History Of Magic-Beginners

[Professor Binns]

Binns let out a somewhat ghostly sigh as he realized that it was soon time for his beginners History of Magic lesson to begin. He did like the lesson that he had chosen, but the idea of having to try to entertain a classroom full of first and second year students was far from thrilling to him. He knew his lesson plan by heart, and had taught the subject so many times before that he no longer needed his notes for it, but he flew through the wall just to make sure that they would be on his desk. He wanted to always be prepared for any question that one strange student or another would ask. He knew that the younger students had more mundane questions than those of the older students, and the younger ones weren’t always willing to go look up the answers for themselves. They sometimes seemed to expect him to answer for them. He decided on staying in the classroom, instead of surprising the students by flying through the walls like he normally done.

Looking out amongst each of the table, Binns found some papers that he had recently conjured up for this class on his own desk and with a touch of magic distributed one to each empty seat, making sure to have not missed any area in which a student might choose to sit. The papers were a copy of his lesson plan. He planned on taking them through the history of how magical creatures and beings were first classified, and then into farther details of how the classifications had changed. He also hoped to get in a bit of information about the Werewolf code of Conduct, and the reason for having it as well as the reason the Ministry decided to outlaw the breeding of Dragons. He only hoped that the students would enjoy this lesson, although he cared not. Binns floated aimlessly above his desk and impatiently awaited his students. He had already planned everything that was needed to be discussed for the students to get the full lesson, and knew of nothing else he had left to add to the lesson. However he was careful enough to plan for the unexpected for surely some student or another would wonder how it was that the muggles knew nothing of the magical creatures, and that would be one more topic for them to discuss in class. His thoughts stopped as students began to come into the classroom.

[Sita Mehadi H7]

History of Magic, History of Magic. Who wanted to be bored to death by someone that had bored even himself to death? They said that nothing changed in his lessons from year to year, so it was hardly surprising that he'd done that. Sita loved life and its never-ending change - well, at least as long as she had some constants in it as well, and she couldn't imagine immediate life before you being the same forevermore. Maybe historians were quite content watching the long term changes of the world around them and never changing what was right in front of their nose - or lack of a nose in the case of Binns. But that seemed so boring! And surely all historians weren't boring, however much of an example to the contrary Binns would teach them; historians could surely not be an exclusive society of utterly dull people?

Perhaps she would have done better not pondering of what kind of people the Royal Wizengamot of Historians was made up of, because then she might have paid slightly more attention to packing her History of Magic textbook in her bag rather than her Potions one. As it was, not having given much thought to the matter, she arrived in Professor Binns' classroom before the bell and gave a groan at the fact she appeared to be the only student there so far. The ghost depressed her - because he wasn't nice, he wasn't mean... he just was (or rather wasn't) and that meant that all the lessons didn't have any particular focus of enjoyment, or terror, or tranquility, or interest. Where was the fun in that? It wasn't as though the subject matter they chose to study was particularly interesting and he made it less so; thus once you'd got over the fact he was a ghost (which Sita had managed to do within the first few lessons) there was nothing left to give any reason to go to the lesson. Sita wondered how many students were actually going to bother turning up, despite the fact they were in their first years of school and few had started dissenting much yet.

It was when she began to unpack that she discovered her mistake, and she gave another groan. She would have to attract the ghost's attention. All alone in the classroom, Sita raised her hand. "Please, Professor Binns, are we going to be needing our textbooks today?" she asked. "Only I seem to have made a slight error in packing my bag and haven't brought mine. Is there one I could borrow?"

[Professor Binns]

Professor Binns was expecting more than just one student to show up to class, and he wasn't ready to start class just yet. But he did reply to the second year so that he could answer her question.

"The only text book you might need today, Miss Medahi, will be your Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. For unlike the rumor, I do tend to change my lesson plan. We today will be studying the Classification of Magical Creatures. If you do not have one, please look on the book shelf to your right. There should be a few spare copies there." Binns replied to the young girl, pointing to the book shelf where the dusty books sat. Binns then continued to float above his desk waiting patiently to see if he was going to have more students to teach this lesson.


((Deeply sorry for the short post, but as I have come down sick, I am spending minimal time on the computer until I can go to the doctor.))

