Magizoology (3-5) - Lesson 3: Fire Crabs

[Rebecca Davenport]

It seemed as enrollment had declined and Becca had adjusted her curriculum accordingly. While it was disheartening that her younger students seemed to lack the enthusiasm of her older ones, the new schedule seemed to be working out. And while she usually did this particular lesson as a practical one, there were a number of circumstances that made her decide to hold a lecture this time.

For now, the room stood open and empty, the professor tending to the animals in the stable before class started. A fire was roaring in the fireplace to cut the cold outside and on the board was written the day's topic in the professor's large and loopy scrawl:

Fire Crabs

[Emeric Troy III]

Once again, he was a bit ahead of schedule for this class. He didn't mind it so much, though because it was care of magical creatures and as always there was bound to be something interesting to look at her talk about. Despite all of the interesting things to look at and talk about, he still found himself wondering why he was early to most of his classes lately. He would have thought that especially this class someone else would have arrived first. The class was a combined group consisting of the third fourth and fifth years.

Em didn't know anyone, that he knew, who was a third year, or if he did he didn't know it. He was well acquainted with the fourth years, as he was in the same year and knew most of his year mates rather well. He knew some of the fifth years, Matty, Tal and a couple others, but couldn't remember who all had signed up for the elective. Emeric let himself into the classroom and saw the topic of today announced on the board. Fire crabs. Lovely. He ran through a list of things he knew about fire crabs. They were from Fiji, a random fact, and they were potentially dangerous. He waited for the lesson to begin.

[Matilda Wentworth]

Care of Magical Creatures was probably among the group of Matty's favorite subjects. There was always something to do, or more so observe in this class, which entertained her. The lectures weren't all that bad either, for they could be considered interesting compared to some of the other subjects. And, well, honestly, this elective came rather easily to the Hufflepuff. She liked learned about the harmful creatures in the magical world, for she was already aware of those in the Muggle world. Hey, it couldn't hurt to know the basic facts, and be able to recognize them, right?

The teenager wore her black coat over her uniform, shielding out the cold of Winter that was still looming about as she crossed the grounds. When Matty finally reached the Classroom, she felt a great temperature change inside. The girl sniffled slightly, as she was still ill from the Pox to some extent. She offered a smile to Professor Davenport, one of the teachers she didn't mind having classes with, before glancing around to see who was already there. As her eyes found Emeric, she gave him a small friendly wave. The girl sat a seat to the side of him, in the row in front of the boy. Giving him a smile as she sat down, Matty didn't say or do anything out of the ordinary.

[Tianne Webster-Barrett]

Unlike many of her other friends and peers, Tianne didn't like Care of Magical Creatures. Almost as soon as she chose it, the young girl regretted it, knowing plain and simple that Magical Creatures were not in Tianne's list of favourite things. Sure, she was fond of other animals, but the brunette usually liked ones that didn't have any special powers, unless you count, like puppies and kittens, the ability to make one fall in love. Their eyes had that special effect to them, and Tianne found them both evil and adorable at the same time.

Making her way down to the classroom where her torture would take place, she shivered. It was still cold, after all, it was the middle of winter, and she was never fond of that time. Wearing a black skirt that got to her knees, and a pair of dark blue stockings, that matched her school tie, her legs were quite cold. She wore her hair up, and a black winter's coat over her uniform, after noticing that Matty Wentworth wore hers too. Entering the classroom, Tianne groaned. Fire Crabs? Seriously She thought, keeping that to herself, to avoid the pessimistic look. Offering Emeric a smile, Tianne took a seat on the left of Matty, giving the girl a smile too.

[Beau Hopkins]

Fire crabs. They were a combination of both pinchy and firey, and not all that pleasing to look at. But they were kind of amusing to the Hufflepuff boy. He couldn't remember just how hazardous they could be, but knew his uncle had suffered a pretty bad wound from handling a fire crab. But then again, his uncle wasn't the brightest bulb in the box, either so it was possible that fire crabs weren't as bad as they seemed to be. He walked into the warm hut with a small smile on his rosy face, glad to get out of the cold. It wasn't too bad, but still not as nice to Beau as the feeling of warmth was.

" Matty, Tianne, Emeric. " He said, giving each of his fellow students a smile as he walked into the room, found his seat and took off his heavy cloak. He knew there was some time before the lesson would begin, so he took the time to re-tie his tie, which was looking a little mis-shapen from the days lessons. He took it off first, then put it back before retying it completely. He straightened it, leaning back in his chair slightly, and then tucked it back down under his gray vest that he absolutely despised. Beau looked a bit more sharp now and smiled as he looked around the room.

[Rebecca Davenport]

The bells chimed from the castle and right on cue, the Professor walked into the classroom, striding up the isle between the desks and unknowingly leaving a trail of straw and hay behind her. As she approached the front of the room, she drew her wand and flicked it towards the board, creating a detailed diagram of the creature for the class to reference.

"Fire crabs. So named for the fire they eject and less so for any resemblance with a crab," Becca started, turning to face the class as she reached her desk. She crossed her arms and leaned back against the table, looking at the students from over her glasses. "Today we will be discussing their basics before moving on to actually handling the creatures. Can anyone share with us what they might already know about the Fire Crab?"

[Autumn McLoughlin]

Autumn rushed into class only a second before the Professor started speaking. She gave her a sheepish smile and mumbled sorry. She looked around the class to fine Beau sitting in a chair near where she was standing. She quickly took a seat next to him, giving him a small grin. She then took out her books and set them on he table in front of her, ready for whatever lesson Professor Davenport had ready for them.

Fire Crabs. A pit formed in her stomach. Something about an animal that could produce fire that could potentially burn her just didn't seem right. She did know a bit about Fire Crabs from lessons at home. She raised her hand shyly, hoping what she said wasn't wrong. "Fire Crabs are native to Fiji. I think there is a preserve for them in Fiji as well because their shells are brought and sold on the black market as a cauldron."