Care of Magical Creatures (Slytherin & Hufflepuff)

[Professor Rubeus Hagrid]

Hagrid huffed and puffed out of the calm water of the Lake, dragging a gargantuan load of seaweed from the bottom of the lake. Dripping from head to toe, Hagrid shook the water off of himself. The nice September day was warm and just right for his Care of Magical Creatures classes. After depositing the heavy load of seaweed and assorted underwater plants by his idiosyncratic 'house' Hagrid took out his umbrella and headed for the lake. Today, the class would be rather preternatural, as it would be divergent from the 'typical' Care of Magical Creatures class.

Arriving at the lake, Hagrid stuck his head underwater and made piercing, screeching calls into the lake, awaiting his subjects to gather around him. They resembled an amalgamation between a fish and horse. The creatures had the head and forequarters of a horse and hind of a giant fish. One of the horses brought up a merman, who gestered to Hagrid and shook hands with him before departing. "Thanks a lot ol' feller!" Hagrid said in his gruffy voice.

After finishing that task Hagrid headed back into his cabin to await the arrival of his students.

[Nokomis Astarra H5]

She had rushed down to Great Hall, the fear of being late almsot overcoming her though, she knew that she was instead almost fifteen minutes early. She loved Magical Creatures though. And Professor Hagrid was almost so nice--even if his classes were, um, different, sometimes. He always did have wonderful creatures to show them and she wanted to learn about all of them.

She was sure that she coudln't have eaten any faster if her life depended on it, and still chewing her last bite she darted out among the still dining crowd and heading outside the castle and across the lawn.

They would be meating near Professor Hagrid's Hut today, and as she approched, she noticed that no one else was there yet. It actually make her happy--she wanted to be the first one there.

[Kim Sullivan H4]

Kim ran down the steps of the castle and out the door. She was off to Magical Creatures! She hoped they could get to work with Unicorns again but they hadn't done that in a while. There didn't look like anyone was at Hagrid's when she first arrived, but she soon found Nokomis standing alone. "Hi Nokomis, are you ready for class? I hope we get to see unicorns again, or maybe some ponies I like ponies. But I don't like those blasty screw things we had to do my 2nd years, they were ugly and they kept trying to attack me, oh and this one big one tried to burn this girl in Gryffindor but she ran away and the screw thingy was running after her and then all the others got excited and they all started chasing us around." Kim then set her bag down on the grass and put her hands behind her back and she bounced from the balls of her heels to the tips of her toes, waiting for class to start.

[Nokomis Astarra H5]

She smiled at the meantion of Unicorns. They were her favorite creatures. Of course the familiarity of Kim and the fact that she really liked this topic made her brave enougth to start babbling on.

"I would love to see unicorns. They are beautiful. But one of the wingged horses would be nice too. Or maybe one of the winnged horses. I bet Aethonans and Granians are really pretty. Or even a Hippogriff maybe, I bet they a kind of pretty..."

She finally stopped herself. She was talking almost as much as Kim, and that was acomplishing something

[KelseyMattie]

Kelsey looked up and gasped. Care of Magical Creatures was in a few moments. She stood and grabbed her book from her Dormatory bed. She stuffed 'Magical Violin Notes For Advanced Musicians' into her bag and ran out her fifth year dorm. She was panting by the time she was in the Great Hall.

Kelsey pushed the great doors open and ran onto the grass, she stopped as Hagrid was getting back from the lake, dripping from head to toe. Amelia rubbed a stitch at her side as she smiled up at her large friend. She put down her bag and went up to Hagrid.

"Hi Hagrid! How are you today?" kelsey asked, then snapping her fingers as if she forgot something. Then she stooped down and took out a envelope.

"Hagrid I got those pictures from the Orchestra!" she looked up at him smiling. The Orchestra was where she played her Violin. She was usually doing solos all the time and was the best Violinist of the whole Orchestra. She had always talked with Hagrid about it and hoped he wasn't lieing when he said it was interesting to him.

[sethia]

It was September, and school had only recently started back at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, like it had at most schools throughout the world. Sethia Wagner, a fifth year Hufflepuff, was seated in the library waiting for her next class, which happened to be her favourite class and the one she was best at; Care of Magical Creatures. Sethia had a love and passion for animal care, that seemed to be leading her down the path of perhaps teaching the very subject she was about to attend; or maybe she would start a clinic, she wasn’t entirely sure as yet. Sethia was reading a book on Ancient Runes at the moment, another class she enjoyed immensely. She looked at her watch, she had ten minutes till her class started and Sethia liked to be on time, if not early; so she packed up her things and placed the book back on the shelf and headed for the stairs.

