October 5, 1892 - Defence Against the Dark Arts classroom

Despite being a Wednesday, Gus couldn’t help but cover his mouth with his hand as he yawned. It had been a long day so far and he knew how chatty his OWL students could be; they had known each other for a few years and despite being back in school for almost two weeks still had a lot to catch up on. He remembered those days fondly. Still, he managed to smile at most of them who entered the room, missing only a few who’d slipped in while he was answering a question someone had asked.

When the time came to start, Gus grinned at them. “Before we get to the spell, we need to learn about the creature.” Last year he’d brought his O.W.L students a boggart and it hadn’t gone over well and then there had been that Hinkypunk incident…  so while he would have enjoyed bringing one in for them to see he thought better of it. “Grindylows are known to be quite mean.”

Gus chuckled quietly before he continued. “Now, you might find one near the black lake, and perhaps once you’ve all properly learned how to defend against one we’ll take a walk down there to see if we can find one.” He nearly shrugged; Professor Foxwood would have a heart attack if he knew Gus was willingly putting them into harm’s way - not that he would allow any of them to actually get hurt on his watch. “Any idea what classification a Grindylow has been given by the ministry? And what the classification actually means?” The young professor asked as he leaned back against his desk.

---

  

---

Henry liked Defense Against the Dark Arts and he was pretty good at it too. Now in his Fifth Year Henry knew classes will be much harder but he was ready for the challenge. In fact the more he had to study and practice the better. Not only did he like the subject matter he also liked Professor Lissington. He had an easy going way about him which was a nice change from the more strict Professors.

As soon as he entered the classroom, Henry headed for his customary seat in the class, seeing no reason to change since his first year. He chatted a bit with his friends till Professor Lissington called the class to order. Turning to face front, Henry couldn't help but smile back at the friendly grin on the professor's face.

He pulled out his 5th Year DADA text and set it on his desk as well as his quill and a clean sheet of paper. Henry liked to take notes and pay attention in this class, in most classes actually. Studious was one thing he was known to be. As soon as the professor named the creature they will be learning about, Henry quickly jotted it down on his paper before returning his full attention to Professor Lissington.

Henry had heard of Grindylows, nasty little water creatures that could pull you under the water to drown if you weren't careful. He wasn't sure on the classification but he had a feeling it wasn't too high. Definitely not as dangerous as dragons or manticores but more harmful than say a puffskein. He itched to just check the text, he was certain it would be in there.

Deciding he could guess pretty well, giving what he already knew about the water creatures, Henry raised his hand.

  

---

set by Bee

“You mean you don’t have one here?” Jimmy asked in loud disappointment, disregarding the actual question posed and scanning the room critically. (Professor Lissington had more patience than most of ‘em, anyway, so he wasn’t too worried about derailing things.)

After the dragon infestation, or maybe because he’d gotten used to his new elective class Care of Magical Creatures, Jimmy had grown to like having living, breathing, occasionally chaos-causing creatures in class to distract him – he was even a nightmare in Transfiguration sometimes for this very reason.

Classes without them suddenly seemed very boring. Maybe that was the Grindylows’ classification. B for Boring. Even Professor Lissington was yawning, so.

---

  

---

Grindylows, Grindylows, Grindylows. If only Millie could remember if she had finished the required reading that talked about Grindylows. She certainly remembered seeing the terrifying face in the illustration of the textbook, wild hair waving around a split, sharp-toothed maw. The same shudder rippled down her spine as it had last night, when the young lady had strategically placed the cover of her novel over the hideous creature staring back at her from the pages.

To her terror today, Millie realized she had never moved the book to read the section on Grindylows after all.

The expression on her face darkened, looking down sourly at her desk. She couldn't see through it, or the bag underneath, but Millie knew A Muggle in Wizard Merlin's Court was still in somewhere in there. Her shoulders slumped with a sigh, and she looked up, wishing someone else would have the answer ready.

Lucky for her, someone did. A fifth year sitting ahead of her, she didn't know the names of most upperclassmen in her OWL classes yet, had his hand raised. And, the young lady noted, the textbook out on his desk. Well, good for him, Millie thought dourly, only wishing she had thought of it first somehow. A quick peak in the right section would have made her look a little better in front of Professor Lissington.

