An...invisibility cloak? But...why?

Derf found himself blinking several times while his eyes flicked back and forth between the woman herself and the cloak now resting around her. Was that a hint to the lesson? So many questions swirled around in the Hufflepuff's mind and he wasn't allowed to ask a single one of them. Not only that, but with the joint lesson from Arithmancy and Ancient Runes still on the brain, it felt like there was loads of yoga going on at Hogwarts. WAS she performing some runic yoga right now? He only remembered about two positions from that lesson and, well, the woman was doing neither of them.

Also...why the invisibility cloak? Which, well, Jessa seemed to be asking about so he was...just going to let that go then...

And he, like everyone else he gathered as he looked around and saw other nervous looks and people...not sitting either, wasn't sure if at ease meant they COULD sit or if they were just not supposed to stand so rigidly.

"Hufflepuff is associated with the element of earth...and that's where our house colors came from .... um.... yellow representing wheat and black for soil...." Which was supposed to mean Hufflepuffs tended to be good at Herbology but, well, Derf was living proof that stereotypes are not accurate portrayals.

Skyler was not exactly sure id they were allowed to sit down or not. She didn't exactly know what "at ease meant". Also, she had forgotten that invisibility cloaks were not a rare thing anymore. Wasn't there only supposed to ever be one?

Dorian silently groaned when Jessa thought that this was a good time to ask about the invisibility cloak. Well, it wasn't the question about the cloak that made him uncomfortably waiting for Ravenclaw to lose points again but her questioning about the rules.

Sending a silent prayer that the Head Girl got off easy, the Ravenclaw thought about the question. He knew loads about the four founders even before he had started Hogwarts as his father had told him stories.

"It is said that Rowena Ravenclaw came up with the name Hogwarts for the school and that she also chose the location" he said rather proudly after raising his hand in the air.

Daisy was confused at the sight of Professor O'Hara's Invisibility Cloak. She was of the assumption that such an item was banned at Hogwarts but she kept her mouth closed on that subject. The Hufflepuff was also confused as to whether or not she could sit down.

When the History of Magic teacher asked the class about their knowledge of the Hogwarts houses, she raised her hand and then when permitted to, answered with, "Helga Hufflepuff was known for cooking-related charms and she originated a majority of the traditional Hogwarts recipes."

It seemed that her "at ease" comment was being interpreted in different ways among her students. Some were sitting down and others were still standing. Disorder in the classroom? She would not have it! "You may sit, children," she said, giving a sideways glance at the door as if to make sure no other adult was watching. Half the class sitting and half the class standing would not be very impressive to her newest allies. "But don't slouch. It's bad for your spines to slouch."

She gave a small nod to Ms. Cambridge to give her permission to finish her question. Alice silently regarded her for a moment, calculating what her response should be. "Invisibility cloaks are not allowed for students," she replied simply. "I own one due to special permission from the Headmaster. Sometimes I use it to monitor happenings in the library." There would be no elaboration on what she meant by that statement. Of course none of the students knew that Alice's magic was so poor, she ALMOST qualified as a Squib. She could only barely perform simple charms. That's why she needed a cloak. There was a reason none of the students had ever seen her cast magic, though of course they may not have noticed due to all their studies and other activities. It was her little secret which she shared only with the staff. "Students hardly need invisibility cloaks. What would you use it for? But your focus on the rules is acknowledged and appreciated, Ms. Cambridge," she said, giving a small nod to the head girl before moving on.

Text Cut: Salazar Slytherin

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lissy Longbottom

After her little outburst in Divination, Nettie was keeping her mouth shut today - except for answering questions, of course. She still wasn't sure how she felt about how the whole thing had gone. All she wanted to do was keep making life difficult for the professors who were in cahoots with the Headmaster - but if it was just her trying to be a nuisance, she wouldn't get anywhere. She knew that. She still couldn't help herself, trying to think of other ways to push the button of Headmaster and Co. as they continued their reign of terror over the school.

