And, surprise! You have smoke! on Defense Against the Dark Arts

Professor Levy

June 17, 2013 4:12 PM

Intermediate DADA (3rd-5th Years): Lesson I by Professor Levy

Intermediate Defense Against the Dark Arts was one of Erika’s more interesting classes since it housed three different age groups – third years to fifth years. Unfortunately, this sometimes meant double the work since the fifth years tended to be working on higher level material than the third years with the fourth years being somewhere in between. Thankfully, today’s lesson wouldn’t be one of those days. In fact, some of the older students might even be helpful in assisting some of the younger students with the difficult spell they would be working on, but it was one that she felt everyone should know.

“Good morning, students,” she called out, as they began filing into the room. Some of them looked a little sleepy, but she could hardly blame them. Intermediate DADA was one of the earlier classes and today’s was on a Monday no less. “I hope everyone had a good weekend, but now it’s time to get back to work.” She was met with a couple groans, which she couldn’t help smiling at. She remembered being in their position. Even though, she had loved school, weekends and summers had always been better. Maybe it had something to do with the sense of freedom, the ability to do whatever one wanted. Heck, she still enjoyed them, but it was school that made those times so sweet.

After everyone was seated, Erika took a seat on her desk. Being only five feet tall, she preferred this position, because she felt that it gave her a sense of height over her students, especially now that some of them were starting to shoot up like rockets. “Today, we are going to be working on the Patronus Charm. A patronus, or spirit guardian, is produced from a positive energy force when the spell is performed.” Pointing her wand to an empty area of the room, she called, “Expecto Patronum!” There appeared a decently sized black panther, which looked almost ghostly due to the patronus’ wispy appearance. “This is my patronus. Each patronus is based on the person and can change as we change. Mine happens to be a panther.”

Brushing back some of her short dark hair from her face, Erika paused to let the students catch up in their notes, before continuing, “The patronus is the only form of protection against dementors and lethifolds. A dementor is a dark creature that feeds on human happiness. As such, the person will begin to feel depression and despair. They can go so far as to consume a person’s soul, also called a Dementor’s Kiss, which leaves the person as an empty shell. Lethifolds are also a dark creature. They attack at night when a person is asleep and suffocates and digests the person. Thus, making it hard to protect against. Thankfully, lethifolds are rare and can only be found in the tropics.”

“Besides protection, the patronus is good for communicating, because of how quickly it can travel to the intended listener. Often, they are used to deliver important messages ahead of the castor.” She waited, allowing the students a bit of time to digest everything before moving on. “When casting a patronus, the castor must be pure of heart. A dark wizard is unable to produce a patronus, because of the evilness inside of them. As stated before, a patronus is positive energy. If a dark wizard attempts to perform the spell, a negative reaction occurs.” Hopefully, none of her students were future dark wizards that ended up with such a reaction. One of the stories of a dark wizard that performed such a spell ended up with maggots that tried to consume him. The thought was rather disgusting. Her stomach churned a little at the thought and she touched it lightly, hoping it would settle. She had seen worse, but the thought of bugs just wigged her out.

“To cast the Patronus Spell, one must summon all of their happiness. Any negative thought can cause the spell to fail. With dementors around to drain one’s happiness, it makes this spell especially difficult to cast. With your happiest memory in mind, circle your wand like so.” She demonstrated drawing circles with her wand. “This increases the strength of the spell, but in an emergency, it can be discarded. After doing so, point your wand at the intended target or area and say ‘Expecto Patronum.’ The tip of the wand should light up with the beginning of the patronus. Depending on the strength of the spell, the patronus can show up as non-coporeal or corporeal. The non-coporeal is undefined and more of a vapour, but will serve to halt a dementor.”

“In the corporeal form, the patronus is clearly defined in the shape of a bright, white animal. These are stronger and are capable of repelling the dark creatures previously mentioned. Also, as stated before, a patronus can change as the person changes, often as a result of an emotional change. Love, in this case, is a very strong reflection of the patronus. A patronus can change when someone falls in love and couples often have complimentary patronus.” She thought this was the reason hers was a panther. She was a protector of sorts and she felt very protective towards Torra.

“Though, at this point, most of yours will most likely be non-coporeal, if anything. Even grown wizards and witches have trouble casting this spell; so don’t get discouraged if nothing happens. Keep trying. Feel free to work in groups. You may begin.”

OOC: Please remember that all posting rules apply. Posts should be at least ten sentences or 200 words. Points will be rewarded based on detail, grammar, creativity, etc. Have fun!

Subthreads:

And, surprise! You have smoke! by Jorge Garcia with Ephanie Lucore, Jorge

No patronus just a headache by Clara Abernathy

Look ma...I made a cloud! by Carter Browning with Alexandra D'Alesandro, Carter

As sly as a fox. by Lucian D'Alesandro with Aubrielle Thornton, Lucian, Bri

Learning my animal self. by Aria Yale, Teppenpaw

Let's begin right away. by Cepheus Princeton, Crotalus

What is happiness without the sad? by Waverly Canterbury - Pecari with Jade Owen, Waverly

Horrified by Arabella Brockert,Pecari

How could this be? by Carrie O'Malley, Crotalus with Marcus Crosby [Teppenpaw]

0 Professor Levy Intermediate DADA (3rd-5th Years): Lesson I 0 Professor Levy 1 5

Jorge Garcia

June 17, 2013 7:52 PM

And, surprise! You have smoke! by Jorge Garcia

Jorge was a little agitated. He wasn’t really sure why. He probably just woke up on the wrong side of the bed that morning. Sometimes that happened. It was rare for him to have a moody sort of day, very rare, as usually Jorge just glided through everyday life. But today would be different. He half wondered if it was because he was bored. He didn’t play pranks on people to entertain him the way that Jade did, but he did often grow antsy over the lack of interesting things. All the swimming he was doing helped somewhat, but it wasn’t enough. He could only bang on a guitar, or shred a guitar for so many hours before he lost interest in it and he enjoyed doing those things too much to do that, so he often ended earlier than he otherwise might of. Jorge did not paint. He did not dance. He did not care to run around on a broom for sports. He enjoyed sports, he played it in the summer, but that was with family, not by himself in a sports room. There just wasn’t enough here for him to gravitate to or hold on to.

What made it worse was that now everyone was pairing off. It was weird. There was rumor that Cepheus and Meghan were betrothed. Jorge wasn’t part of those circles, so he didn’t know what was true and what wasn’t, but he wouldn’t be surprised either way. Alicia and Thad were dating. He heard that Arabella and Paul were together, which seemed really strange as he had never seen them hang out before. It was only a matter of time where he would hear more rumors about Theresa hooking up with someone and Evan finding interest outside of his weird bug fetish.

The world kept moving whether or he was a part of it or not. He was just an observer. Maybe that was what was bothering him? Everyone else found something to keep them busy, but he couldn’t or hadn’t yet and so, he was stuck in limbo? That was annoying. But, there wasn’t much he could really do to change that. He’d have his fun when he returned home as he always did.

The Defense Against the Dark Arts lesson seemed something to keep him preoccupied for a moment. He was always curious to know what his Patronus would look like. He wasn’t egotistical enough to believe that he would make his appear so easily. He understood that it was one of more difficult of magical spells that required a lot of work and concentration. Two things that Jorge found himself lacking much of the time. He could get out his Es and Os on assignments just fine and after a couple of tries at a regular spell, forever have it perfected, but finding the energy to focus was always so difficult for him. He didn’t quite comprehend how the Professor did it with so little effort, but Jorge could only assume she had done it so often that it was simply second nature to her.

Being let loose, Jorge looked up the Patronus in his textbook. He would going to have the most difficult time finding a memory that was so wonderful to him that he created a corporeal Patronus. Did he have that great of a happy memory? He had to wonder how Dulce ever managed to do this spell because she had no idea how to experience emotions on the human level… Deciding to use his family as a base line, Jorge took a deep breath and did the circular motion before pointing at nothing and saying “Expecto Paronum!” Nothing more than a whisp of white, almost like a smokey vapor, emitted from his wand. “Well… that was expected.” He muttered to himself before turning to his neighbor, “What sort of memory are you using?” He asked them, trying to find a baseline that was workable for him.

6 Jorge Garcia And, surprise! You have smoke! 220 Jorge Garcia 0 5

Ephanie Lucore

June 17, 2013 8:38 PM

Where are the mirrors? by Ephanie Lucore

Ephanie tended to be in her own little world. As such, she didn’t really notice everything that was going on around her. She didn’t notice which cliques were around or who was dating whom or where the rumor mill was circulating. Oh, it wasn’t that she didn’t like to talk to people, because she did. Unfortunately, her parents had warned her to not get too involved, because she could get in the way of the natural course. She wasn’t sure what it all meant, but she did know that it had to do with the veela part of her. Honestly, it wasn’t fair and she was tired of it. Why shouldn’t she be able to enjoy the school experience like every other teenager?

She wasn’t sure what had made her decide this, but when she had woken up, it had been decided. Getting ready had been a little more of an ordeal than usual, because she had taken the time on her appearance. She had chosen a simple outfit since they tended to do so much spellwork in classes. A pair of black capris paired with a white lace button down shirt did the trick. She had brushed her hair about a gazillion times and left it loose and shining. Over the emerald robes, her strawberry blonde hair looked amazing. An emerald locket finished the look. She didn’t think many accessories were necessary, but this gave it just a pop of color. A little bit of mascara and lip-gloss and she thought she looked perfect.

