Cordelia was out for a walk exploring the campus grounds when she came across the mushroom fairy ring. Oooh, this looked interesting. She had read stories where fairies danced in circles like these or where the fairy circles were portals to a fairy world. Maybe this one wasn’t a portal seeing as she already lived in a magical world, but there still might be wild fairies. Cordelia liked visiting the fairies that lived in the barn with the other creatures sometimes. Fairies were up there with unicorns and winged horses when it came to her favorite magical creatures. Mermaids too, but it turned out that the mermaids here weren’t what she thought mermaids were. Sniffing the air, Cordelia took in the smells of the forest. The crisp air, the soil, she took all of it in. She cautiously took a step into the center of the circle as she tried to avoid crushing any plants or creatures that might be on the ground. This was nice. Magical. She was anticipating… Something. Something magical was definitely going to happen to her as she stood in this circle, she just knew it.

Also taking a walk around the grounds on one of Hogwarts' rare rain-free days, Alba had also been lured in by the bright ring of mushrooms - she had never seen a faerie circle like the one about thirty feet in front of her. It looked like faeries may actually have been there, unlike the ones on the land near her muggle school. She beamed when she realized she had been beaten to the circle by a girl who looked around her age and had hair like her little sister's.

Privacy and quiet exploration were fun, but she'd done enough of that. She was too extroverted to let somebody else being there deter her. The girl looked like she knew what was up, if the expectant look on her face was anything to go by. Good!

Approaching with light feet so as not to be jar into her fellow student's space, Alba waved. "Hi there..." Her tone turned a bit awkward when she realized maybe the other student did want some privacy even if she didn't. "This caught my eye as well."

Um...... what?

Anna was sure that thing wasn't there before. Or... was it? She was aware she was not one of the most observant of people, but she was sure that circle thing wasn't there last term. Or any of the terms before that, actually.

But what WAS it? Did someone create that or did it just... were those mushrooms? Did they just grow there in this circle... thing?

Hmmmmmmm... Anna didn't feel like thinking too hard about that - because what was the point, really - but she did stop to admire it. It was kind of cool looking. Interesting! Only not interesting enough for her to want to learn more about what had happened.

Rylee might have been slightly preoccupied with her replying to a message to her sister, via the watch upon her wrist that she was testing out for a friend. Such was the reason why her cat Lamb was currently leaping about the grass some feet off to her left being his playful little self.

"Lamb?" she called out lifting her gaze from her watch once the message had been sent. "Lamb?!" Where was th- ohhhh...

Spotting Lamb just as he went running off ahead of her towards someone. Chasing after her small cat it wasn't until she was closer that she saw he hadn't necessarily run towards the person who she knew was Anna but towards... whatever that was. Welp... that hadn't been there last term.

"Hey, Anna!" the Gryffindor called out with a bright smile. "Lamb, you leave that alone!" Cue the furry one sniffing around and checking out the mushrooms.

Anna was still looking at the random circle of mushrooms with some curiosity when she noticed something moving from the corner of her eye.

She wasn't exactly observant as in consciously noticing things and certain people, but thanks to Quidditch she could notice movements in her peripheral vision way better than she used to.

The Gryffindor turned her head to see... "Oh, hi, Lamb!" She greeted Rylee's cat with a smile, watching it go to sniff some of the mushrooms.

As if on cue, Rylee's voice come from behind her, making Anna now fully turn around to face the girl who greeted her and was now telling her pet to leave those mushrooms alone. "Strange, aren't they?" She said, turning her head again to look at them. "Were they here before?" Anna asked, still not entirely sure whether her observational skills were as bad as her mother claimed them to be. "And is it normal for them to grow in this... shape thing?" Since Rylee was the Herbology person of the two of them... but then again, most people knew Herbology better than Anna, so. Still, Rylee was pretty good at it, so maybe she knew.

Or maybe EVERYONE knew except for Anna, lol. That wouldn't surprise her either.

Of course, Lamb, didn't listen right away. Why would he? He was simply doing what the average cat would do... checkout his environment. As long as he didn't go and try to eat those mushrooms everything should be alright.

Rylee kept an close eye on her cat even as Anna turned to look at her. "Only a little." The fact that the mushrooms were growing here is what was strange.. but not to much so. Mushrooms grew all over the place is the climate was right. "Not that I remember." Something as strange as this would be something she would remember too. "Umm... not normally? Wild mushrooms can pop up just about anywhere though. So it could be something to do with the soil right there that's causing them to grow and in this shape... or it could be for some other reason all together."

