Jacob really didn't need to take Muggle Studies anymore. He hadn't needed it in the first place, but back then he'd really cared about his average and doing an OWL in Muggle Studies had seemed like a great way to get an easy grade. Even after last term, Muggle Studies had been his easiest exam.

The only reason he was here today, and would continue to be until seventh year, is because he had a lot of respect for his head of house. He was pretty sure he used to see a bit of himself in Schmoe, but now it was so much more than that. "Professor," Jacob nodded to him, and turned to survey the scene. Fire pit? And logs. His year mates distributed evenly around the space. Jacob opted to stand, much like Nem, but a fair bit of distance from them. The maximum distance, in fact, since he stood at a straight diagonal from where they were.

Perhaps he'd wait for Matty to show up, and sit next to his brother.

Camryn was glad that Muggle Studies class was outside. It didn’t keep her from remembering last year’s classes, but something about being outdoors made her feel a little bit better. When she arrived at the designated location and saw a fire pit her mood brightened somewhat. We’re they going to have a campfire? Roast marshmallows? Dare she say......have some fun?

Finding an empty spot on a log, Camryn sat down and prepared to wait. She was hopeful that the class would be and remain drama free. Was that too much to ask? Trying to have a more positive outlook on life, Cam hoped not.

Apollo didn't really know what to expect for muggle studies anymore. Before going to Hogwarts he had expected it to be the study of muggles and their quirks and habits that made them tick. But now? After last year? Also seeing Schmoe smooth his face together with Flamsteed was something else that stuck out in his mind. We're they together now? Was he going to have two Professor Schmoes? Was it just an innocent embrace?

Also, Apollo may have almost forgot the lesson was outside today. As in, he went to the classroom and noone was showing up and checked his notes only to realize that it was outside and sprinted to get here. Thankfully the Gryffindor common room being in the towers had prepared him for the stairs and the muggle studies classroom wasn't too high from the entrance hall.

Once he caught his breath and realized they hadn't started yet, Apollo glanced around. Fire pit. Oh. "Hi Professor. Are we making Schmores later?" yes he purposely added the ch to smores. Did he like that pun? Was it too much? Also did he know him or was he meant to reintroduce himself to all his professors all over again in case they'd been operating under a curse his first year?

After catching his breath from running through the castle and over the grounds earlier, Daniel turned his head in the young Ravenclaw's direction to hear her whisper to him. "Why do you think he twitches so much?" He whispered back with his hand covering his mouth so that only Lisa could here him. "We can grab ALL our chocolate frogs and place them in a pile and eat them all together and trade cards!" he suggested, nodding his head at his brilliant idea.

There were two people Atlas had not expected to see back at Hogwarts this term, as far as the adults went that is, and Professor Schmoe was one of them. While he had been surprised to see the man come start of term feast...the Gryffindor was none the less relieved to see the Muggle Studies professor if for no other reason than it was yet another symbol of The Hoods™ and Rosier not destroying things. An absence of the man would have meant that things really had broke...that things were not right...so at least this way the Gryffindor could pretend and hope for some little sense of normalcy.

In any caaaaaaase...Atlas was here and feeling a little uncertain about being outdoors. Apollo's mention of s'mores made things feel a little more appealing though as Professor Schmoe was not a stranger and the man had proven in spades that the students could trust him - therefore, if there was actually s'mores, Atlas may be inclined to eat some. And hopefully no one would go waving their flaming marshmallows around to try and put out the fire only to have said flaming marshmallow shake loose and smack some one in the cheek where it scorched itself into position and gave them a mino burn.

Not that he was speaking from experience or anything.

"Hello, professor," he greeted with a small smile before plopping himself down near a pair of first years who were whispering about the Ravenclaw Head of House. The second year had almost forgotten that there were those who had...no idea of the horrors they had all seen and experienced last term. He was...kind of jealous of their innocence. "That man is a war hero...endured the Cruciatus Curse multiple times. You'd be a bit twitchy too or dead if you went through what all he did," he responded helpfully.

Alfred was on his way to the indoor classroom when he passed a notice about the lesson being outdoors. Thank goodness he had noticed it, who knew how long he would have waited at the classroom if he hadn't? He had walked quite quickly to where the lesson was taking place, because he was never late. Maybe that was an overstatement. When he arrived at the class, he was slightly out of breath and took a moment to take a breather before greeting Schmoe. "Good afternoon, sir." Had Alfred called him sir because he had no idea how to pronounce his name? Yes, he had.

