Class 1, Segment A: Hexes and Jinxes and Curses, Oh My!
 

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The Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom was cold, dank and dimly lit by dreary light streaming through the windows, supplanted by a few sputtering candles hanging in sconces. Long, dark wood tables filled the room, each paired with two sturdy wooden stools and inkwells for the students' use. On the walls of the classroom were horrific moving pictures of people writhing in excruciating pain, as well as images of men and women suffering from cruel cursed deformities. On the bottom of each frame there was a small plaque indicating the spell that was depicted in the photograph.

At the front of the classroom there was a large, dusty chalkboard and a lectern. There was also a desk laden with ancient books and an assemblage of dark detectors whirring away busily.

The professor was not yet in the room. The charmed chalkboard contained a simple message:


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ooc: Please RP entering the class and I will bring in the Professor as soon as we have a fair amount of people in attendance. Please do not use this as a chat thread or I will delete your posts without further warning! This class session will be open until Monday evening (possibly Tuesday evening) EST to allow people of every time zone ample time to participate. :)

Chris Potter walked into the Defense Against the Dark Arts Classroom a little nervous. He had not enjoyed his last encounter with Professor Kazimeriz. He remembered it began with him giving him a gift of a small model dragon at the start of term feast and ended with him losing Gryffindor 5 points for attempted bribery and illegal exportation of creatures! He walked quietly into the class and chose a seat near the middle not wanting to be too close to the old professor. He looked around as he sat and noticed the Teacher wasn't here yet. He let out a sigh.

Jake entered the shudder-worthy classroom, trying to avoid looking at the walls where the icky pictures were. Thank Merlin the KaziMan hadn't arrived... Jake wasn't up to being eyed by a freakish old man.

But no! Jake had to start using the dude's proper name... KrazyKazi- NO! Professor Kazimeriz. He took a seat and waited.

Nathaniel walked into the classroom and found a open table in the back of the room. He set his backpack next to his seat and sat down. He was excited for DADA but had heard the Professor wasn't that nice.

Ana walked into the classroom. Ok... this is a little scary she thought seeing all the moving pictures. "Hello Professor" and she slowly walked and sat down in one of chair in the back of the room.

Cela entered the class, read the board and took a seat front and centre. She arranged her things and began to read over the notes she'd been making. She was so excited. Professor Kazimeriz was soooo distinguished!

As she walked into the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom, Anna wrapped her arms around her body, the cold temperatures already affecting her. Had she known it'd be this cold, she'd have brought a jacket...or a coat. Anna headed straight for a table towards the middle of the room, not having enough courage to sit any closer to this professor. She nervously glanced at a few of the pictures on the wall, her eyes growing wide when she realized what they were depicting. She turned her head back towards the chalkboard in the front of the room, read the message, and then sat quietly. No way was she going to chat in this man's class. She'd just sit quietly and await the moment she'd been dreading since the first day of school---Professor Kazimeriz's class.

She walked into class with a determined look on her face. She wasn't going to let that walking corpse get the better of her. She was a Greenwood and she was not going to be pushed around. She walked down the isle and found a seat next to Jake. "Hey Jake," she whispered.

Chris watched as Anna walked into the room he quietly whispered "Nervous?" Anna had been with him when the Old man had taken the points from him and he actually took 5 from her as well.

Defense Against the Dark Arts; the scariest subject he'd ever been to before. As Cam entered the classroom he tried to fold his arms because of how cold it was in the room. There was no professor yet, which was good because he heard how dark and evil the man was. Could have barely walked but extremely mean so he tried his best to have classroom etiquette today. What was his name again, Professor Kazi... Professor Krazi? Krazimirror. BLEH. He looked around to find a seat but only found much scarier stuff around the room.

Moving pictures... HORRIFYING moving pictures all over the room. There were men and women in torture, he felt like running to the pictures and banging his hands on it. And then he saw even more scarier pictures, so scary that he felt like ... like--He quickly covered his mouth, took a seat in the middle and waited for the professor to come in and begin the lesson.

