It sort-of worked...maybe on Charms

Professor Olivers

September 27, 2012 12:27 AM

Pillow-y Stones or Stony Pillows? [I & II years] by Professor Olivers

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:

Trying to make pillows I guess by Carter Browning, Teppenpaw with Wendy Canterbury - Pecari, Carter

It sort-of worked...maybe by Clara Abernathy, Pecari with Lucian D'Alesandro, Aladren, Aubrielle Thornton, Teppenpaw, Brielle

Stony expressions by Effie Arbon, Crotalus with McKinley Andrews, Crotalus

Pillowy Stones, if you please. by Rupert Princeton, Pecari with Alexandra D'Alesandro, Crotalus, Rupert

Softening mishaps by Darian Javaris

Closed. (nm) by Prof. Olivers

0 Professor Olivers Pillow-y Stones or Stony Pillows? [I & II years] 0 Professor Olivers 1 5

Carter Browning, Teppenpaw
September 27, 2012 1:06 AM

Carter Browning, Teppenpaw
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Trying to make pillows I guess by Carter Browning, Teppenpaw
As Carter’s first Charms class he could imagine what to expect. Charms and Transfiguration spells seemed to be something that came slightly easily to him. He had a lot of practice what with “torturing” his cousin with his antics. His parents had felt that his pranks were a waste of talent and energy. His grandfather disagreed. He encouraged Carter to continue practicing them, although he suggested not using them to torture his cousin soo much. Carter promised he would try, but found that sometimes it was just way to fun to stop. He figured in a way the friendly teasing was good for Kinley. So far it hadn’t done much good trying to get some of the prissy out of her, but that didn’t stop him from trying.

He made his way into the Charms class and looked curiously at the pieces of stone tablet sitting on each desk. I wonder what we’re supposed to do with those? he wondered to himself as he found a desk to sit at and waited for the teacher to tell them what they would be doing with them. When she explained that they would be using the Softening Charm on them, he raised a brow slightly. “Softening Charm? What?… Are we planning on sitting on these things during class?” he asked aloud to no one in particular. Can anyone tell me what this charm was created to do without looking at their textbook?” the professor had asked the class. When he didn’t notice anyone else’s hand going into the air, Carter raised his own. “It was created to turn hard objects into rubbery, bouncy ones,” he replied. He was rather pleased with himself when the professor said he had the answer right. Hey! Not bad he told himself as she moved onto the incantation for the charm. He watched her movements carefully and when he was sure he had them down, he looked down at the stone tablet on his desk. He waited for the teacher to tell them to begin before raising his wand, licking his lips and taking his first stab at it.

“SPONG-ify!” he commanded, waving his wand hand the way had watched the Professor do it. He stared down at the tablet, but it didn’t look any different to him. Was it supposed to still look like a stone tablet or should it look more pillow-y or something? He wasn’t quite sure. He leaned over to the student sitting beside him and whispered, “Isn’t it supposed to look pillow-y or something? Is it supposed to still look like a stone tablet?” he inquired curiously. Carter wasn’t sure what to do next and hoped the person beside him would. He would have to wait and see.

0 Carter Browning, Teppenpaw Trying to make pillows I guess 0 Carter Browning, Teppenpaw 0 5

Clara Abernathy, Pecari
September 27, 2012 7:08 PM

Clara Abernathy, Pecari
Alumnus
House: Pecari
Written by:

Age in Post: 12

It sort-of worked...maybe by Clara Abernathy, Pecari
Clara whistled pleasantly as she made her way to her next class. Her last few classes, with the exception of Flying class, had gone fairly well so far. She was rather pleased with herself for being able to do so much on her own. Her second year here at Sonora was turning out to be decent. She carried her bag into the classroom with her and smiled at the professor as she found herself a seat. She put her bag down onto the floor and was thumbing through her textbook while the other students trickled in and took their own seats. Once everybody was seated the Professor began by asking if any of them had any idea what the Softening Charm had been originally created for. Clara found herself having to check her text book for the answer because she herself sure didn’t know it. She found herself feeling slightly impressed when another student raised his hand and answered the professor’s question without having to look as she had. The teacher went on explaining what their assignment would be for that day. She had glanced curiously at the stone tablet on her desk and hearing the teacher describe their project for the day she understood what it was there for. “So we’re making them into stone shaped pillows?” she wondered curiously to herself. She watched the teacher do the movements for the incantation and was half-way certain she understood what the Professor was trying to do.

Clara stared down at the tablet, furrowed her brow slightly and told herself she needed to concentrate. She let out a breath, raised her wand and prepared for her first attempt. “Spong-ify!” she commanded, waving the wand the way she had seen the professor do so. Once she had finished she wasn’t sure if had even worked. The stone tablet still looked like it had when she first cast the spell. So how do I know if it worked or not? Clara couldn’t help wondering to herself as she examined the tablet. There was only one way she knew of to find out. She would have to test it somehow. She looked around for something to drop on it and decided to use her textbook. She raised it into the air above the tablet and after letting out a slightly nervous breath, she let go. She watched the book fall from where she dropped it onto the tablet. She watched somewhat confused as the book made a Thwacking sound on one end of the tablet and seemed to sink into it on the other end. What the devil? she wondered as she scratched her head in confusion. I only managed to cushion one end of the blasted thing? How in the name of Merlin did I do that?

Clara glanced to the student sitting beside her desk and asked curiously, “Have you ever heard of this spell only working half way? Because I think mine only softened half-way.”

0 Clara Abernathy, Pecari It sort-of worked...maybe 232 Clara Abernathy, Pecari 0 5

Wendy Canterbury - Pecari
September 28, 2012 4:16 PM

Wendy Canterbury - Pecari
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Pillows for sleeping...in class? by Wendy Canterbury - Pecari
Wendy liked Charms enough, but Care of Magical Creatures was definitely her favorite so far, even if they didn't study super interesting creatures. She wished that the professor would bring in a unicorn, but she guessed that beginners couldn't study a unicorn yet. It was depressing, but at least her other classes were kind of fun. Transfiguration was probably her second favorite, and then Charms.

Going to different classes one right after the other was really different for Wendy. She was used to being in one classroom and being released for breaks and recess. She still wasn't sure what to make of this schedule. At least it was kind of nice to move around.

Today she was wearing her standard school robes with a white T-shirt and jeans. Nothing big, but it was definitely comfortable. What she really wanted to wear was her giant sweater that her North Carolina grandmother had given her, but Arizona was too hot most of the time to wear it, except at night when nobody really cared what kind of sweater you wore. It wasn't like she really went camping with any other families except for her own, and they had all seen the sweater already. It was kind of lame, but at least the school robes were comfy too.

