···· All years: DADA - back to basics

[Mathew Edison]

Mathew had notices placed in every dorm announcing that today there would be a lesson of Defence Against the Dark Arts for everybody who was interested in learning strong counter curses and magic beyond their imagination. He was pacing up and down the classroom hoping the demonstration spells he had in mind were powerful enough to overwhelm his class as he wasn't sure of what they'd seen so far.

One of his spells was unique though. It had taken him ages to perform and he had been trying since his 3rd year at Hogwarts to successfully complete the spell 12 years after he had left the school. It was his most powerful legal spell and he used it as his triumph card in duels. Only one person had seen the spell and was capable of telling the whole story to others.

It was at the paradise where he had met with this mysterious woman only to never see her again. He had no idea where she went or what she was doing at the moment but she had a aura of darkness yet mystery hanging over her which had nearly enchanted him.

Looking at his pocket watch he realised that the lesson would start in 5 minutes so he took out his wand and started arranging the desks to leave a clearing in the middle of the room. With another flick of his wand he summoned a wooden stage and a purple carpet to cover it. He would show them how to duel for real. That was if somebody would actually show up to his class.

[Brianna Nightshade]

Brianna was the kind of person who could stand to be dismally late to a potions class but would never even think about dallying when there was a Defense class to go to. Brianna was into all things that involved strong, physical prowess, since she found that she did much better in a fight then a Herbology course.

She done quite a fair amount of dueling in her time between her father who randomly attacked her and her brother to keep there reflexes sharp, Quidditch which for a beater and female captain mostly consisted of trying to knock very large men off of broomsticks, the actual dueling club of which she'd been captain, and regular average DADA classes. So needless to say she was basically a weapon in and of her own self. Not that she saw it that way at all.

No Brianna never really sat down and thought about how strong she was or anything, it was more like she just knew that she was. She wouldn't run around boasting about her abilities, simply use them when they were necessary, often to the shock of others, who only taking into account her innocent and cutsie features, figured she was a delicate little thing to be bullied or taken care of. Brianna never stood for those kinds of things if she could help it. And above all else Brianna hated bullying.

But that was neither here nor there at the moment. The important thing was that she'd finally arrived at one of her favorite classes. She beamed at the professor as she slid into the middle of the front seat. It was a convenient place to sit when one wanted to be chosen for demonstrations or the first one to duel or try out a new technique.

Still, Brianna thought as she looked up at the new professor, she had to admit that she missed Professor Stormy. While most of the students were probably thrilled with a newer, much younger professor, Brianna had really bonded with Professor Storm, who seemed to have more important things to do nowadays then teach these kinds of classes. Well, he was the new Headmaster, Brianna reasoned, and he probably had a lot on his plate because of it.

At that Brianna nodded to herself determined to support her old professor by not complaining about him switching posts. She also thought it would be a good idea to do something else that might help him. Like maybe she'd bring him a cup of tea in his office at some point or other. Surely he would like that. And perhaps she could help him with some of his paperwork if he needed it. It probably got awfully lonely being a Headmaster.

With that issue resolved Brianna smiled brighter at the new professor. After all this one was helping so that Professor Storm didn't have to do so much work, Brianna figured Professor Storm worked enough as it was. The man was obviously a workaholic. Brianna nodded deciding that this professor was probably highly recommended, and it was good to have a new professor in the sense that he brought something new to the table. Her old professor couldn't possibly know everything there was to know, and as she sat at the edge of her seat, bouncing up and down in anticipation, Brianna Nightshade decided that it was time she learned something new.

[Asha Khan]

Asha entered the classroom with her nose in an Herbology book. She enjoyed most of her classes, but DADA made her a bit nervous. She was often yelled at in Beauxbatons for not attacking strongly enough during duels. She stayed on the defensive until she saw an opening to take the other person down without much harm. Often she would allow the other person to tire themselves out while she stayed behind layered shields. The young Indian woman had liked the Professor Storm considered a good defense just as good as an offense.

She hoped this new Professor Edison wouldn't hold her life views against her, because she very much enjoyed being a student at PU. She wanted to attain her goal of creating new and better healing potions through Herbological creativity and exploration. Her two passions rolled into one good cause. She smiled to herself and finished the paragraph she'd been reading.

