Ashley decided immediately that she liked this class. The professor seemed so... chill? "If you see a random creature and you don't know what it is, you shouldn't just randomly go up to it because it might be mad," she ventured. She didn't know much about magical creatures yet, but this rule also applied to normal animals so she figured it was a good start.

Attend Care of Magical Creatures, they said. It’ll be FUN, they said.

Kennedi shook her head to herself as she waited for class to start, the sun setting in marvelous colors. That was neat, she wasn’t going to deny that. It was the magical-creatures-at-dark idea that made small goosebumps run up along her arm. She likes animals...normal, non-magic ones. Magical ones...not so much.

Taking in her surroundings continuously, she rubbed her arms rapidly to keep the bumps at bay. That fog by the forbidden forest, though. It creeped her out and made her skin crawl. With a deep breath she switched her full attention on Professor Williamson.

XXXX and XXXXX creatures?!?!

Just the thought made Kennedi’s stomach swirl. Maybe they weren’t going to work with creatures at that level. Maybe it was just for review purposes. Either way, her eyes kept darting from the forbidden forest to the professor. IF they were meant to go in there she could NOT promise she wouldn’t throw up.

Her hand went up into the air nervously, while the other touched her wand holster. It’s there. Safe. She’s safe. “Keep in mind they are dangerous for a reason and always--always-- have your wand at hand.”

Dude. This wasn’t funny.

With their current topic and the ambiance Professor Williamson set for them, is there a chance that they will be walking inside the forest, no? He hopes not because the day is almost over. For awhile Eron got distracted looking over the forbidden forest. He can't see much really since the fog was starting to set in. It was both scary and interesting. Eron is curious. He is always curious.

XXXX and XXXXX creatures are the ones you don't want to mess with. He likes creatures too but the cuddly ones and the ones that would obey you if you set them food and water. XXXX and XXXXX creatures on the other hand........ Eron shivered at the thought.

Snapping his eyes back at the professor, he shot his hand and wave it softly "You need to be a trained wizard to handle their kind" just saying. "they're both difficult to handle. the XXXXX classification are impossible to domesticate" not like a cat... "you need your wand at hand and at least know what creature you are dealing with." because some of these creatures are smart.

Torin was literally shooed back - albeit kindly - by Professor Williamson and so stepped back amongst the other students to observe what was to happen.

Listening to the other answers, Torin didn't really learn much that he didn't already know. It was pretty basic knowledge to not hug a creature or being rated XXXX, that's not even a good idea with some rated XXX.

He ventured to answer the question himself and hoped he at least didn't embarrass himself and at most go closer to the type of answers the Professor was looking for.

"Typically for creatures or beings classified at XXXX or higher you want to stay on high alert, they're known to be dangerous by Ministry standards. Not that they're always the most researched. I think there's a few like the Demiguise or Thestrals that I think are classified as such because people fear what they don't know or don't understand." He said. "Walking into any situation with a potentially dangerous creature or being isn't smart and so you should never go alone and always try to be with someone that is trained in the field."

Alright. Fifth year. She's ready. The past four years had just been a trial, now Ninette is truly going to start doing her best. OWLs are this year and it's time to get serious.

Yes, she makes it to class slightly late BUT that wasn't her fault, everyone in front of her on her way to class was just walking too slowly.

Ninette’s hand shoots up even before she knows what she’s actually going to say. “You should keep snacks at hand!” Hm. She really needed to keep working on the whole think before you speak thing. It still sounded like a reasonably good answer to her though. Food is always good, right? There's a brief pause as she realises her hand is still up, lowering it before she continues. “Like, you when you go to someone’s house and you bring food as a courtesy. It’s nice, and that way they know we are friends -- OH!” Eyebrows? Raised. Eyes? Bright. Cogs in her head? Turning. She's got it now. "You should respect their space and never turn your back on them because it's rude, obviously, but also because they can be unpredictable so it's best to be attentive and alert - BUT you also should try not to look super nervous because that can make them nervous." A nod. " Animals pick up on that sort of thing."

