Lesson #1
 

The Headmaster entered his classroom and made his way to the front of the class.

"I apologize for my delay students...I've been somewhat...occupied."

He gave a heavy sigh thinking about what had just happened in his office and the note he left for the Staff to read in the Staff room.

"Now...I would like to begin as soon as possible. We have lots to cover."

He settled down at his desk and shuffled a few stacks of parchment around before turning to to board and passing his wand in front of it.

Blackboard

"Over the summer holidays I was fortunate enough to catch wind of a very amazing discovery, made by Muggles no less. It seems that on one of their deep sea explorations off the coast of Sri Lanka, in the Bay of Bengal, uncovered several magical creatures. I, of course, set off immediately to intercept their findings and retrieve them before the Muggle scientists could uncover their true nature. Unfortunatly, I was too late and none of the specimens survived. I was able to place a few memory charms on some of unsuspecting scientists and take their findings.

Quite frankly, I am amazed that they were able to aquire this first specimen," he said pointing at the board.

"Now, does anyone know what this creature is?"

::Erica looked at the creature on the board with absolutely no idea as to what it was. Instead, she pulled out her parchment and a quill and hurriedly started sketching it as best as she could.::

Francis shrugs, and takes a guess. "Chimaera?... But it can be.. it's a mythological creature, is it not?"

kasandra sat next to lee
.and put up her hand
"the loch ness monster..or mabey a kelpie." she said "i have no idea really"

::Erica looked through her text to see if she could find anything. She raised her hand.::

"I just guessing, but could it be a Ramora?"

kasandra thought again
"mabey its a mermaid?"

How bout a Shrake? Selena is just as lost as the rest of the class

Sat in the very back of the class, Nadia raised her hand with not that much entusiasm.

"I want to say Sea Serpent, or Lobalug"

kasandra smiled and looked more in her notebook
"it might also be a dugbog..but that is in marshes..or mabey a fire crab..or a grindylow,mabey a kappa" kasandra stopped and looked more in her book

"mabey a murtlap or a plimpy ot a shrake"

*flies a note to Nadia* "You know we have a new Head of House now right? and a new Divination teacher. That thing that i said in the common room, well i'm taking the nice bit back"

Nadia took the note, read it and stuffed it in her pocket with the same tired expression. This was not the time, so she should speak with her later, she decided rubbing her temples. For now, she needed to pay attention to the professor and clear her mind.

'Is it a Ramora?' Rosa asked, raising her hand.

Jaren's eyes were on the blackboard, though he made no attempt to answer the question, as several answers were already up in the air. His expression was both serious and neutral.

*Serena raised her hand*

Is it a Chimaera?
Described as a long-nosed chimaera, Harriotta raleighana, whose kind can reach five feet in length. Its stiletto-like nose reminded one of "the nose contour of a supersonic jet aircraft." Others have dubbed it "rattail," for obvious reasons. In South Africa, it is known as the "ghost shark," though it is only distantly related to sharks. A touch of the venomous spine on the first dorsal fin can kill a person, though such a fate is unlikely given the 8,000-foot depths at which this creature lives.

"I would have to agree with Serena," Anelreas said, raising her hand just slightly. "I believe it's a chimeara." From the description Serena gave, along with the picture on the board, Anelreas was almost positive that the creature was a chimeara.

Mithos didn't know much about Magical Creature so he just sat there watching the class. He didn't even know what a Chimaera is... He sat watching the wise way in what the Headmaster was speaking.

"Hmm...It looks like some sort of squid to me..."

Evy pondered for a moment.

"I'm sure it's a chimaera, their body isn't usually exactly that way."

kasandra looked at lee
"what do you think it could be?"

"hum...the loch ness montster" she said quickly and lughed."i have no idea i just gave watever water creaturs were in my book" she raised her notebook at tapped "a wonderful book indeed" she smiled

HM Hendrik smiled at the vast amount of responces.

"5 points to both Ravenclaw and Gryffindor. Francis, your guess of Chimaera is partially correct. This is a Chimaera pup, or juvenile Chimaera fish. Not to be confused with the Chimera fish that the Muggle scientists have named. This one is far more deadly!

