Defence Against the Dark Arts: Lesson Two - Obstacle Course (All Years)

When Jake had been back at school in Salem he had had to under go an obstacle course to put to the test everything he has learned that year. Jake had decided that he would set the class something similar to test their capabilities. Hopefully they would find it both challenging and enjoyable, something he hoped all his lessons brought to the students.

The room had been elongated, and yet to the students it would look empty. Jake had sent a note to tell all his students to dress in something that would give free movement. The instructions on the board were to warm up - Jake was going to be fifteen minutes late due to needing to drop his son back to Veronika.

There was no other indication. Of what they would be doing, but that was the fun of the lesson, of Defence Against the Dark Arts, nothing was ever expected.

And this was the best way to learn.

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

Guest

The only evidence of today's Defense Against the Dark Arts lesson had been the message to wear something that was easy to move in. So that was what she did. She wore a simple shirt, pants and sneakers that allowed her to freely move if the girl so wished to. Her hair had been put into a messy bun and her books tucked safely away in the bag that hung off her fragile frame. She was glad that her only outdoors class was Care of Magical Creatures because that was enough outdoors for one week.

The girl walked down the corridor to the familiar classroom where she expected Jake to be waiting to greet her. However when she reached the classroom, no one was there so she found herself leaning against the wall, her bag on the ground beside her. The board had read to warm up but Evelyn didn't know how as she wasn't an athletic person so she waited in hopes someone else would show and start to warm up so she could watch.

Guest

Lux opened the door to the classroom and frowned when she saw there was no one present except another girl. She was about to grin, thinking class was cancelled when her eyes caught the writing on the board. Taking a few steps into the class, she read over the instructions and held back a scoff. It had been quite obvious from the note the professor had sent regarding their attire that they would be doing something physical. Either the professor thought they were too weak to do anything more than warm ups or he had in mind something more challenging that required stretching first. She fervently hoped it was the latter.

Not even bothering to hide her eye roll, she stood against the wall opposite of the other girl and began working her hair into a french braid, securing it in place when she was done. Not wanting to take the risk of being unprepared in case it turned out to the something challenging, she promptly dropped to the floor, extended her legs in front of her and began stretching. Lux usually made it a point to keep fit and had her own routine of warm ups before working out. She guessed thought that what the professor had in mind wouldn't be that hard considering the class had lower years.

Guest

With the instructions of what to wear came the opportunity to push the boundaries of 'modesty', and Maddie took that without a second thought. Wearing a loose fitting shirt that exposed a tad of flesh if she raised her hands up high, she also donned a pair of shorts. This one was slightly longer - because while she liked toying with lines, crossing them was another matter altogether - and it was just past her knees.

She had tied the top layer of her hair back, and clipped the rest in place, so her hair still mostly hung free but wouldn't get in the way. If it later proved she needed it in a bun, she had a pink hair tie around her wrist.

Stepping into class and, with a slight frown of disapproval, noticed Finley wasn't there. He'd turn up, no doubt, but a part of her had wished that he had already been waiting. With a half-sigh, Maddie moved to the side of the room, taking in the note with a contemptuous glance. The class was longer than before, and an inching suspicion told her that it had something to do with the class - whatever it was they were doing, it would involve something strenuous. Why else would they have been told to wear something they could move in, and there be instructions to warm up?

No, something was going on, and the empty space provided had a lot to do with it. Leaning against the wall, she crossed her arms and waited, not bothering to start exercising just yet. That could wait till Finley was there.

Guest

Finley had read Professor Newbury's note and not known what to do. Where something that gave you free movement - what in Merlin's name did that mean? Finley had not known, but he'd changed his outfit at least five times through fear of getting this wrong.

Settling on a pair of black knee length shorts - Merlin only knew where they'd come from - and a white t-shirt, Finley felt like he was going back to P.E. lessons in primary school as he pulled on his trainers. That thought was enough to make him very anxious. Whilst he wasn't unfit, Finley wasn't fit either, and if they had to run around... he could feel the laughter of everyone else already.

