Rula was only half-listening to the explanation about the fourth element, although she paused for a moment when she heard her name. Or, well, 'Miss Botros'. But she hadn't...?

Oh, wait. It was probably about Junia. That made more sense, and Rula felt a bit of pride that her sister had been recognized for getting the answer right. Or close to right, whatever it was. Go Junia.

The fifth year continued to focus on her clay bunny until someone started mentioning Toussaints. She paused, and her moved to stare at the boy talking and spouting nonsense and the random girl laughing. So that was Blaise, the kid she'd heard so much about from Bast? While she didn't at all approve of what Bast had done over the summer, she wasn't particularly impressed with this guy either right now. It seemed to her like he almost enjoyed getting in trouble and playing the victim since he didn't know how to keep his mouth shut or even fake an apology to get out of trouble. Merlin.

Katy, Rooney, and Handsome Hirsch's responses to it, at least, soothed Rula's mood a little, so she didn't feel the need to add to the chaos, for the professor's sake if for nothing else. The situation was handled, so there was no need to keep dragging it out.

But she was watching and listening a little more closely now, even though she resumed her task with the clay bunny.

It was.... Satisfying to hear her name mentioned along with Philips and the younger Botros' as the closest to the truth, a satisfaction that Aslan showed by a small, but honest smile that she quickly tried to calm.

Hirsch was easily one of the few remaining professors worth respecting or asking questions, and was one of the few who didn't spin about in circles when you put them into a spot with a... Arguably less than conventional question. Yes, satisfied. Aslan Evans found herself in a rare moment of academic fulfillment in the classroom.

............

She abandoned her note-taking to watch and listen (albeit halfheartedly) to her fellow students as they spoke on a question she believed too easy to answer.

And then suddenly, it got much louder and slightly more interesting.

Aslan had never been of a more amusing or enlightening lesson in all her years at Hogwarts school of witchcraft and Wizardry, and to think she had considered not coming at all today? What a waste that would have been. Although not a malicious person, Aslan couldn't help but find something entertaining in the way this lesson had turned from... Lesson to sword fight between Blaise Bellaire and Rooney-Ravenclaw. It was proving fascinating fodder for her research into the Gryffindor-Ravenclaw-Male-Mentality and Aslan made sure to write down as much as she could of the conversation including Rooney's stepping out and Katy Toussaint's blown kisses.



She reread through her notes before cleanly folding them up and tucking them away into her bag, she would do a deeper bit of research later.

Oh a question.

"Other than dummies and the like, in my family we practice on each other. As in other practitioners, who are fully informed of the risks. Never innocents." A slight twitch of the lip and Angelo added, "Usually I get to practice on my father." Never creatures. Never muggles. They had standards.



Really now. Angelo was impassive at this turn of events, though he was kiiiind of amused at the Tate girl -she kind of reminded Angelo of their shared aunt Briony Toussaint who had married into his family.

He wondered if Sophia Bellaire knew how the youngsters in her family were behaving though, and was kind of surprised in that sense. He knew the Bellaire family. He knew that they had some pretty exacting standards of conduct. So it seemed a little odd to him.

His young cousin had done something idiotic, thoughtless, and cruel (and while there was an element of boys will be boys, nobody in the family had let Bastien off scot-free, because he was clearly lacking control, and control was important to the Toussaints, as was respect) but there had been apologies and Angelo was pretty sure nobody else had done this Blaise kid any harm. Maybe even the opposite.

He remained silent though he fixed Katy with a gaze and silently told her to rein it in. Never mind that Hirsch apparently supported her. It wasn't right to interrupt the learning time of the other students.

Were they done? He was unruffled. And he wouldn't apologise on behalf of his family because they had, with the exception of Bastien, done nothing wrong, and again, this was about the lesson and Angelo wasn't one to approve of hijacking a lesson for personal issues. Or of leaving. Too bad about that one kid.

Terrible apology, by the way, Blaise Bellaire. Seemed someone liked being the centre of attention. Too bad it was for all the wrong reasons. At least the other one, Bentley, seemed to have his head screwed on a little tighter.



Surprisingly, maybe, Blaise Bellaire gave a good answer. Angelo treated it as if it had come from anyone, of course.

"Yes, Herbology is absolutely an area that is often underestimated as far as its relevance to dark magic goes, either because of dark-bred plants, or because of the ingredients that may be used in potions." So that, Blaise Bellaire, was a good answer. Go figure.



"Yes, potions is right. Either because of poisons or because of those potions which can take control of others. So its important to be educated in the topic." Good answers from the girls.




Did she mean the unforgivable curses? Angelo figured as much and chose not to correct what was clearly just a slip of the tongue.

"I suppose you could, but I would hope that anyone who does take that avenue as far as educating themselves on the dark arts does so in order to better their ability to defend against them." He wasn't condoning kids going off and dabbling on their own, to borrow a term from Bentley Moore.



"Horcruxes are corrupting. That's where a lot of the associations between dark magic practitioners and the destruction of the soul and physical corruption come from. In no way would I ever condone that." Not ever. That was a hard no in his family. "Drinking unicorn blood, likewise. Those are some of the more insidious practices which add to the negative perception of the dark arts... however we're looking for less specificity in the case of Professor Hirsch's question." Branches of magic. Subjects. Wider learning areas.




"Yes, the breeding of dark creatures absolutely has associations with the dark arts." Angelo agreed.





Well.... yes but they'd been looking for non-spellwork subjects. And some elaboration. But Angelo did quite like what the boy was making. He nodded in acknowledgement.

As for the girl....

He wasn't sure where she was trying to jump to with that comment. Obliviating someone didn't immediately mean evil. She herself admitted it was for protection reasons. However, he'd noticed she was a little jumpy and reserved so rather than point out any argument or that the professor had asked for things other than spellwork and wand magic, he simply nodded.

"So you can see how its often a matter of how a spell is used, rather than it being inherently dark or not."



"Ancient Runes is absolutely an area which can be associated with the dark arts. Its all about how you invoke them, to what purpose you awaken their power, and how well you understand what you are trying to achieve." Definitely this was one of the answers he wanted to hear.




"Yes there is an association with the snake language, and you're right that its associated based on history specifically, because obviously those who are able to use it can talk to basilisks, which are a dark creature after all. However, your point about certain tongues is a good one because many dark spells use very old incantations, using dead and ancient languages, scripts, and rituals, so its actually important to have at least a passing familiarity with more than just say... Latin or Ancient Greek as a serious dark artist." But that was kind of beyond the scope of today's lesson, just an interesting tidbit... at least to some.



"Alchemy is a great answer. It can certainly be used for dark purposes."
The philosopher's stone was a great example of that.



"Occlumency and Legilmency can be used for dark purposes yes. They aren't divination, however." Nice try though, nice guess there associating it with divination. Angelo nodded at the girl as well, including her in his response.

"Occlumency tends to be considered a lot more positive in nature than Legilmency, the former being about self-protection, while the latter can be considered an invasion, though like anything its not always black and white. For instance, if you couldn't speak, consider how Legilimency might be useful in making yourself understood to someone who was open to you communicating with them. Also, by its nature, Legilimency requires steady eye contact and is much easier to do when you actually use the incantation for it, so using it for dark purposes is actually harder than you might think, unlss you are particularly advanced with it." He himself was good enough to read an unblocked mind, but not good enough to try and plant anything in anyone's head with any subtlety. Maybe that would come with age if he were inclined to practice, but Angelo couldn't see much good coming from it or necessity for that matter.


