History of Magic 1PM, Wednesday Sept 16, 2009 Classroom Memo

OOC Reminders:
>>Assume your character is on time and present. If you have story reasons for a character being late, tell me via PM.

>>If you are a new member/student, assume your character has been present in classes. Don't be afraid to post!

>>There are NPC students but YOU are the stars of the show!

>>Be courteous to everyone's availability. Allow at least three posts between yours, at minimum. If the scene advances too quickly others may have difficulty catching up.

>>Above all, FUN!! (and don't destroy the classroom)

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In some small way this was probably nuts, having a recent secret ministry operative who used to work in Time Travel Investigation teach kids about history. But Sissel Jowd tended to look past the label of 'nuts' in the pursuit of whatever antics he was currently driven towards.

So as the bell finished ringing for class, Sissel strode...No, he was drifting into class a few inches above the ground at a steady pace until he stepped off a flying doormat at the lector stand in front of the hearth, the doormat falling flat behind him. Sissel was positively wired to be on the teaching side of things. Binns had been a bore, even the fact that we came through the walls of the classroom got old after one of his lectures. Well, Sissel had the drifting part down if not the intangibility, but he was much more lively than a ghost. Very lively, as if he had drunk several of his ol' buddy Jimmy Hart's spiked coffee/energy drink at both mealtimes. (But without the alcohol, of course, he was on duty)

He regarded the students gathered in the classroom, tables with four or more, arranged that no column would block the view of either student or professor in regards to each other. Some faced the hearth straight on and then there was a flank to the side at a slight angle, facing the entrance and a corner of the hearth. In the gathering of young bodies there was the recognizable clusters of house colors sitting by their same sorted peers, though plenty of intermingling. His old house of Gryffindor Red, Ravenclaw Blue, Slytherin Green, Hufflepuff Yellow.

Merlin, how Sissel had missed Hogwarts!

"Hello!" Sissel beamed at them all. "My name is Sissel Jowd and I'm going to be your permanent History of Magic teacher! I see you all got the memo and I'm glad to see you here, right classroom and everything. You can call me Professor Jowd or Mr. Jowd, but not in the presence of my father because most people know him to be Mr. Jowd. But that's unlikely to be a problem because he works at the Ministry of Magic and his department would rarely interact with the castle anyways."

He clapped his hands. "So, upfront I admit that I was too eager to meet you all. Hope you feel the same but if you don't, c'est la vie. That's French if you wanted to know, for 'such is life' a statement to use when you find you just have to go with the flow. You'll be hearing French and a few other languages about the castle with our visiting delegations, I'm sure. Also watch the skies for any bulletins for any changes to the curriculum. My office hours..." A wave of the wand brought up the information on a wheeled chalkboard[1] "should you need to talk about getting the right books. But don't worry, today we'll be brushing off Hogwarts, A History. I know the text was mentioned on your acceptance letters."

"But there are spare copies available for the time being. In case several of you have found them more useful to balance your bed-frame instead of reading, thereby leaving them in your dorm-rooms." Another wave of Sissel's wand and the cabinet doors under a display of artifacts opened to reveal worn copies.

"Let's get things started!" Sissel whooped. "You've all lived at Hogwarts for a bit now, a couple of weeks. Who wants to introduce themselves and say their favorite aspect about the castle? Volunteers?"

1.	OOC: In the Classroom Link in the Header

Dessa wasn't too terribly excited about History of Magic class. She'd be lying if she claimed to have heard good things about it. Still, the teacher seemed excitable, and she was instinctively interested in the whole idea of learning about the past of this crazy world.

After a few more moments of quiet deliberation, her hand shot straight up in the air, knocking her books off the desk in the process and creating far more of a clatter than such a simple action should ever be capable of. "Whoops..." she muttered, glancing down at the mess. "Oh well. I'll get that in a second..." her eyes moved up to the teacher, looking at her expectantly and with perhaps a hint of amusement--she certainly hoped so, because she never got on well with professors who found themselves incapable of putting up with her antics. She cleared her throat and pulled herself up to her full, entirely un-formidable height of four feet eleven inches.