She wasn't sure what side the History of Magic professor stood on - O'Hara was all about keeping up with the rules, but she wasn't on the same level of cruel as everyone else. Looking up at the Ravenclaw flag that hung above her, she raised her hand and waited for her turn to answer before rattling off an answer.

"Well, Salazar Slytherin was very adamant on wanting to take in only purebloods. That's obviously changed, but he was anti-muggleborn at the time of the founding," she answered. He sounded like an awful person honestly - but she was happy the house had evolved over time and was now full of some very pleasant people.

Quote:

Originally Posted by 2111jen

SPOILER!!: SLYTHERIN

Skyler was about to say that one of his heirs was a half blood but quickly changed her mind after a bit. Shw tried ro think of something about the houses, mainly her own. Ahe raised her hand after the the answer was done.
"Salazar did not get along with the other founders so he left," she said.
She wanted to add an opinion about if she was him, she'd make her own school but decided against it.

"Salazar Slytherin was indeed anti-Muggleborn," she said, nodding shortly to Nettie's answer. "His attitude about that issue never changed, which is why he built the Chamber of Secrets and later left the school, as Skyler mentioned."

Text Cut: Helga Hufflepuff

Quote:

Originally Posted by DaniDiNardo

There was no visible form of reaction to the woman’s appearance though the method did give the girl pause. A cloak rather than a simple disillusionment charm? One seemed a bit more legal in this new Hogwarts climate than the other did. Rather than become nervous about it prematurely—surely by now these professors had learned what was good for them—Jessa opted to ask.

She raised her hand, using the moment she was called upon to answer on a topic she felt she’d heard a million times to gain her own information. “Excuse me, Professor. Are invisibility cloaks among the permitted items at school? I can’t help notice you using one rather than a charm and would only like to know for my own purposes.” And sanity while she was at it. If it turned out they were, she could once again put hers to good use without fear of severe punishment but in all the time she knew the man, this didn’t seem like something he’d be okay with around the castle making it very important to ask.

So as not to have completely ignored the woman’s question and thus look like a nit picker, she added by the end, “Helga Hufflepuff took the rest.” The cynicism in her tone clear as day. They could interpret that as they liked. She’d given a fact that she knew. It counted.

Also, was “at ease” the new way of saying sit down? How were they ever to be at ease exactly?

Perhaps...she would remain standing until a less vague order was given. One she could actually follow. Right now, she couldn’t be at ease just because the woman told her to be. On an average day her anxiety was through the roof. None of these days in the castle had been average.

Quote:

Originally Posted by sweetpinkpixie

An...invisibility cloak? But...why?

Derf found himself blinking several times while his eyes flicked back and forth between the woman herself and the cloak now resting around her. Was that a hint to the lesson? So many questions swirled around in the Hufflepuff's mind and he wasn't allowed to ask a single one of them. Not only that, but with the joint lesson from Arithmancy and Ancient Runes still on the brain, it felt like there was loads of yoga going on at Hogwarts. WAS she performing some runic yoga right now? He only remembered about two positions from that lesson and, well, the woman was doing neither of them.

Also...why the invisibility cloak? Which, well, Jessa seemed to be asking about so he was...just going to let that go then...

And he, like everyone else he gathered as he looked around and saw other nervous looks and people...not sitting either, wasn't sure if at ease meant they COULD sit or if they were just not supposed to stand so rigidly.

"Hufflepuff is associated with the element of earth...and that's where our house colors came from .... um.... yellow representing wheat and black for soil...." Which was supposed to mean Hufflepuffs tended to be good at Herbology but, well, Derf was living proof that stereotypes are not accurate portrayals.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ginevra

Daisy was confused at the sight of Professor O'Hara's Invisibility Cloak. She was of the assumption that such an item was banned at Hogwarts but she kept her mouth closed on that subject. The Hufflepuff was also confused as to whether or not she could sit down.

When the History of Magic teacher asked the class about their knowledge of the Hogwarts houses, she raised her hand and then when permitted to, answered with, "Helga Hufflepuff was known for cooking-related charms and she originated a majority of the traditional Hogwarts recipes."

