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ArianaBlack · 02-20-2016, 07:00 AM

SPOILER!!: Quiet Ones

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tegz

Well.... Char didn't specifically KNOW. She hadn't learned about them yet soooo she just sat back and looked around with great curiosity. This was new to her, she hadn't already learned about these creatures like some people seemed to have.

She shot significant looks right back at her BFF though.

It was like they had ESPN or something.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Holmesian Feline

Yeah, Olivia had become aware of the various species of creatures on the grounds. Mostly through previous classes though a few on her own visiting the creature area as she explored the school in her free time. She preferred to listen though, especially as her classmates around her were already speaking of the ones she thought of. The Ravenclaw was copying them all down into her notes however, her list roughly based off of the one appearing on the board.

Flying seahorses?!

Now those seemed cool. A combination of air and water in one animal but not quite like water fowl the most common example. At least that was her first interpretation of the name. But first they were talking about the characteristics of lake creatures, and as Olivia listened, she got the impression, the flying seahorses might remain more fish. Again went the notes onto her parchment and when the last question was raised, the first year tried to think on some sort of answer. At least something new.

Had Chantel ever mentioned them…

Quote:

Originally Posted by MysteriesOfFate

Madge sat silently, wide-eyed thinking, and looking vaguely in the direction of the professor. She was already lost. She knew nothing of magical creatures, she had never even seen or heard of a flying seahorse before this class.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Callie

Drapes' smug little nod was only met with the dirtiest of looks. From a girl who was an expert at giving dirty looks. She was not fooled by him. The others might be, but she wasn't.

Haddie said nothing about the topic of flying seahorses. She hadn't even known they were a thing until now. She did have a question though. Did they actually flying, or was it like flying fish, where they just jumped out of the water in a way that gave the impression of flying. She was very curious about this, but wasn't about to ask it. There wasn't any way she was going to give him that satisfaction. Instead, Haddie just folded her arms across her chest, even more than they had been, and kept giving Draper that look of utter disdain.

Quote:

Originally Posted by keepmeclose22

Austin had been called on again, and this time he wasn't in trouble. That was a good thing, right? Since he had answered the question early, and he didn't know much more about flying seahorses, he just went on sipping his tea. But he wasn't going to doze off this time. Not today. Today he was going to pay attention, hoping to gain something from his peers. The professor was paying attention to him, making sure he didn't fall asleep. So that was the last thing he was going to do.

How did they breathe in the air? He thought to himself. Animals underwater have their own way of storing oxygen, through gills and what not. So maybe they store oxygen when they jump in the air? Their circulatory system must have a way to use the oxygen underwater.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Squishy

The nod was enough to let Esme know that she had made a good point. Of course she had. Some people were acting like the creatures that lived in the lake were EVIL. They were just beasts - as Hady already pointed out - and lived among themselves in the way that people did.. Hags on the other hand... THOSE were evil. They threatened people and ate children. How much worse could you get than THAT?!

Flying seahorses weren't her strong suit but she DID know about them.

Listening to what others had to say Esme nodded along. There wasn't really much else that she could add to it. Instead she made note of everything since it might come in handy for later. Hopefully they would be moving on to the activity soon because she would much rather interact with the seahorses than brainstorm facts about them. That seemed to be something much more suited for Teddy.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Goblinfrog

Kitty had never heard of flying seahorses before so she kept silent, but she knew she would love them. It was good to know that they were in the Lake because now she could go looking for them when the weather got warmer.

Quote:

Originally Posted by pundantic

Chloe flushed in embarrassment. The only thing she properly knew about them was that they lived in the lake. She wasn't as interested in magical creatures as she should have been in her studies. Especially for someone whose father's job dealt with animals. Loosely.

For the second time around, Chloe was reduced to silence. But she dutifully scribbled down everything everyone said about the creatures.

Quote:

Originally Posted by WeasleyGirl

People knew a lot about creatures. A LOT. Hugo on the other hand...well, he knew some facts, yeah. He wrote down everything or almost everything 'cause he knew he was going to need it for his OWLs, also he already had someone to study with. Cough. Where was Jenna? Anyways...

Hugo was wondering what they were going to do for the activity. Maybe go and find creatures? That would be cool. And why were they talking about Flying Seahorses? Did Draper brought some of them? Were they going to feed them? Take care of them? Maybe that's what the jars were for. He didn't raised his hand on this question because everyone had already said what he also knew, so he listened instead.

James took note of those choosing to remain quiet for this particular question. As long as no one was falling asleep, they could stay quiet. He didn't care about that much. However, they'd have to start participating in a minute because the Q&A portion was nearly done. And James wouldn't allow anyone to sit idle for the rest of the lesson. Not unless they wanted points taken off their grades.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Stefan

Jace raised his hand again, offering another answer to the professor. "To harvest them for the Girding Potion, we have to use the seize and pull charm to capture them." he said glancing briefly at the jars up front.

