Mastering failing on Defense Against the Dark Arts

Professor O'Leary

November 24, 2008 8:43 PM

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

The door to the classroom shut with a thunderous bang that echoed through the room. He was late, a fact that he was less than pleased about, even if it was only by a couple minutes. He liked to be in the room as the students came pouring in, especially when there were new students. Drake stalked towards the front of the room. His usual black robes swirled out creating a billowing effect, which tended to give leverage to the rumors that floated about that he was some creature of the dark. It was somewhat fitting given his gaunt facial features and crimson hair. He supposed it worked out in his favor since he taught Defense against the Dark Arts. If he were a less intimidating man, he doubted the students would take his ability to teach the subject seriously.

Once to his desk, he turned about face, “Good afternoon. We will begin by going over the rules, both for the new students and as a reminder for the old. First, and foremost, I am Professor O’Leary. You will address me as such or by Sir. Never, and I repeat, never anything other than these. Second, there will be no talking in my classroom, especially when I am giving instructions,” he glanced around the room to make sure they were paying attention. “Also, there will be absolutely no fooling around in this classroom. This is to ensure that no one becomes seriously injured. Failure to do so will result in a detention that I assure you will make you wish that you had to clean the bathrooms with your tongue.” It was an idle threat, but the imagery was enough to frighten most. “Am I clear?”

Though, the man standing in front of the room and his tone of voice may have seemed odd in a room currently filled with a few small pop-up tents and colorful pillow seats in favor of the desks that were pushed up against the walls. In actuality, it was those things that were out of place in the dimly lit, dungeon-like room, but he was making an effort to make the lessons more interactive (at Briony’s suggestion) so the spells would become second nature to the students. Otherwise, in a dangerous situation, it was more likely the person or thing presenting the danger would have the upper hand, because they wouldn’t be relying as much on thought.

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

The Lumos Family

Lumos
Lumos Duo
Lumos Maxima
Lumos Solem

“Everyone write down the spells listed. I’ll be right back,” he told the students, before heading in the direction of his office. He unlocked the door and disappeared inside the room. Coming back out, he had two similar looking plants in his hand, which he set on his desk. “I have here two plants that look to be identical. On the left is a flitterbloom, which 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. Since the plants look so much alike without further inspection, a wizard intent on harm could give someone Devil’s Snare under the guise of a Flitterbloom. There are two ways to escape Devil’s Snare. One way is to relax, as the plant will assume it accomplished its purpose. However, this is not always an option. The better way to handle the plant is the last spell that is on the board.”

He paused a moment to allow anyone who was taking notes to finish, before continuing his lecture, “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 bright than Lumos Duo. Lumos Solem is the brightest and is like sunshine. The last one is useful against Devil’s Snare. The plant detests sunlight and will move away from it. This can also be useful against some creatures, such as lethifolds and vampires. Now, to help you learn the spells, I devised a camping activity. You’ll find that at each tent there are cutouts. Some have stars, others have moons, and so on. Your goal is to use the lumos spell behind the cutout to cast images onto the walls and ceilings of the shapes. The more powerful the spell, the brighter the shape and the longer it will last, which comes with practice.”

“While you practice, you may talk quietly with your fellow students. There are also thermoses of hot chocolate and paper cups at each tent along with marshmallows to help encourage you along. If I see that you aren’t practicing the spell and are just using the time to goof off, we will never have a lesson like this again,” he informed the class. He was putting himself out there for this experiment of trying to get more students involved and learning. He just hoped he didn’t end up regretting it. “For anyone more adventurous, if you get up to the Lumos Solem spell, you may come up to my desk to test it on the Devil’s Snare. If anyone has any questions, feel free to ask. Otherwise, you may begin.”

OOC: For the cutout activity, think of the wand acting like a flashlight to cast images. Otherwise, have fun and be creative. The more detailed and imaginative a post is, the more House points can be earned. Also, please remember that posts should be a minimum of ten sentences (approximately two paragraphs).

Subthreads:

Something witty and relevant to my post by Daniel Nash II with Deepa Rajaram

You're trying to make an example of me, aren't you? by Sophia Xuereb with Dana Smythe, Sophia, Amelia Smythe

The magic isn't wearing out by Nathaniel Leon with Adelita Garcia [Crotalus], Nathaniel

Mastering failing by Taylor Li with Ethan and Elliot Valentine, Taylor

Light is very manipulative. by Kendra Paully with Charlotte Abbott, Kendra

Now this is a Professor.. by Quentin Melcher with Jera Valson, Jera

*smiles nervously* by Pippa Brockert

Class Closed! (nm) by Professor O'Leary

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

Daniel Nash II

November 25, 2008 6:46 PM

Something witty and relevant to my post by Daniel Nash II

Prior to actually taking the class, Daniel was not sure what to make of Defense Against the Dark Arts. It was one of the three that Holly went on and on about how the subject material wasn't appropriate for eleven year old kids and how the class was contributing to her dependence on sleeping pills.

Danny mostly ignored Holly's moanings and groanings, attributing them to over-dramatization and Holly's already damaged mental state. (Even if magic was real and Holly didn't actually have anything physically wrong with her brain, three years of intensive therapy and people treating her like she was broken was more than enough to cause its own issues. Danny doubted she'd ever entirely learn to cope with the real world.)

What Holly couldn't handle and what the average eleven year old differed by about three orders of magnitude, and Danny figured he was at least one order of magnitude beyond even that. Where Holly's dad was an overprotective bear who eliminated every possible source of unhappiness before it could reach her, Danny's had gotten him a part on an adult television show that dealt with some of the ugliest parts of human society. One or two of the episodes had even needed parental guidance warnings at the beginning.

Danny had never been coddled and he felt he was the better for it.

On the other hand . . . Professor O'Leary was now the Head of Pecari House, and that altered his perception of the menacing figure in Holly's stories significantly. Between Holly herself being in it, and Holly's comments about the sorts of people she'd been stuck with (which admittedly, was Holly-filtered and not necessarily or even likely to be accurate), he wasn't sure what that reflected about the professor.

Maybe just that the administration needed a guy like Professor O'Leary to keep that House in line.

So it was with mixed feelings that Daniel entered the DADA classroom. The replacement of tents where desks should be, not to mention his tardiness, could be further evidence of his Pecari-ness, but when the man billowed into the room and started barking out rules, Daniel relaxed.

This was more like the scary dude Holly had described. Restored in his faith that his sister was only terrified of people who at least deserved it a little bit (if she was actually delusional instead of just unable to deal with any amount of stress at all, he'd be obligated to see that she was put back on her anti-psychotics medication), Daniel began taking diligent notes.

He was pleased they were going to start with the lumos spell. He'd attempted it last Christmas, without the benefit of a wand, and managed to do two things: set a pencil on fire and make his fingertip glow dimly. Not at the same time. The pencil had simply proved an inadequate vessel to host the magical energy of the spell. His finger had worked better.

Now the proud owner of an actual wand, Danny cast the first spell he'd even done with untrained intent. "Lumos," he said, and the tip lit up on cue. "Perfect," he congratulated himself, and moved down the list. "Lumos Duo." Even better. Excellent.

Pleased that he had a handle on the spells, he figured he ought to at least try the shadow projection exercise the Professor had seemingly gone through a lot of effort to make possible. The tent he crawled into already had another student in it and he nodded politely at them. He didn't think he'd met them yet, but he'd met so many people they were all starting to blend together. "Hello. I'm Daniel."

He settled cross-legged in the confined space and tried to pretend that he'd been in one of these things before (with some skill - he was an actor after all, though it was easier when he had a script and some guidance from a director; but at least he could act as though he didn't find anything about this weird or unusual). He supposed the first thing a person with camping experience would do would be to pour himself a cup of hot chocolate from the thermos, so he did that.

1 Daniel Nash II Something witty and relevant to my post 130 Daniel Nash II 0 5

Deepa Rajaram

November 26, 2008 11:39 AM

Something equally witty in response to your something witty. by Deepa Rajaram

Of all the classes in which she was enrolled, Deepa was most uncertain about Defense Against the Dark Arts. Charms, Potions, Transfiguration, History, Creatures--they were all relatively straightforward. She knew what to expect. But who knew what might happen in a class built around dangerous beasts, people, and things?

The butterflies in her stomach weren't born of nerves; usually when she was nervous, her mouth went dry and her hands shook. Her hands were completely steady now, though, despite the fact that her heartrate was elevated. She was--excited? It wasn't a feeling she experienced often at home in India, where she was effectively cloistered away with her younger cousins. Anger, irritation, boredom, and something darker and more hopeless--even fleeting amusement; she recognized these. But excitement?

She patted her hair to make sure it was neat--she'd swept it back from her temples and pinned it, most of her long hair falling halfway down her back. She tidied her desk and waited for her fellow students. Then she waited for the professor. And then she waited a little more.

The professor was late! When he finally swept in, she studied him. Yes, he was slightly intimidating, but the feeling of excitement made her see more clearly, and as she spoke, she thought that perhaps the intimidation was an act. How frightening could the man be, if he offered his students hot chocolate?

Upon being released for practice, she took her bag and wand and settled into the nearest wand. Looking up, she saw a scattering of stars cut out of the cloth ceiling. For a moment she flashed back to India and the clear, clear nights with thousands of stars--but then she shook it off, took out her wand, and began practicing.

"Lumos," she murmured. The tip of her wand glowed dimly. "Lumos," she repeated, more loudly. The low glow flared to life. She nodded, the corners of her mouth twitching up in a small, triumphant smile. "Lumos duo!" The light doubled, and so did her smile. She was having a bit of trouble with the third spell, though; it wasn't really all that much brighter than lumos duo.

Just then, someone else crawled into the tent--a boy. The spell died abruptly, and Deepa scooted backward as far as she could in the tent, watching him with a cautious blank face. He settled in, introduced himself, and poured himself a hot chocolate; she relaxed. He seemed nice enough.

"Hello, Daniel. I'm Deepa." She hesitated, then: "...Did you make that third spell work? I am having some trouble," she said, hoping he could understand her pronounced accent.

0 Deepa Rajaram Something equally witty in response to your something witty. 0 Deepa Rajaram 0 5

Daniel

November 26, 2008 3:37 PM

Clever reply to your something equally witty by Daniel

The other person looked and sounded to be an Indian (as in from the Asian subcontinent, not the Native American sort) girl. His class seemed very diverse. It spoke well of the school, he thought, that it could draw people from not only all over the United States, but all over the world. It took him a moment to interpret her words, but he though he got the gist through her accent well enough.

"Deepa," he repeated, doing better, he thought, at repeating her name than he had Euna's (or whatever the Korean girl's actual name really was - maybe if he had her spell it for him next time he saw her?).

He shook his head in answer to her question and told her, "I didn't get to that one yet. Let's see if it works," he smiled crookedly at her (his mouth just didn't like pulling full smiles, so they usually came out a bit lopsided - according to a fansite he'd stumbled across, this made him either 'adorable' or 'hot', apparently depending on the age of the blogger, so he didn't think it was in his best interest to fix the problem).

Pointing his wand up at one of the cut-outs, he cast, "Lumos Maxima!" It was definitely brighter than his Duo, but he didn't think it was as much brighter as the Duo had been over the regular lumos. To test the theory, he went through the series again.

"Lumos!" Dim, but bright enough to read by or even light up a space in front of him if he were walking around a dark room. Not much of a shape against the ceiling though.

"Lumos Duo!" he cast again, this was about twice as bright, and there was a distinct shape against the ceiling now. Not particularly noticeable if you didn't know it was there, but clear lines, unlike the fuzzy blur from before.

