What was WITH his nose? Mercer sneezed his way down the corridor toward the Defense classroom, each progressive sneeze making his eyes water and his nose run. He was like a snot-fueled engine. There was no fever or congestion, just sneezing. Mid-winter allergies? Was that a thing? Or could it just be the accumulation of dust in every corner that was bring a literal tear to his eye?

Mercer paused and waved/wiped his face on his sleeve at the sight of the professor. "Hullo, Professor. Sorry about crying in the hall but I feel like I have a poltergeist in my sinus cavity."

"Achoooooo"

Sniffing as she wiped her nose on a handkerchief, Emma frowned when she got to the Defense classroom that day. Professor Khanna seemed so serious right now which hadn't been at all like what she recalled from previous lessons? She shivered slightly when she entered the room.

"Who died and called you professor?" she said trying to make a funny although when she thought about it after she said it aloud, it wasn't really that funny. Someone really ought to tell her to think before speaking. She was just going to go see herself to her seat now.

While Kion wasn't described as one who valued cleanliness outside the basic hygenic rules (good teeth, breath, and no body odour). He wasn't a fan of all the dust that gave him the urge to sneeze. While the outdoor cold never bothered him anyway, the double benefits of wearing a face mask covered his mouth and nose preventing dust particles from aggravating him.. But his eyes were a different story as he wiped them occasionally. Maybe he should've worn goggles too while he was at it, but it was too late to head back for them.

So upon first sight, the sixteen-year-old felt the pressure of his eyes to look elsewhere from the hard look the Professor was giving, "Good.. day, Professor," He managed before finding a spot to get settled.

Desiree was quite literally sick of the dust and mess in the castle! Not only was it unpleasant to look at, but it made her nose tickle and her eyes water. She made her way down the corridor, holding a rose-perfumed pink handkerchief to her nose to stop the sniffling and sneezing. She approached the spare office, blinking against the water in her eyes. Thank Merlin she was wearing waterproof makeup!

She immediately noticed two odd things upon her arrival. The first was the faint scraping sound coming from behind the door. What could that be? Probably some sort of dark creature… maybe one that liked a filthy environment? Even more concerning than the noise was Professor Khanna’s unapproachable demeanor. That wasn’t like them at all! Maybe they were having an off day.

“Hello, Professor,” Desiree greeted, removing her handkerchief to give them a friendly smile. She took her place among the other students, but before she could greet anyone else, she had to grab her handkerchief again to muffle a very unladylike sneeze. AH-CHOO!!!!

“Excuse me,” she said with a sniffle. For now, waves to the other students would have to do instead of verbal greetings.

The first year took a while to find the spare office on the sixth-floor corridor, but when he finally noticed the Professor standing near a door in the distance, he breathed a sigh of relief. He wasn't going to be late for class today!

He slung his bag over his other shoulder but accidentally knocked it against a portrait on his left. He almost sneezed as the dust settled in the air and after making sure that it wasn't damaged he approached the group.

Was it just him, or did the Professor appear to be...different today? Was today's lesson so important that they had to appear stoic and unapproachable? Sigh, he wished he could be cool like that one day."Hi everyone" he greeted the group with a wave which caused his bag to slip off his shoulder and hit the ground. Ehm... oops. He picked it up quickly before turning to greet the professor "Hello Professor, why are we not entering the room?" he asked.

Phoebe was cold, so cold. And it was a long walk from the dungeons to the sixth floor, and her feet hurt, and she wheezed a little when she breathed. Hogwarts was a terrible place, truly. She had half a mind to complain to her professor about it, but... they looked so scary today. They looked all cold and far away. She slipped down the wall to sit, knees tucked to her chest as she waited for more people to arrive. She didn't really feel well, and she didn't like this school, and- gosh, it was so cold and dusty. She quietly rested her chin on her knees, wishing she could go back to Stemp House for about the thousandth time since getting here.

SPOILER!!: Mercer! <3

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cassirin

What was WITH his nose? Mercer sneezed his way down the corridor toward the Defense classroom, each progressive sneeze making his eyes water and his nose run. He was like a snot-fueled engine. There was no fever or congestion, just sneezing. Mid-winter allergies? Was that a thing? Or could it just be the accumulation of dust in every corner that was bring a literal tear to his eye?

Mercer paused and waved/wiped his face on his sleeve at the sight of the professor. "Hullo, Professor. Sorry about crying in the hall but I feel like I have a poltergeist in my sinus cavity."

