Professor O'Leary
August 28, 2008 11:16 PM
Lesson II: First and Second Years by Professor O'Leary
The Defense Against the Dark Arts class had met in its normal classroom. From there, Drake had lead the first and second years out of the school building and to the Labyrinth Gardens where he had the lesson of the day planned. Of course, setting loose a bunch of eleven to thirteen year olds, outdoors, during a lesson, may not have been the best idea, but it was one learned best, as something interactive rather than just merely testing it out in the classroom. By doing this, the students would actually get to see the spell at work and perhaps realize the potential usefulness of the spell.Most students considered DADA to be a useless class, because they are unable to understand how it could be of any possible consequence to them simply since they were not going in a directly related field, such as Auror or an Unspeakable. It was that same attitude that had cost him and he never wanted any of them to ever experience the same sort of loss that he had. He didn’t want the to ever find themselves in the situation that he had to go through. Maybe if he had listened more, worked harder, maybe, just maybe, it wouldn’t have been at the price of her life. Instead, they would be together, skating, just as they always had.
But that was in the past and this was the here and now, which involved beginning the lesson. Once all the students were gathered near the entrance of the Gardens, Drake started with the standard lecture mixed in with a reminder of the rules. “Regardless that class is being taught outdoors today, I expect indoor classroom decorum to be followed. This includes respect for me and respect for your peers as well as paying attention to and following instructions. Failure to do so and I assure you, you will be serving detention and it will be quite…unpleasant.” His gaze shifted to any potential troublemakers, a silent warning that he meant business.
“If you ever find yourself in a dangerous situation, the first rule of defense is to make an attempt to get away.” It was a rule Drake had drilled into the students, the moment they set foot in his classroom. Safety first. Defense was only to be used when there was no option to escape. “However, suppose you do get away, but don’t know where you are. Then, what? This is where today’s lesson comes into play. We’ll be focusing on the Point-Me spell,” he lectured, as he pulled out his wand. “Wands out. I want everyone to hold their wand like so.” Demonstrating, he rested his wand flat in the palm of his hand. “Then, simply state Point-Me.“ His wand shifted. “If done correctly, everyone’s wand should now be pointing North, or away from you.”
After making sure that everyone had gotten the spell, Drake continued, “This spell is useful for determining direction, which is exactly what you’ll be doing today. You will be pairing in groups of two to four and heading into the maze. Before you head into the maze, however, make sure to take one of the maps that I have provided. The entrance is your starting point and on the map, there are four locations marked. Each map has different marked locations, so you won’t be able to just follow another group. Using the map and your wand, you will need to make your way to each location, which will have a small bag. Each location has a different bag color and each has a number on it that corresponds to your map. Your job is to collect the bags and bring them back. The first group back doesn’t have homework for the weekend.”
What he failed to tell the groups was that in each bag were various treats, such as candies or small toys. It was a prize that they would get to have once they got back, provided they didn’t peek beforehand, which was always quite possible. Although, if a group was distracted by what was inside, this might give another group a chance to get back first. Of course, if a group didn’t make it back, it would mean, he would need to go fetch them, which reminded him of one more thing he needed to add before letting them go. “If anything happens in the maze and you need help, point your wand up in the air and use the Spark Charm, like so,” Drake said, with a quick demo, “and I’ll come find you. All right, once you have a map and a group, you may begin.”
OOC: Please remember, posts should be a minimum of two paragraphs or ten sentences. Points will be awarded on post length, grammar, creativity, etc. Have fun!
Subthreads: A maze, how <i>fun</i>! by Ian Grimm
Treasure, ho! by Laurie Cider with Renaye and Josh Warren, Laurie, Warren Twins
Wow, a treasure hunt! by Jera Valson with Addie Laurent, Jera
Our time could be so better spent by Cecily and Amelia Smythe
Finally! The one Defense I need! by Holly Greer
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Professor O'Leary
Lesson II: First and Second Years
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Professor O'Leary
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Laurie Cider
August 29, 2008 2:54 PM
Treasure, ho! by Laurie Cider
She couldn't help it; her day was going too beautifully. The grin was stuck, and that was it.First, there had been breakfast: waffles with strawberries and best of all, french toast! Second, there had been the letter from Heidi: Laurie was totally going on a cruise that summer for two weeks in the southern Caribbean. Third, there had been the return of her developed photos: all of those Quidditch practice action shots of Josh and Renaye and the ones from winter break. It was an excellent morning, and Laurie had no choice but to smile.
She really couldn't help it.
