Some literal defense [Years III-V] on Defense Against the Dark Arts

Prof. Isis Carter

February 22, 2015 12:03 AM

Some literal defense [Years III-V] by Prof. Isis Carter

Perhaps the most difficult part of being a new (and temporary) Defense Against the Dark Arts instructor was that Isis had very little record of what the year groups had covered in previous years at Sonora. She, personally, was a very meticulous individual and thus took detailed notes about every lesson she taught and filed them neatly for whomever the school would eventually hire for the full-time position. But not having the same luxury, Isis went on what she could gather from some student surveys and intuition.

It was the first class on a Monday morning, so the young substitute did not really expect much out of her Intermediate class. Of course, this level of Defense was always this early, but she tended to give them a bit more leeway on Monday and Friday mornings, attributing any lack of focus to the trouble of adjusting and eagerness to end the week, respectively. So as the third- through fifth-year students came strolling in, Isis allowed a few extra minutes after the technical tardy mark.

“Good morning, all,” she greeted cheerfully, her pep secretly rather forced but presenting as sincere as usual. “Today we’re going to be talking about hex deflection: in particular, salvio hexia.” The incantation appeared, as always, on the board behind her as she spoke it, as well as an any pertinent information as a little note-taking cheat-sheet. “This spell will create an invisible barrier to protect a witch or wizard from any unpleasant hexes that might be coming his or her way. Allow me to demonstrate.”

Isis produced her wand from her back pocket, gripping it tightly in her right hand, her left held up, palm outward. As she incanted, she guided her wand slowly before her person, a faint translucent haze materializing then fading in the wake of its movements. “Now, we obviously won’t be hurling very detrimental hexes at one another. Would someone be so kind as to cast a Twitchy-Ears Hex and send it my way?” Professor Carter rather expected a bit of reluctance, but when finally a volunteer was found, she was able to demonstrate the validity of her charm, the invisible barrier disrupting and absorbing the oncoming hex.

After thanking her volunteer and awarding several points to their House, she wrapped up the lecture-side of the lesson. “Right, so, there we have it. In partners, if you would, please take turns casting and testing the charm. And obviously, please wait until you think you’ve got it down before having someone shoot a hex at you. There’s no rush. And as always, if you need anything, please don’t hesitate to come ask or raise a hand.” With that, Isis returned to her seat and brought a stack of essays from her bag to the desk. There were only a few of their essays from last week left to grade, and if she could just get them done during this period, maybe she could hand them back as they were on their way out.

OOC: You all know the drill: 200+ words, creativity, realism, yadda yadda. There isn’t an incantation provided for the Twitchy-Ears Hex, so you’ll want to skirt around it a bit. Any IC or OOC needs can be addressed with a tag. In the meantime, have fun!

12 Prof. Isis Carter Some literal defense [Years III-V] 31 Prof. Isis Carter 1 5

Oliver Ferguson II, Aladren

February 25, 2015 7:41 PM

Precautions can be necessary. by Oliver Ferguson II, Aladren

Although he wasn't about to show it, Oliver was thrilled to have moved up to Intermediate classes this year. He'd grasped the Beginner material so easily and now he was at least being somewhat challenged. One could say many things about the third year, but he did have a genuine thirst for knowledge. He spent most of his time studying, not just because he wanted to best his cousins or because there was barely anyone worth socializing with, but because he enjoyed learning.

Honestly, the Aladren had always preferred that to socializing with people anyway. It wasn't so much that he was shy, it was just that most people were so...stupid. Chattering inanely about the most trivial of things. The one person that he knew that didn't wasn't someone he wanted to talk to either. In general, Oliver just plain didn't want to waste his time on them. Nor did he want to waste his time with anyone who wasn't a pureblood. They were beneath him and it was about as worthwhile as talking to flobberworms. All he ever seemed to get from conversation was reinforcement of his superiority to others.

Of course, Oliver was highly interested in fashion too, which some people would consider trivial, but it really wasn't. Looking good was important. One's first impression of others, even before you knew their names, was based on their level of attractiveness and what they wore. Clothing and grooming were how one first presented themselves and you could tell a lot by someone that way. Even if they were from a good family-something else highly important-it spoke badly of them if they dressed like a slob. Normally, he found, that tended not to be the case, because at the very least they wanted to reflect well on their families. If they didn't, that was a shame.

Oliver found a spot in the first row. He, of course, looked more than presentable so he felt no reason to hide in the back, ashamed like some. Besides, the further back you went, the more of a slacker you appeared to be and that wasn't an impression he wanted to give. Even though Professor Carter was a nobody, he still needed to let everyone know that he was intellectually superior and in the front row, Oliver would get noticed.

He listened carefully to Professor Carter's lesson. Whatever else he thought about her-she was a bit peppy, especially for this time of day, and a bit lenient as well as not being from an important family, but then Oliver wouldn't expect a female professor to be, as pureblood ladies from good families didn't work-she was relatively competent. Something, he had to admit, was very important in a professor. If the Aladren wanted to learn-and he did-the professor had to know what they were talking about. To their credit, the professors here did know their subjects. Naturally, he had to believe it was the good judgement of Headmaster Brockert that got them here.

And she was going to let them hex her? Really? Even though it was just a Twitchy Ears hex, he couldn't pass up such an opportunity. Besides he was quite good at the hex anyway. Oliver rose to volunteer, he couldn't miss a chance to show off. Ultimately, though, his hex failed but honestly, he wasn't as bothered as he would have been otherwise given the nature of the lesson. Any slight drop of respect Oliver would have had for Professor Carter would have dissipated if he'd been successful, because her failure would have been greater than his had just been. Who could respect someone who couldn't do the lesson she'd laid out for her students? To be bested by a student-one of the younger ones in class, no less-would be humiliating and though Oliver would have enjoyed being the one to do such a thing, learning how to do more was ultimately more important. It would serve him well to humiliate others later. Besides, he'd just earned his house a lot of points, which was more than he could say for the rest of these cowards.

They were released to work in partners, and Oliver couldn't say he was thrilled about it. He really didn't care for most of his options. Still, it was a necessity for this lesson, as it often was in DADA, and so he could see the value in it. He couldn't deflect a hex if none were coming his way. Besides, he'd get to hex someone himself, and that was a more than satisfying thought, even if as a thirteen year old, he didn't know any particularly good hexes at this point. Whomever he worked with would likely irritate him enough to deserve it and at the very least provided good practice. Plus, being able to put up a barrier would protect him from any unworthy foe whom he ever came up across, anyone who wanted to take power from him. Power was everything, and it was his by right.

Carefully, Oliver looked around the room for a suitable partner. Now what did he want in one today? On the one hand, he didn't want to subject himself to the vulgarity of those who weren't from good proper families, but on the other hand, they were more deserving of being hexed and he enjoyed asserting his dominance over him and putting them in their place. Some of them could be so uppity . The only people he didn't want to really hex were the proper pureblood girls, he had just enough decency to not want to harm a delicate female. Besides, they might start crying and Oliver would look bad. Okay, he wouldn't mind hexing Portia, but that was different.

Before he could make his selection, someone approached him. He sighed to himself. This happened way too often, just because he wanted to pick just the right person and took his time doing so, weighing the benefits and consequences of each of his options.

11 Oliver Ferguson II, Aladren Precautions can be necessary. 278 Oliver Ferguson II, Aladren 0 5