Nerd-boy goes a-huntin' on Labyrinth Gardens

Prof. Isis Carter

August 14, 2015 7:43 PM

Scavenger hunt! [Potions years I-II] by Prof. Isis Carter

Minus one particular night (which she still very much needed to tell Amelle about), midterm at Sonora had been fairly uneventful. Most of Isis’s time had been spent with Nathan and his furry companion, Alice, as they were otherwise potentially isolated in the near-empty school. Lingering effects of the break included long, white hairs still clinging to her robes, the knowledge of how to maintain the small bonsai tree now present in the Potions classroom, and confirmation that acronyms to not in fact count in Scrabble. It had been fun, albeit a bit mundane to an outsider. Isis was perfectly content to be mundane once in a while.

Her time with the Groundskeeper had, however, gotten her thinking about some new ways to mix up her classes, to keep them more alive and free. His well-kept Labyrinth Gardens seemed an excellent way to begin this fluid model she intended to implement. Thus, the first and seconds years were advised not to show up to their normal classroom in favor of the Gardens, although anyone who forgot would be reminded by a sign hanging from the locked Potions door.

Typically lenient with timeliness anyway, Isis strain herself to allow for any of these forgetful stragglers, and once it seemed everyone was present, she began. “Welcome back to class, everyone,” she smiled. “I hope you all had a lovely holiday.”

“Today,” she explained, “we’re going to ease back into things with a bit of a review.” Isis produced a stack of worksheets from her bag and passed it to the student nearest her. “Take one and pass the rest, and someone bring the extras back up to me, please.” Upon inspection, the students would notice a checklist of plants they would--or should, at least--recognize as ingredients for common potions.

“In parts of the Garden not far from here”--she stressed that part in the hopes no one would wander off too far and get lost in the literal labyrinth of a garden--“you will find all of these plants. Mark each one off on your sheet when you find it, and hand your sheet back at the end of class.” Isis was somewhat relying an honor system, but the worksheets were only worth a minimal amount of points anyway.

“Well, that’s about it,” she concluded unceremoniously. “Don’t worry about rushing around. If enough of you don’t finish, we can probably come again another time. Go ahead and get started.”

OOC: You are looking for:
Moly
Dittany
Wiggentree (for the bark)
Asphodel
Puffapod
and Moondew

Subthreads:

I would rather not. by Jax Donovan, Aladren with Ingrid Wolseithcrafte, Pecari

There's nothing I'd rather be doing. by Louis Valois with Alistair Johnson, Crotalus

Oh boy! by Fabian Brockert,Pecari with Andrew Carey, Teppenpaw

/me is not five years old. by Barnaby Pye

Nerd-boy goes a-huntin' by Dustin Newell, Aladren

Cheers! [Tag: Wu Peizhi] by Laila Kennedy, Crotalus with Wu Peizhi, Teppenpaw

12 Prof. Isis Carter Scavenger hunt! [Potions years I-II] 31 Prof. Isis Carter 1 5

Jax Donovan, Aladren

August 21, 2015 10:58 PM

I would rather not. by Jax Donovan, Aladren

Jax was discovering that as the year progressed the weider things were becoming. Jax had discovered the graffiti in Aladren and had assumed that it meant an Aladren had done it. But after talking to his sister, he had found out that the Pecari Notice Board had a similar graffiti on it, although the Pecari board’s graffiti was much more mean spirited then that heart felt in Aladren, but Jax was more focused on the fact that he writing had been in at least two different common rooms (he later found out through the grapevine that Teppenpaw and Crotalus had also had graffiti written onto their boards, making all four houses victims of whatever was happening.

Did this mean that there were co-conspirators or a staff member who was doing all of this? Was there some sort of lesson in what was being done or did he have to worry that his secret was going to be exposed because a staff member decided to have a little fun with the emotions of their students? Jax really didn’t want to think that a staff member could do this, but he didn’t think four different people from all four houses could possibly be working together and wrecking the school without having been caught. Especially since he was sure that the staff was being extra vigilant since the whole thing began at the beginning of the school year.

Jax tried not to think about it as he headed down the path to where Professor Carter was waiting for them. He thought it was odd that they would be doing potions outside, but thought perhaps one of the components of the ingredients was sun (there were far stranger requirements for some potions that Jax had come across that ‘sun’ didn’t seem too farfetched).

Taking the paper from the person next to him and passing the pile on, Jax read the list and immediately knew what they would be doing for the class period. He inwardly groaned. He out of most of the student body could respect this was financially better for the school to collect the supplies from their own backyard rather than buy in bulk at a shop, but to use them for labor? Jax gave a sour look. He was going to have to work hard his whole life, why couldn’t they just look at samples while in class?

