Come Little Children | Dark Arts Lesson 1

The feeling of warmth enveloping her hands, reaching up her forearms was soothing, a feeling of contentment and calmness running through her body. It was intense and soft at the same time. As the heat and power began to grow, Matilda started to feel the slightest bit of discomfort, but nothing over the top. Breathing through the heat, she remained calm and still, holding on to the power.

The energy grew, heating up her hands to an uncomfortable level and moving up her arms, until suddenly the energy shot through her like a lightening bolt. Matilda felt the energy hitting her, knocking her back a bit in her seat. It was harder to hold on, but she kept breathing and managed to come out on the other side. Everything else in the room had disappeared, just her and the magic flowing through her veins, humming in her bones, heating her from the inside out.

Feeling the magic inside her was both exhilarating and terrifying. Her leg almost buzzed at the site of her injury, tingling and pulsing under her skin. Just as she was getting use to the feeling a cold burst of air blasted through her, breaking her out of the magic haze. Face flushed, hair disheveled, breath coming in pants, Tilly’s eyes opened and looked around the room. “What in the hell was that?” she said quietly to Ren sitting next to her.

"Now, to explain a little more in depth. Celts and Nords used altars similar to these in their practices when they were imploring their gods and earthly energies for interception in their daily lives. For strength, for wellness, fertility,” Tilly snickered. First seduction rituals and now fertility, she would need to have a serious talk with Benji. “Summoning and banishing strength is only the beginning of what you can do."

"I want to hear from each of you. What did you experience as you summoned or banished? If you summoned, what were you feeling as the energy returned to you? If you banished, how do you feel now? Drained? Or empowered? Safe? And all of you were jolted by Mister Ó Coigligh's banishment. What were the sensations? Could you feel his energy entangling with yours?"

Letting her classmates answer, waiting her turn, Tilly raised her hand and tried to describe it the best she could. “It was strange, yet exhilarating. It almost felt like my bones were vibrating, my skin tingled, like it was radiating from the inside out. Then Bear’s magic turned it off faster than a bucket of cold water in the face. It was disorienting.”

Sitting back, exhausted from the experience, all she wanted was a nap. Resting her head on Ren’s shoulder Matilda yawned, ready for class to be over.

The remnants of the obsidian dust still clung to Corbin’s fingers, gritty against his skin. With an absentminded motion, he rubbed them clean against the fabric of his robes. His ceramic bowl sat empty on his altar, traces of salt scattered around the rim like snow.

The pile of bones the professor had named as ‘Dubthach’ was no more. His banishing ritual had worked perfectly.

A tiny smile flickered across his features before he hid it with a glance back toward his notebook. It served the rude creature right. Professor Laurence’s skeleton now stood bone-still, its animating energy having been banished from the classroom along with its attitude.

Cold still pressed against his ribs from Bear’s own banishing energy blast. The whole class had been hit by the wave. The culprit sat fiddling with his pocket watch like always, as if such feats of magic from him were totally normal. Corbin made a mental note on his friend. If Bear could perform such magic once, he could do it again.

Flicking his notebook to a new page, Corbin’s quill scratched down some further observations on the altar’s results.

Practical Results - Personal Altar Use

Salt banishment worked… pretty well as intended - energy drained out, targeted the skeleton directly. No scatter like others experienced. (The thing deserved it)

Bear’s banishment hit entire room - didn’t expect that kind of reach from him. Cold jolt, lingering effects. Much stronger than his usual spell work.

Summoning group (Folwell, Elliot, Nordstrom, others?) got energy boost before Bear’s blast drained it all. Wasted effort on their part.

Banishing = removed animating spell? Is this effect permanent or temporary? Professor Laurence would likely have been more upset if permanent? Should have gone with Bone shattering hex…

He paused, looking up once more at the skeletons remains in thought with his quill hovering over the parchment, before he added:

Targeting seems related to intention and focus. Treating this like party game = chaotic results.

Bear’s magic had reached every person in the room while his own had seemed almost like an arrow. Going exactly where he had wanted.

He raised his hand, before addressing the Professor’s question. “The salt seemed to work as described, Professor.” he nodded towards the silent skeletal servant. “The banishing effect seems quite… effective. Better results than your silencing spell, I would say.”

For one short moment, power surged through Vinnie. He felt like he could cast any spell, brew any potion. All the things that were beyond him as a first year - explosions and disarming other students and turning statues into dragons - felt suddenly within reach. He could fight Dark wizards. He could transfigure hats into rabbits. He could give his friends back their memories. The power fed into his overconfidence as it coursed through him, the buzz of adrenaline humming in his veins. It felt amazing.