Ah yes. All that sneezing drawing ever so close to the Spare Classroom could mean one of a few things but Dhruv was rather sure that it was only a student making their way to today’s lesson. Sure enough, one Mercer Branxton appeared shortly after. “Mr. Branxton,’’ they remarked without a hint of their usually warm nature. "I suggest you do your best to avoid disrupting the class when it begins.”

SPOILER!!: Emma! <3

"Achoooooo"

Sniffing as she wiped her nose on a handkerchief, Emma frowned when she got to the Defense classroom that day. Professor Khanna seemed so serious right now which hadn't been at all like what she recalled from previous lessons? She shivered slightly when she entered the room.

"Who died and called you professor?" she said trying to make a funny although when she thought about it after she said it aloud, it wasn't really that funny. Someone really ought to tell her to think before speaking. She was just going to go see herself to her seat now.

Another loud sneeze punctuated the peacefulness of the corridor causing Dhruv to sigh, not bothering to hide the impatience he felt. Honestly. This sneezing and sniffling was going to be most annoying today. They arched an unimpressed eyebrow at the Hufflepuff. “Ms. Montmorency, I expect you to be respectful to me at all times. Failure to comply will result in detention for you.”

SPOILER!!: Kion! <3

Quote:

Originally Posted by Charely Potter

While Kion wasn't described as one who valued cleanliness outside the basic hygenic rules (good teeth, breath, and no body odour). He wasn't a fan of all the dust that gave him the urge to sneeze. While the outdoor cold never bothered him anyway, the double benefits of wearing a face mask covered his mouth and nose preventing dust particles from aggravating him.. But his eyes were a different story as he wiped them occasionally. Maybe he should've worn goggles too while he was at it, but it was too late to head back for them.

So upon first sight, the sixteen-year-old felt the pressure of his eyes to look elsewhere from the hard look the Professor was giving, "Good.. day, Professor," He managed before finding a spot to get settled.

Dhruv’s thoughts about Kion making his appearance? The Gryffindor was definitely respectful and possessed a fair amount of commonsense, the latter in terms of protecting himself from the dust. Dhruv could not say that he felt any pity about the teary eyes though, even when they themself seemed to be occasionally a victim of a bit of dust settling in their eye. “Mr. Ingebretson.” It bothered them none that Kion wanted to avert his eyes.

SPOILER!!: Desiree! <3

Quote:

Originally Posted by MadMadamMalfoy

Desiree was quite literally sick of the dust and mess in the castle! Not only was it unpleasant to look at, but it made her nose tickle and her eyes water. She made her way down the corridor, holding a rose-perfumed pink handkerchief to her nose to stop the sniffling and sneezing. She approached the spare office, blinking against the water in her eyes. Thank Merlin she was wearing waterproof makeup!

She immediately noticed two odd things upon her arrival. The first was the faint scraping sound coming from behind the door. What could that be? Probably some sort of dark creature… maybe one that liked a filthy environment? Even more concerning than the noise was Professor Khanna’s unapproachable demeanor. That wasn’t like them at all! Maybe they were having an off day.

“Hello, Professor,” Desiree greeted, removing her handkerchief to give them a friendly smile. She took her place among the other students, but before she could greet anyone else, she had to grab her handkerchief again to muffle a very unladylike sneeze. AH-CHOO!!!!

“Excuse me,” she said with a sniffle. For now, waves to the other students would have to do instead of verbal greetings.

Desiree too demonstrated a sure sign of commonsense by protecting herself from the filth of the Castle. At least that would be useful for muffling sneezes, as was demonstrated mere short moments later. “Ms. Marchand.” That was all she got in reply; there was no smile, friendly or otherwise.

SPOILER!!: Sohrin! <3

Quote:

Originally Posted by DuckyLinJi

The first year took a while to find the spare office on the sixth-floor corridor, but when he finally noticed the Professor standing near a door in the distance, he breathed a sigh of relief. He wasn't going to be late for class today!

He slung his bag over his other shoulder but accidentally knocked it against a portrait on his left. He almost sneezed as the dust settled in the air and after making sure that it wasn't damaged he approached the group.

Was it just him, or did the Professor appear to be...different today? Was today's lesson so important that they had to appear stoic and unapproachable? Sigh, he wished he could be cool like that one day."Hi everyone" he greeted the group with a wave which caused his bag to slip off his shoulder and hit the ground. Ehm... oops. He picked it up quickly before turning to greet the professor "Hello Professor, why are we not entering the room?" he asked.

