Professor Aaron McKindy
May 17, 2007 9:21 PM
Charms Lesson II: First Years by Professor Aaron McKindy
Aaron carefully surveyed his first year class as they entered the room. After the events leading up to and during midterm, Manfred Bulla would be expecting his staff to be on a very high alert for similar problems. After all, where two had been unearthed, there would almost certainly be more to follow. He leaned against his desk, hands deep in the pockets of his Muggle jeans, gray-green eyes following the first years as they made their ways to the now-familiar beanbags. The charms professor only rarely assigned written in-class assignments; theoretical work was best saved for times when practical was impossible. Therefore, he reasoned, what was the point of desks? It was far better to let the students choose their own learning style when it was possible.With a mild surprise, Aaron noted some new students among those trickling in. These were the transfer students he had been informed of. He had just been under the assumption that they would be...older. But such was life. IN some ways, younger students would be easier because there was less chance of divergence in the teaching patterns and subjects.
As usual, Aaron wore jeans, a self-charmed t-shirt, and a top hat made of large, translucent, pink bubbles. Over the midterm break, he had cut his black hair very short. He had also taken down his Muggle posters--and threatened to hex most of the wizarding ones. His office door was shut and firmly locked to keep his former colleague's cat inside. As opposed to, say, outdoors attacking things. Or destroying his classroom out of pure spite. Or something of that variety, as was the animal's wont.
"All right," Aaron said loudly as it came time for class to begin. "Return to your seats, yes, that's right. Today we will be learning the spell 'Alohomora'. As you should have realised while you were doing your essays over midterm, it is based on the same basic concepts as the levitation charm we learned earlier this year. Speaking of which, do I have all of your essays on my desk?" he paused a moment as a few students brought their essays up. "To perform the simple unlocking charm, all you must do is move your wand like so and say 'Alohomora'. If the lock is not guarded by another spell, that is. However, those types of charms are generally taught in higher level Defense classes, so you have awhile to go yet.
"Now, you will find a series of small, colour-coded boxes around the room. I would like you to get into small groups of two or three and pick a colour of box. Use the charm I just demonstrated to open these boxes. Inside, you should find a few puzzle pieces. If you will look up," Aaron waited as the first years did so. "You will notice the puzzle frames on the ceiling. I would like you to utilise your other knowledge of charms to get the pieces up there. The puzzle frames already have a sticking charm on them.
"Also, before you begin, I'd like to remind you that we have a theory test next class. Remember to ask for help if you need it...and the first group to finish their puzzle gets a prize!"
The professor nodded to the class to signal the start of their work time and stepped back to sit on the corner of his desk. This class should be less chaotic than the last. Although, granted, with some of his students, he couldn't be sure. Still, Aaron was looking forward to a relatively peaceful class.
Subthreads: Wow, we get to open locks. This gives me ideas... by Hikaru Kasuragi, Teppenpaw with Talitha Cumni, Hikaru, Professor McKindy
Anyone have a nice witty subject line? by Irene Liddowe with Brett Hodges, Irene
A new spell by Ebony with Brett Hodges, Hyana
Aluhu-what-now? by Lucas Smythe with Hannah Laurent, Lucas, Oliver Abbott
Better late than never by Gwyneth with Cissy Tarwater, Professor McKindy
Class Ends by Professor McKindy
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Professor Aaron McKindy
Charms Lesson II: First Years
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Professor Aaron McKindy
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Lucas Smythe
May 20, 2007 7:25 AM
Aluhu-what-now? by Lucas Smythe
Lucas practically fell into a beanbag as he entered the classroom after tripping over his own foot - he was just glad that there wasn't anybody sitting there already. He also hoped that nobody had seen.Pushing his fringe from his eye, Lucas looked up at Professor McKindy and listened to the lesson instructions, though he was still distracted by that pink bubble hat. Honestly, the man was quite obviously insane. Ignoring this fact, Lucas listened as McKindy explained the 'alohomora' charm, which apparently unlocked doors. Lucas wondered why he had never heard of the charm, but as soon as the unlocking doors bit was mentioned it all became obvious: His parents wouldn't have taught him that - no chance!
McKindy continued explaining the day's class, which actually sounded quite fun to Lucas. Unlocking stuff to get puzzle pieces then levitating them up to the ceiling - it sounded great! Then he ruined it.