Sethia walked down the stairs happily, she was having a wonderful day so far and this class was going to make it even better, she couldn’t wait to see what creatures Hagrid was bringing to teach them about. She said hello to a few people she knew, who she passed on the stairs and then made her way out of the large oak doors and down to Hagrid’s hut. When Sethia arrived she found a few others had the same idea as she, and were already present for class ahead of time. There was Nokomis Astarra; Kimberly Sullivan and Kelsey Madison, all of who were Hufflepuffs like Sethia, Kelsey being in her year. Sethia walked over to Kimberly, “Hey guys,” she said to everyone, “Hi Kim,” she said to her friend who was a year younger than she. “How are you? Ready for class?” she asked her excitedly and with a huge smile.

Anyone who knew Sethia knew she loved animals, and she always get this silly grin on her face whenever she was attending Care of Magical Creatures class. Sethia did more than most students who took the class, she would often stay back and help Hagrid if he needed it, or take care of some of the animals for him, just for practice and to gain experience. She considered Hagrid a brilliant teacher, though some found him uncouth and a little boorish, she did not, in fact she considered him a friend, and not many students would say that about their teachers. “Hello there Hagrid,” she said beaming. “What are we learning about today?” she asked, unable to contain her excitement.

[Israel Moon S7]

Israel Moon walked into the Slytherin common room, one small bag on her back. She had returned a full day late to school. She had been with her mother again this summer, well in the end it turned out that way, after she stormed from her father’s house and took the Floo Network to her mother’s. Israel had just come from getting her class schedule for this; her seventh year, and she had a class in less than ten minutes. Her first class, now that she was back at Hogwarts was Care of Magical Creatures a class she didn’t mind that much, sometimes it was even fun, but she would never let on that she enjoyed it from time to time, especially since Hagrid was the new Professor. No Slytherin liked Hagrid as a professor, they preferred him as the Game Keeper, and basic servant to them, but Israel didn’t care one way or another.

Israel dropped her bag on the huge green couch that was before the fireplace, above which was a large portrait of Salazar Slytherin, her house patriarch. Israel didn’t even take a book or a piece of parchment; she simply turned out the common room and walked casually towards Hogwarts’ grounds. The day was cool and sunny and Israel was in a somewhat pleasant mood, she approached the class, Slytherin was paired off with Hufflepuff this year, a thing she loathed the idea of. Even to Israel; a Slytherin who liked muggle things, if you could believe that; Hufflepuffs were weak little people, not worth wasting your time or energy on. To Israel’s dismay, she was the first Slytherin there, that meant she was to be surrounded by Huffies till someone else arrived, and she hoped they would get there quickly. She strutted up to the class, a few people were there already, no one of mention was present and she stood there in silence. The big oaf Hagrid was already standing there ready to begin she supposed, and she was ready, she guessed.

[morganan]

Hendrix Night was sitting in the owlery of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, she waiting for her brother Grant to show up. They were sending letters home to their grandmother Georgia, but Grant had failed to show as yet, which was unlike him. Hendrix placed her note in the owl’s pouch, she looked at the door, still no Grant, but she couldn’t wait, her grandmother would be expecting them, it was Grant’s own fault if she was mad at him for this. Hendrix put the owl on her arm and walked towards the window with it, she then released it with one swift jerk or her arm, “Make sure you get it home as fast as possible,” she said, followed by, “yah dumb bird,” under her breath. Hendrix wasn’t using her usual owl, no she had had to leave her home for the next two months, grandmother had plans and needed a swift reliable owl, so Hendrix was forced to settle with Georgia’s old one.

Hendrix hated that owl, so did Grant, but they had no choice, grandmother had something big up her sleeve and they had to comply, at least for now. Hendrix looked at her watch; she had Care of Magical Creatures class in a few minutes, she supposed she would catch up with her brother then, she had better. Grant and Hendrix had all the same electives, they always did and this year they were studying Care of Magical Creatures, Astronomy, Ancient Runes and Arithmancy, and History of Magic and Mythology. “See you in class brother dear,” she said to herself as she walked towards the door. Hendrix sauntered down to the Care of Magical Creatures class, which was being held at that moronic buffoon, Hagrid’s house, if you could call that run down shack a house.

