By Thursday, Basil was pleased with how the week of joint classes had gone between Transfiguration and Defense Against the Dark Arts. Despite a few little hiccups here and there, from which both he and Gus had pulled a few lessons learned, he figured he liked the idea and would be keen to repeat it again. By this point in the week, as he made his way down toward the Forbidden Forest, most of his NEWT students knew what they were in for having heard rumblings from the introductory and OWL students. He had high hopes for them however, and was interested to see what strategic thinking might be spurred on this cold, overcast afternoon. The weather had certainly held up much better earlier in the week and it was all Basil could do to hope that it might hold out just one more afternoon. (Though the rain would certainly add another level of difficulty to the challenge, he didn’t himself particularly want to stand out here for two hours grading them in it…)

When both classes had gathered, Basil turned to address them as he had all the rest. “Good afternoon to our NEWT Transfiguration and Defense Against the Dark Arts classes. As I’m sure you’ve already heard, or guessed, today’s lesson will deviate a bit from the norm in that we will be undertaking a practical field study. Consider it a sort of test and please pair off, or form groups of up to three.” He made a vague gesture and pulled the example flag from his pocket.

“This is an example of the type of flag each group will be required to retrieve. There are a number of them spread across the forest in difficult to retrieve locations, unable to be summoned or easily identified by magic, and will require you to be creative in your attempts to locate and keep a hold of them.” The purple piece of fabric in Basil’s hand twitched to life and began to dart about, slipping from his grasp and racing off into the woods. The brunette cracked a grin as it went. “You will be required to use your not-inconsiderable knowledge in both subjects to retrieve them and report back to Professor Lissington and I. Please too keep in mind while we are out here that these woods are home not only to the friendly sort of creature. Be respectful of your environment, keep alert, and if anything dangerous occurs-- please shoot up a string of red sparks and either Professor Lissington or I,” or both, realistically “will come to assist you.

We will indicate the end of the lesson with the sound of a gong and expect each of you to return to the castle promptly, after checking in and giving a brief summary of your experience. I do not expect everyone will retrieve a flag, but to fail to do so will result in a failing mark. Any questions?”
 

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