Giselle Duell
November 06, 2020 11:01 AM
Attacking the Darkness [Beginners] by Giselle Duell
Giselle had been asked to lend her expertise to a Defense Against the Dark Arts lesson. This had caught her a little off guard, especially with past being what it was, but she was not about to say ‘no’ to her new boss and probably not all of the details of her past had come out. Although, not saying ‘no’ to her previous deputy-headmistress had been the thing that had led her into some of those past experiences. She was pretty certain that Deputy-Headmistress Selina Skies was nothing like Deputy-Headmistress Lia Persefoni, at least she really, really hoped. Professor Skies had been extremely nice so far, but so had Lia.Regardless, she had said yes, she would be delighted to lend her expertise. However, then she just had to figure out what she could teach that would somehow relate to the subject of Defense Against the Dark Arts. Her specialty was Divination, the collection of knowledge, which was good to have when you were dealing with dark threats… but it tended to be more of a forethought thing when you had time for planning and were more on the offensive side of things instead of the defensive. Plus, it was DADA, she didn’t just want to teach a Divination lesson. Also the class was a beginner class, which meant at least two things. One, Valentine would be in it and two, Divinations was a tricky discipline. Eleven and twelve year olds just, in general, didn’t have the magical control and finesse for it. Many older witches and wizards didn’t either. Where had that left her? Well, it was naturally obvious so she hadn't really thought of it until after chatting with some of the other professors.
“Welcome class,” Professor Duell greeted the students as she heard them entering the room and finding their seats. Any murmuring she heard about her presence in the room she mostly ignored. However, there was one particular fairly high pitched excited squeal of delight that she recognized and gave a slight nod in acknowledgement to her niece. “Now I am assuming you all realize that we will be doing something a little bit different for class today,” she paused just a moment, mainly for effect, “However, I don’t think you will find it as different as you may think. For that, you may come see me in my normal class once you have reached your third year.” She smiled, wondering how many of these students she might actually elect to take her class next year. She knew of at least one.
She had propped herself against the teacher’s desk in the front of the room and now she stood and waved her wand not so inconspicuously over the room to get a good image of the students in her mind. “I have been asked to share some of my ‘expertise’ with you, and I have decided on something that will be practical and fitting for the subject matter.” With that, she waved her wand in a different motion and the room fell into utter, pitch blackness. At least she assumed it did from the reactions coming from the students. “Tell me now,” her voice moved as she strolled unconcerned about the room, “how do you deal with a threat that you cannot see? Feel free to put your hands up to answer.”
At one point when they had been sorting through her clothing and buying some new things for teaching, Valentine had told her that the dress she was wearing now was a very odd olive green color that didn’t match anything else in her wardrobe. However, it didn’t make much noise at all as she walked, it was also long enough to just barely touch the floor so no one could see she wasn’t wearing shoes. As such, she could move around the room in near silence. As she strolled about, she called on students to answer her question. ‘Lumos’ was the most obvious answer. To which she was prepared to point out that Lumos was an excellent way to become a target in a dark room. “Also, she added, “it may not be a lack of light at all that is the problem. I am sure that Professor Brooding-Hawthorne and Professor Carter-Xavier have plenty of examples of threats that could render your eyes unusable one way or another.”
Once she had finished taking answers, she was back in the front of the room again and turned the lights back on. Again, she assumed it worked. “Good answers all. As you probably have figured out by now, I have some experience on this subject.” She smiled gently at them while adjusting her mirrored glasses. “So, I am here to teach you about the spell I use to ‘see’. It takes the area indicated by your wand and gives you an adequate mental picture. There are no colors and transparent things appear opaque, but it is better than being blind.”
She gestured her wand in the general direction of the blackboard and set the chalk to work. “The wand motion is a simple loop defining the area you wish to observe.” She demonstrated once again, casting it again non-vocally just to refresh her picture of the room again while she was at it. “The incantation is ‘mentis imago’.” The chalk finished the notes on the board and settled back into place. “Now, I should mention that this is not a common use spell and it may not work for everyone. It is one of those spells you develop after you finish school and begin your own independent research into what it means to be a witch or wizard. In this case it was originally developed by my brother for his transfiguration work after he graduated here, and was redesigned a bit once I started at school for this purpose.”
