[CoMC] T5: Lesson 1: Kelpie

[Alice Simmons]

The Professor started to greet the students and Alice just stood in the wind looking out over the lake watching the ripples wondering if they were going to be studying the Giant Squid…but then most students in the school had already seen the creature and anyway Alice had heard rumours of encounters others had had with the creature as she did not want to have her own story to tell of how it almost ate her.

It was the voice of a fellow Hufflepuff that took her attention away from the rippling water and to that of the ginger haired, wind swept Marcus. Giving him and small smile and wave Alice slowly made her way over to him and looked through the forest of older and much taller students to where she guessed Professor O’ Donnel was standing.

“Hiya Marcus, ain’t it…” Alice let out a small gasp as the tail ends of her yellow Hufflepuff scarf blew up and hit her square in the face. Rather agitated Alice reached up and tried to tame wild thing by flattening it to her chest hoping that it will not blow up again. With a determined nod that her sclaf will not do that again Alice grinned at Marcus and nodded her head. “Oh it is windy ain’t it, would ave preferred it to be inside today…did you finish the assignment in the end?”

[Amara Conway]

Having done her homework and handed it in, Mara made her way slowly to the Lake. She had not been there in a long time, not since the pretty Claw had swum out to retrieve the silly Gryffindor and the boy she remembered as being called Bradyn was there too. That had been an interesting day, Amara remembered fondly, as she had not been shouted at for being useless as she could be in tricky situations that involved magical creatures. That though brought a thoughtful pinch to the fourth year's forehead as she made her way out of the castle.

Strolling along and staring at the ground, when Amara looked up and could see the Lake ahead of her a group of people could also be seen. The wind caught Mar off guard, just as much as seeing her little brother with his little girl friend. Amara walked up behind him and ruffled his hair.

"Hiya squirt," she greeted, pushing his head forward as she past. Not dilly dallying was the best thing for classes where she and Marcie were together. All she could do was hope they wouldn't have group projects together as she was likely to feed him to the squid and be eaten by herself. She smiled to his friend and moved to stand by the others.

"Good day Professor," Amara greeted joyfully before turning to the others. "Hiya Bradyn," she greeted to the Claw smiling widely as she had actually remembered his name. "Hiya all," she added quickly to the rest. She felt a little out of place but where she was standing she was in such a place that they couldn't ignore her. Well, they could but she hoped they would be that rude.

[Professor Ashton Laurent]

Ash looked up as a fellow Ravenclaw joined them. "Hello." he said, greeting her with a smile. His Frech accent thick.

[Marcus Conway]

Marcus pulled his robes closer to his small frame bad began bouncing on the balls of his feet. He didn't like the cold and felt it easily. Summer was his season but not even then was it what he wanted. He wanted always sunny but never windy. He knew he wouldn't get that in Scotland ever but he could hope.

Alice's scarf blew into her face and Marcus began to laugh quietly behind his hand. He didn't think it was nice to laugh in someone's face so rarely did it. Though Marcus could laugh at the trouble Alice's scarf was giving her, he knew she could laugh at him for not having brought his. He smiled at her and nodded. It was indeed windy.

Someone knocked his head forward, knocking his glasses to the very end of his nose. His head snapped back and he glared after his sister. He didn't even need to see her to know it was her. Pushing his glasses up his nose once more, Marcus crossed his arms across his chest crossly and turned to Alice. "I did," he answered a little curtly, "did you?"

[Prof Brianna O'Donnell]

Two more students came, one a Hufflepuff boy and the other a Ravenclaw boy. Bree could tell by their interaction and by knowing their names that these two were related. She wasn't sure what that would do to the dynamic within the class but it was certain to be interesting, whatever the whatever the outcome may be. She watched the boy for a moment, talk to his friend who was the step sister of Dax. Then she looked to the sister, who immediately went for the bigger group. How wonderful it must be to have a sibling you could fight with? Bree mused, smiling to herself.

Deciding enough was enough, Bree turned her back to the lake and faced the assembled. "Right class," she said loudly, "let's get started." She gave them a moment to come together in front of her before continuing. "I have to make one thing perfectly clear from this point forward: you are not to touch the animal I am going to bring out. No touching without my express permission. Anyone caught trying will loose points and be sent to the Infirmary to get injections you don't need. Am I clear?"

A sweeping glance of the student before her and Bree's stern face broke into a broad smile. "Alright then," she clapped her hands together and began to pull her heavy jacket off. As the jacket came off and she handed it to the nearest student, it was clear that Bree was wearing dark green waders that disappeared under her wellingtons. Her jersey was a thick woolen jersey she had received for Christmas the year before from her great grandmother and she rolled up her sleeves as she began to walk straight into the water.

