Once Eliza had finally found the outer buildings of the castle, she spotted the pasture. The rolling grasses and clean breeze was really refreshing so she was glad she had found room in her schedule for the class. Seeing that other students had already arrived, she knew she must be in the right place.

The students were all staring at who must be their professor, a witch that was on the ground, picking worms out of the dirt. She must need to feed something later, she assumed. She didn't want to disturb her, but thought it best to say hello anyway. "Hello Professor!" she called as she crossed the pasture en route to the other students.

She bounded over to a vacant spot of grass and plopped down. She wondered if they could take off their shoes here too. The thought of cool grass between her toes sounded wonderful right about now. She looked at the other feet in the area and didn't see any bare ones so she decided to keep laced up, for now. What she found even more enticing than the grass was the row of covered cages. I wonder what's in those... she thought to herself. She leaned back on her hands, feeling the blades tickle and brush against her fingers. This outdoor class is just what I needed, she thought. She'd loved her other lessons so far, but being out in the open with nature all around her was where she really liked to be.

While she was waiting for the lesson to start, she was having an increasingly difficult time preventing herself from grabbing a long stick to carefully lift the covers off of those cages. She was extremely curious, but she knew she'd just have to wait.

Nigel was really considering just falling in the dirt and checking to see if it really was comfortable and when she said Nigel could. Well, he decided to take full advantage of her letting him get dirty.

The Ravenclaw waved to Sophie when she said hello. Then he dropped to the ground and laid there just like the Professor said. It really was pretty comfortable. He had no idea. He would have to do this more often now. He did not mind getting dirty and as relaxed as long as no worms got in his uniform.

"Professor, You were right it is comfortable." Nigel said on the ground, giving the Professor a thumbs up.

Elliot raised her eyebrow at Lottie..."Hey, minion." Yes. she referred to both Lottie and Alexa as her minions. But she thought Lottie was much more like her...than Alexa was. "You're my minion...now." Heehee.

Protege...minion...whatever.

...Elliot turned to Hannah..."Nice? I guess. We better not get dirty..." she said lowly....so the professor wouldn't hear. She then glanced at Lottie...and then back at Hannah...the blonde should probably introduce the two..."Hannah, this is Lottie...Lottie, this is Hannah, my best friend. Lottie is..." she smirked over at the little girl and then raised her eyebrows at Hannah, "Lottie is the coolest hufflepuff you will ever meet..." Yep. SHe knew it didn't sound very likely..but it was true. Lottie was a cool hufflepuff.

She ignored the staring of Soapy. Honestly. The girl was just asking to get ganged up on by Elliot and Hannah with all of her glares in classes. Elliot wondered if she would be so brave....when she was confronted by her two favorite people...

She glanced at the new professor...hmm..she seemed nice enough. Good.

It was the first time Vickers has ever neared this part of the grounds since Williamson left with the dragon Roro, so he did notice a few things different this time around, kinda like a before and after comparison of images in his head.

He did notice the Professor flat on the ground on her stomach and had the initial dread that this was some kind of yoga stance again if not for the open jar next to her.

It was almost like they were going to fish for bait....

Not Late... that was always the goal when getting to class, and this one was no different. Lily had a bit of a grin on her face as she entered the pasture area that the class was meeting in. No Williamson this year which would be different, but could be the best for the group. So when the third year entered the area where the class was being held, she first looked for the new professor...... Where was she??.... Ah...on the ground, playing in the dirt like expected. "Hello Professor..." was the simple greeting given before Lily looked for a spot to sit.

Hey look! Louisa was here. She got a wave and a grin. Now to look for a decent spot to sit since there were already people sitting with the head girl.

Violet smiled brightly at the Professor and then she couldn't help but clap eagerly. She then said back in her own cheery tone,"That is just wonderful Madame!" Violet then added on,"I do look forward to today's lesson!" Violet wanted to tackle hug Ella when she had greeted her back, but she figured that right now probably wasn't the best place to do so. SO! This hug MUST take place later when the two of them get together, which hopefully would be relatively soon! Violet would have to catch up with the younger Hufflepuff later on after class!

