2028 Basic Lesson 1

Today's class would not be held in the Magical Creatures' Paddock. Instead, Selwyn had thrown wide the doors of the gigantic barn at the end of the pasture, from which emitted a cacophony of animal sounds.

Inside the barn he'd conjured tables and chairs to emulate the feel of a more serious establishment. Apart from the intrusive smell and a large pile of black fur in a far corner which seemed to be breathing, it might almost be an ordinary classroom.

No ordinary classroom would be so full of cages, though. There was one on every desk. Of course, that was where the noise was coming from and Selwyn fancied even ordinary wizards and witches would be able to feel the discomfort of their inhabitants. He'd been building this collection for over a month now and some of the larger creatures had needed the assistance of a shrinking charm.

"All right everyone!"

He called out over the squeaks and roars, while resisting the temptation to clap his hands for their attention. Dear Merlin, let him not transform into a nineteenth century schoolmaster. Is this what had happened to Amelia? Although, he could kind of imagine her acting like a nineteenth century schoolmistress and... Probably he oughtn't think about that kind of thing right before class.

"I know you're all very excited to be back at school, but we do have learning to do this morning. If you could all take a seat."

Each seat was behind a desk. Upon which was a cage.

"My name is Professor Thorfinn and as you can see I'm your new Care of Magical Creatures instructor," he introduced himself. "Today's lesson is about how to safely handle and interact with magical creatures."

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OOC: Please read [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] and make particular note of what it says about keeping your posts succinct and the important information regarding magic in Hogwarts.

Then reply to this post. There are no limitations in COMC. You don't have to wait for Selwyn's instructions, and if you want to break school rules you can do so as long as you don't mind dealing with the consequences.

Fiona Grimm was really the only one of her friends to truly take her classes seriously. She was also one of the youngest of her group, so it seemed that her struggle to the finish line of the OWLs was going to be a solitary one. So she made the walk out to the grounds on her own, her long coat clutched around her shoulders, the snow melting beneath her feet as she walked. The winter seemed endless, and the day was still dark, clouds filling the grey skies. The lone walk was nice - quiet, relaxed, safe.

In the barn, however, the peace was interrupted by the low thunder of voices and the clamoring of animals. Finn found herself shuffled towards the front of the class where no one else wanted to sit, and she ended up sitting in front of a cage containing a niffler - that she can handle. The Slytherin next to her had something much more vicious looking in his cage, and Finn was absolutely thankful for not having been forced to sit there.

She looked up at the professor - they seemed to be getting younger every year.

Vaughn walked into the barn they were using for class and a huge grin split across his face. He looked at several of the cages that held animals and then saw the ones that sat on the desk. He walked over to where someone was already seated and took the desk next to them. He peered into the cage smiling softly and couldn't help but wonder about the creature. He leaned back into the chair as his eyes were focused on the teacher. Looking at the girl to his left's animal which was tame like his but he found himself looking at her from the corner of his eye.

Shaking his head he looked up at the teacher in front of him. He saw that he looked rather young compared to what teachers he thought would be. He wondered if the teacher choose to be in this class because he liked the animals or it was something else completely. Vaughn leaned back into his chair more as he watched his animal in the cage but his ears were completely on the teacher in front of him.

Lucian had never looked forward to a Care of Magical Creatures lesson. He was mildly interested in the subject, but their last teacher had been a complete nutcase who had once brought Graphorns to the class. That professor had probably been sacked and now they were being taught by the head of Slytherin. And that was promising, Slytherin teachers were often very biased and most of the Slytherins were ready to get special treatment.

Lucian walked into the barn a little apprehensively, for there noise inside did not sound very friendly. Unlike the rest of the class, who were busy chatting amongst one another, Lucian was quick to realize that each cage had a different magical creature. He had no intention of ending up with a Skrewt, so he paced up a row of tables, looking inside each cage, before settling down in front of a cage which contained a rather innocent looking jeweled shell. Having no idea he had just been paired up with a fire crab, Lucian smiled slightly and resisted the urge to poke it. He looked around, the Ravenclaw girl next to him had got a Skrewt, and the Hufflepuff one on the other side a Niffler. “Those are rather easy to handle. Just take off any jewelry,” Lucian said helpfully to the Hufflepuff girl.

