First Years, Lesson Four

Gabrielle had let her students know to dress more casually for this lesson - muggle clothes if they had them, or at least no robes. She was a little hesitant about taking such young students on a field trip, especially into the muggle world, but given the amount of lecturing they'd been subjected to this semester she figured they deserved a break. She knew she needed a break from the classroom as much as any of them. "I'm sure you're all clever enough to have figured out we're going on a trip today. Even I get sick of lecturing. So, since you can't apparate as yet, we need a way to get out of the school. Can anyone tell me what this might be?" she asked, gesturing to her sphynx statuette and nodding when a student gave the correct answer. "That's right, a portkey. If you've never taken one before, I'm so sorry, hope you haven't eaten recently. We're going to Te Papa Tongarewa, the museum of Aotearoa. It's in Wellington, and yes, it's a muggle museum. I expect you all to be on your best behaviour and blend in. No magic discussion until we're safely back. You must keep your wands away." Gabrielle was stern, but it wasn't out of malice. She did just want the trip to be a safe one.

"But you've been working hard this semester, and you deserve a break that I can at least write off as vaguely educational. You might hopefully learn a little more about this country, but at the very least you'll be getting out of the castle for a couple of hours." Gabrielle smirked, gesturing to the students to gather around. "Alright, I want you all to make sure you're touching the portkey, get at least a fingertip on it, and brace yourselves. Do not move your hand from it until we land. You'll need to wait for my okay to move once we land. Stick together." Within a couple of moments, once they were all ready, they were sucked through space and ended up in a clear spot nearby to the museum but private enough that they were not easily spotted. Which had been hard to find, but she'd looked around for a while to manage it. Gabrielle gave them a few moments to recover, especially the students who had never used a portkey before. Once they were ready to go, she made sure they were all together and led them through the museum. She thought better of letting them go off on their own while they were still only eleven and twelve and instead they went through as a tour group of sorts, letting the students stop to play with some of the interactive exhibits, marvel at the dinosaurs and megafauna, and making a point of stopping at the giant squid. They stopped to have some water and sit around in the harbour for a little while, enjoying the sunshine, before it was time to return to the school. Gabrielle hoped that the students could all at least find something interesting about the day out, even if it was just that they'd gotten the opportunity to go somewhere else and not worry about studying for a bit. She did probably bring the mood down in dismissing them reminding them to make sure they were studying, but it was her job, she supposed. What was a history professor if not a complete killjoy? At least she was a step up from Binns.

Homework
RP the lesson. The site for the museum is here: https://www.tepapa.govt.nz/
First poster to answer the question can get a bonus point.

 

[Victoria de Lacey]

Despite her adamance that she was going to spend more time this semester getting to know the friends she was already making, Tori had actually not done anything more than study. She woke up with a headache, went to the library with a headache and then went to bed with a headache and honestly she'd started blaming the textbooks. She'd never been a reader and now that she's constantly having to read all the time (and it's not even for fun!) she felt like she's probably not getting enough sleep. Honestly she needed a holiday and she had been hoping that Brightstone would help, but so far no such luck. She needed to talk to someone, maybe Eoghan, about a better study practice because she was sure he's going to know how to get her brain to work right, even if she has to beg him and she didn't really think she would need to do that - hopefully.

Dressed in her favourite jeans and a faded band tee, Tori felt like she was more than ready for whatever adventures they were about to have. She hadn't gone on a field trip with school yet that included actually leaving the grounds. She'd never taken a portkey before, so the whole thing was exciting and a little stomach-churning. She managed to barely hold onto her meal when they arrived, but then promptly rushed to the grassy area to give herself a minute. Immediately the first thing she wanted to see was the collections from Tokelau because that all looked really cool actually. She enjoyed exploring the interactive exhibits and playing with some of the touchable elements of he artefacts, but was careful to pay attention to the things she wasn't allowed to touch. When they stopped at the harbour to soak up the sun, she was grinning from ear to ear. Even if she didn't like history, she wouldn't ever miss out on a field trip! It was, in every sense, a perfect break.​

 

[Lilith Ilves]

Lilith was more or less excited for their field trip, in one hand it was exciting seeing places beyond the school and Brightstone, but on the other hand she'd be in unfamiliar continent alone, among muggles and what not. Not that she was physically alone, but it was still different. She had put on a light polo shirt with a skirt and stockings, so she felt a little more in her element, but still nervous about the unknown.

Lilith raised her hand at the professors question about the magical transportation they'd be taking today and spoke softly. "It is a Portkey I believe, Miss or Ma'am? Professor?" She wasn't quite sure which of the three would be appropriate to address her by so she was left a little dumbfounded. As they took said portkey Lilith felt like she was thrown into a Marry Poppins bag and left to freefall on her own. The sensation was almost enough to make the poor first year cry but not quite there. At the museum Lilith stayed pretty much glued to Eoghans side, he brought her comfort in an unfamiliar environment and she was not leaving his side even if she got paid for it. They strolled together through it and by the end of it she felt pretty exhausted. It had been a lot of stimuli on the brain and a lot of outsiders and new things, although it had been interesting too.

*Godmod approved by Zephie for Eoghan being with Lilith during the tour.