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+------- Thread: Come Little Children | Dark Arts Lesson 1 (/showthread.php?tid=455)
Come Little Children | Dark Arts Lesson 1 - Julia Barlowe - 09-05-2025
In major contrast to the bright airiness of her office, Julia had cultivated a classroom that reflected exactly the level of seriousness she expected her students to take Dark Arts. Over the past two weeks, she had taken the time to observe her students in this environment and take note of how the approached the rather...controversial subject matter at hand.
Most of them were respectful, holding great regard for the ancient magic they'd been discussing but still hadn't put to practical use. Others, she'd keep a closer eye on.
The Dark Arts weren't exactly routine curriculum, but Julia wasn't a routine witch. In large regards to the proclivities of her late mother's family, the woman had learned from an early age the importance of understanding all magic and being able to utilize it when the need came. For how could anyone truly say they were masters of the light if they'd never danced in the dark?
Dimly lit as usual by only candles and a few enchanted fairy lights dangling overhead, the classroom had an air of anticipation about it today. At the front of the class, along a stone table sat a pile of blackthorn twigs, obsidian dust, herbs, chalk and a jar of salt for each student.
"Before you get situated, come up and grab your supplies," she said lightly as the first of her students filed in. Honey-brown eyes observed them quietly as she stood behind her desk, her wand tapping only slightly impatiently against her hip. They had a lot to discuss this morning, and not nearly enough time to get through it all.
OOC: Hello friends! Welcome to Dark Arts! Peep the little music note at the top of the thread. You'll find I always add music to set the mood. <3
It's my first time teaching, so go easy on me! Pretty straight forward, come in, grab your stuff, have a seat, chat with your neighbors, ask any questions, etc. until we get started! This class will update on 9/10.
RE: Come Little Children | Dark Arts Lesson 1 - Corbin Donahue - 09-06-2025
Corbin's bag strap dug into his shoulder as he approached the Dark Arts classroom, heavy with the extra books he'd packed for today. Breakfast had been porridge with cream - thick and warm, nothing like those dreadful sandwiches from the opening feast.
Sunlight streamed through the corridor windows, showing the first gold edges on the trees by the lake. Perfect flying weather. Corbin would rather be outside with his broom than heading to Dark Arts, but Quidditch was cancelled anyway. Maybe it would have been nice to have other people to fly with. He rarely had the chance. Flying alone was simpler, though.
He paused at the doorway as another student hurried past, then stepped inside.
Corbin headed straight for his usual desk in the second row and dropped his bag beside it. Two weeks in, and he still couldn't make out all the symbols carved into the walls. Some he recognized from his father's books, but others remained mysteries. The candles cast the same flickering shadows they always did, making the carved lines seem to shift when he wasn't looking directly at them.
Students were still filing in, and Professor Laurence stood behind her desk, observing them. The skeleton grinned from its usual spot beside her workspace. Today, Corbin decided it had been an old apprentice. One who couldn't keep up with his lessons. Probably failed his first practical and ended up as a decoration. The thought made him smile idly.
When Professor Laurence called for supplies, Corbin joined the line at the stone table. The blackthorn twigs felt rough and familiar - he'd handled these before, just not in class. The obsidian dust was finer than he'd expected, almost like powder. He gathered the herbs, then picked up chalk and a small jar of salt.
Corbin straightened and gave Professor Laurence a small bow - polite, as always. She had silenced a student that very first night, after all.
Back at his desk, Corbin arranged his supplies carefully. He deliberately avoided looking at the fairy lights overhead. Pretty, shiny things in a dark witch's lair? Best not to study them too closely. He didn't want to know what they were.
Corbin settled back in his chair, turning one of the blackthorn twigs between his fingers. They grew wild behind the castle at home - he'd crashed into the thicket one too many times while learning to fly. He wondered if Professor Laurence had chosen them for their protective properties, or something darker.
RE: Come Little Children | Dark Arts Lesson 1 - Tulip Asquith - 09-06-2025
It was Friday, the last day of the week, and normally Tulip would have been excited at the prospect of a Friday because the day after was a Saturday and that meant Quidditch. But the bastarding head had cancelled Quidditch. Utterly unforgivable and there was a special place in Azkaban for people like that. Tulip lived for Quidditch, it was utterly unlady like, especially as she played beater, hitting those vicious bludgers at people could make any bad week good. But that one joy had been taken from her, and her beloved bat lay silenced in her dorm.
So as it was she truely wasn't in the mod for DADA that morning, sitting around discussing old magic and things they weren't allowed to do because it was wrong. Tulup absolutely didn't care if it was wrong or right, did it fit the solution to the problem? Then surely it should be used. She would have thought learning how to use shield or defensive dueling magic would have been a great way to actually DEFEND against dark magic. But no it was all talking, boring talking. Tulip wasn't that familiar with the Professor, probabily because she was a libriain and Tulip tried to avoid the library, it wasn't like she ever did homework anyway. The library was stuffy and dark, smelt of dead trees and the dust made her itch. Kind of like the class room she found her self if, why did professor's hate daylight so much? Were they actually just Vampires?
She was heading for her seat, at the back in the corner nearest the door, primed for quick getaways. She slung her book back on the desk, planning on spending another lesson contemplating the problem Flora had posed her. Her time this morning would be better spent on looking into the shrinking of objects. She had some ideas, but feared it would be a case of trial and error. That would be assuming the poor lighting didn't give her eyestrain.