Hmm. "But...how do you provoke them to break out of the water, professor?" he did read about the creature, but didn't bother to know it more. It was evident that Jace was a tad disappointed he didn't know. He was the student who offered the correct answer in the first place anyway.

James nodded, giving the younger boy confirmation to the information he offered about their harvesting. And he wasn't at all surprised when the kid raised a question. It was also a good question. They didn't get much of those. "Well, their flight in response to being provoked is first and foremost their defense mechanism. It's their response to a threat in order to get out of any danger they may deem immediate." Did that much make sense? "For the purpose of harvesting, they can easily be raised to the surface with the introduction of bait, or the use of a seize and pull charm into the water can pull them up. They aren't often caught when flying in the air." He paused momentarily to make sure that he had answered the boys question adequately. Did all of that make sense? "And take two points for the deeper thinking," questions meant deep thought. James liked that.

Quote:

Originally Posted by RandomRaven

Well, Ava didn't really know about flying seahorses, or seahorses in general. She wasn't a type of student who's gonna read the book before the class started and being a know-it-all person, unless those topics are related about DADA, dueling and healing potions. (thanks to her father for the last one.) Sometimes she thought if those know-it-all people really needed to go to the class anymore because clearly, the main purpose of being in a class is to get some knowledge, right?

"Well... Since they live in water, I think fish and flying seahorses come from the same class..." The young lioness gave an opinion.

James considered this one for a few seconds before nodding and commenting, "That's not a far-fetched assumption to make." He nodded. It was a fair thought. However, "We can't, however, assume that right away. As the Seahorses show much different characteristics than your traditional fish would. It wouldn't be entirely correct to classify them as the same. But we can most certainly say they most likely derived from a common ancestor." He nodded, not discrediting her idea. Instead simply offering some more perspective to it.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hey Ju

Matt shrugged at a random girl who said she didn't agree with his answer. He didn't mind her saying that because just SAYING it didn't change anything. Water creatures were still evil no matter what any girl said.

And a matter of opinion?? "Nuh-uh, it's a fact." He stated seriously. He was being SERIOUS here. People's opinions wouldn't change ANYTHING. "I mean, they breathe UNDERWATER. That's not NORMAL."

asdfkfjldnkljsfl HORRIBLE CREATURES.

The next question was specifically about Flying Seahorses and what they knew about them. Truth was, Matt knew hardly anything about the creatures. "I guess they aren't that bad. IF they are tiny like normal seahorses and don't like being around people."

James gave this boy a hard look in consideration. Had his parents taught him that? Because in most experiences, James found parents to be annoyingly difficult. Passing on crazy superstitions to their children without having any accurate background to pull out that kind of information. "Well, again, opinion," he replied easily. "Breathing underwater may not be normal for us, but for a creature who knows nothing else but the water. It's their normal." And if he didn't want to believe it now, then they'd have to wait and discuss one-on-one. Because James was done with this matter. It would be a ridiculous waste of class time to discuss these sorts of philosophies when he had an entire lesson to address.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ameh

There were so many answers going around. Jaemin listened to his classmates while he tried to remember things that he actually knew about the seahorses. He'd seen them a few times, but not really... up close and personal-like. And plants were his strong suit, not lake creatures. They weren't fuzzy. He was less interested if it didn't have roots or fuzz.

Other students kept mentioning the breathing thing though, which made Jaemin wonder. The small boy wrinkled his nose and looked up at the professor.

"Do they really breathe outside of the water though? There's lots of creatures that come out of the water to do stuff and then go back in after a little bit. They don't breathe the regular air though, they just... kinda hold their water breath, right? Sort of the opposite of what humans do."

"Good question," James nodded, giving it a few seconds of thought. "They don't ever stay out of the water for very long. So you're right, their presence under water is where they do most of their breathing." He did have some more to add though, "though they do have means of breathing outside of water, it's a much weaker system. Like a plan B, if you will. It's their backup system if they need to be above water for longer than they'd be able to hold for." However, because they never stayed long it was hardly ever needed to kick in.

Had that answered the question?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Steelsheen

Oh so they were talking about the equine counterparts of the lake. Which is FANTASTIC for this curly top as he was a fan of all things equine.

So what factual tidbit does he know about them? Well other than the obvious fact that they flew AND are inhabitants of the lake? A fact already pointed out in this discussion by the Professor himself no less.

"Uhm some of the mariners and fishermen that hang around the lake near my home says they catch flying seahorses and put them in stews, or if they're super fresh, they can just pop them in a beer batter then fry them and eat them like chicken nuggets." True story.

.... Right. Where did these kids come up with this stuff? "... I'll take your word for it."

Not confirming nor denying. Let the kid dream.