Until then....TIME TO WAIT FOR CLASS TO START! Violet couldn't wait!

Okay, well, Vanora didn't want to greet that girl anyway.

And see!?

She liked this girl already! Not only was she happy that she joined Hogwarts, unless she was just saying that, which probably was the case, she introduced herself. Introductions were important. Putting the worm she had collected in her jar, she turned to face the girl just so she had a face to go with the name. Got it. "Nice to meet you, Minerva. I'm happy to be here." So far. She would see how the lesson went.

But, if all the kids stayed as excited as they seemed to be, she didn't think there would be any problems. Hopefully. She was hoping. "Good day to you."

"Hello!" Vanora grinned from her spot on the ground. Probably should be getting up soon. He jar was almost full of worms..

Were the kids like this in their Herbology lessons? Merlin, it was just a little bit of dirt and some wriggling worms. Surely they had touched.. messier things in their plant class. But to each their own. "Hello." And he didn't have to shake her hand if her didn't want to. Hmph.

Her face was going to hurt from all the grinning and greeting she was doing. Vanora lifted her free hand and gave herself a poke in the cheek. Stop hurting! "Hello! Nice to meet you!" Although, it would have been nicer if there was a name to go with that greeting.

"Hi there!" she grinned.

At least some of them were actually sitting on the grass. Unlike those few standers. Vanora made a small mental note to remember to place some kind of bench thing down for the next lesson. "Hello."

Vanora smiled as the newest arrival made her way into the pasture. "Hi!"

The boy had actually laid down in the dirt! That was what she liked to see. "I told you." she called over to him, returning the thumbs up with one of her own. Maybe he could pick worms while he was down there, too.

Quiet one. Vanora pointed at him.

She wasn't really that hard to spot, was she? Oh well. "Hello."

O_O

Madame?

Err.. okay. Vanora sent the girl another smile before glancing over at the nearest covered cage. Which just happened to be emitting smoke.

Probably a really good time to start the lesson.


Moving into a sitting position, Vanora placed the worm that she was holding in between her fingers into the jar before putting the lid on top. And in case anyone was wondering if they were going to be working with worms, which she suspected they were all thinking, and which the answer would be no, she slowly hid the jar behind her back.

If no one could see it, it wasn't there.

"All right." she cleared her throat to get everyone's attention as she wiped her hands off on her jeans. "I think everyone who wants to be here is here, and if they're not.." Then they were just going to be late, that was all. "As some of you already know, I am Professor Newlin and as everyone should know, this is Care of Magical Creatures." There was some emphasis on the 'Care' part; they would see why when the hands on lesson starts. The best part, in her opinion.

And just because she really did want to get to the best part, she pulled the cage that was smoking the most closer to herself and tugged the covering from off of it.

She waited for the imaginary 'ohhs' and 'ahhs' of the students to die down before.. "Who can tell me what they know about Fire Crabs? One thing per person, and," if it wasn't too much trouble, "it would be nice if you told me your names as well."

OOC: The lesson has officially started! Don't worry about mentioning the same thing as another person, you will still get credit for it. But creativity is awesome, just so you know. =D

Mika smiled at the question that Professor Newlin was asking. She liked Professors actually most of them that is. And firecrabs were awesome and firery and totally one of the coolest creatures. No?

Raising her hand she decided to give her most obscure fact possible.

"The fire crab is a protected species that is native to the Republic of Fiji...and I'm Amelia Johanson but you can call me Mika" she smiled brightly.

Cassia sat waiting excitedly for the lesson to start. And it finally DID! She watched the Professor hid the worms' jar which Cassia appreciated and then one of the cages emitted smoke?

When the Professor uncovered the cage. Cassia gasped because believe it or not..the second-year did know that creature! The twelve-years old raised her hand up enthusiastically and spoke. "It's Cassia......Umm...not the creature of course my name." Hehee. The professor said that they tell their names right? Though it probably wasn't necessary to point that out...eh...not so good first impression. "And this creature breathes fire!" She said scooting backwards a bit. Oh she didn't want to get burned ok. She's been behaving well so she wouldn't have to deal with this with Professor Lafay. You know being set on fire.

