Getting to the point. Part 2 on Care of Magical Creatures

Professor K.

April 17, 2008 9:56 PM

Lesson 1 for Third and Fourth Years by Professor K.

With the first and seconds on their way back to the school, Kiva took a moment to sit down on a conjured chair. The late morning air was hot with the sun blazing above her. It was still so hot in the early days of September with no signs of cooling just yet. Kiva was hoping that it wouldn't be as hot as it had been all summer in New Mexico, but that didn't seem like that was going to happen. After another moment or two, Kiva finally got up and removed the chair.

The Fire Crab sat quietly on the table, it seemed to need a few moments to regain its composure after having been exposed to all those students. "I'm sorry, Henry." Kiva spoke to the creature, scratching its head when it poked it out from beneath its shell. "You can relax now. Back in your little home until I have time to bring you back up, alright?" Kiva took out her wand and waved it at Henry. Henry was far too heavy for Kiva to carry on her own and even if he hadn't been, she wasn't about to take any chances of his rear-end exploding while she was holding him. She levitated him out of view of the clearing and placed him in a tank where he had plenty of food and water to last him for hours even though he'd only be in there for two at the most.

Once Henry was secured, Kiva levitated two large cages out into the clearing and placed them on the now vacant table. She could hear the students making their way down. They seemed rowdier than her last group. Although, that shouldn't be too surprising considering these students were older and, therefore, probably more at ease with her as their teacher than the younger group. That, and it was nearly lunch time for them, so they were all probably starting to get hungry.

She quickly covered the two cages beneath cooling blankets to protect the creatures from the sun but to also keep them hidden from the students so as to not give away what their lessons would be about. She did it just in time too because of the students soon entered the clearing and made themselves as comfortable as they could. The one really good thing about her lesson, aside from being outside, was that Kiva allowed them the flexibility to take off their robes and get as comfortable as they could. She hated being uncomfortable, which is why she usually stayed in clothes that she could move easily in without having to mess with them.

"Good morning everyone!" Kiva greeted with a smile. "I hope everyone had a decent summer and, as always, it's great to see all of you again. I don't want to take too long and talk about the rules. By now, I'm sure you all know what they are anyway." Kiva glanced at a couple of students talking to each other. "You are all growing up, which means more responsibility and harsher courses. Care of Magical Creatures is no different. As time goes on, the creatures that I will introduced will become more dangerous. Which is why my rules are so much important now than ever before." Kiva paused and looked out at her students for a moment before continuing on with the lesson.

"This year's theme is going to be magical birds. They each have their own special abilities and they each have their parts to play in the Magical world. I know you Fourth years already learned about Diricawls last year, so we're sort of continuing on with that lesson, but just with different birds." Kiva turned to the cages and removed the blankets. "Today's lesson will be about these beautiful birds. They are both phoenixes, but both are very different." In the cage to the left was what most people would consider to be a Phoenix. Large in size with red and gold captivating feathers, a golden beak, and golden talons to match. In the cage to the right was a bird that was quite ugly in appearance. Almost sinister looking with its thin body and black features.

"The bird in the left cage is a bird that everyone defines as a Phoenix. The bird in the right cage is called an Augurey or the Irish Phoenix. Quite different, aren't they?" Kiva commented, watching the birds look out at their surroundings. The Phoenix looked comfortable and curious. The Augurey looked as though it was waiting for it's moment to escape. "What can you tell me about these birds? Myths, legends, facts, or questions. Anything?" Kiva asked her students, inviting them into the conversation and indicating with a wave of her hand that they are more then welcome to have a closer look at the birds.

OOC: Alright, you should all know by now what the deal is to get points. Lengthy posts, at least ten sentences, and lots of detail. Have fun!

Subthreads:

I'm not fond of the sun by Talen Dupree with Oliver Abbott, Talen

Juxtaposing birds? by Paul Tarwater

It's not just fine feathers that make a fine bird by Eavan Valentine with Elly Eriksson, Eavan

Getting to the point. Part 2 by Professor K.

0 Professor K. Lesson 1 for Third and Fourth Years 0 Professor K. 1 5

Talen Dupree

April 20, 2008 12:05 AM

I'm not fond of the sun by Talen Dupree

Why, oh, why couldn’t this class be an elective? If it were, then he most certainly would never have taken the class. It was horrible really, because he actually did like learning about the animals. Yet, every year, it was the same. Inevitably, they ended up outside where it was sunny, which wasn’t good for one’s complexion, and it was dirty, which ended up under his nails. He hated it.