"Hi, I'm Dessa Share. I guess my favorite thing about the castle is the staircases, cause it's really fun to jump from one to the other right when they're about to move, and I play this game where I try to get to a certain door without using any of the staircases that are already connected to it, and it's loads of fun, as long as I don't bump anyone, although yesterday I hit that nasty cat of Filch's and..." she trailed off, realizing that she'd been talking a mile a minute, and that she may have said too much. "Anyway, yeah. Staircases. Cool stuff."

Blossom wasn't sure which was worse, the ghost who did his best to put the class to sleep or their new 'permanent' professor.  He just seemed a little too enthusiastic about teaching a subject that was essentially a list of facts about old wizards.  He'd slowly been learning to keep his foot out of his mouth, so when the professor called for the students to say what they liked about Hogwart's, he bit his tongue rather than simply announcing the fact that he liked the fact that he wasn't living with the Muggleborn.  When he raised his hand, he had something far less damning to say.

"My name is Blossom Rose," he said, standing.  He'd lost the blush that usually came when he introduced himself in the first two weeks.  "The things I like best about the castle are the library, because of all the amazing books I haven't had the chance to read yet and the gardens for the herbology classes, which are world class."  Short and to the point.  He looked at Dessa, trying not to smirk. 

“I like the Quidditch pitch myself,” said Ted, so close on Rose’s heels that he nearly cut the Slytherin off mid-sentence. “You want to talk about world-class, that's the place to start. Can’t wait until the first game. I’m Ted by the way.”

He sat behind Dessa, all bright-eyed and blue-haired, kicking his sneaker-clad feet under the desk and smiling like a loon. He'd not thrown in his family name for a reason -- the last thing he needed to hear today was, "Aah, Remus Lupin's boy," which is what Professor Binns had said. And he didn't much appreciate the haughty look that Rose gave his house-mate, so he stuck his tongue out at the other boy before turning back to their teacher, blowing a mess of turquoise bangs out of his eye.

“Nice to have you, Professor. Lucked out, you did. Anybody'd look exciting next to Binns.”

Alice sat in the front row, a large scroll in front of her, two ink wells, and three quills. Her History of Magic book had been set to the right of her on the desk. If there was one thing Alice organized, it was her desk. And she planned on keeping it that way. Alice pushed the corner of her book slightly to the right, making it sit straight.

She loved History of Magic. By the ways Mark had described it, it seemed exciting and daring. She couldn't wait to begin to have a standard teacher, and begin to learn. She was rubbish at flying, and in charms, she rarely got as lucky as she did in the first class with the levitation spell. Astronomy she could do- it was studying and looking. Alice needed things that went by the book. It was the way she learned.

Alice raised her hand silently, a little apprehensive about speaking. The turquoise haired boy she recognized instantly. That was Teddy Lupin. She couldn't believe she was looking at him. HIM! The boy she had secretly loved since she was six. Well, you can't exactly love at six, but he was her age! He lived with the Boy Who Lived! And, he was rather handsome, if she said herself, though she never would have.

"I'm Alice. Alice Hunter. I'm a Hufflepuff, and my favorite part of this school has to be the library. It has books on virtually everything! I was doing some research on the history of Unicorn hair and it's magical properties! So very interesting professor!" Alice became quite red in the face. How embarrassing. Truly embarrassing. What would Jane say right now? What? That you were a weirdo. Expect nothing different, Alice. Nothing different. She thought to herself.

Dessa shot a glare Rose's way in response to his smug look. She was so sick of his acting as he were superior to her. Good for him, he liked the library and the gardens. He probably thought she was some kind of moron. Dessa liked to read too, not that he would bother learning that before assuming otherwise.

That kid thought he was just the bee's knees, the cat's pajamas, the...she shook her head to clear it of pointless adages, and between revolutions, her eyes caught a flash of turquoise. She blinked and saw a fellow firstie Gryffindor, his tongue waving at Rose, his eyes dancing mischievously. Her face split into a grin as the kid turned back forward and scraped blue hair out of his eyes. "Thanks," she mouthed.

She wondered idly about the hair. Was it dyed with some kind of potion--or even the old Muggle way, out of a box? Or was blue hair some kind of normal trait in the wizarding world. Her eyes wandered over to Alice as her friend introduced herself. She saw Alice's eyes dancing repeatedly over the blue-haired boy--Teddy--and raised her eyebrows at her friend. She wanted to ask Alice if she knew the kid, but she also knew Alice well enough to be aware that she would be rather disapproving of whispering in class.

