Defence Against the Dark Arts (1st-3rd years)

[Sadie Rivers H6]

Even though Sadie was in her second year at Hogwarts she hadn't been very well with History of Magic. As she sat thinking about it, there wasn't a type of History that she was good with, including her own. How can I be good at history, when I'm not even sure of my own family history lately.She thought to herself as the professor mentioned History of Dark Magic. Sadie had read the books, but nothing ever seemed to stay in her memory. It was almost as if she forgot something just a few seconds after learning it.

Sadie sat quietly in the back of the classroom, she didn't know many of the students that was in the class with her, and that made her feel different. She was so used to being in a class and knowing someone there, that it was weird for her to be alone during class. Sadie decided that it would be best for her to take notes while the professor talked about the history, that would be about the only way that she would be able to remember what had been discussed. Sadie's jaw dropped in awe as a young slytherin girl responded to the professor's question.

[kristian]

Mikayla sat there in class. Trying to find something she could pick up on. Something she would know the answer to. "Think Mikayla think!" Mikayla said to herself. She heard the girl give the answer. "How does she know that?" Mikayla never could just think of the correct answer like that. She would have to look in her books and in her notes. It was always a bit of a hassle. Mikayla was still trying to get used to Hogwarts and the classes. Mikayla was a good student in class except she didn't ever get any house points.

"I wonder," Mikayla thought to herself. "I wonder if an older Ravenclaw could help me.." Mikayla thought. Mikayla made up her mind that next time she saw an older Ravenclaw student to ask him/ her to help her. "Anything to do good in my classes.." Mikayla thought.

[Professor Julius Foxcroft]

Julius' eyes flashed for a moment when the Slytherin first year started to speak, and he sighed inwardly. Five minutes into the lesson and already a Slytherin was exhibiting their well-known hate and prejudice against muggles. He waited for her to finish before answering her question, which he would have thought the answer was quite obvious, but since none of the other students had raised their hands he was going to have to answer before proceeding. How had her parents managed to instill such hatred inside her at such a young age? "Kindly refrain from expressing your own opinions on anything Dianne unless I specifically ask for them in the future, for while I do not mind you forming your own opinions and nor will I try to change them, keep in mind that unless they are less antagonistic and hateful I would certainly rather not hear them," he said, feeling rather annoyed that he had to reprimand the first student to have spoken in class today. "To clarify, I was not referring to a muggle war at all, I would have thought the First War should have triggered something into your minds immediately, I wanted you all to go for your first hunch, and not think of all the first wars that ever existed."

He wondered if the girl was trying to bug him or if she was just showing off for a moment. He then decided to give the students another hint. "Perhaps if I tell you we are currently very close to the beginning of the Second War, or perhaps that it has in some ways practically begun my meaning shall be clearer?" he asked, looking round at the class once again. The second or third years at least should know something if not the first years.

[kristian]

Mikayla watched as she could tell the professor was getting annoyed at the students lack of knowledge in this subject. Mikayla kept on in her search through her book and through her notes. She could not find one thing. Mikayla gave up on answering that question maybe next time Mikayla thought. She decided to just sit back and listen to the professor teach and Mikayla was just going to have to refrain from answering any questions unless she absolutely new the answer. Mikayla looked around the room to the first year Slythie. "Why had he gotten on to her?" Mikayla thought. Maybe that was something to do with her answer.. Mikayla thought what would be bad for a Slytherin to say to a teacher rather than Snape. "Ah HA! " Mikayla said to herself. That must have been a war against muggles.

Then Mikayla heard the professor say: "To clarify, I was not referring to a muggle war at all, I would have thought the First War should have triggered something into your minds immediately, I wanted you all to go for your first hunch, and not think of all the first wars that ever existed." "Man, that must have really bugged him." "Maybe he didn't want there to become a big argument about muggles and such" Mikayla thought once again to herself. "Man, why don't any 3rd years know this stuff." "He's giving out hints." Mikayla looked around the room at all the 3rd years I didn't even see a face of one thinking. "Sad.." Mikayla thought to herself. "She really wanted to be able to answer this question correctly but she was only a first year and didn't know much about this stuff yet. Mikayla watched for the professor to just spill the beans and give us the answer. Mikayla was going to write it in her notes, so that if he asks it another day she will know it.

