Taking the academic approach on Mirage Chamber

Professor Fawcett

June 12, 2013 12:14 PM

Beginner Potions, Part II by Professor Fawcett

John led the first and second years out of the Potions classroom and back to one of the locations he was sure even the newest of them would recognize: the corridor outside the Cascade Hall. There, he respectfully inclined his head to the painting of a wizard surrounded by record books and other mathematical measuring tools. “Professor Mims,” he said. “May I introduce the Beginners’ class?”

To the students, he added, “Professor Mims keeps track of the points totals for all of your Houses.” He did not mention the long-dead Arithmancy teacher’s affection for Crotalus House – it could do no good to anyone, least of all the Crotali who did not know of it already. Besides, they would probably learn of it sooner or later. Mims, in the way of portraits, had favored Crotalus when John was a student, and that had been decades since. “He also guards a particularly interesting room of the school, which used to be used only for the winner of the House Points competitions but now serves a variety of purposes….”

The portrait was persuaded to open, revealing a sparkling swirl of color. “Step through this, and you will find yourself in the Mirage Chamber,” he said. “Which, for our class, is set in the appearance of a forest. It is not real, and nothing within it can harm you, but do remain in the clearing until everyone has come through and I have given you your instructions.”

Once they were all there, he did a quick head count to make sure no one had wandered off without permission before beginning those directions. “On the sheets I gave you in the classroom,” he said, “there are, as I said there, a number of common plant-based potion ingredients,” he said. “You will see their names and pictures there – arrowhead, belladonna, sumac, pomegranate, holly, nettles, daisies, yew, mosses, lavender, hemlock. You will need to find each of these in the wood before the end of class. Each is marked with a number nearby, and the numbers do not match the order in which they appear on your sheet. Write the number next to the correct picture once you have found the item.” Some, no doubt, would cheat, but there was no such thing as a perfect assignment. Sometimes, one just had to accept ‘good enough,’ and it would be much easier to grade than the last way he had done this. “You may search together, I encourage the second years, who have seen some of these ingredients dried, at least, in their potions kits, in particular to help the first years. Your homework, due at the beginning of our next class, will be to read chapter one of your textbook and write a paragraph summarizing the cases for fresh versus apothecary-bought ingredients. You may begin.”

OOC: Creative, detailed, realistic posts which follow all of the roleplaying rules will earn your House more points. Remember that nothing in the Mirage Chamber can harm your characters. Tag Professor Fawcett if you need him, and have fun searching!

Subthreads:

Taking the academic approach by Ji-Eun Park, Pecari with Ava Fletcher, Aladren, Ava Fletcher

I can't see the Sumac through the trees by Dimitri Porter, Teppenpaw with Irina Volkov, Aladren, Dimitri Porter

We always enjoy these types of games! by Emery and Chloe Jareau, Aladren/Pecari with Malcolm Carey, Pecari, Chloe Jareau, Mal Carey

Hunting for some ingredients! by Virginia Bellrose with Thaddeus Luther Leebridge III

Looking and learning. by Julian Umland, Teppenpaw with Viktor Volkov, Crotalus

Running right into it. by Adam and Charlotte Spencer, Pecari/Crotalus

0 Professor Fawcett Beginner Potions, Part II 0 Professor Fawcett 1 5

Ji-Eun Park, Pecari

June 13, 2013 4:14 PM

Taking the academic approach by Ji-Eun Park, Pecari

Ji-Eun had sat up eagerly at the front of the class for Potions. Her parents expected her to perform perfectly in everything but they expected her to be even more perfect in Potions. The fact that that was impossible wasn't going to stop her trying. The subject was especially important as her parents ran Mr and Mrs Park's Emporium of Finest Quality Imported Asian Potion Supplies – known to everyone in the neighbourhood as Parks' Potions. Her mother was especially gifted at home remedies and, although she officially didn't sell them out of the store, she was always willing to make them for friends and neighbours (a term which she readily extended to any member of the Korean community, regardless or not of whether she'd had a conversation with them prior to them coming to ask for one). If Ji-Eun failed the subject, it would be an embarrassment to the family business, regardless of the fact that everything from the ingredients she used to the brews she made with them was going to be totally different to what they sold (and provided) in the shop. She sat bolt upright on her stool, her robes clean and everything about her neat and tidy. The only thing spoiling her image of being a model student was the Pecari emblem emblazoned on her uniform. She had been mortified not to be in Aladren or Crotalus, and even more concerned when she found out that the head of the former was also their potions professor. She fervently hoped that he would not hold her house against her, or make assumptions before he'd seen her ability in the subject. She also hoped that she was more than halfway decent at it, or her life would be over.

When Professor Fawcett handed out syllabi, she was torn between reading it thoroughly – he had said it was important – and continuing to listen to the lecture. She fretfully opted for the latter, deciding it was something to be gone through in her own time, and hoping there was nothing so vital in it that not having read it would spoil her chances of making a good first impression. Most of the rules he listed made sense, though she intended to ask him about extra-curricular brewing at her first opportunity. She accepted the additional document for the day's class – she had had a writing implement out since the start of the lesson. She was readying herself to take notes when Professor Fawcett startled her by announcing they would be leaving the classroom. She stowed her syllabus, along with her Potions textbook and the spare parchment that she had had out, back in her starry pink backpack but kept the class sheet and her quill to hand, as his instructions seemed to imply to do so.

She followed the rest of her class back through the school, mildly perturbed that – having filed out of a classroom – her position at the front had turned into one towards the back. She was confused when he stopped in front of a Portrait and explained that the man in it kept the house points tally. She wracked her brains, trying to think whether she'd ever read anything about the Professor in question being a famous potioneer but nothing came to mind. The reason for their field-trip became a little clearer when it transpired that they would be going through the portrait, into a mirage of a forest. Though, even having grown up with magic, that was still quite a lot to get her head around.

She tried not to be distracted by their surroundings, focussing attentively on Professor Fawcett. She was a little unsure about the need to wander around a simulated forest when all the necessary information could probably be memorised from their books but she barely even dared to voice this thought in her head, as she was sure he must know best. The doubt really only manifested itself in the form of thinking what her mother would have thought of it... She decided to be methodical in her search. The best way to be methodical would be to know where each plant was likely to grow. That had the added benefit that, even if she didn't find it, she would have learnt something about the ingredient's distribution. She settled down to one side of the clearing, opening her textbook to the chapter on ingredients and began working down Professor Fawcett's list... Arrowhead.... Sagittaria latifolia – wet soils or areas of water, e.g. ponds rivers..... Belladonna.... Atropa Belladonna – shady, moist soils, prefers rich limestone, she noted. Admittedly, she wasn't going to be able to spot rich limestone soil just by looking but she thought it might be useful to know, seeing as the entire lesson was about plants in relation to their environments. She continued working her way through the ingredients until someone interrupted her...

13 Ji-Eun Park, Pecari Taking the academic approach 268 Ji-Eun Park, Pecari 0 5

Dimitri Porter, Teppenpaw

June 13, 2013 6:19 PM

I can't see the Sumac through the trees by Dimitri Porter, Teppenpaw

Dimitri made his way from the Teppenpaw common room to his Potions class as quickly as he could muster. He had almost forgotten there was a Potions class that day and he for a brief moment couldn’t think for the life of him where the classroom was located. Thankfully he remembered where it was and rushed inside. He managed to make it to a seat before class was scheduled to start. “That was close,” he mumbled to himself as he set his book bag down onto the floor beside his desk. He turned his attention towards Professor Fawcett as he began to speak. “Welcome, Welcome…welcome everyone” he began by saying. He then introduced himself to the class and Dimitri made a mental of note of his name and face. He waved politely from his seat and stayed silent while Professor Fawcett continued. He gave them all their syllabi and Dimitri glanced it over with mild interest. He had to admit it was kind-of nice to know ahead of time when his assignments would be due. Professor Fawcett gave everyone in class another piece of paper that appeared to have a list of items on it with pictures next to the items. Arrowhead, belladonna, sumac, pomegranate, holly, nettles, daisies, yew, mosses, lavender, and hemlock were those items. Professor Fawcett explained that they were potion components. Dimitri tried studying the pictures for each of the items, but found that there were numbers next to the items that didn’t make sense. He was about to ask why when the Professor asked them to grab something to write with and follow him. Dimitri obeyed, stowing his question for the moment.

