Exausted and full of self -hatred. on Transfiguration

Professor Marlowe

February 11, 2006 11:10 PM

Lesson One, First Years by Professor Marlowe

Well, Lina, this is it, she thought as the bell rang, beginning the class, and she looked around the assembled first years. Merlin, they looked small. Her two eldest nieces, Christine and Ophelia, were ten and nine, and they looked considerably bigger in memory than any of these eleven-year-olds. It was probably a question of familiarity. They'd start looking more in-proportion when she was used to them. With that in mind, she gave the class a brief, businesslike smile and began the opening statements she had spent most of the previous night preparing.

"Good morning," she said, long since past noticing any but the most drastic reactions to an accent that was half Boston and half Britain. "I am Professor Marlowe, and, as should be apparent, your instructor in the field of Transfiguration." Using her wand as a pointer, she indicated the name written to the left of the board behind her. She'd never manage Tabitha Newton's easygoing charm, but she had never aspired to be her old Arithmancy teacher. "This isn't a subject to be taken lightly. The smallest error has the potential to cause large amounts of damage." She rounded the desk to face them more directly. "I would advise you to discard anything you think you already know about this subject now. I can tell you from experience that it'll save you time and effort." Enough in that vein. It was time to move on to the lesson.

"Today's spell is a relatively simple one involving objects similar in size and, though less closely, appearance. You'll each be issued a match - I've charmed them not to ignite, so be kind enough to not try to set my room on fire - and will attempt to Transfigure it into a needle." She tried not to remember the day she had been taught this particular spell and had been scolded by the teacher, one Professor Writworth, when she argued that a needle looked absolutely nothing like a match. "The incantation for this is Myxanti Nere. Watch, please." She lifted a match from the small box of them resting on her desk and held it up for their inspection, then pointed her wand directly at it. As she pronounced the incantation, she moved her wand in a straight downward diagonal motion finished with a flick that returned it to the original position. She didn't attempt to deny being internally relieved when it worked correctly. Having a beginner's spell go wrong because of nerves would be the exact opposite of the start she hoped to make.

"Focus and precision of pronunciation and wand movement are essential to success with this spell," she told the class, carefully placing the needle beside the container holding the matches. "Your instructions are written to the right of the board, as I'm sure some of you have noticed. I'd strongly advise copying them into your notes for future reference. We'll practice the wand movement and then the pronunciation of the spell before you attempt the Transfiguration." A few minutes later, everyone seemed to have gotten first the motion and then the spell, each performed without the other to prevent any accidents, and she deemed it safe to send out the matches.

"Try not to become impatient if the spell doesn't come easily at first," she said, making her tone a little softer than it had been. Newton had always done that, and it was effective in causing fractional lowering of anxiety levels in most cases. Selina's had never been one such case - she had been known as a perfectionist and all-around geek by midterm of her first year - but others had said that it worked. "Don't hesitate to ask for help if you need it. You may begin." \n\n

Subthreads:

trying it out by Saul Pierce with Melanie Rose, Eduard Grimaud, Morgaine Carey

So much for beginner's luck. by Lila Gringe with Allie St.Martin, The St.Martins, Professor Marlowe

Exausted and full of self -hatred. by Adam Brockert with Ginger Silverstein

Mixanti Near? by Rob Stone with Geoffrey Spindler

I'm walking on pins and needles, pals... by Geoffrey Layne

0 Professor Marlowe Lesson One, First Years 0 Professor Marlowe 1 5

Saul Pierce

February 14, 2006 11:42 AM

trying it out by Saul Pierce

Saul arrived a few minutes before class. He was accustomed to learning from Regina who got terribly impatient if she arrived for a lesson before her students. Simon said even the Unfab Four had gotten to Regina's trailer on time for their lessons. He wasn't sure if he should believe that, but nobody had disagreed so it was possible, he supposed. Regina could be scary enough to make even those four punctual.

He picked a desk in the middle of the room. While he liked to be the center of attention sometimes, he didn't anticipated during class to be one of those times. Still, even if he wasn't at the center of attention, he could at least be at the center of the room. Good positioning, there. Front was more visible, but from the center he could hear and be heard, see and be seen more easily by those on the peripheries.

He arranged his parchment. More used to muggle paper he had to unroll it a few times before he realized he could use his inkpot to weigh it down so it didn't keep curling up on him. His quill he set down on top of it as well, though the feather wasn't really heavy enough to do any good by itself. Anticipating trouble with the quill and ink, he also took out a number two pencil - the environmentally friendly recycled kind - and his pencil sharpener. While waiting for the rest of the students to take their seats and the class to start, he twisted it around until it got a decent point that didn't leave flecks of graphite everywhere.

Class started soon thereafter, and Saul listened, not entirely attentively, but enough to remember most of what she said. He watched her, he watched his classmates, and he studied the room. Only when she told them to take notes did it occur to him that maybe he should be writing any of it down. But she had provided the important stuff already, so he just picked up his quill and started to copy that.

He quickly grew irritated with needing to dip the quill after every couple of words and soon took up the pencil instead. Once he finished with that, he took out his wand. It wasn't new, exactly. He'd gotten it a few years ago when he'd found out he wasn't a squib. California was a bit more lax in underage magic laws and the California Pierces were a bit loose with the regulations anyway so he'd been taught a few basics when he was eight, but that was mostly everyday charms that help speed up chores. Nothing difficult or fancy.

Nothing like Transfiguration.

Simon was good at it. Saul didn't need to doubt that because Saul had seen Simon do transfiguration before. Even Regina said he had a talent for it. He wondered if that was one of things the teacher was telling him to forget because that Simon was good at it was pretty much all he knew of the practice. Saul wouldn't mind forgetting that. He really didn't need the pressure of living up to Simon's ability.

He looked down at the matchstick that had wandered over to his desk while he copied down the words on the board. A needle, huh. He was familiar with needles, though mostly his family snuck into a tent and just used a mending spell. Not all his relatives were magical, though, so some of them had more mundane mending kits. Some of the ones really gung-ho about sweatshops and anti-captialism and environmentalism and whatever else they were protesting or supporting even made their own clothes. So, yeah, needles.

Whole new meaning of anti-captitalism right there. They could make their own needles, too.

Right. Match to needle. He could do this. One's wood and one's metal, but that's not really significant. One just happens to get chopped down in tree farms and natural forests while the other is refined from ore dug up from the earth. Chemists alone know what that fire starting stuff on the tip of the match is made of.

Magic defies logic though, and Saul was familiar enough with the concept that he could push the impossibility of turning a wooden match into a metalic needle aside. This was made easier by the fact that his science education was minimal and the only laws of conservation he was aware of were enforced by the EPA rather than physics.

His wand hovered over the match, and he drew in a breath to help him focus. "Myxanti Nere," he cast, and was quickly rewarded by nothing happening. He waited a moment, but still there was no change.

"Myxanti Nere," he tried again, this time with . . . still no success. Another few moments passed, proving that the match fully intended to stay a match.

Saul frowned and narrowed his eyes at the stubborn piece of wood. "Myxanti Nere," he cast once more. Once more, nothing happened. He sat back in his chair and scowled at it. The thing was probably an expert at meditation. It was at one with its inner match and would never be persuaded to change form.

He reached over and switched matches with the kid sitting next to him and tried again, "Myxanti Nere." He waited. "Freaking thing. This one's a yoga master, too."\n\n

1 Saul Pierce trying it out 82 Saul Pierce 0 5

Melanie Rose

February 14, 2006 11:39 PM

Transformation Impossible by Melanie Rose

As students arrived to the class, so did Melanie. She was a nervous wreck and couldn't wait for class to start. With this she took a seat next to the wall and directly in the last seat. She didn't want to be a nuisance if she had done something incredibly wrong. To her this was also a safety precaution in separating herself and the rest of the class to be able to pay more attention.
Melanie's hidden eyes scanned the room and her eyes fell on the board. It looked like these notes would be important. Quickly she pulled out a bound book with blank pages, a quill, and a small bottle of black ink. She had never used a quill and ink and wondered if it was any easier than a pencil or pen in the non-magical world. Letting her thoughts be tucked away she started on the notes. Using a quill didn't seem all that too hard except the fact the quill was rather large for her small hand. She got about half way and the professor started speaking. They had to turn matches into needles. Wand work. Another skill she would have to develop randomly. She listened to the rest of what Professor Marlowe had to say.
"Incantation is Myxanti Nere," She muttered to herself as a needle was placed upon her desk, "Lovely. I'm doomed."
She stared at the matches and wondered how something like magic could exist. Dismissing the random thought she pulled out her wand. 'How could any of this be real?' She tried the incantation and the wand movement of a diagonal going down then back into starting position. Nothing happened. She waited a few more seconds and still nothing.
She tried the spell again with more devotion on learning on how to make it change but nothing happened. Curiously, she glanced around the room to see if anyone else had succeeded. Her eye caught a boy who seemed to be getting a little frustrated at his matches. His face unseen but the switching of matches is what gave it way from watching.
"Are you having trouble, too? Mine isn't changing either. May there be some form of trick to it?" She asked him. He wasn't all that far away and the other student's looked more busy than he did. \n\n

0 Melanie Rose Transformation Impossible 0 Melanie Rose 0 5

Saul

February 15, 2006 1:49 PM

I'll say by Saul

Saul turned around in his seat when he heard someone call to him. She was back a row and over a few seats but she was looking right at him, so he assumed she was the one who'd spoken. Saul shrugged in ignorance. If there was a trick to it, he certainly hadn't figured out what it was.

"Personally," he offered back to her, "I think the teacher snagged all these matches from some really good martial arts guy and they've got the strength of mind to resist the transformation." It didn't matter if they were inanimate objects. Magic did weird things to enchanted items and Marlowe herself had said they'd been magicked to not start fires.

One of his cousins had a mess kit that had followed her around like a puppy for days just because she'd slightly miscast a simple cleaning spell when Simon distracted her while she was casting it. She'd had to tie a string between it and her ankle so that it didn't look too freaky when she passed by any muggles. She'd had to explain she was doing that because she'd lost a bet.

