Copernicus Kettleburn wasn't surprised Truebridge wasn't in the classroom, but the note did make his eyebrows shoot up slightly. Interesting assignment. Interesting... and requiring other people to help. That was a sticking point.

He pulled out his books and notes and prepared for the rest of the class to show up. HURRYHURRYHURRY.

No Truebridge, yet there was a class?

Huh.

Brunette head tipped to one side, Willow focused her attention on the peculiar blackboard as she read the instructions, with the usual apathetic expression plastered on her face.

Lightly quirking both of her eyebrows, and thinking that she did no listen to Prefects, the seventh year claimed a seat close to Copernicus Kettleburn, and began to take out parchments and books. "Where is everyone?" Shows how much attention she paid to people - it'd taken her this long to figure out the classroom was basically empty. Irresponsible folk.

Well, she did not need them, for Willow Kovac operated alone.

And so she started her task.

"Taking their own sweet time, I guess," Copernicus suggested. He set out his quills and ink with precision, and then for good measure he shoved a rolled parchment at Willow without comment.

"So what are your thoughts on the Wizarding media? Should we start with propaganda?"

Chris Potter walked into the classroom and found that it was completely empty apart from two Ravenclaws. No wonder they were in first place in the House Point race. The Prefect walked in and took a seat. He smiled and waved to Copernicus and Willow. "So Wizarding media and popoganda?" he said coming closer to them. He decided they could work together since they were the only ones in here so far.

Fred entered the History of Magic classroom to see the professor was'nt there and strange instructions on the board and the few students there trying to work on it. He heard what his prefect asked and turned to him and asked, "Can I join you, I have some ideas on you're question.".

Intrigued and raising her eyebrows at Kettleburn, Willow unrolled the parchment and she stared at it. Then back at Copernicus and then back at the parchment. And she did that for about three minutes before realizing that he was not joking.

Without saying a word, Willow put it safely inside her bag, stood up, and pecked Copernicus on his forehead. Because she could, and because she was thanking him. What HAD she done to cause him to get this for her, she had no idea, but the least do she could do was to thank him, right?

Sitting down, she made a mental note to apoligize to her fellow Ravenclaw later for having being rude that day. Lucky kid - she'd get to hear her apologize and had received a peck from her. "Hmmm. Propaganda." Mused the Ravenclaw, pretending nothing had happened. Except she totally looked at the Gryffindor prefect who's name she'd forgotten and gave him a long and hard look.

If he said anything about it (Willow Kovac did NOT give kisses, after all, and this would never be mentioned again), the Gryffindor house would be in need of a new prefect next term. "My favourite method of propaganda is, I suppose, the Testimonial one. Independent folk are, after all, always looked up to. And trusted." And with that, she shrugged.

"Feel free," Indicated the Ravenclaw to the ... other kid. Stranger.

LouAnn finished off the last of her Cockroach Cluster then made her way into the classroom. She stopped in the front of the room to read the notice on the floating board of goo. Her task is to...come again? Whaa? Her task is to...revise for her exams on any...sheesh! Maybe she could luck out and pretty mimic Kettleburn. He usually had some really interesting things to say.

Shaking her head once again, LouAnn slid into a desk just opposite Chris Potter...on the other side of the room from Kettleburn. So as to not make things obvious, you know. Ohhh, what was she saying?! The professor would clearly know if she mimicked someone. Speaking of which, where was the professor? Shrugging, LouAnn tossed her bookbag to the floor then proceeded to do nothing but look around the room.

Dominic admittedly hadn't really been too focused in his classes this term; sure he'd been to them and done some of the homework, but considering it was his last year, he should have done better. Oh well...

Entering the History of Magic Classroom, the seventh year wondered for a moment if he ought to leave. First of all, there was no Truebridge. And second, the people in the room consisted of Willow Kovac, Copernicus Kettleburn, Chris Potter, and a Gryffindor Boy he did not know. Sure the last three weren't the problem, but Chris and Copernicus seemed to have decided they wanted to revise with Willow. And working with her was out of the question.

Sighing, he strode over instead two rows behind them and down a bit and took out his parchment. Hufflepuff needed the credit ... he'd just have to work quickly and efficiently as possible.

Chris stared for a split second as Willow kissed Cope on the forehead. He blinked and his mind went crasy for a second only for him to meet eyes with Kovac. He looked at her and then looked down as he sat down. He would never mention that event ever.

He smiled at the two of them and then joined in the conversation, "Willow I kind of agree with you on that one. When independent people, looked up to by many, voice their opinion about something others tend to believe them." he nodded making a note of it on a piece of parchment.

Chris looked up as a fellow fifth year Gryffindor walked in the room. Great he wasn't the only one anymore! "Hey Fred. Sure you can join us. I would love to hear your opinions on the subject." he nodded.

As soon as LouAnn walked into the room and sat in front of Chris he smiled so happily he was sure the room had just gotten brighter. He looked around quickly to see if anyone else had caught his little embarrising stare at LouAnn. He stopped on Willow. Maybe she wouldnt say anything if he kept quiet about the kissing thing?

