Care of Creatures and Beasts

The last of the core classes, care of magical creatures and beasts is considered by many to feel more like an elective since there isn't a lot of tests. This class is more practical based in taking care of most animals. The beginning grades learn about a vast majority of the magical creatures that exist in their world, and in the later grades at the school, they have the opportunity to take care of young creatures and raise them.

Some of the main keys to the course include how to properly feed these creatures, how to train and house them, and to take care of and heal magical creatures, which is a sorely overlooked aspect in other magical schools when it comes to magical creatures and beasts. Magical creatures and beast healers are in very short supply within the magical world, including magical zoologists and biologists. They are trained to study and learn about the creatures, but not to heal them if they are injured. Some have trained themselves on how to treat injuries to some magical creatures and beasts, but not a wide range. Due to this lack, anyone that wishes to pursue further studies in magical creatures and beasts beyond normal schooling, must become an apprentice to a master in magical creatures and beasts.

Some of the creatures and beasts that the students learn about throughout the years they are in the class include Pegasi, Threshra, Gallinipper, werewolves, hippocampus, piasa, flame foxes, gnomes, frost spiders, and phoenixes. The specific creatures and beasts that are taught from year to year can vary depending on which ones are able to be obtained for the class, as not all of them are native to the United States or North America. If they are unable to obtain a specimen - phoenix for example - then visual images and lectures are given in its stead. But the practical side of this class is considered more important than the paperwork side.

The class is primarily taught outside in nature, however, in winter, or when the weather is incredibly bad, there is a classroom inside the school that is set aside in which the class is taught. Gerhardt's class specializes in teaching students about the magical creatures and beasts in North and South America primarily, however they do briefly touch on the creatures and beasts throughout the world that the student might encounter if they were deciding to travel. Given that most of the magical creatures in the Americas are often overlooked, it is a valuable area to know well.

Professor Raines, the current teacher of the care of magical creatures and beasts class at Gerhardt has this to say relating to his class:

"You'll see that no creature or beast is evil, merely misunderstood. If you don't know how an animal thinks and reacts, then you will run the risk of getting injured. You must understand the animal if you are to coexist with it. That is what I will be teaching you."

One of the founders of Gerhardt was a master with magical creatures and beasts who was intent on making the curriculum of Gerhardt's class the best in the world to teach the future generations. He had hoped to make Gerhardt a go to destination to learn about creatures, with high standards that the students would be held to. To the present day, the textbook he wrote is still a required read for the class, although it is as a secondary textbook for more specific assignments on specific creatures. It has been rewritten by other experts several times over the years improving on the information that was gathered in the years since the original publication.