On her arrival she found a throng of little Hufflepuffs, but to her great relief she found Israel Moon was taking this class this year. “Hello there Israel, glad to see someone of substance is here,” referring to the sub-standard people she considered Hufflepuffs to be. “So have a good summer?” she complete ignored Hagrid and the others.

[grantn]

Grant Night was deep in thought in the Hogwarts’ library; he was researching some information on a new spell her was concocting. He had been there for hours, pouring over pages and pages of information on the effects of certain mixes of potion ingredients, he was a perfectionist and never made a mistake when it came to spells and potions. He flipped his head from one page to another, his finger moving feverishly over each word. After a while something came over him, and he looked at his watch, “Darn it!” he said rather loudly, loudly enough that Madam Pinch came over and told him to lower his voice. Grant was not paying any attention to her however, he realised he was late to meet his sister in the owlery, there was no way he could make it and get to class on time. Grant may not have liked Care of Magical Creatures all that much, but he was not about to lose Slytherin points for being late.

Grant grabbed his things and ran out of the library, he was followed by an annoyed look from Madam Pinch. He didn’t even bother to put his things back in the dorm, he just ran out the oak doors and down to Hagrid’s hut. Grant had a rather light foot and was a quite the runner, he was at class in no time and found that his sister was already there. “Hi,” he said breathily to Hendrix. “Oh hi Israel,” he said when he noticed she was there, he like his sister ignored the others.

[nicole]

Nicole Kristensen walked solemnly down to Hagrid’s hut, she was nervous, this was her first class and she didn’t want to make a fool of herself. She has been given directions by a very friendly Professor named Sprout and had found her way there without asking for more help, all the way from her dorm rooms. It was her first class at this strange new school, new world for her and her heart was beating loudly in her ears. All morning she had dreaded and looked forward to this, it was a chance to see some of the animals she never knew existed, but what if something happened what then? What if she was asked a question than anyone should know who was attending the school, and she didn’t know? What if she did a spell wrong and blew up something? The many terrible thoughts that went through her mind all that morning and made her lose her appetite and she had hardly eaten that morning.

As Nicole approached she saw several people standing around, she walked up to them, and rather nervously spoke, “Hello. Is this Care of Magical Creatures?” she asked timidly.

[KelseyMattie]

Kelsey turned suddenly, hearing a voice behind her. A small first year stood there rather timid and shy. Kelsey smiled reasuringly to the newcomer. Kelsey knew how nervous someone can feel in a new place. She had been to many different Foster Homes in her young life and felt as out of place as a sore thumb. She extended her hand to the small girl in welcome.

"I'm Kelsey, fifth year...," she stopped for a moment, "I'm in Hufflepuff!" she smiled again at the small girl.

[nicole]

Nicole looked around, it seemed like most of the people had ignored her, or hadn’t heard her, she had been speaking rather softly. She smiled back at the older girl and took her hand and shock it, “Hello Kelsey, I’m Nicole, I’m in Hufflepuff too. I’m a…I’m a first year,” she said with a slight falter. This was all so strange to Nicole. Making friends had never been easy for her, she had always felt she didn’t quite fit in, didn’t quite belong and when she found out that she was a witch, it made sense in a way she supposed. However, she didn’t feel she fit in here either, at least not yet. Almost everyone she met already knew some magic, and she knew none, they had seen or at least heard of the things they would learn about, she had not. Everyone know what it really meant to be a witch or a wizard, she had no clue. She only knew that for once in her life she would like to have a home, a real home, where she belonged. Nicole was happy that her days in foster care were over and she had some chance at having what everyone else seemed to have, a family. Nicole smiled again, this may not feel like her home yet, but at least this was a good start.

[KelseyMattie]

The small girl told Kelsey her name was Nicole. Kelsey couldn't help but smile. The thought that kelsey had herself once been that small made her feel alittle too old to talk to the small girl, but Kelsey ignored the sudden thought. She even felt that was something horrible to do.

"Well Nicole, I'm glad you made it into Hufflepuff," she leaned over to whisper to the small girl, "my friend calls it Huffly Puffly," she smiled, "My friends are nuts!" she paused, "Have you made any friends yet?"