Ah, first years! Much more eager than the lazy fifth years he dealt with this morning.

"Mrs. Norris is still here?" Sissel was shocked and amazed. Filch's damn cat. He'd thought the crotchety old Squib had literally kicked the bucket in the Battle of Hogwarts. No wait, that was too mean of wishful thinking. "You'll find that Mr. Filch finally retired away to a shack in Hogsmeade in the post-war years. Hogwarts was all he really had I suppose, reason to stick close. And I guess that would give Mrs. Norris room to continue to romp about the castle. So stick to the rules Dessa or she might hiss at you." Or worse, scratch if the mangy cat wasn't both blind and dull clawed in her age. At least the next generation of Hogwartians would be spared the horror of a wheezing geriatric man bursting out from behind a tapestry to descend on troublemakers.

But damn, Mrs. Norris had been no spring kitten when Sissel was graduating. What did that make her in cat years? Five-hundred sixty three? She and Filch were remarkably well preserved for their age.

The library and greenhouses where becoming increasingly popular. "Ah yes, Blossom, you would like the greenhouses." The Roses and their plants. Fragrant yet repeatedly thorny. "For nearly three centuries after the school was founded Herbology was a seasonal course because there were no proper greenhouses. Classes would occasionally exist in enchanted rooms or even in plotted fields in the Forbidden Forest, until the rise of the 'modern' approach of greenhouses where developed in 13th century Italy. Since then the greenhouses, as a unit, have been rebuilt and moved several times."

Sissel sharp eyes didn't miss all the little nuances in the student body. "No making eyes to your sweetheart during class, Blossom."

"World class Quidditch pitch indeed, Ted," Sissel smiled at the Gryffindor with the wrong colored hair for his house. "Our pitch is actually based on the first popular quidditch stadium design introduced at the very first Quidditch World Cup in 1473, although we can't be too sure because the original was destroyed in the course of the match. That lead to the first of major overhauls to the referee system for the sport, which is why you don't see nearly the same number of several hundred fouls in today's matches plus the lack of other player transfigurations, broadswords, and vampire bats."

"No raspberries in class, Ted," Sissel chided. "Unless it's the fruit and you have plenty to share."

Alice instantly made the top of the list, so far, for her dedication into looking into magic. Sissel remembered apathetically hating the library in his years, so finding two that enjoyed it right off the beater's bat was promising. "In the modern day the library of Hogwarts is practically unparalleled as a source of magical knowledge, although tackling this mountain can prove difficult, overwhelming and challenging. The library as we know it has been slowly built text by text from the original scrolls gathered be the founders to the latest scholarly reports of the magical world. And over the years the library has survived events catastrophic and surreal. Fires, flood, spontaneous combustion, extreme interior climate change, stampeding buffalo and the rare sighting of an orangutan trailing string. No reports of where the string led."

"But can anyone guess the one thing the library lacks a section on?" Sissel posed the question to get the rest of the class involved. "Who else has a favorite aspect of the castle?"

Dilly raised her hand. "I bet the Library doesn't have a section with Muggle books," she said, thinking the librarian didn't seem that friendly to Muggle-born students. Or to anyone else, really.  "That seems like an oversight to me. Because Statute or no Statute, there have to have been times when Muggle and Magical History intersected. Say during the Wars of the Roses, or...you know. Oliver Cromwell. Matthew Hopkins..."

"As for places I like...there's the Lake. That Giant Squid is awesome! And I like the corrals. Those...um, bony-looking horses are pretty interesting." She still didn't know what Thestrals were...or that not everyone could see them.

"As for the castle, I like the whole place. When I was a little kid I used to pretend I lived in a castle..." She grinned. "But then, who didn't? The Moving Staircases though...they can be fun, but you gotta watch yourself. I slipped in that step that gives way, grabbed for the nearest banister and got myself a splinter under the fingernail..."

Turning, she smiled at Ted. "Nice hair," she murmured. Oddly enough, she really meant it.

