Intermediate DADA - Choices, choices, choices... on Mirage Chamber

Tabitha Brooding-Hawthorne

June 24, 2020 2:21 AM

Intermediate DADA - Choices, choices, choices... by Tabitha Brooding-Hawthorne

It had been awhile since Tabitha had done anything fun with her classes. With the state she’d allowed to get herself into last year, she hadn’t trusted herself to capably handle a class of students to run rampant through one of the MARS rooms, shooting spells at each other. Practical lessons had been confined to her classroom and little more than shooting at targets or demonstrating the strength of their shields. She had definitely erred on the side of caution, keeping most of her lessons theory based towards the end of the year when lack of sleep and good nutrition had really taken its toll. Today, she had come up with a lesson for her Intermediate class that would hopefully be much more interesting. She had been planning for some time, wanting to make sure it was as good as it could be. That and lessons on this scale took longer to plan these days as it wasn’t uncommon for her work to be interrupted by the needs of a small boy who was insistent on calling her ‘daddy’. She was getting used to that title, especially since he no longer wanted to call her anything else.

Tabitha had sent memos to each of the House notice boards, stuck another one on her classroom door and, just to be on the safe side, one on her office door to remind her students to meet her outside the Mirage Chamber. The inside only normally witnessed by those who won the House Cup, she hoped that her students would be buzzing with excitement about being let into the magical room.

When they were all assembled outside the room, Tabitha told them of today’s lesson.

“Good morning, class! I hope you’ve all had a good breakfast and have plenty of energy this morning. You’re going to need it,” she said, with an excited grin. “Today’s lesson is going to test the things that you have learned in my lessons in a real-world environment. I can’t take you outside the school so this will do. I would like you to pair up because I would also like you to use teamwork. The goal of this lesson is a simple one - it’s an obstacle course. You will enter through the portrait and all you have to do is reach the finish line at the other end of the room. There are, of course, prizes.”

It sounded like a simple premise but Tabitha hoped that her Intermediate students wouldn’t be fooled by the easy-sounding premise. “Of course, it’s not just as simple as running through the room. Although, if you wish to choose that strategy that is up to you and your partner. The forest is also filled with obstacles. How do you intend to get across the river should you find it? And how will you deal with a nest of cornish pixies? What will you do when you encounter another team? Just to list a few examples.”

For a moment, her smile faded and she adopted a serious face. This was the important bit. “Nothing you will find in the chamber will harm you more than a light stinging hex. The obstacles will annoy and hinder and will only disappear or be overcome if you adopt the right approach but you cannot be severely harmed. This is still only a simulation of a potential environment you might find yourselves in one day. If you end up duelling with another team which is perfectly allowed, limit yourselves to the minor hexes and jinxes. I will be watching and anybody found to use a curse to severely harm will be punished. This is supposed to be fun and is meant to be approached with that in mind.”

With that said, Tabitha politely asked the portrait for entrance and Tavarius Mims obliged and swung open to allow the class entrance with Tabitha leading the way. She smiled a little, pleased at how the room had turned out. It was clear that the students could choose which way to go. To the left was a thick and dense forest, with lots of trees. To the right, it was more open with fewer trees. A river ran straight through the middle of these but Tabitha knew that it wouldn’t stay straight, it would wind and bend to cross both sections. The pairs would have to choose which way they wanted to go. There were advantages and disadvantages to both and it would be interesting to see and hear their reasoning for doing so in their next lesson when they evaluated their actions.

Regardless of which path they chose, there was still their fair share of obstacles. Nests of cornish pixies, groups of imps, a few red caps. Hinkypunks were hidden throughout the forest and grindylows were hidden in the water. Nothing too challenging but enough to cause problems if her students couldn’t remember their lessons. It would also be interesting to see how they behaved when encountering another pair. Duelling was certainly an option which could prove interesting but Tabitha had never said that it was something they had to do. That was the point of this room and the lesson. The students had to make the decisions.

“You know you will have reached the finish line when you find the House flags flying. Good luck and you may begin.”

OOC note - normal posting rules apply! Feel free to be as creative as you like with your responses. Duelling other students is, of course, allowed but use minor spells that are more for amusement than harm (unless you wish to do something more harmful but this will involve Tabitha and repercussions for doing so). You can have your students reach the end at any point but I would like to see the response to at least two obstacles (with one of those being a creature). Any information to deal with these creatures is available on Harry Potter wiki, which I have checked to make sure that an Intermediate class could handle them. Physical landscape obstacles can include things like the river, fallen trees, anything naturally found in a forest that would cause problems.

