CoMC Lesson 3 / Final – Basic Class :: Abraxans
 

It was a beautiful spring day and Professor Morgan had never been in a better mood. She felt relaxed and invigorated and ready to introduce her younger students to one of her favorite Magical Creatures. Positioned right in front of the stable doors, the professor sat tall upon her little oak stool. "Hello class, take a seat please," she said. Her newly tanned complexion made her smile radiant.

Basic CoMC (1st through 3rd Years)

Oh My Gosh! : Care of Magical Creatures class! Jule's most favorite class of all. She wasn't kissing up, it's just that she loved creatures. Even though Jule had changed over the year. She walked to class, tying her hair up and letting her bangs fall.

"Hello Professor." she smiled and took a seat near the front. She then began to wonder what they'll be learning this class. Afterall, someting excited always happened and unexpectedly too.

CoMC claaasss?!

It was probably his most favorite class of all, mainly because of the fun creatures he got to see. It was honestly the only class he actually studied for daily so yeah, that said A LOT right there. He skipped aaaalll the way to the class, having a slightly happy mood for the day. "Hellooo professah," he greeted and took a sat.

Fun class fun class.

Hair slightly dishevelled from the slide ride into the Grounds, Kiri hurried to the Care of Magical Creatures paddock. "Hello, Professor," she mumbled when she'd arrived, and as the stable was too small to house, say, a dragon, she took a seat near the front.

Trying to get her hair in order again, Kiri eyed the professor curiously. She was... in good shape. There was something to be said about working in the fresh air and below the sun for the majority of one's time, she supposed. It gave you a healthy complexion. Of course, for Kiri, 'fresh air' meant freezing cold, and up here, the sun rarely showed itself.

Magical Creatures class was probably the only class to raise Grace's suspicions. Even the Herbology didn't, because they were just plants. But these were magical creatures, they had magic, they were intelligent and they could bite. Not good stuff for Grace.

Nevertheless, she went to the class, greeted the professor as relaxed as she could; "Hhh--hi, professor!" --which she felt she failed about 'relaxed' part-- and her eyes immediately looked for the creatures.

Demetria walked over to the stables and took a seat. "Hello, professor. Lovely day isn't it?" she smiled

"Good afternoon!" the professor answered cheerfully.
Professor Morgan tilted her head when she spotted Cameron. Had he been to her last lesson? Hmm, she didn't think so. "Hey Cameron. Its been awhile, how are you?"
"Kiri, so great to see you!" she shot back with a smile.
"Hello my dear," Iliana said with the same warm smile. It seemed as if nothing could wipe the smile from her face today. Not even her most apprehensive students.
"Glad you could make it Jake," she said. Was it just her or was Jake being uncharacteristically quiet? Weird.
The professor took a DEEP breath in and let it out with an 'Ahhhhhhh' "It certainly is!" she agreed. "A perfect day."
"Hello to you, William," she said smiling sweetly at the boy. Happy mood or not, William always put a smile on her face. He was just too precious for words.
"Hello dear," she said with a nod of her head.

Just then she heard some familiar sounds coming from inside the stables. It seemed the Abraxans were as eager as she was to get started. Soon, she thought. We'll give them just a few more minutes.

Hearing his name being mentioned, Jake's head snapped up to the professor. He had, of course, missed what she had said entirely, but nodded any, eyes glazing over as he became distracted by his mega-awesome rainbow shoes. But then there was an unfamiliar noise which startled him, and he twitched an almighty twitch before regarding the stable doors with an expression somewhere between interest and GET-ME-OUTTA-HERE-NOW kind of thing.

It hadn't even been LOUD. Just... odd.

Someone Something was in the stables and he tried to get a look on whatever it was but GAH, he had poooor poor eye vision at the moment. He turned back to the professor and wondered what the heck to say. How was he? Well he honestly didn't know. Hyper, he was a bit hyper. Nice Gryffindors, giving him a huge batch of chocolate (which he still didn't finish yet).

Hmm. "I'm dooooing simply, er... lovely." Lovely?! Blink. Blink. Blink. And he'd heard noises. OOOH NOISES from the stables. Cam lifted himself up from just a feeew inches off of his seat, trying to get some sort of a sneak peek of some sort. Nope. Just couldn't do.

His eyes were epically failing him.

Satine hurried into CoMC. She was soooo excited to get the lesson started and to get started on homework! She loved CoMC homework! She smiled brightly at the professor, "Hello! How's your day today?" she said over the noises coming from the stables...the noises made her even more excited to learn about the animal of the day....

Thomas entered the classroom with all of his stuff for the lesson. As he entered the classroom he smiled and said, "Morning Professor," He sat on a chair next to the table and waited for the lesson to begin.

Getting a bit restless from all the sitting, Professor Morgan rose from her stool and stretched. "Alright class, its time for us to get started," she announced. Turning towards the stable door, she pulled out her wand and gave it a quick flick. As the doors began to open, a magnificent looking winged horse walked through. "Hello my beautiful girl," she whispered, once the horse stopped beside her. Then she reached up and nuzzled the creature's neck.

Turning back to face the class, she smiled at her students and said, "This is Trinity. Who can tell me what breed of winged horse Trinity is?"

Pushing his hand into the air, Jake stopped himself before he answered, then started again, then stopped, then just went with it. "Errr... an... Abrax...erm..." he trailed off, wondering if that was species... either way, he was sure he had forgotten that word anyway. So... he went with the usual sidetrack. "She's pretty."

Thomas raised his hand and said, "Er Trinity is an Abraxan," He read about winged horses in one of the library books.

OOOOH! It was starting, it was starting.

Cam eyed the stable to see what exactly would come out, he assumed it was some horse-ish creature because it was a stable after all. And then... something walked out. ZOMGAWD a hoooooooooorse. With wings? A horse with wings?! He quietly clapped his hands for about a second or two for the animal and observed it. Eh. Type of winged horse?

