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History of Magic with the First Years
Author: Declan
Date: 07-16-08 15:39
Handouts ready.
Check.
Blackboards done.
Yes.
Desks arranged.
Could use some work but will do for now.
Talking to himself, getting the room ready for the first class, Declan stops moving to take another really good look around. The room is smaller than the one Declan took History of Magic in but then the classes are all small. Don't need as much space. It is a wee bit disconcerting to have Professor Binns across the hall, droning on as if he has a room full of students sitting there. The ghost has been at it since 9:00 am, nearly an hour.
Declan moves to stand in his classroom's doorway, positioning himself so that he can watch Binns. There's something very sad about the picture presented. It makes Declan glad he wasn't at Hogwarts longer. Less time to get to know Binns better, maybe even to come to truly hate going to History of Magic class. It was difficult when Declan was here, sitting through a Binns lecture but he wasn't at the school long enough to develop the intense dislike of the class that others did.
Dislike of the class, not of the ghostly educator.
Did students dislike Binns when he was still alive?
If so, was it a dislike of Binns the teacher or of Binns the man or a combination of both?
Declan pulls himself from his musings. The sounds of students coming this way reaches his ears.
Stepping across the corridor, he pulls the door to Binn's room shut. Not as though a closed door is going to bother Professor Binns. Will shut out the persistent droning noise coming from the room into Declan's.
They arrive in a spread out group. Faces bewildered. Eyes betraying hints of uncertainty. A little scared this first day of classes these first years. Getting around Hogwarts, finding the right classroom, navigating the moving staircases, facing the unknown of the professors is all very daunting.
After they've all entered Declan strides to the front of the class, talking as he walks. "Pick a desk that you like because for the next few weeks, until I'm sure of names to faces, the desk you pick now is the one where you will stay."
The students check out the semi-circular arrangement of desks, each picking one and sliding into the seat.
"Welcome to History of Magic. I am Declan Douglass." Picking up a clipboard on which he's got a seating chart drawn, Delcan calls off the first years's names, taking a moment after each name to study the face then writing the name into the seating chart.
Setting the chart aside Declan gives out the handouts he's made, outlining his classroom rules and serving as a general syllabus for the course.
"I expect you to at least pretend to be paying attention. You do not want me to catch you sleeping, whispering, or passing notes. Mr. Filch was saying just this morning that he'd like to have someone to scrub every single stair in Hogwarts. By hand.
"We will be covering ancient history." Declan's eyes glance at the seating chart then swivel to one of the girls. "Sonya, thousands of years ago. You are a Muggle in tiny village. Augustus over there comes up to you one day as asks, 'How do you think the sun moves across the sky?' Do you try to answer? What do you tell him? Remember that you don't know anything about the movement of the planets."
Sonya's brows knit together. As she's thinking Anita Tuck raises hand.
"Yes, Anita?"
"My grandmother read me me a story once about these people who thought the sun was pulled across the sky by a giant chariot."
"Yes, excellent, Anita." Declan starts to give the girl points but pauses, his own brows knitting together now, unsure of whether there is a necessity of awarding points now that there are no houses and therefore no House Cup competition.
"The story to which Anita refers is one of many stories ancient people thought up to explain away things they did not understand. Every culture has myths, folktales, legends. Some mythologies are strictly Muggle, some are strictly Wizarding, and some cross over. In many myths the people causing things to happen aren't ordinary people."
"Gods and goddesses?" Donald Li asks.
"Gods and goddesses. What makes them so special? Yes, Caerwyn?"
"They have some sort of power the regular people don't have?"
"That's it exactly. Let's return to the village. You are all sitting around one night, trying to start a fire but can't get one going. A stranger suddenly appears. This man walks over to the fire and, poof, it's alight. What would the villagers think?"
"That a god has shown up and is being nice enough to magically light the fire." Cruise Stryde offers.
"Right. Every single person might not think that but it's a very good guess as to how some would react. We all know that most likely the man is a what?"
"A wizard," most of the students chorus.
"Let's talk about one such person who had all the Muggles around fooled into thinking she was a goddess. How many of you have the Wizard Trading card for Circe?" Declan asks holding up a Circe card.
Hands shoot into the air, those who have such a card wanting to be the one who spouts off the information on it.
Transfiguration - Fourth Years, First Shot
Author: Iris Tabu
Date: 07-18-08 07:08
Iris stood and watched her class enter the room. She eyed the chickens in the cage in front of her. This would be fun.
"Good morning students," smiled Iris as warmly as she thought possible, "I decided not to do a lecture or anything for the first lesson. For the first lesson I merely want you to show me what you're capable of," she motioned with her free hand to the hens, "please take one and show me what you've got!"
