Lesson 1 for the Sixth Years on Care of Magical Creatures

Professor Kijewski

September 18, 2007 8:42 PM

Lesson 1 for the Sixth Years by Professor Kijewski

The pool that had moments ago occupied the clearing, was now gone. Kiva easily rid the clearing of it and placed the Mackled Malaclaws in containers of water and earth. Setting those aside, she then went around the clearing to make it more comfortable than it usually was. Kiva felt rather guilty with the sixth years for basically abandoning them during their roughest year yet. It had been unintentional, of course, but she still couldn't quite rid herself of that feeling. And, from what she had been hearing, the substitute that had been her replacement for the long months of her absense, had been anything but helpful. She ought to have been more available to them when she had returned, but she had still been in a state of distraught and grief, she wouldn't have been able to assist them to what they deserved.

She set out some floor pillows for the students to sit on. Today would be a different sort of lesson. An easy lesson. Well, really, no lesson at all. They were sixth years now, so they now had the option to relax for the year and give their brains a much needed rest. Because of her plans for after midterm, Kiva wanted to make these lessons easy and fun. Even if she wasn't planning on them actually having to do much of anything for their first lesson of the year.

When the small group of sixth years finally arrived to the somewhat odd looking clearing with large floor pillows awaiting their arrival, Kiva stood in the center as she usually did, with a smile on her face. She was hoping for more of them to return after their C.A.T.S. had completed, but she knew that that would never be the case. She was just happy to have sixth years at all. "Good afternoon everyone and congratulations for making it through your Fifth year!" Kiva greeted them, smiling as widely as ever. "As you can see, today will be a bit different than your usual classes with me. The reason for that is because, well, last year was so stressful for you and me not being here probably didn't make it any easier. So, I wanted to give you a break." Kiva explained to them.

"I also wanted to inform all of you that this year we will be taking a trip with the fifth years. It'll be after midterm and for an entire weekend. I can't give away where we'll be going or what we'll be doing, but just know that you'll learn quite a bit and get to interact with some of the most beautiful creatures on our planet." Kiva told them. "It'll be a ranch with some close friends of mine who run it. As the older students, you'll have more authority than the fifth years, but remember, with authority comes responsibility. So, I expect only the best from each of you."

Kiva paused and looked out at them. She had a thoughtful look on her face for a moment before continuing. "Since you're now in your sixth year, I thought that perhaps you might like to give me a little feedback on your lessons. It doesn't have to be only my lessons for feedback, but, in general, I'd like to know about your experiences here at Sonora. Perhaps, with your help and influence, future students might enjoy lessons even more."

OOC: This is obviously an easy lesson since the trip is going to be major. Feel free to speak up about your character's thoughts on Sonora and his/her classes. And remember, the standard 10 sentences, well detailed posts are always required.

0 Professor Kijewski Lesson 1 for the Sixth Years 0 Professor Kijewski 1 5

Dillon Welsh

September 26, 2007 9:28 PM

Experiences... by Dillon Welsh

Dillon wandered down the paths to the area that Care of Magical Creatures was being taught. He knew the way through the paths like the back of his hand. Five years in the school and countless hours of finding spots to himself had given Dillon the advantage in the Labyrinth and surrounding areas.

He had decided to continue on with his Care of Magical Creatures lessons for the sole purpose of his future career. He wanted to be a vet and since he had no experience in the muggle world any longer with sciences, he would be a Vet in the magical world. Animals were far less complicated than Humans were and Dillon knew that even the most dangerous of animals were only reacting on instinct. There wasn't anything evil about them, they just were what they were. Dillon could appreciate that.

Now that his fifth year was over, Dillon was going to give himself more time to study. Last years exams had really forced him to take his studies into consideration. Not that he hadn't already. Studying and reading were the two things he did the most. But the CATS had caught him off guard, having no idea what they would be like since he'd never had magical examinations like that before. He'd be ready for his RATS though.

Entering the clearing, Dillon frowned. He wondered what sort of creature they would be studying that needed pillows. Shrugging, Dillon took a seat as Professor K. began talking. Almost immediately she brought up the news of a weekend trip. He wasn't sure what that would entail and since she wasn't saying anything more, Dillon could only assume it meant something big.

Or nothing at all.

And now the heart of the lesson...or whatever this was. Feedback and experiences. Looking on it now, Dillon had kept to himself mostly throughout his years at Sonora, that's how he had always been. Rather pathetic really. His roommate was probably the only one he connected to on some level other than his sister, but she didn't count. He reflected back on his experiences, but most weren't anything to really contribute to the conversation. Dillon lived a dull life. A dull existance. He had hope that after Sonora he could start again, but it was always difficult to step outside of the box. The strange part was was that coming to Sonora, their parents had been worried that Zoey wouldn't try to make friends. In the end, it had been Dillon.

