Dante still had regrets he did not get to know Professor D before classes start. He did it with Professor Q last term. Well maybe he was just lazy. He liked DADA though this class was looking really different today.

Maybe this was all a nightmare and he would make up and it will just be a normal quill and parchment lesson. Maybe

"Hello Professor D"

He took a seat next to Hugo. "Hey" Dante continued watching Professor D's awesome otter thing.

Whoa. This had to be the nicest classroom that Natalia had been in at Hogwarts. With the high ceiling, tall windows, and marble structures... the room was GORGEOUS. And Natalia, who was always a fan of fine architecture, knew from the start that she was going to like it here! Recognizing the labyrinth-like setup of the classroom, a surge of excitement filled Natalia, as mazes and puzzles were among her top favorite things.

Noticing the professor at the entrance, Natalia gave a modest greeting "Hallo." before proceeding into the room to find a place to sit.

Hmm... did they have to sit on the floor? With a slight frown, Natalia lowered her knees and tucked in her skirt, hoping that she could have worn pants to this lesson instead. Brr... the floor felt cold and hard against her bare knees. The fourth year waited impatiently for the lesson to begin, partially because she wanted to get off the floor and start performing some useful magic.

A maze. A maze?? Was that a maze? Oh no.

The professor's Patronus walking around didn't help Agatha's bad feeling about this either. Why was there a need for a Patronus there? That seemed like bad news.

Especially when combined with a maze.

Sit on the floor? No, thank you. Agatha would rather stand.

Ugh. .....At least the professor had nice hair.

Even having seen the new professor at the opening feast, not to mention the few lessons that had already happened, Brooklyn hadn’t made up her mind about Professor Dakest. All she knew was that he seemed harder to figure out than most of the other professors, and the fact he was an Auror seemed to confirm that. She still wasn’t about to change her methods, though. He was a professor, therefore she needed him on her side. She just hadn’t figured out how she was going to do that yet.

Walking into the classroom for the next lesson, she eyed the labyrinth for a moment before proceeding further inside the room. Something about that was making her not trust the lesson, and her blue eyes flickered over to eye the otter as it frolicked past her. So a Patronus was needed. Or at least it was there. That didn’t make her trust the lesson any more than she already did, but she still sent a smile toward the professor as she finally saw him perched on the crate. And she found a seat near Ethan. It paid to be strategic.

“Good morning Professor Dakest.”

Michael followed Zahra into the classroom, inclined his head at the man at the front. "Hey Professor." He said as he passed by the desk and sat down beside his girlfriend.

He held out his hand and gave her a look that said 'where is mine?'

Not actually HAVING another piece of gum, Zahra didn't hesitate even a second to rip the gum from her mouth in half and put it in Mikey's outstretched hand. She hadn't chewed it but just a second; it'd still taste good.

And he didn't hesitate to take her chewed piece of gum and pop it into his mouth. They had snogged a million times over the years. So her germs were his germs.

Great. Dante was here. He had no other choice, anyways "What's up?" and nodded at him. "Dakest should teach us how to cast a patronus" said as both were staring at the otter. "I hope mine isn't something girly " it should be a wolf, something masculine. Mhm.

What in the name of?????

Grayson stared -- STARED -- at the sight in front of him. One minute, he'd been happily strutting along the corridor to the class -- and judging people as he went because lolol what a fun activity -- and the next, he was looking out over a labyrinth. That's right, folks, the classroom had transformed into a labyrinth. This kinda meant that the lesson wasn't gonna be boring, no? Cool. Brilliant. That was EXACTLY the kinda lesson he wanted to take part in.

Besides, there was a chance that this could be dangerous which the boy was ALL up for.

Alright, enough of looking like a freak standing by the classroom door. "Heeeey, Professor Dakest," he said, giving him a nod of his head as he moved over to sit on the floor. And he was mildly interested in that otter over there. Mainly because, you know, Patronus and all that jazz. Hmmmm. What would his Patronus be?

Please let it be an epic animal. Nothing mushy gushy like a freaking bunny rabbit.

