It was early February, which meant that the weather in Scotland was still relatively cold. As was tradition with professors, Dhruv had taken the time to ensure that their classroom was warm enough for the students comfort but not that warm to make them sweat. They themself was currently at the back of the classroom, ensuring that each desk there was equipped with the the focus of today's lesson.

There was no secret about what that would be for on each desk there are four different mini Dark Detectors. They are the exact replicas of the real things and carry the same enchantments as their larger counterparts.

1. Secrecy Sensors
2. Sneakoscopes
3. Foe-Glasses
4. Probity Probes

A note on the board in Dhruv's loopy handwriting read:

Quote:

Please do not touch the objects just yet, but feel free to observe them as much as you like.

Lesson Progression:

• Greetings + Sneakoscope
• Replies + Foe Glass
• Replies + Secrecy Sensors & Probity Probes
• Replies + A question to chew on
• Replies + Activity
• Replies to activity + Final questions
• Replies + Class dismissal

OOC: Hi, my guys! Welcome to the OOC DADA lesson for this term! Opening this a little early but shall officially commence in about 28 hours. CLASS HAS STARTED! Please remember to familiarise yourselves with the classroom and Snitchseeker rules!

Already accustomed to how Professor Khanna kept the classroom, Ve had not bothered to overlay any additional scarves or jumpers with her uniform. They always kept the classroom comfortable (maybe despite some time last year but) so she was betting on that for today's lesson too. With her hair gathered into her usual ponytail, the sixth year entered the classroom and immediately scanned the surroundings for what they'd be doing. Hm?? All of the objects certainly intrigued her, but spotting the note (miraculously) she resisted the temptation to pick up and observe the items as she slid into an open desk.

And then of course remembered her manners for her favorite Professor, turning in her seat to look at them at the back. "Hi Professor Khanna! How are you?" hopefully feeling fine and more and more still like themselves. She much preferred the Professor's usual attitude over the one who had presented them with boggarts last term.

Though she'd of course already forgiven that occurrence.

Solomon Duck had turned up in good spirits to today’s class. Much like potions, DADA brought out a lot of his inner determination to do well. I mean, who didn’t want to excel in defence against the dark arts?? Never know when that could come in handy. “Hello, Professor Khanna.” He greeted the Professor formally before finding a desk and checking out the artifacts in front of him.

He was particularly taken with the Foe-Glasses and bent forwards to take a good look at them, being careful not to touch them, of course. Noticing Vera nearby, Solly smiled and gave her a little wave, but immediately regretted not sneaking up behind her to make her jump with a mysterious hissing sound.

"Hi Professor Khanna." Brandon's voice was rather subdued, but he was here and he looked... less tired than he usually did these days. That was good... He made his way to a seat near the front of the class, observing the objects on his desk. He wouldn't have touched them anyways- but he had also read the board, and respected the instructions. "A lesson on dark magic security devices, I suppose? My sister gives me one of these every single year without fail. I have a lot of sneakoscopes by now." And they had actually come in handy sometimes. But no foe glasses, because they both had an aversion to mirrors.

Weren't the real things usually bigger, though?

Another day, another lesson...and another day closer to OWL exams. That was a thought that crept up a little more often these days. But Ezra, as usual, pushed that thought to the back of his mind. There was still loads of time before the exams, and it wasn't like he hadn't been studying at all.

Right now, he just needed to focus on this lesson. And the cool gadgets that were on the desks!

"Hi, Professor," he said with a quick look in the professor's direction before he took a random seat.

It was then that he noted the words on the board, just as he'd nearly picked up the miniature probity probe. His hand hovered there for a moment, just a couple centimeters away from the object, the urge to touch it stronger now than it would've otherwise been.

But finally he pulled his hand away with a sigh, settling for just looking them over.

The date on the calendar had more impact on Sable Ileana as to the fact it meant it was that much closer to her seventeenth birthday rather than any real concern over the weather. Besides, after six years here at Hogwarts, the blonde Gryffindor was much too familiar with what it was like in Scotland this time of the year to really worry too much. That and they weren’t instructed to go outside for the lesson anyhow, so she’d merely worn a thermal shirt underneath her uniform, twisting her hair up into a knot at the back of her head in case they were doing anything particularly active. It was DADA after all. Anything was possible.

Brown eyes had immediately focused on the miniature equipment on the desks as she had entered, unerringly heading in the direction of her bestie without particularly paying attention to where she needed to go. The objects were the more fascinating of the two, considering it was long past the time when there was every possibility Vera had messed around with her hair color or something. Actually, that just made her miss her micmicking ability so she didn’t think about it too much.

“Hey Professor Khanna”, she added, sliding into the desk next to Bestie even as she’d swiveled to give the professor a grin. Multitasking ftw. Or maybe it was just familiarity with the space around her. Either way, she was proud of herself for not bumping into anything. Except for Bestie’s shoulder as she gently nudged it in greeting.

