Vampires...Bella had always wanted to meet one...well maybe not when they were hungary, But her brother used to tell her scary stories about vampires. Of course, she didn't believe them o_O...Bella raised her hand, hoping what her brother had told her was right.
"A Vampire is a creature that lives on the blood of other living creatures. Usually humans as it was said that human blood made them stronger. I know all about Ancient Egypt Vampires! They are walking corpses initially. they're inhumanly strong and fast but run from garlic and crosses-apparently mindless. the Egyptians belived that the soals from the dead could come back as vampires, although the soul would not stay with the Vampire, to haunt those who they didn't like. Well thats the Egyptians, My brother knew all about them!" She smiled.

Mmm..Vampires. thought Nataly with a cunning smile. Those were her favourite creatures.
She raised her hand to answer. "Vampires are considered non-wizard part-humans, and are controlled by the Ministry of Magic. They look pale and gaunt. Many humans fear and hate them. Also, they are the opposite of centaurs."

Ems listened to the answers around her then raised her hand. “In folklore, vamps are often described as being demons that inhabit the undead body of a resurrected corpse.” She grimaced. The thought of it was just... gross. “Vampires have an aversion to sunlight so feed at night, drinking blood from the living, before returning to the grave at sunrise. Vampirism is said to be an infectious disease, spread from vampire to human usually through drinking each others blood.” Gross, gross gross...

“They are said to be soulless entities and can be killed by stake through the heart, sunlight, or as mentioned before fire or beheading. Crucafixes and garlic can be used to repel them."

Kylie raised her hand, vampires were something it'd been hard to steer clear of even in the muggle world. Muggles thought they were interesting, so it was easy and sometimes less-terrifying to pick up a few things here and there when she learned about the wizarding world. "Well, the Ministry classified them as 'beings' as opposed to humans.. They do have rights.. and aren't necessarily considered dangerous. They obviously drink blood, don't like garlic.. they're usually really pale.." She felt like she was forgetting something.
"Oh. And they're generally described as creatures of the night."

Jacoby raised his hand and said "Ummm Vampires are beings that fear the sun. So they "come alive" more at night. Garlic repells them, but does not nessasarily harm them. They feed off of blood where ever they can find it and usually must feed off many since the blood they take does not always...tame the..." Jacoby paused in search of a good way of putting together his thoughts "...their hunger, guess you could call it. Which is what it is anyways. They are weaken by sunlight, and are in many senses immortal except for afew...exceptions. They are said to be killed by fire, a wooden stake through the thorax... a bit above the heart, where most of the blood gathers and then disperses. There is also the rumor of Aconite, used in monkshood and wolfbane, a flower petal that was used in poison arrows. In humans and animals it works quickly sending numbnees through the body and burning in the Abdomen, generally followed by severe vomiting." how he said this without chills in his spine...he'll never know "on vampires it paralyzes them for a certain amount of time. he finished finnally taking a breath and he fell silent waiting to see what the teacher had to say

Ewww, vampires.

"Vampires feed on live creatures' blood and are said to be repelled by garlic or holy water." Ella answered. Most about them had been covered by other. She quickly jotted down notes.

Sky raised her hand excitedly.
"Vampires are believed by muggles to be of British folklore, and some have claimed that they have done battle with few, whitch could possibly be true due to the creatures' agressive manner.
They are biengs that live in fear of the sun, prowling the night for unexpecting prey, preferably muggles, using their fangs the create an open wound- usually in the neck- and drain the poor thing of all vital blood.
They are also capable of turning into bats, making for an easy getaway.
They can be reppeled or killed with things such as garlic, holy water, a wooden stake driven through the heart and a silver bullet."
They were still gross though.

LouAnn raised her hand about half a minute before she actually thought of anything to say. She lowered it quickly, fumbled through her textbook, then finally spoke it up. "Vampires aren't wizards, that's for sure. Does that mean they can't do magic like we can? I mean...we're studying them in a magical class, so I just thought that maybe...well, nevermind," she said, trying to say a million and one things at once.

"One of the characteristics of them is that they're very pale and cold. I guess since their blood is...you know, not there...nothing warms them up. Oh, and they seek to steal your blood! Gross, huh? ...and if they can't get your blood, there's blood-flavored lollipops at Honeydukes!" she explained.

Listening to everyone talk about vampires drinking blood, which she thought was cool (hehe), she started thinking of other things. "Professor, where does the blood...go...once they drink it and stuff. Does it just evaporate or something? Or do they..." trailing off, she didn't really know how to finish the sentence. 'Kinda gross now that i think of it.' she thought, smiling at Josh when he spoke of staying close to him. Pfft, of course she would. He didn't need to say that.

Abigail put her hand “Vampires have very pale skin which means they can’t stand the sun which is why there’re seen at night time. They live for a very long time so there said to be immortal but they can be killed.” Her wrist was killing from all the notes she was taking.

Lucille's hand shot into the air at once.

"The spaaaaaaaaarkle!" she cried. "And they are smexy!" She added, thinking of a certain muggle book she had once read.

Carter busied himself with taking notes, but he was sure some of these things weren't actually true. He decided to hold off on the note-taking until the Professor clarified details.

"Excellent answers. Three points to each of you. Yes according to the Ministry, Vampires are considered magical beings but are not wizards. Vampires have their own brand of magic, one is that they are extremely fast, they are unusually strong and they can compel you with their eyes." Marcus paused as he slipped off the desk and began to move around the room. "That is how they are able to suck the blood of their victims without too much of a fuss."

