See, this was why Roderik - or Prince Erik, should she say? - was opening the lesson. He had a flare for the dramatic that she so clearly lacked. Tiara nodded at the man's assessment of her subject; it did require more theoretical knowledge as a rule. But she hoped that today her students would see its more practical applications as well.

And she was also secretly hoping that someone would rush up front to try to open the box as part of their explanation. Was that so wrong?

Skylar didn't know a whole lot about Defense. Or Arithmancy. But she was aware that curse breakers had quite a fascinating job even if she didn't know what that job entailed. Practically bouncing on the edge of her seat as Hirsch introduced the topic, the first year listened with rapt interest. What would she do? Try to open it, of course but that obviously was not the most logical thing because she could get cursed to death. Lose her memory. Lose her motor skills and merlin only knew what else!!

She did like the idea of a revealing charm or an unlocking charm; those ideas made sense. But they also seemed to deal more with the defense side of things and this was a joint lesson, which meant numbers had to play some kind of role... Raising her hand, Sky hesitated a moment, "Is there some sort of numerical sequence that can determine how dangerous of a thing we are dealing with?" Sky frowned as she finished, thinking it made better sense in Sky's head then when she spoke it..

Azura smiled at Professor Hirsch.. She was doing well, her mother could be alive, and that was the best news in the world to her..She just had to find her.. And hope Mason's Dad could find her too. Dead people didn't send patronus's.. Just sayin'.

She looked up at Professor Hirsh as he spoke and her eyes went wide..

Curse breaking? That sounded super amazing.. She wanted to learn how to do that.. And she listened carefully to the scenario that he lay out.. How would she get to the box.. Hmm..

She raised her hand after thinking for a few moments. "Well, I would first try a revealing charm, but not even those work all the time, so I would try to aim a few simple charms at the box, red sparks or The disarming charm to see if those would trigger any of the curses or not. Also making sure that I'm far enough back to be out of the way of one, should the box react." She said with a nod.. "After that.. I would put up a protective spell on myself and try to unlock the box.. Alohomora Yeah? Also take ALL the precautions and be safe.. Didn't want to end up cursed.. Also.. Gloves.. Gloves were a must.

As always, Janelle tried to figure out how the professors would create a lesson for the two combined classes. What were they going to do? She didn't have to wait long to get her answer. Professor Hirsch started things off and........did he say curse breaking? He had Janelle's full attention now because the idea of curse breaking was fascinating to her. She had her quill ready, determined not to miss a thing.

The first order of business, though was to answer a question and a hard one at that. Janelle was a study in contrasts. She was a naturally curious person, but Howarts had made her cautious............all that constant vigilance stuff could make a person paranoid. There was a time when Janelle wouldn't have thought twice about opening a closed box. Now, not so much. So how would she go about finding out what was in the cursed box?

Janelle thought long and hard about her possibilities. Surely there was a spell for that. Finally, Janelle raised her hand......tentatively. "Well, I would have my wand ready, of course......just in case. I wouldn't touch the box, but I would use some other object, preferably something long so I didn't have to get too close, to flip the top of the box off." Janelle knew that this was probably not the right answer, but if you were going to be wrong, might as well be strong and wrong.

This was an interesting question. Kitty was a very, very curious person who loved solving mysteries, mysteries such as the backstory of the tapestry on the fourth floor and the current location of the Book of Mysteria. Her curiosity was always with her. Perhaps that was the main reason she was placed in Ravenclaw. But at the same time, Kitty also tended to be a worrier and to get scared when there was even a remote chance of getting injured or embarrassed. It was probably a very rare combination, but that made the question of how to open this box safely all the more interesting to Kitty.

"First," said Kitty, raising her hand when it was her turn to answer. "I would make sure there was someone with me so that if I got injured she or he could go and get help. Then I would stand as far away from the box as possible. That's so that if anything comes flying out it's less likely to hit me. And hopefully we would be inside a very long chamber or outside where we really could stand far away, and not crammed inside a small room. If it was a small room then I would be a lot more scared. Okay, then once I'm far away, I would cast all kinds of spells on it to see if that triggered anything. Then I would slowly open it. If something terrible happens and I'm unable to cast magic then my friend will help me. At least, that's probably what I would do." Kitty finished, pleased with her answer.

Char was still eyeing the box up when the warning came from the professors not to open it. Or try to. She beamed at both of them.

"I wasn't going to, I just wanted a closer look." Even if she WAS tempted.

Oh and the first question! She put her hand up, still standing where she could see the box.

"You could use runes." Basically. "For checking stuff for traps or for trying to open it or anything! But FIRST I would do what I'm doing right now, that is LOOK at the box. Sometimes you might see something useful or out of the ordinary. Being vigilant also means to notice things and be aware of what you're working with!"

Right?

Also probably she should sit but THIS WAS TOO EXCITING.

Even being in the same room as Hirsch for just a few minutes was enough to get Daxton's anger levels steadily rising. Nothing in particular had ever actually happened between them to elicit such an emotional reaction, but that meant very little to Daxton. The fact was that he felt it, and that was enough.