And then, in an instant, it was gone.

Something cold and sharp shot through Vinnie’s chest, all the excess magic draining away. He was even weaker than normal as it dissipated. Even a simple Colovaria might have been beyond him. He’d known his altar was a little sloppy, and thought he must’ve failed at it. Then Professor Laurence began her lecture, congratulating Ó Coigligh on his work.

Bear did this? Vinnie wondered. The older Ravenclaw must’ve been powerful, to weaken all of them at once. Or maybe the other students weren’t as affected as Vinnie was.

He shook off the feeling, eyebrows furrowing as he tried to focus on Professor Laurence’s words. Somewhere between ‘earthly energies’ and ‘abundancy’, his attention drifted away. It snapped back when she asked them about the experience. “It felt really good, and then really bad,” Vinnie told her honestly. “Like being the fastest runner in the world for one second, and then going back to being slow. And his magic was cold.”

Vinnie’s attention drifted sideways, over to the skeleton. Dubthach wasn’t moving anymore. Donahue had evidently managed to banish its energy, and its eyes were empty where they had glowed red before. It was strangely eerie - much more so than Vinnie had found the animated skeleton in the first place. He’d rather enjoyed hearing it talk.

“Can you take the energy out of anything with an altar?” Vinnie asked Professor Laurence, caught between wariness and genuine curiosity. “Like make a broom not able to fly? Or take the magic out of a wand, like Donahue did to the skeleton?” He wasn’t sure he liked that idea, much more enthusiastic about the idea of summoning something into existence than taking it away.

It was a strange sensation, the pulling and tugging, as though the energy itself was yanking at the skin of his palms. He...sort of hated it. It wasn't a feeling he found pleasant or wanted to sustain longer than he had to, and he'd decided, right then and there that altar work wasn't for him. As important as this stuff was to his mum, and how often he saw her doing it, it was not a practice he had any intention of continuing longer than he was required to by class.

He grimaced, but focused, ready to get it over with, when the energy suddenly released and shot out from beneath his hands, hitting Julia straight in the chest. His mouth fell open, eyes widening as he watched her take the brunt of it. Shit. He was in so much -

Benji lurched, as though something had punched him square in the back, the air escaping his lungs in a rush of ice. In a split second, it felt as though all the energy in his body deflated, his bones freezing over with the sudden rush. It was similar to the sensation of having the flu, in a way, the way the fatigue hit him so quickly.

"But Mister Ó Coigligh counteracted that. When he banished, you saw his energy race through the room, felt it jolt through every single one of you."

Well hell, Benji didn't summon shit! Why was he lumped in with the demon summoners? All he did was attack his mum! Benji glowered at Bear as Rae groaned at him, dropping his head back. He knew his classmate had only done what he was supposed to, but that had sucked.

"I felt a great sensation of injustice, professor."

Benji rolled his eyes, a grin finding his lips again as he shook his head. This girl. "It felt like a blizzard rushed right through me," Benji complained, his body shivering in agreement. "Can we all agree not to try that one again?" It wasn't that much of an imposition to suggest they all summon from now on, right?

Elias pressed his hands flat against the desk surface, trying to stop them from shaking. The magic was still buzzing through him, from his scalp down to his toes. Like lightning had crawled under his skin and decided to stay there. His pricked thumb throbbed in time with his heartbeat. He stuck it in his mouth without thinking, tasting copper and chalk dust.

The fairy lights pulsed brighter than usual, and the floating candles above their heads seemed to dance in place. His legs bounced under the desk. The energy from the altar was still racing around inside him, making it impossible to sit still. He wanted to run laps around the castle or climb something tall.

Maybe both at the same time.

The wooden chair felt hard against his back. He shifted forward, then back, then sideways. His classmates were talking to Professor Laurence but their voices sounded far away, like they were speaking through water.

Elias stared down at his altar. The herbs were scattered around the empty bowl, and the chalk lines of his pentagram had red smudges where his bleeding thumb had touched them. Had everyone felt like this? Like their whole body was humming with leftover magic?

He rubbed his arms, trying to smooth away the tingling sensation. It wasn't going away. If anything, it was getting stronger. His skin felt too small for whatever was bouncing around inside it. The notebook in front of him stayed blank. His quill lay forgotten beside his ink pot while he pressed his palms against his thighs, then the desk, then back to his thighs. Nothing felt quite right. Everything was too much.

Professor Laurence was looking around the room, waiting for answers. Other students were talking. He should say something too. Good students answered questions.

