Professor Olivers

September 27, 2012 12:27 AM
The transition from tutor to professor was going smoothly so far. Her students had been relatively respectful to each other and she knew that she was being harsher than she wanted to be only because this was uncharted territory for her. Now, however, she was starting to get into the swing of things. It helped that she wasn’t afraid of standing in front of a group of young students and teaching them. Today she was wearing lime-green robes that helped accentuate her blue eyes. She absolutely loved colors and, most of the time, bright colors worked on her. Her brown hair was pulled back mostly because she hadn’t had time this morning to style it and because she was up late last night reading.

The book Florence had been reading last night had captivated her. It was called Justice for the Charming, a book about the inventors of the charms she so enjoyed using every day. Most of the spells didn’t have clear origins, but a few, like the softening charm, had been created in the rocky cliffs in Europe where cliff jumping had become a huge thing for wizards. Only, instead of tying themselves to a bungee cord as muggles would, they fell freely. This sport had only come about after the softening charm. It was a stupid way to get an adrenaline rush, in Florence’s opinion, but to each their own. She wasn’t going to tell her students that, however. It would give them too many ideas even if they were only beginners.

There were so many things at this school that Florence had yet to take advantage of. There was the MARS piano room where she could play to her heart’s content. She was wondering if offering piano lessons would give her too much to do, but she would have to talk about that to the Headmistress. Then there was the library where she hoped there were books of Shakespeare though she had every one of his plays in her office. There were so many things to do and yet she still had to make time to teach.

The first day of her Intermediate class she had been late, but she had not repeated it since. Today she was an hour early readying her classroom, putting stone tablets on the desks, and removing the carpet on her floor. If the younger students were capable enough with this charm, she would gladly have them turn the stone floor into a giant pillow and have them jump off their desks for a class. They were eleven and twelve year olds. Jumping into giant pillows was something even Florence still found fun in her late forties.

She finished her work half an hour early and was reading her book at her desk when students started to trickle in. She eyed the door, counting the number of students coming in as she shielded her eyes with her book. When it looked like they were all sitting down, she put her book down and looked around the classroom. By now she had memorized all of their names and knew their faces well-enough to know if someone wasn’t in class. Roll call was now unnecessary, thank goodness. It gave her more time to teach.

“Good morning, everyone. Now that everyone is here, let’s get started then, shall we?” She clasped her hands and smiled warmly at them. Though she disliked young children, it was different when she wasn’t the one taking care of them. “Today we will be working on the Softening Charm. Can anyone tell me what this charm was created to do without looking at their textbook?” After a student answered correctly, she nodded. “Very good. It is used to make hard surfaces or objects rubbery and bouncy. For those who know nothing of this charm, the spell is on page 28 of your textbook.

“The incantation for the Softening Charm is Spongify. Let’s say it all together without our wands, please. SPONG-ify. It’s very important to pronounce it correctly and accent the first syllable of the word. To perform the Softening Charm, one must simply make the shape of the letter ‘S’ at a slant to your left with your wand.” She showed them by doing the motion herself. “After making the motion, say the incantation, and then you’ll be softening things all over the place.”

Florence nodded at her students. “Now, you all know the drill. Partners, practice the spell on your separate tablets, thank you. If neither of you find yourselves performing the charm correctly, come to me. Let the softening begin!” The last part had been said in her dramatic Shakespearean voice and she smiled at them again before going back to her desk to watch the softening commence. And, maybe, to get back to her book.

OOC: By now, you all should know what to do. Minimum ten sentences—but you get more House Points with longer, creative posts—, no god-modding; all that good stuff. Tag Florence in the subject line if any of you need her assistance. Happy softening!
Subthreads:
0 Professor Olivers Pillow-y Stones or Stony Pillows? [I & II years] 0 Professor Olivers 1 5


Carter Browning, Teppenpaw

September 27, 2012 1:06 AM
As Carter’s first Charms class he could imagine what to expect. Charms and Transfiguration spells seemed to be something that came slightly easily to him. He had a lot of practice what with “torturing” his cousin with his antics. His parents had felt that his pranks were a waste of talent and energy. His grandfather disagreed. He encouraged Carter to continue practicing them, although he suggested not using them to torture his cousin soo much. Carter promised he would try, but found that sometimes it was just way to fun to stop. He figured in a way the friendly teasing was good for Kinley. So far it hadn’t done much good trying to get some of the prissy out of her, but that didn’t stop him from trying.