Clutching his notebook atop the table so tightly that his knuckles were turning white, Daxton stared straight at the wall ahead of him while he waited for the lesson to start, keeping track of both professors in the periphery of his vision. When Hirsch started addressing the room at large, Daxton glanced at him very briefly, and then looked back to the wall, listening closely and sending the strongest 'stay away me' vibes as the professor began traversing through the desks.

Still, he listened to the introduction and the scenario that was being explained, eventually looking instead at the box in question. If he was a curse breaker and wanted to get into the box... how would he?

... Well, there was a very simple answer to that question. He would not. He would not attempt to get into the box, because he would not be a curse breaker in the first place, especially not as a profession. And if curse breaking was not his profession, he would not be required to put himself into a scenario such as the one Hirsch had described, even if he might come up against cursed objects from time to time. Regardless, Daxton was not the sort of person to open mysterious boxes that were likely to be cursed, especially if he was not certain he could get away unscathed. He gave the tiniest huff of annoyance, and left it at that.

Still, even as he sat, refusing to provide an answer - though listening intently to everyone else - a little voice in the back of his head quietly chimed in with 'Runes' at about the time he heard Char say something similar. But Daxton was not going to say anything, and remained steadfastly resolute in his silence, silently judging everyone who was talking about interfering with the box in question with either physical means or magic, though not surprised at how easy it would apparently be to all kinds of traps in a place like this.

Between Olivia and Hirsch both pointing out that Jaemin's hair was not its natural dark colour, the small Slytherin's ears had gone rather red. It had been an accident, and it was still an accident. Ongoing accident. He gave Olivia a smile though, and nodded when she asked if she could sit next to him. She was nice. She could sit right there, yes.

Hirsch seemed ready to dive right into the lesson, so Jaemin turned his attention from Olivia. This was, after all, one of his best subjects, and he didn't want to miss aaaaaaaaaaaaanything. Apparently the two boxes were important today, which... was not surprising, but they seemed rather nondescript to be holding 'treasure'. The small Slytherin listened as his classmates chimed in with various answers - some were things he would suggest, like giving the box a good onceover. Others were... less so. Like Tenacius suggesting kicking it.

"There's a special waterfall type thing at Gringotts, isn't there? That washes away spells and stuff?" At least he thought there was. Vague memories of having read something somewhere and all that. "Could try to levitate it, and vanish it to there. Or get some of that water and carry it around with you, if you're a treasure hunter."

He would not be a treasure hunter. He was going to be a Herbologist, thank you very much.

Kaycee considered before raising her hand. "You poke with a stick or throw something at it just to make sure there's nothing to put you in immediate danger."

Obviously.

Thank you Indiana Jones. The next step involved a bag of sand the exact weight of the box. But she'd wait until that question was asked before offering that suggestion.

Juno knew exactly what she would do first. She quickly raised her hand, waiting to be called on. When she was finally called on she replied, "The very first thing you should always do when going around something that very well may be cursed is put a protection spell on yourself. Then you could start using Runes or revelation spells to see what will or will not work."

Yep. That is what she would do.

Oliver reeeaaally thought about Hirsch's question for the class. It was a good one. And everyone's answers sounded great, especially Kaycee's since it was kind of what he had wanted to say anyway...but he was just going to say it again for emphasis...and with a little explanation. Why not? Oliver sloooowly raised his hand into the air, not sure how much he really wanted to answer, but figuring at least he wouldn't embarrass himself this time.

"Well, since the box is in here, I'd probably throw a chair at the box first. Just so I could see what kind of spells and things are surrounding the box first, if there are any. But if there was nothing around other than me and my wand, I'd just conjure up a rock and throw that...but I'd also duck right after just in case it bounced off whatever was there and came right back at me." Becuse then he'd probably get knocked out and then what use would he be? Absolutely none.

Cursebreaking sounded cool and all, but Olly was totally lost. He had no idea what was going on. How was he supposed to know what sort of curses were in or around that box? That's what this lesson would be teaching of course, and obviously he needed it because he had no idea. He'd heard of that waterfall at Gringotts that Jaemin mentioned, but that was all the way in Diagon Alley so it was very impractical to try to get something there. People couldn't just use that whenever they needed to break a curse. But he considered what Jaemin had said for a moment and raised his hand.

"That waterfall at Gringotts...I mean it had to be created somehow, right? So whatever spell was used for that could be used for this." Not that he had any idea what that spell was.

More people got waves and Esme was just hoping that this class would go well for her because coming out with a headache wouldn't be very fun. Oh well, at least the topic was interesting even if she didn't do very good with things. She needed to remind herself that having fun was the most important part.

After thinking for a moment she raised her hand. "Well, I guess I would use that spell that uncovers any hexes or spells... SpeRevelio?" At least she thought that was the name. "That might uncover something but not everything... so I would also throw some spells at it that would disable any curses that might be on it that I don't know of... OH! And there are runes. You can use runes!" Yeeeeees!! She had remembered something. Go her.