Asha paused her steps and placed a bookmark between the pages so she wouldn't lose her place, then she looked around for a place to sit. She spotted the blond girl, Brianna, from their cooking class and offered a shy smile. Asha didn't make friends easily, being both shy and apparently strange for her pacifistic views. It didn't help any that she was also foreign which had made a few rumors already circulate and causing more people to give her strange looks and a wide berth.

"Good morning," Asha offered the other girl, hoping it wouldn't seem forward to speak first when she didn't actually know Brianna all that well. Being from Thestral House didn't really give one a chance to mingle with ones fellow students.

[Mathew Edison]

Mathew as fairly busy with his last preparations and he was pleasantly surprised by the fact that two students had entered his classroom. As he was writing rune inscriptions around the duelling stage he had wished them both a good morning with a firm nod. He was really hoping that more students would show up because he was planning a great lessons.

I'm sure they won't believe me if I tell them that a dual can be won by only defensive spells he thought to himself. He was prepared to let one of the students throw every legal curse they could come up with and he would only be allowed to strike back with defensive spells or a set of simple charms which are generally never useful in a duel.

Awaiting other students he decided to strike up a conversation with the two students who were already in the room. "Morning" he repeated "Nice to see at least some interest for my class. I'm sure you'll enjoy todays lesson" he added. Awaiting his response he cast a chant over the rune inscriptions making them glow a bright shade of cyan before returning to their original state.

[Brianna Nightshade]

Now Brianna was not a shy person by nearly anyone's stretch of the imagination. She had actually won quite a few awards in the Hogwarts Yearbook for being Friendliest, and Most Outgoing and such. She was a cheerful person who didn't like to see people excluded and who generally talked to professors the same way she would another student, with a bit of added respect of course.

So when the others who were in the classroom struck up a conversation with her she couldn't help but beam at them.

"Good morning," Asha offered the other girl, hoping it wouldn't seem forward to speak first when she didn't actually know Brianna all that well. The first one said causing Brianna to answer quickly.

"Morning." She beamed not seeing anything forward about a greeting like that one, but this was coming from a rather outgoing, girl herself.

She made sure to look the girl over since the girl was very familiar looking. Because Brianna barely noticed any difference between her and any other girl, based on the fact that she generally saw people for what they had on the inside rather than the outside it took a few moments for her to recognize the girl from the "cooking club." Of course at that time she had been rather distracted which is probably why she hadn't pounced on the idea of a brand new friend in the first place.

But now here the girl was, and since she had been at the meeting Brianna knew enough to know that she was at the very least a fighter of good and that was enough common ground for her,

"I remember you," she said with a smile, "you were at the cooking club the other day."

She knew it wasn't smart to continue that conversation considering she was supposed to keep it a secret from all outsiders, so she veered the conversation in a new direction,

"I'm sorry I wasn't my normally friendly self then, cooking generally brings out the worst in me," she joked before waving the girl over and patting the seat next to her, "why don't you sit by me and we shall be good friends I believe. It's just wonderful making friends don't you think?"

She was a bit glad that her brother hadn't arrived yet as he would have likely taken the seat for himself or saved it for Carrick for all she knew. Brianna much preferred making new friends than having her body guards hovering over her all of the time. Especially when she felt she didn't need it.

Brianna did, however hope that Sam and Henry made it to class soon enough to get the two seats behind her. They were a regular laugh riot, especially during a class. She imagined a duel between them would be rather entertaining to watch. Especially since Henry was fond of joke spells.

"Morning" he repeated "Nice to see at least some interest for my class. I'm sure you'll enjoy todays lesson" he added. Awaiting his response he cast a chant over the rune inscriptions making them glow a bright shade of cyan before returning to their original state.

Brianna smiled at the professor before saying,

"Morning, and of course I have interest in it, I love this sort of thing myself. I can't imagine why the seats aren't full already," she said as she looked around at a bunch of the still empty seats and shook her head tutting, "people can be quite strange sometimes."

She chuckled imagining the mischief Henry was probably up to at the moment, with Sam there to clean up for him. Though she couldn't imagine what Brandon could have been up to, he'd been acting strange ever since the new minister had been elected. He use to stick to her like glue, but now he always seemed to be running late or absorbed in something else. Of course that also might have had to do with the fact that he'd passed on his protection status to Carrick, or so it seemed, when they'd started "dating" but that was a subject she wanted to stay far away from while she was still in a good mood.

