Professor Olivers

September 27, 2012 12:27 AM
The transition from tutor to professor was going smoothly so far. Her students had been relatively respectful to each other and she knew that she was being harsher than she wanted to be only because this was uncharted territory for her. Now, however, she was starting to get into the swing of things. It helped that she wasn’t afraid of standing in front of a group of young students and teaching them. Today she was wearing lime-green robes that helped accentuate her blue eyes. She absolutely loved colors and, most of the time, bright colors worked on her. Her brown hair was pulled back mostly because she hadn’t had time this morning to style it and because she was up late last night reading.

The book Florence had been reading last night had captivated her. It was called Justice for the Charming, a book about the inventors of the charms she so enjoyed using every day. Most of the spells didn’t have clear origins, but a few, like the softening charm, had been created in the rocky cliffs in Europe where cliff jumping had become a huge thing for wizards. Only, instead of tying themselves to a bungee cord as muggles would, they fell freely. This sport had only come about after the softening charm. It was a stupid way to get an adrenaline rush, in Florence’s opinion, but to each their own. She wasn’t going to tell her students that, however. It would give them too many ideas even if they were only beginners.

There were so many things at this school that Florence had yet to take advantage of. There was the MARS piano room where she could play to her heart’s content. She was wondering if offering piano lessons would give her too much to do, but she would have to talk about that to the Headmistress. Then there was the library where she hoped there were books of Shakespeare though she had every one of his plays in her office. There were so many things to do and yet she still had to make time to teach.

The first day of her Intermediate class she had been late, but she had not repeated it since. Today she was an hour early readying her classroom, putting stone tablets on the desks, and removing the carpet on her floor. If the younger students were capable enough with this charm, she would gladly have them turn the stone floor into a giant pillow and have them jump off their desks for a class. They were eleven and twelve year olds. Jumping into giant pillows was something even Florence still found fun in her late forties.

She finished her work half an hour early and was reading her book at her desk when students started to trickle in. She eyed the door, counting the number of students coming in as she shielded her eyes with her book. When it looked like they were all sitting down, she put her book down and looked around the classroom. By now she had memorized all of their names and knew their faces well-enough to know if someone wasn’t in class. Roll call was now unnecessary, thank goodness. It gave her more time to teach.

“Good morning, everyone. Now that everyone is here, let’s get started then, shall we?” She clasped her hands and smiled warmly at them. Though she disliked young children, it was different when she wasn’t the one taking care of them. “Today we will be working on the Softening Charm. Can anyone tell me what this charm was created to do without looking at their textbook?” After a student answered correctly, she nodded. “Very good. It is used to make hard surfaces or objects rubbery and bouncy. For those who know nothing of this charm, the spell is on page 28 of your textbook.

“The incantation for the Softening Charm is Spongify. Let’s say it all together without our wands, please. SPONG-ify. It’s very important to pronounce it correctly and accent the first syllable of the word. To perform the Softening Charm, one must simply make the shape of the letter ‘S’ at a slant to your left with your wand.” She showed them by doing the motion herself. “After making the motion, say the incantation, and then you’ll be softening things all over the place.”

Florence nodded at her students. “Now, you all know the drill. Partners, practice the spell on your separate tablets, thank you. If neither of you find yourselves performing the charm correctly, come to me. Let the softening begin!” The last part had been said in her dramatic Shakespearean voice and she smiled at them again before going back to her desk to watch the softening commence. And, maybe, to get back to her book.

OOC: By now, you all should know what to do. Minimum ten sentences—but you get more House Points with longer, creative posts—, no god-modding; all that good stuff. Tag Florence in the subject line if any of you need her assistance. Happy softening!
Subthreads:
0 Professor Olivers Pillow-y Stones or Stony Pillows? [I & II years] 0 Professor Olivers 1 5


Rupert Princeton, Pecari

October 02, 2012 2:52 PM
Charms was not Rupert's strongest point, but he certainly enjoyed the class. He was able to use his wand and do practical things instead of sit and listen to lectures. Of course, most classes at Sonora were practical, and he enjoyed them. It beat geography or genealogy lessons back home. Rupert walked in and sat down in a seat in the back. He never liked having the attention of the professor on him especially because Rupert wasn't the strongest student. It made him uncomfortable when they looked at him like they were expecting something amazing to happen.

Rupert's expectations with this professor hadn't been too high, seeing as she was a former actress with no real teaching experience. However, he had come to enjoy her teaching style. She was different because she had been an actress in the States. He knew his father would not appreciate it, but when did Rupert really care what his father thought of him?

The only real problem Rupert had with this professor was that she gave too much work. Essays killed him. He'd done practise essays back home all the time both in French and English. It was torture and Rupert just wanted to throw something when he saw more essays. He should love them and write everything in the form of an essay by now, but Rup just couldn't do it. He loathed them like no other homework assignment, but it seemed to be a popular one at school.

The Softening Charm didn't seem too difficult, and Rupert nudged the stone tablet in front of him. Hard as rock. Unsurprising. Rupert couldn't remember his family members ever actually needing to use the charm for anything important. They rarely used it, if his memory rang true. What would anyone use a softening charm for, anyway, besides using it to jump off high banisters and land on a cushion instead of the marble floor? Actually, that was an idea to contemplate...

