CoMC Field Trip: See a Sphinx at the Creature Rescue Reserve

Jonah had made sure he was on time for the field trip, both to make up for being almost late to class and because he was excited. He'd had to fight with Applewick about going in the first place. She'd said it wasn't a good idea for him to go without her, that it was too dangerous. Jonah had argued that (a) he was going with a professor and (b) this trip was to a creature reserve (according to the sign up sheet anyways) and that meant it would have protection around it. There might even be other aurors there. Applewick had huffed but she'd sent an owl to the people at the reserve and been told that yes, there was plenty of security there. She still hadn't been happy but she'd agreed to let Jonah go on the field trip on his own.

He grabbed onto the rope when Professor Dearborn called the group over and listened carefully as she explained where they were going. When she finished, he raised his hand with a question. "The sphinx was confiscated? From where? What happened to it?" He realized after he spoke that she might not have time to answer him, but he was curious.

Luckily it didn’t take long for Constance to appear, as she stepped through the wards that surrounded the Reserve and kept it hidden from all eyes. What surprised Rita was that Constance had brought the sphinx with her. The majestic creature walked calmly next to Constance, limping slightly. With a practiced eye Rita checked it over. The human face was a bit gaunter than it should be, evidence of the malnutrition. The lions body of the creature was a bit thinner than it should be as well. But aside from the remaining limp, which Constance had assured her would heal perfectly, there were no visible signs of any injuries.

Rita raised a questioning eyebrow, curious why there was a change in plans, but Constance shook her head briefly and mouthed ‘later’ at her. Rita nodded and turned her attention to her students. One of them, Mariah Lane, who Rita remembered was rather shy, had ducked behind two of the older boys.

Rita returned the sheepish smile the girl have her with a warm one of her own. Sphinxes were rather larger than you’d expect from a picture in a book, Rita knew of experience. The creature was easily twice as high as Rita herself and did strike a rather imposing figure.



Rita moved closer to Mariah as the girl motioned to her. She had to smile at the question, because it was a common misconception. “Don’t worry about it,” she whispered back. “No question is ever foolish. I’ll answer it in a minute.”

Rita moved to stand on the other side of the sphinx and raised her voice so all her students could hear her.

“This, ladies and gentlemen, is an Egyptian sphinx. She is currently being treated at the Creature Rescue Reserve, which is located behind some very impressive wards that also render it invisible from us right now. We won’t be entering it, because it is restricted for the safety of the animals. At any given moment, the animals that are kept her are worth thousands of galleons, sometimes even going into the millions depending on the exact species currently recuperating at the Reserve. So you can see why access is restricted. Which is why my good friend Constance Gardener, one of the caregivers here, has brought this sphinx out here for you all to see.”

It hadn’t exactly been the plan to leave them all outside the wards, as Rita had wanted to show the sphinx in its natural environment inside the Reserve. Something must have happened to change that, though, and Rita would make sure to get the story out of Constance later.

“The first mentions of the sphinx come from Ancient Egypt, though it’s not know whether the race evolved in the wild and were then tamed by wizards or if they were created by wizards. What we do know is that they were used by the Egyptian magicians to guard temples, the palace of the Pharaoh and even the Valley of the Magi. With the Roman invasion, the sphinx gained popularity in other countries as a guardian as well. So much so, in fact, that the wild population became entirely extinct around the time of the Roman Empire’s collapse. In the last fifty years, the Egyptian ministry has been reintroducing sphinxes into the wild again.”

Rita gave a smile at Mariah when she said that last part, because the girl had been right, just not entirely up to date. Then she stepped closer to the sphinx and placed a hand on its side.

“As you can see, a sphinx is generally not dangerous. It has earned its Ministry classification on the fact that when threatened or guarding something, a sphinx becomes highly dangerous. In a few minutes I will be having this sphinx guard something and all of you may try to answer its riddles, if you want. But before I do that, are there any questions about sphinxes?”

Rita looked out over her students, hoping she hadn’t overwhelmed them with information. These field trips were a bit different from teaching a class and she wanted to make it fun, but also informational. Striking the right balance was harder than Rita had thought when she pitched this extracurricular to the Headmistress.

Rita shot a quick look at Constance, who shrugged her shoulders. No change in the case, then.

"Currently, the former owner is being questioned by the Aurors. We know for sure there were other people involved with the capture and smuggling operation and the Aurors are trying to find them. As for the owner, here in Canada he will get a fine for owning a Sphinx, which is not allowed, and then he'll probably be handed over to the Egyptian government for further punishment, which can be up to five years in Cairo Jail."

After giving the answer, Rita sighed. A fine really wasn't enough, but the law said they couldn't get him for anything other than the ownership if he wasn't involved in the actual capture and smuggling.

Rita smiled at Jilly as she asked a very insightful question about the intelligence of sphinxes.

“A very good question, Miss Coppercorn. If you recall from your first Care of Magical Creatures class this year, we talked about some animals being intelligent enough to understand our laws but still ending up being classed as beings. The sphinx is one such creature. They are very smart, but mostly talk in riddles and puzzles and as such cannot help us shape our laws.”

Rita patted the sphinx’s side, causing the creature to look at her. It dipped its head briefly and a smirk flickered over its female face. Rita was pretty sure the animal was amused at the discussion going on around it and once again Rita was struck by the thought that it probably spoke in riddles and puzzles for amusement’s sake more than anything else. But that was opinion, not fact, and as such she didn’t share it with her students.

