Truebridge listened carefully and nodded at Lina's points.

"Indeed there is more to a duel and knowledge of spells within a duel than merely attacking and defending, counter spells and dodging are very important; a moving target is always harder to hit."

"Under pressure. That is a technique that I found worked for me when I was your age. Of course... I was being tutored by Professor Kazimeriz at the time..." He paused. The old man was very good at providing stressful situations in which one risked various kinds of semi-permanent transfigurations being applied to their body if the failed or refused to attempt a thing entirely. "It is always good to look for new avenues of learning." He added, with a nod.

"And likewise, knowing the effects of the spell in question and being able to finitely control them is a benefit to focusing on master particular spells. Thank you for your opinion Miranda." Truebridge always preferred hearing personal opinions and answers with true thought behind them than a textbook spouted in his general direction.

"Advanced learning will always be available to those who are up to it." Ethan nodded, "For those who show that their basic knowledge is up to their year level standard." At least, he would always be willing to offer it, always had to those who'd asked.

"Ah yes. Learning by doing is often beneficial, certainly for those spells which have difficult or unnatural feeling incantations or wand movements. Thank you for sharing, Arya."

"Thank you Jake." Ethan answered gravely, once again appearing not even to notice the boy's stutter.

Right.

Truebridge had actually got far less... twitchy over touchy feely people since he'd been teaching at Hogwarts, but he simply was not equipped to deal with a thirteen (or so) year old being all... well he assumed it was affectionate, based on what he knew of females and their penchant for hugs and touching.

In any case, it was alarming.

"There are no longer dementors in Azkaban." He murmured and then pointed at a spot on the bleachers directly in front of him. "If you would move there, Neptune. Now." He paused and then added, "So... I can see you while I address the rest of the class." And be sure she wasn't going to prod at him.

He cleared his throat.

"As for your answer, Learning as much as you can as best you can is a valid point but you must start with the beginning and I mean to discover whether it is your opinion that the basics should be mastered first before moving on to more difficult magic, most of which can not be mastered without those foundation spells being a part of one's arsenal."

He watched the performance with a surprising amount of interest. Or not surprising for those who were aware of one of his former careers.

"When Duskurk taught me, it was cockroaches rather than spiders that he had us practice on. A few cockroaches lost their heads but they still ran around for weeks." He observed and made a mental note that that PAYCHECK should be... increased. Hazard bonuses and the like.

"Learning from the experience of others is a valid method." Truebridge latched onto that part of the answer and avoided the business with the journal. He did not wish to know. He glanced around and his eyes fixated on Raiden Kururugi. More importantly on the boy's badge. Yes.

"Since Neptune here has so very many... thoughts on the subject and you have nothing to say, perhaps you might sit with her and... ah... learn from her." Or the other way around, Truebridge hoped. He gestured for both of them to move to sit directly in front of him... but not too close. Hands to yourself, Neptune Bott.

"To increase your skills," He addressed the class, "One must have a foundation to build on. There are certain spells which are generally the first spells taught upon embarking on a magical education, none of which decrease in usefulness as more spells are added to your repertoire. Indeed, many spells are similar, occasionally more complex or stronger versions of these basic spells. Now some of you are still learning these basic spells, and even many of the older students may be yet to completely master them. What are some spells that might be considered foundation learning?"

Er.

Right. The professor was looking at Raiden now. The boy's face turned a bit red and his teeth dug into the corner of his lip. He hadn't done anything this time, it definitely was not him.

The man was assigning him to sit next to Neptune? Really? Had his lack of answering really been that bad? Surely not. He was probably... being placed next to her to keep her from going loony again. She seemed to like touching Professor Truebridge, and that seemed to put the man on edge.

"Er... right." The prefect collected his bag and, sending a glance to Lina, moved down to the spot the professor had indicated. As soon as he'd set his things down and gotten all... situated, the prefect raised his hand. "Uhm... Protego, sir? It's the most basic of defence spells."

Lina couldn't help glaring as Raiden was told to move to sit next to Neptune. Oh, wonderful. She knew it had nothing to do with Raiden learning, or he would still be sitting next to her. In fact, the very fact that he phrased it that way, she was done talking. Really, it was like saying Neptune was smarter than she was! Fine. If that's how he was going to take things, she was done talking for this class. She leaned back and looked up at the ceiling. Whatever.

Madiison had not been made to keep her emotions hidden. No, she had been made to express them. So when Neptune had so entertainingly imitated Professor Durskurk, a certain red head had a lot of trouble keeping her mouth shut so she would not burst out laughing.

INTERNAL GIGGLE.

In fact, so consumed was the girl in giggling internally, that she did not pay much attention to what Professor Truebridge was saying. Instead of listening to words, all Madiison could hear was BLAH BLAH BLAH. Buuuuuuuuut she did catch his question. Foundation learning spells?

