 WWW & Potterdom Mod
Newbie Mod
 Wrackspurt
Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: SHIELD's Helicarrier
Posts: 214,475
Hogwarts RPG Name:
Dhruv Vihaan Khanna
Graduated
Hogwarts RPG Name:
Aryan Zahid Atreyu-Rehman
Slytherin Fifth Year
Hogwarts RPG Name:
Idris Ace Grunt
Gryffindor Third Year
Hogwarts RPG Name:
Dynah Aavni Atreyu-Rehman
Hufflepuff Seventh Year
Hogwarts RPG Name:
Krittika Saanvi Joshi
Ravenclaw Sixth Year
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|  ~ Mrs. Steve Harrington ~ It be like that sometimes.
SPOILER!!: Responses to Questions! SPOILER!!: Vera! <3 Quote:
Originally Posted by Chelliephone  Ah, a Kappa? Sea monkey, sea demon... It all sounded synonymous to her so she was going to count herself as correct even though she really wasn't . As for the next question... What were these things known for? She had no information coming to the top of her head, except one particular tidbit so she raised her hand to provide. "They're known for being a danger to Professor's! Just ask Professor DeVries." Hopefully his arm was no longer in a sling. "Although I think Professor DeVries also said he was traveling with his wife to uh... Japan I think. So maybe they're native to there?"
She figured Mercer and Mitsuki would have more info though. She was pretty sure they mentioned nearly dying by one too. “Professors and all other humans alike. Luckily our Healer was able to ease Professor DeVries’ discomfort,’’ Dhruv agreed. Already the marker was doing its thing by making notes. “Excellent, Ms. Thanatos. Kappas are indeed native to Japan.” SPOILER!!: Brandon! <3 Quote:
Originally Posted by astrocat Brandon watched with wide, fascinated eyes as the professor did wandless magic. This only cemented how intimidating impressive they were. They must be really powerful at magic!
The poor professor was added to Brandon's list and he'd likely be peppering them with wandless and nonverbal magic questions as soon as he'd worked up the courage. First it was the healer, the DADA professor was next.
So they were working on kappas. Technically they were also called 'sea demons'. However, Brandon guessed with disappointment that 'water demon that isn't a grindylow or kelpie' wasn't a good enough answer for a prize. It was fine.
"Kappas strangle people and drink their..." He looked at his paper, not much liking the word. "...their blood." Brandon really didn't like blood, and he doubted that he'd like kappas even if they didn't drink the stuff. They killed people! He liked most creatures, but NOT this kind.
At least it was in a tank.
And besides, he had the professor to protect him, and Brandon bet they'd be good at it. Because they were powerful and nice and their whole job was defense against the dark arts. So he didn't have to be SO scared. He relaxed a little, and worked on his notes.
Whenever Brandon mustered up that courage, Dhruv would be there to answer all the questions to the best of their ability. There would even be scones and tea to go along with that. It had not gone unnoticed by them that the word ‘blood’ made Brandon uncomfortable. “This is also correct,’’ they replied gently. “As gory as it is, Kappas strangle the unsuspecting victim that ventures into their body of water.” SPOILER!!: Nancy! <3 Quote:
Originally Posted by Lissy Longbottom Defense Against the Dark Arts was quickly becoming one of Nancy's favorite subjects for a few reasons. She absolutely LOVED the whole dark creatures aspect of it. It was so exciting to learn about all the creepy things out there in the world! From the comfort and safety of a classroom, of course. Did she ever want to encounter one of these things in the WILD? Absolutely not!
She raised her hand, eager to answer the question about Kappas. She actually knew a bit about these just from reading about them growing up. "Can't you prevent them from attacking someone if you carve their name in a cucumber and throw it at them?" she answered. Why did THAT, of all things, convince the Kappas to back off? What did they have against cucumbers? Would a pickle also suffice? Nancy had MANY questions.
Nancy had hit the nail on the head when she mentioned the cucumbers; this was to be what the next part of the lesson would entail. “Correct! Cucumbers are extremely reliable when it comes to getting rid of Kappas as it serves as a distraction to them.” SPOILER!!: Bella! <3 Quote:
Originally Posted by Nordic Witch Bella was glad for the extra warmth in Professor Khanna's classroom since it was pretty chilly in the castle corridors, but it was almost too warm. In her rolled up parchment still placed on her chosen desk, Bella had scribbled 'Isabella', 'Slytherin', '7th year', 'water demon', and 'kappa' before folding it up since the creature in the tank up front more looked like a kappa than a grindylow. DADA class was usually fun so she waited eagerly for things to start. When Professor Khanna got the class started and revealed that the creature in the tank indeed was a kappa, their focus for today Bella smiled.