The smile from Professor Tanner meant good things to her. It meant that the women wasn't completely upset that Hady had dropped her class. Honestly it hadn't been for just the reason that the lesson wasn't one of her favorites but she also wasn't good at it, which her grade had shown. Arithmancy also wasn't needed in the profession she was going for. Therefore it only made sense to drop it and focus on what she did need.

Curse-breaking. The topic of this joint lesson. Hady glanced around the room her eyes searching for the bestie and when she found him she grinned. Curse-breaking might not be her thing but she knew it was Zeke's. If anything she'd be snagging him for whatever activity they would be working on today. Surely he wouldn't allow her to completely crash and burn.

Now as for the question everyone else was doing a fine job answering. Tossing something at the box made sense but only if you were ready to be hit with whatever happened next. Runes were a very good answer too. For now though she'd see what everyone else had to say about it.

Maddie wasn't one to go putting herself in harms way but she would be curious about what was inside the box, that was a given. So her goal would be to get a look without having to handle it herself, is all.

"Convince someone else to try and open it and observe what happens next." Pause. "And be ready to assist them in the event that they are harmed in some way." Well, depending on who it was you convinced to touch the thing, of course.

Hadley returned Tenacius' grin, although hers was tinged with the barest of blushes. "Salamander," she said with a nod of the head. She was about to ask him, as subtly and casually as possible, about the valentine's owl grams that they could send this month. You know, right to see if he was thinking about sending one to someone, maybe...

But class happened.

With a disappointed sigh, Hadley sat back in her seat. "Would using alohomora to unlock the box, and then standing behind it and accio'ing the lid, or using the seize and pull charm on the lid to open it? Would that work?" That is what she'd try firstly. But before she could come up with a more reasonable solution, her mind drifted to the idea of enlarging the chest to gigantic proportions and then exploring it like a toy in a toy box come to life. She had to suppress a chuckle at the thought, but so wanted to try that now.

What it had to do with the class, she had no idea.

Text Cut: You guuuuuys ^^

Text Cut: Abby

Quote:

Originally Posted by Saz Hale

Abby thought about the question and raised her hand and said "Well first i would cast a protective charm and try to figure out what sort of curse i could be dealing with and then carefully proceed to use a unlocking spell to open the box"

Well, if this wasn't a vague answer.......

Hirsch considered it for a moment or two before nodding slowly. "Using a protective charm first is a clever move but how would you try and figure out what sort of curse you're dealing with?" Because remember, curses aren't your best friends.

Text Cut: Tenacius

Quote:

Originally Posted by Steelsheen

Dramatic pauses. Oooh what a way to get those who werent listening to listen. But not this boy. He did pause his breath though.

But right what to do? How to open a cursed box? Something that may even be booby trapped even from the outside? The Gryffindor Ace furrowed his brows as the wheels in his heard turned and turned. Then up went the hand "We kick it!" he answered exuberantly "The stand I mean-- Oh wait! Maybe we can cast some kind of revealing charm first, see what spells are enforced on it. I mean for all we know it might have a spell that makes it weigh a ton. And then if we can see that its safe-- then we kick it!" Yeah yeah? Makes total sense to him "I mean theres been so many times I toppled over things at all these fancy places and they broke open when they werent supposed to and I got yelled at and stuff and stuff and yea-- definitely kicking it and toppling it over will work Professors. Guaranteed!" Beam.

He had to hand it to Tenacius Salander: that was the most enthusiastic answer he'd heard during his years of teaching this.

The man stood and watched the Gryffindor, a wide, amused smile in place. The boy often reminded him of himself; a young Roderik Hirsch who'd run around pretending to be Indiana Jones and being fascinated by the more dangerous things and how to tackle them. But obviously, Tenacius didn't need to know that.

"In all my years of teaching, I've never had a student give that answer before." Still smiling, mind you. "You're right about using revealing charms to see what curses the box is holding before approaching it. Mind you, kicking won't always work but it's worth a shot if you know it's safe." Chill. Completely chill.

"Just don't break the treasure inside, eh?"

Text Cut: Skylar

Quote:

Originally Posted by PhoenixRising

Skylar didn't know a whole lot about Defense. Or Arithmancy. But she was aware that curse breakers had quite a fascinating job even if she didn't know what that job entailed. Practically bouncing on the edge of her seat as Hirsch introduced the topic, the first year listened with rapt interest. What would she do? Try to open it, of course but that obviously was not the most logical thing because she could get cursed to death. Lose her memory. Lose her motor skills and merlin only knew what else!!

She did like the idea of a revealing charm or an unlocking charm; those ideas made sense. But they also seemed to deal more with the defense side of things and this was a joint lesson, which meant numbers had to play some kind of role... Raising her hand, Sky hesitated a moment, "Is there some sort of numerical sequence that can determine how dangerous of a thing we are dealing with?" Sky frowned as she finished, thinking it made better sense in Sky's head then when she spoke it..

Hirsch stopped again in his tracks but not because the answer so enthusiastic, but because the answer was so........ well, accurate.