The fire stopping spell might have been as improperly cast as Annie's cleaning spell and now all these matches were zen masters. It stood to reason.

Or the girl might be right and there was a trick to it that he didn't know.\n\n

1 Saul I'll say 82 Saul 0 5

Lila Gringe

February 15, 2006 5:56 PM

So much for beginner's luck. by Lila Gringe

Large amounts of damage. That phrase stood out immensely in what Professor Marlowe was saying, to Lila at least. She didn't want to cause large amounts of damage. She didn't want to witness large amounts of damage. She didn't want to be remotely knowledgeable of large amounts of damage that occurred.

Though 'large amounts of damage' stood out, Lila paid plenty of attention to the rest of what the professor was saying. When her father had homeschooled her, he had never exactly welcomed questions- he preferred simply to lecture her. Due to this, she doubted anyone would appreciate questions- especially not a professor she didn't know. Thus, she paid attention.

For a moment, she wondered what transfiguration actually was- but when Professor Marlowe explained what they were to try to do, she put it together. So they were changing things into other things. Fascinating. She wasn't certain it would work for her, but it had worked for the professor, so it had to be possible.

That said, it could have simply been sleight of hand. Lila wasn't inclined to theorize conspiracies, however, and that was what it would have to be if all of this was sleight of hand: a gargantuan conspiracy.

Myxanti Nere. What a weird phrase. Still, if it had worked for Professor Marlowe, it ought to work for her. She pulled out her wand, taking a moment to look closely at the thing. A twelve-and-a-half inch length of mahogany with a bit of what was supposed to be unicorn hair inside of it was going to help her turn a match into a needle? She couldn't help but feel skeptical for a moment.

Despite her unavoidable doubts, she waved her wand in an approximation of the motion the professor had used, saying "Myxanti Nere!" as she did so. She wasn't surprised to see that her match was still a needle. Hmm. What, she wondered, had she done wrong?\n\n

0 Lila Gringe So much for beginner's luck. 0 Lila Gringe 0 5

Melanie Rose

February 17, 2006 3:34 PM

The awkward silence after something strange. by Melanie Rose

Melanie Rose just stared at the boy. His answer was incredibly..... creative and.... unique. Okay, In her eyes it was completely out of this universe and maybe he could be either over imaginative or a psycho to think matches to have the mind strength to resist the transformation. It may have come from a martial arts guy but to have powers was impossible, illogical, and just couldn't happen. Melanie caught her vivid stare, simply showing what she thought of him, and stopped by biting her lip.
"I'm sorry," She shook her head trying to stifle the small laugh that was trying to escape, "That is the strangest... idea I've ever heard in my pathedic... life. I don't mean to be rude. I just can't think of any other way to say anything."
There it came the small uttered chuckle she had tried to hold back. It came quickly and left just the same. This made her a bit brighter in the skin. She had probably just made an enemy with someone she had just met and not even properly at that. \n\n

0 Melanie Rose The awkward silence after something strange. 0 Melanie Rose 0 5

Eduard Grimaud

February 17, 2006 7:10 PM

Matchmaker, matchmaker make me a needle! by Eduard Grimaud

Grim yawned as the teacher prattled on about transformations. He wanted a serious subject, like defense against the dark arts. The ability to turn someone into a frog was so, well, middle ages. If you need a needle, buy a needle, and not a stupid match. Anyway, most people had lighters these days.

So when it came to transforming the match, he made a half hearted attempt, then watched the others trying too hard to be magical. He looked at Saul, who's perplexed face and mutterings about yoga masters were confusing the rest of the class. He was looking forward to playing Quidditch with him, he knew that the Pecari boys had to stick together against all the girls at Sonara. They were all so perky and happy, something that made Grim cringe.

When he heard Melanie Rose semi-insult his friend, he thought of a better use for the spell. He subtly pointed his wand at her shoes, and spoke quietly, 'Myxanti Nere'. He was focusing so hard on changing the shoes, that he did not realise when he was interrupted by someone.

\n\n

0 Eduard Grimaud Matchmaker, matchmaker make me a needle! 0 Eduard Grimaud 0 5

Morgaine Carey

February 17, 2006 11:34 PM

This ain't cheerleading camp, Eddie. by Morgaine Carey

There was one advantage of her Transfiguration lesson that Morgaine recognized almost immediately: its members were exclusively first years. The absence of the upper years meant she wouldn't have to worry about another confrontation with a certain manipulative, backstabbing, and borderline sane inferior life form known as Gwenhwyfar to the more charitably inclined. Unfortunately, she also ended up having to take the last available seat due to her bag falling open two corridors away from the classroom, landing her beside a boy from her own House. She shot him an unfriendly look meant to discourage him from speaking to her, but she got the feeling she hadn't been noticed. Whether that was a good or bad thing was up for debate.

Though she frankly didn't think she could have cared less about the lesson, she paid attention to what Marlowe said. Even Gwen wasn't stupid enough to let poor grades come to their father's attention. He wouldn't tolerate it. Well, he didn't tolerate anything well, but perfection was his focal point when it came to how intelligent his daughters passed themselves off as being. She felt downright proud of herself when she obliged the foreign professor by writing down the nonsense on the board. Upon receiving a match, she rummaged around in her bag until she located her wand and pulled it out, giving the slightly better than seven inches of cypress a dark look against failure before attempting the spell.

She didn't know if the wand was insulted or not, but nothing happened. Scowling in earnest, now, she tried again, with similar results. Her small hands were curling into fists as she glared at the wand and the match, trying to work out which of them was malfunctioning. She vaguely heard a male voice claiming something was a master of something called yoga, whatever that was supposed to mean. A third useless attempt lead to her throwing the match down in a fit of temper, though she did refrain from throwing her wand at Marlowe's head. She hated seeing anyone do something better than she could do it, even when that someone was old enough to be her mother and well-versed enough in the subject to teach it.

Morgaine found her attention called away from her stubborn equipment by the boy next to her. He had moved, just a little. That wouldn't have been so remarkable if she hadn't been desperate for a distraction and noticed that he'd already given up on Transfiguring his accursed match. He had his wand pointed at some Teppenpaw's shoes and had just muttered the incantation. "Excuse me?" she muttered, hoping to get the dolt's attention before any real harm was done. If there had ever been a time for Marlowe to be telepathic, this was it.

When she got no response to her telepathic call for help or her attempt to distract her Housemate, she acted before she really thought about it, reaching over and grabbing the boy's wrist in a concentrated but mostly futile attempt to wrench him around to face her. Though he remained pointed more or less in the same direction, she was able to jerk his wand away from its target. "Are you deaf or just stupid?" she hissed, not caring that it crossed the line between rude and socially suicidal if directed to someone of even marginal importance who wasn't related or part of her close circle. Her greenish-blue eyes, always made to look a little eerie by their size and color against her small, virtually featureless face and dark complexion, were glaring up at him almost as fiercely as they had been at her match. "Marlowe told us quite plainly that fooling around causes major damage. If my father found out major damage happened anywhere near me, it would automatically be my fault since he hasn't got t'other one to blame things on anymore. Since I want to keep living, you are going to quit trying to kill the Teppenpaw even if you are too lazy to actually do your work." She wanted to kick herself, but couldn't do it without losing her grip on the would-be Teppenpaw murderer.She had said too much again. That was more likely to put her in bad books with Alasdair than getting blamed for what someone else did.

It didn't change the fact that her Housemate was apparently dead stupid, though. How dense did you have to be to misinterpret large amounts of damage? Unless he was as sick in the head as Father and enjoyed causing large amounts of damage...oh, Merlin, her mouth was going to be her death, one of these days... "So you can either do what I told you to because I told you to and you're smarter than you act, or I can start yelling that you're trying to assault me and drag Marlowe into it, whichever you prefer." Where was Gwen's brain when she needed it? Her sister was the one who was good at handling this sort of thing in a socially acceptable manner. She was horrible at doing so, as she had just gone out of her way to prove. There was nothing left to do but carry on with it, now. She took about two seconds to ask every deity she'd ever heard of or invented to save her from herself and everyone else and kept glaring. \n\n

0 Morgaine Carey This ain't cheerleading camp, Eddie. 81 Morgaine Carey 0 5

Allie St.Martin

February 18, 2006 12:40 AM

So much for not embarrassing myself. by Allie St.Martin

Allie knew from experience that there was something about her that repelled learning as much as her siblings and cousins did. All of the St.Martins and her other close relatives knew it, too. It was accepted as a point of fact that she would prove an embarrassment to her parents, her sister, and her family the moment she began her classes at Sonora, but even Mama hadn't been able to come up with an acceptable excuse for sending Lila to school while keeping her at home. Her mother was the final authority on such things, and if she said claiming that Allie was sickly wouldn't work, then it wouldn't work. Mama and Lila had both explained that to her, and she had accepted it. The only thing she could do would be to try to minimalize the damage.

She had been hoping to sit with her sister in classes, but Lila was proving very good at avoiding her. Allie tried to convince herself that it was just coincidence, but when Lila managed to suddenly veer off in random directions on seven separate occasions that Allie tried to sit with or speak to her, the theory wore a bit thin. She understood why Lila was doing it - she'd be failing her in job of helping Allie to adjust if she didn't put her off the idea that things could be like they had been - but it didn't make Allie miss her any less. It wasn't natural when she wasn't able to know at any time, day or night, where her twin was and what she was doing there, and she didn't like it.

She couldn't let herself dwell on it, though, never mind admit it. She had to show Lila that she was fine, that she was dealing with their separation as well as Li was. If she could do that, then it seemed reasonable to think that Lila would start talking to her again.

The sight of the teacher immediately discouraged her from looking around the room for Lila in the hopes of getting the seat beside hers. She sat down in the first open space she saw, beside a girl she didn't know, and tried to focus on pulling out essentials like her wand, her quill, and some parchment. She jumped as if she'd been goosed when the oddly-accented professor began to speak, and flinched at the part about the consequences of botching things. It might be in everyone's best interests if she just took a failing grade and didn't attempt the spell.

