Bye-bye nightlight! on Defense Against the Dark Arts

Professor O'Leary

September 26, 2007 1:58 PM

Lesson 1: First and Second Years by Professor O'Leary

Drake sat at his desk, waiting for the students to trickle in. Since it was early in the year, he had no papers to grade. Once the first and second years were seated, he began his greeting. He no longer tried to impress them with his scariness. He had been here for far too long and was beginning to mellow out. This was not, however, to say he still didn’t make an impression with crimson hair, gaunt facial features, and black flowing robes that made him appear to glide.

Standing up and moving to the front of the desk, Drake began his lecture, “Good afternoon. I am Professor O’Leary, the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher,” he started. “Before we begin, we are going to go over the rules. There will be absolutely no talking when I am talking, especially when I am giving instructions. Also, there will be no fooling around in this classroom. This is to ensure that none of you will be injured. Am I clear?”

After a few students had nodded and agreed, he went on, “Now, then please take out paper and a writing utensil for notes.” He waited until everyone was ready before continuing, “The Dark Arts come in many forms, such as Dark creatures, Dark items, Darks spells, and Dark wizards. The common trait between them is the intent to harm. Even items that aren’t intended for harm can become Dark based on their purpose. For example, take a look at these plants.”

Drake moved, so that everyone could get a better view. On the desk sat two plants that looked similar in appearance. “On the left is a flitterbloom. It is a harmless plant that is sometimes given as a gift. The one on the right is Devil’s Snare, which is quite dangerous. When touched, it detects its prey immediately and the long tendrils trap and strangle it. Because both plants look identical without further inspection, a wizard intent on harm could give someone Devil’s Snare under the guise of Flitterbloom. There are two ways to escape Devil’s Snare. One way is to relax, however, this is not always an option. The better way is the last spell on the board.”

With a wave of his wand, the following appeared on the board.

The Lumos Family

Lumos
Lumos Duo
Lumos Maxima
Lumos Solem

“The first spell is used to light one’s wand, which can be useful if you’re in a dark area, however, adding a second word can produce a brighter light. Lumos Duo is brighter than Lumos. Lumos Maxima is brighter than Lumos Duo. Lumos Solem is the brightest and is like sunshine,” Drake lectured. “The last one is useful against Devil’s Snare, which detests sunlight and will move away from it. This can also be useful against some creatures, such as lethifolds and vampires. Now, I want you to practice the first three spells on the board at your desks. Once you have accomplished the spells, I want you to come up to the front and try the last spell on the Devil’s Snare,” Drake said. “If anyone has any questions, feel free to ask. You may begin.”

OOC: Remember at least two paragraphs, ten sentences. Be creative and have fun!

Subthreads:

Devil's What? by Rilla White

I see the light! by Ronen Cooper with Addie Laurent, Ronen

A Light to Lighten the Darkness by Talitha Cumni with Oliver Abbott, Talitha

Spells. I hate spells. [tag: professor] by Brett Hodges with Irene Liddowe

Bye-bye nightlight! by Laurie Cider

This little Light of mine, I'm gonna let it shine by Holly Greer

This is so cool! by Liz Guthrie

0 Professor O'Leary Lesson 1: First and Second Years 0 Professor O'Leary 1 5

Rilla White

September 26, 2007 3:41 PM

Devil's What? by Rilla White

Defense Against the Dark Arts was a class Rilla knew next to nothing about. All she did know is that her mother informed her it would be a challenging class and she would need to be very sure to pay attention. Other then this, she just kind of had an idea of the theory behind it. What Professor O'Leary said regarding intent to harm was review for her, but the rest wasn't. She'd never heard of Devil's Snare and she'd never performed a lumos spell, though she had heard of it. Her mother had used it several times infront of her.

Rilla practiced saying lumos different ways and flicking her wand without saying anything. Once a small spark came off her wand so she decided that wasn't such a good idea. With her easily distracted mind who knew what kind of spells she could do accidentally. She certainly didn't want to blow anything up, or make a mess of any kind in this class. Like most of her professors, this one looked like he meant business and she didn't plan to intentionally upset him.

Rilla glanced around the room to see how others were doing. Based on what she saw she was sure this was review for some, or at least they caught on quickly. Eventually she managed a light at the tip of her wand, but it wasn't very bright. She'd keep trying she guessed.

0 Rilla White Devil's What? 116 Rilla White 0 5

Ronen Cooper

September 26, 2007 7:49 PM

I see the light! by Ronen Cooper

Ronen had been looking forward to this class ever since he knew what dueling was. It was a battle of wits, a battle of skill and strategy. It also involved lots of different hexes, and a good amount of creativity - why wouldn't he like this class?

Stumbling over a stray quill as he walked into the classroom, Ronen was well aware they were going to start out with the basics. That was how all classes started. And, if DADA was like most other classes, he'd be very good at it. And maybe, just maybe, the teacher would let him do more advanced and cooler spells ahead of the class.

Not wanting to appear as eager as he was, the brown-eyed boy sat towards the back of the class. Within seconds, his textbook, a fresh scroll of parchment, a quill and a well of ink were out on his desk as well. He hung on the professor's every word, though he tried his best not to let that show. The teacher looked so cool! Ronen didn't take any notes, but that was okay, because he would remember most of it and could write it down later when there was no one to see him being studious. He did, however, make the occasional note of a spell in a messy scrawl that only he could decipher.

