Basic Class One

A cloudless sky spread out before Remy’s eyes as she surveyed the scene before her. The sun shone brightly overhead, reflecting off what was left of the snow. Soon all of that would disappear and spring would be in full force. Remy had never really taken much note of the changing of seasons since she had left the farm on which she had been raised; there, seasons were not called “spring” or “autumn”, but rather “plant” and “harvest”. Regardless of what they were called, though, all of them roughly translated to “work season”.

No stranger to physical labor, Remy was not at all nervous about her appointment to the Care of Magical Creatures position. The job had been vacant at Hogwarts since the last professor up and left, which happened to be quite convenient for Remy. Sandra had given Remy a special assignment, and with Vincent’s help she had been given just the right placement in order to accomplish her task. It was probably the only class Remy would be even remotely fit to teach, and even that was somewhat of a stretch considering her magical expertise. But as far as Remy was concerned, there wasn’t much to fear. She had faked her way through seven years of schooling at Hogwarts; surely she could forge her way through teaching.

Stepping off the porch of the gamekeeper’s hut – which she had been given as a living space which doubled as her office – Remy swept her eyes across the lawn, hoping to see upon the horizon the young impressionable minds which she would be expected to fill.

((Just so you are aware: in my classes, you are far more likely to be awarded house points for creativity or especially good (good does not always equal long, though the two can go hand in hand) posts than you are for answering questions correctly. You are still expected to answer questions, for which you may or may not earn house points. I just want to clarify this early, both to encourage strong posting and to avoid anyone's feelings being hurt if they answer a question and do not earn house points.))

Frank moved down from the castle ready for his Care of Magical Creatures lesson. This was probably the worst of his subjects, the teahcer didn't help either. As he made his way down, he noticed a different teacher, a woman teacher. He couldn't see her features but assumed she was a woman, and he was correct. As he got closer, he managed to see her. He froze...she was amazing. He had never seen such a woman....he shook his head and moved on. As soon as he finally got down to the area, he froze. He could see her fully, and she was georgous. Everything flew through his mind, something told him he wasn't going to be doing much better in this class with the new teacher.

"Umm....Good Morning...Professor..." he managed to let esacpe his lips. He stopped, and looked around, he was the only student there. Maybe he wouldn't make a fool of himself, then again he probably would. "You look very.....pretty today..." he continued. He blinked and shook his head, he had to snap out of this trance. "What are we going to be studying today?" he asked fearfully. Anything they were doing would be dangerous for him.

A few minutes had passed as Remy stood on the stoop, shifting her weight from one foot to the other as she waited for her class to arrive. Remy was not one for waiting, as she was rather impatient by nature. She was accustomed to getting what she wanted when she wanted it, no waiting necessary, but she knew that patience was a required virtue of someone in her… business. She was not disappointed, though, when her waiting ended as a student appeared, crossing the sloping lawn with long strides. He looked to be one of the older students who would be attending this class, and as he got closer Remy confirmed this. Though he still had some boyish features about him, she would guess him to be in his fifth year or so.

When the student reached her, Remy could read the surprise written across his features. Clearly, he had not been expecting the type of professor who now stood before him, and her suspicions of his awe were confirmed when he stumbled on his greeting. Seeing this as an opportunity – everything was an opportunity to Remy – the dark haired woman did not attempt to put the young man at ease, but rather allowed him to continue on flattering her and embarrassing himself. She smirked at his obvious confusion, caused no doubt by teenage horomones and the fact that Remy was likely the youngest female professor he had ever encountered, having known that this reaction might come up in her classes.

Remy was not at all opposed to using her womanly wiles on the male students in her class. She had charmed many a man that way and saw no reason not to earn the trust or at least the appreciation of her students using the same tools. Sandra had sent her here with a particular goal in mind, but that didn’t mean Remy couldn’t have a bit of fun along the way. This young man might prove useful to her, in one way or another, so if she had his attention, she may as well toy with it.