With some of his other classmates, Talen shifted around, finding a spot to call his own. Unfortunately, this did not involve the pleasure of a desk in a structured environment. Thereby, he had to make due with sitting on his black bag. It was uncomfortable, because even though the sack was made from the finest material, the purpose of it was still to carry books and quills, which made it lumpy. He gave a sigh and folded his hands in his lap, as part of a way to maintain order.

Of course, his point of the lack of organization was only more proven when Professor Kijewski stated that they would not be going over the rules. How could they not be going over the rules? Everyone needed rules and they needed to know them, and quite often needed reminded of them. After all, if everyone knew the rules and followed them, then there wouldn’t be any need for punishment. Though, he supposed he was overreacting. Punishment did exist and those that deserved it would earn it. Fortunately, he wouldn’t be one of those people. Ever. He prided himself on his good behavior. His mother always called him her little gentleman.

He wasn’t the only gentleman. No, last year at the dance. That’s when he had spotted him. He had looked so…amazing. Talen shook his head. His dark curls bouncing slightly. He shouldn’t be thinking such things. He didn’t like boys. That was wrong. He was supposed to like girls. Girls like Laurie. He had even asked her to the ball. That had been an incredibly embarrassing feat in and of itself, but he had managed on the grounds that he was hoping to be more social. However, it hadn’t gone so well since he had made a fool of himself by being late and what’s more did not fit in with his date’s friends. When had life become so complicated?

Talen supposed it was part of the growing up that Professor Kijewski mentioned before her lesson on magical birds. It was rather interesting how different the two phoenixes were. One was quite stunning and the other reminded him of death. He supposed that was why most people associated it with such. He opted to start with the more beautiful of the two, as he was an admirer of beautiful things, and raised his hand, though; he probably didn’t actually have to. Once noticed, he offered, “When the Phoenix dies, it bursts into flames and is reborn.” He didn’t know if the other one did the same thing and wondered if it did, did it burst into black flames?

0 Talen Dupree I'm not fond of the sun 105 Talen Dupree 0 5

Paul Tarwater

April 24, 2008 5:11 PM

Juxtaposing birds? by Paul Tarwater

Paul hated Care of Magical Creatures. It was that simple, he hated being there. He did not like to care for creatures, he could barely take care of his cat, and it was more of a specialist class anyway. If it were an elective, Paul would not have touched it. He had gotten out of it once or twice from a couple scratches Cissy gave him, and skipped it enough times that his grade was near Troll. Of course before the hospitalization happened, Paul’s mother had a screaming fit upon seeing his grades. He was an intelligent boy, how in the world was he getting grades like this. They would have a serious talk before school started.

Well, even though his mother was never able to get that speech, not able to get two words from him the rest of the summer anyway, Paul still made a resolution when he went back to bring his grades up. Which meant, actually going to class and listening. It was a good way to keep his mind off things (Merlin knew sitting around in his room with Lussni did nothing for his mental health), and even Care of Magical Creatures had to be added in that mindset. Unfortunately.

Wearing his black robes, and typical clothing underneath, Paul walked outside and walked over to the clearing. The heat was terrible on his head, with long and ratty, thick black hair, his scalp started to itch. Still, Paul refused to touch the top of his head, instead pushing the long pieces behind his ears, which only helped his sight (as the hair was getting in his face). The black robes didn’t help much either, which actually could be dealt with when he got to the clearing. He merely shrugged them off, crossing his arms protectively over his oversized white button-up shirt. He always felt unprotected while just wearing the shirt.

Well, these days he always felt unprotected anyway, so even wearing the hot robes wouldn’t help. And at least he was more comfortable now (there was a small breeze picking up anyway).

So magical birds, eh? Paul remembered how much Lussni loved birds… in his stomach. Of course, those were of the nonmagical type (though stating that Lussni had eaten a small amount of magical creatures was a good excuse for all the obvious spellwork that had been done on the poor cat). Pheonix, however, Lussni never even touched. True there had only been one time the family had seen a Pheonix passing, it was with one of their father’s ex-co-workers. Still, Lussni actually avoided the creature, staying in Paul’s room under the bed and refusing out.