So, he stopped and stared at the young girl. "That's very advanced thinking, Miss Diggory." More advanced than her year, he'd say. "Very well done." Was Tiara listening? Because this student was one to look out for.

Text Cut: Azura

Quote:

Originally Posted by FwooperOnYourLeft

Azura smiled at Professor Hirsch.. She was doing well, her mother could be alive, and that was the best news in the world to her..She just had to find her.. And hope Mason's Dad could find her too. Dead people didn't send patronus's.. Just sayin'.

She looked up at Professor Hirsh as he spoke and her eyes went wide..

Curse breaking? That sounded super amazing.. She wanted to learn how to do that.. And she listened carefully to the scenario that he lay out.. How would she get to the box.. Hmm..

She raised her hand after thinking for a few moments. "Well, I would first try a revealing charm, but not even those work all the time, so I would try to aim a few simple charms at the box, red sparks or The disarming charm to see if those would trigger any of the curses or not. Also making sure that I'm far enough back to be out of the way of one, should the box react." She said with a nod.. "After that.. I would put up a protective spell on myself and try to unlock the box.. Alohomora Yeah? Also take ALL the precautions and be safe.. Didn't want to end up cursed.. Also.. Gloves.. Gloves were a must.

Oh, Azura.

Oh, Azura.

The man didn't say anything while the girl was talking, even if he was hoping for her to say the opposite. It was only when she finished that he shook his head at her and launched into his own gentle tirade of words, "Kind of........" No. "I'd suggest using protective charms on yourself first. As for casting spells at the box, I would strongly suggest against it just now." He will explain more but for now, she got a smile from him.

Text Cut: Janelle

Quote:

Originally Posted by Daydreamer11

As always, Janelle tried to figure out how the professors would create a lesson for the two combined classes. What were they going to do? She didn't have to wait long to get her answer. Professor Hirsch started things off and........did he say curse breaking? He had Janelle's full attention now because the idea of curse breaking was fascinating to her. She had her quill ready, determined not to miss a thing.

The first order of business, though was to answer a question and a hard one at that. Janelle was a study in contrasts. She was a naturally curious person, but Howarts had made her cautious............all that constant vigilance stuff could make a person paranoid. There was a time when Janelle wouldn't have thought twice about opening a closed box. Now, not so much. So how would she go about finding out what was in the cursed box?

Janelle thought long and hard about her possibilities. Surely there was a spell for that. Finally, Janelle raised her hand......tentatively. "Well, I would have my wand ready, of course......just in case. I wouldn't touch the box, but I would use some other object, preferably something long so I didn't have to get too close, to flip the top of the box off." Janelle knew that this was probably not the right answer, but if you were going to be wrong, might as well be strong and wrong.

There were a lot of thoughts about being distant from a random box which had unknown curses on it. Good. It meant that he was doing his job kind of. "I like your idea of keeping a distance from the box and it would work if you wanted to see if the box is cursed in the first place but be careful that this doesn't have adverse effects on you."

Text Cut: Kitty

Quote:

Originally Posted by Goblinfrog

This was an interesting question. Kitty was a very, very curious person who loved solving mysteries, mysteries such as the backstory of the tapestry on the fourth floor and the current location of the Book of Mysteria. Her curiosity was always with her. Perhaps that was the main reason she was placed in Ravenclaw. But at the same time, Kitty also tended to be a worrier and to get scared when there was even a remote chance of getting injured or embarrassed. It was probably a very rare combination, but that made the question of how to open this box safely all the more interesting to Kitty.

"First," said Kitty, raising her hand when it was her turn to answer. "I would make sure there was someone with me so that if I got injured she or he could go and get help. Then I would stand as far away from the box as possible. That's so that if anything comes flying out it's less likely to hit me. And hopefully we would be inside a very long chamber or outside where we really could stand far away, and not crammed inside a small room. If it was a small room then I would be a lot more scared. Okay, then once I'm far away, I would cast all kinds of spells on it to see if that triggered anything. Then I would slowly open it. If something terrible happens and I'm unable to cast magic then my friend will help me. At least, that's probably what I would do." Kitty finished, pleased with her answer.

Oh look! Someone mentioned having company nearby. Hirsch nodded at the young Ravenclaw, marvelling slightly at the logic behind this. "Company is always good when you're tackling an object with unknown curses on it." He wasn't sure what to say about being stuck in small, cramped areas with a cursed box because, well, that was the case sometimes. Sometimes.

Text Cut: Char

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tegz

Char was still eyeing the box up when the warning came from the professors not to open it. Or try to. She beamed at both of them.

"I wasn't going to, I just wanted a closer look." Even if she WAS tempted.

Oh and the first question! She put her hand up, still standing where she could see the box.

"You could use runes." Basically. "For checking stuff for traps or for trying to open it or anything! But FIRST I would do what I'm doing right now, that is LOOK at the box. Sometimes you might see something useful or out of the ordinary. Being vigilant also means to notice things and be aware of what you're working with!"

Right?

Also probably she should sit but THIS WAS TOO EXCITING.

