Professor Fawcett
September 14, 2008 1:09 PM
Lesson Two for First Years by Professor Fawcett
In what, for him, amounted to a great leap of faith in the first-year class, John had done away with the furniture he had used in all of their lessons thus far. The only things in the Care of Magical Creatures clearing were him and the low pen he'd conjured up for the class' object of study to prevent it from running away. He'd never had the knack for working mazes on paper, and he didn't want to try his hand at searching for a relatively small animal in a real one."Good morning, class," he said loudly when it looked like everyone had arrived. "If I could have your attention for roll call, we can get started on today's lesson." When he had their attendance marked, he looked back at the group, adjusted his glasses against the glare of sunlight he saw instead, and clasped his hands behind his back.
"As some of you may have already realized, this - " he gave the creature, which looked remarkably like his mother's old Jack Russell Shorty, a nod - "is a crup. They originated in southeastern England, but are also popular pets here in the U.S. - for wizards, anyway. They react violently to any and all Muggles they come into contact with, including families of their wizard owners, who they're intensely loyal to. The authorities generally take these behaviors as evidence that crups are wizard-created dogs and not, therefore, natural."
Half-wondering what would happen if crup DNA was examined - Muggle technology had outpaced him after he married Allison and drifted away from the Muggle world, but he thought they could do that sort of thing now - he took a deep breath and went on. "Wizards who own crups are required by law to take a simple test to prove they will be able to control them in Muggle-inhabited areas. If the test is passed, the witch or wizard in question will be given a license allowing them to legally own their animal. Owners are also required to use a painless Severing Charm to remove the crup's tail when it's six to eight weeks old, since Muggles would notice any Jack Russell terrier with a forked tail as something unusual. If anyone has questions, feel free to ask." He paused, hoped a great deal that Kiva and her supplier were right about this crup, and added, "And yes, you may come up here and pet the crup."
0
Professor Fawcett
Lesson Two for First Years
0
Professor Fawcett
1
5
Amelia Smythe
October 16, 2008 6:28 PM
Animals? No thanks. by Amelia Smythe
Unlike her sister, Amelia didn't eagerly look forward to every are of magcial creatures class. In fact, she loathed them. She didn't like being outside for a start. Sure, if she was sipping ice cold water on the terrace, or sunbathing out by the pool, then she could cope with being outside. But otherwise the wind messed her hair up, twigs and mud ruined her clothes, and exercise generally didn't agree with her. As for the animals? Amelia wasn't fussed. Cecily had her horse, crup, rats, monkey, and all the other crazy creatures in that mad menagerie. Basically, animals needed to be looked after, and Amelia wasn't going to be looking after anyone or anything but herself.The class was about crups, and seeing as Amelia lived with a crup almost three months of the year, she didn't feel like she needed to pay particular attention. Yet, without her noticing, she managed to hear what the professor was saying anyway. Stuff about witches and wizards altering their lives for Muggles. hat really got to Amelia sometimes. Right now it didn't bother her all that much, but when the professor asked if anyone had any questions she didn't seem to be able to resist asking.
Amelia thrust her hand into the air and didn't wait to be called on before she began speaking. "Why though?" she asked, flicked her long blonde ponytail behind her shoulder. "I mean, why should we have to chop bits of our animals just for the sake of those Muggles? If they see a crup, it's not like they're going to think 'Oh my golly gosh, that's a magic dog, those people must be witches, let's burn them at the stake'," she said with no small amount of sarcasm. "I'll bet Muggles don't mutilate their animals in deference to us," she said, almost sulkily. "Crups hate Muggles, anyway," she said, having remembered this information from her home life. "It's probably because we cut their tails off!"
0
Amelia Smythe
Animals? No thanks.
121
Amelia Smythe
0
5