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Join Date: May 2007 Location: Gotham
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Slytherin Fifth Year |  Q2 - and you'll definitely have 24 hours to reply this time Professor Pink | Mrs. Bruce Wayne | I'm on a Goat | Glitterpuff | Dumbledore's Defense Squad | BHB
Text Cut: Thank you all for your replies! SPOILER!!: Lil James Quote:
Originally Posted by ArianaBlack  "Thanks," Kinsay replied softly, looking from their professor over to the pensieve. She knew what it was, but found it to be a little disappointing. If he had his pensieve did that mean they weren't going to see REAL creatures today and only see memory ones? Because memory ones weren't as neat, you couldn't touch them. Not that Kinsay knew because she hadn't ever used a pensieve before. She just imagined that they wouldn't be as neat.
Kiz actually wanted to ask about it, but before she had the opportunity, class began. Oh man. And there was a question, one that Kinsay didn't know too much about. But she could make a good guess because she knew that the more dangerous the creature, the more X's. And XXXXX were a lot of X's.
So she quietly raised her hand, "Be careful and do not hug them, especially if they look angry because they might try to eat you and then you'll die." She was still a little tired from running to class. Could they take a quick nap? That… er, that was correct, though Williamson was suddenly concerned that many of the first years were the sort who would try to hug creatures, even ones with 67,000 teeth, just because they were creatures.
“That’s right,” he answered slowly, scratching his jaw in thought at how to kindly warn this little one about hugging. “And please always remember that the creatures around Hogwarts are real, not stuffed animals, and will not enjoy hugs of any kind until they’ve established some trust with you.” There, that was a nice way to put it, right? SPOILER!!: Ashleycat Quote:
Originally Posted by astrocat Ashley decided immediately that she liked this class. The professor seemed so... chill? "If you see a random creature and you don't know what it is, you shouldn't just randomly go up to it because it might be mad," she ventured. She didn't know much about magical creatures yet, but this rule also applied to normal animals so she figured it was a good start. ”That is also some sage advice, good,” he nodded to the next first year. Whew. Ravenclaw still took in the wise ones, eh? He smiled at her and called on the next kid. SPOILER!!: ANOTHER Escalante?! Quote:
Originally Posted by Deezerz Attend Care of Magical Creatures, they said. It’ll be FUN, they said.
Kennedi shook her head to herself as she waited for class to start, the sun setting in marvelous colors. That was neat, she wasn’t going to deny that. It was the magical-creatures-at-dark idea that made small goosebumps run up along her arm. She likes animals...normal, non-magic ones. Magical ones...not so much.
Taking in her surroundings continuously, she rubbed her arms rapidly to keep the bumps at bay. That fog by the forbidden forest, though. It creeped her out and made her skin crawl. With a deep breath she switched her full attention on Professor Williamson.
XXXX and XXXXX creatures?!?!
Just the thought made Kennedi’s stomach swirl. Maybe they weren’t going to work with creatures at that level. Maybe it was just for review purposes. Either way, her eyes kept darting from the forbidden forest to the professor. IF they were meant to go in there she could NOT promise she wouldn’t throw up.
Her hand went up into the air nervously, while the other touched her wand holster. It’s there. Safe. She’s safe. “Keep in mind they are dangerous for a reason and always--always-- have your wand at hand.”
Dude. This wasn’t funny. Okay, yes, they were dangerous for a reason, because the Ministry said so, but---
“Yeah yeah, keep your wand in hand,” Williamson nearly waved off this suggestion. “Keep your brain close by, too, because--- because sometimes wizards are the problem, not the creatures.” He was starting to grow grumpy again, but he supposed SOMEONE had to give the obvious wand-in-hand answer. It might as well have been the Slytherin. SPOILER!!: Heejin the RAVENCLAW now :3 Quote:
Originally Posted by hjhm With their current topic and the ambiance Professor Williamson set for them, is there a chance that they will be walking inside the forest, no? He hopes not because the day is almost over. For awhile Eron got distracted looking over the forbidden forest. He can't see much really since the fog was starting to set in. It was both scary and interesting. Eron is curious. He is always curious.
XXXX and XXXXX creatures are the ones you don't want to mess with. He likes creatures too but the cuddly ones and the ones that would obey you if you set them food and water. XXXX and XXXXX creatures on the other hand........ Eron shivered at the thought.