Dimitri fished his self-inking quill pen from his bag and followed Professor Fawcett and the rest of his classmates out of the classroom. They walked own the hall to the hall just outside of Cascade Hall. Here is where the Professor stopped. He watched as Professor Fawcett began talking to one of the portraits in front of them and introduced the class to Professor Mims. Dimitri smiled awkwardly and waved a bit to the portrait. He watched curiously as the portrait swung away from the wall to reveal a strange swirl of colors behind it. Professor Fawcett introduced them to the Mirage Room and instructed them to wait in the clearing inside for everyone to enter. Dimitri walked into the swirl of color and gasped aloud when he saw the forest beyond it. “Wow…” he whispered as he glanced around the room. Big fir and pine trees sat soo close together you almost couldn’t see beyond them, the chirping of birds could be heard from almost every direction and it wasn’t loud chirping either. It was tolerable compared to most other birds chirping he had ever heard. Once the rest of the class had entered the clearing the door shut behind them. It was here that Professor Fawcett told them what their assignment for the day was.

He had instructed them to collect all of the items they found on the sheet in front of them and to put the correct number next to the correct picture. Sounds simple enough Dimitri thought to himself as he studied the pictures a bit more closely. He couldn’t remember if sumac was the type of stuff that was harmful only if you ate it or just touched it or both. He reminded himself to be careful anyway when he went to collect that one. He was very relieved suddenly when the professor explained that nothing in the room could hurt them. Then I guess I don’t have to be so careful with the Sumac after all he thought to himself. He was only barely listening when Professor Fawcett explained their homework for the class as well before he sent them on their way to find the ingredients. “Your homework assignment will be to write a paragraph summarizing the difference between fresh herbs versus apothecary bought ones. Dimitri absently nodded and began his ingredient search. The lavender was the easiest to find because all he really had to do was look for small light purple-ish flowers. He found a small plant of them near one of the trees and plucked a small bunch from the plant. He marked the correct number next to the picture on the sheet and moved to the next one. The daisies were also pretty easy to find since there were small patches of them all over the clearing. He saw what appeared to be rabbits and deer roaming around nearby and stopped to stare at them. “What in the world?” he began to ask himself when he remembered “Duh dummy…you’re in a forest.” He shook his head smiling to himself as he went to collect the daisies that the rabbits had been feeding off of before they disappeared into the brush and trees. The deer had taken off as well when he tried to get closer to it. He shrugged and went back to work.

He had managed to find, with some difficulty, all but one of the items left on the sheet. He was having a devil of a time trying to the Sumac. He was about to give up his search and turn in his assignment without it when he spotted what might actually be the plant sticking out from under something dark and possible furry. Dimitri wandered closer and froze in place. Lying right on top of the plant he needed was a very large, brown bear. The bear had its head resting on its massive front paws and appeared from the sounds it made to be sleeping. Dimitri swallowed hard at the sight of the bear and began to back away slowly. He kept trying to remind himself that the animal couldn’t hurt him, but his brain couldn’t get past the fact that that was a BEAR! Harmful or not the idea of having to deal with a bear was still intimidating. Dimitri decided he would ask one of his fellow classmates if they had found any Sumac any place else. If not, then he was stuck trying to figure out how to move a sleeping bear. He found one of his fellow classmates not far away and tapped them on the shoulder. “You wouldn’t by chance know where there’s another patch of Sumac around here, would you?” he asked politely. “Because after searching for quite awhile the only patch I could find is currently underneath a sleeping bear and I would like to avoid having to wake it up if possible,” he told them pointing to the furry backside of the animal in question so they could see he wasn’t making it up. “If not…any ideas on how to wake up a sleeping bear without upsetting it?” Dimitri doubted that such a way existed, but he was willing to try if it meant he got the assignment done.

0 Dimitri Porter, Teppenpaw I can't see the Sumac through the trees 0 Dimitri Porter, Teppenpaw 0 5

Emery and Chloe Jareau, Aladren/Pecari
June 13, 2013 10:20 PM

Emery and Chloe Jareau, Aladren/Pecari
Peripheral
Written by: Amelle Nicchi

We always enjoy these types of games! by Emery and Chloe Jareau, Aladren/Pecari
Emery was aware that the staff knew he was the Headmistress’s sonjust as they had likely concurred that Chloe was her daughter. Some of them might have met him at his mother’s wedding to Chloe’s father or met him when he had been a small child and she had taken him to the school for various functions prior to returning to being a Magizoologist. He knew that they would be professional about it all and not hold him to higher standards than maybe some of his peers would, but Emery felt that he needed to prove that his mother had raised him well. This meant that he would be on his best behavior at all times while in class. He wasn’t so sure he could say the same for his sister.

Chloe was unconcerned by the idea of the professors expecting her to do well. She would try her best, of course, but if she didn’t succeed, she would not allow that to really get her down. Chloe was loud and a chatterbox, so sometimes she could come off as a little ditzy, but she never let that bother her. Emery sometimes told her that people might not like her because she was too off-putting with how honest and aggressive she could be sometimes when she was excited about something. He told her she wasn’t allowed to be like that during class, but Chloe wasn’t so sure she could handle that. After all, what if they had a really awesome lesson? Today, seemed to be in her luck too!

Sitting in the classroom, neither sibling sat near one another. Emery sat in the front while Chloe sat in the back. This wasn’t because they didn’t want to be seen together, but rather, Emery wanting to make a good impression and Chloe just finding the first free chair she saw. Emery wrote notes as soon as Professor Fawcett began to speak. He tucked the syllabus neatly into his binder. He would go over it later in greater detail.

However, they would not be working on a Potion for the first class. This surprised both Emery and Chloe. Confusion etched Emery’s youthful face as he stood with his self-inking quill while excitement etched across Chloe’s fresh face as she bounded towards the door to follow her professor. Anything that was not of the norm tended to excite her. Emery was comfortable knowing what was coming, so change was less easy for him to take.

Chloe skipped along with the rest of the class until she found herself in the front hall looking at the painting of the crotchety old mean looking man. Chloe did not like this portrait very much, so she tended to not make eye contact with him. He was not a happy person. She listened only half-heartedly as the Professor introduced them to the painting. She thought for sure they were going to have to sit through a lecture from the cranky old painting. But Professor Fawcett had tricked her because soon after greeting the portrait, it swung open to reveal a swirling vortex. “OOOOO!” Chloe squee’ed, so incredibly happy that this was her first lesson for Potions. She didn’t care what it was anymore; they were going through a swirly vortex hidden behind a painting! It was like an adventure!

Emery, however, was not as enthusiastic about passing through the entrance until after he had gone through it and discovered it was nothing more than a forest. Clearly, this was amazing magic and he was awed by it, but there was nothing weird or frightening waiting for him and that had been what had mostly concerned him. Chloe, who had somehow managed to make her way to him, was practically jumping in her spot as she looked around. “Look, Emery! Look, look!” She poked him to get his attention as she pointed out into the trees. He didn’t know what she was looking at, so he ignored her.

It turned out that their lesson for the day would be a scavenger hunt. This made Chloe even more excited and, it actually brightened Emery’s mood.

While in the Mirage Chamber, Chloe and Emery had somehow ended up together again. It was probably years of working together on scavenger hunts or Easter egg hunts that it was just natural for the two of them to get together to find the items on the list that Professor Fawcett had given to them back in the classroom. Chloe wasn’t paying much attention to the list though, she was too busy restraining herself from running around the place. “Chloe, pay attention!” Emery said firmly. He had already marked off holly, belladonna, and pomegranate. He was pretty sure that he had seen lavender, but Chloe was going in the wrong direction.

“Emery, Emery, look! A butterfly!” Chloe squealed again as the butterfly flew around. She was such a girl. “It really does seem like a real forest! This is so cool!” Chloe started off after the butterfly and lost her footing as she did so. Emery watched in bewilderment as his sister went careening straight into another classmate. Chloe landed hard onto the ground after crashing and laid there for a moment before turning to see whom she had run into. “Ow, sorry! Are you okay?” Chloe asked the person, hoping she hadn’t hurt them. Emery just sighed from his position and returned to the class lesson.

