And the Root of All Evil III
Jun. 30th, 2008 06:49 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
subplotkudzuThis one concludes the 1st gaming session for Book 2, since we spent the first third of the session finishing up Book 1.
Chapter 3: Method & Music
It isn’t long before the first Defense Against the Dark Arts class, and the students are keen to see what their famous new professor is like. He’s dressed in a casual, contemporary style, his robes open as more of a cloak, revealing slacks and a shirt that’s unbuttoned at the collar. After the class settles down he grabs a chair, spins it, straddles it, and starts a casual conversation.
“Good morning. I’m Professor Night. As you know, this is my first time as a teacher, and you might have some questions about my skill in the subject. So I’ll make a deal with you – I’ll provide you with some of my history so that you have some confidence in me as a teacher, and in return you won’t spend class time asking about what I do when I’m not a teacher. I’ll be in my office all afternoon this Saturday to answer questions about my previous work so that we can get all of that out of the way, and for the rest of the year we can focus on learning and teaching the Defense Against the Dark Arts. Sound fair? Good.
“Now, my half of the bargain: what makes me think I can teach this class? After all, your last professor was an Auror, and I would be vastly egotistical to think that I am in her caliber. However, I am a quick study, and have been immersing myself in the subject for the last several months. We’re using a good, solid, reliable text with plenty of examples, and I’m inheriting the teaching schedules from the last two professors. So we have a solid foundation underneath us.
“In addition, it’s not my first time dealing with the topic. About a decade ago I was the lead in Against the Headhunters of Borneo, and to prepare I spent eight months living with Witch Doctors in Africa, learning how to identify and counter hexes and curses and how to battle the monsters of the Dark Continent. It’s not training as an Auror, but I have clocked some field time on the topic.” Night’s affable, relaxed confidence fills the room, bringing the students to his way of thinking.
“Now, according to the seven year plan, we’ll be spending this year learning about basic Creatures of the Dark Arts, things both intelligent and malevolent. Any objection to taking a moment to learn a basic protective charm before we crack open the books?” At the room’s vigorous agreement Night smiles an ingratiating, natural grin. “I thought not. I will need a volunteer.”
Jasmyn’s hand flies up, and she is called to the front of the class and handed a beanbag. Night continues, “This is actually more useful against Muggles than most creatures of the Dark Arts, but it’s still useful. It’s a charm that robs anything flying at you of its speed.
“Miss Fontaine, could you throw that at me?” She winds up, and the professor spins his wand, yelling “richio.” The hurled bag does indeed drop out of the air about a foot from him landing with a gentle thud. “See? It won’t protect you from hexes, charms, fire or liquids, but it is a simple shield against thrown rocks, manticore spikes and even clouds of insects, and it lasts about a half an hour per casting. There’s a greater version of the spell that I’ll demonstrate but won’t teach today that makes the object rebound with more force than it had coming in. If you stick with me through the whole year we’ll cover it in the last class.”
He tosses the bag back to Jasmyn, “Miss Fontaine, if you would be so kind as to try again? And everyone else, duck.” She winds up and hurls with all of her strength as Night repeats the spell, with a complex flick of his wrist at the end. The beanbag gets to within four centimeters of him before rebounds, ricocheting around the classroom before nailing Lachlan on the back of the head. Over the class’s laughter Professor Night distributes a handful of beanbags and pairs them up for a quick practice session before they crack open the books in the second half of the class.
When the class ends Night takes a moment to greet Jasmyn, Juliet and the Dees, remembering them from their encounter last month at the Marlow. The kids are effusive in their praise of the first class, but he quizzes them on how a real Hogwarts professor, like Snape or McGonnagal, might have done it. Before they can get too much into an analysis of his work Knarlhump appears with a crack and begins pestering the professor about his production duties: the need for auditions, how Manny needs for access to the school and so on. The house elf’s voice causes a nearby plant to curl up as a defensive measure.
Night does his best to deflect this, eventually ordering Knarlhump to join the school’s house elves. “Hogwarts professors don’t have personal servants,” he declares, as if this statement of character reality would settle the issue. It doesn’t, but Knarlhump leaves shortly thereafter. It’s clear to the kids that there’s a question as to who Knarlhump works for – is it Night or Manny? One thing is clear: when Knarlhump is around Night is no longer relaxed or affable, looking more like a man holding chaos at bay through sheer force of personality.
