Woahhhh now that was A LOT of information. Kace kept scribbling while the professor was talking. He really knew this information plus this topic was interesting back in the times. People actually were fearful of witchcraft which kind of makes sense. It was a power they couldn't control. After Kace was done scribbling in his notebook, he finally rested and twisted his wrist. The professor was writing bullet points on the board.

Kace looked at the second bullet point and thought about that one. "If those that confessed to practicing witchcraft were spared their lives, why didn’t more people confess, whether it was true or not?" Kace thought about it and then came up with an idea. "Professor i think people didn't confess to practicing witchcraft because they were all living in fear. Fear was a huge issue. When people were seeing some of their own people being hung in public, it caused people to panic. It didn't matter if they were guilty or not. Some didn't want to leave their families behind or they wanted to live and find a way to stop this crime of hanging people." That was his best theory. It may be wrong but at least he tried.

Now see? Those were interesting questions, and Mo wriggled around in his seat as he considered them. All of them. Together at the same time. History of Magic was dead interesting, wasn't it?

Horrible, though, and Mo watched his classmates carefully to be sure no one else was going to have a meltdown. Good thing it was a Gryffindor (too bad it wasn't a Hufflepuff).

"As far as that second question, sir, about why Muggles wouldn't just confess to being witches... Muggles think about being a witch or wizard differently than we do. It wasn't just a free pass to getting out of jail. They wouldn't have just gone home and picked up their lives like nothing had ever happened. I think the community would have ostracized them for a confession, if not outright persecuted and harmed them. That confession would have followed them. And if they weren't magical, and there was this belief that the system worked and only the truly guilty were being punished, many of them may have thought they had a chance to be acquitted."

But that point sort of confused him. "One thing I don't get professor... if the community was so frightened of witches and wizards that they would arrest and imprison them on trumped up charges, why was a confession sufficient to let them be released? I would think that proof positive in the form of a confession would be even more dangerous. It's almost like... the confession and subsequent social stigmatization were the point all along."

Whooaaaa. This man liked to talk. A lot. Sophie tried to follow along with everything that was being said, but it was like trying to follow a snitch with your eyes. It was just way too fast. Finally, they reached the question part of the whole discussion, which caused Sophie to focus just a little harder.

Hmm...question two. That sounded the easiest to respond to. She raised her hand. "I think a lot of people didn't confess, because they were afraid of what people would think of them," she said. "I guess they thought dying was a lot better for them than confessing and having people think poorly of them afterwards."

Silly witches.

Ana raised her hand once more at these new questions. "I don't think that anyone can really be certain that no witches or wizards were executed. I suppose we like to think that none of us actually were, just in-case something was to happen again. But, I believe that doesn't take into consideration the fact that all people have different skill levels. If a witch was arrested without her wand and was incapable of wandless magic than how could we expect them to survive the gallows, and that isn't even considering the fact that they would actually need to know what spell to use to get away. Therefore, I think that it's quite possible that a few of the people accused were actually witches, and that some of them may have even died for it," Ana said sadly, hoping this would be a satisfactory answer for the first question.

"I read a play called the Crucible, and although I know that it's likely not 100 per cent accurate one of the leads, John Proctor, when given the chance to confess and have his life spared did just that, but they wanted them to sign documents as well and when faced with that John Proctor said, 'Because it is my name! Because I cannot have another in my life! Because I lie and sign myself to lies! Because I am not worth the dust on the feet of them that hang! How may I live without my name? I have given you my soul; leave me my name!'," Ana quoted, word perfect. "A persons good name in those days was one of the most important things they could have. If they confessed to something they were not guilty of they would lose that, and perhaps worse, they would be sinning. For these people it was considered better to go to the gallows with the truth on their lips than to live a life that was a lie." Ana could understand that, maybe she didn't completely agree with it, but she understood it. It was why that quote from the Crucible had stuck with her for so long.

