Ahhh, the dreaded forgotten book. Shreya particularly felt for the Gryffindors and Ravenclaws when that happened—they usually had the farthest to trek to retrieve said item. Living in the tallest towers of the castle had its perks, as Shreya recalled from her own time in Ravenclaw, but the staircases to get there were not one of them.

"Very good, Evan. Journaling has the added benefit of helping you process emotions and feelings as you are experiencing them. And notebooks are wonderful keepsakes to look back on," Shreya replied. They certainly had a tangible, lasting nature.


"Yes, Ms. Blaze. There are plenty of spells and methods to preserve memories magically." Unfortunately, Shreya's mind also went to dark magic. Such methods were easy to turn to the dark arts. She considered making a mention of it, but she wanted to keep today's lesson upbeat. The students had seen enough dark magic last term.


Shreya couldn't help but pick up on Ashley's glum attitude. The typically energetic Ravenclaw seemed a bit out of sorts today. Hopefully nothing was troubling her too much. "True! Whether you are painting, drawing, knitting, or using some other creative technique, art is a great way to preserve a memory. Some might create a specific scene in their art, or simply preserve the emotions of a memory with an abstract piece." Art was another method, like journaling, that often helped people process the feelings associated with memories in the moment. It was therapeutic, in a way. That was one of the reasons why Shreya loved painting.


Another Ravenclaw who seemed a bit out of sorts today. Shreya wondered what was troubling Ivy. Perhaps all this talk about memories brought up some negative emotions for students. Nevertheless, she appreciated that the fourth year was still paying attention.


Daniel may not know that he was sitting in the spot of his older brother's disappearance, but Shreya certainly did. The sight was a bit jarring, and Shreya had to do a bit of a double-take to make sure her eyes weren't deceiving her. Once she was sure that it was simply Minjae's younger brother, she gave the first year an encouraging smile, trying to rid her mind of the memory. "Yes, Daniel. That spell is probably the most accurate way to preserve memories, since it involves every visual and auditory aspect of the scene." But it was a complicated spell, too—and not one that everyone particularly wanted to use. After all, some people didn't want to remember every moment of an event.


"Wonderful, Remy." It was similar to the journaling answer, but Shreya didn't mind. Writing things down was a great way to remember things. It was thanks to writing that early historical events were preserved, after all. The Gryffindor received a nod of approval.


Shreya nodded at both Atlas and Daniel in response. "Excellent, Mr. Flamsteed. A pensive is a useful tool for viewing extracted memories." If she remembered correctly from students' stories, some of them may have had the experience of looking into one during a previous Care of Magical Creatures lesson. "You make a good point. How an individual perceives an occurrence can have a big impact on the type of memory that is stored. One would be wise to keep that in mind when viewing a memory." Very good thinking from the young Gryffindor. He got an encouraging smile from the professor in admiration.


Shreya hadn't expected anyone to be taking notes, but she was happy to see that the students were paying attention. Though a part of her wondered if the note-taking from some could be a method for distraction. She hoped this discussion wasn't bringing up too many troubling memories for people.


"Wonderful. A great way to combine art and writing—two great methods for preserving memories—while expressing your creativity." Shreya said with a nod. Her mother liked to scrapbook. There were plenty of decorated pages documenting time in the Varma household. And indeed, they were a lovely way to look back on old times.


Shreya appreciated the camera metaphor, as evidenced by the broad smile that spread across her face at the Ravenclaw's answer. "There are a handful of memory modification charms that have different effects. Some erase memories, some alter memories, and some are said to clarify them. But such charms can be dangerous. One wrong move, and the memory could be stained unintentionally." She didn't want to get too much into the discussion of memory charms, as it wasn't exactly her area of expertise. But she did try to at least satisfy her students' curiosity. In Shreya's opinion, there was nothing worse than getting shut down by a professor if you had a question. "When you are viewing a memory, you are simply an observer. As it is only a memory, your presence cannot change or alter the events in any way." One would need a time turner to do that. But that was a discussion for another day.


It wasn't at all surprising that Nemesis didn't contribute an answer—Shreya had gotten used to it, and it genuinely didn't offend her. For some reason, she always knew that Nemesis was at least paying attention. But as her eyes swept the room, they lingered on the Slytherin momentarily. She found herself wondering what type of memories Nemesis might be grappling with, if at all. It occurred to her that she didn't know much at all about their home life—another thought about Upstead that both intrigued and worried her.

