Blending In... on Elective Hall

Anne Wright

January 07, 2006 11:31 AM

The Virtues of Doing One's Homework by Anne Wright

Anne liked Astronomy. It involved books more than it involved practical applications, she was able to memorize instead of demonstrate, and Professor Dione's discipline had won her approval early on. It showed professionality and strength of character, in her estimation, and no matter that there were very few people on this planet overly concerned with her opinion.

However, the cold was not looked on with the same fondness. It was with a great deal of shivering and muttering that she made her way into the tower classroom, her hands aching with cold, her face completely numb, and, she felt sure, her robes frozen into a solid sheet of forest-green ice. Anne had never believed that people's teeth really did chatter when they were cold, but hers were doing so now. She could no longer quite remember why she had been disappointed to discover that Care of Magical Creatures had been moved indoors. It never got this cold at home. Never.

Slipping into her accustomed seat, Anne took out her supplies and readied herself to take notes. Her enthusiasm faded a little when Professor Dione didn't seem to be in the best of moods, but she quickly shrugged it off. The class cancellations had probably not been a big hit among the teachers, and they were behind. She hated being behind almost as much as she hated losing. Her hand was half-raised to offer information about Jupiter when first a Teppenpaw and then the Crotalus who had gotten in trouble last lesson beat her to it. A look towards the Crotalus made Anne think she was one of Gwen's ex-friends. The Professor's eyes lingered on Miss Tallow when she asked if anyone knew anything about Saturn, but Anne still raised her hand.

"The sixth planet from the sun is Saturn," she said, slightly annoyed by the precise, recitational tone of her voice. "It's listed as one of the so-called 'Gas Giants'. As the name implies, Saturn is made largely of gases. It's particularly famous for the rings surrounding it." She decided not to add that she had said all she could remember off the top of her head. Shutting up would make the point clearly enough. \n\n

16 Anne Wright The Virtues of Doing One's Homework 59 Anne Wright 0 5

Gwenhwyfar Carey

January 07, 2006 5:31 PM

Blending In... by Gwenhwyfar Carey

The return of classes had been a relief. It was much easier to pretend that nothing had changed in a crowd of people than it was in a mostly deserted common room. She knew there was gossip - in a place like Sonora, there was no way there could not be - but it was easier to deal with this way. It was easier to blend in with a crowd than with a wall.

She chose the seat at the far left of the second row, a good position for not being noticed and having as few neighbors as possible, and preoccupied herself with straightening her supplies on the desk until class began. She shivered involuntarily when Professor Dione mentioned the classroom being uncomfortable and tugged her cloak a little closer around her. Another layer of clothing could be found beneath her cloak, robes, and outfit, and she had worn the warmest things she had, but she was still sure a few of her fingers and one foot were going to secede from their appropriated limbs before the end of term. On the whole, she thought she liked mud storms better. At least they weren't cold.

It took an effort of will to remove her right hand from the folds of her cloak to write down what the Teppenpaw girl said, earning her a very quickly thrown dark look when Professor Dione contradicted it. Her eyes snapped towards the board as her expression went wooden when Dione called on the class' next informant. She and Asher still weren't speaking, and she had no intentions of breaking first. She was a Carey. Careys didn't need anyone. She took down the notes once Professor Dione asserted that they were correct, wrote down the professor's additions, and returned her hand to its previous position beneath her cloak, only to see it pulled out again when Anne volunteered information on Saturn.

She had read the chapter, but had no intentions of speaking up unless forced to do so. She was going to keep her head down and her mouth shut for the rest of term. That was the plan, and she was sticking to it. There really wasn't another way. Head down, mouth shut. \n\n

0 Gwenhwyfar Carey Blending In... 63 Gwenhwyfar Carey 0 5

Lily and Kaylie

January 07, 2006 6:24 PM

Long-lost relations... by Lily and Kaylie

Lily rolled her eyes when some firstie from Teppenpaw began to spout off about Jupiter. What a little know-it-all , she thought. Astronomy had to be the most boring class. Oh, she might have found it interesting if she were still in a Muggle school where all the classes were like this one, but here at Sonora, it paled in comparison to the others.

