Tuesday, November 18, 2008
4:00PM-5:00PM
3rd-7th Years


Please refer to Classroom Information and Classroom Rules & Regulations. The rules and regulations are attached to the wall next the board.

((Students will not be able to come in late. The door will be locked. Inside the boxes are doxies. Whoever opens their box, will likely be bitten by a doxy. They are poisonous, but he does have anti-venom on hand.))

---

Declan was not accustomed to having to work for money. Living in the lap of luxury, to be ousted into a smaller lap of luxury had taught him that things came free. After his inheritance from his aunt had run out, however, he had been forced to seek more gainful employment. Since he was incapable of finding a job in the potions industry (thanks to that unfortunate mishap of getting a potions master's daughter pregnant). He had heard about the opening at Hogwarts through friends, and had decided to apply. Who was better to teach a Care of Magical Creatures class than an Ó Móráin? The very name was associated beasts (in more ways than one).

Because it was his first time in a teaching position, Declan was determined not to screw it up. The students would probably think him strict, but he would much prefer to be considered strict than let them run wild. Considering he had a less than intimidating presence (standing at five four made him shorter than most of his students, even some of the female ones), Declan had to make up for it somehow.

Today was going to be a lesson revolving around trying to figure out the level of common sense that his students possessed. He had a feeling it was rather low. It was also a way to get to know them- since he was new to the teaching game, he had to figure out how to handle them. On each desk there sat a small box, on top of each box was a note that said "do not open until instructed". Hopefully they would obey the rules. If not, some very interesting consequences might arise.

He was standing up in front of the board, doing his best to mask the nervousness of teaching his first class at Hogwarts. Hopefully things would go very well this first time out. He was not going to be lenient, either. Whether it was his first day or not, it was not their first day, and the students ought to be very aware of how to conduct themselves in a classroom by this point. If they were late, they were out of luck. And, chances were, whoever was late would be black listed for the rest of the term. First impressions were key, this was something that Declan had been taught since he was very young, and something that he thought ought to be universal knowledge.

Joshua was the first student to arrive. He had always liked COMC, but the new professor was an unknown quantity. could be competent, his family was known for being good with beasts, but tended to be spoiled. it would be interesting to see how the professor managed a traditionally very rowdy class.

" hello professor. What's in the boxes, by the way?" Josh said, as he made his way to a seat.

Yet again Ayla was finding herself prepping to meet another new Professor. She was hoping this wasn't going to become a regular trend. She really enjoyed Care of Magical Creatures and was worried about what had happened to their previous Professor that had called for him to be replaced halfway through the first semester. She had already met the other new Professor the week before and as much as she was going to miss Professor Grimlish, Cuthbert had a very interesting view on Divination and she was ready to enjoy the class all over again.

Although she wasn't looking forward to sharing a class with the fifth and seventh years she was determined to make sure nothing was going to bother her today. She had been letting herself get depressed over the last three weeks. Ever since the Halloween ball she just hadn't been feeling like herself and even Mysti's sleepover and Masquerade party hadn't been enough to make her feel herself again. Today though was going to be the today to do it, for today Ayla turned fourteen and was determined to enjoy her own birthday even if she did have to sit through a bunch of classes.

Her short black hair was pinned up in butterfly clips and a junk costume tiara sat on top. She had been forced to wear her school uniform which was nicely pressed with her tie tight and her shirt tucked into to a nice pair of tight fitting slacks (since the weather just wasn't suitable for skirts any longer) but on her chest had been pinned a bright yellow and black button that announced she was the 'Birthday Girl'.

She entered the classroom and sat down near the front wondering how the new Professor was going to fit three classes worth of students into the one room. She glanced curiously at the box in front of her but was quick to heed it's instructions. If they weren't supposed to open the box there was a damn good reason for it. In a class like Care of Magical Creatures where you could very well be facing possible mutilation it was imperative to follow all instructions given.

Xavier had been doing a decent job recovering his reputation. There were still a few students that wouldn't forgive him for what he had done to Madeline at the Halloween dance but he figured he was just going to have to accept his loses and use it as a lesson for the future. He had focused in on his studies which was thankfully paying off and was now prepared to meet yet another new Professor. Professor Cuthbert, the new Divination Professor, was a little more than unorthodox in Xavier's opinion but he doubted it would be hard for him to get an O with such a Professor. He only hoped the new Care of Magical Creatures Professor was going to be as easy.