He went over to stand somewhere near Victoria, the girl who had been near tears at the start of term feast (although she probably wouldn't have taken kindly to the fact that that was how Alfred identified her). He glanced at her notebook and raised an eyebrow at the portrait. He looked at her and noticed that she was looking across towards Daniel while drawing it. She was drawing Daniel? It certainly looked nothing like him.

Lisa noticed V enter and she excitedly raised her hand to wave in greeting but the girl walked in the opposite direction and stood by her lonesome. Oh. That was right. Lisa was fraternizing with her friend’s enemy. Her stomach flip flopped uncomfortably. She liked Daniel too- just as much as she liked V. He was funny. Hopefully the two would be able to sort out their differences.... Maybe. And Lisa hoped her friend wasn’t alone for too long.

She eyed her new Head of House as Daniel whispered back, carefully covering his mouth as he did it. She thought that was very wise of him so she’d adopt that too next time it was her turn to whisper back. Mouth twitches? She didn’t know. “I went to the library and read about potions that could do this so maybe... a polyjuice potion gone wrong?” she mused, lifting her hand over her mouth as she whispered just in case said Professor could READ lips! Daniel’s suggestion to grab ALL the chocolate frogs and share them was not what had she suspected or what SHE would have suggested. Lisa had a case built into her mind for HER to take ALL the chocolate frogs and enjoy them buuut the suggestion of sharing them together was a win win. She offered him an easy going smile. “Brilliant!! Wanna do that after class? We could get some more intel too.” Teehee. What a great idea! Chocolate frogs, trading cards, and gathering more information. This year was already fun!

Her eyes flicked back to V and guilt settled into her stomach. Her friend was drawing now and fortunately Alfie, Strawberry ice cream boy, was with her now. She was glad that V wasn’t alone!

They weren’t too too quite cause another boy (Atlas) heard them and offered a different perspective than what Daniel and Lisa had been debating. Huh.... Her eyes widened at his words. This noodle giant man was a WAR HERO? Wow. So like Luke and Leia and Han and Chewie? And a torture curse multiple times? “WOW,” she blurted loudly because she was shocked and then quickly covered her lips with her hand. Oops. Too loud? Too loud. So that’s why he twinged? If she had faced off against a curse, she most likely would not have made it. She nodded, frowning at the boy’s comment... “Yeah.. um.. I’d be... Most likely dead,” nodded Lisa in agreement. She was no match for all of that and had a new found appreciation for the Professor now. However, she still really liked the back story of Schmoe being a dark wizard but then again... Her imagination started running wild with those thoughts. “Thanks.... uh... I’m Lisa,” she offered with a small smile.

"Hey!"Blake smiled at Noah as he sat down next to him. This was going to be fun. And then .... Blake eyed Claudine as she came over. And he was certain his mouth fell right open. Was she willingly sitting down by him? That was most unusual. "Yeah? Well.." Blake was trying to come up with a good come back .. but he was never very good at them. "You'd look better with an apple smashed on your face." There HA ..

As always, Serena was punctual to all of her classes. It probably helps that she is an early bird and most of the time ready. Most.

“Hello, professor t--Schmoe,” Serena greeted. Oops. Not twitchy. Just Schmoe. She had to be nice and polite and all the things her mum told her to be. EYE ROLL.

Glancing around, she caught sight of Lisa and shot her a wave. That was her friend. Yep. She’s managed to make a friend, a smuggler and no enemies. Winning.

Her eyes then caught sight of one of her roommates. The teary one. She wasn’t teary anymore, and she wasn’t late to class either. “Five points for arriving early,” Serena said as she approached V. Not Victoria. Just V. Cracking a bit of a soft smirk, her brows rose as she tried to get a peek of what V was drawing. “What’cha doing?”

Annnnnnnnnnd after the loud declaration from over where Lisa, Daniel, and Atlas were sitting, Finneas figured his students were getting antsy enough and …. Er. Perhaps it was time to begin class. Some of his students (Victoria) were even starting to take notes! He checked his watch to confirm the time, before bumbling his way over to stand near the fire pit. The fire pit which was not lit by the way.

