She was three?

Well, that question was quite easy, then, wasn't it? "A Sphinx's brain matures faster than a human's then. Because she's speaking in complete, coherent sentences and everything." So, they were smarter than humans, for one. Which made sense, considering they were into riddles and things. "And maybe they mature faster, appearance wise, as well. Then they stay at a constant mid-age for a while. When they're at their physical peak." That would be favorable when they did get defensive guarding treasure. "Before their mental ability and physical fitness decrease again, with age." Old people, obviously couldn't lift as much as a thirty year old could. And they seem to be more forgetful when they're older.

But that was just comparing them to a human, of course. They could easily compare themselves to humans and have everything backwards. Or they could be compared to lions and have things differently. Or parrots... Or Knarls... Or Kelpies...

As Eino jotted down some notes, copied additional ones from the board, and then a few questions came to mind, and he didn't hesitate to raise his hand and ask. "Professor, are Sphinxes as good at answering riddles as they are at asking them?" It only seemed fair to Eino that they should otherwise any old ordinary lion could guard a treasure. "Also, can we call them kitty cat?" People sometimes, even grown ones, would refer to others as "babies" and "dears" so maybe that was the equivalent for that.

As to her age, Eino wasn't particularly good at guessing people's ages, let alone a Sphinx. He had never seen one before so how was he suppose to compare? Everyone was guessing young, but Eino initially thought she was an old lady or an old sphinx lady, but he didn't want to insult her. Plus, do Sphinx even age like humans do? Cats age faster than humans so maybe Sphinxes aged like cats or somewhere in between humans and cats? He was in shock to know she was so young.

Nessie was busy listening to her new CoMC teacher very focused. "Proffessor doesn't it tell you that Sphinxes mature quickly" said Ness hoping she was right. She though about it a bit more as she waited for the proffessor to reply.

'Does that tell me that Ros- Lady Rosamund will be very fussy as she gets older and a lot more posh-sounding' Rose grinned as she said her answer. 'Only joking Lady Rosamund!'

That THING was only THREE years old?!

Daichi's mouth fell open when the Professor announcend Rosie's age. Honestly , Daichi would have thought it was at least 15 or something.
Noticing his mouth was still open in awe, the first year quickly closed it and scribbled some on his paper. It could come in handy for later because he was sure he would forget about this later...

As he was taking notes or rather drawing a cute little sphinx on his parchment he heard the Professors voice shout at a certain person. Looking up, Daichi saw it was Lola he was talking too and automatically he crossed his fingers. He knew Lola was a bit.. well, no .. VERY odd but still, taking points from their house was not a good thing. Pleaaase don't let him take points...pleeease! Luckily the professor did not do such a thing and he sighed in relief.

Daichi looked back at the Professor when he asked them the next question. Oh man why was this class so difficult? How would he know the process of ageing with a Sphinx! He listened to the other students as they tried to give an explanation but the more they talked the more he didn't understand. "This class is so confusiiing" he sighed under his breath.

Olivia was excited to see a Sphinx. She was writing her notes and wondered if they would even get to the "Care of" part of the class or if a Sphinx hardly needed care. Despite her constant preening, the sphinx in front of them did not look like she would have any trouble handling herself.

Olivia looked around at the others as they answered questions. For once, Olivia had not answered many questions, preferring to keep her answers to herself. There were too many people clamoring at the chance to answer for Olivia to bother getting swept up in the rush.

She wondered if they would get to hear a riddle, but she doubted it since a class was hardly the time and place to watch someone answer a riddle for their lives. It was simply much too risky. However, Olivia had an idea. Instead of having the professor get the sphinx itself to say a riddle, maybe...

"Professor, I think it's because a sphinx is much too advanced a creature to show age like us. After all, sphinx has to look beautiful at all times." That first part was simply to butter up Rosie, Olivia had to admit. It made her happy when the creature smiled and she hoped to make Rosie do so. "I would assume that they have magic that allows them to mature quickly in mind, but age physically much slower. In that way, their minds and bodies can both remain in peak conditions for matching wits with lucky humans and taking down the less fortunate. Also, professor, I was wondering... would you be able to give us an example of a riddle a sphinx might use to challenge an opponent?"

*catches up*
 

Imagining the Sphinx as a human as opposed to something deadly was difficult at first, but he eventually got there. Jamie agreed with everyone else, "a teenager, definitely." Yeah, yeah, yeah... heard all that before. Then again, knowing the wizarding world, the animal would likely be 1,600 years old. Because everything which sounded right was always wrong.

Did that girl have a death wish? "Because it will eat her." Jamie said from behind a load of other students. Yes, he was standing close to the back because he wasn't STUPID enough to get any closer.

