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CoMC Lesson 1 - Murtlaps As you arrive to the regular paddock where Care of Magical Creatures is frequently held, you'll find the area holds several large, individual aquariums arranged in a horseshoe, each filled with water and marine plants and animals (both magical and mundane) such as hermit crabs, clown fish, sea anemones, and more. It would be wise to keep your hands out of these aquariums until instructed otherwise--you might get bitten or stung. |
Her absolute favourite class. It was one of the reasons Claudine was usually early to them. And though she missed Williamson a lot, she was grateful that Paszek had agreed to let her continue tending to the Hogwarts creatures. Even if Paszek overseeing her at first had been irritating. "Hi, Professor,'' the girl greeted brightly. Immediately her gaze roved around, checking out the aquariums. Wow. So much life in said aquariums! Claudine was delighted to see it all. More than ever, she was eager for the lesson to get started. But for now? She'd just ignore the rest of the world and admire those clown fishes. |
Cece was a big fan of creatures, mostly because she knew whatever they’d be doing in class would be interesting and, more often than not, hands-on. Plus magical creatures were kind of epic. She liked knowing how to interact with them. ”Hello Professor,” The seventh year greeted cheerfully. The aquariums were cool. She’d been to a huge aquarium once that housed all sorts of interesting creatures that she’d wanted so bad to get a better look at, so seeing the smaller tanks was exciting. ”Hey Claudine.” Cece stood by her fellow seventh year, waiting for things to get going. |
Aquariums were soooo pretty, and V was delighted to see a bunch of 'em when she skipped over to Creatures class for today. She still managed to stumble over Professor Paszek's name, and so it was totally just PROFESSOR P to her. "Good day, Professor!" she said in a content enough tone, eyeing Claudine and the other older girl she saw always talking to EVERYONE. Cecelia Summers, right? V eyed HER, too, but only because she had told Claudine hi. It was unfortunate none of her friends were here yet -__- |
Care of Magical Creatures usually put a little pep to Evan's step, as he made his way down towards the paddocks. He spotted all the aquariums and was instantly intrigued at what they would be studying today. There was a lot of different creatures of note to be studying just one. Maybe they were studying creature ecosystems as a whole? That could certainly be interesting. Evan reached the small gathering of his peers, adjusting his bag over his shoulder as he continued to look at each aquarium with curiosity. He even forgot to actually give greetings to those around whom he would have recognized and wanted to be polite to. Though on instinct, he did call a soft, "Hello, Professor." |
Kinsay was way curious, so she stuck her whole face up to one of the aquarium tanks and tap, tap, tapped against it, trying to get the attention of all the critters inside. Especially the clown fish. She liked those best upon first judgement. She would've stuck a finger or two inside as well, but then Professor P walked by and Kins didn't like trouble. So. She'd have to try again later maybe. "Hi, Professor," she offered a polite sort of smile in greeting. It was nice not to have Professor Williamson anymore. It meant Kins could come to class and not hate her professor on behalf of her best friend. "I used to have a pet fish once, but she's dead now." ... Did fish go to heaven? Or did fish bodies just decompose in the ground? These were the important questions Kiz hoped they'd be learning how to answer today. |
"We'll just get you a new fish, if you want one. But then Dad will have to take care of that pet too," Phoebe gave Kizzy a side-squeeze as she popped up next to her younger sister in the horseshoe. This was cool... all sorts of sea creatures, and MAYBE they'd get to pet a fish?!? "Hello, Professor Paszek," Phoebe waved at the professor, but her attention was most definitely on the aquariums. One way or another, she was definitely getting her hands on a fish. |
The first thing Serena noticed when she arrived for her next lesson was the aquariums. And then V. And Claudine. She waved at the latter and went to stand next to V. "'Sup, V Gellar." That's when she heard Kinsay say she had a fish once. "I flushed a fish down the toilet once," Serena shared to the group. Hi. Oh. "Hello, professor." |
Magical creatures!! Valentina was excited as she made her way down for the lesson. It was her faaavourite - mostly because it was one of the few subjects she was rather good at. "Hello, professor." The blonde greeted with a bright smile, immediately noticing the aquariums. Woow. She moved a little closer to them, walking slowly, curiously looking at the creatures and plants inside. Her eyes widened when she saw the clown fish. They were so cute!! |
