Students at Hogwarts start Care of Magical Creatures in their third year. They study the life cycles of various magical creatures, some of which can be rather dangerous. They learn to care for, feed, and manage the creatures, and also learn lore about them and how to use them (or parts of them) for magical purposes.
The classes take place outdoors, although on one occasion the class was moved indoors when the weather was particularly bad. Some activities are conducted on the lawn or in the pumpkin patch near Hagrid's cabin, while other classes require a trip into the Forest.
Taught by: Professor Rubeus Hagrid
Lessons:
Hippogriffs - Practical lesson which culminated in Buckbeak "savagely mauling" Draco Malfoy. It was actually only a small injury that Malfoy played up for several reasons. Among those are to get Hagrid in trouble, to annoy Harry, Ron, and Hermione, to get out of playing the Quidditch match vs. Gryffindor in bad weather, and to get some of his school work extended or done for him.
Flobberworms - Dull lessons which mostly involved feeding them lettuce, which resulted in them dying from being overfed. The third year exam for the class involved caring for these creatures for one hour, with a pass given if they were alive at the end of the exam. Since flobberworms do best if left to their own devices, it was the easiest exam anyone in the class had ever taken.
Salamanders - Taught while Hagrid was depressed about Buckbeak's pending execution.
