Hello? Professor? on Charms

Caedence

April 19, 2007 8:15 PM

Hello? Professor? by Caedence

Caedence sighed as her feet led her to McKindy’s classroom. She didn’t want to do this. This was weak. This was asking for help. She needed help from no one! She needed no one! Yet her feet moved onward, not heeding her nature to turn around and kick any following her trail before going home. It was as if she had no control. She sighed again, the sound bouncing back to her ears in the deserted hallway. Her two pieces of wand were in her left hand, so alien in her off-hand.

She had waited until lunch was almost over with and there weren’t any classes to be held. She didn’t want to miss him. She needed to do this for her mom. She just had to. If her father said anything intelligent, it was her need to find out how to, as he put it, ’fix her mom’. Maybe it was her fault. Maybe she did something to hurt her mom. She pushed those thoughts aside as she opened the classroom door.

Walking in, she timidly looked around. Empty, the room looked bare. She glanced up to look at the different posters. The magical ones watched her, while the muggle stared blankly. She kicked a beanbag chair on her way towards the Charms professor’s office.

Turning at the sound of a cough, she caught sight of a witch she recognized from her quidditch books. She wasn’t sure, but she thought the witch wasn’t a beater. Looking at it, she asked, “He’s here?” knowing tat the witch would probably know who she was talking about. The witch nodded.

“Professor?” She called, “Can I talk to you? It’s Caedence. Redoak.” She looked around, still unsure if she wanted to do this. The office door’s opening gave her no choice, however, and she stood up as straight as her almost-twelve-year-old back would let her.\n

0 Caedence Hello? Professor? 94 Caedence 1 5

Professor McKindy

April 20, 2007 5:17 PM

Present and (perhaps) prepared by Professor McKindy

Aaron was, as usual, in his office. He had to prepare a series of test reviews for the older students at some point within the next forty-eight hours, not to mention grading the theory tests his first years had just finished taking. However, the Charms professor was merely sitting at his desk, one hand absently stroking the head of Declan Chatterjee's cat, Twitch. The animal was purring, although that didn't necessarily mean much with cats, except that the animal in question was not inclined towards homicide at that moment. Once Aaron had spent a good deal of time coaxing the animal out of a very destructive mood, it wasn't particularly bad company. True, waking up to see a pair of glowing eyes staring at you in the middle of the night took a great deal of getting used to, but Aaron had time, to say the least. The next time Twitch's proper owner, the former Head of Teppenpaw and Astonomy professor, had the time to come and fetch his finicky cat was Easter holidays. Four months away.

Seemingly out of nowhere, a knock came that jolted Aaron out of his thoughts and back into the real world. He sighed slightly, stood, and walked towards his door. An introduction "It's Caedence. Redoak." came through the thick wood. Pausing for a moment, Aaron placed the name with only a small amount of difficulty. Caedence was one of his second years. A...Pecari, he thought, although he wasn't entirely sure. The man was still very skeptical of the whole idea of Houses in a school, although he supposed some sort of organisation was necessary at a school as large at Sonora. Still, the private school he attended had lacked Houses, Inter-House competitions, and the like. While he had adjusted to the system, Aaron still had reservations about it.

"Good afternoon, Caedence," he said after opening the door to see her standing there. She looked stiff, and very uncomfortable. Aaron motioned her inside. He himself was more relaxed than usual, perhaps due to the recent end of Midterm. On the other hand, it was more likely that the relaxation was due to no longer having to fear for his life upon entrance to his classroom or office. After he had begun corresponding with Declan (or, really, asking him for advice about his cat), Twitch had calmed down considerably. Delanna Ruisi no longer harassed him on a regular basis either, which was a definite improvement. "Have a seat," Aaron motioned towards the chairs across the desk. "Would you like a cookie?"

One of his more enjoyable hobbies: cooking and charming the products.

0 Professor McKindy Present and (perhaps) prepared 0 Professor McKindy 0 5

Caedence

April 23, 2007 8:57 PM

Oh don't worry, I'm in the same boat by Caedence

Run! her instincts screamed at her, don’t look back! She ignored it, it was too late to run, and besides it was for her mother’s sake she was here. That and to get a new wand. She looked at Professor McKindy suspiciously at the offered seat and cookie. Did all the teachers have the whole ‘sit down, I’ve got food for you’ format? She sat in the chair, but shrugged at the offer of the cookie. She didn’t want to appear rude by saying ‘no’ but wasn’t sure what would happen if she said ‘yes’. Telling McKindy exactly what to do with the cookie wasn’t an option either, as that would be violent, uncivilized, and wouldn’t be too awful smart in the long run. Besides, she wouldn’t mind a cookie. Cookies were good, no matter who you are!