Subthreads:

Help? (tag Anya) by Ellie Alperton with Anya Delachene

In den Wald by Hilda Hexenmeister with Johana Leonie Zauberhexen

And none of them good by Allegra Brockert with Freddie Zauberhexen

20 Tabitha Brooding-Hawthorne Intermediate DADA - Choices, choices, choices... 1417 1 5

Ellie Alperton

June 24, 2020 6:30 AM

Help? (tag Anya) by Ellie Alperton

Ellie was not a fan of Defence Against the Dark Arts. It was a class that centred around all the things she had never believed were real and a bunch she would never have even made up. Previously, her darkest fears had centred around her own body or public humiliation, and now it turned out that there was a monster specifically all about that. Or at least about making her see all her worst fears anyway. Plus all the bitey, scratchy, drag-you-under kinds. This class was just terrifying.

She had been more than happy therefore when it had stuck to theory. It was still frightening but it was something she could do. She hated writing essays about ways in which she could die horribly but she could still get good marks on them. She could believe that she would have got smiley faces if a) they didn't seem like they would violate Professor Brooding-Hawthorne's personal code and b) Ellie could kind of see her point when the essay titles were things like 'Describe three examples of cursed objects in history and how they affected their victims.' No good essay had the word 'victims' in the title.

So far, Ellie had not had to put any of her class knowledge to practical use outside the classroom. She lived in a safe and middle class non-magical neighbourhood. MACUSA (for all that she did not like their shouty letters and their shouty officials from the underage magic office) did at least seem to keep werewolves and dementors out of suburban non-magical America. She was aware enough of her position in this society to assume that this was less about her own well-being and more about the fear of breaking the Statute of Secrecy. Perhaps there were diplomatic implications to doing so. Perhaps just inordinate amounts of paperwork.

She also had not been randomly attacked at school, though she wasn't sure whether this was due to it being a closed and controlled environment or because the dangers of the magical world were not that widespread, and Sonora just hadn't updated its curriculum in forever.

Class had just got a lot more threatening though with the revelation they would not be in the classroom. Outside the classroom usually meant practical, on some large and dramtic scale, and the Mirage Chamber did not lessen that impression given that the last time they had been here, it had been forced to simulate a desert survival task for them. Ellie at least, had not totally sucked at that. Nor at any of the problem solving challenges the school had thrown at them, even if by far and away the most enjoyable had been the party planning. Still, she had had a lot of extra help from older students, and the explicit purpose of the challenged had not been to harm them, unlike the things they would find in defence class. And which apparently could potentially include other students trying to attack them. And a river. Ellie shuddered. Her clothes getting all stuck to her was not something she was a fan of.

She weighed up her options for about a split second. Honestly, Anya was not someone she often looked to for class partnership. Ellie liked both Anya and a nice, steady GPA, and felt that introducing those two things to each other was likely to mess up one or both of those things. But it was hard not to think 'Anya' when the words 'Obstacle course' were mentioned, and Ellie suspected she wouldn't be the only one trying to jump on her. Also, although Anya didn't know (or rather, Ellie didn't know that Anya knew) she was clearly from a liberal family and she had come to Dorian's meeting and it just felt safer to be around someone safe when there were going to be so many other dangers.

"Want to be partners?" she asked quickly, as they lined up, hoping to establish this quickly and before they got inside, whereupon Anya was likely to immediately charge off. That was going to be the downside to trying to work together. Ellie wasn't sure she was going to be able to keep up. "I'm pretty good at shields and protection and stuff," she offered, figuring that may be an area where her skills complimented or compensated, as Anya seemed to go for just bouncing off things or taking a hit.

They were let in, and whilst Ellie would have normally calculated the various risks and pitfalls of either direction, there was one clear choice for her right off.

"Not river," she stated firmly.

13 Ellie Alperton Help? (tag Anya) 1456 0 5

Anya Delachene

June 24, 2020 8:20 AM

I'm helpful! by Anya Delachene

Anya had been excited about this DADA class since she learned it wasn't going to be in the same stuffy old room it always had been in up until now. As a rule, she didn't really like classrooms. They were too confined, and usually involved a lot of sitting. That said, of her classes, DADA was one of the better ones. Say what you like about it, DADA rarely covered topics that were boring.

That this outside of the classroom class was taking place in the Mirage Chamber was even better. The only other time Anya had been there had been the survival challenge, which had been totally awesome. That one, and the obstacle course that had set off the three Challenges had made her first year a way better school experience than she'd really been expecting.