Professor O'Vampy improved it even further by dispelling all rumors by taking them on a mini-field trip to the Gardens. Gorgeous, gorgeous sun; delicious, delicious winter air; super, super-
Laurie came down from her high long enough to attempt the Point-Me spell. "Point-me!" She was rewarded with her wand spinning twice and then directing her northwards into the Gardens proper. O'Vampy went on to describe their lesson which consisted basically of going on a treasure hunt, with four x's marking the spots. Having undergone a similar adventure earlier in the year, she felt it fair to label herself as a veteran.
She set out immediately looking for prospective partners, and came across a pair near the box containing the maps. "Hi! Want to team up?"
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Laurie Cider
Treasure, ho!
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Laurie Cider
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Renaye and Josh Warren
August 29, 2008 11:43 PM
You found us! by Renaye and Josh Warren
Renaye was in an obnoxiously good mood today. For no real reason. She woke up and looked outside to see the sun shining, instantly setting her mood at thumbs-up. She pulled her blonde hair into a sleek ponytail, her bangs resisting, as usual. Renaye pulled out her yellow t-shirt and favorite pair of jeans before exiting the dorm. As she had entered the common room (so far conflict free morning with her roomies) her green eyes landed on Josh who had been doing a last minute finish on some Charms homework. The two made their way down to DADA, Renaye catching glances out the window every chance she could. Josh and Renaye came to the DADA classroom, getting some last words in before the start of class."I want to be outside..." Renaye said, the want drawing the sound of her words. "Who wants to be stuck in a dark classroom on a day like today? We should hold a protest to have all classes outdoors on days like th-" They were going outside? "Wow," She said, throwing a grin at her brother, who was shaking his head in disbelief, though a small smile rested on his expression. The twins followed the group the Gardens, yet another reason why it was a good day. Gardens trump all. Renaye allowed her distracted mind to be pulled into classwork just long enough to hear the assignment. Really? Were they really doing a treasure hunt?
"Today is a good day," she said with a sigh, tossing her arm around her brother. "A ridiculously good day." Josh shrugged off her arm, but nevertheless nodded in agreement. Thank Merlin he caught the instructions because her eyes had been on the maze ahead, anticipating the assignment.
"Come on," he said, tugging her sleeve towards the map table. "Find a group." Renaye followed, letting out a satisfied hum as she spotted where her brother's eyes were looking. Of course...
"Josh," she said with a roll of her green eyes as they reached the table, "Quit your staring! It's embarrassing me." Her volume was just loud enough to where Laurie could hear. She met her friend's eyes and gave a grin before giving her blushing brother a playful elbow to the ribs.
"Do you really find the need to create awkward moments?" Josh said, picking up a map.
"Today? Yes. Hi, Laurie."
"Hi! Want to team up?"
"Yeah," Josh replied, "Should we get started? No homework sounds pretty good to me right now." With the Crotalus vs. Pecari game quickly approaching, practices were getting longer and more intense, meaning homework was becoming harder and harder to finish. One less subject meant a few glorious hours of relaxation, most of which he hoped would be in the company of those around him.
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Renaye and Josh Warren
You found us!
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Renaye and Josh Warren
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Laurie
August 31, 2008 1:52 AM
Now it's time for the fun! by Laurie
"Ditto," Laurie replied with a laugh. "No homework is always a good thing; that'll open my schedule up to spy on one of your practices."She hummed tunelessly, already mentally clearing the two hour block devoted to her DADA homework. And, if she finished proofreading her Charms essay before Thursday, she would have another couple of hours freed up. That meant more time for hanging out with Renaye, which she felt had been sorely lacking of late- and that also meant more time for figuring out what on earth was going on with her family.
In addition with the package containing her developed photographs, there had been a letter from her parents, a short note from Tim, and a cryptic post-script from Bryce. Don't live inside your head too much Larva; some things are better off not knowing. What exactly was that supposed to mean, anyway? Was he having some sort of delayed freak out over her being a witch? A reaction which really made no sense, honestly, because their dad was a wizard, and every Thanksgiving since she could remember had been chock full of extended family that used an accio when needing the salt shaker.
She gave her head a brief shake, her dark blond hair wrinkling with the motion; she could save those thoughts for later. Now was the time for a scavenger hunt, and her team was easily the best this class was going to get.
"Eh, so I guess we head to the first star then," she said, squinting at the map in Josh's hands. "The east exit?"
Her wand confirmed it, and so Laurie trudged forward, one hand raised to shield her eyes from the sunlight. Once on the path, she turned around, walking backwards, so that she could see the twins without the sun hindering her. "So, Raye, you think you're going to get to play in the game?"
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Laurie
Now it's time for the fun!
