Having somehow overslept, which was very unlike the Gryffindor, Kurumi sprinted down to the barnyard for her Care of Magical Creatures final with a heavy heart. She really didn't want the term to come to an end...for several reasons. The one in the foreground was having to spend an entire summer away from magical creatures. It was always hard doing so, but this summer would be especially so. It had been the first time in a long time that she had had a proper year of lessons on the subject, and she really didn't want to say good bye to Professor Williamson - even if it was just for the summer.
Kurumi waved, rather awkwardly mind you, at Professor Williamson as she took her place in the barnyard and listened to the instructions for the final. More pygmy puffs? Kurumi thought that Professor Williamson was more of a dragon and winged creature person, but he sure seemed to like the small fluffy variety of creatures. Kurumi frowned just a bit. She was rather hoping to be able to work with Momotaro II again. She was missing that pygmy puff a lot. Frowning just a little, Kurumi walked over to the herd of pygmy puffs and stuck her hand in to wait for one to come to her. After a few moments, a VERY fluffy
rosy colored on hopped into her hand and began to make soft humming noises. It reminded her of Momotaro...and Momotaro II...maybe she would call this one Momotaro II?
Sounded good to the Gryffindor.
Placing the little guy (or gal) on her shoulder, Kurumi walked over to the buffet and examined the food. Momotaro II had only eaten sugar, shrimp, and sort of pumpkin soup. She was rather curious as to whether or not the one she currently had felt the same about these items, and quickly selected them before taking a seat and setting the pygmy puff on her lap, patting its head for a moment to gain some more skinship before proceeding. It needed to feel comfortable around her or else her results would be skewed. She spoke to it for a few minutes, just to let it get used to the sound of her voice, and when the little guy had stopped shivering, Kurumi knew that it was alright for her to proceed.
First up, the sugar cubes. Taking one in the palm of her hand, Kurumi held it out for the pygmy puff to sniff and do whatever it wanted to. It hopped onto her hand and pressed its face against the cube, squeaking several times, and then eventually gave it a lick with its tongue. The creatures tongue quickly recoiled back into its mouth and a sort of low hissing noise came from it. Nope...not a fan of the sugar. "
S-S-S-S-Sorry," she stammered, banishing the sugar cube and reaching for some cooked shrimp, which he eagerly gobbled up. Hmm...perhaps her theory about colorization had some truth in it?
Kurumi jotted down a few more notes, Kurumi nervously pushed the bowl of pumpkin soup towards the pygmy puff and braced for impact. Which, fortunately (?), never happened. Momotaro III didn't seem to have the same inkling towards the liquid. Not that Kurumi really minded this. She didn't want to have to bathe the pygmy puff in the middle of the final because he decided to take a swim. It did, however, lap some of the soup up with its tongue, squeaking and bouncing afterwards.
Jotting down some last minute notes on the food situation, Kurumi grabbed one more shrimp and fed it to Momotaro III before setting to do the...more awkward part of the assignment. Finding out the gender. Kurumi really did not want to actually
touch that part of the pygmy puff again if she could help it. Once was enough and it had been traumatizing. So, she was going to venture a guess using the others gender definitions. It certainly was a lot fluffier than some of the others, and Kurumi supposed that its coloring was rather bright. It certainly wasn't a dark color, but it wasn't neon either. Somewhere in the middle, perhaps this implied adolescence? Something else to think about at least. Kurumi noted a few more differences on her parchment, studying the pygmy puff after each sentence she wrote, and then plopped it back on her shoulder while she turned around towards the table so she could work on the theoretical part of the exam.
SPOILER!!: Kurumi's theoretical
1) Dietary Habits & Gender Identification of Selected Pygmy Puff
I based my food selection off of the long term assignment we were given earlier in the term. However, just like people, pygmy puffs each have their likes and dislikes. Whereas my first pygmy puff enjoyed sugar, the one I selected today did not like sugar at all. In fact, I would venture to say that sweet things in general are not something that meets this particular pygmy puff's pallet since pumpkin soup was also met with mediocre reactions - meaning that he didn't try to bathe himself in it. It DID, however, enjoy eating shrimp which still leads me to believe the theory I wrote about in my pygmy puff diary about carotenoids, beta-carotene, and lycopene perhaps contributing to the coloring of pygmy puffs. It is certainly something I would like to try and experiment with in the future should the opportunity arise.
Momotaro III, as I decided to call today's pygmy puff, was similar in coloring to Momotaro II - perhaps just a shade darker. I wonder if the coat of a pygmy puff changes as time progresses, like how baby deer lost their spots and other camouflage aspects to their coat as they become more able to fend for themselves. While pygmy puffs really do not need to defend themselves, perhaps male pygmy puffs become brighter as time progresses so as to attract females? Momotaro III's tongue was not unusually long and was very VERY fluffy. These two facts, along with his brighter coloring, lead me to believe that Momotaro III is a male pygmy puff. His squeak was not as high pitched as some of the others I heard, and he seemed to be more inclined to hum. This, on top of previous evidence, I believe confirms Momotaro III to be male.
2) Handling Grindylows & Other Dangerous Creatures
Dangerous creatures, not just grindylows, will usually not attack unless provoked. Granted, some dark creatures are an exception to this, but for the sake of this essay I am going to set those to the side. So, in general, the best thing to do when meeting a grindylow or any potentially harmful creature is to keep your distance and not panic. Hasty actions will only startle it into a defensive position and nothing it more fierce than a cornered creature that has been taking over by its flight or fight instincts.
As we learned in our lesson where we went into the Black Lake, grindylows have been known to be domesticated by merpeople. This to me shows that, while they are dangerous creatures and considered dark because they have been known to eat humans, they are not innately evil things and that keeping your distance and respecting their space will get you far. However, you should have your wand ready just in case, but should not use any spell against one until it gives you reason to. If a grindylow happens to attack you the best thing to do would be to use Revulsion Jinx something even stronger on its fingers. While it's grip is very strong, a grindylow's fingers themselves are very brittle, meaning that by snapping its fingers you should be able to get away.
3) Reflection on the term and looking forward
Having not had a proper term of Care of Magical Creatures for a while now, I cannot even begin to put into words how much I learned this term. Of course, there are specific details - especially in regards to pygmy puffs who I never had given much thought to before - but I think the most important lesson I took away from the term came from our final lesson of the term. As I admitted in the beginning of that lesson, I panicked and froze up when faced with a dangerous creature outside of a classroom environment. Not every creature can be a kneazle, or can every dragon we face be within the comforts of a classroom setting. When the blast-ended skrewt appeared and I saw everyone else panicking, I realized how foolish I had been previously and just now ineffective my actions had been. I had always looked to someone older, a professor, to tell me what to do. However, in this lesson, I was able to keep calm and practice constant vigilance. This in turn gave me confidence that I can handle myself around creatures in and out of the classroom. I can memorize facts in a book, recite them at will, know what I SHOULD do in a situation, but this term I was tested on whether or not I WOULD actually perform. I made mistakes, but the important thing is that I learned from them. As to what I want to learn in the future, I think that what I don't want to learn would be a shorter list. I have a fascination with winged creatures - dragons and winged horses especially - so a lesson about both either of them would certainly be of interest to me. Helping a dragon hatch is something that I have sort of had fantasies about doing. I know that dragon eggs are considered a Class A Non-Tradeable Material, but it would be amazing if some sort of deal could be made so we could handle them.
Returning her quill to her bag, Kurumi gathered up her things and returned Momotaro III, waving good bye to him before handing in her parchment to Professor Williamson - who seemed rather out of it. Having done so, Kurumi took one last look at the area before heading back up towards the castle.