Like red on a rose on Defense Against the Dark Arts

Professor O'Leary

June 18, 2009 11:17 AM

Lesson I: First and Second Years by Professor O'Leary

Before the first and second year students arrived, Drake placed a single piece of parchment on each student’s desk. Each paper stated one of four colors – red, blue, yellow, or green. Once finished, he brandished his wand causing the word to disappear from each paper. Just in time as well since the students had begun to trickle into the classroom. Drake called out, “Do not touch the parchment on your desk, as it is part of today’s lesson.” With this, he strode to the front of the room, his black robes flowing out causing his form to look more impressive than it actually was since underneath, he was a rather thin man.

It probably didn’t help his reputation for being a vampire, but then the dark crimson hair and brooding eyes wasn’t exactly discouraging it either. Then, there was the addition of the sparkling personality. The odd thing was that he had actually been quite a different person in his youth. He had been full of optimism and gazing upon a brilliant future in ice-skating, but it had all been torn viciously from him. It was one of the reasons that today’s lesson hit home. It was the first step towards looking for hidden magic, the exact thing that had taken it all away from him, but impressing this importance that was always a struggle.

Once at the front, he turned suddenly to face the students, his robes whipping around him, his expression intent. “Our lesson for today is actually a two-part lesson. You must finish the first part in order to move onto the second part. On each of your desks, you should have a blank piece of parchment, which I stated not to touch earlier. On this paper, there is a word, which states a color. To reveal the ink, we use the spell Aparecium. To perform this spell, flick your wand, like so,” Drake lectured with a flick of the wrist, “while stating firmly Aparecio. When performed correctly, one of four colors will appear on the parchment.”

He waited for the students to finish taking notes before continuing, “After you have done this, please find the other students who have the same color. This will form your group for the next part of the lesson. Now, the Aparecium spell serves as the basis for the next spell you will learn, because it gives you an idea of how to make something appear from an item. The next spell that you will be learning is the Specialis Revelio spell, which is a bit more advanced. If an item contains anything hidden by magical means, this spell will cause it to be revealed. This is important as magic hidden within items can be that of dark magic, which is very dangerous and can lead to injury, or worse, death.”

The last word had loomed in the air as though it had actually occurred. Drake’s dark eyes drifted slowly around the room to make sure the students were paying attention. “For those of you with some semblance of intelligence may wonder, why not just use Finite Incantatem? Finite Incantatem removes the effects of any spells currently cast, however, this is not always the best option. For example, if you do not want to end the spell, but rather determine which spell is being used. Another example is if you receive an item that is supposed to be charmed, however, you do not wish to remove the charm, but rather reveal any harmful spells and remove those. To end one spell, however, you can use the Finite spell, instead of Finite Incantatem, which ends all spells.”

Allowing the students to catch up once more, Drake paused. After a moment, his deep baritone sounded with the rest of the lesson. “Once you reach this spell, I have a couple boxes of items on my desk.” He gestured to two large boxes on his massive oak desk. “All of the items are charmed and a few contain multiple charms. I would like each group to identify what charms were used on each object. This is where your group and book will be particularly useful.” He pulled out his wand once more, allowing it to slide out of sleeve and into his hand as though by magic, but more just slight of hand. “To perform the Specialis Revelio spell, move your wand like so, and state firmly Specialis Revelio!” Finished, he tucked his wand away. “You may begin. The spells are on the board for your reference and if you have any questions or need assistance, raise your hand and I’ll be right over.”

OOC: Since this lesson is posted later in the term, I'm assuming Drake has already had the students for a few lessons and introductions, rules, and all of that has already occurred. With that said, the items and spells revealed are your choice, as long as neither would be considered harmful and obviously, the item should be able to fit into the box on the desk. Also, keep in mind that the spells revealed shouldn’t be high-level spells, but can be ones not learned yet. And as always, remember posts should be a minimum of ten well-written sentences. Points will be rewarded based on detail, grammar, etc. Have fun and be creative!

Subthreads:

Floating in a blue, blue sea. by Marissa Stephenson

Green is the way to go by Andrew Duell

Like red on a rose by Edmond Carey with Quentin Melcher

0 Professor O'Leary Lesson I: First and Second Years 0 Professor O'Leary 1 5

Marissa Stephenson

June 19, 2009 1:20 PM

Floating in a blue, blue sea. by Marissa Stephenson

From her first night at Sonora, when he had given the Head of House address to the new Crotali, Marissa had found Professor O’Leary intimidating. She’d never had a lot of men teachers anyway, and none of those few whose classes she had been in had been the broody type. The concept of his class probably didn’t help make him seem less frightening, either; she wasn’t exactly sure what ‘the Dark Arts’ were, but it wasn’t that difficult to imagine. The dead seriousness with which the professor took them proved very inspiring to her imagination. Spellwork was also proving difficult for her; while she could grasp theory well enough, actually making things happen when she waved her wand around and spoke a little pseudo-Latin was considerably harder. Defense Against the Dark Arts lessons had, for those reasons, been a continual source of anxiety for her from day one.