Raising her hand after Nancy she answered "The ministry rating for kappas is XXXX and the water filled depression on it's head is the source of their strength. “Yes and yes.” Dhruv bobbed their head quite enthusiastically, loving how knowledgeable the class was on the topic. Of course they would have felt the same if that wasn’t the case. “A classification of four Xs can be given for a number of reasons. These include: the creature is dangerous; requires special knowledge to be handled, and this handling should be done by trained wizards; the creatures are endangered or too difficult to capture as opposed to being dangerous.” From what was discussed so far though, the class would know that their subject today was considered dangerous. “Much like many other creatures having their particular source of strength, Kappas are strengthened by the water that fills their head.” SPOILER!!: Apollo! <3 Quote:
Originally Posted by PhoenixRising Oh. Kappas. He was completely off with that guess but it was a good effort, wasn't it? Except he wouldn't get a prize for effort, nor would effort give him a passing mark on his NEWT.
He did know a thing or two about kappas, so perhaps redemption was in order and could still scrape by with an acceptable. He paused a moment to see what others had to say, wincing at what that first year hufflepuff Brandon said about drinking blood.
"The drinking blood and attacking people is more of a defense mechanism, isn't it? Like if you don't bother it, it's not randomly going to seek you out... but if you trespass it's territory..." Apollo trailed off, which made him wonder too, how did Professor Dhruv get close enough to train this kappa? Because it didn't seem to exhibit any of the textbook kappa traits?
Apollo had touched upon a topic that had been debated upon many times during their tenure at the British Ministry. “Oftentimes I’ve heard this argument. There is no evidence that Kappas leave their watery abode in search of prey. It is humans who enter the water oblivious to the inhabitants there. It therefore can be argued that Kappas go into self defense mode, but human lives are taken regardless.” Sadly. SPOILER!!: Maxine! <3 Quote:
Originally Posted by love-for-HP YES!!!!!!! She was right - Boom! Also she was super glad that none of that actually came out of her mouth .. or did it?? She took a quick side glace around the room and no one was looking at her funny so she assumed it had not.
Okay ... so now onto actually learning about Kappas. "They are native to Japan - and they drink human blood - the are the vampire of the sea" Okay the vampire of the sea part was probably not necessary, but it sounded way cooler than Kappa.
Dhruv cracked a grin. Their students nicknaming creatures and spells were nothing new to them; this sort of thing stretched back to their days as a Professor at Mumbai's WU. “That’s another way to think of them.” SPOILER!!: Desiree! <3 Quote:
Originally Posted by MadMadamMalfoy Desiree’s bright blue eyes widened in amazement at Professor Khanna’s display of wandless magic. Asdfjkl! That was so cool!!! The only other person she’d seen do wandless magic was her dad, and it was a rarity for him. She wished she could do that, but she was only just learning nonverbal magic. Maybe someday…
Well, what do you know? She actually guessed the creature correctly! Desiree couldn’t help but feel a little pleased with herself for that, as DADA was definitely not her strong suit. She wondered what the prize the professor mentioned was… she hoped it was candy! Whatever it was, there was no time to think about it now. They were moving on!
She had noooo idea what to say about kappas! All she knew about them was that they were native to Japan… and wasn’t that the creature that injured Professor DeVries’s hand? No surprise that both of those things were mentioned early on! She listened to her classmates’ answers as she tried to recall details from her textbook, a task made a lot harder by the kappa bobbing along in the background. She could barely look at it and not giggle!
Brandon’s answer… yikes! Hearing that, Desiree wasn’t sure she wanted to go anywhere near that kappa. Though maybe it was secretly good inside like the Beast, she hoped! If what that younger girl (Nancy) said was true, she was going to give it allll the cucumbers! Maybe it would like them better than blood - because eww! - and they could be friends. It was finally Bella’s answer that jogged Desiree’s memory, and she raised her hand. “I think you can weaken a kappa if you trick it into bowing,” she said. She hoped… she didn’t know! SPOILER!!: Hope! <3 Quote:
Originally Posted by MadAlice Hope had stopped dead just after entering DADA class, mesmerized by the creature in the glass tank. She was so preoccupied that she nearly forgot to say hello to Professor Kamma, and just managed to blurt out a greeting and rush to her seat before class started.
So--not a sea monkey (which had been her guess as well), but a Kappa? Hope had never heard of that creature--it apparently wasn't one that lived anywhere near where she'd ever been. It's webbed feet looked like it could grab someone and drag them down, though.
Hope had been listening as her classmates ventured their answers--oh, this was all so very interesting! But as soon as Desiree spoke, Hope was suddenly filled with ideas. "Oh, is that because when it bows, it would spill out the water on its head? Is that what weakens it?" Hope wondered if that would weaken it enough for a person to get away from one. “Indeed! You would recall Ms. Connolly mentioned that the water-filled depression in a Kappa’s head is where they get their strength from. However, if you can trick the Kappa into bowing, as Ms. Marchand alluded to, then the Kappa will be greatly weakened as the water seeps out. Excellent, Ms. Archard.” SPOILER!!: Daniel! <3 Quote:
Originally Posted by DuckyLinJi Daniel, who was seated somewhere in the middle of the classroom, looked at the creature splashing around in the large water tank at the front. He recognized the creature right away because he had learned about it for his O.W.L. studies last year, but he kept quiet. He didn't want to waste any House Points.