Snapping his eyes back at the professor, he shot his hand and wave it softly "You need to be a trained wizard to handle their kind" just saying. "they're both difficult to handle. the XXXXX classification are impossible to domesticate" not like a cat... "you need your wand at hand and at least know what creature you are dealing with." because some of these creatures are smart. Yes, yes, the wand. Yes, they’d all brought their wands tonight. Great. “Good….” He nodded simply to the Ravenclaw boy, though he was also thinking that dragons were rated XXXXX and one time he’d raised a baby dragon at this very school and no one had died, so…
Luckily, WWW had learned to keep his thoughts to himself. For the most part. SPOILER!!: Torin McHufflepuff Quote:
Originally Posted by gritandgrace Torin was literally shooed back - albeit kindly - by Professor Williamson and so stepped back amongst the other students to observe what was to happen.
Listening to the other answers, Torin didn't really learn much that he didn't already know. It was pretty basic knowledge to not hug a creature or being rated XXXX, that's not even a good idea with some rated XXX.
He ventured to answer the question himself and hoped he at least didn't embarrass himself and at most go closer to the type of answers the Professor was looking for.
"Typically for creatures or beings classified at XXXX or higher you want to stay on high alert, they're known to be dangerous by Ministry standards. Not that they're always the most researched. I think there's a few like the Demiguise or Thestrals that I think are classified as such because people fear what they don't know or don't understand." He said. "Walking into any situation with a potentially dangerous creature or being isn't smart and so you should never go alone and always try to be with someone that is trained in the field." Here was a good answer! Did everyone hear this one!
“Hear hear,” Williamson cheered the Hufflepuff’s answer, albeit without a smile or anything, just a serious bit of loud approval. “I think you should repeat that for those in the back.” Or he could, ya know, since that was his job as the professor. “Number one, don’t be afraid of what you don’t understand, number two, don’t go alone, and number three, take a guide with you. These three are all going to be very important this year, especially toward the end of the year. So. Take two points for your answer.” SPOILER!!: YOU CAME!!! TO MY CLASS!!! Quote:
Originally Posted by Raquelin. Alright. Fifth year. She's ready. The past four years had just been a trial, now Ninette is truly going to start doing her best. OWLs are this year and it's time to get serious.
Yes, she makes it to class slightly late BUT that wasn't her fault, everyone in front of her on her way to class was just walking too slowly.
Ninette’s hand shoots up even before she knows what she’s actually going to say. “You should keep snacks at hand!” Hm. She really needed to keep working on the whole think before you speak thing. It still sounded like a reasonably good answer to her though. Food is always good, right? There's a brief pause as she realises her hand is still up, lowering it before she continues. “Like, you when you go to someone’s house and you bring food as a courtesy. It’s nice, and that way they know we are friends -- OH!” Eyebrows? Raised. Eyes? Bright. Cogs in her head? Turning. She's got it now. "You should respect their space and never turn your back on them because it's rude, obviously, but also because they can be unpredictable so it's best to be attentive and alert - BUT you also should try not to look super nervous because that can make them nervous." A nod. " Animals pick up on that sort of thing." Merlin, this answer was all over the place. But, it was kind-of correct.
“Yes, somewhat. I’d recommend against taking snacks, whether for yourself or the animals, unless you’re TRYING to attract their attention.” Sometimes it wasn’t warranted, like on a hike in a Muggle state park. “But the advice about being attentive, alert, and respecting their space? Good. Don’t forget this.” They’d be needing it shortly. SPOILER!!: Is this Joshy or Eiji, hmm? Quote:
Originally Posted by sweetpinkpixie SO...there was an interesting word choice there. "Face" versus "work with" versus "introduced" or any other word really. Josh was no Ravenclaw when it came to words, but since he had really been dipping into songwriting recently he did tend to get hung up on it now and then. A it was a BIT hard NOT to considering the man was saying "face" and following it up with dangerous creatures with a whole lot of X's in their rankings.
He was not even the least bit subtle when his head snapped around towards two little lionesses in particular, though he was hardly gawking nor staring. Thankfully the knee jerk reaction was temporary and his head did swivel back around to Professor Narsissus Williamson and the object of mystery (which apparently was not getting an introduction right off the bat).
