author: Lucinda
rated y-14
seventh in 'Professor Doyle' series
main character: Allan Francis Doyle
disclaimers: Hogwarts belongs to JK Rowling, Doyle to the writers of A:tS.
distribution: with the earlier stories
notes: AU at the s1 A:tS episode 'Hero' where Doyle ends up in Scotland (of a different world) instead of dead, AU post HP&GoF.
pd7..pd7..pd7..pd7..
By the time Monday morning dawned, Doyle had been given a few intensive lessons with his new wand, covering wand care and the basic movements. He'd also had a bit over how to try to feel his innate magic, which was vital to successful casting. Minerva and Filius had drilled him in several simple exercises, all the while explaining the theory and reasoning behind them as well as the normal use - as a teaching tool for pure-blooded and half-blooded children who were raised in the magical world. The exercises helped the children learn to focus their magic, and helped reduce accidental magical outbursts. Of course, the children didn't get the theory...
It was another reason to look forward to his classes on Monday. The rest of the teachers would be too busy to spend hours trying to cram six or seven years of magical instruction into his head. Filius had also suggested that he start reading over the basic potions manuals and the books on ingredient reactions, as while Professor Snape was a brilliant potions' Master, he was a bit impatient.
The mention of Professor Snape's impatience made Doyle wonder why the man was teaching children if he didn't care for children or slowing down to explain things.
His first class on Monday morning was a first year combined class, with a batch of nervous eleven year olds blinking in the bright light, with their thick text books and their rolls of parchment, with pots of ink settled in hollows at the corners of the desks and feathers shaking in their hands. Some of the feathers wobbled, and he could see just how nervous some of them were, huddled in their robes.
"Good morning all of you, I am Professor Doyle, and you should be here for History of Magic. If you aren't supposed to be in History of magic, let me know right now, and we can direct you to where you need to be," he spoke to the class, attempting to look both capable and non-threatening.
It turned out that there were three students who had wandered into the wrong classroom. One blond boy with a green tie who mournfully asked if he could get directions to Transfiguration, and a pair of giggling and blushing curly haired girls with blue ties. He quickly wrote out a couple notes, explaining that the students - whose names he had to ask - had found themselves in the wrong class, and to please permit them into the correct classroom at no penalty. The blond boy didn't fuss, and seemed rather apologetic, while the curly haired girls with blue ties - Miranda and Rowena Pritchard - had giggled and snickered the whole time. He was delighted to shoo them out and towards the Charms classroom, though he knew that they'd be back on Thursday.
He rubbed his hands together, and said, "Well then, now that we are all certain this is where we're supposed to be, let's begin with an overview of magical history. The next four years would be more depth for certain section of magical history, with focuses on specific areas if you go for a NEWT in History... and most of what I just said probably means very little to you."
The class listened while he explained what he intended to cover this year, with the occasional question. He tried to keep everything suitable for eleven year olds - more complex and bigger words than when he taught kindergarteners, but not as complicated as when he talked to adults. They all appeared to be paying attention, which was encouraging. While some of them did try a few things that reassured Doyle that magical children were still children, none of them tried anything truly rotten. He assigned them to read the first chapter of their text, and bring in any questions about that chapter as well as a list of at least five but no more than fifteen question that they'd like to have answered from History of magic.
He wasn't certain why Professor Snape was giving him such thoughtful looks during lunch. He hadn't even had any classes with the Slytherin students yet.
After lunch he would have the fourth year Ravenclaw and Slytherin students. He wasn't certain if this meant that he'd get more interest and better questions due to them being older, or if they'd be surly at the loss of their scheduled free period. Regardless, he figured that they would be teenagers, and therefore more hormonal. This could make them troublesome, but he tried not to let himself worry too much. Too much worry and anxiety wouldn't help.
Doyle was dismayed but not surprised to see that some of the girls were wearing makeup, and some had more noticeable jewelry than the first years, few of whom had more than small stud or hoop earrings, or little chains. One of the girls had a necklace made of golden seashells, there was a Slytherin girl with a silver neck torque that looked remarkably like a snake, and a blond wearing a necklace made of butterbeer corks, paired with pale radish earrings. The corks and radishes were different, but he couldn't be certain if that was just her style or if it was some weird wizarding idea of fashion. Roll call revealed that the girl with the radish earrings was Luna Lovegood, though he did hear some of the other students calling her Looney. The girl wearing the snake torque proved to be a Slytherin named Lucretzia Iacomo, and the one with the golden seashells was another Ravenclaw, named Cassiopeia Witherspoon. His attention was also caught by a very large boy named Polyphemus - call me Pol - Karagounis, who was almost as tall as Doyle, and looked to be working on a very impressive set of shoulders.
"All of you are supposed to be fourth year Ravenclaws and Slytherins for History of Magic. This year, we're going to be covering the last thousand years of history, with the first term focusing on the British Isles and the last term covering a handful of events from the rest of the world. Some of these events have directly influenced laws that were passed, or traditions that exist or formerly existed among the British Wizarding community."
Here he paused, noticing that Luna had her hand raised. Half concerned about what the girl might ask, he called on her, "Yes, Miss Lovegood?"
"Will we be covering the overhunting and endangerment or perhaps extinction of the straight horned snorcack, which is the larger cousin of the crumple horned snorcack?" She gave a sweet smile and folded her hands as several of the other students began to laugh.