Being late for the lesson would surely have resulted in Sohrin losing Ravenclaw a healthy chunk of points. Thank goodness for small mercies, eh? Dhruv said nothing about the slight accident, though they were sure the occupant of the portrait was none too thrilled if he or she were currently there and not visiting another. Ah, there was a second little accident. Sohrin had better get a grip on himself before the lesson got started or else… “Mr. Solberg. We will be doing so shortly.”

SPOILER!!: Phoebe! <3

Quote:

Originally Posted by astrocat

Phoebe was cold, so cold. And it was a long walk from the dungeons to the sixth floor, and her feet hurt, and she wheezed a little when she breathed. Hogwarts was a terrible place, truly. She had half a mind to complain to her professor about it, but... they looked so scary today. They looked all cold and far away. She slipped down the wall to sit, knees tucked to her chest as she waited for more people to arrive. She didn't really feel well, and she didn't like this school, and- gosh, it was so cold and dusty. She quietly rested her chin on her knees, wishing she could go back to Stemp House for about the thousandth time since getting here.

No greeting from this child? Dhruv didn’t think twice about it, instead they took note of her discomfort. “Ms. Calypso, I suggest you take a trip to the Hospital Wing if you are feeling unwell.” There would be no throwing up or anything of the sort for the duration of their lesson.


* * * * * * * * * * * * *

The scraping sounds from within the room became louder and more frequent. Dhruv expected that they would be witnessing the startled reactions of the students shortly. What a treat that may be. But the time had now come for the lesson to begin. Still looking quite unfriendly, they shifted their arms so that their hands were now behind their back. Dhruv’s posture was a rather stiff one, as though they did not want to be here teaching the children.

“I do not expect my lesson to be disrupted by constant sneezes, sniffles, coughing or whatever else that serves as a reaction to this dirt and filth. Some of you have thankfully found solutions to this unfortunate issue. Therefore, I ask the rest of you to take note of these examples and put them into effect should you feel you will cause a disruption. If you cannot conjure a mask or handkerchief, relay this to an older student who may help. Is that crystal clear?”

Did the gathering figure from the stern tone that they were not to be crossed today or any other day, for that matter? Good? Good.

Moving on.

“Non Beings. I would like for you to share your knowledge about Non Beings. Or perhaps simply share an example of a Non Being. One piece of information from you will suffice.” There was no need to be a show-off by going extensively into the topic. “And yes. Please ignore the scraping sounds for now.” Never you mind that it was being emitted from the Spare Room virtually non stop now.


OOC: The lesson has officially commenced; this means no announcing a character’s late arrival {unless you want to face the consequences IC }. The lesson shall move on in 24 hours!

Oopssss.... yeaaa she really needed to learn to think before speaking. Flushing at Professor Khanna's reaction, she mumbled something incoherently as she tried to gauge what was wrong with him. Maybe it was just weather related. Winter blues surely had to affect more than just herself, right? There surely wasn't an age limit to seasonal depression. Yes that had to be it; it was just winter related. Once the weather outside warmed up and things started blooming again it would be much better.

Moving on though it seemed today's lessons was going to talk about non-beings. "Ghosts are an example of non beings. Quite relevant to Hogwarts since we have several that float among the halls...." Now might be a good time for one to show up. But ghosts didn't make a scraping sound? So could it be a boggart? Would she learn her true fears? She disliked spiders obviously, but was that a fear or just a displeasure?

Non-beings.

Sohrin paused for a moment, certain that he had read about this topic before, but despite his lack of recall, he raised his hand in the air to respond.

"They are magical creatures like dementors and...and ghouls? Boggarts, not ghouls, I think" Uhm....there weren't any of those behind that door, right? "Oh! And they feed on human emotio---" Sohrin suddenly GASPED as he realized what the professor was up to. He looked from the door to the professor and then back to the door, taking a step back as the scratching became louder. He was certain that they were keeping their emotions in check!

Oh, he was SO SMART! He, too, will be emotionless from now on! He took a deep breath and relaxed, but instead of appearing cold, the Ravenclaw's act resembled more that of a brain-dead zombie. Minus the grunting.

As for his answer that he hadn't finished? He had completely forgotten about that.

There wasn’t even an inkling of a smile on Aurora’s face as she had slowly shuffled her way down the corridor towards the Defence Against the Dark Arts classroom ready for the lesson. In fact, the expression she was currently wearing was one of disdain and lacking in any form of enthusiasm. It was for this reason that it was probably a good thing that none of her close friends were around to talk to her as quite frankly she was not in the mood for socialising.