"Lumos Maxima!" And there! That was better than the first time. More contrast in the shape against the ceiling and nice crisp lines. He nodded, satisfied by the difference. "I think more volume helps," he offered as advice. "Project from the diaphragm."

1 Daniel Clever reply to your something equally witty 130 Daniel 0 5

Sophia Xuereb

November 26, 2008 4:15 PM

You're trying to make an example of me, aren't you? by Sophia Xuereb

Sophia had taken her time getting ready for class this morning. The green robes of her uniform was carefully pressed - she had requested the elves particularly to have her uniform properly taken care of - and she had braided her hair to make sure that not even a wisp of her dark hair was out of place, and her messenger bag hung at her side, where it wouldn't get in her way and yet it and it's contents were readily accessible.

Not that that would be an issue once she had found a desk and arranged her things there for the class. Somewhere up the back, she resigned herself to the idea. Where less attention would be paid.

Except, when she came to the classroom, the desks were gone. Or, not gone. They were still in there, but against the walls where they were no use to anyone, with the exception of Professor O'Leary's desk. She didn't think that Professor O'Leary would take too kindly to a student commandeering his desk, not to mention that it would definitely bring attention to her, so Sophia drifted in the opposite direction, looking at the small tents in confusion.

By the time Professor O'Leary had arrived - late, that was odd - she had made her way right to the back of the classroom and had settled her bag onto one of the desks against the wall. She had left her things in it, as she wasn't sure what would be necessary for this class. The one exception was her wand, which she was looking at glumly until the noise of the door shutting made her jump. The pillow seat things looked comfortable enough. With a wary glance to the front of the class, Sophia decided to collect her bag again and scuttled as quickly as she could to the seat nearest the back.

At least she had no problems with his rules. Giving the Professor the correct form of address was only his right, considering his position of authority. And his worrying demeanour. And the rules were always to be respected, particularly when they kept one from being injured.

And as for talking... Sophia looked at the empty space beside her on the pillow seat. No chance of that, even if she had been so inclined.

She pulled her notebook, quill and inkpot out of her bag while the Professor was off doing whatever it was he had to do, and after spending a several moments trying to work out how to write without a desk, she pulled out her text book and placed it on her knees to give herself a proper surface to lean against before carefully putting the inkpot on the ground, and leaning over to dip the tip of her quill.

She copied the words on the board down, feeling more and more apprehensive. This was going to be like Charms. This was definitely a progression, and of the light spell, if she wasn't mistaken. Each step of the progression was going to be more difficult to master, and take more power and ability to accomplish.

Sophia felt very small indeed. Small and helpless. It was not a feeling she liked very much.

She looked up. Professor O'Leary had returned, with much less of a bang this time, and had brought two plants with him. Sophia took notes as the Professor talked about the plants and how the magic would effect one of them. Long, and detailed notes, as the longer she took in this task the less time she would have to fail at the spells.

A heaviness settled in her, and Sophia wondered at length about what it meant. It was unhappiness, she decided at last. But there was something else in there too. She sighed, and finished her notes, thinking at the last that it might be worthwhile to just 'goof off', as the professor had put it, to avoid this kind of embarrassment in the future, but her own adherence to doing the right thing made that an impossible option.

She waited a moment, and then, seeing no other option, approached the nearest tent with her wand and notes in hand. At the last minute, she decided to try the hot chocolate. If she had some of that to sip on, it would put off the awful moment of proving herself hapless once more. So, putting down her wand and notes, Sophia selected a cup and carefully poured herself a measure of hot chocolate.

As she sipped it, she looked at the cutouts in the tent. Astrological symbols. She searched them silently, looking for the one that governed her own birth, and wondering, with a pained intensity, whether it had any connection to her lack of ability.

39 Sophia Xuereb You're trying to make an example of me, aren't you? 0 Sophia Xuereb 0 5

Nathaniel Leon

November 26, 2008 5:19 PM

The magic isn't wearing out by Nathaniel Leon

Nathaniel had toppled off of his bed this morning.

The story was short enough, he had been trying to hang the thin painting his mom had done, the one of bleeding paints splattered all around (it was blue and yellow, he felt it fit well with the room). He took a step back, wanting to look and admire, but he ended up slipping on a weak piece of blanket and sliding straight down to the floor with a huge THUD! Somehow, his head hit the ground first, or at the same time as his hands reaching out to catch him. It was a good thing his roommates weren’t there (probably at breakfast, which Nathaniel would have been going to just after he finished the painting).

But the story probably wasn’t all that important. But at least Nathaniel would have the reason to why there a giant bruise on the side of his chin and on one elbow. It was also a good excuse to why he didn’t make any sudden movements, his arms and neck incredibly sore from the fall. He didn’t find it all that serious, so Nathaniel refused to bother an upperclassman to be directed to the school nurse and so he also refused to bother the medic with his pettiness. He chose not to go to breakfast that morning after that, anyway, and so he rested until his classes. Going through to each one was simple, no one questioned anything anyway (he made sure to brush his hair to hide the bruise on his chin just in case).

Now he found himself wandering into the dark room of Defense Against the Dark Arts (because where there was magic, there was good and bad, at least in every story Nathaniel had been told), he felt as though he wouldn’t have to hide the bothersome thing. Its presence would be at all disruptive in the dark, Nathaniel ended up brushing his hair away from his mouth and chin with his fingers. It was all good for him. Sitting up straight, despite his rumpled appearance (which may suggest he would be more prone to slouching) Nathaniel had a notebook all set out for DADA. He held his quill uneasily, as he had for all his classes (he wasn’t used to this writing instrument, plus the dull ache up his arms made all his notes today almost unreadable).

The professor looked like something out of a horror film (or, at least a creeper), which excited Nathaniel even more than it freaked him out. When he saw the foreign words on the board he immediately copied them down, quickly lifting his blue eyes to see the two plants in the creepy professors hands. One was deadly, Nathaniel’s heart dropped in fear, and he quickly bent over his work to write down the names (next to it, he had a badly drawn sketch of a plant). His handwriting looked horrid, Nathaniel noted, as he had to keep his elbow lifted uncomfortable so to avoid the small shots of pain. Some of the ink ran, to his dismay, but that was soon cleared up. After he finished up his notes, Nathaniel forgot his handwriting woes to hear the actual doing-stuff part of this lesson.

A camp out of sorts! How great, maybe this scary man wasn’t as bad as he showed himself to be. Letting his notebook sit out for the ink to dry, Nathaniel picked his wand from his things and moved slowly to the tents, picking himself one. Looking around he went to the hot chocolate instantly, having a need for something sweet as he missed eating today. He took a quick sip, but coughed immediately afterward. “Its too hot, let it cool,” he told someone else by the table of cups, then grinning he recklessly swung his hand to point over at the stars, stopping instantly and slowing his movements as the pain shooting through him reminded him of his fall. “Ah, I don’t know if I’ll get farther than the first spell, how long do you think it will last?”

0 Nathaniel Leon The magic isn't wearing out 133 Nathaniel Leon 0 5

Adelita Garcia [Crotalus]

November 26, 2008 8:03 PM

I didn't realize that it could. by Adelita Garcia [Crotalus]

Adelita entered the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom with trepidation. Her Tia and Tios had warned her about all the teachers that they possibly could. They gave her descriptions, personality explanations, and ways in which to avoid being the Professor’s most hated student. Tia Izzy didn’t really have an issue with Professor O’Leary, but that was probably because she did the work without any fuss. Her Tios, however, had a completely different outlook for the man. They even called him O’Dreary. They called him a creature of the night. A vampire. A bloodsucker. A werewolf. He was pale and angry and very cold. They (and by ‘They’ she really meant Mateo, but as they were twins, when she spoke of one, she spoke of both) had told her that if he caught her out of bed after curfew, no one would ever see her again.

They wouldn’t have hired such a man, right?

The idea of the very possibility of it being true had Adelita’s stomach in knots. She felt queasy. Her Tia kept telling her to ignore the twins, but they had always been good to her and looked out for her. Surely, there must be some truth to what they said.

Out of habit, Lita ran her dainty fingers over her braided pigtails to make sure they still were sitting properly against her head. She didn’t want to be that student who looked out of place and she certainly didn’t want to draw attention to herself and have Professor ~~O’Dre~~ O’Leary hate her. The last thing she wanted was for him to even notice her. If she just did her work and kept her head down, she could get through this without making a scene of herself or having the mysterious professor lurking in the dark corners of the halls as she passed them.

She paused in the classroom looking around at all the tents that were popped open. Was this normal? She didn’t think it was normal. Her family never mentioned tents in the classroom to her. She heard about classes being outside or in strange rooms, but never anything about tents. Her brown eyes surveyed the room, but didn’t immediately come across any imposing figures. That meant, for now, she was safe. She stepped off to the side and looked around for a place to sit. A frown formed on her lips when she realize she wouldn’t be able to sit in a desk.

Looking down at her wardrobe, Lita was hesitant to sit on the pillows. First and foremost, because she was in a skirt. First impressions meant looking one’s best. And to look one’s best, a girl is to wear a skirt. Or a dress. Either would be appropriate. However, neither were appropriate for sitting on the ground. Delicately, Adelita pulled the bottom part of her skirt closer to her body and awkwardly sat cross legged on the pillow, using the robes as a defense, tucking it beneath her to ensure that nothing could be seen. Satisfied with her work, Adelita looked suspiciously around at those nearest to her to see if any of them had tried to look before turning back to her bag and pulling out her quill and parchment for taking notes.

Adelita jumped when the door swung open and the Professor of her recent nightmares stepped, looking angry. She shrank back in her pillow trying to look as small as possible (which really wasn’t all that hard since Lita was naturally petite). If Lita had been alone in a room with him, she probably would have started to cry by the sharpness of his tongue to the coldness of his eyes. She didn’t cry, of course, that wouldn’t have looked good, but she knew that she wanted too.

The moment the lesson began, Adelita distracted herself from her fear of the professor by settling in with the words on the board. Her loopy writing made its way across the parchment as she wrote down each spell. She knew the first two already because her mom often used it whenever Jorge began to cry in the middle of the night. Or, if either Lita or Dulce ended up having a nightmare while they were growing up. Well, really, she used it often for other things too, but those memories popped up first in her mind. Her mom said these were the easiest spells to learn and Lita really hoped that was true.

When the plants were brought out, Adelita’s nose wrinkled in displeasure. She would not be testing her skills against a plant of death. No way. No how. Someone else could be adventurous, but it would not be her. Finally, they were dismissed to do the actual lesson. Although she was still wary of the Professor, Adelita had to give him props on his technique. It was actually fun to think about all the little pictures she would be able to make using her wand’s light.

Slightly annoyed with trying to crawl into the tent with her skirt, Adelita paused momentarily when she realized that this tent was already occupied. She set herself up near the pile of cutouts while waiting for the boy to move away from the hot chocolate. When it was free, Adelita moved to the stand only to pause when the boy coughed and warned her of just how hot the liquid actually was. “Oh.” She was slightly let down by the knowledge that she couldn’t have the cocoa just yet, but figured it was probably best anyhow.

Her dark eyes moved to the top of the tent where the boy was pointing. There she found the stars. “Oooh.” Her response was rather girlish, but it couldn’t be helped. Stars were pretty. “Um… I think they last as long as your concentration does.” Adelita piped up when he asked his question. “At least that’s what my Mama tells me whenever she shows me a spell. Are we supposed to try the spell first without the cutouts, or does it not matter?”