"That's an interesting observation, Mr. Ashburry-Hawthorne," she said. It was interesting, for this was the only one she did not know. She knew, of course, Hufflepuff's colors, but she did not know their symbolism. Not that she would admit it. For now she would just assume his answer was accurate. "Well said, Daisy, bravo." That was for knowing that Helga was responsible for a large portion of the Hogwarts recipes. And Jessa's answer was correct as well. "That is an accurate assessment of her methods, Ms. Cambridge."

Text Cut: Rowena Ravenclaw

Quote:

Originally Posted by SarcasticStrawberry

As the sixth year waited for the lesson to start she returned her smile to her best friend Chloe Kettleburn. Turning back to the front of the door she watched the door. When was the professor getting there. Out of the corner of her eye she seen the professor slowly appear.

What the…?

Was she there the whole time? Under an invisibility cloak. It took all she could do to not roll her eyes, or say something. She stood on her tiptoes, even though she was pretty tall she couldn’t peer over the others standing to see the cloak on the floor. Yep there it was. Now why did professors get to have banned items? If things that were banned was a distraction then professors didn’t need to be in possession of it either. Well there the older Ravenclaw did say something. So now she didn’t have to right? Taking the “at ease” as sit down she sat down.

Why?

Then the lesson continued and she found out that the would be about the founders of Hogwarts and the sorting hat. Okay so she listened to the other before she decided on a answer ”Rowena Ravenclaw came out with and designed the moving staircases”

Quote:

Originally Posted by DuckyLinJi

Dorian silently groaned when Jessa thought that this was a good time to ask about the invisibility cloak. Well, it wasn't the question about the cloak that made him uncomfortably waiting for Ravenclaw to lose points again but her questioning about the rules.

Sending a silent prayer that the Head Girl got off easy, the Ravenclaw thought about the question. He knew loads about the four founders even before he had started Hogwarts as his father had told him stories.

"It is said that Rowena Ravenclaw came up with the name Hogwarts for the school and that she also chose the location" he said rather proudly after raising his hand in the air.

Alice's eyebrows raised ever so slightly in surprise at the tidbits of knowledge these two young Ravenclaws had about their house. "You are correct, Juni, Rowena Ravenclaw did design the moving staircases." Well learned, well learned. Mr. Augustus also had something interesting to contribute. "She may or may not have come up with the name of Hogwarts. It’s a popular theory that she came up with the name of Hogwarts after dreaming of a wart covered hog that led her to a forest covered cliff by a lake. I personally believe it to be true." She paused for a moment. "Two points to Ravenclaw for each of you for being well versed in your history."

Text Cut: The Silent

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hey Ju

Anna couldn't say she wasn't surprised to see the professor appear out of nowhere on her desk, but she did manage to keep her face straight because hardly anything about this school was that amusing to her anymore.

The woman's calmness and zen-like state also kind of annoyed her.

'At ease'? Was that her code for they now being able to sit down? Anna looked around, unsure whether to sit or keep standing. Urgh, what a fuss. She was so done with this ridiculousness.

So done that she chose to stay quiet this time because the annoyance was growing in her. She frowned slightly and kept her arms crossed over her chest while looking away.

Yeah, History of Magic was definitely not her thing. Never was, never would be. Sure, Godric Gryffindor was pretty cool and all, but Anna was honestly not interested.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ArianaBlack

Were there worse things than having to stand next to Anna Meriwether? Perhaps. Did that mean Zoryn was going to be cool about it? Absolutely not. In fact, the Gryffindor used her eyes to burn through the back of Anna's head. No worries though! There wasn't much inside it. (: (: (:

As for their Professor hiding under an invisibility cloak?

Boring.

Zoryn didn't even flinch. And for the question? She'd pass.

Was an interesting lesson too much to ask for around here? She was over it. Professional Quidditch Players didn't need history anyways. This was bogus.

Oh no, this was not how things were done in her classroom. When Alice asked a question, she expected an answer from everyone. Everyone, no exceptions. "I did not hear your answer, Anna," she said, pointedly staring at the Gryffindor. "Don't you have something to contribute to the discussion? You must know something. Tell me your answer with at least four sentences. You too, Zoryn. At least four sentence answer. Hurry now, we're on the clock!"

