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When Shadowhunter academies had first opened their doors to Downworlder teachers, both Catarina and Ragnor had tried to convince Magnus to give teaching a go. Catarina with her steady and unwavering faith that Magnus would be a positive influence on the young minds, and Ragnor with his teasing competitiveness, insisting that Magnus would screw the kids up royally.
Ah, good times.
No matter how much the two had tried, though, Magnus had declined.
Now, however, as the husband of one Alexander Gideon Lightwood-Bane, head of the New York Institute and - if rumors are to be believed - rising star candidate for the position of Inquisitor, Magnus has decided to reconsider that whole teaching deal.
Especially since the New York Institute has become kind of infamous among the Shadow World as the place for not only heroic world saving, but also progressive attitudes and relationships between Shadowhunters and Downworlders.
Which brought young, inquisitive, and impressionable minds in the form of 8 to 17 year old Shadowhunters in training, to the doors of the NYI for a true “field trip” experience.
Which is how Magnus Lightwood-Bane, a Warlock of immense power and more than four centuries of life experience, finds himself in the institute’s training room, standing in front of a group of 12 kids, and undertaking what he feels to be a momentous mission.
Putting some sense into the next generation of Shadowhunters' heads.
Which, really, if you think about it, might just be the most important task of all. And when considering previous experiences with various Shadowhunters in his aquaintance, also quite daunting.
Never the less, Magnus is ready and willing to take on this mission for the sake of preventing future stupidity catastrophes and recklessness worrying.
(And no, this obviously has nothing at all to do with any recent actions of selectively foolishly reckless heads of the institute’s. How ever could anyone arrive at such conclusions?)
"So, to reiterate all we have learned today, let’s have a little Q and A.
Let’s say you are strolling by an alley and a portal opens up, which releases a bunch of ravenor demons. What should you not do?"
Many of the children raise their hands eagerly, and Magnus points to one of the girls in the front. Ten year old Mathilda Ravenscar, who despite her young age, has shown some remarkable astuteness.
"Recklessly engage the hostiles without any backup."
Magnus gives her a proud smile and nods. "Right! And what should you do instead, in that completely hypothetical situation?"
Again many raise their hands, and Magnus is so very satisfied to see the obvious fruits of his work. He will be rubbing it in Ragnor’s face how great of a teacher he is.
“Yes, Preston.” He picks the 16 year old successor of the Gladstone line.
"Use either your cell phone, or your stele for a fire message, to send out a distress signal to the nearest allies, and keep an eye on the situation until reinforcements arrive." The teen answers dutifully.
Happily clapping his hands together, Magnus nods enthusiastically.
"Very good! And what if, in this still completely made up scenario, the demons are about to disperse and attack the mundanes before your backup has arrived?"
Eager hands rise up once again, and Magnus pats himself on the back for being the greatest teacher ever (Take that Ragnor!)
"If interference is needed to keep the demons away from the mundanes,” 12 year old Allison Longford answers, “make use of the portable temporary containment fields that the allied Warlocks have made for us, to buy a few extra minutes."
Magnus beams. "Excellent! You are all going to be wonderful future Shadowhunters who use their heads and don't make stupidly reckless decisions that land them in the infirmary, and have their spouses worried out of their minds. … Hypothetically speaking, of course.”
The children all smile and congratulate each other on a lesson well learned, and Magnus sends a covert look to the other side of the training hall, where one ‘head of the institute who is currently having his arm in a sling’, and one parabatai of the ‘head of the institute who is currently having his arm in a sling’, have been observing the class for the last few minutes.
Jace, with great amusement, leans over to Alec slightly, making sure to keep his voice low lest the training hall's acoustics carry their conversation back to the group of visiting Shadowhunters in training and their teacher.
"So, Magnus is still pissed about last week, huh?"
His parabatai and brother sighs deeply. “Yeah.”