Prof. Adrian Meade
October 19, 2013 1:45 AM
Glub glub [Inter. 3 to 5] by Prof. Adrian Meade
Back at school. Adrian had come to love the beginning of the school year at Sonora Academy and waited anxiously to meet his new students. The former adventurer was happy with his sedentary life…until a few days ago. He couldn’t believe what had happened and the letter that had brought the news was still at his desk. The middle-aged professor had reread so many times that the parchment was beginning to break due to being constantly touched by its owner. It had been years since he had proposed the project to the University of Michigan to no avail and now, after almost 10 years, they had finally approved the budget for it. What was he to do? The project was his baby, his lifelong dream of exploring, but he loved his job at the school. Sadly, he couldn’t do both. Adrian Meade hated doing things half way; if he committed to something he gave it his full attention because it wasn’t fair. He didn’t know what to do. He was at a crossroads confused out of his mind of what road to take, but he had time to decide.The Professor took a deep breath as he looked around his transformed classroom and gave a little smile. The eerie under the sea ambience was enough to calm his nerves a bit before the students came running towards their chosen class. Adrian enjoyed adjusting the classroom to house the creatures he brought for his students to see and learn from. Sometimes he wasn’t lucky enough to procure the animal, but when he did, he usually made his best to give the students the real version of the habitat. Studying magical creatures was better if the animal was in its habitat. They were more normal. The classroom completely dark with the exception of the reflected candle light on the big aquarium in the middle. The aquarium was big enough to give the lobalug a lot of space to swim around without being constricted in a tight space. It was filled with everything one would find in the bottom of a lake like seaweeds and fishes and all that stuff. It looked awesome, if he said so himself.
He smiled at his handy work and waited for the students to come poling in. His intermediate class was smaller to the beginners and he was grateful for that. The bell rang signaling the start of the class and, like always, he gave the students five minutes to come in and take their places before locking the door. He was sure that by now his older students knew he didn’t tolerate tardiness. Once everyone was settled in the desks around the enormous tank, he greeted them with a smile and wave
“Welcome back!” he said cheerfully as he looked around. He was very good with face and names, and Adrian had been at Sonora for so long that it wasn’t hard to remember them. “Hope you had a great holiday, but now it’s time for us to go back into the learning path.” Adrian chuckled at his own lame attempt of a joke before continuing.
“Now, I am sure you are wondering what is inside the tank and the answer is a lobalug.” Adrian cracked his neck, “The lobalug is native of the North Sea, is classified as a beast and has a rating of a triple X.” It was a harmless enough creature for his intermediate class and since it was in its tank nothing would happen unless a stupid child decided he or she wanted to go swimming.
“The Lobalug is an aquatic creature found at the bottom of the North Sea. It is a simple creature, ten inches long comprising a rubbery spout and a venom sac. The Lobalug uses its venom sac as a weapon, contracting it and expelling the venom in the direction of an attacker if threatened.” He chuckled a bit. “Merpeople use the Lobalug as a weapon, and the venom is used byWizards as a potion ingredient, though this practise is strictly controlled”
Adrian looked at his students, “This was a small introduction to the lobalug. It’s a very interesting creature, but now I want you to write an essay on its characteristics and features AND enlist what potions its venom is used for AND why the ministry would control the trade of this potion ingredient.You know you can work in pairs and that I have books to consult if you need to. You may need a potions book to complete this one. You can come near the tank to see the creatures. I was able to procure a dozen of them. Don’t irritate them because they might try to attack you!” He finished with a teasing smile. The students were safe from the venom.
Adrian hated giving homework, but they needed to learn and controlled self-learning was a good method. “I am here if needed.”
OOC: Posting rules apply. If you need Adrian just tag him. Happy posting!