It had put her a little behind though and she made it to class just as it was beginning. She took the first empty seat available and pulled out her class materials. The lesson was interesting. She wondered what sort of patronus she would produce and if matching ones showed compatibility, did that mean that she would know who her match was one day? That would be kind of cool. As part veela, she always had to be concerned about real love since a lot of beings would be attracted to her for just that reason. She knew that had something to do with her parents wanting her to lay low, but she also knew that she couldn’t hide forever. She was inevitably going to have to deal with the veela-ness and the possibility of the hurt it would bring.

Of course, thoughts like that could hurt her ability to perform the patronus charm. Okay, concentrate. She could think of some happy memory. She thought about her family. She thought about things that she enjoyed. She thought about her pet. None were enough though since she wasn’t really producing anything. She was about to try again when she heard a voice next to her. Looking over, she saw Jorge. “Oh, um, well, I’ve been trying to think of everything that makes me happy, but none of it is really working. What about you? A girl, maybe?” She smiled at him, knowing she was teasing a little.

0 Ephanie Lucore Where are the mirrors? 0 Ephanie Lucore 0 5

Clara Abernathy

June 19, 2013 2:23 AM

No patronus just a headache by Clara Abernathy

Clara woke up the morning of DADA class groggily from sleep having had one of the strangest dreams she had ever had. She had dreamt that she was working on the protective charms again with Michael just as they had in class the last time. Instead of her protective charms shielding her like they were supposed to, they acted as huge neon signs that read ”Weak Spot Here” with an arrow pointing somewhere and “Wets Self If Tickled”. When the charms failed to work she tried using the Patronus charm instead only to have it go weird on her as well. Instead of getting the misty creature that the spell was supposed to produce (at least that’s what the book she read said) she saw a stick-like thing jut itself out of the tip of the wand with a small flag attached to the end. The flag on the end of the stick had the word “Gotcha!” in sparkly rainbow colors. The strangest part of the whole dream was that Michael, for some reason, had the body of a centaur and was trying to cast his spells with a toilet brush and could only speak in Chinese. Clara shook her head trying to get the sight of Michael with hooves and a toilet brush out of her mind. As odd as it was, it was also slightly funny. “I have the strangest dreams sometimes,” she complained to herself as she pushed back her covers and placed her bare feet on the chilly floor. She padded into the bathroom and took a quick shower, hoping to wash away the rest of the dream and sleep.

She got dressed quickly, braided back her hair to keep it out of her face and grabbed her book bag. She rushed out of Pecari Commons hoping to hit Cascade Hall for breakfast before she ran to her DADA class. She got to the hall with enough time to grab a banana before she was going to be late for class. She devoured the banana on the way there and tossed the peel into the trash can before taking her seat. She dug in her bag really quick for the bottle of hand sanitizer that she kept in there and slathered some on her hands. She smiled at the professor when she greeted the class and Clara waited with anticipation for what the lesson would be. She pulled out her notebook and a pen so she could take notes. She began writing when the professor explained what they would be working on and what the spell was for. It took Clara re-reading her own notes really quick to figure out what the professor said it was they would be working on. She actually froze for a second at the realization. A peculiar look crossed Clara’s face as she realized they were working on something she actually just dreamed about! That’s an odd coincidence she thought to herself as she finished taking notes. Who would have guessed they would be working on the Patronus Charm today? She put away her notebook and pen so that they weren’t in her way when she attempted the charm. She practiced the wand circles that they were shown for the spell and mouthed the words for the spell to herself. She wanted to be sure she had a good idea of how to do the spell before she attempted it for herself.

She tried really hard to keep the thought of her dream out of her mind as tried to focus on the spell. She found she was having a hard time trying to focus thanks to the fact that she couldn’t get the image of Michael as a centaur out of her head. She still had no idea why she had even dreamed of him looking like that. It made no sense especially since there was nothing wrong with him. She may have only dreamed about him because they had worked together before. She really didn’t know. She closed her eyes and took several deep cleansing breaths, trying to clear her mind so she could concentrate. I can do this…I can do this…I can do this she thought to herself as she slowly opened her eyes. She tried conjuring up a happy thought to use so she could cast the spell. She thought she had a good one to work with and made her first attempt. She circled the wand as shown and cast the charm. “Expecto Patronum!” she cast trying to hold onto the good thought. She saw the end of her wand glow white-ish and thought she may have done it until the glow vanished and she hadn’t even gotten a puff of smoke out of the deal. She frowned a bit as she stared at the end of her wand. “What gives?” she grumbled, mostly to herself. She tried to figure out what it was that made the spell fizzle and thought she might have an idea. She had tried using her flying lesson with Lucian as the happy thought and figured that might work ok. However, she found that her mind had wandered while she was casting and the wandering apparently broke her concentration. She mentally kicked herself for letting her mind wander during the casting and tried again to clear her mind. For the first time ever Clara was having a hard time trying to find a happy place. She had a really good idea why that was, but was determined not to let it bug her. Unfortunately, the more she tried to banish the offending cloud that invaded her thoughts, the bigger the cloud got. The cloud plaguing her was soo big at the moment it was giving her a massive headache.

Clara set her wand down on her desk in front of her for a moment and rubbed her temples with her thumbs as she closed her eyes. “I have got to get it together,” she mumbled to herself as she continued to rub her throbbing head. “A simple happy thought should not be this hard.” She was still rubbing her aching head when she thought she heard someone talking to her. She turned in the direction of the sound and asked, “I’m sorry…did you say something?”

0 Clara Abernathy No patronus just a headache 232 Clara Abernathy 0 5

Carter Browning

June 19, 2013 2:28 AM

Look ma...I made a cloud! by Carter Browning

Carter was NOT a morning person if he could help it and really did not want to get out of bed that day. Even at his other school before coming to Sonora he was not a morning person. He tried to fake it for the sake of sanity, but every once and a while the façade slipped and his normally grumpy self slipped out. Today was unfortunately one of those days. Carter groaned before shoving back the covers and stepping out of bed. He grabbed his toiletry stuff and grumbled as he stumbled sleepily into the bathroom. He was hoping the hot water would improve his waking. He was half-way through his shower and still didn’t really want to be awake. He got dressed, tried to comb his hair and grabbed his book bag before heading out of the Teppenpaw dorms for breakfast before class. He made himself a plate of waffles, eggs and sausage once he reached Cascade Hall. He added a large glass of orange juice to it and sat down to eat. He was almost through with breakfast when he heard hurried footsteps enter the hall. Carter looked up from his breakfast long enough to spot Clara grabbing a banana from the fruit bowl that sat at the end of the table he was sitting at. He watched as she snatched the piece of fruit and half ran for the door. He smirked to himself at seeing her and shook his head. Nice girl, but really weird he thought to himself as he remembered her flying mishap a couple of years back when he was a first year. That had to have been embarrassing for her although by the way she behaved you wouldn’t think she cared about it at all. Again he shook his head.

Carter finished his breakfast and after picking up his bag he headed out of the hall and towards his DADA class. He walked through the door and after waving politely to the professor he took a seat, placing his bag on the floor next to his seat. He pulled out a notebook and quill pen and placed those on his desk. When the professor began talking about the Patronus Charm, Carter perked up in his chair a bit. He had been hoping to be able to give this spell a shot again since last year during the challenges. He had used a different spell at that time to get rid of the Boggart they had to deal with, but had read that the Patronus Charm could also be used to get rid of those things as well as the Riddiculous spell. He had told himself he would make a note of it for later, but forgot to do it. He remembered reading about it, but never had the chance to really use it until now. He was actually looking forward to that part. He feverishly took notes as the Professor spoke and tried to pay close attention to the wand movements when she showed them to everyone. He sat upright in his chair at the sight of her patronus walking through the room. He had to admit he had never seen a white panther of any kind before. It looked awesomely cool. He couldn’t wait to see how his own patronus turned out if he could get it to go corporeal. He was fairly certain it was gonna take quite a bit of practice before he got it to work right.

He practiced the wand movements to himself a few times while he drummed up the happy thought it would take to make the charm work right. He was fairly certain he had just the right one and decided to take his stab at the spell. He conjured up an image of his sister Payton and circled the wand as they were shown to before saying in a loud clear voice, “Expecto Patronum!” He wasn’t sure how much umph he was supposed to use for the spell so he put in as much as he could without overdoing it. He watched with extreme interest as the tip of his wand started to glow a brilliant white and a funky white mist began floating out of it. The mist kind of reminded Carter of a thin, wispy cloud just hanging around near his desk. It didn’t really have any discernable shape to it, just kind of hovered there until it dissipated. “Wow…now that was awesome!” he said excitably. “I wonder what would happen if I used a different happy thought.” His mind began to wander and he was pretty sure he had come up with a really good thought to use when he suddenly lost it due to a strange tickling in his nose. He felt his face screwing up as he prepared to sneeze. However when it didn’t come when he thought he grumbled a bit and tried going back to what it was he was doing. He raised the wand again and began making circles, preparing to cast the spell once again. He managed to get the word Expecto out but not Patronum before he suddenly sneezed, losing both the spell and the thought he was going to use yet again. He had tried covering his face with his robe sleeve before he sneezed, but wasn’t certain how successful he had been. He turned towards the neighbor he had tried not to sneeze on and apologized profusely.

