Splish, splash (Advanced Charms). on Charms

Professor Wright

September 01, 2017 10:46 AM

Splish, splash (Advanced Charms). by Professor Wright

Gray had spent his summer pleasantly enough, he supposed: reading, writing, playing with his infant nephew, submitting scripts and manuscripts everywhere he could, giving rejection letters to the aforementioned nephew to play with until Anne caught on and took him to task for that because of something about papercuts, and writing letters to people he’d promised stakes in his will when he’d first taken the job at Sonora to tell them he was going to have to disappoint them for a bit because he had unexpectedly survived his first half-year back at school. All too soon, however, his mother (who did not always seem to entirely notice that her only child was technically a grown-up; Gray had joked to Anne that he ought to propose marriage to Jera sometime and see if that would make Mom regard him as someone else’s problem) had started asking whether or not he had all his things in order for the start of his second year.

He was reasonably sure he did, which meant he had no doubt forgotten any number of very important things. He had enough of his ducks in a row, though, to begin classes, and he thought he could figure out a way around anything else.

“Hello, everybody – especially welcome to our sixth years. Everyone have a good summer? Hope you all got some rest, anyway, because my colleagues and I spent ours planning new and inventive ways to keep you all busy.”

He doubted this overall. Daniel might have such things in store for those taking DADA – classic Aladren overachiever, Daniel had been when they’d been in school together, and Gray didn’t get the impression he’d changed that much – but as Isis barely had time to breathe on an average day, Sophie had twins, Selina had been at this for so long that Gray had to remind himself sometimes that they were colleagues and he was allowed to call her by her name, and Nathan was a Teppenpaw with a cat, Gray suspected the classes were all going to remain about as difficult as they had been last year. His own might be an exception, but even he couldn’t tell if they were going to get harder (because he had more of a clue what he was doing) or easier (because he had more of a clue what he was doing).

Students, however, didn’t need to know any of that. “First charm we’re going to work on this year isn’t anything flashy to look at unless you really put your mind to it,” he told them. “The incantation is Aguamenti. Anyone want to guess what it means and tell me why you know?”

He took answers and awarded five points to the first person to mention ‘water.’ “Very good. As some of you may know, agua, aqua – these words refer to water in different languages. Menti is the part of this incantation that’s really interesting. Anyone know what I’m talking about if I mention something called the dative case? It doesn’t have anything to do with what day of the month is. It’s Latin grammar.” And also a lot of other things grammar, but that wasn’t really important right now. “It’s a directional case – in English, we might say that right now, Professor Wright is giving a talk about grammar to the confused Advanced students who thought they were here to learn Charms,” he said, writing ‘to’ on the board and underlining it twice. “So in this incantation, Aguamenti, we’ve got two words – water and menti, which is the dative form of mens - mind, intellect, reasoning power. So we have ‘water’ and ‘mind.’ What is giving and what is being given?”

The first thought Gray, at least, had had was ‘water to the mind,’ which had made Anne laugh at him. She had reminded him that direction was a complicated business in most languages and then spelled it out for him: the mind was moving to water. He took a few guesses from the class before writing the correct answer on the board.

“The mind to water,” he said. “One thing this means, of course, is that you need to focus on water while you’re performing this charm to make it work properly. Does that remind anyone of any of your other classes? Seventh years, that question’s particularly for you, or at least those of you who’re in Transfiguration, too. One of the links between Charms and Transfiguration is that for a lot of things to work, you have to be very focused on the effect you’re trying to achieve, and any of you in Professor Skies’ class, too, might be thinking, ‘wow, Professor, this sounds a lot like we’re conjuring something. First it was grammar and now it’s Transfiguration. When are you going to get to Charms?’ Well, we’re in Charms now – Advanced Charms. In two weeks, I want each of you to have written a coherent argument about why the Aguamenti charm is a charm and not a conjuration, and ‘because Gamp’s law of elemental transfiguration doesn’t stop it from working’ doesn’t count as a complete answer. There are a lot of books in the library, obviously, but I’ve also pulled some that help you get started today in class.”

There were books and scholarly journals on a long, narrow table before his desk. Some were rigidly classical works which did not admit the use of any but the classical elements, others were articles by ambitious youths arguing that Muggle things like water cycles and the water in the air accounted for why water could seemingly be conjured up while food could not. A stack of assignment sheets sat beside the resources and asked them to address at least one counterargument and to at least attempt to explain why it didn’t hold up as well as the position the student was taking. The paper only had to be three to five feet long on parchment, as it was early days yet.

“When I stop talking, everyone come up and get an assignment sheet for the paper and a goblet,” he said, pointing to the goblets also on his resource table. “Work on filling the goblet with water first.” Some would struggle to get any water together at all, while others would have trouble limiting the amount of water they produced at one go; this was why Gray was wearing rain boots beneath his robes and had his umbrella on stand-by. He had also practiced the Drought Charm extensively last night and figured he could have the room mostly presentable before a prairie elf killed him or another student killed him- or herself slipping in another class. The thing was just going to be to keep an eye on them to make sure nobody let a water-beam fight get out of hand or started trying to soak female classmates’ shirts to the point that said female classmates became indecent. Hopefully, as it was the first day with the spell, none of them would have that kind of proficiency, but he had learned quickly that this teaching malarkey required planning for every contingency. This was why the magazines and books were additionally under a glass cover he had conjured up; it could be easily lifted to access the materials, but he wouldn’t find himself finding out exactly how angry a mild-mannered librarian could get if some water did fly this way.

