Lesson One

Today would be Ty’s first major day of classes. The term had started, and all of the signs that came along with it made it even more obvious. Depressed (or more usually pissed off) students wandering through the halls, explosions going off in a few classrooms, and of course teachers wandering the halls a bit more than usual. Being new and knowing who his father was, he was sure that there was some word going around about him, and only being a teenager a few years ago, having a new teacher always meant learning how far you could stretch your limits. Hopefully he wouldn’t have to become a disciplinarian on anyone, because that just wasn’t in him, but he knew the Hogwarts kids, and there had to be at least one trouble maker.

It wasn’t that he was scared of kids, nor did he care that much about what they thought about him. It was more of a genuine want to give out a good education. A bit nerdy? Perhaps. But he only wanted to make Care of Magical Creatures just as magical for them as it had been for him. With the lesson plan he had in store, he was pretty confident in himself that it would be an interesting first day.

The large red mahogany door was wide open for the students to file in and he waited anxiously for them to do so. Class didn’t start for another 5 minutes, and even though he was a time freak, he was going to be nice for the first week or so. A glowing inscription of ‘Mr. Elldir’ flew around the classroom for all inquiring minds and on each desk was the book ‘Care of Magical Creatures: Beginners Edition’. His perfectionist ways made him check everything over at least 10 times, but he knew it was all in order. Leaning on his desk with wand in hand, all he could do was wait.

January had not brought much in the way of change to Hogwarts; if anything, classes were even more boring than they had always been and Cerelia found herself increasingly dreaming about Durmstrang. Still, that did not mean she had found herself behind. In fact, it probably would have been more encouraging if she had been. As it was, she was completely up to date with all of her assignments and required reading – even the reading that had not been set yet. She could not have been anymore prepared than she already was but despite this she still found herself anxious that morning when it became clear that she could not hold back any longer: she’d have to go to Care of Magical Creatures.

Of course naturally, word had reached Cerelia that the Professor had changed and had in a rather bizarre way. Thaor Elldir, the son of, was teaching. Now, Cerelia had never met the elder of the two men but she knew his legend quite well and she was unsure of a Professor whose father’s reputation preceded his own. It was not this that caused her hesitance, though. No. She wanted to be impressive and so as she made her way through the castle towards the grounds, she found herself going over dozens of different facts she’d picked up from her books, determined that it would be through this that she would gain favour.

Poking her head around the door of the classroom, Cerelia bit her lip. Her pony-tail fell off of her shoulder and her blonde hair dangled in the gentle breeze that fluttered through the doorway. She released her lip and allowed a smile to brighten her face and she moved into the doorway of the classroom.

“Professor Elldir?” Her voice was hesitant but still retained some semblance of strength. Cerelia moved further into the room. “I am Cerelia Avery. I... may I inquire as to the health or, perhaps, whereabouts of Professor Thorburn? Not that I’m doubting your teaching abilities!” Cerelia’s cheeks coloured bright pink. “It’s just...I’d... we’d all rather gotten used to her and now you’ve... it’s ... just... uh.” Cerelia averted her eyes and licked her lips, a nervous twitch, as she wondered how deep the hole was she’d dug herself into. “W-what are we going to do today?” She asked finally, turning her head back so she could meet the gaze of the Professor.

Lucy hadn't taken Care of Magical Creatures until now. Not because she was averse to magical creatures, only to taking care of them. However, this class was being taught by none other than the son of the terrible dark wizard, Thaor Elldir. Or the terrible light wizard, Thaor Elldir. Lucy wasn't sure what the deal with that Elldir family was but damned if she wasn't going to figure it out.

"Professor Thorburn told my mum and dad that teaching at this school was even worse than at that reform school she used to work at," she told Cerelia. "Anyway, apparently she doesn't like the headmaster so..."

Her shrug indicated that the outcome was inevitable.

"Hello professor," she turned to her prey. "Lucy Weasley, pleased to meet you."

Wally never brought Darwin to class, just in case the creature they were studying had an appetite for chameleons. She made sure to put him in the small terrarium that kept him safe from wandering felines and snooping owls, before making sure her Ravenclaw uniform was all in place. She gathered her books and carefully wrapped a scarf around her throat to keep herself warm, before she hurried out for her favorite subject.

She said favorite subject because even if the matter was interesting, the class was usually a bit of a sham. Not for the professor's lack of trying, but the inability of the students to allow a class to progress properly. Wally heard the professor was new, so she was hoping it would move along well.

She entered the classroom and briefly considered doing something, saying something... and the promptly decided against it, choosing a seat in the back and setting her bag under her chair.

Audra was giddy with excitement. She had missed Care of Magical Creatures. Not that the last time she got to meet one was that long ago. There had been an outbreak of pixies back at Lithuanina, just few days before the school started again. She had a great deal of fun, trying to figure out why, and what, and how to deal with that.
But, there she was, practically skipping to the class, humming a little song, smiling from ear, standing at the door.

Hello, professor! Audra chimed, beaming with happiness. She walked to the tables and sat down in the first row. Again. This was one of the few subjects that she was really good at. After being bad at everything else, you simply end up flaunting with it. Well, at least, if you are a bit immature teenager with self esteem problems.

She sat there, chewing the ring that was hanging around her neck, crossing and uncrossing her legs, and looking at the professor with eyes gleaming of impatience and profound curiosity of what the lesson will bring.

Amelia had heard there was a new Care of Magical Creature. She knew from her ex-editor mother who he was but she wasn’t going to let that sway her if she liked him or not. It wouldn’t be fair to judge him because of something his father did. If there was one thing both of her parents had gone beaten into her skull was not to judge though her father was a bit of a hypocrite.

Amelia chuckled at the memory her first Care of Magical Creature class. She had fallen down the hill trying to get to class on time. It was quite a site. She didn’t care that anyone who noticed she was laughing would think she was insane. She didn’t need anyone’s approval to be confident of herself.

“Excuse me Professor but what are we learning about today?” asked Amelia raising her voice to make sure she would be heard. She wasn’t a very loud person but she made sure she was heard.