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Fireheart 
Avalon's eyes traveled around the common room as her professor greeted the arriving students. Why was it so dark in here? Weren't common rooms supposed to be a relaxing, uplifting place? This room was downright dreary. However, her spirits lifted when Cornish brought up merpeople. Avalon was fascinated with the mermaids of the magical world, and she was looking forward to studying them at Hogwarts. And it seemed like today would be the day!
She didn't have a whole lot of knowledge about merrows, although she knew they had some differences in appearance from normal mermaids. And they certainly weren't as friendly. She raised her hand, poised to share a little bit of what she knew. "I think that merrows look more like fish than typical merpeople. They're known for not being as beautiful," she said. It wasn't anything ingenious, but it was a contribution to the discussion nonetheless.
Sinclair was clever for a first year, and Cornish couldn’t fault her answer. Well, he
could fault it, since it wasn’t very kind to the merpeople, but it was technically true. “I doubt they’d appreciate you saying so. I suppose they think we’re rather ugly ourselves, and no gorgeous tails to get us through the water. How useless we are at swimming.” He shook a leg to indicate.
“I think what you mean is that they look less human than some other breeds of merpeople, and to our minds, that makes them less attractive. But if you look beyond that to the clever construction of their hands, the strength and power of their tails, the shimmer of those scales in the water, they’re quite magnificent.” And that was enough from him.
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nicole black Maxie liked this class a little too much- it was tunnel vision, he could only ever see the creatures without being able to focus on the work surrounding them. however, today Maxie was a tall, sulking figure of a boy. It was common knowledge that the lake had housed sleeping inferi- the kind you couldn't kill, and while he had been told they were gone- the Hufflepuff wasn't convinced something else- something just as wicked and cold- wasn't lurking in the green water just beyond the giant window.
If Professor Cornish had them going into the water... well... He could very well count this chaser out. A fact he decided to make clear. "P-Professor." Maxie began, raising his hand into the air. "A- w-w-we're not g-going i-into the lake, r-right?" His tone was surprisingly calm beneath the stutter, perhaps because they weren't very far off from the hufflepuff common room and all the comfort he could find there.
Mr. Anderson-Belfort typically had something to say for himself, but today, it appeared that his contributions were entirely fear based. Nervous Ned. It wasn’t like any of their professors would let them get hurt. Mostly. Probably not.
“We’re inside, sir, and I promise you that I have no power to blast through this wall without drowning us all. We’ll stay inside.” For now, but he had hopes for better weather soon.
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MunchyBubbles Kamryn was a little less than pleased at the fact that her bestie had just bounded in here, sat down next to her and said how cool it was to be here.
No.. no it wasn’t cool at all. It was in fact the one place she didn’t want to be. If she was honest she’d rather be outside lost in the mist then be sitting here in the common room that held so many bad memories for her. She gave Bast a tight smile.
“So cool. ” She whispered back to him before nodding at the Professor. She was looking peakish? Must be the lack of sleep.. or food. Or both.
Anyways..
Merrows. Right.
She raised her hand and spoke. “They are from Ireland. ” She said softly, which begged the question.. how did they get to be here? In their lake?
Did he bite? What was wrong with the girl? Cornish fixed her with a steady look, crossing his hands across his chest. Not to intimidate, although it was definitely intimidating. “There are colonies of merrow in Ireland. My last post was one of those colonies, and they were very like the merrow we have in our Black Lake.”
Nearly the same, actually, although some minor cultural differences that he found fascinating… although he doubted anyone else would. “But they’re comfortable in northern waters. You’ll find them here, in the Baltic, and in some of the lakes and waters of North America.”
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lazykitty So warm and welcoming....NOT. In fact, she had never felt more unwelcome than she was right now, seating here in the Slytherin common room. I mean, it was no one's ideal situation, but she was definitely in agreement with avoiding the fog at all costs. After all, she'd actually been in the stuff and to say it wasn't pleasant was an understatement. And in light of this, the Slytherins should've been trying to make the rest of them feel as comfortable as possible.
"They're supposed to be able to form an attachment to humans," Archer ventured. "Plus, they have this cap that supposedly makes them able to live under the water." Something that she didn't believe, since if they're merpeople, shouldn't their bodies have evolved to allow them to do that?
“Someone’s been reading Muggle mythology. A very good source, although they do get some things wrong,” Cornish corrected Calrissian gently. She wasn’t wrong, but she wasn’t quite right, either. “I think you should ask a merrow about their attachment to humans.” That would be
hilarious. “As for the cap, I’ve heard that story too, although I’ve heard that the children of merrows and wizarding kind can take either form so long as they have this cap. I’ve never yet met one of those children, so I suppose we’ll have to leave it to science to figure out for us… someday.”
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Kolyander Rylee allowed her gaze to roam over the area taking in the fact that it was quite a bit like her own common room, except for the colors and the porthole looking into the lake. That's where her interest truly lay today. However she did once more turn her attention onto Cornish as he began the lesson.