She had settled back in her chair when she suddenly realized who was sitting next to her....Kaylie.

Lily had learned who she was, but had not spoken to her yet. From what she'd observed, mostly in class, her cousin was a silly girl who had little interest in her studies. Currently, Kaylie was playing with her and staring off into space. Lily quickly scribbled a note to her,

She flung the note on the other girl's desk while the professor scolded a Crotalus firstie for playing with a puzzle box.

Kaylie noticed the piece of paper on her desk. A note for her? Cool! Astronomy was sooo BORING, this would liven it up. She opened it up. Her eyes widened and a bright grin spread over her face, when she saw who it was from. She wrote an enthusiastic greeting back, and put it on Lily's desk.\n\n

11 Lily and Kaylie Long-lost relations... 45 Lily and Kaylie 0 5

Connor Pierce

January 07, 2006 10:28 PM

I'm back, by Jove! by Connor Pierce

Connor had heard that the Astronomy classroom hadn't come out of the mud storm in very good shape, but if that was true, it had been repaired so well that he couldn't tell the difference. The mobile was still floating overhead, and things looked to be pretty much back to normal. Sliding into a middle-section seat, he began writing down some of the information on Jupiter from the board, stopping periodically to flex his fingers. Extreme cold was not an asset when trying to write legibly without ending up with frostbite, and he felt perfectly justified in ditching quills until things warmed up again.

No kidding, Connor thought dryly when Professor Dione commented on the weather making her room uncomfortable. He could only attribute it to fate that he had tossed a coat into his trunk when packing on his last night at home, because no one in their right mind would expect it to get this cold anywhere in Arizona, never mind in the middle of the Painted Desert. Luck had been on his side that day, at least. He flipped to the chapter on Jovian planets, wondering why the glue had yet to freeze and crack.

The Dalila girl he had met not long before Christmas jumped in with an answer. Dione called out one of the Crotalus girls who had been playing with what looked like some kind of Rubik's Cube and made her recite more facts about Jupiter. Anne Wright then rattled off a bit about Saturn in a prim, smart-sounding kind of voice. Either she didn't notice the stare Dione was giving Tallow for information, or she had just decided to ignore it and plow on anyway. It fit with his idea of her. He was just going to keep his mouth shut and let the others get on with it. The art of pretending to read from the textbook was one learned early by public school kids where he came from. \n\n

0 Connor Pierce I'm back, by Jove! 68 Connor Pierce 0 5

Catherine Raines

January 07, 2006 11:47 PM

Spring Dreams... by Catherine Raines

Catherine didn't think she was her Head of House's least favorite student, but she did think she was fairly high on the list. She and Dione had clashed on the first day, and something told her that Dione's opinion of her had gone up no more than hers of Dione. Which was to say, not at all. If she hadn't been so determined to keep out of trouble for her father's sake, she would have attempted skipping, but it wasn't worth it. Not yet, anyway.

The expression 'Jovian planets' was met with a blank look, as was the question about the fifth planet from the Sun. The only thing the woman had said that she understood was the part about the room being uncomfortable, and she hadn't needed Dione to tell her that. She did open her book to a spot at random, not bothering to feel guilty about having never looked at the chapter in question. There was no point in it, and the combination of some loudmouthed Teppenpaw and Dione's dislike of Tallow combined to make her inconspicuos. In this class, at least, that was more of an asset than a disadvantage. Leaning back in her seat, she tucked her gloved hands into the pockets of her cloak and fixed her gaze on the edge of her desk, thinking about the lovely spring wardrobe Daphne was preparing for her and what a shame it would be if Sonora's weather troubles made her unable to wear it. \n\n

0 Catherine Raines Spring Dreams... 66 Catherine Raines 0 5

Professor Dione

January 08, 2006 1:44 AM

This isn't a time to be social by Professor Dione

Being an astronomy professor, sharp eyesight was definitely beneficial. Picking out constellations requires a keen eye as well as knowledge of its general location in the sky. Really, did these girls honestly think they could pass notes without her noticing? As she walked back to the front of the class after speaking with Miss Tallow, she spotted the paper being passed from Kaylie’s desk to Lily’s far too quickly to be Astronomy notes. This raised Dione’s interest…and her suspicions.