She was never one to jump into anything without thinking about it and so she quite happily sat back and listened to what her classmates had to say before she took her turn to speak. She listened and she watched, for her father had taught her that people revealed a lot about themselves by the way they sat and moved and in the clothes they wore. It was a part of his job as a lawyer to watch people in this way and Laine tried to emulate her father whenever possible.

She had taken a seat near the Slytherin boy. Her Father had been a Slytherin and Laine had found, during her short time here, that she tended to prefer the more mellow and generally more refined company of those of her own house and of the snakes.
The castle was magnificent and she was still getting used to living in such a wonderful place. The reality of it had been so much more wondrous than the enthusiastic descriptions that her Father had shared with her before she arrived. It was hard to choose a single place that she liked best. She wondered briefly if they would be judged on their choices and her grey eyes flicked up to watch their professor as she pursed her lips thoughtfully.

Her expression turned to a small frown as she saw Teddy’s disrespectful display.

“So childish...” she sighed in disapproval.

Favourite aspect... hmm, she knew what that word meant and it didn’t necessarily have to be a certain place in the castle. She raised her hand politely, her pale pink nail varnish shimmering in the light from the windows.

“I like the being part of the history of the castle itself, that’s my favourite aspect, that we’ll all become part of the story of this place whether its winning quidditch trophies or the house cup or becoming successful and well known once we leave. There’s a few of us that will eventually be written about in books just like this.”

She stroked her fingers over her crisp new copy of their textbook and Laine allowed herself to smile because she had every intention of one day being written about, just like how her Father’s name was often in the Prophet when he was taking part in a high profile case, or how students in the Muggle world would write about her Mother’s skill in designing clothes.

“Does the library really not have Muggle books?” She glanced briefly at Dilly, not knowing the girl’s name then back at the professor her brow wrinkled slightly with concern. She hadn’t had chance to explore far into the vast library, she doubted she’d see everything that was in there even if she read every day of the 7 years she’s spend here. “That would be a shame... the Muggle world has just as much history and just as many stories and thinkers and scientists as the Magical world.”

"Yes, Professor," said Ted, obedient but not appropriately apologetic. Being scolded did nothing to kill his bright mood, especially since the quip to Rose had been equally fun. Ted propped his head up on his elbow and listened to the teacher's ramblings on the history of each person's favorite location. So that was his game, then. Clever bugger, this Professor Jowd.

After a moment, Ted got the odd feeling he was being watched, and turn to catch the eye of a mousy-looking Hufflepuff girl with glasses. Alice Hunter, she called herself. She looked almost embarrassed to have spoken up, which just wouldn't do. Ted gave her an encouraging grin to bolster her confidence a bit before turning back face-forward and catching Morris's compliment.

"Thanks," he said out of the corner of his mouth. "Good answer." He wondered what info Jowd had stored about the lake. Maybe they'd trip him up a bit.

“Does the library really not have Muggle books?" asked a somewhat haughty-looking Ravenclaw girl, the one who'd called him childish earlier. Ted decided to chime in.

"That's what I heard. My aunt used to say it was the only thing that disappointed her about it. Otherwise I think she might have lived in the library, given half a chance."

Lexi had sat down near Alice, she observed as her hufflepuff friend eyed Teddy Lupin. What did she see in him? He was a standoffish type, and that bright blue hair was just that. Bright. Blue. So not normal. But he was a Gryffindor, so she figured he was good enough.

She listened up to the conversation going on in the classroom, they were talking about the library. Ugh, books. Lexi raised her hand after Teddy was done talking about his aunt who apparently wanted to live in the library.

"I'm not too fond of the library, well, I like some of the books but that's alot of information in one place. I do love the Quidditch pitch. And the field where we were learning how to fly." Lexi said smiling, just the thought of being up in the air made her heart flutter. It was the best part of Hogwarts, to her. Flying class and watching Quidditch practice. She couldn't wait for the games.

Blossom's cheeks flushed again but he held his tongue.  Dessa was most certainly NOT his sweetheart.  As if she would be so lucky.  Perhaps it might be said that he had the tiniest bit of grudging respect for her but it wasn't something he would ever admit out loud.

At least the Ravenclaw beside him had some idea as to how to properly behave.  She was also right about how their names might one day be written into the history of Hogwart's, like the day he crushed Rico and Mercedes Posada and then moved on to their parents.  Technically he'd only need to deal with their father.  Their mother wasn't truly part of the blood line.

