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Apologies students but there was nothing out of the ordinary for today’s lesson and the classroom stood as it usually did, rows of desks and chairs facing the front where a large blackboard stood behind Professor Fergersnout’s own desk.
There is however a large cloth concealing something (or rather somethings) on the spare table by the door and each desk also holds a pot full of markers and gel pens instead of the rudimentary quill and ink well. It wouldn’t be a History of Magic lesson without a little creative activity.
“Come, come and find a seat” the smiling Professor Fergersnout greeted each student as she stood by the front door ready to close it when the clock struck 11am.
OOC: Welcome to History of Magic! Lesson will begin in around 12/18 hours. Please refresh yourselves with the rules before posting and most importantly have fun!
"I mean going way back, but the Longbottom family is on the list as well. And Neville was very nearly the "chosen one" and fought alone side Harry Potter all the way, even killed the snake right?" Greer hoped she was on the right tract anway, if she remember her history correcltywhich she almost always did.
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Days of Potter 2023:___________________________ Which Bertie Botts Flavour Are You? You are Honey!
~ Mrs. Steve Harrington ~ It be like that sometimes.
Nope, Ary was not going to let his learning be distracted. See, he was busy scribbling names as Fergersnout confirmed said names did in fact belong to The Sacred Twenty Eight. The tidbit about the Malfoy family that was mentioned left him rather intrigued and he made up his mind to research a little more on it. For now, the Slytherin worked on finishing up making the list of all the names. When it came to the questions, after some thought, he raised a hand. “Because those families disliked Muggles and Muggle-borns for whatever reason?” Ary shrugged. He couldn’t see a single logical reason why anyone would want to dislike them. “It can be problematic because if a member from a Pureblood family wants to marry a Muggle or Muggle-born, it would cause tension between that member and the rest of his or her family. Not to mention, that could fuel any dislike for Muggles and Muggle-borns further.”
But yes, the world had changed for the better, not only on this particular issue being discussed. His hand went up another time for the next question. “The Scamander family, since a few members have worked with magical creatures and were able to study them. The information they would have provided has helped us understand creatures a lot more.” Fantastic Beasts & Where to find them was a particularly helpful book to Ary.
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Text Cut: Responses
Quote:
Originally Posted by love-for-HP
"I mean going way back, but the Longbottom family is on the list as well. And Neville was very nearly the "chosen one" and fought alone side Harry Potter all the way, even killed the snake right?" Greer hoped she was on the right tract anway, if she remember her history correcltywhich she almost always did.
The Longbottoms were a perfectly acceptable answer and weren’t really that long ago when you considered the timescale of Wizarding history in general. “Fabulous, yes. The Longbottoms were revered for being highly prestigious aurors in their own right. Neville didn’t continue his parents career but certainly made a name for himself.”
Quote:
Originally Posted by FearlessLeader19
But yes, the world had changed for the better, not only on this particular issue being discussed. His hand went up another time for the next question. “The Scamander family, since a few members have worked with magical creatures and were able to study them. The information they would have provided has helped us understand creatures a lot more.” Fantastic Beasts & Where to find them was a particularly helpful book to Ary.
That was an answer that she was expecting to come up. “That’s right, the Scamanders are well known in the field of magizoology, although some members also worked as Aurors too. Quite ironically the elder Scamander members were not impressed by Newt’s choice in career, I bet we are all glad he didn’t listen.”
The professor waited to see whether anyone else would offer up an answer before reflecting on them herself. “One of the families that are on the list but have made a huge positive impact are the Ollivanders whose long history dates back to the creation of the wandmakers in 382 BC and who kept the tradition in the family until relatively recently,” she explained.
Professor Fergersnout could talk about famous witches and wizards for hours but time was slipping away from them and she refrained from mentioning any other names. “I want you to think of your own family now or if you’d prefer you can think of a famous family of your choice. We are shortly going to create our own family trees using our art supplies and these wooden trees” she pulled off the cloth from the table to reveal the blank templates for the students to use. “They don’t have to be overly detailed if you don’t know too much about your history. I have some books up here if you’d prefer to research a famous family instead and need some assistance. If you’d like to include a little information about your family history too you are welcome to do so. Come collect your trees and start your research first and then you can have a go with your projects. You have around 30 minutes or so to do this.” She waved her hands excitedly to indicate that they were free to start.
OOC: Now onto the main task! Feel free to get creative with this task, use graphics programmes or pen and paper or sites like family echo or just describe in your posts. All will be eligible for credit. You have around 48 hours for this.
