Think fast! [Years VI-VII Defense] on Labyrinth Gardens

Prof. Isis Carter

April 14, 2015 6:20 PM

Think fast! [Years VI-VII Defense] by Prof. Isis Carter

It was safe to say that Isis was glad to see Diana Yu back at Sonora. Aside from finding her a generally enjoyable lady, Isis was not going to miss teaching Potions. Nothing against the course, either: it was just rather tiring to be essentially running two courses. She got a surprising amount of work for a substitute, really, although she certainly wasn’t complaining. It would certainly slow down once the school hired a full-time Defense Against the Dark Arts professor, but it was just nice to actually be bringing home a paycheck.

Having only one topic to contend with, however, definitely had its benefits. It allowed her to plan more elaborate lessons. For today’s advanced class, for example, she had devised a sort of reflexive game in the Gardens. She made sure to tell them in their last class with her that today’s would not take place in the Defense classroom, but just in case anyone forgot and appeared at the wrong location, she posted a sign on the door to direct them.

She dropped her messenger bag by the wayside and awaited their arrival by the entrance to the maze. After allowing five minutes or so to pass as a grace period for anyone running late, Isis began. “Welcome, everyone,” she started calmly. “Today’s assignment is all about reflexes. You’re going into the maze either alone or in small groups, wands at the ready, and dealing with the ‘creatures’ that pop up.” Air quotes were utilized.

“However, you aren’t actually dealing with anything dangerous out there,” she explained. “When you reach a clearing, anywhere from three to six cardboard cutouts will spring up in front of you. Some will be Inferi. When you see them, you have to deal with them as you would deal with real Inferi.” If they had paid any attention in class over the last few days, they would know that Inferi were most susceptible to fire-based magic, and despite being cardboard, the mock-Inferi would respond the same way, with most other types of magic simply having no effect. The fire-rope charm was her best recommendation.

“But some of the cutouts will be regular humans,” Isis went on. “So in your split-second decision-making, you have to account for which targets to attack and which to ignore.” That was the real challenge of the exercise, she felt. Once the cutouts started springing up, the surprise might make hands slip. With a gesture to several breaks in the Gardens hedges, she concluded, “You can pick between any of these paths, and I’ll see you on the other side.” She had selected some that would have three to five clearings before leading back to the start. Every path was different in terms of how many clearings it would have, how many cutouts it would have, and how many of those would be Inferi. Every option was a new adventure.

OOC: I'm looking for creativity as well as length and rule-following, but make sure to have fun with it! None of the paths lead so deep that Isis would be unable to hear someone call for her if she is needed, so feel free to tag me if you need something! Happy posting!

Subthreads:

Not having a good day by Effie Arbon, Crotalus with Annabelle Pierce, Pecari

Ready for some fun by Annette Pierce, Pecari

12 Prof. Isis Carter Think fast! [Years VI-VII Defense] 31 Prof. Isis Carter 1 5

Effie Arbon, Crotalus

April 15, 2015 5:54 AM

Not having a good day by Effie Arbon, Crotalus

Effie splashed some cold water on her eyes and then gave up further hope. There was, of course, a Charm to reduce eye-puffiness but the trouble was one only really got practise when one was not feeling one's best... It had helped a little, she thought, but she was also sure it was still quite apparent that she had been crying. Part of her was angry with her parents but at the same time she felt shame and guilt at not being happier at the news... Delphine was to be sent to France to stay with some relatives and to improve her connections and her prospects. It would be a wonderful opportunity for her sister, she was sure, and one that was only needed because of Effie's own failure to secure a suitable match for her sister through her own connections, and thus she knew she should not resent her sister the chance. Truly speaking, she did not – she could not resent or begrudge Delphine anything, especially when her life had been so cloistered and sheltered compared to Effie's own. The timing though was just too painful to bear... Delphine would be gone before Effie returned from Sonora. The summer had stretched before her, possibly with more the other side of it, depending on what Effie chose to do with her life, and now, when she was so close to getting to spend so much time with her, her sister was being whisked away without Effie even having a chance to say goodbye. She tried to reign her anger and her hurt in, knowing that they could be catastrophic when misapplied in any class, but especially Defence Against the Dark Arts. Allowing one's emotions to over-rule one's magical control was always ill disciplined and an embarrassment but it was forgiven in younger children. She was too old for such mistakes now.