“I am amazingly sorry about that,” he apologized after digging a handkerchief out of his robe pocket. He wiped his nose really quickly with it and tucked it back in his pocket. He dug around in his bag for the small bottle of sanitizer/lotion stuff his mother had insisted he put in it and slathered some on his hands. “I really hope I didn’t get anything on you,” he told his neighbor trying to look as apologetic as possible. “I have another handkerchief if you need it,” he offered, holding the white piece of cloth out to them like a surrender flag.

0 Carter Browning Look ma...I made a cloud! 236 Carter Browning 0 5

Jorge

June 19, 2013 9:48 PM

Packed away after the first challenge. by Jorge

Jorge nearly choked on his own tongue when he realized who it was that he was speaking to. Ephanie Lucore. She was the one girl with whom he tried not to have any association with. There was just something about her that he couldn’t quite understand. Whenever he looked at her, he felt his brain go numb. Literally. It went numb. Nothing worked. He couldn’t speak, he couldn’t think, he wasn’t even sure he was capable at feeling with any of this five senses. He didn’t understand it. It never happened with other girls and he didn’t understand why it happened with Ephanie. Sure, she was pretty, but so was pretty much his entire year of females. He was creeped out by the fact that he went stupid in her presence.

Her words did eventually make their way through his brain and he realized that she too was having trouble finding a memory to grab on to and create the Patronus with. It made him feel better knowing he wasn’t so strange to not have a great happy memory to work this spell. The second half of her comment made him half to think a little bit more. A girl? Why would that be the first thing she’d ask of him? What was worse, he didn’t know how to answer her. If he told the truth, would that make him look bad? Jorge doesn’t have a lady love interest; therefore, he wasn’t worth anyone’s time? Or, would lying be worse because that could easily be found out.

Jorge managed to smile at her. He thought it was successful that he had not swallowed his tongue or choked on his own spit. Progress. “A girl?” He repeated, giving a chuckle and a small smile. “In case you hadn’t notice, but our group of lovely ladies are rather complicated.” Jorge answered politely, although feeling that was a pretty decent way of evaluating them. “It’s easier to let them sort out which boy they like than actively participate in it.” Well, it sort of sounded logical, but he could of sworn it might also conclude a hint of laziness on his part. He was lazy most of the time, but in this case, he really just didn’t want to have to deal with the drama the types of girls in their year seemed to bring about. Or so it seemed by observing them. Anyway, half of them were part of that conceded clique and he preferred to know he was smart rather than prance around about it as though that made it the cool thing to do.

“I can’t really pin point an exact memory that is happy enough for me to create the Patronus.” Jorge commented. “I mean, I have happy memories, but they seem to be failing me at the moment.”

6 Jorge Packed away after the first challenge. 0 Jorge 0 5

Lucian D'Alesandro

June 20, 2013 12:00 AM

As sly as a fox. by Lucian D'Alesandro

Lucian was up bright and early on the morning of his Defense Against the Dark Arts class. It had quickly become one of his favorite classes, aside from Potions. Perhaps it was the possible dangers the class taught about that made him curious. It wasn’t like Lucian went around searching for danger, but he found it nice to know what to do to protect himself just in case.

He dressed casually, with a gray t-shirt and jeans under his robes, and made his way to the Hall for breakfast. He sat by himself so he could catch up on some schoolwork. After he finished eating cereal and a bowl of fruit, he made his way to class and took a seat towards the back. He situated his desk by taking out his quill and paper, and leaned back in his chair and relaxed.

Right before the Professor began, he saw Clara rush into the room and take a seat. She seemed to be in her own world, or bothered by something. More students filed in and took the remaining open seats, and the Professor began speaking. Once she stated what the lesson would be, Lucian grew more anxious. The Patronus Charm was one of the more difficult spells he knew they would have to eventually attempt, and he had been itching to try it.

He eagerly took notes on everything she said, especially the part about dementors and lethifolds. They sounded like some pretty nasty creatures that he hoped to never encounter. Once she finished talking, Lucian got out of his seat and tried to mentally prepare himself to cast the Charm. He wasn’t expecting much to happen on his first try, but he hoped to at least produce something by the end of class.

“Expecto..Patronum!” Lucian said, attempting to produce his patronus. However, nothing happened at all. Sighing, he remembered that he forgot to focus on the most important part. A happy memory or thought was needed to produce the Charm. This was going to be a bit difficult when taking into consideration all of the drama that had occurred since returning to school. Lucian often felt stressed out in trying to find answers to all the questions that were now floating around his head.

What made him happy? He thought back to his childhood. His father playing catch with him in their yard made him happy. Flying around the same yard on a summer evening when there was a nice cool breeze also made him happy. Playing the drums made him happy. He looked over to Clara and smiled. She made him happy. This led his mind to the memory of the first time he met her, when she was trying to stay on her broom during flying lessons. Then he thought of the time he helped her with her flying on the Pitch…then when she asked him to the ball. Finally, he thought about the great time they had at the ball, and the conversation they had in the hallway.

He lifted his wand again, and closed his eyes in concentration. ”Expecto Patronum!” This time his wand produced a glowing light at the end of it that slowly extended out into smaller bright wisps of light. They quickly formed an indistinct outline of what appeared to be a fox, and then dissipated. He hadn’t quite gotten it to work, but it was progress.

“That was awesome!” Lucian said happily to the person nearest to him. “Have you had any luck yet?”

0 Lucian D'Alesandro As sly as a fox. 223 Lucian D'Alesandro 0 5

Alexandra D'Alesandro

June 20, 2013 12:55 AM

looks at sleeve Did the cloud produce rain by chance? by Alexandra D'Alesandro

Alexandra was feeling particularly sassy as she entered the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom. She had been hoping that her brother and Clara were sitting together so she could have the opportunity to glare at them some more, but alas they were sitting in different places. She quickly sat down on the open seat next to Carter, who she seemed to keep running into lately.

She hadn’t really formed an opinion of him yet, but he at least seemed to have some sense of what was considered acceptable behavior, and she figured there were worse people to sit next to. She reached into her large pink handbag that she used to carry her textbooks and supplies, and retrieved her quill and paper, and arranged them in front of her.

As Professor Levy began explaining the lesson, Alex tapped her nails on the desk. She had started to zone out a bit, but refocused her attention as the professor explained the Patronus Charm. Alex didn’t know much about the Charm, except that it was a difficult one. She was interested though, to know what animal her patronus was.

After the professor was done explaining what they had to do, Alex tried to focus on something that made her happy. She liked to go shopping and pick out cute dresses. She liked spending time at Honey’s during the summer. She liked correcting people when they did not use proper ettiquette. She sighed, for she realized none of these things would be powerful enough to produce the charm.

She thought back to when she was a little girl, and her father used to pick her up and spin her around. He used to call her “Princess” and smile as she twirled around in her sparkling dresses. She had really started to miss him after thinking back on the memories she had, though she would never admit to it. Alex knew her brother was angry with their father for leaving them during the summer, but she was just more perplexed than anything. She just wanted to know why he gave up. Realizing her thought process was probably counter productive, Alex sighed once more and tried to focus.

Carter, who appeared to have no problem finding a happy memory, was about to attempt his second try at the charm when he sneezed, startling Alex. “Bless you,” she said turning to him, and then glanced down at her dress robes. Her sleeve was damp with the aftermath of his sneeze. She looked at her sleeve with disgust as he wiped his nose and put sanitizer on his hands. She was just about to make a rude comment, when he began apologizing and offered her a clean handkerchief.

“Thank you,” she said taking the handkerchief from him, and wiped off her sleeve, “You just got me a little bit. It’s okay.” She then neatly turned the wet side of the cloth inward, and folded it into a square on her desk. Situations like this are why Alex absolutely refused to let herself sneeze in public.

“How were you able to find a strong happy memory so quickly?” she asked Carter, turning her attention back to their lesson. “All of my fondest memories seem to turn gloomy somehow.”

0 Alexandra D'Alesandro *looks at sleeve* Did the cloud produce rain by chance? 240 Alexandra D'Alesandro 0 5

Aria Yale, Teppenpaw

June 26, 2013 9:58 PM

Learning my animal self. by Aria Yale, Teppenpaw

Aria was uncertain about Defense Against the Dark Arts. It told tales of terrible things. These were things that Aria was well aware of. They had plenty of books to read and she was always good about reading her textbooks prior to the school year beginning. On top of that, their Storyteller also told them of the evils of the world beyond the wall. It was something she was slowly beginning to understand and she wasn’t liking too much. She thought perhaps these feelings were the fact that she hadn’t met or discovered anything that would hold her into this world yet. Her mother said that was what changed people. Meeting someone they could love or discovering something they couldn’t live without. Those things kept some from never coming back. These were not terrible things. It was just a sad farewell of one of their own. Aria would have hoped to find something like that while at school and maybe she would, but it hadn’t happened yet. It was still difficult to even find a friend.

She still didn’t quite understand why this was. Aria was friendly in nature. She enjoyed laughing and loved to learn. She was in the Horse Club and now the Art Club. She could easily make gifts for those of whom she thought would like them and she tried her best to be helpful to those around her. It just didn’t seem like enough for them. She couldn’t understand what she was doing wrong and what everyone else was doing right.

Aria slid into a seat near the window and waited for the lesson to begin. This was one of those classes that usually required a partner. In this case, Aria would wait until someone was left without anyone and be their partner. Sometimes she felt confident enough to ask a person directly, but most people gravitated towards their own friends and she felt a little dumb for having approached them in the first place.

