November Lesson
Dragons – M.O.M Classification XXXXX
Welcome to November! This month is all about ferocious, scary, fire-breathing dragons! As you can tell by the M.O.M classification dragons are extremely dangerous and should only be approached by trained professionals.
Dragons are the most famous of all magical beasts and feature heavily in the Muggle world. They are very difficult to hide and the female is usually larger and more aggressive than the male, and this is most likely due to the fact that she is required to protect her eggs and her young.
Dragon hide, blood, heart, liver and horn all have high magical properties, but dragons eggs are defined as Class A Non-Tradeable Goods for obvious reasons (aren’t they, Hagrid?).
Now, let’s take a look at six different dragons found in our world. Please stand back while I present each dragon to you and don’t pull funny faces, they don’t like that!
Antipodean Opaleye
Hailing from New Zealand, the Opaleye is of medium size (between 2 and 3 tonnes) and is often considered the most beautiful type of dragon. It has iridescent, pearly scales and glittering, multi-coloured, pupil-less eyes. It’s eggs are a pale grey and have often been mistaken for fossils by unsuspecting Muggles. Not an easy mess to clean up for the Ministry!
The Opaleye, also known to migrate to Australia when land becomes scarce, is not overly aggressive and rarely kills unless hungry. It prefers to eat sheep but has been none to attack larger prey. In the late 1970’s a spate of kangaroo killings was attributed to a male Opaleye who was ousted from his homeland by a dominant female. Unlike most other dragons, the Opaleye prefers to live in valleys rather than mountains.
Chinese Fireball
Also known as Liondragon, the Chinese Fireball is the only Oriental dragon. It is scarlet and smooth-scaled and has a fringe of golden spikes around it snub-snouted face. When angered a mushroom-shaped flame will burst from it’s nostrils so watch out!
It weights between 2 and 4 tonnes, and as with most dragons the female is larger. Eggs are a vivid crimson speckled with gold and the shells are much prized for use in Chinese wizardry. The Fireball is aggressive but more tolerant of its own species and will often share its territory with up to two others. The Fireball likes to eat pigs and humans.
Hungarian Horntail
Defeated by the famous Harry Potter during the Triwizard Tournament, the Horntail is the most dangerous of all dragon breeds. The lizard-like creature has black scales, yellow eyes, bronze horns and spikes that protrude from its long tail. Its eggs are cement-coloured and particularly hard-shelled; the young club their way out using their tails, whose spikes are well developed at birth.
It has one of the longest fire-breathing ranges which can stretch up to fifty feet (no wonder it’s dangerous!). Horntails regularly feed on goats and sheep but it will eat humans whenever possible.
Romanian Longhorn
The Longhorn has dark-green scales and long, glittering golden horns which are highly valued as potion ingredients when powdered. The native territory of the Longhorn has now become the world’s most important dragon reservation. Wizards from all over the world come to the reservation to study a variety of dragons at close range without the risk of being killed (well, the risk is reduced).
The sale and trading of it’s valuable horns, which are defined as Class B Tradeable Material (Dangerous and Subject to Strict Control), have lead to fallen numbers in recent years. Due to this an intensive breeding programme has been formed to ensure that it doesn’t become extinct. Students who graduated from Hogwarts with an O in Care of Magical Creatures can be considered for the program.
Ukranian Ironbelly
The Ironbelly is the largest breed of dragon and has been known to achieve a weight of six tonnes. Rotund and slower in fight than the Longhorn, the Ironbelly is nevertheless extremely dangerous. It is capable of crushing dwellings as Mr Theo Switch can attest:
“I was listening to the radio one afternoon in 1978 when all of a sudden a damn dragon landed on me roof! It crushed me house and ruined me favourite roses. Thank Merlin’s beard I wasn’t right underneath him, he woulda killed me! I’m scared to be inside houses now, I tried convincing my wife to move underground with me but she said I was a nut and she left”.
The Ironbelly is metallic grey, with deep red eyes and talons that are long and vicious. The Ukranian wizarding authorities have constantly observed the Ironbelly ever since the first incident when it carried off with an empty sailing boat from the Black Sea in 1799.
Swedish Short-Snout
The last dragon for the month is an attractive silvery-blue whose skin is sought after for the manufacture of protective gloves and shields. The flame that issues from its nostrils is a brilliant blue and can reduce timber and bone to ash in a matter of seconds. It prefers to live in the wild mountains and has fewer human killings than most other dragons.
The End
That’s the end of our study on dragons, I hope you enjoyed it! Please move to your homework with is due on November 30th at 11:59pm HOL time. Good luck!