He listened to the others prattle on about the lake and the squid and flying.  They were all just such Muggles at heart.  Who cared if the library didn't have a muggle section.  It's not like it needed one.  He perked up when Dilly mentioned the War of the Roses.  He wasn't surprised at all to learn that his family's savage feud with the Posadas had spilled over into the muggle world.

Dessa immediately disliked the blonde-haired Ravenclaw, who's behavior and tone clearly stated that she thought herself to be head and shoulders above the rest of them. A modicum of respect was grudgingly awarded for the girl's seeming disappointment at the lack of Muggle books in the library, which still disappointed Dessa to no end.

 At least she wasn't some sort of Purist whacko, like, say, Rose.

Speaking of which, him as her sweetheart? Dessa had to purse her lips to keep from either sneering or laughing--she wasn't quite sure which might happen if she were to relax. The only time she could think of that he'd ever seemed worthy of anything other than her loathing was in DADA when he'd blasted the boy who had almost killed Anni. But surely that had to be some kind of fluke.

Dessa nodded in enthusiastic agreement when Lexi spoke of the Quidditch pitch, shocked that she hadn't thought of it. Jumping from staircase to staircase might have been fun, but flying? There was nothing else in the world like it. She couldn't wait until next year when she could try out for her house team. Suddenly a question struck her, and she raised her hand before she could consider that it might annoy the professor. She wanted to know how long Quidditch had been around--at the school, and in general--and who better to ask than a History (of Magic) teacher?

"Excellently put, Delia! Five points to Gryffindor." Not that Sissel was prejudiced, of course, but it was always nice to see his old House earn points. "You've got to watch those stairs, switching sides and sinking steps." She was also an unusual student, as she had lived on the grounds before she was ever sorted into the castle.

"Hmm, nicely put Alaine. Three points to Ravenclaw for originality and building from Delia's reasoning. This is an important lesson I want you all to learn. Everyone can leave their impact on History. The past is past but the present will soon be gone, to be a past for those in the future. Be it simple or extraordinary, you can all achieve something that will be remembered. Even if you don't get a plaque in the Trophy Room for it."

But then not everyone liked the library. Sissel wondered, briefly, which aunt Ted was referring to but this wasn't the time. "That's all right, Alexandra. I'll admit that at your age you'd fine me more by the Quidditch pitch than the library. I didn't appreciate it until I was through half of my schooling. Had some sweet but brief memories on a broom." Maybe he could teach them some of his moves one day. Or...not, actually. Until they were of age and signed a wavier. Sissel had chanced things in the aerial arena so many times that the chances were staggering that he had survived. Multiply that by dozens of youngster and someone could wind up in the Hospital Wing. Err, Hut.

"Alright then," Sissel moved with a sudden start, back to the lectern where a flick of his toe brought the doormat into the air. He caught it and rolled it under his arm. "Why just talk about our favorite parts of the castle when we can actually see them? Grab your walking shoes and your copies of Hogwarts, A History. These will be our guides. Your other things will be safe in the classroom, we'll come back just before bell."

He was halfway to the door. "Keep close and keep quiet so we don't interrupt any classes in session. If we're too loud they might not let us do this again in the future. The moment you see something that interests you, point it out. We have our books and our senses to see it from all sides."

Sissel waited until the last student left the room before locking it with his wand. Then they were off.

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((OOC: Students are encouraged to point out features of the castle! The Harry Potter Wiki or Lexicon should give you ideas. There's no official layout to Hogwarts so use your common sense of how close or far apart somethings might be. Be mindful of where we are.

Class is currently on the First Floor.))

Blossom's eyebrows rose.  A tour of the school?  Now?  Surely even the first years were familiar enough with the school that a tour wasn't necessary.  He followed the professor, a dog eared and decades out of date History of Hogwart's tucked under his arm.

The same hallway held the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom.  They didn't dare attract the ire of professor Storm.  There would be consequences for certain.  Blossom tried to walk on tiptoes, just in case.  A loud crowd in the hall would certainly attract professor Storm's attention and it was highly unlikely that the muggleborn and the halfbreeds understood the gravity of the situation.