"Well, I don't know if it helps, but... I'm Muggleborn and, coming here... I had no idea that it would be like this. Magic was just something in books and movies. Not real. Even now, I guess it's still hard to believe." Dillon spoke up, not really sure why he was saying any of this at all. "I know we have muggle studies and all, but I feel sort of detached from everything while I'm here. Like the moment I leave this place, it'll all just be a dream. You know?"

6 Dillon Welsh Experiences... 44 Dillon Welsh 0 5

Jenna Howard

September 30, 2007 1:55 AM

...are what you get by not having them when you needed them by Jenna Howard

Jenna adjusted the strap of her tote bag on her shoulder as she walked down the paths. It was considerably lighter this year. Of course, last year she had taken seven classes, and this year she was only taking four. And none of her classes consisted primarily of wand work. She’d been waiting five years for this.

There were large pillows all over the COMC clearing. Her gray eyes narrowed, how odd. What would they need pillows for? Silently she shrugged, and kneeled on a mauve-colored pillow towards the left side of the clearing, placing the tote bag to the side.

She had been so looking forward to the comfort of the Sonoran schedule all summer. No, Jenna had not led the extravagant lifestyle of her younger sister, but that didn’t mean she wasn’t affected when her family lost its fortune. They’d had a rather nice cupboard of potion ingredients, she’d even had a golden cauldron. That was all gone now. Now all she had was a tiny bedroom, a pewter cauldron, and whatever ingredients she could buy from her own spending money. She had basically lived in the town apothecary all summer, to the great chagrin of Hester Thomas, the apothecary owner. Hester wasn’t exactly the friendliest of women. She didn’t like the teen perusing through her neatly organized supplies every day. Hester was not the alchemy expert that Jenna had once hoped to study with when her parents once had the money to pay that kind of tuition, but she knew enough to assuage the teen’s curiosity for the weeks that she had spent there.

A trip? Right now she was too tired to think of going any place else. Couldn’t they just stay here, where they had schedules and order? There was no reason for any change. Jenna was so tired of change, actually. She needed a break, maybe even a nap. Yes, a nap would be nice, though she couldn’t take one here. Even if the cushion was really comfortable…

Jenna listened as one of the guys talked. Dillon Welsh, a Teppenpaw. And that was all she knew about him. Not that she was one to say anything; she barely spoke to anyone outside of her dorm. She’d long grown out of her shyness, she was simply an introvert. Jenna didn’t avoid social encounters because she was afraid of them, but because she found it preferable to read, or to brew a potion, or to listen to music. Talking to someone one-on-one was fine, but large crowds just made her feel tired. That was another thing that was nice about classes this year – they were all a lot smaller.

“Really?” she asked, genuinely curious. She had never been very friendly with any Muggleborns before, save for Lenny, and that hadn’t gone over so well. Never had she really talked to any of the Muggleborns in school, though that was entirely by chance.

“It’s just… well, I’m pureblood, and my family is crazy,” there, she said it, her family was selfish, ignorant, and unstable, and horribly, horribly stubborn. Not that she couldn’t be stubborn herself. “And Sonora… it makes sense. There’s order. But I do understand the feeling of being sheltered from the rest of the world… just for completely different reasons, I suppose.”

0 Jenna Howard ...are what you get by not having them when you needed them 46 Jenna Howard 0 5

Dillon

October 02, 2007 6:38 PM

That's an interesting concept. by Dillon

Dillon turned his attention to the girl near him. Jenna Howard. Dillon didn't know much about her other than she was in Crotalus and was gone for a year. Third year, if Dillon remembered correctly. She seemed like a nice enough girl. Dillon couldn't really be sure as he'd never held a conversation with her before, but he had never heard anything negative about her either.

"Yeah." Dillon answered easily. "I mean, you could never imagine what it's like to never know magic was real. For eleven years of my life, magic was just a fairytale, nothing more. Anything odd that happened, there was always a logical explanation for it." Dillon explained, turning so that he was addressing Jenna.

"I have three older brothers and a twin sister. A vase breaking seemingly from nowhere, could simply be chalked up to one of us accidently bumping it and it fell slowly. Lights flickering? Someone plugged in one thing too many." Dillon said, looking amused as he said it. His family had always had excuses for everything. Not because they didn't want to see what was really there, but because, for a long time, there was always a logical answer to everything.

"Now, I can't, obviously, compare what life must be like for a Pureblood, but for me, this place, it's a dream. I can make a chair out of thin air. I can change my appearance just by drinking a potion. It defies all sense of physics, anatomy... sciences in general. My mom's a Professor of Science back home and my dad is a Professor of Mathematics. Their whole lives were based on logic, rationalizations, facts. My life has always been order. Here... here, I can't find order even if it came up and bit me."

6 Dillon That's an interesting concept. 44 Dillon 0 5

Jenna

October 07, 2007 8:51 PM

I like to keep things interesting by Jenna

He was talking straight to Jenna. She had made herself a center of conversation – lovely. Perhaps she shouldn’t have spoken at all. Talking in front of people once in a class was bad enough. Now she supposed she was expected to respond to whatever Dillon had to say about magic. She couldn't imagine it not being real, she smiled - how odd. Magic was an everyday part of life. How could she imagine her mother without thinking of the way she always chided Jenna about proper wand care? Or her own life without a cauldron to experiment with? Merlin, if she had been born a Squib, she would have been totally useless.

