SnitchSeeker.com - View Single Post - HoM Lesson 1

Lissy Longbottom · 02-04-2020, 03:23 AM

SPOILER!!: Replies!

Quote:

Originally Posted by FearlessLeader19

And so the lesson was beginning. One of the most important things about that moment was that Claudine had been correct about the Sorcerer's Stone. What surprised her was that they weren’t exactly going to be discussing the Stone but rather, Mr. Flamel. What did she know about him? Just a bit, really. In her opinion, and others she was sure, Flamel had been one of the most brilliant men to have ever walked the earth. This included both in the Wizarding and Muggle Worlds.

The girl raised her hand. “Flamel unfortunately attended Beauxbatons Academy of Magic.’’ She wiggled her fingers a bit then lowered her hand thoughtfully. Who would ever be excited to attend that School? The experiences of the previous year had rather spoilt her earlier view about Beauxbatons.

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Originally Posted by Cassirin

Naya was the NICEST older student in the school, and that included everyone else that Phoebe knew. And Phoebe knew a lotta people, because she sort of foisted herself on people whether they were willing or not.

Flamel. She didn't know a thing about him, but she knew how to listen to her peers. Phoebe's hand shot in the air. "If Claudine says he went to Beauxbatons, does that mean he's French? I bet he was kind of a jerk."

Gabriela found herself raising an eyebrow at the two young students who had some less than complimentary things to say about Beauxbatons - and the French in general. "Careful, Miss Blaze and Miss James. I understand your hesitations regarding Beauxbatons, given last terms events, but there are many fantastic people in France as well...my husband and daughter, for one," she said, eyes narrowing slightly at them.

That would be their one and ONLY warning to be respectful.

"But yes, you are both correct that he attended Beauxbatons, and was born in France. There are even streets named after them in Paris," she added as a fun little tidbit, waving her wand so that their contributions were on the blackboard.

Quote:

Originally Posted by BanaBatGirl

Right, right, Nicolas Flamel... Bernadette had definitely read about him before! Her hand shot up, with the thought to mention that she was pretty sure he was French, but since Claudine answered that (ish) before her, she quickly thought of another fun Flamel fact.

"My chocolate frog card said he was friends and maybe alchemy partners with former Headmaster Dumbledore, I believe," she chimed in. Yes, her collecting those cards counted as reading.

"Yes, it is true that Flamel and Dumbledore were very close," Gabi told the young Gryffindor with an affirming nod and a small smile. "It is because of this reason that Dumbledore was entrusted with the task of hiding the Philosopher's Stone when it became evident that dark forces were after it," she explained.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Daydreamer11

The class was starting to fill and Naya figured that they would be starting soon. She smiled as her former partner, Phoebe, came and sat near her. “Hi Dr. Fifi”, she said to her housemate. “Nope. I haven’t done any checkups lately.”. Phoebe was so much fun. She made Naya smile just by walking into the room.

But then it was time for class to start and Naya couldn’t continue her conversation. The professor was talking now, so she gave her her undivided attention. The Sorcerer’s Stone and Nicholas Flamel......that was what they would be addressing today. Naya thought for a moment. What did she know about Nicholas Flamel? She raised her hand and began to speak.

“Nicholas Flamel created the Elixir of Life. It was supposed to make the person who drank it immortal.” That could be a good thing or a bad thing, depending on who was doing the drinking.

"That is correct Miss Lindsay!" Gabi beamed at the young Gryffindor for bringing up one of his most important achievements. "It didn't necessarily create immortality, as the continued consumption of the elixir was necessary to achieve results - once they stopped, Flamel and his wife passed of old age," she explained, as it was a very important distinction.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ringo

So, naturally, the picture on the board was in fact not jello. It was the philosophers stone, which, of course, made a little more sense... given that this was history of magic, and not a class about gelatin. Although, a gelatin class would be pretty interesting.

Distracted by the thoughts of jello and their deliciousness, Rowan almost missed the first question. Nicholas Flamel. What did he know about Flamel? His mum was a history geek, so he was sure he had to remember hearing something at some point about the stone-maker. The badger racked his brain as his peers gave their answers, trying to come up with something that hasn’t been said.

Aha!

The second years hand slowly rose up and he gently cleared his throat. “He was the oldest wizard in history, wasn’t he? Lived ‘till about his...six hundreds or so?” He answered. Merlin, six hundred years! Could you imagine?

"Very close, Mister Lewis," Gabriela smiled at the young Hufflepuff for taking a stab at the question - even if his information wasn't 100% accurate. "The oldest known wizard was Barry Winkle, who had about 100 years on Flamel, but he is certainly one of the oldest known wizards that we have record of," she added with an encouraging smile.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Anna Banana

Isla cast a quick, sideways glance at the door as it was magically closed. By now, she was used to this happening in a classroom. After years of attending muggle primary school, she had been surprised by it at first, even though she was a pureblood and had seen it many times at home. At the sound of the professor's voice, she turned her attention back to the front of the room.

So her guess about the stone had been right, although she didn't much about its creator's life. Flamel had gone to Beauxbatons? Huh. For some reason, he didn't seem like a Beauxbatons kind of guy, but then again, she'd just admitted to herself that she didn't really know much about him at all.

Nevertheless, she raised her hand. "He pretty much volunteered himself to die when he agreed that his stone should be destroyed," she said. Wasn't that what had been helping him along all that time? She guessed it was a pretty brave thing to do, what with volunteering yourself to die and all.

"Very good, Miss Bellchant," Gabriela nodded at they young Slytherin and, with a wave her wand, added that fact to the blackboard as well.

