SSRPG Yearbook Term 50
Ancient Runes
I mean absolutely no offense to Professor Sabra, but if Ancient Runes is so ancient, why don’t we just leave it in the past? Let bygones be bygones! It’s not like any of us will miss it much anyway. Let’s just be honest here. If you ever found yourself in the middle of a sticky situation, would you ever consciously make the decision to use a galdr when there is a perfectly normal spell that would do the same exact thing anyway? If you answered yes, then you’re a nerd and your opinion never counted in the first place. Unfortunately for us (and fortunately for Professor Sabra, who would be out of a job otherwise), Ancient Runes is still a class offered at Hogwarts. I’m working on a petition though, so come find me if you're willing to support the effort.
You’d think that with material from the archaic age, there’d really be nothing left to learn. And if you think this, you’d be right. Even Professor Sabra was running out of Runes material! This showed when she taught an ENTIRE lesson on Hieroglyphics, rather than actually focusing on Runes. I didn’t skip this lesson (first time for everything) and I still can’t tell you what Hieroglyphics have to do with Runes. During this particular lesson, Professor Sabra made everyone use the 6,000 year-old, written language—can you tell that I’m bitter—to write out their first names, but only after asking a series of really boring questions that no one but Bel Macindoe seemed to appreciate. The only interesting part of the entire lesson was at the very beginning when Professor Sabra had left a note asking everyone to sit down upon entering the classroom. Obviously this caused an uproar, ‘cause the new school rules said that we had to do the exact opposite. This whole ordeal caused a mess of confusion, leading to a loss of points for those still standing and points gained for those who sat. To be fair, all it gave me was a huge headache and a reason to curse myself for not skipping class.
Following the theme of student torture that seemed to linger EVERYWHERE this term, Professor Sabra committed the worst of the seven deadly sins this term: holding a joint Arithmancy and Ancient Runes lesson. I thought Professor Fletcher was evil, but turns out Sabra was worse than all the new staff COMBINED. I would much rather serve a detention every single day for the rest of my life than to sit through another Arithmancy, Runes crossover. I’m convulsing just thinking about it. Anyway, upon entering the classroom, students were greeted by rows of yoga mats. Yes, yoga mats. Both Professor Davis and Professor Sabra were sitting down, encouraging everyone else to do the same. Look, I hate rules more than the next guy, but this was starting to get pretty ridiculous. Head Girl, Jessa Cambridge, seemed to think so too and even went head-to-head with Professor Davis on the matter. An altercation, which by the way, left all of us anything but relaxed. The rest of the lesson followed a similar tone of mild discomfort as the Professors led everyone in a series of breathing exercises. Um, we breathe every single day, why the heck would we need to exercise it?! But in all fairness, I’d much rather do yoga than Runes, so I wasn’t complaining, UNTIL, Professor Sabra made us correlate yoga positions to letters in the runic alphabet. So much for relaxing, am I right? The only good part of the lesson was watching Maxton Carden perform his daily yoga routine for the whole class. The look on his face was absolutely priceless! All in all, I’d say Carden’s embarrassment made the torture of joint Runes and Arithmancy worth it.
You’d think that with material from the archaic age, there’d really be nothing left to learn. And if you think this, you’d be right. Even Professor Sabra was running out of Runes material! This showed when she taught an ENTIRE lesson on Hieroglyphics, rather than actually focusing on Runes. I didn’t skip this lesson (first time for everything) and I still can’t tell you what Hieroglyphics have to do with Runes. During this particular lesson, Professor Sabra made everyone use the 6,000 year-old, written language—can you tell that I’m bitter—to write out their first names, but only after asking a series of really boring questions that no one but Bel Macindoe seemed to appreciate. The only interesting part of the entire lesson was at the very beginning when Professor Sabra had left a note asking everyone to sit down upon entering the classroom. Obviously this caused an uproar, ‘cause the new school rules said that we had to do the exact opposite. This whole ordeal caused a mess of confusion, leading to a loss of points for those still standing and points gained for those who sat. To be fair, all it gave me was a huge headache and a reason to curse myself for not skipping class.
