First Years, Lesson One

Noel sat down behind his desk, one that once had been from the person who had teached him this subject. But now it was his. As he had made things all ready to start he watched around the classroom, still empty seats who would be soon filled with first years. But as he heard some voices outside of the classroom he opened the door with an movement with his hand. And saw the classroom filling with students, the youngest ones. He went standing up and welcomed them with an friendly smile. Making sure he had an good look of the different faces. Who he would be teaching the upcoming four years. Some seemed excited, others less. But if there was one subject that they could get excited about it was this. And one that was very important. It had been Noel’s favorite back when he was an student here too. So he was excited to bring that to his students.

As he waited for everyone to sat down, and it seemed like everyone was inside he closed the door with an simple wave of his wand. And let his friendly brown eyes scan the room through the room. " Welcome first years, to Defence Against the Dark Arts.'' he than started, speaking loud and clear. '' My name is Noel Waldgrave, and I will be your professor for this class, for the next four years.'' He than paused for an moment and continued with an smile. '' You can address me as Noel or Professor Waldgrave. Choose what you are comfortable with.'' He than directly made clear. He had no problem with students using his first name, it was more personal and he wanted to be someone that students could turn to and build up an relationship. Since they would have to continue for an long time with eachother. As he noticed he got the attention, he continued. Looking an bit more strict and making sure this was clear. " I want you to remember well, that this is an subject which you should not be taken lightly. I will not tolerate any fooling around in this class. In this world, the dark arts are mostly used to cause harm to others, so I want you to pay attention to everything you are taught.'' He than paused to let that sink in. "If you won’t follow this and fail to do so, you will find yourself in this classroom writing lines until the messenge is very clear.'' He than looked around to see if there was anyone who would want to try that out.

With an flick of his wand the rules appeared behind him on the blackboard and he went standing aside so they could read them for themselves. If it was necessary he would remember them to it. But he was sure they would have an great time together. Being strict was necessary in this important parts. But he would do his best to make sure the lessons were enjoyable too. As he had given some time to read them over he than let the rules disappear. And walked through the classroom. '' Now, who can give me a brief description of the Dark Arts?'' he than asked and looked at people raising their hands. And would see who would have done some reading before the year would begin. He than pointed at an student and smiled and gave an approving nod as they answered the question right. '' That’s right. Good job.'' He said with an smile. And walked back to the front of the class. '' We will spend the majority of this semester on theory as it will prove useful for your future studies.'' He than said, and figured it was perhaps not what the eager first years were wanting to hear. But you needed to know the basics before moving on. And some seemed to understand that better than others in the room. " But don’t worry, we will also practice wandwork this semester.'' He than added, and seeing some smile and sighing out of relief. He than sat down at his desk and continued. '' We will practice curses, hexes, jinxes and counter-spells for each of these as you advance through the years.'' Noel would tell them what they could expect. '' Magic is something beautiful. But not all magic is good and not all magic is used to do good in this world unfortunately... Therefore it’s very important to learn how to defend yourself from it. It is a fundamental part of any witch or wizards education.'' He than spoke, and felt confident about how it went so far. He would not want to talk too fast, for the people who took notes.

He than stood up again and would finish his talk. '' To succeed in my class. I recommend that you turn in your assignments on time, and participate in the exercices. Put in some serious effort and that will be noticed.'' Noel than wanted to motivated his students. And watched different faces. He than looked at the time and figured it was well timed. ''We have twenty minutes left. For homework I want you to write down one question that you may have about this class, within reason. I will do my best to answer them. When you are done with this, you can turn it in on my desk and you may leave.'' When he finished he walked back to his desk and sat down on the chair.

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- Please review the DADA Class Policy for first through fourth years.
- Roleplay the lesson and do the homework assignment for extra credit. I will do my best to answer your character's question before the next class!
- The first student to give a somewhat accurate description of the Dark Arts will also receive extra credit!

