Grayson Wright

September 04, 2020 7:59 PM
To an extent, Gray had his reservations about the usefulness of the Charms RATS. Many of the most advanced bits of charmswork were, after all, next to impossible to evaluate under exam conditions – how, for example, were they to tell exactly how much range a student’s charms could cover? An undetectable extension charm could allow the space to put the student a mile away from an object, but this was still different than actually operating from a mile away in natural space. Perhaps a student could correct artificial weather conditions on a scale model, but this – though difficult enough – was much different from working with weather even on the scale of a complete room, never mind outside. He vividly recalled one of his university exams, where he had been sitting on a hill with one examiner, under directions to make it start raining in a town several miles away, which he had never visited before and only knew about because of a map. Another examiner had been in that town to see what happened, so he hadn’t even known if he passed or failed for hours afterward….

Of course, it made more sense if one simply regarded the RATS exam as an indicator that one had the aptitude to pursue further training, rather than as an indicator of mastery. A passing CATS score indicated a student could live comfortably in their world, had enough practical skills to get by with. RATS indicated talent. It was the world beyond where the ones with the RATS would really find out what they could do, if they had the need, or were even just so inclined.

Most likely, of course, few ever would. He had hardly used most of the things he’d learned to do, after all, in the years since, and certainly hadn’t advanced many of those skills. He used charms and charms theory to make a living now, more or less, and still was not entirely sure of the exact extent of his abilities – something that did sometimes jab at the pride of one corner of the Aladren in him, though he had never been one of the ambitious ones. There was something about being in some company, though, that made it curiously easy to forget that, and a number of members of such company had been at Anne’s birthday party. Seeing how some of them had turned out, seeing how he was seen, stacking that beside the other time he had left campus this semester…It was like having a lash in one’s eye, the thought of things could be much better, if.

That, however, was a dangerous thought. Very dangerous. There were some people who only wanted power for its own sake, but far more who set out to do some good and it all just…came unstuck, somewhere along the way. He had read enough history, both for pleasure and as background research for his various lines of work, to know that, and while he didn’t think he was capable of anything like that…better, far better, to immerse himself in his work. It was not as if he lacked for it, after all, or if there was no reason why he had gone into noveling under a pseudonym. There were advantages of invisibility.

“Invisibility,” he announced to the class. “You should all know a basic invisibility charm, aufugio, though some of you may not have been able to complete it by the end of your fifth years. Today, we’re going to incorporate it into our ongoing unit on magical fields.”

Recently, their lessons had revolved around the theme of magical fields – the sphere of influence a spell could have. They would only study the theory of truly massive spells, like the Trace, or whole areas concealed against Muggle penetration, but there were some spells where it should be possible for them to apply the magic on a small scale, one that affected very little in the end.

“Each of you should have a small board on your desk,” he said, holding up an example. These were simple straight pieces of wood, each a little more than a foot long, with three figures not unlike inanimate chess pawns positioned on each end and one in the middle. The spaces between them were marked off in one-inch intervals. “By the time we’re done, I want you to be able to cast the charm sepio aufugus - which has the same right-facing crescent moon wand movement as aufugio - on any of the three tall markers and have the field cover all three items. If you aren’t successful by the end of class, practice more for homework - you'll need the practice to reach a RATS-standard perimeter anyway - and, ah, so, do that along with finishing those books assigned last week, just a reminder that your reports on those are due Friday, thank you…”

That, he thought, covered the essential points. Now to watch their attempts, correct any blatant errors, ignore anything he was reasonably sure was a string of profanities in another language. Simple, satisfying, honest, uncomplicated (well, for the most part) work.
Subthreads:
16 Grayson Wright Making Use of Invisibility (Advanced) 113 1 5

Dorian Montoir

September 12, 2020 8:49 PM
Perhaps it was just the impending effect of graduation that put Dorian in a reflective mood and made everything seem so deeply significant. A dose of it certainly came from his personality, and being the type to think on things in that way. But yet again, as the lesson started, he found himself feeling like it had a particular meaning for him.