Following the theme of student torture that seemed to linger EVERYWHERE this term, Professor Sabra committed the worst of the seven deadly sins this term: holding a joint Arithmancy and Ancient Runes lesson. I thought Professor Fletcher was evil, but turns out Sabra was worse than all the new staff COMBINED. I would much rather serve a detention every single day for the rest of my life than to sit through another Arithmancy, Runes crossover. I’m convulsing just thinking about it. Anyway, upon entering the classroom, students were greeted by rows of yoga mats. Yes, yoga mats. Both Professor Davis and Professor Sabra were sitting down, encouraging everyone else to do the same. Look, I hate rules more than the next guy, but this was starting to get pretty ridiculous. Head Girl, Jessa Cambridge, seemed to think so too and even went head-to-head with Professor Davis on the matter. An altercation, which by the way, left all of us anything but relaxed. The rest of the lesson followed a similar tone of mild discomfort as the Professors led everyone in a series of breathing exercises. Um, we breathe every single day, why the heck would we need to exercise it?! But in all fairness, I’d much rather do yoga than Runes, so I wasn’t complaining, UNTIL, Professor Sabra made us correlate yoga positions to letters in the runic alphabet. So much for relaxing, am I right? The only good part of the lesson was watching Maxton Carden perform his daily yoga routine for the whole class. The look on his face was absolutely priceless! All in all, I’d say Carden’s embarrassment made the torture of joint Runes and Arithmancy worth it.
Arithmancy
A lotta kids hate double packed lessons, but me? I love it. Chaos plated and served up with some very pungent herbal tea (courtesy of the poorly dressed and nasally Professor Davis) I don’t know about any of you but I canNOT keep track of Professors this term. Was Davis part of Headmaster Scrimgeour’s power posse or was he a normal (misguided) guy? I couldn’t tell you after this lesson. Everything happened and nothing happened. Joint lesson started out with yet another professor being cavalier as hell over the rules (listen Sabra, you meant well but just no) and putting the whole damn class on the line for… Yoga? Yoga. I’m not gonna lie, I thought Derfael and Jessa and Stasya and even Juniper were gonna walk right out of class when Sabra and Davis didn’t do a thing to really settle the class worries, but they stuck in and I was impressed to say the least.
The yoga… happened. The wooshing… happened. The poses… were attempted. I was absolutely doing the bare minimum and if the other students were half as smart as me they’d have followed suit. I like arithmancy, I do, but this was not the wave. You know when you try very hard not to think of something and it makes you think of exactly that thing, but worst? That’s what that meditation felt like. I lost track from one professor to the other, from fehu to the chakra, and to the runes . It was a whirlwind. Chakras are interesting, they connect to colours and foods (two of my favorite things), and if you’re studying them correctly I reckon you can find out a lot about yourself. We didn’t get to reflect. Professor Davis popped in, reminding us he existed. He asked the class if we could name one, where it was located and what it was associated.
I’m not gonna lie, this lesson was a confusing mess for me and if it wasn’t for Derfael, Jessa, Juni and Maxton asking questions and keeping things moving I might have fallen asleep in my hoodie. Now, Arithmancy lesson numero 2 had a lot going for it. Mystery boxes, rational thought exercises (it’s a lot cooler than it sounds) and partners. Davis asked us why we chose to sit where we did, and how he’d choose based on his personality (he thought we were surprised he’d picked a cushioned seat for some reason). Now, I know I’m not a big word-using, book-reading, thirsting-for-knowledge type, but i love some good introspection.
Daisy Swann got deep into it, talking about organization, flexibility and all. I was mildly impressed. Sylvie Norcott was all ‘oh, there’s some good vibes, that’s why I sat here’ which?? I guess, yeah. Way to ruin the moment. And speaking of moment ruiners- Jessa Cambridge was not having any of it. She was cold with her answer (that she chose what was available) but then she always is, makes me wonder why she bothers with classes at all. Did I mention I like Davis? He grew on me. I was, in all honesty, sad to see the man go by the end of the year (unless he was part of the whole polyjuice thing. In that case, good riddance.) Are you a practical thinker? A dreamer? A number chart’ll help you figure that out, cousin (unless simple math isn’t your thing, we can’t help you there) my name’s classically long like I’m classically handsome, but Professor Davis broke it down easy. 1 - AJS. 2 -BKT. 3 - CLU. 4 - DMV. 5 -ENW. 6 - FOX. 7 - GPY. 8 - HQZ. 9 - IR. So, for me it adds up to Dante - 1+4+5+2+5=17, and then you add those together to get 8, and then you add the day of your birth. So, 25. 2+5=7 and then more math but Basically I’m a 6. I think. I lost track but anyway, Professor Davis will be missed and arithmancy was pretty low-key this term, which is more than I can say for the rest.