Before you get situated, come up and grab your supplies,"
Oh supplies? Were they going to do something other than discuss things? That was different, it might even keep her awake. It still wouldn't make life anymore interesting or bring back Quidditch, but she figured she'd at least pick up the supplies. She headed down to the front waiting in line patiently as she picked up the required supplies and headed back to her desk to inspect them. She sat down putting the bundle of stuff in front of her. It looked pretty innocuous, some twiggs, some black dust, some herbs (probabily stinky) she wasn't going to sniff them, that had backfired before, some salt and some chalk. She looked at the chalk, and proceeded to write on her desk Tulip was here 20. Yes it was chalk and it would write on wood, that was good to know.
She pushed the pile of sticks around, trying to stack them to make a little log cabin, it filled her time as her classmates entered and got their piles of really useful things. She wondered if Poppy had done this class yet, she would totally have been lighting the little sticks on fire. Tulip felt balancing the sticks was a better way of doing things less obvious and probably more annoying.
RE: Come Little Children | Dark Arts Lesson 1 - Elias Everett - 09-06-2025
Elias flexed his left hand as he walked toward the Dark Arts classroom, trying to work out the cramped feeling in his fingers. Essays were piling up faster than he could finish them. His hand felt like it might fall off.
The ink stains on his thumb and forefinger had turned a stubborn dark blue that wouldn’t scrub away no matter how hard he’d tried.
At least breakfast had been proper food - bacon and eggs and fluffy hash browns that actually tasted like something. He touched his pocket carefully, feeling the crinkle of the sweet wrapper. Mum had sent peppermint humbugs with her latest letter, along with questions about his classes and whether he was making friends.
What was he supposed to write back? That Eamon was too busy with Gryffindor friends to spend time with him?
The classroom felt heavy and dim as he stepped inside, with all those carved symbols watching from the walls. The fairy lights overhead gave everything a strange glow. Elias picked a seat in the third row, close enough to see but not so close that Professor Laurence might call on him.
She was already directing students to collect supplies from the front. Elias hesitated for a moment, then followed the other students toward the front, wondering what new scary thing they’d be learning today. First Charms taught him offensive spells like he was going to fight someone, then Potions with explosions that could punch holes in walls.
Now this.
The spiky sticks felt rough and prickly against his palm. What were these things? Were they called something special? Everything at Hogwarts seemed to have fancy names he didn’t know.
He turned one over to get a better look and winced as a sharp thorn pricked his thumb.
"Ow," he breathed, jerking his hand back. A small bead of blood welled up. Elias quickly pressed his thumb against his robes, hoping he wouldn’t get blood on the desk or his parchment.
The black powder was fine as dust, so dark it seemed to eat the light. Why did they need this? He gathered the herbs - they smelled sharp and bitter - then picked up chalk and a small jar of salt.
At least those last two made sense.
Back at his desk, Elias set out the strange collection of supplies and rubbed his sore writing hand. His foot tapped restlessly under the desk as he began arranging the sticks into a little fort, careful of the thorns this time.
Outside, he could hear the wind in the trees and wished desperately he could be anywhere else. Running around the castle grounds, exploring the forest edge, anything but sitting in another dim classroom.
RE: Come Little Children | Dark Arts Lesson 1 - Matilda Nordstrom - 09-06-2025
Thankfully, Matilda had opted out of Ancient Runes this term. Getting from the common room to breakfast, then to Runes and back down to Dark Arts would have been too much. So at 7:49 am, the now familiar sound of plop, swing, plop, swing, could be heard coming down the corridor towards the Dark Arts classroom. It was nice being on time to a class. With the bum leg and crutches, she had been late to nearly all.
Truthfully, she was unsure about signing up for Dark Arts, but ultimately went for it when she found out Julia would be the Professor. She wasn’t sure if Julia… wait… Professor Laurence actually liked her, after the whole near death plant attack with her son present, but with time, maybe Matilda could win back her affection. Benji hadn't been hurt in the jungle. THANK GOD, but he had witnessed the vicious attack, which still traumatic.
"Before you get situated, come up and grab your supplies," Matilda went to her seat, plopping down her bag and crutches, needing hands to bring the supplies to her desk. She chose a seat towards the front, so she didn’t have to hobble too far. Putting weight on her leg was getting better slowly. As long as she had something to hold on to nearby, she tried to use her crutches less and less. Limping to the front, she gathered her supplies, nodding “Hello Professor.” Before limping back and taking her seat.
Finally dropping into her chair, Matilda looked around for her friends, she saw Tulip and gave a small wave, a smile to Corbin and Elias, who she knew less well. None of her normal crew had joined yet. Hoping she hadn’t missed a letter to skip class, she sat back and waited. Resting her leg and getting ready for gods knew what in this class.
RE: Come Little Children | Dark Arts Lesson 1 - Ruth Elliot - 09-07-2025
It was too early.
Already over two weeks into the school year, and Rae's sleep pattern hadn't regularised. Granted, it never really did, usually becoming something more...manageable than ideal, but that part hadn't come yet. Sleep came no more easily in her fourth year, and it seemed that by the time she finally did doze off, her dormmates were already up and moving around. It was true what they said; there really was no rest for the wicked.
Rae dragged herself into the classroom the way she had been doing since the first day of class.
With her eyes barely open.
