Muggle Studies ((NEWTs students))

[Professor Amaryllis Hardy]

Amaryllis flicked her wand at the blinds in the Muggle Studies classroom, and they flew upwards with the whistling sound of stiff fabric moving in a hurry. Pale morning sunshine filled the room, and Amaryllis moved over to stand by the window, leaning against the ledge and gazing out across the grounds and forest. The quality of light was already beginning to deteriorate, dragging them too fast into the long Scottish winter with its endless dark, cold nights and grey days where it seemed impossible that the sun had actually risen. But at least there was some sunshine this morning. It had started raining yesterday afternoon and continued on long into the night, so even this feeble yellowish glow of sunlight was a welcome sight.

She sighed a little and, stiffly, she stood up straight, hobbling to her desk and easing herself into her chair. Thank goodness it was a comfortable one. The first day of teaching had been yesterday, and all the standing up had taken its toll. During the school year, she always became habituated to a greater level of pain than she would formerly have been able to tolerate, but she’d softened up over the long summer holidays and was being more than a coward than usual. She reached for her cup of tea and took a sip, immediately feeling much better.

Soon students began to filter in for their first morning lesson. This was her first NEWTs class of the year, so although she did manage not to appear to be watching her pupils assemble in an entirely hawk-like fashion, reading over the notes that she’d made on the information she wanted to convey this lesson to stop herself from doing so, she was very interested to see which old faces would turn up. NEWTs classes were always the best to teach. She knew each pupil’s abilities and disposition to a better extent by this stage, having already taught them for OWLs, plus the syllabus became much broader and thought-provoking, as opposed to the OWL syllabus which was almost entirely based on Muggle objects and technology, almost to the exclusion of any mention of culture or belief systems. Not that Amaryllis entirely approved of the inclusion of today’s topic on the syllabus. In the wrong hands, it bordered on being dangerous. She had decided to tackle it early in the year, but she still wasn’t sure whether she’d made the right choice.

The bell rang to signal the start of the lesson and Amaryllis stood up again, trying not to do it too gingerly because she preferred to keep her pain a private matter. She clapped her hands for silence.
“Miss Mehadi, could you shut the door, please?” she asked a Hufflepuff student whom she was pleased to have in her class. Muggle Studies was a small subject of course, certainly by NEWTs level, so to be fair she was always pleased to have almost any student in her class. She waited until the Hufflepuff had taken her seat again to begin teaching. “Thank you,” she said to Mehadi, and then addressed the entire class.

“You will be needing your wands for today’s lesson,” she told them, detecting the slight surprise from many of them that she had anticipated. Indeed, that was the main reason why she had told them at the beginning of the lesson. They might even listen a little better… though an early morning lesson was a boon in the first place, before they had lost their focus for the day. And Amaryllis was strict enough that most students at least made a semblance of paying attention. “But not before we cover a little bit of background theory,” she added in a stern tone but with a bit of a wry smile. They would have to be a little patient.

Wizards’ Statute of Secrecy – Why?, a piece of orange chalk wrote on the board behind her, underlining it in a rather wavering fashion. Amaryllis might be standing straight and proud, but the chalk’s uncertain action reflected how weak she really felt. She was already talking as the chalk began spelling out the first word.
“Okay, the Wizards’ Statute of Secrecy,” she announced. “You should all remember it from OWLs. Why is it considered necessary to keep the magical world hidden from Muggles? What could the consequences be if Muggles discovered its existence? What measures are taken to hide magic from Muggles, and against any wizards who violate the Statue of Secrecy? How far do you think we should go to keep the magical world hidden? Do you think that any of these measures might take things too far? Are we violating Muggles’ human rights?” She snapped her fingers at them to get them all talking, on the whole thinking them very slow as a bunch of students to start responding to her questions.

((Everyone is welcome to answer these questions! I don’t expect any student to answer ALL of them, but you’re welcome to touch on more than one of the question in your answer. There are plenty to go round. There is some amount of information about this stuff on the HP-Lexicon, but it is fairly limited so you are free to invent some information! Most of the questions are asking for your student’s opinion as much as information, anyway, so don’t worry about it… just go ahead and have a go at answering. I’d like a good debate!

You have just over a week to post your students answering the questions, until about Monday 14th. After that, I will post again with the main task for the lesson.))