"Apparently whether or not you have all the windows of a train compartment closed or not," he offered as a reply. Which was, needless to say, a very lackadaisical answer for someone who just completed their OWLs. "But uh...also spookin' them. Making unexpected movements and noises. They might lash out at you and not even knowing they were not in the train compartment isn't really an excuse. They'll still fly at you and you'll still get your face scratched up and bitten regardless."
Just, ya know, a bit of a life lesson here. Now Williamson wasn’t sure to whom this answer was addressed, but he was fairly certain Josh was doing one of those things where he referenced someone else in a passive-aggressive way…? And/or speaking from personal experience?
“Uh, right, try not to make any sudden movements or noises. That’s good advice regardless of whether you’re on a train or in the middle of the desert…” He supposed. SPOILER!!: Claudeenie Quote:
Originally Posted by FearlessLeader19 Claudine blinked. Who was this Williamson and why was he so friendly? By now, Claudine was used to the grumpy old man so excuse her while she recovered herself. Still… there were those rare times when Williamson was friendly. Either way, the fourth year liked both sides of him. “Hi!’’ Could he tell that she was so, so excited. “I did but I missed the barn and all the creatures.’’ Maybe she’d even miss him giving her advice and randomly quizzing her on the creatures. Unable to say more as she was shooed away, Claudine took a few steps backwards. But not too many, you know…
Would time hurry up so that the lesson could begin?
It seemed to drag on to Claudine as she waited, shifting from foot to foot. But finally, Williamson got started. Gee, did he have to be so serious today? Anyway… what would she keep in mind and at hand when working with those two create classifications? Her hand went up after a moment. “I think it’s important to have knowledge of the creatures that includes their classifications and their habits. As far as the physical requirements go, I’d like to think that a wand and dragonhide gloves are two of the best to have around.”
Hadn’t anyone else realised that Williamson had asked them to bring exactly those two equipment? Their wands and dragonhide gloves? The grumpy old man was still very much around, but he’d had a bit of a nap today since this was an evening class, and thus, he was… less grumpy than usual? He’d also had a relaxing summer free from children so he still had plenty of patience, even for the ones who were smart but referred to him in their internal monologues as ‘grumpy’ and ‘old.’ Huh. Good thing he wasn’t a legilimens, right, so he could only smile back gently at her excitement about seeing the barn animals again?!
“Great answer.” Finally, someone mentioned protective equipment! “Dragonhide gloves are considered pretty basic in this field, a bit like a helmet is to a…” What was the sport the Muggles liked to do? “…scooter rider in the Muggle sporting world.” Yes, scooter riding was a sport. They competed on scooters in the XYZ Games, didn’t they? Silly Muggles. “Thank you for pointing out how important knowledge is too.”
Were the other kids listening? Because they should have been. SPOILER!!: Kale Salad Quote:
Originally Posted by pundantic Kale was eager now. Obviously since the professor mentioned class XXXX and XXXXX creatures, that meant today they were gonna wrangle ‘em. Again. OBVIOUSLY. Why else would he mention them or bring this energy into class today.
The fourth year was pumped. He was regretting not bringing snacks to offer these new buds, but he would make do. Maybe Williamson was already on it. Maybe HE brought the snacks. Kale brought a can-do attitude so they were square.
He rose his hand and said, Gotta keep in mind that they’re more afraid of us than we are of them.” Duh. One thing Williamson liked about the Headmaster’s kid was that he didn’t mince words.
“Thank you, yes,” for that short and sweet answer. “This is true of creatures both magical and mundane!” Was anyone taking notes here? SPOILER!!: Emmz & Kinz, name a better duo, I’ll wait Quote:
Originally Posted by DaniDiNardo HE REMEMBERED HER!! By default, that meant she was the first First Year whose name he'd learned and probably the first one he met even indirectly. Basically, she was #1. Just the way she liked it and the response pleased the little girl immensely--as seen by the wide grin she now sported.
The grin dimmed some at the revelation it wasn't a creature inside the thing and she shot him a quizzical look, uncertain she had many guesses left in her. No need however, as in the next second she heard one of her most favorite people approaching and just a little after that there were hugs. Emm returned the side hug with much enthusiasm, suddenly more excited about the lesson for her friend being there.
