COMC OWL Level Lesson #2

Rain pattered on the classroom window, not having cleared up over the weekend. The steady down pour had forced Eleonora to move her lesson inside today, a quick change from the training ground activity she had planned. It was better this way, though. She didn't want to subject her students to wet robes and cold feet, certain that it would prove to be a miserable lesson and the wonder of the topic would be lost.

Instead she stood leaning against the front table in the classroom, her eyes on a wooden perch set upon it. It was a large structure and appeared to be empty but Eleonora's eyes darted and followed the air around it. Leafy vegetables were strewn across the table giving the room an earthy smell. As she stared her mind went over the lesson for the day, unsure of how it would be received. Her last OWL class had gone very well, the students enjoying themselves and learning at the same time. She was worried that today's stationary toned down plan would be a disappointment. It was more conventional, less hands on. The subject, though, was fascinating to Eleonora and she figured it would be an interesting creature for the students to learn about. She wanted to show them exotic things they may never have heard of or got a chance to see otherwise.

Twirling her fingers around her hair, her eyes never leaving the perch, Eleonora waited for her students to arrive.

Irene yawned. She was so tired, but she had to squeeze one more lesson in today before she trudged up to the Gryffindor Tower and took a well deserved nap. Then she had to get up AGAIN and change her sheets, probably. Someone had taken to leaving disgusting potions ingredients, dead mice, and other gross stuff in her bed, and sleeping in that was not fun at all. She'd skipped the last class, but she'd heard that the professor, even though she was knew, totally knew her material and was super nice. She'd been glad that the lesson was outside today, it was raining and that was just plain awful. Irene was glad that the Care of Magical Creatures professor had decided to be practical and not have the lesson out in the rain. She probably would've skipped again. After all, she and rain did not get along.

"Hi Professor, I'm sorry I missed the last lesson. I was really busy. Herbology was alright, but we did get a lot of work. It's no excuse though, and I'm very sorry." Irene tried to apologize for her absence last class. But it was true, Herbology had been keeping her busy, although it wasn't super overwhelming. And she had other classwork as well. She really was sorry for skipping the last lesson, but what was in the past was in the past and nothing could change that. Irene scanned the room. There weren't any other students here, but several plants that looked possibly edible were thrown over a table nearby. Irene took a seat near the front but not in the immediate front row. She wanted to get a good look. Maybe they would be seeing a bird today? The setup was similar.

Claudia was glad to be going to COMC. She had yet to meet the Professor and she loved meeting new people. She hoped that the lesson wouldn't be to difficult for her. She was disappointed that the lesson wouldn't be outside but Indoor classes were fine as well. She entered the classroom and smiled at the Professor.

"Hello Professor. I hope that you are having a marvelous day."

She went to find a seat. She noticed Irene. She waved at her and took a seat at the front. She always liked being at the front. She wondered what they were going to be learning about today. She got all of her supplies out and grabbed a book that she had been meaning to finish a long time ago.

The time was passing slowly, Eleonora becoming anxious to get started. A couple of Gryffindor girls had entered and taken their seats. This was the first time she was seeing the two, they had not made it to her previous lesson. Both were very polite, though, so she felt no need to make an issue out of it.

She turned to the first girl, the one who had not taken a seat in the front row. "It's fine, just be sure to read the chapter about Golden Snitches in your book and please make a diagram of one to hand it. I have heard herbology was giving a few students a hard time this year." Eleonora thought back to Professor Grace, again envious of his teaching abilities. She didn't want to bog down her students with so much homework, but it seemed like what most professors did.

Eleonora glanced back the perch before moving her eyes to the other blonde Gryffindor who sat reading a book. She seemed sweet and Eleonora had a good feeling about the two new additions to her class. If everyone was as easy to deal with as these two today would go well.

(I'm going to wait for a couple more people to join in before getting underway. This is my last post until then)

(Ok)
Claudia decided to read the chapter and do the diagram as well since she had missed the previous lesson. It is the least she can do beside read a book while she waited for the rest of the students to come in for class to start.

(K, sounds good.)