It looked... hippogriff-ish. Though it wasn't. It was less... birdy. "Is it an Abraxan?" He tilted his head at the creature confusingly.

"She looks to be from the Abraxans breed?" Jule said, sounding un sure of herself. The only thing setting apart this horse from a unicorn was trading in the wings for a horn.

Demetria raised her hand. "Is it an Abraxan breed?"

Grace tried to take some comfort from the warm smile of the professor. She wanted to have that smile as a sign of 'We're learning really friendly creatures now, which you don't have to touch to.' But she knew that she had no such luck. They were animals and no one could ever guess what they would do. And she was afraid. Very afraid. She still couldn't understand what she was doing here.

At the sounds from the stables, Grace slightly jumped. 'Oh God, they're gonna eat mee!' And then, the professor opened its gate. Grace closed her eyes, ready to a teething.

Nothing happened. Grace slowly opened her eyes and saw a wonderful winged horse. It was beautiful! She didn't almost hear the professor's question because of watching her. And oddly, she knew the answer! "Isn't it an Abraxan, professor?" Though she wasn't sure, so she asked it as a question.

Iliana reached up with her right hand and ran it down Trinity's long mane. "She is pretty, isn't she?" she said, winking at Jake.
"Very good, Thomas! That's correct," she exclaimed.

...

"Today's lesson is going to be an introduction to Abraxans. This particular magical creature is one that my 4th year and above students have already gotten acquainted with. Today, it's your turn."

Walking around to Trinity's other side, Professor Morgan reached up again, this time petting her coat. "Can anyone tell me what physical characteristics set the abraxans apart from the other winged horse breeds?"

Thomas raised his hand and said, "The Abraxan is immensely powerful and it is gigantic among the other Winged-Horses." Thomas hoped that he was correct because that what it said in the book.

Getting more acquainted with a creature? Grace backed off a few steps without realising. Trinity was beautiful, but that wouldn't make her less dangerous. Again, what was Grace doing here?! Her intent was earning some points but if that meant touching, she'd have some seconds thoughts.

She had read some article, she recalled. Although she wasn't absolutely sure again, she tried. She raised her hand and said "They are big and powerful. Also they drink only alcohol." But which one? She couldn't tell.

"William, that was wonderful. And you're absolutely right," she said.

"As you'll find in your textbook, there are four breeds of winged horses in the magical world. The Abraxan, the Aethonan, the Granian and the Thestral.

"The Aethonans, native to Britain, aren't nearly as large as the sturdier Abraxan and are chestnut in color. The Granians are grey and are the fastest of all the flying horses." Trinity let out an aggravated sound at this and threw her head up in the air. The professor grinned at her class and whispered playfully, "Someone sounds jealous."

"Thestrals are have white shining eyes, dragonish faces and necks, and skeletal black bodies. And last but not least..." She eyed Trinity and smiled, "The Abraxans, as William pointed out, are the only winged horses palomino in color. They drink only the finest single malt whiskey and require forceful handling." Though obviously, Iliana had never had to be 'forceful'. "Any questions so far?"

The Abraxan was beautiful, even if it was a little scary. The wings looked strong enough to smack someone's head right off. Kiri had a different question, though. Tentatively, she raised her hand. "Erm, Professor?" she asked timidly, not at all sure she should even speak. "I... Can you see Thestrals?"

Kiri had read the textbook, she knew what that would mean. She fidgeted in her seat uncomfortably. "I mean," she added hastily, "y-you don't have to answer, of course, I just sort of wondered how people take care of them if they can't see them. For example."

The professor gave Kiri a sad smile and said, "Yes Kiri, unfortunately I can." Being a Healer at St. Mungos for over six years had left its mark. "Good question Kiri. Anyone else?"

Thomas raised his hand and asked the teacher, "Professor I have a question not about an Abraxan but about a Thestral. In of my books it said that Thestrals can only be seen by some people, and I was wondering who are those people?"

Well that was something Jake could relate to... three months at Hogwarts ast year had given him enough experience that he could see those horse things. It hadn't been a surprise of course, because they had never been invisible beforehand.

But still... he raised his hand into the air. "I got a couple. One's about Thestrals... 'cause I'm curious, ya know? Well... say you can see them... if the memory was wiped of the incident where you started being able to see them... would you still be able to?"

There... that was clear enough without going into details that might upset people, right? Okay, so... people = himself. And Professor Morgan.

Feeling a sudden surge of anger as he usually did at this subject (well... he never asked to see them), Jake pushed it away and asked his second question. "And, Abraxans. How big do they grow? Like, in hands. And what's their wingspan?" he asked, avoiding looking at the large creature.

Well... it was big.

Natka stared in wonder. Flying horses! This just had to be the best lesson of the year... she'd been waiting for absolute ages to 'officially' learn (well, in lessons and with a teacher, rater than just reading stuff out of a dusty old library book) about horse-like magical creatures. And here there was an Abraxan, right in front of her!

Natka could not get the grin off her face, her eyes trained on... Trinity, was it? - as she addressed Professor Morgan.

"When you say Abraxans need forceful handling... does that indicate they are dangerous in some way, or simply stubborn? And from reading about Harry Potter and his adventures, I know you can ride Thestrals... can you ride Abraxans as well? And Granians, and Aethonans? Which breed is most often used by wizards and witches, and for what?"

The questions were spilling out of her almost father than she could think about what she was saying. But there was just so much natka wanted to know about these creatures...

She waited for the answers to her curiosity, her eyes wandering over the large, palomino body of the horse, admiring its beauty and grace. She wished she could get closer.

"No William, there are laws against such things. The Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures has set very strict guidelines to protect against cross breeding," she said, smiling down at him. How she loved an inquisitive child.
"To quote your textbook, 'Thestrals are invisible to anyone who has not seen death.' Does that statement make sense?" she asked sweetly.
"Yes Jake, it's not your memory that makes them visible but the incident itself. It's a very peculiar magic," she explained, giving him a perplexed look. What was he getting at there?

