I laugh in the face of morons. on Mirage Chamber

Professor Taransay

December 30, 2016 10:00 AM

I laugh in the face of danger! [COMC Advanced Class] by Professor Taransay

The downside of introducing people to magical creatures in a classroom setting was definitely the fact that Rory now had to consider health and safety. Whilst on his wild adventures with Matthias Gould, safety had been occasionally sacrificed for opportunities, leading to the odd accident, an impressive collection of scars, and finally an unfortunate end to their gallivanting. But danger was something that came with the job, and Matthias and Rory had known this. Risk-free magical creatures tended to be the boring ones, and Rory wasn’t one for boring.

However, being responsible for a group of students meant that Rory had to consider situations a little more carefully. He wanted to provide his students with the opportunity to discover every animal possible, but this wasn’t always practical. It was hardest with his advanced students, who had covered a lot of the safer animals. Rory based his lessons vaguely on the classifications set by the British Ministry of Magic (he was, after all, a British wizard), and that should mean that his advanced students tackled the most dangerous creatures. Unfortunately, that meant it was more difficult to escape theory lessons, especially for the particular creature Rory had decided to cover next. However, with the help of some of his colleagues, he had come up with the ideal solution.

Lethifolds were considered to be very dangerous creatures. Rory had only encountered one once in the wild, and suffice to say it was a memory he didn’t particularly care to revisit (and had left him with an uneasy feeling whenever he saw a meringue). However, they were magical creatures, and were on his syllabus, so his advanced class were due to learn about them. All but two of his students were in Advanced DADA, and he’d spoken to Alfie about his plans. The other professor had assured him that he could reasonably expect the DADA students to produce an at least non-corporeal patronus, and that the non-DADA students had definitely learnt the theory behind the patronus charm, even if their attempts at production hadn’t been successful.

When his students arrived, he immediately informed them that they were relocating, leading them to Cascade Hall and through the portrait of Tavarius Mims to the Mirage Chamber. The room appeared to be a rainforest at night: the perfect conditions for Lethifolds, which could be discovered gliding creepily amongst the foliage.

“Okay, so recently we have been discussing Lethifolds,” Rory reminded his class, bringing their attention back to him. “Unfortunately it’s considered irresponsible for me to put you in real danger, so here in the Mirage Chamber we shall be encountering fake Lethifolds. Can anyone remind me of the only spell that can protect against them?” Rory paused for an answer, and awarded house points to the correct student.

“Now, Professor Pye informs me that you have all studied the basics of patronus charms. Those of you studying Advanced DADA may have a slight advantage over those who do not, so I would like you to get into pairs, making sure those who do not study Advanced DADA are paired with someone who does. Does that make sense?” He waited in case there were any requests for clarification before continuing.

“Okay, it’s time to put what you’ve learnt into practice. Don’t forget that your homework is to write an essay on Lethifolds - use your experiences to inform your writing. So go and defeat your Lethifolds!”

The Lethifolds in the room were not real and, as such, were less powerful than the actual creature. They would not actually have a physical effect, and they required less force to be defeated. Rory was, as ever, on hand to step in if a situation looked like it was getting out of hand, and he was hoping that his pairing instructions would mean that even students unable to produce a patronus would benefit from the experience.

OOC: Information on Lethifolds can be found here: http://harrypotter.wikia.com/wiki/Lethifold . Normal posting and class rules apply, remember to make patronus abilities realistic, and Rory is on hand to help if asked or needed. He will be there if any students have any sort of serious problems.

