_{Friday 12 March 2010 | 0800-0900 hrs | Grounds and Gardens}

______________
[O+12] Gloria Gibbon
______________
[O+0] Katy Bevans
______________
[O+0] Kelvin Watkins
[O+0] Zoe Torret
[O+7] Addison Rockwell
[O+7] Alvis Norling
[O+0] Cyhirae Trishna
______________
[O+11] Amara Báthory
______________
[guest+12]Frank Sellaphix

The air was still chilly, but nothing a warm scarf and stiff gloves couldn't fix. Behind a bushy beard, a red nose poked forth, a trail of smoke pouring steadily from the mouth directly underneath. A smile lifted the pint-sized man's features and a twinkle filled his beady eyes. Today would be a good day, of that Henry had no doubts. He'd settled into the castle pretty well and though some of the students were as hard-headed as a Hungarian Horntail, he still cared for them all deeply.

He looked out at the crowd assembled before him, most standing head and shoulders above him, and smiled warmly. Instead of tamping out his Cardiff weed, which was his wont in class, he took another long drag and allowed the smoke to spill warmly from his mouth. The grey vapor twisted itself into the head of a dragon before dissipating in the wind.

Henry knew that most felt like arithmancy was a boring subject and it was for that reason that the professor had decided to host class on the grounds of the school.

"G' mornin'," he called out, his booming voice carrying easily across the class assembled before him. "Right, taday yer gonna learn a new side 'a arithmancy. We studied sides 'a you extensively, but what 'bout creatures and objects long gone?" Henry let the class ponder for a moment before continuing, "learnin' yer past is an excellent way to help shape yer future. Anyone know why? Five points to the first correct answer."

Gloria Gibbon was not worried about the chill as she had all her matching gloves and scarf. Gryffindor colors. Though her earmuffs didn't match because they were for Herbology. She was hoping the weather would warm up some more soon.

Professor MacLeod's question about arithmancy and creatures soon had Gloria's hand waving, although she was towards the front of the group so that might not have been needed. "Ooooh, Professor! Has it anything to do with how some creatures represent numbers in runes?"

There were ones like quintapeds for 5, graphorns for 2, but you rarely saw any creature that represented a number all that often. Though for the case where demiguise was zero that was creature you wouldn't see anyways.

The Báthory heiress never much cared for the outdoors, especially when it came to classes, exceptions being Herbology and Creatures, but she was more than satisfied with a rigid classroom setting for Arithmancy. Which is why, Amara's mouth was currently set in a tight line and her eyebrows slightly drawn towards the middle. She was dead-set on concentrating on the class and the class alone today, to keep her mind in focus, but, especially, her temper under control. Now, how could she do that if the environment kept changing?

Well, at least some thing never changed, she thought as she rolled her eyes at Gibbon's absolute awkwardness. Whatever went through that girl's brain? How did she even function? Drumming her fingers on her thigh, she crinkled her nose, debating on her next actions for a second. In the end, her hand raised in the air lazily.

"We tend to use our memories of past experiences to predict what our life could be in the future. Technically however, history doesn't really have a past, it is but a present, just not our present. And as history is made, it also becomes a factor in our future decision. We relate our own future to our own past experiences that might be familiar in the context of said future. Studying the past from different perspectives with its causes and its effects, relating our present to the past, and our future present to our future past will inadvertently influence our future decisions, thus, basically shaping our future" she shrugged, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. "History is dynamic, it's a continuum from past to future. It shouldn't really be viewed as a set of separate entities" she finished with an apathetic jolt of her eyebrows.

"Mr. Sellaphix. A word?"

The Headmistress had called over the obedient little first year as everyone was rushing off from breakfast for their first class.  He'd stood before Professor McGonagall worried and wondering what he was in trouble for.  But it wasn't anything bad! In fact, it was kind of exciting.

---

He raced out of the castle as fast as his legs would carry him, and followed the path down to where the Headmistress said he could find Professor MacLeod.  Frank had seen him many times now, but Arithmancy was a class only the older students got to take.  A little note was clutched in his gloved hand and it felt like he bore a great burden to some amazing destination.  Like Frodo and the ring! Except MacLeod wasn't a lord of ancient evil.  Just a funny little wizard who liked numbers and smoked like a chimney.