The yoga… happened. The wooshing… happened. The poses… were attempted. I was absolutely doing the bare minimum and if the other students were half as smart as me they’d have followed suit. I like arithmancy, I do, but this was not the wave. You know when you try very hard not to think of something and it makes you think of exactly that thing, but worst? That’s what that meditation felt like. I lost track from one professor to the other, from fehu to the chakra, and to the runes . It was a whirlwind. Chakras are interesting, they connect to colours and foods (two of my favorite things), and if you’re studying them correctly I reckon you can find out a lot about yourself. We didn’t get to reflect. Professor Davis popped in, reminding us he existed. He asked the class if we could name one, where it was located and what it was associated.
I’m not gonna lie, this lesson was a confusing mess for me and if it wasn’t for Derfael, Jessa, Juni and Maxton asking questions and keeping things moving I might have fallen asleep in my hoodie. Now, Arithmancy lesson numero 2 had a lot going for it. Mystery boxes, rational thought exercises (it’s a lot cooler than it sounds) and partners. Davis asked us why we chose to sit where we did, and how he’d choose based on his personality (he thought we were surprised he’d picked a cushioned seat for some reason). Now, I know I’m not a big word-using, book-reading, thirsting-for-knowledge type, but i love some good introspection.
Daisy Swann got deep into it, talking about organization, flexibility and all. I was mildly impressed. Sylvie Norcott was all ‘oh, there’s some good vibes, that’s why I sat here’ which?? I guess, yeah. Way to ruin the moment. And speaking of moment ruiners- Jessa Cambridge was not having any of it. She was cold with her answer (that she chose what was available) but then she always is, makes me wonder why she bothers with classes at all. Did I mention I like Davis? He grew on me. I was, in all honesty, sad to see the man go by the end of the year (unless he was part of the whole polyjuice thing. In that case, good riddance.) Are you a practical thinker? A dreamer? A number chart’ll help you figure that out, cousin (unless simple math isn’t your thing, we can’t help you there) my name’s classically long like I’m classically handsome, but Professor Davis broke it down easy. 1 - AJS. 2 -BKT. 3 - CLU. 4 - DMV. 5 -ENW. 6 - FOX. 7 - GPY. 8 - HQZ. 9 - IR. So, for me it adds up to Dante - 1+4+5+2+5=17, and then you add those together to get 8, and then you add the day of your birth. So, 25. 2+5=7 and then more math but Basically I’m a 6. I think. I lost track but anyway, Professor Davis will be missed and arithmancy was pretty low-key this term, which is more than I can say for the rest.
Astronomy
The first Astronomy lesson of the term had a sort of surreal quality to it. On the surface, it was a normal class, despite being held out on the grounds instead of the Astronomy tower and at an earlier hour to boot. But, the presence of hot drinks, at direct odds with the recently introduced rule of no food or drink outside the Great Hall or kitchens seemed to make some people uncomfortable. Others were more appreciative of the sentiment, seeing as it was a cold evening even with the warming charms in effect.
So, class was started with a promise from Professor Kennedy to take the fall should Scrimgeour find out about the drinks (which put exactly no one at ease) and a question about the moon. Which was followed up by the rather typical answers like that it was really big, has craters created by asteroids and that it absolutely was not made of cheese (thanks Thadius Potter). Plus, a couple of Pink Floyd references sprinkled in. And then one shoe dropped. Anyone who was uncomfortable with the beverages was told that they could leave. Not too long after that, at the end of class, the other shoe dropped as Headmaster Scrimgeour was waiting for Professor Kennedy at the school doors. The purpose? To fire him. Why? Because someone had blabbed about the drinks (since, you know, what IS rebellion even?)