Subthreads:

I laugh in the face of morons. by Olivier Westley, Crotalus with Lionel Layne, Pecari

I run away. by Aiden O'Neil (Teppenpaw)

I panic (tag Clark) by Araceli Arbon, Crotalus with Clark Dill, Aladren

9 Professor Taransay I laugh in the face of danger! [COMC Advanced Class] 33 Professor Taransay 1 5

Olivier Westley, Crotalus

December 30, 2016 7:56 PM

I laugh in the face of morons. by Olivier Westley, Crotalus

Being a twin was the easiest thing Olivier had ever had to do. Or, at least, it once was. He’d known his role as Lena’s twin (and big brother if only by a few minutes) was to protect her from the true evils of the world. The horrible sounds from his beloved piano teacher still echoed in his head from time to time and there were days where he thought he might have still been in love with her. But he was older now, he was no longer a jaded little child, he was a jaded adolescent, a young adult, and he knew that no matter the rosy picture their parents wanted to paint, the world was not a nice place. How could it be when terrible things happened to good people?

At least Clark Dill, as suspicious as he was, seemed to be somewhat of a decent person. He was an Aladren, which was good—if he’d been a Teppenpaw or a Pecari Olivier didn’t know if he’d be able to handle it. Teppenpaws were naive and idiotic, Pecaris brash and idiotic. There wasn’t a bad thing Olivier could say about Aladren House—Lena was an Aladren after all, and since he himself was in Crotalus and he had a rather high opinion of his abilities and attributes anyone who shared that house with him had to have some decent qualities even if they didn’t display his superior intellect.

In fact, on the subject of houses, there was only one person in all of Sonora that Olivier had met so far who he’d been impressed with and that was Diana Carey. There was something in the confident way she carried herself, something in her manner of speaking that indicated to Olivier she was more than just a brain dead, pureblooded simpering idiot like so many of his other classmates. Diana Carey had something more to her and that intrigued him. It was for this reason that, along with Lena and Clark, Olivier had sent her a candygram as well. Their conversation and turn about the dance floor at the Midsummer Ball the previous year had stuck in his mind and as insipid conversations usually did not stick with Olivier, he decided this must have meant something.

This impression meant that there were now only two people in the entirety of Sonora who he actually wanted to work with. As his twin, Lena was automatically granted privileges others would be hard pressed to receive, but Diana Carey had unwittingly wandered into them and he almost, sort of, begrudgingly respected her for that. However, however, Olivier was not allowed to work with either student that day. Professor Taransay had asked for those students who were in both Advanced Defense and Advanced Care of Magical Creatures to partner with those who had skipped out on the only class which taught them basic survival. Olivier did not want to do this. He thought that people who didn’t feel like learning Defense were complete simpletons whose presence he didn’t want to have to deal with—what kind of idiot thought it was a good idea to skip out classes which taught them how to preserve their own life?!

Unfortunately, Olivier had never been one to show his hatred of the world outright. Perhaps this was why he was so angry—after years of holding in his anger and doing his best not to lash out, he had turned bitter. Towards everything. Perhaps some of it was his personality—after all he had been a rather angry eleven year old and there hadn’t been many traumatising events between the ages of eleven and seventeen. However, however…there had been a time where he hadn’t had any worries, there had been a time where his large smiles were genuine, where he laughed because he thought something was actually funny, where he enjoyed being silly and playing around. Olivier couldn’t remember any of those times.

Biting back derision, he approached Lionel Layne, Pecari. He was rather starved for choice—he could either work with a Teppenpaw or a Pecari and he wasn’t really sure either would be suitable as a partner against a lethifold. In all reality, working with a Teppenpaw would be the best choice for self-survival, however in the real world people weren’t that nice—Olivier was half convinced that Tobi Reinhardt (the Teppenpaw in question) was only putting on a face, similar to the one Olivier himself put on because there was no way that anyone was that…good. Despite his desires to live alone far away from the drain of humanity, Olivier knew that realistically he would have to see and interact with various people on a somewhat regular basis. He planned to stay in touch with Lena and whoever he had found for her to marry, after all, to make sure their children didn’t take after the father. So, in the long term, should he have to battle a lethifold (which was an unlikely event but not improbable) there was more of a chance that his partner (if he was even around someone else which again, unlikely but not improbable) would be more of a Pecari than a Teppenpaw because Teppenpaws weren’t real.