The thought of what Lila and their mother might say if it got back to them that she had failed a class made her gingerly lift the match dealt out to her and use a shaking hand to point her wand at it. At least it couldn't catch on fire... "M-Myxanti Nere, she whispered, trying the spell and wand movement Professor Marlowe had just had them rehearse. The stutter didn't cause the kind of catastrophe she had been half-expecting, but it did result in a few sparks from her wand making the match launch itself out of her still-shaking hand and bounce off the hand of the girl next to her before falling to the floor. She dove towards the floor to retrieve it, and ended up hitting the other girl with her elbow as she came back up.

"I'm so sorry," she blurted instinctually. "I didn't mean to - sorry - Lila!" She had no idea the girl she had just apologized to shared the name of the person she was trying to get to help her. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a dark head of hair adorned with a red ribbon suddenly turn as far away from her general direction as was physically possible. Her eyes managed to get even bigger when she noticed the Crotalus emblem on the robes of the one unfortunate enough to have to sit next to her. "I'm sorry," she muttered. "My sister - she's not like me - not her fault - " She ventured a look upwards and tried to compose herself. Lila'd never talk to her again if she kept carrying on like this. "Do you know her? She's Lila St.Martin. I'm Alexandra St.Martin." She decided it was safest to look at her hands. "I like Allie better, though." \n\n

16 Allie St.Martin So much for not embarrassing myself. 76 Allie St.Martin 0 5

Adam Brockert

February 18, 2006 1:57 AM

Exausted and full of self -hatred. by Adam Brockert

I don't wanna go in here, thought Adam as he entered the Transfiguration classroom, Don't wanna go in here

It wasn't the subject Adam had a problem with. Transfiguration was a nice safe subject in comparison to others. It wasn't like Defense Against Dark Arts or Care of Magical Creatures filled with dark scary creatures. Things that were poisonous or had sharp teeth. No, it was the people . He shuddered a bit. The whole class would be there. Adam was terrified of screwing up and making a fool of himself.

Not to mention he was exhausted. Adam had gotten like four hours of sleep the previous night. Now he could barely stay awake. His stomach was upset too, like it often was when he hadn't gotten enough rest.

He noticed that a Teppenpaw girl had taken the seat Adam normally would want. The last one by the wall. Well, he couldn't sit in a place where people could see him, so he crept over to the back seat on the other side of the classroom.

Adam pulled out his supplies and tried to listen as Professor Marlowe introduced herself and gave the lesson. He began to nod off and quickly jerked himself awake. I can't fall asleep here. Adam told himself I'll get in trouble and embarass myself.....or they'll do nasty things to me in my sleep.

He took his match and muttered the incantation over it while making motions with his wand. Why wasn't anything happening?

Because you're useless and stupid. He berated himself. Nobody will like you here, except Kaylie and you'll never get to see her cuz she's in a different house and year. Adam blinked back a tear. Fortunately nobody could see him.

He tried again. Still nothing. Apparently Adam didn't have his cousin Marshall's transfiguration abilities. Maybe it was because of the commotions with the other kids that kept him from fully concentrating. Perhaps he was afraid to fail in front of them. Or perhaps he was just lousy at this subject.

Or maybe it was just because he was so tired. As soon as I get this, I can sleep. Adam thought. No, wait. I can't because of THEM . He turned his attention back to the match muttering the spell and quickly shutting his eyes. He couldn't look....couldn't look at his failure again. He opened them again. If Adam closed them too long, he'd fall asleep.

This time, the match was more...needle shaped. It was still match-colored. Actually, it looked more like a toothpick. Adam's spell had done something, just not what it was supposed to do. Had he done it wrong? Adam felt his face flush. He couldn't even transfigure it into the right thing! \n\n

11 Adam Brockert Exausted and full of self -hatred. 78 Adam Brockert 0 5

Lila Gringe

February 18, 2006 4:17 PM

So much for socially correct. by Lila Gringe

Lila had been halfway to coming to the conclusion that it was because she didn't believe the spell would work that it didn't work when a match bounced off her hand. In itself, that didn't surprise her much- her fellow students were certainly making mistakes, being people.

What surprised her was being elbowed. It didn't bother her, just startled her. When her fellow first year began blurting out mismatched phrases, she couldn't help raising her eyebrows, wondering what had put the girl on edge. Certainly, whoever the dark-haired girl was had bumped Lila, but it had obviously been an accident. So why react so . . . extremely? The Crotalus didn't know.

Of course, she really preferred to avoid any reaction but the most necessary, so perhaps this wasn't extreme, for other people. Content with that explanation, Lila gave the other girl as comforting a smile as she could manage.

"It's all right, really it is," she assured the girl as she apologized for the first time. And then she heard her name- her own name- and her eyes went wide. She didn't know this girl, and yet the girl seemed to know her name!

The puzzle was solved, however, a few moments later, when the shorter girl explained that she was the sister of Lila St.Martin, whom Lila Gringe had met at the feast. The other girl had mentioned but not dwelled on her twin, who was now right next to Lila.

The question was, of course, what to say. She had two options: She could be nice, which was what she was inclined to do. Or, she could absolutely blow Alexandra- no, Allie- off.

There wasn't really any doubt in her mind about what she was going to do. "It's all right," she repeated, and then added "Yes, I know her. She's in my house. I'm Lila Gringe."

It was a lot to say all at once, but that was all right, Lila supposed. If she was going to help someone who obviously needed it, it didn't matter if she had to talk.\n\n

0 Lila Gringe So much for socially correct. 0 Lila Gringe 0 5

Ginger Silverstein

February 18, 2006 4:49 PM

Nervous... by Ginger Silverstein

Ginger had been worried about her first class since she arrived at Sonora. When she went to muggle school, she knew the people she had class with. People weren't very nice to her, except the people that were deemed "nerds". She wouldn't really get made fun of, but she wasn't noticed too often. It was probably because she was quiet around everyone in school. Outside of school she was a little louder. She talked to her parents a lot, and her friends at school. The problem was, that her parents, or her freinds weren't here. They were in Canada, and muggles, except her friend Shauni. Her friend Shauni was shipped off to a magical school in Canada. She missed her friends, and video games. This was a life she had to get used to, and it wasn't way too bad. No one had made fun of her, or made her cry yet, but she was prepared for it.

She didn't have very much sleep the following night. She was very nervous about classes, but she was also excited. She was going to make magic! Something she thought she would only be able to do in video games, and Dundgeons and Dragons. She was afraid that it wouldn't work, afraid that she would mess it up. Afraid that everyone will make fun of her.

Ginger had two cups of coffee that morning to make sure she would stay awake. She had a little too much, so she was slightly shaking. She wasn't really hyper, but her body wanted her to be. Under her forest green robes she wore a green shirt that had a green mushroom from Mario on it that said "1 up!". She wore a pair of faded blue jeans, and her usual black high top converses.Her blond hair had green steaks in it, and she wore kiwi melon flavored lipgloss on her lips.

She saw some of her fellow Pecaris sitting around, but didn't sit with them. They were a bit too close to the front, and Ginger always felt uncomfortable sitting in the front even in muggle school. She gave a nervous smile to Saul and Grim as she passed them, and headed to the back.

She saw a boy that looked about as nervous, scared, and tired as she felt. He seemed safe enough, and not very mean. Ginger lightly sat next to him, she wanted to ask, but the boy didn't seem like he wanted to be bothered. She felt her heart beat get a little faster when she got a match. She wrote down the incantation, and everything the teacher told her to write down with a black gel pen.

She got her wand out, and pointed it to the match. It felt so neat to hold a wand! She made the correct motion with her wand, and said quietly "Myxanti Nere," nothing happened at all. "Come on!" She hissed at her match. "Please?" Nothing happened, she tried it again, and the match turned to metal. It was still in the shape of a match. She frowned, and looked over to see her neighbors progress. His match wasn't a needle either.

"I-is m-magic a-always l-like th-this?" She asked the boy. She was still horribly shaking.

\n\n

0 Ginger Silverstein Nervous... 1484 Ginger Silverstein 0 5

Rob Stone

February 18, 2006 6:11 PM

Mixanti Near? by Rob Stone

Rob listened as his Transfiguration professor spoke about what they were trying to do. A match to a needle? Hmmm. The only match Rob was thinking about, or dreaming about, was a Quidditch match. He had signed up for tryouts and was anxious to start. He heard everyone saying strange words and was shaken out of his thoughts, embarrassed that he had daydreamed. What was the incantation? Mixante Near? That's what it sounded like at least. He said it, but felt everyone staring at him. Oops. Try again. Myxanti Nere? There, that was better. He tried for the wand movement next. He hesitantly moved his wand in the straight downward diagonal motion he had seen before, then tried finished with a flick that brought it back to where he started, but he almost dropped his wand. Rob felt his cheeks go a little red. He got it right on the third try.

Finally, the match came to him. He slowly and cautiously pointed his wand at it. Myxanti Nere and then he moved his wand in a straight downward diagonal motion finished with a flick that returned it to the original position. Nothing. He tried again. On the ninth try, the match looked a little pointy.

"Well, at least it looks like it could prick something," Rob said to no one in particular.\n\n

0 Rob Stone Mixanti Near? 0 Rob Stone 0 5

Eduard Grimaud

February 18, 2006 7:17 PM

More pain Morgaine by Eduard Grimaud

Grim just stared at the wide eyed girl, who had grabbed his arm in a desparate attempt to stop his antics. Angry, he could not believe that someone would dare interrupt him in that manner. He thought the people of Sonora came from good breeding, or at least places with a few manners. She then had the gall to publicly abuse him, about his lack of attention to the work. She sounded like his mother, after the embassy incident. When she finished, instead of the subtle trick he had intended, he was faced with quite a large audience.

'Well if you wanted to hold my hand, you should have introduced yourself properly,' he said for all to hear. A general snicker could be heard about the room, as the students turned back to their work. He was only trying to help out his friend. So far, the girls at Sonara were useless, except for Celia, and even then she was far too happy.

