The Ridiculously Anal Testing of Skills (Seventh Years) on Cascade Hall

The Wizarding Council's Official Examiners

October 17, 2008 5:49 AM

The Ridiculously Anal Testing of Skills (Seventh Years) by The Wizarding Council's Official Examiners

Two weeks of examinations was bad by almost anyone's standards, but when they came along with the name 'Ridiculously Anal Testing of Skills' they took on a whole new aspect. It was little wonder there was oft-times special emphasis when they were referred by their acronym - RATS. Examination timetables had been handed out a fortnight beforehand, so no one could legitimately claim to be caught unawares of when their exams were to be held. The hall had been rearranged for the exams and the waterfalls silenced. At the front of the room the examiners sent by the council conferred quietly (except in the case of one wizard) while waiting for the students to arrive and settle into their appointed seats.

Two of the examiners required no introduction. David Weatherby and Bernard Starsky had been at Sonora only the week before, examining the fifth years taking their CATS, and were almost certainly still familiar to the seventh years from when they'd taken their own CATS. Nothing much had changed since the week past, although Starsky had started to favour his right leg somewhat. It seemed, beyond all reason, that this had also caused his volume to turn up. Alongside the two wizards the final examiner, Aurora Septentrion, looked far more feminine. It helped that she was a witch. A little below average height, her blonde hair fell loose down her back, although with such order that it was almost certain that there was a crafty charm at work keeping it neat and untangled. A pair of elliptical spectacles were perched on her nose, framing her light blue eyes. She didn't smile, at least not in this environment; Septentrion took her work and responsibilities seriously.

The specially designed examination quills were handed out once the students had found their seats, and papers and examination booklets were placed on every desk by the younger two examiners. The third watched all with a suspicious eye, keeping a close eye on the time.

"This," Starsky bellowed at the students without preamble, "is the first of your RATS examinations. We expect you to take them seriously and not to do anything dishonest. That means no cheating. No distracting others taking examinations. And no cheating." He engorgio'd his clockwork stopwatch and stuck it to the front wall. "You will start when the second hand reaches the top, and you have two hours and thirty minutes to complete the paper. Begin."

This was, of course, only the beginning. Written examinations were being held of a morning and after a generous hour and a half break for lunch - and, undoubtedly, practice. And cramming - practicals for the same subject took place in the afternoon, although in a one-on-one format with the examiners. This would continue over the next two weeks while every subject taught at Sonora was covered. It was long and grueling, but at least once it was done there was the Fair to look forward to.

OOC: Same as with the CATS, pick your examiner - from those mentioned in the post - for the practicals. Good luck.

0 The Wizarding Council's Official Examiners The Ridiculously Anal Testing of Skills (Seventh Years) 0 The Wizarding Council's Official Examiners 1 5

Mia Kerova

October 19, 2008 11:48 AM

Not the best start. by Mia Kerova

If this was an omen, Mia wasn't looking forward to how the testing was going to go. For just about a week already she had been feeling dizzy and nauseated as soon as she got out of bed. After being sick to her stomach twice, she thought it best to silence the bathroom door as a precaution on mornings when she felt particularly queasy. It was stress sickness like she had never felt before. While her stomach flopping didn't last all day, the headache certainly did.

Mia was very quiet as she walked into Cascade Hall for her first written exam. She had done her best to take many cleansing breaths outside while avoiding any gazes that may have had to do with her plainer than usual and slightly ill appearance. She couldn't even make herself put contact lenses in that morning let alone dress up in anything other than sweatpants, a tee shirt, and flip-flops. She spotted Mr. Weatherby, her examiner from her CATS exams. She hoped he would be overseeing her practicals that time around too. That might relax her just a little.

She had reached that calm state of acceptance that whether she panicked or not, the tests still had to be taken and she knew her stuff. That was right before the nausea set in. If she got bad grades because she psyched herself out like this she would be furious. She had been testing herself vigorously since returning after Easter and even a fair bit before her short reprieve. It was just a matter of ignoring the weight of the tests and writing down the knowledge she had. She could do that. Yeah. She could definitely do that.