And so the next Astronomy lesson, a joint one with Charms, started with a brand-new teacher named Professor Le Roux* (though the beloved Charms professor, Professor Marchand remained more or less the same). It seemed that Professor Le Roux had a rather, shall we say, poor opinion of Professor Kennedy and his teaching methods, though his own methods were hardly much better. I mean, who could learn when their mistakes aren’t pointed out (perhaps even nicely) and stuff isn’t explained? Sadly, the professor continued in this vein, barking questions and orders. He even sucked the fun out of the charm we were taught, a rather nifty one called ‘Circulus’ which causes the object it’s cast on to ‘orbit’ the caster, mimicking the way a planet orbits a star. Yeah, the puffballs we practiced the spell on? Charmed to crap glitter all over us if we made any kind of mistake. Normally, this wouldn’t be a problem and might’ve even been fun, but there was that pesky rule banning glitter. Because, of course.
So, class was started with a promise from Professor Kennedy to take the fall should Scrimgeour find out about the drinks (which put exactly no one at ease) and a question about the moon. Which was followed up by the rather typical answers like that it was really big, has craters created by asteroids and that it absolutely was not made of cheese (thanks Thadius Potter). Plus, a couple of Pink Floyd references sprinkled in. And then one shoe dropped. Anyone who was uncomfortable with the beverages was told that they could leave. Not too long after that, at the end of class, the other shoe dropped as Headmaster Scrimgeour was waiting for Professor Kennedy at the school doors. The purpose? To fire him. Why? Because someone had blabbed about the drinks (since, you know, what IS rebellion even?)
And so the next Astronomy lesson, a joint one with Charms, started with a brand-new teacher named Professor Le Roux* (though the beloved Charms professor, Professor Marchand remained more or less the same). It seemed that Professor Le Roux had a rather, shall we say, poor opinion of Professor Kennedy and his teaching methods, though his own methods were hardly much better. I mean, who could learn when their mistakes aren’t pointed out (perhaps even nicely) and stuff isn’t explained? Sadly, the professor continued in this vein, barking questions and orders. He even sucked the fun out of the charm we were taught, a rather nifty one called ‘Circulus’ which causes the object it’s cast on to ‘orbit’ the caster, mimicking the way a planet orbits a star. Yeah, the puffballs we practiced the spell on? Charmed to crap glitter all over us if we made any kind of mistake. Normally, this wouldn’t be a problem and might’ve even been fun, but there was that pesky rule banning glitter. Because, of course.
Luckily, we all escaped class glitter-free with a take that to Professor Le Roux. And I don’t know about you, but I’ve never been gladder to see the back of a group of people than when Scrimgeour and his goons were sent packing.
*Fun fact: A 'roux' (pronounced 'roo' like in kangaROO) is typically defined as a base for sauces and soups made by mixing together flour and a fat (typically butter but can be lard or vegetable oil). Professor Le Sauce-base! You're welcome, Hogwarts!
*Fun fact: A 'roux' (pronounced 'roo' like in kangaROO) is typically defined as a base for sauces and soups made by mixing together flour and a fat (typically butter but can be lard or vegetable oil). Professor Le Sauce-base! You're welcome, Hogwarts!
Care of Magical Creatures
Just as the wizarding world strives to coexist in harmony with the muggle world, so too do we seek to strike a balance with the natural world and all its living things. That has always been the neat thing about Care of Magical Creature lessons with Professor Tristan Wayland, that he encourages each of his students to develop a personal relationship with each creature that is presented through activities based on observation and practical application. No matter the creature of the day, Professor Wayland always has a way to ensure students left on friendlier terms with them.
Such was the case with one of the more eventful lessons of the term in which we were given the opportunity to get to know the bowtruckles dwelling on the castle grounds more personally! Bowtruckles, for those not in the know or who somehow managed to sleep through explanations and failed to do their reading, are small tree dwelling insect creatures who camouflage into the trees on which they reside thanks to their twiglike appearance. Fiercely protective of their Home Trees, one must be cautious and bear the gift of woodlice or fairy eggs, should one wish to avoid the wrath of their long, sharp, claw-like fingers. Tasked with harvesting a small piece of wood or helping with replenishing the woodlice supply, students were paired up and got right to it - even the likes of Gryffindor Zoryn Spinnet who made a surprisingly efficient team with Slytherin Maxton Carden. No one lost an eye and no bowtruckles were harmed, all in all an effective lesson under everyone’s belts!
