Is it cheating to fly over the maze-thing or strategizing? on Labyrinth Gardens

Professor Levy

May 11, 2010 11:22 AM

DADA Beginner Level (First and Second Years): Lesson I by Professor Levy

Erika was thankful that the last Defense Against the Dark Arts professor had left his notes for her to use since it had given her some ideas for this new career. Yes, it still felt new even though it was only her second year, but then she had thought by now she would have moved on instead of finding that she had begun to enjoy the routine her life was settling into. The only thing that could have made it better would have been able to see Torra everyday, but that would have been in a perfect world and life was anything but perfect.

The Defense Against the Dark Arts class had met in its normal classroom. She figured this would have been easiest since some students may not have ventured out to the Gardens yet, or worse, try to use it as an opportunity to try and ditch class. Of course, it was worse for them than her since they would be serving detention while she did the normal grading of papers that she always did in the evening. Once she had taken the usual role call, she picked up a box on her desk and led the group of first and second years outside to where she would be conducting the lesson.

Standing in front of the entrance to the maze, Erika called out, “All right, everyone, listen up! Today, we’re going to be focusing on three spells. Point-Me, Expelliarmus, and Protego. Point-Me is a directional spell. Okay, wands out. Place them in your hand like so,” she lectured as she placed her wand on her flat palm. “Then, say Point-Me.” Her wand shifted to point North. “If done correctly, your wand should be pointing North.” She waited while everyone got the spell down.

“Now, then, let’s move on. Most magic is neutral and it’s the intent of the person that uses it that makes it good or bad. Honestly, I’m not going to sugarcoat it. There are some wicked people out there who love using magic for evil purposes, but that doesn’t mean you should live in fear,” Erika paused looking at her students intently before continuing. “You may go your entire life without ever meeting someone that means you harm. However small the chance, there is still a chance and that’s what we’re here to learn. How to defend ourselves.”

She didn’t mean to scare anyone, but Erika didn’t believe in lying to them about why they were taking the class. “It’s best, if you can, to get out of a dangerous situation, but if you can’t, the other two spells I mentioned before come in handy. Expelliarmus is probably the most simple and most useful spell that you could ever know. It’s used to disarm your opponent and if you can do that, then you take away anything they can do with a wand.” She didn’t mention anything in regards to wandless magic as that would be a lesson for when they were older.

“However, the spell can also be used to disarm you. Protego is a good counter move. It’s a defensive spell intended to deflect minor spells. Now, then, I need a volunteer.” She chose one of the second year raised hands. She figured it would be better if they had already had a little experience with the class to give a proper demonstration. “All right. First, I’m going to show everyone Expelliarmus. Watch me. Expelliarmus!” The wand movement was smooth until the ending jab when her spell was sent towards the student.

She showed them once more before continuing to the next spell. “Watch me again, but this time I’m going to do Protego.” She instructed her opponent to do Expelliarmus and once they sent the spell her way, she easily deflected it with the proper wand movement. “Protego!” She demonstrated the spell once more. “I think everyone has the basic idea, but practicing will help more than me just showing you. Don’t worry, though, we won’t just be dueling today.”

Opening the large box she had brought out earlier, Erika pulled out one of the vests inside. “There are four different color vests inside this box. Blue, yellow, purple, and orange. The color you get will make up what team you are on. Each team should come up with a name and come get a map from me, because you’ll need it when going into the Labyrinth.” She gave a grin. “So, you’re probably wondering what the spells, vests, and maze have to do with one another. Your goal is to protect yourself and your team members from other teams while trying to make it out of the maze. The first team with all of its surviving members out of the maze wins whatever is in this bag.”

She paused for a moment allowing each of them a good look at the colorfully decorated paper bag. “Whenever someone disarms you using Expelliarmus, your vest will change from its current color to black. When this happens, it’ll be like you are no longer there. You may continue to move along with your team, but you may not help them or talk to them. You can, however, talk to others with black vests. Before everyone goes running off the maze, one more thing, if anything happens in the maze and you need help, point your wand up in the air and use the Spark Charm,” Erika said with a quick demo, “and I’ll come find you. Once you have a map and a group, you may begin.”

OOC: Please remember that posts should be a minimum of two paragraphs (ten sentences). Points will be awarded on post length, grammar, creativity, etc. You may be in any group you like, just make sure to put the color of your vest (blue, purple, yellow, orange, or black.) Have fun!

Subthreads:

This... is.... SONORAAAA! (Orange) by Neal Padrig, Pecari with Ellie McGill, Neal, Orange, Dani Adair (Orange), Kirstenna Melcher (Orange)

My application said this would be my favorite class... by Nicodemus Sawyer (Blue) with Dmitri Petrovskii (Blue), Brian Moore, Blue, Alessa Hinckley

And I was so sure it was going to be a boring lesson! by Mariana Ravenmore (purple) with Autumn Collins, Purple, Cosette Miller, Purple, Veronica Kerrigan, Purple, Rachel Bauer, Purple

Is it cheating to fly over the maze-thing or strategizing? by Tristan Volkmann, Yellow with Tobar Brishen, Brad Hayman (Aladren, Yellow), Caleb Nichols (Aladren)

Class is Closed! (nm) by Professor Levy

0 Professor Levy DADA Beginner Level (First and Second Years): Lesson I 0 Professor Levy 1 5

Neal Padrig, Pecari

May 11, 2010 5:37 PM

This... is.... SONORAAAA! (Orange) by Neal Padrig, Pecari

It was a difficult for Neal to focus. At least, it was more of a challenge than it usually was. There was always so much going on in the Gardens, that much he knew from going back and forth between his the Pecari Commons every day. Whether it was a random prairie elf trouncing around like they owned the place, students conversing as if no one else could ever overhear them, or even the strange happenings from the Labyrinth – there was too many distractions, period.