Dione slowed her steps, stopping right behind Lily’s desk and leering over her shoulder at the paper. Nothing on the jovian planets or the planets in general. Had Dione been in a slightly better mood, perhaps she would have just taken the paper, given them both a stern look, and thrown the note away. Not today. Her room was freezing, she was behind in her lesson plan, and her patience was far from spent. “I see you and your neighbor have made some extra insights on today’s lesson. Perhaps you would like to share them with the class.”

Two things were very evident about her statement. First was that she knew that neither of them would like to share their note with their peers. The second was that it was far from a request. It was an order.\n\n

0 Professor Dione This isn't a time to be social 0 Professor Dione 0 5

Regina Parker, Teppenpaw

July 05, 2012 9:19 PM

Hm... let's see how this works. by Regina Parker, Teppenpaw

Reggie still wasn’t really sure if it was right that she was here in the Divinations considering she had never had any intentions of taking it before and she missed her third year in the class, but Derry and Maddie both said that it should be fine and since the Professor was new, it was like they were all starting from scratch. Reggie was more accepting of this explanation than she was of anything else. Like, if Professor Mathers had still been there, Reggie was pretty sure she never would have played with the idea of joining at all. That wasn’t anything mean against Professor Mathers’ or anything, but Reggie knew that she wouldn’t have entered into a class that was already established. Even if she wasn’t trying to figure out who exactly she was.

Reggie sat in a free seat and tried to look like she belong there all along. It was a little strange being in a same class as seventh years, she didn’t think she had ever had any classes with them before (but she didn’t really remember much from her 1st year, so she could very well be wrong) and she felt a little intimidated by them. How strange. Reggie didn’t think older students had ever really bothered her before. But then, she had never had to show off any of her skills or lack there of before in front of them. It was a bit scary.

The Fourth year Teppenpaw watched the new teacher with interest. Reggie always liked to think of professor personalities and often found herself thinking up inane stories of their lives at home. Her father said that she had an overactive imagination, but it sure would come in handy for the Concert this year. She doubted anyone else could pull off a Zombie movie… Well, maybe they could, but whatever.

“Regina Parker, best known as Reggie, I’m a Fourth year…” Reggie paused for a moment, wondering what it is that she should tell the teacher. There was no way she could tell the entire class that she was a Bellrose (an old Pureblood family from Canada made famous for their line of Seers) by blood and had recently discovered that there was a possibility that her dreams were actually bits of the future. For one, she would be laughed at because, honestly, who believes that stuff? And two, her mother had asked her not to say anything. She was okay with her close friends knowing, but Reggie’s mother felt that outsiders may end up wanting more from her. Like her Bellrose family.

“I decided to take Divinations because I was curious to how it all worked. Is it real or is it not?” Reggie commented. “I used to be skeptical about it all, but recently started thinking otherwise. I am hoping that you’ll be able to show me…everything.”

6 Regina Parker, Teppenpaw Hm... let's see how this works. 187 Regina Parker, Teppenpaw 0 5

Derry Four, Teppenpaw

July 06, 2012 2:51 PM

I am me as you are she and we are all together by Derry Four, Teppenpaw

Derry was looking forward to divinations more than any of his other classes. This was in part because it hadn't been offered the first half of the year and therefore seemed both new and special, and in part because Reggie was taking it now as well. Classes were always better if he could talk about them with Reggie.

When he arrived at class and found some advanced students there, he had to double check that he was in the right place before he remembered that this was supposed to happen for the first class. He sat down with Reggie before someone did and marveled at the size of the class, at least in comparison to last year's intermediate group. He wondered how many other people besides Reggie were taking it new, after the scare of not having the option to take it at all.

