"C'mon, now, get a move on! Got a real treat for yeh today! Great lesson comin' up! Everyone here? Right, follow me!"
-- Rubeus Hagrid, at the start of his first ever lesson (PA6)
Care of Magical Creatures class was taught at Hogwarts, starting in students’ third year.
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 (OP18). 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.
Creatures studied:
Salamander - Fred and George studied these in fourth year (CS8) but Hagrid taught them to third years (PA12)
Hippogriffs - third years (PA6)
Flobberworms - third year (PA8)
Blast-Ended Skrewts (GF15)
unicorns (GF24)
Nifflers (GF28)
Bowtruckles (OP13)
'Oh, I'll take them through the creatures that most often come up in OWL. Not much left to do - they've studied unicorns and Nifflers, I thought we'd cover Porlocks and Kneazles, make sure they can recognise Crups and Knarls, you know...' (Grubbly-Plank to Umbridge when asked what she would cover in fifth year classes) (OP15)
Thestrals - fifth year (OP21)
The OWL practical test in Care of Magical Creatures is described this way:
The practical examination took place in the afternoon on the lawn on the edge of the Forbidden Forest, where students were required to correctly identify the Knarl hidden among a dozen hedgehogs (the trick was to offer them all milk in turn: Knarls, highly suspicious creatures whose quills had many magical properties, generally went berserk at what they saw as an attempt to poison them); then demonstrate correct handling of a Bowtruckle; feed and clean out a Fire Crab without sustaining serious burns; and choose, from a wide selection of food, the diet they would give a sick unicorn(OP31).
Teachers:
Professor Kettleburn until end of the 1992-1993 school year
Hagrid from fall 1993 to the present
Substitute: Professor Grubbly-Plank