Quote:

Originally Posted by DaniDiNardo

Kodee had been there the whole time, sitting in the back, arms folded on his desk with his head resting just so. History of Magic was never something he'd been enthused about and he didn't suppose that would be changing any time soon. The 7th Year watched his classmates as their hands rose. That Claudine kid got a snort out of him for her answer because let's be real, going to that school was how you ruined your resume and any opinion people had of you.

The French were a piece of work.

He debated for a moment how willing he was to give a response. He could give something academic, give the impression he read every now and then...but then...he didn't wanna give anyone any false hopes.

Eventually, he did raise his hand. "Nicholas Flamel was that dude who wanted to live forever then chickened out before he hit his first millennium." Six hundred years, weak.

...sigh.

"He didn't chicken out, Mister Chosen. As Miss Bellchant pointed out, they passed after the stone was destroyed" she pointed out. That was going to lead into her next question, but she obviously was going to wait on that for just a few more minutes...

Quote:

Originally Posted by MadMadamMalfoy

So… Philosopher's Stone, not a kyber crystal. Heath felt like an idiot when he heard what the object on the board was. Obviously, he knew it wasn't really a red kyber crystal - this was History of Magic, not Muggle Studies! - but how had he not guessed that? He inwardly berated himself as he jotted down the information in his notes. He mentally prepared himself to give a fact about the Philosopher's Stone when asked, but the lesson moved in a completely different direction.

Nicholas Flamel… what did he know about Nicholas Flamel? Not much, to be completely honest. Most of what he knew had already been said, and Professor Recard said to try not to repeat answers. Heath thought he was going to have to sit this question out when a tidbit of information occurred to him. He was sure he recalled reading Flamel's name tied to Grindelwald, but how? He searched his mind. He knew Flamel wasn't a supported of Grindelwald. so that meant…

Now he had it! Heath's hand went up, and after being called on, he said, "Didn't Nicholas Flamel help stop Grindelwald from destroying Paris in the 1920s?" He hoped wording his answer as a question would make him look slightly less stupid if he turned out to be wrong!

"Good job, Mister Jones," Gabi said with a grin at the Ravenclaw boy as she added his contribution to the chalkboard. "One chapter of Flamel's story that is often glossed over is his contribution to stopping Grindelwald in the early 20th century," she pointed out. It was easy to skip over that, though, considering how many remarkable achievements the man had during his lifetime.

Quote:

Originally Posted by 2111jen

Austin blinked. What did he know about Nicholas Flamel.
"He died at an old age," Austin said raising his hand.

Gabi smiled at Austin, appreciating his effort. "He did. His exact age is unknown as his exact date of birth was never written down - but he was somewhere between 665 and 696 years old," she told the class.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fireheart

As her classmates gave their responses, Avalon pondered the strangeness of the Elixir of Life. Would she really want to live forever? Sure, it would be cool, but wouldn't life get old after awhile? What would you even do for 690 years, or however long Nicholas Flamel actually lived? She finally concluded that there would be both pros and cons to living forever.

Poised to offer up her own contribution to the discussion, the young Ravenclaw raised her hand. "I heard that Nicholas Flamel owned a special phoenix-embossed book that allowed him to talk to anyone else in the wizarding world. He used it to try to talk to Dumbledore during the Global Wizarding War, even though they were very far away from each other." Avalon didn't feel like going into too much detail about the wizarding turmoil in the 1920s. Hopefully her brief reference would suffice. From what she had read, Flamel was unsuccessful in his attempts to reach Dumbledore and could only reach Ilvermony. But Avalon didn't feel like it was relevant to add. She wondered where such a book came from. Did Flamel create it himself, or was it something that Dumbledore made?

Gabi had hoped that a few students would bring up information about Flamel's involvement in the Global Wizarding War - and she was so pleased that so many of them had dug deep into their research! "Very good, Miss Sinclair. Unfortunately, there hasn't been much research done into HOW this book of his worked exactly, but as you stated, it allowed him to communicate with anyone in the wizarding world, provided they had access to the magic powering the book," she explained. Again, it was kind of fuzzy how the whole thing worked - it had always peaked her interest, she had just never had time to dig as deep into the book as she would have liked.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nordic Witch

Cole did his best to scribble down notes as his classmates one after the other offered up tidbits of information about the very famous and old alchemist; Nicholas Flamel. He was going to be the topic of today's lesson according to Professor Recard. The philsopher's stone on the blackboard that Cole had identified earlier was of course going to have it's part too. Raising his hand to add his answer to the mix Cole said with slightly thoughtful furrowed brows "I've read somewhere or heard maybe I think that Flamel loved opera and a had wife that was called Perenelle." If only he had him on one of his many chocolate frog cards. It wasn't the same when he was just mentioned on Dumbledore's card. Flamel deserved his own card since he too was an important person in history.

Gabriela nodded at the young Gryffindor, pushing a piece of blonde hair behind her ear. "Good job, Mister Vance! Flamel did indeed love the opera, and he met his wife Perenelle at Beauxbatons as a student," she added.

Quote:

Originally Posted by hjhm

Nicolas Flamel was a notable person in history that is for sure. She knew about him through her father who used to tell her facts about him, not that it was interesting for a 4 year old kid that dreams about seeing a unicorn someday. She twirled her fingers on the ends of her hair as she thought back on the things she has read about him. He did contribute a lot of stuff under alchemy and that he is also one of the first known practicing alchemists.

