Professor Marlowe
February 11, 2006 11:10 PM
Lesson One, First Years by Professor Marlowe
Well, Lina, this is it, she thought as the bell rang, beginning the class, and she looked around the assembled first years. Merlin, they looked small. Her two eldest nieces, Christine and Ophelia, were ten and nine, and they looked considerably bigger in memory than any of these eleven-year-olds. It was probably a question of familiarity. They'd start looking more in-proportion when she was used to them. With that in mind, she gave the class a brief, businesslike smile and began the opening statements she had spent most of the previous night preparing."Good morning," she said, long since past noticing any but the most drastic reactions to an accent that was half Boston and half Britain. "I am Professor Marlowe, and, as should be apparent, your instructor in the field of Transfiguration." Using her wand as a pointer, she indicated the name written to the left of the board behind her. She'd never manage Tabitha Newton's easygoing charm, but she had never aspired to be her old Arithmancy teacher. "This isn't a subject to be taken lightly. The smallest error has the potential to cause large amounts of damage." She rounded the desk to face them more directly. "I would advise you to discard anything you think you already know about this subject now. I can tell you from experience that it'll save you time and effort." Enough in that vein. It was time to move on to the lesson.
"Today's spell is a relatively simple one involving objects similar in size and, though less closely, appearance. You'll each be issued a match - I've charmed them not to ignite, so be kind enough to not try to set my room on fire - and will attempt to Transfigure it into a needle." She tried not to remember the day she had been taught this particular spell and had been scolded by the teacher, one Professor Writworth, when she argued that a needle looked absolutely nothing like a match. "The incantation for this is Myxanti Nere. Watch, please." She lifted a match from the small box of them resting on her desk and held it up for their inspection, then pointed her wand directly at it. As she pronounced the incantation, she moved her wand in a straight downward diagonal motion finished with a flick that returned it to the original position. She didn't attempt to deny being internally relieved when it worked correctly. Having a beginner's spell go wrong because of nerves would be the exact opposite of the start she hoped to make.
"Focus and precision of pronunciation and wand movement are essential to success with this spell," she told the class, carefully placing the needle beside the container holding the matches. "Your instructions are written to the right of the board, as I'm sure some of you have noticed. I'd strongly advise copying them into your notes for future reference. We'll practice the wand movement and then the pronunciation of the spell before you attempt the Transfiguration." A few minutes later, everyone seemed to have gotten first the motion and then the spell, each performed without the other to prevent any accidents, and she deemed it safe to send out the matches.
"Try not to become impatient if the spell doesn't come easily at first," she said, making her tone a little softer than it had been. Newton had always done that, and it was effective in causing fractional lowering of anxiety levels in most cases. Selina's had never been one such case - she had been known as a perfectionist and all-around geek by midterm of her first year - but others had said that it worked. "Don't hesitate to ask for help if you need it. You may begin." \n\n
Subthreads: trying it out by Saul Pierce with Melanie Rose, Eduard Grimaud, Morgaine Carey
So much for beginner's luck. by Lila Gringe with Allie St.Martin, The St.Martins, Professor Marlowe
Exausted and full of self -hatred. by Adam Brockert with Ginger Silverstein
Mixanti Near? by Rob Stone with Geoffrey Spindler
I'm walking on pins and needles, pals... by Geoffrey Layne
0
Professor Marlowe
Lesson One, First Years
0
Professor Marlowe
1
5
Lila Gringe
February 15, 2006 5:56 PM
So much for beginner's luck. by Lila Gringe
Large amounts of damage. That phrase stood out immensely in what Professor Marlowe was saying, to Lila at least. She didn't want to cause large amounts of damage. She didn't want to witness large amounts of damage. She didn't want to be remotely knowledgeable of large amounts of damage that occurred.Though 'large amounts of damage' stood out, Lila paid plenty of attention to the rest of what the professor was saying. When her father had homeschooled her, he had never exactly welcomed questions- he preferred simply to lecture her. Due to this, she doubted anyone would appreciate questions- especially not a professor she didn't know. Thus, she paid attention.
For a moment, she wondered what transfiguration actually was- but when Professor Marlowe explained what they were to try to do, she put it together. So they were changing things into other things. Fascinating. She wasn't certain it would work for her, but it had worked for the professor, so it had to be possible.
That said, it could have simply been sleight of hand. Lila wasn't inclined to theorize conspiracies, however, and that was what it would have to be if all of this was sleight of hand: a gargantuan conspiracy.
Myxanti Nere. What a weird phrase. Still, if it had worked for Professor Marlowe, it ought to work for her. She pulled out her wand, taking a moment to look closely at the thing. A twelve-and-a-half inch length of mahogany with a bit of what was supposed to be unicorn hair inside of it was going to help her turn a match into a needle? She couldn't help but feel skeptical for a moment.