[Ruby Lehane]

It couldn’t have been a better morning…well at least Ruby Lehane didn’t think so as she stretched in her four-poster bed. The familiar black and green satin sheets made her smile. This was the world she was going to miss when she moved on, but at the moment…right now this was heavenly. Arms pulled up over her head as she stretched. Long blonde hair haloed her head and she sighed, knowing that the brown she’d been using ought to remain before people began to get suspicious. The brown slowly filtered back into her hair and remained. She liked the new look, but still couldn’t help returning to the blonde while she slept. Ruby was definitely not accustomed to having the image remain while she slept. She’d have to practice much more if she wanted that to happen, until then she’d keep reverting back to the blonde as she slept. Sitting up in the bed finally she shook out her hair and pulled the green curtains back so she could slide out of the bed.

The stone floors were cold as she stepped down onto them, but years of living in the same place made her quite used to the temperature. Now that she was standing she stretched once more, arching her back to hear the familiar pop-pop that came from her spine. She smiled as it relieved pressure and then began moving about the dorm room, not really caring if she woke the other girls or not. She’d lived with them long enough for them to know that she refused to sleep late…or refused to sleep past six in the morning, whether or not she had class in the morning. Ruby was used to the early morning hours, as familiar with the sunrise as she was with the sunset unlike many her age, but she knew that she was different than the others. She was more driven than they were. It was the reason she was Head Girl and the reason for her plans that were quickly becoming more and more successful. If she kept her wits about her she knew her plans would succeed and the world would become a better place.

Dressing into her robes Ruby traveled down for an early breakfast and looked over her class schedule. Yesterday had been the first day of classes and she had, as always, a full schedule…today would be no different. She excelled in her classes and was one of the few that had been allowed a Time-Turner back when she was in her 3rd through 5th years. Last year had been the first time she had allotted for a normal, but full, class schedule. The lack of work had allowed her to focus on her plans, which was a very good thing. Now she was doing the same, but that didn’t mean some of her classes weren’t going to keep her busy or frustrate her. Her first class of the day was Muggle Studies…now a good question would be why would a Slytherin even take the class…to which Ruby would answer, “I have my reasons.” What those reasons were no one knew for sure.

Stepping into the classroom, where the fresh morning air cooled the room Ruby took her normal seat, front row center. She was a diligent student in all of her classes and refused to sit anywhere other than the front row. “Good morning Professor Hardy,” Ruby said in her normal polite tone as she drew out her ink jar, quill, and parchment. She was ready to take notes as she always was in Muggle Studies, but was pleasantly surprised when the lesson began and Professor Hardy asked them all to take out their wands. Setting her eight inch almond wand on the desk beside her parchment Ruby listened to the questions that Professor Hardy began to ask.

Raising her quill in her left hand Ruby spoke her peace first on the subject, taking perhaps the normal view that a Slytherin would take on such a subject. “Well Professor, when it comes to the why it’s important to remember that before the Statute was established in 1692 Muggles had taken to persecuting wizards, specifically wizarding children, by archaic means, for example the witch-burnings, though more Muggles were burned at the stake than witches were because of their lack of true knowledge on the subject. They were constantly trying to get witches and wizards to perform magic for their own means and ends, to secure wealth and to use us to fight their wars for them and when we denied them they tried to force us to teach them magic. It was a very dangerous for witches and wizards back in those times and the Statute was meant to protect us from them as much as it was meant to protect them from us.”

[Merrick Marr]

Sitting back in his seat as Muggle Studies began Merrick Marr felt his annoyance at the subject. Yet another year to sit through this class. Merrick hadn’t taken it on his own accord the first time, but more for the fact that his father was very keen on Merrick having a well-rounded education. Besides it looked better to look muggle friendly, whether or not you really were. In this case Merrick could care less. He was never one to fight for or against muggles, more he took it in strides, judged it person by person. If a Mudblood annoyed him then he hated that person, if a Mudblood didn’t annoy him he left them alone, didn’t even acknowledge their existence. It was all based on the actual person whether than on their blood. He just found that most Mudbloods annoyed the crud out of him.

Sitting here now, listening to one of his own house mates go on and on about the Wizarding Statute of Secrecy he couldn’t help roll his eyes. Ruby Lehane…she was such a know-it-all and not only that, but the girl seriously should have been in Ravenclaw. Wasn’t she taking every class she could anyway? It was obvious she was an overachiever and her insistence on answering every question that Professor Hardy had asked was a keen giveaway that she was an overachiever. Merrick sat forward in his chair a bit, a devilish smirk falling over his face as he didn’t even bother raising his hand.