He knew it was unfair to still be scrutinizing the professor's every move, but change was hard and Professor Williamson had been one of the handful of adults here at Hogwarts Atlas had felt comfortable with and like he could maybe kind of sort of talk to openly about things. So, you know, this was a big change and having to started from ground zero with a person was rough. Especially when you were a teenager. That being said...the usual serene to indifferent expression typically worn by the Gryffindor whenever he arrived to a Care of Magical Creatures lesson faltered and faded into the giddiest sorts of grins when he saw what was on display. THIS WAS IN HIS WHEELEHOUSE! Second only to insects, aquatic friends were something he knew a fair bit about - even if he still struggled with the tongue twister of a name that was anemone. ...anemone-ne-anem-menemone-anemone...anemone-ne-anem-menemone-anemone...anemone-ne-anem-menemone-anemone... "Hiya, professor," he greeted with a slightly uncharacteristic cheer as of late, and not because of his reservations about warming up to Professor Paszek, while coming to a stop beside Valentina. "Did you know that corals are actually animals and not plants?" It was a question for Valentina and not the professor, of course. |
Dahlia reached the paddocks with a bounce in her step and her usual bright smile. There was no reason for her to be anything but happy. This was her top class along with Herbology. Her favorite. She was never not ready for being around creatures and learning everything and anything she possibly could about them. "Good afternoon, professor. It looks like we have a whole lot of new visitors for today's lesson," Lia commented the moment she laid eyes upon all of the different aquariums. "Will they all be remaining here for a bit after the lesson or returning to wherever they came from?" Yup, she already had questions. Depending on the answers to these would depend on if she had followup questions or not. For now she was just going to checkout each aquarium for a minute. Don't mind her while she unlike most everyone else, watched the hermit crabs. They needed some attention too. |
Adam liked creatures. He liked Professor Paszek. He wasn't picky, really, but so far he was liking the new professor and her classes. He'd liked Williamson of course, but he'd also always intimidated him. And now she was putting aquariums of WATER in front of them? With all sorts of fun thingamamobs in there?! Adam was physically having to open and close his fists to stop himself from plunging his hand straight into the water. Good luck getting Adam to focus on ANYTHING else at the moment. Whoops. |
Heath couldn’t help but note the gloomy weather as he made his way to the Creatures paddock. He hoped it wouldn’t turn rainy during the lesson! As that thought occurred to him, he recalled that jarvey lesson from his third year… the horrible weather, the lack of magic, and… his heart skipped a beat as his thoughts turned to meeting Claudine in the kitchen later that day. He shook his head, willing himself not to focus too much on that memory, not now anyway. There was a lesson that needed his attention! As he approached, his eyes were immediately drawn to the aquariums. Probably safe to assume that they were covering aquatic creatures today. He watched, smiling slightly, as a clownfish swam by. He became so absorbed in that little fish that he nearly forgot to greet the professor! “Good afternoon, Professor Paszek,” he said, acknowledging the woman with a polite nod. Finally tearing his eyes away from the little fish, he found a spot to stand with Claudine and Cece. “Hi,” he greeted the two fellow seventh years. |
AQUARIUMS?!? Ooooh! Lisa’s eyes were wide in awe as she glanced around the room. She liked sea creatures. She had always thought sea creatures and the ocean was so cool. The perfect place for a pirate other than space because space pirate would have been a dope profession!! “Hi Professaur!” she greeted, feeling normally like her bouncy self. She’d gone through the weird motions enough and was determined to just ignore said feelings (cause that was healthy) so happy Lisa had re-emerged. Plus Serena and her were good and things weren’t weird so goooood. She made her way over to V and Serena with a smile on her lips. “Sup chicas.” |
SPOILER!!: replies! Alright, that seemed to be...everyone, or most of them, at least. Having tested the temperature of all the aquariums, Mia returned to her stool at the front and smiled, waiting a moment to see if the students would settle on their own. Just a moment, though. "Okee-dokee, everyone, welcome to class, I hope you've remembered your protective gloves, dragonhide or otherwise,” she said. “As you can see, we’ve got several aquariums set up. I’d like you all to gather around, but please, please, please keep your hands to yourself, and that means out of the aquariums.” She paused for any of them not already within view of an aquarium to move to where they could see. “So...Tell me, what’s in the aquariums? What do you see, or, what do you not see that you might expect?” She paused, then added. ”Why do you think these plants and creatures are grouped together?” ooc: Okay everybody! Class has started now, so if you post your character arriving after this, they'll be late and Professor Paszek will be annoyed! First question is up. Feel free to answer any or all of the questions, and be creative! There was a blurb in the first post about what’s in the aquariums. You’ll have about 22-24 hours until we move on. |