'And as if I would have transformed her feet anyway,' he added, just so that she could hear. 'Watch this,' he said, as he pointed his wand with a dramatic flourish at the match and focused all his energy on the match.

He said the incantation loudly and clearly, 'Myxanti Nere.'
For a second, it looked like the match was going to rest as it was. Suddenly, it was no longer wooden and blunt. Grim had transfigured the match into a needle.

'Holy Hoggle,' his eyes opening wide. He'd never really considered that he would be able to do it. Lucky that the girl had interrupted him when she did. Otherwise his mother may have been making a very large donation to the school. Despite her nagging tendancies, maybe the girl wasn't so useless after all.
\n\n

0 Eduard Grimaud More pain Morgaine 0 Eduard Grimaud 0 5

Melanie Rose

February 19, 2006 6:55 AM

Gag me with a spoon! XD by Melanie Rose

Melanie's head turned to some kid-boy- ranting on about holding someones hand and transfiguring something. To her, he was as well as talking about the matches but she wasn't listening to him completely. As her hidden brown eyes found the boy who had ranted. He was now transforming his matches into a needle and it worked! The kids face was priceless, too. I looked as if he had expected it not to work. Ignoring this transformation Melanie decided to inquire his reasoning for intrupting the class for something as dumb and off topic as hand holding.
"Do you have to rant about hand holding? That is a bit ignorant toward people either talking about what they are studying and loss of concentration for what they are trying to do. Unlike you- many of us don't have our matches transfigured."
This boy didn't seem very fond of girls. Either that or he didn't know how to keep girls as friends. If this was his attempt then it was pathedic. Although she didn't want to sound snobby or stuck up that is the way it faintly sounded. For one thing, she wasn't smiling. She really wanted to get her matches transfigured. \n\n

0 Melanie Rose Gag me with a spoon! XD 0 Melanie Rose 0 5

Morgaine Carey

February 20, 2006 12:29 PM

Why would he or I or anyone want to do that? by Morgaine Carey

Morgaine's glare turned into a stare when whoever-he-was accused her of wanting to hold his hand. For a moment, she was rendered completely speechless. She'd always known all males were whack jobs, but Merlin! They were in the middle of class! She jerked away from him as fast as humanely possible, hoping her nails did at least a little damage to his forearm. "Shut your filthy mouth," she managed to snarl at a whisper's volume. "I'm a Carey, you dolt. Morgaine Carey, if you must know. My father's Alasdair Carey. I wouldn't lower myself to, as you put it, holding your hand." Tossing her hair over her shoulder in a gesture unconsciously copied from Gwen, she snatched up her match and began glaring at it again, as if hoping to Transfigure it by sheer force of will. That there might be people on Earth who had never heard of her father never occurred to her. People tend to believe everyone is or should be a follower of their own gods.

When her neighbor managed to complete his transformation, something in her much-strained self-control gave way. Doing her best to make it look accidental, she hit her inkwell, causing its contents to spill all over her neighbor's desk and maybe even, if she was lucky, her neighbor. "That's for being a smart aleck," she snapped under her breath, just loud enough for him to hear. Speaking a little louder, for the benefit of those around her, she said, "Sorry about that," and righted the inkwell again. Picking her wand up off the desk, she tried the incantation - again - and got no result - again. She dearly wanted to tell his former intended victim to keep out of none-of-her-business, but if there was any chance the professor was dense enough to have not noticed this little exchange, it would be blown by that kind of move.

She was working quietly on her match two seconds later, apparently oblivious to the world around her. The best part of the whole situation was that, unless Marlowe didn't buy that she'd knocked the ink over accidentally, she came across as the good little girl trying to prevent a dangerous situation in all of this. She loved being able to pull this kind of thing off. There was nothing more effective than getting someone else in trouble to make her feel better about her whole life and place in the universe. \n\n

0 Morgaine Carey Why would he or I or anyone want to do that? 81 Morgaine Carey 0 5

Guenther Heindrich

February 20, 2006 3:14 PM

R-E-S-P-E-C-T! by Guenther Heindrich

The tension in the room was unbearable as Guenter walked into the Transfiguration classroom. It seem that the only available seat was inhabited by the large bag of a girl with short spiky red hair. He was glad that the only seat wasn't on the other side of the classroom because some oil spill seemed to have migrated from the ocean and into the classroom onto a classmate's desk.

He moved to the side of the room that the girl with spiky hair and stood next to the chair. "Move your bag, please."
he said dully really too tired to think.

Between how late he had stayed up the night before, the incident in the library that morning, and the horrible endin to his book, he wasn't in the mood to deal with people. \n\n

0 Guenther Heindrich R-E-S-P-E-C-T! 0 Guenther Heindrich 0 5

Melanie Rose

February 20, 2006 11:54 PM

Find out what it means to me: by Melanie Rose

Melanie looked up at the sound of a voice. It belonged to a tall kid with what she took as a half aggravated look. He had asked if he could sit next to her. She just sat there looking at him. Him being tall wasn't the reason. It was just her way of saying 'I really would like you to find a different place,' without actually saying so. After a minute of nothing happening, she glanced around the room. There were no spots unless you counted the ink spots that would wind up on the floor from the one who announced herself as a Carey girl had spilt. Quietly, Melanie looked back to him and then the seat. Turning, she closed up her large bag and moved it to the other side of her.
"Sit. Do you need any catching up on or do you think you can decipher it all on your own?" She said in with a small bit of 'Hi there, Giant! Do you want a goose?' Tone. She didn't catch it until it was too late.\n\n

0 Melanie Rose Find out what it means to me: 0 Melanie Rose 0 5

Eduard Grimaud

February 21, 2006 4:51 AM

Care I for a Carey? by Eduard Grimaud

The trick had worked, although he now had a few nail marks in his arms. Despite her obvious breeding, she was a vicious little girl. She was as equally surprised as he was that the match had transfigured. Maybe it was just sheer determination to annoy the girl. Jealously, she started sniping about how her father was a Carey. So what?

When she so innocently knocked over her ink well, Grim was at the end of his rope. He vowed that he would only sit next to Saul, seeing the girls all seemed to get upset over the littlest things. He didn't want to leave her with the last word and a smug sense of satisfaction. When she harped on about the quality of her family, he knew that two could play at that game.

'Girl, you don't even know who you are dealing with. I am Eduard Grimaud, descendant of a long line of Merovingian kings. My father is Gustave Grimaud. A very famous pianist in muggle and wizarding circles alike. My mother, Aurelie, is the French ambassador to Canada. For dinner, we have the heads of wizarding states everywhere. People fight to be invited to our parties. And you think being a Carey makes you special?'

He was in full flow of his tirade now. He continued, 'And maybe the reason I haven't heard about your family, is because I mix in wizarding circles higher than you'll ever reach.' He said this so quietly, that only she could hear. He hoped she knocked over her inkwell again.

He had heard vaguely of their family. Of course they weren't as low as he played them. But Grim didn't want to give any points to this girl, who had pulled his arm, then left nail marks in it.

\n\n

0 Eduard Grimaud Care I for a Carey? 0 Eduard Grimaud 0 5

Guenter Heindrich

February 21, 2006 7:40 PM

Re: Find out what it means to me: by Guenter Heindrich

(ooc: Just so people know, putting ue instead of an umlaut is just easier but it means the same thing...)

Guenter sat down, suprised that the girl had acknowledged him. Of course, he would be hard to ignore with his height.
"It would be nice if you could fill me in. I don't know much about Transfiguration. So, what's been going on, Spike?"

He used the name to imply that he didn't know her name. Of course, many people would take offense to this type of particular name calling. Guenter hoped that she didn't though. She seemed like his type of girl.

He noticed that "Spike" had a match in front of her but what they were supposed to be Transfiguring, he had no idea. \n\n

0 Guenter Heindrich Re: Find out what it means to me: 0 Guenter Heindrich 0 5

The St.Martins

February 21, 2006 9:33 PM

So much for not setting something on fire... by The St.Martins

This was the second time it had happened. Twice now, she had gone to pieces around complete strangers and they had been nice to her. Allie couldn't make sense of it. Her own twin sister made it a practice to slap her at the slightest provocation, and complete strangers were nice. Especially complete strangers who knew Lila, who quite literally lived with Lila. Allie knew perfectly well that if she had been mentioned to any of Lila's new friends at all, it was as her stupid oaf of a sister, provided Lila was in a good mood. She wasn't stupid enough to assume that Lila would have been eager to associate herself with the walking disaster known as Allie.

"I'm, um, glad to meet you," she said nervously. This was one of Lila's friends. They even shared a name. Surely this Lila wouldn't be mean to her. Not too mean, anyway. She darted a look upward and smiled a little. "Is Lila...all right?" She knew she sounded shy, but that was nothing new. "I haven't seen her since we got here...I think she -"

"Is she bothering you, Lila?"

Startled, Allie looked up. While Professor Marlowe's back was turned, Lila had taken advantage of the opportunity to slip into a seat in front of her twin and her fellow Lila, ousting its former owner with a smile and a pointed wand there was no need to advertise that she didn't know how to use, to do damage control. A quick scan of Allie's clothing showed her a dull maroon skirt, white blouse, school robes, and no barrettes. It was oddly typical they had both chosen today to wear House colors; her skirt was red and gray plaid besides the red ribbon in her hair.

"I'm sorry about her, I am," Lila said, ignoring her twin's attempts to catch her eye out of hand. "She forgets herself when I'm not around to guide her by the hand." At last, she turned to her sister. "Allie, it's not that difficult. Just point your wand at the match and say the incantation till something happens. I know you're not a Squib. Just don't get so surprised you stick yourself and holler if you actually manage the spell." Allie noted that while her sister was holding her wand, she wasn't holding a match or a needle. Lila's hope that they would take this to mean she had completed the Transfiguration was at least half-answered.