He made his way into the Charms class and looked curiously at the pieces of stone tablet sitting on each desk. I wonder what we’re supposed to do with those? he wondered to himself as he found a desk to sit at and waited for the teacher to tell them what they would be doing with them. When she explained that they would be using the Softening Charm on them, he raised a brow slightly. “Softening Charm? What?… Are we planning on sitting on these things during class?” he asked aloud to no one in particular. Can anyone tell me what this charm was created to do without looking at their textbook?” the professor had asked the class. When he didn’t notice anyone else’s hand going into the air, Carter raised his own. “It was created to turn hard objects into rubbery, bouncy ones,” he replied. He was rather pleased with himself when the professor said he had the answer right. Hey! Not bad he told himself as she moved onto the incantation for the charm. He watched her movements carefully and when he was sure he had them down, he looked down at the stone tablet on his desk. He waited for the teacher to tell them to begin before raising his wand, licking his lips and taking his first stab at it.

“SPONG-ify!” he commanded, waving his wand hand the way had watched the Professor do it. He stared down at the tablet, but it didn’t look any different to him. Was it supposed to still look like a stone tablet or should it look more pillow-y or something? He wasn’t quite sure. He leaned over to the student sitting beside him and whispered, “Isn’t it supposed to look pillow-y or something? Is it supposed to still look like a stone tablet?” he inquired curiously. Carter wasn’t sure what to do next and hoped the person beside him would. He would have to wait and see.
0 Carter Browning, Teppenpaw Trying to make pillows I guess 0 Carter Browning, Teppenpaw 0 5


Wendy Canterbury - Pecari

September 28, 2012 4:16 PM
Wendy liked Charms enough, but Care of Magical Creatures was definitely her favorite so far, even if they didn't study super interesting creatures. She wished that the professor would bring in a unicorn, but she guessed that beginners couldn't study a unicorn yet. It was depressing, but at least her other classes were kind of fun. Transfiguration was probably her second favorite, and then Charms.

Going to different classes one right after the other was really different for Wendy. She was used to being in one classroom and being released for breaks and recess. She still wasn't sure what to make of this schedule. At least it was kind of nice to move around.

Today she was wearing her standard school robes with a white T-shirt and jeans. Nothing big, but it was definitely comfortable. What she really wanted to wear was her giant sweater that her North Carolina grandmother had given her, but Arizona was too hot most of the time to wear it, except at night when nobody really cared what kind of sweater you wore. It wasn't like she really went camping with any other families except for her own, and they had all seen the sweater already. It was kind of lame, but at least the school robes were comfy too.

Wendy sat down next to someone she didn't really know, wanting to make more friends. She smiled at him before getting out her wand as usual. Unlike her sister, Wendy had never had trouble with boys making fun of her for whatever reason. Boys were good people to be friends with, and Wendy sometimes liked them a lot more than the girls just because the boys liked to play tag and stuff and the girls just talked. Talking all the time was really boring, and Wendy liked to be more active. Hopefully she would make some good friends here and maybe learn Quidditch so she could play with the boys too.

The class was interesting, but boring too. Lectures always bored Wendy to an extent, and she leaned her chin on her hand as she always did when she was bored. She stared down at her wand, thinking of how beautiful it was and remembering the day she'd gotten it. She wondered if wands had their own personalities or were just a tool, but then it was time to actually use them.

The stone tablets in front of them were apparently going to be turned into pillows, and Wendy wondered if she could take this around to her classes, sit in the back, and just sleep on them. That would be awesome! Except that would probably not be good for her grade in the class. She had never slept in class before and was a little too scared to try. The boy next to her went and she watched him curiously. The tablet looked exactly the same, and she cocked her head to the side, her short blonde hair getting in the way of one of her eyes. She brushed it aside irritably, and the boy talked to her.

She shrugged unhelpfully. "I guess so," she replied. "I mean, this isn't Transfiguration." She reached over and poked the tablet. It went in slightly and her hazel eyes widened. "Whoa! I think it kind of worked." She pressed harder and then slammed a fist against it. "Ouch!" It wasn't totally soft. She brought her throbbing fist to her chest, her face scrunched up. It hurt, but she wasn't going to die even if her eyes were a little wet involuntarily. "Ow," she said again, rubbing her hand, and then grabbed her wand. Too bad she had used her wand hand to test the boy's tablet.