Today was not one of those days though. Today was about Patronuses. This excited Aria. She had always wanted to know what her animal spirit would be. It was something that was close to her heart. Aria jotted down everything she needed to know about Patronuses, impressed by how easy Professor Levy conjured hers. Aria hoped to be able to wave her wand and have whatever it was that she needed just appear instead of taking multiple tries.

Aria closed her eyes and thought of the things that made her happy. Her mind immediately went to her parents. Her father with his long brown hair and inquisitive eyes behind his wire rimmed glasses. Always a smile on his face. Her mother with her blonde curls and bright blue eyes. She had working hands, unlike her father who had soft hands. He called them ‘office’ hands. The thought of her parents warmed her heart and without realizing it, she was smiling. Feeling rejuvenated, Aria tried the spell and was rewarded with a flash and a shapeless blob of smoke. It wasn’t her animal spirit just yet, but she knew it would eventually be. Happily, Aria gave a little giggle like a little girl who knew a secret.

6 Aria Yale, Teppenpaw Learning my animal self. 0 Aria Yale, Teppenpaw 0 5

Carter

June 27, 2013 3:45 PM

It's not supposed to make rain by Carter

Carter grinned sheepishly as Alex accepted his apology. He was a little sorry to hear that he had actually hit her sleeve when he sneezed, but she insisted she was okay. He simply nodded, not entirely sure how to respond to that one. “You’re welcome,” he smiled when she took the hanky that he offered her and said, “Thank you”. He was glad she didn’t seem angry about the slightly damp sleeve. He was a little surprised by her question when she asked how he got a happy memory to work from so fast. He had to think for a second how best to answer. He felt bad that she didn’t seem to have a happy thought to work from given her comment about all of hers turning gloomy. He found it a little hard to believe that she didn’t have ONE happy memory to work from. That didn’t seem possible. Thinking about Wendy, his sister or his cousin made him happy. He couldn’t imagine how she couldn’t find one to work with.

“I just thought about my baby sister,” he answered her question. “She’s always doing the funniest things and she’s starting to talk now.” He couldn’t hide the pride he felt about that. Payton was only two and she was already saying three word sentences and calling his name all the time. Only when she said it instead of Carter, it comes out as Cotter. Her favorite thing to say at the moment is “No potty!” due to the fact that he and his parents were working on potty training her before he went back to school. She even stamps her little foot when she says it. “She’s learning potty training at the moment so her favorite thing to say right now is No Potty! She even stamps her little foot and screws up her face when she does it,” he laughed slightly as he told Alex about Payton. “It’s an easy memory to use.” He shrugged about it. “I’m sure that not ALL of your memories turn gloomy. There has to be at least one floating around in there that was happy right?” he asked, trying to encourage her. “Maybe you had a really good day with your family or maybe you had fun pulling a prank on your brother/sister…the teacher didn’t really specify HOW the thought was a happy one. Just that it had to be happy one somehow,” he offered, hoping that it helped her somehow.

0 Carter It's not supposed to make rain 0 Carter 0 5

Aubrielle Thornton

June 27, 2013 3:55 PM

Slippery as a snake by Aubrielle Thornton

Aubrielle had a lot on her mind. Things from home and things from school were like a dark rain cloud mixed up in her head. She was confused. Between her father leaving, the family spending the summer in England and not near her boyfriend or the theatre she loved, finding out that it seemed as if Marius was magical too, then finding out it was all a hoax, finding out about Arista getting married and more. There was ups and downs and it seemed to her like it had all came crashing down upon her right then and there. She was dramatic, sure, but that was on the stage, not really in person.

She thought about going to Cascade Hall for breakfast, but then decided against it at the end of a long ping pong ball match in her own head. It seemed as though she just couldn’t make up her mind about anything that morning. It was awful…

Walking into Defense Against the Dark Arts made her just want to cry. It wasn’t that she didn’t like the class, in fact, she did. It was more along the lines of the fact that for some reason that Monday was just one of those weird days that she was in a mood where she didn’t want to be around anyone. It was almost like her awful Aunt Flo was walking back into her life again and she didn’t like her the first time, she sure didn’t like her this time. She just wanted chocolate and one of those sob story movies to just cry it all out and let out all the tension in her body at the same time.

But no such luck…

Bri took a seat towards the back of the room, incidentally, next to Lucian. She was about to wave hello to him when she saw Clara rush into the room and take a seat. Shaking her head both at her cousin’s rushing into the class and also to try to bring herself back into the present. She didn’t want to think about her father, she didn’t want to think about anything that happened around her. The Teppenpaw just wanted to get her classes over with and go back to her room.

Professor Levy started to speak right after that, so she still didn’t have time to say hello to Lucian, which ultimately could have been a good thing for his sake… She wasn’t in the best of moods, after all, and she didn’t want to yell at him or anything. He was her cousins’ best friend after all (other than herself and Waverly, that was) and she didn’t want to do anything to jeopardize that. When the class was told what they would be learning that class, Bri’s mouth fell onto her desk in surprise. Her mouth fell even further when Professor Levy made one in an empty corner of their classroom. A panther stood in the corner and Bri just stared at it. The fourth year almost forgot she was supposed to be taking notes and quickly scribbled down what Professor Levy had been saying, stopping when she said that a patronus could change as a person changes. Writing again, she wondered what her patronus could have been if she’d have had one before she found out about Marius, then what her actual patronus really was.

A dementor is a dark creature that feeds on human happiness? she thought as she wrote it down on her paper. Uhm… she looked around the room, wondering what those dementor things looked like and if there was one that was following her lately. Shaking the thought as far away from herself as she could, she turned her attention back to Professor Levy and her notes. When Bri heard her mention how lethifolds kill and where they were found, she shivered and made it a point to never ever go to the tropics.

The castor must be pure of heart. she thought as she wrote it down. She glanced around the room when the professor mentioned the fact that to cast this charm she’d need to summon all of her happiness and that any negative thoughts would cause the charm to fail. “Right…” she said with a sigh, most of which was almost too quiet for anyone to hear her. She wasn’t sure if Lucian had even heard her. When Professor Levy said they were allowed to start, she looked to Lucian and was about to try to tell him hello again, in the hopes of putting herself into a slightly better mood. After all, she was going to need to change her mood, especially since she was going to need to find her happiest thought…

Suddenly Lucian said the charm. When nothing happened, she heard him sigh and she knew that she could have said something to him, but it looked like he was thinking and she didn’t want to interrupt him. He was probably trying to come up with a happy memory or thought to help him. Who was she to stop him from having the chance to get it right?

Bri couldn’t think of anything that was going to make her happy enough to try to do this, but she wanted to try her best anyway. Flying? Doing a show? Finally getting to go to England? she thought, almost sure that none of those things were going to do it. Doing Les Mis? Marius? she added to herself as the first one made her elated and at first the second made her even happier, until she remembered what happened when she found out he was magical and then again when she found out he wasn’t anymore and her heart fell. NOTHING… she sighed and heard Lucian beside her say the charm again. She turned towards him and saw the end of his wand light up, then the light extended and changed into something that looked like a fox. Moments later the fox-like creature disappeared and Bri’s mouth fell open again.

He happily told her that had been awesome and all Bri could do was nod to him for a second. Opening her mouth to speak, but no sound came out. When she was finally able to speak, her words came out a little bit squeaky. “How… did you do that?” She was flabbergasted at the fact that he had come up with something that not only was a patronus, but it actually LOOKED like an animal!

When Lucian asked if she’d had any luck, she shook her head no and whispered into his ear, “I don’t know what my happy thought could be… I‘m afraid that I won‘t be able to find one…” she knew that he was sort of familiar with what was happening in their family, but he probably didn’t know the extent of it. However, she knew that there was something that had happened to him too, but she didn’t know what.

It felt to her like something was breaking inside of her, not only did she tell someone who wasn’t a family member or Waverly that she didn’t know what her happy thought was, but also that she was afraid that she wouldn’t be able to find one. This was not the Aubrielle most of her family knew and loved, this was someone who was changing and growing, and she wouldn’t lie about it, but she was scaring herself!

0 Aubrielle Thornton Slippery as a snake 0 Aubrielle Thornton 0 5

Cepheus Princeton, Crotalus

June 27, 2013 6:10 PM

Let's begin right away. by Cepheus Princeton, Crotalus

Defense had always been high on Cepheus's list, but waking up to go to class so early in the morning was a daunting task. He had been doing well enough so far, but he was still struggling slightly with all of his dedication to Quidditch and his new...distraction. He had been on a cloud since their first meeting and he smiled easier now despite the problems both of his brothers still had with him. Nothing seemed to really matter except her and Quidditch. After all, he knew what he was doing after he graduated and, for once, he was grateful for that assurance though he hadn't chosen it for himself.

For class today they were going to work on the Patronus Charm and Cepheus grinned. This was what he had been looking forward to since entering the Intermediate class. He had seen his parents both produce corporeal Patronuses and he had envied their skill. Now he would be able to do it himself.

This was one lesson that deserved to have notes taken down. Cepheus whipped out a sheet of parchment and scribbled down points from her lecture that he would need. He had heard horror stories since he was a child of Dementors and he never wanted to meet one. But, if he knew how to cast a Patronus, he would have no fear of meeting one. He looked up to observe Professor Levy when she showed them the wand movement and he practised it himself once before scribbling once more. He paused, then. Love? Cepheus thought for a moment of his parents' Patronuses and realised they did have similar animals. Their Patronuses complimented the other. He smiled to himself. He didn't fancy himself in love or anything, but he did hope to experience that someday. It would be completely unfair if his parents were able to experience real love and he wasn't.