SO...there was an interesting word choice there. "Face" versus "work with" versus "introduced" or any other word really. Josh was no Ravenclaw when it came to words, but since he had really been dipping into songwriting recently he did tend to get hung up on it now and then. A it was a BIT hard NOT to considering the man was saying "face" and following it up with dangerous creatures with a whole lot of X's in their rankings.

He was not even the least bit subtle when his head snapped around towards two little lionesses in particular, though he was hardly gawking nor staring. Thankfully the knee jerk reaction was temporary and his head did swivel back around to Professor Narsissus Williamson and the object of mystery (which apparently was not getting an introduction right off the bat).

"Apparently whether or not you have all the windows of a train compartment closed or not," he offered as a reply. Which was, needless to say, a very lackadaisical answer for someone who just completed their OWLs. "But uh...also spookin' them. Making unexpected movements and noises. They might lash out at you and not even knowing they were not in the train compartment isn't really an excuse. They'll still fly at you and you'll still get your face scratched up and bitten regardless."

Just, ya know, a bit of a life lesson here.

Claudine blinked. Who was this Williamson and why was he so friendly? By now, Claudine was used to the grumpy old man so excuse her while she recovered herself. Still… there were those rare times when Williamson was friendly. Either way, the fourth year liked both sides of him. “Hi!’’ Could he tell that she was so, so excited. “I did but I missed the barn and all the creatures.’’ Maybe she’d even miss him giving her advice and randomly quizzing her on the creatures. Unable to say more as she was shooed away, Claudine took a few steps backwards. But not too many, you know…

Would time hurry up so that the lesson could begin?

It seemed to drag on to Claudine as she waited, shifting from foot to foot. But finally, Williamson got started. Gee, did he have to be so serious today? Anyway… what would she keep in mind and at hand when working with those two create classifications? Her hand went up after a moment. “I think it’s important to have knowledge of the creatures that includes their classifications and their habits. As far as the physical requirements go, I’d like to think that a wand and dragonhide gloves are two of the best to have around.”

Hadn’t anyone else realised that Williamson had asked them to bring exactly those two equipment? Their wands and dragonhide gloves?

Kale was eager now. Obviously since the professor mentioned class XXXX and XXXXX creatures, that meant today they were gonna wrangle ‘em. Again. OBVIOUSLY. Why else would he mention them or bring this energy into class today.

The fourth year was pumped. He was regretting not bringing snacks to offer these new buds, but he would make do. Maybe Williamson was already on it. Maybe HE brought the snacks. Kale brought a can-do attitude so they were square.

He rose his hand and said, Gotta keep in mind that they’re more afraid of us than we are of them.” Duh.

HE REMEMBERED HER!! By default, that meant she was the first First Year whose name he'd learned and probably the first one he met even indirectly. Basically, she was #1. Just the way she liked it and the response pleased the little girl immensely--as seen by the wide grin she now sported.

The grin dimmed some at the revelation it wasn't a creature inside the thing and she shot him a quizzical look, uncertain she had many guesses left in her. No need however, as in the next second she heard one of her most favorite people approaching and just a little after that there were hugs. Emm returned the side hug with much enthusiasm, suddenly more excited about the lesson for her friend being there.

As it was at Stark School, lessons were always better when Kizzy wasn't out sick with something. Now, Hogwarts had only just started so neither could afford to be sick.

Emm stuck her hand up to reply to the question she obviously knew the BEST answer to. To her credit, she only side eyed Idiot Boy for a few seconds for his comment on windows and doors. Boy had some nerve, didn't he?