Bathes in Maple Syrup | Dancing Lobster | Mrs. Charlie Weasley | Seneca's Beard | That's So Fetch
Gillyweed raised her hand again, this time with a different family in mind. "The Potter family has made a significant impact on the wizarding world, beyond just Harry Potter's story."
She continued, her voice gaining momentum. "If we look further back, Linfred of Stinchcombe, one of the Potters' ancestors, was a famous potioner whose remedies, like Skele-Gro and the Pepperup Potion, are still used today. Then there was Fleamont Potter, Harry's grandfather, revolutionized the magical industry with the invention of Sleekeazy's Hair Potion."
As Professor Fergersnout unveiled the wooden tree templates, her curiosity piqued even further. Family trees weren't something she often thought about, but the activity intrigued her. She stared at the blank template for a moment, considering her options.
The fourth year knew a little bit about her own family's history, particularly on her mother's side. She knew there was a former Hogwarts Herbology professor who went on the teach at the Wizarding Academy of Dramatic Arts. Realising that there were many gaps in her knowledge about her own family, she decided that she felt more drawn to researching a famous family for this activity.
Rising from her seat, Gillyweed made her way toward the stack of books, picking one that caught her eye. As she flipped through the pages, her mind drifted back to the Potters and the impact they had made through the generations. She felt compelled to further research the family she had already mentioned in class.
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Glad that Rowan seemed to understand, Ezra continued listening, but he didn't offer up an answer to the question of why the "purity" status thing was so important to the people who made the list. Others had covered the reasons well enough, so he didn't feel like there was much that needed to be added. History showed that magical ability was more complex and varied and had nothing to do with blood, even if history also showed that some people still clung to the idea that it did. Truly an awful way to live life.
For a moment though, he blanked on family names that weren't listed on the board for the next question. There were obviously tons, but for some reason nothing came to mind. Why was it that when you wanted to recall some important detail, that was the very moment your mind wiped every ounce of knowledge from your brain?
Maybe it was all the seventh year, future decisions stress that he tried to ignore getting to him.
He stared at a spot on the wall, trying to recall anything, but by the time his mind finally latched onto the name Dumbledore, who had obviously been one of many who were instrumental in defeated Voldemort way back then, the professor had continued on with the lesson.
Ah, so here was where the markers came in. Thankfully this seemed doable.
Whether Ezra wanted to use his own family for this or another family though? He picked up one of the markers, tapping it thoughtfully against his chin.
Hmm... He wasn't sure. It wouldn't be difficult to use his; he knew most of his relatives, but there were definitely a lot of them. Maybe it'd be easier to choose one of the famous ones?
"What are you guys doing for yours?" He directed the question at both Solomon and Rowan, curious.
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if we fall, we will fall together; and when we rise, we will rise together__________________♥♥♥♥ together we are dangerous; together with our differences; together we are bolder, braver, stronger
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SPOILER!!: catch up
Sydney almost smiled at the professor’s response, almost but not quite. That description of the portrait was a huge understatement! She listened intently, jotting down a few notes on the Sacred Twenty-eight, still unsure whether to be intrigued or appalled by the topic. Her ears perked up at the mention of the 1930s. Hmm… not one of the better things to come from her favorite era in history!
She considered the next set of questions carefully. The second half of the question was relatively easy. In addition to the points her older housemate (Gilly) made, historical precedent showed that anti-muggle ideology led to atrocities such as war and subjugation. Just look at Grindelwald, Voldemort, and Grindelwald 2.0 (no, she would not dignify a pathetic fanboy like Lucien Rosier by using his actual name!) That made her think… The Sacred Twenty-Eight was published before the full extent of those atrocities was known. That was forty-odd years before Voldemort’s rise to power and long before Grindelwald 2.0 existed. The OG Grindelwald was around at that time. Perhaps the list was written before his rise to power? For that matter, she wondered if Grindelwald’s rise to power might have inspired the list’s creation.
Lost in thought, Sydney remained silent for now. She listened, considering the next question. Did that mean another family on the Sacred Twenty-Eight or any family in the wizarding world that made a positive impact? If it was the latter, her thoughts immediately turned to a family that both satisfied her curiosity for dark secrets and wasn’t made up of pro-pureblood fanatics: the Dumbledores. Of course, there was former Hogwarts headmaster Albus Dumbeldore, but there were other members of that family she felt deserved credit. Like Aberforth, for his contributions to the Second Wizarding War.
