::Erica raised her hand.::

"Also, the Augurey had a distinctive low and throbbing cry which is heard at the approach of rain. Though, it was believed that the cry foretold death the the person who heard it."

Sarah raised her hand. "It is a thin and mournful-looking bird somewhat resembling a vulture, greenish-black in color, native to Britain and Ireland. Normally remaining hidden in its nest in brambles and thorns, flying only in heavy rain, the feathers of the Augurey repel ink. Its distinctive cry was once thought to be a death omen, but it is now known that the Augurey's cry foretells rain. The augurey eats insects and fairies and it has a MoM rating of XX"

Francis smiled and relaxed. It seemed that the question had been answered to its fullest.

:: Ganymede had a question, "Are these used in Divination?" she asked the rather robust Official. ::

Selena put her head down so she could laugh "you ever thought about giving us a stand up comedy show in the common room? I'll promote you! Flyers and all!"

"The cry of the Augery was once believed to fortell death, though now it is believed it merely sings when it rains, and its feathers repell water, which make them useless as quills." Jaren added.

munnie sits and listens to the answers given by the students, many of whom are from her very same House... "very intelligent" she smiles widely at the Students (all of them) then stares at the Professor...waiting for his reply

:: Ganymede wasn't sure where her comment was directed. She brushed it off and continued to act as calm as possible. She was a bit wary of this new Teacher. ::

Nadia raises her hand though most was told. "This is just a guess but I believe the bird was named like that on the mythology surrounding this creature, about it singing to announce a bad omen. It is easy to see the roots of the name Augurey and 'augury', as the form of divination by birds and predictive omens, token or indicator. Maybe even a mistake in the pronunciation caused it. The immediate source is Latin augurium, which is derived from a Latin base formaugur, and in English, augur is normally used as a noun meaning 'a soothsayer; prophet' or as a verb meaning 'to divine or predict' and also 'to serve as an omen of; foreshadow'.

"Aparts from that... umh, it is popularly used to predict time since it is sensitive to weather changes and sings when about to rain."

"Ah, yes, I can see that you all have read your text well...let's see I shall award 5 points each to Hufflepuff and Slytherin for your excellent answers. Oh and I would like to point out to the young man who said that the Augurey feathers repel ink, not water thus making them usless as quills. I would like to add that the prefered food for the Augurey are fairies. Very good. Now who can tell me something about the Jobberknoll?"

Meghan raised her hand. "The Jobberknoll is a small, speckled bird. It eats small insects. It is found in norther Europe and America. Until the moment of its death the Jobberknoll makes no sound. It lets out a long scream which is made up of every sound it has heard. It also has the M.O.M Classification of XX or harmless.

"Jobberknoll is a tiny blue speckled bird which makes no sound until the moment of its death, when it lets out a long scream consisting of all the sounds it has ever heard; their feathers are important ingredients in making potions that affect memory. It´s MoM rating is XX," Drusilla says.

Linnea watched as the other students answered questions. She knew there wasn't much she could add, and even though she was a bit wary of the knew professor, she had to admit she liked him better than borr, who thought he was the topic of discussion, this prof at least this one kept to the subject matter of the class.

"Very good, 5 points to Ravenclaw and 2 points to Slytherin for adding the part about the feathers in potion making. Now who can tell me what specific memory potions the feathers of the Jabberknoll are used for?"

Meghan shook her head no. She didn't know the answer to this question...

"They are used also in Truth Serums," said Drusilla wondering if that might be the right answer.

Since Drusilla already answered the question Selena asked a question. "Hmmm so are their feathers one of the ingredients used for Veritaserum?"

::Erica didn't know the answer to this question. She looked around at the rest of the class to see if anyone had an answer.::

"Excellent, 5 points to Slytherin, Veritaserum is one of the memory potions that the Jabberknoll feathers are used for. Let's move on....now, who can tell me something about the Diricawl?"

Linnea frowned at the mention of Veritaserum. I always thought Veritaserum just pulled down instinc and inhabitions to lie, I didn't think it had anything to do with memory. She thought. She looked around for a friendly face to talk about this with quietly, she didn't want people to realize how different, and behind, she was. She was just never taught this at home, veritaserum just wasn't used as much there, she guessed, since everyone was saying how much of a threat it was here and now.

Linnea raises her hand " The Diricawl is a plump, flightless bird escapes danger by vanishing in a burst of feathers. Muggles knew this bird as the "dodo" and believe that it is extinct, being unaware of its ability to vanish at will. Because this belief (and associated guilt) has spurred more enlightened attitudes toward the animal world among many Muggles, Wizards have encouraged it."

"It's a plump-bodied, fluffy feathered, flightless bird, and is remarkable for its method of escaping danger. It can vanish in a puff of feathers and reappear elsewhere. Muggles were once fully aware of the existence of the Diricawl, though they knew it by the name of "dodo." Muggles didn't know they could vanish so they believed they hunted them into extinction."

Meghan raised her hand. "It also has a M.O.M. classification of XX or harmless and it originated in Mauritius."

Drusilla smiles being glad that Selena managed to answer the question before the Ravenclaws did. They are so much ahead of us in points, she thought to herself. Cannot find anything to add to the answers, as the ravenclaw already added that Mauritius-part, so she remains silent... Except maybe:

"A full-grown diricawl weighs approximately 20-23 kilograms," Drusilla remembers reading somewhere, and adds that as her answer.

Lee raised his hand

"Diricawl also known as a DoDo Bird with a ministry of magic classification of XX. The Diricawl originated in Mauritius. A plump-bodied, fluffy-feathered, flightless bird, the Diricawl is remarkable for its method of escaping danger. It can vanish in a puff of feathers and reappear elsewhere, the phoenix also has these abilites"

Mithos raised his hand "The Diricawl can be trained to be a pet." Mithos added to everyone's answer.