| Mooncalf
Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: RI/DUB
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Hogwarts RPG Name:
Addyson Lynette Dane
Ravenclaw First Year |  Slytherindor ♛ The Crazytastic Besties ♛ Shan Watson ♛
Simon loved when they had discussions. Everyone brought new facts, varying experiences, and different perspectives which made the whole journey of learning enjoyable. “Just a remember this list is not an exhaustive list of all magical schools. If we explored all of them, we’d be here for ages. I mean no bias by any of the ones mentioned just wanted to take a smattering to get our discussion kicked off,” he interjected. SPOILER!!: replies SPOILER!!: Hogwarts based answers Quote:
Originally Posted by Anna Banana  Ahh, well. It was no use. The Hufflepuff had been discovered. She'd tried, but the damage had already been done. She gave him an apologetic look then turned away. At least it'd been Hufflepuff to lose the house points. She had enough Slytherin in her to not feel that sorry for him.
Anyway, she'd been correct about the lesson begin about magical schools, founders, and houses, but she was still assuming there was more to it than just that. She watched as more and more magical schools were listed on the board. There were some she'd never even heard of. She tried to remember some of the things her mom had taught her during her homeschooling years. Let's see...
"Well, I'm a Gryffindor," she said, raising her hand. "Gryffindor was founded by Godric Gryffindor, and apparently he favors the bravest witches and wizards." It seemed kind of basic of her to say that, but she was a first year. She'd leave the in-depth answers to the Ravenclaws and the older students. Simon had noticed Delilah trying to help out her peer (Aiden) which he thought was kind of her to do so. However, everyone had to follow the rules. If not, there weren’t any rules at all. Her answer; however, brought an amused smile to his lips. He loved passionate students and this one was definitely a Gryffindor. "He does favour the brave." He ignored the painting to his left. Quote:
Originally Posted by ArianaBlack Jasper leaned forward onto his elbows and smiled despite having no idea what Valentina's answer had been about. He hadn't been paying attention, but he wasn't embarrassed about it. If nothing else, at least this could serve as his opportunity to get a good chuckle out of the rest of the class, and hopefully, make Val smile in the process. "Val's analysis was mighty thoughtful, sir. Some might even call it, inspirational." He laid it on thick, not lacking in confidence. With any luck, he'd make Prof Holden laugh too. That was the goal, after all.
Though he wasn't too thrilled about having to write an extra essay, Jas saluted Mr. Holden and flashed his pearly whites once again. "Aye, aye, sir. I'd be happy to." If he had to write an essay about anything, writing one about Valentina wasn't a bad way to go.
Again, he leaned back in his seat, this time tilting his head back and balancing his quill between his nose and upper lip. When the next question was posed, he lifted his hand into the air casually. "They play quodpot at Ilvermorny even though the rest of the world plays quidditch." It wasn't as good a sport and those were just facts. Americans were missing out. Mr. Botros’ answer caused him to chuckle. The boy was certainly good natured and very much admiring his older peer. Oh to be thirteen and hopelessly head over heels… He found himself smiling again when Jasper mentioned that he’d be HAPPY enough to write an essay on Valentina’s point. Holden was sure that there was nothing that could get this boy’s spirit down. Good natured, Botros. Good natured indeed. And he even had a good fact that Valentina hadn’t mentioned. “And what do you think of Quodpot? Are you a fan?” he asked. He had overheard conversations of Mr. Botros’ passion for Quidditch. Simon was not much of a fan himself but could respect the passion. Quote:
Originally Posted by astrocat Ash looked up from the art that she was making on top of her word search, nodding at the Nams(hi Maya! Was Evan... ok?) and Cooper(he was nice. Hi Cooper). She noted that this was a strange group. A kid with a teddy bear arriving late and 'the Hufflepuffs are plotting.' Oh well. It wasn't like she was the most inconspicuous person either.
She moved from drawing on her paper with colored pencil to drawing on her arms in marker(She had ran out of space. time to practice tattoos).
Rowena Ravenclaw was creative, just like her. But they all knew that. She didn't want to give a boring answer. "Rowena Ravenclaw died first. Out of the founders." How Ash moved a train of thought directly between those two ideas, the world may never know. He nodded at Miss Fox’s answer. It was unfortunate that Rowena Ravenclaw perished first. This fact was not one he had been anticipating to come up so he simply nodded. “Unfortunate yes…” All of them were mortal. Death was inevitable.
Wow… That went dark. Quote:
Originally Posted by Weasley174 Summer sighed, so no quiz at the moment but they would be questions later, could she still use the 50/50 lifeline, or the ask the audience one, she would ask to phone home but she had a feeling that would be a lot harder than it looked.