He remembered being good at aufugio when it had come up in fifth year. Certain theories went that you did well with charms that suited your personality, or that you could see direct applications of. Dorian had had both. Back in fifth year, he had only just been dipping a toe in the water of self-expression and openly embracing who he was. He had signed up for the concert and admitted to a meeting full if Teppenpaws that he liked to make to things pretty. His work and his effects, including all his inclination to sparkle, had been put on stage for all the world to see, but he himself had still been hiding. He had practically died when Kir dragged the stage crew on for a bow. At that time hadn't been out to anyone except Professor Brooding. He hadn't started dating Jean-Loup. The concert had been a turning point in feeling like who he was could be valued, his parents had been so proud of his work, but he had still been being crushed under the fear that he was going to disappoint them. Plus the concert had come after his CATS. So, it had been easy to do well on aufugio.

By that logic, he might be worse at it now, after all, he could scarcely claim that he was trying to be invisible any more. He had kissed his boyfriend in the street, where any of his classmates could see. He had taken him to the ball. He was fairly sure that almost everyone knew at least something about who he was and what he stood for. He considered Professor Brooding-Hawthorne's invitation to Pride, which sounded like the complete opposite of being invisible. He wanted to go. He was not sure how much he wanted to dress up or be ridiculous or feel like he was on display, but he wanted to go.

Maybe he sucked at invisibility now.

Still, it had been useful enough for the concert that he thought he might have had more practise than most people. Concealing objects and then making them appear when necessary was easier than producing them on cue. Invisible set pieces could also produce effects such as dancers appearing to float in the air, and as they'd had a whole number literally called 'Invisible' those types of effect had been in high demand. Of course, he had had the older students to help. Jozua had been there, and because almost all the invisibility had been prepared in advance, people like Kir and Georgia had been able to help even though they were on stage during the actual show. Still, he thought he had maybe flexed this particular muscle more often than some of his classmates.

"Sepia aufugio,"
he cast, aiming at the middle pawn. He figured that was the least challenging, seeing as his field would only have to stretch half the length of the board on either side, rather than all of it. Maybe it didn't work like that. Maybe it was covering thirty centimetres of board either way, but he pictured the point where he had cast it as the strongest, and the effect radiating out from there, getting weaker as it went. He was pretty sure he had read something about aiming for the centre, and that being the most effective method. Though, as the entire board promptly disappeared entirely, he thought he should probably challenge himself by trying from the further end.

"Finite incantatum,"
he cast, causing it to reappear.

He glanced at his neighbour's work, trying to get an appraisal of how it was going. It was one of the standard in-class greetings to ask about that, but he thought it might be considered show-offy to raise that subject when his own answer was 'basically flawlessly.' There was being visible, and proud of his achievements, and then there was boasting, and he had no wish to do the latter. He had chosen to sit with Ruby so they could have a chance to chat, so he wanted to be able to do that.

"It's strange to think about leaving, isn't it?" he asked instead, given that that was the other topic currently on all the seventh years' minds.
13 Dorian Montoir Now you see me (tag Ruby) 1401 0 5

Ruby Brockert

September 19, 2020 5:52 PM
Ruby could not believe that before too long, she would no longer be a student at Sonora. She was unsure whether or not to be excited. On the one hand, she had a lot of things that she was looking forward to. The seventh year was sure that a proposal from Dean would be forthcoming soon after graduation. They'd always talked about a future together but had so far not become engaged because it would have been rude to steal Emerald and Winston's-or Owen and Jemima's-thunder. The wedding of the former had been over midterm, which was when Dean would have most likely proposed, but Ruby would not have wanted to take away from her sister and her boyfriend knew that.

Anyway, after a proposal came a wedding and a marriage and babies! All things Ruby was supremely excited for. Unlike Emerald or Topaz, she was the sort of girl who started planning her wedding when she was eight. The flowers-which she supposed would now have to be fake because otherwise they'd trigger Miles' allergies-the food-again, would need to now include allergy friendly options-the dress, the color scheme, the bridesmaids.