Subthreads: How do you describe something so weird? by Clara Abernathy with Effie Arbon
Is that actually the sound it makes? by Carter Browning with Rupert Princeton, Pecari, Wendy Canterbury - Pecari, Carter
Blurp, Blurp. by Virginia Bellrose, Crotalus with Adam Spencer, Pecari, Ginny
Already off with the work. by Aria Yale, Teppenpaw with Charlie B-F-R, Aria Yale
Logic is good. Dark is not. by Henry Carey, Crotalus with Francesca Wolseithcrafte, Henry Carey
Research questions by Anthony Carey VIII, Aladren
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Prof. Adrian Meade
Glub glub [Inter. 3 to 5]
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Prof. Adrian Meade
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5
Virginia Bellrose, Crotalus
October 21, 2013 8:00 PM
Blurp, Blurp. by Virginia Bellrose, Crotalus
Ginny was really excited about being back at school. She didn’t mind being home usually, but her mother was being extra clingy this summer and Ginny was over it. She kept saying how her little girl was growing up and that they would eventually have to go looking for a proper betrothal for her and make all sorts of connections through her, blah blah blah. Ginny didn’t want to hear any of it. She was doing as her parents wanted. She was being a good girl and making friends with the right people. They weren’t necessarily the strictest of Purebloods and Ginny had neglected to mention the part where Francesca played Quidditch, but they were still both from very good families. Ginny was only thirteen, she didn’t really want to think about being contracted to another being at this point of her life. Clearly, her mother had not handling her becoming a teenager all too well. But it just made getting on the wagon for school all that much better. She couldn’t wait to see all her friends.Of course, none of her friends were in Crotalus, so she had to deal with the first night by herself, but now it was time for lessons and she would be able to see them again. Or… attempt to, considering the Care of Magical Creatures lesson was being done by candle light. Ginny frowned as she sidled into the classroom, trying not to get too close to the tank. She didn’t think they had had a class lesson yet that didn’t involve a tank. Couldn’t they have some cute critters for once? She had really enjoyed that petting zoo last year during the Fair. Those were cute animals that she wanted to learn about and pet and play with. Things in tanks were not cute and she couldn’t pet them (and wouldn’t want to anyway).
Not to mention, the room was gloomy! How was she supposed to study the creature in the dark? She couldn’t even see her parchment properly to take notes on it. Ginny could appreciate the fact that the professor was setting the mood for what they were going to learn, but it wasn’t really conducive to actually taking proper citations for the learning. She would just have to read the chapter on whatever it was that they were studying and try to do the best she could from there.
She found a spot in the corner and did her best to try to see what was in the tank and pay attention to what the professor was saying. The lecture didn’t last very long and already they had an essay to do. If that lecture was what everything there was to know about the Lobalug, how was she supposed to write a full essay on it? “Well… at least it’s not a picture I have to draw.” She mumbled to herself. She peered into the tank to try to have a look at the creature. It was dark though and she mostly only saw her reflection staring back at her. “Are you able to see it?” She asked the person beside her.
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Virginia Bellrose, Crotalus
Blurp, Blurp.
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Virginia Bellrose, Crotalus
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Adam Spencer, Pecari
October 22, 2013 11:10 AM
Merp, Merp. by Adam Spencer, Pecari
At the end of the summer, Adam had been ready to go back to the academic world. He was in his third year and feeling good about his life at Sonora. His marks the year before had been great and he was aiming to continue to excel. He had good friends and was involved in extracurricular activities. It had been a bit of a shock to learn that Quidditch had been on the verge of being cancelled, but thanks to Professor Olivers that hadn’t happened. If the sport had been cancelled, Adam wouldn’t have been worse for wear, but it was something he could bond over with his team-mates and keep fit. He would have to regard Professor Olivers with more respect now as a former actress. She proved that former thespian were capable of holding a regular job after their acting career had ended.Professor Skies was now the Deputy Head as well, which was an odd thought, but she hadn’t seemed anxious to practise her new powers over all of her students. COMC was the subject where nothing had changed and Adam, who did not like massive changes, was looking forward to the stable and unaffected environment, or as stable and unaffected as a magical class could be.
The light was just enough to see around the classroom and Adam felt like he was walking into a solemn ceremony of sorts. He went and sat by Ginny and smiled at her in greeting, feeling as though speaking in such an environment before the professor would be detrimental or cause the creature in the tank to explode or something similar. He didn’t know what sort of creatures the intermediate class learnt about. Adam wondered why Ginny had chosen to sit in the corner when the light did not reach this far. He couldn’t see the creature clearly from here and the light was dim enough that he could hardly see the ink on parchment.