“Oh nothing too terrible,” Remy replied easily, teasing him a bit by not disclosing the subject of the lesson. As she spoke, she sat down on the stoop of the hut and brushed a bit of dirt from her worn in jeans. Although the headmaster had reminded her that robes were the appropriate attire for professors here, she doubted very much that she would be removed from her teaching position based on attire. Vincent knew perfectly well that Remy was here on Sandra’s wishes, which meant she had free reign to do just about anything she wanted, including choose her own wardrobe.

“Why don’t you take a seat while we wait?” Remy suggested, pushing a few stray handfuls of curls away from her face and patting the step next to her. Remy knew proximity was only likely to fluster the boy more, but she also knew he was unlikely to turn down the offer. It was a simple enough gesture, her inviting him to sit, and he would likely interpret it as innocent, even if it wasn’t completely so.

Frank tried to comprehend what was going on but it was all a jumble in his brain. When she teased him, as it was nothing too terrible he grinned slightly. He stole a glance into the forest hoping to find the creature they were going to be studying today. He saw nothing but darkness passde the pumpkin patch which was frozen. It would most likely be back up in running in spring although he was sure the professor had no inentions of keeping it up and running. His glance returned to the professor who had spoken up and asked him to sit next to her. Frank was running things through his head, what was the right thing. Could she be trusted, but what did he care she was pretty. As a warm ray of sun escaping from the clouds hit him, he moved forward some more hesitating but decided he didn't care. He moved towards the step, dropped his bag on the ground a few feat away from the step and took a seat next to her. "Um, thank you.." he said looking at her.

She was taller than him, but not by much. He barely just had to look up, she was even more beautiful up close. Her eyes shimmered in the sunlight that escaped the clouds. Although he wasn't completely sure if she was a good person, or someone he should avoid. But he was out of his mind, it was like she was controling him with her mind. It wasn't on her own, well it was but it was specifically her beauty. Fred was lost looking at her, he was this close. He couldn't think of anything to say, and eventually he coughed quietly and something popped into his mind. "So, what do I call you?" he asked. "Professor....?" he asked hoping she would reply to him. Although he was confident with some girls, he had never been so amazed by an older woman. As butterflies flew around in his stomache he felt queezy, but he ignore it.

Care of Magical Creatures wasn’t a particularly taxing class but both Elijah and Nachash found the teachers to be incompetent. Well mostly Elijah found the teachers incompetent; Nachash just didn’t enjoy it because the Professors didn’t let her eat the mice or other magical ‘annoyances’. The snake now took up most of his torso and Eli was beginning to wonder when the snake would stop growing. He didn’t mind, it was just getting a bit crazy.

It was normal for the Slytherin to be wearing his own version of the uniform and today he especially was. Eli had a black vest on with his dress shirt on over the top but left open. The Slytherin emblem was hanging from a necklace around his neck to substitute as a tie and he was also wearing a leather choker with a silver ring sitting at the front. He felt suspiciously like a dog with the added extra of the ring but that coupled with the dog tags he was wearing with the emblem and he really did have that dog-like feeling.

Walking down to the Hut, Eli stretched and heard the light jingle of the necklaces hitting each other. He yawned and looked around for the Professor, wanting to know what Weasley had up his sleev for today. He pushed his hair out of his eyes and had to blink a few times before registering what he was seeing. What did Remy want? Clearly she had an alternate motive for coming to Hogwarts to teach Care of Magical Creatures. No one did that on a whim.

“Remy is there something you forgot to mention?” Eli smirked as he walked over. “I’m fairly insulted, I thought we were close.”

Remy could sense the hint of hesitation in this student when she encouraged him to sit next to her. This was the same hesitation a small rodent would feel upon passing by a snake, feeling its eyes on him, but writing the feeling off as imaginary. With her… condition, Remy sometimes elicited that type of response in people, but she could usually cover it with something else. Hell, half the time people were so ready to excuse that feeling that Remy didn’t have to do anything at all. People didn’t trust their instincts as much as they ought to, Remy found, which was just as well for her because if they did, she wouldn’t be nearly as good at what she did.