Ruby was also looking forward to being married to a man she loved and having babies. Unlike Emerald, who was hoping to give Winston an heir on the first or second try-as opposed to the fifth like their parents who weren't even the main family heirs-Ruby wanted to have lots of children. Although she hoped to space them out better than her parents had. She was certain that Mother was how she was because she'd been stressed out from having babies every two years.

On the other hand, well, Ruby couldn't help but feel somewhat...nostalgic about her time at Sonora. Okay, so she wasn't prefect or Head Girl and she hadn't made a lot of friends, just Dorian and Jasmine and the latter hadn't been until they were fifth years despite having a lot in common. However, two friends, even ones who had other, closer, friends, was better than none. Angelique had assured her of that.

The sad thing was, the Teppenpaw wasn't entirely sure how often, if ever, she would get to see either of them. Jasmine....did not travel in the same social circles in the outside world as Ruby did and Dorian...might not be doing so anymore. Still, she valued both those friendships and hoped she could keep in touch with them at least somewhat.

One thing that the seventh year was not going to miss though was RATS level magical theory. Another way that she was quite different from both Emerald and Topaz was that, while not stupid, she had never been particularly interested in academics. However, she was happy to learn more difficult spells, especially ones that would help her in the future.

Fortunately, today seemed to be practical spellcasting day. Ruby was not entirely sure that this was the sort of spell that was going to help her with childcare duties or running a household, but she knew that there were certainly times that one of her siblings or cousins wanted to be invisible to help them hide from either Topaz or Uncle Eustace. Of course, Emerald had always wanted to make Topaz disappear, but really what Ruby's older sister had wanted was for the fifth year to be somewhere else that was very far away rather than an invisible Topaz which would surely be worse. Topaz herself was in favor of becoming invisible for that very reason.

Once Professor Wright finished talking, Ruby looked over her chess pieces. "Sepio aufugus" She cast it over the middle piece, which disappeared while the other two had a nice chunk taken out of them.

She was about to give it another go when Dorian spoke up next to her. "I know. We've been here for so long now that it's just going to be...weird not being so, you know?"
11 Ruby Brockert Hopefully, that won't stop completely? 1405 0 5

Dorian Montoir

September 26, 2020 9:50 PM
"Yes!" Dorian agreed emphatically, offering Ruby a slightly sad smile. It was comforting to hear his own exact sentiments mirrored back to him but bittersweet when it was something so sad, and which meant that a friend was sad too. Still, it reminded him of why he liked to talk to Ruby. They weren't super close but he felt like she understood. He supposed empathy and understanding were what you would expect to find in a Teppenpaw, but it easily went beyond that with her. She seemed to see the world how he did, and whenever something important came up, it felt like they were on the same page.

He wondered yet again what the other side of graduation looked like... In some ways, it was scarier to say goodbye to people like Ruby and Parker than it was his close friends. Because with his close friends, he knew it wasn't really goodbye. He was a little afraid (okay, more than a little) of the effects of time and distance, of their conflicting priorities, but he knew that Tatya and Professor Brooding-Hawthorne would absolutely fight to keep seeing him. They wouldn't let him go. Vlad... that was a bit of a question mark right now, but for different reasons. What about the people who liked him, but had no reason to fight for the friendship, or to keep seeing him? It felt sad to think of not knowing them any more.

"Do you think you'll keep in touch with many people?" he asked, avoiding her eye and hoping that didn't sound quite as needy and as like he was fishing as it might do, given that he was absolutely being and doing both of things right now.
13 Dorian Montoir Hopefully 1401 0 5

Ruby Brockert

September 30, 2020 11:10 PM
"Many people?" Ruby replied. "I don't know about many ." Two was not many, not at all. Although she supposed she'd see Vlad around since they were distantly related and would attend the same parties what with both being purebloods. Caitlin Pierce's brother was married to her sister and she'd also probably see the Mordue cousins at parties as well. And of course, she'd see her siblings, Allegra and Esme.

Still, the truth was, she hadn't spent all that much time with most of her classmates to begin with. Ruby hadn't even made friends with Jasmine until fifth year. She might regret not getting to know them better and feel guilty about it, but that was how things were and now it was way too late.

