Hagrid's Hut - Care of Magical Creatures - First Year - Lesson 1

Now, then, listen up. I don't want to have to be saying this twice.

First Year - Lesson 1

Creatures are everywhere. Magical creatures are nearly everywhere, if you know where to look.

The first thing to consider is -

What is a Magical Creature?

Magical creature is a rather broad term. A merperson is a magical creature. A werewolf is a magical creature. Some could argue that giants, dragons, trolls, centaurs, goblins, and huffalumps are magical creatures. For the purpose of this class, we will study "beasts".

Well, then, what is a Beast?

Beast is even harder to define, or so it seems at times. A werewolf is human, until the curse of the moon strikes it, then a werewolf is no more than an animal, without human thought. A centaur has a bright mind, but avoids the trappings of human culture. A troll walks upright and looks vaguely humanoid, but is as dumb as a rock. The Wizard's Council, predecessor to the Ministry of Magic, tried to deal with the topic, beginning in the 14th century. Essentially, there were to be two classifications. "Being" and "Beast". As of 1811, a Being was considered, in the words of Minister of Magic Grogan Stump, "any creature that has sufficient intelligence to understand the laws of the magical community and to bear part of the responsibility in shaping those laws." In other words, a being was smart enough to know what was going on in the world, and willing to be a part of it. A Beast was considered either unable to understand the laws, or unwilling to obey and shape the laws. Body shape had nothing to do with it. Trolls were put into the Beast category, as were gnomes, faeries, and pixies. Merpeople were considered Beings.

Naturally, there is still debate as to who is a Being and who is a Beast. Centaurs, though offered Being status, have chosen to remain Beasts. Merpeople chose the same. Sphinx's, who speak only in riddles and eat those who fail to answer correctly, are also considered Beasts, do to their violent natures. Werewolves shift from Being to Beast depending on the current feeling in the Ministry of Magic.

What Does the Ministry of Magic do in Regards to Beasts?

As with all magical matters, the Ministry regulates, classifies, clarifies, and muddles about. The Ministry has the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures. There are divisions in the Ministry for almost every creature. There are Werewolf Support Services in the Being Division, and Werewolf Registry in the Beast Division. There are Dragon control units, trade and commerce aspects, as well as law enforcement.

One important part of the Ministry's Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures is classifying all known spirits, beasts, and beings. The general classifications are as follows:

XXXXX (5 X rating)	Extremely deadly. Training or taming impossible. (These are creatures that R. Hagrid favors obtaining for pets.)
XXXX (4 X rating)	Very dangerous. A skilled wizard might be able to deal with it, but it will likely require specialist knowledge. (Example - A trained dragon worker could deal with a Norwegian Ridgeback better than a school Gamekeeper.)
XXX (3 X rating)	A tad dangerous. A competent wizard should be able to handle the creature without harm to himself or the creature.
XX (2 X rating)	Mostly harmless. May be tamed or turned into a pet.
X (1 X rating)	Dull as dust. Boring. Main risk is in falling asleep while observing these creatures.

The Ministry of Magic Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures also keeps Muggles from noticing Beasts and Magical Creatures. This will be the subject of Lesson 2.

First Year - Assignment 1

Direct your answers to your professor at comc@starpaw.com. Clicking on this link will fill in year and assignment number.

All answers must be in your own words.

Remember, making your answers interesting and/or amusing may result in bonus points at the end of the term.

1. What is a Magical Creature?

2. What is a Being?

3. What is a Beast?

4. What is Werewolf considered by the Ministry of Magic?

5. What are Centaurs and Merpeople considered by the Ministry of Magic? Why?

6. What does the Ministry of Magic do in regards to Magical Creatures?

7. What is your greatest risk from a Class X creature?

8. Would an average 1st year student be able to handle a Class XXX creature? Why or why not?

9. How would you classify Fluffy, the 3 headed dog? Why did you choose that classification?

10. Why did you choose to take this class?

What is your name and House?

Class dismissed. Get on out of here...I've got to feed Fang.