Professor Olivers
November 30, 2013 12:01 AM
Silence is Golden. [VI & VII years] by Professor Olivers
With the change of weather Florence had attracted some sort of virus that was giving her headaches and runny noses all the time. She had taken a Pepper-Up earlier in the day, but she still felt tired and sickly. She wasn’t quite sure what it was, but if it was nothing more serious than the common cold she didn’t need to worry about it. Today she just wanted to curl up in bed and sleep it off, but she had classes to teach. At least today was Friday. She had all weekend to sleep as much as she wanted.Advanced was always her favorite class of the three she taught because these students actually wanted to be here learning Charms. They were easier to teach as well since they had already learned the basic concepts. Florence tried to muster up enthusiasm for her last class of the day even though her temples started pounding again when she stood. She sat down as her students started coming in and she sorted the papers on her desk instead of smiling at them as she did sometimes. She just did not feel like acting as someone else today. At least today’s work did not require much of her intervention unless they happened to blow something up. She sincerely hoped they didn’t cause a ruckus. She didn’t know if her head could take it.
The doors closed right on time and Florence stood up, taking a moment to situate herself before walking out from behind her desk. “Today is finally the day, students. We’ve been talking about non-verbal spells for two weeks, and now is the day we’re finally going to try it out. The next two weeks will consist of practical non-verbal work so if you don’t get it today, you’ll have plenty opportunities to practice. We’ll start with something simple: sixth-years, you will begin with the Hover Charm using the quills in front of you. You can move onto the heavier books once you feel comfortable with a lighter object. When saying Leviosa, make sure to think it loud and clear with the wand movement.” With this spell, at least her students wouldn’t be moving objects through the air. The Hover Charm merely lifted an object from its place, but there was no control to move it. It was a safe place to start, so Florence thought.
“Seventh-years along with any ambitious sixth-years, you will be practicing with the Summoning Charm. There is a space cleared out here in the front where you will be summoning different soft objects here. Make sure you claim your object so two people aren’t trying to summon the same thing. The spells will continue to increase in difficulty through the next two weeks, so make sure you are able to get down the concept and feel for it now before we move on to more difficult spells.” She paused to cough, the cough making her head pound again. Florence took a breath and turned back to her students. “My apologies, I’m not feeling the best today.”
Florence cleared her throat. “Now, get started.”
OOC: You all should know the drill now. Creativity will gain extra points, so be realistically inventive with your posts. Tag Florence if you need any assistance.
Subthreads: Time to shine by Michael Grosvenor, Teppenpaw
Paranoia by Valerie Lennox,Crotalus
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Professor Olivers
Silence is Golden. [VI & VII years]
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Professor Olivers
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Michael Grosvenor, Teppenpaw
December 02, 2013 1:04 PM
Time to shine by Michael Grosvenor, Teppenpaw
For the first time in he couldn't recall how long, Michael was actually excited about getting to class, rather than dreading it. There was something about non-verbal spells that just felt right to him. Maybe it was because words had a tendency to let him down. He knew he'd been relatively lucky – that, with his hearing aids, and with using the strategies that helped – he got on well. But it was always this big, effortful process for something that came so naturally to other people. Non-verbal was just so much safer to him. He used non-verbal cues in life all the time – picking up on people's body language, their expressions, to help him understand what they were saying. It was an area where he was on an absolute level playing field with other people – perhaps actually better, as he'd honed his interpretation of these cues and paid more rapt attention to them than most people. Even if it was a different kind of non-verbalness – that of looking at body language to casting a spell that way – it still felt like something he had some degree of ownership and expertise in.This didn't mean he hadn't spent the last two weeks struggling through the heavy theory, which as usual seemed to be half hardcore astrophysics and half zen philosophy about centring oneself (and one hundred percent mumbojumbo, not helped on by the fact that he'd had a stinking cold when the topic had been introduced). He was vaguely hoping that actually doing the stuff would help him get the theory. Sometimes the stuff they talked about only really clicked after you'd done it, and the practical side of things had always been his stronger side anyway.
“I think I'll try for the hat,” he informed the other seventh years, and any over-achieving sixth years around him. He very much wished he could have started with the feathers too. Or at least that he didn't have to declare what he was doing to everyone else. He knew it made practical sense but it was just so... public. Now everyone knew what he was trying to do and would know if he failed. He supposed that was usually the case, when the class was all working on the same spell, but... well, he had just staked a claim, and that felt like something to then live up to.