Blushing, though not as fiercely as she might have, Allie picked up her wand again, sending first one Lila and then the other silent looks of apology for her blabbering earlier. Pointing it once more at the match now held in something approaching a death grip, she took a deep breath and said the incantation again. Nothing. "Keep at it, then," Lila said, sounding testy. "You're a living replica of me, Alexandra. What people think of you reflects on me." Allie shook her head, almost fondly. Lila could be actressy, sometimes, though not so often now that they were older. This was one of the few occasions she would allow herself the indulgence this year. In a surprising move, her sister gave her a genuine smile and a wink. Something good must have happened. Allie smiled back tenatively.

"That's it, then, go on." Sibling love moment was over, and she had to prove herself worthy of it. Again.

The thought made her suddenly more nervous than she had been. Not living up to Lila's standards while she was a few seats over was one thing, not living up to Lila's standards while she was right there was another thing altogether. Especially after Lila had done something vaguely indicative of affection, or at least pitying amiability. That was the only reason Allie could think of for the two crucial mistakes she made on her third attempt.

"Myximere," she blurted, running the words together in a jumble as she tried to say them faster than her brain could keep up with at the moment, wand jerking out of position on the upward flick. There was a flash of light and a screech. Allie blinked, blinded by the light, and turned to Lila Gringe. "Was that you I - "

"Oh my God!" Lila screamed, jumping to her feet and trying to throw her robes off. "Idiot, you set my robes on fire!" When the robe reached the floor, she began stomping on it in an attempt to put out the flames. Allie wasn't quite aware of what happened, but as abruptly as it had started, the fire was gone, leaving no trace of itself besides the smoke coming from the right front of Lila's robes. Lila's face was slightly twisted as she cradled a burnt left hand and muttered something that included the words 'stupid' and 'spell pronunciation'.

"Are you all right?" Allie said, no longer entirely sure which Lila she was directing it to. Maybe both; she could feel herself shaking from just seeing it, and there was no reason to assume the other two might not be.

"Do I look like I'm all right?" Lila practically screamed at her. Allie cowered back in her seat, half-hoping the other Lila would protect her if her sister did anything too drastic but not expecting it. Why should she? "My robes are ruined and so's my hand!" The whole classroom seemed to have gone quiet. Allie's immediate worry was that Lila really was hurt and not just making a show of how badly her hand was burned, her secondary worry was that she was going to be expelled, and her third worry was that her mother was going to kill her for either or both. She rocked back and forth in her seat, looking around frantically for someone to tell her what to do. \n\n

16 The St.Martins So much for not setting something on fire... 0 The St.Martins 0 5

Melanie Rose

February 21, 2006 10:09 PM

Re: Find out what it means to me: by Melanie Rose

Melanie sighed and thought for a minute as she fixed half of her collar to the up right position but stopped midway hearing the tall kid call her 'Spike.' She couldn't do nothing but smirk. Today she would consider pick on people day. She picked on poor Saul, accidently of course, and then told that one kid to stay on topic and not on hand holding. Her mood was going sour by the minute.
"What ever is on the board you can either copy first or get from a class mate at what ever is convenient towards who ever and what not but I would first get caught up on the wand movements and incantation." She picked up her short cherry wood wand and moved the matches directly infront of her.
This would be the third attempt and they always say the third time is always the charm!
"Just watch and listen carefully. Although, It seems only a few are changing our matches. Oh, I don't think I told you that we are trying to change them into a needle."
Melanie looked back to the matches and spoke as clearly as possible as she moved her wand weilding hand in the straight downward diagonal that the teacher had shown and ended with the flick that returned it to the original location, "Myxanti Nere."
She waited there looking at the same old match that laid there before. Nothing happened.
"Vith dos! You dumb match!" She muttered as she slid it over to Guenther's side of the table, "Go for it, Mista' Alpine."
Her New Jersey accent hit her and all she could do was sit there and wait for Guenther to try the transfiguration.\n\n

0 Melanie Rose Re: Find out what it means to me: 0 Melanie Rose 0 5

Lila Gringe

February 22, 2006 5:26 PM

So much for staying in class . . . by Lila Gringe

Lila couldn't help it. Her heart went out to the poor Teppenpaw, who sounded even more nervous and shy than Lila herself tended to be. She had been about to say something along the lines of 'Oh, she's doing well. She misses you, you know' when her fellow Crotalus appeared, quite suddenly. She had realized, of course, that what she wanted to say was a stretch of the truth, as her same-namer hadn't said anything to the effect of missing her twin, but if it made this girl feel better, Lila certainly wouldn't feel remorseful about the lie. She rarely did feel remorseful about lies, anyhow.

Of course, when the other Lila came, seemingly out of nowhere- Lila had been paying more attention to Allie than anything or anyone else- she'd had to bite back that response. Obviously she couldn't lie about the way someone felt with that someone sitting right in front of her. So instead she flashed a smile at both of the twins, while she tried to decide what to respond with. She had a choice: she could either side with Allie- which might be seen as a betrayal of Allie's twin- and say the girl wasn't bothering her a bit, or she could betray Allie and say the girl was bothering her. Lila decided to take the middle route.

"Oh, hardly," she said casually, making it seem that it could go either way. It could be taken quite a few ways- that Allie was hardly bothering her, that Allie was bothering her and Lila didn't want to say so . . . It left her options open, for the most part.

She didn't comment when Lila St.Martin . . . encouraged Allie to try the spell, instead offering the Teppenpaw a smile and hoping it would give the girl some confidence.

Meanwhile, she attempted the transfiguration of her own match again. Two tries later, she was successful. With a grin on her face, she was about to say something about it when suddenly chaos broke loose.

It all happened so fast. Afterwards, all Lila really realized was that her dormmate had been burnt. She herself hadn't been, fortunately. Immediately she stood and rushed over to her same-namer, her concern obvious. Hoping that the other girl wouldn't resist, she attempted to guide the other Lila to the professor.

She was also, she realized a moment later, hoping that she'd avoid an even bigger scene.

"Don't worry, your hand will be fine," Lila murmured, keeping up a stream of reassuring phrases of that sort. "Don't worry, they can fix it. Don't worry, your hand will be fine." She wasn't going to let anyone she knew lose a hand, that was for certain. Especially not her dormmate who happened to also share her name. Who was, essentially, her only friend.\n\n

0 Lila Gringe So much for staying in class . . . 0 Lila Gringe 0 5

Adam B.

February 22, 2006 9:30 PM

You and me both.. by Adam B.

Adam nearly jumped out of his skin. He'd been trying to concentrate and fix his now toothpick. Now there was someone else talking to him. It wasn't as if Adam was snobby, just terrified of absolutely everyone he didn't know (as well as some people he did know).

He glanced over at her. Okay, like the girl in he'd met earlier, she didn't look too scary. She even seemed a bit nervous like he was. "Um," Adam replied, his voice shaking a little. "Not really. I mean, you get it with practice and trying hard most of the time. Very few people are prodigies in any subject. I really only know one person whoever did this on his first try. Plus there are other subjects that are quite different than Transfiguration. Like Potions, you don't really use a wand. You mix different items to get different potions that have different affects." Potions was a subject Adam wasn't too afraid of doing....so long as he didn't have to try any of them.

\n\n

11 Adam B. You and me both.. 78 Adam B. 0 5

Guenter Heindrich

February 23, 2006 7:42 AM

Your name my pretty?! by Guenter Heindrich

He took back about what he thought of the girl. She was extremely wierd. She was using strange words. What did Vith Dos mean anyway? Oh well, she really wasn't anything of his concern.

He pulled his wand out of his bag and started into the lesson. Would this match ever turn into a needle? Well he was about to find out. SHE certainly didn't do it right, so he looked around to find a person in the process of doing it right. But, all of the other kids had already found out how to do and were relaxing or they were having an unbelievable amout of trouble with it. He sighed. He guess that he would have to try it HER way. What was her name anyway?

Guenter tryed the wand movement and said the "magic" words.Something must not have been right about one of them because he didn't get the right result. Maybe it was because he was so skeptical that it would work. Of course he hadn't seen a match turn into a needle yet, so could it even work? He didn't know but he supposed that he should be seen by the teacher at least trying the spell. He had never done bad in school and he wasn't planning on starting. He might have been a little dense but he always tried hard to make up for it.

He said the words and used the wand movements again, this time focusing more. It didn't work, again. He was on the brink of giving up about the fifth time he tried it. If it weren't for the fact that he wanted to prove he wasn't his mother, he would have. But he wasn't going to flunk out like his mother did! He tried it again and again. Finally, after trying it for what seemed like a thousand times, he got it. It almost was like it was happening in slow motion. The tip of the match got very pointy and the entire match turn a silverous color. He felt the texture. Yep, it was metal all right. So, he was better than his mom. That was a relief.
\n\n

0 Guenter Heindrich Your name my pretty?! 0 Guenter Heindrich 0 5

Melanie Rose

February 23, 2006 3:32 PM

You'll never get it nor my dog or my shoes! by Melanie Rose

Melanie watched as Guenter had the match turn into a needle. He was lucky.
"How'd ya' do it?" She asked picking it up and playing with it. There was no way that it was a match anymore. She wondered how she would do it now fore there weren't any more matches on the table. This would be the first frustration in doing magic in her eyes. Getting it right. Although, she kept her mind on the present and was wondering on how to either get another match or turn the one Guenter had transfigured back to its original state.
Maybe he knew the trick in it. Or maybe he didn't. She'd have to find out.\n\n

0 Melanie Rose You'll never get it nor my dog or my shoes! 0 Melanie Rose 0 5

Morgaine Carey

February 24, 2006 6:10 PM

You'd better start... by Morgaine Carey

He. Did. Not. He did not just address her as girl, not to her face. She could put up with that from her father and other male relatives, because they had it within their power to make her life more miserable than she cared to imagine, but this boy didn't. He didn't improve the case for himself when he insulted her family by flaunting his. Diplomats were only diplomats because they didn't have what it took to hold positions in a more decisive fashion than words, a pianist was non-threatening enough before it was revealed that said pianist was a Muggle-lover, and the fact that wizards didn't have kings made Eduard either part-Muggle or delusional enough to want to be.

It didn't take a genius to interpret her expression as that of one thoroughly unimpressed.