"Flamel…" she paused for a bit with her hand up in the air already "he and his wife attempted to create the Philosopher's Stone and succeeded" she read in some articles that the man was quite obsessed with it but he lived a long time ago who knows what the real story is.

"Pretty close, Miss Kim. Perenelle didn't really have much to do with the creation of the stone or the elixir - however, I'm sure she was there to provide lots of moral support as he worked," Gabi said with a smile at the Slytherin.

Quote:

Originally Posted by love-for-HP

Blake having not really paid attention after first ... his mind had been drifting a lot lately .. what with all the girls in his life being strange. Took a deep breath and did his best to concentrate on the question at hand. Nicholas Flamel?? What did he know about him ... did he know anything? Raising his hand and taking a stab it it he said "He discovered the 12 uses of dragon's blood." He did right?? Now Blake couldn't remember to save his life .. was the Flamel or Dumbledore?

Gabi smiled warmly at the young Slytherin who was so, SO close in his answer. "Not quite, Mister Ryan. You're thinking of Dumbledore, who worked closely with Flamel in alchemy. Dumbledore is created with the discovery of the uses of dragons blood," she corrected him before moving on.

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Originally Posted by Weasley174

Tom was struggling for an answer, because everyone was picking all the cools ones before he could come up with anything. He put up his hand and in a panic he suddenly said the first thing that came into his head. "His first name is Nicolas."

Well...she HAD asked for facts about him. "That...is true, Mister Simpson," she nodded at him. Gryffindors sometimes, honestly...

Quote:

Originally Posted by ArianaBlack

While Nina enjoyed history far more now that they had a ~~relatively~~ reasonable Professor teaching the class, she wasn't a fan of Professor Recard's enthusiasm. In all honesty, the Slytherin thought it to undermine the importance of the subject. She spared a glance over at Eiji to convey just as much before turning back to their Professor.

Nicolas Flamel.

Nina found herself perking up a little bit, her interest peaked. Alchemy was a subject she quite enjoyed immersing herself in when studying at the library and Flamel was the father of alchemy in some sense. All excitement died, however, when Claudine answered the question with an immature diss at Beauxbatons' expense. Nina was quite aware of the inexcusable behavior of those who attended her previous school when they were meant to be serving as hosts. But she still held Beauxbatons in high esteem. The acts of a few were not representative of all.

Phoebe's comments were really the icing on top of the metaphorical cake, and Nina found herself wearing a deep frown as a result, looking between the two second years with a look drenched in annoyance. She took it in personal offense.

Quote:

Originally Posted by sweetpinkpixie

He caught that glimpse of Nina's, yes, and returned one of his own. If only she knew what HE knew about this woman's history and connections with one of the most notorious organizations of the last few decades. It was probably for the best he not tell her, or anyone. No sense in causing unnecessary panic - Hogwarts students were perfectly capable of creating plenty of that without reason.

Eiji always felt disinclined to answer these sorts of questions, though he couldn't help the snort that escaped him as several of his peers began Beauxbatons bashing. As salty as he was, there was no comparing the school of back then to the one they had experienced last term. Unless that banshee of a headmistress had somehow managed to brew her own Elixir of Life and was actually centuries old...but it was a thought he hardly allowed himself to entertain any further than that.

Regardless, Eiji had studied Flamel and his contributions to alchemy in great length already...specifically those alchemy elements. It came with the territory of being an Alchemy student with Professor Noble. Perhaps that was what made him feel a little possessive over the information that he could share. It was nothing that would be found in just any books, nor was any of it Dark in nature. But having earned his place among the students in this prestigious subject...Eiji felt the want to keep some things privy to just that select group. It was silly and immature, but he didn't care.

He supposed he could offer up some additional tidbit, but he soon found himself rolling his eyes a bit too much at Phoebe. Could she please not called the greatest alchemist of all time by calling him a jerk?

Quote:

Originally Posted by hermionesclone

Lucas might've been focused on the image of the philosopher's stone on the board but he wasn't focused enough to ignore someone coming to sit near him. He would've liked to pretend he didn't notice or just smiled and left it at that but he knew he couldn't ignore, uh, his friend? Were they friends?

"Hey, Carys!" Smile. He opened his mouth to ask her....... something. Anything. Something that wouldn't make the conversation awkward and was about the class. But it was at that moment that Carsyn and Cole joined her as well. Was this surprising? Well, not really. The twins were inseparable, weren't they?

Before he could decide if he wanted to say anything ~~or shrink further down his seat and pretend to be invisible~~, someone else interrupted his train of thought. Mr Prefect?! Oh merlin. There was only one person who used that nickname for him and he was certain he would never grow used to it. "Hey, Cece!" Smile.

She was the only one to call him the Prefect nickname, right? Yes?

Lucas didn't know what he would think if he had to worry about it popping up from multiple people. Anxiety, you know?

But that........ wasn't something to worry about now. Not when Recard had started talking to them about the Philosopher's Stone and Nicolas Flamel and what exactly they knew about him. .......... Well. There was quite a bit to know about him, wasn't there? And that was true in the number of answers that were being thrown out by the other students. It was enough to make feel less willing to give an answer of his own and just listen, instead. And take notes. Yeah. Merlin knows if he needed to remember any of-

And then Kodee Chosen happened.

And Lucas, being Lucas, buried his face in his hands, both from exasperation and to hide the look on his face.

Don't laugh, don't laugh.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hey Ju

Sorcerer's Stone...? ........Why would anyone call it that? Weren't they all... sorcerers here? Catherine raised an eyebrow at that piece of information and chose not to write it down for a change because she deemed this to be utterly irrelevant ~~and stupid~~.