Then maybe he would shine that flashy smile on her.

The young lady's cheeks burned, and she cast her eyes away for propriety's sake. On that note, another student was talking out of turn, and Millie cast her hot glare his way. He could have at least raised a hand first to act like it mattered at all. Millie, herself, didn't always like raising hers and drawing the attention of the whole class. Still, it was the least someone could do to help a professor keep order in their class.

"Why would you want a beast like that in class here, Mr. Fletcher?" She blurted out at the disruptive Gryffindor boy. At once, Millie cast her eyes back down to her desk again, the muscles in her legs pulled taut while she pressed her lips together in abashed silence. A thumb traced the inside of the silver chain on her neck, fidgeting nervously and wishing the professor would just call on the fifth year with his hand raised.

He clearly had a better answer than she did.

---

The following 2 users Like Millie Potts's post:2 users Like Millie Potts's post
   Greta Gillenwater, James Fletcher

---

Gus liked his OWL students; they were attentive for sure, even if they could get a little distracted like Mr. Fletcher. (It didn’t help that he was the easiest professor ever to get off track, only because he liked to talk about well…everything and anything.) His eyes flicked to Miss Potts first, who had an answer before he could even formulate one; she did have a point, although he would have much preferred to have a creature in the room. Oh boy was he going to be in for a surprise when he found the final exam at the end of the year was an entire obstacle course filled with creatures on loan from the Ministry. Well, that was a surprise months away. He nodded at her as his lips quipped into a smile.

Then his eyes turned toward the third year – he was a decent kid, but there was always one who wanted excitement in class. (Gus had been that kind of student too.). “I’m afraid not, Mr. Fletcher. Was told I can’t have creatures in the room after the hinkypunk incident last year.” Where he’d knocked the damn thing off his desk and almost burnt the classroom down. Gus shrugged. “Plus we wouldn’t want anyone to get hurt without knowing how to properly defend themselves, correct?” He arched an eyebrow at him, almost in a challenge; had he wanted to scare him, he may have shot a spell at him for fun, just to get his point across. Luckily for Mr. Fletcher though, Gus wasn’t a mean person.

He turned his attention toward the young Gryffindor with his hand raised. Mr. Thompsett was a smart kid; he took guesses even when he wasn’t sure, so when his hand shot into the air, the professor leaned back on his desk and nodded at him. “Alright Mr. Thompsett, what do you think?”

---

  

---

Henry flicked his eyes towards the two Third Years who didn't wait their turn to speak but it was quickly revealed they weren't answering the Professor's question, just voicing their own thoughts. He knew Professor Lissington wouldn't punish them for talking out of turn, in fact he rarely gave out punishments at all. Overall a very easy going Professor compared to some of the others and Henry did like him. There was an air of fun around him which made it easy to just be himself while in class.

He remembered the last creatures the professor had brought into class, the whole Hinkypunk incident had been both fascinating and scary, especially after the Professor knocked it off his desk and the hinkypunk's lantern broke and spread flaming oil all over the place. Despite the danger of being burned in the fire, it had been a very interesting class and a fine lesson on being careful not to knock over lanterns, whether held by a hinkypunk or just setting on a table.

When Professor Lissington called on him to answer, Henry smiled. "Thank you Professor. I believe the Grindylow's are classified as double X, which means they aren't considered dangerous to wizards."

The following 1 user Likes Henry Thompsett's post:1 user Likes Henry Thompsett's post
   Gus Lissington

---

set by Bee

The hinkypunk incident, now there was a creature that deserved a stern classification. She had tried so hard to forget the incident last year, it had been among the more memorable parts of a miserable year for Millie. The thought of being led astray by the marsh creature, who looked perfectly friendly at first, seemed almost preferable to meeting one of the grindylow creatures right now. She didn't have to be taught that a grindylow was dangerous, she could see that right away.

"...they aren't considered dangerous to wizards."

Her head swiveled to look at Mr. Thompsett, as the professor had named him. The fifth year boy seemed to know what he was talking about, and it set Millie's face with a furrowed brow in confusion. The why seemed like an unassailable question to ask, lest the young witch reveal her lack of preparation for the class today. She could, perhaps, get by with a different kind of question.

