Lesson III: Defensive Measures

May 13th, 1921


The day was warm for being a day in Scotland. There was also the matter of what constituted a warm day in Scotland, since the concept of warm and Scotland were oxymorons. The same could also be said for dry. Sure, the country had its periods where it went a few days or more without rain, but its return came with a vengeance.

Walking into the classroom, Castor and Pollux soared ahead of her, making a beeline for the chalkboard while her bag floated to its place beside the desk. Eris, as always, walked her proudly and unhurried beside her master. The castle had become all too familiar to the half-kneazle, exploring it whenever she got bored, picking out preferred spots to sit or nap.

The desks were there, though pushed back a little way, to make more room for the front. A demonstration of sorts was to be in order, and Etain would serve as such. Taking her mug of hot cocoa—a mug she seemed to take everywhere she went—the woman drank deeply from it and waited for class to begin.

---

Next update on the 14th.

He’d lost track of time. A bad thing when one considered he had multiple stopwatches and a larger clock he was working on. One of his clocks that had been blaring after one of his room mates hexed it and wouldn’t turn off so he found an unused classroom to work on it in. At least he got the noise to stop before he realized he had Transfiguration class in a few minutes.

The problem was if he just left his half taken apart clock in the room he was working on it he knew someone would snatch it, or maybe just snatch some gears. Even worse, he was rather confident if someone snatched parts of his clocks it wouldn’t be due to a genuine interest in clocks. As if anyone had genuine interest enough in clocks he was rather certain by reputation alone they’d say something to him. Or he hoped they would. Maybe he should ask someone if people perceived him to be nice enough to ask about clocks.

As he made it into the transfiguration classroom holding his tray with his disassembled but now quiet clock and a few ticking stopwatches he made his way to a set of desks in the back of the room. One of the desks he put his tray on hoping there would be extra desks in the classroom today. Otherwise, he’d sacrifice taking notes. Someone else would surely write down the important bits as he looked at his classmates.

Taking out his notebook he doubted they’d take as good of notes as him.

So he hoped the front of the room being empty meant casting some fun spells and less need for desks. Or that people would stand. He remembered one class where Rae stood for most of it if he remembered correctly. He was sure it would work out.

He just hoped he didn't have to spend the whole class defending his tray with the broken clock on it.

Well, she certainly hoped she wouldn't be standing for the whole class. The last time it had happened, even leaving the lesson at the end, she hadn't been able to figure out why. They hadn't done anything that had warranted giving her legs the extra exercise. They'd hardly done anything at all. It had been a pretty standard transfiguration lesson with notes and questions, then a bit of spell practice.

Rae walked into the classroom with her nose buried in her Dark Arts textbook. Exams were in two weeks, and she'd fallen a little behind on her review for the subject.

A lot had been happening, and it had made it harder for her to focus despite the solace she now took in her schoolwork. It was an unfortunate paradox. Thoughts drove her toward her studies, and more thoughts made it harder for her to then focus. There were very few things that worked anymore, and they were...not...going over the notes she happened to take during her lessons.

Only two weeks to go.

After that, she'd at least be able to let that one spect of her life fall away. Perhaps with less to juggle, the noise inside her head wouldn't be so great.

Dark eyes caught sight of Bear's desk when she glanced up to ensure she didn't stumble into a desk. Curiosity piqued, she lowered the book and craned her neck to have a better look."Hey, Bear, what'cha up to?"

More clocks, obviously.

Ever didn’t want to be here. Honestly, she didn’t want to be anywhere.

Sleep was a thing of the past. If she was blessed with 3 hours total, in 30 to 45 minute increments, it was a miracle. Night terrors waking her up at all hours, which by default woke up her dorm mates. There were some nights she retreated to a couch in the common room, feeling bad for all the screaming.

It didn’t make sense. Sure, she had been kidnapped and tortured by the Astronomy Professor. She vividly remembers almost tossing herself out of the tower window. Did she want to? No. Did her body obey her mind and bring herself to safety? Also no. Having no control of your body was a horrifying feeling.