She was receiving greetings, that still surprised her. They were welcomed though, and turned. "Lux," she said with a nod and wave. That little Hufflepuff, she had somehow earned herself a spot on Beverly's good side. She didn't even know how that happened. Probably because she was just so innocent.

She was being shoulder bumped, and where the Prefect would originally hex first instead of talk, she held in a smile. It was her favorite Badger and there was no hexing him. "Hi," she said, nudging Aditya back. "Ready for butt-kicking?" Because it looked like they were going to get into some sort of action.

Dot didn't LOVE Defense, but she certainly enjoyed it with Mr. Professor Dakest. Not 'cause he was handsome, because she wasn't a shallow woman or anything, but because he was interesting and the class didn't involve yoga.

It didn't hurt he was handsome.

She bounced into the classroom and paused to take in the walls and the professor and the patronus. AMAZING. Of course, Dot found everything to be amazing. She pushed through to the front and peered up at the man in question. "Hullo, Professor. I like your otter. How do you get it to keep being all swimmy without having to keep casting the spell?"

Zhenya was a bit tired after having studied last night, a bit too late. She yawned just before she entered the classroom, and felt quite awake at seeing what was there. A different room it seemed. There were a few people sitting on the ground already, an otter patronus was there. Aww. Zhenya smiled, suddenly feeling much more awake. "Hello Professor Dakest," she said to the Professor. She looked around and saw a few of her friends, and she waved to them, before sitting down next to Jackson.

"That otter thing is pretty cool," Zahra pointed out, leaning over onto Mikey. "Like kind of showing off, but cool showing off so it's okay."

Janelle arrived for Defense Against the Dark Arts class to find a room full of students. Not only that, but the classroom had undergone some sort of transformation. "Hello Professor", she said while taking in the scene.

Janelle found and empty spot on the floor, sat down and made herself comfortable......well, as comfortable as one could be on the floor. She busied herself watching an otter patronus buzzing around the room. This made Janelle curious. What would they be learning in class today?

The no yoga thing was much appreciated for sure. As was the ability to completely ditch her robes, since she wasn't really fond of them either. Not to mention that it was nice to learn defense from a ACTUAL former Auror. So, needless to say, Heather liked this class.

She entered class with a "Hello, professor," and plopped down on the floor, ready to learn. Were they learning about patronuses, since the professor had his out?

Honestly, Tia couldn't really say she missed Romanos like some of the other students because she barely had seen or interacted with the former Defense professor due to the woman's extended absence. So even though they were only a month into school, the fifth year decided already that Dakest was great. He was calm, collected, young, easy on the eyes.

Not to mention he had an OTTER patronus. Patronus' were just about the coolest things in magic and really Tia just wanted to know what hers would be. Would they be learning the patronus charm today?!? Is that why he had his corporeal patronus out and about?

"Hello, Professor Dakest," Tia grinned happily, finding a seat someone in the middle and sliding her notebook from her bag with a quill. If they were learning about patronuses, she wanted to be sure to take down ALL the notes.

Once at the front of the classroom, the otter patronus sat, becoming suddenly still and attentive.

Sabel looked around at all the gathered students, checked the door and decided it was probably time to get the show on the road. Hoping off the crate, he moved to stand beside his patronus. "Good morning everyone. In case you haven't guessed, we have some interesting things to do today, so let's get started."

With a flick of his wrist, his wand was out and the doors to the classroom were shut. Latecomers would have to decide whether they wanted to join in or skip. What mattered to him, were the students currently gathered. He cast his gaze around at them for a moment before taking a seat on the floor in front of them, at their level. Crossing his legs, he considered the first row, and the faces behind.

"Before we get into the bulk of our lesson, I'd like to have a brief discussion. It's come to my attention through experience and various encounters, that the Dark Arts, Dark Magic and Dark Wizards are all found to be intriguing and fascinating topics, worthy of curiosity and exploration. Especially in the younger generations." As in, younger than him.

"Can I ask you why? Or if you might have any thoughts as to why." He glanced at a few of the suspicion bearing children. "These answers will not be relayed to any 'higher authority' or get you in trouble. I ask, because I don't know."