Of course two of her goals for the year were the highest marks in the course and for O’Leary to like her. She was a Stephenson. Setting her mind on doing stupid, impossible things was in her blood, and she had a family full of people who managed to do their stupid, impossible things to live up to.

Though her interest in the piece of parchment on her desk was immediately piqued by the order not to touch it, Marissa’s hands went straight to her lap, well out of the way of temptation, as Professor O’Leary, robes billowing Dracula-style, made his way back to the front of the room. Normally, she would have made small talk with the desks beside hers before class – apart from distracting her from the mystery of the parchments, it would probably help build her social life here – but part of the being-intimidated-by-O’Leary had manifested itself as behaving perfectly in his presence, which meant sitting up straight and only speaking as directed.

Even after weeks, she still jumped slightly when the professor turned suddenly and began to speak. If there was ever a place for constant vigilance, it was this classroom. No easing-in, “good morning, class” segments for O’Leary. She mouthed the incantation as she wrote it down, praying it would go better than her last attempt at ‘Lumos’.

She got through most of the notes on ‘Specialis Revelio’ before, upon hearing the way Professor O’Leary pronounced the word ‘death’, her hand froze on the quill. Marissa reminded herself to breathe. They would not risk serious injury to students in a classroom. He was just telling them what could happen in the real world. He was not going to do something that would lead to their deaths in a classroom. There had to be laws about that kind of thing even in the Wizarding World, right? Daddy would sue them if they killed her, and schools didn’t want to get sued, right? Right. She resumed note-taking.

Then, of course, came the hard part: mastering the first spell. With a feeling of great foreboding, Marissa took out her wand. The fourteen inches of mahogany felt cool against her narrow fingers as she wrapped them around it.

Looking down at the parchment, she flicked her wand with a crisp, precise move of the wrist and, trying to ignore how foolish she felt doing so, said, “Aparecio.”

She got a few sparks. Pretty gold ones, just like the ones the wand had put out the first time she’d used it in Atlanta. At least the parchment hadn’t caught fire – this time. Marissa pressed her lips together hard, then shook her brown hair back. She would start again. And if that didn’t work, again. What she was not going to do was give up.

After three tries, she saw the edges of a few letters begin to form. It wasn’t complete, but it was enough for her to be fairly sure of what it said. Enough for her not to have to sit in place for ages, looking like more and more of a dunce as everyone around her got perfect results. Marissa decided to go with what she thought it said and avoid the embarrassment of fumbling the spell over and over again.

She heard someone call for the blue group. Folding her parchment and stuffing it into her pocket, Marissa crossed the room to said group. “Hi,” she said brightly, not recognizing the person as someone she’d worked with yet. “I’m Marissa.”

16 Marissa Stephenson Floating in a blue, blue sea. 147 Marissa Stephenson 0 5

Andrew Duell

June 22, 2009 9:03 PM

Green is the way to go by Andrew Duell

Andrew arrived at Defense Against the Dark Arts right on schedule; which actually surprised him, he must be figuring out these hallways after all. Professor O'Leary intrigued Andrew, and though DADA wasn't his best class, he did enjoy it. He pulled out his note taking equipment, being very careful not to disturb the paper laying in front of him.

His curiosity was desperately trying to get the better of him, but he resisted messing with the paper. It only took a few warnings of 'Don't do this' or 'Don't touch that' before he figured out that there was usually a really good reason the teacher put forth that warning. As he waited for the last few students to find their seats, he doodled a bit in his notebook.

Professor O'Leary began his lecture, and like a good student, Andrew began scribbling down notes. When the spell and wand waving was demonstrated, he jotted down the word with it's pronunciation and quick sketched the pattern the professor's wand made in the air. Andrew paused for a moment, 'Revealing that which is hidden?' that could be a useful spell... The professor seemed to think so as well, as he stressed the purpose of the Specialis Revelio spell.

He copied down the second spell as he had done with the first, and checked his notes. The spells would probably be in the book as well, but writing it down helped him to remember it. He dropped some notes on the Finite Incantatem spell as well, just to round out the sheet.

Once professor O'Leary told them to begin, Andrew moved to pick up his page. It wasn't there! He panicked just a bit, lifting up his notebook, the sheet of notes he just took, his book.... wait. He looked over the sheet of notes he had finished scribbling down, on the sheet of parchment that had been laying on his desk before he had arrived. Heh. Well, hopefully the extra ink wouldn't mess anything up.

Andrew pulled out his wand, practiced the motions a time or so while sounding out the word slowly, then attempted the spell. Something shimmered across the page, but vanished again. One more try pulled the word 'Green' out for him to see, amongst the rest of his writings. He looked around for where the groups were gathering, not seeing a green group yet, he decided to start it.

"I've got green." He announced as he slipped his page into his notebook.

2 Andrew Duell Green is the way to go 145 Andrew Duell 0 5

Edmond Carey

July 22, 2009 11:45 PM

Like red on a rose by Edmond Carey

All things considered, it wasn't really much of a surprise to Edmond that he did well in his Defense Against the Dark Arts classes. Yes, the professor did bear a certain resemblance to a bat, and Edmond did find him to be a somewhat intimidating figure and counted not having said professor as his Head of House as a major perk of being in Aladren instead of Crotalus, but the class was pretty good to him. Years of preparation for it could do that.