Waving her wand about, with a few muttered incantations, a box drifted through the room with supplies for each student. “In the box are bundles of three small objects wrapped in a piece of cloth, please take one and then find a partner. You will be taking turns blindfolding yourselves with your cloth while your partner arranges the items for you to identify.” The objects were simple wooden shapes; cubes, cylinders, pyramids and such. “You may begin whenever you are ready. Please don’t hesitate to ask if you need assistance.” Giselle was quite curious to see how this experiment would play out. As far as she knew, she and Andrew were the only ones to have used this spell, would anyone else be able to make it work?
OOC: Welcome to DADA... which is being taught by the divinations professor for this one class, Professor Carter-Xavier is the normal professor for this term. As with all classes, posts will be scored on length, relevance, and creativity, along with adhering to all site rules. Have fun, and tag Professor Duell if you need her.
Subthreads: Bring it on by Tommy Jamison with Graham Osbrook
I got you, bro (tag Henry) by Oz Spellman with Henry Spellman
That sounds tricky by Billy Cobb with Lorena Abernathy
This is great! by Valentine Duell with Bertie Jackson
Meh, light is overrated. by Quincy Wright
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Giselle Duell
Attacking the Darkness [Beginners]
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Oz Spellman
November 10, 2020 7:13 AM
I got you, bro (tag Henry) by Oz Spellman
Oz made his way to Defence class. It was a class that confused him a bit. Mostly in a ‘the heck was up with this world?’ kinda way. It was weird, cos on the surface of it, this world seemed safer than his old one but apparently there was a bunch of stuff ready enough to kill him that he needed lessons in not dying. It was just weird. There were a bunch of things that were bad for you back home and… well, he guessed they did kind of lectures on not smoking or getting into any of the various pitfalls that life in a less than affluent area presented, but those had only been occasional lectures in assembly or home room, not a class he had to take all the time. And it was weird because he’d been able to see those threats. They’d been visible on street corners, or were why you didn’t go out after dark, or why Mom would rather he batted in the arcade even though it cost money than using the cages at the park. So far, nothing had swooped at him here. He’d been more comfortable and more well fed and just… safer than he’d been in his life, and yet he had to take a whole class about how dangerous this world was. It didn’t really stack up.At the moment, Ms. Carter-Xavier was mostly teaching this class, cos the regular lady was off. Someone had said she and the potions teacher were lesbians together, which was okay. It was sort of weird, because he was pretty sure teachers at his old school wouldn’t have admitted that kind of thing, but it was one of those things Mom had taught him not to be a butt about even if other people were. But anyway, she wasn’t there. And today, Ms. Carter-Xavier wasn’t there either and the mega dramatic teacher who always wore sunglasses was there instead.
That would have been like, whatever, except she started being seriously freaky right off the bat. She plunged them all into darkness and went around talking like this was a horror movie and they were all about to die. Oz had watched way too many eighteen plus things on Netflix for this not to be sending very real and visceral chills down his spine. He was really, really tempted to light his wand, and was pretty sure that wasn’t a wimpy response because being able to do magic was cool and important here, but then she pointed out that would get them attacked. What the freaking heck?! He managed, for once, to keep his narrative of swear words internal because he was pretty sure that cussing in the dark was a way to sound like you were a massive wiener who was freaking out about this – and in the dark, his voice was indistinguishable from Henry’s.
He was very relieved when Freaky Lady turned the lights back on, though he hoped there wasn’t an obvious shine of sweat on his face. The spell word and stuff sort of went over his head, because everything she was saying was still really mind-blowing. They were going to beam pictures right into their own heads? That was freaky. Was that even safe? He had time to just about wonder that before she mentioned pairing up and being fricking blind folded. Nope. Nope, nope, nope. Did she not know what [redacted]s kids could be? Like heck he was being blindfolded by or in proximity to anyone. Except one.