When the teacher was done talking, Ronen stuffed his notes and his book back in his bag, and took out his wand. Sitting on the table part of his desk, he swung his legs, wishing they were long enough to touch the ground. He was average height for his age, but he was still just eleven. And that growth spurt was welcome to come any time now...

"Lumos!" he exclaimed, holding his wand out in front of him. He watched with a pleased expression as the tip of his wand quickly lit up... and just as quickly, the light went out. No worries, he could try again.

"Lumos!" he tried again, and it lit up, a little slower this time. Ronen waited for the light to die, and waited... but it stayed. Perfect. He grinned, even in wizard school, classes weren't too much of a problem.

He swished his wand back and forth, watching the light move with an amused expression upon his face. Ronen certainly didn't mean to, but it looked as if he was trying to show off.

"Hey," he said, looking up and pointing at the kid nearest to him, "Do you think we could make the light change colors? And how do we make the light go off, anyway?" Just as he said that, he noticed the light from the tip of his wand was beginning to fade.

"Lumos!" he repeated, and the light got brighter again, and when he was satisfied he looked back up at the other kid, "I'm Ronen, Ronen Cooper. Who are you?"

0 Ronen Cooper I see the light! 124 Ronen Cooper 0 5

Addie Laurent

September 26, 2007 9:23 PM

At least one of us does by Addie Laurent

Addie shuffled into Defense Against the Dark Arts at the last minute, feeling unsure about everything. So, far, nothing had been going right in school. Her roommates didn’t know she existed, well, no one really seemed to take notice of her and she just wasn’t outgoing enough to draw the attention to herself to make friends. If things continued this way, she just might ask her parents if she could be homeschooled.

It was a shame really. She had been so looking forward to being with her sister, Hannah, in the place she had talked about relentlessly, well, when she could. When they were in the family restaurant, they were only allowed to talk about muggle stuff. But she didn’t fit in at all. She supposed she should be used to it. Home was pretty much the same, except at least she fit in, because of Hannah.

She took one of the last seats left in the back, near a boy. She tried not to notice, worried that if she tried to say anything, she would just be yelled at, like how she was yelled at by the one girl in the dorms about Quidditch, just because she said she didn’t play. Of course, she wouldn’t play. She didn’t have the build for it. She wasn’t tiny like Hannah. She thought she was huge. Though, this was a skewed perception of her appearance. She was actually pretty with long dark curls and lashes, but oh, how she longed for blonde.

Her thoughts didn’t get to dwell very much before the professor began the lecture. He seemed a little scary, but her sister had said he really wasn’t, just strict. She took careful notes on what Professor O’Leary said. If she never had a friend in this school, at least
she could get good grades. When they were left to practice on their own, Addie tried the spell. She softly said, “Lumos.”

The wand didn’t light at all. Her parents had always said with spells, one had to be confident. She wasn’t sure that she could be. She tried again, “Lumos.” Still nothing. After a few more attempts, she tried in exasperation, “Lumos!” It lit slightly. A small smile played on her features before the boy sitting next to her talked.

’Do you think we could make the light change colors? And how do we make the light go off, anyway?’

“Nox,” she told him. She remembered that from the numerous times her parents used their wands like a flashlight. She didn’t know if he had heard her, as he turned back to his wand. She was about to turn away herself when he asked who she was. “Um, Addie Laurent.”

0 Addie Laurent At least one of us does 0 Addie Laurent 0 5

Ronen

September 26, 2007 10:41 PM

It's not always a good thing by Ronen

Ronen looked up to take in the appearance of the girl. He didn't recognize her. Of course, this was the beginning of his first year, and he barely recognized anyone. But he knew enough of the people here to be fairly sure that this girl was not in his house.

She said she was "Um, Addie Laurent" which was interesting. The "um" didn't make her sound too confident, at least not to Ronen's ears. He never quite understood why people got nervous around other people. The only reason to ever get nervous is when you showed off your intelligence and people thought you were a nerd, and would make fun of you because of it. Which maybe she thought she was doing when he answered his question. In which case her hypothetical nervousness would make complete sense. But other than that, people were mostly cool and fun.

"Thank you, Addie Laurent," he grinned, as he was in a very cheery and playful mood, "What house are you in, anyway? Not in Pecari, I would have seen you, right?" It would be a terribly rude insult to have missed her.

He turned back to his wand, determined to try the new spell. Now that she said it, he was sure he remembered his parents using it before. How had he forgotten?

“Nox,” he said, waving his wand the way he remembered his parents’ waving their wands. The light faded, but he was sure that a little glow still remained.

“Nox,” he attempted again, and the light went out. He smiled, proud of himself. This class was definitely going to be a lot of fun.

Okay, time to move up to the next level, “Lumos Duo!” This one he got in one try. Immediately the light began to grow, even brighter than before. But he would have to wait some time to see if the light faded again, as it had done before. So he decided to wait, waving his wand slowly in his hand absent-mindedly.

And then the wand slipped out of his hand, rolling around on the floor. He shrugged his shoulders – why did he have to be so clumsy all of the time?

Jumping off of the desk, he squinted as he bent down to pick up the wand, light still shining out of the tip. Well, if he wanted to be optimistic about things, at least he knew his spell had been successful.

“Sorry about that,” he apologized to Addie as he returned to his seat on the table part of the desk. He wasn’t waving it around this time, too afraid to repeat the incident.

“I’m one of the clumsiest people ever,” he joked about it, “It’s a skill, really.”