Augurey, well those Paul only read about briefly. He kept his eyes on the birds, trying his hardest to snuff the paranoid habit of glancing around every few seconds. And after the younger boy spoke about the Pheonix, Paul made himself noticed to break the habit of not speaking, “Well… people once believed the Augurey’s cry foretold death,” he said, in a rather quiet voice which made him hope that at least Professor K could hear him. “It doesn’t though,” he added, “It foretells rain though, I think.”

0 Paul Tarwater Juxtaposing birds? 0 Paul Tarwater 0 5

Oliver Abbott

April 27, 2008 8:19 AM

Me neither by Oliver Abbott

Care of magical creatures rocked. Oliver hadn’t ever had a dull lesson – even the unicorn one with that supply teacher had turned out fun, as he had boycotted the rules and gone to pet the creature anyway. Plus after every single lesson he’d write his sister Charlie, telling her all about the magical creature he’d just seen. It was all part of his grand scheme to get Charlie to come to Sonora. He knew she had magic, same as all of his family did, and he was hoping she would follow his mould-breaking trend and embrace her magic for what it was.

All that aside, Professor K did extra cool lessons, and they were outside. Bonus. By now he’d gotten used to being the only person wearing long sleeves, a sunhat and sunglasses outdoors, but his peers had similarly got used to seeing him like this, and it was no longer commented on.

The topic of the day was magical birds. Oliver took out his notebook and started jotting down notes on the different breeds of phoenix. They were by far the coolest birds in existence, way better than owls or eagles. Of course they were also more temperamental, so not good to keep as pets.

The boy sitting by Oliver (he’s been in classes with him for two years now, and still couldn’t remember his name) offered up that a phoenix is reborn from its ashes. Thrusting his own hand into the air, Oliver added, “Phoenix tears have healing powers,” he said. “They can heal wounds and cure all poisons,” he said.

Turning to his classmate, he added in a lower voice, “My Uncle told me that. He uses phoenix tears in his potions.”

0 Oliver Abbott Me neither 99 Oliver Abbott 0 5

Eavan Valentine

April 28, 2008 1:14 AM

It's not just fine feathers that make a fine bird by Eavan Valentine

A cool breeze lifted Eavan's hair up around her head, causing wisps of brown hair to get in her eyes and mouth as she walked over to Care of Magical Creatures. Ever since Danae had done her hair for the Ball the previous year, every once in a while Eavan would actually let her hair down instead of pulling it back in its usual ponytail or braid. And since starting this, she's noticed that her hair was really long now and the ends formed into little curls which she particularly liked.

Though it was a bad day to wear her hair down. Care of Magical Creatures was outside and hands-on and it would be difficult to work with her hair whipping around her face the entire lesson. When she got to the clearing, she removed her robes and used them as a blanket to sit on, and spent half the lecture twisting her hair and trying to make it stay put.

When the two phoenixes were revealed, Eavan took a sharp breath. They were so beautiful. The regular phoenix was, of course, stunning with its bright bold feathers. It even looked like it knew it was beautiful. The other one, though definitely not as pretty, still drew Eavan's eye. It's feathers were dark, but they had a glossy green iridescence to them that made it almost sparkle. Though it looked very unhappy about being in a cage in the sun.

When Professor K asked them to tell everything they knew about the birds, Eavan stayed silent. She a bit about the phoenixes. They burst into flames every so often and rose from the ashes as a baby. And she had read in one of her fantasy books that phoenix tears had healing powers. And all she knew of Augeries was that they were also known as Irish Phoenixes. All of this was already mentioned by either Professor K or one of the other students. Instead she pulled out the pad of notebook paper and the muggle pencil that she used for this class and began to take notes on what everyone was saying and then trying to draw the golden phoenix.

It definitely wasn't as good as Earl could've done, but one could tell it was a regal type of bird.

"Not bad," she told herself, though loud enough for the people around her to hear.

0 Eavan Valentine It's not just fine feathers that make a fine bird 86 Eavan Valentine 0 5

Talen

May 06, 2008 3:14 AM

You should probably use a lot of sunblock by Talen

When someone spoke to him, Talen nearly jumped out of his skin. Why were they talking to him? Nearly, no one ever talked to him, unless forced to do so, such as during group work. So, why was this boy? His heart calmed to a steady beat, his eyes shifted to study the boy. If he remembered correctly, his name was Oliver. He didn’t think he had ever worked with him before, but the boy tended to stick out with the oddity of his appearance and, of course, being on a Quidditch team. They were those that were often noticed.

