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Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: *Nom nom nom*
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Hogwarts RPG Name:
Mercer Branxton
Ravenclaw Seventh Year
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|  Made of Awesome | Ern-la the Best-wa | TZ's Apogee
SPOILER!!: Heeeeey, kids Quote:
Originally Posted by MunchyBubbles  Kamryn barely gave Bast a hello, but she did snuggle ever so slightly into his comforting arm around her shoulder. Hugs were needed after a breakup, and she couldn’t wait to get her present, but she didn’t say a thing. Especially as she caught his wink to Maeve.
Yes yes, her other best friend was beautiful.
Anyways..
Kam didn’t really mind swimming, except for the fact that it was cold and kind of misty out, but she could swim well.
She looked up at the Professor as he started to speak and she spared a glance for the box full of things they could wear if they forgot their swimsuit.
No thank you! She was glad she remembered hers.
And of course she knew she wasn’t the center of the universe, she was highly well aware of that, but she cut off her bitter inner monologue, as she raised her hand.
“The lake is teeming with creatures such as the Giant Squid and merpeople. ” There also could still be Inferi in there.. but who knew. “Teeming. Exactly,” Cornish gave the girl a nod.
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Originally Posted by siriusblackliveson Patrick smiled at the professors gruffness. He could totally understand where he was coming from. He hated mornings himself... well at least the kinds of mornings where you had to be alert and active. His eyes had tracked all the other students arrivals and he was surprised to see Kam looking a little sad. He would have to ask her later what happened.
Looking back at Professor Cornish he smiled, “We are completely mediocre when it comes to our placement on the food chain. Sorry got side tracked, are the giant Spiders still milling around.” He had heard wild stories about them from his father. He would like to think that only cool little fluff balls and unicorns floated around the school but he really hated the idea of giant spiders or even snakes... ew. “I should think so. We keep sending delicious, disobedient first years into the forest as dinner, and they like us for it,” Cornish shrugged. “But seriously, yes, they are. Acromantulas.”
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Originally Posted by gritandgrace Well, isn't he chipper? Although he never really is, is he? Eni thought to herself.
"As you said earlier Professor there's tons of small creatures that tend to hide and crawl along the sand virtually unnoticed with how tiny they can be at times. Also, seaweed and moss. Very helpful for many medicinal things, but can also be used for a wide variety of things." Eniola answered. Out here there's so many things living and nonliving creatures. Especially with how many creatures have been coming out of the Forbidden Forest lately and hanging closer to the Lake. Now, those were reasonable answers. Important, too, and not obvious. At least they weren’t all saying unicorns. “The very basis of life to my mind, seaweed and moss. Very important to our home here.”
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Originally Posted by Granger Danger Stella wasn't about to express that she was a bit taken back by his comment. Yes she had a bit of Hufflepuff in her, but why did that matter? Her mother was a proud Hufflepuff and so was her brother, she decided to brush off his comment. Someone definitely wasn't a morning person for sure, she could tell by his grumpiness and gruffness.
Stella listened to him and nodded her head in agreement, ok.... she agreed with him on that but that was about it. She bit her lip thinking trying to think of a mature answer to give him that didn't sound stupid or childish. Raising her hand. "We often think of ourselves as superiors above magical creatures sir in power and knowledge." she said. "Get to the point Stella." she thought to herself. " Unicorns sir, they roam around the forest and lately the lake I heard. " she said shrugging. See, he knew it. Unicorns. “Yes, exactly, although the lake isn’t their preferred home, they do live on the grounds here.”
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Originally Posted by Fireheart Avalon suppressed a smirk at the professor's tone. She loved teachers that matched her sarcastic attitude. Internally grimacing at the box of atrociously unattractive bathing suits, Avalon thanked the stars that she had had enough sense to bring her own lake clothing. She wouldn't want to be caught dead wearing one of those...not to mention thinking about the sheer amount of students that had probably worn them.
She raised her hand after thinking about Cornish's question for a moment. "I've heard that there are grindylows in the lake. And there are bowtruckles...they sort of attacked us during our divination lesson in the forest the other day." Those were just two examples, of course. There were probably thousands of different creatures around the Hogwarts grounds. But Avalon didn't want to get too carried away. “There are grindylows in the lake… mean little buggers. And bowtruckles, who I also find to be fairly mean, although at least they have a reason for it.” And two unique suggestions, which he appreciated.
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Originally Posted by SilverTiger The brief response to her greeting hardly dimmed Stasya’s interest in the subject, even if the professor was proving to be, if anything, a bit hard to decipher on a good day. He certainly seemed rather gruff most of the time, which she felt conflicted with his appearance just the smallest bit since he rather appeared to look like a lot of the people she’d encountered on her summer trip to see Derf when she met her tortoise friend. Not someone who looked like they were disgruntled by the smallest thing. Besides, the little hand clap was hardly necessary in her case, as she always paid attention in COMC.