0 Ronen It's not always a good thing 0 Ronen 0 5

Addie

September 27, 2007 1:54 PM

Very true by Addie

A grin spread across her delicate features at the cheerfulness that appeared to be Ronen, the Pecari. Answering with a little more confidence, she said, “I’m in Crotalus.” Even if she had been in Pecari, she wouldn’t have been surprised if he had missed her. Actually, come to think of it, she couldn’t even identify any of the boys that were Crotali.

“Lumos!” She attempted again. This time it lit without a problem. Her parents were right. One just needed to be a bit assertive. She could do this. She said, “Nox!” And the light went out. Then, “Lumos!” And the light went back on. She was thoroughly enjoying this.

Fascinated by the light, she had almost forgotten about Ronen, which would have been unfortunate, when he dropped his wand. She watched as he retrieved it. She would have been horribly embarrassed by such a thing.

“It’s okay. I have my moments,” she told him. She gave a small giggle over him calling clumsiness a skill. Then, remembering what happened in the dorm, she asked, “Do you play Quidditch?”

It seemed to be all the rage from what she had seen and though, she didn’t play, not that it mattered with first years banned from Quidditch, she could still talk about it. Her sister played and listened to endless details about it.

0 Addie Very true 0 Addie 0 5

Talitha Cumni

September 27, 2007 9:09 PM

A Light to Lighten the Darkness by Talitha Cumni

Warily, Talitha entered the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom. It was hard enough to see a new Charms teacher, she didn’t know what she would do if Professor O’Leary was gone too. Seeing the DADA professor’s austere profile at sitting his desk at the head of the classroom made Talitha realize that she had been holding her breath and she let it out with a sigh of relief. Feeling as though a huge weight had been lifted from her shoulders, she practically bounced to a seat near the back of the room. The first years should get the good seats, she reasoned, even if she wasn’t much taller than they.

She listened carefully to the professor’s instructions, the more he described Devils Snare, the happier she was she hadn’t run into any of it on her “Walk”. Wandless, there was no way she could have thought clearly enough to relax with a plant winding around her like a boa constrictor. She shuddered at the thought.

The basic Lumos spell was easy enough. She used it herself on the sly when Mother insisted it was time for lights out and she was in the middle of a good chapter in a book she was reading. She knew that adults could make their lights brighter, but they always used silent commands and she’d never caught on to the right words. This was awesome!

Lumos, she commanded her wand and smiled at the soft blue light that emanated from its tip. Lumos Duo and Maxima were a bit more difficult and required several attempts before she got the right inflection and the wand obeyed. Squinting at the now very bright light, Talitha said Nox and flicked the tip of her wand slightly. The glaring light went out, but Talitha had to rub her eyes until the blue spots faded away. She practiced once again, just to make sure she got them all right, remembering to aquint her eyes and look away when she got to Lumos Maxima.

After putting her wand out, she grinned over at the person on the right, still blinking kind of hard and asked, “Are you ready to go up?”

\n

0 Talitha Cumni A Light to Lighten the Darkness 102 Talitha Cumni 0 5

Ronen

September 29, 2007 12:57 AM

Perhaps I've grown a little cynical by Ronen

Why was everyone in his year in Crotalus? Okay, so just Zane and Addie were in Crotalus. And one of the kids he had spoken to during the welcome feast had been a Pecari firstie. Ronen really hadn't spoken very much with the other Pecaris in his year, which was odd, as he was a rather social boy.

"Do you know my cousin in Crotalus? He's a firstie too - Zane Cooper. Curly-haired kid, looks kinda like me, but paler?" he added, hoping that the description might help. Zane wasn't exactly the most outgoing of people, not when it came to anything other than Quidditch. Quidditch, it seemed like the only thing anyone in his family ever spoke about. Not that Ronen didn't love the sport, he just had so many other interests. More importantly - to him, anyway - he was a klutz, and it was probably safer for everyone (not to mention less embarrassing for him) if he just watched and cheered on the sidelines.

Secretly, Ronen was extremely glad when Addie didn't say anything too mean about his clumsiness. He was rather sensitive about anyone other than him joking about it. Did he play Quidditch? He smiled, thinking of his earlier thoughts.

"Don't get me wrong, Quidditch is awesome, and a lot of my family is really into playing the game, but I'm more of a spectator myself. I like it, but there's so much else to do, too." Yes, that was a reasonable excuse. He did have loads of other things to do, like the next level of the light spell. What was it called again? He checked the board.

"Lumos Maxima!" he exclaimed with a wave of his wand. A light began to grow from the tip of his wand, but it didn't seem as if it were any brighter than Lumos Duo. Odd. And after about ten whole seconds, the light began to flicker rapidly, the way a light bulb flickered right before it burned out. It flickered until finally the light was no more.

Okay, so that was the least promising result he had had so far. But that didn't mean he wouldn't be able to get it really soon, right? He so wanted to have a go against the Devil's Snare. It looked pretty cool, for a plant.

0 Ronen Perhaps I've grown a little cynical 0 Ronen 0 5

Addie

September 29, 2007 1:29 PM

Just a tad by Addie

“Lumos Duo!” Addie stated. The light on her wand shown a little brighter than the last spell, but quickly went out. Thrilled that it had worked at all, she tried again, “Lumos Duo!” This time it stayed on a little longer.

She shook her head. “I've only met my roommates so far.” She couldn't really say much more about them, other than they were obviously divided. She had finally gotten enough courage to add to the conversation, which was her sister played, but she didn't. One of the girls had jumped on it stating that girls should be allowed to play Quidditch. She had never said girls couldn't merely that she didn't. Some of the other girls couldn't understand why any girl would want to. It was all rather confusing and in the end, she had stayed in her little area, pretending to be invisible.