Okay.... sure. All of them.

That was kind of, to a degree, the point of the question, but Angelo had been hoping for more elaboration than that, and he was sure Hirsch had been too. Still, it seemed they both had got the point that it wasn't about being inherently dark. And dark didn't always mean bad, sometimes it just meant grey areas. And most people did things in the grey areas all the time.

"Its all about how creative your thinking is, and about how you play to your strengths, and of course about what your intentions are." He acknowledged.



... and he was just going to ignore that kid. Though honestly he was surprised, from what he'd seen of the professor so far, that he was so laid back about the kids being disrespectful, generally speaking. Things were definitely different back at Durmstrang.

So.

Moving on.

"Alchemy was mentioned and I can give an example of dark magic which is unique to that field: the homunculus. Some of you might have heard of something known as the rudimentary body potion, this was an alchemical potion which Voldemort used to create a miniaturised, deformed, host body. Unicorn blood is a component in this potion- it is truly dark, corrupting, and dangerous." And Angelo had never met anyone who could do it.... and if he had, they wouldn't because they weren't insane.

"Astronomy and Arithmancy also have their uses in the dark arts. This might surprise some of you to know. However dark magic has its own numerical vibrations, and certain spells and rituals are made stronger when astronomical alignments are taken into account, particularly when it comes to Blood Magic, which is a lesser known magic branch, that is neutral in nature, and most often is employed in invocation... for example when invoking runes."

Really, just reducing it all to 'the dark arts' was limiting, and meant that people were less equipped to face it and defend against it effectively. How could you fight what you didn't know?

"Runes can also be used to either create or break thralls. A thrall is being or form under control by another. A homunculus is an example of a thrall. So is the use of an imperius curse. Several potions create thrall-like responses in those who take them. Love potions for instance. The degree of the thrall depends on how the thrall is created." Were they following this? Because they were getting to the crux of the lesson now.

"Most of you have been forming something out of clay so far during the lesson. If you would, please look at what you have created, or if you haven't created anything, what others have done, and consider: what could theoretically be done to your creation, or in the case of those of you who made inanimate objects the real-life version of your creation, to make it be considered dark in nature?

And while you're at it, particularly those of you who have created a creature or being of some sort, does anyone know what a golem is?"


ooc: Hi guys! Two part question here! Feel free to answer one or both, up to you.

Part 1: considering the clay crafted inanimate objects: how could they be cursed to be dark? be creative! ie if you made a glove, maybe the glove could be cursed to shrivel up the fingers. If you made sunglasses, maybe wearing them could blind you. Consider the possible 'dark' things that could be done to the actual item, not necessarily the clay version of the item. Got it? Cool!

Part 2: What is a golem? Don't worry if your character doesn't know. There IS info online but we would RATHER you didn't just copy paste as if a textbook answer if your character has never been exposed to the idea before. This is new to SS canon after all, its okay to have your character not know, or only have the vaguest ideas, or have come across it in literature, or whatever makes sense for YOUR charrie. Your character could also use what they've just heard to take a guess or a stab at what a golem is. You won't lose out on points for not knowing! Kita's nice like that!

Kita will continue the lesson in her next post

Angelo Toussaint was... A fair bit like Bastien. Calm, detirmined and seemingly unfazed by the chaos of his surroundings, perhaps it was a Toussaint thing for even Charlotte Kettleburn seemed to go-with-the-flow of things in general. With some consternation, Aslan realized she ought to ask the younger girl if she knew of any cult connections her family might have had in the past. She had no doubt that the large and well-connected family must, at one point or another, have been connected to some unsavory, darker clans.

It was an easy assumption to make and the Gryffindor was a little annoyed with herself for not having considered the subject before.

Now, it wasn't much like Aslan to raise her hand a few times in a lesson, but she couldn't help herself with questions like this. She almost lazily raised her hand, the rounded clay ball motionless on her desk. "Theoretically speaking it would be easy to imbue this clay ball with cursed properties. Something like.... " she paused, eyes shifting about the room as she considered the options. "Like a poison that secretes into the skin, or a charm that would inflict visions on the victim if they directly touched it." Aslan tucked back a lock of hair, and sat back in her chair, her expression was thoughtful and calm as she considered the next question, though it was hardly warranted. She knew this one too.

"A Golem is a figure in Jewish Mythology made of clay and controlled by a witch or demon. It's very similar to a homunculus in that it is supposed to do the bidding of it's master." She paused again, her thoughts threatening to overload her lips they were running so quickly in her mind. "They can easily become corrupted if not controlled the right way by a witch of skill." Seemed like difficult magic... But this all was very... familiar.

...... Nana Ichihara had given them a lesson just like this, save that she hadn't included the dark arts or golems, or perhaps she had, Aslan couldn't remember exactly. "Will we be cursing the clay or bringing it to life?" She directed her question to no one in particular, it was more like musing aloud, really.

Huuuum. Jonas looked at his crestion. He had purposely made a gnome. He didn't know what would be in dark in nature with a gnome. Maybe besides annoying someone. Other then that....
"Maybe it would be bewitched?" Jonas said outloud but more to himself.

Well. Frankie made a sort of Kappa with their clay before she snatched a small piece off it to throw at Katy. Genny looked down at the headless Kappa. UHHH. "We made a Kappa, which is already a dark creature. A water demon that feeds on human blood." What a lovely choice. "It's considered dark in nature because it harms us to the point of death, I'm not sure how we can make it darker than it already is. If there's a way to blow some soul into it, it'll come to life and try to strangle us." Was that what he meant? Genny was now half-convinced he'd be impressed with them blowing life into a dark creature since he was somewhat evil like Blaise said. "Ours is headless now though." She added that last bit a little sheepishly.

Golem? Gollum?? Wasn't it the creature from that famous muggle story? Genny couldn't put her finger on it but she definitely heard of it. "Is it a creature that lives in the dark and gets obsessed with a shiny object and dedicate their entire life to protecting it?" Yup. That was Gollum.

Jace was already used to outbursts by fellow classmates, now that he’s in his third year in Hogwarts. If he were a fresh transfer however, this would come out as a culture shock. Really? Fighting in front of their teacher…and a guest to boot? He was sure that that won’t be tolerated in either Mahoutokoro or Himitsumahou, and all students involved will probably get more than detention as punishment. Despite the fact that he’s used to such scenarios, he can’t help but stop what he was doing when voices became louder. It didn’t help too when Professor Hirsch almost lost his cool. This made the boy sink lower in his seat, and kept his head down.

Surely, the Bellaire cousins and Katy Toussaint are entitled to their opinions…but their Prefect’s outburst was uncalled for. Jace could not help but feel embarrassed given the fact that he’s from the same house as him…and he even walked out on their Head of House’s class. If the Bellaire boys were so wrong, then why did Rooney stoop down to their level and exchange it for something as valuable as this lesson? Jace could feel his embarrassment turn into frustration…and the frustration turned into anger. “Idiot.” He swore mentally in Japanese, and continued to sculp his clay half-heartedly.