 

[Victoria de Lacey]

Tori was excited... and a little nervous honestly, about her first lesson of the year. Of school! She knew Mr. Cade taught this class a little later on, so she wouldn't be seeing him yet, but she was still excited to see what they would learn with the Professor who was not Mr. Professor Cade. She quickly found a seat towards the front, not wanting to appear too eager, but also not wanting to risk ending up right at the back where she might miss all the really cool and important stuff. She took a look around at the others in the room, and most of them all appeared to be just as excited as she was. She was nervous, but she was very eager to make a good first impression, since this would all be very important later she was sure. As the Professor (who seemed younger than she would have thought to be honest!) entered and began to speak, Tori listened intently. She took note of his friendly demeanour and the seriousness with which he addressed the importance of the subject. His introduction set a clear tone for the class, and Tori felt a twinge of both excitement and anxiety. This subject was crucial, and the thought of learning about the Dark Arts was both intriguing and a bit intimidating.

When Professor Waldgrave asked for a brief description of the Dark Arts, Victoria’s hand shot up immediately. She wanted to show how much she already knew and make sure the Professor remembered her. “The Dark Arts are a branch of magic that focuses on spells and practices intended to cause harm, control, or manipulate others. They are often used for malicious purposes and are considered unethical and dangerous.” He gave her an approving nod and she dropped her hand back down and leaned back a little, basking in the way it made her feel to be praised for a good job. Surely Mr. Professor Cade would be proud of her for that? As he continued to explain the semester's focus on theory and practical work, Tori's nerves began to settle. The prospect of eventually practicing wandwork and learning defensive spells was reassuring. She took diligent notes, making sure to capture every detail of Professor Waldgrave’s expectations.​

“How can we ensure that we remain vigilant and prepared when facing dark magic, especially when it’s used in ways that we might not expect?”

 

[Lumos Walden-Cade]

Lumos couldn't believe the state in which he'd found his textbooks this morning for Defence Against the Dark Arts. He had absolutely no idea what had happened to them and was determined to find out as soon as he possibly could. It seemed like such a completely random occurrence, and all he could think of was that it had to be that Slytherin girl's fault. He didn't know how she had possibly found out about what he'd done, but it must have been her because she was the only option. It couldn't possibly have been anyone else at all. So he walked into his first class of the year and sulked at the back of the room. It was annoying really. He could read them, sure, but he had to read them all upside down and backwards because all of the writing in them was now upside down and backwards. And that didn't seem to trigger anything in his young mind about who the culprit could be. If anything he was even more determined to blame the Slytherin girl, because she would have had access to his books at some point probably.

Lumos was much too busy sulking to even really take in much of the lecture, though the was sure it wasn't all that important. He didn't really want to bother with it. He had no intention of taking this class for long enough to reach his father, so it would only be a matter of time until someone asked him to leave. Then he could avoid watching his father teach him and everyone else in the room at the same time. Either way, it seemed like a really dull thing to be listening too and soon the class was over. He vaguely recognised that someone had mentioned homework, and he quickly nudged Tori for clarification on what that meant before writing down his own question and handing it in before he walked out.​

How do practitioners of the Dark Arts typically conceal their activities from detection by authorities or other wizards?

 

[Rose Edogawa]

The first floor corridor was too far away from the Gryffindor towers for Rose to enjoy it for even a single second. She huffed heavily as she reached the doors, taking a moment or two to catch her breath. It was hard being athletic and still having lungs that didn't work properly, but she supposed that was just going to come with the territory. She didn't know much about this Professor, he seemed nice enough she supposed, but he was already at the bottom of her list of liked Professors simply for having a classroom at the bottom of the stairs. Now if his classroom had been a couple of floors higher that rank might also have been higher, but for right now, he was right at the bottom. That might change once she got to meet any of the other professors and saw how they taught, but she wasn't really holding her breath on that.

She took a seat next to Sayuri, taking a moment to catch her breath again as the lecture began and took flimsy notes. She'd usually always relied on Eli or Jonah to take notes for her, but seeing as neither of them were in this class, and Sayuri had her own notes to prepare, she was going to have to try and deal with it herself as best she could. Once the lesson was ended, Rose yawned, and headed out of the classroom, dropping her homework off as she continued.​

How does the use of dark magic differ between various magical communities or cultures around the world?

