If this is your first visit, be sure to check out the FAQ by clicking the link above.
You may have to register before you can post: click the register link above to proceed.
To start viewing messages, select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below.
It was an absolutely lovely September morning - so lovely in fact that Gabi had opened the windows, which she didn't generally do. She had sensitive eyes and the sunlight bothered her baby blues, you know? But today was an exception. It was just far too pleasant outside to ignore it. Plus, the sun was still shining on the other side of the classroom, so there was the PERFECT amount of light shining in. It was truly magnificent. Sad to think in just a month or two they'd all be shivering in the cold, probably wet from a never ending rainstorm.
The classroom was decorated plainly today. No trinkets or lesson props to be found. Just Gabriela, sitting on her desk in the front, legs dangling over the side as she waited for the children to enter and take their seats. "Come on in and take a seat! I hope you all had a good summer," she greeted them all warmly as the first students began to trickle in.
Well, that wasn't ENTIRELY true. There WAS something unusual about the classroom - most students just wouldn't see it until they took their seats. The creature that was currently scurrying around the floor was an enchanted toy, so no need to panic if fluffy critters aren't your thing. You MIGHT panic just a bit though, if you were wearing something particularly dazzling, like earrings, a bracelet, or shiny buckles on your shoes. In which case you might find something crawling up your leg, trying to snatch it and quench it's thirst for all things shiny and sparkly...
OOC: Hello hello hello! Welcome to our first History of Magic lesson for the term! This lesson takes place the second week of school so you've had at least one HoM class prior to this, so please RP your characters appropriately.
As you can see, Gabi isn't alone in the classroom today! I feel it's fairly obvious which creature Gabi has enchanted a toy of to run around and cause some mayhem, so feel free to have your characters glance something running around out of the corner of their eye. Please do NOT RP for it however - I'll be taking care of that
Class will commence in roughly 24 hours CLASS HAS NOW STARTED!. Be sure to familiarize yourself with the HoM Classroom Rules before posting! Thank you!
~ Mrs. Steve Harrington ~ It be like that sometimes.
Something was scuttling all over the place indeed. Claudine doubted it was a rat or any other rodent for Recard would not be sitting there so calmly while multiple students claimed that there was something around. As for Bernadette, Claudine didn’t care one bit that the Gryffindor was ignoring her. The Slytherin wanted it that way. Good riddance to Bernadette, and yes; Claudine was slowly starting to resent that girl.
The third year now watched as the little culprit scuttled onto Recard’s desk. The moment she realised what it was, she had a hunch of today’s topic. And… she was right- New Scamander. Claudine’s hand went up when Fiona mentioned the erumpent, believing she might be able to give some additional information for her Housemate. “Newt tried Erumpent musk and a mating dance could be able to coax the erumpent into his case again, so it is possible that he learn this from his study of the creature.”
She was pleased when Noah sat next to her, and she merely shot him a grin. She didn't understand his reference...his joke? So she just laughed and hoped that was the right reaction! Shades...why would he need shades? Honestly, she didn't know! All she knew is that class was starting, and Professor Recard was very kind, wasn't she? Already knew her name AND that she was a transfer. It was nice to feel seen.
What didn't feel nice was knowing absolutely RUBBISH about the topic. She knew like, the bare minimum, and could probably say something that would add nothing to the conversation. So she just sat back and scribbled down everyone's answers furiously. Very furiously. She had very good note taking skills thanks to her tutor. Not that she would share her notes with anyone....only people who asked NICELY and that she LIKED.
Bowtruckles....I knew that one. That's the obvious one... erumpent...okay, cool. Aboli had questions. A lot of 'em. But she kept them to herself for now because it was slightly off-topic, and she was not about to veer Professor Recard off topic.
__________________
"You can justify anything if you do it poetically enough."
Roman Gellar ● 1st Year ● Slytherin
Otter This World ♡ Catpurrccino ♡ Slotherin ♡ Pandamonium
Lukas watched the niffler, as he know realized that's what it was, scurry across the classroom floor and up onto the professors desk before it toys into... a plushie! Now that was pretty awesome. It had him wondering if Hady ever did something like that to keep his nieces and nephews busy. If he remembered he would have to ask her sometime.
The lesson was beginning and he turned around in his seat to face the professor. Newt Scamander. That was the today's topic. Lukas found himself sitting up more in his seat as he listened. This was a topic he could talk about, not just because it was about Newt but because it involved creatures.
His hand went up into the air. "Newt also researched the Nundu. It looks like a huge leopard but has the mane of a lion that puffs out around it's head when it roars. Their breath is poisonous and can wipe out a whole village. It takes at least a hundred very skilled wizards all working together to take one down." Yeah, no thank you. The Nundu was not a creature he ever wanted to mess with.
__________________
Days of Potter 2023:___________________________ Which Bertie Botts Flavour Are You? You are Bread!
Mom says I have no sense of direction, so I packed my bags and right.
"I'm fine Professor Recard, I'm fine." He put up his hand to politely dismiss her concerns and took his wand out casting the cushioning charm on his desk chair. That made it a bite more bearable for now. So long as he doesn't get anymore jump scares from his neighbor.
"Newt Scamander studies on the Runespoor helped us understand that it's three heads each have different personalities, or...more that they each performed different tasks. The Left and Middle Head would sometimes attack it's right head because the right head's function was to critique the other two heads abilities."
He shifted in his now much more comfortable seat. Still working out the kinks in his tuchus.
lives in a hobbit hole || Ern and Touz's Nuzzle || roflysst || looking at a seed packet
Wait wait what? What class was he in? Flynn had to check himself, he had kinda not been paying attention, hadn't even realised there was a niffler (!) until the professor said so, but this was History of Magic (unfortunately) but they were talking about creatures? And he'd read Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them cover to cover about a dozen times at least, and Flynn wasn't the biggest of readers. Creatures was just the best of the subjects that Hogwarts HAD (it wasn't like dance was a class he could take here), so he put his hand up, picking one at random based on a thought he'd had the most recent time that he'd read the book in question.
"Professor, Newt Scamander studied knarls and figured out about how they are really suspicious creatures. He must have spent HOURS and DAYS and maybe even WEEKS watching what they did in a garden, maybe even his own garden? To figure out that they were basically offended by offerings of food. That's what he said was the reason they make a mess of things anyway. Actually I always kind of wondered how he KNOWS that was why. Its not like you can talk to a knarl. It sort of seems a bit like a human thing, the offended bit, and he maybe projected it on them because he needed to come up with a reason why they do what they do. Maybe they're just jerks, you know?" Maybe no justification for it was needed. Just spiky creatures, being spiky jerks.
__________________
love is like a letter wrote :: and life is like an envelope
be careful who you give it to :: they might not give it back to you
Professor Pink | Mrs. Bruce Wayne | I'm on a Goat | Glitterpuff | Dumbledore's Defense Squad | BHB
Bernie wasn't 110% sure but she knew Newt Scamander had written one of her creature books of creatures, or was it a monster book of monsters? Either way, she'd definitely bought SOME of his books on one of her several trips to Flourish & Blotts. She hadn't READ them all yet, but they were here. In her trunk. Upstairs. Bernie might've gone a bit glassy-eyed thinking about her books, so when she finally raised her hand, she didn't exactly realize that the professor had already pointed out the niffler thing...
"I think of nifflers when I think of Newt Scamander," she answered. "Like the one on your desk. Did he have it for a pet? Was he able to train it? Can I get one and train it?" How hard could that be, really? They liked shiny things and SHE liked shiny things, so they already had stuff in common. "Did Newt's studying of nifflers, and possibly owning one for a pet, inspire like, ALL the cursebreakers and goblins at Gringotts to get a Niffler? Because they should, they should have one." Again, her understanding of cursebreakers was mostly limited to the misinformed idea that they were pirates and treasure hunters. Such a worthwhile career!
__________________
yeah, there's one thing about me that you should know________________________________ __________________________________________that I can't help from speaking my mind
Last edited by BanaBatGirl; 05-06-2020 at 04:45 PM.
Reason: i was not paying attention SORRY
doesn't proofread tweets | #wrongaboutcereal | #siriusly? | emo to the extremo
Nina was quick to scare, but so was Mark Gunter. She had witnessed it firsthand before and now a second time during this lesson. Whilst she would have found his fall somewhat amusing on any other day, she was still in quite a panic over whatever creature their Professor had let into the classroom! This was HISTORY, not Care of Magical Creatures.