The lecture was short in which Professor Meade told them how poisonous the lobabugs were. An essay immediately followed and Adam sighed. He would miss that from the beginner classes, interacting with the creatures beforehand. The lessons were simple then; it was time to adjust to the harder coursework if he wanted to receive high marks. Ginny said something next to him and he assumed it was some complaint about the essay. He would certainly complain about it too. “I can’t see it, no,” he replied. “Professor Meade’s cheeriness is almost ironic considering the room.” It was rather gloomy in comparison to their professor’s attitude. “I’m going to get books; would you like to share?”
Once Ginny had answered, Adam went to retrieve books. There was one on aquatic magical creatures and two on poisonous magical creatures. Reference to the lobabug had to be in at least one of these books. They were thick enough. As he walked back, he stopped by the tank and peered in, though making sure not to get too close. The lobalug was uninteresting so Adam went back to the table in a matter of seconds. “Nothing interesting to see, but you can take a look if you’d like,” he told Ginny as he set the books between them. “How was your summer?”
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Adam Spencer, Pecari
Merp, Merp.
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Adam Spencer, Pecari
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Ginny
October 23, 2013 10:55 PM
We are really talking now! by Ginny
Ginny was pleased to see that Adam had found her and come to sit with her. There were times when Ginny was worried that she was too different from her friends for them to continue on having any sort of relationship with her. The way that they enjoyed Quidditch so much and she was still only just learning about the sport, Ginny thought she would for sure fall behind and they wouldn’t think she was an adequate friend to have around. Obviously, they had never really ever given her the idea that they would do that to her, but Ginny still maintained the fear whether she wanted to or not.She smiled at him when he sat down, but she wasn’t so sure he could see it in the low lighting. She wasn’t even sure how he could see her, but she was still happy to see him. She had thought about giving him a hug briefly, but thought it might be a little weird to do it in class and Ginny had no idea about his opinions on physical contact. Boys were fickle in that way. Of course, she had no idea if Francesca liked hugs either, but Ginny felt it was safer to try to hug her female friend than her male friend. Especially since they were in low lighting and awkwardly in the middle of class.
“Sure.” She said when he offered to get the books to share. Ginny didn’t mind sharing, but she wished that now that the lecture was over, the Professor would light more candles. When Adam got up to get the books, Ginny turned away from the tank and pulled her Potions text book from her bag. It was a good thing she typically took all of her books with her. Her mother had charmed her bag to feel lighter, so she didn’t have to worry about the books weighing her down. It was hard to say what classes would require what book since they sometimes meshed together, so she liked to play it safe sometimes.
She made a face when Adam suggested her to go to the tank, “No thank you. I chose this corner so that I didn’t have to look at it all period.” She told him before flipping open one of the books. “It was… sort of boring.” She told him honestly. “My mother decided that I was growing up too fast and didn’t want me leaving her side.” Ginny rolled her eyes. “Which, of course, brought up the subject of future betrothals, but Daddy told me that I don’t have to think of those for a couple more years, thankfully.” She commented as she flipped through the pages. “I did start learning pointe in Ballet. I’m not very good and my Instructor was not pleased to know I didn’t practice as much as she recommended while I was here, but it’s hard to find the time to do it.” Ginny did not seem to put out by this fact, she just knew she would have to work harder.
“Anyway, how was yours? Do anything remotely interesting?” Ginny had corresponded with Francesca over the summer, although their letters were never very in depth. She had sent a few to Adam, but they were somewhat vague. Ginny didn’t really know what to talk about with a boy.
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Ginny
We are really talking now!
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Ginny
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Adam
October 24, 2013 12:43 PM
In our own dialect. by Adam
The creature wasn't the loveliest thing to look at so Adam didn't blame Ginny for deciding to sit as far from it as possible. It would have been convenient, however, for Professor Meade to light more candles next to them or open a window or something to bring more light in. There had to be a reason for this darkness and Adam didn't want to light his wand and have a mad lobalug on his hands.Future betrothals for Ginny? Adam thought it strange to be thinking of those sorts of things. He had the leisure of not having to worry about betrothals. So long as he made the right choice in his future spouse, it didn't matter what sort of family she was from. He was the wizard, after all. It was too far in the future to think about those things, but Adam knew from his sister and his mother's harping that it was important for witches to always keep it in mind constantly. Silly, he thought, but supposedly necessary.
