You always seat the lady before you seat yourself? But.. But what if there was loads of delicious looking food on the table?!? That was a difficult one. Hopefully the other etiquette things they were gonna learn would be easier than that one.

He turned to look at Will when the Prefect started this gigantic speech and gave a small nod at his words. The guy was speaking sense.

Jason quickly stands up.

Barry listened carefully he was sitting next to Will but no one had noticed he was there he smilled in Jason`s direction before looking back at Professer Braxton

Jose looked at the professor and waited to here what would happen.

"I never said we wouldn't be learning potions. I said I was required to teach you etiquette. The Ministry expects you to not only know the new curriculum on etiquette but, also enough to pass your exams and you will be more than prepared for potions if I have anything to say about it," he assured the class. "Now..."

Professor Branxton closed his eyes and shook his head as he waved his wand. Female dummies dressed for a ball appeared behind half the chairs at the tables. "There are your ladies," he said and moved around to the foot of the table where a likeness of Headmistress Rae-Branxton stood. "We are going to practice pulling out the chair and pushing it back in for them. You must be very careful. First, do not push the chair in so hard that it bruises them or pushes them into the table. Second, you must anticipate when they sit or she'll miss and you will have made you both look foolish. She will not be looking to see when you push the chair and neither will you communicate by voice. She is trusting that when she sits there will be a chair there. Let me demonstrate and then you may all practice with the charmed dummies."

Professor Branxton grasped the back of the chair at the foot of the table beside which stood the dummy. As soon as he pulled back the chair the dummy moved to stand with its stomach to the table and then began to sit. As soon s the dummy moved just the slightest bit, Professor Branxton tucked the chair in behind it so that the dummy sat primly in the chair. "You may begin," he said and gestured to the rest of the table as he walked back up the length of it to take his own seat.

This certainly was important to know. It did assure Antwone that chivalry still existed, but again, it was not why his parents and uncle sent him to this school.

With great resentment, he moved closer to the a female dummy and began pulling out a chair. The dummy nulled its way over to the front of the chair and as it began to make as though it were to sit, the young wizard scooted the chair underneath its knees. He had successfully made her sit but he had trouble with pushing the chair forward. Expecting the dummies to be light, he pushed with not much effort and the result was the chair angling down. The female dummy nearly fell forward into the table but Antwone stopped its downfall, blushing at his near failure. Again, this time with more caution, he pushed the chair forward and stood with his hands behind his back, ready for more instruction. Just go along with it ...

Jose saw the dummy at the seat and he genterly pushed it in for her as soon as she was sat down and confuble. He was sure the the professor would be happy with his effort as he had done it loads of time for his girlfriend when he had been to balls before.

Clifford groaned inwardly when a bazillion fake lady things were suddenly conjured up. They were scarily lifelike, and very very freaky. The way they looked at you ... Ack!

Giving his head a small shake, Clifford stepped forward to imitate what the professor had just shown them. It looked pretty simple to him. Pull the chair out, and then tuck it back in for the fake lady. Easy peasy lemon squeezy.

It seemed Professor Branxton was quite a pro at his though. Even the pulling out of the chair was a difficult task, and pulling it out too fast and too far, the scary fake lady missed the chair and ended up plonking herself down on the floor.

Oops?

Barry was careful not to be too fast or slow he pulled out the chair just faster then slow waited till the dummy had sat down. That was easy but pushing it in was harder the dummy`s were extremly heavy but he pushed it in al the same narrowly missing a leg.

Jason has always been a gentleman. He pulls the chair out slowly, then the lady would sit down and Jason then pulls the chair in as if the lady was sitting in a chair at a restaurant.

After watching Professor Branxton's display, Trey immediately traveled through his mind remembering all the parties he had attended and hosted with his mother and father. They always made him pull escort the older witches to their seats, and he'd had plenty of practice. Their wrinkly hands always reaching out to grab his cheeks and pinch pinch pinch away. He had come quite accustomed to being able to seat a lady with plenty of distractions so this would be no different. Trey approached the dummy by the long table, imaging it was Kaytee, not an old wrinkly witch. This was a much better thought. He took a hold of the top of the chair, looked towards the dummy and said "Your seat my lady." He pulled the chair out and perfectly placed it underneath the dummy as it began to sit, pushing towards the table. Wow why was he so nervous in doing that? He'd had done it hundreds of times before. Maybe the thought of Kaytee entering his mind during this lesson had gotten to him?

Shel was quite sure Professor Branxton meant well - and that was the only, only, only reason he went along with it all.

- The female dummy made him want to wince, for some reason.

Slow, carefully, he manoeuvred his way towards the dummy, grasping the back of a chair as the Professor had done. He was well-versed - if that term could be used in this context - with this kind of thing but, all the same, the class made him a nervous. Just a little, not much, but nervous all the same.

He had to cut back on the nervousness - that could not be allowed in a class, certainly! Shel tried to imagine Sarah in place of the dummy, only to fail spectacularly. All the same, he decided to derive as much fun from this whole exercise as he could.

"My lady," he said, sweeping the dummy a bow of sorts.

Not too gently - yes, it was the nervousness - he pulled back the chair, as instructed. The dummy stood, and he shrugged inwardly. So much for dummies and chairs and potions. This was quite silly, really. He watched the dummy begin to sit, tucking the chair in behind it. Now she - wait, wasn't she an it? Wow, this was confusing - sat there, prim and proper.

"Is this alright, Professor?" Shel asked politely.

Another bloody lesson about manners? If Borr's lesson hadn't already been enough. At least Flynn could place a bet on the fact Headmaster Branxton would not be instructing them to sit in bowls of water.

