Pixie Hunting Anyone? on Defense Against the Dark Arts

Professor Levy

August 07, 2011 11:35 PM

Beginner Level (Years 1-2): Lesson I by Professor Levy

Erika could hardly believe that today’s class was the last one before the holiday. She was sure that most of her students were glad about that, especially because it meant some time away from her Defense Against the Dark Arts class. There was no denying that her class was one of the toughest there was, because she didn’t go easy on her students. But she had good reason not to. Maybe some of her students would have a charmed life. They would never know a day of hardship, a day of being worried or scared, a day when getting hurt or even dying due to dark magic could actually happen. Unfortunately, she also knew that wouldn’t be true of everyone. Maybe they didn’t think anything would happen now or even up to the time it happened, though, really who expected it to happen at all? The point, however, was that it could and just maybe it would be a lesson they learned here that would make the difference. Maybe. Hopefully.

Once her students were seated, Erika drew their attention to the front, “I’m sure most of you are excited that classes are about over for the holiday. However, I’m hoping you’ll all bare with me as we start the next chapter in our books – An Introduction to Dark Creatures. Dark creatures are defined in three points, “she started, counting off on her fingers, “First, they are not animals, but rather magical beings. Second, most creatures have a complete life cycle. Dark creatures do not. They simply exist as a form of physical evil. Third, they seek to harm. Most animals attack for survival – either for food or perhaps out of fear. Dark creatures do it for no other purpose than to hurt their prey.” There were areas of gray, such as with werewolves and the like, but Erika wasn’t about to get into all that and confuse her young students. Those were subjects they would get into when they were older.

“Now, on my desk, I have a creature called a Cornish pixie. This creature belongs to the Fae, or as most refer to them, Fairies. And no, I’m not talking about Tinkerbelle. If you grew up in the muggle world, then you might have grown up with the notion that fairies are beautiful, benevolent creatures. This is true of some. Brownies tend to be helpers around the house or the Klabautermann, a water sprite, which has been known to assist sailors. Others, like my friend here, are not so helpful, but they aren’t really harmful either. Generally, they are just mischievous. However, there are a few that qualify for the title of Dark Creature. Boggarts, creatures that show our worst fears, fall into this category. It’s rumored that Boggarts were once Brownies that were mistreated. Whether or not this is true, hasn’t been proven. The Boggart feeds on the terror that is produced when it replicates a person’s fears. Hence, why it is classified as a dark creature.”

The dark haired witch paused for a moment to allow the students that were taking notes to catch up before she started speaking again. “We will work more with the boggart in the Intermediate level. For today, we will be learning a spell that will help with some of the Fae and other creatures and will continue on when we return from the holiday.” Leaning over on her desk, she released the pixie from its cage. The little creature flew out and was heading for her bag in an effort to cause trouble. “Immobulus!” The blue creature was stopped in its tracks and hung suspended in the air. “The Immobulus spell, as you can see, essentially freezes a creature or object in midmotion.” She slowly guided the suspended creature back to the cage.

“All right, then, I want everyone to partner up. One person from the group should come up and get a cage from the supply closet. Once everyone had a cage, Erika moved over to a table covered in a white sheet. When she removed the sheet, underneath was revealed to be a colorful array of presents with a charm to protect them from the rest of their lesson. “Each group is going to be competing to collect the most pixies using the Immobulus charm. The group with the highest count will get to pick their gifts first, the group with the second highest goes next, and so on. There are enough for everyone.” She was thankful to Torra for providing the fun idea of presents since it wasn’t everyday that DADA could be so. Turning to a second sheet covered area, she pulled the cloth back revealing a cage full of pixies. “Have fun!” With that, she released the creatures.

OOC: Standard posting rules apply. The more detailed and creative the post, the more points earned. The presents are small, simple gifts like ones that might be used for a grab bag. Enjoy!