Wendy sat down next to someone she didn't really know, wanting to make more friends. She smiled at him before getting out her wand as usual. Unlike her sister, Wendy had never had trouble with boys making fun of her for whatever reason. Boys were good people to be friends with, and Wendy sometimes liked them a lot more than the girls just because the boys liked to play tag and stuff and the girls just talked. Talking all the time was really boring, and Wendy liked to be more active. Hopefully she would make some good friends here and maybe learn Quidditch so she could play with the boys too.

The class was interesting, but boring too. Lectures always bored Wendy to an extent, and she leaned her chin on her hand as she always did when she was bored. She stared down at her wand, thinking of how beautiful it was and remembering the day she'd gotten it. She wondered if wands had their own personalities or were just a tool, but then it was time to actually use them.

The stone tablets in front of them were apparently going to be turned into pillows, and Wendy wondered if she could take this around to her classes, sit in the back, and just sleep on them. That would be awesome! Except that would probably not be good for her grade in the class. She had never slept in class before and was a little too scared to try. The boy next to her went and she watched him curiously. The tablet looked exactly the same, and she cocked her head to the side, her short blonde hair getting in the way of one of her eyes. She brushed it aside irritably, and the boy talked to her.

She shrugged unhelpfully. "I guess so," she replied. "I mean, this isn't Transfiguration." She reached over and poked the tablet. It went in slightly and her hazel eyes widened. "Whoa! I think it kind of worked." She pressed harder and then slammed a fist against it. "Ouch!" It wasn't totally soft. She brought her throbbing fist to her chest, her face scrunched up. It hurt, but she wasn't going to die even if her eyes were a little wet involuntarily. "Ow," she said again, rubbing her hand, and then grabbed her wand. Too bad she had used her wand hand to test the boy's tablet.

"Spongify!" Wendy said, doing what the professor had done and then pointing her wand to it. She saw the light of a spell go into the stone, but it looked the same like her desk partner's. She prodded her tablet, and it had a more boucny feel to it than soft. "I guess that's almost there," she said, looking over at her partner and shrugging again.

0 Wendy Canterbury - Pecari Pillows for sleeping...in class? 0 Wendy Canterbury - Pecari 0 5

Lucian D'Alesandro, Aladren
September 29, 2012 1:31 AM

Lucian D'Alesandro, Aladren
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Guess this comes in handy if you have a pillow emergency. by Lucian D'Alesandro, Aladren
Lucian made sure that he left his room early so he had enough time to get to his charms class. This usually meant that he couldn’t start any work or reading because he never wanted to stop until he finished, and he couldn’t seem to pull himself from the task at hand to leave for class on time. He was actually quite punctual, but lately it seemed as though he was always late for everything. He walked briskly while snacking on an apple. Once he made it to class, he slid into a seat next to a second year girl he recognized from some of his other classes. He zoned out a little during the professor’s instructions, but managed to watch how she cast the spell. What in the world would he even use this spell for? He figured it would be somewhat useful when he needs an extra pillow.

Lucian sized up his tablet and watched the girl, who he believed was named Clara, perform the spell next to him. He stood up and raised his wand. “Here goes nothing,” he said quietly while waving his wand in the same manner the professor did, “Spong-ify!” As he stared at his tablet curiously, and wondered whether he had succeeded, he was startled by a book dropping onto the girl’s tablet next to him. She was apparently wondering the same thing. He mimicked her and dropped one of his books on the tablet to hear a loud thud. He hadn’t succeeded.

She then turned and spoke to him, asking if he ever heard of the spell working halfway. “I suppose its possible,” he began, “Perhaps the spell wasn’t as powerful as it should be? Or the wand wasn’t waved in the right motion? Mine didn’t seem to work at all.” He poked the pillow-like side of her tablet. “This is kinda cool though. Let’s try again.”

0 Lucian D'Alesandro, Aladren Guess this comes in handy if you have a pillow emergency. 0 Lucian D'Alesandro, Aladren 0 5

Clara Abernathy
September 29, 2012 11:04 AM

Clara Abernathy
Alumnus
House: Pecari
Written by:

Age in Post: 12

Or you need something soft to sit on..lol by Clara Abernathy
The boy sitting next to Clara turned out to be Lucian, who had tried helping her with her disaster of a flying class the year before. She was still really grateful that he had tried to help her despite her abysmal failure. “Its awesome to have you as my partner Lucian,” she told him brightly. “I really appreciated you trying to help me in Flying Class last year. I never did get the chance to thank you,” she smiled brightly.

“I suppose its possible,” he began, “Perhaps the spell wasn’t as powerful as it should be? Or the wand wasn’t waved in the right motion? Mine didn’t seem to work at all.” He poked the pillow-like side of her tablet. “This is kinda cool though. Let’s try again.” She nodded at his response to her question and agreed it was definitely possible they may have missed something somewhere for the spell to fizzle like it had. “You may be right,” she agreed, pressing her pointer finger to her lips. “Maybe we did goof up the wand movements somehow.” She liked his suggestion of giving it another try. After all if at first you don’t succeed, try, try again. Wasn’t that the old saying? “I agree,” she nodded cheerfully. “Trying again is an excellent idea. Couldn’t possibly goof it up twice, could I?” she asked, half seriously. She gave him her most reassuring smile. “Okay, here goes nothing,” she told him as she prepared for her second pass at the spell.

She wiggled her fingers to loosen them, cracked her knuckles lightly and raised her wand. Here went nothing. Clara gathered up her concentration and tried the spell again. “Spong-ify!” she commanded with a little more umph than last time and waved her wand the way she watched the professor do it. She tried to be extra careful when making the wand movements so she didn’t make the same goofy she made the first time. Once she had completed the spell to the best of her knowledge she figured it was time to test its success/failure again. She glanced towards Lucian and said, “Okay, lets see how this time worked.” She gave him what she hoped was an encouraging smile, picked back up her textbook, raised it back above the tablet slightly and let it go. She half-closed her eyes and waited for the tell-tale thud sound that would tell her she had botched it again. When the sound didn’t come however, she opened her eyes and glanced down at the tablet. It still looked like a tablet, but the corners looked rounded slightly like a real pillow. The book was sitting on the tablet right where she had dropped it, but it looked like it was sunk into it as well. Clara tentatively stuck out her finger and poked at the tablet.