6 Emery and Chloe Jareau, Aladren/Pecari We always enjoy these types of games! 0 Emery and Chloe Jareau, Aladren/Pecari 0 5

Malcolm Carey, Pecari
June 13, 2013 11:11 PM

Malcolm Carey, Pecari
Peripheral
Written by:

But not other kinds? by Malcolm Carey, Pecari
The summer had been strange for Mal. For the first time in his life, as far as he could remember, anyway, he had not been the center of attention at home. His mother had been so delighted with what she perceived as Lucille’s breakthrough into social success – a pretty poor breakthrough, in his opinion, which no one had asked – and all her mind had been on his sister. Lucille had been given clothes, allowed visits with the cousins she was particular friends with, whatever she wanted except enough to eat and a little peace – she had been put on a special diet and given all sorts of beauty treatments, or what purported to be beauty treatments, anyway. The fact of the matter, in his opinion, was that Lu just wasn’t pretty, and gone thinner, with her hair curled and face painted and all, she had put him in mind of nothing so much as a half-plucked, half-baked chicken. Mother had been delighted with it all, though, and had ignored him almost entirely except when he was right in front of her, and sometimes even then.

Alas, all good things had had to end. Lucille, overwhelmed, had given a bunch of the dresses to Theresa, and Mother had spotted the South Carolina girl wearing one of them at the Reunion. He thought she might have been more offended by the fact that Theresa had had it altered beyond just what was necessary to make up for differences between her and Lucille’s physiques, but either way, Mother had been furious, and he had been back to being the favorite for the last three weeks. It had been horrific. He had been so annoyed that he’d sneaked some cookies to his sister and then saw to it Mother walked in on her eating them, getting her in further trouble just for spite. Having to listen to all the tense, whispered, neurotic speeches about how he had to make sure to watch Lucille at school because of her untrustworthy, Father-like character afterward had been worth it, though admittedly, it had helped as he listened to think of how much more fun the memory would make making up a pack of lies every time he wrote home for the next few months. Writing letters home was as close to a bonding experience as he and Lucille had ever really had, and Mal was proud of himself for how successfully he had corrupted his only full sibling in that way last year. With time and further drawing-away from being such a prim, sniveling creature, he thought she might even turn into a human being.

In Potions, he tried not to let his expression glaze over too much as Professor Fawcett gave a predictable speech and was glad he hadn’t when he heard they were doing something different today. If he had not been paying a little attention, he was pretty sure it would have become obvious at that point, and he did like to try not to look like an idiot. He walked along, near the back of the pack, to the front of the school, where he was, grudgingly, impressed.

He listened to the lesson with more interest than he had the opening speech, but with a bit more disappointment, feeling the lesson was probably just a time-killer meant to burn some energy out of the first years. Once it was concluded, he decided he was not really the helpful sort and that he did not feel like making polite chitchat with any of his fellows until he had made a start on what he had to do, so he had just recorded his first number on his own when something large, person-sized, hit him, sending him into a turn which only didn’t turn into a fall because he managed to grab one of the fake branches nearby. That made him trip, too, though, because he had expected it not to be solid, and he landed in a sitting position on the ground, which he immediately leapt up from, silently cursing, sure he would be all dirt along the backs of his new robes and light colored suit. He had scuffed his right shoe, too; he knew there was a reason he loathed being outdoors sometimes, even, apparently, outdoors that weren't really outdoors at all.

“Just smashing,” he said when the girl asked about his recently-imperiled health, then took a breath. "And you?" he asked, gentleman-like. His sister's favorite thing to throw at him, when he could provoke her into a real argument, was that he was no gentleman, a weary inversion of their mother's favorite term of praise for him, but she admitted when she was being almost human that he could play one when he wanted to. He was still baffled that he had actually won it in the yearbook, though. "I think you took a harder fall than I did," he added, trying not to be too obvious about brushing himself off.

0 Malcolm Carey, Pecari But not other kinds? 0 Malcolm Carey, Pecari 0 5

Virginia Bellrose
June 15, 2013 9:14 PM

Virginia Bellrose
Peripheral
Written by: Amelle Nicchi

Hunting for some ingredients! by Virginia Bellrose
Ginny surprised herself by being overly excited for the new classes to start. She wasn’t completely sure why this excited her so much, but it did. Maybe it was because she had so much fun last year in her classes that she wanted to experience that more. Or, it could be that because she didn’t have roommates, this was the best way for her to be social with people and make some friends. She had already attempted to make a friend at the Opening Feast with Adam’s relative, but that had ended poorly. Well, it had ended before it had even begun because the girl had refused to really talk to her. Ginny had at least tried through.

Potions was a class Ginny was uncertain of. She understood the purpose and need for them to learn it. She was excited to learn it. She really thought it would be great to know how to make Pepper-Up potion for when she was older or any other potion that her family tended to take more of, like pain reliving potion that her mother usually took for her ‘headaches’. But, she also knew that Potions needed to be made precisely and they were meticulous or else they were useless. Ginny did not have the attention span to really sit there and mash up daisies or deshell a snail in a certain way. She didn’t think Potions was going to be an easy class for her and would only end up getting worse the more advanced she went. But she would try. She would always try. She felt that mattered more if Professor Fawcett saw how hard she was trying instead of being successful in the class.

Their first class, however, seemed to be a field trip class! Ginny was so excited! She hopped up from her seat and followed Professor Fawcett all the way to Professor Mims portrait. She remembered him from last year during the first challenge. They had to defeat the Sphinx in there and exited by way of this portrait. Who knew such a sad looking portrait could hold such great wonder beyond it! Of course, she wasn’t sure why Potions would have to have a chat with a Sphinx. That seemed more for Defense Against the Dark Arts and way more advanced than her current class level.

But then he discussed what they would see on the other side of the swirl and that perked Ginny’s interest even more so. A forest! Ginny loved to explore and a forest setting would be so amazing to have a run through! Of course, she couldn’t exactly run through it because they were in class and she needed to behave herself, but she so did wish to! What was more was that they were going to make a game out of it!

Ginny wasn’t always the best at these sorts of games because she wasn’t observant, but she liked to be a part of them. Smiling, she wandered over to someone who hadn’t yet found a partner, “Hi, do you want to work with me on this? It seems like it’s going to be a fun assignment!”

6 Virginia Bellrose Hunting for some ingredients! 0 Virginia Bellrose 0 5

Chloe Jareau
June 15, 2013 10:39 PM

Chloe Jareau
Alumnus
House: Pecari
Written by: Amelle Nicchi

Age in Post: 11

Depends on what they are. by Chloe Jareau
Chloe could recognize sarcasm when it came out so straightforward to her. If one was subtle and hid it behind something like a compliment, she probably could have missed it, but she picked up on his easily enough. She was not offended though. She had just run into him and knocked him down accidentally. That certainly wasn’t the best first impression she could make and her dad says first impressions mattered with people. She couldn’t say for certain whether or not she would have been upset at someone for running into her, but that was probably because she had done it so often that she’d laugh it off. Even in flying lessons, she had run into someone. Well, nearly. Viktor didn’t seem to like it much either.

“Oh, I’m fine.” Chloe commented as she pushed herself up from the ground and dusted off her robes. She pulled at her blonde pony-tail, tightening it once more. “My dad says I have a knack for finding myself on the ground.” She joked, checking her legs to make sure she hadn’t scraped herself. The scenery may be fake as the Professor had said, but the ground was still a ground. She had several scars on her legs from plenty of falls in her day, so being scraped up didn’t bother her, but she didn’t want it to be something worse either. Finding no scrapes or scratches, Chloe returned her attention to the boy.

“How have you done so far on the assignment?” Chloe asked. “My brother and I, we’ve found like four things. Right Emery?” Chloe exclaimed, turning to her brother only to find that he was no longer near her. He must have continued on when she ran after the butterfly. “Oh…” She said to the empty air. Not fazed by this, she returned her smile to the boy. “Well, I still have my copy. Anyway, I’m Chloe Jareau, I’m sorry for running into you. It probably wasn’t the greatest way to meet someone knew and my dad says making an impression counts, so hopefully I didn’t make too terrible of one with you.” She was rambling. That was something Chloe always did. She rambled. She took a deep breath to stop herself though before she began to truly annoy the boy with whom she was probably already walking the line with.