It was disappointing to hear that he would only be expected to perform a non-corporeal Patronus and he immediately decided he would perform the charm. He was powerful enough, wasn't he? He was from one of the older, wealthier, prestigious English pure-blood families in the magical community and he would only be a disappointment if he could not produce a real, corporeal Patronus.

Think happy thoughts. That was simple enough, wasn't it? Cepheus began his practise. He twirled his wand. He thought long and hard about his happiest memory. And then he gave it a go. "Expecto Patronum!" He fully expected to see his soul animal out for the world to see, but all he received was a puff of white vapour and then nothing. "What?" he breathed in disbelief and then shook his head. It took even the greatest wizard a few tries, didn't it? Maybe his memory wasn't happy enough. He thought of the first time he had caught the Snitch and the pure joy that had flowed through him. Just before he cast it, he was distracted by his desk partner.

0 Cepheus Princeton, Crotalus Let's begin right away. 0 Cepheus Princeton, Crotalus 0 5

Waverly Canterbury - Pecari

June 27, 2013 7:03 PM

What is happiness without the sad? by Waverly Canterbury - Pecari

There was so much going on Waverly’s head was almost spinning. She had started studying for her CATS (never too early, right?) and was officially a Library Monitor where they would be a sub soon. She had the Baking Club to run, the Pecari Quidditch team to support, and her Prefect duties, not to mention her classwork and all of the clubs she had joined. And there were so many! It was all almost enough to make her start pulling her hair out and lose sleep. But there was a purpose to all of this madness. She had been thinking less of Brandon and his heartbroken face and her broken heart and thought more of how crazy she was becoming and how she relished in being busy. It was maddening, but it was also thankfully distracting.

She felt like she was sleepwalking into DADA class today and she wished she had slept a little earlier the night before. However, her slight panic at the thought of CATS exams had forced her to study until she really could not keep her eyes open anymore and she had fallen asleep on her bed with her nose, quite literally, in her book. Waverly had been embarrassed at the thought of either Theresa or Jade waking to find their roommate in that state, but at this moment she couldn’t even bring herself to care. She was sleepwalking today. That meant her hair was in a ponytail, she wore her uniform robe completely buttoned up to hide her casual clothing underneath, and her eyelids were almost half-closed. School was hard work and she wished she had gone to breakfast that morning. Even her stomach was rumbling.

Professor Levy began her lecture and she listened and took down notes as dutifully as a sleepwalker could. The sound of the Patronus Charm, however, woke her interest up. Usually they learned about hexes and jinxes and some curses and Waverly didn’t like fighting with magic. But today’s lesson actually sounded really cool. There was another reason for the muggle-born to love magic: she got a spirit guardian. That was awesome. Even if that meant there were dark creatures called Dementors that could take away her happiness. She at least got a spirit guardian to protect her from the evil wizards.

When Professor Levy produced her own patronus, Waverly’s green eyes widened in delight. Would she be able to find out what her spirit guardian was? That would be so cool! She smiled, but her smile fell when she heard that they probably weren’t going to be able to produce a “corporeal patronus,” whatever that meant. She would have to learn the difference between a corporeal and non-corporeal, but so far she had learned that one was formless, the other was an animal. Cool.

After they were sent to start working on their own, Waverly thought long and hard about what her happiest memory was. She had several really happy ones, like that time she had gone camping with her family and her dad had shown them all the constellations. And when she had baked her first batch of brownies all by herself and her mom looked so proud. Or when she found out she was magical, though she had been more apprehensive than happy at first. There was the time Brandon had told her he liked her too and the happiness she had felt all the way to her toes. Then there was the first time he kissed her and Waverly felt the bittersweet warmth fill her at the memory of her first kiss. Yes, that one would do. Though she and Brandon weren’t together anymore, the memories, and that one in particular, would always be sweet.

“Expecto Patronum!” She drew circles with her wand and pointed it nowhere in particular and saw a bright, swirly white vapor come out. It didn’t take shape and faded quickly, but the power of it made Waverly gasp and the memory she had used made her green eyes water. Waverly tried really hard not to cry in the middle of class. It had been a couple months since they had broken up, but it still felt raw to her. Every memory she had of Brandon right now, though they were really happy ones, still made her feel really sad. She missed Brandon so much. Waverly had stood up when she tried the charm, but now she sat back down. She needed to get control of her emotions. Maybe it would be better to use a different memory.

0 Waverly Canterbury - Pecari What is happiness without the sad? 0 Waverly Canterbury - Pecari 0 5

Lucian

June 27, 2013 11:32 PM

As long as it isn't as smelly as a skunk. by Lucian

Lucian hadn’t paid that much attention to whom eventually took the seat next to him, but after he turned to look at his desk mate, he realized he was sitting next to Aubrielle. Her jaw was nearly on the desk as he smiled at her after his somewhat successful attempt at the Patronus Charm. He thought his patronus matched his personality quite well.

“I just thought of something that made me happy,” he stated simply, with a shrug, “I mean, it was kind of hard at first since my mind wandered everywhere. It’s all about focus. You see, there’s this girl..” He let the sentence trail off because he was sure that his face was turning a bit red. Lucian wasn’t sure why he added that, but it was the happy thought that formed his patronus. He looked at the floor and sighed.

When his classmate whispered that she may not be able to find a happy thought, he nodded with empathy. He had struggled with the same thing at first. It seemed that all of his memories and thoughts not only had a positive side, but also a very negative one. Perhaps it all depended on point of view. This gave him an idea for a pep talk.

“I think you have a lot of happy thoughts,” he began, reassuring Bri, “You have always seemed pretty happy to me. Maybe you are just looking at the negative side of your thoughts. When I was trying to find a good thought, it was hard because I just focused on the bad things that are going on now. However, those bad things were once all good things.” He paused for a moment, not sure if he was explaining things clearly, then decided to give her an example from his own life.

“You see,” he continued after a moment, while moving his wand around in his hand when he spoke, “I was really angry with my father when I came back to Sonora this year, and as I thought about playing catch with him in our yard when I was little, I felt happy. Then the anger I had threatened the happiness of that memory. You can’t let bad things going on now threaten your happiness. There is a good and bad side to everything. It just depends on what side you choose to focus on.”

Lucian hoped that what he was saying made sense, and that he didn’t sound like a badly written fortune cookie. He smiled again at Bri, hoping to help her feel more at ease. It seemed like she had a lot on her mind, and in a way he was glad that he wasn’t the only one thinking too much.

“Why don’t you give it a try?” he said, standing back to give her some room.

0 Lucian As long as it isn't as smelly as a skunk. 0 Lucian 0 5

Alex

June 29, 2013 10:30 PM

I will be sure to bring an umbrella next time. by Alex

Alex wished she could relate to what Carter was telling her about his baby sister, but she was the baby of her family, so to speak. She couldn’t imagine having to share the attention her parents gave her with someone younger than her. Sure, Lucian got a lot of attention since he was a male and would be taking over the family businesses, but it was a different kind of attention. It was composed of scrutiny, discipline, and expectations. Alex was quite glad she didn’t have as many demands placed on her, but still felt jealous when her parents praised her brother for his excellent grades and potion making skills.

If she were to be completely honest, Alex would admit that she found the idea of potty training completely repulsive. How does teaching a child to use the potty produce joy? She was definitely glad that she didn’t have to deal with any of that mess. She wrinkled up her nose a little as Carter continued on about his baby sister, and turned her head a bit so he wouldn’t notice. She wasn’t trying to go out of her way to be rude to him after all.

Alex thought about what Carter said about family memories or playing a prank on a brother or sister. She definitely enjoyed causing any kind of mayhem in her brother’s life, but she wasn’t sure if that was powerful enough to produce a patronus. Think, Alex, think she said to herself while attempting to dig into the depths of her memories.

Alex thought back on the time when she had her first piano lesson. Her mother had gone to some Pureblood party to mingle with important people, and Lucian was up in his room reading as usual. She had been about seven years old, and practically begged her father to show her how to play. He had brought her a big bowl of cherry ice cream, and sat her down next to him on the piano seat.

“Okay Alex,” he had said to her, “An easy way to remember the notes on the lines for the right hand is by using the saying “Every Good Boy Does Fine”. Understand? The notes are E, G, B, D, and F. A good way to remember the spaces is by the saying “All Cows Eat Grass”. Those notes are A, C, E, and G…”He had then proceeded to show her the keys for the right hand, and they practiced going over them together. Alex had loved playing the piano ever since then, and couldn’t recall another time after that when she had spent time alone with her father. Of course, her mother made Lucian learn to play piano as well, but he had eventually taken a liking to the drums.

She stood up from her seat and held out her wand, determined to produce at least some kind of patronus. Alex closed her eyes, pictured the piano lesson with her father, and took a deep breath. “Expecto Patronum! she said after a moment, and watched as a small light grew at the end of her wand. It extended into light wisps a few feet in front of her, revealing what appeared to be a figure of a Ram charging forward, and vanished as quickly as it had appeared. It wasn’t anywhere near as perfect or as powerful as the Charm should be, but she was satisfied with her attempt.

Alex turned towards Carter with a smile on her face. “I think I found my happy memory.”