As she gather around waiting to be let in, she was a little surprised when Ellie sought her out and asked to be partners. She counted Ellie as a friend - not one of her closest ones, admittedly, but she'd seen Ellie's house and met her brother, and that definitely pushed her above a mere acquaintance. Still, she had tended to spend most class periods with Theo or Freddie last year, and this year she didn't have Theo anymore since he was still in Beginners, so she was glad for Ellie's company. "Sure!" she agreed enthusiastically. Shields and protection stuff would probably be useful. They had a very clear and prominent purpose in a class called Defense Against the Dark Arts.

As the chamber swung open, Anya could not contain an excited bounce and exclaimed, "This is going to be so much fun!"

She walked in and listened in delight to the professor's explanation of what they were to do. It sounded easy enough. Find the House Flags. Defeat the obstacles along the way. It wasn't an obstacle course the way the Challenges had set one up, as the whole place seemed pretty open rather than a clearly defined route where you would definitely run into certain clearly marked impediments. This one was better really. This was how Defense was supposed to work. You never knew you'd need it til you needed it, and you'd need to react quickly.

It was totally awesome.

Anya grinned at Ellie, but her partner didn't seem quite so hyped. Anya didn't let that get her down though.

"Not river," she agreed immediately, mostly because Ellie seemed strongly against it. Swimming also wasn't one of Anya's biggest strengths. She could. Both sets of muggle grandparents had pools in their backyards and she'd learned to swim when she was seven, and that was fun, but she had never had a reason to develop a lot of speed or endurance, and she wasn't sure she'd have enough of either if an obstacle came up in the water. Plus, school robes were not the sort of thing she wanted to . . . well, be doing any of this while wearing them. She took them off and tossed them to lay next to the chamber entrance, stealing a glance toward the professor to see if she got told off for not wearing them during class. The rainbow t-shirt (one of Jasmine's least offensive hand-me-downs) and already torn jeans she wore underneath would be much less cumbersome.

"So, we've got forest, which will let us climb," always an advantage in Anya's book, "but it'll make it easier for the pixies and stuff to hide. In the open," she waved in the other direction, "we can make better time and see things coming from farther away." Things could still hide in the grasses. It wasn't as barren as the dessert where she grew up, so she'd need to be careful not to assume that just because she couldn't see something didn't mean it wasn't there, but there would be a lot fewer places for ambushes to jump out at them. With it laid out like that, the answer seemed pretty obvious. "I guess take the open fields?" Besides, that way still had trees. She could still climb if she wanted to. They just weren't close enough together that she could jump between them. And Ellie probably wouldn't want to do that anyway.

1 Anya Delachene I'm helpful! 1453 Anya Delachene 0 5

Hilda Hexenmeister

June 24, 2020 9:54 AM

In den Wald by Hilda Hexenmeister

Hilda walked into the Mirage Chamber carrying her wand in one hand (this was Defense, and this was the Mirage Chamber, there was no promise she would not need it immediately upon entrance), and a small portrait frame in the other. Professor Schmidt was harder to hear when he was tiny, but the portability made up for the difference, especially in a class like this which wasn't taking place in the normal classroom. Even Professor Wright's Enchanted Translating Quill, which Hilda often used instead of Professor Schmidt, if only because it was quieter and gave her pre-written notes that she didn't need to take herself, wasn't going to prove very useful out here.

As it turned out, there was no immediate need for her wand, but there was an immediate need for Professor Schmidt. She held him close to her ear as he conveyed the task that Professor Brooding-Hawthorne was explaining into words she could more readily follow. Her English was better than the last time she'd stepped into this chamber for the second challenge two years ago, but not so good that she wanted to chance another potential survival situation to her ability to pick out the vocabulary she already knew from the vocabulary she didn't, and arrange it into some kind of context that made sense.

Having a clear knowledge of her objectives made class so much easier, and today was no exception. The task before them sounded straightforward and even kind of fun.

First though, she was going to need to find a partner. A German one would make things easiest, if only so they didn't need to go through Professor Schmidt during a time sensitive emergency. On the other hand, 'Look out!' could generally be understood by its tone of alarm and a pointed finger, regardless of language, so it probably wasn't a deal breaker if any potential partner didn't speak it. She did have Professor Schmidt, after all.

The dark forest called to her, reminding her of the one that bordered along the side of her childhood home. It probably even had similar dangers. She felt confident she could handle anything in the woods. So she started walking that way, and looking around to see who else also seemed called by the forest.