She watched the side she poked squish inward like a pillow would and it felt just as soft. “Holy Cow!” she gasped excitedly. “It actually worked! You totally have to feel this!” she told him, feeling completely giddy and excited. She picked up her pillow-y tablet and held it out for him to feel.

0 Clara Abernathy Or you need something soft to sit on..lol 232 Clara Abernathy 0 5

Carter Browning, Teppenpaw
September 29, 2012 12:25 PM

Carter Browning, Teppenpaw
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or for hand cushions if you hit something hard by Carter Browning, Teppenpaw
Carter watched curiously as the blond girl he had spoken to leaned over and poked at his tablet. "I guess so," she replied. "I mean, this isn't Transfiguration." He had to agree. Transfiguration class this definitely was not. She reached over and poked the tablet. It went in slightly and her hazel eyes widened. "Whoa! I think it kind of worked." She pressed harder and then slammed a fist against it. "Ouch!" It wasn't totally soft. She brought her throbbing fist to her chest, her face scrunched up. It hurt, but she wasn't going to die even if her eyes were a little wet involuntarily. "Ow," she said again, rubbing her hand, and then grabbed her wand. Too bad she had used her wand hand to test the boy's tablet. He watched as her eyes widened when she poked part of his tablet. He then frowned slightly when she brought her fist down upon it and found a spot that was not so soft. He was especially displeased when she hurt herself doing so especially since it was his tablet she struck.

“Are you alright?” he asked concerned. “I didn’t mean for you to hurt yourself in answering my question.” He really did feel guilty. He watched as she attempted the charm herself and tried poking her own. He leaned over and gave it good poke himself. Hers definitely felt more bouncy than soft. "I guess that's almost there," she said, looking over at her partner and shrugging again. Carter had to agree with her statement. Bouncy was good, but they were looking for more squishy pillow than bouncy stone. “Bouncy is pretty close,” he agreed. “What do you say we take another whack at it and see if we can’t do better?“ he suggested, offering her a small smile. He looked down at his tablet and raised his wand for the next pass. “Okay, we can do this,” he told her encouragingly as he made his next attempt. “Spong-ify!” he commanded, pointing the wand towards the tablet and waving the wand as they were shown.

He glanced down at the tablet and noticed that it didn’t appear to completely look the same. It appeared softer somehow. Carter decided that instead of his partner testing it this time, he would be the one to do it. He balled up his fist and before striking it, mumbled “Here goes nothing.” He brought his fist down with enough force to feel something if the charm had worked, but not so much that he would accidentally break his hand if it hadn’t. His eyes widened in surprise when his fist sank into the tablet like it would have a pillow instead of smacking hard stone. “It worked!” he commented, sounding both surprised and pleased. He glanced up at her grinning. “Why don’t you give it a try now….um…” Carter stopped mid-sentence when he realized he had never asked the girl for her name. His mother would be highly disappointed that he showed such rudeness by not asking her her name from the start. “I’m sorry,” he apologized sheepishly. “I was rude of me not to have asked ahead of time, but what’s your name?” he inquired curiously. “My name is Carter Browning,” he introduced himself not feeling so much like a heel now. He just hoped that she hadn’t taken offense to his momentary lack of etiquette.

0 Carter Browning, Teppenpaw or for hand cushions if you hit something hard 0 Carter Browning, Teppenpaw 0 5

Effie Arbon, Crotalus
September 29, 2012 3:40 PM

Effie Arbon, Crotalus
Alumnus
House: Crotalus
Written by: Rhy

Age in Post: 11

Stony expressions by Effie Arbon, Crotalus
An actress. Their education was being entrusted to an actress?! Presumably not a very good one either, seeing as she had washed up in a classroom. Parading oneself around for a paying audience was practically harlotry. Effie did not know, precisely, what harlotry was but she was given to understand that it was a very terrible thing, and only something in which someone of dubious moral standing would engage. Effie made her usual move of sitting with those whom she recognised as being of her standing but combined with this keeping herself as far as possible from The Actress, treating her as if she might have communicable diseases. Which, for all she was aware, might well be a consequence of acting/harlotry.

She listened to the lecture, unimpressed when the professor cited the purpose of the charm as being to make things soft. Almost any idiot could have worked out that a softening charm made things soft. Some of the Muggleborns probably even had that degree of reasoning ability. The effect of a charm and its purpose were not the same thing. The purpose of the charm might be something like creating a soft landing in an emergency. Trust an actress to not have the necessary acuity to understand such a thing, even though it was a fairly basic concept.

Effie practised the wand movement a couple of times before beginning. She had excelled at the first few Charms classes as she had covered the material at home. The Statute of Secrecy, after all, only really applied to Muggleborns, or those who lived in densely Muggle areas. On a private island, they were scarcely endangering their existence by practising. As spells could only registered as coming from the property and not the individual it was easy enough for the Arbon children to practise without drawing undue attention from the authorities. If the authorities happened to notice that the house-elves seemed to be diligently working their way through a school curriculum, then they learnt very quickly to unnotice. If her father's threatening presence or political connections were not enough to quell this unpleasant and unwarranted suspicion, a few galleons usually did the trick. Effie was largely ignorant of these goings on. She had been advised not to talk too much of having practised at home but believed this to be so as not to make others jealous – some quite decent people lived more in the city and thus could not practise as well – as well as the fact that it might invite dangerous liberals to challenge her for having had an advantage over Muggleborn students, and she was not to encourage such people. As far as she was aware, nothing she had done was wrong. The law was not for them. However, as the term wore on, she was beginning to encounter less familiar spells.

She twirled her wand, keeping her wrist loose, as she had been taught. It seemed natural to her to twist her wrist as she went around the corners of the s-shape but that would have altered the plane on which she had been told to keep the movement (she had double-checked against the textbook that The Actress had informed them correctly. On this occasion, she seemed to have been correct). When Effie was confident that she was maintaining the angle of her wand as precisely as possible whilst drawing a neat S, she took a deep breath.

“Spongify,” she cast, moving her wand fluidly over the tablet. A gentle silver shimmered from her wand across the target. She waited for this to fade. When it did, the appearance of the object had not changed but that was to be expected. The spell targeted the texture, not the form. If it changed the object into a soft object then it would be a transfiguration. She ran her fingers over the tablet. It felt soft. She pushed them against it and they sank into it, although she was not convinced that it was enough that she would trust it to break her fall. It was spongy and she could mould it but it was still fairly firm. She was preparing to continue with her work when someone beside her attracted her attention.