Summer then listened to the question that the Professor asked and raised her hand. "Well all I know about the Hogwarts founders is that they built this place." Summer's mother Angel had tried to tell her about Hogwarts, but she had been too excited after seeing a picture of the place, that she hadn't really paid attention. "If I'm right they built it brick by brick." She wondered how long that took them. Miss Valentine offered an answer too. Hogwarts was built by the founders. Simon nodded at her answer. “Makes you wonder how long it took?” Perhaps when the weather got colder, then they could simulate building an ice castle outside on the grounds just like the Founders. Perhaps end with a good snowball fight too? Her comment sparked his imagination. Quote:
Originally Posted by Uncle Moose What!? how dare you call him out in class like that Holden!! What Professor in their right mind would would reprimand a student for barfing in front of everyone? Moose sulked into his chair and scowled a most menacing scowl toward Professor Holden for that. BESIDES!! Moose was made to throw up. Where was blame on Freddie McLeod?! What happened in the Entrance Hall was not a Prank. It was a timely attempt to avoid having to go into the Opening Feast It was Freddie's fault.
Moose kept his mouth shut for most the first Question. He didn't know what the lesson was going to be about until it actually started. Why Ask what they thought it could be? No Detective Work from Moose, he barely even finished the Word Search Puzzle as is. Instead he leaned forward from his desk and looked at the back of Milo Evans' head. There we go. Mystery Lazy Sloth Kid finally got a full name. Moose will remember that. Also he is very glad Milo's socks did not smell as bad as he thought they might.
As for the second Question. Sure why not. Moose actually knew of something about one of the Hogwarts Founders. "Salazar Slytherin did not want any Muggleborn students to attend here." How well did that work out for him? Thought the Muggleborn Slytherin. [COLOR="Navy"]
Simon assumed both Mr. McLeod and Mr. Stover were out of line. Mr. Stover was the elder student out of the two and he should have known better… Tsk. Tsk. Leading his younger students a muck! First puking pasties and skipping the beginning of the feast. What was next? Simon had to keep an eye on the troublemakers. Hmm… he wouldn’t mention all of this out loud but he’d certainly pull the boy aside later on. He expected great things from Mr. Stover. And with great things, came great responsibility…
His answer was more satisfying than the prior behaviour he witnessed in the Entrance Hall. “ And unfortunately, he did not succeed. You and I are both anomalies to that.” He even flashed him a smile. Yes, Simon and Moose were more similar to each other than perhaps the other one would have liked to admit. Perhaps that was why the Professor had high expectations of those in his home house. Quote:
Originally Posted by pundantic Gideon was more than a little amused at the takes that everyone had on Beauxbatons. As a recent transfer from the school, the idealized reverence for the French school was sweet. And technically true but didn’t even begin to scratch the surface of the culture. The students at Beauxbatons were extremely polished, well-trained sorcerers. However, they were not kind. It was not the French way. Kind mattered less than being refined.
He opted not to talk about his former school. Instead, Gideon raised his hand and commented on a Hogwarts founder. Or more specifically, her daughter. “Rowena’s daughter, Helena, was killed by the Bloody Baron. They’re both stuck here for an eternity. He is haunted by what he did to her, and she has to endure her killer.” Magic could be so cruel. Simon was pleasantly surprised that Mr. Emerson had a fact on his current school. This earned the Slytherin a smile from him. “Yes, rather morbid and cruel isn’t it? I could say that I believe in karma after hearing what happened.” Quote:
Originally Posted by Emzily Remy felt a little sorry for the little first year who had turned up late to class, although she fully believed he deserved a detention, too. She wondered what a Hogwarts detention would be like, since she had heard they weren't too pleasant. Her eyes trailed off as she daydreamed, and also the discussion was dragging on a little.
Founders. Obviously!
Other students were giving some very strange answers, particularly Evans, so Remy stared at him for a few moments before raising her own hand. "I don't know much about the founders other than Godric Gryffindor..." DUH. "I heard that he created a magical sword that would present itself to a true Gryffindor who needed it. I wonder what kinda danger you have to be in to receive that." It was a DANGEROUS thought, especially when coupled with a certain Flamsteed and a certain cloak.
She hoped they would learn plenty about the other schools because Remy knew nothing about those. Ah yes. Trust the Gryffindors to know everything about Godric and nothing about the other founders. “Yes. It comes to those who need it the most… Hopefully you won’t ever have to experience that danger, Miss Gaeltheos.” But y’know… Gryffindors always got in trouble. It was inevitable. Or so his friends had proven to him. Well… that being said, Zander Adair never got into too too much trouble. Though he did suspect a Professor of being a Cold One. A smirk appeared on his lips as he shook his head. Ah… fond memories… Now that he thought about it…. Some things were just too much of a coincidence at times not to chuckle. Quote:
Originally Posted by littledhampir Oh look, Slytherin Alfie was sitting on the other side of Daniel. Hufflepuff Alfie had been so focused on doing his word search that he hadn't even noticed before now. He gave the boy a little wave before turning his attention back to the class.
To be honest, Alfie didn't know a lot about the wizarding schools or their founders. He was muggleborn so he hadn't known anything about them growing up. Of course he had absorbed some basics in his two years at Hogwarts but to be honest he had been much more interested in learning about cooler things about magic rather than the history of the schools. He did know that there was a school in France called Beauxbatons because his half siblings had gone there. But he didn't know any specifics about it, and he didn't think simply saying it's name would really count as a fact.