“Is this a fun lesson or what?” Chloe asked him. “I never would have expected a class lesson like this here! Especially not for Potions.”

6 Chloe Jareau Depends on what they are. 267 Chloe Jareau 0 5

Irina Volkov, Aladren
June 17, 2013 10:25 PM

Irina Volkov, Aladren
Peripheral
Written by:

Or maybe under the bear? by Irina Volkov, Aladren
Potions was the class that Irina was looking forward to most. She had already read browsed through the book and loved how everything was neatly listed. It was all very straightforward. Plus, she had already met Professor Fawcett since he was Aladren’s Head of House. He had seemed like a very nice, but no nonsense sort of person and that was the sort of person she could deal with since she was so serious herself. She never understood those that just wanted to have fun. Weren’t they worried about their futures? Of course, she wasn’t considering the fact that she was slightly neurotic for an eleven year old, but then her mom used to say that she had been born forty.

Maybe not having her mom was why she didn’t really get into clothing like some other girls seemed to do, but then, she was all about function over fashion. Today, she was wearing another one of her plaid skirts. This one was black and white with bits of gray and she had opted for a crisp white button down. Her blonde hair was braided so that she didn’t have to worry about any stray hairs causing any issue if they were going to be working with potions. All in all, it was a very sensible outfit.

Being so sensible, everything she did followed that pattern. She pulled out the folder that was specifically for this class along with all of her quills and inks. She only used self-inking quills when forced to. Otherwise, she liked the feel of dipping the quill into the ink. It made everything seem more adult. Once she was organized, she sat with her hands folded, waiting for the class to begin. She didn’t have to wait long before there was a syllabus flying to her desk. Awesome! This class was definitely turning out to be more than she expected. She was pleased to find that they had an outline for everything they would be doing so there wouldn’t be any surprises and she nodded when he mentioned about safety. It was very important to be safe when dealing with such materials. She hoped the rest of her classmates realized this.

Wait, what? She had been with him up to the point of their CATS. Irina understood the importance of doing well on tests. They were what got one to the next point, but why were they leaving the classroom all of a sudden? Had that been on the syllabus? Panicked, she skimmed down through it. She didn’t like suddenness. She would have been fine with the lesson if it had been announced today that they would do it next class. That would have been preferred, but she couldn’t exactly go up to the professor and tell him to change his lesson. Sighing, she tucked the syllabus and other materials away in order to follow. She was less than thrilled, but she reasoned with herself that they did need ingredients.

The Aladren followed along with the rest of the class to a portrait in the Hall. If one had read about the school, then they would have already known that the portrait kept record of their points. However, she didn’t know it housed a room behind it and she certainly didn’t like the look of that vortex. Why couldn’t it have just been a normal door? Why did it have to look like something that was going to suck her in and never let her out? Sighing even more, she took her turn up to the plate and stepped through. She felt slightly disoriented on the other side, but none the worse for wear.

Getting to work, she located a couple of the easier plants and was working through her list when she felt a tap on her shoulder. Jumping slightly, she turned to see a boy. Before she could say anything, he was talking about how to wake up a sleeping bear. Her blue eyes glanced over to where he was pointing. “You aren’t supposed to wake a sleeping bear,” she said matter-of-factly. “If you did so in real life, it would maul you to death. But I guess since this isn’t real, why don’t you find some honey and see if the bear is hungry enough to move towards the honey? Or if you feel really brave, you could poke it with a stick.” She knew she was being a little sarcastic, but it was not a smart idea to wake a sleeping bear in any case and it just wasn’t in her nature to entertain questions she found to be lacking.

Attempting to be nicer, she added more kindly, “I still don’t recommend it though. Why don’t you just finish the rest of the list and whatever one you are left with is the one that was under the bear? Or get the professor?” This made more sense than trying to mess around with a bear.

0 Irina Volkov, Aladren Or maybe under the bear? 0 Irina Volkov, Aladren 0 5

Ava Fletcher, Aladren
June 18, 2013 11:00 PM

Ava Fletcher, Aladren
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Re: Taking the academic approach by Ava Fletcher, Aladren
Ava had been excited for her first day of Potions class. During her talk with Alicia at the Welcoming Feast she had found out that not only was Potions something essential to becoming a Healer like her mother (a requirement Ava had vaguely known already) but their Head of House was also the Potions Master. When Professor Fawcett had taken the first years to the Aladren common room for the first time Ava had decided he was someone to look up to and trust- something she'd have to do any way as he was her head of house. So naturally she'd been excited for the first day wondering what he'd be like as a teacher.

Unfortunately her first day of Potions took a turn for the worse when she misplaced her entire school bag. Ava had had to tear through her trunk, her bedding and the area all around it searing for the beaten-up thing before remembering that she had probably left it in the common room near the bookshelf that contained the book about Healing. She had been reading it the night before and once notified the time by a quick glance at her watch whilst turning the page she had most likely left the bag on the floor in her hurry to put away the book and get into bed. Sure enough when Ava tore out of the room to the common room she found it sitting there as innocently as could be. She cursed her forgetfulness once again as it had undoubtedly made her late for her first class. Luckily though, she didn't get lost on her way as she'd run into an older student in her rush down to the Potions room and slipped into the class about half a minute before it was to start. She took the first open seat she saw and sat down in it heavily as she tried to regulate her breathing. She gladly took the syllabus when it was handed to her, grateful for something to doodle on- her quill was so much quieter to take out of her bag than parchment and so she'd only managed to grab that before the Professor had started talking. As Professor Fawcett introduced his class she half listened-half read the syllabus while absentmindedly underlining certain parts she found important and doodling flowers in the margins.

When the entire class got up together to leave the room, she was snapped out of her trance and hastily jumped to her feet to follow them out. The portrait of the house points keeper interested Ava. She wondered why he was the one chosen for the job and made a mental note to herself to research him once she had some free time. The Mirage Chamber that Professor Fawcett introduced awed her and she was curious if it was open to students outside of class. If it was then would she be able to conjure up a place similar to the Northwest coast that she so dearly missed? Ava shrugged her shoulders to herself and started working on finding the ingredients once Professor Fawcett gave her the go-ahead.

As her eyes scanned over the list she thought about different ways to start the assignment. She could either get her book out and use that as a reference or she could try and work from memory on what she'd seen in her mother's kit when she was home. Ava frowned in thought as she strained to think back to the last time her mother's potion kit had been out while visiting but she came up with nothing. Instead she decided to go off of base knowledge. Holly, nettles, daisy, mosses, and lavender would be easy enough to find on her own she decided. She seen all of them growing in her hometown or in the woods while on a hike with her grandfather. Once she found those she'd work on finding the rest. She settled in and began her assignment. On one particular search for moss, she found herself walking backwards with her head close to the ground and not really watching where she was going. As soon as she realized that this would probably end badly she stopped but it was too late. She'd already tripped backwards over a figure sitting on the ground. She scrambled up in a hurry hoping she hadn't hurt the other student and commenting nastily to herself that she was just destined to be a nuisance to any and all students at Sonora- Alicia aside.

"I'm so sorry!" She exclaimed. "I really seem to be making a habit of this. Here, let me help you." She stuck out a hand in order to help the girl to her feet and introduced herself at the same time. "My name's Ava, what's yours?"

0 Ava Fletcher, Aladren Re: Taking the academic approach 0 Ava Fletcher, Aladren 0 5

Mal Carey
June 19, 2013 7:59 PM

Mal Carey
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Written by:

How do you feel about word searches? by Mal Carey
The girl did not appear to be injured, and Mal did not believe he or his clothes had been permanently injured, so all was well that ended well. Except that it hadn’t ended yet. Well, he never had much liked sayings. Mother used them too much.

He glanced in the direction she seemed to think her brother was in, but no Emery answered, so he concluded that her brother had very sensibly abandoned her to getting herself out of any trouble she got into running into people. Mal approved of Brother Emery already. He had been told many times that doing that was unchivalrous, but he had heard even more often that he was a far more valuable commodity than Lucille, so abandoning her to her fate made much more sense than sharing in it if he could avoid it. Unless it was something good, of course, then he’d be right there beside her.