13 Effie Arbon, Crotalus Stony expressions 238 Effie Arbon, Crotalus 0 5

Lucian
October 01, 2012 9:48 PM

Lucian
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Or maybe if you are having a pillow-y tablet pillow fight? by Lucian
“Sure thing. It was my pleasure.” Lucian replied with a smile at Clara after she thanked him for trying to help her in flying class during their first year at Sonora. “Have you mastered the whole flying thing yet?”

Lucian watched carefully as she attempted the spell again. He absorbed all of her movements and methods of concentration, so that if it worked this time he would know how to do it. After she exclaimed that she had gotten her tablet to turn into a more pillow-like state, Lucian reached out and felt the pillow. “That’s really cool.” He said, “Let me see if I can get this to work.” He mimicked Clara’s technique by cracking his knuckles and his neck before holding up his wand. “Spong-ify!” Lucian said in a commanding tone.

He looked down to see that his tablet had rounded edges as well. “I think this just may have worked,” he said smiling and picking up his pillow-y tablet and tossing it in the air. He caught it on its way back down and thought for a second to himself. “This spell would definitely give a person the advantage in a pillow fight.” he said, thinking out loud. He didn’t know Clara very well, but he assumed that she had a sense of humor. She didn’t act prissy like some girls and seemed to be pretty cool, so he decided to take his chances and act on his gut instinct.

“Pillow fight!” he exclaimed with a mischievous smirk, and hit Clara lightly on the arm with his pillow-y tablet and laughed.

0 Lucian Or maybe if you are having a pillow-y tablet pillow fight? 0 Lucian 0 5

McKinley Andrews, Crotalus
October 02, 2012 12:25 AM

McKinley Andrews, Crotalus
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Stony smiles? Or Stony frowns? by McKinley Andrews, Crotalus
McKinley had certainly hoped that Charms would be the safe class to not get dirty in. Transfiguration hadn’t been, Care of Magical Creatures and Flying class had just been awful, so she hoped that at least one of her classes would leave her still clean. But even still, she brought her poncho and gloves just in case. Dirt was just not okay for the eleven year old, she’d always known that and now it was time for the rest of the world to know it too.

She was a wonderful young lady, and the best she knew of. There was no denying it to the Crotalus girl. Her father and brothers believed it fully and they transposed the belief that none were better than she, to her. Either way, her hair was beautifully put together, her eyes and the rest of her face was done up nicely with makeup and her matching clothes underneath her silken robes made her look like the belle of the ball even though there was no ball in going to class.

Kinley walked in, but didn’t sit right away. There was something about making sure to sit nearby someone who was clean rather than sitting down and risking someone who could be dirty contaminating her that the girl took as a tradition in her eyes. Seeing one of her roommates, she sat beside her. Effie was not dirty, in fact, the girl probably believed in things the same was as Kinley herself did.

Sitting beside Effie, she glanced up at the teacher. She’d been reading a book at the desk, but she put it down when the last of the students came into the room. Professor Olivers said they were going to get started and she told them that they were going to be working on the Softening Charm.

“Can anyone tell me what this charm was created to do without looking at their textbook?” Professor Olivers asked. One of the first years nearby her answered and once he’d gotten it correct, and the teacher had re-explained it to them she spoke again.

“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.”

Kinley listened carefully to the directions and nodded, watching even more carefully in the hopes of getting it right the first time.

“After making the motion, say the incantation, and then you’ll be softening things all over the place.” The teacher nodded to them and told them to work the spells on their own tablets and if they needed her, they should go to her. Kinley nodded back to her, and hoped that she’d be able to get it right the first time.

This isn’t so dirty, as long as I don’t touch the icky thing in front of me… she thought as she practiced the charm quietly without the wand movements and then practiced moving her wand without the charm. Once she was satisfied, she went ahead and mixed the two.

“Spongi-,” she started as she heard the same word next to her. She stopped mid-word and looked at Effie as a silver shimmer escaped from the wand. “That was very well done, it looks perfectly soft…” she started, thankful that her roommate had gone first. She’d been able to watch it done once more and she realized that indeed she had gotten the movements right in the practicing.

“Shall I take my turn now, then?” she asked politely to Effie.

0 McKinley Andrews, Crotalus Stony smiles? Or Stony frowns? 0 McKinley Andrews, Crotalus 0 5

Effie Arbon
October 02, 2012 2:40 PM

Effie Arbon
Alumnus
House: Crotalus
Written by: Rhy

Age in Post: 11

Smiles. They produce fewer wrinkles. by Effie Arbon
OOC - I assumed that, as they've been sharing a room for some time, that they would have spoken and done introductions before.

IC
“Thank you, that is most kind of you. It appears to still have a good deal of firmness to it but it's a start,” Effie smiled, as McKinley complimented her work. She was somewhat undecided what she thought about her roommate. The girl came from a good background, that was certain. She believed the right sorts of things and associated with the right sort of people. There was no doubt that she was proper. The trouble was that she was also a bit prissy. Effie, for all that her wide eyes and pale features gave her a delicate look, was a fairly robust sort of a girl, and fond of the outdoors. She did not feel the need to squeal and pout over speck of mud she encountered. Of course, she could not exclude McKinley, so at the worst, these idiosyncrasies would be borne with patience. However, if the other girl could conduct a conversation without such histrionics, Effie might be able to even appreciate her company.

Effie was not particularly sure that they needed to take turns, seeing as they had a tablet each. Although perhaps McKinley found it distracting having the person next to her speaking at the same time. She had found the overall noise levels of the classrooms something which required a little adapting to although she did not find one lone voice beside her to be so problematic as she was used to sharing a school room with Delphine.

“Yes, do go ahead,” she nodded, “Would it distract you too much if I were to continue?” she asked. She could have tried asking an indirect question, such as whether McKinley was accustomed to having a schoolroom to herself, but an indirect question resulted in an answer from which she had to infer things. It was easier to be direct and to hope that McKinley did not feel pressured into saying that she did not mind even if she did, “It can be quite a commotion with everybody going on at once,” she empathised, to try to show that she would understand if McKinley wanted a little bit of quiet in which to focus her attention.