"When it comes to getting rid of the statutes that protect us I don't think it should be done. Muggles may have been more entranced with magic than scared of it the past few centuries but that does not mean that things will stay that way. As long as Muggles think that they have cause to fear witchcraft we have cause to fear them. You only need to watch Muggle horror movies to see that they still haven't abandoned the idea that witches are evil, yes they have good witches, but as long as the image of the witch that only wants to do evil, a witch who has no redeeming qualities, remains prevalent, so too does their fear. Our powers may impress them at first, but eventually I believe they would come to fear them again, and then the hunts would begin all over again. Oh they wouldn't hang us or burn us these days, but they have other ways that they could do us a great deal of harm," Ana said solemnly, silently thinking that all those people who said that it would be completely safe for them to come out of hiding now were fools. Yes muggles were fascinated by the idea of witchcraft but she had no doubts that if they knew that witchcraft was actually real, and not just a silly superstition from ages long past, that fascination would once again turn into fear, or even jealousy, which could be their downfall.

Putting her hand down Ana began taking notes on what other students were saying, nearly knocking her ink pot off her desk again and yawning while doing so. She was much too tired for this. She was sure if it weren't for the fact that she found the trials interesting she would already be asleep at this point. She also hadn't missed Terry's pointed gaze and knew that she'd have to stay awake long enough to have a conversation with him once the lesson was over.

This professor talked a lot, but Beverly didn't mind. Everything that came out of his mouth sounded, oh so smart. After taking some notes, she clasped her hands in front of her, like the good girl she was, and listened to him summarize what her classmates said. Nice voice too, eh?

Ugh. Then he started asking questions. In fact, four questions. That was TOO much for her to answer in front of others. She wouldn't mind answering them all on parchment and handing it in. But talking? Uh...no.

She'd do one, but that was it.

Taking a deep breath and rubbing her hands against her lap - they grew clammy whenever she grew the nerve to speak up - Beverly raised her hand. "Um, answering the second question, it's possible more people didn't confess to witchcraft whether they did it or not because they were afraid." Fear did stuff to people. "Maybe they thought if they confessed to being magical they might not be believed in... A-Also, pride. Some could have been too prideful to admit to something so out of this world at that time and shame their family name."

She spoke quietly, but loud enough for the professor to hear and the students nearest to her. How she disliked talking in front of people she didn't know.

But them points. Gotta earn those.

Well, she couldn't be certain, Gwen supposed, but it seemed highly unlikely to her that real witches and wizards couldn't just...what was it they did again? Apparate? Why they couldn't just apparate from their jail cells. She raised her hand to ask just that question. "But muggle prisons can't hold witches and wizards, right?" And no wizard would help lock others up for the crime of having magic. That was like eating your own species or something. She was sure nobody would do that.

And the next question was obvious. "They didn't confess because witchcraft was thought of as the devils work." Gwen's religious opinions aside, nobody back then wanted to be associated with the man underground. "If they'd confessed, and been let out of jail, who's to say that the people of Salem wouldn't have killed them anyway?" And then there was the matter of honor, as brought up by John Proctor in the play.

As for the last one, Gwen silently resolved that if she were ever in trouble with muggles she would just come out and tell them she was a witch and if they didn't leave her alone they were going to get it. She was magical. They couldn't hurt her if they tried.

No dunking? Aww. Astrid somehow wished that happened. It would've been a fun way to get punished but like, eh... no. Anyway, at least she was able to share her idea. That was pretty much what mattered the most to her. She listened to her classmates share their answers too and quickly scribbled them down her parchments for future reference. Never know when the information about the Salem Witch Trials would come in handy, yeah?

For the next question... huh. They were given the chance to choose? Okay, cool. At least Astrid didn't have to be forced to answer something she didn't know. She chose the second question out of the four of them. The confessing part. Why didn't they just confess to save their lives? Good question, but Astrid had something to share. She raised her hand. "Personally, I wouldn't want to be thought of as something I'm not. I would definitely fight for my right, and that's probably what those people did. They know it's not true and it's awful to be labelled as something you're not." Yeah. Killing the accused would be the problem of the accusers. They just can't have enough, apparently. "Even if they did confess that they were witches, which might not have been true, the people will still find a way to get back to them. They're not entirely safe and they pretty much are just getting more into trouble." The people of Salem would probably still hunt them down and never rest until they could find justice for whatever happened to the girls in their village.