"I don't think you know who you're dealing with, boy," she said quietly, no longer snapping or even sounding angry. The part of her that came directly from her father wanted to make things real simple and give Grimaud what he had coming to him, but something coldly logical from Merlin-alone-knew-where knew it would be a waste of time unless she was suicidal, somewhere between the fact that she had yet to see five feet tall, the fact she didn't know the first thing about fighting, and she strongly suspected a second disappointing daughter might well drive her father over the edge. "I am, as I've already told you, Morgaine Carey. My family goes back under that name for centuries, and they've been purebloods every step of the way. I wouldn't expect you to know that, though, since you obviously can't say the same and claim to be foreign anyway." She said the word foreign the way Aunt Sarah might say the word fat.

"And yes, being a Carey does make me special. It makes me part of something you'd never be able to get into even if you had the brains to want to. You don't think I'm dense enough to think decent people are the ones fighting to attend your tea parties, do you? I'm not stupid, Eddie. The only reason you associate with people that ill-bred is because you don't have the blood to attract anyone else."

Eduard wasn't the only one with the ability to get on a rool. Her voice was rising sharply as she continued. It was the last, quietest insult that had cut the most. "My family is better than yours will ever be. My family doesn't need a flock of adoring tagalongs to know where we stand. My family is the one in real society, Eddie, not your little ambassador maman and keyboard-pounding papa. Is it that hard for you to accept that I'm better than you, Eddie? Is it?" Suddenly, she realized she was treading on thin ice, both with Eddie and Marlowe, and that the strength of her convictions might not be enough to keep her afloat. \n\n

0 Morgaine Carey You'd better start... 81 Morgaine Carey 0 5

Marlowe

February 24, 2006 6:49 PM

Enough! by Marlowe

Selina had been watching the dispute between the two Pecaris since the boy's claim that the girl was trying to hold his hand called her attention to them, initially hoping they'd just shut up and carry on by themselves. Transfiguration was a sufficiently stressful subject to sometimes cause breaks in concentration, after all, and it was either the first or very close to the first time any of them had attempted such things. It was impossible to make out everything that was said, but the overall gist of it didn't seem friendly. Not that it was too surprising, given who the girl claimed to be. From what she'd heard of the family, few of them were known for their graciousness or endearing personalities. She tried to avoid too much study of the pureblood families on either side of the Atlantic, but having a general idea of them was the unavoidable consequence of being Richard Marlowe's favoured firstborn.

The backwards-and-forwardsing of the two was not a situation she cared to step into, but they were disrupting the other students. If they didn't end it, and end it now, she was going to have to intervene. The necessity became more obvious when Miss Carey's ink so conveniently spilled, and became unavoidable when she heard the steady rise of the girl's voice as she carried on about her family. Purebloods! How they lived with themselves was beyond her, and she was related to quite a few of them.

"That," she said crisply upon reaching the two's seats, "will be enough. From both of you," she added, lest the boy - Grimaud, she thought he'd said - think he was in the clear. She noted resignedly that she sounded more British than anything at the moment, and would therefore no doubt be delegated to the 'foreigner' category Miss Carey seemed to hold in such low regard. "You would both do well to be reminded that this is a classroom, not a political arena or a gala. I couldn't care less about your parents and their professions, and I'm sure I speak for the rest of the class as well.

"I would suggest that - " she cut off as a sudden flash of light, followed by something like a scream, caught her attention. It would be just her luck for someone to have turned his neighbor into a...the exclamations weren't needed to identify the problem. Selina liked to think of herself as fairly intelligent, and most adults, intelligent or not, could recognize a fire when they saw one. "Stay there!" she barked at the two first years, and began heading towards the Crotalus with the flaming robes.

OOC: continued at Miss Gringe's post. \n\n

0 Marlowe Enough! 0 Marlowe 0 5

Professor Marlowe

February 24, 2006 7:22 PM

So much for being employed. by Professor Marlowe

The fire that had caused the brunette with the hair ribbon so much distress was out and aforementioned brunette screaming at the one she called an idiot and accused of setting her robes aflame in the first place before Selina could reach the scene, nearly swearing as she tripped over someone's bag. She met the blonde steering her friend along halfway, repressing the urge to start pulling her own hair out. If she still had a job after this...incident, then she was either incredibly lucky or in the service of a school very different from Hogwarts.

The way the dark-haired one was grimacing and treating one of her hands seemed to Selina to be a good sign that the hand in question was burned. "Hospital Wing," she said shortly. "You escort her, Miss - er - " she was at an utter loss for a name. "I'll speak to you later about this," she finished finally, deciding to pass over it and hope the student didn't push the point. A glance over their heads towards the alleged idiot made her eyebrows twitch slightly upward. The burned girl and the arsonist herself were twins.

The question was whether or not dealing with the second twin was more important than dealing with the Pecaris. Given the way the Teppenpaw's eyes were darting around, she made herself look a priority, and the smell of burned fabric was bringing her perilously close to a coughing fit. Part of the reason Sonora had seemed so desirable was the at least theoretically dry air. Getting rid of the smoke and mess came first, at least for the moment. Once the first twin and her friend were past her, she flicked her wand with a muttered incantation, clearing them away, and approached the Teppenpaw. She was at least seven different kinds of fired.

"What happened?" she asked, trying to sound as non-threatening as possible. It wasn't easy. She wanted to slap some sense into this lot, not pet them. The only problem was that she didn't want to be arrested as well as fired, not to mention that it probably wouldn't get her any answers, either. \n\n

0 Professor Marlowe So much for being employed. 0 Professor Marlowe 0 5

Lila Gringe

February 25, 2006 8:11 PM

So much for being calm. by Lila Gringe

Lila nodded at the professor, still extremely worried, and continued her hopefully reassuring litany as she tried to steer her dormmate towards the classroom door. Hopefully the other girl wouldn't resist too much. But it seemed obvious that the Hospital Wing was the right place to go, so Lila doubted her friend would resist. Or she hoped that the other Crotalus wouldn't, anyhow. If she did . . . . Lila wasn't sure what could be done if she did.

Wait a minute, she thought. I haven't the faintest idea where the Hospital Wing is. She hadn't, after all, had occasion to visit there just yet. She had hoped she wouldn't have to anytime soon, but it was obviously unavoidable now.

Hmm. She certainly couldn't ask Professor Marlowe, who had her hands full. So maybe Lila would know. Hopefully.

It seemed to her that she was hoping a lot lately.

So she broke her stream of encouragement to ask quietly "Do you know where the Hospital Wing is?" She was careful to sound perfectly calm. Sounding as anxious as she actually was was likely to get her fellow Crotalus even more upset. After all, if someone else seemed worried, it always seemed like it made it something to worry about. This certainly was something to worry about, but maybe Lila could calm her friend down.\n\n

0 Lila Gringe So much for being calm. 0 Lila Gringe 0 5

Lila Gringe
February 25, 2006 8:13 PM

Lila Gringe
Peripheral
Written by:

OOC by Lila Gringe
OOC: Oops, messed up the italics in that last post. The things that ought to be italicized are 'Wait a minute,' and 'I haven't the faintest idea where the Hospital Wing is.' Everything else should just be normal text.\n\n

0 Lila Gringe OOC 0 Lila Gringe 0 5

Allie St.Martin
February 26, 2006 5:24 PM

Allie St.Martin
Alumnus
House: Teppenpaw
Written by: Grayson Wright

Age in Post: 11

So much for being enrolled. by Allie St.Martin
Please ignore me, please ignore me, please pretend I don't exist, please ignore me - Allie's train of thought was abruptly ended when Professor Marlowe did the exact opposite of what she wanted her to do and approached her for answers about what had just happened. She wanted very badly to hide under her desk and never come out, but she couldn't do that. Lila wouldn't want her to do that. She had to try to be a good representative of the St.Martins and Lila, not a weepy mess lacking the ability to speak coherently. If she was going out, she could at least do it with a little dignity, or at least that was what Daddy always said. She clasped her hands together to try to stop their trembling, took a deep breath, and, feeling oddly calm, looked directly at the professor for about ten seconds before her eyes slid back to her white-knuckled fingers.

"I - It was an accident, Professor," she said softly, willing this woman to understand, to not throw her out. She couldn't disappoint them all that far. "I didn't mean to. I was trying to Transfigure the match like you said, but I got so nervous because Lila - that's my sister - was watching me and I didn't want to mess up in front of her. I, um, sort of said the words wrong, and my hand, um, slipped - " She chanced another glance at the professor. "Is Lila going to be all right?"

That was her first concern. They could expel her if they wanted to, so long as they told her her sister was all right first. Allie's mishaps had been known to cause injury to herself and others before, but never to Lila. That part of that could have been because Lila routinely attempted to avoid situations that could lead to Allie having injury-inducing accidents never occurred to her. All she could think about was that she had just hurt the one person she felt she really knew she could count on. Or could she? Lila would drop her like a sack of rocks if the people at Sonora's hospital were unable to return her hand to its former state. This was the worst day ever.

"I'm sorry, Professor, I didn't mean to - am I going to be - Is Lila all right?" Her ability to think clearly was going. She was stumbing over words and sentances again. Professor Marlowe was either going to think she was someone who could try to set fire to her own twin sister or that she was mental. She should have never left home. She should have just stayed at Magnolia Grove and been shut up in some out-of-the-way room like the other Aunts said Aunt Lorena was. She should have made a bolt for it the moment she realized Marlowe was heading in her general direction. \n\n

16 Allie St.Martin So much for being enrolled. 76 Allie St.Martin 0 5

Lila St.Martin
February 26, 2006 7:18 PM

Lila St.Martin
Alumnus
House: Crotalus
Written by: Grayson Wright

Age in Post: 11

So much for allowing my sister near a wand. by Lila St.Martin
Lila was used to pain. Pain was, unfortunately, a consequence of the life she lead. Bruises and sprains had been all too common in her first year of ballet, and still made occasional appearances on top of the inevitable strain. The heels she wore to parties made the arches of her feet ache so that she had to wrap them in heated cloths before she could go to sleep. This pain, however, wasn't like that pain. It felt somehow detached from her and at once all too much a part of her. She hadn't actually looked at her hand once she registered that she'd injured it, holding it protectively close to her abdomen. Why wasn't Allie doing anything? That was her place, Allie took care of her...