She walked about fifteen feet into the water, her hair bobbing loosely around her face, till eventually she stopped by a long pole that stood about a foot above the surface of the water. Sticking her hands into the water as far as she might, Bree began to dig around under the water before - "A!" she exclaimed and straightened, now holding what a leather strap in her hand. Turning back to the shore, the professor smiled to the students gathered there and called, "this, class, is a Kelpie."

Behind Bree came trotting a horse-like creature. It was a sea weed green and what was meant to be a main of hair looked like actual sea weed. It's eyes were glazed over and if they had not been open you might have thought the creature was sleeping. It had a bridle on, connected to the strap Bree had now wrapped firmly around her hand. She knew that the creature didn't like being out of the water so when she was about fife feet away from the shore, Bree stopped. "Can anyone tell me anything about this creature?" Bree asked, looking at all the faces in front of her.

[Erys Grace]

Marvelling at the beautiful creature, Erys nearly missed the professor's question, as she recovered her thoughts and slipped her hand into the air, "Kelpie's are very dangerous. While taking on many forms, they prefer the 'water horse' look, as its easier to lure unsuspecting victims on to their backs for a fatal moonlight cruise to the bottom of the lake. After that they usually eat the person riding, and let the unwanted parts float up to the surface." Tilting her head to the side, she added, "The world's most famous Kelpie is the Loch Ness monster, I think. Forgive me if I'm wrong." Hell, at least she tried.

Linking her fingers together, the Slytherin slunk forward, keeping a safe distance from the creature/demon. It was so pretty, yet so dangerous.. Hell, if she had one of these, think of the possibilities! Alas, there was sure to be laws about that kind of thing, catching fatally dangerous animals and using them to your own dastardly deeds. So for now Erys would sit there and watch, like a good little Slytherin girl, taking mental notes and looking but not touching. There was a time and place for everything.
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[alessatassarosso]

Alessa had been stood at the side of the group remaining quiet, and marvelled at the creature that had just appeared. It was beautiful, in a weird sort of way. She had read up on Kelpie's vaguely, but had never seen one in person. It was obviously dangerous though, if what Erys had just said was true about eating the rider. What an odd thing to do, she thought. She stared at the creature and studied it's features for a moment, before looking back at the Professor.

[Prof Brianna O'Donnell]

The kelpie's green-blue skin shimmered like a snake's in the moon light. It was still moist so that would have been why. Bree looked at it, a grim smile on her face. A voice from the students spoke up and Bree turned her attention to it as the kelpie stepped from side to side, seemingly unaware of its surroundings or of the goings on about it.

Brianna shook her hair out of her face but the wind blew it back again. She listened to the Slytherin who spoke, smiling at what she heard. Tightening her grip on the bridle, Bree nodded. "That is correct, Grace," the professor called from her spot in the water. "Ten points." Bree tugged gently on the bridle and took a few steps forward. "These creatures or water demons as some call them do eat the unwary victims once they've swum far enough and deep enough so the victim cannot get away. Very dangerous indeed, which is why they've got themselves a four 'x' classification from the Ministry of Magic."

Looking back to the class, Bree titled her head, still trying to get her hair out of her face. She giggled lightly and the kelpie made a deep, grumbling whinny type of noise. Bree frowned and tugged on the bridle again. "Can anyone say," Bree said, looking back to the class, "what four 'x's means?"

[Alice Simmons]

“Yeah I did it in the end, was a long night though.”

With a small shrug Alice tired to tame her scarf once more as it tried to take off once more in yet another gust of wind. As it flapped up in her face once more Alice gave a groan before deciding to stuff inside her jumper, it may look silly but at least it meant she could see in the lesson, and thinking about being able to see Alice realised the Professor was trying to get their attention and all the older students were gathering and blocking their few.

A frown filled the young Hufflepuff’s face and she walked off the long way around so that she could stand at the front of the group and actually be able to see what the Professor was showing them. However at the sight of the Kelpie Alice let out a small gasp, it was so unusual and mythical but she had no clue about it…that was why she took the lesson. Fortunately an older Slytherin seemed to know her stuff and gave a text book answer.
The Kelpie was an interesting thing but Alice was glad it was far away from her particularly when Professor O’Donnell mentioned it had a 4 ‘X’ rating, she had listened to her step brother enough to know about that.

“That rating means it is really dangerous.” She spoke up not actually knowing where she had found the confidence to talk in front of all these older students. “Five ‘X’ are the worst though…me step brother Dax jokes that you only find those creatures in Peru.”

[Prof Brianna O'Donnell]

Bree kept tension in the strap wrapped around her hand, that way if the creature's trance was broken she could at least restrain it long enough to do something about it. She knew it wouldn't happen but she wouldn't take any chances with this creature. She had seen its handy work once and she knew its power so she was extra wary of it. That may make you think that it was then an odd choice for a class but as so many students played by the lake it was important for them to know about it.

A little Hufflepuff in the front of the class spoke up and Bree's face broke into a smile, pleasantly surprised by the her answer. "That is correct, Simmons, five points for Hufflepuff." Bree cleared her throat and added, "It also means that they are to only be handled by trained wizards and those with specialist knowledge on them as they are slippery little creatures who are only interested in eating some of your parts."