Breaaaathe. You're in a happy place, in a place full of meadows and butterflies and flying hippos. You see yourself in the middle with a small smile--AND WHAT IS THAT?! AN OLD MAN, DRESSED IN LEOTARDS IS BEHIND YOU! FLEE. FLEEEE. He shuddered from his imaginary place and took a deep breath before looking down on his desk again, afraid to look up and see a horrifying picture in front of him.

Qaz entered and sat at one of the tables in the back. She was really looking forward to this class.

Seymour bounced into the classroom, beaming brightly at the mostly empty desks. The large DADA textbook clutched to the front of his robes, he wandered throughout the desks and chairs and plopped down at the very front of the classroom. He glanced around at the other students coming in, grinning excitedly. Sure, it was a bit dank, and just a tad bit disquieting-- but it was one of the most important classes taught at Hogwarts, and it seemed like it would be interesting. He eyed the old books on the desk a bit enviously, waiting for the class to begin.

Kayla made her way briskly into the DADA classroom and noticed immediately that the Professor was not there and she hid her disappointment. She thought Professor Kazimeriz was extremely cool and this was by far her favourite subject. She made her way to an empty seat, right behind Celandine, so that she could keep an eye on the younger girl.

Camira anxiously walked into the classroom, and quickly took a seat. She took out her usual materials and flipped through the book for the umpteenth time. She was going to prove that she deserved advanced projects. That was for sure.

Garret found himself holding the door open for Daphne, his, he swallowed miserably - girlfriend. It still shook him now, he still didn't know how it had happened. But here he was, actually arriving at a class early with Daphne in tow.

Hopefully KraziKaz would jinx him into a coma.

Jake nodded over at Cameron, giggling as he saw the bow stare down at the table. Awwww... bless.

"Hi Paris," Jake smiled, pulling out his book, ink and parchment, and preparing himself for meeting his doom the lesson. He'd be extra careful. The man obviously wasn't going to take points for no reason, if he acted proper-like, right?

Right?

This classroom was a perfect example of how she felt, thought Daphne as she walked past Garret reluctantly handing him a small in thanks for his act of chivalry sparked by the undying love he had proclaimed to her.

Daphne wondered if along with those poor people, hexed, tortured and deformed in Professor Kazimeriz' paintings would be a portrait of her, trying to run away from Garret.

"Thank you," she finally said to Garret while she truthfully wanted to tell him he was standing far too close to her for comfort. Re-adjusting the strap of her school bag on her shoulder, Daphne bit her lip and chose an empty seat.

What Garret really wanted to do was put himself directly in front of Kazimariz' way so that the man/monster could put him out of his misery. But what he actually did (cowardly Hufflepuff that he was turning out to be) was take the seat beside Daphne quietly.

He took out a piece of parchment, the textbook and a quill and waited. The low chatter around the class making the pronounced silence between Daphne and him even more obvious, and if possible, even more awkward.

Mariel walked tentatively into the classroom, determined to not let her first impression of Professor Kazimeriz deter her from doing well in his class. That's right, Kazimeriz. She had been practicing his name over and over to be sure she could pronounce it correctly before attending his class as she was sure he'd find it disrespectful if she didn't call him by his proper name.

Wishing she had brought her cloak as the room didn't seem much warmer than the crisp autumn air outdoors, the thirteen year old first glanced up at the front of the room to respectfully greet the professor. Finding that he wasn't in the classroom, she let out the breath that she had previously been unaware that she had been holding. Then the Ravenclaw girl glanced around the room looking for a suitable seat. She had intended on sitting front and center to show that she was willing and eager to learn, but upon seeing that those seats were unexpectedly taken, she settled for sitting behind the two Ravenclaw girls that were in the front row.

Mariel immediately pulled out her textbook and began skimming through the chapter she had already read in preparation for the class. Then she froze. What if the professor found her to be presumptuous in taking out her book before she was instructed to? Would he take points away from her again? She bit her lower lip as she contemplated putting her book away. But what if she did and he found her to be wasting valuable time in his classroom? She was completely unsure of what to do, but in the end decided she was being silly and kept her book where it was. A little extra reading couldn't hurt and it would distract her from the horrific pictures hung all over the room.