"Partners?" she asked one such person.

1 Hilda Hexenmeister In den Wald 1433 0 5

Johana Leonie Zauberhexen

June 24, 2020 10:47 AM

Auf geht's. by Johana Leonie Zauberhexen

Johana Leonie was feeling a little better these days, due in no small part to the fact that she was still mostly ignoring Friederike Albert's existence. She hadn't told Hilda all the details of that but it was clear to anyone that she and her brother were not getting along so well. It must've been clear to Johana Leonie's friend that there was family shame tied up in that. She felt a bit petty, knowing what Hilda's family history looked like, but still. She felt she had the right to be ashamed of her brother.

Which is part of what made her excited for this activity today. While she normally wasn't one to be super keen on physical activity - she enjoyed it well enough but didn't generally seek it out - she was happy for the opportunity to push things out of her mind and be clear. Just be free.

Hilda also had the portrait to interpret for her, so Johana Leonie was close when she turned to ask about working in partners. "Yes," she said emphatically in German. "We have our own secret language this way. Very sneaky." When they got inside the portrait and it opened into the room, Johana Leonie grinned. "this looks like home. I think that we're going to do very well." She retrieved her wand. "Which way do you want to go?"

22 Johana Leonie Zauberhexen Auf geht's. 1432 0 5

Hilda Hexenmeister

June 24, 2020 11:20 AM

Sehr gut by Hilda Hexenmeister

Hilda smiled back at her best friend, pleased that language wasn't going to be a problem this class. "Yes, we can plan and nobody else will be able to understand us!" Hilda replied back in the same tongue. Most of the time, nobody else speaking German was a problem, so that made it extra nice when it could be turned to their advantage for once. "Plus, being able to understand each other without thinking too hard about what words to use is probably going to be important."

She waved toward the forest before them, "I was thinking we can start here. It almost looks German, doesn't it?" If there was a hint of sad longing in her voice, well, Johana Leonie would understand where it was coming from.

"I'm going to tuck you away for now, okay?" she asked Professor Schmidt before doing so. Having that hand free would probably prove as useful as being able to communicate easily with her partner. She returned the school bag's strap to its position over her shoulder, jostling the bag a bit until it felt comfortable. "Are we supposed to just bring our bags with us or leave them here?" she asked Johana Leonie. She didn't remember Professor Schmidt saying anything either way about their belongings. She could see advantages both ways. Bringing them would let them access their books if they needed to consult the text about how to deal with something they found out there. Not having them would let them move about with less encumbrance.

1 Hilda Hexenmeister Sehr gut 1433 0 5

Johana Leonie Zauberhexen

June 24, 2020 11:59 AM

Wir werden gewinnen. by Johana Leonie Zauberhexen

Johana Leonie grinned, happy that her friend was happy to see her. It felt good to be wanted and she was so grateful for her friendship - and her incredible luck - with Hilda. She couldn't imagine doing Sonora without her. She nodded at Hilda's assessment of the forest, having been thinking the same thing. "Today it's our forest," she promised. "A little bit German, a little bit English, and very magical. We're going to do great."

She considered Hilda's question about their bags, not sure. The medical side of her had a really hard time thinking of leaving her bag behind - what if they found something worth collecting? - but she doubted they'd sincerely need any medical attention that the professor wouldn't provide or summon for them, and moving would definitely be easier without their bags. "Maybe leave them here?" she decided hesitantly, clearly not loving the idea, but slipping her bag off regardless.

When they were both ready, she took a deep breath and led the way down the path they'd selected. Her eyes swiveled around, searching for any of the dangers she was sure Professor Hawthorne - she was not about to call her anything else - would have set up out here. There were other partners going other ways and it was easy to be distracted, so Johana Leonie listened that much harder.

"Are you nervous?" she asked, glancing at Hilda.

22 Johana Leonie Zauberhexen Wir werden gewinnen. 1432 0 5

Hilda Hexenmeister

June 24, 2020 12:26 PM

Perfekt by Hilda Hexenmeister

Hilda smiled, laughing slightly at the description of all three of them - a little German, a little American, and completely magical. It was true. She wasn't entirely German anymore, and that saddened her some, but if she hadn't come here, she wouldn't have known Johana Leonie, and that would have been terrible. And Johana Leonie saw herself the same way, and she was still a German resident during the summers, so it wasn't even entirely reflective of the entire mess of Being a Hexenmeister. A mess Heinrich was not helping with his choice of charity booth.