Of course, Nicolas Flamel. Catherine wrote that bit of information down, because she had forgotten his name, to be quite honest. No wonder she hadn't been able to find the part of their textbook that talked about him. So instead of answering the question - as that wasn't something she did anyway, and she actually didn't know much about Mr Flamel - she went back to flipping through her book to try and find the correct session for that day's lesson, making sure to write down any more pieces of information some of her classmates were giving out in their answers.

Unless they were wrong answers, like the one by that Slytherin boy, or stupid ones like that young Gryffindor boy's. She rolled her eyes and tried (but failed, since she didn't try very hard) to not frown and send the latter an annoyed look.

Those who had chosen to keep quiet got casual glances from Gabriela, just to make sure they were still paying attention. She didn't mind at all when they didn't speak up, to be quite honest. Just because you didn't speak, didn't mean you weren't listening!

Quote:

Originally Posted by TakemetotheBurrow

Aww, was Lucas okay? Cecelia, seeing the way he buried his face in his hands, patted the guy on the back. He must reaaaaally have liked Nicolas Flamel, huh? It was okay, Lucas, Flamel got to live a loooooooong life. Six HUNDRED years, apparently! WHO KNEW?!

"Professor, he was the best ever alchemist or something, and alchemy is SUPER tricky, which probably meant Flamel was REALLY smart." She nodded her head seriously, offering the woman a smile. Cool fact, huh?

Gabi chuckled a little at Cecelia's enthusiasm and nodded at her. "Flamel was a very gifted scholar, yes. Alchemy definitely requires a lot of dedication and time in order to succeed in it," she added.

Quote:

Originally Posted by LilFox06

Anyone who knew Valencia knew how much she loved historical figures. So, naturally, she had a comment. She raised her hand. "Flamel, who was a brilliant potioneer and alchemist, was also pretty well accomplished in a variety of subjects. He was a very talented wizard."

Gabriela nodded at Valencia and waved her wand, adding her answer to the list she had been compiling on the board. "Yes, Flamel was gifted in many subjects, despite being most well known for the stone and elixir," she smiled at her before moving along.

As each student answered, Gabi waved her wand and added the information they contributed to the blackboard. Soon, they had a very comprehensive list of facts about Flamel going - and when it became evident that no one else was going to speak up, she smiled at them all. "Very good, everyone! Flamel had a very long life and a very successful professional life as well. There are plenty of things to discuss when it comes to his accomplishments, but I'm going to give you a really brief overview," she explained. That was their cue to get ready to take notes, if they weren't already.

"Flamel was born sometime in the 14th century - the exact date is not known," Gabi began. If she had unlimited time she would have gone off about how many events Flamel had been present for in his lifetime - the invention of the printing press, the Renaissance, the Black Plague - so many interesting events that he had had a front seat to! "As many of you mentioned, he was born in France and attended Beauxbatons, where he met his wife Perenelle."

"Flamel's most notable achievements are the Philosopher's Stone and the Elixir of Life. However, it should also be noted that he was also skilled in other areas of magic - namely Defense Against the Dark Arts and Divination," Gabi paused here, giving them a few moments to write everything down. She loved history, but truly felt sorry for her kids and the hand cramps they inevitably had to deal with during her lectures.

"One area of Flamel's life that is not usually discussed, but still extremely important, is his involvement in the Global Wizarding War and the fight against Gellert Grindelwald. Flamel aided Newt Scamander and his company in the 1920's, even allowing them to use his house in Paris as a safehouse. Since Flamel was going on 600 years old at this time, it's understandable that he and his wife decided to retire to Great Britain to live out the remainder of their years in peace," she continued. Another pause before she wrapped up her quick summation of his life.

"Finally, we arrive at the end of Flamel's life - in 1992, the stone was destroyed after it became apparent that Lord Voldemort was after the immortality properties of the stone and the Elixir of Life," she explained. "Without the elixir to sustain them, Nicolas and Perenelle died peacefully a short time later." Gabi paused a bit longer here, waiting for everyone to finish their notes before she moved on to the next question. Meanwhile, she waved her wand a final time and a quick summation of their discussion thus far was displayed, in case they needed a recap.

Quote:

The Life of Nicolas Flamel
-Nicolas Flamel was born sometime in the early 14th century in Paris, France and attended Beauxbatons
-His most notable achievements where the creation of the Sorcerer Stone and the Elixir of Life.
-He and his wife, Perenelle, lived until sometime in the 1990's, when the Sorcerers Stone was destroyed. This was brought about due to Voldemort's attempted theft of the stone - both were in their late 600's when they passed
-Flamel also aided Newt Scamander and Albus Dumbledore in their fight against Grindelwald, allowing his home to be used as a safe haven for them in Paris.
-He was a gifted wizard who excelled not only in alchemy and potions, but also in defense and divination

"It should be noted that Flamel willingly allowed the stone to be destroyed, as some of you touched on in your answers. They took enough elixir to get their affairs in order, and then passed a few weeks later. My question to you is - why would Flamel allow the stone to be destroyed so easily? Why do you think he went along with Dumbledore when he suggested they destroy the stone?" she asked them. There were a few answers to the question, and she was curious to see how they interpreted the events that led to the end of Flamel's life.

OOC: Y'all are doing great! Gabi is excited to see your answers to the next question - if you need help, shout it out in the title of your post! Class will commence in roughly 24 hours!

