Professor Marlowe
June 27, 2006 6:33 PM
Lesson One, Second Years by Professor Marlowe
Only I could have my desk this cluttered up this early in the year, Selina thought gloomily, looking at the stacks of parchments and books already beginning to accumulate. It wasn't too awfully bad now, but she knew from experience that she'd go about thinking she was going to clean it off every weekend until the desk was completely invisible beneath the piles of work-related materials. If she'd seen it in someone else's classroom, it would have driven her crazy. In her own, it was, unless she deliberately thought about it, regarded as the natural order of things.She could at least straighten it up a little before the second years arrived, though. That stack of essays she was planning to grade during lunch could stay on the left corner, but the morning paper, a few letters from Viva and company, and the copies of last year's exam scores could be stored in the desk drawer. The slots on the bookshelf behind her desk, though she was fairly sure they had been the original locations of other volumes, were quickly filled with the Instructor's Editions of several books she was planning to have the seventh years read. She found the day planner she'd lost six months previously just as the first student slipped into the room. She'd forgotten about having that...
The students, however, meant stopping her little rearranging spree and sitting down, assuming a professional demeanor. This class was...temperamental. She would always have a degree of fondness for them because they had come in at the same time as she had, but there was no denying that they knew how to keep things interesting. She had gotten accustomed to it, but she was hoping for a calm day, today.
The sight of familiar faces, most not too drastically altered by the summer vacation, was surprisingly welcome. She offered them a brief smile. "Welcome back," she said briskly as the class officially began. "Hope you all had lovely summers. Notes as usual to begin with, get out your quills and parchment. We're going to be transfiguring a stick into a pencil today. The incantation is Cillium Insigere. Directions on the board, get out your wands when you've written it all down." When it looked like everyone had complied, she continued.
"I'll demonstrate before you get started," she said, picking up a stick from a box of them she vaguely remembered perching near the edge of her desk after she had finished placing one in front of each seat, figuring it was ultimately quicker than passing around the box to the class. "Keep your wands steady, using minimal motion. Pronunciation and focus are as important as ever, don't forget it." Pointing her wand at the bit of wood in her hand, she said the spell words with the slightly heightened level of care she reserved for casting spells in class. "Cillium Insigere." This year's example, she was pleased to note, turned out better than the previous year's showing of the same spell.
"Usual rules apply. Concentrate on your work, and try not to disturb your classmates. Keep at it until time to go or until you get it right, and don't expect any grand immediate successes. Homework's to be an essay describing the theory behind this. Begin." \n\n
Subthreads: Your favorite student returns. by Allie St.Martin
Transfiguration + Saul = Nothing by Saul Pierce
Lesson one, lesson dull by Michael Tallow with Professor Marlowe
This year it's wicked Pink sticks instead of evil needles by Guenther Heindrich with Melanie Rose
I'm not Marly's favorite student, but I'm back, too. by Lila St.Martin
Me, thee, and...darn, my least favorite class doesn't rhyme by Geoffrey Layne with Paul Tarwater
As calm as I get. by Adam Brockert
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Professor Marlowe
Lesson One, Second Years
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Professor Marlowe
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Guenther Heindrich
July 01, 2006 10:08 PM
This year it's wicked Pink sticks instead of evil needles by Guenther Heindrich
Guenther stepped in the classroom, not particularly happy about being back in this room. He shivered. His experience last year was horrible, Spike being his biggest problem with it. Although he wasn't terribly horrible at Transfiguration, he wasn't terribly great either. It had taken him several times last year every time he wanted to perform a transfiguration just to get stuff looking the way he wanted it to. So his test scores were not the highest in the class, nor would it be this year.He stared at the stick in front of him, willing it to transform and he used what he thought were the correct wand movements and said what he thought were the correct words.
"Cillium Insigere" he said under his breath.
He always felt extremely stupid when he said "magic words". After not knowing about magi...il he was about 8, he felt ridiculus saying stuff like in the story books or for that matter in his D&D books.
Unfortunatly, his stick stayed frustratingly looking brown, oddly shaped, and blunt. He sighed, dissapointed that his attempt hadn't produced anything. He felt so behind, but figured he wasn't the only one in this sort of situation. Looking around he saw all sorts of kids having less luck that him.
He focused again, thinking of a pink pencil that was sort of thick and short. If he could manage to do this, maybe he could send it home to his sisters so that they could see his progress. He smiled thinking of how proud his mother would be. "Cillium Insigere" he said again, focusing so hard that his head hurt. He closed his eyes as he did the wand movement.
Peeking he saw that the stick did turn a hot pink, but was no more sharp then it had been before. It didn't even really resemble a pencil. Hmmm, this could take some work
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Guenther Heindrich
This year it's wicked Pink sticks instead of evil needles
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Guenther Heindrich
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Melanie Rose
July 10, 2006 1:36 PM
Round and round the pencil goes. by Melanie Rose
Melanie had taken a seat by a familiar boy. She had talked to him occasionally in the first year. His name she couldn't remember but she did remember giving him the title 'Jolly Green' due to his height. She was coping her notes as he went a head and tried the spell that seemed as strange as the needle spell. She watched him move his wand and speak the words. She already knew he had done something wrong."You shouldn't move your wand." She muttered finishing her last sentence in the notebook. She put her quill down in the fold of the book and picked up her familiar wand as she looked at her neighbors stick turn pink. Taking her own stick she concentrated on her own. In her mind she forced herself to think of a silver pencil with a sharp tip and good eraser.
"Lets see if I've improved over the summer." She had muttered to herself as she recalled all the reading she had done to better herself with the magic. Being clueless of witchcraft was a major downer towards the first year doing it. With determination, she spoke the incantation as she steadied her hand, "Cillium Insigere."
It did nothing at first. That was until she noticed the slight change in appearence and color. Slowly, it shifted into a winding spiral with light colors running through the cracks of the bark and the tip gotten a medium point to it. It was only a half transformation.
"Yours is better." She smiled looking at them in comparison. Atleast his didn't look a strange spiny twist of pencil.\n\n
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Melanie Rose
Round and round the pencil goes.
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Melanie Rose
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Guenther Heindrich
July 13, 2006 5:46 PM
Where it stops? Well I guess Melanie knows! by Guenther Heindrich
Guenther stared at her. She was right. He vaguely remembered the teacher saying something about minimum movement. "Okay, let's try this again.""Cillium Insigere"
His pink stink made a small popping noise and the bark fell off of it, leaving a large, sharp, bright pink pencil. He beamed with pride and then turned toward Spike. "Try again." he said confident that if she had done as well as she did on the first try, he was sure she would be able to do it this time.\n\n
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Guenther Heindrich
Where it stops? Well I guess Melanie knows!
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Guenther Heindrich
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Melanie Rose
August 05, 2006 5:27 PM
Of course I do, Don't I always? lol. by Melanie Rose
Melanie clapped softly with a smile, "Bravo, Jolly Green."She smiled even more as she grabbed her wand.
"I thank you for the encouragement. I guess I should try again."
Silencing herself she concentrated harder and imagined the transformation herself. She didn't say the incantation until she was ready.
"Cillium Insigere." The words came calmly. A small crack could be heard as the spiral pencil twisted into actual shape. The bark shrunk before her eyes as it left the silver pencil she wanted there.
"Wow." She spoke softly she wasn't ready for the sudden pop that came next as the tip became what she thought of a very sharp knife point.\n\n
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Melanie Rose
Of course I do, Don't I always? lol.
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Melanie Rose
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