Muggle History; Part One

[Kendal Montgomery]

For the most part Kendal was normally a pretty decent student. She was by no means some sort of genius or anything but she had yet to fail a class, but lately she seemed to have lost her zest for learning. Try as she might a lot of times she would end up sitting in her classrooms only half hearing what the professor was saying. If she were called on to give an answer she had to ask for the question to be repeated, which usually got her a reprimand and once detention. It's not that she was trying to do it on purpose for some reason it just kept happening perhaps it was because this was her final year there and she was eager to get out, or maybe she was just bored of academia.

Whatever it was her restlessness was alive and kicking even now in muggle studies a class Kendal normally enjoyed. Soon after the other students had started to arrive and the class was underway Kendal could feel her resolve slipping. Soon her mind started to wander. First she kept wondering what the weather was like outside, then she moved on to what she wanted for lunch. Not too long after that she pondered what life would be like after leaving school, what she would do, where she would live, all of those things she should have worked months ago.

So when the professor mentioned that they should all pick a topic Kendal had no idea. It wasn't until she heard him make a decision about what he would be teaching. Kendal had to shake her head in order to clear it. This was not good and she could only hope that the professor hadn't taken notice. Now Kendal sat up straighter pen in hand ready to take notes or whatever she needed to do. Hopefully she could remain focused and her mind would not wander again.

[Sarie Thimble]

"They where killed to end the revolution, they would beheaded..." She trailed off. She didn't really want to think about it. "They where killed in font of a raving mad crowd." Sarie stopped there not really want to keep going.

[Professor Ashton Laurent]

Ash nodded as Sarie explained, or well tried to explain exactly what the execution of King Louis XVI and Queen Marie Antoinette. It seemed as though the young Gryffindor was not very comfortable with today's topic. And while Ash understood, he also knew that in order for them to fully understand the history of the French Revolution, they would have to talk about things that they might not want to talk about. So unfortunately, Sarie was just going to have to deal with it. "Alright, that's a good start... but can anyone tell the class what led to the French Revolution? Moreso, who exactly were Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette? What did they do to become so hated by their subjects?"

Ash sincerely hoped that someone with a bit more interest in the lesson could answer this time. He also hoped that people would pay more attention. Speaking of which.. he noticed that Kendal Montgomery seemed to be spacing out a little. The former Ravenclaw couldn't help but smile a little. The poor Hufflepuff seemed to have so much on her mind these days. Still, she needed to pay attention if she were to learn anything. "Ms. Montgomery, pay attention please." he said quietly, not wanting to call too much attention to the girl.

Ash leaned back against his desk as he waited for someone to answer his questions. Of course if they didn't know, all they had to do was say so, and Ash could of course fill them in on what they needed to learn. But he would rather not do that. This class was not to see what he could tell them, but rather what they knew themselves.

[Harrison Greg]

Harrison was never the most studious of students and his attention span was pretty poor as was now being shown by the fact that already his mind had wondered and he was now no longer paying any attention to the lesson and instead after checking out all the females in the room he was not gazing out the window looking at everyone who were wondering around the castle grounds outside. Oh how he wished he was there, feeling the cool breeze ruffling through his hair, the smell of the freshly cut grass and the sight of some good looking girls wiggling there little behinds as they shuffled forward in their mini skirts and high heels.

’Ms. Montgomery, pay attention please.’

Snapping back to reality Harrison quickly looked around the room a bit like a rabbit caught in the headlights when he realised that, for once, the Professor was not having a go at him and so with a small smirk he sunk back down in his chair feeling a little bit more relaxed. But that was when his super senses…alright maybe not super senses but his knowledge of social situations stepped in and he could tell that Professor Laurent was waiting for something to be said…maybe he had asked a question? Deciding to step up and show his courage and strength like the true Gryffindor he was Harrison leaned back on his chair and gave his old classmate (now that was a scary thought) a small shrug.

“No idea Prof. You are simply just going to have to tell us simple minded, ill learnt and ignorant fools.”