Trying to keep that sort of mood going she leaned forward in her chair and signaled him closer with her finger before she looked at him with a bit of mischief in her eyes and a sparkle of excitement as she asked,

"So any insider information on what we're going to learn today since we made it so early?"

Brianna really was just dying to know.

[Asha Khan]

Asha's smile widened when the other girl beamed back at her. It was nice to meet friendly people who didn't feel the need to look up your pedigree before speaking to you. "I remember you," she said with a smile, "you were at the cooking club the other day."

"Yes, I was," Asha nodded and smiled widely, it was always nice to be remembered. Especially by one that had backed up her own personal problems with part of the lesson. She was glad that she wasn't the only one that had a problem with such mindless violence. Despite the fact that she had the root tucked safely inside her pocket.

"I'm sorry I wasn't my normally friendly self then, cooking generally brings out the worst in me," she joked before waving the girl over and patting the seat next to her, "why don't you sit by me and we shall be good friends I believe. It's just wonderful making friends don't you think?" Asha took the seat beside the girl, wondering if she was always so bubbly and happy. She found herself hoping that the girl was, it was nice to see people that thought in positive manners rather than the pessimistic views that seemed to invade most wizards and witches.

"Nice to see at least some interest for my class. I'm sure you'll enjoy todays lesson" Asha smiled and nodded a bit, looking to the perky blond and letting her answer sit for the both of them. DADA was always interesting, it just wasn't always something she herself enjoyed.

"So any insider information on what we're going to learn today since we made it so early?" Asha grinned at the excited look on her new friends face and turned to the professor as well.

"I am Asha, and I too would like to know. I think we deserve it, after all we are the first two here," She offered in her softly accented English.

[Calypso Vesper]

Calypso did not want to go to class, people stared at her and she stared into space pretending that she could not hear them. Ignoring them made the whispered rumors worse, but it also made people nervous and jumpy because of it. The jumpy part was fun. She sighed as she walked down the hall, her eyes looking at the vaulted ceilings instead of at her fellow students. Her choice of all black made more people look, she liked the attention that her looks got her. When she was a tiny child her brother had told her she looked as though she were an ice sculpture come to life, beautiful and delicate. She played up to that image, dressing in mostly black or pure white. The two colors made her look even more pale.

Her solid black ensemble of the day made her look cold and aloof, something she always encourage in classes that she didn't do so well in. DADA being one of those. She wasn't strong in wand magic and she didn't like being called on if she didn't know she could do what the professors were asking. She paused in the doorway, her eyes taking in all the empty desks. The only people there seemed to be the professor, the Nightshade girl, and the little Indian Mouse. The two girls were sitting beside each other, Brianna her usual perky and upbeat self, Asha reserved but smiling. Calypso chose a seat by the window, but close enough to listen to the two girls. It would at least be diverting until more people showed up.

Her pale eyes trailed over their new DADA professor carefully. She had liked Ignan, so many twists and turns in his mind, so many dark corners and sheilded thoughts. He was like a blank slate, nothing to read unless he allowed it. She appreciated that in a teacher, it made lessons easier to focus on. "You're rather pretty for a professor," Calypso offered the man after a few moments of watching him with wide bored eyes. Some people found her gaze unnerving, she didn't know why, it wasn't like her eyes were what she used to 'see' things that weren't apparent to all. Or maybe it was. She frowned softly toward the man, her thoughts focused internally as she tried to remember what the difference in seeing and seeing really were. She'd had lessons once to control them, but she could never quite seem to recall ....

[Alexander Obscurus]

"Nothing that great has come out of fighting. That's the point of defences - rather than I don't know, attacking lessons." Alexander huffed to his twin sister as they pushed open the door, and stepped inside the classroom. Alexander took in the vast difference to the last time they'd been in the room, mostly the huge stage that had appeared.

"Great, more duelling." He frowned, and looked to Steph. "I thought we didn't get enough of that every couple of mornings on the quidditch pitch, killing each other for the sake of furthering our military skills."

He raised a hand in greeting to the others.
"Hey Calypso, Asha, Bri." He greeted face brightening to greet them before going back into the sulky expression before.

[Stephanie Obscurus]

"Nothing that great has come out of fighting. That's the point of defences - rather than I don't know, attacking lessons." They pushed open the door.