She had been in such a distracted state that she had forgotten about the change of venue. Thus to add insult to injury – and to heap further self-consciousness and conspicuousness upon her – she arrived uncharacteristically late, pink cheeked and out of breath. She apologised politely to Professor Carter even though she found the woman quite distasteful. She had never known any woman to cut off all her hair and the only reason she could fathom that was Professor Carter was either quite mad or from some kind of brutish cult. Both possibilities were, she feared, worse than being a former actress. At least Professor Oliver's had the common decency to have nice hair. She had not been dissuaded from her point of view when, in one of their early lessons, and with no prior warning, she had required them to hang each other upside-down by the ankles. All proper Pureblood young ladies wore skirts or dresses at all times and so the class had had the potential to be more than averagely embarrassing, not to mention extremely improprietous, for them.

On any other day, and for any other person, she may have found the class interesting. However, now that her opinion was set on Professor Carter, she tended to see all classes in terms of how they confirmed what she already felt. Testing whether or not they might hit innocent humans seemed something only someone very rough and violent individual would consider important. Effie was also not sure she very much wanted to be leapt out at by things, however harmless, though at least it had the potential to be a reasonable distraction. She certainly didn't feel like being alone, however. She would be getting enough of that this summer... Finding one of her classmates whose company she enjoyed, she smiled, hoping that she looked better than she had in the bathroom. Whilst things had certainly improved, she was still a little pink around the eyes.

“Would you like to work together?” she asked.

13 Effie Arbon, Crotalus Not having a good day 238 Effie Arbon, Crotalus 0 5

Annabelle Pierce, Pecari

April 15, 2015 11:26 AM

I've had worse by Annabelle Pierce, Pecari

Annabelle had not remembered about the change in venue for today's DADA class but fortunately Annette had. Less fortunately, Annette had not seen fit to remind her until she instructed her sister to put on the white sandals with one inch heels. Annette had frowned and protested, which Annabelle had initially taken as Nettie's usual dislike of any footwear that was not flat soled, but it soon became apparent the argument had a much more practical foundation when Annette crossed her arms and insisted, "I have enough trouble not tripping over myself in those on solid hallways, but I will fall flat on my face if Professor Carter has anything physical planned for us on the uneven paths in the labyrinth in DADA today."

At that point it was too late to change their outfits to account for the outdoor class, but Annabelle did find more practical shoes for them both to wear on the dirt or stone cobbled ground of the garden paths. As long as they kept their school robes on, the outfits underneath didn't much matter anyway, though she would have liked to at least change them into skorts instead of sundresses in case Carter tried to flip them upside down again.

Flat comfortable shoes seemed enough precaution though as Prosessor Carter explained the lesson and Annabelle let out a silent sigh of relief that her lacey yellow underwear was going to remain a privileged sight granted only to the seventh year Pecari girls present while she got dressed that morning.

As they began breaking into groups, Annabelle gave a nod of encouragement to Annette and went to find somebody else to work with. They weren't going to be able to see each other for this exercise, which was a bit terrifying and would render both of them much weaker magically, but it was going to be good practice for the RATS coming up in only a few short months and it didn't sound like they needed to be particularly powerful to score well on the lesson. Instead, the focus today seemed to be more on reflexes and appropriate targeting.

She was pleased when Effie approached her. Their relationship had been a bit strained due to Annabelle's Quidditch playing and Effie specifically excluding her from a party in their early years, but with their school years quickly coming to a close, Annabelle had been trying to mend fences with the other proper girls in her year. Things were particularly going well with Amity, and Annabelle hoped maybe this would be an opportunity to demonstrate to Effie that she wasn't a complete waste of her mother's breeding.

They had never come out and announced in so many words that Annette was the one who had played in those first forbidden games, but she thought it had become increasingly clear over the last couple of years when they'd been trying to define some individuality between them, that it was Annabelle who could easily talk about fashion and boys and dancing and who was betrothed to who and the irritations of how few silverware options Sonora provided even during Feasts, while Annette floundered once the conversation moved away from classwork or Quidditch or the most simple basics anyone born to Bettina Pierce couldn't help but pick up through enforced repetition.