“Not at all,” he said, noting the name Jareau and not going back to answer the question about his own number total. “I’m Malcolm Carey. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

At this point, he thought, more people at school called him Malcolm, the name his mother and tutors at home used, than called him by the short form his siblings usually stuck to. He had not really consciously decided to do that, but since he couldn’t really say he liked anything about either except for the lousy ‘Mal and Cilly’ pun he had long since gotten tired of making about his and his sister’s names, he didn’t guess it mattered much. He gave the formal introduction and people went with it, end of story. Carey was the only important part of his name, just as Jareau was the only important part of Chloe’s. Assuming she was related to the headmistress, of course. The headmistress’ name was hyphenated, but he thought that was because she was married – he was sure Mother had commented on it, during some speech he had only half-listened to. Though, Chloe could no doubt make use of the similarity even if they weren’t related at all, so maybe it was the most important part anyway.

“It’s not Fawcett’s usual style,” he warned her. “I’ve met dust bunnies in the library more interesting than Potions usually is.” Actually, he found Potions interesting on its own, but just found potions themselves tiresome to make, but that was not as good a remark. Style mattered. “The Charms mistress decorates her classroom pretty extravagantly, though – Mother says she used to be an actress.” Mother did not approve. He did not mention it. “On today’s lesson, though, did you get that patch of nettles over there?” he asked, pointing toward where the one thing he had found had been and hoping to be pointed toward more things by the much more successful Chloe without having to look so hard for them himself.

0 Mal Carey How do you feel about word searches? 0 Mal Carey 0 5

Ji-Eun Park, Pecari
June 20, 2013 1:27 PM

Ji-Eun Park, Pecari
Alumnus
House: Pecari
Written by: Rhy

Age in Post: 11

Seems like you're taking a tumble by Ji-Eun Park, Pecari
Ji-Eun had reached the end of her note-making, which had only taken a few minutes. She turned to put her book back in her bag and was busily employed in doing this when she felt someone bash into her. She was a bit surprised as she thought she had chosen a spot well out of people's way. She gave a little gasp, more out of surprise than anything.

“It's ok,” she said, as the other girl apologised and went to help her up. She took the assistance more out of politeness than need. “I was sitting anyway, so you didn't knock me down or anything. Are you ok?” she asked. She noted the girl was an Aladren which raised her estimations of her somewhat. She suspected that, if she hadn't been paying attention it was because she'd been focussing on something more interesting. She therefore wanted to ask what the girl had been doing instead of looking where she had been going but that sounded rude, even if really it was just curiosity, so she held her tongue.

“You can call me Ji-Eun or Jane, whichever you find easier,” she offered.

“I was making a list of the places where the ingredients are most likely to be growing,” she added, feeling that she needed to justify why she had been sitting on the ground, even if the incident hadn't really been her fault in any way. She was naturally apologetic and was already thinking that she must have chosen an ill-advised place to sit.

13 Ji-Eun Park, Pecari Seems like you're taking a tumble 268 Ji-Eun Park, Pecari 0 5

Julian Umland, Teppenpaw
June 20, 2013 9:09 PM

Julian Umland, Teppenpaw
Alumnus
House: Teppenpaw
Written by: Grayson Wright

Age in Post: 12
Birthday: December 12

Looking and learning. by Julian Umland, Teppenpaw
On a purely theoretical level, Julian enjoyed Potions. Even one of the more difficult parts of the subject, attention to detail, was not difficult for her; after being raised by an English major-turned-stay-at-home-mom of five and a sports commentator, attention to detail was really something she wasn’t sure she could have avoided, since both of her parents’ specialties counted on having it. The things which could be done with them were impressive, too, very much so. Professor Fawcett also suited Julian well enough as a teacher, their personalities, insofar as she knew about his, and teaching/learning styles didn’t clash, so really, she should have had nothing to complain about as she entered her second year of Potions.

The only problem was that if there were potions to make people less clumsy, no one had told her about them, and so in class she always felt like she was walking on eggshells to a degree only exceeded by the one which occurred when she was in Defense, just waiting for the next time she turned the wrong way and knocked over a jar or burned or cut herself and fearing the day when something worse happened, such as setting her robe on fire or, probably worst of all, spilling her cauldron on someone else. Since she wasn’t a person who flourished under pressure, worrying did nothing to help her coordination, in fact making it worse, and she became over-cautious in class, sometimes not finishing on time if her partner didn’t shoulder too much of the job. Then she felt bad about that, too, which made her try to hurry, which made her knock things over or touch something hot, which got her right back to the source of the problem. She hoped, as she settled into a seat, that this year would be better, but she had her hair in a braid for a reason, and was wearing a button-down shirt and pair of trousers which had belonged to both of her older brothers first, despite this not really being an outfit Mom or Charlie would probably consider fit for someone who wanted to impress. The clothes were too big for her, but had the advantage of also being both already very worn and an even worse fit for her younger brother John, so she had made everything come out more or less right with pins and just hoped none of the first years saw fit to make a crack about her being confused, between her first name and her outfit, about whether or not she was actually on board with this ‘being a girl’ thing.

She fidgeted with her syllabus, making tiny tears in the edges with what was left of her finger- and thumbnails, as Professor Fawcett talked, then gave herself a small paper cut in surprise when he said they were leaving the room. Shaking her hand in an attempt to make it stop hurting, she stumbled her way off her stool and out the door with the rest of the class to see…Professor Mims?

A moment later, though, it made sense, and she felt herself relax a little in the woods. Her family enjoyed camping when they could, so though the city was her natural habitat, she associated the outdoors with being on vacation. She would have felt a lot more comfortable with her father and brothers all around, but Professor Fawcett and the rest of the class would do, not least because she was pretty sure bears weren’t going to eat her in only pretend woods.

With that in mind, she found someone else and smiled when they were set to work. "Hi," she said. "Do you want to work together?"

16 Julian Umland, Teppenpaw Looking and learning. 254 Julian Umland, Teppenpaw 0 5

Thaddeus Luther Leebridge III
June 25, 2013 12:18 PM

Thaddeus Luther Leebridge III
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I'm more of a gatherer, myself. by Thaddeus Luther Leebridge III
Thaddeus had been positively giddy to make his way down to Potions. The theory behind this modern subset of alchemy was fascinating, and the meticulous following-of-directions it required appealed to his logical sensibility. If you mixed two measures of beetle bulbs with half a dried spiny slug, the result would always be the same, unless you managed to stir the mixture the wrong way. Unlike people, Potions were predictable (and if something went wrong, that something could be easily ascertained and fixed promptly). When Professor Fawcett had led the class out of the comforting confines of his classroom, Thaddeus had felt some of his initial excitement fade. He'd been ready for whatever combination of mixing and measuring would be asked of him, but this excursion was an unexpected, and unwelcome, development.

The First Year stepped carefully into the Mirage Chamber, and was for a moment unable to believe his eyes. The scene around him could have come straight from an illustration in one of his textbooks: a deep forest blanketed with exotic plants, the living, growing versions of the dried ingredients he would be using in the lessons to come. For a moment, the boy hung back, worksheet clutched tightly in his hand. A partner would be a useful thing, but he didn't dare approach an older student; he hated the idea of slowing someone else down on their quest for miscellaneous flora.

Thaddeus was saved from his own indecision by the intervention of another student. She invited him to work beside her with what sounded like excitement, and he accepted with relief. Smiling shyly, Thaddeus held out a hand to his companion. "I'm T.L., and I'd, erm, love to work with you." Indicating a corner of the mirage forest which was mainly empty of other students, he asked: "How about we start there? I think I saw some lavender over by that tree."

0 Thaddeus Luther Leebridge III I'm more of a gatherer, myself. 0 Thaddeus Luther Leebridge III 0 5

OOC
June 25, 2013 12:22 PM

OOC
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Oops, Thaddeus' tag should be [Aladren] (nm) by OOC

0 OOC Oops, Thaddeus' tag should be [Aladren] (nm) 0 OOC 0 5

Adam and Charlotte Spencer, Pecari/Crotalus
June 25, 2013 9:06 PM

Adam and Charlotte Spencer, Pecari/Crotalus
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Running right into it. by Adam and Charlotte Spencer, Pecari/Crotalus
Adam had done his best to avoid sitting next to his younger sister in their shared classes, but the moment they got up to follow Professor Fawcett outside, Charlotte was at his side. "You had better not leave me alone," she whispered to him, her blonde fringe in her face after her rush to get to him. Her hair was tied up in a side-braid today and she felt especially self-conscious. Adam just smiled.

