SDA Y42 S1: Question & Answer Session

Flynn North-McGowan

amputee + duelling champ + ollivanders assistant
 
Messages
3,364
OOC First Name
Charlie
Blood Status
Half Blood
Relationship Status
Seeing Somebody
Sexual Orientation
Ivy
Wand
Knotted 13 1/2 Inch Flexible Fir Wand With Augurey Tail Feather Core
Age
3/2040 (20)
Open after Kadi posts with Indira and Steven with Charles

If he were being honest, Indira had more or less come up with the meeting idea herself, so most of the credit should probably go to her. Flynn had been the one to actually ask Professor Abberline if he would be okay with taking part, but that was about as much effort as he had bothered to put in. But still, it should be interesting enough. It was probably the only opportunity a lot of people would get to actually ask a former Hit Wizard anything they wanted.

He stood at the front of the room, arms folded across his chest and tapping his good foot against the ground as he waited for people to arrive. When he was pretty sure the room was filled up enough, he eventually cleared his throat. "Hiya everyone and welcome to the SDA. For people who don't know, I'm Flynn, and standing next to me is Indira, and we're your Co-Presidents for this year." He didn't want to linger on the boring stuff for too long, so quickly moved things along. "You might have noticed we have a Professor with us today. Standing with us is the younger years Defence Against The Dark Arts Professor, Professor Abberline. What some people might not know, is that Professor Abberline was formerly employed as a Hit Wizard before becoming a Professor, and that is what we are going to be focusing on today."

Pausing for just a moment to let things sink in, he hoped that he had at least gotten people's interest now. "Professor Abberline has kindly given us some time today to answer any questions you might have and to tell us all what working like a Hit Wizard is actually like." With that sorted, he glanced over to Indira for a moment. "Anything to add?"
 
Indi was glad her idea for a meeting this semester wasn't awful. She had been a little worried that when the time came she would draw a complete blank. But thankfully Flynn seemed to think it was a decent idea and he had helped her pull it all together. She stood at the front of the room with Flynn and Professor Abberline felt a bit awkward as they waited for things to get started. She rolled her eyes when she spotted her sister, still annoyed Anisha had pushed so hard to be in the club. Indi waved to the gathering students as Flynn started to speak and introduced them. She was a little annoyed Flynn seemed to be doing all the talking and she was just up there for no reason. But eventually he turned to her to ask if she had anything to add. She smiled tightly. "No, I think you've said all the important things." she said. "Just remember that Professor Abberline is volunteering his time to speak with us today so please be respectful of that." she added, not wanting anyone in the club to embarrass them. "The floor is all yours professor." Indi said, actually bothering to sound sincere as she gestured for Professor Abberline to take over.
 
Charles was pleasantly surprised when one of the co-presidents of the Student's Defence Association came knocking on his office door. It wasn't often that he was asked to talk about his former job as a Hit Wizard, so he was more than happy to be part of the Q&A the presidents had organised for their members. He might even inspire a student or two to join the Magical Law Enforcement Squad, which wouldn't hurt the office at all since most students were often more interested in joining the Auror Office. He smiled when Flynn introduced him and thanked Indira for letting him take over from them. Now that it was actually his turn to speak to the members of the Student's Defence Association, Charles felt a bit nervous. While he was growing more and more accustomed to speaking in front of a classroom full of students every day, this felt like a whole other setting to him. One much less professional, in a sense.

''Right, eh, well, let's start things off by explaining what they are and what it is that they do,'' Professor Abberline began, looking around the room and smiling at those familiar to him. To his surprise, he even recognised a couple of first-year students from his Defence Against the Dark Arts class. Unfortunately, his cousin wasn't one of them. ''Hit Witches and Wizards are members of the Magical Law Enforcement Squad and are trained to uphold wizarding law by dealing with highly dangerous combat situations. As the description reveals, they mostly keep themselves busy with high-risk arrests and riot controls and even hostage situations at times. This means that they have to be highly skilled and well-trained in defensive and offensive magic in order to do their job properly. For the Muggleborns under us, think of Hit Witches and Wizards as a specialised police unit, allowed to use force to stop all imminent threats to life,'' Professor Abberline said, pausing briefly to let this bit of information sink in. ''Before answering any of your questions, I would like to add that being a Hit Witch or Wizard certainly isn't for everyone. You'll need to be able to hold your own in combat and defend those in danger in the meantime. While having a bed reserved for you at St. Mungo's might sound like an awesome benefit to have, it is dangerous work and you can get grievously injured on the job. Focus and determination are key to a successful outcome, lose either and you may just find yourself using that bed at St. Mungo's'' He took a deep breath and smiled, not wanting anyone to be discouraged from potentially choosing a career as a Hit Witch or Wizard despite his words of warning. ''Now, questions, please ask away!'' he exclaimed excitedly, eager to answer any questions they might have.
 