She had nodded in response to his question if she’d worn clothing that could take a beating. Part of her wanted to keep the jumper dry, but then that’s why she had her swimsuit on. The things in the box hardly looked like it was safe to wear, anyhow. Especially the wetsuits.
And then came even more of that mood. As a matter of fact, she knew quite well that she wasn’t the center of the universe. “There are grindylows in the lake,” she said when the Ravenclaw girl had spoken of the possibility, raising her hand as well. Back to thoughts of that field trip. “There is at least one hippocampus in the lake as well, and centaurs in the forest along with the unicorns and acromantulas.” Not to mention the birds and other mundane creatures that could be found in the grounds, or all the creatures in the barns. “Ah, Professor Long Last Name. Thank you for coming to my class today.” Cornish cocked his head at the girl. Not wrong, although she half her creatures were repeats. “Not sure your Divination Professor will appreciate being included on the list, but your point is taken.”
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Originally Posted by ArianaBlack In contrast, Nina was not-so-delighted she could join them today. Nor did she understand why Professor Cornish met her polite, yet withdrawn gaze with a smile. He was so weird. She hated all of it. The Slytherin watched him curiously, however, as he continued to greet the rest of the students upon their arrival. His responses to their outlandish greetings were entertaining if nothing else. But she still disapproved, for the record. When Indigo came to join her, Nina met his small smile with one of her own. This would probably be the last good thing that happened during the lesson. She knew better than to set high expectations for this class.
As for the first question, it was utterly insulting. Despite his brief disclaimer, he had really set the standard low. Though apparently the others didn't agree, as they answers they gave were far too enthusiastic in Nina's opinion, and excessive for that matter. He had asked a simple question and yet when they opened their mouths, instead of answers came half-baked agreements to Professor Cornish's musings. It was ridiculous. You could tell that they all wanted to win points in their Professor's book. It was distasteful and rather pathetic. Nina would never stoop so low. Not that she even wanted this particular Professor to sing her praises. His opinion didn't make much of a difference to her.
Clearly they were going to study a lake-inhabiting creature today, otherwise the swimming costumes wouldn't have been required. Their meeting point was also a rather large giveaway and why some students were answering with creatures that did not belong near or in the water was an absolute mystery. Though perhaps given the intellect level of some of her classmates, it wasn't a mystery after all. Nina scoffed at the mentioned of 'giant spiders', as one would expect more from a Prefect. The so-called 'giant spiders' were known as acromantulas, everyone knew that. To reduce them to spiders was to strip them of their magical decent. Again, not that Nina cared.
As for herself, she typically opted for staying quiet during lessons, but she did make a few exceptions every now and then. Typically the answers she voiced in Creatures, in particular, were hopeful ones. "Plimpies," she had seen a few bop their heads up from the lake in the past. Nina Castillo was NOT a fan of fish, but she'd much rather work with those than grindylows. And so, the Slytherin continued to stand still in her spot, her shoulders slightly tense and her face fighting off a look of disdain for the sake of remaining somewhat respectful and highly dignified. “Plimpies,” he repeated, as if it were the BEST answer of the day. The best. His favorite. Wowie. Zowie. “Exactly. Yes, just so, exactly. Thank you for your contribution.” The sour face was delightful.
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Originally Posted by sweetpinkpixie Eiji found himself paying a little too much attention to Kaiser and his conversation with the professor, the one about the swimsuit. For reasons. Quite literally hanging on every word, he was actually a little irritated when Nina came into his line of sight. He wasn't sure how to feel about that since he preferred to have no distractions when he was actually trying to learn and he knew how everything about this lesson was a cue for a long string of complaints, eye rolls, and unnecessary wrinkled noses.
Like that one there. See?
"........costumes. The man said costumes," he muttered under his breath while his eyes glanced over at the box. No thank you. He would simply administer the Impervius Charm to his own clothes and call it a day.
So no. No thank you on the coming up and grabbing anything. Rather the fourth year patted his pockets for his wand while the professor began class...and he gave Nina's side a sharp jab at the center of the universe comment. "Yeah...do you know that?" She was new, after all.
Not really feeling like offering up any response of his own, Eiji Rasting tended to bank on the attentive listening route for participation, he couldn't help himself with Patrick spoke up. "Acromantula," he corrected, offering the sixth year a lazy look as he finally found his wand inside his pocket and pulled it out. “Already been described, Rasting. Pick another.”
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Originally Posted by Jessiqua Knowing that they were encouraged to wear a bathing suit or else have to borrow one, Hanna had put hers on underneath her uniform. Her old uniform. It was still clean and pressed, only a smidge shorter than her new one. It was far too big for Lena, which was why they weren't hand-me-downs. She agreed wholeheartedly with the nippy and dank bit, and felt her mood shifting the past few weeks as winter approached. She did not like winter.
