The first floor was... certainly busier in a different way than Professor Schirmer's own usual haunt of the third level. Less injured children she supposed, and more Dash. She wondered if the professors of the first floor were more social as a result and made up her mind to befriend the healer. Third floor solidarity.

The classroom she'd chosen for the defense lesson had been one of her favourites as a student, and the tall blonde woman was a little bit dismayed to see how dusty and unused it was. Really, Hogwarts was it so hard to keep yourself clean? Even with elves that were off doing goodness knew what? A few quick charms and minutes later the room was sparkling.

Literally.

Unlike most of the Defense rooms, this one featured bright windows that allowed the light to stream in, diffused with colours and generally giving the room a bright and happy feel. The view looked out over the lake. There were no desks or chairs in the room and even the professor took a seat on the ground, waiting there with her feet tucked up comfortably beneath her for the students to arrive. She had a stack of books next to her and looked serene, if a bit distant.

When it was time, she charmed the doors to open, and greeted the students as they begin to file in.

ooc: the lesson will begin approximately 7.5 hours from the time of this post I'm simply opening it now so you can post arriving if you want to. The lesson has begun! Please act as if you were here all along if you haven't yet posted, latecomers will likely lose points. Please remember to follow Professor Schirmer's rules which can be found here.





Questions:
What do you know, or think you know, about the Patronus Charm?

Discuss amongst yourselves some famous witches and wizards and their known Patronus forms. Given what we know about them; their achievements, their experiences, what do you think their Patronus form indicates about their personalities?

For those of you who can cast a Corporeal Patronus and know what form it takes, see if you can match up how it fits your personality. Younger students, you can work with students who do have a known Spirit Guardian, or you can look up mine, which is a Dove, or Headmaster Tate's which is a Mountain Goat, or that of another adult you know, even some of the historical figures we were discussing.

"I want you to think of your happiest memory. Something strong enough that you can focus on it easily, maybe something that makes you smile. It doesn't have to be relating to love. If you have more than one, lucky you! You can experiment to see which is best. You don't have to share it if you don't want to, but feel free to put your hand up and share if you do.

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Levitation party activity! Click here for instructions. Read the post carefully and please take note of your classmates posts following this one too. Worth ten points!

edit: Activity still running, only please focus on the third part, AKA testing out your happy memory with a levitation potion.

The party is still going, you can help yourself to food or drink while we wait for a guest fetched via a patronus message. In the meantime the professor wants to know who can cast a patronus already and whether its corporeal or non-corporeal.


PLEASE be realistic with your character's abilities. The patronus charm is ADVANCED magic and little firsties should NOT be able to manage it. For the purposes of this class please pay attention to the following:

6th & 7th years: May be able to cast a corporeal or non-corporeal patronus, depending on character's skill level and experience. May learn how to do one or the other during the lesson.

5th years: May be able to cast non-corporeal patronus, depending on character's skill level and experience, very FEW and RARELY may a 5th year manage a corporeal patronus. May learn how to do one or the other during the lesson.

4th years: Depending on character's skill level and experience, very FEW and RARELY may a 4th year manage a non-corporeal patronus. May learn a non-corporeal patronus during the lesson.

3rd years: Depending on character's skill level and experience, may learn a non-corporeal patronus during the lesson. But its okay for them NOT to learn how yet too.

1st & 2nd years: Depending on character's skill level and experience, may learn an UNSTABLE non-corporeal patronus during the lesson. This means they might manage a slight whisp, but otherwise should NOT be able to cast a patronus. Its okay for them NOT to learn how yet too.

When we get to the spell casting aspect of the lesson, please note that anyone not being realistic may have their post edited or deleted, which I don't WANT to do but we're not all Harry Potter! For reference, Althea learned hers in 6th year non-corporeally, and managed a corporeal patronus in 7th year. Remember, just because your character might not be able to do it yet, it doesn't mean they never will!


As you saw, Professor Scabior came because I sent him a Patronus message. What do you think are the benefits of communicating via Patronus?

"Alright are you all ready to give it a go? Stand up if you are and make sure you give each other a bit of space. Wands out. The incantation is Expecto Patronum. Ecks-PEK-toh pa-TRO-num. You simply need to point your wand and focus really hard on that strong happy memory. Practice the incantation a few times to get the hang of it and then you may start. Those of you who can already manage it, please do encourage the younger ones and let them see how you do it. I have an activity for you too, that we'll start in a little while!"

Please note, I'm waiting to get an all clear regarding the recent Malware threat on SS before continuing, not because of any risk, rather because several people may be staying away right now and I'd rather be sure nobody is left at a disadvantage because they don't feel safe accessing the site. Expect that the lesson will continue on sunday. Everything is all clear Sorry for any trouble.

The latest instructions can be found in this post.