If the class didn’t sound as interesting as it did, Neal would be gawking at the bee nearby and not trying to pay attention to the professor. To help her out, she also had a box and Neal was curious to figure out what it held. It was also easier to focus when she had them practice some spells, which Neal was glad to see he got the hang of on his first try. Though they weren’t the most complicated of spells to begin with, the accomplishment still felt like a personal victory.

“Now, then, let’s move on.” Neal stopped practicing and listened, much more excited to focus than he ever had been for anything else so far. She was an intense speaker who took her subject seriously. This could only mean that the lessons couldn’t be anything short of a thrill.

After the speech and example (and being told that dueling was a no-go today, which was the only disappointing news yet) he didn’t think the class could get any better. And it did. The project was something out of a dream – or a war movie. Either way it seemed awesome. He smiled as he heard more about it and tried to spot Caleb, whom he already briefly been through the Labyrinth with the other day on one of his many trips through it. Even if the maze changed itself, at least he had a good feel for what wandering in it was like.

When Neal went to go get a vest, he frowned. Being colorblind and picking out a color was troublesome. More so than it should be. He reached in and grabbed a random vest, putting it on tight over his robe. He noticed someone with the same color and approached them. “Hi there. I guess we’re on the same team?” He sounded friendly enough (if monotone sounded ‘friendly’) but maybe the mussed dark hair and the bloodshot eyes would convey a totally different message. Hopefully this person could tell him what color they were, too. Or maybe that was just wishful thinking.

OOC: Neal’s vest is orange. I figured it’d be helpful to mention that again here since he can’t tell the color for himself.

0 Neal Padrig, Pecari This... is.... SONORAAAA! (Orange) 0 Neal Padrig, Pecari 0 5

Ellie McGill

May 11, 2010 6:03 PM

I'm STILL surprised! (Orange) by Ellie McGill

Ellie found the beginning her first Defense lesson somewhat interesting. Her father had already taught her a couple simple spells, including the Point Me spell and Expelliarmus. She hadn't learned Protego, though, but she easily picked it up with a genuine smile. Her mother had always been a little freaked out by the Point Me spell, seeing as Muggles weren't exactly comfortable with objects that moved on their own. Or, at least, that's what Ellie had observed of her mom back at home.

Once everyone had gotten the hang of the spells, Ellie's professor called them back to attention. She explained a bit about the class, then got to the interesting part. She was a bit scared about the whole maze-that-changed-itself aspect, but at least they would be in groups. Ellie couldn't be classified as athletic, but at least she was fit enough to keep her ground in a competition, and she was glad that it wasn't raining today. Not that she didn't like rain, no, but she would prefer not to be soaking wet when she ran around a garden.

Ellie wondered who would be in her group, and quickly made her way to the vests. She considered blue; it was one of her favorite colors after all, but she decided it clashed with her robes and dropped the blue vest she had been holding. The next one she grabbed was yellow, and while it was a beautiful color, she gave it a second glance and decided it clashed with her hair. Finally, reaching between two different colored arms, she picked up an orange vest. It was a vibrant orange, and she recognized the shade and smiled. It matched her hair to perfection, and she simply had to wear it out of the sheer luck of finding it. Sometimes, orange-heads had all the fun!

She looked around for more orange clad students. While on her tiptoes looking above the crowd, she heard a voice from behind her.

“Hi there. I guess we’re on the same team?” The voice sounded familiar. She twirled herself around to face the boy who had been so kind as to rescue her during the flying class escapade. What had his name been...?

"Oh, hi!" she said, beaming at finding a familiar face. She paused for a moment, still trying to put a name to the face. "Neal, isn't it?" she said finally. "And yup, we're in the same group."

0 Ellie McGill I'm STILL surprised! (Orange) 0 Ellie McGill 0 5

Nicodemus Sawyer (Blue)

May 12, 2010 3:02 PM

My application said this would be my favorite class... by Nicodemus Sawyer (Blue)

Since he began school at Sonora, Nic Sawyer had gone from an all-encompassing dread that people would find out what his full first name was to a slow acceptance that, in the magic world, 'Nicodemus' was perhaps not the worst name a person could be saddled with (so far, he'd probably give that dubious honor to 'Starbuck' - and he was pretty sure her parents were both muggles, which made it even worse). To his surprise, he found that while 'Nicodemus' certainly wasn't common, wizards seemed to like strange and unusual names, so it wasn't particularly notable, either.

As such, he was slowly beginning to forgive the teachers that forced him to raise his hand and and say 'Here' when they called out 'Nicodemus Sawyer' for all and sundry to hear. Professor Erika Levy of Defense Against the Dark Arts was among that number. The first week or so, this had caused him to dislike both the woman and her class, but he was getting over that, until he was almost starting to like DADA.

But, obviously, not in a nerdy and Aladren way, because Nic was way too cool to be such a dork.

Of course, keeping to his target 80% grade average was proving oddly difficult. Tests and homework were, of course, helpful in letting him manipulate his grade down to where he needed it to be to avoid notice as an overachiever, but the practical class assignments tended toward things that were either all-or-nothing (in which case 100% was much closer to 80% than 0% was) or else they were the kind of things the sort of person Nic was trying to pass himself off as would be good at.

DADA was, in large part, a class about fighting, after all.

And Nic spent the first ten years of his life proving he could defend himself against any and all comers. He didn't have a particularly impressive amount of muscle, but he was tall and he could hold his own against most playground bullies and he could run like the wind if he really had to. The last two hadn't been as important during his last year at his muggle elementary school, and it wasn't just because he'd graduated to the fifth grade and the older bullies had moved up to the middle school. His own grade had its share of tough guys, but Nic had made sure everyone counted him among that number.

Three things cemented that reputation. First, he used his height to loom. In spite of the truly ridiculous robes he was forced to wear in class, this wasn't too difficult to continue in the First and Second Year classes at Sonora. He didn't even have to try very hard. The school had some third years who were shorter than him. And, well, he was starting to figure out a way to walk that kind of made the robes billow a bit, which was an effect he was quite impressed by, and almost made up for the fact that he had to wear something he associated with pajamas in public. Almost.