[Darren Gibbs S1]

Darren groaned, and threw his head to the table in front of him. What look would make History of Magic be the first lesson of the day. They'd already had 8 hours or so sleep, so what's the point in giving them extra time, which would have been more useful at the end of the day? It was just depressing-the thought of spending the next hour being bored to death-was that perhaps how Binns died?-and unlikely to be having the physical ability to sleep at the same time. He never thought that there could be a teacher as boring as Binns. Well, he'd heard the rumours from Scott, but did he pay much atention? Of course not! And how was he going to survive 5 years worth of death-by-boredom.

Maybe he would die, and then be resurrected as a ghost? Well, that's what happened to Binns. maybe he'd have to suffer torture, and become a History teacher, after Binns? Then how would he change the world? Gah, just the thought of it made him annoyed. Well, all he could do was to endure the grief that came with any History of Magic lesson. Well, there was the slight possibility that Binns would have a surprise in store. So he reluctantly got up from he chair, put his textbook in his bag, and slowly wandered up to the History of Magic classroom, wondering what delights Binns would have in store for the lesson.

Just walking in to the room made Darren feel sleepy. It was dark, and the furniture must have been as old as the castle. Binns was alread there, along with only one other student-a 2nd year Hufflepuff girl, whom he didn't know, and hence ignored. He took a seat at the back of the room, took out his book, and laid his head on the desk. At least he ignored her until it was revealed she had forgotten her book-trust it to be a Hufflepuff, of all people. But Binns then said something about Magical Creatures. That perked Darren up a bit. At least it wasn't something fully uninteresting, but Binns would probably still make it seem boring-it was a skill of his.

[Sadie Rivers H6]

Sadie had began to really hate going to classes. She wanted to stay outside more than anything now even though it was cold. Nature seemed to make her feel free, to make her feel real again. Real was a feeling that she hadn't felt since she had broken her arm. That had made her feel real too. Sadie pushed these thoughts out of her head, as she readied herself for class.

History of Magic was usually boring, and Sadie usually found spare time to read her Fantastic Beasts book, so she almost always took it to class with her. Making sure it was packed, she pulled her hair back, tying it up with a yellow ribbon, grabbed her bag and headed out of the common room. Sadie hadn't spent much time in the castle at all this year, making sure to try to catch up on her studies by listening to what the others revised and by trying to turn in any homework that was given to them. Usually the homework was all that mattered. And Sadie knew it wasn't like they could send a letter home to her parents about her missing classes. There were no parents to send a letter home to.

Sadie made her way to the floor where HoM lessons were usually taught, and hoped as she neared the classroom that the lesson might be remotely interesting. She managed to over hear Professor Binns saying something to another student about needing their Fantastic Beasts books. This delighted Sadie. Even if it was just a lecture on what ever subject could be taught in history out of Fantastic Beasts, Sadie was usually interested. Entering the classroom, she saw a Slytherin boy younger than she, and another Hufflepuff girl that she knew as Sita but didn't know personally. Sadie decided to sit near Sita. Taking her seat, she smiled at the professor a shy yet brilliant smile. "Good Day Professor."

[Professor Binns]

As the room began to fill with students whom seemed somewhat willing to learn, Professor Binns floated around the room more making sure that every student was amply prepared. He had already given them the lesson plan, but there would be notes for them to have to take, and he had a few other things that he would have to pass out as they made their way through the lesson. “Good Morning Everyone.” Binns said as he floated back to his desk, “Take a moment to look over the lesson outline that has been laid on your tables, and then prepare to take notes for the day’s lesson. You may also want to have handy your copies of Fantastic Beasts and where to find them if you have it with you.” He gave everyone a few moments to prepare themselves for the lessons, and then readied himself for the discussions.