Hopefully, Azura…or Jasper were taking down notes because Mr. Toussaint were giving out simplified information of things that he may never come across during his stay in Hogwarts. The questions were heard of course, and this somehow made the Ravenclaw relax a bit because it made him think and not dwell too much on things he didn’t understand. “Professor, if this was a rōnin or a masterless samurai he’d be dangerous as it is, but if he’s under the command of a dark wizard or witch, he’d make a very powerful and deadly golem.” The thought made Jace’s skin crawl, but tried his best to keep a straight face as he delivered his clever response. Two fwoopers with one stone, eh?

Oeh, the teacher was talking reaaaaly a lot and that means that she needed to make also a lot of notes! Pff… Most of what the teacher was saying was unknown to the poor first year old, she had heard about that Voldemort person, of course, it had been one of the first things she had learned while attending Hogwarts but… The rest of the story was just… Well, she understood only parts of it and she stared most of the time empty eyed at the professor while making notes, hoping to being able to understand them later.

Oh, she had made a creature(ish) thing because she had been making the horror doll from a Muggle movie she had seen, so had she made a golem? She didn’t hoped so because she didn’t wanted the monster out of the movie come to life! Looking suddenly interested she didn’t answered the question because she wasn’t sure about the answer so she only made notes.

Well that was both an expected and unexpected response. So yes the Toussaints practiced on live specimens, but not creatures-- PEOPLE. Blue-green peepers grew larger by a bit as he processed that fact. "Cool." Nod nod, well theres a part of him that is squirming and riling up about the fact that people are subjected to this, even if they are willing participants, but the other part of him says-- that is actually a most accurate and effective way to do things.

Anyway that’s a rabbit hole to be explored another time? Yes.

He looked at his little clay creation, now pretty much complete. The talk of imbuing dark magic on inanimate objects is suddenly making him wonder just what was he thinking? Well.. He wasn’t thinking, like many artistic processes, there isnt a whole lot of conscious or logical thought that goes into the act… So what can be done to it that would make it dark in nature? Gulp "Uhm…. make it over a hundred feet tall and set it lose in an overcrowded city?" Not good not good.

Oh and what is a Golem? "It’s a rock / ground type pokemon. Highest evolved form of a Geodude." he replied expertly.

Does Mr Toussaint know about Pokemon??? Asfdasdfsadfdsafaf!!

Hady had felt like she should say something. Anything really to help with the Blaise, Bentley, Rooney situation. Being Head Girl it was part of her role to keep things calm and solved problems such as this one. However she also knew when she wasn't needed, shouldn't get involved or just simple allow the Professor to do as he deemed needed. Which was the case here even if all the ruckus was taking her attention away from what she was supposed to be doing. The teen glanced over that way and sighed softly giving a small disappointed shake of her head at the behavior but nothing was said from her.

When it all settled down she went right back to the molding of the clay. Her hands working on the finer details now which she was using the plastic butter knife for. Small eyes were made and a thin line on the beak opening it slightly. Little notches were added to the wings to make feathers. This was indeed where her attention was right now.

More talking was being done and Hady barely lifted her gaze from her work. She heard all that was said as she once again raised a clay covered hand. "I'm working on a Hippogriff which are already truly proud creatures and take time to fully earn their trust. Under the wrong guidance they could be rather powerful and destructive." Anything really could be if it was being used for the wrong reasoning. A Golem now too? What did that have to do with what they were doing today? Where they going to be making their clay objects come to life? Hady listened to the answers given nodding in agreement with Aslan. This was something they had learned a hint of in transfiguration only they made their familiars. They intent behind the spells that day were simply to get the creature to follow them around, nothing harmful.

Finally caught up with her notes, mostly, Paige was reminded of her unfinished clay rose that had been left in pieces all around her parchment and would have returned to her sculpting were it not for...all of that. What...wait...what? No seriously...what? Paige was left just gaping and blinking as the scene unfolded. Lots and lots and lots of blinking. Consider her clay completely forgotten once again and the want to melt into her seat to disappear in the face of this conflict overwhelming. Figuratively speaking, the conflict that came by association with this particular subject, not just in terms of dueling, was something that had always caused her to be a bit uneasy...and now here was a not-so-charming manifestation of actual conflict.

Was Blaise even MORE squirrely this term?!

Angelo diving back into the lecture portion only slightly brought her attention back, although his response to her inquiry in particular helped her gain more focus than the rest. Emphasis on the power and influence of language was something that had intrigued her from a young age and, well, for novel reasons this particular discussion had tickled her fancy considerably. But it seemed like now was perhaps not the time to ask some follow up questions on the matter.

Clay. Right. She was supposed to be sculpting something...and all she had was a stem with a few leaves attached to it. Petals still flat blobs on the desk. How to make it Dark? She supposed turning it into a Bloody-Red Rose would do the trick...although the flesh eating shrub was not Dark in nature like Dark creatures were. It didn't kill for the sake of killing but rather to feed...so not considered a dark-bred plant, right? Using it for ingredients in a potion was one thing, but it was hardly a response the Hufflepuff felt worth voicing and therefore her hand remained down for a little longer.

The second half of his question, however, was something that she probably could offer up her voice to - particularly since there was a tie in with her interest in language and the written word. Or, well, potentially so. She only knew how Golems functioned within the muggle literature she had read. "Is...is it true that something as simple as a word can defeat them?" she asked upon raising her hand. The pen being mightier than the sword was, well, something that resonated with this particular young woman. "I've read narratives where Golems were brought to life with carvings on their foreheads, emet...the Hebrew word for 'truth', and to deactivate it one need to remove the first letter from that word to change it's meaning from 'truth' to 'death'..." He mind was swirling a bit, so many thoughts flooding in at once it was hard to isolate each one. Did that mean that Hebrew was one of the languages that Angelo was referring to in response to her suggestion? There had been an emphasis on other methods of Dark manifestation other than spellwork just now... "Do the same...or similar...laws of magic apply?"

Aaaand the lesson was moving on again. Blaise did something of inactive listening as the YATI went into explanations and corrections. Vaguely he'd heard the guy agreeing that Herbology had the potential to be dark and vaguely he was aware they'd touched on things like Arithmancy and Astronomy but if he'd been using words, Blaise's brain was choosing not to interpret them, leaving him to sit there.

It was times like these were his quill proved itself indispensable. Strictly speaking, he could simply get the notes from someone else, but he seldom wanted to.

Somehow, the Gryffindor's brain seemed to shift back into focus by the time Toussaint got around to his questions. Neither of which the boy felt like answering.

He might have made a wise crack toward his cousin about their lumps of clay they hadn't touched becoming dark lumps of clay if they hurled it at someone's head were he still in a decent mood. He might also have given some info on what he'd read about golems but the others in the class seemed to be doing a bang up job of that which left this Gryffindor with very little need to say anything--constructive anyway.

Junia found the antics of the older kids in the class to be quite rude. The mention of runes and thoughts of her grandfather made her wonder if anyone had ever dared to act like that in his lessons. Even the idea of such a thing made the tiny twelve year old's blood boil and she'd decided she would've hexed the pants off them in retaliation. That Katy girl was right in standing up for her family, she was.

Attention having returned to the YATI, Junia thought about his questions. She had no idea what a golem was and besides, Aslan seemed to have that covered. The second year made a mental note to ask her about it later but for now, her clay creature. How could it be made into something dark?