Jax looked around for his sister to see if she wanted to walk around with him, but she pointedly looked in the opposite direction of him and he had to suppress a sigh. Wasn’t she happy that he was attempting conversation with others’ as it was? Couldn’t he just have one small break? Jax was tired and with the freedom that this class was going to give everyone, he knew that people were going to become super chatty. He wasn’t sure if wanted to deal with a talker.

Dropping his bag near a tree, Jax pulled out a quill and entered into the Gardens with the rest of the class. Down one of the less crowded rows, close to the hedges and low to the ground, Jax thought he found some Dittany. He was looking at it more thoroughly when a shadow fell over him. He frowned and looked up to see who had joined him.

6 Jax Donovan, Aladren I would rather not. 296 Jax Donovan, Aladren 0 5

Ingrid Wolseithcrafte, Pecari

August 21, 2015 11:44 PM

Aw, come on - it's fun! by Ingrid Wolseithcrafte, Pecari

Ingird was excited to be back at school, with more matches coming up, but she was also nervous about it. She was fairly sure no one blamed her for their loss in the first match - she very definitely knew who she blamed, and had been sure to scowl at him very thoroughly across the breakfast table the day after their defeat. But still, losing sucked, and she wanted something to show for her first season, whether it was being part of a winning team, or scoring a goal. She fiddled with the charm bracelet around her wrist. She didn’t often wear it because it was jangly and impractical, and tended to annoy her after a while, but her parents had bought her a new addition to it as one of her Christmas presents. It had had a tiny silver broom hanging off it for as long as she could remember but this year, in celebration of her chosen position, they’d bought a shining, red, round bead. She’d learnt this morning that they would be next up, playing Teppalus this time, and all in all, it was a good thing that Professor Carter had decided to bring them outside today, instead of having them concocting precariously precise potions in the lab.

She liked Professor Carter a lot. In fact, she was probably Ingrid’s favourite teacher, even though she pretty much hated Potions. She’d heard that Professor Carter had taught Defence last year, which she did like, and almost wished she still did that, cos then Defence would be super awesome, instead of only fun once you got past the dry Pye lectures. Still, it meant there were more classes that enjoyed, and that she was actually putting more effort into her potions than she might have otherwise. She still found them fiddly, and found it hard to give them the delicate focus that they needed, unless she paired with her sister and piggy-backed on Jemima’s natural talent with things like that. Today’s class though, she thought she might be able to ace, and she grinned broadly as she accepted her sheet.

Even though Professor Carter assured them they didn’t have to rush, Ingrid was bouncing on the balls of her feet, ready to go. She skittered off down one of the less crowded paths as soon as they were dismissed, heeding the Professor’s warning that they shouldn’t stray too far but wanting to get out of the knot of other students. Scavenger hunts were no fun if everyone around you was shouting out all the answers, although they were more fun with a friend. Luckily, the path seemed to have one other occupant. She took some time to scan the hedgerow as she approached him. She’d never really considered that there were different plants out here - mostly, it all just looked like hedges to her. It was trickier than she’d anticipated, but she started to actually notice the differences. In the area she was in, it mostly took the form of small plants that were growing under the hedge. The boy seemed to think so too, as he was peering low down.

“Hey, did you find something?” she asked, as she got close enough. “Want to team up? Two heads are better than one, right? I think I recognise where we are, and I know a little opening with some trees near here. They might be Wiggentrees,” she added, wanting to make sure the boy didn’t think she was just trying to crib off him.

13 Ingrid Wolseithcrafte, Pecari Aw, come on - it's fun! 322 Ingrid Wolseithcrafte, Pecari 0 5

Louis Valois

August 23, 2015 8:25 AM

There's nothing I'd rather be doing. by Louis Valois

Louis usually found potions quite enjoyable. There was something about the precision and concentration needed, the attention to detail, that made the end result (when successful) very satisfying, and he’d always liked making things. He could remember fun childhood days spent making his own potions out of mud and sand and flowers, though of course Louis would never admit now to having sold his creations (under the remarkably original business name Lou’s Potions) to a doting mother for the price of two biscuits each. However, the idea of a Potions lesson spent in the Labyrinth Gardens did not exactly thrill him.

Rather unenthusiastically, Louis took a worksheet from the pile handed to him, and passed the rest on. There was really nothing like a fun bit of plant-spotting to get the new term off to a good start. Scanning down the list of plants, Louis recognised all the names, which made him feel a bit better (at least it wouldn't be too hard), although it also furthered his idea that it was a bit of a wasted lesson.

Well, at least Professor Carter hadn't forbidden group work, which would make the class go a lot faster. Louis looked around for someone to work with, seeing that some students had already teamed up and not wanting to be left to work alone.

9 Louis Valois There's nothing I'd rather be doing. 314 Louis Valois 0 5

Alistair Johnson, Crotalus

August 23, 2015 9:38 AM

Here's to hoping that's sarcasm. by Alistair Johnson, Crotalus

Alistair was not the forgetful sort and he always aimed to be prompt so he reached the Labyrinth Gardens in good time, his mind questioning whether or not he should be dreading the lesson ahead. Usually he would find Potions class bearable but it was certainly not one of his better subjects.