He watched as the papers were magically gathered and flown to the front of the room, and he waited with a bored expression on his face as the Professor looked over the answers. He was unsurprised that his answer on the card had been correct.
Daniel placed his elbow on the table and his chin in the palm of his hand as the next question was asked. While his classmates raised their hands and gave their answers, the Hufflepuff focused on the Kappa diving to the bottom of the tank before it rose to the surface. The sixth year didn't raise his hand, not because he didn't know any of the answers, his Outstanding on his exam should have proven that he knows more than enough, but he wasn't in the mood to speak. Instead, he kept his dark brown eyes on the creature bobbing around in the water tank.
It looked far uglier than what was pictured in the books.
Silence and more silence from Daniel. Dhruv was still learning that the Hufflepff could be mostly silent. They had no problem with this, so long as Daniel was paying attention and making the necessary notes. SPOILER!!: Mercer! <3 Quote:
Originally Posted by Cassirin Mercer was being a very attentive (boy)friend and watching Mitsuki draw over her shoulder, occasionally giving her doodle a little poke when he approved or disapproved of something. It was a very emotive poke, because it somehow communicated a variety of feelings.
When the professor started speaking, Mercer gave them all his attention... or 87%, since the kappa was being interesting and all. He really did know about kappas, and he really did want to do well in this class, but when he raised his hand, he forgot his interesting fact and, instead, said, "Does it have a name? Do you ever feed it anything other than blood? Like maybe it has an favorite snacky? Does it live in that tank all the time, or will you put it back when the lesson is over?"
It usually was the Ravenclaws with this many questions; questions were always welcomed. Dhruv was patient with answering each. “This one does not have a name. I made sure to ask when I borrowed him through my contacts at the Japanese Ministry. Would you like to suggest a name?” They would be all too happy to do up a perfect stenciled name tag to slip onto the tank before the Kappa was to be returned. “Kappas are known to eat cucumbers, which is why offering one can help to appease them. This one here ate a fair few before the lesson began. It will only reside in this tank until it is returned to its native country… which should be happening tomorrow. Once back in Japan, it will be released back to its home.” Needless to say the students of Hogwarts will be seeing many more creatures that lived across the globe for as long as Dhruv remained a professor here. This was a result of their tenure at the British Ministry and their travels to many countries: it had allowed them to come to know a great deal of people. Now these fostered relationships would be put to use to aid in educating his students.
“Well done, all of you.” Was there a hint of pride etched on their facial features? Yes, there was. “For the next aspect of our lesson, we will be practicing one aspect of guarding ourselves against Kappas.” Right on cue, as though the creature in the tank was against this, it made a webbed fist and shook it in the students’ direction, its face contorted unpleasantly. It was a most menacing action. “Our friend here clearly is against this but persevere we shall.” Kappas just may prefer blood over a certain vegetable.
Dhruv headed to his desk where from under it a food storage container and a tray were pulled out. They were set atop the desk. “I have here some cucumbers.’’ They indicated to fresh, deep green cucumbers in the storage container. “And some knives.” They pointed to the tray of silver knives, which were identical to the ones used in Potions for chopping ingredients. “Ms. Schultz made the point of inscribing one’s name a cucumber and throwing it to the Kappa in order to appease it. For now, we will be working on inscribing our name which can be done either by magic or by the mundane way. Should you choose to go the magical route, simply use your wand to graft your name after saying the incantation Scribere, pronounced Scry-bear.” Cucumber and wand in hand, Dhruv provided a demonstration. “Scribere.” Holding one side of the cucumber towards the class, Dhruv proceeded to trace out his entire name. Each letter emerged in a mixture of red and yellow, the colours of a merry flame. Soon DHRUV VIHAAN KHANNA was etched, still in the red and yellow mix. “I prefer to use my full name; this way, it singles me out as the one who needs the protection as opposed to someone else who shares my first name. When etching, your wand need not touch the cucumber; moving it about an inch from the surface will be enough.
“So come on up, grab a cucumber or two as there are plenty if you are not satisfied with the way you’ve etched your name, and a knife if you choose. The incantation is already on the board.” This was true as the marker had taken care of that. “But should you require assistance, let me know. Older students, I would be grateful if you would help me in keeping an eye on your younger peers.” Whether it be with the knives or to give the young ones a hand in perfecting the spell. OOC: thanks for sticking with Dhruv and I so far, lovelies! For this mini activity, you will have forty eight hours to complete the steps listed above. You may choose to do this in as many or as little posts as you like! Also taking this moment to give everyone the reminder that catch-up posts are allowed! <3 |