Nina Castillo was NOT a fan of surprises!!!! But she wasn’t being dramatic and she did not need any calming draughts! If it weren’t for the fact that Nina believed in upholding respect for her Professors, she would have outright deadpanned at Professor Recard. How was she supposed to know it wasn’t real? They were given absolutely no warning whatsoever! That should be illegal in a classroom. Especially one meant for HISTORY and NOT creatures. Just saying.
Despite being flustered, however, she still noticed the way some were staring. You can mind your own business, Grantham. Thanks. Perhaps it was a little surprising, but she did not like attention from the masses. Which is why she was even more embarrassed when Missa came to sit near and inquired about the shrieking. ”Yes, I just had a scare,” she explained, but there was warmth in her voice because despite being embarrassed, Missa’s genuine concern made her feel some sort of way.
As class began, Nina turned her attention back to the front of the classroom. Professor Recard knew by now that Nina didn’t make it a habit to speak in class so she felt little guilt for staying quiet. That coupled with some bitterness over the niffler scenario from only moments ago meant she would simply settle for listening to the answers given by her classmates. Nina knew plenty about Newt Scamander. She was well ahead in her NEWT level studies.
The answers her classmates were providing were, unfortunately, entirely lackluster in Nina’s humble opinion. This was a history class. Did everyone completely forget that the moment a “niffler” began crawling up their legs or? Because Nina was shocked more than anyone else and yet she stilled remembered so??? It wasn’t until Eiji answered that hope had been restored. She was quite pleased that she wouldn’t have to be the one to say anything either, for that matter. She did raise her eyebrows over at him though. That was perhaps the most she had ever heard him say in a class that was not Potions (or on any matter that did not relate to potions, even). The lengths he’d go to in order to prove a point. (No one remind her that she would do the same, thanks).
Flynn's answer received a pointed look though. Jerks? How scientific.
__________________
Days of Potter 2023:___________________________ Which Bertie Botts Flavour Are You? You are Lemon!
Nem stared back down at the niffler, waiting to see if it would indeed try to dig the ring from their fist, then kept watching as it scurried away. Maybe if it had been a real creature, they might have had some level of interest in it. Toys and models were boring, however well enchanted.
They kept the ring clutched in their fist, and had nothing else bright and shining to capture the thing's attention. Winning smiles and eager eyes not inclusive.
There were a few moments of brief entertainment where other students overreacted to the enchanted toy running around - Castillo never failed on that score - but it only ever lasted, like, a couple of seconds max before Nem's interest waned again. After those few, it just got sort of irritating.
Things got rolling soon enough though, onto... right. Newt Scamander. The 'niffler'. She was trying to be clever, that was all that was about. With the spell on the toy removed, Nem replaced their ring on their thumb again, before sitting back in their seat. Creatures were an interest of theirs, but Newt Scamander himself was not. And the opening question was a bit of an insult to boot. Anyone who'd glimpsed at a textbook could regurgitate enough facts for an answer.
Though it was sometimes hard to believe that the vast majority of people at this school had come within ten feet of a school textbook.
Point was, Nem was not particularly inclined to answer at all. But their hand still went up, thanks to one Emo Rasting. "There might be a better argument that it all started with hippogriffs, actually, because of Scamander's mother breeding them. Her encouragement sparking his interest in creatures and all that." Sweet smiles for you, Rasting, and you, Recard. "Something probably influenced her too, and maybe it keeps on going back and back like that, so who can really say for sure what the real start of it was?"
Had they gone off track? Maybe if Rasting hadn't started the derailment. Shame on him.
"Oh, and Scamander studied demiguises," Nem added, clearly as an afterthought.
__________________
Days of Potter 2023:___________________________ Which Bertie Botts Flavour Are You? You are Chocolate!
A path is not simply for walking, its purpose lies in moving forward and improving oneself.
A niffler was in the room?
He quickly pulled down the sleeve of his robe to conceal his very expensive watch as he saw the creature climb up on the professors desk. Normally he would flash the watch just casually enough but now? Nope, it was staying hidden. Last thing he wanted was a niffler to run away with it. While he held his sleeve tightly with his hand, he raised his other hand in the air to give his answer to the question which felt especially empty after Eiji's long answer. Minjae wasn't sure if he was showing off or not.
"He studied diricawls as well" ....that was it ...he had no idea how he had taught them all with these creatures aside that muggles thought that they were extinct and that they could appear and disappear at will. And the answers he had wanted to give were already given. At least he was paying attention. That counted for something right?
Studying was not something that Alexia really did. She almost never read the material before class, her notes were average at best, and during study group, she mostly just listened to other people talk. However, it was becoming apparent that she was going to have to pick up better habits. She didn't know who this Newt Sca-something was. Or is? Was he still alive? She supposed not, since it was the HISTORY of magic. Many people that she learned about in muggle history were no longer with us, so it fit that the people of magical history weren't going to be either.
Needless to say, she was not going to be able to give an answer to this question. She didn't have a good grasp on what the magical creatures were yet. So, in an effort to look like she was paying attention, she got a notebook out and flipped to a crisp, new page.
Newt Scamander. Alexia couldn't help but wonder about the mans first name. She knew her first name wasn't exactly a popular one, she was the only Alexia in her school, after all. But Newt was on a different level. It reminded her of those witches in the old plays they had to read in school, who were crowded around a cauldron putting in eyes of newts and stuff like that for potions. Like the stuff in those potions, she wrote next to his name. Stupid stuff like that was good for memorization, or something like that. She had to see a tutor last year that taught her that.
In between writing down the list of magical creatures she had never heard of before, Alexia began doodling in the margins of her notebook. She was getting a pretty cool sketch going on, and was actually trying to take notes at the same time. Look at her, multi-tasking. She was proud of herself.
However, she soon focused more on her awesome doodles than on the list she SHOULD have been making. The doodles looked cool, but she didn't go to this school to doodle. She went to this school in order to learn magic stuff. The cool doodles were going to have to wait. Alexia forced her attention from the doodle and back onto the list she was trying to make of magical creatures and Newt Scamander and all of the cool things he did.
Oh. When her own bag was ruffled with, she realised what may have scared Nina. She wondered if the new Creatures professor about to show up too? But then again, Missa really didn’t want to think about it - so she just returned that small smile of Nina’s before retrieving her book to write down whatever was being said.
Missa wasn’t really a fan of History of Magic. And sadly, even the mentions of creatures wasn’t making her focus on the class. She was definitely trying though, and when she just couldn’t she was definitely pretending to.
Demiguises, Ukrainian Ironbellies, and Diricawls. How fun.
__________________
......................let's be reckless, unaffected, running out until we're breathless ...............let's be hopeful, don't get broken, and stay caught up in the moment ♥
Slytherindor ♛ The Crazytastic Besties ♛ Shan Watson ♛
And look at that Aboli was smiiiiiling at him. See? They were friends!! Were they good friends or just friends or before the friends? Hm.. That had yet to be determined. But she was smiling so Noah considered that a win in his book. They had come along way from the train.
Class had started and Noah had noticed the Niffler running around. Those creatures were cute... kinda crazy... Reminded him of some people he knew.. Maybe a younger sibling of his.. Definitely a younger sibling. Noah paused, listening to her question and becoming semi-distracted by the beautiful Kimmie Amstern in front of him. He paused, reflecting on the Professor's question. Pick a creature that Newt studied excessively, and if you can, elaborate a bit more about HOW he really helped us discover more about them. He paused, opting to remain quiet as his fellow classmates put forward their ideas.
elephant-astic•wanderlust•stay in the ninedaaays the original Taco Belle•look at the flowers✿
Cece giggled as the toy niffler tried to take the buckle from her shoe, and she nudged it gently away, watching as it went off to investigate someone else. She'd be keeping that buckle, okay? Her mum wouldn't be happy if she ruined her new school shoes ALREADY, even if she liked her trainers MUCH better than these ones she was currently wearing.
Wait, really?! Cecelia was actually excited about a discussion? THIS was a turn of events that the third year simply had NOT expected. She'd MUCH rather chat about Newt Scamander than most anyone else and she listened eagerly as her classmates starting naming creatures, mentally ticking them off the list she had in her head. Thing WAS, she'd been so distracted doing the ticking that by the time it was her turn to share, most of the answers she'd give had been taken. Wasn't that ALWAYS the way?
"Seems to me that Newt would've wanted to learn about as MANY creatures as he could to help 'em and educate people about 'em, too. The list is probably way bigger than we could even name in one class." That...was her answer without really GIVING an answer and she was kind of proud of herself for it, to be honest.