Second, he didn't talk much. The 'strong and silent type' was a standard in literature for a reason; 'dark and mysterious' was also a highly impressive classic figure, which may have worked better if Nic's coloring was more striking, but at least he was tanned and brunette. Nic was not above taking advantage of these stereotypes.

Plus, not talking helped him with the third thing, too. The last thing Nic did to make everyone think he was a heavy was that he never let anyone find out how smart he was. Mark Twain said 'It is better to keep your mouth shut and appear stupid than to open it and remove all doubt.' Nic worked on the corollary 'It is better to keep your mouth shut and appear stupid than to open it and let people figure out you're not.'

This last was important for several reasons - not least of which was the other stereotype that people with brawn didn't have brains (though actually the real problem was the belief that people with brains didn't have brawn, and if people had to think Nic had one but not the other, he wanted it widely known he had the brawn). Another serious problem with letting people find out he was intelligent was that smart people were usually nerds; nerds carried their own set of stereotypes that Nic wanted nothing to do with. Plus the smart kids always got the teachers' attention in class, and Nic would much rather fade into the middle. He didn't want the pressure of expectation on him.

His own expectations were enough of a challenge to meet, and harder than anything anyone else could put on him. But if he messed up, nobody would really notice. If he had to fail - which Nic hated to do - he rather not let anyone realize it happened.

And, of course, it was always fun to get that perfect 80% and see how many tests it took the teacher to realize he got exactly every fifth question wrong and that the statistical likelihood of that happening by chance was astronomical. Some never did. Nic always felt like he got away with pulling off some kind of brilliant crime when that happened: a little bit of guilt but mostly smug victory and a sense of secret accomplishment.

Unfortunately, DADA was proving to be a real dilemma. He was sorely tempted to excel in the class, to rise up out of the depths of mediocrity so people could see that he was good at this kind of thing. Like gym, it was one of those kinds of subjects where it was almost accepted that the brawny kids without real brains could do reasonably well, except not as much because there were still tests and homework.

So Nic slacked on the homework, barely stringing coherent sentences together on topics only peripherally related to the questions being asked, when he did the homework at all, and hoped that an utterly abysmal showing there would be enough to counter any thoughts that he might be a good student. He eighty percented the tests, so the teacher wouldn't think he was a moron with an idiot savant's practical talent - he wanted to come across as academically mediocre, not an utterly brainless thug. Which left him, he hoped, in a position where he could actually do well in class.

Which was just as well, because Professor Levy's lesson out in the Gardens today, was looking to be particularly difficult. She introduced four different spells, put all of the students in what Nic could only assume were bullet proof vests, and told them to have at each other in the labyrinth with a primary goal of survival.

With that in mind, when he went to pick a vest, he immediately discarded the orange and yellow ones as far too bright and visible. That left purple and blue, and as a guy, purple was not an option, so he quickly grabbed a blue one before they disappeared.

Putting it on, he stood off to the side a little and waited for more blue vested people to join him. Once they seemed to have a full group, he couldn't quite put names to all of them, so he jabbed his chest with his thumb and said, "Nic," by way of introduction to those who didn't know him yet.

Figuring they ought to get the cheesy part over with quickly so they could get on to the important issue of winning the survival game, he asked, "Does anyone have a cutesy group name, or are we just going to stick with 'The Blue Team'?" He let his tone suggest that he saw nothing at all wrong with being 'The Blue Team' and that he would, in fact, prefer it to anything cutesy.

1 Nicodemus Sawyer (Blue) My application said this would be my favorite class... 165 Nicodemus Sawyer (Blue) 0 5

Dmitri Petrovskii (Blue)

May 15, 2010 10:35 PM

Mine didn't. by Dmitri Petrovskii (Blue)

Defense Against the Dark Arts was a class that Dmitri had mixed feelings on. At home, he was expected to excel in his studies without worry about having to defend himself for there were those who were trained to do that, who would give their lives in place of his. Here, it seemed expected, because just living in the magical world was dangerous for anyone. It seemed strange that he would learn to defend himself in a more powerful way than those who were currently protecting him would be, but then he supposed that not all wizards would be familiar with what muggles were capable of. Still, he felt it was nearly a betrayal to his bodyguards to defend himself moreso than they could.

At the same time, he couldn't help feeling somewhat excited over the prospect. If he chose to go into a field similar to his father, he would certainly have protection, but if anything ever happened, he would be capable of protecting himself. Or even soon, maybe he would be capable of protecting his parents. That would be great! Then, he would never have to fear something happening. Oh, it wasn't that it was always on his mind, but it popped in there every once in a while. It was hard to ignore when there were so many violent things going on in the world, but he tried to think of the good his father was doing instead. Perhaps, that was what this class was really about. Doing good.

He listened closely to the professor explain what they would be doing in the lesson. There was certainly a lot to learn at once, but he couldn't deny that it sounded interesting. He wondered if Professor Levy had a thing for Darwin since they would be playing Survival of the Fittest. Before he could test his luck at being one of the lucky few, he needed to find a group. Going to the box, he quickly picked out blue. Sure, yellow was one of his house colors, but he wasn't really that fond of it whereas he loved blue. Yes, he thought blue would do quite nicely. Now, to find who else was blue. Glancing up, he noticed a boy, Nicodemus he believed, standing a little ways away with a blue vest.

Heading over, he joined the other boy while others rapidly approached. Awesome. Okay, so introductions were first. So, the boy, who to him, already seemed to be the leader, called himself Nic. That was cool. He would have to keep that in mind. He didn't want to accidentally call someone something they didn't want to be called. After all, it wasn't like he wanted people to call him what his mother called him. That would just be totally embarrassing if people went around calling him Dimka. He added his part to the round of introductions, smiling pleasantly at everyone. He just didn't have it in him to be moody or bossy. And as for the group name, the Blue Team wasn't exactly original, but he guessed it was better than everyone disagreeing, though, he did have one suggestion. "How about the Blue Man Group?" A reference to a favorite.