 

[Esme Styx-Cade]

Esme was disappointed to learn that while her father was the Defence against the dark arts professor, he wouldn’t be teaching her until her fifth year. She was looking forward to seeing him in his element but that felt like such a long time to wait. In the meantime she had to settle for Professor Waldgrave sat behind his desk as she made her way into the man’s classroom on the first floor. The room was full of familiar faces and Esme decided to take a seat close to Tori and Rose. She wasn’t sure if the two of them considered her a friend yet, but she did, they were her dormmates after all and she hadn’t made many friends outside of Gryffindor house, if any.

When Tori answered the professor’s question Esme couldn’t help but smile at how smart her friends were, hopefully if she spent enough time with them it would rub off on her as it certainly wasn’t as trait she felt she had inherited from either of her parents. She listened to Professor Waldgrave who talked a lot, he talked about how they would learn a lot of theory, but also practice curses, hexes, jinxes and counter spells, that seemed like a lot to cover in one semester but she hoped he would focus on the counter spells, they seemed more important for a class called defence against the dark arts.

At the end of the lesson Esme gathered up her things after she had written out a question for Professor Waldgrave which she would hand into him on her way out. She left the classroom with the others already looking forward to the other classes they would all be in together.

What's the scariest thing you've encountered in the world when fighting dark magic?

 

[Winnie Calida]

Winnie was newly sorted and ready to get to it. She had her first class and was up, bright and early for it. She’d gone for a run first thing, making sure that she was keeping in shape and knowing that an active body was good for the mind. She had the new versions of all the books she would need and the best parchment. Winnie had plans to speak to each of her professors within this first week, she needed to be able to do so. To make sure she could get any extra credit necessary and put herself on good terms with each of her professors. The girl then packed up the last of what she needed, checked her uniform was on perfectly and then headed out of the room.

Winnie walked into the defence against the dark arts classroom and looked towards the professor with a smile. ”Morning Professor Waldgrave,” she greeted, making sure that he would see her, and note her in the class. She moved to sit down opting not to sit right in the front by just the row behind, appearing and knowing she was eager, but not wanting to sit right at the front. She took out her parchment and a quill, making sure the nib was ready and the professor got started. She nodded along as he spoke. He introduced the rules of the class, and then posed a question. She frowned as one of the gryffindors, the girl from the train managed to raise her hand and get picked first. How…Nice. She wanted the girl to get the answer wrong but she didn’t. So competition. Winnie turned her attention back to the professor and took some notes from what he was saying, hoping for another opportunity to get to answer a question but there was none. Instead eventually the lesson was wrapped up and she headed out of the room. Having completed the homework in no time at all.

Spoiler

Professor Waldgrave, this lesson was really fun, I'm very much looking forward to more. My question, goes back to our discussion, between Stupefy and Petrificus Totalus which spell do you prefer?

 

[Kiera Potter-Cade]

Kiera had to admit she was glad she didn't have to have Uncle James as her professor this year. It was bad enough that her mother was going to be the one teaching her charms this term. One family member was really enough as a professor. The brunette walked into the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom to find Esme, Rose, and Tori already there. Kiera took a seat next to them. Hopefully, they didn't mind. They were her dorm mates, and she hoped they would be her friends.

Kiera took out her class materials to take notes as Professor Walgrave entered the room. He seemed nice enough, but he seemed very serious. The class didn't necessarily sound like it would be much fun. He said they would mostly be learning theory, and Kiera was very anxious to learn spells. She did her best to hide the disappointment from her face as Tori managed to answer the question first. She didn't want the professor to get the wrong idea, and she was glad it was one of her friends that answered the question and not a Slytherin. Still, she wanted to do well in the class and make a good impression. Kiera took notes as Noel spoke. When it was the end of the lesson, she wrote down her question before leaving the room.

In your opinion, who was worse--Grindelwald or Voldemort?

 

[Arthur Larson]

Arthur wasn't sure what defence against the dark arts would involve, but he had arrived at the class. He glanced at the other students and then to a spot. He moved to sit down and then took out the weird parchment he had. he placed them down on the desk as the professor got started. The rules made some sense, but he didn't understand much else. This was all still felt like a massive joke, just now everyone else was in on it. Arthur looked to the student who answered the question, and then back at the professor. The question was wrapped up and Arthur was asked to ask a question for the homework. He tried his best to write something down, but struggled with the quill. He got something and then headed out.

