Professor Pye

July 14, 2016 11:51 AM
Cecily’s wedding to Jake had taken place over the break and Alfie had simultaneously fallen into a pit of self-pity that he couldn’t be roused out of. He had gone to the wedding because he was that masochistic guy, and he had very nearly stumbled in, stubbly beard and all, whiskey in hand, but in the end he had realised how unflattering that was on his part and he took himself and his broken heart back to his apartment to further drink his sorrows away. It was only the alarm he had set for himself that first day of break that clued him into the reboot of the second half of the school year.

Since refusing to let others in no matter how much he needed to talk was a speciality of Alfie’s, he had managed to get himself quite presentable for the Returning Feast and shaved every morning before class because he did not need his new found friendships amongst the staff prying into his personal life and trying to help him through…whatever it was he was going through. Today he had woken up a little on the later side and as a result he’d not had time to shave his five o’clock shadow (Alfie always liked to take his time with the blade, finding that little nicks from shaving were wholly unappealing) but he’d had the time to gel his messy hairstyle into out of order place so that he looked just perfectly tousled.

“Right,” he said, clapping his hands as he walked through the door about thirty seconds after the bell rang. Most if not all of the class were already there and he let his books down on his desk with a noticeable thunk. “Sorry for my tardiness, had a bit of a tussle with my bed, today’s lesson—dementors. Because dementors aren’t in large abundance in the United States and indeed the vast majority of dementors are guarding the wizarding prison Azkaban, the patronus charm is not part of normal year curriculum. The patronus charm can also, however, defend against lethifolds. Indeed there are even many grown wizards who are unable to produce a corporeal patronus when asked or in the face of danger. I believe this to be extremely dangerous.

“Patronuses are a sort of spirit guardian. They can be used to protect oneself and ones friends and they can also be used to send secret messages across a distance open-able only by the intended recipient. Because of the complex level of the spell, it is an Advanced level course material. However since not all of you will move on to the Advanced course I would like for you to begin work on it now so that you have at least a base understanding of the spell.

“Third years, you will be doing ground work today, I know, I’m sorry I hate research too, but unfortunately it is a taxing spell and I’d not like for you to overexert yourselves. So,” Alfie waved his hand and the books he had brought to the classroom the night before, hidden under a disillusionment spell for the exact purpose of theatrics appeared on the back table. “You will be looking up instances of patronus protection, other uses of a patronus—if there are any—and also the dangers of not being properly prepared. It is important to understand fully the theory of the patronus before you go into casting it. I could stand here and spend a few lectures on it, but I think learning how to do ones’ own research is very important and don’t worry, you’ll have a chance to do the older year’s work next year or the year after. At the end of the series, I’d like the year as a whole to come to me with a compiled list of differences between corporeal and incorporeal patronuses.

“Fourth years, you’ve already done the research last year, I expect that you’ve retained most of it? Just in case today you will have a crash course on the patronus charm, quizzing each other on what you know and tomorrow you can join the fifth years after personal interviews with me so that I know you’re prepared. As for the fifth years, you lucky devils will be working on producing at least a small amount of light. I do not expect anyone to produce a full scale patronus on this level—in fact, that would be extremely rare. Incorporeal patronuses are not as advanced but they would still be an impressive feat for students of your age and skill level.”

Once the third and fourth years were steadily working, Alfie stood with the fifth years. “Now, remember, you must focus very steadily on a happy memory. It has to be a pure, happy memory. Many believe that only pure witches and wizards can properly cast a patronus. And, in fact, should a Dark Witch or Wizard attempt this spell maggots would pour from the wand and devour that witch or wizard alive. But I’m sure none of you have engaged in dark magic so I’m sure you’ll be safe.”