OOC: Welcome to Advanced Charms! You should all be pretty familiar with the posting rules by now, so just keep an eye out for posts where other students give answers to questions Gray asked in the lesson and please, please, please, feel free to make up and expound upon theories. Tag Gray if you need him and take note that he will intervene in any water fights before they get out of hand. Have fun!

16 Professor Wright Splish, splash (Advanced Charms). 113 Professor Wright 1 5

Louis Valois, Aladren

September 20, 2017 10:38 AM

Diving in at the deep end [Tag Ingrid] by Louis Valois, Aladren

Deciding which subjects to continue at RATS level had been difficult for Louis. Part of him just wanted to go wild and choose all of them, although he recognised that was a rather stupid idea. He didn’t want to overstretch himself and then do badly. He figured he probably could cope with a large number of classes, but cutting down would be for the best if he wanted to continue both Quidditch and Orchestra, as well as attending other clubs.

Surprisingly, he’d managed not to stress about the fact that he was now a businessman. His grandmother’s fortnightly summaries required little input from him (occasionally the odd signature, but any big decisions or meetings would happen during holidays), but were reassuring. The Valois fashion brand was still heading in the direction he wanted it to. It was a sustainable, thoughtful business now, that didn’t bother about sucking up to the prejudices of society, whilst still maintaining a reputation for high-quality expensive clothes. Preparations for the muggle line he was planning to launch were going well, and he was content with leaving the day-to-day running in his grandmother’s capable hands.

All this meant that Louis had felt justified in choosing six RATS. Charms was, of course, one of them. It was such a key subject, complementing other core classes as well as just being good fun. Professor Gray generally came up with interesting lessons, and today’s did not disappoint.

Louis had studied Latin with his tutor before coming to Sonora. He’d found this to be quite useful for spells, so had kept up his studies, which meant he found Professor Gray’s little Latin lesson easy to follow. Putting his hand up, he replied to the question. “As menti is in the dative, and agua – well, it’s not actually Latin, but definitely not in the dative, so it must be the mind that is being given to the water.”

He was intrigued by the essay they had been set, and was quite eager to get on with it. However, they first had to try the actual spell. This wasn’t exactly a bad thing for Louis. He liked wandwork, and it was rather a fun spell. However, he was also really interested in theory, and was keen to see what the books had to say.

Once he’d got the assignment sheet and the goblet, Louis set to work. His first few tries produced nothing more than a few drops, which was disappointing. Frustrated, he glared at the goblet, tried to concentrate on nothing but water, and forcefully pronounced the incantation. A jet of water shot forth from the end of his wand, going straight into the goblet then spraying out, covering him with drops of water.

“Well, that was hardly a success,” he commented to his neighbour with a rueful grin. He decided that it would be better to soak his shirt than his heavier robes, and was just pulling them off when he realised that this neighbour was, in fact, Ingrid Wolseithcrafte. Oh.

They hadn’t really had many interactions since that dramatic conversation a couple of years ago in the garden, following their ball fiasco. Louis had been friendly to her when the need arose, such as during Quidditch matches, but he’d avoided working with her in class and being around her more than necessary. She’d made her preference clear, and the memory of what had happened between them still stung. He’d had a crush on her, and it had all blown up in a fairly spectacular way. He didn’t exactly blame her for choosing the safe option of what she’d been brought up to believe, but equality was important to him. This summer had, more than anything, confirmed that, and he wouldn’t alter his beliefs for anyone. Still, he liked to think that he’d grown up, and wasn’t going to be so childish as to be rude after having accidentally addressed her.

“Are you having any luck?”

9 Louis Valois, Aladren Diving in at the deep end [Tag Ingrid] 314 Louis Valois, Aladren 0 5

Ingrid Wolseithcrafte, Pecari

September 26, 2017 4:41 AM

Sink or swim by Ingrid Wolseithcrafte, Pecari

Care of Magical Creatures was the first subject Ingrid had chosen. She wanted to work with animals, and so that had been easy. Everything else, she saw as a compliment to that. Charms, Defence, Potions… All of these could be necessary, given the range of magic needed to track down or look after any particular beast. She most wanted to work with dragons. However, even when class didn’t seem to relate to her chosen field, she tended to find it interesting in its own right - she came from an academic enough family that enjoying school was just sort of hardwired in; it didn’t occur to her not to be interested in learning new things. However, today was extra good, because she could easily see the benefits of being able to conjure water in her chosen field.