There was a lot of curiosity in this young Gryffindor.

The man walked around a few desks as he listened out to her answer. "Runes! There are certain spells you could use that'll reveal the runes you need. Or you could use the right combination of runes to open the box." Shrug. He didn't know much about runes so he wasn't going to explain any of that. If she wanted to look it up, she could. "You're very right: sometimes, some curses reveal themselves by sight," he said, smiling even more at the 'vigilant' answer, "Being vigilant helps. Just don't get too close to the cursed object, okay? This is no time to be friendly."

Text Cut: Daxton

Quote:

Originally Posted by Felixir

Even being in the same room as Hirsch for just a few minutes was enough to get Daxton's anger levels steadily rising. Nothing in particular had ever actually happened between them to elicit such an emotional reaction, but that meant very little to Daxton. The fact was that he felt it, and that was enough.

Clutching his notebook atop the table so tightly that his knuckles were turning white, Daxton stared straight at the wall ahead of him while he waited for the lesson to start, keeping track of both professors in the periphery of his vision. When Hirsch started addressing the room at large, Daxton glanced at him very briefly, and then looked back to the wall, listening closely and sending the strongest 'stay away me' vibes as the professor began traversing through the desks.

Still, he listened to the introduction and the scenario that was being explained, eventually looking instead at the box in question. If he was a curse breaker and wanted to get into the box... how would he?

... Well, there was a very simple answer to that question. He would not. He would not attempt to get into the box, because he would not be a curse breaker in the first place, especially not as a profession. And if curse breaking was not his profession, he would not be required to put himself into a scenario such as the one Hirsch had described, even if he might come up against cursed objects from time to time. Regardless, Daxton was not the sort of person to open mysterious boxes that were likely to be cursed, especially if he was not certain he could get away unscathed. He gave the tiniest huff of annoyance, and left it at that.

Still, even as he sat, refusing to provide an answer - though listening intently to everyone else - a little voice in the back of his head quietly chimed in with 'Runes' at about the time he heard Char say something similar. But Daxton was not going to say anything, and remained steadfastly resolute in his silence, silently judging everyone who was talking about interfering with the box in question with either physical means or magic, though not surprised at how easy it would apparently be to all kinds of traps in a place like this.

No answer from Daxton? Was he surprised?

No.

Instead, Hirsch simply looked at the young Ravenclaw to see if he was still paying attention before moving on. And yes, he saw how tightly he was clutching the notebook but there was no need to mention anything, right? No.

Text Cut: Jaemin

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ameh

Between Olivia and Hirsch both pointing out that Jaemin's hair was not its natural dark colour, the small Slytherin's ears had gone rather red. It had been an accident, and it was still an accident. Ongoing accident. He gave Olivia a smile though, and nodded when she asked if she could sit next to him. She was nice. She could sit right there, yes.

Hirsch seemed ready to dive right into the lesson, so Jaemin turned his attention from Olivia. This was, after all, one of his best subjects, and he didn't want to miss aaaaaaaaaaaaanything. Apparently the two boxes were important today, which... was not surprising, but they seemed rather nondescript to be holding 'treasure'. The small Slytherin listened as his classmates chimed in with various answers - some were things he would suggest, like giving the box a good onceover. Others were... less so. Like Tenacius suggesting kicking it.

"There's a special waterfall type thing at Gringotts, isn't there? That washes away spells and stuff?" At least he thought there was. Vague memories of having read something somewhere and all that. "Could try to levitate it, and vanish it to there. Or get some of that water and carry it around with you, if you're a treasure hunter."

He would not be a treasure hunter. He was going to be a Herbologist, thank you very much.

This was another unique answer, did Jaemin know?

The man tilted his head slightly before smiling at the young Slytherin. "Interesting, Jaemin. Very interesting way of breaking the curses around an object." And certainly one that would work. "But just keep in mind that you might not always be around that waterfall."

Text Cut: Kaycee

Quote:

Originally Posted by LilFox06

Kaycee considered before raising her hand. "You poke with a stick or throw something at it just to make sure there's nothing to put you in immediate danger."

Obviously.

Thank you Indiana Jones. The next step involved a bag of sand the exact weight of the box. But she'd wait until that question was asked before offering that suggestion.

If Hirsch knew that the Gryffindor Prefect was thinking about Indiana Jones, his kid self might've perked up considerably. It was Indiana Jones, after all. But as it was, he simply shot her an amused smile and said, "That's a good way of detecting if there are curses on the box in the first place." There was a but but he was going to explain that when he addressed the rest of the class.

Text Cut: Juno

Quote:

Originally Posted by Suziella

Juno knew exactly what she would do first. She quickly raised her hand, waiting to be called on. When she was finally called on she replied, "The very first thing you should always do when going around something that very well may be cursed is put a protection spell on yourself. Then you could start using Runes or revelation spells to see what will or will not work."

Yep. That is what she would do.

Ah, this answer. This answer made him smile considerably. "Excellent, Miss Darcy! Protecting yourself is the very first step to dealing with something that's cursed. You never know what it could shoot out and when. Well done on mentioning revelation spells as well." No explanation needed for now.