Jasper was saying something about quidditch and something called quadpot. Jasper was Alfie's resident quidditch expert so he definitely trusted this fact as true. But it seemed strange. "How come they don't also play quidditch?" He asked. No, maybe it wasn't a fact but he had forgotten about trying to think of something and was now trying to figure out why Americans wouldn't want to play quidditch. Mr. Ramsay had a good question. Simon didn’t have an exact answer on this one. Broom sports weren’t an area of expertise. He had enjoyed watching them but never participating in them. Perhaps Headmaster Kamzi knew more about this question. “I’m not exactly sure but I’m sure some people play it in the States but its not as popular. I think its similar to the concept of Muggle sports. Baseball versus cricket.. Rugby versus American football… Brutal.” Quote:
Originally Posted by SweetPeea Christianna was very much busy at work with the word search that she felt a wave of STRESS overflow her when she'd heard Professor Holden begin the lesson. 'No! No! Wait! WAIT! I'm almost done Professor!! GAHHH!!!!!!' There were only two more words she'd needed to find! And the fifth year was so determined to finish the word search that she may or may not have missed the first question he'd asked when addressing the class.
BUT on the bright side, she'd managed to find the last two words just before Professor Holden had moved on to ask his next question and he now had her FULL attention, mhmm, which pertained to any known facts about the founders listed on the board. And as people began answering questions left and right, she began playing with her braids a bit as she tried to think of something until-OH!
SHE'D THOUGHT OF SOMETHING!
The fifth year shot her arm up into the sky almost immediately before speaking in a rather eager tone, "Professor Holden?! Isn't it true that all of the founders from Hogwarts represent different parts of the United Kingom? Like Gryffindor comes from the wild moor, Ravenclaw is from the glen, Hufflepuff comes from the valley broad, and Slytherin from fen?" When Miss Rivers raised her hand this time in the air and offered her answer, Simon genuinely smiled. It was an excellent point that she made. “That is true that's where they hail from… Interestingly enough. I wonder if the colours of the houses have to do something with the areas they hail from or if it is just coincidence?” he offered the class. SPOILER!!: Wizarding School Locations Quote:
Originally Posted by Chelliephone He was actively avoiding looking towards his sisters, so Evan was spared spotting any of the concern. Instead, he attempted to show more focus on the next question, flipping his paper over so he'd stop messing with a word search he could not fully pay attention to enough to complete. They were talking about different schools were they? Seems like everyone had been on the nose, if his half listening for the day had been accurate.
Holden wanted a fact about the schools or houses or founders? The biggest thing that popped to mind was that most of the schools, if not all, were a type of castle. They probably knew that, but something else did pop to mind and he raised his hand. "Castelobruxo is ruins." Not... nearly as thoughtful or articulate as he normally was, as he should have included it only appeared as ruins and was actually a magnificent castle in the rainforest, which meant they had excellent opportunity for herbology studies. These were things he did KNOW.
But no one else would know that apparently. At least he'd tried for this question? If one could consider it that. Evan’s comment was a fact… but it was half-baked and not like the eldest Nam boy at all. The Professor couldn’t help but feel slightly perplexed and he wondered what the boy was going through. Perhaps he could catch him at the end of the lesson. Most likely it was teenage… things. “Castelobruxo does appear to be in ruins but its beautiful… Near a nice rainforest too. Thanks.” Quote:
Originally Posted by Suziella Bram was slightly nervous, but this word search was keeping him busy. So busy in fact, that he missed the first question. Oh, well. At least he found all the words in the word search. It was pretty obvious what today's lesson would be about, just looking at the word bank alone.
History was always a subject Bram had had a hard time with, but when teachers made an effort to make it fun, he actually enjoyed it.
Bram thought for a few minutes before raising his hand. He waited to be called on before saying, "Durmstrang is unplottable and, other than the students and professors that are there, no one really knows where it is other than the vague answer of northern Europe." He said in his Scottish lilt. Next was Mr. Lennox with his Scottish lilt. He also followed suit with a location based fact but this time about Durmstrang. Simon nodded at the answer. “A smart protection from outsiders.” Quote:
Originally Posted by FearlessLeader19 Aria stared at Aiden and his teddy bear. This was a fascinating sight. Was he still such a baby that he had to be walking around with a toy? Or maybe he just needed the comfort of it as a reminder of home? If the latter was the case, then Aria understood. Though she definitely would go around dragging a teddy bear with her. But to each their own, right?
Today’s lesson was going to be packed. Ms. McLeod could tell that much. It was interesting enough when Professor Eye Candy mentioned that they would be talking to the portrait. Aria just might seek out the one she shushed earlier. Aria raised her hand and waited to be called upon. “To elaborate on Mr. Nam’s er, mind boggling fact, Castelobruxo appears as a ruin to Muggles should they look at it. If they ever have that chance, anyway. Why? Because the Castle is situated deep within the piece of the Amazon Rainforest which runs through Brazil.” If Simon could have read thoughts, he would have turned bright pink from that nickname. Speaking of protection and looping in a previously mentioned school…
Ms. McLeod added to Mr. Nam’s original comments and fleshed them out a little more. He nodded. “Yes. A brilliant defence mechanism to keep unwanted visitors out.” Perhaps they ought to do something like that with the people who planted that monstrosity last term. Nearly destroyed the whole castle. SPOILER!!: Beauxbatons Quote:
Originally Posted by sweetpinkpixie Cooper's gaze was quickly drawn to a Slytherin girl nearby who...seemed quite cross about things. Specifically the focus and, well, he couldn't help but feel like there were some layers to the statement. Maybe she was a transfer and had had to transfer reluctantly? Meaning that she had a ton of house pride and nothing but resentment towards her new surroundings? Cooper had, unfortunately, never had a conversation with her before...but maybe he should remedy that. She could maybe use a friend.