"Small dogs are cute and it's been my experience that lots of people jump at the chance to keep small, adorable creatures. To help them. A dark wizard could use this to their advantage, setting seemingly lost, little dogs around and letting wizarding families take them home and care for them. Only the longer these families have the dogs, the more the comfortable they get, giving the dogs the perfect chance to attack and take them out."

....Or something else. Something else could work, too. The second year smiled and shrugged, her gaze falling back on her clay dog.

Her eyes moved to the man that was there as well. As he spoke to the ones answering and then looked at her to answer her. Yes, it's exactly what she meant. That is wasn't just the spell but the person doing it. Anyone could be evil no matter what. Her hands stayed busy pulling and rolling her clay.

She was listening to the man as he spoke and he mostly understood what he was saying. She had failed astronomy in her owls and was done taking it, that went for Runes as well after that first class. Arithmancy though she could do that very well, but never had considered it dark. Her mind went around this topic and she stopped listening to the rest of the conversation fully missing the questions.

Attention only coming back when she heard making something out of clay. What? She looked around as the rest had been making something that actually looked like something. She snuck down in her chair and started rolling the clay. What could she make that was quick and actually look not horrible since she had no artistic skills in her.

Cass was fully prepared to let herself to think on the professor’s question in preparation for them moving on with whatever else had been planned. However what obviously hadn’t been planned on was two boys teasing one of her house/yearmates on sharing a name and familiar connection with the auror-in-training. The drama just drastically growing from there until one of her house prefects was walking out. The Ravenclaw couldn’t help but sigh at the situation, feeling bad for Katy and Rooney.

Bloody Gryffindors.

And what logic…the responsible one leaving at the trouble makers allowed to stay. Cue absent shake of head.

Hopefully Hirsch gave them something nasty in response later on. Cassie would have to trust the man since he insisted in punishing in private. Besides Mr. Toussaint was moving them on, apparently unruffled in light of the behaviors. Ever the smooth cucumber law enforcement could be. The reason her uncle could ruffle feathers with his persistence. “Would it be something you create to be able to control to do your bidding…” she mused after raising her hand. It certainly seemed like it leaned in that direction given what he had said about the inanimate objects.

"Well I made worms..." said Kitty somewhat awkwardly as she looked down at her clay worms and back up at Angelo. I suppose worms could be dangerous if they were made to be poisonous to the touch, or if they were big and aggressive enough to be a threat to someone." She felt that she wasn't being as imaginative as she could be, but the question had surprised her and she wasn't sure how you could make them dangerous.

"As for Golems, I'm afraid I don't really know what they are in our world, but from what I've seen of Muggle movies, they are giant beings made of clay that serve a wizard. So kind of like what we are talking about, right?"

Azura said there with an eyebrow raised as everything went down.. she shook her head a bit at Blaise, but she was highly unimpressed with Rooney. His behavior wasn't befitting a prefect in her eyes. Just to walk out like that? Wasn't that a little bit dramatic?

Then again she did know he liked the Theater so maybe it was in his blood? Whatever it was.. she didn't like it. Ravenclaws should be better.

Her attention turned back to Angelo as he started talking and she looked down at her clay red panda with slight horror..The potential for evil with an adorable Red Panda was tremendous! They were the most adorable things on the planet! Their cuteness could lure you in and then bam! Their fur could be poisonous and kill you..

She raised her hand and spoke "I made a Red Panda Sir, and seeing as they are so cute and cuddly, it would be easy to charm their fur to be poisonous or something like that in order to hurt whoever touched it.." Her poor poor Red
Panda...

She didn't know anything about Golem's though.. this was all a bit out of her depth..

Why did there always have to be such drama? Someone she start a drama club for Bentley and Blaise. They were completely out of line. And these were her brothers friends? Haha. Her mother would hear about this. If this was the way they felt Kat wondered if Phillip had the same views. It didn't matter, she knew the Toussaints, Katy was her best Katy friend and she was good people and so was her family. In her eyes. She just took notes, and stayed out of the conflict. That was she way she wanted to keep it,

Anyway, yes she meant unforgivable curses her rp mama likes making her look bad by not paying attention to what she is doing. Kat nodded in agreement with Angelo. She didn't like to think about people using what they learn in DADA, to turn it into how to use the dark arts. She valued learning what she did in this class to defend herself against people that would use it to advance themselves in dark arts.

Following Angelo instructions she looked at he clay doll that she was in the works of making, before notes and the drama started. Mmmmm, sure she had debated it, her thought process in making the clay doll. Not like she was going to real life version of it. She would probably just poke it and flick its head off for stress relief. "I made a clay doll. You could make a voodoo doll." That was a form of dark magic, yes? She wasn't sure if that was what Angelo was getting at with this question or not. Dark magic was kind of confusing to her. Good thing it didn't interest her. Kat had only seen Golem in her textbook, but it looked way advanced for her at the moment.

Could they just use defensive spells to blast these clay art things?

Text Cut: Katy

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cassirin

Even if NO ONE else in the class was outraged at the unfair and rude things said about her family, Katy was gratified by the professor's response. And by Rooney's. He got lots of starry eyed grins and maybe some blown kisses for his trouble. It was a shame that he was leaving, 'cause Katy was going to have to follow up and thank him in person.

"At least someone is a gentleman," she returned to rolling up her clay, squishing her snail shell into a turtle shell, complete with a little head and happy little footsies.

"Thank you, sir. I appreciate your intervention." She held up her clay turtle for his inspection. Katy Toussaint was a child used to praise for her every little task, and no one had told her how clever she was for her artwork yet.

He was being praised? This was surprising, especially after the events that had just happened. The man found himself blinking at the young girl before his lips tugged into a small smile. "You're very welcome, Miss Toussint." The appreciation was nice, he wasn't about to deny that.

"Nice turtle, you've made. Very creative, I have to say." Though, even he didn't have an idea on how they could possibly be made into a dark creature.

Text Cut: Tak

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kaos.Doodles

Any OTHER suggestions? Well...after the whole drama that was taking place, it sounded like Hirsch was just bating someone to set him of. Glancing at the clay that sat untouched at his desk Tak stole another look at the professor. If the man wanted them to talk....then he couldn't get in trouble for voicing his opinions right? Even if what he had to say wasn't really helpful? Plus, if he got kicked out he wouldn't really mind it. "How do you know that....that guy...the auror. Isn't here to harm anyone?"

The third year rested his chin on his head. He knew the guys name was Tous...something but he couldn't exactly care enough to remember. Auror guy. "Isn't controlling people part of dark magic? What if he's being controlled? Maybe Rooney too since he seems to be in love with him." Just an observation. "Not Blaise because his mouth is always that big." Another very noticeable observation.

...................

What in the name of?! Hadn't he told them to drop the conversation?

"Controlling people is part of dark magic, which is why we have an Unforgivable Curse for it, but no. That's not something you have to worry about here." And that was the end of that discussion, okay?

Text Cut: All of you ^^

Text Cut: Aslan

Quote:

Originally Posted by nicole black

Angelo Toussaint was... A fair bit like Bastien. Calm, detirmined and seemingly unfazed by the chaos of his surroundings, perhaps it was a Toussaint thing for even Charlotte Kettleburn seemed to go-with-the-flow of things in general. With some consternation, Aslan realized she ought to ask the younger girl if she knew of any cult connections her family might have had in the past. She had no doubt that the large and well-connected family must, at one point or another, have been connected to some unsavory, darker clans.