[Professor Ashton Laurent]

Ash smirked as Harrison Greg pretty much admitted that he hadn't been paying attention. Well, okay... maybe he hadn't actually admitted it. But Ash knew that was the case. One didn't normally teach former classmates without knowing them. He had always known that Harrison had always had a short attention span.

"I could." the young teacher quipped. "Or, maybe you could do something you've never thought of before and pay attention?" he kept a smile on his face so that Harrison would know that Ash was just teasing him and he was not really in trouble.

Sighing and leaning back against his desk, he addressed the class once more. "Alright, so can anyone tell me who these two monarchs were? Anyone?"

He waited a few moments and when still no one answered, sighed again. "Alright, looks like I'll have to tell you. Marie Antoinette born Maria Antonia Josepha Johanna was the daughter of Emperess Maria Theresa and Emperor Francis I of Austria. When she was only fourteen she was married to Louis-Auguste, the eldest grandson of King Louis XV of France. Thus becoming the Dauphine of France. Or, as the French would say Dauphine de France. After his grandfather's death, Louis-Auguste ascended the throne as Louis XVI, King of France. And Marie-Antoinette became Queen of France and Navarre. Now, I could go on and on about what happened during those years, but quite frankly, I'm getting about as bored as you all probably are." Ash finally paused for a breath.

"So, what I want you to do is do some research on these two and write a short little essay on them. Not very long, just maybe three or four paragraphs. I want to see what your opinion is of them. How do you view them? Do you think they deserved to be executed the way they did? What do you think life was like back then? Would you have wanted to live in that time period? Be ready to hand it in next class and unless anyone has any questions pertaining to today's lesson the rest of the hour is yours. Just don't destroy my room please."

[Ellie Rook]

Ellie ran into the room. She was ten minutes late. It had been one of those days, she had found a 1st year tied to a chair in the dungeon and had to take care of her and hand her over to the hospital wing before she could go on her own day. This is what had made her late for Muggle Studies.

"Sorry Ash, I mean..Professor Laurent?" Ellie smirked as the words flew from her lips. "Wow, that was weird to say." She said, taking a sit next to Harrison. She smiled at him. Yes, every since her birthday Ellie had a small crush on the Gryffindor. She felt like a little school girl sitting next to him again. "Hope I didn't interrupt, you know Head Girl stuff." She said, happy to have a real excuse for once.

Ash continued on with the lesson, but it wasn't much to be carried on. "Wait, you mean to tell me I ran to this class for five minutes of class. Today is not my day." Ellie said, leaning back in her chair, abandoning the paper and quill she had started to take out.

[Julianna Farraday]

Julianna knew she shouldn't have gone back to her common room she knew very well what would happen but as usual she didn't listen to her own instincts and because of that she ended up in a heated discussion with one of her classmates. Because of this she was late leaving for her muggle studies class and Julia hated to be late so she took off like a bat out of hell running down the halls trying to avoid running into people, ghosts and objects alike.

She managed to make it there right behind Ellie who was also late. Hopefully the professor wouldn't be hard on them sometimes things happened but most teachers weren't understanding. Walking in right behind Ellie she gave a hurried apology "sorry professor unavoidable issue arose won't happen again for sure" hoping that would be all she hurried to find herself a seat.

Once she was settled she grabbed her things out of her bag and placed them silently on the table her head snapped up once she was done and she wrote down whatever words were on the board and she was ready to jump in.

[Professor Ashton Laurent]

Ash bit back a sigh as Ellie Rook and Julianna Farraday rushed into the room. They both seemed to want to know what the class had been talking about so Ash supposed he would have to bring up the topic again. Of course right now, there was the issue of their tardiness. Both of them were over ten minutes late.

"You're late ladies. Care to explain why?" he asked them, eyebrow raised in expectation. Normally it wouldn't that big of a deal, but the fact of the matter was, he knew both these girls. Or well... he knew Ellie anyway. He'd seen Julianna around before but had never really talked to her. But still, it was interesting to him that the Head Girl would be late for class. But she did have alot of duties to perform. And as for Julianna, she had never seemed like the kind of person who would be late on purpose So... he supposed he would let them go this one time. He sighed again and ran a hand through his hair.

