Professor Aaron McKindy
November 25, 2006 1:08 AM
Setting up the Classroom by Professor Aaron McKindy
Aaron McKindy flicked his wand in the general direction of his new classroom door for the umpteenth time. Why wouldn’t the door come unlo—oh. Sheepishly, Aaron turned the handle and pushed the door open. Sometimes magic did highly obnoxious things, no matter how much practise you got. Things such as not unlocking unlocked doors.Levitating his medium-sized red trunk, Aaron nodded his head approvingly. The room was a generic classroom, with desks lined up neatly in rows. It was painfully obvious that nobody had been in the room at all over the holidays. He let the trunk rest on one of the desks, then pulled out a small key to unlock it; Aaron McKindy had never been one to leave things about that could be magically unlocked, and he wasn’t about to begin now that he was in a magical school.
The trunk opened to reveal a plethora of rolled up posters, a mirror, and various other things. It had obviously been the victim of an especially optimizing Enlargement Charm as the trunk held much more than its natural capacity.
Aaron pulled out the posters and began setting up his new classroom, sticking the posters to the wall with a Semi-Permanent Sticking Charm that would probably survive what most students could manage to come up with while still allowing removal should the time come. He decided to alternate between wizards and Muggles of notable achievement. Nicholas Flamel with the Sorcerer’s Stone, then Albert Camus, a favorite author. Bowman Wright, inventor of the current Golden Snitch, then Manfred von Richtofen. Abraham Peasegood, Robert Jordan. Aaron slipped into an almost trance-like state, sticking the posters up. The repetitive action was soothing, and he probably wouldn’t have noticed if a tornado had hit right next-door.
Eventually, though, even his seemingly endless supply of posters ran out. Aaron smiled in satisfaction at the walls. Most of the wizards, thrilled to be out of the trunk after so many years of storage, were already moving from poster to poster, chatting happily. The Muggle posters didn’t move, of course, even though Aaron had spelled them to speak occasionally. Returning to the trunk, Aaron pulled out a medium-sized, bronze-rimmed mirror and walked carefully to the back of the room, where he hung it in the middle of the wall, between the two windows. Perfect for letting him know unobtrusively what students in the back were doing.
He glanced into the mirror, examining his reflection. Aaron McKindy was approximately six feet in height with longish black hair and grey-green eyes. His height and eyes set him very much apart from most of his short, brown eyed family. His clothing set him apart from most of the sane world.
Aaron was garbed in white and grey trainers, black jeans, a tailcoat, and a violent orange shirt. He enjoyed the comparative freedom of Muggle styles to the robes of wizards and dressed as such whenever possible. Whenever not possible, he usually had a set of robes on hand that would make most people beg for him to wear his normal garments. He gave himself a friendly nod in the mirror, then went over to the red trunk to extract the final item—an old-fashioned top hat made of huge, transparent pink bubbles.
Now that everything really important was worked out, Aaron conjured a cup of hot tea, sat atop a desk, and began illegibly scribbling out possible lesson ideas.
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Professor Aaron McKindy
Setting up the Classroom
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Professor Aaron McKindy
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Professor Niobe Yuma
December 17, 2006 12:17 AM
Knock knock? by Professor Niobe Yuma
After spending a long morning and part of the afternoon setting up her own room, Niobe ventured out to see the rest of the school. She wanted to know what other teachers had done with their rooms.Okay, being honest, she wanted to show hers off and something told her either Aaron McKindy or Declan Chatterjee would be her best bet. Professor McKindy was new, like her, and seemed to have a good sense of humor -- at least, he had that hat -- and The Deck had seemed interested in her course at the opening feast. She found Professor McKindy's room first.
I'm a professor, too, she reminded herself firmly before knocking. I don't have to call him Professor. If he calls me Niobe, I will call him Aaron. Got it? She nodded decidedly and knocked softly.\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
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Professor Niobe Yuma
Knock knock?