Her head gave a ferocious throb.

When the seventh years were told to begin, Mia held her quill ready, took one final cleansing breath and read question one for Transfiguration nice and slowly. She still had to reread the question three more times before she could begin piecing together an answer. She scribbled it down in her loopy cursive.

Two and half hours later, every second used in completing her answers, Mia left Cascade Hall with the others and went straight to her common room to grab her notes. She sat on the bench in the Labyrinth Gardens beside her friend the magical suit of armor who gave her a brief thumbs up. The fresh air could only help her.

First she tried to remember all of the questions she had trouble with to see if her guesses were right. Most of them were. For a few answers she had taken wild guesses that were only partially correct. Then she began her practical review with her wand, mainly focusing on transfiguring limbs into the animal she discovered during class.

She removed her ring and put it in her pocket. It wouldn't have a place to sit on her new arm. She shut her eyes to focus her mind as she had done in class. It wasn't easy to do even with all of the practice she put in, but relaxing her mind felt good after the strain it had been through lately. She twirled her wand clockwise twice and tapped her arm as she spoke the incantation.

"Manasugi"

She could feel her arm tingle and prickle as it changed. She kept her thoughts off of the animal and on the spell. Once the tingling stopped meaning the transformation was completed she felt very comfortable seated there in the warmth and the light breezes. Her settled mind drifted to sleep. Her arm had become a white swan wing with brown tipped feathers curled up by her side.

0 Mia Kerova Not the best start. 0 Mia Kerova 0 5

Mia

November 08, 2008 12:39 PM

A better end, practically speaking. by Mia

"Kerova!" a woman's strict voice called out.

Mia reentered Cascade Hall a little under two hours after she left from her written exam. She had been given a forceful tap by her friend the magical suit of armor to remind her that she had to go in to continue the day's testing soon. She had been shocked to wake up and find a swan's wing on her arm until she remembered what she had been practicing before. Her head gave another anxiety induced throb as she made her way back to the school. She couldn't wait for RATS to be over, but in the meantime she had to suck it up and do what she knew she could do. At least she didn't feel sick anymore, but she still looked the part.

As she walked into Cascade Hall she saw the blonde woman from earlier and was saddened that Mr. Weatherby wouldn't be her proctor. She did see him in passing and gave him a courteous smile and wave that he returned. Whether purely out of politeness or from remembrance she wasn't entirely sure, but she could make herself believe the latter. He was a cool guy. Aurora Septentrion was all about business though.

"All right, Miss Kerova, welcome to your Transfiguration practical examination." She gestured to the room briefly. Her voice only had a slight hint of welcome, but her face remained stern like it had been when last Mia saw her. "As the subject states, you're going to transfigure a few things for me." She laid out a few pairs of objects on the table. One was a pincushion and beside it was a small decorative box. Then there was a sheet of paper next to an inkwell. Lastly a bright red apple sat beside a brownie on a napkin. "Each item is paired with what it should be changed into. The pincushion should look as close to this chest as possible. The sheet of paper should resemble the inkwell and that apple should look and taste like a brownie although it should retain the nutrients found in an apple. I have a potion that will tell me just that." She withdrew a vial filled with a blue potion from her robe and showed it to Mia before returning it.

"So if it walks like a duck and talks like a duck, it's a chicken?" Mia confirmed with a quizzical look. She was met with an unamused eyebrow raised high.

"It isn't beyond your realm of ability, Miss Kerova. Seventh years should know a spell to satisfy those conditions." Mia observed the apple, sure that she learned the right spell, but the entirety of it was escaping her. She recalled a piece of broccoli for some reason. "You may begin when ready."

Mia started with the box. She definitely knew that spell. She picked up the box, taking in all of the features into a mental picture. It was made of glossy light wood with swirling knots engraved throughout. The top was further decorated with stained glass squares. The bottom had a small nick in the wood as if it had been cut with a blade. She opened it and saw the thin, royal purple velvet lining and a small mirror on the underside of the hinged top that was slightly larger than the rest of the box for easy access. Mia took out her wand and did the double figure eight she had practiced while speaking "Excavaris Conterra."