0 Adelita Garcia [Crotalus] I didn't realize that it could. 0 Adelita Garcia [Crotalus] 0 5

Nathaniel

November 26, 2008 9:34 PM

I'm just slightly worried it will... by Nathaniel

Nathaniel set the cocoa down gingerly and grinned at the girl’s reaction to the stars, was she excited about this too? Well, Nathaniel was pretty much impressed by any of the magic at all, so the idea that this excitement should differ from his previous excitements wasn’t really prominent in his mind. Making light was just as special and cool as making things float (like in that Charms class he had so much fun in). He regarded the stars with the same happiness that he showed the girl. They looked like regular old cut-outs right now, but he was actually going to make them shine.

With magic.

Every time he just thought about it, Nathaniel felt a little jump in his heart. Sure, it was only the first week of classes, and his excitement was probably normal (or not? Considering everyone he’d met grew up with magic) and it might wear off, but really Nathaniel doubted that. How could something you thought was fake ever wear off? (One got used to it, perhaps? But Nathaniel wasn’t that far in his thinking, choosing only to think for the moment he was in. ... He had never been very good at planning ahead in the past.) Rubbing his shoulder lightly (hoping to remove the soreness) Nathaniel looked down at his own clothing.

It seemed everyone he met so far looked a great deal cleaner and more well groomed than Nathaniel (not that the boy was dirty, more disheveled than anything). He had two pairs of robes, the ones he was wearing now were wrinkled from being at the bottom of his suitcase (and they had yellow stitches! He loved them) and the jeans he’d worn had some tears in them and stains of white and red paint (he could place every hole with an event), self-consciously Nathaniel had hid the paint stained shirt (almost all of his clothes were stained with his mother’s paints) with his robes while listening to the girl talk.

“Oh, you’re family is magic too?” he asked, his wand slipping from the pocket of his shifted robe. He bent too quickly to pick it up, stiffening slightly for just a second, but forcing his mind over it. Nathaniel picked his wand up and bent back up, letting his robes stay where they fell (should he really be caring what he looked like? He wasn’t sure). He continued with what he was saying, “I mean, mine isn’t, it would be just great if they were though. My mom wants to be,” he clarified, “Just everyone I meet was born with it,” he grinned to show the next statement was a kid, “I’m incredibly envious.”

Shifting his wand to his other hand (slowly), Nathaniel retried his hot cocoa, still kind of hot but he was able to sip it now. Oh! The spell, that creepy teacher said that they’d get in trouble if they weren’t working! “Ah!” Nathaniel exclaimed quietly, “Okay, lets see how far I get with concentration,” Nathaniel gave the girl a playful grin, “I’m not very good at keeping my mind on one thing for a long time,” he admitted on a light note. Raising his hand gingerly he made a flourish with his wand, “Lu-mos,” he said with the flourish, surprising himself when the star lit up dimly.

“Woah!” Nathaniel shocked, watching as the light blow out like a lightbulb. He laughed, lowering his arm. He touched the girls robes, then tugged gently, “Try it, lets try and see who can get it glowing the longest! It’ll be like a game,” Nathaniel was thinking very far ahead, thinking of a light that lasted days. “Lumos,” he said, watching his wand light up behind a cute little moon. Nathaniel twisted it, allowing the light to move around giving the impression of a moving moon before the wand’s light let out with a wrong twist of his shoulder. “Ow,” he murmured, out of more habit than pain.

0 Nathaniel I'm just slightly worried it will... 0 Nathaniel 0 5

Deepa

November 26, 2008 11:16 PM

I've run out of witty; I hope self-deprecating will do. by Deepa

Deepa had been expecting new experiences today; what she hadn't expected were so many new feelings. The only boys she knew at home were her cousins and young uncles, and they were horrible to her--they stank and didn't bathe after playing football and hexed her and made her do their laundry and were generally just absolute beasts. Deepa had assumed it was just the male attitude.

But Daniel--well, he seemed... friendly. He spoke kindly to her, and when he smiled at her she felt a warmth in her stomach. Who knew that nice males existed?

She shook her surprise off as she followed what he was doing, unconsciously mirroring his wrist movements. It was almost like dancing, but only with the hands. Lumos, lumos duo, lumos maxima--well! Not only unexpectedly kind, but clever, too. Her cousins and uncles were all lazy thicks who couldn't be bothered to learn anything that wasn't amusing. Though, she reflected with a smile as she peered at the ceiling, the pretty shapes and shadows the spell produced were quite charming.

"I think more volume helps," he offered. "Project from the diaphragm."

She shifted her legs beneath her and nodded uncertainly. "Ehm... diaphragm?" she asked. "Forgive me. My English is good, but there are words I don't know. You mean--" she touched her stomach, "--yes?"

0 Deepa I've run out of witty; I hope self-deprecating will do. 0 Deepa 0 5

Adelita

November 27, 2008 1:41 AM

It better not or I'll be the odd one out! by Adelita

Adelita’s eyes went from the stars at the roof of the tent to the boy in front of her when he asked about her family. Her face lit up in a grin just thinking about them. “Yes they are!” Adelita commented excitedly, watching the boy while he bent to pick up his wand and hesitating slightly at his discomfort. And continued to hesitate while he explained about his own family. While he spoke, Adelita took the moment to actually look at him, which she hadn’t given herself the opportunity to do so simply because it would have been rude to just look at him without any reason. Since he was talking, she had an excuse to look.

Her hesitation vanished though, when he grinned at her and she easily returned a smile to him. “Not everyone in my family is magical. On my dad’s side, my Nana is a muggleborn, so she’s the only one from her family who has magic.” Adelita explained to him as she dug through the cutouts for something run before giggling. “You’re silly. You were born with it too. I’m not really sure why some people get it and not others, but if you have it, you must be special, right?” She looked back up at him when she found one that she liked.

He was the first boy that Adelita had spoken to since coming to Sonora. She had a neighbor who was a boy and a couple of years older than her, but he always pulled her hair or threw dirt on her, so Lita did her very hardest to not run into him whenever she was home in San Francisco. There was also a boy in her dance class whom she had known since she was four, but his gender had gone out the window a long time ago. He was just Nick and she was just Adelita when they were dancing. But, aside from Nick and her neighbor, Adelita didn’t really converse with boys. It wasn’t on purpose, they just didn’t run within her circle of friends.

He didn’t seem so bad though. He wasn’t pulling on her hair or throwing dirt (or whatever he could reach since dirt wasn’t readily available) on her. That was a major step forward in Adelita’s eye. He did have paint on him though, which Adelita wasn’t sure was supposed to be the design of the jeans or if he painted and forgot to clean up after himself. His robes were wrinkled too. Adelita could hear the sound of her mother’s tongue in her hear at the sight of his state of being. Her mom hated wrinkles.

“Oh right.” Adelita commented, remembering that she was in the tent for a reason and not just to talk with the boy. Adelita lifted her wand with the cutout above it and in her light voice spoke the words of the spell. To her delight, her wand lit and the flower she had found displayed across the top of the tent. “Oooo.” Adelita whispered, her eyes looking over at the boy’s but his went out just as she looked at it. She smiled happily at their ability to do the spell. She had such a fear of not being able to do magic correctly, but, thus far, she had proved herself wrong.

She felt a tug on her clothes and looked down to see his hand on her robes. “Hm?” A game? “Okay!” Adelita agreed. What harm could it do? They were doing the lesson and having some fun while they did it. That was fair, right? She picked up another cutout, some planet, and placed it above her wand again. “Lumos!” Adelita spoke with enthusiasm, giggling when the wand’s tip lit again. She watched more of his moon than her planet though. Well, she was at any rate before his light went out. “I win!” Adelita cried out within their tent. Turning to him with a bright grin on her face, Adelita realized that something was out of place.

“Are you hurt?” She asked him, maybe that was why he had looked awkward when he had bent over? “My Mama always gives me Murtlap Essence whenever I’m in pain after dance. It makes the pain go away real fast. I have some in my room that you can use, if you want.” Adelita suggested. She loved the stuff and if one could be addicted to it, than she was. Her feet had been nothing but a bloody mess after she had begun learning pointe, Murtlap Essence had been her savior.

“Hey, don’t think you being hurt will get you out of the game!” Adelita exclaimed. “My wand was lit longer, what’s my prize?” She was smiling at him to show that she was only joking… for the most part. She was still quite proud of her achievement.

0 Adelita It better not or I'll be the odd one out! 0 Adelita 0 5

Taylor Li

November 27, 2008 1:50 AM

Mastering failing by Taylor Li

Taylor had no idea what to think of a class entitled Defense against the Dark Arts. She knew that there were dangerous things in the world. There were the darker aspects of the muggle world, which one was warned against and there were commercials on television warning against, but there was no required course in the dangers as there seemed to be in the magical world. It made her wonder just how many and how dangerous the things that lurked out there were since they had a class dedicated to them for the next five years or more. She had to admit it made her rather nervous to think about the possibility that some of what she had seen in horror movies might be real, such as vampires and werewolves. A shiver ran down her spine just thinking about it. She wouldn’t divulge the information, but she had a secret fear of werewolves.

Otherwise, Taylor had every reason to believe that the class would be educational, if not interesting. By learning about all forms of magic, it would help her to pursuing what allowed magic to happen, what made it work. If she didn’t, then it would be like trying to perform calculus without an understanding of algebra. Thinking about algebra made her a little homesick. She had just started learning the material from her tutor when it had been time to leave for magical school. Not that she regretted coming, because she didn’t. She still wanted to be like other kids and here she was for the most part. Though, she really did miss math and then they had also just started to get into physics theory. She wasn’t ready for going beyond that yet, but now she wondered if she would ever be since she was here. Maybe if she talked to her dad, he would figure out some way she could continue learning since she couldn’t quite tell the tutor she had magic.

Kinetic moved restlessly about in her bag, as she moved into the classroom. She probably shouldn’t have brought him, but there was no way she could trust him in a room by himself. He was still a baby and would have made a mess of everything. At least, being with her, he behaved sometimes. She laid her hand against the bag to help keep him still while she navigated through the assortment of pillows and tents, which seemed a bit strange to have in a classroom and had no idea how it related to defense unless it was how to survive in the wilderness. Oh, well, if they were in the tents, it would give her ferret a chance to wiggle about freely. She found a fairly empty spot and made herself at home on a green pillow. She took out her notebook and a pen. Okay, she was ready except there was no professor. She looked around the room. She looked at other students. She looked at her hands. She was becoming bored and fidgety. She felt like her pet. She wondered what she would look like with ears and whiskers, and almost laughed, but caught herself.

It was a good thing too since in the next instant the professor was storming through the room. She jumped a bit at the sound of the door. She regretted her choice of seating being so close when he started his lecture. She changed her mind when he brought out plants and began talking about them. She wanted to study them and figure out how to tell them apart, but unfortunately, she wouldn’t be able to unless she mastered the spells they were supposed to be learning first. She put on her determined face. She was going to get them and she was going to get them today, so she could tackle the plant. Shifting about, she crawled into the tent, ignoring anything not involved with the spell. She took Kinetic out of the bag and stretched out her legs to block him from the entrance while she worked. Her wand held out, she whispered the first one, “Lumos.” Nothing. What was the key to anything? Confidence. All right, second try. “Lumos!” The wand lit up. Good, now on to the second. She was about to attempt it when someone else joined them. She gave an apologetic smile and shifted her legs. “Sorry, I didn’t want Kinetic getting out.”