The first meeting of the school band occurs that afternoon atop Ravenclaw tower – it’s too soon for any new first year recruits so the band remains at three: Daisy (Violin), Juliet (Flute), Flitwick (sousaphone) and an animated piano. Their warm up numbers work fine, and then Flitwick asks for one of Daisy’s compositions. The prefect produces one she worked out over the summer, designed to foster good feelings in the school.
The group begins, and the spell resonates properly off the crystal spheres, echoing across the school and carrying with it the subtle magical effect. To their amazement, a fifth instrument kicks in – pan pipes coming from the edge of the Forest. Daisy (who is using her wand as a bow) cast her clairvoyance spell to scry the distant figure. It’s a centaur: palomino, blonde hair, blue eyes, handsome face, broad chest, obviously enraptured by the music, and Daisy feels just a wee bit enraptured by him. More importantly, he’s filling in parts of the piece that Daisy hadn’t realized were empty.
At the song’s end Flitwick is delighted, trying to get a good look at their new member, (who quickly vanished into the forest). He wonders if he could convince the centaur to join the band, though admittedly the stairs to the practice space might be a problem….
That night over dinner Juliet & Castor discuss what they know of the Crypt Raider play with some other students. Their tale is roundly disbelieved; some of the students even scoff! “As if something like that could ever happen here at Hogwarts.” Castor shrugs, having already set the wheels in motion.
Sensing that Peri would be the most likely competitor to Rowan for the role, Castor moves to neutralize her. He explains his plan to Juliet: “Night’s a method Actor, and that means he wants to have a direct connection with the roles he plays – I looked it up. So Night will shun things that make him break character in his prep. Anyone who does so will fall out of his good graces and therefore will no longer be a viable competitor for the part. By making Peri temporarily popular as a the head of the Louis Night Fan Club I’ll therefore remove her from the running as the sidekick – she’ll end up being less popular later, while Rowan will be more popular!”
Juliet shakes her head, trying to absorb this, “OK. If you say so. How can we use this to crush Peri?” trying to keep her friend’s eyes on the real goal here.
Castor forges a letter from Peri to Mr. Momenshantz begging to start the Lewis Night Fan Club on campus. A little magic makes a passable Peri signature, and he sends Yorick off to Mr. Night’s agent. The next day at breakfast three large packages arrive for the confused Ms. Undulata. The boxes are filled to the brim with Crypt Raider and Lewis Night Fan Club merchandise. Peri is thunderstruck, but quickly assumes the role of a know-it-all when students crowd around and ask if they can join the club. During this a Crypt Raider action figure starts climbing over the boxes, spouting catch phrases like “Durmstrangers. I hate these guys.” Peri quickly gets backing from Prof. Vector to form a club; Vector, it seems, has a bit of a crush, the old girl.
After breakfast students come back to Castor & Juliet and admit that maybe they were telling the truth. Maybe there would be a sidekick role for a student – Castor gently pushes the rumor forward. When one of the first years asks Juliet as to whether she’d want the role she goes on a brief tear about how she’d never even consider it there’s another distant flash – someone just took another picture of her.
None of our heroes attend Mr. Night’s Saturday session, which much to his disgust morphed into the first meetings of the Louis Night Fan Club on campus, Peri Undulata presiding. Manny Momenshanz is also there, and he uses it as a chance to spill the beans about the location shooting for the serial picture “Right here at this fine institution!” and the sidekick role, “Most likely one of the students of this fine institution!”
But not necessarily one of the club members, which would work perfectly with Castor’s plans – he spends the day convincing Rowan to join the Dramaturgy club, where she might make some new friends (and get some stage experience, and perhaps run into Mr. Night).
\Mr. Momenshanz, on the other hand, tracks down Jasmyn Fontaine later in the day. Is she really the daughter of the world famous Fontaines, who have performed for Kings, entertaining audiences on all seven continents, and the Sea of Tranquility (“Your parents performed on the Moon?” Pollux later goggles. “According to their press releases, yes. I’m not too sure it really happened,” Jasmyn demurs). She nods, and he shakes her hand vigorously, letting her know that with her history in entertainment she might just be the perfect student for an exciting upcoming opportunity!