The pincushion lengthened and became more defined. It took on the box shape in her mind including the unseen hinge. The inside took on a coating of a thin material that softened to purple velvet that sat below a small mirror. On the outside, glass took shape and filled in with color and a small piece of the box's underside didn't form, leaving a cut similar to that left by a blade. She showed Ms. Septentrion the box and she compared it and the original. Mia noticed the nick on the original box was opposite than her own. She frowned, but if that was her biggest worry, she'd be okay. "All right. Next object, please."

Mia moved on to the inkwell. It was a typical pewter container about the size of her thumb. Mia knew that spell. It was a pretty simple one that she hadn't been expecting and had to reach back a fair number of years to recall exactly what to do. But she knew it. She remembered a lot of things from her first year just from how excited she had been to do any sort of magic at all. Mia tapped the center of the paper and spoke clearly, "Solido Urna." The paper bent, folded and hardened into a perfect resemblance of Ms. Septentrion's inkwell. The proctor compared those two items as well with an unrevealing nod before motioning to the apple.

Mia paused as she tried to remember the spell she needed. She knew it. Really. She tried to link back her memories starting with the broccoli it made her think of. Broccoli, something healthy, turning into something less healthy? That was the gist of what Ms. Septentrion wanted only she had an apple. Broccoli to candy? To a cookie? To cake! Mia's eyes widened as she started remembering more clearly. Why was she suddenly thinking of summer? Not last summer. Summer of fifth year. In Puerto Rico. Birthday cake! The lesson had made her think of it! Conterra Esca? No, but similar to that. She readied her wand and aimed at the apple. "Commutare esca," she chanted.

The apple browned as if rapidly decaying, but the brown turned deeper and much more appealing. For a moment it sat as a baked chocolate apple and then it flattened into a square brownie. She placed the brownie on the napkin and let Ms. Septentrion examine it. She took the potion back out as well as an empty vial. She broke off a piece of the brownie, dropped it within the empty vial and poured a small amount of the potion inside. She took out a piece of parchment and began observing it and the vial closely.

"If it looks like a brownie and tastes like a brownie," Mia began while nervously biting her lip. The potion mixed with the brownie began to bubble and shifted to a mix of red and gold as it settled once again.

"Then it's an apple," her proctor finished and once again only her tone portrayed any shift in emotion. It was still only the slightest hint of amusement. "All right, lastly I need to see at least a partial animagus transformation from you. An entire half of your body. Top, bottom, legs and arms, however you'd like. Whenever you're ready."

Mia nodded and mentally prepared herself. She took a few cleansing breaths to relax herself, something she found hard to do while standing. "Can I sit down?" she asked, breaking the brief silence that had fallen over the two. Ms. Septentrion nodded and Mia immediately sat cross legged on the floor and began her cleansing breaths again. When the nervous storm in her mind had cleared she raised her wand and pointed it to her legs. She began the circles she practiced so often and when two full rotations were completed along with a tap she spoke the incantation, "Manasugi," remembering to concentrate on the spell rather than the animal. Her inner swan would follow suit.

And so it did. After the tingling sensation passed, Mia opened her eyes again and found her legs to be much scrawnier than usual and tucked beneath a white feather waist. A wispy tail sprouted out from behind her and as an added bonus, her left arm had transformed as well so once again it was a feathered limb folded by her side. It was the strangest thing to see and made her laugh. Ms. Septentrion didn't find any of it laughable or maybe she didn't know how to laugh.

"Well done," she observed professionally. "You may reverse the spell now. That will be all for today." Mia spoke the incantation to change her body back and quickly stretched out her legs and picked herself up off the marble floor. "We'll meet again tomorrow after your next written examination. Take care, Miss Kerova."

"Thank you. You too." Mia pocketed her wand and left Cascade Hall with a proud and relieved smile. If it walks like an "O" and talks like an "O" maybe it's at least an "E", she laughed to herself.

0 Mia A better end, practically speaking. 0 Mia 0 5