"As far as their size... The male abraxan stands 2 to 3.5 m (7 to 11.5 ft) tall, while the females reach an average height of 2.4 m (7.8 ft). Their wing spans can range from 30-35 feet for the girls, to 45-50 feet for the boys. These big horses need BIG wings to get them in the air."

"Those are great questions," she said, petting Trinity's coat. "You know, most creatures could be considered dangerous... if not given the proper care. Abraxans are not different," she said. "But class, I don't want you to worry. The Abraxans we have here at Hogwarts are very well behaved and friendly."

Holding her wand out, the professor summoned several large buckets of liquid. "Would anyone like to volunteer to help?"

"Er... Sure, I'll volunteer," Kiri said, raising her hand a little uncertainly. She probably wouldn't have under different circumstances, but Trinity stood behind the professor, unmoving, surveying the class placidly. It didn't look as if it was about to bite anyone's head off.

Herminny raised her hand and said, "I'd love to help professor", even though she was not quite sure what exactly she was volunteering to help with she was just happy to help nonetheless.

"Oh... okay," Jake nodded, frowning as he she said the word peculiar. There was... something about that word that Jake hated. "Yeah... it's kind of stupid."

Of course, Jake thought that was what peculiar meant.

"Oh... wow..." he whispered, when he heard how big abraxans, particularly the males, could get. "Big..."

Oooooooooooooooooooooh... looky here.

Jake thrust his hand into the air. "I'll volunteer..." he stated, looking at the buckets. "What exactly am I volunteering for?" he added suspiciously.

Thomas raised his hand and said, "Professor I'd love to help and to be a volunteer." He wrote what the teacher said about the Thestrals.

Satine watched a ton of hands go up in the air, but she figured it wouldn't hurt to volunteer also...

"Professor, I would love to help....that is if there is still some spots available..."

Cam could just picture a bigger male Abraxan, with like, a 50 feet wingspan?! That was insane. And yet, cool at the same time.

EEEP the professor was asking for volunteers? For the Abraxans? Meaning they could like, totally get a closer look at Trinity! After finishing writing down his notes, he raised his hand uuuup high. "OOH! Pick meee pick mee--that is if you've still gotten any room?" Meh, had he miiisssed his chance? Stoopid notes.

Iliana smiled mischievously. 'Great! Everyone sounded ready.' She took her wand again and gave it a quick swish towards the stables. Just then, each of the Abraxan's stall doors opened simultaneously. In one large, uniformed group, the winged horses walked out into a partitioned section of the paddock, that she'd set up for the occasion.

"Class, we have been fortunate enough to obtain enough Abraxans into our care that each of you will be able to work with your own. There will be no partnering up required for this lesson," she explained with a smile.

"Now if I could get each of you (her volunteers) to come to the front, grab one of these buckets and quietly stand in front of the Abraxan you'd like to work with. For this part of the exercise, I'd like you to stay on this side of the barrier." Better safe than sorry.

OOC: For the partition: imagine a fence such as this. Students on one side, abraxans on the other. ;) You'll be able to touch them, feed them, etc... We're just keeping a safe distance in the beginning.

Surprised, Jake leapt backwards... or would have leapt had he not been sitting... so he settled for a backwards roll. Pip pip.

This meant he could stand up pretty easily, but he wasn't sure he wanted to anymore... those biiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiig Abraxans had startled him, but he was getting over it.

Missing the professor's mischevious smile, seeing it as a normal CHECK OUT MAH HAPPINESS smile, Jake went ahead and grabbed a bucket, before sizing up the creatures. Immediately, he headed for the smallest one he could see (he had a good measuring eye?) and stood in front of it, gazing into its face and trying not to be scared.

Oh Em Gee she did not just say they didn't have to partner up for this lesson, was this Will's lucky day? It must have been, because he grinned a wide grin, his blue eyes shining with pent up happiness as he got up slowly, staring in awe at the many Abraxans before him. Ari was not going to believe this! oh wait, she dealt with dragons all day, this would be nothing for her, right.

Walking over to the fence he picked up a bucket and held it in his right hand, his eyes searching out one of the creatures who'd look the most like him. He spotted one by the end ducking its head and eying the ground and thought there it is. Walking up to it quietly and carefully he stopped on his side of the fence, his grin even wider than before.

Looking back to professor Morgan he waited with a slight bounce for more instruction.

This. Was. Just. Too. Cool!

Oh dear. A single Abraxan wasn't quite as scary as a whole herd of them. She was grateful for the fence, however feeble and useless it seemed. But it represented a sort of safe boundary. Kiri got up and walked to the front of the class to pick up one of the buckets. It was heavy enough that she had to sling her arms around it to be able to carry it. The liquid inside nearly spilled over as she wobbled to the fence.

Up close, the Abraxans all looked similar. They were very big. Kiri chose the one that she thought appeared most peaceful; it was also one that put Kiri close to Professor Morgan. Just in case...
When Kiri reached the fence, the Abraxan turned it's massive head and glanced at her with vague interest. She heaved the bucket up as high as she could and waited, wondering whether she was about to get headbutted by a giant winged horse.

While Thomas took a bucket which was on the other side of the classroom he looked at the Abraxans to see which one to work with. The Ravenclaw looked at the Abraxans with a bucket in his hands, he deiced which one still. He wanted one which didn't look have a lot energy or was to strong. Thomas picked a smaller Abraxan which was very close to the end of the fence. He walked up to the Abraxan trying not to make such a big eye contact or the Abraxan might attack him.

Whaaaaat?

Cam hadn't known that they were going to do it individually, he would have thought... it was some sort of a partner activity. See, right now, he was more worried about the Abraxan's state and health than his after he'd been done with it. Just... chaaaaos always seemed to happen around him, and he was really getting his suspicions if he was indeed cursed. Cursed. Yes.

But whatevaaar, if Abraxans were nice and gentle like the professor said they were, then he was up for it! All giddy and excited for the activity they were doing right now, he grabbed a bucket and ... decided which one to pick.