Once he got over the initial surprise of being talked to, his brows furrowed slightly in concentration, as he thought about what had been said. How was he supposed to respond? Should he be glad that his uncle seemed to serve some useful purpose? Should he ask more about what types of potions? He could look that up in a book, though, or they would either learn about it now or in Potions. Was there something else he could ask or comment on? Why was a simple conversation so difficult?

If it was this hard just to talk to a classmate, what would he do if he ever had the chance to speak to his crush? Worse, what if he did manage to speak and he said something incredibly stupid? He mentally slapped himself. He was doing it again. He was thinking things that he shouldn’t be thinking about. No one could ever find out about what he was feeling or thinking. He had to stop these thoughts. He vowed to stop these them. He had to. He wasn’t like that.

Realizing he had yet to say anything, he went back to his original questions. Maybe he should ask more about it. That’s what one did in politeness, right? And he wanted to be polite. He nodded. “They are really useful in potions, especially anti-poison potions, but I can’t remember any exact ones off the top of my head. Is your uncle a Potions Master? Does he teach?” He wondered if Oliver’s uncle was anything like Professor Connell.

0 Talen You should probably use a lot of sunblock 0 Talen 0 5

Elly Eriksson

May 10, 2008 5:30 PM

Helps if it can fly, too by Elly Eriksson

Not that she would have to decide for another couple of years yet, but Elly already knew she was going to take Care of Magical Creatures after CATS, if she was allowed. She'd never been particularly hands-on with the animals presented, but somehow the classes had always managed to hold her interest (where other subjects tended to fail). Plus her Puffskein, Custard, was the best thing to ever come out of a class. Her pet was looking a little folorn thse days, and Elly had to reluctantly admit that he was now rather old for a puffskein, and probably going to be leaving her soon, but that didn't change the fact that she would never have had a pet if it weren't for this class.

Today they were leaning about a couple of different sorts of phoenix. As usual at the start of the lesson, Elly shrugged off her robes and set to making rough notes, which she would build on later. She didn't know a great deal about the birds, so, rather than venturing her own ideas, she wrote down others' answers instead. Next she pulled her textbook from her bag, and flipped to the index to find more relevant information. This was a habit born from safety, rather than a thirst fr knowledge. Often Professor K would encourage the students to handle creatures she brought to class, and Elly felt it foolish to go near such a creature without reading up on potential dangers first. Imagine meeting a hippogriff without knowing about all the bowing and stuff.

As Elly finished adding to her now more substantial ntes, and voice in front of her cuaght her attention. Elly peered over Eaven's shoulder at the sketch she'd done and was suitably impressed. "Not bad at all," she agreed with a smile. "I didn't know you were an artist, Eavan."

0 Elly Eriksson Helps if it can fly, too 92 Elly Eriksson 0 5

Oliver

May 10, 2008 5:44 PM

I shoud. And I do. by Oliver

The boy acknowledged the usefulness of phoenix tears in poisons, then proceeded to ask Oliver about Uncle Ray. "He's not a teacher, no," Oliver replied, pulling up a long piece of grass and idly twisting it about his fingers. "He develops new potions for medicinal purposes," he explained. "Waterproof burn slaves, finding alternative potions for people allergic to Witch Hazel, stuff like that," Oliver shrugged. He knew his uncle worked hard and was fairly well paid, but they didn't often talk about his job when they were together - they usually talked about Oliver and Sonora, actually.

It was odd in some ways that Oliver knew so little about the rest of his family. Likewise, it was odd he'd been in clsses with this other boy for two years and couldn't name him. "I'm sorry," Oliver suddently blurted, "but I'm having the hardest time trying to think of your name. Could you help me out?" He hoped his classmate wouldn't be too offended by this uncomfortable truth. After all, Sonora was such a small school that Oliver really had no excuse for not knowing his classmates' names. He ought to be embrrassed with himself, but in reality he felt little shame.