"You can't say that, Alex." Stephanie shook her head. "If Potter hadn't fought Voldemort all those times we'd probably not be alive and free like we are today." It was often futile to argue against her history studying brother.

"Great, more duelling." Alexander changed the subject slightly,. "I thought we didn't get enough of that every couple of mornings on the quidditch pitch, killing each other for the sake of furthering our military skills."

Steph sighed at him.
"Well, perhaps you'll learn how to stay on your feet. It took ages to get the mud out of your robes last time." She grumbled, nodding to Professor Edison who had replaced Professor Storm now.

"Hey Calypso, Asha, Bri." Alexander greeted the others who had arrived. Steph smiled at them.
"Don't mind him, he'd rather have his nose in a history book than have to lift his wand today." She shrugged. "Duelling eh? This is your ideal lesson isn't it Brianna? What about you two, Cal, Asha?"

[Mathew Edison]

Finally more and more people started entering the room. Though it seemed as if the enthusiasm dropped with every person entering the room. The reason for that seemed obvious as the students were discussing how they had enough of duelling for the rest of a lifetime. Though they didn't know that today would be quite different. As the clock hit 9 Mathew raised his voice. "Good day everyone" he barked and the chatter died away almost instantly.

"As you all might or might not know I'm professor Edison. I'm here to take over the post of Defence against the dark arts teacher. Before I start with my class I would like you all to know that if you need help at any time you can come to me either in my office, in class or anywhere else you see me." he took a second to breath and then continued "as for today's class I would like the focus to be on what this class should actually teach you: defence. It's not called defence against the dark arts for nothing" he said.

Mathew gave the students a few seconds to chat as they had all started talking when he had finished. He took the time to walk onto the duelling stage and one he got there he cleared his throat. "Now I'd like one volunteer up here who's willing to try and curse my with every legal curse that comes into his or her mind. Do we have anybody who'd like to do that or do I need to point someone out?" he asked.

[Stephanie Obscurus]

"I'll do it." Steph offered, stepping forwards. She saw Alexander's face, which told her to be careful.
"Come on, however the world pans out, we need to know this stuff." She told him and the others.

She hopped up onto the stage.
"Are we going to do it all back to back and everything?" She asked. "Or just demonstrating?" She asked the Professor, drawing her wand and adjusting her boots so they were more comfortable against her jeans.

Then, when they were ready, she began.

"Incarcerous!" She cried, her wand sending out ropes to bind him, snaking through the air, snapping. But when that didn't work, she changed tact for something more heavy handed.

"Confringo!" The blasting spell shot through the air towards the Professor, from Stephanie's concentrated look.

[Brianna Nightshade]

"Yes, I was," Asha nodded and smiled widely, it was always nice to be remembered.

Brianna grinned. She liked to see the other girl smiling as it suited her face. There was something about Asha's face that made it so that when she was only a little sad in the face it made it seem heartbreaking. Not that Brianna wouldn't be upset if anyone else was sad, but it seemed as if it would be even more affecting coming from Asha.

"You're rather pretty for a professor," Calypso offered the man after a few moments of watching him with wide bored eyes.

Brianna grinned as she heard that and sent a little wave over to Calypso,

"Well your not shy thats for sure," she teased as she greeted the girl, "it's good to see you."

She had heard a lot about Calypso, very little of it that she believed, since she was the type to learn things for herself rather than listen to what others had to say on the subject. The main thing that she kept hearing was that the girl's gaze was deadly, that sometimes to look in her eyes was to see your own death. But Brianna always looked everyone in the eyes and she wasn't about to stop now. Besides that the girl reminded her of her brother in a sense. Brandon also was called cold, though Brianna didn't think it was very fitting for him. She thought it would be interesting if Calypso and her brother became friends.

"Great, more dueling." He frowned, and looked to Steph. "I thought we didn't get enough of that every couple of mornings on the Quidditch pitch, killing each other for the sake of furthering our military skills."

Brianna let out a contented little sigh,

"Ah Duelling...ah Quidditch. Music to my ears." she said not completely picking up the entirety of the conversation in her excitement over two of her favorite things to do.

[i]He raised a hand in greeting to the others. "Hey Calypso, Asha, Bri." He greeted face brightening to greet them before going back into the sulky expression before.

"Hello Alex you don't seem to excited about class today." she pointed out hoping to let him get something off his chest.