When Professor Carter did eventually get around to explaining the lesson plan, Alistair was only polite enough to hold back a groan. Hunting for ingredients in the Gardens sounded far more dull than chucking them in a cauldron and heating them up as was the usual drill and the sort of thing that only a backward child could find entertaining. Now thirteen years of age, Alistair thought the idea of anyone suggesting he was still a child was more absurd than ever. He doubted he would have enjoyed the activity as a first year let alone now.

The list of ingredients were fairly basic and the Crotalus thought himself knowledgeable enough of the subject to find them. He had no plans to be half hearted in his searching since he couldn’t possibly let his Potions grade slip for the sake of one easy lesson.

The best method Alistair could think of to make the task marginally less tedious was to recruit the company of a peer so that he might engage in some interesting conversation whilst they worked. That meant selecting someone who would have the intellect and respectability to provide him with the kind of conversation he was looking for.

Scanning the group of students surrounding him, the second year’s eyes landed on a younger boy whose name he made it his business to know. Louis Valois was from a highly regarded pureblood French family and a connection Alistair knew that his father would be particularly proud of him for making.

“Alistair Johnson of the Arizona Johnsons,” he strode over to the first year and introduced himself with a polite hand extended once Professor Carter had given the class the go ahead to get on with the lesson. “Say, would you care to join me in this dratted ingredient hunt?”

8 Alistair Johnson, Crotalus Here's to hoping that's sarcasm. 306 Alistair Johnson, Crotalus 0 5

Fabian Brockert,Pecari

August 24, 2015 7:21 PM

Oh boy! by Fabian Brockert,Pecari

Usually, Fabian found Potions totally boring. Sitting hunched over a cauldron in a stuffy classroom, paying careful attention to detail was just not his thing. Professor Carter was cool enough but even she couldn't make that enjoyable for him. In most classes there was something interesting enough to draw his attention but in Potions, he couldn't help but long more than anything to be outside.

Today, it seemed he was going to be getting his wish. He'd been all too happy to find out that they were going to be out in the Gardens today, looking for ingredients. Fabian loved that sort of thing, he liked exploring and finding different plants was something one might have to do if they had to survive in the wild, something the Pecari had spent much of his playtime as a child doing. So this whole lesson was right up Fabian's alley for once.

It might actually be the most fun thing he'd done since he'd been at school really. He hadn't really made many friends yet, not that he didn't want to. It was just that he didn't see himself having much in common with the guys in his class. They seemed...kind of stuffy, really. Like they didn't know how to have fun. They were like...male versions of Kelsey .

Still Fabian had resolved to give people a chance. There had to be someone fun around, right? He supposed Ingrid kind of was but they weren't exactly close either. He knew though that he wasn't going to make friends if he didn't try.

He got a list from Professor Carter and scanned it quickly. Dittany? That was cool stuff, it could make skin regrow. It was a very valuable thing to have with you in case you got bitten by something in the wild. Honestly, Fabian would have loved to see a demonstration on that but the problem with that would be someone would have to get hurt first and he didn't really want that.

The first year looked around for someone to partner with, Ingrid was already talking to Jax, that second year Aladren boy who always seemed grouchy as opposed to stuffy. He admired her bravery on that, Aladrens in general weren't often his first choice for a partner. Which sounded odd based on the fact that they were the smart house, but the thing was, Fabian didn't want to deal with them being all uptight about his more relaxed standards. He honestly had to wonder how Amity had ever survived in that house given her attitudes towards things like that were even looser than his own.

Spotting someone that didn't already have a partner, Fabian approached and chose his words carefully. He realized he had to still maintain propriety so as not to offend someone, though he assumed that given that a lot of the people who acted like Kelsey would be just as bothered by him as she was and he was bound to offend them in some way no matter what"Would you like to partner up for this?" He asked.

11 Fabian Brockert,Pecari Oh boy! 321 Fabian Brockert,Pecari 0 5

Jax Donovan

August 25, 2015 8:29 PM

I don't know what this 'fun' is you speak of by Jax Donovan

Jax watched the girl with suspicion as she made her way towards him. He didn’t actually expect anything terrible to happen in which a suspicious look would be warranted, but Jax just looked at everyone he didn’t know in that way. She looked to be one of the Wolseithcrafte girls, Ingrid, if he recalled her name correctly. Jax knew of Francesca due to her titles as Head Girl and Quidditch Captain of his house’s team. He knew the male Wolseithcrafte from Quidditch too. Jemima was in his year, so she was easy enough to know by sight, but Jax was still getting used to the First Years. There was only one first year so far whom Jax hadn’t felt negative thoughts towards after interacting with her and that was because she had kept things about magic. If he had to work with her again, he would not be angry about it.