Merpeople. Merrow. Consider her attention captured. Like always. They were from Ireland and a lot of their physical characteristics varied. Rylee raised her hand to offer what else she knew. "They choose to be classified as Beasts under the Ministry of Magics Classification."
“They do, yes. Excellent, Prichard. Can you tell your classmates any more about that? It’s something I very much want us to mull over today.” And it was nice to know that some of them took an interest in the politics of magizoology.
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siriusblackliveson Patrick couldn’t believe that class was being hosted in their common room. He kind of figured there were other windows around to do what they needed. He wasn’t to sure about Merrow. He probably should have done his readings a little more thoroughly. But here he was living his best life showing up for class underprepared because he had a few essays due last week.
He was taking in everyone’s answers but weren’t they territorial? “aren’t they territorial with their piece of... water?” and here he was ladies and gentlemen, your house prefect answering questions with the wrong answer.
“Territorial?” Cornish mulled that over. It wasn’t the word he would have used, but it was apt. “Perhaps, Dooley. They don’t mind other creatures in their lake, and we obviously are allowed to swim and boat, but they would fight off another colony in a second.”
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Govoni Aaron had never seen the inside of the Slytherin common room, but it was interesting to catch a glimpse of where Jolie spent her time. And... though he wasn't judging, it really wasn't as warm as its Hufflepuff counterpart. The hairs of the back of his neck had yet to settle, and he got an overall unpleasant feeling in the pit of his stomach... Maybe this was why Slytherins seemed so angry all the time.
Yeah, Aaron couldn't tell the Professor anything abut merrows. He... didn't even know why he still sat CoMC lessons.. He wasn't much a fan of creatures and their varying odors, but... Aaron supposed he liked the community of class. And Professor Cornish was an interesting man.
.... He still felt uneasy being here, however. Even more so seeing the runes surrounding thick porthole glass. What was that? Being further back, he couldn't get a clear look.
The Hufflepuff raised his hand, a small frown starting to form on his face. ".... What are those runes for, Professor?"
Cornish smiled hugely and cast a glance over his shoulder at the glowing runes. They were pretty spectacular, weren’t they? He couldn’t take credit for them. “Spoilers, Botros. I promise you’ll find out soon enough.”
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Nordic Witch It was uncomfortable, but fascinating too Ellie supposed to see the inside of another houses common room. Many of her Slytherin peers though looked upset by the Professor Cornish choice of venue for their CoMC lesson but considering the abysmal weather she was more than pleased. Sitting on her cushion trying to see the lake through the portholes Ellie's hand shot up like an attacking snake at Professor Cornish question and she answered eagerly. "Merrows have developed their own language called mermish and they are very fond of music and can also craft weapons."
“Smethwyck, bravo. Say it louder so Rasting will wake up and start paying attention there in the back.” Cornish applauded the girl. “Merrows have a developed language, love music, and have made use of tools and weapons. Anyone who doesn’t see that as sophisticated beyond a mere ‘creatures’ definition probably should take a hard look as how developed they are themselves.”
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gritandgrace Eni couldn't help but chuckle at some of the answers. Her classmates were...interesting. She always found the idea of the Merpeople interesting, but never actually had seen any. Raising her hand, she answered "Merpeople are known to have thriving cultures and communities."
“Now you’re just buttering me up, Abara. I see right through you.” But he said it lightly and almost seemed jolly. Jolly? If his students were willing to appreciate how clever and developed the merpeople were, then he supposed they weren’t all bad.
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TakemetotheBurrow "I believe they live in cooler waters," Vita offered, watching the professor carefully. She wondered just how hands on this lesson would be, and waited eagerly for his answer to the younger boy's who looked rather horrified at the idea of going into the water question. She really wouldn't mind a bit of an escape from the castle.
Cornish gave Mallari’s answer a nod of approval. “Yes, just so. The merrow prefer the colder climates. Ireland, Scotland, Canada. Some are fresh water, some salt, but if you spot a merperson around England, chances are good it’s a merrow.”
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Suziella Sebastian's smile faltered a little at that look Kam had given him, making him quickly realize...this is probably the last place she would truly want to be. He was just about to apologize when Professor Cornish started the lesson. He gave her his best 'I'm sorry' face and turned to the face the professor.
Listening to the professor's questions however got his mind racing. This was his favorite subject and he knew a lot about the different species of Merpeople. But something didn't sit well. In fact, he was pretty sure Hogwarts had Selkies and not Merrow, but the thought quickly left him as Kam gave her answer. She was definitely upset and he had made her feel worse. Great. Worst best friend ever.
Sebastian raised his hand, "Specifically to our group of Merpeople, they helped out with a task during the Triwizard Tournament that Harry Potter was a contestant in, which is amazing because Merpeople don't typically like the Wizarding kind." He hoped that was a sufficient answer. At the moment he was to worried about his comment to Kam to be sure.
“Agreed, that is amazing. I think that has as much to do with the respect Albus Dumbledore showed them and their Chieftainess as anything. We have a good relationship with our colony here, which helps maintain their willingness to do things for us.” Things being properly vague. They weren’t pets or lackeys, but friends did favors for each other.