OOOOH OOOH OOOOH! She knew one! "Stupefy?!" She stated!asked, clearly pleased with herself. Actually, she knew two. "Expelliarmus?"

BEAM.

Gold raised a hand. "The Disarming Charm, sir?" she suggested. "Expelliarmus, I mean." She would have mentioned the Shield Charm too, but Raiden was there, first. She paused for a second, then said,

"I think the stunner or the Body-Bind Curse ought to be a part of foundation learning too, sir. There are situations when it's a lot more important to make sure your opponent can not do anything, than to disarm him or her." She had, in her mind, not the average, planned duel, but something along the lines of personal safety.

"... and Rennervate."

Violet who was also sitting next to Lina sighed as Raiden moved. "I guees thats one Prefect I can't annoy in this class." she whispered to Lina. She did know the answer to the question Truebridge asked but decided not to answer.

Sidney listens carefully to what everyone says. She never realized how many spells she need to master before she can even know the basic. "Would the accio spell qualify for a defensive spell?"

"Protego, Expelliarmus, Stupefy, Rennervate..." Ethan agreed with those and nodded at the students as they suggested them. His eyes paused on Lina for a moment, clearly expecting an answer and then somewhat puzzled at not getting one from one of the brightest students in the class.

His attention still on Lina, Truebridge did not miss this and he frowned at Violet. He'd be watching her for the rest of the lesson. He was not willing to allow disrespect of prefects or of any student in his lessons.

"Accio qualifies but we weren't talking about defensive spells. Just of foundation spells, of which Accio certainly is one."

He flicked his wand and the answers the class gave began listing themselves.

"I'm quite sure you can come up with more."

Marie raised her hand, "Sir, what about Confundo?"

Yep, that sounded like a good one to her.

Ivory scrunched up her face in thinking.

The basics? As in the very foundations...as in spells others were based off of.

Raising her hand timidly, her face gave off question marks in an almost visible way.

"Sir, would 'Impedimenta' be one...and maybe disillusionment charms?"

Cedric raised his hand actively, "How about the Levitating Charm sir? Wingardium Leviosa I mean, it is definitely one of the fundamental spell a wizard or a witch must learn," he rebutted concisely.

Dueling, while probably more of an aggressive sort of sporting...thing, intrigued Phoebus. He liked the idea of it. Always had. So he was keen on learning anything he could, especially from Truebridge. While not especially close to the professor, he was glad he was back and at any rate preferred him over Duskurk for this sort of thing.

Raising a hand as he kept to his spot, Phoebus took a shot in the dark. Or not, considering what the spell he was about to suggest did when cast properly. " Going off of what Gold's said," he nodded in the direction of the Gryffindor and then looked back at Professor Truebridge. " I would say Immobulus could be considered a foundation type of spell. useful, if someone's coming after you." He said, shrugging a little.

The teacher... was looking... at her... She shifted uncomfortably. What did she want?! Oh yeah, they were in class and everything. And she hadn't said anything. With a little sigh she raised her hand. "Some basic spells learned as foundation spells include Wingardium Leviosa, a levitation spell, Alohomora, an unlocking spell, Aparecium, a version of revealing spell, and Petrificus Totalus, commonly known as the body-bind curse. Some of those have been said previously already. Later spells include Accio and Protego, which are listed, Riddikulus, and the well-known Expecto Patronum, which produces the patronus." She shrugged. "A common household one is Reparo."

There. She spoke.

Truebridge considered this and nodded. "Yes alright, I'll accept that one. Thank you Marie."

"Impedimenta is good, disillusionment spells are a tad advanced." Truebridge added the Impediment Jinx to the list.

"Excellent. Thank you Cedric." Truebridge nodded once, firmly. He'd been waiting for that one.

Hmm.

Ethan thought about it. "Alright, I suppose we can allow that one. Its third year standard, but a fairly simple charm to master."

He flicked his wand to add the answers given and then added a few more as Lina finally decided to speak. Well. Good, good. He nodded appreciatively. She had the right idea.

"As you see, not all of these are generally spells which are used in dueling situations. Transfiguration spells and charms however, should never be disregarded, often they will have a place in a duel and if those are your strengths you should certainly take advantage of them. You may make your own lists if you like, add spells you believe to be foundation learning, spells you believe are important for you to gain mastery of before moving on to more difficult magic."

He looked around at each of the students, eyes pausing here and there on those who weren't paying quite as much attention as he knew they could be.

"Naturally, practice is the best method of mastering a spell, regardless of how difficult it is. In some cases these are foundation spells because the incantations are simple, in other cases because the wand movements are, and of course the changes they may make tend not to be permanent or particularly debilitating. It is useful to make your own lists and try to judge for yourself whether or not you need to work harder on a particular spell. A second list of more advanced and dangerous spells is a good way of setting goals for yourself, where you can practice at your own pace and not concern yourself with the levels your classmates may be at. You are always more than welcome to use the arena for practicing, whether or not you have intention to duel. I will in future be sure to have an area of the arena set aside for individual practice.