Despite her unavoidable doubts, she waved her wand in an approximation of the motion the professor had used, saying "Myxanti Nere!" as she did so. She wasn't surprised to see that her match was still a needle. Hmm. What, she wondered, had she done wrong?\n\n
0
Lila Gringe
So much for beginner's luck.
0
Lila Gringe
0
5
Allie St.Martin
February 18, 2006 12:40 AM
So much for not embarrassing myself. by Allie St.Martin
Allie knew from experience that there was something about her that repelled learning as much as her siblings and cousins did. All of the St.Martins and her other close relatives knew it, too. It was accepted as a point of fact that she would prove an embarrassment to her parents, her sister, and her family the moment she began her classes at Sonora, but even Mama hadn't been able to come up with an acceptable excuse for sending Lila to school while keeping her at home. Her mother was the final authority on such things, and if she said claiming that Allie was sickly wouldn't work, then it wouldn't work. Mama and Lila had both explained that to her, and she had accepted it. The only thing she could do would be to try to minimalize the damage.She had been hoping to sit with her sister in classes, but Lila was proving very good at avoiding her. Allie tried to convince herself that it was just coincidence, but when Lila managed to suddenly veer off in random directions on seven separate occasions that Allie tried to sit with or speak to her, the theory wore a bit thin. She understood why Lila was doing it - she'd be failing her in job of helping Allie to adjust if she didn't put her off the idea that things could be like they had been - but it didn't make Allie miss her any less. It wasn't natural when she wasn't able to know at any time, day or night, where her twin was and what she was doing there, and she didn't like it.
She couldn't let herself dwell on it, though, never mind admit it. She had to show Lila that she was fine, that she was dealing with their separation as well as Li was. If she could do that, then it seemed reasonable to think that Lila would start talking to her again.
The sight of the teacher immediately discouraged her from looking around the room for Lila in the hopes of getting the seat beside hers. She sat down in the first open space she saw, beside a girl she didn't know, and tried to focus on pulling out essentials like her wand, her quill, and some parchment. She jumped as if she'd been goosed when the oddly-accented professor began to speak, and flinched at the part about the consequences of botching things. It might be in everyone's best interests if she just took a failing grade and didn't attempt the spell.
The thought of what Lila and their mother might say if it got back to them that she had failed a class made her gingerly lift the match dealt out to her and use a shaking hand to point her wand at it. At least it couldn't catch on fire... "M-Myxanti Nere, she whispered, trying the spell and wand movement Professor Marlowe had just had them rehearse. The stutter didn't cause the kind of catastrophe she had been half-expecting, but it did result in a few sparks from her wand making the match launch itself out of her still-shaking hand and bounce off the hand of the girl next to her before falling to the floor. She dove towards the floor to retrieve it, and ended up hitting the other girl with her elbow as she came back up.
"I'm so sorry," she blurted instinctually. "I didn't mean to - sorry - Lila!" She had no idea the girl she had just apologized to shared the name of the person she was trying to get to help her. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a dark head of hair adorned with a red ribbon suddenly turn as far away from her general direction as was physically possible. Her eyes managed to get even bigger when she noticed the Crotalus emblem on the robes of the one unfortunate enough to have to sit next to her. "I'm sorry," she muttered. "My sister - she's not like me - not her fault - " She ventured a look upwards and tried to compose herself. Lila'd never talk to her again if she kept carrying on like this. "Do you know her? She's Lila St.Martin. I'm Alexandra St.Martin." She decided it was safest to look at her hands. "I like Allie better, though." \n\n
16
Allie St.Martin
So much for not embarrassing myself.
76
Allie St.Martin
0
5
Lila Gringe
February 18, 2006 4:17 PM
So much for socially correct. by Lila Gringe
Lila had been halfway to coming to the conclusion that it was because she didn't believe the spell would work that it didn't work when a match bounced off her hand. In itself, that didn't surprise her much- her fellow students were certainly making mistakes, being people.What surprised her was being elbowed. It didn't bother her, just startled her. When her fellow first year began blurting out mismatched phrases, she couldn't help raising her eyebrows, wondering what had put the girl on edge. Certainly, whoever the dark-haired girl was had bumped Lila, but it had obviously been an accident. So why react so . . . extremely? The Crotalus didn't know.
Of course, she really preferred to avoid any reaction but the most necessary, so perhaps this wasn't extreme, for other people. Content with that explanation, Lila gave the other girl as comforting a smile as she could manage.
"It's all right, really it is," she assured the girl as she apologized for the first time. And then she heard her name- her own name- and her eyes went wide. She didn't know this girl, and yet the girl seemed to know her name!