Also...had someone just mentioned chocolate frogs? Because his stomach was grumbling just thinking about them. Though his go-to wouldn't be chocolate frogs if he had a choice.
And oof. Cooper's heart went out to the kid who had arrived late - it was rough navigating the castle at first. A fact that was only made worse by the fact that the castle had the audacity to change things up every now and then just because it could. The moving staircases certainly came to mind, though he had started to appreciate the charm of such things. So the seventh year offered the kid a small smile as another first year, a Gryffindor, offered him a seat nearby. Also catching Ashley's smile, another one returned, Cooper soon found himself laughing into his fist at Mercer who was hyping up his new friend - Milo, good to know. Though he did not know what to make of the comment about Hufflepuffs plotting. Maybe that was why the professor left Helga Hufflepuff off the list. Who knew?
Attention back to the front and Professor Holden once again, Cooper had to admit that his knowledge was very European-centric...meaning that he knew very little about any of the schools outside of the region and even so what he did feel confident in was...well...Hogwarts knowledge. Though his weeklong apprenticeship with the abraxan breeder who supplied for the Beauxbatons carriages had given him a fair bit of insight into the French school. Monsieur Benoit had graduated from there too and they had swapped a fair few stories over meals and while riding and had spoken somewhat fondly of his schoolboy days.
"Beauxbatons Academy of Magic or..." Cooper paused to clear his through and give his French accent a try. He tended to blend his Italian accent into it when he spoke still. "...Académie de Magie Beauxbâtons...has a three house system, which varies from the four house system found at Durmstrang, Ilvermorny, and here at Hogwarts...which I would assume means there were three founders for the academy. I spent time over the summer under the mentorship of a gentleman who breeds abraxan for the school and who had been a student in Bellefeuille, and he shared that the crest for this house consists of a green leaf and that members of this house tend to be individuals who are drawn to nature and nurturing...so that says something about one of the founders, I presume." That was putting things somewhat simply, truth be told, but the Ravenclaw felt it encapsulated what Monsieur had shared. He could not remember the other two off the top of his head, they had hardly discussed those, but from what Cooper understood he felt as though he would have been placed in Bellefeuille as well were he to have attended Beauxbatons.
Simon appreciated Mr. Branxton (the elder’s) answer. No surprise indeed the seventh year had always been so methodical and descriptive with his answers. The answer here was spot on and he found himself listening more deeply because of the personal experience. Simon did have a bias towards Beauxbatons … not that he had ever attended there as a student. He knew his sister had come from there and one of her mentors had taught there. He had, of course, spent some time there too and had enjoyed learning the differences between Hogwarts and Beauxbatons. Despite the obvious difference in languages between the two schools, there was quite a large culture difference too. “Brilliant, Mr Branxton. Members of that house, Bellefeuille, also have a strong sense of bravery and loyalty.” Quote:
Originally Posted by MadMadamMalfoy SPOILER!!: Catch-up
Desiree was all smiles for History of Magic. This class was interesting for two reasons. It was her mum’s old subject, and Professor Holden looked a bit like Prince Eric. DId he know? She’d greeted the man with a smile and a slight wave upon arrival. Then her bright blue eyes landed on the covered objects. What was under there? Whatever it was, it was loud. “Hello under there!” she said to the talking… thing. Because it was rude to ignore someone (or something) that talked!
As she took a seat beside Summer, she noticed the parchment on the desk. Word search? Boo! All those letters so close together made her brain go O________O But she’d do it anyway because the professor said so. She pulled out her fanciest purple quill and began to search for the words hidden among the jumble of letters. She was still working when the lesson began, so she put down her quill and looked to Professor Holden. Blink, blink. How was she supposed to know what the lesson was about? He was the professor here. Wasn’t he supposed to tell them?
She looked at the word search again. There were a lot of Hogwarts words and a few Ilvermorny words and - OOH! She nearly squealed out loud as she saw Beauxbatons in the word search. That was her dad’s old school!!! Were they learning about Beauxbatons today? Probably not. Everybody was talking about school founders, so it was probably that. What else could she say? Her dad told her that Hogwarts professors like it when students don’t repeat answers, but -
Wait, that was it! Desiree suddenly remembered something else her dad said, and her hand went up. “Are we learning about competitions between wizarding schools?” she asked. “Hogwarts and Beauxbatons have competed in Triwizard Tournaments, and I’m pretty sure there was once a competition between Hogwarts and Ilvermorny.” Her dad told her all about it, but she couldn’t remember the name!
Desiree’s face fell as she heard the real subject of the lesson. So she’d been wrong about the competition aspect, but they were talking about wizarding schools. That could still be fun, she guessed. Her mood brightened considerably when she saw Beauxbatons listed on the board. She knew alllll about Beauxbatons! Her dad told her about it.