Three? THREE? Jamie was scared of a three-year-old cat Sphinx?!

"Well, they are obviously smart, and get smart real quickly." That thing used smarter words than he did, and he was 10 years older. Of course, Jamie had to remind himself that this wasn't a human three-year-old. It was a Sphinx, and all the years were all confusing. Human years, Sphinx years. WHATEV.

AND, they must use a good anti-ageing cream. XD

Fee sat there listening to the professor closely,ohhh the Sphinx was only three years old ?Wooooow that was so weird,she looked so much older.The blonde wondered what they looked like to her?Maybe she head another view of things?!That would be an interesting question to ask her,later of course.

Mhhhh how could it be that Sphinxes looked much younger than they were?!"Professor?Maybe they have another aging process than we have?",the blonde said raising their hand,"ooor it depends on how many riddles they put up for someone in their lifetime?"That last one was actually a pretty good idea,what if a sphinx that put up more riddles looked older than one with fewer riddles?Would make sense,well at least to her.

Samira gasped as she looked at the Sphinx. She would never have guessed it was so young! In answer to the question, she said, "It shows that the aging process for Sphinxes are much more complicated than ours, and that while we age every year, they take their time and age differently." Samira wasn't sure exactly how right her answer was, but she was just taking a wild guess.

"Not exactly, Kurumi," Lachlan said, and then added, "But I like the way you think."

"That's not exactly the point, Evelyn," MacFusty said in response, to the Slytherin girl; but did not expand on why it wasn't the point, hoping someone else would. "Though you are right on saying that they are dangerous creatures, and should be approached with caution."

"Yes, they are--or rather, can be dangerous," the Professor said, and opened his mouth to add something else before he was interrupted by a student.

The small voice was coming from one of the youngest students, a Slytherin. Lachlan stared at the girl, blinking. "It's nice to meet you, Miss Riddle." Well, that was a bit late for an introduction, was it not?

At least she had good manners.

Rosamund, who had been quiet ever since someone had dared to come closer to her, looked at the only student who seemed to be making sense. She stopped pacing, cocked her great head to one side, and then looked at Lachlan. "Unless I am mistaken, Professor," and she never was, "this one seems to have given the best explanation of them all."

Lachlan disregarded the slight sarcasm Rosamund's words carried, and nodded. "You are, of course, correct." Both of them; Theodore for answering correctly, and Rosamund for pointing it out. "Have two points, Mister Dumble." Then he addressed the rest of the class, as a whole. "Just because Rosamund decided to retreat rather than attack does not mean any other Sphinx would react the same. In fact, most creatures would not."

Or animals, as some of the students had called them. "In reality, it works the same way between us humans. Abruptly approaching a complete stranger? I can guarantee you they won't be pleased." Most likely, they'd either react the same way as Rosie did or simply walk away with a look on their face that clearly told you they thought you insane. "Remember, as I said earlier, Respect above all." And common sense, too.

Timelord.

Now, what on Morgana's name was that?

"I..." Don't know what to say to that? "Would you mind expanding on this Time Lord theory you have, Miss?" No, really. Now he was curious.


Lady Rosamund tilted her head to one side, and smiled a small mysterious smile. She stopped pacing, too, and sat down upon her hind legs At first, she did not speak right away, knowing that MacFurry would not dare to interrupt her. When she did, she raised one of her front legs to point at the girl with a paw. "You seem to have all the traits of a Ravenclaw, and yet you are part of the house of Godric Gryffindor." Gryffindor Misfit, perhaps?

Rosamund took Lachlan's silence as an indication that the question was for her to answer. Cooly, she glanced at the boy. "Yes, we are and no, you may not." Kitty. Rosamund supposed, however, that it could be worse.

Lachlan blinked once, twice, thrice and then eyed all the things he'd jotted down on the blackboard.

Oh. Sheepishly, he smiled and fixed his mistake. "You are right. Thank you, Zara."

Rosamund's long eyes rested on the young girl as she spoke, and her eyebrows rose a few inches into her forehead at her compliment; but she made no comment. Instead, the sphinx sat down upon her hind legs and directed her question to Lachlan, in her usual musical voice. "Yes, Professor, when will be hearing a riddle?"

No, really, when? Wasn't that the main reason she was here?

Excitedly, she wagged her tail.