As it was at Stark School, lessons were always better when Kizzy wasn't out sick with something. Now, Hogwarts had only just started so neither could afford to be sick.
Emm stuck her hand up to reply to the question she obviously knew the BEST answer to. To her credit, she only side eyed Idiot Boy for a few seconds for his comment on windows and doors. Boy had some nerve, didn't he?
When it was her turn, the girl answered with all the exuberance of a child in the middle of a tall tale built on half lies. "If you find one and no one else KNOWS you found it then you can KEEP it. But you gotta be careful because someone might rat you out, like a neighbour or if you invite a friend over and they get scared 'cause they're pansies then you have all of the Department of Magical Creatures beating down your front door demanding you turn it over but but but that's where the thing you have on hand comes in, see? You always gotta have an escape route that's big enough for you AND your little sorta mostly legal by default of not being told "no" baby. Like a trap door!!! Or a flying crapet!! Or--or--MASSIVE amounts of floo power and a HUGE fireplace!! Right, Kizzy?" She asked, turning once more to her bestie. She knew ALL about dangerous creature management. They both did. Practically experts.
Auntie Jessa for sure would keep whatever it was if she found it interesting enough. Quote:
Originally Posted by ArianaBlack Kinsay joined Emm in giving a side-eye to the boy making the window and door comments. At least he learned his lesson, but it felt a little bit like a jab at herself and Emmerson. It was HIS fault in the first place.
And of course when Emm raised her hand and began answering the question, Kizzy nodded the whole time. For emphasis. It was all true. They were experts in the field now. And everything Emm said was the gospel truth. So. "Right!" She nodded in agreement. "Finders, keepers." Or something like that. Kizzy never felt as invincible as she did with the best friend. Yeah, alright, this first year, the one with the “pet” dragon, right, had Williamson smiling. Mostly he was internally laughing at her answer about the Department of Magical Creatures at the Ministry, which he’d worked for himself. Never mind that her answer went off on a WILD tangent and involved another first year, but.
“So, while I appreciate the finders-keepers sentiment,” and he did, because he’d grown up with an annoying little sister who took all his stuff, and also because he’d found SEVERAL dragon eggs before and had only been allowed to keep ONE of them for research purposes, “I also want to remind you that we’re all in the business of CARING for magical creatures TOGETHER, so don’t be afraid to seek help if you DO find a magical creature, especially one in need of professional medical care or one that exceeds YOUR knowledge and ability to care for it. You wouldn’t want a creature that you found to DIE on your watch, would you?”
He gave the girls a serious, very somber and meaningful LOOK. Again, someone please notice how kindly he was addressing these first years with all their misconceptions and misplaced enthusiasm. He should get Staffer of the Year award, probably. Someone mention this to Trent. SPOILER!!: Rhymes with Lance Quote:
Originally Posted by Nordic Witch It was nice to hear that Professor W return his cheerful greeting unlike Headmaster Trent. Cole's excitement grew as the lesson began. XXXX and XXXXX rated creatures? Were they going to get to see and work with some forbidden forest creatures tonight? Like a kappa or a winged horse would be cool.
In answer to the question Cole raised his hand to say. "I think if you are working with the most dangerous creatures then you should never work alone and always wear full protective dragonhide gear from head to toe. Also you should always have an escape route if the creature were to get violent." He didn't say anything about having your wand or creature knowledge because some others including Claudine had already said that. Was this why they needed their wand and dragonhide gloves? ”Good good,” take a friend, wear protective equipment, some things that had already been said, and, “Good.” Cole earned another nod for his answer about the escape route, which was pretty much what these first-years had been going on about, he thought. SPOILER!!: Avalon of Ravenclaw Quote:
Originally Posted by Fireheart Avalon couldn't help but smile when Professor Williamson offered her congratulations. The Ravenclaw tried to be a basically humble person, but she couldn't deny that it was nice to have her teachers commend her on her hard work. Plus, it was good to know that the embarrassing wampus kitten incident from last year didn't define her as a student. Avalon still had occasional nightmares about the wampus cat getting loose, running into the castle, and putting everyone it looked at in a daze. Needless to say that dream always ended up with Avalon in detention and losing 200 house points.
