[Y1 and Y2] Lesson 1- Hippogriffs and Phoenixes

Selene's dark hair was put in a pony tail as she carried a cane with dead ferrets hanging from it. Her feet walked in the direction of the Forbidden Forest, in which she had asked her first and second years to meet her early in the morning to introduce them to the class. After a few year of experience, she realized it was best to take Flobberworms out of the curriculum altogether as they were boring to the students and almost meaningless. Instead, she chose two more exciting animals that had been quite a success with the students from previous years.

As they all arrived, with curious eyes, she introduced herself. "Welcome to the first Care of Magical Creatures Class. I hope you find this subject enjoyable, and please keep in mind that since we are going into the forest, any late students will sadly have to be kept in the classroom for security reasons. Let me start by saying that you are in no way allowed to separate yourself fro, the group, and if you do, there will be terrible consequences. You will also follow my instructions when we reach the Hippogriff, does anyone know what that is?" She asked, hoping most of them would.

Deirdre was waiting, along with some other early first and second years, near the start of the Forbidden Forest. It was where Professor Vega had told them to settle after coming, no going further without her was allowed in any case.
Most of the other students were already talking to each other, but Deirdre had only made some quick acquaintances and didn't really know people around the castle, so she just stood separate. She just hoped they'd have the opportunity to study about something more interesting the first time here.
Everyone else also started arriving, as well as Ms Selene Vega, their Care of Magical Creatures Professor.

When the Professor introduced herself and explained the rules in the class, she also asked a question. Deirdre listened carefully to everything the teacher had to say, then raised her hand to answer. Ms Vega motioned to her, "Yes?"
Deirdre took a breath in, and spoke, " If I am correct, these are winged horses with the frontal body of an eagle." it almost sounded like a question.
Deirdre started nervously playing with her long raven-black hair.

Maya was delighted as the class made their way down to the forbidden forest. She never expected them to be here on there first lesson, which obviously meant that they would be seeing something dangerous enough.

She listened as Professor Vega introduced herself and Maya thought that she was quite pretty.

When she made their way over to the creature they'd be dealing with she seen this big eagle like creature. She listened to Deirdre's reply and then chimed in herself. "The back looks likes it half horse, so is it a mix between an eagle and a horse?" She questioned as she wasn't exactly too sure herself.

As the class headed down toward the forest, Marie couldn't contain the excited smile that broke out on her face. She had been very concerned that this class would be very boring in the beginning, but it didn't appear that would be the case. Marie found herself almost skipping as they walked, which was unusual for her.

When they arrived to their destination, Marie looked around the class. Spotting Maya, Marie gravitated over toward the girl she knew. Professor Vega started her introduction while Marie was still moving, so she hurried to reach her desired spot before the professor asked a question.

Marie thought about it. She didn't know anything Hippogriffs and knew she would not have been inclined to answer even if she had, so she quietly listened to the other students' answers. A half eagle, half horse beast, this was definitely going to be a good class

Grace sits down and waits for Professor Vega to arrive. Grace's first impressions of Vega were very good. Grace listened to the rules but she didn't mind them as much as others probably did. Each Professor had a different set of rules and Grace doesn't want to break a rule.

Professor Vega had proposed a question, and Grace knew the question immediately. Grace loves creatures and animals so she studied them before arriving at Hogwarts. "Professor Vega, a Hippogriff is a legendary magical creature that is a winged horse with an eagle's head and upper body. Hippogriffs have, steel-coloured beaks and large orange eyes. The talons on their front legs are half a foot long and appear deadly. But once you earn their trust, they are loyal and protective of you. It's all about earning their trust in the right way." Grace was rambling on, but for once she was actually alright with speaking in front of people for that long.

Walking out to the forest with the rest of the class, Leon found himself both excited and nervous. He knew the forest was dangerous, but he couldn't even imagine what kinds of creatures could be out there. When they arrived he listened carefully to what Professor Vega was saying. A bright smile broke out on his face as the other students were answer the professors question. He had never imagined such a creature could exist. This was definitely exciting.

Morgana listened quietly to the professor and then raised her eyebrow halfway at all the different responses the question got. Well, different wouldn't be the right word. They were all pretty much the same answer. She figured she could just as well add what she knew about them.

"And in addition to what the others have said, Hippogriffs are very proud, and just a slight insult, and you will probably be attacked by them," she said calmly, "So by earning their respect and trust, and by never insulting them, they will not harm you."