"Alright, I'll let you two off with a warning this time, but don't let it happen again. Understood?" He turned back to the class and again brought up the subject of Marie Antoinette. "Alright, can anyone give Miss Rook and Miss Farraday a brief summary of what we've just talked about?"

[Harrison Greg]

Harrison could not believe his luck when Professor Laurent said that that was the end of class and they could go. Honestly that had to be the shortest lesson in history and Harrison was already throwing his stuff into his bag when the door flew open and Ellie ran into the room. He did not think his smile could grown any bigger but just to prove him wrong the Gryffindor started to grin like the Cheshire Cat as the Hufflepuff came over and sat down on the seat next to him. However unlike him Ellie seemed a little put out the lesson was about to end and it seemed the arrival of Ellie and Julianna had given the new Professor the will to carry on again. “Nice one Rook.” Harrison teased as he leaned over towards the Hufflepuff. “Now we have to stay longer.”

Not that he Gryffindor was going to moan to much, he would not mind spending more time in the presence of Ellie. She was a good looking girl and since their kiss on her birthday he had wanted to taste those lips again but with a little more passions thrown into the equation this time. However he imagined that would always be a dream, didn’t she have a HUGE crush on Hubbles anyway?

“I will summarise it Professor.” Harrison offered, jumping up to stand on top of his chair so he could be seen by everyone in the classroom. “Basically the Proff told us about this bird from Austria called Marie Antoinette who married the king of France or grandson of the king….or something and then the Professor got bored and set us homework. But guessing from what Sarie said…” Harrison shot a cheeky wink at the young Gryffindor. “…they did something stupid and got their heads chopped off.”

In true Harrison fashion he drew a finger across his neck making a slicing sound before rolling his eyes into the back of his head and sticking out his tongue to show that he was dead. After a small pause Harrison snapped back to normal and jumped down off the chair and looked over at Ellie with a wide grin before looking over at the Professor. “So why did they get their heads chopped off sir? Did she cheat on the king with another man?”

[Professor Daniel Hubbles]

It has clearly been a long time since Dan Hubbles had been standing up in front of a class and he could feel the nerves in his stomach building the closer he got to the classroom. Of course these could also have been nerves he got for running rather late and as a result by the time he was standing outside the Muggle Studies classroom he could hear the hustle and bustle of a lesson already going on. Taking a long, deep breath Dan slowly opened the heavy wooden door and slipped inside. The sight he was greeted with was of an over eager student standing up on his chair recounting the class of what they had learnt so far, when at the front was a very nervous and stressed looking Ashton.

Once the Gryffindor had sat down Dan gave him a rather lonely round of applause and began to walk towards the front of the classroom, his long black robe billowing behind him as he made his way to the front. “Bravo Mr Greg. 10 house points to Gryffindor!” With a small smile Dan slipped off his robe to reveal a bright pink shirt which naturally was accompanied with a yellow tie. Yes it was a little garish and something you would expect to see in a Cartoon but heck, Dan liked it.

“And Mr Greg posses a good question, why did they get their heads chopped off?” He looked at all the students in the class with a grin on his face, his gaze lingering on Ellie for a little bit longer then the others. “But instead of just telling you I am going to make you think, after all that is why you are at school!” With that he shot a small wink at Ashton. “Why didn’t the great Harry Potter like his dear old Professor Snape? Heck, why didn’t he trust anyone with a dark mark on their arm?”

Dan looked around expectantly, yes this Muggle Studies class was turning into a mini History of Magic one but Dan hoped it would help put the point across a little bit and meant the students would be able to feel like they were contributing even if they did not know about the French Revolution.