13 Effie Arbon Smiles. They produce fewer wrinkles. 238 Effie Arbon 0 5

Rupert Princeton, Pecari
October 02, 2012 2:52 PM

Rupert Princeton, Pecari
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Pillowy Stones, if you please. by Rupert Princeton, Pecari
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

Clara
October 02, 2012 8:53 PM

Clara
Alumnus
House: Pecari
Written by:

Age in Post: 12

Pillow fight, huh? you're on...lol by Clara
Clara smiled back for a second until she heard his question. “Have you mastered the whole flying thing yet?” She wasn’t quite sure how to break it to the poor boy that she was a complete menace in that department, but decided it was better just owning up to it. Scratching her head nervously, she sheepishly grinned before replying. “Well…nooo. My attempt last year was bad…my attempt this year even worse,” she admitted. Before he could ask why she found herself explaining. “My cousin talked me into joining her for the class this year knowing that I suck at flying. Its true. I put myself in the hospital once trying to learn it back home before I came to school. This year was no different…although my trip to the hospital wing here was a much shorter one and required far less stitches and casting,” she told him laughing. “Coach Pierce caught me before me and my broomstick met one of the goal posts,” she admitted. She stared down at the table for a sec before getting back to the charm.

She grinned rather pleased with herself when he reached over and poked her pillow. “That’s really cool.” He said, “Let me see if I can get this to work.” Clara watched him mimic her movements and beamed when she saw that he had done it as well. She covered her mouth giggling when he tossed it into the air and caught it. “Holy cow…that is soo cool!” she blurted out excitedly. She found herself readily agreeing when he stated that they might give someone an advantage in a pillow fight. “I can see where you would think that,” she agreed. “Pillow fight!” he exclaimed with a mischievous smirk, and hit Clara lightly on the arm with his pillow-y tablet and laughed. Clara stared at Lucian completely shocked until bursting out laughing at him hitting her with the pillow. She could not believe he had dared such a thing and thought he would get away with it unscathed. “Oh…you’re going to get it now buster,” she teased him before hitting him back on the arm with her own pillow, laughing the whole time.

0 Clara Pillow fight, huh? you're on...lol 232 Clara 0 5

Aubrielle Thornton, Teppenpaw
October 02, 2012 9:48 PM

Aubrielle Thornton, Teppenpaw
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Uhm... Some help over here please Clara and Lucian...? by Aubrielle Thornton, Teppenpaw
Brielle had a great summer, and the school year was turning out much the same so far. Waverly had asked her to be Vice president for the Baking Club and she was so excited about that prospect. She’d be seen, loved and it would be just like she’d always wanted it to be! Besides, she’d be partially in charge of something, like Amira was. This made the newly turned twelve year old feel even better about herself, not like she’d ever really had that problem or anything (that was Addison, without a doubt).

Either way, Charms was uhm… in a word, interesting the year before, and she’d been interested to see what this year would bring for them. After all, the year before, Bri and Clara had turned each other colors instead of their bears… Interesting, yes. She sighed, remembering how she’d been a booger and Clara had been a smurf and she couldn’t help but giggle a little bit.

Today would be fun, she was sure of it. Anything involving her was either fun or interesting (which had a possibility of being fun anyway) and she was okay with that. Walking into class, she peeked around the room to see where she should sit. Spotting Clara sitting with Lucian, she sat down at the desk next to them knowing that anywhere Clara and herself were, would be fun. Lucian would just add to it!

Brielle would have loved to say that she heard every word their teacher had said, but if you knew her, you knew that wasn’t even possible. Poor Brielle had a little problem with focusing a lot of the time. Anyone who knew her, knew that. When one of the first years spoke, she shook her head and wondered what the question was…

She tried to focus back on the lesson at hand. Thankfully, Professor Olivers repeated whatever the lesson was going to be about and B did her best to listen this time around, sure that there wouldn’t be another.

“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.”

Bri watched as Professor Olivers did the motions of the charm as careful as she could. The last thing she wanted to do was to soften her table partner or anyone else! Oh merlin… I can’t screw this up… I’ll end up softening Clara or something… Oh god… she thought as she glanced towards Clara with a pained look on her face. She wasn’t sure if her cousin had seen the look or not, but the only way to tell was to ask.

Professor Olivers told them they could start in a dramatic way and Brielle smiled, forgetting entirely what she was supposed to be doing.

Uh oh… she thought as she bit her lip. I’m so gonna be in trouble now…

The students started performing the charm around her and she looked around, almost like a little lost puppy dog. She got up from her chair and walked over to Clara’s desk with Lucian and got hit in the head with a pillow. “What the…?” she asked as she shook her head back to reality.

It looked like Clara and Lucian had started a little pillow fight and she’d gotten hit with the backlash. “Uhm…” she stammered, looking at Lucian and Clara.

0 Aubrielle Thornton, Teppenpaw Uhm... Some help over here please Clara and Lucian...? 0 Aubrielle Thornton, Teppenpaw 0 5

Lucian
October 05, 2012 1:16 AM

Lucian
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*hands you a helmet for protection from pillow-y tablets* by Lucian
Lucian listened as Clara explained her flying disaster and smirked a little bit. As dangerous as it sounded, he couldn’t help being a little amused. “Well, I am glad that she caught you before anything bad happened,” he began, letting his face to a more serious expression, “Maybe some time I can try to help you out with the basics of flying? I am patient, and having more confidence with at least basic things may help you. Perhaps we should surround you with these pillow tablets though, just in case.” He gave her a reassuring smile. Lucian decided he rather enjoyed talking to Clara. She seemed pretty easygoing and someone he could see himself becoming pretty good friends with.

After he had hit Clara with the pillow, he was relieved that she was just as amused as she was and joined in on his small pillow fight. However, they must have gotten a bit out of hand when he pulled his pillow over his head in an attempt to hit Clara back once more and heard another girl exclaim “What the..?” behind him. He turned around to see Aubrielle, whom he believed to be Clara’s cousin, shaking her head in confusion. “Oh..sorry!,” he said quickly upon realizing he must have hit her in the head with his pillow by accident. “We were just having a small pillow fight. You can um, join if you would like?” He felt badly, but then realized that she must have walked over to their table for another reason. “How are you doing with the charm?” he asked, noticing she was not carrying a pillow or tablet.

0 Lucian *hands you a helmet for protection from pillow-y tablets* 0 Lucian 0 5

Alexandra D'Alesandro, Crotalus
October 05, 2012 1:52 AM

Alexandra D'Alesandro, Crotalus
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Stony pillows would not be as comfortable. by Alexandra D'Alesandro, Crotalus
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

McKinley
October 05, 2012 12:08 PM

McKinley
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Fewer the wrinkles the better! by McKinley
OOC - Sounds like a plan, I kinda assumed that as well, probably should have said this in an OOC myself… Sorry!!

BIC-

McKinley had praised Effie’s skill and smiled at her roommate. Effie hadn’t done anything against her, in fact, the girl seemed as pureblooded and clean as she herself was.