0 Dmitri Petrovskii (Blue) Mine didn't. 0 Dmitri Petrovskii (Blue) 0 5

Mariana Ravenmore (purple)

May 16, 2010 1:21 PM

And I was so sure it was going to be a boring lesson! by Mariana Ravenmore (purple)

Mariana entered the gardens for her defense class. She had no idea why they were there, but it was obvious the maze was involved somehow.She glanced around until she found the class, listening as Professor Levy instructed the class. Mariana already knew the spells that she was teaching them, her private tutor had her practice them until they were perfected.

Well, this was certainly going to be interesting, Mariana mused as she took a purple vest. Purple was one of her favorite colors. Would she be doing most of the defending? No, probably not. There were bound to be other students capable of the spell, it was relatively simple. Besides, she was only a first year.

She glanced around at the other groups. She saw Neal and someone else wearing orange vests, she wanted to say hi but shrugged it off. She would probably meet them in the maze sometime. Mariana glanced at the other groups, before another person, wearing a purple vest like herself, approached her. She smiled shyly, "Hello. My name is Mariana. Looks like we're on the same team, huh?"

0 Mariana Ravenmore (purple) And I was so sure it was going to be a boring lesson! 0 Mariana Ravenmore (purple) 0 5

Neal, Orange

May 16, 2010 2:45 PM

The shock hasn't worn off for me either by Neal, Orange

The face Neal had seen when the girl spun around was a recognizable one. Ellie greeted him with a smile, the tones of her shockingly bright hair matching her vest well. He couldn’t help but smile at her in return. He hadn’t seen much of her since Flying Lessons beyond glimpses of her in hallways or seated ways away from him in class. But Neal wasn’t the type of person who needed to go and talk to people to keep up familiarity with them; once he made a friend, they stayed a friend. So what if they hadn’t gotten much of a chance to meet up? They could do that now.

“That’s awesome,” he nodded, a smile still on his face, when she confirmed that they would be on the same team. “It makes this project even better.”

He nodded to the Labyrinth, his attention back on the project now that he knew at least one person on his team. “I’ve wondered around that place a few times since coming here, only once with someone else, so to do it with more people should be cool. And this assignment will be like a giant game of extreme tag, which is always fun with more people anyways.” He felt comfortable using the mild muggle reference, glad he wouldn’t have to explain to her what ‘tag’ was as he would have to do with most of the other people he’d met here. Not that he ever minded, but it was still nice to have someone understand things he did back home.

He looked around curiously then. “So, where’s the rest of our team? The sooner we get a team name and get started, the better chance we have of making some sort of strategy so we can get to the end of the maze together.”

0 Neal, Orange The shock hasn't worn off for me either 0 Neal, Orange 0 5

Brian Moore, Blue

May 16, 2010 3:09 PM

Mine said I did, but that depends on how this class goes by Brian Moore, Blue

Brian had thought Defense Against the Dark Arts had sounded like it’d be really cool. He’d always wanted to be a superhero, like Superman or someone like that. He wanted to save people. What better way to save people than to take a defense class? Sure he didn’t know much about it beyond the name of the course and some lessons and pictures he’d seen in his text book, but he had all the hope in the world that this class would be amazing.

Professor Levy made him not as hyped up as he had been earlier that day. The thought of hurting someone else was, to him, awful. He was already upset he had been made his team’s Beater, which was his least favorite position he tried out for since that meant he was out to hurt other people and it only made things worse that now this class was, as Professor Levy said, preparing them to fight, which meant preparing them to hurt. At least this lesson wasn’t so bad since it was just disarming. No one would get hurt, right?

He went to go look for a vest color, careful to not bump into anyone who was also trying to get a vest, and he happened to get a blue one. He smiled and put it on. Blue was one of his favorite colors! He looked around to find his group, glad to notice his roommate Dmitri was in the group also. So was some guy who looked like one of those cool kids his mom told him not to talk to in school, but he seemed polite enough to at least introduce himself. “Hi, I’m Brian,” he also introduced for anyone who didn’t already know him.

The team names that were suggested around weren’t as exciting as Brian would’ve liked (he was thinking something more along the lines of ‘The Ultimate Superhuman Magically Blue Dragon Squad') but he didn’t want to offend anyone by saying he didn’t like their ideas and he didn’t want to look like the odd-man out. Besides, they weren’t really that bad, it was the spirit behind the name that’d make their team cool. “Either team name works fine by me,” he said with a happy-go-lucky grin.

0 Brian Moore, Blue Mine said I did, but that depends on how this class goes 0 Brian Moore, Blue 0 5

Tristan Volkmann, Yellow

May 16, 2010 8:29 PM

Is it cheating to fly over the maze-thing or strategizing? by Tristan Volkmann, Yellow

Tristan was starting to see a trend. In all of his classes he had so far, partner work and chat was encouraged. He didn’t usually mind working with other people, but he was starting to get bored with it. Having been used to private tutors, all this partner play was a bit overwhelming and led to nothing but trouble. Not one of his classes had gone exactly right so far, and that could all be blamed on the fact that he always had to work with somebody else. Well, Care of the Magical Creatures wasn’t too awful since he skipped out on the lesson, but he doubted the professor was fawning over him for the decision.

He watched with evident boredom at the lesson, not in the mood to be ‘dazzled’ by the simple spells. Why couldn’t they use cool ones? Or better yet, what class did they get to learn how to put fires out? He was pretty sure that would be a useful one in the future, seeing how he could only ever recall fire-casting spells whenever he needed to recall any spell in general.

The assignment sounded kind of interesting though, at least Tristan liked the idea of actually getting to do something other than sit around at a desk and cast simple spells. He wondered over to the vests and grabbed a purple one since it was closest. He was slipping into it when he noticed that annoying chick he worked with in Potions sporting one too. Desperate to not have to work with her again after the disaster that was Potions class, he ripped it off at the speed of light and swapped it for the second closest vest he could get his hands on. He looked down to see yellow and shrugged. Not his favorite color, but it wasn’t his least favorite either. The color didn’t matter as much as the team did.