She was getting used to Professor Cornish by now, and tended not to take it personally. Anymore. But some of the things he said still almost made her eyes widen. Hanna had a think of all the creatures, large and small, and all of the magical and mundane plants and fungi. There were so many. So many that they knew about, and surely just as many they didn't. Raising her hand, keeping in mind the anything part, Hanna said "Professor everything at Hogwarts is covered in bacteria. Like, in the lake and the forest, they help continue the circle of life. Decomposing plant and animal matter." Bacteria were strangely fascinating, and it had been a mind blowing experience when she learnt that they didn't only cause illness, but were vital components of many things. He was a bit surprised by that answer, and Cornish blinked at the girl stupidly before giving her a terse nod. It was his version of applause, unlike the effusive praise he’d laid on Castillo. “Bacteria. Very good.”
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Originally Posted by Nordic Witch That Ellie got a nod in greeting that she perceived as friendly from Professor Cornish was something that added to the brightening of her mood. The tip to make her more happy and excited for class though despite the cold was when Sammy came over and stopped by her side. Glancing sideways at him she affirmed quietly. "Hi Sammy, yes i’m cold. Aren’t you cold too?" Sammy’s wiggling bare feet just made Ellie feel even colder by just looking at them. Shrugging she replied with a look between both Stella and Sammy. "I hope the giant squid races us all with a memorable visit during our lesson but does either of you know if Bartholomew likes big crowds?" A whole assembled and loud mouthed class on the shoreline, might scare him off.
Professor Cornish started the lesson some minutes later which made Ellie wonder how and if they we’re expected to take notes. They had nothing to sit or write on and a quick glance around showed that nobody had their parchments out so she had to rely on memory. Raising her hand Ellie answered ”Doesn’t fairies and pixies live on the grounds? I’ve heard that you also can find growing gillyweed here by the lake, is that true professor?” Gillyweed you ate when you wanted to breath under water like the fishes do. “Mr. Henry is an apex predator and can handle any amount of crowd… but no, he prefers one on one interactions,” Cornish interrupted the side conversation. Focus, kids. And moving on… “We have plenty of pixies, and you can occasionally find fairies. They’re show offs, so the best way to catch a fairy is to place a mirror in one of the fairy circles in the forest.” Not the point. Focus. “But not gillyweed, I’m afraid. It’s a salt water plant, prefers warmer waters.”
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Originally Posted by hermionesclone 'Don't fall into the fire' was a very weird set of instructions but it was enough to make Lucas chortle. He wasn't part salamander so no, falling into the fire wasn't an option for him unfortunately. He couldn't help but wonder how great it would be to be a Salamander right now but....... well, they didn't live for very long, did they? Especially outside of the flames.
The clap from Cornish was enough to break him out of his thoughts and glance over at the man, instead. Was he aware that they weren't the centre of the universe? Uh, yeah? His mind immediately started to wander towards astronomy and how, no, they could never be the centre of something so big. It was impossible!
But they weren't talking about astronomy, unfortunately, so he started looking around him, instead. He...... had half a mind to say salamander, just to be funny - because he, Lucas Dakest, CAN be funny not - but he also didn't know how Cornish would react to that so..... he had to find something else. Something like......
........... "Um, well," he started, moving a hand away from the fire to raise it up in the air, "they aren't here here but there are winged horses in the barns." And they were great and he loved them. “True, there are winged horses in the barn and that is our home as well, but there’s a reason the winged horses are fed and housed rather than being allowed to roam in the forest. For one, these winged horses are domesticated and don’t know how to forage very well. For the other, they eat the food meant for unicorns and thestrals that do live here, and there isn’t enough for all. Winged horses have voracious appetites. So they’re here, but they aren’t at home here.”
That was a good enough list for him, and Cornish was tired of the question already. They’d come up with more plants and animals as they moved on to his next question. “Some of your suggestions were plants or creatures that are found at Hogwarts but that don’t necessarily exist here naturally. This is not their ecosystem, and their presence has to be carefully managed so it doesn’t upset the delicate balance nature has created here. Too many of one creature means that a certain plant is overeaten. It could lead to the extinction of that plant, or the starving death of that creature once the plant is gone. It could mean a competing creature starves instead. And that’s just one possible example… there are hundreds of worse case scenarios you could dream up if given half a chance.”
And honestly, they didn’t need to dream up any scenarios. The ecosystem of the Hogwarts grounds was terribly unbalanced and messed up. It was obvious to him; was it obvious to any of them? Could they see the same signs he could?
“So let’s catch up those of you who didn’t pass biology back in primary school.” Because it wasn’t like they taught important things like that here or anything. “What’s an ecosystem? And using the list of living things we just created, plus any others you want to add, who can give me an example of a food chain? Let’s follow the path of life through our ecosystem and see where it gets us. You can do land or water based… or both, if you’re feeling creative.” Two questions, and you can answer either/both. What is an ecosystem, and give an example of a food chain. I’ve included the creatures/plants/other listed below.
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