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Post by professor thomas barnes on May 14, 2011 18:46:38 GMT -5
Philip,
Have you looked at the enrollment sheet for the dueling club lately? Several, how should I put this, interesting individuals have signed up.
Rodolphus Lestrange, Holden Avery, Bellatrix Black.
Are you quite sure we should let them duel the other students? Everyone is already quite aware of their prowess in this area, I fear we really shouldn't encourage them.
- Thomas
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Post by professor philip valter on May 14, 2011 18:57:26 GMT -5
Tom,
I have looked at the list. Most popular club so far! Although those particular students are quite apt in their defensive magic already, I feel like we really can't quite discriminate them. Minerva might have our heads for that! And I know Slughorn will be sending us quite a few owls about who he thinks are the best duelers in the school.
I think that it will go by just fine. We are fully capable adults and have already gone through this stage of dueling in our school years. We can handle them if they get out of hand.
Right?
- Philip
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Post by professor thomas barnes on May 14, 2011 19:14:49 GMT -5
Philip,
I don’t think any of them are particularly apt at defensive magic as they all seem to specialize in hexes and curses of various levels. I suppose that’s one area where we could teach them.
Speaking of McGonagall, I have similar concerns regarding one her students. Marlene McKinnon. She has a history with quite destructive spells, and with Miss Black it seems. We would have to take special care to make sure they’re not paired.
I’m quite certain that together we could handle the miscreants should they step out of line. I’m just questioning whether or not it’s fair to the other students. If we spend too much of each lesson acting as referees for these students, we might cease to be the most popular club.
- Thomas
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Post by professor philip valter on May 14, 2011 19:23:21 GMT -5
Tom,
You make a good point. Defensive magic does seem lost on these students, not just the few mentioned. Really I think we can definitely make an impact in the DADA exam scores if we focus on those. Such an important part of all successful dueling.
Yes I heard of Miss. Mckinnon's destruction of the bathroom stall. At least we know she is capable of taking out some of that frustration on inanimate objects. She should be paired with someone who she wouldn't want to hurt, perhaps her and her sister would make a good team. Olivia seems much more contained after all, though I'm not sure anymore after the circus fiasco. Maybe she learned some new circus magic to show the group! Really I'd love to see that...
But right, focusing on the issue at hand. We really should try and keep all students interested. I noticed Kevin Willis has signed up as well, he could help us to contain all of the magic if need be. Quite an excellent head boy he is.
- Philip
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Post by professor thomas barnes on May 14, 2011 19:40:20 GMT -5
Philip,
While I agree that Miss McKinnon, and perhaps the three Slytherins I mentioned earlier would probably benefit from working with siblings or friends, we shouldn’t segregate the students. There aren’t many who socialize outside of their house, unfortunately. Perhaps we could using dueling club as a way to promote inter-house unity. They might find that they’re not so different after all. They all spend extraordinary amounts of time in detention for the same offenses.
However, we should make a list of pairings that are absolutely unacceptable. Just so things will run smoothly when the time comes. For example, I would suggest that Frank Longbottom and Rodolphus Lestrange be kept apart if it is feasible to do so. I also overheard a student attempting to convince Grace Davies of Hufflepuff to join the dueling club. She should probably be paired with someone of similar, er, abilities.
Perhaps Amelia Bones and some of the other prefects, Lily Evans, Mycah Jane, the Nott sisters, etc. could be convinced to join and help us keep an eye on the students. Our president, James Potter, could also be asked to help out a bit, as well as Demitrius Amherst, who has signed up and is a prefect for Ravenclaw.
- Thomas
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Post by professor philip valter on May 14, 2011 20:03:21 GMT -5
Tom,
Unacceptable pairings. Certainly we should keep any Mckinnon far away from any strong Slytherin. I'm all for house unity, but these students can get quite political especially during these times. I also know the eldest Nott child should be kept away from Amelia Bones. Miss Bones, as mature as she is, might just do some damage if given the opportunity to do so with no real consequences. I fear for that young lady some days...too much bottled emotion.
Miss Davies in dueling club, really. Well it might turn out a little promising, heaven knows she could use a little extra practice. Let's keep her away from anyone that likes to joke, particularly Cas Cadwallader. She'd mistake him as...friendly I think. That reminds me, does Madame Pomfrey know when all of our scheduled meetings are? She really must be told in advance.
I approve your list of prefects to watch over the group for us. And as for Mr. Potter, well, perhaps he isn't the best one to have as a look out...
- Philip
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Post by professor thomas barnes on May 14, 2011 20:39:17 GMT -5
Philip,
They’ll also flatten any of the weaker Slytherins, or anyone weaker in general. The McKinnons are quite talented young witches. I think they should help promote house relations by pairing with a Hufflepuff or a Ravenclaw.
I don’t have much experience in dealing with the Head Girl. If her emotional state is fragile, perhaps we should not ask her to join the dueling club. Having one head should be sufficient, as we do also have some prefects and there is us of course. Is Cas Cadwallader also a Hufflepuff? How strange, one wouldn’t expect such trouble to come out of that house.
I really think we should have Madam Pomfrey on standby. I can owl her the meeting times tomorrow.
I’m hoping the dueling club will bring out a new level of maturity in Mr. Potter. The extra responsibility might do him some good.
- Thomas
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Post by professor philip valter on May 14, 2011 20:57:12 GMT -5
Tom,
Hufflepuff indeed! The house is much more interesting than most give it credit for. There is Miss. Davies, Mr. Cadwallader, Mr. Bagman (Have you seen him play!), and that Mr. Jane fellow...he's a different, but worth the company. I usually get a few Hufflpuff students wandering into my classroom, and for the most part they are easy to teach. Save a few unfortunate souls. They usually drop out early though. Actually Patrick Bones has signed up. I hear he's not so great in course work but I think if we make dueling club fun enough he'll excel.
Speaking of fun. How are we going to be go about this...club. I know we have to consider the safety of all students but dueling is not a particularly school friendly activity. Perhaps we shouldn't treat it as such?
- Philip
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Post by professor thomas barnes on May 22, 2011 13:24:51 GMT -5
 Philip,
I can’t say I’ve ever watched Bagman play. I don’t usually make it to the games, though I do try to watch any Ravenclaw finale matches. Unfortunately, I’ve heard some rumblings amongst my students that their keeper is not the greatest. Pity. Quidditch is a phenomenal chance for Ravenclaw to show the school that they have some athletic skill in addition to brilliant brains.
Currently the students treat the entire school as duel friendly. This is something we should work to curb by making the students see that a duel is serious, and can and often does have terrible consequences. Beyond multiple detentions for attempting to engage in one in the Great Hall, which doesn’t seem to be a deterrent for Slytherin and Gryffindor students.. They should realize that solving their problems with their words is much more productive than whipping their wands out at the first sign of trouble.
I think we should ban any student caught using what we teach them in the corridors. This might effectively stop the constant fighting.
- Thomas
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Post by professor philip valter on May 30, 2011 18:51:36 GMT -5
Tom,
Sounds like an absolutely fantastical idea! We can write a most engaging opening speech outlining the dangers of dueling, mix in a little fun to set their minds rolling and drop the bomb of full banning from the club and a weeks worth of detentions for dueling outside of organized club meetings. I can already hear the buzz it'll make on them.
Maybe this will get more students into our classrooms. Oh it's such a pity that the Stars and the Divine is lost on the students these days. But if they see their Professor being, what's the term they use so often now..."Far Out" then maybe class attendance will soar?
- Philip
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