Whiiiich? Closing his eyes shut, he chanted, "Eeny meeny miny moe, catch the tiger by the toe, if he hollers let him go, eeny meeny miny," and he ooopened, "mooooe."

...

Quite a big Abraxan he'd picked. Like. Big. BIGGER than most of them. Eh. He walked up to the winged-horse creature and waved a hello. "Hiiiiiii." But pshh he just COULDN'T get along with creatures if they didn't have a name. Everyone and everything had to have a name. Even the non-living ones. It was in his rulebook. Yeah. "Professaaah, have you named this one yet?"

Herminny walked up to the front and grabbed one of the buckets and saw a pretty little Abraxan to the far left she wanted to work with and walked over to it with the bucket filled with some sort of liquid in hand and waited for future instruction.

"Of course he does, Cameron. All of my Creatures have names," she said, her green eyes twinkling. "His name is Necromancer." The moment his name was uttered, the Abraxan lifted his enormous wings and gave them a hearty flap, sending a gust of wind towards the professor. Holding onto Trinity to keep her balance, the professor laughed. This was going to be a fun lesson.

"Once everyone has selected their abraxan, we'll continue," she announced, allowing a bit more time for the slowpokes.

"What's this one called?" Jake asked, pointing to the one straight ahead of him... the smallest one. He eyed the way the Necrowhadjamacallit one nearly knocked over Professor Morgan... and glanced nervously up at his own 'new friend'.

Professor Morgan glanced around Trinity to get a better look. "Ahh Jake, you're standing before little Juno."
"Really Cyrus? And how do the Hogwart's Abraxans measure up comparatively?" she asked. Before he could answer, she added, "Oh, that's Apollo."

...

"Alright class, I think we've kept them waiting long enough. Go ahead and raise your buckets up slowly to your respective Abraxan's mouth," she said, demonstrating by offering one of the remaining buckets to Trinity. Then she laughed as her horse dived in and drank greedily.

Necrowha? Necrodancer? Necromancer?? Cam had no idea what a no idea what a Necromancer was but if it was the Abraxan's name, then Necromancer it was! Though right after Professor Morgan had told him of the creature's name, ZOMG wiiiind. Wind was gusting right at 'im, and he didn't really have anything to hold on to.

He fell on his bottom.

Oh he liked this Abraxan. He liked this one lottssss.

Grunting as he picked himself up on his feet again, he stared the Abraxan riiiiight in his eyes. HMM? He had a large eyeball indeed--maybe it was because like... a giant. This one was about half the size of a giant, which he guessed could've been... 'bout 10 feet tall?

Oh wow.

Oh WOW.

And how was he suppose to make Necromancer drink from his bucket? Tip-toes even, the Abraxan still would have had to make his head go down for another drink. "Hiiii Necromancaahh," he greeted again, putting his hand up and waiting for well... something to touch it. He wanted this creature's respect first.

The only thing he felt really was air coming out of its nostrils. ZOMG. "Youu can trust me Necro, like you can you--I'll just feeed ya first then!" he said happily, taking the heavy bucket filled with single malt whiskey and raising it above his head, going on the tip of his toes to help. Magical creatures were sometimes like that right? Maybe he was just too hungry to greet him first. MAYBE.

He looked up, eying the winged-horse creature... not taking one slurp AT ALL. "Cooome on. My buckets don't bite, I PROMISE." Did the buckets bite? He didn't even know. But he watched with eager eyes as the Abraxan putting his head down nearer to the bucket and slooooooowly and hesitantly taking his first slurp.

YAYAYAY.

Oh wow, this was gonna be fun Herminny thought as she raised her bucket to the abraxan she chose. She had no idea just how aggressive this creature was gonna be. It only took 10 secconds to see the abraxan she chose had more intrest in the bucket then the whiskey itself when it forcibly grabbed the bucket from her with it's teeth. "Ahh,Professor help!!!!", Herminny exclaimed as the bucket was forced from her hands. The abraxan then started swinging the bucket back and forth spilling the whiskey everywhere including on Herminny and all over it's stall.

"Juno..." Jake muttered, nodding at the Abraxan in front of him. "My neighbor had a horse called Juno... I never saw her though, the horse..." he stated, staring up at the new Juno. Purdy.

Okay, it's buuuuuuucketttt, it's buuuuucket taaaiiiim.

Raising the bucket with his spindly little arms, Jake shook dangerously as the resulting weight of the whiskey in the bucket made his arms and whole body tremble. "'s heavy," he gasped, raising it up and wrinkling his nose at the stench coming from the bucket; it was enough to make him want to heave... but with Care of Magical Creatures comes bad smells... you just had to learn to deal with it...

... and avoid the flying droplets of whiskey as the abraxan slurped it up, apparently never having heard of table manners.

Wait... no table... errr...

Bucket manners.

Thomas took the bucket slowly it had a terrible smell. He put the bucket in front of the small Abraxan. It wasn't that hard really all he had to do it to raise a bucket and the Abraxan drinks the terrible whiskey.

Dani just stood there looking at all of the Abraxans and feeling overwhelmed. She was scared to get near to one. She kept her distance. eyeing the other students she asked, "Do they bite?" Just to be on the safe side, she stood about a foot behind Jake, he'd protect her right?

Kiri shifted her arms and lifted the bucket up as high as she could, leaving just enough space that she could peer over it. The Abraxan trotted closer with slow, deliberate steps. It inspected the bucket. With a gigantic sniff that made Kiri's hair whirl around, it apparently decided that the bucket's contents were acceptable, and it sank it's gigantic head in and began drinking.

Kiri nearly dropped the bucket as the creature's head came to rest on the bucket's rim. It was so heavy! The Abraxan wasn't helping by shaking it back and forth as it drank greedily. The noises it made sounded like a a giant water transport lock being drained. Droplets of the liquid were being spilled everywhere, running across Kiri's face and hands. She clamped her mouth shut.