Defence Against the Dark Arts was not Aurora’s favourite lesson. Not that she disliked ANY lesson but her world was all sunshine and rainbows and the concept of there being anything negative or dark that wanted to harm her was a little lost on the Ravenclaw.

..except for Gnomes and squirrels maybe. Those things had a personal vendetta against her that had scarred her for life.

“Hi Professor!” Her confusion over DADA as a necessary lesson didn’t halter the enthusiasm by which the fourteen-year-old entered the classroom. What did stop her in her tracks was spotting who was already present and having to make the decision as to who she would be sitting with that day. Solomon was naturally her first choice as he was who she spent the most time with alongside Anna but their conversation over Aurora being somewhat of a distraction to the fifth year during lessons was still fresh in her mind. Ezra was there too as was Brandon and Vera all of whom were amongst her not so select group of favourite people and were on the receiving end of a friendly smile. In the end she decided that Solly was the chosen one as she plopped down into the seat next to him but on the side closest to Ezra so she could talk to the Gryffindor too. If only she were able to duplicate herself and divide her time equally.

“I promise I’ll try not to be a distraction” she whispered to the Slytherin before reaching out and picking up the Sneakoscope without taking any notice of the warning written on the board.

Even while traversing within the confines of the castle walls, it was still relatively chilly during this wintry day. Archie had a particular disposition for this time of year. In his honest opinion, the only thing about the frigid temperatures and the weather that came with it was the fact that it killed the bugs. Besides that, there was just never any fun to be had in the consistent shivering, sniffling, and the less hours of sunlight. Even through all of that though, he wouldn't let it keep his mood down. A little cold never bothered him that much; anyway...

So there he would be, walking into another Defense Against the Dark Arts lesson. Archie couldn't help but wonder what they could possibly be doing, but that became somewhat evident upon entering the classroom and seeing the four devices stationed on each of the desks. They'd be using dark detectors to some degree or another, but the question of how was still yet to be seen. Making his way over to an empty desk, he'd give a small wave at the Professor, greeting with a "Hello Professor Khanna, hope your day has been going well so far." And after doing so, that's when he'd spot what was written on the board. The clear directions of do not touch the objects before them, at least not yet. The young Slytherin still had to have some fun with it though. So, sitting down, a hand would go out to reach for one of them, the Secrecy Sensor. It was being done in a manner much like how when a cat was about to be the devilish little creature it was and knock something off of a high place. Even if eyes would be on him in the moment, that just made it more fun. Still, the outstretched hand wouldn't touch the sensor, just hovering ever so slightly above it.

Ultimately though, that's all that would happen. He wasn't about to break the rules. Not in front of the Professor. There was a time and place for that. Now was neither. It was a class he did relatively enjoy, so remaining in said Professor's good graces was for the best.

Defense was a class that Bryony enjoyed for more than just the main reason of it being interesting. Most of the time it really kept her on her toes with its hands on activities and the simple fact that she sometimes needed to work a little harder in some of the lessons. This was also why she tended to with Aryan, he was her main go to person whenever she struggled with anything at all. So let it be a known fact that these pretty blue eyes of hers, tried to immediately seek him out before anyone else when she reached the classroom.

As always, Bry sought out the professor next as she made her way to have a seat. "Hello Professor," she smiled brightly, giving the usually full handed finger wiggles. It was only as her bottom slid onto the seat that she noticed any writing on the board at the front of the room, which was good too cause she may have went ahead to see what these items on her desk were all about if she hadn't. For now though she set her bag beneath her desk by her feet, her eyes on the items.

Even this far into the term, the only owls on Anna's mind were the heart-faced barn owls and how absolutely breathtaking they were. She may or may not have gone to the Owlery to observe them (which would explain the bit of, er, white secretion that latched on to her curls) before a snowy owl had arrived and its presence reminded her that she had somewhere else she needed to be. Just WHERE that somewhere was had taken her a bit of trial and error, though thankfully one of those errors had been Dueling Club and the shuffle of feet to the classroom had guided her the rest of the way.

Skipping in with a smile, Anna's eyes surveyed the classroom for a seat and found that her decision as to where to sit had been made quite simple for her. "Good day, professor. Say, do you know about this thing called reactance?" Because the things on the desk and the note on the board were tickling that sensation in the most taunting of ways.

But, back to her seating...

"Hi, Ezra," she smiled as she plopped down beside him and then offered a little finger wiggle wave to Aurora and Solomon, who were nearby, and then another couple of finger wiggles towards Vera and Brandon.

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

As it was now a few seconds before 10 AM, Dhruv approached the entrance to the classroom and peered out of it for any stragglers. Finding the corridor student-free, they shut the door quietly.

