Developing a useful skill on Library

Professor Aaron McKindy

February 05, 2010 2:01 PM

Apparition Lessons [Years 6&7] by Professor Aaron McKindy

Aaron had gotten Tarq and Sadi’s respective permissions to hold the Apparition class that fell shortly after Midterm in the Library. Sadi’s, because Sonora had not previously offered Apparition—it could be tricky to pull off, since the professor who taught it had to be government-certified—and Tarq’s because Aaron had to clear a fairly significant space in the library and shut it down in order to avoid unfortunate accidents. But, both permissions gained and quite a few bookshelves and tables relocated, the library was ready for the mixed group of sixth and seventh years that soon began to arrive.

There had been sign-ups for the Apparition Course in Charms just before Midterm; there had been a base cost of 12 Galleons to pay for testing for those who would be 17 before the year was out, but all the sixth and seventh years had been allowed to register. Once everyone on the list had arrived, Aaron began. His left arm was tucked into the pocket of his light blue jeans (along with his wand), but he gestured with his right as he spoke; his right forearm was still covered in an offwhite cast.

“Hey guys,” he said with a grin. “Welcome to your first Apparition lesson! We’re just going to cover the basics today, but we’ll be doing some more complicated things as the course goes on. We’ll meet each Saturday for three hours over the next twelve weeks. If you have to miss a lesson, please see me and we’ll work on making it up.

“Those of you who’ll be seventeen by the end of the year can test and get your Apparition license. Those of you who aren’t can take the test as soon as you do turn seventeen, or whenever you’d like after that. Just make sure that it’s less than a year since you’ve taken this course, or you’ll have to repeat it. If you’re planning on testing but haven’t turned in your 12 Galleons yet, please do that as soon as you can.

“Now, the first thing I’m going to have you try,” Aaron gestured at the opposite side of the room, “is to Apparate over there. It’ll be difficult, but just remember to concentrate on three things,” he held up his left hand and ticked off the points on his fingers. “Destination—know where you’re going, and visualise it in your mind. Determination—be very sure about what you’re doing and where you want to go. Deliberation—it’s not going to come easily or quickly at first, just take it slow and give it a shot. If you don’t, then you’ll splinch yourself. Don’t worry,” the charms professor said hastily, noticing some uneasy looks being exchanged. “I’m fully qualified to deal with the results of splinching. Just try and avoid it, if you can.

“If you could get in a line, please?” They did, and Aaron gestured to the first in line. “Okay, now just stand there—okay perfect. It can help sometimes at first if you spin around as you concentrate, and you might want to grip your wand as well. I personally perform Apparition wandlessly, but each has their own preference. All right, now go ahead and try!” the man smiled reassuringly at the class as some of them chatted nervously, waiting their turn to try individually. Apparition could be an uncomfortable thing—it had taken Aaron more than 20 years to actually get his license, just because he preferred brooms on the whole—but it was quite useful. This was a bright group of kids, though, and he didn’t have many worries.

|OOC| Just give it a go one at a time, and please tag me if you splinch yourselves. Other than that, feel free to chat with each other before/after, or tag me with any questions, etc. Usual site rules apply. Enjoy!

Subthreads:

Developing a useful skill by Cynthia Smythe

Apparition. Woot! by Elly Eriksson

Popping In by Talitha Cumni

0 Professor Aaron McKindy Apparition Lessons [Years 6&7] 0 Professor Aaron McKindy 1 5

Cynthia Smythe

February 07, 2010 10:56 AM

Developing a useful skill by Cynthia Smythe

Any true intellectual knew that just occasionally one might need to make a hasty exit, particularly if they were planning corruption and infiltration, which Cynthia may have been considering. That would be telling. The point was that Apparition could come in extremely useful, and the sixth year was determined to learn, and to obtain her license by the end of the year. She had turned seventeen in October, and had paid her twelve galleons well in advance on the first lesson.

It was a shame the class was being led by Professor McKindy, because Cynthia detested him most of of all the professors. That is, she had least respect for him. The man wore a hat of pink bubbles, for Merlin's sake.

Nevertheless, Cynthia paid rapt attention. She had already studied the theory and techniques in plentiful books, but she suspected this was one of those activities when learning about it made little difference to one's efficay at the task.

Eager to get to grips with Apparition as soon as humanly possible, Cynthia placed herself firmly at the fron tof the line, glowering at anyone who tried - or even looked like they might be thinking about it - to move in front of her. Tiny she might be, but she could pull her weight magically, and she hoped most of the upper years were aware of that.

Remembering the three Ds, and concentrating harder than she ever had in her life on manouevering herself to the other side of the room, Cynthia closed her eyes, span a little, and then opened her eyes... to discover she hadn't moved at all. Well that was disappointing. Determination not waning, she tried again. She would keep trying all night if she had to.