[Padme Rendel S2]

Padme sat back, slightly surprised when the Professor began an elongated speech. He appeared to be giving the students a moral to follow, one the Padme had heard already before but hadn't bothered to listen to. Not everybody could depend on themselves like Padme could; even Jack had that particular weakness, but never would he admit it. Padme smirked and fiddled with the end of her blouse until Foxcroft began to speak on what they were going to do in the class. Talk about magic history and such. When he asked about the first war, Padme looked up and raised an eyebrow. What exactly were they supposed to say? She knew she couldn't say anything about it without mentioning Voldemort, who's name was profanity in most of Hogwarts. She couldn't say the Dark Lord without looking like a follower, which she most certainly was not. She agreed with most of His ideas, but she was not about to risk her life for Him. Not that she could ever join his ranks at such a young age, but still... She looked around the class, surprised to see that only a Gryffindor had raised her hand. Padme leaned forward, her hand rising into the air quickly.

[kolidascope]

Holly stared at the Professor. No way was she ever going to raise her hand! She sat and watched the others raise their hands. Why did she have to be so shy? Ah well, he'd probably let it slide. It was her first day in his class after all. She just promptly kept her mouth in a forced smile, and hoped he didn't notice. The First War? What was he talking about anyway? Was a Ravenclaw supposed to know this? Was she stupid?
Calm down! It's just a question. It's not a crime if you have absolutely no clue as to what the answer might be.
She nodded to herself. Yeah, yeah! Everything was going to be great. Unless she threw up...or got nervous...or said something stupid...or...
Holly, you're...doing it again.
She just kept her hands on her knees, shaking underneath her desk. Defense Against the Dark Arts wasn't her best class, but not her worst. The idea of having to use a curse on someone was crazy when it involved her in the same sentence, but then again, she could think otherwise if she was in threat.

[Professor Julius Foxcroft]

"Yes, Rendel, would you care to enlighten us? And perhaps Pewter, if you find anything you would like to add after Rendel has given her answer, please do so." Julius had an astonishing memory for names, one that had strengthened after his three years of teaching at Hogwarts. He was not altogether surprised that a first year should raise her hand, for he had assumed that everyone in the class save for the Muggle-borns would have known something about the First War as no family had not been affected by the brutal acts of Voldemort and his followers; but rather his surprise was because so few students seemed to have anything to say. He turned to the young Slytherin with an encouraging look in his eyes, waiting for her to speak.

((kolidascope, please wait for your character to be approved before continuing to post.
EDIT: I switched Pewter and Rendel's names when I realised Danielle's player is going on vacation))

[Padme Rendel S2]

Padme smirked and began. "You-Know-Who became one of the most out-spoken, powerful wizards in the world. His ideas went around the globe, muggle and magical. Some people joined him for power while others joined because their family was threatened, they were threatened or a friend was threatened. Some joined because they agreed to his ideas and what he did. Some joined because of black-mail, which links to being threatened. Others went because they didn't belong with all the other people and thought that this was the sort of people they should be with. His followers grew larger and soon they became known as the Death Eaters. They caused death almost everywhere they went and did You-Know-Who's bidding all the time. They were more like his servants then anything.

"As Death Eaters destroyed, the magical world went into a state of panic. No one knew where to turn or what to say to the people they had known all their life, thus didn't trust anyone. People who were different from yourself were thought of as future enemies. Finally, all the people out there who thought they had the right idea against You-Know-Who began to group together to fight against that cause. This began a war between the two organizations. Death Eaters destroyed everyone in their path, leaving a mark in the sky known as the Dark Mark. It was the sign that marked the place someone was killed by a Death Eater.

