Y23 Electives Fair

[Jonathan Spenser]

It was that time of the year again where the faculty of Hogwarts New Zealand pulled together to set up the electives fair for second year students who were in the middle of making the first big decision of their school career. Jonathan wasn't a fan of putting a lot of pressure on the second years, they were only 11 or 12, but during his years of teaching he learned that the students were the ones who put the pressure on themselves and possibly their parents. Jonathan liked to take a gentle approach with his students and make them feel comfortable when it came to discussing their options and reassuring them that while it was a big deal and definitely not the end of the world if they didn’t know in that exact moment what they wanted to do with their life - even Jonathan never fully knew he wanted to be a Professor until he saw the job listing for his current job.

This is why he thought the idea of the elective fair was such a good idea and after last year's success he was glad that they were carrying on with it this year. He felt it relieved a lot of the pressure off the young people and gave them the opportunity to walk around all the booths at their own leisure and ask the questions they needed answered by the right person. There was a lot of time Jonathan was asked what a certain elective course was like and he couldn't give a proper answer because he had never taken it himself and a lot of things had changed since he was a student himself. This way the students were able to ask the respective Professors about the courses they had to offer and have the general questions that needed answered also by their Head of House.

It wasn't long until the hall was set up and all the Professors were positioned where they needed to be. Jonathan waved his wand to have the Great Hall doors open, and stay open, and waited until the students started to arrive. As he didn't run an elective course he was mostly here for his Ravenclaw students, and really any student - he wouldn’t turn anyone away, who wanted to ask questions about career paths and discover the subjects that needed to be taken, and another general questions that needed answered. With a coffee in his hand he started to walk around a little and mingle with the rest of the Professors until he was needed.

 

[Ulysses Viteri]

The reminder of Electives Fair was pinned on the common room's notice board for a few days and Ulysses had made a mental note to attend after the end of the day's classes. As far as he knew, it was about their choice of extra classes they were going to sign up for their third year. He had asked a ravenclaw prefect and got informed about the current selection of subjects but he needed extra information from the staff that was teaching the courses. The fair was taking place at the Great Hall. He arrived early at the location with his backpack packed with noted and textbooks from the lessons he had earlier. There were stalls placed all over the place and Ulysses recognized the head of his house and went straight to his stall to greet him. He took a brochure from there and started browsing through it.

Ancient runes and magical creatures looked pretty interesting. The problem was he had no idea what he would like to do when he graduated. He liked astronomy, that's what he knew and he had learnt about a squad of Unspeakables who were working on astronomy-relevant occurrences, like collecting samples from celestial bodies entering the earth's atmosphere, ending in an isolated location. He had also read that aurora borealis wasn't exactly a natural phenomenon or at least it wasn't occurring naturally so often as muggles believed. When he tried to find a concrete explanations behind the reasons wizards and witches were committed on creating this phenomenon, he only found claims that they were performed out of respect of some ancient tradition which its true purpose was lost in time. He would like to learn how to cast aurora borealis, it was actually a dream ever since he found it was a masterwork of magic. Perhaps he could be trusted with the true reason behind the practice if he was a member of the relevant team. After he finished flipping through the brochure, he looked frowned at the head of his house.
"Professor, is there any kind of career regarding astronomy in the Ministry?" he asked while he had the opportunity and his stall wasn't overcrowded yet. The man should have been more updated than him or he could point to him who else he could consult with.

 

[Professor Cyndi Kingsley]

Professor Kingsley was very excited about the elective fair. She nodded her head to her colleague who was helping out even though he didn't teach an elective. Professor Spenser had been a good friend ther over the years. He was a good man. Shaking her rune bag, the woman wondered whether anyone might ask for a reading today. Even if they didn't, she figured she'd be busy with Gryffindors and some Slytherins. With Styx away to mourn his daughter's death, everyone was pitching in to help with his group. So far, it hasn't been too difficult.