Mhm. Yeah. She was done.

Lex was rotating her neck a bit, feeling it ache some. Was this normal? It must have been something she did..or failed to do that Alice would most likely chastize her for if she went complaining. Pull it together Cambridge. Nothing's wrong with you. Perhaps she'd just been sleeping badly the past few nights? That usually left people sore, yes? Yes. That had to be it and the poor sleeping habits mixed in with OWLs stress brought on the grey hair. It was making perfect sense.

Lex tilted her head from one side to the next, ignoring the knees for a bit and certainly ignoring the Gryffindor that just cost them another five points. Merlin what was with these people? Was 2nd Place not enough to deter them from losing points? What pansy breaks down at the mention of witch hunts?

Finally, she felt some relief on her neck that turned her attention back to her knee and still far away from the Professor. Nothing personal. It was just history.

There was very little that she got from the discussion but noted the follow up discussion questions? With her hand raised, she gave it a bit more thought. "I really can't see any witches and wizards actually letting themselves get caught by a Muggle. Seriously. We have spells that prevent things like that and I bet a whole bunch more would have been added during that time just for that reason. 'Sides, how many witches do you know that would let themselves die without a fight? None of the reported executions had any magicky stuff that was hard to explain, just people dying like they normally do. As for not confessing, I think given the stigma of being a witch at that time, no one would really want to be labelled that way if they know they aren't. It's like calling a Gryffindor a Hufflepuff," insulting, "not to mention the reverse psychology involved. Confess and you're free to go home and have the snot beat out of you."

Ian listened with great interest as the professor summarized the thoughts of the class and then wondered which question to answer. He decided to go for one he thought he had some insight into.

Raising his hand, and then lowering it because of the pain in his right shoulder, he answered. Professor, I think that some would not confess because when you feel you are being wronged, especially when that wrong involves persecution, you refuse to give the satisfaction to those who think they have power. It is a way to show them that they may be able to take some things from you, but they can't take away everything. They can't take away what you know to be right. I've heard it said that 'in perfect love there is no fear'. If my family loves me and I know I'm right, I am less fearful.

He sat back and took a deep breath, as this answer took a little out of him and he decided to take it easy for a little while.

Delilah didn't like this topic. At all. It was too sad and distressing to even think about, really. But, she obviously wasn't going to say that aloud. She sighed to herself and gave the set of questions put forth by the Braith some deep thought.

"Well, professor to answer your first question, I don't think witches and wizards would have let themselves get caught? They could have easily apparated or used spells to protect themselves." And as for the question regarding the International Statue of Secrecy... ".... And professor, it needs to be well in place. In a world where muggles are still afraid of magic, I don't think the Statue should be lifted.. but that's just my point of view."

Bay thought about this for a second.. hmmm which one would he pick??? He picked the last selection. Raising his hand "Professor… I believe this did enact or prove that the International Statue of Secrecy was very needed.. and if were lifted.. I believe that It will happen again.. Muggles are not very good at change, they would see that were different and I think they would be afraid of that." he shook his head hoping it wasn't the true.

Alex listened to the discussion with interest. She found this whole topic fascinating, unpleasant, but fascinating. When the Professor posed his questions, she took a moment to ponder them. Deciding to address the fourth question, Alex raised her hand.

"I don't know if Witch hunts would happen again if the International Statute of Secrecy was lifted. However, I'm not sure I agree with my classmates who think everything would be rosy between muggles and the magical community. I think there is or would still be some fear and mistrust of witches and wizards. Yes we are cool, but people tend to fear the unknown and what they don't understand. Perhaps one day we will reach the point where the Statute will not be necessary, but I think that that will require considerable effort on both sides."