It took her a moment to realize it wasn't Allie steering her along towards Marlowe. It was the other Lila. She considered mutiny, but that would serve no purpose. The fact that she was being treated as if she were helpless combined with Two's reassurances that she was going to be fine to add a hint of hysteria to the whole thing and make her feel somehow helpless. She was not going to ask for her sister. This was nothing important. It wasn't even that bad. She had overreacted, surely...it just hurt a lot. She should have had better sense than to try to grab her robes where she had, she hadn't been thinking very straight when it all happened...

Marlowe's suggestion - it had been phrased as an order, but it was easier to deal with if it was thought of as a suggestion - seemed reasonable. The medic or whatever they had here could fix her hand so there was no scarring - Merlin help her if there was - and she'd be able to go about her business. She felt a momentary flash of panic when the teacher began speaking to Allie, clearly indicating that her twin was staying here while she went to the hospital, but she pushed it down. She didn't need Allie. She was a big girl, she could manage. She was only putting up with Two in case she didn't regain her ability to speak by the time they got to the hospital or lost her grip on the surreal, floaty feeling currently dominating her head and passed out.

It wasn't the pain. She just hadn't been expecting it, that was all. It was always harder to pull back from something unexpected than something expected. No matter how much of a dunce Allie was sometimes, she had never really expected anything her sister did to hurt her. She'd never really expected anything to hurt her at all. She was Daddy's little princess, nothing could happen to her. There was something so familiar about the odd trains of thought... someone talking, compulsively talking. She wasn't going under like this. There was nothing wrong with her at all, just a minor burn. She thought. She'd never been burned before, but it wasn't that bad. Just unexpected.

"No," she said, sounding almost normal once her same-namer's question registered. "No, I don't. Not exactly. I think it might be on the ground floor, like the entrance hall. Daddy told me." More proof that she was all right. She was speaking clearly, in coherent sentences about a previously introduced topic. Allie had trouble doing that on her best days. "I'm fine, though." Why had she said that? She definitely needed to get a grip on reality again. If her hand would just quit hurting, she was sure it wouldn't be difficult. \n\n

16 Lila St.Martin So much for allowing my sister near a wand. 80 Lila St.Martin 0 5

Lila Gringe
February 26, 2006 7:41 PM

Lila Gringe
Peripheral
Written by:

So much for having a witty title every time. by Lila Gringe
The ground floor. Okay. Lila supposed she could find it. Even if she did tend to get lost. But now was not a good time to get lost. Now, she could not get lost. Now, she had to get her housemate to the Hospital Wing. And she had to do it fast. Really fast. Her experience with medicine was that the sooner after the injury occurred the person got treatment, the better. There had been nothing to suggest that the magical equivalent would be any different. So she was certain they had to get there soon.

"All right. I'm sure I can find it." She kept her voice calm, even though her same-namer's voice was also calm, which said to Lila that the other girl was probably as calm as was possible, given the circumstances.

But when her fellow Crotalus declared that she was fine, Lila became even more worried. It was completely possible that there were other people as good at hiding their feelings as her. Stating that she would be fine made the other girl seem much less calm than she seemed otherwise. There would be no need to say that unless the other Crotalus felt it needed to be established. That only made Lila all the more certain they needed to get to the Hospital Wing soon.

So she continued steering the other Lila along, this time towards the door of the classroom and out. They'd surely find the Hospital Wing in time. They had to.\n\n

0 Lila Gringe So much for having a witty title every time. 0 Lila Gringe 0 5

Ginger Silverstein
February 27, 2006 12:04 AM

Ginger Silverstein
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Written by:

At least I'm not the only one. by Ginger Silverstein
Ginger gave the other boy another weak smile, as he explained everything to her. She scanned his school robes, and saw a snake on his badge. Ginger forgot what those people were known for. Ginger felt slightly out of place with her house so far. Everyone in her house didn't seem to be afraid to make themselves heard. Ginger was sometimes, especially in class, or when there were tons of people around. Ginger was very peacful.

"Oh th-that s-sounds interesting," she said, as she tried to stop the shaking and the stuttering. It was all probably making her look like a total idiot. "I-I'm really looking forward to potions. S-sounds a bit l-like cooking, e-except I-I'm d-doubting w-we always t-try wh-what we make." If she could just take a pill to reduce the amount of stuttering she was doing, she would gladly take it. "I-I'm muggle-born y-you see. S-so I d-don't know m-much about this. M-my aunt is a witch, but sh-she refused to t-tell me ev-everything," she was getting closer to stop stuttering. Okay maybe not, but she was speaking.

Ginger looked over to where Grim was when she heard a female's voice. She noticed the girl from her dormitory. Ginger slept five beds down from her. Ginger wasn't too pleased with what she was saying, so she gave her attention back to Adam. "I-I h-hope everything is going well for you here," she gave him a meek smile, she hoped she wasn't scaring him. \n\n

0 Ginger Silverstein At least I'm not the only one. 1484 Ginger Silverstein 0 5

Geoffrey Spindler
March 04, 2006 8:31 AM

Geoffrey Spindler
Alumnus
House: Crotalus
Written by: Emily Lewis

Age in Post: 11

Mixanti Far by Geoffrey Spindler
It looked like his mother had been right when she said that Geoffrey wouldn't be making any friend soon, if ever. He came into the Transfiguration classroom, and tried to locate a seat where he wasn't going to be called upon to answer questions, or help with demonstrations, and eventually settled down near another boy in a spot he freverantly hoped would prove safe.

He wasn't entirely certain what he was going to be doing with Transfiguration. Most of his spellcasting experience was with infinately basic Charms, sticking and unsticking on the whole, and with a training wand instead of his brand new proper and fully fledged magic wand. Charms was definitely the class he was looking forward to... but Transfiguration... well, Geoff would just have to see.

The Professor was a relief. Her accent was completely at odds with itself, and he thought that she seemed fairly nice. She didn't yell or glower anyhow, which was a definite positive he decided. It was almost strange to see a woman who didn't immediately approach him and either fuss over how his clothes were entirely immaculate and straight, or bemoan his weight and stupidity. Strange, but definitely in a good way; he started to relax as the demonstration was given, taking a couple of quick notes and practicing the incantation and wand movement along with the rest of the class. It only took a couple of goes for him to think he had it right, and a relieved smile broke out on his face.

The boy next to him appeared to be something else. Geoff had glanced curiously at the boy when he'd said something about 'Maxante Near" before ducking his head down again and paying attention to his own efforts, trying not to pay attention to the other boy's clumsiness, because he knew that he himself would prefer to be ignored rather than laughed at or have his mistakes pointed out to him.

When the matches came, Geoff paused and it hit him that he was supposed to be performing a spell here. A proper spell. The confidence from the practice made a disorderly retreat back to the fairyland it must have come from. He had to check over his shoulder to make sure that Mother wasn't watching, complete with disapproving expression. She wasn't. Or, at least, she wasn't anywhere he could see her, and as Cecilia Spindler didn't believe in hiding, that generally meant that she wasn't there.

He took a deep breath and picked up the match. It looked pretty ordinary. He put it down again, in the centre of his desk, and surrupticiously looked over at the boy next to him, watching him attempt the spell a couple of times, before adjusting his grip on his own wand and readying it.

A kerfufle broke out elsewhere in the room, a couple of kids fighting over something, and a girl who looked to have... set something on fire? He wondered momentarily how she'd managed that, before seeing the opportunity for what it was.

"Myxanti Nere."

His wand went down and flicked up. There might have been the sightest of silvering shimmering along the wood, or it might have been wishful thinking. Geoffrey felt a stab of disappointment. What had his tutors said? Concentration is key. Belief in what you're doing. Knowing it can be done.

Well, Professor Marlowe had shown them, hadn't she? It was possible, Geoffrey knew that. And he wasn't a squib, definitely not a squib. Which meant... he could do this too.

His brow furrowed in concentration as he returned his wand to the starting position. He raised his other hand for a moment, to brush a finger over the bridge of his nose idly, before letting it fall again out of the way. He looked at the match, and told himself that it might be a match now, but it would be a needle soon. The wand swung down and flicked back up as he spoke the incantation, concentrating fiercely on what he wanted to happen.

And then he continued to look down for a few moments, in silence. A small smile started to turn the corners of his mouth up. It wasn't really changed in shape... but the match was silver. It was definitely a good start.\n\n

39 Geoffrey Spindler Mixanti Far 79 Geoffrey Spindler 0 5

Professor Marlowe
March 04, 2006 4:46 PM

Professor Marlowe
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So much for being certain what I'm about. by Professor Marlowe
Selina observed the twin in mild exasperation. She could understand being worried about a sister - Merlin, between Melinda's health and the things Genevieve got up to, she could more than understand the sentiment - but the girl's repeated insistence that she didn't mean to and requests to know if Lila, as the other's name apparently was, would be all right seemed out of proportion to the severity of the accident. She searched for a name, trying to recall any Lilas and same-surnames off the roster, before answering.

"I'm quite sure she will be, Miss St.Martin," she said, hoping she'd gotten it right. "Her injury hardly seemed life-threatening. Accidents happen when you study magic." She paused, debating the best way to put the next bit. "You might want to review the theory before making another attempt, though," she suggested finally. She'd rather not have to deal with two fires in one day, not to mention the facts that the girl would most likely panic even more if she set herself alight and her parents would have an excuse to sue Selina twice if she did. She'd heard the surname St.Martin before. Old, snot-nosed purebloods, they were, the sort she didn't want to tango with if she could help it.

