Term 12 - L1 - Afternoon

Being Selene Vega's son-in-law had it's perks. Ryland could ask help from the many creatures and beings the old Hogwarts professor knew. This time, his first time asking anyone, was a centaur. It seemed like a good lesson to start with, and Selene had always enjoyed teaching the older students about this being. He'd half cheated and asked for her lesson plans, because he couldn't possibly recreate them. He could only gather similar, less-interesting ideas from her own.

Ryland checked his watch as he waited for the students to gather at the edge of the forest, where the day's lesson would be held.

It was no secret that Aoife didn't like Professor Malfoy, and wondered how on earth he'd managed to become a professor when he was barely older than her, but it was also no secret that she loved COMC, and was actually pretty good at the more practical side, because she loved animals. So her enjoyment of the subject, along with the intention to finish her NEWTs with at least an A in every subject, meant she actually showed up. Because she'd started doing that thing where she showed up on time for most lessons now (she was head girl, and apparently that meant she was a role model, so she was trying to be more like Victoria), she left lunch before most students, having not been hungry enough to eat more than a few bites of a sandwich.

So it made sense she was the first to arrive. As she got closer to where she could see the professor standing, she gazed longingly towards the forest, wondering if she'd ever see Mustachio again. Aoife really, really hoped he hadn't been brutally murdered since her last sighting. But now wasn't the time to go searching for unicorns - maybe one night, when she wouldn't get into trouble unless she was caught. But she was never caught - everyone knew loud irritating redheads were especially surreptitious. She was sure that small Ariadne child was exactly the same.

Aoife smiled at Bill Ryland, her mind wondering to the days of having good professors for Care of Magical Creatures. The Vega woman in her first year, later on the guy that looked suspiciously like the tenth doctor. But it was only one more year, she'd cope, she guessed. Surreptitious gingers always did.

As a devoted vegetarian and animal lover, Lyra was never exactly going to be bad at Care of Magical Creatures. In her first year, certainly, she remembered it being the best thing in the world, and completely her favourite subject. On many occasions she and Lynnie had discussed their love for the subject. Now, while she was slightly less enthusiastic, and slightly less motivated to have a career somewhat related to animals, she still enjoyed the lessons.

Once she'd finished lunch, she left the hall and headed out to the grounds, wrapping her robes tighter around herself as she stepped out into the cold. Only Aoife and the professor were already there when she arrived at the edge of the forest. "Hi, Professor," she said as she went to stand next to Aoife. The good thing about COMC was that it generally consisted of more practical lessons, over writing and shit. And she imagined today would fit that pattern, so she was pretty excited for it. Hopefully it wasn't a horribly boring animal like flobberworms, or something. Flobberworms were the worst.

The rumour that Ryland Malfoy had returned as the CoMC professor was something Ariel found absolutely wonderful. She'd always liked him, because he cared so much about her sister, and anyone who cared about Darcy was someone Ariel respected loads. So it was no lie that she was excited about the lesson. Not to mention that she generally loved all kinds of animals. The weather had been a bit brisk lately, so she took on a scarf and the cloak belonging to the school uniform before venturing outside. Hopefully it wouldn't be too cold, because freezing in a lesson was not really that much fun.

But the air was perfect for her clothes as she left the castle and could barely see Lyra walking some distance in front of her. She jogged a bit to catch up, but quickly noticed she wouldn't catch up before reaching where professor Malfoy was already located. So she slowed down again and walked up on Lyra's side when she reached them. "Hello professor," she said happily, giving both Lyra and Aoife a smile. She was super curious about what creature they'd be talking about this class, and hopefully it'd be something really interesting!