No. Miss Ackerly wanted to be left entirely on her own. Professor Khanna hadn’t even received an acknowledgement which was probably just as well considering that he didn’t look approachable today either.

Also all the students sniffling and sneezing was gross and really grating her last nerve to the point that she sent a glare in their direction whenever one of them dared to make a noise. Why they couldn’t just go get a Pepper-Up Potion was beyond her comprehension? She was grateful when the lesson began especially as the Professor shared her sentiments on the annoyance of the sickly students.

The thought of there being a ‘creature’ in the room sent shivers down her spine. They were ghastly things that clearly belonged shut away far from her and their existence entirely ignored. Unfortunately for the Ravenclaw it seemed they’d become the subject of that day's lesson and she was not in the position that she could slip away unnoticed. Not that she presently cared about any consequences should she decide to just leave. As for the question, Aurora chose not to acknowledge it in the slightest and remained silent with her arms folded defensively across her chest.

Blink, blink. Well, this was weird!

Desiree immediately noticed Professor Khanna’s lack of a smile and stern words toward some of her classmates. While she was increasingly concerned, she refrained from voicing her feelings so as not to cause trouble. She glanced around the area in search of anyone who might need her help conjuring a mask or handkerchief, and she saw Aurora looking unusually surly as well. Seriously, what was going on here?!

She hadn’t time to dwell on her concerns for long before the first question was asked. Non-beings, scraping noise… she had a pretty strong suspicion where this lesson was going! For now, she racked her brains for an answer to the question. Recalling a bit of information, she raised her hand and said, “Non-beings are amortal, which means they aren’t born and can’t be killed.”

Bryony could easily accept that a castle this size got untidy at times. However it didn't seem to make much sense to the young girl that it was being allowed to remain this way AND that it was only getting worse as the days progressed. Sure she had still seen a couple of the adorable elfies cleaning but certainly not all of them. And yes she knew that the professors were doing the best that they could (she knew her mama had cleaned up the Slytherin common room) BUT it clearly wasn't enough.

Her normally bright blue eyes were a little glassy still from all of the dust and her nose a smidge pink from when she had wiped it earlier after a sneezing fit. Right now, she was alright. Hopefully. She had been learning a few cleaning spells herself and had even taken an allergy potion today!

If Bry had taken any notice at all to Dhruv's unfriendly moody attitude, she didn't show it. There had been her usual wiggle fingered greeting and continued light bouncing on her toes as she stood in the corridor for the first question. Non-beings. She raised her hand first. "Poltergeists are non-beings. They generally like to create chaos. At least that's always what she had been told.

With the state that the castle was in, Florence was particularly displeased that this was where the professor chose to have this lesson. They really couldn't just be in a regular clean classroom, for Merlin's sake? Whatever was in that locked room, surely it could've been moved there.

Nonetheless, she had an answer for this first question, so she tried to turn her frown into a more neutral expression and then raised her hand. "Poltergeists like Peeves are a type of non-being." You know, maybe this dust was almost a non-being in a way, since it was equally as annoying and never seemed to truly be destroyed either. Hmph.

While Vera had arrived in with all the other students, finding herself a place beside her housemate Kion, she'd remained silent - a look of confusion on her face. The answers to the question posed to the class probably would have gotten her attention, particularly Sohrin's answer which a lesson she would have forever hoped to not have to be a part of, but she'd been STARING at Khanna instead as if there was an answer they could give her instead of her giving one to them. Where... was the smile? The enthusiastic greetings? The encouragement to give answers and be prepared for learning?

Were they just having a bad day? Maybe this was a different type of allergic reaction to all the dust floating about the room? It was the only thing that made sense right???

She was clearly not paying enough attention to have any type of an answer, but as the cold settled in and she shivered a bit, it was enough to snap her back into focus for whatever came next. Hopefully. She didn't really need ANOTHER DADA lesson where she was chastised by her favorite Professor.

It wasn't like Mercer was trying to be a distraction, and it also wasn't like a standard spell that he should just KNOW how to conjure a mask, OKAY? The professor was being a curmudgeon, to put it politely, and Mercer knew the best way to handle curmudgeons... love them until they melted in the light of his adorableness. It worked with his cousins and aunts, and it would work with this situation too.