He tried to recall everything about Summoning Charms and how the felt. Tried to recall the body language of the spell – the way every muscle moved, the way he dredged the magic up from... wherever it was magic actually was (he was never sure why but he was always tempted to say the spleen purely because he didn't know what else it actually did, and people talked about venting your spleen and magic was always kind of.... splurgey) and harnessing it to draw things back into him.
'Accio!” he thought, bringing his wand round in a short, sharp arch. The whip-like motion had taken him a long time to perfect and it felt a little rusty now. The hat failed to shift.
“I think I need to practise the wand motion a bit more. Get back into it,” he commented to his neighbour. Normally he abhorred and avoided small talk whenever possible but he felt the need to make it clear that the next several silent waves of his wand weren't real attempts and thus he wasn't failing.
He practised until it felt sharp. Until it felt like the muscles were doing precisely what they used to when he'd first perfected the spell.
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Michael Grosvenor, Teppenpaw
Time to shine
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Michael Grosvenor, Teppenpaw
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Valerie Lennox,Crotalus
December 07, 2013 1:00 AM
Paranoia by Valerie Lennox,Crotalus
Charms was Valerie's worst class. Not that she was bad at it but she only took two classes,and of course, Transfiguration was the better one. She knew they were about to start non-verbal spells from what she'd been reading lately. Valerie always tried to read as far ahead as she could, just in case something did happen and she was unable to function. It happened less often now, but she'd developed a bit of a paranoia around getting sick. She'd grown used to expecting to pick up any little disease that came around. Germs loved her body, it was like a little resort for them or something and the potion was like it being destroyed by a typhoon. Of course, Valerie still worried about the biggest and worst illnesses and infections. They were more likely to be strong enough to get through the potion than the smaller, less serious ones.It did not prevent the Crotalus from wanting to run out of the room when she saw what condition Professor Olivers was in, however. Valerie hoped for both their sakes it was something minor. She would never wish illness on anyone, she'd been through enough of it herself of course-but she also didn't want to catch it! Even though her illnesses were less serious than before when they did get through her potion, they were still worse for her than others. It seemed something was going around since Michael had had a cold recently as well. Which was why she was paranoid about sitting next to him too. Oh yes, she had a feeling how she'd be spending midterm.
Of course, she couldn't leave class because the professor was ill. She'd get in trouble and she'd heard the stories about what had happened to Ryan's sister when she'd tried it. (Of course, Valerie had no intention of mouthing off to the professor, she just didn't want to get sick.) Instead she sat anxiously in her chair in the back of the room, as far as Professor Olivers as possible, even though the seventh year usually liked to sit up close so she could exert less energy. "I'll take the stuffed teddy bear." The Crotalus called out, hoping people would hear her. She was very timid and not especially loud, even though she didn't have anything wrong with her throat right now .The was cute and she'd rather like having it close to her. It might seem immature, but stuffed animals were comforting to her, especially her own panda bear. It was one of her two most prized possessions, the other being the bracelet Brianna had given her.
She concentrated very hard on the bear. Some of the theory had been a bit difficult for her , especially the physics part and she'd had to ask Melanie for help. The fifth year picked up on some of this better than Valerie did, despite the blonde being two years older. She just...wasn't as smart. Or as pretty. Or as healthy. Some people might have resented the younger girl, but she'd always been so good and kind to Valerie, always preferring to spend time with her to whatever it was their mother wanted Melanie to do. The Crotalus felt lucky to have her as a sister, especially given certain other sibling relationships she'd seen.
After making sure that she had the proper motion of the spell just right-which was something that Valerie always did to prepare for any spell- she thought in her head the spell Accio ...and the poor bear went splat on the floor. Great, now when it got to her, she was going to have to do a disinfection spell. Fortunately, that was one Valerie knew quite well. Maybe she everything would be okay and her potion would protect her and whatever was going around was mild, but...she'd been conditioned to be this way and she just couldn't help her paranoia.
She tried the spell again and again, watching the bear slowly crawl across the floor bit by bit. A few times it failed to move at all, but eventually it made its way to her desk. Valerie quickly levitated it and disinfected it. She now had just a tiny bit of a headache, but she was pretty sure that was from mental exertion and would go away as soon as she took a simple pain relieving potion-at least, she hoped so.
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Valerie Lennox,Crotalus
Paranoia
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