Text Cut: Oliver

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gissel

Oliver reeeaaally thought about Hirsch's question for the class. It was a good one. And everyone's answers sounded great, especially Kaycee's since it was kind of what he had wanted to say anyway...but he was just going to say it again for emphasis...and with a little explanation. Why not? Oliver sloooowly raised his hand into the air, not sure how much he really wanted to answer, but figuring at least he wouldn't embarrass himself this time.

"Well, since the box is in here, I'd probably throw a chair at the box first. Just so I could see what kind of spells and things are surrounding the box first, if there are any. But if there was nothing around other than me and my wand, I'd just conjure up a rock and throw that...but I'd also duck right after just in case it bounced off whatever was there and came right back at me." Becuse then he'd probably get knocked out and then what use would he be? Absolutely none.

You know what made Hirsch happy? The idea of people using their surroundings and, well, less magical means to defend themselves. It brought him back to his very first lesson in this school and he was glad to hear that people had learnt something from that.

"Good, very good, Mr Finch." And he liked the idea of not hanging around to see if the spell did anything either. "It's a good way of seeing if there are curses on the object but make sure you don't get too close to it."

Text Cut: Olly

Quote:

Originally Posted by littledhampir

Cursebreaking sounded cool and all, but Olly was totally lost. He had no idea what was going on. How was he supposed to know what sort of curses were in or around that box? That's what this lesson would be teaching of course, and obviously he needed it because he had no idea. He'd heard of that waterfall at Gringotts that Jaemin mentioned, but that was all the way in Diagon Alley so it was very impractical to try to get something there. People couldn't just use that whenever they needed to break a curse. But he considered what Jaemin had said for a moment and raised his hand.

"That waterfall at Gringotts...I mean it had to be created somehow, right? So whatever spell was used for that could be used for this." Not that he had any idea what that spell was.

Well if this wasn't a creative answer...........

Hirsch paused and looked at the young Slytherin for a moment or two. "That's a really creative way of thinking, Mr Thomas-Borzekowski. I don't think I've heard that answer before either." Which was saying something. "Technically, you could. I don't see why it can't work. Just be careful that you don't get hurt in the process as well." Because curses tend to do that.

Text Cut: Esme

Quote:

Originally Posted by Squishy

More people got waves and Esme was just hoping that this class would go well for her because coming out with a headache wouldn't be very fun. Oh well, at least the topic was interesting even if she didn't do very good with things. She needed to remind herself that having fun was the most important part.

After thinking for a moment she raised her hand. "Well, I guess I would use that spell that uncovers any hexes or spells... SpeRevelio?" At least she thought that was the name. "That might uncover something but not everything... so I would also throw some spells at it that would disable any curses that might be on it that I don't know of... OH! And there are runes. You can use runes!" Yeeeeees!! She had remembered something. Go her.

"Close, Miss Darcy, very close," he said, giving her a smile and a nod of his head, "Specilais Revlio should work, technically, but it works better against hexes and charms. Curses are darker, more advanced. You can't guarantee that it'll reveal everything there, especially if a particularly advanced curse has been applied to the object." There was something else that was a problem here but he'd mention that to the class in general. "Excellent mention of runes."

Text Cut: Hadleigh

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kolyander

The smile from Professor Tanner meant good things to her. It meant that the women wasn't completely upset that Hady had dropped her class. Honestly it hadn't been for just the reason that the lesson wasn't one of her favorites but she also wasn't good at it, which her grade had shown. Arithmancy also wasn't needed in the profession she was going for. Therefore it only made sense to drop it and focus on what she did need.

Curse-breaking. The topic of this joint lesson. Hady glanced around the room her eyes searching for the bestie and when she found him she grinned. Curse-breaking might not be her thing but she knew it was Zeke's. If anything she'd be snagging him for whatever activity they would be working on today. Surely he wouldn't allow her to completely crash and burn.

Now as for the question everyone else was doing a fine job answering. Tossing something at the box made sense but only if you were ready to be hit with whatever happened next. Runes were a very good answer too. For now though she'd see what everyone else had to say about it.

Another silent student? No matter. Walking by her desk, Hirsch gave the young girl a swift smile before moving on. Maybe she'd do well in the Defence part of it all. The practical application, if you will.

We'll see.

Text Cut: Maddie

Quote:

Originally Posted by TakemetotheBurrow

Maddie wasn't one to go putting herself in harms way but she would be curious about what was inside the box, that was a given. So her goal would be to get a look without having to handle it herself, is all.

"Convince someone else to try and open it and observe what happens next." Pause. "And be ready to assist them in the event that they are harmed in some way." Well, depending on who it was you convinced to touch the thing, of course.

Could he laugh? Because he wanted to. Oh, how he wanted to laugh.

This answer was very unexpected. He had to stop and pretend to be rubbing his chin in a thoughtful way to hide the amused smile he was sporting. Professionalism, Hirsch, professionalism. "That's one way to make sure you don't get hurt in the process." Pause. "But you're right: company usually helps." Probably not in the way the girl was meaning but hey, at least she was saving herself.

