Professor Rowan Dakin
April 22, 2010 10:54 PM
Beginner Lesson (Years 1&2) by Professor Rowan Dakin
Professor Rowan Dakin stood by the door of a large stone building by where she usually met her students. For one of first times that she could remember it was down pouring in Arizona. She waved her first and second years over to the classroom. Once everyone was gathered, she led them in. This was the first time either year had stepped foot into the building, she had only used it once with her intermediate students. The once Dragon Keeper wore a pair of black jeans and a forest green t-shirt that showed off the many scars she had received from the dragons over the years.“Robes off ladies and gents.” The Dark haired woman said. “Welcome back my second years glad to see you survived the summer. For my first years welcome to Care of Magical Creatures class, I am your Professor Rowan Dakin.” She paused for a moment allowing everyone to settle down.
“Just a few ground rules for my first years and second years it never hurts to be reminded. You will always take your robes off when coming to my class, no dangling jewelry or shiny things. Long hair must be tied back. Do not hurt my animals or you’ll be serving month long detentions.” She nodded for a moment glad that part was over. “Now that the serious part is over let’s have some fun!”
She walked over to the chalk board and tapped it and magically the word, Billywigs appeared. “That’s right my kids we are studying Billywigs today.” She paused looking to see if anyone reacted. “Billywigs are insects native to Australia and are rated Triple X. They are around half an inch long and vivid sapphire blue.” She said as she help up a glass box with one in it. “They have wings attached to the top of their head. They rotate the wings extremely fast allowing the Billywig to fly.”
She paused as she walked around the classroom allowing everyone to see the bug up close. “The Billywig is among the fastest animals on the planet. This causes them to be rarely noticed by Muggles, and witches and wizards usually only spot it after they have been stung.” She grinned when she said stung.
“Now this is the coolest thing about the billywig. One sting from the billywig causes the person stung to suffer giddiness, followed by levitation. Can you see why they have a triple X rating?” She laughed for a moment. “Too many stings can cause the victim to hover uncontrollably for days, rarely victims will suffer from an allergic reaction and permanent floating may ensue.”
She paused again ready to shock her students. “Today we are going to allow ourselves to be stung. I have antidotes just in case anyone has too many stings or an allergic reaction. Now once you are floating up in the air your going to be the happiest you’ve ever been but I want you to try and think about the ground. The more you think about the ground the faster you’ll come down.”
“Now lets make this a game so the first one to come down gets to keep Billy the Billywig.” She said and set out a large stuffed billywig that if you pressed his wings it flew into the air. She had founded it at the Billywig market and thought the first and second years would think it was cool better then a teddy bear at least in Rowan’s mind. “The second one to come down gets to keep this.” This time she pulled out a plastic whine up toy. If someone twisted the wings on the head of the Billywig it shot into the air giggling. “The third person to come down gets a billywig bag. And everyone gets a billywig quill with sapphire ink.”
She waved her wand and boxes of billywigs appeared on the tables in front of the students. “Now these are charmed boxes they can tell who’s already been stung therefore no one can get stung more then once and the billywigs cannot escape. So what are you waiting for reach right in and get stung!”
OCC: Ok guys let’s have some fun! Minimum posting length the more you post the more points you get for your house! Allergic reactions are few and far between so if you feel like your student does have one tag me.
