[Y2] Lesson I-Hippogriffs

Selene had a feeling that this was going to be an exciting lesson for her Second Years, as it was already exciting for her. As she walked down to the Forbidden Forest, she carried a stick, similar to a cane, with a few dead ferrets hanging from it. She hoped her students wouldn't mind the dead creatures.
As soon as she arrived at the edge of the forest, she waited for her students to appear. Once they did, Selene began the lesson.
"Welcome to another year of Care of Magical Creatures. I'm sure you remember your first lesson last year, so I want you to remember this one too. Today, we will study Hippogriffs. Any idea of what they are?" she asked as she glanced at the students.

Aurora felt slightly uneasy walking down to the Forest with Professor Vega and her dead ferrets. On the other hand, this was her first lesson as a second year, and she was rather excited. When they reached the edge of the forest, just close enough to be shadowed by the trees, Professor Vega made the beginning of term announcement.

Hippogriffs... Aurora mused. She knew she had read the term in her book, but she couldn't exactly recall what they were. She did, however, recognize part of the word. Raising her hand, she wagered a guess. "Do they have anything to do with horses, Professor?" Aurora knew that hippo meant horse in Ancient Greek, but the only thing she could associate with griff was Gryffindor, and she knew that that couldn't be right.

James made his way towards the Forbidden Forest, impatient at the prospect of finally attending his first lesson as a Second Year. He had really missed Hogwarts during the holidays, and was excited to be back. The first class was Care of Magical Creatures, that he had particularly appreciated so far, since it allowed him to use his knowledge of Muggle myths and legends while still discovering amazing new things about the wizarding world.

Approaching the tall trees, he noticed Professor Vega was already there, as well as Aurora. "Hi" he happily greeted his housemate, and stood beside her while waiting for the other students to arrive. Once everyone was present, the teacher informed them they would be learning about Hippogriffs. From the numerous gasps of excitement of his classmates, James figured that they had to be quite impressive and couldn't wait to actually see them. Professor Vega started by asking them about these creatures. He instantly tried to remember everything he had read on the subject, but before he could say anything, Aurora raised her hand and suggested an answer.

Excited, Wade ran toward the Forbidden Forest, ready to start his second year with Care of Magical Creatures as his first class. Seeing Professor Vega again, after being deprived from that childish dream during the break, made his heart skip a beat. He was turning 12 soon, and he couldn't wait to inform his Professor about this. He wanted to celebrate with Lucy alone, but letting Miss Vega know that he'd be older, and therefore more mature, couldn't hurt.
His lips curled into a smile as soon as he saw his professor, but upon turning his gaze the other way, he noticed Aurora and James were already there. The smile faded a little, but he was glad to finally see a boy in his classes. The only other boys he knew were Taison and Spencer. The first one he didn't really care for, because he barely knew him. However, the second one, he disliked too much to be able to be in the same room as the Gryffindor.
Wade stood next to James and smiled at both of them, a shy greeting. He listened carefully as Professor Vega began the lesson, and his eyes widened as he heard the word Hippogriffs.
He truly had no idea what they were, only that they were big and dangerous. Looking around, he noticed Aurora's hand go up in the air, a bit hesitant. He knew she'd say something smart, so he relaxed a little, but hoped they actually wouldn't go anywhere near one of those things. Uncle Draco had told him some strange stories about Hippogriffs, and he didn't want to know whether they were true or not.

Lucy's golden hair trailed behind her as she walked up towards the Forbidden Forest. Her first class was Care of Magical Creatures, and she was glad that Professor Vega was still teaching that course. As she scanned the crowd of students that had already arrived, she noticed it was only Wade, James and Aurora. Walking towards them, she shyly smiled at James, and said "Hi" to Aurora as she took her place next to Wade and waited for Professor Vega to begin the lesson.

