Senara woke to the sun shining its first rays through the cracks of the shack. She felt rested and refreshed but she was absolutely starving. As she moved about the house, she told herself she was looking for food, but as she didn't thing there would possibly be any since the house seemed abandoned, she was really just exploring.
There were two stories in the shack, and dust everywhere. And yet there were places here and there with little or no dust so Senara began to speculate whether people had been here recently or not. But then again, it might just have been some animals looking for shelter.
However, when she reached what at one point must have been a kitchen, due to the iron stove and numerous large cupboards, human habitation seemed more likely. For in a back cupboard she found small stash of slightly stale Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans, which she immediately removed from their container to eat. The flavor really didn't matter, she was so hungry.
The sustenance was very welcome and warmed her enough to inspire her to explore outside as well. She tossed the empty back into the cupboard and moved to the door. The hinges creaked rather loudly as the door opened to reveal the glittering white expanse of English hillsides.
In the transfiguration classroom, for that is the class James, Sirius, and Remus had first, some happenings were taking place. The mice that the students were supposed to be using for their class work had gotten free. Usually they were held in small cages but today the cages had disappeared right before class started. The only differences in the classroom were that one, there were mice scurrying all over and two, where each cage once stood, there was now either a white or pink rose petal. Someone, or someones, had transfigured the cages into rose petals. Three guesses as to who it was. If you guessed James and Sirius you'd be right.
The were standing in a corner, trying their best to hold in their laughter as a girl screamed because a mouse had run under the chair she was standing on. Remus was grinning at the antics of the teacher, Mr. Tolumbus. Mr. Tolumbus, as he was being distracted by the students, was simply immobilizing all the mice he could see, but of course there were always more appearing and disappearing under thing. A couple of people were pointing at a window when suddenly a rather larger, white falcon down in, shattering the window and landing on a mouse. It dipped its head and took the mouse up in its beak and looked about the room for the first time. All around people were screaming and running away. Mr. Tolumbus had frozen in place and was watching the hawk warily.
"Quiet," he said in a commanding voice. Everyone froze as well and made as little sound as they could. The hawk cocked its head to the side and slowly turned around, looking from one student to another as if studying them, making sure it would not forget them.
"Lupin. Get on that side," Mr. Tolumbus said quietly while making a minute hand motion to the area of the room on the side of the hawk away from the shattered wind. The hawk's eyes focused on the teacher for only a moment before fixing on Remus, who was edging carefully around and out of the mob of students at the edge of the room. Reumus didn't stop moving but instead stared right back at the hawk.
The hawk waddles around to face Remus as Mr. Tolumbus whispered, "Try to shoo it back out the window." The hawk spread its wings and waved them a bit but continued to watch Remus. Remus edged toward the white bird which backed up toward the window, wings still spread out slightly for balance.
"Please go. I don't want to scare you or hurt you," Remus said to the hawk in a barely audible tone. The hawk gave a slight bob of its head as if in assent, turned, hopped to the window sill, and flew off. A few students sighed with relief and Mr. Tolumbus moved to his desk and collected the remaining mice who were all cowering under his desk from the presence of the predator.
"Well class. Would you please get in your seats so we may begin today's lesson," Mr. Tolumbus stated in a tone that implied that nothing out of the ordinary had happened. From there on, class was back to normal and people began to transfigure their mice as instructed. However, people were distracted so most were caught by surprise when the period ended. As they left, Sirius, Remus, and James grouped and spoke in hushed voices as they walked to their next class, Herbology.
"Did you see that bird!" Sirius said excitedly. "It was huge!"
"Yes, I did see it, Sirius," Remus replied almost distractedly, "and I believe it was a gyrfalcon."
"Well anyway, it tripled the effect of our prank," stated James as he grinned form cheek to cheek.
"Hmm… But why did it come in the first place?" mused Remus.
"The mice of course," said Sirius as if it were the only and obvious answer.
"Maybe. But I've never seen or heard of gyrfalcons around Hogwarts before. Have you?"
This left them thinking silently as they crossed the snow to the greenhouses. If they had bothered to look up, they would have seen the gyrfalcon circling once, twice, and then moving away in the direction of Hogsmeade.