Cale walked into the classroom, instantly picking Anna out of the crowd and heading over to take a seat by her. He glanced around at the classroom and looked at the pictures on the wall, shuddering at the horror being displayed on each one. Plus, the room was FREEZING, and even though he was wearing the sweater vest portion of his uniform, he was still cold. With a sudden urge to dart out of the room, he sat down in a seat next to Anna. This professor wasn't even in the room yet and he was scaring Cale out of his mind!

Nathaniel saw Mariel walk into the cold room and he smiled at her. No use in talking. He didn't want points taken off.

The cold didn't affect her at all. Daphne sat stiffly on her chair as she began taking out a piece of parchment and her self-inking quill, just in case this was more of a theoretical class than a practical class. Running out of things to do, Daphne sat sideways, her back turned to Garret, and re-did her one-sided braid.

The air at the top of the stairs shimmered and suddenly Professor Kazimeriz was there, standing high above the students on the top landing of the stairs.

He was clad in black robes that accented his vulture-like stoop and his liver-spotted, arthritic claws clutched the silver head of his obsidian cane. He peered at the students, surveying them. His eyes narrowed as they rested for a moment on a student scrambling to collect his dropped supplies... then his eyes continued moving across the rows of seated students. At long last, he nodded once.

"Welcome to Defense Against the Dark Arts." Professor Kazimeriz addressed the students, his voice ringing clearly through the hall. "Toussaint. Yaxley. Morgan. Hopton. You will all stand, please."

Chris looked as the Professor asked those students he addressed to stand up. At least it wasn't him he thought gladly

Theo giggled as people were made to stand. He was glad he wasn't asked. He would've either done nothing, or set fire to someone.

She looked at the students he called to stand. They were crazy if they did. Although running targets were harder to hit. She sunk lower in her chair as she waited to see what he was going to do.

Taking pity on the little first year who looked like he was turning blue from the cold. Kayla reached down into her bag and pulled out a sweater. Lucky for him she was not into pink or anything and that this sweater was black. Wordlessly she handed him the sweater and turned back to the front.

Sam entered the room and let a confused expression fall onto her face. Hadn't this guy ever hear of light? Sheesh. She felt like lighting her wand to see where she was going. Taking a quick glance around the room, she recognized a little boy who was probably the only boy Katie got along with.

"Mind if I sit?" she asked him with a smile, and set her book bag down next to her. She then chuckled as William began rubbing his hands to get warmer. Slipping off her navy blue jacket, she offered it to him. "Here. You look cold." she teased.

As the professor asked for them the other four to stand, she looked on idly.

Mariel's eyes snapped to the figure who had just entered the room and who happened to be Professor Kazimeriz. She inwardly gasped as he called her name to rise, but she kept her expression calm. Was she in trouble already? Of course not, what could she have done? Nodding respectfully to the DADA professor, the young Ravenclaw rose from her seat and stood next to her chair.

Daphne nearly fell off her seat and lost her grace. Fingers tangled in her hair, she turned her face slowly at the Professor, paling in the process. Haphazardly, she finished her braid and stood up immediately. "Yes, sir."

Oh, Merlin. KraziKazi was so shimmery--and scary. Breathing heavily, she stiffened as she straightened her posture and absently pulled on the hem of her skirt to make sure it was wrinkle free.

Bwahahahahaaaa... Arise, fiends...

Actually... Jake didn't know if that was good or bad, but he waited and watched. This class might turn out cool.

Erm... in the figurative sense, as well as literally.

Garret felt chills run down his spine at the man's sudden appearance, then he called on the four who were to be today's sacrifices. Even if he didn't want to be with Daphne, he didn't want her... he swallowed... dead.

His hand found hers and he gripped to reassure her before he let go, giving her a little shove. He would be here for her.

Not.

Cale blinked as the Professor seemed to appear out of thin hair. Holy Merlin! This professor was by far one of the most intimidating teachers Cale had ever had. Except for the Ministry professors, but they were more annoying than intimidating. This guy just reminded him of...something creepy. Maybe it was his cane--Cale was afraid that if he annoyed the professor, he'd smack him with it or something.

