First Years, Lesson One

“Good morning, everyone,” Gabrielle greeted as the first years finally settled into their seats after a couple of minutes of rabble at the start of the lesson. She looked around the room, taking in the faces of the students. “Welcome to History of Magic. My name is Gabrielle, although you should call me Professor Moncrieffe, I was born in Bermuda, and I’ll be your teacher until fifth year. I’m going to go through the roll. When I call your name, if you could please just raise your hand, tell me if you have something you’d prefer me to call you, like a nickname or if you go by your middle name or something like that, and tell me where you’re from." She paused for a second. "Yes, I know you all hate these exercises, I do too, but it’ll help me put faces to names.”

She went through the list, making a couple of notes as she went before finally reaching the end. “Thank heavens that won’t take nearly as long next time. Okay, so this year we’ll go over some beginner topics - Merlin, witch trials, and so on. For some of you, this will all be completely new, for others, don’t discount it, you may actually still learn something if you bother to listen.” She gave a wry smirk, knowing some students from wizarding families would probably think they knew everything already. “Sure, we may not be doing any spells, but you won’t be doing yourself any favours if you tune out just because of that. There’s more to magic than just wand waving and incantations, or huddling over cauldrons. You may find that understanding where we come from is far more useful than being able to turn a beetle into a button, just quietly.”

"But for now, since we've got a bit of time left...why don't you take the opportunity to chat amongst yourselves for a bit? Talk about your holiday breaks, talk to people not in your house. You know, socialize." With that, she left the students to it, wandering around the classroom to keep an eye on things and talk to any students who had any questions or asking them a little more about themselves, before they were eventually dismissed.

Homework

RP the lesson. Feel free to tag me if you want me to interact being nosy about your character! You are also welcome to godmod Gabrielle asking more about where you’re from. Don't forget to read over the Classroom Policy!

 

[Rosalind Montgomery]

Rosalind entered the classroom a little bit nervous. Lucy had told her things about this class - that it was boring, dull, and all the other not-so fun adjectives. But Rosalind was a bit tentative; maybe it wasn't so bad, or Lucy was exaggerating, or something. She settled in, waiting for the class to start. When her name was called out, Rosalind raised her hand. "Uh, hi, I'm Rosalind. I come from Auckland here in New Zealand," she said a little nervously, then put her hand back down and listened carefully to the other students. It was always a good idea to know who was in your group. People inherently interested Rosalind for some reason or another. Nothing much else happened in the lesson. Rosalind turned to the person nearest her and started talking. "Are you looking forward to this class? I heard it's quite boring," she said, the latter statement being said in a whisper. She didn't want the professor hearing after all.

 

[Magne Kleos]

Magne knew that going back to his parents had been a good and bad decision. Good in the sense that he loved being home, being with his parents was so good, but he also knew that the moment he got back it would mean a little re-learning of all his english. He hadn’t spoken a word of it while at home. His parents had tried to speak it with him but he’d always just responded in greek. But he knew he would get it back quicker than the first time around, it was all in his head mostly. But it did mean he was again feeling a little behind the curve. He was getting himself together, he gathered up books and notes and then headed out of the dorm, with everything he could need for this to be a good enough day.

Magne walked into the history of magic classroom and took a spot near the middle of the room. He glanced at the professor and had to lean in to really be able to hear her. He was getting the english back slowly. But then the professor was getting them to introduce themselves. He nodded as others went then it was him. ”Magne, from Greece,” he said with a smile. His words were still heavily accented, but at least with this he didn’t struggle to remember the words. Other people went, but most of the people he knew the names of by now. The ravenclaw nodded along, listening in closely to what was being said, but the professor mostly told them a little about what they’d be doing and a little about history before dismissing them. Magne gladly packed up and headed out of the room.

 

[Ambrose Webb]

Ambrose hadn't particularly enjoyed being home for the break. Mostly because it felt like nothing had changed, which should be good. But it wasn't. Not really. Even when he had expected his parents to be their usual busy selves it still stung a little when they just went on with business as usual. They seemed genuinely happy to see him when they picked him up from the station but back at home it felt like they had fallen straight back into their routines. Almost as if he hadn't just been away for a couple of months. Like he had been there the entire time. Being back at school was different though, it made him happy. Excited. Glad to see his friends and get back into the swing of things.

He took his seat in the history of magic classroom and listened as the professor introduced herself. He raised his hand when his name was called and told her what she had wanted to know. "Ambrose is fine, I was born here in New Zealand." He stated before lowering his hand again. Ambrose made sure to pay attention to the other things the professor said about the class and eventually turned to the person next to him when she told them to chat until class was dismissed.