He’d figured he and Henry would end up working together sometimes. Partly, he thought that Henry was just going to butt in far too much and not be able to leave him alone. He had figured this class might be one where it happened more though – of course, that had been because he’d assumed they’d be throwing jinxes around, and like heck he was letting anyone fricking jinx Henry. As such, he had tended to sit a little nearer to him here than he had in other classes. Not like, so he was directly with him, but so that he was close enough, if they had to pair up and do messed up stuff, that he could get to his brother before anyone else did.
“Yo,” he called over to him, “Pair up?”
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Oz Spellman
I got you, bro (tag Henry)
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Henry Spellman
November 10, 2020 9:47 PM
I got you too, bro. by Henry Spellman
Something about Defense class was immensely validating. It was probably the fact that everything always seemed too big and too scary and now there was MAGIC so at least now they were going to learn something actually useful. He always sort of wondered why their old school hadn't taught self-defense classes or something, except it would probably just make the bullies and the jerks more aware of the best ways to hurt other kids, so maybe that was why. In the grand scheme of things, the risk of bullies being more aware of jinxes and defense spells seemed less problematic than failing to arm literal children with anything to keep them alive in a world that apparently wanted to kill them, so that was a good checks and balances sort of thing. Plus now they were in the dark and definitely going to die so that was great.Henry watched a lot of true crime shows, and he knew enough about murdering people to know that the dark wasn't really necessary. You could kill people in broad daylight if you did it right and most of the time, that's exactly what people did. Literal darkness wasn't half so important as 'the darkness within' and what not, and sometimes the only darkness an attacker needed was whatever made sure no one else was looking. The dark also came with advantages; if he couldn't see the bad guy, the bad guy couldn't see him. Henry was smaller than most bad guys and could hide easier, so that was probably more of an advantage for him than any sorts of murderers. That was more relevant at home, because if someone was going to break in or something, he was smaller, could hide, and also knew the layout of the apartment better than a sketchy burglar dude. Or lady. He didn't want to discriminate; ladies could be crazy murderers too.
All the logic in the world couldn't really make him like the dark though, and he had the distinct feeling that he wasn't alone in that. He and Oz, for example, had always slept in the same room, sometimes even the same bed; the dark seemed much less frightening when you weren't alone in it. Unless you were supposed to be alone in it and you weren't, and then it was way worse. In this case though, the only person who could 'see' in the dark was the only one probably capable of murdering him, and also the one who was supposed to make sure that didn't happen. He figured he'd try to count on the second half, because at least if the whole class died, she'd probably get fired. That was a losing situation for her. Probably.
The lights came on and Henry was really really glad that Oz wanted to work together, because there was literally no one else he'd trust to be blindfolded with. He didn't necessarily totally trust Oz either, but it was in the sort of playful way that Oz was a butt, not like he was literally going to stab him or something. Oz might tie his shoelaces together or steal something from his backpack or something, but he wasn't going to do something more malicious than that. In the whole world, there was only one person he could trust, and he was sitting in the room with him. Even when their mom didn't show up on time, or wasn't there, or couldn't make things work, Oz always could. There was a good chance Henry literally wouldn't be around if not for Oz keeping an eye on him even in the worst of times, and vice versa. He wouldn't want the other half of every sandwich if it meant he didn't have his brother.
"Yeah," he said, nodding decisively and arranging himself so that he was more directly lined up with Oz. He lowered his voice, not wanting others to hear him; although he wasn't usually willing to share his anxieties, knowing that Oz probably expected it of him anyway meant that at least he couldn't disappoint. "This is insanity, right? Not this this. Although this too. But everything?"
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Henry Spellman
I got you too, bro.
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Oz Spellman
December 03, 2020 7:22 AM
Yeah, sorry about that by Oz Spellman
Henry's remark might not have made sense to everyone, or even to anyone else, but it made sense to Oz. This was insanity. Not just this, but also this, but just this - the crazy lady who had just plunged them into darkness, the magicness of it all, the not homeness of it all, all of it. He understood. He gave a microscopic nod, allowing a little chink in the armour. There were so many things that were not fine that he could never admit to out loud, but this collection of things, and to Henry, he could.He wondered which of these was getting to Henry the most. Probably missing Mom. Maybe followed by the sheer magicness of everything. He thought Henry had been slower to believe that than he had.