God this is so weird Kelsey thought. She didn't think that Nicole was weird at all. Just the feeling that she was so much bigger than the first year. She knew she sounded like some baby sitter. She shivered slightly at the thought. Her foster mothers had always made the impression of Baby sitting as an 'art'. You had to do everythign right! She couldn't help but suddenly smile.

[JordanCortes]

Jordan prounced over to Kelsey and smiled up at her friend. Kelsey was in two years above her and she was taller than Jordan, but then again who wasnt, but that didnt mean she avoided her.

"Hey girly. Whats up?" She asked, a broad smile on her face. She couldnt wait for class to start. Or had it already started and Jordan be late? Oh no. Thoughts were now swirling through her head and she couldnt help but let more in. Jordan sighed shortly and looked around at all the students. Maybe it had started. Oh lord. She turned to Kelsey.

"Class hasnt started, has it?" She asked in a timid voice. Jordan was never quite sure on these things.

[Professor Rubeus Hagrid]

Hagrid waited with patiently as the last students arrive and gathered by his colossal cabin, discoursing, and sometimes arguing with each other. One distinguished student in the throng of students was Sethia Wagner, a very intelligent Hufflepuff student, who was inquiring him about todays class. "You'll see," Hagrid answered with a toothy grin. As everyone finally stopped their conversations, Hagrid began instructing, "Well, hello everyone, welcome ter' Care o' Magical Creatures class. Today, as you can see,- he pointed at his dripping coat- we'll be' doin' lots o' work in the water. Now, everyone follow me, we'll be starting class by te' lake. 'Alrighty, everyone gather 'round." He stooped down and stuck his head under the water while making shrill calls with his hands fluttering like a butterfly in front of his gaping mouth. As Hagrid lifted his head from the water, instantaneously, several dark shadows began moving towards the large group, that had ceased its racous conversations.

From the rippling waters of the lake arose horses, but, their hind quarters were those of giant fish. "So, can anyone tell me what these beautys are?"

[Nokomis Astarra H5]

he looked down into the water where she could see the shadowy creatures swimming towards them. She coudl think of a few creatures that lived in the water, but she stayed back beside Kim, and didn't answer the question--thought she did give Hagrid a soft smile. She liked Hagrid.

[JordanCortes]

Jordan raised her hand and stepped away from Kelsey.

"Aren't those Hippocampus'?" She asked, her voice slightly timid, but more curious. She was prettty sure she was right about this, and she wanted to see if she was. And since no one else was trying to answer, she decided it was time to get over her fright and speak up.

[Professor Rubeus Hagrid]

"Thas' right Ms. Cortes. These beautys are Hippocampus. Now can anyone tell me some o' the facts 'bout these creatures? Yeh' know, their 'abitats, the regions o' this Earth that they live in, whatever ye' might know 'bout them," Hagrid said in his gruff but amiable voice. He plucked some seaweed from the bundle that he had taken from the lake and fed some to the Hippocampus.

Further instructing the class, Hagrid added, "Now, what I 'ave here is a heard of 'em blue roan specimen 'of the merpeople in this lake. But, most of them come from the shores o' Scotland. They were caught by those clever merpeople in 1949 and domesticated for their use." Hagrid waited patiently for another student to enunciate as he fumbled with a handbook of usefull spells deep in a very capacious pocket on his enormous fur coat.

[JordanCortes]

Again, Jordan raised her hand. No one seemed wanting to answer, not even Nokomis who loved Care of Magical Creatures. It was Nokomis who had talked Jordan into joining. So she thought, Nokomis would be a bit more active in the class.

"The Hippocampus is the offspring of the amalgamtion of the genes of an albino horse and a giant sea fish. It’s head and front is that of the horse and the other end is that of a huge fish. The horse is usually albino because the dominant allele is albino, while the recessive one is brown,gray, and black. Making the albino trait more common." Jordan answered, her voice booming over the large crowd of students. She looked around and realized that she was quite smaller then everyone else. Making it hard for her to see over their heads, so she had to stand on her tippy toes to answer Hagrid's question.

[KelseyMattie]

Kelsey smiled at Jordan. It was a bit complicated on how Kelsey knew Jordan. How Kelsey was friends with Amelia Richardson who was best friends with Jordan. She knew every answer but thought the excited third year would like to answer instead. she nodded as Jordan answered each question correctly.

"Good job," she said, leaning over to Jordan and smiling.