April 24, 1890 - CoMC Classroom

Ricky had dealt with plenty of creatures since her own graduation from Hogwarts. While the Streeler was not one that she dealt with commonly, it was a rather fascinating one. This lead to her hope that her class might actually take some interest in today's discussion. Talking of animals that were too frightening did tend to make the more light hearted ladies of the room actually faint, and a too common animal might already be a student's household pet. While one might adore hearing about Mittens every now and again, it did get rather boring.

Never the less, it was Ricky's job to get this information to her students weather they were entertained or not, and the Streeler was their topic thus far. "Native to Africa, the Streeler has been known to be bred by wizards in Europe, Asia, and North America. Can anyone tell me what Ministry classification a Streeler has, and what reasons this classification has been chosen for such a creature?"

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First poster can assume their hand was picked first. FYI, there is only a drawing of a Streeler on the board. No need for alarm.
Aleksei Nichols, Elijah Urquart, Thomas Montgomery, Cameron Gillenwater, Hestia Fairchild, Madeline Bell, Camille Scrimgeour, Calla Potts, Clue Leverett, Narcissus Laurent, Alcyone Slughorn, Gretchen Lestrange, Holly Scrimgeour, Sloane Bixby

  

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Magic by MJ

Another day, another round of homework.

It seemed like the workflow was constant; new assignments would would be given before others would do, giving him enough time to lose them and scramble to find a friend willing to share their notes. His calendar seemed to serve only as a reminder that he would only have to deal with ten courses until his fifth year was over, but until then he would have to make do.

Luckily, Care of Magical Creatures' workload was balanced out by the entertaining and often hands-on lessons. This was not one of those lessons. He was only lucky he knew the answer.

"It's classified as XXX," he said after he was called on. "And that's because it's leaves a trail of poisonous slime wherever it goes." Thank Merlin for his illustrated book on magical creatures.

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Meta didn't know what a streeler was, before that class. She didn't have the habit of studying ahead for her classes, so she would know most of what they would be taught before they were taught. That being said, she was impressed that Gillenwater, a mud-muggleborn (it still took getting used to not using the word she had been taught at childhood for people like him) knew all that information about the colour changing snails. Usually, the kids who knew the answers already came from families of magizoologists and such.

The creature kind of reminded her of her cousin Seneca. Vitriolic and it changed its appearance. She made a mental note to tell Frida that when she next saw her, she'd appreciate it. Even though Frida never spoke ill of anyone, Meta knew that she and Seneca weren't particularly close.

"Have you brought a real steeler, Professor?" Meta asked, though she had raised a hand before speaking up, to keep up appearances. (Whether she had actually been called upon was another question).

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Silent as usual, regardless of whether or not he knew the answer, Clue's grey eyes moved from the blackboard to the skinny Gryffindor lass on his right. Her question was pointedly agreeable, and he returned his gaze to the professor with expectant stillness. A drawing was all very well, but his classmate was right — bring on the beast.

  

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Alcyone had never seen a streeler before and wouldn't mind seeing one now. She thought it was pretty cool that it changed colors every hour. That didn't seem to be the case though as the only visible sign of a streeler was a drawing of one on the board.

  

Oh, how she hated to disappoint her students. Perhaps she would be able to convince Headmaster Black to allow her to bring one in tomorrow. "That is correct, Mr. Gillenwater. Five points to Gryffindor. Though that is one of two reasons for the classification. The Streeler also has spikes on its shell, which also releases venom. This is to prevent predictors such as birds and rodents from attacking."

For a moment, she couldn't decide whether or not to answer a question for a student that had yet to be called on, raised hand or no. But after a few seconds, she decided to not be that professor by ignoring her. "Sadly, no. I plan on requesting permission from the Headmaster before I bring something that venomous in. If I can, I do hope to bring one in tomorrow. Next time, please wait to be called on or points will be lost." Ricky did like to see herself as the fair professor, the fun type. Points taken left and right didn't seem just to her. A warning should do.

"Can anyone tell me what the best ways are for avoiding getting stung when handling a Streeler?" If they were to have one in tomorrow, it would be best if the class knew how not to poison themselves.

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Magic by MJ

Holly was sitting her class taking notes. She was not as fond of Care of Magical Creatures as she was other classes, but she still strove to do just as well. She missed the opportunity to answer the first questions, but she was called on for the second.