"I want you to make new friends." It was partially the truth, anyway. Charlotte had been unreasonably clingy since she had come to Sonora and Adam was glad for his own space. He sat with her during meals, in the library and allowed her to follow him around on the weekends. It was rather tiring and he continued to hope that she would make some friends of her own. However, his terribly shy sister did not seem to be having much luck.

The pair followed their professor to a familiar corridor, but Adam was confused as to why they were stopping to speak to a portrait. He looked at his peers, wondering if he was the only one confused, but the portrait soon opened to reveal an unfamiliar chamber. He eagerly made his way through, Charlotte clinging onto his arm, and found himself in a forest. He looked around, delighted, and was tempted to wander off and explore. Professor Fawcett came too quickly after them and Adam paid strict attention.

He held the parchment in his hand and he looked down at the ingredients they were expected to find. This sort of job was what his father went on so many trips around the world for, he being a medicinal potions maker. Adam grinned, feeling another connection to home, and nudged Charlotte. "This is the sort of thing Dad does," he whispered and she smiled. She had a pretty smile, but she always seemed to look scared whenever anyone else saw her. It was rather unfortunate.

This was a matching game, really, and Adam wished they could learn how to harvest the plants correctly. But he did as he was told and led Charlotte to a denser part of the clearing. "Look," he said, "I think there's some belladonna this way. It has to grow in a thicker wood." He bent down and felt relief on his arm when Charlotte went off a few steps away.

"I think I've found daisies," she said brightly, and he smiled as he compared the picture he had with the real plant.

"Joking, I found hemlock." Adam wrote down the number and looked over to see what Charlotte was doing. She was sitting and plucking a couple daisies to put in her hair. "Hey, stop that," he scolded. "You're not a child. Other people need the daisies too."

Charlotte wrinkled her nose at him and put the two daisies she had plucked in her golden hair anyway. "There's plenty more, don't worry." After tucking them into her braid, she wrote down the correct number next to the picture. "Ok, what else?" She had always looked at Adam to lead and direct her and she expected nothing different now. He slipped into the role well and trudged on to a different part of the wood, waving to his mates as he passed them.

0 Adam and Charlotte Spencer, Pecari/Crotalus Running right into it. 0 Adam and Charlotte Spencer, Pecari/Crotalus 0 5

Dimitri Porter
June 27, 2013 3:35 PM

Dimitri Porter
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Giving poking a try... cover me by Dimitri Porter
Dimitri watched as the girl he tapped on the shoulder jumped slightly as if he had frightened her. “I’m sorry,” he apologized. “I wasn’t trying to frighten you.” He gave her an apologetic smile to show that he really meant it. He really hadn’t meant to scare her. He had only hoped that she had found some Sumac elsewhere and that maybe he wouldn’t have to get under the bear to get some. Sadly that appeared to not be the case since she was now suggesting that he either find honey and entice the bear away or that he poke it with a stick if he was feeling exceptionally brave. He wasn’t sure how he felt about the stick idea, but he was willing to at least give it a try. Sure he could bother Professor Fawcett with his problem, but he figured it would look a tad better if he actually managed to deal with his problem on his own. Technically his problem wasn’t so big yet that he needed to involve the Professor in it just yet. He figured if he was creative enough with this he could probably make it work. Besides he was starting to get a rather interesting idea based off of one of her suggestions.

“You’re probably right,” he agreed. “If this was real it probably would maul me to death.” He couldn’t disagree with her logic. She was right. If Dimitri had been about to do this anywhere but here, he would most DEFINITELY be a goner. Since nothing in this forest could hurt them he figured it was at least worth a shot. “I have an idea,” he told her, looking around for a sturdy stick to use. “But I’m going to need an extra set of hands if you wouldn’t mind.” He continued with his idea as he picked up the biggest, sturdiest stick he could find lying on the ground by some bushes. “I’m going to poke the bear and wake it up, but only just barely. If you would be kind enough to just keep an eye on it while I do I would appreciate it. If you see it doing something weird or overly “bear” like (he didn’t know how else to say it) get Professor Fawcett. If you can do that I would greatly appreciate the assistance,” he told her sincerely. He knew the idea he was pitching was probably going to make him look like he was completely off his rocker, but if it worked they would both have a neat story to tell their family and friends. Not much of a consolation prize he knew, but it beat the alternative. He wasn’t sure exactly if she would assist him, but it didn’t hurt to try. If nothing else poking the bear might make it move enough to where he could gather what he needed on his own and he may not need her to run for help.

He walked quietly up behind the bear and got the stick ready. He glanced over towards her and whispered, “Okay…I’m about to poke the bear out of the way. Keep an eye out for me. Ready…one…two…three.” He turned back towards the bear and gently nudged it in the back with the stick. The bear made a weird grumbling sound, but didn’t entirely stir. Dimitri glanced towards his classmate and shrugged. He turned back towards the bear and gently nudged it again. The bear grunted, swiped its paw through empty air and growled without getting up or opening its eyes. Dimitri frowned a bit and sighed. This was going to be one stubborn bear. He poked the bear one last time and stepped back a bit as the bear made an unhappy sound, got up on all four feet, shook itself kind of like a wet dog would and meandered off into the trees, its furry backside disappearing into the brush. Dimitri dropped the stick and turned to glance at Irina stunned. “Wow…did you see that?” he asked, completely shocked. “I can’t believe I got it to move like that. That was amazing…and probably crazy…but amazing,” he exclaimed. He had been soo excited over moving the bear that Dimitri almost forgot what he had moved the bear for. He walked over to where the bear had been laying and plucked himself one of the Sumac plants. He went back over to where he had left his bag of herbs and his ingredients sheet and added the last one in. Going back over them all he held out his hand with the herbs in it to Irina. “Do these look right to you?” he asked her. “I want to make sure I didn’t grab poison oak or something while I was collecting these up.” He was fairly certain he had gotten all the ingredients listed on the sheet, but it never hurt to have another set of eyes check them over as well. Its entirely possible he messed up somewhere and if she could help him by double checking everything he would appreciate it. He laughed at his own lame joke still holding his hand out.

0 Dimitri Porter Giving poking a try... cover me 0 Dimitri Porter 0 5

Viktor Volkov, Crotalus
June 27, 2013 4:27 PM

Viktor Volkov, Crotalus
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I'm already bored. by Viktor Volkov, Crotalus
Without a shadow of a doubt, Viktor could already tell that Potions was going to be boring. It was probably going to be his most boring class, because it would be his most meticulous class. He didn’t like those kinds of classes. He preferred ones that were action-oriented or if they got to learn about something disgusting or gross. The only time Potions was interesting was when something blew up or if they happened to be learning a potion that was actually somewhat useful. Though, he highly doubted they would be taught any of those any time soon. No, those sorts of potions like polyjuice potion tended to be reserved for the older years. They were stuck learning…he checked the syllabus…great, ingredients. This was definitely going to be a yawn fest.

Adding into this was the depth to which Professor Fawcett explained the syllabus. Honestly, was it really that hard? Just look at the week and there was what was going on. Actually, the whole thing was rather predictable. If he were a professor, he would not tell his students anything about the lesson. He would just surprise them and it would always be something fun like what would happen if they put in raven feathers instead of dove feathers and things like that. Truthfully, it would probably make the potion blow up, but he would award points to the person who made their potion blow up the fastest.

He didn’t get any more time to fantasize about what he would do if he were a professor since now they were leaving the classroom. Throwing his stuff into his black bag, he followed the rest of the class to the recognizable area of the corridor. He tuned out the part about points and only peeked up when the door was actually opened. Vortex. Interesting. He waited his turn to go through it, wondering what was on the other side. Viktor bet this was going to be the most interesting part of the lesson and he certainly wasn’t disappointed when he did step through. It was a forest. Great.