0 Taylor Li Mastering failing 128 Taylor Li 0 5

Ethan and Elliot Valentine

November 28, 2008 3:01 AM

Mastering friendship by Ethan and Elliot Valentine

They arrived late, having found it rather difficult to find the room. Ethan was convinced that a Defense Against the Dark Arts class had to be in some sort of dungeon, so they had wandered the school looking for the classroom in only the dark, creepy areas, of which there were very few. Finally, Elliot got fed up and asked a prairie elf, who happily told them how to get to the right place: one of the few dungeon-like places that they had not found. Huffing and puffing, they reached the classroom a few minutes late.

"He's not even here?" Ethan whispered, somewhat peeved. Elliot elbowed him and they quickly tried to find desks to sit in, but there were tents instead. Staring awkwardly at the tents and having no clue what to do, Ethan shrugged and sat near the nearest tent, already occupied with a pretty Asian girl. Elliot followed suit, just as their professor walked in the door.

Both Earl and Eavan had told them about this particular professor. Earl went into great detail about how Professor O'Leary was a vampire, while Eavan said he could be all that bad since his daughter was so nice. There was definite scoffing at that.

Professor O'Leary's speech, instead of driving fear into the hearts of the twins had just made them even more eager to see what dangerous and evil things that they might come across, so when the Lumos spells were magicked onto the board, both let out a groan. It was a handy spell, but it was something they already knew. At least the first two. It was one of the few things, Earl and Eavan had been willing ot teach them before starting school.

However, there were a few up sides to this lesson. The Devil's Snare looked cool, there was hot chocolate, and they would be able to talk. Much better than anything they were told about. Still tent-less, Elliot, being the closer of the twins to the tent, scooted over and peered inside. The girl was blocking the entrance and something was darting around inside. Ethan was right behind him and didn't really notice the girl. "What is that?" he asked curiously, his eyes following the spastic rodent.

Elliot gave his brother another well-deserved elbow to the ribs and smiled at the girl. "Sorry. My brother is an idiot. Ow!" Ethan elbowed Elliot back. "Is that the crazy thing's name? Kinetic?"

Although just as curious about Kinetic, Elliot just smiled. "You mind if we share a tent? We seem to be homeless right now." Elliot turned his eye from the girl to Kinetic to where the hot chocolate sat. "And we seem to also be hot chocolate-less," he said rather awkwardly. Ethan snorted at his brother's try at wit.

"I'm Ethan and this idiot, is Elliot," Ethan said poking Elliot in the head.

"We're twins," Elliot grinned. Ethan rolled his eyes. "I think the pretty girl figured that out, Idiot."

0 Ethan and Elliot Valentine Mastering friendship 0 Ethan and Elliot Valentine 0 5

Dana Smythe

November 28, 2008 4:21 PM

Lighten up! by Dana Smythe

Dana was excited about her first lesson in defense against the dark arts. She’d heard stories from her brother, Lucas, that it was a great class with a great teacher – if you stayed on the right side of him, that is. She could immediately identify exactly why that was as the man entered in a billow of dark robes, slamming the door behind him. Dana flicked her dark blondey-brown plaits over her shoulders and listened intently as the man introduced himself to the class as Professor O’Leary and began his speech about rules, leaving Dana to grimace at the imagery he included while describing detention. She’d be sure not to get herself into any trouble, especially with this professor.

It seemed a little strange, however, that this teacher was being so very strict while his classroom was filled with comfy seats, tents and, what appeared to be, a generally nice environment, so maybe he wasn’t too bad. Still, Dana didn’t think that testing that theory would be the best of ideas.

The professor began speaking about the lesson plans and, with a wave of his wand, a list of spells appeared on the board. It was the Lumos spell, which Dana was relatively comfortable with from the few times she’d used this spell at home, mostly to search for lost items under her bed, and the other spells written were the more powerful versions of Lumos. Dana grabbed a piece of parchment from her pack and noted them all down, along with a few other titbits of information spared by Professor O’Leary that she knew she’d do well to remember.

With the rules and lesson plan over with, and a large excited grin at the mention of hot chocolate, Dana gave herself a quick practise run with the Lumos spell. With a very gentle flick of her wand and a muttered incantation, the tip of her wand lit with a dim but useable light. She smiled to herself, hoping that with her knowledge and practise, the more powerful spells would come a little easier.

She crawled over to a tent and made herself jump slightly at the sight of a girl in there already, sipping a hot chocolate.

“Hi,” Dana spoke with a warm smile, “my name’s Dana.” She settled herself down, cross-legged inside the tent beside the other girl and poured herself a hot chocolate. “Umm,” Dana began, as she noticed the girl didn’t exactly look one hundred per cent happy, “Are you okay?”

0 Dana Smythe Lighten up! 142 Dana Smythe 0 5

Sophia

November 28, 2008 7:36 PM

That's the problem. by Sophia

Capricorn. The picture of the astrological symbol had Sophia's complete attention, so she didn't notice right away when she was joined in her tent. She took another sip of the hot chocolate, not really tasting it and was mid thought when she was interrupted. Startled, Sophia only just managed to avoid spilling her drink. She looked sideways with uncharacteristic haste.

"Hello, I'm Sophia," she responded after half a moment. "And I'm fine," she shook herself a little, took another sip of her hot chocolate and discovered that it was almost finished. With another sip the cup was down to the dregs, and she put it down carefully to one side. "I was just thinking," she explained without elaborating.

At least one good thing had been learned from Charms. Sophia retrieved her wand. Lumos she thought to herself. Light spell. Simple. Easy. Basic. No problem. She let out a breath and relaxed the tight smile that was attempting to set into rigor mortis on her face.

"Lumos!" She cast, pointing her wand at the stylised goat.

Nothing happened at first, and Sophia nearly slumped in defeat, but instead she rallied and cast the spell again. A faint glow appeared, barely enough to light up their side of the shape, and nowhere near enough to send its silhouette anywhere.

"Would you like to take a turn?" Sophia asked, looking at Dana. "Nox."

She tried not to feel depressed as the spell failed to cancel out the barely glowing light, letting her wand arm drop to her side where the tip was less obvious.

39 Sophia That's the problem. 0 Sophia 0 5

Nathaniel

November 29, 2008 12:55 AM

Then we'd both be black sheep, wouldn't we? by Nathaniel

Nathaniel turned his wand over in his fingers, grinning at this girls seeming excitement. He hoped he hadn't scared her away with his immediate answer (clarification?) to his own question. But she answered well enough, and without shying away from his overtalking ways that he always worried would get him in trouble with other people. Quite honestly, Nathaniel had never heard any of the insults thrown his way, nor had he been told of any. But he still worried about that sort of thing, taking anything somebody said as a question to change him (he wasn't against that, either, if he was asked though).

Lightly, color touched Nathaniel's thin face, and he turned away from the girl. "Special" was only a world his mother used to decribe everybody, it was weird hearing himself decribed as such "Well, I suppose so," he said, embarrassed. He tried to brush it off, "Ah, but no. I'm sure that its not that special of a thing here. Uh," he shook his head, "I was told there were a lot of people that would come here with no knowledge of magic, or you know anything like that." Nathaniel tried to pull away from his embarrassment. "Lucky," he decided, grinning. "I think I'm lucky for it! The whole magic thing, who wouldn't be lucky to get into that?"

Not even being able to use magic, but actually just knowing it existed. He didn't know anybody that wouldn't get a huge kick out of that. And here he was, Nathaniel Leon, in the middle of it all. His parents too, and sisters, they were given that small bit of glee of their son and brother's new "talents" (so to speak). He had been sure his father had been all over the magic thing (his father had stated that he stopped "seeing" the magic after his band finally broke up).

Tugging lightly on his paint stained clothes with one hand, Nathaniel looked to the hot chocolate with a small bit of want. He wondered if it was still too hot to drink. Even though it wouldn't satisfy the hunger in his stomach (he really was stupid to miss breakfast, the fall shouldn't have been that bad!). He should probably wait longer though, use the (hopefully cooled) hot chocolate for his "pat-on-the-back" when he felt satisfied with his work on the spell. He watched the girl as she tried out her own spell, giggling slightly as his own went out when he caught her eye.

Eyes on her planet, Nathaniel was slightly disappointed when his went out first. Thinking, this all could have been avoided if only... but he shouldn't be doing that "if only" things. It would only upset him, which wouldn't be good. Instead, he focused on the girl with a playful grin. "Cheater," he teased, tapping his wand on the fabric of the tent to emphasize his "point". Pulling his cloak around him again, he laughed sheepishly this time when his slowness came into light. Was he hurt? Well, yes... sort of. And she offered some medicine, he shook his head, "Oh no, I'll be fine," he assured.

"Its nothing, I just fell out of bed today," he laughed a little, then shrugged, "It was probably my fault, though nothing ever went wrong before when I helped my mom hang paintings but... eh." Tap. Tap. "But really, it's just sore is all. Stiff joints." What else could he say about his fall? Nathaniel changed the subject to something more interesting. "Oh, you dance, geez I've always admired dancers? Probably because I could never do it," he raised his arms over his head, "I'd look like a penguin, clumsy and uncoordinated," he described with a playful tone.

And she was right, she did win. But prizes? Oh, no, Nathaniel hadn't thought that far ahead, he looked around thinking. Then, acting on the first thing he saw, Nathaniel lifted his cup of hit chocolate as an offering. "You win, this magical fantastical, holy grail of marshmallowy, chocolatey goodness!" he exclaimed, sounding more like a salesman in a commercial. Then, thinking this sounded kind of lame alone (alone, maybe overall), Nathaniel put his drink in her hands and pulled off the moon that he'd lost with. "You also get proof of my defeat, the moon that wouldn't stay lit," he grinned. "Is it too obvious that prizes weren't the first thing on my mind when I thought of this game?" he asked honestly.

0 Nathaniel Then we'd both be black sheep, wouldn't we? 0 Nathaniel 0 5

Daniel Nash II

November 29, 2008 11:19 AM

Attempt to boost the confidence of the self-deprecator by Daniel Nash II

Daniel flushed slightly, possibly more embarrassed for using a word she didn't know than she was for not knowing it. Well, of course with an accent that thick, English wasn't her first language. He should have been more considerate in his word choices. "Yeah," he agreed. "From the gut." He mimicked the same gesture she had to indicate his own stomach. "Like if you were going to sing loudly," he added, in case 'gut' was too colloquial. Not that Daniel had done lot of singing, but he remembered hearing his elementary school music teacher use the phrase.

He took another sip of his hot chocolate and picked up a marshmallow. He wasn't entirely sure what to do with the marshmallow (he had thought there was a outdoors tradition involving graham crackers, but he didn't see any of those, and he'd thought the marshmallows were bigger for that anyway), but at this point, he could probably pass off any unusual camping behavior as cultural differences. He popped the marshmallow into his mouth and took another sip of the hot chocolate.

Indicating the marshmallows and hot chocolate, he asked curiously, since he hadn't see her consume any of either yet, "Did you want some?" He started reaching for another heat resistant cup in case she said yes.

1 Daniel Nash II Attempt to boost the confidence of the self-deprecator 130 Daniel Nash II 0 5

Kendra Paully

November 29, 2008 12:15 PM

Light is very manipulative. by Kendra Paully

Kendra had made it to class early that day. She had wanted to make sure that all her stuff was ready for the class. She had been waiting for a long time, and the teacher wasn't at the class yet. She was afraid that there actually, was not class and she didn't need to be there, but then why would everyone else be there? She turned to the person next to her and tapped their shoulder.

"Excuse me. I was wondering if you knew what time the class started?" she asked.