When Professor Vega announced they'd be studying Hippogriffs, her small hand wrapped itself around Wade's arm. She was excited. This was an animal that had intrigued her for so long, no matter what Uncle Draco had said. She had a feeling that she'd love this lesson as much as she liked them last year. Turning to glance quickly at James, she managed to catch his gaze and gave him a small, but excited, smile.

Spoiler:

As Kim entered the Forbidden Forest, she can't hide the smile from her face, knowing that at least, she did a nice job adjusting to her new life. She even accelerated to a higher year and no one can appreciate it more than her. Seeing that the others are already there, she took a place not far but not that near to where Professor Vega is. Even though she loves the subject, she wasn't sure on the other creatures that she might encounter. Knowing that this is a magical world, she can't hide the fact that there are scary creatures and beasts around like dragons and basilisks.

After listening to what the professor said, Kim thought for a while, thinking where she had encountered the word 'Hippogriffs'. Her mind seemed to be off for the past few days, not in the mood yet. Maybe a Hippopotamus but with wings? she thought to herself but it made her laugh a bit, imagining how it will look like. She decided to wait for further information before she gets into anything.

Selene smiled at Miss Finnigan's answer. "Correct, they do have something to do with horses. 5 points for Ravenclaw."
"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, trying to put an image in their brains before they saw the real thing.
Putting the dead ferrets aside, she continued, "Before you can all go in and see a real one, you need to pay close attention to what I'm saying. Hippogriffs are proud creatures. By 'proud' I mean intensely proud. If you offend them, they will attack you." She looked at them, at each and every one of her students, hoping the reality of how dangerous a Hippogriff is would sink in.
"You will take turns doing this; you walk towards it, bow, and wait for it to make the first move. The Hippigriff 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 grabbed the cane with the hanging dead ferrets again and started to move towards the inside of the forest, with her students not far behind.

James listened carefully as Professor Vega gave them instructions on how to correctly interact with Hippogriffs, stressing the importance of her words. If these creatures were anything close to what James imagined they were like, offending them was indeed not the wisest thing to do.

"Does everyone understand?" the teacher finally asked, before venturing into the forest. Glancing at his classmates, James saw excitement on some faces and hints of fear on others. He wasn't very calm either, but reassured himself that everything should be fine as long as he followed Professor Vega's advice. Catching his gaze, Lucy gave him a quick grin. Returning the smile, he joined the others as they edged towards the tall trees.

Selene led 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; one of the most beautiful creatures Selene had ever seen.
"Alright." she said, as she turned to face her students, mentally counting how many had arrived for safety purposes. "Everyone, this is Hippogriff." she began, unable to remember the bird's name. "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.
"Shah. Take one and pass them down." she said to the Gryffindor as the stacks floated towards her.
"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.

Aurora took the handouts and studied them for a long time. When she looked up, she realized that the rest of the class had moved on. She jumped up, and her eyes caught on the gorgeous Hippogriff. She gasped. It was so beautiful! Its feathers glistened with shades of brown, gold, and russet. As Aurora gazed at it in wonder, it looked back at her, its huge eagle eyes knowledgeable and haughty. Aurora felt herself go numb as she stared at the Hippogriff. She would give anything to touch it, to stroke it, to tell it how beautiful it was.

When Shah volunteered, Aurora felt a deep sadness. She would have liked to go, but seeing how Shah had masterfully handled the approach, Aurora knew that she wouldn't have done so well. But when the Gryffindor was done, Aurora surprised herself by raising her hand and saying, "Professor, may I go next?"

Wade watched silently as Shah successfully became acquainted with the large creature and gave her a big smile as his friend walked back to her spot. Unable to say or do anything else, she waited until someone else offered to try. When Aurora raised her hand and volunteered, he relaxed a little.

Selene was impressed by how quickly Shah Hazel had been able to gain the Hippogriff's attention and respect. Smiling as she clapped for her Gryffindor student, a hand went up in the air. It was Aurora Finnigan.
"Yes, Aurora. You may go next." She said as she opened the path for the girl, excited that her students seemed to be enjoying the bird.