“Thank you, that is most kind of you. It appears to still have a good deal of firmness to it but it's a start,”

Kinley nodded. “It is surely, that.” she added, asking if she should take her turn then. There was noise around them as their classmates took their turns and Kinley looked around her, watching them. It was odd to her with all the noise. She didn’t really understand why all the noise needed to happen at the same time. If turns were taken things would be easier, she figured. But perhaps not everyone feels that way? she thought as Effie answered that she could and asked,

“Would it distract you too much if I were to continue?”

“I’m not too used to others around me, to be honest…” Kinley said, pausing as Effie looked as if she was going to say something. Andrews’ were not rude people, never had been, never would be if it were up to her.

“It can be quite a commotion with everybody going on at once,”

“It can be, yes. But I think it may be okay for us to go at once. It’s just a matter of focus, right?” she asked, curious to know Effie’s thought on her statement before trying the charm herself.

0 McKinley Fewer the wrinkles the better! 0 McKinley 0 5

Wendy
October 05, 2012 4:27 PM

Wendy
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Or relaxing cushions after you hit something hard by Wendy
Wendy smiled. The boy seemed pretty concerned about her hand, and she didn't want to make him worry. It wasn't like it was broken or anything. "It's okay," she said. She performed her charm then with finesse, and this time he poked her tablet. It was probably safer than being stupid and slamming his fist down on it like she had. Dumb Wendy.

She nodded at her partner's comment and watched as he did it again. Apparently he was going to slam his fist into his own tablet, and Wendy watched with a grimace, hoping that he didn't break his hand. That would be really horrible. Her own hand was hardly throbbing now, even though she could still kind of feel the tiny sting of the aftershock. The boy hit his tablet, and she gasped as it sank into it. It was like magic! Wendy could barely contain her glee. "That's so cool!" she exclaimed, and then put her hands over her mouth, realizing that she had said that in a really loud and squeaky voice. "Sorry, that just looks so cool. Can I touch it?" She looked pleadingly at the boy as she asked. She didn't have big puppy-dog eyes like Waverly, but she hoped her attempt worked. She wasn't sure if her own charm would work all the way, and she wanted to know what it felt like.

The boy told her to give it another try, but as he stumbled over on what to call her, she realized she hadn't introduced herself. Back in elementary school, she hadn't really needed to introduce herself. Everyone had their names on their desks and if people wanted to know her name, they just asked. It wasn't awkward at all. But here it seemed like a big deal, and she was quickly learning that people were awkward when it came to asking someone's name. It was like they were all pretending to be grown-ups but were failing 'cause they were just all kids.

"My name's Wendy," she said, "after the character in Peter Pan, if you've ever read that book." Now that that was done, she turned to her tablet again. "Okay, I'm going to try again. Don't laugh at me if it doesn't work out all the way." She gave him a look before looking back at the tablet. She performed the charm again with a loud, "Spongify!" and watched as nothing happened to her tablet.

"Dang it," she said angrily, but then put her hand on it. It was still kind of firm in a bouncy way, but it was less bouncy and a little more soft this time. "Never mind," she said with a smile. "It kind of worked better!" She lay her blonde little head on it, her face turned towards Carter. "It's not the best pillow in the world, but it'll do. Is your pillow head-worthy?"

0 Wendy Or relaxing cushions after you hit something hard 0 Wendy 0 5

Effie Arbon
October 07, 2012 12:02 PM

Effie Arbon
Alumnus
House: Crotalus
Written by: Rhy

Age in Post: 11

Softening up by Effie Arbon
“I suppose it has some advantages. If we are able to master the Charm in challenging circumstances, then we shall be able to do it more easily when things are perfectly calm, and not be put off should we need it in more trying times,” Effie mused, although nothing could really persuade her to be happy about sharing a room with all the Muggleborns. She wondered what the collective noun for them was. A stupidity, perhaps. A dirtiness. In the case of them all waving their wands about, a liability seemed an apt term. Yes, she did not wish to share the room with a liability of Muggleborns. She glanced about her, checking that none of the incompetents was pointing their wand at her. She did not want her back softened. Not that she expected them to get it right but being on the receiving end of a charm gone wrong was scarcely likely to be any more of a pleasant experience. Yet again, the question surfaced in her mind as to why the classes were not segregated. It would make so much more sense. “I am accustomed to sharing my school room with one other person,” she informed McKinley.

“Right then,” she said, drawing in her breath, “A second attempt.” She turned her attention back to her work, trying to think through what she had done. She could not see any glaring flaws in what she had done. It was, most likely, inexperience with the Charm, or perhaps a slight lack of synchronisation between the spoken word and the wand movement. She mouthed it, trying to judge how long it took her to say it and to match that with the speed at which she was moving her wand.

“Spongify,” she cast, doing her best to at least begin speaking at the same moment as she began casting. For complex movements, it was not always possible to make the word and the movement the same length, without unduly distorting the word. Starting at the same time was the most important part. She pressed her fingers into the slate. It gave beneath them. It had more give than it had done last time but when she drew her fingers away, their impressions remained. She was not sure whether that was correct or not. She rather suspected that it was not, as most spongy surfaces returned to form afterwards. She turned to see how McKinley had done, not speaking until her room mate looked up, so as to be sure that she was not disturbing her work.

“I believe I have progressed, although it is still not perfect. How goes it with you?” she enquired.

13 Effie Arbon Softening up 238 Effie Arbon 0 5

Kinley
October 07, 2012 3:09 PM

Kinley
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Softening, I hope... by Kinley
McKinley watched Effie for her reaction and answer to her query and when her roommate spoke, she listened well.

“I suppose it has some advantages. If we are able to master the Charm in challenging circumstances, then we shall be able to do it more easily when things are perfectly calm, and not be put off should we need it in more trying times,”

“This is true. I had not thought of it that way. Though at the same time, would it make sense to try first without all the commotion?” she wondered, slightly to herself and slightly aloud to Effie. Effie looked as if she was thinking to herself about something Kinley had said, though she would not interrupt her. Effie started looking around and Kinley followed her lead. It wasn’t that she was not a leader, she could be, if she wanted to. In this case, she wasn’t sure what Effie was looking at and if she’d been looking at someone or something dirty, Kin needed to know of she’d drive herself mad!

“I am accustomed to sharing my school room with one other person,”

“Oh? Who with, if you do not mind my asking?” She said, wanting to know more about her roommate. They had talked in their room, sure, but not enough to really know everything about each other. It wasn’t that McKinley wanted to know EVERYTHING about her, but she did want to know enough to make them be okay as friends. She would be Kin’s first REAL friend not counting Carter and she wanted it, badly.