 

[Sloane Halliwell]

Sloane had only been at the school for a really short time, but as yet she had been enjoying herself and was glad for the warmth with which she had been welcomed. Teaching was never soenthing she'd thought seriously about. She had been a tutor since graduation, but that was very different to the kind of classroom setting she now found herself in. It was really thanks to her brother who tried desperately to get her out of the house, but she was loathe to admit that to anyone. Instead she smiled as she walked into the Great Hall. As the Muggle Studies Professor to the juniors she was required to attend the electives fair and try and answer any questions that the second years may have. She'd thought about it for a while and thought she had a pretty good idea of what they might ask. She'd grabbed a couple of objects from the cupboards on her way as an example to show any potential students. She hoped they would be interested. She smiled softly to her colleagues and greeted them politely as she took her place. She noted that there were already a couple of students. She hoped she'd be able to be interesting for any potential students.
​

 

[Iman Albatrouz]

The Electives fair wasn't something Iman had realised he had to participate in until a recent notification, but he was more than excited about the concept. It was a great way to really interact with the students and get them as enthused about his subject as he was. Even if he were only going to be there for the term, he wanted to know that he'd at least made some sort of impact, regardless of how big or small. Divination wasn't a popular subject, people dismissed it as false nonsense and he'd heard it be ridiculed on more than one occasion. But it was more than that. It was mysterious and powerful, full of so much potential. It's branches, utilising tarot cards, interpreting dreams, reading tea leaves, each were as vast as the future Diviners were attempting to predict.

A crystal ball bounced once and rolled freely across the tower floor in Iman's haste to grab items to bring along to the fair. He had a tarot deck, if any student wished for their past or future to be read. Unlit candles, mirrors, bits and bobs he'd found in the cupboards. He scooped up the crystal ball and a pillow of velvet, everything tucked precariously under his arms while a pot of scalding tea followed him through the air, teacups stacked atop its lid. The trip down the tower stairs was going to be a difficult one at that.

Reaching the Great Hall and hoping he wasn't too late, the professor clumsily relieved himself of his burdens and hastily set up a shop on a small table, his tarot deck laid out and the crystal ball sitting on its pillow in what he hoped was a stable position. The teapot softly descended into place and the teacups arranged themselves around it. The tea was free for any student to drink, but its main purpose was for tasseography, if anyone wished to witness just what Divination was all about. Finished, he greeted the other professors present, then proceeded to wait for students to approach.

 

[Alana Finch]

The red-eyed girl entered the Great Hall chewing on her fingernail. She knew that this was a mandatory event for the second years, but she really didn't know what she was meant to do here. Alana had asked her brother, and he had told her about the electives that she'd have to choose from. BUt, there had been so much information that she hadn't remembered it all. Looking around, Alana spotted a man sitting at a table marked Divination. That had something to do with fortune-telling, she recalled and headed over there. The girl stared at the professor for a second, wondering if this man really could tell what her future might be. Maybe she'd find out that her fate wasn't already decided. Or maybe it would be. She chewed on her nail again before speaking to the professor.

"Can I really learn to tell the future in Divination, professor?" she asked, skepticism clear in her tone. Sometimes, her brother tried to trick her, giving her misinformation because he found it funny.

 

[Chaos Zhefarovich]

Chaos Zhefarovich entered the Great Hall, his purple eyes darting from area to area. He looked to his twin brother and Chaos hissed, "Stay the hell away from Ancient Runes and Arithmancy." Those were the ones that Chaos wanted to take, and had his heart set on it. And he did not want Havoc to be there ruining his fun. He shoved his hands into his pockets, before his eyes caught the familiar appearance of the red eyed girl that he was supposed to marry. He asked Havoc to ensure if that was the right blonde, before his suspicions were correct. He wasn't thrilled about marrying someone, but he didn't care either. Chaos approached the Divination table, mainly for some tea. He was getting a little thirsty. He walked over and helped himself, before taking the hot liquid to his lips. He gulped it down, only to spit it back out onto the floor. "You call this liquid trash tea?!" Chaos raised his voice slightly, before he smashed the tea cup on the floor. He looked at the professor, "A joke, just like your subject." Chaos rolled his eyes and started to walk away. That was fun. The smirk on his lips revealed that he loved what he did.​