Looking around as names were called, he let out a small sigh when he wasn't asked to stand. Cale hadn't been having the best of luck lately when it came to standing up in front of the class. Something embarrassing almost always happened to him.

Tanjiro winced as he heard the professor call out the names students. Most of them Slytherins... He sighed and smacked his head.

Lasca gave a start as Mariel was instructed to stand. She gave her friend an encouraging smile. She was excited to see what the Professor had in store. Everyone thought that the Professor was mean, but Lasca didn't think so.

Returning her attention to the Professor she waited to see what was in store for her fellow Ravenclaw.

Barry watched as those were asked to stand. Obviously his faveroutes. He wasn`t jealous not with this wethered thing but he felt sorry for Cela, Camira, Daphne and who? He watched.

Cam looked up to the stairs to see the evil (or so he thought) professor and screamed inside his mind at the sight of the old man. He didn't know why but this man looked super duper scary but all he could do was to continue folding his arm for warmth. Hearing the man's voice, he was shocked that such an old man could make such a big voice. Once the professor started to call out names he looked around the room to see who they were. There was Camira, but he didn't know anyone else from that group. Curious, he looked at the students who stood up and then back to the professor, wondering what he was going to do with them.

What are they, his test subjects?

Camira quickly stood up, giving the professor a slight bow, smirk firmly planted on face. Were they going to do a demonstration already? Oh, she hoped so. She was definitely ready.

William looked up as someone handed him a sweater. He smiled, nodding his thanks he turned back to the professor, a big scary man who definitely creeped him out.

William smiled as someone he recognized sat beside him. Nodding his head he gladly took the coat, whispering, "Thanks." in a slightly shaky voice before handing the sweater back to the other girl. "You might need it." he added whispering.

He turned back to the professor once more as he asked a few students to stand. Uh oh what was this now?

He was definitely scared.

Feeling a stronger chill come over her body, Anna shivered once again and glanced over at Cale, who'd thankfully sat down next to her. She sort of felt that with him by her side, nothing and no one could possibly hurt her. She smiled warmly at her boyfriend, still unable to talk but trying to convey the message to him that whatever it was they were about to endure, they'd endure it together. Before Anna could blink an eye, Professor Kazimeriz was standing before the class, eyeing each and every student. She gulped nervously and watched him, waiting patiently to hear what he'd have to say next. Seconds that felt more like hours ticked by, and finally the professor spoke to them. Upon hearing that she hadn't been called, Anna released a small breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding. Oh, thank Merlin. She was safe---for now.

Jake looked around, and smacked his head. Was it merely a coincidence that they were all female?

Theo had a sudden urge to pretend he was rowing down the Amazon and had found a lost tribe. Their leader being Kazimeriz. But he couldn't do it, or he would lose bazillions of points. Or get a detention.

Defense? I don't think so!

Lyra kept quiet in her seat as it was the best thing for her to do at this point. She was completely irrate with this professor and if he wanted respect, he needed to EARN it from her. She was past the point of being sweet and kind after what he did to her best friend.

And once again, he seemed to pick on students, pointing them out and making them stand. What was he going to do, turn them into a pig as well? She sat back and crossed her arms to her chest and waited.

A shimmer caught Seymour's eye and he instinctively looked up. His eyes widened as the professor just suddenly appeared-- had he been there the whole time, or had he just not been paying attention very well? He squinted a bit in the dimly lit classroom, trying to make out the professor's face, and recoiled ever so slightly. He was the same professor who had helped him in the corridor that one day-- and had helped him with Anna-- but the lighting of the sconces and candles made him look even older. Almost like he'd just aged thirty years over the last week. What was he, the Crypt Keeper's father?

As the professor called several names, including those of Cela and Camira, he tilted his head slightly. The class had barely started... and they were already being called up? Were they just that good?

Theo started humming and mumbling to himself. It was the tune of "Following the Leader". The teacher hadn't required the attention so the song got it. He hummed and swayed, waiting for any kind of involvement in the class.

Twilight watched as the professor appeared. She had already been waiting all week for class. Her grandfather had such a respect of DADA that she was eager to learn everything about it.