“What Miss Lehane has yet to mention is the major flaw in the Statute itself,” Merrick said with a smirk as he purposely tried to goad the young witch on. She may have been the Headgirl and in his own House, but that didn’t mean Merrick had to bow down to the girl, especially since it was more entertaining playing with her than it was just sitting there in another boring lesson. “What I mean by flaw is that fact that when magic is used in front of a Muggle I don’t believe that the Ministry can catch and obliviate every single Muggle that saw said event and in saying that where do we have the right to obliviate a Muggle’s memory just because they happened to see a bit of magic? I do believe that’s what we call a violation of their own rights as human. Not to mention another flaw are muggle born witches and wizards families. I mean let’s say that Miss Lehane here was muggle born…” Merrick leaned back in his seat, arms going behind his head as he spoke, the smirk still playing across his face now at his example. “And her twin brother was not a wizard. We can assume that her parents would know that she was a witch and her brother would as well. So how does it work as they grow older? Or what if her brother got jealous and told his wife/girlfriend? Well, would his wife then tell her family? The point I’m getting at is there is no way to regulate Muggles. The wizarding world cannot possibly keep track of every Muggle that knows about the wizarding world and there’s no way we can regulate how many people they tell. So technically the Ministry violates the Statute every time a Muggle Born student is admitted into Hogwarts. With this flaw sooner or later the whole world will know the wizarding world exists. It’s just a matter of being told directly by the wizarding world or by the word of mouth through another Muggle.” Merrick shrugged a little as he dropped his arms back down. “I realize you weren’t looking for flaws in the Statute, Professor, however I do feel it is an important aspect to look at when discussing it, though I in no way disagree with how it’s being regulated right now.”

[Josephine Bowman S7]

Josephine Bowman couldn’t see how the topic had gotten off so badly. Where was Marr going with this? Did he not realize he was in a class full of Muggle born students…or people sympathetic to Muggle borns? He was basically admitting that Muggle borns were responsible for breaking the law. Not that he didn’t have a point, but it wasn’t a good point to have in the class…not when the class was geared toward Muggles and Muggle borns. Josephine was interested in the class only because of the Muggle medical unit. In her search to find a cure she had taken it upon herself to look at all the options possible, including the Muggle’s way of trying to cure cancer. Not that she agreed with how they used radiation and the like, but it was at least a possibility to look at. Now, of course, it didn’t matter…it was already too late.

Jo shook her head, trying to rid herself of the thoughts as she looked back at Merrick Marr for a moment. She didn’t like where he was taking the class. She could imagine the argument that was about to break out and then they’d never move on to the task they would need to finish before the end of class. She piped up almost as soon as he finished, her head already shaking as she looked up at the Professor. “Mr. Marr has it all wrong. The whole theory about a relative telling a relative, telling a relative is wrong. After awhile, once it gets far enough away from the originator, people stop taking it seriously. Honestly, that’s where all the myths come from. Like ghost stories or urban legends. The whole ‘it happened to my cousin’s mother’s brother…’ story can only go so far before people just roll their eyes and say ‘I’ll believe it when I see it’. For the most part we don’t trust personal accounts as much as we used to and especially in this circumstance. Muggles are more interested in their own little world than ours. I don’t think they’d be so likely to believe a ‘my sister’s husband’s great grandmother was a witch’ story.

“Honestly as Miss Lehane was saying if we ever revert back to the days before the Statute of Secrecy was put into place we’d have a completely different and probably dangerous world. There will never be a time that we don’t have the upper hand to Muggles. They will constantly be berating us for things that they can’t accomplish on their own. I mean if someone is sick and a spell can make him or her well they are not going to simply leave a witch or wizard alone just because they don’t want to bother us. No they will do whatever is in their power to get us to help them and since witches and wizards are in the minority we will always be in high demand for the Muggles. This would lead to a power play, where we will sooner or later have more control than the Muggles. There will always be people who will take advantage of their power and begin using the Muggles who come to them for help. So the Statute of Secrecy is most definitely important for us, to keep us regulated and from abusing our own power. Though there will always be someone that exploits their power and tries to bring about Muggle awareness because they feel superior,” Josephine said with a shrug as she sat back in her own chair, her own monologue finished. She wasn’t sure if she made a point or not, but she at least felt justified in her comments about the ‘supposed’ flaw in the Statute. She just hoped it seemed like she was fighting for the Muggles as opposed to against them. She wanted to earn her house a few points this class period, not have them taken away for stupid Pureblood elitism thoughts.

[Stephen Donahue S7]

“I’ll play Devil’s Advocate with Marr here,” Stephen Donahue said with a smirk as he glanced at his girlfriend and then Ruby Lehane. It was a debate amongst Slytherin’s. He couldn’t careless about any of the other student’s in the classroom. They were probably all just afraid to get in on the discussion with a whole bunch of Pureblood’s. That didn’t hurt his feelings in the least. The less they said the better. He only took this class because he figured it’d be an easy O and that’s all he cared about. Getting passing marks in enough of his classes that he could find a real job outside of Hogwarts. That’s all that mattered to him, so sitting there he couldn’t help but want to take up sides with the student that probably just stuck his foot in his own mouth.

