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Goblinfrog · 05-08-2018, 07:14 PM

Charles's classroom looked much as it and the Great Hall always did. Desks and chairs were arranged in their usual fashion and the ceiling was enchanted to resemble the weather outside. Today it was a sky full of Cumulonimbus clouds intruded upon by occasional splotches of blue. As usual, the history of magic professor is preoccupied with some essay he is writing. He occasionally glances up as a student enters. Find a spot to sit and say hello if you wish.

The only thing different than usual about the classroom was the arrangement of a large blue cooler next to the professor's desk. The word ultrices is written on a paper taped to the top of the cooler. What could it possibly mean?

OOC: Lesson has begun! You can pretend your student was here all along if you haven't posted already.

First question
Second question
Form teams!
Activity!
Ten hours left
Thanks for coming!

DaniDiNardo · 05-10-2018, 08:33 PM

To be entirely honest, Jessa probably wouldn't have noticed Derf taking the seat next to her if he hadn't slammed his head into the desk with that groan...effectively.....yanking her away from her subject matter for at least a good five seconds while she looked him over to make sure he wasn't bleeding. Mentally she made another note to check again in another ten to ensure his injuries weren't internal and causing swelling but otherwise, her attention when right back to her book. The Professor asked if he was alright, reducing her need to. "A cushioning charm might be more advised next time, before slamming your head anywhere." She offered up in a distracted mutter as she paused to change the page.

It was in that moment that another voice broke through the haze and walls her mind had set up to reduce the chattering and distractions around her. Again, she briefly glanced up. "Hey Chloe." Hopefully she felt in a better place about her study schedule now.

But that was about as much small talk as she would allow herself. Vaguely, she was aware of the Professor beginning the lesson. Something about ice-cream....casual Fridays and rules they'd made up last term WHEN HE PROMISED THEY WOULD EXPERIMENT THEN JUST HAD THEM SIT THERE WRITING--not that she was bitter. No. She'd long since accepted that nothing of interest to her would happen in this class.

The relative silence of the room moved aside for chatter again as she assumed the man was finished his address. Context and the Slytherins correction of one of her claw babies' answers gave her a general idea of what they were discussing, coupled with young Botros' correction of the Slytherin's correction and Nettie's retaliation.

Yeah....see....this was all stuff she didn't need....like....at all......so tuning it out while blue eyes continued to scour the pages before her. When the chatter momentarily died, she felt it a good moment to add, "I don't have one. I prefer non-fiction, on books and authors you wouldn't approve of me sharing." And with that, riiiiiiiiight back to reading. For all intents and purposes, it seemed she'd arrived at the correct chapter.

Two minutes til she checked Derf's forehead again.

Saz Hale · 05-10-2018, 08:41 PM

Kimi listened to what the professor was asking and said "My favourite author of fiction is Suzanne Collins who wrote the awesome Hunger Games trilogy"

Charely Potter · 05-10-2018, 08:55 PM

Kirk's feet were on the desk at this point as he continued shaping a few of the overhead clouds in the ceiling. First it was Orion then he saw part of a Hippogriff with a Jarvey and what looked to be the back of Hirsch's head when he heard something about ice cream.

Latin wasn't listed as one of his strengths unfortunately, so he felt the need to pay attention. Especially after talking bout Casual Fridays now. So.... he could ditch the tie then besides weekends? Cool. Kirk wasn't too sure what would be the focus today when they were asked about their favorite fiction writers. Growing up, he just remembered reading rule books on Wizarding Sports, some of his mother's journals on the minds, and Astronomy, so it was majority of non-fiction.

Did he have to admit that? Kirk didn't seem it necessary, but so he didn't look like he had no interest in the discussion, he sat properly in his chair again and listened to the other responses.

siriusblackliveson · 05-10-2018, 08:59 PM

Text Cut: firsties

Patrick had started listening to others answers nodding his head here and there when someone mentioned a book he had previously read. He was honestly a bit surprised by how many of his classmates picked muggle writers, books he read when he was younger and books he loved.

Everything seemed calm and tame until he heard a girl he had met in the common room back to school party. What was her name? Beth, thats her name, well she looked to be telling a girl Hogwarts a History was non-fiction not fiction. He snickered a bit under his breath when he heard the interaction. He had one like that with Zoryn his first year, he learned to just shut up and listen from there on in.

Text Cut: Anna

Patrick noticed a girl he had met a few times give him a thumbs up, ah Anna. He was glad some of the students weren’t angry about the rule change. Honestly he was just thrilled that he could be a part of Hogwarts in some way. He smiled at Anna and went back to listening to the lesson since he had already answered the question at hand.

