Global Citizenship - Lesson 2

While most teachers would have been proud to see their class garnering as much interest as Global Citizenship had over the past term, they would be just that - teachers. Adelaide was not a teacher and therefore could not understand what she could have done differently. She had made the whole thing about theory alone, she had set relatively high standards for research and homework and she had very publicly posted a list of lackluster students from the first lesson - announcing to the world that people like Zoey Kingsley and Lewis Oakley were no more welcome in her class than Nifflers in her trophy room.

Yet the second class had turned up more crowded and enthusiastic then before. What was worse, all her students were even handing in homework, going above and beyond their usual attention span to research things that bordered on downright impressive - if the redhead had it in her to be impressed.

Where had she gone wrong?

Today, the class was set out in its usual fashion, rows and rows of desks in front of a stark, clean blackboard that saw use as a projector screen in Global Citizenship. Whereas the first lesson had started with a question, this lesson started with a bold, declarative statement.

WE ARE FAMILY

As the students filed in, each getting a polite nod from the Headmistress who took her customary place behind her desk (there was little dignity on leaning against furniture like one lacked a back bone and downright juvenile utilizing a desk as a seat), Adelaide wondered how many poor suckers would think today's lesson was a happy feely sort better left to the more cool and nurturing professors. In reality, today's class was based on sharks.

The sharks of the wizarding world that that lay in wait, waiting for the perfect moment to attack one of their own and bring the carcass home for the rest to see and admire.

Today's lesson would be about the four pillars of the wizarding world, the four families who rules them all.

After the first lesson of Global Citizenship, Elenore was sure she would be heading back. The Headmistress was no nonsense, straight to the point and completely to Elenore's taste with the authoritarian air she held around her.

Moving to the second floor came as uneventful and Elenore slipped through the door of the classroom with a smile in place. "Good morning, professor!" Elenore greeted as she made her way to her seat in the second row. Not too far back, not too close. A good mix really.

Looking to the board, Elenore took in the information and a light frown touched her features. What this lesson was going to entail the French witch couldn't be sure, in truth, but she wrote up the heading on her notebook and sat waiting patiently for the lesson to begin.

Idly, Elenore wondered of Alexei would be joining her this lesson. But Elenore had had little correspondence with the boy as of late.

Dominique walked into the Global Citizenship classroom. She had remembered what happened during the first lesson. As the headmistress called her out on it. But she was going to let that get to her. But she was going to prove to her that she was wrong. And that she belonged in the class. Did matter that she was a first year. She was able to stand on her own, even if there were a lot of older students in the class. And she wanted to show everybody that a first year could do it too.

She then went and found her a seat. “ Hello Headmistress.” She was sure that she wasn’t expecting to see her again. But she then noticed that they were talking about pureblood families. Something that she knew about. Since she was taught this from a young age. As this was important to know. She was a pureblood and it was important to know the history.

Clara had stayed quiet in the last class, getting a feel for the new environment. She had, however, enjoyed it more than she'd expected to, and was ready to come back and participate more. The homework had been interesting, and she'd learned quite a bit about the way the wizarding world functioned that she hadn't known before.

She was an outsider. That much had been obvious from the moment she'd first set foot in Diagon Alley. Even as she became more accustomed to seeing magic in everyday life, the culture of the wizarding world--the part that had isolated itself from the rest of society--differed in subtle but noticeable ways from her muggle upbringing. It was almost like the Uncanny Valley effect. At this point, it seemed like it should be normal, yet it was still...different. Even weird, at times, like it should all be a dream but it wasn't.

The last class had been very informative, so she hoped this next one would be as well. Admittedly, she had not taken it upon herself to become well-versed in wizarding history and politics, as she had with other subjects. It wasn't something she cared enough about to explore on her own, as it had hardly affected her so far. She did understand the potential usefulness of the information though, and she found the class to be a fascinating one. She rather liked the idea of coming to class and learning something completely new to her, rather than simply reviewing material she'd already read in a book.

She entered the classroom and took a seat with a good view of the board, retrieving her note taking materials from her bag and preparing herself for the lesson.

As soon as the class reached maximum capacity, the doors snapped shut without warning, its sound ringing through the classroom to announce the time for casual chit chat over. The Headmistress took a moment to note all the familiar faces as well as the new arrivals. Both the Misses Clement and Holmes were present and the spunky first year was back too. Then there were the new faces. Adelaide wondered if they had walked in by accident or were simply attending out of morbid curiosity. Most of all, the redhead took note of the students who had not made it to this session.

"Ever since mankind abandoned its nomadic ways and chanced upon what we now call communal living, there have been kings." Her lecture started without a greeting, without a welcome, without any preamble. As she spoke, the lights dinned once more and the center of attention was the blackboard, now showing a pyramid of people with a single person on top."Whether these kings wore a crown, whether they were elected, whether they were queens, non of it mattered because a king was simply a ruler with the most influence over his or her people." the pyramid zoomed in to the individual on the top, a crown atop his head, then a sword in his arm, then a quill in his grasp.

"For the word "king" did not signify a gender but rather a position, and could be held by men and women alike so long as they had proven worthy by whatever criteria decided upon." Once again the image shifted, showing duels of archery, feats of magic and tests of physical strength. "And of course, once a king had been elected, his or ehr objective was only one. To keep that power."

The cardboard figure atop the human pyramid was back, but this time he was joined by another, and the by several little versions of itself. "Which is why we have the concept of royal blood. Noble blood. Pure blood..." Here she trailed off, letting the students arrive at their own conclusions. in truth, the ways of kings and influence had not changes in the thousands of years gone by. thy had simply been re branded. And it was now the students' duty to see through the branding to the truth within.

"A lot of us harbor under the impression that pure blood has to do with magic. And those who truly believe that magic or lack thereof makes anyone more of less of blood truly deserve our pity. Bloodlines by definition are dependent on famlies, not magic. A Clement born a squib would no less have his ancestors blood than a witch or wizard. A Murray would have no less claim to his lands than his non magical siblings."

Another pause as she allowed the students to digest this information. "And yet we are taught that Muggles are lesser somehow. That the magic in our veins is what makes us special, not the blood of our ancestors. Would anyone care to explain why this is?"

Dominique was making sure that she was paying attention in the class. But she was also taking notes on what the headmistress was teaching. She had asked a question and this time Dominique wasn’t going to be scared to answer it. Even if someone already gave their opinion, wasn’t going to stop her from giving her. That is when she raised her hand and waited till she was called on. As she took a deep breath and was hoping that whatever came out of her mouth made any sense.

“ I think the reason that people think the reason why some Purebloods think that they are better. And it is because it has been passed down from generation to generation. But if you take the magic out the blood, then we are just a muggle. There are some purebloods that would intermarry just to keep their blood pure. But there has been an issue with genetics. That is why some families marry half blood just to keep the magical line alive.”

She knew her answer was nothing like the one before her. But it was also a different way to approach the question. Now she just hoped that the headmistress would like it.