“Hi,” he said with a generous smile, his cheeks dimpling as he thought about his plans for later in the evening—a night alone with the piano and some of his favourite tunes. “Since you’re not in Advanced Defense I thought you might like to partner up. It’s just the Mirage Chamber so nothing bad will happen but just in case.” He gave a little shrug and smiled again. “Of course, I don’t know how many dementors you battle in your spare time—maybe you’re better at the Patronus Charm than myself!” Olivier chuckled a little at his own lame joke to indicate it was all just in jest. How he longed for his room back in Wales, far away from everyone and everything.

Soon, he thought to himself. Soon.

OOC: Information about the classmates taken from the class lists, etc. but since I know my own info was wrong there it's possible others were too and in that case, I apologise!

10 Olivier Westley, Crotalus I laugh in the face of morons. 282 Olivier Westley, Crotalus 0 5

Aiden O'Neil (Teppenpaw)

January 01, 2017 3:58 PM

I run away. by Aiden O'Neil (Teppenpaw)

Care of Magical Creatures class was one of Aiden’s favorite basically because it was typically always a practical lesson and since Aiden was afflicted with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, theory lessons were far harder on him to pay attention to than practical lessons were. Plus, there was no real pressure to learn a spell or anything. Learning about creatures was also just way more fun than other lessons. He knew other lessons were important for his future, but they were just so boring sometimes.

The only thing that Aiden was currently not happy about with Care of Magical Creatures was the fact that they were currently discussing Lethifolds. Those creatures terrified Aiden! They attacked while a person was asleep and devoured them! He didn’t understand why such a thing even existed! Of course, there were a lot of questions he had in that general topic, but that was more of a religious question about things rather than one meant for Care of Magical Creatures. But even so, they were hideous and he found no purpose for them what so ever.

That day things seemed to be switching up because Professor Taransay informed them that they would not be studying in the classroom. Instead, he took them to the Mirage Chamber. The last time that Aiden was in the Mirage Chamber was the year that they had done the challenges. He knew that it used the same sort of magic that the MARS rooms used so that it could transform into whatever you wanted, but it was still a sight to see to walk through the threshold and find himself in a rainforest in the middle of the night. The last time he was here, it had been daylight and a giant maze had been in front of him.

He stood nervously with the rest of the class as he listened to Professor Taransay discuss what the lesson would be about today and as he heard the word ‘Lethifold’, Aiden’s heart dropped. He was supposed to go seek one out (fake or not, they were still terrifying!) and then attempt to do one of the most difficult spells he had ever had to do before (and he still had trouble with it as he could only manage something thicker than a wisp, but not much more than that) to fend it off? Plus he had to do it with another classmate watching him?

This was a catastrophe!

Aiden was rethinking his whole thought process of how much he enjoyed Care of Magical Creatures due to this lesson. Why couldn’t they study something cooler like dragons? They were scary but in an awesome way. Lethifolds were just… frightening.

While the rest of the class seemed to move and figure out partners, Aiden stood still trying to get his heart to stop hammering in his chest and for his palms to not be so sweaty. He felt like he was having a panic attack because of this lesson and if that were to happen there was no way he was going to be able even get a mist for the Patronus and then he would fake die.

He was working out his calming mantra when he was approached and spoken too. Aiden turned to the person and frowned, “Pardon?” He asked, having missed everything that they had spoken. “I was thinking about something and missed what you said.”

6 Aiden O'Neil (Teppenpaw) I run away. 287 Aiden O'Neil (Teppenpaw) 0 5

Araceli Arbon, Crotalus

January 03, 2017 5:07 PM

I panic (tag Clark) by Araceli Arbon, Crotalus

Araceli had always loved animals. They also seemed to usually like her, which she found to be generally encouraging. Animals were more straightforward than people - if you had a good heart, they tended to respond well to you. Animals didn’t judge you or try to manipulate or take advantage of you. The fact that animals tended to like her was also therefore a positive endorsement and much needed ego boost. It meant she was good - the opposite of what she often felt after all the lies she’d been embroiled in.