SPOILER!!: Correct Answers

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jean Granger

Carl was sitting silently, listening to his peers speak. He found out that he knew surprisingly little about creatures in the Lake, so had nothing much to say. He had thought of jotting down notes, but decided against it as he found taking both hands out of his warm pockets an immensely difficult action.

The First Year thought about the next question. Again, he had heard about Flying Seahorses, but had never actually seen one. He remembered something about them and raised his hand. "Flying Seahorses can fly when they are provoked." He wanted that ability, so that he could rise into the air if people annoyed him. Though to be honest, he was rarely annoyed.

Quote:

Originally Posted by MunchyBubbles

Yay!! There! She had gotten an answer right! And she didn't repeat anyone!

Ten points to Azura! She smiled happily to herself as she pulled her cloak in tighter around her. It was still cold!

This had been an up and down class so far, but at least she was able to sort of turn it around.. For herself at least! Let's hope she was able to keep it that way!

She thought a bit about the Professor's next question before raising her hand and speaking. "They are golden yellow in color with black eyes." That was about all she knew about them, other then the fact they flew.. But that answer had already been given!

She was paying attention this time!!

Quote:

Originally Posted by StarShine

Note-taking was happening furiously now as always ~~it always happened during the Q&A part of the lessons, it's just Deniz that forgets to mention it~~. Katherine's quill (which she had bought with Yoongi, did the boy notice?) was flyiiiiiiiiing on the parchment. She wrote without thinking again, so the parchment looked a little messy, but it was systematical to her and she'd re-write them in the evening while studying anyway.

Sooooooo, this time, as there was little information that could be given about them, she raised her hand as soon as she finished writing.

"They are native to Scotland."

Wasn't she a GREAT student? She didn't look at the textbook even ONCE!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Optimist

Melbourne wasn’t a fool really, she had just gone the extra kilometer to give an answer that others hadn’t given. Still, now they were moving onto just facts about the flying sea horses. Of course someone was going to say they could fly.

That was evident.

Raising her hand she quickly added, “they are an ingredient used in the girding potion – though they are best when freshly caught,” she grinned and looked around at everyone in the room…really, it would be a wonder if anyone else didn’t lose points with how the class seemed to be going.

Quote:

Originally Posted by BanaBatGirl

Of course they wouldn't have time for Davie's question. ANYONE ELSE'S QUESTION was valid, but his just had to be saved for office hours... office hours which Davie had conveniently been kicked out of and banned from, more or less...

The second-year shared another ESPN glance with Char, and then sighed deeply as he raised his hand to contribute again. "Flying seashorses were used in this inhumane game called flying seahorse fishing," he offered begrudgingly. "In the 'game,' if you could call it that, Hogwartians used the seize and pull charm to harvest the seahorses for potions ingredients."

Quote:

Originally Posted by hermygirl

Sam didn't know much about flying seahorses, it had to be said. But it'd be silly if she did, because otherwise, why would she need to be sat in this lesson? It was cool they lived in the lake though. Were they going to catch some in the jars?

As for answering the question? She had read an article in the newspaper once about mundane seahorses, and she figured these might be the same. "They 'av a role reversal thin' goin' on, don't they? Cos d'males give birf to the baby 'orses."

Quote:

Originally Posted by FearlessLeader19

Rachel hardly dared to believe her eyes. Had Professor Draper really given her a tiny smile? No, it couldn't be. He didn't smile much, did he? But then again, that didn't mean he didn't smile on occasions. She decided her eyes weren't playing tricks and smiled back. He definitely had liked her answer.

The eleven year old's hand shot into the air again after a moment. "Katherine is right when she said they are native in Scotland but they are most commonly found in our Black Lake,'' she said with an inclination of hear head towards the said body of water.

Quote:

Originally Posted by SpiritWolfe Malfoy

Hadleigh smiled lightly glancing at both Jace and Esme. Their replies went along quite well with the one she had given therefore the three of them had made a nice solid point. Not to bad really.

The next question though was something she paused to think over. Two good answers so far meant she couldn't mess this one up, it had to be just as good if not better then her previous replies. There was just one problem though with this...she had no idea what to say. Chewing her bottom lip in clear thought for probably a second to long while going over everyone else's replies in her head the fifth year finally raised her hand. "I believe they eat much smaller invertebrates, sucking them into their mouths whole." If this was right she wasn't fully sure but it did make sense to her so hopefully it was.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Daydreamer11

Janelle was officially bummed. Everyone had pretty much covered all of the possible answers on the previous question and she was left silent. No intelligent answer given. This was her absolute favorite class and she couldn't come up with one coherent answer. That was not good. However before she was able to dwell on that fact too long, a new question was posed. Determined not to be left out this time she raised her hand.