His blue eyes returned to the plant that he was previously investigating and felt reassured that he was correct in assessing that these were dittany plants. He checked this off his list and stood up to face the other girl. He assessed her for a moment, his face stoic as he considered his options. He wasn’t sure if he really wanted to work with someone he did not know that well. She had approached him openly, which meant she was an extrovert and he took that to mean that she was a talker. Man, chatty people always exhausted him.

However, working with another person meant finding all of the plants before the class period was completed and then he could read a book or something away from everyone else until it was time to head back to the school. He didn’t necessarily find either of these options all that wonderful, but of the two, at least working with her would save him time in the long run.

“These are Dittany.” Jax finally responded when he felt that he had assessed the situation long enough. “Working as a team should fair well.” Jax advised, agreeing to work with her. Gia would be so surprised to see that he was doing well with others. He wasn’t quite sure why the girls of his classes always ended up the ones talking to him, but he assumed it was that the females of his class just happened to be more outgoing than the males. This theory was not proven, of course, but it was something to fall back on.

“I think I’ve come across Moondew before on one of my walks. We can head that way after we check out that place where the Wiggentrees might be?” Jax suggested. He wasn’t actually sure if what he saw was the Moondew or just random seeds, but it was something to at least check out. There was no telling when this row would become full of their classmates and Jax would rather avoid a crowd. “Uh, I’m Jax, by the way.” He introduced himself. They had been taking the same classes together for half of the year, but as he tended to not talk to anyone, he always felt it was best to make somewhat of an introduction.

6 Jax Donovan I don't know what this 'fun' is you speak of 296 Jax Donovan 0 5

Andrew Carey, Teppenpaw

August 30, 2015 9:03 PM

Yippee! by Andrew Carey, Teppenpaw

Andrew had been excited by the announcement of a new meeting place for Potions, but on the day they were supposed to do something new and exciting, he still walked to the usual classroom door out of habit before finding the door locked and then noticing the reminder Professor Carter had posted. He then hurried out to the Gardens, wishing he had come to class earlier so he would have had time after figuring out where it was to run back to the dorms and get his gloves and scarf, left in the room in the expectation that he wouldn’t spend much time outside right now and would in fact be in the warmest classroom in the school for a while. Potions was a lot more enjoyable right before and after midterm than it was right before the Midsummer Festivals, or any other time during the year.

Outside, he hoped Professor Carter would announce the need to wear their dragon skin ones for whatever the special lesson was, but she disappointed him – for a second, anyway. Then it occurred to him that hunting for plants was not something to do bare-handed, as some of them reacted poorly with skin. Then he realized they weren’t being asked to collect the plants, just to mark them off on a sheet, and that he would really look stupid if he pretended he’d misunderstood and like a sissy if he acted worried about protecting his hands from papercuts and quill calluses – Aladrens, who probably deliberately tried to build up such marks, would probably laugh at him to his face, and he couldn’t have that. Even his mama knew that they had to do a certain amount to maintain the dignity and respect of the family name, and she was the least Carey-like of all the Careys he knew. Being laughed at for being too dainty would be kind of a disaster for him. He’d just have to do without gloves and learn from the experience and pay more attention next time.

That thought made him want to make a face. He hated it when he had to admit that the adults were right, but they often were. He smiled again, though, when Fabian Brockert - not, he thought, a super-close relative by marriage of his, but a relative by marriage anyway – asked if he wanted to work together.

“Sure,” he said. “I’m Andrew Carey, if you don’t know,” he added. “I mean – I know your name because I noticed it on roll calls because my sister’s a Brockert now, but I don’t think you’re one of her brothers-in-law, so I didn’t know if you’d noticed mine…” he explained, in case it sounded like he thought everyone, including first years from other Houses, should just know who he was. “So,” he continued hastily, now feeling kind of stupid, “how good are you at recognizing plants?”

0 Andrew Carey, Teppenpaw Yippee! 0 Andrew Carey, Teppenpaw 0 5

Fabian

September 04, 2015 12:28 AM

Hooray, a genuninely enthusiastic partner. by Fabian

Fabian grinned with pleasure. It was always considered a good thing to make the acquaintance of a Carey and Andrew had the bonus of being pleasant and more importantly, not uptight. He was a Teppenpaw and therefore from the easiest house to get on with which he admittedly had to include his own in. There were certainly other Pecaris that Fabian didn't see himself liking much. He'd been less than impressed with Jamie Park during the Quidditch game for example and not because he was the sort who cared that much if his house won. In fact, Fabian thought people often took that kind of thing far too seriously, though he understood it better than when people-ahem, Tristan ,-got that way about their favorite professional teams. It was more the disgusting display of cockiness the older boy had displayed. Even he, who much was less fussed about such things than some people, thought it was completely classless and reflected much more poorly on the boy than simply not catching the snitch.