Unfortunately, advanced Care of Magical Creatures was a little more… intense. She had missed a lot of the more pleasant intermediate animals when she’d been at CASMA, and Delphine had got to have them instead. Apparently, they hadn’t generally taken well to her, unsurprising given that she was a physical embodiment of mistrust and deception. Her sister had put on a brave face in the class, done her best to be enthusiastic about the animals, and make beautiful sketches, show the passion and excitement for them she was supposed to feel as Araceli, but any time they’d had to get close and hands on, it had often been apparent the animals didn’t exactly feel the same way. It had been easier with dozy creatures with Nifflers, who were more interested in gold than people, and ok with some animals that were a bit edgy with everyone. Delphine had faked illness during any practical lessons with Kneazles.

She followed the rest of the class down to the Mirage Chamber with a sinking heart. They’d been discussing Lethifolds in class, and so it was a fairly easy guess as to what they’d be seeing in here… At least they wouldn’t be real, but she didn’t understand why she was seeing them in this class. This was called Care of Magical Creatures. No one wanted to care for Lethifolds. They just wanted to keep them at bay. That sort of creature belonged in Defence Against the Dark Arts. Which, to be fair, she also took, so it wasn’t that she was totally adverse to dangerous subject matter, she just didn’t want it here. This was meant to be a happy place.

As the class was started, she found herself gravitating towards Clark, in spite of the Professor’s directions for Defence students to pair with non-Defence ones. There were more who did both anyway, so clearly there were allowed to be some pairs of both. It was a somewhat subconscious decision, but she did know that she liked Clark. She wasn’t entirely sure why, or where it had come from. It was all a bit silly really, she supposed. They’d had a little exchange here or there, like when she checked out books and he was on library duty. She knew that Clark could never be anything to her, and perhaps that made it safer and easier to daydream beyond those encounters and to expand them into more than they really had been, because she knew that she would never have to face the reality of a more intimate relationship with him, and therefore did not have to run the risk of being let down and disappointed. Relating to her ideals of a person was much, much easier than actually engaging with the real thing.

Not that she liked him romantically. But he was such a kind and gentle person. She thought that people who had those traits were often undervalued and deserved to have them acknowledged more. It was why she had sent him the candycane last year. She had thought about trying to explain on it that she wasn’t trying to court him or appear romantic but that had seemed too rambly and strange to put on the candycane note, and so she had just left it plain and simple, and hoped it wouldn’t cause misinterpretation or embarrassment. He already had a girlfriend, and she didn’t want to cause upset between people who were happy together.

But now, as she felt threatened and endangered, she gravitated towards the person who made her feel safe. Her reasons for liking Clark may have not cast him in the strongest, most masculine light, they may not have made him a likely hero to fight off Lethifolds. But she trusted him. She trusted him to be caring and careful, which were characteristics she had been able to ascribe to very few people in her life, and even fewer men.

“M-may I work with you please?” she asked Clark politely, already edging slightly closer to him, not quite at so extreme an angle as back to back, but certainly at a degree that gave them a greater scope of vision. She wasn’t quite sure how they were meant to work as a pair on the project, other than just by being extra eyes for each other. And it being more comforting to be with someone, which probably helped with being in the right state of mind for a patronus.

“Expecto patronum!” she jumped, before Clark had had a chance to reply, at a Lethifold that was still a few too many feet away to really be considered a threat. A silver spray burst from her wand, the head and shoulders of a skittish fawn briefly rising from the mist, but it petered out before it reached the lethifold, which merely continued to glide towards a different pair. “S-sorry… I… I guess that was um, unnecessary,” she apologised, and not very good anyway she mentally added.