It was an easy assumption to make and the Gryffindor was a little annoyed with herself for not having considered the subject before.

Now, it wasn't much like Aslan to raise her hand a few times in a lesson, but she couldn't help herself with questions like this. She almost lazily raised her hand, the rounded clay ball motionless on her desk. "Theoretically speaking it would be easy to imbue this clay ball with cursed properties. Something like.... " she paused, eyes shifting about the room as she considered the options. "Like a poison that secretes into the skin, or a charm that would inflict visions on the victim if they directly touched it." Aslan tucked back a lock of hair, and sat back in her chair, her expression was thoughtful and calm as she considered the next question, though it was hardly warranted. She knew this one too.

"A Golem is a figure in Jewish Mythology made of clay and controlled by a witch or demon. It's very similar to a homunculus in that it is supposed to do the bidding of it's master." She paused again, her thoughts threatening to overload her lips they were running so quickly in her mind. "They can easily become corrupted if not controlled the right way by a witch of skill." Seemed like difficult magic... But this all was very... familiar.

...... Nana Ichihara had given them a lesson just like this, save that she hadn't included the dark arts or golems, or perhaps she had, Aslan couldn't remember exactly. "Will we be cursing the clay or bringing it to life?" She directed her question to no one in particular, it was more like musing aloud, really.

If he was completely honest with himself, this answer was a little scary, even if it was a well thought out answer. He was a quite impressed, though a little concerned as to how she got to the concept of embedding poisonous clay into someone's very bloodstream. This wasn't something to worry about, was it, Miss Evans?

"That is a very unique answer. Interesting, but unique." Again, concerned. "You're right in your thinking: you could, technically-speaking, secrete it into someone's skin and poison them. It's a tactful approach and you'll have to rely on a lot of luck to make sure that the clay can hold the poison."

Oh! Someone who knew about Golems? Here, the man had thought that people might not have known what the topic was so, when Miss Evans gave her answer, he found himself smiling somewhat. "Excellent! Really excellent description, well done. I particularly like your mention of the homunculus as well." It was almost as if he'd forgotten about the previous incident. Heh. "And you'll have to wait and see what happens with the clay piece you've created."

Was that a hint of a smirk? Yes it was.

Text Cut: Jonas

Quote:

Originally Posted by 2111jen

Huuuum. Jonas looked at his crestion. He had purposely made a gnome. He didn't know what would be in dark in nature with a gnome. Maybe besides annoying someone. Other then that....
"Maybe it would be bewitched?" Jonas said outloud but more to himself.

Bewitched? "Precisely. If it's bewitched in the right way and with certain intentions in mind, you can bewitch it to do anything, which has the potential for evil." Yes. Very good answer.

Text Cut: Genny

Quote:

Originally Posted by Magical Soul

Well. Frankie made a sort of Kappa with their clay before she snatched a small piece off it to throw at Katy. Genny looked down at the headless Kappa. UHHH. "We made a Kappa, which is already a dark creature. A water demon that feeds on human blood." What a lovely choice. "It's considered dark in nature because it harms us to the point of death, I'm not sure how we can make it darker than it already is. If there's a way to blow some soul into it, it'll come to life and try to strangle us." Was that what he meant? Genny was now half-convinced he'd be impressed with them blowing life into a dark creature since he was somewhat evil like Blaise said. "Ours is headless now though." She added that last bit a little sheepishly.

Golem? Gollum?? Wasn't it the creature from that famous muggle story? Genny couldn't put her finger on it but she definitely heard of it. "Is it a creature that lives in the dark and gets obsessed with a shiny object and dedicate their entire life to protecting it?" Yup. That was Gollum.

A Kappa? Hirsch actually approached the young Gryffindor and the Head Boy's desk and peered down at the figure that had been made, slightly amused. "Well, you're right: there's no way you could make a dark creature any more evil than it already is. Particularly one that strangles you to death. Giving it a bit of life will be enough to make it dark, in a sense." He gave the figure another look before continuing, "A headless kappa is an odd sight but who's to say it won't still be dark? It might stumble a bit but it'll do the job."

.......... Lives in the dark? Obsessed with shiny things? GOLLUM?! Hirsch couldn't help it: he actually let out a small chuckle at the girl's answer, feeling his heart lift ever so slightly. "That creature from the muggle stories? The one who died for the ring?" Amused. He was amused. "As interesting as a lesson topic as that would be, no, not that Golem."

Text Cut: Jace

Quote:

Originally Posted by Stefan

Jace was already used to outbursts by fellow classmates, now that he’s in his third year in Hogwarts. If he were a fresh transfer however, this would come out as a culture shock. Really? Fighting in front of their teacher…and a guest to boot? He was sure that that won’t be tolerated in either Mahoutokoro or Himitsumahou, and all students involved will probably get more than detention as punishment. Despite the fact that he’s used to such scenarios, he can’t help but stop what he was doing when voices became louder. It didn’t help too when Professor Hirsch almost lost his cool. This made the boy sink lower in his seat, and kept his head down.

Surely, the Bellaire cousins and Katy Toussaint are entitled to their opinions…but their Prefect’s outburst was uncalled for. Jace could not help but feel embarrassed given the fact that he’s from the same house as him…and he even walked out on their Head of House’s class. If the Bellaire boys were so wrong, then why did Rooney stoop down to their level and exchange it for something as valuable as this lesson? Jace could feel his embarrassment turn into frustration…and the frustration turned into anger. “Idiot.” He swore mentally in Japanese, and continued to sculp his clay half-heartedly.

Hopefully, Azura…or Jasper were taking down notes because Mr. Toussaint were giving out simplified information of things that he may never come across during his stay in Hogwarts. The questions were heard of course, and this somehow made the Ravenclaw relax a bit because it made him think and not dwell too much on things he didn’t understand. “Professor, if this was a rōnin or a masterless samurai he’d be dangerous as it is, but if he’s under the command of a dark wizard or witch, he’d make a very powerful and deadly golem.” The thought made Jace’s skin crawl, but tried his best to keep a straight face as he delivered his clever response. Two fwoopers with one stone, eh?

Did Jace realise how philosophical his answer had been?

Hirsch, who'd resumed his walk of the class, stopped to look at the boy and the figure he'd made, a smile playing on his face. "No wonder you're in my house." Just saying. "That's a very smart, and accurate, answer. A samurai is a person with great strength and the ability to protect and harm, all the same. While this is true for any human being," Something to think about? "Samurais have that symbolism and would most likely scare anyone who had to face it because they'd instantly know that this golem would be a strong one. Well done, Jace."

Text Cut: Leesha

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sonea

Oeh, the teacher was talking reaaaaly a lot and that means that she needed to make also a lot of notes! Pff… Most of what the teacher was saying was unknown to the poor first year old, she had heard about that Voldemort person, of course, it had been one of the first things she had learned while attending Hogwarts but… The rest of the story was just… Well, she understood only parts of it and she stared most of the time empty eyed at the professor while making notes, hoping to being able to understand them later.

Oh, she had made a creature(ish) thing because she had been making the horror doll from a Muggle movie she had seen, so had she made a golem? She didn’t hoped so because she didn’t wanted the monster out of the movie come to life! Looking suddenly interested she didn’t answered the question because she wasn’t sure about the answer so she only made notes.