0 Alex I will be sure to bring an umbrella next time. 0 Alex 0 5

Arabella Brockert,Pecari

July 03, 2013 3:04 AM

Horrified by Arabella Brockert,Pecari

Defense Against the Dark Arts wasn't the most proper of subjects but Arabella had never really minded it. She might grow up to be nothing but a pureblood socialite, and live more a life of leisure than one of danger, but she could certainly see a practical side to the subject. One never knew when certain people would decide to stop using emotional torture and start hexing. When that day came, the Pecari wanted to be ready.

Oh, okay, actually Arabella just wanted to hex her now , but that would have been unladylike and she had to keep up that appearance. Repress the desire to do what she truly wanted to. Interesting how being a lady was the issue and not that people were against that particular person being harmed. They wanted it, they all wanted it, but manners and propriety dictated that none did it. Even though the little monster had none. Sometimes there was just no real justice in the world.

She was extremely angry about what happened last summer and it took absolutely every ounce of self control that Arabella possessed not to just go off and hex her cousin. Well, really, it was her aunt who'd done the truly terrible thing several years ago but she didn't have to tell Carrie, and Carrie didn't have to tell Ryan, driving him out of his home because he couldn't stand to live with his biological mother's evil little puppet any longer, but naturally she had told Carrie and the fourth year repeated it Aunt Pearl had found a legal way to torture her son. Not that Carrie wasn't perfectly capable of tormenting him-and others-on her own. Still, she was nothing but the foul poisonous little beast that her mother had created.

Arabella liked to think of herself as a calm, rational human being who made the best out of situations. As someone who created little drama. However, her cousin knew just what buttons to push. She always did and in the fifth year's case, it wasn't usually anything Carrie did to her personally. The Crotalus would always hurt Arabella through people that the Pecari cared about. Even if the intention had been to harm the other person in the first place, such as was the case whenever it was Ryan, Carrie had the bonus of hurting Arabella too.

She stopped glaring at the blonde girl long enough to turn attention to the lesson. Despite her small stature, Professor Levy was one not to be trifled with. The Pecari tended to treat her professors with respect even if she didn't like it when they gave out essays much. Arabella was more of kinesthetic learner.

The fifth year watched as the professor cast her patronous and listened as she talked about Dementors and how they sucked out people's souls. Maybe that's what happened to Aunt Pearl , she thought. How could anyone be so wretched otherwise? Do such terrible things as she had done?

The next thing Professor Levy said piqued her interest further. Not the part about communication but the part about the spell castor being pure of heart. She didn't know how that could be managed, even for herself right now. Arabella's heart was full of hatred for her aunt and cousin and that would never do on this lesson. However, what really intrigued her was the bit about how dark wizards couldn't cast them because of the evil in their hearts. She might hate certain people, but she knew she was a good person.

However, her eyes shifted back to Carrie. There was no way that girl was going to be able to cast a patronous. Obviously, only negative things would occur. Arabella knew full well that the fourth year's happy memories were only of causing pain towards others. That all she cared about was herself, her mother and making everyone she considered less than her-which was everyone-as miserable as possible. The Pecari was sure she knew what her cousin's positive memory would be and hatred surged through her once more.

Instead of pulling out her wand and attempting to cast the spell herself right off-oh she would but not quite yet, she wasn't quite feeling too happy right now and there were much more interesting things about to occur-the redhead sat in her chair awaiting the horror that was sure to unfold, as she watched her cousin's attempts, which at first yielded nothing, but then, Carrie finally got results and Arabella's mouth formed a little O of horror.

11 Arabella Brockert,Pecari Horrified 217 Arabella Brockert,Pecari 0 5

Bri

July 03, 2013 11:47 AM

Nope, it's as graceful as a swan by Bri

When Bri’s mouth nearly hit the desk in front of them at the sight of the fox like thing that came from Lucian’s wand and he smiled at her, she sat there almost in shock. When she finally got the words to come out with sound, she asked him how he did that and when he answered with his simple shrug that he just thought of something that made him happy. When he mentioned that it was all about focus and then mentioned something about a girl, but stopped talking as his face turned a bit red in embarrassment. Bri realized right then exactly who he was talking about in the way of remembering how Clara talked about Lucian and about how both at the Ball and at the Pool Party they were seen together.

Instead of telling him that she knew who the girl was, or that the girl was even her cousin and one of her best friends, she stayed quiet and instead whispered to him that she wasn’t sure that she’d be able to find a happy thought. There was so much stuff rolling through her mind that she was sure that anything that would happen in her mind wouldn’t stay happy even if it was for a brief moment. Lucian nodded in understanding and started to speak in a reassuring tone. “Yeah, maybe I’ve always been happy before now, but Lucian… Things are so…” she stopped her sentence and glanced down at her lap again rather than at his face. He spoke on about the possibility that she was just looking at the negative side of her thoughts and that he had the same problem until he made it a point to explain what he meant.

Brielle supposed she looked really confused which could have been why he explained. When he started to speak of how angry he was at his father at the start of this year, she took her turn to nod to him in empathy. I understand… she thought to herself as she listened to him and how he thought about what he and his father had done when he was little.

So something that is bad now, could have been really good at one point and that is how he came up with his happy thought? she thought to herself, understanding that was a part of his success, and Clara was the rest. Maybe I need to think of something Dad did with us and then Marius being magical, like I am? she thought, trying to come up with something that their Dad did with them, without any luck.

Silas popped into her mind and the kids followed. How they went to museums and pools with them, how Silas treated her like one of his own, how he treated all of her mother’s children like they were his own. A tear actually fell down from the corner of her eye closest to Lucian at the thought that Silas was more like a father than her own had been to her during her first 14 years of life in the last few weeks and she actually smiled at the thought. “You know… I think you’re right Lucian… Even the bad things have something good in them…” she said as he suggested that she try. He backed up to give her some space and she picked up her wand, thinking of all the time Silas had spent with all of them (Marius too).

“Expecto Patronum!” she said, loudly and clearly, thinking of the swim at the pool the whole lot of them took before they went back to Napa to come to school and her wand let out a white light and something that almost looked like fog in whisps like Lucian’s had been and it almost looked like it grew wings and a beak, but she wasn’t completely sure. Her wand fell out of her hand in surprise and it disappeared right before her very eyes.

“Oh…” she said with a sigh as she turned to look back to Lucian.

0 Bri Nope, it's as graceful as a swan 0 Bri 0 5

Carter

July 03, 2013 11:49 AM

Be a good idea, I don't think you'll need it by Carter

Carter could see that Alex wasn’t really that interested in his talking about his sister’s potty training. He had to admit it was a bit of a gross subject now that he thought about it. He really couldn’t imagine how parents were able to deal with stuff like that on a daily basis. For as cute as he thought his sister’s baby babble was, he was glad he wasn’t the one having to do the actual training. He was mostly the cheering squad which suited him just fine. He watched Alex curiously wondering what she might be thinking about that she could use to conjure up her patronus. He hoped that the advice he had given her helped at all with that issue. His eyes widened a bit when she cast the spell and the tip of her wand began to glow. She must have found something she could use he mused to himself as he watched with her while the spell did its thing. He nodded slightly impressed over the ghostly ram that bolted out of the end of her wand and disappeared. Whatever thought she used had been strong enough to make the ram, but she let go of it too soon. He was impressed. He chuckled slightly when she smiled at him.

“I think I found my happy place,” she had told him still smiling. Carter clapped lightly for her, still grinning. “I told you they all couldn’t be gloomy,” he assured her. “Look what you just did with whatever thought that was. That must have been a doozy,” he commented, sounding impressed with her efforts. He sighed slightly. “I guess its my turn now,” he mused, rising out of his seat and getting his wand ready. He tried using another thought about Payton, but found this one wasn’t as powerful. He knew he was going to have to dig a bit deeper if he wanted to make the patronus actually work for him. He began trying another thought process and found his mind wandering towards his best friend Wendy. He felt the pit of his stomach grow warm and fuzzy just thinking about her. He conjured up their water fight at the pool party and how much fun they had been having. He caught himself smiling and raised his wand again ready to try the spell again. “Expecto Patronum!” he cast pointing the wand out in front of him. He held onto the memory as the tip of wand turned a bright white. A white, thick mist poured out of the end and it seemed to take the shape of a colt. The ghostly horse pranced around the area near them before vanishing like Alex’s ram did. Carter stared at the open space wide eyed. “It would appear that we both found our happy place,” he joked lightly. “Should we give it one more try?” he inquired, gently nudging her with his elbow and grinning.

0 Carter Be a good idea, I don't think you'll need it 0 Carter 0 5

Carrie O'Malley, Crotalus

July 06, 2013 3:33 AM

How could this be? by Carrie O'Malley, Crotalus

Although most of her summer had been pretty miserable due to her father grounding her, it had been worth it to see her wretched brother go. Carrie didn't regret a thing. The only thing other than being grounded that had been horrible was listening to her bratty baby sister cry constantly because she missed Ryan. At least he'd taken his flea bitten mutt with him though. She was satisfied that she'd hurt him so badly, finally damaged him hopefully beyond repair. His reaction, the pain in his eyes had been priceless. Downright beautiful, almost as much as she herself was.

It had been unfortunate that Carrie hadn't truly been able to enjoy his absence, of course, but at least there was one less undesirable creature around contaminating the place. Two actually. If she could only go live with her mother, things would be so much better. Her father did not treat her the way he should, he should be doting on her as her mother did. All her stepmother and her vile offspring did was stand in her way.