She looked over at Theo. Was he crazy? why was he drawing attention to himself. Did he want to make himself a target? Well it was his funeral, she thought to herself as she picked at the blue nail polish on her fingers.

Daniel was startled. He thought he was one of the people who were called by the Professor. Then he looked around. With a sigh of relief, he remembered that he was not one of the people who were mentioned. But, why were they called? he wondered. He look back at the Professor's table and waited for something to happen.

"Toussaint. Yaxley. Morgan... You may each take 3 points for your respective houses for studying, showing wise use of your idle time. As for you, Hopton... You are in my classroom, not Madame Primpernelle's beauty shop. Three points." He smiled his vulpine, livery smile at Camira. "And Yaxley? Remove that smirk from your face. Now... let us begin."

"In my class-- and Defense Against the Dark Arts as a whole -- you make assumptions at your own peril. Being inattentive or making assumptions can. be. dangerous... Even... fatal." He slowly made his way down the steep flight of stone steps, leaning heavily on his cane. He shuffled over to the lectern and leaned upon it with one elbow. "Was I here before you arrived, perhaps under an invisibility charm or cloak? Or did I arrive after you? Is there, perhaps, someone following you in the halls, Miss Greingoth, invisible but watching your every move?" He eyed Greingoth, raising an eyebrow. He looked to several of the other students. "Or seated beside you now,is there perhaps a ghost or an invisible wizard?" He paused and glared at Newtington. "Newtington, if you do not stop that infernal humming you will be silenced for the duration of this class.I will have focus.""

"The rules of my class are simple: behave with respect and decorum. Follow my instructions, make no assumptions and pay attention. Failure to do so will cost you dearly." He surveyed the room. "I do not reward students for being the fastest to answer, nor for shouting out an answer copied from a classmate or text. You will only be rewarded for focused participation and effort, as well as creative thinking, for an agile, focused mind is necessary for survival when confronted with the dark arts. This is not a game, and I will not tolerate students who treat the subject lightly."

He glanced around the room. "Who can tell me what the single most important tool is in defense against the dark arts?"

Theo's bottom lip wobbled as the Professor shouted at him. He was only using his time wisely. Just cos the Professor didn't like the tune. He stopped humming. Instead he listened to it in his head. Still bobbing along to it. The Professor's question completely lost.

Very quietly Twilight took out her quill parchment and books. She sat patiently waiting for the Professor to continue, She looked at the students called and hoped they were not worried as some of them looked uneasy.

THE professor commanded respect not only for his age, but Grandfather spoke highly of him, she wondered how it was he didn't have his own textbook. But then why reinvent the wheel if already done. She would have to look in the library and see if he had written anything, he had an air of so much knowledge, she was happy he had decided to teach her this year.

Garret bit the inside of his cheek from blurting out an answer just for the sake of giving an answer. And he wasn't all that sure about the wisdom of drawing KraziKazi's attention to him when there was so much fault to be found. It was bad enough he had taken points from Perfect Little Miss Priss, imagine what damage he could do to Hufflepuff if Garret even so much as breathed wrong!

Which reminded him: he forced his breath to come out in even, noiseless puffs.

Cam raised his hand. "A wand?"

Camira wasn’t sure if she was allowed to answer or if he was talking to the rest of the class. Oh well. She raised her hand, making sure to remove the smirk from her face and instead put on a ‘business polite’ expression. “I would say that the single most important tool in Defense Against the Dark Arts is one’s knowledgeable mind. A wand is useless if there is no knowledge to use it. Conversely, one with immense knowledge and skill have no need for a wand or even a voice. They would also have the ability to learn how to develop certain necessary skills. But I digress.”

Kayla raised her hand. "I think the most important thing would be knowledge. To know your spells and creatures, so that you always know what you are up against."

Twilight listened attentively to his every word. SLowly she shyly raised her hand," Always to be aware of your surroundings Professor."

Jake raised his hand. "Sir, your mind, or more your subconscious mind?" Well, it was true. You had to have your wits about you. If you didn't have a wand, you would instinctively run. "Like, instinct."