The girl felt along the wall, doing everything she could to not fall asleep on her feet while she used it to guide her. It was every bit as difficult as it looked. Her legs wobbled with fatigue, and her thin frame wanted nothing more than to collapse into her seat and lament her inability to go to bed when she needed to. Any other class--nearly any other class--and she'd have tucked herself away in the back, learning be damned. It wasn't that easy with Julia. Rae loved the woman. The woman didn't love her sleeping in her class. Those bloody baubles were only a small show of the lengths the newly minted Dark Arts Professor was prepared to go to maintain what she considered 'order'.
No sooner had Rae flopped into her seat, prepared for her battle against the dimly lit, inviting ambience that all but wrote her a pass to sleep, than there was a call for them to get their supplies.
Uuuuggghhhhhh.
Rae slid her feet back out from under her desk and limply made her way to the front of the room. "Can't you convince someone to switch Friday slots with you?" Rae murmured, leaning briefly onto the professor's desk. Usually, the girl was very bright and attentive when she attended these lessons, and by usually, it was understood to mean the other two that happened near the end of the school day. By then, the Slytherin was far more alert. "It's an atrocious hour for learning."
But she suspected she already knew that. Rae only ever said it every Friday since they'd begun.
Returning to her seat, she sank down in her seat by Matilda.
"Don't tell me the boys decided to skip without us," she muttered. If there had been any such plans, as much as she loved Julia, she'd have liked to know.
It was a matter of principle.
Rae flopped forward onto her desk, just...resting her eyes until they were ready to begin.
RE: Come Little Children | Dark Arts Lesson 1 - Cassian McCormick - 09-07-2025
Despite the professor running the class, Cassian found that he rather liked the lessons. It was...an interesting change of direction from what he'd become accustomed to, but that wasn't a complaint. Usually, they were learning to defend against the dark arts, and the last professor had done his utmost best to drill into them how much such magic was to be avoided. Looking back, that might have had as much to do with the man being in cahoots with Halloway as any real distaste for the alternate form of magic.
Funny enough, Cass thought he remembered the man having an auror background as well. It certainly explained his...er...overwhelming caution.
That wasn't the case anymore. Miss Laurence held no qualms about teaching them the things many tended to shy away from in the wider wizarding society. It fed directly into his unquenchable curiosity. The boy had already begun a bit of not-so-light reading on subjects that would have his peers raising their brows, and found this class supplemented that reading nicely.
Despite his ongoing reservations where the woman was concerned, there were times when Cassian had gone as far as asking questions during lessons. He had to. The cost of ignorance was too steep for the boy to consider when knowledge was only a few polite sentences away.
Cass walked into the dark room, stuffed from breakfast and with a mind ready to absorb everything on offer. There were...some questions not related to the likely topic of the day that he wanted to ask. He was just...building himself up to do so. The Ravenclaw had already reasoned that if anyone knew the answer, it would be the librarian turned Dark Arts Professor. Worst case, she would give him that look he'd received maybe a million times now, get asked if he didn't have enough homework, then be escorted out of her office.
Conversely, Julia might be willing to indulge his curiosity for a while. Who knew, the fact he was showing interest in something other than her cousin might go a long way with her.
At the call, he followed his classmates to the front to collect his supplies, his mind already trying to pick apart clues in case he might be able to decipher what the day's lesson was about. On the way to his seat, he flicked Ruth lightly on the nose, hoping to wake the girl before something more forceful did.
This wasn't the class to fall asleep in.
At his seat, he got out his parchment and quill. Now he was ready.
RE: Come Little Children | Dark Arts Lesson 1 - Oilibhéar Ó Coigligh - 09-07-2025
When it came to subjects he in general found most information taught to have some potential use to him. The catch was while all information could have a potential use it wasn't all worth his time to try to learn. A life philosophy that greatly drove his class selections whenever the choice was given to him between what took less time going to class or going to detention for not going to class.
Spending as much time as he'd spent at his grandparents shop on Knockturn Alley he understood just how useful and broad a subject like the Dark Arts could be.
He was hoping this class would fall into the realm of useful to him. The scenery of the classroom with it's dimness didn't phase him at all. As it was common enough in shops in Knockturn Alley to make people feel either a mixture of hiddenness that might reveal things they otherwise wouldn't, or to make it harder for illicit activity be observed. It was unsurprising that the professor went for the same in the classroom design. So unsurprising he thought it logically appropriate.
He originally took a seat in the back of the classroom but when asked to get supplies he grabbed up his stuff as well. After all, he knew how to be a gentleman or at least smart enough to offer to be. Even if he was way to late in that thought for it to be useful as he already saw Matilda hobbling about.
As he went forward to grab his supplies he passed Elias one of the first years in his house and whispered " Just leave them to the side in this class. ". As he noticed the boy somehow look like he injured himself with one of the sticks.
Then he continued forward and grabbed his own supplies handling them carefully.
With his backpack over his shoulder he looked around and took a seat behind and to the side of Matilda saying " If you need me to fetch anything just tell me. " as he put his supplies to the side of his desk leaving them untouched. As with a subject like the dark arts he wasn't going to go playing with the supplies like many of his classmates were.
Instead he simply got out his leather bound notebook, which he used for all his classes, and set it on his desk as he prepared to take notes once the lesson began. Naturally, one of his pocket watches followed the notebook out of his bag and he started fidgeting with it slightly on his desk.