Irene nodded. She pulled out a piece of regular, non-formal or expensive paper, and opened her textbook to the chapter on Golden Sniitches. She'd heard that it was actually a real animal, but she hadn't really known anything about it until now. She buried her head in the book and tried to picture it in her mind. She drew her wand out from her robes and gently dragged it against the paper, tracing out the outline or what she thought the delicate little birds would appear to be. She'd forgotten that she was using her wand, so by the end of her drawing, it was all done in glowing red. Oops. Well, Irene hoped that the professor wouldn't mind, she'd been extremely forgiving for both her and Claudia's missing class last time. She got up and walked to the professor's desk in the front of the room and placed the piece of parchment carefully on the desk. Then she took her seat and continued to read more about the Snidget and the Golden Snitch, as it was very interesting and Irene was looking forward to this class. She hoped more students form different houses would arrive soon. She loved her house, but it was kind of boring if all the students were from the same house.

Claudia flipped through the textbook pages reading with interest. she was almost done with the chapter and it was so good. The creatures were marvelous and so beautiful and she knew beauty when she saw it. She decided to do her diagram now so she could finish reading. Missed work is the best for now lol.

Kegan walked into the classroom, looking tired, but that was usually just how he looked. His face always had slight dark circles, and he had these eyes that always looked like they had a glass coating on them. In reality, he was wide awake and ready to attend class, as he had all of his quills and book prepared and ready to go upon arrival.

He took a seat in the middle of the classroom. He didn't like to be too close, nor did he like to be too far away. Kegan was very average in nearly all aspects, besides his dedication and ability to work hard.

(If anyone else could care to join in please do, I won't consider you more than a few minutes late unless you specifically say you are.)

Eleonora watched from her position near the front table as a Hufflepuff boy walked in and took a seat. He looked like he could use a good rest and she hoped he didn't fall asleep during the lesson. She mused at what she would do if that happened. If he really needed some sleep it might be unhealthy to wake him and given the choice she would let him sleep...but that's not what a good professor would do, was it?

Glancing again at the clock Eleonora decided to start the lesson. If it was anything like her previous classes more students would show up as time went on. She moved forward, closer to the perch on the table. Starting a lesson was the hardest part. How should she phrase her thoughts, make them clear but still not immediately obvious?

It was a strain for her voice to speak loud enough for the whole room to hear it as it had been trained to be so soft and quiet. "Thank you all for coming to class. I hope today's topic is something new to you all." She paused a moment to look behind her at the table. Satisfied, she turned her head back to the class. "I am sure most of you know about invisibility cloaks, but does anyone know how they are made?" There was no point in wasting words or time to introduce the topic so Eleonora simply jumped right into it.

Claudia knew she answered too many questions and that she needed to let others answer but she was eager to answer this question. She had read about it in the library during the weeks she had nothing to do but read.

"Professor if i may, Invisibility cloaks are made from the hair of Demiguise. Creatures that have the power to make themselves invisible. But that cloak will lose its effectiveness as the hair becomes more opaque."

She found the creature rather interesting. She had read that they resembled apes with large black eyes and long silky hair. Also that the Demiguise's ability to make itself invisible is used to sybolise the number zero in the runic alphabet.

(I'm going to continue despite lack of responses because I want to talk about this subject =p )

One of the Gryffindor girls, Claudia, answered promptly. Eleonora was impressed with her knowledge; everything she had said was correct. She must have read about it previously, maybe taking a look ahead in her text book. Reminded of the books, Eleonora pulled her copy of the Monster Book of Monsters out from a drawer in her desk and walked back to the front of the class. The book was pulsing slightly, as if taking deep restful breaths.

"That's right Ms. Evans. I think that's worth ten point to Gryffindor. " She smiled warmly at Claudia, happy with her enthusiasm. "Can you please take out your books and turn to page 45 now?"

Eleonora favored the Monster Book of Monsters over the other textbooks she reviewed for her class. This one gave the students a real feel of the creatures they covered, made them have to use skills necessary to studying the subject before even facing the beasts. It was full of little known tid bits as well, more packed with crucial information than other books. The only problem was it's snapping and snarling nature. She hoped her students had already learned to calm their books, but she would find out soon enough.