"You're supposed to wear thick protective gloves," she said, sounding as uninterested as she was. Why couldn't they study interesting creatures, like hippogriffs or dragons?

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— set by MJ <3 —

Aleksei did not have the chance to answer any of the questions asked but noted them down into their personal notes alongside sketches of the streeler in the margins of their parchment. They looked like snails which they had sometimes kept as a pet when they were much younger. Though Streelers were apparantly a lot more dangerous than the slow little slugs they had once had.

  

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aleksei is non-binary. in ooc narrative, aleksei goes by they/them, IC people would percive them as he/him

Narcissus eyed the drawing on the board and listened as the other students spoke. He had not been called on so put his own hand down once the answers to the questions had been provided by others. He wasn't sure what he thought of streelers but he was among the number that wouldn't mind seeing it in person.

  

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"Sorry professor!" Meta replied at the warning of lost points. She really had a bad habit of speaking out of turn, she couldn't help it! It was especially frustrating when a lot of people had their hands raised and Meta had something really important to say but she was ignored, only for someone less remarkable to speak. If she hadn't asked the professor about the streeler, she doubted that anyone else would have asked.

She rolled her eyes at Holly Scrimgeour's very obvious answer.

This time, she waited to be called upon before making her question. "What do you mean by handling a streeler, Professor? What does one exactly do with it?" She supposed that their venom was collected. Maybe they were eaten, too? Snails were considered a delicacy in some parts of the world.

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Lessons in the classroom always saw Maddy's heart sink just a hair, as they meant she would not be doing anything hands-on today. Still, at least the topic in question was a creature with which the Gryffindor was not familiar. She listened along, of course, but the Gryffindor couldn't quite stop her thoughts from drifting...

  

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— Bree is a graphics genius ♡ —

"Can anyone tell me what the best ways are for avoiding getting stung when handling a Streeler?"

"You could maybe just not handle a Streeler, that'd do it", Clue whispered to Narcissus Laurent, who was sitting at the desk next to his.

The following 1 user Likes Clue Leverett's post:1 user Likes Clue Leverett's post
   Roberto Devine

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"That is correct, Miss Scrimgeour. Sadly, I must reluctantly withhold those five points that Slytherin would have received, had it not been for the five points that Mr. Leverett had just lost as a result of gossiping on my time. I would pay more attention, Mr. Leverett, as Miss Lestrange has already been told of the consequences of speaking out of turn." Which was a shame. Ricky was certainly not anti-Slytherin. All the houses were fascinating in their own right. So seeing one student not get the reward because of another was beyond frustrating. But one five point loss did cancel out the five point gain.

"A Streeler could be handled for multiple reasons. Moving a population to a different area, selling the animal - hopefully keeping in mind the animal's well being, and as a pet. A Streelers shell has a fascinating trait of changing colors once every hour. This is peculiar in the sense that, other than confusing a long waiting predictor, it does not seem to be a trait that would be necessary for survival." Goodness, this was a creature that these children certainly should see in person. "Can anyone guess any other reasons that a Streeler would have such a unique trait?"

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The following 1 user Likes Richelle O'Connell's post:1 user Likes Richelle O'Connell's post
   Holly Scrimgeour

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Magic by MJ

She'd taken her typical seat near Cammie and had waved a greeting to everyone before class had started, but now her attention was fully on the professor. This was one of the few classes she actually cared about and didn't want to miss anything. While she would love to have one in class, it wasn't because of it being poisonous but rather because they changed color.

"Do they change color as an indication of their venom? I know a lot of bright plants and animals are toxic. Like a warning." she asked once she'd been called.

  

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look at the pretties mj made me!!!

Meta couldn't keep the smile off her face at the punishment that Slytherin received. Poor Holly Scrimgeour, her five points had been lost and it was kind of Meta's fault, too. If she hadn't received a warning first, perhaps the Slytherin would have gotten away with just a warning of his own.

She decided to be obnoxiously polite for the rest of the class, so she waited to be called upon before giving her response: "Is it to attract mates, Professor?" They had been taught for many creatures that their beauty was for that reason, so it was a good guess. Meta would also love to receive five points for Gryffindor, when Holly's five points had been lost.

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Clue had been about to laugh in response to Clue's words but was disrupted by the professor. He didn't particularly enjoy overly strict professors like this one which was a shame since Care of Magical Creatures was his favorite subject. He gave a sympathetic look towards Clue before focusng back on what the professor was now going into about Streelers.

  

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