The more professor Curtains spoke about Umbridge, the deeper the frown set on Daehyun's brows became. He'd read lots of things about the woman, and he had yet to find something that he liked about her, or something that he thought she did well.

At the professor's questions, he raised his hand. "She even forbade music from playing during study hours," he said, keeping his voice even, though that degree was one that irked him. It was quite an outrage to forbid music - he couldn't focus without it. "As for punishments..." Letting out a breathy laugh, he held the quill that professor Curtains had left for each of them, and fluttered it in the air. "Her legendary quills."

He was relieved to hear those weren't charmed, because some had voiced the things he'd also thought about, and believed the professor had wanted to let them try those out if they were curious and brave enough to do it. But then he'd realized how silly that thought had been in the first place.

So the Quill was safe.

Shera nodded slightly as she reached to pick it up. She trusted a Professor to not lie directly to her face. Or at least, she hoped he wouldn't when it game to punishing his students in illegal ways. There was no way he could get away with it. So she had it in her hand as she waited for something to right.

But first, questions.

"Didn't one of the decrees stop teachers from being able to talk to students about things that weren't in the teaching curriculum for their subject?" it sounded familiar to her. Which was a weird concept. Was the aim to just keep students in the dark? Or was it to prevent them from studying ahead?

What would she have done? "Pretty sure my parents would've just pulled me out at the point where the decrees were affecting our education. Theres a couple of options that would be awesome..." assuming Hogwarts got to a point where it was no longer awesome. It would probably hurt to leave anyway. "What I don't get is sure, they were trying to keep information from students to stop a panic from rising and get more control in Hogwarts. But, impacting the quality of education of students just means that in the end you'll have a lot of people that aren't qualified to do their jobs."

It seemed self destructive more than anything else.

Yup.

Zoryn was gone.

Professor Curtains had lost her somewhere within his seventh sentence. Didn't the guy ever stop to BREATHE? Were people still taking notes? How did they keep up!?!

She really had tried to pay attention, and it had been (sort of) working at first. Only his words were like a brick wall and Zoryn hit head first. Sooooooo she was no longer paying attention. Instead, she picked up a quill and began doodling on the parchment before her.

La la la laaaa. Lessons were so boring, 'specially when they were about history.

Hello information overload.

Junia tried her best to keep up with her notes for the testing she'd be facing next term, and for Abey, but it was a lot. Luckily the important bits should be in her text book, so she probably didn't need to go into panic attack mode just yet.

Educational decrees. The one about banning music made her wrinkle her nose. She definitely wouldn't have been down with that. As for any of the decrees she remembered hearing about, she had to think...

"Professor, I'm fairly certain that one decree made it a punishable offense to have a copy of the Quibbler."Which was unfair, really. "It was clearly an attack on the material within since it was believed to be different and daring and a bit..out there. The punishment was being expelled, I think, which is a bit extreme, honestly." Also, she'd seen kids do way worse than flip through questionable reading material.

Oh and had she been going to school at that time, she'd have written Hassan and made him come rescue her. Prince Charming cousin would do that for sure.

Ummmm.


Bel was writing down notes as furiously fast as she could but then it came to more questions. Decrees? What decrees? Bel didn't knowwww any decrees.

.... oh she was going to fail this class. Fail it bad. One thing she'd learned about Hogwarts in the year she had been here was it seemed like classes weren't actually places that you got taught new things, they were where you were tested on if you already knew something. Which was doubly hard when you also didn't get to know the subject of the lesson in advance. She couldn't name any decrees, or punishments for them, or which was worst, or if any were justified, or what she would have done given she didn't know what the rules were.

As honest as always, Bel put her hand up, speaking out in her very broad Australian accent.

"Professor, I haven't even heard of Umbridge until now, I haven't got a clue about any decrees, but I don't reckon my parents would've sent me here or even moved here from 'stralia in that political climate. My mum's muggle and my dad's muggleborn. And that makes me wonder, did parents just let that all happen? Why didn't they pull their kids out? How come with all the bad things that have happened here, Hogwarts never gets shut down?"

Prestige could only take a place so far, right?