0 Oliver I shoud. And I do. 0 Oliver 0 5

Eavan

May 10, 2008 7:31 PM

Oh definitely. Think of a bird with no feathers... by Eavan

Eavan started a little at the sound of Elly's voice. She hadn't noticed the redhead had been leaning over to look at her picture and the close proximity of her voice had scared Eavan. IN fact, she was more norvous about the fact that although she and Elly were in the same year, they never realy spoke. Elly was part of the 'in-crowd' and Eavan...wasn't.

She blushed sightly at Elly's assumption that she was an artist. She was definitely NOT an artist is any sense. Earl was the artist. If Elly had seen Earl's drawing of a phoenix (if he had one) she'd think Eavan's little more than what preschoolers do with crayons. But after the initial embarrassment, Eavan looked up at Elly and smiled.

"Thanks, Elly. I'm not, really. My brother used to try to teach me when we were little, but I don't draw much. It's his thing, not mine. I actually don't think I'm very good at all." Eavan shrugged. "You should see Earl's drawings. They're amazing."

0 Eavan Oh definitely. Think of a bird with no feathers... 0 Eavan 0 5

Elly

May 15, 2008 11:59 AM

Oscar? by Elly

Eavan was one of the girls that Elly thought of as 'the quiet lot', a goup that also included Helena and Amber. She had formed certain misapprehensions about the girls in her year with whom she was not friends, per se, although she had nothing against them. If Elly hadn't spoken much with anyone, she automatically assumed them to be quiet, and hence there was a reason for them not having spoken much. She'd thought Danae to be fairly quiet at first, and had been somewhat mistaken - Danae was only really quiet in comparison to her more than usually boisterous roommates. Nevertheless, Elly continued to apply the sterotype, though it was unconsciously done. Therefore she was a little surprised when Eavan talked freely to her.

Despite Eavan's assurances she wasn't an artists, Elly looked at the drawing again and had to laugh. "Well compared to my recent fingerpainting masterpieces, your phoenix is artistic genius," she said, grinning. "Your brother might be amazing, but you're not bad, either. Seriously, you can tell what it's supposed to be and evrything." Drawing had never come easily to Elly - she wasn't artistic by any stretch of the word. Creative, possibly, but not artistic.

Elly shuffled herself closer, so she was sat next to Eavan rather than behind her, peering somehat rudely over her shoulder. "So your brother draws, huh?" She didn't know anything about Eavan's brother except that he was on the Crotalus Quidditch team. In fact she couldn't even remember his name.

0 Elly Oscar? 0 Elly 0 5

Eavan

May 15, 2008 12:50 PM

The Grouch? by Eavan

"Earl is definitely what I would call an artist," Eavan said proudly. She had always been modest about herself, but Eavan reveled in telling about her sibling's accomplishments. Though the twins hadn't accomplished much besides gold stars and getting into trouble. She pulled out a muggle notebook exactly like the one she was currently using except that it was red and had Earl V: COMC scrawled across it in big letters. It had indeed been Earl's. He gave Eavan a bunch of his old notes to help her through classes, though they were little help. He was a horrible note-taker, but she liked to look at all the doodles he made.

She flipped through the notes until she found a page just mainly doodles and very few notes and she showed the page to Elly. It was a collection of random things: a dragon flying in the corner, some real life sketches of a unicorn foal and then some more sketches of some of the people who had happened to be near him, most of them girls.

"See? He's amazing. He just doesn't like to tell people about it that much."

Suddenly, Eavan realized that she didn't know anything at all about Elly. She knew that Elly was pretty much the head of the popular kids in their year, she played Quidditch for Pecari, and she seemed to have a slight accent, probably British. Eavan was now very curious about the redhead.

"So, Elly, do you have any brothers or sisters?"

0 Eavan The Grouch? 0 Eavan 0 5

Elly

May 16, 2008 6:17 PM

Birds don't live in dustbins by Elly

Eavan soon produced a ntebook, which, it transpired, had belonged to her brother (Earl, apparently). Gazing at the artwork, Elly had to agree that Earl was amazing. "They're really good," she said, feeling as though her word didn't really explain her sentiments - if these were just classroom doodles, his actual art must be something special. "He should do comics or something," she mused out loud, pondering the dragon in particular.

"So, Elly, do you have any brothers or sisters?" Eavan asked.