"Auror's became frantic in their search for the Death Eaters and You-Know-Who to try to end this but to no success. People worked hard to try to find out how to kill You-Know-Who. He seemed unstoppable and his control over the wizarding world began to become stronger. He killed off all the people that could have been a threat to him. It was a horrible era for everyone, as family members drifted away from each other, killed each other, or lost trust. Closest friends back-stabbed you when you least expected it. No one could find hope through this and things were steadily getting worse. Somehow, after killing off a certain Lily and James Potter, You-Know-Who was stopped. A boy named Harry Potter somehow managed to defy the killing curse and lived on. You-Know-Who went away. Some people thought he died. Others thought he was still out there, just hiding. Most people didn't know what to think. All this time, the killing had gotten worse, muggles became more aware of the existence of magic, and the Death Eaters had grown stronger, when suddenly it all ended by an infant boy who escaped with a scar.

"Death Eaters were captured, killed or put into hiding. Everything seemed right. The curses that had been normal when You-Know-Who still was powerful, such as Avada Kedavra, Crucio, and Imperio, weren't used anymore. They soon faded away, but anyone who did use them, was quickly put behind bars by Ministry officials." Padme paused, hoping she had said those curses right, but later shrugged it off with a smirk of confidence. "I think that shortly summarizes it, doesn't it, Professor?"

[Rosaliz Hernandez G6]

Rosaliz made her way up the stairs and into the corridor which lead her to her first class of the day. she grabbed a vacant chair and sat. Luckily she had arrived in time. She didn't had time to eat breakfast since she realized she had woken up a little late. That mourning she grabbed her robes and put them on top of her pajamas. She didn't mind even if she looked king of odd with several layers of clothes. She yawned while putting her bag on the desk. taking out a piece of parchment even though her mind was still drifting from reality and dream land. ((well that's she called it.))

As class began the professor had been asking questions about things until her mentioned the name "Voldemort." Rosaliz wasn't bothered about the name or about presence of death eaters. For she had known a very close death eater her self. Her father. Rosaliz always had second thoughts of her self being sorted into the wrong house and had been mistakenly placed in Gryffindor instead of slytherin. She had always cursed under her breath because of that. Shrugged to her thoughts. And just listened as the younger slytherin student explained about Voldemort and how it was effected in the muggle and wizardry societies. Rosaliz had thought there wasn't any better way to explain it. She just wondered how the professor would react to it. She just sat there waiting to see the professor's expression on his face.

[Professor Julius Foxcroft]

Julius wondered how it was that parents put up with their kids when they were so stuck-up – or rather how they could bring them up to be so full of themselves. The girl hadn’t even begun to speak and yet Julius could tell that she felt she was superior - her body language and facial expression said it all. "Quite right Rendel, that'll be 10 points to be Slytherin," was all that Julius said. She had after all been the first in class to contribute something useful. "Rendel has brought up several points of importance. Let us break them down and discuss each of them individually."

Julius waited till he was sure he had the attention of everyone. "It is our great misfortune that we must live through a time of great Dark Magic activity. Yes, Voldemort is back, and everyday there is news of mysterious disappearances and terrifying murders. Voldemort is an immensely powerful Dark Wizard who for years terrorized the entire Wizarding community with mass murder and torture. Where he is remains unknown but it is said and many of you know this already that the one who will finally defeat him is Harry Potter. Several Death Eaters are currently being held in the wizards' prison, Azkaban, while the Ministry prepares the cases against them. The Ministry has had to rely on their Aurors, who are professional anti-Dark Arts wizards. In addition, new security Charms have been put on Azkaban." Julius refrained from saying anything about the Dementors. A look at the Daily Prophet was all any student needed to know how much the Ministry was not helping, so he felt no need to bad-mouth them further and explain how wrong they were about putting Dementors in charge of the prison.