Nyx · 05-10-2018, 10:16 PM

SPOILER!!: BriGranger1990

Lydia sat up straighter when the professor began to speak. Oooh, so there was ice cream in the cooler? Her favorite flavor was chocolate. She hoped they'd get to the ice cream eating part of the lesson soon. Instead, though, the professor was now going on about casual Fridays and that it had been Patrick's idea. Lydia glanced toward Patrick and gave him a smile to show her appreciation. Casual Fridays would be fun!

Professor Curtains asked about their favorite fictional books, and Lydia listened to her fellow students take turn answering. She beamed when the Hufflepuff next to her, Lizzie, mentioned Neil Gaiman as one of her favorites. Lydia absolutely loved books like Stardust and The Graveyard Book.

When it was her turn, Lydia thought for a moment. Someone had already mentioned C.S. Lewis and his Chronicles of Narnia books. Hmm, another series of books that she had enjoyed about a fantastical world that wasn't too different from their own...

"Philip Pullman and the His Dark Materials trilogy," she said to Professor Curtains.

sweetpinkpixie · 05-11-2018, 02:43 AM

Advice on the cushioning charm from Jessa went somewhat over the fifth years head - it wasn't like he had PLANNED on this all morning or anything. Just sorta happened. Derf was still mulling over language transformations and now wandering to whether or not he could create an incantation using bowtruckle and Latin - or even Mermish - when the Head Boy's words cut through all the pondering.

Oh. Um....well then. That made loads more sense despite feeling a bit crestfallen.

Glancing back and forth between Ronan and the professor, Derf reckoned that he ought to go speak with Professor Noble about this later. Seeing as this was a discussion about books and authors and now, well, appealing to his budding linguistic interests. But it was also in thanks to Ronan that he heard Bel ask about Casual Fridays. "That's not what that means," he chuckled with a mild yawn as he turned to look at his friend. "Reckon it just means we don't hafta wear our uniforms." Which, well, again...he had no real opinion about it. He liked his Hufflepuff robes well enough. Maybe he would just switch to sandals instead of loafers on those days.

TeafortheSoul · 05-11-2018, 03:29 AM

Oh good. P I S T A C H I O. The real Max was present and accounted for. Bel hid a smile behind her hand, knowing that if she had to explain to anyone else what that was all about, they would probably not get it at all. But she found it funny.

There was a lot of talking going on and Derf's voice managed to cut through the hubbub and it belatedly dawned on Bel that her friends WERE in fact all present, and that she had not said hello to even one of them, she was just that blinkered when she had come in. Which..... was crazy. Who knew THAT could happen? Not that she minded the distraction... probably nobody had noticed, right?

Bel grinned a bit sheepishly at Derf when he classified it was something about uniforms. Oh, NOT wearing them. She brightened. "We call that mufti day back home." Bel explained. That she was all for. No skirts! Bonza!

Idly, Bel listened to different people answering the question, and soon enough Max had her attention again. Or his answer did. She thought it was a great answer, really, and it kind of have her an idea, one that she tucked away for further thinking on later... or now. She found herself looking up at the enchanted ceiling again and quietly zoning out, a little smile on her face. Yep, she had just had a great idea, she was a genius.

ArianaBlack · 05-11-2018, 03:45 AM

Zoryn was paying attention to absolutely nothing, UNTIL Bel asked about casual Fridays. "I think that's fair, Professor!" she chimed in nodding LOADS. Casually deciding not to go to class? BOOYA. Zoryn was HERE !! FOR !! IT!!

Which also meant she gave Derf a side-eye when he piped in to shoot the idea down. Not that he likely caught it, as he was sitting in front of her. Which is why she balled up a piece of parchment and threw it at the back of his head. It was her way of trying to tell him TO SHUT UP !!!!!! C'mon Derf, please let them have ONE good thing here!

'Cause Deeeeeerfffff, weren't we all on the same side here?!?! Why would you try to ruin SUCH a good idea like that! It was in moments like these when Zoryn remembered that some of her friends couldn't be trusted when it came to academia. Derf, for example, was one of them. He cared too much.

This is why she had to continue being friends with people like Théo. He got it.