13 Araceli Arbon, Crotalus I panic (tag Clark) 290 Araceli Arbon, Crotalus 0 5

Lionel Layne, Pecari

January 09, 2017 9:39 PM

Less dangerous than laughing in the face of danger. by Lionel Layne, Pecari

Lionel’s family had been puzzled by his decision not to take Defense Against the Dark Arts after his CATS. Lionel did not know why. He was a wizard of unimportant family and mediocre magical and intellectual skill and the odds of anyone ever seriously wishing to practice the Dark Arts on him were slim to none so long as he remained smart enough not to get entangled with his cousin’s in-laws. Since he thought he was going to remain that smart for a pretty long time, Defense would have therefore just been a difficult class tacked on for the prestige, which Lionel, being of unimportant family and mediocre talents, did not much need. Defense was not something he was going to have a lot of practical uses for in his life.

Or, to be more specific, his life outside Sonora. Somehow, the minute Professor Taransay reminded the class that they had been discussing lethifolds in class, Lionel knew that this was one of those occasions where Defense Against the Dark Arts could have helped him out. He had to grin when the professor prefaced a comment about not being allowed to put the students in mortal danger with the word ‘unfortunately’; whether he was serious or not, he definitely had a touch of Pecari in him.

He didn’t grin long, though. The setting was creepy, and not just because it was dark, foggy, and presumably full of things that would make convincing-looking attempts to kill him in the near future. There was something just a little unsettling about just how adaptable and how realistic this room was; the last time Lionel had seen it, it had been a maze, and now it was a rainforest. Or at least it looked like one. The fact it was called the Mirage Chamber made him think the room might just be messing with his head. Interesting, fun, but a little unsettling if one thought about it too long. Lionel decided not to think about it too long.

Before he could look for a partner, one presented himself. Olivier Westley, Crotalus, the one with the sister who had worn the…interesting…dress to the Ball last year. Lionel guessed it made him a bit of a jerk that the first thing he thought about when he thought about Lena Westley was what she’d worn to the Ball last year, but he was not sure how he could avoid it. He was, however, positive that he shouldn’t mention it to her brother.

Olivier was, he thought, an interesting one. He was always smiling, charming-looking, but as far as Lionel could tell, he had no close friends. Of course, that was true of a lot of Crotali – the best of them were reserved, the worst paranoid; his cousin hadn’t had close friends, either – but Isaac, for instance, hadn’t smiled so much. Or maybe Lionel was just comparing Isaac to his older sister; compared to Alicia, everyone probably looked disinclined to smiling.

“It’s the state hobby in South Carolina,” said Lionel, joking back about his lethifold-battling experience. “But you know, it’s a team sport, so sure,” he added. “Suppose we should yell when we see one and both have at it?” he asked, raising his wand.

16 Lionel Layne, Pecari Less dangerous than laughing in the face of danger. 283 Lionel Layne, Pecari 0 5

Clark Dill, Aladren

January 13, 2017 4:41 PM

I try to help others by Clark Dill, Aladren

If Clark had been going to drop a class, it probably would have been Creatures. Life sciences were neither his strength nor his passion, but he had been able to drop enough clubs to keep all his classes without too much stress, and Creatures just kept getting more interesting the higher level you got, so he was glad he was still here. The current unit was Lethifolds, which were pretty creepy, but Clark slept well knowing they were a solid hemisphere away from him.

He was glad, therefore, when Professor Tarnasay instructed them to follow him to the mirage chamber because that meant nobody was mad enough to bring a thing of that risk level anywhere near teenagers. Clark really liked the Mirage Chamber and was of the personal opinion that it did not get utilized often enough. Here was basically Wizard VR: all the learning opportunities, none of the danger, And wizard reality had a terrible amount of danger in it that ought to be explored virtually, where it was safe to do so.

As the professor went over the details of the lesson- what few details there were- Clark was vaguely aware of Araceli moving closer, but had mostly dismissed it as her trying to get a better view of something or other in the chamber. His own eyes kept getting drawn toward the shadows of the tropical environment, knowing there were lethifolds out there, fake or not.

Clark had no desire to be fake-consumed today.