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Alice allowed the two silent students to give their answers (or at least acknowledge her order) before moving on to the next question. She paced slowly back and forth across the front of the room as she asked it, hands still crossed behind her back. "Hogwarts is unique because of its house system, but we are far from the only school with such a system. I want all of you to share with us what you know about other schools that divide their students by house. Share at least one fact about their houses and their locations with the class. You must answer this question, even if only to share your lack of knowledge. It is okay."

Two points for Ravenclaw. Four points actually since Juni had also gotten two points. Dorian looked over at the Quidditch Captain for a second, wondering how her reaction would be because he himself was thrilled. It were just two points he had gotten but since the new henchmen were teaching at school, not many had earned many points even when they had answered questions correctly. So this was a nice feeling. Getting rewarded.

So apparently the 'at ease' part had meant that they had been allowed to sit down. And Dorian did. He stepped over the bench and then sat down and then watched the Professor as she paced back and forth across of the front of the room. He wasn't sure about her. On one hand, she was strict and like all the others seemed like she was straight out of Auror training but she had also given them their rightful earned housepoints. He guessed it was too early to see on which side her loyalties lied. The Headmaster's or the Students?

Anyway, apart from knowing quite a bit about Hogwarts, the Ravenclaw knew about other schools as well. Well...one... Ilvermorny had been his choice of school for many years now but his father wouldn't let him go there. "Horned Serpent House at Ilvermorny is in my believe equivalent to Ravenclaw House. The House represents the mind and it favors scholars like Ravenclaw did" he said after raising his hand in the air.

Arthuria raised an eyebrow as Professor OHara revealed herself from under an invisibility cloak and sat when the Professor said they could. She listened tot he answers given and smiled taking in the information. She had not known the items about Ravenclaw and silently gave thanks to the founder for one of her favorite aspects of the school. She had something to add about Gryffindor but the professor seemed to want one of the Gryfindor students to answer.

Oh, other schools! Chloe was the product of Hogwarts alum from the way back, but she was very interested in other schools. In fact, she sort of wondered what it would be like to be at Durmstrang or Beauxbatons or Ilvermorny this year instead. Less rules, likely.

Chloe politely raised her hand, although she was itching to wiggle in her seat. "Unlike our sorting hat, Ilvermorny sorts students using a big old knot on the floor. An these statues of the house mascots will indicate that they want to take the student in that house. It sounds much more dramatic and ceremonious than wearing a dirty worn hat."

The whole directive of ‘at ease’ had confused Stasya just as much as it had seemed the other students, and the whole line of questioning that had come from Jessa regarding the invisibility cloak that had been hiding Professor O’Hara had, for the most part, derailed the tall blonde Gryffindor from thinking overly much about the Hogwarts founders. Instead, she’d found herself going back to dwelling on the rules and how History of Magic seemed like a weird bridge between the normal classes and the torturous ones taught by the headmaster and his lackeys. She still hadn’t gotten used to her favorite classes being nothing like they used to, nor had she abandoned her crazy thought of rescuing the creatures in the barn from the new CoMC professor.

However, and it might have been instigated by the reprimand that both Anna and Zoryn although she was disappointed in herself for not mentioning the sword of Gryffindor when they’d been asked, she found herself raising her hand to the second question. At least she was able to say she as familiar with the other houses, thanks to her family and Koen. “Durmstrang is located somewhere in Norway, or maybe Sweden. It has the same system of four houses as Hogwarts too, but they aren’t named after the founders like ours are. Instead, they’re named after creatures.”

Okay...but...this was not the library and he reckoned that when the Headmaster told her she could use it it was for the specific purpose of this next unethical invasion of students' privacy. The bloke hadn't even let Professor Fletcher keep his greetings in the rules department....so now Derf was wondering if he was under obligation to book her for exploiting staff privileges.

This spiral was literally the last thing he needed right now.

Derf was also confused as to what made the Ravenclaw answers more historically relevant than any of the other houses' responses. Well, besides obvious favoritism and it was making it even more difficult to focus.