"Hi," he greeted the class as a whole when Reggie finished and it became his turn to talk. "I'm Derry Four," this was the name he put on all his homeworks and exams, so he figured it was the proper one to use. "I'm also in Teppenpaw and fourth year. I'm taking the class because I thought it would be fun and I liked it last year with Professor Mathers. My Aunt is also a seer but I don't think I inherited any of those abilities, if my performance last year was anything to go by," he admitted with no trace of shame. He was used to ranking in the lower half of his classes. As long as he passed, his mom didn't yell too much, and Hamlet had a good excuse to keep visiting for tutoring sessions.

1 Derry Four, Teppenpaw I am me as you are she and we are all together 189 Derry Four, Teppenpaw 0 5

Nic Sawyer, Crotalus

July 06, 2012 4:01 PM

May I not do this part? by Nic Sawyer, Crotalus

Nic almost opted not to resume his Divination lessons when the Headmistress announced they would be reinstated. He was having enough trouble juggling the load of his other RATS courses without adding another. Plus, there was no guarantee the new professor would be any good, which was a risk in any class but divinations was especially bad if the teacher thought the subject was bunk or even if they felt the need to justify that it was real magic. If the other students didn't believe in it, that was their loss, but trying to validate the subject just made it look more questionable. Charms professors never had to insist their branch of magic was real.

Besides which, Nic wasn't entirely convinced that magic and the Sight were very closely related anyway. But he might just be biased because his mother was deemed a muggle by most of wizarding society, and even Nic was certain she had never had formal magical training even if she might have had potential when she was eleven.

He had decided, eventually, with the knowledge that Rachel Bauer had previously taken the class, to continue his education in his parents' field. Not because he had any intention of doing anything remotely related professionally, but because some day he might need to know. With both of his parents having the talent, and having had more than a couple hunches come true, he figured, at the very least, Sam would like for him to keep having hunches about which goal to guard in Quidditch.

Plus there would probably be Rachel watching opportunities, which he would like maximize.

So here he was, in a classroom with a bunch of kids, and being asked to speak in front of everyone. He didn't like talking in general, and he really didn't like talking about his parents, so the truthful answer to her questions was right out.

"I'm Nic," he sad succinctly when it came to be his turn. "Sixth year. It's supposed to be an easy grade."

Not what most teachers wanted to hear but maybe it would prevent her from paying too much attention to him. That was the problem with divinators. If they paid attention, they knew far more than he wanted them to know.

But then, he was used to that.

1 Nic Sawyer, Crotalus May I not do this part? 165 Nic Sawyer, Crotalus 0 5

Eliza Bennett, Crotalus

July 07, 2012 5:11 PM

Participation is mandatory, sorry by Eliza Bennett, Crotalus

If she had any sense at all, Eliza knew, she would have dropped this class simply by not returning to it and let it go at that. No one would have called her out on it, or at least not very many, and she wouldn’t have been hugely surprised if it turned out that no one even noticed. She was already having a hard time this year, and adding one more thing to her plate that she didn’t have to was, even she could see, probably not going to be the smartest move she ever made.

In the end, though, she hadn’t been able to make herself really believe any of that, at least not enough to act on it. There was a chance, however small, that someone would remember she had been in this class last year and that they would judge her for not coming back – that they would figure out it wasn’t because it was a stupid class, but rather because she was just afraid that if she came back, it would be the one last thing she needed to drive her into burnout. And anyway, her memories of the previous semester made it seem like she had been, but Eliza was sure that she hadn’t really been that stressed. There had been a million things she could have done better, or done more of, and so forth; she had not been working as hard as she possibly could, which meant her perception of the past four months was probably just her wanting to feel sorry for herself, and like she had done enough when she knew perfectly well that she hadn’t.

So here she was, smiling by reflex and trying to look excited about a new professor instead of like she planned to spend as much of the period as possible scribbling ideas about how to handle other problems on her parchment once she figured out what they were doing for at least a good part of class. This had the advantage of making her even happier she’d grabbed the seat next to Nic’s; her initial thinking had just been that if the lesson turned out to be unusually hard and she had to look dumb in front of someone, it was better him than anyone at Sonora, but now she could also factor in how he was unlikely to rat on her for being off-task if that happened. She planned to give at least half an ear to the other students, since they might say something she could make something of when talking about what they hoped to get out of the class, but honestly, she expected almost every last person in here to lie to try to make a better impression on the teacher.