Dragging his feet towards class, Finley pushed open the door to find no professor. That was odd, Professor Newbury was never really late for class... Maybe something was wrong with his baby? Finley wished Naomi were here, because she'd know, but Naomi had been quiet as of late, and Finley had respected her privacy, being there for her, but never pushing his presence on her.

Lux was here already, and Finley avoided eye contact with the Slytherin, instead noticing Madison and hurrying over to her side. "Hi." He murmured softly, giving her a small smile before he noted the instructions on the board. Warm up? Finley gave Madison a quizzical look, before bending down to check his shoes were tied tightly enough.

Guest

Watching the people in the room with some vague interest, Madison took notes and stored them away. Lux was interesting, and the more Maddie observed the witch, the more she decided that the fellow Slytherin was definitely someone she wanted to be acquainted with.

Calm, confident, at ease, and almost... Bored looking. Interesting, Maddie noted, moving the witch up to the first place on her list of people to meet and get to know. One could never have enough people on one's side.

Of course, that could also mean trouble, which was why she never fully trusted these people. In the blink of an eye, they would and could turn on her - and Maddie would do the same. Self-preservation was the most important thing, and those that didn't know it or didn't abide by that were simply asking for trouble.

Movement in her peripheral view caught her attention, and, without bothering to turn, she adjusted her gaze so she could see who had entered, and a smile touched her lips at the sight of Finley.

Finally.

She waited till he was next to her before smiling. "Hey, Finn," she returned the greeting. As he bent down, she began stretching, bending over backwards to make an arch. She found this was the easiest way to stretch her back, as well as her arms. It was also the most appealing to watch, and she could feel the air moving past her now exposed belly. Three seconds later, she straightened, and bent over to touch her toes.

"What do you think we're doing today?" she inquired as she did so, keeping her tone casual. After all, she was just stretching.

Guest

Finley's sixteenth birthday was fast approaching, and Finley was ignoring it quite distinctly. It was, to him, simply another day of the year - well, to everyone else, it was Christmas - so he didn't want any fuss. And, nine times out of ten, people forgot anyway, because of other holidays that took up the day. Only his parents remembered, but then they had to, didn't they?

The thought of the big birthday was one that Finley wanted to forget as soon as possible, truth be told, and as he entered the classroom, the sight of Madison had done enough to push it away. Silly as that might seem, Finley found her more interesting. Which wasn't exactly hard, what with Finley being a very boring person.

As he tied his shoes, Finley looked up at Madison when she greeted him, only to be faced with her stretching out. Her top had ridden up, showing off her stomach and Finley could feel his face flushing in an instant. He was almost sixteen, and despite his quiet nature, and soft mannerisms, Finley was still a boy. A hormonal teenage boy, who did not have a clue how to deal with the feelings that arose when attracted to girls.

Looking away, concentrating on his laces and trying not to picture what he'd just seen again, Finley was almost calm when Madison spoke.

Almost.

"What do you think we're doing today?"

Looking back up, Finley noted Madison had moved, instead now touching her toes. He was simply grateful she was facing him, and hadn't turned round. "I... umm... I... d-don't know." Finley replied, struggling to get his words out because his mind was in a million other places but here.

Guest

Ellie played with the strands of her curled hair that had been pulled away from her face by the headband that she'd received over the summer. Her father handed it to her with a droll look on his face, and her mother was giggling silly in the background as he explained they were gifts from "connections". Apparently, his parents had found a suitable Northern Irish pureblood family with a son around her and her brother's age. His name was Alroy Flanagan, two years older than her, and a very eloquent letter writer. Nonetheless as it so happened, her parents agreed mutually that it was at her choice to meet him and her choice to even allow suitors/"matches" to be picked.

They met for lunch, and it was fun to be fawned over even if she acted like it was a burden. He was pleased with her visually, however, which was nice to know. Didn't change the fact that he was as interesting as drywall. Therefore she rejected his proposed engagement, but did take the trinkets he offered her. They were pretty and expensive, but nothing she'd spend her own money on.