Though Adam enjoyed having a friend who was an avid Quidditch player, he also enjoyed having a friend who supported them. Ginny and Francesca were very different and Adam enjoyed both of their companies. It was funny how they all came to be friends, all being from different houses, but it had worked out for the best.
Ballet was not a dance Adam was familiar with. He had joined Ginny's Dance Club in order to practise his own technique with ballroom, a necessity in pure-blood parties, but otherwise he had very little knowledge of anything else. He knew Charlotte had taken ballet lessons for a while, but she had two left feet and hadn't retained very much. Still, the difficulty of finding time to practise a lesson not taught at Sonora was something Adam could understand. "Haven't you been able to practise some in the Dance Club?" he asked.
"I'm sure it's difficult to find time outside of that, though," he added sympathetically. "Now that we're in the Intermediate courses it's going to be even more difficult. You, Francesca and I should study together more often in the library. I know I'll need the extra time." They could be together in a productive environment; too many times Adam was more than willing to sacrifice his studying time to be with his mates.
Adam had received the few letters Ginny had sent him and he had written back, but he supposed they weren't as good of friends as she and Francesca were. There were always boundaries between witches and wizards and it was unfortunate that Adam did not have his own companion as Ginny and Francesca had each other. He would have to pull another lad into their clique. "I visited both sets of grandparents," he told her. "My mother's grandparents live in Surrey and my father's in Darlington. It was nice being out of the city for a weekend." Adam loved the continuous hum of London, but holidays out in the country were welcome breaths of fresh air. "Otherwise, nothing notable." Adam opened one of the textbooks. "I'm going to need to readjust myself back into the academic life. This summer felt particularly long and relaxing.
"My brother Jack's looking forward to coming to school in a few years. He's just starting to show signs of magical ability and he's thrilled." Adam couldn't remember if Ginny had any siblings, but he didn't think she did just from what he knew of her personality. She seemed more like an only child, but he didn't want to be rude and ask in case she had told him about her siblings, or lack thereof. "He accidentally stuck one of the dogs on top of the bookcase and it nearly toppled except Mum was there to save the situation from ending in tragedy." Adam smiled. "I suppose that's notable, isn't it?"
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Adam
In our own dialect.
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Adam
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Ginny
October 27, 2013 9:54 PM
We're friends, that's how we do! by Ginny
Ginny looked over at him when he brought up the dance club. She would need to set up for the first meeting and send out flyers for it. She was really going to attempt to keep it up if she could help it. Last year had been a wonderful success. She really hadn’t thought that many people would have joined, but so many had and they all had various forms of dance knowledge. It had been a fun experiment for her to learn of different techniques. “The dance club is for everyone. I didn’t want to bog people down with just my way of dancing and I wanted to learn everyone else’s. Besides, it’s only an hour once a week, that’s not nearly enough time to properly practice any sort of ballet technique.”She was aware that she would just have to do better time management in order to keep up with her ballet. She loved her ballet. Loved it. When she left Ohio, she left her original Ballet group and for a while she hadn’t been able to dance. Her mother had found another group in New Mexico that she had been able to begin dancing with, but it wasn’t the same. Of course, explaining any of that to her friends was forbidden. As far as they were concerned, she was still living in Ohio. She didn’t really like her current instructor and she was pretty sure her instructor didn’t like her, so no matter what, Ginny always felt like she was doing something wrong. She would find the time necessary to work on her dance. It wasn’t like she couldn’t do it after the club was finished for the day or for an hour or so after dinner had ended each day. She was sure she could fit homework in there somewhere…
“Yes, we should study together!” Ginny agreed happily. She wasn’t the most studious of people and she was sure her friends picked up on that fact, but if she had specific times to work with others, it would force her to keep focus. Ginny knew that as the classes become more complex, she was likely to lean on Francesca for help. She didn’t want to have to do that, but it was probably inevitable. Besides, she always liked it when she spent more time with them, even if it meant that they had to do work while together.