Self-defense was very important. If someone tried to kill him, he wouldn't be the first Carey to deal with that. If the someone succeeded in killing him, he wouldn't even be the first Savannah Carey to deal with that. It was not due to nature that he only had one grandfather.

Upon hearing Professor O'Leary's order, Edmond obediently kept his hands and wand well away from the parchment that sat on top of his usual desk. Obedience wasn't a thing he liked, but it was one he was accustomed to. At Sonora, it seemed to be that diligence had rewards, obedience might, and stupidity led to punishment. Boiled down to its bare bones, this was the same code he'd been raised to, but it was a great deal more complicated at home. There, many of the rules were silent until someone broke them, and those that were laid out clearly were far stricter and far more numerous than Sonora's.

He had never heard of the first spell they were to use for the lesson, but the concept was familiar. There were quite a few enchanted items about the house, including a jewelry box that would, as Jane had unhappily discovered two years ago, put a Stinging Hex on anyone who attempted to open it except its rightful owner. There were stories that, on the great estates, certain rooms housed less relatively benign objects.

Even he, sheltered as he was, knew there was always a line of whispers circulating in the family. No one - with maybe one exception - knew everything that was going on, and the youngest generations were always the least-informed, which made them the most likely to speculate. Edmond didn't take it as far as some, but he couldn't deny a certain interest in the secrets of the family. And he had thought his worst problem upon going home would be getting used to having to report his whereabouts at all times again. Knowing how to figure out a few of those secrets was going to drive him crazy.

Discipline again, he reminded himself. It's all about discipline. Jane was the one who broke rules at the drop of a hat; Edmond didn't. Ever. It wasn't spoken, but he was fairly sure that 'do not stick your minor nose in the business of the adults' was a major rule. The only solution was to teach Jane the spell and have his foster-sister do the snooping for him, but that would sail right on past breaking the rules and progress into breaking the law. If he didn't break rules, he certainly wasn't going to break the law. His curiosity would have to carry on unabated.

Once they were dismissed to work, he picked up his wand. It was odd, how he had come to feel something like an affinity for it over the past few weeks. The wandmaker he had bought it from and Robert had both indicated something along those lines would happen, but he'd had trouble crediting it. Just one more thing to research in his infinite free time. Doing his best to hold the picture of Professor O'Leary's actions in his mind, he flicked his wrist. "Aparecio."

It was a little slower to work than Professor O'Leary's had been, but the spell worked. Edmond tried not to look overly pleased with himself. It wasn't polite. Seeing that his was a red slip - which was ironic, with the Bludger-sized hints the family had been dropping that Crotalus was the only one of the Houses worth being in - and that no one had yet said anything for red group, he stood up. Might as well use some of his leadership lessons for something. "Do we have a red group?" he asked, focusing on pitching his voice.

0 Edmond Carey Like red on a rose 143 Edmond Carey 0 5

Quentin Melcher

July 31, 2009 1:25 AM

Not all roses are red. by Quentin Melcher

Although he was unaware of exactly how much, Defense was probably a very practical thing for Quentin to learn. He understood that he was heir to the Melcher family and their school and a member of several other important pureblood families and that alone made him something of a target. However, Quentin did not realize how irritatingly pedantic he could be and how much trouble it could lead him into once he had peers that were old enough to know a good deal many more hexes than the average twelve or thirteen year old.

Fortunately, Quentin had had it drilled into him for as long as he could remember to treat all academic subjects with the utmost serious and not to get anything less than an Accceptable ever,even in something trivial like flying. Furthermore, Professor O'Leary was not one to cross by not paying attention in class, (or for any other reason in any other place), so as the professor spoke, Quentin gave him his full attention.

One thing about Professor O'Leary was that his instructions were always quite clear in their meaning. He never gave much reason for Quentin to go and ask something to be clarified or for Quentin to go up and clarify something for the professor, as he'd done when Professor Flatt had been misguided about what history was. So as soon as the professor was done talking, he was able to get right down to work. Quentin picked up his wand and tried the spell a few times before the word "red" was revealed.

"Do we have a red group?"

He looked up at the sound of a first year in his house calling out for the group he was in and walked over to the boy. "I'm in your group. If your 'we' refers to the class as a whole, I believe we do have a red group. Professor O'Leary isn't really the type to play practical jokes so he wouldn't put red on your card without there actually being a red group. As mine also says red, it's probably fair to say that neither of us did the spell wrong. If either of us or anyone else had a card that said purple or orange or mauve or grapefruit and nobody else did, then it would have been a mistake, but as you have red and I have red, my guess it that there is indeed a red group and we and probably a few more people are it." Quentin finished in a matter-of-fact tone that held no derison to the other boy. He didn't see the question as anything but a question that deserved as thorough an answer as possible. However, it was answers like that, that were probably the reason why Quentin needed defense.

"Oh, I'm Quentin." He introduced himself.

11 Quentin Melcher Not all roses are red. 129 Quentin Melcher 0 5