That was a lot of questions, and most of his classmates had already answered but West figured why not share his own opinions? He put his hand up.

"I think Wendelin the Weird is a good example of why most of us reckon that it was Muggles what got killed and not Witches... because anyone with real magic could stop themselves from being hurt, if they chose to. Except maybe if it was someone young that hadn't finished learning things, or someone who was really dependent on their wand and didn't have it anymore." Question one.

Question two: "I don't think there was any guarantee that the people that confessed would have their lives spared, seems like a pretty big risk to take only to end up with your name and reputation all smeared up. And also maybe some of the people might have been against the thought of magic themselves, because of their beliefs, so that's a pretty big reason for some muggles not to just say they were, I'm sure."

Aaaand three: "As for the differences with other worldwide stuff... I think part of what makes this one seem a big deal is on account of it happened to people and not to other magical beings." To be blunt about it. "I think there's been a lot of magical persecution but its usually of a smaller, more helpless group, or of a group that is contained enough that not everyone is effected. Like even when Muggleborns were at various points of history persecuted, purebloods and halfbloods were not, so it was easier to ignore for some people. I think when its a blanket situation, where everyone is at risk -witches, wizards, muggles and all- then it makes people sit up and take notice, which is why it was a catalyst for the statute."

He looked at the board for the final question, "As for the last question about if it could happen again, I think it'd be worse to be honest. And different. Muggle technology is closing the gap a lot. I think there'd be war. And a lot of death. It wouldn't be safe for anyone and especially not for the magical flora and fauna under our protection."

Lots of questions. West sat back and waited to hear other people's thoughts too.

This entire subject was pretty gruesome. Really interesting but yeah, not something she could talk about without feeling bad for anyone who had been directly involved back then. It must have been a terrifying time, especially for the witches and wizards.

As for the question she was asked, Ella thought for a moment or two while her classmates were offering suggestions and then answered, "I think, like Alice said, that some people didn't plead guilty for integrity reasons. They would rather die than live pretending to be something that they weren't."

After that, the blonde sat back and took notes, recording particularly interesting thoughts her classmates shared or questions that were sparked by those comments. She also chanced a glance over at Tobias, noting he wasn't his usual talkative self. He was okay, right?

She knew she had gone a bit overboard but it was how she felt. She really did not want to stay here any longer and possibly lose her house even more points because she was emotionally unstable at the moment. "I'm sorry about my outburst professor, I'll take my leave now." With that Oichi got up shakily and made her way toward the door and left.

Terry smiled politely at the Professor as he complimented him on his answer and then progressed on with the lesson. He jotted down a few basic background notes to the history of the trial and then glanced over the 4 questions they were to answer. He concentrated on the first three, thinking of basic points but it was the last one that really stood out for him.

It was quite a difficult and subjective question to answer, it depended on your outlook and whether you believed the statue was helping wizard kind or not, after all, some people put themselves above muggles and think it would be easy to control them. “I think it depends on the circumstance whether this is likely to happen again. The majority of Muggles don’t believe in magic and even if they were to see it happen before their eyes, they’d think it was a trick” he spoke. Like a really clever magician or special effects. There would always be the non-believers, people who tried to disbelieve what was before them using whatever they could think of. “However it really depends on what type of magic lifting the ban would bring out. If there are any dark wizards left out there..” and he was sure that there probably would be. “..then it is likely that the magical kind will start to get prosecuted. Only one person’s mistake or intention can affect the lives of everyone else. If a single muggle was to get hurt then justice would possibly mean that everyone and anyone who showed signs of magic could potentially be in danger. But then there was also the question of whether the muggles would be powerful enough in order to encapture them.

It was a morbid thought. The statue of secrecy was keeping both parties safe and everyone knew it. Whether they were put on trial like these people were was entirely unknown. They would probably be locked away somewhere, or experimented on. It was just awful thinking about it. And the Muggles were protected too. The statue meant that they couldn’t be targeted or accidentally hurt by rogue spells. In all honesty it was a good thing that it was put in place.