He noticed a few people wearing yellow not too far away. He walked over to them boldly, hoping this class would turn out much better than all the ones before it. “Is everyone here?” he said, looking around at the people in yellow vests coming together. It seemed like everyone who was yellow was meeting up here together, but he wouldn’t be shocked to find out that half-way through the maze they had a teammate back at the begging that hadn’t found them right away.

0 Tristan Volkmann, Yellow Is it cheating to fly over the maze-thing or strategizing? 0 Tristan Volkmann, Yellow 0 5

Dani Adair (Orange)

May 17, 2010 8:46 PM

Shock seems to be winning. by Dani Adair (Orange)

When it was her turn at the box, Dani considered her options. There was blue, but it was a statistical fact that blue was the favorite color of most people, so she had little doubt that this would be the color choice for the majority of the class. She didn't want to be part of the majority of the class. Then, there was purple. She was sure that the princesses of the class would be choosing that one. No, she wasn't among that group and she didn't think she could deal listening to them. One nail broken and they would probably send up the flare signal. So, was it to be yellow or orange? Yellow was all right, she supposed, but she liked orange better. It reminded her of Halloween, which was her absolutely favorite holiday.

This decided, she opted for one of the orange vests and quickly pulled it over her robes, a designer brand, which was one of the betrayals of her adoration of shopping. Adjusting it to fit, she searched for others that were wearing the same brightly colored vests. She really despised group work in any form, but at least, she knew those that she would be working with had the brillance to wear the same color that she was wearing. Hopefully, they would prove to actually be so. She wasn't normally so competitive. It's why she didn't bother with sports such as Quidditch.

But oh, this was different. This was about magic and who welded the power. For her, it really wasn't about the power and using it to lord over others, but more to prove that she wasn't a weakling to be preyed upon. As she saw it, this game was about survival. Those that went out quickly would be the ones that the predators, the competitors, of the class would undoubtedly outcast. While she might have been one, she was one by choice, preferring that others leave her alone. This wouldn't happen if she failed to do well in the lesson. She only hoped her teammates had a somewhat similar view or they would all be destined to lose since they were the ones she had to rely on.

But first, she supposed that she should actually meet them. Hearing the one mention where the rest of the team was, she piped up, "I'm on your team. My name's Dani Adair." She glanced around at the opposing teams. "I agree. We definitely need some sort of game plan. We're going to have most of the class after us and we have no idea what the older ones are capable of. They definitely have an advantage. Hopefully, one of the second years will be in our group. That might solve the problem of getting out of the labyrinth. So, anyone have any ideas for a team name?"

0 Dani Adair (Orange) Shock seems to be winning. 0 Dani Adair (Orange) 0 5

Autumn Collins, Purple

May 18, 2010 5:41 PM

Instead, it's terrifying. by Autumn Collins, Purple

When Autumn had heard they were going to be outside in the Gardens today, she had taken it to be a bad sign. Even though she had wanted to go out and try painting or sketching garden scenes, the fear of getting lost in the maze had prevented her from doing so.

And, today, unfortunately, Autumn was going to have to go into the maze. For a grade. Not only that, she was going to be working in a group . That meant that if Autumn wasn't good at this or got upset about being lost or in some other way was not an asset to her team, a quarter of the class would hate her.

Autumn nervously walked over to get a vest and grabbed a purple one which she was certain would be turning black fairly quickly. She sort of hoped Nina would end up on her team, Nina was the only one she trusted at all not to turn against her and to help her out. Unfortunately, Autumn spotted her cousin putting on a yellow vest. Sighing, she joined the other purples,standing next to a girl she'd seen in class but never spoken too.

"Hello. My name is Mariana. Looks like we're on the same team, huh?"

She forced an equally shy smile back. "I guess so. I'm Autumn." Autumn introduced herself. She hoped Mariana was nice and wouldn't end up hating her if they didn't win. She noticed that the other girl was an Aladren. Autumn wasn't sure if that was good or not. On the one hand, grades tended to be very important to Aladrens, but on the other hand, they tended to be less competitive and less likely to see someone who wasn't as good at this sort of thing as inferior and treat them poorly than say, Pecaris.

11 Autumn Collins, Purple Instead, it's terrifying. 164 Autumn Collins, Purple 0 5

Alessa Hinckley

May 18, 2010 7:19 PM

It's certainly not mine by Alessa Hinckley

As soon as Alessa heard the lesson she groaned inwardly. She was already not too thrilled about being outside, as Alessa wasn't a terribly outdoorsy person but she hated lessons like this, lessons that involved something like athletic competition.

She was terrible at those kinds of things. It would have been one thing to pair up and disarm each other but this would actively involve others trying to take her out of competition while looking for her way out of a maze. This seemed like an awful lot to worry about and be aware of and Alessa did not care for things were she had to worry about others being out to get her. She was sure she could cast the spells, but she wasn't sure she could take others out and navigate a maze while trying to make sure she wasn't taken out.

Actually, it seemed like a lot of the Defense lessons were like this. Last year they'd played that dreadful muggle game where balls had been thrown at them and they'd had to deflect them. Alessa supposed this lesson was a bit better than that one had been. The Aladren had hated every second of that one, not because it was a muggle game, but because Alessa really didn't like doing anything remotely physical.

Still, if it kept up that way, she was dropping this class after CATS.

Sighing to herself, Alessa went over and pulled out a blue vest. She walked over to the rest of the blue team to find three boys there. Alessa assumed they were first years because she was unfamiliar with them and she knew the names of everyone in her own class.

That didn't bother her, Alessa didn't really mind being with guys. Two of the people in her own class she liked best were Theo and Tobar. On the other hand, some of the girls in her year got on her nerves, especially the Pecaris.

She listened to the boys introduce themselves, taking note of each of their names. After Brian spoke, Alessa introduced herself as well. "I don't really care about the team name either." She had no real good ideas, and really, she just wanted the class to be over.