"Spongify!" Wendy said, doing what the professor had done and then pointing her wand to it. She saw the light of a spell go into the stone, but it looked the same like her desk partner's. She prodded her tablet, and it had a more boucny feel to it than soft. "I guess that's almost there," she said, looking over at her partner and shrugging again.
0 Wendy Canterbury - Pecari Pillows for sleeping...in class? 0 Wendy Canterbury - Pecari 0 5


Carter Browning, Teppenpaw

September 29, 2012 12:25 PM
Carter watched curiously as the blond girl he had spoken to leaned over and poked at his tablet. "I guess so," she replied. "I mean, this isn't Transfiguration." He had to agree. Transfiguration class this definitely was not. She reached over and poked the tablet. It went in slightly and her hazel eyes widened. "Whoa! I think it kind of worked." She pressed harder and then slammed a fist against it. "Ouch!" It wasn't totally soft. She brought her throbbing fist to her chest, her face scrunched up. It hurt, but she wasn't going to die even if her eyes were a little wet involuntarily. "Ow," she said again, rubbing her hand, and then grabbed her wand. Too bad she had used her wand hand to test the boy's tablet. He watched as her eyes widened when she poked part of his tablet. He then frowned slightly when she brought her fist down upon it and found a spot that was not so soft. He was especially displeased when she hurt herself doing so especially since it was his tablet she struck.

“Are you alright?” he asked concerned. “I didn’t mean for you to hurt yourself in answering my question.” He really did feel guilty. He watched as she attempted the charm herself and tried poking her own. He leaned over and gave it good poke himself. Hers definitely felt more bouncy than soft. "I guess that's almost there," she said, looking over at her partner and shrugging again. Carter had to agree with her statement. Bouncy was good, but they were looking for more squishy pillow than bouncy stone. “Bouncy is pretty close,” he agreed. “What do you say we take another whack at it and see if we can’t do better?“ he suggested, offering her a small smile. He looked down at his tablet and raised his wand for the next pass. “Okay, we can do this,” he told her encouragingly as he made his next attempt. “Spong-ify!” he commanded, pointing the wand towards the tablet and waving the wand as they were shown.

He glanced down at the tablet and noticed that it didn’t appear to completely look the same. It appeared softer somehow. Carter decided that instead of his partner testing it this time, he would be the one to do it. He balled up his fist and before striking it, mumbled “Here goes nothing.” He brought his fist down with enough force to feel something if the charm had worked, but not so much that he would accidentally break his hand if it hadn’t. His eyes widened in surprise when his fist sank into the tablet like it would have a pillow instead of smacking hard stone. “It worked!” he commented, sounding both surprised and pleased. He glanced up at her grinning. “Why don’t you give it a try now….um…” Carter stopped mid-sentence when he realized he had never asked the girl for her name. His mother would be highly disappointed that he showed such rudeness by not asking her her name from the start. “I’m sorry,” he apologized sheepishly. “I was rude of me not to have asked ahead of time, but what’s your name?” he inquired curiously. “My name is Carter Browning,” he introduced himself not feeling so much like a heel now. He just hoped that she hadn’t taken offense to his momentary lack of etiquette.
0 Carter Browning, Teppenpaw or for hand cushions if you hit something hard 0 Carter Browning, Teppenpaw 0 5


Wendy

October 05, 2012 4:27 PM
Wendy smiled. The boy seemed pretty concerned about her hand, and she didn't want to make him worry. It wasn't like it was broken or anything. "It's okay," she said. She performed her charm then with finesse, and this time he poked her tablet. It was probably safer than being stupid and slamming his fist down on it like she had. Dumb Wendy.

She nodded at her partner's comment and watched as he did it again. Apparently he was going to slam his fist into his own tablet, and Wendy watched with a grimace, hoping that he didn't break his hand. That would be really horrible. Her own hand was hardly throbbing now, even though she could still kind of feel the tiny sting of the aftershock. The boy hit his tablet, and she gasped as it sank into it. It was like magic! Wendy could barely contain her glee. "That's so cool!" she exclaimed, and then put her hands over her mouth, realizing that she had said that in a really loud and squeaky voice. "Sorry, that just looks so cool. Can I touch it?" She looked pleadingly at the boy as she asked. She didn't have big puppy-dog eyes like Waverly, but she hoped her attempt worked. She wasn't sure if her own charm would work all the way, and she wanted to know what it felt like.