Goblinfrog · 05-11-2018, 09:02 PM

He listened as one by one (or two by two in some of the more disorderly cases) they mentioned authors that they read and enjoyed. C.S.Lewis, Tolkien, Philip Pullman, Stephen King, Lewis Carrol, Neil Gaiman, George R. R. Martin, Lemony Snicket, John Green, Jenny Han, Beedle the Bard, Brynn Tateand, and too many others to keep track of. About three quarters of them he recognized. There was no wrong answer. "That's an impressive list of authors, Quinn. You are indeed the reader." Very impressive indeed! "To the question on whether comic books count: Yes Maxton, comic books do indeed count. Poetry counts too, Beth. How could we exclude Shakespeare and Nayyirah Waheed?" Some people considered him to be the father of the English language, which was technically true. Technically, but not literally.

There was a question about Casual Friday from Bel. "Casual Friday just means you don't have to wear school uniform to class if you do not want to. You can express yourself how you would do so at home or with friends. Normally this would get you punished, but not on Casual Fridays." But of course Zoryn chimed in with what she did. No surprise, considering the decree she had written last year. Charles had been entertained by that one.

There was also a question from young Miranda about the meaning of the word fiction. Turning to her and smiling, Charles said: "A fictional story is a story that did not actually happen in real life. It's made up, like stories many of our parents would tell us before going to bed. That does not mean, however, that fictional stories are lies. The best fictional stories contain truths about human nature (or elf or goblin nature) and often describe the world as it is." He hoped it didn't sound too complicated for the young Hufflepuff. "Are there any stories you enjoy hearing, Miranda? You must have heard a few."

An important issue was brought up by Derf and Ronan. Was the professor's Latin translation incorrect? "I am impressed by your knowledge of Latin, both of you. Glacias crepito translates literally into ice cream in some translations, but in other translations it is transformed into 'eating ice cream.' Ultrices on the other hand literally translates into ice cream. This is tricky, because it is true that glacias translates into ice and crepito translates into cream. But put it together and you get eating ice cream in some translation texts and ice cream in other texts. I know, it's tricky and I can't explain what those two words could possible have to do with eating. You can use whichever translation you prefer."

Unfortunately Jessa was being problematic. He turned to face her with raised eyebrows. "The discussion for today is fictional books, Ms. Cambridge, but your answer fascinates me. It fascinated me because I have never expressed disapproval towards any particular writer or book, fiction or non-fiction. So now I am curious as to what sort of books you are reading. I am going to ask you to please share with us the name of one of your favorite non-fiction writers, and why you think I would disapprove of them." This could be interesting.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"It is wonderful to see that so many of you are avid readers," he said when everyone had the chance to contribute at least one writer whom they enjoyed. "'Well-read people are less likely to be evil. Wicked people never have time for reading. It's one of the reasons for their wickedness.' Those are quotes from author Lemony Snicket, and I believe them to contain truth." There were a few students who did not mention any writer. Zoryn, for instance. Of course those Lemony Snicket quotes were not meant to be a dig at them. Hopefully after this lesson they would get inspired to open a book and give it a chance.

"Moving on to our next question, I want to focus exclusively on works of fiction which contain magic in them. They can contain realistic magic (such as the magic we practice) or they can contain outlandish magic which is not possible in our world. Now I want you to think of one of these fictional works containing magic. You can love it or hate it, all that matters is that you are knowledgeable about the magic in the book or books you have selected. Briefly describe how magic works in the work you have selected. Where does it come from? How does it differ from real life magic? Was the author a Muggle? You don't have to answer this question if you haven't read any fictional books containing magic. We have an activity coming up that you all will partake in, don't worry."

OOC: Sorry I took long in responding. I came home late from work and put it off probably longer than I should have. Hopefully we can continue in 24 hours!

2111jen · 05-11-2018, 09:28 PM

SPOILER!!: PROFESSOR

Quote:

Originally Posted by Goblinfrog

He listened as one by one (or two by two in some of the more disorderly cases) they mentioned authors that they read and enjoyed. C.S.Lewis, Tolkien, Philip Pullman, Stephen King, Lewis Carrol, Neil Gaiman, George R. R. Martin, Lemony Snicket, John Green, Jenny Han, Beedle the Bard, Brynn Tateand, and too many others to keep track of. About three quarters of them he recognized. There was no wrong answer. "That's an impressive list of authors, Quinn. You are indeed the reader." Very impressive indeed! "To the question on whether comic books count: Yes Maxton, comic books do indeed count. Poetry counts too, Beth. How could we exclude Shakespeare and Nayyirah Waheed?" Some people considered him to be the father of the English language, which was technically true. Technically, but not literally.