 

[Lydia Warrick]

Lydia was nervous, she didn't know what to expect from this electives fair, she'd been giving a lot of thought as to what path she could follow. She didn't know her what she wanted to do, nor did she know what subjects she should pick. She didn't want to be a healer like her brother or take on half the work load he had while at school, she had definitely not desired to be a librarian like her cousin, but it left her curious about she might actually do with her life. Though these choices hardly defined what she might end up doing, she wanted to make the right choice, she didn't want to be bored by them. She had gotten ready for this in no time and she held a little notebook in her hand, a muggle pen tucked in her ear, a nervous expression on her face. She was currently following around the other hufflepuff student, the one who scared her, she was trying to be quiet about it, couldn't help but overhear what he said about the tea, and the divination class, it was then that Lydia stopped following him and made a small note in her notebook to perhaps avoid him, and also maybe just the class, her brother had said the professor was great and the class was interesting but she didn't know perhaps she would come back to it, the girl glanced at the other people stood in the hall, and wandered over to one where she could see muggle artefacts which were very familiar to her, "Muggle Studies?" she was looking for confirmation more than anything, she was sure she was right about it, "Is it worth my time taking this if I was raised in part in a muggle household?" while it would be interesting and perhaps easy to study the subject she didn't just want to do it because she knew everything already, that would just end in boredom.
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[Desislav Zhefarovich]

Desi had no idea what he was going to do about electives. He didn't really like going to the regular classes and was pretty sure that he wasn't going to get any more enjoyment out of extra ones. So, he was wandering listlessly around the Great Hall, just biding time until he could leave. If he left too soon, he was certain that Professor Kingsley would have a word with him later and he wanted to avoid that. Hearing someone talk about a joke, Desi's head snapped up. Then, he noticed that it was Chaos who said it. That meant that it couldn't really be a joke. Chaos never seemed to like anything.

Moving on, Desi stopped next to a Hufflepuff girl who was asking about muggles. That was pretty interesting. The Gryffindor stopped close enough that he'd be able to hear the answer. Not that it mattered for him. He certainly hadn't grown up around muggles. Not by a long shot.

 

[Sloane Halliwell]

Sloane was mostly off in her own little world when she was faced with a student asking questions. She smiled with a nod when the student asked if this was muggle studies and pointed to a couple of the artefacts. "Indeed it is." She waited for the girl to ask her question and then thought for a moment. She could see what the girl was asking, and wondered if it would be something for her worth taking. "Yes, I think so. If not for the learning experience, it might be nice for you to learn how the magical world views muggles. I've actually started reworking the curriculum and there would be instances to contact any muggle friends you might have in my class as well." She said, smiling. "Muggle Studies is all about accepting and understanding why the muggle society is the way that it is. Even having grown up in that environment, it might be interesting for you to see other aspects of it as well. Even between different countries muggle culture is very different from one another." She noted that there was another student standing near the girl and she smiled at him. "Are you also interested in Muggle Studies?"
​

 

[Jon Phillips]

Because Jonathon taught the fifth, sixth and seventh years, attending the electives fair did not make much sense in his mind. It seemed a better idea for him to leave the task of attending to the other professor as she was the one who would be teaching the current second years if they chose Muggle Studies as an elective. She was certainly the more relevant professor to answer any questions about next year's classes, so Jon had no plans to show up to the fair for even a few minutes until a day prior when he decided to show up as moral support and in case he needed to answer any questions the second years may have had about muggle studies in later years or the career paths it may lead to. Granted, the other Muggle Studies professor may already have the answers to any questions that may be thrown her way, but Jonathon figured it would be better for him to show up for a short amount of time so he could help out if he needed to rather than remain hidden in his office all day. It would certainly be a more productive and helpful way to spend his time now that he had finished marking the previous week's homework.