02-04-2020, 03:23 AM	#39 (permalink)
Lissy Longbottom Potterdom Mod Book Club Mod Giant Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Ferrix: GMT-6 Posts: 56,908 Hogwarts RPG Name: Moritz Schultz (#0f667e) Ravenclaw Seventh Year Hogwarts RPG Name: Nancy Schultz (#ac6f77) Hufflepuff Fourth Year x11 x1	curly haired prefect - "sometimes I get angry!" - 30/90 - chicken emoji - probably @ Disney - I speak dog SPOILER!!: Replies! Quote: Originally Posted by FearlessLeader19 And so the lesson was beginning. One of the most important things about that moment was that Claudine had been correct about the Sorcerer's Stone. What surprised her was that they weren’t exactly going to be discussing the Stone but rather, Mr. Flamel. What did she know about him? Just a bit, really. In her opinion, and others she was sure, Flamel had been one of the most brilliant men to have ever walked the earth. This included both in the Wizarding and Muggle Worlds. The girl raised her hand. “Flamel unfortunately attended Beauxbatons Academy of Magic.’’ She wiggled her fingers a bit then lowered her hand thoughtfully. Who would ever be excited to attend that School? The experiences of the previous year had rather spoilt her earlier view about Beauxbatons. Quote: Originally Posted by Cassirin Naya was the NICEST older student in the school, and that included everyone else that Phoebe knew. And Phoebe knew a lotta people, because she sort of foisted herself on people whether they were willing or not. Flamel. She didn't know a thing about him, but she knew how to listen to her peers. Phoebe's hand shot in the air. "If Claudine says he went to Beauxbatons, does that mean he's French? I bet he was kind of a jerk." Gabriela found herself raising an eyebrow at the two young students who had some less than complimentary things to say about Beauxbatons - and the French in general. "Careful, Miss Blaze and Miss James. I understand your hesitations regarding Beauxbatons, given last terms events, but there are many fantastic people in France as well...my husband and daughter, for one," she said, eyes narrowing slightly at them. That would be their one and ONLY warning to be respectful. "But yes, you are both correct that he attended Beauxbatons, and was born in France. There are even streets named after them in Paris," she added as a fun little tidbit, waving her wand so that their contributions were on the blackboard. Quote: Originally Posted by BanaBatGirl Right, right, Nicolas Flamel... Bernadette had definitely read about him before! Her hand shot up, with the thought to mention that she was pretty sure he was French, but since Claudine answered that (ish) before her, she quickly thought of another fun Flamel fact. "My chocolate frog card said he was friends and maybe alchemy partners with former Headmaster Dumbledore, I believe," she chimed in. Yes, her collecting those cards counted as reading. "Yes, it is true that Flamel and Dumbledore were very close," Gabi told the young Gryffindor with an affirming nod and a small smile. "It is because of this reason that Dumbledore was entrusted with the task of hiding the Philosopher's Stone when it became evident that dark forces were after it," she explained. Quote: Originally Posted by Daydreamer11 The class was starting to fill and Naya figured that they would be starting soon. She smiled as her former partner, Phoebe, came and sat near her. “Hi Dr. Fifi”, she said to her housemate. “Nope. I haven’t done any checkups lately.”. Phoebe was so much fun. She made Naya smile just by walking into the room. But then it was time for class to start and Naya couldn’t continue her conversation. The professor was talking now, so she gave her her undivided attention. The Sorcerer’s Stone and Nicholas Flamel......that was what they would be addressing today. Naya thought for a moment. What did she know about Nicholas Flamel? She raised her hand and began to speak. “Nicholas Flamel created the Elixir of Life. It was supposed to make the person who drank it immortal.” That could be a good thing or a bad thing, depending on who was doing the drinking. "That is correct Miss Lindsay!" Gabi beamed at the young Gryffindor for bringing up one of his most important achievements. "It didn't necessarily create immortality, as the continued consumption of the elixir was necessary to achieve results - once they stopped, Flamel and his wife passed of old age," she explained, as it was a very important distinction. Quote: Originally Posted by Ringo So, naturally, the picture on the board was in fact not jello. It was the philosophers stone, which, of course, made a little more sense... given that this was history of magic, and not a class about gelatin. Although, a gelatin class would be pretty interesting. Distracted by the thoughts of jello and their deliciousness, Rowan almost missed the first question. Nicholas Flamel. What did he know about Flamel? His mum was a history geek, so he was sure he had to remember hearing something at some point about the stone-maker. The badger racked his brain as his peers gave their answers, trying to come up with something that hasn’t been said. Aha! The second years hand slowly rose up and he gently cleared his throat. “He was the oldest wizard in history, wasn’t he? Lived ‘till about his...six hundreds or so?” He answered. Merlin, six hundred years! Could you imagine? "Very close, Mister Lewis," Gabriela smiled at the young Hufflepuff for taking a stab at the question - even if his information wasn't 100% accurate. "The oldest known wizard was Barry Winkle, who had about 100 years on Flamel, but he is certainly one of the oldest known wizards that we have record of," she added with an encouraging smile. Quote: Originally Posted by Anna Banana Isla cast a quick, sideways glance at the door as it was magically closed. By now, she was used to this happening in a classroom. After years of attending muggle primary school, she had been surprised by it at first, even though she was a pureblood and had seen it many times at home. At the sound of the professor's voice, she turned her attention back to the front of the room. So her guess about the stone had been right, although she didn't much about its creator's life. Flamel had gone to Beauxbatons? Huh. For some reason, he didn't seem like a Beauxbatons kind of guy, but then again, she'd just admitted to herself that she didn't really know much about him at all. Nevertheless, she raised her hand. "He pretty much volunteered himself to die when he agreed that his stone should be destroyed," she said. Wasn't that what had been helping him along all that time? She guessed it was a pretty