Stealthy Ninja Queen | Snake For Life | waddling baker | binge royalty ♚
Charlie sighed this class took an absolute turn for the worst. All about Newt Scamander today? History of Magic was already a tough subject for her. But add in animals and her concentration was going to be nonexistent. Writing Newt at the top of her paper she began writing a list of all the animals her classmates had said every time she’d go to raise her hand another student would answer and then t he few answers she knew such as bowtruckle and niffler were used more thank once and in the first few answers. Well instead of sounding like a broken record she simply wrote down everyone’s answers and continued to look attentive. That was good enough right? She feared not.... but wait one of her housemate just rolled in late, maybe he would distract their professor from noticing she hadn’t answered a question yet.
Kale was not paying attention. How could he when such a cute lil nugget niffler was flying around like he owned the place. It wasn't fair to his education to have such a fun distraction. Not that History of Magic was boring.
Nope.
He wasn't saying that at alllll.
OMIGOD LOOK AT HIM GO. Yahs Niffler. Yaaaaahs.
Kale barely managed to nod along to the lesson. Something something Newt Scamander. Mhmm. That guy.
Hiss!Roar!Growl!Caw! | Hermione's Double | The Little Three | Alecate
No treasure hunt? Hmm... The class's 'cool meter' went down by a few points on that note. However, when the professor mentioned that it was a shame they were stuck in class and not outside having fun, the meter rose in 'cool points' once again.
Isla watched as the toy niffler scurried up to the teacher's desk and returned itself to its plush form once again. Oh, well. It was good while it lasted. On to the lesson! She knew who Newt Scamander was, but how exactly did he connect to nifflers? Just by him being a Magizoologist? Guess she was about to find out.
Isla pushed her hand into the air and gave it a little wave. "The Ukrainian Ironbelly," she said. "Turns out he could...not talk to it, but communicate with it in some way." Now THAT sounded pretty cool!
Made of Awesome | Ern-la the Best-wa | TZ's Apogee
Oh. Okay, everything was rat free. Phoebe dropped off the chair and slid into the seat, flashing a grateful grin at the professor for putting her mind at ease. So nice of her not to be bringing rats to class, really.
"I know they aren't creatures, but I think Mr. Scamander was pretty instrumental in changing how people... and government think about werewolves. I mean, people are still pretty judgemental, but imagine how they were before."
Zach took his seat, nearly taking it to the ground, after stumbling into the classroom. The moving staircases had done a number on him. Nearly falling up, and then down them, the young wizard thought he'd be falling forever in some sort of Escher-esque nightmare.
An elevator would be nice, but knowing this place, it would probably eat people or something.
Newt Scamander was a name he had heard of before. Zachary spent a good deal of his young life on the magical streets of New York City. Newt was a famous troublemaker from way back when. People still blame him for some of the magical creatures that pop up in the Big Apple.
Collapsing his oversized top hat flat, he placed his text book over it. With a small huff, the young wizard regained his composure. "Hogwarts. I got this."
Rhibear ~ Madam Solo ~ Dark Brooding Girl ~ Accio Jedi ~ Gryffinclaw ~ Just a doll
So that's what that furry thing was… a niffler! Whew, what a relief! At least nifflers weren't dangerous - well, not as long as you don't have anything shiny on you. As Heath watched the creature scurry up the professor's desk, he remembered a story his brother told about finding and naming a niffler at Hogwarts. For a split second, he wondered if it could be the same one, until it turned back into a toy. What a shame… he was just starting to like the idea of having a real niffler in class! At least the plush was kind of cute.
Taking his eyes off the plush, Heath refocused his attention on Recard as she talked about the lesson's subject, Newt Scamander. Okay, now the niffler toy made sense! He considered the question carefully. Newt Scamander had helped so many creatures! Off the top of his head, he could think of bowtruckles, erumpents, demiguises, and occamys… All of which had been said, and Heath was not the type to repeat answers! But what else could he say?
He mentally combed through all his knowledge about Newt Scamander and creatures in general, hoping a nugget of forgotten information would come to him, and it eventually did. His hand went up, and he said, "The graphorn, Professor. In the 1920s, Newt Scamander had the last breeding pair, so it stands to reason that the species would've died out without his help. I suppose one could argue that he helped us discover more about them by preserving them for future generations to study…" The longer he talked, the less confident he felt about his answer. That was way too much of a stretch, he just knew it!
__________________
Old voices I had thought long since dead whisper of another life I might have led If I could take that second chance, If I could make my life anew, If only dreams came true...
♡ A heart full of Love l ☾ A night bright as Day l
Faye's attention was on the Professor as she began today's lesson and her eyes lit up with delight to discover that it was a toy Niffler scurrying about the room! Relieved to not be wearing anything gold or shiny today, that would have been a problem. She'd never come across one in her young life, well so far away, but couldn't help finding them adorable! Even the plush toy was good enough for her!
She listened as the Professor addressed the class speaking about Newt Scamander and the creatures that he studied. Faye's ears perked up left and right as everyone began answering almost immediately. When she thought of one, she thought she hadn't heard mentioned yet, the third year raised her hand before speaking, "There was also the Fwooper that Mr. Scamander had studied. It's a brightly coloured bird found in Africa." Nodding before she continued, "I read that listening to a Fwooper's song can drive you insane, so when kept in captivity they're usually muted with a silencing charm.."
The school didn't have a giant rat problem. It was reassuring to hear. The thing that had scratched up against Cole's leg was an enchanted toy that had looked like a niffler. Professor Recard began the lesson and revealed that it was going to be about Newt Scamander, the very famous magizoologist and book writer. Cole listened to everyone else's answers for a bit before he raised his hand to answer on his own. "Mr Scamander studied Zouwous I’ve read in 'Fantastic Beasts and Where to find them'. I think I've heard or read somewhere that he wanted to show that zouwous aren’t scary and dangerous, just giant elephant-sized fivecoloured cats that likes to play with catnip toys."
Toto * RotiSila * ToRo * Braveheart * Grandma & Mama Tori
Holly side-eyed the professor as she sat down in her chair. She wasn’t a dear, she was sixteen.. Almost seventeen! Sort of. Eh. Whatever. She took out her parchment, books and other equipment before she simply sat and waited. Quietly, she was patient.
…. Newt Scamander.
Hmmmm. Not having taken Care of Magical Creatures, there wasn’t too much she knew eabout the man. ”I think,” you know, if she remembered correctly. ”That he liked hippogriffs first? Or grew up around them…” She paused as if trying to remember something she had read in a book a long time ago. ”Or was it that his parents bred them….” She shook her head and shrugged. ”Sorry, Professor.” The Scottish raised girl couldn’t remember any more and there was no point making everyone stare at her while she simply tried to pull an answer from nowhere.
Tom was a little bit confused about this question, seriously didn't Newt just write up about animals, he was sure that just because you wrote about something it didn't make you an expert on the subject, he could write a book about science but it wouldn't necessary make him an expert on the subject or did Newt have more than one job.
Tom raised his hand. "Did he help us understand more about phoenix's?" He would just have to guess, maybe after this lesson he would have to look up more about this Newt guy.
curly haired prefect - "sometimes I get angry!" - 30/90 - *chicken emoji* - probably @ Disney - I speak dog
SPOILER!!: All your replies!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Chelliephone
Oh good, class was already starting. Pulling out her notebook and her quills and setting them in front of her, K turned her attention to the Professor at the front of the class as she started her lecture for the morning. And hearing the proposed topic, she actually almost perked up a little bit. Magical Creatures were something that was at least of interest to her, so maybe the day was starting to pick up.
Hearing the first question, Kimmie raised her hand and waited to be called on. "One of the creatures Scamander studied was the Bowtruckle. He was able to give us insight that, like most other creatures and beasts, the Bowtruckle attacks when they feel that their home is being threatened. Otherwise they are a rather quiet creature." At least, she hoped she was remembering that correctly. From previous Care of Magical Creatures studies she thought she remembered that Scamander had also been particularly fond of Bowtruckles.
Gabi nodded at her and grinned. "Very good! Newt was known to carry Bowtruckles around with him once he gained their trust," she added as a fun little fact. Gabi was...not a fan of the bowtruckle, personally, but she still thought that was cute.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Fireheart
Ah, so that's what the little furry blob was! Avalon had heard all about nifflers, but she had never actually encountered a real one. It seemed like this one wasn't real either, as the enchantment wore off fairly quickly. She wasn't too disappointed, though, because she had a funny feeling that the niffler would be very interested in her shiny silver earrings. And she didn't really like the idea of a niffler crawling up her head.
