Tabitha Brooding-Hawthorne
July 01, 2020 1:52 PM
Beginner DADA - I'm all about the basics. by Tabitha Brooding-Hawthorne
If Tabitha was honest, she would have to say that she didn’t enjoy her Beginners classes as much as her others. The subject material was simple (well, it would be to a thirty-plus Defence teacher who had been practicing the spells for over two decades) and there was only so much she could do with a class that at the moment had very few spells in their arsenal. She wasn’t like Mary who had often shared tales about some first or second year ‘lighting up’ when she gave them a new potion to brew (and they managed to do it without blowing anything up). That wasn’t interesting to Tabitha. When it came to magic, everything new was exciting. Tabitha knew this because she had once been a first year herself and had an incredible thirst for knowledge when it came to new spells. Every first year had that wonderful excitement about something, whether it was Charms, Potions, DADA, flying lessons… There was always something to get excited about, even if it was a simple shield charm.Despite all of this, that didn’t stop Tabitha from creating good, informative lessons. The basics might be boring but they were the basics. Without them, there was nothing to build on. There was no point in trying to teach students how to duel if they couldn’t produce a shield charm. If an adult didn’t know how to protect themselves even with a basic shield, they might as well sign their death certificate now as far as Tabitha was concerned. The basics were the very things that kept you alive and seeing as Tabitha’s job was to teach her students how to remain alive and well, teaching the basics, though they were boring, was necessary and important.
So, that’s what today’s lesson was all about: the basics. For her first years, some of the things they learned today would be new. For her second years, the class would be more like revision and an opportunity to practice and improve on the skills they’d started to develop. It perhaps wouldn’t be the most interesting of lessons but at least it was practical work and not theory.
She had moved all the desks and chairs, including her own, to the sides of the room in order to create a wide open space. Where her desk normally was, a duelling dummy and a painted target stood instead. A sharp tap would bring the dummy to life when she needed it.. Her chalkboard was standing to the right of the dummies, with the spells that her class were to use written on it as a reminder.
When her Beginner class started to trickle in, she smiled brightly at them. “Good afternoon, class! Please leave your belongings at the back of the room so they are safely out of the way. You’ll only be needing your wands for today’s lesson.”
She waited until her class was gathered together and began her lesson.
“Today, we’re going to be focusing on the basics. Those are being able to cast a shield and the accuracy of throwing spells. It’s all very well and good if you can cast an excellent and powerful jinx but what use is it if your aiming is poor? Of course, your opponent could successfully dodge but the chances of that are slimmer if your accuracy is good.”
“Now, I’m going to split the class into its two year groups. First years, I want you to focus on producing a shield. The incantation you need is ’Protego’ and the wand movement is a line straight down in front of you,” she explained before gesturing to the chalkboard where she had written the name of the spell, its pronunciation spelt phonetically ‘pro-tay-go’ as well as a drawing of the wand movement. It was a simple one but this minimised any confusion or problems.
“The dummy here to my left is, when you’re ready and you step forward, going to shoot a light knockback jinx at you. You need to produce a shield to deflect it. I do not expect you to do this on your first try but if you do, very well done and keep practicing. Your first shield will not necessarily be a strong one but it will become stronger with practice. If you produce a shield, you can help yourself to a chocolate from the box on my desk and some of you may get the chance to try what the second years are going to be doing.”
She smiled, gesturing to the aforementioned box on her desk behind her before turning her attention to her waiting second years.
“Second years, you’re going to be focusing on your accuracy. I hope you remember the Vermillious charm. While its primary use is to signal for help by shooting up a jet of red sparks, it can be used as a minor offensive spell which makes it perfect for practicing accuracy. You need to aim at the centre of the target. The closer you get, the better your accuracy. The target is charmed so once you’ve all given hitting the target a go, it’ll levitate and move so you can try your hand at hitting a moving target. For safety reasons, the area around the target is warded so if any of you miss completely, there’ll be no risk of any stray spells hitting anybody. If you hit the centre of the target either moving or not, feel free to grab a chocolate.”
She smiled cheerfully before continuing. “Please line up in an orderly fashion and when you’re ready, begin!”
She gave the dummy a tap on the shoulder and it jerked to life, raising its wand arm in preparation to face the first student to try shielding themselves. Tabitha, during the lesson, would be circling and offering advice to any student who she thought might benefit and to make sure that there were no mishaps. Tabitha had learned that it didn’t matter how many wards or safety bubbles she conjured, there was always a risk, however small, that a stray spell could very much end up hitting an unsuspecting and unprepared student.
OOC note:- normal posting rules apply! Tag Tabitha if you need her but the spells she’s given as well as the dummy are not very powerful so nobody should get very badly hurt but in case of any accidents, she is on hand. Feel free to grab a chocolate from Tabitha’s desk if you cast a shield or hit the target successfully!
Subthreads: Shields up! by Valentine Duell with Esme Brockert
20
Tabitha Brooding-Hawthorne
Beginner DADA - I'm all about the basics.