He strolled into the great hall and arrived to the Muggle Studies table as the other professor was in the midst of answering a Hufflepuff student's question. When Sloane had finished speaking he smiled in her direction and added his own two cents to aid in answering the question in case the other professor's answer did not fair enough on its own. "I agree with everything Professor Stark has just said. I was raised in a muggle household, and having an understanding of muggles does make the classes very easy. I never needed to worry about passing. But, it also taught me a lot of things I did not know already, and things I didn't think that I needed to know. If that makes sense." He smiled at the Hufflepuff and then again at Sloane as she spoke to another student nearby. "I showed up to help but it doesn't look like you need any." He remarked to the other professor while he rocked back and forth on his feet, unsure of what he was supposed to do until another student arrived.​

 

[Alana Finch]

As a boy sidled up beside her and began to drink tea, Alana was still waiting for the professor to give her an answer. Before anything else could happen, the boy was making an outburst. Alana glanced at him, her eyes widening with recognition. This was Chaos Zhefarovich, her betrothed. The girl's red eyes remained on him as he walked away, tears burning behind her lids at how horrible he was. Turning away from embarrassment, though there was really nothing to be embarrassed about since not many people knew of their connection, Alana moved away from the table without an answer to her question. Or maybe Chaos coming to the Divination table was the answer. Her future, her fate was sealed. Alana glanced at the Arithmancy table wondering if that was a class that might interest her.

 

[Desislav Zhefarovich]

Desislav had never been keen on having attention from professors. It was usually bad. He looked around, hoping the woman was speaking to another student but it was really just Desi and the Hufflepuff girl at the table. Desislav shrugged. As another professor began to talk, the Gryffindor was thinking about sliding away. But then, the guy said a magic word to Desi. He called the class 'Easy.' For a boy who had never liked classes much, an easy class was music to his ears. Never mind that he hadn't heard the rest, that it was easy for muggle borns. "Yes, professor. I am interested" he announced, already envisioning sitting back with his hands behind his head. "What's that?" he asked as he pointed to something on the table with a ton of buttons.

 

[Victoria Havelock]

Victoria had heard a lot about the upcoming electives fair and its importance to her next year. She hadn't given much thought to what she would do after she left school, in all honesty she didn't know what she could do. With this in mind Victoria had decided that at the electives fair she would have a look around at the different classes she could take during her third year and just see if anything stood out to her. The truth was her main objective would be to avoid an assault of questions from her sister the next time she saw her.

The young hufflepuff made her way into the Great hall behind some of her fellow housemates, on the way up from the common room they had been talking excitedly about what careers they wanted to go into after Hogwarts. A lot of what she heard sounded like gibberish, as they talked about jobs she'd never heard off in minstry departments thast sounded made up. At times Victoria was a little embarrassed that she was well into her second year at Hogwarts and still knew so little about the world outside it.

 

[Dillory Mouse]

Dillory was a bit late arriving at the Electives Fair, one of the creatures in her classroom had creatively escaped its enclosure and she had to first of all find it and wrangle it back into there before it set the tree on fire. Once successful she picked up a basket containing a few small harmless magical creatures and set on her way up to the castle, she passed a few students and gave them a quick wave but once she was closer to the castle she noticed the time and began to rush to the Great Hall, her Husband Iman would probably be there for divination. Dillory continued to wave at students as she rushed past them. Approaching the hall she collected herself and calmly walked in.

There were quite a few students and professors already waiting to see what each elective could provide them, a little kerfuffle appeared to have broken out but she ignored it and went to find a spot to set up her Care of Magical Creatures stall. Placing the bag down she pulled out enclosures containing some Flobberworms, a pet frog prince, a Salamander which had previously escaped and was making little fires around the tree, and a Half-Kneazle. The Half-Kneazle quickly made its way to drape itself around her shoulders to be in the way and she tsk'd at the creature 'I knew you would do that, I take you out of the tree and you are a pest, get down and look pretty' she said the Half-Kneazle ignored her but Dillory picked up the creature and put it on the table.
Displaying all the creatures nicely she waited for some students to arrive to ask her questions about the subject and what it could do for them.