“Welcome to another DADA lesson,’’ they began, smiling around at the students. This was their usual manner in greeting a class and they were totally not overcompensating for their uncharacteristic behaviour last term. “As you would have surmised by now, we will be drawing our focus to Dark Detectors today. On each of the desks are smaller versions of four commonly used Detectors, all of which have the identical properties and enchantments of the larger versions. At the end of the lesson, they are yours to take with you should you choose.’’

Dhruv casually leaned against their desk. “We will be kicking off this lesson with this.” They reached for the Detector from their own desk which resembled a spinning top and was made from glass. It was balanced in the palm of their right hand where it sat quite still. “What is it called? How does it work? When was it invented? You may answer one of the above questions or provide any other fact about it. Please share one piece of information per student. Ms. Ackerly, seeing as you were eager to examine this object earlier, you may go first.”

Were they forgetting something?

Oh yes.

“You may also pick up the Detector for closer examination now.” Let your curiosity run wild, students!


OOC: Annnd this is where our lesson officially commences. Remember not to announce a character’s late arrivals {if you wish to not face IC consequences }. Dhruv has called on Lottie’s Aurora to make the first contribution but you do not have to wait for her post to make yours. We shall continue in 24 hours!

Enthusiasm was something that Aurora came with an abundance of. She’d be more than happy to share some with Professor Khanna if she knew how to bottle it up in a potion.

Thank MERLIN that Anna (who received a huge grin and finger wiggle in return) arrived and sat with Ezra, or Aurora would spend the rest of the lesson feeling guilty that she couldn’t split herself into two like some amoeba and share herself out equally with all of her friends. Although it did get her all lost in her thoughts as to whether there was a duplication spell that would work on a human being and whether said duplicate would look and feel and have all the same memories as she did rather than being the opposite like her mirror self was last term.

So consumed was she in her muddled thoughts that the second her name was called out in the middle of the class, she snapped back into reality with a temporary look of a Pixie in a Blasting Curse. It was a relief that the Professor was holding the object in question in their hand and she looked down too at the one she was touching before her attention moved to the board.

Oops.

“Umm.. it’s a Sneaky-thingamajig. And it makes a whistling noise when someone or something untrustworthy is nearby. Which I guess is really good for Professors when students are lying about something although the noise must get reeeeally annoying so maybe they’d just prefer not to know at all?” Please don’t ask her who invented it or how exactly it worked because the Ravenclaw had absolutely NO clue.

“Hey,” Solly whispered to Aurora who had joined him, and chuckled at her comment about not being a distraction. Why did he not believe that for one second? Before he could snap at her not to touch the objects, class was already starting so he gave her a warning look instead.

See? Immediate distraction.

He smiled at Anna who he quickly noticed, but didn’t smile at Ezra. Really, he was pleased Anna decided to sit with him this time, since he got so butthurt about Solly and Anna partnering in HoM. That’s what it looked like, anyway.

Definitely feeling second hand embarrassment for Aurora who was picked on to go first, Solomon patiently waited for her answer before offering his own and gesturing to the Foe-Glass he was looking at beforehand. “This artefact,” which name had entered a vanishing cabinet from his brain, “lets you spy on your enemies and their whereabouts, I think.” Definitely the coolest one here. He was VERY excited to have the opportunity to take them away with him.

Ezra returned Aurora's smile as she took a seat beside Solomon Duck. The Slytherin didn't acknowledge him, so neither did Ezra. Whatevs. No big deal.

Besides, Anna had appeared.

She received a smile and a quiet "hey," but that was all he could say since the lesson quickly began. And poor Aurora was called on almost immediately. The Ravenclaw handled it well though, he thought.

As for an answer of his own, Ezra took a moment to recall something about the sneakoscopes, then he raised his hand. "They were invented some time in the eighteenth century by a guy named...Strougler?" Or something like that. Kind of a funny-sounding last name, so it was the sort of thing to get stuck in his head. He couldn't remember the guy's first name though.

DADA wasn't Mona's favourite subject. She didn't really care, because she didn't really enjoy it. But, it was a required subject and here she was... she still wanted to show a decent effort, so she at least kept on top of homework. She, very surprisingly, was more focused today than she had been in a while. It might also be because she was mildly interested in the objects, and she picked up a sneakescope.

She raised her hand. Her older sister had one, which she used to see if her baby was up to no good. "It detects bad will against the owner. I don't think it necessarily points at dark wizards. It just detects bad will if someone is trying to sneak." She perfectly knew, because the stupid thing alerted her sister to Mona when she tried to steal her make up set to try some of them on.