It wasn't till after he answered that he thought of 'wand'. D'oh!!!!! At least this Professor seemed okay, with the no assumpions thing.

Flushing, Daphne tried to keep her breathing in check. Obviously, Kazimeriz didn't fool around nor appreciate any behavior of the sort. He hadn't ordered them to sit again and Miss Hopton didn't dare make conclusions. In fact, she wasn't even sure if they were allowed to answer.

Although, two answers did cross her mind. A witch's (or wizard's) most importantly tools was her brain and her wand. One without the other just didn't function.

Daniel almost lost his seat from the words of his old Professor. He was not expecting this class can be so grave as a war. He inhaled and exhaled to make composure of himself. He attentively listened and thinks to himself.

He listened to the professor muttering a question. He closed his eyes and think of an answer and slowly, very slowly raised his hands.

He then hopes the professor sees him.

"Sir, please. The determination and will to live are the most powerful tools in Defense Against the Dark Arts. And also his wand." spoken shyly by Daniel

Seymour smiled as Camira and Cela were awarded points, before class had really even started-- apparently they were that good. He rocked back and forth in his chair for a moment, considering the professor's question carefully. Glancing down at his notes, his hand shot up. "In a general sense, I would have to say magic, sir. But more importantly, I... I think you would need a keen and alert mind... an awareness of your surroundings, sir," he squeaked, fiddling nervously with his quill.

Poor William was scared out of wits. This dude really needed to chill! Some lights would be nice! Setting a hand on the first year's shoulder she gave him a reassuring squeeze, before raising her hand. "Could it be perhaps a wand and knowledge, sir?" she gave it a shot at least.

Lasca raised her hand. "Sir, perhaps intuition. Without it, knowledge is useless." This was something her father had always believed. That and always being on alert. She glanced beside her and gave Mariel and small smile.

The young Ravenclaw was intensely pleased that her friend had not gotten in trouble. Returning her attention back to the Professor, she wondered if her answer or if anyone else's had been what he was looking for.

"Very good. One point for everyone who attempted an answer. Many of you answered correctly, or somewhat so: quite simply, your focused, aware mind is the most important tool in defense against the dark arts. You must be completely aware of yourself and your surroundings at all times, with your senses fully engaged." He paused. "Ladies, you may be seated."

He glanced around the classroom and then pulled out his wand quickly and waved it. Instantly, the drapes flew shut and the candles were snuffed, throwing the room into total darkness. "Now then. I would like you to think about your surroundings. Who is seated behind you? In front of you? On either side? Do you know? Are you certain?" He paused to give them time to reflect in the cold darkness.

Quickly, Daphne took a seat. She didn't bother looking over at who was on her side. She knew perfectly well who it was and it roused a scowl from her. She would give her left toe to make Garret disappear at the moment. What a lousy unwanted boyfriend he was.

Daniel, in spite of the darkness of the room closed his eyes. He felt the cold room and sighed. Who were behind me? In front of me? Most importantly who is at my side? He started to put his senses, aside from the visual sense, in great heightened alert. He started to hear almost every breathe in the room. He thought he feels every movement made in that room.

He inhaled and exhaled and opened his eyes.

Erm... oh crap!

Well... Paris is to the side... Cameron is, somewhere over there, I think... so I should be safe from his new-fangled wand 'skills'...

There are... big people here? BLAH!!!!!

Jake remembered sitting by the side of the room, at the front, so... he just needed to know who was behind him. Eh... it was kinda unnerving to not know. Jake wasn't scared of the dark, per say, but more what he couldn't see.

Gulp.

Camira blinked a bit. Sit back down? Well, that was strange. Why had he made them stand just to sit back down? Maybe it was senility. She wasn’t about to question him and so she sat down quickly.

Her eyes widened in surprise as the room went completely dark. And if that wasn’t bad enough, his words were freaking her out. Not that she thought any of her classmates would do anything to her, they knew better, but it was still a bit disturbing. And she really had no idea who she was sitting next to.

She willed her eyes to focus in the dark, ears opened for any type of sound. Her classmates might not do anything to her, but he was a different story. She had no reason to trust him. And he did seem a bit cracked. She gripped her wand tightly and waited. She wasn’t really sure for what, but hopefully she would be ready.