"Also, before you begin, I'd like to remind you that we have a theory test next class.
Lucas groaned a little at this - practical things he was perfectly fine with, he didn't really have to think about performing charms, but the theory stuff went straight over his head. Still, professors were there to help, right? So maybe he could just ask about a few things - if, that is, he was able to rise above his pride.
'Now to find a partner...' Lucas thought to himself, looking around the room. 'Probably easier to see if I stand up. he noted, pushing himself out of the beanbag - though almost falling back into it - and getting unsteadily to his feet. Again, he hoped nobody noticed, he really did seem to have a certain lack of balance today.
He turned to the nearest person and smiled in an unintentionally slightly dopey fashion, once again removing the hair from his face. "Wanna team up?"
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Lucas Smythe
Aluhu-what-now?
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Lucas Smythe
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Hannah Laurent
May 21, 2007 7:33 PM
Alohomora, silly! by Hannah Laurent
The best thing about having a small frame is the ability to curl up like a cat in a bean bag chair, which is exactly what Hannah did. In this position and this chair that was entirely too comfortable, she would have fallen asleep, if it weren't for the fact that the lesson was interesting. She jotted down a few notes on what the spell that they were to be doing, Alohomora, but they would need another spell. What other spell would they need?Before she could think about it further, they were to partner up. She shrugged slightly. Maybe her partner would know the other spell they needed. She was about to get up from the chair when one of the nearby students asked to be partners.
"Okay," she said, smiling and wondering why he had a weird expression on his face. A bit of blonde hair had strayed loose, she tugged it behind her ear, before introducing herself, "I'm Hannah."
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Hannah Laurent
Alohomora, silly!
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Hannah Laurent
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Lucas
May 23, 2007 12:00 PM
I knew that... by Lucas
The girl he had asked to pair up with him was still curled up in his chair, but she said okay nonetheless."I'm Hannah." She told him with a smile as she pushed some hair behind her ear. Lucas returned the smile, and in a slightly more normal way this time.
"Hey, I'm Lucas." He told her, wondering whether or not he should offer his hand to pull her up from her seat. He decided against it, however, since he had only just met the girl, and she might think he was a bit weird.
Instead, he left her to get up in her own time, and decided to start a conversation. "So, where are you from?" It seemed a daft question to most people, but Lucas was unlike most people in that he actually tended to be interested in other people and their backgrounds - not to the extent of being nosey, though. He hoped.
Lucas glanced around the room at the other teams as they were pairing up and wondered if it would just be him and Hannah or if they'd be joined by somebody else as well - after all, McKindy had said groups of two or three, right?
He pushed his fringe back from his eye and turned back Hannah, ready to start whenever she was - he hoped she was a good aim at least if they had to levitate the puzzle pieces into the right place, after all, Lucas couldn't say he had been entirely well balanced that morning but maybe he'd get better as the day went on.
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Lucas
I knew that...
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Lucas
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Hannah
May 28, 2007 12:38 AM
I'll pretend to believe you :P by Hannah
"Lousiana," she answered, as she uncurled herself from the chair. She briefly wondered if she could get one in her room. It was awfully comfortable. "What about you?"Once out of the chair, she smoothed out her clothing with her hands to get out some of the wrinkles. She ran her fingers like a comb through her long hair since it was probably sticking up from static. Fixed up, she glanced around the room, taking note of which boxes were already taken and which were not.
Turning back to Lucas, she asked, eager to start, "Which box do you think we should take? The purple one is still free."
She pointed over to it. Oh, no! It looked like there were already people going over to it. But it was her favorite color. Taking charge, she grabbed his hand with a smile, trying to pull him along. She hoped he didn't think she was to forward or bossy. She just really wanted that one. She thought they would have good luck with it.