Unsure whether or not her thoughts applied to the question, Sydney kept them to herself. She blinked, mildly intrigued by the activity instructions. Oh, a family tree. She was wondering how the art supplies were going to fit into the lesson. That might be fun, though the real question was whether to do her own family tree or one for a famous wizarding family. The former sounded a bit more fun - and much more original!
She retrieved a wooden tree and set it on the desk in front of her, examining it closely as she envisioned a concept. First of all, the tree was much too cutesy for her tastes. It had to go! She was thinking thorny, crawling vines instead. That would be easy enough to change… color the whole thing dark, and turn the leaves into thorns. She’d use silhouettes to represent her family members to give her “tree” a nice, old-timey feel… oh, and skulls for the family members who’d passed on!
With her concept in mind, Sydney set to work creating her family tree. After a quick glance at the wooden tree, she decided it would read better if she placed her family members in reverse-chronological order, with herself and her sisters at the top and the previous generations going farther down toward the trunk. The first part was easy. She added her name and birthdate, then those of her sisters. Ma and Mum went on the next branches down to the left and right, respectively.
She paused after adding her grandparents’ names on the following row of branches, flicking her quill back and forth. She knew when Grandpa George and Grandma Aurelie were born, and she knew Grandma Isadora’s dates of birth and death. She had no idea when Grandpa Johnny’s birthday was, though! All she knew about him was his name and the date and manner of his death. That would have to do for now!
Under Grandma Isadora’s branch, Sydney added her great-grandparents’ names. She couldn’t recall ever meeting them, but Ma talked about them all the time so they deserved to be on the “tree”. If only she knew anything about her other three sets of great-grandparents! Adding only one set made her tree look awfully lopsided, but she supposed there was nothing to be done for it. With her family members in their proper place on the tree, she set to work coloring the leaves to look like pointy thorns.
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Old voices I had thought long since dead whisper of another life I might have led If I could take that second chance, If I could make my life anew, If only dreams came true...
~ Mrs. Steve Harrington ~ It be like that sometimes.
For he activity, Ary opted to focus on his family. After all, his family too was making positive contributions to the wizarding world in some way or the other; it was a fact he was super proud of. Without further ado, he headed up to collect some art supplies and one of the fancy trees.
Back at his seat, the fourth year commenced the project. Since he didn’t have pictures of his family members, and he was a terrible artist {so there would be no attempts by him to draw said family members}, it was decided that he’d write their names on neatly cut strips of cardboard and paste them onto the tree.
Ary began with dad Adi’s side of the family. First, two even strips of cardboard were cut with scissors. For added attractiveness, each strip was bordered by a coloured marker. In black marker, he wrote the names ‘Indira Rehman {nee Rai}’ and ‘Saieed Rehman - d. 2101}’ - one name each on the strips. From papa Benny’s side, the same was repeated for two strips with the names ‘Cassiopeia Atreyu - d. 2107} and ‘Lukas Atreyu’. Using magic, he arranged his grandparents at the top of the tree in their respective pairs. Using a string of shiny gold thread, Indira’s and Saieed’s names were joined to represent them as a couple and the same was done for Cassiopeia and Lukas. Beside Saieed’s name, a tag labelled ‘Amir Rehman’ was added as the two were brothers.
The names ‘Aditya Atreyu-Rehman’ and ‘Benjamin Atreyu-Rehman’ were done on respective cardboard strips - basically the same steps were repeated as were done for the grandparents. Shiny green thread was used to show that the boys were the offspring of the respective couples then gold thread was used to signify the marriage between his fathers. Then came their four kiddos, as was reflected on bordered strips of cardboard: ‘Rajesh Atreyu-Rehman’, ‘Nadia Atreyu-Rehman’, ‘Dynah Atreyu-Rehman’ and ‘Aryan Atreyu-Rehman’. The names were connected to Adi’s and Benny’s. Just above Dy’s and Nads’, another name was added: 'Sanjana Rai' and her name was linked to the girls by shiny black thread. Sanjana happened to be Ary’s aunt, Adi’s cousin and the twins’ surrogate mother. Three more names were written onto cardboard: Bryony Paton, Mandrake Beerey and Tamara Bowen. Silver threads were used to link Bry’s and Drake’s names to his {silver meant they were dating} while Tamara’s name was linked to Dy’s.
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Gillyweed sat at her desk, the blank wooden family tree in front of her, and began carefully etching the name Linfred of Stinchcombe at the very top. She thought back to her earlier comments in class, recalling how Linfred, often referred to as 'The Potterer,' had been a famous potioner in the 12th century. She added a note beside his name: Invented the basis of Skele-Gro and Pepperup Potion. These potions had not only aided in countless medical situations but also laid the foundation for the Potter family's later fortune.
