History of Magic: When Magic and History Collide- 4th-7th Years

[Declan Murphy]

Declan stood outside the Room of Requirement, which had taken on the look of almost a stone slab of a door behind him- fitting considering what lay on the other side. He had asked the students to meet him there, which he knew was going to get some interesting responses.

He had read over the curriculum that was usually used for the History of Magic, buuut he also remembered almost falling asleep when taking the class himself. So. He wanted to shake things up a bit and add as much real-world experience as he could to the subject. And what better way to do that than to use some of his experiences from out and about in the world to help with that? All those expeditions were going to certainly come in handy. It had certainly helped him to envision what they needed today in the Room behind him.

He glanced at his watch before putting his hands in his pockets. He was never the patient type before, not when something exciting was on the horizon and their responses to today were going to be nothing short of. He forced himself to wait as very confused students started to gather in the halls around him, whispering to themselves about what the new professor was up to. They'd still had that old ghost teaching the subject, used to this being a time to doze at their desks, but they were about to get a wake-up call.

Once it seemed like he had a decent number of students before him, he pulled his hands from his pockets and clapped them together, getting their attention, "Alright, ladies and gents, welcome to History of Magic. Now, I know basically all of you are confused, after all, I gave zero indications as to what was going to happen today, just that you needed to meet me here," he smiled as some of them made faces that made it very clear he hit the nail on the head, "Well. To the uninitiated, this room behind me is the Room of Requirement. It sounds mystical, but it's a room that changes into whatever is needed at the time. In this case, it's going to be the location of our class today," this certainly got some of their attention, knowing now that the room was not just a basic room.

"Now. Some of you may be aware of who I am, but for those of you who don't this is useful information to help you understand what's about to happen. My name is Professor Declan Murphy. I have taken over the class for History of Magic. I am not the kind of person who greatly enjoys a lecture unless there's something valuable to learn that cannot be gained any other way. Prior to coming here, I was traveling abroad, going to different expedition sites, and learning about ancient secrets of both the magical and Muggle variety. You'd be surprised how often they can be found side by side," he chuckled a little, "So today, I want you to be able to get a hands-on experience with the thrill of making those discoveries, of making those connections, and the curiosity that fills you about the unknown," he said.

He held up his hands as people started to chatter, "When we go into the room, do not touch any of the tools just yet. I will give you a quick tutorial on how each thing works and then I will have you split off in pairs. Preferably, I'd like to see some cooperation between houses and years, but let's see what we can do, hm?" he smiled a bit at that, "Alright. Follow me!" he said before turning and pushing the door open.

The room inside was bright and as students would make their way in, they'd find it... hot...and sandy? As they passed through what seemed like flaps of a canvas tent, they'd find themselves standing in the middle of an excavation site in a desert ruin, equipment set up at various locations. As soon as they were all in, Declan began to go through the different tools, demonstrating how to use them properly, making sure to tell them all the things needed for safety, such as wearing gloves, watching their hands when using the chisel, so on and so forth. Once he finished, he motioned around them, "There are more than enough mock spots to give everyone a chance to explore and find their own treasures, go ahead and spread out and try to find a partner that isn't in your house or year unless its unavoidable!" he said, clapping his hands once more as a signal to go.