Subthreads: I like animals... I hate heights by Ellie McGill with Sam Bauer, Ellie
Taking a stand by Raines Bradley with Cooper Abramson (Aladren), Cosette Miller, Rachel Bauer
Up, up, and away! by Jude Normandy [Pecari] with Neal Padrig, Pecari, Jude
O.o by Dorian Talsky with Brian Moore (Teppenpaw), Dorian
Feeling the sting by Marian Parker (Aladren) with Jane Carey, Marian
Yes it makes me HAPPYYYYYYYY by Demalza Eagle with Leonardo Michaels
If I have to... by Alessa Hinckley with Tobar Brishen
This is not what I signed up [Tag: Professor Dakin] by Sophia Randolph with Professor Dakin, Kirstenna Melcher
Catching up on my reading by Veronica Kerrigan with Tristan Volkmann, Veronica
Do I really have to do this? by Nicodemus Sawyer with Mariana Ravenmore
Not again! by Autumn Collins with Jessica Zeworth [Pecari 1st Year]
I'm so gonna win this! by Brad Hayman (Aladren) with Caleb Nichols (Aladren)
CLASS CLOSED (nm) by Professor Dakin
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Professor Rowan Dakin
Beginner Lesson (Years 1&2)
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Professor Rowan Dakin
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Jude Normandy [Pecari]
April 24, 2010 8:20 AM
Up, up, and away! by Jude Normandy [Pecari]
With a mother who worked for the National Park Service and a father who was basically a neo-hippie, Jude Normandy had no excuse to not like Care of Magical Creatures. He actually didn’t mind the rain either; it reminded him of home. Contrary to popular belief, California—or his part of the state, anyway—wasn’t sunny all the time. In fact, it rained quite frequently near his house, and Jude rather liked it. Rain was peaceful. It made him feel like curling up in the study, looking out the huge windows created to harness solar energy and sipping a cup of fair-trade tea as he read a book.However, as long as it was raining, Jude supposed he didn’t have to do that sort of thing. Instead, he could trek down to Care of Magical Creatures in the rain and meet some cool animals. Besides, Jude was like 99% positive that Sonora didn’t have fair-trade tea. The Pecari was pretty sure that free-trade was a Muggle thing. But that was cool with him. Having a different culture than half his classmates gave him his own perspective that was different from the norm. He had also been homeschooled his entire life, which had also made him different. Not shy and strange, like many homeschoolers, but outgoing and very straightforward. In fact, Jude had an awful lot of friends, which was why he wasn’t worried that he walked down to CoMC alone. He would run into someone.
Once Professor Dakin had explained the lesson, and Jude had shed his school robes to reveal his comfortable Berkeley sweatshirt (his father was an alumnus) and jeans—along with Jose’s old shoes—he got ready to approach the Billywig. It seemed a little bit counter-intuitive to get voluntarily stung by a bee, didn’t it? Jude wasn’t sure how he felt about that, but figured that the experience would be worth it. Jude looked around. Where was Jose, now that he thought about it? Jude hadn’t seen his roommate in classes all year, but he was pretty sure Jose wasn’t sick or skipping. Weird...definitely weird.
The moment that Jude stuck his hand into the box before him, he felt funny. His ears were prickling up and down, like small needles were poking them, but not in a bad way. He giggled. Had the bug stung him already? Jude hadn’t felt a sting but pulled his arm out just in case. Everything seemed very sharp to his vision and he was grinning like an idiot, having a hard time focusing his eyes. A minute later, his thoughts started to wander in circles happily and his feet drifted a few centimeters above the ground.
“Woahhhh,” Jude said, grinning at the person next to him. “This is awesome.”
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Jude Normandy [Pecari]
Up, up, and away!
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Jude Normandy [Pecari]
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Neal Padrig, Pecari
April 24, 2010 10:20 AM
*Cue heroic theme music* by Neal Padrig, Pecari
The exact moment before Neal voluntarily set himself up for trouble/pain/embarrassment, a few questions run through his mind. The biggest one being: why exactly did he stuff his hand in a box to get stung by something that sounded like it should be on a farm in Texas? Trudging through pouring rain and mud was one thing, since that was fun, and he liked that he didn’t have to wear his robes since everyone else made it a big deal to obey the dress code, but why oh why did his professor want them all stunned into be silly?Professor Dakin had many scars from who-knows-what, so maybe she wanted to have everyone else match he as far as battle wounds they had. But that seemed unlikely, since she came off like too sweet and excitable to care about that. Besides, Neals eyes were already bloodshot and the dark purple bags under them weren’t letting up anytime soon – he had his own battles to deal with broadcasting.
The Billywigs looked interesting, even when contained. Being colorblind, Neal paid extra attention to what she said they were colored like and somehow ended up paying attention to all the facts. They were a lot more interesting than they looked, which was saying something. At Dakin’s grin when she mentioned stinging, Neal became really intrigued…
And he was simply fascinated. To be stung and giddy and fly on your own? Wow, that sounded really neat! This was the kind of excitement he liked to be a part of. The uncertainty of never coming down was too good to pass up.