You know what was lit though? Muggle Studies. Super lit. Did kids these days still say these things? Er. Anyway. Enough on that.

Finneas looked around the circle with a quiet sort of reverence about him. Many of his students had experienced loss last year, during both the term and the war, itself... Be it the loss of family, the loss of friends, the loss of innocence, or, perhaps, the loss of self. It was true that he recognized the majority of them from previous terms, but he could sense the changes. They were abundantly clear. Many were still grieving, others were still finding ways to move on with their lives; it would be naive of Finneas to believe they could turn all that around in one lesson. That would never be the intention. It would be even more naive to assume he could regain their trust just as quickly. Finneas did, however, hope that they could start the process of healing together, if they hadn’t already, with mutual support.

So when it came to regaining their footing in regard to muggle studies, they would have to… Er. Start at the beginning. “Hullo, class,” he paused here, out of necessity, and took another look around the circle. ”Before we, er, delve into the subject matter for the day, I’d like us to reflect on something as a class for a moment. Something very important." Very, very.

"Let's take a moment to, er, define empathy together.” How did this relate to muggle studies? They’d, er, they’d get there eventually. ”What is empathy? What might make it different from sympathy or pity?” As he paused to take a sharp breath, his noodly limbs twitched a bit. “If you’re having a hard time defining empathy can you think of an example of what it might look like in practice?” As always, he did not expect everyone to answer all three questions. He only hoped he could provoke their minds. Food for thought. Personal anecdotes were welcome too, of course.

So, er, no, they would not be learning how to build fires today; sorry, Mr. Ryan.

OOC: Hihi! Class has officially STARTED. Please refrain from posting late arrivals at this point, unless you would like to face Schmoe’s wrath (lol).

Don’t feel the need to answer all 3 questions, just pick whichever one(s) speaks to you:
(1) What is empathy?
(2) What makes empathy different from sympathy or pity?
(3) What might empathy look like in practice?

I’ll be back to move us along in another 24-28 hours.

Noah, too, gave Claudine his own greeting with a nod and grin as she sat on the ground with him and Blake. He looked at them with interest as they exchanged a bit of banter and wondered about the food reference... or if it was actually literal. You just... don't know with Slytherins sometimes.

The lesson commenced, and Noah pointedly looked away from the professor as he stood before them and gave them all a good look. It was a bit awkward, the minute of silence and observation, so Noah busied himself instead by fiddling with his shoelaces. It really was hard to go back to school, especially if they didn't know who to trust any more. Not only that, but it also didn't help that their own parents had their opinion about it too, leaving them poor kids to figure it out themselves. But just like what his great-gramps said, they all ought to move on. Things happen all the time in and out of school, and that was the nature of life whether it was lived in the muggle or magical world.

As soon as the Shmoemeister started talking, Noah's gaze shifted from his shoelaces to their professor. Oh, no. Was it going to be just like the group therapy thing? If it was then the MS professor was doing better. Waaay better. But, empathy, huh? Well, their mummy has plenty of that, post-war or not, so empathy was something that he was familiar with, although Missus Sophie Mordaunt's definition of empathy had a bit of an extra punch. Noah raised his hand and waited for his turn to answer. "Erm...empathy is...exactly what you just did a while ago, professor." he said, retracting back his hand. "You sort of... know what's going on with us when you gave us a look." the quiet reverence was not missed, because he too struggled. "There's that, understanding and respect coming off of you without saying anything."

Too much, professor?

The hesitance was obvious, just like the blinking and bobbing and, more recently, the twitching, always was. Nem didn't bother dwelling on it, just filed the information away instead. They'd been thinking about dropping by to see the Noodle Man anyway, might even bring along some salt for his wounds.

They were not expecting anyone to join them, but found themselves unsurprised when Cambridge did just that. Nem stopped to consider the offer for a moment, about to turn it down but glancing up just in time to see Schmoe watching the third year commit the heinous crime of hanging around near Nemesis Upstead. Looking back at Cambridge, they gave her a small, conspiratorial smile. "When the fire gets going." The stuff was better when it was practically incinerated, in any case.

While they waited for class to start, Nem watched everyone arrive, but already the ennui was creeping in, almost as if it had never left. Oh, they watched James join Trent, noticed their old friend Rider-Mae make a point of standing as far from them as he could, and saw all the different ways these kids looked at Schmoe as they arrived, but that was all. Kid stuff.