(Im going to wait to reply until someone new does after this)

Claudia stroked her books spine while it opened. She had had a bad encounter with it once and she did not need that again she then promptly turned to page 45.

Kegan took out his textbook, a little bit of a sigh escaping his lips. He had always hated these books, and he was positive that his was a defect. Sometimes, he could calm the book the way that the other students had, by stroking it's spine.

Luckily for Kegan, today the book opened just fine, though on the inside he was a little mad at it. It just seemed to only suck of to the professor, something like that. It was a little annoying and sassy of the book, but he didn't say anything about it.

Kegan opened up to page 45 before looking up at the professor, waiting to see what would come next.

Eleonora was pleasantly surprised that her students had figured their text books out just fine. She watched as the books shivered and dropped open, no torn pages thrown into the air.

"That's great work with your books," she said, a pleased smile on her lips. "If you read the excerpt there on the page, you will see what Ms. Evans has answered to be true."

Demiguise Excerpt:

Eleonora waited a moment as the students read the page and turned their eyes back to her. "Now, you may have guessed what the perch and vegetables are for after reading that. Before we try to see the Demiguise, though, I want you all to close your eyes. With them shut listen carefully for any out of place sound, any hint of another living thing in the room other than yourselves."

Claudia closed her eyes and tried to listen as carefully as she could to hear anything out of place. She had trouble trying to place noises but every now and then she thought she heard something that wasn't her or the others. She hoped she would be able to hear them more clearly. She relaxed a little more and tried to hear more than she normally did. She knew she heard something that wasn't them and she slightly smiled.

Kegan had no trouble at all closing his eyes, but he found it a little more difficult once he began doing it. First, he had to try and block out his own noises. His breathing, his heart, and the small shifts of his hair. That was probably the easier part, because Kegan's brows furrowed as he tried to block out the other people with their breathing, slight fidgets, the crack of their bones. He had a hard time blocking that out, because he'd keep getting confused if some of the noises he heard came from a person or if it was part of the background that he was trying to listen to.

Basically, Kegan was befuddled, but he would never give up trying.

Alex had been sitting at the back the whole time, silent. She had asked the Professor if it would be alright if she joined the class, as she wanted to learn more than she was in her regular classes. She watched with interest as the other students listened. As the class went on though, Alex found herself struggling to keep up, and the furrow of her brow deepened as the class continued. Soon, Alex let her exhausted mind give up, and she fell into a daze, forgetting where she was.

Eleonora had kept her eyes open as she instructed her students to close theirs. They scanned the room, now, to make sure she didn't see any other sets looking back at her. All of the students had done as she asked and were now zoned out, either trying their best or slacking off, it was impossible to tell. She noticed Alexandra in the back, a crease lining her brow. Eleonora hoped that letting her sit in for this class wasn't a bad idea. There was no danger involved today and Alexandra had been so eager that she just could not say no. Any student that showed such interest and enthusiasm was an automatic favorite.

"Now someone please tell me what is out of place, if you can." Eleonora's words were soft as she tried not to cover up any vital noises with her voice. She wanted the class to hear everything around them fully, to pick out each noise and attribute it to an object or action. Today's lesson was as much a lesson in awareness as it was creatures. In order to work closely with any animal it was an important skill to master.

Alex opened up her book to page 45, seeing that it was the page that everyone else in the class was on. They had been talking about Invisibility Cloaks. Alex wondered what it would be like to have one. Not that she'd use it - Alex was far too terrified to try and walk around Hogwarts and night, and what use was there for an Invisibility Cloak during the day?

Doing as the professor had said, she had listened with her eyes closed. She couldn't hear anything out of the ordinary - but it probably didn't help that her head was full of thoughts.

Claudia really couldn't tell what she heard. She knew she heard quiet sounds and movement but that was it. She didn't know how to explain it. She knew that if anything the creatures didn't want to be heard and they were doing a pretty good job at doing it. She just hoped that their would be a little more noise so she could place where in the room they were and if they were close.