Desiree was going to share that Beauxbatons had a choir of wood nymphs that sang to the students during meals because it sounded so fancy! They should have that here at Hogwarts! Ooh, they could teach the nymphs to sing Disney songs! How fun would that be? But before she could get too distracted by the idea of nymphs singing Disney songs, she heard an older student (Cooper) mention Beauxbatons.
Not to be outdone, she took her answer in a more serious direction. “The other two Beauxbatons houses are Ombrelune and Papillonlisse,” she said after raising her hand. “Ombrelune’s symbol is a navy moon, and its students are supposed to be smart, logical, and not very open with their emotions. Papillonlisse was my dad’s old house, so that one is my favorite!” Whoops, did she just say that out loud? “Their symbol is a purple butterfly, and the students are said to be kind, idealistic, and good at the arts.”
Yep, that definitely sounded like her dad! As she finished that sentence, she momentarily wondered if she would’ve been in Papillonlisse too if she’d gone to Beauxbatons. Never mind, she supposed it didn’t matter, but how awesome would that have been? Simon was about to continue when Miss Marchand raised her hand. Ah! Yes, the daughter of an alumni of the Académie de Magie Beauxbâtons. No need to explain, Miss Marchand had it covered. He couldn’t help but chuckle at her open enthusiasm towards the Papillonlisse house. Sounded like a house that she wanted to be a member of. “Nicely said. And those are the three houses of Beauxbatons. Now Mr. Branxton and Miss Marchand, which of the houses do you see yourselves fitting into over there?” Quote:
Originally Posted by Dumblydor Drawn away from his stare at the portraits by the start of class, Alfie had chosen to ignore the first question, mainly on the grounds that the answer was fairly obvious. Most of the others had gotten it right anyway. Instead, he spent the time observing his classmates. His eyes fixed for a moment on V, who gave Daniel a wave. Looks like Danisa™ had run into a slight obstacle– okay, he should probably stop shipping his friends – well, mostly friends (a second glance at V ensued) – especially considering that it was what had most likely caused Serena to run out of the start-of-term feast. Looks like it was time for Alfie to wave a solemn goodbye to his short-lived phase of shipping random people together for absolutely no reason. At least out loud.
Though it wouldn't hurt to ask Daniel just one question about it, would it? Just one little question. "Hey, Dan– can I call you Dan?" Whispering in an attempt to not disturb the lesson, the question of Daniel's nickname was technically a question, but not the question. "So, Dan,", he said without waiting for an approval of the nickname, "I have a question." In hindsight, maybe the question he was thinking of was a bit too forward. More like something Daniel would tell him in his own time. "Actually, never mind. Don't worry about it."
Alfie's attention was grabbed away from his Hufflepuff counterpart by Holden following the second question. Hm. Wizarding schools and their founders. Who would have ever guessed, he thought sarcastically, with a look down at the completed wordsearch on his desk. Looking back up at the professor, he raised his hand and answered. "Beauxbatons was founded some time before the 1290s." One of the only things he had retained from his parents' rambling on about what was, in their opinion, 'the best school in the world'. Yes! We have another fact at Beauxbatons. He nodded at Alfie’s comment. He hadn’t heard the whispering that transpired between Yoon and Demaret at this point in time. “Good fact. Thank you. What was happening in Muggle history at that time? Do you think there’s any correlation between muggle and magical history?” This question was presented to the whole class. It was one he wondered himself. Perhaps another lesson plan to dive into. SPOILER!!: Aussie! Aussie! Aussie! Oi, Oi, Oi! Quote:
Originally Posted by emjay Oh! Celyn leaned over to look at the parchment Cooper had added to - the seventh year todo list! Holding a grindylow! The Ravenclaw nearly gasped aloud because how wonderful would that be? But it was just then that Professor Holden started class and she didn't want to be told off for talking over him, so she just gave Cooper an excited grin and took the parchment from him. Her turn to add some more things, but for now she turned her eyes forward.
Celyn guessed too that the topic of today's class would likely be about magical schools, but as many other students around her were saying that or similar things, she just stayed quiet. She didn't want to be redundant, but with everyone else's redundancy came her own creeping distraction. She glanced down at their list, just in time for her attention to be diverted again by the door opening by a late-comer.
Sweet Circe, the first year (Aiden) that wandered in with his teddy bear was just about the most precious sight she'd ever seen. She was just about to suggest he sit next to her and Cooper, but another young girl (Delilah), who she assumed was also a first year, offered him a seat by her. Aww good, she thought, maybe they would become friends. She offered them both a warm, encouraging smile and turned her attention back to the class - even if she thought the points loss was entirely unnecessary. But points never mattered much anyway, if anyone asked her.
Focus, Celyn. Okay, yes, they would be discussing magical schools today, and Celyn looked at the board. And then she looked more. Where was her former school? Maybe they were narrowing the list? But... Celyn couldn't help but to feel some sort of way that her school was excluded. "Excuse me, Professor," the seventh year called to him as she raised her hand. "But I don't see my former school on the board - Tallygarunga Academy of Magic? It's in Australia. I went there my first two years of former schooling before I transferred here for my third year. I could tell you all about it," she added cheerfully, trying to make her case for its inclusion in the class. Tallygarunga Academy of Magic.