“As to why they talk in puzzles and riddles, that’s not known. They can talk without it, as they can and will explain the rules of their guarding something in a fairly direct manner if asked. But other than that, they will only give out riddles or puzzles. But perhaps that’s better shown than told.”

Rita stepped away from the sphinx and with a flick of her wrist her wand shot out from her wand holster into her hand. A swish, a flick, and a few murmured words soon had a small rock on the ground transformed into a magnificent Egyptian style gate that rose up from the grass. The entire structure was slightly higher than the sphinx and thrice as wide. The opening in the middle it was wide enough to let two people through at the same time and high enough that even the tallest student in her class wouldn’t be able to touch the top if he walked underneath it with his arms stretched out above his head.




“Will you guard the entryway?” Rita asked the sphinx.

“None shall pass that do not earn it,” the sphinx answered, then took up position in front of the opening.

“Now,” Rita said, turning back to the students, “before I allow any of you to try to pass through the gate, please be aware that a sphinx can be very dangerous if you answer incorrectly. If you don’t know the answer to the riddle it gives you, please back away instead of answering it. Also, one student at a time and you may not ask for help with the riddle as the sphinx will see it as cheating and attack. Now, who wants to be first?”


((OOC: if you want to, you may play the sphinx in your post. But you can also choose to approach the sphinx and ask me to play the sphinx and give you a riddle. Your choice!)

Rita smiled at Jilly when she confidently stepped forward. She was playing it smart, keeping her body loose and relaxed, not reaching for her wand. There would be no reason for the sphinx to feel threatened. And perhaps Rita was a little bit biased towards Jilly, as the girl was one of Rita’s Polera students, but she was fairly sure Jilly would get the riddle correctly answered.

The sphinx bowed its head a little and looked straight at Jilly as it gave its next riddle. “I make you weak at the worst of all times. I keep you safe, I keep you fine. I make your hands sweat, and your heart grow cold. I visit the weak, but seldom the bold. Who am I?”

Jonah had watched as AJ answered the first riddle easily. He'd had to think about it and hadn't come up with the answer before AJ said it. Once he did, it made sense to Jonah. His own uncertainty about the first riddle made Jonah hesitate stepping forward to take the next turn. He watched Jilly step forward to take it instead.
Jonah tried to think it through. He wanted to try answering a riddle, but if he couldn't get this one before Jilly did, he might just keep waiting. What made you weak but also kept you safe and fine? What made your hands sweat? Being in love maybe? But that wouldn't make your heart cold... He shook his head, uncertain, and looked at Jilly. To his surprise, his fellow Polera seemed frozen in place. He could see her sweating, hear her breathing quickly. She was scared!

For a moment, Jonah wanted to step forward and help his friend, guess for her or move her out of the way and take her place. He didn't have the answer either, but Jilly looked so frightened. He almost took a step. Then he remembered Professor Dearborn's warning. If he tried to help, the sphinx would think Jilly was cheating and attack. He looked at Christy, wondering if the older guy could figure out a way to help, then back at Jilly. As he looked at her this time, the answer came to him. Something that made you sweat, made you feel weak, but could be good for you sometimes? He knew what it was. He had to press his lips together to keep from shouting it out to her. Come on Jilly, he thought at her, wishing he could say it out loud to encourage her.  You can do it!

((OOC: This thread will continue in August))

Rita released a sigh of relief as Jilly snapped out of her fear. She didn’t back down, either, but gave the correct answer to the sphinx. Still, Rita didn’t relax entirely until the sphinx stepped aside with a nod to Jilly, letting the girl pass beneath the arc. Sharing a relieved look with Constance, Rita smiled and thanked Merlin that everything worked out fine.

“Very well done, Miss Coppercorn!” Rita said. “Five points for solving the riddle correctly. Now, does anyone else want to try? We have plenty of time for everyone to take a turn.”

Jonah had breathed a sigh of relief as Jilly figured out the answer to her riddle. He grinned and gave her a thumbs up as she walked through the archway. He was working up his courage to step forward when Mariah stepped forward instead. The sphinx offered a riddle to her and Jonah watched as Mariah answered it easily. How had she done that, he wondered as she walked through the arch. She'd done it so quickly too! He'd still been scratching his head. The answer made sense, now that she'd said it, but he wouldn't have guessed it. If he'd been in Mariah's place, he would have ended up backing away. He hoped that wouldn't happen now. 

"Here goes nothing," he murmured and stepped forward to face the Sphinx.

Jonah frowned in concentration. Something that's round but flat...like a pearl...something that changes but doesn't...The part about lupine lords niggled at something in his brain but he couldn't quite figure it out. Something round, like a pearl...pearls were white. Something round, white on black...He closed his eyes, trying to picture what he'd figured out so far. Round, white on black...A white circle on a black background...

Suddenly Jonah grinned as the picture became clear in his head. "The moon!" he cried. "It's the moon!"

The sphinx nodded and stepped aside. Jonah walked through the archway to join the others who had solved riddles, still grinning.  Now that he knew the answer, the rest of the riddle made sense.  The moon was round but it looked flat.  The part about lupine lords must mean werewolves.  The moon looked like it changed every month but it didn't really.  It had taken him a few minutes--longer than some of the others--but he'd solved the riddle!  He couldn't have wiped the grin off his face if he'd wanted to.

((OOC: we can wrap this thread up, but I am also putting up a new thread for September))