DADA: Lesson One (All Years)

Subject: DADA: Lesson One (All Years) Thu Jul 04, 2019 8:02 am

Summer had been largely uneventful for Jake. The only major activity he'd taken part in was the week trip to Italy with the children to capture some of the Quidditch World Cup. Ivan had been less than enthusiastic about camping out, and Quidditch wasn't something that quite warmed the boy.

Adrienne had been another matter entirely as she'd tried to learn all the chants in the stands and camp, only really managing to pick up on the Malaysian chant. The creepy voice displayed by the young witch whilst doing so was just as chilling as the whole crowd at times, but Jake was just happy to see both his children enjoying their time away.

The rest of the summer had been spent with the kids as much as Jake could around work, quiet, peaceful and as always, much too short lived.

Hogwarts had restarted now, and Jake's teaching head was back in place as he sat atop his desk, waiting for his students to arrive.

No clues this time, just a vacant room save the desk he sat on.

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Subject: Re: DADA: Lesson One (All Years) Mon Jul 08, 2019 2:39 pm

Usually, first classes were the ones Mimosa looked forwards to least. they were simply designed to disgruntle students who had just returned, caught up with the friends they haven't seen in months, had a scrumptious meal and then gone to bed in comfy duvets. So after all that, having to wake up in the early hours to shower and dress for class was hardly a welcome prospect.

Still, self sacrificing as she was, Mimosa had managed to get up on time, even managing to shower for a full hour to wake herself up (the other girls could go to various other dormitories, that wasn't her problem) before merging once again into the fourth year dignitary to try and find a uniform that fit. Despite having gotten ehr things altered only a few months ago, skirts were starting to get shorter and blouses tighter. For a moment, the witch entertained the idea that she was growing plump before dismissing it.

No, that could never happen. The clothes had obviously grown smaller.

Finally deciding on the right pair of skirt and shirt, Mimosa donned her robes last of all, her green and silver tie wound around her long ponytail instead of where it should have been around her shirt collar. the young brunette was just slipping her tiny feet into standard school shoes modified with the tiniest of heel when Constance burst in, asking if she was ready.

Together, the two walked to the common room entrance whee, upon existing, Mimosa found a most welcome sight. "Mercy!" she squealed, rushing forwards to hug the Gryffindor before the two proceeded hand in hand to the DADA classroom, Mimosa talking non stop in an attempt to tell Mercy every single thing that had happened since yesterday.

"And then Karan tried to Mime Fiana's final feint, and the train went bump and he fell, on Maria who had a soda can open and it went all over them- Oh Hi Jake!" the greeting was casual until she realized what she was saying. "Oh, it's defense! I didn't know it was your class, now I feel wayyyyy better!" she grinned, coming to stand a few feet away from the desk with Mercy's hand still in hers.

"Look Jake, I grew even taller," she announced, letting go of Mercy briefly to do a small spin showing off her height. the added half inch from her customized shoes totally helped! "And I had a birthday, thank you for my present by the way."

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As was usual for the witch of Greek descent, Apollonia was up way before her dorm-mates and in the shower before the clock even struck seven. Her morning routine consisted of a ten minute cold shower to wake herself up before she turned the water onto warm and spent the next thirty minutes just leisurely showering before she deemed herself ready and left the shared bathroom to get dressed in the girl's dormitories. Twenty minutes later and Apollonia was ready to start her day, ignoring the giggling and gossiping girls she shared the dorm with the witch quickly left the place to escape their clutches and made her way down to the common room only to slip outside the door as soon as it was time for the witch to make her way to DADA.

With DADA being her first lesson of the day, Apollonia wasn't in any rush to get there and instead took a leisurely stroll up to the Third floor, familiarizing herself with the corridors once more. "Morning Jake!" The witch happily called as soon as she stepped passed the door and into the room where she stood casually beside the other Slytherins. She wondered what they would be doing in lessons that day.

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Defense Against the Dark Arts was Mercy's favourite class for many reasons: it was the most fun, it had the coolest professor, and it was the only class she shared with Mimosa. So when it happened to be her first class of the year, Mercy made sure to be up bright and early to make it down to the Slytherin dungeon so she could accompany the other girl to class.

She'd showered the night before so she wouldn't have to worry about that. She quickly donned her uniform - she'd had the boy version since her first year, since her mam had long since given up on trying to make her wear skirts - and she bounded down the many flights of stairs to greet Mimosa first thing, before anybody else could drag her away.