The thing was that the Teppenpaw didn't quite know why things had never happened. It wasn't as if she were the sort who was afraid to socialize, to make the first move the way Allegra or Sapphire would be. Nor had Ruby seen anything objectionable in her classmates, like, that they weren't nice people or anything like that. They definitely were even if she might not have had much in common with Gary or Parker, for example.

Which meant Ruby had no excuse and she'd feel guilty about that for awhile. Particularly with Vlad based on the facts that they were in the same year and house and, oh yeah, distantly related. She supposed she could still try to make an effort with him from now on.

And true, they could have tried harder to make friends with her as well. The Teppenpaw had to admit, nobody had particularly shown interest in her much. It was a two way street. However, it truly hurt to think that way. That there was something about her that wasn't appealing or interesting to them. And, in fact, if she was a different sort of person, she might have even thought Dorian hadn't seemed all that interested in her and had a lot of gall asking if she was going to keep in touch with people.

However, Ruby wasn't like that. And anyway, she'd rather feel guilty for a little while, which would surely fade in time as she directed her energies towards marriage and raising children-she was definitely going to be a more hands on mother than her own had been and also, not overwhelm herself by having so many children in so short a time span-than think there was something about herself that had made her classmates think of her as not worth getting to know. It wasn't like with Angelique or Sapphire where she was completely different than all of them.

Although, to be fair, Ruby honestly didn't think that was the case with her younger sister. True, she didn't know the people around the third year's age very well- after all,if she didn't know her own classmates that well, she certainly wouldn't know people three to five years younger-but as far as she knew the two ways Sapphire was "different" than her classmates were being a pureblood and being epileptic, the latter of which people didn't really know about. However, if they didn't want to be friends with her because she was a pureblood and they weren't that was on them .

Of course, the Crotalus was incredibly shy and quiet. Which meant odds were that her classmates were more outgoing than she was and that meant it was also on them to get to know her. Or on them if they looked down on her for being shy and quiet. Still, that didn't make it any easier for Sapphire.

Ruby continued. "I mean, I didn't become friends with many people but the ones I did get to know at all, I'll try to keep in touch with some." Hopefully, they'd want to keep in touch with her too.
11 Ruby Brockert I will if you will 1405 0 5

Dorian Montoir

October 01, 2020 1:26 AM
Ruby's response seemed a little pointed, and Dorian wasn't quite sure what to make of it. Did Ruby not think many of their year group was worth keeping in touch with? That was fairly at odds with how Dorian saw them, and with Ruby's usual personality. And okay, he wasn't sure whether she'd ever had much interaction with, say, Parker. He honestly wasn't exactly sure how he had come to regard him as friendly... A small collection of accidents, he supposed. They hadn't spoken often but they had somehow managed to cross paths in ways that had left impressions. Maybe it just didn't take much for Dorian to form good impressions of people. He wasn't sure how true that was... For a while, it had taken him the longest time not to assume default badness, or to not feel a little anxious outside of his familiar circle - but perhaps the flip side of that was small kindnesses were capable of surprising him. His scale might have been heavily weighted towards worrying, but maybe it also tipped fairly easily... Or at least took on counterweights.

Ruby, it seemed, didn't feel like she had got to know many people. That surprised him a little. She was a very sociable person. But maybe there was a difference between being friendly and making friends. For all that she was pleasant and he liked her company, he felt like he had never got a lot of it. He suspected he would be in for even less after they graduated, and their lives went down very, very different paths. He wondered what her summer plans were. Home, Dean, family, probably. Part of him knew it would be polite to ask. But his own plans were being away, Jean-Loup, maybe attending Pride with his teacher... A thing he still didn't feel like he knew fully how to explain. And he thought he might like to pretend for just a little longer that not too much was changing, even if he was looking forward to all of those things.

"I hope that includes me then?" he asked, not able to see any way other than being quite direct about it. Nothing Ruby had said seemed to preclude him. It hadn't been any kind of veiled comment about moving in proper circles or keeping the right company. It had been about keeping the people she had got to know. "I will write to you," he promised.
13 Dorian Montoir I will 1401 0 5