"Five points to all. It seems most of you know what a Hippogriff is, so let's continue." she saw as she walked towards the forest, making sure the students were behind.

"Now, Hippogriffs have the body, hind legs, and tail of a horse, however, the head, front legs and wings are those of a giant eagle." She informed them as she walked. "Hippogriffs are proud creatures. If you offend them, they will attack you. You will take turns doing this; you walk towards it, bow, and wait for it to make the first move. The Hippogriff must always make the first move. So, if it bows, then you can touch it, but be very careful. If it doesn't bow, then just walk away immediately. Does everyone understand?" She asked as she suddenly stopped, turned to look at them, and waited for them to agree.

Selene continued to lead the students not too deep into the forest, to a place that was withing the sunlight's reach and set the dead ferrets down. Tied to a big, thick tree was a HIppogriff, with sandy brown feather that glistened with the sunlight, and massive wings that seemed surreal at first sight.
"Alright." she said, as she turned to face her students, mentally counting how many had arrived for safety purposes. "Everyone, this is Golliat" she began, "Before we take turns in meeting him, you will all receive three handouts that you may need for future classes. Now, here," she said as she waved her golden wand and three stacks of papers appeared, floating in mid air. 
"Leon, take one and pass them down." she said to the Hufflepuff as the stacks floated towards him.
"The first one is Handout 1-Hippogriff. It's too dangerous for you to take a closer look and draw him, so you get a handout instead. The second one is Handout 2-Griffin. It's a drawing of a Griffin, an animal very similar to the Hippogriff. Keep it for comparison purposes. The third one, Handout 3-Hippogiff Anatomy, is a vague drawing of what they look like as far as muscles and bones go. Not as useful, but worth having." 
As the handouts were passed around, Selene turned to look at the creature. 
"Alright. Who wants to go first?" she asked.

Morgana looked at the professor when she stopped briefly and, not being one to nod, Morgana gave a silent, but clear 'yes' in response. She then continued following the professor along with the rest of the class. She looked on around her, thinking only of the last time she had been near the forest, which had taken 20 points from her house. She remembered professor Vega stepping in, wondering if everything was all right. Morgana wondered if she should have explained the reason to the Head of Slytherin, but it was too late now.

Then they stopped again and a Hippogriff was standing in front of them. Golliat. He was a rather beautiful one. She looked briefly at the handouts and put them in her bag when professor Vega asked who would like to go first. Morgana, not seeing the danger if she was careful enough, raised her hand calmly and stepped forward. "I would," she said calmly.

She then turned to the Hippogriff and took a small step towards it, making sure it understood that she was trying to communicate. Then she stopped and bowed down deep and long, baring her neck to the creature, showing how vulnerable she was, which would probably help Golliat into trusting her as she was trusting him not to bite her neck off. She didn't look up, but when she heard no rustling, she couldn't help looking up from under her eyebrows. Just when she did, the hippogriff bent its front leg (would it be called a leg, though...) and gave a bow back.

Morgana couldn't help a small, soft smile from forming on her lips. She looked briefly at the professor, and after making sure she could continue, she took a tentative step towards Golliat, in a really slow pace, not wanting to scare him, pose as threatening, or disrespectful. But she kept the kind smile on her face. She jumped a bit when Golliat started walking slowly towards her, and she stopped, letting him come to her.

Then, a few seconds later, she was patting his beak and feathers. He was so soft! She gave a childish giggle that she never knew she had. "You really are amazing," she muttered softly. She had no idea that an animal could have such an impact on her. But, clearly, she was mistaken. Maybe she'd enjoy CoMC even more than she had expected to. She patted Golliat until professor Vega would tell her otherwise.

Maya looked around after receiving her handouts, trying to see who had agreed to approach the hippogriff. She spotted Morgana standing aside from the group and realised that she was the only second year here. She was impressed with her involvement as Maya wasn't too keen on getting any closer to the hippogriff after the word dangerous was mentioned by Professor Vega. It wasn't that she was scared, she just didn't feel like getting attacked by a creature twice her size in front of everyone in her first CoMC lesson.

Maya looked on as Morgana walked with cation until she reached the magnificent winged beast. After bowing deeply to the hippogriff, it slowly bowed back. Maya let out a sigh of relief on behalf of Morgana, she hadn't realised how worried she had just been for her.

