Lesson II: Half-Breeds [ENDED]

[Prof. Jonathan Starsmore]

Jonathan yawned loudly as he settled into the cushioned, high backed chaired behind his desk. Not only had he been up until late preparing today's lesson and making sure his subjects were comfortable - or at least secure - he had also been wandering around the corridors with an old friend, one who had stirred his curiosity to many great things. Of course, being as tired as he now was, he was in no mood to dwell on them, and as he leaned his head back and closed his eyes, he listened only to the gentle snuffling sounds from the veiled cage at one side of the room.

The bell suddenly rang shrilly in the corridor, and the sound of small feet and children's voices rose as they all scurried to their next lessons. So far Jonathan had been lucky in the fact that no ministry officials had yet been to inspect in his lessons, or else he would have been in a lot of trouble - especially today.

The classroom door suddenly opened, the stream of noises from outside flowing in, waking Jonathan from his light snooze. 'Have a seat as close to the front as possible.' He informed them, his eyes still shut.

[phenomenon]

Aerianne raised a brow elegantly, before doing as instructed and sitting right at the front of the classroom. She dropped her bag onto the floor with a loud clatter, hoping to wake the Professor up quicker than he was intending and sent him a pleasant smile.

"Good morning, Professor." She said sweetly, crossing her legs and taking out a spare sheet of parchment.

[supermassive]

Liam wandered into the classroom, completely over his manticore's untimely death (Or overdue, depending on who you asked) and was humming to himself.

His brother was already hatching doxy eggs at home, sending one through the post later that day.

Taking a seat next to a girl, he smiled and leaned over to her. "I think I'm going to like this class," he said with a grin, nodding toward the sleeping professor.

[phenomenon]

Aerianne blinked, before turning to the boy with a blank look. Finally, she raised both her eyebrows and placed her hands neatly on the desk.

"Some of us rather enjoy doing something other than sleeping all day."

Then, she looked back ahead of her, frowning at the sudden noise. "Was that sniffling?"

[supermassive]

Liam looked mildly taken-aback, before noticing the Slytherin badge on her uniform. Rolling his eyes he looked back at the Professor, a bit bored since the man seemed indifferent to what was taking place in his classroom and intent on getting the last few winks of sleep possible.

"Why, I think it is," He said, in a mock polite voice and turning back to her. "Do you need a tissue?"

[phenomenon]

Aerianne looked shocked for a brief moment, not expecting such a retort. She glared back at the boy, smoothing down the parchment on her desk irritatedly.

"No thanks," She said shortly, crossing her arms loosely over her chest in an indignant manner. "Though, he could use some." She pointed over to the Professor as it was known that drooling often occurred in sleep.

She wasn't really sure if he was drooling or not, but really just wanted the attention off her and onto someone else.

[supermassive]

Liam grinned, looking pleased with himself as he shrugged. Another snuffle came from across the room and moved around in his seat trying to figure out where it came from.

Finally, his sparkling gaze landed on a veiled cage at one end of the room. They shone brilliantly with mischief and he turned to the girl with a smirk, gesturing to it.

"Dare you to unveil it." He whispered.

[phenomenon]

Aeri narrowed her eyes, swiftly turning her head to where he was pointing. The veil across the cage was fluttering with movement, and in something of a pattern, it would jostle and shake.

Screwing her face up, she shook her head and tuned to the boy, hesitantly as ghastly images of bats and flaming boars flooding her mind.

"I don't take dares from Gryffindors." She said stubbornly.

[supermassive]

"That sounds boring." Liam said snappishly, throwing his feet toward his desk, using it as a leg-rest. "Everyone knows Gryffindors come up with the best ones."

He rested his hands behind his head, turning them to glance over at the veil once more. "Something that sniffs. What if its one of those horrid grims you read about in Divination books?" He said, void of emotion and turning to the girl with a wicked look in his eye.

[phenomenon]

Aeri felt her jaw clench as he pointed her obvious fear toward the veiled creature. Tapping her fingers on the desk, she took in a deep breath, before turning to him challengingly.

"I like dogs." She said while arching an eyebrow. Her fingers continued to drum on the wooden table, and she half hoped the annoying sound would wake up the professor before she had to admit that she - in actuality - hated dogs with a passion.

[supermassive]

Liam rolled his eyes and looked back at the professor. "I doubt it be something as simple as a dog anyway." He said flatly, picking his textbook from the ground and flipping through the pages.

"For all we know, it could be something boring like an Armadillo." He grimaced, looking down the first page.

He flipped a few more, before looking suddenly excited. "Or, if we're lucky, it could be a banshee."

The gruesome picture of a skeletal woman stared back at him, the yellowed eyes moving quickly in her sockets. He ran a thumb over them, letting out a laugh as they sped up at the intrusion.

[phenomenon]

Aeri shuddered when he mentioned banshees, before nodding. "Actually, that would be a stroke of luck, wouldn't it? It's true that their shrieks can kill, and there's a fifty-fifty chance at this moment that says you'll be the one to go."

She smirked. "I'm almost willing to take that chance."

[supermassive]

Liam looked at the girl with a grin. "You have to admit though, a banshee would be really cool."

The cage made another snuffling noise, and Liam ran a finger over his lips in thought. "I bet it's something really disappointing, to be honest. I mean, the professor doesn't look like he's up for anything too extreme today."

[extreme]

Torin slipped into the classroom, vaguely aware of a quiet sniffling. He wasn't sure whether it was coming from the cage or apparently snoozing professor, but took a seat diagonal from the Slytherin girl.

He was about to greet the professor, but as the man's eyes were closed, he decided against it. Grumpy teachers weren't anyone's favourite.

[Mozess Mirari]

Mozess entered the classroom casually, brown leather back pack slung over one shoulder, wand at the ready in her hand. She wasn't usually one to be so cautious, but afte hearing stories about this class from last year, she didn't want to be caught unawares.

She noticed that the few students already seated were close to the front, and thought about hiding in the farthest, darkest corner of the room... just to be on the safe side, but the thought better of it. If she was going to be taking this class she had better be willing to do what it takes to pass it... or at least have the ability to pass it. She always enjoyed having the choice to fail if her brother was too proud of her for some reason.

An unfamiliar Slytherin girl was speaking animatedly with an unsavory looking Gryffindor boy... She sighed audibly, were all of her classes going to be like this? Ruined by the irreverant, idle chatter of her fellow housemates and those supercilious Gryffindors? She was about to try and cast a new vocal chord removing curse on the two that she'd heard about over the summer, but then caught sight of something more interesting...

'Paley, isn't it?' she asked blithely. She remembered their meeting in the library last term, if ever so fleetingly. She nodded to the two conversationalists in the front row and said silently, 'I'd bet good money that they'll be dating by Christmas.'