RE: Come Little Children | Dark Arts Lesson 1 - Maevie Golding - 09-08-2025
Like every time that she walked into the Dark Arts' classroom, a subtle shiver went down Maevie's back. Not out of fear or discomfort but for the thrill that was the atmosphere of this room. It all felt so mystic somehow. If she weren't at a magic school, Maevie would have thought the Professor to be some witch right out a fairy tale, some old, hunched woman that uses dark magic to be young and beautiful forever.
Like one of the scary stories she and her friends would tell each other to get a good scare but that made her buzz with a shivering thrill.
Maevie liked her, but then again Maevie liked pretty much everyone. She was really strict though and didn't allow for any inanities. It reminded her of her grandmother, a little. When they'd visit with mum and Brock, they always had to be on their best behaviour, attentive, polite and respectful. So in a way, Maevie was used to a woman's demanding presence.
But besides that, Professor Laurance taught a subject unlike anything else, the dark twist to it satiating all of Maevie's thirst for this subtle exhilaration it brought along. Some found it strange, learning about the magic that was forbidden or immoral. But learning about it didn't mean you had to use it.
Maevie dropped her things by a desk next to Corbin before walking up to where Professor Laurance told them to grab their supplies. "Good morning!", she greeted brightly as she approached.
She eyed the collection displayed on the table with curiosity, tapping her fingertips against the edge of the stone for a moment, but then decided against the question that pressed on her tongue. With a quick smile, she grabbed herself one of each before settling at her desk.
With everything arranged into a neat line, she leaned sideways towards Corbin and posed her question to him instead, voice low but eyes sparkling, "Do you think we're summoning a demon today?"
RE: Come Little Children | Dark Arts Lesson 1 - Benji Laurence - 09-10-2025
"Don't tell me the boys decided to skip without us."
"I'm here."
Benji was here.
Not because he wanted to be, but because there was no way he was getting out of attending Julia's class. Any other, he could ditch. Not this one, unless he wanted to find his ears stretched an extra three inches. He shuffled quietly into the class, tossing his bag down on the desk next to Rae before heading to the front to grab his supplies. Some sticks and dust and chalk to draw with. Perfect. He'd do that and pretend he was listening.
Back at his seat, he slouched in his chair, tossing his arm over Rae's shoulders and glanced around at the other victims. He grinned at Cass, noticing Rosie wasn't here yet, and then leaned over to look at Matilda. "Making it around alright, Ging?" he asked, wondering where Ren was and why he wasn't helping his girlfriend to class. Seemed unlike him, especially as Ren had been one of the most engaged students last term, putting some of the Ravenclaws to shame.
He'd have to catch up with his friend at some point to see what was going on with him. He tugged lightly at a few of Rae's curls, letting them bounce easily when he released them, waiting for something interesting to happen. His mum was one for yammering when she was interested in a subject, but this was supposed to be a practical. Maybe they'd be trying out Unforgiveables or something.
A wild concept on a full stomach, but he didn't have much choice if that's what they were doing here.
RE: Come Little Children | Dark Arts Lesson 1 - Rosalie McCormick - 09-10-2025
Rosalie emerged from the little room behind Julia's desk, her arms full of dark green leather-bound books. The room was meant to be living quarters for the professor, but seeing as her cousin already had those in the library, she'd turned the area into a very large storage closet full of everything they were going to be using over the term.
And Rosalie had been made responsible for the inventory and maintaining it. Lucky her.
She wandered up and down the aisles of desks, handing each student a book as Julia explained their purpose - grimoires. Embossed in shiny black on each cover was a rune, Thurisaz (ᚦ) and the inside pages were blank aged parchment. She smiled slightly as she handed books to both Corbin and Maevie, hearing the little girl's guess about demons. She wasn't...far off, if Rosie knew her cousin well enough.
"Only three if we're lucky," she whispered, giving the girl a wink.
She slid quietly into her seat next to Cassian, her supplies already there, handing him a book and keeping the last for herself. She reached up to pull her hair back into a ponytail, looking at him out of her peripherals, while she leaned a little closer to his ear. "Next she'll be having me bring Kate her meals in between my classes." A smirk played at the corner of her lips as she dropped her arms and and leaned forward on the desk to rest her chin in her hands.
Anything to keep her busy, really.
She didn't mind it entirely, but she much preferred to be a volunteer rather than voluntold. And it seemed there was going to be plenty of that this term after the conversation the three of them had had last week. Her smile fell a bit thinking about it, but she quickly pushed it out of her mind, determined instead to just focus on the here and now. If what Julia had said was a real threat, then she definitely needed this class.
RE: Come Little Children | Dark Arts Lesson 1 - Julia Barlowe - 09-10-2025
As each student came to the front to gather up their supplies, Julia smiled at each, offering her greetings in return. A flicker of amusement crossed her features at Corbin's bow, not quite sure how to respond other than to offer him a 'good morning' along with the others. Elias pricked himself - a hazard of blackthorn twigs. She hadn't realized she needed to warn the students to be careful when thorns were involved, but she gave him the benefit of the doubt, considering the lighting was dim.
"Can't you convince someone to switch Friday slots with you?"
Julia tilted her head slightly at Ruth, her dimples appearing with the grin she tried to suppress. "It's the best way to start the weekend, Miss Elliot. A little dark magic after breakfast." Where was the girl's sense of adventure?
"You'll notice a runic symbol on the cover of the grimoires Rosalie is passing out. This symbol is called 'Thurisaz' and it represents both destruction and protection. Its duality is important in the context of this class and what you'll be keeping in these grimoires," she moved from behind her desk to the front, wandering up and down the aisles slowly as she spoke. "Duality, nuance, is key to not only understanding the magic that you wield, but how to wield it. How to control it, how to own the power that comes with it, safely and responsibly."