Worn-Out
Author: Ronan Eastwick
Date: 07-18-08 09:32
A yawn escaped Ronan's lips as he made his way from the cafeteria to the Potions classroom. He'd gotten up at 4 AM to chop firewood in anticipation of the coming winter, even though it was still several months away. Cutting tree trunks into smaller, more manageable pieces was just one of many tasks assigned to Ronan at Happy Haven School For Nons. Occasionally he did "light" work like peeling potatoes or doing laundry but more often than not Ronan completed more arduous tasks, probably since he was one of the stronger members of the community.
After chopping wood for several hours, Ronan received permission to partake in breakfast with his fellow community-members. Then it was off to his first class of the day, Potions, which he'd not yet had since arriving at Happy Haven. On Sunday and Monday he'd endured Herbology, which wasn't exactly like the Herbology classes he knew from Hogwarts. He learned a little something, surely, but mainly found himself cultivating plants and their parts for the market or some pureblood-run business or organization.
In addition to Herbology, Ronan had taken two classes not offered at Hogwarts: Shop and Home Ec. In Shop class, the students began learning how to whittle broomsticks. In a small way, it was exciting, but they all knew they would not be allowed to keep their creations. In Home Ec they learned how to cook bangers and mash and eel pie.
Ronan guessed today's Potions lesson would be much like Herbology had been. He had Muggle Studies later this afternoon and could very well imagine how anti-Muggle it would be.
He yawned again, wishing he didn't feel so worn-out and knowing he could do nothing to wake himself up. Ronan felt old, even though he'd only just turned eighteen a few days ago, and what a sorry birthday that had been. No presents, few friends, and no family, not that he had any left anyway. Ronan merely felt that his stay at Happy Haven, as brief as it had been so far, already seemed to be taking a toll on not just his body but his mind.
(Brisbane, Australia) Visitors
Author: Bronwyn Dewhurst
Date: 07-18-08 10:03
Lawrence and Ariella had arrived in Brisbane a few days ago. Bronwyn was happy to see them both, especially her sister-in-law Ariella, but she knew no one was more pleased by the meeting than Toby and Ariella themselves. The Becks were a close-knit family and it pained them to be separated under such circumstances for so long.
Not long after the couple's arrival did they share their big news. They were getting married and intended on doing so as soon as Katherine Spinnet could join them. Bronwyn was delighted by the news. She and Lawrence hadn't been best friends at Hogwarts, but they'd been friendly enough and it would be nice to have him in the family. Obviously, Ariella was very taken with him, and that was, perhaps, all that mattered.
Toby seemed accepting, though as the elder brother he was a little overprotective. Lawrence ensured Toby that he would take good care of his sister. Bronwyn didn't at all doubt that Lawrence would.
The two couples did some sightseeing together. Toby, having lived in Brisbane for quite a while now, served as tour guide. When not out and about, the pairs relaxed at home, thankful they were safe and sound and away from the turmoils in Britain. Bronwyn thought Lawrence and Ariella should consider moving to Australia, at least until things looked up abroad. She wasn't sure what they would think of such an idea, as she hadn't asked them yet.
"Owl post," Ariella called from the sofa where she and Lawrence cuddled.
Bronwyn, looking to the window in surprise said, "That's odd. We so rarely get any mail these days."
She got up and opened the window, letting in a mildly cool and gentle gust of air. The owl landed on the ledge and extended its leg. It had a small, almost invisible tube strapped there, and inside of it was a small, tightly rolled-up piece of parchment. Bronwyn detached the note and unfurled it carefully, while Toby approached with some trail mix for the owl.
"What is it?" he asked curiously.
"It's from my dad!" Bronwyn announced happily, but her face rapidly fell.
"What? What is it?" Toby pressed, noting the immediate change in his wife's expression.
"It's Siegfried," Bronwyn replied, frowning deeply. "He was released from Azkaban a couple of weeks ago, but instead of letting him go free, they snatched him. My dad doesn't know where he is, and still doesn't know anything about my mum's whereabouts."
Toby started rubbing Bronwyn's back. "I'm sorry."
Ariella and Lawrence murmured their sympathies as well. Bronwyn sighed deeply, though she didn't cry. She should have guessed something like that would happen, since Siegfried was a half-blood just like herself. Her thoughts turned to Katherine in Azkaban, who was scheduled to be released next month. At least Katherine was a pureblood. Surely her release from Azkaban would truly mark her freedom?
(Rivalen) Off-the-Cuff
Author: Isolde
Date: 07-18-08 10:30
Rivalen Farnon glanced around Greenhouse One, where the first year students had gathered for their very first Herbology lesson. He'd arranged them around a rather large wooden worktable, and now stared at them as if he didn't know what to do next. In truth, Rivalen had little idea about teaching children. His only experience came from the students he'd taught yesterday, on the first day of classes at Hogwarts. He knew a little something about Herbology, though he wasn't much of an expert in the subject. However, his dabbles in the topic, charm, and good looks, and probably the desperation to find someone for the job had landed him at Hogwarts.