"Hey LouAnn! Would you like to join in our conversation about types of Propoganda?"

Chris looked up as another person entered the room. It was Dom the only other Prefect so far to come. he would need some help if the class got out of hand and glad Dom was there. He smiled to him as he walked past and was going to offer him to join them but he knew how he felt about Willow. So he just waved to him quickly.

"Yeah, sure. The more the merrier," Copernicus gestured to the Gryffindors. He cast a glance toward Louann and Dom, a pensive frown crossing his face for just a moment. Had Dom just seen Willow kiss him? Because he didn't want his face punched in again this year if at all possible. "I figure we can all work together and get it done faster."

"I was actually thinking of specific examples in history that the media either directly or indirectly assisted Dark Wizards, and how the lesson on propaganda sort of plays into that. You know..." He chewed his lip pensively. "Sometimes, the sin of omission does just as much for the rise of a Dark Wizard as backing them openly. By denying the existence of an issue, the media allowed wizards such as Voldemort to gain a greater foothold."

"I agree!" LouAnn said, having absolutely no idea what Copernicus just said. She agreed, though, because...well, it sounded good to her. She slid into a desk near the assembled group, having decided it was no fun sitting on the other side of the room and watching everyone else discuss. "Can you...explain that again, please? You're saying that...umm...because the media didn't put any focus on the issues and existences of Dark Wizards, they more or less spoon fed an opportunity to those Dark Wizards?"

She crouched down in her desk and thought that one over. See, she knew Kettleburn always had some interesting thoughts. Now that she'd broken down what he said and actually figured out what it meant, she knew that she really did agree with him. "Do you think that greater...foothold?...was because the general public was less aware of what was going on? Simply because they didn't know those issues existed?"

"Sure. Think about it," Copernicus shrugged, happy Louann was taking an interest in his ideas. "The media refuses to report on what's going on, or they put a positive spin on everything and ignore the truth. Instead of giving people a chance to prepare themselves and to make choices to ensure their safety, they lull people into a false sense that all is well. Before you know it, the Dark Wizards have managed to cajole or manipulate the unaware public. Or worse, people realize the media is glossing over things and feel fearful because they don't know what is really going on. Fear of the unknown, you know?" He jotted some notes to himself.

Chris nodded in agreement. "Cope, LouAnn you are both right. Another thing this type of propoganda does is create denial in readers to the point the don't even recognize the dnager or its signs. Like when Voldemort was rising and the Dementor population left Azkaban and were breeding throughout Europe. People didn't believe what they were being told my Dumbledore or Harry Potter, so they were being attacked on the streets left and right. So I think denial would be a good one to add to the list." he nodded.

"Wow. I guess I've never really thought about it like that before now. I guess the media could also be scared that one of their own would become a target if they reported on what they knew. It's a safety net for them...ignoring certain issues, I mean," she said, tapping her chin as she spoke. LouAnn was actually proud of herself. She usually took forever and a day to catch on to the type of deep thinking going on in class today. She was actually figuring things out, though, and had points to contribute. Stranger things had happened. "From what I've been told, too, Dark Wizards have ways to make people from all walks of life do favors for them. Maybe the whole 'ignoring' deal is part of the favors. Or maybe Dark Wizards are part of the media. They've been known to creep up everywhere."

"Oh, yeah! That's right! Back in the mid-90's Potter was nearly shunned by everyone for speaking out on what ended up being the truth!" LouAnn remarked, getting all into the discussion. Now that she had things to contribute, she had a completely different outlook on class. "The paper printed what they wanted the public to know...not what the public should know. They wanted to save their face, regardless of what they were printing in their paper."

Okay, so that part was a work in progress, but you know what they say...man can not move mountains...or...well, they say something like that. In other words, LouAnn would get the notes down soon...ish.

"That's an interesting idea, Louann," Copernicus tapped his quill against the desk. "The media has the power to inform the public to view people. They can shape that person's public persona any way they want. From history, we can see that Harry Potter went from being poster child to criminal and insane, back to being a hero within a three or four year span. His message never changed. What changed was how the media portrayed him. Imagine the damage they could do if they were backing a Dark Wizard, portraying him and his cause as heroic and those who stood against him as tyrants and demons."

"Thats very true, propaganda can be quite scary but the thing to remember is the media personell will almost always side with those who have the power for whatever reason cause they don't want to be the odd one out putting themselves in danger of being targeted, criticized, or taken down. For that reason I don't think media is bad cause there is nothing anyone can do against those in power without putting themselves at risk. Sometimes those in power are good and what is true will reach the people, but if the people in power chose to ignore the truth or are bad people their agenda is what will make the news. Thus propaganda is'nt always bad, it just tells one side of a story in the perspective of the person in power and it depends on the kind of person they are whether it's good or bad and even thats up for personal opinion unless their is only one truth in the matter." Fred then waited to see what his classmates would say before he started his own notes."