There was a question about Casual Friday from Bel. "Casual Friday just means you don't have to wear school uniform to class if you do not want to. You can express yourself how you would do so at home or with friends. Normally this would get you punished, but not on Casual Fridays." But of course Zoryn chimed in with what she did. No surprise, considering the decree she had written last year. Charles had been entertained by that one.

There was also a question from young Miranda about the meaning of the word fiction. Turning to her and smiling, Charles said: "A fictional story is a story that did not actually happen in real life. It's made up, like stories many of our parents would tell us before going to bed. That does not mean, however, that fictional stories are lies. The best fictional stories contain truths about human nature (or elf or goblin nature) and often describe the world as it is." He hoped it didn't sound too complicated for the young Hufflepuff. "Are there any stories you enjoy hearing, Miranda? You must have heard a few."

An important issue was brought up by Derf and Ronan. Was the professor's Latin translation incorrect? "I am impressed by your knowledge of Latin, both of you. Glacias crepito translates literally into ice cream in some translations, but in other translations it is transformed into 'eating ice cream.' Ultrices on the other hand literally translates into ice cream. This is tricky, because it is true that glacias translates into ice and crepito translates into cream. But put it together and you get eating ice cream in some translation texts and ice cream in other texts. I know, it's tricky and I can't explain what those two words could possible have to do with eating. You can use whichever translation you prefer."

Unfortunately Jessa was being problematic. He turned to face her with raised eyebrows. "The discussion for today is fictional books, Ms. Cambridge, but your answer fascinates me. It fascinated me because I have never expressed disapproval towards any particular writer or book, fiction or non-fiction. So now I am curious as to what sort of books you are reading. I am going to ask you to please share with us the name of one of your favorite non-fiction writers, and why you think I would disapprove of them." This could be interesting.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"It is wonderful to see that so many of you are avid readers," he said when everyone had the chance to contribute at least one writer whom they enjoyed. "'Well-read people are less likely to be evil. Wicked people never have time for reading. It's one of the reasons for their wickedness.' Those are quotes from author Lemony Snicket, and I believe them to contain truth." There were a few students who did not mention any writer. Zoryn, for instance. Of course those Lemony Snicket quotes were not meant to be a dig at them. Hopefully after this lesson they would get inspired to open a book and give it a chance.

"Moving on to our next question, I want to focus exclusively on works of fiction which contain magic in them. They can contain realistic magic (such as the magic we practice) or they can contain outlandish magic which is not possible in our world. Now I want you to think of one of these fictional works containing magic. You can love it or hate it, all that matters is that you are knowledgeable about the magic in the book or books you have selected. Briefly describe how magic works in the work you have selected. Where does it come from? How does it differ from real life magic? Was the author a Muggle? You don't have to answer this question if you haven't read any fictional books containing magic. We have an activity coming up that you all will partake in, don't worry."

OOC: Sorry I took long in responding. I came home late from work and put it off probably longer than I should have. Hopefully we can continue in 24 hours!

Huuuum. Works of fiction that have magic in them? Well, there are obvious ones like the Wizard of Oz. What about Alice and Wonderland? Or no? She frowned and raised her hand.
"I've read parts of Alice and Wonderland, and Wizard of Oz," Skyler said. Well, at least, she would be the first to answer, even if most would say Wizard of Oz.

aRogueOne · 05-11-2018, 10:05 PM

Hmm... Interesting. He’d never actually thought about it that way. “Evil people not having time to read? I... I’m not sure I agree with that Professor”, his voice as polite as he could manage. “I mean, If I was evil, and I’m not saying I am, but I’d want to know as much as possible to help me in my dark and nefarious plans. Not knowing everything? I mean, you’re just setting yourself up for a fail before you even start”. Hoping that he wasn’t overstepping the line, but that’s what discussions are for, right?

Clearing his mind of this for now, his mind wandered to Prof Q’s next question. Letting his mind wander over his next question, he briefly considered a variety of books before settling on the Percy Jackson series by Rick Riordan. “The magic in the books is essentially ancient, almost. It stems from the notion that the Ancient Greek are alive and well and move around with the shift of power. For example, in the books, the Gods resided over America”. Thinking carefully about his next sentence, he continued “the magic that comes along with this is concealed by some kind of ‘Mist’. It would shroud the magic in a way that the muggles could understand”. Running his hands through his hair, he took a second to consider the next part of the question. “All of the magic comes from the gods. They have children with humans and then pass on aspects of their own powers to their children. I guess it’s similar in that magic in our world can pass from parents to children, but it doesn’t always work that way. I mean, as far as I know, there’s no magic in my family”.