LESSON OUTLINE

A. Discuss Classification of magical creatures and its history.
B. Discuss Ministry Ratings of Creatures both Being and Beast
C. Discuss Werewolf Code of Conduct and Register
D. Discuss the Bans on Experimental and Dragon Breeding.
Notes will have to be taken on all topics for any quiz that might present itself in the future
“As you all see in your lesson outline in today’s lesson, we will discuss Ministry Classification of all creatures. We will be covering the history of how the classifications were first started by the Wizards’ Council, and will momentarily touch on the subject of the Wizards’ Council. We will also be discussing the start of the Werewolf Code of Conduct, The Ban on Experimental Breeding, and the Ban on Dragon Breeding, and the reasons behind all of these.” Professor Binns said as he looked over his own copy of the lesson outline, he hadn’t really put anything in there that would stop them from having to take notes during the discussion. He hoped to have a decent class without anyone disturbing him. “Since there are only a few of us today, take a few moments to look over the course outline and be sure you have everything you need before we begin.”

Giving the three students a few moments to read the handout and make sure he had everything they needed, Professor Binns readied himself for the class. “First off we will start with the definition of a beast. Can anyone tell me what description the Wizard Council first used for the term ‘Beast’?” Looking at the two Hufflepuff girls and the Slytherin boy, Binns wondered who would bother to answer his question.

[hpfan1]

Ok, no offense to Professor Binns or anything but History of Magic was the most boring subject,thought Anna. Why did they even have to go, because how is it helping their education if no one pays attention and doesn't learn anything. Because all Binns does is drone on and on about Giant Wars or the 1779 Elf Rights or something like that. And the other problem is he always assigns big, long essays due in about 2 days, as if they don't have enough homework as it is. Anna thought all of this heading to the History of Magic corridor.

As she was walking down the Transfiguration corridor she saw the worst person, thing, or whatever he was along down the corridor, Peeves! How would she ever get to class on time? The shortcut she had learned about in the Gryffindor Common room. She dashed to her left and ended up two doors away from the HoM classroom. She ran straight to the door, and just as the bell rang, she was in her seat. And much to her dismay (even though she knew this already) Binns started to read his notes on the Classification of Magical Creatures.

[Patrica Dawsinson S3]

Patricia sat there in her desk with her head down on her arm, as she leaned over her desk. While she was doodling on the pass out she got. She started to draw circles and shapes over, and over, of stars and moons. She always liked to draw… but she was never any good at it. She sat there reading off the list to herself when Binns began speaking. She then looked up at him, to try an get something out of him and noticed, that there was absolutely, positively no use. He would bore her soon anyway, so why bother listening and paying attention for five minutes. She wouldn’t get anything out of it for sure. So she layed back down on her desk and mouthed the words he said. Over, and over. She sat up strait, and looked out the window. Completely ignoring his lecture, when she noticed some kids having their first flying lesson. She watched out of excitement as on of the first years fell off their broom. She accidentally let out a chuckle of delight

[Professor Binns]

Binns looked around the room, and noticed that hardly anyone was paying attention to his lesson. He wondered if anyone would even reply to his question. Getting a bit impatient with them he asked, "Would anyone like to take a guess at the question?"

[Sadie Rivers H6]

Sadie looked around the class and guessed that no one was going to try to answer the Professor's question. She opened her book and began leafing through her copy of Fantastic Beasts knowing that the answer had to be in there. If Sadie had started her search for the answer in the front of the book she would have found it long before she did, but she started in the back and discovered that it was on one of the first few pages of the book, in the very front. Sadie sighed at this. How could she have started her search in the back of the book. Sadie raised her hand hoping that the Professor would see her and allow her the chance to answer the question.

[Harmony Chan H6]

Harmony watched the Hufflepuff third year… Sadie…? Slowly put up her hand, just before Harmony had decided she would raise hers if no one were to answer. She didn’t mind that Sadie had decided to go for it, however. On the contrary, Harmony had always hated answering in class; everyone turned to look at you – if you got it wrong, they’d stare at you as if you were retarded, and if you got it right, some Slytherins would shoot her a not so nice look.

Flicking through her textbook whilst she waited for Professor Binns to actually pick Sadie to let her answer, Harmony hoped if Sadie got the answer right, the professor would award Hufflepuff with a few much needed points. Apparently Ravenclaw were currently in the lead, and as much as Harmony wasn’t competitive, it would be nice for Hufflepuff to win it. Realising her thoughts were straying, she quickly snapped to attention and realised Professor Binns still hadn’t seen Sadie’s raised hand. I hope he hurries up a bit or I’ll doze off… He really does make one of my favourite subjects a bore… Maybe being a ghost is really depressing…

[Patrica Dawsinson S3]

Patrica smiled at the game. then she become bord of it fast and out of the corner of her eye. She noticed a Hufflepuff."Probably a third year" she thought. and notcied that she was going to answer the question. " This will be good" she mummered, and rubbed her hands togather, and smiled with an evil grin that spread across her face.