As she walked into Defense Against the Dark Arts, she was dimly aware that Professor Hollands had yet to return. She supposed that she was busy with something else, however, so it was totally understandable.

"Good morning Professor Newbury," she greeted him with a nod, "how is the baby, by the way?" She asked, with a small frown. "What's his name again? It escapes me, I'm afraid."

Guest

First time Elyah decided to attend DADA, and things were already getting hard, before she even had the chance to get to class. A note was sent to the students, inclining they had to be wearing appropriate clothes, in order for the lesson to take place. But what did this mean? What were they going to be doing, that needed extra attention?

Elyah was grumpy all day, and it was just getting harder for her not to explode. Come to think of it, the only thing that would make her explode was to see Max's little monster following her once again. It had been happening way too often lately, and that meant she had to come face to face with Max over and over and over again. Which was getting annoying, because she was still extremely mad at the Gryffindor boy for messing up her potions. She had worked so hard for it, so hard to impress the unimpressed by anything Professor, and he had messed it up in a matter of seconds.

She just couldn't allow him to do anything similar again. Or else she was going to break his bones one by one. The muggle way. And he would not like it one bit.

Dressed in a pair of leggings and a tank top, despite the cold, Elyah made her way to class, really glad when no cat appeared by her feet. No Max for today at least, or so she hoped. Because life had interesting ways of getting on her nerves quite often.

Arriving to class, Elyah slipped inside, feeling insecure as hell. What was she supposed to be doing, and with whom? Not voicing a word, she moved in a corner, remaining there, a bit afraid as well. Maybe it had been a bad idea to attend this lesson.

Last edited by Jake Newbury on Sat Feb 13, 2016 7:31 pm; edited 1 time in total

Hurrying up through the castle, Jake slipped his wand from the inside of his suit as he got to the third floor. Opening the door with a flick of his wand, he walked in with a smile on his features already. A moment inside and he was being asked about Ivan, and Jake couldn't help but smile at the witch who'd asked.

"Ivan is fine, thank you, Ellie. If you want, I can show you a picture after class." He responded warmly, before looking to the class as a whole. "Good morning, everyone! Sorry for my lateness, parenthood can be difficult at times, especially when both parents are working hard to make sure the minds of the young are thriving with knowledge." He explained, leaving a subtle hint for those who didn't know already that his and Professor Hollands child were one and the same. Though - hopefully soon - the queries would die away when Veronika and he married and she took his name.

"Anyway, if you're all warm?" He asked, looking around the room to check first. "Today's lesson is something new. Here to test your boundaries." Jake explained, flicking his wand towards the elongated space of the room. At once, the lesson of the day came in to appearance. "This lesson is a test of your thinking. Your capabilites. Anything. It knows your capabilities, but it will test you too."

That explanation was warning enough, Jake decided as he turned his attention to the course.

"First a climb up a rope ladder, to the top of the set. A slide presents itself before you, only to drop you in to a pool of grindylows, eager to pull you beneath the surface to your... well, best not to think about that..." Jake explained, motioning to the obstacle after the rather large tank.

"Then, a pit of fire, full of salamanders and fire crabs for you to navigate yourself through. You then have a void that you will need to navigate across with your own artistic flair, before finally facing the final creature. Fourth years and above, this will be a Boggart to tackle, first to second years, this will be a flock of Cornish Pixies." Jake summarised, before turning back to the class.

"You'll be marked on artistic flair, capability and how quickly you can complete the course - if you should manage, of course." Jake explained, allowing a small pause before he looked at them all expectantly.

"So who would like to go first?"

OOC: YOU CAN'T SEE HOW EACH OTHER COMPLETE THE COURSE SO DO NOT STATE YOU HAVE SEEN ANYTHING THAT HAS HAPPENED WITH OTHERS. ONLY JAKE CAN SEE THE PROGRESS OF EACH STUDENT.

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

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