This point had been mentioned during the previous discussion, but Janelle thought it was important enough to focus on again. "Flying seahorses......fly, of course. But that makes them different from the other lake creatures. They can survive outside of the water. The seahorses get oxygen from the water when they are in the lake. When they are flying they must have other means to breathe." Janelle thought that all of the other creatures would need to stay in water to live.

Quote:

Originally Posted by DuckyLinJi

The Head Boy kept writing in his little note book, wanting to document as much as possible which could help him during his NEWT’s in a few months. While he was doing so, his eyes caught the sight of the quill Katherine was writing with and he smiled. He remembered that quill, they had bought it together. He didn’t say anything though because he didn’t want to interrupt the class.

He had been very disappointed in the Professor’s reaction though. The Gryffindor had expected him to look surprised at least by his rescue team comment but he had only gotten a mere glance over. And yes, he definitely looked annoyed again. Couldn’t they just start the activity instead of all these questions?

Flying seahorses. He knew a thing or two about these creatures thank merlin. “flying seahorses are potion ingredients and i read that in order to catch them, the students had made a game out of it"

Quote:

Originally Posted by Anna Banana

OHHH, she was on the right track now! At least...she got a response from the professor, and he didn't just nod along and seem annoyed. This earned a fidget in her seat from Ariadne. She was getting super EXCITED and really into the lesson now. What did she know about flying seahorses? Well, ...nothing. It was the start of the lesson, and she had STUFF to learn!

She had one small little detail to offer, though, so she raised her hand. "When it's not flying and actually in the water, it uses it's curly-shaped tail to propel itself along," she said. As she explained this, she made a little waving motion with her hand. She was trying to show the motions she'd learned it did--it's curly-shaped tail would straighten out a little, and then it would re-curl the tail to help it move along in the water.

...and that was all she knew so far.

James nodded along taking note of each answer. "Very good," he responded to all the answers. "You're all correct." Even Backpack Boy, surprisingly enough. It was hard to memorize all the facts all in one go, but there were a few key takeaways that would hopefully stick. And just to reinforce it, James waited for them to settle down so that he could add some more detail. "Flying Seahorses are a variant of regular seahorses and will share many similar characteristics to those seahorses found in muggle communities as Miss Tyler pointed out." He waited for the notetakers to write things down. "They are known for their ability to fly when provoked. It's their main means of defense as they are otherwise quite harmless creatures."

Were they getting all of this? Good. "As Miss Moss pointed out, they are native to Scotland and Miss Watson also mentioned that they are most notably found in our own Great Lake." Thus their change in location for the day. "As Mr. Truebridge mentioned, Hogwarts used to participate in an inhumane recreational practice of flying seahorse fishing as a sport. However, the sport has since then been discontinued." For all the environmentalists in the area. They could all sit down before they got their knickers into a knot.

*****

Alright, finally. It was activity time. Well almost. And good thing too, James was growing tired of all of these questions. Almost as tired as the kids inevitably were. Right then, moving on. "Alright, so I think that's enough for our discussion portion." Were they cool with that? Good.

"As we mentioned before," both himself and the infamous David Truebridge, "Flying Seahorse Fishing as a sport is very inhumane. However, if done for the purpose of harvesting for potions... It is often times necessary. As it was mentioned earlier, our Great Lake has a certain quality of balance. If one component is off or in excess..." he looked around, "It could be very bad for the rest of the community in the lake." Understood?

Hopefully.

He didn't want to go over it again. He had spoken enough.

"And as it is, the Flying Seahorse population hasn't been kept in control very well in the past few years. And thus, we're going to help with that control factor." Make sense so far? He wondered how many of them saw where this was going... "Before we get to do any of that, you'll need to have practiced the Seize and Pull Charm." It was normally taught at a third year level, however, it wasn't anything too complicated. And this class was meant for the more advanced ones as well, so those younger could hopefully handle it. Or maybe he was giving them too much credit again.

Only one way to find out.

"The incantation for this charm is KAHR-pay ruh-TRACK-tum and the movement is simple and whip-like," he demonstrated for them. Easy enough, yeah? "I want everyone to take some time to practice the incantation and the wand movement separately." Extra emphasis on the separately.

Quote:

Originally Posted by BlackBoard

Movement: Whip-Like
Incantation: Carpe Retractum
Effect: Golden/Orange Light

OOC: Sorry for the wait, y'all! Things kept popping up today and they were completely out of my control.