He nodded his assurance that he did indeed know Andrew's name. It was not a large class and Fabian pretty much knew the names of all the Beginners by now and the Carey name, like the Brockert name, was a rather recognizable one in the magical world. Just because neither boy acted up themselves the way some of their classmates acted about their important but not quite as famous at Sonora last names about it didn't mean facts weren't facts. "Nice to meet you."

"Oh so it's your sister that's married to my...very distant cousin then?" Fabian inquired. "I mean, I know Evan married Lucille Carey but it's like, both families are rather large and complex so I don't remember whose related or how. It would take me a bit to even figure out exactly how Evan and I are related. I mean, I know he's the younger brother of Adam, whose our family heir, and that Adam would be her only actual brother-in-law, though there are Evan's sisters' husband's. I only remember the name of Hope's though. Anyway, any further away than first cousins, I just leave it at 'distant cousin'. In case you're wondering, your roommate is also a distant cousin."

Fabian paused. "Sorry, I hope that bit about brothers-in-law isn't rude. I mean, I wasn't trying to correct you or anything. " He wanted this to go well, knowing better than to alienate a Carey especially who apparently was their patriarch's great-grandson's brother-in-law. Besides, he was hoping to make friends."Can you imagine how fun genealogy lessons are going to be for their kids though?" He laughed, meaning that in only the most sarcastic of ways and saying so in a way that fully implied such.

"Believe it or not, I kind of am." Fabian said. "I've always loved the outdoors and survival stuff. So knowing what plants to what is something I've picked up over the years." Survivalist stuff was really the only non-school he ever read, other than comic books. He did love his comics. "How are you at it?"

11 Fabian Hooray, a genuninely enthusiastic partner. 321 Fabian 0 5

Andrew Carey

September 06, 2015 10:24 PM

It's good to look on the bright side by Andrew Carey

Andrew couldn’t even keep track of the exact degrees of relationship in his own family – he still, for instance, had no idea exactly how the head of his branch of the family was even related to the rest of it; more was made of how Morgaine’s father had been Andrew’s father’s foster-father before Andrew’s father tried to kill Morgaine one time than of their actual, more distant, blood relationship, which involved both of his paternal grandparents; Andrew had decided to think of her as basically his aunt even though she hadn’t even been born when her father had been responsible for his father and both of their fathers were dead now anyway – so he had trouble paying attention when Fabian began trying to figure out some from the Brockert family. The North Carolina Careys had always been a small branch, Andrew was the first younger son ever to live long enough to come to school, and Andrew was happy about that. He had once been able to recite off a lot more names and relationships because of lessons, but if he ever fell into a position where he had to use any of that information, he thought he would have been doomed even the day after his knowledge of the family was declared passable.

“I guessed,” he said of Owen. “I knew he wasn’t Lucille’s brother-in-law, so I don’t think I ever asked for the details,” he said about Owen. Plus Andrew was always a little afraid of asking Owen to talk too much, period, in case it made him start coughing and wheezing. Since a discussion of genealogy was stuff so dry that Andrew needed a drink just thinking about it, he really didn’t think that would be the best ever thing for him and Owen to spend a lot of time chatting about. “I couldn’t tell you how I’m related to Brandon and Diana – the Careys in the intermediate class. Big families, huh?”

He laughed at the quip about the genealogy lessons his future nieces and nephews would be forced through. “Fun,” he said, feeling sorry for the kids that didn’t exist. “Though it might not be as bad as it could have been – I’m second son, and nobody really cared as much about me learning it as they did my brother and sister. They might get lucky.” Probably not – Lucille would make them learn the Careys perfectly at least; according to the long, dull lectures she’d gotten after her betrothal, she had to, whether she or the kids liked it or not – but, well, it was worth hoping.

Andrew had to shrug when asked about his outdoors skills. “Not so good,” he admitted, a little jealous. He had always wanted to go outdoors more, but while his mother was not as bad as Stepmother was about such things by any measure, he still was hardly ever allowed to leave their neatly-manicured gardens. “I’m okay with them dried, like they are in Potions, but I don’t think we have any of these things alive in my garden at home.” Stepmother did have her garden, but they weren’t allowed in there, so he couldn’t be sure. “So I’m happy to believe you, though I’ll try to keep an eye out for anything that looks sort of like it does dried up, too,” he said, hoping Fabian didn’t see him as too much of a useless burden because of his ignorance of wild plants.