When Ronen confessed to not playing, but enjoying it, Addie's eyes lit up further. Someone more like her than her roommates! “I don't play either, but my sister, Hannah, does. She was on the Teppenpaw team last year.” Now, that she was feeling comfortable, the shyness was melting away. She felt brave enough to ask, “Maybe we can go to the games together. I want to go support Hannah, but having company would be fun.”

She nodded enthusiastically, her soft, dark curls bouncing, “I know what you mean about other things to do. There's supposed to be a labyrinth. I was hoping to go explore it.”

Back to the spell, “Lumos Duo!” It shone nicely. “Nox.” A couple more times proved that Step two was mastered. Now, for Lumos Maxima.

0 Addie Just a tad 0 Addie 0 5

Brett Hodges

September 30, 2007 3:07 PM

Spells. I hate spells. [tag: professor] by Brett Hodges

Brett Hodges was not the world's best behaved student, but he knew better than to mess with Professor O'Leary. He took his dear sweet time about taking out a piece of notebook paper and then went back to his bag to find another pen, even though he already had one on his desk. He listened to what the Professor said, but he didn't get what he was supposed to write down--it all went too fast anyway--so he didn't put down anything until the Lumos Family was put on the board. He copied it down and that was his entire notes.

Now all he had to do was practice the spell. All. Brett hated spells. He couldn't even get the stupid Quidditch Broom to go up, and that one he actually cared about. Why would he ever need to face off a vampire? And if he did, what were the chances he'd be able to think of "Lumos Solem" if he didn't have his notebook infront of him. And even if he did have his notebook, the vampire wouldn't wait politely for him to find the right page, would he? Better just to drop kick the guy and run.

As for this plant, who would send him an evil plant? And if it was so easy to beat, why bother? Unless they only sent it to squibs... which would mean a wizard could send it to Brett's dad or even his mom if he was ticked at one of the squib rights groups. Unlikely, though. There were thousands of ways wizards could use to off squibs if they wanted to and this one seemed roundabout. Anyway, legally disowned though Brett's father was, he was still under the protection of his pureblood birth family.

Brett picked up his wand watched the other students practice their lumos spells--where "other students" meant his girlfriend, Irene. That's right, he thought with a smile at her. Girlfriend. As of the Opening Feast, they were official. Would she be impressed if he got the spell? He turned his attention back to the board. May as well try the first one first.

"Lumos," he said, imitating O'Leary's wand movement.

Nothing happened. He tried it faster, slower, with more emphasis and with less. He tried all the positive thinking nonsense his Echo talked about last year. He even tried pronouncing the word incorrectly.

Nothing. It was like lighting a fire by banging rocks together. Once or twice he got a tiny little flicker, but it didn't catch.

This was why he hated spells. They never worked. Last year he'd gotten maybe one or two to do something. The only reason he passed any of his classes was because they usually worked in groups and Echo helped him study for his written exams.

"You should ask for help," Echo told him, what, like every other day last year?

But by the time he realized he really did need help--as opposed to that he wasn't trying--he was too far behind and too embarrassed to ask. He was afraid what the other kids would think and he didn't want to hold up the class. But today was day one and they were stuck with a bunch of firsties. If there was ever a time to ask for help, today was the day. The other firsties might just assume he was one too, and the kids in his own year already knew how bad he was at magic. Or, at least, they did if they ever noticed that he didn't do his full share during the practicums so he wouldn't have to show how bad he was at spellwork.

New year. New start.

Brett got up and approached Professor O'Leary. "Excuse me, professor? Um. What am I doing wrong?"

When he had the professor's attention, he tried it again, with the movement he copied from O'Leary and the word "Lumos." As expected, nothing happened. He was doing it right...

[OOC: It could be that he doesn't grasp the subtleties of wand movement, or that he is doing the mirror image of the movement. It could also be that he just never really tries very hard and isn't focusing on what he's doing. It could also have something to do with the way he's holding the wand, or the fact that Brett really isn't a very strong wizard and needs above average technique for it to work. Or it could be a combination of these things or something completely different. I'm okay with whatever you choose to have his problem be.]

0 Brett Hodges Spells. I hate spells. [tag: professor] 0 Brett Hodges 0 5

Irene Liddowe

October 01, 2007 6:10 PM

But it's magic Brett! The spells are magical! by Irene Liddowe

Irene really wasn't the best at classes like Astronomy and Potions. Those classes just, well, it was like her brain stopped working. But for Charms and DADA, things just seemed to work. She headed into the classroom actually on time on the day of the lesson, not early or late for once. She took a spot randomly at a desk. When Professor O'Leary started giving them instructions and notes, she jotted them down. Lumos... She knew this one! She'd never tried it, but she had seen it, she just couldn't remember where. Where had she seen it? Uncle Mike tried to stay away from spells at home because he said if he always used magic he would be "lazy beyond belief." It couldn't have been him. Dad was a muggle... Her aunt and uncle were never around and-- Oh... Mom. This was the one spell she had shown her. She was trying to show her the warm glow of the wand tip one night when Irene couldn't sleep. Irene suddenly felt a weird reclantness to try this spell out, but they were instructed to attempt the spell. Super.

Irene watched Professer O'Leary and picked up her wand. Her motivation was to do well at the beginning of class, now she wanted to grab her broom and head out to the pitch. She gave her wand a wave, whispering the incantation. No result. Irene waved the wand again, saying "Lumos," firmly. The wand tip sparked and held for a moment, but flickered and died. Darn it. She looked around the classroom to see if she was the only once not really getting it. She caught Brett's eye and returned his smile. Her spirits lifted a bit and she tried the spell once more, but to no avail. She was concentrating, really! But it really wasn't working. Maybe the Professor could help.

