Is This a Normal Feeling? on Defense Against the Dark Arts

Professor O'Rourke

November 25, 2012 4:47 PM

Beginner Level (First and Second) by Professor O'Rourke

Alex would never admit that he leapt at the opportunity to substitute for Defense Against the Dark Arts professor, Erika Levy. However, that would be a fairly accurate description of the Astronomy Professor’s reaction. He didn’t have any information as to where Professor Levy was, or why she was shirking her duties; but Alex, having no real responsibilities outside of the castle, wasn’t going to let such an important class slip through the cracks. Plus, not only was he qualified to step in, having held the post at his prior place of employment, but he had a passion for it. Sure, Astronomy paid the bills, but Defense was his first love.

It felt a little awkward being in a classroom that wasn’t his own; he was used to things in a certain order and deviating from routine wasn’t something Alex was particularly fond of. However, he had to overcome these minor irritations for his students. Their magical education was his priority. The astronomy professor reviewed previous lesson plans, trying to get a grasp on what the students already knew, and where reinforcement was needed. Unfortunately, he was getting to them a bit late in the term, so he couldn’t get as in-depth as he would have liked. In fact, he couldn’t help but feel that they’d been a little cheated, based on what he knew of Professor Levy’s previous lessons. Normally he would have started with a bit of theory, what defense is, why it’s important, etc. However, it was easy to lose young students in a lecture. They usually responded a little better to practical work.

The Astronomy Professor was well aware of the fact that the intermediate class had been tasked with trying to disarm each other. He felt this was beginner work, though he understood the context of the lesson was more complicated and revolved around mindset rather than the spells themselves. His plan was to introduce the first and second years to Defense, with a lot of wand work.

He waited patiently for the students to file in and take their seats, smiling to himself as the class size dwarfed that of his Astronomy class. He gave them another few moments to settle in before he rose from his spot, perched at the edge of Levy’s desk, and straightened the cream dress robes he was known for wearing.

“Welcome to Defense Against the Dark Arts, I’m Professor O’Rourke. Normally, I teach astronomy, a course some of you may be taking next term. Today, however, I am stepping in for Professor Levy. I assure you, I have the proper qualifications to teach this class, so no worries.” Alex smiled and removed his wand from his robes. “By now, you’re all familiar with your wands; how to hold them, how to store them, and so on. Your wand is an extension of yourself, and one of the most important parts of defending yourself. If you can’t control your wand, your magic will be inconsistent and somewhat unpredictable and you can’t hope to accomplish much that way. For today’s lesson, we’ll be using wands over quills, so please take yours out now.” He said, pointing his wand at the black board as the names of two spells appeared.

“The Dark Arts are ever changing. As each new generation of witches and wizards come into the world, new forms of evil are introduced to us, so it’s of vital importance to be quick on your feet as well as fast thinking. It’s also important to have a strong foundation. Two of the most important spells you can have under your belt as expelliarmus, and protego. Expelliarmus, a disarming spell, is meant to relieve your opponent of their wand, but will, on occasion knock someone off their feet if not aimed directly at the wand. Protego, a basic shielding charm, will deflect spells. With shielding charms, there are variations, depending on how much protection you need. We’ll be starting small today, however.” Alex firmly gripped his wand and summoned forth a battle mannequin from one of the cupboards. It was tall and fairly harmless looking, but held a wand loosely in its lifeless hand.

“I want everyone to pair off, ideally one first year and one second, as I feel you can learn from your more mature peers, but that is up to you. In those pairings, first years will be practicing disarming their opponents, while second years will try and shield. Please do not be discouraged if you don’t succeed on your first try, alternatively, if you need help, or would like a more challenging spell, let me know. Please do not deviate from these spells. I want you to learn, not to mess about.”

“Now, to disarm, aim at the wand hand of your opponent. The hand motion is a downward slash that curls twice at the end, and the incantation is expelliarmus.” The professor explained, clearing his throat as his aimed at the mannequin. “Expelliarmus!” He shouted, as a stream of red light shot from the tip of his wand, connecting with that of the mannequin causing the faux wand to fly from where it was held.

“Clearly it’ll be a bit more challenging with a live partner, particularly since they will be blocking you. Quickness and intent is key. Now, shielding is a quick upward flick of the wand whilst uttering the word, protego.” Alex once more demonstrated the spell causing a light blue transparent wall to form in front of him before dissipating. “Timing with this one is everything, if you shield too early, or too late, you’ll be disarmed. Once you have each successfully completed your spells, I’d like you to switch. If you have any questions or need help, feel free to call me over. Have at it.” The professor said with a smile, sending the mannequin back to his cupboard with a swish of his wand.

“Oh right, and the floor has been treated with the cushioning spell, so any falls won’t hurt that much.”