Ronan was furiously (not in the angry sense, though) taking down notes (in ink pen, because he wasn't about that quill ink all over his hands life, thanks). That was a lot of information to get all at once, though he appreciated it because that meant that Professor Curtains trusted them to be able to handle all that information at once. But it also meant that one had to be quick with the writing.

"One decree that was almost passed would've allowed physical punishment, such as whipping. Luckily, Umbridge was sacked before that came to pass." Ugh, could you imagine? Also, the Aussie, (Bel was her name, no?) had a good question. Why was Hogwarts never shut down? Was whoever made those decisions sipping the crazy juice?

"I think that if I had gone to Hogwarts at that time, my mum probably would've had me joining my cousin at Ilvermorny, even if it meant that I had to go and live with my aunt and uncle." It wasn't like he hadn't lived with them before. And he could come home for a couple of weeks during the summer, or Mum could see him in America.

Harriet made a few notes about what the professor was saying, but not much. She still didn't think an exam would be solely about this woman. That wasn't the best history, but she made enough notes so that she had enough to study from. She hadn't really thought about this topic before. It was pretty interesting. She didn't really know what she would do. It was interesting to think about. She enjoyed school, but she didn't know if she'd have enjoyed it that much if there was a Professor like Umbridge there. Although she hoped that Hogwarts wouldn't let a teacher like that teach again. She did kind of agree with Bel though. So many things had happened at the school, and really it shouldn't have still be open. Things were still going on now, so it was kind of bad. She just hoped that they would all be safe.

She chose to answer the question about decrees though, since Bel and Ronan had kind of already said what she would have said in regards to what she would have done. She put her hand into the air. "There was one decree that said that all the high inquisitor, which was Umbridge, had authority over all punishment. Which... considering what we've already said about the woman is pretty terrifying"

Emmalyn was completely clueless about any of the Umbridge happenings. It all sounded almost made up to her. She couldn't imagine such a thing being allowed at Hogwarts. No, Hogwarts was a safe place for the students. They were just kids! She wondered if it were maybe another joke one of the professors was playing, like the snowball ambush.

However, some of the students seemed to know some of what the professor was saying. Could it be true? She decided to sit quietly and jot down the things the professor and the other students were saying. She didn't have anything to add and was starting to feel a bit uncomfortable about the whole situation.

An interesting conversation was getting boring fast. Zita didn't really care about the topic, but the person did interest her. The more they talked the less her attention was going to follow. She listened to them talk about the decrees and honestly, Zita couldn't remember what they were. "Professor I can't remember what they are, but I do remember reading that many came after kids were caught doing something she didn't like. So like a group of students getting together made her worry they were fighting back so she didn't allow groups of students together anymore." Her eyes went towards the rest of the class listening to them.

Soon her hand was up again, "I'm not sure students had much of a choice once there. I mean the books say that students didn't come back once the dark lord started taking over again, but once there I'm not sure parents would have even been helpful and it stated many left students there because the school was safer than many places. I think if I was there during that time I would have just stayed out of her way and did what she asked. I might not have agreed with it, but staying out of her way and not stirring trouble would have kept from ruining my beautiful skin with her awful quills. "

Did the man stop to breathe at all? Skylar was obviously keeping up with the notes and everything the man was saying but she knew some of her other classmates weren't so diligent and not of the note taking sort. Finishing up on the last few words and notes, her hand was starting to cramp just a little but she was listening as her peers started answering the couple of questions af the end. Most of the decrees had been mentioned since there weren't all that many passed (thank Merlin) and she had to agree with Bel. Sort of. Yes so many terrible things happened at Hogwarts but like Zita mentioned, it was safer than other places might have been.

"The one about the groups and organizations, it originally targeted quidditch and gobstones, but it was later modified that it would only be ones not approved by the high inquistor, thus staking her claim on totalitarian domination." Skylar blinked. Wait. That wasnt the right word, was it? Eh, moving on... "The decrees were obviously not justified but it was just evidence to the time. Also, like Zita said, people stayed because the school was safer than other places. And even now, we still have dangers plaguing our safety but leaving isn't an option for me. Dangers have existed for centuries and leaving and abandoning this place that has given me so many memories and wonderful opportunities and friendships, along with practical experiences of what we learn... sure it might be dangerous, but most of us had parents or siblings attended and they survived? And the challenges, even ones as despicable as these educational decrees have only increased our resilience." She was team Hogwarts until she died and nothing would change or threaten that. Leaving would mean quitting and most days, despite some normal teenage self-conscious feelings over inadequacy, she, Skylar Natasha Diggory, was not a quitter.