Raising her hand to answer the question, she said, "It's important to remember that XXXXX creatures are literally impossible to train, so you might as well not even try. You'd just end up getting yourself hurt." Unless you were a Parselmouth or something. According to her textbooks, parselmouths could technically train basilisks. "And some creatures are rated XXXX not because they're necessarily dangerous, but because they're endangered. Like the snidget. So you have to be extremely cautious not to harm them when you're working with them, and to always release them back into their natural habitat." As for the second part of Williamson's question - what to keep on hand - that was fairly self explanatory. For the record, Williamson would probably never take 200 points from a house, since Trent had said they could only take 50 at the most, but he wouldn’t be above hitting up a kid’s parents to pay for the replacement of a creature their kid lost. Just saying. Creatures were expensive and he was poor from gambling debts.
Uh, about her answer. It was good! He did take issue with ‘you might as well not even try’ because that was such a Ravenclaw attitude to have. “Hmm, yes.” He liked that she pointed out the snidget. “There are many reasons to be careful around the higher rated creatures, or all the creatures we know of, and you just listed off a few. Thank you.” SPOILER!!: Lil Lukas Quote:
Originally Posted by Kolyander Whatever the reason for the penseive was no longer important. All of his attention instantly shifted onto Professor Williamson as the lesson began. Was their focus really going to be on XXXX and XXXXX rated creatures?! Consider his young mind intrigued.
Lifting his hand up, he answered, "You want to make sure you know your creature. The more you know before getting anywhere near one the better. How a creature is going to respond to your presence is never certain, so you'll always want to take every precaution measure possible. Dragon hide gloves, your wand and keeping your distance could all be helpful. It might also be a good idea to not be alone." There were creatures that couldn't be taken down if needed by only one witch or wizard alone. WWW knew he could count on Lukas for a good answer. “Excellent.” See, again, why this class was so important? KNOWLEDGE. And hands-on experience were the best teachers. He didn’t even have anything to add on here. SPOILER!!: Miss Summers Quote:
Originally Posted by TakemetotheBurrow Phoebe got an affectionate squish and a mischievous grin because if there was anyone Cece wanted to run amuck with, it was Miss Feebs. ”That’s pretty much my favorite thing to do,” The fourth year responded quietly, all wiggly with excitement at the idea of an adventure. Did she notice Professor W had heard? Nope. Not at all.
Speaking of the man in charge, Cece considered his question all thoughtful-like, tapping her chin even, really thinking about it. ”It’d help to have a handy dandy catalogue of spells you can manage, just in case. Wouldn’t use ‘em unless you had to, though. ‘Specially if you’re the one invading the creature’s environment and not the other way around.” ”Yes, correct, thank you for mentioning spells, Summers, but with caution.” Williamson nodded once more. His chin was going to hurt later if he kept doing this. “It’s important to note that WE are ALWAYS being respectful of the creatures’ environment when we invade their space.” And, frankly, even when they accidentally invaded the humans’ space, because Merlin knew the humans had done enough invading over the years. SPOILER!!: pa-Nem, geddit, Panem, from the Hunger Games Quote:
Originally Posted by Felixir No sooner had Nem got situated than had Walter beckoned for them to get back down. They dutifuly slid off again, and settled for just leaning against said fence, finding they still had a decent enough view (thank you growth spurt) as long as none of those giraffes in the upper years stood in the way. Nem was generally interested enough in creatures to muscle their way through the group if that happened, so it was fine. "Ain't no party like a mooncalf party," they replied, glancing up at the slowly darkening sky. Someone mentions mooncalves in any context, it was practically a reflex to note what lunar phase they were currently in. Just one of those things.
Weasley wasn't awful. Oh, he definitely wasn't off limits or anything, but definitely further down the ever-changing and often arbitrarily ordered list. Maybe that counted for something. Probably not. Interesting creatures sounded promising too, but he had to deliver on that first.
This was an easy one, but Nem raised a hand anyway. "Don't be an idiot," they said. And that went for dealing with endangered or intelligent creatures with higher ratings, as well as the just straightforward dangerous ones. "Engage your brain, keep your wits about you, and your hands to yourself unless you actually know what you're doing."