She watched Morgana petting the creature and decided that maybe they as dangerous ad she first thought. Looking around at the professor she wondered when she would get a turn to pet Golliat.

Grace listened to what Professor Vega had to say about Hippogriffs. Hippogriffs can be very dangerous animals, so Grace paid extra careful attention about being close to one. They would need to deal with one this lesson soon so the information must be in Grace's head before then. Grace nodded when Professor Vega asked if everyone understood.

When they had arrived to their location which fortunately wasn't too close from the forest, you could see a Hippogriff. It was absolutely gorgeous. The wings were huge and appeared to be shining thanks to the sun being out today. It looked deadly, but as long as we approached it right, it wouldn't hurt. His name was Golliat, and Grace thought that was a wonderful name for him. They were handed out 3 sheets. Grace had a quick look at them and she could see the comparison between the Hippogriff and the Griffin.

A Slytherin girl was first to go up. She seemed calm about it, which has to be a good sign. Grace was just hoping that everything would be alright. The last thing they needed was to have a casualty on the first lesson. The girl had seemed older than the class, but it was a first and second year course. Grace just watched in silence and the girl bowed down. She was waiting for Golliat to respond and as soon as she went to look at him, he bowed to her.

Grace could hear a few of the classmates breathing a sigh of relief, probably the Slytherin classmates. The girl then started to slowly walk to Golliat before he started to walk towards her. They then managed to make contact and that was when Grace's worries had gone away. Grace stayed silent, just to make sure that Golliat wouldn't hurt anyone but Grace was now excited, hoping to have a turn.

Deirdre nodded her head after the Professor's question, yes, she had understood. She was to be careful when approaching the Hippogriff, then.
When her handouts were passed to her, Deirdre examined them quickly and turned her attention to the first candidate to go the Hippogriff. She was a Slytherin.
As she looked closer, she could see how beautiful the beast really was. Maybe she could get the next turn with it?

The girl walked carefully to Goliath, bowed deep and bared her neck to him. That seemed like a dangerous thing to do. The class stood still, anxious, but then let out a big sigh of relief as the Hippogriff bent his legs and bowed in turn, happily, not biting the girl's head off. Then she petted him long with a smile on her face. Deirdre thought she heard a giggle, as well, but she could've mistaken, because the girl was a Slytherin and appeared older than the others.

The girl kept patting the creature, clearly having no intentions of stopping until perhaps the Professor told her otherwise. However, Ms Vega was just smiling at her proudly ans still saying nothing. A smile broke on Dierdre's face, as well.

"20 points to Slytherin." Selene announced as she witnessed Morgana and Golliat's performance. The girl was clearly enjoying herself, so Selene gave her a few seconds more with the Hippogriff. "Morgana please come back, we have to give other's the chance to win points for their house." as soon as the girl walked back, Selene looked around at the students. "Who's next?"

READ:

"I'll go next." Grace says as she goes over to where the Hippogriff was. Staying far back so that he wouldn't become aggressive and intimidated. Grace told herself to stay calm as she bowed and avoided eye contact with Golliat. Grace nervously waited for a few seconds before she heard Golliat's paw move to bow. Grace then looked up and realised that she had gained his trust. She slowly started to walk over to Golliat and he started to walk over to her.

When Grace finally got close enough to touch Golliat, different emotions were being felt. Grace was scared to touch him first, but once she had, she was relieved and happy. He actually felt quite soft to what she thought that he would feel. She patted him softly for a couple of seconds before bowing to him again. Grace then went back to her class and waited to see how everyone else would do.

Maya stood back and watched as Grace promptly approached the hippogriff and successfully got him to bow back to her.

When she returned Maya stepped forward and walked tentatively up to the hippogriff. She wondered if she would be the only one where the hippofgriff wouldn't bow to her. She tried to push discouraging thoughts from her head as she didn't know what she would do if he didn't bow to her, she doubted she could run faster than him.

Standing in front of the hippogriff she stared Golliat directly in the eyes. His beady eyes, stared unblinking back at her. Mesmerised by his eyes, she momentarily forgot what she was supposed to do. She jerked into life a second later and bowed stiffly to the hippogriff, silently praying that he would bow back. After a few long moments Maya seen Golliat's paws bending forward as he bent low, it's large beak almost touching the ground.