At least Jamie had punished that freak daughter of hers. How dare that monster throw Carrie against the wall! She should have her wand snapped for using underage magic and be locked up in a madhouse for her violence. Clearly, Sally was completely unstable. The fourth year couldn't even understand why the older girl would want to do that to her. She was perfect and beautiful and special. Sally should have been honored to be in her presence. The Aladren was probably just jealous of Carrie. After all, why wouldn't she be? She'd never be anything but inferior to the blonde. Still, Carrie would have her revenge on her step-sister one way or another. Break her like Ryan had been broken.

Carrie sat in DADA, bored. Of course, with her deranged step-sister around, maybe she did need this class. At least until she could get rid of her. She'd already told Mother what had happened and Mother was livid over it. The Crotalus had insisted that the girl should be committed. Mother promised to look into it. Anyone who didn't like Carrie was obviously crazy in the first place. How could anyone dislike someone as wonderful as her? The only reason why they wouldn't would be serious envy. Sally, however, was downright dangerous, she probably shouldn't even be going to Sonora. She could attack anyone at any point.

Still, Carrie did not want to continue with Defense after CATS. It was most unladylike and Professor Levy was a terrible influence, being that she was not only a halfblood-most professors were not respectable anyway, especially women, so this was to be expected-but a lesbian as well. Like Coach Pierce. Disgusting.

She heard the professor talk about casting a Patronous. The caster, apparently, had to be pure of heart. Well, Carrie should have no problem with that, not only was she as perfect as one could be-which included being pure of heart-but she was a good deal more talented and powerful than her classmates. She also had no idea how the non-purebloods and other defectives would manage the spell though, being tainted and all.

Carrie took out her wand, and thought of her happiest memory. It was an obvious one, last summer, telling Ryan, the look on his face. It had filled her with such joy. "Expecto Patronum " She said, doing the wand movement. Nothing happened and she scowled. How did she not produce a perfect one immediately? She was the purest of heart and besides, her best memory was so perfectly clear. She tried a few more times and eventually...

Spiders swarmed out of her wand and started to crawl all over her! The fourth year shrieked and dropped her wand, batting away at the spiders, which disappeared after a few moments fortunately. Carrie calmed down, because they were not all over her any more, but she was totally confused as to how this possibly could have happened. She was no dark witch, she was as good as they came! The very best!

11 Carrie O'Malley, Crotalus How could this be? 230 Carrie O'Malley, Crotalus 0 5

Lucian

July 07, 2013 11:07 PM

As curious as a cat. by Lucian

Lucian watched as Bri said the incantation, and her wand revealed a bright light that seemed to turn into some type of bird. He was so busy watching it, that he didn’t notice that she dropped her wand until he heard it hit the floor. Lucian quickly picked it up off the ground and held it out to her. “Here you go. That was great…you should try again,” he said to her, hopefully making her feel somewhat better about ending the patronum prematurely.

“See, I told you that everything can’t be all that bad. There is always something good to be found even in the darkest of memories,” he continued on while smirking a bit, “Man, sometimes I sound like one of those greeting cards Muggles send to each other when they accidently forget birthdays.” He had heard about them from his neighbor back at home, and figured they probably weren’t much different than sending an owl with a note to someone, but they seemed a lot more cheesy.
If anything, he was trying to get Bri to laugh a little bit.

He took a chance and just came right out and asked her what he was wondering. “What is making you feel so down anyways? You don’t have to tell me, but I promise I am pretty good at listening.” He suspected that it had something to do with her family, for he had heard a few things around school about it, but he didn’t pay much attention to what he heard. He always figured if someone wanted him to know about their business, they would tell him.

Just then, he heard Carrie yelling from across the room, and looked in her direction as spiders were jumping out of the tip of her wand. Once she had them under control, Lucian turned to face Bri once more wit ha concerned look on his face. “What in the world was that about?”

0 Lucian As curious as a cat. 0 Lucian 0 5

Jade Owen

July 09, 2013 3:30 PM

Awesome? by Jade Owen

The impending doom of the CATS exams had forced Jade to consider which subjects she might actually wish to study in her advanced classes, and therefore the papers she would need to pass with a decent grade. DADA was actually one of the least dull classes, and Professor Levy was pretty cool, for a professor, so Jade thought she would keep this class on, if she could. That meant she had to start paying attention, though, and she'd never been very good at doing that. Luckily, today was an awesome class. Being able to cast a Patronus was a seriously cool trick, and even watching the Professor do it gave Jade a thrill. She doubted very much she'd be one of the smart alecs who succeeded in conjuring a corporeal patronus before the end of the class, but she'd give it a go - it would be interesting to see what sort of creature she would create.

Jade's unusually detailed note-taking was interrupted as she heard Waverly's stomach rumbling from the next desk across. Torn between amusement and pity, Jade thought she had thrown a couple of snack bars in her bag at the start of the day, and she could probably share one with Waverly. her roommate was, after all, one of the handful of people Jade would call a friend. So when they were done with notes, as other students began to practise, Jade rummaged in her bag for several minutes, but could only find one snack bar. Too bad for Waverly, she thought, not willing to pass over her only edible treat, but then she looked back up at her roommate and the look on Waverly's face would have been enough for her to give up a whole pack of snack bars. Probably.

"Here," Jade said, handing it over and peering at her friend to see whether Waverly was actually crying. "You're hungry and you're upset. I think you're missing the point of this patronus gig." For sure her friend had missed the part where the memory was supposed to be a happy one. Jade had noticed that Waverly had bitten off way more than any normal person could chew this term, but she hadn't said anything about it. Though by the looks of it, her fellow Pecari's workload was starting to take its toll, and Jade might have to open her mouth and speak up.

0 Jade Owen Awesome? 221 Jade Owen 0 5

Marcus Crosby [Teppenpaw]

July 11, 2013 3:15 AM

Don't ask me; I'm just moral support. by Marcus Crosby [Teppenpaw]

The more Professor Levy spoke, the more Marcus thought he could probably do the spell. He was by no means a terribly exceptional student, but he was also not nearly a bad one. Plus, this Patronus thing was based on happiness, and the Teppenpaw was very good at being happy. If he could harness that joyous energy, there was no doubt in his mind that he could succeed.

The fourteen year old idly watched a few of his classmates attempt the spell, pondering what memory he should use to try his own hand. There were so many good times in his past! He imagined this had to be the hardest part of the spell, and if so, then actually performing it would be easy. Knowing he could succeed only made him more excited.

But then a shriek broke his reverie, and a concerned blond head whipped around in search of its source. Eventually he found it: Carrie O’Malley. Marcus did not know what happened, but there were spiders everywhere, and he instinctively hurried to her to see if he could be of any help. While he knew Carrie was not the nicest girl, she was family—Aunt Jamie was her mom now—and either way, he had to do something.

By the time he got there, the spiders had disappeared, but she still seemed a bit rattled. “Are you okay, Carrie?” he asked as he picked up her wand; evidently, she had dropped it when the spiders attacked her. Marcus had no personal bug or spider phobia, but it was really easy to see why other people might. “Here’s your wand.” He offered it to her, prepared to wait until she felt ready to take it back. If she needed a minute, that was okay. Marcus had plenty of time to try out the new spell.

12 Marcus Crosby [Teppenpaw] Don't ask me; I'm just moral support. 225 Marcus Crosby [Teppenpaw] 0 5

Waverly

July 12, 2013 1:08 AM

That's what it's supposed to be by Waverly

In the middle of a deep breath Jade was suddenly there and Waverly looked up to see her with a snack bar in her hand. Her smile was a little sad when she took it, but she was regaining control of her emotions again. "Thanks," she said. She wanted to laugh or at least show some amusement at Jade's attempt to lighten the situation, but Waverly didn't think she could do that without letting the water in her eyes get out. She pressed her palms to her eyes, embarrassed at being caught with a sad face. Waverly was never sad at Sonora.

"You're right," she said as she pulled her hands away from her eyes. The moisture had dried somewhat and the rest she had wiped away somewhat inconspicuously. "I was probably asking for it using a memory with Brandon in it. But hey, the patronus was strong for a little while." Waverly knew Jade wasn't the boy-crazy kind of girl and she appreciated that. Living with someone who talked about boys like there was no tomorrow would have driven Waverly up the wall. It did, however, make her a little more hesitant to talk about boys with Jade even though she considered them good friends.

Waverly had always been a busybody and enjoyed piling a lot onto her plate. It made her dead-tired, that was for sure, but she loved being dead-tired, oddly enough. Going to a magical school gave her so many more opportunities that she couldn't let slip past. Who knew when she would be able to do any of these things again? But part of her reasoning for taking on so many projects this year was to forget about her summer heartbreak and to keep herself so busy she wouldn't think about it. Part of it was working, but the other part made her so tired she didn't even want to think about anything. It wasn't anything she couldn't handle as long as she didn't mope over Brandon again. It would certainly help if she stopped thinking about him.

She unwrapped the snack and smiled at her roommate, grateful to have someone watching out for her. "Thanks for this. I'll probably need it to sustain me till lunch. I can't believe you heard my stomach." That itself was extremely embarrassing and she wasn't sure if this was considered a bonding moment, but she wanted it to be just to give her an excuse to be glad it happened. "Have you tried the charm yet? It looks really cool."