She had several reasons for walking Mimosa to class. She enjoyed her company, of course, and wanted to spend as much time with her as possible, but she also knew that when Mimosa wasn't holding Mercy's hand, she held Squid Boy's. Why that was, she still couldn't fathom, but it wasn't like she could tell Mimosa to stop if that was what she wanted to do.

As the door to the Slytherin common room burst open and Mimosa emerged, Mercy split into a grin.

"Morning!" she greeted the younger witch, reciprocating the hug and falling into step beside her. She intertwined their fingers as she'd done so many times before, and chatted comfortably all the way to class.

She giggled as Mimosa related the story of the train, then turned her attention to Jake just as Mimosa did.

"Hi, Jake!" she echoed, waving excitedly. She hadn't seen him all summer, and she was looking forward to seeing how he'd start off the year.

Subject: Re: DADA: Lesson One (All Years) Wed Jul 24, 2019 6:51 pm

"Morning ladies!" Jake greeted Mimosa and Mercy as they entered the classroom, as usual, together. Mimosa's excitement to show him how she'd grown over the summer was, once again, as adorable as it always was, and he waited for his daughter to finish her perfect pirouette before he spoke. "You most certainly have grown, you'll need to stop that, or you'll be as tall as me soon!" He told her, his voice conspiring in that moment before he grinned widely to show he was only joking.

A smile that wavered slightly when the witch thanked him for a birthday gift he'd never sent.

The realisation that she believed he had, and hadn't noticed that he truly hadn't was one Jake wasn't quite sure how to deal with in that moment, but he simply nodded, accepting the thank you as if he had, because he didn't have the heart to correct the young witch.

"Good morning Apollonia!" Jake greeted as Mimosa and Mercy moved off and in to their own conversation once more, and he continued to greet those who entered in a similar fashion, waiting for the hour to come in to being for him to start his lesson.

It was only a short wait, and when the clock struck the hour, Jake effortlessly flicked his wand in the direction of the door, closing it to signal they would be starting. If anyone came late, they would still be allowed in, Jake had never been too terrible on such matters.

"Okay everyone, summer is over, back to work!" Jake greeted them all, waiting for the smattering of groans that was expected with such a statement before a soft smile broke out on to his lips. "Come on guys, as if I'd be that tough on your first day!"

The joke was left in the air before he continued.

"Today, we will be looking at... Boggarts." The professor explained, the chalk board coming in to life to write down the subject of the day, and then waiting for further information to come from Jake. "Who knows what a Boggart is, and would like to share with the class?"

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Subject: Re: DADA: Lesson One (All Years) Wed Jul 24, 2019 7:07 pm

It took a while for class to start, unlike herself and Mercy not everyone could be prompt on the first day back. In fact, as Seema and Jia En finally walked in, they both looked like they had just rolled out of bed. How unladylike, Mimosa noted as Seema's half undone braid fell limply over one shoulder.

"Okay everyone, summer is over, back to work!"

Predictably, a laud groan resounded across the room. No one was ready to get to work yet. The groan however quickly morphed into nervous laughter when Jake admitted he couldn't be that mean. His question came next and the first hand in the air was... Not Seema's. It was Karan who quietly raised a hand.

"Boggarts develop and hide in neglected places," he offered, a strained look on his face. Mimosa knew what Boggarts were, in theory. Grandmere used to read her stories where they got defeated when Mimosa was a little girl. Perhaps Karan didn't know that? "They feed off access emotions, mostly fear and grow in the dark. they have no real shape or form."

When he was done, Mimosa raised her hand. "And they try to scare you," she contributed further. "They try and become scary but they aren't real so if you can make them unreal, they go away." That should ease Karan's mind. the boy looked like he was going to faint.

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Subject: Re: DADA: Lesson One (All Years) Sun Aug 04, 2019 11:35 am

The first answer, from Karan, was completely on the mark, and Jake would have looked much happier had the boy not looked quite so terrified of talking about Boggarts. As it was, Jake gave the boy a gentle smile, hopefully one that would reassure him.

"You're quite correct, Karan, take five points for Slytherin." Jake insisted, before looking to the next person to give an answer. Mimosa's hand had gone up, and Jake couldn't help but feel happier about that, even before the witch began to speak.