"Don't mind him, he'd rather have his nose in a history book than have to lift his wand today." She shrugged. "Duelling eh? This is your ideal lesson isn't it Brianna? What about you two, Cal, Asha?"

Brianna nodded at Stephanie,

"Hey Steph, and yes it is indeed. It's an awful lot of fun."

"Good day everyone" he barked and the chatter died away almost instantly.

"Good day." Brianna answered back with a smile as she waited to hear about the lesson.

"For today's class I would like the focus to be on what this class should actually teach you: defense. It's not called defense against the dark arts for nothing" he said."Now I'd like one volunteer up here who's willing to try and curse my with every legal curse that comes into his or her mind. Do we have anybody who'd like to do that or do I need to point someone out?" he asked.

"I'll do it." Steph offered, stepping forwards. She saw Alexander's face, which told her to be careful.

Brianna's hand quickly shot into the air but she was just shy of the mark. In all honesty she had been busy writing down a couple notes when he had asked the question and Stephanie had beat her to it. But that was okay because she'd been a volunteer for DADA quite a few times. She put her hand down as Stephanie got on to the stage, and thought it might be fun to watch for a change. Her notebook was open so that she could copy down any new spell should they come up.

"Incarcerous!" She cried, her wand sending out ropes to bind him, snaking through the air, snapping. But when that didn't work, she changed tact for something more heavy handed.

"Confringo!" The blasting spell shot through the air towards the Professor, from Stephanie's concentrated look.

Brianna nodded to herself as she checked those two off of her mental list. Those were spells that she had down already. But she was prepared in case anything new came up. It was good to have the opportunity to learn something new in a subject that she enjoyed.

[Mathew Edison]

"Incarcerous!" She cried, her wand sending out ropes to bind him, snaking through the air, snapping.

The first spell was something Mathew could easily predict as it was a standard spell in the course. With a single flick he transformed the ropes into snakes which vanished with the second spell "vipera evanesca".

But when that didn't work, she changed tact for something more heavy handed. "Confringo!" The blasting spell shot through the air towards the Professor, from Stephanie's concentrated look.

Now having to firmly wave his wand Mathew barked "Protego!" and the incoming curse rebounded off the shield. Using the second of confusion he waved his wand as he barked "expecto patronum"! The large silver owl flew towards its enemy causing enough distraction for Mathew to move right in front of his prey. Raising his wand he calmly stated "lumos solem" and he blinded Stephanie. Now she was completely open and with a last flick of his was and the calm words "protego" he forced Stephanie into a wall knocking her out instantly.

"It's this simple to knock out your opponent. Simply distract them and catch them off guard. I know that using a patronus wouldn't be your first choice of distraction but it's a possibility as you can see." he explained.. Walking over towards Stephanie he drew his wand again and muttered "vigoratus" causing the large bump on her head to shrink and after a second she moaned and regained conciousness.

[Asha Khan]

Asha frowned worriedly toward Stephanie as the professor brought her back to consciousness. She had always known that one could win a match simply using defensive spells, but that didn't mean she liked it. Asha abhorred violence and would prefer to stay neutral, but the world was shaking apart and would not let her stand still. She had chosen a side and she knew that she would be forced to protect herself and possibly her friends as well at some time. Didn't mean she had to be happy about it.

Being a pacifist in this day and age was not easy. She did not cause harm if she could help it, and she encouraged others to find alternate means of displaying their emotions. Sometimes it wasn't easy, but she continued to stand by her beliefs despite people calling her names and thinking her weak. The truth was that Asha was not weak, in fact she was very very strong and her defensive spells were hard to get past for people practiced in doing exactly that. Of course her offensive spells could make a first year student laugh, but she didn't use them so it didn't actually matter.

"Are you alright Stephanie?" She asked, biting her lip as the professor helped the brunette up. She hadn't liked the look of it when the girl had slammed back into the wall. Her own teal eyes glanced back at Alex to see how he was taking his twins pain before flying back to Stephanie.

[Stephanie Obscurus]

Steph felt very groggy as she came round on the floor. Woah, the Professor had clean knocked her out! Her head felt odd like she had bumped it, but as she put her hand to it, she found no egg luckily. Instead, Asha was asking if she was alright.

"I think so..." Steph replied, and opened and shut her jaw with a wiggle, blinking before getting to her feet again and stepping down off the stage, collecting her wand.
"Did I miss much?" She asked, rejoining the others on the floor.