Professor Aaron McKindy
November 13, 2009 4:23 PM
Beginning Charms, Lesson I by Professor Aaron McKindy
Aaron McKindy was standing in front of the Beginning Charms class wearing his usual top-hat made of large, transparent, pink bubbles, a Muggle-style t-shirt that Garen had given him, and dark jeans. There was a collection of first-through-third years seated on a large rug on the floor just in front of the raised dais in front of the room. Whether they were looking at him uncomfortably because there were no desks to be seen in the room or because of his outfit, Aaron had no idea, but he was hardly unused to such looks and wasn’t much worried about them. Although he would agonise excessively over appearing out-of-the-ordinary around adults, his students were a much different case; the professor was thoroughly convinced that school spent too much time being dull, and it was his personal duty to liven things up a bit.“Good morning, class,” the man began, grinning down at the seated students with friendly grey-green eyes. “My name is Professor McKindy. In addition to being your new Charms teacher, I’m also Head of Pecari House,” he smiled at a few of the Pecaris he recognised in attendance “and I would like to make this as painless an experience as possible. Today, I’m going to be starting out with a bit of an introduction for the first years and a review for the rest of you.” Noticing the lack of excitement at his announcement, Aaron smiled more broadly at the class. “Don’t worry, there isn’t too much work involved.” He did see some faces light up at that. Excellent.
“Today, I would like you to work in groups of two or three. You will be playing a game called Jumanji. Have any of you read the book or watched the movie?” A few hands shot up, and Aaron nodded in approval. In all probability, the hands belonged to halfbloods and Muggleborns. A pureblood himself, Aaron hadn’t known about either until this past summer when Garen’s godson, Henry, had introduced the man to a plethora of unknown Muggle fancies, including Jumanji and bumper cars. “For those of you who haven’t, let me paraphrase,” the man continued. “Both the book and the movie detail the adventures of a pair of young Muggle children who encounter an enchanted board game and begin to play it. However, the effects of the board game come to life—when one of the Muggles lands on a spot that mentions lions, for example, lions appear and chase the children.
“Obviously, for our purposes, these effects will be the results of the different Charms I’ve placed on all of the games I have provided. Right now, I would like you to get into your groups, pick up one of the boards from the cabinet,” Aaron flicked his wand absent-mindedly in the direction of the large cabinet in the corner as the doors flew open to reveal game sets as he continued talking, “read the directions, and get started! At the end of class, I will pass out a worksheet I would like completed by next time, if you would.” The man looked around the classroom and, seeing no absolutely lost looks, nodded. “You may begin then! Any questions, please ask.” the professor smiled and stepped down from the dais. The step made his height appear to be less, if only moderately so; he still was around six feet tall, after all.
The students were gathering together in groups and talking, a few looking at him furtively as if he were quite mad. Aaron grinned. He had missed this.
|OOC| Right-o, I hope you lot have fun with this! If you need more information on Jumanji, check out the wikipedia page. For more information on how the classroom is set up, etc, check out Setting Up the Classroom.
Other than that, I expect the usual 10 sentences from you lot. If you’re having trouble getting up to that mark, try and write about your characters thoughts, feelings, worries, etc. If you’re REALLY having trouble, remember that my posters talk, and you can feel free to write for them! Plus, the hat is usually a good conversation piece. Remember, the more you write, the more points your House gets!
Anybody that wants to do the homework that is posted above in the Homework Bin will receive between 10 and 20 extra points for their House. Speaking of which, I’d appreciate it if you identified the House your character is in with the name (example: Aaron McKindy [Pecari] ), but it isn’t necessary.
Have fun!