"Good morning," he finally said, flashing the students a smile. "My name is Professor Farnon. I am your Herbology teacher for this term."
He hadn't even bothered to write up a course syllabus, though a vague outline of one was in his head. Instead, he flicked his wand at the small, plant-laden desk in the corner of the greenhouse, sending One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi by Phyllida Spore into his direction. He caught it midair with his free hand and opened the book to the first page.
"Do you all have a copy of this book?" he asked the class at large. There were nods all around, and a few students opened their books to the first page too.
"Good, well, this is Herbology class, as I previously mentioned. What is herbology, you might ask? Well, it's basically the study of, ah," he glanced at the title page in the book, "of magical herbs and fungi." He looked at his students again. "You know, plants."
He flipped to through the next few pages in the textbook and announced, "We will begin by studying agrimony. Does anyone know what agrimony is?"
A boy whose name Rivalen couldn't remember raised his hand.
"Yes?"
The boy pointed to the page on agrimony in the book. "According to this, agriomony is an herb that grows abundantly in England on hedge-banks and the edges of fields. It also grows in Scotland, but isn't as common here."
"Yes, that's good," Rivalen replied. "Now, can anyone find agrimony in this greenhouse?" Rivalen hadn't set any aside for his students like he probably should have, but then he hadn't been sure what to talk about until he opened the book just now. He wasn't even sure if there was any agrimony in the greenhouse, or if perhaps it was stored in one of the other greenhouses, or maybe there wasn't any agrimony in stock at all right now. Oops.
The students were busy looking around the greenhouse and comparing the various plants to the drawing in their textbook.
"There!" the same boy exclaimed without raising his hand this time. "On that shelf there, those little pots look like they have agrimony in them."
Rivalen followed the boy's pointed finger and nodded. "That looks about right," he replied. He flicked his wand at the five small terracotta pots and summoned them to the table. They landed lightly on its rough surface, evenly spaced apart so that the students could all have an equal chance at studying them firsthand.
From the on, Rivalen lectured about agrimony, from its description, history, and uses, utilizing the textbook as his main source of information.
Flying & Athletics Second Years (Theodosia)
Author: Viktor Krum
Date: 07-18-08 13:17
Standing down on the pitch, towards the sidelines just down from dead center, Theodosia keeps expecting to catch sight of Viktor. She'd gotten so used to having him around yet pointedly ignoring her that Theodosia misses the inattention, as odd as that sounds to her.
The three second years who signed up for Fitness & Athletics reach her at roughly the same time. Theodosia doesn't know what the rest of their schedules are like but she's guessing they have a class before this one and came down to the pitch more or less together after that one ended.
She knows Mark Farnon, Hunter Rabnott, and Aleydis Vanderbilt from last year, having taught the pureblood first years their flying lessons. They all matured in noticable ways since she first met them last September yet in some ways they each look much the same as they did then.
Theodosia lifts a hand in greeting. "Good morning! Welcome to your first Fitness & Athletics class."
Theodosia waves her wand and a single bench comes flying to settle itself down not far from where she stands. Theodosia motions to it, "Sit down, please," then launches into the the same spiel she gave the first years the day before and will give the other five classes between this afternoon and Thursday afternoon.
"In a moment I will issue each of you a Fitness & Athletics uniform. You will also receive an order form for one or more sets. If a student wants another set, it is the student's responsibility to obtain one."
Theodosia holds up a pair of trainers. "You will need to wear this type of shoe. If you don't have anything suitable then today I will also get you fitted for a pair, which will be available to you when you arrive for class next week."
Theosodia gestures in the direction of the locker rooms. "If you are not wearing your uniform under your robes when you arrive for class, you will need to quickly get changed. The Quidditch locker rooms will serve as changing rooms. If were are meeting indoors in the Fitness Room, which used to be the common commons, you will use the changing rooms there."
Nodding towards a long table behind where Mark, Hunter, and Aleydis are sitting Theodosia smiles. "Let's get you kitted out and after you've changed, I've more things to tell you before we get to the fun part."
With only three students to issue outfits to, it doesn't take all that long for the three to get shorts, shirt, slacks, and sweater in their sizes. They put their slacks and sweaters aside, taking their shorts and shirts to the locker room. Another few minutes and they are back out, seated on the bench, waiting to find out what's next.
"If you have your own broom and wish to use it for these outdoor classes, you are quite welcome to do so. For convenience, you might wish to consider storing your broom in the equipment locker. There are plenty of school brooms to choose from otherwise.