Certainly, the other Pecaris in the seventh year knew Annabelle chose both of their clothing options everyday while Annette complained that nobody would see their outfits under the uniform robes anyway so why couldn't she just wear her Quidditch practice pants? (Annabelle was pretty sure her sister still asked this every. single. day, but she had become quite skilled now in tuning it out she wasn't entirely sure if maybe Annette had accepted her fate by now or not.) Annabelle wasn't sure if that had made it out of their dorm room, though, and Annette presented pretty well in public despite her dislike of the nicer clothes. (Though heels were still a work in progress for her sister; Annabelle felt pretty sure they were easy to tell apart on days when heels were involved with one of the twins wobbling and glaring at her sister and the other exasperated at the first one but otherwise well poised.)

"Certainly," she answered in response to Effie's query about whether she would like to work together. She had noticed Effie's late arrival at the beginning of the class but politely did not mention it. "For an outdoor lesson, this could have been worse," she remarked, hoping that it might put them both into a positive enough mindset to make it through the psuedo-Inferi encounters without embarrassing themselves. She drew out her wand so she'd have it ready for the first cardboard cutouts to jump at them, and looked at the different paths they'd been offered. "Do you have a preference which route we take?" she asked making a vague gesture to imply any of them were fine with her.

1 Annabelle Pierce, Pecari I've had worse 246 Annabelle Pierce, Pecari 0 5

Annette Pierce, Pecari

April 15, 2015 12:27 PM

Ready for some fun by Annette Pierce, Pecari

Annette shifted on her feet, relieved that she'd been able to talk Annabelle out of the heels she'd initially been set on for today's ensemble. Instead she was wearing a pair of white sandals that were a bit more frilly that she would have chosen herself, but they were at least comfortable and let her feet stand flat on the ground, granting her the balance and agility she figured she'd need for an outdoor DADA lesson.

RATS DADA was actually going better than she had expected it to, even as they hit the homestretch before the massive final exams that made all seventh years dread the close of their final year. Charms had been a given, and Transfiguration had seemed one as well before Annette only pulled a P on her CATS. She'd retaken it at the end of the summer, with the other students who had chosen to delay their exam after half a year without real professors, and pulled off a much more satisfactory E, so that went back on the table as their second RATS course, but they both thought only two classes was too few even for a pair of girls who didn't have too many plans past graduation.

They had excluded CoMC because neither much cared for it and Annabelle had only gotten an A on her CATS. They'd both gotten Es in Potions and that probably would have been their best option, but Annabelle had decided she was burned out on potions after writing the definitive glossary of all terms, ingredients, and recipes they'd learned in their first five years for their open book exam.

And that pretty much just left them with DADA. Annette had scored one of her two Os there (the other being Charms) but Annabelle had hit the same crumbling slope of a disastrous practical that had destroyed Annette's first transfiguration grade and only pulled an A. But between not having any professor part of that year and a substitute the rest of the time since Professor Levy left for good after being intermittent for a while before that, an A was good enough to continue with the subject.

So here they were in their seventh year, finishing up their study of Advanced DADA. Annabelle, she knew, would be glad to be done with it and she sometimes suspected her sister regretted not going with Potions after all despite the clinging fumes that even repeated washings did not always entirely remove and the havoc it wreaked on one's hair (Annabelle's other justifications for dropping their best scoring class which additionally was relatively useful for the day-to-day life of a witch and furthermore did not involve their problems with wand waving), but Annette liked the class. Especially the lessons like today where they got to do something more interesting than sit at desks and practice spells or learn dry (or occasionally horrifying) facts about dark creatures.

When it became apparent they weren't going to actually face a real Inferi (which was sadly not something she would put past the Sonora administration), she decided this was going to be one of the good ones. It almost sounded fun.

Hoping to find a partner who seemed at least somewhat enthusiastic about the exercise so they could enjoy the game together, Annette parted ways with Annabelle and cheerfully asked a potential candidate, "Want to go Inferi hunting with me?" With a class as small as Advanced DADA was, she gave no thought to social status or House in her selection. She just wanted a parter who looked ready to have some fun with this. She didn't think that was too much to ask.

1 Annette Pierce, Pecari Ready for some fun 247 Annette Pierce, Pecari 0 5