"Voldemort and at least two of Death Eaters are still on the loose. Now, you must be wondering, what on earth are you to do about all this? First, don't panic. Hogwarts is heavily protected with many ancient magics, and Professor Dumbledore is the only wizard Voldemort has ever feared. With all due modesty, none of the other professors are to be trifled with either," he said, his eyes flashing for a second. "Now, I'm not here to make choices for you. You can be on the side you like, and I know that what I say will probably make very little difference. But I must impress on you one thing – do not let anyone, especially the media, influence your decision. You may be 11, but that does not mean you cannot think for yourself, or that you need guidance in everything that you do." Julius wondered if this would give any of them something to think about. He hoped it did.

He needed to ask another question before discussing this more. "I have another question for you. Do any of you know the elements of nature that are said to be represented by each house?"

((You can find the answer in the 6th-7th year class if you don’t know it. Rosaliz, I think you need to check with the staff if you are allowed to have a DE as your father.))

[ariana]

Ariane merely smiled coldly to herself at the professors words. Two blond eye-brows arched in a mockingly surprised expression at the professors words as Ariane merely twirled her fancy quill before her face. Her eyes half-lowered Ariane listened to Padme’s answer silently weighing it in her head. Not the best really. Too friendly and too dry. Yet it was… diplomatic Ariane supposed. Padme stated the facts without any insert of her own feelings. It could be worked with Ariane supposed as the quill in her hand never stopped turning slowly even though Ariane used all her self-control to hide her smirk as Foxcroft talked about how Hogwarts wasn’t a ‘safe heaven’ for mudbloods. There shouldn’t be a thin like a ‘safe heaven’ anywhere for those unworthy. Luckily with almost doll-ish looks she could pull of her amusement as childish naivety making herself appear as unable to grasp the concept of Death Eaters just yet.

Her eyes looking innocently back at professor Foxcroft Ariane turned her head to the side and raised her hand that had been twirling the quill as no one seemed to offer any input. Waiting until she was called upon Ariane grinned lazily. “In Eastern lands here are more elements and a more complex view on the world, but ere in Europe there are 4 basic elements that create the earth and it’s said that the 4 houses of Hogwarts stand for the elements.
Ravenclaw is said to symbolize air – Raven on their house-crest shows this. Air is a symbol of fantasy, knowledge, the ability to let your mind fly in order to find new solutions to any problem you might encounter.
Hufflepuff stands for earth and the badger on their house-crest shows that. Practical, stubborn in way and persistent, even though perhaps not the brightest or most courageous. Then again someone does have to sit on the sides and clap, as not everyone can be ‘heroes’,” Ariane replied lazily the quill in her hand twirling once again as she inserted comments into her reply. Really, why be boring and just whisper her answer. Own opinions were what give an answer value.

“Gryffindor and their red firey actions. Disregard for rules, thoughtlessness behavior that can result to disasters. Fire is the most destructive element there is and I must say that it fits Gryffindors perfectly,” Ariane said with an angelic smile despite her cutting words before she smiled with satisfaction,
“And Slytherin. Ever-moving, shifting and changing. Calm when it pleases to be so, yet able to rise to be a storm in a matter of moments and the wrath of a raging see is a power to be considered. With it’s clear surface many are deceived as they do not try to look closer and therefore act foolishly. Yet water is subtle, carrying away the shore-cliffs slowly, piece by piece until none remains and water has all the room it wishes. The element for Slytherin house is water.”
Arianes quill made a sharp flick through the air as it to point out her words about Slytherin as she smiled and threw a ringlet of her hair backwards over her shoulder as she finished her answer.


((Eh, Ariane is inactive actually, but I figured I’d still answer as no one else volunteered. I hope it’s ok to say that she was called upon, but if not tell me and I’ll modify.))

[Professor Julius Foxcroft]

The Slytherin attitude. How he hated it. Was there any hope for them? Julius seriously doubted that when he met people like the first year before him. "10 points to Slytherin Dianne, that is the correct answer. So Gryffindor is fire, Ravenclaw is air, Hufflepuff is earth, and Slytherin is water. That is supposed to show to you that there are four necessary components and by integrating them you would make a very strong place. But they remain fragmented as you'll come to find and I encourage you to think about the consequences of that and what you can do about it. Now back to the history of the Dark Arts – we've covered all the points of importance and read the first chapter in you book for more details about the war. Now we'll move onto the practical part of this lesson. Today we shall be learning the Leg-Locker Curse – one I'm sure many of you are eager to learn and try out on your friends as soon the opportunity presents itself."