OOC: 200 words, realism and creativity gain points, if you need help tag Professor Pye, and please, please remember that Harry Potter was one of the youngest wizards of all time to cast a patronus when he was thirteen. Even after several independent studying sessions with Lupin he was still only able to cast wisps and it was noted as the only spell Hermione Granger had trouble with. According to the wiki, “The vast majority of witches and wizards are unable to produce any form of Patronus, and to create even an intangible one is generally considered a mark of superior magical ability.” Additionally, even after having been able to previously cast patronuses, the trio had issues during the battle of Hogwarts causing Seamus, Ernie, and Luna to come to their rescue. Seamus had previously been unable to cast a patronus so it seems duress can change a person’s ability to do so. If you have any OOC questions, please catch me in the chatzy or post on the OOC board. Although I have been absent from writing on the site, I do check for messages nearly every day.
Subthreads:
10 Professor Pye Intermediate Defense (Years III, IV, & V) 30 Professor Pye 1 5

Makenzie Newell [Crotalus]

July 17, 2016 11:21 PM
While she couldn’t think of a day in her life that she’d ever slept later than maybe 10:30, Makenzie had to admit, getting back into the swing of early mornings was a bit rough. Her 6:30 alarm reminded her that midterm was indeed done and she was back at Sonora, back to classes and homework and smiling her days away.

However, judging from the looks of their professor, the redhead felt secure in the idea that the readjustment was difficult on more than just her. Professor Pye looked rather messy, citing a “tussle” with his bed as the cause, whatever that meant. In any case, she felt a strange camaraderie and comfort with the man; even adults had a little trouble sometimes.

The lesson he presented was on the Patronus charm, and the fifth years such as herself were immediately free to make their best attempts. While others may or may not have began quickly, Makenzie found herself stalled. She’d had a pretty good life, raised in a warm home with two loving parents with enough wealth to provide anything her heart desired, parents who treated her with respect and dignity and had never spoken down to her. Save for a few blips here and there, she had always been happy.

But what memory could she use for this type of magic? She attempted several times, the words, “Expecto patronum!” peeling off her lips with a variety of memories attached. Her ninth birthday. The first ball she’d been allowed to attend. Isaac asking her to this one. Seeing Araceli again. None of them produced even a wisp of white.

Makenzie sighed in temporary defeat. Had she dulled her own senses that much? She did her best to remain level in most situations, but it felt like she’d taken away her own happiness so much that now nothing could fuel her. She couldn’t help but feel frustrated; she knew her magic was powerful, but evidently, her memories were not. “Are you having any luck?” she asked a neighbor, offering a weak smile to help break the ice.
12 Makenzie Newell [Crotalus] Something missing 291 Makenzie Newell [Crotalus] 0 5


Araceli Arbon, Crotalus

July 23, 2016 2:44 AM
Dearest C,

I'm sorry that I left without saying goodbye. I didn't know how. And I'm sorry that it has taken me so very long to write, and that this is such a short letter, with so few answers. Things are complicated, as I think you always knew, and I am not at liberty to explain them. Please don't try to write me by name. But, if you want to reach me, send notes with my owl. I've instructed him to rest up for a few days, so you'll have time to write a reply, should you wish to. If you can't think what to say right now, I promise that I will write again, so you'll have another chance.

The change has been confusing, but I suppose I am happy. Some problems, at least, are solved, so I try to focus on that. I hope you are doing well.

Yours,
A.


After screwing up her courage during the first term to send the letter, and having found at least some way of expressing herself, even though she found what she had eventually said frustrating and limited, Araceli had waited the endless week for the return of her owl. Eventually, she had seen him appear on the horizon, holding her breath as she tried to make out the silhouette, to see whether there was an envelope... Even once she could tell that there wasn't, she had kept her eyes fixed on him... A small note, perhaps, strapped to his leg... Even when he had landed, she had reached out, double checking, but he just gave her fingers an affectionate nip and left. There had been no reply.

It had been so hard to make friends, real friends, at CASSMA, when she wasn't really allowed to talk about who she was, when her parents charmed her face to be so forgettable... People passed her by. They were nice, but not involved. Some didn't trust her – after a year together, when they still couldn't picture what she looked like clearly. Camellia was different. She was a Pureblood, like Araceli, only her less paranoid parents just put about the rumour that she was home-schooled. They trusted that anyone who found out where she really went – anyone who mattered – would have their own reasons for wanting to keep that information quiet, lest they were asked how they had come to know... Besides, Camellia's problem was less embarrassing. Araceli was some kind of nutcase, whereas Camellia merely stammered – not ladylike, and a huge handicap in the wizarding world, but not something unheard of. It was even known about in society, although she glided through social occasions on draught of peace, which greatly helped, and it was put about that she had 'mild' difficulties. Araceli had sensed that Camellia knew... not who she was in the sense of her name, but what type of person. What all the little clues about not being able to picture her face clearly meant. She talked to her. Confided. She explained her own situation, occasionally slipping in a pointed comment, like 'Can you imagine what that feels like?