As Xavier entered the classroom he felt his stomach dropped out from under him. He hadn't seen Ayla since she had run out on him at the Halloween dance. He had been letting her avoid him since and was trying to tell his foolish heart that he was better off and that there were much more worthy women suited for his affections. Actually he had started to take to the darker of the Dark sisters and was spending a lot of his time lately contemplating wooing Bella for his own personal pleasure. He had no intention in using her like he had with Ayla.

Now seeing the little third year all the strange and overwhelming emotions he had while kissing her came rushing back and they were only emphasized by the fact that she made it quite obvious it was her birthday. Xavier growled under his breath. No doubt he was going to ruin her day just by being here. How dare this new teacher combine all his classes. It wasn't right having to learn alongside the third years.

Xavier took a seat near the back hoping that Bella would show up soon enough to distract him from Ayla. He purposely left the seat next to him open and appealing to the crazy Slytherin hoping she'd take it. Actually any of his friends would be a welcomed partner, he'd need the support considering both Maddie and Fauna were expected to be in the class with them.

When Fauna walked into the Care of Magical Creatures classroom, she felt a trickle of unease, like it was her first day of classes all over again. Another new professor. Another new teaching style to get used to. She’d just have to deal with it. Divination hadn’t seemed too bad – different, but not bad. Fauna tried to imagine that this class and this professor would be a good change.

Since it was a combined class, she wasn’t surprised to see Ayla and a few other fifth-years already seated. However, she was surprised to see a tiara on Ayla’s head. Fauna hesitated in-between the desks. A tiara… and a yellow and black button… oh no. Ayla’s birthday! Today! Fauna had forgotten completely. Panic and guilt rose up in her as she wondered frantically if she had a gift for the girl, but she didn’t think she did. Maybe she could still get one before Ayla’s party, which was Saturday, she thought. Maybe Ayla wouldn’t have to know she'd forgotten.

Fauna, looking like she’d just had an anvil dropped on her, plastered a smile on her face and took a seat next to the third-year. She’d had a lot on her mind lately, what with the other November birthdays, her very recent fight with Sasha, and being questioned by Aurors earlier in the month. Still, she felt horrible.

“Happy birthday!” She greeted her, trying to wipe the worry off her face.

Rummaging in her bag, Fauna was about to get out her supplies when she noticed a box on her desk. She glanced around. Everyone had a box on their desk.

Perhaps it was because she was distracted by thoughts of Ayla’s birthday. Perhaps it was because she was nervous about the new professor standing in front of the board. Perhaps it was just temporary stupidity. Whatever it was, Fauna didn’t read the note. In a move reminiscent of the overly curious Pandora, she opened the lid an inch and peeked in…


((OOC Note: Haha, it is up to the next poster what happens. The doxy can bite her on the nose, or fly around the room and cause a ruckus, up to you!))

Joshua watched as 3 more students entered the classroom. A third-year Hufflepuff, Tawse, and Fauna Blake. He had heard rumours about what had happened between Tawse and Collins, but hadn't been at the dance, since he was unwell at the time, though nothing warranting a visit to the Hospital Hut. Then, out of the corner of his eye, he saw Fauna opening her box. "Blake, NO!" he shouted, but it was too late. It turned out that there was at least one Doxy in her box, and it had escaped. Reacting instantly, he drew his wand and quickly cast a Freezing Charm on the Doxy to prevent it harming anyone.

OOC: I'm leaving it open as to if Fauna puts the doxy back or the spell wears off. Also, yes, i know that the rules say unauthorised wand usage will result in a detention, Josh wouldn't care in this situation.

Blake slinked into the Care of Magical Creatures classroom, not particularly thrilled with the idea of a combined class of years, as that meant he would have to endure a class with his brothers--all of them. He preferred to limit his contact with all of them, but given his last encounter with Callum, he didn't relish the idea of his oldest brother's presence in yet another area of his life.

Sighing heavily, he made his way to where Ayla was, glad for a friendly face, as the class was sure to be dominated by older students. Noting the accessories to her outfit, Blake grinned and quietly said under his breath, "Happy Birthday, Ay..."

He still wasn't sure how to approach his friend given what had happened at the Ball, but he figured he might as well try his hand at normalcy. He glanced around at who else was already in the class and nearly scowled when he saw Xavier there.