Millie raised her hand this time, hoping to restore her reputation. It was an odd gesture anyway for the ordinarily-quiet girl. She felt quite strongly about this one, however, feeling unsatisfied with the classification of grindylows. She couldn't be the only one. In the meantime, the young witch began to pen her notes on the subject, adding her own question in the margins in case it took a very long time for Professor Lissington to call on her.

Grindylow ~ Classification XX ^{How is this formulated?}

---

  

---

There was always someone keen to ruin his fun before he’d even had any, and it wasn’t even always the professor in the room. This time it wasn’t even Greta Gillyweed, but the dulcet tones of Miss Potts. The dumbest Ravenclaw he’d ever met, Jimmy thought, pushing his nose up at her in silent response; he didn’t get a chance to bite out an actual comeback before Lissington had broken it up.

Why would you want one in class? She’d asked. We wouldn’t want anyone to get hurt, would we? Said the professor. “Why wouldn’t we?” Jimmy mumbled sourly, as under his breath as he could make it, because he fancied that would be enough to cause an uproar or lose him a few points.

Instead he waited for the proper answer, and as soon as Thompsett classified it, Jimmy threw up both hands in outrage and gave a loud, grumpy huff. “Well if that’s right and they ain’t even considered dangerous, what’s the problem?!” he pointed out. What kinda defending would they need to do if there was one in here? XX, or whatever! He could sick one on Miss Potts and even she’d probably be fine. This all made mind-bogglingly little sense to him.

---

The following 3 users Like James Fletcher's post:3 users Like James Fletcher's post
   Anne Moony, Greta Gillenwater, Millie Potts

---

Anne was one lesson away from dinner and then quidditch practice. She was too hungry and too antsy for the idiocy of Jimmy Fletcher this afternoon. Granted, there wasn't a situation she could think of where she would be in the mood for Fletcher. He wasn't wrong about the grindylow, though. Anne smirked from her seat next to Miss Potts before tapping the drawing of the water demon in her open textbook. "He's just sore because he's missing his own kind. See? Fletcher looks just like him." Anne spoke it loud enough for the obnoxious boy to hear but wasn't foolish enough to let her voice carry to the front of the room. Riling up Fletcher was fun, but it wasn't worth a scolding. Maybe.

---

WC: 125
James Fletcher Millie Potts

The following 3 users Like Anne Moony's post:3 users Like Anne Moony's post
   Greta Gillenwater, James Fletcher, Millie Potts

---

MJ about made me cry with this one!
Thread Log

It was hard not to hear Jimmy Fletcher's opinion on Grindylows, and he wasn't even the professor. The young witch felt her ears growing numb at his constant interjections, as if raising his hand was such a difficult concept. For a moment, she closed her eyes, trying to find something more pleasant to think about. The memory of the creature on her page flashed in her mind's eye, and Millie quickly opened them again, gladly welcoming the sight of the classroom around her.

"He's just sore because he's missing his own kind." The voice next to her shook Millie out of her brief flight of fancy, calling her attention to the open textbook page. There again, the devilish creature stared back at her, taunting, and she tried to look only long enough to hear Anne say, "See? Fletcher looks just like him."

Millie brought her hand to cover her mouth, pressing tightly to muffle the involuntary giggles that threatened to disrupt the class in the style she hated. Her eyes dazzled at the Slytherin's wit, crinkling above her covered lips. When the young witch could feel assured no sound would come out again, she let go, lowering her question hand back down to the desk.

"Well, that answers my question then." She kept her voice low, stealing a glance over at the errant Mr. Fletcher. Her lips burst again into a grin, but no more than that. Leaning close to Anne, Millie quietly whispered as she added to her notes, "Think a Banishing Charm would work on him, too? "

Grindylow ~ Classification XX ~ Mr. Fletcher's kind

---

James Fletcher Anne Moony

---

The following 2 users Like Millie Potts's post:2 users Like Millie Potts's post
   Anne Moony, James Fletcher

---

Well, now he really did want someone to get hurt in the room, and it might as well be Anne Moony, because Anne Moony was always crying out to be punched. (If he punched girls, that was. He’d only ever hit Billie back when Billie had gone about like a boy.) Still, Moony just had to stick her nose in everywhere, didn’t she? He’d heard her comment, and it had amused Miss Potts because they were both grinning now, but he didn’t hear anything else they said – and he didn’t throw anything at them, much as he wanted to.