Simon stopped himself from replying and he paused. He hadn’t heard that name in ages.
“Tallygarunga… A great school..” he smiled as his accent became more pronounced as he said the name of that Academy. And then he looked at the girl’s body language before changing his own. OH! He didn’t meant to offend. “I didn’t mean to leave your school out of the mix. Apologies, Miss Ashbury-Hawthorne.” He didn’t mean for any of the other schools that were left off to cause harm. There were such great schools out there, such as Himitsumahou and Koldovstoretz just to name a few.
He paused.
“I wrote the schools on the chalkboard as a way to kickstart our discussion. That being said, the schools not on the chalkboard are not less important than the ones that are on there. In fact, I am biased to my first Wizarding school in Australia as well that I left off the list as well.” The Australian Wizarding Academy in Sydney had not made itself present on the board but that did not mean it was less than any of the other schools. Sure, it may have been younger than most of the other schools but it was still just as important.
He turned to the rest of the class. “[b]Remember, there are always multiple perspectives that you may not have considered yet when it comes to the History of Magic. We must pick up the rock and analyse all angles as much as possible if we are to understand multiple perspectives.[b]” SPOILER!!: Ilvermorny Quote:
Originally Posted by love-for-HP Maxine beamed with pride .... next Hermonie Granger here she comes .. she cleared her throat a little to stop herself from giggling. OOOOOOO, they were going to get to ask the portraits questions. Questions where Maxine's favorite thing.
And now for 1 fact, but she knew so many facts, sooo soooo soooo many facts. How could she contain her self to just 1... well she could always just throw out the basic. "Ilvermorny, was inspired by Hogwarts, which is why it also has 4 houses and a sorting ceramony” Simon nodded. Sure the fact was a basic one but interesting to wonder what else Hogwarts could have inspired. “Indeed! And those four houses were Horned Serpent, Wampus, Pukwudgie, and Thunderbird. I believe several years ago we had an IMPS tournament which we shall cover in a future lecture.” They may have a mini-roleplay of how the whole thing went down which he thought would be rather exciting. Quote:
Originally Posted by Daydreamer11 Jordyn listened intently to all of the answers given. She wondered if her answer was correct and soon found out. It was not. Before the professor could get into the details of the lesson, her new firstie housemate Aiden made his grand entrance. Jordyn felt badly that he had trouble finding the class and even worse that points were taken from him. She’d have to help him out next time.
Once the professor began to talk about the topic of the lesson, she focused her attention on that. Wizarding schools and their founders. Okay…….and now it was time for another question. Jordyn thought about what fun fact she might be able to contribute. Her mother had gone to Beauxbatons before she attended Hogwarts, but she did not exactly share much information about the place…….not anything positive anyway.
Thinking about something closer to home, the Hufflepuff decided to go with an Ilvermorny detail. “Inside of Ilvermorny, they have some carvings that represent the different houses. When they have their sorting ceremony, the carvings choose the students.” Don’t ask her how she knew this, she just did. He nodded at Miss Guldry’s answer. “You are correct. Students at the Sorting Ceremony there would step onto a Gordian Knot on the floor in the centre of the hall…” He paused and drew the shape on the chalkboard. He paused, letting the students see it and then he continued. “This Knot was in the Entrance Hall and they would be in the middle of four large wooden statues of the mascots from each house. The carved statues would react if they wanted the student in their house.” SPOILER!!: Japanese Wizarding Schools Quote:
Originally Posted by Nordic Witch 'Fun' was Rosa's initial silent reaction when Professor Holden affirmed that the lesson was going to be about magical schools and founders. Hearing the door to the classroom open Rosa looked up and stared like the majority of her peers at the young first year badger that entered carrying a teddybear wondering if he was in the right place for History of magic. Poor boy Rosa thought, remembering how lost she had been in her first week at school too. That he lost points probably didn't help matters.
Anyway, it was going to be fun to get to talk to a portrait later. Raising her hand to deliver some facts Rosa said "One interesting fact about Mahoutokoro in Japan is that students starts there when they are 7 years old, but they don't live at the school until they are eleven and the school has the smallest student body of all magical schools." She paused momentarily before also adding "A really cool thing is that the Mahoutokoro students robes grows in size and changes colour as the students gains experience starting with everyone wearing pink robes." Rosa would have wanted pink robes, it would match her current hair colour. There were certainly two facts there. He smiled at Miss Knight’s excitement as she shared her facts about Mahoutokoro. He couldn’t imagine starting school so early himself but it was a different culture. He nodded. “It is rather cool that they wear pink robes and that they change colour as students gain experience. Must be a rather colourful school.” Quote:
Originally Posted by iBeJenn Evan Nam, Maya could see you avoiding her.
She would simply have to track him down after classes and figure out what exactly was wrong. Her attention was quickly diverted anyways because a first year had just shown up late. With a teddy bear. Maya's face softened at the sight of the little teddy bear wondering if perhaps the boy thought his teddy bear could do magic. As practical magic was not required for History of Magic, she supposed it didn't hurt for him to attend. Plus, it was an amusing sight.
