a monkey, too, but my mom and dad don't want anymore pets. They said I have enough." They were probably right, too. She nodded. "I love creatures! It's one of my favorite subjects! Is your favorite subject History of Magic, or is that just what you happened to start teaching?" It was weird talking to a professor like this. Maddie liked it, but she'd never been able to just stand around and hand out with the teachers at her old school. It was FUN!

Err... Rosalyn was being asked all these questions about the giant squid, and that was great, but she had NO idea how to answer them. This was something that Tristan would have a better grasp of. "I think he was domesticated at some point or another. He's really old. I have no idea if other giant squids can talk or not, but I don't think so." Really she hadn't met any, and she hadn't learned a lot about them. Maybe she would have to ask Tristan about it later on. "He didn't used to be human, but I think that maybe people taught him how to talk." Really she had NO idea. "Professor Wayland might have a better idea when it comes to this kind of thing; I am far from a creatures expert." Now, if she had any questions about history that was en entirely different matter.

In all honesty she could understand why Maddie's parents would want to limit her amount of pets, but Rosalyn felt for the girl. "Well, I'm sure that one day you can have your monkey." Even if it was when she was older and not living at home anymore. She gave the girl a smile. "I can tell. Have you made friends with Derfael yet? He's in Hufflepuff as well and is very interested in magical creatures as well." They would definitely hit it off, she was sure. "I enjoyed a lot of classes, but yes, I have a special fondness for history. I decided to start teaching it when I was done being a librarian." She had gotten a degree for it at Wizarding University, but hadn't started as a teaching assistant until some years later at Durmstrang.

What did domesticated mean? Maddie had no idea, but she made a note to herself to look it up later on. She wanted to know what that meant for the squid and how the school got Bartholomew Henry to do all the things normal squids didn't know how to do. The squid sounded super interesting, even if the professor didn't know how to answer all the questions Maddie had. "It's okay, Professor. I know you don't teach Care of Magical Creatures," she reassured. "Thanks for giving me the answers you did know, though!" Maybe she had asked a tad tooooo many?

She beamed when the professor told her she hoped that one day she would get a pet monkey. "Thanks! I hope so, too!" she said. "Maybe they'll get it for me for Christmas! Or my next birthday!" Yes, her line of thinking on just when in the future she'd get that monkey was a lot different than the professor's line of thinking. She nodded. "Derf! Of course I've made friends with him! He's super awesome!" she said. She would have to remember that Derf liked creatures so much, because they would probably always have a lot to talk about! "You were a librarian?" she asked, just repeating the facts and not really expecting an answer. "I bet that's a really good start to being a history professor!"

"I should get going, Professor. It was nice talking to you outside of class!" she said. "Have a good day!" She waved at her new professor, gave her a little smile, and then headed off down the corridor.

What a precious girl! Rosalyn was very happy that there were so many students who were eager to learn things AND had the proper respect for professors. Everyone here was just so lovely. "Of course, Maddie. I will keep my fingers crossed that you will get your monkey." Smile. Even if it didn't happen this Christmas or birthday, there were many more to come for her and she could always get it during one of those. Or at another time, of course. "I'm glad that you are getting along with Derf." It was much better when people were friends as opposed to enemies... though she had her fair share of those during school.

Nod. "It really was." Rosalyn would have gotten into more detail about it, but it was time for Maddie to leave. "Nice talking to you too! Have a good day." She watched the girl walk off and then started to eat her candy as she gazed out onto the grounds. Everything was so peaceful.