Newt Scamander was one of Avalon's grandfather's idols. As a magizoologist himself, he was always talking about Newt and his "ingenious" (as Grandad Sinclair would say it) findings. She raised her hand, excited about today's lesson. "Newt did some work with the Swooping Evil." She wasn't sure exactly how much about the species he contributed to the field, but she remembered reading that he worked with them. "He found that their venom had memory-altering capabilities, so he diluted it in order to obliviate an entire city of Muggles. Or...No Majs, as I think they're called in America." And thank goodness he figured that out. It would have taken a looong time to manually obliviate all those people.
Oooh, interesting choice of creature! "Yes, Swooping Evil was a very unknown creature in Newt's time, and he was one of the few who was actually able to CATCH one so he could study it," Gabi added as a fun little fact. She knew that if she had encountered something called "swooping evil" out in the wild, the last thing she would have done was tried to CAPTURE it.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Sunflower
She smirked when she heard what Eiji said. Lessons at Hogwarts could be chaotic sometimes, but she hoped they would have more proper classes this term. Thankfully the toy niffler became motionless when the lesson began - the scurrying around was quite distracting. Oh, the lesson was about Newt Scamander! She had learned about him at Ilvermorny, because he had an impact on American history too even though he was a British wizard. He studied so many species of magical creatures that she had difficulty thinking of specific details. After organising her thoughts, she raised her hand to answer the question.
"He studied Thunderbirds too. Most notably, he saved an illegally imprisoned Thunderbird from Egypt ... I think that's the one he released in New York to spread the Swooping Evil venom," she said, adding on to Avalon's answer.
Gabi smiled. "Yes, very good. Newt didn't just have an impact on the study of European magical creatures." she said in response to her answer. She knew that sometimes it was easy to forget that there were more unique creatures out there in other parts of the world that hadn't made it into the curriculum at Hogwarts - simply because there were so many!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ginevra
Fiona was at a loss and her face reflected her predicament. She drummed her fingers on the desk as she thought about an answer. Soon she did raise her hand. "I very vaguely remember something about an erumpet in New York Zoo but that's all I know, sorry." She looked rather disappointed with herself and folded her arms tightly against her chest.
Gabi shook her head, "No, don't apologize! That's a good start. Erumpent's were definitely one of the creatures that Newt studied excessively, especially while doing research for his book," she explained. Fiona shouldn't be disappointed. She did a great job! All Gabi ever wanted was for them to give it a good effort.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Optimist.Prime
Islay watched the littler niffler toy flitting about and grinned, it was neat to see really. While she listened to the topics creatures her fellow classmates brought up she couldn’t help but grin and nod at this and that. Raising her hand the rather inquisitive brunette couldn’t help but smile as she was called upon. ”Auguries, he is said to have studied the bird that has sometimes been called the irish phoenix” she spoke calmly. Her eyes still flicking over toward the toy Niffler every once in a while I wonder where she got that? the thought of getting one for her young cousin was almost too perfect.
"Auguries! Very good Miss Moreau," she smiled at the Gryffindor in response to her answer. Extra kudos to her for knowing that it was also called the Irish Phoenix.
Quote:
Originally Posted by sweetpinkpixie
At least Jina found his comment humorous...even if the intention had not been framed in that light. He supposed that her response was confirmation enough that he did not need to apologize to her as well for what had happened on the train. That was fine...because he did not particularly want to. Doing so to Nina had pushed him to be at capacity for that sort of empathy for a while and he would rather not waste the energy unnecessarily.
But when the lesson officially commenced and the professor stated that there was no need for the niffler...Eiji could practically feel the color drain from his face. So...then...why...you know. Never mind. NEVER MIND. He was just going to focus on dating his parchment and taking notes.
....notes that felt much better suited for Care of Magical Creatures class. Or at least...the answers everyone were providing were better suited for Care of Magical Creatures and literally none of them were providing HOW answers as much as WHAT - meaning sprouting off facts about the creatures. That was...not the point of the lesson and Eiji felt the NEED to answer just to prove this point. Professor Recard did mean how he learned...what he had, right? Maybe he was just being easily irritable, as always.
Truly, he did not feel like rambling off creature facts. But he did raise his hand regardless to, GASP, answer.
"Newt Scamander is known for a compassionate hands on approach when it came to creatures," he began with a slight roll of the shoulders as he settled into his recollection of his OWL studies on historically important witches and wizards. "One period of historical significance being during the Ministry of Magic's covert operation to wrangle Ukrainian Ironbellies during World War I and his particular technique with creatures resulted in them only responding to him and none of the others on operation...which then propelled him to work in the Ministry for a time where he rose quickly in the ranks and then which then propelled him in the role of a magizoologist which then assisted in gaining the attention of one Augustus Worme who commissioned him to write Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. So, one could perhaps argue that it all began with Ukrainian Ironbellies."
And there was his HOW answer, professor.
And, for the record, that was likely his speaking quota for the lesson as well.
Gabi had to admit - she was a bit shocked that Eiji decided to contribute, as he usually sat there in silence and took his notes. Which was fine, but when he DID answer, she was very impressed by what he said. Today was no exception.
"Excellent work Mister Rasting," Gabi said with a small smile. "Up until Newt came around, people weren't exactly compassionate when it came to animals. They didn't care to study them or attempt to understand them," she said in agreement. To be honest, in Gabi's opinion, THIS was his biggest impact on magizoology. "And good point about the First World War as well. Many people forget about his contributions during that time," she pointed out. Newt was far more than just creatures, which was kind of the whole point of this lesson.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Daydreamer11
Once Naya realized that the rambunctious creature was a toy, she took notice of the other students’ reaction to it. That was one way to entertain herself until class began. It didn’t take too long though for the professor to call the class to order. Naya’s question was answered right off the bat. They would be studying Newt Scamander, hence the niffler. Cool.
As for the creatures he studied, Naya had to think for a minute. Her first choice of an answer was taken by a classmate right away. Sooooo on to her second choice it seemed. Naya raised her hand to add her thoughts. “Newt Scamander studied the Demiguise. The Demiguise can become invisible and they have precognitive sight. That makes them very hard to catch because they pretty much know what’s coming. Newt Scamander knew that in order to catch a Demiguise, you have to hit them with something unexpected. You can’t go about catching them in the obvious way.”
Gabi grinned at the Gryffindor and nodded. "Yes, Demiguise! Fascinating creatures, and definitely tricky to study. The fact that he was so patient with all the creatures was really what helped him succeed in his mission to study them better," she pointed out.
Quote:
Originally Posted by StarShine
Sure they had a history class last week, but did you know what they DIDN'T have? A timetable for the staircases. And do you know how many floors between Gryffindor tower and here? Enough to get lost and be late. And it didn't help that Michael slept late, really late, because he'd been reading Hogwarts: A History. He knew quite a lot about the castle now, and all without asking anyone, anything. So he was also aware of the points and how much it meant to people. He didn't care it, actually, and didn't see himself as caring ever, because it sounded silly, but... maybe he could just slip inside. He paused on the outside for a moment to catch his breath. Panting would draw too much attention. And when he felt the moment was right, he opened he door as slowly as he could, and slipped in and sat at the nearest desk. Hopefully no one saw him.
If Michael thought that there was ANY chance that Gabi wouldn't notice him trying to slip in late - well, he obviously hadn't gotten a chance to really know Mrs. Gabriela Recard just yet. Her eyes were sharp, and not just because she knew how to draw a perfect winged eyeliner.
"Mister English - nice of you to join us," she said, pausing to address him as he took his seat near the door. "Two points from Gryffindor for tardiness," she added. Hopefully that point loss would prevent this tardiness in the future - and believe it or not, the two points was actually her going soft on the first year.
Quote:
Originally Posted by hjhm
Jillian took out her notebook and placed it on the table. Usually with History of Magic there will be notes- even though there are times where she forgets to take them. When the topic is interesting she doesn't mind not jotting down too much notes but since she is dreading for this thing called N.E.W.Ts she needed all the notes she can get.
She sort of heard something but she can't quite make it... Her eyes began to wander around just to see. Her instincts told her to look on the floor and there it was... Is that a Niffler? she thought to herself. Those are adorable but before she could lower herself to touch it the niffler went away. Pout. Sad. Maybe later the little creature would come back to her.
Newt Scamander.
