Care of Magical Creatures: First Year: Week 5: Monday

Professor Kettleburn
Monday
Gryffindor Time: 2:00
Ravenclaw Time: 1:00
Hufflepuff Time: 2:00
Slytherin Time: 1:00

Welcome back, class. I'm sorry that you missed Wednesday's class, but it certainly sounded like fun to explore London!

Today I am going to tell you about a creature called the Gruagach. You probably won't get to meet one as they are quite difficult to find and capture, having the intelligence of humans and the ability to shapeshift. They are peculiar in their habits, prefering to be left alone most of the time but feeling sociable during certian seasons, such as during the Harvest. Mostly they only show themselves to wizarding folk, but occasionally appear to muggles, much to the dismay of the Ministry of Magic. Many people believe them to be brownies, but they are not. On the contrary, they live in nature and don't serve any house or manor. It is true that they belong to the 'Hob' family, which is the same as brownies, but there the resemblance ends. Gruagaches can only be found in rural England, Scotland and in some very rare cases, Ireland.
Grugaches can - and will - take on any form. These can range in size from slightly taller than six feet to small enough to ride astride a shrew. The only time a gruagach must take on his or her true form is during the annual meeting, where every gruagach must come to. No one has been able to find this meeting since 1639 and the wizard who did had his eyes gored out in a most painful way. He was found wandering days later missing his tongue and covered in scratches. This is one of the few recorded cases of gruagach violence. All of them were the human's fault, not the creature's.

Your homework is to look up a case of gruagach sighting, if possible, your own. Class is dismissed.