....

.......

...........

Okay but what?

Jessa blinked a few times, hearing but not really listening while the Professor went off on an information tirade. Was...was that all meant for them...? Were they meant to absorb every word....? Because at some point the Ravenclaw's mind had gone completely blank and she wasn't sure she could remember what room she was in, let alone all the information being lunged at her.

For several minutes, Jessa remained absolutely still, just trying to make sense of it all but really....what? Merlin's beard, she would have to go through all her notes later but right now nothing was sinking in and she could feel her attention slipping away. That was the problem with lessons like this where they were meant to sit and absorb information; it simply wasn't how she learned. Give her something to do, make her run around and be active, set a problem that needed to be taken apart and put together but to sit and just...listen....?

It was a miracle she caught anything at all.

"I'd go on about my day, Professor." She spoke slowly, her mind still making its way out of the haze. "If I agreed with the decree, I'd follow it. If I didn't, I'd pretend it didn't exist and carry on."

Wow, this lady sounded awful. Rules that stunted student behavior? Like what? Hogwarts was amazing, and part of the wonder was all the freedom she was afforded, and all the activities that students could participate in. Would Muggle Studies have been as fun, or Care of Magical Creatures? Would the house common rooms have all their bells and whistles, like the rodent room in Hufflepuff.

Night thought about what she would have done. "Was there any resistance? Like, among the students, or even other teachers? Because I feel like if there were, I would have been part of that. There's something to be said for defying oppression, even when it's technically wrong." Or at least, there was in Muggle history. Like, the civil rights movement in America, for instance. The resistance came first and foremost from the oppressed. Now, black American citizens were in a much better place, even though Night knew the struggle was far from over. So had there been anything like that at Hogwarts during the time of Dolores Umbridge?

She thought of something else. "Professor, I thought Albus Dumbledore was the headmaster during that period in history. What happened to him?"

Vi smiled as the Professor commented on her answer and then quickly assured the rest of the class that if they had shorter wands, then it wouldn't be too, too bad. Keeping quiet, Vi paused and then thought about the Professor's various questions.

"I think the worst decree would have been the one that allowed Finch to physically punish students..." Talk about awful. But for the ones that passed.... "I think the decree that disbanded organizations and extracurriculars was unreasonable. Students couldn't enjoy what they were doing at school. It was almost as if Hogwarts became like a prison to which Umbridge was the Warden of."

When Sky mentioned the thing about the groups, something stirred in Kye's memory and it kind of just... made her mad! "Yea! Like, she said everyone but Gryffindor could still play Quidditch... She even created a student spy group, right? The Inquisitorial... something?"

This reminded her of a couple of other things she had heard, so she raised her hand. "I remember that they put a decree in about the Ministry getting to choose the professors at Hogwarts if the Headmaster couldn't find one... isn't that how they got away with giving the position to Dolores Umbridge in the first place? I woman with no actual expertise in the field? By that point, the curse had probably been in place for a while, so the Ministry didn't have to fight too hard to get something like that passed through... Then they followed that up by making up that position for Umbridge to be able to rule over the actual professors." How angry she would be if she were a professor!

She thought about what Night said, and wondered what it was like to even be a student at that time... She knew there had been resistance, it was Harry Potter time after all, but this was a little before the Battle of Hogwarts... so, was this just the first step to total defense on Hogwarts' side? Had this been the push for the resistance to really start rallying? It was crazy to imagine them basically fighting off the Ministry and their infiltration, only to be fighting the dark lord in the same setting right after!

Kye could only be grateful that she did not in fact have to deal with all of that, although she could do without having to spend a whole lesson talking about this she-devil of a woman, Umbridge... Couldn't they spend more time talking about awesome witches? Like Minerva McGonagall. Now that woman would have been amazing to be around! Kye had read a biography about her, and really wished she had had the chance to meet her.