Though...at least now he knew that at ease meant they could sit, so he did just that. As to what he knew...his thoughts went to a certain former IMPS champion and wondering what she was up to. Her perfect pale features and piercing grey-purple eyes...

...uuuuuuuuh...what was the question?

Right. Hand up, Derf waited for it to be his turn before speaking. "Um...like Hogwarts, Illvermorny, Beauxbatons, all have a four house system Durmstrang and each with an animal mascot." Well...he thought that was true for Beauxbatons at least. Just to build off what Stasya had said.

Daisy sat down, ensuring that she maintained the correct posture as her mind went through the various magical schools before settling on Ilvermorny. She noticed that it was a popular choice for her fellow students in terms of an answer and she hoped to not repeat an answer as she raised her hand. "One of Ilvermorny's houses is Thunderbird. Those who are adventurous tend to be sorted into this house which is seemingly like Gryffindor. The location of the school is in the state of Massachusetts in the USA which was famously known for the Salem Witch Trials in the 17th century."

Arthuria raised her hand and when called on directed her answer at Chloe "Perhaps more dramatic" she said in agreeance to Ivermony's sorting ritual "and I will not say that that is not ceremonial but placing the hat that was created by the founders of Hogwarts is just as ceremonial in its simplicity" she said politely, she did not want to offend the girl but felt she needed to say what she did.

Jackson had found a spot with his fellow Ravenclaws easily enough, but he wasn’t used to a professor not being at their desk when he arrived… Or at least, you know, in the room. It wasn’t long until he was thrown by her sudden appearance. He appreciated Jessa’s questions about the cloak, and he understood the answer… although it made him wonder what she saw that students didn’t know she had seen. Kind of creepy. At her question, Jackson raised his hand a bit hesitantly. “The Sorting Hat belonged to one of the Founders I think, and it was enchanted to mimic their views when it came to Sorting future students.” That’s what he had remembered being the case anyway. Jackson smiled at his fellow Claws, proud of them for knowing about their Founder and happy that the professor was rewarding them.

At the next question, Jackson raised his hand again. “Ilvermorny Castle was originally someone’s house, and then they kept expanding it until it actually became Ilvermorny Castle. The original house’s owners are statues at the entrance.” And seeing as he had moved to England about three days after finding out about his magic, he had never actually been to Ilvermorny so that was kind of all he had picked up.

Anna let out a tired yet exasperated sigh as she stopped herself from rolling her eyes at the teacher's remark about not hearing her answer. "Because I... didn't... answer..." She said, her tone surprisingly neutral.

'Don't you have something to contribute to the discussion? You must know something.' At that Anna was tempted to say 'not really', but she wondered if the fuss was worth it. This Gryffindor was not in a mood for too much fuss, though the teacher was almost asking for it. Four sentences!? Anna couldn't help but snort at that, finally letting her eyes roll. "Godric was cool." She said as a response, her tone still neutral, this time almost casual.

Again, she chose to remain quiet at the next question. No, she wasn't being too defiant, she just couldn't be bothered.

Skyler frowned. She didn't know a whole lot about other schools because she didn't bother to learn about them. So she decided to state a fact.
She silently raised her hand. "Isn't Ilvermorny an American school?" She asked.

So.....a double standard then. Jessa nodded slowly, noting the hypocrisy in the Headmaster’s rules that allowed for professors to continue doing as they pleased. Not at all in the mood, Jessa ignored the woman’s question on what she needed an invisibility cloak for. It, quite frankly, was none of her business but the Ravenclaw was far too polite to ever convey as much so she chose to remain entirely silent on the matter.

Not any more interested in the lesson than she’d been when she walked in, Jessa set her gaze to the window across the room as she always did. With the clarification on the “at ease” she sunk into her seat. For the most part, she listened to her classmates respond while deciding whether she herself would offer up a response.

Was it worth a response?

Probably not.

Would the woman require a task of her for not responding like Fletcher did? That had yet to be seen. For now, Jessa remained only half attentive, doing only just enough to not look like she’d entirely spaced during the lesson.