"You got it, Professor. No distractions here. No poltergeists up my nose!" Mercer ducked behind his sleeve to rub his nose vigorously before reappearing with a red nose and a big smile. "How about dementors? Those are non-beings, right? All boo, no body."

Hope was a little taken aback by Professor Khanna's demeanor today. She was so intimidated that she'd barely managed to murmur a greeting when she entered class, and now she was almost afraid to try to answer the question, but equally afraid not to.

"Boggarts are also shape-shifters, aren't they? They take on the shape of whatever the person encountering them fears most. So they not only feed on human emotions, they project them." Hope really didn't want to find out they were working with Boggarts today. She'd yet to meet up with one, so she wasn't really sure what it was that she feared most, but she also didn't really want to find out.

SPOILER!!: Emma! <3

Quote:

Originally Posted by PhoenixRising

Oopssss.... yeaaa she really needed to learn to think before speaking. Flushing at Professor Khanna's reaction, she mumbled something incoherently as she tried to gauge what was wrong with him. Maybe it was just weather related. Winter blues surely had to affect more than just herself, right? There surely wasn't an age limit to seasonal depression. Yes that had to be it; it was just winter related. Once the weather outside warmed up and things started blooming again it would be much better.

Moving on though it seemed today's lessons was going to talk about non-beings. "Ghosts are an example of non beings. Quite relevant to Hogwarts since we have several that float among the halls...." Now might be a good time for one to show up. But ghosts didn't make a scraping sound? So could it be a boggart? Would she learn her true fears? She disliked spiders obviously, but was that a fear or just a displeasure?

The muttering did not go unnoticed even if Dhruv did not have bionic hearing to discern the words. They did not care to know what was being said anyway, since it brought no substance to today’s topic. Ah, yes. They had been expecting ghosts as an answer this question. “Ghosts are classified as ‘Spirits’, which are creatures which possess a spectral body. They are not alive and are unaffected by gravity. With the exception of the three traits I have just highlighted, they are easily mistaken for ‘Beings’ or ‘Beasts’. It is interesting to note, however, that Non Beings too can be classified as Spirits.” Confusing, Dhruv knew, but that wasn’t their problem.

SPOILER!!: Sohrin! <3

Quote:

Originally Posted by DuckyLinJi

Non-beings.

Sohrin paused for a moment, certain that he had read about this topic before, but despite his lack of recall, he raised his hand in the air to respond.

"They are magical creatures like dementors and...and ghouls? Boggarts, not ghouls, I think" Uhm....there weren't any of those behind that door, right? "Oh! And they feed on human emotio---" Sohrin suddenly GASPED as he realized what the professor was up to. He looked from the door to the professor and then back to the door, taking a step back as the scratching became louder. He was certain that they were keeping their emotions in check!

Oh, he was SO SMART! He, too, will be emotionless from now on! He took a deep breath and relaxed, but instead of appearing cold, the Ravenclaw's act resembled more that of a brain-dead zombie. Minus the grunting.

As for his answer that he hadn't finished? He had completely forgotten about that.

Dhruv nodded approvingly, despite the slight boredom they felt of having to teach today. “Dementors and Boggarts are indeed two forms of Non Beings. And…’’ they continued, a not-at-all-warm smile forming on their face as though amused at the first year’s reaction as realisation hit him. “They do feed on human emotions. As a matter of fact, one could say that they are formed out of such emotions.”

SPOILER!!: Aurora! <3

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lottiepot

There wasn’t even an inkling of a smile on Aurora’s face as she had slowly shuffled her way down the corridor towards the Defence Against the Dark Arts classroom ready for the lesson. In fact, the expression she was currently wearing was one of disdain and lacking in any form of enthusiasm. It was for this reason that it was probably a good thing that none of her close friends were around to talk to her as quite frankly she was not in the mood for socialising.

No. Miss Ackerly wanted to be left entirely on her own. Professor Khanna hadn’t even received an acknowledgement which was probably just as well considering that he didn’t look approachable today either.

Also all the students sniffling and sneezing was gross and really grating her last nerve to the point that she sent a glare in their direction whenever one of them dared to make a noise. Why they couldn’t just go get a Pepper-Up Potion was beyond her comprehension? She was grateful when the lesson began especially as the Professor shared her sentiments on the annoyance of the sickly students.

The thought of there being a ‘creature’ in the room sent shivers down her spine. They were ghastly things that clearly belonged shut away far from her and their existence entirely ignored. Unfortunately for the Ravenclaw it seemed they’d become the subject of that day's lesson and she was not in the position that she could slip away unnoticed. Not that she presently cared about any consequences should she decide to just leave. As for the question, Aurora chose not to acknowledge it in the slightest and remained silent with her arms folded defensively across her chest.