Over the unbelievably LOUD sound Juno was making with her schlurrrrrping, Jake sensed rather than heard Dani standing nearby. He glanced around and smiled at the girl, remembering how scared he had been when he had been a first year with the dragon. Shudder.

"C'mere, Dani," he said gently, wishing the bucket wasn't so heavy that he had to concentrate on heaving it up. "Hey, could you, like raise the bottom of the bucket? This thing is too heavy for me."

Plus, being so short, he was using every effort to hold it up high. Glancing at the professor, Jake added warily, "Umm, if that's okay."

Satine looked at her Abraxan...she was a little bit nervous...I mean the professor had said they required foreceful love and care...surely they wouldn't just eat out of the bucket like a normal horse...I mean this wasn't really forceful...but she looked at her beautiful abraxan with a smile and then back down at the bucket.


"Professor, since they require forceful care, will they just eat out of the bucket on their own will?" she said with a shakyish voice.

"Sure I'll help." She smiled and took a step toward him. "You won't let it bite me will you?" She sent a scared glance his way. She didn't like the big creatures, she was already tiny compared to regular sized things. She pushed the bucket up a little bit. She would have preffered a niffler or a krup, but she could handle this. She shook a little.

Professor Morgan saw the chaos that was beginning over by Herminny. She shook her head. Some students just weren't very good around magical creatures. Trouble seemed to follow this one everywhere. Pulling out her wand, Iliana summoned the bucket of whiskey from Hugo and dried Herminny's robes. Then she walked over to the young Gryffindor. "Sweetie, I think you've spooked him. Would you like to try that again?" she asked, offering her a new bucket. She eyed the Abraxan sternly for a moment and then added, "He should behave now."
"They might if you're not careful, Dani. Just try to relax," she said, waiting for her to pick an abraxan of her own. "Do you need help selecting one?"
Professor Morgan walked behind the students, noting everyone's progress. "Kiri, you're doing excellent!" she said, patting the girl on the back. "Very well done."
Hearing the conversation between Jakey and Dani, the professor walked over to the pair and secretly levitated the bucket for him. "Actually Jake," she replied. "Dani and I are going to find a lovely, gentle abraxan over here," she placed her hand on the little girl's back and guided her over towards the free abraxans.

"Here Dani, this one is called Desdemona. She's very nice." With that said, she set a bucket at Dani's feet and gave her a reassuring smile.
"I don't think you'll need to do much to convince him, Satine," she said with a small laugh. There was whiskey in the buckets after all. ;) Their favorite.
Iliana looked over at Fyo appraisingly. "Very good Fyo, very good."

...

"Okay now that you've each had an opportunity to get to know your abraxan, we're going to move on to something a bit... more challenging," she said. Bending down, she skillfully picked up Trinity's hoof.

"I'm going to remove the partition and I need each of you to clean out the hooves. You need to stand behind the abraxan's leg and gently but firmly tap behind its knee. Your abraxan will raise their hoof like so..." she said. "Once the hoof is in your hand, gently place it between your knees, this will help you keep it in place. When you're ready, take out your wand and gently clean the hoof with water, using the augamenti and scourgify charms."

Professor Morgan released her hold on Trinity's leg and laid it back on the ground. Then she raised her wand again and the partition disappeared. "Everyone begin. I'll be right here if you need assistance.


OOC: Okay guys :D This is your final. Have fun but keep in mind that your grade will be reflective of how well you RP these next tasks. Feel free to ask questions if you have them. GOOD LUCK!

With a pop, the fence vanished. Kiri felt slightly heartened by the praise Professor Morgan had given her, but... no, those hooves looked terrifying. The Abraxans were used to the professor, not to Kiri. If she were an Abraxan and found something small scratching around in her hooves, she'd get rid of it with a well-aimed kick. Especially considering the size of the hooves. They were probably big enough to stun an average troll. At least for now, though, Kiri's Abraxan was still slobbering up the whiskey, so it was kind of distracted. Carefully, she began lowering the bucket. The Abraxan snorted in protest - the powerful whiff of the liquid made Kiri's head spin - but once the bucket was on the ground, it continued drinking.

Kiri stepped around the huge horse slowly, trying to decide which hoof to tackle first. They all looked equally lethal, so it wouldn't make any difference, really, but she went for one of the hind legs first. Kneeling down beside the Abraxan made it seem even taller and more imposing than it already was. Kiri tapped the knee joint as Professor Morgan had demonstrated.
Nothing happened.

She tried again. The skin covering the leg twitched gently, but the leg didn't come up. The slurping continued. Kiri tapped the knee a third time, applying more pressure. And yes, the Abraxan lifted the leg! It happened so suddenly that Kiri nearly fell over in surprise. When she'd recovered, she touched the leg carefully. The Abraxan, either because it was distracted or because this was nothing new for it (a comforting thought), merely shifted slightly in its stand. Kiri fumbled for her wand. Aiming it at the ground to make sure she wouldn't, in her nervousness, muck up a spell, she said quietly, "Aguamenti." Water began spouting out of the tip. She bit her lip, then pointed it at the Abraxan's hoof. When the water hit the horse, it snorted again, much louder this time, but it didn't decide to stamp a hoofprint into Kiri's face. The Abraxan's leg on her knees, Kiri rinsed the hoof carefully, then wiped it off with the sleeves of her robes. That was probably not what Professor Morgan had in mind, but the Aguamenti charm was the only thing Kiri felt confident she was able to manage.

She put the hoof down. The Abraxan immediately began scraping it on the ground. Wondering what good this exercise did them in that case, Kiri wandered around the creature slowly and began cleaning the second leg. Mud and grass and dead leaves were being washed away by the water.
The front legs were more of a problem, though. The Abraxan raised each in turn willingly enough, but it had finished with the whiskey bucket by now and obviously felt it needed entertainment. While Kiri was busy cleaning the hooves, the Abraxan snorted and drooled happily into her hair. She shivered when she felt the icky stuff run through her hair. She thought she must be smelling like the Hog's Head by now. Her skirt was wet and dirty, and her robes had a distinctly earthy look to them. It was very warm, too - Kiri was sweating profusely by the time she was done, but at least she'd finished. The Abraxan gave her one last alcoholic sniff, and then she stood up, knees aching. Kiri reached up to pat the horse gently. It hadn't killed her, after all, so she had to be mildly greatful. And now that the exam was over, maybe she would change her clothes? She only hoped she wouldn't run across Peeves on her way; he would love to see a student as dishevelled as Kiri...

"Yeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeees'm," Jake nodded, before giving a mock salute and holding the bucket with one hand, because for some reason he now seemed blessed with superhuman strength.

Like, yay.

RAWRRRRRRRRRRR, I'm strongggggggggg, yo.

You better believe he was gonna test that out later... teehee.

...

"Like... rawrr," Jake mumbled as the Professor explained their task. He felt alot more confident with his new superhuman strength... as you would. But first, the robes would have to go... to interfering... Jake wanted to feel freeeeeeeeeeee and liberated... in his muggle lookin' school uniform.

Chyeah. You love it.

"Iiiiiiiiiiiiiiif you like mah baaaaaahday, aaaaaaaaand yah think ahm... howdy!" Jake interrupted his own jam by greeting Juno again as he moved around to start on the first hoof. No partition helped this part of the process. Woot for no restraints... (Jake's motto for life since leaving St. Mungo's).

Feeling confident that he could deal with Juno's super-unhuman weight, Jake tapped the knee of her and smiled when she complied. Now the tricky part... Jake felt wary pointing his wand at an animal, especially when he wasn't exacty... at all good at magic and this wasn't his wand. Meh, at least aguamenti was the charm he was most expert at.

Ironic... considering the term they'd had.

"Aguamenti," Jake said firmly, confident that at least this would work... and it did.

'Cept his aim was off.

"Daaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaang," the boy mumbled, redirecting towards the hoof and cleaning off the dirt. Then he realised he needed to do that stupid scourgify one. Psssshhhh.

"Scourgify," he said, slightly uncertainly but still firmly. To his (happy) surprise, the dirt and muck on Juno's hoof vanished, and there was just the odd blehness that he would wash off. "Aguamenti!"

And it was gone!

With a new confidence that he could actually DO this spell and magic in general, Jake set to work on the other hooves, becoming less and less considerate about the state of his uniform, realising he could just magic the dirt off.

Finally finished, and feeling slightly hot and sweaty from being out in this month and working more than he had ever been used to, Jake stepped back and breathed the fresh air (dude, stinky hooves... and not cheese stinky) and managed to do a mini-jig.

"I'm cool like dish detergent!" he sang, remembering to keep his voice down and to stop dancing, lest people started to think he was insane.

That would be bad, see?

Dani held her bucket and looked at Desdemona. "Well hi there." She said smiling at the abraxan. "I'm Dani." She nodded. She rubbed the abraxan between its ears when it leaned forward. Good. It was nice. Holding up the bucket, she let it munch for a little while.

Munch.

Munch.

Munch.

She left the bucket in front of Desdemona where she could reach and moved behind her legs. "Okay. Please don't hurt me." She poked her in the back of the knee and got hoofed in the face. "Ouch!" She glared at the abraxan that was looking at her apologetically. Fine. She did it again, this time keeping more distance from Desdemona.

Pulling out her wand, she said in a firm voice."Aguamenti!"

The funkyness came off of the hoof. Woot! One down only 3 more to go.

She moved to the other leg. This time she didn't get hit in the face. It was a good thing too, she could already feel a bruise growing. She felt brave for having continued on. The third hoof was just as easy. It made her happy knowing that she could help out something so much bigger than her.

Finishing the fourth one, she leaned her head against Desdemonas side and patted her. "Hmm... You're a nice little horsey." She sighed. She was going to miss Hogwarts so much... It wasn't fair.

"Thanks, professor," Fyo said with a smile, his eyes lighting up. Not that they weren't already lit up, having seen the AWESOME! Abraxan up close.

Quote:

Originally Posted by YAYAYLiiisha "Okay now that you've each had an opportunity to get to know your abraxan, we're going to move on to something a bit... more challenging," she said. Bending down, she skillfully picked up Trinity's hoof. "I'm going to remove the partition and I need each of you to clean out the hooves. You need to stand behind the abraxan's leg and gently but firmly tap behind its knee. Your abraxan will raise their hoof like so..." she said. "Once the hoof is in your hand, gently place it between your knees, this will help you keep it in place. When you're ready, take out your wand and gently clean the hoof with water, using the augamenti and scourgify charms." Professor Morgan released her hold on Trinity's leg and laid it back on the ground. Then she raised her wand again and the partition disappeared. "Everyone begin. I'll be right here if you need assistance.

Something more challenging? Fyo was pretty sure he was looking forward to that, because challenges were.... his thing. That, of course, did not mean he always came out very great in them. But anything good worth a try, was worth being happy over, wasn't it?

Err..... Back to sane thoughts, maybe?

Maybe.

Before the partition vanished, he was quick to listen to Professor Morgan's instructions. His eyes widened slightly - a sure sign of surprise and delight, both - as she related what they were supposed to do, before finally coming to their normal, dreamy selves as she stopped speaking.

Okaiii. If he had heard her correctly, they were supposed to clean the abraxans' hooves. He eyed his own abraxan as he thought over this, wondering if the creature could possibly get angry at being meddled with, and throw him across the grounds, or something like that. Won't, he decided finally. Professor Morgan would never deliberately put her students in danger.

Thus satisfied, the third year began to do as instructed. Taking a stand behind the mighty creature's leg, Fyo tapped him behind the knee. Gently but firmly, Professor Morgan had said. The third year made sure his tap was both - gentle and firm, that is - and, to his surprise, the abraxan really did raise a hoof.

OhmygoshYAYwow!

