DADA-201 Lessons

I hope you all found the midterm to be appropriately difficult. I recognize that each of you is at a different place and I hope you will reflect upon your work during the first half of this term and use the midterm as an indicator of where you are. If you are struggling with understanding the content, or aren’t quite grasping a concept, please do not hesitate to reach out to any of my PAs, my Head Student, or myself. Each of us is more than willing to work with you to ensure that you fully understand the material.

Now that we have added more spells to your repertoire, it is time to start informing you about some more of the creatures that inhabit our world. You all would do well to take this part of the term as seriously as you did the previous; knowing spells is great, but it is just as important to know how to handle as many creatures as possible. Spellwork means nothing if you do not know the proper spells to use, if spells are even necessary.

For the second half of this term, we will be covering creatures similar to the way we did in your First Year; however, the creatures we will be learning this term will all have a more practical nature to them.

Pogrebin - An Overview
Have you ever felt like you were being watched? Ever gotten the prickly feeling on the back of your neck as your hairs raise? Many of you probably wrote it off to superstition and continued on your way. The fact that you are all still sitting here may even mean that you were right, but this will not always be the case. Many of the creatures you will encounter as you explore our world will not come out and openly oppose you. One such creature is the Pogrebin, a creature that preys on your despair.

Trying to spot a Pogrebin is not easy; the top of their head looks very much like a mossy rock and when they crouch down, they always direct the top of their head so it is facing you. This means that you will likely not spot them right away since, to your eyes, you will only see a rock. These creatures are native to Russia, but there have been known sightings in other parts of the world as well - rarely, but they do occur.

The Pogrebin is rated XXX by the Ministry of Magic, meaning that they should not present life threatening danger if you are aware of the effect a Pogrebin has on you and how to defend yourself against them. They will not be easy, but if you are properly prepared, and keep your emotions controlled once you recognize that a Pogrebin is attacking you, you will be able to leave the situation in one piece.

How They Attack
Pogrebins are, by human understanding, stalkers. The Pogrebin is not a creature that immediately comes out and attacks you directly. In fact, it is unlikely that you will ever see a Pogrebin approaching you. Instead, you will often feel the sensation that I described at the beginning of the lesson: a sense of unease will wash over you, you will feel like you are being watched, and the hairs on the back of your neck will raise a little. You will look around and see nothing, but you will still sense that there is something there, following you.

If you get that feeling while walking, you might be facing a Pogrebin. A certain indication that you are being followed is the sense of despair that will engulf you later on; you will begin to feel as if your life is completely hopeless. For a while, these feelings will be completely manageable and will not hinder your journey in any way. This is the most critical time to recognize the feeling; if you let the feeling progress, you will not be in a good place emotionally to fight back against the Pogrebin.

If you do not recognize it for what it is, the feelings will continue to strengthen and the feeling of hopelessness will grow until the despair completely engulfs you. When this despair gets too strong, it will cause you to collapse where you stand, no longer having the will to go on. Once you are down, this is when the pogrebin comes out in the open and will directly attack you. If this happens, it is all over.

How To Defend
This does not mean that it is impossible to escape an attack from a Pogrebin; in fact, there are several methods of defense that will be effective against them. Most simple jinxes and hexes will be effective, as well as most advanced spells like the Stunning Spell (more about that in Lesson Nine). Finally, you can defend against a Pogrebin simply by kicking it. The shock of being recognized, as well as the physical pain of being kicked, will cause the creature to flee the scene and allow you to continue on without further problem.

That being said, none of these methods of defense will be effective if you do not know that they are necessary. The way a Pogrebin preys on a person is progressive; if you are unaware of how you personally feel and how your emotions work, it will be very easy for a pogrebin to catch you unaware. This is why the meditation we discussed earlier this term and general self-awareness is an important part of the defense against them - if you know yourself, you will recognize emotions that are unusual.

Psychic Staring Effect
Part of this understanding of strange emotions comes from understanding why exactly we think and act the way that we do. One of the fields that assists in that is the study of psychology. In both the magical and Muggle worlds, there are people who strive to understand our psyche further, known as psychologists. One psychologist even attempted to study the sensation that was mentioned today - that sensation of being watched.

In 1898, Edward B. Titchener was teaching a class of juniors when he observed that several students mentioned feeling a tingling on the back of their neck and claimed that they were able to recognize when a classmate was staring at them. Titchener conducted a series of studies and found a null correlation (meaning that one item did not affect the other) between the sensation of being watched and when his students identified someone else “watching” them. What was actually occurring was that, when the individual who felt “watched” turned to find who was watching them, others noticed the movement. They, in turn, looked to find the source of the movement and happened to be looking at the person who felt “watched.” This led the “watched” individual to believe that the person now looking at them had been looking at them the whole time.

Though that study found a null correlation, it led to the continued study of the phenomenon, trying to understand why we have that sensation of being watched. Some psychologists tend to believe that it is a telekinetic sensation and reveals that humans are capable of Extrasensory Perception (ESP) while others believe that it is simply a natural part of the human instinct - something that stayed with us through the process of evolution. This is discussed more in Divination, for those who are interested in learning more!

The studies that have been conducted are inconclusive. This is because, though they demonstrate a correlation, they do not prove a causation between the two phenomena. Because there is no clear causation, there is no single correct answer as to whether the Psychic Staring Effect is real or not. If you find the topic interesting and wish to research it further, I certainly encourage it. The pursuit of knowledge can only benefit you in all your endeavors.

Closing - The Trifecta of Fear
If the results of all of the psychological studies are inconclusive, why mention the effect at all? Because, whether there is a true correlation between being stared at from behind and the sensation of being watched or if it is simply a coincidence, all psychologists agree that something happens within the brain in those moments that touches our sense of fear, even the slightest amount; we are aware of something that, in theory, we should not be aware of.

This effect, whether true or not, provides a basis for us to discuss one of the many reasons that we feel fear - when faced with the unknown, we will all face different levels of fear. This lesson, and this effect in particular, begins a trifecta of fears that we will be forced to face in this course. This trifecta is the Fear of the Physical, Fear of the Conscious, and Fear of the Subconscious. Today’s fear, the Fear of the Physical, is a fear that can only be combated through preparation - you cannot be caught off guard if your guard is always up; you cannot be made a fool of if you know how to handle as many situations as possible.

The next fear that will be faced in this course will be faced next term, when you will be forced to face your deepest fears - the Fear of the Conscious. Some of you may just have thought of what that fear is, others may not be sure. Rest assured, all of you, to some level, are aware of what fear you will face, since all of these fears resides within your conscious mind. They can be recalled without entering a dreamlike state.

The final fear, the final piece of this trifecta, will not be covered until your Sixth Year in this course. This final fear - The Fear of the Subconscious. These fears are a little harder to identify, since they reside within the subconscious. These fears are so ingrained within you that you are not aware of them until they are triggered - which is where these Dark creatures - the Dementors - come in; they trigger the subconscious and draw out all of the fears and the unpleasantness that you have experienced.

Now that you all are attempting to assess your fears, in all aspects of the Trifecta, I will leave you to your assignments. There will be a quiz, as normal, and an essay assignment.

Class dismissed!

Original lesson written by Professor Jericho Penrose