First Years, Lesson One

Professor Wolf sat behind the desk, back stiff, hands folded over a mug of tea he kept using magic to heat. When the first-years shuffled into their seats, he didn’t rise immediately. Instead, he watched—tired eyes scanning nervous faces, noting the fidgeting, the whispers, the eagerness hidden beneath layers of anxiety. When the last bag hit the floor and the last cloak was unrumpled, Blade stood. His knees creaked in protest. His expression was unreadable—but not unkind. With a flick of his wand, chalk rose to the board, scrawling in tight, blocky script: PROF. Wolf.

"Right then. Good morning." His voice was deep, worn, and scratchy. "I’m Professor Wolf. I’ll be your Charms professor for the semester." He looked around the room again, slower this time. "I’ve been teaching longer than I care to admit."

He leaned on his cane. "Let’s start simple. Stand up, tell us your name, your house, something about yourself, and what kind of wand you carry. And speak up—mumbling won’t help when your spell ricochets off a bookshelf." As the students responded, Josef nodded along—occasionally offering a quiet grunt of approval, or a raised brow at the more dramatic wand pairings. He didn’t write anything down, but it was obvious he was memorising everything. Names, wood types, core materials, which ones were proud, which ones were scared. He saw it all.

When the final student sat down, he exhaled through his nose and walked to the front again. "Your wand is an extension of you. It’ll respond to your moods, your doubts, and your choices. You mistreat it, it won’t wait for permission to show you what that means. But if you take care of it—trust it—it’ll do the same for you." ]He leaned on the edge of a desk, posture relaxed but still commanding. "Charms are spells that change what a thing does—not what it is. You want your quill to dance across the page, that’s a charm. You want the quill to become a frog? That’s Transfiguration. Entirely different kind of mess."

He pushed off from the desk, pacing gently now, hands behind his back. "Each week, you’ll be assigned a chapter. I’ll review the main points in class, but I expect you to read. Not skim. Not panic the night before. Read. If you’re struggling, you come see me. There’s no shame in needing help. There’s only shame in pretending you don’t." Then, he drew his wand—no flourish, just instinct—and said, "Expecto Patronum." From its tip emerged a large, silver mountain dog, strong and silent, with kind eyes and a steady gait. It circled the class once before fading to mist.

"Next week, we begin with Lumos—the light-casting charm. I know, it sounds basic. It isn’t. Some of you will get it right away. Others will wave your wand like you’re conducting an orchestra and wonder why nothing happens. That’s alright. You’ll get there." He returned to his desk and sat down heavily, gathering a stack of parchment into a tidy pile. "Pick up your reading list on the way out. You need extra help, you find me and ask. Don't stay lost."

With a small flick of his wand, the classroom door creaked open. He looked toward it, then back to the class. "Dismissed. And bring your wand next week—unless you want to be the one in the dark."



To receive full marks, please reply with your character introducing themselves:
Name, House, one fact about them, and a description of their wand.
 
Daniel sat down in the Charms Classroom with the rest of the Gryffindor First Years, sitting up straight as the professor stood in front, and introduced himself. "Right then. Good morning.” The professor’s voice was deep and throaty. "I’m Professor Wolf. I’ll be your Charms professor for the semester." Then, he asked each of them to introduce themselves, something unique about themselves, and what their wands were.


Daniel waited to be selected. When he was, he stood and cleared his throat a bit nervously. “M-my name is Daniel Westerberg. I was born in America, though my mother’s family is from New Zealand. My wand is an elm wand with essence of belladonna as its core - I was told it would be good for potions.”


He sat back down, satisfied with his introduction. He waited as the rest of the class introduced themselves. Professor Wolf started a short lecture after all the kids had talked. He described what defined a charm, versus a transfiguration. He continued after, talking about taking the readings seriously.


Daniel’s eyes grew wide as the Patronus circled the room. He had always wanted to learn the Patronus Charm -it seemed like it was super useful. Professor Wolf ended the class by reminding them about the reading and to bring their wands next class. Daniel filed out of the classroom at the bell with a broad smile on his face.
 
Daviana was excited for her first Charms class. She loved to see her aunts perform different charms - they seemed rather useful. As she took a seat next to some other Gryffindors, she wondered whether she would be as good at charms as some of the others in her life, but then again, it probably just took practice.

Daviana listened as they were instructed to introduce themselves. She waited until it was her turn and stood up, feeling confident one second and less so once she realized everyone was looking at her. "I'm Daviana. I'm in Gryffindor, and I was born in Ireland but live here now," she started. "My wand is uh, well, I think it has a hippogriff feather for its core. It's made of hazel!" she finished, remembering that part in the moment. Daviana took a seat and listened to the rest of her classmates introduce themselves, wondering if they were doing this in every class. After that part was finished, she listened more to Professor Wolf talk about wands and the difference between charms and transfiguration. She was thoroughly surprised when he started using magic in front of them but then told them they really wouldn't be learning much practical magic until next week. She had already tried the Lumos spell here at school and had been unsuccessful. Maybe next week, it would go better. She grabbed the reading list on her way out and looked at her scheduled to see what she needed to do next.
 
Cassian didn’t know anything about Professor Wolf other than that he was almost as short as the first years he was now teaching. Cassian took his seat in the classroom and listened to the professor as he introduced himself and the subject. They would be learning to cast the Lumos charm during their next lesson, which was a nice and basic spell to start with. Cassian was looking forward to getting started. He made notes during the lesson, and once it was over, he packed up and made his way out of the classroom.
 

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