Defence Against the Dark Arts: Lesson One - Imps (Years 1-4)

Planning a wedding was a difficult feat, Jake had learnt over the summer months. It was the right time to begin the process, though, Ivan was now one, and Veronika was (in her words, not Jake's) back to her normal size. He still believed her beautiful, no matter what she thought of herself, but she had insisted on losing her 'baby weight' before they tied the knot.

Which was why the preparations had begun, much to Victoria's delight.

However, Jake still had to teach, which was why he was back at the school, and ready to help the students learn everything they would need to know for their exams. Today was going to be a more practical lesson - dealing with Imps. They were not the nicest of creatures, but Jake had faith in his students. They would be able to deal with the pests, of that much he was sure.

On the board, the lesson of the day was written in Jake's usual scruffy handwriting.

Imps, and the Knockback Jinx

And on Jake's desk, the cage full of the creatures they would be working with.

As always, Jake's room was devoid of desks and chairs, and for those familiar with is teaching style, it was a clear sign Jake had not yet decided on a theory lesson.

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~ Auror ~ Profile ~ DADA Professor ~
~ In a Relationship ~ 36 ~ Father ~ 6' ~ American Accent ~

Guest

[[OOC: Italics are in sign language. Also, sign language grammar is very different from English but for ease of understanding I've written it like English.]]

"Must I go? Really? Can't I just skip this one time? Please?" Elleon begged.

Jelena maintained her stance. "You must go! What would mum and dad say if they found out you skipped a class?"

"But I can't do DADA. You know that!" he responded, trying to convince Jelena to let him skip the class.

"Yes, you can! I'll help you! Remember all that revision we did over the summer?" Jelena reminded him. It was true. Time that was not spent with his family or friends was spent with Jelena helping him go through the pronunciation of all the spells, charm and jinxes they had learnt. Of course, they did not actually cast anything because that was illegal but they repeated the words, with Jelena telling him if he got the pronunciation and intonation right or wrong. It was tedious, frustrating work but Elleon wasn't about to give anyone an excuse to call his Deafness a disadvantage.

He sighed. "Fine." He dragged his feet to the classroom. DADA was probably the class he struggled the most in since it required him to talk and he just knew that they would be doing another verbal spell today. He was proved right when they entered the classroom.

Immediately, he turned to Jelena. "See! I told you so!" he practically yelled in sign language then pointed to the board and the cage of creatures."And even worse! We have to work with creatures! What if I mess things up and people get injured? What if - "

Jelena did not allow him to finish and cut in. "What do mum and dad and all your teachers in your previous school always tell you, huh? Say it!" her sign language getting more forceful and making sounds with certain signs she did.

Elleon gave her a frustrated look before rolling his eyes and calming down. "Deaf people can do anything hearing people can do...except hear."

"That's right. Now you apologise to the professor for making a scene and greet him properly."

Elleon sighed. There was no winning an argument with his sister. "Hi professor," he greeted, Jelena interpreting for him. "Sorry for making a scene." He turned back to Jelena. "There! Happy?"

"Good. And yes," she replied. "You're gonna do fine.

Elleon only hoped her words were true.

Guest

Mackenzie knew that she was most excited for Care of Magical Creatures, that was a given but what other classes would be able to excite her? She assumed she'd be finding out soon as the next class on her timetable was Defense Against the Dark Arts. Mackenzie crumbled the timetable back into her pocket and swung her bag over her shoulder, making her way in from the grounds to the third floor where the timetable told her the class was held.

Mackenzie smiled the entire way to the class and when she entered, she looked around the class for any hints of the lesson. The word 'imps' stuck out the most to her and her face practically beamed because two creature lessons in one day? Awesome!! "Hello Professor Newbury," Mac greeted recalling the name on her paper before she turned to stand along the wall. Her bag fell to the floor and Mac smiled to the other students the also occupied the room.