Subthreads: Sounds fun! (need a partner!) by Demelza Eagle with Starbuck Gregory
Let the games begin... by Kameyrynn Prinzo, Teppenpaw with Delilah Kerrigan, Pecari, Delilah, Pecari
Searching for a partner by Veronica Kerrigan, Aladren with Daniel Nash II, Aladren, Veronica, Aladren
What a charming idea! by Tobar Brishen with Rachel Bauer, Crotalus, Tobar Brishen Teppenpaw
It's a jungle in here... by Marissa Stephenson, Crotalus with Andrew Duell, Teppenpaw, David Lancaster [Teppenpaw]
My kind of lesson. by Mike Song [Pecari] with Jose Hernandez (Pecari), Mike
Who wants to play with me? by Adelita Garcia (Crotalus) with Theodore Manzana, Juri Dahlgren, Aladren, Lita, Theo Manzana
This really isn't all that fun. by Dulce Garcia (Teppenpaw) with Raines Bradley (Crotalus), Dulce
Oh, dear... by Edmond Carey [Aladren] with James Anthony [Aladren]
You people never learn (Professor) by Quentin Melcher with Professor McKindy, Euna Song [Aladren]
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Professor Aaron McKindy
Beginning Charms, Lesson I
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Professor Aaron McKindy
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Marissa Stephenson, Crotalus
November 14, 2009 11:01 PM
It's a jungle in here... by Marissa Stephenson, Crotalus
Despite all the trouble as she'd had with the woman's class during her first year, Marissa wasn't sure if she should be glad Professor Taylor was gone or not. Maybe the new Charms teacher would be some sort of prodigy who could help her go above and beyond the block she had around the whole subject and improve her grade dramatically, but he might also prove incapable of helping her and - as he was a man, and men had a tendency to be more practical than theoretical - cut down the percentage of her grade determined by essays, which had saved it the previous year. All things considered, Marissa honestly thought the second option was more likely. Besides, it was hard to see how the world could benefit from having more people confused by her strange ability to be completely brilliant whenever she picked up a pen and to completely suck whenever she picked up her wand.She'd hoped her block would vanish over the summer, undone by two straight months of relaxation in her own world and giggling with her girls, but she had tried a few simple charms in her single dorm the night before, and the best effect she'd gotten was nothing at all. The worst had, ironically, sparked a bit of magic that actually did what she wanted it to do; she'd set her bed on fire and somehow put it out again without being entirely sure what she'd done. The bed hadn't even appeared damaged, which had creeped her out so much that she hadn't slept well. Part of her head still wasn't completely used to magic, especially when she didn't even know the theory behind it.
It was, therefore somewhat understandably, with great trepidation that she stepped into the Charms classroom.
Sitting down on the floor and hoping against hope that she neither got dirt on her jeans nor had her back hate her in an hour, Marissa focused on looking around the classroom and not staring at the professor's bubble hat. It drew the eye like a magnet, but it was rude to stare. Instead, she examined the firsties - Crotalus, as it had in her year, only had one new girl; Marissa wondered what sort of family she came from, and what she thought of the House and being with a bunch of boys - her classmates, and the posters on the wall. There were quite a lot of them, and a few nodded to her. Slightly startled, she nodded back.
She had just done that with Bowman Wright when Professor McKindy began to speak. Marissa's face was not one of those that lit up at the idea of limited work, but that was because she'd long since developed a protective wariness toward Charms; what some would consider easy, she found all but impossible, and she'd had a few of the allegedly more difficult concepts actually be some of the few she picked up relatively quickly. When asked about Jumanji, she was one of the students who raised her hand. Her parents hadn't thought it was an entirely appropriate movie for her or Paige, but it was one of her friend Bella's favorites, and she'd seen it during a few sleepovers with the DeAngelos.
There was a difference, though, between watching a movie of a dangerous game in the comfort of her friend's room in their Muggle neighborhood and playing the same game in the middle of class. Hearing that it was charms that would be coming to life to attack her instead of lions didn't really comfort her that much; at least with lions, there was an off chance she could run or, as her magic seemed to work and work dramatically when she was terrified, blow them up. The charms, she was sure, wouldn't be potentially fatal, but she had a feeling she was about to be subject to an awful lot of embarrassment.
She had to try, though. That was what her teacher had told her to do, and the teacher's word was law in her world. She would probably fail, but she had to try. Getting up, she went over to someone who was already holding a game but had no visible partner. The kids in the movie had been a pair, so she assumed the groups in the class would also be a pair.
"Hi," she said, smiling and tucking her wavy brown hair back behind her ear. "Have a partner yet?"
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Marissa Stephenson, Crotalus
It's a jungle in here...