---

Gryffindor = 50
Hufflepuff = 15
Ravenclaw = 10

House points have also been awarded to students attending (late students get 5 points not 10) and also to correct answers given previously in the thread

[Ellie Rook]

"Understood!" Ellie said, happy that she didn't have to stay after or do extra homework or anything. Like she had the time to spare anyway. "Thanks Ash!" She added, not bothering to correct herself this time. Ellie blushed and stuck her tongue out at Harrison. "Oh please, Like you weren't enjoy Ashton's lesson..." She whispered sarcastically rolling her eyes. She did feel a bit guilty for the class being extended, but after all, she had busted her butt to get there and she had better learn something kind of interesting for all her effort.

Harrison gave a riveting account of the lesson, which Ellie could help but laugh at, smiling up at him on the chair. She joined in with the clapping as Harrison stepped down, which she realized was coming from none other then Professor Hubbles. Ellie's smile remained wide as she looked over at him. Harrison had regained he seat next to her and she leaned over. "Very, informative. I especially like the part about the Professor being bored..." She laughed again. Hubbles seemed to enjoy it also and points were given.

"Woah, nice shirt Professor." Ellie couldn't help but say as she turned her attention back on the Headmaster. She smiled up at him with full attention she would never give Ashton. It was just a Hubbles thing, Ellie adored him. He asked them to think about Harrison's question, posing magical related questions to help them. "He was afraid they would kill him?" Ellie said, the obvious. "Well, more specifically he thought Snape was working for the Dark Lord, like he was a death eater. Was Marie Antoinette a death eater?" Elle said, realizing her stupidity. "No, I mean, was she working for the other side, the other side being... well I don't know, but like a spy or something?"

[Professor Daniel Hubbles]

Dan really had missed teaching and with a wide grin he looked around the class waiting in anticipation as he stood in silence with his arms folded perched on the edge of the desk waiting for an answer. Of course, just as he expected Ellie Rook’s hand shot into the air and with a smile as wide as hers Dan listened to what Ellie has to say, nodding encouragingly as she got closer and closer to the answer. Finally she hit the nail on the head, and although she had posed it as a question to him Dan nodded encouragingly and jumped off his desk and started to prowl around the room.

“Well done Miss Rook, 10 points to Hufflepuff.” Dan gave a small ‘yay’, which was rather camp even for him and lord he knew it. With a small cough and a slight, nervous tug on his tie Dan tried to regain his focus. “But, erm…yeah spy. Harry Potter thought that Snape was a spy and a traitor working for the other side. This was, sort of the case for poor Marie Antoinette who since she was Austrian the silly frogs…er…French thought that she was a traitor to the country so the revolutionaries started to over throw the monarchy.”

Dan wondered over to one of the many bookshelves that lined the room and after a couple of seconds of running his finger along the spine of many books he gave a small “aha” as he found the one he had been looking for and pulled a rather tatty, dusty looking book from its seating place. Quickly flicking through the pages Dan started to walk back to the front of the classroom just in time to flash Ashton a small smile before turning back to the class in front of him.

“Do you think these accusations are fair though? Putting it in plain terms lets say Marie Antoinette was a Ravenclaw chaser and she was going out with the Gryffindor Quidditch Captain. Rumours start to spread around the school that she passing information about the Gryffindor team to the Ravenclaw’s. Is it truly right for the Gryffindor team to jinx and hex this poor women just because she has talked to someone of another house when there are no hard evidence that she is truly doing this?”

Yes it was not even really muggle studies anymore, if Dan had his way he would be teaching the kids about old muggle things like VHS and how remote controls work (honestly they are like wands…but battery powered! Dan found them amazing!) but alas he must teach what had been set and so he was trying to get the kids involved morally as well. With such dark times lying ahead, or so it seemed anyway, Dan thought it would be good to see if they knew right from wrong…thank Merlin there were no Slytherin’s in the class today!

---

Gryffindor = 50
Hufflepuff = 25
Ravenclaw = 10

[Julianna Farraday]

Julianna was simply happy not to be in any trouble she didn't really fancy any sort of detention because she didn't want to spend the night doing lines or cleaning bed pans without magic. Grateful she simply nodded to the professor and took her seat, immediately she went and took her seat getting her things out and placing them on her desk quietly so that she didn't disturb the other students. She started to copy down things from the board and was ready for the lesson to commence when something rather odd happened.

