(1941-11-21) Effie-ctive Countermeasures
Details for Effie-ctive Countermeasures
Summary: Guest lecturer Effie holds a seminar on the Dark Arts. Hopefully to be continued after breaking abruptly.
Date: Monday, November 21, 1941
Location: Hogwarts, Classroom C2
Related:
Characters
EffiePhoeniciaCarolAlexanderTavishBowenVirgil

The empty classroom is not currently empty, and word has been given that there is a guest lecture in Defense Against the Dark Arts. It is open to all, though geared towards OWL students and above. Beyond that, nothing is said. In the classroom, a grey-robed woman sits on the desk, swinging her legs over the side. Dust has been recently whisked away, and desks have been arranged in a semi-circle before the woman. She seems at ease, in a way, but closer inspection would reveal an intense watchfulness while she waits.

Phoenicia was one of the first ones there; she had nothing against Professor Lestrange, but she was eager to have something different after six years of his classes. They had guest lectures now and then, but they were hardly common. The redheaded Gryffindor was seated in the front row with her parchment and quill at the ready, as she hummed a little tune to herself. She'd taken to some idle artsy doodles to pass the time waiting for the other students.

Tavish is one of the first to arrive, claiming an end desk with his bag before sliding into the one next to it easily. He already has his quill loaded with ink and a slim leather portfolio open before him, filled with neatly organized notes, but he sits quietly, hands in his lap, as he waits for class to start.

Strolling into the slowly filling classroom with a look of boredom, Alexander raises an eyebrow at the woman quite literally sitting on her temporary desk, although he does not speak. He scans the room, nodding towards Phoenicia with a very small smile in greeting before completely passing her desk, heading towards the back. He picks up the bag that was claiming a seat to sit it on the desk, throwing himself into the chair, causing the chair to slide and hit Tavish's chair. "Oh, didn't see you there." He whispers to his friend with a grin before laying on the bag with crossed arms, still facing the front and paying some what attention.

Carol shuffled in a little after - not quite late, but not early. She was already kind of worn out from working on her arithmancy project all day, but she welcomed a change of pace, something else to focus on and use a different part of her brain for a while. She waved to any others who glanced in her direction as she dug out an old, beat-up notebook that hadn't been touched in a while - her Dark Defense notes from earlier years - and turned to the next blank page.

Not necessarily in a puff of smoke, Virgil has appeared and is munching on a carrot as he walks down the rows to put his over-stuffed bag onto a desk. From within he produces several reference works, his note-taking quill, his note-taking scrolls, and a backup quill, in case the first one causes problems. Every bit the Ravenclaw, he glances around at all of the sixth years, and then goes back to staring at his scrolls. "It was an open invitation," he reminds himself quietly, and tests his quill by making a few quick hash marks on the side of the parchment.

Phoenicia nods at Alexander in greeting, though she reserves her usual bright and booming "G'MORNING TO ALL YE, WHAT LIKE ARE YE TAEDAY" and other such incredibly cheerful hellos and saves them for just a big smile and a little wave of her fingers. She doesn't know who the lecturer is or what they might be like.

"Good afternoon," says the woman, swinging her legs once more before springing from the desk to stand in front of them. "I'm very glad that you were all able to take time out of your days, though I'm sure many of you would be doing other things if there weren't the lure of extra credit here. But. My name is Effie Grant, and I live in Hogsmeade. I also happen to work for the Ministry of Magic. Tell me, are all of you currently taking classes in Defense Against the Dark Arts? And are you considering careers that might encouter them? If so, would you care to share what?"

Phoenicia looks about for signs to see how free they are to talk — was she expecting a verbal melee, or orderly queueing? — before slowly raising her hand.

Tavish directs a vaguely irritated look Alexander's way, but says nothing to him, nor to his bag being used as a makeshift pillow. He does, perhaps, sigh quietly, but then the guest lecturer is speaking, and the Ravenclaw's attention is focused solely on her. Out of the corner of his eye, Tavish sees movement, so he declines to raise his hand yet.