Blushing slightly now, he looked around, aware that he’d talked for a while. Quietly he mumbled about the author not being a wizard as far as he knew (Well aware that he could well be and that it wouldn’t surprise him one bit), he looked down. Eager for someone else to take the spotlight off him.

Felixir · 05-11-2018, 10:17 PM

Abra had to say - though not out loud, Merlin - that the mention of ice cream actually hadn't done much to perk him up. Ice cream was great and all, when you had it on a hot day, to cool down. This was not one of those days, despite what anyone said, so Abra wasn't exactly tempted. Then there was the fact that you could never really trust food that was given to you in a classroom at Hogwarts. That too.

As for that first question... he was a little relieved to find it was something that would allow him to keep his silence. Fiction authors? Easy. Nobody. Abra hardly ever read, and when he did, it wasn't as a pastime. Outside of school, most of the reading he did do was to do with art or sometimes Quidditch, with the occasional fashion magazine thrown in (usually borrowed off of someone else). Non-fiction. Which clearly meant he got a free pass for that question, and he let his mind wander for a while. Perhaps maybe for a little longer than necessary.

........ Hold on. Hold up. Just... just... wait a minute.

Something caught Abra's attention, through all his zoning in and out (he tried to concentrate, he really did, but his ears processed words just as badly as his eyes did). That part about.. being well-read versus... being evil.

Professor Curtains was going on to ask about the writing people had mentioned, so again Abra would have felt he had no real answers to give... if he wasn't already completely in his feelings about that quote. Was Curtains calling him evil then? Likely to be wicked, because he didn't like to, or couldn't, read the same way that everyone else did. It definitely felt that way, especially to Abra, who was very skilled at taking everything personally. With a wounded expression on his face, he slumped down slightly in his seat and averted his eyes.

Ouch.

Lissy Longbottom · 05-11-2018, 10:48 PM

Nettie was able to breathe a little easier when Professor Curtains (graciously) glossed over the little spat between her and Sassy Snake over there. Now she had a better understanding of where they were going with this lesson. She had scribbled down a list of the books in her notes - not only for the class, but also for her own reference for later. She DID love to read, and she had only read one of these listed, thanks to Jimmy. It was probably wayyy to graphic for her, yet he'd let her read it anyways because he was a ~~terrible~~ cool brother like that.

She raised her hand. "Well, the only one I have read that is listed here are the Game of Thrones books. They have some magic in the books, but it is definitely MUCH different than the magic we have. Like, when people die, they are brought back as White Walkers, which are like - ice zombies, which isn't the case in real life. We can reanimate people, but it requires a wand, whereas the zombies in Game of Thrones are made by the main zombie just like...touching them," she explained. They were both pretty mindless though, and could be destroyed by fire.

And that quote about wicked people not reading...some people seemed kind of upset about it. Trinetta didn't care, because she wasn't evil and she liked to read so...yeah. Plus, she was sure there were evil people who DID read, and people who weren't evil who didn't enjoy reading. It just wasn't for everyone, she supposed.

itsjustjesse · 05-12-2018, 12:23 AM

Beth raised an eyebrow at Nettie when she responded to her and just gave her a cool and not even slightly reproachful look. Sure, she might have sounded rude, clearly that hadn’t been the girl’s intention. Some people in this place had a knack for reading things the wrong way – afterall fiction was a French word. Still, the interaction with the girl only made her want to reach out later – to explain that that boy had taken her interaction as being rude when really, truly, she had simply had an e m o t i o n l e s s response.

Emotions weren’t helpful here, she also respected the claw girl for her guts. Beth eyes tracked to Professor Curtains when he commented on what she had brought up perfect. That recognition was a blessed little thing, and then she turned her icy stare toward one Ewan and over to Quinn quickly she needed to know now what in merlin’s long decaying bones what was going on. ”isn’t that the book where the character has my name?” she whispered to her friend and then the description of the book came, and…merlin no nope was he blushing? She wasn’t going to face that.

#N O T T O D A Y S A T A N. Not today. Ignoring what could very well be awkward the blonde turned her attention back to the class and to the hand she had raised.