The dreams usually involved the screaming of Rae and Maevie. Fresh and real in her mind, but there was other screaming. It was male, and guttural. It made no sense. It wasn’t the other adults that had entered the tower. It wasn’t Thayer, but it was like she was there in the room with the man in agony.

Walking into Transfiguration, she looked for a spot in the back, not caring if she payed attention or passed at this point. All she wanted to do was survive the rest of the term and go home. Home was safe. The flying chalk didn’t impress her anymore. The magic they were learning didn’t even pull her attention to the lesson at hand. No, Ever just sat in her seat, with her head down looking at her journal. Scribbled words, nonsensical ramblings, scratchy drawings of her nightmares.

Everything was wrong. Nothing made sense.

Note: for the sake of the story and whatnot, I’ll be using an NPC for the demonstration. Image reference below

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Etain waited with serene patience for her students to arrive, meanwhile walking the width of the room at the front while Eris watched. Her fingers moved through the air, which, if anyone were paying attention, could discern a mixture of numbers and letters. Voicelessly, she seemed to be computing something aloud as she turned, pointing to and fro all the while tapping her chin in between silent calculations. After a minute of this, the woman nodded soundly, looked over all her students, and smiled.

“Hello, everyone, and welcome to another day in the Hall of Transfiguration. Today will be a special one as we look at Conjuration Magic.”

As if by clockwork, Castor and Pollux wrote the topic on the chalkboard.

“Conjuration is an advanced subbranch within Transfiguration and, by traditional definition, allows one to transfigure a given object from thin air. This form of magic is considered more difficult than Transformation, Switching, and Vanishment, and is only exceeded in difficulty by Human Transfiguration.”

The raven-haired woman looked over the class a moment as the enchanted chalk wrote bullet points.

“Normally, the magic that comes to mind when defensive spells are mentioned is Charms. Charms Magic has quite an array of spells, which is its strength, but also its weakness, in that duelists habitually rely on Charms for their every need. Therefore, today, I give you two shielding spells that might be of benefit to add to your already varied repertoire. Being that they are Conjuring, I don’t expect everyone to be able to cast them, but you’re notes may prove beneficial in the years ahead.”

“The first spell is Declino Potenta, which conjures a mirror-like barrier that can deflect, or rather, reflect spells, back toward their point of origin. This includes petrifaction, elemental, and other energy-based spells. Due to the nature of the barrier, it can only deflect two, though Transfiguration masters have used it to deflect multiple barrages. It is ineffective against matter-based spells, such as bird, flower, and snake conjurations. It is partly effective in blocking spells whose area of effect is wide or conic. To cast it, you point the wand before you.”

“The second spell is Creo Magic Arma. To cast, you hold the wand before you, following it with a light flick at the end of the incantation. This spell creates a magical, armor-like barrier around the caster, strong enough to absorb several spells before dissipating. It works quite effectively against energy-based spells, for example, fire and lightning, and takes the brunt of non-energy based like petrifaction and boils.”

“And to demonstrate how these spells work, I’ll be requisitioning a volunteer.” Etain’s emerald eyes twinkled as she said that. It almost looked mischievous. “Mister Battersea, it you would do me the honor… are there any questions from the class?”

---

Ever since his mother had come to Hogwarts, Vailintín Kade Battersea had actually stopped getting into trouble. He loved his mother dearly, but with her here, she was an outright menace. The Fifth Year Ravenclaw had been quiet, keeping his head down, doing his work, not causing any form of ruckus for fear of that woman appearing out of nowhere.

Despite this, he attended Transfiguration; it was his favorite subject. He even enjoyed the way she taught it, even if her methods ranged from overly traditional to slightly whimsical. He was quite sure his father had influenced this. Regardless, things were going fine as he sat there, taking notes, seated beside his red-headed twin sister. Everything, in fact, was going fine until he heard his surname being called. The boy blinked, looked at his sister who mouthed the words ‘that’s you’ and looked back at his mother with the same green eyes from whom he inherited them.

Mouth slightly agape, he stood up slowly and headed to the front. This would be one to tell the family for sure…

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Vailintín Kade Battersea



Class will update on the 20th