This was the first year he could take part in the dueling tournament, and of course, he was planning on winning the whole thing. So, he was hoping that the first SDA meeting would be some practice or something so he could get in as much dueling as possible. Unfortunately, as the two co-presidents explained things, it seemed as though they weren't doing that. But Mish had been quite curious as to what a Professor was doing there as well, but it soon made sense. A Hit Wizard. Now that was cool. Mischa grinned as he listened to the Professor explain a couple of things, almost feeling as though he needed to go and grab a notebook or something so he could take notes. And of course, he had questions, instantly sticking his hand up, wiggling it to get attention. "What's like, the most dangerous wizard you've ever dueled. How did ya win?"
@Professor Charles Abberline
 
It was only after Harper signed up for the Student Defence Association that she realised she had no idea what the club actually did during their meetings. Was it just practice duels? Or did they have lessons on dueling strategy? She couldn't think of anything else that made sense, but she supposed she would find out soon enough.

To Harper's surprise, Professor Abberline was waiting for them in the SDA clubroom. She smiled at him, even as she wondered what he was doing here. As far as she knew, none of the clubs had teachers who helped lead them. But maybe the SDA was different? The reason for Professor Abberline's presence became clear when Flynn and Indira explained the agenda for today's meeting. Harper had to hide an amused smile. She was very curious to see how Professor Abberline would portray his experience at the Ministry. She remembered him complaining quite a lot about his old job during their animagus lessons over the break.

Harper listened attentively as he spoke. Most of this was information she already knew, but she didn't want Professor Abberline thinking she wasn't paying attention. Once again, she had to stifle a smile when a younger student jumped straight into asking about dark wizard encounters. Still, Harper couldn't deny she was also curious to hear the answer. Once Professor Abberline had answered the question, she raised her hand. "What's the best way to prepare for a career in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement?" She was more interested in working as an auror than a hit wizard, but she figured there had to be some tips that applied to the department as a whole.
 
SDA meetings tended to be hit or miss, and Celia wondered if things would be better now that Indi was co-president. She seemed a lot more competent than Flynn. Judging by the meeting last year where they had been told to just practice spells on their own, Flynn didn't even want to be in charge. No wonder he'd decided to pass all his responsibilities off onto someone else.

There was a professor at the meeting, and Celia hoped this meant they would be dueling today. She would always welcome a chance to show off her skills. Unfortunately, it seemed he was here to talk to them about being a hit wizard. Was this seriously a career people were interested in? Celia couldn't fathom ever wanting to be a glorified cop. Any career that put her own life in danger was a no-go. Plus, it couldn't have been that good of a gig, not if this professor had decided that he would rather teach at a sh!tty school like Hogwarts.

Celia wondered if she could slip away, but the meeting had already begun. Professor Abberline started to describe what life as a hit wizard was like, and it sounded just as bad as she imagined. Why would anyone think having a bed reserved at a hospital was "awesome"? An older girl asked about careers in law enforcement, and Celia gave her a judgmental look. Gryffindors really had no sense of self-preservation.
 
It did not surprise Charles when the first question asked was about his most dangerous encounter. ''I once faced a wizard who had seriously injured a bunch of Muggles in Auckland by hitting them with a particularly nasty curse. When a squad of Hit Witches and Wizards arrived, he turned towards us and decided that we were his next targets. I won by being a better dueller than said wizard.'' He wasn't one to boast about his work but he had been a way better dueller than the wizard in Auckland - it had only taken him a minute or so to subdue the other man. And then Harper raised her hand, which did surprise him. After all their animagus lessons over the break, he was sure there was nothing he could say that she didn't already know. ''Continue to practice what you have been taught at school. Potions, Defence Against the Dark Arts, Charms, Transfiguration and even Herbology are all essential for a career in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. Possessing certain magical skills may also work in your favour when applying for a job,'' the Professor said, sure that she would understand what he meant by that.
@Mischa Falter-Butera @Harper Alston
 
Leah wasn't sure what to expect from the SDA meeting. She knew first years couldn't participate in the dueling tournament but she hoped she might get to use the few spell she had learned so far in her lessons. So she was a little surprised to see Professor Abberline waiting for them. For a moment she wondered if they were in trouble but that was a silly thought. When the leaders started talking it all started to make sense and she sat up a bit straighter as he started to talk about what a Hit Wizard did. She didn't know much about law enforcement worked. Her parents always told her she didn't have to worry about those kinds of things but she was completely enraptured as the professor told them about an incident in Auckland. Her heart did a little flutter when he mentioned besting a dark wizard. It all sounded so exciting and brave.
 