Not long had she been in the classroom before others started to appear as well, the first one she noticed being Solomon who she returned the smile and wave with one of her own. While as amusing as his attempt to spook her would have been, hissing probably wouldn't have gotten too much of a reaction other than one of her infamous eyerolls. Though perhaps it might have been even more entertaining if she used that on him. Perhaps another time. Spotting Siabear arriving into the classroom as well, Ve made no move to get her attention figuring her Captain already knew where she was - they usually tended to find each other absentmindedly. And she was of course correct, as the blond slid into the seat next to her and bumped shoulders. Ve just grinned at her best friend before bumping her shoulder back in a returned greeting. Had the mimicking been mentioned, Vera probably still would have also felt the sting of her missing rainbow touch. That had been by far the best year. Aurora, Bryony (and of course Aryan with her) and Anna were the other presences she noticed enter the room, and they all likewise received smiles and waves of hello. And then, class was starting and her attention turned to the items situated on top her desk.

Firstly, score on getting to take these all home with after - which she absolutely would be doing, though it remained to be seen if they worked as accurately as their larger counter parts. As for information about them? Well... Vera had next to none. Sorry Professor Khanna. So the only thing she could contribute was expanding on Aurora's answer, which she raised her hand to do so. "Aurora is reeeeaally close, it's called a Sneakoscope."

... And that was it. That's all she wrote.

So instead her attention drifted to listening to the other answers.

Brandon's sister certainly cared about him, perhaps a little overmuch. But could he really blame her? After all, the slightest distressing news would leave him worrying about his siblings for days (even about Charlie, who didn't even like him). It was slightly silly to call her overprotective when he was just the same way. And of course, he was unused to being cared about, so being sent three sneakoscopes in three years made him feel loved.

The first lesson question was about sneakoscopes, actually. Brandon knew a good bit about them, seeing as he had quite a few. He took notes on everyone else's answers, fighting back the urge to correct or elaborate on their answers or at least point out that Solomon was talking about the wrong artefact. Nobody liked a know-it-all, he reminded himself. And he was being too critical of everything these days. "I don't think it necessarily detects bad will or lies only... it goes off every time my little brother tries to prank me. But it's intended to detect untrustworthy actions, including but not limited to to lying and dark magic. Unfortunately, it doesn't reveal the source or nature of the untrustworthiness." So it was impossible to tell whether his brother was plotting his demise or whether his sister had simply been lying about liking their stepmother's cooking. "It's a bit stressful to have them around, honestly. Untrustworthiness is around everywhere, in many different degrees." It was like a rememberall- useless if you didn't know why it had been activated. It certainly didn't help his paranoid feelings.

Having a former Auror as an uncle prepared Yulietta to recognize these items. One day after she had arrived from Mexico, her uncle Kennedy had shown her around his study and these items had been a part of that tour. She didn't really pay much attention to them back then, and now she wished she had.

Flipping through her book, she found the one she still remembered; the foe-glass. But that was only because it had the simplest name.

Bringing her attention back to the present, she examined the Sneakoscope. Yeah. That was a hard word, so there was no way she was going to volunteer to answer. The amount of students answering so perfectly in the language she struggled with intimidated her, so she simply wrote some notes down, adding her thoughts to it.

"It lights up, spins and whistles when triggered."

Hearing Professor Khanna's remark about the Archer about to pick up the Secrecy Sensor made him laugh slightly. An overexaggerated shrug would lift Archie's shoulders upwards to the ceiling as both hands would do the same, palms facing upwards. If it was a serious remark, which, judging from the tone it wasn't, the only thing he could say for himself would have been to simply not touch the four devices; never said anything about hovering over them with the intent to touch. But all was being done in good fun. Alas, it would seem that the class was now officially underway as shortly after that, the Professor would be seen up front and starting things off. Hearing how things would start and the question which was being asked, the only thing that the Snake thought was

Glad I didn't get called on first, because I'd have no clue how to answer it.

For Archie didn't exactly know what the top was, what it did, who made it, etc, etc. Instead, he'd just listen as the other fellow students would basically cover and go over all of that information. The basics on it did seem relatively simple enough. Even though it seemed like each of the questions had previously been answered already, the Slytherin did still feel the need to give some kind of answer for participation. Piecing the information of what was heard together, and his left hand raised, Archie would add "So the Sneakoscope sounds to be like a magical version of a burglar alarm for the most part. Or rather, vice versa, an ordinary household burglar alarm would be based on the concept of this because given Ezra's answer, it would have been invented before the former." With that being now said, he'd take the Sneakoscope that was on the desk, and spin it like the toy it was based off of.

Desiree was intrigued by the assortment of dark detectors on Professor Khanna’s desk, so much so that she sat staring intently at them from her desk for so long she nearly forgot to greet her classmates after greeting the professor. Oops, sorry! Hi, everybody! She had just enough time to wave hello to the other students before the lesson began.

