SnitchSeeker.com - View Single Post - History of Magic lesson 1

Goblinfrog · 02-06-2018, 06:02 PM

Charles listened as the students gave their knowledge of Umbridge. Occasionally he would provide commentary but mostly he just listened. It was impressive how much knowledge some of his students possessed on the subject.

"You are quite right, Daisy," he said, nodding approvingly at the Hufflepuff. "Dolores did indeed have a Squib brother and Muggle mother, and both she and her father rejected them. Five points to Hufflepuff for knowing about that." Well done indeed. "And yes, she did have a very short wand, and short wands have a history of selecting people lacking moral character," he said in reply to Vi. "Five points to Gryffindor for knowing that. Now in her case, that rule proved true. However, none of you should be discouraged if you have a short wand. There are exceptions to nearly every rule, and there are other reasons why a wand could be shorter than average." Because he had not had a chance to look at all his students wands, he had no way of knowing if any had short wands - and he obviously didn't want them to feel bad if they did.

Another interesting comment came from Skylar. "She was indeed very ambitious. While at Hogwarts she had hoped to become head girl or prefect if head girl was unavailable, but she never did get any leadership position of anything while a student. It was later said that this made her feel deprived and more determined than ever to achieve leadership at the Ministry. In less than a year after graduating, she was already an intern working at the Improper Use of Magic Office. In a surprisingly short amount of time she became head of that office." Which would have made her sound admirable (in his opinion) if not for the cruelty and obsession with blood that she was also known for.

"Afterwards, she pressured her father to resign from his job at the Ministry and next she forced him out of public life completely. This was so she could make the claim that both her parents had magic blood. I can't say I feel much sympathy for him, seeing how he renounced his own wife and son for similar reasons. Some scholars have speculated this insecurity on her own heritage inflamed her obsession with blood 'purity.' But that's getting a little off topic." He continued. "One of her more infamous achievements was the introduction of a draconian anti-werewolf piece of legislation that prevented werewolves from having a job. It should be noted that this law inadvertently helped Voldemort recruit werewolves to his cause. Isolating them from polite society made Voldemort's offer of a better life more seductive and believable than it would have been otherwise. The lack of a strong support system in their lives made them desperate and bitter. But we're getting off topic again." Switching gears back to Umbridge, he continued.

"When Voldemort DID return, the Ministry was in denial and was seeking to discredit the few people warning of the coming danger. This included Headmaster Albus Dumbledore, and young student of Hogwarts, Harry Potter. Umbridge was sent to Hogwarts by the Minsitry to be the defense Against the Dark Arts professor. At the time, the job was jinxed and no professor was able to maintain the post for more than a year. The jinx would claim her too, but not before she wrecked considerable damage to this school. She did not teach students how to defend themselves, but rather taught them theories on why they should NOT even attempt to defend themselves and attempted to punish students who tried to teach other or themselves. This was obviously the most unhelpful thing she could have done at a time when Voldemort was on the rise. Eventually she was given the previously non-existent position of Hogwarts High Inquisitor, giving her sweeping powers over the other staff, second only to the headmaster. With her ambition and the Ministries fear of Dumbledore combined, it was only a matter of time before she was installed as headmistress. The ambitious student who never achieved her desire of becoming a prefect would eventually became headmistress. ZITA is right, she was selected by the Ministry to take down Albus Dumbledore (perhaps the greatest wizard who has ever lived) because of her skills, knowledge, and ruthlessness."

Zoryn kind of ruined the epicness of the moment with a certaib comment about a bridge. "Huh?" he said. "Oh no. Amusng as that would be, I'm afraid she was never pushed under a bridge, at least not that we're aware of." What an image!

"In the end, the same jinx that punished the other defense against the dark arts teachers got her, when she was captured by centaurs and fired from her post as headmistress. This was aboviously triggered by the appearance of Voldemort at the Ministry in the Department of Mysteries. Then the truth was out. Umbridge continued to work at the Ministry, but we are not going to discuss what came next for the moment. Instead I want to touch on something one of you said, because it relates to the core of this lesson."

And here he turned to young Patrick. "You said something interesting just a moment ago, what was it? That Umbridge posted rules forbidding students to act the way most students act, to suppress their nature. That's a very interesting observation." He stood up and addressed his next comments to the entire class. "During her reign of terror, Headmistress Umbridge signed many decrees into law. I am interested to hear what you know about these decrees. Can anyone name one? What were the punishments for breaking them? Which decree do you believe was the worst? Do you believe any of the decrees were justified? What do you think you would have done if you had lived at Hogwarts during this time and had to follow these rules? Lots of questions here, you don't have to answer them all. One or two will do just fine!"

Oh, the quills. Shera had an understandable question about them. "Don't worry, these quills are non-magical. No one teaching today would ever dream of punishing you like that."

OOC: Sorry I couldn't respond to all. Everyone had good answers. We'll move on to the activity portion soon!