Consequently, he was a bit surprised when Araceli asked to partner him for the lesson. Then a shadow made her jump and cast her patronus at a lethifold that was a bit too far away to trouble or be troubled by them. She apologized for her jumpiness and Clark shook his head, smiling reassuringly, "No, it's fine. Better safe than sorry, especially with these things."

He didn't have a clear memory of drawing his wand, but it was in his hand now, so he pointed out toward the trees surrounding them, watching for another gliding shadow to approach. "They usually attack sleeping prey, so I don't know if we want to pretend to nap to draw one into an ambush, or just wait for one to get too close."

Another one moved in their direction and Clark tracked it with his wand, waiting to see if it came within range, "Though there seem to be enough of them that ambushes may be unnecessary."

The creature moved within ten feet of them and Clark stuck his wand toward it, bringing to mind his First Drive in His Own Car memory, the feel of freedom and accomplishment, for having a license at 16 and the transformation of a broken down car he'd bought with his own money and gotten working with his own two hands. It had been a good day, a day that stood out almost as a rite of passage. And dad had treated him to a waffle cone.

"Expecto Patronum!" he cast and a silvery white mist shot out of his wand and coalesced into a corporeal patronus. This might have made him feel prouder of himself if its form had been something fierce or protective like a lion or a bear or, most ideally, a hawk like Aladren's mascot, but it wasn't. No, that nearby lethifold was chased away by a semi-transparent glowing giraffe.

He glanced over at Araceli to see what she made of his protector's form as it dissipated into the more mundane tropical mist of the rainforest. "It's tall," he said, a little defensively, not quite sure if this was supposed to be an explanation for how it represented him, or a way to justify how it might be construed as vaguely intimidating to anything it was supposed to protect him from.

1 Clark Dill, Aladren I try to help others 277 Clark Dill, Aladren 0 5

Araceli

January 14, 2017 6:19 AM

That will come in very handy about... NOW by Araceli

“Thanks,” she said quietly, and with a slight smile, as Clark reassured her that her actions hadn't been totally ridiculous and laughable. It said a good deal about how low she had been forced to set her baselines for positive human interactions that not laughing in her face counted as such with her. Not that she had thought Clark would. Clark was too nice.

“I would prefer to just wait,” she ventured, when Clark asked what they ought to do. The thought of closing her eyes and attempting to bait a Lethifold was not a very appealing one. For all that she trusted Clark, and knew that this wasn't real, it didn't seem sensible. She'd grown up around enough magic to know how dangerous it could be, and that taking unnecessary risks was not a good course of action. Clark seemed to reach this conclusion too, though his assumption that there were enough Lethifolds that they were bound to be targeted sooner or later didn't exactly make her jump for joy.

It's not real. It's not real, she repeated the mantra over and over again in her head but it was hard not to feel a little prickle on the back of her neck, and to keep scanning all around. It was Clark, however, who was closest when one began gliding their way, and who quickly produced a perfect corporeal patronus.

She smiled at it, not just because it had protected them from the Lethifold, but because there was something charming about it, long limbed yet galloping gracefully. She had always thought giraffes were beautiful creatures. Not that she planned on telling Clark that. A patronus was a very intimate part of a witch or wizard. It was a representation of their soul. Certainly, one should never insult another person's patronus, that would be the height of rudeness, but to compliment it in such a way seemed far too personal.

It's tall.

She wasn't sure what to make of Clark's comment. Was she imagining a hint of something like irritation in his voice? She was startled. She didn't think of Clark as an irritable person, and she wasn't sure what she might have done to induce such an emotion. However, she was far too used to being on the other end of people's displeasure to conclude that she might merely be imagining or misreading his emotion.

“Um. Yes,” she hedged nervously. As conversations went, it was bizarre even by her standards... Giraffes are tall. Yes. But she wasn't really sure what else to say. She couldn't talk about how graceful or sweet or gentle she thought it was, or how she liked it much more than some fierce and roaring beast, because that was like telling Clark he had a graceful, gentle or sweet soul, or a soul that she liked, and even the thought of saying such a thing made her ears burn with embarrassment. When she had done it with the candycane note, she hadn't been nearly so intimate in her compliments, and she had had the benefit of anonymity.