No need to guess what the subject was! As Desiree listened, she couldn’t help but wonder if Professor Khanna had been talking to her dad. He had tried to convince her to carry a dark detector with her for all seven of her terms at Hogwarts, but she thought it unnecessary. Her bright blue eyes landed on the top-like contraption the professor indicated, the Sneakoscope. Of the four detectors at the front of the room, that was the one that seemed most useful to her.

Desiree considered the question, trying to recall a bit of information about Sneakoscopes that hadn’t yet been mentioned. After a moment, she raised her hand and said when called on, “The Sneakoscope detects deception, but it doesn’t differentiate the level of deception. It would whistle the same if your sibling put a bug in your soup as it would if a dark wizard were spying on you.”

SPOILER!!: Replies!

SPOILER!!: Aurora & Vera! <3

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lottiepot

Enthusiasm was something that Aurora came with an abundance of. She’d be more than happy to share some with Professor Khanna if she knew how to bottle it up in a potion.

Thank MERLIN that Anna (who received a huge grin and finger wiggle in return) arrived and sat with Ezra, or Aurora would spend the rest of the lesson feeling guilty that she couldn’t split herself into two like some amoeba and share herself out equally with all of her friends. Although it did get her all lost in her thoughts as to whether there was a duplication spell that would work on a human being and whether said duplicate would look and feel and have all the same memories as she did rather than being the opposite like her mirror self was last term.

So consumed was she in her muddled thoughts that the second her name was called out in the middle of the class, she snapped back into reality with a temporary look of a Pixie in a Blasting Curse. It was a relief that the Professor was holding the object in question in their hand and she looked down too at the one she was touching before her attention moved to the board.

Oops.

“Umm.. it’s a Sneaky-thingamajig. And it makes a whistling noise when someone or something untrustworthy is nearby. Which I guess is really good for Professors when students are lying about something although the noise must get reeeeally annoying so maybe they’d just prefer not to know at all?” Please don’t ask her who invented it or how exactly it worked because the Ravenclaw had absolutely NO clue.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chelliephone

Not long had she been in the classroom before others started to appear as well, the first one she noticed being Solomon who she returned the smile and wave with one of her own. While as amusing as his attempt to spook her would have been, hissing probably wouldn't have gotten too much of a reaction other than one of her infamous eyerolls. Though perhaps it might have been even more entertaining if she used that on him. Perhaps another time. Spotting Siabear arriving into the classroom as well, Ve made no move to get her attention figuring her Captain already knew where she was - they usually tended to find each other absentmindedly. And she was of course correct, as the blond slid into the seat next to her and bumped shoulders. Ve just grinned at her best friend before bumping her shoulder back in a returned greeting. Had the mimicking been mentioned, Vera probably still would have also felt the sting of her missing rainbow touch. That had been by far the best year. Aurora, Bryony (and of course Aryan with her) and Anna were the other presences she noticed enter the room, and they all likewise received smiles and waves of hello. And then, class was starting and her attention turned to the items situated on top her desk.

Firstly, score on getting to take these all home with after - which she absolutely would be doing, though it remained to be seen if they worked as accurately as their larger counter parts. As for information about them? Well... Vera had next to none. Sorry Professor Khanna. So the only thing she could contribute was expanding on Aurora's answer, which she raised her hand to do so. "Aurora is reeeeaally close, it's called a Sneakoscope."

... And that was it. That's all she wrote.

So instead her attention drifted to listening to the other answers.

Sneaky-thingamajig. The word almost made Dhruv chuckle but they managed to dial it back to a grin. “Well, the word ‘Sneak’ is in there.” So good start, Aurora. “As Ms. Thanatos said, it is called a Sneakoscope, and it is true that it whistles - quite shrilly, I might add - when something untrustworthy has been done or is being done. For example, it is documented in history books that Harry Potter’s pocket Sneakoscope would whistle whenever Scabbers was about. Of course we know that Scabbers was really Peter Pettigrew disguised as a rat.” Dhruv balanced the object in their other palm. “The noise just may be a contributing fact as to why professors opt to not keep any around indeed. Thank you, Ms. Ackerly.”

SPOILER!!: Ezra! <3

Quote:

Originally Posted by AlwaysSnapesGirl

Ezra returned Aurora's smile as she took a seat beside Solomon Duck. The Slytherin didn't acknowledge him, so neither did Ezra. Whatevs. No big deal.

Besides, Anna had appeared.

She received a smile and a quiet "hey," but that was all he could say since the lesson quickly began. And poor Aurora was called on almost immediately. The Ravenclaw handled it well though, he thought.

As for an answer of his own, Ezra took a moment to recall something about the sneakoscopes, then he raised his hand. "They were invented some time in the eighteenth century by a guy named...Strougler?" Or something like that. Kind of a funny-sounding last name, so it was the sort of thing to get stuck in his head. He couldn't remember the guy's first name though.