A flick of her wand and Tulip's thorns were upended and return to the neat pile they should have been in. "Five points from Gryffindor," Julia remarked, a quick 'scourgify' taking care of the drawing the girl had decided to graffiti across her desk. Disrespect of any kind wouldn't be tolerated in this classroom, nor would disinterested behavior.
"As we've discussed over the past few weeks, the Wheel of the Year is ritual framework for magical alignment. Today you'll come to understand how seasonal thresholds function as natural amplifiers and energy shifters for magic. Especially ritual work, which is where much of our magic originates." She leaned back on her desk, and indicated for them to open up their grimoires. "In these books, you'll be keeping track of the rituals we do, how to do them, and when."
First, they needed to understand how the various seasons played into ritualistic power. "The ancient Celts believed in seasonal veil thinning when these rituals were all the more potent, namely Beltane and Samhain." A wave of her wand and the wheel appeared floating in gold shimmers above all of them, causing the candles to flicker slightly with the sudden soft gust of air. "Beltane, taking place on May first is the height of life-force energy. The veil responds to this surge, becoming more reactive as a chaotic current, reaching outward. Ideal for summoning and seduction rituals."
"Samhain is when the veil is thinnest. It represents death, shadow-work, ancestor reverance. Where Beltane reaches out, Samhain draws magical energy down. Some say to the Underworld. Ideal for necromancy, working with Fairies and darker Divination practices." They could guess what those would be.
"Today you'll be constructing a personal ritual altar - your threshold of power in this class. This will lend you the ability to self-direct your own ritual alignment. And you'll have the power to decide - will you call something forth, or bar something away?" She smiled lightly as she turned from them, flicking her wand at her skeleton that hung against the wall by her desk. The skeleton vibrated slightly for a few moments, before a glowing red mist appeared in its eye sockets. "Dubthach will observe and offer his thoughts as we continue. Don't bother him. He's worse than the baubles. Accept his criticism and move on."
"Lovely," the skeleton hissed, its bony fingers twitching at its side, its voice deep and thickly accented. "Pre-pubescents and necromancy. What could go wrong?" Julia smirked as she looked over her students once more.
"Any questions before we get started?"
OOC: Whew! I'm sorry, but lectures will always be a bit long-winded. Both Julia and I are jabberers. For now, your students should be listening to the lecture and thinking about whether they'd want to use their altars for summoning or banning...things. If your child is hesitant, ask questions! Julia loves them, and there's no stupid ones, unless you're Benji.
Ask questions, think on what we discussed - is your student hesitant? Excited? What are their thoughts on Dark Magic and ancient rituals? Do they want to voice these thoughts? Keep them to themselves? Do they wanna bother the skeleton?
Have fun with it! Next update will be the practical on 9/15.
RE: Come Little Children | Dark Arts Lesson 1 - Ren Al-Sayeed - 09-11-2025
The boy had almost been late. He was rarely, if ever, late to classes. This time had been unavoidable, however, as the wonkiness in the castle had finally claimed him as a victim. His traditional early mornings had already been interrupted when he'd accidentally mistaken the glass of water by his bed for calming drought. His speedy spit-take wasn't enough to make his return to sleep deeper than he expected, nor was it any help once he woke up in a drunken stupor. That led him to the staircase, which decided to suddenly stop moving at a random enough interval that caused a sprain he would have mended himself, had his wand not gone flying down to another floor.
All in all, stumbling through the doors of the Dark Arts classroom, he feared for his life a little. More than scared of Julia, he was scared of disappointing her.
She was finally teaching a class, freeing up her seemingly infinite bibilographic knowledge and then channeling it into a classroom where students could recieve an education like no other. Ren wanted to be one of those students. To be clear, he had already been one of those students for a time. Their study sessions on runes and the runic language proved quite helpful to the boy who had been studying to be somewhat of an alchemist in the future.
So it did him no favors in regards to his relationship with Julia and for his own self esteem to be late to one of the classes he looked forward to the most. Slipping in at the very last minute, no question could come to mind as he took as quiet a gasp of air as he could to supply oxygen to his rapidly beating heart. The pain of the sprain had somewhat somewhat subsided, having sprinkled some anaesthetic balm over it in lieu of sloppily casting in a hurry. But it was very much there, just dulled. After the class, maybe a trip to the Hospital Wing would definitely be warranted.
"Today you'll be constructing a personal ritual altar - your threshold of power in this class. This will lend you the ability to self-direct your own ritual alignment. And you'll have the power to decide - will you call something forth, or bar something away?"
Ren's book appeared right in front of him, probably due to having been blinking fiercely to stop the black spots from overtaking his vision. The rune on the cover was familiar enough, but Julia's words called to mind the rituals he read about in his time at the library. It was still a strange side of magic that he hadn't gotten accustomed to yet. The education had always been focused on the instant swish of the wand and less on the prep work of the spell. Learning or casting had always been a case of knowing it and practicing it. It had never been about setting it up or building it.
He was definitely going to summon something though. What he'd summon, though, was a mystery to him at the moment.
RE: Come Little Children | Dark Arts Lesson 1 - Elias Everett - 09-12-2025
Elias pressed his thumb against his robes again, trying to stop the small bead of blood from the thorn prick. The sharp sting was distracting him from Professor Laurence’s lecture about wheels and veils and seasonal something-or-others.
