Teach me to be stronger. [Tabitha] on Defense Against the Dark Arts

Evelyn Stones

May 03, 2020 11:03 AM

Teach me to be stronger. [Tabitha] by Evelyn Stones

Evelyn was not going to think about summer just yet. All the ups and downs were shoved firmly into the back of her mind where she could save them for bed time, like a dessert she was excited to unwrap but to was also going to suck a little bit. On the whole, her summer had been good, but her metric was skewed for such things. There was, however, a loose end from before summer that she had not yet gotten to tie up.

Normally, Evelyn wasn't a planner in any meaningful sense. However, she had learned from her sessions with Professor Wright that being prepared did more good than bad and that having a plan helped with being prepared. So Evelyn wasn't thinking about this past summer when she arrived to Sonora and immediately left her dorm, hoping to find Professor Brooding-Hawthorne - the scary one - in her office. Just in case she wasn't, she'd brought a pen and paper to leave a note as well.

Evelyn was feeling more stubborn than usual, but also stronger. She was strong enough not to think about summer. She was strong enough not to think about an hour from now. She was strong enough to ask for what she needed, and what she wanted, and to seek the appropriate resources. That was exactly what she'd been taught to do for the past few years and now she was going to really do it.

She'd dressed simply for the occasion, with comfortable jeans and a tee shirt under her Sonora robes. It was convenient that she was so small because she hadn't needed to get new robes since her second year. But it also meant she looked like a child. She was done being thought of as one though, and that was the one and only thought left over from summer that she wanted to deal we. Really, that was a thought she'd had since long beforehand though.

Knocking on the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher's door, Evelyn waited for a response before coming in and greeting the professor with a small nod. "Hello," she began. "I wondered if you could help me," Evelyn said as bravely as she could manage. "I want to get better at defensive magic for . . . self-defense. With people, not just creatures and things. Can you help me?"

22 Evelyn Stones Teach me to be stronger. [Tabitha] 1422 1 5

Tabitha Brooding-Hawthorne

May 03, 2020 1:08 PM

I'm not feeling all that strong myself. by Tabitha Brooding-Hawthorne

Tabitha was normally rather happy at the start of a new school year. Her summers normally left her feeling rested, relaxed and ready for another year of educating, lesson plans and late night grading. This year, however, all her feelings were very little more than annoyance, stress, upset and a wish to return to nicer times where all she had to worry about was Mary, herself and whether she had enough tea to see her through her larger stacks of grading. That had now all changed with the adoption (though Tabitha preferred to think of it as the 'dumping') of Zeus Smith.

Her last week in Greece had been mostly spent away from Darius and his family and also away from Mary and their new charge. She hadn't done anything to disguise her resentment of the boy, only just about tolerating him in the same room. She hadn't held him, had him on her knee or made any attempt to engage in his playtime. He had also captivated (stolen) the attention of her wife who seemed to be doing nothing but doting on and coddling the child. She had been irritable and had decided for everybody that it was simply better if she spent most of her time out of doors or in a different room.

At Sonora, this strategy was mostly impossible. Her only safe places from small children was the staff lounge (which did carry some risk as Mary could just bring Zeus there) or her office. It was just dreadful. In a morning, her once safe journey to get her wanted (and necessary) cup of tea was now fraught with harzards in the form of small children's toys which Tabitha had very quickly learned hurt when stood on. Instead of cushions on her sofa, cuddly toys were squashed when she sat down and her coffee table was covered in badly drawn pictures and brightly coloured crayons. The bin by her desk had also filled itself with empty packets of goldfish crackers thus proving her right that they would find out what such things were. At least she had learned something from her life being turned on its head.

Tabitha wasn't ignorant. She knew that a child would've come with crayons and toys and a taste for small creature-shaped biscuits. All of these things had been expected when she had first suggested adoption to Mary. The problem with this whole situation was how quickly the change had happened, the lack of warning. Tabitha knew that given that she was a Defence teacher, such thoughts were silly but Defence Against the Dark Arts was about preparing for battle, for dangerous situations involving either dangerous people or dangerous creatures. There was no Defence book on what to do when your wife's ex-girlfriend's child lands on your doorstep.

So, she did the one thing that she thought was the only remaining option left to her (as hexing the child was a big no-no as was locking it in a cage). She ran away.