When it was her turn, the girl answered with all the exuberance of a child in the middle of a tall tale built on half lies. "If you find one and no one else KNOWS you found it then you can KEEP it. But you gotta be careful because someone might rat you out, like a neighbour or if you invite a friend over and they get scared 'cause they're pansies then you have all of the Department of Magical Creatures beating down your front door demanding you turn it over but but but that's where the thing you have on hand comes in, see? You always gotta have an escape route that's big enough for you AND your little sorta mostly legal by default of not being told "no" baby. Like a trap door!!! Or a flying crapet!! Or--or--MASSIVE amounts of floo power and a HUGE fireplace!! Right, Kizzy?" She asked, turning once more to her bestie. She knew ALL about dangerous creature management. They both did. Practically experts.

Auntie Jessa for sure would keep whatever it was if she found it interesting enough.

It was nice to hear that Professor W return his cheerful greeting unlike Headmaster Trent. Cole's excitement grew as the lesson began. XXXX and XXXXX rated creatures? Were they going to get to see and work with some forbidden forest creatures tonight? Like a kappa or a winged horse would be cool.

In answer to the question Cole raised his hand to say. "I think if you are working with the most dangerous creatures then you should never work alone and always wear full protective dragonhide gear from head to toe. Also you should always have an escape route if the creature were to get violent." He didn't say anything about having your wand or creature knowledge because some others including Claudine had already said that. Was this why they needed their wand and dragonhide gloves?

Avalon couldn't help but smile when Professor Williamson offered her congratulations. The Ravenclaw tried to be a basically humble person, but she couldn't deny that it was nice to have her teachers commend her on her hard work. Plus, it was good to know that the embarrassing wampus kitten incident from last year didn't define her as a student. Avalon still had occasional nightmares about the wampus cat getting loose, running into the castle, and putting everyone it looked at in a daze. Needless to say that dream always ended up with Avalon in detention and losing 200 house points.

Raising her hand to answer the question, she said, "It's important to remember that XXXXX creatures are literally impossible to train, so you might as well not even try. You'd just end up getting yourself hurt." Unless you were a Parselmouth or something. According to her textbooks, parselmouths could technically train basilisks. "And some creatures are rated XXXX not because they're necessarily dangerous, but because they're endangered. Like the snidget. So you have to be extremely cautious not to harm them when you're working with them, and to always release them back into their natural habitat." As for the second part of Williamson's question - what to keep on hand - that was fairly self explanatory.

Whatever the reason for the penseive was no longer important. All of his attention instantly shifted onto Professor Williamson as the lesson began. Was their focus really going to be on XXXX and XXXXX rated creatures?! Consider his young mind intrigued.

Lifting his hand up, he answered, "You want to make sure you know your creature. The more you know before getting anywhere near one the better. How a creature is going to respond to your presence is never certain, so you'll always want to take every precaution measure possible. Dragon hide gloves, your wand and keeping your distance could all be helpful. It might also be a good idea to not be alone." There were creatures that couldn't be taken down if needed by only one witch or wizard alone.

Phoebe got an affectionate squish and a mischievous grin because if there was anyone Cece wanted to run amuck with, it was Miss Feebs. ”That’s pretty much my favorite thing to do,” The fourth year responded quietly, all wiggly with excitement at the idea of an adventure. Did she notice Professor W had heard? Nope. Not at all.

Speaking of the man in charge, Cece considered his question all thoughtful-like, tapping her chin even, really thinking about it. ”It’d help to have a handy dandy catalogue of spells you can manage, just in case. Wouldn’t use ‘em unless you had to, though. ‘Specially if you’re the one invading the creature’s environment and not the other way around.”

No sooner had Nem got situated than had Walter beckoned for them to get back down. They dutifuly slid off again, and settled for just leaning against said fence, finding they still had a decent enough view (thank you growth spurt) as long as none of those giraffes in the upper years stood in the way. Nem was generally interested enough in creatures to muscle their way through the group if that happened, so it was fine. "Ain't no party like a mooncalf party," they replied, glancing up at the slowly darkening sky. Someone mentions mooncalves in any context, it was practically a reflex to note what lunar phase they were currently in. Just one of those things.