Patrick thought hard, what would he have done had he been a student during that time. He remembered a name specifically, Weasley. They had taken to using pranks to take a stand against umbridge. “I’d like to think I would be like the infamous or famous Weasleys who played practical jokes in revolte of her. But on the other hand she banned that from what I understand.” he shrugged thinking harder, he probably would have asked his parents to let him leave, but he figured that wasn’t an appropriate answer.

Huuuuum sooo many questions to chose from. If Skyler were around during that time....
"I'd think I would be quite scared professor because my dad is a muggle and mum's a witch so I would be afraid my parents would be persecuted." She frowned. She couldn't even imagine a time with a war.

Scarlett thought ALL the decrees that the woman had put in to place were awful. It was very obvious what she had been doing - consolidating power. Whether the rules dealt with snogging students or physical punishment, it all accomplished the same goal - to make it clear who was in charge.

She raised her hand. "The worst was, I think, making her Headmistress of the school. Because it showed that all rule of law had been abandoned, giving her full control of the students and giving her reign to do whatever. That was just wrong - the textbook definition of authoritarian," she explained.

Was Zoryn paying attention? Hardly.

But there was something someone had said that she couldn't exactly let go. So without raising her hand, the Gryffindor jumped in absolutely outraged.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dokimoto

When Sky mentioned the thing about the groups, something stirred in Kye's memory and it kind of just... made her mad! "Yea! Like, she said everyone but Gryffindor could still play Quidditch... She even created a student spy group, right? The Inquisitorial... something?"

"WHAT?!" Everyone but Gryffindor???? That is so DUMB. SO UNFAIR. A HATECRIME against Gryffindors EVERYWHERE. "How could she get away with this stuff, Professor C?!" 'Cause if any Professor tried to do that now, Zor would be sure to start a riot and get parents in on it too.

"Didn't anyone try to DO something about it?" Like the other stuff was pretty bad too. But how could This Umperson cancel Gryffindor Quidditch!? THE AUDACITY.

"How come she didn't get FIRED?"

Ok.

Her attention had been sufficiently recaptured.

Kirk had been in his own thoughts throughout the lesson. From what has been mentioned it sure sealed how crazy Hogwarts really had been. He recalled reading up on this crazy woman who seemed to be against anything that was humane. It was confusing how restricting times were back then to him.

How would he have dealt with it? "I'd keep my nose out of it. Not that I would be agreeing with the decrees or afraid, but it wouldn't do my family any favours if they knew I was revolting on something that didn't seem like it would change. If Umbridge had the power to run the school a certain way she probably had a lot of connections elsewhere to make things worse for my family as well." He had to be real here.

Using his wand, Charles conjured a whiteboard out of thin air (attached to the wall behind the desk) and made words appear on it as his students began to list decrees instated by Umbridge. He could have easily written with a marker (two of which appeared with the whiteboard) but he preferred flourishing his wand from a lazy distance. There were of course other decrees, but that was all they needed to know about for now. The question was meant as a general quiz to gauge the students knowledge on decrees and so forth. Occasionally he answered a question or inserted a comment, but in generally he allowed them to voice their opinions without interference.

"There was indeed resistance," he said in reply to Night's question. "For one thing, Harry Potter set up a club for students wishing to practice defense against the dark arts in spite of the Ministry's opinion on the matter. The group was called Dumbledore's Army (though he had nothing to do with it) and its name was used as the excuse the Ministry needed to remove Albus Dumbledore from power. Another means of resistance came in the form of students playing magical pranks, and also in the form of the other teachers being slow to cooperate with Umbridge's orders." Very admirable stuff indeed. "And you are quite right, Shera, but the Ministry didn't take those things into consideration. They were too concerned with stopping people form learning about Voldemort's return that they didn't care if a few hundred students graduated without a proper education. This is one of the reasons why Cornelius Fudge is remembered as one of the worst Ministers in history."