She listened along to the lecture, and some elements were familiar. Languages had never been her strong suit though, and so she was happy to let other people plunge in on the questions, and just treat it as a refresher of some things she may have once known. Why things were Charms vs Transfiguration was a popular essay in both subjects, and she was sure she’d heard Theodore and Francesca talking over that assignment at family meals… Gamp’s Law didn’t really apply to water, she knew that much. It applied to food, and water wasn’t a food. People only tended to cite Gamp’s Law when they’d forgotten what Gamp’s Law actually said… But that didn’t help it stop sounding like a transfiguration - in fact it made it sound more like one… The basic definition of a charm was to alter something’s properties - even in some very abstract senses, she could see that it was true for most spells. Spells of motion and direction, for example, such as ‘accio.’ It changed a book from being over there to over here, but it didn’t change the object itself, the book was still a book. Transfiguration changed things at the structural level - changed something from something into something else. By that logic, aguamenti seemed more charm-like… You weren’t changing one thing into another, you were changing nothingness into something. But the problem was that all other conjuration came under Transfiguration. Perhaps it would have helped if she was taking that subject, and was able to answer why that was, and perhaps spot a difference. Elemental spells… she jotted down on her parchment. She remembered they were important to the argument Theodore and Francesca had been having. Lumos, bluebell flames… Both of these she readily accepted as being charms, even though they seemed to create something. She couldn’t say why she did though. But having further examples of things that functioned in a similar way was part of an argument at least… It showed that ‘aguamenti’ was not a freak accidental misclassification. It was part of a group. Just what the logic of them all being charms was… That was the key detail she was missing. Still, that would be what hitting the books was for later. Right now, she just had to master the thing.

“Aguamenti,” she cast. A couple of drops fell from her wand. Typical… Her dogwood wand demanded a life of excitement. Apparently, her brain being full, and blocked up, on theory was not an adequately thrilling experience for it to deign to participate. Next to her, Louis seemed to be having the opposite problem. It hadn’t escaped her notice who she was sitting next to...

Well, that was hardly a success.

“Never mind,” she smiled back, deciding that something bland was probably the safest thing to say, rather than the question ’Are you planning to remove a layer of clothing for every failed attempt?’ that had initially sprung to mind. She tried not to follow her mind down the path that said that could be a way to make practising for homework interesting…

Louis was infuriating. His whole attitude to everything was stupid. He had pretty much asked her to give him a shot whilst basically guaranteeing to act so badly that their whole relationship along with her reputation would end up as garbage, whilst failing to see how unfair and unappealing a prospect that was - casting her as stubborn and stuck up for not being willing to do it. For a while, that had been a strong enough deterrent. She had been angry enough that he couldn’t see it from her perspective that she hadn’t really wanted to spend time with him. But now, here he was… Hair dripping all sexily. Why, she wondered, was being wet considered attractive? Most of the time, it definitely did not work in one’s favour. She was pretty sure when she came off the pitch after a rainy practice, she looked more like a drowned rat than anything. But people in adverts often had wet hair, or were emerging from swimming pools, and Louis managed to effortly give off that kind of vibe with his stupid wet hair.

“Mm, I got a whole two drops,” she sighed, when Louis asked her whether she was doing any better. She couldn’t exactly avoid him, and she didn’t want to be rude. Especially not after the summer he’d had…

“I… um… I was sorry to hear about your dad,” she added. “How are you doing?”

13 Ingrid Wolseithcrafte, Pecari Sink or swim 322 Ingrid Wolseithcrafte, Pecari 0 5

Louis

November 01, 2017 2:36 PM

Nearer sinking, I'd say by Louis

Louis laughed at Ingrid’s response to his question. “Two drops? That seems better than a deluge,” he countered, winking at her before turning back to his goblet. Nice move, idiot, he chided himself mentally, not having meant to be so casual as to actually wink at her (even if that was a natural response to a pretty girl), and assuming the conversation was over. Ingrid wouldn’t want a long chat with him, and he’d probably scared her off anyway.

He was therefore rather caught off guard by her next question. He’d been hoping most people would ignore his father’s death, and he hadn’t thought a conversation with Ingrid would manage to get as far as pleasantries like that. Unfortunately for him, she asked just as he was casting, and the distraction it caused led to loss of control, and yet another deluge. Unexpectedly drenched, he wondered if this lesson could get any worse.

“I..uh…p*t*in,” he cursed, the situation causing a rare case of a flustered Louis. “I…not too bad, really – that is to say-” No, this wasn’t going right, and he stopped with a sigh. “Thank you for your concern. It’s…complicated,” he tried to explain, hoping Ingrid would leave it at that. “Has my shirt gone see-through?”

He wasn’t too concerned about the shirt. It would dry, and he had no problems in terms of body image. Still, it was an obvious conversation change, and Louis didn’t want to have to explain that no, he wasn’t really as cut up as he should be about his father’s death. Based on previous conversations, he was sure that wouldn’t go down well. He also didn’t want to give Ingrid a lead-in to making disparaging remarks about his new business decisions.

9 Louis Nearer sinking, I'd say 314 Louis 0 5