So, back to the question: why was his hand in the box to get stung? So he could enjoy an opportunity that actually proved to be really thrilling. Nothing said thrilling like getting stung into action, literally.
So Neal put his Billywig Quill and ink into his knapsack and flew to the box, putting his hand in eagerly. Remember to think about the ground, he reminded himself. Though he might not want to come down, he was pretty sure that was half the fun – overcoming the effects… and maybe sneaking a chance at doing it all over again.
When Neal felt a pinch he took his arm out and waited. It took only a few seconds of anticipation before he felt warmth all over him, even despite the rain. The warm sensation turned to bubbles, and they lifted him into the air. He had a dumb smile on his face as all his thoughts hushed up so he could be… happy. Clearly he was happy.
Woahhhh. This is awesome,” the boy beside him said. He looked familiar – was he in his house, maybe? – but Neal was too glad to focus on the facts. He just nodded, a serene grin on his face. “Definitely awesome,” he agreed, and tucked himself to spin in circles like he’d seen astronauts do in spaceships. (It was as fun to do as it looked.) “Hey, have you tried to spin like this yet?” he asked as he still went in circles. “It’s makes your head feel all heavy – it’s really great!”
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Neal Padrig, Pecari
*Cue heroic theme music*
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Neal Padrig, Pecari
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Jude
April 24, 2010 10:35 AM
It's only cool if we get capes too by Jude
Because the person was a boy who looked vaguely familiar in a seen-him-around-the-commonroom way, Jude was sure, even in his somewhat fluffy thinking process at the moment, that the person he was talking to had to be a first year. The only two boys in second year Pecari were him and Jose. They were roommates, and they had swapped shoes. This fact seemed very important to Jude at the moment, although he was drowsily aware that it probably didn’t actually matter. Jude’s light brown, rain-dampened hair did its best to ruffle as he rose to a few feet off the ground, but the rain prevented it from doing much.The other boy was spinning dizzily, and Jude couldn’t help but follow him with his eyes and giggle. His head felt spinny and fluffy in a way that he had never really experienced outside a dentist’s office, but the other Pecari’s dizzying antics looked like a lot of fun. He looked kind of like an astronaut on one of the National Geographic movies Jude watched with his Dad when they were specials on television.
At his neighbour’s insistence, Jude also tucked himself into a ball, pulling the hood of his Berkeley sweatshirt above his head to protect it from the rain. He pretended to be a potato-bug as he spun. It was a lot of fun! But after a minute or so of it the spinning started to make Jude feel a bit sick so he stood up and stopped revolving. Standing on air wasn’t nearly as awkward as Jude would have thought. In fact, it was kind of fun, like he imagined walking on water or something would be. He took a few tentative steps around without touching the ground and grinned widely. Totally cool.
“Professor Dakin is a genius,” Jude declared. Then the mention of the Professor made him remember that there was actually an assignment to do. He grinned again, then spun on his heels to face the other boy again. “Okay so, do you actually want to do the assignment or,” and he tucked himself into a ball to somersault in the air, just as if he were on the ground, “is it like a billion times more fun to just hover?”
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Jude
It's only cool if we get capes too
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Jude
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Neal
April 24, 2010 11:10 AM
Capes are a must, but I vote to forgo the spandex by Neal
When the older-possible-Pecari spun, Neal resumed his spins too. He kept going at an unhealthy speed, even when he noticed through the whir of the whir around him that the other boy had stopped. Why he would was beyond the first year. He wondered if he went fast enough if he could turn completely invisible…Neal slowed down a bit to see what the other boy was doing and smiled wide to see him walking a hair above the blades of damp grass. It was so weird to see that it was utterly amazing at the same time. “That’s the neatest thing I’ve ever seen,” Neal commented, not even thinking twice to really determine for himself if it was true or not. He was out of his typical ‘let’s-question-everything’ state-of-mind and just went with the flow. It was a great way to live when you were floating midair, he determined. The only thing bothering him this high up in the air was how his wavy mahogany hair kept getting in his face so he kept having to flip it to the side to see all the greatness around him.