Guest

Defence Against the Dark Arts wasn't one of the most pleasurable classes, not for Alberi, at least. And for a guy who could hardly run if needed and was as weak as a squirrel. Of course, doing the spells themself wasn't a problem - Alberi had a strong enough will power to manage to manage to do the spell quickly. However, it was against a moving target that was the problem. He just didn't have quick enough reflexes to even hit what he needed to hit before needed. Or at least, he needs a lot of luck or a very slow target which he could hit. But any other situation meant nothing good for the blond.

With a slight sigh, he made his way to yet another class of his favourite class. At least the teacher was decent enough. Though he sometimes seemed a bit too jolly for the likes of Alberi, he still taught them something, and that was good enough for him. Though he hoped that his O.W.L. year would be more serious than what he is certainly studying.

"Good day, professor Newbury.:"he greeted while entering. He noticed a few students have already entered. Ignoring them, he turned his attention to today's lesson. 'Imps?' he thought and looked at the cage filled with the creatures on the table and frowned. 'Don't tell me we will have to fight with them...' Sighing, he cursed his luck. This school year wasn't at all starting with nice lessons, not in his eyes, at least...

Guest

Brooklyn was almost to the class when she remembered that she forgot her wand. She groaned and had to go all the way back to the Slytherin common room. She knew eventually the class would start and she would get into trouble, but her being her she didn't care one bit and continued her slow pace of walk to the common room. she walked without a care in the world and didn't care who was around to see this.

When she got to the common room, she said the password and got in. She went to her room, found her wand on her bed and then was out of her room in the same pace she entered. Without a care in the world. Brooklyn was definitely her father's daughter and that is one thing that her mother hated about Brooke. But Brooke being Brooke didn't care. She eventually found herself in the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom and realized that the class hadn't started yet. She sighed and waited for the class to begin as she sat off to the back of the room.

Guest

Potions classes...had not gone so well after all, but Nico was determined that he would definitely be recognized as a great Potioneer with time. After all, every great person was at first dismissed as being, well, not so great, and he was certain he was going to be one of these people (even if his previous potion had exploded). In any case, Nico was feeling rather determined to prove himself in at least one other class, and with DADA next on his schedule, he walked to class with his head held high.

Stepping inside, he noticed the floor was empty, and figured that practical work was their aim for that lesson; coupled with what was written on the board and the things in the cage, he was certain about this fact, and grinned a little. Magic. It was in his blood (quite literally, although he wasn't a Pureblood or anything) and it was something he enjoyed doing. Or, at least, he was certain he would.

Spotting Elleon and Jelena, he offered them a smile, but moved away, not wanting to get caught in the middle of an argument. To him, at the very least, it was obvious from their facial expressions and slightly more aggressive way of signing that they were disagreeing about something. What, though, he couldn't figure out, and it nagged at the back of his mind as he continued pass them.

Moving to the front of the class, he smiled at the man in front. "Hello, Professor Jake!" he greeted, knowing the name from his schedule. "I'm Nico," he added, wondering if the Professor knew his siblings; from what he heard, they did learn under him, too.

Guest

Severine enjoyed Defense Against the Dark Arts most because she thought it actually taught her how to control and harness her magic, however this year she'd have to meet someone as Anya was a fifth year so she couldn't practice with her. The girl frowned a bit because she was now one of the older students and that last thing she wanted was to be paired up with a disgusting little first year because of all the people not worth her time, it was first years that needed the least of her time.

The girl walked into the semi crowded classroom and greeted Professor Newbury with a hello and a curtsy before finding her way to an empty spot where she dropped her bag of books. As usal, there were no desks meaning she should start scouting out a worthy partner now as opposed to later. However, most of the students looked young and for that reason the girl frowned and wondered why she even had bother to come.

Guest

Despite the fact Humphrey was pretty sure he wasn't running late, it still felt like he was. When it came to classes he usually liked to be early, but today he was a bit behind because he'd had a brainwave that he'd simply had to write down for his story. He'd learned the hard way that if you didn't write it down right away, you often forgot the great idea and would be kicking yourself later. It took all of his concentration not to run in the halls, and instead speed walked as best he could. When he finally got there he was relieved to see the class had not yet started, and took a seat near the Brooklyn girl he'd met in Diagon at Madam Malkin's.