"Nearly," Jake told the witch. "The only adjustment I would make to your answer is that the creatures themselves are most definitely real, but the images they turn in to are not real." Jake explained, hoping to clarify this for Mimosa and the rest of the room. "Take five points as well, though, Mimosa!

"To combat a Boggart, we have to do something that sounds quite simple. We have to make it turn in to something amusing. How do we do that, I hear you ask. You must join together the spell Riddikulus and think of something very amusing to turn your Boggart in to. Then, when it turns in to something funny, the room will laugh, and the Boggart will stop trying to cause you harm.

"So, for example, if you're scared of dogs, the Boggart will turn in to a dog. How do we make a dog turn from a ferociously barking animal in to something funny? How about... making him in to a balloon dog, that can't bark, and simply floats around the room?" Jake waited for the small murmur of laughter to prove him point, before standing from his desk.

Bringing his wand out, the man would point to the back of the room where a trunk would appear. It would rattle in place once, straining against the padlock in the lock before falling quiet once more.

"So, lets go over the basics. The spell is Riddikulus, not ridiculous, you needed to enunciate correctly otherwise the spell won't work. The spell movement is like a 'u' with two flat sides..." Jake explained, showing the students what he meant before looking around to see his students practicing the same. "Great. Now, unfortunately, the only way to practice this spell is to try it on a Boggart, so that's what we're going to do today.

"Each of you will come up one at a time and try to take on the Boggart yourself. Please don't be scared, I won't allow any harm to come to any of you. If you get stuck, I will intervene.

"Now, who would like to go first?"

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Subject: Re: DADA: Lesson One (All Years) Thu Aug 15, 2019 4:02 pm

The Slytherin teen listened to Jake's explanation impatiently, silently bouncing a little in order to get to what she knew lay ahead. Only her fondness for the Professor kept her from calling out to hurry it up, well that and the knowledge that everyone wasn't as smart as her and needed all the explanations. Squid Boy for example looked thoroughly engrossed which wasn't surprising. In fact, what was more surprising was seeing him in class. When had he slipped in? Was it even important?

"Now, who would like to go first?"

Seema's hand shot up instantly, followed by Charles and Ji Hyun's. Karan slunk to the back of the class though, hoping he would be forgotten in the mix. Not to be left behind, Mimosa raised the hand being held by Mercy at the moment, effectively volunteering them both to the cause as well.

"I know all about Boggarts, they don't scare me!" Seema stepped forth, wand confidently held aloft. The class watched as one when the trunk rattled, opening sinisterly a few seconds later. Mimosa was holding her breath without realizing it, only letting it go in a burst of giggles when the perfect image of Headmaster Kessler stepped out of the trunk, dusting his blue robes off before turning to Seema.

Why on earth would someone be scared of the Runes' Professor?

"Miss Biswas," the old teacher began in his usual clipped tones. The only difference Mimosa could tell between Boggart!Kessler and real!Kessler was the absence of a slightly gentler tone when speaking to a Ravenclaw. "All T's, indeed the worst grades we have seen in a century. I would send you back to first year but I'm afraid even then you wouldn't be able to keep up." The class giggled but Seema had turned white. The wand clutched so confidently in her grasp earlier now shook.

"He's not real, Seema," Jia En called out, trying to shake the Ravenclaw from her fear. Ms. Biswas however only had eyes and ears for the Boggart. When it became obvious she couldn't cope, Jake stepped in, transforming the Boggart and passing it on to the next person in line.

Ji Hyun's fear turned out to be losing, Charles' something Mimosa couldn't see but she heard the word "Thestral". Jia En was terrified of werewolves but managed to convert her Boggart into a video game werewolf which was much easier to conquer. Stacey's fear of clowns had her whimpering, stepping out of its way so the Boggart now faced Karan, confused at all the forms it changed.

At first the whole class stared confused when the Slytherin Seeker came face to face with his fear. It looked like an older version of Karan with a thinning beard, the tops of which disappeared under his bright blue turban. The nasty sneer on his face was enough to make Mimosa shudder.

"You. Degenerate." the man hissed dangerously, making Karan quiver violently where he stood. "You're worse than an animal," the man continued, reaching as if to strike Karan who flinched. Later Mimosa would realize the flinch was practiced.