Now, Finn's classes usually went one way. She sat down, did her work, and then escaped notice. This is what she was prepared for. This is what she was used to. She didn't doubt that as she relaxed into her chair, unbuttoning her jacket, removing her gloves, unwinding her scarf. She tucked her gloves and scarf into her bag, before pulling out a notebook and pen - she used her quill and parchment for homework, but it was much easier to use regular writing utensils for class. So far, everything was according to plan.

Someone took a seat next to her. Okay. Whatever. But then he spoke to her. Finn's fingers slipped as she wrote her name across the top of the paper. She turned to look at the boy, a Slytherin boy her age that she didn't know the name of - she wasn't anywhere near cool enough to know the names of Slytherins. Her wide eyes looked at him with surprise, before slowly looking to the animal in his cage - boy, she did not envy him. She blinked, swallowing. "Thank you."

The girl looked so flustered at his comment that Lucian almost laughed. Usually, it was Lucian who had trouble talking to girls. He could start a conversation with one confidently enough, but soon enough he would just lose his train of thought and run out of things to say. He could never really act natural around girls. However, the hufflepuffs girl’s awkward reaction seemed to make him more confident.

“The names Lucianus by the way, Lucian for short,” he greeted, with a smile. Honestly, he didn’t like his name much. It had been the name of his great grandfather, and great-great-great – well, the point was it was a common family name, and it seemed more suited to the medieval ages than the present day. He would have preferred a normal name like Tony or Tom. He didn’t know her name, Lucian usually just sat with his own gang of Slytherins, and was only seated here today to avoid the Skrewts and Red Caps. While competitive towards other houses, the Slytherin didn’t hate any other than Gryffindor. “What do you think this is?” he added, pointing to the shell. He would have guessed a small turtle, but it was hiding completely under its jeweled shell.

Casey Weasley hated wearing uniforms, but she also hated having to put any effort into her clothes. So she put on her grey pleated skirt, pulled her Hogwarts jumper over a button-up shirt, and buckled her shoes over her knee-high socks - great, she looked just like everyone else. Her hair she left to nature, and the curls sprouted around her keen, angular face. With little do about anything, she made her way to the Care of Magical Creatures barn, her backpack bouncing against her spine.

She reached the barn and slipped inside, casting an eye around the makeshift classroom. A cage on every desk - great. She spotted a gnome inside one of the cages situated in the back and she dropped into the seat. She knew she could deal with gnomes, and being in the back meant no one would bug her. Win-win.

Cecilie wasn't really big fan of taking carw of magical creatures but it would be nice to attend to this lesson here. That new system what they had now wasn't so great either but she didn't blame. It wasn't her thing to worry now. Anyways she walked towards the place where CoMC was held now.

When she reached there. She saw there few people, who girl have seen just around but never spoke. "Hello, professor," she said with a weak smile. She did take a seat and looked at cage at hef table. She wondered what cteature it was there. To be hokest she sucked in this lesson. It has never been her best subject for sure.

Magical Creatures was one of the few classes Ariane didn't mind turning up to. The teachers were usually eccentric weirdos and being allowed to play with the animals reminded her of home. The paddock smelled comfortingly of straw and, not that she'd admit it was a comfort, manure.

That didn't stop her being in a flustered rush today, however. As always, Ariane was running late. She dodged the whomping willow, which must've been taking it easy today since its swipe was distinctly halfhearted, and vaulted over the fence.

It was quite impressive. Her bag was barely torn. Unfortunately, there was nobody here to see it. It took Ariane a couple of moments to even register the sounds coming from the barn. That must be where everyone was.

Composing herself, she wandered inside. It looked like a schoolroom. Oh no. They'd finally found a Care of Magical Creatures professor who wasn't going to give them free rein.

She sank into a chair and pulled out her wand to poke aimlessly at the snidget zipping around in its ornate cage.

Dakota walked into the class area and looked around. She saw a couple of students and one of her own house mates. She nodded at Lucian who was just a year above herself. She went and sat down in the corner and looked around. She saw Vaughn and considered going over to him, but he seemed entranced by another girl. Should she be worried? She decided that Vaughn was as loyal to her as he could possibly be. But just to make sure, she went over and sat beside him. She stared at the creature in front of her and raised an eyebrow. What the hell was this thing?