For some strange reason the Headmaster appeared in class and decided to sort of take over the lesson from Professor Laurent. Julianna was sitting there looking around from one person to another wondering if anyone else found what was going on as weird as she did. Then the Headmaster started teaching Julianna had to do her best not to let her jaw drop. She assumed that Ashton was in charge of this class what in the world was happening did the two of them work something out.

Julianna sat there and listened none the less because if she didn't well then she most certainly would be in trouble. Ellie of course answered his question funny how she happened to be a member of his former house. There were parts of Julia that felt the man was a little biased when it came to members of his own house and then there seemed to be something about Ellie too.

Julia didn't know anything anymore she just sat in her seat and continued taking notes listening to talk of Marie Antoinette, Harry Potter and Snape Julia couldn't deny being a bit more interested. As he asked his next question she thought about it and raised her hand before answering "well no it's not fair there was no proof that she was the one to pass along the information for all anyone knew a member of the Gryffindor team itself could have given out that information or maybe the Ravenclaws had been spying all on their own. Basically there are a lot of ways the Ravenclaws could have gotten their information and unless someone knew for sure it was Marie it wouldn't have been fair to hex or curse her for that. It's just really a bias isn't it? Harry Potter had an issue with Snape so he always thought the worst, people seeing a Ravenclaw and a Gryffindor had a bias and blamed the person they thought most likely."

Julia liked her answer and hoped he thought it was good enough to gain Gryffindor some points now.

[Professor Daniel Hubbles]

Dan was really glad that the students where getting into it all, he noticed that the students seemed to be paying attention to what was being said in the lesson, weather it was because they wanted to learn or simply just wanted the house points Dan did not know, nor care, all that mattered was that the students where answering his questions. With a wide grin Dan listened enthusiastically to Julianna’s answer, nodding his head and swigging his legs over the edge of the table.

“Brilliant Miss Farraday! 10 points to Gryffindor!” Dan snapped the book that was in his hands shut causing a small cloud of dust to puff up around him, but Dan did not care he jumped off the table and wondered over towards the chalk board, pulling a slim piece of white chalk from her trouser pocket.

“Julianna raised a brilliant point there. Poor old Maria was painted with the same brush as her other country men and as a result the bias French wanted her to be done away with.” Whilst talking Dan had wrote ‘Execution Methods’ in rather scruffy writing on the board before turning to the rest of the class.

“Now I apologise to those weak of heart and if it gets a bit too much then please some just hex me but I thought we need to get this back on to a Muggle Studies track.” He gave a small weak smile around at the class before carrying on. “So, can any of you name me forms of execution methods used by muggles and for extra points compare it to us in the wizarding world.”

---

Gryffindor = 60
Hufflepuff = 25
Ravenclaw = 10

[Ellie Rook]

The lesson had brought Ellie back to a couple years before. She had forgotten how much she had enjoyed Professor Hubbles teaching. It was the reason she had falling in love with charms and was the only reason she now had any interest in the subject. No other magic had really caught her eye like Charms had. Now with this lesson, Ellie found Muggle Studies suddenly interesting. Not that she wanted to go into the field, but she was getting to the point in her life where she had no idea what she wanted to do, or wanted to be. She had to start thinking a little harder about what she enjoyed and use that to figure out her life's work.

Ellie could name hundreds of ways that muggles killed each other, but only a couple of ways they used for formal execution. However, she couldn't really put them into magical terms. Avada Kedavera kept coming to her mid but she couldn't think of anyway in which muggles could simulated the way of killing someone. It left no mark, no clue as to what had killed the person. It was almost as if they just dropped dead. Heart attack was the closest parallel she could come up with, and Ellie knew this was the ruling most muggles gave a death in which magic had been used.

She decided she might as well try and add to the conversation. "Well, I know that muggles used three specific ways to kill people. Probably more, but what comes to mind is hanging, beheading, and the electric chair. But I can't really put them into magical terms." She said, hoping that someone would help her finish her thoughts.