Julius had been pacing the classroom, moving in between the students, now he stood in front of the classroom, then called a first year Gryffindor named Danielle Pewter and seated her on a stool where everyone could see her. "Notice how I am holding my wand. Wand handling techniques can't be learnt out of books and are of the utmost importance when casting a curse, please note that a wand is not a toy as some of you are inclined to think." Julius pointed his wand at Danielle's legs. "Locomotor Mortis!" he chanted, and before them the legs of the young girl became locked together. He then chanted the counter-curse and her legs were undone. Julius did the curse and the counter curse for a second time." He then gave Danielle a little pat on the shoulder and said, "Thank you, please go back to your seat." He then pointed his wand at the blackboard once again and words appeared on it:

• Locomotor Mortis (lo-co-MO-tor MOR-tis)
  "Leg-Locker Curse"
  "loco" from a place + "motionem" motion + "mortis" death

"Now please pair up and attempt to cast the curse and counter-curse on your partner, and ask for help if you need it."

((Arianne, thank you for taking an active role in class, you know how much I enjoy interacting with your charries.))

[Rosaliz Hernandez G6]

Rosaliz listened to the teacher explain about the Locomotor Mortis charm. And watched horridly when he gave an example to the Gryffindor first year. He asked to part in pairs. Rosaliz was afraid of this. She had four best friends in the class. But who to pick Sadie, to Maryn, to Flo and Danielle. She squirmed in disappointment. But what if I don’t do it with neither of them? She thought. It was good possibility if she could ask the professor to be her partner? But yet she’d become apprehensive if she did ask. Taking a deep breath of air she slowly made her way towards the professor. Tapping him on the arm to get his attention she tried to speak but noting came out. How she hated when she was nervous it always seemed her words got caught in her throat. She was pretty sure her face turned a shade of pink of embarrassment. She then tried again. “Professor…um. Do you mind if you are my partner?” She stood there feeling as if she was going to melt in her own words she had said. She had never asked an adult’s help in any activity. Sighing she stood there waiting for the professor’s reply.

[Professor Julius Foxcroft]

Julius watched them pair up around him and he noticed that there were an odd number of students in class today. He would have to work one with himself. As he looked around him wondering who he might choose a second year Gryffindor approached and asked him if she could be his partner and so she was his choice. "'Course I can," said Julius in a voice a little pleasanter than usual as the girl's nervousness was quite plain to see and he wanted to put her at her ease. Julius was another man inside the classroom, he remained quite cynical but he was not at all self-centred, which would have been quite a surprise to a number of adults had they ever had the chance to observe his behaviour while he was teaching. "Go ahead and cast the curse. We have quite some space here," he said. The whole class was carpeted which had been something Julius had made sure of when he had first seen the DADA class. Quite a number of curses involved ending up on the ground.

[Rosaliz Hernandez G6]

Rosaliz stood in front of the teacher shaking from head to toe. Yes, shaking. "Go ahead and cast the curse. We have quite some space here," she heard him say. Hear it goes she whispered. Pulling out her wand from her pocket she took a big gulp. Funny when it came to fooling around with her wand she wasn’t afraid but in class she was. She thought if she let her arm move freely while saying the spell it will work. Will it work? She thought she’d give it a try. Waving her arm absent mindly while trying to pronounce the spell “Locamita” she shouted but an orange spark came out of her wand hitting the ceiling. Yes the ceiling. Blushing a embarrassment, she thought ‘concentrate, it not hard.’ Just think of a happy memory that help’ smiling lifting her arm she tried again. ‘locomo-wand’ she said, this time her own wand flying out of her hand. Turning a dark shade of read she made her way to retrieve her wand. After holding it in her hand she tried again ‘ok- point the wand to the teacher. And this time say it right’ she told her self. She was too afraid that she hurt the teacher with this spell. ‘What if I do it wrong?’ she thought. But it must be tried. Lifting up her wand pointing towards the teacher’s legs she shouted “Locomotor mot” She closed her eyes tightly afraid to what she was going to see because her wand was aimed towards the teacher. Opening her eyes slowly she hoped she had done something right. If not would the professor at least help her with some tips?