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Marissa Stephenson, Crotalus
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Andrew Duell, Teppenpaw
November 15, 2009 8:28 PM
Me Tarzan, you Jane? by Andrew Duell, Teppenpaw
Ahhh... Charms. Andrew was looking forward to charms this year. Last year, he didn't do so well, this year he hoped to drastically improve. Transifiguration is easy enough, this year he had to do better in charms and potions. He just needed to figure out what he was doing wrong. His mother had given him some pointers, it was time to put them to work.Upon entering the room, the first thing he noticed was the professor, well more accurately, the professor's hat. That was something else... wow. This could be an interesting class. Andrew looked around for a seat, not finding any seats at all, he followed the trend of the other students and flopped himself down on an empty spot of the floor. He got his notebook out and prepared to take notes. When Professor McKindy asked about Jumanji, Andrew raised his hand along with some of the others. He had watched it at his father's place, his father had a rather extensive DVD collection. It wasn't one of his favorite movies, but he did enjoy it. Now they were actually going to play the game, or a variant of it? Cool.
Once the professor allowed them, he stood up and picked up one of the copies of the game. Now he just needed a partner, he glanced around the room as the other students were grouping up. A girl asked if he had a partner yet.
He smiled, "Not yet, but I am accepting applications. My name is Andrew."
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Andrew Duell, Teppenpaw
Me Tarzan, you Jane?
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Andrew Duell, Teppenpaw
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David Lancaster [Teppenpaw]
November 16, 2009 11:16 AM
Crashing the party. by David Lancaster [Teppenpaw]
The return to classes wasn't exactly an unhappy event. David Lancaster liked his professors, even if the staff seemed to now be made up of entirely new ones. He found the lessons interesting, and outside of class time, he was left to his own pursuits, a freedom he never had at home under constant watch from his parents. He liked his classmates, had a few friendships, even if none were particularly close, and he'd managed to sneak out on a few prime star gazing nights during the past year to sleep out in the Gardens, something he definitely never got to experience at home, caught in the bustle and artificial lighting of the city.But actual scholastic achievement eluded him, and even his Muggle parents who were used to the standard ways of grading had managed to work out that a wizarding A was little more than a median score. His parents blamed it on his lack of self application. He had agreed; it just wasn't that important to him, not when compared to other things, like sitting in the Gardens or reading in his common room. Besides, it wasn't like he was wasting his potential, not really.
David had yet to show any amount of natural talent when it came to his classes. His Defense spells lacked strength, his concoctions in Potions were always several shades lighter than they ought to be, and he'd yet to manage a completely finished product in Transfiguration. If it weren't for Care of Magic Creatures and History, David would consider himself a complete failure instead of just a middling one. Even in Charms, a class he rather liked, his results were always lackluster. He supposed it could be attributed to his personality; he lacked gumption, will power, tenacity, ambition and all other manner of traits his parents said were necessary to be successful in life.
Still somehow, after hearing the Charms lesson planned for today, David felt that he could, at the very least, manage this sort of assignment just fine. Jumanji had been a staple favorite of his when younger, and despite the somewhat nightmarish qualities the film portrayed, he nevertheless used to imagine finding the game himself, its drums echoing from beneath the sand on some beach. He stood up slowly from his seat on the rug, his knees snapping with the movement and surveyed the room. The newer first years appeared openly eager to approach the lesson, and while not unappreciative of their enthusiasm, David would rather skip the whole step of trading introductions.
Upon spotting Marissa and Andrew already in conversation, he approached them from across the room, carefully weaving through the eager groups. He liked both of his fellow second years, Andrew having been his roommate the past year, and Marissa had a steady dependability about her that inspired his confidence. Even if her exactness made him feel overly conscious of his own perpetually unkempt appearence. She was pretty, too, a fact he had recognized when he first met her, but it was an always present fact, and unlike with some other girls, he felt none of the intimidation he normally experienced.
"Hi Marissa, Andrew, sorry to interrupt. Mind if I join you?"
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David Lancaster [Teppenpaw]
Crashing the party.
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David Lancaster [Teppenpaw]
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Marissa
November 16, 2009 7:05 PM
Three's company? by Marissa
Marissa couldn’t help but laugh at the response her inquiry got. It was the kind of thing guys said on those stupid teen dramas her friend Briana was obsessed with, and she’d never heard anyone say something like it in real life.“Nice to, um, meet you, I guess,” she said, realizing that they’d never been formally introduced. “I’m Marissa.”