"Nope, it's just me," Elly replied. "And sometimes my Dad," she added, because it sounded a bit weird saying it was 'just her', even though Eavan had asked about siblings, not the family as a whole. Now that her Mum had moved away, Elly really did feel like it was 'just her' a lot of the time. "I pretty much have the house to myself when I'm at home. It's much nicer here, sharing a room." Even with Danae and Caedence occasionally squabbling, Elly couldn't have asked for a better group of roommates.

"How about you?" she returned the question to Eavan. "I mean, apart from Earl, obviously. You have any sisters?"

0 Elly Birds don't live in dustbins 0 Elly 0 5

Talen

May 18, 2008 5:29 PM

Quite good, then by Talen

Based on Oliver’s description of his uncle, it sounded like he was possibly in some medical field. Of course, he could be wrong, but it was interesting to think about. No one in his family had ever gone into the medical area. While the family business proved lucrative enough, each member went into some other field. It was important to have a legitimate front, a pretty image to present to the public. Sometimes, it was something helpful to the business, such as being an Auror or being in Sales. A Medic would certainly prove useful, but it wouldn’t be him that would be that useful person. He wasn’t quite sure what direction he wanted to head in, but he knew that he wanted it to involve music. Perhaps, he would be a famous pianist. He certainly had an affinity for the piano.

Before he could ask more about Oliver’s uncle, the other boy spoke, asking him his name. He wasn’t surprised that the other boy didn’t know his name. He seemed to have a knack for being unnoticed, almost to the point of being invisible. He really didn’t mind most of the time. It meant that people left him alone. It wasn’t that he necessarily wanted to be left alone, but he had found that when he had tried to be involved it tended to backfire. The Ball had been a prime example of such matters and had left him wishing that he had stayed in his protective shell. At least, then, he wouldn’t have to worry about not fitting in.

For the moment, however, he would do his best to be social since Oliver had extended the courtesy of talking to him first. “Talen,” he answered. Clearing his throat, he answered a little more thoroughly, “Talen Dupree.” Now, here he could have inserted the traditional pureblood greeting and included his line, where he was from, and all of that jazz, but he didn’t in an effort for some form of informality. After all, that was what most kids were like, right? They were informal? However, he didn’t want to be wholly impolite, and therefore he continued, “You’re Oliver, right? Crotalus Quidditch team?”

Surprisingly enough, he did follow along with Quidditch, but not so much for the sport, as for the players. He had a secret desire for W.A.I.L. to succeed; yet it wasn’t because he believed that girls shouldn’t play. Actually, he would be perfectly content if the males and females had separate teams. Of course, he would probably never go the opposite gender’s matches. It just wouldn’t be as interesting for him.

0 Talen Quite good, then 0 Talen 0 5

Oliver

May 22, 2008 3:47 PM

I wear hats, too by Oliver

Oliver's yearmate deigned to put him out of his misery and answered that his name was Talen Dupree. "Talen, right," Oliver repeated, being sure to commit the name to memory. He couldn't help grinning when Talen knew Oliver's own name by Quidditch association - that was just cool beyond words. "Yeah," Oliver casually affirmed. "Oliver Abbott," he added then, just because Talen had offered his own surname.

Unfortunately, that seemed to have ended the quasi-conversation the two of them had been having. In the brief silence that followed, Oliver fell prey to his old nervous habit and readjusted his glasses. Struggling for something to say, Oliver glanced briefly round the class and his eyes were inevitably drawn to the magnificent birds still at the front of the class. "So, uh, do you know much about these Phoenixes then?" he asked. Then, deciding talking about the lesson might be a bit lame, espcially when they'd already covered the main points with Professor K, he added, "or creatures in general, you know. I mean, d'you get on with this class?"

Deciding he'd been suitably vague, Oliver stopped talking moments before he became in danger of looking like a complete idiot. Adjusting his glasses once again, he hoped Talen would grant him the favor of not pointing out what a witless wonder he could be sometimes.

0 Oliver I wear hats, too 0 Oliver 0 5

Eavan

May 22, 2008 6:31 PM

Hopefully... by Eavan

Eavan looked at Elly, curiously. Only sometimes her dad? And she never even mentioned her mother. Maybe she had died. Maybe she and Elly had a lot more in common that Eavan had originally thought. Eavan gave her companion a small smile. Having an entire house to herself seemed a little lonely. Growing up in a rather full and boisterous house, Eavan had come to Sonora and fully loved having her roommate (now two) and a common room full of people.