Weasley wasn't awful. Oh, he definitely wasn't off limits or anything, but definitely further down the ever-changing and often arbitrarily ordered list. Maybe that counted for something. Probably not. Interesting creatures sounded promising too, but he had to deliver on that first.

This was an easy one, but Nem raised a hand anyway. "Don't be an idiot," they said. And that went for dealing with endangered or intelligent creatures with higher ratings, as well as the just straightforward dangerous ones. "Engage your brain, keep your wits about you, and your hands to yourself unless you actually know what you're doing."

All things that a good majority of the kids here at Hogwarts struggled with. Not that Nem was complaining. One person's ineptitude was another's free entertainment.

It was time for class to begin and Naya was anxious to find out what they would be doing today. It appeared that she would have to wait a little longer because Professor Williamson was not giving up any clues just yet. Instead, it was time for questions. After hearing the question, Naya raised her hand to answer.

When it was her turn, she began to speak. “We definitely need to keep in mind that no matter how cute or interesting the creatures may be, they have their ratings for a reason.” Looking at you my new friend Emmerson and others. “You should always be cautious around them and realize the possibility of danger. As for what we need them to keep at hand.......that would be common sense and our wands.”

Kinsay joined Emm in giving a side-eye to the boy making the window and door comments. At least he learned his lesson, but it felt a little bit like a jab at herself and Emmerson. It was HIS fault in the first place.

And of course when Emm raised her hand and began answering the question, Kizzy nodded the whole time. For emphasis. It was all true. They were experts in the field now. And everything Emm said was the gospel truth. So. "Right!" She nodded in agreement. "Finders, keepers." Or something like that. Kizzy never felt as invincible as she did with the best friend.

Ha! Minjae's reply got a small laugh from her, and she just snorted at him in response. "Well...while that MAY be true, lots of people don't want to be someone's assistant. You DO have a little brother though, so....you could always blackmail him into being one for you." That was much too sinister for Aboli to do to her own brothers. She liked them a little too much for that; however, she remembered the way Minjae had spoken in the past about HIS brother. It didn't seem they got on all that well.

Joshua was here! Aboli sent him a smile. "It's a penseive," she whispered in case Professor W wanted the class to, you know, NOT be discussing it. It was weird that he was even looking into it, really. Hmm. "It holds memories." She nodded as Professor Williamson started class. "Thank you, professor!" she smiled with pride as she tried not to puff her chest out TOO much.

When she first heard his question, she had taken it quite literally - what should be at hand - "A strong pair of gloves!" she chirped without much thought, and as she heard some other answers she thought some of her classmates were dudderheads. Merlin's pants...did SHE sound like a dud for mentioning GLOVES THOUGH? She was wearing hers - not the animal handling kind, just some nice, sleek fake!leather - but yeah....

Why were some of the younger students annoying? Did she feel this way because she was a big bad sixth year now? ???? Or were they really just THAT irritating?????? Her brother wasn't nearly as obnoxious...

So it seemed they pretty much had a grasp on what to bring with them when encountering dangerous creatures, or, rather, the unknown... "To sum," Williamson glanced to his left, wondering how he could have forgotten to place his chalkboard out here for the lesson. This year he could only blame his forgetfulness on his old age, huh.

"When encountering, or rather, working with dangerous creatures, you should always have your wand and your wits about you, and should bring a buddy with you if you can. Some knowledge of useful spells, I'd say the shield charm, impediment jinx, disarming spell, and other basic defensive spells would be handy too. I want to emphasize defensive spells because I would NEVER want you to go on the offensive against a magical creature. NEVER try to attack one out of the blue. You will likely lose, and you may cause injury to yourself, others, and to a valuable and rare specimen. If you play stupid games, you'll win stupid prizes, so try to be smart and vigilant when you go looking for, or when you happen to come across, a dangerously rated creature."