It was, she had to admit, a little disappointing to not be recognizable as the smart girl who always sat up front and answered lots of questions. It was also a relief, though, to not be recognize as the hopelessly inept girl who could barely levitate a feather without botching the job. She’d known who he was as soon as he’d looked at her properly, of course, but decided not to mention it; some people might have deemed it unhealthy to know someone’s name because she’d spent a year staring at his Transfiguration work in pure, soul-eating envy.
Not that she held anything against him. She didn’t. He was better than she was at the subject, fair and square, just like it had been with Bella and science when she’d still lived at home. It wasn’t The Way to resent someone for having either more natural talent or dedication than she did, or even for just getting really lucky. Not unless that person was a total jerk, anyway, at which point all rules went out the window. Her friends really didn’t have a lot of tolerance for that kind of thing.
When David came up to them, Marissa smiled in greeting. Though they couldn’t be classified as close friends the way she and the girls were, she did consider him one of her better Sonora friends, and she’d missed having someone around she knew “got” the whole Muggleborn thing over the summer. It might be equipping her for life as a spy in exotic locales, but being the only person she didn’t have to lie to was kind of…lonely. “Well, I don’t,” she said when he asked if they minded if he joined them. “Not at all. Andrew?”
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Marissa
Three's company?
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Marissa
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Andrew
November 16, 2009 8:57 PM
Re: Three's company? by Andrew
Marissa... Marissa... Right! Marissa! He knew she had looked familiar. Andrew sometimes envied the people who seemed to be able to connect faces and names and actually have them stick together. His mind wasn't quite organized right to do that, or at least that was his going theory. He wasn't entirely sure how his mind was organized... but he had to admit, it did let him excel in at least one class. The rest of his classes did not get the same benefit. Looks like it was time to cover up yet another one of his shortcomings.He chuckled at her laugh and introduction, "Sorry, it's been a bit of a crazy summer. I'm pretty sure I've forgotten more than I took in." He put on his best 'winning' smile, "Marissa, right. You're one of the smart ones here, your application has definitely been approved." Maybe she could help him wrap his mind around charms, and all those other pesky classes that eluded him.
As his roommate walked up and asked to join, Andrew nodded at him, "Fine by me, the more the merrier, right?" David was a good guy. "Shall we find a place to get this game started?" Andrew looked around for an open spot on the floor to set up the board.
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Andrew
Re: Three's company?
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Andrew
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David
November 17, 2009 2:44 PM
I appreciate that. by David
The room, despite its size and the absence of any desks or chairs, managed to appear very full. The volume rose considerably higher than it did under Professor Taylor's watch, a change that David didn't particularly mind as it remained at the level of a dull roar, none of the sounds overly distinctive or too highly pitched."I think this spot is as good as any," he suggested after a moment more. He began to lower himself to the ground and then paused, his brown eyes considering Marissa. Wordlessly, he removed his school robes, and smoothing out some of the larger wrinkles, placed it on the ground beside him, gesturing for her to sit.
He waited until both classmates had joined him on the ground, and then began his inspection of the game board. It unfolded open, the eaves on the side listing the game's directions and specifications. The center of the board had the meandering path, just as shown in the movie, with the center occupied by a large, cloudy hemisphere; the game pieces sat waiting on the left side. Somewhat gingerly, he picked up the dark green piece, its weight surprisingly heavy in his palm. "I guess it's just a case of rolling the dice then. Who wants to go first?"
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David
I appreciate that.
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David
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Marissa
November 19, 2009 9:52 PM
Any time. by Marissa
Marissa would have enjoyed a move for no reason other than putting off playing Jumanji just a little longer, but David’s logic made sense; there was, technically speaking, nothing at all wrong with right where they were. A board game and three second years didn’t take up a lot of space, and after all the moving around that had presumably gone on, she doubted one bit of the floor was any cleaner than another.“I think so,” she agreed, starting to sit down. When David stopped in mid-sit, though, she did as well, wondering if the position was about to be reconsidered. It occurred to her that he seemed to be looking at her, and she wondered if she’d sounded like she had a problem with the spot after all and blushed, sure she had.