"I don't have any sisters, though I wish I did." Eavan had subconsciously left out Stevie. Technically, she wasn't a sister; more like a house guest. Eavan rarely saw her, even over the summers. "But besides Earl, I have two younger brothers. They're twins. Ethan and Elliot are starting at Sonora next year." Eavan said this last part with a slight frown. It wasn't that she didn't love her younger brothers because she did, but they were little trouble makers. Eavan had spent most of the last four years in happy tranquility, free from having to wonder if they put dye in her shampoo or whether there were whoopee cushions on her chair.

"They're a handful," she said to Elly with a shrug.

0 Eavan Hopefully... 0 Eavan 0 5

Elly

May 23, 2008 1:46 PM

Coz that would be sad by Elly

Elly laughed when Eavan told about her younger brothers. Meredith had often described her brothers as 'a handful', but they were older than her. Having a younger set of mischief-makers sounded like great fun, but Elly wasn't sure Sonora was ready for another set of twins like the Santoros - those boys were verging on giving even Elly a run for her money with their pranks. "Sounds great," Elly told Eavan. "Well, from their point of view, anyway," she grinned.

"Wow, three brothers," she mused out loud. "Meredith has three brothers, but they're all older than her. Echo and Caedence are sibling-free, like me." Well, technically Caede had foster siblings now, but Elly had already talked about her friends without being asked - Eavan would surely think she was a bit weird if she went into too much detail. "But we hang out over the holidays," she said, explaining why she'd mentioned her frinds in the first place, "so we keep each other company." Actually, this past summer Elly could have done with seeing a lot more of her friends, but they'd all been busy in different ways.

"You hung out with Danae over summer, right?" Elly queried, almost sure that Danae had mentioned it.

0 Elly Coz that would be sad 0 Elly 0 5

Talen

May 30, 2008 5:39 PM

I wouldn't mind a top hat. by Talen

If there were a more difficult question to answer, Talen would have been hard pressed to find it in that moment. He wasn’t quite sure how to respond. Yes, he did get on with the class, but at the same time, no, he didn’t. It really wasn’t an answer at all. Instead, it was just a jumbled ball of confusion. There were definite pros to the class. He liked learning about the creatures. He even liked seeing them. Yet, there was the major con, which involved the class being in the middle of nature. Granted, nature and creatures went together, but he still thought that they could learn about them indoors at nice, clean desks.

After a few moments of silence, Talen compromised by replying, “The class is interesting. I like learning about the animals and I know a little about them. Sometimes, one will strike my fancy and I will do a little more work on finding out about it. I will probably research the Phoenix, or at least, the Augrey due to their musical ability, which is rather fascinating. However, I would not go so far as to say that this class will be important to my future or that I even intend on taking the class after fifth year.” Yes, there that was an appropriate response and he was utterly pleased that he had been able to produce one rather than something pitiful and a testament to his lack of social skills.

He really would never understand how everyone else managed to interact so easily with one another. It was as though they didn’t think about it. Did they think about it? Should he not think about it? Was it like when he played the piano? The way his fingers flew over the keys, it was instinctual. There was no thought to it, it was all purely based on feeling. A longing filled his heart for the grand piano that sat alone at home for there was no one else to play it. Oh, his mother could have, if she were inclined to. It was from her that he had inherited most of his musical ability, but she was kept busy with other matters. It really was a shame for she could have been great, if it were not for the role that her betrothal played. He supposed he should be lucky for having been born male in his family. It meant that he would be able to continue on with his greatest love, for he would certainly never be able to with a second.

Back to the present, the thought occurred to him that it was polite to continue the conversation. “So, how about you? Do you enjoy this class?” Simple enough question to ask essentially what he had been asked, but he opted to venture a bit off topic in the hopes that he would be able to spark more of a conversation. If he were ever going to make it in the field he wanted to, he would be required to make a social appearance and this was excellent practice. “Do you think that Crotalus is going to win again? They had a solid team last year.”

0 Talen I wouldn't mind a top hat. 0 Talen 0 5

Oliver

June 01, 2008 2:42 PM

Top hat and tails by Oliver

Oliver was sort of expecting a word one answer, maybe even a shrug. Talen seemed far more capable of conversing than Oliver was, though, because he gave a full explanation of his feelings for the class. Oliver was suitabley impressed - why couldn't he talk like that? All that seemed to come out of his mouth was mumbling and nonsense, most of the time. Of course Talen directed the question back again, and Oliver struggled to find something suitable to say.