I’m waaaaating oh, good, it didn’t take too long for Curtains to call on her. ”Professor, the book I’ve been reaching has magic that contrasts that of a lot of books I’ve read…that being Joseph Fink and Jeffrey Cranor’s Welcome to Night Vale – supernatural occurrences happen at mass in the town of Night Vale, it’s like a surrealists daydream…there are characters that die and come back to life – there’s its honestly hard to explain – Night Vale is Night Vale no other places are like it and its better when you listen to it” she explained disappointedly, though so she kept on ”oh…so I have a bit from the pilot of it here [i]a great howling was heard from the Night Vale Post office yesterday. Postal workers claim no knowledge, although passers-by described the sound as being like ‘a human soul being destroyed through black magic’…the stories, all of them really have a sort of mystical surrealism to them even when magic isn’t involved” the girl explained before pushing her glasses further up the bridge of her nose. Did that work to explain things? Night Vale was awesome that’s all these people needed to know.

Cassirin · 05-12-2018, 12:32 AM

It was unlikely that people who didn't read were evil, although Chloe appreciated the wit of the quote. More likely, people who didn't read had a shallower and less satisfying inner life. It was something to be sad about, on their behalf, but it didn't make anyone bad. Plus some people couldn't read, or it was hard, and that wasn't their fault.

But talking about books was fun, and Chloe eagerly turned her attention to the thoughts of her classmates. Game of Thrones! That was an oldie, and particularly violent. Not to her tastes, but there were dragons, and Nettie got a nod of approval. Greek mythology, Wizard of Oz, Alice in Wonderland, all good stuff, all very magical.

Chloe raised her hand. "The Aquila Albert books I mentioned were written by a witch, Brynn Tate. So the magic in them is very real and recognizable to the reader, 'cause she doesn't make stuff up. There are even magical creatures, like dragons and unicorns, 'cause Aquila is a magizoologist." Which was something that Chloe herself was more than a little interested in learning more about.

Waterloo · 05-12-2018, 01:37 AM

Had Professor Curtains literally just called all the non-readers in the class evil?

Well, that was a tad extreme wasn't it? Max definitely enjoyed escaping into the imaginary world of fiction but he wouldn't go as far as to say people who didn't were evil or wicked. He glanced at Bel and raised a skeptical eyebrow, wondering what she thought about all of this.

He sat quietly, listening to the comments from all the other kids. One girl mentioned a book about zombies and he made a mental note to check that one out. Zombies were cool.

This was actually kind of right up his street, and he quickly raised his arm in the air again. Professor Curtains had said comics were okay so... here goes. "A lot of the comics I read have superheroes in them, Sir. And they have superpowers like superstrength or invisibility which I guess you could say are kinda like magic." But also kind of not like magic really. "They don't have to channel their magic through a wand like we do, it's kinda just ... in them."

Sometimes he didn't really know why he bothered. He was useless at explaining stuff.

GoldenSnake · 05-12-2018, 01:40 AM

Well-read people are less likely to be evil? Ari raised an eyebrow at the statement. Being a not-so-well-read eleven-year old, Ari didn't like the thought of being on the "more likely to be evil" side, but she guessed the professor might possibly have a point. Her father, an avid reader, is certainly the nicest, most generous, most unselfish person Ari has ever met - possibly, a little too naive to the point of being, well, a bit foolish, as some of her other family members would say. Ari believes that her sister Caileigh, on the other hand, belongs in the "less-read' category, and Ari has no qualms whatsoever in putting her in the "more likely to be evil" side, if not already evil.

Returning to the class discussion, Ari tried to summon the details of the Chronicles of Narnia. It has been a while since her father had read the stories to her, but with enough digging, perhaps she'll be able to recall the specifics.

"To be honest, I didn't think Narnia was fake magic at first." Ari pointed out, remembering that she used to think animals could talk like Aslan. She would spend hours playing with Duke, trying to get a word out of him. But she never went as far as a whimpering "woof" from the elderly collie. "The so-called 'magic' in the books seemed pretty realistic to me at the time. There were centaurs, giants, trolls, witches, spells, curses, prophecies... you couldn't really tell unless you looked at the details." Ari gave a slight shrug at her answer. After hearing all her classmates's discussions about books and novels she wasn't even aware of, it became more apparent than ever to Ari that she is definitely on the less well-read side. Is that going to change her attitude towards reading? nOpe.

Dokimoto · 05-12-2018, 01:52 AM

Kye smiled at her dormie and smirked when Vivi said to nudge her if needed. “Don’t worry, will do,” she whispered back with a wink. It could be funny though, to let her start snoring or something, wouldn’t it? Alas, Vivi was one of the people Kye wouldn’t do that to.

Class finally started, and Professor Curtains didn’t waste much time before explaining the cooler. Not that Kye thought he’d leave them in the dark for long. Although… Kye was off put by the word ‘packet’ in there. That wasn’t a way she liked to enjoy ice cream. Hold up. Casual Fridays?!?!