Serena, your answer is partially correct as well. The dorsal spine is very poisionous and they are located at great depths...even the comment about it being called a "Ghost" is somewhat correct. The young Chimaera fish or pup can turn itself invisible when threatened or feels it's in danger. It's dorsal spine contains a highly venomous neurotoxin. A mere brush of this spine and the victim's entire nervous system shuts down. At that point, the pup can either escape or feed upon it's prey. Notice the long snout like appendage. If you look closely you will see what appears to be tooth like projections along the perimeter. These are infact hardened bits of cartilage used for foraging on the sea floor. As the Chimaera fish matures, it looses the long protuberance and is replaced with a jaw full of razor sharp teeth. Both the young and adult Chimaera fish retain the 'ratlike' tail. Also notice the immense black eye(s). It is mostly all pupil due to the lack of light at such great depths. Adult Chimarea fish are seldom seen by witches or wizards and I know of no recorded sighting by Muggles. This pup must have been sick to allow itself to be caught by Muggle scientists. Though natural disasters, much like the terrible tsunami that recently occured, could have injured this specimens as well as the rest of the ones that I have to show you.

Now are there any questions before I go on to the next creature?"

::Erica noted down all of what the Headmaster had said and waited for the next creature.::

kasnadr awrote this all down in her note book..she had no questions and was ready for the next one

Selena copied down a few notes

kasnadra was rather impaintent today..and wanted to finish as soon as possible
"um..can we move on...no ones asking any questions"

*raise hand* "Does it go by another name? I don't seem to find Chimaera in my text book, professor. Or at leats, if it's speling problem, not especifically the water-chimera."

Selena was wondering the same thing and turns to Nadia "does your book have the Chimaera as a monster with a lion's head with wings?"

HM Hendrik gazed around the room for a moment. Not seeing any questions, he waved his wand at the board again.

Blackboard

"This next creature is found living in and around lava vents on the sea floor. Most of the time, these Fire Lobsters do not surface at all and remain submerged in molten earth for their entire life. I'm afraid the recent tsunami disturbed a colony, which is the reason for one to have been caught by Muggles. As you will notice, it appears to be somewhat faded in color. In reality, they are a very bright red and tend to glow like hot ambers when not foraging for food in hot lava. They only come to the surface to lay their eggs, which are a Class A Non-tradeable good. Fire Lobster eggs are a black market item in Sri Lanka and the MoM in India levy's heavy fines and imprisonment to those who are caught dealing with them.

These eggs can be cooled with simple Freezing Charms and used in a number of potions, the main being an extremely dark and deadly potion. Before the Indian MoM placed regulations on Fire Lobster eggs, the Maut Potion was heavily used to remove high ranking officials, and anyone else for that matter, from their positions of influence. The Maut Potion was extremely dangerous because it could be dried and used as an airborn cloud of death. It's results were instantaneous. The Maut Potion, both in it's power and liquid form are un-noticable and kin to the Killing Curse."

Jaren's hand flew across the parchment as he took down notes, his eyes alternating from the blackboard to his notes but never to the Headmaster's face.

"I'm sorry Nadia, I didn't hear your question before. Most of the creatures I'm covering in this lesson can be found in What Lurks Beneath by P.H. Athoms. Though some of the ancillary information comes from my own experience and knowledge of the subject."

"oohhhhhhh" noddin

Evy continued taking notes. That fire lobster is a cutie, she thought, amused.

Serena was fascinated with the lobster. She had never seen one that looked like this before. It didn't have claws like some, nor feelers like others. She liked to go diving, but had no desire to do it near a volcano.

She finished taking notes and waited for the Professor to continue.

"Ah," Nadia said and seeing she had no information on the atter wrote down the name of the book as well as notes from class. she will need it later.

Rosa took notes and tried sketching a fire lobster. it was a waste of time. it looked more like a teapot.