Though this compassionate methodology was not meant to last. Upon getting himself fired for throwing hexes at a colleague in the Great Hall, Professor Wayland was replaced by the menacing and ominous presence of one Aleksandur Petrov - who seemed to have a smirk permanently placed on his features where the former had a grin. With the topic of Augureys as the focus, the general tone of the class was a somber one. Though things seemed harmless enough and not too far from the routine that students were accustomed to in that first up was feeding these Irish phoenixes some of their favorites in order to gain their trust. Perhaps the professor, just as these mournful birds, was just terribly misunderstood and misrepresented by his aesthetic choices? With an activity that was plucking feathers from these birds to compare and contrast how they repelled various solutions...things seemed tame enough, though Ravenclaw Chloe Kettleburn refused to participate in said plucking for fear of plucking the creatures bald and traumatizing them.
Such was the case with one of the more eventful lessons of the term in which we were given the opportunity to get to know the bowtruckles dwelling on the castle grounds more personally! Bowtruckles, for those not in the know or who somehow managed to sleep through explanations and failed to do their reading, are small tree dwelling insect creatures who camouflage into the trees on which they reside thanks to their twiglike appearance. Fiercely protective of their Home Trees, one must be cautious and bear the gift of woodlice or fairy eggs, should one wish to avoid the wrath of their long, sharp, claw-like fingers. Tasked with harvesting a small piece of wood or helping with replenishing the woodlice supply, students were paired up and got right to it - even the likes of Gryffindor Zoryn Spinnet who made a surprisingly efficient team with Slytherin Maxton Carden. No one lost an eye and no bowtruckles were harmed, all in all an effective lesson under everyone’s belts!
Though this compassionate methodology was not meant to last. Upon getting himself fired for throwing hexes at a colleague in the Great Hall, Professor Wayland was replaced by the menacing and ominous presence of one Aleksandur Petrov - who seemed to have a smirk permanently placed on his features where the former had a grin. With the topic of Augureys as the focus, the general tone of the class was a somber one. Though things seemed harmless enough and not too far from the routine that students were accustomed to in that first up was feeding these Irish phoenixes some of their favorites in order to gain their trust. Perhaps the professor, just as these mournful birds, was just terribly misunderstood and misrepresented by his aesthetic choices? With an activity that was plucking feathers from these birds to compare and contrast how they repelled various solutions...things seemed tame enough, though Ravenclaw Chloe Kettleburn refused to participate in said plucking for fear of plucking the creatures bald and traumatizing them.
As it turns out, experimentation was precisely what monsters like Petrov relish in as later on in the term he subjected Hufflepuff Derfael Ashburry-Hawthorne to the results of his torturing of one of the bowtruckles living in the barns. Forcing Ashburry-Hawthorne into the decision to administer enough sleeping draught to end her suffering, Petrov’s true nature was soon revealed in a showdown outside his tent where he raised his wand against Head Girl Jessa Cambridge, Ravenclaw Chloe Kettleburn, and Professor Stewart (who was polyjuiced as a teenager at the time) and was caught in a duel with Professors O’Hara and Marchand by Headmaster Scrimgeour. Nothing came of these trespassings until the end of term feast, however, when Petrov and the rest of the staff hired by Scrimgeour were dismissed from their duties and it was revealed that Professor Wayland had been disguised as a teenager for months as well.
Talk about a term that felt like a dementor had sucked the soul right out of the subject.
Talk about a term that felt like a dementor had sucked the soul right out of the subject.
Charms
Professor Marchand started the year with a notable extinguishing of his charm. Perhaps some of it had to do with the new rules, forcing the deserting of the delicious desserty refreshments. No more were students offered tasty food and drink to keep them going through Charms class. But that wasn’t all that was different. Professor Marchand was showing a marked depression, and students noticed it.
One of the lessons this term focused on healing charms, where we learned to use Episkey, and Ferula, before moving on to Vulnera Sanentur. Another lesson saw the pair of Charms with Astronomy where we were taught Circulus, a charm used to orbit items. I decided to go and seek out the opinions of fellow Ravenclaw, Benji Park.
