Professor Rory Taransay
September 02, 2018 2:39 PM
Ceci n'est pas un hérisson <i>(hedgehog)</i> [Intermediates] by Professor Rory Taransay
Today’s intermediate lesson had taken a little setting up but, as ever, Rory’s numerous contacts in the magizoology world had come through. Howard Runespottle, a friend of a friend he’d made five summers ago whilst helping at a Jarvey rehabilitation centre, had dropped off the creatures that morning, with a promise to return either that evening or the next day. Rory wouldn’t mind if he went for the latter option, as he always liked having more creatures to take care of.His intermediate students met outside, where Rory was proudly standing outside a series of open-top but finely meshed cages.
“Good morning, all,” he greeted them, once he thought everyone had arrived. “First things first, can anyone tell me the incantation and wand movement for the stunning spell?” He knew that at least the older of the intermediate students this spell by now, and they wouldn’t be in any dangerous situations, just perhaps mildly inconvenient, so he didn’t think it necessary to spend long on it. Five house points were awarded to the student who gave him the correct answer.
“Today’s task is a somewhat mysterious one, and my first piece of advice is to remember that spell, and use it if necessary.
“Now, take a look at the creatures in these pens.” The pens appeared to contain numerous baby hedgehogs.
“Not all of these creatures are actually hedgehogs,” continued Rory, grinning slightly as he outlined the task. “Your job is to work in pairs to identify which are hedgehogs and which are not. The not-hedgehogs are to be removed from the pens and put into the crates to your left, where I will be checking to make sure you have correctly identified the not-hedgehogs. You’ll find tools to help you on your right, although not everything there will be necessary.”
A table to their right contained a wide array of things, including bells, whistles, types of food and drink, pencils, assorted plants, four spades, hay, chicken wire, string, smelling salts, and a teddy bear.
“Your homework for this class is to identify the not-hedgehog creature you find, and to write a short essay on its habits and uses. Now pick a partner and a pen, and off you go!”
With that, he stepped back to watch the potential chaos, wand loosely in his hand in case he had to step in. He wasn’t expecting any problems, as baby animals were never as wild as their elders, but he didn’t want any students panicking and causing a situation if they were taken by surprise by a creature’s response. He also wasn’t concerned about letting his students use stunning spells on such creatures. This was for two reasons: firstly, he himself had conducted (ethically approved) research into the potentially dangerous use of stunning spells on such creatures, with reassuring findings; and secondly, intermediate students did not have the same level of power to give to their stunning spells as adult witches and wizards did. The baby not-hedgehogs would be fine.
OOC: Normal class rules apply, and don’t forget to be realistic about any reactions the baby animal might have. You can make up items on the table, although nothing dangerous or too unsual would have been placed there. Catch me on chatzy if you have any questions, or tag Professor Taransay if your student does. Oh, and this page might come in handy: http://harrypotter.wikia.com/wiki/Knarl
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Professor Rory Taransay
Ceci n'est pas un hérisson <i>(hedgehog)</i> [Intermediates]
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Professor Rory Taransay
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Connor Priory,Crotalus
October 02, 2018 7:12 PM
A puzzling lesson by Connor Priory,Crotalus
These days, Connor was feeling kind of confused. Mostly about Cleo. He knew that as a heterosexual male in her year and house, he was susceptible. Except that he really wasn't because he actually liked someone else and that was supposed to be a defense. It still made him a little paranoid though, that he'd be around Cleo and that Peyton, who he really liked, would....think he liked the half-veela in that way .Or perhaps she'd just smack him upside the head or squirt him with a water spell to distract him from Cleo's powers as they'd all been taught. She'd been in the same class as him after all.
At the same time, Connor just plain felt wrong about avoiding Cleo, even if he actually could. It wasn't a nice thing to do and the other fourth year had to be feeling pretty bad. Humiliated. He tried to imagine how he'd feel if say, the entire school gathered to hear he had a crush on Peyton O'Malley. All right, so the teachers wouldn't know that and it probably wouldn't be something they thought was interesting and important enough to announce to everyone, but Connor didn't really have any bigger secrets that were on par with being a half-veela. It would still be humiliating though and probably awkward for Peyton which was one of the last things that the older Crotalus would have wanted.
He arrived at Care of Magical Creatures and noticed the table full of items. This, as it turned out, was a decent distraction. Connor could have put it on his list in Defense. There was also pens full of hedgehogs which made sense for a class about animals, but it was Care of Magical Creatures and hedgehogs weren't magical.
Connor looked back over the items and for the life of him couldn't figure out what precisely they were being used for. He could only deduce that they were either playing with or experimenting on the small creatures. He hoped it was the former. Even though he ate meat and used animal based ingredients in Potions, animal torture for no real reason but to fill a lesson did not sit well with him, especially if he actually had to do it.
Then again, how could one torture someone with a teddy bear? Unless hedgehogs were inherently afraid of bears-understandable, a bear could be scary and couldn't tell the difference between a stuffed toy and the real thing. Connor didn't know if bears actually ate hedgehogs though. The small creatures had spikes though that would make them pretty inedible.
Professor Taransay began the lesson with the accurate description of it being mysterious but the Crotalus was glad to have the mystery solved quickly. Connor turned to the person next to him and asked "Do you want to work with me?"
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Connor Priory,Crotalus
A puzzling lesson
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