If someone wasn’t going to do that, though, it figured it would be Nic. Eliza bit her lip to keep from laughing when he said he was there because it was supposed to be an easy grade and had to smooth her face into a smile for an adult in record time since she was next in line. She thought she pulled it off, though. “Hi,” she said. “I’m Eliza Bennett, I’m in fifth year, and – “ with a sick feeling, she realized she had no idea what to say – “I’m here to learn whatever you want to teach me,” she finished in the same upbeat tone with barely a hesitation. Apparently, she was starting off this class with a ditzy persona. She just hoped it didn’t come back to haunt her when the new professor, however her name was pronounced with its credentials, started grading papers; she had always been afraid that teachers did. Everyone else in the world interpreted new things they saw from people based on what they already thought about them, after all – she certainly did – so why not professors? As much as she was sure they all tried to deny it, somewhere under there, they were people, too.

As the attention moved on, she glanced at her friend. “I think you’ll win best answer for the day,” she said very quietly, so as not to draw the professor’s attention from boring, tailored-to-please answers.

0 Eliza Bennett, Crotalus Participation is mandatory, sorry 174 Eliza Bennett, Crotalus 0 5

Professor Agnieszka Lowrski

July 12, 2012 11:16 PM

After student introductions by Professor Agnieszka Lowrski

‘Oh dear. Hmm, that seems to be her new catch phase of late. Wait, back to the program! You can’t drift off like you used to, Agnieszka!’ she nearly raised her hands to smack herself, but stopped when she saw the bored eyes on her. ‘I hope I do look appropriately strict and… well… old.’

As the students went through their introductions one by one, she was thinking to herself. ‘Why do these students have so many preconceived notions of Divination anyway? Sure, being a seer has a much higher chance of getting true visions or whatnot, but then again, I don’t have a drop of Seer blood in my family (or at least I don’t think so) and I’m pretty convinced about the high success rates whether I divine anything. Maybe it’s the influence of the previous teacher? I shall have to ask the Headmistress about this.’

Agnieszka was brought back out of her thoughts by the overwhelming silence. Oh! Apparently they had all finished, and she had only heard the first few introductions! Ah well, not like she was going to give them homework, so she didn’t really need the names.

“Thank you all for the introductions. First, I must admit, I have never formally taught anyone the art of Divination before, so if I make any errors, please forgive me and correct me. Second, I don’t believe in homework. Divination is an art. You either have an affinity for it or you don’t. You may practise it in your free time and show me the results, or you can don’t do so, and just show up for the exams. It’s like painting. You can do it only in class, or you can practise in all your free time. It does have an influence on your accuracy though.”

“Third, I expect you to show up for classes and pay attention. Some of the things I will be teaching might not be tested, but I hope you will still learn about them and maybe use them after you have graduated. Some of you are skeptics, and do not believe that something like divination may be real. It’s not my job to prove it to you; it is something only you can find yourself, like I did.”

“Now, since we have finished with the introductions, does anyone have any questions to ask me? This is your only time to ask me personal questions.”

0 Professor Agnieszka Lowrski After student introductions 0 Professor Agnieszka Lowrski 0 5

Clara Abernathy

December 23, 2013 1:58 AM

Group twelve concert meeting by Clara Abernathy

Clara had spent a lot of time wracking her brain (in between studying, Quidditch practice, Library duty and homework) trying to come up with an act for the concert. She had written down the names of the people who had signed up/been assigned to join her group and looked them over. Out of everyone, she was only really familiar with Charlie, Rupert, Adam and her cousins. Brandon Carey and Duncan Brockert she was unfamiliar with, but them being in her group gave her the chance to fix that problem. Especially since she was fairly certain that they were both in her house. She knew that Brandon at least was since he was also on the house Quidditch team wit her, Adam and Rupert. Despite the fact that the two of them were both alternates this term, they were nevertheless teammates so this worked slightly in her favor. Clara was pretty optimistic about her group for this years concert despite whatever differences they might all have. She was confident they could all work together to make their act a good one.