Jenna cocked her head to the side, “Plugs?” she queried, “What are plugs?” A small blush appeared in her face, she felt stupid and ignorant for not knowing what plugs were, despite them obviously being a Muggle contraption.

She didn’t have anything against Muggles, but she had never had much interest in learning very much about them, either. In her new home in Californian suburbia, there were a lot more halfblood and muggleborn families than in her old neighborhood, and she had been forced to learn more about Muggle culture. Some of it was interesting, some of it was simply bizarre. But never had she heard of plugs, and she wondered what they had to do with light.

“You think Sonora’s chaotic?” she said, raising an eyebrow, “Try living in the real wizarding world. Now that’s chaos for you. To be honest, I don’t know what I’m going to do when school is over… does Sonora have any career counseling – would that be in seventh year? Even help choosing places for further study would be nice, it seems strange to think that my magical education will be complete two years from now,” she looked at Dillon and the rest of the class, hoping that someone, anyone could answer her, “And what about Muggleborns?” she asked, out of curiosity, turning back to Dillon, “Do they have integration programs for you? I mean, you don’t actually plan on living with Muggles after graduation, right? But then I also expect you’ve never spent a whole summer or anything just living in the wizarding world... You need to be taught the ins and outs of things – there’s a lot more to wizarding culture than what you find in Sonora.”

Jenna paused, and realized that she had probably said more in that single rant than she had probably said in the past five years of COMC combined. She blushed again, and mentally she cursed her pale complexion for giving away her embarrassment so easily.

“Sorry,” she gave an apologetic smile as the blushing persisted. Jenna would have to make a note to keep her curiosity in check, so she didn’t go rambling on like that again.

0 Jenna I like to keep things interesting 0 Jenna 0 5

Mia Kerova

October 15, 2007 1:00 PM

Interesting is good. by Mia Kerova

Mia walked down slowly to the Care of Magical Creatures clearing. She followed the same path for the past five years. Everything had been a bit slow for her as her sixth year started. She wasn’t really ‘down’ per se, because she already took her few hours alone to be upset. It just felt weird walking to class by herself. Usually there was a happy-go-lucky boy near her though in the past months he hadn’t been so happy-go-lucky. He definitely looked better now. Maybe the summer had been good for more than just her and Tally. Every time she thought of summer, her hand went to her armband, her highlighted hair, or her twice pierced ears.

Mia saw the pillows on the ground. A lot fewer than there would have been for her class in a previous year. She took a quick look around and then sat beside Jenna. She listened to Professor K as she spoke. A break? She certainly wouldn’t complain. And a weekend trip after midterm? Mia wondered if this was in addition to whatever the Headmaster had in mind. She was glad she was taking this class. The start of her year was looking a little brighter.

Dillon was the first to take up narration for Professor K’s lesson plan for the day. Mia could empathize, except when she was younger, magic wasn’t out of the realm of possibility. It was one of those things she could laugh and pretend, but she never said out loud ‘magic isn’t real.’ This was further encouraged when she sent her brother through the roof and caused a bookshelf to explode. Anything else odd could be explained, but Mia remembered clearly that those particular incidents were never explained nor were they brought up again until she was told she was a witch.

The conversation ping-ponged between Dillion and Jenna, both making valid points for their side. Mia could only imagine how Jenna viewed magic and Sonora because honestly it still was incredible to her. Almost surreal. Being a muggleborn too, she had to side with Dillon.

“Plugs are what muggles use to help power things. The plug connects what you’re using to a power source if it needs one to work.” Mia answered Jenna’s question hoping it made sense. It was such a basic thing to her that she wasn’t sure if she explained it well.

And then Jenna made a point Mia had been thinking about since seeing her CATS scores. What was she going to do after Sonora? She didn’t think it would have anything to do with caring for animals, but she didn’t know anything for sure except she wanted to use her wand. She just decided to continue with most of her previous classes. Plus, even if her career choice wouldn’t involve animals, this had always been a fun class.

“Yeah, career counseling would be nice.” Mia agreed. “I have no idea what I want to do after Sonora. Is there more schooling afterwards? In the muggle world, there would be something after this that’s more specific to your career choice. Once you decided what it would be anyway.” She added as an afterthought. “And as much as I want to be a part of both worlds I think it would be kind of hard now.” She wished she could because her family and her best friends were muggles. “But you’re right. I mean, I spent the summer in a magic city, but it was vacation with my stepdad so I don’t think I caught on to the ‘ins and outs.’”

She could imagine what might be an equivalent for the muggle world. A group of wizards walking through a muggle town waving their wands, sporting robes and flashing wallets filled with gold coins. That would be quite a sight.

0 Mia Kerova Interesting is good. 0 Mia Kerova 0 5