"As many of you have already guessed," Lachlan began, after raising both eyebrows at Rosamund, "Sphinxes DO have a different aging process and lifespan than us." He gave Kurumi a small smile, seeing how the girl had given an exceptional explanation, before continuing. "Sphinxes mature very quickly. Say, by the time they are between five or six years old, they will be adults. After that, their aging process becomes very slow, and the physical changes they suffer then are nearly---"

Rosamund rolled her eyes through Professor MacFusty's speech until she grew bored, grunted and interrupted him. "Yes, yes, yes," Enthused the Sphinx, rolling her eyes heavenwards once more. "You are boring them to death." Or at least he was boring her to death, which was quite a feat considering Rosie had at least one hundred and ninety seven years to go. "What is the point of having me here, pray tell, if you will not let me speak? Who better than I to explain this to them?" Hmm? Hmm? Human men (and women, too, sometimes) could be horrible dim sometimes. Rosamund was certain that if it were able for her to suffer second-hand embarrassment, she would have to put with it with such a terrible feeling whenever she found herself in the presence of a human. Fortunately, though, she could not.

Now, where was she? "See, Little Humans, this is how it works; I will stop aging in a around two years, and when I do, I will be considered what you can refer as an 'adult.'" Ridiculous term, if Rosamund ever heard one. "I think one of the young Lions mentioned this," And momentarily, her eyes set on Ariadne Marchbanks, "But maybe maturity represents the greatest part of a Sphinx's life. Then, when we are close to the Two Hundred Mark, once again we begin to age," And her small, button nose wrinkled at this, "Our physical fitness begins, to, ah, what do you call it? Decrease, yes. But never the mental one, never that one. And then, Little Humans, we perish." Rosamund spoke the last sentence as if it was the most normal thing in the world, as if death was nothing to be afraid of. Which, in her mind, that's exactly what Death was.

"Any questions?" Once more, she wagged her tail impatiently and eyed the students with both superiority and excitement. "Questions are either now or never."

Throughout Rosamund's explanation, Lachlan spent most of his time with his hands locked behind his back, and trying very hard not to chuckle. When she was finished and then fixed her eyes on him, he simply nodded at the students. "I could not have said it better myself. And like she said, if you've got any questions, feel free to ask them now." That Rosie was willing to answer them herself. "If you haven't, we can move on to the next part of the lesson."

At this, Rosamund moved to Lachlan's other side, and sat down again. A small, mysterious smile flirted on her lips as she waited.

Nika watched the sphinx and professor MacFusty as they bantered back and forth. She giggled finding it a little humorous. She was still a little confused on the whole time line of things though. "So wait let me get this straight. When you turn five you'll be an adult? Then you stop aging, but when you become two hundred you start again then you explode?" That is what perish means right? No? Maybe?

Zara simply nodded at this, listening intently, scribbling down a few more notes.

Text Cut: Zara's Parchment; Added notes

***No wings
***Only human thing is the face and voice
***Stop aging in two years=adult(5-6 years old); different life span and aging process than humans; mature quickly;
Maturity ~ greatest part of Sphinx’s life
***When close to the 200 Mark, they begin to age and physical fitness=decrease; then perish

Then slightly, she pouted. Lady Rosamund is now three years old. Zara wondered how long it was until they reached the Two Hundred Mark.

Curious as she was, she decided to ask away, raising her hand she said, "The Two Hundred Mark? How long does it take to reach that? From being three years old, how long before a sphinx reaches it?" Still frowning, she hoped in her head it would be long, very long. Longer than human life. Probably 200 years, right? Since it is called 200 Mark. Zara hoped it was, it would be very depressing to hear after a few years that the majestic sphinx in front of her would be gone so soon.

No, that's not possible. She couldn't bear the thought and distracted herself by looking around at what the other students were doing, while waiting for the professor to answer her question.

Eino nodded in return and recorded the answers on his notes. That was a no on the kitty cat and a yes on the riddle answering. What a shame, he thought she was cute and fluffy enough to be called a kitty cat. "Can I pet you?" Eino said with his hand raised. She did ofter to answer questions. He also wanted to ride it, but maybe it was too young to be ridden, or maybe not. "Also, other than people, what do you eat? Can you howl or roar? Do you chase your tail when you're a baby? Do you clean yourself by licking yourself? Can you do any magic?" He had many more questions but those seemed like the most important ones.

Huh. Hehe. Well, she supposed the sphinx wasn't all that boring. Her interrupting the professor like that, it was quite amusing.

That must have been weird to be a sphinx though. Become an adult at age two, age until you are two hundred, then...age again...and then die. So it would've almost been like you were immortal and then that immortality just suddenly shut off like an on and off switch. Good Merlin, Evelyn would rather stick to being human. However, someone's answer lost her train of thought. "She's not a phoenix." she muttered, glancing over to the second year Gryffindor who just asked if the sphinx would explode. Explode? Right.

"Although, I do have a question. How long does it take you sphinxes to die after your...physical fitness...starts to decrease?" Do they know WHEN they will die? Was it different for every sphinx? Or the same?