Uh-oh! That isn’t according to plan!
It isn’t long before the first Defense Against the Dark Arts class, and the students are keen to see what their famous new professor is like. He’s dressed in a casual, contemporary style, his robes open as more of a cloak, revealing slacks and a shirt that’s unbuttoned at the collar. After the class settles down he grabs a chair, spins it, straddles it, and starts a casual conversation.
“Good morning. I’m Professor Night. As you know, this is my first time as a teacher, and you might have some questions about my skill in the subject. So I’ll make a deal with you – I’ll provide you with some of my history so that you have some confidence in me as a teacher, and in return you won’t spend class time asking about what I do when I’m not a teacher. I’ll be in my office all afternoon this Saturday to answer questions about my previous work so that we can get all of that out of the way, and for the rest of the year we can focus on learning and teaching the Defense Against the Dark Arts. Sound fair? Good.
“Now, my half of the bargain: what makes me think I can teach this class? After all, your last professor was an Auror, and I would be vastly egotistical to think that I am in her caliber. However, I am a quick study, and have been immersing myself in the subject for the last several months. We’re using a good, solid, reliable text with plenty of examples, and I’m inheriting the teaching schedules from the last two professors. So we have a solid foundation underneath us.
“In addition, it’s not my first time dealing with the topic. About a decade ago I was the lead in Against the Headhunters of Borneo, and to prepare I spent eight months living with Witch Doctors in Africa, learning how to identify and counter hexes and curses and how to battle the monsters of the Dark Continent. It’s not training as an Auror, but I have clocked some field time on the topic.” Night’s affable, relaxed confidence fills the room, bringing the students to his way of thinking.
“Now, according to the seven year plan, we’ll be spending this year learning about basic Creatures of the Dark Arts, things both intelligent and malevolent. Any objection to taking a moment to learn a basic protective charm before we crack open the books?” At the room’s vigorous agreement Night smiles an ingratiating, natural grin. “I thought not. I will need a volunteer.”
Jasmyn’s hand flies up, and she is called to the front of the class and handed a beanbag. Night continues, “This is actually more useful against Muggles than most creatures of the Dark Arts, but it’s still useful. It’s a charm that robs anything flying at you of its speed.
“Miss Fontaine, could you throw that at me?” She winds up, and the professor spins his wand, yelling “richio.” The hurled bag does indeed drop out of the air about a foot from him landing with a gentle thud. “See? It won’t protect you from hexes, charms, fire or liquids, but it is a simple shield against thrown rocks, manticore spikes and even clouds of insects, and it lasts about a half an hour per casting. There’s a greater version of the spell that I’ll demonstrate but won’t teach today that makes the object rebound with more force than it had coming in. If you stick with me through the whole year we’ll cover it in the last class.”
He tosses the bag back to Jasmyn, “Miss Fontaine, if you would be so kind as to try again? And everyone else, duck.” She winds up and hurls with all of her strength as Night repeats the spell, with a complex flick of his wrist at the end. The beanbag gets to within four centimeters of him before rebounds, ricocheting around the classroom before nailing Lachlan on the back of the head. Over the class’s laughter Professor Night distributes a handful of beanbags and pairs them up for a quick practice session before they crack open the books in the second half of the class.
When the class ends Night takes a moment to greet Jasmyn, Juliet and the Dees, remembering them from their encounter last month at the Marlow. The kids are effusive in their praise of the first class, but he quizzes them on how a real Hogwarts professor, like Snape or McGonnagal, might have done it. Before they can get too much into an analysis of his work Knarlhump appears with a crack and begins pestering the professor about his production duties: the need for auditions, how Manny needs for access to the school and so on. The house elf’s voice causes a nearby plant to curl up as a defensive measure.
Night does his best to deflect this, eventually ordering Knarlhump to join the school’s house elves. “Hogwarts professors don’t have personal servants,” he declares, as if this statement of character reality would settle the issue. It doesn’t, but Knarlhump leaves shortly thereafter. It’s clear to the kids that there’s a question as to who Knarlhump works for – is it Night or Manny? One thing is clear: when Knarlhump is around Night is no longer relaxed or affable, looking more like a man holding chaos at bay through sheer force of personality.