After receiving an answer she waited for the teacher to come through the- BANG. He was here. He was stalking towards the front of the classroom. She quickly felt the urge to sit up straight and not move a muscle. This was not a class to be care-free in. She listened to all his instructions and then turned back to the person next to her. She smiled and pulled her wand out of her bag.

"Do you want to try the spells together?" She asked.

0 Kendra Paully Light is very manipulative. 0 Kendra Paully 0 5

Taylor

November 29, 2008 6:39 PM

Mastering familiarity by Taylor

When the person spoke, Taylor shifted her attention to find that there wasn’t one person, but two people, twin boys to be exact. One had his eyes glued to her ferret and the other smiled at her. She gave a grin back and adjusted the unnecessary glasses with a nod. “It’s a ferret,” she answered picking up the critter so they could get a better look. “I named him Kinetic, because of how much energy he has. He’s only a baby right now, so he’ll get longer as gets older. They’re part of the weasel family.” She figured it was best to include that last part since most people knew what a weasel was. “Do you want to try holding him? He’s a bit squirmy, but if you keep moving your hands to support him, he’ll let you.”

As though finally remembering her manners, she added, “Oh, come on in.” She scooted a bit over and tucked her legs underneath her so they could find room more easily. She laughed at the attempt at humor. It was appreciated. The fact that they were being so friendly was appreciated. She had been worried about making friends since she had never really had to do so before. At least, not at a school and anything in auditions or on set didn’t really count. Though, that had to be the oddest thing about the school was finding out that Danny went here too, but it was also nice in a way. It presented some semblance of familiarity to the otherwise foreign world.

Of course, there were some other things that provided a touch of familiarity, such as the untouched thermos of hot chocolate. “One should never be without hot chocolate. It’s one of the necessities of life,” she joked, as she picked up the thermos and unscrewed the cap. “I’m Taylor. It’s nice to meet you. Do you want me to pour you some?” She asked before attempting to carefully transfer the hot liquid from the thermos to cup(s). After doing so, she settled back into her place, tucking a piece of the dark brown hair behind her ear, before lightly blowing on her drink.

While she was waiting for it to cool down, she continued the conversation, “So, where are you from? I’m from Los Angeles.” Her glasses shifted down her nose and she pushed them back up with the tip of her finger. They were becoming quite an annoyance, but she hoped they made her look smarter. With a sigh, she took them off and tucked them into her pocket. She was giving up for the moment. At least, she didn’t have to worry about anyone recognizing her from tv. She had only been on Danny’s show once or twice, which wasn’t even enough for him to remember her real name, and then on a couple of commercials, which were mostly just glimpses. Her dear mother would be so disappointed much to her awful delight.
\r\n\r\n

0 Taylor Mastering familiarity 0 Taylor 0 5

Charlotte Abbott

November 30, 2008 8:21 AM

Optical illusions and all by Charlotte Abbott

Going to classes was still far too exciting for words. Charlie got a huge thrill out of putting on her uniform robe every morning. It was a robe and she was a witch! It was far too exciting.

This morning, Charlie had her first Defense class. This was one of her brother's favorite classes, so Charlie was even more excited than usual... if that was possible. She tied her long dark hair back in a ponytail to keep it out of the way of her work, though the shorter bits at the front didn't reach, so she tucked them behind her ears. She packed her satchel with books, parchment and a couple of quills (she got such a kick out of writing with quills) and found her way to the Defense classroom.

It was oddly laid out, with bright tents and pillows. Figuring this was a nice change to desks and benches, Charlie settled down and was flipping through her textbook when the girl next to her tapped her shoulder. It was one of her roommates - Kendra might have been her name - asking about class start time.

"I think it's due to start any second," she replied. "Maybe the professor got lost," Charlie giggled at her own joke. "It's Kendra, right?" The other girl stuck out as being the only blonde in the room - all the other Crotalus first year girls had much darker complexions.

Charlotte stopped talking the instant the professor arrived; he frightened her just a little bit. But as he started explaining the lesson, Charlie got less and less afraid. Dure the Devils Snare sounded terrifying, but making shapes with magical light sounded awesome. Realising that her wand was still in her bag, Charlie fished it out and Kendra spoke to her again.

"Sure, I'd love to work with you!" Charlie beamed at the other girl.

0 Charlotte Abbott Optical illusions and all 135 Charlotte Abbott 0 5

Amelia Smythe

November 30, 2008 8:58 AM

You need my cheering influence by Amelia Smythe

She'd only been in the room three minutes before she was bored. What was the point, Amelia wondered, of being on time for class if the professor was late? There weren't even desk to sit at so she could paint her nails in lieu of nothing better to do. At last the professor finally graced the class with his appearance and Amelia had to feign interest in the class. She caught the important bits - lumos, Devil's Snare, stars in tents, yada yada.

Eventually the starting lecture finished and Amelia sighed at the prospect of having to work. Then again, it wasn't like it was especially hard work. She could probably get away with just sitting in a tent, drinking hot chocolate and not doing any work at all - despite her professor's threats. Of course, she would have to rely on finding a partner or two who would allow this. First years could probably be bullied into behaving. Looking round the room for a potential, Amelia spied her cousin, Dana going into a tent. That would work even better! Milly had spent years bullying her younger cousin. With a smirk, Amelia headed over. She too ducked into the tent, and realised that Dana wasn't alone.

"Hey girls," she said, greeting her cousin and roommate. Amelia pulled her bag off her shoulder and sat cross-legged on a pink cushion on the floor. "Sophia this is Dana, Dana this is Sophia. What a jolly party," she said, her eyes sparkly with mischief. "Dana, pour me some hot chocolate will you sweetie."

0 Amelia Smythe You need my cheering influence 121 Amelia Smythe 0 5

Adelita

November 30, 2008 7:13 PM

Are you a black sheep? by Adelita

Adelita had to admit, he probably wouldn’t be considered special while here at Sonora. But having magic in a family that didn’t, that had to be special, right? She would think, waking up one morning to discover she could do something that no one else in her family could do would make her extraordinary. Unique. Something that they wish they could partake in but would never be able to. “Yeah, lucky is a great way to describe it.” Adelita agreed, smiling and nodding her head as though she could truly understand where he was coming from.

Being from a prominent Pureblood family on her mother’s side, magic had always been apart of her. Her father, being born of a pureblood and a muggleborn, was a halfblood. And, although he was raised in a life of both magic and muggle, could not explain to her what life was like without magic. She had asked questions about it when she was little, but with the little answers that she had received, Adelita had eventually stopped asking about it all together.

So far, the magic was coming easily to her. She had been so terrified of not being able to do it, but Charlie had been right. The letter proved that she was more than capable of being able to perform the spells as requested. Of course, there were bound to be mishaps, as charms had proven, but Lita had more faith in herself now than she did at the Opening Feast. There was still the whole matter of this being simple magic and she still had seven years of spells to learn that would grow ever more complicated as she went, but Lita was not going to be thinking about that right now. For now, she was going to enjoy being able to do the simple spells.

Adelita’s mouth dropped open in mocked shock as the boy called her a cheater. She slapped his arm playfully, “I am not!” Lita exclaimed, half laughing. Adelita hadn’t really played games before. She had played chase with her Tios and hide and seek with her friends, but those were the only games she had ever really played. Well, she supposed that wasn’t true, her mom liked to play card games with them, but that was mainly Go Fish. Her friends and her mainly gossiped and played dress up or did one another’s hair. Games just didn’t occur. So, being a cheater was a foreign concept to her.

“You fell out of bed?” Adelita asked, incredulously. “I’ve done that before. But, I was jumping on it, so my Mama said it was my own fault.” Adelita shrugged slightly at this information. It was true, of course. Her jumping had caused for her own splendid topple, but she had gone to her mother for sympathy and not to be given a lecture. Adelita hated lectures from her parents. Like she didn’t know that stuff already?

Adelita’s face lit up again when he commented about dancing. “Yeah! I’ve been learning to dance Ballet since I was four. My Mama said that we would have to choose a hobby. So, I chose dance and Dulce, that’s my sister, she chose music. But I like the idea of maybe one day being on stage as a Ballerina with everyone watching me.” Adelita had an almost wistful look on her face while she spoke. She laughed as he described what he would be like dancing. “Oh, I don’t know, my Instructor says that everyone can dance, they just have to find their beat.”

Laughter came again when the boy offered her his cup of hot chocolate as a prize, talking to her in a strange way. She glanced down at the mug and at the moon he was now offering to her, still giggling at the whole situation. “It is, but that’s okay.” Adelita told him. “I can’t take your hot chocolate though, you’ve been waiting to have it since I came into the tent.” Adelita held the mug back out to him to take. “It’s very nice of you to have offered it to me though, um…” Adelita drew a blank on his name and realized that she had never asked for it. How odd. They had spent all this time together and never exchanged names. “I’m sorry, I don’t know your name! I’m Adelita, Lita for short.”

0 Adelita Are you a black sheep? 0 Adelita 0 5

Ethan and Elliot

December 01, 2008 1:46 AM

Mastering Ferrets and Hot Chocolate by Ethan and Elliot

Ethan grinned madly and took Kinetic from Taylor's hands. He squirmed in his hands before working free and running up his arm before Ethan could get a hold of him again. This time he took Taylor's advice and tried moving his hands with Kinetic. This worked much better even though Ethan had to actually pay attention, especially when he was stepping inside. Elliot followed him in, sitting in between Ethan and Taylor.

"Good to meet you Taylor. Pour away." Elliot said when she offered. Ethan, without taking his eyes off of Kinetic (he was currently trying to bury himself in Ethan's lap) said "Yeah, me too!" Ethan finally let go of Kinetic, who bolted away and began scurrying around the tent floor, and grabbed the proffered hot chocolate. "Excellent. Hey, you're from LA? So are we!"

"Where in LA? We're from Encino." They must have taken the same wagon if they were all from LA, but neither Ethan nor Elliot had noticed her on the way to school.

0 Ethan and Elliot Mastering Ferrets and Hot Chocolate 0 Ethan and Elliot 0 5

Deepa Rajaram

December 02, 2008 6:01 PM

And you're succeeding quite nicely, too. by Deepa Rajaram

Deepa hid a smile as his cheeks pinked every so slightly; it was an endearing trait, and one she did not see often in her cousins, who were shameless blackguards. She let the smile show when he mimed the diaphragm--(good word; she should remember it)--and said it was like singing loudly.

He popped something white and round into his mouth. There were a whole bunch of them, left out beside the thermos. "Ah--what are these?" Deepa asked, picking one up. She expected it to be chalky, but it squished pleasantly between her fingers. She sniffed it (it smelled sweet) and flicked her tongue out against it before popping it into her mouth. "Mmm!" she exclaimed, delighted by the pillowy confection. "These are good!" She giggled around the mouthful of white sugar and brushed her fingers against her lips, making sure they were clean.

"Now," she said, picking up her wand. "From the--the diaphragm?" She sat up on her knees and took a deep breath, raising her wand. "Lumos duo!" she said. The same bright light as before flickered at the end of her wand. Then another deep breath, and: "Lumos maxima!"

She looked up, thrilled, at the bright shape on the ceiling: the edges were sharper with this spell, and it seemed at least twice as bright as the duo. "Thank you! And--" she added as he reached for a cup, "--yes, please."

0 Deepa Rajaram And you're succeeding quite nicely, too. 0 Deepa Rajaram 0 5

Nathaniel

December 04, 2008 2:47 PM

I would like to think I stand out by Nathaniel

The boy grinned lightly at her when he was hit, laughing with her soon enough as he pretended to rub his arm in pain (he made sure she knew it was pretend and that she hadn't accidentally tapped a tender part). "Are you sure? I still think that you did," he teased, "No one could ever beat me!" which was a huge lie and he knew it, actually Nathaniel was quiet bad at all games, sports, and contests. He preferred doing things for fun, not serious, and that was the tone his voice took on. Their game was simply fun, not a contest of who is better at magic.