02-06-2018, 06:02 PM	#48 (permalink)
Goblinfrog Billywig Join Date: Feb 2013 Location: Riley's Brain Posts: 3,262 Hogwarts RPG Name: Lola A. Second Year	Mischievous Niffler Charles listened as the students gave their knowledge of Umbridge. Occasionally he would provide commentary but mostly he just listened. It was impressive how much knowledge some of his students possessed on the subject. "You are quite right, Daisy," he said, nodding approvingly at the Hufflepuff. "Dolores did indeed have a Squib brother and Muggle mother, and both she and her father rejected them. Five points to Hufflepuff for knowing about that." Well done indeed. "And yes, she did have a very short wand, and short wands have a history of selecting people lacking moral character," he said in reply to Vi. "Five points to Gryffindor for knowing that. Now in her case, that rule proved true. However, none of you should be discouraged if you have a short wand. There are exceptions to nearly every rule, and there are other reasons why a wand could be shorter than average." Because he had not had a chance to look at all his students wands, he had no way of knowing if any had short wands - and he obviously didn't want them to feel bad if they did. Another interesting comment came from Skylar. "She was indeed very ambitious. While at Hogwarts she had hoped to become head girl or prefect if head girl was unavailable, but she never did get any leadership position of anything while a student. It was later said that this made her feel deprived and more determined than ever to achieve leadership at the Ministry. In less than a year after graduating, she was already an intern working at the Improper Use of Magic Office. In a surprisingly short amount of time she became head of that office." Which would have made her sound admirable (in his opinion) if not for the cruelty and obsession with blood that she was also known for. "Afterwards, she pressured her father to resign from his job at the Ministry and next she forced him out of public life completely. This was so she could make the claim that both her parents had magic blood. I can't say I feel much sympathy for him, seeing how he renounced his own wife and son for similar reasons. Some scholars have speculated this insecurity on her own heritage inflamed her obsession with blood 'purity.' But that's getting a little off topic." He continued. "One of her more infamous achievements was the introduction of a draconian anti-werewolf piece of legislation that prevented werewolves from having a job. It should be noted that this law inadvertently helped Voldemort recruit werewolves to his cause. Isolating them from polite society made Voldemort's offer of a better life more seductive and believable than it would have been otherwise. The lack of a strong support system in their lives made them desperate and bitter. But we're getting off topic again." Switching gears back to Umbridge, he continued. "When Voldemort DID return, the Ministry was in denial and was seeking to discredit the few people warning of the coming danger. This included Headmaster Albus Dumbledore, and young student of Hogwarts, Harry Potter. Umbridge was sent to Hogwarts by the Minsitry to be the defense Against the Dark Arts professor. At the time, the job was jinxed and no professor was able to maintain the post for more than a year. The jinx would claim her too, but not before she wrecked considerable damage to this school. She did not teach students how to defend themselves, but rather taught them theories on why they should NOT even attempt to defend themselves and attempted to punish students who tried to teach other or themselves. This was obviously the most unhelpful thing she could have done at a time when Voldemort was on the rise. Eventually she was given the previously non-existent position of Hogwarts High Inquisitor, giving her sweeping powers over the other staff, second only to the headmaster. With her ambition and the Ministries fear of Dumbledore combined, it was only a matter of time before she was installed as headmistress. The ambitious student who never achieved her desire of becoming a prefect would eventually became headmistress. ZITA is right, she was selected by the Ministry to take down Albus Dumbledore (perhaps the greatest wizard who has ever lived) because of her skills, knowledge, and ruthlessness." Zoryn kind of ruined the epicness of the moment with a certaib comment about a bridge. "Huh?" he said. "Oh no. Amusng as that would be, I'm afraid she was never pushed under a bridge, at least not that we're aware of." What an image! "In the end, the same jinx that punished the other defense against the dark arts teachers got her, when she was captured by centaurs and fired from her post as headmistress. This was aboviously triggered by the appearance of Voldemort at the Ministry in the Department of Mysteries. Then the truth was out. Umbridge continued to work at the Ministry, but we are not going to discuss what came next for the moment. Instead I want to touch on something one of you said, because it relates to the core of this lesson." And here he turned to young Patrick. "You said something interesting just a moment ago, what was it? That Umbridge posted rules forbidding students to act the way most students act, to suppress their nature. That's a very interesting observation." He stood up and addressed his next comments to the entire class. "During her reign of terror, Headmistress Umbridge signed many decrees into law. I am interested to hear what you know about these decrees. Can anyone name one? What were the punishments for breaking them? Which decree do you believe was the worst? Do you believe any of the decrees were justified? What do you think you would have done if you had lived at Hogwarts during this time and had to follow these rules? Lots of questions here, you don't have to answer them all. One or two will do just fine!" Oh, the quills. Shera had an understandable question about them. "Don't worry, these quills are non-magical. No one teaching today would ever dream of punishing you like that." OOC: Sorry I couldn't respond to all. Everyone had good answers. We'll move on to the activity portion soon! Last edited by Goblinfrog; 02-06-2018 at 06:20 PM.