Aurora had been one of the last of the children to join the gathering, which was lucky as she had cut it rather close to having points being ducked off of Ravenclaw. Dhruv said nothing about the lack of greeting; after all, they did not care. They simply let their gaze follow Aurora as she settled in with the group. Surely if you observed her's and Dhruv’s mannerisms, you would notice some similarities? Their gaze lingered on her again, as it did on the other silent students, before the lesson progressed. Aurora had nothing to contribute? Not a problem.

SPOILER!!: Desiree! <3

Quote:

Originally Posted by MadMadamMalfoy

Blink, blink. Well, this was weird!

Desiree immediately noticed Professor Khanna’s lack of a smile and stern words toward some of her classmates. While she was increasingly concerned, she refrained from voicing her feelings so as not to cause trouble. She glanced around the area in search of anyone who might need her help conjuring a mask or handkerchief, and she saw Aurora looking unusually surly as well. Seriously, what was going on here?!

She hadn’t time to dwell on her concerns for long before the first question was asked. Non-beings, scraping noise… she had a pretty strong suspicion where this lesson was going! For now, she racked her brains for an answer to the question. Recalling a bit of information, she raised her hand and said, “Non-beings are amortal, which means they aren’t born and can’t be killed.”

Dhruv took no notice for any signs that students thought that his mannerisms were any different. They were simply concerned with the topic, one that they enjoyed teaching very much. “Precisely. Since Non Beings are not born, one cannot kill them; witches and wizards can only drive them away by some form or the other.”

SPOILER!!: Bryony! <3

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kolyander

Bryony could easily accept that a castle this size got untidy at times. However it didn't seem to make much sense to the young girl that it was being allowed to remain this way AND that it was only getting worse as the days progressed. Sure she had still seen a couple of the adorable elfies cleaning but certainly not all of them. And yes she knew that the professors were doing the best that they could (she knew her mama had cleaned up the Slytherin common room) BUT it clearly wasn't enough.

Her normally bright blue eyes were a little glassy still from all of the dust and her nose a smidge pink from when she had wiped it earlier after a sneezing fit. Right now, she was alright. Hopefully. She had been learning a few cleaning spells herself and had even taken an allergy potion today!

If Bry had taken any notice at all to Dhruv's unfriendly moody attitude, she didn't show it. There had been her usual wiggle fingered greeting and continued light bouncing on her toes as she stood in the corridor for the first question. Non-beings. She raised her hand first. "Poltergeists are non-beings. They generally like to create chaos. At least that's always what she had been told.

The wiggled finger greeting was not returned. Dhruv simply fixed the bouncing first year with a pointed stare, a stare that warned her to calm down and pay full attention. Bryony seemed to be doing that much because her answer was spot on. “Correct. Together with Dementors and Boggarts, Poltergeists form the three types of known Non Beings or as they are sometimes referred to, ‘Non-Human Spiritous Apparition’.”

SPOILER!!: Florence!

Quote:

Originally Posted by AlwaysSnapesGirl

With the state that the castle was in, Florence was particularly displeased that this was where the professor chose to have this lesson. They really couldn't just be in a regular clean classroom, for Merlin's sake? Whatever was in that locked room, surely it could've been moved there.

Nonetheless, she had an answer for this first question, so she tried to turn her frown into a more neutral expression and then raised her hand. "Poltergeists like Peeves are a type of non-being." You know, maybe this dust was almost a non-being in a way, since it was equally as annoying and never seemed to truly be destroyed either. Hmph.

This was exactly where Dhruv had planned for this lesson to take place, regardless if the place was clean or not. In any case, when the lesson had been planned in early September, they had no idea the House Elves would be shying away from their duties. Anyway… “Correct.” There was a curt nod in response to the response.

SPOILER!!: Vera! <3

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chelliephone

While Vera had arrived in with all the other students, finding herself a place beside her housemate Kion, she'd remained silent - a look of confusion on her face. The answers to the question posed to the class probably would have gotten her attention, particularly Sohrin's answer which a lesson she would have forever hoped to not have to be a part of, but she'd been STARING at Khanna instead as if there was an answer they could give her instead of her giving one to them. Where... was the smile? The enthusiastic greetings? The encouragement to give answers and be prepared for learning?