At that thought, he thought that he could smell the smoke before he saw the group huddled in the gardens.  The small-statured professor was there nearly hidden by the huddle of tall older students.  Frank crept in at the edges and hesititated to make himself known.  He wanted to hear what secret magic was being taught.

Alvis hovered in the back of the class, well enough heart of the group to avoid too much 'feedback' but close enough to hear Professor MacLeod's lecture. He had to resist the urge to crouch down to better hear the tiny man. He got the feeling that might be considered rude.

He tugged at his thick Ravenclaw scarf and rolled the question around in his mind, trying to puzzle it out from the perspective of the class's subject matter. "In terms of numbers, your birthday -- which could be considered the beginning of your past -- is used to calculate your Life Path number, your pinnacles, and your challenges, as well as your personal resonance with the current year, month, and day. Taken together , that information can form a sort of suggestive road-map to guide through the future. The way you react to the previous challenges and pinnacles can also inform how you handle those to come."

He cocked his head with a pensive frown, but the correct answer failed to rattle loose. "But all of that's still personal arithmancy. I'm not sure how it can be applied to beings and objects from the past."

Tugging her Ravenclaw scarf lightly to block out the chill, Addison listened to Professor MacLeod's very short opening lecture. He seemed quick to throw out an open-ended question at them already, which seemed like it had several answers related to them.

Addison quietly listened as her classmates offered their guesses as to what their Professor expected in an answer. While doing so, she thought about the question herself. How was arithmancy used for past creatures and objects? That was the essential question. Feeling that it was at least worth a try to answer the question, she raised her hand.

"Well, Arithmancy is all about using numbers to help understand the present and to collectively predict the future. To help understand the past, couldn't the numbers be used in the same way? I mean, creatures undoubtedly have some form of a personality. It may not be the same as our personality, but it could be used to explain why certain creatures did what they did. As for objects, could numbers be used to understand sentimental value and why certain people had certain objects?"

The pint-sized professor smiled as the class started rambling off answers. Some, he had to admit, were extremely well thought out, and for the slightest of moments, he wasn’t sure of the proper answer himself. It was one of the greatest perks of teaching such intelligent children, Henry thought, they always knew how to keep one on their toes.

Truthfully, Henry had never been a strict instructor, though had they been in a classroom setting, he might have felt compelled to let the students know that speaking out of turn wasn’t exactly something he enjoyed. As it was, none of the children seemed to be speaking over one another, so he let it be. He took another long drag from his pipe, the smoke turning into a hydra before being torn apart by the brisk wind, and opened his mouth to speak.

“Have five points apiece fer such thoughtful answers,” He said, “Miss Gibbon, yer absolutely correct, runes and arithmancy have a long and colorful history together, though we’ll have ta save tha particulars fer another time. Mister Norling, though ye didn’t add anything new to tha conversation, you’ve given quite a fine summarization of what ye do know. Miss Rockwell and Miss Bathory, though yer answers were substantially different, I think ye’ve both gotten a firm grasp on what it is we’re lookin’ fer.”

“Before ye can understand anything else we’re gonna learn taday, first ye need ta understand that there’s no such thing as a ‘past’. Everything is circulatory, a never-ending loop that streams along without stopping. Is it possible ta change tha course of the past? Yes. Is it wise ta do so? No. Great witches and wizards have tried and lost more than their lives in the process. Later in yer lessons, we’ll learn ta use numerology ta show the events of tha past. Dat skill’s a bit far advanced fer yer age group, ye all still know so little about tha fundamentals of arithmancy, but never forget its importance.” The professor paused to take a deep breath (and another puff from his pipe). Lecturing could be long and boring, but necessary.