Text Cut: Haddie

Quote:

Originally Posted by Callie

Hadley returned Tenacius' grin, although hers was tinged with the barest of blushes. "Salamander," she said with a nod of the head. She was about to ask him, as subtly and casually as possible, about the valentine's owl grams that they could send this month. You know, right to see if he was thinking about sending one to someone, maybe...

But class happened.

With a disappointed sigh, Hadley sat back in her seat. "Would using alohomora to unlock the box, and then standing behind it and accio'ing the lid, or using the seize and pull charm on the lid to open it? Would that work?" That is what she'd try firstly. But before she could come up with a more reasonable solution, her mind drifted to the idea of enlarging the chest to gigantic proportions and then exploring it like a toy in a toy box come to life. She had to suppress a chuckle at the thought, but so wanted to try that now.

What it had to do with the class, she had no idea.

Alohomora? Accio? Carpe Retractum? Hirsch shook his head at Haddie. "No. Cursed objects aren't exactly simple to open up. If they were, everyone would be able to open them up with a simple Alohomora. In fact, there would hardly be a Defence or Arithmancy element to it."

Turning to the class in general, the man clapped his hands once before addressing all of them. "Some excellent answers, everyone! I have to say that I'm glad quite a few of you still keep a vigilant eye when it comes to approaching anything cursed. Good. Very good." Could they tell that this made him quite proud?

"Now. Approaching a cursed object isn't simple. While the box up there is cursed with a simple charm, the ones out in the real world won't be. Think of it like this: people want to hide their treasure in these boxes and stop other people from gaining access to it. They're not going to protect it with simple curses that only give you blisters." Needless to say, the effects were horrible. "See, curses are, essentially, dark. The curses you use here aren't too bad but the majority of them are likely to cause harm. Therefore, a cursed object could have disastrous effects on you so you have to be very careful. Remember that when dealing with anything cursed, okay?" In case anyone was thinking about approaching this lightly. "I mean, you don't want to walk around with two heads and extra limbs now do you?"

Besides, there was a difference between being brave and being stupid and curse breaking really enforced that difference.

"A number of you mentioned casting spells at it to see if it's cursed. That's....... not the right way to deal with this. Please remember one thing: cursed objects are cursed in such a way that they will hurt you. They will be charmed to detect certain spells being thrown their way: Alohomora being a key one. Some even detect if a human is interacting with it or touching it and immediately curses them without giving them a warning." Again, constant vigilance. "Throwing an object at the box could work, especially if it's thrown from a distance and you make no contact with the box whatsoever."

"But!" Cue a dramatic pause in which Hirsch, who'd managed to get to the front of the class, turned and looked directly at the students in general. "There's a way. Care to take the lead, Professor?" A smile was flashed in her direction.

Really, Roderik had done a good job of introducing her portion with background information. She sent a thank you nod in his direction. "I wholeheartedly agree, professor... except for with one thing. Casting a spell to see if an object is cursed is exactly what you should do. But certainly not in the ways that were mentioned!" Which obviously was what Hirsch was referring to.

"There is a spell that you can perform which will reveal a set of numbers detailing various aspects of a curse. It is important to note that the object of this spell is not, in our case, the box, but rather the curse itself. You will see why that is important shortly." There was probably some confusion out there right now but.. good things came to those who waited and took notes. Tiara stepped towards the box and performed a nonverbal incantation, a complicated wrist motion involved as well. A series of golden numbers, shimmering and wavering, appeared above the box and floated in midair.

28 . 080 . 527 . 4 . 9

"The numbers you see above you hold the key to unlocking a safe method for breaking the curse on this box. Before I explain how to use those numbers, I would like for you to practice the spell." Because they had had enough of listening for awhile, yes? "I am going to teach you a slight variation on the spell - arithmos revelio scindo. Without the 'scindo' on the end," and she very carefully pronounced it SIN-doh, "you would have one big, long string of numbers mushed together. Not nice." And much harder to work with. She far preferred this way.

"Now the wand movement is a bit complex. Begin by pointing at the object," she demonstrated. "Then as you begin to speak, move your wand in a clockwise spiral flowing upwards. By the time you finish, your wand will probably be around shoulder or head level, but it does not particularly matter. Just do what feels natural."

"It takes some practice to get the timing down correctly, so I would ask each of you to make several attempts. Hopefully you will get the same numbers to appear above the box and we will end up with many variations all on top of each other!" Oh, and one more thing. "Try moving a bit closer if you are in the back and are not getting it to work. Good luck!"

OOC: It's okay for your charrie to struggle! It's a hard spell. I won't be moving on until tomorrow, so have fun! Tiara is around if you need her!

Daxton could sense Hirsch's eyes on him, and in that moment he gripped his notebook tighter still, mentally yelling for him to move along. And he did, but even the paranoid Daxton could make the logical deduction that it was because he had been intending to move along anyway, and not because of any mind-reading. Although... he did wonder...