She didn't run far and she didn't really run. Mary and Zeus had gone for a walk and Tabitha had decided that she could no longer sit and try to figure out what on earth the boy had been attempting to draw. Therefore, she took her cup of tea and its matching teapot (because this was definitely a more than one cup situation) and went to her office which, at the moment (and if Tabitha had any say in it, would forever be) child free. It was wonderful. It was quiet and peaceful and perfect and Tabitha relished in the silence and savoured her tea and pretending for just a moment that this was simply the start of a new year.

Tabitha did feel guilt over her actions. She probably should be making more of an effort with the small boy because realistically, he wasn't going away. She knew that she was leaving a lot of the responsibility of looking after the child in Mary's hands and that wasn't a fair and balanced relationship but the child made her feel uncomfortable and awkward as well as angry and resentful and none of those feelings made for a good parent. For now, it was better that Tabitha stayed mostly hands-off.

A knock on the door broke her from her thoughts and Tabitha resisted the urge to groan in annoyance but something occurred to her. It was the start of the school year. Lessons hadn't started, they hadn't even had their opening feast so who was knocking on her door?

She invited the person to enter and was surprised to find Evelyn Stones walking into her office. The girl wasn't somebody that Tabitha had expected to ever be in her office as the girl never got in trouble. Her theoretical homework was good, usually achieving an E and sometimes just achieving an O but her practical wandwork needed some work. Evelyn Stones had always struck Tabitha as a little... fearful? Uncertain? Either way, it didn't matter. The girl clearly wanted Tabitha for something or she wouldn't be here and Tabitha found that she might be a welcome distraction from her personal child-shaped problems.

"Please sit," Tabitha gestured to the free chair on the other side of her desk. "What can I do for you?"

Having Evelyn Stones in her office was one surprise. Hearing her request was another and Tabitha blinked, unsure what to say. Over five years of teaching, Tabitha had had a few visits to her office regarding questions about homework or clarification on the physical wand movements of certain spells and she offered her guidance to the Dueling Club but she had never had a students ask for one-to-one tuition in her subject. Evelyn had also specified which area she wanted tuition in which was a little concerning. Tabitha taught her students how to duel as that was a necessary part of Defence but she wondered if there was something more behind this request.

"I'm happy to help you," she told Evelyn, nodding. It was true. Tabitha was happy to help. It was her firm belief that everybody should be able to defend themselves, if only long enough for them to be able to run away from whatever situation they were in. "Is there a specific spell you're having trouble with?"

20 Tabitha Brooding-Hawthorne I'm not feeling all that strong myself. 1417 0 5

Evelyn Stones

May 05, 2020 10:07 AM

You seem strong. That's good enough. by Evelyn Stones

Evelyn breathed out air she hadn't realized she'd been holding as relief filled her. Professor Brooding-Hawthorne would help her! The professor asked a good question, and Evelyn was glad she'd thought about this in advance.

"I've been studying magic theory with Professor Wright," she began, hoping to provide some context to her roundabout answer. "With defensive magic, it seems like there are sort of three categories? Like, spells meant to disable the attacker to keep them from attacking you anymore, spells meant to protect yourself against whatever the attack is, and spells meant to prevent an attack from happening in the first place. They all depend on intent to some degree. Is that all right?" Evelyn checked, hoping beyond hope she was right. She didn't want the professor to think she was trying to teach a lesson, just wrap her head around a concept that had been eluding her. "I think the issue I'm thinking of is preventing an attack from a source that is only sometimes a threat without preventing their movement or interaction otherwise, and defending against non-magical attacks. It seems like if you were to throw a shield up, they'd bounce back and just be angrier. Or what if you couldn't get to your wand in time?" The last of these was definitely the biggest of Evelyn's fears because she thought that if she could manage a shield charm, she could probably follow it up with a body-bind. But if she couldn't get to her wand . . . "Like, what if someone attacks you while you're sleeping or something?"

She paused, realizing she'd talked a whole lot more than Professor Brooding-Hawthornes question really required. "Sorry," she said, dipping her head. "I guess 'no,' just sort of applying it to context."

22 Evelyn Stones You seem strong. That's good enough. 1422 0 5

Tabitha Brooding-Hawthorne

May 13, 2020 4:09 AM

'Good enough' is never good enough. by Tabitha Brooding-Hawthorne

When it came to talking with students, Tabitha always held a knot in her stomach. She wasn't like her wife. Saying the right thing didn't always come to her that easily so she was relieved when Evelyn seemed to relax a little (though Tabitha wondered if the girl every truly relaxed) and started to elaborate on why she'd sought out the Defence professor today.