“We know that performing magic in front of a Muggle or in Muggle-inhabited areas is against the Statute. We also know that if found we immediately have our wands destroyed by Ministry officials and detained until our court notice. What I don’t get is that if this is the case and let’s again say that Miss Lehane is a Muggle-born then even if she is 17 she cannot perform magic at home because she is in the presence of Muggles. Or is it okay because those Muggles are her family members? And to continue said thought, if one were to marry a Muggle does that make it impossible for them to ever use magic while in their presence and do they break the Statute themselves for telling their spouse that they are witches or wizards?” Stephen asked as he glanced over at Merrick who was smirking wide at the fact that someone else had joined his side, or maybe that smirk was on his face because Stephen had once again used Miss Lehane in an example placing her as a Muggle-born.

“Like Mr. Marr I’m not disagreeing with the Statute, I just think there are flaws that need to be fixed. I understand the need for the Statute, but I also think the punishment for wizards and witches who ‘accidentally’ break the Statute is harsh. Just because a Muggle happens to wander by when one of us is casting a spell shouldn’t automatically get our wands broken and our bodies sent to Azkaban. Just like the Statute requires all Animagus and Metamorphagus’ to register so as to make sure they don’t abuse their powers…I don’t believe it’s right. In order to make sure Muggles are safe and their rights not violated we’re violating our own rights as witches and wizards. So why is it okay for the wizarding world to violate our rights in order to maintain Muggles’ rights? I think that’s another flaw and one that needs to be looked at. There has to be equal ground somewhere.”

[Ephraim Eades R7]

Ephraim sat in the N.E.W.T level Muggle Studies class, amused that it seemed a debate was brewing among a few of the Slytherin students. Maybe if the other houses were lucky, the Slytherins would spark enough of a dispute among the four of them that they'd lose house points rather than gain them. One could only hope.

He hadn't planned to speak up, not because he didn't have anything to say, but because he was too interested in watching the snakes have at it. Granted, they all made decent points, and he was eager to see if it would be the ladies or the gents who came away with the upper hand. Before much more was said though, Ephraim couldn't help but add his own thoughts.

He cleared his throat and raised his hand. "Well, seeing that my mum chooses to drown herself in the world of muggles, I can say that my own experiences can surely help to prove the points that both Marr and Donahue make, but is it really that simple? Can we that easily point out flaws in the decree, just because the magical world is inevitably mixing with the muggle world? We have to remember, going back to what the better looking Lehane twin pointed out (Ephraim winked in Ruby's direction), the safety of everyone is at stake. If we don't want history to repeat itself, there has to be some sort of law in place. Perhaps the Statute itself is flawed, but that doesn't eliminate the need for some sort of guideline. We, meaning us magical folk, have the greater responsibility here. We hold the power, not the muggles. They may have greater numbers, but our greater power gives us the responsibility to ensure the safety of all. I won't deny that I think the Statue has room for improvement, but isn't that where we come in? If the generation working the ministry now can't fix it, then it's our job to do so." Ephraim shrugged, realizing he jumped head first into a brewing controversy.

Having the chance to air his view, he became silent, curious to hear any other thoughts or comments made about his own.

[Hebe Bang-Bala R7]

Normal life seemed unreal to Hebe. Every minute of the day, she had to wade through the corridors as though through deep water, fending off curious stares, questions about her ‘evil’ cousin, and try to remember that she was supposed to be carrying on life as though she were entirely innocent. Which of course, she wasn’t. She was a cold-blooded murderer… it might have been an act of hot-blooded temper, but the actions she’d taken to protect herself after that had definitely been cold-blooded and ruthless. Hebe knew them for what they were… she despised herself for them… but she was too cowardly to admit to them. Her logic was that of the Hebe she had been before she committed the crime, but she had severed all connection to her conscience, the old Hebe trapped within the new one.

She arrived at the Muggle Studies classroom without having really thought about getting there, her body still going through the motions of a normal life without her consciousness being around to actually live it. She took a seat, by herself, next to someone; it hardly mattered since as far as she cared or was aware she was in a different world from anyone else. Someone shut the door and took their seat again, scraping their chair along the floor, and Professor Hardy began to speak. Hebe watched and listened passively, without much interest. However, as the debate took pace she couldn’t help but get involved with her own thoughts and opinions.