When Irene looked up, Brett was already up near Professor O'Leary. Cool. Now it wasn't just her! She really didn't understand this. She was normally good at these things!

"Professor?" She said, coming up to stand next to Brett. "Same thing. I'm not sure what I'm doing wrong. I think it's right, but it's just not working."

Irene nervously pushed some hair towards her face and gave her wand a wave. There was a flicker of light for about a second, but it died. She shrugged.

"See?"

OOC: Irene's just distracted. Once she gets her mind off other stuff she'll be able to do it. She just needs a motivation adjustment =)

0 Irene Liddowe But it's magic Brett! The spells are magical! 106 Irene Liddowe 0 5

Laurie Cider

October 02, 2007 6:56 PM

Bye-bye nightlight! by Laurie Cider

Laurie settled into her seat, her normally high energy level incensed by the added excitement of actually doing magic! She placed the text as directed from the summer pamphlet in one corner, a fresh notebook in the middle, a pair of Bic pens to its right, and her wand lying along the left hand side. Everything looked properly ordered and prepared for what she was certain would be a most illuminating lesson. However, as much as she had prepared for her class, nothing had prepared her for the entrance of one of the oddest looking individuals she had ever seen- and that was including tabloid pictures of Batboy running amok in the Everglades.

She was distracted from Professor O'Leary's opening words, her mind vacillating between describing him as a caricature or as a poorman's answer to a permanent Halloween. She caught up in the midst of the Dark spiel, and jotted down a quick note: If 'dark' is in the description, then chances are it's dark magic. She craned her neck to get a proper look at the plants at the front of the room. She missed which one the Professor said was the Flitterbloom, and from her view, the two plants looked exactly alike. How lovely that one could choke you to death, and the other was a nice Mother's Day present. Another note: Flitterbloom=good, Devil's Snare=devil.

The board showed the Lumos spells and their increasing variants. She wrote them down dutifully, mouthing the foreign words as they left her pen for the paper. Devil's Snare< Lumos< Lumos Duo< Lumos Maxima< Lumos Solem. She made a small asterix below her notes, and added: Look up lethifolds and vampires + how easily can Devil's Snare be acquired, can anyone get a license? Laurie had at least seven different questions she wanted to ask, but since they had little relevance to the lesson, she doubted Professor O'Leary would appreciate the interruption.

In the past, her parents were only ever called to school for things like award ceremonies, Student of the Month, or parent-teacher conference night. There had been a few occasions, only a handful at most, though, when they had been called in for a less celebratory conversation. Laurie had picked up, from her voracious reading of anything in a mystery series, a certain panache for the dramatic. The class assignment might call for describing a typical night in your neighborhood, and Laurie would write a two page exposè on the swingers club that was being run every third Tuesday in the corner house of the cul-de-sac. She poked her nose into things in such a precocious manner, that her parents were convinced she'd grow up to someday be thrown into a witness protection program for uncovering some mafia plot.

As it was, Laurie picked up her wand gingerly, and with a look of determination, replicated the movement and word, "Lumos!" Her hand tingled as the tip of her wand glowed for a brief moment. The glow faded almost immediately, but it was encouragement enough. With a great deal more confidence, she called out, wand brandished, "Lumos!"

The wand cast a thin, tube of light that resembled very much the light of a flashlight. The light did not fade this time, and to test it, she tried switching hands, and even tossing it dexterously into the air. The wand continued to shine, and Laurie checked the text for the proper spell to turn it off. "Nox," she said, and was surprised when the wand did not comply. "Nox," she tried again, but stubbornly, the light stayed.

"Well, shoot," she muttered, exasperated. "I can turn the light on, but I can't turn it off." She turned to the desk next to hers, seeking a second opinion. "Hey, can you tell me what I'm doing wrong here? I keep saying nox, but the light stays."

Laurie failed to notice that in the midst of her explanation, the spell finally worked, and the light was dowsed.

0 Laurie Cider Bye-bye nightlight! 0 Laurie Cider 0 5

Holly Greer

October 05, 2007 12:03 PM

This little Light of mine, I'm gonna let it shine by Holly Greer

Of all of the classes on Holly's schedule, this was the one that sounded the most frightening. As she got her first look at the classroom and teacher, she became even more certain than before that this was no art class. Biting down nervously on her lower lip, she tasted the raspberry flavored lip gloss she was wearing when the man warned that fooling around could get people hurt. She already hated this class and she didn't even know what it was actually about yet.

When the teacher explained just that a few moments later, Holly's opinion only strengthened. The class sounded downright terrifying. It had to be rated at least PG-13. Possibly even R. She wasn't allowed to watch horror films, why was she being forced to attend a class about horrific things in real life?

The teacher drew their attention to the plants on his desk and Holly peered at them between eyelids that were squinted mostly closed. Seeing no blood, dead animals, or anything that indicated that the plants were anything but plants, she eased open her eyes to get a better look.

That was a mistake. The teacher went on to explain one of them could choke people. With a small 'eep' of fear, she quickly averted her eyes before it could demonstrate that ability. She already knew she was going to have nightmares about being strangled by plants.

When he assigned the lesson, though, it wasn't onerous or scary. Making light shine out of her wand was, in fact, the opposite of scary. Feeling slightly better about the class (though she was still going to write to Daddy about it), she took out the wooden stick the funny man in the one of the strange store she'd visited this summer had helped her pick out.