1417
1
5
Valentine Duell
July 05, 2020 6:28 PM
Shields up! by Valentine Duell
Valentine got to class early as she had been doing for a while now. She had her project to work on between classes, so she nearly raced from one class to the next so that she could use the few minutes between to get some work done. On this day however she saw that her efforts to get here as quickly as possible from Potions was to no avail."Oh, nuts." Was all she said as she entered the room and saw all the desks and chairs pushed to the sides of the room. That was not going to be conducive to her working on things. So instead she sat down in the hall and pulled her notebook onto her lap for a few minutes of writing before people began to crowd the hallway. Then she stowed it away and went in with everyone else for the class.
As expected the professor told them to leave everything behind and just have their wand. She complied and then the professor explained the rest of the class. Okay, shields. Those were good to have, she smiled and wondered if they automatically negated any magic missiles that were coming at you. She could do this. She would make the best shield she could. Because Bonabelle believed in her, because it would make her parents proud, and mainly because she would get chocolate!
She took her place in line with the other first years. While she waited her turn, she repeated the word over and over again, trying to get the inflection correct. "Protego, protego, protego!" When she found herself at the front of the line, facing the dummy, her face was set with determination. That chocolate would be hers!
Taking a step forward with her wand raised, she watched the dummy's arm move and hers moved with it. She swept her wand downward and shouted out, "Protego!" She found herself laying on the floor after something had hit her in the chest, knocked her back and made her trip over her own feet. "Ow." she stated more out of tradition than pain. Next time, next time she would get that chocolate!
2
Valentine Duell
Shields up!
1490
0
5
Esme Brockert
July 09, 2020 1:37 AM
It could be worse by Esme Brockert
Esme did not particularly like DADA. She was not a rough and tumble sort of girl. The Crotalus was proper and ladylike and Defense did not lend itself well to those of her demeanor. She could see the use for this subject because Topaz was her cousin, but that didn't mean she enjoyed it.Besides, she was incredibly displeased with Professor Brooding-Hawthorne right now because of what the professor put the Intermediates through. Everything about that sort of lesson was horrible for Allegra and Esme didn't like her sister getting hurt in any way. The older Crotalus had been very distressed by the whole thing and Allegra didn't need any more distress given how miserable Topaz was making her over the whole prefect thing.
And it was really for nothing because the fifth year was never going to be caught in the woods where dark or dangerous creatures were lurking. Allegra would have to actually go out in the woods for that to happen and she was not at all the adventurous sort. Nor, for that matter, was Esme. Basically, Professor Brooding-Hawthorne had put her older sister at risk of humiliation and failure in front of her peers-and massive hexing at the hands of Topaz-for no practical reason. Not only that but she'd basically given Esme's cousin the opportunity to harm Allegra by allowing dueling when the Aladren was specifically targeting her more than usual.
That was the trouble with the DADA professor, she thought that they were all going to be aurors or were adventurous types. Esme wasn't the least bit adventurous and neither was her sister. A few basics to protect themselves and their younger siblings and cousins against Topaz would suffice without subjecting them to practical simulations of things that they would never do.
It also seemed as if Professor Brooding-Hawthorne thought they could all die at any minute from from being attacked by dark creatures or dark wizards. Maybe she had a cousin or sibling or other relative like Topaz too. Honestly, while Esme sympathized, if the woman was suffering from some deep trauma or something that made her , she should get therapy instead of causing her students to need it.
Of course, the Intermediate lesson alone wasn't the source of Allegra's issues. Topaz was. Topaz was the source of most issues in their family and Uncle Eustace was the source of the rest albeit not Allegra's. He'd given Jasper quite a complex though. Chris too. And actual injuries from Quidditch drills and pseudo games where the two boys were pitted against each other. Esme hated both Topaz and Uncle Eustace so much and she was more than happy that Olaf had been capable of standing up to the latter.
Luckily, the Beginner class was not going to be subjected to the same torture that the Intermediates had been. Esme might have been stronger emotionally and psychologically than her sister but she really did not enjoy doing all that physical stuff.
Instead they were going back to the basics. The Crotalus wasn't really all that worried about being able to perform the spell, but hitting the target might prove more difficult. Unfortunately, that was what they were focusing on and Esme was once again irritated. Professor Brooding-Hawthorne clearly thought that was more important and the way she had said that had reduced the importance of magic itself, making it seem like it didn't matter when that was why they were here . The second year detested when people acted like magic and being good at it was unimportant. It was a lesson again that favored the more athletically skilled. Sure, Esme had taken ballet lessons which definitely was physical but this really wasn't the same thing.
However, at least they wouldn't be running about. And maybe if she could hit this dummy, she could hit Topaz too, if need be. Besides, she had enough pride that she wanted to do well. There were people among her classmates that she didn't want to give a chance to think themselves better than her. Not that those people didn't think they were better than everyone anyway. Esme stepped up for her turn. " Vermillious " Red sparks flew out of her wand, the charm cast perfectly. Unfortunately, her aim was a little off. Her spell hit the dummy but it was rather...below the belt and she was not sure whether to be more embarrassed by the inaccuracy itself or the exact placement of where her spell had ended up.
11
Esme Brockert
It could be worse
1479
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5