Emeline felt guilty for leaving Hogwarts over the summer.<br/><br/>Her usual routine was to stay and care for the thestrals and other creatures on the grounds personally, taking no more than two weeks out of her time to visit her family and her former colleague, Brennus Lee. Emeline would have done so this particular summer, had it not been for a letter she had received from Lee himself.<br/><br/>Emeline had received it in the winter, close to Christmas. The first word, written in very large, capitalized text at the top of the parchment, had summed up a majority of the letter's content accurately, if only lacking context.<br/><br/>"DRAGONS."<br/><br/>The word sent chills down Emeline's spines in excitement. She had studied dragons extensively, but was never truly able to observe the beasts in person.<br/><br/>Upon closer investigation, Emeline learned that Lee had received a grant permitting him to study Swedish Shortsnouts up close, learning more about their incredibly reclusive mating habits. Lee was looking for a research assistant, and Emeline was the perfect fit. She couldn't do anything else but accept, and was whisked away to Sweden three days after closing ceremonies.<br/><br/>Emeline hadn't left her thestrals without a carer. Alex was the groundskeeper at Hogwarts, and Emeline had approached him with the request to handle them during her absence.<br/><br/>"So, there are a few instructions about their care that I'd like to mention to you," Emeline had began, "firstly, they must be fed fresh meat, gamefowl being their preference, though any will do-oh!" Emeline clapped her hands suddenly in remembrance, "except Thrasher, he has an aversion to cows that have been fed grain..." She shook her head, "I'll just write you a list, it's easier that way."<br/><br/>The most important item on the list was bullet number one:<br/><br/>"•Tell them I sent you or it's possible they will attack you."<br/><br/>The thestral herd had been much calmer before events several years previously, when a disturbed sixth-year had snatched and hidden a newborn thestral in his dormitory. While it was easy to hide something invisible to most humans from students and teachers, the thestrals rampaged the halls in one large herd to find the stolen youngling using their excellent sense of smell. It had taken several months for Emeline to convince them to pull the carriages again, and was still working on building their trust again with students.<br/><br/>Emeline learned two things in Sweden, the first being details of the Shortsnout's mating habits. The second thing she learned was that she was lonely at Hogwarts. Spending so much time with Lee made her realize that she had been isolating herself from the rest of the staff, leaving them at colleague status and little else. It was her goal then, in the coming year, to become less of a magical creature-loving recluse.<br/><br/>Back from Sweden, Emeline sat in Florean's in Diagon Alley, enjoying a raspberry and chocolate cone. Florean Fortescue, the owner of the first shop in the name, had died in the second Wizarding War, but the shop remained named after him in his honour.<br/><br/>Many of the creatures observed in Emeline's classes were paid for out of her own pocket, as she knew the money was better spent elsewhere. A large portion of the creatures studied were rented from a well-respected shop in the Alley, which Emeline intended to visit once her ice cream was gone. Some others came from....elsewhere.<br/><br/>The 'elsewhere' creatures were generally not on the curriculum, acquired through Emeline's connections in the magizoology community. They were usually her students' favourites, even if they had to sign special release forms.<br/><br/>It was going to be an interesting year.