He was distracted from both Xavier and Ayla when the 7th year opened her box and something came flying in his direction. Blake jumped up with a start but their classmate, Harcroft, had managed to halt the creature.

Blake bent down to pick up the Doxy and held it out to Fauna. He quipped, "I think this belongs to you?"

Declan watched silently as a few people filtered into the class, keeping a particular eye on any Hufflepuffs and Gryffindors- they were notorious for rule breaking and disrupting class. (Or so he had always thought while in school, and the prejudice did still hold today.) The first person in was a Gryffindor boy, who asked what was in the boxes. "You will find out soon enough," was his response as the boy got seated.

It was not long before someone picked up one the boxes to peek inside. Declan managed to keep his face devoid of emotion as the doxy flew out. He noted immediately that it was a Hufflepuff girl, older- at least in her fifth year. By that point she really ought to have better common sense than to go around opening boxes, clearly ignoring the notes pasted on them. He reached into a robe pocket to withdraw the anti-venom, but instead the doxy froze in mid air and fell. Declan frowned darkly, walking over to the doxy that a boy was holding, taking it from him, and placing it back on the box. "Your name is?" he asked the girl, scribbling it on top of the box before placing it on his desk.

"You," he pointed to the Gryffindor. "While your chivalry I'm certain is appreciated by Miss Blake, that will result in a detention for unauthorized wand usage. In my class there will be no wands used until you have been instructed to do so, or at least until you have been taught previously what spells to use to defend yourself against creatures. Often times there are spells that we assume will solve the problem, and can end up making it much worse. We will learn about such scenarios later in the class."

"And you," he pointed at Blake, "you could not know how long that spell would last. That doxy could have come active again and taken a bite out of you..." Declan paused momentarily to inspect him. Third year, first year of Care of Magical Creatures then, and also a Ravenclaw. This most definitely meant that he was promising. The house alone oozed excellence, and although his heart would always be with Slytherin, even after what happened, he could admit that. "Please, take your seat."

"Please find a seat Miss Blake, preferably closer to the front of the room so that I may keep an eye on you throughout the rest of the class period." With that, Declan returned to his position near the board. There was still time for other students to come in before it was time for him to lock the door. At least the few who were there now knew that he most definitely meant business.

Josh frowned as he was told off for stopping the Doxy from biting anyone. He’d take the detention, but he wouldn't change his behaviour. He agreed that Knight should have put the doxy back in the box though. “Fine, Professor. Though I will say I knew what i was doing. My father told me last year when we had a minor infestation at home. I didn't have any of the potion that paralyzes them with me, so i improvised." Josh said, in a respectful tone of voice.

It all happened so fast! The second she opened the lid, this little impish thing darted out and snapped at her fingers. Fauna drew her hand back just in time. The doxy began flying around her head, acting like it was going to dive bomb her, and then someone shouted a freezing charm that caused the creature to seize up and fall to the floor.

Fauna stared at the Doxy, eyes wide, heart racing. Before she could so much as clap her hands and shout ‘I do believe in fairies’, a third-year Ravenclaw scooped it up off the floor and handed it to her.

“I… um…” she was about to thank him, both of the boys who had helped her, when the professor strode over with a severe frown on his face. Her face flushed when he asked her name.

“Fauna Blake,” she murmured, wishing she could pretend she was someone else for the moment. Like Vienna Pascal – let her take the blame. Unfortunately though, she had to face up to this, and accept that she’d probably made the worst first impression possible before class had even started!

A detention! The professor was giving Josh a detention?! Fauna opened her mouth and closed it again, looking horrified and guilt-ridden. She fully expected a detention as well, but when it didn’t come, she frowned in confusion and just moved her supplies to the front of the classroom. Her face was still beet red, and she couldn’t quite look at her peers.

“I’m sorry,” she told the professor, wanting to explain that she wasn’t normally so stupid, that she’d just been distracted, but decided against it. Fauna sat down in the front, all too aware of the eyes she imagined staring into her back. It was almost worse than sitting in the last row and watching students crane their necks to look at her.

When Josh tried to tell the professor he didn’t mean any harm, Fauna bit her lip and thought about apologizing to the fifth-year after class. She kept her gaze forward, determined to pay better attention to Professor Ó Móráin's instructions.