+ This Mini-Activity will take two posts
+ Please title your posts with the post number (ex: Post #1)
+ Feel free to divide it up however you want, however they need to pratice both the wand movement and the incantation (separately!)
+ You will have 24 hours to make these 2 posts

02-20-2016, 07:00 AM	#121 (permalink)
ArianaBlack Forum Manager Quibbler & Newbie Mod Ashwinder Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: #6e5f57 \|#ff5470 Posts: 13,708 Hogwarts RPG Name: Alfie Adair Hufflepuff Fourth Year Hogwarts RPG Name: Laini Gracae-Ryans Slytherin Third Year x10 x1	Mini-Activity! doesn't proofread tweets \| #wrongaboutcereal \| #siriusly? \| emo to the extremo SPOILER!!: Quiet Ones Quote: Originally Posted by Tegz Well.... Char didn't specifically KNOW. She hadn't learned about them yet soooo she just sat back and looked around with great curiosity. This was new to her, she hadn't already learned about these creatures like some people seemed to have. She shot significant looks right back at her BFF though. It was like they had ESPN or something. Quote: Originally Posted by Holmesian Feline Yeah, Olivia had become aware of the various species of creatures on the grounds. Mostly through previous classes though a few on her own visiting the creature area as she explored the school in her free time. She preferred to listen though, especially as her classmates around her were already speaking of the ones she thought of. The Ravenclaw was copying them all down into her notes however, her list roughly based off of the one appearing on the board. Flying seahorses?! Now those seemed cool. A combination of air and water in one animal but not quite like water fowl the most common example. At least that was her first interpretation of the name. But first they were talking about the characteristics of lake creatures, and as Olivia listened, she got the impression, the flying seahorses might remain more fish. Again went the notes onto her parchment and when the last question was raised, the first year tried to think on some sort of answer. At least something new. Had Chantel ever mentioned them… Quote: Originally Posted by MysteriesOfFate Madge sat silently, wide-eyed thinking, and looking vaguely in the direction of the professor. She was already lost. She knew nothing of magical creatures, she had never even seen or heard of a flying seahorse before this class. Quote: Originally Posted by Callie Drapes' smug little nod was only met with the dirtiest of looks. From a girl who was an expert at giving dirty looks. She was not fooled by him. The others might be, but she wasn't. Haddie said nothing about the topic of flying seahorses. She hadn't even known they were a thing until now. She did have a question though. Did they actually flying, or was it like flying fish, where they just jumped out of the water in a way that gave the impression of flying. She was very curious about this, but wasn't about to ask it. There wasn't any way she was going to give him that satisfaction. Instead, Haddie just folded her arms across her chest, even more than they had been, and kept giving Draper that look of utter disdain. Quote: Originally Posted by keepmeclose22 Austin had been called on again, and this time he wasn't in trouble. That was a good thing, right? Since he had answered the question early, and he didn't know much more about flying seahorses, he just went on sipping his tea. But he wasn't going to doze off this time. Not today. Today he was going to pay attention, hoping to gain something from his peers. The professor was paying attention to him, making sure he didn't fall asleep. So that was the last thing he was going to do. How did they breathe in the air? He thought to himself. Animals underwater have their own way of storing oxygen, through gills and what not. So maybe they store oxygen when they jump in the air? Their circulatory system must have a way to use the oxygen underwater. Quote: Originally Posted by Squishy The nod was enough to let Esme know that she had made a good point. Of course she had. Some people were acting like the creatures that lived in the lake were EVIL. They were just beasts - as Hady already pointed out - and lived among themselves in the way that people did.. Hags on the other hand... THOSE were evil. They threatened people and ate children. How much worse could you get than THAT?! Flying seahorses weren't her strong suit but she DID know about them. Listening to what others had to say Esme nodded along. There wasn't really much else that she could add to it. Instead she made note of everything since it might come in handy for later. Hopefully they would be moving on to the activity soon because she would much rather interact with the seahorses than brainstorm facts about them. That seemed to be something much more suited for Teddy. Quote: Originally Posted by Goblinfrog Kitty had never heard of flying seahorses before so she kept silent, but she knew she would love them. It was good to know that they were in the Lake because now she could go looking for them when the weather got warmer. Quote: Originally Posted by pundantic Chloe flushed in embarrassment. The only thing she properly knew about them was that they lived in the lake. She wasn't as interested in magical creatures as she should have been in her studies. Especially for someone whose father's job dealt with animals. Loosely. For the second time around, Chloe was reduced to silence. But she dutifully scribbled down everything everyone said about the creatures. Quote: Originally Posted by WeasleyGirl People knew a lot about creatures. A LOT. Hugo on the other hand...well, he knew some facts, yeah. He wrote down everything or almost everything 'cause he knew he was going to need it for his OWLs, also he already had someone to study with. Cough. Where was Jenna? Anyways... Hugo was wondering what they were going to do for the activity. Maybe go and find creatures? That would be cool. And why were they talking about Flying Seahorses? Did Draper brought some of them? Were they going to feed them? Take care of them? Maybe that's what the