Why wasn't she surprised? He is a great wizard in history and as always Professor Recard knows which topics to choose for an interesting class. At the top of her head all she could think of was "Occamy, Professor" she said after raising her hand "Newt Scamander was wizard that had a soft spot for creatures." Going back to the occamy "occamies are aggressive and protective especially towards the eggs." which is only fair. "They're also Choranaptyxis, they can shrink or grow." She said that correctly right? She also read that these creatures are dangerous but Newt Scamander seemed to have a lot of them, so they must not be that dangerous at all.
Gabi nodded at her with a smile. "Yes, Newt actually did a lot of studying when it came to occamy breeding," she told the class. What better way to get more information on a creature than to study many of them in one environment?
Quote:
Originally Posted by love-for-HP
Newt Scamander was today's topic .. seemed like a lot of lessons lately revolved around magical creatures, not just the actual class it's self. It was a fun topic though. "I know he spent a lot of time studying Bowtruckles as well." At least Blake was 95% sure that he did. "I think he kept several of them as 'pets' as well, he had many friendships with them. They are good a lock picking ... not that I would need to know that." Blake added, okay he didn't need a bowtruckle to pick a lock, he knew how to do it the muggle way, but bowtruckles were cool anyway.
Another one who answered bowtruckles! Gabi smiled at Blake and nodded with a smile. "Yes, bowtruckles! Very good," she gave him a nod of encouragement before moving on.
Quote:
Originally Posted by GD2204
”Yes Professor. A perfect day for a first lesson back” he replied with a smile on his face. That was, until something had latched itself onto his leg. With a little jump and a scream that was so manly and macho, he shot up a little in his chair. ”Wu-the…” looking down now, he noticed that the little toy had taken a liking to his leg!
”Uhh, Professor? Your little niffler today is uhh…it doesn’t have much understanding of personal space” laughing a little now as it scuttled a little further up his leg towards his knee before eventually hopping off. Curiously, he watched as it scurried off obviously looking for something it couldn’t find on his leg. Focusing a little now, he turned towards the professor, curious where this lesson was going.
It was clear within seconds that they were studying, mainly because the professor had told them that they were, but also because of the Niffler. In truth, he should have made the link earlier when the little plushie critter had latched itself to his leg but he had been a little pre-occupied with it. Having done extremely well on his OWL for this particular subject, partly to do with the fact that he also looked after muggle animals too, this was something that he particularly enjoyed so the professor wouldn’t have to work hard to keep his attention today.
Latching on to Eiji’s answer, he wanted to add to it a little, simply because he loved dragons and also because it had found its way into muggles myths with one of them even being on the flag of where he was born, although that dragon was in fact red and not green. ”Newt did a lot of research on Dragons Professor and the variety of types, Antipodean Opaleye and Peruvian Vipertooth to name just two” he answered, take a breath before continued, trying to answer the second part. [B]”During the muggle First World War, Newt worked served out on the Eastern front and worked with Ukrainian Ironbellys Professor, similar to what Eiji had said”[.B], not wanting to take the whole credit for the answer. ”Newt was the only one out there that could actually reason with the dragons” which must have been insane. He himself couldn’t imagine how cool it must have been to be able to interact with dragons closely.
”He also worked for the Drago Research and Restraint Bureau for a while and went on a load of research trips where he most likely gathered most of his research that we still use to this day. ”. Part of Ewan really wished he’d had a chance to go up to the dragon reservation, high up in the mountains of his homeland but somehow, it always seemed so far away from where he lived. Maybe one day.
"Do any nifflers know about personal space?" Gabi asked with a small chuckle. Real or fake, all they knew was they wanted to get to SHINY things, and that meant crawling all over anything - or anyone - that was in the way.
Gabi smiled, as she was always pleased when they piggy-backed off each others answers. It showed that they were truly taking the discussion seriously and listening intently to their peers.
"Working with dragons is not something everyone can do, and Newt showed that he was definitely up to the task in the first World War," she nodded in agreement when Ewan brought that up. Even people who studied creatures still avoided dragons most of the time.
Quote:
Originally Posted by FearlessLeader19
Something was scuttling all over the place indeed. Claudine doubted it was a rat or any other rodent for Recard would not be sitting there so calmly while multiple students claimed that there was something around. As for Bernadette, Claudine didn’t care one bit that the Gryffindor was ignoring her. The Slytherin wanted it that way. Good riddance to Bernadette, and yes; Claudine was slowly starting to resent that girl.
The third year now watched as the little culprit scuttled onto Recard’s desk. The moment she realised what it was, she had a hunch of today’s topic. And… she was right- New Scamander. Claudine’s hand went up when Fiona mentioned the erumpent, believing she might be able to give some additional information for her Housemate. “Newt tried Erumpent musk and a mating dance could be able to coax the erumpent into his case again, so it is possible that he learn this from his study of the creature.”
Ah yes, the mating dance! Gabi grinned at Claudine and nodded. "Good job Miss Blaze," she replied. "Erumpents have a very unique mating dance, and Newt took it upon himself to actually ENGAGE in the dance in order to learn more about them," she elaborated. A bit of a stupid move if you asked her, as erumpents weren't actually creatures you should be messing with, but it was educational to him to say the least.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Kolyander
Lukas watched the niffler, as he know realized that's what it was, scurry across the classroom floor and up onto the professors desk before it toys into... a plushie! Now that was pretty awesome. It had him wondering if Hady ever did something like that to keep his nieces and nephews busy. If he remembered he would have to ask her sometime.
The lesson was beginning and he turned around in his seat to face the professor. Newt Scamander. That was the today's topic. Lukas found himself sitting up more in his seat as he listened. This was a topic he could talk about, not just because it was about Newt but because it involved creatures.
His hand went up into the air. "Newt also researched the Nundu. It looks like a huge leopard but has the mane of a lion that puffs out around it's head when it roars. Their breath is poisonous and can wipe out a whole village. It takes at least a hundred very skilled wizards all working together to take one down." Yeah, no thank you. The Nundu was not a creature he ever wanted to mess with.
"Another example of Newt risking his life to give us more education and knowledge regarding these fascinating - yet dangerous - creatures," Gabi said with a smile at Lukas' answer.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Uncle Moose
"I'm fine Professor Recard, I'm fine." He put up his hand to politely dismiss her concerns and took his wand out casting the cushioning charm on his desk chair. That made it a bite more bearable for now. So long as he doesn't get anymore jump scares from his neighbor.
"Newt Scamander studies on the Runespoor helped us understand that it's three heads each have different personalities, or...more that they each performed different tasks. The Left and Middle Head would sometimes attack it's right head because the right head's function was to critique the other two heads abilities."
He shifted in his now much more comfortable seat. Still working out the kinks in his tuchus.
Well, good to hear she didn't have to repair any broken bones in this lesson. She smiled at Mark and listened to his answer, giving him a nod of encouragement. "Good, Mister Gunter. Ashwinders are more than just snakes who happen to live in old fireplaces - and we know that now thanks to Newt," she added. See? His influence was really all around them!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Tegz
Wait wait what? What class was he in? Flynn had to check himself, he had kinda not been paying attention, hadn't even realised there was a niffler (!) until the professor said so, but this was History of Magic (unfortunately) but they were talking about creatures? And he'd read Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them cover to cover about a dozen times at least, and Flynn wasn't the biggest of readers. Creatures was just the best of the subjects that Hogwarts HAD (it wasn't like dance was a class he could take here), so he put his hand up, picking one at random based on a thought he'd had the most recent time that he'd read the book in question.
"Professor, Newt Scamander studied knarls and figured out about how they are really suspicious creatures. He must have spent HOURS and DAYS and maybe even WEEKS watching what they did in a garden, maybe even his own garden? To figure out that they were basically offended by offerings of food. That's what he said was the reason they make a mess of things anyway. Actually I always kind of wondered how he KNOWS that was why. Its not like you can talk to a knarl. It sort of seems a bit like a human thing, the offended bit, and he maybe projected it on them because he needed to come up with a reason why they do what they do. Maybe they're just jerks, you know?" Maybe no justification for it was needed. Just spiky creatures, being spiky jerks.
"Excellent, Mister Whitlock. I particularly like how you touched on the methods Newt used to study knarls, and what his thought process was behind it," she added. Which was highly critical thinking for someone in his year. She always loved to see people thinking in broader terms in her lessons, rather than just prattling off facts!