All things that a good majority of the kids here at Hogwarts struggled with. Not that Nem was complaining. One person's ineptitude was another's free entertainment. Don’t be an idiot. Had Williamson complimented the Sorting hat lately? Here was another perfectly apt Sortee. And thank Merlin Nem elaborated, because there were plenty of idiots likely standing around this classroom area who didn’t even know they were idiots.
“Excellent advice, Upstead, thank you.” SPOILER!!: Nayaaaaa Quote:
Originally Posted by Daydreamer11 It was time for class to begin and Naya was anxious to find out what they would be doing today. It appeared that she would have to wait a little longer because Professor Williamson was not giving up any clues just yet. Instead, it was time for questions. After hearing the question, Naya raised her hand to answer.
When it was her turn, she began to speak. “We definitely need to keep in mind that no matter how cute or interesting the creatures may be, they have their ratings for a reason.” Looking at you my new friend Emmerson and others. “You should always be cautious around them and realize the possibility of danger. As for what we need them to keep at hand.......that would be common sense and our wands.” Right, they did have their ratings for a reason, or reasons, even if some of those reasons were from FEAR and not KNOWELDGE. Hem hem. “Common sense isn’t so common though, is it?” Williamson stared at the Gryffindor. “Caution can’t be emphasized enough though, thank you for pointing that out.” SPOILER!!: Aboli Snogs Quote:
Originally Posted by kayquilz Ha! Minjae's reply got a small laugh from her, and she just snorted at him in response. "Well...while that MAY be true, lots of people don't want to be someone's assistant. You DO have a little brother though, so....you could always blackmail him into being one for you." That was much too sinister for Aboli to do to her own brothers. She liked them a little too much for that; however, she remembered the way Minjae had spoken in the past about HIS brother. It didn't seem they got on all that well.
Joshua was here! Aboli sent him a smile. "It's a penseive," she whispered in case Professor W wanted the class to, you know, NOT be discussing it. It was weird that he was even looking into it, really. Hmm. "It holds memories." She nodded as Professor Williamson started class. "Thank you, professor!" she smiled with pride as she tried not to puff her chest out TOO much.
When she first heard his question, she had taken it quite literally - what should be at hand - "A strong pair of gloves!" she chirped without much thought, and as she heard some other answers she thought some of her classmates were dudderheads. Merlin's pants...did SHE sound like a dud for mentioning GLOVES THOUGH? She was wearing hers - not the animal handling kind, just some nice, sleek fake!leather - but yeah....
Why were some of the younger students annoying? Did she feel this way because she was a big bad sixth year now? ???? Or were they really just THAT irritating?????? Her brother wasn't nearly as obnoxious... Gloves, yes, once again, the answer about gloves. Was no one thinking outside the box tonight?! Maybe he should have started with a better question... Williamson simply nodded to Aboli for her answer. So it seemed they pretty much had a grasp on what to bring with them when encountering dangerous creatures, or, rather, the unknown... "To sum," Williamson glanced to his left, wondering how he could have forgotten to place his chalkboard out here for the lesson. This year he could only blame his forgetfulness on his old age, huh.
"When encountering, or rather, working with dangerous creatures, you should always have your wand and your wits about you, and should bring a buddy with you if you can. Some knowledge of useful spells, I'd say the shield charm, impediment jinx, disarming spell, and other basic defensive spells would be handy too. I want to emphasize defensive spells because I would NEVER want you to go on the offensive against a magical creature. NEVER try to attack one out of the blue. You will likely lose, and you may cause injury to yourself, others, and to a valuable and rare specimen. If you play stupid games, you'll win stupid prizes, so try to be smart and vigilant when you go looking for, or when you happen to come across, a dangerously rated creature."
Right, did he forget anything? Probably, but then they'd all been listening to each others' answers and taking good, detailed notes for themselves whilst standing up, hadn't they? No matter, this wasn't even the important part yet.
"Tonight we'll be taking a closer look at trolls, which are rated XXXX on the Ministry scale, as you know, and are thus considered VERY dangerous and require SPECIALIZED knoweldge to handle. Now, not many people have been privileged to get up close and personal with trolls and have lived to tell the tale. So what do YOU think trolls and troll society is like? How do you think you should handle them? Keep in mind that there is more than one type of troll as you state your answer..."
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yeah, there's one thing about me that you should know________________________________
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