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Hannah
I'll pretend to believe you :P
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Hannah
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Oliver Abbott
May 29, 2007 6:54 PM
You don't want to believe him by Oliver Abbott
Oliver had a similar amount of enthusiasm for charms as for any other class: limited. He did like learning, and he did enjoy mastering the spells, he just hadn’t yet found a subject that interested him more than any other. Although that duelling in Defence had been awesome…Dragging his feet, Oliver dumped his essay, which had been a reasonable effort but certainly not his best work, on the desk. It was odd, he considered, how much midterm had changed his perspective. When he arrived at Sonora, Oliver was absolutely determined to prove to his family that he would make a wonderful wizard. That still held true, but now he was more relaxed about it, knowing that it mattered more to him than it did to his family, and that’s what had made the difference. Sure his performance might have dropped a little, but he was more relaxed about his work now, and he was beginning to enjoy it a little more. That had to be good.
Oliver took a seat on a dark green bean bag. It had a little worn patch where the fabric was thin. While he listened to the professor, Oliver absently played with it, trying to push his finger right through and make a hole. He wasn’t being purposefully destructive, just distracted. He succeeded, though, and he jumped as the fabric tore. He felt embarrassed then for vandalising school property. Hoping the professor hadn’t noticed, Oliver turned his full attention back to the class and tried not to look too guilty.
When the professor gave the go-ahead, Oliver lethargically hauled himself back to his feet. He decided that first he would find a box, and then worry about finding a partner. There was a purple box not far away, and Oliver headed over to it. He looked up to see a girl coming over, too. Actually, it was a girl holding hands with a boy, dragging him behind her. Oliver found that highly amusing, and he grinned bemusedly at the girl. “You want this?” he asked, holding the purple box up between them. He looked past her to the boy and tried not to laugh. If a girl dragged him about like that Oliver would be so embarrassed.
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Oliver Abbott
You don't want to believe him
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Oliver Abbott
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Lucas
June 22, 2007 6:48 AM
Hey! Believe me! by Lucas
[OOC : sorry, sorry, sorry for lateness! I have no excuse.] BIC-"I'm from Illinois," Lucas somewhat spluttered out messily as Hannah grabbed his hand and began dragging him toward the purple box she had pointed out only seconds before. His cheeks darkened a little with a blush; he'd never really held a girl's hand before, apart from his sister's perhaps, but this was different - he didn't really even know Hannah.
As they arrived at the box, a boy was standing there holding it already. "You want this?" he asked Hannah, before looking past her and looking at Lucas with what could only be amusement. Lucas scowled back to the boy and detached himself from Hannah so quickly that one would have thought her hand was burning him.
Realising that she might take his actions offensively, he offered her a quick apologetic smile then set his negative stare back toward the boy. "And you are?" Lucas asked him while pushing his fringe away from his eye, before taking a somewhat indignant stance with arms crossed over his chest.
"No one laughs at me." Lucas thought to himself, still scowling. It wasn't as though that boy had anything to be amused about, unless he was finding the 'hand-holding' funny, but that really wasn't by choice on Lucas's part. He sighed as his fringe fell back into his eye, meaning he actually had to move again to do something about it. Honestly, how was he supposed to look angry at someone when his hair kept getting in the way?
Turning his attention back to Hannah, Lucas thought it was about time they got on with the lesson. "This okay?" he asked her, motioning toward the box that was still in the other boy's hand.
Lucas was ready, this charms stuff was all quite simple really, even if he hadn't heard of the spell before, he was almost certain it wouldn't prove to be too challenging.
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Lucas
Hey! Believe me!
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Lucas
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Oliver
June 22, 2007 4:45 PM
*shrugs* your call. by Oliver
The boy who’d come across with the girl didn’t seem particularly amused. In fact, he was sort of glowering at Oliver, which was a bit scary, actually. “And you are?” he inquired, rather rudely, in Olive’s opinion.“I’m Oliver Abbott, first year Crotalus,” Oliver said boldly, by now very accustomed to introducing himself in this manner. He’d have to get rid of it before he got back home though, otherwise people would just think he was a bit peculiar. He peered defiantly at the boy, whose hair apparently had the same annoying habit of falling into his eyes as Oliver’s own did. Pushing his blond hair back out of his face, Oliver straightened his glasses and looked to the girl instead. For a start she’d been eager to get over to the box, and secondly she’d not been rude to him yet, which placed her a darn sight higher than that boy she’d brought with her.
“Hi, you want to work together?” he asked her, smiling quite pleasantly. “I don’t have a partner yet.” Oliver was sure he could get along with these two, particularly if the boy didn’t say anything. There was always the chance that he was perfectly nice, of course, and had just been a bit upset about being hauled along by a girl. Oliver suspected that could make you feel a bit grumpy, so he decided not to jump to conclusions about his classmates just yet.