Quote:
Originally Posted by BanaBatGirl
Bernie wasn't 110% sure but she knew Newt Scamander had written one of her creature books of creatures, or was it a monster book of monsters? Either way, she'd definitely bought SOME of his books on one of her several trips to Flourish & Blotts. She hadn't READ them all yet, but they were here. In her trunk. Upstairs. Bernie might've gone a bit glassy-eyed thinking about her books, so when she finally raised her hand, she didn't exactly realize that the professor had already pointed out the niffler thing...
"I think of nifflers when I think of Newt Scamander," she answered. "Like the one on your desk. Did he have it for a pet? Was he able to train it? Can I get one and train it?" How hard could that be, really? They liked shiny things and SHE liked shiny things, so they already had stuff in common. "Did Newt's studying of nifflers, and possibly owning one for a pet, inspire like, ALL the cursebreakers and goblins at Gringotts to get a Niffler? Because they should, they should have one." Again, her understanding of cursebreakers was mostly limited to the misinformed idea that they were pirates and treasure hunters. Such a worthwhile career!
As a former cursebreaker herself, Gabi would have assured the young girl that nifflers were definitely not an on the job requirement. However, that was getting off track and while she liked to nurture the curiosity of her students, she needed to stay focused on the lesson. "He did keep one as a pet, but as many historical accounts will tell you - it certainly wasn't a very easy pet to keep track of. Their need to seek out treasure and sparkly items makes them very difficult to keep contained, and it's not very fair to them to prevent them from doing what their natural instincts tell them to," she pointed out. Nifflers needed to hunt! Which was why she had enchanted a toy - not gotten an ACTUAL niffler. That would have had disaster written all over it - Nina Castillo's reaction times ten.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Felixir
Nem stared back down at the niffler, waiting to see if it would indeed try to dig the ring from their fist, then kept watching as it scurried away. Maybe if it had been a real creature, they might have had some level of interest in it. Toys and models were boring, however well enchanted.
They kept the ring clutched in their fist, and had nothing else bright and shining to capture the thing's attention. Winning smiles and eager eyes not inclusive.
There were a few moments of brief entertainment where other students overreacted to the enchanted toy running around - Castillo never failed on that score - but it only ever lasted, like, a couple of seconds max before Nem's interest waned again. After those few, it just got sort of irritating.
Things got rolling soon enough though, onto... right. Newt Scamander. The 'niffler'. She was trying to be clever, that was all that was about. With the spell on the toy removed, Nem replaced their ring on their thumb again, before sitting back in their seat. Creatures were an interest of theirs, but Newt Scamander himself was not. And the opening question was a bit of an insult to boot. Anyone who'd glimpsed at a textbook could regurgitate enough facts for an answer.
Though it was sometimes hard to believe that the vast majority of people at this school had come within ten feet of a school textbook.
Point was, Nem was not particularly inclined to answer at all. But their hand still went up, thanks to one Emo Rasting. "There might be a better argument that it all started with hippogriffs, actually, because of Scamander's mother breeding them. Her encouragement sparking his interest in creatures and all that." Sweet smiles for you, Rasting, and you, Recard. "Something probably influenced her too, and maybe it keeps on going back and back like that, so who can really say for sure what the real start of it was?"
Had they gone off track? Maybe if Rasting hadn't started the derailment. Shame on him.
"Oh, and Scamander studied demiguises," Nem added, clearly as an afterthought.
Oooh, Nem had taken an interesting perspective on the question. Gabi smiled and them and nodded encouragingly at their answer. "Good point! Newt's mother raising hippogriffs likely peaked his interest in the subject, although as we all know, just because our parents did something doesn't necessarily mean we will follow in their footsteps, but it is certainly a solid argument for it," she added. The answers she was getting from the whole class were actually very thought out, going above and beyond her rather basic question. She was impressed.
Quote:
Originally Posted by DuckyLinJi
A niffler was in the room?
He quickly pulled down the sleeve of his robe to conceal his very expensive watch as he saw the creature climb up on the professors desk. Normally he would flash the watch just casually enough but now? Nope, it was staying hidden. Last thing he wanted was a niffler to run away with it. While he held his sleeve tightly with his hand, he raised his other hand in the air to give his answer to the question which felt especially empty after Eiji's long answer. Minjae wasn't sure if he was showing off or not.
"He studied diricawls as well" ....that was it ...he had no idea how he had taught them all with these creatures aside that muggles thought that they were extinct and that they could appear and disappear at will. And the answers he had wanted to give were already given. At least he was paying attention. That counted for something right?
"Diricawls! Very good Mister Yoon," Gabi nodded in appreciation at the answer the Hufflepuff gave before moving on.
Quote:
Originally Posted by TakemetotheBurrow
Cece giggled as the toy niffler tried to take the buckle from her shoe, and she nudged it gently away, watching as it went off to investigate someone else. She'd be keeping that buckle, okay? Her mum wouldn't be happy if she ruined her new school shoes ALREADY, even if she liked her trainers MUCH better than these ones she was currently wearing.
Wait, really?! Cecelia was actually excited about a discussion? THIS was a turn of events that the third year simply had NOT expected. She'd MUCH rather chat about Newt Scamander than most anyone else and she listened eagerly as her classmates starting naming creatures, mentally ticking them off the list she had in her head. Thing WAS, she'd been so distracted doing the ticking that by the time it was her turn to share, most of the answers she'd give had been taken. Wasn't that ALWAYS the way?
"Seems to me that Newt would've wanted to learn about as MANY creatures as he could to help 'em and educate people about 'em, too. The list is probably way bigger than we could even name in one class." That...was her answer without really GIVING an answer and she was kind of proud of herself for it, to be honest.
Cecelia brought up a very good point. "You're correct, Miss Summers. Newt studied numerous creatures and we could probably do a whole series of lectures on his impact on the study of each one. With Professor Williamson's help of course," she added with a small smile. But, as they would all soon find out, the creatures were not TRULY the main topic of the lesson. Because obviously, this wasn't Care of Magical Creatures...
Quote:
Originally Posted by Anna Banana
No treasure hunt? Hmm... The class's 'cool meter' went down by a few points on that note. However, when the professor mentioned that it was a shame they were stuck in class and not outside having fun, the meter rose in 'cool points' once again.
Isla watched as the toy niffler scurried up to the teacher's desk and returned itself to its plush form once again. Oh, well. It was good while it lasted. On to the lesson! She knew who Newt Scamander was, but how exactly did he connect to nifflers? Just by him being a Magizoologist? Guess she was about to find out.
Isla pushed her hand into the air and gave it a little wave. "The Ukrainian Ironbelly," she said. "Turns out he could...not talk to it, but communicate with it in some way." Now THAT sounded pretty cool!
Gabriela nodded at Isla's answer. "Correct, Miss Bellchant. Good answer," she said with a smile to the Slytherin as she moved on to the next raised hand.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Cassirin
Oh. Okay, everything was rat free. Phoebe dropped off the chair and slid into the seat, flashing a grateful grin at the professor for putting her mind at ease. So nice of her not to be bringing rats to class, really.
"I know they aren't creatures, but I think Mr. Scamander was pretty instrumental in changing how people... and government think about werewolves. I mean, people are still pretty judgemental, but imagine how they were before."
"Excellent point!" Gabi smiled at Phoebe's answer, which had been touched on by a few other people in class as well. "Newt's biggest accomplishment, in my opinion, when it comes to creatures was helping us see that they all have individuals needs and personalities. Many people just didn't GET that before Newt," she explained.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Helios Sunrider
"N-Newt Scamander?.."
Zach took his seat, nearly taking it to the ground, after stumbling into the classroom. The moving staircases had done a number on him. Nearly falling up, and then down them, the young wizard thought he'd be falling forever in some sort of Escher-esque nightmare.
An elevator would be nice, but knowing this place, it would probably eat people or something.
Newt Scamander was a name he had heard of before. Zachary spent a good deal of his young life on the magical streets of New York City. Newt was a famous troublemaker from way back when. People still blame him for some of the magical creatures that pop up in the Big Apple.
Collapsing his oversized top hat flat, he placed his text book over it. With a small huff, the young wizard regained his composure. "Hogwarts. I got this."
What was this? Another student who had stumbled in late? Goodness. She eyed the Hufflepuff as he walked in and interrupted the discussion, and for a moment she was concerned he may pass out. He seemed a bit dazed, that was certain. Still, rules were rules. "Hello Mister Zatara. That'll be two points for your tardiness," she told him. He should be lucky she wasn't taking off points for coming in with such a loud hat on as well.