His bag hit the ground just before he took a seat next to her, the awkward teenager showing in his voice and demeanor. He was between worlds right now, probably feeling the pull of manhood while simultaneously not wanting to let go of the carefree attitude he was allowed to have when he was younger. He would be incredibly easy to manipulate, if Remy wanted to. But for now, she was content with teasing, getting a feel for him before overstepping her boundaries too much. She had to know he was worth the risk before she pushed the envelope.

The silence which fell between them as the boy took in her appearance didn’t surprise Remy, nor did she bother to interrupt his awe. Instead, she held perfectly still, allowing his eyes to rake over her figure and face. Remy knew she was physically attractive and that that was much of the reason why she was able to manipulate people – especially men – as well as she did. Most women did not want to be known for their looks; they preferred renown for their intelligence or talent or some such nonsense. Remy was more than content to be just a pretty face, if only for the reason that it helped people to underestimate her.

“Remy will be fine,” the brunette answered the boy’s question easily, her voice smooth and even. She could tell his was struggling to remain coherent, but she wasn’t going to call him out on it. It was rather amusing, actually, to see such an obvious display of attraction, “I’ve never been much for formalities,” she added by way of explanation, though that wasn’t the whole truth of it. If she allowed her students to call her by her first name they were likely to interpret this as familiarity, thereby giving her way into their world and their minds and their… well, save that for another day.

“And what should I call you, sir?” she asked, using a term of respect, but not one of endearment. She had briefly considered calling him “my pet”, but this boy was likely to faint from hyperventilation if she were to make such a bold move. He was already infatuated, she could tell, and she wasn’t about to ruin that, both because it might be useful and because, for now, it was the only thing holding her attention. When were the other blasted students going to arrive?

Almost as soon as this thought crossed her mind, Remy heard someone approaching, not by their footsteps, but instead by a curious jingling noise. When she looked away from the boy she had been conversing with, her eyes fell upon Elijah, looking, as usual, like he was running the show, what with his alternate uniform and unique sense of “I know I’m good looking but I’m going to pretend I’m oblivious” fashion. Remy smirked at his question, always having admired Elijah for his sarcasm. If there was one thing Remy knew, it was sarcasm; she was bound to succeed in areas that required no actual feeling.

“Well, I know how you love surprises,” Remy intoned from her place on the step, easily falling into her usual banter with her fellow employee at Slug and Jiggers, “So I decided not to ruin this one. Do feel free to take a seat. You already know I don’t bite…”

… often. Remy thought to herself with an almost imperceptible hint of a smirk.

“…though I can’t speak for your classmate here, who has yet to provide me with a proper way to address him,” Remy teased with a smile, looking over to the Gryffindor boy who had been watching her exchange with the handsome Mr. Krum, “You’ll have to take your chances with him.”

Frank, enjoying his company, which seemed to be cut short because of Elijah. He turned his head, it has hard taking his eyes off of her. He saw Elijah and his smile faded, somehow he knew she would act differently around other students. Then he turned back to her, taking her all in. She had the body of an angel, his cleared his throat trying to act manly...as much as he could at age fifteen anyway. "You can call me Frank..." he said smiling to her. "Frank Longbottom..." he added nodding his head.

He hid his anger for Elijah, for showing up at such a bad time. He knew it'd be hard to charm this girl, but then again he had other things on his mind. He knew it was hopeless for him to try, so he broke away his gaze at her and focused on Elijah. "Hey Elijah!" he called smiling. When he heard him and Remy exchange words, his smile vanished for a moment, but it returned almost as fast as it had gone. Now he was posotive it was hopeless, but a boy can dream still. He sighed and looked down at his feet, hoping for the best, still dreaming. He looked up becaus he thought he saw something in the forest, but it must've been his imagination running wild. "So uh...how long do you think the others would take to get here?" he asked, more towards himself than Remy. But it was directed to her as well, he didn't want to seem like a creep for talking to himself.