“Correct,’’ Dhruv remarked. “About the time of invention, at least. Not to worry though. You’re only a bit off with the name. It’s actually Edgar Stroulger. As a matter of fact, a portrait of Mr. Stroulger can be found on the sixth floor of this very Castle. I urge you, at some point, to visit him. Perhaps he will enlighten you on what led him to create such a masterpiece, and how he went about doing so.” They may or may not have purposefully neglected to mention that the portrait guards a secret passageway.

SPOILER!!: Mona, Brandon, Desiree! <3

Quote:

Originally Posted by StarShine

DADA wasn't Mona's favourite subject. She didn't really care, because she didn't really enjoy it. But, it was a required subject and here she was... she still wanted to show a decent effort, so she at least kept on top of homework. She, very surprisingly, was more focused today than she had been in a while. It might also be because she was mildly interested in the objects, and she picked up a sneakescope.

She raised her hand. Her older sister had one, which she used to see if her baby was up to no good. "It detects bad will against the owner. I don't think it necessarily points at dark wizards. It just detects bad will if someone is trying to sneak." She perfectly knew, because the stupid thing alerted her sister to Mona when she tried to steal her make up set to try some of them on.

Quote:

Originally Posted by astrocat

Brandon's sister certainly cared about him, perhaps a little overmuch. But could he really blame her? After all, the slightest distressing news would leave him worrying about his siblings for days (even about Charlie, who didn't even like him). It was slightly silly to call her overprotective when he was just the same way. And of course, he was unused to being cared about, so being sent three sneakoscopes in three years made him feel loved.

The first lesson question was about sneakoscopes, actually. Brandon knew a good bit about them, seeing as he had quite a few. He took notes on everyone else's answers, fighting back the urge to correct or elaborate on their answers or at least point out that Solomon was talking about the wrong artefact. Nobody liked a know-it-all, he reminded himself. And he was being too critical of everything these days. "I don't think it necessarily detects bad will or lies only... it goes off every time my little brother tries to prank me. But it's intended to detect untrustworthy actions, including but not limited to to lying and dark magic. Unfortunately, it doesn't reveal the source or nature of the untrustworthiness." So it was impossible to tell whether his brother was plotting his demise or whether his sister had simply been lying about liking their stepmother's cooking. "It's a bit stressful to have them around, honestly. Untrustworthiness is around everywhere, in many different degrees." It was like a rememberall- useless if you didn't know why it had been activated. It certainly didn't help his paranoid feelings.

Quote:

Originally Posted by MadMadamMalfoy

Desiree was intrigued by the assortment of dark detectors on Professor Khanna’s desk, so much so that she sat staring intently at them from her desk for so long she nearly forgot to greet her classmates after greeting the professor. Oops, sorry! Hi, everybody! She had just enough time to wave hello to the other students before the lesson began.

No need to guess what the subject was! As Desiree listened, she couldn’t help but wonder if Professor Khanna had been talking to her dad. He had tried to convince her to carry a dark detector with her for all seven of her terms at Hogwarts, but she thought it unnecessary. Her bright blue eyes landed on the top-like contraption the professor indicated, the Sneakoscope. Of the four detectors at the front of the room, that was the one that seemed most useful to her.

Desiree considered the question, trying to recall a bit of information about Sneakoscopes that hadn’t yet been mentioned. After a moment, she raised her hand and said when called on, “The Sneakoscope detects deception, but it doesn’t differentiate the level of deception. It would whistle the same if your sibling put a bug in your soup as it would if a dark wizard were spying on you.”

The professor nodded. “You are all on the right track. Sneakoscopes will not detect dark wizards, simply acts that are not trustworthy as Ms. Marchand noted. Obviously there is the disadvantage that it leaves you to investigate where the source of the untrustworthiness lies as Mr. Fox pointed out. It would be much easier if the Sneakoscopes simply did that for you, don’t you think, Ms. Hellmann, Mr. Fox, Ms. Marchand?” Unless the Gryffindor and Hufflepuffs would rather enjoy the thrill of a mystery to solve?

SPOILER!!: Solly! <3

Quote:

Originally Posted by Emzily

“Hey,” Solly whispered to Aurora who had joined him, and chuckled at her comment about not being a distraction. Why did he not believe that for one second? Before he could snap at her not to touch the objects, class was already starting so he gave her a warning look instead.

See? Immediate distraction.

He smiled at Anna who he quickly noticed, but didn’t smile at Ezra. Really, he was pleased Anna decided to sit with him this time, since he got so butthurt about Solly and Anna partnering in HoM. That’s what it looked like, anyway.

Definitely feeling second hand embarrassment for Aurora who was picked on to go first, Solomon patiently waited for her answer before offering his own and gesturing to the Foe-Glass he was looking at beforehand. “This artefact,” which name had entered a vanishing cabinet from his brain, “lets you spy on your enemies and their whereabouts, I think.” Definitely the coolest one here. He was VERY excited to have the opportunity to take them away with him.