“I don’t disagree with all of Mr Eades’ argument,” Hebe stated to the class, “but I don’t agree that wizards necessarily have the greater power. We haven’t needed it because we’ve stayed hidden from them, so we’ve never needed a way of defending ourselves from the technology that they’ve managed to develop. The bloodiest magical accidents have actually been caused by magical tampering with over-ambitious Muggle technology. Where for us magic provides all our solutions, they rely on science, and science has produced some horrific solutions and problems. Muggle illnesses barely affect us at all – we have much better immunity, but they have to worry about bioterrorism, that someone might make a ‘doomsday’ virus by genetic engineering. Muggles have developed far more lethal weapons over the years than the magical world has. Again, wizards haven’t had as much need for them… we’ve had our wars but for the most part we’ve been civilised and stayed peaceful for longer than Muggles have. They’ve had two massive world wars, and in the Second World War they ended up inventing the atom bomb. I don’t believe that wizards can defend themselves against nuclear power much better than Muggles can - at least, no one’s come up with a way yet. So it’s just as well that there are laws to make sure we stay hidden from the larger part of Muggle society… who knows what it could lead to if they decided we posed a threat to them? The Statute wasn’t written to protect Muggles in the first place – laws to protect Muggles are far more recent developments – and that is never going to be its main priority because it’s written by wizards.”

[Sita Mehadi H7]

Sita was loving the whole experience of being a Sixth Former. Who wouldn’t love free periods, getting to study only the subjects that interested you, and a few teachers suddenly beginning to realise that you were a person as well as a brain to stuff with information? She was also loving being Hufflepuff Vice Captain… sure it had taken up quite a lot of her time so far with helping to organise auditions and trying to press gang people into the team… but it was totally worth it for the way that younger Hufflepuffs had started to look up to her. Suddenly, insignificant Sita wasn’t quite so insignificant, and it had given her enough of a boost to her self-confidence that she felt she was finally actually getting to be who she wanted to be, for the first time in she didn’t know how long. From here… on and up! She was Sita and she could do anything. Hopefully starting with winning Gavin’s heart…

Oh! The lesson was starting and Professor Hardy was talking to her. Sita processed the sound waves again in her brain to recall what she’d been asked, and then sprang up to go and close the door. Muggle Studies was a subject that she was pretty confident in – she had both her own cultural experience and had listened to numerous discussions between her parents on papers that they were writing. She knew that she was unlikely to ever feel out of her depth in this class… or hopefully any of her classes anymore. That might be a little bit ambitious, but still… she had dropped Transfiguration, Charms, DADA and Astronomy, all subjects she’d struggled with at Owls level.

The lesson began and Sita listened to the debate going on around the classroom, a bit shy to start with as a number of Slytherin students seized their chance to speak, people from her own year and the year above who intimidated her and who she didn’t really want to start an argument with, even in class. She was pleased when a couple of Ravenclaws jumped into the discussion and desensitised the debate a bit, allowing her to contribute her own opinion when she’d finished.
“The Statute certainly isn’t Muggle-friendly at the moment. Quite apart from recommending Obliviating any Muggles who stumble across magic – which even when done properly can have a devastating effect on their family and professional lives, and when done badly has been shown in some cases to leave lasting brain damage – I think that we’re neglecting our responsibility towards the Muggle world by keeping ourselves hidden from them.
“We have the ability to solve so many of the problems that blight the Muggle world: disease – as Miss Bang-Bala said – but also famine, global warming, poverty, and war. Using magic, we could cure a huge range of Muggle diseases that they still don’t know how to cure using their discipline of science. We can boost crop growth, heat water without needing to burn fossil fuels, create stuff almost out of thin air, rather than using up finite resources… basically, nearly all of the things that spark off wars in the first place, we could help to prevent. We are at fault for not using our powers responsibly to improve the quality of life for Muggles, for keeping the benefits exclusively for wizarding society. Our excuse for not doing so – keeping wizards safe from Muggle society (and purportedly, Muggles safe from us) – is based on Muggle society five centuries ago, not their modern day civilisation. How can we know how modern day Muggles would react to the wizarding world?”

[Professor Amaryllis Hardy]

The debate was slow to get going, but in the end a pleasing proportion of the class contributed and it gave Amaryllis a nice opportunity to finish off her cup of tea while she wasn't required to be talking to the class. She did listen with great interest to the points made by each pupil, nodding at points that were particularly well-put, pleased at how well each of them were making their arguments, even if she didn't agree with all of their opinions. It was all right while they were still at Hogwarts... the world might have more to fear if some of the room's occupants went on to be assistant (or even to replace) the Minister for Magic. Still, she'd got them thinking and talking a bit, and had sounded out her new class in the process, so she reckoned it had been a pretty successful little debate. The range of opinions from such a small group of students was astounding, and the flourishing debate very encouraging for Amaryllis who was a great believer in teaching Muggle Studies that way.