Oh, lookit. They were getting started.

The Professor was introducing herself...Okay, Dylan had paid attention at the Start of Term feast. He knew who she was...and he also knew that this was Care of Magical Creatures class.

Obviously.

What he liked about this so far, though, was that there wasn't any sign of some unnecessary, dangerous animal trying to roast them alive. As far as Dylan was concerned, he could work with this...

AND...he totally spied Ravvie!Odessa out the corner of his eye. It was a little strange thinking about her as West's sister...but meh. She'd get a nod of recognition.

Moving on...

Fire crabs, eh? His uncle had tried to breed Fire Crabs once...Poor guy had lost several fingers and lots of hair in the process, though. While that sounded bad...it had been utterly hilarious.

Anyway, it was because of that that he could offer something. Yay for contributing to the discussion. "They can be kept as pets...but a license is required."...Yep, unlike his uncle...who had not had a license. Probably explained why he was broke, too....Oh, an as an afterthought, "Dylan Montmorency, Slytherin Captain."

Settling in to a more comfortable sitting position, Kurumi turned her attention away from the couple Daichi and Juliet and towards Professor Newlin when class began. Fire crabs. Why was she not too surprised that that was the topic considering she had come to know that the professor had a fondness for them.

Wait...fire....as in...

Kurumi's violet eyes darted to Daichi and, almost protectively, she reached out and placed a hand on his just to let him know that she was here. Poor Daichi. Maybe Care of Magical Creatures just wasn't the subject for him? At least fire crabs were comparatively small and with a XXX Ministry rating as opposed to a XXXXX rating like dragons? "Daichi, you've delt with dragons, this will be nothing," she whispered, hoping that he could draw on last term a little to, um, comfort himself?

After a few moments, Kurumi eventually raised her hand to answer Professor Newlin's question. "Kurumi Hollingberry," she said, starting with her name. Although the woman already knew it. "You can identify different varieties of fire crabs by the jewels in their tortoise-like shells. Rubies, sapphires, and emeralds are perhaps the most commonly found jewels."

*before class*
Daichi smiiiiled when Juliet heard him and came to sit with them. With them sitting on the ground, it made Daichi think of a family and he was the middle brother. That was weird right? Because they weren't even related...

Hearing Juliet's question, Daichi looked at the covered table and shrugged his shoulders. He was about to suggest an answer when Kurumi spoke that made his head snap to the other side.

The Slytherin winced in pain as he rubbed the back of his neck and blinked at the Prefect. I love you? His cheeks flushed a deep red color and he stuttered a few times before he found his words. "I-i..you..you can't love me! Jonathan is already with you!" His eyes then widened and he sloooowly turned his head to Juliet. SHEKNEWABOUTHEMRIGHT?! Oh gosh this would sooooo be awkward if she didn't!




Luckily, the Professor decided to begin the lesson right at that moment and Daichi thought he was saved. Letting out a small breath of relief, he watched as she pulled off the covers from the cage and...

His smile faded away instantly, his red cheeks turned pale as he stared at the creatures in the cages. He looked more like he had seen a ghost if he were living in the muggle world. Cause, you know..ghost are normal here...

Daichi let out a whimper as his hands began to shake. He tried to control them but even when he held them together they still continued.

Name one thing he knows about fire crabs...Without raising his hand , he answered...

"w-why?" WHY couldn't there be a NORMAL CoMC lesson that did not involved FIRE-creatures?



......Right....he'd dealt with Dragons last year! Only problem was... "I didn't do anything i just stood there..." he whispered back in a high pitched voice. Maybe he could make an excuse and dismiss from class? But then he would miss important lesson material for his OWLS and he would fail ....life's not fair!

Beezus had probably taken a liking to pulling grass because that's exactly what she was doing right now, pulling the poor grass from the ground absent-mindedly as she sat in silence while the two Prefects beside her converse. She wasn't going to say anything else, not if she wanted to get a cold shoulder from Spike again. So yeah, better stick to how this lesson was going to be.

