Defense Against the Dark Arts #1 (OPEN TO STUDENTS)

[professors]

It was the first day of Professor Birch's very first year teaching a class, and she was right on time to reach the room. Immediately noticing the students lined up outside of her classroom she greeted them "Good Day." Sounding rather chipper, Holly was rather excited to be a first time teacher to older children. It hadn't taken very long for her to know that the smaller ones were much harder to tolerate, they certainly had minds of their own. Stepping around the variety of adolescents, Professor Birch unlocked the door to her classroom and ushered the students in. "Please take your seats immediately." Professor Birch instructed as the last few students passed her by. Once they were all ahead of her, and seated, she closed the door and addressed them "I'm Professor Birch, and I suggest you refer to me as such, though Mrs. Birch or Madam Birch will suffice." best get right to business, Holly didn't want her students to think she was pushover just because she was a new teacher this year. "This is a no nonsense class, I take this class seriously, and you all should too." She would not have students being disruptive or careless during her lessons, and she wanted her entire class to know that. Whoever chose to cross her would be in for a rough term, that was for sure.

"Now," She began as she walked toward the front of the classroom "We will start off today's lesson by studying vampires." Professor Birch pointed her wand and the black chalkboard, the words History of the Vampire, appearing in one swift movement. She waved her wand towards her board again and a few simple instructions appeared underneath her heading "There are myths pertaining to vampires, even amongst us magical beings. We, however, are not studying myths but cold, hard facts on the subject." She said turning towards them. Holly didn't want them to go about thinking that a person merely had to be bit by a vampire to be turned, there was so much more to it than that, steps that had to be taken to ensure that the process was executed properly. Grabbing a few sheets of parchment with instructions matching the ones on the board, Holly walked around the classroom, handing one to each students as she passed them by "Today we'll be writing an essay on vampires, just to see how much truth you have in your brains, as well as figuring how much of the myths you actually believe." She informed them, handing out instructions as she talked. 

"You need to include the origins of vampires, how to protect yourself from them, how to identify one (Behavior as well as appearance) and, most importantly, how to defend yourself against vampires." Handing out the last few sheets, Holly allowed her eyes to skim the last piece in her hand to make sure she had made no errors on it. "Your essay does not need to be a certain length," She began, making her way to stand before her class once more "I just ask that you try and do a decent job on it. No half-cocked mess, I expect more than a few sentences." Making sure no one had opened their mouths to argue or complain she continued with "I have just given you exactly what your essay must include, should you forget within the next hour or so." She told them, earning a few curt nods in her direction " You have from now until the end of this class." Holly said as she signaled for them to start "You may begin. I'll be at my desk if you have any questions." With that she sat at her desk and allowed her class to work on the assignment she had just given them.




(OOC: Okay, how we're going to do this is you're not required to post in classes, but each character who posts in this thread will be awarded points towards their house. Each participating member may not submit different essays for more than one character under one account. What we mean to say is that if you have multiple characters you want to throw in, you must submit their work under the account name for that character. It just keeps things from getting too complicated for staff members to distribute points properly. We understand that no one wants to do extra homework, and this is not a homework site so we're not asking for anything spectacular. All we ask is that you have at least a paragraph, but the longer the essay the more points your house will be awarded. Your character does not need to be enrolled in the class for them to participate in this thread. Please submit your assignments below and have fun. You have until September. 31)

[sirius orion black]

The one thing that Sirius Black hated more than or probably just as much as Severus Snape was working on an on-the-spot essay. He shifted and sighed on his seat the moment the teacher assigned the boring task. He always preferred wand waving and some action to writing and having to sit still. If it had been homework, he would have simply ask his blessing of a best friend Remus Lupin to do it for him like he always does. He frowned when at the professor she said she expected the class to do a decent job on it and actually groaned when she said she expected more than just a few sentences. With reluctance, Sirius reached for his rucksack, pried it open and took out a piece of parchment, quill and ink. How long was a few sentences? He asked himself as he debated whether or not he would take out his copy of that year’s Defense Against the Dark Arts book. And do what? Actually research as he wrote the blasted essay? Where would be the fun in that? He thought to himself, grinning, as he closed his bag without getting the book and placed it back under his table. Still grinning to himself, he dipped his quill into his ink bottle, unrolled the parchment and began writing.

Sirius Black
Gryffindor - Second Year

ALL ABOUT VAMPIRES AND HOW TO KEEP YOUR BLOOD IN YOUR VEINS IN CASE YOU GET ROTTENLY LUCKY AND ACTUALLY MEET ONE

Sirius grinned at the title of his essay and suddenly felt better about writing it. He paused to think about what he really knew about vampires. The young Gryffindor almost never listened to his parents but he admitted to himself that even his barmy parents were right about steering clear of vampires, werewolves and a number of dark creatures. He stared at his parchment and remembered the professor said that she will not tolerate half-cocked mess. This made Sirius decide to just write want he wanted to write. He grinned and immediately started writing again.