No one (especially not a student) disrespected Professor O'Hara in her own classroom. Alice did not care who was Headmaster, disobedience was not something she tolerated. Unfortunately for Ms. Meriwether, that was just what she had done. "Ms. Anna Meriwether!" she hissed, sharpening her voice and narrowing her eyes at the girl. "I do not appreciate your disrespectful attitude. Four points from Gryffindor! Now, you will answer my original question, and you will answer it with at least four hundred words. You may write down your answer first to make sure you have at least four hundred words. If you do not do this, I shall subtract forty points from your house, and you shall report to me for detention after class." She was dead serious.

Speaking of which...

The History of Magic teacher whirled to face the Head Girl. "Ms. Cambridge, did you not hear my second class related question? Please provide an answer using at least two hundred words. You are a student leader, I expect you to set an example for people like Anna." Jessa hadn't shown her attitude like Anna had, and that was the only reason why she wasn't being as harsh on her - yet.

All the other students answers she heard and acknowledged with a small nod and an occasional comment. "That's correct, Ms. Queen, Ilvermorny is an American school. You are correct, as well, Mr. Thomas. Your knowledge on both our school and foreign schools is admirable." She walked around to the other side of the room, listening to the other answers and adding comments to encourage more answers. "I, too, always associated the Thunderbird house with Gryffindor, Ms. Swann." Derf's answer gave her pause. Why was it that he was always providing answers that sounded accurate, but which she did not know if they were right or wrong? He probably deserved points for knowing color symbolism, for instance. "Beauxbatons may indeed have a house system. I do not if they do, but you are correct about everything else." She turned around and headed towards the Gryffindor table again. "You are right, Mr. Dalgaard-Volkova. Bravo. If you can name the creatures, then perhaps I shall give your house back the four points that Ms. Anna Meriwether lost it." She walked back over to the Ravenclaw table, which was where she had begun. "Correct, Mr. Katharos You are also correct, Ms. Kettleburn. Fascinating way to be sorted, wouldn't you agree?"


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Now they could advance to the third and final question before the mini activity she had prepared. "We are about to move on to our 'mini activity', but first one last question. So many schools have a house system. Why, in your opinion, is this necessary? What do you think was going through the founders heads when they set up this system of dividing students into houses?"

On to the activity. Alice climbed back on top of her desk and got back into her cross legged position. "Take out your writing material," she said, turning back to face the students and placing her hands on her lap. "And think back to the day you were sorted. Do you believe you are still the same person you were when you were Sorted? Why did the Sorting Hat put you into the house you are in? Do you believe if you were Sorted today, that you would still be placed in the same house? Put your thoughts on paper, and then stand and read them out loud. This is the mini activity. The main activity we can move on to after this is done." And she took a notebook out from a drawer in her desk and began doing this same mini activity along with everyone else.

Skyler had thought about it for a bit. She had an idea in mind, so she raised her hand silently. She only knew Hogwarts as a school sooo..
"I thought of a couple of reasons professor," she said. "I'm thinking that they thought that it would be easier to keep headcount of all the students and where they were. Too, the four houses admit students with certain personality traits so you would be among people that thought as you did."
She took out a quill and parchment and started to think about the other question.

Daisy thought about Professor O'Hara's third question and she found that her mind wasn't set on the one answer so she decided to raise her hand and express that viewpoint, hoping that she could easily express it. "Professor, I have to honestly say that I'm torn when it comes to whether or not I think school house systems are good. To get to know and possibly befriend those that you share things in common with is great but it is also great to befriend those that don't currently don't have things in common with. That could lead to new interests. I'm sorry if I've answered wrongly."

She put her hand down as she as she completed her answer, looking and feeling rather embarrassed. Then she grabbed her quill, ink and parchment and began to contemplate her answer regarding when she was first sorted into Hufflepuff before writing.

