Letters to fifth and sixth years. on Teppenpaw Commons

Professor Lilac Crosby

February 25, 2011 12:06 PM

Letters to fifth and sixth years. by Professor Lilac Crosby

Lilac thought it was very sweet for Amelia to have suggested the idea of meeting with students to discuss RATS and college. It was nice to see someone care about House equality. It had not been told to her which of the Crotalus fifth years had brought up the concept, but the Teppenpaw Head of House reasoned that he or she must have had a very bright and promising future laying ahead of them.

The concept was a good one, so the twenty-seven year old composed her own letters.

Dear fifth or sixth year student,

You are of the age that you will soon be graduating, and you must begin to consider your futures. RATS are rapidly approaching you sixth years, and while you fifth years have not yet taken your upcoming CATS, you cannot possibly believe how close around the corner your RATS are. Your RATS will greatly influence your futures. You may also be considering continuing your learning after graduation, attending a college perhaps. If you have any questions, I will be meeting with you individually to discuss. You need only contact me--you may owl me in return, come to my office, or approach me after class if you are taking Transfiguration--and we will schedule something.

Sincerely,
Professor Lilac Crosby, Teppenpaw Head of House

Lilac tended to keep her owl Johannes in her living quarters, but today she had him in her office as he was being particularly squawky when she tried to leave him. Instead, he sat on the large golden perch she had bought just for this purpose. The perch was in the open of the room; she hated cages, and Johannes was not the type to try to fly away. If he ever did, the big momma’s boy would come squawking back in a matter of minutes.

As he was already there, the brunette turned to him and attached her letters--identical copies for each of her fifth and sixth year students--to his leg. Johannes, having been asleep, startled and flapped his large black-and-white wings. “It’s only me, you big baby,” she teased, and the owl settled himself. “One to each fifth and sixth year Teppenpaw,” she instructed. Johannes gave her a look that read clearly why did you wake me up? but, with one final squawk, flew off on his mission.

OOC: My, you kids sure are growing up! You can assume that meetings were scheduled and post like it is your turn. Lilac’s door would of course be open, so you’re welcomed to just come on in and sit down. If you opt not to have a meeting, you can just ignore this post.

0 Professor Lilac Crosby Letters to fifth and sixth years. 0 Professor Lilac Crosby 1 5

Andrew Duell

March 05, 2011 11:48 AM

The Future awaits by Andrew Duell

Andrew was a little surprised when Johannes dropped off a letter for him, then took off again. Why was Professor Crosby sending him a message? A knot formed in his stomach, what had he done now? Did she find out about...? No, she couldn't have. Could she? He stared at the letter with out opening it for awhile. Maybe it was something good, maybe... oh who was he kidding? There was only one way to find out, he opened the letter and scanned over it.

Oh, future-planning. He breathed an actual sigh of relief, and then realized he had been holding his breath while opening and reading the letter. He could schedule an appointment to go talk to her. That would probably be a good thing, he hadn't thought for a moment what he was going to do once he graduated. Well, on a specific level anyway, his Grand Plan was still proceeding, but that was different than this. Andrew flipped through his schedule, saw an opening and scheduled a time.

When the time came, he showed up at her door. He had done a little bit of research on what his options might be, however, he hadn't come up with much. Hopefully Professor Crosby would have some more ideas for him. He knocked on the door, and entered when invited. "Hi there Professor." he greeted her, "So, how does this work? Is there a 'job-sorting' potion to drink like when we first arrived here at the school?" He joked with a smiled that showed just a hint of nervousness behind it. He didn't think there was such a potion... but now that he had actually said it, he wondered if maybe there was. He had seen stranger things here.

2 Andrew Duell The Future awaits 145 Andrew Duell 0 5

HoH Lilac

March 05, 2011 8:48 PM

It's starting to sound like Divinations class! by HoH Lilac

Lilac waited for the designated time of her meeting with Andrew Duell, glad to have a meeting. She felt like every student had a promising future, and it felt good to assist in their own discoveries of such. Not a single student had anything to avoid in their futures. She was sure of it.

She heard a knock on her door and hollered, “Come on in!” in a friendly tone. The thought to muster up a formal, semi-terrifying voice and calling “Enter” crossed her mind, but there was no need to intimidate the poor boy. It was very likely that the young Mr. Duell was already nervous, which was the professor’s fault. She felt that if her students did not feel comfortable talking to her, she was doing something wrong. The brunette would have to fix such a situation.

“Hi there Professor,” the boy greeted. Lilac felt that friendly greeting would only lead to a great meeting. “Hello, Andrew,” she returned with a smile, keeping to his first name rather than Mr. Duell because it would possibly make the situation feel less formal. “Please take a seat,” she offered hospitably.

Lilac laughed at the light joke about a job-sorting potion. “Unfortunately,” she replied with a smile, “it isn’t as simple as that. You have to choose your career yourself. No potion does that. At least, none that are around yet.” Who knew? Maybe that could be invented someday.

“So, Andrew,” said the twenty-seven year old as she folded her hands on the desk, “What are you good at? What sort of things do you like to do that you think you could possibly do professionally? Talents, hobbies, and such. Do you like working with others, or do you prefer to work alone? Do you have an idea what you would like to do after graduating here?” Lilac had always had her knack for Transfigurations, and she enjoyed working with children, so teaching was a given for her, but some people, she knew, took longer to decide.