From the corner of her eye, she noticed her the Slytherin Captain arrive and for a second, she terribly wanted to run off to where he was, an argument to revive her dead nerves would be helpful just about now, but the older Odessa beat her to it. So, she was stuck to the awkward circle.

.....

..Responsively, Professor Newlin had finally detached herself from the dirt and announced the start of class. Thank Merlin.

Fire crabs, is it then? Perhaps those were inside the covered cages?

Ready to respond to the Professor's question, Beezus was about to raise her hand when she heard Daichi ask the Professor why, instead of giving her an answer. OH. Shoot. Daichi was scared of fire, right? Were burns and frantic frightened squeaks to be expected?

As her hand went up, the Ravenclaw said, "Fire crabs are able to defend themselves by shooting flames from its rear end when it is attacked."

Good luck Daichi. Oh, and.. "Beatrice Castell Professor, Ravenclaw."

Eh? Why was she pointing at him? She wasnt one of them wandless witches that can conjure a cauldron onto his head with a mere wiggle of the finger is she?

And awww she took the jar away, just when he thought they were gonna look for worms--and possibly FISH!

He backed up a bit when she took hold of the smoking cage-- because anything covered and smoking that isnt found in the kitchens or the dining table isnt usually a good thing-- and paused for a moment as he beheld the bejeweled creature. Alright what does he know about it? He raises a timid hand and said "The name is Vincenzo Vanderbilt Professor. 7th year Ravenclaw. And Fire Crabs are one of the specie used in cross-breeding to produce a Blast-Ended Skrewt."

"My name's Theodore, professor." He began with a nod, then fixed his eyes upon the cage that the professor was revealing. He did know what that was, it was a Fire Crab. But that wasn't the question, sooo.... no points for that one.

"It..." Breathes fire? "It has a nasty temper, I think, and if you annoy it, it burns off your nose." Theo wasn't aware if it breathed LOADS of fire. Like, a dragon amount of fire.

Eh, that answer would do. He continued to stare at the creature. He rather enjoyed this class.

Addie was interested to find out what this Care of Magical Creature class would be like considering she loved the last class with Professor Williamson and Roro the dragon. The lady introduced herself as Professor Newlin and Addie saw her pull out fire crab. Cool!

Addie raised her hand. "Hello Professor Newlin, my name is Adelaide Coral," there we go. Nice introduction. Step one down next step to go. What did she know about fire crabs anyway. Then one thing popped into her head. Fiji. "I believe that fire crab's are native to the country, or islands, of Fiji." Addie smiled proud of her answer.

What was up with those two?! Louisa glanced from the solemn boy on her right to the pouty faced girl on her left, unable to figure out what was wrong. They were obviously not on good terms today, maybe argued about something stupid like who'd get to use that corner of practice pitch and whatnot. Quidditch people.

Anyways, the class was starting. Louisa focused on the cage as the professor pulled the cover away from it. Fire crabs. Not so bad. Her hand shot up in the air, "They are protected species. A reservation has been created to protect this species from Muggles, who would value the jewelled shell, and wizards who use the shells as cauldrons." That sounded more exciting than the flame-throwing butt, to Louisa.

"Louisa Carter. Seventh year Ravenclaw and Head Girl, professor." Although the woman DID greet her by her last name. It doesn't hurt to make sure she wasn't confusing her with someone else... were there any other Carters in Hogwarts?

Kat knew what a fire crab is. But she couldn't even believe they exist. Kat tried to collect some more information she read about Fire crabs. And some of the very intense information from her sister Dianna who is just such an insufferable know-it-all but Kat loves her anyway.

Kat raised her hand. "Fire crabs have six legs and a really heavy and jewelled shells which can be in any color," Wow. Since when did something that deathly become something that fancy?

"Katrina Hudson, Fourth Year Slytherin."

Fire crabs.. Sarah had read about them somewhere... A lot of the things she was going to were mentioned by other students, so she raised her hand and said "Some people have them as pets, yet a special liscence is needed to own one" Sarah could not understand how a person could want one as a pet - yet different strokes for different folks. "By the way, I am Sarah Edwards, a second year"

Frankly Hannah was getting tired of seeing Soapys glares/dirty looks, and well just seeing her in general. Then the thought of her lost bet came into her mind and her mood went instantly sour. Plus she was not in the mood to get dirty...not that she ever was, but still. She had a feeling that this was not going to be a good lesson.