Subthreads:

Pixie Hunting Anyone? by Jessica Applerose with Jenny Owens, Jess (Teppenpaw), Jess Applerose

Oh how Cu- OUCH! by Katrina (Kitty) McLevy - Aladren

It could be worse.... by Arthur Carey, Aladren

Here we go! by Arnold Carey, Aladren

0 Professor Levy Beginner Level (Years 1-2): Lesson I 0 Professor Levy 1 5

Jessica Applerose

August 08, 2011 2:31 AM

Pixie Hunting Anyone? by Jessica Applerose

Jessica walked leisurely to her DADA class. It wasn't exactly the Teppenpaw's first class but she didn't know what to expect from this one. She was dreading the holiday only because she didn't have anywhere to go. She'd be staying at school. By herself. On Christmas. It was the worst thing her parents could have ever done to her. Jess forced herself not to pout as she walked down the corridor. She walked into the classroom and put her book bag down on a seat in the middle of the class. She would probably be doing a lot of studying during the holiday so might as well get a head start.

The second year greeted the person sitting next to her, her speech slightly tinted with an English accent, before pulling out a piece of parchment, a quill, and an ink bottle to jot down notes. Then she pulled out her textbook and flipped to the page describing the Cornish pixie. She wrote down the three points about dark creatures before looking at Professor Levy again. Dark creatures always scared her. Because her parents had decided to live in a muggle area she hadn't had many run-ins with magical creatures.

She wrote down the information about dark creatures furiously as the professor spoke, focused on writing, and was glad for the pause. Then she wrote down, in large and pretty letters, "IMMOBULUS." Then she brought out her 10¼ inch willow wood wand and practiced saying the charm before once under her breath. She was pleasantly surprised that the professor was offering gifts to her students. She smiled and then turned to the person next to her.

"Hi," she said. "Want to be partners? I'm pretty good at Freezing Charms so this shouldn't be too hard. Just aiming would be the difficult part. If you'll get the cage, I'll start charming the pixies!" A stray one pulled at her brown curls and she cried out before stunning it with a loud, "Immobulus!" She grabbed the icky thing in her hand before turning to her partner. Another pixie pulled at her hair and she wanted to shriek. Instead, before she could immobilize that one, it escaped. "I think I may go mad, er, crazy before this lesson is over," she told them.

0 Jessica Applerose Pixie Hunting Anyone? 0 Jessica Applerose 0 5

Jenny Owens

August 08, 2011 3:38 PM

I'm in! by Jenny Owens

The girl who slid into the seat beside Jenny was another girl she didn't know. If she was honest, she did not know a whole lot of people aside from their names. But she seemed friendly enough and was obviously competent at the spell, so Jenny stowed the sketch of a pixie she'd been doodling whilst Professor Levy spoke in her book and moved to get a cage, as her new partner had suggested.

When she returned, the girl had one pixie immobile and one escaping. Jenny quickly held the cage out for her to put the creature in.

She did not like pixies at all. On the short trip to the front she had received a scratch on her pale cheek and had torn her robes slightly, but they were fun to draw - so full of life and energy.

'I'm Jenny Owens,' Jenny introduced herself, offering up a friendly smile. 'And I'm afraid I won't be much help, because my aim is appalling. But I'll try.' With her words she pointed her wand and fired. The spell spun several inches to the right of the mischievous creature and hit a light, which shattered.

'Oops.' Jenny winced internally, but kept her poker face on automatically. Years of "training" in the art of deception had taught her to not show "weak" emotions - her mothers words, not hers.

She hurried forwards and, with a flick of her wand, she muttered a spell that repaired the damaged object.

'How about you stun them, and I hold the cage?' She hoped her idea would be met with enthusiasm.

0 Jenny Owens I'm in! 0 Jenny Owens 0 5

Jess (Teppenpaw)

August 09, 2011 3:35 PM

Let us conquer, then! by Jess (Teppenpaw)

Jess jumped a little when Jenny broke a light with her spell. She was rather appalling with her aim, but no matter. Jess was well-prepared. "That's alright," she told her in her slightly tinted English accent. Growing up in the States did nothing to deter it with British parents. "We'll make a great team, then." She smiled encouragingly and gasped in surprise as a stupid pixie grabbed at her curls again. Glaring at the stupid thing, she cried, "Immobulus!" and the thing fell into Jess' hand. She tossed it into the cage.