She knew that it was somewhat imprudent to write, but she missed her friend. And, if the letters came addressed with her initials, brought by her own owl, and only to school... Her father never asked her about CASSMA. His focus was only Sonora, how she was doing with the connections there. He wasn't likely to ask. It was a risk, but one she had calculated to be worth it. It had practically broken her heart when her owl had come back, empty clawed. But she had been as good as her word. She had sent a Christmas card, instructing her owl to return to school if there was a reply. When he hadn't shown up at home over the holidays, she had dared to hope, and sure enough, when she returned to Sonora, there was an envelope waiting on her bedside table. The message was brief 'Merry Christmas – glad you're well.' But she knew from her own experience how hard it could be to express yourself, especially when the situation was so strange and so clouded by secrets.

She entered Defence feeling content, the card had left a warm feeling in her heart that not even the cold Sonora days, or the constant worry she felt here, could snuff out. The material of the lesson was, for once, not horrible either. She was confident too that Delphine had never produced a patronus here, although she might well have been powerful enough to do so, given that Professor Pye wasn't letting anyone younger than her year try. She was sure her sister would have done a good job of curbing her energy, but if the person known as Araceli Arbon produced two different Patronuses, that would be suspicious. A person's patronus could change, she knew, but usually only after some major, life-altering event. She felt excited about the idea, of something here that could be just hers, not tainted by the way her sister had done it. She was also curious to learn that a patronus could take a message. Would that be a safer way for her to communicate with Camellia? She guessed it depended on how many people knew what form her patronus took. She wondered what it would be... Some sort of nervous, skittish animal. She had always enjoyed watching the deer on their estate. Not the big, powerful males but the little fawns, just finding their legs.... They started out stumbling and messy but quickly became so graceful...

She felt her stomach twist as Professor Pye mentioned that dark witches and wizards would have maggots spew out of their wands. She knew she hadn't ever done dark magic – even the spells and potions her parents had used on her didn't qualify as 'dark magic,' even if they'd been put to some pretty dirty uses – but it was hard to see herself as 'pure' when she was entangled in such a horrible web of lies, and was meant to be drawing someone nice like Duncan Brockert deeper and deeper into it. She tried not to imagine maggots spewing from her wand, and everyone turning on her, wondering what she had done... Ok, she wasn't a totally innocent person, but if 'pure' just meant 'not a user of dark magic,' she qualified.

A bigger challenge was going to be choosing a happy memory. A lot of her memories were.. complicated. Like receiving her letter from Camellia... It had caused that happy little light, one that was refusing to go out, but at the same time she ached to be able to explain herself, or to even see her friend again. She didn't know if and when that would happen... She was quite sure she had no happy memories of Sonora, so she cast around her time at CASSMA and at home... There were people who made her, more or less, uncomplicatedly happy. Effie and Makenzie. It had taken some time with the second one... It had been hard for her to believe herself truly forgiven, and to let go of all the guilt she felt she should feel. But Makenzie knew and forgave her. She had eventually let go of that guilt because, with all she was carrying around for Duncan Brockert, she was running out of room, and she didn't like feeling it weigh on hers and Makenzie's friendship. If Makenzie was willing to forgive her and move on then Araceli needed to give her her best, not something all muddled and complicated. There had been the time Effie had come to see her at school, and the time when Makenzie had greeted her as Amelia at the ball, both of which had the same effect as the letter... The feeling of something warm swelling in her chest.

“Expecto patronum,” she cast, thinking about a swirly combination of all the memories. She felt warmth in her fingers, like when she'd first found the wand meant for her – it had seemed happy to have its true owner back this year, and had been responding especially well – but nothing came out. She decided to try and settle on one particular memory, focussing on it, in all its details. She worked through in chronological order to see if one yielded better results, but they all seemed fairly equal. She thought she got a small trail of mist on her last try, but she figured that was just the effect of practise.

