Grayson Wright
December 27, 2021 7:04 PM
Practical Studies for Beginners by Grayson Wright
"Hello, everyone," Professor Wright said to the first and second years. This was his standard greeting to all of his classes, but the more alert might have noticed that he sounded - perhaps suspiciously - a little more cheerful than usual. He was not someone who customarily failed sentience tests during the mornings, but nor was he one of the very rare people who was at his best during them, either, and 'chipper' was hardly his default anyway. 'Reserved pleasantry' sufficed when he was making an effort to be an Adult; otherwise, he seldom got past 'awkward attempts at deadpan.'"Don't get too comfortable, because we're going on an adventure," he added. "Leave your bags here and bring your wands and then line up, come on"
As they did, he watched them, curious to see if any did anything like try to secure their positions against outside interference before lining up. It wasn't something he would give or reduce points for, but was the sort of thing he'd started trying to remember to notice with the Beginners. It was a good sign in particular to spot students from low-Magic backgrounds using magic just because they could, but it was only one data point among potentially many.
Once they were all lined up, he opened the door and took his place at the top of the line. From there, he led them through the building and into the Labyrinth Gardens, where he stopped and handed one student a bag.
"Take a map and pass along the bag, everyone take a map," he instructed. "You should all be able to cast the spell to summon help if you get lost - " he had taken a few minutes at the beginning of a recent session with Xavier to practice that one, actually, for exactly this reason - "but we'll all prefer it if nobody needs to do that, hm?"
Once the maps were distributed, he went on with the directions. "As you all know, Charms is a very practical subject, so we're going to have a very practical study session ahead of your exams today. If you'll look at your maps, you'll see a clearing marked with an X. I've established some obstacles along each of the paths leading to that clearing which you can clear using spells we've worked with this year." Sometimes not in a purely straightforward manner - there was a puzzle which required color-changing pieces to make the image work and the 'gate' it formed open, for instance - and some in fairly to the point ways - levitating rocks out of a path. "Arrange yourselves into four groups and pick an entrance, then go forth - none should be especially easier than any other. Any questions?"
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Grayson Wright
Practical Studies for Beginners
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Xavier Lundstrom
December 28, 2021 5:42 AM
Not the kind that jump out at you, right? by Xavier Lundstrom
Don’t get too comfortable…. Well, check, because Xavier rarely relaxed completely in any academic setting at this school, although the Charms classroom had been becoming the place it was easiest to do so right up until that instruction, and the terrifying addition that they were going ‘on an adventure.’ Xavier would, previously, have said he liked adventures. He was a Pecari. He had been a Boy Scout. He liked to rollerblade and hike, and every other tame suburban definition of ‘adventure.’ He was not sure how much he liked wizard adventures.He tried to remind himself that he trusted Professor Wright, and to think of it as a Scout camp activity until proven otherwise. He repeated these mantras over and over inside his head as they lined up and went outside. The maps weirdly helped. They were a concrete thing he could hold in his hand that didn’t appear to have any unusual functions, and which reminded him of going on orienteering challenges. Safe adventures. Good, happy adventures.
There was a reminder to call for help. That was a charm that he had practiced a lot, seeing as he wouldn’t reasonably be able to do much to defend himself (except in the ways where his magic did seem to have enough host-preservation instinct that it burst forth if he was in truly mortal peril). It had come up recently with Professor Wright too, and he suspected he had been making sure that Xavier could, at the bare minimum, get himself out of whatever he was about to be put into. Professor Wright had specified ‘if you are lost.’ That was the scenario he foresaw them needing help for. It didn’t mean anything was going to leap out at them. It wasn’t DADA. It wasn’t the Center. It was just like Scout camp.
They were told to get into groups. Xavier hesitated, wondering whether he’d be best off with the strong kids, who could make up for him, or whether they’d be less sympathetic to his struggles. Or whether that was a moot point, because pretty much everyone, including the first years, was probably more competent than him, and he felt convinced everyone else must have noticed that by now. He’d probably looked pretty horror-stricken when Professor Wright had described the challenge, although he was now trying to hastily arrange his features back to neutral, as he decided who to pick, very definitely assuming that no one would be picking him. It wounded him to think he’d fallen so low in the social hierarchy, when at his old school, he’d been pretty popular, and certainly had never needed to worry that an entire class of people would avoid him for being useless. He was therefore very surprised when his decision was made by someone close by speaking to him.
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Xavier Lundstrom
Not the kind that jump out at you, right?
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Phil Carson
January 01, 2022 2:08 PM
Do I count as something that jumps out at you? by Phil Carson
They were going to go on an adventure. That sounded interesting. Phil was up for adventures, though he doubted this one would have much in common with the kind Valentine set up for them in the gaming club. Still, he figured he could handle it. He had almost a whole year of magic under his belt, and felt he was starting to get the hang of things around here.Magic wasn't exactly easy or logical, so he was having a little more trouble with his grades than he'd had in his regular school, but he was in the smart house, so studying a lot wasn't just expected, but almost a social requirement. You weren't a real Aladren unless you clocked in some time in the library or common room, looking through heavy textbooks. So Phil did that. Sometimes by himself (because it was cool to be Independent when you were an Aladren), but sometimes with someone else, because it was also good to actually understand what you were doing and that was often easier if you had someone else to help go over it with you. So he was staying on top of his work, and managing a decent grade despite the very different nature of school here, versus school as he had previously known it.
He gave his bag an uncertain look, not entirely keen on leaving it behind unattended, but everyone else was doing so as well, so he guessed it was okay. He did put it on his desk though so nobody would accidentally step on it, and also because he associated 'higher' with 'safer' after living with a toddler.
Phil double checked that he had his wand, then lined up with the rest of the class to head out to the gardens. When the map bag came to him, he took one and passed it on as instructed, taking a moment to look over the map, taking note of their starting position and the four paths that led to their destination. From the limited information on the map, it was impossible to say which would be the easiest route, but he'd spent enough time exploring the hiking paths of Glacier National Park with his Park Ranger mom that he felt pretty confident in his ability to at least not get lost.
He picked one entrance more or less at random, and spotted a familiar face standing nearby. He'd bonded with Xavier over Halloween Herbology, so he walked right up to the older boy and greeted him with cheerful assurance. "Hi, Xavier. Should we work together to navigate this path?" he asked hopefully. Phil was a year down from the other beginner, but the first year was an Aladren and, honestly, he was kind of under the impression that Xavier wasn't exactly vying for the top of the class, so Phil was hopeful that his own Exceeds Expectations average compensated for his relative lack of experience and he wouldn't be a helpless burden to the group.
Besides, Professor Wright said it was a practice of skills they'd learned that year already, so they shouldn't hit anything Phil was completely unprepared for. "I promise I can keep up."
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Phil Carson
Do I count as something that jumps out at you?
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