His face was still heated from embarrassment about his fall, but she made him feel a little better about falling. "I did fall," he reassured her disbelief, he didn't know if he could believe it either. After all, who falls out of bed and gets hurt? Nathaniel wondered how thin his skin must be to have fallen from the bed and having him end up so sore. His on arm still felt like it ran a marathon (though he would be proud to say the spot on his chin hadn't had any unnecessary throbbing accidents).

"Jumping on the bed?" he asked, chuckling a little, "I wish that was how I fell, I feel a little stupid for just slipping." He had stopped jumping on the bed after a near fall, but thinking about it made him want to jump up an down on something. They should get a trampoline here or something, that would burn off any unneeded energy Nathaniel would have left over during the day. He used to have a trampoline at home, a mini one that his mother had gotten, but his father used it now stating that jumping helped activate the brain juices. Then his mother started using it, and Nathaniel had stopped since his parents probably needed it more than him.

Thinking about it, maybe Nathaniel should ask his parents for that thing back, just for the school year. He could stick it at the foot of his bed and use it whenever he was feeling slightly homesick (even though he loved the whole magic thing, he still missed his home enough, he was a kid who never used to be away from home long). He continued with his own falling, "I was hanging a picture above my bed, " his hands followed along, talking with him, careful not to move too fast too far, "and I took a step onto a bit of blanket hanging off the bed, and whoosh!, I just fell." He grinned.

"So, stupid, see," he offered, rolling his eyes at his ability to fall from blankets. He often played off his feet's ability to trip or stumble. It wasn't that big a deal, if anyone laughed when he fell, he wasn't going to yell and make people hate him for his falls. Nathaniel didn't want anyone to hate him.

His eyes lightened when she talked about dance and music, Nathaniel was one who definately loved to see all sorts of art. "Oh, trust me, I'm not very good on my feet," he brushed off his inability to dance with a sheepish laugh, "as you probably are able to tell from the way I hurt myself. But I love to watch dancing, it's just so interesting to see how people can move and bend in ways that... well ways that would probably hurt me," he admitted grinning. "It seems impossible to fake dancing, like some people can fake singing or playing an instrument." His father sometimes complained about the new bands and their "synthesized" ways of playing.

"My dad is insistant about music," he told her, nodding. "Thankfully, he could tell me and my sister wouldn't be able to dance, since we're all built the same." Meaning, like spiders with the grace of penguins on land. "But my sisters and I, we have to learn instrumentals and that's a lot of fun. Singing too, but I definately am afraid of dancing." So she wanted to be a ballerina, he smiled always liking it when people were passionate about the arts. It seemed things were all about sports nowadays, he had been equally glad when Pippa expressed her artsy hobbies to him at the feast. "You've been practicing for a long time," he told her, nodding along with his statements. "And you really want to do it, I'm sure you could."

Even though he'd never seen her, Nathaniel always found himself complimenting and reassuring people. He never had a doubt other people were as they told him, why should he? If she had been dancing since she was four and she really loved it, then she was going to make it.

She gave him back his cup of hot chocolate, which he took another sip of gladly. It had cooled down to his liking, and Nathaniel pulled up one more cup. "Thank you, Adelita, I was hoping you wouldn't take mine," he laughed and handed her the new cup he'd poured. "But would you like one of your own? And keep the moon, it'll remind you that you beat me in our defense class this one day."

When she told him her name, he had decided that he would be calling her Adelita, as he was never a person for nicknames (he only ever called Star by her shortened name because she insisted). He allowed people to call him Nate or Nathan, but it wasn't something he was fond of. "I'm Nathaniel, I probably should have introduced myself before, sorry," he said, truly sounding apologetic. "You can call me whatever you want, if Nathaniel is too long," he offered (though he really didn't want to be called anything else).

0 Nathaniel I would like to think I stand out 0 Nathaniel 0 5

Sophia

December 05, 2008 6:17 PM

Oh, is that what they call it :-p by Sophia

Sophia looked down to her side and was relieved to see that the light had gone from the tip of her wand. She smiled, mostly with relief about the spell working. Or the other spell simply failing - but with the desired result.

"Hello, Amelia," she said to the newcomer who had made herself at home quite quickly. "You... know each other then?" she asked, looking from one girl to the other. There was a certain something about their faces... nothing major, but - "related?" she hypothesised.

She wasn't quite so sure about the 'jolly party' bit, but Amelia wasn't really the type to take Sophia's reservations seriously. As she'd learned simply through living in the same room as the other girl during term time for a whole year.

Amelia seemed to have a lot of people she was related to at Sonora, Sophia mused as she decided that the best thing to do would be to sit down and go along with the flow for now. She had attempted the spell, so it wasn't like Professor Drake could find fault with her. She refilled her own hot chocolate and thought of a much less humiliating subject to talk about.

"Which one is yours? she asked, indicating the star signs with a slight wave of one hand. Her eye caught on Capricorn again and she frowned slightly as she took a sip of hot chocolate.

39 Sophia Oh, is that what they call it :-p 0 Sophia 0 5

Daniel

December 06, 2008 9:06 PM

Expression of positive emotion by Daniel

"They're marshmallows," Daniel told her when she asked after the sugary confections. "People eat them when they go camping," he added, though he only had the evidence of them being in the tent and some vague memories about reading something about s'mores to back up that assumption. It seemed a fairly safe one, though. Not one to admit to ignorance of any kind, he did not offer the information that his camping experience was limited to what he'd seen on TV or read about in books.

His grin grew more pronounced (though it remained asymmetrical) and his eyes lit up nearly as well as their wand tips had when she tried the marshmallow and gave such a perfect reaction to it. He laughed along with her, her delight being infectious.

Whether it was an affect of the diaphragm advice, or just better confidence now that she was no longer figuring things out by herself, or maybe even because marshmallows had a heretofore unexplored magic boosting property, her spells worked perfectly, possibly even better than Danny's (though he was loathe to admit as much). "Great!" he congratulated her and meant it, relative success notwithstanding. He was a gentleman and knew how to be gracious.

At her acceptance of his offer of hot chocolate, he picked up the top cup off the stack he'd been reaching for, and poured in the steamy brown liquid until the glass was about three quarters full. There was less chance of it spilling and burning someone if it wasn't up to the brim.

"Careful, it's hot." After handing that over to her, he topped off his own cup to match the same amount.

He took a cautious sip of his own, and and then wondered, "Do you think we're supposed to try the last one, or is that just for second years?" They'd been clearly instructed in their Charms class not to do the most difficult spell if they were only in their first year, but this class didn't include the third years, so the harder level spell might not be as dangerous in untrained hands.

1 Daniel Expression of positive emotion 130 Daniel 0 5

Deepa

December 06, 2008 10:10 PM

A reciprocation of said expression. by Deepa

Deepa dipped her head, thanking him for his congratulations, and accepted the cup he offered her carefully. She blew on the hot liquid for a moment before taking a sip; it was good, and warm. For some reason, it didn't seem as warm here, though she knew that Arizona was one of the hottest parts of the United States. There was a general lack of humidity in the air--maybe that was it. Either way, she was grateful for the sweet, chocolaty heat that settled in her stomach and sent tendrils out through her body.

"Shukriya," she said, giving him another, smaller smile. Then: "Oh, it means 'thank you,' in Urdu. And Hindi, actually," she said, tapping her lip thoughtfully. "We speak both at home, and they are much the same, in speaking." It was only fair that if he taught her things, she should also teach him.

"Do you think we're supposed to try the last one, or is that just for second years?" Daniel asked her, sipping his own hot chocolate.

Deepa thought for a moment, trying to remember what Professor O'Leary had said. "No... I believe he said something about it being for the most adventurous of us. Do you want to try it?" She set down the cup of hot chocolate, now considerably emptier, and checked briefly to make sure it wouldn't tip over.

0 Deepa A reciprocation of said expression. 0 Deepa 0 5

Kendra

December 06, 2008 10:16 PM

Or the illusions arn'treally illusions. OoooOOooh. by Kendra

Kendra smiled at the girl’s outgoingness and bubbliness. She smiled and sat in her seat. She vaguely remembered seeing the girl somewhere. When the girl asked if her name was Kendra, she was caught off guard.

"Y-yes. It is. Do I know you? You look familiar." she said trying to be as least rude as she possibly could. She really hoped they could be friends.

The professor came in and began the lesson, and when he released them for the lesson, Kendra gladly asked the girl to be her partner. The girl accepted gladly and Kendra looked around the tent. There were indeed shapes cut out of the tent. She grabbed a cup of hot choco-la-te and took a sip. It was delicious. She looked over at the girl and smiled.

"So...Who do you want to go first?"

0 Kendra Or the illusions arn'treally illusions. OoooOOooh. 0 Kendra 0 5

Quentin Melcher

December 08, 2008 5:46 PM

Now this is a Professor.. by Quentin Melcher

Quentin did not really understand why people said good morning or good afternoon or good anything. How would they know if it was? It would be more accurate to say that they wished someone a good morning or whatever.

And again with the call them Sir or Professor Whatever their name happened to be. While Professor was the proper title for a teacher (or one who professed) Quentin was not about to call someone who didn't teach that. Like with Mr. Flatt, he would address this man as Sir to his face if, but just because one called themselves something didn't make it accurate. Quentin could call himself the King of Iowa if he wanted, but that didn't make it so.

However, this quickly became a non-issue as Professor O'Leary began to actually teach them. After the rules of the class, which were indeed, clear,so Quentin nodded because he didn't want to talk when the Professor was talking and clean the toilets with his tongue. He then mentioned the lesson, telling them about the spells and the Devil's Snare-though Quentin had already read about the Devil's Snare and the Flitterbloom, still he'd never been instructed in the proper way to cast the spell, being underage and all.

They were released to do the lesson and Quentin went for the nearest tent and went inside. He pointed his wand toward the ceiling and was about to try the first spell when the door to the tent opened again. "Hello," he greeted the person.

11 Quentin Melcher Now this is a Professor.. 129 Quentin Melcher 0 5

Adelita

December 08, 2008 10:35 PM

In a good way or bad? by Adelita

Adelita, despite all of her mother’s lectures on etiquette, stuck her tongue out playfully at Nathaniel when he continued with the joke of her cheating. Adelita wondered if it were even possible to cheat magic. It was obvious that a person could trick another person using magic, but could they cheat magic? Could someone twist magic in such a way? It was an odd thought to have and even Adelita wasn’t so sure she understood the implications of such thoughts, but she was always curious about the enigmas in life.

Nathaniel’s embarrassment for having fallen made Adelita’s smile widen ever so slightly for reasons even she didn’t understand. Perhaps it was because his face was a bit pink at having admitted to it or because he had been so willing to explain to her what had happened. Most people didn’t do that. But perhaps those were the reason why she couldn’t help smiling while he explained to her how he came about falling and hurting himself. It was …refreshing, in a way, that he was so open with someone he could consider a complete stranger. “Nah, I wouldn’t say stupid. Accidents happen, ya know?” Adelita commented.