Seeing as how his House is well represented with older students, Virgil opts not to get involved in career discussions. Instead, he continues to make some basic notes about the woman who works for the ministry, including the unusual size of her eyes and whether she might have some non-human heritage. Only when he goes back to read this does he take a moment to scratch it out and continue his notes on the facts. His hand-writing is neat and succinct.

Carol shakes her head in response to the question and lets the more eager students take the spotlight; she looks over each of them, taking in their demeanour, seeing if she can spot any commonalities or at least making note of who to ask for help later.

Ignoring the sigh that came from next to him, Alexander perks up at the voice of the woman, Effie Grant. Extra credit? Sweet. Alexander does blink a few times in surprise to see Phoenicia raising her hand, a look of impressment crossing his features, but otherwise does not move from his position.

"You may answer in order in which you raised your hands, and if you could please give me your names, that I might more easily call upon you?" Effie smiles, motioning to Phoenecia. Then she seats herself back on the desk. "I've wanted to do this for years," she admits, swinging her legs again.

Phee couldn't help but laugh a bit when Effie did that — not out of disdain, but out of some relief. She was certainly more youthful in spirit than Professor Binns. "Phoenicia Felicity Phillips, ma'am. Well, Prof- Miss Grant, I am lookin' tae be a field magizoologist. A bit like Mister Scamander, aye. And, well, there's plenty of thin's what use dark arts and th' like around the wee corners of the world. It isnae Auror work, but it's dangerous in its own right. Vampires, boggarts, dementors, all sorts o' nasty beasties and what like."

After Phoenicia speaks, Tavish raises his hand, briefly, and then clears his throat. "Tavish Urquart," he says first, as introduction, then continues, "Defense Against the Dark Arts is one of my N.E.W.T. classes. I intend to pursue a career in magical research; I've already begun learning Magical Theory on my own." He stops there, then wordlessly elbows Alexander in the side as if to encourage him to speak up next.

Virgil coughs a little and hearing the magizoologist bit, he only has to wonder at the application of defense against the dark arts for a moment before he thinks he sees the shape of it. Putting down his quill while students introduce themselves, his eyes move from face to face, and he turns slightly in his chair to watch.

"You are correct that knowing how to defend against the Dark Arts is crucial for a magizoologist. Some creatures are natively dark, and some can be used by dark wizards. It is good to know the difference. Sometimes magizoologists work alongside Aurors on cases. Well. Alongside Aurors and Obliviators. Thank you, Miss Phillips. And you, Mister Urquart." Her lips twitch into a half-smile. "What specifically do you wish to research?"

Alexander hums thoughtfully at Phoenicia's little introduction and spiel, turning to look at Tavish when he starts to speak, although turns back forward to observe the others in the classroom. It was literally a second after Tavish finished when Alexander felt a sharp pain to his rip cage, swiveling his head to glare at his companion. He mouths 'I will hurt you' before facing forward again, letting Effie finish speaking before raising his hand lazily, "I'm Alexander. I actually am pretty awful at Defense Against the Dark Arts and only came along because this one-" he slams his elbow into Tavish's side, "Suggested it to me. Pleasure to meet you, ma'am, and thank you for the extra credit."

Seeing as how practically everyone else has introduced themselves now, Virgil decides he doesn't want to be singled out and so opts to introduce himself to the teacher. "Virgil Goshawk," he says his name, and then pauses a very long moment, "I don't know what I'm going to do, I'm top marks in defense and I don't need the credit—but I thought you might be interesting or know some good stories," he tells Effie.

Carol raises her hand half-way as she interjects, smiling a little at the sibling-like interaction, "With all due respect, it's been impressed upon me that even those of us who don't plan to go anywhere near any dark magic should at least have some basic defense skills in case things don't go according to plan."

Phoenicia stifles some small laughter at Alexander and Tavish behind her quill and palm.

"Well. Exposure is a way to learn more," answers Effie. "And I do know some good stories and knowing how to defend yourselves is a good idea. I work for the Ministry as an Auror. And while many witches and wizards never have cause to worry, it is always good to know how to defend yourself and recognize when you need help."