She then noticed another Hufflepuff, lock her gaze at the older one. She looked about to be a 2nd or 1st year. Patricia wasn't sure, all she knew, is that these two girls both looked pretty Stupid, as did everyone to her. She smiled with a little chuckle at the situation.

[Harmony Chan H6]

Harmony snapped out of watching Sadie by a soft and slightly menacing chuckle from somewhere to her left. She found herself looking at a girl older than her, and who looked slightly familiar… Slytherin…? Blinking in confusion, and wondering what the girl found so funny, Harmony flashed her a timid smile, and turned around again. She really didn’t want to annoy anyone, and she didn’t think having a Slytherin as an enemy was a good move. Well, Harmony hated having enemies in general.

[Patrica Dawsinson S3]

Patrica then crossed her arms and notice Harmony smile at her. "Did that stupid Huffly Puff just smile at me? Who does she think she is?" She thought to herself. Patricia just grunted it off.
"The girl must be daft" She thought.

[Professor Binns]

Binns floated aimlessly above his desk waiting on a hand, as a couple of Hufflepuffs leafed through their books to find the answer. Finally a hand went up, "Yes, Miss Rivers. I assume you know our answer." He said in his same monotone voice.

[Sadie Rivers H6]

Sadie smiled a bit and looked back at her book as Professor Binns called for her to answer the question. " The Wizard Council originally seperated Beings and Beasts with the description that any creature that was capable of walking on two legs was a Being and all others were beasts." Sadie replied trying to make the answer in her own terms instead of reading it straight out of the book.

Sadie looked up at Professor Binns as if to see his reaction to her answer and only hoped that it was the answer he was looking for.

[Professor Binns]

"That is correct Ms. Rivers. Five Points to Hufflepuff." Binns replied in his ghastly monotone voice, and readied himself to start going over his notes again.

"The definition of a beast has actually been a topic of much controversy through out the years. Many creatures, while showing signs of humanoid capabilities are far from what we now consider a Being. Take trolls for example. They walk upright, have a humanoid appearance, and can talk a few simple sentences, but in reality are dumber than a brick. This controversy has lead to many incidents where creatures were summoned for a friendly gathering who had nothing Being like about them except for as Ms. Rivers said the ability to walk on two legs. This created a huge catastrophe when Chief of the Wizard's Council in the fourteenth century, Burdock Muldoon, decreed that any member of the magical community that walked on two legs be considered a 'Being' and all others be 'Beasts'. In what he considered a spirit of friendship, he summoned all those considered Being to meet with the wizards at a summit to discuss new laws. This resulted in intense dismay as the meeting hall was crammed with goblins whom had brought along as many two legged creatures as they could find. This is touched upon in your History of Magic textbook. After this meeting Chief Muldoon sworn off any attempts to integrate non-wizards members of the Magical community into the Wizard's Council. Now for those that are keeping up with me, Can anyone tell me who finally did decide to try again at the determination of what separated Beings from Beasts?"

Binns looked around hoping that someone other than Ms. Rivers was paying attention this time.

[Patrica Dawsinson S3]

Patricia listened as professor Binns ranted on about Trolls and what not.

"Since when does History of Magic, talk about how thick trolls" She thought .

Than an evil grin spread across her face. She raised her hand high waiting to be called on.

[Professor Binns]

Binns looked around the room, and noticed that another one of his students had finally raised their hand. Deciding that this might be a good thing, and that maybe some of his students were paying attention, he called on the young Slytherin. "Yes, Ms. Dawsinson?"

[Patrica Dawsinson S3]

Patricia looked around the room, than back at Professor Binns She slouched over in her chair crossing her arms. "Um.....Merlin" she asked with a raised eyebrow. She knew very well that wasn't the answer, she thought she should liven up the class, with a little joke. This was a pretty boring class, and Patricia wanted some fun for once.