[Uniform]

Beatrix loved learning CoMC... Perhaps it was being around dangerous animals that made Bea love it so. She loved getting into harmful situations, after all, why not play with harmful creatures? She floated into the room with an dreamy grin and let her eyes flick around to find the proper student to sit next to... If it were anything like the last class, she'd have to work with that person... This time Callum Knight was nowhere in sight, so it made everything easier on the young girl.

Blake had already picked a spot near Ayla Collins (A girl Beatrix was hardly acquainted with) so that ruled him out... Fauna Blake was still drooling over Devlin Matthews, Bea assumed, so she was indefinitely out... That left Tawse... Again. Would he mind Beatrix always sitting next to him? It should be flattering, anyways... He was the only person worth sitting next to. With a confident step towards the Slytherin boy, Bea gave him a smile and pull her bag off her shoulder.

"Mind if I sit here, Mr. Tawse? As you can tell... There's no one really else worth sittin' next to," she gently let her bag thud to the ground and sat next to him, no matter what the boy would have said. Of course, she could have waited for her sister... Beatrix frowned. All well... Bella could sit with their meanie cousin or whoever Bellatrix wanted to torture. That could have been anyone...

"I hope you're not sick of me yet," Bea joked and gave the boy a sweet grin. Of course, he might just kicked her away once Callum walked in. Nothing really surprised Beatrix these days. Her eyes gently landed on the box on the table, "Ahh... What're we suppose to be doin'?" She asked, politely. She was tempted to open the box... But something told her not to.

"Thanks!" Ayla said to her older friend happy for the greeting. She finally looked and sounded like herself again which was definitely a welcomed change from the moody and depressed little girl she had been ever since the dance, the only exception being Mysti's birthday but since she had taken on a completely different persona for the masquerade she didn't think that counted.

Not long after Fauna wished her a happy birthday Ayla received another well wish. The whispered voiced had taken her slightly by surprise and when she turned to see that it had come from Blake, who was sitting down next to her as well she couldn't hold the blush from her cheeks. Much like Xavier, she had been avoiding Blake ever since the dance convinced that he hated her. Did this mean he was still her friend? This was turning out the be the best birthday ever . . .

Well that was until the older Hufflepuff to her left decided to remember she was Fauna Blake and opened the box that was clearly labelled DO NOT OPEN. Ayla let out a slight shriek as the Doxy flew out of the box and tried to bite Fauna. She ducked out of the way closer towards Blake when Josh froze it and Blake being the chivalrous young man he was picked up the little pest and handed it back to Fauna.

Ayla was about to tell Blake how brave he was when Professor Ó Móráin stepped in. At first Ayla felt indignant at the way he treated the students around her but then again this was his classroom. The boxes had all been labelled Do Not Open and there were new classroom rules posted at the front of the class that mentioned no wand work unless specified so she supposed he had every right to do what he had done, at least he hadn't taken points off for the debacle.

She wished Fauna hadn't been sent to the front of the class since that left her alone with Blake. Even though she loved spending time with him, lately she had no idea where they stood with each other. Would he move away now that Fauna was gone? What would she say to him? How could things have gone so wrong so quickly? No, she refused to think like that, she was going to enjoy her birthday even if it killed her to do so.

With a rule set in place to keep him from doing work from one of his many other classes Xavier was hard pressed to find something to occupy him till the everyone arrived and the class started. The new Professor seemed like he might be a hard ass and Xavier expected to see a lot of house points taken away just judging by the rules the new Professor had instituted. Then again that wasn't necessarily a bad thing. He enjoyed Professors that were willing to challenge him, push him to his boundaries to find out just how good he could be.

Xavier had been staring at the front of the class watching the Professor to see if he was going to be giving out any more instructions than what was already listed. He had placed his hands on his desk just in front of the box but had no intention on opening it. He had been taking this class for just over two years now and had come to be weary of closed boxes where the contents were unknown.

His head whipped up at the sound of Ayla's shriek and watched as the other students reacted to the Doxy. At first he thought it had been the foolish third year who had opened the box and released the pest, it was her first year afterall, she didn't really know better but when Professor O Morain stepped in and punished the much older Hufflepuff Xavier was actually surprised. He knew Fauna was notorious for being a klutz but he never took her for being stupid or reckless. He wondered what had gotten into her.