A silent one? Did she have no idea how her figure could be turned into a dark one? No? No matter. Hirsch looked over at the object she'd made, a creature of sorts, and considered it before moving onwards. As long as she understood it.

Text Cut: Tenacius

Quote:

Originally Posted by Steelsheen

Well that was both an expected and unexpected response. So yes the Toussaints practiced on live specimens, but not creatures-- PEOPLE. Blue-green peepers grew larger by a bit as he processed that fact. "Cool." Nod nod, well theres a part of him that is squirming and riling up about the fact that people are subjected to this, even if they are willing participants, but the other part of him says-- that is actually a most accurate and effective way to do things.

Anyway that’s a rabbit hole to be explored another time? Yes.

He looked at his little clay creation, now pretty much complete. The talk of imbuing dark magic on inanimate objects is suddenly making him wonder just what was he thinking? Well.. He wasn’t thinking, like many artistic processes, there isnt a whole lot of conscious or logical thought that goes into the act… So what can be done to it that would make it dark in nature? Gulp "Uhm…. make it over a hundred feet tall and set it lose in an overcrowded city?" Not good not good.

Oh and what is a Golem? "It’s a rock / ground type pokemon. Highest evolved form of a Geodude." he replied expertly.

Does Mr Toussaint know about Pokemon??? Asfdasdfsadfdsafaf!!

Everything from the figure Tenacius had made to the answers for the man laughing, the slight bought of anger now completely ebbing away. "I take it you've seen a lot of muggle movies?" Harmless question, that was. "But yes, I guess you could. An evil snowman let loose over a city is hardly anyone's idea of fun." Or he hoped it wasn't.

First Gollum, now Pokemon? These students really knew their Muggle Studies, didn't they? "No, not that type of Golem, but it's interesting to note that they're both made of rocks. Maybe it was taken from the same folklore?" Food for thought.

Text Cut: Hady

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kolyander

Hady had felt like she should say something. Anything really to help with the Blaise, Bentley, Rooney situation. Being Head Girl it was part of her role to keep things calm and solved problems such as this one. However she also knew when she wasn't needed, shouldn't get involved or just simple allow the Professor to do as he deemed needed. Which was the case here even if all the ruckus was taking her attention away from what she was supposed to be doing. The teen glanced over that way and sighed softly giving a small disappointed shake of her head at the behavior but nothing was said from her.

When it all settled down she went right back to the molding of the clay. Her hands working on the finer details now which she was using the plastic butter knife for. Small eyes were made and a thin line on the beak opening it slightly. Little notches were added to the wings to make feathers. This was indeed where her attention was right now.

More talking was being done and Hady barely lifted her gaze from her work. She heard all that was said as she once again raised a clay covered hand. "I'm working on a Hippogriff which are already truly proud creatures and take time to fully earn their trust. Under the wrong guidance they could be rather powerful and destructive." Anything really could be if it was being used for the wrong reasoning. A Golem now too? What did that have to do with what they were doing today? Where they going to be making their clay objects come to life? Hady listened to the answers given nodding in agreement with Aslan. This was something they had learned a hint of in transfiguration only they made their familiars. They intent behind the spells that day were simply to get the creature to follow them around, nothing harmful.

Oh! Oh, wasn't this a good answer?

Hirsch found himself nodding slowly at her answer before saying, "That is an excellent connection to make with the creature's characteristics. Very well done, Hady. They could be a little hard to sway to the dark side or to do a dark bidding but it could, theoretically speaking, be done." Had he done James Draper justice with that answer?

Text Cut: Paige

Quote:

Originally Posted by sweetpinkpixie

Finally caught up with her notes, mostly, Paige was reminded of her unfinished clay rose that had been left in pieces all around her parchment and would have returned to her sculpting were it not for...all of that. What...wait...what? No seriously...what? Paige was left just gaping and blinking as the scene unfolded. Lots and lots and lots of blinking. Consider her clay completely forgotten once again and the want to melt into her seat to disappear in the face of this conflict overwhelming. Figuratively speaking, the conflict that came by association with this particular subject, not just in terms of dueling, was something that had always caused her to be a bit uneasy...and now here was a not-so-charming manifestation of actual conflict.

Was Blaise even MORE squirrely this term?!

Angelo diving back into the lecture portion only slightly brought her attention back, although his response to her inquiry in particular helped her gain more focus than the rest. Emphasis on the power and influence of language was something that had intrigued her from a young age and, well, for novel reasons this particular discussion had tickled her fancy considerably. But it seemed like now was perhaps not the time to ask some follow up questions on the matter.

Clay. Right. She was supposed to be sculpting something...and all she had was a stem with a few leaves attached to it. Petals still flat blobs on the desk. How to make it Dark? She supposed turning it into a Bloody-Red Rose would do the trick...although the flesh eating shrub was not Dark in nature like Dark creatures were. It didn't kill for the sake of killing but rather to feed...so not considered a dark-bred plant, right? Using it for ingredients in a potion was one thing, but it was hardly a response the Hufflepuff felt worth voicing and therefore her hand remained down for a little longer.

The second half of his question, however, was something that she probably could offer up her voice to - particularly since there was a tie in with her interest in language and the written word. Or, well, potentially so. She only knew how Golems functioned within the muggle literature she had read. "Is...is it true that something as simple as a word can defeat them?" she asked upon raising her hand. The pen being mightier than the sword was, well, something that resonated with this particular young woman. "I've read narratives where Golems were brought to life with carvings on their foreheads, emet...the Hebrew word for 'truth', and to deactivate it one need to remove the first letter from that word to change it's meaning from 'truth' to 'death'..." He mind was swirling a bit, so many thoughts flooding in at once it was hard to isolate each one. Did that mean that Hebrew was one of the languages that Angelo was referring to in response to her suggestion? There had been an emphasis on other methods of Dark manifestation other than spellwork just now... "Do the same...or similar...laws of magic apply?"

Well well well. If this answer didn't make him happy, he didn't know which answer would. The Defence Professor actually stopped to look at the young girl, smiling more and more as she went on to explain her answer. "I couldn't have said that better myself." Truly. "I will explain this properly but you've hit the nail. Excellent!"

Text Cut: Blaise

Quote:

Originally Posted by DaniDiNardo

Aaaand the lesson was moving on again. Blaise did something of inactive listening as the YATI went into explanations and corrections. Vaguely he'd heard the guy agreeing that Herbology had the potential to be dark and vaguely he was aware they'd touched on things like Arithmancy and Astronomy but if he'd been using words, Blaise's brain was choosing not to interpret them, leaving him to sit there.

It was times like these were his quill proved itself indispensable. Strictly speaking, he could simply get the notes from someone else, but he seldom wanted to.

Somehow, the Gryffindor's brain seemed to shift back into focus by the time Toussaint got around to his questions. Neither of which the boy felt like answering.

He might have made a wise crack toward his cousin about their lumps of clay they hadn't touched becoming dark lumps of clay if they hurled it at someone's head were he still in a decent mood. He might also have given some info on what he'd read about golems but the others in the class seemed to be doing a bang up job of that which left this Gryffindor with very little need to say anything--constructive anyway.