One could actually see Claudine’s eyes follow the clownfish around, she was staring at it that intensely. “Hi, Cece,’’ she remarked brightly, finally tearing her gaze away from the fish. “How’s it going?” The seventh year completely zoned over Victoria. Honestly, she hadn’t forgotten the younger Snakette’s reaction that one time Claudine had called her by the wrong name. She wasn’t looking to have such childish friends. Oh hi, Serena! The wave was returned. “Hi, Heath.” Could he tell how enthusiastic she was for this lesson? Protective materials? Yes, Claudine had brought hers along as always. She moved closer to the aquariums, and though the seventh year badly wanted to reach out to the creatures within, she kept her hands to herself. Presently it would make no sense to stick her hands in there without knowing as many facts as possible. “They’re grouped together because the creatures need the plants in order to survive. The plants are helpful since they provide oxygen.” |
Quiet was not something he minded being associated with, and he did especially strive to do so around the creatures so that they would allow him to observe them and not be threatened by his presence. One of the few qualities about himself he liked. He eyed all the aquariums, spotting the clownfish and anemones and various other plants and wildlife. He assumed the groupings were by ecosystems, because just as Claudine had mentioned the creatures would need the plants in order to survive, but each specific aquarium would also need to house the things that could thrive in those particular conditions. Some plants and creatures needed warm water, some needed cold. Some needed salt water, some needed fresh. It was important to get those conditions right. He raised his hand, "They appear to be grouped by preferred conditions. There are some plants and creatures who both prefer salt water and some who prefer the fresh. It's important to note because that gives understanding on A) how to properly care for those in care, and B) give insight on where they could be found in their natural habitats. Consider where both plant and creature life can thrive and help each other." As with the oxygen. |
"Dad's good at taking care of stuff," Kins replied, turning to beam at Pheebs. Hi, sister. As for the very unfortunate death of her former fish, Kiz gave Professor P a solemn sort of look. "Oh, no. It was really quick, I think she even smiled before she ... You know." But her fish, Sweetpea, got a proper burial and not a flush down the toilet like Serena's fish. They practiced respect in the James home. But as class began, Kiz tried her best to settle down, only turning to whisper to her sister before she moved to join the group. "Do you think she'll let us keep one?" That would be nice. Kins would be sure not to ask because in some cases, it was better to ask for forgiveness after the fact. This was a lesson she had to learn the hard way. And when the question was posed, Kins took a moment to think it over. Why did she think the plants and creatures are grouped together? Easy. "Because they all need water." Yes, excellent. She would be waiting to receive her O now! But also... Come to think of it, Evan made a really good point. It made Kinsay THINK. Big, huge, gigantic thoughts that were so EARTH SHATTERING that everything she knew was very much flipped over on its head now. G A S P. "Professor P?" She raised her hand again, but this time with the most urgency EVER. "If giant squids can only be found in saltwater..." Which is something she KNEW because she read BOOKS OHMYGOD. What if Sir Bartholomew Henry, Giant Squid of Hogwarts, who allegedly lived in the FRESHWATER lake, was DEAD this WHOLE TIME?????????? And no one thought to tell her????? Wait a minute!!!!!! Is this why he never came up to play when she went to find him??? Is this why she could never find Mr. Bartholomew Henry???? ... If that was even his real name!!! ..... What else was LIE?!?! Oh my goodness, oh my goodness. She was starting to feel woozy. |
"It's going good, thanks." Cece offered Claudine a smile and then moved closer to the tanks as class got started. To be completely honest, this seventh year almost had forgotten her gloves, but at the VERY last moment her brain did the thing where it questioned her actions and BOOM, she remembered to grab them. Brains really were wonderful things. Hers worked better when there wasn't a Kale Trent around distracting her with his wonderful-ness, too. Facts. Speaking of facts, the blonde was inclined to agree with Evan. "I agree. I think that you'd want certain creatures and plants in the tank that has the best environment for them to thrive. That could have to do with type of water or temperature or lots of other things, too." Wait, what? Cecelia looked over at Kiz and then blinked because...she'd never really considered this and just ?????? UM?????? |