Bel had a very interesting question. Charles paused, unsure of how to answer right away. "That is a very good question, Bel," he said, mind racing for an answer. Why did Hogwarts stay open with a disaster happening nearly every other term??? "And we shall examine that subject on another date. I'm glad you brought it up, though." It wasn't everyday a student stumped him with a question.

And then Zoryn shouted, making Charles flinch in bewilderment. Well! "I'm glad you're invested in this, Zoryn," he said, because he had noticed her zoning off before. "You are quite right to be angry. And yes, I am proud to say the Hogwarts staff and most of the student body resisted her in every way they could. In the end, of course, she was fired." Which he had already stated twice in this lesson, but he supposed she hadn't been paying attention until the injustice to Gryffindor was mentioned.

"But enough talk! Let's get to the activity part of this lesson." Unlike other professors, Charles's class had yet to have any physical activity. It was all reading, listening, debating, and writing - and that wasn't something he was planning on changing anytime soon. "We are going to be conducting an experiment during this lesson. Take out your writing material and look down at that paper in front of you. Now, think of something you would like to change about how Hogwarts is run. It can be either the repeal of an existing school rule or the creation of a new school rule. Any rule you want. The only rule for this activity is that your rule will only apply within the walls of this school. You can do the following activity in teams of two or more, or you can do it on your own. Whichever you prefer, though I encourage teamwork. Older students should help the younger ones if they require assistance. Write your names on the sheet of paper and describe the rule you wish to implement. If you are working in teams, be sure to include every name on the paper. Now."

He paused to let them all start taking out their writing material and get ready. "Once this class is finished, I will take your decrees and will present them to the Headmistress and the rest of the staff. At least one of these decrees will be signed into law. This law will last for the duration of this school term." And no, he couldn't promise it would be forever. Maybe it would be, but then again maybe it wouldn't. "So now, ladies and gentlemen, be creative, and start writing! You're all lawmakers today!" Exciting, right? Or at least, he thought it was exciting!

By the time he'd gotten through the rest of the explanations and written the words on the board, the Ravenclaw was ready to start banging her head against the desk. She'd thought the dry spell that came with Professor Marchand would be over when the woman left, but here was another Professor determined to ensure she never paid attention in History of Magic. It was painful, y'know? Class in and class out doing nothing but reading and writing with the odd debate peppered in here or there. She didn't even like debates, least of all on topics she barely wanted to do reading on.

Paying attention took about all the muscles in her. It was a wonder she hadn't simply taken to looking out the window and counting the minutes by like she usually did when she realized this would be the lesson.

Jessa continued fidgeting restlessly with the quill in her hand, her lips suppressing a yawn that threatened to relay just how over this she already was. It should have been a crime to have kinesthetic learners sit through lessons like this. When exactly was she meant to learn and what reason did she have to remain interested?

Oh?

OOOHHHH??? They'd be doing an experiment???? This definitely had her attention. Jessa sat upright in her seat, now listening with avid curiosity.....but the more she listened....was the more she began to think that either she or the Professor was operating under the wrong concept when it came to "experiments". Writing or repealing a decree in the school.....? What exactly....how exactly was this an experiment? What were they testing? What was the aim they were trying to gain an answer for? Was there a phenomenon they were meant to be decoding then fitting back together....?

Had she missed something here?

Quick as she'd inflated, Jessa deflated once more, struck by the blatant lie. They wouldn't be doing an experiment, they'd just be doing more writing and waiting for the Headmistress to pick the least abrasive or outlandish one. She wanted to say she was disappointed but after so many lessons with the man, the only disappointment came at having her hopes up with such a promise just to come to the conclusion it was false.

Entirely put out now, group work was out of the question. That being the case, Jessa duplicated the paper and took one for herself. Writing her name was about as far as she got. What was the point? Everything she wanted would be denied. At this point, it was likely nothing more than a waste of ink.

She supposed there was no real reason to list anything she wanted, not when they wouldn't change anything. "Professor?" She tried, looking up from the blank paper. "When will we be getting to the experiment part?" Could she skip this and just get there? Please?

Night paused there. She wanted it to be official-looking, so maybe she should write her real name?