She had still been trying to come up with a good idea when they had all left for the holidays. She found it quite challenging to come up with something that could not only include everyone in her group, but be something memorable and fun at the same time. She got her idea shortly before they had returned to school and was actually pretty excited about it. She knew that her cousins would totally go for it and back her up and she was pretty sure that Rup would like the idea since it gave them all a chance to be somewhat silly. She did have to admit that the idea did have the potential to be slightly publicly humiliating, but that was only for those of the group who wanted to work in front of the audience. Luckily, some of what she had in mind would need a technical staffing of some sort so not everyone had to be in the limelight. She just needed to come up with a good way of explaining her idea so it didn't sound so humiliating. That part seemed to be her biggest challenge.

Finally, after several written drafts on paper (most of which had been crumpled up and discarded), Clara felt she had come up with a good way of explaining her idea so that it only sounded minorly humiliating instead of majorly humiliating. Once she had that part taken care of she set about making arrangements for her groups first meeting. After returning to school Clara went in search of Miss Chambers to see if she could ask for her assistance. Since her idea had something to do with a Muggle activity of sorts where better to have their first meeting than the Muggle Studies classroom? Miss Chambers had been happy to assist Clara with the items she requested when she was assured that no one in Clara's group would be harmed by Clara's idea. She was even willing to let Clara use her tv/vcr to show everyone what she had in mind so they got a better idea of what she was talking about. With everything in place to get the ball rolling, Clara put up reminders for her groups' meeting in both Pecari Commons and Cascade Hall. Regarding all members of group 12 for the concert, Clara Abernathy's group, I would like to invite you all to join me this Saturday at 4pm in the Muggle Studies classroom for our first Concert Meeting. Refreshments will be included. The only thing I ask that you all bring is a good idea, a good sense of humor and an open mind. I look forward to seeing you all on Saturday! Clara.

Clara arrived that Saturday to the Muggle Studies room at around 2 in the afternoon. She wanted to make sure that she had time to set everything up before everyone arrived. They would all more than likely be curious as to what she had in mind thanks to her meeting announcement and she couldn't wait to tell them all about her idea. She knew that a few of them might have reservations about doing what she had in mind which is why she had encouraged them to come up with an idea of their own to share at the meeting. Clara couldn't wait to hear what they had all come up with. She set up the refreshment table off to the side so that everyone would see it when they came in. There were various bottles of water, soda and juice as well as small snacks. Miss Chambers had helped Clara arrange the seats in the room to partially face each other in a half circle. The half circle sat in front of Miss Chamber's desk where the tv/vcr device sat. Inside the vcr portion was a tape showing what Clara had in mind. It was already set up, Clara just had to push play. Miss Chambers had some papers to grade so she had disappeared into her office, but she reminded Clara that she was there if they needed her. Clara thanked her and went about with her finishing touches. On each desk in the half circle Clara placed a list of positions the other members of her group could sign up for should they decide they liked her idea and went with that one. She also placed a pencil on top of each list.

Clara was just finishing up when the first of her group members arrived. She waved cheerfully and smiled at the arrival. Soon after the first the others arrived. Clara waved hello to everyone and gestured to the seats. “I'm very glad everyone could make it today,” she told them all cheerfully as she watched them take their seats. “Whether you signed up for my group or you were assigned to it, I want to say thank you for choosing me. I'll do my best to make it a good experience for everyone.” She offered them all a reassuring smile before she continued. “For those of you who don't already know me, My name is Clara Abernathy and I am a fifth year Pecari prefect. For those who do know me I really appreciate the support you gave me in signing up with me.” She faced everyone from the front of Miss Chamber's desk so that she could be seen better. “Okay, I'd like to start off our meeting with introductions. Everybody get up and introduce yourself to the group. Once that’s done we'll discuss any ideas that everyone might have for the concert. Since I've already introduced myself let's have the next person start,” she suggested glancing to the person to her left. Clara leaned against the desk as everyone took turns introducing themselves. Once introductions were done, Clara picked up her notes and continued on with the meeting.