0 Andrew Carey It's good to look on the bright side 0 Andrew Carey 0 5

Barnaby Pye

September 08, 2015 1:35 AM

/me is not five years old. by Barnaby Pye

Barnaby stared with suspicion at his Potions professor as she explained to them what the lesson for the day was. Barnaby was not the sort of child who automatically gave respect—he had been raised to believe that was the sort of thing one earned. However, he did have a measurable amount that he gave his various professors and other figures of authority simply because to not do so would be to be completely idiotic and Barnaby was not, if anything, an idiot. However, he was starting to wonder if his brother was. It had been a regular Sunday night, and Barnaby had realized that he and Alfie hadn’t really argued in awhile and so he had gotten it in his head that it was time for more of that “brotherly-bonding” that Father had insisted upon as an excuse to send Barnaby to Sonora in the first place. And so Barnaby had combed his hair and taken a few sips of his tea before pouring it from his cup to his thermos and headed down to have a row with Alfie.

Granted, he thought now as the worksheets were passed around the group of beginner students and he collected one, sub-consciously going over the list in his head, remarking on which ingredients he knew well enough by sight and which he would need to work harder at to find, purposely starting a fight with one’s head of house and defense against the dark arts professor was probably not the smartest of ideas but when one’s head of house and defense against the dark arts professor was one’s wildly irresponsible older half-brother, Barnaby felt it came with the territory. The interrogation had begun as Alfie asked Barnaby what it was that he needed and they traded barbs regarding their respective mothers, Barnaby taking pleasure in the way he was able to make Alfie forget his station and age and become a petty twelve-year old again. They had moved to to each other’s choices in best friends, Alfie having always been creeped out by Tarquin, Barnaby laughing that Alfie had never been able to make a commitment or any sort (friendship or otherwise) to any person once he left Hogwarts.

And then the metaphorical bomb had dropped. Barnaby knew what bombs were as he had done some reading up on various Muggle weapons, figuring that sooner or later the knowledge would come in handy—thoughts that had been confirmed after he managed to overhear one of his father’s business floo calls while hiding in the secret cabinet that served as a passage way between Father’s office and Barnaby’s hallway, and he quite thought that the analogy was a good one. He wondered whether or not wizards had a similar, equivalent expression before coming to the conclusion that while there was, it wasn’t likely to be nearly so descriptive as the idea of hundreds of different bodies erupting into a pink mist after the fiery explosion went off, which really did describe the feeling one got when one’s older brother alluded to sleeping with one’s potions professor.

This new piece of information regarding the out of class habits of his professors was what was causing Barnaby to stare a little longer at Professor Carter than he probably should have. He had thought she was smarter than to get involved with his idiotic brother who really, in the end, couldn’t care less about academics of any sort and Barnaby had thought Professor Carter was…at the very least sensible in that manner. Shortly after the altercation, Alfie had pulled Barnaby off to the side and Barnaby had felt that pressurized, prodding feeling on the edges of his brain that he was used to feeling around Father when Father took him for his special lessons, which caused Barnaby to push Alfie off him rather violently and cast his gaze anywhere else other than his brother.

“Just what do you think you’re doing?” he had hissed at Alfie, making sure to concentrate on Alfie’s neck, the pulse there racing fast and quick. Barnaby took out his quill and marked dittany off his list before moving on to begin his search for moondew.

10 Barnaby Pye /me is not five years old. 298 Barnaby Pye 0 5

Dustin Newell, Aladren

September 08, 2015 2:16 AM

Nerd-boy goes a-huntin' by Dustin Newell, Aladren

Despite a rather pleasant holiday with his family, Dustin was actually rather glad to be back to school. Prior to formal education, he would have never pegged himself for the particularly scholastic type, but every passing week provided further credence to his Aladren Sorting; he was beginning to feel rather nerdish, getting more and more interested in his academics. To prove himself as the smartest in his class was easily becoming his goal. A great way to honor the Newell name, to be certain.

Today’s assignment seemed easy enough. Simply finding and check-marking ingredients that grew strewn about the Gardens was definitely a far cry from the extensively and stressfully precise measurements and instructions for the potions that lay on the horizon, found primarily in the Intermediate and Advanced classes but perhaps offered in smaller margins to the second years as a taste of what was to come. And with half of his first year down, no part of that seemed too far away for him.

Dustin took some pride in the fact that Professor Carter trusted them enough to rely on their honor; lesser students than he could easily have cheated their way to a quick and easy O for the day, marking off ingredients they had yet to actually encounter. Perhaps some would betray her trust and stoop to cheating, but as for Dustin, it appeared to be time for a quest.

And while he was generally content to working single-handedly, he had to admit that two pairs of eyes would be more efficient than one. Professor Carter said there was no rush to complete the list today, but he would have hated to be the only one not to finish because he chose to work alone. So before he set off, he asked a neighbor, “Would you like to come look with me?”