“Nice one Patrick!” she said in his direction.

Ooh… favorite fiction? Yes that was a difficult one to answer. Kye listened to some of the other answers and nodded when Nathan brought up George R. R. Martin. Raising her hand, Kye answered as well, “I definitely agree with George R. R. Martin, and also J.R.R. Tolkien. Those kinds of realms have always been quite fascinating, especially since they seem to completely flip reality around. Like, there were forms of magic, but they were more like ‘magic.’” Did that make sense? Had anyone here ever read those series? Huh, that first year (Trinetta) had. Nice! “Well, in one, there seems to be magic available for a small amount of people… and in the other, it’s more like there is different magic available for different species… That is sort of correct though I guess. Like, the magic of phoenix tears vs. our wand magic vs. centaurs and so on."

She had heard of a couple of other books mentioned, such as Alice in Wonderland and The Wizard of Oz. She was sure everyone knew Wizard of Oz after the play last year, even if they didn't read the book. She was happy to hear that a lot of her fellow classmates read though, because when she was younger it had definitely felt a little less like that was the case!

Anna Banana · 05-12-2018, 02:46 AM

For once in her life, Maddie Kemp was silent. Her head turned side to side as she tried to keep up with the drama in the classroom. Why were people getting so worked up about things? There was the one girl who was pretty adamant about what was and wasn't a fiction story, and then there was somebody else who wanted an exact and precise definition of the word fiction. Maddie guessed she just wasn't the type to get that involved in a discussion. Just a simple opinionated answer sounded good to her, and that's exactly what she was about to give.

"Well, there's Disney books," she said, raising her hand. "I went to Disney World over the summer, and people kept saying it was the most magical place on Earth. There's tons of books about the characters we saw there. I'm guessing their definition of magic is completely different from mine, because all anybody ever got out of a wand wave was a whole bunch of glitter." Oh, and there had been that fairy who'd flown from the top of the castle, but she could have also been a doxy...

siriusblackliveson · 05-12-2018, 03:38 AM

Patrick listened to all of the students. Well, after listening to professor curtains basically say that any student who didn't read was evil. Although, Patrick wasbpretty sure he had more of an idea of how to be evil from reading than if he hadn't read all the books. Although, he really did miss reading with his old classmates. There wasn't English here so he often forgot just how much he liked reading until now.

Some other kid mentioned the Percy Jackson series, which was the one he mentioned to the first question. He heard the younger student tell Professor Curtains that the book had magic from the mist and passing powers down to each child of the gods. But honestly, Patrick's favorite part was at the end of the first one.

Raising his hand and sitting quietly, he waited for the Professor to call on him and let him tell him all about the magic. "well as he already mentioned Percy Jackson has magic everywhere but there's a place that sucks you in and freezes time inside but everything else outside continues to move on. It's almost as if a time turner is constantly running." Patrick got way too hype about books it was kind of a problem. But one he would gladly take.

ArianaBlack · 05-12-2018, 04:24 AM

Alright so either the majority of people here read one fiction novel and had a really good memory OR they were all liars. Because there was no stinkin’ way that everyone had THAT much time to read. Zoryn didn’t even study and she hardly had time to do HALF of the things she wanted to do. The Ravenclaws, she believed. Everyone else? Liars.

As for Professor Curtains, Zoryn was hardly listening to anything he was saying in response to the answers that others gave. There really was no need to pay attention to any of this stuff, right? Not when she was sure Derf would be willing to share his notes with her later. The perks of having friends who cared outweighed the consequences, sometimes. Besides all of this, Zoryn was paying attention to others around the room. It was her favorite hobby during a lesson: people watching.

She typically scanned the room trying to figure out which kids still hadn’t had their first snog or even assigning ranks to their appearances. In the meanwhile, she was tuning in and out of the lecture and happened to tune in right when Professor Curtains mentioned evil in relationship to one’s appeal for reading.

While Zor didn’t really care for what Professor C saw her as, she did notice Abra (who was only sitting a chair or so away from her) sink down into his chair. Zoryn knew that he didn’t spend much time in the library either. And while she was still jealous of his captaincy, he was also her friend. And he was the last person in this world who would turn out wicked. All of this along with the fact that Zoryn hadn’t spoken up in a few minutes (and was itching to speak), coupled with her constant need to argue with those in positions of power, meant that Zoryn Spinnet was about to make an unnecessary sort of comment.