The first meeting of the school band occurs that afternoon atop Ravenclaw tower – it’s too soon for any new first year recruits so the band remains at three: Daisy (Violin), Juliet (Flute), Flitwick (sousaphone) and an animated piano. Their warm up numbers work fine, and then Flitwick asks for one of Daisy’s compositions. The prefect produces one she worked out over the summer, designed to foster good feelings in the school.
The group begins, and the spell resonates properly off the crystal spheres, echoing across the school and carrying with it the subtle magical effect. To their amazement, a fifth instrument kicks in – pan pipes coming from the edge of the Forest. Daisy (who is using her wand as a bow) cast her clairvoyance spell to scry the distant figure. It’s a centaur: palomino, blonde hair, blue eyes, handsome face, broad chest, obviously enraptured by the music, and Daisy feels just a wee bit enraptured by him. More importantly, he’s filling in parts of the piece that Daisy hadn’t realized were empty.
At the song’s end Flitwick is delighted, trying to get a good look at their new member, (who quickly vanished into the forest). He wonders if he could convince the centaur to join the band, though admittedly the stairs to the practice space might be a problem….
That night over dinner Juliet & Castor discuss what they know of the Crypt Raider play with some other students. Their tale is roundly disbelieved; some of the students even scoff! “As if something like that could ever happen here at Hogwarts.” Castor shrugs, having already set the wheels in motion.
Sensing that Peri would be the most likely competitor to Rowan for the role, Castor moves to neutralize her. He explains his plan to Juliet: “Night’s a method Actor, and that means he wants to have a direct connection with the roles he plays – I looked it up. So Night will shun things that make him break character in his prep. Anyone who does so will fall out of his good graces and therefore will no longer be a viable competitor for the part. By making Peri temporarily popular as a the head of the Louis Night Fan Club I’ll therefore remove her from the running as the sidekick – she’ll end up being less popular later, while Rowan will be more popular!”
Juliet shakes her head, trying to absorb this, “OK. If you say so. How can we use this to crush Peri?” trying to keep her friend’s eyes on the real goal here.
Castor forges a letter from Peri to Mr. Momenshantz begging to start the Lewis Night Fan Club on campus. A little magic makes a passable Peri signature, and he sends Yorick off to Mr. Night’s agent. The next day at breakfast three large packages arrive for the confused Ms. Undulata. The boxes are filled to the brim with Crypt Raider and Lewis Night Fan Club merchandise. Peri is thunderstruck, but quickly assumes the role of a know-it-all when students crowd around and ask if they can join the club. During this a Crypt Raider action figure starts climbing over the boxes, spouting catch phrases like “Durmstrangers. I hate these guys.” Peri quickly gets backing from Prof. Vector to form a club; Vector, it seems, has a bit of a crush, the old girl.
After breakfast students come back to Castor & Juliet and admit that maybe they were telling the truth. Maybe there would be a sidekick role for a student – Castor gently pushes the rumor forward. When one of the first years asks Juliet as to whether she’d want the role she goes on a brief tear about how she’d never even consider it there’s another distant flash – someone just took another picture of her.
None of our heroes attend Mr. Night’s Saturday session, which much to his disgust morphed into the first meetings of the Louis Night Fan Club on campus, Peri Undulata presiding. Manny Momenshanz is also there, and he uses it as a chance to spill the beans about the location shooting for the serial picture “Right here at this fine institution!” and the sidekick role, “Most likely one of the students of this fine institution!”
But not necessarily one of the club members, which would work perfectly with Castor’s plans – he spends the day convincing Rowan to join the Dramaturgy club, where she might make some new friends (and get some stage experience, and perhaps run into Mr. Night).
\Mr. Momenshanz, on the other hand, tracks down Jasmyn Fontaine later in the day. Is she really the daughter of the world famous Fontaines, who have performed for Kings, entertaining audiences on all seven continents, and the Sea of Tranquility (“Your parents performed on the Moon?” Pollux later goggles. “According to their press releases, yes. I’m not too sure it really happened,” Jasmyn demurs). She nods, and he shakes her hand vigorously, letting her know that with her history in entertainment she might just be the perfect student for an exciting upcoming opportunity!
Uh-oh! That isn’t according to plan!