Smiling exuberantly Maya stroked Golliat's beak, taking in the beast's magnificence at the close range. Once she was finished she returned to the other students, allowing someone else to have their turn.

Jennifer glanced at the handouts, before putting them in the front pocket of her bag. She'd probably look at them more closely later on, if she didn't have too much homework.

The girl watched eagerly as some other students approached the hippogriffs, waiting patiently for her turn. He seemed in a good mood, since he had bowed to everyone so far. She wasn't afraid anyway, since she'd become a lot better and more confident at COMC, even though it still wasn't her favourite lesson of all time.

Once the first-year girl - Maya, she thought her name was - had finished and returned to her place, Jennifer took a step forward, anxious to have a go. She grinned and walked quickly towards the animal.

She bowed slowly, then waited for Golliat to return it. He seemed to hesitate before doing so. When finally he did, Jen stroked him happily. Aww, he was so sweet. She knew that she needed to return to give any other students a chance, so reluctantly went back to her place. It was official. Hippogriffs were her new favourite animals.

Evan has never seen such a beautiful creature before. He was looking at the hyppogriff for a couple of minutes, hypnotized. And then a sudden thought stroke him. I should make some sketches of this creature! He got a sketchbook from his backpack and started drawing. Evan wasn't sure whether pencils were allowed in Hogwarts or not, he just automatically put some of them in his bag when he left Eastwood. He stood in a long distance away from the creature, but this was enough for a vague sketch. Line by line, stroke by stroke, a hyppogriff started to appear on a paper sheet.

By the time the third girl stopped petting Golliat, the first sketch had been done. Finished at last! I like this drawing better than the one in handouts. Evan smiled proudly. Actually, his sketch was very sloppy and it was much worse than handouts' images. But Evan was too excited about drawing a hyppogriff to realize this.

He saw another girl approached Golliat. This time Evan decided to watch closely, his sketch was ready anyway. The Slytherin girl bowed, the hyppogriff returned the bow, and then the girl petted him a little. Maybe I should try it too? Everything went perfect so far, but Evan still had doubts about how safe this lesson actually was. "Excuse me, professor? Can I try?" - Evan whispered so quiet that no one actually heard him.

Okay. I can do this. Evan made a step forward. There is nothing dangerous. Proffessor Vega have everything under control. He stood next to Galliat and bowed, Galliat bowed back. Evan made a few cautious steps towards the hyppogriff and petted his feathers slightly. Then Evan returned to other students, totally amazed by this lesson.

Cassandra watched as the other students each one by one approached the hippogriff and bowed, going through all the steps, petting it, and then backing away.  Obviously the boy who'd just gone had been nervous about petting it and would have rather stayed back, drawing it like he'd been doing before.  But if everyone else could do it, Cassandra definitely could too.  She grabbed the strap of her bag and pulled it over her head and off her shoulder, setting it on the slightly damp ground.  Her books better not be wet when she came back or else...

Silently stepping carefully towards the hippogriff, what was it's name, Galliat? she briefly wondered what would happen if she curtsied instead? Blinking away her moment of utter hysteria, she bowed to the hippogriff and tried not to laugh.  She made eye contact and kept it, not exactly sure if that was right or not.  The hippogriff jsut kept staring at her.  This was getting unnerving.  This was why she wasn't really interested in CoMC.  People were so much easier to interpret than animals.  She kept waiting for the hippogriff to bow back.  What was it's problem?  Trying not to roll her eyes, she carefully straightened up and backed away.  Alright then.  Well, if it wasn't going to bow, then she was going to get out of here before it attacked her.  Placing one foot behind the other while still trying to maintain eye contact with a wild animal is not easy.  

When Cassandra finally managed to get far enough away to be safe, she broke eye contact and looked to Professor Vega.  She hoped that the professor wouldn't be angry at her failed attempt to pet the creature.  And it wasn't even her fault!  Angrily snatching a piece of paper from her bag, she grabbed a quill and with dark, angry strokes, began to draw a diagram of the hippogriff from what she had seen so far. Stupid...hippogriffs...ugh.

Selene watched as her students appreciated Golliat. They were loving him. "Jennifer and Maya, you have won Slytherin 20 points each. And the same goes for Evan and Grace." She smiled as five of the students performed the assignment. "Cassandra, you have also won 20 points for Gryffindor, however," she glanced at the girl, "I would like to see you in my office this afternoon."