11 Alessa Hinckley It's certainly not mine 150 Alessa Hinckley 0 5

Cosette Miller, Purple

May 18, 2010 7:48 PM

I'm sure it'll be more boring than terrifying by Cosette Miller, Purple

Cosette picked a good day to not be late. She came into the class just as everyone migrated out of it. She followed the pack until they all ended up in the courtyards. The Crotalus girl tugged on her braid impatiently as the Professor went through the rules, ultimately ending up explaining the class that day. It sounded a bit barbaric to be doing an assignment that seemed to modeling gorilla warfare with ‘nicer’ spells. She was already detesting the project.

At least she’d get to pick her group. Not feeling like being competitive, she’d just go with a group of people who didn’t look like they’d take this silly thing too seriously. She delicately lifted up a purple vest and put it on as she scoped out her team. Purple was her favorite color anyways, so she had no doubt it looked good on her against her dark skin and Crotalus robes.

She caught sight of two girls, an Aladren and a Crotalus like herself, on her team talking and she walked over, flipping her braid back over her shoulder. She came in just in time to hear them say their names. “Hi, I’m Cosette, I’m on the team too.” She did a sweeping gesture at her vest. “I didn’t see anyone else on our team yet, so in the meantime I think we should start thinking of names. Any ideas?” The sooner they got through this, the sooner she could get out of this period.

0 Cosette Miller, Purple I'm sure it'll be more boring than terrifying 0 Cosette Miller, Purple 0 5

Kirstenna Melcher (Orange)

May 19, 2010 6:22 PM

Not all that shocked. by Kirstenna Melcher (Orange)

Kirstenna bounced excitedly on her heels.She couldn't imagine why they were going outside to the maze but it was certainly something different than usual and she was a bit intrigued.

As Professor Levy began to speak, Kirstenna could feel herself deflate a bit. The Defense professor always seemed like such a downer, talking about how others liked to use magic to hurt people. Then, there was the lesson, parts of it didn't sound so good, with competing and trying to take out their classmates.

She was beginning to feel like everything at Sonora was a competition. There was Quidditch,of course, (which Kirstenna was enjoying but she was more interested in doing it because it was fun, some people took it way too seriously.)

Then there was the house competiton and the competition in COMC to get back on the ground and now this. Why couldn't people just get along and have fun and try to make friends without trying to prove themselves better than others and cause disharmony and conflict. What if those who were won these things started teasing those who lost? It might end up hurting people's feelings and leave them feeling bad. Kirstenna didn't want to see that happen.

She walked over to grab a vest and picked out an orange one, as it was such a bright, fun color. Kirstenna put it on and joined the others in the same color vest. So far, she noticed it was two Pecaris and her roommate, Ellie. She smiled brightly at the others, determined to have fun and not take this too seriously, and introduced herself, "Hi, I'm Kirstenna." Ellie should know that already but the two Pecaris might not.

The Teppenpaw retained her smile but it already seemed like the others were taking this way more seriously than she intended to. Kirstenna supposed winning would be nice, and she was sort of curious about the prize but they, especially Dani, seemed like the competitive sort that would get mad if they didn't win and blame the people on their team that weren't as good at this kind of thing. Though, to be honest, that was in line with what Kirstenna had been taught about most Pecaris.

11 Kirstenna Melcher (Orange) Not all that shocked. 161 Kirstenna Melcher (Orange) 0 5

Tobar Brishen

May 20, 2010 2:26 AM

I'm pretty sure it's cheating. by Tobar Brishen

Tobar Brishen didn’t hate Defense it just wasn’t his favorite. Care of Magical Creatures was his favorite and if he didn’t have to lead the caravan once Papa died he would’ve been a Creature Healer, or even a Dragon Keeper like Professor Dakin had been before coming to teach here. Professor Levy wasn’t bad but she just didn’t have the zeal Dakin had. Plus the subject matter was dull to Tobar, especially today’s lesson. He wasn’t all that competitive unless it was Quidditch, so he didn’t understand why they had to hunt each other in the labyrinth.

He grabbed a yellow vest and put it on with a sigh. The second year watched a group of yellow students stood off to the left of him. He walked over and smiled at them, he was about to talk when a younger student walked over and said. “Is everyone here?” Was he really trying to lead them? What self respecting second year would listen to a first year? He scanned the horizon for other yellow vests. Being a bit taller then the other kids he was able to see that none were missing.

“I think we are.” He said with a nod of his head. “What should we name our team?” He asked with a raised eyebrow.

0 Tobar Brishen I'm pretty sure it's cheating. 152 Tobar Brishen 0 5

Veronica Kerrigan, Purple

May 20, 2010 1:25 PM

Perhaps, it will be interesting. by Veronica Kerrigan, Purple

Among the classes she despised, Defense Against the Dark Arts rated second. Veronica really didn't see the point in taking such a class. Yes, she understood what the professor was saying about dangerous people and the like, and yes, assuming she fulfilled her goals, she might come in contact with some of these people, but she would also have hired protection. Those that would have been fully trained in every viable means of defense to ensure her safety. Besides, it would be a disservice if she learned this material, because then she would have no need of such people and then she would be helping to provide less jobs. And even the lowly people needed work les they ended up living as bums. No, she would be doing her charitable part in ensuring the lives of others by not bothering with the mundane material.

That settled, she would still do the lesson, because she didn't really mind being in the maze and if someone got her out, oh well. She didn't really care. Going to the box, she picked out the color she was already intent on having. Purple. It was the color of royalty and really the only real option of the bunch. Yellow and orange were just so bright and guady while blue was such a male color that she had to deal with every day with it being one of her house colors. No, she definitely wanted purple. It reminded her not only of her place in society, but of the delicate, feminine things she liked, such as lavender and lilacs.

Pulling her vest on over her blonde head, she took the time to straighten her hair and make sure there were no unsightly wrinkles. If she were lucky, perhaps, there would be a boy in the group willing to be her Prince Charming. Though, spotting her group there was no such luck at the moment, but perhaps, things would change. Making her way over, she came up in time to hear someone ask if there were any ideas. Volunteering the only reason she even chose purple, Veronica stated, "We could start with Royal and add something to that since that's what purple is. The color of royalty."