0 Cynthia Smythe Developing a useful skill 103 Cynthia Smythe 0 5

Elly Eriksson

February 12, 2010 6:58 AM

Apparition. Woot! by Elly Eriksson

There was one magical skill Elly had been keen to learn as soon as she was aware of its existence: Apparition. She could really use the ability to get from one place to another without having to fork out hundreds of dollars for plane tickets every time she needed to see her parents or grandparents. Not that she was comfortable yet with the idea of Apparating across the Atlantic, but she could certainly make the European legs of the journey a little shorter, and that would be an improvement, no matter how small.

When Apparition classes were offerred at Sonora, Elly practically flew in her hurry to get her name onto that list. The fact that McKindy would be teaching them was groovy, too - Elly got on well with her charms professor. Though still excited at the prospect, she felt her spirits dampen ever so slightly when the professor emphasised how difficult it was to Apparate successfully, and the concept of splinching wasn't something Elly was keen to experience. Nevertheless, practically all witches and wizards could Apparate - it was like driving for Muggles. Almost everyone got around to it eventually, but it took some longer than others. This was only her first driving lesson: she couldn't expect to pass her test straight away.

Bearing this in mind, Elly wasn't too disheartened when her first and then second attempts both failed entirely. "They make it look so easy," she joked to the person stood nearest.

0 Elly Eriksson Apparition. Woot! 92 Elly Eriksson 0 5

Talitha Cumni

February 19, 2010 7:01 AM

Popping In by Talitha Cumni

Talitha hated flying. She hated planes. She loathed brooms. Most of all, she detested, despised, and down right disliked flying wagons. She didn’t suffer a fear of heights, per se, as long as her feet was on solid ground, she had no problem with tall buildings or mountain vistas. It was just, when she was moving through air, vertigo attacked big time. The potions her mother gave her when flying was unavoidable kept the nausea down to a tolerable, non-embarrassing level, but the feeling of consent falling even though she really wasn’t was miserable.

Flooing was a doable alternative if one had the powder on handand the destination happened to have a hearth on the Network nearby. One setback was the ever present risk was the filth. As many of the fireplaces were used for, well, fires, they tended to be sooty. It was never a good idea to floo in nice robes. Depending on how many transfers it required to reach a certain destination, many times flooing was could also be rather time consuming.

Apparition was a skill Talitha was eager to learn. If one could apparate, one rarely needed to fly or floo. Problem solved. The temporary discomfort for the few seconds between locations was not nearly as bad as extreme vertigo and a reasonable trade off for the sake of terror free travel.

Talitha listened to her favorite professor’s instructions and took notes. With the exception of missing her boyfriend who was a bit older than her and attending college, this had been a stellar fifth year. One of the highlights was the reappearance of Professor McKindy and his amazing bubble hat in the charms classroom.

She was very glad to have a mid summer birthday. She was already seventeen and could get her license as so as she had perfected the spell. Talitha almost allowed herself into daydreaming about popping over to New Oslo and surprising Adam some weekend.

Patiently, she stood in line for her turn and thought about the all important Three D’s as she watched those ahead of her make the attempt to pop out and back into the target area that the professor had indicated. It was looking much more difficult than she’d expected. Adults who practiced Apparition made it look so effortless.

When it was time for Talitha to see what she could do, she took a deep breath and, after a tremulous smile at the professor, she swalloed her nerves and made the attempt. She concentrated on her destination. For some strange reason the short distance suddenly seemed miles away. There was no doubt about her determination. Aside from learning something that would help her avoid flying, she also didn’t relish the thought of splinching herself in front of her classmates. Pain and humiliation was not something she was into. Deliberation. There was the clincher. Talitha thoughts whirled around her and it took a moment to focus only on the task at hand.

Closing her eyes and gripping her wand, she stepped on the ball of her foot and spun herself as demonstrated by the few successful students ahead of her. Nothing, she just pun in a circle. Concentrating harder she tried again. She felt a mild sensation of being squeezed though a needle. It was similar to the effect she’d had before side by side apparating with her parents. Talitha figured she was doing something right until she opened one eye to see how close she’d landed to the target and discovered she hadn’t moved an inch. Talitha sighed, at least she was still in one piece and something had happened.

Talitha decided to give herself a break and let those behind her have their turn. She went to the back of the line and watched the other’s attempts. Soon she was joined by another less than successful student. She watched as someone popped over to the target with apparent ease, leaving nothing of themselves behind.

“So what do you think the secret is?” Talitha asked her apparently equally disappointed neighbor.

0 Talitha Cumni Popping In 102 Talitha Cumni 0 5