Okay. That Sphinx really had to stop saying "Little Human" because it was driving Ellie insane. First of all, SHE was Little Human. No one else was. They were just ordinary, boring souls. Second, only Little Professor was allowed to call her as such.

So, yeah Rosie, stoppit.

As for questions....Ellie didn't have one. Yet. But, she'll get back to Rosie on tha-...

OHWAIT. "Why do you think that 'wit beyond measure is man's greatest treasure'?" Or whatever the motto was.

And HAH MACFUSTY. She found a loophole.

Rosamund had truly been hoping that she'd been clear enough for the humans to not have any questions. She had truly been hoping that. Unfortunately, they seemed to be dimmer than she'd initially thought them to be. "No, I simply die."

Explode. Did she resemble some bomb?


Rosamund bristled. She had not forgotten the girl's daring moment from before.

Friends. Befriending. Rituals.

Her tone was tart when she answered at last. "Respecting their personal spaces is a good idea."

Rosamund's head tilted to one side as the young one spoke. "The Two Hundred Mark means two hundred years." Was that clear enough for her? "Which means that I have one hundred and ninety six days and eleven months left."

Hmm.

Surely, he was being facetious? Rosamund stared at the boy, for once bothering to interpret a human's expression. She was searching for any sign that the boy, a member of Rowena Ravenclaw house's was jesting.

Rosamund searched, searched and searched some more. She found none.

Her mouth pursed. "You cannot touch me," Her answered was, sounding stiff, for it was true; it would have normally been you shouldn't touch me, but this time, for any of the humans to do so was an impossibility. She disregarded about half of the boy's questions, and mainly focused on those she deemed important. "I am a magical being, Little Human; that counts as doing magic." A slow smile spread on her mouth. "As for my diet, it consists on eating members of the Ravenclaw house. The male sort." When she heard Lachlan MacFusty clear his throat, Rosamund's aquamarine, almond-shaped orbs were artfully rolled heavenwards. "I enjoy ferrets and doves."

"Phoenixes do not explode," Rosie corrected the girl automatically, "They combust."

The first interesting question came from one of the oldest students, a female member of the house of Salazar Slytherin. Rosamund cocked her head to one side, wagged her tail distractedly and then answered. "It happens during the last decade of our life cycle."

Rosamund suppose she should not have been surprised, what with how short the humans' lives tended to be, but they all seemed to be quite interested in the entire topic of mortality. Huh.

Rosamund answered the girl's question with one of her own, "Why shouldn't I think that Wit Beyond Measure is Man's Greatest Treasure?"

Cheeky children. Impatiently, she called loudly, "Are there any other questions? If not, then we can move to the next part of the lesson." The best one of them all, if anyone ever asked Rosamund--and they always should ask her.

From the back of the class the Slytherin lad stared at the creature, not knowing if he should find it attractive or give it a pet treat. And he actually had a question for her. Oh yes he did!....

.... but was it somewhere that he heard that these things eat men or something when upset? Yeah scary, given that his question might be deemed.... inappropriate.

He leaned back and with a smirk mumbled "No further questions your Honor"

Good thing Eino is a girl xD
 

Very good, very good. He wrote down the answers she gave to the other students and finally when it was his turn he paid close attention to her answers. No petting? Eino frowned. He really wanted to pet her and figure out if Sphinx fur would make nice and warm coats. His mother had always wanted a Sphinx coat but he couldn't understand why. It did look shiny and very soft. Maybe the fur had some sort of magical attribute that made it so sought after. Magical abilities... existing? Very good. He wrote that down. Diet: Male (preferably?) Ravenclaw students, ferrets, and doves. He supposed she liked a wide a variety of meats. It did make since that it liked Ravenclaw students since they are, supposedly, the smart ones, and Sphinxes were smart creatures. Maybe Ravenclaw students were the source of their intelligence. He wrote that down, too. "Thank you, Miss Rosamund." Eino finally said as he finished his last sentence and looked up. He had no more questions for now, so he sat quietly and waited patiently.

Kurumi sat on the edge of her seat writing down the answers that the SUPER!AWESOME Rosamund gave each student. She had to contain a snort from Eino's questions, especially the one about sphinxes chasing their own tail. Walnut never did that. She thought that that was only dogs.

Kurumi set her quill down on her lap for a moment as she thought of a question...and she hoped that it wasn't a rude one for she really REALLY was curious. Perhaps the whole Riddle of the Sphinx was mostly mythology, but that didn't decrease the urge.

Timidly, Kurumi raised her hand and her cheeks blushed before she could even open her mouth to speak. "Lady Rosamund," she said softly. "I was wondering if perhaps you could share a riddle with us?" After all, the professor had just implied that if they couldn't answer there was no problem.

trying to catch up as best as i can!