Origin of Vampires: The idea of vampires came from the horrid imagination of a man with utterly greasy hair named Snape thousands of years ago… maybe when cannibalism was still rampant. Snape, one night, bit a random… muggle on the neck and started leeching up all her blood. Not long from that time, Snape led a bunch of slimy greasy haired gits to do his disgusting practice with him.

How to Protect Yourself: Well, if you really want to keep your blood in your veins, you must always fasten a garland of garlic around your neck. Bringing a wooden stake will do you good too if you want to slaughter a human leech. But, if you really want to send them away and running for their lives, probably screaming too if you are lucky, brandish not your wand but a bottle of shampoo.

How to Identify a Bloody Vampire: It is very easy to identify a vampire because aside from the pale skin and black thirsty eyes that always seemed to dart toward pulsing necks, they normally have abnormally large noses and lots of greasy hair.

Shortly after he started, Sirius finished his essay. He reread it, snickering to himself. He can already hear the roar that would be James’ and Peter’s laugh when they saw his essay. Remus will probably give him a disapproving look but he knew even he would find his work funny very deep within. Deciding to show the essay to his friends after class, he used the geminio charm to produce a copy. He then folded the copy and stuffed it in his robe pocket. Pleased with himself and unable to keep the grin off his lips, he waited for the time to pass so he could go out of the room and sneak out with his friends or if he was lucky, he can insult Snape face to face.

** Essay is submitted under the account name cher. xD

[trista marie watkins]

History of the Vampire

By. Trista Watkins

Though no one knows for sure when vampires first came about, it is believed to have been 1734 when the word, and existence of these beings, became known. In muggle history a travelogue, titled Travels of Three English Gentlemen  used the word in 1745, but it was spelled 'Vampyre' versus the traditional spelling 'Vampire'. The word vampire was derived from the German word Vampir, and quite possibly from the French word Vampyre. In turn the word Vampir was derived from the Serbian language, when a reported vampire by the name of Arnold Paole was described when Serbia was incorporated in the Austrian Empire. The belief in vampirism has existed for several million years now, dating back to ancient Greek and Roman civilizations as well as to the Hebrews and Mesopotamians. It was told during these times that there were demons and spirits who were considered to be the start of vampires. Despite these tales, the true existence of vampires is believed to have truly began in the eighteenth century.

A lot of people believe that, in life, vampires were evil beings, suicide victims, and witches. It is also said that a vampire is a spirit possessing a corpse. The truth behind these theories remains unknown, but it is known world wide that a person can be turned when bitten by a vampire. The belief, and truth, of these legends has caused mass hysteria on more than one occasion as well as the execution of people believed to be vampires. Identifying a vampire can be a somewhat difficult task, if you don't know what to look for.  In folklore Vampires were said to be bloated, due to drinking the blood of its victims, but they also have pale, cold, unblemished skin. Though they are no longer living, their corpses were said to  be much more healthier than most were, though no one knew what these people would become at the time. It's also told that folkloric vampires have rather poltergeist like attributes, such as hurling objects across a room without touching it, such as stones on roofs and household objects.

Defending yourself against a vampire is essential to survival when amongst them, and for protection you will need Apotropaics. Apotropaics are items used to ward off revenants, and are popularly used in folklore. As commonly believed, Garlic is the most known of these items and have proven to be quite effective throughout periods of history. A less known item is wild rose and hawthorn plant, usually collected in bunches, which is said to harm a vampire. Some muggle religions have the belief that, as an evil spirit or a demon, vampires are afraid of a crucifix, rosary, and holy water. Witches and wizards have yet to determine whether this is true or not, but many hope to find out for themselves. It is a very popular belief that vampires can not walk on consecrated ground, like churches and temples, and are unable to cross running water. Vampires are believed to not have a reflection due to their lack of a soul, but there have been a few vampires who had reflections. They say that a vampire may not enter a home uninvited, the first time, but after the owner of the home allows them in once, they are able to come and go as they please.

Folkloric vampires tend to be more active at night, but they are not generally believed to be vulnerable to sunlight. Being able to stop a vampire on a rampage is just as important to being able to stop one. Staking is the most commonly known method of destroying these beings, usually with a stake made of ash. Potential vampires were commonly staked through the heart, though the mouth was usually targeted in Russia and Germany. In North-Eastern Serbia a vampire will probably be staked through their stomach. The preferred method in German and Western Slavic regions is decapitation, then burying the head away from the body. This particular act was believed to hasten the release of the soul, which some cultures believed still lingered somewhere in the vampires body. In Bulgaria over a hundred corpses, with metal objects stick out of them, have been found all over the country. It's without a doubt that these unfortunate souls were believed to be, or actually were, vampires.

[professors]

Date has been extended to October. 31