Savannah wasn't sure what to make of the different clubs at Hogwarts. Having a sister was fine. It was interesting, but it wasn't that fun. Savannah arrived at the SDA room for that meeting, hoping to do more, to learn more about spells and defence and just more. She took a seat in the room and glanced to the leaders, glanced to the man between them. She didn't want to be a hit wizard, or learn about what it take, she wanted to learn the spells with it. Savannah listened along, vaguely interested but not willing to admit it.
 
Branson arrived at the SDA room eager. He had heard that they would be doing in the club and took a spot in the room. He was looking forward to asking questions, even if he wasn't keen to be a hit wizard or an auror. Branson listened to the first few questions and then raised his hand, "What classes would you say are useful for being a hit wizard? Aside from defense against the dark arts?" Branson asked.
@Professor Charles Abberline
 
Pearl thought clubs were dumb, but she thought she needed to be part of this club for the duels, and Pearl wanted to do the duelling. She didn't think she'd be good at it, and she didn't think she'd win, but it was something finally fun, something better than quidditch and better than anything else. So of course it was a little disappointing when the sda's first club thing wasn't duelling plus or duelling prep, but listening to a boring professor speak. Pearl sat down next to Mischa, and rolled her eyes at the question that he asked. Of course that was what he would ask. ”Professor, whose the least dangerous wizard you've ever duelled?”
@Professor Charles Abberline @Mischa Falter-Butera
 
Leonardo arrived for the SDA event. He wasn't sure he wanted to bother, but had signed up for the club, so it would make sense that he also go to the event they had organized. Leonardo sat down randomly since he didn't spot any of his two or three friends in the room. In fact, he wasn't sure either of them signed up for this club. But immediately Leonardo thought this was a mistake. They were learning about being a hit wizard. He had asked so many questions to his father about his work which as far as he knew was sort of like being a hit wizard. All he could think about as people spoke in this hall was about how much he'd like to see his dad. Leonardo's gaze was laser focused on the professor, his face giving nothing away.
 
Seamus didn't have much else to do within the semester, given that he tended to have little interest in his classes and little interest in studying. Going to club events was the way for him to pass time other than just sitting about aimlessly. He just liked duelling and didn't like much else. But he didn't need to like much else about it. Seamus hadn't thought about what it might be like to be a hit wizard, he didn't think he'd have the grades for it, or be that bothered about it. But he did listen along as other people asked questions and he listened to the answer. He didn't know what he wanted to do with his life, but he could hear about what other people did and decide if this was for him.
 
Aurora liked doing things with her sister, but she knew that it would be near impossible to get her sister as interested in everything she was interested in. That just didn't work out like that, and that was fine, it didn't need to. Aurora wouldn't hold her sister back and would like Rosie hold her back, so she was at the SDA event, eager to see what they would do other than just duelling. She glanced at the professor and then to the two club leaders who talked over what exactly this event was. What they would be doing. A rather interesting q and a. She hadn't known that that was what the professor had done before becoming a professor and she was trying her best to think of engaging questions for him.
 
''Aside from Defence Against the Dark Arts, I would say that Charms and Potions are two very useful classes for being a Hit Wizard. You'll need to have passing grades in these three classes if you want to work as a Hit Wizard, actually.'' Charles would have liked for Transfiguration and Herbology to be requirements as well, both provided much-needed skills for when out in the field, but the Ministry of Magic thought differently about that. He could only hope that whoever was going to be the Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement under Minister Fontaine would see the usefulness of Transfiguration and Herbology as requirements for Hit Wizards ''Hit Wizards don't have the task of investigating crime scenes as Aurors do, their main focus is protecting and serving, which happens to include a lot of duelling.'' He wasn't sure if he was doing a good job of telling the students about what it is like working as a Hit Wizard but at least they were listening and asking questions, so he supposed that he was doing something right. He laughed at the next question and thought about it for a moment. ''I don't think that it counts but I once had to take a wand away from a baby. The baby's father had given it to them to keep them distracted. Babies and wands are never a good combination,'' he said with a chuckle.
@Branson Archer @Pearl Parra
 

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