“Right then, a second attempt.” Effie said and turned back to her work.

Kinley nodded and turned to hers, trying to block out everyone else’s voices to the best of her ability. She wanted to do this, and she wanted to do it right. This wasn’t dirty, and she was making a friend, this is do-able. It is… she thought as she picked up her shiny, clean wand and looked at her block in front of her. “Spongify!” she said, confidently as she made the movement with her wand.

She wondered how she’d find out if it had worked without touching it for a moment, she looked up to see if she could come up with something clean to poke it with, but then heard Effie speak again next to her.

“I believe I have progressed, although it is still not perfect. How goes it with you?”

“Well, I did the charm, I have not yet tested to see if it worked yet…” was her answer.

0 Kinley Softening, I hope... 0 Kinley 0 5

Clara
October 07, 2012 3:14 PM

Clara
Alumnus
House: Pecari
Written by:

Age in Post: 12

When pillow fights go bad...LOL by Clara
Clara appreciated the offer more than Lucian could ever know, but she was also very apprehensive about putting him in harms way just to help her. Some poor first years were practically mowed down by her on their first day of flying and they weren't even trying to help her. She hated to think what would happen to poor Lucian if he tried. Her cousin Arista felt bad enough when she had tried helping last summer and had to watch as Clara bit it yet again in the blackberry patch that lined the edge of the vineyard. Clara had looked like she had gotten into a fight with about a dozen cats and lost horribly. She hadn't required any stitches, thank god, but it left her wrapped in gauze for a good two weeks or so. She really didn't want to hurt his feeling by saying no, but she really wasn't sure she was brave enough to risk them both by saying yes. She was momentarily torn.

She thought about Grandpa Portier and how he always told her "No guts, no glory, ma petite" She wanted to make her dad and grandpa proud, but she was certain that she was probably one of those witches who's feet firmly belonged on the ground. Still atleast being able to fly without killing herself could be a good thing and if he was willing to risk it then so was she. She just hoped she didn't make them both regret it. She started laughing and shook her head as his stetment about surrounding her with the pillows entered her mind. She couldn't help finding it funny at seeing herself surrounded in the pillows like a walking marshmellow. "I suppose that could work," she giggled. "Although, how funny would it be to see me wrapped up in pillows like a marshmellow?" she asked. "Besides any help you can give me would be most appreciated. Just tell me when."

She laughed when he hit her with the pillow and swung back in retaliation, still laughing. She was bracing herself for another whap from his pillow when she heard someone behind him exclaim “What the..?” She looked up surprised to see Bri standing behind him shaking her head in confusion. She realized he must have hit her with the pillow when he was swinging back to hit Clara again. She covered her mouth with her hands and tried to stifle her laughter. "Oh god Bri! Are you okay?" she asked in between giggles. When she noticed that Bri had come over with her hands empty she shook her head. "You forgot what we were supposed to be doing didn't you?" she asked her cousin, still chuckling. When Lucian suggested she join their pillow fight, Clara grinned mischieviously at Brielle.

"Hey goober, Catch!" she told Bri, tossing her pillow at her cousin. She knew how much Bri loved a good pillow fight.

0 Clara When pillow fights go bad...LOL 232 Clara 0 5

Carter
October 07, 2012 4:34 PM

Carter
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It would seems so by Carter
Carter was glad to hear that she hadn't hurt herself too badly. He noticed the slight grimace she made when he moved to hit his own pillow. The fact that she seemed concerned about him hurting himself was touching. He smiled even bigger when she exclaimed how cool it was when his fist sank into his pillow. He grinned at her for covering up her mouth. The squeaky voice she had let escape hadn't bother him in least. He was actually sort-of used to the sound on account of his cousin Kinley and her many shrieking spells. He shook his head at her apology. "Don't worry about it," he assured her. "My cousin shrieks louder than that on an almost daily basis," he told her. He grinned when she asked if she could touch it. "Absolutely," he told her, holding it out for her to inspect.

He waited until she had done so before putting it back on his own desk. "Wendy is s cool name," he told her. "I loved when my mom used to read me that story when I was little." He really had. His mom used to read it to him every night before he went to sleep up until he was 9 years old. Then they had started reading Shakspeare together at night before bed. He caught the look she gave him as she "requested" that he not laugh at her if her next attempt flopped. He had no intention of laughing at her. "Absolutely not," she assured her trying to look serious. "I would never laugh at a lady's misfortune." He watched quietly as she made another attempt. He had to draw on all his willpower not to so much as smile she exclaimed "Dang it," as her next attempt was apparently no better than her first. He found himself grinning when she showed a little enthusiasm at it working better than it had. He had to give her credit for looking at the bright side.

He watched amused as she laid her blonde head upon her semi-pillow. "Is your pillow head-worthy?" she had asked and he found himself suddenly curious about it. "I don't know," he admitted looking at it curiously. "Let's find out." He laid the pillow down on his desk and rested his own light strawberry blondish head upon it. He laid down on it facing her. "Ya know...this isn't soo bad. I guess mine is head worthy," he grinned playfully at her.

0 Carter It would seems so 0 Carter 0 5

Darian Javaris
October 09, 2012 11:38 PM

Darian Javaris
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Softening mishaps by Darian Javaris

Darian looked around the classroom, it had started but there wasn't a sign of his sister. And then he spotted her right at the back of the room and felt a slight bit of upset. Ever since they arrived she had been off doing her own things and making friends away from him. Friends for Darian though- nil.

He looked over his wand and then over the tablet, feeling quite nervous, "Uh... Spong...ify."

His tablet seemed to melt and as he picked it up, it was almost like a floppy piece of paper.

Darian pouted and muttered to himself, "Oops... that's evidentially what you get for not concentrating. Maybe it is not the spell that I am having difficulty with, maybe they chose the wrong person to give a wand to."

0 Darian Javaris Softening mishaps 0 Darian Javaris 0 5

Brielle
October 10, 2012 11:37 AM

Brielle
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Pillow fights go bad? by Brielle
Brielle was terrified that her lack of focus would make her get a zero in this class. Oh Merlin’s Beard… she thought as she walked over towards her cousin Clara and Lucian. She had no idea what she was supposed to be doing and she hated that! There was something about her that had changed. Her focus for things not of theatrical background wasn’t so good anymore and she hated that. That’s what she was thinking about when she walked over to Clara and Lucian.

“What the..?” she said having felt something hit her. She shook her head in mild confusion as she heard Lucian speak to her.