brave thing to do, what with volunteering yourself to die and all. "Very good, Miss Bellchant," Gabriela nodded at they young Slytherin and, with a wave her wand, added that fact to the blackboard as well. Quote: Originally Posted by DaniDiNardo Kodee had been there the whole time, sitting in the back, arms folded on his desk with his head resting just so. History of Magic was never something he'd been enthused about and he didn't suppose that would be changing any time soon. The 7th Year watched his classmates as their hands rose. That Claudine kid got a snort out of him for her answer because let's be real, going to that school was how you ruined your resume and any opinion people had of you. The French were a piece of work. He debated for a moment how willing he was to give a response. He could give something academic, give the impression he read every now and then...but then...he didn't wanna give anyone any false hopes. Eventually, he did raise his hand. "Nicholas Flamel was that dude who wanted to live forever then chickened out before he hit his first millennium." Six hundred years, weak. ...sigh. *"He didn't chicken out, Mister Chosen. As Miss Bellchant pointed out, they passed after the stone was destroyed"* she pointed out. That was going to lead into her next question, but she obviously was going to wait on that for just a few more minutes... Quote: Originally Posted by MadMadamMalfoy So… Philosopher's Stone, not a kyber crystal. Heath felt like an idiot when he heard what the object on the board was. Obviously, he knew it wasn't really a red kyber crystal - this was History of Magic, not Muggle Studies! - but how had he not guessed that? He inwardly berated himself as he jotted down the information in his notes. He mentally prepared himself to give a fact about the Philosopher's Stone when asked, but the lesson moved in a completely different direction. Nicholas Flamel… what did he know about Nicholas Flamel? Not much, to be completely honest. Most of what he knew had already been said, and Professor Recard said to try not to repeat answers. Heath thought he was going to have to sit this question out when a tidbit of information occurred to him. He was sure he recalled reading Flamel's name tied to Grindelwald, but how? He searched his mind. He knew Flamel wasn't a supported of Grindelwald. so that meant… Now he had it! Heath's hand went up, and after being called on, he said, "Didn't Nicholas Flamel help stop Grindelwald from destroying Paris in the 1920s?" He hoped wording his answer as a question would make him look slightly less stupid if he turned out to be wrong! "Good job, Mister Jones," Gabi said with a grin at the Ravenclaw boy as she added his contribution to the chalkboard. "One chapter of Flamel's story that is often glossed over is his contribution to stopping Grindelwald in the early 20th century," she pointed out. It was easy to skip over that, though, considering how many remarkable achievements the man had during his lifetime. Quote: Originally Posted by 2111jen Austin blinked. What did he know about Nicholas Flamel. "He died at an old age," Austin said raising his hand. Gabi smiled at Austin, appreciating his effort. "He did. His exact age is unknown as his exact date of birth was never written down - but he was somewhere between 665 and 696 years old," she told the class. Quote: Originally Posted by Fireheart As her classmates gave their responses, Avalon pondered the strangeness of the Elixir of Life. Would she really want to live forever? Sure, it would be cool, but wouldn't life get old after awhile? What would you even do for 690 years, or however long Nicholas Flamel actually lived? She finally concluded that there would be both pros and cons to living forever. Poised to offer up her own contribution to the discussion, the young Ravenclaw raised her hand. "I heard that Nicholas Flamel owned a special phoenix-embossed book that allowed him to talk to anyone else in the wizarding world. He used it to try to talk to Dumbledore during the Global Wizarding War, even though they were very far away from each other." Avalon didn't feel like going into too much detail about the wizarding turmoil in the 1920s. Hopefully her brief reference would suffice. From what she had read, Flamel was unsuccessful in his attempts to reach Dumbledore and could only reach Ilvermony. But Avalon didn't feel like it was relevant to add. She wondered where such a book came from. Did Flamel create it himself, or was it something that Dumbledore made? Gabi had hoped that a few students would bring up information about Flamel's involvement in the Global Wizarding War - and she was so pleased that so many of them had dug deep into their research! "Very good, Miss Sinclair. Unfortunately, there hasn't been much research done into HOW this book of his worked exactly, but as you stated, it allowed him to communicate with anyone in the wizarding world, provided they had access to the magic powering the book," she explained. Again, it was kind of fuzzy how the whole thing worked - it had always peaked her interest, she had just never had time to dig as deep into the book as she would have liked. Quote: Originally Posted by Nordic Witch Cole did his best to scribble down notes as his classmates one after the other offered up tidbits of information about the very famous and old alchemist; Nicholas Flamel. He was going to be the topic of today's lesson according to Professor Recard. The philsopher's stone on the blackboard that Cole had identified earlier was of course going to have it's part too. Raising his hand to add his answer to the mix Cole said with slightly thoughtful furrowed brows "I've read somewhere or heard maybe I think that Flamel loved opera and a had wife that was called Perenelle." If only he had him on one of his many chocolate frog cards. It wasn't the same when he was just mentioned on Dumbledore's card. Flamel deserved his own card since he too was an important person in history. Gabriela nodded at the young Gryffindor, pushing a piece of blonde hair behind her ear. "Good job, Mister Vance! Flamel did indeed love the opera, and he met his wife Perenelle at Beauxbatons as a student," she added. Quote: Originally Posted by hjhm Nicolas Flamel was a notable person in history that is for sure. She knew about him through her father who used to tell her facts about him, not that it was interesting for a 4 year old kid that dreams about seeing a unicorn someday. She twirled her fingers on the ends of her hair as she thought back on the things she has read about him. He did contribute a lot of stuff under alchemy and that he is also one of the