Then, after a moment, he took his robe off and put it down – for her to sit on?
That certainly seemed to be what he had in mind. Who called chivalry dead now, anyway? She felt kind of bad about just sitting on his uniform, but felt it would be somehow rude to reject the gesture, which was really sweet of him to make. So, with a smile, continued blush, and a quick, whispered, “thanks”, she sat down beside him.
David managed to quickly turn her mind away from that and back to the matter at hand: the game. They were getting started. She decided to be brave – or perhaps just sensible; when she tried to think about things, she often just made herself that much more anxious, and it built on itself until she was unable to do much of anything – and answer the question. “I’ll do it,” she said, picking up a piece and placing it on the board.
Because there were definite limits to courage with her, she closed her eyes as she released the dice. Since she’d done that, she didn’t see the piece move by magic, but she did feel the results: she lost her breath in what had to be record time as it felt like three or four people all started tickling her at once. Clutching her sides with one arm, she took out her wand and attempted the countercharm.
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Marissa
Any time.
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Marissa
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Andrew
November 20, 2009 9:00 PM
Someday I'll remember these subjects... by Andrew
Andrew flopped, rather ungracefully, down on the floor along with the others. He smiled and pretended to ignore David laying out his robe for Marissa. He wasn't exactly sure why he thought he should pretend to ignore this, but it seemed like the thing to do.Once the others had picked their game pieces, Andrew picked up the dark brown piece and placed it on the board. He watched then as Marissa picked up the dice, and bravely went first. Her piece moved along the board, almost like... wait, no. It was magic. How did the piece know what was rolled on the dice? Was it multiple charms interacting with each other on the game board, or was there one that covered the entirety of the game?
Her piece stopped, and the globe in the center of the board began to clear and the message appeared.
'Loud and clear let it ring, laughter is a wonderful thing.'
Andrew watched Marissa's reaction to the charm. Now, how did the charm target her? And how did it know which charm to cast?
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Andrew
Someday I'll remember these subjects...
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Andrew
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David
November 30, 2009 12:16 PM
Back in the game! ) by David
Laughter is a wonderful thing.
When David was eight years old, his parents had taken him to the county's annual high school Science Fair and Exhibit. Almost all of the material had been far above his head, excepting the one volcano that had made the county's original cuts-- the students had created a type of organic explosive that caused the make-shift caldera erupt every thirty-three minutes without fail-- but tucked in the sixth row, between a study on cheese molds and the impact of magnets on levers was a board labeled, "The Danger of Laughter: How the Body is at Risk". The center piece was filled with huge, glossy photographs of what the lungs and the heart looked like when in the middle of an attack of the giggles. The sides were coated in newspaper articles and internet studies recounting the many deaths attributed to too much laughter.
Most of it, David avoided reading, his eyes continually drawn to the spasmed lungs and heart in the center, but the high schooler who made the board took David's interest as an invitation to share an anecdote not on the board: the use of laughter as a torture method, how if tickled enough, a person could stop breathing, completely paralyzed. How, if done long enough, a tickle attack could kill a person.
And so David found nothing amusing or relieving in the discovery that the first charm launched by the board was a tickling spell. Genuine concern filled him when Marissa began to contort, her wand clearly clenched. His own words followed shortly behind hers, and whether it was her utterance or his that did the trick (personally, he doubted it was his, as most of his spells were generally ineffectual), the invisible tickling device seemed to let up.
"Are you all right?" he asked immediately once Marissa seemed to regain her composure. His voice sounded far more anxious than the experience probably merited, but his worry was sincere. "I didn't think the game would do anything to us physically."
Worriedly, he considered the dice in his palm. Following the normal clockwise rules, it was his turn. Cautiously, David dropped the dice, a pair of snake eyes settling after a handful of flips. As his piece moved its obligatory two spaces, a series of words began to appear.
Try to view it from a different perspective."
At first, David noticed no real change, and then quite suddenly, his world became far larger, both Marissa and Andrew looming overhead like giants. He had shrunk, his head reaching no higher than six inches. His wand, he realized with a wave of dismay, had not shrunk along with him and his clothing and sat, twice his new height, beside him. "Help?" he said, his voice a tinny shade of its original.