Blaise was being quiet? Odd, considering the events of the class. But, if he was completely honest with himself, it calmed him a little bit more while also making him slightly worried at the same time.

He was not getting paid enough for this.

Text Cut: Junia

Quote:

Originally Posted by TakemetotheBurrow

Junia found the antics of the older kids in the class to be quite rude. The mention of runes and thoughts of her grandfather made her wonder if anyone had ever dared to act like that in his lessons. Even the idea of such a thing made the tiny twelve year old's blood boil and she'd decided she would've hexed the pants off them in retaliation. That Katy girl was right in standing up for her family, she was.

Attention having returned to the YATI, Junia thought about his questions. She had no idea what a golem was and besides, Aslan seemed to have that covered. The second year made a mental note to ask her about it later but for now, her clay creature. How could it be made into something dark?

"Small dogs are cute and it's been my experience that lots of people jump at the chance to keep small, adorable creatures. To help them. A dark wizard could use this to their advantage, setting seemingly lost, little dogs around and letting wizarding families take them home and care for them. Only the longer these families have the dogs, the more the comfortable they get, giving the dogs the perfect chance to attack and take them out."

....Or something else. Something else could work, too. The second year smiled and shrugged, her gaze falling back on her clay dog.

While he was glad that the students had the capability to think about how something could be made dark, these thoughts also worried the man. It was important that they knew this, that they understood these subjects, but there was still that level of worry that he couldn't quite shake off.

"That..... is one way to scare the class into not accepting stray little dogs into their family." What? He was being honest. "But you're right: these people are cunning and will be clever about their antics, which includes using the imagery of a cute being to their advantage. Well done, Miss Botros."

Text Cut: Natalia

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bazinga

Her eyes moved to the man that was there as well. As he spoke to the ones answering and then looked at her to answer her. Yes, it's exactly what she meant. That is wasn't just the spell but the person doing it. Anyone could be evil no matter what. Her hands stayed busy pulling and rolling her clay.

She was listening to the man as he spoke and he mostly understood what he was saying. She had failed astronomy in her owls and was done taking it, that went for Runes as well after that first class. Arithmancy though she could do that very well, but never had considered it dark. Her mind went around this topic and she stopped listening to the rest of the conversation fully missing the questions.

Attention only coming back when she heard making something out of clay. What? She looked around as the rest had been making something that actually looked like something. She snuck down in her chair and started rolling the clay. What could she make that was quick and actually look not horrible since she had no artistic skills in her.

Miss Franks-Mundie being quiet wasn't exactly something that was unusual but, during this lesson, he had gotten used to her talking, even if it was by a little bit. So this return to the quietness was something the man was taking note of. It wasn't something to worry about, was it? He hoped not.

And he also hoped she knew that lumps of clay could, potentially, turn evil. Somehow.

Text Cut: Cassandra

Quote:

Originally Posted by Holmesian Feline

Cass was fully prepared to let herself to think on the professor’s question in preparation for them moving on with whatever else had been planned. However what obviously hadn’t been planned on was two boys teasing one of her house/yearmates on sharing a name and familiar connection with the auror-in-training. The drama just drastically growing from there until one of her house prefects was walking out. The Ravenclaw couldn’t help but sigh at the situation, feeling bad for Katy and Rooney.

Bloody Gryffindors.

And what logic…the responsible one leaving at the trouble makers allowed to stay. Cue absent shake of head.

Hopefully Hirsch gave them something nasty in response later on. Cassie would have to trust the man since he insisted in punishing in private. Besides Mr. Toussaint was moving them on, apparently unruffled in light of the behaviors. Ever the smooth cucumber law enforcement could be. The reason her uncle could ruffle feathers with his persistence. “Would it be something you create to be able to control to do your bidding…” she mused after raising her hand. It certainly seemed like it leaned in that direction given what he had said about the inanimate objects.

Something to control to do your bidding? Here was another student who had managed to get the idea of the Golems down perfectly to a T. Again, he was pleasantly surprised by the knowledge in this classroom. Hirsch smiled at the young Ravenclaw before saying, "Very logical response, Miss McNally. That is a concise and accurate description. Well done!"

Text Cut: Kitty

Quote:

Originally Posted by Goblinfrog

"Well I made worms..." said Kitty somewhat awkwardly as she looked down at her clay worms and back up at Angelo. I suppose worms could be dangerous if they were made to be poisonous to the touch, or if they were big and aggressive enough to be a threat to someone." She felt that she wasn't being as imaginative as she could be, but the question had surprised her and she wasn't sure how you could make them dangerous.

"As for Golems, I'm afraid I don't really know what they are in our world, but from what I've seen of Muggle movies, they are giant beings made of clay that serve a wizard. So kind of like what we are talking about, right?"

Worms? This amused the man for completely different reasons. "I guess you could, yes," he mused, tilting his head at the worms, "They might not be a dark witch or wizard's first choice in animals to use but they could still give the scare factor, especially if they were big enough."

"Well done on taking a stab at the answer. Your definition of them is completely right and we've been gearing straight towards it. I'm glad that you've been paying attention." Smile.

Text Cut: Azura

Quote:

Originally Posted by FwooperOnYourLeft

Azura said there with an eyebrow raised as everything went down.. she shook her head a bit at Blaise, but she was highly unimpressed with Rooney. His behavior wasn't befitting a prefect in her eyes. Just to walk out like that? Wasn't that a little bit dramatic?

Then again she did know he liked the Theater so maybe it was in his blood? Whatever it was.. she didn't like it. Ravenclaws should be better.

Her attention turned back to Angelo as he started talking and she looked down at her clay red panda with slight horror..The potential for evil with an adorable Red Panda was tremendous! They were the most adorable things on the planet! Their cuteness could lure you in and then bam! Their fur could be poisonous and kill you..

She raised her hand and spoke "I made a Red Panda Sir, and seeing as they are so cute and cuddly, it would be easy to charm their fur to be poisonous or something like that in order to hurt whoever touched it.." Her poor poor Red
Panda...

She didn't know anything about Golem's though.. this was all a bit out of her depth..

It must be a little bit scarring to find out that even the cutest and most innocent-looking creatures could be twisted to do a dark bidding. But then again, that was the Dark Arts, wasn't it? "I'm glad you mentioned using the creatures to lure people in, which is almost as deadly, and dark, as having a creature that does the dark bidding itself." Something else to think about.

Text Cut: Kat

Quote:

Originally Posted by SarcasticStrawberry

Why did there always have to be such drama? Someone she start a drama club for Bentley and Blaise. They were completely out of line. And these were her brothers friends? Haha. Her mother would hear about this. If this was the way they felt Kat wondered if Phillip had the same views. It didn't matter, she knew the Toussaints, Katy was her best Katy friend and she was good people and so was her family. In her eyes. She just took notes, and stayed out of the conflict. That was she way she wanted to keep it,

Anyway, yes she meant unforgivable curses her rp mama likes making her look bad by not paying attention to what she is doing. Kat nodded in agreement with Angelo. She didn't like to think about people using what they learn in DADA, to turn it into how to use the dark arts. She valued learning what she did in this class to defend herself against people that would use it to advance themselves in dark arts.