She smiled a little. DADA class had always interested her. She enjoyed learning about it and reading about the Dark Arts. She knew it wasn't good to learn about it, so her mum said, but she didn't want to be in the dark all her life. Plus she loved learning new spells. It made her feel more like a witch. "Immobulus!" she said over and over, pointing her wand at different pixies. They began to fall like rain and she hoped she wasn't overwhelming Jenny. There were an awful lot of those irritating creatures. Her spells didn't always hit a pixie, though. She did hit a couple books off shelves across the room and hit a desk once or twice but it was all practice, right?

"Immobulus!" Jess was feeling tired now and looked at the cage. It was filling very quickly and quite nicely. "You want a turn?" she asked Jenny. Even if she was a little, well, bad at her aim, she should still practice. How else would one learn? "Don't worry if you mess up," she told her. "That's how you learn! And anyway, practice makes perfect." She smiled and put her wand away and took the cage from Jenny's hands.

0 Jess (Teppenpaw) Let us conquer, then! 0 Jess (Teppenpaw) 0 5

Katrina (Kitty) McLevy - Aladren

August 09, 2011 11:33 PM

Oh how Cu- OUCH! by Katrina (Kitty) McLevy - Aladren

Professor Levy had become something of an idol in Kitty’s eyes. Short, just as Kitty was, the Professor still had been an Auror. From what Kitty had read, Aurors were like the police of the magic world. Seeing such a small woman succeed so greatly made Kitty all starry eyed with admiration. Professor Levy was most certainly someone Kitty looked up to and strove to impress.

Defense against the dark arts was perhaps one of the small girl’s favorite classes. The idea of dark magic had been scary at first, but this was the class that would teach her how to defend herself, and others if needed. Most defiantly the profession of Auror had been added to Kitty’s list of potential future careers. And having Professor Levy just proved that it was possible. That being small, and female wouldn’t be a handicap that couldn’t be overcome.

The tiny blue pixie that the Professor reveled for their newest lesson made Kitty coo at the cuteness. She hoped that they wouldn’t have to hurt it, because Kitty didn’t think she could do something like that, even if the Professor told them too. But the spell that was demonstrated only froze the little creature, leaving it unharmed to be placed in a cage. I wonder if that would work on squirrels? Kitty thought gleefully. For as long as Kitty could remember she always wanted to catch a squirrel. She had no idea what she would do if she ever succeeded, but it was a goal of hers.

“Have fun!” suddenly the room was swarming with little flying blue people. Kitty gave a small squeal of delight at the flying creatures, until they descended upon the students and everything else in the room. A squeak of pain escaped her as one little fae pulled her hair before laughing at her. “Hay! Not nice! Immobulus! Kitty hadn’t exactly thought her actions through as the little creature’s tiny hands were still tangled in her hair. “Um…a little help please!” Kitty said as she gingerly tried to untangle the fae without hurting it, but the angle was all wrong and she couldn’t really see what she was doing.

0 Katrina (Kitty) McLevy - Aladren Oh how Cu- OUCH! 0 Katrina (Kitty) McLevy - Aladren 0 5

Arthur Carey, Aladren

August 12, 2011 1:49 AM

It could be worse.... by Arthur Carey, Aladren

A faint headache was drumming in the spaces around Arthur’s eyes as he took his place in the last Defense lesson of the term, but he didn’t expect either of those exceptions to it being a normal day to earn him much leeway from the professor. He approved of that. It was not the concern of the very few years remaining before he was an adult that his head hurt or that it was almost a holiday, and he would have been surprised if Professor Levy had even noticed the date, never mind one second year. Such things were not important. Work was.

He took notes on dark creatures by route, phrases sticking out in his mind: life cycle . Form of physical evil. Harm. No, not pleasant, not pleasant at all. What, exactly, was she going to introduce them to?

Other thoughts wandered, flickering on the edges of his focus and, with the headache making almost everything except itself and voices seem softer around the edges and less important than they really were, threatened to overwhelm it. Evil wasn’t something he had ever heard anyone talk about before Sonora. He had not even read much on the subject in the house library. Mother had concepts of Right and Wrong, but he had only heard even her use the word ‘evil’ once, discussing with Father a murderer they’d just heard had been apprehended on the wireless. With the rest of the family, it was more about what was necessary, about deciding between the benefits and consequences of an action. Looked at from one angle, it could be taken for an argument skirting another….