((Welcome to Defense Against the Dark Arts! Please note your house in the author line so points can be awarded appropriately. Also, keep the posting rules in mind, and feel free to tag Professor O’Rourke if needed.))

Subthreads:

Trying to find my fighting spirit by Effie Arbon, Crotalus

Is This a Normal Feeling? by Rupert Princeton, Pecari with Liam Ammon, Pecari, Rupert

0 Professor O'Rourke Beginner Level (First and Second) 0 Professor O'Rourke 1 5

Effie Arbon, Crotalus

November 28, 2012 5:37 PM

Trying to find my fighting spirit by Effie Arbon, Crotalus

Defence Against the Dark Arts was a useful subject. Attempts to harm and manipulate others could creep insidiously into anyone's life. Whilst there were many other lessons where being a housewife, with hired help, rendered the content irrelevant, defending herself might – in the worst of circumstances – fall to Effie herself to do. One needed a certain amount of self-reliance and command of one's magic, regardless of the manner in which one expected to be kept by a husband.

She was relieved to see someone a lot more normal looking than their usual teacher in front of the class and her good opinion of him was raised by the calm and logical manner in which he presented the material for the day. She was well aware of both of the spells which they would be covering and had some practical experience of the shielding charm, as her parents felt that it was appropriate and important for a young lady to be able to defend herself. She was intrigued to know that she was not expected to attempt this, unless she mastered the attack charm first. She supposed that was just a difference in the way this man structured his curriculum. Her parents had been less keen for her to learn attacking moves and had prioritised the other spell owing to it being more appropriate to her gender and station rather than her age. She was becoming used to such concerns not informing the content of her classes here. She was certain that her parents would not object to a few offensive moves in her repertoire and so she did not feel uncomfortable in taking part in the lesson.

She had taken her usual seat amongst those whom she recognised as being suitable company. This was not restricted to those of her own year group although it tended towards it, mediated by where exactly a seat was available. The Professor had stated a preference for them working with someone outside their own year although he did not insist. She glanced around, trying to gauge to what extent other people were adhering to this instruction. This professor seemed halfway decent and, if only a substitute, she felt that it was worth showing due diligence to his instructions however she did not want to be the only to do so. The role call of the second years contained a few notable names. She moved through the crowd a little uncertain on the inside but doing her best not to show it. She was unsure whether she should approach an older student and her nerve failed her. She felt they should be the one to do the asking, having seniority and so she simply hovered near those she thought matched notable names. That meant relying on the right sort of person noticing her, which was a risk. She ran through the spells in her head. She did not want to mutter to herself or wave her hands about as that did not appear particularly dignified but she replayed the movements which Professor O'Rourke had demonstrated and tried to rally some sense of a fighting spirit.

13 Effie Arbon, Crotalus Trying to find my fighting spirit 238 Effie Arbon, Crotalus 0 5

Rupert Princeton, Pecari

November 29, 2012 1:36 PM

Is This a Normal Feeling? by Rupert Princeton, Pecari

Rupert Princeton was not afraid of most things. His grandfather was one of the few people that scared him; he was most likely the only one. He wasn’t afraid of falling from his broom, and he didn’t fear the impact a bludger could have on his skull. He hoped that by the time it hit him, he’d be past the point of feeling pain. However, one of the few things Rup feared was duelling with magic. Fighting with fists was easy enough, and Rup had done it often enough with his brothers back when he was a child. Younger, anyway. But he had watched his father duel before, and even watching duelling practises was scary. Finding out what his wand was capable of doing was frightening only when it came to DADA and learning about the Dark Arts. Cepheus had warned him about a McLachlan here at Sonora, and his father had made sure to frighten him with every horror story possible about them and about the Dark Arts in general. Needless to say, Rup had avoided that bloke since he’d been here and hadn’t been enjoying DADA very much at all.

Though Rup believed in conquering his fears, he couldn’t help fighting himself to go to DADA class every day. Today was another battle won (and lost), and he walked in and found a new professor there. Rup tried to smile at him in greeting, but it didn’t make it all the way. Having a new professor meant anything could happen with the lesson today. He quickly sat down and tried to pay attention.

Hearing a lecture about wands was nothing new, but he was glad that the lecture wouldn’t be long today. Practical lessons were Rupert’s favourite sort. The spell ‘Expelliarmus’ seemed complex to the first year, but he knew it wouldn’t be that difficult once he got started. Or psyched himself out. As much as he enjoyed practical lessons, he didn’t fancy duelling someone, even if it was just disarming them. He watched the professor demonstrate the disarming spell and Rup’s dark eyes grew round at the violence of it. It wasn’t that bad, really, but Rupert hadn’t seen much duelling done before. Perhaps that was why he was so hesitant to duel anyone. He didn’t enjoy fighting unless it was recreational. Like wrestling. Or Quidditch.