Instead, all he did was pull the most horrendous face he could muster and directed it at their desks, pulling out his cheeks and lolling out his tongue like he was a grindylow or some other monstrous creature.

But after that he bent his head down quickly to his own textbook, mulling over a multitude of ways to wreak vengeance later. (So grindylows might not be dangerous... but if he could fish one up from the lake himself, maybe he’d stick it in someone’s schoolbag and see how they did.)

Anyway, if Lissington were a real good teacher, he’d give him five points for being such a model of restraint.

---

The following 3 users Like James Fletcher's post:3 users Like James Fletcher's post
   Anne Moony, Greta Gillenwater, Millie Potts

---

Greta had made it her mission in life to sit next to Jimmy whenever she could - because he seemed intent on losing them house points at every turn and while, granted he did occasionally win them points at Quidditch so far they had yet to win either the Quidditch Cup or the House Cup and Greta was somewhat convinced that it was solely because she couldn't control Jimmy, or his antics. If he'd just behave well then it would be a completely different story.

She had hoped it had matured in the summer - they were third years now and sitting with the OWL students - blink and then they'd actually sitting for their OWLs, and then their NEWTS and then they'd be proper adults! He really ought to start behaving now. She pursed her lips through his entire digression - though mostly had kept her mouth shut as it seemed today somebody else was intent on correcting him. She waited until it seemed the conversation had drawn to a close and hissed:

“Jimmy stop interrupting Professor Lissington. If you'd only listen and stop interrupting you'd find out.”

---

The following 1 user Likes Greta Gillenwater's post:1 user Likes Greta Gillenwater's post
   Millie Potts

---

Thanks go to the marvelous MJ for her sensational set.

It seemed like no matter how many years passed, kids were bound to be mean to each other. Gus wasn’t sure what was happening in the back of his classroom, but he was determined to get this back on track. (It was times like this that he wasn’t even sure he liked being a professor, but somehow he powered through each day.) He did smile and nod at Mr. Thompsett. “Yes. Good. Grindylows are double X creatures, although they are dark and dangerous, especially toward other creatures.”

At Mr. Fletcher’s outburst, Gus raised an eyebrow at him. “If a Grindylow would come in right now, I’m afraid most of you wouldn’t know how to defend against one.” And then it seemed like something was going on as he pulled a bunch of faces at Miss Potts and Miss Moony. At least Ms. Gillenwater seemed somewhat interested in his class.

He sighed and raked his fingers through his hair. “I wanted to take you all down to the lake after perfecting the spell in the next few weeks, but I’m not sure that’s going to go well with how you’re acting. So, how about you take your books out and read about the Grindylows, and we can evaluate tomorrow?”

---

The following 3 users Like Gus Lissington's post:3 users Like Gus Lissington's post
   Anne Moony, Greta Gillenwater, Millie Potts

---

Henry nodded when the Professor confirmed his answer had been right. His moment of joy at having the Professor's attention faded when Fletcher complained rather rudely. Sighing, he hoped Fletcher's outspokenness wouldn't cause them to lose points especially after Henry had likely won them a few with his answer.

Henry wasn't close enough to Potts or Moony to hear what the girls were saying but he was certain it had to do with Fletcher's rather loud comment. He had grown used to Fletchers rather loud and energetic nature though he did find him tiring after awhile. Being on the Quidditch team meant he spent far more time around the overly excitable Third year than he would otherwise but he couldn't deny he was a pretty good Keeper.

When Professor Lissington suggested they just read about Grindylows in their book and how best to defend against them, Henry sighed. He had hoped the Professor would demonstrate the best way to defend against the creatures in class, instead of just having them read about it. As he was already on the page in his text, Henry turned his attention to his book and started reading.

  

---

set by Bee