jars were for. He didn't raised his hand on this question because everyone had already said what he also knew, so he listened instead. James took note of those choosing to remain quiet for this particular question. As long as no one was falling asleep, they could stay quiet. He didn't care about that much. However, they'd have to start participating in a minute because the Q&A portion was nearly done. And James wouldn't allow anyone to sit idle for the rest of the lesson. Not unless they wanted points taken off their grades. Quote: Originally Posted by Stefan Jace raised his hand again, offering another answer to the professor. "To harvest them for the Girding Potion, we have to use the seize and pull charm to capture them." he said glancing briefly at the jars up front. Hmm. "But...how do you provoke them to break out of the water, professor?" he did read about the creature, but didn't bother to know it more. It was evident that Jace was a tad disappointed he didn't know. He was the student who offered the correct answer in the first place anyway. James nodded, giving the younger boy confirmation to the information he offered about their harvesting. And he wasn't at all surprised when the kid raised a question. It was also a good question. They didn't get much of those. "Well, their flight in response to being provoked is first and foremost their defense mechanism. It's their response to a threat in order to get out of any danger they may deem immediate." Did that much make sense? "For the purpose of harvesting, they can easily be raised to the surface with the introduction of bait, or the use of a seize and pull charm into the water can pull them up. They aren't often caught when flying in the air." He paused momentarily to make sure that he had answered the boys question adequately. Did all of that make sense? "And take two points for the deeper thinking," questions meant deep thought. James liked that. Quote: Originally Posted by RandomRaven Well, Ava didn't really know about flying seahorses, or seahorses in general. She wasn't a type of student who's gonna read the book before the class started and being a know-it-all person, unless those topics are related about DADA, dueling and healing potions. (thanks to her father for the last one.) Sometimes she thought if those know-it-all people really needed to go to the class anymore because clearly, the main purpose of being in a class is to get some knowledge, right? "Well... Since they live in water, I think fish and flying seahorses come from the same class..." The young lioness gave an opinion. James considered this one for a few seconds before nodding and commenting, "That's not a far-fetched assumption to make." He nodded. It was a fair thought. However, "We can't, however, assume that right away. As the Seahorses show much different characteristics than your traditional fish would. It wouldn't be entirely correct to classify them as the same. But we can most certainly say they most likely derived from a common ancestor." He nodded, not discrediting her idea. Instead simply offering some more perspective to it. Quote: Originally Posted by Hey Ju Matt shrugged at a random girl who said she didn't agree with his answer. He didn't mind her saying that because just SAYING it didn't change anything. Water creatures were still evil no matter what any girl said. And a matter of opinion?? "Nuh-uh, it's a fact." He stated seriously. He was being SERIOUS here. People's opinions wouldn't change ANYTHING. "I mean, they breathe UNDERWATER. That's not NORMAL." asdfkfjldnkljsfl HORRIBLE CREATURES. The next question was specifically about Flying Seahorses and what they knew about them. Truth was, Matt knew hardly anything about the creatures. *"I guess they aren't that* bad. IF they are tiny like normal seahorses and don't like being around people." James gave this boy a hard look in consideration. Had his parents taught him that? Because in most experiences, James found parents to be annoyingly difficult. Passing on crazy superstitions to their children without having any accurate background to pull out that kind of information. "Well, again, opinion," he replied easily. "Breathing underwater may not be normal for us, but for a creature who knows nothing else but the water. It's their normal." And if he didn't want to believe it now, then they'd have to wait and discuss one-on-one. Because James was done with this matter. It would be a ridiculous waste of class time to discuss these sorts of philosophies when he had an entire lesson to address. Quote: Originally Posted by Ameh There were so many answers going around. Jaemin listened to his classmates while he tried to remember things that he actually knew about the seahorses. He'd seen them a few times, but not really... up close and personal-like. And plants were his strong suit, not lake creatures. They weren't fuzzy. He was less interested if it didn't have roots or fuzz. Other students kept mentioning the breathing thing though, which made Jaemin wonder. The small boy wrinkled his nose and looked up at the professor. "Do they really breathe outside of the water though? There's lots of creatures that come out of the water to do stuff and then go back in after a little bit. They don't breathe the regular air though, they just... kinda hold their water breath, right? Sort of the opposite of what humans do." "Good question," James nodded, giving it a few seconds of thought. "They don't ever stay out of the water for very long. So you're right, their presence under water is where they do most of their breathing." He did have some more to add though, "though they do have means of breathing outside of water, it's a much weaker system. Like a plan B, if you will. It's their backup system if they need to be above water for longer than they'd be able to hold for." However, because they never stayed long it was hardly ever needed to kick in. Had that answered the question? Quote: Originally Posted by Steelsheen Oh so they were talking about the equine counterparts of the lake. Which is FANTASTIC for this curly top as he was a fan of all things equine. So what factual tidbit does he know about them? Well other than the obvious fact that they flew AND are inhabitants of the lake? A fact already pointed out in this discussion by the Professor himself no less. "Uhm some of the mariners and fishermen that hang around the lake near my home says they catch flying seahorses and put them in stews, or if they're super fresh, they can just pop them in a beer batter then fry them and eat them like chicken nuggets." True story. .... Right. Where did these kids come up with this stuff? "... I'll take your word for it." Not confirming nor denying. Let the kid dream. SPOILER!!