“Oh.. sorry! We were just having a small pillow fight. You can um, join if you would like?”

Pillow fight… Hm. Cool. she thought, forgetting what she’d gone over there for in the first place. Clara asked if she was okay and she nodded her head. “Yea, I’m fine. Just surprised is all.“ Clara giggled and then looked at her.

When Lucian spoke again, she looked down at her feet. “How are you doing with the charm?”

"You forgot what we were supposed to be doing didn't you?"

Brielle nodded to her cousin and looked up at Lucian as Clara still chuckled. “How am I doing with it? I’m not, I forgot completely what I was supposed to be doing…” she said as she looked down again at her feet.

"Hey goober, Catch!"

Clara tossed a pillow at Bri and Brielle laughed at her cousin and whacked the pillow right on her arm. “So… uhm… you two made these? How’d you get it to work…?” she asked them, hoping they’d help her out.

0 Brielle Pillow fights go bad? 0 Brielle 0 5

Wendy
October 11, 2012 12:01 AM

Wendy
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Nap time? by Wendy
It was the first time anyone had complimented her on her name, and Wendy swelled with happiness. Usually people just nodded at her or thought that her name sounded normal compared to her older sister's so they didn't comment on it. And her elementary school friends didn't ask about it either. Carter was pretty nice and getting up there in her "friend list," not that she actually had one.

So far he was proving to be an awesome partner, and she was glad when he laid his head down on his pillow. "That's good," she said, nodding as well as she could with her head down. "I think I could probably sleep in class all the time with this." She grinned. She wasn't sure if she was kidding yet, but classes were too exciting to fall asleep in anyway. Plus she'd be too afraid. She closed her eyes for a moment, wondering what it would be like to sleep in class even if she was just pretending.

"The teacher's not looking, is she?" she whispered. Her eyelids lifted, hazel eyes sparkling as she smiled. "I hope she doesn't think we're sleeping in class or something. I'd say we're good students. We deserve a nap." She feigned sleeping again, but couldn't help the little smile that came onto her face at the thought of being rewarded with a nap after a productive class. She opened her eyes again, wanting to keep the conversation with Carter going. "So what's your favorite class so far?" she asked, head still down on the pillow. It was really comfortable just laying her head down on her desk. The pillow was softer than she had originally thought it would be.

0 Wendy Nap time? 0 Wendy 0 5

Prof. Olivers
October 11, 2012 1:25 AM

Prof. Olivers
Peripheral
Written by:

Closed. (nm) by Prof. Olivers

0 Prof. Olivers Closed. (nm) 0 Prof. Olivers 0 5

Carter
October 11, 2012 7:38 PM

Carter
Peripheral
Written by:

Most definately ;) by Carter
Carter grinned as well and nodded in agreement. He could definately see himself using this as a pillow to sleep in class with. "I could too," he admitted. He watched her close her eyes and for a second thought that she had actually gone to sleep. He grinned slightly when he saw her eyelids open and heard her whisper, "The teacher's not looking, is she?" He lifted his head part way off the pillow and glanced towards the teacher's desk. As far as he could tell the teacher wasn't looking in their direction. He put his head back down and turned back to face Wendy. "I don't think so," he whispered back. "I agree we totally deserve a nap, but I don't think the teacher would like finding us asleep," he whispered diplomatically. He hated being the one to say it, but he didn't want to have them actually do it and get into trouble for it. The teacher was pretty nice, but he didn't think she'd be that nice about it. He found himself smiling with her though inspite of playing devil's advocate.

"So what's your favorite class so far?" she had asked, her head still resting on the pillow. Carter had to think about that for a second. He really wanted to say flying class hands down, but knew that really wasn't a fair answer. Not everybody liked flying as much as he did. He really liked Transfiguration over eveything else since it was the one thing he seemed to be un-naturally good at. "If I could saying Flying I would pick that one because I love being on a broomstick zooming fast through the air," he began, his eyes lighting up slightly at the sheer mention of flying. "But if I had to pick a class class I would have to say Transfiguration," he replied matter-of-factly. "I like the idea of being able to take something and turning it into just about anything you want...including yourself," he replied partially excited. "What's your favorite class so far?" he asked Wendy, not wanting to end their conversation.

0 Carter Most definately ;) 0 Carter 0 5

Wendy
October 13, 2012 5:34 PM

Wendy
Peripheral
Written by:

Wake me up when class ends by Wendy
Cartere seemed to have a little trouble picking his favorite class, or at least took a moment to think about it. Wendy took that time to think about what her favorite class was, but it only took a couple seconds. She loved animals and even though doing magic was cool, it was a lot more fun playing with and learning about the different animals that existed in the magical world. The day she got to see a unicorn, she would die of happiness.

"You can pick flying," she said. To her knowledge, it was only a class first-years had to take. She wasn't really sure why, but maybe it was like high school kids taking driving classes or something. They still weren't forced to take driving lessons, though, so maybe it wasn't the same. Wendy didn't really see the appeal of riding broom. She wasn't afraid of heights or anything, but she did like being on things that were a little more solid. Plus she didn't really know how to control a broom completely, so that probably contributed to her indifference to the subject, if it could be called that.

Wendy smiled when he said Transfiguration had to be his favorite. She had had a kind of embarrassing class once where she didn't even look at the directions before trying her hand at it. That had been a bad idea, but at least Alex had been nice enough not to tease her for it. She was getting better at it, but it was hard. "Transfiguration is cool," she agreed. "It's hard, though." At least, it was for her. She wondered if people who grew up with magic were used to doing magic like that. "I love Care of Magical Creatures," she said. "I love animals a lot and it's really interesting to see what animals exist in the magical world. I really want to study unicorns, or dragons! That would be the best class ever."

It seemed like a really fast class, but it ended and Wendy lifted her head, disappointed. "This was actually a fun class," she said, looking over at her partner. "I hope we do something like this next class!" Charms was high on her list of favorite classes at the moment because she had made a new friend and because she had a pillow. "I wish we could keep these pillows," she said, feeling a tiny bit sad at leaving her work behind. "I think I might practice on a giant rock, though." She beamed at the idea. "I like that idea. I'm going to do it."

Wendy got up out of her seat and packed her things into her backpack. "We should go to the Labyrinth Gardens sometime and practice some more. My mom would never believe me if I told her that I had a pillow made out of a rock." She giggled, just thinking of her mom's reaction.

0 Wendy Wake me up when class ends 0 Wendy 0 5

Rupert
October 13, 2012 10:38 PM

Rupert
Peripheral
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I know from experience. by Rupert
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