This was, for Drewett, a rather interesting topic to discuss on. It wasn't something he had ever given much thought about before, but now that he did, he could see that it was pretty rational how there was a sorting process for the students. He wasn't a hundred percent for it, however, especially now because he had good friends from other houses whom he couldn't spend as much time with due to the new rules imposed. At the same time, stereotypes were rather awful. Slytherins weren't so bad and he had great friends from the house that used to have a dark reputation.

The more he thought of it, the more Drew tried to analyze if he did like it. Did he really? The thirteen year old knew for a fact that, if things were different, not much would have happened. Except he wouldn't have been room mates with his best friend. Finding his stand in this situation was a bit tricky.

Given how Professor O'Hara basically called Jessa out for not responding, Drew felt a tiny bit of panic set inside and he poked his hand up. Because no way was he going to allow himself to be called out in class, in front of everyone, which might even lead him to a potential detention. All big nopes in his list of survival this term. Once it was his turn to speak, the Ravenclaw took a breath. "I g-guess it's to make th-things easier for the founders, P-professor, and ultimately the p-people who become heads of th-the houses...." Drew shared, biting the insides of his cheeks a bit. "B-because without houses, it would be harder t-to monitor the ssstudents if they weren't d-divided into smaller g-groups. And if someone d-does break the rules, it's easier to let the p-person in charge know... in th-this case, the head of house..." Because let's face it, without adults--which is, to be honest, debatable this term--this institution would be a mess one way or another. Drew was a big fan of order and structure. However, he wasn't going to mention all the details on healthy inter-house competitions because Drew wasn't a big fan of pitting students against each other to begin with, but there was that too. The Ravenclaw only hoped what he said made sense.

With that said, Drew gave a tiny nod and took out his parchment, quill, and ink well. He was going to need more time to ponder on the mini activity--a lot of self-reflection. How long did they have for this? Drew could go on and on with just himself and his thoughts.

Juniper listened to the rest of the answer, still beaming that she knew so much about her house’s founder Rowena Ravenclaw. And she had received two extras points for knowing too. Awesome, she was starting to enjoy this lesson more she thought she as going too. Maybe she looked around at the silent students. The sixth year wasn’t sure if that was the way to going about the silent ones. Why make them answer if they didn’t want too.

Again Juniper kept listening and taking notes. She didn’t exactly know much about other wizarding schools, just what she had heard. And the others were answering what she knew about other wizarding school. So choose to remain silent herself this time and just take notes.

As for the next question, that one was a little more, in your opinion open ended question. After a little bit the sixth year raised her hand. ”I think it’s so that students would have a place to belong to, to have something like a family. No matter what the students would have their house, the other students in that house, and a sense of belonging to something.” She finished with a small nod.

With that Juni took out everything she would need for the first assignment. She starting thinking and writing down things on her parchment.

It was the woman’s sharp reprimand of the Gryffindor captain that drew Jessa’s gaze from the window in time to hear her own reprimand. Had she heard the question? Yes, she had. Did she think it was worth a response? No she didn’t. The fact she now needed to give one in two hundred words didn’t bother her. While the girl wasn’t much of a talker on subjects that didn’t interest her, it certainly was no great feat. Her mind, when set to go, really went.

What did she know about the other schools and their houses? If she recalled the woman said an answer admitting ignorance would be acceptable and while she knew a great deal, she didn’t feel like getting into it after the fact with them now moving on so....

“I don’t know anything about the other schools or their houses. It’s never been a subject that’s held any form of interest to me and with all the interests I do currently have, I don’t have the time or the energy to devote to something that won’t in any way, shape, form or fashion benefit my actual studies and passions. I imagine there’s a great deal that can be said about them and they must be interesting to others but for myself they aren’t. I’ve got very specific interests, they grow more narrow by the day—more focused if you will. I’ll admit the smallest things do still interest me and on some level the houses do but my knowledge of them remains dismal at best and not worth sharing. I don’t know their colours. Their animals. Theirs reason for existence. I don’t know about their origin. I don’t know why they were created. I’m uncertain if they’re more or less arbitrary than the ones we have here. I don’t know who heads them. I don’t know how they compete or relate to each other. I don’t know how they positively or negatively affect the attitude of the students put into them. I just don’t know.”

