welcome to chimera!

The weather was really starting to get chilly, though Theo wasn't about to object. Not when he had Care of Magical Creatures to look forward to. If there was one class that he could really enjoy no matter what they were doing, it was CoMC. Even if that meant trailing out into the grounds on a chilly fall day, he didn't mind all that much. He'd learned from experience that Professor Kettleburn liked to have most of his classes outside, and had planned ahead to bring with him a coat. He'd felt quite silly carrying it around from class to class earlier in the day, but once he'd gotten to the classroom and saw they were meeting outside that day, he'd felt much better about it.

Most of the class had congregated out in the courtyard, waiting for the rest of the class, as well as Professor Kettleburn to appear. Unsurprisingly, most of the class seemed chilled, and clearly not thrilled to be outside on such a less-than-pleasant day. The sky was grey with cloud cover, though it seemed unlikely that it was going to rain. Every now and then the sun managed to peak through the clouds, but not enough to provide any warmth to the students who huddled together for warmth in nothing but their cardigans.

Theo, however, was enjoying the comfort of his coat. His sweater probably would have kept him warm enough - it was made to endure the cold of the castle during winter, after all - but the coat added an extra layer of coziness. His textbook was tucked firmly under his arm, and it took a certain amount of self control for Theo not to start flipping through it. He had, of course, read the whole thing through almost immediately after buying it, intrigued to see what exactly they would be covering in the class. But Professor Kettleburn didn't follow the text exactly, and it was quite likely that whatever the lesson was to be would be a surprise. Kettleburn had mentioned something about griffins earlier in the week, but Theo wasn't sure he could contemplate seeing a live, full-grown griffin, much less learning how to handle one.

As the winter set in most students would probably prefer to spend their time inside, in front of a warm fire or at the very least somewhere they weren't likely to be constantly buffeted by the wind, rain, sleet, or any other kind of typically British, volatile weather. But Marilyn certainly wasn't most students, having spent the entirety of her free period outside on the shore of the lake working on her homework, which always seemed to be more bearable when she was doing it outside, and the day was clear, if a little crisp. Personally she was hoping for snow sometime soon, and she was well prepared for that eventuality, bundled up in a long coat, Hufflepuff scarf and hat. She'd been forced to forgo the gloves though, as they made holding a quill rather difficult.

It was worth the sacrifice, because by the time her Care of Magical Creatures lesson came around Marilyn had near enough finished the work she'd brought out with her, which only made the walk up to the courtyard more enjoyable. Spirits already high, she couldn't help but feel a brief smugness at the sight of her classmates shivering away while she was all wrapped up against the elements - while they were probably all impatient for the lesson to start so they could get moving and warmed up, Marilyn was eager for it to start for another reason. She had heard all kinds of rumours about what they would be studying this week, from utterly ridiculous to exciting, whatever it was she was sure that Professor Kettleburn would have something special up his sleeve.

Marilyn soon spotted somebody looking equally excited, as he always did before COMC lessons, and wandered over, waving as she did so. "Hi Theo," she greeted him amiably, smiling as she drew close. "Have you heard the rumours too?" She shivered, though more from anticipation than the cold. "Somebody told me there were going to be winged horses today!"