When Bear whispered to him about leaving the supplies to the side, Elias nodded gratefully and quickly dismantled his little stick fort, pushing the thorny pieces back into a safer pile. At least someone knew what they were doing in this class.
Professor Laurence mentioned grimoires with runic symbols, and Elias perked up immediately. What made a grimoire different from a regular book? Was it the runic symbol that made it magical, or something else? He craned his neck to see where Rosalie was with the books, wondering what the symbol would look like up close.
He wanted to know more about grimoires. The Thurisaz rune sounded fancy, but what about other duality runes? Why just use that one?
Instead of explaining, Professor Laurence started talking about Beltane, and Elias slumped back in his chair. He knew this already. Mum made honey cakes, and Edith put flowers in his hair that left petals everywhere. Ritual altars sounded fun, though. When could they start on those instead of listening to all this boring lecture stuff?
He shifted in his seat and glanced around to see if anyone else was taking notes. He looked down at his own parchment - still blank. When she mentioned Samhain, his mind drifted to the wonky face he’d carved into his turnip last year - one eye way bigger than the other and a crooked mouth that looked more surprised than scary. It had been kind of funny. He reckoned it hadn’t been the best for scaring away the evil spirits though.
Professor Laurence kept going on about “ritual frameworks” and “veil thinning” and making it all sound impossibly complicated. This was like, little kid's stuff.
A flick of Professor Laurence’s wand sent Tulip’s sticks flying back into a neat pile. Five points from Gryffindor for playing with her supplies. Elias glanced at his own tidy pile, grateful he’d listened to Bear’s warning.
The floating golden wheel above them caught his attention for a moment - all shimmering and spinning slowly in the air, catching the candlelight as it turned.
Then the skeleton started talking.
The deep, mean-sounding voice filled the classroom, and Elias sat up straight, finally interested. Red light pulsed in the skull’s empty eye holes as it spoke. How did she make it do that? Could he learn to make one too?
RE: Come Little Children | Dark Arts Lesson 1 - Vinnie Folwell - 09-12-2025
That morning, Vinnie faced his greatest enemy again - a long and boring lecture. He had already grabbed supplies up front and taken his seat. A sheet of parchment sat before him untouched as he propped his head in his hands and waited for the explanation to end. Professor Laurence may as well have been speaking in another language for how little sunk in. Thurisaz…grimoires…Samhain… It all went in one ear and out the other.
Trying to fight down the restlessness that made him desperate to jump up and move around, or else mess with the supplies in front of him, Vinnie pulled out his quill to take notes. He wrote one single bullet point: Beltane - May 1st, life force energy, ideal for summoning and seduction. Then he zoned out again without realizing, doodling a dragon in the corner of his parchment instead of continuing to take notes. Just as well. He could barely see them under the dim fairy lights.
Constructing a personal ritual altar and summoning something did sound like a lot of fun. Vinnie had known the class was divisive, but had looked forward to it before coming to Hogwarts. Surely learning previously-forbidden magic would be thrilling. In the end, though, it had turned out wizarding classes were quite a bit like Muggle ones when they weren’t casting spells. Dark Arts was no exception.
The skeleton caught his attention. Vinnie looked up delightedly as it seemed to come to life, glowing red eyes and all.
“Any questions before we get started?”
The fog of boredom lifted away from Vinnie, leaving him eager to begin. His eyes caught on the grimoire that had been placed on the table in front of him. “What’s the grimoire for?” Vinnie asked curiously. He was a naturally loud kid, pretty much always with something to say. “Is it just somewhere to keep notes for class?” He rather hoped not. The book looked unusual, with its dark runed cover, and he felt it should have some significance.
Antsy to get started, Vinnie pushed his notes - or lack thereof - off to the side. He stared at the collection of twigs and herbs and salt, wondering if their altars would all look exactly the same or whether students would get to be creative. He would definitely be summoning something, given the choice.
RE: Come Little Children | Dark Arts Lesson 1 - Corbin Donahue - 09-13-2025
The tiny Hufflepuff first year had asked him about summoning a demon of all things. As though his family’s traditions could be reduced down to something so... childish.
Corbin had to stop his hand from mangling his quill. From throwing something. Muggleborns could be so insensitive, sometimes. Making rude assumptions like that. He forced himself to take a deep breath and turned his gaze to the younger student, assessing.
“The art is… a lot more than that,” he explained, his voice kept carefully level. “It is seasonal balance, protection, divinations… Not just…” his face blanched, and he trailed off.
“Look. You can’t just call it demon summoning, okay?”
He accepted the grimoire from Rosalie with a polite nod, smiling slightly at her comment about three of them, and eyeing the leather bound tome with interest. He could not wait to start experimenting with it.
He shifted a little in his seat before turning back to the front, where Professor Laurence had begun her lecture.
Grimoires. Those were interesting. Though personally, Corbin would have chosen Ansuz and not Thurisaz. While the professor’s point about its duality of protection and destruction was true enough… Thurisaz was not a rune typically associated with learning.
He flicked his notebook open to a new page and started jotting down notes.
Dark Arts - Ritual Altars
Grimoires - personal ritual record (Thurisaz rune… why? Ansuz seems more appropriate… perhaps can scribe it as well?)
He perked up a little, when the professor started going over ritual alignment and summoned an actual floating golden wheel. It provided much better lighting than the fairy lights of questionable origin had.
