Post by Professor Thaddeus Wiggleswade on Aug 12, 2015 16:58:51 GMT -6
As was his wont, Thaddeus wore his dragon hide dueling robes to his advanced Defense Against the Dark Arts classes. They were sturdy, slightly spell-resistant, and gave him plenty of movement due to the cut . They were tight around his chest but still flexible, full-sleeved, also loose but not so loose that he could get snagged on something, and splits in the sides that allowed a free range of movement. Underneath he wore a dragon hide vest and dragon hide leather pants, for extra protection. That was as necessary in a classroom full of undisciplined teenagers as it was amongst the professionals of the dueling circuit. Perhaps more, even.
Thaddeus stood at the front of the class while the students entered and took their seats. His classroom was the same as ever, stark, with nothing on the stone walls and only the big windows on the right side of the door giving a touch of color – the green of the grass and the blue of the sky, with Snowy Vale visible in the distance if one had good eyes. Thaddeus’ desk stood to the left of the blackboard as soon from the door, empty as always because he did not wish anything on it to fall victim to a stray spell. The rows of desks were all in front of the blackboard and steadily filling with students. On the left side of the door, where in any normal classroom there would be a wall, the Defense classroom stretched out over the length of two more classrooms. The extra room was taken up by five small dueling platforms – the size beginners used in the official dueling circuit – and Thaddeus planned to make good use of that space this lesson. He was still pleased that he had managed to convince the Headmistress in his first year here to invest in the dueling platforms.
At the exact moment the class started, Thaddeus gave his wand a wave and the door banged shut. Another flick of his wand locked the door. “I expect everyone to be on time. Those who are not are locked out and can have the embarrassment of having to knock. You have been warned.” And any student who was tardy and had to knock would immediately earn a detention. Do it twice and they wouldn’t be taking his class anymore. They were no longer young enough to not know any better. Thaddeus expected a lot from his students and being on time was one of those things.
Thaddeus let his eyes slide over his students. “All of you have gotten good enough grades to be here, or if you didn’t take Defense Against the Dark Arts before you managed to pass my entrance test to get into this class . This means you are all good enough to be here. Make sure you stay that way, because if you do not prove to me each and every lesson that you deserve to be here, I have no problems kicking you out of my classroom.” Thaddeus supposed many of his students would be horrified by this, if they hadn’t known his policies for his advanced class yet, but it was necessary. The material he would be covering could be dangerous if not handled properly.
“Now, in today’s class, we will be starting non-verbal casting. This means you will fire off spells without speaking them,” Thaddeus said, diving straight into the lesson. It was up to the students to keep up, they were now old enough that he could stop pandering to them without drawing the ire of Merry. “This will give you a slight advantage in a duel, for your opponent will not know exactly what it is you have cast. This doesn’t mean, however, that they are completely clueless. Can anyone tell me how you can identify a non-verbal spell and what the limitations of this identification method are?”
Thaddeus stood at the front of the class while the students entered and took their seats. His classroom was the same as ever, stark, with nothing on the stone walls and only the big windows on the right side of the door giving a touch of color – the green of the grass and the blue of the sky, with Snowy Vale visible in the distance if one had good eyes. Thaddeus’ desk stood to the left of the blackboard as soon from the door, empty as always because he did not wish anything on it to fall victim to a stray spell. The rows of desks were all in front of the blackboard and steadily filling with students. On the left side of the door, where in any normal classroom there would be a wall, the Defense classroom stretched out over the length of two more classrooms. The extra room was taken up by five small dueling platforms – the size beginners used in the official dueling circuit – and Thaddeus planned to make good use of that space this lesson. He was still pleased that he had managed to convince the Headmistress in his first year here to invest in the dueling platforms.
At the exact moment the class started, Thaddeus gave his wand a wave and the door banged shut. Another flick of his wand locked the door. “I expect everyone to be on time. Those who are not are locked out and can have the embarrassment of having to knock. You have been warned.” And any student who was tardy and had to knock would immediately earn a detention. Do it twice and they wouldn’t be taking his class anymore. They were no longer young enough to not know any better. Thaddeus expected a lot from his students and being on time was one of those things.
Thaddeus let his eyes slide over his students. “All of you have gotten good enough grades to be here, or if you didn’t take Defense Against the Dark Arts before you managed to pass my entrance test to get into this class . This means you are all good enough to be here. Make sure you stay that way, because if you do not prove to me each and every lesson that you deserve to be here, I have no problems kicking you out of my classroom.” Thaddeus supposed many of his students would be horrified by this, if they hadn’t known his policies for his advanced class yet, but it was necessary. The material he would be covering could be dangerous if not handled properly.
“Now, in today’s class, we will be starting non-verbal casting. This means you will fire off spells without speaking them,” Thaddeus said, diving straight into the lesson. It was up to the students to keep up, they were now old enough that he could stop pandering to them without drawing the ire of Merry. “This will give you a slight advantage in a duel, for your opponent will not know exactly what it is you have cast. This doesn’t mean, however, that they are completely clueless. Can anyone tell me how you can identify a non-verbal spell and what the limitations of this identification method are?”