Rylee was currently running through everything she knew about mushrooms in her head and why they might be appearing in this way.

Anna glanced at Lamb as it did its cat thing and sniffed about. Ollie's cat did that too, and, to be honest, so did her dogs. She would've thought it was mainly a dog thing were it not for her brother's cat. Anna was a dog person, see.

She was more interested in looking from the mushrooms to Rylee as they spoke about the things. So the younger Gryffindor also didn't remember those from last term. That must mean they actually weren't there.

Anna nodded and looked around as Rylee explained things about mushrooms. "Then again, they're only plants. They do their own thing, don't they?" She said, shrugging. At least that had been her experience when caring for plants. Or trying to. Never really worked because plants did their own thing.

Which meants they normally died thanks to Anna's brown thumb. Welp.

It wasn't very long at all before Lamb got bored sniffing about the mushrooms and made his way back over towards the girls. Meowing softly he walked right on over to Anna and lightly slinked past her, rubbing against her leg as he did because she was his friend, yes? Of course she was. Everyone liked little Lamb.

Rylee blinked at Anna. Just plants? Didn't Anna know that plants had feelings too? "Typically, yes. However they can be coaxed into doing what you'd like them to... like shaping them a certain way or getting them to grow a particular way. It takes some time but it can be done." Rylee should know as she spent a significant amount of time in the greenhouses with her own plants and in her garden at home.

"I wonder if it's not something more than these mushrooms just wanting to grow here. I mean... why haven't they popped up before?" It was rather curious.

Unsettling were the results of the sage. Turbulent was Thereos' spirit.

His hooves feeling heavier than at the beginning of the term, the centaur departed the the Forbidden Forest and regally glided himself over to the faerie circle. It seemed a fitting place to before this essential reading. The perfect portal between the other and the here, Hogwarts and the Forbidden Forest, nature and its inhabitants and invaders.

Pacing around the circle, Thereos found a spot among the mushrooms and beneath the trees to settle down on his hind legs first and his front followed suit. Looking up through the branches of the trees, confirming that the sky was cloudless still, Thereos drew a symbol on the ground and purposefully placed his hands upon it.

Eyes closed, he began murmuring (chanting) to himself. Though what exactly he was saying was unclear.

For a few days now, the Ravenclaw common room had started to feel very very stuffy - maybe it was because she constantly wanted to avoid Keenan now, maybe it was because she had to somehow avoid Nettie too.

Ugh.

Allowing herself a lame excuse of studying better outside, the brunette had strolled outside - a bag with all her homework hanging from her shoulder. And she had been looking for a spot to sit at when she noticed Professor Thereos acting .... curiouser than usual.

Or maybe this was his usual amount. Who knew.

Curious herself, she made her way over to him - but before disturbing him altogether, she noticed the symbol on the ground and tried to figure out what he was chanting? Singing? Maybe this was like ... yoga for him?

Unable to help herself, she stepped closer, "Professor?"

Slowly, steadily, the centaur began transcending reality and enter the Other when something so rudely pulled him from his meditative state. Frowning and his brow deeply knotted, he made little attempt to quell his irritation at the human student who had interrupted him.

"To what purpose do you act as a stone to my stream youngling?" he chastised gently while his lids slowly opened to reveal harsh brown eyes boring into her own. The gentle glow that had begun on the symbol drawn into the ground then flickered and faded into the soil like a dying firefly.

Oh no.

The displeased look made her red in the face. Because this was probably the most stupid thing she had done this year so far. "I - uh, I am sorry" she quickly said before adding pathetically: "....Curiosity got the best of me"

Shuffling her feet awkwardly, she tried to meet his gaze, "I can go.... or if you need help .. or anything, just let me know"

His expression softened, but only just barely.

"Even we centaurs have a saying of looking to the stars instead of at one's feet," he assured somewhat dryly. Apology accepted through an unspoken nod of the head. "I require no assistance but should you wish to broaden your mind I could invite you into my reading. Perhaps your two-legged sight will see something which my superior centaur sight does not. A different perspective." He on one side of the reading and her the other. The ebb and flow of life was all a matter of perspective, one may see a 6 and the other a 9.

"What say you? Will you listen to the shadows with me?"