At the professor's next question, Maya did have an answer. One that was just slightly longer than that of her brother's and adding onto the seventh year, Rosa's answer. "Mahoutokoro's student robes don't just change color based upon academic experience, if one were to break the Japanese wizard's code by practicing dark magic, they would turn white and result in immediate expulsion." Which was fascinating to Maya because how did the robes know? It would be quite foolish of a student to be wearing a school uniform while practicing dark magic, wouldn't it? And Miss Nam followed up on the same school that Miss Knight had spoken of. A fantastic point too. “Rather fascinating. It can help you determine who’s breaking the rules rather quickly.”
“There are more schools than just Mahoutokoro in Japan. In fact, there is a prestigious Wizarding school called Himitsumahou Academy. Interestingly enough, they do not use the house system. Instead class, they divide its students based on a practical exam upon entering the school. Students are then sorted into their kumi based on their potential and raw talent.” He found it fascinating and reminiscent of his cousins applying to university in Australia. They had to take the VCE’s which would tell them which schools they were eligible to get into. He wondered how he would have scored on such a test and what kumi he would have ended up in. SPOILER!!: Hufflepuff World Domination Quote:
Originally Posted by Felixir Milo had a theory, and had momentarily let it simmer off to the side while he tapped out a halt to the proceedings on the surface of his desk. It was Mercer who brought him back to it, and he looked from him to Mr Holden and there and back again, and then at the pen dropper, and then at the door, through which walked the Aiden.
For a moment, Milo was lost to preoccupation, though he would have denied any accusations of distraction. His thoughts were exactly where they needed to be, and he suddenly rose up, still on his knees and on the chair, so he was closer to his own standing height.
"All that is gold does not glitter." The theory. Not the original one, but his many current working theories, and one that made a lot of sense. Was it on topic? Did he realise? Was he likely to care? That would be a trifecta of negatives, because this was more important, and also more interesting. Possibly. If pressed, Milo would have accepted that it made little sense to make such an assessment when he couldn't be sure what everyone else had been talking about in the first place.
"The Hufflepuffs are plotting.” Quote:
Originally Posted by Aiden Lockwood
A girl pssted at him, and motioned to an empty seat. Aiden looked at it. Was she just telling him about it? Or did it mean...she wanted him to sit there? Aiden started to walk towards it.
Then the professor saw him. The man looked at Aiden and said that because he was late, he had lost five house points. Aiden stared up and nodded meekly and slinked down into the chair the girl had pointed him to.
Five house points lost. Five whole points. Everybody in Hufflepuff was gonna be so mad at him. He slunk down into the chair next to the other girl (Delilah) and sniffled, hanging his head, not wanting to cry on the first day. He hadn't MEANT to be late. He'd gotten lost.
Aiden looked up at the words on the board, but he didn't know even ONE of them. He looked up squinting, trying to sound them out, like he was supposed to do if he had an unfamiliar word in a book. But none of them made any sense. Well ok just ONE. He knew Hogwarts. That was his school. But the others didn't even LOOK like words. It was like everybody was speaking a different language. Aiden felt the homesick feeling again and was SURE he was gonna cry.
But hey, he knew that boy. It was the boy with the piece of paper (no, parchment!) and no shoes that he had met once in Diagon Alley (Milo). Aiden wanted to go say hi to him but he wasn't allowed to talk in class if he wasn't supposed to, he knew that, so he had to go talk to the boy after. Seeing a familiar face though distracted Aiden and made the cry feeling go away. Then he got even more distracted by something very confusing.
The Hufflepuffs are plotting
Huh? AIDEN was a Hufflepuff. So he was talking about Aiden too. But why were the Hufflepuffs plotting? And what did plotting mean?
"Excuse me," he whispered to the girl (Delilah) next to him. "What's plotting?"
There was LOTS of things the other kids were saying that he didn't understand (except it sounded like the words on the board that he didn't know how to read were other schools) but this seemed like the most important thing to find out first because HE was a Hufflepuff.
The HoM Professor turned his gaze to Milo and he was waiting expectantly for said theory and he got some different theories.. All that is gold does not glitter. That made sense… He had heard something similar and then Simon had to cough underneath his arm to prevent himself from chuckling even more at the fact that the Hufflepuffs are plotting. “Now now Mr. Evans…”
His eyes briefly flicked to Mr.Lockwood who seemed very confused by Mr. Evan’s statement. Rest be assured, he was not the only one that was confused. Simon was also confused but also intrigued by such a statement. What evidence did he have? Quote:
Originally Posted by DuckyLinJi Ignoring the fact that he was seated between two Alfie's, Daniel shot the small first year with the teddy bear (Aiden) an annoyed look as he entered the classroom late, causing Hufflepuff House to lose five points.
Milo tapping his pen on the surface of his desk was gradually irritating him, and he was about to turn around to tell him to stop when another first year (Mercer) spoke up, and the tapping thankfully stopped.
'The Hufflepuffs are plotting'
....That elicited a snort from this Hufflepuff, and he turned his gaze to the young Ravenclaw, before turning back to look at Slytherin Alfie as he asked him a question. Daniel raised an eyebrow at the nickname but let it slide for now. "Don't say you have a question and then end it with, 'never mind'" Because he was curious as to what he was about to ask. "Let's talk after class," he said before returning his gaze to Professor Holden.