Elias raised his hand halfway, then dropped it. Raised it again. "The magic went everywhere," he said, gesturing at himself. "From my head down to my feet and it's still... it won't stop buzzing. Was it supposed to feel that strong?"

"I suppose it's good she got out while she could. Heard he fucked off back to wherever he'd come from, and it doesn't sound like she'd have had a good time going with him."

"I never liked him," Rosie said with a slight shrug, her eyes taking a new shine on now that Cassian had indulged her gossiping. He was her favorite person to talk shit with, always rising to the occasion. She'd heard the whispers too last term. Many of the professors had thought it a strange match, and truth be told, Rosalie hadn't understood the appeal either. Rich pureblood men were the worst, and her husband hadn't done anything to improve that reputation. "I heard that too. Glad he's gone, personally. He gave me the creeps."

Her cousin, for all her faults, could do far better, Rosalie imagined. At her core, she was a good person with a big heart, and she deserved a good man. If she ever wanted one. She doubted after that disaster, Julia wasn't in any rush to get back into the dating scene. She had kids to take care of now.

Anyway, it was time to focus and leave her cousin's love life for later discussion.

Keeping her attention on her altar, and ignoring the sudden vibrating roar that filled the classroom and shook her table, the girl kept her eyes closed, maintaining all her focus on the warmth that began to envelope her hands. It wasn't the first time she'd felt this. At Julia's wedding, when Benji had been attacked, Rosalie had done the same ceremony with Edith and Julia to strengthen their magic, before they'd all slashed their palms wide open.

She put the memory out of her head, accepting the scorching sensation of flames around her hands. She grimaced, only slightly, before refocusing, pushing past the pain. She knew, just as it would feel like she couldn't take it anymore, it would relent, and relent it did. It rushed back through her hands, blazing up her arms and into her chest where it spread and billowed outwards, before a sudden rush of cold pierced her chest, extinguishing the flames immediately.

She gasped, feeling like she'd just fallen through ice into freezing water. What...was that? Had she done something wrong? Written her symbols backwards? She'd checked them so carefully.

"But Mister Ó Coigligh counteracted that. When he banished, you saw his energy race through the room, felt it jolt through every single one of you."

"Merlin," she breathed, feeling her energy drain as fast as it had accelerated. She glanced sideways at Cass and shook her head. "I'm glad the rest of my family doesn't practice this shit," she muttered under her breath, not caring at all about the swear she'd just let loose.

She raised her hand weakly, "Lots of heat, like a furnace really, and then nothing but ice." She sighed again, dropping her chin into her palm. She was ready for a nap now.

Julia couldn't have been prouder of her class as they all came to terms with what they'd just experienced. As the chill of Benji's energy still ricocheted through her, she settled back at her desk, listening as each of them offered up their final thoughts and questions.

"I felt a great sensation of injustice, professor."

The woman smiled and gave a little shrug to Rae. "It's why its important to be aware of what others are doing and are capable of if you can. Take it as a lesson for next time. Maybe ponder how you can protect yourself from others' summonings or banishings."

"I reckon I was feeling pretty okay until I got zapped by Bear's energy, professor. This won't last long, yeah?"

She shook her head easily at Cassian with reassurance, "No, while Mister Ó Coigligh's banishment was very impressive, he's not yet experienced enough to make it last long. It shouldn't linger more than another minute or so."

“Was I supposed to feel anything. I mostly just felt a peaceful focus like I do when I work on my clocks.“

"It can feel different for everyone, depending on intention and level of focus," Julia admitted, nodding towards Bear, though banishment and summoning usually felt relatively the same for all in her experience, "It's possible you were just so focused you didn't feel what you normally would. The mind is a great distractor."

“It was strange, yet exhilarating. It almost felt like my bones were vibrating, my skin tingled, like it was radiating from the inside out. Then Bear’s magic turned it off faster than a bucket of cold water in the face. It was disorienting.”

"Good," she said, turning her attention to Matilda, "It means your focus was effective and did exactly what it was meant to do, until the counter-banishment. It'll be a good piece for us to look at in a future class."

“The banishing effect seems quite… effective. Better results than your silencing spell, I would say.”

The woman couldn't help the smile that perked at her lips. A sassy one Corbin was, without even trying it seemed. "Indeed you're right. Dubthach will be fairly annoyed, I imagine, but success is success and you did well."

“It felt really good, and then really bad. Like being the fastest runner in the world for one second, and then going back to being slow. And his magic was cold. Can you take the energy out of anything with an altar? Like make a broom not able to fly? Or take the magic out of a wand, like Donahue did to the skeleton?”

