| Re'em
Join Date: Aug 2005
Posts: 19,561
Hogwarts RPG Name:
Sophia Svensson #556B2F
Slytherin Fifth Year
Hogwarts RPG Name:
Eulalia Walles (#F48037)
Hufflepuff Fourth Year
Ministry RPG Name:
Gabriel Hawthorne-Melo #47316F
Law Enforcement |  Constant Vigilance! O_O AWAKE!
Text Cut: What wonderful answers!!! Quote:
Originally Posted by Watson  She had been lost in her thoughts… which wasn’t an odd occurrence but what she ans V had discussed had preoccupied her all day so it was until people were forming groups did she come back to attention. Huh? She saw the three man groups already (Claudine/Heath/Valentina and Atlas/Violet/Phoebe) form quickly and then her eyes landed on a group that wasn’t quite three yet so she made a beeline to balance out the class. Funnily enough, her brother was part of that group so hopefully he didn’t mind her joining Bella and him. “Hi!! Can I tag along?” she asked, out of courtesy, before butting in with more wood to offer her new team.
Before she could make a comment, Professaur was asking a question! She raised her hand to answer the question. Ooh! Ooh! She knew LOTS OF PESTS!! “Doxy’s can be pests. I’m sure they wouldn’t agree but I think they’re considered one… As for what makes them pests.. is it cause they’re troublemakers?” And that they like to have fun? And if that was so, could she be considered a magical pest? She turned her gaze to her brother, hopefully he didn’t think she was TOO MUCH OF A PEST to him. Doxies were troublemakers. "Yes, doxies can cause many problems in a magical household, especially if there is a large number of them," she nodded at the youngest Nam's answer. There was a whole group in the Ministry of Magic dedicated to handling doxy infestations. In case anybody wanted some career ideas.
Quote:
Originally Posted by ArianaBlack Kins was a little out of it, so while everyone else moved around to form groups, she stayed put for a little longer. Just thinking. About stuff and things. Being a teenager is the very worst.
It was only as people really started getting their firepits going that Kins realized she was one of the only ones without a group and in a bout of panic, she scurried over to Phoebe (and Atlas and Violet). Atlas didn't like her very much and she wasn't sure how Violet felt, but maybe neither of them would mind if she just stood back and didn't touch anything. She didn't want to ruin their firepit anyway.
You know what was a real pest? Homework. Maybe she could convince Professor P against giving them any.
"These vines are pests..." Professor Flamsteed would probably agree. "They harm other plants and keep getting in the way of everything." Which was totally the definition of 'pest'. Nevermind that they were in Creatures and not Herbology.
While not quite what she was looking for, Mia had to admit Kinsay James had an excellent point. "Yes, very good point, Miss James," she said. "Pests aren't only creatures, they can be plants as well, anything that doesn't belong in an environment and causes harm." There was a whole other lesson to be had about invasive species, as she was starting to view these vines to be.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Lady of Light .... Ashwinders?? Valentina's eyes widened. Snakes?? They were going to study snakes? "Oh.. well, I guess I'm not too excited about this lesson now." She half smiled at Claudine and Heath ( another older student who seemed very intimidating as well but he did have a nice smile ).
She turned to look at the professor, raising her hand almost immediately. "Garden gnomes, professor!" .... right?? "Yep, garden gnomes are a common magical pest!" And could cause major havoc in anybody trying to grow a garden.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Chelliephone Seeing how far along the other groups were compared to theirs, Evan hurried himself a little more to gather the wood and stack it all in the fire pit - noticing Lisa ask if she could join them as well as she started to do the same. He simply shot her a small, as an 'of course' but all showing appreciation for the fact she had not waited and simply got to task. Not that this was uncharacteristic or anything either though, as patience was not a virtue he would say his sister had.
Pests was it? He could hear the beginning of discussion as he hurriedly placed a few more logs and pulled out his wand with an "Incendio" at the fire, hoping his sister and Bella did not mind he had done the honors. He turned, considering making a soft joke about his sister being a pest but considering she was already looking at him and she still had not seemed quite Lisa-like to him, he bit his tongue and just smiled again. Magical pests was it? Garden gnomes and doxy's was a good answer, vines even more so. He raised his hand to offer an answer as well, "Nifflers can be pest like with their obsession with shine."