“I apologize if some of this is taking a bit. This is my first group meeting so please bear with me.” Clara laughed nervously before continuing. “Now you're all probably wondering what we're doing in the Muggle Studies room right? Well the answer to that question is simple...My idea for the concert involves using Muggle items for a very special show. I've asked Miss Chambers for the use of her vcr because I not only want to talk to you all about my idea, I want to show you all my idea. In a moment I will play something for you all that will help demonstrate what I will go over with you all now.” Clara let out a nervous breath she had been holding and dove in. “My idea for our act in the concert is to put on a Muggle “Magic” Show, but not an ordinary magic show. I would like to do one where we purposely botch all the magic tricks,” she told them all. “I'll play the video for you so you can all get an idea of what I mean.” Clara hit the play button on the vcr and moved away so that everyone could see what she was referring to. The video was an old one, but it illustrated a magician doing classic muggle magic trick. The magician pulled a rabbit out of an empty top hat, made a dove disappear under a handkerchief, “sawed” a woman in half, made another woman disappear from a large standing box, pulled metal rings apart and made colored handkerchiefs appear out of nowhere. Once the video was over Clara turned off the video and explained her idea further.

“Now...the way I figure it we could do the same thing as the guy on the tape only instead of doing the tricks the right way like he did, we be silly about it and mess them up on purpose. Like, instead of pulling a rabbit out of an empty hat, the rabbit could already be inside the hat when we show the audience that the hat is “empty”. They will see the rabbit before its pulled out of the hat. For the disappearing person trick, we could have whomever is supposed to disappear still be inside when we open up the box for the audience or have the person “disappear” but they walk out from behind the box and ask the magician where they were supposed to go again in front of everyone. The colored handkerchiefs could be tied together and “magically” appear from the magician's coat sleeve. The rings instead of coming apart, won't no matter how hard the magician pulls on them. And for the sawing a person in half trick, we could set it up to where the saw won't cut through the wood no matter how much the magician wants it to. So the magician sits down at the edge of the stage and pouts meanwhile the saw-e climbs out of one end of the box while fake feet are still sticking out of the other end and walks over to pat the magician on the shoulder. Silly stuff like that,” she explained.

“Granted, its a way out of the box idea and it would mean being silly on purpose in front of a lot of people, not to mention our fellow classmates, but just think of how much fun it could be doing something that no one else would conceive of and being the only ones brave enough to do it. Now mind you all this is just MY idea for our concert piece...it doesn't mean that it has to be the idea we go with for the concert. That's part of the reason why I asked everyone to think of something they would like to present to the group as an idea so we had more than one idea to choose from. I want everyone here to feel like they have a say in what we do. Now, should everyone decide that you like my idea and its what we want to do for our piece I have placed on the desks in front of you all a piece of paper with a list of positions to choose from. Not every position as you can see will put you in front of the audience. Some positions are performing positions while others are for props and costumes.” She held up the list so that everyone could see it. “Remember, this list is only for if we decide as a group that we want to go with my idea. Now...does anyone else have an idea that they would like to present to the group for consideration?” she asked encouragingly. She glanced from one person to the next and waited. She was excited to see what they had in mind.

0 Clara Abernathy Group twelve concert meeting 232 Clara Abernathy 0 5

Charlie B-F-R

December 24, 2013 6:04 AM

Let's get just a little closer to the box... by Charlie B-F-R

Charlie had joined his concert group based on which one had the highest likelihood of sequins and jazz hands. He was a bit concerned that the presence of a Brockert and a Carey might jeopardise that but perhaps they'd either see the fun side of it or opt for working backstage. Rupert and Adam were also possible stumbling blocks there but, from what he knew about them, they were pretty relaxed guys. He was quite excited to be in the same group as Rupert. Charlie had decided that Rupert was the perfect target for a hopeless, unrequited crush and was sure such tragic and angsty feelings would be bursting forth any day (he was now a teenager after all). However, they'd been much slower to manifest than he had thought they would be, and perhaps a concentrated block of time together, maybe with the added emotional intensity of show tunes, might just be the perfect catalyst.