Quote:
Originally Posted by MadMadamMalfoy
So that's what that furry thing was… a niffler! Whew, what a relief! At least nifflers weren't dangerous - well, not as long as you don't have anything shiny on you. As Heath watched the creature scurry up the professor's desk, he remembered a story his brother told about finding and naming a niffler at Hogwarts. For a split second, he wondered if it could be the same one, until it turned back into a toy. What a shame… he was just starting to like the idea of having a real niffler in class! At least the plush was kind of cute.
Taking his eyes off the plush, Heath refocused his attention on Recard as she talked about the lesson's subject, Newt Scamander. Okay, now the niffler toy made sense! He considered the question carefully. Newt Scamander had helped so many creatures! Off the top of his head, he could think of bowtruckles, erumpents, demiguises, and occamys… All of which had been said, and Heath was not the type to repeat answers! But what else could he say?
He mentally combed through all his knowledge about Newt Scamander and creatures in general, hoping a nugget of forgotten information would come to him, and it eventually did. His hand went up, and he said, "The graphorn, Professor. In the 1920s, Newt Scamander had the last breeding pair, so it stands to reason that the species would've died out without his help. I suppose one could argue that he helped us discover more about them by preserving them for future generations to study…" The longer he talked, the less confident he felt about his answer. That was way too much of a stretch, he just knew it!
Right, back to the answers. "Excellent answer! Many people tend to forget his work with the graphorns and how he helped save the species," she added. That was quite a feat, to keep an entire SPECIES alive.
Quote:
Originally Posted by SweetPeea
Faye's attention was on the Professor as she began today's lesson and her eyes lit up with delight to discover that it was a toy Niffler scurrying about the room! Relieved to not be wearing anything gold or shiny today, that would have been a problem. She'd never come across one in her young life, well so far away, but couldn't help finding them adorable! Even the plush toy was good enough for her!
She listened as the Professor addressed the class speaking about Newt Scamander and the creatures that he studied. Faye's ears perked up left and right as everyone began answering almost immediately. When she thought of one, she thought she hadn't heard mentioned yet, the third year raised her hand before speaking, "There was also the Fwooper that Mr. Scamander had studied. It's a brightly coloured bird found in Africa." Nodding before she continued, "I read that listening to a Fwooper's song can drive you insane, so when kept in captivity they're usually muted with a silencing charm.."
"Fwoopers are another one that he studied extensively, good job Miss Asztalos," Gabi nodded at her answer before continuing on.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Nordic Witch
The school didn't have a giant rat problem. It was reassuring to hear. The thing that had scratched up against Cole's leg was an enchanted toy that had looked like a niffler. Professor Recard began the lesson and revealed that it was going to be about Newt Scamander, the very famous magizoologist and book writer. Cole listened to everyone else's answers for a bit before he raised his hand to answer on his own. "Mr Scamander studied Zouwous I’ve read in 'Fantastic Beasts and Where to find them'. I think I've heard or read somewhere that he wanted to show that zouwous aren’t scary and dangerous, just giant elephant-sized fivecoloured cats that likes to play with catnip toys."
Gabi chuckled a little at his answer. "While they're certainly a bit more intimidating than standard house cats, he did indeed help us uncover more of the personalities of Zouwous," she said with a nod in Cole's direction.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Stormdancer
Holly side-eyed the professor as she sat down in her chair. She wasn’t a dear, she was sixteen.. Almost seventeen! Sort of. Eh. Whatever. She took out her parchment, books and other equipment before she simply sat and waited. Quietly, she was patient.
…. Newt Scamander.
Hmmmm. Not having taken Care of Magical Creatures, there wasn’t too much she knew eabout the man. ”I think,” you know, if she remembered correctly. ”That he liked hippogriffs first? Or grew up around them…” She paused as if trying to remember something she had read in a book a long time ago. ”Or was it that his parents bred them….” She shook her head and shrugged. ”Sorry, Professor.” The Scottish raised girl couldn’t remember any more and there was no point making everyone stare at her while she simply tried to pull an answer from nowhere.
Another one with the hippogriffs, which was always a good answer to go with. Gabriela nodded. "Excellent Miss Tamesis. Yes, hippogriffs could have very well been one of his first creature interests since he grew up around them," she explained.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Weasley174
Tom was a little bit confused about this question, seriously didn't Newt just write up about animals, he was sure that just because you wrote about something it didn't make you an expert on the subject, he could write a book about science but it wouldn't necessary make him an expert on the subject or did Newt have more than one job.
Tom raised his hand. "Did he help us understand more about phoenix's?" He would just have to guess, maybe after this lesson he would have to look up more about this Newt guy.
She smiled at the Gryffindor as he answered, giving him an encouraging head nod. "The phoenix is one of the creatures he studied, yes," she told him with a smile.
Quote:
Originally Posted by DaniDiNardo
Ah, hair products would've been his next guess. Not that Kitt was much focused on the professor's golden locks anymore. Oh no, he was onto whatever was scurrying about the room and making girls scream. The Phoebe girl said it was a rat. If it was, the boy was now convinced magic rats grew way bigger than they had any business growing.
But then the Professor said it wasn't.
Kitt sunk into his seat, crooning his neck this way and that to get a look at it as it moved about the room. If Recard's introduction was anything to go off of, it was something called a ..."niffler"? Was that even a word?
He did his best to listen attentively, aware there was a lot he would need to catch up on--who was New Scamander? Why did someone name their kid after an amphibian? Was that normal among Wizards? His classmates had normal names, more or less. Definitely nothing out there like that. But the bigger problem became evident very quickly. He....had no idea what the professor was talking about and it was evident in the way his eyes glazed over and he just sorta....stared.
Great, more things he'd need to read up on after class. Just brilliant.
Quote:
Originally Posted by PhoenixRising
Was it weird that History of Magic was bizarrely fascinating? Sure it wasn't top on Carsyn's list of favorite subjects, but over the last year she'd grown a little more interested in the subject and was grateful to see Professor Recard's return because the blond certainly played a role in a more enjoyable lesson.
What made it even more interesting was the thing scurrying around ....... which Carsyn was about to comment about when nevermind, lesson was beginning. Her knees pulled to her chest, the sixth year curiously listened as Professor Recard introduced today's topic. Maybe this helped keep her focus too - there was a no nonsense policy it seemed when it came introducing the topic. No guessing games. They could just launch right into discussion, which was about .... creatures? And the niffler had no role??? But didn't Newt have a pet niffler? Although she supposed there was no studying excessively of them by Newt Scamander ...
Before she could raise her hand with any viable answer, Eiji Rasting was talking and Carsyn was 90% sure she had never heard sooooo many words coming out of his mouth. So as quickly as her hand went up, it just as quickly lowered, as she opened and closed her mouth. Nothing. She had nothing more to say, even if she did know a few other creatures that Newt studied, there was nothing she could say at the moment.
Quote:
Originally Posted by kayquilz
She was pleased when Noah sat next to her, and she merely shot him a grin. She didn't understand his reference...his joke? So she just laughed and hoped that was the right reaction! Shades...why would he need shades? Honestly, she didn't know! All she knew is that class was starting, and Professor Recard was very kind, wasn't she? Already knew her name AND that she was a transfer. It was nice to feel seen.
What didn't feel nice was knowing absolutely RUBBISH about the topic. She knew like, the bare minimum, and could probably say something that would add nothing to the conversation. So she just sat back and scribbled down everyone's answers furiously. Very furiously. She had very good note taking skills thanks to her tutor. Not that she would share her notes with anyone....only people who asked NICELY and that she LIKED.
Bowtruckles....I knew that one. That's the obvious one... erumpent...okay, cool. Aboli had questions. A lot of 'em. But she kept them to herself for now because it was slightly off-topic, and she was not about to veer Professor Recard off topic.
Quote:
Originally Posted by ArianaBlack
Nina was quick to scare, but so was Mark Gunter. She had witnessed it firsthand before and now a second time during this lesson. Whilst she would have found his fall somewhat amusing on any other day, she was still in quite a panic over whatever creature their Professor had let into the classroom! This was HISTORY, not Care of Magical Creatures.
Nina Castillo was NOT a fan of surprises!!!! But she wasn’t being dramatic and she did not need any calming draughts! If it weren’t for the fact that Nina believed in upholding respect for her Professors, she would have outright deadpanned at Professor Recard. How was she supposed to know it wasn’t real? They were given absolutely no warning whatsoever! That should be illegal in a classroom. Especially one meant for HISTORY and NOT creatures. Just saying.