“No offense, Professor… but,” and no good sentence ever started that way. “that’s a stupid thing to believe. I don’t know who this Limey bloke thinks he is, but evil people probably read WAY more than your average joes. 'Cause if you’re really trying to plot something evil, you’d want to know everything there is to know so your plan is sure to work. A wicked person who doesn’t read probably won’t do any damage at all and at that point aren't they just a minor inconvenience at best?” History was way more interesting when it was turned into a debate club meeting anyhow. “Plus, do you really think it’s a good idea to tell our young, impressionable minds that if we don’t read we’re more destined be evil? That’s a pretty awful way to encourage us to read, if you ask me, Professor. Now I wanna read even less just to prove you wrong.” She didn’t read at all, by the way, unless you counted Witch Weekly and that one fanfiction about Justine Janvier and Alice Odessa. So reading even less would be pretty near impossible. It was about the intention though, okay?

He was definitely projecting.

Anyways could she get points for that? She had made some VERY intelligent commentary if she did say so herself.

Birchwoodmom · 05-12-2018, 04:31 AM

She had been keeping up fairly well for the first part of class. Her love of books meant she was probably not evil. That was a plus. Unfortunately, she had no idea how she was supposed to know which authors were muggles and which were not. It wasn't like there was some sort of master list...or was there? Yet another thing her muggle upbringing made more of a challenge.

She tried to picture some of her favorite books and work out if the magical things happening were real or not. There were still so many parts of the magical world that she had no idea about that it was rather overwhelming trying to figure out if it was real or not.

"Sir, I think the author, Michael Ende, that wrote The Neverending Story might have been a wizard. There are flying dragons, a talking giant turtle, and a magical medallion, just to name a few. The writers knowledge of magical creatures seems too good for him to be a muggle." She wasn't sure if that was what Professor Curtains was looking for, but at least she was trying.

debpetrisor · 05-12-2018, 04:50 AM

Well-read people are less likely to be evil? Did that mean that he was the purest kind of wizard, being buried in books all day and night? Even though non-fiction? Daehyun doubted the darkest wizards didn't read, even if only books on dark spells, but who was he to question the words of this Melony Snicket or what was his fruity name. And, listening to all the names thrown here and there, he felt compelled to try at least a few. Maybe it'd be a pleasurable experience to read some fiction, too.

As for works of fiction that contain magic... he would have been completely lost if it weren't for the brilliant Beedle the Bard that he'd mentioned earlier, so he raised his hand. "Beedle the Bard wrote about realistic magic in his fairy tales," he said. "Like The Tale of the Three Brothers, it taught us about three powerful objects in our world."

lazykitty · 05-12-2018, 05:05 AM

Ughh, where had Headmistress Hawthorne found this guy!? Because what he was saying was like saying that French had different translations. Which, aside from translating it into all the different world languages, Ronan knew to be very wrong. But instead of saying anything, he merely pinched the bridge of his nose and shook his head.

And the next thing to come out of the professor's mouth had him ready to leave the room. "Zoryn's right professor. Besides, what about all the people in the world who have trouble reading for some reason? Like say, dyslexics for example?" Not that he himself was one or anything. Just that he was aware that that disease existed, seemly unlike Professor Curtains and this idiot he was quoting. "'There is nothing more frightful than ignorance in action.' Goethe." That quote pretty much summed up this particular 'lesson' perfectly.

SilverTiger · 05-12-2018, 06:46 AM

The debate about the meaning of ‘ultrices’ hadn’t slipped past Stasya’s attention. Except, she hadn’t addressed it because she’d been much too distracted by trying to figure out exactly why Derf had gotten all weird when Cam had joined her. It was way too weird for her, but then also it made her wonder if she’d missed something. Either way, both boys had gotten a smile from her seeing as the lesson had begun, so actual conversation would have to wait.

Plus, there had been the dilemma of the discussion questions. Honestly, most of the books she’d been reading recently that hadn’t been for lessons were about Animagus stuff. Definitely not fictional at all, and Jessa and others had already brought up the topic of nonfiction so she’d just remained silent during it all, waiting to find out how it all connected. That and inwardly cringing as Zoryn and Ronan started arguing with the professor.

“What about mythology? Legends and fairytales and all of those stories. They don’t always have a specific author,” the Russian and Icelandic ones she knew and had known since she was tiny definitely didn’t, “but lots of those definitely involve magic or things that sound an awful lot like magic if it isn’t” Yes, it was an attempt to defuse the tension, but it also was sort of an answer too.

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