Welcome to November! This month is all about ferocious, scary, fire-breathing dragons! As you can tell by the M.O.M classification dragons are extremely dangerous and should only be approached by trained professionals.
Dragons are the most famous of all magical beasts and feature heavily in the Muggle world. They are very difficult to hide and the female is usually larger and more aggressive than the male, and this is most likely due to the fact that she is required to protect her eggs and her young.
Dragon hide, blood, heart, liver and horn all have high magical properties, but dragons eggs are defined as Class A Non-Tradeable Goods for obvious reasons (aren’t they, Hagrid?).
Now, let’s take a look at six different dragons found in our world. Please stand back while I present each dragon to you and don’t pull funny faces, they don’t like that!
Antipodean Opaleye
Hailing from New Zealand, the Opaleye is of medium size (between 2 and 3 tonnes) and is often considered the most beautiful type of dragon. It has iridescent, pearly scales and glittering, multi-coloured, pupil-less eyes. It’s eggs are a pale grey and have often been mistaken for fossils by unsuspecting Muggles. Not an easy mess to clean up for the Ministry!
The Opaleye, also known to migrate to Australia when land becomes scarce, is not overly aggressive and rarely kills unless hungry. It prefers to eat sheep but has been none to attack larger prey. In the late 1970’s a spate of kangaroo killings was attributed to a male Opaleye who was ousted from his homeland by a dominant female. Unlike most other dragons, the Opaleye prefers to live in valleys rather than mountains.
Chinese Fireball
Also known as Liondragon, the Chinese Fireball is the only Oriental dragon. It is scarlet and smooth-scaled and has a fringe of golden spikes around it snub-snouted face. When angered a mushroom-shaped flame will burst from it’s nostrils so watch out!
It weights between 2 and 4 tonnes, and as with most dragons the female is larger. Eggs are a vivid crimson speckled with gold and the shells are much prized for use in Chinese wizardry. The Fireball is aggressive but more tolerant of its own species and will often share its territory with up to two others. The Fireball likes to eat pigs and humans.
Hungarian Horntail
Defeated by the famous Harry Potter during the Triwizard Tournament, the Horntail is the most dangerous of all dragon breeds. The lizard-like creature has black scales, yellow eyes, bronze horns and spikes that protrude from its long tail. Its eggs are cement-coloured and particularly hard-shelled; the young club their way out using their tails, whose spikes are well developed at birth.
It has one of the longest fire-breathing ranges which can stretch up to fifty feet (no wonder it’s dangerous!). Horntails regularly feed on goats and sheep but it will eat humans whenever possible.
Romanian Longhorn
The Longhorn has dark-green scales and long, glittering golden horns which are highly valued as potion ingredients when powdered. The native territory of the Longhorn has now become the world’s most important dragon reservation. Wizards from all over the world come to the reservation to study a variety of dragons at close range without the risk of being killed (well, the risk is reduced).
The sale and trading of it’s valuable horns, which are defined as Class B Tradeable Material (Dangerous and Subject to Strict Control), have lead to fallen numbers in recent years. Due to this an intensive breeding programme has been formed to ensure that it doesn’t become extinct. Students who graduated from Hogwarts with an O in Care of Magical Creatures can be considered for the program.
Ukranian Ironbelly
The Ironbelly is the largest breed of dragon and has been known to achieve a weight of six tonnes. Rotund and slower in fight than the Longhorn, the Ironbelly is nevertheless extremely dangerous. It is capable of crushing dwellings as Mr Theo Switch can attest:
“I was listening to the radio one afternoon in 1978 when all of a sudden a damn dragon landed on me roof! It crushed me house and ruined me favourite roses. Thank Merlin’s beard I wasn’t right underneath him, he woulda killed me! I’m scared to be inside houses now, I tried convincing my wife to move underground with me but she said I was a nut and she left”.
The Ironbelly is metallic grey, with deep red eyes and talons that are long and vicious. The Ukranian wizarding authorities have constantly observed the Ironbelly ever since the first incident when it carried off with an empty sailing boat from the Black Sea in 1799.
Swedish Short-Snout
The last dragon for the month is an attractive silvery-blue whose skin is sought after for the manufacture of protective gloves and shields. The flame that issues from its nostrils is a brilliant blue and can reduce timber and bone to ash in a matter of seconds. It prefers to live in the wild mountains and has fewer human killings than most other dragons.
The End
That’s the end of our study on dragons, I hope you enjoyed it! Please move to your homework with is due on November 30th at 11:59pm HOL time. Good luck!