The boy said something about a genius professor. Oh, right, they were the person responsible for this experience. He really should thank him. Actually, the whole world should thank him. They should throw Dakin a party or something. The other boy did a twist in the air and spoke, but not about the party Neal was planning to himself. “Okay so, do you actually want to do the assignment or –“ he stopped for a moment to do a trick, which Neal cheered like any other good entertained bystander would, “ – is it like a billion times more fun to just hover?”
Neal swam to the ground, determined to follow through on his original plan. “I think we should thank Dakin for being so smart, and throw him a party, then get stung and spend the rest of our lives floating!” He laughed at the good idea. While getting to the ground didn’t seem so appeasing as staying up did, at least he had the promise of returning. And besides, maybe Dakin would agree to get stung so the party really could be in the air! “Race you to the ground!” he challenged the boy good naturedly, swimming wildly. It didn’t matter who won, really, just so that this fun could be played up.
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Neal
Capes are a must, but I vote to forgo the spandex
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Neal
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Jude
April 24, 2010 11:36 AM
Cape is a must, Spandex is a must-<i>not</i> by Jude
Jude did think that walking above the grass was just about the neatest thing ever. In fact, this whole hovering thing was pretty up there on the list of cool. It was a pity that Quidditch wasn’t quite this cool, otherwise he might be on the team with Mel and Starbuck and the rest of his friends. Nina wasn’t on the team either—but that was because her parents didn’t let her play Quidditch, not because she didn’t like sports. Jude didn’t mind sports, but he’d never really done them before, aside from climbing trees, which wasn’t really a sport.Also, it was cool that the firstie cheered when he did the somersault, which wasn’t technically a trick but was still pretty cool. In fact, Jude felt more chilled-out and happy with life than he usually did, which he wasn’t sure was exactly possible. As a general rule, Jude was laid back and straightforward. He didn’t do the hyper competitive stuff (another reason why he didn’t play Quidditch) and tended to be friends with almost everyone. He was an only child and had grown used to entertaining himself, but wasn’t awkward with other people. Pretty much, Jude’s life went pretty well as a general rule, and he was a pretty happy kid.
“You’re ON!” Jude called back when the other boy offered a race to the ground. Immediately, he started jumping down...but it didn’t quite work. After a moment, the Pecari attempted the younger boy’s idea of swimming down, which worked okay until the last few centimeters. Even though he reached the tips of his fingers past the oversized sleeves of his sweatshirt, he couldn’t quite manage to touch the grass. Weird stuff, man. Jude grinned anyway, because he didn’t really need to reach the ground. It had just been an idea. With a shrug, he hopped back up and started doing cartwheels across the air.
After a moment, Jude’s blue eyes, flipped over to where the other Pecari should be. “Hey,” he called out, doing a handstand on thin air—this was fantastic--and raising an eyebrow upside-down at the other boy as his hair stood upside-down on end. “Did you make it? And do you have a name? I’m Jude.”
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Jude
Cape is a must, Spandex is a must-<i>not</i>
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Jude
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Neal
April 24, 2010 12:36 PM
Can't overlook the mask, though by Neal
The swimming bit was fine and all, but the initial excitement dissipated when the other boy seemingly gave up the race. He seemed happy as ever though and just went back to doing tricks in the air with his sweatshirt flapping around the rain. Neal stopped swimming and looked from the boy to the grass. He knew he’d need to land eventually, so why not just do it now and get it over with?Wait, because being on the ground is boring, that’s why ground equaled bad. Right.
Still he couldn’t shake the feeling that being so giddy was wrong somehow. His overworking mind was on overdrive – it was starting to give him a headache, something euphoric people were not supposed to be having when floating. He was probably doing something wrong being so close to the grass, so he just climbed back up into the air in hopes of feeling better.
The other boy was now doing impressive handstands when he called out for Neal. “Did you make it? And do you have a name? I’m Jude.”