"All right," she said finally, bringing a halt to the debate. "I see that you all have very strong opinions; thank you for sharing them with us. In case you're interested, most of the points that were raised could come up as an essay question on your final NEWTs exam, depending on the whim of the examiner at the Ministry, of course. It doesn't matter what opinion you give them, so long as you present a reasonably balanced and well-argued case for your opinions." She didn't think that most of them would have too much of a problem doing that. "Five points to everyone who contributed to the discussion," she added.

She waved her wand and two copies of 'Year With The Yeti' by Gilderoy Lockhart appeared on each student's desk.
"Widely acclaimed when it was first published, this book is now regarded by most as nothing more than bad fiction," she told the class, "if written in a compelling manner. Its author is also famous for misuse of Memory Charms. Wands out!" she instructed them.
"The incantation for the charm is Obliviate," she told them. "O-BLI-vee-ate." She gave them time to repeat it after her. "Very little wand action is needed. Some professionals like to move their wand slowly from side to side as they cast the spell, as if they were trying to hypnotise the subject, which in many ways they are. There is very little agreement as to whether it works, so you decide for yourselves."

She pointed to a copy of 'Year With The Yeti' on her own desk, turning it so that they could see the writing inside.
"A book is a memory," she said, "real or not, and it can be erased like any other memory. I hope that no one will object to erasing these particular copies of this particular book. If it salves your conscience, their previous owner was inclined to burn them." She smiled a little to herself as she remembered the conversation she'd had about that with the previous owner, and then pointed her wand at the book. "Obliviate," she said, and the pages turned blank, the close black type erased.

"You each have two copies of the book to practice on," she said. "Remember that this is potentially a very dangerous spell. Using it unnecessarily on a Muggle will incur a fine; using it on a wizard is sufficient to incur a lengthy prison sentence. So be careful to only point your wands at the books. And obviously, there are other ways to erase print from books, but I'm interested in how well you can perform a Memory Charm. As your NEWTS examiner will also be."

((Thanks a tonne to everyone who's posted so far! I'll be leaving this class up now for you to complete the task until around December, so that leaves everyone plenty of time! )

[Ruby Lehane]

Ruby couldn’t keep her body from tensing as the rest of the Slytherin boys found themselves using her as the butt of their attempt at being funny. They had good points, but there was no way she was going to encourage that. She had to remain the same Muggle lover that she has for years. She would not dare disregard the rules that her brother and her had set forth in the beginning. They needed to appear neutral. It was the only way they were going to get to the Ministry. They had the in, they just needed the support. So she just set there lips pressed hard together in a thin line. A part of her wanted to lash out at them, but she held it tightly reigned, even at the mention of Metamorphagus’. Her hands were folded together tightly and if anyone looked at her hands they would notice the white knuckles that held her hands together.

The moment the books appeared on her desk Ruby slowly relaxed. She knew the author…he had been Defence Against the Dark Arts professor years ago. Rumors had quickly spread about him even to the years that would follow after he had gone. She remembered some of what was said about him. A definite idiot that was for sure. She half wondered what house he had been in at school, but she couldn’t remember for the life of her. Probably something stupid like Gryffindor. Whatever it was she had to focus on the new spell they were learning. It was something she’d already practiced. She knew this spell already and yet she was about to admit that. A few wizards had already experienced this spell from her wand. She wasn’t going to get anywhere if people started talking about her and her brother. They needed this spell just like they needed the book. Now they had both and were just that much closer to their goal.

Ruby stared down at the book, a soft smile pulling at her lips as she picked up her wand. The flick of her wand was perfect as was the annunciation of the spell. “Obliviate,” she said as the words in the book faded. She smiled. Yes that’s why she was at the top of their class, that’s why she was Head Girl. Ruby was good…scarily good. She’d devoted her entire life to spell work and she wasn’t about to stop. Ruby smirked to herself as she pointed her wand at the next book and did the same thing to it. She didn’t even bother looking at anyone else in the class. She just assumed everyone else was done. Her hand rose. “Professor where would you like us to put the blank books once we’ve finished?” she asked. Yes, she was an overachiever and she didn’t care if everyone else knew it.

((I'm finishing the other characters responses tonight hopefully, depending on when I get home from work. Should all be done in at most two days. So hurray!))

[Hebe Bang-Bala R7]

Hebe's eyes glazed over as Professor Hardy gave them instructions on memory charms: she was remembering her wand pointing at Melody and her cousin's puzzled, startled, frightened look as she opened the door to Hebe's wand tip. They had Stunned her - it had seemed the easiest thing to do, and it did at least give Melody a more peaceful look which had made things easier for Hebe as she was betraying her cousin. It hadn't just been a simple Memory Charm that had been required for Melody, though. Hebe had needed lots of help from her uncle as he guided her through the malleable pathways of the memory and mind. He had done most of the work, transferring circumstantial memories from Hebe's mind to Melody's. They had left Melody out on the moors, making her the immediate object of suspicion. Given that Melody had admitted to the crime and was now in the young offenders' institution twinned with Azkaban, it seemed that their deception had worked.