12 Dustin Newell, Aladren Nerd-boy goes a-huntin' 312 Dustin Newell, Aladren 0 5

Laila Kennedy, Crotalus

September 10, 2015 5:03 AM

Cheers! [Tag: Wu Peizhi] by Laila Kennedy, Crotalus

Laila really liked Professor Carter’s class. She thought that the potions professor was young, pretty, and smart. What she didn’t like was that if she didn’t get to someone else first Arne would take the liberty of plopping down in the seat next to her and kind of take over, forcing her to work with him. Today, she could tell from the feral grin on his face that he had something particularly nasty up his sleeve and even though they weren’t working with cauldrons and potions that he could mess up just to see her reaction, they were in the labyrinth gardens and Laila didn’t particularly feel like getting lost with Arne (Dustin or Jax, she wouldn’t mind, they were the nice, polite sort of boy that she liked).

However, as she turned to look for an alternative to the devil child, she noticed with some level of disappointment that both Dustin and Jax had found partner in other people and so she turned her head quickly away from the unkempt Reinhardt and found herself looking at one of the Teppenpaws. Teppenpaw was the house that Arne had told her he thought she’d fit in and so Laila gave the other girl a large smile and started forward.

“Hi,” she said. “Would you like to work together?” At this point in the year Laila had a handle on the names of all her classmates. Even if they didn’t talk much or she didn’t interact with them often, there were not that many students in their year, and them being sorted into different houses made it easier for her to remember their individual names too since there were automatic categories they belonged to.

This particular girl Laila knew was from China, if the name hadn’t given away her background, the accent the girl spoke in did (if Laila hadn’t heard the girl speak herself, other students had and in a school that small those sorts of things were common knowledge). She had always wondered what it would be like to move to a new country to go to school. She knew that several of her schoolmates were British and that there were even a few Canadians, but she didn’t really think those counted as much as the Chinese girl and the French boy in her year did—not only did Louis and Wu have to move to a new country but they were also taking lessons in, what Laila could only assume was, their second language.

Laila herself was not bilingual (despite the best efforts of her mother she and her brother had only managed to learn a few words in Italian the majority of which was cooking terminology) and she had always listened with envy as the middle and high school students did their Spanish homework together, wishing that she had the ability to pick up languages easily. However, all she spoke was English and very poor, broken Italian—basically enough to get by in the kitchen when Nonna was yelling at them to get out so that she could cook.

OOC: Calling Dustin/Jax "nice" and "polite" are not necessarily endorsed by their authors but rather Laila's impression given her limited interactions with the two.

10 Laila Kennedy, Crotalus Cheers! [Tag: Wu Peizhi] 318 Laila Kennedy, Crotalus 0 5

Wu Peizhi, Teppenpaw

September 13, 2015 8:29 PM

I'll take your word for it by Wu Peizhi, Teppenpaw

Laila Kennedy, Crotalus, first year, Peizhi systematically filed in her mind. Muggleborn. At least, she was pretty sure. She felt her knowledge of her schoolmates was fairly comprehensive, but Laila was often seen interacting with Arne Reinhardt, another Crotalus first year whom she knew to be a Pureblood. His family was not the same level in society as many of the other Purebloods with whom Peizhi had interacted (or perhaps hadn’t but really should have), but given that prior to school she had never even met a Muggle, it was odd for her to imagine any sort of witch or wizard so casually associating with a Muggleborn.

Of course, Peizhi held no malice for those outside her social circle. She did not hold malice for anyone, really. In fact, she generally had no strong opinions of her own, instead tending to accept those of her family as a sufficient stand-in for her own. Not only did it make things easier, but Peizhi did not have the same type of experiences that her older brothers or her parents. (And all of theirs likely paled in comparison to Serenity’s, but she was not comfortable enough with her recently rediscovered older sister to explore them.)

In any case, Laila’s offer to work together was very much appreciated. Peizhi needed to start talking to people, but since she still found it so difficult, it was nice to be approached. And given Laila’s lower social value, talking to her could effectively serve as practice for more significant interactions the Teppenpaw would need to have later. She nodded stiffly in response before forcing a vocal confirmation, albeit a rather meek one. “Yes.”

“I think we start with this way,” she added with noticeable strain, gesturing down the labyrinth. Fortunately, part of her shyness worked well to pass off with the language barrier. “Is that okay?”

0 Wu Peizhi, Teppenpaw I'll take your word for it 0 Wu Peizhi, Teppenpaw 0 5

Fabian

September 16, 2015 3:02 PM

This could be the beginning of a beautiful friendship. by Fabian

Fabian nodded. "I feel I'm lucky if I remember that someone without the same last name as me that's further away than first cousins is related to me in the first place. It was never as important for me at all than it must be for someone 'higher ranking' in the family." He'd never much liked the idea of his family members being ranked within themselves. They were all Brockerts and the ones related through a female line all had last names that were important in their own right.

What Fabian really hated though was the idea that he'd ever have to defer to his cousins and besides it was all confusing. What happened if someone was like Tristan, who was heir to the Spaulding family-his cousin never seemed to let that one go-but like Fabian's dad was the oldest son?