Solomon was an eager beaver, it seemed. His words earned him a chuckle. “Not quite. But we shall get to that one in a minute.” Soon enough the Slytherin would have enough information on the Detector that he would be able to write a few paragraphs on it should the topic appear as a question in the DADA OWL.

SPOILER!!: Yulietta! <3

Quote:

Originally Posted by Deezerz

Having a former Auror as an uncle prepared Yulietta to recognize these items. One day after she had arrived from Mexico, her uncle Kennedy had shown her around his study and these items had been a part of that tour. She didn't really pay much attention to them back then, and now she wished she had.

Flipping through her book, she found the one she still remembered; the foe-glass. But that was only because it had the simplest name.

Bringing her attention back to the present, she examined the Sneakoscope. Yeah. That was a hard word, so there was no way she was going to volunteer to answer. The amount of students answering so perfectly in the language she struggled with intimidated her, so she simply wrote some notes down, adding her thoughts to it.

"It lights up, spins and whistles when triggered."

Even though Yulietta had remained quiet during all the talks, Dhruv was pleased to see her consulting her textbook. She knew that she could always come to them for whatever clarification she needed at the end of the class; Dhruv would have indicated this earlier in the term.

SPOILER!!: Archie! <3

Quote:

Originally Posted by natethegreat

Hearing Professor Khanna's remark about the Archer about to pick up the Secrecy Sensor made him laugh slightly. An overexaggerated shrug would lift Archie's shoulders upwards to the ceiling as both hands would do the same, palms facing upwards. If it was a serious remark, which, judging from the tone it wasn't, the only thing he could say for himself would have been to simply not touch the four devices; never said anything about hovering over them with the intent to touch. But all was being done in good fun. Alas, it would seem that the class was now officially underway as shortly after that, the Professor would be seen up front and starting things off. Hearing how things would start and the question which was being asked, the only thing that the Snake thought was

Glad I didn't get called on first, because I'd have no clue how to answer it.

For Archie didn't exactly know what the top was, what it did, who made it, etc, etc. Instead, he'd just listen as the other fellow students would basically cover and go over all of that information. The basics on it did seem relatively simple enough. Even though it seemed like each of the questions had previously been answered already, the Slytherin did still feel the need to give some kind of answer for participation. Piecing the information of what was heard together, and his left hand raised, Archie would add "So the Sneakoscope sounds to be like a magical version of a burglar alarm for the most part. Or rather, vice versa, an ordinary household burglar alarm would be based on the concept of this because given Ezra's answer, it would have been invented before the former." With that being now said, he'd take the Sneakoscope that was on the desk, and spin it like the toy it was based off of.

“That’s an excellent comparison, yes. Sneakoscopes act as a warning, much like the ordinary Muggle burglar alarm and the Caterwauling Charm. Excellent observation, Mr. O’Brien.”

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

“Another interesting fact about the inventor of the Sneakoscope is that he was commemorated on a bronze Chocolate Frog Card. For those of you who may have never paid much attention to Mr. Stroulger’s card, here it is.” Dhruv swapped the Sneakoscope for three Cards bearing the image of a dark haired, bearded man that held a wand and a large spread of papers that could contain schematics for his next invention. The wizard was shuffling through these. “Please pass these around. There are additional facts about Mr. Stroulger there should you wish to learn more about him.” The cards were handed to three different students in the front row.

“Now for a Sneakoscope demonstration. Please ensure you have them on the palm of your hand or on the desk. Brace yourself for the whistling.” Dhruv waited a beat for these warnings to settle in then did a rather complicated hand movements that involved wiggling fingers. At once, the Sneakoscopes in the classroom lit up and began to spin while whistling. Needless to say the noise was magnificent and so they only allowed the demonstration to last about ten seconds.

“Some may wonder if the Silencing Charm can be used to quell the sounds. The answer would be no, as it defeats the purpose of the Sneakoscope attempt to capture its owner’s attention to warn them about lingering untrustworthiness.

“With that, we now move on to our second Detector.” The one Solomon was seemingly keen on. Dhruv held up the Detector that resembled a mirror, and was balancing on a short stand. “It does not allow you to spy on your enemies, or tell you where they are.” Sorry, Mr. Duck! “What information can you provide about it?”


OOC: Thank you for sticking with Dhruv and I! Have your character react to the Sneakoscopes coming alive, have them be silly or serious with their answers regarding the Foe Glass {it must be one piece of info that they share so that everyone has a chance to contribute} but most of all, have fun! You have 24 hours <3

Taking one of the chocolate frog cards, and passing it down the aisle of students he was in, Archie would take a moment to look at it. Flipping it over to the other side, there was a certain curiosity that had been peaked to see about some of the other facts about the inventor. To the teen's surprise, apparently there was a portrait of himself that had been placed on the sixth floor of the very castle that they were in; further said to have guarded a secret passage that could only be accessed by a certain password. But the password, neither whether or not the portrait or passage was still actually there, was listed. This would be something that Archer would have to check out for himself later. Exploring hidden places just had a certain aspect to it which was so intriguing. Though. That would be something to check after class at the earliest.