Words.

Words.

So very many words.

Tobias didn't quite realise it, but he'd gradually sort of faaaaaaaaded out a bit, and none of the guy's words were getting into his head. Toby didn't really like this sort of negative stuff, it didn't interest him, especially as it was so grim. And when stuff didn't interest him, his concentration was even harder to grasp.

And so it was that he had ended up sitting there, looking at the professor, sure, but with a glazed kind of look in his eyes. His fingers carried on tapping and playing with his quill and his knees jiggled up and down from his bouncy feet, but aside from that it was like the Hufflepuff had gone on vacation and left his body behind.

He finally snapped to when the questions were asked, and blinked and shook his head and tried super hard to bring himself back to the lesson. An answer. A better answer than before. He could do this.

Tobias raised his hand, but by this point he wasn't sure if anyone had mentioned what he was going to say. "I guess if you had a reputation for being a witch back then, and they spared your life because you admitted, you'd end up in prison anyway. Or, 'cause it was seen as such a bad thing, you'd be targetted in hate campaigns. People might make your life hell anyway."

See? Not happy.

The Hufflepuff looked down at his notes and... oh. He'd faded out, so his notes were all but non-existent. But Cutty was here, right? Yeah, he was over there. Toby would have to make do and ask his friend if he could look at the boy's notes later, especially if they had homework.

Marigold was liking this class! It was very interactive, compared to others. So she decided to focus on two of the questions and raised her hand.

"Real magical people could protect themselves and survive the burnings or other forms of execution, right?" she said in regards to the 'only muggles died' question. And then, "And I don't think people confessed because maybe they were unsure of how other people would view them if they confessed to being a witch?" Maybe?

*The trials were still a hot topic in the magical world. Rom knew a lot about the trials but up until now had just been listening and taking notes. The professors next questions really had him thinking. Raising his hand he put his thoughts in the mix.*
"From what I read a good amount that were burned happened to be young. They could have been muggle borns who did not know how to control their magic. So it is very possible that some real witches were killed."

Excited muggles Not witches? Well. They couldn't be too certain about that. "Well... surely some witches and wizards would be able to control their magic... and not do it around muggles." Which made sense. They weren't supposed to do magic around muggles. Not anymore anyway "Amd if they had magic...they could make the fire not hurt them?" She was sure a witch had done that. She'd read about it but she couldn't remember. She mused, before making another point. "It could be little kids...who don't know about their magic. But if they had magic parents...the parents should be more careful. We probably can't be sure if it was just muggles...." Not really. They weren't there when it happened.

Lucas thought for a moment and then put his hand up.

First question seemed like somewhere to start, considering he thought he knew some stuff about that.

"Well.. wouldn't witches and wizards kind of know how to kind of get themselves out of those situations? Like.. they could use magic and survive and then. Obviously we can't be certain, but the magical community would be a lot smaller. Like lots and lots of people died during the Witch Trials and a lot of it was like, uh, finger-pointing so it figures that at least some witches and wizards would have been rightfully accused but survived because they actually knew magic."

Unknown tended to scare most people... Sarah knew whatever the teacher was telling them, so no need to take notes are pay special attention.
The questions appeared on the board, Sarah looked at the first one and her hand shot up, "If they were real witches and wizards, they would not have beeen able to be killed through the muggle methods, unless they wanted to."
Sarah said.
The next question was more difficult.. from a moral standpoint, "First of all, the truth is important. It is terrible to lie... although, I don't know what I would do in their situation.. stand by my beliefs or lie... Perhaps even if they admitted to being witches, they would have poor quality of life anyway, forever ostrisised... I have heard people being of the opinion that one has to enjoy their whole life or there is no point of living.. not that I agree"

The next question.. "maybe it is one of the more famous witch trials? I mean Salem, Pendle.... these are ones that modern day muggles know about, so many years on, while others have been forgotten"

Now onto the last question, "I think by us being undercover, the general muggle population does not know that magic really exists and thus won't accuse muggles of being witches and have muggles lose their lives. They are still people after all, but they don't have our magical abilities to survive such a situation."