Holy canaries!! No points docked!? And wait, did Kazikrakiloo just give him one point?! Sure it wasn't quite a lot, but it was enough to satiate Dominic for the time being. To at least help him to breath easier and sleep at night to know that the crazy ancient one didn't hate him. At least not too much.

But then he pulled out his wand and the fifth year sat up straighter - if that were even possible. Still, the ancient one with a wand scared him. Wasn't there like an age or wrinkle limit on who could use a wand? Probably not.

Oh. Total darkness. This was not good and even though Krazi had given him one point, Dominic still was weary over his trust. Biting his lip as he shivered ever so subtly, he tried to recall who was sitting in proximity to him. Only thing he knew for certain was that he didn't think anyone was behind him; at least he hoped not, since he had skillfully chosen a seat in the back row. Anything else though - that was indeed a mystery.

Cam was at least relieved to have gotten one point for attempting to answer the question, even if it wasn't right. Just when he was going to take out a quill for note-taking, darkness suddenly surrounded everyone. It was dark, he was super scared. The thought of flesh-eating ghosts and clowns and insects crawling on his legs and he didn't even know. Darkness. Darkness. His mind's worst enemy, he wondered if some creature would suddenly go on his head. The professor did have a point, but this was pushing the freakiness level.

"HEEEEHUUUHEEEEHUUUHEEE," he was heavily breathing and then stopped by putting his hands over his mouth again. Remember, you are in a happy place. A man in leotards is behind you, it's Professor Kazimeriz! Then he could have possibly screamed but luckily his hands were in the way so it turned out to be a "MMMMRMM" to other people.

Turning around, he heard people moving. Heeeehuuuheee... I think I see dead people.

Kayla knew that Celandine was right in front of her because she had made a point of sitting behind her. Tobi was seated next to Cela and William, she thought his name was seated beside Kayla on her right because she had given him her sweater but she had no idea was behind her and she knew that was a crucial mistake right there. As to who was on her other side she had no idea of that either. Crap! Nice one Winters, had you not learnt anything from your grandmother, she shifted uncomfortably in her seat. Now that she was aware of someone sitting behind her and not knowing who it was made her uneasy.

Garret almost rolled his eyes, as he was all too aware of the fact that the person sitting beside him was Daphne Hopton. The girl he didn't want as a girlfriend but was forced to keep anyway.

His bright blue eyes swept over the classroom and he saw Cela, and Dominic, and Camira... some other people he recognized. He didn't want to look behind him for fear of finding a wrinkly old wizard staring right at him. He shuddered almost imperceptibly and shifted just a little closer to Daphne. She may be unwanted, but he would take her over KraziKazi anyday.

Lasca gave a nod when he gave out points to all those that answered. She listened intently as he explained the true answer. In a way most of them had been right. Then all of the sudden the room was plunged into darkness. Closing her eyes the young Ravenclaw focused on what the Professor had asked of them.

To be honest she wasn't sure who was behind her, but Mariel was beside her and on the other side was a wall. She thought for a second and remembered that the girl named Qaz was sitting behind her. The one that puts most of the announcements up on the board in the Common Room. She took a few more calming breaths and awaited Professor Kazimeriz's next move.

Crap! Where did the lights go! This dude was completely off his rocker! Was his lesson meant to freak everybody out? Good thing her little brother didn't come here yet. He would be so scared. Still holding onto William's shoulder, she hoped he would be alright with the transition. What a way to start a lesson.

Thinking over what Professor Kazimeriz said, she looked around her. Nope. Couldn't see a thing. Well she knew for a fact William was sitting beside her. Kazimeriz was standing about 10 feet away from her. She could've swore she had heard Anna and Cale somewhere to her left. A small hufflepuff first year was sitting close to her right. But she had no idea who was sitting behind her.

So...what was the question again? Were they supposed to be answering what was surrounding the aloud? Gwah! This sucked.

Twilight listened carefully. She didn't know the names but she knew the house for some of them. There was a Hufflepuff next to her and a Slytherin on the other side. She was in the back so no student was behind her. And a Ravenclaw in front of her. And then she listened into the room and smiled, her hearing was always good and better in the dark.