Her chin was tilted at an angle that dared anyone to defy her. She might not have been interested in the lesson, but she was interested in having her way. If there had been a male in the group already, she would have been a bit more obedient as well as flirtatious, but among the other girls, it was a matter of being the leader so that only the best gentlemen would choose her. While she was waiting to see if anyone contradicted her, she surveyed the other three. She hadn't seen them before so she was sure they were first years. One from Aladren and two from Crotalus. None of them to be trusted just yet.

0 Veronica Kerrigan, Purple Perhaps, it will be interesting. 0 Veronica Kerrigan, Purple 0 5

Rachel Bauer, Purple

May 20, 2010 11:52 PM

I rather expect it will be. by Rachel Bauer, Purple

Rachel wasn't sure how good of a job she'd done of keeping her liking for Defense a secret. She did her best, as she did in all her classes, to affect disinterest while doing all she could, but Defense had a way of throwing lessons at them that got her enough into the game to forget her role. That game of dodgeball from her first year stood out as a particularly painful incident. Somehow, between her and Edmond Carey, she had a feeling the socially acceptable one had not ended up on the front line during that interlude.

It was for that reason that hearing they were having their lesson in the Gardens made her as inclined to groan as it did her less action-oriented fellow ladies. There was no way this was going to end well.

Since detention would be even worse, though, she donned last year's boots and a pair of pants, braided her hair, and reported to the classroom for roll call with everyone else before heading outside. Figuring it was too crowded for anyone who didn't need to see such things to notice, she didn't waste the effort it took to put on a bored look during the lecture, but gave it her full attention. Maybe it was - unfortunate as that would be - her father coming out in her, but if any of the nasty things Professor Levy talked about ever came after her, Rachel wanted to know exactly how to defeat them herself. Men were all well and good for that sort of thing, but not if they weren't there at the exact moment a psycho burst into the dining room to sacrifice her to a cult or something.

When it came time to pick teams, she hesitated, but finally grabbed a purple vest like Veronica's. It didn't go with her top, but there was only so long she could go on trying to avoid her alleged best friend during classes before Veronica figured out something was up and then Rachel either had to make up something on the spot or, if she was mad enough, tell the truth. Now was as good a time as any to get over herself and her childhood trauma, especially since the nature of the assignment meant not joining Veronica could lead to Veronica being joined by Alessa or Raines or - Merlin forbid - Sam. Those were the people who, if she wasn't around to, if worst came to worst, jinx them into keeping their mouths shut, could ruin her life.

Oh, anyone with an interest in genealogy and access to the library could do that, but those three were special. Alessa was like them, but not entirely with them. Raines hated her and, if she wasn't too mistaken, had an epic thing for Veronica. And Sam...Rachel loved Sam. She really did. But if he used his surname in front of her friends while he was talking about Muggle school and wearing his Batman shirt, she was going to have to introduce him to the idea that being embarrassed by Muggleborn grandparents and having no father was, in fact, more proper than Aunt Hannah seemed to think it was. She had already made up several lies to tell if Veronica and Alessa heard about Sam by word of mouth - disowned aunt, affair with a Muggle, we don't talk about it, but we let the kid use our name sort of thing - but she wasn't sure how well they'd hold up in the face of Sam's lack of self-consciousness if anyone met the man himself.

She came up to the group just in time to hear Veronica's suggestion for a name. "Nice one," she said. "I'm lacking in helpful adjectives today, though." Two Crotali, two Aladrens, and her - officially one, behaved as the other. That was nice. "Hi, first years. I'm Rachel Bauer, Arizona Bauers." She looked at one of the Crotali. "I'm pretty sure we met in Care of Magical Creatures," she added. "Sort of."

16 Rachel Bauer, Purple I rather expect it will be. 154 Rachel Bauer, Purple 0 5

Brad Hayman (Aladren, Yellow)

May 22, 2010 3:00 PM

Cheating is for supervillains, tsk, tsk! by Brad Hayman (Aladren, Yellow)

Defense Against the Dark Arts was Brad’s kind of class. It combined the two things that interested the redhead most: fighting crime and, of course, magic. He always felt like he was a true superhero whenever he cast spells in the class.

Three spells? Awesome! The idea of doing so much magic was almost overwhelming for the Muggleborn; fortunately, he kept his cool instead of passing out from excitement. He took his wand out at Professor Levy’s command and placed it in his palm. “Point-Me.” It worked right away. “Score!” he exclaimed. He’d had rotten luck with a lot of the spells he’d been doing in his other classes, so this made him feel a lot better.

Brad listened, intrigued by the professor’s explanation of good-versus-evil in the magical world. Wow, it was just like the comics! He would definitely never turn into one of those wicked people she was talking about. How lame and irresponsible would that be!

He nodded seriously when the teacher told them there was a small chance that anyone could encounter dark magic sometime in his or her life. Honestly, he wanted to have that chance—to go head-to-head with some evil soul, bring them to justice, save lives! It was what every good hero got to do at some point, and he knew he could do the same one day. He just had to stay focused in school and keep a positive attitude up, just like his parents told him to do all the time. If he did that, anything was possible!

Professor Levy asked for a volunteer. “Ooh, ooh! Pick me! Pick me!” Brad waved his hand excitedly, his eyes wide. Unfortunately, some other kid got picked. Blast! he thought.

He watched as she performed both Expelliarmus and Protego. The first one was the offensive spell while the other was for defense. Cool.

So they were going to do another competition. Great! Brad loved that Sonora offered so many different games to its students to teach them various lessons. It made everything much more enjoyable, and it was nice to get something out of his hard work every once in a while. This particular competition reminded him a lot of the laser tag birthday parties his Muggle friends had invited him to back home. He’d definitely write to John and Carl about it later.