For a second, it felt like Henry wasn't so far away. Oz felt a strange sensation, and it took him a moment to recognise it as the urge to smile. It felt odd because this didn't real feel like a happy situation, but also because it had just... been a while. He had grinned plenty since getting here. He had laughed. But it had been a while since he had had a chance for a shared smile of understanding. His face wanted to relax, his whole self wanted to relax, knowing that whatever state or expression it found itself in, it would find a mirror in the person opposite.
With a slight sigh, he reached for the blindfold. He did not like the thought of being vulnerable, but there were only two options on the table right now, and he liked the other one even less, even though he was here to be a barricade against anything truly bad happening.
"Let me know when you're ready," he stated, gripping his wand - this strange little stick that he wasn't sure he still fully trusted was his weapon against the darkness. He imagined slashing it around without being able to see how ridiculous he looked or what he was really doing. "And watch out that I don't take your eye out," he mumbled, in the tone of one who was very much questioning the sanity of the person who had them doing this.
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Oz Spellman
Yeah, sorry about that
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Henry Spellman
December 10, 2020 11:08 PM
I wouldn't wanna get anyone else probably. by Henry Spellman
Henry wouldn't have been able to explain why, but he got the urge to laugh as Oz contemplated his remark and then sighed. This was ridiculous. This was absolutely insane. This was a bad episode of a Buzzfeed prank show or something. Well, maybe not that, Buzzfeed's budget wasn't quite this big.In the real world, students pairing up to blindfold themselves and play with blocks after the teacher made a dramatic demonstration in the dark would have been laughable. Here, it was melodramatic as heck. It was like the narrator voices on crime shows; the melodrama made sense when they were talking about the real scary stuff out there (assuming this really wasn't a prank show) but it all seemed a lot sillier when they were playing with blocks. It was Peter Thomas trying to explain the perpetrator's video game collection.
Henry was a bit surprised when Oz volunteered himself for the blindfold first, although he really shouldn't have been. Oz had always been self-sacrificing in the name of Henry-preservation. They both had been. It was the only way to get anywhere in the life they'd led before, and they knew each other well enough to know what made sense. If they were to be attacked, Oz could do more damage punching the attacker in the nose, and Henry could do more damage stepping back and seeing the whole picture. He could plan their way out of a bad situation, but he'd have to see it coming first. It felt like a grim twist on childhood toys to play this way, but play they would.
Henry nodded with pressed lips, adjusting the grip on his own wand at the same time. It felt strange to be trusting this strange little stick as any real sort of weapon against the darkness, even if it was on behalf of his brother, but it was his best bet in this world. Or at least, it was presumed to become his best beet. So far, he was pretty sure he'd do better punching the attacker in the nose too. He let a small smile cross his face, amused at Oz' warning until he decided it was actually a pretty good warning.
When his brother was solidly blindfolded, Henry retrieved the bundle of shapes. "I'm going to get these set up and I'll let you know when I'm done," he told Oz, wanting to keep the blinded one in the loop. He removed the cloth to find a cylinder, a triangular prism, and a - he counted the sides - octahedron. Basic blocks that Henry was pretty sure kids didn't actually ever learn the right words for. It was the circle and the triangle and the diamond if you were a kid. But Henry was smarter than the average demographic for such toys so he knew the real names. He organized them on the table in alphabetical order from left to right from his perspective (because it seemed reasonable to have some sort of order to it and he doubted that Oz knew the word octahedron to guess at anyway). "Ready," he said when he was satisfied.
OOC: Peter Thomas is the original narrator for Forensic Files.
Also, I googled 3D shapes and got all sorts of normal looking shapes with fun names so I decided in the moment that Henry was a nerd about that kind of thing. Because of course he is.
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Henry Spellman
I wouldn't wanna get anyone else probably.
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