“Well, I don’t think we should waste our time with meaningless conversation, Professor. I think both of us would rather get out of this as soon as possible as I am sure you have a life of your own.” she took a deep breath before continuing, “I have two things to ask. First, I need a new wand, my father broke it. Second, I wonder what it would take to learn how to heal. I need to learn. I don’t want to say why. I just need to learn. I need a wand to do so and instruction on the subject. I thought to ask you since you’re the Charms teacher and, aside from the medic whom I have a personal problem with, you seem the best person to ask. What do you say?”

She made sure to keep up a good pace that the Professor couldn’t interrupt, but not so fast that he didn’t catch her words. She held out the two pieces of broken wand to him. She watched him with anxious eyes, waiting for his reply. Hopefully he wasn’t a traitor like Connell was. The name left a bad taste in her mouth. The woman claimed she cared! Hah, what a joke!\n

0 Caedence Oh don't worry, I'm in the same boat 94 Caedence 0 5

Professor McKindy

April 29, 2007 1:56 PM

Eh...I tend to get seasick. by Professor McKindy

The second year took a seat and shrugged at the offered cookie. Aaron took that as a 'yes' and with a flick of his wand, Summoned a plate of cookies from atop the bookcase. The blue plate slid in front of Caedence with a small tap. Aaron took the opportunity of the distraction to sit in his swivel chair on the opposite side of the desk from the girl. The cookies, neon candycanes, started to tap dance across the plate. The charms professor took no mind. He was used to his creations seeming to have minds of their own. They really didn't--charms were a wonderful thing--but he was very good at giving them the semblance of life at this point. His gingerbread witches were particularly well-done.

A moment later, Aaron was very glad he had seated himself. The girl immediately embarked on a rapid explanation of exactly what was wrong, why, and what he was expected to do to fix it. Then, gods above, she handed him the two broken pieces of her wand. Aaron took them from the girl and examined them, giving him time to think. There were a few problems with this encounter that he had to deal with, deal with tactfully, and get himself out of without any injured feelings or broken trust.

This was going to be difficult.

To start with, the Caedence said her father had broken her wand. Aaron hated inter-family disputes. Loathed them. Most definitely, for personal reasons of his own, did not want to get involved in any situation that involved the family of any child to attend Sonora. A good few of them were pureblooded, and a few even hailed from the east coast. No, he did not want to get involved with any family problems.

Secondly, he did not want to cause problems among his colleagues. The girl before him was in a House and had a Head of House. Wary of the House system though Aaron was, he did appreciate its uses. This was one of them. Students with troubles unrelated to a class were supposed to take their problems to a Head of House, not the new Charms teacher, as seemed their wont.

"All right," Aaron said after awhile, handing the splintered wand back to the girl. "Caedence, I, er, thank you for trusting me with this information," was that right? It sounded suitable, anyway. Next problem. "I don't believe getting you a new wand will be difficult. There is a shop down in Tumbleweed for that purpose, I think. Wouldn't it be better for you to consult your Head of House about this, though? Also, you say your father broke your wand...are things quite all right at home?" he finished, a bit worriedly.

0 Professor McKindy Eh...I tend to get seasick. 0 Professor McKindy 0 5

Caedence

April 30, 2007 6:00 PM

They have spells for that by Caedence

Caedence resisted smiling when the offered cookies were produced. She jumped when they began to move. What in the world? Did he plan on poisoning her? No way! She resisted the tempting smell. Besides, it was probably a bribe. Yet..one cookie wouldn't hurt, right? Taking it nimbly off the plate, she examined it carefully. It didn't look poisonous, but then again, looks were decieving. Nibbling on it slightly, she listened to Aaron talk.

And she didn't like what she heard. Her fist closed around the bit of cookie left while the other hand reached for the broken wand. She took a long, deep breath to calm herself before talking again.

"Well... sir," She began, keeping her eye on the plate of moving food to avoid meeting his with a glare, "I figured, since you're the Charms teacher and all, that I would talk to you. It seemed the thing to do."

She sighed slightly, keeping the noise quiet. How should she answer his question? Every person in this stupid school was so darn nosy! First Kamiya, and she couldn't deal with McKindy the same way at all if she wanted to stay at Sonora. Second, Elly, and she didn't want to tell him part of the story like she told Elly. So now to him. How to tell him enough to get him to let her be, but not cause undo attention to herself?