He wanted to do nothing more than complain about this sham, this con, this crap! They came to a school to become wizards and witches, not ladies and gentlemen. Considering Flynn was only eleven years old and hardly through puberty, this kind of thing was the last worry on his bloomin' mind.

He pulled back the chair, waited for his dummy to begin sitting and pushed it forward elegantly. He over emphasised his actions in mockery, simply to illustrate how ridiculous this lesson and this school was.

Remy listen and watched as Professor Branxton explained then demostrated the proper way to help a lady take her seat at a table. After Branxton signaled them, Remy stepped to his right. The moment he began to move the lady dummy began to move. He pulled the seat back and dummy moved between the chair and the table. Once she was pararell to the table the dummy began to sit and matching her speed Remy pushed the chair in under her. He then remained standing behind her chair, because Professor was not yet seated, himself. Remy turned his head to watch Branxton.

At home he was required to use two hands to seat the lady then using his left hand to pull our his own chair. Continuing to remain behind the lady chair was what his father taught him, so the boy held his spot waiting for the "host" to be seated. Plus he knew to take his seat from the right side. He hoped all this was right and he hoped his father really knew what he was talking about.

Will groaned inwardly. This was just silly! His pop was a Southern gentleman and his mum was a British lady. Of course he knew how to hold a chair for a lady. He stood up and pulled the chair back gently, taking care not to scraaaaape it too much on the floor, and waited. As the lady dummy started to sit, he scooted it back in. Only this charmed lady, she didn't move like real ladies did-- she had no actual thinkin' goin on in that brain of hers. What a... well, dummy. She sat too soon and even though Will scooted the chair back in she slid down a bit. He pinned her between the table and the chair quickly and she could sink no lower. If only the same could be said of their education system.

Miles stood and stared at the professor. What was he rambling on about. Etiquette? Surely potions was more important than this? Miles barely knew the word. Anyway, he did as he was told and walked up to the chair. He pulled it out for the .... fake girl, and she sat on it, thankgoodness she didn't fall over. Miles pushed it back in again, maybe a bit too much, but she wouldn't complain, she was a dummy. Mwahahaha.

Ray looked at the professor. He was a Hufflepuff, a real Hufflepuff and Hufflepuff were classy and elegant people. He got to a chair and pulled it gently it was the best work he had ever did. He waited for the dummy to approch and as soon as she started to sit Ray pushed the chair forward. And there it was, the dummy sat nice and easy on the chair he had offered.

"You'll have plenty of chances to correct your error if you didn't get it right on the first try. Now we'll practice pulling the chair out for them when they wish to stand. A gentleman never remains seated whilst a lady is still standing so, you should be aware of when your lady wishes to stand so that she will not have to push her chair out. You see her about to rise, then you rise and come to her assistance as soon as she takes her weight off the chair," Professor Branxton explained and then demonstrated as his dummy began to rise.

He took his weight off his chair and pushed it back without and scraping, then moved behind the dummy's chair and pulled it out for her. He repeated the seating process and sat down, gesturing for the class to begin.

Jose did what the Proffesor told and though that it was a good thing his dad has taught him how to do it. He did it perfectly the first time.

Will waited for the dummy to try to stand and then pulled out the chair for her as his pop had taught him through example. Years of example seemed to have little effect, however, and the dummy as dropped directly on her derrière! Thank goodness it wasn't a really lady, he thought as his ears turned pink with embarrassment. She'd probably start crying.

The minute he thought that, the dummy did, indeed, start to wail. Oh, no! No! Make her stop! Anything but that! I can't stand to see a woman -- even a dummy-- cry!!! He thought, panicking. He drew his wand and cast -- first silencio, then orchideous. The sounds stopped and the dummy was showered with a boquet of flowers as though she'd just won a beauty pageant or something.

There. Better. He hoped Professor Branxton hadn't seen that little display. He waited for the dummy to get up. She sat there, wailing silently. After a moment, he realized himself and offered her a hand. She stood. Whew. He helped her sit again, this time more successfully.

Being a gentleman was something of a pain. Why couldn't ladies pull out their own chairs? Chairs weren't that heavy!

Barry saw this was pointless he took the back of the chair and pulled and she got up then she sat down and Barry pushed her back in and got seated.

"Yes, sir," Shel said, listening intently to the Professor. He had already known most of this, but to act it out in classroom was quite an experience.

He paid attention to his dummy, who had now begun to rise. His lady. Grinning slightly at the thought, Shel gently pushed back his chair, making sure it did not scrape against the ground in the process. He moved towards the dummy, lightly pulling out her chair.

Wait. Her? Her chair? Personally, Shel was quite inclined to think of the dummy as an it. Yes, that was better. It made the whole thing feel less... creepy.

He repeated this twice, just to get the hang of it. He was beginning to feel less awkward, attending to a dummy, now. He knew he would never feel like it was a potions class, but the lesson was beginning to feel more fun.

Jason pulled the chair out carefully, just as if a real lady had been in the chiar. He had very good manners.

The young wizard rolled his eyes and pulled the chair out for his dummy as it began to rise. This was a lot more simple than before but he couldn't help but think, this is my year before OWLs and I'm learning chivalry.

Listening, from the seat he had just taken, Remy watched as the professor again demonstrated the proper maneuver. The dummy began to shift her weight the moment Branxton signaled the boys. Remy quietly exited his seat and assisted the dummy to stand. Since the dummy continued to stand so did Remy. He waited for futher instructions from the professor.