Okay, maybe this professor wasn't as bad as she'd thought. Considering that he was actually having them discuss the topic instead of just giving them a bunch of notes like other professors she'd had. Plus, he'd told off the incredibly rude girl who'd thought it was appropriate to have an outburst in the middle of class.

Anyway, Layla took down notes as Professor McCormack was speaking. Not that she really needed to, but she did want to seem like she was paying attention. Then they were being asked for their opinions. Which she had a few of. "Honestly, the way things were back then, if the accused had admitted to being a witch, they would have become the town pariah. No one would want anything to do with them and they would probably have been cast out by their own families. So it was better to tell the truth and go to jail or die than to lie and survive." Yep, grim stuff there. Made her glad she lived these days rather than back then.

And whaty what? There were people who wanted the Statue eliminated?! THAT'S CRAZY!!!! "If we abolished the Statue, the muggles would just end up coming after us again, for whatever nutty reason they could cook up. And their technology is way more advanced than what they had in the 1600's. Plus there's a lot more of them than us. I doubt that the wizarding world would survive something like that." Nope, it would be a nightmare.

Braith glanced over at Miss Paulidine and nodded at her words, appreciating the apology. And certainly, she was free to go without prejudice if she was unable to control her emotions. He had given her that option. With her leave, he turned his attention back to the rest of the class. They really were such an insightful group, far more than he would have thought entering the room today. He was fairly impressed with the discussion thus far and the gleam in his eye merely reflected his excitement for not only the subject but the thoughts it provoked.

And now to address the questions he posed to the class brought up by the discussion at hand. The first regarded exactly who had perished not only at the Salem Witch Trials but also any of the executions of supposed witches or wizards. This seemed like a popular question for the students to answer and they all had varying opinions though most still held to the idea that none of those caught, convicted, and executed were actually magical. It really was a dangerous thing to think in absolutes though and, while he would agree that the vast majority were indeed Muggles, he knew of several documented cases of successful executions of wizarding folk. Calling on each of those who raised hands, Braith listened carefully to all the answers, waiting to hear everyone until he commented, because really these were more opinion based questions and he was eager to hear what they thought and their reasoning.

“You’ve all raised some very good points,” Braith began, grinning a bit at the class, pleased with their line of thinking even if he didn’t agree with everyone 100%. “It is very likely that most of those accused, convicted, and ultimately killed for the allegation of witchcraft were Muggles for the reasons you’ve given – using their magic to get out of a sticky situation at some point in the process whether it be during their capture or impending execution. Several of you have brought up Wendelin the Weird who is probably one of the most famous examples of magical folk escaping impending doom brought on by persecution, though there are many records of others as well.” Yes, he was quite glad that she had been mentioned more than once, it would be a great segue very soon here.

“But as some of you have also said,” he added after a moment’s pause. “There are reasons that do make it possible that at least some of these poor souls could have been magical. Age or skill level could be a contributing factor. Or what if a witch or wizard was caught without their wand? Not everyone is skilled enough in wandless magic to escape peril.” Not really meaning to scare anyone, but being overly confident or dependent was often a mistake. He looked out at the class for a moment. How many of them here knew wandless magic? “Actually there are recorded instances of witches and wizards throughout history that have been punished capitally because of what they were. Not many, but there are some. One of your resident ghosts as a matter of fact, Sir Nicholas de Mimsy-Porpington? He was executed for performing magic.” His wand was taken from him at the time. It was too bad that he couldn’t locate him to speak to the class today, being busy planning pep rallies or whatever. Though it might have been too touchy a subject for him anyway.