Were they just having a bad day? Maybe this was a different type of allergic reaction to all the dust floating about the room? It was the only thing that made sense right???

She was clearly not paying enough attention to have any type of an answer, but as the cold settled in and she shivered a bit, it was enough to snap her back into focus for whatever came next. Hopefully. She didn't really need ANOTHER DADA lesson where she was chastised by her favorite Professor.

There would be none of that positive energy from this professor. Vera would do better to put that state of confusion out of her mind to instead focus on the lesson. Their eyes paused for a short moment on her. Where was the talkative, outspoken young lady? She hadn’t shown up today? Dhruv couldn’t care any less.

SPOILER!!: Mercer! <3

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cassirin

It wasn't like Mercer was trying to be a distraction, and it also wasn't like a standard spell that he should just KNOW how to conjure a mask, OKAY? The professor was being a curmudgeon, to put it politely, and Mercer knew the best way to handle curmudgeons... love them until they melted in the light of his adorableness. It worked with his cousins and aunts, and it would work with this situation too.

"You got it, Professor. No distractions here. No poltergeists up my nose!" Mercer ducked behind his sleeve to rub his nose vigorously before reappearing with a red nose and a big smile. "How about dementors? Those are non-beings, right? All boo, no body."

No amount of cuteness will melt the hard stare Dhruv gave Mercer, much less the professor’s steely demeanour. That Rudolph the Red Nose reindeer that the Ravenclaw’s resembled right now might have earned a return smile by another professor but Dhruv simply ignored the entire nose business. “Correct. Dementors are perhaps one of the more popular examples of Non Being since their effects on humans and their Kiss have been well documented.”

SPOILER!!: Hope! <3

Quote:

Originally Posted by MadAlice

Hope was a little taken aback by Professor Carton's demeanor today. She was so intimidated that she'd barely managed to murmur a greeting when she entered class, and now she was almost afraid to try to answer the question, but equally afraid not to.

"Boggarts are also shape-shifters, aren't they? They take on the shape of whatever the person encountering them fears most. So they not only feed on human emotions, they project them." Hope really didn't want to find out they were working with Boggarts today. She'd yet to meet up with one, so she wasn't really sure what it was that she feared most, but she also didn't really want to find out.

“That they are and that they do.” A response like that from Hope certainly would have earned her a hearty word of praise. Yet there was none. Hope definitely could continue being in shock about this new Dhruv.


* * * * * * * * * * * * *


This was usually the point where Dhruv complimented the class for their knowledge but today? Today there was none as they ploughed right on the next aspect. The quicker this lesson was over, the quicker they had time to relax and be lazy. “Mr. Solberg, even in passing, and Ms. Archard have hit on today’s main topic: Boggarts.” Here, the professor’s lips curved into a cold-ish smile of anticipation. It would be quite thrilling to see the group battle the Non Being; this would definitely make his effort to teach this lesson worthwhile today.

Right on cue, the scraping intensified. To Dhruv, it rather sounded as though a handful of Kneazles were scratching their claws at a locked door in an attempt to get in. Or out.

“What do you know of Boggarts, children, aside from what Ms. Archard has mentioned? Have you ever faced one before? Do you have any Boggart-related tale you would like to share?” Dhruv had done so countless times before but they had no intent at the moment to share any experiences.


OOC: We’ll be moving onto the mini activity in another 24 hours! In the meanwhile, your student is required {if they like} to share one piece of info regarding Boggarts or to share any experiences/heresay scenarios they may have :3

The talkative of outspoken young lady was shocked into silence was what she was. What in the world was going on? Even a bad day would have still had some type of smile from Professor Khanna... Wouldn't it? And certainly not that one that they shared when mentioning the kids would be coming up against boggarts. Having their worst fears shown in front of an entire classroom of their peers was certainly a vulnerable position to be put in, and the info that's what was expected was enough to at least get the Gryffindor focused enough to look for a point of exit from the room. Maybe if Khanna wasn't on top of their game she could just sneak away?

So in an effort to further not draw attention to herself (despite the eye contact she'd just made with Khanna), the Gryffindor stayed silent and instead looked for the easiest route to leave from the classroom without having to do the activity.

While punctuality was something Solomon struggled with, there were certain lessons he offered extra time to arrive for. DADA was one of those. One, because it was interesting and he didn’t want to risk being sent away, and two, he didn’t want to face a punishment from Professor Dhruv. That being said, he was here but had remained quiet until now. Mostly because he was distracted by Aurora who did not look most impressed to be here.

