Second Years, Lesson Three

"Good morning, everyone. Surviving?" There were a few equally tired expressions on the students, and Gabrielle couldn't help but feel sympathetic. The halfway point in the semester is where things tended to lull, after all, and she also tended to get exhausted. "I won't keep you all too long today, we'll just have a short lecture then I'll give you a small research assignment for homework." There were a few groans, and she smirked into her teacup, finishing the brew before it got cold.

"We've got an interesting and somewhat divisive figure to talk about today. The lady Morgan Le Fey, also known as 'Morgana'. If you recall back in first year you might remember mention of her when you learned about Merlin, yes?" There were a few blank stares - it had been some time ago now - but some recognition amongst some. That was enough to satisfy her, and she continued. "She's mostly known as King Arthur's half sister, by his mother Igraine and her first husband prior to Uther Pendragon, and was a powerful sorceress in her own right. She was an exceptional healer, so it was told. She was believed to have resided in the Straits of Messina, off the coast of Italy. In this area, the strange currents can draw phosphorescent creatures from the depths to make strange lights appear to hover above the water. This is a phenomenon known as 'Fata Morgana'."

Gabrielle paused to give the students a chance to catch up with their notes, rolling her shoulders and neck to prevent herself from tensing up too much. "Perhaps this draws from the positive interpretations of the lady Morgana. She had an exceptional gift for healing, which caused some people to consider her as being a fae being, or even a goddess of sorts. Some tales speak of Morgana aiding King Arthur at the Battle of Camlann, prior to his death."

"On the other hand, there are tales of her villainy, too. She stole King Arthur's sword, Excalibur - the one said to have been gifted to him by the Lady of the Lake - and schemed to plot his death and usurp his throne. Some tales expand upon this, suggesting she may have been a lover of Merlin, amongst others, and antagonised the Knights of the Round Table as well as the King himself. Even so, it is believed that she and Arthur still reconciled right before his death." Gabrielle raised an eyebrow, looking over the class. "People are complicated creatures. You can't really just think in terms of 'good' or 'evil', you know?" She gave a little laugh at herself with that. Something about this year's syllabus just made her go in to fable mode. Sometimes she just really couldn't help herself.

"Well, I promised you a shorter lecture today, so we'll leave it at that. From one healer to another, though - I'd like for your homework for you to give me a short essay on Paracelsus, please. If you're interested in studying to be a healer he's someone who I think you should certainly familiarize yourself with." There was still a little bit of time before the end of class, but Gabrielle wasn't planning on keeping them long. "Let me know if you're having any difficulty at any stage, otherwise have a good week!"

Homework
RP the lesson. Extra credit for short essay (one or two paragraphs is fine), please include your sources. Sorry for the late posting of this lesson, and thank you for your patience!

 

[Victoria de Lacey]

Tori was still trying to keep tabs on Jasper whenever she could find him so they could finally do this club thing. She wondered if they would ever be able to make it an official club because she would hate for it to go to the wayside if they couldn't but maybe they could try and get a lot of people and then maybe they could? She wanted to branch out into other games eventually, but she thought focusing on one thing first made sense and it wasn't like there was a club for that and whilst it didn't mean there weren't other clubs that could she didn't see why there shouldn't be an official gaming club. There were all sorts of games they could play and not to mention introducing games to the muggleborn students, and she was sure there were games that they could teach the magical kids. It was a bit of a work in progress though because she was mostly handling all by herself. That was okay though, she was the support to his kingdom of Gobstones and she didn't mind that. She couldn't be a President of anything, so this was the safest option. She didn't want multiple people relying on her, it was bad enough just with the one in Jasper.