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David
Back in the game! )
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David
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Marissa
December 03, 2009 10:42 PM
Yay! by Marissa
To Marissa's very great surprise, she did not die.In a moment of temporary insanity, she had attempted to put a spell on herself, and she could tell her wand had done something because sparks had come out of it. That, by all rights, should have plastered bits of her to the walls, the ceiling, and probably David and Andrew. She was a witch by the skin of her teeth; she'd spent hours and hours, back in first year, working alone in her room when trying to get the hang of simple spells. After the summer off, she should have been so rusty she squeaked every time she even glanced at her wand.
She heard David attempting the countercharm, too. That was also slightly surprising, though, she thought, not as much of a risk to everyone's personal safety as her doing it. A greater surprise lay in the sudden end of the spell. Still a little out of breath, Marissa pushed her hair out of her face.
Either two spells together had done the trick, or David had just helped her considerably. She suspected the latter; she knew she hadn't improved much since last year, but he might well have done. "I'm fine," she said with a grateful smile. Her stomach ached slightly from all that laughing, but that would pass. "Thanks so much, David. Again." She looked at the now-innocent board, her expression uncharacteristically wary. "I don't think I like the professor's sense of humor."
Automatically, she looked around to make sure he wasn't in the immediate vicinity to hear that remark. Some of Daddy's patients were professors, and they could become immensely out of temper at the slightest sign that they were somehow less than perfect. He didn't seem to be about to strike her down in any sense of the word, though, so that was good. It was somehow less appetizing to see David picking up the dice; she felt her fingernails dig into her wrist. "Good luck," she near-whispered as he rolled them.
She read the poem, then turned to ask him what he thought it meant. The only problem was, he no longer seemed to be there. "David?" she asked uncertainly. Maybe it was some Ring of Gyges exercise, making him invisible? That was an awfully big thing, though, to assume that the average third year would know that one...
Looking around as though expecting him to jump out from behind a curtain, she noticed his wand. It was at about the same time that Marissa noticed what appeared to be an action figure next to it. One that was talking. And, if she wasn't very much mistaken, kind of resembled David Lancaster.
"Oh, no," she murmured. "Oh, no...Hang on, I'm trying!" This was directed toward David, though she wasn't sure he'd heard it. Since she wasn't sure if her voice would sound as out of proportion as she no doubt looked, she had lowered it. "I think the charm would be Engorgio," she told Andrew. "I read about it...You use Reducio to shrink an enlarged animal back down to its normal size, so it makes sense that you'd use Engorgio on someone who's been shrunk. But I - " she turned faintly red - "I don't know if I can actually make the spell work. I'm horrible at Charms, I'm afraid I'll hurt him. Can you do it?"
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Marissa
Yay!
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Marissa
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Andrew
December 06, 2009 9:59 PM
Woo-hoo! by Andrew
Andrew watched David take his turn and roll the dice. So far he was really enjoying this game. The board must be imbued with all sorts of spells just waiting to come out. What would happen next? David's piece came to rest on it's space, and the words cleared. View? Perspective? Oh boy, if he was figuring out how this game was working... Andrew looked up at David, or where he had been.It seems that Marissa had noticed his disappearance as well. Yep, Andrew smiled at his roommate. That's what he thought might happen. Marissa seemed really worried, didn't she realize?
Andrew grinned at the girl, "I can give it a shot, but charms aren't really my best subject either. That's why we're here to learn though. This game is all about learning, it can't actually hurt us. I don't think the professors would let us use it otherwise."
"Now," Andrew commented, "let's see what we can do about fixing David." He readied his wand, Engorgio... that one did sound right. "Let's hope this works," he whispered. He focused on the spell he needed and tried to pull together the changes that needed to be made in his head. "Engorgio!" he announced with the appropriate wave of his wand. The spell actually seemed to work. Luckily for him that charm shared a lot with transfigurations, that he was much better with.
He picked up the dice. "My turn now." The dice hit the board with a seven. The little brown piece moved itself along the board the exact number of spaces, and a new message resolved itself.
'The jungle can be a wild place,'
'release the beast within upon your face.'
Andrew's skin and began to itch, looking at his hands he saw hair... no fur, sprouting. He felt it covering his face as well. "Well, this is interesting."
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Andrew
Woo-hoo!
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Andrew
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