Right, did he forget anything? Probably, but then they'd all been listening to each others' answers and taking good, detailed notes for themselves whilst standing up, hadn't they? No matter, this wasn't even the important part yet.

"Tonight we'll be taking a closer look at trolls, which are rated XXXX on the Ministry scale, as you know, and are thus considered VERY dangerous and require SPECIALIZED knoweldge to handle. Now, not many people have been privileged to get up close and personal with trolls and have lived to tell the tale. So what do YOU think trolls and troll society is like? How do you think you should handle them? Keep in mind that there is more than one type of troll as you state your answer..."

Trolls? That was pretty cool, actually. Aboli couldn't remember the last time she had thought about trolls from a care of creatures standpoint, so studying them through this lens would be interessssssting. Her psychology interested mind was a bit more curious about troll society than how to handle them, exactly, so she raised her hand before he even finished his question completely.

"I feel like troll society is probably very individualized and cut-throat. Since they are very aggressive and protective, they moooost likely fight among themselves often, right, Professor?" She began. "Low-intelligence creatures usually don't...survive well in large packs." Well, she thought not anyway. "There's not even a word for a group of trolls which means...they probably DON'T often have big ole' packs of 'em." Unless she just didn't know what a gaggle of trolls was called...which was likely.

Ashley wrote down 'Shield charm, impediment jinx, disarming spell, other defensive spells: Useful for dealing with magical creatures. Don't use offensive spells.' in her notebook. She shifted nervously. Trolls? She didn't know anything about trolls. But she did know that some professors made you write long essays about pointless things if you didn't answer their questions, so she decided to at least made a decent crack at the question. "Um well, trolls are pretty dangerous, I think some are more dangerous than others, and you should try not to make them mad. They don't like it if you get in their personal space or territory, and uh, be really careful. I think they are solitary or go in small groups, probably. Is any of what I just said true?" She was nervous, not because of trolls but because she was literally just guessing in an attempt to not have to write an essay about how she was even in this class without knowing everything, and it could easily backfire and end up with writing an essay about how she couldn't answer questions correctly. At least this professor didn't seem like that kind of person.

SPOILER!!: Before class & Question 1 catchup

Heath noticed Cole standing near him and gave him a polite nod and a quiet, “Hey.” in greeting. Claudine also got a smile and a little wave hello, but there wasn’t much time for chitchat. Class was starting! The dark-haired Ravenclaw looked up, listening intently as the professor mentioned creatures classified as XXXX and XXXXX. Oh? This just got interesting! Was he correct in thinking the pensieve would be used to teach a dangerous creature? Never mind, he supposed he’d find out soon enough. For now, there was the question to consider.

He listened to his classmates’ answers while trying to come up with an original one of his own. As far as things one needed to have on hand, his first thoughts were a wand and protective equipment, but those had been mentioned a number of times. Then he thought of treats, but someone had said that too. Unable to come up with anything new to add to the second part of the question, he focused his attention on the first part instead. “I think it’s important to know the biology of the creature,” he said after raising his hand, “the most dangerous parts, like an erumpent’s horn, for example, but also their weak ones, like a dragon’s eyes.” Knowing which his areas to avoid could save one’s life!

Was he confident in that answer? Not entirely, but there was no time to dwell on that now. They were moving on. Heath paid close attention as Professor Williamson spoke again, jotting down notes on what the man said, as well as his classmates’ answers to the last question. So they were studying trolls today… Heath’s earlier theory about the pensieve’s purpose was looking more and more likely! He bit his lip, lost in thought as he considered the next question. He was really not good at these opinion/speculation-based types of questions! This was why he strongly preferred recalling facts; there was less potential for mistakes and humiliation!