Wheel of Year stuff:
Beltane - May 1st, life-force energy, summoning/seduction (Why do we keep learning love magic and potions? Need protections for this…)
Samhain - Oct 31st (my birthday...) veil thinner, necromancy (yawn...), dark divination (so edgy!), fairies (stay away! Those things are terrifying…)
Why only these two? Are we covering the others?
Personal altar assignment - summon OR banish (Why either/or? Is this the Thurisaz rune? Seems limiting)
The skeleton started talking. Corbin glanced up, raised an eyebrow, then turned back to his notebook. It didn’t sound like a young apprentice. Perhaps the thing had been someone else in life, after all.
When Professor Laurence finished explaining and asked for questions, Corbin set his quill down. The ink was still wet on the last line, a problem solved by a quick application of the Hot Air Charm. The choice of rune still bothered him. Too aggressive somehow for a supposed learning aid.
He raised his hand partway. “Professor, why Thurisaz? Would Ansuz not be more appropriate for a learning grimoire?”
RE: Come Little Children | Dark Arts Lesson 1 - Matilda Nordstrom - 09-13-2025
The yawn that escaped her mouth was so long and loud that her eyes watered and her jaw cracked. Tilly had spent hours, late into the night, in the Hospital Wing Greenhouse yesterday, due to the mass casualty event that took place. Every single plant dead. Thankfully, there had been help, but hobbling around the wing greenhouse cleaning and scrubbing. Sometimes, you just had to do things by hand.
"Don't tell me the boys decided to skip without us," Tilly woke up a bit at the sound of Rae’s voice, looking for Ren or Benji, not seeing either. “If so, their grounded.”
Seconds later, a familiar voice spoke up, "I'm here. Making it around alright, Ging?" Benji asked, plopping down next to Rae. “Did you happen to drag my boyfriend along? And yeah, it’s getting easier. I actually limped around the greenhouse yesterday, but today my leg is protesting the exercise.”
It was then that Julia started the class, going on about rituals, the most magical times of the year, Beltain and Samhain. When Tilly had heard that Dark Arts was being offered, and taught by Julia no less, her eyebrows had lifted right to her hairline, but she had to admit, it was very interesting.
"Beltane, taking place on May first is the height of life-force energy. The veil responds to this surge, becoming more reactive as a chaotic current, reaching outward. Ideal for summoning and seduction rituals."
With a quiet snort… yes, she was a child, all she wanted was to poke Benji and watch hist face turn red with the talk of seduction rituals and his mother. This opportunity was too good to pass up, but that would have to wait until after class.
"Today you'll be constructing a personal ritual altar - your threshold of power in this class. This will lend you the ability to self-direct your own ritual alignment. And you'll have the power to decide - will you call something forth, or bar something away?" Julia said, then made the creepy skeleton shudder and come to life… well… not life exactly. "Dubthach will observe and offer his thoughts as we continue. Don't bother him. He's worse than the baubles. Accept his criticism and move on."
Opening her Grimoire, the feel of the binding bending back for the first time, the hesitation and strength bending to her pressure. Nothing like opening a new journal, ready for her notes and words. Not that she wrote in a journal much, honestly most of the journals she had were pretty, but rarely used. Looking around, others were writing notes, should she write notes? Jotting down the short bits about Beltane and Samhain, so that she could remember them later. "Any questions before we get started?"
Yes, as a matter of fact, raising her hand Tilly smiled and asked, "Professor, if I wanted more information on these seduction rituals, is there a book you would recommend?" Smirking, she made sure to keep her eyes forward, definently NOT making eye contact with her boyfriend who had entered the class just before being late.
RE: Come Little Children | Dark Arts Lesson 1 - Tulip Asquith - 09-13-2025
Five points from Gryffindor
Tulip's eyebrows furrowed as her little structure was destroyed, she wasn't borthered her graffti was removed she wasn't the first teacher to remove her desk doodles. And the taking of points that just caused her to roll her eyes. Five points was nothing, Tulip always lost more points than earned in class, Quidditch made up for it, but well she didn't even have that this year.
Tulip looked at the rune, her runic knowledge was rather rubbish, that was because she frequently played hooky in that class, she turned up if she was in danger of being caught or could think of no where else to go. She wasn't sure exactly sure why they needed a special book with a special rune on it. What was wrong with the usual note pads they used? Where they not mysterious enough, did they not have enough creepy vibes between the lines?
Duality, nuance, is key to not only understanding the magic that you wield, but how to wield it. How to control it, how to own the power that comes with it, safely and responsibly."
Tulip was begining to worry she might straing her eyes at the sheer amount she was rolling them this term. Why did evey professor think their subject was the key to understanding the nature of magic? She was begining to wonder if they had actual fist fights about it in the staff room, she could imagine the Transfiguration Professor headbutting the charms Professor, or the potions proff spritzing the DADA proff with some vicious potion while the DADA threw bits of thorns at him. The thought made her snigger a little, she would pay to see that, heck she'd sell tickets to it.
The professor also said one thing that instantly made Tulip tune out, safely and responsibly two things she tried her best to avoid doing. Safe and responsible was boring, Tulip got no joy from safe and responsible, she liked dangerous and irresponsible, she liked things that caused her to feel scared, to feel energised. Those two words did not fill her with hope.
Today you'll be constructing a personal ritual altar - your threshold of power in this class. This will lend you the ability to self-direct your own ritual alignment. And you'll have the power to decide - will you call something forth, or bar something away?"