Tinkerbelle. What on Earth was a Tinkerbelle? To tinker was to fiddle with something, trying to repair it, perhaps; belle, French, ‘beautiful.’ So a beautiful woman who fiddled with things? He decided to assume, based on the next comment, that a Tinkerbelle was a Muggle idea of a beautiful and benevolent fairy. Perhaps she repaired broken jewelry for young ladies….

He realized he was falling behind on his notes and hurried to catch up. Once he was done and had absorbed enough of the assignment to know it involved partners, he looked at the person next to him and smiled reflexively, because he needed this person’s good graces at the moment. “Would you like to – “

Then the professor ordered them to have fun and pixies flew out. If he had been paying attention, he guessed he would have seen that coming as soon as she demonstrated the spell, but he hadn’t. “By the – !” he finished instead, startled, ducking as one swooped at his head and then backhanding another almost by accident. It tried to bite. He was not amused.

“Shall we work together?” he asked, going back to his original point, as he lifted his wand off the desk before another of the cursed things could get it. His hand wasn’t as steady as normal as he pointed it, but he thought it would do.

0 Arthur Carey, Aladren It could be worse.... 0 Arthur Carey, Aladren 0 5

Arnold Carey, Aladren

August 12, 2011 1:51 AM

Here we go! by Arnold Carey, Aladren

Arnold’s foot bounced beneath the desk as he waited for Defense class to begin, his hands rolling his wand in front of him and stopping suddenly, as though he were trying to surprise himself. He tried to maintain the proper composure, he really did, but it was hard when he could all but feel midterm break calling out to him. Twenty-four hours from now, he’d be flying around outside at home, maybe on his own or maybe with cousins, without a care in the world. The mental image was a long way from the routine and difficulty of his classes here, having to work constantly, and often twice as hard as the guys he shared his room with did just to keep up with them. Sometimes keep up with them.

If he knew Professor Levy, though, they were still going to have to work today, so he was going to spare much more of his attention for that than he did for seeming like the perfectly cool, composed scion of an important family that he was supposed to be. Sometimes it came down to one or the other, and he thought he knew his parents well enough to know that they’d prefer that he at least not make it be called into question whether or not he and Arthur were really biologically related when they talked about their sons’ grade reports to other adults. They were, especially by Grandfather’s definition, not really proper Careys either, though both were more dignified on a bad day than he usually managed on a good one, but they had both been very good students.

The professor did admit that they were bearing with her through this last day, but the lesson did, as predicted, go on. Dark creatures sounded interesting, though, so he was okay with that. On the third hand, he was glad to hear that boggarts weren’t coming along until they were further along in their educations, because while putting it off didn’t make it go away, he really didn’t like the idea of the whole class knowing what his worst fear was, or how he would react to it being suddenly made flesh right before his eyes.

He instinctively ducked when the professor let a pixie out in the room, though she stopped it almost at once. Getting the idea of how they were likely to have to try to get those pixies – no, he expected, competing to see who could hit them first as they were released one by one, or each group trying it out and seeing how long their spells held – he had his wand in hand from then on.

“Want to work together? I can grab a cage,” he said to a person, not bothering with many formalities beside that at the moment. Maybe later, when the air wasn’t filling up with sprites bent on wreaking chaos around them and occasionally on them if they could get away with it. “Immobulus,” he added, and one slowed down.

0 Arnold Carey, Aladren Here we go! 181 Arnold Carey, Aladren 0 5

Jenny Owens

August 12, 2011 6:13 AM

Wahoo! by Jenny Owens

Jess seemed to have a certain aptitude for this, Jenny thought with admiration. She could certainly fill the cage quickly enough - Jenny was probably losing weight darting around and picking them all up. She thanked Whoever-Was-Up-There that she had taken to doing runs in the morning and so was reasonably fit.

When Jess asked whether she would like a go, Jenny shook her head emphatically, 'No thanks!' She had no desire at all to damage anyone or anything any more than she already had. 'And anyway, I can already do the spell.' She smiled at her partner for a moment, before realising that she sounded arrogant and rude. 'My mother made me practice all the spells that we would have to do this term,' she rushed to explain. Here she was caught in a tricky position - she could either tell her partner how Jenny had been forced for hours at a time to do the spells over and over, until she could do them both verbally and non-verbally, with the threat of punishment hanging over her; or she could lie. And Jenny hated liars.