A sharp noise bubbles up in Tavish's throat as Alexander's responding elbow digging into his ribs, but his expression of calm regard doesn't falter. "There's plenty of cause, considering the current state of things," he says, quietly.

Alexander sits up only to lean back into his chair, stretching his legs out with his hands in his pockets, giving a lazy look towards Carol but does not go to make a reply, simply turning his attention to Effie once more. He glances at Tavish for a moment before speaking, "While I know how to defend myself well enough, it would be pretty interesting to hear some of these stories you speak of." He says, hoping to get the attention away from the fact that he's mediocre at D.A.D.A.

Bowen was in the library when he heard rumours that there was an impromptu lecture happening in Classroom 2. And from an Auror, no less. After his conversation the previous day at The Three Broomsticks about what his future career would be, he decided this might be the best way to gain insight into some of options.

He entered the room and scanned it to see an unfamiliar blonde woman sitting on a table in front of a host of children. He recognised most of the students, as some of them were in his year. When he saw Phoenicia, he decided to pointedly avoid her gaze as he was still dealing with the pride-knock at asking for help. At that he approached a seat near a fellow Slytherin sixth year he'd barely ever spoken to, Alexander Parkinson, trying not to disrupt the lecture.

"Well enough to defend yourself against what?" asks Effie. "An attack? A dark creature? Could you show me?" Effie tilts her head, then motions to Bowen. "Come in, come in and have a seat. Name please, and if you're studying Defense Against the Dark Arts, and if so, what career you have in mind. "Do you all know your shield charms?"

Carol glances around to see who answers, but raises her hand. "I've seen others using it, but it wasn't part of the curriculum."

Tavish raises an eyebrow at Alexander. It's almost a challenge, just short of him outright questioning his friend's defensive capabilities. His gaze slips past Alexander to Bowen, but he says nothing to the new arrival, only nodding once at the instructor when she asks about shield charms.

Gazing over at another Slytherin entering the room, Alexander gives Bowen an odd look as he chooses the seat right next to his own. His eyebrow raises for just a moment before he nods in a small greeting, turning back to Effie. Alexander gives Effie a deadpan look before shaking his head, "I can hold my own against a dark creature although I am not entirely sure I could hold my own against an attack from another witch or wizard." He says truthfully, leaning against the table with a fist to his cheek, "I could show you, but I rather not as it would be boring to watch one fail." He states, before going silent, turning to Bowen to let him introduce himself.

"Uh, I'm Bowen," he pipes up at Effie, "I don't do Defense Against the Dark Arts and I'm actually not sure what I want to do," he tells her. He acknowledges Alexander's greeting. "My only defense spell is Deflection, honestly, although I've also watched duels where they use the Protego charm."

Virgil shakes his head at the question of the charm, and knows where it is on the future curriculum, but hasn't learned it yet. Not for a year at least.

"It would not be boring. It would be instructive so that I would better know what I can teach you in our time together. So, let us see that, please. And then…. I will demonstrate the Shield Charm. I will ask each of you to aim a spell at me, which I will then shield myself against. I have taken precautions ahead of time, so you won't have to worry about destroying anything too much."

Tavish turns to Alexander, fist pressed against his mouth tightly. It's hard to tell precisely what the conflicted expression on his face is, though the best guess seems to be a mix of disbelief and outrage. He openly stares at his friend for a moment or two before gesturing uselessly with his hand, mouthing 'What are you doing?' with his eyebrows drawn together in consternation. Finally, he rubs his forehead and sighs, leaning back in his chair. Clearly, nothing to be done about it. "Try not to blow something up," he murmurs, despondently.

Carol sees the others are somewhat hesitant or otherwise occupied, so she steps forward to take the first stab at it. She doesn't want to show off too much just yet or cause a mess if something goes awry, so she selects a simple colour change charm and aims it at Effie's hair. "Multicorfors!"

Drawing his wand, Virgil lifts it and throws a quick disarming charm at the Auror. This being hopefully the first and only time he ever has cause to throw such at an auror. "Expelliarmus!" he calls out and makes a quick gesture with his wand, throwing out the spell, a jet of red light flying from the tip of his wand.

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