By the time Tanner had moved the lesson along, Daxton had finally managed to tear his eyes away from the wall and look instead towards the box... and the non-verbal demonstration. Of course. Of course they would be working on a spell.

Naturally, Daxton had no intentions of attempting the spell, not in a room full of people. He was still attempting to work on spells non-verbally, and still very much opposed to doing so in front of others. As he was not attempting the activity, Daxton knew he had to keep himself occupied - or at least appear so - to keep the professors from concerning themselves with what he was doing. So, instead of going for his wand, Daxton finally let go of his notebook and pushed out the pen from the spiral binding, before opening up the notebook to a fresh page and writing down, in his usual level of detail, notes on this new spell and everything that had been said by staff and students alike, despite the fact that he did not necessarily need to take notes at all. Looking busy, Daxton had learned, was the best way (after coming across as difficult and uncommunicative) to get people to leave him alone.

The teen wilted a little inside as Professor Hirsch spoke and she bit her lip a little and slid down in her chair a bit.. Part of her just wanted to disappear into her chair..

*sigh*

Why could she get nothing right lately? She looked down at her desk, while still listening intently to the Professor speaking..Notes were also happening.. She was grateful for them, to give her something to do in order to recover from her embarrassment. So protection spell first.. then throwing something at it? She bit her lip as Professor Tanner took over and Azura finally raised her eyes to watch her as she spoke..

She tilted her head as numbers appeared over the box and her eyes swung back to Professor Tanner.. So these numbers could help them learn what curses were on the box and how to break them?

She was intrigued... Also that spell looked really cool..

Azura liked learning new spells.

She nodded as the Professor told them to start to try the spell.. She first started with the movement, It was rather complicated, and she started to move her wand clockwise in a spiral moving upwards. She felt like she was going to conjure a tornado or something like that..

After she had practiced the movement, she started to say the spell.. "Arithmos Revelio Scindo." She said softly, trying to work the spell around on her tongue.. "Arithmos Revelio Scindo.." She said again, making sure she was getting the pronunciation right.

Pronunciation was key.. as was intent and the wand movement.. Combine all of them together.. and hopefully she would get it right.

Finally she put the wand movement together with the spell.. "Arithmos Revelio Scindo." She said as she spiraled her wand upwards.. and looked over at the box to see..

Nothing..

Fwoopers..

Juno raised her hand, she wanted to make sure she had this write. She knew it was a complicated spell but wanted to make sure that she said the incantation properly.

When she was called on, she asked, "Professor Tanner, are we saying Arithmos Revelio Scindo or are we saying Arithmos Revelio and not saying Scindo? I just want to clarify before I practice." Spells could be really complicated to say and she really didn't want to blow something up.

Okay, so her answer had been close. That made Esme happy. So did the fact that Juno had gotten praise for thinking along the same lines as their father would have; like him, her sister was so smart when it came to defence.

Numbers, however... Neither of them were great with those.

Watching Professor Tanner's demonstration, she tried her best to mimic the wand movement. Clockwise spiral moving upwards. She did a few of those before deciding it was time to move on to the incantation which was a bit of a tongue twister. "Arithmos Revelio Scindo." Was that correct? Esme would see soon enough. "Arithmos Revelio Scindo... Arithmos Revelio Scindo... Arithmos Revelio Scindo." Time to combine the incantation and wand movement.

Aaaaaaand nothing happened. Clearly she was off with the timing because it definitely wasn't proximity to the box; she wasn't at the back of the classroom.

Sooo you used a spell to identify the numbers that were some kind of code or indication of the curses being used? Their vibrations or something maybe? Charlotte was, at this point, paying actual attention, quite intrigued. Especially because the spell itself was made up of different language roots. That was neat! Ancient Greek AND Latin! Cool! Arithmos revelio scindo.

She was listening to the instructions and followed along with the wand movement. Then she heard Juno Darcy ask a question and decided she'd take a stab at the answer, so she stuck her hand up.

"I think the scindo part is the bit that makes the number have gaps, because it means 'to split', and I'm guessing that will make it easier for us to figure out what the numbers are trying to tell us later? Soooo we say it WITH the scindo otherwise there's no gaps and you'd have to figure those out by trial and error?" That was what she got from it anyways. Was she right? Char shot a look at the Professor to check if she was on the right track. This was SO much less boring that she would have expected!

"Good first attempts, everyone. This will take several tries for most of you, so keep going!" she encouraged. "Remember: arithmos revelio scindo."

"Arithmos revelio scindo, arithmos revelio scindo, arithmos revelio scindo," she repeated the words very quietly to herself while making the wand movement, so silent that only she could hear exactly what she was saying. After awhile of practicing she began to wonder what would happen if they failed to disarm to the box.

Kitty's hand shot into the air. "I have a question professor's," she said rather anxiously. "You said that this box unleashes blisters if it's not disarmed. Does that mean that if we fail to say the spell correctly then we might get blisters?" Even though all around her people were saying the words and nothing was happening, Kitty was still a littler nervous.