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Professor Niobe Yuma
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Aaron
December 17, 2006 8:51 AM
Definitely wasn't expecting that by Aaron
Aaron had just finished his first cup of tea, and was looking at the empty cup in irritation. Yes, magic was all well and good, but you couldn't really beat properly brewed tea. Unfortunately, he didn't have any sort of stove in his office or his classroom. Aaron supposed he could conjure a teapot. He looked down at his lesson plan, up at his cup, then down at his lesson plan again. Still decidedly indecisive, Aaron was mildly appreciative when somebody knocked on his door. Of course, he then began to wonder who it was. This morning he had met two colleagues--Declan Chatterjee and Sadi Powell--in the Labyrinth Gardens. Declan had overreacted to something Aaron had said, and had begun throwing about phrases such as 'pureblood propaganda'. Somehow, Aaron doubted that the soft, almost tentative seeming knock was Declan's. On the other hand, he could hardly imagine Sadi knocking like that either.Flicking his wand at the door with a nonverbal Opening Charm, Aaron looked up curiously to see who it was. The young Divinations teacher was standing there. Niobe. Had been talking to Declan at the Feast. She was new to Sonora this year as well, he believed.
"Hello, Niobe," Aaron said. "Do come in. I was just about to make some tea; would you like any?" He tapped the desk next to the one he was sitting on with his wand and it turned into a crimson armchair. "Have a seat."\n\n
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Aaron
Definitely wasn't expecting that
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Aaron
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Niobe Yuma
December 17, 2006 9:44 AM
Expect the unexpected by Niobe Yuma
The door swung open to reveal Professor McKindy working at his desk, which he promptly turned into an armchair. Nice wandwork, there. It must be a thing that came with age. Not that he was particularly old, but he had at least ten years on her to practice. Niobe could have transfigured that desk into this chair, but it would have been a big to-do."Nice," she complimented him, coming in and checking out his room a bit before taking the cushy seat. There were posters everywhere. Famous wizards, even some muggles she recognized too. A mirror, too, hung on the back wall.
"I'd love some tea, thank you."
She perched on the chair uncertain how comfortable she should be. Professor McKindy -- Aaron, she corrected herself -- was very relaxed. She tried to match that at about halfway.
"Where did you find all these posters?" she asked, wondering if maybe she should get posters for her room. Marching orange elephant tent and floating orbs for light aside, this room made hers look a bit undecorated.\n\n
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Niobe Yuma
Expect the unexpected
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Niobe Yuma
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Aaron
December 17, 2006 8:38 PM
But then it can hardly be unexpected, now can it? by Aaron
"Thank you," Aaron replied to her compliment, going over to his trunk to pull out the necessary supplies for making tea. He then conjured a pot, filled it with water, and proceeded to make the tea. When Aaron was done, he brought the cups over to where Niobe was seated, handed her one, and Transfigured his desk chair into a table, which he sat on. He did not particularly like chairs, preferring to stand or use tables when possible."The Muggle ones I picked up at my old jobs, for the most part," Aaron began to answer her question. "I made some of the wizarding ones and picked others up when I came across them." He paused, unsure if Niobe had a purpose to coming here or not. If at all possible, he would like to avoid talking about her subject after the upset with Declan this morning. He could hardly go about alienating all of his colleagues, and Aaron was hardly impressed by the subject Niobe taught. On to safer planes, then. "Have you met many of the other professors?"
Niobe was very young. Aaron wouldn't have been surprised if she was a decade or so younger than himself. The Divinations professor certainly seemed to prove Sadi's claim that most of the professors here were younger than thirty. Declan hadn't seemed older than thirty, and neither had Kiva. If Niobe was twenty five he would be shocked. Perhaps she felt uneasy around him? She seemed slightly uncomfortable. Was it the hat? Casually, Aaron reached up and placed the hat beside him on the table. \n\n
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Aaron
But then it can hardly be unexpected, now can it?