"I enjoy it," he replied, after a moment's hesitation. "I seem to be better at practical magic, like incantations and stuff, than theory based work, so I'm not sure I'll continue with the classes after fifth year. I don't really know what I want to do after school, though, so I might change my mind yet," he smiled at his own indecision.

Thankfully, Talen changed the subject (albeit it rather abruptly). Oliver was confused at first, but with 'Crotalus' and 'team' mentioned in the same sentence, they must be talking about Quidditch. Now there was something Oliver could talk about! "Yeah, we stand a good chance," Oliver replied enthusiastically. Though, to be fair, all the teams were fairly good. If pushed, he would say that Teppenpaw had the weakest line up, but that would implicate Hannah, and Oliver wasn't going to say a bad word about her. "But the other Houses have good teams, too," he said. "I think it depends most on the Seeker and Beaters," he said. Generally speaking, it didn't matter how many points the chasers earned if the other team caught the Snitch. The beaters were there to stop that from happening, so they were fairly important, too. "Jen and Geoffrey are working really hard to win this cup," Oliver said, knowing that he had a year of hard practise ahead of him. Hopefully it would pay off.

"Are you into Quidditch, then?" he asked. He knew Talen wasn't on the team last year, but maybe he'd signed up this year, or maybe he liked to watch the matches.

0 Oliver Top hat and tails 0 Oliver 0 5

Professor K.

June 02, 2008 11:04 PM

Getting to the point. Part 2 by Professor K.

While the students began to raise their hands and give her the information that they knew, Kiva turned to the golden Phoenix and opened the cage door to allow the bird some freedom. Kiva kept the Augurey in it's cage simply because if she let it out, it'll fly to the nearest dark place until it could find it's nest. The last thing she needed was the Augurey to become lost in these gardens and her contact upset with her for blunder. The Phoenix, however, was well trained and there was no fear in allowing it to roam around the students for the length of the lesson. It liked showing off anyhow.

"That's right." Kiva exclaimed once everyone had given her some information on the birds. "You all seemed to really know your Phoenixes." Kiva complimented, her eyes on the free bird for a moment before she replaced the cooling blanket around the Augurey to give him more comfort. "Phoenixes, like the one flying above your heads, is a very powerful magical bird. They have many capabilities that make them quite desirable to the magical community. Like their ability to heal with their tears. Many wizards use these tears in potions for medicinal purposes. Phoenix feathers are also used to create wand cores. They're said only the most powerful of witches and wizards have wands with phoenix feather cores." Kiva grinned and winked at her students to let them know she didn't really believe that last part.

"Unfortunately for the Augurey, many people believe the very opposite of them." Kiva indicated Paul for a moment, "As Mr. Tarwater was nice enough to explain, people once believed that these birds' cry fortold of death. A dark omen. But, they are really quite harmless and their cries actually do tell you that rain is coming. Augureys only fly when it's raining heavily out, so their cries are sort of telling the world of their excitement." The large Phoenix gave a cry as it soared low into the crowd of students, making sure they were still paying attention to it. Kiva gave a chuckle before continuing. "Another trait these birds have is that their feathers have the ability to repel ink. I can't exactly say the significance of such a trait, but it is one of their abilities."

Kiva put her fingers in her mouth and gave a loud whistle for the Phoenix's attention. The bird had landed and was watching a student intently for a moment, but flew back to its cage when Kiva whistled. "Okay, so, before I let you all head back to the school for lunch, I have to let you guys know a few things. At the end of April I will be taking some personal leave and will not be back until next term." Kiva informed them. "As I'm sure you all remember, the last substitute that took over my class for me wasn't the nicest of professors. I am sorry for that, I, unfortunately, cannot choose who your substitute will be. So, that means that you all will have to be prepared for anything. I give you guys a lot of slack while I teach because I don't want you guys to leave this lesson feeling stifled and I want you to enjoy your time with me. But, the substitute could end up being very different from me and I will need you all to be on your best behaviors. Okay?" She looked out at them all before clapping her hands together. "Okay, don't forget to read your chapters. You may head back up now."

0 Professor K. Getting to the point. Part 2 0 Professor K. 0 5