When they were dismissed to work in partners, he nodded at his desk partner. "How do you like the professor so far?" he asked. He was curious about everyone's opinion of the new professor since Rupert himself wasn't terribly fond or terribly against her. "She hasn't been too terrible yet, except for those bloody essays." He shook his head and sighed. "Anyhow, would you like to go first? I'm still trying to get my mouth to pronounce it correctly. SPONG-ify." He shrugged and gestured to his partner. "Go ahead."
0 Rupert Princeton, Pecari Pillowy Stones, if you please. 0 Rupert Princeton, Pecari 0 5


Alexandra D'Alesandro, Crotalus

October 05, 2012 1:52 AM
Alex pranced into her Charms class and took a seat next to a boy who she believed to be a first year as well. She had spent a lot of time mingling with mostly girls, and decided it would be a good idea to also talk to some of the young gentlemen. After all, betrothal was only a few years away, and she had to start thinking about ruling out those who simply would not do so she could try to influence her parent’s choice. She sat properly in her seat with her back straight, and crossed her legs in a lady like manner. She listened intently as the professor talked, but couldn’t help being distracted by her very loud choice in colors. Lime-green? Really, what was she thinking? And her hair was quite a mess. It was just wrong to walk around that unkempt. Alex had made sure she looked as adorable as always before leaving her room. She had a pale green dress on underneath her robe, shiny dark green flats, and her hair pulled up into a slightly messy bun.

Alex scanned the room quickly and saw her obnoxious brother sitting next to some girl a few tables in front of her. She scoffed, and made an evil glare at the back of his head. The only advantage to having the same classes as him was that she could report all of the stupid things he did to their mother when they returned home. After learning what the lesson consisted of, Alex raised an eyebrow. They were essentially going to be turning a stone tablet into a pillow? That was the lesson? That wasn’t even practical. Whenever she wanted a pillow, she would simply ask for one.

As she contemplated beginning the spell, Alex heard the boy next to her speak. “We have to write essays?” she said with a sigh, upon hearing him say so, “Great. I don’t really have an opinion of the professor yet, other than she shouldn’t wear lime green robes. And that I think this lesson is a bit useless for me.” Realizing she probably sounded especially snobbish, Alex decided to try to change the subject by introducing herself. “I am Alex D’Alesandro, from Boston. Nice to meet you. I believe I saw you talking to my brother Lucian in Transfiguration.” She decided to not hold that observation against the boy she didn’t know. He may have just needed help with the lesson, and whether she wanted to admit it or not, her brother was intelligent. Upon the boy’s suggestion, Alex rose to her feet and faced her tablet while waving her wand in the same manner she believed she observed the professor demonstrate and said “Spong-ify!” When she had finished, she looked at her tablet quizzically. She poked the tablet with her finger after a moment and grumbled a little when she realized the charm hadn’t quite worked. Only the edges of the tablet were softened. “Would you like to give it a try?” she asked her desk mate.
0 Alexandra D'Alesandro, Crotalus Stony pillows would not be as comfortable. 0 Alexandra D'Alesandro, Crotalus 0 5


Rupert

October 13, 2012 10:38 PM
When the girl next to him scoffed, Rup was a little surprised, wondering what exactly she was scoffing at. He looked at her out of his peripheral, but didn’t bother mentioning it. She could just have a strange scoff cough. Once they started speaking, however, Rupert got the impression that he was finally meeting one of those snobby pure-blood twits that Lucian had spoken of. Funny that it was Lucian’s sister. No wonder he’d only known snobby pure-blood girls.

Turning stones into pillows, Rupert decided, was extraordinarily important. If he was stranded on a rocky island or off in the cliffs exploring and got lost, he wouldn’t want to sleep on stones. Unless he was able to turn them into pillows, of course. “I like her lime green robes,” said Rupert, turning to observe their professor once more. “I like bright colours.” He enjoyed outlandish clothing sometimes too. It made one unique. Having been surrounded by the proper sort for so long made him want to break out of that stereotypical pure-blood mold. He didn’t own much outside of his standard ‘proper’ robes and trousers and button-ups, but once he was able to purchase his own clothing, he would buy lime green robes and wear bright purple and orange and yellow. Merlin, that would knock his grandfather down flat.

Rupert nodded, smiling to be polite. “Yes, I did partner with Lucian.” He didn’t want Lucian’s opinion of the pure-blood girls here to influence his manners with Alex. He believed in giving everyone a chance to make their own impressions which was why he didn’t always like telling people his name and origins. It seemed rather pretentious, but duty was always supposed to be first. If he didn’t, Cepheus would most certainly find out and tattle on him. “I’m Rupert Princeton, of the Surrey Princetons, but you can call me ‘Rup.’” He smiled charmingly, trying to make a good impression. With normal girls, Rupert didn’t mind having his fun being silly as his normal character entailed, but he knew it was important to be more cordial and well-mannered with these sort of girls so he didn’t get into trouble at home if his parents caught heed of it.

Alex went first and Rupert watched as she attempted to turn her tablet into something soft. It didn’t seem to work, since she began grumbling as soon as she had finished, but Rup noticed it didn’t look any different either. Were the stone pillows supposed to look softer once they were done? What were inside the pillows that made them soft if they were once made of stone? Rupert didn’t know, but he wasn’t about to ask. He just began making up answers in his head as he nodded in response to Alex’s question.

He raised his wand. The charm puts goose feathers into the centre of the pillow. He waved his wand the way the professor had. The pillow stays the same colour, but it looks a little softer. It has to be inviting. “Spongify!” The material of the stone is smoother too so it won’t scratch. The tablet seemed to transform, but not really at the same time. He was a bit confused, but staring at it wouldn’t confirm anything. The tablet did look a tad bit more inviting, but not by much. He pressed his hand against it, at first timidly, and then a little harder. The tablet sank a bit in the middle where Rup had pointed his wand, but the edges were firmer. Not completely stone, however, and Rupert smiled.

“I’d call that progress,” he said proudly before looking over at his partner. “Give it another go; you’ll get better.”
0 Rupert I know from experience. 0 Rupert 0 5