He was hesitant to begin the actual lesson, which made no sense because he was fine slamming bludgers at his Quidditch opponents. But Quidditch was different. DADA spells, though helpful, alluded to something a bit darker. It was protection against a darker force, a force that Rupert was afraid of and didn’t like to think about in the slightest.

Rup hoped there wouldn’t be any spells being thrown at him, especially the disarming spell. It made him nervous and he still couldn’t figure out why. The professor was done speaking, and Rup was glad. He wanted to find a second year partner and get this over with, though perhaps lagging a bit would help him pass the time faster. He went up to an older student and smiled, trying not to let his trepidation show. He was being ridiculous. If anyone should be shaking in their shoes, it should be the second year he was going to be attempting to disarm. At any rate, Rup needed to put on a front to show that he wasn’t, in fact, afraid of shooting a simple spell at an older student. “Do you want to work with me?” he asked.

0 Rupert Princeton, Pecari Is This a Normal Feeling? 0 Rupert Princeton, Pecari 0 5

Liam Ammon, Pecari

December 08, 2012 2:50 AM

Feelings aren't really my forte by Liam Ammon, Pecari

Liam was ready for this lesson. He’d carried his wand around for the better part of the summer before his second year just getting used to the feel of having one. He knew the grain of the wood, how it balanced perfectly on his index finger if he balanced it right before the handle. He knew his wand inside and out. He’d perfected his grip and practiced brandishing it against villainous foes—and this was just in his bedroom. The prospect of actually dueling was a little scary, even the second year, but he felt it was a necessary evil. Plus the spells O’Rourke was throwing at them seemed harmless enough— unless of course you were aiming at the other person’s core with the intent to knock them to the ground…but Liam was to focus on blocking the attack first. He could totally do that. He hoped.

He was a little surprised when a first year approached him to work together. He’d kind of assumed he’d end up the last to be picked, as he wasn’t particularly gifted at spells and he wasn’t very popular. The younger boy looked familiar, but Liam couldn’t quite place him off hand.

“Yeah, that’d be great.” He said with a smile, confident that he wasn’t going to be disarmed so easily. The Pecari wasn’t positive on where exactly the Professor wanted them to practice, so he pushed some of the class furniture out of the way to give them a bit more space. You know, in case the first year was trying to knock him to the ground—he didn’t want to suffer a head injury along with the blow to his pride. “Here should work.” Liam added, standing in the clearing he’d made. When he looked back to his partner, he couldn’t help but imagine him with a great golden mane.
That was it.

“Oh hey! You’re Rupert, right? The lion from the party. I remember now.” He said with a smile, digging his wand out of his pocket as he smiled at the younger boy. Liam planted his feet and gripped his wand firmly. He glanced at the board to remember his spell, silently wondering if he shouldn’t just give Rupert a shot at disarming him before trying to shoot down his spell. It seemed like the right thing to do, then again, that could just be the older brother coming out in him. He adopted what he imagined to be a dueling position, even though, technically, this wasn’t a duel. It just seemed appropriate, and it was good practice in case the real thing ever occurred. Not that he imagined Rupert ever finding himself in a duel, but then again, Liam hardly knew the kid.

“Are you ready?”

5 Liam Ammon, Pecari Feelings aren't really my forte 37 Liam Ammon, Pecari 0 5

Rupert

December 12, 2012 7:00 PM

That's too bad. by Rupert

Rupert had been nervous about knocking anybody down, but perhaps disarming a complete stranger was better than knocking down a friendly face. He recognised him from the holiday party but couldn't remember what he had been dressed up as. All he could remember had been the boy's styled hair and that his name was Liam. Rup nodded and followed him, watching as the older boy made a clearing. They could have introductions later, or re-introductions if Liam didn't remember him.

It seemed like he did, however, and Rupert grinned. "Yes, that's me." His blond hair had gotten long and Rupert ran his fingers up through it to make it stick up. "With a mane just like this." He grinned and smoothed his hair down again. "And you're Liam, the one with the..." He trailed off, making a curly motion with his hand the way one would make a cow lick. He didn't know what it was called, really, but hopefully Liam would get his gist.

They could go on like this for awhile, or at least Rup could, but he knew that they were supposed to be doing actual work. He wet his lips nervously and nodded, drawing his wand out of his pocket. "Yeah, I think so. Are you?"

Once Liam indicated that he was ready, Rupert nearly forgot the spell. He pretended he was readying himself, but in the nick of time the spell came to mind and he planted his feet firmly on the ground. He hesitated once before applying the spell. "Expelliarmus!" He slashed his wand the way the professor had showed them, but the red light missed Liam by a few inches. "First time's a charm," said Rup lightly, not discouraged at all. "Expelliarmus!" The second attempt made its way towards Liam this time, but he didn't think there was enough power in the spell to actually bring the wand all the way over to Rupert's free hand.

0 Rupert That's too bad. 0 Rupert 0 5