Whatever. Let's get this over with.

Nem was well-acquainted with the topic of empathy, as it happened. This would have been a greater than good opportunity to make a pointed comment or two, but they made no attempt to answer, even to give a straightforward textbook comparison of affective empathy versus cognitive empathy. No, they were keeping quiet for this one, and appeared to be totally unmoved as they stared unwaveringly at Schmoe.

Had to be said, though: for once they were sort of interested in hearing what the others had to say on the matter.

Some of these first years were...really something. Margaret tried her best to ignore them and sit quietly while they all waited for class to begin. This was easier once Gracelyn joined her on the tree, where Mamie immediately greeted the sixth year with a big grin.

And then class was finally starting, and Margaret was...kind of worried about Schmoe. Was it normal for him to still be...shaky? After last year, she wasn't sure. Magic was weird. Adults were weird. Hopefully he could be happy. Were they having class outside so he could be happy..eer? Maybe.

She frowned, trying to remember what the definition of empathy was. Was it really something they needed to define? Didn't everybody know what this was already? She raised her hand, just a little bit. "Empathy is when you, like, not just understand what somebody's feeling, but...like you feel it too," she said. "Like if your friend is sad about something, that makes you sad, too, because they're your friend and you love them." You could have empathy for people who weren't your friends, too, but friends were easier.

"It's like with empathy, you're experiencing, actually feeling what another person feels, whereas with sympathy, you might understand the other person, but only intellectually, you're more removed from it." Violet paused to reflect on the last word and why she detested it when others applied it to her. "And pity--pity seems kind on the outside, but there's a kind of condescending feel to it."

Okay, so the boys didn’t mind her sitting with them. Not that they had much of a choice. Also… “Close your mouth, Blake. You might trap a fly.” Oh? What’s this? He had a comeback for her comment? An eyebrow went up. Said comeback was not impressive. “You get A+ for effort,’’ she told him as her gaze followed Heath. Was he ignoring her or something? No… it seemed he was too wrapped up in his thoughts. Claudine really hoped he wasn’t overthinking anything and making himself sad. Sometimes it seemed like no matter how many times she tried to distract him or cheer him up, it never worked; he always ended up thinking over things too much. It made her feel like a failure as his girlfriend.

Anyway.

Empathy.

It seemed that they were starting off with some of the feelsy stuff, the stuff which Claudine wasn’t usually good at explaining most of the time. But she’d give it a shot so she took a minute or so to arrange her thoughts before raising her hand. “Pity is feeling sorry for someone if they’re stuck in a particular situation that you don’t consider to be a good one. Empathy is where you understand and share the emotions felt by another. So…” Claudine paused, thinking further. “The difference is for one, you don’t feel nor share the same emotions with someone but for the other, you do.’’

The chatter before class was rather loud today, though he couldn't say that he minded that. All of the first years excitement WAS quite helpful and a welcome break from all the remembrances of last term. They were new, hadn't been here for any of what happened thank goodness so seeing that excitement again was entirely refreshing.

Even if it also made him insanely jealous. Magic had seemed so cool when he was 11 and it was all new. He still wasn't sure.

But now... now they were talking about empathy. And Evan could make a logical guess on why this was being discussed, and while logically he knew it was not about personal situation but he still couldn't help his mind roam to where he had failed on this particular skill. Holding back a sigh, he raised his hand to offer his own response after having listened to his peers. "Pity isn't actually nice. It's like saying... 'I feel bad for you, but I'm above this happening'. Sympathy is little nicer, but like others have said it's still distanced. Sympathy is 'I'm sorry you're going through this' but without any personal attachment. Empathy is feeling sympathetic, but taking it one step further and trying to put yourself in the shoes of the person that's hurting so that you can really connect and come up with ideas on how to try to make that person feel better. Or at least let them really know they aren't alone."

At least, that was his own interpretations on the matter.

Oh, DRAT, Schmoe had gone all misty over her coin, and Phoebe had a feeling that if he dared to cry, she would absolutely cry too. Then they'd all cry. Together. No thanks. She wasn't doing FEELINGS. And if she kept saying that, someday it would be true.