first known practicing alchemists. "Flamel…" she paused for a bit with her hand up in the air already "he and his wife attempted to create the Philosopher's Stone and succeeded" she read in some articles that the man was quite obsessed with it but he lived a long time ago who knows what the real story is. "Pretty close, Miss Kim. Perenelle didn't really have much to do with the creation of the stone or the elixir - however, I'm sure she was there to provide lots of moral support as he worked," Gabi said with a smile at the Slytherin. Quote: Originally Posted by love-for-HP Blake having not really paid attention after first ... his mind had been drifting a lot lately .. what with all the girls in his life being strange. Took a deep breath and did his best to concentrate on the question at hand. Nicholas Flamel?? What did he know about him ... did he know anything? Raising his hand and taking a stab it it he said "He discovered the 12 uses of dragon's blood." He did right?? Now Blake couldn't remember to save his life .. was the Flamel or Dumbledore? Gabi smiled warmly at the young Slytherin who was so, SO close in his answer. "Not quite, Mister Ryan. You're thinking of Dumbledore, who worked closely with Flamel in alchemy. Dumbledore is created with the discovery of the uses of dragons blood," she corrected him before moving on. Quote: Originally Posted by Weasley174 Tom was struggling for an answer, because everyone was picking all the cools ones before he could come up with anything. He put up his hand and in a panic he suddenly said the first thing that came into his head. "His first name is Nicolas." Well...she HAD asked for facts about him. "That...is true, Mister Simpson," she nodded at him. Gryffindors sometimes, honestly... Quote: Originally Posted by ArianaBlack While Nina enjoyed history far more now that they had a ~~relatively~~ reasonable Professor teaching the class, she wasn't a fan of Professor Recard's enthusiasm. In all honesty, the Slytherin thought it to undermine the importance of the subject. She spared a glance over at Eiji to convey just as much before turning back to their Professor. Nicolas Flamel. Nina found herself perking up a little bit, her interest peaked. Alchemy was a subject she quite enjoyed immersing herself in when studying at the library and Flamel was the father of alchemy in some sense. All excitement died, however, when Claudine answered the question with an immature diss at Beauxbatons' expense. Nina was quite aware of the inexcusable behavior of those who attended her previous school when they were meant to be serving as hosts. But she still held Beauxbatons in high esteem. The acts of a few were not representative of all. Phoebe's comments were really the icing on top of the metaphorical cake, and Nina found herself wearing a deep frown as a result, looking between the two second years with a look drenched in annoyance. She took it in personal offense. Quote: Originally Posted by sweetpinkpixie He caught that glimpse of Nina's, yes, and returned one of his own. If only she knew what HE knew about this woman's history and connections with one of the most notorious organizations of the last few decades. It was probably for the best he not tell her, or anyone. No sense in causing unnecessary panic - Hogwarts students were perfectly capable of creating plenty of that without reason. Eiji always felt disinclined to answer these sorts of questions, though he couldn't help the snort that escaped him as several of his peers began Beauxbatons bashing. As salty as he was, there was no comparing the school of back then to the one they had experienced last term. Unless that banshee of a headmistress had somehow managed to brew her own Elixir of Life and was actually centuries old...but it was a thought he hardly allowed himself to entertain any further than that. Regardless, Eiji had studied Flamel and his contributions to alchemy in great length already...specifically those alchemy elements. It came with the territory of being an Alchemy student with Professor Noble. Perhaps that was what made him feel a little possessive over the information that he could share. It was nothing that would be found in just any books, nor was any of it Dark in nature. But having earned his place among the students in this prestigious subject...Eiji felt the want to keep some things privy to just that select group. It was silly and immature, but he didn't care. He supposed he could offer up some additional tidbit, but he soon found himself rolling his eyes a bit too much at Phoebe. Could she please not called the greatest alchemist of all time by calling him a jerk? Quote: Originally Posted by hermionesclone Lucas might've been focused on the image of the philosopher's stone on the board but he wasn't focused enough to ignore someone coming to sit near him. He would've liked to pretend he didn't notice or just smiled and left it at that but he knew he couldn't ignore, uh, his friend? Were they friends? "Hey, Carys!" Smile. He opened his mouth to ask her....... something. Anything. Something that wouldn't make the conversation awkward and was about the class. But it was at that moment that Carsyn and Cole joined her as well. Was this surprising? Well, not really. The twins were inseparable, weren't they? Before he could decide if he wanted to say anything ~~or shrink further down his seat and pretend to be invisible~~, someone else interrupted his train of thought. Mr Prefect?! Oh merlin. There was only one person who used that nickname for him and he was certain he would never grow used to it. "Hey, Cece!" Smile. She was the only one to call him the Prefect nickname, right? Yes? Lucas didn't know what he would think if he had to worry about it popping up from multiple people. Anxiety, you know? But that........ wasn't something to worry about now. Not when Recard had started talking to them about the Philosopher's Stone and Nicolas Flamel and what exactly they knew about him. .......... Well. There was quite a bit to know about him, wasn't there? And that was true in the number of answers that were being thrown out by the other students. It was enough to make feel less willing to give an answer of his own and just listen, instead. And take notes. Yeah. Merlin knows if he needed to remember any of- And then Kodee Chosen happened. And Lucas, being Lucas, buried his face in his hands, both from exasperation and to hide the look on his face. Don't laugh, don't laugh. Quote: Originally Posted by Hey Ju Sorcerer's Stone...? ........Why would anyone call it that? Weren't they all... sorcerers here? Catherine raised an eyebrow at that piece of