Most of the time he didn't really think about it, being that it was his first cousins and sisters whom he was mostly around and they never did-couldn't actually. Tristan might be overly proud of his heirship but didn't exactly act as if Fabian was subserviant to him and Kelsey merely acted appalled by his behavior at times.Not that he didn't deliberately act appalling to annoy her. Besides, their group of cousins formed themselves as a unit long ago with Arabella as their leader, who was more a caring protective sort of leader than a bossy one. Not that Fabian needed protection anymore.

"That's all right." The Pecari assured Andrew. "I mean, I'm used to not really having anyone into this around me Most of my cousins are girls." Not that there weren't girls who liked outdoorsy things,his impression of Ingrid was that she might enjoy them "Maybe we can like, hang out in the gardens some time and explore." He said, sensing a bit of jealousy in the other boy's tone. Fabian had a feeling that Andrew would be a fun person to hang out with outside class. Honestly, the first year thought this was his lucky day. A Potions lesson that took them exploring the Gardens, where he could be outside, and an awesome, totally not stuffy partner who was even from a good family. How much better could it get?

OOC-Sorry I took so long to reply.

11 Fabian This could be the beginning of a beautiful friendship. 321 Fabian 0 5

Andrew

September 19, 2015 2:37 PM

As time goes by by Andrew

Andrew smiled sympathetically. “There are some good things about not being all that important,” he agreed.

He was glad, though, that there were none of his family members in this class to hear him say it. It wasn’t how he thought most of the family thought about…everything, really. When Theresa from South Carolina had complained to Lucille about losing her boyfriend, she had seemed more upset about not attaining the status that would have come with marrying him than she had about losing the relationship with the person. Andrew couldn’t understand why anyone wanted status, though, when everyone he knew who had it seemed tired and unhappy. Lucille was happier than the others, but even she got a distinctive strained look around her eyes when Stepmother reminded her just how few people stood between Evan and suddenly being very important.

That observation, though, was not one he was going to repeat to Fabian. Andrew’s mother had warned him before he went to school to be careful what he said to people, because sometimes people heard threats when Careys were just making observations. Their family had gotten a bad reputation over the years, and while a lot of work had gone into repairing it in the past twenty years, there was still a lot of work left to do. That was why Andrew always had to be good, so he could help.

He didn’t know what to think when Fabian said that he was used to not having companions because most of his cousins were girls. Did he think Andrew was girly, then? And if he did, what was Andrew supposed to do about that? Hexing him would prove the point, but it wouldn’t be good behavior. His invitation didn’t really help – certain rants of his stepmother’s came to mind, but he had always thought Stepmother had to be making that up, Mama said that not everything Stepmother said was right….

“Maybe,” he agreed cheerily. “If I don’t get us killed today, anyway,” he joked. Fabian could have just said that badly; it wasn’t nice to assume people meant something bad. Stepmother did all the time and sometimes Andrew knew she was wrong because he was the one who’d said what she took the wrong way. He looked at his list. “Wiggentree might be the easiest to spot since it’s, well, a tree,” he suggested. “And they’ve got red berries on them, right?” He frowned when a problem with that description occurred to him. “Well, they do in the book, but it’s January. I don’t know if they have them in January, do you?”

0 Andrew As time goes by 0 Andrew 0 5

Laila

September 25, 2015 8:35 PM

I don't know how much my word is worth here. by Laila

Wu was kind of adorable in a way, Laila thought as the other girl agreed to work with her. She reminded Laila of some of the younger girls at church back home, especially the ones starting choir for the first time. They were always really shy the first few weeks but after awhile opened up and started talking when they got their snack break. However it had been more than just a few weeks at Sonora and Laila kind of felt bad that Wu was still so painfully shy.

“Of course that’s okay!” Laila gave Wu her trade mark large smile, trying her hardest to make the other first year feel at home. They were move in a different world in a sort of way, Laila thought. While Laila was far away from the non-magical world that she had grown up in, Wu was dealing with a new language and a new culture. Like in the Muggle world, Laila figured that things in the wizarding world changed from time to time depending on where one was. “Did you take lessons in China before you came here?” She asked, wondering how different parts of the world dealt with education.

From first hand experience she knew that the Reinhardts had gone to Muggle school but she had also heard some of the others in her class had learned at home from private tutors. However, she wondered if there was a middle option. Were there magical elementary schools? Were there preschools or daycare centers designed for magical students? How did the teachers in those situations control all the accidental outbursts of magic? Laila herself had not had many outbursts, in fact most of her instances of accidental magic had been small, not particularly noticeable—nothing that anyone else had really noticed though Laila had also been sure something was wrong with her.

As they walked through the gardens, Laila stopped suddenly. “Is that moondew?” She bent down for a closer look. “What do you think?”

10 Laila I don't know how much my word is worth here. 318 Laila 0 5