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Oliver
*shrugs* your call.
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Oliver
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Hannah
June 22, 2007 8:39 PM
*gingerly looks at both* by Hannah
Hannah rolled her eyes at Lucas' behavior. Boys! It wasn't like they were four and the opposite sex had cooties. They were eleven, some even twelve. Besides, it wasn't like she grabbed his hand in a couple type way. She would have done the same thing if he had been a girl.Then, he displayed the typical male ego over embarrassment by being rude to the other boy. Luckily, the other didn't seem overly phased by it, which to her said a lot about his personality. Looking at him in interest with bright blue eyes, she offered a friendly smile. There was no need for the boy to think that they were both rude and he was giving them the opportunity to work with him, which was very important given he was holding the purple box. She was about to reply when Lucas interjected his own question asking her this was okay.
She nodded her blonde head to Lucas. Then, turned to Oliver, "We can work together. I'm Hannah Laurent." And a moment later, she thought to add since he had, "First year, Teppenpaw."
She bit her lower lip slightly, as another thought occurred to her. Lucas hadn't introduced himself. Should she? Deciding she should since he wasn't being Captain Manners towards Oliver, she said, "And this is Lucas."
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Hannah
*gingerly looks at both*
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Hannah
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Lucas
June 24, 2007 7:17 AM
Mmm, ginger... by Lucas
Lucas straightened his already straight clothes in a fit of random uncomfort. He wasn't the best at making friends so far, so being rude probably wasn't the best idea. He listened with a dazed look on his face as Oliver and Hannah introduced themselves to each other. He only 'woke up' a little when he heard his own name as Hannah introduced him to the other boy."Oh yeah." He stammered in Oliver's general direction, before clearing his throat and trying again. "Yeah, Lucas Smythe, Aladren." He offered a rather bizarre awkward smile that probably looked as though he was choking on something. Honestly, he really wasn't so great with people, every time he met someone he managed to do something a bit weird.
Pushing his fringe from his eye again, he fidgeted and glanced around the room for no apparent reason. 'Pull yourself together, freak!' he internally reprimanded himself, 'They're going to think you've taken something at this rate.' Giving up on himself, Lucas simply opted for staring at the floor instead.
"Shall we get started then?" He suggested through a mumble, looking up at the other two again, his fringe once again brushing his eye. He really should get it cut.
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Lucas
Mmm, ginger...
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Lucas
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Oliver
June 24, 2007 12:02 PM
Mmm, gingerbread... by Oliver
The two others introduced themselves as Hannah and Lucas. Hannah seemed like a nice girl, pleasant enough and probably fun to work with. That Lucas kid though – he was a bit weird, Oliver decided. He had started by glaring, and then looked like his head was off on another planet somewhere. Oliver shrugged mentally; he didn’t mind if his partners were a bit odd.“Shall we get started then?” weird Lucas asked.
Still holding the box, Oliver took a couple of steps to the nearest beanbag and sat down. “Come on then,” he said, gesturing the others down to join him. When they were all seated, Oliver popped the box on the floor in the middle of where they were sitting. The first spell was to open the box. Oliver was pretty good at charms, so he thought he’d let the others have a go. He glanced to his partners – did he trust Lucas with a wand? No.
“Ladies first,” he said, smiling at Hannah. She was kind of pretty, Oliver observed. He didn’t often think that about girls, but there were the odd one or two that just sort of stuck out. Hannah was one of them, and so Oliver found himself readjusting his glasses more than was strictly necessary. He was getting the feeling that their group was going to have to really focus to get through this lesson.
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Oliver
Mmm, gingerbread...