Christmas had always been special for Heath, but the holiday took on s different meaning over the past few years. This Christmas marked two years since he started dating Claudine and three since he fell in love with her. Seeing the festive decorations instantly brightened his mood, but it was the photo studio setup that piqued his curiosity. Were they doing a Christmas photo shoot? That sounded fun… also sort of sounded like something his brother would set up for the family to do.

He was already reminiscing about Christmas before Professor Varma mentioned nostalgia, and as he thought, he realized he didn't have any bad Christmas memories, not really. The worst that had happened to him was not getting the present he wanted or doing something awkward in front of the family, like accidentally breaking an ornament or singing the wrong lyrics to a Christmas carol. Even last Christmas stuck here at Hogwarts wasn't completely terrible! Thinking of the holidays with his family hit a bit different now that his experiences last term and the war in general changed the dynamic of his family relationship. What was Christmas going to be like now?

Pushing the thought out of his mind, he focused on the question. Judging by the classroom setup, photography seemed the most obvious answer… maybe a bit too obvious. He also thought of things like pensieves, art and journaling, but those had been said. Maybe he needed to look at the question from a different angle. He considered what he himself did to preserve memories, and his thoughts turned to the collection of theatre programs he kept from every play he was ever in and every play he saw with his dad. His hand went up, and he said, "Some people preserve memories by keeping objects associated with specific memories."

It was a good start—and Shreya was not at all surprised that the talented Potions student picked up on the chemical combination part of the process. "Very good, Ms. Blackthorne! Traditional film photographs must be processed with three separate solutions: a developing solution, a stop solution, and a water bath." Her eyes briefly flitted to the black curtains at the mention of keeping the film in the dark. "And you are correct: Most photo paper is light sensitive, meaning that you must develop your film in the darkness." There were certainly digital and wizarding solutions to the issue, but traditional developing was still a treasured skill.


"Excellent, Ashley. The developing solutions that Violet mentioned previously are composed of various chemicals. The chemicals activate the light-sensitive photo paper, allowing the picture to appear." It really was a tricky process, one that required precise timing. Digital photographs were certainly easier, but there was a certain charm that came with old-school film development.


Shreya couldn't help but break into a smile at the Slytherin's response—she had hit the nail of today's lesson topic right on the head. "Absolutely, Claudine. The developing solution is one way to make wizarding photographs move." Of course, there were special types of wizarding cameras, film, and spells, but the developing solution was the traditional method. The students would certainly be learning more about that next.


Shreya's eyes flitted to Cooper at Phoebe's mention, breaking into a light chuckle. "Yes, the darkroom can be a bit spooky. Red light is the only type of light that won't prematurely expose photo paper, which is why that color is used. It's referred to as a safe light." Though a part of her really hoped that it wasn't actually a murder room. That was just a joke, right?


Complicated it was, which was probably why traditional film development was becoming a bit of a lost art. "Very true. It requires quite a bit of finesse, and a lot of expensive equipment. Digital cameras can often be an easier and more convenient option." Or sending the film elsewhere, though that could cost a pretty sickle. "But you have to admit, developing a photo on your own gives you a great sense of accomplishment." Or so they'd soon discover!


Her eyes twinkled a bit at the young Ravenclaw's curiosity. So bright-eyed and bushy-tailed. It was refreshing! "Yes, Lisa. You are correct that it must be dark to develop a photo. The only time photo paper can be exposed to light is when you're transferring the film negative onto it and after the paper has been through the developing solutions." She chuckled a bit at the question about brewing the potion in the dark. "Not to worry. The potion does not need to be brewed in the dark."


Shreya's eyes flashed over to Phoebe, raising her brows in curiosity. "I would hope not, Kinsay," she said with a laugh. And hopefully if there was, there would at least be some photographic evidence of the crime so the perpetrators could be caught.


Every so often, Shreya shifted a subtle gaze toward Nemesis. It wasn't that she was concerned—they often displayed pensiveness during a lesson. But something about the Slytherin seemed particularly contemplative, and Shreya couldn't help her mind from wandering in curiosity. What were they thinking about? It was unbelievably hard to tell, and that frustrated her.

The professor was making a round around the classroom, listening to other students' answers, when the matchstick fell to the ground. But she wasn't close enough to their workstation to see what it was.


Shreya was glad that someone had brought up an instant camera. Such a convenient way to capture memories, and a charming one, too. "Wonderful, Heath. There are even some wizarding types of instant cameras that produce moving photographs—no developing solution needed." She had considered bringing some today, but she wanted the students to get the experience of developing a real picture from scratch.