"There is no call for laughter, her question does pertain to history," Doyle sighed and looked at the class. "You have two weeks for this assignment - pick a magical creature, explain what impact the creature has had on history, if there have been any changes in laws, medicine, sports, or potions because of those creatures, and what you know about the current status of those creatures. Illustrations are useful, but you must give me at least two feet of writing. If you are referencing a particular book, either name the book and the book's author in the text, or add a listing of the sources at the end - a reference list at the end will not count towards your length. If you are referring to the work of a specific individual, give their name and qualifications. Miss Lovegood, if you wish to write about Snorcacks, that will be acceptable, so long as you can include a few references and mention where their traditional ranges were, and either their current ranges or their last known range for a species believed to be extinct. I would prefer if each of you wrote about a different creature, they can be large or small."
"That sounds more like a Care of Magical Creatures assignment than a history assignment," muttered a tanned boy with reddish brown hair in the front row.
Doyle looked at them, and shook his head. "What all of you need to understand is that History is part of everything. History covers meeting and interacting with other cultures, it covers advances in the various magical fields, it covers discoveries with plants, animals and medicine. It covers transportation and laws. Everything shapes what will become history, and everything in history was shaped by things that happened. For example, the Market Regulations of 1349 that cover sale of grains, fruits and vegetables were passed during a round of plagues. The ministry of magic mandated the regulation of Floo networks and instituted testing standards for Floo powder after a poorly brewed batch of Floo Powder detonated, leveling an ancestral home and taking a then-powerful pureblooded family from twenty seven members to only four surviving members of the family. You might want to start by considering what sort of creatures are used in potion ingredients, or have restrictions on the ownership or breeding, and look into what caused those restrictions."
The class fell silent, some of them gaping in shock. From the back, he heard a soft whisper, "A family was almost wiped out by bad Floo powder?"
"Yes, and it prompted immediate changes in legislation. There were some slower changes as well, but we will cover that a little more thoroughly later in the year. This is the sort of thing that I mean when I say things – events – can shape history. What would the magical world do if the dragons used for wands, for protective clothing, for potions ingredients – what would happen if they went extinct? What if a plant fungus blighted the apple harvest for the next few years? What if a disease started striking down the owls that carry your mail? What if there was another war with goblins, or giants? What if the vampire population doubled or tripled? If England went to war with a foreign nation right now, what would the effects be for wizarding politics?" He paused, looking at the thoughtful students. "History helps us know where to look for some of these answers, and the rest… some of those events make history."
The students were looking very thoughtful now, and he started walking among the rows, handing each of them his revised fourth year syllabus and study guide. "For next week, I want each of you to have at least five but no more than fifteen questions that fall within the last thousand years of history that you want answered in this class. Be serious about this, I don't want things like what was the winning score of the first Quidditch World Cup, or whether or not the Founder of a particular Hogwarts House liked or disliked a particular dessert. As we go over the syllabus, you will notice that there are some assignments that are the same for everyone, and others that allow for more variety. If it says to research a famous witch or wizard, or a law of a particular time period, then you will each choose one, hopefully different individuals and laws. If it says to write an essay on a specific person or gives a specific list to choose from, then that means I felt those individuals or laws have a strong bearing on the material we'll be covering at that time. When I say to write about an advance in spells, then that allows you more options, but you must be able to reach the specified length and explain why a certain thing was an advance, as well as who did it, when, and if that was their actual goal."
For the rest of the class, Doyle went over the syllabus and what he expected of the students for the coming year. With the syllabus handed out, he told them that there would no longer be the chance that they could claim they missed class and didn't know about one of the standard assignments, or the listed projects. He told Miss Lovegood that he wasn't worried about the color of the ink or parchment as long as it was clearly legible. He told Mr. Karagounis that for a good many of the assignments they would be free to use non-British wizards or witches, and they would always be permitted to use books published in other nations as long as they could produce them for his inspection afterwards. He reminded Miss Fenniwick of Ravenclaw that he would not tolerate name calling within his classroom or if he heard it elsewhere, and that Miss Lovegood was Luna, and Mr. Thaddeus Bulstrode of Slytherin was Thaddeus or Thad, not Thud, and calling anyone names would result in a detention if he caught her again. When he saw her taking notes in either Italian or Latin, he found himself reminding Miss Iacomo that class assignments were to be submitted in English, though he didn't care what language she took her notes in as long as they made sense to her.
As the class began to filter out at the end of the session, Miss Lovegood made her way towards his desk. "Professor? You gave us an assignment about an animal, does this mean we have one on a magical plant later in the year?"
"I didn't have one on the syllabus, but there will be chances for students to do additional projects for extra credit at various times," Doyle answered. "One on magical plants would probably be a good idea, provided that it ties in to something historical."
She nodded, and then frowned, "Will I have to worry about red tailed weasels turning the classroom blue?"
"I hope that they've been slowed down in their mischief this year, though I would suggest caution. Most likely it would take them a bit of time before they start with the blue smoke again," he fought not to smile at her question, certain that she meant those Weasley twins.
"Of course, they are in the same county and awake, it's only sensible to be careful," she gave a quick wink, and whispered, "They live just across the village from me, and they do that sort of thing all the time."
As she skipped off down the hallway, Doyle could only shake his head, "What an unusual girl."
He also wondered what exactly a snorcack was, though he figured that he'd be finding out in about two weeks.
End Professor Doyle 7: Class is In Session.
