HOL Ravenclaw

https://i.postimg.cc/Jzwff4Kz/mockturtle.png

[img]https://i.postimg.cc/Y9fDzcXH/louis-monster.jpg[/img]

[img]https://i.postimg.cc/xTbTftq2/harry-monster.jpg[/img]

Initially, the monster is deceiving; it does not look dangerous because it is as small as a frog! Its hind-legs are frog-like too, built for powerful strides and high jumps. The front of the animal looks like a grasshopper, complete with long antennae. The eyes are a startling ice blue which seem to penetrate deep into the mind of whoever looks into them. The monster is covered with lavender-coloured fur which looks soft to the touch. The monster emits a low, deep noise that shakes the ground it stands on. The sound is coming from its antennae, and it can use this noise to echolocate others nearby when it is too dark to see. When it wants to hunt prey or battle with a foe, the monster can grow to be the size of a school bus. The purple fur grows longer and becomes spiked; there seems to be a mysterious liquid seeping out from the ends, most likely a toxin of some kind. The monster also grows long, sharp claws that scrap menacingly against the ground. The noise it emits grows louder and deeper. The creature can direct its antennae towards an individual, sending the sound straight towards them and incapacitating them. The ice blue eyes of the monster grow icier and more haunting.

The monster that is leaping up to grab me as the gryphon carries me away is able to do so because it has huge legs like a kangaroo, giving it immense jumping power. The whole monster looks to be about seven or eight feet tall, and has thick, bushy fur in a mossy green color. It looks like if this monster were to stand still in a forest, it would blend right in. It has large ears that stick out of the sides of its head near the top, and a long snout that ends in a black nose. It has powerful looking jaws with long, pointed, yellowish teeth that are snapping at me as it jumps and reaches for me while the gryphon carries me higher and farther out of its reach. When it walks, it moves kind of like a rabbit on all four legs with the back legs hopping along while the front legs beat the earth to propel it forward faster. When it opens its mouth to snap at me, I can see that it has not one, but two tongues that are a dark, deep purple. It looks incredibly fast and I’m glad I’m in the air, because if I was on the ground it would have me for sure.

[size=85]Alternatively you may Describe your monster in 210 words,[/size]

I think that the thing most scary about this monster is that it is, mostly, appearing to be made of a pale grey fog or smoke, with bright bright eyes of a vivid, almost lurid, green (surrounded by thick black eyelashes) starring out at me from within that fog and smoke. The hint of teeth is there, too, except when it's more than a hint as they come gnashing at me and then they appear to be fully formed, large (as large as my hand) and of a crisp white color.

The fog bank itself, the apparent body of the monster, is about the size of a fridge (except horizontal), hovering in mid-air (implying the existence of legs carrying it but another scary thing is I can't see any legs). Of course I'm not giving it much attention as most of my energy is given to running away ...

The reason I think of it as a fog bank, instead of as smoke, is that there is a distinct dampness in the air as it gets closer to me. (If it was smoke, wouldn't there be whisps of 'smoke' wafting towards me ahead of the body of the creature?) But anyway, it just seems more scary that the body isn't clearly visible -- as if I am capable of imagining something much more horrible than the actuality would be.

[b]Evariste Galois[/b] was a France mathematician and a revolutionary who died at an even younger age than James and Lily Potter. Born on 25 October 1811, his dad was a local politician and he received a classical education from his mother at a relatively young age. But then he wanted to get into the most prestigious school in France - the Ecole Polytechinque, and there he kept on running into difficulties.

The first time, he didn't explain his work sufficiently on the oral examination required for admission. The second time, it is very possible that he knew more than the examiner - but the examiner did not understand him. Towards the end of the examination Galois lost his temper and threw an eraser at the blackboard! Needless to say, he never ended up studying there.

At the school he did end up at, the Ecole Normale, Galois got into trouble due to revolutionary views: there were protests he wanted to participate in but the heads of the school kept all students in the building. Galois was incensed, published an angry letter about the director, and ended up getting expelled from there without a degree. But he persisted, he continued doing mathematics research and submitting it... fruitlessly for a variety of reasons.

But none of that seemed to be his ultimate demise. Most likely, what happened was as follows: at the age of twenty he fell in love with a woman who was involved with one of the best marksmen in the region. The marksman challenged Galois to a duel, and Galois knew how things were going to go down. So the night before the duel, he stayed up and wrote all of the mathematics he could think of! When he lost the duel and died (31 May 1832), it is believed that these notes ultimately became what is now taught by Muggle mathematicians as "Galois theory".

Although "Galois theory" is a core course in undergraduate mathematics curricula worldwide, Galois's personal story/spilled tea is way more interesting in my opinion!

[img]https://i.imgur.com/NjlAgn5.png[/img]

You begin getting sleepy yourself while listening to the oyster’s tale, until one of them says something that has you snapping back to attention.

You can’t explain why, but something about the story made a connection go off in your brain. Like everything and everyone you’ve come across so far in these lands has been dropping little bread crumbs of clues each step of the way.

Suddenly a screeching erupts from outside the courtroom doors in the same instant there’s a loud crash from above.

The commotion overhead has everyone present throwing hands up to prevent bits of the ceiling falling on them, as a gryphon breaks its way through, talons stretched wide, and aiming for you.

A cacophony of screams bellows forth from the room as the doors fling open and a monstrous being storms into the hall.

You’ve jumped to your feet to run from the gryphon, then double take at the sight of the monster. It’s one of the same creatures you crossed paths with in the marble forest!

Most of the snoozing oysters are unphased by the noise, but the shells of jurors number four, three, and zero pop open, pointing themselves in your direction while chaos ensues.

In that second of hesitation, the gryphon picks you up and has you sailing into the air as it exits back out the way it came.

The monster bellows, charging in your direction, and just nearly misses as it leaps its gnashing mouth to sink its teeth into you.

Half relieved, half terrified, you’re thrust into a clear, open sky. The view of the queen and her court shrinks further into the distance.

[i][u][b]Task[/b][/u][/i]:
Create an [b][i]Art[/i][/b] piece depicting the monster who followed you from the marble woods. This can be made through options such as a drawing, painting, or graphic. Embedded imagery should be kept within [b]600x600 pixels[/b] when posting.

Alternatively you may [b][i]Describe[/i][/b] your monster in [i]210 words[/i], or contribute a [b][i]Spill The Tea[/i][/b] research piece in [i]210 words[/i] or more, sharing interesting, unusual, or little known facts in your own words about any person throughout history.

This task is worth [u]15 beans[/u], with an additional [u]15 bonus[/u] beans for completing all Week Four tasks by end of activity. [b][i]Deadline is 11:59pm ([url=http://hol.org.uk/calendar][color=#0080BF]HOL time[/color][/url]) on Sunday April 30th.[/b][/i]