Stopping at Evelyn's desk he looked down at her. "Blood is their life source, they need it just like you and I need food and water. They drink it and it then flows through their bodies and makes them stronger."

He lent up against the side wall and crossed his arms across his chest. "So if Vampires have rights and are not considered a threat to wizards and like Adrienne stated they drink blood as sustenance. Then why do you think they are studied in Defense against the Dark Arts?"

Blinking once, Jake stared straight up at Lawson, a funny look on his face as his voice returned to its original state. He raised his hand - a juvenile action. Pfft. "The same reason we learn to protect ourselves from wizards who lose control of reality and use dark magic. We need to understand, and also to protect... just in case."

And even if it wasn't the right answer, Jake knew, in his own mind, that it was still pretty close to being correct, if it wasn't at all. Lowering his hand, Jake stared up at Lawson still... thinking...

As the Professor spoke, Livvy jotted down some notes for future reference. She looked up at him ever so often. It was truly a boring task to do, but it was still beneficial. But honestly, Livvy just wanted to set her head down on the desk and sleep. Her head was killing her and she didn't know why. Well, she probably did, but was in complete denial.

... Um. Um. How would SHE know?

Livvy raised her hand up into the air, rather hesitantly. "Um... Professor? Maybe it's because that all though Vampires aren't considered to be a threat, they can still be a threat. There are Vampires that wish to live in peace, while some may wish to bring harm upon others for no reasonable reason or for self-defense, which is why they are considered to be a dark creature. And by studying them in Defense against the Dark Arts class, we can learn how to defend ourselves if by any chance a Vampire decides to disrupt the peace."

Jack raised his hand and replied, 'Well, Professor, I don't know about the rest, but I certainly don't want to become a vampire. Granted, my devastatingly good looks would then last forever but the price is too high. That's why I need to learn how to defend against one.'

Jack smirked to himself. What would it be like to go on forever? He knew somebody that he could ask....

Kay thought about what the Professor just said. 'Why?' Kay put her hand up. "Professor, could it be that vampire's didn't alway have rights and they killed even when they weren't feeding. Also, didn't they stand with the Dark Lord and the Death Eater in the war?" Kay wasn't sure if this was right but it felt right.

Nodding and jotting down the Professor had said, Miranda thought about the question for a moment and then raised her hand.
"Mr. Lawson, sir, might it be that since they are sort of placed in the middle, that is not being wizards or creatures, that they can still somehow cause danger to humans? Specially if there is a new''born'' vampire who does not know much of how he should be...like he could suddenly feel the need to feed but instead of going about it the correct way, he or she attacks a human. Maybe?" Eh, it sounded right in her brainz. "Also, there is evil everywhere and I'm guessing that though most of the Vampires are indeed friendly, there are some that are not. And that's why we should know them better." Yes? No? Gah...

Lorcan corrected his notes and then put up his hand. He was feeling quite confident in this class, which was a great if unfamiliar feeling. "Sir, it's always best to know how to defend yourself against anything that has the ability to attack you. Some vampires will be alright but there's always someone willing to hurt you be they a vampire or a wizard."

Raising her hand Abigail answered “Because just like there can be bad witches and wizards there can be bad vampires and we need to know how to defend ourselves. Also the spells we use to defend ourselves from other witches and wizards might not work on vampires”

Keeley, having been in the hospital wing during they're first lesson, had been a little confused, but was catching up. Now why were vamps studied here?... maybe because they're naturally vicious? She had never met one, so she really didn't have any proof on this and kept her hand down.

"I don't think everyone shares the view that Vampires aren't a threat to wizards, Professor," LouAnn said, lowering her raised hand as she talked. "Lots of people don't agree that they are harmless to us or that they should have rights." LouAnn shrugged, wondering how something that could suck all the blood out of her could be considered not a threat. Maybe she should ask that very question.

"Professor, if they seek our blood in order to survive, how are they not a threat to us? It seems to me that if they have to kill another in order to survive, they are a threat," she suggested. "Maybe they're considered a part of the Dark Arts because there are precautions or defense techniques we have to learn and employ in order for them to not become an official threat." She tapped her fingers against her desk, a thoughtful look on her face. "Also, the very thing they need to take from us is one of the things we need in order to survive---blood, that is."

Zoe raised her hand, eager to earn her house some points and said, "As some others have pointed out vampires just like wizards can be good or bad and just because they are no longer labeled as a species as dangerous doesn't mean that you will never be in a situation where you are threatened by one."

Taking a deep breath and tucking an errant strand of dark hair behind her ear Zoe continued, "Vampires also have much different strengths and weaknesses than we do and it seems to be prudent to understand those even if you never have to use the knowledge. After all knowledge is power, professor."

Even though she felt as though she had nearly rambled herself out she felt a compulsion to add, "I guess it would also be important to learn about them in order to separate fact from fiction. That may help to dispel some people's unneeded prejudices concerning their species."

Chris listened to all the other students stating how they would need to learn how to defend themselves if a vampire decided to go bad. He agreed with that but he also thought of a different reason, "Professor Lawson, couldn't we also use the knowledge we learn from Defense Against the Dark Arts, to determine if a vampire's actions were intended as a threat or as just merely a vampire action misinturpted?" he asked. He knew how most people we against vampires from the start never giving them a chance.

Errr

"Because people have a wrong interpratation of them?" Lucille asked.

"And, i suppose, like anything, they can be dangerous. Also, the indication that they drink blood if not particularly friendlt, is it? Which could cause people to think that they are a dark creature."