So now he was.... supposed to touch the hoof? What if the abraxan KICKED! him? Umm.... With a shrug, Fyo took the creature's AWESOME! hoof in his hands, carefully placing it between his knees. So far, so good, but the trickier part came now - wand time. He definitely hoped the abraxan was used to this, because he didn't want no abraxan EYEING him because he had a wand pointed at him, no!

Steady... steady... YAYSTEADY!

"Aguamenti!" The abraxan seemed to shift, and for a moment Fyo stood still, his eyes wide, water leaping out of the end of his wand. Two seconds later, he shook his head, realizing that the abraxan was neither EYEING him, nor did the creature seem to have any plans to EAT him. Slowly, he began to clean the hoof he held, wondering why so many classes made him - - You know. Clean stuff.

Potions, for instance.

He moved to "Scourgify" a while later, taking his time - though not too much of it - to clean the horse's hoof, but gently but firmly. There was a point he wasn't sure if the whole thing was working too well, and another when he was pretty sure he would fail, but the hoof was a nice, shining YAYwarmFuzzyClean one sooner than Fyo had expected, and the third year's eyes were shining again.

Care of Magical Creatures was such an awesome subject.

He moved to the other hooves when he was done with the first. Hind legs first, fore legs later. The last hoof - the front right - proved the trickiest because, even though the abraxan was a perfect pet, there was something about being so close to the abraxan's face that awed Fyo beyond words.

What if the abraxan ATE'D him, while he was looking the other way?

Waiittt - he wasn't looking the other way.

Trying to push his rather not-so-sane thoughts to the back of his mind, Fyo continued to work. The fresh air was revitalizing, and he loved it. He loved, too, being so close to the abraxan, even though thoughts of being ATE'D definitely crossed his mind one or two more times.

Still, he would have given the abraxan a hug if he could have.

For being such an awesome thing, y'know.

Aannnddd - - finally finished. AbraxanHugTime, now? Umm... no. Fyo stood up, taking a step backwards to see if he had done his task well. The abraxan's hooves seemed to shine, clearly perfectly clean. Well enough, Fyo decided, though he was not sure what Professor Morgan would think of it.

Oh well. At least he had tried.

Thomas wasn't so sure with this challenge, he and horses don't have such a good relationship. He walked behind the abraxan and poked the knee gently but not to gentle like the professor said. He took the foot between his knees and said, "Aguamenti," and water cleaned the back hoof of the abraxan.

He continued like that with all the other hooves until the last one. Apparently the abraxan didn't lift his last foot probably he was injured or something like that. Thomas didn't know what to do so he got up and petted the abraxan and raised his hand and said," Professor the abraxan wouldn't lift its foot."

William listened to the professor once his Abraxan had had its fill of malt whiskey and put the bucket down. Now he had to clean their hoofs? Ok he could do that he thought. His Abraxan stepped back as the partition disappeared as if allowing him to step up to him. Or was it a hew? William honestly couldn't tell. He looked like a boy, but for all he knew it was a girl. Either way he had a job to do.

Smiling warmly at his Abraxan he gave its head a gentle pat, "It's okay, I'm not going to hurt you. I promise." he said as he took out his wand from its holster under his wrist with a small flick and grinned, "Good boy." he murmured as he ran his hand down the length of the Abraxans back and walked up behind him. "Good boy." he said again as he gently but firmly tapped the back of his knee. the Abraxan seemed to blow air out of its nose before lifting its hoof up, allowing William to take his hoof. "Good boy, you're a very good boy." he said softly, as he held the large looking hoof in his hand.

"Aquamenti!" he said, holding the wand directly at the Abraxans hoof. A jet of water easily poured out of the tip, splashing the hoof in a gentle stream. "You know what I like most about you Abraxans? You're all the same, yet you each have different personalities." he began to speak, not really knowing why he was talking to something that couldn't talk back. "I mean, you seem to be calm and collected, very at peace. you must really like it here. Professor Morgan is a great professor, and she knows everything about magical creatures." he went on, stopping the spell and muttering "Scourgify" to get a small clump of dirt out of the hoof.

"My cousin would love you, though i'm sure she knows everything there is to know about Abraxans. I heard she's trying to get one of her own but she's too busy with wedding stuff." he shuddered, continuing to clean the hoof before stopping and admiring his work. "There, one down, let's see how the others are doing." he said cheerfully, his blue eyes bright. walking over to the left hoof he tapped the knee again and grinned as it went up. "Good boy." he gave him praise again as he set out cleaning the other hoof. "Scourgify!" he said in a clear voice, pointing his wand at a rather uncomfortable looking green clump on the left hoof. "That looked uncomfortable boy, let's fix that. nothing like clean feet eh?" He joke, using the Aquamenti charm next.

He continued with the front hoofs next, and wasn't surprised when they were as dirty as the others. "You get around don't you boy?" He teased gently as he tapped the knee of the front right lege, waiting for the leg to move up so he could get the hoof. "Scourgify." he muttered, once the hoof was safely in his hand. he held it gently, not wanting to hurt the Abraxan and began cleaning it, using a few more scourgify charms to get the muck out. "Aquamenti!" he said in a clear voice, his blue eyes sparkling as he thought of how he could do this all day. It was rather relaxing, unlike other classes where he had to write so much eh swore his hand would fall off. Using the water charm once more he let go of the foot, patting him on the head gently. "One more to go" he said enthusiastically as he tapped the front left knee and held out his hand. The hoof dropped into it easily and luckily for him it was nearly clean already. "Scourgify" he said scrubbing the hoof with the spell before using the "aquamenti" charm again.

Grinning he let the hoof fall back onto the ground and looked up into the Abraxans face. "You did such a good job today. You still hungry?" He asked, holding out the bucket to its snout once more and giggling as he dived in. "Guess so." he joked shaking his head.