It would have been cool if they were searching for killer rabbits or something like that instead of plants. He didn’t like plants at all. They were boring and just hindered the way for progress. Though, he had grown up a little outside the city, he was still a city boy, cement and concrete, all the fast-paced action. There was never a boring moment in cities. Someday, he hoped to be like his dad and travel to different places, but so long as things remained as they were, he didn’t have anything to worry about since he would be the Head of Family someday.

Glancing around, Viktor saw his cousin. He was about to bother her when someone approached him, asking to partner. He wished she had introduced herself properly so he knew whether or not she was of importance. Of course, this would not necessarily have prevented him from saying no, because if they were an Aladren or a Crotalus, a purpose would be served. “I suppose so. By the way, my name is Viktor Volkov of the Moscow Volkovs. And you are?”

Once introductions were taken care of, Viktor looked at the list in his hand. “Some of the items should be easier than others to find. Like, there are the daisies,” he said, pointing to a rather large patch that some other students were playing in. Actually, he didn’t think any of it would actually be that difficult. “I think the arrowhead might be a little difficult, but the rest is pretty common. Let’s look around for it. I bet we’ll find everything else along the way. So, what do you think of Sonora? It’s my first year here. It’s pretty different from back home.”

0 Viktor Volkov, Crotalus I'm already bored. 0 Viktor Volkov, Crotalus 0 5

Ginny
June 27, 2013 10:04 PM

Ginny
Peripheral
Written by: Amelle Nicchi

And it shows! by Ginny
Ginny wasn’t sure what drew her to the quieter first years but it was apparent by …T.L. (?)’s greeting that he was not comfortable. Ginny was a happy person by nature. Everything intrigued her and she constantly needed to know what was going on. She enjoyed people. She loved chatting. She loved adventure. Of course, she had to do it all without leaving the protective box of being proper. That was incredibly hard to do. Ginny wanted to run around and explore everything. She wanted to ask a million questions in hopes that it would satiate her need for understanding. She wanted to throw her hands up and jump around when she was excited about something. She wanted to get dirty! But she couldn’t because none of those things were lady like. None of those things would represent her family in a positive way. The whole point of her being here and not continue her homeschooling was because the Bellrose name was to be expanded out of Canada and into America.

It was so hard for her to stay still.

But this year, she had met a lot of quiet people. And by a lot, she met two. Well, assuming TL was as equally as shy as Charlotte seemed to be. Looking around now, she easily spotted the girl attached to her brother. Ginny felt sorry for Adam. Even if he didn’t think anything of it, he would never really have a life of his own whenever his sister was around. He’d always be at her demand. Ginny tried to like the girl and it not liking someone was not something that easily happened to her, but the girl just stood there and didn’t even bother to try. Maybe that just annoyed Ginny. Ginny was trying hard to be kind and not getting a response in return. Yes, that was it. Ginny was annoyed by her. Hopefully, that changed into something more positive as she got to know her.

Trying to not let one bad first impression ruin this one, Ginny maintained her grin at the first year. He might just be put off by all of this and not really be quiet. “I’m Virginia Bellrose, but you can call me Ginny.” She greeted. She nodded when he pointed to a ‘corner’ to begin their work and immediately started in that direction. “T.L. what does that stand for?” She asked out of curiosity. She had never known anyone who simply went by initials. Well, assuming they were initials and his family didn’t actually name him T.L., which she thought was super weird. “Oh, you were right, it is Lavender!” Ginny exclaimed, finding the purple plant easily enough. “I would’ve walked right on by it.”

6 Ginny And it shows! 0 Ginny 0 5

Julian U.
June 28, 2013 4:07 PM

Julian U.
Alumnus
House: Teppenpaw
Written by: Grayson Wright

Age in Post: 12
Birthday: December 12

Come on, this is going to be fun! by Julian U.
Julian suspected the dangers of intemperate friendliness when the first year introduced himself, but kept smiling. “I’m Julian Umland,” she said. “Moscow, huh? And I thought Calgary seemed a long way away, that’s where I’m from.”

Geography wasn’t Julian’s strongest point, but she was pretty sure that Moscow was further away from Sonora than Calgary thanks to that whole ‘Pacific Ocean’ business. Unless, of course, it was some kind of ‘Paris, Texas, Athens, Georgia’ kind of thing, in which case she guessed she was about to look really silly. Still, everyone did, sooner or later, so if it happened, she’d apologize and move on. It wasn’t really something to linger over for long or worry too much about.

She noted daisies on her own sheet. “I’m a second year,” she said. “It’s…not exactly like my home, either, but it’s usually good here. I’ve really enjoyed it so far. I’m in Teppenpaw, we’re sort of the fun, laid-back House.” For which she was grateful. There were things worth being intense about, but everything wasn’t, and taking everything too seriously didn’t seem to be much of a Teppenpaw problem, at least from what she had seen. “Okay, so, arrowhead’s a water plant I know, so we should look for water if we’re going to look for that,” she added, remembering lessons from last year. “So that means going down any hills we see, I guess. I’m glad I don’t care about messing up these clothes and shoes too much.” Her sense of fashion – or rather, total lack thereof – had probably done irreparable damage to Charlie’s soul over the past year and was probably corroding his faith in humanity at this very moment, but it had its benefits.

“Do you spend a lot of time outdoors?” she asked. “Or around plants or anything?”

16 Julian U. Come on, this is going to be fun! 254 Julian U. 0 5

Chloe
July 03, 2013 4:52 PM

Chloe
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Written by: Amelle Nicchi

I'm better at those than this. by Chloe
Well, so far Malcolm did not seem terribly upset at her for knocking him over. That was good. And he didn’t seem perturbed by the encounter to consider it a terrible first impression. That was a bonus. When she met Viktor in flying, she was pretty sure he had not been impressed with her, but really! It wasn’t her fault. Chloe rarely flew and the school broom was older than she had realized it to be. She just needed an extra moment to bond with it and to get it to follow her instructions. She didn’t actually run into him as she had with Malcolm. But she could still feel that he thought less of her for not having full control over the broom to begin with. She hadn’t let that bother her any though and they managed to make the most of the remaining first lesson. She planned on doing that with Malcolm now that Emery had abandoned them.

“Oh, I’m sure it wasn’t really a pleasure to meet me.” Chloe joked. Who wanted to meet someone by getting knocked to the ground? “I promise though that I shall not chase butterflies around the fake forest though so that I do not trip and fall into you or anyone else for the rest of the class period.” She couldn’t promise him that she wouldn’t unintentionally ram into him in some other way, but at least she could promise that it would not be because of the butterflies.

Chloe’s initial excitement at the idea of lessons dimmed a little when Malcolm stated that Professor Fawcett did not usually have his lessons this way. She knew, in the back of her mind, that this would be the case based on the syllabus that he had initially passed out at the start of the lesson, but Chloe liked to remain hopeful that they would still get the occasional lesson like this. She did perk up though when he mentioned Charms. “An Actress? So cool…” Chloe asked. Theater was something she had only been to once. When her Mother and Emery lived in the Muggle world and her father and her were able to visit, she had been able to see things on the black box – she couldn’t remember the name of it now as it had been a long time – and they had told her that this was how Muggles were able to sometimes see the theater. She liked it very much.

Chloe pulled out her copy of the assignment and looked over what they had marked off. She had lied. They only had three things. They were getting their fourth when she fell. “No I don’t!” She said and marked it off with a quick picture match and number. Did you find the pomegranate over there?” Chloe asked, pointing to a batch of the stuff. “I think we were on our way to Lavender though. Emery said he saw some of that way. Did you want to go there with me? We can check together.” Chloe stated as she started to move. “What are the other classes like?” She asked him, since he already knew what the lessons were like; he had to be a second year student. “Mom said that she used to teach Care of Magical Creatures outside when she was just a teacher, but they don’t do that anymore. That’s a total bummer.” Chloe commented.

6 Chloe I'm better at those than this. 0 Chloe 0 5

Ava Fletcher
July 06, 2013 6:52 PM

Ava Fletcher
Alumnus
House: Aladren
Written by: Mathilde Reinhardt

Age in Post: 11

Yeahh.. So sorry! by Ava Fletcher
"It's okay, I was sitting anyway, so you didn't knock me down or anything. Are you ok?"