"Riddikulus!" Gaspard's voice rung through the classroom, reducing the Boggart to a tiny house elf version of the scary man. The man squeaked angrily at Karan but this time in a chipmunk voice and to great comedic effect. The whole class burst out laughing except for Karan who looked like he was about to faint.

"Let me try!" Mimosa ventured forth, wand in free hand and facing the Boggart which looked confused before it grew taller again.

Into someone that didn't scare her in the least.

"My Jacques!" she called out to the Boggart!Jacques, forgetting all about her wand and getting ready to rush to him so he could catch her like always. Unfortunately, Mercy's grip on her tightened, stopping Mimosa before she executed her dangerous leap. Boggart or not, it was her Jacques. He would always catch her.

"Mon Chochou..." the man called out and the witch grinned, not noticing that he didn't say it like he usually did. This time, there was a note of sarcasm, of pity and revulsion in his voice. "As if," he spat, his face contorting into an expression Mimosa couldn't even identify because she had never seen it before.

Before she had time to process what was being said though, Jake stepped in front of her.

"That's enough, next please."

And before she could go hug it, Boggart!Jacques disappeared, laving her confused.

In the end, Mimosa decided it was probably because she was just that good, even Boggarts couldn't scare her. It was the only explanation that made sense.

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Subject: Re: DADA: Lesson One (All Years) Sat Aug 17, 2019 9:39 am

The class had started with a little bit of a shaky start, not quite how Jake had imagined, but Seema had tried when she'd stepped forth, with all the positivity that she could muster. A Boggart was no easy feat to finish off, though, and as it started to approach the witch who didn't look ready to cast the spell to repel it, Jake stepped behind the witch, casting the spell on her behalf, and changing the Boggart version of the headmaster in to a squeaking mouse. The class were amused, momentarily repelling the Boggart, and on the class went.

Some of the fears were not hard to keep a track of for the professor, but some... some were quite vague, and left him wondering exactly what the child was scared of. It wasn't his place to pry, though, only intervene when his students couldn't resolve the matter themselves -- or in Karan's case, be helped by another student.

Everyone was giving it a good go, though, and by the time Mimosa stepped up, Jake's curiosity on the form his daughter's Boggart would take had grown. Morbid curiosity, of course, but a curiosity that he couldn't deny having. His grip on his own wand had tightened in the few moments it had taken the Boggart to take shape, in to that of a very familiar face. Jacques Clement stood in the room, but not quite how Jake remembered the boy. There was a slight curl at his lips that put a bad taste in the professor's mouth, even before the words had come from the man's lips.

The sarcasm that oozed from the Boggart version of Mimosa's guardian sent the hairs on the back of Jake's neck standing up, his eyes moved from the Boggart to Mimosa, only to find her not... scared. Confusion touched his features even as Mercy held the younger witch back from moving to the creature, and Jake realised something that... troubled him.

Mimosa didn't realise that this was her fear before her.

She wasn't even going to attempt to fight the Boggart.

Stepping across the witch, the Boggart started to shift before him, splitting and shrinking in size until replicas of his two other children came in to place. Boggart!Adrienne's mouth went to open, but Jake didn't wait long enough for the words to come forth, instead casting the spell which changed both of them in to teddy bears with small signs that said 'I love you, Daddy', and they gently sang a nursery rhyme out of tune that brought forth a soft peel of laughter from the rest of the room.

The class continued on in much the same manner, with very little else coming to a point where he was needed.

"Okay, well done everyone!" Jake announced as he finally wrestled the Boggart back in to the trunk and locked it safely back in to place. "You've all done great today, you should be proud of yourself for sharing what scares you most, and for managing to defeat the Boggart collectively. If anyone has any questions, I'm always here to answer them. I would recommend you read over the chapter on Boggarts just in case we've overlooked any of the theory parts because they will test that in your exams.

"If there's nothing else, though, please head to your next classes, and I will see you all next week." With that, Jake waved the children off, thankful that nothing too bad had happened to any of the students.

Class now closed.

House Points:
Mercy Williams = 5 points for attendance
Apollonia Leandros = 5 points for attendance
Mimosa Harrington = 5 points for attendance + 5 points for answer + 20 points for participation = 30 points.

TOTAL:
Gryffindor: 5
Hufflepuff: 0
Ravenclaw: 0
Slytherin: 35

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» DADA: Lesson Two (Years 6-7)
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