Before we do anything else, though, I need to explain how Quidditch will be done this year. With no houses, there are no house teams; no reason to hold tryouts for house teams. Knowing how sorely disappointed some of you would be at not having any Quidditch matches, aside from pick-up games that is, I got Professor Snider to agree to allowing us to do the teams another way. Are any of the three of you interested in playing in the matches we do have?"
To Theodosia's surprise Aleydis has her hand up before the boys have even lifted theirs of their laps. Mark and Hunter do raise their hands, both frowing a little at just how lightening quick the girl in the group was. Theodosia puts check marks by their names on her roster.
"Excellent. The teams for each match will be selected from the pool of names of those who are wanting to play. This means that for one match you might all three be on a team and for the next, only two of your names are drawn and they are for opposing teams. Even with the draw, don't worry about some people never getting picked and others having their names drawn for each match. With magical means we will ensure that doesn't happen. Everyone interested in playing will get to play."
Theodosia's mouth widens into a broad smile. "Enough chit chat, eh? I know you're dying to find out what you'll be doing for the rest of the period. There is a broom for you each at center pitch. Today you'll work on your flying skills but with a Quidditch twist." Theodosia points up to where a series of rings float at varying levels over the pitch. "You will each have a snitch assigned to you. You will chase that snitch through the maze of rings, trying to catch it before you touch a ring with any part of your body. To make things more challenging, you will all three be on the course at the same time. Mark, your snitch is this bright, scarlet red on. Aleydis, your will be after this bold, blue one, and Hunter, yours is this shocking orange one."
They get to the brooms and are ready to fly up in the air as Theodosia prepares to set the three snitches loose after doing a bit of magic to tag each snight to its seeker. "Ready?"
"Ready," they grin.
"Off you go then." With that, Theodosia releases the three winged balls.
Exam That's Not An Exam (AJ)
Author: Furnella Hodfuffer
Date: 07-18-08 18:14
Reminding the third years of their reading assignment for next Tuesday, AJ walks behind them so that he might stand at the doorway to greet the fourth years.
Ella Harville arrives first. Deak Bennett is just seconds behind with Cornelia Vanderbilt arriving last but by no means anywhere near late. The make faces when AJ immediately has them clear their desks other than their quills and ink.
Passing them each a set of several pages of parchment, AJ explains, "Not all of you have had Ancient Runes and of those of you who had it last year, I wasn't your professor."
Saying that aloud in such a way that it sounds as though there are more than three teens sitting there sounds weird to AJ's ears. He nearly stops to rephrase but decides that would just make it even more weird by convoluting things.
"This isn't an exam. You will notice every question is multiple choice. That means that even if you have no idea what the question is asking, take a guess. Questions? No? Right then, get started. Take your time and though I shouldn't be saying this or encouraging it, if you have something you wish to snack on, go ahead. If you don't have anything, I have some things right here. Some fruit punch as well."
Deak raises his hand and, when AJ nods at him, asks, "Will we be able to snack every class meeting?"
AJ can't help but smile and chuckle at the question. "No, this is one of those rare times. Since I'm torturing you three with what looks like an exam and wanting you to do your best as if it is an exam, I thought I'd be nice and let you relax while you work on it."
Still not looking overly happy with the exam that's not an exam but somewhat mollified at being able to eat and drink while answering the questions, Deak, Cornelia, and Ella settle in.
As they work, AJ starts going over the assessment he gave the third years. At the school year's end he'll give the same assessment to them, giving him an idea of how well they've progressed from not knowing a thing about Ancient Runes to having the class for a year. He also thinks about how of the students taking Ancient Runes this term, he taught none of them last term.
The Ancient Runes professor for this set of students, those deemed to be of pureblood, was Urmaleen Closterfob. When the 2001-2002 term ended and Urmaleen had not been classified as a Non like a number of the other professors brought in to teach Pures, AJ had been sure she would have been resigned. AJ wasn't overly worried about not having a job since he does hold another, that of published novelist, and he could always work in Furnie's, Lars's, and Phlagmelina's restaurant if financially strapped.
Urmaleen hadn't had her contract renewed or perhaps it was offered but she refused. AJ doesn't know which, only that the end result was that Snider asked him to take the position. When AJ asked what had happened to Urmaleen, he was stiffly told that it wasn't his business. The only think AJ has learned is that Yaxley hadn't wanted him for the job. No surprise there.
With his mind divided by marking the third years's assessments and wondering what became of Urmaleen Closterfob, the class period flies by faster than he would have imagined. Collecting the papers from the three fourth years, AJ instructs, "Read the information on the runes Fehu and Uruz in your text. We'll start with those next week as a refresher or as a quick introduction, whichever the case may be."
AJ exits the classroom a few minutes after they do with plans to get a plate of lunch at the Great Hall and take it to his office to eat since his Tuesday office hours begin in less then a half hour.