Beneath Linfred, she sketched in Hardwin Potter, who married a beautiful witch from the Peverell family. She knew that Hardwin's marriage to Iolanthe Peverell was significant because it connected the Potters to the Peverells' inheritance, including the fabled Cloak of Invisibility, a detail she jotted down beside his name.
As she continued down the tree, a large gap was made and Ralston and Abraham Potter were next to be added. Gillyweed relied on the text beside her as she knew little of these particular individuals and their achievements. However, she was pleasantly surprised to note that Ralston a member of the Wizengamot who firmly supported the International Statute of Wizarding Secrecy and Abraham was one of the original 12 Aurors in the United States.
When she reached Henry Potter, she paused to think more deeply. Henry served in the Wizengamont in the early 1900s and was was known for his outspoken pro-Muggle beliefs. She admired his bravery and marked his contribution as Publicly opposed Minister Evermonde for forbidding the aid of Muggles during World War I, Potter family not included in the Sacred 28, appreciating the strong sense of justice he had despite the climate of the times.
Then came Fleamont Potter. His invention of Sleekeazy's Hair Potion had revolutionized the cosmetic potion industry, nearly quadrupling the family’s wealth before he retired. Gillyweed noted beside his name: Inventor of Sleekeazy’s Hair Potion, quadrupled family fortune.
Smiling to herself, she moved on to James Potter, Fleamont's son. She knew James as a central figure in the First Wizarding War, a brave and talented wizard who had fought against Voldemort alongside his wife, Lily. Their tragic deaths at the hands of Voldemort while protecting their infant son filled her with a sense of loss. Beside James' name, she wrote: Member of the Order of the Phoenix, killed by Voldemort.
Now came Harry Potter, perhaps the most famous member of the family. Markers and gel pens moved quickly, noting down some of his key achievements: Chosen One, defeated Lord Voldemort, Head of the Auror Office, Head of Magical Law Enforcement.
Finally, she reached Harry's children, James, Albus, and Lily Potter, scrawling their names beneath Harry's with a light hand. She jotted down what little she knew of them from stories and newspaper clippings she had read prior. James Sirius Potter was mischievous like his namesake, Albus Severus Potter had made headlines for being placed in Slytherin House and for his close friendship with Scorpius Malfoy, and Lily Luna Potter was said to have inherited her mother's personality.
With much of the tree now filled out, Gilly marveled at how interconnected the Potters were with some of the most significant events in wizarding history. The Potters were more than just a famous family; they were a living testament to resilience, justice, and courage.
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It was really a good thing that Emma had been sitting quiet for the first question because she would have totallllyyy said the Potters as part of the sacred twenty-eight. Surely they were, weren't they?? She stared befuddled at the blackboard, as Professor F moved onto the importance how some of these pureblood families used it to keep their families 'pure'. "Probably problematic because it's limiting and quite frankly controlling. It's an outdated belief system that poses a danger to those of lesser status." As evidence by the recent third wizarding war that she was a mere young child. So she supposed it wasn't that outdated since as recently as a decade ago, some wizards still tried to assert their dominance.
The conversation shifted to families not listed to have achieved something positive. Dumbledores came to mind, as did McGonagall, well more specifically just Minerva as she wasn't she of the late professor's family history. Diggorys, perhaps?
Moving on it seemed they were going to be doing an art project with their family trees. She was aware of her immediate family, but some of the extended family and their connections was fuzzy enough that perhaps choosing one of the famous families to research might be easier. After all, it wasn't as if she could complete the assignment for homework after owling her parents for more details about her grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins and so on ....
Which famous family to choose though? Perhaps the Blacks would work well enough. There was likely to be adequate information found about them in one of Fergersnout's books, as one of the sacred twenty-eight.
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The most unfortunate thing, at least in Professor Fergersnout’s opinion, was that lessons were limited to the time slot available and right now they were rapidly approaching the turning of the hour. Wandering along the aisles to keep an eye on the students (and because she was nosey), the Professor made her way back to the front where she clapped her hands together loudly.
“Sadly that’s all we have time for in our activity. Your homework for this week will be to complete your family trees ready to present to the class during our first lesson of next week.” She waved her wand to levitate the pen pots to her desk, these things often had a habit of disappearing on her. “Now you’d better get going lest your next professor be annoyed at your tardiness.”
And with that class was dismissed.
OOC: Thank you for all your patience and enthusiasm, we appreciate it.
History of Magic : TBA 
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