So, after having Professor Marchand teaching us for our time at Hogwarts, what have been some of your favourite moments?
I think every class is fun, but I think the best part is when we can see Professor Marchand's personality shine through. It's obvious that he cares about the students and really wants us to not just be good at Charms but to enjoy it! You can tell that he puts a lot of thought into how each lesson should go. So it's not really any specific moments but rather all of them together if that makes sense.
It makes sense, definitely, and I agree. So then, what's something you look forward to in a class with Professor Marchand?
I always look forward to the interesting lessons Professor Marchand has planned for us. I'm never quite sure what to expect, which keeps things exciting. I also feel like what we learn has practical value and will be useful to me beyond this term, which is something I appreciate a lot.
Speaking of practical value, we did a bit of healing charms this term. I loved learning all of that, even if I don't want to become a healer. But do you think if you came across a situation where someone was hurt, you'd be able to use the charms to help them?
Yes, I do. I think the healing charms we've learned have been really valuable, especially Episkey, which works for so many different things. I think I could definitely put the charms we've learned into practice to help someone if needed, though of course I hope I'm never in that situation.
With a real person it would probably be pretty scary. What's your favourite charm Professor Marchand has taught you?
Vulnera Sanentur! It was amazing to see what it could do, how it could heal huge wounds so quickly.
I wonder if you are a healer in the making? Does charms come naturally to you, or is it one of those subjects you have to put a little bit extra effort into?
Charms is my favorite subject. I've always found it to come pretty naturally to me, more than other subjects like Divination, anyway.
As this year comes to a close, I for one am very sad to see Professor Marchand close his Charms curriculum and depart Hogwarts. We wish him the very best for what the future brings.
One of the lessons this term focused on healing charms, where we learned to use Episkey, and Ferula, before moving on to Vulnera Sanentur. Another lesson saw the pair of Charms with Astronomy where we were taught Circulus, a charm used to orbit items. I decided to go and seek out the opinions of fellow Ravenclaw, Benji Park.
So, after having Professor Marchand teaching us for our time at Hogwarts, what have been some of your favourite moments?
I think every class is fun, but I think the best part is when we can see Professor Marchand's personality shine through. It's obvious that he cares about the students and really wants us to not just be good at Charms but to enjoy it! You can tell that he puts a lot of thought into how each lesson should go. So it's not really any specific moments but rather all of them together if that makes sense.
It makes sense, definitely, and I agree. So then, what's something you look forward to in a class with Professor Marchand?
I always look forward to the interesting lessons Professor Marchand has planned for us. I'm never quite sure what to expect, which keeps things exciting. I also feel like what we learn has practical value and will be useful to me beyond this term, which is something I appreciate a lot.
Speaking of practical value, we did a bit of healing charms this term. I loved learning all of that, even if I don't want to become a healer. But do you think if you came across a situation where someone was hurt, you'd be able to use the charms to help them?
Yes, I do. I think the healing charms we've learned have been really valuable, especially Episkey, which works for so many different things. I think I could definitely put the charms we've learned into practice to help someone if needed, though of course I hope I'm never in that situation.
With a real person it would probably be pretty scary. What's your favourite charm Professor Marchand has taught you?
Vulnera Sanentur! It was amazing to see what it could do, how it could heal huge wounds so quickly.
I wonder if you are a healer in the making? Does charms come naturally to you, or is it one of those subjects you have to put a little bit extra effort into?
Charms is my favorite subject. I've always found it to come pretty naturally to me, more than other subjects like Divination, anyway.
As this year comes to a close, I for one am very sad to see Professor Marchand close his Charms curriculum and depart Hogwarts. We wish him the very best for what the future brings.
Defense Against the Dark Arts
As if losing Professor Hirsch wasn’t enough to break anyone’s heart, the new school year brought the hammer down entirely. If you walked into the term lying to yourself that things would still be okay, like I did, there’s no doubt that a mixture of the new military school regime and the fact the Military Sergeant in charge was now taking over Defense Against the Dark Arts would clarify that. If you weren’t a first year, it would have been quite the jarring difference in approaches and methodology, the sort that could easily cause whiplash or the tempting urge to skip that most of us would never assume we could get away with. With Headmaster Scrimgeour in the position, there was only one direction it could head in, and that was down.