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Aaron
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Niobe Yuma
December 22, 2006 11:21 AM
Not unless you simultaneously unexpect your expectations by Niobe Yuma
Niobe glanced around appreciatively as Aaron explained the origins of his posters. She wondered what Aaron's old jobs were that he ran into muggle posters, but he changed the subject before she got a chance to ask"Have you met many of the other professors?" Aaron asked.
"Just at the Opening Feast," Niobe said, and sipped her tea and watched Aaron carefully remove his big bulbous hat. There wasn't much to say on this subject, "Everyone seemed very nice, but it's early to tell," she said to say something. Amy Fox hadn't really seemed very nice, if you wanted her honest opinion. But first impressions weren't worth much. She moved the topic around, "I just got here a couple days ago and have mostly been planning and setting up my rooms." It looked like Aaron had been doing quite a lot of that himself. "I'm still finding my way around. I've heard there's a garden maze somewhere. How long have you been here?"\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
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Niobe Yuma
Not unless you simultaneously unexpect your expectations
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Niobe Yuma
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Aaron
December 22, 2006 11:34 AM
*wonders if unexpect is even a word* by Aaron
Aaron shrugged. "I got here yesterday, a few hours before the feast. I was a bit delayed in my departure." You could put it that way. After all, he had been. Although it wasn't every day that one got notice of relatives popping up (seemingly) out of nowhere, no matter how large one's family was. "Yes, there is a garden maze. It is rather nice; I was wandering about it this morning, actually." Where he had the misfortune of meeting one of the most prickly Muggleborns in existence, he was sure. Although Sadi had been interesting to talk with after the astronomy professor had decided to stomp off.Luckily, he was gifted with a nearly perfect memory for routes. It would be quite embarassing for a teacher, even a new teacher, to become lost and have to ask for directions. Aaron did not do embarassing very well, either. Perhaps he would visit the library later. There wasn't much to set up in his personal quarters, and Aaron loved to read. Now that his lesson plans were (mostly) done and his classroom set up, he could justify picking out a book. Especially if it would keep him away from the more crotchety of his colleagues; although Aaron hadn't been introduced, there had been a very angry professor or two at the other end of the table at the Feast that he wouldn't like to cross. \n\n
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Aaron
*wonders if unexpect is even a word*
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Aaron
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Niobe Yuma
December 22, 2006 6:09 PM
It is readily comprehensible, therefore it is a word. by Niobe Yuma
"I will have to find it at some point, then," Niobe decided, referring to the Labrynth Gardens. She was starting to feel like she'd forced this conversation onto Aaron and he would just as soon have her go. There was something in his tone she couldn't quite place. Anxiety. No, that wasn't it. He was relaxed.Out of habit she left a teaspoon of tea in her cup, swirled it and flipped it onto a readily conjured saucer. Now there was a spell she could do effortlessly. One of the few.
Aaron was probably wondering about her just now. She gave him the universal symbol for wait and see -- one raised finger -- and flipped the cup back over. The saucer vanished.
Reading tea leaves could be serious divination, but for Niobe it was usually more of a passing amusement, something to do to see what the universe wanted to say to her at any odd moment. Sometimes the universe had quite a sense of humor. Like the time it decided to tell her the world was flat just for kicks, or that her classroom would needed llamas (she put them in her plans and ended up keeping them), or when it told her she was just like a kitten waiting for a fireman to come along before even trying to climb a tree (which had seemed hilarious at the time, but had, in fact, turned out to be fairly accurate).
"Hmm," she mused staring into her tea leaves this time. Relax, patience brings harvest... cookies perhaps? Cookies might be worth sticking around for. Perhaps the problem was more that her questions weren't interesting or she was giving off the wrong vibe. She settled in a little, leaning back and crossing one leg over another, "Let's get this one right out of the way, then: how do you think about Divinations?"
It was a question everyone she'd ever met seemed to have a strong opinion on. She herself used to think it was ridiculously bogus.