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Laurie
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Renaye and Josh Warren
September 01, 2008 4:03 PM
I brought silly string! by Renaye and Josh Warren
The twins followed Laurie as they began their hunt for the first bag. Those extra hours that would have been spent on DADA homework were looking very tempting at the moment. Most of their time was occupied, the twins with Quidditch, Laurie with the paper, and all three of them with homework. It was cutting into social time which, in Renaye's opinion, was no acceptable at all. School was, yes, for education, but who could deny that part of going to school was to exercise social graces? As far as she was concerned, the latter was more important. She could be a straight O student but have no life otherwise. People at job interviews wanted people, not robots. At least, the jobs without cubicles wanted people."So, Raye, you think you're going to get to play in the game?"
Renaye let out a small sigh and shrugged, "That all depends on how well the Pecari beaters are doing, or how well Josh's aim is that day," she grinned playfully at her brother. She wasn't worried about Josh's ability on game day. He usually handled nerves pretty well. It was only every once in a while, at that one big game when he might get a bad case of nerves. Renaye wasn't too worried about playing either. They had a very able team that she trusted to get the game won.
"How's the paper going?" She returned as they came to a fork in the road. Josh looked down and checked the map.
"Looks like we're taking a left," he said, pointing the way. His mind was half on the convorsation, half on finding the quickest way through this maze. "Yeah, the paper," he said, "What sort of pictures you been snapping?"
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Renaye and Josh Warren
I brought silly string!
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Renaye and Josh Warren
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Laurie
September 01, 2008 10:55 PM
Re: I brought silly string! by Laurie
Laurie nodded, her lips pursed in consideration, and squinted skywards. She rather wished they'd had a slight bit of forewarning about the outdoors venture as she would have appreciated having her ball cap. Between the tall hedges, the cloudless sky, and their marching, she was quickly warming up. She shrugged out of her robes and pulled off a half successful shrinking charm. Her robes, now half of their normal size, were stuffed into her knapsack, which was flipped to her back."How's the paper going?"
"Busy. A tad stressful, but still fun. I hadn't realized how intimidating it could be to approach the higher forms for questions, but everyone was really nice about it. Even-"
"Looks like we're taking a left."
Laurie took the moment to lean over Josh's hands and inspect the map for herself. Aside from a compass rose and four stars, it was pretty bare. The map had the obvious outlines for maze, but even with having that available, since they were inside the hedges, it would have been impossible without the Point-Me spell to navigate. She shook her head, her nose wrinkling, and straightened, flashing Josh a quick smile.
"What sort of pictures have you been snapping?"
"Oh, you know, this and that. . .students studying, a couple of Anabel McIntosh sleeping." She gave Renaye a wink. "Admittedly, those are a bit fuzzy, but I'm hoping to some day have them available as potential leverage, you know, should we ever need it- oh, and one or seven of you guys flying during practice."
She laughed cheekily and in a moment of playfulness, snatched the map from Josh's hands, and at the next intersection, after failing to properly line up her compass rose with her Point-Me spell, she proceeded to lead them in the exact wrong direction. She never had been particularly skillful when it came to orienteering.
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Laurie
Re: I brought silly string!
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Laurie
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Renaye and Josh
September 04, 2008 7:16 PM
Well now we'll have plenty! by Renaye and Josh
OOC: I swear, I posted this days ago! xPBIC:
"Oh, you know, this and that. . .students studying, a couple of Anabel McIntosh sleeping. Admittedly, those are a bit fuzzy, but I'm hoping to some day have them available as potential leverage, you know, should we ever need it-" Renaye let out a hum of satisfaction, looking up at the sunny sky. That Laurie was smart like that, thining ahead. That would definitely come in handy, though hopefully not because that would mean a big confrontation. "Oh, and one or seven of you guys flying during practice."
"Oh, cool," Raye said, "From my good side, right?" She gave a playful turn of her head and batted her eyelashes. She flashed a grin as the three of them turned the corner, trusting Laurie with the map. Renaye, as much as she would hate to admit it to anyone but Josh, was not the brains of the Warren duo when it came to schoolwork. Something she prided herself on was the knowledge of a broom, much like her mother. She could tell you the spells used on one from inside out, stip it down, and put it back together. That was the one thing she knew how to do. She knew brooms. Josh was more for putting them in to action. Admitedly, Raye loved that part plenty, as in, a lot, but she knew (in the very back of her subconcious) that the extent of her Quidditch career was Little League coaching. The point was, past brooms, Renaye's didn't excell in book smarts. Thankfully, one of the duo did.
Josh followed as they turned, dropping back to peer over Laurie's shoulder at the map. Where was she taking them? He had thought they were suppose to go left at the next turn. Reaching around her, Josh pulled the hand holding the map to his eye level. It wasn't that he minded getting lost with these two, but he did want that no homework deal to work out. At the moment though, now that he had the smell of Laurie's hair so close to his face, he wouldn't mind getting a little bit lost.
"Um, Laur?" He asked, feeling maybe he should point something out. "Where are we going?"
"And what are we planning to do with our free time?" Renaye added. "I'm all for taking another afternoon by that pond."