In this current moment of Defense Against the Dark Arts, however, there was a demonstration on the Dark Detector which Edgar had crafted. Following along with the instructions given, he'd grab the top from it's manually spun motion on the desk. It would be gently placed atop his right palm. Patiently then, Archie would wait for a moment. After a moment or two, presumably being done to give everyone some time to do the same, the Sneakoscope would start spinning. And whistling...very...very...loudly. The noise was louder than expected, but not enough to startle or annoy the boy. He had younger siblings who were much louder than the device, so to say the clever Scotsman was used to this kind of volume, would be quite frankly a bit of an understatement. Even after the grating 10 or so seconds of all the ones in class going off in their slightly maddening cacophony of high-pitched shrills, there would still only be a rather passive expression on Archie's face. That wasn't to say he wasn't impressed by it, just unbothered.

Onto the next part though, he'd listen as the Professor would then go on to provide a small hint about the Foe-Glass. Promptly followed by the question of what info anyone had on it. Archie himself didn't know too much about its specifics, but there was still one thing he did know about the object. Placing the Sneakoscope down, then raising that same hand again to answer, he'd go on to respond "It shows who your enemies are 'when they get close to you'." Air quotes would be placed around the when they get close to you bit to infer that he did know that it was in the metaphorical sense of the phrase. For it wasn't when they got close to your location, but when they were about to find out information on you, or start making some moves against you. But, he'd leave someone else to give that information.

Desiree watched intently as Professor Khanna demonstrated the sneakoscope. She tilted her head to one side, eyeing the devices with an intrigued expression as they started spinning and whistling. Did Professor Khanna just turn them all on with wandless magic, or did they detect untrustworthy activity? If the latter was the case, what was it?

As interesting as the demonstration was, Desiree was glad that it didn’t last long. The loud whistling was funny at first, but got annoying after a bit. She was still pondering what untrustworthiness the sneakoscopes could’ve detected when the chocolate frog card came her way. She glanced at the card, front and back, taking particular note of the papers in Strougler’s hand. What did they say? She couldn’t quite make out the writing. Oh well…

She passed the chocolate frog card along to the next person, considering the question carefully. What did she know about Foe Glasses? Aside from their purpose, not much. She knew they were supposed to be hard to build, and - Her hand shot up as a thought occurred to her. “Didn’t the foe glass schematics go missing for a while?” she said… though that was more of a question than an answer.

Unfortunately for Vera, she had just taken one of the chocolate frog cards being passed around as the alarm sounded, which caused a delay in reaching up to cover her ears which was an entirely necessary reaction given just how loud these particular devices were. Personally? She'd prefer not to have one for herself. However, they'd be pretty fun to say... give Vasco one or two hidden in his room at home. With a prank like that, they'd go off anytime she was near, yes? Something to ruminate on for later.

Y'know, when her ears weren't ringing.

Right, moving on though now. Foe glasses? Vera listened to the third year give his answer, nodding in agreement but deciding to once more expand on the answer. She raised her hand and waited to be called on. "While it could be used to identify who your enemies are, once they're 'close' and actual faces and not just, it also kind of gives a warning of how much danger you're in. The more unclear your enemy is, the further they still are. But as you can see more details of the person, then it's also known that they're closing in on you, so to speak." Though she didn't really know what the baseline was for 'danger' or how that worked.

Having offered an answer, she quickly took a look over the chocolate frog card before passing it on behind her to the next person as well.

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

Dhruv had long replaced the Sneakoscope on their desk. The Foe Glass was now in the spotlight as it stood at the front and center. They gave the instrument a glance over thinking how innocent-looking the thing was. “Foe Glasses are not easy to make. Sage Bragnam, a magical historian, was only able to build one of his own after receiving the schematic which was thought to have been long lost.

“We will be progressing to our activity shortly, but for now let’s turn our focus to the final two Detectors.” The two took over the spotlight. One was like an aerial; it was rather squiggly and gold in colour. The other, also gold in colour, was shaped like a car antenna. “These two are almost similar in appearance so it's rather easy to get confused over which is which. Can anyone tell me what these Detectors are called? Even if you can’t tell them apart, and you do know their names, share any knowledge you may have.”


OOC: Hi, guys! <3 Okay, so you’ll have 48 hours for this as I won’t be able to post until Wednesday evening. There’s also time to catch up to this point of the lesson before we move onto the next aspect