Julia nodded, standing from her desk for a moment, as she indicated for all of them to begin gathering up their boards. "That's the beauty of having access to all facets of magic," she said to Vinnie, admiring his interest in the subject. "Anything is possible. But it's important to remember that magic doesn't live within your tools, such as a broom or wand. Those are conduits for your magic. So it's always important that if you're going to use an altar for something like stifling a broom or someone else's magical ability, you focus on the wizard or witch, rather than the tool they wield." She nodded at the boy. "Fantastic question. Five points to Gryffindor."

"The magic went everywhere. From my head down to my feet and it's still... it won't stop buzzing. Was it supposed to feel that strong?"

"In your case, yes," Julia said, her eyes falling to Elias's still dust-covered fingers. "You pricked your finger with the thorns and your blood mixed with the obsidian dust. Blood is the ultimate amplifier. It adds its own life and energy to everything you do in this spectrum. See me after class, and we'll get you calmed down."

There, they'd made it through. "Everyone gather up your boards and stack them on the shelves in the storage room behind my desk. Homework is an essay on all the properties we utilized today on our boards. The assignment details have already been written in your grimoires. Class dismissed!"

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*OOC: WE DID IT!! Thank you, thank you, thank you for all of your participation! This was so much fun for me, and I hope I made it just as fun for you! This the final update. Class will close for grading on 9/27. Feel free to post again if you need the points, otherwise, see you in October for the next lesson! <3

It was a relief to know the dampening of Vinnie’s magic would only last a minute or two more.

Many of the other students described the feeling similarly. Cold and disappointing after the initial rush of power. Vinnie wasn’t entirely sure whether that had been Bear’s intent, since the boy looked as surprised as the rest of them. Either way, Vinnie was glad it wouldn’t last into the rest of the day’s classes. He had enough trouble sitting still and paying attention to get decent grades as it was. Take away some of his magic on top of it, and Potions was not likely to go well.

But it’s important to remember that magic doesn’t live within your tools, such as a broom or wand. Those are conduits for your magic. Huh. Vinnie had never known that. He had always assumed wands and brooms were magical by themselves. After all, when he thought of magic, those were some of the first things that came to mind. It made some sense, though. He remembered holding his wand for the first time in Elder & Ash, and feeling that it was an extension of his arm rather than a separate thing.

He still didn’t like the idea of taking magic away nearly as much as adding to it. The idea of stealing someone’s energy as Bear had done made him slightly uneasy.

Vinnie supposed that was why it was Dark Arts class. They weren’t meant to be learning the fun kind of magic, but the kind that made people a little uncomfortable. That didn’t eliminate Vinnie’s interest in it, though. He still held out high hopes of summoning a dragon with his altar next class.

Vinnie jumped out of his seat the instant they were dismissed, shoving his things back into his bookbag in a great heap. He hadn’t realized how antsy he was until they were finally allowed to get up and move. He nearly forgot the board in his relief, and had to scramble back to grab it when he was almost at the door. He placed it on Professor Laurence’s desk, as instructed.

“Thank you!” Vinnie shouted over his shoulder at the professor as he raced out the door. There was still a few minutes before Potions, and he fully intended to explore a side corridor before heading down to the dungeons.

Surely this time he wouldn’t be late.

The rush of power had taken Tulip by surprise, she hadn't actually expected her alter to work, given the total lack of effot she had put in to it. Truthfully she'd been expected some explosion or summoning of some inter-dimensional fiend. That would have been cool and the Owl home would have been epic, none of her other siblings had so far ripped hell fiends into existance, (although it was probabily a toss up between her and Poppy who would do it first).

She hated the idea that this would work, but was it a time related thing or a distance related thing. Because this could have uses, where you needed two people to power a spell pehaps you could get away with one. There had been plenty of times when she'd been up to no good that she could have done with the power of two people. Perhaps she'd need to experiment on this more. She didn't think she could sneak the whole thing out, but little bits over time. Twigs she could get, obsidian dust was harder. There was still a small amount in the bottle. A slight of hand saw it vanish from the table and into her cloak. It was a risk but in in for a Knut in for a Gallion.

Everyone gather up your boards and stack them on the shelves in the storage room behind my desk. Homework is an essay on all the properties we utilized today on our boards. The assignment details have already been written in your grimoires. Class dismissed!"

Tulip picked up her board and more threw it than stacked it. And then the professor mentioned homework, well that wouldn't be happening, especially not an essay. Tulip had ideas for her own homework and it didn't involve any amount of parchment. She'd come up with a good excuse for not doing it, maybe not even an excuse, maybe she'd just out right say she'd not done it, it would be just another detention. It wasn't like they had Quidditch to go to.