The boy told her to give it another try, but as he stumbled over on what to call her, she realized she hadn't introduced herself. Back in elementary school, she hadn't really needed to introduce herself. Everyone had their names on their desks and if people wanted to know her name, they just asked. It wasn't awkward at all. But here it seemed like a big deal, and she was quickly learning that people were awkward when it came to asking someone's name. It was like they were all pretending to be grown-ups but were failing 'cause they were just all kids.

"My name's Wendy," she said, "after the character in Peter Pan, if you've ever read that book." Now that that was done, she turned to her tablet again. "Okay, I'm going to try again. Don't laugh at me if it doesn't work out all the way." She gave him a look before looking back at the tablet. She performed the charm again with a loud, "Spongify!" and watched as nothing happened to her tablet.

"Dang it," she said angrily, but then put her hand on it. It was still kind of firm in a bouncy way, but it was less bouncy and a little more soft this time. "Never mind," she said with a smile. "It kind of worked better!" She lay her blonde little head on it, her face turned towards Carter. "It's not the best pillow in the world, but it'll do. Is your pillow head-worthy?"
0 Wendy Or relaxing cushions after you hit something hard 0 Wendy 0 5


Carter

October 07, 2012 4:34 PM
Carter was glad to hear that she hadn't hurt herself too badly. He noticed the slight grimace she made when he moved to hit his own pillow. The fact that she seemed concerned about him hurting himself was touching. He smiled even bigger when she exclaimed how cool it was when his fist sank into his pillow. He grinned at her for covering up her mouth. The squeaky voice she had let escape hadn't bother him in least. He was actually sort-of used to the sound on account of his cousin Kinley and her many shrieking spells. He shook his head at her apology. "Don't worry about it," he assured her. "My cousin shrieks louder than that on an almost daily basis," he told her. He grinned when she asked if she could touch it. "Absolutely," he told her, holding it out for her to inspect.

He waited until she had done so before putting it back on his own desk. "Wendy is s cool name," he told her. "I loved when my mom used to read me that story when I was little." He really had. His mom used to read it to him every night before he went to sleep up until he was 9 years old. Then they had started reading Shakspeare together at night before bed. He caught the look she gave him as she "requested" that he not laugh at her if her next attempt flopped. He had no intention of laughing at her. "Absolutely not," she assured her trying to look serious. "I would never laugh at a lady's misfortune." He watched quietly as she made another attempt. He had to draw on all his willpower not to so much as smile she exclaimed "Dang it," as her next attempt was apparently no better than her first. He found himself grinning when she showed a little enthusiasm at it working better than it had. He had to give her credit for looking at the bright side.

He watched amused as she laid her blonde head upon her semi-pillow. "Is your pillow head-worthy?" she had asked and he found himself suddenly curious about it. "I don't know," he admitted looking at it curiously. "Let's find out." He laid the pillow down on his desk and rested his own light strawberry blondish head upon it. He laid down on it facing her. "Ya know...this isn't soo bad. I guess mine is head worthy," he grinned playfully at her.
0 Carter It would seems so 0 Carter 0 5


Wendy

October 11, 2012 12:01 AM
It was the first time anyone had complimented her on her name, and Wendy swelled with happiness. Usually people just nodded at her or thought that her name sounded normal compared to her older sister's so they didn't comment on it. And her elementary school friends didn't ask about it either. Carter was pretty nice and getting up there in her "friend list," not that she actually had one.

So far he was proving to be an awesome partner, and she was glad when he laid his head down on his pillow. "That's good," she said, nodding as well as she could with her head down. "I think I could probably sleep in class all the time with this." She grinned. She wasn't sure if she was kidding yet, but classes were too exciting to fall asleep in anyway. Plus she'd be too afraid. She closed her eyes for a moment, wondering what it would be like to sleep in class even if she was just pretending.