Francis wrote notes down quickly. Wondering about those deadly poisons and potions, she raised her hand to ask a question, "Is there.. an antidote for that poison?".

"Hmm..." She sat thinking about what it could be. Then she raised her hand, "Could it be a Shrake, Merpeople, Dugbog, Kappa, or a Kelpie?" Asked Tori.

Ivana takes down some notes and thinks...

::Erica took down some more notes. This was an interesting creature, she thought. She raised her hand.::

"Professor, how are the wizard scientists (ooc: are there such wizards?) able to study these lobsters if they're submerged in the lava for their lifetimes?"

*raise hand* "Poison then?" was Mercurio's simple question. His vocabulary wouldn't allow him more of it. But what he was asking was quite plain.

Evy raised her hand.

"I'm sorry if that sounds stupid, but can these lobsters be eaten like the regular ones? Not because I'm a lobster maniac or anything, I'm just curious..."

Evy blushed.

Nadia felt something brush her arms and thought it was some kind of insect. Absentmindly, she tried killing it, when she felt the texture of it. Frowning she performed finite incantatum, almost at the same time hidding it under the table, on her lap. She was all too enthusiastical in taking her quill next. She inscribed back and forth, both on the table and under it, opening a book at her lap next which helped as base. She only paused to bit her quill... Finally she took her wand out again and seemed to tap the book, twice, and re-acomodate her hair out of the way. She didn't dare look back to see if she had suceeded, and looked at the front again, both hand supporting her head as she listened.

"No there is not. That is one of the main reasons Fire Lobster eggs are a Class A Non-Tradeable good. The Maut Potion is oderless and tasteless, completely undetectable...well that's not true. It's only detectable once the individual has died. The body, in most cases, spontaniously combusts, that is after all functions have ceased. The Potion effects every system in one's body, the muscular system, the nervous system, the immune system, the respiratory system...it causes a complete body shut down. That is why is is kin to the Killing Curse."

"That's a very good question. The Fire Lobster will leave their lava environment to lay their eggs, which is at the mouth of lava vents on the ocean floor. Now there is no term to classify a witch or wizard that is similar to the Muggle term 'scientist'. They are a witch or wizard who has taken an interest in a specific item, creature, plant...what ever the case, and explores all possible avenues of that 'object'. The closest comparison we have would be our Healers at someplace like St. Mungo's being kin to a Muggle doctor. I hope that answer's your question."

"Not by any witch or wizard that I have known. Not much research has been conducted on the actual lobster, just their eggs. The biology behind these firey beasts is still to be explored."

HM Hendrik paused for a moment before he continued with his lesson.

"Seeing as there are no more questions, I will continue."

He passed his wand over the blackboard again.

Blackboard

"The next creature is called a Gunard. They are relatively small fish with spiky projections around the gill area. If you look closely, you can tell that this is a picture of two Gunards eye to eye. Also notice the two spike like projections located at to front of their bodies. These 'spikes' are directly linked to the fishes nervous system and it is able to produce an electrial charge from these projections. The charge does not travel far in the water and it uses this ability as either a form of defence or for catching prey. They will 'ram' their prey, impaling it with one or both of these spikes, release a charge stunning their victim, and then consume it while it's still alive. What you can not see below these spikes is it's mouth which is lined with several rows of razor sharp teeth."

Anelreas held back a giggle as she saw the cretures on the board. They looked very peculiar. "So Gunards are sort of like electric eels? Only more violent."

*Raises hands*
Could muggles have got their idea of the stun gun from these Gunards?"

*Raises hands again*

"I have a quick question about the firecrab eggs. Do you think it is possible that the killing potion could have leaked into the muggle population and would be the cause for the many unexplainable deaths?"

Francis took notes silently as others raised questions.

*Hayley raises her hand* "Where are these fish indegious to?" she asked, after copying down the notes from the questions of other students.

munnie quickly copied down the notes and stared at the professor for an answer.
she looked at the Gunard with awe, it looked beautiful to her. she raised her hand and asked, "Professor, what kind of creatures do these...Gunards prey on? Are they dangerous to us? and how does the prey normally act when stunned? do they twich(sp), or just lie still?"