It was too bad they weren't learning about some cool Muggle way to light a fire, because talking about empathy sounded a lot like feelings. She flicked at the end of her ponytail and tried to think of the chillest response that meant nothing at all but didn't do the RUDE thing of ignoring the professor. And really failed. Ugh. Fine. "I think empathy would be, like, recognizing that people feel about things differently than we do and see the world differently than we do, and actively trying to understand what the world looks like for them. Even if you disagree so much it makes your teeth ache, you at least recognize they come from some human place and deserve to be treated that way."

Word vomit.

Blake snapped his mouth shut at Claudine's comment ... man ... what was with this girl. Before he had anymore of a chance to respond however, Schmoe started class ... best to leave his retort for another time - there were sure to be more.

"Empathy is the ability to understand and share the feelings of another." There an exact definition! Straight from Webster's dictionary.

Sitting there quietly, her eyes on the ground around them, Ingrid wasn’t entirely aware of when exactly the lesson fully started but at some point, her eyes switched towards Professor Schmoe and the lesson at hand and for once, she didn’t put her hand up straight away. Not because she didn’t know the answer but because the answer was too personal to share. Sitting there, her hands playing with a bit of string that was handing from her robes, she listened to the answers of one of the older boys in Gryffindor (Atlas) and then to Margret’s, a fellow third year Hufflepuff who she’d actually saw in the summer. She didn’t really have much to add to those answers if she was being honest except to give an example of a time she was empathetic and well so instead, she instead chose to sit there and listen to the answers of the others around her.

“Pitying someone isn’t exactly a bad thing, Evan”, her voice quiet and soft. It wasn’t that she didn’t see where he was coming from because pity could come across as a mean, bad thing. “I just…I don’t understand how feeling sorry for someone and pitying the situation that they’re in is saying you’re above them”. Honestly, she was just confused. Didn’t pity imply that pity came with compassion? “Unless you’re talking about pity in a sarcastic sense where you pity them in a mean spirited way? I guess it depends on the tone of your voice when you use the word or the thoughts you have about it”.

“To me, empathy is understanding. Understanding a situation that someone is in and like everyone has said, putting yourself in their shoes and then maybe trying to help them somehow. Pity, well I guess when I pity someone, I’m feeling sorry for them. For whatever it is that they’re going through because it’s most likely something hard”.

She wasn't alone for long, don't worry Lisa. First Alfie was here, and then Serena, both of whom Victoria was so far fond of. She noticed Alfie looking at her picture and nodded as he looked at Daniel. "It's of him. Because he is the worst person I have EVER met," she said with a flip of her strawberry-blonde hair over her shoulder. She was being dramatic, and she could actually recognize it, but it wasn't like she was far off. He was horribly UNFUNNY and RUDE.

Serena, though, she smiled at. "I wish. It'd be the only points I've gotten so far," she mumbled as she continued putting the finishing touches on her Daniel portrait. "I'm drawing Daniel Yoon. Because I don't like him and I was bored waiting for class to start - "

But Professor Schmoe was starting class, and V realized what a ridiculous name he had. Schmoe. Joe Schmoe. What if his first name WAS Joe??? V kinda' hoped it was because that'd be soooOOoooooo funny. She quickly closed her notebook so he wouldn't see her picture and ruin his façade that she was taking notes. PAYING ATTENTION OVER HERE, YES.

V had no idea what empathy was. "I've never heard that word before in my life, so I don't have an answer," she said when it got to be her turn to speak, shrugging her shoulders. That probably wasn't true; she probably HAD heard it, but didn't know it, and so she didn't process the information. And thus, it didn't exist to her. Was empathy even a word, then? Maybe this school made all of the things up. It seemed plenty of her classmates knew what empathy was, though. So it wasn't made up after all, which was a comfort. It had to do with feelings? V tuned out immediately.

How was her picture coming along, then? She tried to take a peek. Also, would she share it with DANIEL? She smirked to herself as she thought about it.

Did she see the way Schmoe was concerned about who she chose to stand beside? Noooo. Emmerson was too busy appreciating the way she got a smile--even if only a small one--out of Nemesis Upstead. Not many got smiles from them, she would know, she paid attention. It was kind of a big deal, y'know? So the Gryffindor nodded eagerly at the counter offer. They could split the bread once the fire got going.

For now, Emm pinched a piece and began stuffing her face while she listened. Empathy? Was that what they were doing today....?

