Care of Magical Creatures: Lesson One (All Years)

The Gryffindor startled at the teacher's voice, because in all honesty, the weird chickenhawks drew all his attention. What exactly were they?! Apparently their teacher wanted to ask them that too and when Shaun heard the name of the creatures, he gave them an incredulous stare. Why were they named that? There was no hippo part in them that he could see. Gryffin, yes, hippo, no. As for taking care of them, maybe some claw clippers and feather trimmers? As for what they ate, if the thing was part gryffin and eagle or whatever, they were predators, so that had to be meat. So that meant animals. And most birds ate other birds, rodents, or small game.

Glancing over to his fellow lion when she talked about bowing, he arched a brow. You had to bow and it bowed back? Weird. As for the eye contact thing, Shaun wasn't sure that was right. Most animals (predators), didn't like eye contact seeing that as a challenge. Shaun had no desire to be torn into by beak or claws, thank you very much! But he did have to admire the creatures and actually moved a bit closer to see better but stayed well away from the animal's range.

Danny knew he was late. He knew he would lose points. He was not happy. He walked down to the Care of Magical Creatures clearing and smirked when he saw the Hippogriffs. He loved Hippogriffs. THey were so cool. He heard the professor ask them a question and thought about it for a moment "The Hippogriff is made of two main animals. An Eagle and a Horse. It is quite similar to a Griffin." He said hoping he was right and was able to earn some points.

He took a spot next to Rebekah Lockwood and smiled at his friend as he got out his supplies in order to take notes on the lesson. He began to think about the Hippogriffs diet. He had read this before. He knew the answer was insects and rodents, but he decided to try and let someone else answer. It was only fair. He could not hog the points to himself.

Sophie grinned as Professor Jameson awarded her house with firve points. All that research had paid off. It hadn't felt at all like studying or a chore to her. She'd wanted to know everything there was to know about the creature.

But her elated mood crashed down when Professor Jameson deducted five points because Danny didn't apologise. She slanted a dirty look at him, her eyes flashing with disgust. If he'd had the balls to say sorry, Professor Jameson woudln't have deducted the points she'd just earned. Boys are all idiots.

Once the professor went on to tell them that they were allowed to go to the Hippogriffs, Sophie let go of her anger. It did more harm than good to approach a Hippogriff - or any creature for that matter - with turbulent emotions. A cool and calm demeanour was the way to go. She took a few breaths, reminding herself of everything she learned. Although her head knowledge was good, Sohpie tended to rely more on instinct than anything else. Her gut feeling had never failed her before and she hoped that it wouldn't this time round.

She raised her hand in response to Professor Jameson's question. "I'll go first, sir," she said.

She approached the group of creatures slowly, her senses on high alert but everything else about her body language spoke of calmness. She was proficient in the language of horses, and now, she was learning a new language - the language of Hippogriffs. It didn't take long for the animals to notice her presence, that she was pulling away from the group of humans and moving towards them. She locked eyes with the nearest one, his bright orange eyes a magnificent sight against his midnight black coat.

She bowed to him, keeping him in her sight, not blinking. The creature eyed her as if deciding if he should allow her to come closer. Sophie felt like she'd waited for ages when the Hippogriff finally bowed back to her. She straightened her back, but didn't make any effort to go nearer. Wait for him to come to you she remembered. She'd told the exact same thing to Grampa when explaining her method of building trust with horses. Be calm, they can sense fear and anxiety. It only makes them more afraid.

She held the Hippogriff's gaze, held her breath until he took a step towards her.

She was reminded of the time when Phoenix first came to her - wild, untamable, vicious. He'd been scared out of his wits, lashing out with his teeth and hooves to protect himself against humankind. She'd taken him into the round pen and within the hour, had him following her with nothing attaching horse and human together. She still remembered the feeling when she'd turned her back to him and he'd come to her of his own free will.

It was the same feeling that flooded her soul as the Hippogriff took another step closer.

Forcing herself to remain calm, Sophie matched the creature's step until she was near enough to reach out and touch it. She stretched out her hand slowly, still keeping her gaze on his, not touching him yet. She waited as the Hippogriff drew nearer, bending its head down to to her hand until its beak made contact with her palm.

She kept her hand still, looking into his eyes, asking him permission through her gaze if she could stroke him. In answer, he took another step closer. She was finally close enough to reach his neck and she gently ran her hand along it, murmuring softly to him.

"Nice to make your acquaintance," she whispered. "I'm sorry I don't have food for you. Maybe next time?"

Her hand moved down his neck and he stomped his foot in agitation, his beak opening in a threatening gesture. Sophie lifted her hand from his neck. "I'm sorry. You don't like that spot, do you?" she said, still keeping her voice calm. She waited for him to settle down, waited until she had his permission again to touch him.

She spent a few minutes with the creature before saying goodbye and returning to the group of students, pausing in front of Professor Jameson.

"That was amazing, sir!" she said, her eyes gleaming with awe.