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Oliver
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Hannah
June 26, 2007 2:22 AM
Mmm, gingerbread men... by Hannah
Eyes shifted nervously from boy to boy. They hadn't even started and already they didn't seem to click. Unsure what to do, she was glad that each agreed to get started. Before following Oliver, Hannah gave a reassuring smile in Lucas' direction, hoping he wouldn't be offended and think she was actually pitying him, as some boys would do, because they just didn't know how to read girls. On the other hand, it wasn't as though girls, especially her, was always the best at interpreting boy behavior, aside from the obvious.Choosing a bean bag chair on Oliver's right, because it was her second favorite color, green, Hannah plopped herself into it, nearly burying her petite frame. The pretty purple box was on the floor now and Oliver was suggesting that she-what? Suddenly feeling a bit timid, Hannah pulled out her wand of willow and set it in her lap. She was decent at Charms, but performing in front of two boys that she didn't know in an intense group on a significant task changed all the rules. Preparing herself for the job on hand, she brushed back the long hair over her shoulders. She took a deep breath to calm herself. She could do this.
Picking her wand back up, she pointed at the box and said, “Alohomora.”
A bit of shaking occurred, slightly on her end and a bit on the box's, but it wasn't enough to open it. She wasn't surprised though. It was nearly a given that she would mess it up somehow on the first try due to nerves. The only thing really to do was what her father always quoted, 'If at first you don't succeed, try, try again. That's exactly what she intended to do. Her palms felt a bit sweaty now and she quickly wiped them off on the knees of her jeans, which were showing under her robes. This also gave her time to run a quick analysis of exactly what went wrong bringing her to the conclusion that she wasn't forceful enough.
Steeling her shoulders, she pointed at the box again, “Alohomora!”
This time the box opened. It wasn't anything major, but she had done it and in front of a small group. A small squee of achievement broke through. Pleased, she grinned widely at the other two, her entire face glowing with happiness.
“All right, boss,” she said to Oliver, half joking, half not, because he in a way had become the unofficial leader of the group, “how do we want to tackle the next part?”
Some strategy would most likely be needed. Otherwise, they might just end up knocking into each other's pieces. At the same time, they probably didn't want to be the last group to finish, as that might be embarrassing.
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Hannah
Mmm, gingerbread men...
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Hannah
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Lucas
July 03, 2007 11:16 AM
Mmm, gingerbread men with ICING! by Lucas
Lucas refused to sit down when the others did, but he suddenly felt stupidly tall (or was it just stupid?) at being the only one still standing of the three of them. He lowered himself slowly onto the floor opposite Hannah, for some reason he didn't really feel like he ought get comfy, he wasn't entirely sure that the other two liked him very much.Lucas often had this problem with people, he did try to be nice - sort of, but occasionally it was to no avail and people still didn't like him. It looked like this could be one of those times, despite the smile that Hannah had sent in his direction. Maybe it was the fringe? Perhaps it frightened people in the way it appeared to have a mind of its own - or maybe, he was actually just naff with human relationships.
"Alohomora," Hannah tried to open the box at Oliver's invitation of 'ladies first'. Lucas always thought that was a dumb phrase, I mean, why send a lady off to her death or pure embarrassment when a man could do it so much more efficiently? Still, it wasn't like Hannah was going to die in this particular scenario, and pure embarrassment, although possible, was not likely.
Hannah tried to open the box again after not succeeding, and this time around the box practically leapt open as if to say "Yes ma'am!" She squeaked in a bizarre way, Lucas thought, but she was obviously happy that the spell had worked the second time around - otherwise she actually could have been embarrassed. Who knew? Lucas didn't, and he often wished he had an "off" button for his inner monologue.
"Nice one." He croaked. He had meant to say it normally, but life and its sick humour was (as per usual) against him, so he ended up sounding like he was actually going to be sick. He put his head down and let his long blonde-tipped fringe cover his face in shame.
"All right, boss, how do we want to tackle the next part?" she asked Oliver with a grin. Honestly, she was treating him like a captain. Lucas half scowled and half pouted - why couldn't he have the attention instead? He was cuter than Oliver, anyway - in his own personal opinion - and cute people deserve attention.
"I think," he butted in before Oliver could speak, "that we should take it in turns to move the puzzle pieces. It will make it go pretty quick so we aren't the last group to finish, and that way we'll all get a chance to-" he stopped himself from saying 'show off' and proceeding to trip over the rest of the sentence due to not having thought the last part out, "err... ya know. Have a... a umm... yeah, a go... have a go, all of us." he blushed, wondering why his brain did this to him so often. Really, by age eleven, he should know how to speak without sounding like an absolute loser.
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Lucas
Mmm, gingerbread men with ICING!
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Lucas
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