Even though Ginny knew that Adam was from England, it was still strange to her to hear him discuss places like Surrey and Darlington (wherever that was). She couldn’t say anything remotely interesting like that. If she went to visit her grandparents from either side of her family, she could only say that she went to Canada. Canada wasn’t America and had so much to it that people probably weren’t aware of, but it wasn’t someplace as vastly unique as Europe was. “I don’t know, I think anything you do over there is notable.” Ginny stated, her eyes slightly wider than normal as she listened to him. “My vacations are never quite so lovely.”
Ginny was always jealous of people when they spoke of their siblings. Francesca had a bunch and Ginny was fairly certain Francesca said her brother was starting this year. Adam’s little sister was already here, and now he had a little brother that was coming. Ginny didn’t have family here. They all went to school in Canada, not that she was close to any of them as it was. “Aw, poor puppy!” Ginny commented, pouting at the idea of the dog getting hurt. “Why would he want the dog up there? That seems like a terrible thing to do, accidental or not.” Ginny’s accidental magic had always happened when she was very upset with her parents from one reason or another. The accidents were always something that would cause them headaches. She assumed that was how most accidental magic happened.
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Ginny
We're friends, that's how we do!
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Ginny
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Adam
October 30, 2013 1:58 PM
It's the language of true friendship. by Adam
An hour a week was hardly enough time for Adam to practise his dancing as well, but he wasn't nearly as dedicated to it as Ginny seemed to be to ballet. Adam couldn't see himself doing ballet of any sort so he was glad she hadn't made the Dance Club into a Ballet Academy. Dancing was all right only because it was a necessary knowledge in their society. He couldn't remember seeing Ginny too often at the ball their first year, but he had danced with a few witches then and his practise had turned out to be worth it. One never knew when a party would suddenly come about and dancing would be necessary to know.Adam would be glad to study with Francesca and Ginny as, on a daily basis, he enjoyed spending time with them. In groups, however, Adam thought he might be the source of distraction. It was lucky Francesca was an Aladren and therefore would be most inclined to keep them in line and focused. At least that's what he hoped for instead of he acting as the bad influence in encouraging chatter. He was glad for Ginny's enthusiasm on the subject and he smiled in response. "We'll have to convince Francesca to join us, though I'm sure it won't take long."
His summer hadn't sounded very exciting to his own ears, but he supposed it did sound different and foreign to Ginny. Anything she said about her summer in America was not nearly as interesting unless there was some new concept or phrase he had never heard of before. Perhaps that was because he lived in America for half the year and England was his home territory. Adam didn't know how to respond, but Ginny seemed enthralled by his summer so he simply smiled. "I'm sure yours are," he replied warmly. "Any sort of travel is notable even if it's not very far from home." Going from city to city wasn't very exciting for Adam, but he supposed it had to be different in America with the different states. He hadn't been to any except for Arizona, but perhaps he could travel around before graduating.
Ginny's concern for the dog was expected as Adam had been sympathetic for poor Tod as well. "Jack was angry with Tod, the dog, for nipping him when he was getting too physical with Lily. Lily's my youngest sister and Tod's extremely protective over her. He's usually very gentle, but I suppose Jack was being rather rude and Tod didn't like that. Hence the nipping and Jack responding by sending him up onto a bookcase." Jack and Lily didn't have pets of their own, but Lily was Tod's favourite. The other dogs were more interested in Adam's father who owned all three than anyone else. "It was terrible. Jack got in loads of trouble for it afterwards which only added to his bad temper."
That incident had been rather early in the summer and Adam had almost forgotten it. Nothing like that had happened again and he was quite certain his parents didn't remember it either. Fiascos like that happened often with children who were coming into their magic and Jack was the third in their family. Adam remembered having found himself on the rooftops of buildings and finding biscuits before dinner when he was particularly hungry. "Did you have any notable magical accidents happen before coming to school?" he asked curiously. No one ever asked about those stories, but Adam thought they had to be interesting.
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Adam
It's the language of true friendship.
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Adam
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5