What are we learning to defend against?

 

[Kanako Kurosawa]

Kanako was ready for her first class. She liked to be prepared, though she didn't consider herself a nerd like her brother. She made it to the classroom in good time, raising an antagonstic eyebrow at Tori as Kanako sat a distance from her in the same row. After that, she simply taking out her parchment and quill and readying herself for the lesson. It was a wordy one, it turned out. And there Tori was, showing off with an answer. Kanako balked at her for a moment, before giving a soft 'hmph' and turning back to face the professor. Kanako wasn't impressed. For the rest of the lesson she was fuming but she didn't show it. Slowly, towards the end, she became more placid and wrote down her question for homework.

Spoiler: Homework

Are there some spells that we're forbidden from using usually, but in special situations we can? For example, for defence against something really bad?

 

[Sayuri Edogawa]

Sayuri had difficulty choosing where to sit in her first class of the year. The front was too close to the professor and while she was interested she had no interest in being a guinea pig should he have the inclination to choose someone. She wasn't too disinterested to sit at the back either because she did want to learn if there was any that the professor could teach. The middle would have seemed like a good middle ground if it weren't for her feeling too crowded in such an area. She settled for a seat closer to the front but at the side of the classroom and she hoped none would sit beside her. Her hopes were dashed when someone did but upon seeing that it was only her sister Rose, Sayuri didn't mind too much. She would have preferred Elijah but they didn't share this class. Thank Merlin she didn't share this class with Jonah.

Sayuri didn't really find the professor all that impressive. The instructors at Mahoutokuro for magical theory seemed to be stricter and more imposing. Besides, what kind of punishment was writing lines for fooling around in such a supposedly dangerous class? She was pretty sure her dad could come up with a better punishment and that was her dad who didn't even have the backbone against her mother most days. When he assigned the homework, Sayuri didn't even have to think long about her question for this professor. She quickly wrote it down, grabbed her things, walked up to the professor's desk, left her homework, and walked out without so much as a word. While Defence Against the Dark Arts could easily be a subject she would be interested in, liking the class itself would prove to be difficult with such a professor.
​

What, if any, real-world experience do you have defending against the dark arts?​

 

[Jasper Beese]

Jasper was settling in quickly at Hogwarts. Everyone he met was fun and nice, but mostly fun, which was most important to him. While the gobstones fan base wasn't as large as he had hoped, he felt it was more a matter of maximum exposure and giving it time rather than a lack of interest.

He was idly playing with his gobstones as he walked into Defence Against the Dark Arts class, stowing them away as the lesson started. If Professor Waldgrave's goal was to terrify the students, it certainly worked for Jasper. Also how did Tori know so much about this branch of magic? Jasper would have to ask her later. Feeling a little overwhelmed by the end, Jasper scribbled down a question, then left the classroom.

Hi Professor, my name is Jasper. What should we do if we suspect we are under the effects of dark magic?

 

[Cal Greenleaf]

Cal had come here to do one thing and one thing only, master every spell he can. This is the class he had been waiting for, Defense against the dark arts! There had been a moment of disappointment until Professor Waldgrave had assured us students that we would be doing some wand work this year. This was everything Cal had been waiting for. Cal thought for a moment about his question, then something came to mind.

What would be the most under utilized defensive spell, something that nobody would expect?

 

[Felix Layton-King]

At least, if nothing else, Ten wouldn't be able to get Felix in his classes. He had thought he was safe in his dorm until he found out the hard way his sister could still come and pay him a visit. In truth things were getting more than annoying. When he was younger, it was annoying. Now it felt like everything Ten was doing was purposely trying to make his life harder, and for what? Some short lived entertainment was the only conclusion Felix could come to.

He took a seat in his first DADA class and wondered whether bullying would be considered a dark art or not. It certainly felt like it to the twelve-year-old at times. He listened as the professor told them what they'd be doing this year before he packed up his belongings and did his best to hide behind the other students on the way out.
​

How many spells can you use on your annoying siblings?