An interesting fact about one of the schools. Maya had recently taught him something about Uagadou. "I don't see Uagadou on the list, but I'd like to mention something that I learned from Maya" He began, trying hard not to blush at the mention of her name. Fortunately, he was successful. "That at Uagadou school of magic, they preferred to cast spells by pointing their fingers" So that would be wandless magic. And that was one of the coolest things ever! Simon watched Mr. Yoon (funnily enough seated between two Alfies- what a coincidence!) snort at Mr. Evans’ theory. He had cast his eyes away from the duo when they were whispering and then looked back to Mr. Yoon when he had raised his hand. His right eyebrow subtly raised when Mr. Yoon mentioned Miss. Nam’s teaching. Ah. So it seemed like Miss Nam was still tutoring her fellow students. He smiled. “Uagadou. Yes! Good school. I do wonder how difficult it might be to learn how to cast magic without a wand and just by pointing their fingers. Some wizards and witches never master wandless magic…” Or non-verbals too! SPOILER!!: the listeners Quote:
Originally Posted by kayquilz V sat there and tried to absorb all of the info being spread around the room. She was actually learning stuff, too. Like, she totally didn’t know a whole lot about other schools, not even Beauxbatons. And she knew French, but that’s where their similarities ended. That thing about the school’s robes turning white, though? Why did Hogwarts do that? It seemed smart.
UNLESS….Hogwarts was secretly trying to produce dark witches and wizards O_O
So she didn’t know what to add to the conversation…hmm. And she didn’t. So she just watched everyone curiously. People watching was more fun anyway. He flicked his cold blue eyes to Miss Gellar who looked like a sponge ready to ABSORB all the knowledge. He smiled. Simon was glad she was listening and watching. It was good to see. Quote:
Originally Posted by Daemon Lucia did not enjoy raising her hand and answering in class. Even when she was certain of the answer, the whole concept just never appealed to her. Her entire first year she hadn't spoken more than ten words in all her classes. Of course, that year was very different from this year. War and all. She also especially hated it when the professors tell her to speak up, as they sometimes did. She had once briefly considered mastering the sonorous charm just to spite some. And burst some eardrums.
This topic, and this lesson, did not make her want to talk any more than she usually did. Sat at the very back, Lucia kept her notes organised and aesthetically pleasing, and her hand down. She knew quite a bit about Beauxbatons, it being her father's alma mater and where she should have gone. He used to share many stories when she was younger. But she rarely saw him anymore and his stories were either boring or too cheerful. It seemed unrealistic to Lucia, like he was sugarcoating the experience.
She doodled the word Beauxbatons in the margins of her notes, over and over again, her gaze flickering over to Gideon Emerson on the other side of the classroom. Speaking of Beauxbatons... Even the back of his head was different. Miss Laporte was also listening as well and taking notes. Note-taking was important. Very important. The Fourth Year must have been preparing herself for her next year of OWLS. Very smart. SPOILER!!: segue Quote:
Originally Posted by itsjustjesse
Lily looked around for a moment and shrugged as she took notes. So some people went to other schools that weren’t specifically talked about – interesting. Maybe they were private schools? She hadn’t a clue about that though.
Yes, of course she was proud about her tidbit she had been praised on. She was smart too thank you very much. Raising her hand she gave Professor Holden a kind smile when she had been called on. ”Hogwarts is a public school – which I feel maybe is that also the case with Durmstrang, Ilvermorny, Beauxbaton, and Mahoutokoro? That they like Hogwarts have no attendance fees save for equipment like our books, wands, uniforms, pointy hats and such?” she asked tilting her head slightly as she wondered if the other schools also needed pointy hats.
Simon turned to Miss Donovan who raised an excellent point of view. “An interesting observation indeed,” he said in response to her comment. He hadn’t meant that but… it was a good observation. "Speaking of Hogwarts.. let's narrow our focus back to our school."
“Thank you for the great discussion. I appreciate the discussion," he began before pausing. "I'm going to have to pause the discussion so that we can move on to our activity. By now, I’m sure you’ve noticed the mumbling portraits behind me. There are four of them and unlike last term when I revealed who they were... I’m not going to do that this time. Instead we’re going to play a game of Who am I? with the portraits. It’s similar to the muggle game of Twenty Questions. However, in this case, they’ll answer questions with more than a simple yes or a no,” he explained before pausing to see if the students were following. He did have to explain the game to the portraits several times and check for understanding so naturally he expected he would have to do the same with his students.
“The name of the game is simple.. use your detective skills to find out which of the Hogwarts Founders you are speaking too.” he recommended. “Direct any questions you might have to me, yes? If there are no questions, let the investigation begin.” OOC: Hi folks! We have arrived at the mini-activity. You will have three days to complete this activity. I will roleplay the portraits from the Portrait account. Feel free to get creative with the questions as you are sleuthing. I will be distinguishing the Portraits as A, B, C, D. Let me know what questions you have. At the end, Simon will reveal who is who! So feel free to approach a painting. Portraits A-D are from left to right. I'll wait for a few replies before jumping on from the Portraits account.
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