Ben walked down the hill outside Hogwarts and towards his next lesson, Care of Magical Creatures. As he was on his way, he saw that two students were there along with a woman. A woman? Ooh, new teacher. Hopefully she'll be better than the last, we never seemed to do much of anything beforehand. I wonder what she's like. I don't even recognise those two students. Both look a fair bit older than me. I don't think they're Hufflepuffs, but I can't see their robes from here...hmmm...

Drawing nearer to the three of them, Ben smiled at them. He liked to make a good first impression as he genuinely liked people. No matter who he was with, he was the kind of guy who would always try to make conversation and be friendly. "Hey guys, I'm Ben, Ben Macmillan." he introduced himself to everyone. I wonder what the new teacher is called. I'm sure she'll tell us in due course, though.

Remy nodded and repeated Frank’s name, more for the benefit of rolling it on her tongue than anything else. In her experience, men liked to hear their own names, especially on this lips of a woman. Also, Remy was intrigued by the name itself: Longbottom. As a woman with a thirst for power – not her own, but rather power by proxy – Remy was well aware of the more prominent wizarding families, and Longbottom certainly fell on that list. Although not a family of extraordinary means – at least not compared to those who truly ran this town – the surname held enough promise to hold her information.

Storing that tidbit away for another time, Remy smirked once more at Frank’s antics, this time his apparent dislike for Elijah. It did not seem that the pair were competitive in their everyday life, but the Gryffindor boy seemed a little more than disappointed that Elijah was already of familiar terms with Remy. The new professor made a mental note not to show particular favoritism to any student for fear of ostracizing the others, and to make up for it Remy moved almost imperceptibly closer to Frank on the step, masquerading this as a mere shifting of her weight.

Frank seemed to overcome his disappointment around the same time as this movement took place, asking a question that had been hanging at the forefront of Remy’s mind as well. Just as he asked it, though, his wish and hers were granted as another student came strolling over the lawns to her humble abode, this one considerably younger than the others, but pleasant enough. He also introduced himself without her needing to ask for it, which was always useful. She stored his name into her memory and, having waited long enough, stood up from the steps, brushing the bit of dust and dirt from the backside of her jeans before addressing the meager group of students around her.

“Let’s get this show on the road, shall we?” Remy asked, her eyes darting from boy to boy, smiling to add to the teacher/friend dichotomy, “I was rather hoping for a better turn out, but I suppose morning classes are just as difficult now as they were when I was a student here. For those of you with whom I have not been previously acquainted,” she paused here to glance quickly at Elijah before continuing, “my name is Remy. Don’t bother with the “Professor” formalities. I tend to think respect lies in actions, rather than words, so don’t worry yourselves with them.”

“Now that we’ve all been properly introduced,” Remy continued, tugging down the sleeve of the leather jacket she had put on this morning, “the lesson may begin. Who among you can tell me something about ghouls?” the freckled woman asked, looking around for the eager student who would be willing to supply the answer. When she was a student at Hogwarts, she was equally interested in the person who supplied all the answers, but for an entirely different reason.

Frank stood up and walked over to his bag, rather hesitantly at that. Remy was playing him, but he didn't care. No, he had to get his bag, don't stay...he was arguing with himself. He eventually found his way to his bag, and was standing between Elijah and Benjamin. "Ghouls, can't really cause any harm." he said. "The most they can do is growl at someone and make loud noises to annoy people..." he said. "Like a little sister, or a dog!" he said nodding his head.

Thank god his sister Alice wasn't around, she would've killed him for that one. He continued to stare at Remy, lost in her velvet lips. He closed his eyes and shook his head, no focus on the lesson! Focus on Ghouls! He continued to argue with himself. Finally he broke his gaze by staring at his shoes as he kicked a small stone between his feet. The grass had finally become visible, thank god.