Neal looked at the ground and shook his head. “Nope, didn’t make it. Didn’t seem worth it.” He laid flat on his stomach and gave the boy a quirked eyebrow of his own, smirking at how they were both doing the expression right-side up and upside down. He wondered if he looked as funny to Jude right now as Jude did to him. “I’ve got a name – I’ve got a birth certificate that says so and everything,” he laughed. Certificate sounded like a comical word all of a sudden. “I’m Neal. I’m a first year Pecari. And I think – maybe – you’re a Pecari, too?”
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Neal
Can't overlook the mask, though
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Neal
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Jude
April 24, 2010 6:02 PM
Is it really a mask if it only covers half your face? by Jude
After a moment of standing on his head, Jude felt things slowly slide into a more focused area. He was still happy, but not quite as crazy as he had been. Even though he still found it funny when Neal made the same face he was making, but from upside-down (well actually rightside-up since Jude was upside-down) it wasn’t hysterically funny. He was just happy-happy, still happier than normal but just...happy. Or mostly. He couldn’t help but laugh at Neal’s comment about him being in Pecari. Pecari seemed like a funny thing to say at the moment, but he guess it always had been. And their Head of House with the bubble hat and all was pretty funny too, now that Jude thought of it, so he laughed again.“Yup,” he said after he was done laughing. “With crazy Professor McKindy and everything. He’s almost as nuts as my friend Mel, but she really takes the cake. It’s all girls in my year in Pecari, except me and Jose. Jose is my roommate,” Jude felt that funny too, although this time grin-worthy rather than laughter-worthy. “He’s not here today, which is kind of sad because I think he’d like this project.” Jude hummed to himself, then did another flip. He liked flipping, it was fun. He had even done gymnastics when he was really little, but then his parents had moved out of San Fran and into an environmentally friendly house that was practically in the park, and Jude had stopped doing that.
“I think the effects are wearing off,” Jude said with a smile, even though he thought that should probably make him feel less happy. The second-year still felt as happy as he had before though. Unchangingly and distinctly happy, but kind of weird because of that. It seemed like you should be able to change emotions sometimes. Even though Jude wasn’t sad very often, he didn’t think that there could be happy without sad. No ying without yang, that sort of thing. He wasn’t too philosophical, but he did believe in karma and balance. That was one of the reasons his family was so environmentally friendly.
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Jude
Is it really a mask if it only covers half your face?
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Jude
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Neal
April 25, 2010 7:20 PM
Some masks cover the whole face - look at Spiderman! by Neal
The laughter was replaced with mellow grins. That was a good way to describe the mood: mellow. It made Neal feel better than finding everything hysterically wonderful. He felt like he was getting his wits back, and it made him feel more like – if not a bit disappointed in – himself. He didn’t like not being in his right state of mind, it was like being fake. He wasn’t going to make a big deal out of it though. After all, the hovering bit was still in effect and still pretty cool.And as it turned out, Jude was an older Pecari. He knew more about their quirky Head of House then Neal did obviously, and it was pleasant to know McKindy was as weird as he looked. That’d make his class something to be excited for. As for Mel, who Neal assumed was Demelza, the vice captain on the Quidditch team, she seemed very much excitable, always a good thing. Jose was the only person Neal felt he knew the most, and that was barely at all, since he had been captain. Neal liked him right off the bat, and it seemed Jude did too or he wouldn’t put much thought into whether or not the second year was at the lesson.
The older boy flipped again, and Neal watched with mild amusement. He didn’t have the same compulsion to do it for himself again. He was already bored with this feeling of being obligated to do silly thing s to stay in a silly mood. He didn’t like feeling obligated to do anything.
“I think the effects are wearing off.” Neal looked up, blinking his drooping bloodshot eyes at Jude’s smiling face. It was a more natural smile though, and Neal liked it more than the laugh-your-face-off smiles from a few moments ago. “I think you’re right. I feel… normal.” He looked at the ground and sighed at the thought of having to give up flying on his own. He smirked and shrugged to himself, looking up at Jude. “But I think I’ll float a bit more. I’m not in much of a hurry to win a stuffed bug today.”
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Neal
Some masks cover the whole face - look at Spiderman!
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Neal
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