[Professor Julius Foxcroft]

"Sit down," said Julius. He bent down a little and looked at Rosaliz in the eyes. "This is just a class, you don’t have to be so scared." He placed a hand on each of her shoulders and gave them a little squeeze, a little surprised at how nervous she seemed. Did he seem that scary or strict to her? "You know I don’t think you'll have any trouble doing this at all if you just calm down and stop worrying about what I or other people will think of you. You need to only focus on your target and the spell and know you have the ability to do it because I wouldn’t give you something I think you can’t do. You’re thinking about too many things at the same time, but believe me, concentrating on the task at hand and nothing else is the key to getting this spell to work. Now I'll stand here for a few moments while you calm down and then I want you to show me what you can really do," he said encouragingly. "Say the incantation in your head several times before trying," he advised her.

((Rosaliz this is the Leg-Locker Curse and as such nothing should be flying. You also need to say the whole incantation for something to actually happen. ))

[Rosaliz Hernandez G6]

Rosaliz sat when the professor had instructed her to. She did this immediately. She listened to him give her advice. He was true it wasn't as if he was going to bit her head off or anything. She just had the jibbers being around grown-ups. She then did as what he told her. So she repeated the spell over and over in head. 'Locomotor Mortis, Locomotor Mortis, Locomotor Mortis' after that she sat there taking big gulps hoping that would help. Smiling she looked around the room. It seemed everybody else was busy in their own things. She then knew she was ready "Er---professor I think I'm ready know to do the spell" She knew that should could do this verbally but will her nerves take over?

[Professor Julius Foxcroft]

Julius looked at Rosaliz who did seem much happier and relaxed. He hoped she had understood him quite well and would focus and not let anything else distract her. "Go ahead and give it a try," he said encouragingly.

[Rosaliz Hernandez G6]

Rosaliz sat looking at the professor with two beaded eyes. He had said to give a try with this new spell. "Ok" she said in a soft voice trying not to distract her concentration onto what she was going to do. She had taken this class last year, but why was she still nervous being around the students? Who knew? She shrugged the idea off her mind and stood up, from the chair. Brushing her hair out of face she took two steps and readjusted her wand in her hand. Lifting up her arm she said "Loco-" but the words got caught in her throat, then coughing. She then gave it another try. "Locomotor Mortis" and watched the spell hit the professor. She smiled in grief. "See, it's not that bad" she thought. I can do anything. she said out loud. I'm just like superman"well....may be not like superman but close enough that she felt she could fly. Blushing a little in amusement she looked at the professor to see what he'd say.

[Professor Julius Foxcroft]

"That's good enough for a first attempt. With more practice I can see you'll find it quite easy to cast this curse. 5 points to Gryffindor," said Julius. "All right everyone, please switch partners and try the curse and counter-curse a few more times, there are only ten minutes left. I will write your homework on the board. I will collect it first thing next lesson, it's quite easy but essential for next lesson so please take your time and do it properly." On the board appeared the following words:

Compare between the Petrificus Totalus curse and the Leg-Locker curse, mentioning the incantations, counter-curses, and your practical experience in class with the former.

Julius walked between his students, giving directions and tips as he watched them work, impressed by a few of them and wondering if they would continue to show an aptitude for Defence. A few minutes later the class ended, and as the students left his class, Julius felt a satisfaction and pride in himself he hadn’t felt for a long time. Maybe this was going to work out after all – he knew there might be other people out there more skilled at teaching such a class, but he felt that this one had undeniably gone the way he wanted and that his students had learnt something.