0 HoH Lilac It's starting to sound like Divinations class! 0 HoH Lilac 0 5

Andrew Duell

March 06, 2011 1:51 PM

Hmm.. not my strongest subject. by Andrew Duell

Andrew took the seat offered to him, and thought about the questions she asked. He thought maybe some context might be necessary to start. "To be honest, I'm not sure what all is out there. My mom is a witch, but Dad is a muggle, so the school here is really the first of the 'magical world' that I've known about. Mom just runs a little curio shop in Barstow that caters to tourists and I guess some of the local magical community, there are teachers here... but what else do grown-up, graduated wizards do for jobs? I mean, I know there are Aurors, Quidditch players and magical government type people as well, but what else?"

He paused just a bit, "As for your questions, before I got your letter, I hadn't thought about it much. I did a little bit of looking around, but didn't come up with much. My best class here, as you probably know, is Transfiguations. Charms and DADA are okay I guess. I don't really see me doing anything along the lines of Magical Creatures, Potions or Divinations." He chuckled just a bit, "Maybe divinations would help here."

"Dad works with muggle technology a lot, and that stuff is interesting. But I hear it doesn't mix real well with magic. How does magical research happen? Do we have the equivalent of 'scientists' that try to figure out new charms and transfigurations and such? That could be interesting."

2 Andrew Duell Hmm.. not my strongest subject. 145 Andrew Duell 0 5

HoH Lilac

March 11, 2011 1:02 PM

Same. That's why I teach Transfiguration. by HoH Lilac

Lilac listened very closely as Andrew spoke about his background in regards to magic. Personally, she could hardly imagine what it would be like to grow up generally away from magic, but that was because of her pureblood lifestyle. Even the concept of being halfblood and knowing just a little of this world seemed strange to her, and she could not put herself in that place in her mind.

She paused to consider his question as to what else was out there, but by the time her pause was done and she was semi-ready to speak, Andrew was speaking again, which was fine by her. If he had something to say, the brunette professor would by no means stifle him. She accompanied his chuckle at his comment about Divinations. If only the future was more clearly predictable. Adding to the joke, she teasingly interjected, “Perhaps I should have invite Professor le Faye to this meeting.”

A point was achieved in his mentioning Muggle technology and magic, and she also mentally commended his curiosity as to how magical research was done. “If done correctly, Muggle technology can mix with magic, I believe, but I’m not sure of the particulars. America may have different regulations for such.” Living in Russia might have been a disadvantage for the subject.

“As to magical research, there are plenty of careers in spell development for both transfiguring spells and charms,” Lilac noted. “Also, as you noted, you are one of the better students in Transfiguration. Again, I can’t be exact on the particulars, but there are also those who work in restoring transfigurations gone amiss. Basically, I believe it’s like a private firm where witches or wizards call if they’ve messed something up and cannot get it Untransfigured. Sort of like a Healer would, except these are non-life-threatening transfiguration accidents.”

“Healing is also an option if you like Transfiguration and Charms,” the twenty-seven year old added. “If that is something you might be interested in, I’m sure you could talk to Medic Rocamboli about specifics.” Lilac was sure Cleo would be glad to help a student who was considering a career in Healing. Really, the professor felt a big useless in regards to career advice as she had always wanted to teach, but it was her obligation to try her best. Looking in a desk drawer, she pulled out a book. “This book has some interesting career paths in it, if you would like to borrow it,” She sat it in front of Andrew with an apologetic smile. “It would probably be of more help than I am.”

0 HoH Lilac Same. That's why I teach Transfiguration. 0 HoH Lilac 0 5

Andrew Duell

March 14, 2011 7:54 PM

I guess we're stuck with the old fashioned approach by Andrew Duell

Andrew experienced quite a few emotions while Professor Crosby talked. Magic and technology could mix? The news practically sent shivers down his spine, that was incredible news! It... he almost missed the next thing she had said, something about regulations. His spirit plummeted, was it simply not allowed? Was this why he didn't see flying cars all over the world. His mind began to wander, as it usually did when it got a new idea to latch onto. The magical world was generally kept separate from the Muggle world on a lot of levels, probably for many different reasons. He may... Oops, the professor was talking again.

Research and development appealed to him, that might be a possible path. Finding out new stuff, and figuring out new ways of applying traditional things. It certainly seemed to fit in with his Grand Scheme. A chuckle somehow escaped Andrews mouth when she mentioned the transfigurations gone amiss. He stifled it quickly, and the professor didn't seem to notice. He did turn a little red regardless. He knew he was just asking fate to smite him with such a problem, but the thought of some high-and-mighty wizard that somehow erased their hands and mouth amused him greatly.

Then Professor Crosby brought up the subject of healing. This confused him. Not because he was adversed to the field, but because it had never even crossed his mind. Healing. Huh, could he do that? He doubted that his potions knowledge was good enough. He could probably do the transfigurations that would be needed, maybe the charms... but healers need to know a lot about potions and such as well, didn't they? Maybe he'd have to talk to Medic Rocamboli. It couldn't hurt, could it? Healer. He just didn't know, there was some appeal to it, but he didn't know if it was quite 'him'.

He accepted the book offered to him, he was going to have some more research to do, and it was a good place to start. "Thank-you, I'll be sure to see what I can get out of it." He paused, "What should I be expecting in the next years here? If I wanted to start working towards a research job, or a healer job, where should my focus be?"

2 Andrew Duell I guess we're stuck with the old fashioned approach 145 Andrew Duell 0 5