Oiiiii the bucket was soon starting to get heavy and Necromancer continued sipping and sipping. His muscles were aching! AAAACCCHIING. He sighed, continuing to hold the bucket towards the Abraxan's mouth on tip-toes, yet watching the creature amaaazziiingly, especially its wings. The wings looked... soooooooooooo AWESOME. He wondered how high or how fast Necromancer could fly, how many miles per hour, and such like that.

CUUUUURIIOOOUUUUS. He wanted to touch the heavenleh-lookin' wing or just even hold it in his arms. Eeeeeep.

Aaaand AHAAAA, the bucket felt less heavier and the Abraxan moved its head back uuup there. Necromancer looked of win, WIIIINNNN, as Cam stared at him for a while. He turned to Professor Morgan when she spoke again... talking... about... cleaning... HOOOOOVES.

HOOVES? HOOVES?? While it may have been an honor cleaning these puuurdy creature's hooves, Necromancer's was... was HUGE! He knelt down, eying one... huge. It was huge. Like. Bigger than his hand. If he'd put his head under that, his head would get oooozeeeddd.

Oh em gee.

But yet, it looked uuubeeer fun, so he... was DAAARING to risk his life right here, yup. YUP. Hopping over to the front-left hoof, he watched. So... huge. He tapped the back of the knee, watching in awe as the Abraxan had lifted its hoof. AMAAAAAZZIIINGGGGG. He needed... he needed to take pictchaarsss.

Ah. Hmm. What was the next step again? Place it between your knees? Hokaaaiii. Doing so, he gently reached out for the knee and took out his wand with the other hand. OMG what if--WHAT IF his Abraxan was somewhat unusually hydrophobic and, and like, crushed his little poor head while doiiing it?!

But... ehhhhhh.

"Aguamenti!" he whispered, picturing the hoof was a plant. S'right, in his mind he wasn't watering a hoof but of a plant... that looked like a hoof. He looked up for a nanosecond or so, giving a glance at Necromancer. OOOOH the Abraxan didn't even look like it was scared at all!

Once the jet of water from his wand had stopped, he... wondered about the Scouring Charm. Beh he wasn't so much GUUURD with that charm yet, but he was willing to give it a try. "Scourgify!"

OMGYAY.

First hoof done. Boooyahhh.

He let the Abraxan place the hoof back on the ground and Cam had started on the other front hoof. EEEEP. EWWW. So... DIIIRTY. What was Necromancer doing with his hoof, squashing worms he'd seen down the ground?! Hesitantly, juuuuust so hesitantly, Cam aimed his wand at the hoof. "Aguamenti!" As the water ruuushed out of his wand towards the hoof, he watched. And watched.

80% dirt done! YAAAAY.

"Scourgify," he said and within seeeconds, the hoof looked clean. WOOOHHOOOO. "Two more to gooooo!"

Moving to the back-left hoof, he did the Aguamenti charm again, though his Scouring Charm had failed. FAAAAILEEDD. Nothing seemed to happen actually until his 3rd try of the charm where the hoof finally like clean. Doing the same to the LAST and FINAL hoof (OMGYAYAYAYAYAYAYYY), Cam cleaned it and...

DOOOONE. VOILA. 4 clean hooves. FOUR.

He was... quite impressed with himself.

Smirk.

Clapping his hands while standing up, he smiled and eyed Necromancer. WOOO.

Great thought as she heard the next inrtruction involved getting even closer to the same abraxan that had just grabbed a bucket of whiskey from her hands and got it everywhere. But no matter she had to atleast try. She slowly approached that same abraxan and gave it a small smile as she bent down to tap the abraxan behind the knee but hefore she could even touch the creature it decided it had other ideas in mind and kicked toward her. He moved out of the way just in time but this display proved even more to her suspicions this abraxan was out to get her. She knew she could'nt give up though, she firmly tapped the abraxans knee which it quickly rose to try and kick her again but she grabbed it and placed it gently but tightly between her legs so it could'nt try any funny buisness. She then took her wand out and said, "augmenti", pointing it at the abraxans hoove and the abraxan moaned for release and Herminny thought oh brother this rogue beast can't handle a little water. She then followed with a wave of her wand saying, "scorgify", and then wiped the first hoof clean and gently put it back on the ground and backed away. She then went on to the right back hoof and tapped it's knee firmly and it raised it nice and slow. Herminny was a bit surprised but very happy the creature was finally cooperating and grabbed it's hoof and gently placed it between her legs but this time did'nt sqeeze so tightly cause there was no need. Herminny then raised her wand and said, "augmenti",pinting at the creatures hoove and the creature flinched slightly but was still being good. She then followed pointing her wand at it's hoove saying, "scorgify", and wiped the right back hoof clean and then moved on to the front hooves. Now that her abraxan was being good the front hooves would be easy or so she thought. As Herminny made her way to the front the animal it decided to charge but Herminny noticed just in time and got out of the way, her heart racing. Herminny then decided to take a side approach and tapped the abraxans knee forcefully and it raised it's leg and she placed it between he leg and raising her wand said, "augmenti",pointing it at the abraxans hoove and this time the creature just accepted it and then she followed up saying, "scorgify", once more then wiped it's hoove and lowered it to the ground. Only one more to go Herminny thought but with such an unpredictable creature who knows what could happen. Herminny then made her way to the other side of the abraxan and tapped the knee of the last leg. It willingly lifted it's leg and Herminny thought so far so good as she placed it between her knees. She then said, "augmenti", pointing her wand at the abraxans hoove one last time but this time he seemed fine with it. Herminny then followed saying, "scorgify", one last time and then wiped the hoove clean and placed it back on the ground. She then backed away from the abraxan knowing she was done and was not gonna have to go near that crazy creature again which she was very happy about.

"You've all done a wonderful job," Professor Morgan said. With the exception of Dani and Herminny, who should definitely make a beeline for the Hospital Ward. (REALLY GIRLS?! An abraxan's hoof? Good luck living through that one <_<) But I digress...

"Time is up now, I'm afraid. I hope you enjoyed our last lesson. Have a nice summer." As the students filed out of the paddock, Iliana led her Abraxans back into the stable.