“Some of ye have asked why arithmancy’s needed fer curse-breaking. It’s not tha future ye need ta know, it’s tha past. Can ye think of what might happen if ye tried ta remove a curse, only ta realize that a newer curse had been put in place ta trick anyone tryin’ ta remove tha older one? It’d be a catastrophe, that’s what. So, taday we’ll be learnin’ a simple spell ta show tha age of an object. ‘Tis not an exact spell, ye’ll never know tha exact date somethin’ was created, but ye can learn when things ‘ave been tampered with, and ye can know if anythin’s been altered through tha years.” Another breath, another smile.

“Now any questions before we begin?” He asked, taking a long look at the class assembled before him, realizing only at the last that there was someone much too young to be a fourth year among his ranks. It took a moment for the youngster’s name to reach him, but once it did, he called out over the class in a booming voice, “Ye there, Mister Sellaphix, might I be helpin’ ye with somethin’ taday?”

---

The class is still [OPEN] for any interested parties! Hop on in and we'll get you added to the rosters.

+5 points for Gryffindor
+5 points for Slytherin
+10 points for Ravenclaw
Welcome to the class, Mr. Sellaphix!

Frank flinched out of his slack-jawed wonder at all the Professor was saying.  Time travel, curses, ancient runes, secrets! It was amazing.  But the Professor's attention had turned to him and snapped him out of it.

"Huh? Oh! Actually, yea. Um, yes.  Professor McGonagall, she, um.  Here." 

A bit nervous being addressed so forwardly and in front of all the older kids, Frank faltered a bit as he stepped forward to hand over the little folded note.  He stepped a few feet back again, and swallowed the lump in his throat.  Professor MacLeod had asked for questions and he did have one.  He inched his hand up, but no higher than his shoulders.

"Actually, I was wondering could you maybe use number runes or maths to decode a curse?"  Frank was recalling back in school learning about code-breakers in the muggle war, how they used maths to break down secret codes used by the Germans. How they could start from nothing and slowly but surely work it out.

Gloria's hand did not stay down for long after Professor MacLeod continued speaking, with his particularlly mind-blowing revelation that made her feel as if she'd been struck by a confundous charm.

"What do you mean that there's no past, professor? Can numerology be used to change the past or rather change what we know about the past?"

The professor took the note from the first year and scanned the parchment quickly. Why the headmistress had thought it important to send a student with such trivial information was beyond the part goblin, but he supposed that was why she was the head of the school and he was not. He grunted quietly under his breath before shoving the scrap into his pocket and looked back up to the class. “Thankee Mr. Sellaphix, have a couple points fer Ravenclaw,”

He paused before taking the time to answer the two questions posed to him. Both were difficult questions for completely opposite reasons. Frank was obviously an inquisitive little eagle, and Henry was loathe to ignore his requests, but Arithmancy was an elective class for a reason. There were some magics that needed a firm understanding of the basics before delving into, and Arithmancy was one of those. Giving information that Frank wasn’t ready for could do more harm than good, but either way, MacLeod didn’t see any harm in simply answering his question. Gibbon’s was a bit more difficult, as it required a firm grasp on more than one branch of magic, ones that even Henry didn’t fully understand.

“Excellent questions, five points ta each a ya. Mr. Sellaphix, in a sense, yea, one can decode a curse. There are many different factors involved, factors ye’ll learn more about in yer NEWT studies, but fer conversation, it takes a firm knowledge a runeology, arithmancy, and defense against tha dark arts. Ye can’t move inta takin’ off a curse without knowin’ what yer gettin’ inta. Can ye think of any curses that might be difficult ta remove with that method?”

To give Frank some time to think of an answer he turned his focus to Gloria, “Numerology certainly can be used ta glean information from tha past. We’ve learned how ta learn information about yer future, and what’s tha difference in movin’ forward and backward? As fer yer question about havin’ a past… well that one’s a bit more philosophical. Is it possible to change yer past? Yea. Is it wise? Nay. Terrible things have happened ta people that’ve messed with their pasts, that’s why tha Ministry controls time travel so heavily. Time is fluid, meanin’ it’s possible to change, mold it. But it can have dire consequences. If ye’d like ta discuss that topic further, we can meet after class,”

“Any other questions?”