She looked to her right and watched her neighbor give the spell a few tries, before she attempted mimicking them. She moved her wand as they had, and said, "Lumos!" Nothing happened. She tried again, "Lumos!" No effect.

She watched her neighbor again and realized her mimicry was off. She corrected her wand motion and gave it another try, "Lumos!" There was a flicker. A very brief one, but definitely a flicker. Feeling more confident now that she'd seen evidence it was possible, she said one more time, "Lumos!" More flickering before it died, but she was improving.

"Lumos!" Again, flickering, but this time it caught and held. A dim light glowed out of the end of her wand. "Awesome!"

1 Holly Greer This little Light of mine, I'm gonna let it shine 123 Holly Greer 0 5

Ronen

October 07, 2007 11:18 PM

Got to think of the cup being full by Ronen

OOC: Sorry for the delay - school has been rather school-like as of late. BIC:

Twirling his wand between his fingers again, it began to slip, but he caught it quickly with his left hand, before it actually dropped. He was going to have to get out of the habit of wand twirling, as it was obviously a dangerous venture for him. Imagine if he dropped a wand when he was doing some really complicated spell... that would just be dumb.

"Oh," he said, disappointed, as he had hoped that school would somehow make Zane more outgoing, "Well, you should try to find him. He's mad intense about Quidditch, but he's a pretty cool kid. And of course, he is related to me ," he added, along with a cheeky grin. It was the same grin that many a teacher had met whenever they thought they had caught him off guard with a question, and he knew the answer. It wasn't that he didn't pay attention because he didn't get it, he didn't pay attention because in most classes he was bored. He didn't think that would be the case in wizard classes - even the easy ones. Magic was just naturally cool.

"I have a cousin in Tepp too!" Ronen exclaimed, "Lawrence - only, he makes everyone call him Law, because Lawrence is a really lame name. Anyway, Law played reserve for Teppenpaw last year. I'll ask him if he knows your sister."

He grinned at the girl, setting his wand safely on the desk and at his side. He was so glad that she was like him. This way, he could still enjoy watching and talking about Quidditch without having to make up any random excuses as to why he didn't want to play, or go flying, period.

"Well, I'll have to support Pecari, of course - and Law - when Teppenpaw isn't playing Pecari. But definitely, we should go together. We can have a "Family of the Teppenpaw Team" club, or something," he joked, trying to distract Addie from the fact that his wand had begun to roll away, and he just barely grabbed it before it had rollen off the desk altogether. Perhaps it might be best if he just shut his mouth for once and tried to focus on his work.

0 Ronen Got to think of the cup being full 0 Ronen 0 5

Addie

October 20, 2007 1:30 AM

At least half full :P by Addie

Her attention focused once more on Ronen, she watched as he twirled the wand between his fingers. He wasn’t the best at it, but it still looked way cool, which in turn made him look cool. She wished she could do something like that. Maybe she would try it in the dorm, but then she had to worry about privacy or rather the lack of it. Sharing with five other females, four of whom she had met meant that there was always someone bound to be in the dorm. Although, even without the aforementioned wand twirling, it would have been nice to have a smaller group, a group that she actually had a chance of getting to know someone in.

As for Zane, she doubted she would actually ever seek him out. She wasn’t very good at approaching others. Even if she did, what would she say? She would be able to say she had met Ronen, but that would be the extent of it. Besides, Zane might think she was weird like the girls in the dorm had, just because she didn’t play. Though, he might too since his cousin was like her. Of course, Zane might have already met the girls in the dorm that were just as intense about Quidditch and then he might not give her a chance anyhow. She fought back a sigh. All of this drama over a sport.

She gave a grin when he mentioned a cousin in Teppenpaw. Law. Law. Had Hannah mentioned a Law? She might have since he was on the team last year. She couldn’t remember much being said though. “Law is much better than Lawrence,” she agreed. She didn’t think Lawrence was that bad of a name.

She nodded at having to support Pecari. She should probably support Crotalus. Then, a thought occurred to her. “If Zane is really into Quidditch, he might be on the Crotalus team next year. Then, you’ll need to support them too. You’ll have a lot of Houses to support. But you’re totally right about the club. We could be the FOTC,” she said with another smile. Okay, so it was lame. Family of Teppenpaws Club, but still, it was nice to have someone that was in her position.

0 Addie At least half full :P 0 Addie 0 5

Ronen

October 23, 2007 7:56 PM

Half full of water + Half full of air = Fully full by Ronen

Okay, back to business - where was he? Oh yes, on the third spell, Lumos Maxima, right. The one that had been giving him trouble. Hah, if it wanted to mess with him, then he would be the one giving it trouble... wait, that made no sense - how could he be competing with a spell? All this magic must be driving him a bit nutty. He'd have to do something about that, if he was going to be attending Sonora for the next seven years.

He cleared his throat, raising his wand again, "Lumos Maxima!" It grew bright very quickly, almost like a power surge, and then faded to about half the intensity before turning... baby blue? Was it supposed to do that? Ronen didn't think so.

"Well," he said, holding out his wand and examining the strange blue light, "This is interesting, I guess - nox." Alright, so this next one would be attempt number... attempt number "more than it had taken for him to get the first two spells". Which was really starting to get embarrassing, he wasn't used to school things being very difficult for him. If he didn't get it in the next couple of tries, he didn't know what he would do.