But they were cute too, so forgiven. Mia nodded at Evan's thoughtful answer, pleased to see his group had gotten their fire started. "Yes, nifflers may be cute and seem harmless, but they tend to destroy things in their attempts to gather shiny items," she agreed. "Which is why they are not allowed as pets at Hogwarts." In case anybody got any ideas.
Quote:
Originally Posted by sweetpinkpixie
SPEAKING of PESTS...well...no...he wouldn't exactly put Kinsay James into the category of pest. Especially not when Phoebe James was around. He would be polite and even smile at her as she joined. Mmmhmm.
As to the professor's question...well...his hand went up. "Anything can be a pest," he offered as a lukewarm sort of response. "As long as it is annoying, troublesome, or destructive ....it can be a pest. Dad says felines, kneazles, are pests and their claws are wicked destructive and harmful. They are predators and hunt and prey on native species. A real threat to global biodiversity AND cats, felines, in general have contributed to the extinction of 63 species of birds, mammals, and reptiles in the wild and continue to adversely impact a wide variety of other species," Atlas recited practically verbatium from one of dad's tirades. "I personally find chizpurfles the worst. They've sabotaged me loads with my robotics."
"Annoying, troublesome, and destructive, indeed," Mia agreed. Though she didn't know Atlas's father...if he thought kneazles were pests, she was certain they wouldn't get along. She was pleased to hear Atlas bring up biodiversity and extinction, though. They were important topics. But again, the focus of another lesson, maybe. "Yep, very good points. Chizpurfles are more traditionally pests, but anything could be considered a pest, depending on the environment."
Quote:
Originally Posted by MadAlice And now she realized that while she was preoccupied with petty things, the class had gone on. Pests? "Cornish pixies can be dreadful pests, they get into everything and are very destructive," she offered when it was her turn. She remembered the summer when her Uncle Hamlet had brought a few home from a summer trip and then not fastened their cage carefully enough. Another good example of traditional household pests, those pixies. "Yes, cornish pixies can be destructive," she agreed with a nod. "Yet more proof that being destructive, and perhaps too inquisitive, is a quality shared by many pests."
Quote:
Originally Posted by FearlessLeader19 Claudine was actually disappointed when Valentina mentioned that she wasn’t excited for the lesson should the topic indeed turn out to be Ashwinders. “I hope your mind changes.” Paszek drew the Slytherin’s attention again, this time with a question.
Pests… well, Atlas’ explanation had basically covered how Claudine felt about the topic, though she wasn’t drawn to the robotics part.. Humans probably were the biggest pests. Not all of them but most… you know, because she was not so fond of ninety nine percent or more of the human race.
“The Bundimun, professor,’’ Claudine volunteered, wiggling her fingers of her raised hand. “Nasty infestations they can cause to houses.” "Good, yes, a bundimun infection can cause houses to rot," she pointed out. "Much like what we're covering today, their damage can cause structures to fail." So many good answers. And, unfortunately, there were a lot of magical pests. “Thank you all, yes, we've got Bundimun, Cornish pixies, chizpurfles, nifflers, garden gnomes, doxies, and many others as more traditional magical household pests," she summarized. "Destruction, damage, and being annoying are all common traits of pets, and in certain circumstances, even wizards or normally gentle creatures can become pests if they distrub the environment and cause harm." She kicked a vine out of her way, heading back toward the front of the paddock. Kinsay James was right, these vines were pests. But, time to move on.
"The magical pest we’ll be discussing today is the Ashwinder,” she announced. "Ashwinders are serpents that are born from magical fires, fires where Floo powder has been used, when they burn down, like we'll be letting our fires burn down today." She glanced around, making sure none of the fires had burned down yet. They all looked good. She pulled a jar of Floo powder from a pocket and tossed a pinch into her fire pit, causing the flames to turn bright green for just a moment. These fires couldn't take them anywhere as they weren't connected to the Floo network, but the Floo powder would still allow Ashwinders to be born. "Ashwinders wander off in magical houses, and lay their eggs. Unfortunately, their eggs are very hot, which is why they're considered a pest--many a housefire has been caused by Ashwinder eggs that nobody knew about."
She began wandering again, tossing small pinches of Floo powder into each of the students' fires as she spoke. “Now, what are some times when creatures we call pests might be considered useful?” she asked. “The Ashwinder, or any other magical pest.” She paused, then added another question to tickle their brains. “Or, how can we prevent magical pests--whether the Ashwinder or something else--from causing problems in our homes?”
Ooc: You’ll have about 24 hours to post your answers. |