Ava nodded in response, "Yeah, I'm used to scrapes. I do it a lot, see? This one's from flying lessons. My..." She paused as she thought how to phrase the next part of the sentence. She decided on the word friend. "My friend knocked me over on accident, he lost control of his broom for a little bit. And see this scar here?" She lifted up her wispy bangs to reveal a small scar on her forehead. "This is because when I was little I thought I could fly and jumped off my grandfather, Papa's roof. Luckily my mom saw me in time and kinda cushioned the fall a bit." Ava giggled.

"Gee-Une," Ava's forehead puckered a little as she tried to pronounce the name. "Is that right?" She was sure it wasn't so she decided Jane would probably be better. "Sorry if I butchered it, maybe I should stick to Jane."

Jane was a pretty name, Ava thought, it was the name of the eldest sister in that book that her grandfather said her grandmother had really liked. Ava could remember pulling it from the shelf one night last summer and asking him to read it to her. Ava missed her grandmother. She had died when Ava was only a baby and so all she had was pictures of her that didn't even move like the ones that came in the newspapers that the owls brought Ava's mother when she was home. Reading her grandmother's favorite book had made her feel closer to her and brought a sense of security Ava felt she'd been lacking. Living only with her grandfather had it's pros and cons. A con was definitely that there was no female around to help her when it came to matters of dress- old dresses made by her grandmother for her aunt when she was a girl didn't fit in with the fashion trends of the day and although Ava liked wearing them she also felt a little left out and old fashioned compared to the other girls who she'd gone to school with.

"That's kind of smart," remarked Ava upon hearing Ji-Eun's explanation for sitting on the ground. "I kind of just dove into it. I was looking for moss when I fell over you and not really looking where I was going. It's kind of a habit- my Papa says I'm spacey."

OOC: So sorry for the late reply! I was out of town!

10 Ava Fletcher Yeahh.. So sorry! 258 Ava Fletcher 0 5

Viktor
July 12, 2013 8:38 PM

Viktor
Peripheral
Written by:

Are you sure? by Viktor
“I suppose it is,” Viktor answered about the distance. “Right now, my father is staying in Canada. If he is still there come midterm, I’m to join him there.” He wasn’t sure how he felt about that. Christmas was the one time that his family felt like an actual family. In the morning, they would open presents in front of the tree and then later they would have a fancy feast with their entire family. They would finish the night with a cup of hot chocolate in front of the family. No other time was like it. And now, he wouldn’t have that. What would they do instead? Would there still be a tree? He didn’t know, but at least it was awhile away before he had to worry about it further.

He was disappointed when he learned that she was in Teppenpaw and her description of it was not exactly encouraging. However, being a second year was a saving grace. She probably knew more than he did since she was in the upper part of beginner classes. Unless, of course, she was really dumb. “I’m in Crotalus. I’m sure you already know the reputation.” He was actually proud of the reputation, but not everyone felt the same way about it, so he would wait to see how she reacted to it first to see how he should proceed. Perhaps, it was the cautious part of being in Crotalus that made him this way.

Viktor was relieved when she said she knew about arrowhead. It meant Julian had half a brain, which was a definite plus. Maybe Teppenpaws weren’t so bad or maybe it was just her. “So, downhill, it is.” His eyes took in her outfit. He hadn’t noticed it before, but he just shrugged. He didn’t care too much about that sort of stuff. “Yeah, me either. Let’s go.” He might not have cared much about appearance, but there were other things to worry about in terms of clothing. Thankfully, his sneakers were fairly steady on the incline so he didn’t fall. “Hey, I think I see some water up ahead.”

“I spend some time outdoors with sports and stuff like that, but not around plants. Actually, I don’t like plants very much. They’re okay in a planter or maybe a garden. I think they get in the way of building things that are actually useful. Guess that means I won’t grow up to work in Herbology or Potions. What about you?” He asked, stopping at the water.

0 Viktor Are you sure? 0 Viktor 0 5

Mal
July 12, 2013 11:16 PM

Mal
Peripheral
Written by:

They can both be hard to see through by Mal
Mal resisted the temptation to tell Chloe to feel free to fall into anyone else she liked. With most people, he would have gone ahead and done it, but she was possibly related to the Headmistress. That meant caution, at least unless he thought of something a lot funnier than that. He didn’t even like these clothes enough to really fuss over them – the beginning of the fall was not his favorite season – and besides, he didn’t want to be in the middle of it if she really did fall into someone else and that person was more irritable about it than he had been.

“We’ll say meeting was introductions,” he suggested instead. Last names were all that really mattered, anyway.

“It’s what Mother said,” he repeated. “I…don’t think she would make that up.” He didn’t think she’d have the imagination, though it was always possible. Mother could describe things very vividly when she wanted to, like a novel, he thought. She read novels, Mother; he had looked at them before because he knew he wasn’t supposed to. It was one more way to make the hours go by in a way which wasn’t too boring to stand. “I’ve never seen her act or anything, but we don’t go to the theater very often.” Mother didn’t approve at all, though Stepmother had taken him and Lu along with her before.

“I hadn’t,” Mal admitted of the pomegranate, since he couldn’t exactly hide that he was writing it down on the paper. He nodded at her offer to team up over the lavender and thought for a moment before responding about their other courses. “Some of the professors try to be entertaining,” he said. “Some don’t. They all act like they care about their work, though.”

For some reason I'm probably better off not knowing, he added mentally. He had never seen exactly how tutors and teachers managed to live with themselves.

He nodded at Creatures. “It is a little more interesting when it’s outdoors,” Mal agreed. Outdoors always held some appeal for him just because Mother was so opposed to letting him go there, though he’d drawn the line at following Arthur’s suggestion that he join the Quidditch team so he could spy on it for the family. They were too intense for his tastes, flying had the same problem of frustrating him because of the contrast between being on something fast and yet still being bounded by a fence that Lucille’s horses did, and Arthur did not pay him well enough to make Mal really go out of his way for him. “It is easier to keep up with all of us in a classroom, though,” he observed. “Make sure everyone’s completing the lesson, you know, that everyone’s playing nicely together. Is that your lavender?” he added, pointing toward some purple flowers and comparing them to his page.

0 Mal They can both be hard to see through 0 Mal 0 5

Julian U.
July 15, 2013 3:41 PM

Julian U.
Alumnus
House: Teppenpaw
Written by: Grayson Wright

Age in Post: 12
Birthday: December 12

Absolutely. by Julian U.
Julian wasn’t quite sure what to make of Viktor’s statements about his uncertain housing arrangements. She had lived in the same house all her life, at least as far as she could remember; the idea of not knowing where she would spent her holidays was strange to her, but maybe his family moved around a lot and didn’t mind. Her mom had cousins who were like that, wandering around and seeming to like it that way.

“Well, if you do, it’s not the worst country to spend Christmas in,” she said cheerfully. “I kind of like it most of the time.” It was cold, but she was pretty sure Moscow had that problem, too.

“Not really, no,” she said of the Crotalus reputation. Most of what she had heard about Crotalus as a House, rather than individual students, was that they really wanted to beat Aladren in Quidditch. She guessed she would get to see that game this year, since Quidditch was back on in general; she was excited for that, and hoped it lived up to the hype. Julian lacked the physical coordination to even dream of playing Quidditch, she’d get killed in the first fifteen seconds, but she had always enjoyed watching it. “Just what’s in the catalogue. All the Crotali I’ve met have been really nice, though.” Admittedly, that mostly just meant Ginny Bellrose, since Crotalus had not gotten a lot of members in their year, but still. The Crotalus girl was generally pleasant, and Julian had no problem with any of the stated characteristics of Crotalus. Literally defined, anyway.

She bit her lip, not sure if it was to keep down a smile or grimace, when he answered her question about the outdoors and she pictured her family’s reactions to it. Her mother, whose love of Muggle literature generally tapered off between Columbus and Newman and then ended again except for Tolkien and a bit of Lewis, in particular would not be amused.

“My family does a lot of camping,” she said, rather than commenting on how her family would probably also promptly give him a nickname somehow relating to Saruman if they got the chance. “And Mom grows what she can in pots, and in the little space we have for a garden. I like plants.” She smiled, beginning to follow the water, looking for anything promising. “I guess useful’s a relative term, isn’t it?”

16 Julian U. Absolutely. 254 Julian U. 0 5