*: Correct Answers* Quote: Originally Posted by Jean Granger Carl was sitting silently, listening to his peers speak. He found out that he knew surprisingly little about creatures in the Lake, so had nothing much to say. He had thought of jotting down notes, but decided against it as he found taking both hands out of his warm pockets an immensely difficult action. The First Year thought about the next question. Again, he had heard about Flying Seahorses, but had never actually seen one. He remembered something about them and raised his hand. "Flying Seahorses can fly when they are provoked." He wanted that ability, so that he could rise into the air if people annoyed him. Though to be honest, he was rarely annoyed. Quote: Originally Posted by MunchyBubbles Yay!! There! She had gotten an answer right! And she didn't repeat anyone! Ten points to Azura! She smiled happily to herself as she pulled her cloak in tighter around her. It was still cold! This had been an up and down class so far, but at least she was able to sort of turn it around.. For herself at least! Let's hope she was able to keep it that way! She thought a bit about the Professor's next question before raising her hand and speaking. "They are golden yellow in color with black eyes." That was about all she knew about them, other then the fact they flew.. But that answer had already been given! She was paying attention this time!! Quote: Originally Posted by StarShine Note-taking was happening furiously now as always ~~it always happened during the Q&A part of the lessons, it's just Deniz that forgets to mention it~~. Katherine's quill (which she had bought with Yoongi, did the boy notice?) was flyiiiiiiiiing on the parchment. She wrote without thinking again, so the parchment looked a little messy, but it was systematical to her and she'd re-write them in the evening while studying anyway. Sooooooo, this time, as there was little information that could be given about them, she raised her hand as soon as she finished writing. "They are native to Scotland." Wasn't she a GREAT student? She didn't look at the textbook even ONCE! Quote: Originally Posted by Optimist Melbourne wasn’t a fool really, she had just gone the extra kilometer to give an answer that others hadn’t given. Still, now they were moving onto just facts about the flying sea horses. Of course someone was going to say they could fly. That was evident. Raising her hand she quickly added, “they are an ingredient used in the girding potion – though they are best when freshly caught,” she grinned and looked around at everyone in the room…really, it would be a wonder if anyone else didn’t lose points with how the class seemed to be going. Quote: Originally Posted by BanaBatGirl Of course they wouldn't have time for Davie's question. ANYONE ELSE'S QUESTION was valid, but his just had to be saved for office hours... office hours which Davie had conveniently been kicked out of and banned from, more or less... The second-year shared another ESPN glance with Char, and then sighed deeply as he raised his hand to contribute again. "Flying seashorses were used in this inhumane game called flying seahorse fishing," he offered begrudgingly. "In the 'game,' if you could call it that, Hogwartians used the seize and pull charm to harvest the seahorses for potions ingredients." Quote: Originally Posted by hermygirl Sam didn't know much about flying seahorses, it had to be said. But it'd be silly if she did, because otherwise, why would she need to be sat in this lesson? It was cool they lived in the lake though. Were they going to catch some in the jars? As for answering the question? She had read an article in the newspaper once about mundane seahorses, and she figured these might be the same. "They 'av a role reversal thin' goin' on, don't they? Cos d'males give birf to the baby 'orses." Quote: Originally Posted by FearlessLeader19 Rachel hardly dared to believe her eyes. Had Professor Draper really given her a tiny smile? No, it couldn't be. He didn't smile much, did he? But then again, that didn't mean he didn't smile on occasions. She decided her eyes weren't playing tricks and smiled back. He definitely had liked her answer. The eleven year old's hand shot into the air again after a moment. "Katherine is right when she said they are native in Scotland but they are most commonly found in our Black Lake,'' she said with an inclination of hear head towards the said body of water. Quote: Originally Posted by SpiritWolfe Malfoy Hadleigh smiled lightly glancing at both Jace and Esme. Their replies went along quite well with the one she had given therefore the three of them had made a nice solid point. Not to bad really. The next question though was something she paused to think over. Two good answers so far meant she couldn't mess this one up, it had to be just as good if not better then her previous replies. There was just one problem though with this...she had no idea what to say. Chewing her bottom lip in clear thought for probably a second to long while going over everyone else's replies in her head the fifth year finally raised her hand. "I believe they eat much smaller invertebrates, sucking them into their mouths whole." If this was right she wasn't fully sure but it did make sense to her so hopefully it was. Quote: Originally Posted by Daydreamer11 Janelle was officially bummed. Everyone had pretty much covered all of the possible answers on the previous question and she was left