In truth, her - rather long - response to Tabitha's question was a little concerning. It was good to hear that she understood the theory behind spells but Tabitha already knew that Evelyn understood that from her written work. Tabitha nodded along with Evelyn's explanation. It was perhaps a little vague but if they wanted to be finished with this conversation in time for dinner, it was probably better they kept it as simple as possible. Magical theory was a hefty subject, capable of being at the heart of discussion for several hours and with everything on Tabitha's mind at the moment, she did not want to start on the winding path through that subject now.

The bit of Evelyn's explanation that concerned Tabitha was when she mentioned 'non-magical attacks'. Living in the Wizarding World, most of its population used magic to scuffle with. There were incidents, of course, of younger witches and wizards resorting to non-magical means of attack but that was typically more because they didn't always have full knowledge of spells to be able to duel effectively. That was part of Tabitha's job to educate them in that area. Having a think over her current curriculum, Tabitha realised that they perhaps didn't really focus on non-magical attacks as much as they should.

She sipped from her tea, thinking over everything Evelyn had said before replying.

"In a dangerous situation, I will always be an advocate for using 'Protego' or, depending on just how big the threat is, 'Protego Maxima'. A shield is the surest way to prevent yourself from being hurt, even by non-magical means. You're asking if there's a way to stop your opponent from attacking without hurting them? That's a bit more tricky. Most defensive spells exist precisely to incapacitate your opponent so that they don't hurt you anymore. There's a few more minor hexes and jinxes such as the Leg-Locker Curse or the Jelly-Legs Jinx that we've used in class. They don't hurt but they impede movement and cause distraction, both of which are helpful in any kind of fight, magical or otherwise."

Tabitha paused for a moment, leaning back in her chair and looking at Evelyn. Something was niggling at the Defence professor. It felt like there was more to this conversation than was being said. Nevertheless, she continued. "As for not getting to your wand in time, that is something that is, for the most part, left to chance. I, personally, always keep my wand as close to me as possible."

She gestured to her wand lying on her desk, so close to her right hand that she'd only have to move it slightly to be holding it. "If you are in a situation where your wand is not to hand there is always, of course, wandless magic which is something we'll be starting to study this year but more so in your Advanced years. It's a lot harder than magic with a wand but if you can, at the very least, learn to summon your wand or produce a shield, I can guarantee you'll feel a lot better about situations where your wand may not be immediately to hand."

Tabitha moved on to Evelyn's last point. "As for sleeping, again, it is something left mostly to chance. You can, of course, set up wards around your place of sleep so that you'd be alerted if something entered their perimeter but whether you wake up at the sound of the alarm depends on your body and how heavily or not you sleep."

Tabitha now had a question of her own and she wasn't going to beat around the bush. "Evelyn, I can teach you many things to help improve your ability to defend yourself. I can teach you more than spells. I can teach you how to effectively set up protective wards and even footwork so that, if worse comes to worse and you are without a wand and unable to summon it, you can at the very least dodge effectively and get away but I need to know something."

She took a deep breath and tried to channel Mary and her way with students before asking, "Is everything all right personally?"

20 Tabitha Brooding-Hawthorne 'Good enough' is never good enough. 1417 0 5

Evelyn Stones

May 14, 2020 12:16 AM

Isn't that the truth. by Evelyn Stones

Wandless magic! On one hand, that seemed very very exciting and would certainly answer a lot of Evelyn's concerns. On the other, the people she was worried about were undoubtedly stronger magic users than she was (since most magic users were), and if wandless magic was harder than magic with a wand, then she basically didn't have a chance anyway. Indeed, she had a track record for not making such things work in the past.

Some of Professor Brooding-Hawthorne's other points were more helpful though, particularly since Evelyn was absolutely a light sleeper. She'd become less so over the years as she'd stayed at the McLeods' and things were a lot better there, but her two weeks back home were enough to show that that wouldn't a permanent change; she'd woken up several times a night, often to some little noise that she didn't consciously recognize.

It was always a bit intimidating when professors said her name because it was a little bit like they were using a spell. Names were important that way. And Professor Brooding-Hawthorne was asking what Evelyn knew she would and she was ready for.

"Yes," Evelyn promised. After all, the people who needed to know anything knew everything at this point. Well, with one exception. "I'm not sure how much the staff talk about students' lives, but I don't spend much time at home over breaks for safety reasons," it was an easy phrase, one she'd used to describe her father to Nathaniel for whomever his (her?) relative was. "Professor Skies is aware and things have been better. However, I'll be seventeen next year - I started a year late - and I don't know where I'll be living or what I'll be doing exactly so I'd like to be prepared for everything, especially since magic will be an option for me then."