Perhaps it had worked all too well. Hebe could not bear to go and see Melody - she would feel too guilty - so she had her cousin believing that Hebe didn't want to see her ever again. Not unreasonable, really, given how close Hebe had been to her grandmother. Melody's father had denounced his daughter as a monster, and Melody's mother was torn between her grieving husband and wanting to do something for her child, even one who had turned out to hide such evil inside her. It was wrong... very wrong... but yet, seeing what had happened to Melody, Hebe had even less courage to face up to her own crimes. What would they do to someone who was not only a murderer, but had allowed someone else to take the punishment? It was rumoured that the Ministry hadn't entirely stopped the practice of using Dementors... Hebe shuddered involuntarily at the thought.

Professor Hardy had finished giving them instructions and Hebe shook herself out of her trance. What should she do? What if she gave herself away by being too good at it...? Her heart skipped a beat at the thought. Then Ruby Lehane solved the problem for her by finishing and making it known to everyone else in the class. Now Hebe wouldn't stand out by being too quick, more competent than someone who hadn't tried the spell before ought to be. She relaxed as she erased the contents of the two books in, enunciating the words of the spell clearly and watching the words on the page before her fade away... ready to be rewritten with a new history.

[Merrick Marr]

Merrick Marr was vastly surprised when Prison Boy decided to join in on the conversation…especially taking Merrick’s side of the discussion. Merrick smirked wide as Stephen used Ruby once again as a Muggleborn. He could see the example was annoying the girl, which intrigued him. The big old Muggle sympathizer had a problem with being referred to as one…very interesting. Merrick stored the knowledge away for later as he piped up to agree with Stephen, but was quieted as a few other students decided to share their opinions. Apparently the debate among Housemates had finally drawn in a few other outside influences, their opinions ringing loud and clear around the room. Merrick lost interest after Eades…he wasn’t much into the “scientific” stuff so his thoughts wandered back to where they had been before the class had even begun.

It wasn’t until Professor Hardy spoke up again that Merrick even realized the debate was over. His eyes lifted to the Professor and then dropped as the book appeared on his desk. Year with the Yeti stared up at him and he couldn’t help the annoyed expression that crossed his face. The author had been a scumbag. Even though he was quite young when the news broke out about the real authors behind the books he had written Merrick had still found enough maturity within him to loathe the fellow. Drawing his wand he poked at the books a bit, listening only mildly. This wouldn’t be the first time he had performed this spell before. Having to repeat your last year of schooling was rather annoying, mostly based on the fact that you’ve already learned this stuff. However, the coma he had been in had done mild damage to his long-term memory, so it was probably better to relearn…he had already found a few things in his Transfiguration class that he had completely forgotten about, whether that was due to the accident or not he wasn’t sure.

Swishing his wand slowly Merrick spoke the words clearly, watching as the words faded away. It wasn’t a perfectly cast spell, but it was close enough. There was only a bit of ink left on the page, not enough to even make a word, but enough to notice he hadn’t been focusing as well as he should have. He flicked his wand this time and erased the last few ink spots on the first book before moving to the second one. Green eyes rolled as he heard Ruby Lehane announce to the whole class that she was finished. The girl was too much. She needed to be told she was wrong at least once or twice…hell someone needed to tie her up and gag her for a month or something, maybe that would change her personality to something a bit more likable. Nobody likes a brown-noser. As he opened the pages to the second book he tried to keep his concentration. Ignoring the brown-noser was hard at first, but after a few deep breaths he succeeded in tuning her out. This time the spell went better and he nodded with a smirk as the words disappeared without leaving behind any residue. Second time is always the charm. He raised his eyebrows and asked in a horrible imitation of Lehane’s, “Professor where was it that you wanted us to put the books when we were finished? I didn’t catch that the first time.”

[Josephine Bowman S7]

Josephine rolled her eyes as Stephen took up a spot on Merrick Marr’s team. She wasn’t going to fight with them on this. Apparently the boys were more concerned with getting themselves into trouble than listening to actual facts. Instead she simply ignored them and turned her attention to Eades, Bang-Bala, and Mehadi. She knew their names, mostly due to Quidditch. They actually had some good opinions, backed up with better facts than she had thought to take into account. The discussion dwindled down and Professor Hardy spoke up. It was actually rather good to finally get to discuss things that actually had an effect on her. Most of the things they discussed in Muggle Studies were so completely confusing it was nice to finally understand something. Coming from a family that lived as Purebloods though both her parents had been well…untalented at magic it wasn’t always easy to understand the ways of Muggles.