"Trust me, nothing you can say will offend me."\n\n
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Niobe Yuma
It is readily comprehensible, therefore it is a word.
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Niobe Yuma
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Aaron
December 22, 2006 10:45 PM
Are your tea leaves dropping hints, then? by Aaron
Brilliant. The young woman was going to pull some Divinations trick on him. If she had true Sight (which Aaron didn't really believe in anyway) that could be bad; if she didn't it could be equally bad. Either way, he would have to fake approval for something he felt was completely bogus. Not that Aaron wasn't fully capable of the feat. He just didn't especially enjoy it. Alienating a colleague out of complete disdain for their subject was not a good idea. Alienating a colleague in general wasn't a good thing, come to that. Especially since he had already done it once.Yes, Niobe claimed she wouldn't be offended. Many people did, and then reacted adversely anyway. Definitely one for avoidance.
"I haven't had much experience with it," Aaron replied, sipping his tea. "My school didn't teach Divinations, and I have not had any experience since."
A bit uncomfortably, he wondered what her tea leaves were telling her. Or even if they were telling her anything. Niobe could just be faking it; Muggles did so all the time with astounding amounts of success. Of course, he should have thought of that before offering the girl--er, woman--tea.\n\n
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Aaron
Are your tea leaves dropping hints, then?
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Aaron
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Niobe Yuma
December 23, 2006 1:40 AM
They tell me I should get a kitten. by Niobe Yuma
"Ah," Niobe set her teacup aside, "well, my school did teach it and it was a joke, all drama like some hokey fortune teller. Real divination is more like a," she looked around the room for inspiration and saw someone who looked sort of like a famous author, "a book. It's like reading a book," she explained, "The author knows what's going to happen, so sometimes you can figure out the story because the author gives you clues. There are overarching themes and symbolism and all that to be aware of as well. You can still understand the story without all that, but it's a lot more rich if you're in on it," Niobe smiled, gesturing excitedly. This explanation was turning out great, "But you have to be attentive to pick up on it, and you can't do that until you learn something anout the language of literature. Divinations is just like that, except instead of learning the language and conventions of books, you're learning the language and conventions of the real world. The way I see it, the Sight is really just another form of literacy. So when I look in that cup, I see my themes interacting, and it gives me another way to measure where I am.""Of course," she added reluctantly, "there are two different forms of Sight. The one most people think about is when real Seers pop out with brilliantly vague prophecies they channel from a spirit freed from the bounds of time -- or whatever, depending on whose theories you're into. That's completely different and I will tell you right now that I don't do that, but that's not all there is to Divination."
Niobe could talk about this for hours. It had, after all, become her favorite subject, and after being turned off from it for so long she was a little empassioned that everyone should at least respect the subject, even if they didn't like it. Still, she thought she came off a little strong, and added, belatedly, "That's my take on it, anyway."
She reached for her cup again, and studied the insides, "In case you were wondering, my teacup says I'll be getting a kitten," she lied, although a cup had said so that morning, "Unfortnately, I'm allergic. My cups just like to mess with me. Tea leaves aren't the most trustworthy of mediums."\n\n
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Niobe Yuma
They tell me I should get a kitten.
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Niobe Yuma
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Aaron
December 23, 2006 8:31 AM
Oh, no cookies then? All right. by Aaron
"my cups just like to mess with me". Aaron had been interested by Niobe's explanation, up until that point. It had even almost been believeable. But the way she said that implied that the universe had a sense of humour, which Aaron firmly disbelieved. So he just nodded and made a few noncommital noises as she wrapped up her explanation. Interesting, though; he noticed she was eyeing Camus as well. He decided that books were a fairly unoffensive road to go on."Albert Camus," he explained. "He won the Nobel Prize for literature in 1957. A Muggle author." Just in case that wasn't enough, though, he used a nonverbal Summoning Charm to Summon a plate of iguana-shaped cookies from his office. The iguanas were of various shades of green, some with handlebar mustaches and Muggle-Western style guns. Others just winked at whomever picked them up. "Would you like a cookie? My specialties lie in crafting charms--clothing and food, for the most part." he explained quickly, anticipating some sort of question or look of surprise at the obviously magical state of the cookies. Although now that he thought about it, Niobe might be equally surprised that his specialties were in that direction. It was quite the female-dominated branch of Charms, really.\n\n
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Aaron
Oh, no cookies then? All right.