Serena knew a little about the Red Gurnards, a fish muggles like to catch and eat.

The Danish trawl for them, but also catch them with seines, longlines and gillnets. They can also be found in New Zealand, South Africa, Japan and China. They mostly inhabit shallow coastal waters over sandy bottoms, but have been reported being caught from shelf waters as deep as 180m.
Spawning takes place in the summer and larvae can be found off eastern Tasmania in late January. Juveniles stay inshore in nursery areas. Both males and females are mature at 2-3 years old, when they are 20-24cm fork length. Red Gurnards live for over 10 years and can grow to 60cm length and about 3 kg.

The Headmaster listened to all the questions in turn before he began his diverse set of answers.

"Only when provoked, if they are not bothered they go most of their lives unnoticed."

"I doubt that Muggles got their idea for a stun gun from these fish...however nothing is impossible when it comes to Muggles....they tend to be very resourceful. I'm sure that somewhat 'unethical' witches or wizards somewhere in history could have leaked the potion to the Muggle population though it would have definitely had to have been brewed by someone within the wizarding community. There are many unexplained Muggle deaths that have very strong links to wizardry in some fashion."

"Perhaps, way back in it's lineage, the Gunard split from some common ancestor to the rockfish family. There seems to be several common traits."

"If I'm not mistaken, this perticular species can be found worldwide, however it is a deep water species living all of it's life at great depths."

"Gunards will prey upon just about any creature smaller than they are and that do not pose a threat to them, like being able to eat them. Depending on the 'size' of the shock the Gunard inflicts upon it's prey, I would wager to guess that some twitching would be involved, though in reality the prey would just float in the water column or gradually sink to the ocean floor where the Gunard would be able to consume it's meal. As far as a threat to us...well unless you are at great depths or on the ocean floor, I can safely say that you have nothing to worry about." The Headmaster had to grin after answering this question. He was pleased to see that the students were so inquisitive.

"No, you said it yourself...because of the size of their eyes, they do not need to use their electric charges as a form of light in the depths of the ocean."

He then turned to Serena to address her responce.

"That's very good Serena, and very true; however, this particular species is not normally caught and consumed by Muggles. There is a non-magical fish that you might be confusing this one with...here let me show you."

Again, he pointed his wand at the board

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...ng_gurnard.jpg

"This is what Muggles refer to as a Flying Gurnard. It has many of the same habitats as the Gunard fish we are discussing and what you said is very true for the Flying Gurnard. I hope this clears things up."

HM Hendrik soon realized that his class was quickly comming to an end and he needed to go over one more species before he assigned homework. With a final pass of his wand at the board, the last creature of this lesson appeared.
Blackboard

"Now some of you may find this creature very interesting. It's the Firefly Squid. Does anyone know anything about it?"

Francis raised her hand, "The firefly squid is a small member of the squid family, growing to a length of only three inches. The tips of their tentacles are equipped with light-producing organs called photophores. The squid uses these lights to attract it prey. By flashing these lights on and off, they can attract small fish and then pounce on the with their powerful tentacles. The firefly squid is also capable of emitting light from its entire body. The squid's body is covered with tiny photophores that can be flashed in unison or alternated in an endless number of hypnotizing patterns. The firefly squid spends its days at depths of about 1200 feet. At night, it comes up to the surface to search for food. During spawning season, they can even come close to shore. They can be seen gathering every year from March to May in Toyama Bay in Japan. Toyama Bay is a V-shaped canyon in which the sea floor drops away very suddenly. The flow of the current usually wells up from the bottom so that the squid are pushed up to the top by the water. The area where the squid gather has been designated as special natural treasure. The average life span of a firefly squid is about one year. They are found throughout the western Pacific ocean."

Serena raised her hand.