Pausing to breathe, Selene glanced at the remaining students. "Anyone else?"

"I'd like to try..." Deirdre murmured. Professor Vega smiled and nodded her head in approval. Deirdre walked up to the magnificent beast carefully, afraid she could anger it. She stopped and tried to think over her next moves, not excluding the possibility of being hurt by it. Okay, then, time to start.

She made another small step, deciding not to close the distance between herself and the Hippogriff fully. She put one leg behind her, trying to not look at its eyes or make sudden moves, so she could just finish without Goliath biting her head off. She gracefully bent in a low bow, her long dark hair touching the ground as she did so. She stayed in such position for a few more minutes.

It wasn't moving. Was it going to reject her politeness? After a long time, or at least so it seemed to her, the creature finally moved, shuffling the grass as it moved its legs and bowed to her. Deirdre let out a small sigh of relief, standing straight once again, trembling. She raised her shaking fingers and her palm met the soft feathers on Goliath's head. God, who knew it was so pleasant to pet a Hippogriff?

She smiled sincerely.

Morgana gave a nod to the professor and walked away from Golliat with a smile on her lips. 20 points. She was pleased with that. She went back to where she had been standing before and looked on as the other people had their go. She was really pleased when two more Slytherins earned 20 points each. Through this lesson, Slytherin had gained 60 points. Morgana didn't even try to hide her smirk. It was a pleasant smirk, though. Not the sort that said 'we're better than you'. Just a happy smirk.

After returning to the other students Maya watched patiently as everyone individually approached the magnificent beast. Maya grimaced to herself when the hipporgiff didn't bow to one girl, she didn't seem too bothered though.

After Professor Vega awarded points Maya couldn't help but catching Morgana's eye and grinning. The Slytherin's had rocked this class and Maya couldn't hide her enthusiasm.

She looked around checking to see what the other students were doing, wondering if she should start sketching a picture of the hippogriff.

Soon after Deirdre, a Hufflepuff girl that he knew only by looks, Ryland made his way towards the front, ready to face Golliat. "I'll go next." Ryland said confidently. He had met the creature already, last year, so it would certainly be easier this time.

Walking rather quickly, Ryland stopped a few feet in front of Golliat. "Hey." he greeted the creature. "Remember me?" His smile grew wide as he bowed politely towards the animal, letting it's gaze land on him. For a few seconds, he wondered if it would recognize him, though it was clear once Golliat bowed quickly towards him.

Placing his hand on top of Golliat's head, he smiled, "You know, it's nice to finally know your name. I'm Ryland." It seemed a bit foolish to talk to Golliat, but he was mesmerized by the creature. For a moment, he could have sworn Golliat was greeting him back as it rubbed it's head against his hand. Chuckling, he said "I've got to go. People are still waiting, I suppose." and taking his hand off the animal, he headed back towards the crowd of students.

Selene smiled at Dierdre and Ryland. "Anyone else who hasn't tried? We're about to move on to another creature." She motioned for Scarlet to come down from the trees, settling down next to her. "Has everyone gone then?" After students looked at each other, Selene turned to Scarlet.

"This is Scarlet, for anyone who hasn't met her yet." she motioned to the bright, red velvet bird with fiery wings. She seemed a bit down, a lot older than the last time Selene had seen her, and she knew this was the perfect time to show the students a Phoenix.

"She's a Phoenix, and that means, she can die and rise from her own ashes, and she's getting close to her Burning Day." she announced as she stroked the bird's head. Scarlet was starting to loose her beautiful feathers, though some still remained; her eyes were dull, not as black as they used to be; and her mood wasn't as lively as usual.

"Feel free to come closer and take a better look at her." Selene suggested, moving away from the bird, "She would love the attention much more now."

Maya looked up in awe, she thought that the hippogriff was a magnificent creature but when she spotted the great scarlet bird she thought that in comparison the bird outshone the hippogriff, even in it's apparent sickly state.

Maya was shocked to hear that the bird could die and rise from her own ashes. She thought that it would be a sight to behold. The Phoenix coughed loudly, sounding like it was choking. It appeared miserable and Maya felt strong compassion for it.

Maya looked around seeing if anyone else was going to approach. She had much less reservations about being in close quarters with this animal as it looked too weak to even attack. Tentatively she approached and began softly stroking her, afraid she was hurting her in it's frail state.