…Wait. Blast! He couldn’t tell them about it because of the magical secrecy statute thing. That was lame. He would have so many good stories and he’d have to keep them all to himself! He frowned in annoyance.

A moment later, he shook himself and walked over to the big vest box. He picked a yellow one because it reminded him of Daredevil and found his fellow yellows. “Hey, guys! Ready to save the world?” He grinned at his teammates.

“What should we name our team?”

“The Super Squad!” Brad exclaimed enthusiastically. How could they possibly refuse it?

0 Brad Hayman (Aladren, Yellow) Cheating is for supervillains, tsk, tsk! 0 Brad Hayman (Aladren, Yellow) 0 5

Cosette

May 22, 2010 9:45 PM

Perhaps. by Cosette

At the mention of a team name including the word royal, Cosette turned to face another girl from Crotalus. Cosette was pretty sure she was older since she had an air about her that demanded respect, something only an ignorant first-year would boast. Or she was a pureblood, in either case both being older and a pureblood would have her in the mindset that she was to be respected even if she didn’t deserve it. Cosette hoped she acted superior for social purposes and not in hopes of being leader of the group for the project, because that would just be embarrassing for the both of them.

Another girl, one who seemed familiar, came up to the group with a slightly different air about her. She remembered her as the girl who made a passing comment to her in Care of the Magical Creatures. She didn’t seem to be demanding as much from the other girls present, which pleased Cosette. Costte looked at her company and was brainstorming team names to herself. She already determined she didn’t care about the assignment, but it wouldn’t hurt to at least have a decent team name and not something completely ridiculous to go along with. “How about something like the Divine Royals?” The she shrugged slightly. “I’m not sure if it works with everyone’s tastes, but I don’t think it’s too horrible to work with.”

The other girl, Rachel, introduced herself politely before turning her attention to Cosette. “I’m pretty sure we met in Care of the Magical Creatures. Sort of.”

Cosette studied her and nodded. “We did, in a way.” She had spoken to Cosette as she watched two boys converse. Apparently Rachel disliked the older one, Raines. Cosette couldn’t blame her, really. He came off like a bit of a prat from what she could tell.

While Cosette was more or less technically pureblood from her standpoint – both her parents were magical, her grandparents had been trying to get her in the main house for quite some time now, though family issues were a barrel of problems in themselves – Rachel had introduced herself as a pureblood. She was taught to do the same but had been dodging doing so while at the Academy. But if anyone knew of her family name, which they very well could, they’d know all of her family drama through word of mouth. They would have heard how her precious pureblood mother ran off with her muggleborn father and had Cosette, who her grandparents decided they wanted to raise as their own only after her mother’s mental illness started to worsen. Pureblood families, especially gossipers like the darker witches and wizards in hers, talked.

So, should she introduce herself normally as she had just done, or in a pureblood fashion?

“I never told you my name, did I?” she asked, though she already knew she hadn’t. “I’m Cosette Miller of the…” Vermont Beaumonts was what she was going to say, but at the last second she cut herself off with finality. Unless they knew their genealogy or gossiped themselves, there was no way they’d make the connection. She wanted nothing to do with her pureblood relatives, so no point in following typical social rules, was there?

0 Cosette Perhaps. 0 Cosette 0 5

Caleb Nichols (Aladren)

May 24, 2010 10:23 AM

Cheating, schmeating. As long as we don't get caught. by Caleb Nichols (Aladren)

Caleb was curious as to what the DADA lesson would be today, considering the fact that it was being held in the Labyrinth Gardens. He was excited as he made his way from his dorm room to the gardens and stood outside with all of the other students as he waited for the directions.

He watched as the professor told them about different spells. When they were asked for a volunteer, Caleb kept his hand securely by his side. He normally didn't like being a volunteer for something because he usually made a fool out of himself. So, he watched as a student came forward and the professor did the two spells Expelliarmus, and Protego on the student. He was very intrigued. When the teacher said that they were going to be making teams, he looked around at some of the other students. He walked over to some of the other students and stood with them and decided that he would make some new friends.

When they asked what the team name would be he looked at the boy who suddenly shouted "The Super Squad." Caleb didn't particularly like that name, but he was polite so he waited for the other's take on the name. But, he offered his own name anyways. "How about...The Dream Team? I mean, it rhymes...." He smiled politely at the other students who were gathered around him. He had hoped that they wouldn't think he was too weird for offering that name up, but he couldn't help it.

0 Caleb Nichols (Aladren) Cheating, schmeating. As long as we don't get caught. 0 Caleb Nichols (Aladren) 0 5

Nic; Blue

May 24, 2010 11:06 AM

Splendid by Nic; Blue

Nic tried not react to Dmitri's suggestion for their group name. He wasn't violently opposed to The Blue Man Group's continued existence in world, but he preferred to keep his awareness of such limited to Intel commercials. He certainly did not have any wish to be mistaken for the sort of person who painted his skin blue. He looked hopefully at Alessa, silently pleading with her to take feminist affront to being a part of the Blue Man Group, but she remained as non-committal as Brian did.

He decided to use her as an excuse anyway. "In deference to our lady group members," he nodded to Alessa and the other girls who hadn't yet ventured an opinion on the team name, "I think maybe we shouldn't go with Blue Man Group," he shrugged, as if apologetic for this choice - which he wasn't and he didn't entirely care if the others saw through the pretense - "Equal opportunity and all that."

He'd also gathered that 'The Blue Team' also wasn't winning any popularity awards, so he tried to come up with something less objectionable and less boring. "What about the Sonora Blues?" Some school spirit, the group color, and a little bit of irony for those who wanted something clever. Plus, it didn't imply anyone was painting themselves blue, which Nic could only see as a positive thing.

"Also, do we have anyone good at reading maps, who can be our navigator?"

1 Nic; Blue Splendid 165 Nic; Blue 0 5

Professor Levy

June 02, 2010 10:24 AM

Class is Closed! (nm) by Professor Levy

0 Professor Levy Class is Closed! (nm) 0 Professor Levy 0 5