silent. No intelligent answer given. This was her absolute favorite class and she couldn't come up with one coherent answer. That was not good. However before she was able to dwell on that fact too long, a new question was posed. Determined not to be left out this time she raised her hand. This point had been mentioned during the previous discussion, but Janelle thought it was important enough to focus on again. "Flying seahorses......fly, of course. But that makes them different from the other lake creatures. They can survive outside of the water. The seahorses get oxygen from the water when they are in the lake. When they are flying they must have other means to breathe." Janelle thought that all of the other creatures would need to stay in water to live. Quote: Originally Posted by DuckyLinJi The Head Boy kept writing in his little note book, wanting to document as much as possible which could help him during his NEWT’s in a few months. While he was doing so, his eyes caught the sight of the quill Katherine was writing with and he smiled. He remembered that quill, they had bought it together. He didn’t say anything though because he didn’t want to interrupt the class. He had been very disappointed in the Professor’s reaction though. The Gryffindor had expected him to look surprised at least by his rescue team comment but he had only gotten a mere glance over. And yes, he definitely looked annoyed again. Couldn’t they just start the activity instead of all these questions? Flying seahorses. He knew a thing or two about these creatures thank merlin. “flying seahorses are potion ingredients and i read that in order to catch them, the students had made a game out of it" Quote: Originally Posted by Anna Banana OHHH, she was on the right track now! At least...she got a response from the professor, and he didn't just nod along and seem annoyed. This earned a fidget in her seat from Ariadne. She was getting super EXCITED and really into the lesson now. What did she know about flying seahorses? Well, ...nothing. It was the start of the lesson, and she had STUFF to learn! She had one small little detail to offer, though, so she raised her hand. "When it's not flying and actually in the water, it uses it's curly-shaped tail to propel itself along," she said. As she explained this, she made a little waving motion with her hand. She was trying to show the motions she'd learned it did--it's curly-shaped tail would straighten out a little, and then it would re-curl the tail to help it move along in the water. ...and that was all she knew so far. James nodded along taking note of each answer. "Very good," he responded to all the answers. "You're all correct." Even Backpack Boy, surprisingly enough. It was hard to memorize all the facts all in one go, but there were a few key takeaways that would hopefully stick. And just to reinforce it, James waited for them to settle down so that he could add some more detail. "Flying Seahorses are a variant of regular seahorses and will share many similar characteristics to those seahorses found in muggle communities as Miss Tyler pointed out." He waited for the notetakers to write things down. "They are known for their ability to fly when provoked. It's their main means of defense as they are otherwise quite harmless creatures." Were they getting all of this? Good. "As Miss Moss pointed out, they are native to Scotland and Miss Watson also mentioned that they are most notably found in our own Great Lake." Thus their change in location for the day. "As Mr. Truebridge mentioned, Hogwarts used to participate in an inhumane recreational practice of flying seahorse fishing as a sport. However, the sport has since then been discontinued." For all the environmentalists in the area. They could all sit down before they got their knickers into a knot. ***** Alright, finally. It was activity time. Well almost. And good thing too, James was growing tired of all of these questions. Almost as tired as the kids inevitably were. Right then, moving on. "Alright, so I think that's enough for our discussion portion." Were they cool with that? Good. "As we mentioned before," both himself and the infamous David Truebridge, "Flying Seahorse Fishing as a sport is very inhumane. However, if done for the purpose of harvesting for potions... It is often times necessary. As it was mentioned earlier, our Great Lake has a certain quality of balance. If one component is off or in excess..." he looked around, "It could be very bad for the rest of the community in the lake." Understood? Hopefully. He didn't want to go over it again. He had spoken enough. "And as it is, the Flying Seahorse population hasn't been kept in control very well in the past few years. And thus, we're going to help with that control factor." Make sense so far? He wondered how many of them saw where this was going... "Before we get to do any of that, you'll need to have practiced the Seize and Pull Charm." It was normally taught at a third year level, however, it wasn't anything too complicated. And this class was meant for the more advanced ones as well, so those younger could hopefully handle it. Or maybe he was giving them too much credit again. Only one way to find out. "The incantation for this charm is KAHR-pay ruh-TRACK-tum and the movement is simple and whip-like," he demonstrated for them. Easy enough, yeah? "I want everyone to take some time to practice the incantation and the wand movement separately." Extra emphasis on the separately. Quote: Originally Posted by BlackBoard Movement: Whip-Like Incantation: Carpe Retractum Effect: Golden/Orange Light OOC: Sorry for the wait, y'all! Things kept popping up today and they were completely out of my control. + This Mini-Activity will take two posts + Please title your posts with the post number (ex: Post #1) + Feel free to divide it up however you want, however they need to pratice both the wand movement and the incantation (separately!) + You will have 24 hours to make these 2 posts __________________ Days of Potter 2023:___________________________ Which Bertie Botts Flavour Are You? You are Lemon!