In the end, she left it at that. She hadn't exactly lied, more ommited certain truths - rather that than her family be judged. Only Jenny was allowed to judge her family - for only one of the family could possibly understand the pressures on them, what drove them to do certain acts that might seem cruel but were in fact the right course.

'Are you British?' She asked quickly, keen to change the subject. A pixie bit her hand - its teeth weren't sharp, and didn't break the skin, but rather felt itchy - and she stunned it without thinking. It was close enough that she didn't have to worry about missing. This was why she didn't like DADA, she thought. Of course it was necessary - she better than most her age could understand why one might need protection - but did they really need to be attacked by tiny blue imps? Shouldn't they be learning something worthwhile - something that could actually help them if they were actually attacked?

(OOC: How do you do writing in italics on this??)

0 Jenny Owens Wahoo! 0 Jenny Owens 0 5

Jess Applerose

August 12, 2011 2:58 PM

We're a pretty good team! by Jess Applerose

Jess was impressed by Jenny's catching skills. She was quick on her feet, something Jess always wasn't. When Jenny refused, Jess shrugged and nodded. "As long as you know how to do it," she said with a friendly smile before stunning another icky pixie. The word "pixie" would forever be altered in her mind from now on. They weren't the cute little fairy-like creatures in fairy tales, but ugly, annoying rascals that were violent and, well, irritating.

She narrowly missed a pixie. At least this was helping her aim improve. She nodded in an answer to Jenny's question. "Yeah, I'm English and I was born in England too but I moved to California when I was a baby so that's all I know." She smiled. "I'm an American through and through. Except for maybe my accent." She finally stunned a pixie that had been taunting her for the past ten minutes. "Where are you from?" she asked.

As she stunned yet another, she sighed. "Looks like they're slowly disappearing. Finally. I wonder how many times one gets attacked by pixies." She wrinkled her nose. "They're such annoying little pests!" Her temper was beginning to rise as yet another stupid pixie pulled at her curls (which were beginning to tangle) and she stunned it with such venom that the poor thing shot into the air before falling again from the force of her spell. She huffed. "I'll be glad when they're all locked up. I hope our gifts are worth it." She smiled a little at the thought.

OOC: Italics! < i > "lkdsfjakl" < / i >! The quotations are whatever text you want to put in there. Hopefully that makes sense, haha.

0 Jess Applerose We're a pretty good team! 0 Jess Applerose 0 5

Jenny Owens

August 12, 2011 4:51 PM

Niceeee... by Jenny Owens

It turned out that Jess was, in fact, English. Jenny liked this because, unlike many of the anti-British people (and by that she meant wizards) she knew, she had a deep respect for the people and their customs, rather than a prejudice. 'That's cool,' she told Jess honestly, 'I holiday in Britain every summer and I love it - apart from the weather. So you get the best of both worlds - British, but with Californian sun!' She tried to tactfully avoid her own origins - it was strange even to her that she did not know where she was from. The land around her house was all trees, big fir trees that stayed green all winter. But, though that would suggest the North, the climate was very sunny and certain aspects of her surroundings changed from day to day (once she had gone fishing on a large lake a couple of miles from her house, but when she tried to go back the next day she found there was an area of bright green hills there instead). This lead her to doubt that she had any reasoning whatsoever on where she lived.

The girls next words amused her - previously she had stunned the pixies with a calm diligence, and her little outburst made her seem more...childlike to Jenny. Jenny liked children who did not act like they were adult - why not make the most of the stage you were in, you got so precious few years of it anyway!

A pixie grabbed hold of Jess' curls, drawing Jenny's attention in that direction, 'I like your hair, by the way.' She scooped a different creature into the cage. The ones at the bottom were beginning to wake up, so she immoblised them quickly - before they got feisty again. 'I've always wanted curls - straight hair's so...dull.' She lifted a strand of her own blonde hair and grimaced.

