First Years, Lesson Five

Gabrielle was frowning as she looked over her notes, but managed to relax her expression as the students came into the classroom. "Good morning, everyone. You've almost survived your first year, so well done, you should be very proud of yourselves, so on and so forth. We're on to our last topic for the semester. So, who can tell me who 'the boy who lived' is?" she asked, waiting for someone to give her an answer. She was certain someone would claim relation based on the names of her students, which would get them an eyeroll for their troubles. "Yes, very good. Harry Potter, a major figure in modern magical history."

"Harry Potter was born in 1980 in England. You might have, in Defense Against the Dark Arts, learned about Voldemort. And you'll learn more about him with Professor Borisyuk in fifth year on, so I won't go into great detail about him today. Now, the reason we call Harry Potter the boy who lived is because when he was only an infant, his parents were attacked and murdered by Voldemort. However, when the dark wizard went to cast the killing curse on Harry, the spell was blocked, leaving him with a scar on his forehead. How the spell came to be blocked, I can't properly explain," Gabrielle shrugged, giving a smirk. "Hey, I teach History, not Defence. Harry then went on to attend Hogwarts in Scotland in the 1990s, where he was sorted into Gryffindor. Voldemort, weakened, began to gradually plot his return during Harry's time at school, getting stronger and stronger, ultimately plunging the magical world into darkness for a time. However Harry, thanks in no small part to the support of his friends and his teachers, was able to defeat the dark lord, ending his mercifully brief reign of terror."

Gabrielle leaned back against the desk, looking over the students. "He then went on to become an Auror. Personally, I think it's a shame he didn't become a professor. Although Neville Longbottom was the Herbology professor when I was there, and he's a very interesting figure in his own right. Anyway, shorter lesson today. But, for homework, I'd like you to do a little bit of research. Show me if you're getting the hang of using the library." She ignored the groans of a couple of students and continued. "I'd like you to have a bit more of a look into the story of Harry Potter, especially those of you who haven't grown up in the wizarding world. And then for your homework I would like you to write an essay on any notable figure from Hogwarts. If you look into the story of Harry Potter, you'll find several. But you might look further back, or possibly even to the history of this very branch of the school. Plenty of notable figures in our short history here, too. But that's all for today. Have a good afternoon!" Gabrielle waved them off as they disbursed to hopefully do some study.

Homework
RP the lesson. First poster to answer the question gets bonus house points! Prefer someone who hasn't answered yet this semester.
Extra credit: write an essay on anyone from Hogwarts history. Whether you write about someone from the books or whether you write about someone from HNZ, I don't mind! Only needs to be 1-2 paragraphs, let me know where you're getting any specific info from.

 

[Victoria de Lacey]

She couldn't believe the semester was almost over and they would be heading into the review week. She still have some time of course, but that didn't mean she didn't lay awake at night thinking about everything she'd messed up this year, and the things she had learned. Some of it was great and she couldn't wait to get back home to tell her mother about it all - other things weren't so great, and she found herself wondering if those not so great things went into the pot of things her mum disliked about magic. Sometimes she couldn't be sure what aspects her mum enjoyed and what parts she didn't. The other part of course being that she was going to lose access to her brother when he graduated and she had a lot of mixed feelings about that. She was trying to process it but she wasn't sure how she felt about it yet. She already saw her brother less than she would like and this year had been great because she'd seen him almost daily at breakfast and after his games. When he graduated that would stop. She didn't know how she felt about that.

As she settled properly into her seat, already feeling her head throb with the headache she would have to endure doing another history of magic lecture, she sighed when the professor asked a question about "the boy who lived". Everyone knew who that was at this point, right? She hadn't even read a book and she even knew. The whole Wizarding World, British or not, had grown up on the stories of Harry Potter and all the things he did to help the world. Some of it was a bit ridiculous, like she just genuinely didn't believe the stuff about the unrepeatable magic or that somehow he died because Harry Potter used expelliarmus on him. She blew out a puff of air as the lecture just kept going and took the bare minimum of notes she thought she might require - she had never been a note taker really, she wasn't likely to be one in the future either. She was thoroughly disappointed that Harry had gone on to be an Auror, she thought he would have made a fantastic professor - and really what kind of life at all did Harry have? Spending his whole life chasing down the very people who destroyed his family? That just didn't seem right to her. When the lesson was over, she sighed and packed up, leaving quickly to figure out what she would do her homework on - maybe Hermione? Everyone did Harry Potter.
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Hermione Granger is one of the most remarkable women in wizarding history - she has a story and a legacy that will live on for hundreds of years due to her association and assistance to the Boy Who Lived, Harry Potter. Sorted into Gryffindor in 1991, along with Harry Potter and a few other friends, she was top of her class and quickly became an invaluable friend. As a muggleborn, Hermione often faced a lot of discrimination, but she never let that slow her down or stop her. She was a very vocal advocate for house-elf rights whilst she was at school, and even beyond, showing her commitment to equality. She continued this advocacy for equality into her time in the Ministry of Magic after the war. Her legacy endures, forever tied to Harry Potter's, but just as important as his.
source - the Harry Potter books​

 

[Elijah Edogawa]

Eli sat with Rose once again, watching the professor scan the room with her usual sort of sour expression. It didn't take her long before she started her story on "The Boy Who Lived." Everyone knew the story of Harry Potter - it was one of the most retold stories in the Wizarding World, as far as he knew. Still, it was more centred around the UK with Eli being from Japan, but he still knew a little of the Wizarding War - although why it was called the Wizarding War when it affected a total of one country is anyone's guess. That felt a little... dramatic if he was being totally honest. The sort of business you only really saw Westerners advocating for. As she dove into the story of Harry Potter's life, Eli listened, taking notes quickly as she spoke, even though it was the same sort of stuff they'd all sort of knew already. He wasn't really all that interested in what Harry did after he graduated as it probably didn't really matter in the grand scheme of things, but he listened along anyway, just to be on the safe side, incase it would come up. When the Professor assigned them a research task, he felt ready to comb the library for more information, mostly on the founders of the school. His mind immediately reached for the founder of this school, Alicia Barker, and he knew he had to head to the library for more information.
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Alicia Barker is one of the founders of Hogwarts New Zealand (HNZ) and is celebrated to this day for her vision in bringing a quality magical education to the Southern Hemisphere, particularly to students from New Zealand, Australia and the Pacific Islands. She recognised the challenges that were posed by distance and she sought to establish a school that would help to combine traditions and create something new. By adapting the Hogwarts house system to the new school, Barker laid the foundation for HNZ as a place where witches and wizards could received a world-class education closer to home. Today her legacy continues in the dedication of the school for empowering students from all walks of life and preserving the cultural diversity of the magical world.
source- HNZ history and Alicia Barker's bio​