He smiled at Clara and the others as he joined the meeting. To start with, it was fairly standard, and he gave his name (abbreviated), house and year when required. Clara then proceeded to explain that the choice of meeting room was no coincidence and he felt his smile become a little fixed as he shot a covert glance at the Pureblood members of the group. He liked Clara and he hoped they wouldn't be rude to her over whatever she was suggesting but at the same time he felt uncomfortable on their behalf, and he thought it was a little insensitive of her not to consider who was in her group and whether they'd be ok with what she was suggesting. As she explained her idea in more detail, his concern grew, and his smile had slipped somewhat by the time she concluded.

“I think it's a good idea,” he said hesitantly, when Clara finished. She had asked for their ideas but he figured they were welcome to give opinions as well. “But how well an idea works depends on the audience. In order for people to get the jokes, they'd have to be familiar with the original tricks. And most of them just won't be.” He hoped that was a gentle enough way of letting her down. It was true... The act might have worked really well elsewhere but it just wasn't going to here. He tried to think of a subtle way of pointing out to her that she needed to consider Duncan and Brandon too but he couldn't. He guessed if they were that offended they could stick up for themselves.

“Depending on how confident everyone is with singing and dancing, we could do something along those lines. If we did a medley, then it could include something everyone likes.” It wasn't a very original idea, he knew, but it was fun and could please everyone. Besides, from what he knew of what Henny's group was doing (and what he extrapolated most Aladren-led groups would be inclined towards) singing and dancing might actually be in shorter supply than one would imagine...

13 Charlie B-F-R Let's get just a little closer to the box... 252 Charlie B-F-R 0 5

Clara

December 26, 2013 1:36 AM

I can do closer to the box by Clara

Clara had given her idea a lot of thought and had even made a list of its pros and cons. The biggest pro that she had seen was that they would most likely be the only group to do what she had suggested. While that idea alone had made the idea appeal to her, it had not escaped her that their biggest con would be most of the audience not getting the joke of it. She hadn't wanted to admit to herself that the audience might be their biggest problem. She had kind-of hoped that since some of the audience would be muggles or muggle born in some way that they would at least appreciate the effort made even if the Purebloods in the audience didn't get it. She had to admit at least a little bit that she had been worried about that factor herself. Charlie made an excellent point. If it were for any other audience, her idea would be a darn good one, but it wasn't for another audience and therefore it ran the risk of falling completely flat on them. As much as Clara wanted to do something unique for their act, she was not about to let her group embarrass themselves for her own ego. She was glad that Charlie felt comfortable enough around her to voice his concerns to her. After all, that's why she had called the meeting in the first place.

Clara turned her attention towards Charlie and gave him an encouraging smile. “I had thought about that very problem,” she told him when he mentioned the problem with the audience. “But that's why I asked everyone to be here today so that we could discuss concerns like that one and come up with more workable ideas. I had kind-of hoped that there might be enough Muggle-ish families there in attendance to make this sort of thing work, but truth be told you're absolutely right Charlie. More than likely the audience we'll have won't be and won't get it. Kind-of too bad really. It could have been fun to do.” She shrugged good-naturedly and nodded in appreciation at his idea. “I like the idea of doing something like that, but truth be told about the only thing I can do really well without hurting myself or anyone else is playing the violin. I virtually have two left feet, I can sing a little bit, but nothing to write home about and let's face it...I'm generally a walking disaster on a good day,” she offered him a weak apologetic smile and laughed slightly. “If we did something like this I would be looking to you for an idea on how to make it work because quite frankly I am absolutely clueless when it comes to that sort of thing,” she admitted. She just had to hope that she hadn't just scared Charlie half to death with her admission.

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