Hilda nodded in agreement with Johana Leonie's decision that they should leave their bags behind, and removed the strap from her shoulder once again. She laid the bag down next to Johana Leonie's and stepped away with equal reluctance to what her friend was showing. She understood the logic. She just didn't like leaving her stuff behind, unguarded. Especially with Professor Schmidt in there. But getting him dunked in the river by accident would be even worse, so she left the bag and headed for the forest edge.

"Nein," she denied being nervous. "I think it'll be fun." Defense was one of her better classes, and even though they were fourth years pitted up against teams that might have fifth years in them, she felt pretty sure of her ability. They weren't bitty third years anymore. "We just need to be vigilant and cautious."

Keeping her wand up and in front of her in readiness, they entered within the boundaries of the forest. A few minutes after they stopped being able to see the starting area, Hilda stopped and held up a warning hand, then pointed ahead of them. "Is that a pixie nest?" she asked in a low whisper.

1 Hilda Hexenmeister Perfekt 1433 Hilda Hexenmeister 0 5

Allegra Brockert

June 24, 2020 6:37 PM

And none of them good by Allegra Brockert

Allegra felt like she couldn't breathe as Professor Brooding-Hawthorne began explaining the lesson. She wasn't all that great at Defense to begin with, she could do spells and theories okay, but had a tendency not to be the best when it came to anything that would require gross motor skills. The Crotalus was simply terrible at anything physical.

Besides, today's lesson brought back memories of the Challenges which had been disasterous for her. She had completely sucked and made her team get second to last place because of it. Nobody was going to want to be her partner and it was truly awful feeling to be that person one got "stuck with".

It only got worse when dueling, something that had not been part of either the obstacle course or the survival challenge, was mentioned.First of all, Allegra was awful at it to start with and secondly, Topaz was in this class and specifically out for the Crotalus's blood! Professor Brooding-Hawthorne had just basically given the Aladren permission to harm her! Never mind what would happen if Allegra did better than the other fifth year, but then she really didn't see that happening.

It was not really comforting when the professor mention punishment for severe harm either. Topaz had a way of talking herself out of trouble. Or scaring her victims into silence. Then again, they were working in partners so that might prevent the Aladren from misbehaving.Of course, if either of their partners tattled that Topaz had seriously hexed Allegra, Topaz would probably be vowing revenge on that person as well, but their classmates didn't necessarily know that.

Nor would it benefit her to have a partner who was so good at this kind of thing that they would make up for how bad Allegra was. First of all, it hadn't helped during the Challenges and there had been four of them-though she hadn't really got the impression that any of them were super athletes either-and secondly, the kind of person who excelled at this sort of thing was the exact sort most likely to mock or get mad at her or otherwise judge her harshly for not being good at it.

Allegra was really starting to feel sick to her stomach and a bit dizzy. Sweat dripped down her face. Her heart was pounding and she felt like she might pass out. She really hoped not because that would be truly humiliating. At a bare minimum, Topaz would torment her for it, but she was certain that her cousin wasn't the only one who'd look down on her for doing so. Even though for all they knew, she was actually sick.

She didn't know what to do. She wanted to leave the room but she didn't want to get in trouble but the alternative was going to have to go in there and risk humilation and worse. Allegra could possibly go to the Hospital Wing, as she really didn't feel good now,but she'd have to tell Professor Brooding-Hawthorne who might think she was faking to get out of doing something that for her was honest to goodness horrible. The professor had already demonstrated a lack of sympathy by allowing dueling. Not to mention others might think the same thing even though Allegra was completely pale and shaky. Plus, she'd have to make up the lesson somehow and she couldn't guarantee that would be theoretical. Professor Brooding-Hawthorne seemed to think they needed this lesson despite the fact that this was a situation that Allegra would never find herself in outside this class.

Before she could do anything, someone else approached her. The Crotalus would have been shocked that anyone wanted to work with her but she was too panicked to think about it.

11 Allegra Brockert And none of them good 1426 0 5

Freddie Zauberhexen

June 24, 2020 10:57 PM

We will do all good. by Freddie Zauberhexen

Freddie was feeling better. Much much better. That didn't mean everything was all hunky dory but he had taken Jean-Loup's thoughts to heart and come to the conclusion that even if he was in the wrong, Hana was at least as much so. There was even the possibility that he wasn't wrong, in which case his sister was super in the wrong. It was heartbreaking, but at least he wasn't a problem all on his own, and he was slowly coming back around to being himself. He still hadn't told Ellie or Anya what had happened but he was feeling like he was ready to do so soon. Today, however, there was an adventure to be had.