Bree laughed. "Dax would say something like that," Bree chuckled, knowing the joking Keeper of Keys would tell his little sister something like that. "I'll have you know, Simmons, that that isn't completely true. Can anyone say what level 5 creature was in the castle during Harry Potter's time that he slayed with Gryffindor's sword?" The question was a little off topic but the danger the creature displayed was vital to make the students understand how deadly these creatures are.

[alessatassarosso]

Alessa was sure of the answer for the the question the professor had just asked.
She raised her hand and quickly spoke.
"Was it The Basilisk?" she said, a little excitedly. She soon lowered her hand, and entwined her fingers together infront of herself.

[Amara Conway]

Amara stood for a moment smiling at the faces in the group that Bray was standing with. One boy greeted her in return so that was something. There wasn't much more time then that because the professor called the class to order and Amara moved to the back of the group, being a tall girl she could see over most of the heads. This way she could also stare at other more interesting things then a smelly creature.

When the creature came, Amara forgot about the other things she might be doing and simply stared at the horse like creature. It was majestic in a peculiar sort of way that Amara couldn't quick place. It struck a core in her head and lyrics jumped to her mind. Sticking her hand into her bag, Mar pulled out a small note book and scribbled them down as the class progressed.

She put the book back into her bag and returned to the class to hear the Professor's question on the Basilisk. Mara knew plenty on this topic, having read the passage in a book in the Library many times. "Basilisks are snake-like, looking into their eyes kills you instantly and they have a five 'x' rating in the M.O.M. Classification." Mar spoke loudly so that even over all the heads the professor could hear her.

[Alexis Heart]

This seemed like it would be another interesting class. Alexis was rather enjoying Care of Magical Creatures lately, something she thought she may not ever do. Trying to remember what had transpired after last class she had to make a u-turn because she had been headed to their normal classroom. No today's lesson was out of doors so she turned on her hell and headed outside.

It was a nice enough day out which made this all the better since she did so enjoy being outside. She had circled the lake earlier that morning her usual morning routine, but she was unsure of what the weather would look like then but now it was well great for this class. She checked her watch noticing that she had a couple minutes to get to the lake, so she quickened the pace. Trying to make sure she didn't waste any time.

There were already several student there and class seemed to be getting under way. Alexis just kind of tried her best to blend in not wanting to stick out just in case the teacher noticed she was almost tardy. Today's lesson was on kelpies, something she didn't know much about. She was eager to listen and to observe, hoping that this class would be as interesting as the last.

[Bradyn Reed]

Bradyn looked up to see Ammy join their group, of course she was quite welcome. "Ah, so you remember my name. It's a good thing I still remember yours as well, Amara Conway." He said, but silenced himself as the teacher began the lesson. Using Ash's shoulder to push himself back up into a standing position, Bray went to stand in front of O'Donnell, next to El of course, quite curious about what they would be learning about.

When he saw the head of a horse rise out of the water, his mind instantly recognized it. "What? Those things are killers.." He said quietly, shocked that they'd be forced to be in such close contact with it. When he heard Erys describe what a kelpie did, he frowned even more and avoided El's gaze. Apparently, he now understood why what he joked about had been so amusing to Professor O'Donnell; the possibility was quite true.

At the mention of the basilisk, he smirked widely. The story of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets was one of his favorites to hear as a child, though that was something he hoped didn't exist anymore. It appeared that everyone else was familiar with the story, but he thought he'd add onto it just a bit. "It is true that looking a basilisk directly in the eyes will kill you on the spot, but any indirect glances as it, such as by a mirror, will put you into a rather stony coma. Basilisks are also extremely wild, ruthless creatures and can only be tamed by the few who speak Parseltongue."

[Ellie Rook]

Ellie shifted nervously as the lesson began. She felt a presence next to her and turned slightly to see Bray. She smiled. What is it poisonous? Ellie thought, thinking of what injections she would have to get. Ellie was more afraid of what ever would come out of the water then injections from Mr. Nish.

She wrangled her fingers together as Professor O'Donnell walked into the water and reached down and pulled out a leather strap. To Ellie, the creature seemed huge. She had expected a small little beast that was dripping with poison goo or something. Instead a creature, with a rather pretty color trotted out. Ellie shifted uncomfortably.

She didn't know what it was or what it did and she didn't want to know. However, a Slytherin was kind enough to point out that Ellie was most likely going to be lured into the water, eaten and her toes would eventually float up to the surface.

Ellie was day dreaming, or day-maring?, about her death, starring at the animal in front of them, and not following the conversation at all. She snapped back when Bray started to talk, answer some question about something Ellie missed. "Exactly." Ellie said, trying to sound as though she knew what was going on. She gave a very weak, very pale smile to Bray.