Following Angelo instructions she looked at he clay doll that she was in the works of making, before notes and the drama started. Mmmmm, sure she had debated it, her thought process in making the clay doll. Not like she was going to real life version of it. She would probably just poke it and flick its head off for stress relief. "I made a clay doll. You could make a voodoo doll." That was a form of dark magic, yes? She wasn't sure if that was what Angelo was getting at with this question or not. Dark magic was kind of confusing to her. Good thing it didn't interest her. Kat had only seen Golem in her textbook, but it looked way advanced for her at the moment.

Could they just use defensive spells to blast these clay art things?

A voodoo doll? And this answer was coming from a Hufflepuff? Interesting. "Yes, you really could. Voodoo dolls themselves are a perfect example of an innocent object turned evil to do a dark witch or wizard's bidding. Very well done, Miss Delgado."

When he saw that no one else was giving an answer, Hirsch clapped his hands once and talked to the class in general. "Most of you were completely right about the Golems, with Miss Evans and Miss Skeeter giving the most precise answers."

"As Miss Evans mentioned, they are a figure in Jewish mythology that are usually made of clay but can be made from other materials as well. They've cropped up in various books and mythologies but the most well-known story is connected to Rabbi Leow of Prague. It was said that he created a Golem to protect his people from their enemy, so to speak. It started out as a harmless creature but, before long, it turned into this creature that had gotten out of hand and run amock instead."

Did this remind anyone of the effects of the Imperius Curse? Oh, if someone picked that up, he would be a very happy professor, indeed.

"So, naturally, the stories got out and spread to other parts of the world, including Europe. Since then, Golems have been seen as a dark object. It's a classic tale of how the figure in folklore has been twisted to do a dark bidding. This is the same thinking we've put in place with the discussions we've had today, especially about the clay creatures you all have created."

Which, speaking of, he gave Angelo a look before continuing, "But don't get me wrong! If a Golem is doing a dark person's bidding, it is most definitely dark and you should not give it any kind of pity. And, in fact, you can defeat them." Otherwise he probably wouldn't be teaching them about this in the first place.

"There are a number of ways to defeat the Golem and Miss Skeeter has cleverly mentioned one of them. You can usually find carvings on their head, runes even, that say a single word, truth, which is emet in Hebrew. Take out the first letter, aleph which forms the 'e' in emet, and you take out the Golem. You can also do this by simply invoking the correct runes onto the Golem that's opposite to its function, thereby negating its power." A smile went around to the students who mentioned Runes before.

"Arithmancy is something else you can use to destroy it, especially if it has a set of numbers on its forehead or if it has a particular curse that you could break. And, lastly, most golems will come with a paper in its mouth or head that controls it. Destroy it and you can destroy the Golem. The only problem is getting to it in the first place. See, Golems like to absorb magic. Try not to use magic at them directly." Meaning that they could still affect its surroundings to destroy it. "For example, given the choice, strike up a physical, non-magical shield if you have to but don't shoot at spells at it. It just won't work.

"Now, last question before we move onto the activity: can anyone think of any lighter uses for Golems? Ones that aren't dark and deadly?"


OOC: That's a lot of reading oh gosh I'm so sorry ;____; *gives out gold stars to anyone who does read all of that* Basically, here's a summary:

- Golems are creatures made of clay, or other materials,that are animated to do a dark witch/wizard's bidding
- You can destroy it by invoking the opposite runes on it, ones that are opposite to its purpose
- You can destroy it by using the correct sequence of numbers, which'll be opposite to the ones the Golem is carrying
- You can destroy the paper in its mouth/forehead but you have to get past any barriers (i.e. curses) first
- Golems absorb magic! No magical shields!!

Thank you for sticking with us thus far! Just answer the question about whether they have any lighter uses and we'all move on shortly. YAY! ^^

Very logical response…well done.

That made Cassie quite happy. Her answer apparently not only correct but pleasing her head of house. She allowed a smile back at him before listening as Hirsch moved on, both speaking with others and further explaining the ideas of gollums to the class as a whole. In the important bits went, into her notes on the subject matter, the Ravenclaw attentive and feeling a little better about the class. Maybe it was improving now that the drama was over.

“Could they be used for getting into someplace that maybe a human can’t get into,” she offered, raising her hand once more. “Like to rescue someone where a non-clay rescuer might be at risk.” The muggle world kinda had ideas like that, mechanical equipment that was controlled by humans to do stuff when they would be in danger if they interacted directly.

Whew, that answer went over well thankfully..it was still horrifying to think that her precious little red panda could be used to lure someone in for nefarious purposes.. Az gave a soft shiver as she turned her mind back to Professor Hirsch as he spoke and she tilted her head as she thought of ways they could be used..

She raised her hand to speak.. "I feel that they could be very effective teaching tools.. leaning how to disarm one sounds tricky, so having some around to practice on, seems like an excellent lighter use for them. " She said with a nod.

Yeah. Even if the Auror guy was under some dark magic it wouldn't be something Tak worried about anyways. He didn't care. It was simply an observation. The third year bit his tongue and glanced at Hirsch sort of hoping that the class would be done already like he always did.

Aslan knew what she was talking about.

That didn't surprise him.

This..Golem stuff....dark creature made of clay....

How did any of this matter if they wouldn't run into one in real life? Tak's mind was spinning just a bit, trying to make sense of it all, when the next question was asked. What if.....well..the third year slowly raised his hands, his voice steady. "Protectors. Like....bodyguards.....for places. They never need someone to take over their shift."

Golems huh? Jonas knew about them yes...of course he did....but lighter uses? No...nothing. He just kept silent his cheeks red from not thining the professor had heard him about the gnome.
"It's just a gnome," he muttered. He always wondered why the sorting hat had chose Slyhterin for him, he wasn't the least bit confident about anything.

Jace could not help but smile at the professor. The fact that he’d given him validation, straight out of his mouth, made the Ravenclaw more confident in his class. When he thought the compliment couldn’t get any better, Professor Hirsch approved of his samurai…and even gave his thoughts on them. Jace can feel his cheeks blush, and his eyes twinkle at what Hirsch just said. Given that he’s learning the way of the sword himself, the Ravenclaw nodded enthusiastically agreeing completely to the professor’s statement. Being noble is hard, just saying.

When Hirsch moved on to another student, Jace sat back as he examined his clay samurai and finally understood why learning the way of the sword isn’t an easy task. No wonder his teachers were very strict, and at the same time, very patient with his progress in Kendo. To be able to fully understand what it takes to be a good samurai, master-less or otherwise, he must be able to fully control his powers on his own, and use the same to do good.

The Ravenclaw was too enamored by his thoughts, making it hard for him to think of a light use for a golem. He agreed to what most of his classmates have said, especially Takeru-san’s answer. A bodyguard? That would be awesome. He’d be like a real life shogun in the modern era if he was allowed to make one…

As it turned out, picking a seat next to the Head Boy was such a great decision. Look at the professor and how impressed he was with their headless Kappa. She was beaming, finally acting happy in this lesson, and even though her Gollum answer was not correct. It was worth a shot.

Those Golems creatures sounded interesting, though. Apart from having to learn Runes (prof Sack O Love's subject) Genny was ready to learn all the more about them. And look, they apparently had a non-deadly, non-dark usage. The bulbs in her head brightened at a thousand idea of how to use them. "Professor! Professor!" She raised her arm. "We can have them guard your yard. Or tree house." Tadaaaa!

Wait... did Tak just say that idea? Ekh. Ew.