information and chose not to write it down for a change because she deemed this to be utterly irrelevant ~~and stupid~~. Of course, Nicolas Flamel. Catherine wrote that bit of information down, because she had forgotten his name, to be quite honest. No wonder she hadn't been able to find the part of their textbook that talked about him. So instead of answering the question - as that wasn't something she did anyway, and she actually didn't know much about Mr Flamel - she went back to flipping through her book to try and find the correct session for that day's lesson, making sure to write down any more pieces of information some of her classmates were giving out in their answers. Unless they were wrong answers, like the one by that Slytherin boy, or stupid ones like that young Gryffindor boy's. She rolled her eyes and tried (but failed, since she didn't try very hard) to not frown and send the latter an annoyed look. Those who had chosen to keep quiet got casual glances from Gabriela, just to make sure they were still paying attention. She didn't mind at all when they didn't speak up, to be quite honest. Just because you didn't speak, didn't mean you weren't listening! Quote: Originally Posted by TakemetotheBurrow Aww, was Lucas okay? Cecelia, seeing the way he buried his face in his hands, patted the guy on the back. He must reaaaaally have liked Nicolas Flamel, huh? It was okay, Lucas, Flamel got to live a loooooooong life. Six HUNDRED years, apparently! WHO KNEW?! "Professor, he was the best ever alchemist or something, and alchemy is SUPER tricky, which probably meant Flamel was REALLY smart." She nodded her head seriously, offering the woman a smile. Cool fact, huh? Gabi chuckled a little at Cecelia's enthusiasm and nodded at her. "Flamel was a very gifted scholar, yes. Alchemy definitely requires a lot of dedication and time in order to succeed in it," she added. Quote: Originally Posted by LilFox06 Anyone who knew Valencia knew how much she loved historical figures. So, naturally, she had a comment. She raised her hand. "Flamel, who was a brilliant potioneer and alchemist, was also pretty well accomplished in a variety of subjects. He was a very talented wizard." Gabriela nodded at Valencia and waved her wand, adding her answer to the list she had been compiling on the board. "Yes, Flamel was gifted in many subjects, despite being most well known for the stone and elixir," she smiled at her before moving along. As each student answered, Gabi waved her wand and added the information they contributed to the blackboard. Soon, they had a very comprehensive list of facts about Flamel going - and when it became evident that no one else was going to speak up, she smiled at them all. "Very good, everyone! Flamel had a very long life and a very successful professional life as well. There are plenty of things to discuss when it comes to his accomplishments, but I'm going to give you a really brief overview," she explained. That was their cue to get ready to take notes, if they weren't already. "Flamel was born sometime in the 14th century - the exact date is not known," Gabi began. If she had unlimited time she would have gone off about how many events Flamel had been present for in his lifetime - the invention of the printing press, the Renaissance, the Black Plague - so many interesting events that he had had a front seat to! "As many of you mentioned, he was born in France and attended Beauxbatons, where he met his wife Perenelle." "Flamel's most notable achievements are the Philosopher's Stone and the Elixir of Life. However, it should also be noted that he was also skilled in other areas of magic - namely Defense Against the Dark Arts and Divination," Gabi paused here, giving them a few moments to write everything down. She loved history, but truly felt sorry for her kids and the hand cramps they inevitably had to deal with during her lectures. "One area of Flamel's life that is not usually discussed, but still extremely important, is his involvement in the Global Wizarding War and the fight against Gellert Grindelwald. Flamel aided Newt Scamander and his company in the 1920's, even allowing them to use his house in Paris as a safehouse. Since Flamel was going on 600 years old at this time, it's understandable that he and his wife decided to retire to Great Britain to live out the remainder of their years in peace," she continued. Another pause before she wrapped up her quick summation of his life. "Finally, we arrive at the end of Flamel's life - in 1992, the stone was destroyed after it became apparent that Lord Voldemort was after the immortality properties of the stone and the Elixir of Life," she explained. "Without the elixir to sustain them, Nicolas and Perenelle died peacefully a short time later." Gabi paused a bit longer here, waiting for everyone to finish their notes before she moved on to the next question. Meanwhile, she waved her wand a final time and a quick summation of their discussion thus far was displayed, in case they needed a recap. Quote: The Life of Nicolas Flamel -Nicolas Flamel was born sometime in the early 14th century in Paris, France and attended Beauxbatons -His most notable achievements where the creation of the Sorcerer Stone and the Elixir of Life. -He and his wife, Perenelle, lived until sometime in the 1990's, when the Sorcerers Stone was destroyed. This was brought about due to Voldemort's attempted theft of the stone - both were in their late 600's when they passed -Flamel also aided Newt Scamander and Albus Dumbledore in their fight against Grindelwald, allowing his home to be used as a safe haven for them in Paris. -He was a gifted wizard who excelled not only in alchemy and potions, but also in defense and divination "It should be noted that Flamel willingly allowed the stone to be destroyed, as some of you touched on in your answers. They took enough elixir to get their affairs in order, and then passed a few weeks later. My question to you is - why would Flamel allow the stone to be destroyed so easily? Why do you think he went along with Dumbledore when he suggested they destroy the stone?" she asked them. There were a few answers to the question, and she was curious to see how they interpreted the events that led to the end of Flamel's life. OOC: Y'all are doing great! Gabi is excited to see your answers to the next question - if you need help, shout it out in the title of your post! Class will commence in roughly 24 hours! __________________ I'm still standin'________________________________________ better than I ever did Lookin' like a true survivor_________________________________feelin' like a little kid