“Maybe?” she asked, when Makenzie asked if she was having any luck. “I... It feels like there's a spell that wants to come out,” she tried to explain, glad it was her friend, as she would have felt stupid trying to express that thought to anyone else. “And I may have got a little wisp last time... I'm not totally sure though. How about you?”
13 Araceli Arbon, Crotalus Missing someone 290 Araceli Arbon, Crotalus 0 5

Makenzie

July 24, 2016 4:05 AM
If Araceli wasn’t her best friend, it might have been a little bit awkward to talk to her after just trying to use her for the happy memory business of the spell. But Araceli was her best friend, so even in that kind of circumstance, talking to her just made Makenzie smile. There was a lot of things she felt when she looked at her friend, part of it a secret, quiet longing for Delphine, whom she had rationalized was simply also her best friend in her own way, but most of it was positive. It was a platonic passion the likes of which Makenzie had never really known before Araceli, a fierce protective love that felt more like being alive than anything else. She’d had friends before--sort of--but they were all surface level society friends. Perhaps partially because she was privy to such deep secrets of Araceli’s, she felt more involved and attached. She felt trusted, and that trust was something she could never let herself lose.

“Nothing for me so far,” she replied sadly. “I don’t think I’m using the right kind of memory, but I don’t really have anything stronger that I can think of. Most of my life has been pretty content, not really… happy. Or at least not enough, you know?” The redhead felt no reason to hold back, with everyone else probably either immersed in the spell or else their own conversations, a nice dull fodder to support their chit-chat. Plus, it was nothing damning. A bit personal and kinda sad, maybe, but not too deep.

“Good job on the wisp, though,” she added, offering her warmest smile, the kind reserved for only her parents and Araceli. “Maybe the spell wanting to come out is kinda like your voice?” Makenzie paused. “Sorry if that sounds weird. I just mean, like, there’s so much to you that I imagine just had to be fighting to burst out all that time, right? So maybe this is similar. Do you have any tricks to help with the speech thing? Because maybe you should try applying those here. If they work while also focusing on your memory.” Makenzie accented the suggestion with a light shrug to reaffirm the humble notion that she basically had no idea what she was talking about.

“I can watch the tip for any wisps or lights, if you want to try it,” Makenzie concluded, trying to be helpful. She wanted more than anything--anything--to see her friend succeed, whether it was something small like an individual spell or lesson or something big like a social goal or accomplishment. Araceli had been through a lot; she deserved the best.
12 Makenzie Anything I can do? 291 Makenzie 0 5


Araceli

July 29, 2016 2:10 AM
Araceli nodded at Makenzie’s assertion about her life being all a bit middle of the road. She couldn’t say that was a problem she herself had experienced but she supposed she understood what Makenzie meant. It was strange to think of that as being a disadvantage. It also made her feel that her own extreme highs were not themselves just happiness but a product of the fact of having so much darkness to contrast them with. She wasn’t sure she liked tying them together like that. It seemed to tarnish the happy memories. It was also strange to think of Makenzie as the… not exactly ‘victim,’ but the one she was supposed to feel sorry for, for having a life that was grey and colourless, rather than the violent and clashing hues of her own existence. She was quite sure that, even if it meant she could never produce a corporeal patronus, she would have happily swapped.

“I don’t think it has to be a big thing,” she tried to advise, although she wasn’t very confident at doing so. “Um… how about a present you really liked? Or- or… when you first saved a goal at Quidditch? I bet that felt pretty good, even if it’s not… something that defines you.

“Maybe,” she nodded, with a smile, when Makenzie talked about the spell being like her voice. She didn’t really feel the same. Not being able to use her voice had been constantly scary and confusing. It was something that was locked down deep inside, where she hadn’t been able to get at it. This magic felt ready, at the end of her fingertips… But she appreciated Makenzie’s attempt to understand. She tried to dissociate the ideas of her voice and her magic that Makenzie had just put into her head because she thought that thinking about it like that would make it harder. Her voice had been such a long and difficult thing for her to work on. “I can’t think of anything in particular…” she added, because she had to answer the question Makenzie had asked, though she avoided giving too many details.

“Sure, thanks,” she nodded, as Makenzie offered to watch, although it was harder to fully immerse herself in her memory when she knew someone was staring at her.

”Expecto patronum,” she tried, not quite able to get the notion of being watched out of the edge of her mind. Nothing happened. “Why don’t you try a new memory?” she encouraged Makenzie.


13 Araceli I don't think so. Sorry. 290 Araceli 0 5