She yawned slightly as the professor greeted them when she walked into the classroom, her words about survival drawing a few weak chuckles from the class. She quickly took a seat and prepared for the lecture she knew was coming. She didn't mind it when there was cool information, but at the moment she felt a bit like they were being talked at, and she had always preferred discussion. Tori was intrigued as the lecture shifted to Morgan Le Fey, scribbling notes furiously. The juxtaposition of Morgana as both a healer and a villain fascinated her. The imagery of the “Fata Morgana” - those mysterious lights over the water - sent a shiver down Tori's spine. The idea of the dual nature of Morgana honestly fascinated her and she took more notes on it, wondering if any of this had to do with the rest of the things they'd learned about King Arthur, she wasn't sure she liked how Morgana was automatically the villain in the story. That seemed to happen a lot to women she was noticing. She was going to have to talk to the Professor at some point, though maybe not when she was feeling so annoyed at the whole idea, she didn't want to be getting into arguments so early in the year. When the class was dismissed she quickly headed to the library to make a start on her essay.
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Spoiler: homework

Paracelsus, born Philippus Aureolus Theophrastus Bombastus von Hohenheim in 1493, was a groundbreaking German-Swiss physician and alchemist who changed the way people thought about medicine. He believed in learning through hands-on experience rather than sticking to old, bookish methods. Paracelsus introduced the idea that chemicals could be used to treat illnesses and was the first to suggest that tiny doses of toxic substances could actually heal—an early version of what we now call pharmacology. He also linked diseases like goiter to environmental factors, such as minerals in drinking water. His work, including The Great Surgery Book, made waves in his time and laid the foundation for modern medicine.
source - lets pretend this is a library book about him and not an internet source

 

[Elijah Edogawa]

This year wasn't quite going to plan, though if someone asked him he isn't sure he would have had an answer for them as to what was wrong or why. He walked into the history of magic classroom and immediately sat in his normal spot ready for the lecture he knew would be coming - because there was always a lecture. He didn’t mind lectures though so it wasn’t that big of a deal honestly. He was ready to take notes, despite being tired, but he did find the topic intriguing. Mind you he usually found the topics pretty intriguing. There seemed to be a real focus on duality this year and he wasn’t sure if that was supposed to suggest something, or if it was going to mean something later in the year. Merlin, he hoped not. He had enough problems in his life that he didn’t want to have to deal with anymore. Thankfully the Quidditch game would happen soon, and he could go and watch his siblings play - even if Rose wasn’t a starter, that didn’t matter right?

He took quick and purposeful notes, making sure he didn’t leave out anything the professor was saying. It was all so interesting and he couldn’t wait to dive right into it. He took down the details of the Fata Morgana phenomenon, imagining the eerie lights over the water and nodded slightly at the comments on human complexity. he wasn’t sure how much of that he believed in himself. It was kind of a refreshing perspective though if he was being honest. He could appreciate the nuance at least. When she mentioned the homework, he gave a faint sigh but figured learning about Paracelsus wouldn’t be too bad—it sounded practical, especially if it tied into healing magic. He wans’t sure he wanted to be a healer, but he was at least mildly interested in how it all played together. Soon the lesson ended and he politely nodded at her before gathering his notes and headed out to the library to figure out how to structure his essay.​

 

[Vikram Bakshi]

Vikram was enjoying his second year so far. He was just a really relaxed guy. He did his reading, he did his exercises, he did his studying. He was in a good mood that day, humming to himself as he got ready for the day. Maybe he should ask Winnie to hang out, but that felt like a lot of effort. He knew his parents wanted him to talk to her more, but he just wanted to curl up by the lake and nap sometimes instead. He was still only twelve, after all. He took his place in class, turning his attention to the Professor to let them talk.

He enjoyed history of magic, taking notes as the woman went through her lecture. It was an interesting subject. He was intrigued (as he usually was) by the subject presented. As they were dismissed, he decided to head to the library and write out a quick essay for the class.

Vikram Bakshi
Second Year Ravenclaw

Paracelsus was born Philippus Aureolus Theophrastus Bombastus von Hohenheim (talk about a mouthful) and was swiss, despite being a German Renaissance philosopher. He was also a physician, alchemist, and lay theologian. He was a fighter for observation in combination with received wisdom, and was given credit as the Father of Toxicology. The study of his work in the early modern medical era is called Paracelsianism.

Source