Fancy that, a Professor who didn't know something. Now students, time to enlighten.

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OOC: Class has started!! (Sorry for the delay, work >.O)

If you are late arriving, please feel free to just jump right in as if your character has always been here!

I'll try to post again in 10-12 hours, if not Class will move forward in approximately 20-24 hours .

Kyroh was too tired for this. And by this he meant school. And by school he meant class. Ad by class he meat this one right here currently in progress.

You now what he needed right now? Yoga.

It was a good thing that Professor Dakest didn't seem too bad. Otherwise he'd have climbed a tree and taken a nap. Morning naps sounded good. Without much hesitation Kyroh raised his hand. "People are often in interested in what they don't know or aren't allowed to know." He paused to yawn. " The more you make something off limits the more interested we get. It's like with the Dark Arts and Dark Magic. We're told it's bad and not to do it, and that's the problem." And his dad had never told him that before. Nope......Possibly.

"Fuller-Thompson," Toby corrected absent-mindedly, eyes still on the otter, which had stopped just short of him. "Or just Toby." Or Fuller-Thompson. Just picking one felt like choosing between parents and that was no good. Unfortunately, he was sensitive about his name, maybe moreso at the moment. He was a sensitive little flower, yo.

Tobias squinted as the otter ended up avoided him altogether. Did he just get rejected by a patronus? Oh. Well. That was okay, too. Sure.

He stopped watching it after that.

Until the class started, Toby just sat there and fidgeted around, the usual deal. Little bit of bouncing, changing his sitting position a lot, taking his wand out and twirling it between his fingers, the whole shebang. But oh, hey, they were starting.

Toby sat up a little straighter, totally ready to get INTO this lesson and give input and stuff... but right from the off it was a question he couldn't answer. Dark stuff was all negative and bad stuff and he had no interest in it and, as far as he was concerned, nobody else did either. In fact... yep, violently rejecting the statement Dakest had put across. In a classic Toby move, the Hufflepuff just pretending that the professor was talking about fiction.

He raised his hand. "Maybe they're not. Maybe it's a misunderstanding and nobody actually likes that stuff." Maybe = definitely. But it didn't matter on account of it being fiction. YEP.

A snappy salute was given back to Professor Dakest to acknowledge the man once more. And...and...n’awwww. What a cute otter! Look! Ethan, with his arms still crossed looked down at his feet and gave the otter patronus a charming grin. Cute stuff really, but, just like everyone else, he too wondered what his patronus was going to be. Hopefully NOT a butterfly, because that’s just...well, ridiculous. The seventeen year old looked up just in time to see Brooklyn take a seat beside him. The older Slytherin kept his eyes on the red head, and gave her a tiny wave. He wanted to give her a hug for some reason, but he was...rather afraid of the outcome. She’s just like a porcupine ready to strike.

The door beside him was then closed shut, signalling him that the lesson had begun. The professor sat amongst the gathered students, but Ethan kept standing at the back, listening. Professor Dakest didn’t mind him standing, so unless he was told to sit down, he’d stay in position until the activity begins. And just like any class in Hogwarts, a question would be asked to break the ice. And...wait, he didn’t know the answer to that? Ethan slowly raised a hand and answered the professor’s question. “Well, we don’t get the chance to learn it on a daily basis because that could drive us to the dark side,” Star Wars reference, yo. “And the fact that it seems to be taboo in any magical school, it makes us more curious as to what it can do, versus the things that we can do.” He wasn’t sure if his answer was satisfactory at all, but his point was somewhere in between those lines. “I hope you don’t mind me asking Professor, but...what pushed you to become an Auror?” His cousin did consider to become one, but decided not to.

He was still thinking, his mind on everything but who might be sitting next to him, but the voice that spoke his name was familiar- had a certain kind of song to it-

Irish.
Which meant-
“Eden.” He said, turning to the blue haired girl as she asked after him. Damien looked at her, really looked. He could see it what had so entranced Rorie- Eden was beautiful after all, and kind, and probably not the type to cheat-

Damien cleared his throat. “I’m fine, I’m just out of it.” He replied, managing to keep all those troublesome emotions out of his voice, but leaving it uncharacteristically empty.

