Care of Magical Creatures: Basic Class 001.

It was a generally warm day, which was a little odd in the week that had been almost freezing everyday. But it was a good enough temperature outside that decided that today's class would take place outside. Jake had made plans for the class to go into the Forbidden Forest for class today, but he thought that he would hold off on that for a little, at least until the students got used to having him as their Professor and that they trusted him.

So for this class he decided to have the students interact with a hippogriff. He wasn't sure if the previous Professor had them do this already, but even if he had this would be a good refresher for them. It would also give him a chance to see what they had retained from their experience with the hippogriff and he would be able to see what he would and wouldn't have to cover with them on this creature. He entered the padlock where the hippogriff was and he slowly stood in front of it. Jake then gave the creature a low bow, his head rising to meet its eyes. He remained like that for a few moments until it bowed back at him and he smiled as he straightened himself. The ex-Gryffindor extended his hand toward the hippogriff who in turn nudged his head against his hand.

Now that he had gained the trust of the creature, all that was left was for the students to arrive. Jake gave a quick sigh as he took his hand off the hippogriff's head and walked toward the entrance of the padlock to wait for the students. He couldn't help but wonder what the students would think of having yet another new Professor for this class, and he mostly wondered if they would like having him as their new Professor.

The ground was still slick with winter’s weather. The Thestrals were prancing about in the thick of the Forbidden Forest and, had she been able to see them, Millie Finnigan would have realised she was among them. There were a handful of students walking through the forbidden wood; each one, she was sure, heading towards the Care of Magical Creatures paddock. There were a few students ahead of Millie and she observed as the pair shared secret smiles, their hands grazing against each other periodically. Millie felt a small smile twitch at the sides of her lips and she felt her own hand warm with a feeling that wasn’t there. She felt her cheeks warm slightly and she dropped her gaze to the forest floor, her hair slipping from its bun to fall around her face, a curtain between her and the outside world; a curtain between herself and the love that was suffocating her.

The group of students, Millie included, soon arrived at the paddock. The snow was fresh, having fallen last night, and the couple ahead of Millie slipped and slid across its soft surface before tumbling down the embankment into a mound of snow that could bring a chill to anyone’s bones. The laughter that followed brought another smile to Millie’s face. She shook her head and pushed open the gate to the paddock, slipping through and leaving it open for the others to pass through.

“Good Morning Profess-oh!” Millie came to a halt when she saw the Hippogriff. She was stunned by the magnificence of the animal, so much so that she failed to notice that it wasn’t Professor Pattinson who had control of it. She knew about Hippogriffs. She knew how temperamental they could be. So, while the others scuffled in an attempt to back away from the animal, Millie dropped her bag on the snow-lined floor and swept down into a bow that nearly brought her nose to the snow. She lifted her gaze to the animal, her teeth chewing at her bottom lip as she watched it for any sign of hostility. There wasn’t any that she could see but she dropped her eyes to the floor all the same, in a mark of respect.

Danielle, for the most part, usually hated going to her classes. She thought that most of them were a waste of time and she really wasn't that much of a good student, like her brother was. As usual he was better than her at everything and she had totally given up trying to beat him at something. It wasn't like she was ever going to win anyways. But whenever it came time for her to go to CoMC her attitude changed entirely. She actually always looked forward to the class. Dani loved animals and taking care of them and even learning about them. This was the only class she didn't dislike at all.

As the group of students she was in arrived at the paddock she hastily entered it after another girl, Gryffindor by the looks of it, entered. What she saw simply amazed her, a Hippogriff. She loved this animal and even though she had never really come in contact with one, she knew quite a bit about them. They were fabulous creatures, but an unusual timidness took her over and she took a couple of steps back away from the creature. Even if she liked the animal she was a bit afraid to come near it and she remained where she now stood, watching as the other girl bowed to it.

Hopefully, next it would be she who got to do that. Now her attention focused on the Professor whom she hadn't noticed at first. "Hello Prof-" she stopped herself when she realized that it wasn't Professor Pattinsonthat was there. "Who are you?" Dani asked softly, trying her best not to sound disrespectful.

It really hadn't taken long for the students to begin to arrive. A group of them came into the paddock though there were a few stragglers who had chosen to do something else before they thought it appropriate to actually enter. It was the first class and he really didn't want to it to start off badly. So instead of repremanding them he merely allowed them to come in at their own pace. Jake really didn't want the students to hate him on the first day as their Professor. He smiled at the students who were actually inside the paddock, knowing that the question of who he was would come soon.

But first his attention was diverted to the young girl who was bowing to the Hippogriff. While the others backed away from it, she had taken the initiative. This was what he was going to have thwm do first after the introductions were put of the way. The Hippogriff soon bowed back at the girl and Jake merely smiled. "Good work. You took the initiative." the young Professor told the girl, who he recognized from his house. "Very nice job, Ms. Finnigan." he said before turning to the other students.

Soon enough the question he had been waiting for came and he cleared his throat. "As you may have noticed, I am not Professor Pattinson, your previous care of magical creatures professor. My name is Professor Collins." Jake introduced himself. "I will be your Professor from now on, so we will be seeing a lot of each other." he added simply. "Now before we begin the lesson, I shall give your classmates a few more minutes to get here."

Lysander ran through the forbidden Forest, trying his best to get to the Care of Magical Creatures paddock. He had run a little late because on his way there a girl from his house had held him up for some Valentines Day thing. Of course Lysander had quickly gotten out of it and ran away from her. That was really smooth, run away from a girl who wanted something to do with you. He sighed softly and ran a hand through his hair as he approached his class.

He got there just in time to hear a new Professor introduce himself. Again, seriously? He sighed again and put in his best but still awkward smile and he approached the Professor. "Good morning Professor Collins. Sorry I'm a bit late, I had a little run in on my way here." Lysander said as he looked over at the hippogriff the Professor had there with him. His eyes brightened a bit and he took a step away from the him to look at the hippogriff.

Jake checked his watch, five minutes had passed and he saw that not many people were still entering the paddock. He sighed and clapped his hand together to try and get all the students attention. "Alright, seems like you are-" he was cut off by a young boy who came in late. The boy explained his reason for being late and even though he didn't give him any specific details on what happened he merely nodded. "Alright, just don't let it happen again." Jake sighed and looked at all his students again.

"As I was saying, it seems like we can begin class now." he began. "As most of you have noticed, I have this hippogriff here. Our lesson will be on them. I assume you have all heard of these creatures?" he asked, immediately moving on, not leaving much time for spoken answers. "So, here's a question for you all and ill take the best answer." Jake smiled at them. "Who can tell me what exactly a Hippogriff is?" he asked the basic question that only by looking at the creature the answer would be there.

He again placed his hand on the hippogriff and gently stroked it, while having a firm, tight grip on its reigns. Jake looked around the paddock at the faces of each student, waiting patiently for one of them to answer his question.

[OOC: Just a note, class will continue until next Monday.]