Chris nodded as Fred spoke. When the boy was finished talking Chris spoke up. "Fred here, does have a good point. I agree that propoganda isn't always bad. It is sometimes the wish of those in charge to act as though nothing is wrong in order to keep peace and calm among the people. But see where that fails is they try and keep the people oblivious which is actually more harming than helping. So I would say a balance of truth and propoganda would have to work out best." Chris finished saying all that and then writing a part of it in his notes.

Youngest there... you'll be the youngest. The smallest. The teeeniest again.

Practically hyperventilating for no reason other than because he felt like he was a first year again, Jake peeked his head into the classroom before stepping inside, wondering if someone might try to make him leave. There was a note, and reading it made Jake's face fall a bit. From the gist of the note, it seemed like Truebridge wasn't going to turn up.

Not. Fair.

Sighing, Jake headed for a desk and eyed one of the books lying around, swinging his feet and on edge, ready to defend himself against anyone ready to turf him out.

All the time, his brain whirred.

Wizarding media... Dark wizards... Hrrmmm...

Nikki walked into the room, a small smile on her face. She was excited about the class, the last one had been fun, even if she had remained silent through out the whole thing. Her blue eyes drifted up to the chalkboard that floated above Truebridges desk. Instantly her smile faded...she had to take notes!

Walking over to a desk, Nikki pulled out a piece of parchment and a pen. Ok Nikki think........come on, its not that hard........... Urg! How was she supposed to know the connection between the wizarding media and dark wizards!

OHEEP. What an interesting assignment.

Let's see... she was a sixth year, which meant Livvy had neither OWLs nor NEWTs which meant she was a free bird this term! Yippee! And with that she sat down and pulled out a piece of parchment from her book bag. Was anyone going to join her group of awesomeness and freeness? It was a pity she couldn't work with Copernicus, Chris, and the lot. They were all studying for their OWLs and NEWTs.

Freeeeeddooommm... Now... where shall she start?

"I have to respectfully disagree with you on at least part of what you're saying. I definitely agree that propaganda itself is neither good nor bad, and the media shouldn't be good or bad. It is the duty of the media to report things as they exist, not to color it based on fear or personal interest. If they're intimidated by those in power, there's a problem with the system. I would hope someone would be brave enough to step forward and say something, much like Lovegood did for a while during the second rise of Voldemort."

...an interesting idea? "It is?" she asked, still sort of amazed that she'd come up with something worthy enough of a Ravenclaw's praise. "I mean, right, right. She nodded in reply to what he said about Harry Potter, the hero who's name had been run through the mud during his school years. "That's so true...about how the media's viewpoint changed, you know. They just sort of, well, jumped on the bandwagon. Whatever the popular opinion was ended up being their opinion, as well."

She nodded towards Fred and Chris, agreeing with what they had to say, as well. "I agree. It's like the media often time wants to ally themselves with the greater power just to better themselves, Fred. The Potter case is a prime example," she remarked. "Chris is right, as well. If the public is oblivious, they can easily fall victim to a number of different things." Deciding it'd be best to get at least something down on paper, she jotted down a few notes before speaking again.

"Oh, look what I found just the other day...," she said, digging through her bag and pulling out a crumpled picture.

Walking into class somewhat confidently, not really caring if anyone found problems with her dark blue suede heels, Adrienne glanced up to see that Professor Truebridge wasn't even in class. That made things a little different. Reading the note hovering in the globe thingy at the front of the room, she shrugged. Study time.

It appeared a group of NEWT and OWL students had already formed to work on their stuff, and she was neither. So off to the second part of the note. The connection between Wizarding media and dark wizards?, she thought with a shrug. She actually wasn't sure what that was, but at least they could work together, right? So off to find someone. Raising an eyebrow as she passed Dominic working conspicuously alone, a wry expression crossed her face before she simply kept walking. She couldn't work with him anyway, since he was a seventh year. So bugging him would have to wait. But then she saw Livvy sitting by herself, and grinned. Heading over, she slipped into the seat next to her housemate and took her own parchment out before swiveling to look at her. "So, you want to team up on this?," she asked with another smile. Especially remembering how Livvy had thought she was psychic or whatever earlier in term. This could get interesting.

Celandine was freaaaaaking out. She was LATE. She was never late! Ever! She ran in the door to the class like a whirlwind, eyes wide and an excuse ready on the tip of her tongue. But...

Oooh. Professor Truebridge wasn't there!

She relaxed and beamed around the class, then found a seat as near to the action as possible. She looked up a the globular board and read the instructions.

Well, she was sooo gonna do both options.

Celandine started a list for the OWL part, figuring that she should break down everything that was actually covered.

She eyed the other part that the 6th years and the lil smarty pants kids were supposed to do and tipped her head to one side.

"Oh!" She exclaimed, coming to a realisation. Should she share it? Cela scribbled something in her notes for now and peeked around the class.