He mentally reviewed everything he knew about trolls, hoping that would give him some insight into their society. He knew that they were aggressive and unintelligent, so it seemed a safe bet that troll society valued brute strength over intellect. But that was too obvious… and possibly too similar to what the Slytherin prefect already said. He’d have to think harder! Hmm… He’d also heard that trolls were attracted to bad smells. That gave him an idea! Now he just had to think of a way to phrase it that wouldn’t come across as judgemental. After some thought, he raised his hand. “It’s said that trolls are drawn to bad smells, so it stands to reason that their society has very different views than ours on what’s considered attractive,” he said. “The things we consider bad or gross are probably good to them.” He was immediately second-guessing that answer the moment he spoke. Someone please tell him that didn’t sound as idiotic as he thought it did!

Williamson seemed pleased with her answer and this in turn made Claudine pleased too. Though, that bit with scooter riding sport thing lightly caused some confusion. Knowledgeable on the Muggle world she was not. While the other answers came, Claudine craned her neck this way and that in an attempt to spy the creature that would be the highlight of today’s lesson. Apparently it was still well hidden and she was disappointed.

Right. Never attack a creature out of the blue. Claudine agreed with that one hundred percent. It was only idiots who did that and like Nem said, Don’t be an idiot.

OH. TROLLS.

This Snakette had indeed never encountered a troll. Did she want to? Maybe, maybe not. Claudine raised her hand. ''Heath mentioned smells.’’ Here, she paused and smiled slightly at him, completely ignoring Cole then transferred her attention back to Williamson. “Mountain trolls smell awful, and I’d like to think the other types do too. I don’t think the smell would bother them when they’re together like it would humans. So, when handling trolls, we should be weary of their odors.’’ That was all she had to say, yes? No. “Oh, and I suppose we could use grunts and pointing to help communicate with them as opposed to right off the bat getting violent.”

Claudine’s answer had a lot of opinion based on her limited knowledge of trolls.

Valentina had been too busy humming a tune to herself to pay any attention to the professor’s earlier question. She was also lightly bouncing on her feet, which would be a little annoying to anyone standing nearby. Sorry, oops.

... but TROLLS.

They were dangerous creatures, right?? Would she be able to get close to one? Did they eat people? Valentina raised her hand even though she had absolutely no idea what to answer but... yolo. “Uhhhhh.. they are stinky, giant creatures.. uhhh..and they are not very smart!!”

Coby was also glad he made it. Being late looked terrible on his report and he hated explaining himself to his mum months later. But at the same time also really wasn't all that glad. Nothing to do about that though.

The first question flew by Coby, who was busy considering a very extensive list of things one would need to know when tackling such creatures. He was on 'create an emergency portkey to Mungo's hospital' when he realised the class had moved on. Right. Quick answers. He was still getting back into the swing of Hogwarts classes.

... Troll society? This brought a small smile to his face. "Professor," Coby said after a moment's consideration, his arm up. "Because they're known for their low- their stup- um, their dumbness," there was a probably a better word for that, but he couldn't think of it at the moment and he needed to continue with his answer because people were looking, "I think they'd be easily aggravated? So it would probably be best to try and make yourself as unnoticeable as possible?" A talent of his, actually. He'd be excellent with trolls.

Wait, they weren't going to go meet trolls now right? Coby's face whitened. They just got back to school, couldn't the professors wait a week or two before springing these awful classes on them?

Ohhhh, so maybe they would be using the pensieve to study trolls since they were too dangerous to study in person? Thankfully, Avalon had never encountered a troll, nor did she ever want to. They were pretty disgusting, as far as she was concerned. A troll definitely wouldn't be her creature of choice to study, but she tried to keep an open mind. She just hoped the pensieve would help mask the smell of them.

"Trolls only possess rudimentary magic, so their societies probably don't function much on spells or enchantments. I'd have to agree with Aboli that their societies probably run on violence and aggression." As for how to handle them? Avalon hoped she would never have to. "They're supposedly attracted to foul smells, like Heath said. Maybe you could bring along some dungbombs to distract them?" It was a lame trick, but she didn't really know how else she would deal with one. She didn't speak troll, and she would have no chance at beating one in a fight. A dungbomb might have to do.