Merlin knew she often hurt herself. She could sometimes blame being injured on her dancing. There were times when she would wake up the next day in tears because she was hurting so much. Whether that have been her feet, back, legs, arms, or head. Something always hurt. Most of the time it ended up being her legs and feet. Murtlap Essence was her life and she was rather glad her mother always had a large supply of the medicine at her disposal. If that hadn’t existed, Adelita wasn’t so sure she could have danced. It was so painful. But, she felt so right when she danced. Through the pain, she felt …happy. Pure. And when practice or the recitals were over, a part of her felt saddened that it was ending. Coming to Sonora was one of the downfalls for her. It meant she couldn’t have her daily lessons in dance. But, she would still do it. She promised her instructor that she would continue to practice so that she could show her how much she had improved.

Adelita was happy to find that Nathaniel liked dancing. Well, not dancing himself, but enjoyed the entertainment value that came from others dancing. So far, Adelita had met her new best friend, Charlie, who also was a dancer and Nathaniel, who enjoyed watching dancing. She never thought she would meet so many people who shared in her love for dancing. “I’m still learning a lot of steps. My instructor says that eventually I’ll be able to create something all on my own. But, for now, I’m still a student.” Adelita said all this rather light-heartedly. She would love to someday create a beautiful dance that would have people weeping as they watched, but she wasn’t so naïve to think that she could do such a thing anytime soon. Especially since she had only just begun learning Contemporary. There were a lot of people who didn’t quite see the beauty in Ballet, but Contemporary was so much freer of a dance that anyone could lose themselves in watching it.

“Oh, you can play and sing?” Adelita asked, perking up at this news. Her sister was the musician of the family and her Tia Izzy had vocals on her that made the family very proud. Adelita can definitely understand why music was so important to his father. “What do you play? Dulce can play the piano, the violin, and the drums.” The piano and the violin had been at the request of their mother, but the drums were what Dulce had picked for herself. On top of those instruments, she was a decent singer too. Their mother was trying to desperately have Dulce use her voice more though. Dulce preferred to only play the instruments and sang when she had no other choice.

It was Adelita’s time to blush as Nathaniel reassured her that she had the ability to make her dream come true. It wasn’t so much that no one had ever told her that she could do this, but the fact that it was coming from someone she had only just met. It was different to hear it from him than it would have been from a family member or a close friend. She appreciated his sentiments though. “Thanks.” She replied a little timidly.

She laughed when he admitted he wanted his hot chocolate and accepted the mug the he gave her in return. “Gracias.” Adelita thanked him, using her second language merely because sometimes it just sounded better than English. The hot chocolate was, well, hot, but she still enjoyed the chocolaty goodness as it slide down her throat. She loved hot chocolate, especially when she was sick or feeling sad. Her mother would usually make her a cup when Lita was feeling down. Sometimes it was good to have on a cold San Francisco night/morning too.

“It’s okay, Nathaniel-“ Adelita found it odd when a person didn’t have a nickname, but if they introduced themselves as such, that was what she would try to call them. “I didn’t introduce myself either. I guess we were just caught up in the moment.” She grinned at him, holding the moon and looking at the stars again. “We should probably try some of the spells again. What was the second one? Lumos…Duo?” Lita paused to make sure she had said the correct one before shrugging and spoke the incantation one more time with confidence. Much to her delight, her wand light, brighter than before (or so she assumed). “How can we tell if this is as bright as the spell is? Like, that we’ve done it correctly?” She asked Nathaniel. Maybe she had missed something in the lesson that would have advised on these things.

0 Adelita In a good way or bad? 0 Adelita 0 5

Daniel

December 10, 2008 9:08 PM

A feeling of good will by Daniel

Shukriya, Daniel repeated in his head, making a mental note of the word. Chances were high he'd forget it by tomorrow, but he'd try not to let that happen. Shukriya, thank you; Hindi and Urdu. He'd never heard of Urdu before, but Hindi was something he could remember his social studies teacher mentioning once or twice.

Daniel looked toward the tent flap, through which he'd need to go to get to the dangerous plant thing - the Devil's Snare - that didn't like sunlight. While 'adventurous' was hardly a word he'd usually apply to himself, there was a certain appeal in besting a challenge.

And maybe it was a simple muggle prejudice, but he really couldn't bring himself to be afraid of a plant, no matter how ominous its name was. It seemed to him that simply keeping a safe distance ought to prevent anyone from coming to any harm. Though, he supposed, since the species thrived in dark spaces, it may be possible to come upon one unawares.

It was probably best to be sure he could handle the situation, just in case. He had to pass through some pretty dark corners of the library to get to the Aladren Common Room. Though he doubted there were any Devil Snares, or even flitterblooms for that matter, in the library.

"Yeah," he said after a moment's consideration. "I think I would like to try it." He picked up his wand again. "But first let's make sure I can do the spell here, before I give it a try out there in front of the professor and that plant."

He pointed the wand toward the cutouts again and was about to cast the spell when he paused suddenly. "You might want to shield your eyes," he cautioned Deepa. "If this is as bright as it's supposed to be, I don't want to blind you. Okay." He took another deep preparatory breath, and gave it a try, "Lumos Solem!" he cried out, projecting for all his diaphragm was worth.

He quickly squeezed his eyes shut. Yeah, ow. That was a lot brighter than the maxima version of the spell. He wasn't sure he'd go so far as to say it was as bright as the sun, but it was definitely bright in their unlit little tent. The light faded after only a moment, and Daniel blinked, trying to rid his retinas of the after image. "Okay, I think that worked pretty well. Did you want to try it, too?" he asked with a nod toward the tent flap, indicating that 'it' meant going in front of the plant, and not just trying the final spell.

1 Daniel A feeling of good will 130 Daniel 0 5

Pippa Brockert

December 12, 2008 4:16 PM

smiles nervously by Pippa Brockert

Pippa entered the Defense Against the Dark Arts room with trepidation. This was the class she was most anxious about, not because she had heard Professor O'Leary's reputation for being strict. It was just the thought of being exposed to such dangerous things made her a bit anxious, though she trusted that the professor wouldn't really let anything bad happen to them.

Furthermore, it disturbed Pippa that anyone would ever use dark arts to hurt anyone. Her older sister, Melora, was interested in them, but more in an intellectually curious way. She certainly didn't think her sister would hurt anyone. Pippa did know though, that there were dark creatures and dangerous plants out there, that could hurt her because that was just their nature. Animals and plants didn't deliberately do things to people.

A big smile formed on her face when she saw the colorful pillows and pop-up tents. Pippa could only imagine what they were doing today. It would hopefully be something fun and not too dangerous. She sat down on a large circular purple pillow with pink,green and blue flowers on it. Pippa listened as Professor O'Leary gave the classroom rules and frowned. She certainly didn't want to cross him and would definitely be sure not to fool around. Not that she would anyway, it wasn't really in her nature to do so.

She sighed with relief when she saw the lesson would be on the Lumos spell. This would be a handy spell in general. Pippa was also glad they were working on a dangerous plant rather than dark magic. She really never thought someone would use dark magic on her. Sure, Tawny could have explosively violent tantrums at times, but that wasn't Dark Arts. That was an emotional underage witch who hadn't learned to control her magic properly. As for Melora, she didn't actually practice the dark arts, she just enjoyed reading about them. Pippa hoped Melora never actually did try them. She could get badly hurt or worse and Pippa would hate for anything to happen to her.

She got up and went to go get a cup of hot chocolate before entering the tent, since she didn't want to spill it. Pippa loved hot chocolate. She finished it and went inside the tent, only to see that someone else was already inside. "Hello" Pippa greeted them, smiling shyly.

11 Pippa Brockert *smiles nervously* 132 Pippa Brockert 0 5

Nathaniel

December 13, 2008 10:36 PM

It depends on the person judging me by Nathaniel

Grinning, Nathaniel went back to sipping in his hot chocolate while she stuck her tongue out at him, going along with the game. Kicking one foot in front of him, Nathaniel collapsed completely into a sitting position on the floor. Rocking slightly, he looked up at the cutouts on the ceiling, the color from his cheeks still not retreating. He fell off the bed and hurt himself, Adelita denied that he was stupid, and Nathaniel was able to look back at her, slight relief.

“Ah yeah,” he nodded slightly, “Accidents do happen, I’ve found that out the hard way.” His fingers came to massage his sore shoulder absentmindedly while grinning. “I find making fun of myself is a good way to relieve the embarrassment accidents cause,” he told her, “So people are laughing with you instead of at you.” Being laughed at wasn’t very fun, laughing with was different. Less painful, and embarrassing, that Nathaniel had also learned the hard way. Yet he’d learned quicker, and always laughed at his mistakes before anyone else could.

People liked you better if you were able to laugh at yourself, too. Kids who were always serious and couldn’t take a joke seemed to get left out, it was so unfair but that was just... how he saw it work. It wasn’t that people were exactly mean to them, just they didn’t feel like having someone get angry at them when they were “only teasing”. Nathaniel hadn’t ever been so serious that every little word was offensive, but when he first started school the kids teased his messy attire. So, he’d adopted his own silly attitude to go along with it, make it okay.

He could stand being laughed at if he was laughing too.

Playing idly with his hands, he watched her talk about dance. Nathaniel nodded along, listening intently with a smile. “Well of course!” he commented, shaking his head, “It would really take a... prodigy, someone born knowing everything, to be perfect enough to create a whole dance at eleven, right?” he said this because he wasn’t sure, it looked complicated enough to sound true but you never knew. He furrowed his brow, thinking, and pushed back a lock of light brown hair that had fallen from place. She changed to his own studies, questioning him. Nathaniel looked up, a silly grin on his face.

“A little guitar and bass, my hands are too small and soft though,” he said, holding them up. Nathaniel was tall, and lanky, and his hands were no different, but they were still the hands of a child. He had little strength to press down on the strings, and his hands were soft and not calloused at all. His father, who had played guitar for a good portion of his life, had rough hands that felt like sandpaper. They were gross, but that was the sacrifice. “A little piano, once again, hands too small,” stretching his fingers to reach separated notes took him some time, “I also have some knowledge of the flute and I’m going to start the saxophone this summer. Erm, I suppose I can to little ditties on the xylophone,” he laughed, “And I’m sure I’m going to be told to try the drums too. Oh, and my mom has a harp, I just play around with that. I have no knowledge of it at all. Erm, we have an accordion too, but I’m not even going to attempt that until I’m... twenty-two or something!” Twenty-two was a long while away, wasn’t it?

That accordion was heavy though, in attempting to pick it up Nathaniel had nearly dropped it on his foot. “I’m not very good at any of it, but you know that’s probably because I don’t devote all my time to one thing,” he stated, “I like to try all sorts of things. My big sister, Star, she’s going to school for music, she’s like me, trying all different things. She wants to teach music theory, I think.” Or be in an orchestra. Or both. Star’s ideas were conflicting.

He laughed when she seemed embarrassed about what he said, “Of course! No problem,” he responded naturally, wasn’t that what he was supposed to say? He was also thanked for the hot chocolate, and this time Nathaniel only nodded, that same happy grin just resting on his face like it was something natural (which it was). His wand slipped from his fingers, clattering to the ground. “Oops,” he muttered, stretching his sore arm to pull the rolling thing back towards him. Adelita mentioned trying the next spell and Nathaniel looked up enthusiastically.

“Oh! Okay!” he said, trying now to kneel. Her wand lit up, and Nathaniel turned his eyes away from the bright light. “I guess... we just rely on instinct!” Waving his wand around dramatically (ow), he stated the spell, “Lumos Duo!” he stated clearly, and to his excitement, the wand lit up. Yes, he thought it was brighter than his original lumos spell. Keeping the wand in one hand, Nathaniel attempted making shadow puppets with one hand on the wall of the tent. Unfortunately, he fumbled and the light went out. “Dang,” he said, looking up at Adelita with a smile, “I think that was brighter!” he said, then also remembered that other thing Professor O’Leary had talked about. “Hey, Adelita, are you going to try out your spell on that Snarly plant?”