Once he'd gotten his things out, he simply waited for the lesson to begin. Instead of taking the time to converse with his classmates before the lesson began he did his best to calm down the excitement so he would be able to focus properly. That was always the hardest thing about classes for him. Humphrey never lacked an eagerness to learn, but if he got too hyped up he knew it could be a detriment sometimes. After about two minutes, he began to feel calmer and then looked up at the board, noting what the lesson would be on. This should be rather interesting. The thought made him smile a little, ready to begin now.

Guest

The sad thing about DADA classes was that she always had to leave her jewellery back in her room. If she was not careful, she would lose them in class, and besides, it was not easy to move around when one had to worry about bracelets jangling around their wrists. Sighing, Mina locked her earrings and anklets inside her silver music jewellery box. Though she felt bare without them, performing well in DADA was a must, even if she did not care much for the class.

She took her time as she walked to the classroom. Not feeling particularly thrilled to watch children find an excuse to be violent and unruly, her thoughts flew to William Shakespeare, one of her favourite writers of all time. A theory about his blood status had been forming in her head since she read A Midsummer Night's Dream, and she was beginning to wonder if perhaps the Muggle world had more magic than they thought.

Anyway, if the Bard turned out to be a wizard, especially a pureblood one, it would be so much better for her. Perhaps, then, she would not have to hide her Shakespeare books any longer.

Strolling into the classroom with her chin up, she greeted the professor and glanced at the board to see what they would be learning about. 'Imps, and the Knockback Jinx,' said the note on the board. Smiling to herself, she thought of Puck, and how he was probably based on imps. Mina had read about them during the summer, when she decided to do advance reading on various magical creatures. Having to deal with rowdy classmates was quite vexing, but perhaps learning about magical—if rather ugly—creatures along the way would make it interesting.

As the first students arrived, Jake noted the sign language they were using. Elleon and his sister Jelena had been put on the staff memos. Not to make a deal out of it, but to make sure the teachers were aware. Jake would have, if he'd had the time, found out the way to say hello to the boy in sign language, but with two jobs, a one year old son, and a fiance to balance, it had slipped his mind. Which, Jake was a little annoyed at himself for, but he would make it up later on.

Instead, Jake gave the kid a small wave when he was acknowledged, and, looking at Elleon and not his sister, Jake replied. "Hello, Elleon!" Before giving the Hufflepuff a smile and then moving on to greet the next students who entered. There wasn't going to be favouritism, no, but Jake would do his best to accommodate Elleon in his class.

Greeting each of the students who came in - and adding a nice to meet you to those who gave their name (he didn't hold anyone by their siblings achievements, everyone was their own person in respect of studying) Jake waited for the second bell to go before clearing his throat.

"Right, good morning everyone! I trust you all enjoyed the holidays and are ready to get back in to learning?" Jake asked, his enthusiasm as high as it always was. "And, to those who are new, welcome to Defence Against the Dark Arts. It looks like many of you have been looking at your schedules, and the school tries to insist on formality. However, in the classroom, and away from the other professors, please just call me Jake. Professor makes me sound old, and I definitely don't want to be thought of that way for at least another twenty years." Jake joked, letting out a small laugh. It wasn't a major thing, but Jake thought it made him seem more approachable to the students if he asked of them this much.

"Now then, on the board I have noted down two things. Can someone tell me - even though they're right in front of us - what an imp is, and anything we should note about them. And, can someone else, tell me what the Knockback Jinx is? If anyone has anything to add to an answer, please go ahead, I'm not expecting essay answers." Jake prompted, looking between the faces hopefully for answers.

And, of course, answers from more than one person.

________________________________________________
~ Auror ~ Profile ~ DADA Professor ~
~ In a Relationship ~ 36 ~ Father ~ 6' ~ American Accent ~

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