And the second question he had posed to the class, the one about why more people did not confess if it meant their life was spared, proved to be another popular one as nearly everyone chose to answer it. Again Braith listened to all the answers the students wanted to contribute before commenting and he wasn’t surprised that most answers were very similar. “Very insightful everyone,” he nodded at the class. Really they were all correct in their thinking. “A person’s integrity is often more important than living a falsehood. And many of the Muggles in that time especially, as you’ve probably discovered, had a fear of magic being evil and did not want to be thought of that way. They would also be outcast among society, as many of you brought up, and others would likely take justice in their own hands.” Which was just as bad as being executed anyway. “And as Mr. Kildare and Mr. Summers pointed out, when one admitted to being a witch, they were expected to name other witches and oftentimes their families also ended up being accused.” Of course people would want to spare their loved ones from impending doom?

And Mr. Branxton had a question for him. He was hoping not to delve into religion but maybe that could not be helped to answer this. “They were not necessarily released, many were still kept imprisoned. But as colonial Massachusetts was a very religious society, they felt that once a witch or wizard confessed that his or her punishment was in the hands of a higher power. And in the case of Salem, it actually did seem to get to the point where people were being accused because another held a grudge against them for one reason or another, so yes, it could be said that social stigmatization was, in some instances, the point.”

Probably the most famous event of magical persecution, Braith would certainly agree with that statement. And Mr. Odessa came back with another intuitive observation. “Indeed,” Braith nodded. “Literally anyone was a target for persecution and really the magnitude of those accused to be potentially executed certainly got everyone’s attention.” Smart kid. And another avid nod towards the Ravenclaw prefect. Burning at the stake was another difference which raised another question, but a quick check of his watch told him he didn’t have time for further questions. Not if he wanted to teach them what he did.

Such intelligent children. Really. “So it seems that all of you that answered are in favor of the Statute, though there are some differing views on whether or not this would happen again.” He often had conflicting views himself, being Muggleborn but knew the Statute was for the best. “The International Statute of Secrecy has been put in place to not only protect our kind but Muggles as well, and yes, magical flora and fauna as well.” Another nod for Mr. Odessa. “You’ve all raised some excellent points about whether or not you think something like the Salem Witch Trials could happen again. And there really is no right or wrong answer at this point, more like open for debate.” And unfortunately there was no time for that today, maybe another time. Or maybe there should be a debate club instituted at this school.


“Excellent discussion today!” Could they tell how pleased he was with the class? “That concludes the lecture portion of the class.” Really, he’d love to discuss it more, but at the same time wouldn’t. His mouth was tired of talking. Besides, they were nearly out of time, not to mention he was hungry. “But I do always like to find a practical component from history to teach in my lessons, so we aren’t quite finished for the day.” In case anyone had their books in hand and sitting at the edge of their seat to bolt out of class. “However, there is an element of danger to it, so if there is anyone who cannot stay alert or keep their eyes open, they are free to go now without penalty.” Really, because he was not going to have any accidents because of carelessness. Have gave a pointed look at a few of the ones who had been yawning.

“For the rest of us, I would like to teach you the Flame-Freezing Charm. Many of you had brought up that particular charm earlier and I think we could benefit from learning it.” He slid off his desk and stood up. “We will be doing this outside however. I’d rather not burn down the classroom. Now.. if you’ll all follow me, we’ll be on the grounds near the Forbidden Forest.” What a fun name, that. And he headed out the door expecting them to follow if they wanted to learn the spell.


OOC: Such smart kiddies! We'd love it you'd post once more here first - leaving, final thoughts, complaining about how much he talks, etc. Then if your character is not too tired, feel free to post here. Or not. ;)

Interesting discussion was interesting and Ella had been listening carefully, her quill scribbling away when anything particularly interesting or new came up. The Professor seemed pretty pleased too which was sort of funny. Did he think they'd all be completely daft or something? Well, hopefully he didn't think so anymore if that had been his initial inclination.

...

Practical portion? GRIN! Ella liked this very much. The danger part raised her eyebrows a bit but still, her expression clearly read: Eager Badger. Plus the Flame-freezing charm was cool and going outside for lessons was always nice. Thumbs way up, Professor Mack. Nicknames were totally acceptable, yes?

And when it was time, the eighteen year old gather her things and headed after the man.