No. No no no no no. This lesson was a DISASTER... a lowkey disaster 'cause that was very negative thinking and HAD to be lowkey. But it was. At least to Toby, because EVERYONE was going along with this IDEA that the Dark Arts were interesting and that people liked them and that there were actual Dark wizards. Did anyone realise how difficult it was to persuade yourself of something when literally everyone else in the room was saying otherwise?

Luckily, Toby was a pro at that. So that's what he continued to do, though... a little more sulky than before, if you can believe it, though he tried not to make THAT obvious, and just fiddled with a thread from his sleeve and wore the straightest face he could muster. Even after Professor Dakest (who, Toby was very grateful to hear, had gone with his preferred name), outwardly told him otherwise, he just sort of shook his head and waited for the guy to move along before whispering "No they're not," very quietly.

*sulk*

...

At first, Toby didn't have a clue what Dakest was on about with the 'skill that many Dark Wizards cannot, and never will, perform', only that it sounded like something that he wanted to LEARN because he could totally show that he was no Dark wizard because thEY DIDN'T EXIST.

Until... UNTIL... he said the word 'patronus'. If Toby wasn't so good at keeping a neutral expression, his face might have fallen. Merlin, he'd heard that all that stuff about Dark wizards (WHO DIDN'T EXIST) not being able to cast patronuses was, like, a total myth. And not just 'cause there was no such thing as a Dark wizard, but for theoretical reasons. He was sure, was SURE he'd read something like that once, but he wasn't going to SAY that because that was almost like admitting that the whole thing was real, and he wasn't going to do that. There was no evil in the world. There was only good, okay? OKAY.

Toby kept quiet for a loooooooong time while people answered Dakest's question, and he DID hear and process Soph's answer, but he didn't know what to think at all. So he just sat there, quietly ruminating on all the things.

Eventually, finally, Toby did look up and raise his hand. "Expecto Patronum, the incantation. It means 'I await a protector', more or less." Aaaaaand that was it. Usually Toby could ramble for DAAAAAYS in his answers in class, but that would do. He went back to fiddling with his sleeve thread.