The puzzle was solved, however, a few moments later, when the shorter girl explained that she was the sister of Lila St.Martin, whom Lila Gringe had met at the feast. The other girl had mentioned but not dwelled on her twin, who was now right next to Lila.
The question was, of course, what to say. She had two options: She could be nice, which was what she was inclined to do. Or, she could absolutely blow Alexandra- no, Allie- off.
There wasn't really any doubt in her mind about what she was going to do. "It's all right," she repeated, and then added "Yes, I know her. She's in my house. I'm Lila Gringe."
It was a lot to say all at once, but that was all right, Lila supposed. If she was going to help someone who obviously needed it, it didn't matter if she had to talk.\n\n
0
Lila Gringe
So much for socially correct.
0
Lila Gringe
0
5
The St.Martins
February 21, 2006 9:33 PM
So much for not setting something on fire... by The St.Martins
This was the second time it had happened. Twice now, she had gone to pieces around complete strangers and they had been nice to her. Allie couldn't make sense of it. Her own twin sister made it a practice to slap her at the slightest provocation, and complete strangers were nice. Especially complete strangers who knew Lila, who quite literally lived with Lila. Allie knew perfectly well that if she had been mentioned to any of Lila's new friends at all, it was as her stupid oaf of a sister, provided Lila was in a good mood. She wasn't stupid enough to assume that Lila would have been eager to associate herself with the walking disaster known as Allie."I'm, um, glad to meet you," she said nervously. This was one of Lila's friends. They even shared a name. Surely this Lila wouldn't be mean to her. Not too mean, anyway. She darted a look upward and smiled a little. "Is Lila...all right?" She knew she sounded shy, but that was nothing new. "I haven't seen her since we got here...I think she -"
"Is she bothering you, Lila?"
Startled, Allie looked up. While Professor Marlowe's back was turned, Lila had taken advantage of the opportunity to slip into a seat in front of her twin and her fellow Lila, ousting its former owner with a smile and a pointed wand there was no need to advertise that she didn't know how to use, to do damage control. A quick scan of Allie's clothing showed her a dull maroon skirt, white blouse, school robes, and no barrettes. It was oddly typical they had both chosen today to wear House colors; her skirt was red and gray plaid besides the red ribbon in her hair.
"I'm sorry about her, I am," Lila said, ignoring her twin's attempts to catch her eye out of hand. "She forgets herself when I'm not around to guide her by the hand." At last, she turned to her sister. "Allie, it's not that difficult. Just point your wand at the match and say the incantation till something happens. I know you're not a Squib. Just don't get so surprised you stick yourself and holler if you actually manage the spell." Allie noted that while her sister was holding her wand, she wasn't holding a match or a needle. Lila's hope that they would take this to mean she had completed the Transfiguration was at least half-answered.
Blushing, though not as fiercely as she might have, Allie picked up her wand again, sending first one Lila and then the other silent looks of apology for her blabbering earlier. Pointing it once more at the match now held in something approaching a death grip, she took a deep breath and said the incantation again. Nothing. "Keep at it, then," Lila said, sounding testy. "You're a living replica of me, Alexandra. What people think of you reflects on me." Allie shook her head, almost fondly. Lila could be actressy, sometimes, though not so often now that they were older. This was one of the few occasions she would allow herself the indulgence this year. In a surprising move, her sister gave her a genuine smile and a wink. Something good must have happened. Allie smiled back tenatively.
"That's it, then, go on." Sibling love moment was over, and she had to prove herself worthy of it. Again.
The thought made her suddenly more nervous than she had been. Not living up to Lila's standards while she was a few seats over was one thing, not living up to Lila's standards while she was right there was another thing altogether. Especially after Lila had done something vaguely indicative of affection, or at least pitying amiability. That was the only reason Allie could think of for the two crucial mistakes she made on her third attempt.
"Myximere," she blurted, running the words together in a jumble as she tried to say them faster than her brain could keep up with at the moment, wand jerking out of position on the upward flick. There was a flash of light and a screech. Allie blinked, blinded by the light, and turned to Lila Gringe. "Was that you I - "
"Oh my God!" Lila screamed, jumping to her feet and trying to throw her robes off. "Idiot, you set my robes on fire!" When the robe reached the floor, she began stomping on it in an attempt to put out the flames. Allie wasn't quite aware of what happened, but as abruptly as it had started, the fire was gone, leaving no trace of itself besides the smoke coming from the right front of Lila's robes. Lila's face was slightly twisted as she cradled a burnt left hand and muttered something that included the words 'stupid' and 'spell pronunciation'.
"Are you all right?" Allie said, no longer entirely sure which Lila she was directing it to. Maybe both; she could feel herself shaking from just seeing it, and there was no reason to assume the other two might not be.