"Every house but Aladren," he grinned, "I guess I'll just be the 'Anti-Aladren Kid' at Quidditch games, or something. FOTC," he repeated, mulling the name over, "Cool. We can have dorky t-shirts and everything." Honestly he thought the idea of having t-shirts would be kind of fun, but he figured that Addie might think that was nerdy, so he added the dorky label. Okay, so back to attempt number Too Many. He was going to have to be calm about this, calm and assertive. That was how he had gotten the other two spells to work. If he just remembered that he was supposed to be having fun, then everything would be okay.

“Lumos Maxima!” he tried again. At first there was nothing, and Ronen was worried. But slowly, consistently, a light began to form, until finally it grew lighter than his “lumos duo” spell, and stayed that way. Good Merlin, it had worked. But now for a second attempt, just to be sure. Putting out the light with a mutter of “nox” and a swish of his wand, he was now excited to try again.

“Lumos Maxima!” and sure enough it worked, just a little faster than last time. The light was rather bright, considering he was only holding it about an arm’s length away from his face. He squinted.

“Maybe we should get sunglasses for this class,” thinking about how bright the room would be once more people got to the third spell in the series. He figured he would practice it some more, just to be confident. Then onto ‘Lumos Solem’ and the Devil’s Snare!

0 Ronen Half full of water + Half full of air = Fully full 0 Ronen 0 5

Oliver Abbott

October 27, 2007 4:45 PM

Light at the end of a tunnel by Oliver Abbott

Professor O’Leary still made Oliver feel distinctly uncomfortable, and the blond boy couldn’t really explain why. There was just something about his bat-like movements down the halls and though classrooms, coupled with his no-nonsense attitude that gave him a feeling of uneasiness. Defence lessons, on the other hand, did tend to be fun, so Oliver supposed the teacher and the class itself managed to balance each other out. Oliver even had a preferred partner in this class; he liked to work with Talitha because she didn’t fight like a girl – she fought back. So Oliver took the seat next to Talitha and began to sort out his supplies for the class.

This lesson sounded wicked fun – a plant that could kill by strangulation? Wicked! Oliver took notes, and made a note to himself to read up on Devil’s Snare later, just for the enjoyment value. When given the go ahead, Oliver practised the lumos spells, pleased to discover that, like most defensive magic, he got the hang of them without much trouble.

“Are you ready to go up?” Talitha asked from the adjacent seat.

“Yeah, I’m set,” Oliver said. He adjusted his glasses and made sure he had a firm grim of his wand before standing from his seat. “Ladies first,” he said, smiling to Talitha as he let her precede him to the front of the class.

0 Oliver Abbott Light at the end of a tunnel 99 Oliver Abbott 0 5

Talitha

October 28, 2007 10:39 AM

There is a light over at the Frankenstein place... by Talitha

Ladies first. Oliver gestured for Talitha to go ahead of him.

“Why thank you, kind sir." Talitha gave a small giggle and did a mock curtsey. She was grateful to Oliver for not mentioning either her outburst in HoM or her melt down in Charms. It was so much fun the last time they were in DADA class together and she was so relieved that she didn’t have to deal with yet another new teacher, that she was ready to put the first part of the day behind her and enjoy the class.

Waiting in line for her turn, she practiced hiding her wand up the sleeve of her robes and sliding her wand to her hand like Professor O’Leary did. His daughter, Briony, did it too when she helped her dad with a demonstration in class. While Talitha didn’t understand the reason for tucking a wand away in a sleeve rather than putting it in one’s pants pocket or sticking it behind one’s ear, it just looked cool the way it seemed to just appear in the hand seemingly from nowhere.

Talitha tried a couple of times, but she just couldn’t quite get it. Maybe, if she saw Briony in the Hall or at the library, she would ask her to show her how. She gave up trying after her wand clattered to the floor for the second time. Biting her lower lip, she glanced at the professor, afraid he would think she was goofing off in line.

“I guess I’m too clumsy too be cool,” she joked with Oliver.

Getting a closer look now at the two plants on Professor O’Leary’s desk, she decided that they were both ugly. The Flitterbloom looked like a cross between a succulent and ivy. It was all thick, viney tendrils. It had a grey green color. Wrinkling her nose, Tiffany wondered why anyone would like it enough to keep it as a houseplant in the first place. Of course, its evil twin, the Devil’s Snare, looked just as icky.

As the other students practiced their spells on the Devil’s Snare, its tendrils moved away as if cringing. When the very bright lights went out, it slowly relaxed and spread out in the pot again. By the time Oliver and Talitha made it up to the head of the line, the grey green vine had taken on a decidedly sickly brownish color.

Talitha pointed her wand at the deadly plant and incanted, Lumos Solem. Maybe it was because she’d warmed up with the other spells at her desk or maybe it was because Oliver was there, giving her confidence. Whatever the reason, her wand instantly obeyed sending out a light that was way brighter than Talitha imagined it could. Squinting hard, she saw the Devil’s Snare writhe away from her, as if seeking to escape.

Nox. Talitha put out her light and blinking against the lingering spots that danced in front of her eyes, she grinned up at the professor, hoping for a nod of approval and then back at Oliver.

“Your turn, sir,” she said with a playful wave of her hand toward the shuddering plant. Instead of returning to her seat she stepped to one side to see how Oliver would do. She had no doubt he would perform brilliantly.