He had a moment of wanting to say something else, though he didn’t know what- but then the Professor spoke, his silvery Otter of a patronus was crawling over Damien’s shoulders and sitting on top of his head as if this was it’s natural nest. The Gryffindor chuckled with surprise, and did his best to reach up and try to itch the technically non-existing creature.

Why? Why the fascination? That was a surprising question, Damien wasn’t sure if his answer would be exactly what Professor Dakest was looking for, but… “Because it doesn’t seem like it can really be controlled, and things that you can’t pin down are always more interesting than what you can.” Least, that was his thought.

Hugo tilted his head to one side in confusion. He slightly opened his mouth to answer the professor. What's down? what was that? Adults and their answers. "I'll think about it..."

Class began and Hugo raised his hand to answer the first question. "Because of curiosity. Everyone tell us that dark magic and everything related to it is bad, so... he shrugged "I don't know. I like to know about stuff that are like 'forbidden', they are way more interesting to read about " and no, he wasn't planning on becoming a dark wizard.

Norah found it nearly impossible to tear her eyes away from the silvery otter altogether, even when Professor Dakest began to speak. Look at how CUTE. And cool and awesome and totally radical. But mostly cute. She held her quill limply as she watched the patronus dart around, wondering what her patronus would be if she had one. Could patronuses be different colors too? 'Cause if they could hers would be extra sparkly because that was her happy stuff right there. Sparkles.

Her attention was brought back to the class when the Professor started saying things that really made zero sense. To her, anyways. But who else's sense did she have? That's right, nobody's. Not even her mum's sense even though she was always asking the fourth year to have some sense and stop tracking mud places, but nobody liked that kind of sense anyways. She put a hand in the air and waited to be called on because HER sense had a whole lot of stuff to say. "I don't think the dark arts are fascinating at all. Just scary because mean stuff is scary and everything I've heard about the dark arts seems pretty mean to me. Mean stuff is bad. I don't like mean stuff." Did he SEE how sure she was about this? Because she was really sure. The most sure, even. "I guess some other people could like hearing about them for the same reason people like scary stories and stuff, 'cause they think it's cool and different 'cept i don't like any of that so I don't think I'm the right person to answer this question." She put her hand and smiled, because it wasn't HIS fault that his question was incorrect. And even if it was incorrect people deserved lots of smiles too. She would know.

Cilla had always had this sort of question lingering in the back of her mind but she was having trouble conveying the right words. She slowly raised her hand. "I personally think that some knowledge of the dark arts would suffice. The theory aspects of it, of course. I mean, how can we defend ourselves against it if we know nothing about it?" Cilla hoped that Professor Dakest understood what she meant.

Eeeep! Adi was so not expecting the otter to jump on him so it was quite a pleasant surprise which set him laughing as he turned his head from side to side, trying to keep it in sight. This was sooooo cool! And then it was on his head, where he couldn't see much but when it hit the floor, he said, "Patronuses are such fun.'' Well, Professor Sabel's was anyway. Speaking of which... "I'll hold you to that, Professor.'' With a happy grin, he sidled off.
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Cutty may be Adi's favourite Snake but someone else who would give him a run for his raked- in candy money would definitely be Beverly. "You bet!'' But where was his smile? Honestly... Beverly would graduate and Adi would still be waiting for a genuine smile from her. Hehe. "I'm hanging out with you for this class, Bev.'' Yep, she wouldn't be rid of him; he had flopped down on the floor beside her.
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Dark stuff? HECK YEAH! Adi found them REALLLLLY fascinating (maybe it was due to his taste in music) even though it sort of countered his bubbly personality. So what? He had been told more than once that he had a bit of Slytherin in him. The Hufflepuff raised his hand. "They are just fascinating. I know I am interested in that because I want to know what pushes people to become dark wizards and want to entangle themselves with dark magic. I think if we can get those answers, we could have less evil running around.''