More than two hundred words. Satisfactory, yes?

As for the next question, Jessa may have ignored it too but didn’t fancy having to go into another ramble unnecessarily when she could end it in a few words.

“The founders made the houses because they all had different ideas of who they wanted to educate at school. That’s all. They just couldn’t agree.” Four people made a school then argued until they came up with divisions.

Parchment out, she kept it very simple. When she was done, she rose and spoke. “No I don’t believe I’m the same person. Yes, I believe I’d still be sorted into Ravenclaw. The hat put me here because I was curious.” Done. All questions answered.

Oh, they were meant to be writing an essay to read to the class? That was absolutely not how Chloe wanted to be spending class, but considering the fact that History of Magic was already one of the duller ones (sorry, Daddy)... Not much more she could expect.

Chloe bent her attention to her parchment, writing down a few ideas that sort of answered the professor's questions and sort of prattled along in very Chloe-style. Punctuation was optional.

Andddd, okay. Chloe raised her hand. "I was sorted into Ravenclaw, which seemed like the exact right place for me. I'm not the same person I was as a first year, and I can see more clearly now than I could at 11... that it probably didn't matter what house I ended up in. I don't think it shaped who I was or made me better. It might have made me worse, because it closed me off from people who were different than I am. I think house assignments aren't meant to be arbitrary, but they'd be a lot more healthy if they were." That probably didn't even make much sense, but whatever.

Daisy was soon done writing her answer. When it was her turn, she stood up and began to speak.

"I think that I have changed since I was first sorted into Hufflepuff. When I first enrolled at Hogwarts, I was quite a naive child that thought that nobody could do no wrong and I was very loyal, no matter what which I think was the reasons as to why I was sorted into my house. Now I am a bit more cautious in my opinion of people and I have dealt with some hardships in recent times so my disposition isn't as bright as it once was. If I were resorted, taking into consideration my personality these days, I think I would still be a Hufflepuff as I do possess more of those traits compared to the other houses."

Daisy paused and then continued. "Honestly, I found that the question of resorting brought some conflicting answers in my mind. I feel that one can possess traits of various houses. Whilst the traits of Hufflepuff are the most dominant, I have at times shown the common traits of Gryffindor and Slytherin."


As Daisy finished speaking, she knew that her answer might have caused some confusion but she wasn't going to, for lack of a better word, lie.

The fact that they had to speak up to answer questions was simply terrifying. Although Davis promised himself that he would participate more in class starting this term, it was difficult to change from a quiet nobody to an active model student all of a sudden. He preferred to scribble his answers down on his notebook and listen to other kids talk - many professors respected his decision to stay silent, but O'Hara obviously did not. It was a shame; History of Magic was one of the only classes he was actually decent at, but he was beginning to dread its lessons.

After writing a complete response on his notebook, the Hufflepuff raised his hand uncertainly and when it was his turn, read from his notes, "I think it is necessary to have a house system at school so that students have a sense of belonging... wait, somebody already said that, sorry..." he glanced up quickly to see if the professor was angry at him, then tried to come up with another point to make up for his mistake - why wasn't his brain working today? - "uh, it is easier to look after students, counselling, giving career advice, stuff like that, if they are divided into houses and are assigned one head of house."

That was lame and he knew it. Davis returned to keeping his head down and staring at the page on his notebook. He did not need Professor O'Hara's instruction to put their thoughts down on paper first, that was what he always did in class to ensure that he did not stammer when speaking and make a fool of himself. Clearly, this strategy did not work sometimes... like what happened just now. But he was determined to try one more time. "I was a quiet and scared eleven-year-old when I first arrived at Hogwarts and put on the Sorting Hat. I think it chose to put me in Hufflepuff because I am a loyal and hardworking person and... yeah, I have definitely changed since my first few days here, I have matured and learned a lot, but I am still the same person. I still show loyalty to the people I love, I work hard, I am patient and fair. If I were to put on the Sorting Hat again right now, I think it would still place me in Hufflepuff."

With that, he sat back down quickly, his cheeks reddening furiously.