“It was a very well-cast patronus,” she ventured, deciding that complimenting the spell-casting was much safer territory. “You must be good at thinking happy thoughts,” she blurted before she had really thought about it. Not only was that another deeply personal subject, but it might invite unfortunate comparisons. She winced internally at the insight into her own psychology that she had inadvertently given Clark... As if to underline the point, to make sure he didn't miss that painfully personal admission, another Lethifold turned towards them at that moment. Araceli tried to focus, to screw her happiness to the sticking spot... The memory that came most easily to mind was when Makenzie had thrown her arms around her when they'd met by not-quite-chance at her family's ball. She had been disguised as her own fictional distant cousin, but Makenzie had known her, by the necklace she'd given her in their first year. Had known her and forgiven her, loved her and valued her implicitly. It had been a real heart full-to-bursting moment of happiness, although it was somewhat complicated and clouded by how closely it was tied to the rest of that mess, which still burnt a hole in her soul – the burden of carrying such a secret, of what part she had played in lying to and manipulating other people. Other people, who still didn't know, and might end up marrying her-

“Expecto patronum,” she cast, trying to just focus on the positives, the feeling of Makenzie's friendship. The start of a fawn made its appearance again. Again it petered out. The Lethifold, which had paused slightly on the appearance of the half-deer, began moving forward again.

“No... expecto- expecto patronum!” it was less powerful the second time as panic crowded into the melee of emotions, further squeezing out the space for happiness.

“Expect- oh, help!” she squeaked to Clark, as she gave up on being able to drive the thing off by herself.

13 Araceli That will come in very handy about... NOW 290 Araceli 0 5

Clark

January 18, 2017 4:14 PM

Being helpful to others by Clark

Clark felt a little bad for the criticism he had made toward his own patronus when he was reminded that Araceli didn't have a full form one of her own. It was kind of like complaining about his lunch to an undernourished person. He made a note not to do it again. Giraffe or not, he was lucky that he had the memories that helped it form fully. Heck, he had must enough goodness and happiness in his past that it could not be contained in a tiny hawk or sleek tiger. No, he needed a giraffe, the tallest land creature on Earth.

On that note, he was also lucky his patronus form was, well, from Earth. It would have been mighty hard to explain if he cast the spell and got a bludger charger around trying to destroy his enemies. Clark took a moment to be grateful his dad had played Seeker instead of Beater and Snitches were intelligent beings rather than alien beasts.

The moment was shattered by Araceli trying to defend them from another Lethifold . . . and failing. Clark stepped between them, secure in his knowledge that their lives were not actually in danger. He liked to believe he would be this brave under real circumstances but lacked the genuine fear and urge for self-preservation to be able to swear it would go down like this.

"Expecto Patronum!" he cast, not quite bellowing it out, but certainly speaking the incantation at a higher volume and deeper voice than before, as the threat was more imminent and there was less room for failure. There needed to be power behind it this time, and another good memory.

He went for the big guns, the sure fire remembrance that could never fail him.

Arms wrapped around him, holding him almost too tightly and they shook just a little. "I was so worried." The voice trembled, just enough to notice. "I thought- I'm so glad you're okay."

There was a pause, a brief one while his father took in a slightly shuddering breath. "I love you, Clark," Dad said. "I love you so so much." He didn't say it often, didn't hug often, preferring to show his affection by sharing teaching moments and field trips and offering compliments. So when he did say it, when he did hug, like he did the first time Clark came home from Sonora as an Aladren, after the school had been cut off for half a year from the rest of the world, that was a big deal. That was everything.

The giraffe sprang from his wand fully formed charging down the threatening Lethifold and the mere shade of the real thing sundered under the glowing giraffe's pounding hooves.

Okay, giraffes were maybe a little bit awesome, after all.