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Aaron
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Niobe yuma
December 23, 2006 5:28 PM
I <i>love</i> the cookie! by Niobe yuma
Niobe nodded in Camus's direction. Muggle authors were not her forte, but she did know about the Nobel Prize. When Aaron brought out the cookies she grinned knowingly. Small triumphs like this always made her day, even when she had to keep them to herself."Oh!" she said, happily accepting one of the iguanas. It winked at her. "Brilliant! Thank you."
She nibbled her iguana and tried to think about the clothing and food crafting charms she knew. There weren't too many, especially not in food craft or as compared to some of the other spell types.
"I was in charms development for a few years," she told him, "I was mostly in the enchanting department, putting illusion charms on products, mostly furniture. What made you choose crafting, and teaching for that matter?"\n\n
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Niobe yuma
I <i>love</i> the cookie!
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Niobe yuma
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Aaron
December 24, 2006 9:07 AM
Er, that's good then by Aaron
Charms development? That was a very interesting branch of charms. Granted, not one that Aaron was particularly good with, but the few charms that he had been able to develop (with considerable help from both his brothers) had been useful. Aaron wondered why Niobe had decided to switch from such a stable and useful branch of magic to the sort of nonsense she was now teaching. He refrained from asking her. Although, once you thought about it for a minute, illusion charms and Divinations couldn't be that far off, really. Both involved a considerable lot of making things up as you went and fooling people."I just happen to be better at crafting charms than anything else," Aaron replied to her question. "They're quite interesting and can get rather complex; it makes an excellent hobby. As for teaching," he shrugged. "It just sort of happened. My acceptance at Sonora came as a complete surprise, honestly. What made you go into Divinations?" Waste of time that the field was. Aaron had a second cousin or two who claimed to have the Sight and he didn't believe a word of it. Neither had his grandfather, fortunately.
Absently, he glanced over at his posters. The subjects of the wizarding ones were flitting about, socialising happily. Aaron couldn't wait to get a class in here. The posters would be sure to have a considerable amount of fun with his students.\n\n
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Aaron
Er, that's good then
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Aaron
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Niobe
December 27, 2006 11:41 PM
Indeed. by Niobe
"What made you go into Divinations?" Aaron asked.It wasn't that charms development was boring, per say, and it wasn't that charmers were all stressed out and disconnected from their work... exactly. But, "Well, charms development was not all it promised to be. The work environment at my company was less than desirable." She didn't need to get into the frequent layoffs or her apparently permanent intern status. It wasn't important anymore. "I was ready for a change."
There was no denying that Divinations was a calling. It was rather complicated that way. In her case, it came in the form of an old man finding her at a Muggle cafe in Cambridge, MA. She had been enjoying a concert at the time, and he had picked her out as a witch. In between sets he told her she was going to study divinations under him. Two months later she returned to the cafe and told him he was correct. And here she was.
"Divinations wasn't really a choice, it just sort happened. It started off as a way out," out of her former relationship, out of her dead end job, out of her life. Just out. "And then I found myself liking it so much I stuck with it."
Aaron seemed to be getting a little antsy and the cookies had already come and gone, so Niobe stood up and looked around the classroom again and nodded approval again. "If you don't mind, I think I'll continue my explorations. Wouldn't want to ask students for directions when I'm in a hurry. Any idea how to reach the library from here?"\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
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Niobe
Indeed.
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Niobe
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