Despite being flustered, however, she still noticed the way some were staring. You can mind your own business, Grantham. Thanks. Perhaps it was a little surprising, but she did not like attention from the masses. Which is why she was even more embarrassed when Missa came to sit near and inquired about the shrieking. ”Yes, I just had a scare,” she explained, but there was warmth in her voice because despite being embarrassed, Missa’s genuine concern made her feel some sort of way.
As class began, Nina turned her attention back to the front of the classroom. Professor Recard knew by now that Nina didn’t make it a habit to speak in class so she felt little guilt for staying quiet. That coupled with some bitterness over the niffler scenario from only moments ago meant she would simply settle for listening to the answers given by her classmates. Nina knew plenty about Newt Scamander. She was well ahead in her NEWT level studies.
The answers her classmates were providing were, unfortunately, entirely lackluster in Nina’s humble opinion. This was a history class. Did everyone completely forget that the moment a “niffler” began crawling up their legs or? Because Nina was shocked more than anyone else and yet she stilled remembered so??? It wasn’t until Eiji answered that hope had been restored. She was quite pleased that she wouldn’t have to be the one to say anything either, for that matter. She did raise her eyebrows over at him though. That was perhaps the most she had ever heard him say in a class that was not Potions (or on any matter that did not relate to potions, even). The lengths he’d go to in order to prove a point. (No one remind her that she would do the same, thanks).
Flynn's answer received a pointed look though. Jerks? How scientific.
Quote:
Originally Posted by macaroni
Studying was not something that Alexia really did. She almost never read the material before class, her notes were average at best, and during study group, she mostly just listened to other people talk. However, it was becoming apparent that she was going to have to pick up better habits. She didn't know who this Newt Sca-something was. Or is? Was he still alive? She supposed not, since it was the HISTORY of magic. Many people that she learned about in muggle history were no longer with us, so it fit that the people of magical history weren't going to be either.
Needless to say, she was not going to be able to give an answer to this question. She didn't have a good grasp on what the magical creatures were yet. So, in an effort to look like she was paying attention, she got a notebook out and flipped to a crisp, new page.
Newt Scamander. Alexia couldn't help but wonder about the mans first name. She knew her first name wasn't exactly a popular one, she was the only Alexia in her school, after all. But Newt was on a different level. It reminded her of those witches in the old plays they had to read in school, who were crowded around a cauldron putting in eyes of newts and stuff like that for potions. Like the stuff in those potions, she wrote next to his name. Stupid stuff like that was good for memorization, or something like that. She had to see a tutor last year that taught her that.
In between writing down the list of magical creatures she had never heard of before, Alexia began doodling in the margins of her notebook. She was getting a pretty cool sketch going on, and was actually trying to take notes at the same time. Look at her, multi-tasking. She was proud of herself.
However, she soon focused more on her awesome doodles than on the list she SHOULD have been making. The doodles looked cool, but she didn't go to this school to doodle. She went to this school in order to learn magic stuff. The cool doodles were going to have to wait. Alexia forced her attention from the doodle and back onto the list she was trying to make of magical creatures and Newt Scamander and all of the cool things he did.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Samia
Oh. When her own bag was ruffled with, she realised what may have scared Nina. She wondered if the new Creatures professor about to show up too? But then again, Missa really didn’t want to think about it - so she just returned that small smile of Nina’s before retrieving her book to write down whatever was being said.
Missa wasn’t really a fan of History of Magic. And sadly, even the mentions of creatures wasn’t making her focus on the class. She was definitely trying though, and when she just couldn’t she was definitely pretending to.
Demiguises, Ukrainian Ironbellies, and Diricawls. How fun.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Watson
And look at that Aboli was smiiiiiling at him. See? They were friends!! Were they good friends or just friends or before the friends? Hm.. That had yet to be determined. But she was smiling so Noah considered that a win in his book. They had come along way from the train.
Class had started and Noah had noticed the Niffler running around. Those creatures were cute... kinda crazy... Reminded him of some people he knew.. Maybe a younger sibling of his.. Definitely a younger sibling. Noah paused, listening to her question and becoming semi-distracted by the beautiful Kimmie Amstern in front of him. He paused, reflecting on the Professor's question. Pick a creature that Newt studied excessively, and if you can, elaborate a bit more about HOW he really helped us discover more about them. He paused, opting to remain quiet as his fellow classmates put forward their ideas.
Quote:
Originally Posted by siriusblackliveson
Charlie sighed this class took an absolute turn for the worst. All about Newt Scamander today? History of Magic was already a tough subject for her. But add in animals and her concentration was going to be nonexistent. Writing Newt at the top of her paper she began writing a list of all the animals her classmates had said every time she’d go to raise her hand another student would answer and then t he few answers she knew such as bowtruckle and niffler were used more thank once and in the first few answers. Well instead of sounding like a broken record she simply wrote down everyone’s answers and continued to look attentive. That was good enough right? She feared not.... but wait one of her housemate just rolled in late, maybe he would distract their professor from noticing she hadn’t answered a question yet.
Quote:
Originally Posted by pundantic
Kale was not paying attention. How could he when such a cute lil nugget niffler was flying around like he owned the place. It wasn't fair to his education to have such a fun distraction. Not that History of Magic was boring.
Nope.
He wasn't saying that at alllll.
OMIGOD LOOK AT HIM GO. Yahs Niffler. Yaaaaahs.
Kale barely managed to nod along to the lesson. Something something Newt Scamander. Mhmm. That guy.
As Gabi passed each of the students who remained silent, she gave them a little nod of encouragement, hoping they were at least keeping up and taking notes if they chose to remain quiet. That was all she ever asked of them!
Truthfully, Gabi could do an entire months worth of lessons on the impact Newt had on the study of magical creatures. That was better left to Williamson, however, and Newt wasn't ONLY known for his creatures work. "Excellent everyone! As most of you knew before you even walked in the door, Newt studied and wrote about nearly every magical creature in existence. However, his impact on the wizarding world extended far beyond his book on magical creatures," she added. That was also something she was sure they were aware of - but did they really realize just how much he accomplished in his life?
"For our mini activity today, we're going to focus on some of the highlights of Newt's life. Here are six events in Newt's life - your job, without knowing WHEN they occurred, is to put them in chronological order from earliest accomplishment to latest," she explained.
Quote:
-Wrote and passed the Ban on Experimental Breeding
-Commissioned to write Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them
-Created the Werewolf Ledger
-Met Tina Goldstein
-Expelled from Hogwarts
-Awarded the Order of Merlin (2nd Class)
"If you're not sure, simply make your best guess," Gabi added. If they could figure out one or two of the events, it would likely be easier for them to put the rest of them in some sort of order that made sense. "Alright everyone, you'll have ten minutes, have at it!" she clapped her hands, signaling that it was time to get started.
OOC: Hey everyone! Thanks again for all your participation so far! The next bit is pretty simple and straightforward - put those events in chronological order! Points will be rewarded on participation, not whether or not you get it right. Only one post is necessary for this bit. We'll be moving on in about 30ish hours!As usual, poke me in your post title or my VM's if you need me!
__________________
I'm still standin'________________________________________ better than I ever did
Lookin' like a true survivor_________________________________feelin' like a little kid
This part of the course was at least fun as she really did enjoy magical creatures and the study of them. There were however, a couple of names she didn't recognize and she jotted them down on her parchment as a reminder to look into them later. It was unsurprising she only knew the most obvious, considering how little effort she was used to putting in. But she was trying, okay!?
Hearing the activity, K examined the 6 events and stared at them as she tried to make some type of logical deduction on their order.
Well... Getting expelled seemed like a good option for event number one, so she quickly jotted that down on a clean piece of parchment that did not hold her notes. For number two... well, honestly she had no other deductions to make based on any type of fact, so K just scribbled down her answers in order. She wasn't sure if Professor Recard wanted them to give the responses verbally or not, so she just kind of kept her paper sitting in front of her.
Quote:
Chronological Timeline - 1: first event, 6: last event
1. Expelled from Hogwarts
2. Created the Werewolf Ledger
3. Commissioned to Write Fantastic Beasts and where to find them
4. Met Tina Goldstein
5. Wrote and Passed Ban on Experimental Breeding
6. Awarded the Order of Merlin (2nd class)
She had no idea if she was anywhere close to right on any of them.
__________________
_________ _________________________________________ღღღღღღღღღღ
Let them point and laugh at who we are, it's you and me here dancing from the start
.jpg)
HoM Lesson 1 - Newt Scamander 
x12 
x12