Weird, unusual, hmm…

Anyway.

Solomon had, of course, heard of boggarts, although had never faced one as far as he was aware. He did have a small piece of information to offer, so he raised his hand confidently. “They take the shape of what a person fears the most.” He didn’t fear ANYTHING much so he had every faith that a fight between himself and a Boggart would be dull.

Personally Aurora thought that Boggarts were an inappropriate lesson for a group of children to be learning about. For starters, exposing their biggest fears to their peers was a ridiculous idea and could be swiftly taken advantage of by the conniving students. The unimpressed expression, complete with inward eye roll, was evident on the petite blonde’s face as she listened to the Professor drone on. Or rather not drone on, Khanna was oddly to the point today which this Aurora appreciated. There was no purpose in wasting your breath on a load of pointless rambles when you could just quickly speak and go.

She did however choose to contribute something to the discussion. “Nobody knows what they truly look like when they are alone.” Which was probably just as well considering they were likely extremely ugly but she kept this information to herself.

Also the stare from Solomon was NOT appreciated. He received a quick warning glance before she turned back to the scraping noise on the other side of the door.

The thought of confronting a boggart when he had no idea what his boggart would become was unsettling. Though it wasn't as unsettling as the professor's not-so-warm smile at that particular moment. Something was definitely wrong with them, and the young Ravenclaw wondered if he had been bewitched. Or had someone used a potion to spike his drink during breakfast? Whatever it was, they were acting weird!

As the scratching at the door became more intense, Sohrin was drawn from his thoughts and took a step back, then sideways to stand behind Aurora. Not that he was nervous or anything haha! he was. But something didn't seem to add up. Boggarts were non-beings who could be 'defeated' through laughter. Happiness was an emotion so why was the professor acting like that? Shouldn't he be attempting to cheer them on at this point?

He looked down at the dusty carpet, trying to remember what he was afraid of. But he couldn't come up with anything. He disliked certain things, such as reptiles, but he did not 'fear' them. But it was this thought that worried him. If he didn't know what shape a boggart would take for him, didn't the boggart have an advantage or not?

"Professor Khanna?" he said as he raised his finger in the air. "I've never faced a boggart before so i have some questions... Does a boggart just 'know' what you're afraid of even if you don't know yourself? Does it read your mind?" He asked. "Oh also, Can you fool a boggart if you think about something you're not scared of but pretend to be scared of?"

Maria had arrived before the lesson had begun and stood with Kion and Vera as the lesson began. She was a bit confuzzled by Professor Khanna's ways. He usually was smiling and so on at them, but today he just came off as stern and cold. For the first question Maria had added with a raised hand. "An example of a non-beings are ghosts like our four house ghosts; Nearly Headless Nick, The Bloody Baron, The Grey Lady, and the Fat Friar." Was the filth, dust and everything why their professor was in such a mood.

Maria exchanged a look with Vera before raising her hand a second time. "Boggarts like hiding in dark places such as wardrobes, cupboards, under sinks and desks." At the risk of getting scolded, she took down her hand and went quiet. She wasn't going to supply that her great grandmother had a boggart that lived in her attic, and always caused a racket a if her great grandma wasn't there to play music on her radio.

While Kion was comforted by the prescence of his girlfriend Maria and one of his close friends Vera by his side. He still found it hard to speak up when it came to the first question. The Professor had an intimidating aura that he was not familiar with his entire time there and he wondered what was going through them. Maybe his form of boggart was bothering him?

"...I heard that this school had an invasion of boggarts when it was closed for a year." Kion said, "While rare, they can scare a person.. or more to death just by their presence if strong enough," Sneaking a chance, his free hand moved to grasp Maria's in support.

Desiree wasn't surprised to hear that today's lesson was about boggarts. Really, what other non beings made scraping noises like that? She was, however, mildly concerned about the entire class knowing her deepest fears - and about her boggart scaring the others if it turned into what she thought it would.

She considered the next question. Although she'd never faced a bogart before, she had read about them. A mildly intrigued expression crossed her face as Kion mentioned boggarts invading Hogwarts. She'd heard about that too, but she kept quiet because she didn't know much about it. All she knew about that particular incident was that Miss Tina, her dad's friend and her big-sister figure, was at Hogwarts then, and that she didn't like the way the situation was handled.

Her rambling thoughts of multiple people and multiple boggarts suddenly jogged her memory, and she raised her hand. "A group of people can confuse a boggart," she said. "If there are too many people present, it won't know what to change into."