0 Nathaniel It depends on the person judging me 0 Nathaniel 0 5

Jera Valson

December 18, 2008 7:03 AM

And this is a student by Jera Valson

Jera really tried to do her best in Defense, but the truth was it was all a bit creepy. Just the title of the class was fearsome, and Professor O'Leary was... intimidating. Jera liked that word, because it was personal perception; nobody could tell her he wasn't intimidating because that would just be their viewpoint. Either way, it made the classes harder to study than when Jera could relax.

Sometimes the professor surprised her. There was that treasure hunt in the maze at the start of her first year, and now this class they had tents and hot chocolate. During these lessons, Jera felt she could learn more, and because she'd enjoyed learning it, the knowledge stayed with her for longer without revision. So happily, then, Jera took notes on the class lecture and assignments, and then folded her notebook back into her bag before finding a tent.

She one she chose had someone sitting it it already; a boy. "Hello," Jera returned his greeting. She was often shy with strangers, so was grateful they had something to talk about, with the assignment and all. She sat down on the cushion and took her bag back off her shoulder before rummaging in it to find her wand. "I'm Jera," she introduced herself after a moment. "I don't know you, do I?"

0 Jera Valson And this is a student 112 Jera Valson 0 5

Adelita

December 22, 2008 11:04 PM

That's true. I'm sure they'll all like you though. by Adelita

Adelita followed Nathaniel's lead by sitting on the floor (although it took her a great deal longer to do so due to the fact that she was wearing a skirt). Once she was on the floor, careful to ensure that her robe was tucked in beneath her as she had done when she had sat on the pillow during the lecture part of the lesson, Adelita returned her attention to Nathaniel.

"That's a very mature outlook to have on life.” Adelita commented. She wasn’t sure if she could do that. Laugh at herself just so that she was laughing with other people instead of them laughing at her. Honestly, she would be entirely humiliated if someone started laughing at her when she didn’t necessarily find the situation humorous. But she did appreciate his candidness and the fact that he was being the bigger person by having such a motto about himself. Adelita was even a bit envious of such an ability.
Adelita grinned when Nathaniel assured her that it was alright if she couldn’t create a dance on her own. She came from a very talented family and she often compared herself to them because of how well they did at the things they loved. Dulce would master the piano with grace; Tia Izzy would hold a note until she was blue in the face; Tia Sofia was flawless in magazines; and photoshoots, and her Grand Mamas were amazing cooks. They all had talents in different fields and they were all incredible with what they did. It was hard for Lita to admit to herself that she had a standing chance amongst them. So, it felt really good when Nathaniel reminded her that dance took quite a bit of training before she would reach such a level as that. “Yeah, you’re right. I don’t know any girl my age who can do that just yet. I’ve only just started pointe back in January. There’s no way I could do choreography on my own right now.”

She listened intently while Nathaniel explained the sort of instruments that he had tried. She was really surprised by the number of them that he had played. When he mentioned the piano and his hands, Adelita immediately glanced at them and reached out for a moment as though to grab them, but thought the better of it and dropped her hands back into her lap. Her mother had said once that a person could tell a pianist by the length of their fingers. Apparently, her mother believed that if a person and long dainty fingers, they could play the keys with infinite beauty. Adelita had a habit of trying to prove her mother right (or wrong, it was hard to say sometimes).

A giggle escaped when Nathaniel mentioned wanting to possibly try the accordion. Adelita never thought someone willingly learned to play that unless they were Swedish. Maybe Nathaniel was Swedish? “Maybe you can learn to play the polka on it!” Adelita suggested. “Isn’t that what people play on an accordion? I’ve never actually seen anyone play one before.” She had to admit that she always thought the accordion to be the sort of instruments someone who wasn’t really… socially inclined to play. But, maybe Nathaniel could prove her wrong one day.

“That’s so cool that your sister wants to do that. If I couldn’t dance like professionally, I would want to be able to teach someone else how to dance. Maybe get them to a place that I wasn’t able to do.” Adelita explained. Of course, she really really wanted to be a ballerina dancing in the Nutcracker, but she knew that not everyone’s dreams came true.

Well, it didn’t seem like Nathaniel knew anything more than she did on how they knew if the spell was working. Oh well, something they could always test out later. She continued to play with the spell, smiling when Nathaniel made a comment on the brightness of his own spell. Maybe they were brighter? “Hm?” Adelita mumbled when he addressed her directly. His question had her shaking her head immediately. “No thank you. I do not want my headline to read ‘Death by Plant’.” She informed him. “What about you? Are you going to test your luck?”

0 Adelita That's true. I'm sure they'll all like you though. 0 Adelita 0 5

Quentin

December 29, 2008 1:27 AM

And you are a brave soul. by Quentin

Quentin appraised the girl, Jera, who had entered the tent."No, I don't believe you do." He responded. He most definitely did not know her. Quentin was neither certain or sure about her nor acquainted or familiar with her nor did he have knowledge of her nor did he understand her nor had he experienced Jera. Certainly, unless Quentin had more of a reputation than he thought already-which given the barrage of questions he'd asked Mr. Flatt, including the irrevlant ones, was possible-it was most likely that Jera did not, in fact, know him in any sense of the word either. Even if she had heard about that she would only have known of him rather than actually knowing him. Plus, she still wasn't aware of his name so it would be unlikely that she would be able to match up the face given that she was not one of the first years that were in Aladren.

"I'm Quentin." He replied, giving her a warm, friendly smile. He didn't say it was nice to meet her as he had no idea whether or not it was yet but he didn't want to be completely rude and have Jera think he didn't want her around either. Well, he wasn't sure if he did actually or not. Jera could be actually very unpleasant. Quentin had no idea since they didn't know each other, but as it was, he tended to like most people so it was fairly likely that he would indeed want her around and find it nice to have met her.

"Are you a first year too? Or a second year? What house?" None of the answers mattered to him in the sense that they wouldn't affect Quentin's opinion of her. He merely felt they were good conversation starters and was in fact interested in what she had to say, at least at this point. "I am a member of Aladren house." Quentin added.

He stated this fact rather than saying he was in Aladren in this way due to the fact that he was not currently contained by the Aladren common room. Quentin was in a tent in the Defense room so he was currently only in Aladren in the sense that he was a member of it.

11 Quentin And you are a brave soul. 129 Quentin 0 5

Jera

January 13, 2009 12:31 PM

Courage is often drawn from fear by Jera

The boy introduced himself, and began the usual introductory topics of house and year. "Oh hey, I'm in Aladren too," Jera smiled back. "This is my second year here." Still only her second year and so much to learn. Of course, on the other hand, it was only her second year and she'd learnt so much.

"How do you like Sonora so far?" Jera asked Quentin as she pulled her wand from her bag ready for the lesson. She waved it a coupld of times and let her lips form the words without speaking the incantation. Then Jera realized Quentin might think that was odd, and she hurriedly cast her eyes down. "Lumos," she cast after the rehearsal, and was pleased to see the spell worked. She cancelled it then looked around at the shapes the professor had laid out. Her eyes also feel upon the hot chocolate.

"Oh," she exclaimed in a manner of pleasant surprise. "Hot chcolate." She looked at Quentin. "Would you like me to pour some for you?" she asked, already getting a cup ready for herself.

0 Jera Courage is often drawn from fear 0 Jera 0 5

Charlotte

January 13, 2009 12:39 PM

Don't believe your eyes by Charlotte

OOC: I didn't forget about this... honestly...

Kendra at least registered that Charlie looked familiar. "I'm in your dormitory," Charlie told her, not sounding at all upset she hadn't been remembered - there was a lot to take on board during the first few weeks. "I'm Charlotte, but everyone calls me Charlie."

Soon enough, the professor stopped talking which Charlotte knew was a sign to begin work. She followed Kendra inside the tent a also followed her lead in taking a hot chocolate. This school was the best!

"So...Who do you want to go first?" Kendra asked.

"Oh, well, I could give it a go," Charlie said timidly, but she was so excited she couldn't keep the smile from her face. She fumbled to find her wand, and then looked at the shapes around them. Her fingers located a circular disk with a five-pointed star shape cut out from its center. "This will do," she said, more to herself than to her partner.

Then, lifting the shape up, Charlie held her wand directed at it and cast, "Lumos!" To her delight and surprise, and tiny trickle of light emitted from the end of her wand, casting a feint shadow on the tent. "Wow," she squeaked in her excitement. "I know it's far from brilliant, but this magic stuff is ace!"

0 Charlotte Don't believe your eyes 0 Charlotte 0 5

Professor O'Leary

January 17, 2009 8:15 PM

Class Closed! (nm) by Professor O'Leary

0 Professor O'Leary Class Closed! (nm) 0 Professor O'Leary 0 5

Professor O'Leary

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

Daniel Nash II

Something witty and relevant to my post by Daniel Nash II

Deepa Rajaram

Something equally witty in response to your something witty. by Deepa Rajaram

Daniel

Clever reply to your something equally witty by Daniel

Sophia Xuereb

You're trying to make an example of me, aren't you? by Sophia Xuereb

Nathaniel Leon

The magic isn't wearing out by Nathaniel Leon

Adelita Garcia [Crotalus]

I didn't realize that it could. by Adelita Garcia [Crotalus]

Nathaniel

I'm just slightly worried it will... by Nathaniel

Deepa

I've run out of witty; I hope self-deprecating will do. by Deepa

Adelita

It better not or I'll be the odd one out! by Adelita

Taylor Li

Mastering failing by Taylor Li

Ethan and Elliot Valentine

Mastering friendship by Ethan and Elliot Valentine

Dana Smythe

Lighten up! by Dana Smythe

Sophia

That's the problem. by Sophia

Nathaniel

Then we'd both be black sheep, wouldn't we? by Nathaniel

Daniel Nash II

Attempt to boost the confidence of the self-deprecator by Daniel Nash II

Kendra Paully

Light is very manipulative. by Kendra Paully

Taylor

Mastering familiarity by Taylor

Charlotte Abbott

Optical illusions and all by Charlotte Abbott

Amelia Smythe

You need my cheering influence by Amelia Smythe

Adelita

Are you a black sheep? by Adelita

Ethan and Elliot

Mastering Ferrets and Hot Chocolate by Ethan and Elliot

Deepa Rajaram

And you're succeeding quite nicely, too. by Deepa Rajaram

Nathaniel

I would like to think I stand out by Nathaniel

Sophia

Oh, is that what they call it :-p by Sophia

Daniel

Expression of positive emotion by Daniel

Deepa

A reciprocation of said expression. by Deepa

Kendra

Or the illusions arn'treally illusions. OoooOOooh. by Kendra

Quentin Melcher

Now <i> this </i> is a Professor.. by Quentin Melcher

Adelita

In a good way or bad? by Adelita

Daniel

A feeling of good will by Daniel

Pippa Brockert

*smiles nervously* by Pippa Brockert

Nathaniel

It depends on the person judging me by Nathaniel

Jera Valson

And <i>this</i> is a student by Jera Valson

Adelita

That's true. I'm sure they'll all like you though. by Adelita

Quentin

And <i> you </i> are a brave soul. by Quentin

Jera

Courage is often drawn from fear by Jera

Charlotte

Don't believe your eyes by Charlotte

Professor O'Leary

Class Closed! (nm) by Professor O'Leary

smiles nervously by Pippa Brockert