Excited as he was, Freddie was well aware that his feelings on the matter weren't unanimous and some of his classmates looked downright terrified. Or sick. He understood the combined feeling well, if for different reasons, and approached an older girl that was maybe a prefect if he remembered right, because she looked like she was feeling terrible.

He thought often of how kind Ellie had been to him at the Ball and sought opportunities to pay it forward. There hadn't been any signs of anything more date-like happening again in the near future and Freddie found that he was glad. Nice as it had been to go to the Ball as Ellie's date, they didn't know each other too terribly well, and he didn't want to date anyone right now anyway. He was just a kid still. He was pretty sure Hana wanted to date Kai when she wasn't being a sour pickle about everything and he didn't really want to deal with that either. In any case, it wasn't an interest in dating that brought him to the girl, but an interest in making people feel at least half as seen and validated as Ellie had made him feel.

Dipping his head politely, Freddie looked up at the older girl and grinned. She was easy to grin at because most people were easy to grin at when Freddie was feeling up to grinning, and she was nice if he remembered that correctly too. "You are doing nerves?" he confirmed, cocking his head curiously. "It is nice that we are going together?"

22 Freddie Zauberhexen We will do all good. 1452 0 5

Johana Leonie Zauberhexen

June 26, 2020 3:11 PM

....Ich hoffe wir werden gewinnen.... by Johana Leonie Zauberhexen

Johana Leonie was glad she was working with Hilda, and it showed in the smile she gave her confident friend as they moved deeper into the woods. She had the urge sometimes, especially when seeing how Hilda did in Defense Against the Dark Arts class, to tell her how proud she was of her. It seemed a bit condescending to do, though, and she didn't want to be that by any means. So she didn't. She let her smile and trust do the talking as she walked a few paces behind, keeping her eye out to the sides and behind them, careful to put enough distance between them that if Hilda triggered a trap, it wouldn't probably take them both out. She thought Professor Hawthorne would be pleased.

She turned, however, when Hilda put up a hand and pointed at what she (correctly, to Johana Leonie's eyes) identified as a pixie nest. Johana Leonie nodded mutely, her eyes quickly scanning for some way to avoid the beasts. They were probably meant to face them, but avoiding them seemed better. The problem was that if they tried to cut through the woods to avoid the clearer path, they'd make more noise, likely drawing the attention of the pixies, and then be in a much less sure-footed position to defend from. The other option was up.

"Do you want to go head on? Or try going around? We could also climb and go around them through the trees. Quieter." It was one of the first times she'd ever wished she had a broom with her, although she thought that Hilda would probably have gotten them to the finish by now if they did. Perhaps that was the main take away of DADA lessons - have a mode of transportation out of any situation. She tried to run through as many of the spells she could think of that might be of any use as she waited for Hilda to make a decision for the both of them, although she gripped her wand a little more tightly, suspecting she knew her headstrong friend's choice.

22 Johana Leonie Zauberhexen ....Ich hoffe wir werden gewinnen.... 1432 0 5

Hilda Hexenmeister

July 08, 2020 1:36 PM

Wir werden by Hilda Hexenmeister

Hilda considered the options that Johana Leonie listed out for them. Going around would cost time, and wouldn't necessarily avoid a confrontation if their berth was not wide enough and they were detected. Going through the trees . . . . was probably going to result in Hilda crashing onto the forest floor. She was no small girl anymore, and she was graceful only when she was on a broom which, unfortunately, she didn't have immediately available. That would have made this whole thing so much easier.

"Let's face them," she decided. Pixies were not the worst creatures out there. They could be handled with a simple freezing charm or even a tickling hex would work, and they were easiest to handle if they weren't already swarming, which is what they would do if they were spotted in the woods. "A freezing charm will hold them long enough to get past them." She looked over at Johana Leonie. "Ready? After I cast we need to move quickly."

Hilda ran forward, holding her wand out toward the nest. As she got closer, they spotted her and began to fly and move toward the two German girls. At this, Hilda cast "Immobulus!" and the blue skinned fairies froze satisfyingly in place. "Hurry!" she urged to Johana Leonie as she dart under and around the small floating creatures. They'd been close enough together that the one spell caught them all. "It will last a few minutes, but we want to be gone long before they unfreeze." She did not want to get hoisted up into the air by her ears today, thank you very much.

1 Hilda Hexenmeister Wir werden 1433 0 5