What on earth was she supposed to write about? She was only a first year, and she didn't know what was wrong with the school, or what she would change. She thought long and hard about what she missed from home, but nothing really came to mind. She could use the Muggle Studies room for computer access, and the library for all her books. She was allowed to bring her camera and her favorite clothes for weekend wear. But...

Her dog! Night did wish she didn't have to go through some special process to take Butternut and Rosita, her beloved pug and miniature poodle, to school with her. They weren't even that big, and they were perfectly house trained. Some of her classmates got to keep their childhood pets with them, if they had cats, rats, toads, or owls. So why were those the only pets the school accepted? But...

How to word this to be more inclusive, but not dangerous. She certainly didn't want anyone bringing a dragon, for instance. Or a basilisk, for instance. Hadn't she read in Hogwarts: A Modern History that that was what caused the Chamber of Secrets outbreak? At the same time, something safe, like a crup was fine. And, of course, there were nonmagical creatures that could cause just as much harm, if not more, than magical ones. Nobody should be bringing a ball python to class, for instance, or an alligator. She thought for a long time about how to word this decree.

There. Perfection. Not that it was likely to pass, or anything, but it was a step closer to getting to have Butternut and Rosita year round again.

Hmm so Professor didnt say anything about those who might've opted to leave or resist, more like a recapping of the historical facts. Well it is History class after all. But for so long as they were gonna talk about Ugh-bridge he'll just respectfully tune out....

.... And then there was some movement and distinct rustling of parchment.

Echo recall tells him they be making like Capitol Hill today. Does these make-believe law-making come with long lunches, flowing donations and celebrity hobnobbing? Can they have some of those perks now? Helps him get into character...

He grabbed a parchment and his quill then stared at the header. He was having a hard time trying to come up with something that would be approved by the Headmistress and Hogwarts Faculty, feeling more like this was an exercise in futility or unintended comedic relief.

A few minutes have passed and he was getting that sinking feeling that he would end up passing a blank piece of parchment with maybe an apology and the cutest doodle he could muster. Probably not the greatest thing for a Head Boy to turn in though. He had to change his game plan. He had to.... change the way he looked at this thing. Because the things one looks at change. Or so a funny lady on tv once said.

Instead of just being a lawmaker..... what if he suddenly found himself as Headmaster. Ohh ohh cue giddy feeling. What would be the first things he'd sign into Hogwarts law?

SPOILER!!: Notes

• Wash Day Friday aka wear casual clothes day
• Expand the area where brooms/ hoverboards/ small rugs can be flown about freely / designate pedestrian-only paths (the rest of the grounds are free for all)
• Service elevator/ floating carpet that services the Ground floor to the 5th, 6th, 7th floors / Ground floor to the Potions Classroom/ Slytherin CR
• Village / City hopping every other weekend (because Hogsmeade can only offer so much)

..... Thats what he's come up with so far. Think! Theres gotta be more.

So they would be coming up with their own decrees now, hmm? Alright. Now what did she want to decree?

Picking up her quill, she hovered above the parchment for a brief moment before she started to write. Decrees... Ooh how about every three weekends that they would have a three day weekend. Oh yes that sounded very nice.

I, Olivia Alice Holden, do hereby decree the following:
1. Every three weekends shall be a three day weekend.
2. Fourth years and up will have school excursions to different magical schools.
3. Hogsmeade will be open every third weekend for shopping, events, and fun!

Oh man... their own decrees? After all of that negative talk about Umbridge, Kye wasn't really getting any wonderful ideas for new laws... She looked around and saw a few people get right to work. Were they just sitting on those ideas at all times?? Hmmm...

Kye sat in silence for a bit, playing with her quill while she tried to think of something she wished was a thing.

Quote:

By Order of: Valkyrie Atwater

There. Great start. Ooh wait, okay... How about..........

Quote:

- There is to be an annual field trip to a different country to study a given subject of relevance, therefore broadening students' horizons in a comprehensive, front line setting.

- Henceforth, a student is allowed to bring their familiar to class if it is not a hindrance or nuisance to others. Professors reserve the right to ban any familiar from their classroom if it does not behave.

Okay good start. Hmmm anything else?