Thankfully Xavier's next distraction was a welcomed one. Initially Xavier didn't really like Bea, she just wasn't his type of girl but since he was starting to spend a little more time with her she was starting to grow on him. She was always pleasant with him and he supposed if he was going to woo her twin sister it wouldn't hurt to stay on good terms with the other Ravenclaw prefect. He pulled out her chair for her, "It would be a pleasure Miss Dark."

Xavier gave her a playful feigned expression of hurt, "How could I ever get sick o' ye?" He gave her a wink happier than she could ever know that she had sat down beside him. Not only was she enough company to keep his thoughts away from Ayla but if Bea was sitting next to him it was likely to draw Bella close to him as well and Bella was exactly the kind of distraction he needed right now, especially since Ayla was now left alone with Blake Knight.

It was a little off that his classes were being moved about, but Julian supposed it gave him a little extra time after lunch, today at least, to do things he found more pressing. After Herbology, he had to clean up anyway—he’d felt as if he’d never get the soil off his hands, even if he had been wearing gloves. Not that he’d bothered with anything more than a couple hand scrubs; Care of Magical Creatures could prove just as messy, sometimes.

With his uniform in place, the tie done up and buttons all in place, he’d entered the classroom. With the cold weather, the boy had gone so far as to wear his long sleeved school approved vest and thick, luscious black robes with his house badge shining through. Just for good measure, he even had his scarf wound about his neck. You never know when a blizzard might hit on the walk from the castle, after all…

Once in the classroom, and slightly warmer climate, he undid the scarf and stuffed it in his inner robe pocket, placing the warm outer shell at the hooks near the door. The satchel came off his shoulder as he sat down, moving towards the board while giving the professor a cursorily nod of greeting. Once there, he set his items out, the black ink and dull quill set out next to fresh parchment. Julian glanced at the box but was relieved to see the note—he was more than happy to wait to get started.

With an elbow on the desk, allowing him to slouch against it, Julian turned his attention around him while pulling at his long sleeved cuffs. He knew of the Professor, or at least the family name, and was quite eager to see what he had in store. It was almost equal to his desire to write his favorite aunt and update her; as the woman of all things social, she was his go to person.

He was just glad he hadn’t missed hearing Harcroft get a detention. That caused a smirk on his lips before he quickly glanced away. For all his blasé tendencies, it was a sort of unexpected pleasure when someone else (and not in his house) was punished. The lingering surprise for the lesson was also different to most of his classes that had the lesson and homework all on the same board. Picking off an offending piece of leaf from his sweater vest, he let it go without a second thought and glanced up to wait for others to join.

[Uniform]

Despite her previous attempts to start passing her classes and catching up on homework, Bellatrix Dark was one of the last students to enter the classroom. Her cheeks were tear-streaked again just as they had been in DADA that morning. No one had seen Bellatrix Dark all day yesterday (she had skipped all of her classes) nor at Breakfast, study break, or lunch this afternoon. Fortunately, she had decided to come to classes today, but no one except her sister knew where she went when she wasn't in class. From the looks of her puffy eyes, red cheeks, and tear-stained robes, the girl had been crying somewhere.

Who was to blame her? After yesterday's bout between Ferguson Amherst, the first year Ravenclaw girl, her own twin, and Sasha Schalgenweit, it was no wonder that she'd been crying so much. Still, her and her sister had made up shortly afterward which was evident by the way that Bellatrix strode straight over to her twin and sat down on the other side of Beatrix, ignoring the professor and everyone else in the classroom. It was difficult for her to act casual when people saw that she wasn't her usual self. Bellatrix tried to suck it up by sniffling and wiping her drying tears off her cheeks. That was when she noticed the box.

"What...what's this?"

The note specifically read 'do not open until instructed' and it wasn't in Bella's pedigree to follow the rules. She quickly looked up to see the rest of the classroom and became alarmed at the sight of 3rd - 7th year students all sitting together in the same room. This was a new practice. Her blue eyes cast a look in the direction of their new professor. He looked strict. Great, another bloody rule-enforcing professor. She had the idea to open the box just to work up his nerves, but... This was the class she had been looking forward to. Last year, Care of Magical Creatures had been a blast with Professor What's-His-Name and Bellatrix had managed to receive top marks. Why should this year be any different? Though, the idea of upsetting the balance between rules and chaos tempted Bellatrix, who was rebellious by nature, to a very exaggerated point. It took her more willpower than usual to prevent herself from disturbing the peace.