You could argue that all his lessons were memorable and in that argument you could further the argument by saying it wasn’t for any of the right reasons. Take the lesson that saw everyone out in the forbidden forest for instance. Just a minute late to the meeting point by the clock tower and a whopping 30 points were deducted. Head Girl problems, I guess. I dunno. It may have meant more if it hadn’t already become a trend for the entire term. You’d secure yourself a prize guessing his favourite number was 30, it seemed to be the only one he knew when taking points and by this point in the term, there wasn’t a student breathing who didn’t know the depth of the man’s fondness for point removal—and detention. It was seldom only one. Even when the punishment was “less severe”, there was still punishment. Take the kids doing push ups by the time I got there. I wasn't sure what they did to provoke the man, but he wasted no time bringing down his metallic arm of what he considered “justice”.
It was a wonder anyone could concentrate by the time we got to the actual lesson which started with a question about the very forest mentioned earlier on. Dead giveaway that this was where things were going. How many students trusted the man to NOT get us all killed then pass it off as an accident and have fewer “unruly” souls to contend with for the remainder of the school year? What sort of creatures lived in the forest? Many, many did, Sir. Thankfully, of all the things that could mangle us and drag our remains away, it was red caps that we would be dealing with. All that information he gave before leading us off? Not sure how many could really follow along between finishing their push ups or reeling from the points he’d taken for—as I later found out—greeting him. The school was getting more and more confusing by the day. Education was the last thing on anyone’s mind. Personally, his insult of Professor Hirsch, implying the man hadn’t taught us well, kept me distracted. Whatever was discussed on the way to the forest went entirely over my head and in retrospect, I don’t think I regret it. There’s a very small chance it was anything I didn’t already know.
As expected, when the activity did happened, the students were left to fend for themselves against red caps. The vicious little things got a couple of us, ending in scratches and scrapes that would need a trip to the Healer—or not. The man never seemed to think anything was Healer worthy short of a person taking their final, gasping breaths. Scrimgeour remained to the side watching, putting an end to it only after the students have been sufficiently bruised—er…educated in dealing with red caps. Right. All around a disaster, like the entire term.
You could argue that all his lessons were memorable and in that argument you could further the argument by saying it wasn’t for any of the right reasons. Take the lesson that saw everyone out in the forbidden forest for instance. Just a minute late to the meeting point by the clock tower and a whopping 30 points were deducted. Head Girl problems, I guess. I dunno. It may have meant more if it hadn’t already become a trend for the entire term. You’d secure yourself a prize guessing his favourite number was 30, it seemed to be the only one he knew when taking points and by this point in the term, there wasn’t a student breathing who didn’t know the depth of the man’s fondness for point removal—and detention. It was seldom only one. Even when the punishment was “less severe”, there was still punishment. Take the kids doing push ups by the time I got there. I wasn't sure what they did to provoke the man, but he wasted no time bringing down his metallic arm of what he considered “justice”.
It was a wonder anyone could concentrate by the time we got to the actual lesson which started with a question about the very forest mentioned earlier on. Dead giveaway that this was where things were going. How many students trusted the man to NOT get us all killed then pass it off as an accident and have fewer “unruly” souls to contend with for the remainder of the school year? What sort of creatures lived in the forest? Many, many did, Sir. Thankfully, of all the things that could mangle us and drag our remains away, it was red caps that we would be dealing with. All that information he gave before leading us off? Not sure how many could really follow along between finishing their push ups or reeling from the points he’d taken for—as I later found out—greeting him. The school was getting more and more confusing by the day. Education was the last thing on anyone’s mind. Personally, his insult of Professor Hirsch, implying the man hadn’t taught us well, kept me distracted. Whatever was discussed on the way to the forest went entirely over my head and in retrospect, I don’t think I regret it. There’s a very small chance it was anything I didn’t already know.
As expected, when the activity did happened, the students were left to fend for themselves against red caps. The vicious little things got a couple of us, ending in scratches and scrapes that would need a trip to the Healer—or not. The man never seemed to think anything was Healer worthy short of a person taking their final, gasping breaths. Scrimgeour remained to the side watching, putting an end to it only after the students have been sufficiently bruised—er…educated in dealing with red caps. Right. All around a disaster, like the entire term.