Well.

Frankly.

"Empathy is what people preach at you when they want you believing and feeling the same things they do. Empathy is the one thing they don't have in the middle of forcing their own on you to make you feel crummy for things you don't feel crummy about because you've got no reason to and then YOU become the bad guy because apparently your own feelings don't matter if they don't match the other persons."

Nom. Nom. Nom.

"So basically, Professor," Nom. Nom. Nom. "Empathy is a crock of......dung. It's a crock of dung."

Was this a joke? Were they going to be studying muggle therapy or something because this line of questioning was not something Pax was here for.

In Pax's view, empathy often proved a waste of time, as proved unequivocally by anyone the previous year who had tried to empathise with the neo-alliance and got nowhere at best and physically hurt at worst. She also found it was too often used as an excuse for lack of action, as though it somehow counted as enough, as evidenced by those who thought that empathy towards any kids who had been hurt or stuck in the room freed them of any complicity in the whole situation. Ditto for sympathy or pity.

Typically, Pax chose not to answer most questions in class, but she put her hand up today, staring at Schmoe as she spoke.

"Empathy, and any other version of "feeling bad" ", air quotes, "for someone else is too often an excuse for inaction. You can still be complicit in the pain and suffering of others if you don't act on those feelings, especially if you're in a position of power,", you know, like a professor for instance, "or if you benefit in some way from whatever negative thing that the so-called feelings of empathy stem from." Like being a pureblood during a time where anyone with muggle blood was being mistreated. Pax folded her arms and eyed the professor.

"Empathy is a waste of time if you don't do anything with it." Subtext: talking about your complicity, Schmoe, and this lesson being a waste of time.

Dahlia didn't completely buy into that smile that Schmoe had given her but that point of the matter was, he had tried. That in itself counted. She had not only seen it but she felt. Not to mention she knew a good deal of what he had gone through last term, seen it with her own blue eyes. Her heart hurt for him just as she was sure his hurt for them. Now she wasn't saying that the other professors from last term weren't hurting because they were, just some.. maybe she felt a little closer to.

As the lesson began, Lia couldn't help but lightly tap her foot on the ground a little. It was more of involuntary thing and she wasn't really aware of it but it seemed to help her focus on the question a tiny bit. Empathy, sympathy and pity. What was the difference. Well this was one way to start a lesson.

After listening to several of her peers give their answers she slowly raised her hand. "Well.. empathy is like that smile you gave me when I first sat down. It's how most of us sitting here have gone through something and we can all understand that and respect it because how we feel while not exactly like how they do, it's similar." She paused for a moment. "Sympathy is more of an understanding of what someone is going through and wanting to be there for them because you care about them and want to help them even though you aren't dealing with their current situation yourself."

"Wait, I thought this was Muggle Studies, not a therapy session?" Had she somehow ended up in the wrong place without realizing it? Dia quickly checked her schedule to be sure. Nope, it said this was supposed to be a Muggle Studies lesson right in this part of the grounds. Not that she didn't understand the need of the therapy sessions. These Hogwarts brats had a loooooottttttt of issues they needed to work out. No, she just didn't appreciate being forced to be ~in her feelings~ when she was expecting something else entirely. Like a lesson.

Times like these she missed Durmstrang.

Being completely unaware at the moment that Victoria was making a mean drawing of him, Daniel turned his attention to the older Gryffindor boy (Atlas) who decided to intervene with his and Lisa's conversation.

While Lisa was impressed, Daniel was not. He looked skeptical as his brown eyes went over to see the professor. "HE is a war hero?" he asked, not bothering with whispering anymore. "How do you know? " he knew what this curse was, Ashley had explained it to him back in Diagon Alley. "Did you witness it? Why did he get cursed?" He scooted closer to the second year and stared at him intently as if he could find answers by looking at him.

He looked away however when he heard his name being mentioned and after a short look around he realized that it had been Victoria who stood with Alfie and Serena. He rolled his eyes at her comment. "Don't listen to her Alfie! Gellar is the WORST and a crybaby!"

Daniel jumped in his seat as the professor began class all of the sudden. He listened to the rest of the students giving their answers to the question about empathy. "It's when you like, really FEEL what others are feeling right? Which sounds absolutely energy draining to me. I mean, who wants that?"