Second Years, Lesson Five

"Morning, everyone," Gabrielle greeted, giving a tight smile to the students as they took their seats. "Now, we've pretty much covered the semester's work, so I won't bore you with more lectures. Instead, I'm going to give you a bit of an 'assignment'." She gave quotation marks with her fingers at that, shaking her head. "Rather than just tell you to revise. Which is possibly more helpful, but boring. And I might as well have not shown up if that was the case. So, what I want you to do this lesson is relax, enjoy some snacks, and write me a small paragraph about someone who you find inspiring. Just pretend you're back in second grade, at least if you went to a muggle school that is," she joked. "Could be anyone. You could talk about an ancient ruler, you could talk about the Minister of Magic, or you could talk about your parents. I just want to know about someone who inspires you and one reason why."

Gabrielle picked up her cup of tea, gesturing vaguely at the students. It was a bit of a test of their writing and ability to explain themselves in the written word, but she didn't want to make that too obvious. "Have some fun with it. And if you just want to have a nap, that's fine as long as you at least pretend to look like you're meditating." She smirked before sliding off the desk to go back to her seat and read over some assignments. "Any questions, I'll be here."

Homework
RP the lesson. Extra credit for doing the homework. Yes it's cheesy, but it can be a nice little characterization moment. If you use any sources, please cite them! Apologies for the delay in getting this lesson posted and thanks for your patience while I've been unwell!

 

[Vikram Bakshi]

The semester was wrapping up and Vikram was already debating on what he wanted to do for the break. Probably just relax at home, maybe have a few family dinners. His parents were lovely people, and he was eager to get back home, hear the stories they'd no doubt been saving up for him. Perhaps he could talk them into inviting Winnie's family.

But he'd need to finish the semester before he could make any solid plans. With that in mind, Vikram walked down to class, hands in his pockets as he hummed to himself. He took his place in class, pulling out a piece of parchment. He was surprised though with the assignment given to them. He moved to a more comfortable seat, settling in and waiting there for a moment. After some thought, he raised his hand. "Excuse me, Professor?" He called. "Would it be silly to say my parents?" @Professor Gabrielle Moncrieffe

 

[Elijah Edogawa]

Eli wasn’t sure how he felt about the end of the semester coming up so fast, but there wasn’t much he could do about it now. All he did know was that he didn’t feel like he was at all prepared. There were things that he felt like he still didn’t know and even though there would likely be some review time before exams, Eli still didn’t think he would have enough time. It felt different this year, and he didn’t really know why. Still, once he got into the classroom, he settled quickly into his chair and pulled out his textbooks to make notes if he needed them. He liked to make annotative notes in the margins, just so that he had something to refer back to if he needed it. He listened as the professor explained the plan for today, a little surprised they would be doing a bit of a review so early since they weren’t yet at the end of the semester. He supposed he didn’t really mind it, and he did sort of appreciate the ability to kind of choose what he wanted to do. It wasn’t strictly revision, but she’d asked them to write about someone they found inspiring, so if it could be anyone, it was hardly a challenge, right? And not exactly someone new. Well, he hoped his brother would never see this, but as he put quill to parchment, the only person he wanted to write about was Jonah.

​

Spoiler: My Brother

Jonah, my twin brother, doesn't know this really, but out of everyone in my family he's probably the one who inspires me the most. I know this isn't really what this assignment is for, but I wanted to write about this anyway because it's something I need to get off of my chest in a place he'll probably never see it. Jonah and I for the last year and a half - since we started here - haven't gotten along and I guess I sort of struggle to see why, though I can sort of see where it started. We've been living seperate lives since this all started and at the end of the day I think that hurts me deeply, and yet I don't know how to tell him that. It's my fault, I know that much, but that doesn't make it hurt any less. My brother had an incredible energy to him that seems to be gone now and I hate it. He was the kind of person who dived head first into anything he did, and he did it really well. I respect how unafraid of life he was, and yet that doesn't seem to be the case anymore, I fear.

What stands out the most to me about my brother is that he's loyal even when he probably shouldn't be. I know that if I was in trouble, even if Jonah doesn't want anything to do with me anymore, he would come to my aid, because that's the kind of person he is. He doesn't like his house placement, but I think the more I see him there, the more I understand why the hat chose Hufflepuff for him. I never doubted it. Sometimes the things he does drives me crazy because he's impulsive, but even that centres him perfectly into his house. I could never be the kind of person my brother is because I'm too selfish to be like him. He gives too much to people who just take it - and I'm sad to say I'm one of those people. He's not perfect, and neither am I, far from it, but he's honestly a massive part of what keeps me motivated half of the time, and I know that he will always have my back, even if I don't have his.

- im so sorry camilla

 

[Lilith Ilves]

History of magic was one of Lilith's more preferred lessons this semester, the theory learning and history had always been more of her forte. She enjoyed, no loved reading whatever she could and learning the old ways and what life was before her time. She found comfort in knowing those things, a small smile etched onto her face at the mention of her assignment. She knew exactly who she'd write about, there was one witch she aspired to be like and she was happy she'd get an opportunity to tell about why her grandmother inspired her and to respect the memory of her well lived life and what she had taught Lilith in the time they had together.

Spoiler: Homework

Today I wanted to take a second to tell you about my grandmother, Meeri. She was an exceptional witch of her own, her favourite things were astronomy and healing magic. My grandmother raised me when my parents were busy with my siblings who were a bit of a hassle after being born. Meeri taught me most of what I know today, she taught me to be kind, to see the light, even though she always said I was the light, I brought light into her darkness after the loss of her husband but I doubt I would have ever learned to see the light around me were it not for her. She also taught me how to fly a broom and what she could about magic, though my parents mainly wanted to keep that portion away from us kids until we started school, but she told me stories of important people of our past, never wanting me to not see or learn what our past as witches and wizards held.

Meeri passed a few years back and it was though on all of us, but mainly me. We were like two sides of the same coin and thus navigating a world where she is gone has been challenging to say the least. In moments of distress I can still hear every word of encouragement she ever told me, in moments of doubt I remember the advice and knowledge she gave me. I will forever carry those things with me and I wish that I might one day be even half the witch she was, that would be an achievement for me.