It was more than Evelyn ever said to people because she didn't want to let anyone else into the fold on this. In fact, it wasn't until Evelyn had been walking to the Defense professor's office that she'd even realized what had sparked it. There was a girl who got hurt and no one listened to her in the newspaper, so she went to her last big event at Sonora and made everyone listen. She didn't try to prove them wrong, and she didn't try to tell her story, she tried to help other people tell theirs. Evelyn regretted that she'd never really gotten to talk more to Cleo while she'd been at school, but now it was time to be brave because Cleo was brave and her situation sucked too. If being brave meant owning what you'd been through and moving forward to make the world better, then that's what Evelyn would do. It's why she'd spoken to Marijke about coming on at the foundation in the future.

Ness, Professor Skies, Professor Wright, Ms. Heidi, Marijke, Kir, Heinrich . . . they had all worked so hard to help Evelyn be safe. Now she wanted to make herself safe too. "Does that answer your question, ma'am?"

22 Evelyn Stones Isn't that the truth. 1422 0 5

Tabitha Brooding-Hawthorne

May 16, 2020 6:01 AM

And thank you for telling me your truth. by Tabitha Brooding-Hawthorne

Tabitha kept her eyes on Evelyn as the girl explained her situation, not interrupting once. It was concerning to learn about Evelyn's home situation but relieving to know that Selina knew about it which gave Tabitha a little more confidence to proceed with teaching Evelyn what she wanted to know. She should probably just make the Deputy Headmistress aware, just to make sure that everything was above board and out in the open but it could wait until their next meeting. It was reassuring to know that the girl sitting opposite Tabitha seemed to have thought this through very thoroughly and commendable that she had adopted a 'be prepared' mentality, something Tabitha liked to follow.

When Evelyn finished, Tabitha smiled (something that felt a little odd as she hadn't smiled for some time, given the disaster that was now her personal life) and nodded. "Very much so. Thank you for telling me. I wasn't aware of your delicate home situation but knowing that it's being dealt with is reassuring and I am happy to proceed with teaching you what you would like to know."

With that confirmed, Tabitha wanted to get down to the smaller details such as when and where the teaching would take place.

"We have options when it comes to practicing magic. I'm happy to use my classroom or we can use one of the MARS rooms. If you'd rather be outside, we could also use the Gardens. I don't mind which option you choose."

Tabitha wanted to leave the choice up to Evelyn because, in her own experience, magic was easier to perform when you felt at ease and confident. She didn't want the girl to feel intimidated by any setting that Tabitha chose. If this was to work, Evelyn needed to feel safe, calm and confident.

"I would also advise you to consider joining the Dueling Club. I am there for most of their meetings so I would be on hand for any further questions you have outside of our lessons."

With that out of the way, there was just two more things to settle.

"When would you like our sessions to take place and when would you like them to start?"

20 Tabitha Brooding-Hawthorne And thank you for telling me your truth. 1417 0 5

Evelyn Stones

May 16, 2020 1:12 PM

Thank you for hearing it. by Evelyn Stones

"Classroom," Evelyn said immediately. The Gardens were public and the MARS rooms were brain-based. Granted, Professor Brooding-Hawthorne could set that up and Evelyn wouldn't be able to change it, but she didn't like the idea of worrying about being in a brain room whilst trying to defend herself. Not yet at least. "Your classroom would be perfect."

The Dueling Club was a suggestion Evelyn hadn't considered. She was pretty sure Parker ran that club - he'd mentioned it during DnD or Gardening Club or something - so it wouldn't be terribly intimidating, and it was undoubtedly going to be an adventure, but she had such a hard time getting magic to work for her consistently that she wondered whether that would be a safe choice for her. Of course, not learning to duel might be even less safe. She nodded, deciding to bring it up with Parker next time she talking to him for any extended period of time.

Her schedule was harder to think about. She had astronomy Tuesdays and Thursdays, she had DnD, and she may have prefect duty if she was selected for that, and she didn't even sort of know how that worked. She also might be meeting with Professor Wright some times. Plus now if she was going to be going to Dueling Club . . . oof.

"I don't have my calendar on me," she grimaced apologetically. "Could I send you an owl, or bring you a note with some ideas tomorrow after class, or in class Tuesday? I am happy to start whenever you'd like. Not tonight," she added with a small smile. "But as soon as we find a day that works for you and me both, I'd be happy to start then."

22 Evelyn Stones Thank you for hearing it. 1422 0 5