"Things are not okay, Sir," She began bluntly, "My mother is ill, in the hospital and my father is stressed out," Puting it mildly to say the least, "And I have a broken wand and everyone asking me about this stupid scratch on my face." She finished. Looking up at the teacher, finally, she tilted her head to one side, raised an eyebrow, and asked, "Any more questions?"

0 Caedence They have spells for that 94 Caedence 0 5

Professor McKindy

May 15, 2007 9:26 PM

I'm...er...allergic? by Professor McKindy

Aaron kept his face impassive as the girl before him leveled a glare at the plate of cookies. Somehow he got the feeling that this was not, indeed, because she disliked his cooking. Actually, now that he thought about it, wasn't this the girl who had gotten in trouble for fighting with Hikaru earlier that year? He wasn't sure, but the man was positive that the student before him was not taking this well. Nor was she likely to appreciate him telling her that healing spells were complex, difficult, and he couldn't manage most of them. Of course, he had to tell her. Aaron couldn't very well lead her on in the belief that he knew something he didn't. Granted, he did teach charms and was fairly adept at his subject, but healing charms were up there with illusory charms in his book. Necessary, perhaps, but not the same as the normal run of charms.

And then--oh gods.

Manfred Bulla had warned them about what had happened with Irene Liddowe. They had been warned about the ordeal with Stephen Baxter. The Sonora staff was to be on the lookout for such cases as those in the hopes that they would catch things before they blew out of proportion.

Of course, Aaron had not expected to be the professor who stumbled across such a problem.

No longer the newest staff member since Marlowe and Declan had left, but still new enough that this sort of discovery was not even to be imagined for potential things to deal with. Wasn't this what Heads of Houses were for?

"I'm sorry to hear that, Caedence," Aaron said sincerely, keeping voice and manner perfectly calm. "Is that why you want to learn to heal? I'm afraid that if your mother is in the hospital, there isn't going to be much you can do about it. Healing spells are very complicated and difficult--I myself cannot do much more than the basics." he should ask her about her home situation. Shouldn't he?

He didn't want to get involved. Did not want to get involved with pureblooded schemes, with pureblooded problems.

But--he was a teacher. Caedence had come to him for assistance. It was his responsibility to do everything in his power to make sure she got that assistance. After all, if her father was breaking her wand...things had to be bad. Right?

"However, your home situation," Aaron said, coughing a bit at the end. He cleared his throat. "Caedence, even if your father is stressed out, he should not be taking his anger out on you. If there's anything I can do...."

0 Professor McKindy I'm...er...allergic? 0 Professor McKindy 0 5

Caedence

May 22, 2007 6:31 PM

Too bad! :P by Caedence

Caedence wasn’t one with a long patience. It was a miracle it had lasted her this far. However, all her nerves were frayed and her temper was about at its limit. This was not helped when Professor McKindy told her that she couldn’t learn medical spells. If he couldn’t teach her, then she would learn on her own! That was that! He couldn’t tell her that she couldn’t do it. He didn’t know what it was like, having a mother in the hospital and having her own father blame her. She didn’t know what she did wrong. She just wanted to fix whatever mistake she made. She wanted to undo whatever she had done to make her mom sick. McKindy wouldn’t stop her!

She was about to get out of her seat, thanking the professor for his time, when he began to speak again. "However, your home situation." It felt like someone dropped a hot burning coal in her stomach. Her fists clenched at her sides. She looked up at him challengingly.

"Caedence, even if your father is stressed out, he should not be taking his anger out on you. If there's anything I can do...."

She found herself faltering. She couldn’t trust him. He was not only a man, he was an adult. She couldn’t trust kids her own age, let alone adults. She couldn’t trust anyone! No one! She almost wanted to tell him, almost. The moment of indecision passed as she got out of her chair.

“Thank you for your time, sir.” She said, layering her voice with as much icy venom as she possessed, “I will talk to Professor Connell about my wand. I’m sorry you couldn’t help me out. As for my home life, that is my business, sir, and I wish to keep it to myself. If you’d excuse me, I’m sure I have something that I should be doing. Goodbye,” She stalked out of the Professor’s office, throwing a dangerous glare at the few posters that looked like they were about to say something. She slammed the classroom door on her way out. \n

0 Caedence Too bad! :P 94 Caedence 0 5