0 Waverly That's what it's supposed to be 0 Waverly 0 5

Jade

July 12, 2013 6:02 AM

Something to aim for? by Jade

"Oh," Jade said, when Waverly mentioned Brandon. "Yeah, that might not have been such a genius plan." For all that she'd been bored hearing about Brandon this and Brandon that last term, Jade was sad for Waverly that it hadn't worked out between them. At least that explained why her roommate was looking like someone had cancelled Christmas.

Jade watched wistfully as her gesture was gradually consumed, but at least Waverly seemed to be appreciative, so that was something. "Have you tried the charm yet?" Waverly said. Good, she was choosing to focus on the work rather than on Brandon. Jade wanted to be a good friend, but when it came to Waverly's Muggle ex, she didn't really have anything helpful to say. Not that she was really prejudiced against Muggles, but she didn't see how a relationship would work if one person had magic and the other didn't. It was like a bird and a fish trying to get romantic. Or something a little less weird. "It looks really cool."

"I haven't tried it yet," Jade said, drawing out her wand in preparation. "I don't even know what memory I'd use." She guessed playing Quidditch was pretty fun, especially that time she'd caught the Snitch and stolen victory from Aladren's grasp. That had been pretty awesome. "Eh, I'll give it a go." The fifth year closed her eyes to focus, spoke the incantation, and moved her wand as instructed. Then she opened her eyes to see that a gray mist was floating a couple of feet away from her. "A mist is good, yes?" she asked Waverly for clarification. "I mean, it's no panther or whatever, but I'm gonna say that's not bad for a first try." She smiled, pleased with herself.

"I want to see you have another go," she told her partner. "I missed your first attempt. Although," she raised her wayward eyebrows, "I'd recommend using a non-Brandon-central memory, if you can."

0 Jade Something to aim for? 0 Jade 0 5

Bri

July 14, 2013 12:12 AM

Talkative as a Cockatoo by Bri

Bri had dropped her wand in shock. She’d actually not only come up with a happy memory, but it seemed to have worked for the task at hand too! Not only that, but it even had a semi solid shape too! B watched as Lucian bent down to pick up her wand and held it out to her. “Thanks…” she said to him, smiling a little bit to him. She could see why Clara would like him so much. He was a genuinely nice guy who knew how to treat a lady. Brielle looked at Lucian, a new form of respect growing inside of her for him. Any woman who won him would be one of the luckiest women in the world, and their children would be luckier… “Maybe… but what if that memory wasn’t happy enough? Maybe that was why it didn’t last?” she asked him, wondering both the answer and his opinion on it.

When he continued about there were always something good to be found even in the darkest of memories, she nodded and actually giggled when he said sometimes he sounded like a Muggle greeting card. The mention of greeting cards made her think of the many cards Clara had sent her for past birthdays and Christmases, not to mention the ones from Rina and Mitri and grinned even broader.

Lucian asked her what was making her feel so down, but that she didn’t have to tell him and he was good at listening. She was trying to decide if she could bare to tell him, or anyone about what was going on and was about to open her mouth to spill her guts when she heard yelling from across the room. She turned to look towards Carrie, who had spiders jumping from the tip of her wand. “EEEW…” she said, shivering. Sure, spiders weren’t a fear of hers, but she surely didn’t like them in the least…

When the screaming had stopped, Bri and Lucian turned back to each other and Lucian asked what that was all about. Bri shrugged, that was all she could muster up. Looking at Lucian, she beckoned for him to come closer. “I don’t wanna say this all so that other people can hear…” she said, hoping he’d come closer. There was something about him that made her want to tell him everything…

0 Bri Talkative as a Cockatoo 0 Bri 0 5

Lucian

July 16, 2013 12:16 AM

Know of any animals that are good listeners? by Lucian

“No problem,” Lucian said after Bri thanked him for retrieving her wand. She had smiled at him a bit, and it seemed like she was thinking about something while looking at him. It made him feel a bit self conscious, and he shifted his stance nervously and pushed his hair back out of his face. He leaned back on a table and listened as Bri asked him about whether or not her memory was happy enough.

“I think that perhaps the happy memory should be one that you think of quickly, you know? It should be one that makes you genuinely happy. What makes you feel the happiest in the world? What makes you feel better when you had a bad day? It’s not something you have to search for.” He shrugged a bit, “When you think about whatever it is that makes you feel that happy, try not to focus on anything that threatens the happiness of that memory. Maybe that is why your patronus disappeared so quickly?”

Lucian watched as Bri laughed at his mention of Muggle greeting cards. He was glad that he was able to make her laugh at least. A lot of the girls in his year, and some of those older than him, appeared to be quite moody lately. Girls were definitely confusing.

It appeared that Bri wanted to disclose what was bothering her, so Lucian leaned in closer to her. He hoped that whatever she told him wasn’t too bad, and that he would be able to help her out a little. If anything, he would listen intently.

0 Lucian Know of any animals that are good listeners? 0 Lucian 0 5

Bri

July 18, 2013 2:39 AM

Maybe an Owl? Not sure though by Bri

Aubrielle had wondered if the memory she’d picked was happy enough, and had asked Lucian about it. “I thought about Silas and how he’s been more like…” she started, ending that thought with a sigh. She closed her mouth and watched him instead, listening to him describing what he thought about why her patronus disappeared so quickly.

“So, it’s a first thought of something that actually makes me happy? And I have to try not to focus on anything that threatens my happy thought?” Bri was trying to get everything through her thick skull, but thoughts were moving around so quickly in there that it all kept bouncing into other thoughts and she was so confused inside that she just wanted to cry.

Lucian mentioned the Muggle Greeting cards and she actually managed a giggle about it. Once Carrie’s outburst was under control, Bri motioned for Lucian to come closer to her and he leaned in as she’d requested.

“My Mom and Dad are split, Dad cheated on Mom and the woman he cheated with had a baby and Mom caught Dad buying baby clothes for him and everything… Dad tried to take my brother and my sister Ariel with him, but Mom and Uncle Bryan, Clara’s Dad, wouldn’t let him. We spent the Summer with everyone at the Abernathy Grandparent’s houses over in England and it was great to be all together, but…” she paused, trying to stifle a sob and tears at the same time. She was so emotional lately and she hated it!

“But it just feels weird, and I feel like… Like whatever happened was my fault with Dad… I mean, he’s been my Dad forever, but Silas, Mom’s new boyfriend has been more like a Dad to me this Summer than my own ever was… Then, it makes me wonder what me and my sisters did to make Dad hate us so much… The only ones of us that he cares about are Alexander and Ariel…” She stifled another sob. “And my oldest sister is getting married over Christmas, Clara and the other older girls all met people over the summer, but all I wanted was Marius…”

At this point Bri realized that she probably looked like a waterfall ready to erupt and she was having such a hard time keeping her control.

“Then, my boyfriend… Well… First we find out Marius is magical, but in reality, he’s not… But his Dad is and he was trying to buy his love back. His Dad was the one doing the weird stuff that was going on. We had a fight about it and I don’t know what’s what anymore…”

Bri put her head in her hands and the quiet tears fell onto her desk as she waited to see what would happen next. She’d just literally spilled her guts all over everything, and she was still confused… It felt, to her, that nothing would ever be okay again, it was no wonder she couldn’t get her Patronus to stay long enough to really see it…

0 Bri Maybe an Owl? Not sure though 0 Bri 0 5

Professor Levy

Intermediate DADA (3rd-5th Years): Lesson I by Professor Levy

Jorge Garcia

And, surprise! You have smoke! by Jorge Garcia

Ephanie Lucore

Where are the mirrors? by Ephanie Lucore

Clara Abernathy

No patronus just a headache by Clara Abernathy

Carter Browning

Look ma...I made a cloud! by Carter Browning

Jorge

Packed away after the first challenge. by Jorge

Lucian D'Alesandro

As sly as a fox. by Lucian D'Alesandro

Alexandra D'Alesandro

*looks at sleeve* Did the cloud produce rain by chance? by Alexandra D'Alesandro

Aria Yale, Teppenpaw

Learning my animal self. by Aria Yale, Teppenpaw

Carter

It's not supposed to make rain by Carter

Aubrielle Thornton

Slippery as a snake by Aubrielle Thornton

Cepheus Princeton, Crotalus

Let's begin right away. by Cepheus Princeton, Crotalus

Waverly Canterbury - Pecari

What is happiness without the sad? by Waverly Canterbury - Pecari

Lucian

As long as it isn't as smelly as a skunk. by Lucian

Alex

I will be sure to bring an umbrella next time. by Alex

Arabella Brockert,Pecari

Horrified by Arabella Brockert,Pecari

Bri

Nope, it's as graceful as a swan by Bri

Carter

Be a good idea, I don't think you'll need it by Carter

Carrie O'Malley, Crotalus

How could this be? by Carrie O'Malley, Crotalus

Lucian

As curious as a cat. by Lucian

Jade Owen

Awesome? by Jade Owen

Marcus Crosby [Teppenpaw]

Don't ask me; I'm just moral support. by Marcus Crosby [Teppenpaw]

Waverly

That's what it's supposed to be by Waverly

Jade

Something to aim for? by Jade

Bri

Talkative as a Cockatoo by Bri

Lucian

Know of any animals that are good listeners? by Lucian

Bri

Maybe an Owl? Not sure though by Bri

looks at sleeve Did the cloud produce rain by chance? by Alexandra D'Alesandro