Defence Lesson #1 - Let's hope for the best [Vash and any other 5th years]

Aldrich wouldn't admit it - or show it - but he was nervous. He wasn't a teacher; he had no formal or even informal training in to the ways of teaching, just common sense and an extensive knowledge of applied defence against the dark arts. However, he did know what it was like to be a teacher and he had a feeling that those fifth years in there would eat him alive, that or lock him in a cage and go feral, like some sort of homage to Lord Of The Flies.

Subconsciously, he defended himself against this, hand gripping his cane so hard that his nuckles were white, he wouldn't show them any weakness for them to latch upon; they would do as they were told and they would learn.

Taking a deep breath, he walked over to the door and opened it, "You may enter," He said sharply and they all trudged in to the room slowly, as apathetic teenagers always do.

"I'm your Professor," He said, flicking his wand at the chalk, which levitated and wrote on the board in neat writing 'Professor A. Beilschmidt.' "Today we will be doing a series of tests, just so I can see what level you're at, mostly practical tests." He looked around at them, "Before we begin, does anyone have any questions?" He asked, bracing himself for the worst and staring out at them, arms folded. Who knew what their minds could come up with? "I won't answer any more personal questions after ten minutes from now."

A few hands went up and he glanced through the crowds. "You," He pointed to a random student.

Defense seemed, of all the classes that had been put on his roster, like one of the more useful ones. Not necessarily against dark arts (though after seeing what had happened to his uncle it wouldn't hurt), but defense in general was something Vash had always felt strongly about. Back when he had gone to public school he'd needed it whenever the older students would come his way. And in the years he'd lived with Nan and Gran, the defense he'd been taught magically had been applied to very practical but very not dark things, and generally weren't meant to inflict real damage on anything.

Vash shuffled into the room at the end of the group, unable to straggle anymore without starting over at the end of the hall. One quick glance at the professor, however, gave him a small hint that it wouldn't be advisable. As everyone began to settle in, Vash spaced himself a few feet from everyone else, keeping his eyes on the teacher as the chalk began to write for him.

Any questions? There were tons. Vash raised his hand briefly and immediately considered saying 'nevermind' as the teacher looked his way. "Nn.... The defense lessons," Vash asked quietly, looking down at the floor for a moment. "If we are at mixed levels, whill you be starting the lesson from the easiest end so others can catch up, or go with strictly what's due for students of that year?"

Aldrich had to admit; he was surprised. The question the younf boy had asked was actually very intellegent and deserved an answer. It was certianly much better than the questions he had been expecting; questions about his personal life (probably because this way a Ravenclaw heavy class; Gryffindors would probably be much more nosy). However... it was something he hadn't thought about. No matter, he could think on his feet. "That is a good question, Mr..." He stared at the boy, waiting for him to fill in the blanks.

"This first lesson, I'm intending to do a test with you," He paused as the class groaned, well, they didn't have to like it. "From this, I can see where the bottom of the class is and where the top of the class is; after that I'll probably split you in to two, the higher abilty and the lower ability. You will all learn the set topics on the syllabus, but usng different meathods and with different amounts of help." He explained. That siounded pretty good actually, he fely smart.

"I hope that answers your question." He nodded to the boy politely.

Daniel was waiting patiently amongst his fellow Gryffindors for their teacher to let them in. He was nervous, excited, scared, and confident at the same time. Back home, Defense Against the Dark Arts was one of his best favorite subjects. He has always been interested in both the theory and applying of spells. He had a small collection of DADA-related books in his trunk. Back when he was smaller his classmates teased him a lot for being a nerd and being obsessed with studying. Having friends who also had good marks made them a very appealing target for bullies. Ever since he defended a friend of his with a spell learned in DADA class, Daniel came to love it.

That's why, when the door opened, Daniel walked in with a confident stride, eager to get to know the Professor who would be teaching his favorite subject. At the first glance the Professor seemed like a strict, but extremely experienced and knowledgeable man. He was listening to the professor talk about his plans for the lesson and nodded. It looked like he knew what he was doing. He listened to his fellow Gryffindor's question. (Vash? Bash? Something like that.) That was a good question. He listened to the Prof.'s answer. And that was a good answer. Daniel was liking this Prof. more and more.

He raised his hand, waiting for the Prof. to look at him. "Will most of our lessons be practical, or will we be studying theory too?" he asked, interested. Either was fine with him really, but he would prefer practical lessons. He looked at the Prof., waiting for his answer.

(( Okay, after this, the running order will go Vash -> Daniel -> Ald. Does anyone have any problems with that? ))

The students were asking what were actually some very interesting and intelligent questions. So inteligent, in fact, that he didn't know the answer to them, and found himself having to think about the next question for a moment before he answered, but it was easy enough to logic out. "Well, a simple theory course would be boring and extremely unhelpful. He explained, leaning on his desk, "And a full practical course would be dangerous. I intend the course to be relatively even, though if possible, more practical would be good, as I find practical work more interesting, okay?" There, nice and logical.

"Are there any more questions?" He waited and replied to the few that he was given.

"Right, the first part of this lesson is a practical assessment based around defensive spells. Please get in to pairs, and then tell me your names. Label yourself 'A' and 'B'. A's, you are shooting tickling hexes at B's. Fire only 20 shots, and count how many your partner deflects. No cheating." He said firmly. He remembered doing this when he had been in school, and it would be a good test, "Use whatever deflection spell you see fit."

"Now, each of you tell me your names," He instructed, the chalk hovering to attention to write the names when the time came, "At the end your partner will write your score on the board. If you cheat, the chalk will turn red, so don't even try." It wouldn't, but it was a convenient and easy lie.