"Focus is the key, Miss St.Martin. You have talent, or you wouldn't be here. Focus on the goal and believe that it'll work. Transfiguration's a hard subject. I don't ask that you be perfect, only that you put a sustained effort into it." She gave the girl a brief, but hopefully reassuring, smile. "Keep at it, Miss St.Martin, while I go handle another situation that's arisen. I'll be following your progress." That would have been encouraging in her world, anyway. \n\n

0 Professor Marlowe So much for being certain what I'm about. 0 Professor Marlowe 0 5

Morgaine Carey
March 04, 2006 8:41 PM

Morgaine Carey
Alumnus
House: Pecari
Written by:

Age in Post: 11

Says who? by Morgaine Carey
Morgaine jumped visibly when Marlowe's voice, sounding more foreign than ever, spoke up behind her. Merlin, she was so many different kinds of dead. Father was going to kill her if Gwen didn't do it first. They were both high-wired maniacs obsessed with the family, and she'd seen both do some pretty stupid things when they felt someone wasn't giving the family its due, stupider even than her screaming at Eddie in a crowded classroom. Yep, she was dead. The only question was if it was literally or not, and if not, if she would end up wanting it to be. Careys didn't play nice, even with their own. Especially with their own.

She opened her mouth, hoping to explain, but Marlowe was still talking, and before the British professor could finish what she was saying, a commotion from further over announced the presence of, if she was any good at recognizing voices and mannerisms, the St.Martin twins, Lila setting up an almighty fuss because her robes were on fire. Probably Allie's doing; the elder twin was notoriously bad at, well, everything. Marlowe shouted at her and Eddie to stay where they were, as if there was anywhere they could go where she wouldn't be able to punish them, and started heading for the scene while Morgaine watched dispassionately and Lila began screaming at her sister.

She didn't speak to Eddie, and ignored any attempt on his or anyone else's part to speak. This could be fixed, maybe, if she could keep her mouth under control and her brain working. She might even be able to sink Eddie, with a little luck. Morgaine had always believed in luck, good and bad. Fate had simply decided she should have more of the latter, until recently. Things had been going well until she came to Sonora. They'd go well here, if she could just keep her mouth shut. She crossed her arms defensively across her chest as Marlowe headed back in her direction, waiting. \n\n

0 Morgaine Carey Says who? 81 Morgaine Carey 0 5

Professor Marlowe
March 04, 2006 8:57 PM

Professor Marlowe
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Says <i>me</i>, Miss Carey. by Professor Marlowe
Selina looked at the two Pecari first years, torn between anger for their part in trying to ruin her first class and tiredness stemming from the come-down following the incident with the Miss St.Martins and the fire. Miss Carey had her arms folded belligerently, and Mr. Grimaud was being quiet. Her mouth thinned a little. Inter-House rivalry she could understand, but in-House rivalry was another thing altogether. She knew that being in the same House was no guarantee that two people were going to like each other, but she had heard of only a few cases where Housemates were outright enemies. Her head was starting to hurt.

What was the best way to deal with them? She could make it short and simple and give them detention, but it seemed a little excessive to give detention for insults when she'd just told Miss St.Martin to study theory in answer to the silly girl setting her sister on fire. It had been accidental - she seriously doubted Miss St.Martin had been lying, the concerned act was too good for that - but some of the class might not register that, or might think the accident had occurred because Miss St.Martin subconsciously wanted to hurt her twin. She sighed and resisted the temptation to put a hand to her temple. Merlin, her head was starting to get worse fast. It always knew how to increase her desire to stop doing a stressful activity.

"I'm sure you two will be delighted to hear that I'm not giving you detention," she said, keeping her tone as it had been before the second incident came up. "However, if either of you exhibit this kind of behaviour in my classroom again, you'll be spending quite a few quality evenings with me and my cat, making up the lessons I will not allow you to attend. I won't have tomfoolery in this class, from you two or anyone." Having done her teacherly duty, she made her way back to her desk, scanning the room for more signs of trouble. She might not have a job after Miss St.Martin's accident, but she wasn't going to let the class disintegrate while it was hers. Joining the girls in the infirmary for a headache cure was sounding like more and more of a good idea. \n\n

0 Professor Marlowe Says <i>me</i>, Miss Carey. 0 Professor Marlowe 0 5

Geoffrey Layne
March 04, 2006 10:14 PM

Geoffrey Layne
Alumnus
House: Aladren
Written by: Grayson Wright

Age in Post: 11

I'm walking on pins and needles, pals... by Geoffrey Layne
Geoffrey had spared no effort when it came to giving the right impression in his first Transfiguration lesson. Sitting first row, dead center, hands clasped on top of his wand and eyes fixed on the teacher, he fixed a look of rapt attention on his face and tried to work out what to make of Marlowe. It was immediately obvious that she was the first part-British part-American like himself he'd ever met outside of his own family, which was a point in her favor, but her businesslike air and lecture about the seriousness of the subject made it hard to tell if she was one of those teachers who made becoming a favorite the next thing to impossible. Not impossible - everyone had a crack somewhere in their armor, after all - but close.

From what Anne had written him last year and told him since his arrival, the Transfiguration teacher was a good one to have as an ally, because the subject was a complex, theory-based, fiddly one. Anne's liking for poker-stiff teachers with rule obsessions aside, it made sense to stay in good books with a professor teaching a subject with those qualities, so, if the need arose, he could schedule private study sessions while only feeling three-fourths an idiot and not having the entire school know about it by midday. He didn't think it would be that bad, or that he would ever manage to shelve his pride enough to ask for assistance if it was, it would be good to have the option open. Unfortunately, the Powers That Be hadn't seen fit to exempt him from the nobody's-perfect rule.

He made a point of leaning forward a bit when Professor Marlowe gave the demonstration. It gave the right impression, and he was actually interested in what she was doing. He'd seen transfigurations done before, of course, but seeing one object morph into another never failed to entertain him. A match and a needle didn't share much in common besides length, but maybe that was enough to make an effective correlation. Didn't seem like it would be, since he was pretty sure most metals a needle would be made of contained fewer elements than the kind of wood that would make up a match stem, never mind the sulfur and whatever on the end...Geoffrey stopped himself when he realized he was over-thinking the thing. He had just seen it done, so elemental differences didn't matter. A teacher had done it right in front of him, so it could be done, end of discussion.

He stifled a groan when Marlowe announced they had to practice the wand movement and incantation before they could get their matches. He didn't want to waste time praticing, he wanted to get down to work. Transfigurations took time until you were really good, he knew, and this was his first time doing it. Couldn't tell Marlowe that, though, he'd look like a stuck-up little know-it-all as opposed to an overenthusiastic know-it-all, and that would probably do nicely to get the majority of his year hating him. He didn't care if they liked him - might do his reputation better if they didn't, actually - but he'd prever to avoid outright enmity with most of them.

At long last, the matches were handed out and they were allowed to begin working. Geoffrey pulled his wand out eagerly, not even taking his usual moment to polish the eight inches of yew. Any effort at upholding a casual front was being tossed straight out the window; he was and most likely always would be a right ol' member of the nerd herd, as Anne had affectionately christened it, at heart. Rotating his wrist for a moment to make the stiff movement a little more comfortable, he proceeded to steady his hand, get the wand in line with the middle of his match, and perform the incantation, exactly as he had just seen Marlowe do it.

Nothing happened. Nothing at all happened. Geoffrey felt himself coming very slightly down off his excited high, but he pushed it aside quickly. It wasn't uncommon, to get no result the first time. It was more common, really. He wasn't perfect, and there was no point in telling himself he was, even if he told himself that on a regular basis anyway. Try again. No harm done. I've always been the best, so I always will be, aside from - aside from no one. She never skipped a year. I'm Geoffrey Layne. I can do this. His eyebrows starting to draw together a little, he said the incantation again, as clearly as he possibly could, while making the motion again. Nothing doing. He muttered something his mother would have gone into conniptions over and resolved not to stop until the match was a needle or he died trying to make it one. \n\n

16 Geoffrey Layne I'm walking on pins and needles, pals... 72 Geoffrey Layne 0 5

Adam B.
March 08, 2006 8:13 PM

Adam B.
Alumnus
House: Crotalus
Written by: Allegra Brockert

Age in Post: 11
Birthday: March 5

Things not going too good. by Adam B.
Okay, the girl was stuttering. Maybe that meant she was as scared as Adam, (which, for the life of him, he didn't understand. Few people were less scary than he was.) Or perhaps she just had a speech impediment. Either way, it made her slightly less intimidating.

He gave her a small nervous smile and said "Well, no. You don't want to try lots of the potions you'll make. Something could have been wrong with them due to a mistake someone made. Or even if everything went right, the intent of a potion could be to harm. Some have highly toxic ingredients. Others just don't taste good."

"I-I h-hope everything is going well for you here,"

Adam gave her a funny look. Going well for him? How could they possibly be? He was in Crotalus. He wasn't with Kaylie. He felt desperately alone most of the time. Scared.

He looked down at his desk. Adam didn't want her to see the tears in his eyes.
\n\n

11 Adam B. Things not going too good. 78 Adam B. 0 5

Ginger Silverstein
March 27, 2006 9:08 PM

Ginger Silverstein
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:( I'm sorry by Ginger Silverstein
When Adam smiled it made Ginger feel slightly better about herself. She could tell that he was very sensitive, and she was afraid that she would accidently hurt his feelings. Ginger was rather sensitive as well, but she tried to hide it just a little bit. She didn't want people to think she was totally helpless. It was already bad enough that she was a muggle-born, but to be a sensitive, helpless muggle-born was asking for it. She had to have just a little bit of a backbone at least to survive here. She was rather proud of herself for not completely breaking down from being away from her video games.

Ginger slightly giggled, her giggle sounded meek, and hopfully harmless. "Yeah, I don't think any potion would taste good. The potions I've r-read about have s-some pretty nasty sounding stuff in them." She gave him a sweeter smile than her nervous one, and giggled again. She was happy that she managed not to stutter too much this time. She hoped that, this didn't intimidate him a bit.

Then when he gave her the look, and looked down, it was obvious that she had said the wrong thing. "I- I- I- I'm s-s-s-sorry," she said sadly. Now she had done it! Her eyes filled with sadness, and she looked down at her desk too.

\n\n

0 Ginger Silverstein :( I'm sorry 1484 Ginger Silverstein 0 5