The professor went on about dates and thining viels, Tulip didn't care much for dates or when things would be thin or she guessed thick. It seemed like a ridculous amount of work when you could just pick up your wand and wave it and things just worked. "What's the point of an alter? That's why we have wands isn't it? We're not living in the stone age." she said speaking up from the back. She'd read about muggles trying to do magic with lots of objects rather than just a wand. Tulip liked a reason to do things, that's why she didn't study, she didn't see a reason to read the 15 reasons something worked when you could just make it work.
Pre-pubescents and necromancy. What could go wrong?"
Tulip heard the skeleton's comment, were they really going to be trying necromancy? Oh that was great especially with Aurors wandering round the building, great and here was her hoping she'd go to Azkaban for something outragiously cool, not homework.
RE: Come Little Children | Dark Arts Lesson 1 - Ruth Elliot - 09-14-2025
"It's the best way to start the weekend, Miss Elliot. A little dark magic after breakfast."
"Oh, absolutely," Rae enthused despite the heaviness the fatigue brought to her tone. She was quite the fan of Julia's lessons so far. The content was interesting, the topics they covered engaging ...but the time on a Friday... "You know how some people save dessert for last? It's like that. Dark Arts to end a long school week would be so much better." Everything would be fresh on her mind by the time she got into her weekend after.
Having it be the first thing meant she would then have a whole bunch of other classes that came along, knocking out the little knowledge her tired brain had been able to absorb. "I'm just saying, something to think about."
And she would leave her to do just that. Settling back in her seat by her friend, Rae tapped at her cheeks, hoping to wake herself up enough to learn something. At the very least, she needed to stay awake enough to avoid being made an example of. That was helped along nicely when Cassian flicked her in the forehead, bringing her closer to a state of proper wakefulness even while she protested. It wasn't that the girl shied away from punishment or rebuke, but she held a genuine love and respect for the woman, which left her less inclined to have her be disappointed in her.
“If so, they're grounded.”
"I'm here."
There he was. Rae followed the boy with her eyes after he dropped his bag off, then went to get his own supplies. "Good of you to join us." They could all suffer from this horrendous hour together--not that Benji had any choice. When the boy returned and slung an arm over her shoulder, Raae shifted in her seat to lean into him. Tilly's question of whether he'd come with her boyfriend got Rae curious. Dark eyes scanned the class, finding the boy sitting off by himself.
"Guess he's not in the mood," she said, nodding the pair in the direction the Slytherin sat.
Rae thanked Rosie when she dropped the book in front of her, already flipping it open to find the many blank pages. A grimoire of sorts? They'd actually have to take notes? The Slytherin couldn't think of many things Julia had dove into in her little spiel that might be noteworthy enough for her to get out her inkwell and--
"Beltane, taking place on May first is the height of life-force energy. The veil responds to this surge, becoming more reactive as a chaotic current, reaching outward. Ideal for summoning and seduction rituals."
"Professor, if I wanted more information on these seduction rituals, is there a book you would recommend?"
Ruth Anaya sat forward in her seat, fully awake now.
"Seduction rituals?" she repeated, sparing an anything-but-subtle glance in Benji's direction before returning her gaze to the professor. "Real ones that work even on boys who'd prefer to have breakfast than snog you?"
Asking for a friend.
It was her. She was the friend.
And just like that, Rae was the most attentive student in the room. She'd heard about the other things, too. Summoning or deflecting--something like that. Were they bringing forth things like Maevie had asked? Were they keeping things out? Hell if she knew. There were clearly more important things.
RE: Come Little Children | Dark Arts Lesson 1 - Cassian McCormick - 09-14-2025
His girlfriend had been volunteered again. The empty seat by him made sense now as he watched her enter from that other door, a stack of books in hand. He'd been about to get up and offer his help, not minding a bit of extra work if it meant her not carrying such a heavy load, but she was quick. Rosie made her way through the room with balance and grace before plopping down next to him with a book for each of them.
It didn't take much to get him hyped for the subject. Being told they'd be able to track things in a grimoire, as well as the promise of a deeper dive, already had him practically at the edge of his seat. They had a promising year ahead of them, and Cassian was eager to soak up every moment.
"Next she'll be having me bring Kate her meals in between my classes."
He barely managed to suppress the laugh, not wanting to disrupt the lesson now that it had begun. "Bold of you to assume Kate will accept meals from you if you aren't already her usual server."
Every now and then, Cass and Rosie had been asked to babysit the blonde little girl who haunted Julia's quarters. She was...a strange one, that was for sure. He had no doubt she'd refuse to eat if circumstances weren't exactly to her liking or routine or whatever it was that had been explained because she'd done it once before. Stubbornness was a trait that ran through the Laurence family, and it had to be contagious, given how entirely so both adopted siblings happened to be, too.
When the lecture began, Cass diligently wrote his notes. While some preferred to take shorthand notes, the boy liked to be as thorough with his written words as he was with his spoken ones.
His concentration was broken only by the animation of the skeleton with the red smoke and sarcasm.
"Dubthach will observe and offer his thoughts as we continue. Don't bother him. He's worse than the baubles. Accept his criticism and move on."
"That's new," he muttered, leaning into Rosie a little. "How come he's never on babysitting duty? The kid would get a real kick out of that."
Either way, Cass had no intention of bothering the skeleton. The boy would be much too engrossed in his work for that.