And then she looked over to the pile of gifts, thoughfully. It was so strange, wasn't it, for teachers to provide their pupils with presents? She had never been to a proper school before (that would have given her some clue to her homes whereabouts) but even in her wildest imaginings she had not thought of that. 'Are we supposed to give all our teachers presents, do you think?' The thought worried her - not the cost, but the content. What was suitable to give someone you did not know at all?

OOC: Thanks!

0 Jenny Owens Niceeee... 0 Jenny Owens 0 5

Jess

August 14, 2011 1:31 PM

:D by Jess

Jess smiled. "Thanks! I like my curls too. They get tangled kind of easy though." She frowned and tugged at it. "There was one boy in my primary school that liked pull my hair. He wanted to see if it would bounce back, which it did. So he was always pulling my hair till I accidentally turned him green and blasted him away. My parents were so mad, but kind of happy that they knew for sure that I was a witch."

She immobilized another pixie. The thought of giving professors presents was an odd thought. She'd done it once or twice to her favorite teachers in primary school but she didn't really have a favorite here yet. "I don't know," she said slowly. "I wouldn't know what to get them! I used to give my favorite professors presents, but it was because I knew what to get them."

Jess shrugged just as a pixie bit her. "Ouch!" She stunned it immediately and handed it to Jenny. "Ow." She frowned and rubbed her finger. Stupid pixie with its stupid sharp teeth. "When is this class done? I want to get my present and leave all these pixies behind!"

0 Jess :D 0 Jess 0 5

Jenny Owens

August 14, 2011 2:18 PM

;) by Jenny Owens

Jenny laughed at Jess' story about the boy in her primary school, 'He probably fancied you.' She was not entirely sure if this was right - she had no experience herself - but she had read something along the lines of 'if a boy likes you, he might be mean to you sometimes' in a Muggle magazine one of her tutors smuggled in. Muggle and Wizard boys couldn't be all that different.

She was glad, also, that she was not the only one who wouldn't know what to buy a teacher, 'Me neither,' she agreed.

Taking a pixie from her, Jenny frowned at the bite marks in Jess' teeth, 'They aren't poisenous, are they?' She worried aloud. And then, so she wouldn't look like someone who worried unnecessarily, 'I got bitten by some kind of snake last year and spent two weeks stuck in bed on Healer's orders.' She pulled a face, remembering weeks. She wouldn't have minded, to be honest - for she wasn't the type who loved excercise or the outdoors - except that her mother always knew where to find her, and had ordered the maids to give her only reading material that she deemed "suitable" and had banned her art equipment.

'So what do you want for Christmas then?' She changed to a lighter topic.

0 Jenny Owens ;) 0 Jenny Owens 0 5

Jess

August 15, 2011 3:16 AM

I smell Christmas on the rise... by Jess

Jess sniffed at the thought of that rude boy fancying her. Ha! As if. Anyway, boys were stupid, rude people. Not all boys, of course. Just most boys. She didn't know why girls fell head-over-heels for them. They were...well, boys! Ugh. Mum always told her she'd change her mind someday, but it didn't look like someday was coming any time soon.

"I don't think it's poisonous," she said, staring at the teeth marks in her finger. "I think pixies are pretty harmless. Just annoying. Otherwise the professor might not have released them all here." Or maybe she did on purpose...

"I don't think it's poisonous," she said again, maybe just trying to reassure herself or convincing both of them. "Getting bit by a snake is terrible!" she gasped. "Was that snake poisonous?" Hopefully not! Well, seeing as Jenny was still alive--poisonous snakes didn't kill, did they?--it probably wasn't all that serious.

Then Jenny asked her a question about presents. Jess tried not to excite herself with the prospect of receiving a gift from someone she'd just met, but that particular question always did excite her unintentionally. She loved Christmas! "I mostly just want to see my parents for Christmas," she said, lying a little. She didn't want to seem too selfish.

"I want new robes too, green ones 'cause that's my favorite color, and a new bicycle to ride during the summer. And, of course, candy, chocolate, and chewing gum is always great." She thought a bit more and decided not to finish her list. The sweet treats were always high up there, but that was just a given with her parents. "What do you want for Christmas?" she asked. "Do you like the Christmas holidays? I love them! It's my favorite holiday."

0 Jess I smell Christmas on the rise... 0 Jess 0 5