Bacon? [Int. 3-5] on Care of Magical Creatures

Prof. Adrian Meade

July 09, 2013 4:19 AM

Bacon? [Int. 3-5] by Prof. Adrian Meade

The Intermediates class was less complicated to prepare since the really interesting creatures started with the XXX classification. There were a lot of creatures Adrian could present to his students that would spark their interest into the subject, but the one he had chosen for today was a bit more ordinary. However, it was still important for them to know how to handle due to its original purpose. The COMC professor bounced all around the classroom making sure everything was ready to receive the third to fifth years. He was sad that he couldn’t procure a specimen for the class to see, but bringing one to the school would shadow the school in a horrible curse. Adrian couldn’t bring such misfortunes to a place of teaching. That would be selfish from his part, but the truth was that studying this creature was very interesting.

The bell rang and the professor waited with a smile for his students to arrive. Today was an in-classroom lecture. He knew his students might get bored of the four walls, but it was necessary. Lately, he had tried to make his curriculum a 50%-50% balance. As the last student entered, he locked the door like it was his custom.

“Greetings,” he welcomed everyone. “Glad to see you back at my classroom,” he joked with his students. His tone of voice was jovial and inviting. Adrian already loved his students and was willing to help them with anything they needed.

“I am sorry we couldn’t enjoy the outside weather, but I couldn’t get a specimen of the creature for you to see and study first-hand.” He explained with a small grimace. He really was sorry. “But I promise the next lesson will be outside.” The hope in his tone very noticeable and warming. He really enjoyed teaching.

“For now let’s start the class,” Adrian waved his wand and the blackboard on the front was suddenly full of notes and pictures. The walls all around the classroom were filled with pictures and even a real-size stuffed Nogtail appeared next to his desk.

“Today we are going to study the Nogtail,” he informed them. By now the students knew the drill and were supposed to have their quills, parchment and book opened for the class to begin.

“The Nogtail is a demon-like creature resembling a piglet, but stunted by narrow black eyes, a thick stubby tail, and long legs. It is mainly found across rural areas in Europe, America and Russia. Nogtails sneak into a pigsty, and suckle on an ordinary pig which curses the farm. The longer the Nogtail goes undetected, the longer the blight will stay on the farm”

Adrian took a deep breath before continuing, “Fast and hard to catch, the only way to make sure the Nogtail will not come back is to chase it away with a pure white dog. The Pest Sub-Division of the Goverment's Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures maintains a pack of a dozen albino bloodhounds specifically for this purpose”

“Its important to note that the hunting of the Nogtail is a popular sport all over the world,” he finished with a smile.

“I want an individual essay, but you can ask for help if you need it. I am here to help and the bookcase has books you can borrow.” Adrian had stocked a bookcase with different books for the students to use whenever they wanted. The only requisite was for them to bring them back when the class ended ot ask for his permission to take them out of the classroom.

OOC: posting rules apply. If you need help tag Adrian. Most importantly, have fun!

0 Prof. Adrian Meade Bacon? [Int. 3-5] 0 Prof. Adrian Meade 1 5

Alicia Bauer, Aladren

July 15, 2013 4:41 PM

No, thank you. by Alicia Bauer, Aladren

Alicia was never sure whether she preferred Care of Magical Creatures’ indoor or outdoor lessons. On one hand, indoor lessons meant she didn’t have to change clothes afterward, a distraction she did not really have time to cram into her day this year. On the other hand, outdoor lessons were at least a relief from the routine, and she could stretch her legs a little without feeling the obligation to turn that into vigorous exercise. She tried to get in at least an hour a day every day anyway, but made sure to hit the water or sports rooms on days when they had CoMC outside, because her swimming and climbing and tumbling seemed easier afterward, when she didn’t go straight from being crushed up in a desk all day to pulling around muscles she would bet most of the girls in her year didn’t know they had.

She supposed the upside to an unpleasant situation, then, was that she didn’t really have to make a choice, because her opinions here, as just about everywhere else, were totally irrelevant. With that cheerful thought in mind, she greeted Professor Meade at the door and went to find a seat.

As class began, she made a note about the next class being outside so she could dress appropriately and already have something laid out on her bed to change into after class and then made a very slight face at the ugly creature whose picture appeared all over the walls. Ugh. She was so glad, sometimes, to be a city dweller, and not only because the city offered far more opportunities to escape from family time even for someone who couldn’t yet Apparate than living somewhere more rural would. For one thing, unless one went to Russia and ran into a pogrebin, which she didn’t plan to, cities usually involved fewer creatures slipping around causing horrible things to happen. The worst she’d ever been warned against personally was insulting a goblin or walking away and being eaten by a hag when she was little.

She continued taking notes, for a moment wondering if, say, her mother’s grandparents kept pigs at all. Sure, a blight on a farm wasn’t quite the same as what Uncle Geoff and Aunt Lavinia insisted on calling the Layne curse, but maybe it had all started there. Someone’s farm had had a blight, so they had done something illegal to make ends meet and they’d all ended up cursed. She didn’t believe it herself – nothing at all had happened to her or her sisters, which lent a lot of support to the idea that her grandparents and grandfather’s second wife had all just been train wrecks and their children had all reacted predictably – but it might be amusing to try to convince Isaac that he was doomed for life, all because Great-Grandma Layne was too blind to notice a nogtail in the pigsty. She thought, given how sure he was that he was special just for being male, he might be just naïve enough to believe it, but Momma would be angry with her, she guessed, and the last thing she needed was to draw more attention to herself at home. Now that there were only two of them still there, that was going to be hard enough without indulging herself in teasing Isaac.

After they were set to work, Alicia looked without interest on her textbook and the shelves they had been provided to write an essay from and tried to discreetly move her shoulders, hoping to shrug off some of the temptation to stare blankly at her desktop and not do anything at all until someone noticed and called her on it. She had a reputation to uphold, so she had to do this, and do it perfectly.

Because she had done this often enough to know how hard it was going to be, the thought of just...not doing it seemed, for one brief, strange, out-of-her-own-head moment, scarily easy. Then she shrugged harder, pressed her fingers to her temple for a moment, and forced herself to focus.

"These seem interesting," she said to the nearest person. "I wonder if anyone's ever figured out what properties of them cause the blight effect?"

16 Alicia Bauer, Aladren No, thank you. 210 Alicia Bauer, Aladren 0 5