Divination
A hail of punishments. That’s one way to describe the first Divination lesson of the term since every person who walked into the clearing for class that evening with greeting Professor Fletcher ended with one. Not just any punishments, either. Each one had to go back a certain number of bluebell flames (oh yeah, the path to class was lined with the things) and walk back, greeting the professor when they returned. A colossal waste of time, if you ask me. And if you happened to make a peep to a classmate? Twenty-five push-ups. Make the mistake of sitting down before told? Twenty-five push-ups and remain standing the rest of class. It was amazing that Professor Fletcher even managed to get to the topic, since he seemed to enjoy giving out punishments so much. But he did eventually get to the topic, which was pyromancy aka using flames to tell the future. Seemed like a dangerous proposition, given all the not-at-all warm and fuzzy feelings starting to brew amongst the class, but okay.
As if subjecting us to exercise weren’t enough, Professor Fletcher came more than equipped with snarky comments if he didn’t like your answer in class. It was as if someone had removed all sense of empathy from his body.
But really, it was the professor’s insulting of Hufflepuff prefect Derfael Ashburry-Hawthrone that really started it. The it, in this case, being the downfall of Hufflepuff house, beginning with the verbal scuffle that ended up with the prefect temporarily losing his badge. Yes, you read that right. And it was only farther downhill from there. After all, you can’t stop a train after it starts going down the tracks. From accusing yours truly of having an outburst (IT WAS A LEGIT QUESTION!) and assigning laps (UGH) to the whole Callum incident, basically, it was a miracle that class ended without anyone landing themselves a trip into the fire.
Later in the term, Divination classes hadn’t managed to get any better. Take the first one after the holidays for example. Mark this one down in your calendars folks, because this was the day that one Natalie McKinley decided to join the Rulebreaker Club, even if it was momentary, by leaving class. Or attempting to leave, anyway. Of course, Professor Fletcher was not having this and slammed the door shut before she could make her exit. This wasn’t the only drama going on in the class, though. One Nettie Gladin had decided to wear a necklace to class. Ordinarily, this wouldn’t be a problem. But with the Scrimgeour regime in power, all jewelry had been banned. So, the Headmaster’s lapdog took this as a reason to take the Ravenclaw’s bling. All this before announcing the topic for this particular class: belomancy aka divination using bow and arrows. Yet another dangerous proposition for a professor that had angered most of the school’s population, but okay. Luckily class, and Professor Fletcher’s time at Hogwarts, ended without any major injuries
As if subjecting us to exercise weren’t enough, Professor Fletcher came more than equipped with snarky comments if he didn’t like your answer in class. It was as if someone had removed all sense of empathy from his body.
But really, it was the professor’s insulting of Hufflepuff prefect Derfael Ashburry-Hawthrone that really started it. The it, in this case, being the downfall of Hufflepuff house, beginning with the verbal scuffle that ended up with the prefect temporarily losing his badge. Yes, you read that right. And it was only farther downhill from there. After all, you can’t stop a train after it starts going down the tracks. From accusing yours truly of having an outburst (IT WAS A LEGIT QUESTION!) and assigning laps (UGH) to the whole Callum incident, basically, it was a miracle that class ended without anyone landing themselves a trip into the fire.
Later in the term, Divination classes hadn’t managed to get any better. Take the first one after the holidays for example. Mark this one down in your calendars folks, because this was the day that one Natalie McKinley decided to join the Rulebreaker Club, even if it was momentary, by leaving class. Or attempting to leave, anyway. Of course, Professor Fletcher was not having this and slammed the door shut before she could make her exit. This wasn’t the only drama going on in the class, though. One Nettie Gladin had decided to wear a necklace to class. Ordinarily, this wouldn’t be a problem. But with the Scrimgeour regime in power, all jewelry had been banned. So, the Headmaster’s lapdog took this as a reason to take the Ravenclaw’s bling. All this before announcing the topic for this particular class: belomancy aka divination using bow and arrows. Yet another dangerous proposition for a professor that had angered most of the school’s population, but okay. Luckily class, and Professor Fletcher’s time at Hogwarts, ended without any major injuries