\n

0 Talitha There is a light over at the Frankenstein place... 0 Talitha 0 5

Oliver

October 29, 2007 1:14 PM

Shine a little light on the world by Oliver

Talitha was doing something odd with her wand and her sleeve as they waited in line. Oliver didn’t question her reasoning, but did raise an eyebrow after she’d dropped her wand for the second time. She didn’t explain her actions, though, so Oliver said nothing and waited while she took her turn with the Devil’s Snare. She managed it without trouble, and Oliver gave her a quick thumbs-up before stepping forward to take his turn. Talitha decided to hang around to see how he’d do. Oliver didn’t mind – he was pretty sure he wasn’t going to screw it up.

The plant was trembling a little, as if it anticipated yet another repetition of the spell that had been cast upon it so frequently that afternoon. Oliver thought it would probably be cool to let the plant wrap him up entirely before casting the spell, bur O’Leary almost certainly wouldn’t agree with him on that point, and Oliver didn’t want to incur the wrath of the creepy professor. For a moment he thought about letting a tendril just curl itself round his arm, so he could at least sample what it felt like, but then he would have to cast the spell on his arm. Oliver’s skin was sensitive to sunlight at the best of times; he didn’t think a lumos solem directly onto his forearm was a very wise move. So Oliver was forced to just cast the spell on the stupid plant instead, which was nowhere near as exciting. He spell worked fine, and, after a cursory glance at the professor, he grinned at Talitha as they headed back to their seats.

“I thought about letting it crawl all over me,” he told her as he reclaimed his seat, “but I guess Old Eerie wouldn’t see the funny side.”

0 Oliver Shine a little light on the world 0 Oliver 0 5

Talitha

October 30, 2007 10:51 PM

You are the light of the world by Talitha

Normally, if Talitha heard anyone call Professor O’Leary, “Old Eerie”, she would have been irritated. She didn’t appreciate a lot of the jokes that were batted around at the expense of the Defense Against the Dark Arts instructor whom she worshipped. But she knew that even if Oliver didn’t actually like the professor, he did respect him. Besides, she was sure Oliver wouldn’t hurt a soul and Talitha wasn’t in the mood to get into anymore arguments with anyone, even Lila.

Another reason Talitha didn’t get upset was because the image of Oliver wrapped up in the Devil’s Snare and Professor O’Leary’s reaction was incredibly funny. Oliver was always friendly with her but he kind of the serious sort who rarely joked. Too bad, he had a wicked sense of humor deep down. This time, Talitha couldn’t help it, she had to giggle behind her hand so they wouldn’t get in trouble for disturbing the class. When she could trust herself not to laugh out loud, she uncovered her mouth and whispered back.

“Could you imagined the look on his face if you’d really done it? I wonder how many detentions that would have been.”
\n

0 Talitha You are the light of the world 0 Talitha 0 5

Oliver

November 02, 2007 1:15 PM

I've seen the Light by Oliver

“Too many,” was Oliver’s prompt reply. Not matter how menial a task any professor set, detentions were things to be avoided, without exception. He’d never had a detention at his last school. Julian had, and their parents had been so angry with him that Oliver made sure always to behave himself afterwards, so he didn’t incur the same wrath upon himself. He didn’t know whether Charlie ever got into trouble, but she was such a sweet little girl that Oliver couldn’t imagine her ever doing something she oughtn’t. He spared a moment to wonder what Charlie was like at school – being that bit older, Oliver hadn’t ever spent time with her at school, and he doubted that Julian had, either. If her behaviour at home was anything to go by, though, she was sweet-tempered, imaginative, and shy around strangers. Julian was the opposite: boisterous, domineering and extremely competitive. Despite their differences, Oliver got along fairly well with both of his siblings. Well, he had done until he’d come to Sonora, anyway. Now his place in the family seemed to change whenever he returned home. The only person he felt especially close too now was his Uncle Raymond, and that was because he was the only person he knew of outside of Sonora who practised magic.

“Hey, are all your family magic?” he asked Talitha quite suddenly. “All your uncles and aunts and… I dunno. Cousins, whatever.”

0 Oliver I've seen the Light 0 Oliver 0 5

Liz Guthrie

November 12, 2007 8:59 PM

This is so cool! by Liz Guthrie

Liz had looked forward to DADA for a while now. She wondered what kinds of creatures or dangerous objects they were going to learn about. Her dad said that it souldn't be too boring, but, this being her first class in her first year, it might be a little.When she got to the class, however, she was pretty sure that this class would definitly not be the least bit boring.

For one thing, the teacher looked a little creepy, though she had seen creepier. Grandpa Jerry was a retired aurer and he was always showing her his old wanted posters of the scariest and ugliest ciminals that ever walked the earth, wizarding or muggle world. Though the scariest thing Liz had ever seen so far in her young life was when her cousin Jim dared her other cousin, Dill, to wear one of her mom's frilly pink dresses. Liz shuddered at the thought. Cousin Dill was basically a big gorilla with human features so it wasn't a pretty sight.

Liz quickly pulled her mind off of her disturbing thoughts and concentrated on what Professor O'Leary was saying. He was talking about some plant. What was it? Devil's Snare? She could remember her Aunt Rose telling her to be careful of that particular plant bacause, as her aunt said, it would 'choke you and throw you in a ditch where no one will find you.' Liz always thought that Aunt Rose was exagerating, aparently she was wise to keep away from it.

Liz decided to get going on the first spell. "Lumos" she said. Nothing happened, so she tried again, "Lumos!" This time there was a slight flicker. Feeling more confident she tried once more, "Lumos!" Finally she got the darn thing working. She smiled proudly as her wand lit up and stayed lit.

0 Liz Guthrie This is so cool! 0 Liz Guthrie 0 5