The firefly squid is a small member of the squid family that grows to a length of only three inches. The tips of their tentacles are equipped with light-producing organs called photophores. The squid uses these lights to attract its prey. By flashing these lights on and off, they can attract small fish and then pounce on the with their powerful tentacles. The firefly squid can emit light from its entire body as well. The squid's body is covered with tiny photophores that can be flashed in unison or alternated in an endless number of hypnotizing patterns. The firefly squid spends its days at depths of about 1200 feet. At night, it comes up to the surface to search for food. During spawning season, they can even come close to shore. They can be seen gathering every year from March to May in Toyama Bay in Japan. Toyama Bay is a V-shaped canyon in which the sea floor drops away very suddenly. The flow of the current usually wells up from the bottom so that the squid are pushed up to the top by the water. The area where the squid gather has been designated as special natural treasure. The average life span of a firefly squid is about one year. They are found throughout the western Pacific ocean.

The Headmaster grinned as both students gave the same answer.

"It seems that you two have been doing some reading...out of the same book no doubt. Well what you have said is very true. Now what does your book tell you of their magical abilities?"

With a slight grin he said, "5 points to both houses."

Francis smiled a little bit embarassed. Then raising her hand unsuringly, she replied, "Would it have to do with its hypnotic abilities? Perhaps the squid can make its prey sleep or be dazed?"

Serena raised her hand.

'I agree. It seems the firefly squid has similar abilities to the hinkypunk that carries a light to lure travelers into bogs. The firefly squid uses its lights to lure and hypnotize unsuspecting victims into their lair.'

Amy raised her hand.
"Are the photophores used for any magical purposes, such as potions?" Amy asked Professor Hendrik. "Or perhaps their eggs," she suggested.

"Very good Serena and Francis, the Firefly Squid uses it's photophores as a type of hypnotic ability to create a state of confusion to both its prey and to escape from predators. This is a very unique creature because it is one of the few underwater creatures that can be domesticated, much like a dog or cat. Now, if I'm not mistaken, when a Mereperson decides to domesticate a Firefly Squid, they are supposed to remove several of the photophores along it's body and tenticles. This greatly reduces it's hypnotic effect. Merepeople have been know to adhere them around their necks like jewelry. Though I would caution anyone addressing a Mereperson wearing a Firefly Squid. Beacuse it's hard to tell if any of the photophores have been removed, until it's too late, Merepeople who wear them are often....how can I say this...of lesser social standing?....Well, they should not be trusted. They tend to manipulate others into doing what they want."

Pausing for a moment, the Headmaster says, "Now are there any other questions before I assign homework?"

"Oops, sorry about that Amy...to answer your question, there have been no discoveries to date for the use of Firefly Squid photophores in any potions. That is to say that aren't any....just no one has discovered any significant uses for them. This goes for thier eggs as well.

Anything else?"

Selena took down notes

Serena took down the notes, fascinated at the connection with the Merpeople. "Has anyone besides Merpeople been able to use the photophores?" ask Serena raising her hand.

munnie raised her hand again realizing that the proffesor probably didnt hear her, " professor can the can these firefly squids protect themselves by using thier body light to blind thier enemies and make an excape if they were in danger?"

"No, not to my knowledge. The use of photophores are limited to Merepeople."

"No, the light from their photophores is not sufficient enough to 'blind' a would be attacter.

Now, if there are no more questions, I will assign some homework.Homework is due to me by Friday the 4th of March."

He turned to the board and pointed at a piece of chalk.

"Lucubrationis."

The chaulk began to write out the homework assignment...

1. Give a general description of the Chimera pup and it’s significant features, habitat and magical abilities.
2. Describe, very briefly, the life cycle of the Fire Lobster and the significance of Fire Lobster eggs. Where are they found and what are their uses plus any interesting facts that surround them.
3. What is a Gunard and where can they be found?
4. Describe the magical abilities of the Firefly Squid and any significance surrounding them.

Homework is to be sent to profhendrik@hotmail.com and not to my office. Please be sure to include your member ID# when submitting your homework so that proper credit can be assigned. OOC: To get your member ID# hover your mouse over your screen name and look in the bottom right hand corner of your screen. You should see a link to the site that ends with "...u='some number'. That number is your member ID#. Mine is 8344.