Drawing her wand she sat it down beside her choosing to flip through the book that had appeared in front of her slowly. She wanted the perfect page. Jo wasn’t always very good at magic. She tried very hard to get the marks that she did and like her mother magic didn’t come easy to her. It was definitely one of those things her sisters were always better at…or should she say sister now. Whatever way you wanted to look at it Josephine was always messing up the simplest of spells, so sitting there with a book that needed erasing with a potentially dangerous spell you could imagine how nervous she was feeling, but like most she swallowed her fear…trying to think of the red liquid that would soon be in her veins and picked her wand back up.

“Obliviate,” she said, flicking her wand. The book seemed to vibrate for a second before several letters disappeared, leaving more than half the words still in place. She sighed. She was losing focus. Concentration…that’s what was key now and maybe not such jerky hand motions. Jo decided to try what Professor Hardy had suggested, her wand slowly moving back and forth as if she was hypnotizing the words on the book before she said the spell again. The second time was better, though she still hadn’t erased the whole page of words. At least it was better than the first time. After several more attempts Josephine had emptied both books of their words. Placing her wand back in her pocket she turned her attention to Professor Hardy.

[Stephen Donahue S7]

After Stephen has said his peace he goes back to his silent, intense nature. The rarity it is for him to speak in front of others seems to have shocked a few of his fellow students, but he doesn’t care. Yes…in the last few months, or year really, he has changed…not for the better one would say. He is far more intense now…much more than he was last year at this time. So with his own attempt to gain house points over with he sat back in his chair, his attention now placed on the back of his girlfriend’s head. The long dark locks teasing him basically. A dark smirk pulled at his lips as he slipped into his own thoughts, not emerging until a book appeared on his desk.

Sitting up slowly Stephen focused his attention on the professor, his hands opening the book and flipping through the pages. He was always so ecstatic when they got to use magic in Muggle Studies. It was almost like an oxymoron, which made him all the more willing to have at it. There was something just amusing about it. Pulling out his wand he immediately began flicking his wand at the book. He would have liked to say he did it on the first try, but he didn’t, which was unfortunate. A part of him thought he would be really good at this spell. It was definitely one that would come in handy later, though the reasons why it would were strictly prohibited.

Lehane’s voice announced she was finished and then Marr’s about a minute later, which made Stephen snicker. It was so very obvious that Marr was making a direct insult at Lehane. It was always nice to see the goody-two-shoes get made fun of…they were just too damn perky. This was definitely more amusing. Especially after he finished wiping the second book clean not long after. He couldn’t help, but notice the trouble Josephine was having. The girl was good with some things, but it was always much harder for her than everyone else. It was probably the fact that her father was a squib…and her mother so very close to one she might as well be considered one. Whatever you decided it was clear Josephine and wand magic didn’t always get along. He stacked the two empty books together and sat back, watching Josephine finally finish and look relieved to be done with the spell. She would practice it on her own later and in no time she’d be just as good at it as Lehane was. That’s what she always did…it was something even he had picked up on. It was an amusing trait of hers and one that probably made her all that more interesting to him. She was determined…very determined. Stephen wandered off into his own thoughts once again as he waited for the rest of the class to finish.

[Professor Amaryllis Hardy]

The class was of mixed ability in spell casting - not something that was usually used to distinguish between them in Muggle Studies. But on this occasion, some of her usual favourites struggled with the spell (they might have good minds, but clearly wandwork wasn't part of that), leaving the remainder of the class to outshine them. The Head Girl was the first to finish, and Amaryllis walked over to inspect, trying not to let her limp show.
"Well done, Miss Lehane," she complimented the Slytherin, "excellent spellwork, ten points to Slytherin. You may leave the books on the desk," she added. She would collect them all with a flick of her wand at the end of the lesson, it was a bit of an unnecessary question.

She paused next to another Slytherin girl, who was captain of her house Quidditch team but seemed to be struggling with her spellwork today. She did succeed in the end, however. "You need to focus more, Miss Bowman," Amaryllis advised the girl gravely. "Empty your own mind of everything but the charm and it will become easy."

She continued round the classroom, giving short pieces of advice to those who needed it and praising those who didn't. Finally she clapped her hands to stop the low chatter that had sprung up amongst those who had finished some time ago.
"All right, very impressive spellwork from all of you," she said. "Ten points to each of you. Homework is to practice the charm - you will need to be able to do it by the time you take your exam. Class dismissed!"

((Ten points to everyone who posted their character attempting the task.))