1 Clark Being helpful to others 277 Clark 0 5

Olivier

January 19, 2017 1:42 AM

Morons are the true danger of the world. by Olivier

Olivier laughed at Lionel’s joke, it was the sort of thing he might have found funny if a Pecari hadn’t been the one to say it and so he supposed that the laughter that left his mouth was almost real. “Suppose that might alert it to where we are,” he speculated nicely. “Perhaps we ought to give some sort of gesture instead of channelling our inner William Wallace?” And he realised why it was that working with Pecaris in Defence Against the Dark Arts (and now Care of Magical Creatures, too, apparently) was not a good idea.

The one good thing about working with a partner, however, was that Olivier’s own, personal failure with the patronus charm was likely to be less noticeable as his partner might be too focused on his own happy memory to notice that Olivier himself didn’t have sufficient memories to last him. He had managed a rather weak patronus during their last patronus defence class, the non-corporeal white mist which came out of his wand had lingered seconds longer than any other patronus he’d managed to produce thus far and now, partnered with a lowly Pecari and about to face a mirage of lethifolds Olivier was actually starting to doubt himself.

Olivier had never doubted himself before. Maybe it was the dark aura of the room, maybe it was his realisation that he was inferior in one area to several of his classmates like Clark Dill who was able to produce a perfectly complete patronus. Should he give Lionel a jovial warning? He didn’t like to admit weakness, but perhaps it was the sort of thing a nice, friendly guy like Olivier Westley, Crotalus would do. Before he had a chance to make his final decision, however, a lethifold appeared and he drew on that one, sole memory which had created that burst of white light only days before.

“Expecto patronum!” he cast towards the lethifold, not looking to see how well Lionel had done in fear his hadn’t matched up at all, and watched as his abstract spell dissolved before him almost as though as it was being eaten by the lethifold. His happy memory, it seemed, was tainted. The notes still lingered in his head even as his mind’s eye saw those long, pale fingers fluttering over the ivory and black keys, a tinkling laugh accompanying the pretty music as two chubby, childlike hands reached out in an attempt to join in.

“Olivier, patience,” the musical voice was saying. “You’ll have your turn soon.”

OOC: Olivier has recently gotten rather philosophical... he had several other titles he wanted to go with as well but were too long.

10 Olivier Morons are the true danger of the world. 282 Olivier 0 5

Araceli

January 25, 2017 8:15 PM

Feeling undeserving by Araceli

“Thank you,” Araceli said, sincerely but somewhat abashedly, her cheeks glowing a little red, once the Lethifold had safely been repelled.

“I-I suppose they make me panic, a bit,” she added. It was, she thought, true. She definitely wasn’t feeling very comfortable in this class, although she knew it wasn’t really the reason - not the main reason - but, although she felt bad for lying to Clark, she didn’t want him to probe at or guess the truth of just how deeply unhappy she was. Anyway, what was one more lie after everything she’d been involved in? She was already such a bad person, did it matter to make herself any worse? Wasn’t there a point so low that you couldn’t come back from it, couldn’t retain a good, clean soul however hard you tried? Maybe her malformed patronus wasn’t just a reflection of her misery but of how tainted she was by everything she had colluded to.

It was still a pitiful excuse. She was a witch, a Pureblooded witch who was supposed to be able to cast spells as deftly as she was she could complete a waltz or a curtsey. And here she was, relying on someone else to defend her. And, she realised, not just anyone… She thought her father might have forgiven her questionable performance in the class had she allowed a nice, noble young man to step in and save her. Boys liked to do that kind of thing for a girl. But she had had to be rescued by someone of lower birth. She felt mean even thinking it, because she liked Clark, and was in that moment very, very grateful for his presence. She just had to hope her father didn’t ask for too much detail about her year when she got home… He had ways, homemade lemonade mostly, of making her talk. Sometimes a brief assurance that all was well was sufficient. Or had been for Effie, who he had trusted after her first few years in school. She wondered, rather doubtfully, whether she was trusted yet, to give her own version of events.

13 Araceli Feeling undeserving 290 Araceli 0 5