Ella had been standing in the back, watching closely. She was quite amused by the dead animals but she wasn't too sure about getting close to a Hippogriff. It was the first class of the year and she was already ready for summer. She wondered where Ellie as and then smiled as she realised Ellie is probably freaked out wherever she is.

She looked down at the handouts and studied them while waiting to see the others approach the huge animal.

Grinning, Aurora stepped forward toward the hippogriff. It cocked its head and eyed her. Aurora took another hasty step, then bent at the waist slowly. When the hippogriff didn't move, she tried again. Nothing happened. Aurora began to feel panicky. Maybe she had approached too quickly? She took a few steps backward, then walked forward again, but much more slowly. Bowing deeply, Aurora kept her eyes on the hippogriff, which stared back at her. After a few breathless seconds, it bent its knees and Aurora, delighted, leapt up.

With a squawk, the hippogriff backed away, but Aurora put out her hand. "It's okay," she whispered. "I'm your friend." The hippogriff stopped its backwards movement, and, ever so slowly, stepped forward again. Aurora felt its head nuzzle the bottom of her hand. Gasping with pleasure, Aurora rubbed its head feathers, scratching them and smoothing over the rough patches. The hippogriff made a weird rumble in its throat, almost like a cat purring. Aurora smiled and continued patting it. After about a minute, the hippogriff turned its eye and looked straight at her. Aurora got the message. It was time for her to leave.

Sadly, Aurora walked back toward her class, but managed a polite bow as she took leave of the magnificent animal. Once she reached the others, she couldn't manage any words. She had never been that interested in magical creatures, but the hippogriff... Wow. Just wow.

"Very good Aurora." Selene said to the Ravenclaw, who seemed satisfied with her success. Turning to the rest of the class, she asked "Would anyone like to go next?"

James stayed with the others, observing the two girls approach the Hippogriff. The creature was truly majestic, but he preferred to admire it from a safe distance, despite his curiosity. He flashed an admiring smile at Aurora when she returned, but his grin disappeared as soon as Professor Vega asked who wanted to go next. Feeling his heart beat faster, he tried to blend in, hoping that someone else would volunteer and that they would run out of time before everyone could have a chance to perform the task.

Breathing in, Wade walked up and smiled at Professor Vega.
I'm gonna do this...I'm gonna do this...he thought as he walked confidently towards the large bird-like creature, although he was scared of what the bird would do. At the sound of his footsteps, the creature turned its head towards the boy, who stopped somewhat abruptly at the sight of the bird's eyes. Letting go of his fear, he bowed slowly, never taking his eyes off the creature.

The Hippogriff, however, didn't move. Wade bowed a little more, but the creature still did not respond. He was trying not to panic, trying not to look scared, although it seemed that the bird had already figured out that Wade was actually dying with worry. It looked at him with it's big eagle-like eyes, making Wade feel uncomfortable. As he tried to remember what Professor Vega had said, a million words ran freely in his brain.

Before you can all go in and see a real one...Hippogriffs are proud creatures...intensely proud...If you offend them, they will attack you...walk towards it...bow...The Hippogriff must always make the first move...if it bows, then you can touch it...If it doesn't...walk away immediately...

"Walk away immediately..." Wade whispered as he slowly bowed once more, a sing that he respected the bird's decision, and then stood up completely, walking in long quick steps back to his spot. His once fair cheeks were turning pink, but he thanked Professor Vega and arrived safely next to Lucy.

"Well, that could have gone worse..." he said to her, almost breathlessly.

With a smile, she greeted Wade back to his spot behind her after the Hippogriff did not bow to him. She suspected the boy must feel bad, so she patted his back as she took a spot between her students.
"Alright, ten points to everyone who's tried so far." she announced, nodding at Shah, Aurora and Wade. Trying to get the rest of the students involved, she said, "We have enough time for another one to try it."