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Renaye and Josh
Well now we'll have plenty!
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Renaye and Josh
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Laurie
September 06, 2008 4:54 PM
Let's add in some shaving cream while we're at it. by Laurie
"Er. . ." Laurie frowned at the map, her brows furrowed. She tried the Point-Me spell again, lined up the map with the wand's point, and promptly saw that if she followed as the map dictated, she would head straight into an unwelcoming hedge. "I think I may have made a wrong turn. . .sorry, guys.""Maybe, though, if we go back and at that last intersection go the other way. . ." She pivoted on her heel, not particularly mindful of her steps, and walked, trying to match up with her finger on the map. She went straight at the intersection, then took a right, and as she rounded the bend, caught her foot on a large something and sprawled face first into the grass.
"What on earth-" Laurie's exclamation broke off as her brain caught up with her eyes. A large box rested innocently in the grass. She peeked under its cover and then raised a hand to wave over the twins. "Hey guys, we found our first bag!"
The bag was a dark red with the number four marked in white on it- the same number on their map. She glanced up, her grin sheepish as she held out the bag. "I think it's fair to take away the map duty from me for now on. Apparently I'm directionally-challenged."
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Laurie
Let's add in some shaving cream while we're at it.
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Laurie
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Warren Twins
September 07, 2008 9:48 PM
Miss Cider, you are a fiesta genius! by Warren Twins
Renaye looked around as the announcement came that the trio was headed in the wrong direction. She had to stop being so caught up the gorgeous gorgeous weather for a few minutes. The clouds drifting overhead were simply too nice, too representative of a perfect day to be ignored for a little map. But apparently the map was being ignored a little too much..."Oh," Raye said in realization. Josh's expression developed a light smile that caught Renaye's attention. Giving her brother a curious look, she asked, "What?" He shook his head, turning in the direction that Laurie had about-faced towards. Renaye followed suit, but continued her interrogation. "Aw, come on!" Josh shook his head, that annoying smile still present on his face. Renaye paused and let out a small huff of frustration.
"You're so frustr--"
"Hey guys, we found our first bag!"
The Warrens picked up their pace and trotted the last few feet to meet their counterpart. Renaye attempted to control her giggles at the sight of Laurie sprawled in front of a box that it appeared she had tripped over. Eventually though, a few managed to slip out. Josh held out a hand to Laurie, offering to lift her off the ground. As Laurie help out the bag, Renaye took the it and said,
"I think the map goes to Josh. I'm probably just as good as you are with it. My attention it elsewhere right now." The parchment exchanged hands from Laurie to Josh and he took a moment to study it. His finger traced the path before finding the shortest route to their next bag.
"Okay," He said decisively, "We're heading east, which is..." He held his wand out an muttered the Point-Me spell before coming to the conclusion of, "Right."
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Warren Twins
Miss Cider, you are a fiesta genius!
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Warren Twins
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Laurie
September 23, 2008 7:10 AM
Let's replace 'fiesta' with 'procrastinating.' by Laurie
Laurie took the offered hand with only the minimum of blushing, and, as soon as she was upright, found an unexplored pocket in her school robes to suddenly inspect. She gave Renaye a brief nudge in response to the giggling."I will gladly second the nomination of Josh as the map-man," she agreed, a little ruefully. "I guess this is why my family never lets me act as navigator when we're camping."
She paused, considering a thought that niggled at the edge of her mind, as Josh began leading them easterly. The occasion spurt of murmured conversation made its way into their path. The corner of her eye even caught a rare glimpse of color and school robes from between the thinner patches of hedges; it was entirely impossible to tell how far ahead they were in comparison to the other groups- or whether they were ahead at all. It really as too bad that electronics weren't viable; the books she had read the year prior, during her failed Muggle technology project, had educated her on the incompatibility of excessive charm work and magic with the sensitive magnetic fields generated by electronics.
Still, having scoreboards that updated every few minutes with the other groups' progress would have been pretty cool.
"Oh!" The idea finally managed to birth into consciousness. "I know what we can do for the fair!" Laurie managed to wait long enough for any internal musings to clear themselves. "So, instead of just doing a food booth on my dad's stuff, we should make it be a camping theme! You know, instead of an oven and such, it'll all be things you can make or cook while out camping. Our booth can even be set-up as a camping unit, with a fire and marshmallow sticks. Maybe we can even get a salamander for the fire- hm, I should probably put together an ingredient list for the kitchens, let them know what we'll need."
Her brief segue into the logistical side of preparations abruptly ended, her enthusiasm from moments before overcoming it easily. "What do you think? Maybe we can even have it be by the swimming hole and set up some mock-fishing?"
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Laurie
Let's replace 'fiesta' with 'procrastinating.'
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Laurie
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