Then Elliot. She didn't even have words. Was her best friend introducing her to a puffer? The same friend who she thought shared her views about puffers. Her day all of a sudden just got worse. She was going to have to talk to Elliot. Hannah eyed the puffer up and down and didn't say anything. She gave her a raised eyebrow and a nod. She didn't want to get in trouble for talking, but mainly she needed more time to process what was really going on.

The professor broke the conversation she was having with herself and a good thing too. Fire crabs? It was like she couldn't get her brain to function. She had so many things going on in her personal life to process anything else. Think Hannah...what do you know about them? "Adding to what my lovely captain has already said about having to have a license...The Ministry of Magic states that a competent wizard should be able to cope with this animal." So that means that the Hufflepuffs have no business with the animal. "Oh and my name is Hannah Lockwood."

Surya tried to recall what a FireCrab was by looking at it in the cage. As soon as he recalled about reading about it he began with the introduction part, "Professor, this is Surya, First year".
"The Fire Crab is a turtle-like creature with a heavy jeweled shell, with different colours. It is able to defend itself by shooting flames from its rear end when it is attacked. Fire Crabs are sold and exported as pets, but the owners require a special licence to own them. Also it is said that ex-Gamekeeper of Hogwarts, 'Rubeus Hagrid' somehow managed to get these Fire Crabs mate with Manticores which gave out Blast Ended Skrewts." Surya has said it out but wasn't sure if he had recognized the right animal. But giving it a try is never going to bring him down.

Nigel was still laying in the dirt thinking about the Professor's question. He did not really want to get up and since she did not say he had to stand up. He decided to answer the question while laying in the dirt.

Nigel raised one hand and said "My name's Nigel Barrington. A firecrab is hunted for its jeweled shell. It is used in cauldrons"

Sierra turned her attention toward the professor. Ahh, fire crabs. Hadn't they just been mentioned in a discussion in a different class? Odd that they'd come up again.

Okay, so what did she know about the fire crab? First off, though--her name. She raised her hand. "I'm Sierra Greingoth," she said. "...sixth year Slytherin." Everybody else had already shared the basics of a fire crab, sooo...what could she say now?

"Well, I do know that one of the former groundskeepers here at Hogwarts, Rubeus Hagrid, once breeded fire crabs and manticores. He ended up with a creatures called the Blast-ended Skrewt," she explained.

The breeze is definitely awesome and everything about this class, which technically hasn't started yet, is feeling her vibes right now. Juliet always had a knack for outdoors. Except when she's doing ballet and her piano practices.... but that's a different story.

Although, when Kurumi said those words to Daichi, it meant like a friendly gesture to her. She doesn't know what level of relationship the two has anyway. She knew Daichi in her cousin's perspective and quite frankly, he never mentioned anything about a girlfriend or something like that. So it sort of made Juliet giggled on how Daichi completely reacted to it. Hey, some people are not used to saying nor hearing those words.

Juliet didn't react much to it and looked away. A few moments later, the professor started the class.... Fire crabs. What are those exactly? Juliet did read a tiny bit of information about these crabs. She raised her hand to answer "Juliet Kim." she started "Fire crabs is a fancy crab considering all those fine jewels it has" that's pretty much it. It's found rarely, Juliet doesn't even know if she actually has seen one of these creatures.

Right. Her head however snapped back when she saw Kurumi holding Daichi's hand. Her eyes blinked a few more times as she stared back and fort at Kurumi and their hands. Plus they were both discussing about Daichi and fire and the Slytherin is looking a bit worried finding out about this fire crabs stuff. Could it be? Daichi is afraid of the fire? Nooo.

Messer attention snapped to the Professor as she was asking them the question about fire crabs. Some of his classmate already mentioned about the jewelled shell that the creature has.

Hand up. "Hello, Professor. I'm Edvard Messer. Hufflepuff." he introduced his name before he continue with his answer. "Its large turtle-like crab creature." And it breath fire but someone already mentioned that.