---

+7 points for Ravenclaw
+5 points for Gryffindor

He answered!  It was working.  He was almost literally taking Arithmancy.  He'd earned points! His fellow Ravenclaws would be so jealous. Because that's the kind of house they were.  But the Professor had asked him a question!  What?

Frank's mind began racing to think of a good answer, one that would impress the older students, that would impress the teacher.  But he couldn't think of anything.  His mind was going blank on Dark Arts magic spells they were supposed to be learning about in Defense.  The Professor was speaking with another student - Gloria - for the moment, but when he was done and looked back to him, he stuttered for an answer.

"Um... actu... Imperious Curse?"

It didn't make any sense.  Frank knew it.  Dangit!

Henry chuckled as the first year spoke up, “Yer right, tha Imperious Curse would be pretty hard ta decode, mainly because it’s a curse tat takes immediate effect, instead a curses designed ta only come inta effect if ya trigger them. Take three moar points fer Ravenclaw,”

The Arithmancy’s eyes were crinkled around the edges as he looked from Frank to the rest of the class. He took a deep drag from his pipe before continuing with the lesson. “Well, if thar aren’t any more questions, we can continue. Wand’s out!” He called, pulling his own cherry wand from within his coat pocket. “Tha spell we’re learnin’ taday is called aegis revealio, a spell designed ta reveal tha age a enchantments placed on a object. It don’t always work like ye think it will, and tellin’ an exact time is almost impossible.”

“Once ye cast tha charm, enchantments on tha object will glow wit color. Tha darker tha shade, tha longer tha incantation’s been there. Different spells show wit different colors, so ye’ll be able ta tell how long tha enchantments have been on tha object from brightest ta darkest,” Henry paused in his speech to raise his wand arm above his head, in plain view of the rest of the class.

“Tha wand motion is a twist an’ a point toward tha object. An’ make sure ye get tha incantation jus’ right or ye might set off tha enchantments already on tha object an’ things could get pretty messy. Try it out, an’ call if ye need any help,”

---

+3 points for Ravenclaw

"Actually, Professor, if you wouldn't mind I do have a question" Amara eventually decided at the last minute. It was only out of a morbid sort of curiosity that she actually wanted an answer... She didn't suppose it was too healthy rummaging through the past of her own family and if she would look hard enough she could find the answer in the family chronicles. Still...

"What if it's a curse so deeply embedded into the afflicted that it has passed into the family line and every generation or so, one of the descendants will show the symptoms of the curse? Would the spell show the age of the original curse as it was passed down or only how long the current carrier has had it?" she said, absently practicing the wand movement without actually casting anything.

Henry had finished explaining the spell and its effects before Miss Báthory spoke up, and as the group of students started chattering amongst themselves, practicing the spell, Henry walked right up to the young Slytherin, chuckling under his breath. “Excellent question, Miss Báthory, take four points fer Slytherin,”

Then the tiny professor turned back toward the class, calling over the noise to make himself heard, “Tha answer is neither. Dis spell works only on objects. When ye start gettin’ inta human curses, ye start dealin’ wit medical magics. It can be real difficult an’ complicated ta figure out. Those are magics well above a fourth year course, an’ not ones covered in Arithmancy. So I guess what I’m sayin’ is that if ye were ta use dis spell on a person, nothin’ would happen,”

He then walked among the class, checking for wand placement and pronunciation. Though Henry wasn’t exactly the most eloquent of speakers, he tried to express the importance of well worded spells to his classes. When an appropriate amount of time had passed, the pint-sized professor walked back to the front of the class and opened a crate that had been seated inconspicuously nearby. Inside the box were a number of objects: broken pieces of china, stone tablets, a set of keys. “Everyone come get an item from tha box, an’ use tha spell ye just learned ta tell me if there are spells enchantin’ tha object or not, an’ if there are, how many. When yer done, yer free ta go. Call if ye need help,”

---

+4 points to Slytherin

Looks like the end of another fantastic lesson guys! Feel free to post your characters finishing their tasks, chatting with friends, and making their departures. Keep being awesome!