SPOILER!!: responses Mia waited a moment, to see if anyone else had something to contribute, then clapped her hands together once. “So, as a few people have pointed out, the plants and creatures in these aquariums share habitat preferences, like all wanting salt water, and water temperature and depth. And as Miss Blaze mentioned, the creatures need the plants for oxygen,” she said. “And as Miss James...suggested, putting a creature in a habitat it’s not suited to, like putting a saltwater creature in freshwater, can be traumatic.” There. She’d managed to turn Kinsay’s bizarre question into a talking point. “Now, aside from the type of water, and oxygen, and temperature, if you look closely, you can see that some of the plants, or even the sea anemone, provide shelter for the creatures. And, sometimes creatures form symbiotic relationships with other creatures. For example, the clownfish and the sea anemone pairing are common, because the sea anemone provides a home for the clownfish, and the clownfish...dung...provides nutrients to the anemone.” There were plenty of other symbiotic pairings she could give as examples, but the sea anemone was notable today as it was closely related to their focal creature. And if anyone had seen the No-Maj cartoon about the little clownfish, she suspected it would be a good reference point for them. “You may not have noticed, as they can be shy and tend to look a lot like sea anemones themselves, but there’s some murtlaps in these aquariums,” Mia continued. Sea anemones with legs and teeth, she liked to think of them. “What else do you know about the murtlap? Has anyone ever had any experiences with one?” ooc: Question 2 time!! Go ahead and answer either questions, either with murtlap facts or murtlap anecdotes (either about a living murtlap or one of its byproducts). You'll have 22-24 hours again. |
Oh? When Professor Paszek mentioned there was murtlap in the aquariums as well, he squinted a little bit harder to see if he could spot them among the sea anemones. He wasn't 100% sure, but there was certainly a few that looked like maybe they were moving. Which... he wasn't sure if there would be any current in these aquariums, so perhaps that was the murtlaps? At the question of what they already knew about this particular creature... Evan honestly didn't have much to say. The most he remembered about them was that they kind of sounded like a Pokemon name. But there was one fact that came to mind, though. So he raised his hand, waiting for his turn before offering anything. "I heard a bite from a murtlap can cause unfortunate reactions. Sweating, twitching." And farting fire, but honestly he didn't think that needed to be said out loud. He would not put experimentation on that past Gryffindors. |
Murtlaps?? Aren't they - like - sea rats?? Wait, how did she not notice any? She tried to look inside the aquariums but couldn't spot one. Maybe they were hiding or sleeping - wait, did they even sleep?? Did marine animals sleep? Not that it had anything to do what the professor asked. "I've heard of Murtlap essence, professor. it is used to treat bruises, right??" |
Lia kept her warm smile and didn't at all hesitate to ask her next question once she had heard the creatures would all be around for until the end of the week. "I would be more than happy to with them should you need any assistance." With all of the time she already spent in the barns, pastures and in the bird garden helping out, of course she was going to offer up her time for these visitors too. Helping others was something she enjoyed anyhow but when it came to helping with creatures she loved that even more. As the first question rolled around, Dahlia quietly took a mental note of what she seen in the aquariums once again. Certain creatures and aquatic plants grouped together by what they needed to survive. Grouped together like how they would be found out in the wild. Still watching the hermit crabs, she noted how those were really mentioned but before she could really question it the lesson was already moving on. Murtlap. Basically naked water rats with floppy tentacle like things growing on its back. Which she knew to be some form of sea anemone. They were kinda cute actually. Finally turning away from the hermit crab tank for now, her attention moved towards the aquarium in mention to see if she could happen to spot a Murtlap. "If you pickle the growth on their back it can then be eaten but eating too much of it can cause you to grow purple ear hair. However it's supposed to improve one's resistance to jinxes," she answered with her hand raised in the air. If it worked, she truly did not know. |
A murtlap is probably one of the weirdest things Serena has ever held. One time when she was still in the single digits, the entire Baltazar clan went on this adventure and along it, they encountered alllll kinds of creatures. Serena remembers her godfather placing a bet Serena would freak out at the touch of a murtlap. Her grandfather bet she'd hold it like a champ. This is, Serena doesn't find many things gross. Not even mooncalf dung. You know what was gross? Weakness and feelings. Anyway, she raised her hand. Her fingers still remembered the feeling of the murtlap tentacles. "Murtlap are carnivorous and sometimes like to eat human toes." |
They were very important, those plants were. Claudine peered at them; indeed they were providing shelter for the fishes. Over all, aquatic life seemed to mostly hinge on the plants much like human life hinged on trees. Wait. What? Murtlaps? Claudine was disappointed in herself for not having noticed them, even if they were hiding away. Surely she should have seen something? A movement from their many tentacles perhaps? Anyway. “They’re classified triple X by the Ministry,” Claudine volunteered when called upon. “That means a competent witch or wizard should have no trouble with handling them.’’ |
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