"The teacher's not looking, is she?" she whispered. Her eyelids lifted, hazel eyes sparkling as she smiled. "I hope she doesn't think we're sleeping in class or something. I'd say we're good students. We deserve a nap." She feigned sleeping again, but couldn't help the little smile that came onto her face at the thought of being rewarded with a nap after a productive class. She opened her eyes again, wanting to keep the conversation with Carter going. "So what's your favorite class so far?" she asked, head still down on the pillow. It was really comfortable just laying her head down on her desk. The pillow was softer than she had originally thought it would be.
0 Wendy Nap time? 0 Wendy 0 5


Carter

October 11, 2012 7:38 PM
Carter grinned as well and nodded in agreement. He could definately see himself using this as a pillow to sleep in class with. "I could too," he admitted. He watched her close her eyes and for a second thought that she had actually gone to sleep. He grinned slightly when he saw her eyelids open and heard her whisper, "The teacher's not looking, is she?" He lifted his head part way off the pillow and glanced towards the teacher's desk. As far as he could tell the teacher wasn't looking in their direction. He put his head back down and turned back to face Wendy. "I don't think so," he whispered back. "I agree we totally deserve a nap, but I don't think the teacher would like finding us asleep," he whispered diplomatically. He hated being the one to say it, but he didn't want to have them actually do it and get into trouble for it. The teacher was pretty nice, but he didn't think she'd be that nice about it. He found himself smiling with her though inspite of playing devil's advocate.

"So what's your favorite class so far?" she had asked, her head still resting on the pillow. Carter had to think about that for a second. He really wanted to say flying class hands down, but knew that really wasn't a fair answer. Not everybody liked flying as much as he did. He really liked Transfiguration over eveything else since it was the one thing he seemed to be un-naturally good at. "If I could saying Flying I would pick that one because I love being on a broomstick zooming fast through the air," he began, his eyes lighting up slightly at the sheer mention of flying. "But if I had to pick a class class I would have to say Transfiguration," he replied matter-of-factly. "I like the idea of being able to take something and turning it into just about anything you want...including yourself," he replied partially excited. "What's your favorite class so far?" he asked Wendy, not wanting to end their conversation.
0 Carter Most definately ;) 0 Carter 0 5


Wendy

October 13, 2012 5:34 PM
Cartere seemed to have a little trouble picking his favorite class, or at least took a moment to think about it. Wendy took that time to think about what her favorite class was, but it only took a couple seconds. She loved animals and even though doing magic was cool, it was a lot more fun playing with and learning about the different animals that existed in the magical world. The day she got to see a unicorn, she would die of happiness.

"You can pick flying," she said. To her knowledge, it was only a class first-years had to take. She wasn't really sure why, but maybe it was like high school kids taking driving classes or something. They still weren't forced to take driving lessons, though, so maybe it wasn't the same. Wendy didn't really see the appeal of riding broom. She wasn't afraid of heights or anything, but she did like being on things that were a little more solid. Plus she didn't really know how to control a broom completely, so that probably contributed to her indifference to the subject, if it could be called that.

Wendy smiled when he said Transfiguration had to be his favorite. She had had a kind of embarrassing class once where she didn't even look at the directions before trying her hand at it. That had been a bad idea, but at least Alex had been nice enough not to tease her for it. She was getting better at it, but it was hard. "Transfiguration is cool," she agreed. "It's hard, though." At least, it was for her. She wondered if people who grew up with magic were used to doing magic like that. "I love Care of Magical Creatures," she said. "I love animals a lot and it's really interesting to see what animals exist in the magical world. I really want to study unicorns, or dragons! That would be the best class ever."

It seemed like a really fast class, but it ended and Wendy lifted her head, disappointed. "This was actually a fun class," she said, looking over at her partner. "I hope we do something like this next class!" Charms was high on her list of favorite classes at the moment because she had made a new friend and because she had a pillow. "I wish we could keep these pillows," she said, feeling a tiny bit sad at leaving her work behind. "I think I might practice on a giant rock, though." She beamed at the idea. "I like that idea. I'm going to do it."

Wendy got up out of her seat and packed her things into her backpack. "We should go to the Labyrinth Gardens sometime and practice some more. My mom would never believe me if I told her that I had a pillow made out of a rock." She giggled, just thinking of her mom's reaction.
0 Wendy Wake me up when class ends 0 Wendy 0 5