"Do I look like I'm all right?" Lila practically screamed at her. Allie cowered back in her seat, half-hoping the other Lila would protect her if her sister did anything too drastic but not expecting it. Why should she? "My robes are ruined and so's my hand!" The whole classroom seemed to have gone quiet. Allie's immediate worry was that Lila really was hurt and not just making a show of how badly her hand was burned, her secondary worry was that she was going to be expelled, and her third worry was that her mother was going to kill her for either or both. She rocked back and forth in her seat, looking around frantically for someone to tell her what to do. \n\n
16
The St.Martins
So much for not setting something on fire...
0
The St.Martins
0
5
Lila Gringe
February 22, 2006 5:26 PM
So much for staying in class . . . by Lila Gringe
Lila couldn't help it. Her heart went out to the poor Teppenpaw, who sounded even more nervous and shy than Lila herself tended to be. She had been about to say something along the lines of 'Oh, she's doing well. She misses you, you know' when her fellow Crotalus appeared, quite suddenly. She had realized, of course, that what she wanted to say was a stretch of the truth, as her same-namer hadn't said anything to the effect of missing her twin, but if it made this girl feel better, Lila certainly wouldn't feel remorseful about the lie. She rarely did feel remorseful about lies, anyhow.Of course, when the other Lila came, seemingly out of nowhere- Lila had been paying more attention to Allie than anything or anyone else- she'd had to bite back that response. Obviously she couldn't lie about the way someone felt with that someone sitting right in front of her. So instead she flashed a smile at both of the twins, while she tried to decide what to respond with. She had a choice: she could either side with Allie- which might be seen as a betrayal of Allie's twin- and say the girl wasn't bothering her a bit, or she could betray Allie and say the girl was bothering her. Lila decided to take the middle route.
"Oh, hardly," she said casually, making it seem that it could go either way. It could be taken quite a few ways- that Allie was hardly bothering her, that Allie was bothering her and Lila didn't want to say so . . . It left her options open, for the most part.
She didn't comment when Lila St.Martin . . . encouraged Allie to try the spell, instead offering the Teppenpaw a smile and hoping it would give the girl some confidence.
Meanwhile, she attempted the transfiguration of her own match again. Two tries later, she was successful. With a grin on her face, she was about to say something about it when suddenly chaos broke loose.
It all happened so fast. Afterwards, all Lila really realized was that her dormmate had been burnt. She herself hadn't been, fortunately. Immediately she stood and rushed over to her same-namer, her concern obvious. Hoping that the other girl wouldn't resist, she attempted to guide the other Lila to the professor.
She was also, she realized a moment later, hoping that she'd avoid an even bigger scene.
"Don't worry, your hand will be fine," Lila murmured, keeping up a stream of reassuring phrases of that sort. "Don't worry, they can fix it. Don't worry, your hand will be fine." She wasn't going to let anyone she knew lose a hand, that was for certain. Especially not her dormmate who happened to also share her name. Who was, essentially, her only friend.\n\n
0
Lila Gringe
So much for staying in class . . .
0
Lila Gringe
0
5
Professor Marlowe
February 24, 2006 7:22 PM
So much for being employed. by Professor Marlowe
The fire that had caused the brunette with the hair ribbon so much distress was out and aforementioned brunette screaming at the one she called an idiot and accused of setting her robes aflame in the first place before Selina could reach the scene, nearly swearing as she tripped over someone's bag. She met the blonde steering her friend along halfway, repressing the urge to start pulling her own hair out. If she still had a job after this...incident, then she was either incredibly lucky or in the service of a school very different from Hogwarts.The way the dark-haired one was grimacing and treating one of her hands seemed to Selina to be a good sign that the hand in question was burned. "Hospital Wing," she said shortly. "You escort her, Miss - er - " she was at an utter loss for a name. "I'll speak to you later about this," she finished finally, deciding to pass over it and hope the student didn't push the point. A glance over their heads towards the alleged idiot made her eyebrows twitch slightly upward. The burned girl and the arsonist herself were twins.
The question was whether or not dealing with the second twin was more important than dealing with the Pecaris. Given the way the Teppenpaw's eyes were darting around, she made herself look a priority, and the smell of burned fabric was bringing her perilously close to a coughing fit. Part of the reason Sonora had seemed so desirable was the at least theoretically dry air. Getting rid of the smoke and mess came first, at least for the moment. Once the first twin and her friend were past her, she flicked her wand with a muttered incantation, clearing them away, and approached the Teppenpaw. She was at least seven different kinds of fired.
"What happened?" she asked, trying to sound as non-threatening as possible. It wasn't easy. She wanted to slap some sense into this lot, not pet them. The only problem was that she didn't want to be arrested as well as fired, not to mention that it probably wouldn't get her any answers, either. \n\n
0
Professor Marlowe
So much for being employed.
0
Professor Marlowe
0
5