He moved stealthily as he gave them time to think, using the light from the hand of glory he had taken off his desk. He paused to cast a disillusionment charm on Addams, then made his way to the back of the class. He stood behind Dominic and restored the candlelight, lowering the hand of glory onto his shoulder as though patting a dear friend as he did. "Very good. Please look around and see how aware you were. Raise your hand if you knew all the students around you.And does anyone notice anything... amiss?"

"Well I believe you moved, sir." Sam retorted to his question. Wait. Was this a trick question? Was there something different? This was definitely a trick question. Dang! She was never good at observing her surroundings.

Jake looked around him and behind straight away. EEP! BIG SCARY RAVENCLAW!

Nope, hand stays down. DOWN I SAY. Jake bit his lip and resolved to forever look over his shoulder.

Shudder. That old man was creepy... and he was about to eat DonnyMick.

Before Dominic could realize it - he could hear the breathing of the ancient one walking around the room - and then the lights went back up to that familiar dim lighting that was able only via that of candlelight. But that wasn't what really got the fifth year all jumpy; it was the feeling of something weird and disembodied on his shoulder.

Twisted.

No one was behind him, right? Glancing to his left, he saw Willow and another 'claw whom he remembered played quidditch last term (and possibly this term as well). And to his right - a wall. And in front of him, Kayla Winters. He did technically know them all, even if he didn't know they were near him.

And behind him? Fully expecting to see no one, except a weird something on his shoulder that had fallen from the ceiling as asbestos would, the Hufflepuff's golden eyes nearly popped out of his head at the sight of KraziKaz standing there. Patting his shoulder like a -- a -- friend with a dead looking hand. Actually, it matched the rest of his body and if Dom hadn't known better, then he might have actually thought it WAS his hand!

"Cana-" the fifth year started, before regaining his wits about him. "Professor, sir, were you always behind me?" And anything 'amiss'?! What was this man playing at anyway!?

Lasca opened her eyes to find the lights restored. She heard the Professors voice from behind her and quickly checked. The only thing she hadn't paid attention to was who was in front of her. Grimacing at her mistake she glanced around to see if anyone had guessed their surroundings correctly.

Seymour shivered involuntarily as a cold, wet feeling spread over his head, down onto his shoulders, and to the bottom of his feet. He glanced around, looking for the source-- had someone just poured a bucket of ice water all over him? Or was this what it felt like when a dementor was nearby? Well, he certainly wasn't feeling as much dread and unhappiness that was often described...

He looked down at himself and his eyes grew wide-- well... where was he? Surely he was physically there? Had he just been killed, and he was hovering as a ghost? Or a soul? Was this what it was like to be DEAD? Oh, Merlin!

Kayla raised her hand. "Well sir I was correct that Celandine and Tobi were in front of me and William here was to my right. I honestly didn't know that Denton was behind me and that is scary in itself" she looked around the room for a moment. "And I do believe that the little slytherin boy I think his name is Seymour seems to have departed.."

Cam was still in his insane state, scared as always as he was quickly thinking of the horror that was going to happen to him. It was just too much, he couldn't blink. Blinking meant more darkness which meant it would be scarier. Once the professor asked the question, he did not raise his hand. It would have been impossible for him because of his small, small brain and his bad memory. And did KraziKazi say something amiss? He looked around, not really noticing any difference. Except for one thing, he was sure he'd seen another Slytherin boy in the classroom. He was just sure of it.

He opened his mouth to make a small gasp.

THE SLYTHERIN BOY WAS KIDNAPPED BY CLOWNS! NUUU. HIDE ME. Yes it was the clowns' evil plans. Maybe the professor was a clown since he obviously had something to do with it. He quickly put his feet off the ground and then looked everywhere.

Clowns, the most random thing he'd ever thought of, but it all seemed to fit in. Why else would the professsor like... be all mysterious and such. Turning to Kayla--AHA! So she knew it too. Slytherin boy abducted by clowns. I could see it in the Daily Prophet right now! He would be next, YES, he was a Slytherin too.