As we are discussing spell knowledge, what spells can you think of that are not only more difficult to master, but far more dangerous, complicated or permanent?"

Cedric raised his hand once again, "I think that the unforgivable curses sir such as the Cruciatus curse, the Imperius curse and the most dangerous of all, Avada Kedavra would fall under that category."

Hmmm. Raiden raised his hand again, after thinking for a moment.

"Obliviate, sir. It's dangerous when executed by someone inept, and it can have permanent effects on a person's memory if one were to cast it without paying attention to what one were doing." He paused, biting the corner of his lip as a memory flooded his mind. "People can end up in St. Mungos for a long time, if not for the rest of their lives, and not even know their name."

More spells? Dangerous, complicated or permanent?!

Thinking cap on.

UMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM ....

The 'MMMMMMM' continued on in her head like a hum as she thought about these spells Professor Truebridge spoke of. "Well," She started, having only thought of three such spells -information overload did that to her- "There are the unforgivable curses."

OOH!

"And the patronus charm!"

From her position seated near Phoebus, Adrienne raised her hand. "Well, if you want more complicated, I would have to say Levicorpus should qualify. If just because you have to know how to cast nonverbals to really cast it correctly. Or, Sectumsempra. That one could qualify as all of the above, considering it's effects could be permanent if not found and healed in time," she answered, before trailing off.

Lina raised her hand, before she was looked at expectantly again. "Fiendfyre is certainly one, I would think. Or curses which do serious damage, as that damage cannot be completely healed magically, or sometimes at all."

Truebridge listened to the answers and nodded. "Yes while the unforgiveable curses indeed fit that criteria, they are almost the easy answer to give. I'd like for you to all think a little harder than that. Indeed most of the unforgiveables are far easier to cast than one might think, even if the effects they have are very serious and far reaching." He wrote the given answers up

"Just a note, those above the solid line, I do not ever wish to see cast by any of you or hear of it within the school grounds, that goes for any serious or dark curses you may come across and I have no doubt that many of you know one or two, even if you are unable to cast them yourselves."

He had added... a few... one that he himself had once cast as a student and lived to regret. Luckily for him he had not been expelled, merely punished severely by Valon Kazimeriz. Yes. Lucky.

"Of course there are a myriad more and plenty that fit between these two lists, but it is useful to think about the difficulty of a spell and be aware of your personal abilities and limitations in order to know how to challenge yourself and as a result, increase your skill level over all."

He gestured at the targets.

"So naturally, aside from my encouraging you to assess your existing knowledge so that you may better yourselves, there is more to it than simply knowing a spell or knowing of a spell and being able to cast a spell in a classroom environment. You need to be able to control the strength and the distance of your cast and of course, when your target is moving, you need to be able to anticipate where and how it is moving. So now we will discuss spell execution and I would like a few volunteers to stand up here on the dueling platform with me, the rest of you can watch and we shall discuss what you see when there are things to be seen." Truebridge stood himself and waited for volunteers to join him.

ooc: anyone who wishes to, just go ahead and post joining him, no need to wait until I acknowledge you, once I have a few I'll post again explaining what we are doing. If you don't wish to have your character volunteer, you won't be penalised for it, they are more than welcome to watch and learn by watching.

Okay, volunteers. Cedric stood up; he would want to volunteer of course. He then joined their professor on the dueling platform without having second thoughts. He sure knew what they were going to do, and that would be something about dueling. With a sleazy smile, he looked around the cozy room, wondering who would want to volunteer other than him.

Satisfaction seemed to wash over Madiison when she saw the spells she had mentioned up on the board. Yup, yup yup. She was a smart one. Some of the curses on the board gave her the creeps. Like the Unforgivables. And Sectumsempra. SHIIIIIIIVER. So she forced her blue gray eyes to stare at Expecto Patronum instead which filled her with a warm, fuzzy feeling.

The warm fuzzy feeling went away when Professor Truebridge started talking about those curses. Yuck. She was going to stay away from those. They were just ... so evil.

Hmmm?

Volunteers? MEEEEEEEEEEEE!

Di hopped off her chair and made her way to the dueling platform. This would be FUN.

Tiberius' arm twitched upward when Truebridge asked for volunteers, but he quickly pulled it down. He remembered what had happened the last time he volunteered for something about dueling.

Nope. No more volunteering. Tiberius sat on his hands.

And now they were getting to the fun part of class. Seeing how she was already sitting on edge of the platform, she simple did a backwards roll and stood up.

Still twirling her wand, she stood beside the rest of the vollunteers looking at Truebridge with a smile.

Yes....He wanted volunteers.

Marie was already sitting on the platform so all she had to do was stand up. "I want to help Sir," she said.

With wand in hand she stood there waiting for further instructions.